Halberd Splits the River

The spirit power of the Spirit Spring was, as always, drawn forth by the cultivation technique within Kong Jiao's body, all of it surging toward the two Spirit Apertures in his body.

It then entered his meridians, carried along the circulation path of the Moon Palace Taiyin Scripture, where it was slowly refined.

After a full major circulation, it finally turned into a pure frost-white color and merged into his ice-lake-like dantian.

But today seemed somewhat different from usual.

"Eh!" After cultivating for more than the time it took an incense stick to burn, Kong Jiao noticed something unusual and could not help letting out a soft cry.

According to his senses, the amount of spirit power flowing into his dantian seemed to be more than double its usual amount.

Kong Jiao did not dare be careless. He immediately followed his meridians and slowly traced the source of that extra spirit power.

He found the source of the abnormality.

Aside from his two Spirit Apertures, the spot between his brows—where the Moon Wheel Seal was located—was actually drawing in the spirit power flowing from the Spirit Spring on its own.

The Moon Wheel Seal absorbed spirit power even a fraction faster than his two Spirit Apertures combined.

Naturally, Kong Jiao was stunned by this strange phenomenon.

"Can this Moon Wheel Seal be used as a Spirit Aperture?"

Suddenly, he recalled that during the assessment space at Frostmoon Altar, Yi-Twelve had once said that the Moon Wheel Seal could gather moonlight essence and help cultivators absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to aid their cultivation.

At first, Kong Jiao had not cared much. In his eyes, even if the Moon Wheel Seal could assist cultivation, it could not possibly compare to a Spirit Aperture.

So he had not thought in that direction right away.

Only now, after experiencing the speed at which the Moon Wheel Seal absorbed spiritual energy, did he realize that he had been a frog at the bottom of a well.

The spiritual energy absorbed by the Moon Wheel Seal alone already surpassed that of his two Spirit Apertures combined.

Kong Jiao blankly sensed the Moon Wheel Seal on his forehead, still endlessly absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Because it absorbed too quickly, an unusual coolness spread across his brow. He stammered, "This... doesn't this mean I have four Spirit Apertures?!"

At last, he understood why Yi-Twelve had not cared at all about how many Spirit Apertures he had when testing his talent.

Instead, he had cared whether Kong Jiao's Spirit Wheel was flawless.

"So that's how it is!" Kong Jiao muttered, understanding the reason for it all.

The Moon Wheel Seal's rate of absorbing spirit power was fully comparable to two Spirit Apertures.

With the Moon Wheel Seal, even a cultivator with only one Spirit Aperture could cultivate as quickly as someone with three.

Who would still care how many Spirit Apertures you had?

"Before leaving, Yi-Twelve repeatedly stressed how important the Moon Wheel Seal was. At first, I had no idea why. I really am blockheaded." Kong Jiao laughed at himself.

As for why Kong Jiao had only discovered today that the Moon Wheel Seal could aid cultivation—

Naturally, it was because after returning from Frostmoon Altar, his spirit power had already reached the peak of the fourth level of the Wheel-Nourishing Realm. He had had no need to absorb spiritual energy and refine it into spirit power.

Thus, during that month of secluded cultivation, he had simply run the Moon Palace Taiyin Scripture over and over, digesting the power of the Frostsnow Essence.

Once the Frostsnow Essence had been completely refined, breaking through to the fifth level of the Wheel-Nourishing Realm had come as naturally as water flowing into a channel.

Just then, Feng An had come looking for him, leaving him no chance to experience the Moon Wheel Seal's wonders.

"With this Moon Wheel Seal, my cultivation speed will be completely different from today onward." Feeling the glowing mark between his brows, Kong Jiao's eyes shone brightly.

That night, Kong Jiao cultivated with great contentment.

It was a sensation he had never experienced before—the feeling of cultivation as a genius.

One night of cultivation was worth several days of his previous efforts.

