Chapter 152: Taiyin Water Pool

Roar!

The injured Star Demon did not flee; instead, it grew even more frenzied.

Starlight converged, forming a Starforce Beam that seemed capable of destroying heaven and earth as it surged forward.

“Be careful,” An Yuanshan urgently warned.

“The limit of the early Star Spirit stage is just about this much.”

After his first strike, Jiang Changkong had already gauged the gap between them.

Blazing Sun Star Power rose once more, but this time it was warm and gentle, like a scorching sun.

Blazing Sun Blade!

Star Power gathered into a blade, crashing down with immense force.

Roar!

The Star Demon roared, and the power of the Starforce Beam intensified further.

Hum!

Yet, under the blazing sun, everything melted away. The Starforce Beam instantly disintegrated, and the blade’s momentum remained unstoppable, landing squarely on the Star Demon.

Boom!

With a tremor, the Star Demon split apart, cleaved in two by the blade’s edge. Blood splattered and rained down.

With a wave of his hand, Jiang Changkong collected the flying Star Stones into his Hidden Star Ring.

Not bad—1,000 points of Essence, Qi, and Spirit. Even the corpse yielded 200 points.

But with them watching, it wasn’t the right time to extract it.

“Dead… it’s dead?”

Xu Qian stared in shock at the scene. In just two moves, a Star Demon at the peak of the early Star Spirit stage had been split in half.

Was this really the peak of the Star Vault stage?

Had Jiang Changkong not been exaggerating earlier?

An Yuanshan glanced at the Star Demon’s corpse, then at Jiang Changkong, his eyes gleaming. “A promising talent, absolutely promising.”

Jiang Changkong: “…”

What promising talent? Don’t talk nonsense. I have no intention of joining the military.

“Genius, I forgot to ask your name yesterday.”

An Yuanshan said excitedly, “A talent like you absolutely must join the military.”

“No.”

Jiang Changkong refused outright, turning to Xu Qian, who was still in a daze. “Sister Xu Qian.”

“Oh, right.”

Xu Qian snapped back to reality and quickly moved to Jiang Changkong’s side. “Uncle An, this is Jiang Changkong, Ruoxi’s friend.”

“Ruoxi’s friend? Could he be from Jianghai Province?” An Yuanshan exclaimed in surprise.

“Is there a problem?” Jiang Changkong frowned.

“No, no problem. The news said Jianghai Province produced someone known as Jiang Star Stone, who only cares about Star Stones. You wouldn’t happen to be…”

An Yuanshan looked at him excitedly.

Jiang Star Stone had utterly crushed the talents from the Major Provinces.

Although those guys weren’t highly regarded and weren’t much to speak of, they were still far beyond what Anding Province could match.

Moreover, that night, the Major Provinces had sent four early Star Spirit stage experts, and in the end, they were all locked up like scolded children.

But before he could finish, Jiang Changkong cut him off, somewhat annoyed. “You’re the one called Star Stone. Your whole family is called Star Stone.”

“Ahem, alright. So, are you the one from the news or not?” An Yuanshan coughed lightly and asked.

“No,” Jiang Changkong shook his head. “I just like Star Stones.”

An Yuanshan: “…”

Isn’t that just admitting it?

Xu Qian looked utterly astonished, even more so than when the Star Demon was slain.

Jiang Changkong’s strength had already surprised her, but she never expected he was actually the one from the news.

Crushing Star Spirit stage experts from the Major Provinces—his strength was no exaggeration!

“If you have nothing else to discuss, let’s check out the mineral vein area first,” Jiang Changkong said calmly.

“You’re also eyeing the mineral vein?”

An Yuanshan’s expression shifted slightly, turning serious. “I suggest you reconsider. Right now, it’s not just Pingan City.

The entire Anding Province, and even some forces from the Major Provinces, are keeping an eye on it.”

“Major Provinces? High-Rank Martial Artists?” Jiang Changkong’s expression darkened.

“No, High-Rank Martial Artists wouldn’t bother competing for a mineral vein. But there are plenty of late-stage and peak Star Spirit stage experts.”

An Yuanshan advised, “A promising seedling like you mustn’t suffer any mishaps.”

