Chapter 655: Scarlet Blazing Cloud

“Why didn’t you come earlier…”

𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Zheng Chang immediately started complaining now that Shang Xia was here. “My senior brothers are starting to suspect me. If you come a little later, my secret would be revealed!”

Shang Xia was extremely curious after hearing what he said, “Why are you so obedient? Just hand your fishing pole to someone else and forget about our agreement if you were about to be exposed!”

Zheng Chang obviously wouldn’t admit that he was stupid and didn’t think of that. He quickly came up with another excuse. “I can’t go against my word! I made you a promise, and I had to keep it!”

Shang Xia could only sigh helplessly in response, “Alright. Tell me what you told your senior brothers so that we don’t say the wrong thing later.”

…

After Senior Brother Tang’s instructions, the other 2 experts of the Lushan Sect stood behind Zheng Chang quietly.

With Three Unity Pagoda’s property of isolating one’s divine perception, Zheng Chang communicated with Shang Xia while he was still under the water without any of them knowing.

He eventually pulled Shang Xia up onto the platform and he revealed excited looks from time to time as they traded some treasures with each other.

The others on the platform stared at him curiously and one of them couldn’t help but ask, “Is he really a Talisman Grandmaster?”

Zheng Chang recalled how they had been yelling at him earlier and doubting him and he released several loud snorts to express his displeasure. Taking out a bunch of talismans, he fanned them out in his hand and sneered, “Take a close look! These are 5 rank four talismans! I traded them for the talisman papers and rank four talisman ink we brought!”

“5 identical talismans… Looks like he has to be a rank four Talisman Grandmaster!”

“It’s actually a Talisman Grandmaster… However, what does that talisman actually do?”

His senior brothers stared at each other for a moment and felt a lot more reassured that he wasn’t lying to them.

Raising his chin with a slight trade of pride, Zheng Chang replied, “This is the Abyssal Void Shattering Talisman. It can assist us when we’re flying and it’s especially so when we’re traveling through space outside the Beyond Heavens Pavilion…”

“Is it used to escape? Junior Brother, that’s just an assistive talisman. Go ask if he has offensive or defensive talismans for sale!” One of them asked and before Zheng Chang could retort, a voice rang from the other side of the platform and interrupted them.

“You fools!” Senior Brother Tang placed his fishing pole down at an unknown time and he ignored the other two while making his way over to Zheng Chang. He grabbed a piece of Abyssal Void Shattering Talisman and inspected it carefully. “Indeed… This talisman is extremely important to us! Junior Brother Zheng, you’re really lucky to be able to find a Talisman Grandmaster!”

As if afraid that Zheng Chang would fuck up, Senior Brother Tang immediately passed down an order. “Junior Brother Zheng, you have to maintain a good relationship with this Talisman Grandmaster. It would be for the best if we can cooperate for the long term. It will still be worth it for us to take a little loss in order to obtain more Abyssal Void Shattering Talismans.”

Senior Brother Tang didn’t know that his words truly solved a huge headache for Zheng Chang. It was especially so when he mentioned how it would be worth it for them to take a loss to gather more Abyssal Void Shattering Talismans. The worry he had when Shang Xia ripped him off before entering the Three Unity Pagoda was immediately forgotten.

Naturally, Zheng Chang wasn’t a fool. He finally started acting properly and sighed helplessly. “It’s a shame I found him too late. He traded away most talismans he had and I only managed to obtain the Abyssal Void Shattering Talismans as no one else wanted them.”

“Hahaha! Those people have no idea what they’re doing! You should thank them for allowing you to benefit greatly from this!” Senior Brother Tang laughed.

The other 2 at the side could no longer hold in their curiosity. One of them asked, “Senior Brother Tang, how useful is an Abyssal Void Shattering Talisman?”

Finally glancing at them, Senior Brother Tang explained, “The reason it’s special is because we’re not the only ones who can use it. Both our Martial Dipper Realm Ancestors can make use of the talisman too, and that’s not all. Those talismans will be extremely useful when the time comes!”

Senior Brother Tang didn’t go too in-depth in his explanation. However, since he brought up their Martial Dipper Realm Ancestors, the 2 of them fell completely silent.

When he finally turned back to look at Zheng Chang, he found an ugly expression plastered to his junior brother’s face. He quickly asked, “Junior Brother Zheng, is there something troubling you?”

“Our communication went pretty smoothly, and the other side promised that as long as we provide talisman paper and talisman ink he is willing to craft rank four talismans for us according to the publicly agreed standard of 3 rank four talisman papers for a rank four talisman. Moreover, the other side is willing to carry out this trade every fair…”

After a moment of contemplation, Senior Brother Tang asked, “Can you try asking him if he is willing to take rank four talisman commissions?”