The benefits that came from the number of Spirit Apertures were not as simple as one plus one.

With the Spirit Spring helping him as well, Kong Jiao was so immersed that he could barely pull himself free. He wished he could immediately enter seclusion and charge toward the sixth level of the Wheel-Nourishing Realm.

At this rate, he judged that one year would be enough for him to break through to the sixth level of the Wheel-Nourishing Realm.

Do not underestimate the gap of a single realm. For ordinary cultivators, advancing from the fifth to the sixth level of the Wheel-Nourishing Realm required three or four years, and some might not break through even in ten.

Unfortunately, that soaring pace of accumulation came to an end before dawn.

When morning light shone upon the gates of the Cangwu Sect, Kong Jiao could clearly feel the Moon Wheel Seal's absorption of spiritual energy slowing. Even the absorption rate of his own Spirit Apertures had fallen by at least half.

This forced him to open his eyes. He complained, "Why is it the same as with the Frostfall Fragmentary Scripture? Only cultivation at night gives twice the result with half the effort, while the boost vanishes during the day."

Both the Frostfall Scripture and the Lunar Scripture faintly pointed toward the bright moon in the sky.

Perhaps that was why he could achieve twice the result with half the effort at night. When the sun shone and the moon retreated from sight, his enhancement naturally disappeared.

"Alas!" With a sigh, Kong Jiao had no choice but to get up and continue studying Immortal Foundation.

The days passed one by one. Kong Jiao cultivated at night, while during the day he read books or used the cultivation method recorded in the Moon Palace Taiyin Scripture to activate the Moon Wheel Seal, exploring this foundational object that Yi-Twelve had called the most valued thing among Moon Palace disciples.

Though the days were peaceful, they were not dull.

Gradually, Kong Jiao discovered several other functions of the Moon Wheel Seal.

Putting aside its ability to be directly unleashed in battle as a weapon of slaughter—

What Kong Jiao found most wondrous was that, using the Lunar Scripture's cultivation method, he could directly sink the Moon Wheel Seal from between his brows into his dantian.

Once the Moon Wheel Seal entered his dantian, it fused with the Spirit Wheel floating within the sea of qi there.

It unleashed spirit power several times greater than before.

It had an effect similar to a Qi-Bursting Pill, but unlike a Qi-Bursting Pill, the spirit power unleashed by the Moon Wheel Seal had absolutely no side effects.

Its duration was even as long as the time it took an incense stick to burn.

After the burst of spirit power ended, it merely left his spirit power depleted and exhausted, with none of the effects that harmed the body.

This left Kong Jiao excited for a long while.

It was equivalent to having a Qi-Bursting Pill he could take at any time.

"The Moon Wheel Seal is truly miraculous!" Kong Jiao exclaimed in admiration more than once.

His Moon Wheel Seal was still only crescent-shaped. If he cultivated it to a full moon, its might would likely be even greater.

This made Kong Jiao quietly look forward to that day.

Besides studying the Moon Wheel Seal, Kong Jiao spent his spare time holding Moon-Soul Citybreaker Halberd in one hand and the Bronze Battle Halberd in the other, practicing within the cave.

Though his movements were still stiff, every swing made the surrounding air hum and tremble.

The Moon-Soul Citybreaker Halberd was a battle technique focused on offense. It was divided into three parts, each representing a different level, with power rising layer by layer.

The first level was: Halberd Splits the River.

The second level was: Wangshu Breaks the City.

The third level was: Peerless Dance.

What Kong Jiao was practicing now was naturally the first level, Halberd Splits the River.

Kong Jiao immersed himself in cultivation with boundless delight.

Utterly unaware of time slipping away.

This day.

Behind the cave residence, at the Chaotic Stone Grounds.

Warm sunlight washed over him, and the day was bright and fine.

Light shone upon Kong Jiao's slender figure as he held the Bronze Battle Halberd and wielded it with the force of a tiger and the roar of the wind.

