Chapter 752: Old Men: “Deal With the Problems (Please).” Shang Xia: “...”
Even though Bu Jingshuang didn’t manage to get any fate dipper essences during the trade fair on the Three Unity Island, he still managed to obtain a batch of high-level treasures for the institution. A portion of it would belong to the Talisman Hall.
The reason why the Talisman Hall could receive such great treatment in the Tongyou Institution was precisely because of their superstar rank five Talisman Grandmaster, Shang Xia.
Without mentioning anything else, his talismans were the reason the Tongyou Institution could defend their territory which spanned more than 60 percent of the battlefield between the two worlds even though they were outnumbered in terms of experts in the Martial Extermination Realm. They also managed to withstand the final push from the Changbai Holy Land because of it.
The all-out exchange in the battlefield between the two worlds caused Shang Xia’s reputation to spread through the Azure Ascension World!
Everyone knows that the You Continent is a barren land and the number of high-level talismans they could produce with their resources would be scarce at best. Logically speaking, their experts wouldn’t be able to use so many of them.
They were proven wrong when the experts of the Tongyou Institution threw out rank four talismans one after another. That could only mean one thing... The Talisman Grandmaster of the Tongyou Institution had a terrifyingly high success rate when crafting them!
The situation became even more special now when Kou Chongxue hinted at the fact that Shang Xia could be one of the 4 rank five Talisman Grandmasters in the Azure Ascension World!
Obviously, the institution wouldn’t be stingy with their support for the Talisman Hall. Raw materials, high-level talisman paper, talisman ink, and talisman brush repairing services... Everything was provided! Even treasures that allowed one to maintain a calm state of mind, and those that could restore one’s inner qi poured into the Talisman Hall without end.
Shang Xia alone wasn’t the only reason they were showing such support to the Talisman Hall. The Talisman Hall was naturally able to provide results to give back to the institution. In recent years, with Shang Xia’s pointers and teachings, the number of rank three Talisman Masters increased greatly. They had 7 members in total without counting Talisman Master Gong who had gotten on with age and didn’t show his face often.
The only pity was the fact that a second rank four Talisman Grandmaster hadn’t been produced in the institution.
There was a huge chasm between the third and fourth rank in talisman crafting and even powers like the Lushan Sect would occasionally lose their experts and be unable to continue their grandmaster’s legacy.
With the support of the institution, 2 of the 7 experts managed to enter the Martial Extermination Realm. Unfortunately, they still had to work hard for some time before they would be able to craft rank four talismans.
“With the exception of fate dipper essences, our institution managed to gain quite a bit!” Bu Jingshuang chuckled. “We managed to obtain a good portion of materials used to craft rank four talisman ink and talisman paper. There was even a stick of rank four talisman ink and a way to craft rank four talisman paper. They are all things required by the Talisman Hall at the moment.”
Shang Xia nodded but he didn’t retrieve the treasures from Bu Jingshuang directly.
Even though more than 70 percent of those treasures would be used by him eventually, everything belonged to the Talisman Hall. He would have to hand those treasures to the Talisman Hall himself according to the procedure set by the institution.
It was then that Shang Xia finally noticed that Bu Jingshuang seemed to have something on his mind.
“Mister Bu... Do you have something you need to tell me?” Shang Xia questioned.
“Talisman seals... I’m thinking about the talisman seals. I feel that talisman seals shouldn’t be traded during the fair any longer. Even the talisman seals that have been distributed in the institution should be kept a secret. We cannot allow news of this to leak easily.” Bu Jingshuang sighed.
Shang Xia turned serious before asking, “Mister Bu, did you notice something wrong?”
Bu Jingshuang responded immediately. “There are people trying to dig out the origin of those talisman seals in the trade fair and even though we lack concrete evidence, I suspect that the 3 Elysiums are behind it.”
Since Bu Jingshuang only mentioned the 3 Elysiums, he definitely left the Yuanchen Sect out of it.
Shang Xia wasn’t surprised that they were paying attention to talisman seals. It was also the reason why the Tongyou Institution would keep it a secret when releasing several rank two or three talisman seals in the trade fair every year. They wanted to prevent it from being traced back to Shang Xia.
Naturally, the talisman seals he crafted didn’t disappoint. It was a highly desirable item in the trade fair and it was one of the important tools he used to obtain fate dipper essences.
“Mister Bu, do you know why the 3 Elysiums are interested in them?” Shang Xia wondered out loud.
From the first trade fair, the Martial Dipper Realm experts from the 3 Elysiums made an oath that even they wouldn’t know the parties who conducted the trade during the fair. If things were true, it seemed as though they kept their promise. Otherwise, they would long since have uncovered the fact that the Tongyou Institution was the one behind the production of the treasures.
Bu Jingshuang shook his head and sighed, “I don’t know for sure, but I feel like things aren’t as simple as finding out their source.”
Shang Xia nodded while falling deep in thought.
A moment later, he snapped awake and saw that Bu Jingshuang was still standing before him. He hadn’t returned to the Tongyou Paradise.
“Mister Bu, is something the matter?” Shang Xia was slightly taken aback.
Bu Jingshuang chuckled bitterly in response, “Well, it’s nothing much, but I want to let you know that the institution might be going to craft a specialized treasure to ferry our members to the Three Unity Island.”
