Chapter 654: Secret Codephrase

“You even have a pseudo divine weapon?! Do you even know what a weapon has to be to be classified as one?”

Shang Xia didn’t think that she would start scolding him after he casually brought it up.

A trace of annoyance filled Shang Xia’s mind. “It’s fine if you don’t want it. There’s no need to act so sarcastic...”

After so many exchanges with Shang Xia, the female cultivator seemed to understand his personality and she quickly restrained herself a little. Her tone became a little better as she muttered, “Alright, it won’t hurt to tell you anyway. A weapon can only be considered a pseudo divine weapon if it’s a weapon embryo of a divine weapon without spirituality. What ignorant fools out there classify as a pseudo divine weapon is merely high-grade weapons crafted with exceptional materials. Those weapons could be considered superior high-grade weapons, but they’re far from an actual pseudo divine weapon! Their understanding of pseudo divine weapons is completely wrong!”

She didn’t stop there. Instead, she started to question Shang Xia again. “If I’m not mistaken, you probably think that way too, right? The pseudo divine weapon you’re talking about is probably a superior high-grade weapon. Hmm… Maybe, they should come up with a new classification and call them peak-grade weapons…”

Shang Xia didn’t think that there were actually so many things to consider. However, he couldn’t be bothered to maintain his stance either. If there was one thing he was good at, it was admitting his mistakes. If he was ignorant, so be it. He waved his hand and he didn’t care whether she could see his actions or not as he asked, “I have indeed learned something today…”

The female cultivator seemed to have heard the sincerity in Shang Xia’s voice and she snorted twice before she added, “Alright, where’s your so-called pseudo divine weapon? Let me take a look at it.”

Slightly taken aback by her sudden shift in attitude, Shang Xia frowned. “You really wish to take a look? Didn’t you say…”

“You might have some misunderstandings about pseudo divine weapons, but a superior high-grade weapon has been made with many different high-level materials. In the hands of a Martial Extermination Realm expert, the power it can display is comparable to if they wielded a divine weapon. Of course, a divine weapon is another story altogether, but I can’t give up a chance to obtain a weapon like that.”

Shang Xia found her rapidly changing emotions a little hard to get used to, but he still retrieved an intricate silver shuttle from his Spatial Pouch.

He obtained the silver shuttle after killing Chen Yuanzi, the expert in the grand completion stage of the Martial Extermination Realm from the Northern Sea Mystic Sect.

After Chen Yuanzi self-detonated, the silver shuttle he controlled was sent flying by Shang Xia’s Abyssal Blade. It was eventually retrieved after the dust had settled.

As soon as her Talisman Fish swallowed the weapon, the female cultivator gasped in shock. “It’s no wonder you classified this as a pseudo divine weapon… This silver shuttle might be a high-grade weapon, but it contains a huge amount of extremely precious material! I believe the owner of this silver shuttle poured a lot of resources into it. They definitely come from a prominent and strong background too…”

While she was evaluating the silver shuttle, she didn’t hide her delight at the discovery.

Shang Xia chuckled in response, “Seems like fellow cultivator is really pleased with the weapon…”

“At the very least, I will be able to use this until I break through to the Martial Dipper Realm. A divine weapon won’t mean much to me when I’m not in the Martial Dipper Realm anyway. At the very most, it’s a sturdier and sharper weapon compared to high-grade ones…” She laughed.

Shang Xia’s curiosity was piqued after hearing what she had said. “Why would you say so? A divine weapon is still a divine weapon at the end of the day, it…”

Mocking others seemed like second nature to the female cultivator and despite having controlled herself a little, she couldn’t help but snap at Shang Xia, “I knew you would say something like that after you misunderstood the meaning of a pseudo divine weapon. I don’t know if you have seen Martial Dipper Realm Ancestors wielding their divine weapons, but I can tell you for sure that a divine weapon can only unleash its true strength in the hands of a Martial Dipper Realm expert. If we take this silver shuttle as an example, it will shatter the moment a Martial Dipper Realm Ancestor swings their divine weapon at it. However, if the same divine weapon is used by a cultivator at the Martial Extermination Realm, they would only be able to leave scratches and some damage on the weapon… HUH?! Why the hell does this shuttle look like it’s been damaged… Do you… Do you actually own a divine weapon?”

