Chapter 681: Surpassing Realms

With the final stroke of the White Bone Brush, a rank four Abyssal Void Shattering Talisman was produced.

Shang Xia placed the brush down lightly on the table, he examined the Abyssal Void Shattering Talisman in his hand.

“Kid, this is the seventh rank four talisman you crafted! When do you plan to start crafting the rank five Abyssal Emptiness Talisman?!” The other person in the room yelled. Obviously, there could only be one other person other than Shang Xia. Kou Chongxue seemed a little annoyed that Shang Xia had only been crafting rank four talismans, but he was incomparably shocked by the shockingly high success rate Shang Xia had when crafting rank four talismans the entire time.

Even though Kou Chongxue could determine that Shang Xia had a high success rate when it came to crafting rank four talismans from the number of talisman papers he was provided and the number of complete products, he was still shocked.

Hearing it from the members of the institution was one thing. Witnessing it was another. The shock he received when watching Shang Xia craft rank four talismans was incomparable.

A chuckle left Shang Xia’s lips. “Patriarch Kou, there’s no need to be hasty. You need to let me adjust my condition in order to ensure the largest chance of success when crafting the rank five talisman. After all, we only have 3 pieces of rank five talisman paper!”

Kou Chongxue’s expression sank instantly. “Damn brat, aren’t you just fucking with me at this point? I heard the same shit coming out of your mouth several times already. Now, you used up 11 pieces of rank four talisman paper to craft 7 rank four talismans. You made 3 Abyssal Void Shattering Talismans and several Substitution Talismans and Earth Evasion Concealment Talismans. Are you adjusting your condition or using my talisman papers for free?!”

If not for the fact that the Tongyou Institution managed to gain even more control of the battlefield between the two worlds and obtain a new batch of ingredients used to craft rank four talisman paper, Shang Xia would probably have emptied out the treasury of the Talisman Hall once again.

Then again, the 4 talisman papers he wasted were mostly because he tried to craft Substitution Talismans and Earth Evasion Concealment Talismans.

He was crafting them for the first time and he had some experience when it came to Substitution Talismans because it was a part of the inheritance he obtained back then. He used 3 talisman papers and succeeded twice, but in order to craft 2 Earth Evasion Concealment Talismans, he used up 5 pieces of rank four talisman papers.

It was his first time crafting either of those talismans, but he managed to maintain such a high success rate!

It was even more terrifying when it came to the Abyssal Void Shattering Talismans. He completed 3 of them earlier without failing once!

That was also a reason Kou Chongxue was starting to get restless. Since he managed to craft 3 Abyssal Void Shattering Talismans earlier, he would have completed 4 of them without failing once if they included the one he just made. How the hell wasn’t he ready to craft the rank five Abyssal Emptiness Talisman?

The only thing that would worry Kou Chongxue was the amount of talismans Shang Xia made. If the person crafting talismans was any other Talisman Grandmaster, there wasn’t a need to mention succeeding thrice in a row. They would probably be greatly exhausted if they attempted thrice, and they might need half a month to 20 days in order to restore themselves to their peak state.

However, Shang Xia made 11 attempts with 2 days of rest between each successful talisman creation. That was barely a break!

His actions only served to prove how powerful his divine perception was. That wasn’t all. It also displayed how strong his recovery speed was. Throughout the entire process of talisman crafting, Kou Chongxue had no idea where Shang Xia’s limits lay.

That was also what made Kou Chongxue worry. What if Shang Xia ran out of stamina halfway through crafting the rank five talisman? It was like he had said. There were only 3 pieces of rank five talisman paper. There were only 3 chances. Their chances weren’t exactly optimistic to begin with.

Shang Xia seemed to have read Kou Chongxue’s mind and he laughed, “Patriarch Kou, calm down. I know my limits and I have a lot of energy left.”

As his understanding of the Man and Heaven Synergy Chapter deepened, his divine perception’s recovery speed had long since reached a frightening level. That alone far surpassed any accomplishments he could make by strengthening his divine perception.

