Chapter 2008: Changes to the Void Mirage

In the blink of an eye, more than half a year had passed. The 26th year of the Essence Luxuriant Calendar rolled about.

Originally, Shang Xia had estimated that his cultivation might break through to the seventh star, but judging from the current state of his training, even he was no longer certain.

His cultivation seemed to have entered a rare bottleneck.

However, the stagnation allowed him to devote most of his energy to pondering over the rank seven Golden Sun Talisman.

Although he had previously been confident that he had already deduced the talisman’s production process thoroughly, knowing it was one thing, actually crafting it was another matter entirely.

When the Invincible Pirates settled in the 4th Starsea Market earlier, several other Guardians had delivered the inheritance of the Golden Sun Talisman along with all the materials needed to produce talisman paper and talisman ink. With them, Ren Huan and several other high-level craftsmen worked together and after several failures and wasting a considerable amount of rare materials, they finally succeeded, thanks to a stroke of fortune, in producing the first piece of rank seven Golden Sun Talisman Paper.

As for the talisman ink craftsmen, they had not yet succeeded in formulating Golden Sun Talisman Ink. In the end, with no other choice, Shang Xia used a bit of his own blood again.

Although the ink was successfully mixed in the end, it probably could no longer be called authentic Golden Sun Talisman Ink.

Unfortunately, with only a single piece of rank seven Golden Sun Talisman Paper, Shang Xia’s first attempt ended in failure.

Not only that, but in the process, he also completely ruined one of his divine brushes.

Fortunately, Shang Xia was able to collect and seal some of the origin light from a star using rank seven Star Devouring Silk, which he gave to Ren Huan so that the institution’s talisman paper craftsmen could continue experimenting to produce more Golden Sun Talisman Paper. For other cultivators, sealing the origin light of a star was an incredibly difficult task. Not even Sages could do it easily. But for Shang Xia, it wasn’t hard at all.

He did not even need to seek out or approach a star. From within the Essence Luxuriant Heavenly Field, he could simply draw the origin light from the Dipper Star Formation deep in the void.

Even so, when the Institution’s talisman paper craftsmen would next succeed in producing Golden Sun Talisman Paper was something left to fate.

𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

“Still, the matter of the Talisman Seed really must be brought onto the agenda. After all, rank seven talisman inheritances don’t just drop from the sky. I need to hurry up and get more. If I can’t fuse seven different rank seven talismans into a Talisman Seed before reaching the grand completion stage, I will forever lose the opportunity to gain a second martial intent!”

“If I really have to... I can only use the rank seven Guardian-Ward Sword Talisman as a last resort to craft the Talisman Seed!”

After returning to his residence, Shang Xia noticed many experts descending from the nearly completed Star Observatory, hurrying toward the direction from which he had come. Some even took Star Ships over.

Shang Xia shook his head and returned. He had originally planned to continue cultivating. Even if he did not yet know how to break through to the seventh star, he would at least continue to solidify his foundation.

Unfortunately, this session of cultivation did not last long before he had to stop again due to the sudden arrival of a transmission talisman.

Shang Xia immediately stopped cultivating and stepped out of his chamber, just in time to see the void split open and Kou Chongxue stepping out.

"Did you read it?" Kou Chongxue asked the moment he emerged.

Shang Xia nodded. "Who sent you this?"

As they spoke, the two of them tore open the void and flew toward the location of the Void Mirage.

"Yan Yu sent it." Kou Chongxue said. "The clone I left there can only remain on the outskirts of the Void Mirage and if the distance between us is too great, its reactions become extremely sluggish."

Shang Xia nodded. "As expected. Anyway, haven’t you finished crafting your External Avatar?”

Kou Chongxue replied helplessly, "My External Avatar’s body has been completed, but there’s a problem with synchronizing it with my soul. I haven’t succeeded yet."

Shang Xia raised an eyebrow in shock. "How can that be? After I injected a wisp of my soul into mine, I was able to control it like an extension of my body in no time..."

Kou Chongxue sighed lightly. "Not everyone is born with your kind of talent."

Shang Xia opened his mouth in astonishment, momentarily at a loss for words.

Shooting him a glance, Kou Chongxue continued, "Still, it shouldn’t take much longer. After all, when the Sages of other Heavenly Fields refined a peak-tier True Immortal into their clone, they often had to carefully select the right one, and the cultivator must willingly cooperate. Only then can they succeed. Since advancing to a mid-level Sage, I’ve been devoting most of my energy to this matter. I expect to succeed in the synchronization soon. Once I do, I’ll have an External Avatar with combat power surpassing the initial Martial Emptiness Realm and can make his own decisions, which will make many things much more convenient."

Shang Xia muttered, "If it’s such a hassle, how is it any different from the clones other Sages make?"

Unexpectedly, Kou Chongxue’s expression turned solemn. "The difference is enormous! At the very least, we don’t need to sacrifice a peak-tier True Immortal! That alone is enough to make countless Sages covet your technique!"

After a brief pause, he added, "If you hadn’t grown quickly enough and become so powerful that all those people out there are afraid to piss you off, do you think you would have been able to keep the technique of crafting an External Avatar a secret?”

As they spoke, both Sages of the Essence Luxuriant Heavenly Field drew ever closer to the region of space where the Void Mirage was located. Shang Xia could already sense the auras of other Sages rushing in from the depths of the void in different directions.

At that moment, Kou Chongxue’s expression suddenly shifted. "I just received word from my clone that the seal over the Void Mirage is slowly being eroded. Yan Yu is doing his best to suppress it, but it doesn’t seem to be working well. Moreover... There are Star Beasts appearing in the surrounding space.

His tone changed suddenly, turning sharp when he spoke again. "It looks like some of your earlier predictions might be coming true."

Shang Xia’s expression darkened. "What’s with those Star Beasts? Are they also damaging the seal?"

"No..." Kou Chongxue explained, "Most of the Star Beasts that appeared are only in the fifth or sixth rank. They were destroyed by the clones of several Sages before they even approached the area with the seal. But the fact that they are appearing near the seal over the Void Mirage at all is unusual."

Since the last time Shang Xia had joined forces with the Star Origin Lord, both high-level Sages suppressed and sealed off the space where the Void Mirage was located. Many Sages also left clones there to monitor the situation.

After the fall of the Essence Du Heavenly Field, although Yan Yu had survived, he and his Dao Field had been exiled by the four high-level Sages to guard the seal and watch for changes in the Void Mirage, effectively placing him on the front line against the invasion from other Star Fields.

Even so, the Sages of the major Heavenly Fields had not recalled their clones. They withdrew to the outer fringes, but still remained stationed there. After all, in terms of true combat power, even the combined strength of all those clones won’t be able to match a single Yan Yu, who had reached the third star of the Martial Emptiness Realm.