Chapter 134: Cold Moon Art

Following the sword tip for about ten minutes, it came to a halt.

Ahead of him was a golden barrier, with golden flames dancing upon its surface.

Boom

A chilling cold erupted, and a sword intent capable of annihilating everything burst forth. A sword qi flew out from the tip of the sword.

The silvery-white sword qi resembled a crescent moon.

Boom

The sword qi struck down, but the golden barrier showed not the slightest ripple. Instead, the sword qi dispersed and vanished within this frigid land.

Jiang Changkong watched as the sword tip erupted, yet it could do nothing against the fiery barrier. He found this unsurprising.

How could a barrier capable of existing in such a cold place be broken by a mere sword qi?

If it were the sharpness of the sword tip piercing through, he might have held some hope.

But sword qi? Forget it.

He wasn’t even afraid of this sword qi; he only feared the sharpness of the sword tip.

After its outburst, the sword tip seemed to have exhausted its power and fell to the ground.

Jiang Changkong picked up the sword tip and wrapped it in a black-and-white Taiji Diagram.

Looking at the golden barrier, it was still composed of that golden Blazing Sun Star Power.

After a moment of thought, Jiang Changkong pressed a hand against the barrier and began converting Blazing Sun Star Power.

Hum

The barrier rippled and automatically parted, revealing a passage just wide enough for one person to pass through.

Jiang Changkong felt a surge of joy, never expecting this place to be so accommodating to cultivators of Blazing Sun Star Power.

Stepping through the golden barrier, a terrifying cold instantly assailed him.

Jiang Changkong’s expression changed as his feet rapidly froze over, the ice visibly spreading upward.

Ahead of him lay seven frozen corpses—three human and four Star Demon.

At the center of these corpses was a broken stele covered in inscriptions and patterns.

Essence, Qi, and Spirit: …

Essence, Qi, and Spirit, my foot.

Jiang Changkong immediately unleashed all his Star Power.

Crack

The ice shattered rapidly, and Jiang Changkong hastily retreated.

At a time like this, with his life nearly on the line, no amount of Essence, Qi, and Spirit was worth it.

“Such terrifying Lunar Cold Energy.”

Only after retreating beyond the golden barrier did the cold vanish, blocked by the barrier.

Jiang Changkong’s feet felt icy and numb, completely devoid of sensation.

After circulating Blazing Sun Star Power several times, they gradually recovered.

“What was written on that stele? Were those corpses humans and Star Demons who had broken into this place over the years?”

Jiang Changkong pondered. Many humans had died here, but those who typically came likely weren’t particularly strong.

As for those Star Sea or Star Gate Martial Artists trying to break in—wasn’t that a joke?

Sending Star Gate Initial Stage cultivators here would have them frozen or scorched to death long before they arrived.

And then there was the issue of Essence, Qi, and Spirit. Where had that prompt just now come from?

After a moment of contemplation, Jiang Changkong once again circulated Blazing Sun Star Power to open the barrier.

This time, he didn’t enter but observed from a distance.

Essence, Qi, and Spirit: 100,000, 100,000… Extract?

“??”

Jiang Changkong was horrified. That Essence, Qi, and Spirit came from those corpses—each one containing 100,000!

How many years had this Starlight Distortion Land existed?

Their souls and wills had been worn away, leaving only the purest Essence, Qi, and Spirit—and still 100,000 remained!

What kind of terrifyingly powerful beings had they been in life?

Preserved intact by the ice, the corpses were merely pale as ghosts.

Both humans and Star Demons alike had their gazes fixed on that stele.

Jiang Changkong focused his vision, looking toward the stele. The inscriptions were strange, but the key issue was that he couldn’t see them clearly.

The stele seemed veiled by a thin gauze, its characters and patterns blurred and indistinct.

Faintly, he could only see a figure with blurred features, holding a sword in the right hand and a blade in the left.

A biting cold surged forth, extending from the barrier passage.

Jiang Changkong quickly withdrew his Blazing Sun Star Power, and the golden barrier automatically healed.

“This is seven hundred thousand Essence, plus that stone tablet.”

Standing outside the barrier, Jiang Changkong pondered how to obtain the treasure.

With seven hundred thousand Essence, plus another fifty thousand, it would be enough to bring both of his martial arts to perfection.

“With my full-strength Taiji Diagram, I should be able to withstand it for a moment, enough time to approach the nearest corpse.”

Jiang Changkong thought that once he extracted the Essence and upgraded the Mystical Tai Chi Art, he could hold out a little longer.

Even if it was just for a breath, he should be able to escape.

