Chapter 1697: Advancement and ADvancement

"You mean this thing can be useful?" Chu Jia, somewhat amused, pulled out a jade carving knife from her pouch and tossed it to Shang Xia. "Hey, you know that this is a Formation Blade, right? It’s definitely good enough to be used to carve and modify formations, but the runes used for formations and talismans are 2 different things. Are you sure you can use it to carve out your talisman runes?”

Shang Xia smiled. "How can we know without trying?"

Chu Jia shook her head and sighed, "I think you've gone mad."

"Don’t forget," Shang Xia smiled, "what I'm trying to recombine this time are the 7 Variant Talisman runes. Well... They’re basically Formation Talisman Runes. They are more complex and strange because they can bring out the properties of high-level talismans...”

Chu Jia acknowledged but continued, "I know that, but the essence of Formation Talismans isn’t to set up fixed formations. They’re meant to help construct high-level formations or even battle formations...”

Shang Xia chuckled, then suddenly asked, "How do you know these Formation Talismans can’t be used to set up fixed formations? Have you tried?"

Caught off guard, Chu Jia responded instinctively, "Isn’t that the case?"

"Why not try and see? Don't forget we have someone who just returned from the Star Origin Dao Field. He’s even a Deputy Camp Commander. He’s very familiar with their battle formations.” Shang Xia said.

Naturally, he was talking about Feng Ziying, who was also known in the Spirit Luxuriant World as Youshang, or even Huang Yu.

However, since returning to Tongyou City, that asshole had been keeping a low profile, enjoying his time with Wei Qiongyi.

Curiously, he had not reverted to his real identity and continued using his aliases. He didn’t even insist that his child take on his real family name.

When they called for him, he was somewhat reluctant to meet Shang Xia and Chu Jia. However, once Chu Jia told him what they were planning to do, he cooperated fully.

After revealing everything he knew about the Star Origin Dao Field’s battle formations and assisting in a few trials, he excused himself and left, leaving Shang Xia and Chu Jia to continue working on the Variant Talisman runes.

However, it wasn't long before the surging aura and celestial phenomena from the world forced them to pause their work.

"Is someone really attempting to enter the Martial Void Realm?" Chu Jia, standing at the threshold of the Martial Void Realm herself and very sensitive to such attempts, almost immediately made the judgment.

Yet, she was puzzled as to why someone would choose such a risky time to attempt breaking through to the Martial Void Realm.

It was clearly best to wait until their world completed its ascension, which would make it the safest time to make the attempt.

Chu Jia's confusion didn’t last long before she noticed Shang Xia’s expression looking unusually ugly.

"It's Yuanyuan!" Before Chu Jia could decide whether to ask, Shang Xia gave her the answer.

Chu Jia was initially startled, then realized that Shang Xia's displeasure was likely not just because Hai Yuanyuan was attempting to break through without his consent.

Simply put, with so many Martial Dipper Realm experts ready to break through, why should one of the only 2 opportunities at the moment be left for her?

Although everyone understood that once their world completed its transformation, they would be able to support a lot more True Immortals and everyone who have an opportunity to break through, making it only a matter of time, but who could guarantee that the world would succeed in its ascension?

What if it all fell through in the end?

Ultimately, everyone would inevitably attribute the reason to Hai Yuanyuan's relationship with Shang Xia, as she had easy access to resources because of him, the esteemed Sage.

After a moment, Chu Jia said, "Well, it doesn’t matter, Yuanyuan was able to anchor her soul in the Ji Continent successfully. She definitely received Patriarch Kou’s permission.”

Shang Xia shook his head, "I can’t understand why he would agree to it."

"Why not ask him yourself?" Chu Jia suggested.

"I already have!" Shang Xia’s reply surprised Chu Jia, as she hadn’t noticed him taking any action.

The actions of a Sage were beyond her understanding as someone who had not yet advanced to the Martial Void Realm.

However, as soon as Shang Xia finished speaking, his expression darkened even more.

"What’s wrong?" This was the first time Chu Jia had seen such an unpleasant expression on Shang Xia’s face.

