Chapter 663: 5s the Charm

Simplicity was perfection.

After thousands of tries and the hard work of the ancestors, there was almost no room for improvement. It wasn’t as though the Talisman Hall never thought of establishing their own talisman inheritance.

However, the quality of Talisman Masters they had failed to reach the standard. Moreover, most of them had different schools of thought and their own methods of crafting talismans. It was difficult to find a system that most people could accept, and it was naturally impossible for them to create an inheritance.

Now that Shang Xia was using the most elementary Formation Talisman of each rank to demonstrate the fundamentals of talisman crafting to the rest of the Talisman Hall, he was in essence developing a complete talisman inheritance to them. The method he used might seem to be the most elementary and simple, but it contained the true essence of the way of talismans.

Those who couldn’t see though his intentions were fools who were overestimating themselves.

Those who paid attention to his teachings from the very beginning were those who were truly devout to the way of talismans. They knew how to advance step by step.

Naturally, Shang Xia wasn’t planning to keep his teachings from those who missed it because of a moment’s folly. As long as they had the intention to listen to the rest of his teachings, they would still be able to raise their level of mastery to a certain degree after he released the inheritance to the Talisman Hall.

The only thing they would miss would be the personal preaching of a rank four Talisman Grandmaster. That would be the difference between themselves and those who had been paying attention the whole time.

…

With the completion of his rank three talisman, Shang Xia seemed to have more to talk about. Waving his brush, he started on another rank three Formation Talisman while going into more details. Both talismans were the same to begin with, and he completed them in one smooth motion.

There was too much to talk about and the process continued as he started on his third rank three Formation Talisman. By the time he was done, he swept his divine perception through the crowd once again and discovered that there were 4 rank two Talisman Masters who had fallen deep into thought after hearing his explanation. Looks of joy were also apparent on their faces and it was obvious they gained a lot from his demonstration.

Perhaps, there would be a birth of a new batch of rank three Talisman Masters in the institution in the near future.

Shang Xia chuckled softly before exchanging the brush in his hand to the high-grade Purple Bamboo Brush. He pulled out a rank four talisman paper before getting ready to attempt crafting the rank four Formation Talisman.

There might have been 2 high-grade brushes on the table, but Shang Xia chose the Purple Bamboo Brush as it was a little more appropriate for what he was about to craft.

This time, he didn’t choose to use rank four talisman ink. However, that wasn’t because he was intentionally showing off. That was because rank four talisman ink was hard to come by and a rank four Formation Talisman wasn’t too difficult to craft. As such, he planned to save in whatever way he could.

The crafting of a rank four talisman was finally starting!

This time, no matter what anyone thought of his earlier demonstration, they forced themselves to pay attention to the process.

Most people there were far from the level of being able to understand what he was doing and what he would be talking about, but they focused to the best of their abilities regardless. After all, even if they didn’t know what was going on, they could easily go out and brag about it.

The Talisman Masters in the hall who knew the true meaning of what was going on finally started to feel a little worried.

They knew the increase in the difficulty of crafting increasingly high-ranked talismans.

Even though Shang Xia was a Talisman Grandmaster and possessed a frightening success rate when crafting talismans, he wouldn’t be able to ensure that he would successfully craft a rank four every time.

Moreover, he had already displayed every rank four talisman he knew how to craft. None of them was a Formation Talisman.

That would mean that he would be crafting a rank four Formation Talisman for the first time in the demonstration. It would also mean that the risk of failure was extremely high!

With things in their current state, everything hinged on the successful creation of the rank four talisman. It would determine if the talisman inheritance could actually be established! Whatever it was, it could be said that he had to craft the rank four Formation Talisman no matter what, but crafting it might lead to unexpected consequences.

Shang Xia’s hand didn’t waver in the slightest. He maintained the calm expression on his face as every stroke he made on the rank four talisman paper was measured and precise. He didn’t try to rush things at all.

It seemed to be progressing smoothly initially, but at the end of the day, it was his first time crafting a rank four Formation Talisman. After close to 4 hours, he eventually failed.

Just when everything thought that things would get awkward now that he messed up. The atmosphere froze a little and no one knew how to react. When everyone was still considering what they would do next, Shang Xia grunted once and an expression of enlightenment appeared on his face. He chuckled softly, “So that’s it!”