Ignoring the look of shock on Kou Chongxue’s face, Shang Xia chuckled, “If I wish to explore the Celestial Remains with you, I will have to ensure my own safety. These Substitution Talismans and Earth Evasion Concealment Talismans are extremely useful treasures to protect myself. The Abyssal Void Shattering Talismans are the same. Moreover, the Abyssal Void Shattering Talismans are part of the same inheritance as the Abyssal Emptiness Talisman. I was just familiarizing myself with its crafting process and refining it the best I can.” Shang Xia wasn’t lying. He just wasn’t telling Kou Chongxue the entire truth.

He didn’t just plan to craft Abyssal Void Shattering Talismans to ease the process of crafting the Abyssal Emptiness Talisman in the near future. He was also trying to reach a special state of mind while crafting talismans.

Looking at the last 4 pieces of rank four talisman papers in his hand, Shang Xia thought for a second before muttering, “Patriarch, I need to use your inner qi.”

“Oh?” Raising an eyebrow in shock, Kou Chongxue wondered, “Are you planning to craft the rank five talisman already?”

“Nope! I’m still going to craft rank four talismans!” Shang Xia shook his head in response.

“You already achieved such a high success rate when crafting rank four talismans alone. Why do you need my inner qi?” Kou Chongxue asked.

Despite what he was saying, he had already started to move. Pointing casually in the air before him, a strand of dipper qi entered Shang Xia’s body. Shang Xia immediately felt as though his body was about to explode from the sudden surge of qi and his veins bulged on his forehead. Beads of cold sweat started to drip to the ground below.

“One’s inner qi will experience a fundamental transformation when entering the Martial Dipper Realm and since you haven’t broken through, receiving external sources of dipper qi will place a huge strain on your body. You need to remember one thing. You cannot allow this strand of dipper qi to enter your dantian. Otherwise, it will contaminate your source qi and destroy any chances of you advancing in the future,” Kou Chongxue reminded him patiently while controlling the strand of qi he sent into Shang Xia’s body. He also tried to help Shang Xia get used to the power of the dipper qi in his body to prevent any negative effects.

Shang Xia chuckled in response, “Patriarch, rest assured I know what to do.”

With the strand of dipper qi in his body, Shang Xia could feel a heavy burden on his meridians and physique. At the same time, he felt much stronger.

He got a feeling that everything around him had fallen under his control.

However, the feeling came and went, and Shang Xia had a feeling it was because he wasn’t too accustomed to using the strand of dipper qi that came from Kou Chongxue.

At that moment, Shang Xia had a taste of the power of someone at the Martial Dipper Realm. He also understood that if he truly wished to control the space around him, he would have to advance and break through to the Martial Dipper Realm himself.

When Kou Chongxue sent a strand of dipper qi into his body, he was trying to let Shang Xia experience the difference between the inner qi of someone at the Martial Extermination Realm and the Martial Dipper Realm. It would be greatly beneficial for his breakthrough to the Martial Dipper Realm in the future.

Feeling the strand of dipper qi flowing through his body, Shang Xia didn’t forget that it would greatly exhaust Kou Chongxue for him to continuously send his dipper qi into his body. He didn’t forget their main goal either.

He tried his hardest to get used to the strand of dipper qi in his body, and tried to use it to craft rank four talismans. He held his White Bone Brush as he attempted to craft another Abyssal Void Shattering Talisman. Despite using a higher-level qi, Shang Xia started to make mistakes before he completed a third of the talisman. Due to the powerful fluctuations caused by the dipper qi in his body, the talisman paper was eventually destroyed.

The last time he experienced anything like that was when he just became a rank four Talisman Grandmaster and started crafting rank four talismans.

“This…” A look of worry appeared on Kou Chongxue’s face.

Shang Xia waved his hands casually and muttered, “It’s alright. I expected as much.”

