Splitting the Heavens - Chapter 1046: New Talisman

What was the difference between a rank five talisman crafted by a Martial Dipper Realm expert and a Talisman Grandmaster at the Martial Void Realm?”

Shang Xia might have already advanced to the Six Direction Realm, but his ability to craft talismans stagnated at the fifth rank.

The rank five talismans he had already comprehended at the moment were the rank five Substitution Talisman, Teleportation Talisman, Abyssal Emptiness Talisman, Illusion Talisman, and Concealment Talisman.

Even though he made up his mind to craft new talismans, a sudden thought convinced him to practice with the talismans he was more familiar with before trying anything new.

Of those he had a good grasp on, he chose the most complicated rank five Substitution Talisman to start. For any experts under the Martial Dipper Realm… Actually, even for those in the Martial Dipper Realm, it was a treasure that would actually give them an extra life. At the crucial moment, it could deceive their enemies and take their place in death. It was actually a lot more precious than the Teleportation or Evasion Talisman.

Along with Shang Xia’s improved cultivation realm, his art of crafting talismans should also increase proportionally.

Perhaps it was because he hadn’t been crafting talismans for a long time, he failed on his first attempt.

Quickly adjusting his condition, Shang Xia quickly managed to get into the groove. On his second attempt, he didn’t stop once and completed the talisman.

After he was done, he compared it to the rank five Substitution Talisman he made when he was in the Five Element Realm. It didn’t take long for him to notice the difference.

If they only cared about the functionality of the talisman, both of them were pretty much the same. The only difference was that Shang Xia’s inner qi was a lot more powerful now. The talisman he made was near the peak-level of what a rank five talisman could be. Also, the talisman would be able to be stored for much longer than before.

After all, the effects of a talisman would grow weaker as time passed before eventually becoming useless.

Even if it was kept in a sealed spiritual case, all it would do would be to slow the rate of decay. They would only be able to keep the talisman for a few more years.

To put everything simply, the same talisman would possess the same functionality even if they were made by experts of different realms, but the stronger the expert who made it, the longer it could be stored.

With the successful creation of the Substitution Talisman, Shang Xia immediately went on to make a Teleportation Talisman, Abyssal Emptiness Talisman, Illusion Talisman, and Concealment Talisman.

During the process, he only failed once when crafting a Concealment Talisman, leaving him with a total of 32 sheets of rank five talisman paper.

The institution managed to obtain 6 talisman inheritances in recent years, and they were the Heavenly Lightning Curtain Talisman, Void Destruction Talisman, Dipper Protection Talisman, Space Calming Talisman, Twin Frost Flame Talisman, and the Mysterious Harmony Talisman.

Of the 6 talismans, the Heaven Lightning Curtain Talisman and the Twin Frost Flame Talisman were offensive types. When they were activated, one would transform into streaks of heavenly lightning and the other would contain the power of both flame and frost. Their offensive might was nothing to scoff at.

The Void Destruction Talisman was said to possess powerful properties when it came to breaking formations and restrictions. Talismans of that type were rarely seen and it could fetch a pretty penny. However, with Shang Xia’s understanding as a peak-tier Talisman Grandmaster, he could tell that even if he crafted the Void Destruction Talisman, the effects wouldn’t be as great as his Five Element Divine Light.

As for the Dipper Protection Talisman, it was clear it was a defensive talisman from its name. It would create a wall of dipper qi around the user, allowing them to possess 2 layers of defensive barrier if they included their dipper qi protection barrier. It was also an equally valuable talisman.

However, Shang Xia also made a proper evaluation. Compared to his Five Element Dipper Qi, the protective properties of the Dipper Protection Talisman were at least 30 to 50 percent weaker.

The Space Calming Talisman sounded like it was of the water element, and its actual use was to quell spatial disturbances or to lock down a certain space around the user. Ordinarily, it would be used to stop one’s target from escaping or to ensure the space around them was stable enough for them to make their escape.

Finally came the Mysterious Harmony Talisman. It had the most special name, but it was actually the most ordinary talisman out of them all. Even in terms of difficulty, it was ranked the lowest among all the talismans he knew!

Even though the Tongyou Institution had a lot more resources than before, it was only relative to their poor selves back then. Shang Xia couldn’t waste it however he wished. In order to conserve his resources, he would craft his easier talismans before working on the more complicated ones.

The Mysterious Harmony Talisman was just too easy for the current Shang Xia. He crafted 3 of them in a row, and he didn’t fail a single time. Not wanting to waste any more time or resources, he decided to move to the next talisman.

The second talisman he chose was the Twin Frost Flame Talisman.