“I’m just taking a look,” Jiang Changkong said calmly.

For now, his strength was indeed lacking, so he wouldn’t say much.

If he truly couldn’t compete, he would give up. Once his strength improved, he could always search for another mineral vein.

“Since I have nothing else to do, I’ll go with you to take a look,” An Yuanshan said.

Jiang Changkong didn’t mind, while Xu Qian welcomed the idea.

Waving his hand, he summoned a ball of flame, intending to burn the Star Demon corpse.

Xu Qian quickly stopped him, “Don’t burn it! This is excellent material. Don’t you need weapon materials?”

Jiang Changkong paused. He wasn’t actually going to burn it—he just wanted them to think he had, or else it would start to stink.

Still, if it could be used to forge weapons, that wasn’t too bad.

“It can be used as material? But this is only at the early Star Spirit stage,” Jiang Changkong said dismissively.

He had no interest in weapons of the sixth-tier, lower grade.

“Of course it can. Not only are the Star Demon’s claws sharp and its bones sturdy, but even if you wanted better materials, the professor agreed to it,” Xu Qian explained.

“Then keep it. You can store it for me,” Jiang Changkong said.

“Brother, do you need weapon materials?” An Yuanshan’s eyes shifted as he spoke.

“Seeing you, I suddenly feel I don’t need any,” Jiang Changkong replied flatly.

An Yuanshan paused but didn’t take offense. “Why be so distant? I was just going to say I have some.”

“You’ll only give it if I join the military, right?” Jiang Changkong scoffed.

An Yuanshan chuckled awkwardly. “Let’s not talk about that. But I do know where to find materials, though it’s a bit dangerous.”

“Where?” Jiang Changkong grew interested.

“The Gravity Zone. Someone once discovered top-tier sixth-tier materials there. It’s confidential information, absolutely reliable,” An Yuanshan whispered.

“Let’s check the mineral vein first.”

Jiang Changkong said no more. He planned to visit all three dangerous areas.

After walking for so long, they had only encountered one early Star Spirit stage Star Demon. Who knew how long it would take to gather enough “Essence, Qi, and Spirit”?

Xu Qian stored the Star Demon corpse, even collecting its blood in a bucket.

The three moved swiftly, arriving at a rocky area a few minutes later.

Stones were piled together, with sparse weeds growing amidst the chaos.

Xu Qian said, “This is the mineral vein area.”

“There don’t seem to be any Star Demons nearby,” Jiang Changkong observed, scanning the surroundings for any traces.

“Star Demons rarely come here. It’s all rocks, and they don’t like it,” Xu Qian explained.

Jiang Changkong nodded. He couldn’t see anything special either. The only reason he came was to confirm the location.

He then had them take him to the Terrifying Deep Pool.

A clear green pool emitted a faint chill.

Jiang Changkong reached out to touch the water, and the Taiyin Star Power within him trembled slightly.

Lunar Cold Energy!

Xu Qian warned, “Don’t touch it carelessly. The water is extremely cold, and it’s full of dangers inside.”

“It’s fine,” An Yuanshan waved his hand. “Brother Changkong’s strength is more than enough to withstand this chill.”

“It’s a strange chill. It has quite an effect on my Blazing Sun Star Power,” Jiang Changkong said, a hint of surprise on his face.

If there was Lunar Cold Energy here, could there be something related to Moonforce inside?

If so, he might find more weapon materials.

After a moment’s thought, Jiang Changkong said, “I’ll go down and take a look. Wait for me up here.”

“Go down? Are you crazy?” The two of them paled, quickly grabbing hold of him.

“With your body full of Blazing Sun Star Power, entering this cold pool will surely greatly diminish your strength.

If you encounter Star Spirits or Star Demons, you might die inside.”

Jiang Changkong said, “Don’t worry, my strongest is Taiji. I owe a friend a favor—he needs cold-attribute materials.

Besides, I’m just taking a look. If there’s danger, I’ll come up immediately.”

After speaking, he used his Star Power to push the two back, then leaped directly into the cold pool.

Upon entering, Jiang Changkong circulated Taiyin Star Power. The silvery-white Taiyin starlight, in contact with the cold pool water, brought him immense comfort.