Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

Just as Dai Mian pinned the Grand Elder to the floor and raised his sword to kill. But two shadows moved as their blades came into contact with the obsidian sword, parrying it away from the Grand Elder. Then their swords flashed, weaving through the cracks of this shadowy armor and finding their way onto Dai Mian's neck.

Wielding those swords was Elder Xiang and Elder Fang, topping their swords at the last moment. 

"Release the Grand Elder" said Elder Xiang. 

Though they deflected his sword, Dai Mian's other hand tightly grabbed the Grand Elder's neck, choking him ever so slightly. 

Everyone stopped moving as he chuckled. 

"To think there are a few able to resist the fear, you must have seen your fair share of death. Though, you are both are quite close to the Heaven Realm."

Both elders had stone-cold faces as they watched Dai Mian's every movement. 

He looked at them with a sinister grin, all while clutching the neck of the Grand Elder. 

"Do you think you can stop me from killing Huang Bo?"

He asked in a very light tone, as if this was an easy job for him. 

"Huk!"

The Grand Elder choked but his eyes never left Dai Mian and they were still clear and unclouded. He grabbed Dai Mian's wrist and placed his other hand onto his helm. The Yin Yang circle formed on his palm as power overflowed and flooded Dai Mian's helm. The move surprised Dai Mian as the power rushed into his body. He felt his body wither and weaken like an old man. 

"They do not need to stop you, they just need to buy me time."

He stood up just as Dai Mian was on his knees. The hand that choked his neck weakened and let go. The Grand Elder grabbed his former teacher by the helmet as more energy flowed from his palm and inside the armor. 

Twisting his body, he threw Dai Mian back up into the sky and chased after him. 

Both Elders flew up and followed the Grand Elder. 

"Do not come into direct contact with him. You will be affected by the armor andyour swords are already damaged."

Hearing his words, the two elders nodded, having noticed their swords weaken and dull. Elder Fang sheathed his two swords as did Elder Xiang, they were now empty handed but not unarmed. 

Up above, Dai Mian stopped flying up, still struggling with the flowing power of the Grand Elder. He shouted out and erupted with power and his withered body became young once more. 

"Hmph!"

Holding his sword tightly he flew down and came directly to clash agaisnt the trio. 

With the Yin Yang Circle floating behind him, the Grand Elder circled around Dai Mian with open palms, shooting spiral beams of light and darkness.

With his bare hands, Elder Xiang pointed at Dai Mian, shooting off swords made from a metallic energy. It was lustrous and contained a sharp aura, piercing and powerful. As the Sword Elder, anything could be his sword, a stick or his own energy. 

Elder Fang was a swift and limber man whose hands were a blur, each move from him came hundreds of knives, needles and other throwing weapons. A master of assassination and hidden weapons, he was not to be trifled with. 

Together, their attacks battered Dai Mian, slowing him down but not stopping him. 

"Paltry tricks! This is a real technique!"

He lashed out, releasing a moon shaped arc large enough to destroy mountains. The body of it was pure death and darkness while the edge was crimson in color, revealing images of warriors on their dying breath. 

Thus the battle renewed itself with even greater intensity but those fighting below were still shaking to their feet. They had yet to recover from the frightening aura of Dai Mian. 

"Damn it, those four are monsters! Even more montrous than these puppets!" 

Tuan, a body cultivator from the Xue Mountains, cursed at the and stood back up. He let out a heroic shout, helping the others wake from their fright. He spun his iron staff, smashing it into the ground and forcing the Immortal Army to fracture. 

Elder Fang's Team had joined them long ago and the pressure greatly lessened on them. With forty Sky Realm Experts at hand, the Immortal Army's momentum faltered and were even getting pushed back. Even if they couldn't die, their strength was not extremely high. At best, there were a couple at the Sky Realm but the rest were Earth Realm or even Human Realm. This mch proved that they were flawed and have yet to be improved. Furthermore, their regeneration had become weaker. 

"They're getting slower! Everyone push forward, drive them back!" Tuan shouteed out charging forward with his staff. 

The Immortal Army was ragged, their armor and masks were torn and broken, revealing the faces beneath. Gray skin and a blank expression was all they had, whatever had been done to them had left them husks of their former selves. 

"This Dai Mian, I can't believe he would do such things."

The otheres were appalled and disturbed by this sight. using human bodies and turning them into whatever this was. It was sickly to think of what had been done.

Out from the side of his eyes, Tuan noticed something and paused for just a moment before continuing his attack. '

"Wei... To think my younger brother has turned into this."

He shouted in rage and stormed through, knocking out everything in his way. He snatched the swords from one of the soldiers and grabbed them, looking closely. Then he threw them down and smashed the body apart until it was a black mass. 

"That bastard... I'll kill him!"

Tuan looked at Dai Mian's figure before facing the remains of his younger brother. The black sludge that was his body wriggled and only rejoined but Tuan would not let that be. He destroyed it again and again, anyone who even came near him were thrown back by the shockwave of his strikes. 

"Gragh! I won't let you be desecrated like this!"

After a hundred strikes with each one more terrifying then the next, the black sludge was no more, decimated and destroyed. Whatever magic and sorcery done to his brother could not bring him back. But it was better this way, better to pass on then continue living as a empty husk. 

The others looked at him, not knowing what had happened but understanding that Tuan knew one of these soldiers. 

"So there is a limit to their regeneration."

Every one of them noted this and confidence began to flow. However, those within the formations of the Tao Feng were in a grim situation. 

"How much longer do you need?"

Elder Kan shouted out as she battered away the shadowy demons that came from one of the formations. Along with her, only four were fighting with her, the remaining five of the team were all glued to the Immortal Severing Formation. 

"Just give me more time!" 

Master Qi yelled back, waving his talisman-wrapped sword and Trigram Mirror wildly. 

The Disciplinary Elder looked at them before defending the small corner they had. It could be said that she was the only one actually taking on the manisfestations of these formations. The others did not have the same combat prowess or power to help. 

Along with the disciples that came, she guarded the group as best she could. But the younger generation were at best a step from the Sky Realm, they could not contend with the shadowy demons. 

"Gah! What are these?! They keep fucking coming back."

Among the younger generation was Tang Zhan, Zha Tian Yun, Yu Hua and several other Inheritors of Heaven's Gate. These three had the easiest time fighting then the others, having yet to show any real trump cards. Still, as the fight continued it became harder and harder to keep up. 

Other than the formation spawning these shadow figures, a second chained their wrists and ankles, slowing them down. The third exerted weight onto them, slowing them even further. 

Their situation was grim and Master Qi gave a quick glance before making up his mind.. From his sleeved, he took out another Trigram Mirror made from gold that sparkled and black jade.