Chapter 2136: YOUR Disciple

Shang Xia was a Sage standing at the peak of his cultivation realm. An ordinary martial intent in his eyes wasn’t ordinary to other people!

To Kou Chongxue, the martial intent was enough to seriously injure him!

With the martial intent alone, Shang Xia’s External Avatar already possessed the confidence to contend with high-level Sages.

However, what truly caught the attention of both Shang Xia and Kou Chongxue was not the martial intent itself, but rather the fusion process between the External Avatar and the martial intent born from the Talisman Seed.

That, in fact, had been the fundamental reason the two of them had placed great emphasis on spreading the teachings of creating a Talisman Seed among cultivators.

The method of integrating a Talisman Seed into one’s dantian might well represent the opening of an entirely new martial path, and, as a result, could drastically lower the threshold for cultivators to comprehend martial intents.

“The only concern is the crafting of the talisman seeds...” Shang Xia said.

While returning to the Essence Luxuriant World, he had already begun discussing with Kou Chongxue the potential of developing a full martial system centered on talismans.

“If our deduction proves correct... Since this martial path would be one created by us from the top down, cultivators in the early stages might find themselves blocked at the very beginning, unable to proceed because of how difficult it is to craft Talisman Seeds.”

Kou Chongxue, however, was unconcerned. “So you’re saying that the talisman seeds needed for advancement must be bestowed by higher-level cultivators or Talisman Masters? If that’s the case, then why not create a martial path specifically for the bestowal of Talisman Seeds? That doesn’t sound impossible at all.”

Shang Xia was taken aback and looked at him. “But in that case, wouldn’t cultivators who receive Talisman Seeds become dependent on those of higher realms?”

Kou Chongxue nodded slightly but said no more.

Of course, such dependency would depend on how the system evolved.

If the method of bestowal became widespread, it would simply mean that lower-leveled cultivators were dependent on higher-leveled ones.

But if the bestowal pathway were to fall under the control of one individual or a single sect, then all cultivators who sought to receive Talisman Seeds would end up under that person’s or sect’s influence.

Shang Xia had been referring to the first scenario, whereas Kou Chongxue’s words clearly hinted at the second.

Naturally, there were ways to avoid both forms of subjugation, but that would require the cultivators walking the path to first become Talisman Masters themselves, or at least to possess a deep understanding of the dao of talismans.

However, that would inevitably limit how widely the martial path could spread.

Once they returned to the void around the Essence Luxuriant World, Shang Xia finally asked, “What’s the current situation with the Essence Mu World and Mei Jingya?”

Kou Chongxue chuckled, “I thought you would ask about the Star Devouring Silk first, but it seems you were most concerned about the Essence Mu World.”

Shang Xia smiled. “After all, I was the one who helped bring them out back then. Even if it was mutually beneficial, it wouldn’t feel right to simply ignore them.”

Kou Chongxue’s smile faded as he thought for a moment before saying, “The Essence Mu World isn’t in a great situation. Mei Jingya’s cultivation has declined from a mid-level Sage to a low-level Sage, and there are often people with covetous intentions lingering nearby. Some individuals from the Towering Star Region have even made secret contact with them.”

“Those from the Towering Star Region?”

Shang Xia frowned slightly. “What, are there people trying to bring them back?”

Kou Chongxue laughed, “Actually, in recent years, the Towering Star Region isn’t the only one frequenting our Heaven Observation Star Region. Nearly all seven other regions of the Chaotic Sea of Stars have been secretly observing our Heavenly Fields, gathering intelligence in the shadows. Among them, we are the ones under the closest watch.”

Hearing the revelation, Shang Xia asked curiously, “Shouldn’t the Six Essence Heavenly Field be their key target?”

Kou Chongxue sneered, “That would require them to even have the ability to infiltrate the Six Essence Heavenly Field!”

Then his expression grew serious. “But that also proves that the Star Origin Lord’s control over the Six Essence Heavenly Field has already far exceeded our expectations.”

𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

“You and I both have experience wielding the world’s will. We understand exactly what such a level of control implies. Perhaps this time, he truly has found a path toward breaking into the Martial Eternity Realm.”

Shang Xia said in a low voice, “Perhaps. But since he hasn’t actually stepped into the Eighth Order yet, we still have a chance.”

Kou Chongxue seemed to have heard something in Shang Xia’s calm yet resolute tone. “You mentioned earlier that your trip to the Flood Star Region yielded great results. It seems you, too, have already found your direction for advancing to the next level?”

Shang Xia nodded but explained, “Finding the direction doesn’t mean I’m just one step away. On the contrary, I’ve realized I had oversimplified what it means to advance to the Eighth Order.”

Then he carefully explained to Kou Chongxue his recent discoveries, the upper limits of martial intents at various stages, how the completeness of one’s soul might correlate with advancing to the Eighth Order, and other insights.

Kou Chongxue was visibly surprised after hearing his explanation. “I never expected it to be related to so many aspects.”

Though Kou Chongxue had cultivated for several decades longer than Shang Xia, compared to other Sages of similar rank, his total cultivation time was still relatively short. As such, he had yet to push his understanding of martial intents in each realm to their limits.

Of course, Kou Chongxue had not yet reached the grand completion stage of the Martial Emptiness Realm. Compared to Shang Xia, he still had time to prepare more thoroughly for the future.

However, when it came to the cultivation of soul, even Kou Chongxue himself was not particularly confident.

Secret arts and treasures that could strengthen the soul were rare but not nonexistent.

Among them, the one with the most remarkable effect was undoubtedly Shang Xia’s Man and Heaven Synergy Chapter.

His secret art had been produced by the Crimson Soul Tablet, tailored precisely to his cultivation. Though Shang Xia had not kept it to himself and had generously passed it on to Kou Chongxue and several True Immortals of the Tongyou Institution, none of them could achieve results comparable to his own.

Within the institution, the person who had achieved the best progress in cultivating the Man and Heaven Synergy Chapter was none other than his true disciple, Hai Yuanyuan.

That once again proved that Shang Xia’s martial path was a self-contained system, only by cultivating step by step within it could one bring every stage of cultivation, technique, secret art, and martial intent to its fullest potential.

Nowadays, many cultivators in the Tongyou Institution referenced Shang Xia’s martial system, but very few had followed it from the very beginning, cultivating purely according to his path.

Fortunately, in recent years, as Shang Xia’s cultivation continued to advance, and with his direct disciple Hai Yuanyuan becoming a high-level True Immortal, his martial system’s viability had been further validated. Consequently, more and more new disciples enrolled in the institution had chosen to embark on Shang Xia’s martial path, a development owed largely to Hai Yuanyuan’s influence.

“Wait! She’s still running the Invincible Pirates with Sun Haiwei out in the sea of stars... How does she even have time to teach at the institution?” Shang Xia asked in surprise after hearing Kou Chongxue’s revelation.

Kou Chongxue chuckled. “Don’t you know your own disciple by now? Aside from cultivation, she’s never been one to stick with any one thing for long. Besides, she’s extremely skilled at traversing the void. Once the Invincible Pirates’ operations stabilized, she began returning to the institution frequently. By now, she’s already accepted quite a few disciples herself. Strictly speaking, you’re already the grandmaster to quite a number of people.”