Chapter 642: Opening of the Pagoda

After the successful creation of the first rank two talisman seal, Shang Xia fully opened the gates to his path of crafting rank two talisman seals.

He completely immersed himself in the crafting process earlier, and he seemed to have forgotten about the time that passed. He continued his crafting process after locking himself in his room.

The other 5 members of the Tongyou Institution who came along to the Three Unity Island knew better than to disturb him randomly. As such, none of them would head over to knock on his door.

Not too long after the completion of his Golden Sword Talisman Seal, he decided to craft a different rank two talisman seal. This time, it was for the Golden Lantern Barrier Talisman.

It was a talisman that could create a wall of heaven and earth qi in times of need. It could protect the user, and its difficulty and value were way above that of the Golden Sword Talisman.

As long as he successfully created it, it would signify that his art of crafting talisman seals had gone up. At the same time, it would also mean that there wouldn’t be many rank two talisman seals that would pose a challenge to him. All he had to do was to familiarize himself with the rest.

…

When he was finally done with the creation of the Golden Lantern Barrier Talisman Seal, he started to set his sights on rank three talisman seals.

The logic was similar to when he was done with rank one talisman seals. It was a huge waste of resources for him to only craft rank two talisman seals. After all, the number of fragments he had that were less than 2 inches wide was running out.

Whatever the case, creating a rank three talisman seal would be a new challenge for Shang Xia. It would be much harder than before!

That was because the skills required to craft rank three talismans were on a whole new level. The amount of energy that would be consumed would also no longer be as insignificant as before. Shang Xia would probably also need to use a lot more time to make a single rank three talisman.

When he crafted rank one and two talisman seals, the amount of inner qi he used up couldn’t affect him in the slightest. That was also why he could make attempt after attempt. The runes he needed to carve out were also pretty simple. The time taken to make each seal couldn’t be considered long at all.

However, the crafting process would become a lot more complicated when it came to rank three talismans. The runes he had to draw would be a lot more complex, and carving them out would be much more difficult than before. He would also have to use up a portion of his divine perception.

Inner qi was one thing, but even for experts at Shang Xia’s level, exhausting a portion of his divine perception was something he couldn’t ignore!

That was why Shang Xia didn’t immediately start crafting rank three talisman seals after he was done with the Golden Lantern Barrier Talisman Seal. Instead, he started to make his preparations.

One of the things he had to do was to confirm the current situation on the Three Unity Island before anything else.

“Are you finally out? Did you succeed in creating a rank two talisman seal?” Chu Jia was slightly surprised by Shang Xia’s sudden appearance, but a look of joy quickly appeared on her face as she asked.

With a wide grin on his face, Shang Xia handed over the Golden Sword Talisman Seal and Golden Lantern Barrier Talisman Seal for Chu Jia and Yun Yichen to play with.

They admired the seal in their hands and they examined it again and again. It was clear they were feeling really curious about it.

“Regardless of who it is, they just have to dip the seal in some talisman ink and stamp it on a piece of rank two talisman paper to create a rank two talisman… This is unbelievable! Wouldn’t that mean they will replace Talisman Masters?” Yun Yichen muttered to herself. She knew how the talisman seal worked a long time ago, but she didn’t forget to give Shang Xia a subtle warning that he might offend the entire class of Talisman Masters with his creation.

“Hehe, he’s just trying to be lazy. That’s how he came up with the idea for something like that in the first place!” Chu Jia chuckled.

“Oh? Seems like you know a lot about him.” Yun Yichen teased.

Chu Jia wanted to say something, but she seemed to have thought of something. Her face flushed red and she yelled, “Nonsense!”

Shang Xia chuckled at the side, “Actually, there are still many differences between a talisman created by the talisman seal and an actual talisman. The seal might allow us to create talismans quickly, but the power it contains wouldn’t be as great. Also, the talisman wouldn’t be able to last as long as one created by a proper Talisman Master as their inner qi wouldn’t be sealed into the paper.”

Keeping a straight face, Yun Yichen continued, “It doesn’t matter. To allow a talisman to be crafted quickly and by anyone, it’s alright for the talisman to be unable to last for a long time.”

As the 3 of them conversed happily, Liu Qinglan entered the courtyard suddenly. She was shocked to see Shang Xia, but a smile quickly formed on her face. She laughed, “This is great! The Three Unity Pagoda is about to open and I was thinking if I should notify you. I was afraid I would interrupt you again…”

“I made 2 rank two talisman seals. I plan to try crafting a rank three one, but it’s going to take a long time. I came out here to take a look at our current situation, but I didn’t think that I would be so lucky to catch the opening of the Three Unity Pagoda.”

Yun Jing already noticed the 2 seals in Chu Jia and Yun Yichen’s hand and she reached out to take them. Looking at the carvings on them, she gestured to Shang Xia.

He quickly brought out some ink and 2 pieces of rank two talisman paper.

Holding the Golden Sword Talisman Seal in her hand, she dipped it carefully in the ink before stamping it on the talisman paper. Throughout the process, she followed Shang Xia’s instructions and poured her inner qi into the seal.