He pulled out another rank four talisman paper under the shocked gazes of those present. He crafted 3 rank three talismans right before, and he failed an attempt at a rank four talisman. The consumption should be extreme, but he didn’t bother taking a break. Dipping his brush into some rank three ink, he immediately started his next try.

Wasn’t he going to rest?!

Is he pushing himself?!

Is he doing this because he has to regain his reputation for failing his past attempt?!

Strange thoughts filled the minds of those present and many of them felt a little afraid that things would progress out of hand.

There were also some of them present who had been paying full attention to Shang Xia’s demonstration. Despite his failure, they didn’t seem affected. They could learn something from him no matter the outcome.

The process of crafting a rank four talisman was complex. Not only did it exhaust one’s divine perception and extermination qi, but the runes one had to draw were horrifyingly complicated. If he messed up even a little bit, everything would go to waste.

Even the most seasoned of rank four Talisman Grandmasters would only be able to complete the process of crafting a rank four talisman after countless hours, or even days.

After Shang Xia entered the grand completion stage of the Martial Extermination Realm, his divine perception and reserve of extermination qi far surpassed cultivators of the same level. As such, he needed much less time compared to other rank four Talisman Grandmasters when making talismans.

Even so, he required close to 6 hours to craft a rank four Formation Talisman.

Luckily, those who had the qualifications to enter the main hall were of the Martial Extremity Realm at the very least. Several hours were nothing to them. Even if they had to pay attention for a day or two, it wouldn’t pose a problem.

As everyone watched on, Shang Xia started his second attempt. No accidents happened this time and a rank four Formation Talisman was completed.

The smooth process, intricate method, his exquisite control of his extermination qi, and his ultrasharp divine perception caused everyone who was seeing the creation of a rank four talisman for the first time to be completely awestruck.

The applause soon came and under the cheers and excited gazes, Shang Xia seemed completely unaffected. He simply frowned as though he wasn’t satisfied with something.

When the cheers eventually died and silence descended again, Shang Xia pulled out yet another rank four talisman paper and started a third attempt.

Many people in the hall stared at each other, but most of them had looks of joy on their faces.

They only expected to watch a single creation of a rank four talisman. After all, that was a blessing in itself. Even if it failed eventually, they could still learn something. Shang Xia tried twice earlier and a ton of them couldn’t be more excited. Now that Shang Xia had fully entered a state of concentration and started his third attempt, everyone knew that they couldn’t miss it for the world.

Now that he was doing it for the third time, Shang Xia was a lot more familiar with it. Everything flowed smoothly and everyone lost track of time. By the time they snapped back to reality, the second rank four Formation Talisman was complete.

Still in his unique state of mind, Shang Xia pulled out yet another rank four talisman paper. Not a single squeak could be heard in the crowd as they witnessed the process.

6 hours later, a third rank four Formation Talisman was complete.

No one left the hall, and no one dared to breathe loudly. Everyone was watching with bated breaths as they awaited Shang Xia’s next action.

Shang Xia, who had immersed himself in talisman crafting, seemed to have forgotten everything else. Nothing else other than the brush in his hand, and the talisman paper on the table before him mattered.

In less than 6 hours, he produced a fourth rank four Formation Talisman after using 5 pieces of rank four talisman paper.

The anticipation continued as Shang Xia brought out another talisman paper.

With the sixth piece of talisman paper, Shang Xia completed another rank four Formation Talisman in a short 5 hours!

Sighing softly, Shang Xia started to feel a little tired and decided to stop crafting talismans. Exiting his unique state of mind, he discovered that he was still standing in the middle of the main hall. Everyone was watching him intensely.

When he scanned his surroundings again, he discovered that several days had passed. Even so, not a single person left!

Almost everyone had bloodshot eyes, and lethargy filled their minds. Despite what they were feeling, they were watching him with excitement burning in their hearts. They witnessed a miracle he performed!

The news of Talisman Grandmaster Shang Xia’s achievement of completing 5 rank four Formation Talismans in a row ripped through the Talisman Hall. It didn’t stop there as it shook the Tongyou Institution to its core. In fact, even the Tongyou City was stirred.