Moon Palace Taiyin Scripture and Moon-Soul Citybreaker Halberd

"Moon Palace Taiyin Scripture!" Inside the mysterious space.

Kong Jiao's expression stirred. He held the jade slip before him in both hands and confirmed that this Moon Palace Taiyin Scripture was the follow-up cultivation method to the Frostfall Wheel-Nourishing Scripture.

The smile that involuntarily spread across his face nearly covered his entire countenance.

Heaven did not disappoint those who persevered. After narrowly surviving Frostmoon Altar, he had finally obtained the follow-up cultivation method to the Frostfall Wheel-Nourishing Scripture.

This opportunity did not end there. The cultivation jade slip recording the Moon Palace Taiyin Scripture was merely one of the rewards for completing this trial.

Beside it lay a jade waist token engraved with his name, a token representing his status as an official disciple of the Moon Palace.

Of course, Kong Jiao had never heard of the Moon Palace sect. He did not know which ancient cultivator sect it had been, but in any case, such a sect no longer existed in the current cultivation world.

It had likely vanished into the river of history. Frostmoon Altar's present desolate state was proof enough.

Thus, Kong Jiao did not care much about that waist token.

What he cared about most were the final two items.

One was a Bronze Battle Halberd half a head taller than Kong Jiao himself. Its shaft possessed exceptional resilience and felt perfectly smooth in his hand. The blades on either side of its head curved like crescents, shimmering light coiling around their edges, while a hazy radiance gathered at the tip, emanating biting cold.

Upon closer inspection, it carried an aura capable of splitting mountains and shattering rocks—mysterious and tyrannical.

Along with it came a halberd combat technique suited to the weapon.

Moon-Soul Citybreaker Halberd.

The string of fierce battles lately had made Kong Jiao feel that the little bit of Daoist arts he possessed was no longer enough.

The Cicada-Whisper Longbow paired with the Frost Breath Technique still had some use at times, but he had never practiced archery. He could only make do with it.

He had originally planned to select a sword art or archery art to practice once he returned to the Cangwu Sect.

Who could have known that, after darkness, another village would bloom with willows and flowers? Passing this ancient sect's trial had not only granted him the Moon-Soul Citybreaker Halberd, but also a matching weapon.

After studying it, Kong Jiao felt that the quality of this Bronze Battle Halberd had to be among the finest magical artifacts of the Wheel-Nourishing Realm.

A magical artifact of such quality would command an astronomical price in the Cangwu Sect.

And this halberd combat technique, handed to him alongside the Bronze Battle Halberd, could not possibly be inferior to the most formidable sword art of the Cangwu Sect's outer sect.

"Wonderful. If the Frost Breath Technique fails to catch someone off guard in the future, I can still raise my halberd and fight him head-on." Kong Jiao hugged the items to his chest, unable to put them down.

Across from Kong Jiao, the puppet watched his ecstatic display, his eyes still as placid as an ancient well.

He merely asked, "Outer sect disciple Kong Jiao, do you still remember the taboo concerning the Moon Wheel Seal?"

After their brief time together, Kong Jiao had more or less grasped the puppet's temperament. Everything he did followed the boundaries set by the person who had created him.

It could be said that, at certain times, there was no need to regard him as a person.

Though he had never been one to begin with.

Thus, hearing the puppet's question, Kong Jiao casually replied without even lifting his head, "I remember! I remember!"

"The Moon Wheel Seal is the core of the Moon Palace Taiyin Scripture. It can gather the power of moonlight and absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, aiding cultivators in raising their cultivation."

"After disciples of our sect cultivate the Moon Palace Taiyin Scripture, they will possess a corresponding mental method for activating the Moon Wheel Seal. Its wondrous uses are endless."

"There is one more point!" The puppet stared directly at Kong Jiao, seemingly waiting for him to state the final key matter.

"Any disciple of this sect must not reveal the Moon Wheel Seal's secret. Thus, they must swear a heart demon oath. Those who defy it will surely suffer the calamity of heart demons devouring their bodies and souls scattering to the winds." Kong Jiao's expression grew solemn as he spoke.

Though he did not know what a heart demon oath was, he had made that oath under the puppet's guidance earlier in order to obtain the subsequent cultivation method.

At first, he had not taken it seriously. Yet after swearing it, he felt as though some kind of mark had been branded upon his body in the unseen.

Should he reveal any information connected to the oath, that mark would inevitably become the talisman summoning his death.

Fortunately, Kong Jiao had no reason to reveal the Moon Wheel Seal's secret.

Naturally, he also felt that the oath was only reasonable.

After all, the Moon Palace was not the only sect with methods to prevent cultivation techniques from being leaked. Many sects in the current cultivation world, including the Cangwu Sect, seemed to have similar taboos concerning certain important techniques.

"Very good. Once your Moon Wheel Seal reaches completion, you will be qualified to enter the Moon Palace Inner Hall." Only after hearing Kong Jiao personally recite the heart demon oath did the puppet nod in satisfaction.

Then he said, "Outer sect disciple Kong Jiao, you may formally cultivate the Moon Palace Taiyin Scripture within this trial space. If there is anything you do not understand, you may ask me."

