Chapter 68: Invitation

As the Thorny Brush flew across the talisman papers on the table, a powerful wave of lightning qi filled the room. His Stimulation Talisman was complete.

He used close to twelve hours to complete the single talisman, and that didn’t include the preparation time.

“With this, our Shang Pavilion should finally be able to earn some money, right? Especially when times are so desperate…” Shang Xia inspected the talisman in his hand as he heaved a sigh of relief.

“I can make a little more preparations next time before I start and get into my peak mental state. I should be able to take one less break during the process and that should lower the chances of failure significantly.” Shang Xia muttered to himself. “Also, I seem a little unfamiliar when creating the talisman and that resulted in my inner qi becoming unsteady. It increased the consumption of my inner qi and after getting used to it, I should be able to further reduce the number of breaks I need.” 

“I’ll estimate that I’ll need four breaks throughout the entire crafting process. Three of them are absolutely necessary and I’ll need to think of a way to get rid of the fourth. Of course, getting rid of two breaks already increased the chances of success by a lot!” Shang Xia estimated. The Stimulation Talisman was one of the more complex ones among the rank one talisman. 

When he reevaluated his talent earlier, he thought that he might not be as gifted as he was. Now that he successfully created the Stimulation Talisman, his confidence returned.

When he made the Lightning Charm in the past, he used boards of Lightning Wood that were hundreds of years old! Now, he only used some talisman paper to create such a complex creation! Shang Xia looked at the ingredients on the table when he was interrupted by a report that someone was there to look for him.

A trace of doubt formed in his mind. However, he still invited the guest up.

“Junior Brother Shang, it’s been a long time. How have you been?” A familiar voice came from outside the door. 

Gasping in shock, a look of pleasant surprise appeared on his face as he welcomed the guest. “Senior Brother Tian, long time no see! Oh, Senior Brother Jin is here too!”

The two who came were precisely Tian Mengzi and Jin Guanchao. However, they seemed to have donned a disguise before coming over to look for Shang Xia.

Inviting them both into the room, Shang Xia spoke, “I heard that senior brothers were injured during the battle. I wanted to pay you a visit, but I failed to locate your residences. I’m truly sorry.” 

The two of them looked at each other and laughed, “Of course you won’t be able to find it. There are some people who are trying to hide our condition.” 

A light flashed in Shang Xia’s eyes and he muttered, “So, you’re here today because…” 

“Is that a Stimulation Talisman?!” A gasp interrupted Shang Xia before he could complete his sentence.

Shang Xia realized that Jin Guanchao had appeared beside his table without anyone noticing and he was looking at the talisman he just completed. 

Shang Xia noticed that the aura around Jin Guanchao had grown stronger since they last met. Suppressing his surprise, Shang Xia smiled, “I was lucky enough to create one right before you came.” 

Tian Mengzi headed over and after gesturing to Shang Xia, he held the talisman in his hand and examined it carefully. Placing it down properly, he exclaimed, “Junior Brother Shang, you surprise us every time. The Stimulation Talisman is one of the hardest ones to create… From the looks of it, you should be close to a rank two talisman master.”

Jin Guanchao nodded at the side. “This life saving talisman is worth more than some rank two talismans…” 

“Senior brothers, you’re exaggerating. It’s not that easy to become a rank two talisman master!” Shang Xia chuckled. 

The use of a Stimulation Talisman was like a defibrillator in Shang Xia’s original world. It could restart someone’s heart after they died. However, its use was much more exaggerated in the world of cultivation.

As long as a cultivator’s heart was still beating, the Stimulation Talisman would ensure that their heart continued to pump for a quarter of an hour.

That should be more than enough for a cultivator to bring themselves back from the brink of death. 

Even if they were to die after the time was up, they would be able to handle a lot of things right before they died.

As such, the Stimulation Talisman had another name. It was also called the Talisman of Last Breath!

Shang Xia changed the topic quickly. “Why did you come all the way here to look for me?” 

Tian Mengizi nodded and sighed, “We guessed that you would know what is going on at the moment. Not many people know that the two of us were injured. Now, those who know think that we’re still recovering from our injuries.” 

Shang Xia turned serious. “Do you have any instructions for me now that you’re here?” 

