Wu Wang

Prince Xiao's mention of Master Chen was referring to Chen Shi's Grandpa.

Outside Mirror Lake Villa, Chen Shi had heard him call Grandpa "Master Chen."

Chen Shi quickly thanked Prince Xiao and asked in confusion, "Grandpa knows about these things too?"

Prince Xiao said calmly, "His learning might not compare to mine, but it's not far off. Of course, he understands."

Chen Shi was perplexed. He used to think Grandpa was just an ordinary Talisman Master, but the appearance of Granny Sha and Prince Xiao made him feel Grandpa wasn't so simple.

However, if Grandpa knew about these things, why didn't he teach him?

"Why were you out at night, and in such a state?" Prince Xiao asked.

Chen Shi recounted how the Zhao Family had sent people to ambush him, how he retaliated and killed them, and then infiltrated Huangyang Village to eliminate them completely. He said sheepishly, "I'm rather foolish. I felt that since Sanwang was dead, I had to kill that person for revenge. I ended up chasing them all the way here, which put me in danger."

"Zhao Ke Man Hu Ying, Wu Gou Shuang Xue Ming... Three cups of wine, and oaths weigh lighter than five mountains. You have quite the chivalrous spirit."

Prince Xiao showed a look of admiration and said, "Your cultivation technique transcends the mundane, far surpassing the Heavenly Heart Righteous Qi Art taught in the academies. The Heavenly Heart Righteous Qi Art is merely a shallow technique taught to scholars. Its greatest use is to nourish qi, establish a foundation, refine a shrine, condense the Heavenly Heart, and receive blessings from a True God beyond the heavens, descending a Divine Embryo. But your technique is different; it refines qi, body, and spirit, strengthening the self. Even I have rarely seen a technique that can compare. Your technique... did you obtain it from the True King's Tomb?"

His gaze was sharp as it fell upon Chen Shi's face, looking directly into his eyes as if he could penetrate Chen Shi's soul and discern the truth of his words.

Chen Shi replied frankly, "I obtained this cultivation technique in the True King's Tomb, but Uncle Sheep Horn stopped me from proceeding further to get the complete manual. If you think it's good, Senior, I can write it down for you."

Prince Xiao was taken aback. "Write a copy for me? What do you want in return?"

Chen Shi shook his head. "You are Grandpa's friend, and you just advised me without asking for anything in return. I don't have anything valuable to give you. Since you like it, I'll give it to you. I don't want anything in exchange."

Prince Xiao gazed into his eyes, as if trying to determine if he was sincere or feigning.

After a moment, Prince Xiao shook his head. "I don't want your cultivation technique. While your technique is good, I've seen several techniques of similar caliber. Moreover, my cultivation realm is already high; it would be more trouble than it's worth to switch to someone else's technique. However..."

He paused and smiled. "You are quite interesting. The roads are treacherous at night, and malevolent spirits roam. With your strength, you wouldn't have survived to reach the village. I have matters to attend to tonight and cannot escort you back immediately. Once I've finished, I'll have time. If you can wait, I'll take you back. Can you wait?"

Chen Shi got into the carriage and smiled, "I can wait."

He looked around. In the darkness, green glowing spots and red lanterns were everywhere – the eyes of malevolent spirits and evil things, all waiting for him to be alone.

If he had tried to return alone, even if he knew the way, he would likely have been devoured by these evil spirits before long!

He was curious. Why was Prince Xiao out on business at such a dangerous hour of the night?

The coachman flicked his long whip, which cracked in the air with a sound that echoed through the valley.

The four horses perked up, pulling the carriage. The wheels seemed to generate clouds, lifting the carriage a few inches off the ground, allowing them to avoid rocks.

As the four horses began to move, they seemed to have the wind beneath their hooves, moving with remarkable speed and lightness.

Chen Shi observed that the horses' legs were not bound with Jia Ma Talismans, yet they could tread on the wind. It was peculiar, suggesting they were not ordinary horses but some kind of exotic breed.

"Ah, Jia Ma Talismans are meant to mimic a horse's gait, enhanced by the Six Ding and Six Jia wind and cloud patterns. These horses possess the bloodline of divine beasts, so of course they run fast," Chen Shi thought.

Silence filled the carriage, broken only by the rumble of the wheels and the clatter of hooves.

After a while, Prince Xiao said, "Your cultivation technique is good, your character is also good, and what's more, your innate talent is high. Even if your Divine Embryo were severed, you would surely achieve great things in the future."

"Really?" Chen Shi's eyes lit up.

Prince Xiao said calmly, "Why would I lie to you?"