"Practice it now?" Kong Jiao raised his brows. He was cautious by nature and was not accustomed to cultivating in front of others.

The puppet answered Kong Jiao in a tone that brooked no doubt. "If you do not cultivate the Lunar Scripture, how can you be considered a disciple of my Moon Palace?"

Kong Jiao knew that whenever matters concerning the Moon Palace's inheritance were involved, this puppet was terrifyingly stubborn.

Or rather, the orders left within his body by his former master could not be altered.

Kong Jiao was clearly no match for the puppet, nor was there any need to resist.

After all, the puppet had said that Kong Jiao could ask him about anything he did not understand.

It was equivalent to receiving a free guide on the path of cultivation, a privilege only inner sect disciples enjoyed in the Cangwu Sect.

"This disciple obeys!" Kong Jiao slowly nodded, storing the other items in his storage pouch while keeping only the Moon Palace Taiyin Scripture in his hand.

Within the trial space, the two scriptures lay side by side directly before the cushion on which Kong Jiao sat.

One was the crescent-shaped Frostfall Fragmentary Scripture, while the other was the oval-shaped Moon Palace Taiyin Scripture.

Their materials were similar. When joined together, they formed a perfectly fitted round disc, seamless as a full moon.

In Kong Jiao's eyes, the Frostfall Fragmentary Scripture alone could be used as a magical artifact, and its power was already quite impressive.

Now that it had formed a full moon, the power of this magical artifact was likely even more terrifying.

At the same time, Kong Jiao could not help but marvel at the profound foundations of the Moon Palace, the sect that had vanished into the river of history.

Even the cultivation methods casually bestowed upon disciples could be used as superior magical artifacts.

Its initiation rewards even included superior magical artifacts given outright.

Among all the sects today, which one could compare to the Moon Palace's lavish wealth? Kong Jiao thought.

After indulging in a brief bout of sentiment, Kong Jiao focused all his attention on the Moon Palace Taiyin Scripture.

He first read through it several times. Whenever he encountered something he did not understand, he asked the puppet, who solemnly clarified each point for him.

This greatly saved Kong Jiao's time.

After roughly two hours, once Kong Jiao had thoroughly read, understood, and comprehended the entire mental method, he began formally cultivating the Moon Palace Taiyin Scripture.

He closed his eyes and guided the spiritual power within his body through meridian pathways he had never traversed before.

Strangely, though it was his first time cultivating it, he felt an indescribable sense of everything falling into place as naturally as water flowing into a channel.

Every time a new meridian was filled, his body trembled involuntarily, and every pore across his body stretched open in comfort.

When he completed one full great circulation for the first time.

The originally azure spiritual power in his body rapidly turned snow-white at a visible rate.

An aura of extreme cold spread uncontrollably from Kong Jiao's body, covering even the cushion beneath him with a layer of frost.

As Kong Jiao continued cultivating, the frost continued spreading toward the edges of the trial space.

The puppet watched this scene without blinking, and a look of remembrance surfaced in his dark golden eyes.

Perhaps Kong Jiao had been mistaken. The puppet was not without intelligence; he was simply too bound, at certain times, by the rules his former master had left within his body.

Outside Frostmoon Altar Grand Canyon, a tall figure carrying a longsword raced in from the snow-filled horizon.

He moved so quickly that the snow along his path was forcibly pushed aside by the air currents, carving a straight trench through the snowy ground.

The figure appeared young, yet an edge of sharpness radiated from his very bones.

His eyes in particular were fierce and piercing.

At last, the youth stopped in a dense forest at the canyon's edge. After looking around, he stepped into the woods.

On the only path leading into Frostmoon Altar, the seductive woman in red, now missing one arm, blocked his way.

"This path is closed!" Unlike when she had stopped Kong Jiao several days ago, the woman no longer wore a smile. Her face was cold as she looked at the youth before her.

"If you know what's good for you, get lost."

The youth raised a swordlike brow. His rather heroic face showed no displeasure at the woman's words.

Instead, his gaze fell upon her severed left arm.

The woman seemed to notice his stare. Her inner pain had been struck, and the killing intent on her face could no longer be concealed. Her still-pretty features twisted viciously. "I've changed my mind. You don't need to leave."

"Haha! They say women are fickle, but you old hag truly changed your face faster than turning the pages of a book." The youth laughed loudly as the longsword on his back flew out on its own and landed in his right hand.

He pointed the blade directly at the woman in red. Battle intent surged in his eyes as he asked,

"Was it a youth with long eyelids, as handsome as me, who cut off your arm?"

At those words, the rage the woman had suppressed for days erupted in an instant. She shrieked, "Since you're in the same gang, then die!"

Boom! Blood-colored mist surged from the woman's body, blanketing the entire forest.

Shangguan Yuzhou remained fearless before the blood mist rushing toward him like it covered the heavens and earth. War blazed in his eyes as he let out a long roar.

Clang! Countless strands of Sword Qi erupted at the same moment, and rows of trees standing upright in the snow toppled directly to the ground.