Chapter 181: Drawing Out Taiyin Cold Qi

The moment the Lunar Cold Energy invaded his body, Jiang Changkong seized the opportunity, and the Taiyin Sword once again rose like a hazy moon.

Moonlight cascaded, as if he were the Moon Goddess herself, commanding Taiyin—mesmerizing and awe-inspiring.

The middle-aged man’s expression shifted. Switching his longsword to his left hand, he unleashed a torrent of Star Power from within.

A deafening explosion erupted, shattering the silvery ice on the ground. A terrifying shockwave swept in all directions, dust mingling with moonlight as it scattered everywhere.

Jiang Changkong’s gaze sharpened. He retreated violently, his face turning exceptionally grim.

In contrast, the middle-aged man’s expression was equally unpleasant as he staggered back over ten meters.

Hum

Silently and without warning, the Taiyin Blade abruptly appeared.

The middle-aged man’s face changed again. With Star Power surging, a vial of potion materialized in his right hand.

Without hesitation, he downed the potion in one gulp.

Rumble

Vast fluctuations of Star Power shook the earth, cracking it open with deep fissures.

Soil flew into the air, the cold pond trembled, and water surged skyward.

The Taiyin Blade, before it could even get close, was directly swept away by this surge of Star Power.

“This power… he’s taken a drug.”

“Jiang Changyue is truly formidable, actually pushing him into a crisis.”

“This guy really has no shame. At the late Star Spirit stage, he resorts to drugs?”

Hidden in the shadows, a group of people watched the scene in shock, simultaneously retreating far away to avoid being caught in the crossfire.

“It ends here.”

The middle-aged man’s expression turned sinister, his eyes filled with killing intent. “You’re the first mid-stage Star Spirit to force me to use a potion!”

“Indeed, it ends here.”

Jiang Changkong beckoned, and the Taiyin Blade flew back, aligning itself with the Taiyin Sword before him.

The Moon Laurel Leaves swayed, moonlight ebbing and flowing like two crescent moons.

“Ocean-Sundering Sword!”

The middle-aged man roared, gathering immense Star Power and channeling it all into his azure longsword.

The sound of crashing waves echoed as a vast ocean transformed into sword light.

It was like an infinite sword, its sword energy boundless and inexhaustible.

Beneath his black robes, Jiang Changkong’s expression turned icy. Extending both hands, he lightly tapped the two Moon Laurel Leaves. “Moonlight Essence.”

With a soft utterance, the Moon Laurel Leaves trembled, unleashing a torrent of Lunar Cold Energy.

Then, responding to the resonance, the Taiyin Sword trembled violently, and an unprecedented surge of sword energy rose from it.

A sword intent capable of annihilating everything boiled over. Centered on the sword tip, the ground froze over once more.

As the Moon Laurel Leaves made contact, the cold energy within was drawn forth. The first to bear the brunt was none other than Jiang Changkong himself.

In an instant, Jiang Changkong transformed into an ice sculpture.

“What is this…?”

The middle-aged man’s face contorted wildly. Without even time to unleash his sword light, he surged with Star Power from within, desperate to escape.

But the cold energy was too terrifying, spreading too quickly, and the power at the sword tip was even more horrifying.

The annihilating sword energy filled a radius of hundreds of meters, omnipresent and inescapable.

Thud

His barely shifted foot was instantly pierced. Moonforce rapidly spread throughout his body, transforming him into an ice sculpture.

The colossal sword light trembled, yet before it could strike down, a silvery-white moonlight flashed, morphing into a massive silver-white sword.

Even the sword light was frozen!

“What kind of power is this? Even a Star Spirit Peak expert couldn’t withstand it, could they?”

In the distance, figures fled in terror.

Because the Lunar Cold Energy continued to spread, instantly filling a radius of hundreds of meters. It showed no signs of stopping, still expanding in all directions.

“Is he insane? Unleashing such power—even Jiang Changyue won’t survive this.”

Among those hidden in the shadows, some failed to escape in time and had already turned into ice sculptures, frozen in place.

As for the middle-aged man, his fate was even more tragic. Under the sword energy, his body was riddled with cracks.

Within the ice sculpture lay the corpse covered in sword marks, its life force long extinguished.

The Moon Laurel Leaf trembled faintly, while the Lunar Blade and Sword continued to quiver.

