Chapter 1808: Rank Seven Myriad Tinted Cloud Talisman Pt.3

Due to his failure in crafting the rank seven Myriad Tinted Cloud Talisman, Shang Xia unintentionally entered a rare state of enlightenment during the process of reviewing his attempt, and in doing so, inadvertently created a priceless opportunity for most of the Talisman Masters in the Talisman Hall.

After the mist of radiant haze dissipated and the hall reappeared in the institution, those Talisman Masters who had regained consciousness entered secluded cultivation again after a brief recovery, hoping to absorb the insights they had gained from the event.

It was expected that once these Talisman Masters emerged from seclusion, the overall strength of the Talisman Hall would undergo a significant collective rise, with several new additions among Talisman Grandmasters.

However, the potential changes in the Talisman Hall didn’t affect Shang Xia much. After his enlightenment, while he had gained some confidence in successfully recreating the rank seven Myriad Tinted Cloud Talisman, he still needed a few days to adjust his condition.

Several days later, after restoring himself to peak form, Shang Xia resumed his attempt to craft the talisman.

This time, the process began with remarkable smoothness. He swiftly completed the first third of the talisman, and with better results than his previous attempt.

After finishing the first third, his crafting speed slowed noticeably, not due to any obstacles but because he was deliberately pacing himself to allow more reaction time in case of any issues.

After all, crafting talismans required continuous momentum. Any pause between rune transitions or a delay at critical nodes, could cause the entire process to collapse.

At this stage, Shang Xia's success depended not only on his deep mastery of talisman crafting but also on how well he had prepared... Of course, and a touch of luck.

The process went relatively smoothly. He passed the halfway mark of crafting the talisman, though the difficulty spiked and his pace slowed further.

This was partly because the latter sections were always more challenging in pre-crafting calculations. Moreover, as the talisman neared completion, the complexity of interlinked rune patterns made the task increasingly precarious. A single mistake could throw the entire structure out of balance.

Fortunately, the enlightenment had sharpened Shang Xia’s control. Though he narrowly avoided several mistakes during rune transitions and at key nodes, he relied on his intuition and pure skill to correct them, pushing the completion rate past the three-quarters mark.

But as the talisman reached 80% completion, even at his cultivation level that was reaching the mid-level Seven Star Realm, Shang Xia began to feel waves of mental exhaustion. Beads of sweat gathered on his forehead.

His strokes slowed even more. The Holy Artifact-level brush in his hand felt increasingly heavy, causing his wrist to tremble with each new stroke. It was a clear sign he was nearing his limit.

At that point, his second attempt had taken over 20 days.

He completed the first third in 4 days, a day faster than his first attempt thanks to prior experience. The halfway point came 3.5 days later. Reaching two-thirds took another 6 days, bringing the total to 13 days. Getting past 80% cost him 7 to 8 days.

20 days of intense concentration had drained his mental energy. Though his inner qi was barely depleted, his spirit was worn thin, causing his control over his energy and brush to decline sharply. Mistakes became frequent, and he was barely hanging on.

When the talisman reached nearly 90% completion, he could no longer hold it together. Tiny imperfections from earlier stages unraveled all at once, and the talisman collapsed in an explosion of radiant mist, this time even more violent than before.

Perhaps because it was near completion, the resulting mist was almost tangible. The protective formation of the Talisman Pagoda’s top floor buckled under the pressure.

Fortunately, Shang Xia had anticipated his failure. Sensing the destructive force building, he immediately acted.

With his inner qi surging out in a massive tide, flooding the top floor in starlight, he suppressed the spreading mist forcefully.

Then he snapped his fingers. A spark of Star Fire ignited at his fingertip, and the lingering mist surged toward it like moths to flame, burning away completely.

Only when the danger had fully passed did Shang Xia finally let out a deep breath. Exhaustion swept over him like a tide, and all he wanted was to sleep for 3 days straight.

This fatigue wasn’t physical. It was all in the soul.

𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Rather than resist it, Shang Xia simply curled up in a corner and fell into a deep sleep like an ordinary mortal, despite being a formidable Sage.

Yet just before his consciousness faded, his intuition whispered a quiet certainty to him.

His next attempt would succeed.

When Shang Xia woke up, more than 3 days had passed. 7 whole days had come and gone.

The second he opened his eyes, he felt better than he ever had before.

After a brief adjustment, he didn’t bother with elaborate preparations. He went straight to the table. He grabbed the last piece of rank seven talisman paper, dipped his brush in talisman ink, ran it across the inkstone, and began the crafting process without hesitation.

When the talisman reached one-third completion, 3.5 days had passed, yet compared to the previous attempts, Shang Xia’s condition remained stable. His mental state showed almost no fatigue.

When he crossed the halfway point, only 3 more days had passed. He still felt perfectly alright and the rest of the process flowed smoothly past the two-thirds mark, then three-quarters, and finally approached the 90% mark. At that point, Shang Xia finally felt the strain. However, it was no longer enough to stop him from completing the final strokes.