Splitting the Heavens

When Shang Xia finally sent Gong Zhuo whose emotions were complicated away, he left his disguised clone outside the Star Beast Nest before rushing back to continue modifying his Illusion Talisman.

With so many things to do, the Soul Nourishing Art he obtained from Gong Zhuo was thrown to the back of his mind. He still had some time because he would meet with the other True Immortals of the Spirit Luxuriant World, and he had to complete the modification of his Illusion Talisman then.

The other thing that Shang Xia completely forgot about was the information he received in the form of a jade slip from Gong Zhuo. Whatever it was, he would just send the secret art and information slip back to the Spirit Luxuriant World when the time came.

Since he achieved some accomplishments in the modification of his Illusion Talisman, he decided to test it out with rank six talisman paper.

Turning a rank five talisman into a rank six talisman wasn’t as easy as changing the rank of talisman paper used. Shang Xia still had to improve the talismans, but he didn’t expect that the moment he started, he would run into huge problems.

After wasting 2 sheets of rank six talisman paper, Shang Xia eventually managed to determine how much of his divine soul it could hold. He was also confident he would be able to maintain a delicate balance between his inner qi, his divine soul, and other types of energy contained in the talisman.

Despite that, his third attempt ended in failure. However, with the progress he made and how he failed because of a small mistake made, he felt that he was on the right track. Improving the Illusion Talisman to a rank six talisman was possible!

Finally, on his fourth attempt, he managed to successfully develop a rank six Illusion Talisman. Unfortunately, when he tested it on his clone, it failed to exude the aura of a higher-level expert. However, the effects of the talisman would last a much longer time.

As long as it didn’t go into combat, there was no need to worry that his disguise would be seen through.

Even though the effects weren't satisfactory as if failed to allow his clone to show off a higher level of cultivation, Shang Xia still saw hope in his progress.

With another round of research and reflection, Shang Xia was able to determine a point where the effects of his talisman would be in much closer equilibrium to his inner qi and divine soul.

Not wasting a second more, he crafted another rank six Illusion Talisman.

Using it on his clone, Shang Xia could feel his clone’s aura rising greatly. It quickly reached the peak of the first tier, and under his expectant gaze, it entered the second tier.

Before Shang Xia could heave a sigh of relief, his clone’s aura started to fluctuate unsteadily before falling back to the peak of the first tier.

Shang Xia felt exasperated at the outcome of using the talisman and he wanted to remove the talisman when he felt his clone’s aura rising once again. However… It didn’t stay long as it eventually fell back to the peak of the first tier.

Such fluctuations happened 5 more times before it finally stabilized, but after it did, Shang Xia’s clone still looked to be at the peak of the first tier of the Martial Void Realm.

He looked a lot more composed after observing what happened. After observing the change, he understood where the problem lay.

With only 2 days left until the meeting of True Immortals of the Spirit Luxuriant World, Shang Xia wasn’t able to sustain his repeated talisman crafting even after reaching the fourth tier of the Martial Void Realm.

Even so, he still used half a day to calm himself and restore his exhausted inner qi and divine soul before completing another rank six Illusion Talisman.

This time, he didn’t have to test the talisman to know that it would be able to show his desired effects. Actually, the final talisman he made was the only one that could be called a rank six talisman… The rest were all pseudo-rank six talismans at best.

As the time for their gathering grew close, Shang Xia sent his new and improved talisman back to the Spirit Luxuriant World along with the inheritance of the Soul Nourishing Art and the information he gathered about the Essence Xing World.

After sending away his only clone, Shang Xia didn’t split off another one due to how much energy he exhausted crafting talismans recently.

Since he took control of the Star Beast Nest, he wasn’t afraid that anyone would be able to enter without being detected. The reason he placed his clone at the entrance of the Star Beast Nest back then was to welcome True Immortal Gong anyway.

…

Shang Xia’s clone quickly arrived at the Star Observatory in the Tongyou Elysium.

After greeting Yuan Qiuyuan and Xin Lu, he left.

Since the last battle, Yan Ming had been able to gather enough fate dipper essences and were refining them in seclusion at the moment.

The difference between a third and fourth element Martial Dipper Realm expert was a massive rift. After reaching the third element of the Martial Dipper Realm, one would reach a bottleneck and be limited by both their divine will and their fate dippers. If they fail to control it well, they might just lose control and suffer from cultivation deviation. In serious cases, they might be crippled and die.

Even Kou Chongxue back then was stumped when he reached that level.

If any cultivator wished to continue progressing on their path of cultivation, they wouldn’t dare to treat a breakthrough from the third element of the Martial Dipper Realm to the fourth element of the Martial Dipper Realm carelessly.

After leaving the Tongyou Elysium, Shang Xia’s clone concealed his aura, and other than Martial Dipper Realm experts, no one would be able to discern his presence.

Shang Xia’s clone first went to look for Yun Jing. Ji Wenlong, and Liu Zhiyuan, who received news of his return, quickly rushed over as well.

Mentioning what happened in the Star Beast Nest recently, Shang Xia’s clone also related Shang Xia’s suggestions to them. Finally, he handed 2 jade slips over to the deputy patriarchs. The first contained the Soul Nourishing Art and the second contained information regarding the Essence Xing World.

“Is the Soul Nourishing Art really able to hasten the awakening of an artifact spirit so that it can become a divine weapon?” Liu Zhiyuan held the jade slip in his hand as though it was the most precious treasure he had ever gotten his hands on.

Glancing at him, Shang Xia’s clone explained, “It might be a method to hasten the awakening of the artifact spirit, but there is a massive flaw. You will need 3 to 5 years to nurture the artifact spirit but it will crumble after several intense battles. It will fall back to the level of a high-grade weapon after that happens, and you will need 3 to 5 more years in order to nurture the artifact spirit again. It will also place a huge pressure on one’s soul…”

Liu Zhiyuan mumbled in response, “It’s still worth it… Having a divine weapon in a battle is a completely different concept from not having one. It concerns our life and death and 3 to 5 years is nothing in exchange…”

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