Kou Chongxue wanted to reduce the amount of dipper qi he was pouring into Shang Xia’s body in order to reduce the burden he had to withstand. At the same time, a smaller amount of dipper qi would mean that Shang Xia would probably be able to control it better.

However, be it Shang Xia’s cultivation or strength of physique, everything exceeded Kou Chongxue’s expectations. Shang Xia’s current bearing was also something that caught him by surprise.

Shang Xia seemed to have entered some sort of special state the next moment. In his strange state of mind, Shang Xia seemed to have forgotten who he was talking to. Not only did he sound extremely firm when talking, but there was even a sense of incomparable confidence when he spoke.

It seemed as though he turned into a different person!

Kou Chongxue’s mood quickly returned to normal and a trace of delight filled his mind. It was at that moment that he discovered that Shang Xia was truly displaying the assertiveness and self-confidence a Talisman Grandmaster should have.

Using Kou Chongxue’s dipper qi to attempt to craft another rank four Abyssal Void Shattering Talisman, Shang Xia’s control over the dipper qi seemed to have increased by a lot. Only after reaching the 70 percent mark did the talisman paper shatter.

This time, it wasn’t because of Shang Xia’s lack of control over Kou Chongxue’s dipper qi. It was because Kou Chongxue messed up and caused the dipper qi in Shang Xia’s body to fluctuate during the crafting process.

Shang Xia hadn’t said anything when Kou Chongxue spoke up. “I made a mistake. I was too focused on your crafting process and failed to concentrate when sending my dipper qi into your body.”

Shang Xia pulled out a third piece of rank four talisman paper and muttered, “It’s no problem at all. We can try again.”

Kou Chongxue felt that the aura coming off Shang Xia was growing slightly strange, but in a good way. He wanted to say something but when he saw Shang Xia dipping his brush into the ink again, he swallowed his words.

This time, he no longer cared about the crafting process. He focused on pouring his dipper qi into Shang Xia’s body while coordinating with Shang Xia to strengthen the control he had over the dipper qi.

Everything went smoothly and Shang Xia neared the completion of the Abyssal Void Shattering Talisman. His control over the dipper qi in his body was much smoother than before.

Seeing as he was about to complete the talisman with several last strokes, Shang Xia, whose movements earlier had been flowing like water, froze.

The sudden change caused the runes on the talisman paper to freeze up and Kou Chongxue could only look on in shock as the near-complete talisman paper crumbled.

“This…” Kou Chongxue couldn’t help but ask.

Before he could finish, Shang Xia raised his hand to silence him.

The next second, Shang Xia flicked his brush once to get rid of any trace of rank four talisman ink that it might contain before moving to another table. He brought out the rank five talisman ink stick Kou Chongxue had given him and started to grind it with the Spirit Water at the side.

“You…” Kou Chongxue stared at Shang Xia in shock. He wanted to continue his line of questioning but Shang Xia pulled out those rank five talisman papers he was given. A strange feeling filled Kou Chongxue’s heart and he decided not to say any more.

Are we already starting?!

Why wasn’t there a warning before we started?!

Kou Chongxue was still doubtful in his heart, but he chose to trust Shang Xia’s judgment.

The current Shang Xia seemed completely focused on his work and Kou Chongxue felt that the only thing he could do was to maintain the stability of the dipper qi he was providing.

Actually, things seemed to be unfolding as Kou Chongxue had thought previously. The more focused Shang Xia was, the more likely he was to be able to step into that special state of mind.

The moment it arrived, Shang Xia wasn’t willing to waste a second. He decisively chose to give up on the rank four Abyssal Void Shattering Talisman that was close to being done as he started on the rank five Abyssal Emptiness Talisman immediately.

Since the time he received the talisman inheritance, god knew how many times he had run through the talisman crafting process in his mind.

His movements seemed smooth despite it being his first time crafting the talisman.

Maintaining absolute focus on the rank five talisman paper before him, his brush danced like a dragon. His divine perception was depleting at a frightening pace and so was his inner qi.

