Splitting the Heavens

“True Immortal Shen?” Shang Xia’s true body headed over to the entrance of the Star Beast Nest and he gasped softly, “I am Shang Xia and I wonder how you’re related to True Immortal Gong Zhuo of the Wanyun Association…”

He saw a figure that was neither overly fat nor thin, with a sincere expression on his face chuckling at him, “True Immortal Gong Zhuo is my martial uncle, and I specially came to meet True Immortal Shang under his instructions…”

“Oh?” The frown on Shang Xia’s face grew deeper. Actually, he had been looking forward to contacting the experts of the Essence Xing World for some time. Even so, he didn’t reveal too much of his emotions. “That’s strange. From what I know, regardless of your strength or foundations, your Wanyun Association is in the upper echelons of strength in your Essence Xing World. It’s said that your relationship with the Dachen Dynasty is pretty good… I’m just an exiled cultivator and barely managed to establish myself in the Star Beast Nest. Is there something you require from someone like me?”

Shen Chongshan gasped silently when Shang Xia addressed himself as that. After all, it was shocking news for a high-level True Immortal to be exiled and punished to explore the sea of stars… A high-level True Immortal held great power in whatever world he was in… How powerful would a world need to be in order to punish a high-level True Immortal to leave the world and watch over a Star Beast Nest?

That would mean that the world behind him was both strict and had the ability to force a high-level True Immortal like himself to obediently listen to their orders.

How strong can they actually be?!

After he thought so much into it, Shen Chongshan didn’t dare to show the slightest disrespect. He quickly put on a respectful expression. From what he could deduce from Gong Zhuo’s description of Shang Xia, he could tell that his martial uncle probably failed to gain an advantage when fighting the expert before him. He lowered himself further and muttered respectfully, “Martial Uncle Gong has been praising True Immortal Shang non-stop and he holds you in extremely high regard. Once he heard that I ran into trouble, he revealed to me that you are a rank six Talisman Grandmaster with amazing technique. That is why… That is why I made the bold decision to come here to request for you to craft some talismans…”

Shang Xia could tell that Shen Chongshan was a mere second tier True Immortal, but since he was able to pass through the region of chaotic space to arrive at the Star Beast Nest, he probably had some sort of special treasure on him.

Of course, considering how long he had been staying in the streams of chaotic space, Shang Xia could also tell that Shen Chongshan was probably unable to hold on for much longer.

A smile appeared on Shang Xia’s face and he turned his body to the side before muttering casually, “Right, I was too careless earlier. True Immortal Shen, please come in for a chat.”

“I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare… True Immortal Shang, please head on in first.” Shen Chongshan responded quickly.

After entering the Star Beast Nest, Shen Chongshan discovered that Shang Xia didn’t try to restrict his senses too much. He could tell that there were several dozen powerful auras in the Star Beast Nest as soon as he entered, and among them, there was an exceptionally powerful aura that had reached the peak of the third tier of the Martial Void Realm.

Seemingly discovering the change in Shen Chongshan’s attitude, Shang Xia smiled and explained, “It’s still a Secret Region after all and it’s not good to waste resources. Even though I’ve been exiled, I still called upon the disciples of my sect to clean this place up… True Immortal Shen, please don’t mind me…”

Shen Chongshan quickly responded, “Of course… Even our Essence Xing World modified many Star Beast Nests and made use of them…”

“Yeah, you understand how it is!” Shang Xia chuckled. Despite his nonchalant expression, he was paying attention to everything Shen Chongshan said.

A moment later, both True Immortals arrived at the elementary Talisman Pagoda in the Star Beast Nest. Along the way, Shen Chongshan managed to see everything as Shang Xia didn’t bother concealing anything.

After inviting Shen Chongshan to a stone table, a young female cultivator at the Martial Extermination Realm brought tea.

She wasn’t any random cultivator. She was actually Hai Yuanyuan, Shang Xia’s first true disciple.

After Hai Yuanyuan left, Shen Chongshan glanced at her leaving figure and muttered in a strange voice, “I didn’t think that even a servant girl of yours would have such impressive cultivation level. I can tell that her extermination origins are really special…”

Shang Xia burst out laughing the next moment. “True Immortal Shen, you have great senses. Her extermination origins are indeed special, and she isn’t a servant girl. She is my first true disciple.”

“Oh, my apologies! I am so sorry… It’s no wonder…” Shen Chongshan quickly responded.

Shang Xia laughed to himself and he didn’t seem to be too bothered by it.

After exchanging another round of pleasantries, Shen Chongshan finally asked again, “Actually… I’m actually here to request a bunch of talismans… There aren't strict requirements on the quality, as long as they reach the minimum standard. However, it needs to be done by a certain time… Is it possible?”

Ordinarily, many of those who came to commission talismans would want talismans that could be used in a life-or-death situation. The higher the quality the better. Hearing Shen Chongshan’s request, any eccentric Talisman Grandmaster would have thought that the other party was messing around with them.

