Chapter Fifty-Four: Weapons of Rupture

The Crescent Moon Blade, also known as the “Hidden Moon Blade,” refers to a type of long-handled broadsword, not a specific weapon. It gained notoriety because in the novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," the blade wielded by Lord Guan was engraved with a green dragon, hence the name “Green Dragon Crescent Moon Blade.” This particular weapon, on the other hand, is inscribed with wild boar tusks, earning it the name “Boar Tusk Crescent Moon Blade.”

The depiction of Lord Guan wielding the Green Dragon Crescent Moon Blade is, in truth, a literary embellishment intended to make the character more vivid. In reality, the actual Crescent Moon Blade only appeared during the Song Dynasty—“crescent moon” referring to its curved shape. The "Wujing Zongyao," a military compendium from the Song era, contains illustrations of such blades. Given the technological limitations of the Three Kingdoms period, forging such a weapon would have been impossible. Most likely, Lord Guan wielded a spear or lance, much like Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun. In the "Records of the Three Kingdoms," it is written: “Guan Yu charged through the ranks on horseback and pierced Yan Liang.” If he had used a blade, the record would have used the word “slash” rather than “pierce,” indicating that the weapon he used to slay Yan Liang was probably a spear.

The Crescent Moon Blade, with its back edge and long handle, is a heavy weapon with tremendous cleaving power, but it is far too unwieldy for most people. Thus, it was rarely used for combat on the battlefield, serving more often as a ceremonial weapon. However, in the hands of someone with immense strength, its destructive potential is formidable.

Li Yunfei, whose strength is nearly six times that of an ordinary person, further augmented by the Giant Spirit Talisman, found the Boar Tusk Crescent Moon Blade perfectly suited to him. The curved blade reminded Li Yunfei of the “Full Moon Curved Blade.” Except for lacking the inscription “Spring rain on the small pavilion heard through the night,” its form was nearly identical. Unfortunately, Li Yunfei did not know the “Demon Blade” technique; thus, apart from the blade’s extraordinary hardness and sharpness, it was not even as practical as the venomous fang blade dropped by the serpent monster.

The weapons dropped by the Wild Boar King, however, were different. The two blades it yielded were named “Rending Boar Tusk Crescent Moon Blade” and “Rending Boar Tusk Curved Blade.” Though similar in form and weight to ordinary versions, these two pulsed with a potent blade aura, allowing for ranged attacks. By channeling even a thread of Daoist spiritual power or martial energy, one could unleash a slashing blade aura capable of rending targets from afar. In close combat, they could condense a blade light capable of piercing anything.

After picking up both blades, Li Yunfei gripped the long handle of the Boar Tusk Crescent Moon Blade in his right hand and the curved blade in his left. With a casual motion toward a towering tree—so massive that several people could not encircle its girth, and reaching ten stories in height—he struck twice. Two invisible arcs of blade aura swept through the air, shearing off the upper half of the giant tree, which crashed thunderously to the ground. The lower half bore a deep gash, though it remained standing. This demonstrated that, in both size and power, the blade aura of the Crescent Moon Blade far surpassed that of the curved blade—its sheer mass and weight made the difference.

“Amazing.” Li Yunfei was overjoyed as he observed the destructive force of the Rending Boar Tusk Crescent Moon Blade. As the difficulty of the dungeons increased, the weapons dropped by the monsters were growing ever more powerful, now approaching the level of divine arms and magical artifacts. Li Yunfei could not help but look forward to someday obtaining treasures like flying swords or magical talismans.

Beyond weapons, there was also armor. The Boarhide Armor was a full-body suit of blackish-brown hide—extremely tough, offering high resistance to slashing and cutting, but less effective against piercing attacks. The “Qi-Infused Boarhide Armor” had the same form and weight but was imbued with protective qi; just a touch of Daoist spiritual power or martial energy would activate its formidable defenses.

This time, Li Yunfei was genuinely astonished. He had not expected the Wild Boar King to yield such potent weapons and armor, both far surpassing any of his current gear in terms of offensive and defensive capabilities. While the raw damage output might not match that of pure destruction-type weapons, these new arms utterly dominated in terms of physical damage. Moreover, their blade aura was not limited to physical effects—it should also be effective against spiritual entities, since both yin energy and blade aura are forms of energy.

Taken as a whole, the value of these rending-type weapons eclipsed that of destruction-type ones. This was evident even in their market prices: in the system marketplace, the Rending Boar Tusk Crescent Moon Blade sold for 120,000 but cost 400,000 to buy back. The most expensive destruction-type weapon, the Eighteen-Foot Serpent Spear, could be purchased for only 180,000 and sold for just 64,000. The Rending Boar Tusk Curved Blade was priced similarly to the serpent spear—selling for 55,000 and buying for 172,000.

Without hesitation, Li Yunfei sold them once to gain unlimited purchase rights in the system marketplace. With equipment of this caliber, he felt uneasy unless it was available in the marketplace—as insurance, he didn’t mind losing a bit of money.

The equipment dropped by ordinary wild boar monsters varied greatly in value; common gear was nearly worthless, while gear from the Boar King was extremely valuable. Selling all the regular equipment netted only about 270,000. The same held true for the medicines: Boar Powder replenished the five viscera, nourished the skin, dispelled wind and detoxified, treating weakness and emaciation, epilepsy, dysentery with bloody stools, hemorrhoidal bleeding, unstoppable lower bleeding, and abdominal pain. The Boar King Pill, meanwhile, increased cultivation recovery speed tenfold for twelve minutes. A bottle contained five pills, selling at 20,000 and buying at 70,000.

All in all, from the Level 21 Wild Boar Forest dungeon, Li Yunfei obtained two powerful weapons, one set of exceptional armor, but little monetary gain. However, the next four dungeons would be pure profit, and he estimated he could make a tidy sum.

...

When he left the dungeon, dawn was just breaking, but with the sun not yet risen, the forest remained shrouded in darkness. Having leveled up, Li Yunfei was at his peak state. Little Fox, however, had not leveled up, and after carrying Li Yunfei at a run for several hours and repeatedly casting her mystical fox-fire, she was utterly exhausted.

Li Yunfei fed her two Boar King Pills to restore her demonic energy. He then gently stroked the fur atop her head and said, “This is just when wild boars start to forage, so it’ll be easier to find them—I need to keep searching. You should rest this time; don’t join the fight until you’ve leveled up and recovered.”

The little fox licked his hand and gave a soft cry. Although Li Yunfei did not understand her sounds, their time together had forged a tacit bond. From her expression and eyes, he could often discern her intentions.

Li Yunfei smiled slightly, raised the Crescent Moon Blade in his right hand, and said, “Don’t worry, now that I have this mighty weapon, there’s no need to fight like before.” The little fox, having witnessed the blade’s power, relaxed and nodded.

Clad in the qi-infused armor, Crescent Moon Blade in hand, and with his face covered save for his eyes, Li Yunfei cut a striking figure. The leather armor was far lighter and more elegant than scale mail, and with a touch of spiritual power, a shimmering aura of protective qi enveloped him—making him fearless even in this primeval forest.

He selected several wild boar carcasses of moderate size, storing them in his system pouch, just as he had done with the wild boars he hunted back home—reserves for later. Then, with the little fox in tow, he set off leisurely in a chosen direction.