Chen Shi was immensely excited. He desperately needed encouragement.

Since waking from his slumber, he had been fumbling in the dark, figuring out how to cultivate, how to preserve his true qi, how to stop being a cripple, and how to rebuild his shrine. Yet, he had no friends. The Black Pot couldn't speak, Grandpa offered no encouragement, his Godmother was like a stone, and Scholar Zhu only knew how to utter "yes" and "no."

He could only ponder and experiment alone.

If he failed, he would die alone in the wilderness, and no one would know.

But Chen Shi was willing to take that risk!

He wanted to become strong, he didn't want to be a cripple his entire life, and he wanted to provide his Grandpa with a stable and prosperous old age!

Having been unrecognized before, now receiving Prince Xiao's acknowledgment, the joy in his heart was immeasurable.

The carriage traveled through the night on a silent post road, flanked by ancient trees whose shadows, illuminated by the moonlight, were mottled and resembled the claws of monsters.

Prince Xiao looked at the moonlit scenery and said unhurriedly, "There was once a person whose talent was not very high. He only reached Foundation Establishment at the age of twelve, and only completed it at fifteen. Normally, Foundation Establishment takes a hundred days; cultivators can enter the next realm within a hundred days, but he needed three to four years, which shows how poor his aptitude was. Later, he painstakingly passed the scholar's exam and received a divine gift, allowing him to cultivate a Divine Embryo. However, Divine Embryos are also graded, and his happened to be the lowest grade, called an Illusory Embryo, meaning it was like a dream or a bubble. Do you think such a foolish person could achieve great things?"

Chen Shi shook his head.

A Divine Embryo represented the True God's recognition of a cultivator's aptitude and talent. The lower the grade of the Divine Embryo, the lower the cultivator's aptitude and talent.

The lowest grade, the Illusory Embryo, indicated how poor his aptitude was, only slightly better than that of an ordinary person.

Prince Xiao continued, "This person had a stubborn temper, was very resolute and persistent, believing he wouldn't waste his life. His classmates and peers had already cultivated to the Nascent Soul stage, reaching the Golden Core Realm and Nascent Soul Realm, while he was still in the Divine Embryo Realm. Yet, he didn't give up. He repeatedly refined his Divine Embryo and practiced the fundamentals. Ten years later, he entered the Nascent Soul stage and formed his Golden Core. At this point, his old acquaintances were already powerful cultivators in the Spirit Refining stage, and the gap between them widened. But in the next ten years, this slow learner finally caught up to his acquaintances. Ten years after that, he accumulated his strength and surpassed them, becoming renowned throughout the world with his nearly invincible magical power, astonishing everyone."

He paused and continued, "His Illusory Embryo was almost nonexistent, yet he achieved great things through his perseverance and unwavering dedication. If he could do it, you can too."

Chen Shi's spirits soared, and he looked at Prince Xiao with hopeful admiration. "Senior, is the person you're talking about... yourself?"

Prince Xiao shook his head, his expression proud. "I started practicing martial arts from a young age. I formed my embryo at nine and obtained one of the most powerful Divine Embryos. I was famous throughout the world in my youth. How could I be as foolish as that?"

Chen Shi was stunned and stammered, "Then who is this person...?"

"This foolish person's surname is Chen, his name is Yindu. He is your Grandpa," Prince Xiao said calmly.

Chen Shi was utterly astonished. Grandpa was really that formidable?

He hadn't interacted much with Prince Xiao, but he could tell Prince Xiao possessed pride and integrity. To earn his praise, one had to be exceptionally outstanding.

Being praised for nearly invincible magic by someone like Prince Xiao meant their magic truly was invincible!

But Grandpa looked like an old man on his last legs, his greatest skill being drawing talismans, which was how he supported the family.

How could he possess nearly invincible magic?

How many more things did Grandpa keep hidden from him?

"No matter how things were back then, Grandpa is old now."

Chen Shi sighed dejectedly, thinking to himself, "He's old. Even if he was powerful in his youth, he's just an old man on his last legs now. He hasn't even been eating properly lately. He needs someone to take care of him."

The carriage entered the foothills. The road ahead gradually became rough and difficult to traverse, yet the four fine horses still moved as if on level ground.

After an unknown amount of time, the carriage arrived at the foot of a mountain. There was actually a city here, brightly lit in the dead of night.

Chen Shi was utterly astonished. He was a local of Ganyang Mountain, and he had traveled all over with Grandpa. When had Ganyang Mountain ever had a city?

When did a city appear in the mountains?

The carriage drove into this strange city. The city walls were very high, their surfaces incredibly smooth. The watchtowers were even higher. The characters "Wu Wang" were written on the city gate.