Silver-white power surged in all directions, its reach unknown. Looking around, the world was awash in nothing but silver-white light.

After half a minute of continuous release, the Moon Laurel Leaf ceased its trembling, and the blade and sword returned to stillness, standing upright in place.

Jiang Changkong, now encased in ice, was not dead. The Taiyin Star Power within his body was rapidly circulating.

The ice covering his body transformed into strands of pure energy, replenishing his expended Star Power.

If there was any discomfort, it was simply the intense cold. He might suffer frostbite afterward.

After waiting for half an hour, the Moonforce on his body finally dissipated. Jiang Changkong spat out a mouthful of ice shards.

Indeed, he had intended to exhale a sigh of relief, but what came out was ice.

The Moon Laurel Leaf dimmed slightly, and the Lunar Blade and Sword also lost their luster. The sword tip no longer emitted the slightest hint of cold.

Glancing at the Taiyin Cold Pool behind him, although the freezing power had some effect, it likely couldn’t completely seal the pool.

The pool was filled with Taiyin Star Power, and beneath it lay the Taiyin Lake. Freezing it was nearly impossible.

Jiang Changkong melted the ice covering the pool and descended into the cold waters, heading straight for the Taiyin Lake.

The earlier sword energy had been blocked by him, so this area remained unaffected.

The Star Demons were still hidden deep within. Jiang Changkong carefully placed the Lunar Blade and Sword back into the pool to absorb the Taiyin Star Power once more.

The Taiyin Star Power contained here was terrifying. If unleashed, even a Star Spirit Peak expert would likely fall here.

If he could control this power, wouldn’t he be able to defeat anyone instantly, as long as no High-Rank Martial Artist appeared?

He made no commotion, avoiding alerting the Star Demons. After absorbing the Taiyin Star Power, he left immediately.

Returning outside the cold pool, Jiang Changkong examined the middle-aged man’s body, his attention drawn to the ring on the man’s finger and the jade pendant at his waist.

He melted the Taiyin Star Power, and the finger wearing the ring fell off.

“Could it be shattered?” Jiang Changkong then melted the ice sealing the jade pendant. The pendant, along with a fragment of clothing, dropped to the ground.

It was truly shattered!

If this corpse were thawed, it would likely turn into a pile of minced flesh.

Jiang Changkong took the two items and infused them with Star Power. Both were Spatial Equipment!

He reassembled the severed finger and the clothing fragment, refroze them, and then departed.

Instead of heading to the research institute’s outpost, he chose a random direction and left. He was in poor condition himself, nearly critically injured.

If he were to face such an ordeal again now, even as a Taiyin Star Power cultivator, he would not survive.

This was only because he was a Taiyin Star Power cultivator and the wielder of the Lunar Blade and Sword, which spared him from the sword energy’s attack.

“If the complete Lunar Sword were to unleash its power, could an ordinary High-Rank Martial Artist withstand it?”

The thought crossed Jiang Changkong’s mind, but it remained just that—a thought.

He had never seen a High-Rank Martial Artist, and fully restoring the Lunar Sword was nearly impossible.

“Still, this guy had quite a few Star Stones.”

Jiang Changkong inspected the items. The ring contained potions, while the jade pendant held Star Stones.

One thousand Fifth Rank High-Grade stones, five hundred Fifth Rank Top-Grade stones.

There were also three thousand Fifth Rank Mid-Grade stones, but no Fifth Rank Low-Grade ones.

A few of the potions also contained Essence, though not in significant amounts.

1.1 million units of Essence!

“This guy must have thoroughly looted all three families.”

Jiang Changkong murmured to himself. These people were not so benevolent as to help the three families for free.

With everyone gathering Star Stones, they certainly wouldn’t have spared these three families.

“In that case, I now have over 1.6 million Essence. Should I wipe out the three families now?”

Jiang Changkong pondered. The three families might have run out of Star Stones, but what if they still had hidden cards up their sleeves?

He decided to heal his injuries first. As for the remaining Essence, he could easily obtain it by saving a few people.

In this world, there were plenty of people who refused to listen to reason and seemed determined to seek death. Moreover, the abyss was fraught with dangers.

Saving their lives and asking for some Star Stones in return wasn’t too much to ask.