Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

She looked around but found no traces of him. There was only cracked pieces of shells where she could only assume he emerged from. 

"Now was not the time to find him, I have to get to Xiao Yin first."

She turned back to Hua Xiong, who studied the broken shells. 

"Let's go, I will explain it all to you when we reach the sect."

Hua Xiong did not ask questions and nodded. She knew that it would all be revealed in due time. 

Quickly, they reached the Eternal Blade Sect and Ming Yue quickly took her to the Medicinal Hall. 

"Oh Ming Yue? You've returned and you're with... the Second Fury?!"

Elder Dai saw the two approach and felt a bit of disbelief that she had managed to convince Hua Xiong to help. 

"Elder! How is Xiao Yin?" Ming Yue asked. 

"You should see for yourself."

Elder Dai spoke in a darker tone and led them in. 

Entering the room, they saw Hei Yue on the bed with Xiao Yin, keeping her warm with his body. The fox kept watch of her, making sure that the Star Owl was comfortable. But Xiao Yin continued to shiver and trembled, quietly crying in pain. Her wing was nearly all black as the energy continued to seep into her body. Around them were her feathers, crumbling into dust.

Ming Yue rushed forward to check on her but Hua Xiong was even quicker. 

"Let me."

She placed her hands on Xiao Yin, one on her head and the other on her wing. Her hands began to glow and emanate with a calming aura. Light Energy entered Xiao Yin's body, circulating thought out it and slowly pushing back the Death Energy. 

Hua Xiong's face showed surprise before focusing on cleansing the energy from Xiao Yin. 

Xiao Yin no longer trembled as her body relaxed and the blackish feathers turned back to a vibrant gray. An hour later, Hua Xiong retracted her hands and turned towards Ming Yue, who looked at her with hope and concern. 

"She is fine now. A few days of rest a bit of nursing will do the trick."

Ming Yue breathed a sigh of relief as she heard Hua Xiong's words. 

"Thank you so much", she gave a heartfelt thanks and bowed to her. 

But Hua Xiong had a look of contemplation on her face. It was as if she found something strange about that energy

"Who was it that attacked you? Was it perhaps a masked figure?" she asked. 

"What? Yes...yes it was."

Ming Yue was surprised but answered honestly. 

"And you fought him off, that is... that is unexpected."

Hua Xiong paused, unable to think of her next words. 

"Why, what do you mean?" Ming Yue asked. 

Could Hua Xiong had been attacked as well? Or was it the Violet Sun Sect that had been attacked? Ming Yue thought back to when she first entered the sect gates.

"Was there anyone else in that sect?" she thought.

The only person she had seen was Hua Xiong and for a sect, it was awfully quiet 

"Wait, we have to speak with the elders of the sect first."

Ming Yue stopped her from speaking and the two left the Medicinal Hall, bumping into Elder Dai. Through him, they asked for an audience with the Sect Elder, and in an instant, the elders gathered. Among them was Elder Fei, who seemed to be recovering well. Color had returned to his face and he took on a happier expression.

"So it is the Second Fury, Hua Xiong. Your accumulations are nothing to scoff at. The younger generation is truly blessed."

"Is there something wrong? Why have we been gathered?"

All of them looked and listened intently to Hua Xiong, who stepped forward and told her story. She sounded wistful as she spoke. 

"Months ago, I was awakened to a sweet scent and noticed a white haze all throughout the sect. As I looked out, I noticed my fellow disciples and elders march out, walking in a straight line towards the opened gates. I realized that something was not right and went out investigate. As I did, a masked figure appeared in front of me and attacked. He called me a "pleasant surprise" and a "great sacrifice" but I wasn't going to surrender so easily. We fought for a whole day and night before he gave up and escaped. I chased after him but soon lost track in the forests. When I returned, I realized that I was the only one left. In the end, I stayed within the sect to guard it while investigating on my own but I had no leads to go on, until now."

Hua Xiong looked at Ming Yue before speaking again. 

"When we were traveling back to the sect, we found traces of Death Energy. Then, again I found the same Death Energy sustained by her beast companion. I soon realized that this is the same as the energy of the one I fought against. Without a doubt the same person that attacked the Eternal Blade Sect attacked my sect. Do you by any chance know who he is?"

The elders and sect leader all furrowed their brows at this news. 

"The Violet Sun Sect had also been attacked? To think that there were others sects that had been attacked as well."

"That makes you wonder just how many have fallen."

"How many lives have been taken..."

One of the elders answered Hua Xiong's question.

"He is known as Zuo Er, the Junior Sect Leader of the Tao Feng, however some sort of sorcery has been done to him, for he is no longer himself."

"Zuo Er, the Tao Feng Sect you say..."

She was unsure of how to interpret this information. More importantly, She wasn't quite sure what to do with it.

"Indeed, he was originally crippled but now he seems to have regained control of his legs. But now he had been killed by Ming Yue, though he did leave her with a few words."

It was then that Elder Fei looked towards Ming Yue before speaking, his eyes revealed a bit of realization as something clicked. 

"When he said those words to you, it was an invitation and an act of provocation. "Come to the peak"... it refers to place and you knew what it meant. You knew where he was refering."

They all looked at her, did she truly know where the Tao Feng's hideout was? That sort of information was both hard to find and vital. If they knew, the elder could gather a force to attack the Tao Feng. The wrongs that had been done to them must be remedied and paid back. 

Ming Yue looked at them all before answering, knowing that they had all the right to know. 

"Not exactly, but I have an idea. It is the Merciless Storm Peak." 

Upon hearing the name, their hearts sunk. 

The Merciless Storm Peak, it is one of the Continent Marks and the most dangerous of them all. So much so that it had grown the reputation of being an execution grounds where who fell to eternal despair came to die. Going there was almost certain death and for the Tao Feng to lay ground there was on the border of madness. From the unending lightning storms to the ferocious beasts, there was no lack of danger. 

"The Merciless Storm Peak... If they are truly there, then there might nothing we can do. Even amassing a force would be difficult let alone traversing the Black Peak Mountains. We would all die before finding where they're hiding."

Ming Yue nodded. 

"That is why I hesitated to tell you all. I may know their general location but finding them within the mountain would be a challenge in of itself."

"But Ming Yue, you dare to go there? Are you not afraid?" 

Elder Fei looked at her, his eyes softened as he showed fear for her safety. 

"I have crossed it once, I could do it again."

She answered with full confidence.