Sitting in the carriage, Chen Shi looked to both sides. He saw grotesque monsters with green faces and fangs standing along the road, their expressions ferocious, holding weapons like axes and forks.

His heart skipped a beat. He looked again at the residents coming and going in the city. Most of them had rotten intestines and were missing limbs, most of them already dead.

Occasionally, there were complete individuals, but it was impossible to tell if they were alive or dead.

"Is this a city in the Underworld?"

He felt a chill run down his spine.

He looked around. This place was filled with bright lights and revelry, with laughter and joy constantly echoing. It was nothing like the Underworld he had visited.

Chen Shi had died once and visited the Underworld. It was a place of pervasive gloom, where people walked like zombies through the mist, becoming food for unknown beings hidden within it.

But here, it was like a city of joy, free from the disturbances of the living world and the dangers of the Underworld. The monsters here seemed quite happy.

"This place is called Wu Wang. Wu Wang means that the path of evil is not practiced, and deception is not dared. In this city, no one is allowed to lie."

Prince Xiao said, "The reason I'm meeting you here is because of this. The person coming is skilled at lying. If she weren't here, I wouldn't believe a single word she said. Also, you can't lie here. If you lie, your tongue will be pulled out."

Chen Shi blinked. He couldn't lie here?

"Everyone in the village calls me Little Chen Shi. I never lie. If I come to this city of Wu Wang, I'll be right at home."

Even so, Chen Shi still didn't dare to say it out loud, only thinking it in his mind at most.

Because the moment he thought this, he felt a strange force tugging at his tongue!

Fortunately, he only thought it. If he had spoken it aloud, his tongue would likely have been lost.

"I absolutely did not develop feelings for that young lady!" someone by the roadside shouted.

Chen Shi looked in the direction of the voice. It was a couple arguing. The husband had just said this when, involuntarily, his mouth opened, and with a pop, his tongue flew out and landed on the ground.

A dog darted out and snatched the wriggling tongue from the ground.

Chen Shi shivered, but he saw the onlookers around them all burst into laughter.

He noticed that many of them also had no tongues in their mouths.

"Their tongues were pulled out because they lied."

Chen Shi shivered again. This city truly didn't allow lying!

"This city is specifically designed for honest people like me!" he thought to himself.

The carriage carried them to a restaurant and stopped. A waiter quickly came out to help park the carriage in the backyard.

Prince Xiao got out of the carriage and, led by the waiter, arrived at a private room on the second floor, by the window.

Chen Shi observed carefully. The waiter was no ordinary person either; he actually had four arms, each holding a tray, diligently serving the guests.

"Do you have any tea that nourishes the mind? I need to entertain a guest," Prince Xiao asked.

"Replying to Master Xiao, we recently received some raw Pu-erh from Lingnan. Our establishment killed the merchants from Lingnan to get it, and the taste is exquisite. Would you like to try some?"

Prince Xiao nodded gently and waved his hand.

The waiter immediately went to brew the tea.

When the tea was served, Prince Xiao placed a ten-tael silver ingot on the table. Chen Shi found the silver ingot somewhat familiar.

Prince Xiao said, "I picked it up on the road. I don't know who left it in the middle of the post road."

Chen Shi felt wronged but said nothing.

The waiter took the silver and became even more attentive, offering plates of dried fruits and jerky.

Prince Xiao drank his tea, set down the cup, and said softly, "They're here."

Chen Shi looked down and saw a thin, tall monster carrying a green lantern walking towards the teahouse in the city. The monster was about seven feet tall, emaciated, and hunched over, looking starved.

Beneath the lantern, a woman dressed in red, wearing a rain hat and a veil, walked within the lamplight.

The lantern was held high. It was hollow, and a beam of light shone from the opening below, forming a circular patch of light about ten feet in diameter on the ground.

The woman in red and the black rain hat walked within the patch of light, behaving herself.

Her figure was graceful and alluring, especially her slender waist, which seemed to fit perfectly in one hand.

Chen Shi couldn't help but steal a few more glances.

As the woman entered the tea house, the sound of footsteps echoed from the stairs. Then, the woman in red came into view. Her gaze, beneath the veil, swept lightly before turning towards Chen Shi.

Her waist was soft and slender, her hips full. She tilted slightly to one side and gracefully took a seat, removing her rain hat and veil to reveal a pretty face.

She glanced at Chen Shi and let out a chuckle, full of charm.

"Little brother, do you think big sister is pretty? Do you want to sleep with big sister?"

--Thanks to Muggle1 for the Alliance Leader support, what a generous boss!