Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

Ming Yue leaned in, her face was serious as she paid full attention to Qi Yao.

"If you may have learned earlier, there is an elder assembling a group of all the talented disciples. He is called Elder Jia and he plans to take them to some secret realm. The night before the elder announced it was when he proposed it to the other elders and the Sect Leader."

This was when Qi Yao's voice turned very quiet as she spoke her next words. 

"I happened to have finished tending the garden that night and eavesdropped on their meeting. However, there was no meeting at all! On the night he gathered them, Elder Jia poisoned them with some sort of hypnotising incense, strong enough to even work on the Sect Leader, an expert at the SKy Realm. Afterwards, a figure emerged from the shadows, a man wearing a mask, and they spoke of them their plan. Tonight, Elder Jia will use the same incense on them and take them all to the Black Peak Mountains."

Ming Yue's face was unchanged as she heard this information. If they were being taken to the Black Peak Mountains, then it was likely, that they were headed for the Merciless Storm Peak. Which meant that their base had to be there. 

However, Qi Yao was not done. 

"When I listened in, I heard the elder call the masked man, "Zuo Er" and speak about the Tao Feng Sect."

"Zuo Er? Tao Feng? So he was not dead yet. But his legs were broken, walking should've been a dream to him", Ming Yue thought. 

She remembered hearing from the cultivators at Clear Spring Mountain that his legs had been shot out and his meridians destroyed. For him to be active should be impossible.

"Then, did they say anything about Elder Fei?" she asked Qi Yao, who was reluctant to speak. 

"The masked man had captured Elder Fei but because he was too old, he was of no use. But Elder Jia wanted him, as for where he was taken, I do not know. Please, you have to find him, you have to help us!"

Qi Yao begged Ming Yue, who began to think. 

"Why did you tell anyone about what you heard?" she asked. 

"How could I? All of the Elders and even the Sect Leader are under Elder Jia's control. Even if I told the other disciples, they would not have the strength nor would they have believed me. There was no one that I could really turn to. Telling Fei Xian would not end well, he loves his uncle and Fei Xian might go and attack Elder Jia in broad daylight if I had told him."

Qi Yao explained her predicament. So long as it was someone within the sect, teling them would be useless. Even with her position as a core disciple, she was nothing to an elder. Ming Yue thought carefully about what she heard, trying to devise a plan.

"This... if it is the case, then I will need you to help me. The most important thing is to stop Elder Jia from succeeding the plan. Once I interrupt it, I need you to lead the disicples away to somewhere safe. More than likely, I will be fighting the other elders. With that said, I need to make my own preparations."

"Okay, I will. But please be careful, each of our elders are experts at the Earth Realm and our Sect Leader is at the Sky Realm. Perhaps you could contend against them but with the Sect Leader, you could die."

"Don't worry, I will have something prepared. Where is he going to gather the disicples?"

"The sect hall, you will see it immediately after entering."

"Hm, okay."

Ming Yue briskly returned after asking a bit more about the where Elder Jia was gathering the disciples. She examined her equipment: her weapons, her armor, and her trinkets. 

What may truly save her was the Dusk Lily Pin, something she hadn't been using due her last few battles. After all, so long as she was quick enough, she could avoid most attacks. But this time was different, her opponents were not some disciples but seasoned experts who had similar cultivation levels. Their experience in battle most likely exceeded hers and so her only advantage was the element of surprise. She had to be swift and accurate. 

Along with the Eternal Heart Ring, she could last in a prolonged fight but it wouldn't be for long. If it came to it, she would have to use Pale Moon to finish the fight. 

She stepped out while the sun was still up and wandered the sect, taking note of the layout as well as the main hall. 

"Where could I enter from? What would be a good vantage point?" she thought.

"Hah, so we're actually going to storm the place. Why don't you let me take the reins?"

Xue Yue's voice perked up, revealing her excitement at these developments. 

"Shut it, let me think."

"Hmph, if you're going to scout the sect, why don't you find out who Elder Jia is?"

"I'm getting to it."

Ming Yue looked at the tower that held the history of the Eonic Stance. It stood at the center of the sect and in front of the main hall. 

"That doesn't seem like a bad point enter from."

With its height and location, she could enter at ease and hide away, though there was an issue. 

"It won't work, the place is heavily guarded. Even the Sect Leader personally guards it."

"But if that Elder had taken control of them with hypnotic incense, their senses must still be dull. AT the very least, you probably won't alert them if you stay outside."

"That's true..."

She was deep in thought, silently discussing with Ming Yue before someone came up to her. 

"Hm, Ming Yue? What are you standing here for?"

Standing by her, Rou'er looked at Ming Yue with a curious face. 

"It's nothing. I was just looking around."

"Hmm, if that's the case, let me bring you around some more. I just finished my training!"

She grabbed Ming Yue by the hand and pulled her around, showing off to her friends and such. The day slowly ended and Ming Yue made sure that everything was ready. Rou'er left her to join Elder Jia's gathering and under the cover of the night, she made her way to the pagoda at the center fo the sect.

"So it hasn't started yet."

Ming Yue watched from above, seeing the disciples enter the main hall one by one until no more came. Silently, she entered the building through one of the open windows and made her way down. 

"I'm sure that all of you are curious as to where I am taking you to. After Elder Fei and I split, I happened upon this place in the later days of my journey."

She heard a voice from below, It was loud and heroic, there was a certain charisma to it that few had. 

"That must be Elder Jia."

Finding a good spot to hide, she watched from below finding the numerous disciples all seated and listening to the elder. But then she noticed something hidden within the eaves of the ceiling, a bronze item of some sort which had a snake shaped spout, spewing out a sweet white smoke. 

"What is that?"

She eyed it just as Elder Jia continued his talk.

He was a well kept man, a person who focused on his looks as much as his sword skills. Despite being somewhere in his thirties, he looked more closely to a twenty year old, complete with shoulder-length hair and a clean-shaven face. 

He spoke with clarity and volume, capturing everyone's attention. 

"Hehehe, that incense burner should start working about now. In a few minutes, these poor children will have their minds dulled. A few simple instructions and I could take them all back to the fortress. The Sect leader should be pleased with this batch."

Despite his good-natured smile and captivating voice, Elder Jia hid some ominous intentions.