Chapter 382: Chapter 263: Lord Cui’s Gift!
“Was it you who dealt with the Li Clan?”
“Would Minister Wang believe me if I claimed it was an accident?”
Wang Hou did not give a direct reply, but his smile gave him away.
Xu Yang could only insist: “It really was an accident… Alas, Li Yifeng was just unlucky!”
Wang Hou then said: “If he’s killed, so be it. I’ve long wanted to act against those ancient martial clans but being a government official, I couldn’t openly act against them. Even after ascending to Land Immortal, all I did was give them some warning shots.”
After glancing at Xu Yang, he paused and continued: “However, you should be careful. The Li Clan has swallowed their pride this time, only to strike back more fiercely next time. Once their ancient ancestor comes out of seclusion, they will surely make a move against us.”
“When the soldiers come, let the general handle them. When the water comes, let’s divert it. Don’t we still have you, Minister Wang?”
Xu Yang laughed.
There was something he didn’t say.
I’m not your puppet!
If you want to mess with me, you’d better have the strength!
Seeing Xu Yang took it lightly, Wang Hou added: “When the time comes, I may not be able to protect myself. I’m afraid I’ll have to kill a few Land Immortals and Divine Masters to warn them… By then, you will have to rely on yourself… Remember, reaching the Divine Transcendence Realm is only the beginning of your Daoist cultivation. You must take steady steps. The more divine powers you cultivate, the stronger your divine power Golden Elixir will be!”
“Oh?”
Xu Yang’s eyes flickered. In the Divine Ascension Scripture, there were Daoist talismans, cultivation secrets, a variety of Daoist skills, and even three types of divine powers recorded, but it didn’t mention that the more divine powers you cultivate, the stronger your divine power Golden Elixir will be.
On careful thought, it seemed reasonable.
This was part of cultivation common sense.
Usually, it would be passed down through masters and their disciples as an experience sharing.
But Xu Yang had been learning by himself since he started cultivating, all through his own efforts. Who was there to guide him?
He immediately took the opportunity to learn.
Wang Hou stated: “The divine powers of Daoism are either gifted by heaven or cultivated from oneself. A cultivator who has condensed a Golden Elixir with just one divine power wouldn’t be match for another at the same realm who has practiced two divine powers 90% of the time!”
“If there is a Golden Elixir cultivator who has gathered three divine powers, it would definitely be a one-sided battle.”
“However, the cultivation method of divine powers is a secret technique that cannot be shared with outsiders in any Daoist sect, and our Supernatural Affairs Bureau has only collected one in these years.”
After a pause, Wang Hou lowered his voice and said: “You could visit the Zongsheng Palace and find Grandmaster Chengming for a possible surprise.”
After some chatting,
Wang Hou received a phone call and hastily left.
Xu Yang was thoughtful.
“The more divine powers I practice, the stronger the divine power Golden Elixir I can condense, elevating my future potential and strength?”
He scanned the system board.
“I was planning to earn more merit points to quickly advance to the middle stage of the Divine Transcendence Realm… It seems there’s no hurry now. I’ve only cultivated five divine powers and it’s better to practice more before breaking through.”
Xu Yang took out the jade amulet that Wang Hou gave him.
He wanted to look up the talisman patterns online, but there was no record of “talisman patterns” on the internet.
When he got home,
Xu Yang called all his wives together. Surprisingly, the Yue sisters and Yun Mengxi had all learned talisman script.
“You’re not Daoist cultivators, yet you know talisman script?”
Yun Mengxi said proudly: “We, from the mysterious arts community, are all widely knowledgeable. Does it surprise you that we know a bit of talisman script?”
“It makes sense, indeed!”
Xu Yang nodded, but inwardly he complained…
Widely knowledgeable?
Isn’t it more like they were learning random things?
He promptly took out the jade amulet and asked Yun Mengxi, Yue Qiluo, and Yue Yuluo to help him translate.
The three women huddled together, chattering amongst themselves.
Yun Mengxi even grabbed some paper and began doodling on it.
After about two hours, they finally finished. Yun Mengxi handed Xu Yang the paper, saying, “Master, there are some talisman scripts that we don’t recognize. You see, this is what we managed to translate.”
Xu Yang took the paper, only to find it marked up with a bunch of ‘OOXX.’ Shocked, he asked, “What does this circle mean?”
Yun Mengxi blushed, saying, “Some of the talisman scripts had different interpretations from us three, so we used ‘OO’ to indicate those.”
“And the X?”
“The X indicates the ones that none of us recognized…”
Darn it!
Xu Yang’s face fell. The ‘OOXX’ occupied more than a third of the translated text… Who would dare to practice this now?
Seeing Xu Yang’s reaction, Liu Shishi couldn’t help but chuckle, saying, “When it comes to divine power secrets, even a slight mistake can lead to a grave error. If you practice something incorrectly, the consequences will be unpredictable. It’s better for you to find someone who is proficient in talisman script to translate it again.”
There was no other choice.
But who should he turn to?
Master Luan from the Maoshan Sect?
“No, I can’t!”
“If I go find Master Luan, people will know that I don’t understand talisman script… Wait a minute!”