Shang Xia felt a chill running through his heart but he chuckled casually, “Fellow cultivator, you must be kidding. Divine weapons aren’t cabbages that grow by the side of the road.”

What she said earlier was truly accurate. Even though Shang Xia’s Abyssal Blade was missing a third of its actual blade, it was a true blue divine weapon. It could display formidable strength in his hands and allow him to obtain the absolute advantage when fighting cultivators of the same level, but it was difficult for him to display the true power of the weapon. Shang Xia thought back to the time when Yun Jing summoned the Hidden Frost Sword into the battlefield between the two worlds. It might have scared off the Martial Extermination Realm experts, and she could use it to maintain order in the Tongyou City. However, it was only when Kou Chongxue wielded the weapon and barged into the White Deer Paradise did their combined might shake the Azure Origin World.

He might not have seen Kou Chongxue personally using his Hidden Frost Sword, but he could feel the shockwaves that caused his soul to tremble from the battle whenever it was used. It was truly an awe-inspiring feeling.

Back then, Shang Xia always attributed the feeling to Kou Chongxue’s tyrannical divine presence. Now that he heard her explanation, everything became clear. Kou Chongxue wasn’t the sole reason he felt that way. It was because he was wielding his divine weapon!

“That’s true…” The female cultivator sighed. She didn’t press on the matter and she continued, “I am interested in this silver shuttle. I’ll trade the fate dipper essences for this. However, this would seem like I’m taking advantage of you…”

Shang Xia roared with laughter, “It’s alright. I received your teaching today, and I’ll consider it the difference in price between our treasures.”

“Hmph, I guess I would have to thank you for being so generous!” The female cultivator mumbled softly at the side.

Since she swallowed the silver shuttle, there was nothing left to do but to toss her back into the Cloud Sea. However, Shang Xia thought of something and decided to remind her, “Oh right, there would be some complications if someone saw you using that weapon. You should change its appearance before you start swinging it around.”

“No shit!” Her voice rang in his mind again.

Chuckling bitterly, Shang Xia decided to try his luck one last time. “Young lady, would you like to leave behind a secret contact method so that we can reach each other again at the next trade fair?”

“There’s no need for that. Unless improvements are made in the future, there is no point in remembering a code word or message. Are we supposed to keep waiting for each other without knowing if the other party is even here?”

Shang Xia felt that her words made sense. The method the 3 super factions used ensured that everyone’s identity was protected. However, it seemed a little overkill as everyone could only rely on luck to run into their next trading partner. It definitely brought about a lot of inconvenience to everyone involved…

The female cultivator was truly a unique individual. She didn’t wait for Shang Xia to think about tossing her back into the Cloud Sea. Instead, she controlled her fish with the intention to return to the sea and it started flopping around on the platform.

When she reached the edge of the platform and Shang Xia thought that she would drop back into the Cloud Sea on her own, her voice rang in his mind again. “Fine! I thought about it! It won’t be convenient for you to contact me regardless, but you can leave behind a secret contact codeword we can use if I try to find you. If I find more fate dipper essence in the future, I’ll trade them with you… Oh right, do you even want more fate dipper essence?”

“Of course I do! If there are future trade fairs, I’ll leave the words ‘Four Constellation Sage, Talisman Grandmaster’ on my jade coin in case you run into me again.” Shang Xia replied instantly.

Finally, he seemed to say something useful and the female cultivator gasped. “Four Constellation Sage, Talisman… You’re a Talisman Grandmaster?! Please forgive my lack of respect earlier… Looks like I will definitely have to look for you in the future.”

“Of course, you’re welcome anytime!” Shang Xia laughed.

“Alright, I’m off!” With that, her Talisman Fish flopped over the edge and disappeared into the Cloud Sea.

Sighing softly, Shang Xia tried to suppress the excitement he felt. He glanced at Liu Qinglan and the others before shifting his attention to his own fish.

After completing the deal for 3 strands of fate dipper essence, Shang Xia felt that his Talisman Fish had already arrived at its destination.

He stared at the ball of light before him and noticed no other fishes around. He quickly entered the area covered in light and slammed against the jade coin.

