Chapter 490

Chapter 490: I Have Been Watching You for a Long Time, Fated One
That cultivator gave an awkward laugh, quickly pulling back his endless chatter. Then he spoke seriously: “Seniors, this place is called the Xiao He Realm. Although it is blessed and beautiful, cultivation resources are scarce, so the cultivation levels of the fellow cultivators here are all so-so.”

He spoke halfway, and his emotions suddenly grew excited: “But one year ago, the Divine Maiden suddenly descended and changed the situation of the Xiao He Realm!”

His voice rose higher and higher: “The Divine Maiden is selfless and kind. She is willing to grant blessings to us and help us break through our cultivation bottlenecks for free.

“To show our respect for the Divine Maiden, all the sects joined together to build this altar for her. Today is the first time we are holding a grand ceremony to worship her.”

Yu Zhao and Ancestor Sui Bian exchanged a look with the others.

Yu Zhao asked: “Then do you know where the Divine Maiden came from?”

The man showed a very secretive look: “The Divine Maiden is the Envoy of the Gods. How could people like us possibly find out more about her?”

“Thank you, Fellow Daoist.”

Yu Zhao handed a piece of Spirit Jade to that cultivator as payment.

The man accepted the Spirit Jade but did not rush to leave. Instead, he said carefully: “Seniors, the Divine Maiden has heaven-reaching methods. If you meet any problems in your cultivation, you can go to the Divine Maiden and ask her to bless you. The Divine Maiden is kind. She definitely will not refuse.”

Yu Zhao raised her brows.

The Divine Maiden’s influence was even stronger than she had imagined.

Even a local cultivator like this man believed in her so deeply. The others were probably not much different from him.

She sent the man away with a few words, then turned to look at Ancestor Sui Bian, Old Daoist Hei, and Senior Xiu Yu. She asked in a low voice: “Seniors, what do you think about this?”

Ancestor Sui Bian rubbed his bald head: “Listening to what this Divine Maiden does, she really does sound like a great good person. She does not cultivate herself and spends every day giving blessings to others. What is she after?”

“When something is that strange, there must be a problem. I’m afraid this Divine Maiden has another plan in mind!”

Senior Xiu Yu’s reaction was a bit cold: “We are only passing through this place. No matter what the Divine Maiden is planning, it has nothing to do with us. Why dig into it?”

What Senior Xiu Yu said was indeed not wrong.

They were cultivators, but their time and energy were still very precious. If they meddled in every strange matter they met, even growing a few extra hands would not be enough.

But Yu Zhao and the other two were thinking about the Jade Core on the Divine Maiden’s Jade Scepter, so they naturally were not willing to leave so easily.

Ancestor Sui Bian’s eyes turned as he prepared to use his trump card.

He softened his voice and dragged out his tone: “Xiu Yu~”

But Ancestor Sui Bian forgot that, right now, he was wearing an extremely ugly face. Making such a fawning expression with that face was really unbearable to look at.

Senior Xiu Yu felt her eyes were being offended and turned her head away in disgust.

However, when she noticed Ancestor Sui Bian’s face suddenly droop, she could only shake her head helplessly: “Fine, if you want to go, then go!”

She never had any way to deal with Sui Bian.

Yu Zhao quickly promised: “Senior, don’t worry. We will definitely act with caution.”

Ancestor Sui Bian and Old Daoist Hei also nodded again and again. After a brief discussion, they decided to sneak into the palace at night and investigate the Divine Maiden’s true nature.

When night fell, they quietly came to the outside of the palace. They found that although a few cultivators were stationed as wardens, their cultivation levels were not high. It was clearly just a symbolic guard.

Ancestor Sui Bian gave a low chuckle and said softly: “These guards are just for show. It will be easy for us to slip in.”

Old Daoist Hei nodded: “Let’s go. Don’t waste time.”

The four of them concealed their auras, easily avoided the guards, and silently slipped into the palace.

The decorations inside the palace were extremely luxurious. All kinds of rare Spirit Stones were set into the walls. The floor was covered with soft Spirit Beast fur. Fragrance filled the air. It was as lavish as it could be.

Ancestor Sui Bian looked around: “This Divine Maiden sure knows how to enjoy herself. She built her palace this luxuriously.”

Senior Xiu Yu, however, hesitated a little: “This palace looks very luxurious, but compared to her flower carriage, it is far from enough.”

Old Daoist Hei swallowed hard. His old problem flared up. He dug a gem from the wall and weighed it in his hand, then frowned.

“This gem is not right.”

“What’s wrong?” Ancestor Sui Bian hurriedly stuck his face closer.

Old Daoist Hei showed him the gem in his hand: “Look. It looks similar to a Green Crystal Stone, but it is actually an imitation. It is not worth much at all.”

Ancestor Sui Bian’s eyes slowly widened.

He did not believe it, so he dug another gem from a different wall.

Sure enough, this one was also a fake.

The four of them looked at one another.

“What is this fake Divine Maiden thinking? On the outside she looks bright and shiny, but inside everything is a mess. Could it be her flower carriage and Jade Scepter are also fake?” Ancestor Sui Bian said in shock.

Senior Xiu Yu shook her head: “No. The flower carriage and Jade Scepter are definitely real.”

As a young woman, she could not help feeling a bit of appreciation for beautiful things.

So she had looked at them several times very carefully. She could be sure that the decorations on the flower carriage and the Jade Core on the Jade Scepter were all real.

Ancestor Sui Bian almost scratched his scalp open, yet still could not understand why the Divine Maiden would do something so cheap.

“Forget it. Leave that aside for now. Let’s keep going and see if we can find anything else.”

So the four of them went deeper into the palace and soon arrived at a wide main hall.

In the center of the hall stood a huge Stone Idol.

Yu Zhao had thought the Stone Idol would have the Divine Maiden’s appearance, but when she walked closer, she found that this statue was a little unusual.

Its whole body was wrapped in white robes, leaving only a pair of eyes showing.

She studied the Stone Idol carefully and suddenly found that its eyes seemed to flicker with a faint light, as if it was watching them.

Her heart tightened. She said in a low voice: “We have been discovered.”

Right after she spoke, the light around the hall flickered. A cold female voice came from all directions: “What business brings you here so late at night?”

Ancestor Sui Bian stepped forward and shouted: “Divine Maiden, since you know we are here, why not show yourself?”

“Since you are so interested in me, why not come meet me in person?”

As her voice fell, the Stone Idol in the center of the hall slowly turned, revealing a staircase leading downward.

Ancestor Sui Bian said in a deep voice: “Looks like she was already prepared for us. We might as well go and meet her!”

Old Daoist Hei nodded hard: “The four of us will be more than enough to deal with her alone.”

“Do not be careless.”

Even so, Senior Xiu Yu still agreed to the Divine Maiden’s proposal.

They followed the stairs all the way down until they came to a wide underground room.

In the center of the room, the Divine Maiden sat on a jade chair, holding the Jade Scepter in her hands. She looked at them calmly.

“We are here!”

As Ancestor Sui Bian spoke, the entrance shut with a heavy sound.

The whole room suddenly became very dim.

Only the Jade Scepter in the Divine Maiden’s hand gave off a faint light. It fell on her face, making her expression hard to read.

“You think that just because you closed the door, we cannot get out? You really look down on us too much!” Ancestor Sui Bian snorted in disdain.

The Divine Maiden’s voice echoed softly: “I have been watching you for a long time, Fated One.”

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