As such, Shen Chongshan looked at Shang Xia with complex emotions and hoped Shang Xia wouldn’t kick him out for messing around.

He didn’t expect that Shang Xia wouldn’t even get mad. Instead, he seemed extremely interested in the proposal.

“Oh? You need a batch of them?!”

Shen Chongshan heaved a sigh of relief as Shang Xia didn’t fly into a fit of rage and he nodded hurriedly, “Yes! I need a batch of them… In fact, I need a lot of them! I require a total of 50 rank five talismans, and 20 rank six ones… However, I need them in half a year.”

“True Immortal Shen, forgive me for asking and you can choose to not answer the question, but from what I understand, your Wanyun Association is one of the greatest powers in the Essence Xing World. Do you not have Talisman Grandmasters? Even if you lack grandmasters, have you not thought about asking allies you’re on good terms with to craft those talismans? Why did you choose to ask me, a foreign cultivator?”

Shen Chongshan fell silent for a moment before sighing softly. He eventually forced a chuckle, “Actually, there’s nothing for me to hide. However, there are some parts related to the secrets of my Wanyun Association and I can’t get into the details. True Immortal Shang only needs to know that I was plotted against by someone else… The moment a batch of high-level talismans was purchased by experts, the Dachen Dynasty came knocking the next moment to demand contributions. My Wanyun Association wouldn’t dare to commission this to other Talisman Grandmasters for fear of news leaking to other factions. I have no choice but to look for you…”

Purchased? Demanding contributions? Hehe… I don’t think you got plotted against… You probably got greedy and chose to sell away those talismans… You might not have embezzled the entire sum since it belonged to your faction, but I bet you earned a bit by pocketing a good amount from your buyers…

Even though that was what he thought, he muttered curiously, “Demanding contributions? The Dachen Dynasty actually demands talismans from you guys? Do they not pay you?”

Shen Chongshan forced a chuckle. “Actually, you can see it as a form of tax. After all, isn’t it ordinary for the Dachen Dynasty to collect them? However… They usually demand different things. Sometimes, they would want essence crystals. Other times, they want talismans. There are even times they would ask for cultivation resources and stuff like that. Ordinarily, we would be able to substitute what we didn’t have with other resources, but this time, they’re adamant about getting their hands on talismans… Sigh… I was too greedy…”

“True Immortal Shen, how do you intend to make the trade then? What requirements do you have for those talismans anyway?” Shang Xia asked.

Shen Chongshan muttered helplessly, “As long as I manage to make up for the difference, I can give you essence crystals, talisman paper, talisman ink, or whatever resources you want. As for the type of talismans… Wait! True Immortal Shang, does this mean you are willing to craft them?”

Shen Chongshan suddenly realized that Shang Xia was negotiating with him for the price and knew it was a good sign. However, he wondered if Shang Xia was really going to be able to craft such a large number of talismans in such a short amount of time.

One had to know that was a lot of rank five and six talismans!

Shang Xia chuckled slowly. “Even though half a year seems a little short, as long as I have enough talisman paper and I don’t lack talisman ink, I can give it a shot.”

Shen Chongshan immediately revealed a grateful look but he didn’t truly understand the hidden meaning behind Shang Xia’s words. He thought that Shang Xia’s backing from his world was so impressive that he would be able to gather enough experts to craft the talismans required together, but that also caused his evaluation of the Essence Ping World behind Shang Xia to grow to new heights.

“True Immortal Shang, you can rest assured. Even though the rule is usually 3 talisman paper for a talisman, due to the nature of my request, I am also willing to provide the talisman ink required and a batch of high-grade essence crystals.” Shen Chongshan quickly added.

He didn’t expect Shang Xia to shake his head slowly while indicating for him to calm down.

Eventually, Shang Xia added, “True Immortal Shen, there is no need to be in such a rush. Let’s talk about what talismans you require.”

Slightly taken aback, Shen Chongshan regained his composure and explained, “Actually, I don’t have many requirements. As long as they are talismans of the corresponding rank, it will be great. Of course, Formation Talismans don’t count. True Immortal Shang can feel free to craft anything you wish. Even if the talismans are weak, it doesn’t matter. All I need to do is to hand over enough talismans…”

Shang Xia nodded in acknowledgment, but he couldn’t help but remind Shen Chongshan, “By the way, we are from different worlds. There might only be a single dao of talismans, but there are many different ways to craft them. All of us have barely scratched the surface of talisman crafting and the systems of our worlds would be different. Talismans in your Essence Xing World are bound to be different from mine in terms of style and variety.”

Shen Chongshan could understand what Shang Xia meant this time, but Shang Xia continued, “It’s not too difficult to craft these talismans in half a year… However… True Immortal Shen, do you really think it’s alright for you to bring over a batch of talismans that is completely different from what your world has seen before?”

Falling deep into thought, Shen Chongshan eventually muttered, “True Immortal Shang… What do you mean?”

Finally revealing his true intentions, Shang Xia grinned, “The best way is for me to understand the way your Essence Xing World craft talismans before giving it a shot!”

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