Chapter 679: Rank Five Talisman Paper and Origin Jade

Thinking back to what he learned from Zheng Chang on the Three Unity Island, Shang Xia asked, “Patriarch Kou, are you in such a rush to enter the Celestial Remains because of the Spirit Abundance World? Are there really spies from the Spirit Abundance World in our lands?”

…

Shang Xia had been practicing crafting talismans and teaching the students of the Inner Division after he came back. However, that didn’t mean that he had no idea what was going on in the outside world.

The Tongyou Institution had been starting a large scale investigation on the members of the Manyu Continent ever since Shang Xia and the others returned from the Three Unity Island. Even Ren Bainian’s clan wasn’t let off.

The Protection Division and Outreach Division had been mobilized and they started to patrol the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range in order to strengthen their security and control.

With Ji Wenlong’s entry to the Martial Dipper Realm backing them, the Tongyou Institution had been expanding their influence, especially in the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range.

That was several years ago, and with the recent advancement of their second Deputy Patriarch, Shang Bo, the institution had 3 Martial Dipper Realm Ancestors among their ranks. They were no longer afraid of anything as they didn’t just openly expand their reach into the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range. They simply intensified their control and brazenly took over whatever territory they pleased.

In the eyes of the Tongyou Institution, the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range was no longer a border between the You, Ji, and Bing Continents. It simply belonged to the You Continent and the Tongyou Institution could move as they pleased within it.

With the fusion of the Azure Origin World and Azure Spiritual World on the horizon, the members of the You Continent’s desire for territory exceeded every expectation. They didn’t hold back and used all their power to expand the land they controlled.

…

Kou Chongxue chuckled after hearing Shang Xia’s question. “Ever since the experts of the Spirit Abundance World appeared on the Manyu Continent, we couldn’t have stopped their infiltration into our lands. Those aboriginal cultivators and citizens of the Manyu Continent might have been sent over to our worlds on purpose to serve as a guide for their experts who are coming.”

Pausing slightly, Kou Chongxue eventually continued, “Today, all we need to do is to delay the invasion as long as we can. No matter what, it’s a matter of time before both our worlds will clash with each other.

Shang Xia noticed how Kou Chongxue wasn’t referring to the Azure Origin World and Azure Spiritual World from what he said. The worlds he was referring to was probably the new world that would be produced after their fusion and the Spirit Abundance World.

He understood that since the patriarch could speak about the matter, peak existences like those Martial Dipper Realm experts of both worlds were already lumping both the Azure Origin World and Azure Spiritual World together.

“Patriarch, after the complete fusion of our worlds, what will the new world be called?” Shang Xia asked.

Raising an eyebrow to stare at Shang Xia with a strange look on his face, Kou Chongxue grumbled, “Do you think that’s something I get to decide?!”

Shang Xia simply chuckled in amusement.

“Don’t you wish to know where I’ve been all this time?” Kou Chongxue asked suddenly before taking out something from his sleeves.

Of course, Shang Xia knew how he should react in a situation like that. He quickly followed up with a curious cry, “Where did you…”

Kou Chongxue took out 3 pieces of talisman paper that were 7 inches long and 4 inches wide before Shang Xia could finish.

“Talisman paper?” Shang Xia received the papers and the moment he touched the material, his eyes widened in shock. “These… These are rank five talisman papers!”

He quickly thought of something and he raised his head to look at Kou Chongxue again. “Were these made from the skin of the Moon Worshiping Beast?”

Kou Chongxue nodded in response. “Exactly. It’s the skin of the Moon Worshiping Beast we found from the remains of the expert from the Spirit Abundance World.”

It was the first time Shang Xia was seeing rank five talisman paper and he admired them for a little while more before wondering, “Wait, that isn’t right. The skin of the Moon Worshiping Beast we obtained back then is tens of feet wide. Why did it shrink by so much?”

“How high do you think the success rate of crafting these talisman paper is? Even if we manage to find a master craftsman who makes rank five talisman paper, we will have to pay a substantial amount of commission!” Kou Chongxue muttered in response.

Shang Xia was slightly taken aback. “Even if I had 3 pieces of rank five talisman paper, I’m not confident of crafting a rank five talisman!”

Pausing for a second, he couldn’t help but ask, “If you managed to find a rank five talisman paper craftsman, couldn’t you have found a rank five Talisman Grandmaster?!”

Kou Chongxue glanced at Shang Xia from the corner of his eye and sneered, “Is that a problem you should be thinking about?! I already attracted too much attention by finding people to craft rank five talisman paper! Do you think the others are stupid? If I get someone to craft a rank five talisman for me, I might as well announce to the world that I’ve set my sights on the Celestial Remains. Moreover…”

“Moreover?” Shang Xia followed up instinctively.

“Moreover, it’s not like those Talisman Grandmasters would know a talisman that would allow me to silently enter the Celestial Remains.” Kou Chongxue muttered before taking out a stick of blood-red ink.

Reaching out instinctively, Shang Xia held the ink stick in his hand and wondered out loud, “Is this also of the fifth rank?”

“You need to use spirit spring water while grinding the ink.” Kou Chongxue muttered without giving him an exact answer.