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Tian Mengzi waved his hand casually. “We wouldn’t dare. We only hope that Junior Brother Shang can help us with something small..”

Shang Xia didn’t agree immediately. “This… What exactly is the favor you need?” 

“Junior Brother Jin and I received a secret mission from the institution. The two of us are to protect the bridges that connect the main peak to the other mountain peaks from any surprise attacks the Four Spiritual Peak might launch.” Tian Mengzi muttered in a low voice. 

There were six auxiliary peaks around the Tongyou Peak, and they were called Mingxiu, Kaiyuan, Qiling, Luohui, Yuxi, and Pinxin respectively.

The six of them were connected to the main peak with a long bridge, and they were connected to neighboring peaks the same way.

If anyone were to look at the Tongyou Peak from above, they would see that the peaks formed a massive hexagon.

With the main peak at the center, every other peak would form a giant triangle with the bridges connected to the main peak. That was the core of the protection formation surrounding the Tongyou Peak. 

If the bridges were to fall, every peak would lose its support. They wouldn’t be able to receive any reinforcements from the Tongyou Peak when that happened. If so, the power of the protection formation would be reduced by two-thirds!

“Destruction of the bridges?” Shang Xia revealed a puzzled expression. “Is the Four Spiritual Peak going to sabotage them with the help of a spy?” 

Shang Xia knew much more than the two of them. He knew that the destruction of the bridges wouldn’t be done by those of the Four Spiritual Peak. Instead, the Rose Party would be the ones behind it. Shang Xia could also guess that the appearance of the elites of the three great clans had something to do with that. 

Tian Mengzi shook his head and sighed, “I have no idea. However, all we need to do is to ensure that the bridges remain intact. Anyone who tries to sabotage it will be deemed as a traitor punishable by death!” 

Shang Xia chuckled. “Of course. Do you wish to ask for my help to protect the bridges?” 

Tian Mengzi nodded solemnly. “Indeed. The bridge between the main peak and the Mingxiu Peak is located close to your Shang Pavilion. If any bastard sets their eyes on it, we might not be able to stop them in time. We will have to trouble Junior Brother Shang to deal with it in case that happens.”

“Of course. It’s my duty to do something like that. However, I have to say that you really think highly of me. I barely entered the Martial Extremity Realm and you entrusted me with such a difficult task. Aren’t you experts who are close to entering the Martial Intent Realm?” Shang Xia cried.

“It’s not that easy to enter the Martial Intent Realm…” Tian Mengzi laughed bitterly.

…

The Shang Pavilion was the stronghold of the Shang Clan on the Tongyou Peak. However, the Pinxin Peak was where the Shang Clan actually carried out most of their business and it was where they had to protect when the time came.

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Since Ji Wenlong and the rest returned from the Four Spiritual Peak, the Shang Clan had been given orders to protect the Pinxin Peak.

Recently, the Shang Clan had been channeling most of their resources there, causing the Shang Pavilion to turn into a ghost town.

At that moment, Shang Ke and Shang Quan were waiting outside the entrance of a secret region. Shang Quan looked over his shoulder from time to time with an anxious expression on his face.

“Fifth Uncle, it has already been so long. Why isn’t there any sign?!” Shang Quan couldn’t suppress his curiosity any longer.

“Remain calm!” Shang Ke opened his eyes and glared at Shang Quan. “You’re part of the core of our Shang Clan. Why are you always so hasty? If you refuse to change your ways, when will you ever condense your divine sense?!” 

Shang Quan sighed and he suppressed the worry in his heart. “Fifth Uncle, I’m worried that he might make the connection now that he has the Blood Essence Crystal!” 

“Humph. Do you really think he’s stupid? He has been in our family for more than twenty years. Every one of us sees him as our own…” Shang Ke muttered.

“You’re right…” Shang Quan whispered softly.

All of a sudden, a terrifying wave of qi emerged from the top of the mountain and it charged straight towards the foot. The ground started to quake, and Shang Quan widened his eyes in surprise. “This… Bloodline recovery! Don’t tell me…” 

“Enough of your bullshit! Hurry up and suppress the sign with me! Do you want everyone to find out our secret?!” Shang Ke snapped at him.

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