Wait, How Did My Digital Girlfriend Become a Sword Immortal? Chapter 785: A Grand Gift

Spirit Void Old Ghost had reached the pinnacle of the Great Ascension Stage.

He counted among the top experts who once sought shelter in the Void Abyss.

Memories of this cultivator's past surged through Chen Huaian's thoughts. Spirit Void Old Ghost wasn't entirely wicked, yet he lacked any true benevolence. One couldn't claim he'd piled up countless atrocities, but searching for acts of kindness from him would yield nothing.

This individual was purely self-serving and merciless in his pursuits.

He wielded a powerful treasure known as the Soul Banner, which could process both spirits and mortals alike.

His cultivation followed the Ghost Path, where he dwelled amid eerie Chimei Wangliang entities day after day.

Yet everyone ensnared by Spirit Void Old Ghost's refinements had been foes or obstacles in his path. Those fellow cultivators aiming to eliminate him for glory in righteousness now resided trapped inside his Myriad Soul Banner. Beyond such opponents, Spirit Void Old Ghost truly hadn't slain any other practitioner on his own initiative.

If pressed to name his darkest acts... there was the incident where he wiped out an entire sect housing his Dao Companion and her paramour, sparing no lives, all due to the betrayal of being cuckolded.

That event carried its own origins. Right after the massacre, Spirit Void Old Ghost vanished into seclusion. Upon his return, he'd advanced from the Void Shattering realm straight into the Great Ascension Stage, leaving no one eager to pursue him further.

From the initial Great Ascension Stage up to its peak, Spirit Void Old Ghost devoted more than two millennia to his training.

Throughout those years, he never pursued another Dao Companion.

To Chen Huaian, this made him an exceptionally challenging figure in the cultivation world.

The intruder sought to cross into the Moon Shadow Sect's rear mountains for his tribulation and ascension, drawn by the sect's rich Spirit Vein offerings and hoping to tap into its Destiny Energy as well.

At present, the Moon Shadow Sect had amassed the Destiny Energy across the whole Cangyun Realm.

Whispers in the cultivation circles now spread that stepping into the Moon Shadow Sect opened paths to enlightenment and immortality ahead—the famed phrase, "Ninety percent of heavenly immortal destinies lie with the Moon Shadow Sect," stemmed from exactly this belief.

Upon ascending to immortality, a cultivator draws in massive surges of ambient spiritual energy to bolster defenses against the Heavenly Tribulation.

Likewise, should a cultivator falter in the ascension and get obliterated by the Heavenly Tribulation until their soul disperses, the released spiritual energy from their form would still enrich the world around it.

Chen Huaian fixed his gaze on Spirit Void Old Ghost, the pair locked in wordless confrontation.

A savage smile twisted across Spirit Void Old Ghost's features as he awaited Chen Huaian's consent. Should Chen Huaian refuse, the Myriad Soul Banner served more than decoration. Imagine if, during some casual journey while gathering souls for amusement, he unwittingly ensnared a handful of Moon Shadow Sect disciples? Such a mishap wasn't out of the question.

And suppose among those disciples were some of the Moon Shadow Sect's elite direct descendants? That risk loomed as well...

On the other side, Chen Huaian observed the map where Spirit Void Old Ghost's marker shifted steadily from yellow toward red, and in quiet resolve, he called upon the customer service.

[Heaven's Calculation: What are the odds of Spirit Void Old Ghost achieving immortality within the Moon Shadow Sect?]

[Commencing Heaven's Calculation on your behalf!]

Suddenly, the heavens over the Moon Shadow Sect darkened, thunderous clouds amassed, and the pressure of Heaven's Might descended heavily.

Spirit Void Old Ghost tilted his head skyward, feeling an inescapable sense of scrutiny bearing down.

Still, he refrained from any response.

After years of evading and concealing himself from the world's laws, he'd grown numb to this persistent watchfulness from the Heavenly Dao.

He never linked that divine oversight to the quietly contemplative Chen Huaian, whose eyes remained lowered right in front of him.

Cangyun Realm, Upper Realm.

White Sword, mid-game of chess against Tu Shan Yue, furrowed his brow, a sharp glint of chill flashing in his gaze.

"What's the matter, White Sword brother? Did my play displease you?"

Sensing the frost in White Sword's stare, Tu Shan Yue hastily withdrew the stone she'd just set down, peering at him with hopeful eyes and inquiring, "Better like this?"

White Sword's eye twitched: "You're... retracting your move?"

"It's not retracting. I'll set it wherever brother prefers." Tu Shan Yue propped her chin in her palms, staring at White Sword with warm adoration: "I could even drop it right into brother's heart~"

White Sword: "..."

"You've withdrawn your move. Go reflect facing the wall beneath the peach tree for three days."

Catching the Sword Bearer's cool detachment in his voice, Tu Shan Yue's heart raced in alarm. She'd pleaded endlessly just for these brief half-hours alone with White Sword each day.

Forcing her to wall-gaze for three days would cut her off from seeing him entirely for that span?

Impossible!

"Brother~" Rising swiftly, she lunged toward White Sword's embrace to unleash her charming wiles.

But her sight wavered, her grasp met empty air, and White Sword had risen with teacup in hand, sipping tranquilly.

"Seven days."

"Wah—!" Tu Shan Yue watched White Sword's retreating figure fade away with a woeful look, her plea naturally falling on deaf ears.

All she managed was a weary exhale.

"Tu Shan Yue, oh Tu Shan Yue! White Sword brother cherishes rules above all—how could you pull back your stone?"