“What’s the matter? Is the Auspicious Cloud Cape not cutting it?” Shang Xia raised an eyebrow curiously.
“The Auspicious Cloud Cape is really useful, but it can’t be used to bring many people over. Moreover, every time we use it, we need 3 experienced experts at the Martial Extermination Realm to activate and maintain the treasure...” Bu Jingshuang mumbled.
Shang Xia wanted to say more, but Bu Jingshuang continued, “I know that you wish to say that you can send us to the island, but we can’t possibly ask a Martial Dipper Realm Ancestor to make a move every time we need to head over...”
“Did something happen on the Three Unity Island?” Shang Xia considered the possibilities before asking.
The reply quickly came. “There weren’t too many changes. It’s just that there are too many people right now. There are at least 3000 people taking up long-term residence on the island and there are even more moving about the island. When the trade fair draws close, there will be close to 10000 people there.”
Even though 10000 people didn’t seem too many, if everyone there was in the Martial Intent Realm or higher, that would be a pretty terrifying fact.
Shang Xia thought of something else and he asked, “The Yuanchen Sect also produced their own Elysium... Did they also create a special method to send their disciples to the island? Are other factions thinking of doing the same thing?”
A strange light flashed through Bu Jingshuang’s eyes and he whispered, “The Yuanchen Sect... They...”
“What’s the matter?”
“They managed to nurture a rank five Cloud Roc!” Bu Jingshuang completed his sentence eventually.
“Oh?” Shang Xia gasped.
“From the looks of it, it managed to advance recently. A rank five Cloud Roc is able to travel through out of the Beyond Heavens Pavilion easily and it can ferry 100 or so people each time. As it continues to grow stronger, the number of cultivators it can carry will also increase.” Bu Jingshuang explained.
“Rearing a mature rank five spiritual beast... The Yuanchen Sect hid their plans really well!” Shang Xia couldn’t help but praise. However, no one knew what he was truly feeling.
Glancing at Shang Xia, Bu Jingshuang sighed, “They probably only allowed it to undergo advancement after they produced an expert in the Sixth Order of the Primary Realm.”
Shang Xia nodded instinctively. The 4 Elysiums had a way to send their experts to the Three Unity Island and it obviously wasn’t a coincidence. Everything had to do with their experts at the Sixth Order of the Primary Realm.
Bu Jingshuang added, “The number of members that can be sent by other factions are limited even if they aren’t assisted by their Martial Dipper Realm Ancestors. For example, we can only send 6 to 8 people to the island with the help of the Auspicious Cloud Cape. Things aren’t looking too bad for us, but we are far from being able to send many cultivators from the You Continent over.”
“I have to think about how we should go about doing it. It’s not something we can achieve in a short amount of time.” Shang Xia admitted.
“The most capable people do the most work at the end of the day! Patriarch Kou hasn’t exited seclusion in the Tongyou Paradise and your grandfather is hunting down the experts of the Spirit Abundance World with other experts from our Azure Ascension World. Deputy Patriarch Ji is unable to leave Beyond Heavens Pavilion and I can only mention this matter to you...” Bu Jingshuang smiled.
Shang Xia grunted before changing the topic. “Speaking of my grandpa, according to the agreement we had with the other factions, he should be returning soon, right?”
“That’s perfect. When he’s back you can work with your grandfather to think of something! Otherwise, when we have to head out again, we will have to trouble you...” Bu Jingshuang laughed.
...
Not too long after he left, Shang Xia glanced around the pavilion before returning to the Tongyou Paradise.
He didn’t see Ji Wenlong anywhere and decided to head over to where Kou Chongxue was in seclusion. He discovered that the patriarch was showing no signs that he would be leaving seclusion and he didn’t even respond to any transmissions that were sent to him before.
Shang Xia couldn’t help but feel curious. After the battle 3 years ago, Kou Chongxue seemed to ignore everything that went on in the institution to enter seclusion. No one had seen him the entire time.
Shang Xia’s instincts told him that there might be some strange transformation that happened to Kou Chongxue and if the patriarch didn’t say anything, no one would learn about it.
After leaving the Tongyou Paradise, Shang Xia still didn’t detect Ji Wenlong anywhere. He couldn’t help but try to look for traces of the Deputy Patriarch with his divine will and determined that Ji Wenlong could have headed for the southwestern region of the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range. It was where the borders of the You, Bing, and Ji Continents lay.
With Kou Chongxue in seclusion, Shang Bo deep in space, and Ji Wenlong patrolling the You Continent, he was the only one in the city. He had a sneaking suspicion that all of them had left for the sole reason of avoiding their responsibilities in the institution. He was left to deal with the many matters that required the attention of a Martial Dipper Realm Ancestor.
If any one of them was still around, Bu Jingshuang wouldn’t be looking for him!
After leaving the Tongyou Paradise, Shang Xia headed straight for the Talisman Hall. He didn’t forget to conceal his aura to prevent anyone in the Martial Intent Realm or lower from discovering his presence.
With his current cultivation, if he didn’t intentionally conceal his aura, lower-level cultivators would have their mental state and cultivation affected if they came into contact with him.
That was the reason why the Martial Dipper Realm Ancestors of the institution rarely appeared before others.
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