Chapter 133: Taiyang, Taiyin

“How did you get in with your Star Vault peak strength? How did the soldiers’ instruments not detect you?”

Li Changtian was very curious, and the other three were as well.

Although the military didn’t conduct inspections, the soldiers all carried instruments with them.

Even a Hidden Star Ring couldn’t evade those instruments; otherwise, they would have brought in Star Vault peak experts themselves.

Jiang Changkong replied calmly, “When I entered, I was at Star Vault late stage. I just broke through.”

“Your breakthrough speed is a bit too fast, isn’t it?”

Ji Chengming muttered, as if recalling something: “I remember now—you were at Star Gate peak before, with combat power reaching Star Vault mid-stage.”

“Star Gate peak, with combat power as high as Star Vault mid-stage?” The two Star Vault late-stage experts exclaimed in shock.

Li Changtian also wore a look of astonishment: “Even among the little freaks in the Major Provinces, few can achieve that.”

“Naive.”

Jiang Changkong shook his head and sighed lightly: “I’ve been hiding my strength all along, suppressing it while fighting Lin Jie. Enough talk, let’s hurry over.”

Cutting off the topic, Jiang Changkong made up a few excuses. His improvement was indeed a bit fast.

But it’s all thanks to you. Didn’t you think you made a huge profit while I suffered a great loss?

Actually, I’m not losing out!

With my strength, I can completely dominate the entire scene. The good things here—everyone relying on their own abilities—are all mine!

As for you, after handing over the Star Stones, you’re just here to make up the numbers.

The five of them held onto each other and stepped into the pale area.

Before their eyes, the scenery shifted abruptly as space transferred. An intense, scorching heat washed over them, and the four hurriedly released Star Power to protect themselves.

Jiang Changkong’s Blazing Sun Art automatically activated once again, flames erupting around him, startling the person holding his hand into quickly letting go.

“This place?”

Retracting the flames, Jiang Changkong pulled back his Star Power and stared in surprise at the scene before him.

A golden sea of fire stretched as far as the eye could see—a world of flames.

Golden flames danced, and the surrounding temperature was so high that even the two Star Vault late-stage experts felt the heat.

Beads of sweat had already formed on Li Changtian’s forehead.

Ji Chengming, with his fire-attribute Star Power, fared slightly better, but since it wasn’t Blazing Sun Star Power, it wasn’t much of an improvement.

“This damned place. These flames are only slightly weaker than that Star Demon from earlier.”

Li Changtian wiped away his sweat and remarked.

“This should be where that Star Demon lived.”

One of the Star Vault late-stage experts said, “A Blazing Sun Sea of Fire. Could the Yang Stone be here?”

“Possibly, but this place is clearly different from the previous space. You can’t even see the edge at a glance.”

Li Changtian scanned the surroundings. Aside from the pale area behind them, everything else was golden flames.

“Let’s go.”

Jiang Changkong took the lead and walked forward.

Although the golden sea of fire was formidable, for someone cultivating the Blazing Sun Art like him, it not only posed no harm but even provided a slight boost.

The five of them advanced through the sea of fire, with the two Star Vault late-stage experts protecting Li Changtian and the others.

Flames flickered around them, the surroundings eerily quiet. Occasionally, deep, massive footprints could be seen on the ground.

Left behind by the Star Demon.

The four followed cautiously behind Jiang Changkong, not daring to stray.

Their pace wasn’t slow, but even after several minutes of walking, they still hadn’t reached the end. The sea of fire remained all around them.

“Still no end in sight.”

One of the Star Vault late-stage Martial Artists frowned. “Though the temperature here seems to have dropped a bit.”

Jiang Changkong nodded. “The heat of the flames has indeed diminished slightly.”

The flame temperature had indeed lowered a bit, though not by much—hardly noticeable.

Roar—

A Star Demon’s roar echoed, causing the surrounding flames to tremble. A massive figure, blazing with fire, charged through the sea of flames.

Li Changtian exclaimed in surprise, “Mid-stage Star Vault.”

“It seems there are quite a few Star Vault-level Star Demons here.”

Jiang Changkong let out a soft hum of curiosity. With a flick of his finger, a surge of Blazing Sun Star Power shot out, transforming into a blade of light that severed the massive Star Demon’s sharp claws.

Hum

The surrounding flames flickered and surged, merging into the Star Demon’s wound. The injury rapidly healed, and under the influence of a strange force, the severed claws flew back and reattached.

“Huh? Could this Star Demon have also refined a Solar Divine Body?” Li Changtian wondered in astonishment.

“No,” Jiang Changkong shook his head. Channeling his Blazing Sun Star Power, he spread open his palm and made a light cut with his finger.

A wound split open on his palm, and golden blood seeped out.

Hum

Tendrils of flame from the surroundings flew over, merging into the wound. The injury healed swiftly.