If any other Talisman Grandmaster tried to craft the talisman, they would realize that even among rank five talismans, the Twin Frost Flame Talisman would be one of the hardest to craft.

However, that was far from the case for Shang Xia who had already firmly grasped the principles behind the five elements. Maintaining the balance of both the Fire and Water Elements was something he was sure he could do.

Failing once, he managed to succeed on his second try. He also made 3 Twin Frost Flame Talismans, but this time, he took 5 tries in total. Shang Xia felt that he had fully comprehended the crafting process and turned his attention to the next talisman.

He hesitated slightly between choosing the Void Destruction Talisman or the Dipper Protection Talisman, but he eventually chose the former.

Due to the special properties of his Five Element Dipper Qi, he was adept at breaking formations and restrictions anyway. He felt that an ordinary talisman that had those properties would be easier for him to craft.

Unfortunately for him, he miscalculated. Despite being a peak-tier Talisman Grandmaster, he failed twice at the very start.

He couldn’t help but take several days to compose himself and run through the process of crafting the talisman. After going through how to craft it in his head multiple times and restoring his energy, he started again. Finally, he succeeded.

As soon as the talisman was crafted, Shang Xia felt extremely disappointed.

It was as he expected. The talisman was useful when it came to breaking formations and restrictions, but it wasn’t even as special as he had thought. Earlier, he felt that it was worse than his Five Element Divine Light. Now, he realized that comparing them didn’t even make sense.

Whatever it was, the Five Element Divine Light was something only Shang Xia could use. To other cultivators, the Void Destruction Talisman might be the most effective thing they could use.

The more he thought about it, the more Shang Xia felt that he should come up with a new rank five talisman to break formations. If he was able to integrate his Five Element Divine Light into it, it would definitely be a lot better than ordinary formation breaking talismans!

The effect of the talisman might be garbage in Shang Xia’s eyes, but he still needed 7 sheets of rank five talisman papers to craft 3 of them.

Next came the Dipper Protection Talisman. Shang Xia only had 17 sheets of rank five talisman papers left, but the talisman was a little easier than the Void Destruction Talisman. They weren’t too difficult for him to craft and he managed to craft 3 of them while failing thrice.

He crafted 4 types of new rank five talismans when he was done, and he had 11 sheets of rank five talisman papers left. It was pretty much what he expected before he started.

With the Heavenly Lightning Curtain Talisman and the Space Calming Talisman left, Shang Xia decided to go with the Heavenly Lightning Curtain Talisman first.

The power of Lightning Dipper Qi might be explosive and powerful, but it didn’t seem too difficult for Shang Xia who had great control of the power of Lightning. The risk of failing was also a lot less.

He caused quite a big disturbance while crafting the Heavenly Lightning Curtain Talisman, but he didn’t really run into too much trouble. Using 6 sheets of rank five talisman paper, he made 3 of them. That was even when he got unlucky during the process.

Even though the Space Calming Talisman was pretty complicated, he only had 5 sheets of rank five talisman paper left. He felt that they were pretty adequate, but was proved wrong once again when he failed twice in a row. It seemed to be hiding something special, and he failed to see where he went wrong even after wasting 2 attempts.

Shang Xia couldn’t help but force himself to calm down once again. He used several days to think about the crafting process before discovering that he completely forgot something.

Is it the divine soul?

Not only could the talisman quell spatial disturbances tens of thousands of miles around the user, they could also seal off the space to prevent others from escaping…

Thinking of something, Shang Xia understood what he had been missing the whole time!

It was a domain!

No… To be more exact, it was an embryonic form of the domain!

The talisman actually touched on the properties of a domain that would only be possessed by a Martial Void Realm True Immortal!

Shang Xia couldn’t help but wonder if the talisman was actually a rank five talisman or if it actually touched on the sixth rank.

Suppressing his curiosity, he started to carefully study the talisman. He knew that if he wished to create it, he would need to properly understand the power of domains.

Cultivators who touched on the power of domains didn’t necessarily have to be in the Martial Void Realm. It was possible for them to create an elementary model of it in their bodies when they reached the grand completion stage of the Martial Dipper Realm, and it was just that they couldn’t project it outwards!

After careful consideration, Shang Xia finally understood that the talisman was indeed of the fifth rank, but if one hadn’t reached the grand completion stage of the Martial Dipper Realm and started to touch on the power of domains, there would be no way for them to craft the talisman.

It seemed as though the talisman was an oddity that actually had a requirement of the crafter’s cultivation realm!

Finally getting to the bottom of the entire matter, Shang Xia finally raised his brush again. After failing once more, he completed the talisman on his fourth attempt!

When he used his final sheet of rank five talisman paper to hopefully craft another one, he failed once more…