Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

"What do you mean? You are not fully recovered yet, you still need to rest for a few days. Don't forget your two companions too, they still need time to recuperate. Is there something wrong?" the sect leader asked.

"It is about that masked figure. It was Zuo Er, the Junior Sect Leader of the Tao Feng Sect" she answered bluntly. 

"What? How is that possible? Was he not crippled?" 

Sect Leader Fu was shocked. From his understanding, the Tao Feng had been deealt with and Zuo Er was no longer an active member of them.

"I do not know but something has been done to him."

She began to explain his changes: the lack of emotion or feeling for pain, the black blood, how he melted into sludge. Finally, she spoke of his last words. 

"Come to the peak... Such strange words but... if you're in a hurry then you must know what he meant. However, you cannot go in this condition, you still need time to recover. Even you should know this."

His words rung true to her. Ming Yue was not fully recovered, she was far from it and the Sect Leader saw this. In the end, she backed down and focused on recovery instead. With the help of the Medicinal Hall, she nursed Hei Yue and Xiao Yin, especially watching over the latter. 

While Hei Yue was let off with a cracked bone or two, Xiao Yin's right wing was still black. The energy from Zuo Er's attack had penetrated deep into her wings, eating away at her body, feeding on her lifeforce.

Hei Yue had already awakened and looked on the bed where Xiao Yin was, whimpering towards his friend. Ming Yue looked at the Star Owl, who trembled and squirmed from the pain. 

"Xiao Yin... Is there no way to heal this?" 

Ming Yue turned around, looking at the Medicinal Elder.

"In order to stop and reverse the damage, the remaining energy needs to be expeled and only a external force could do it. Things like pills and medicines cannot do that though it could slow it down."

Elder Dai stood by her with a somber face. 

"If you want to fully remove it, we would need an expert of the Light Dao to do so. Only with their unique grasp of one's Quintessence Energy could such a thing be done. It is especially so in this case, the energy this little owl has been inflicted originates from the Dao of Death. If one of us were to do it, the energy would not be fully dealt with. In worse cases, the little owl would die."

She looked at Xiao Yin before turning to the elder.

"Then, is there perhaps a Light Dao Cultivator we can find or contact at least?" she asked. 

"This..."

He paused, hesitating to speak. 

"Have you heard of the Violet Sun Sect?" he said.

"It is a familiar name, is there a Light Dao Cultivator among them?"

"Well, it is a small sect in one of the neighboring cities, a sect best known for their pill-making. Though the lack of martial ability has made them easy to bully. That changed several years ago when one of the disciples obtained an inheritance. Her name is Hua Xiong and she found her opportunities at the Firelight Ruins, gaining the legacy of Yan Hui Zhu-"

"The Fury of the Light..."

Slowly, the memories of her time in the Firelight Ruin resurfaced and she began to remember her interaction with a group of disciples from the Violet Sun Sect. She had just been there too, for the pond where she discovered a dead disciple of the Lunar Executioner.

"Indeed, after obtaining the inheritance, Hua Xiong became highly sought after as a healer. The Violet Sun Sect grew in power and reputation because of her. However..."

Elder Dai paused once more.

"What is it?"

"Err- Due to the constant and frankly, threatening requests, she stopped healing and has now focused on her cultivation. When it first happened, there was an outcry as her talent was too great to ignore. At the same time, the neighboring sects found this as an opportunity to get back at the Violet Sun Sect's growth. Thus the city had grown chaotic and the situation seemed grim. However, Hua Xiong alone quelled the uproar and that was when she gained the name, The Second Fury."

"What happened?"

"...In the same fashion as her predecessor, she sent out a ray of light from the highest level of her sect. In particular, she attacked those who had previously threataned her and those who tried to uproot the sect. Though she did not kill them, they were left convulsing on the streets and unable to cultivate. After that, no one dared to make a move, whether it was a request or even. You're better off finding someone else."

"But I have to try, Xiao Yin's condition is getting worse and worse. Please, tell me where the sect is, Elder."

Elder Dai had a complicated expression on his face, he saw her attempt to be in vain but also understood that this was her best choice.

"I suppose there is no better option. The Violet Sun Sect is not far from here, it is to the north of the sect in Red Earth City. It is merely a day if you run there but only if you run continuously, if you fly it may take only half a day. While your condition is mostly restored, doing this is rash and you must be careful not to exert yourself too much, please understand that."

Ming Yue stood up and walked towards the doors. As she left, she thanked the elder and rushed out, leaving Hei Yue and Xiao Yin in his care. 

Her quick walking slowly transformed into running before she leaped up and took flight. Circling her energy, she then dispersed it from her body, propelling her through the air.

"Damn, I should've practiced more before. At this pace, it will take me several days, I'm too slow."

She grimaced at this. 

Normally, flight was at least twice as fast as running but her flight speed was slightly above her running speed. Her cultivation was high but she had spent little time practicing flight. She was not skilled enough and far from mastering it. After all, She barely flew and often opted to walk instead with her two companions. 

However, this was not the time to be so slow.

With the Eternal Heart Ring providing her with energy, she could fly nonstop. Her speed began to pick up as she flew, slowly increasing the output and speed. Controlling this state was difficult at the start but she soon fell into a rhythm, matching it with breathing and such.

As she stabilized herself, she flew even faster before attempting to support herself with wind. 

"I need to get there as fast as possible. This is a bit risky but I don't have the time."

Doing so would boost her speed by a large margin, but it required control if she were to do this and fly at the same time. Despite Ming Yue's ability, such a thing proved to be difficult as flying had taken much of her mental capabilities. Everytime she tried to merge the two together, there was some sort of friction happening, like two pieces that did not quite fit in. Adjusting it proved to be difficult due to her unfamiliarity and lack of ability. 

"Let me help you."

In that moment, Xue Yue stepped in, takng control of the flying herself. 

"What?.."

Ming Yue was surprised as Xue Yue's forceful control nearly through her off-balance.

"I'm still you, I also know how to control our energy. Besides, you want to save the little owl, don't you?"

Ming Yue didn't speak and instead focused on merging the two forces. But she smiled, this was a good thing. No longer bothering with flight, Mign Yue coused on merging the wind energy with the energy she used to fly. They came from the same source but had two different purposes, however, merging them did not take long for this was her energy after all. 

"I got it!"

The moment she was successful, her speed skyrocketed and the land below became a blur as she soared through the sky like one of her lances.