Splitting the Heavens

Shang Xia used six sheets of rank seven talisman paper to craft two Myriad Tinted Cloud Talismans and an Origin Star Talisman, his success rate could barely be considered satisfactory.

Although he still had three sheets of rank seven talisman paper left, they were made from different materials. It had him somewhat regret using up all the talisman paper made from Star Devouring Silk.

But with things as they were, Shang Xia had no choice but to bite the bullet and use those three sheets to attempt the crafting the Reignition Talisman.

According to the description from Su Chi, after the talisman inheritance was acquired by the Heart Lamp Sect, none of their Talisman Grandmasters had ever successfully crafted it. As such, their understanding of it was mostly based on speculation, especially after one predecessor used it to create a new path, leading to the birth of the Heart Lamp Secret Art, which was successfully practiced by both Su Chi and Sage Jin.

However, during Shang Xia's own research and deduction, he found that aside from storing and quickly restoring a cultivator's origin qi, the talisman should possess other functions. However, that was only his guess. He needed to prove it after he successfully crafted the talisman.

For his first attempt, Shang Xia used a sheet of rank seven talisman paper that had been obtained by a cultivator from the Essence Luxuriant World during an exploration of a forbidden region. The sheet had been stored for a very long time and was clearly the worst in quality of the three.

Ren Huan had suggested that it be used as soon as possible when he handed it over.

Indeed... During the crafting process, Shang Xia discovered that the material was extremely fragile. He realized it was highly unlikely he would succeed.

Even so, he carefully prolonged the crafting process to get the most value out of the sheet. In the end, it could only bear a bit more than a third of the runes before it disintegrated into stardust and drifted out of the Talisman Pagoda.

It was late at night then, and the drifting stardust spread across nearly half of Tongyou City, creating a rare spectacle that became the talk of the town for several days.

Though only a third of the talisman was completed, Shang Xia was able to glean some insight from it. He realized that the crafting difficulty wasn't as high as expected. It certainly was not as complex and intricate as the Myriad Tinted Cloud Talisman nor as profound as the Origin Star Talisman.

After a period of rest and reflection, Shang Xia immediately used the second sheet that had been sent back by Youshang from the Essence Du Heavenly Field.

Youshang's intent in sending the talisman paper was to show that he had survived the crisis caused by the split in the Spirit Tip World, and had not only regained his footing in the Essence Du Heavenly Field, but also expanded his influence and network.

Shang Xia was impressed by the old man's ability.

The second sheet was clearly of much better quality. Following a steady process, Shang Xia completed two-thirds of the runes required. It was only when he reached a point requiring deep fusion of his inner qi that a minor mistake ruined his attempt..

However, this failure made Shang Xia realize something important. The talisman was meant to store a cultivator's origin qi.

And since everyone's origin qi was different, the talisman paper needed to closely match the origin qi that would be stored within.

In Shang Xia's case, the best material would naturally be one that aligned with his Big Dipper Star Origin.

In the end, the most compatible talisman paper was still one made from Star Devouring Silk.

In the end, the matter came full circle, making him regret once more having used up everything that was made from Star Devouring Silk.

Fortunately, he comprehended most of the runes required to craft the talisman. As long as the last sheet wasn't too poor in quality, he was confident he would succeed.

Sure enough, from the moment he started his third and final attempt, everything flowed smoothly.

Once he was halfway, Shang Xia had fully immersed himself in the process, entering a state of enlightenment.

As he neared two-thirds completion, a strange aura began to surround him. It was as if the fortune of heaven and earth were converging upon him. Every stroke of his talisman brush seemed guided by divine inspiration, and each rune pulsed with a mysterious rhythm.

The phenomenon was not new to Shang Xia. Over his decades of talisman crafting, he had occasionally entered a special state during long and intensive crafting sessions.

What was strange, however, was that Shang Xia had already withdrawn his soul from the World Origin Source.

Although the Essence Luxuriant World's Will had not rejected him, it should have made it impossible for him to draw on the power of the world any longer.

In theory, the blessing of the world should no longer land on him.

Yet... It had.

It was a shame the special state came a bit late. Shang Xia succeeded in crafting the Reignition Talisman, but had no rank seven talisman paper left to capitalize on the inspiration.

Fortunately, it wasn't as though he couldn't craft talismans any longer. He had 26 sheets of rank six talisman paper left.

By the time he naturally exited his special state, 16 sheets had been used up. He completed 13 rank six talismans, boasting a success rate of 80 percent.

Although Shang Xia felt a tinge of regret in hindsight, what he regretted more was having to use the newly crafted Reignition Talisman.

By his usual practice, a new talisman had to be tested immediately to verify its actual effects.

Even if the crafting cost was steep and the talisman was rare, he wouldn't go against his rule.

After casually using the remaining two or three rank six talisman papers for more talismans, Shang Xia handed all the completed rank six talismans to the deputy hall masters who had rushed over upon hearing the news. He left the allocation of those talismans entirely up to them. He also asked them to deliver a rank seven Myriad Tinted Cloud Talisman to Kou Chongxue, while he kept the other for himself along with the Origin Star Talisman and the Reignition Talisman.

The deputy hall masters had initially been concerned when receiving the rank six talismans from Shang Xia.

According to their earlier agreement, half the talisman paper was for Shang Xia to use however he liked, while the other half was meant for custom requests.

Even a rank seven Talisman Grandmaster as rare as Shang Xia wasn't exempt from using up all the talisman papers himself.

But this time, due to the special state he had entered, Shang Xia had ignored the requests and simply crafted whichever talismans came to mind.

Their concerns vanished quickly, though, when they saw the unexpectedly large number of completed talismans.

Based on the number of talisman papers provided, Shang Xia's success rate was about 70 percent! It was a staggering figure!

Even more surprising was that many of those talismans were among the most complicated of the sixth rank.

Though more complex talismans weren't necessarily the most powerful or effective, in most cases, the strongest rank six talismans were more difficult to make.

The deputy hall masters quickly revised their plans. While they might not have completed every request the institution accepted, they believed they could turn the unusually large number of rank six talismans into additional favors and leverage.

As they enthusiastically discussed how to make the most of the talismans, Shang Xia had already left the heavenly screen. He flew into the void and found a secluded region to test out the effects of the Reignition Talisman.

Before that, however, he needed to peel off a portion of energy of the Big Dipper Star Origin from his dantian and inject it into the talisman until it was fully saturated.

According to Su Chi's records, the talisman could typically store around 60 percent of energy reserves of a low-level Sage. It would allow for an instant recovery of 30 to 40 percent. For mid-level Sages, it could only hold about 40 percent of their origin qi reserves and restore about 20 to 30 percent when used.

But as Shang Xia gradually infused his Big Dipper Star Origin into it, he discovered that even when fully saturated, the talisman only held less than 30 percent of his total reserves of origin qi.