“I should find Lord Cui!”
With a flash of inspiration, Xu Yang laughed immediately. “Ladies, I need to go out for a bit and find someone to help translate the divine power secret.”
Liu Shishi asked, “Dear, are we having dinner at home or eating out tonight?”
“I’ll eat outside.”
Xu Yang said, “Don’t wait for me.”
He stepped out of the villa and hit the streets.
He chose a restaurant with a pleasant ambiance, reserved a private room, and ordered a full table of dishes, including a few bottles of fine wine.
Before long.
The waiter knocked and asked, “Sir, your order will be ready soon. Shall we serve now?”
“Sure.”
Xu Yang nodded.
When the waiter left the room, he took out the token Lord Cui had given him, rubbed it in his hand, and said, “Come out… my brother, Lord Cui!”
Bang!
The jade token exploded into a rolling black mist.
Lord Cui, with disheveled clothes and traces of rouge on his face, cursed, “Xu Yang, could you give me a heads up next time you call me? And… when you call me, just rubbing the token will do. No need to shout. It sounds weird!”
Xu Yang chuckled to himself.
He hadn’t expected…
That a big shot like Lord Cui from a legend would personally… do that thing?
But this is just one of his avatars…
Can avatars do that too?
“Please calm down, Brother Cui.”
Xu Yang raised his cup and said, “I didn’t think it through… how about I punish myself with three cups?”
He raised his cup, drank three times, and filled Lord Cui’s cup.
However, Lord Cui looked at Xu Yang suspiciously and said, “Wait… don’t drink yet. I feel like you have some ulterior motive for calling me here this time?”
“Is it wrong to invite Brother Cui for food and drink and to strengthen our bond after such a long separation?”
Xu Yang looking sincere.
At this moment, the waiter served their ordered dishes.
A table full of popular dishes from the restaurant.
Especially the Australian Dragon and Emperor Crab in the center of the table. These were definitely high-end ingredients in Wu City.
Seeing the table full of food and wine, Lord Cui’s expression softened considerably.
The delicacies of the human world are always so tempting.
Lord Cui picked up his chopsticks and began to eat heartily.
He clinked cups with Xu Yang and laughed, “Thank you, Brother Xu, for your hospitality. You are right… we brothers need to catch up more often.”
Xu Yang then got straight to the point, casually chatting with Lord Cui.
Of course.
He was careful not to go overboard.
Xu Yang knew that Lord Cui condescended to hail him as a brother, even “at his beck and call”, due to his “ability”, not his strength.
When it comes to power.
Respecting the mighty is a must.
As for Lord Cui, he mentioned “weapons”.
He said, “After your advice, Brother Xu, I found an old soldier in my territory of Fengdu City. With his guidance, we’ve greatly enhanced our new weapon underworld squad members’ combat effectiveness, making them cooperate more seamlessly.”
He paused and picked up his cup to ask, “Brother Xu, I heard from the soldier king that in addition to these conventional tech weapons, the human world today has a lot of terrifying weapons… like the Little Boy, Dongfeng Express etc. Can I get more of those?”
“Brother Cui!”
Xu Yang looked troubled, and replied, “Given you have old soldiers like him, you should know how difficult it is for an ordinary person like me to obtain these weapons!”
“Especially nuclear weapons.”
“Such a thing is only developed by a few countries and regions around the world… let alone, even if I manage to get hold of it, I can’t burn it!”
Bang!
Xu Yang made a gesture and said, “If I try to burn it, it’ll explode, and I’ll be gone. How can I burn it for you?”
“Well…”
Lord Cui said, “If that’s the case, no need to force it.”
He did not know that the “weapons” Xu Yang burned were all toy models.
Xu Yang then said, “But don’t worry, Brother Cui. I’m figuring out a solution for this problem. I’ll get some more weapons and burn them for you first. This time I’ll burn more cannons for you. They’re sure to be awfully powerful!”
Seeing Lord Cui’s eyes light up, Xu Yang finally took out the jade talisman and said, “Right, Brother Cui… I need a small favor.”
“Inside this jade slip contains a water-based divine power. But I’m not that adept in interpreting talisman texts, and I’m afraid of making an error in my practice… could you help me clear up any confusion?”
“Piece of cake!”
Lord Cui took the jade slip, scanned it with his divine sense, and said, “Dark Emperor’s Water Fist? Quite a pompous name, but in reality, it’s just a minor divine power. It’s not nearly as significant as your Daoist Sect’s 36 Malevolent-Deity Skills or 72 Earth Devils Skill. Are you sure you want to practice such a weak divine power, little brother?”
Xu Yang heard this for the first time, “Are there different levels of divine power too?”
“Of course.”
Lord Cui said, “Your Daoist Sect has 36 Malevolent-Deity Skills and 72 Earth Devils Skill. These can be rated as major divine powers, while the Dark Emperor’s Water Fist is minor… Luckily though, minor divine powers are not necessarily weaker, and some combined divine powers are even more powerful.”
Before Xu Yang could say anything, Lord Cui added, “I remember Fengdu City has the practices of all 108 Daoist divine powers, including a few combination methods… When you visit the Underworld Palace next, I’ll copy these methods for you!”