Splitting the Heavens

“So you’re aiming for the Soul Nourishing Art!”

Shang Xia blinked once and asked, “I wonder if you think this secret art is worth your divine weapon and everything else?”

“Is that really a question?” Gong Zhuo quickly shook his head as he continued, “The Soul Nourishing Art is a secret art developed by the Blacksmith Grandmasters of our world in order to hasten the process of awakening an artifact spirit. It’s just that several seniors developed it into a soul attacking technique that could be used with their divine weapons.”

Gong Zhuo seemed to have realized something and he gasped, “I managed to destroy your clone back then, but you created another one so quickly… You even managed to make a clone at the peak of the first tier of the Marital Void Realm… Your soul is definitely stronger than cultivators of the same level. The Soul Nourishing Art is truly suitable for you…”

Shang Xia actually decided that he had to get his hands on the Soul Nourishing Art when Gong Zhuo mentioned the reason it was first developed.

His expression didn’t change as he continued, “From the looks of it, the secret art isn’t worth as much as your divine weapon…”

After a short moment of contemplation, Gong Zhuo muttered, “Even in our world, the Soul Nourishing Art is something that is only passed down among several high-level experts. However, it’s far from comparable to the worth of a divine weapon. Its worth is completely different if your world doesn’t have a secret art like that. If that’s the case…”

“Hehe.” Shang Xia didn’t let him finish and simply concluded the conversation. “Looks like we have an agreement.”

After he spoke, he retrieved the Tribulation Pearl from his sleeves and got rid of the seal he placed on it.

Gong Zhuo also pulled out a jade strip before tossing it at Shang Xia. At the same time, he said, “Even so… With our agreement from before, you can still choose a treasure other than the divine weapons.”

Shang Xia received the jade slip before sending the pearl to Gong Zhuo. He simply pointed at one of the high-grade weapons and muttered, “That seems pretty good. I can use it to test out the Soul Nourishing Art.”

Gong Zhuo heaved a sigh of relief after retrieving the Tribulation Pearl. After hearing Shang Xia, he gasped, “So… You wanted the Soul Nourishing Art for its ability to nurture artifact spirits!”

Shang Xia’s movements stiffened slightly, but it recovered almost instantly. His expression changed slightly, “What’s the matter? Is there a flaw in the secret art that you haven’t told me about?”

Gong Zhuo looked at Shang Xia with a serious gaze and after realizing his true intentions of getting his hands on the Soul Nourishing Art, he explained seriously, “The true principle behind this secret art is to use one’s divine soul as a guide. It is able to greatly reduce the time taken to nurture an artifact spirit, but because this is a shortcut, it makes the artifact spirit a lot weaker than usual. Usually, after 2 to 3 great battles, or even 1 intense battle would cause the artifact spirit to break down and the weapon to regress into a high-grade artifact…”

“Also… Perhaps it has something to do with how one’s divine soul was used to nurture the artifact spirit, the moment it crumbles, the user would feel some discomfort… As such, this technique has been somewhat at the bottom of the rankings of our world…”

“However, there were powerful experts who modified it and it was no longer used to just nurture artifact spirits. Instead, it allowed one to place a trace of their divine souls into the weapon and allow it to be nurtured into an offensive technique by the artifact spirit, turning into a powerful trump card!”

“This allows one to hide a powerful attack in one’s divine artifact, and is able to catch their opponents off guard, enabling them to bring about the best effects in combat.”

When Gong Zhuo was done, he couldn’t help but look at Shang Xia again before adding, “I have to admit… True Immortal Shang’s soul is truly powerful. Just a single clone you created is able to take on my final strike and get rid of all the energy it contained… It’s truly something I never thought I’ll see…”

Shang Xia chuckled in amusement before asking another question, “Earlier, you said that it wasted all the energy in your final attack… Is this secret art a one-time use technique?”

Gong Zhuo shook his head slowly, “It’s not that I can’t use it again, but I will have to nurture the trace of divine soul in the weapon all over again. I will need several years before I will be able to display the full might of the attack. From that point alone, I have to thank you for not choosing my Spirit Intent Annihilator. Otherwise, it won’t be easy for me to find another weapon that suits me… After all, only a suitable weapon would allow me to unleash the greatest might of this secret art.”

Shang Xia couldn’t help but nod. “So that’s it… Even though the requirements are quite high, since it’s able to be used again and again, the worth of this secret art to me is comparable to a divine weapon!”

“Now that our deal is complete, I shall take my leave… I hope that we do not become enemies…” Gong Zhuo retrieved the rest of the treasures he laid out and turned to leave.

As soon as Gong Zhuo kept the treasures, Shang Xia felt a strange sense of loss. He quickly yelled, “Please, wait.”

Gong Zhuo turned around, but he stared at Shang Xia with a look of wariness while preparing to enter the region of chaotic space in case anything happened.

“True Immortal Gong, please do not misunderstand.” Shang Xia quickly explained the reason for his request, “Because of how smoothly we conducted the trade, I feel a need to establish friendly relations so that we can continue dealing with each other in the future.”

After a short pause, Shang Xia added, “I won’t hide it from you. I am a rank six Talisman Grandmaster and my skills are pretty good. If you or your friends have any need for talismans, I am always ready to craft them for you. Of course, the price to craft a talisman would be 3 sheets of talisman paper.”

“Oh?! True Immortal Shang, you’re actually a Talisman Grandmaster!” Gong Zhuo immediately acted a lot more respectful and he quickly cupped his fists in Shang Xia’s direction. “I apologize for the disrespect! May I know what type of talismans you can craft?”

Shang Xia was slightly taken aback by the sudden question but he quickly answered, “I can craft 4 types of rank six talismans at the moment, but 2 of them concern the secret of my faction and I can’t share them with others. I can freely produce the True Space Restriction Palm Talisman and Abyss Prison Emptiness Talisman.”

Gong Zhuo immediately became a lot more serious while looking at Shang Xia. “I didn’t think that True Immortal Shang would be so accomplished in the dao of talismans that you already mastered 4 types of rank six talismans. From what I know, the higher one’s rank, the more difficult it would be to craft many different types of talismans. Normally, high-level Talisman Grandmasters would focus on creating 1 or 2 types of talismans. Only a few talented masters are able to craft 3 types of talismans.”

Shang Xia chuckled humbly. Actually with his current success rate, charging 3 sheets of talisman paper for a single talisman was still profitable. But actually, anyone who would request high-level talismans was more than prepared to pay more. Even if he were to charge 4 sheets of talisman paper or even 5 sheets, there would still be people who came to commission him to craft talismans.

Gong Zhuo then spoke again, “True Immortal Shang, dare I ask… What about rank four and five talismans?”

“Oh?” Shang Xia answered casually, “I know how to craft 10 or so rank five talismans and I haven’t counted the number of rank four talismans I can craft.”

As Shang Xia was trying to think of all the talismans he could craft, he didn’t notice how Gong Zhuo’s expression had changed.

“I didn’t think that True Immortal Shang would be able to craft so many types of talismans…”

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