Shang Xia nodded in response before carefully storing the stick of ink. He eventually continued, “Well, if you went to commission rank five talisman paper and went to find a stick of rank five talisman ink, the holy lands would probably learn of your intentions. In that case, there might be some people who would also be able to make the connection and guess that you plan to enter the Celestial Remains!”

Kou Chongxue chuckled sinisterly and his eyes narrowed in amusement. “That’s why this old man here bought them in your name! Hehe, The institution I created managed to produce its first Talisman Grandmaster and you even reached the grand completion stage of the Martial Extermination Realm. You will be qualified to start crafting rank five talismans soon. As such, I had to start preparing for your future progress.”

Shang Xia nodded in response. “Even though people already know about the rank four Abyssal Void Shattering Talisman, they don’t know that I received an inheritance of the rank five Abyssal Emptiness Talisman. Even if they have their guesses, they should only consider it after I enter the Martial Dipper Realm. Moreover, they wouldn’t think that you would be crazy enough to let me try crafting a rank five talisman at my current level.”

“How confident are you of success?” Kou Chongxue asked.

After a short moment of contemplation, Shang Xia sighed, “If you help me with all your might, I should have a 30 percent success rate. However, rank five talisman paper and talisman ink isn’t easy to come by…”

“What are you on about? Since when are you so interested in all this bullshit? Are you going to do it or not?” Kou Chongxue snapped.

“Alright! I’ll do it!”

Since Kou Chongxue had already said it, there was no need to reject his suggestion any longer.

Also, regardless of whether he succeeded this time, it would be an invaluable lesson for him. Once he steps into the Martial Dipper Realm, his ability to craft talismans would take a huge leap forward.

“When do you wish to start?” Shang Xia asked.

“The sooner the better. However… Before we enter the Celestial Remains, we would also need to lay down a formation outside to guide us when we leave.” Kou Chongxue explained.

Shang Xia was slightly taken aback. “Do we need to coordinate with the Formation Hall for this? Are we unable to leave as we wish after we enter? The moment we lay down a formation outside the Celestial Remains, it might be discovered by the others.”

Kou Chongxue could only sigh helplessly in response, “Unless you can craft 2 Abyssal Emptiness Talismans with these rank five talisman paper, we’ll have no choice but to lay the formation. Otherwise, we will only be able to emerge when the Celestial Remains open for real. If we charge out however we wish, we might appear in a random region in the vast sea of stars.”

“Alright. I’ll also take the chance to ask our Formation Grandmaster about the thing she promised me…” Shang Xia mumbled.

“When did I promise you anything?” Chu Jia’s voice came from outside and she strolled in while glaring at Shang Xia. “You better tell me what you mean by that!”

Glancing at Kou Chongxue who was tilting his head upwards while maintaining his nonchalant expression, Shang Xia couldn’t help but sneer. There was no way Chu Jia could have avoided his divine perception if she was right outside the door. The patriarch definitely interfered and disrupted his divine perception.

“It’s nothing, it’s nothing!” Shang Xia waved his hand and denied. He definitely wouldn’t fight Chu Jia over something so small. He quickly forced a smile, “I only wish to ask Teacher Chu if you managed to come up with the Five Element Jade we spoke about.”

“Hmph!” Chu Jia raised her chin before tossing a sealed spirit case over to Shang Xia. “Take a look for yourself. Is that the thing you need?”

Shang Xia grabbed the case while revealing an expression of shock. He couldn’t help but yell before opening the case, “You actually made it?! That didn’t take long at all!”

Chu Jia sneered coldly, “You seem to have forgotten the fragments of fate dipper fragments back on the Tongyou Island.”

Shang Xia opened the case and discovered a sparkling palm sized crystal sitting within. “Did you make this from the shards? Why do I feel like these things resemble essence crystals?” he wondered out loud.

He quickly reached in to hold it and prepared to let the Crimson Soul Tablet evaluate the treasure.

Chu Jia smiled and replied, “You’re pretty good. I created the Five Elements Jade you requested after gaining some insights from the essence crystals. I didn’t use spiritual jade as the base of the treasure. Instead, I used those impure shards you retrieved after the battle at the source of the Manyu Continent’s World’s Will.”

“Useless shards?” Shang Xia looked at Chu Jia in slight confusion before turning to look at the item in his hand. The Crimson Soul Tablet didn’t give its evaluation, and that might mean the treasure hadn‘t reached the fourth rank.

Chu Jia saw the look of disdain on Shang Xia’s face and she couldn’t help but snort coldly, “Do you really think that those impure shards are completely useless?”

Shang Xia shook his head. After all, those shards were similar to what came from a fate dipper fragment.

Because the source of the Manyu Continent’s World’s Will cultivated many different Origin Dippers and fate dipper essence, the layer that contained those treasures was obviously something of the same level. It had the ability to seal those treasures and might have some form of filtering effect. It’s considered impure only when compared to Origin Dippers and fate dipper essences.

As their conversation dragged out a little longer, the Crimson Soul Tablet suddenly completed its evaluation. “Origin Jade, rank five spiritual treasure. Ability to contain many different elements.”