Chapter 1065: Feng Ziyuan and Feng Ziying

In the Talisman Hall of the Tongyou Institution...

Shang Xia looked at Ren Huan eagerly as he asked, “How is it?”

Ren Huan stared at the beast skin that had been laid out and was several tens of feet wide. There was faint starlight flickering on its surface. An unsure expression could be seen on his face.

“So? How is it?” Shang Xia hesitated slightly and started to feel uneasy when he saw how silent Ren Huan was. “Can we not even make a single sheet of rank six talisman paper from this?”

Shaking his head, the unsure expression turned a little weird. “Hall Master, are you sure this... Are you sure this is the skin of the rank six Star Beast?”

“Absolutely.” Shang Xia replied with confidence. “Back then, the rank six Star Beast was smacked silly when I landed my hit. When we were transported to the nest, I killed it with a few more hits. However, before I could skin the beast, it started to transform and become some strange aerolite-like object. In the end, only this piece of skin was left after I shattered it. The crystal starlight bone was also produced...”

After he spoke, Shang Xia finally reacted. He glanced at Ren Huan and grumbled, “Damn! You actually thought I did something to it!”

Ren Huan waved his hands frantically and laughed, “Of course not! Hehe, it’s just...”

“What?” Shang Xia pressed.

Chuckling, Ren Huan continued, “Even though I didn’t see the rank six Star Beast, I've seen a rank five Star Beast. It’s at least 500 feet long and it has a massive body... How could the skin of the rank six Star Beast be so tiny?”

“How would I know?” Shang Xia snorted, “The rank six Star Beast was 800 feet long and even though it’s not too massive, after its death, its body was petrified. Its skin didn’t do the same and it shrunk into this...”

Ren Huan nodded and he glanced at the skin of the rank six Star Beast. Rubbing his chin, no one knew what he was thinking of.

Seeing him deep in contemplation, Shang Xia couldn’t help but speak again, “Hey, you said that the skin of a Star Beast is condensed from starlight in the vast sea of stars. It can be used as talisman paper without much processing. The skin of a rank six Star Beast is here! Take a look and see if you can make it into rank six talisman paper. You’ll be able to save a lot of trouble anyway.”

Raising his head slightly, Ren Huan glanced at Shang Xia. He eventually muttered, “It’s not impossible, but I’m afraid there is something else the skin of the rank six Star Beast can be used for.”

“It has other uses?” Shang Xia frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Let’s get the members of the Weapons Hall to take a look.” Ren Huan said after a short moment of contemplation.

Shang Xia shook his head instinctively. “Weapons Hall? What can they do? In our institution, the Talisman, Formation, Medicine, and Weapons Hall make up our foundations. The Weapons Hall is the worst among them and it has the weakest foundations. In all these years, the Weapons Hall only managed to maintain operations by crafting Embroidered Cloud Cases and Spatial Pouches. It’s hard for them to cover the cost of crafting a high-grade weapon...”

Pausing, Shang Xia sucked in a cold breath and seemed to realize something. He turned to Ren Huan and gasped, “Do you mean... Do you mean this beast skin can be used to make Spatial Pouches?”

Pressing his lips together, Ren Huan revealed a strange expression while mumbling, “The space contained in a Spatial Pouch made from this material might be even larger than before!”

Shang Xia stared at the piece of skin on the ground before turning to Ren Huan. “I don’t care what the members of the Weapons Hall say. At the very least, half of this needs to be used to make rank six talisman paper.”

“Even if we use half of this, we wouldn’t be able to produce many sheets of talisman paper. At best, we’ll be able to get 3 or 4 sheets...” Ren Huan sighed.

Shang Xia was stunned. “How can that be? Didn’t you say that the skin of the beast can be turned into rank six talisman paper? No matter what this piece of skin is at least 30 to 40 feet wide...”