Shang Xia said gravely, "To ensure she could ascend successfully, Patriarch Kou even decided to give her 1 of the only 3 Starry Fruits!"

Chu Jia paused for a moment, then calmly said, "It seems Patriarch Kou really values her..."

Shang Xia sighed, his initially slightly angry expression calming down as he realized that dwelling on the issue was pointless.

Chu Jia glanced at him and changed the subject, "Has her situation stabilized?"

Shang Xia nodded. "Everything is going smoothly so far. Her soul is anchored in the Ji Continent, and although her cultivation is not yet stable, she has stepped into the Martial Void Realm.”

Chu Jia heaved a sigh of relief. "That’s good. No matter what, our institution now has another True Immortal, and we grew stronger again.”

Shang Xia’s gaze flickered, and he was clearly not as calm as he appeared.

But ultimately, he said nothing more and turned his attention back to the fixed formation they were testing out with the runes.

On the ground where they were standing, 7 large stone slabs, each 3 meters in length and width and smelted from the cores of meteorites, each bore a complete set of Variant Formation Talisman runes carved by Chu Jia with her Formation Blade.

"This method clearly isn’t working!" Chu Jia arranged slabs according to Shang Xia’s calculations, but the expected transformation did not occur.

Shang Xia looked at the slabs with a perplexed gaze and asked, "What do you think is the reason?"

Chu Jia responded without hesitation, "There are 2 of them! First, the Star Robes are worn on the body, forming a formation that is constantly changing. We’re trying to lay down a fixed formation that acts as a talisman... Secondly, those who wear the robes are constantly using their inner qi, which these 7 stone slabs can’t do.”

Shang Xia thought for a moment, then walked to the center of the slabs. He released his inner qi and instantly connected to the runes. Intense starlight began to swell, and Shang Xia’s aura also surged momentarily. Even Chu Jia, despite his protective efforts, found breathing difficult for a moment.

However, that strange state did not last long. As his Big Dipper Star Origin’s qi started to weaken, those slabs couldn’t withstand the energy he provided and crumbled. His expanding aura receded until he reined in all the energy around, returning to his state of calm.

Only then did Chu Jia finally breathe a sigh of relief. Patting her chest, she muttered, "What was that just now?"

"That was enhancement with the Power of the Stars! My cultivation actually showed signs of reaching the peak of the first star of the Seven Star Realm!” Shang Xia’s mood finally lifted, showing signs of encouragement.

"So, this idea is actually feasible, it’s just a pity..." Chu Jia looked at the completely shattered stone slabs. "The quality of these slabs wasn’t sufficient to sustain such a formation?"

"Then let’s use better quality materials, and this time, let’s not separate them into 7 slabs but try to concentrate the runes on a single one.” Shang Xia said with determination.

Chu Jia knew Shang Xia was preparing for a recombination of the Variant Formation Talisman runes on the Star Origin Lord Robe, but as a Formation Grandmaster, she naturally had to consider the feasibility of using it for a purely fixed formation.

"So, there’s still one problem, the energy replenishment needed when the formation is operating. If it’s the Star Origin Lord Robe, that’s fine, since it’s worn on a cultivators who can continuously replenish it with their own inner qi. However, a fixed large-scale formation can’t rely on someone’s inner qi forever." she pointed out.

Shang Xia, however, already formed a plan. "This problem might be solved by the Star Observatory!"

Seeing Chu Jia’s puzzled expression, Shang Xia pointed to the carved runes on the shattered slabs and muttered, "Starlight Essence!"

Chu Jia’s eyes lit up before she started laughing, "Indeed, it’s feasible! But if it really works, would you say I’ve worked on a rank seven formation and can be considered a rank seven Formation Grandmaster?”

Shang Xia thought about it and smiled. "Although that’s a stretch... If they don't know the whole truth, you can actually deceive them.”

With their direction adjusted and seeing a glimpse of success, they quickly immersed themselves back into the improvement and recombination of the Variant Formation Talisman runes.

Time quickly passed until they received a piece of news that shocked Shang Xia.

Hai Yuanyuan had secretly followed Zhu Nang and left the Heaven Observation Field!