Killing Intent at Frostmoon Altar

Feng An ultimately chose the jade slip of the Basic Forging Manual.

By his own account, he already knew a little about the art of forging, and had nearly read through every book on forging in the Outer Sect Technique Pavilion.

"This Basic Forging Manual is an inheritance of the Tempered Gold Gate. It differs from the forging inheritance of the Cangwu Sect and should offer me some inspiration."

"If Junior Brother Kong and Junior Sister Zhou trust me, you can give me all these forging materials. I'll use them to get some practice in, and when I forge some magical artifacts, we can divide them among ourselves."

Kong Jiao and Zhou Tingyu naturally could not have asked for more.

As for the most valuable Flame Python Coiling Plate, no one chose it in the end.

After all, none of the three possessed fire-element spiritual power. Taking it would have been useless.

In the end, at Feng An and Zhou Tingyu's insistence, the Flame Python Coiling Plate and Jiang Xingtian's storage pouch both went to Kong Jiao.

"Without Junior Brother Kong, I'd already be dead. What's there to divide?" That was Feng An's reasoning.

"I hardly did anything." Zhou Tingyu stuck out her tongue playfully.

Kong Jiao did not refuse, accepting them both with a smile.

He could sense that after this battle, Feng An's wariness toward him had greatly lessened.

The final division of the spoils was as follows:

Kong Jiao received the Spirit-Returning Liquid, the Flame Python Coiling Plate, the storage pouch, and around one hundred Spirit Crystals.

Zhou Tingyu took the Little Vajra Talisman, plus one hundred Spirit Crystals.

Feng An took the Basic Forging Manual, assorted forging materials, plus one hundred Spirit Crystals.

It was a rare sunny day in winter.

Kong Jiao and Feng An sat at the edge of a cliff in Frostmoon Altar Gorge, squinting slightly as they basked in the warm sunlight.

With Zhou Tingyu's daily medicinal treatment, Feng An had regained some vitality. Although the fiery poison burns Jiang Xingtian left behind had not fully healed, they no longer hindered his movements.

From this spot, the layered ruins of Frostmoon Altar were no larger than a washbasin.

Perhaps because they had gone through so much together, Feng An now considered Kong Jiao a trustworthy companion. Over the past few days, he had become much more talkative.

He slowly began recounting some of the dangers and sights he had encountered over the years.

And from time to time, he spoke of his own past.

"Don't look at me like this now. Back then, I was considered quite an outstanding disciple in the Cangwu Sect's outer sect."

Feng An smiled smugly, his gaze gradually drifting into the distance.

"I was simply too arrogant in my youth and chose the wrong path, ending up half-dead like this."

Kong Jiao had been holding back a question for a long time. Since Feng An had brought it this far, he did not beat around the bush and asked tentatively, "How old are you exactly, Senior Brother Feng?"

When Zhou Tingyu had examined Feng An's injuries, she had said that his bone age was not as old as he appeared.

Perhaps the reasons Feng An had never spoken of were what had left him so decrepit.

Feng An cast Kong Jiao a bitter glance, seemingly unsurprised by the question.

After a brief silence, he awkwardly gave a number. "Thirty-nine!"

Kong Jiao's expression immediately turned strange. Looking at Feng An's head of white hair and hunched frame, he appeared at least twenty years older than his bone age.

Kong Jiao was not good at comforting people. In the end, he only managed to squeeze out one sentence. "Not bad. You only look sixty."

Feng An's previously cheerful face—brightened by his recovering injuries and the gains from the spoils—instantly froze. He said dryly, "I usually tell people I'm fifty!"

"Haha!" Kong Jiao could no longer hold it in. He laughed until tears nearly came out.

Feng An could not be bothered with him and continued on his own.

"Actually, my condition isn't beyond saving. The Alchemy Pavilion has a pill that can treat my illness. It's just a little expensive."

"Everything I've accumulated over these years has been for trading for that spiritual medicine."

"Once we return this time and hand over the Moonfrost Ice Lingzhi, then divide the Twin-Stem Ice Lingzhi, we should have enough money."

Kong Jiao could see the hope in Feng An's eyes, and his smile gradually faded.

This fellow looked old and crafty, but he was also a man of unyielding will.

He had struggled for so many years for a single goal.

