Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: I Have Acquaintances in the Heavenly Realm - Chapter 20

Wei Wuxian took out the protective talisman. Looking at the portrait drawn upon it, he hesitated repeatedly before finally deciding to give it a try. Surely a Heavenly Official wouldn’t stoop to deceiving people, right?

Holding the talisman with both hands before his face, he said, “His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, I am Wei Ying. Can you hear me?”

After speaking, Wei Wuxian turned the talisman over and over, inspecting it from every angle, yet he felt no change in the paper whatsoever.

Did he not hear me?

Wei Wuxian brought the talisman back to his face, preparing to try once more, when he suddenly heard someone call his name from behind.

“Master Wei, hello.” Xie Lian approached with a smile. Beside him stood a female cultivator dressed in white Taoist robes, holding a horsetail whisk.

Had Wei Wuxian not already known that Xie Lian’s cultivation partner was Hua Cheng, he certainly would have mistaken this female cultivator for his spouse.

Wei Wuxian sprang to his feet, tucked the talisman safely back into his robes, and patted the grass off his seat. He said happily, “Hey! This talisman really works! Daozhang Xie, you actually came.”

Xie Lian replied, “This talisman was personally drawn by San Lang. I originally kept it as a memento, so naturally, it is effective. How could I deceive you, Master Wei?”

Wei Wuxian laughed and said, “I’ve seen my fair share of talismans—in this cultivation world, I’d even call myself a Grandmaster of the craft—but I’ve never seen a portrait used as a sigil before. It struck me as quite novel, so please don’t take offense, Daozhang Xie.”

Xie Lian cleared his throat slightly. “Ahem… actually, generally speaking, portraits are indeed not used as sigils.”

The white-clad female cultivator beside him chuckled. “Whenever it involves Crimson Rain Sought Flower, there are always exceptions. He drew that specifically for His Royal Highness; it is the only one of its kind in the world. Hahahaha!”

Wei Wuxian said with sudden realization, “So that’s how it is. Then this talisman must be very important to you, Daozhang Xie. Perhaps I should return it?”

Xie Lian shook his head. “It’s no trouble. Both San Lang and I quite admire you, Master Wei. Consider this talisman a gift. As long as you have it, you can contact us.”

The female cultivator flicked her whisk and added, “His Royal Highness can have as many of these things as he wants. What’s a single talisman? Crimson Rain Sought Flower even built the Cave of Ten Thousand Gods for him.”

Wei Wuxian walked over to her with great interest. “Oh? The Cave of Ten Thousand Gods? What is that?”

She replied, “Naturally, it’s filled with statues of His Royal Highness! Hahahaha! Every pose imaginable, all with His Royal Highness’s face.”

Wei Wuxian remarked, “I’d really love to see what that looks like. Just this one talisman is fascinating enough; if I could witness the Cave of Ten Thousand Gods, hahahaha, it would surely be even more miraculous.”

The female cultivator glanced at Xie Lian and grumbled, “Even I haven’t seen it yet. I’ve asked several times, but His Royal Highness won’t take me. I asked Black Water, but he only said there are many statues and wouldn’t say another word. It’s made me incredibly curious, yet they won’t let me see it. Don’t you think that’s a bit much?”

Wei Wuxian asked, puzzled, “Who is Black Water?”

The white-clad cultivator flipped her hair cockily. “My cultivation partner, He Xuan, the Black Water Submerging Ships.”

Xie Lian gave a helpless smile and explained, “Black Water, like San Lang, is a Ghost King of the Ghost Realm.”

Wei Wuxian was shocked. “There are actually two Ghost Kings in the Ghost Realm? One mountain can truly hold two tigers?”

Xie Lian nodded with a smile. “Indeed. San Lang and Black Water are known to the world by the saying: On land, Crimson is King; in water, Black takes charge.”

Wei Wuxian sighed, “That is truly wonderful. If this were our cultivation world, it would be difficult. Never mind ‘two tigers in one mountain’—if even one person is exceptionally strong or different from the rest, the masses cannot tolerate them.”

Xie Lian had heard the storytellers in the tavern last time and understood what Wei Wuxian meant. He smiled and patted Wei Wuxian on the shoulder. “Master Wei might as well think of it this way: When Heaven is about to confer a great responsibility on a man, it first exercises his mind with suffering.”

Wei Wuxian laughed heartily. “Daozhang Xie, you are absolutely right. By the way, I haven’t asked yet—who might this female cultivator be?”

Shi Qingxuan flicked the whisk and said with a grin, “I am the Wind Master of the Celestial Realm, Shi Qingxuan.”

Wei Wuxian said, “So it is Lord Wind Master! I had no idea the Wind Master was a woman, and such a beautiful and moving one at that.”

Suddenly, Wei Wuxian felt a gust of cold wind brush past his back. It was strange; the sun was shining brightly, yet he felt a sudden chill.

Then, a cold, toneless voice rang out: “Qingxuan, change back.”

Wei Wuxian turned around to see two “Ghosts” one in red and one in black walking toward them with dark expressions. He assumed these must be the two Ghost Kings.

Shi Qingxuan exclaimed, “Black Water, you found us so quickly! Hahahaha!”

As those words were spoken in a male voice, Wei Wuxian turned his head. Where was the white-clad female cultivator? In her place stood a white-clad Daoist holding a folding fan.

Xie Lian said, “Master Wei, please don’t mind. Qingxuan is originally male; he simply enjoys dressing in a female form.”

For a moment, there was too much information for Wei Wuxian to fully digest. But that didn’t matter anymore. What mattered was that the Celestial Realm seemed like so much fun. He really wanted to go there.

Wei Wuxian thought to himself: When will Lan Zhan and I be able to visit the Celestial Realm?