Such an opportunity was right before his eyes. He would take the risk; if he couldn’t get it, he would give up.

Taking a deep breath, Jiang Changkong reopened the golden barrier and charged straight in this time.

The Taiji Diagram erupted violently, protecting his entire body as he rushed toward the nearest Star Demon corpse.

He was close!

Extract the Essence, upgrade the Mystical Tai Chi Art!

The Star Power within his body surged rapidly, all of it channeled into the Mystical Tai Chi Art.

As the Star Power surged, the black-and-white Taiji Diagram shone brightly, forcing back the surrounding cold.

Jiang Changkong turned and ran, glancing back at the stone tablet. The content on it had become clearer.

He couldn’t understand the text, but he could recognize the patterns.

The face remained hazy and unclear, but the other parts were distinct. The patterns marked out various pathways.

“Could these be energy circulation routes?”

Jiang Changkong speculated that this was highly likely.

He glanced at his own data and, sure enough, there were changes.

Jiang Changkong: Peak Star Vault

Mid-grade Intermediate Martial Arts:

Indestructible Diamond Divine Art: Perfection: 1/1,875,000

Mystical Tai Chi Art: Mastery: 100,001/375,000

Three Blades of the Fleeting Swan: Mastery: 1/375,000

Blazing Sun Art: Mastery: 1/375,000

Spirit Control Art: Mastery: 1/375,000

Low-grade Superior Martial Arts:

Cold Moon Art: Beginner 0/2,000

Essence: 95,989.5

A single pattern, and it’s a low-grade superior martial art?

But there were many patterns on the stone tablet, and they were fragmented.

If all the patterns were combined, wouldn’t the grade be even higher?

Absolutely!

This diagram was, at most, a simple energy circulation route. If all the patterns were combined, the circulation route would become more complex, naturally raising its grade.

Jiang Changkong pondered. Should he charge in again?

If he cultivated this martial art, would he be able to get closer to the other corpses?

“It’s worth a try. This way, I’ll have one more martial art to cultivate.”

Jiang Changkong thought that although cultivating another martial art would make him stronger and increase his Star Power, the Essence required in the future would become even more terrifying. Just look at the present—nearly two million Essence was needed to perfect a single martial art.

However, if he cultivated it, his Blazing Sun Art paired with this Cold Moon Art…

Two words: a perfect match!

He had never found a suitable martial art before.

Now, Taiyin and Taiyang corresponded perfectly to the black-and-white Taiji Diagram, enhancing the power of the Mystical Tai Chi Art.

Moreover, his other identity also needed an attribute. Both used blades and had the Blazing Sun attribute.

That would clearly tell others it was the same person.

Relying solely on the Three Blades of the Fleeting Swan, though powerful, lacked attribute enhancement.

“Let’s see first. If the patterns, when fully viewed, are of a suitable grade, I’ll cultivate them to make up for the shortcomings.”

“If I can obtain those six hundred thousand points of Essence, it would be worth spending half to upgrade the Cold Moon Art.”

Jiang Changkong finally made up his mind. If the grade was suitable, he would cultivate it.

If the grade wasn’t up to par, he could make up for this shortcoming with other martial arts later.

Moreover, since the flames favored Blazing Sun Star Power, the cold energy here should also favor those who cultivate the martial arts on the stone tablet, right?

If even after cultivating it, he still couldn’t withstand the cold energy, then he simply wouldn’t practice it further.

Ninety thousand points of Essence meant nothing to him now.

Opening the barrier once more, Jiang Changkong rushed inside. Looking at the patterns, he memorized two this time.

The grade remained unchanged, so he continued.

The broken stone tablet had at least twenty patterns. By the time he reached the tenth, the grade finally changed.

Mid-tier, lower grade!

This delighted Jiang Changkong. He continued observing, going back and forth seven or eight times until he had memorized all the patterns.

Mid-tier, middle grade!

It was perfectly suited to his current stage.

“Even if I don’t understand it, I can still practice it.”

Jiang Changkong smiled with satisfaction and began to enhance it.

Ninety thousand points of Essence were just enough to raise it to the Great Accomplishment stage.

Within Jiang Changkong’s body, another Star Gate appeared—a silver-white Star Gate.

A surge of Taiyin Star Power now flowed within him, its chilling coldness no less formidable than the Blazing Sun Star Power.

The Taiji in his body circulated, intertwining the Taiyin and Taiyang Star Powers to form a Gold-Silver Taiji Diagram.

Half scorching, half icy, before dissipating.

Now it was time to test whether the Taiyin Star Power could withstand this cold energy.