Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

His voice was almost puppetlike, as if someone was controlling him. It was eerie to say the least and the way he looked at Ming Yue was strange. His eyes locked onto her in an obsessive way and yet the pupils were black. There was some movement in them, almost as if there was something lurking within the depths. 

Ming Yue steeled herself and stepped forward

"Sacrifice? No, this is your death."

She moved immediately, brandishing her sword as she aimed to destroy him. With Pale Moon in play, she pushed him back as far as she could, not giving him even an inch of space, a second to breathe, no opportunities to retaliate. 

She would not allow it, but how long could she continue doing this?

Her body could not handle the power that she released and fighting in such a state exhausted her energy. Pale Moon greatly improved her strength at the expense of burning more of her energy and putting her pysical body to the brink. Before such a thing happens, Zuo Er needed to die. 

It was clear to her that in his current state, he would not answer any of her questions. 

But most importantly, he had touched what shouldn't be touched, hurting those without knowing who cared for them. It enraged her to the highest degree and such wrathful anger could be felt by everyone. The coolness in her eyes and voice did nothing to hide the fiery fury that revealed itself in her movement and her aura. 

Everyone in that room was stifled, fear ran through them as they buckled under that wild rage. They could only watch the fight. Even Fei Xian, Qi Yao, and Rou'er watched, caring for the Ming Yue's two furry companions. 

The pressure on Zuo Er was much worse for it was all directed towards him. This blue ghost of a figure attacked with such ferocity and strength that his arms shook to their very bones. 

Ming Yue chased after him and Drifting Sky howled as it cut through the air. Like a vengeful ghost she was, the sounds her blade made mimicked the anger she felt. She wielded it with one hand, smashing down on Zuo Er, who had to use both swords to defend. 

Despite it, he was brought to his knees under the weight of this attack.

"Damn it, so I have failed it seems but I will be back!"

He slipped out, escaping into the open and heading towards the forest. Ming Yue followed him in where he slinked into the shadows. It was a dense forest covered in the veil of the night, a sea of darkness was all she saw. Zuo Er was nowhere to be found but escaping her was not so easy.

"You cannot hide from me!"

She shouted out, using her senses to hunt him down. 

Her time at the Darkwater Kingdom made her quite sensitive to the differing energies, finding Zuo Er did not take much as she soon burst out, attacking one of the indistinguishable trees. 

Drifting Sky cut through the trunk like it was air, the falling tree revealed a dark figure who ran off.He barely avoided a fatal strike but lost his arm in the process. With his remaining arm, he sent off several gray beams of energy in an attempt to slow her down. 

Ming Yue dodged easily, soaring through the air as she chased after him. 

Despite the loss one arm, he seemed to be completely fine, moving through the trees even quicker than before. 

"Does he feel nothing?"

She found it strange, what had happened to him? From his inability to feel pain to the black blood, what had been done to his body for it to end like this? Even now, his wounds left a trail of bubbling black blood. Her nose wrinkled at the scent, it was vulgar, a sharp stench reminiscent of rotting flesh.

"Damn it. I do not have much time left, I have to finish this!"

She thought to herself before pushing her body even more. At her current speed, she was slowly closing the distance. Zuo Er was only a hundred meters away and yet, it would take much more than a few minutes to reach him. She would run out of energy before reaching him.

Ming Yue did not need time, only more power, a single spurt of strength to reach him in less than an instant.

"This is the only way to reach him in time!" she thought and concentrated.

Whatever energy she had left in maintaining Pale Moon condensed into a few meager seconds of power but her aura strength skyrocketed and her speed multiplied by the tens. She was so much faster that she nearly vanished from her position, even quicker than using Phantasmal Wind. Just as she disappeared, four lights flashed and Zuo Er, who continued to flee, found himself on the ground. 

In front of him, his body fell, piece by piece, limb by limb and they dropped to the ground limp and dead. 

"What? What happened to me?" he thought. 

Black blood flowed from every end, seeping into the ground and corroding it. 

Then he felt a hand grab his hair and hold him up high. Ming Yue looked at him. She was still standing, though barely. More than that she was surprised, even after chopping him up into pieces, he was still alive. 

"What-what happened to you?"

She asked him. 

Looking at him, his eyes were still open and still moving, he still breathed and had some semblance of a conscious. It was unsettling for her. He was only a head and whatever remaining blood was left had all but trickled from his neck. 

Locking eyes with Zuo Er, it finally clicked as memories flowed back in. With his body in this state, the changes made to him had begun to dissipate and break down.

"You...It's you! Once again, you've dared to ruin the grand plan! But it does not matter, you have merely stopped a single drop from entering the bucket."

His eyes turned wild and crazy upon this revelation of his.

"Grand plan? Sacrifice? What exactly are you planning?" she asked him.*

"You do not have the right to know! The time is coming soon and you cannot stop it."

His head slowly began to melt into black sludge. His breathing quickened and Zuo Er's face slowly dissolved. In his last moments, he spoke one more sentence. 

"Come to the peak, if you dare."

His head melted off, slipping through her fingers and falling into the ground. She looked at the rest of his body and saw that the rest of him had the same end, melted into dregs of dark slime.

"The peak...So it really is the Merciless Storm Peak."

Ming Yue stood there silently and thought before making her way back to the sect. But she had to go somewhere first.

Within the sect grounds of the Eternal Blade Sect, the four elders and Sect Leader recovered from their hypnotised state. They were stunned and surprised to find themselves looking at the pagoda with its broken doors. The ground was cracked, the very foundations of her sect had been damaged.

"What...what happened here?"

They looked around finding the sect to be damaged from battle.

The many disciples who took shelter in the Medicinal Hall finally left. There were no more sounds, no clashing swords and wild energies, it was silent. Fei Xian was the first to gather up his courage, he slowly stepped forward and walked out of the hall. His sword was still within his hands, he looked around cautiously before spotting the elders in their confused states.

"Elders! Sect Leader Fu! You're no longer poisoned!"

The others heard him speak and looked out in surprise. 

"It's safe now?"