CH 443

In the Shang Clan Manor on the Observation Peak.

Shang Xia wore a depressed expression as he left his secret chamber after finishing a usual day of cultivation. 

Since the time he returned, he had been dealing with matters that popped up during his breakthrough on the Yuxi Peak. He was especially busy due to his role in the Talisman Hall. There were countless requests for him to craft a talisman for them, and those actually wouldn’t be considered a serious problem as the Talisman Hall would be able to handle those on his behalf. The issue came when cultivators were seeking out Shang Xia through their connections with him either directly or indirectly. The Talisman Hall didn’t know if they should reply on Shang Xia’s behalf. There were even some who brought a large amount of gifts over for Shang Xia in order to request his services and that gave the Talisman Hall a huge headache.

However, Shang Xia had to admit that even he was moved by some of the gifts they had brought. His heart itched slightly and it was obvious the treasures they brought were of exceptional quality. If Shang Xia reacted that way, it wasn’t hard to imagine how the other members of the Talisman Hall felt.

After careful consideration, Shang Xia decided that his personal cultivation came first. By telling everyone he needed to consolidate his foundations, he managed to reject a majority of those who came asking for talismans. He only accepted the request of those who had exceptionally good relationships with him or those who had brought an astounding amount of precious treasures.

Naturally, he promised to fulfill their request with the prerequisite that it wouldn’t affect his cultivation.

With Shang Xia’s fame like the sun in the midday skies, many cultivators didn’t bother running over to the Talisman Hall to look for him after learning that he had returned. Instead, they ran directly to the Shang Clan’s territory to look for him. Half of those who went to the Shang Clan’s territory had actual requests they were hoping Shang Xia could fulfill, but a greater portion of them were merely trying to show their face around Shang Xia to form a connection with him.

As long as one wasn’t stupid, one would know how great Shang Xia’s potential was. His talent in talisman crafting could be said to be unparalleled when he was in the Martial Intent Realm, and now that he entered the Martial Extermination Realm, it wouldn’t take long for him to be able to craft rank four talismans.

Other than the cultivators on the Observation Peak looking for Shang Xia, there were countless others who had their sights set on him now either openly or in the dark. He could only blame the huge commotion he caused during his breakthrough on the Yuxi Peak for that.

With the constant bombardment of visitors, Shang Xia eventually announced that he would no longer be receiving guests after seeing several groups. He quickly gave Shang Quan and Shang Tai his instruction to accept some requests for talismans from those who had better relations with him before going back into hiding.

It had been half a month since he had broken through, and he had been cultivating in the Shang Clan’s territory ever since then. During his cultivation process, he discovered something that was slightly depressing. He had been trying to consolidate his foundation and he would try to refine the extermination origins he had from time to time. Unfortunately, he realized that he was making no headway at all while trying to refine them.

When cultivating in the Shang Clan’s territory on the Observation Peak, Shang Xia discovered that the extermination origins refused to form a connection with his dantian no matter how hard he tried. 

Eventually, he came to the conclusion that the refinement process of his extermination origins had something to do with the change in seasons and a burning desire to return to the Yuxi Peak appeared in his heart.

Setting a time to return to the Yuxi Peak, Shang Xia decided to make use of the rest of his time to solidify his foundations and deal with matters on the Observation Peak. 

He didn’t expect Ren Huan to pay him a visit on the third day after he made up his mind to return to the Yuxi Peak.

Running out to the main hall, Shang Xia welcomed the talisman paper master. “Brother Ren, what’s up?”

An embarrassed expression was plastered on Ren Huan’s face as he muttered sheepishly, “Talisman Master Shang, I am really sorry. I planned to try my hand at crafting talisman paper from the rank four rat skin you gave me back when you attempted your breakthrough on the Yuxi Peak… I thought that you would become a rank four talisman master the moment you advanced and wanted to give you a huge surprise when you got back. However, I seemed to have underestimated the difficulty of crafting rank four talisman paper.”

After not seeing each other for a few months, the status between the two of them experienced a massive transformation. Shang Xia was no longer a Martial Intent Realm cultivator!

Now that he had become a Martial Extermination Realm expert, he had entered the ranks of experts in the Azure Origin World. He could be considered a powerful figure in both the Azure Spiritual World and Azure Origin World, and Ren Huan knew that he couldn’t show the slightest disrespect.

Shang Xia felt a wave of disappointment filling his heart, but he chuckled magnanimously in response. “Brother Ren, it’s alright. It’s your first time crafting rank four talisman paper and it won’t be easy to succeed immediately. Now that you have the experience…” 

“Eh?” Ren Huan interrupted Shang Xia before he completed his sentence. “Actually, I didn’t fail completely…” 

“Huh?” A frown appeared on Shang Xia’s face as he didn’t know what to think anymore.

Rubbing his nose, Ren Huan spoke cautiously. “The hide of the giant rat you gave me in the past should produce 5 to 6 rank four talisman paper if I maximize its use. However, I wasn’t careful enough and my technique wasn’t good enough. I only managed to cut it into 4 parts and only made 2 rank four talisman papers from the 4 portions… I apologize for wasting such precious resources…”

Shang Xia’s eyes widened in shock and he gasped, “It’s it just a portion less? Your success rate in crafting rank four talisman paper doesn’t seem to be much of a problem either. With the experience you have, you shouldn’t face any problems when you try again in the future.”

A bitter smile appeared on Ren Huan’s face when he understood that Shang Xia wasn’t going to blame him for wasting the rank four giant rat’s skin and he heaved a silent sigh of relief. However, he shook his head slightly as he knew that he wouldn’t be given so many opportunities to craft rank four talisman paper anyway.

