Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

Chapter 356 - Toad Of Madness

"Hah, the gall of that hag. Let's go you two, the damn toad isn't going to kill itself. "

Da Xian sighed as he cursed out his Fifth Sister in a bitter tone. But he felt the cold stare of his Seventh Sister and shut up immediately. Wu Hong eyes no longer pierced through him any more. 

"Ah, Seventh Sister, you should know as well as I do about Fifth Sister. The twins are as good as dead."

Wu Hong nodded gently as she gave off a feeling of sorrow.

"Hm? What do you mean, Second Senior Brother? What's going to happen to Chen Liu and Chen Qiu?" Fei Man asked. 

He sighed at her question and shook his head. 

"Twelfth sister, you don't need to know this, you haven't been the Sect Leader's personal disciple for more than a few years. Just be grateful that you aren't either of them right now. Scratch that, be grateful that you aren't a young man."

"Oh, okay then."

It was clear that she was still confused but she let it go, understanding that her seniors would not speak more of it. 

Traveling through the forest, Da Xian raised his hand up and stopped, silenting pointing through the brush. 

"There it is, the Luan Xiang Toad and the Five Element Parasol", he whispered. 

In front of them was a massive toad, larger enough to swallow several men whole. This was the Luan Xiang Toad, the Toad of Madness, a beast that many demons feared and avoided. Its massive body was a plethora of colors from red to purple to blue, there was a sligth sheen to its body as a thing layer of slime coated it. Its eyes were wide open and bulging out as the pupils had a swirling energy inside them. The most terrifying part of this creature that which gave it the name Toad of Madness, was the way it moved. 

It did not leap or hop like a normal toad but instead, it teleported, vanishing from one point and reappearing in another. On top of that, it emanated a aura that affected the mind, creating illusions of itself to trick and scare its enemy. The Luan Xiang Toad's movement was so erratic it it earned the "Madness" title, a creature that could not be predicted. 

It was a Rank 6 beast, capable of killing hundreds and it could only be dealt with by several Sky Realm Experts. Even then, it would be hard to do so. Fortunately, these three disciples were not only at the Sky Realm but prepared to dispose of the beast. 

Da Xian looked at it and took out talismans and black formation flags. 

"I will set up the formation first. With it, the toad will be confined to one space. Once it is done, you two need to place as many talismans onto its body. The more you put, the slower it becomes. By then, killing it will be a simple task."

The two junior sisters nodded, understanding his instructions and waited for him. 

Leaving them, he began placing the flags all around the toad, surveying the area. 

"Hmm, the Five Element Parasol... Getting it might be difficult", he thought. 

The Five Element Parasol, a small multi-colored mushroom that gave off the energy of the numerous elements, grew right under the Luan Xiang Toad's belly. It looked as it the toad could crush it so long as it stepped wrong but the toad was still. 

Every now and then, it would release a low croak from its belly. 

Strangely enough, the toad didn't blink at all and its eyes didn't even move. Only the pupils showed any sort of life as a fog- like energy churned within. 

As he planted his black flags, Wu Hong and Fei Man prepared to fight. The Seventh Sister took out her weapon, a double bladed glaive that was equal to her in height. It was a strange and beautiful weapon, the blade itself was embedded with several black gems and the black handle was adorned with the gold engraving of ocean waves. Wu Hong spun it gently and with ease, she seemed quite happy and excited to use it. 

"I've actually never seen your weapon, Seventh Senior Sister. Has this always been your personal choice?"

Fei Man looked at it with curiosity as she cleaned her blowgun, a dark jade piece with a opening for darts to go through. Around her were several pouches which came from her spatial ring, each one had a different appearance to signify the type of poison it had. 

Wu Hong nodded and held it out for her to hold. Changing hands, Fei Man felt a heavy weight and immediately bent over as the glaive fell to the ground.

"Ugh, this is heavy. Seventh Senior Sister, you use this?" she asked, "How do you even fight with it?"

Wu Hong grabbed it from Fei Man's hands holding it with ease. She spun it with her hands before holding it to her side. 

Suddenly, the two of them stopped talking and stood still. In the lush forest, it had become silent and the croaking had stopped. They looked to the toad's location finding the Five Element Parasol unprotected. 

  Appearing just behind them was the Luan Xiang Toad staring at them. In an instant, its mouth opened wide as a thick tongue lashed out. Wu Hong turned around, standing in front of Fei Man as she spun her glaive with a ferocious speed. She reacted quick enough, deflecting the tongue at the last moment. 

However, the strike was quick and immensely powerful, pushing her back several steps. 

"What? Damn it! It noticed us. Rather, it must've sensed us the moment we came. The charms didn't work."

Hearing the noise, Da Xian saw the commotion and worked even quicker.

"Keep it by the Five Element Parasol!" he yelled out, "Don't forget about the talismans!"

Fei Man leaped away, putting the blowgun to her lips, she shot put several darts in quick succession. She was fast and accurate, for each dart was aimed at the toad's joints or eyes. Unfortunately, they all missed as the toad vanished in a puff of smoke, reappearing next to her. 

But Wu Hong kept up with the toad, dashing towards it as she gripped her glaive tightly. It spun constantly in her hand, growing with power as she swing down with all her might. However, the toad was elusive, vanishing once more as the glaive cut deeply into the ground. 

The Toad moved constantly but the two disciples were able to match it, managing to keep it in one location. 

Darts flew through the air like a blur as Wu Hong's glaive kept it at bay. In time, talismans stuck to its body. 

"It cannot move that far and it takes a moment to do so!"

Fei Man yelled out as she took out a dart from each of her pouches, six in total with a different color. One by one they shot out from her blowgun hitting the Toad ust as it prepared to teleport. 

Silent, Wu Hong looked around, trying to see where it would go.

"Nearly there! Give me another minute!"

Da Xian only had a few flags left in his hand. Finishing it up, he took out his wooden sword and pointed at the formation flag in front of him. 

"Chains of the Ten Hell Courts!"

The black flag he pointed at glowed of a sinister light as chains shot out from the ground, connecting it to talismans on the toad's body. It felt a force pull it down as the chains yanked the toad back to the center of the formation. It's body was pinned down and the more talismans were on it, the more chains came out. 

It felt danger, death would come for it but the Luan Xiang Toad did not show fear. From its pupils, the fog left them, billowing out and covering the forest in a thick blanket. 

Moments later, the toad was no longer there.. Instead, there were five of them, all surrounding the three disciples.