Ren Huan explained, “It’s true that the beast skin is extremely special. If we had a proper method to craft rank six talisman paper, I wouldn’t need to process this much and would be able to produce ten or so sheets of rank six talisman paper by adding some additional material. However, we don’t have any...”

“So... We can only rely on the essence gathered in the skin of the beast then?” Shang Xia mumbled.

After working with Ren Huan for so long, even if Shang Xia didn’t know how to craft talisman paper, he was pretty knowledgeable when it came down to it.

Nodding, Ren Huan replied, “That’s right. It’s like refining metal. If we can’t add any additional material during the process, we can only temper the metal repeatedly! Even if it’s not the best quality, it should still be pretty good!”

Shang Xia looked at the beast skin and sighed unwillingly, “Alright then... I’ll hand this over to you. Do as you see fit.”

After he was done, he left without turning back.

He didn’t manage to get far when he was stopped by someone else.

“What?! The members of the Heavenly Star Palace want the bone that contains the essence of the rank six Star Beast?” Shang Xia sneered. It was as though he heard the greatest joke of his life and he snorted disdainfully, “Don’t even think about it! I won’t trade it with them no matter how many treasures they bring out. Do I look like I’m lacking in treasures?”

The deacon of the Outreach Division who came to convey the news smiled helplessly, “Hall Master Little Shang, I’m just a messenger sent by the deputy patriarch to relay the request of the Heavenly Star Palace. Don’t shoot the messenger!”

Shang Xia waved his hand to dismiss the deacon. However, he stopped the deacon before he could take 2 steps.

The deacon turned to stare at Shang Xia in confusion.

Coughing softly, Shang Xia muttered, “Tell the members of the Heavenly Star Palace that they can get their hands on it if they want to. It’s not difficult either. As long as they tell me exactly what they want to use it for, and if they trade a divine grade talisman brush for it, I’ll agree.”

The members of the Heavenly Star Palace weren’t fools who would overpay for the treasure. However, Shang Xia had no avenue to get his hands on a divine grade brush and he didn’t mind asking around.

Crafting any divine artifact was incomparably difficult to begin with. Even though the Spirit Luxuriant World had already entered the ranks of Spirit Worlds, the number of divine weapons they had was few. In fact, every one of them was basically at the level of an inheritance treasure of any faction.

Every single divine weapon was difficult to craft, and any faction that wanted to make one needed several years of accumulation in order to do so.

Without even taking anything else into account, looking at how Chu Jia was trying to craft the Formation Divine Weapon, one would understand how difficult it was. Even with the behemoth that was the Tongyou Institution fully supporting her, almost 4 years had passed since she started. Even so, the Formation Divine Weapon was nowhere near complete.

That was also why even if Shang Xia wanted to commission the Hundred Weapons Mill to craft a divine grade brush, they didn’t have much time or energy to spare.

“Looks like I have to head to the Starry Pavilion no matter what...” Shang Xia muttered to himself.

Actually, Shang Xia was also curious. He wanted to know what type of rank six talisman the Starry Pavilion wanted him to craft for them to be willing to pay such a huge price for it. Moreover, they were really trying to keep it a secret.

After greeting Kou Chongxue, Shang Xia left the Spirit Luxuriant World. He didn’t even use the spatial tunnel that connected the Three Unity Island to the Star Relay of the Star Origin City as he opened a spatial tunnel himself to descend into the wilderness in the Land of Star Origin.

Avoiding the patrols of the Star Origin Guards, Shang Xia entered the city after hiding his aura.

At that moment, the Spirit Luxuriant World’s position in Star Origin City had been solidified. As one of the great powers in the Spirit Luxuriant World, the Tongyou Institution had 2 True Immortals! Their reputation in the city was also among the top. Naturally, they had their own influence and businesses there.

However, there were too many people present. If Shang Xia appeared normally, the news of his arrival would quickly spread to the various powers that established themselves in the city.

Shang Xia didn’t wish for anyone to notice him as he concealed his aura the moment he entered the city. He casually looked for an inn and got a place to stay.