Just the auxiliary resources required to craft a rank four talisman paper would be difficult to obtain, much less the main component of rank four talisman paper. Like the rank four giant rat skin Shang Xia gave him… How many people would be able to deal with a rank four spiritual beast before skinning it?

It was possible for there to be resources to craft rank four talismans in the Talisman Hall, but no matter how talented Ren Huan was, he could be considered a new face to the Tongyou Institution. He wouldn’t be able to get his hands on those resources easily. 

Fortunately for him, he understood that there was a massive opportunity waiting for him that couldn’t be controlled by the Talisman Hall. The opportunity he had was none other than Shang Xia, the new Martial Extermination Realm expert of the Tongyou Institution and someone who was destined to become a rank four Talisman Master! 

With his connections, he was the most likely talisman paper maker to form a better relationship with Shang Xia.

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As long as Shang Xia gave the word, he would be able to gain a portion of resources used to craft rank four talisman paper.

The more he thought about it, the more he praised himself for making the request to Shang Xia back when they met in the battlefield between the two worlds. Asking Shang Xia to pull him into the institution seemed to be the greatest decision of his life!

It was true that he had his selfish reasons for asking Shang Xia to recommend him to the institution back then, but his ability to craft talisman paper couldn’t be denied. Shang Xia understood that point as well and didn’t mind helping him out.

Ren Huan’s intention to look for Shang Xia couldn’t be hidden from the latter. With a smile on his face, Shang Xia asked, “Brother Ren, do you have something else on your mind?” 

“This… I wouldn’t dare to hide my thoughts from Talisman Master Shang. Actually, I came here with a request.” Ren Huan replied.

Turning slightly serious, a sincere expression appeared on Shang Xia’s face as he continued, “Brother Ren, feel free to let me know what request you might have. I’ll do my best to help you out.”

“Talisman Master Shang, you probably know that the Talisman Hall itself has some rank four talisman paper…” Ren Huan started his explanation.

Shang Xia nodded with a smile on his face. “I believe so. Our Tongyou Institution has been established for more than 20 years now. We might not have produced a rank four Talisman Master, but we definitely managed to obtain rank four talisman paper from several sources out there. There are even some rank four talismans in storage in the institution. However, most of them have been used up over the years.” 

Pausing for a second, Shang Xia quickly continued, “Actually, before I attempted my breakthrough, Teacher Gong and Teacher Fan said that I can use as many resources in the Talisman Hall as I want after I complete my advancement to become a rank four Talisman Master.”

“Talisman Master Shang, you are the pride of our Talisman Hall…” Ren Huan muttered.

Shang Xia nearly burst out laughing. “Brother Ren, there’s no need to go through so many formalities and beat about the bush!”

“I… I was planning to request for a batch of resources to craft rank four talisman paper…” Ren Huan finally got to the point while chuckling awkwardly. Glancing at Shang Xia to gauge his reaction, Ren Huan quickly continued, “The Talisman Hall definitely gathered a batch of resources to craft rank four talisman paper to prepare for the birth of any rank four Talisman Masters. Even though I’m being a little selfish by asking you to allocate me a portion of resources, I truly hope that you can put in a word for me to receive some of it.”

A strange look appeared on Shang Xia’s face as he asked, “Brother Ren Huan, your skills in crafting talisman paper should be clear for all to see. How can you not be part of those who are allocated resources?” 

A bitter smile appeared on Ren Huan’s face but he didn’t respond immediately.

Shang Xia turned slightly serious before making Ren Huan a promise. “Alright. I think I know what’s going on. There’s no need to worry, I’ll deal with it.” 

Thanking Shang Xia, Ren Huan took his leave. Not too long after he left, Gong Hang and Fan Yuanhui came to pay Shang Xia a visit.

They knew that Shang Xia would be making his preparations to craft his first rank four talisman now that he completed his breakthrough and had been preparing all the resources he needed. Now that they had collected most of the items he required, they came to pay him a visit.

They brought him 7 pieces of rank four talisman paper, a bottle of rank four talisman ink, several strands of extermination qi, and a mid-grade brush.

Gong Hang quickly approached Shang Xia with an apologetic look on his face. “Our Talisman Hall was able to collect a lot more resources in the past but some of it had been used up because several Talisman Masters had overestimated themselves and tried to craft a rank four talisman. I was part of them and I regret wasting all those resources back then.” 

Shang Xia was naturally unbothered by Gong Hang’s ‘waste’ of resources in the past. He couldn’t be happier that the institution was providing him with so many resources to craft his first rank four talisman. He chuckled in response, “Mister Gong, it’s alright. If I were in your shoes, I would probably do the same. I’m already thankful that the Talisman Hall is providing me with so many resources.” 

Heaving a sigh of relief, Gong Hang continued, “Talisman Master Shang, everything else is up to you. You have to succeed!” 

Shang Xia could hear their sincerity and understood how earnestly they wished for him to succeed. He replied solemnly, “Teacher Gong, Teacher Fan, rest assured that I will do my best.” 

With the important matters out of the way, Shang Xia exchanged pointers regarding the dao of talismans with the two of them. He was especially interested in Gong Hang’s experience when he attempted to craft a rank four talisman in the past. Gong Hang wasn’t stingy either as he explained everything patiently.

When they were finally done, Shang Xia spoke about the matter regarding resource allocation to Ren Huan before the two of them left. It wasn’t too much to ask for anyway. Now that Ren Huan had managed to craft rank four talisman papers, he would definitely be a qualified talisman paper master in the future once he managed to raise his success rate.