Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

A black aura slowly rose from his body, slowly it grew denser and even more powerful. No longer was it as wild as before but smooth and under control. 

"Are the Heavens truly all-powerful?"

Dai Mian's voice reverberated in the skies as he rose up.

As if angered at this act of defiance, the core of the whirling clouds opened up and revealed a pocket of crackling light. Each spark gathered, accumulating power into a single bolt. You could almost hear roaring as if this lightning was a ferocious beast. 

As these two forces made their stand off, everyone else could only watch. 

With Ming Yue no longer targeted, Drifting Sky trembled and lost power, falling to the ground. Whatever had just happened, no one could quite understand. Any secrets it contained would only be revealed to Ming Yue in the coming years. By then, she would realize the extent at which the various craftsmen had worked on the sword. 

For now, she was too young to understand it. 

And the others, all of them watched in despair, understanding that they were witnessing the final moments of the Sovereign Age. That was of course, unless one of them decided to act. 

But that bolt of lightning waited for no one, it grew in strength and size, matching the power of a hundred bolts. Various colored lightning formed together, encased by a blinding light comparable to the sun's rays. 

It crackled and thundered, roaring out as Dai Mian faced it alone. 

He no longer spoke, forming his armor and sword. His right arm and left leg were gone, crumbled to dust from the pressure of controlling this power.

Enveloped in darkness, the Tao Feng's Sect Leader charged forth to achieve his purpose. 

"A Heaven's Bolt? Are you that afraid? I will defy you! I will overtake you! And I will end you!"

He shouted out and swung his sword. The bolt lightning shot down like a piercing lance, its size dwarfed whatever power Dai Mian exhibited but the latter was no fazed. He pushed back with a wave of darkness, the black lightning now sparked with crimson. It was small but it flew straight, clashing with the bolt of the Heavens. 

It left a echoing crack as Dai Mian's attack cleaved into the Heaven's Bolt before the man himself charged forward. His blade elongated as he took it on himself. And to everyone's shock, Dai Mian was not being pushed back but the Heaven's Bolt instead. 

The Grand Elder looked up, staring at the scene before focusing on recovering his body. The quicker he regained control, the better chance he had of stopping this from getting even worse. 

"A Heaven's Bolt? A phenomena that has not happened in millenias! An event of legend! To see it right here means... his existence has gone far against the natural way fo the world. He has taken what is not his and incured the Heaven's Anger. But, it seems that he might actually defeat it. This... could be my only chance."

With Dai Mian's energy gathered, the Grand elder began to feel his limbs once more. It truly was his only chance to stop this. 

"Is this all that you have? If so, then you have disappointed me! I will bring you down to your knees and I will lord over you! I will lord over everything!"

Dai Mian's aura exploded as he pushed the multi-colored bolt even further back. Even with its power, it could not destroy what was in front of it. Then the thundering slowly stopped as each bolt retreated into the black skies. 

The Heavens knew it, this defier before them would not be destroyed so easily. 

The Heaven's Bolt flashed and glowed, bringing out a shockwave of power as its size was cut down in half but its strength multiplied. Dai Mian felt it and his body was thrown down by the sudden increase. 

"So there was more! But I was prepared for this!"

As he shouted like a madman, his puppet body shuddered as markings appeared on the surface. Then the dark aura around him flew forth, piercing the tip of the bolt and slowly taking the energy for itself. Indeed, with his unhuman body, he siphoned more and more of the Heaven's strength, slowly growing stronger as it grew weaker. 

As each second passed, his puppet body reformed into that of a man's body, resembling flesh and blood. 

The Heaven's Bolt nearly crushed him into the ground but his sudden growth had stopped such a thing. Just above the rubble of the Merciless Storm Peak, he stopped the bolt in its tracks but he did not push back either. 

Just like this, clashing against each other but neither of them retreating, in this position his aura slowly engulfed it and the Heavens could do nothing. 

This was an prime opportunity for him as it was for another. 

But at this moment, the commotion had awakened Ming Yue, who felt pain radiating from every inch of her body. The rippling energies washed over her as her eyes focused onto the scene before her.

"What... what happened?" she thought. 

What was originally a black puppet with red eyes was replaced by Dai Mian's original appearance. Though he was obscured with the armor he created, it was certain that he had become youthful again. 

But the Heaven's Bolt was even more shocking to her. In all of its blinding light, she could not fathom how this was reality. What was in front of her carried power and served to remind her that this was level of strength beyond her. This was something she could very well achieve as she progressed. 

"Ming Yue, you're awake!" 

Hua Xiong was relieved to see her comrade awaken, propping her up. 

"What happened? Is this the end? Of everything?" 

Ming Yue looked at her, as strong as her mentality was, this was simply too much for her to take. She needed some sort of explanation to this but Hua Xiong had nothing to say. 

"This... this is a fight we should not be part of. There is nothing we can do but watch."

Even now, she was reminded of her own strength. This time, their anger had taken the best of them, clouded their judgment. They had took on a battle they were too weak for. In front of Dai Mian, they were powerless now. In fact, everyone from the younger generation felt it, the gap between their strength. 

But now, it was time for the older generation step in. 

The Grand Elder's face turned dark as he slowly rose up, regaining full control over his body. Life and Death came together, Yin and Yang formed behind his back. His body glowed in a gentle light as one hand held a sphere of Death Energy and the other held a sphere of Light Energy. 

"There is no beginning and no end, only a of cycle of infinite lives."

He clasped his hands, combining the two energies, continuing his mantra. 

"To end is to reach the Four Truths. To break out of this cycle is to reach Enlightenment."*

His power skyrocketed, so much so that Dai Mian nearly lost focus for a moment.

"Don't you dare do this! Do you know what will happen? The world will be remade and the Sovereign will end! What happens then? We could end up like the Demon Continent! Ruined! Destroyed! Huang Bo, do you not understand the consequences of your actions! If you do this, the calamity to continue!"

He screamed out, his words reached everyone's ears, especially that of his former disciple. 

The Grand Elder looked at him, his eyes revealing sadness but determination. 

"Even if you stop this calamity, no one will be able to stop you."

He muttered those words before attacking, pushing his hands forward and opening them.*

"The Third Truth: Nirvana"