Chapter 1971: Meeting Gong Zhuo Again

Shang Xia had not felt that state of inspiration, where ideas flowed effortlessly and the brush moved like there was divine intervention, for a very long time in his talisman crafting. He suspected that the significant drop in such moments was likely connected to the severance of his karmic bonds with the Essence Luxuriant World.

Even so, with his deep mastery of talisman crafting as a foundation, he still achieved a 60 percent success rate in this round of rank seven talisman production. From 20 sheets and plaques, he crafted 12 talismans.

Those twelve talismans might not seem like much when wielded by Shang Xia in his current state, but in the hands of other cultivators of the institution, each one could very well serve as a life-saving charm or turn the situation on its head completely.

When Shang Xia completed the crafting and lifted the temporary restrictions on his dwelling, he sent word back to the institution. Ren Huan arrived almost immediately upon receiving the message.

Seeing him, Shang Xia couldn’t help but smile. "Why the rush? I had planned to take some time to organize my notes on this round of crafting. But now that you've arrived so quickly, I can only hand over some rough scribbles."

Ren Huan replied, "Just let the experts at the Talisman Hall sort those out. They’d be more than happy to. Besides, you can’t be expected to pave the way for all of them. You've already done more than enough."

Ren Huan’s response was somewhat unexpected, but his hurried arrival clearly wasn’t just due to Shang Xia’s message.

Sure enough, before Shang Xia could ask, Ren Huan’s tone changed and he continued, "The main reason I’ve come is because of a sudden shift in the situation in the Essence Xing World. There’s also been a change of heart on the part of Palace Master Gong Zhuo from the Wanyun Association."

Shang Xia was taken aback and asked, "Oh? What happened in the Essence Xing World?"

Ren Huan explained, "Just recently, the heavenly screen of the Essence Xing World was breached. Yuan Ling himself took action and annihilated the Qi Dynasty in a single strike. Although he quickly withdrew due to the combined resistance of Chen Ji, Yu Tang, and the Chen Dynasty Emperor, Chen Ji was seriously wounded, and several continents once under the Qi Dynasty’s control suffered severe damage. Large amounts of world origin were either plundered or dissipated. It seems the total collapse of the Essence Xing World will come much sooner than expected."

Shang Xia frowned. "Yuan Ling may be a high-level Sage, but the Essence Xing World has many Sages and they have the assistance of their World’s Will. Since they conquered the worlds around them and hoarded all the resources, their foundations should surpass many other Essence Worlds. How can their heavenly screen be breached so easily?"

After all, the campaign to conquer the Essence Xing World, led by the Essence Ling Heavenly Field in alliance with the Essence Du World and Essence Chong World, had always relied on a slow war of attrition. They had been chipping away at the Essence Xing World’s defenses from outside the heavenly screen.

That was the standard approach in a war between worlds. It was slow but reliable.

However, Yuan Ling’s action of breaching the heavenly screen alone and attacking the world directly was a risky move.

The higher one’s cultivation, the greater the suppression from the World’s Will. Especially with Yuan Ling’s aim to cripple the very foundations of the Essence Xing World, their World’s Will would surely react with intense hostility.

Even someone of his strength risked being ambushed and killed by the united forces of the Essence Xing World’s Sages if things went awry.

That was why Shang Xia found the news so unbelievable.

Not to mention, with the Essence Chong Heavenly Field already destroyed, Yuan Ling longer had Pei Ji, a second star Sage as an ally.

Ren Huan promptly explained, "According to reports from the Essence Xing World and the Essence Du Heavenly Field, it appears Sage Yuan Ling wanted to make a show of force to intimidate potential enemies lurking in the shadows."

Shang Xia nodded. He wasn’t surprised that the Essence Xing World had attracted unwanted attention.

In fact, their Essence Luxuriant Heavenly Field was likely among those interested, hoping to claim a share of the spoils in the invasion of the Essence Xing World.

Shang Xia then asked, "Right. What did True Immortal Gong want?”

Ren Huan shook his head. "He said nothing specific, just that he wishes to meet you in person."

Shang Xia smiled, unsurprised by the request. "I imagine the True Immortals of our institution wouldn’t have agreed to his request.”

Ren Huan nodded. "Exactly. A Sage can’t be sent out so lightly just based on a request. How bold of the Wanyun Association! However, True Immortal Gong Zhuo did say that if you agree to meet him, he’ll share some major news."

Shang Xia revealed an expression of growing interest. Of course, the real reason was the importance of the Wanyun Association to the Essence Luxuriant Heavenly Field. In the end, he broke into a smile. "Looks like I truly must make a trip to the Essence Xing World."

Ren Huan quickly cautioned, "With your current identity, your appearance alone would immediately draw intense scrutiny. Worse still, given your past grudges with Yuan Ling, he might overreact, and a war could break out instantly."

Shang Xia thought for a moment before speaking again, "Patriarch Kou has been in seclusion in our Dao Field for some time now. Has there been any news on him?”

Ren Huan shook his head. "No. According to Ge Qingzhu, strange phenomena have been observed at the site, suggesting that the patriarch has reached a critical stage in his cultivation."

Shang Xia nodded, then suddenly laughed, "Seems I really do have to head over."

Ever since the Heaven Observation Field transformed into the Heaven Observation Star Region, the distance between the Essence Luxuriant World and the Essence Xing World had steadily increased.

All previously established void channels connecting them had long since become unusable.

Since the establishment of the Essence Luxuriant Heavenly Field, the distance had grown even farther.

Especially during the Essence Luxuriant World’s early rise. Shang Xia stole a lot from the Essence Xing World for them to reach their current level. Various other disputes had accumulated over time, leading to an apparent severance of relations between the two, at least on the surface.

But in truth, secret contacts between the worlds had never fully ceased.

With the rise of Essence Luxuriant Heavenly Field and the formation of multiple trade fleets to traverse the Chaotic Sea of Stars, the Essence Xing World, which was once the Essence Luxuriant World’s earliest gateway to the sea of stars, saw an increase in interactions.

Even after Yuan Ling began his campaign with his allies and open communications were restricted, covert exchanges became even more active.

Given Yuan Ling’s past clashes with Shang Xia, and the lingering enmities between the Essence Luxuriant World and the Essence Du Heavenly Field and Essence Chong Heavenly Field, there was no way Shang Xia would allow his enemies to grow stronger by conquering the Essence Xing World.

Likewise, the Essence Xing World desperately needed external support to break the triple-Heavenly Field blockade and bring in vital resources.

Naturally, the support was far from free. With heightened risk, the value of imported goods soared, and the factions of the Essence Xing World were expected to express deep gratitude even after buying them for sky-high prices.

Through the ongoing trade, the Essence Luxuriant World had gained substantial benefits.

Although Shang Xia agreed to meet Gong Zhuo, he would certainly not be traveling to the Essence Xing World himself.

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

The space around a Heavenly Field was finite. If someone like Shang Xia, a high-level Sage, entered, it would instantly cause a massive disturbance across the Heavenly Field. There was no way to avoid that.

Therefore, if Gong Zhuo truly wished to meet, he would have to leave the Essence Xing World himself. That wasn’t all. He would have to enter the chaotic streams to leave his Heavenly Field to meet Shang Xia.

How he could extract himself from the Essence Xing World, undetected, under the joint blockade of Yuan Ling and the experts of the Essence Du Heavenly Field, would his problem.