“Is… is the flame healing you?” the four of them asked in shock.

Jiang Changkong looked toward the Star Demon. “Just now, the flames healed it, and now they’re healing me too. It seems this place is a treasure trove for cultivators of Blazing Sun Star Power.”

Roar!

The Star Demon, its injuries restored, roared and lunged forward, stirring the surrounding flames into turmoil.

“Perish.”

Jiang Changkong flicked his finger once more, this time unleashing a black-and-white Taiji Diagram.

With a thunderous crash, the Star Demon exploded, leaving only a single Star Stone behind.

Jiang Changkong picked up the Star Stone, sensing no martial arts information within. “It must be an ordinary Star Stone.”

“This place is quite eerie. Let’s be careful,” said one of the late-stage Star Vault cultivators.

Jiang Changkong nodded and led them onward.

After a few more minutes of walking, Li Changtian suddenly said, “This feels so comfortable.”

“Indeed, it really does. These flames actually carry a hint of coolness?”

The other three also expressed their surprise.

Jiang Changkong’s gaze swept around. The surroundings were still filled with golden flames, but these flames were not hot in the slightest—instead, they felt cool.

Even Li Changtian and the others could place their palms on these heatless flames.

“This coolness…”

Jiang Changkong frowned, remaining silent.

“What’s wrong?” the four of them looked at him.

“Nothing. Let’s keep going.”

Jiang Changkong shook his head, not voicing his thoughts.

This coolness—no, it should be called a chill—felt remarkably similar to Taiyin.

Could it be that fragments of the Lunar Sword were also hidden here?

Such a treasure… I wonder if the fragments might sense each other?

As he walked, Jiang Changkong pondered. He needed to find an opportunity to test this.

With that thought, he halted. “Let’s split up. Staying together won’t make it easier to find Yang Stones.”

The four exchanged glances and said, “Very well. We’ve troubled Brother Changkong to look after us along the way.”

Though they worried about encountering peak Star Vault-level Star Demons, if Jiang Changkong wasn’t taking them along, they could only tactfully separate, not daring to follow.

“Mm, farewell.” Jiang Changkong flashed away.

The four didn’t linger either, continuing forward with even greater caution.

Once the four had gone far enough, Jiang Changkong manifested a black-and-white Taiji Diagram in his palm, within which lay the sword tip.

The Taiji Diagram rapidly expanded, pushing back the surrounding flames before dissipating, revealing the sword tip, now unrestricted.

The sword tip lay quietly in his palm, showing no unusual signs.

Jiang Changkong wasn’t disappointed—after all, he was just testing.

Just as he prepared to put the sword tip away, the surrounding flames suddenly surged inward. The sword tip trembled, unleashing a wave of bone-chilling cold.

Jiang Changkong’s left hand instantly froze over as the frigid energy violently surged into his body.

The surrounding golden flames ceased their flickering, sealed beneath a layer of ice.

The black and white Taiji Diagram promptly manifested, sealing the sword tip as the cold energy contracted once more.

Jiang Changkong shook his head helplessly; it seemed he couldn’t rely on this thing.

Putting away the sword tip, Jiang Changkong chose a direction and walked forward, slightly diverging from the path of the other four.

Ten minutes later, Jiang Changkong encountered a Star Gate Initial Stage Star Demon. However, this Star Demon was not fiery.

Instead, it was entirely silver-white, emitting cold energy, and around it stood numerous ice pillars.

Before him, it seemed like a world of ice, with ice pillars stretching as far as the eye could see.

Jiang Changkong’s Blazing Sun Star Power was suppressed to its limit, making it difficult even to mobilize.

The Star Demon did not attack him, merely watching.

Because behind him lay a world of golden flames.

The golden blazing sun and the silver-white Lunar Cold Energy formed two extremes.

At the boundary, golden and silver lights divided the two regions.

The Star Demon, wary of the fiery region, only dared to watch, not daring to approach.

Within the black and white Taiji Diagram, the sword tip trembled, almost breaking free.

“Hmm? There really is a resonance? Taiyin, Taiyang.”

Jiang Changkong took a step forward, directly entering the silver-white region.

Cold surged over him, and the Star Demon roared, no longer hesitating. Its claws shimmered with silver-white cold light as it lunged at Jiang Changkong.

The Taiji Diagram manifested, and the Star Gate Initial Stage Star Demon instantly exploded into a mist of blood.

Extracting its Essence, Qi, and Spirit, and collecting the Star Stone, Jiang Changkong hurried forward.

After a moment’s thought, he took out the sword tip and withdrew the Taiji Diagram.

This time, the sword tip did not release cold energy but floated in the air before automatically flying away.

Jiang Changkong’s eyes lit up, and he quickly gave chase.

Encased in the black and white Taiji Diagram, he feared neither the cold energy nor the suppression.

Within him, all his Blazing Sun Star Power had transformed into Taiji energy.