“Abyssal Void Breaking Talisman.”

Zheng Chang’s voice came from the jade coin and Shang Xia knew that he found the right place.

Before Zheng Chang and him left for the Three Unity Pagoda, Shang Xia received a list of treasures owned by the Lushan Sect. There were fate dipper essence and rank five spiritual treasures among them and he decided to make use of the opportunity to get them.

Since neither of them knew how the trade fair would take place, Shang Xia decided to make a random suggestion and agreed on a secret phrase that only the 2 of them would understand. In the end, he decided that the secret phrase would be the name of the talismans Zheng Chang obtained back then!

The Abyssal Void Shattering Talisman came from the inheritance of the Abyssal Sect, and Shang Xia was the only one who obtained their talisman inheritance. He was the only person who knew how to craft those talismans.

Because everyone’s divine perception was restricted within the Three Unity Pagoda, Zheng Chang could only send his divine perception into the jade coin and repeat the phrase over and over again whenever a fish arrived. Shang Xia would know that he arrived at the Lushan Sect’s platform once he heard the phrase.

Since the 3 super factions decided to use such a complicated method to host the trade fair, Shang Xia didn’t look for Zheng Chang the moment it started. Instead, he went around looking for fate dipper essences and other rank five spiritual treasures he needed. After all, he couldn’t be sure that Zheng Chang would be so obedient as to wait for him the entire time.

What Shang Xia didn’t know was that Zheng Chang had been looking for him since the very beginning! In fact, he almost couldn’t withstand the pressure any longer and was about to give up.

“Junior Brother Zheng, what are you waiting for?!”

“Junior Brother Zheng, you haven’t completed a single deal… What the hell are you doing?”

“Yeah… Junior Brother Zheng, Senior Brother Tang has already finished several trades and obtained some of the treasures we require. You’re the only one who hasn’t gotten anything. You should know that you’re in charge of obtaining rank four talismans during the trade fair. If you fail to get a single one, you’ll be heavily punished by the sect! You will even drag us down with you!”

“Junior Brother Zheng, is there something wrong?”

Since the trade fair started, Zheng Chang followed Shang Xia’s instructions. He had been yelling their code phrase over and over, waiting for Shang Xia to locate him.

Who would have thought that Shang Xia would be nowhere to be found?! Because he hadn’t been completing many trades, he was incurring the resentment of his senior brothers.

At the start, he could brush them off by saying that he got unlucky. However, they were starting to get suspicious.

Seeing as they were about to blow up and snatch his fishing pole away, Zheng Chang yelled abruptly, “What do you know?! I’m waiting for a Talisman Grandmaster!”

His 2 senior brothers stared at him in shock before revealing looks of doubt.

“Talisman Grandmaster? Are you sure? How did you get in contact with a Talisman Grandmaster?”

“It’s been so long since the trade fair started. Junior Brother Zheng, is the person you’re waiting for lying to you?”

Beads of cold sweat dripped from his forehead and Zheng Chang realized that he messed up. He realized that he should have given up control of the fishing pole since they were sharing it. He could rotate with them and continue waiting for Shang Xia when it was his turn. Actually, straight up renting another fishing pole for himself wouldn’t be a bad idea either.

Shit! What a stupid move!

Senior Brother Tang, who was on the other side of the platform, glanced at him and muttered, “Since Junior Brother Zheng said that he’s waiting for a Talisman Grandmaster, the rest of you can just relax. It’s fine to wait a little more.”

Now that Senior Brother Tang had spoken, Zheng Chang felt incomparably nervous. He was paranoid that his secret was going to be exposed! If anyone found out that he was under someone else’s control, his fate was sealed.

He was seriously contemplating if he should admit it and allow his cultivation to be crippled or if he should just wait for their Martial Dipper Realm Ancestor to kill him with a single slap when he heard the chime of the jade coin ringing in his ears. It resembled a heavenly melody and it was as though a godly pardon had arrived.

“Why didn’t you come earlier…”

As soon as Shang Xia’s Talisman Fish slammed into the jade coin and heard the words ‘Abyssal Void Shattering Talisman’, Zheng Chang’s voice that was laden with hidden bitterness rang in his mind. He had no idea a grown man could actually speak in that sort of tone.