2 days later, a group of Star Origin Guards passed the inn he was staying in while patrolling the city.

Half a day later, Feng Ziying, a member of the fifth squad in the Fourth Camp of the Star Origin Guards, entered the inn without being noticed by anyone.

𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Knock... Knock... Knock...

As soon as the knocking faded, one of the doors opened.

Shang Xia looked at the person before him and muttered, “If I didn’t have a way to accurately determine your identity, I would never believe that you’re Huang Hu!”

Feng Ziying laughed and walked into the room. “It doesn’t matter if it’s Huang Yu or Feng Ziying. It’s just one of my many identities...”

Shang Xia closed the door before turning to the person who was already seated on the tablet, pouring himself a cup of tea. He gasped in shock, “Even now, I can’t tell how you managed to weasel your way into the Star Origin Guards!”

Feng Ziying chuckled in response, “Don’t hurt your brains if you can’t think of it. Why can’t you focus on your cultivation instead of thinking of this useless stuff?”

Seeing as he wasn’t willing to reveal his secrets, Shang Xia didn’t continue pressing deeper. Instead, he changed the topic. “How are things now? There isn’t anyone who suspects you, right? How’s that fellow, Luo Qi? He seems to be in a different squad from you.”

“Relax. Everything is normal at the moment. Fourth Camp Commander Feng Yiyuan has been in seclusion to prepare for her breakthrough into the Martial Void Realm. As of right now, Captain Qu of the second squad, the deputy camp commander, is running the show.” Feng Ziying explained.

“Oh? It’s her... Huh? She became a Camp Commander?” Shang Xia gasped.

He didn’t think that he would hear the name of someone he was familiar with from Feng Ziying. However, he quickly thought of something. “Feng Ziyuan, Feng Ziying... Wait! Your name wasn’t chosen randomly, right?!”

“Of course there is a real Feng Ziying out there. Whether there’s a connection between Feng Ziying and Feng Ziyuan... They can think whatever they want. Whatever it is, I didn’t say anything!” Feng Ziying laughed.

Shang Xia wondered what would happen when Feng Ziyuan left seclusion.

However, he had faith that Huang Yu... Or Feng Ziying, had a comprehensive plan and thought about it from all angles. He wouldn’t leave any big holes in his identity. In the end, he sighed, “You should be careful. As long as anything seems strange, you should prioritize protecting yourself.”

Feng Ziying chuckled under his breath and waved his hands casually, “You don’t have to worry about me. Anyway, is something the matter for you to come over here?! You’re acting so suspicious and you aren’t even willing to reveal your identity. If you don’t do anything, you might be able to hide from everyone. The moment you act, it would be difficult to hide your tracks from the Star Origin Guards.”

Shang Xia smiled in response. He told Feng Ziying about the invitation he received from the Starry Pavilion to craft rank six talismans before telling him about everything that happened in the Spirit Luxuriant World recently.

When he was done, he muttered, “Actually, the reason I’m looking for you is because I want to ask if you know anything about the talisman they need. There’s also the matter of looking for information about the True Immortals who left the Star Origin Guards. Can you find out where they went and what their cultivation realms are like? Also, which one of them are the most active or improved recently...”

Feng Ziying stared at him with a profound gaze and eventually mumbled, “Damn kid, you’re asking for too much!”

Shang Xia grinned in response. “That’s far from it. It’s just news regarding the True Immortals who left the Star Origin Guards. If you find it convenient, you can also pay attention to things related to the Superior Worlds and the Star Origin City Lord!”

Feng Ziying sucked in a cold breath in response, “Brat, you better not play with fire. Don’t tell me you think that the Starry Pavilion’s request to craft rank six talismans has anything to do with these. As for the Star Origin City Lord... That’s an existence who lived past 1000 years! He’s a supreme expert whose cultivation reached the Seventh Order of the Primary Realm!”