This was already the eleventh day he had spent practicing the Moon-Soul Citybreaker Halberd.

His moves had begun to carry a faintly domineering aura.

Whoosh! Every surge of force from his swings raised fierce gusts, sweeping the rubble at his feet into the air in every direction.

Having committed the Citybreaker Halberd techniques to heart after many days of practice, Kong Jiao swung faster and faster. The instant the halberd's momentum climbed to its peak—

A sharp gleam suddenly erupted from Kong Jiao's calm eyes.

"Roar!" With his furious shout, the Lunar Scripture's spirit power surged out from within him, winding down his arms and around the shaft of the Bronze Battle Halberd.

The entire halberd was wrapped in a layer of frost-white radiance.

Then, with the halberd blade pointed downward, he cleaved viciously toward the rubble-strewn ground.

Boom! The instant the blade struck the earth, it triggered a deafening roar.

The stones within several yards were all jolted up by the force that the long halberd drove into the ground, soaring into midair.

The fierce battle halberd smashed a deep pit into the earth, large enough to hold an adult.

At that moment, Kong Jiao changed his stance again. The spirit power within the halberd erupted violently through the movement patterns of the Moon-Soul Citybreaker Halberd.

"Halberd Splits the River!" Kong Jiao roared.

The Bronze Battle Halberd buried in the earth swept upward, carving a dazzling arc through the air.

Rumble!

Domineering spirit power formed a radiant arc, spreading directly forward from the ground where Kong Jiao had swung his halberd.

The earth was abruptly ripped open into a deep trench. Violent spirit power coursed through it, extending all the way to a massive boulder more than ten yards away.

Bang!

The boulder was crushed outright, exploding into a skyful of shattered stones that sprayed in every direction.

Having finished all this, Kong Jiao withdrew his stance, planted the halberd against the ground, and stood straight as a spear.

Kong Jiao examined the destruction wrought by his strike.

Within that trench in the ground, all the stones had been ground into powder. Frost-white shards of ice emitting a chilling aura clung among them.

Seeing the power of the halberd strike he had unleashed, Kong Jiao nodded with considerable satisfaction and gave his assessment. "This attack not only has respectable power on the surface, but also carries ice-aspected power within it. Even if someone withstands the overt attack, the hidden injuries from the cold can easily catch them unprepared."

"Though it still cannot reach the level recorded in the battle technique, where one halberd splits a river, this power is already quite impressive in the Wheel-Nourishing Realm."

What Kong Jiao had just used was the first level of the Citybreaker Halberd technique: Halberd Splits the River.

This was the result of more than ten days of his cultivation.

Though it still needed improvement, it was something he could bring out with confidence in the Wheel-Nourishing Realm.

As for the second and third levels, he would need more time before he could comprehend them.

After executing an entire set of halberd techniques, Kong Jiao was slightly out of breath, and beads of sweat seeped from his brow.

Gently wiping away the fine sweat on his forehead, Kong Jiao said softly, "That's enough for today."

Just as Kong Jiao put away his battle halberd and prepared to take a bath—

Feng An's loud call suddenly came from outside the Chaotic Stone Grounds, at the entrance to the underground cave residence.

"Is Junior Brother Kong Jiao here? Feng An has come to visit!"

"Senior Brother Feng An is here. Elder Zhou must have emerged from seclusion! Junior Sister Zhou has sent word!" Kong Jiao's eyes lit up. After putting away the Bronze Battle Halberd, he headed toward the cave residence.

The handling of the Twin-Stem Ice Lingzhi had always weighed on the minds of both Kong Jiao and Feng An.

Both of them wished they could dispose of it immediately in exchange for resources or Spirit Crystals that could strengthen them.

But Zhou Tingyu's aunt had been in seclusion refining pills for nearly two months, without any news.

Feng An's arrival today naturally led Kong Jiao to think in that direction.

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