Luckily, this time he had gotten lucky and run into him.

Kong Jiao even felt that they had encountered the Twin-Stem Ice Lingzhi because his fortune had been steadily growing stronger over the past few months.

"Then let me wish Senior Brother Feng a full recovery in advance." It was rare for Kong Jiao to say something decent.

As he spoke, Kong Jiao stood up, brushed the snow from his backside, and said, "Let's go. We've wandered around enough today."

Today was already the fifth day since Feng An had awakened.

Over the past few days, they had gone out for a stroll every day, occasionally heading to the Frostmoon Altar ruins and putting on the appearance of continuing their search for medicinal herbs.

It also dispelled some of the ill-intentioned gazes directed at them.

After the battle with Jiang Xingtian, Kong Jiao had gained some notoriety among the herb gatherers at Frostmoon Altar.

Quite a few people were deeply wary of him.

After all, he had killed an expert at the sixth level of the Wheel-Nourishing Realm head-on.

That mysterious arc of light that had severed Jiang Xingtian's head still filled many people with lingering fear.

Even Zheng Gang and the other sixth-level Wheel-Nourishing Realm cultivators did not dare claim they could withstand an attack of that caliber.

Of course, after several days of recuperation, Kong Jiao had fully recovered from the side effects of taking the Qi-Bursting Pill.

His cultivation had returned to its peak.

"My injuries have healed. It's time to find an opportunity to visit the place where that fortuitous chance lies." Kong Jiao silently thought as he faced Frostmoon Altar.

Including the time spent traveling here, they had already stayed at Frostmoon Altar for a full twenty days.

It would take another two days to return to the sect, which meant Kong Jiao only had eight days left.

If he did not seize a chance to seek that fortuitous opportunity soon, Kong Jiao would have to remain at Frostmoon Altar alone.

No time to lose. I'll go take a look tonight.

With that thought, he led Feng An and slowly leaped down the steep slope of the cliff.

They occasionally encountered a few herb gatherers, but upon seeing Kong Jiao and Feng An, they avoided them as though they could not get away fast enough.

That night, the moon was dark and the wind high.

Dark clouds once again gathered over the skies of Frostmoon Altar Gorge.

Now and then, howling cold winds swept down from above the gorge, faintly signaling an approaching blizzard.

In the dimly lit valley floor of Frostmoon Altar,

A figure hid in the darkness, moving forward without a sound.

He gripped something tightly in his hand, a pearly white radiance leaking through the gaps between his fingers.

"Ugh, the glow of the Frostfall Fragmentary Scripture can't be concealed. No matter how well I hide, it's useless." Kong Jiao muttered with a bitter smile. After confirming the general direction, he had no choice but to tuck the Frostfall Fragmentary Scripture into his sleeve and use his clothing to block its glow.

He had only just emerged from the cave where he had been hiding, still some distance from the buildings of Frostmoon Altar.

But at his speed, reaching them would take no more than the time it took to drink a cup of tea.

Just as he was considering how to proceed cautiously after arriving,

Several unusually intense fluctuations of spiritual power suddenly came from a bend in the gorge ahead.

Then came several deafening explosions.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The sudden thunderous blasts rang through the quiet gorge like startling thunder, carrying far into the distance.

Kong Jiao, who was not far from the source, felt his eardrums go slightly numb from the shock.

"Someone's fighting!" Kong Jiao frowned slightly.

Fighting was nothing unusual at Frostmoon Altar.

But this battle differed from all the previous ones.

Kong Jiao silently sensed the spiritual power fluctuations that had yet to dissipate. His expression was filled with surprise as he said, "Sixth level of the Wheel-Nourishing Realm!"

He had only just made his judgment.

Boom! Another thunderous blast rang out!

From the corner of his eye, Kong Jiao saw a blood-red sword light suddenly shoot into the sky from that area.

The crimson glow dyed the nearby snow and cliff faces the color of blood.

The dense killing intent contained in that Sword Qi made Kong Jiao's chest tighten slightly.

He could sense an intense feeling of threat from that Sword Qi.

"Seventh level of the Wheel-Nourishing Realm!" Kong Jiao's advancing steps came to a halt.

He stared blankly at the place where the sword light shot skyward, hesitating for a moment, unable to move forward.

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