Shang XIa had been watching the entire process and his expression changed suddenly. He yelled, “Be careful!”

By the time the words left his lips, the talisman paper blew up. Sharp sword qi scattered through the area.

Luckily, everyone present was an expert at the Martial Extermination Realm. The sword qi that emerged couldn’t even touch their clothes as they were destroyed by the aura rolling off those present.

Seeing how Liu Qinglan had turned to him, Shang Xia sighed helplessly, “You need to spread your inner qi evenly through the seal. Moreover, you cannot use extermination qi when you do it. You have to reduce your extermination qi in your dantian back to extremity qi when you pour it into the seal.”

Letting out a light chuckle, Liu Qinglan used the other talisman paper to easily craft a rank two Golden Sword Seal.

Shang Xia wanted to bring out another piece of talisman paper so that she could try out the Golden Lantern Barrier Talisman, but she shook her hands and signaled for him to retrieve both seals. With a slightly serious expression, she asked, “Are you sure you wish to reveal the existence of the talisman seals?”

“Of course, that’s only if I have no other choice. If I can gather everything I need without selling away the seals, I won’t have a need to reveal their existence.”

Nodding slowly, Liu Qinglan muttered, “Do what you must.”

𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Ji Yu and Liu Zhidao arrived back the next moment. They also brought back news that the Three Unity Pagoda was about to open. Shang Xia knew that there was no time for him to try his hand at crafting a rank three talisman seal.

After everything they had been through, the value of an essence crystal was basically decided.

That was precisely the reason the 3 super factions decided to open the Three Unity Pagoda and start the real trade fair.

The 6 members of the Tongyou Institution would all enter the pagoda, and as such, the Tongyou Hall would cease operations for the time being.

As they left the courtyard together, they started to tell the rest everything they gathered after their time on the Three Unity Island.

“The Three Unity Island will definitely become a permanent trading ground situated in space. As a major faction, our Tongyou Institution will definitely possess the qualification to keep our courtyard here to act as our base camp. Looks like we will have to settle down a batch of elite cultivators here for the long term.” Ji Yu was the first to speak.

Liu Qinglan nodded in agreement. “The 3 super factions released this piece of news on purpose. All of us also managed to learn about this.”

Liu Zhidao added, “There’s also another rumor going around the island to say that the interior of the Three Unity Pagoda is actually a mysterious world!”

“Are you sure?!” Chu Jia yelped. She seemed extremely suspicious of the news.

However, Yun Yichen started to analyze the situation. “I guess only the 3 super factions would be able to do something like this.”

Ji Yu gasped in shock. “My goodness… I also heard that the Three Unity Pagoda was specially made to host the trade fair here. Wouldn’t that mean that they only used half a year to build the mysterious world? With such foundations… It’s no wonder they’re considered the strongest powers in both worlds.”

Liu Qinglan thought for a second before speaking. “If that is true, the Three Unity Island might be a show of strength the 3 super factions are intentionally showing off. They probably wish to protect their prestige and shock the various factions out there.”

Chu Jia, who was walking slightly behind Liu Qinglan and the others, nudged Shang Xia. “What are you thinking about? Why are you staying so silent?”

“Oh?” Shang Xia raised his head only to see that everyone was looking at him. He quickly replied, “I was listening to all of you… Anyway, I have no idea what the prices of things are at the moment. What is the purchasing power of an essence crystal anyway?”

Yun Yichen answered almost immediately. “Essence crystal has already become a common currency among those present. We can use it freely to buy goods and at the same time, cultivators in the Martial Intent Realm and above can also use it to cultivate. It holds quite a strong value.”

“Today, a complete rank two advancement medicine costs 20 to 30 essence crystals. A complete rank three advancement medicine would cost around 80 to 120 essence crystals, and there are no records of rank four advancement medicine being traded. There were some who were asking for 800 essence crystals, but the price is negotiable. They only received 5 replies, but there hasn’t been anyone who agreed to trade. Of course, that’s just the medicine. A complete advancement formula would be much more expensive.”

“The prices of weapons and secret treasures fluctuate a lot more. Even though weapons and treasures are of the same grade, weapons are much more expensive than the others. Whatever the case, a single low-grade weapon would cost anywhere between 30 to 50 essence crystals. A mid grade weapon would be around 100 to 200 crystals. We haven’t heard anyone trade high-grade weapons, but someone wanted 500 essence crystals for one.”

“Talismans also vary in price. Depending on its nature, whether its an offensive, defensive, assistive, or other types, the price would change accordingly. If we consider talismans of the same grade, defensive talismans cost the most. Offensive talismans came after that and assistive talismans are the cheapest. Of course, everything is dependent on the buyer’s needs. For example, your Abyssal Void Shattering Talisman was sold for 50 essence crystals, and there were numerous Martial Extermination Realm experts who came asking about another one. Unfortunately, the number of trades taking place between experts at our level are few and far between. It’s not a good reference. Rank three talismans would range from 5 to 10 essence crystals, and there isn’t a good market for rank two talismans. Ordinarily, they would be sold in bulk.”