“Senior Brother Tang?” Zheng Chang stared at him in shock.

“Be a little bit more tactful when you ask. After all, he’s not a Talisman Grandmaster from our Lushan Sect.” Senior Brother Tang gestured to Zheng Chang with a slight upward nod. Even though he sounded calm, his expression betrayed the anxiety he was feeling.

With a ‘helpless’ look, Zheng Chang could only relay Senior Brother Tang’s concerns. It didn’t take long before he raised his head and relayed the message, “The Talisman Grandmaster says that he can craft 12 different types of rank four talisman. As long as our request falls within those 12 types of talisman, he would agree to our request.”

Sinking into deep contemplation, Senior Brother Tang grunted once before speaking again, “Ask if he knows how to craft rank four formation talismans.”

Zheng Chang did as he was told and eventually relayed the reply he received from Shang Xia. “He said that he doesn’t know how to craft rank four formation talismans. However, formation talismans have always been the easiest type of talisman to craft in their respective ranks. If we can provide the inheritance to craft them, he will ignore the initial cost of familiarizing himself with it and trade it with us for the same price of 3 talisman papers for 1 of them.”

Senior Brother Tang was shocked by Shang Xia’s response and his back straightened subconsciously. He muttered softly, “Alright, it’s a deal!”

Who would have thought that Zheng Chang’s expression would sink further after communicating with Shang Xia a little further? “Senior Brother, this Talisman Grandmaster wishes to obtain fate dipper essence and rank five spiritual treasures. He’s asking if we have any.”

“I brought 2 strands of fate dipper essence and 2 rank five spiritual treasures with me on this trip but I traded away one of them each. Does the Talisman Grandmaster want the other?” Senior Brother Tang was slightly taken aback by the request but replied nonetheless.

After a short conversation, Zheng Chang conveyed Shang Xia’s intentions to the others. “He says that he needs to take a look at them before deciding if he needs them. However, he also said that he has one last talisman, the Divine Restraint Talisman, left. He wonders if it is alright to make up for the difference in value with essence crystals if our fate dipper essence and rank five spiritual treasure are things he needs.

Essence crystals? That’s the last thing my Lushan Sect needs…

Senior Brother Tang thought to himself. However, after seriously considering it, he muttered in a low voice, “Alright. We can do that.”

Zheng Chang retrieved the treasures from Senor Brother Tang before introducing them to Shang Xia. “There’s a Hundred Mellow Chirp Fate Dipper Essence and a piece of cloud we obtained during sunset, the Rank Five Scarlet Blazing Cloud.”

After his introduction, Zheng Chang revealed both treasures to Shang Xia. The Hundred Mellow Chirp Fate Dipper Essence resembled a wavy thread that was sealed in a piece of transparent crystal. The Scarlet Blazing Cloud was sealed in a tiny crystal ball that was the size of an infant’s fist.

Shang Xia’s Talisman Fish swallowed the Hundred Mellow Chirp Fate Dipper Essence before spitting it out. Clearly, the fate dipper essence wasn’t something he could use.

When the fish swallowed the crystal ball, the Crimson Soul Tablet immediately reacted. “Scarlet Flame Cloud. Rank five Fire attribute Spiritual Treasure.”

It wasn’t easy to obtain the Scarlet Flame Cloud. One had to be in the Martial Extermination Realm and they had to retrieve a piece of scarlet cloud in the sky that appeared during each sunset. Only after they gathered a whole lot of them would they be able to form the rank five spiritual treasure.

Even though Senior Brother Tang was serious about trying to form some sort of relationship with the Talisman Grandmaster, he had no choice but to ask for 500 essence crystals to complete their deal. After all, business was business.

His deal with the Lushan Sect came as a great surprise to Shang Xia. He once again obtained a treasure he could use, the Scarlet Flame Cloud. That wasn’t all. He managed to build a long-term client that was the Lushan Sect and he would be able to obtain a steady supply of talisman paper and ink from them. As if that wasn’t enough, he would also be able to obtain the technique to craft rank four formation talismans!

He wasn’t the only one who benefited from the deal. The Lushan Sect also managed to gain another avenue to craft rank four talismans. That was actually extremely important for them.

Despite everything both sides gained, the person who benefited the most was actually Zheng Chang. He was afraid that his sect would discover his secret that he was controlled by Shang Xia, but now that the deal had taken place, no one would suspect him of anything! He would even be praised by his sect. He also managed to gain Shang Xia’s trust and friendship by brokering the deal with his sect!