She smacked her own cheek in frustration.

She understood that debating White Sword proved futile.

To regain White Sword's notice, her only path lay in wall-facing under the peach tree for seven days.

Nearby, Real Person Jade Compassion observed Tu Shan Yue's sulking departure and couldn't suppress a faint smirk tugging at her lips.

"Heh, silly fox. No amount of scheming from a sharp mind beats a simpleton's flash of whimsy..."

"What? You wish to join her in reflection too?" A frosty voice rang out from behind, jolting Jade Compassion. She whirled to face White Sword's countenance, mirroring Chen Huaian's yet stripped of all warmth.

"No, could you stop sneaking up on me like that? It's downright ghostly!" Real Person Jade Compassion clutched her chest, exhaling in relief.

"No ghost could wield my level of cultivation." White Sword replied with utmost gravity.

Real Person Jade Compassion: "..."

"I have a task for you." White Sword conjured a model of the Cangyun Realm, his finger jabbing at the elderly silhouette perched on a boulder before the Moon Shadow Sect's entrance.

Real Person Jade Compassion peered intently and faintly detected the realm's laws converging upon that form.

This marked a Great Ascension Stage expert at his zenith, on the verge of facing tribulation.

Examining closer.

Oh? That was Spirit Void Old Ghost?

"What do you command? Lighten his tribulation for him?" Real Person Jade Compassion arched a brow.

"No." White Sword denied with a shake of his head, the iciness in his eyes intensifying: "His desires run too deep. Reduce him to a loose immortal."

"Desires too deep?" Real Person Jade Compassion appeared thoroughly puzzled.

From what she knew of Spirit Void Old Ghost, he'd always operated solo. Eccentric and brutal, sure.

But grand desires...

Spirit Void Old Ghost had never led a sect nor founded one in his lifetime. From where sprang such ambitions?

Did mere yearning for immortality qualify as ambition?

Before further questions, the Giant Golden Eyeball landed in her grasp, and White Sword, arms folded behind, dissolved from sight.

"Fine then." Real Person Jade Compassion let out a resigned sigh: "Into a loose immortal he goes."

She cast a pitying look toward Spirit Void Old Ghost on the model: "Blame White Sword's aversion to you, not the Heavenly Dao's injustice."

...

[Heaven's Calculation finished.]

[This marks your initial Heaven's Calculation of the day. No charge applies.]

[Spirit Void Old Ghost's odds of immortality at the Moon Shadow Sect stand at zero. Elsewhere, away from the Moon Shadow Sect, those odds reach 30%.]

Upon reading this outcome, the wariness and antagonism melted from Chen Huaian's expression. Now, his gaze toward Spirit Void Old Ghost gleamed like one appraising a priceless gem.

"My Moon Shadow Sect welcomes talents from every corner. Even if you tread the Ghost Path and desire entry into our ranks, no obstacles stand in your way."

Chen Huaian flicked his fingers.

Su Qinian materialized at once, retrieving attire and an emblem from the laundry device, arranging them tidily, and offering the platter forward.

Chen Huaian extended the serving with the emblem and robes to Spirit Void Old Ghost. Amid the old ghost's total stupefaction, he pressed eagerly, "From this moment, you're our Moon Shadow Sect's Honorary Grand Elder. Come join our warm, supportive Moon Shadow Sect at once, and let's stride toward a splendid tomorrow side by side!"

Spirit Void Old Ghost: "???"

He'd braced for outright rejection from Chen Huaian.

He'd even anticipated that any permission to enter the Moon Shadow Sect would come grudgingly, compelled by his peak Great Ascension Stage prowess.

Yet Chen Huaian's intent rang clear... an outright invitation to enlist?!

"Should this old man ascend to immortality, it'll drain no small share of your Moon Shadow Sect's reserves. You... truly unafraid?" He shot Chen Huaian a sidelong glance.

"Utterly unafraid!" Chen Huaian declared with gravity: "Isn't immortality the ultimate pursuit for us cultivators? Assisting a veteran like you to achieve it would honor my Moon Shadow Sect immensely! Soon, all will hail us as the sole holy ground of this age, the forge of true immortals!"

Spirit Void Old Ghost locked eyes on Chen Huaian, his lids fluttering uncontrollably. He pressed on, "This old man's name carries infamy. Sheltering me would drag karma onto your Moon Shadow Sect. You... still undaunted?"

"Undaunted by what?" Chen Huaian boomed with laughter: "My Moon Shadow Sect reigns supreme beneath the heavens! Who would dare whisper a single complaint?!"

"Very well." Witnessing the genuine fervor in Chen Huaian's gaze, Spirit Void Old Ghost felt his frozen core stir faintly.

The world shunned him as a fiend.

His former Dao Companion had abandoned him over the reek of death clinging to his form.

Chen Huaian alone extended true acceptance.

He'd planned to seize the chance by force, leeching the Moon Shadow Sect's Destiny Energy and spiritual essence to weather the Heavenly Tribulation.

But now, a twinge of shame crept in.

Simply affiliating with the Moon Shadow Sect this way left him uneasy in conscience.

After mulling it over, he bowed his hands to Chen Huaian: "Chen Sword Master, your virtue shines brightly. Since you hold this old ghost in such esteem, I must offer the Sword Master a fitting tribute in return."

With those words, he seized his Myriad Soul Banner, morphed into a dark mist, and sped off into the horizon.

Chen Huaian squinted, tracking the path of Spirit Void Old Ghost's departure.

If his judgment held true.

That direction led straight to the Hundred Thousand Mountains...

...