Kou Chongxue, who was sitting behind Shang Xia, could tell that the amount of dipper qi he was providing was far from enough and he started pouring in a huge amount after a short moment of hesitation.

He didn’t wish to increase the amount of dipper qi he poured into Shang Xia’s body abruptly as Shang Xia might fail to control it, causing him to fail immediately. However, seeing Shang Xia’s fluid movements, he knew he was overthinking things.

Regardless of how smooth Shang Xia’s movements were, it was his first time crafting rank five talismans. Even with the assistance of Kou Chongxue, a peak-tier existence at the Martial Dipper Realm, along with his special state of mind, he wasn’t able to avoid making a mistake during the later parts of the process. His divine perception failed to perfectly meld with the dipper qi he was using and his first attempt came to an end.

“There’s no need to rush things. It’s amazing we managed to reach this stage, you should take a break…” Kou Chongxue wanted to comfort Shang Xia, but he didn’t seem to hear anything. He pulled out the second piece of rank five talisman paper and started immediately.

Kou Chongxue’s face twitched involuntarily and he suddenly felt a wave of lethargy overwhelming him.

It didn’t originate from his exhaustion of inner qi. Instead, he was mentally tired.

Well, whatever it was, he could basically confirm that Shang Xia had entered a strange state. It seemed as though he was in a world of its own. He could also tell that Shang Xia had used a great deal of inner qi and divine perception. After his first attempt at crafting a rank five talisman. He used up as much energy as it would to craft 5 rank four talismans.

Kou Chongxue didn’t plan on interrupting Shang Xia and breaking him off from his unique state of mind. Otherwise, any plans of crafting a rank five Abyssal Emptiness Talisman would probably have to wait till Shang Xia actually breaks through to the Martial Dipper Realm.

Several days passed and Kou Chongxue, who had been pouring his dipper qi into the youngster, was observing him intently. He discovered that Shang Xia’s eyes were completely red as he was panting slightly. Beads of perspiration were rolling off his forehead and other than his arm that held his brush, every part of his body was trembling.

Shang Xia was an arrow at the end of its flight.

The exhaustion brought about by crafting a rank five talisman had far surpassed their expectations.

If Shang Xia were to fail again, no matter how long he would be able to maintain his special state of mind, it would be useless. He would never be able to make a third attempt.

At the current moment, be it Shang Xia or Kou Chongxue, neither could be bothered with what would happen in the future. They were completely focused on the talisman at hand. That was because Shang Xia had reached the final phase of its creation.

Everything seemed like a huge miracle!

Along with the final stroke of his brush, Kou Chongxue didn’t have time to say anything when Shang Xia spat out a mouthful of blood. He fell backwards, powerlessly.

Reaching out to grab Shang Xia, Kou Chongxue heard the sound of snapping. Cracks spread across the White Bone Brush in Shang Xia’s hand and the tip of the brush thinned by more than a third.

Kou Chongxue immediately stopped pouring his dipper qi into Shang Xia and he scattered everything that remained. He didn’t wish for the unconscious Shang Xia to suffer any hidden injuries due to his dipper qi.

The next moment, Shang Xia proved that Kou Chongxue had been thinking too much. Even though he was unconscious, Shang Xia’s flow of extermination qi didn’t stop. It continued to circulate through his body as he started to recover.

Kou Chongxue couldn’t help but heave a sigh of relief. From the looks of it, Shang Xia wasn’t heavily injured. The only thing he wasn’t sure of was the degree of exhaustion Shang Xia’s soul endured.

That could only be determined after Shang Xia regained consciousness.

With nothing else he could do, Kou Chongxue turned to look at the rank five talisman on the table. That was a real rank five talisman sitting before him, an Abyssal Emptiness Talisman!

No matter how optimistic Kou Chongxue was about the entire process, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe now that it was complete. There was a look of disbelief on his face.

He actually did it!

Heh… The Tongyou Institution I created finally produced a rank five Talisman Grandmaster! … Maybe it would be more accurate to call him a Talisman Sage…