Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

Chapter 358 - Eternal Despair

Running through the forest, Ming Yue suddenly heard numerous explosions in the distance. 

"What was that?" 

She suddeny stopped and took out her map, looking over her location compared to where the commotion was. 

"The noise is coming from two directions, then they've separated into two groups. The question now is who to go after first", she thought. 

It wasn't as simple as whichever one was closest but who was in which fight. After all, she could not guarantee that she could deal with one group quick enough to take care of the other. Worse yet, it she waited too long, one group might finish quicker and come to help the other one. 

MIng Yue looked at the two locations, going over whatever information she had. 

"The Gold Tusk Elephander or the Luan Xiang Toad? There are six of the disciples. The second and the fifth are the strongest of the group so each one might lead their own squad. Or work together to deal with the Luan Xiang Toad. It is Rank 6 so it requires several Sky Realm Experts."

After thinking, she ran toward the direction of the toad, finding it to be more beneficial. 

"If the second and fifth are there, I might be able to kill them both with the help of the toad. Xiao Yin, go to the other side where the Elephander is, if they finish before I am done, come back."

The Star Owl gave a small tweet of understanding before leaving the two. 

"Come on, Hei Yue."

Beckoning the fox, she took her Drifting Sky and shifted her armor, doubling her speed in a second. Hei Yue matched her speed evenly as the two made their way towards the Luan Xiang Toad. 

As for the battle it was currently in, the three disciples had found themsleves within the illusions of this creature. Surrounded by five toads, Da Xian waved his sword in a strange fashion as if using it like a brush and writing numerous characters. He then bit his finger and let the blood spray out. 

"Yama's Gaze!"

He yelled out, a ferocious man's face manifested by his shoulders with eyes glowing of a piercing rage. As if the King of Hell had come out to pass judgement upon this beast, the eyes saw through the illusion, shattering it and revealing the Toad's true body, trying to break the chains that binded it. 

"Seventh Sister, stop it from making any more illusions! Twelfth Sister, get the Five Element Parasol!" 

On his orders, the two juniors moved out. 

As the Seventh Junior Sister ran forward, the wind blew her hair apart and her face was uncovered. It was nothing short of beautiful from the pale skin to the thin nose. If it wasn't for her hair, she would've made many heads turn. Unfortunately, it had to be this way. 

As her eyes were no longer hidden, she stared at the Toad, forcing it to lock eyes with her. Suddenly her pupils were of a different color. Rather, the entirety of her eyes had turned into pitch black as crimson markings appeared.*

They were strange, hypnotic even and the toad could not look away even if it tried. 

It let out a weak croak as its mind was struck with fear, images of its death, gruesome and chilling. If even a Rank 7 Beast fell to these eyes, what would happen to another person?

"So that's Seventh Sister's Yong Juewang, the Eyes of Eternal Despair. I knew I'd see it but..." 

Fei Man shivered at the sight of those eyes. Even if they weren't directed to her, she still felt a bit of apprehension towards them. The eerie mixture of black and red made for a chilling sight.

"All because of those eyes, Seventh Sister is stuck at the position of Seventh", she thought, "She probably would have been Second or even First, if she could control it. Rather, if she had been orn with those eyes instead having them transplanted by the Sect Leader."

As Wu Hong continued to activate her eyes, blood began to trickle from them as the pain began to settle in. It was as Fei Man thought, her Seventh Sister could not handle the power of those eyes. 

"I better grab the Parasol..."

Locating that very item, Fei Man sprinted towards the Five Element Parasol with a dagger in hand. All she needed to do was carefully dig it out and preserve it within a jade box. 

A shadow suddenly appeared, releasing a trail of fog around the Parasol. Needles of wind shot out, piercing the air as they all flew towards her. 

"What?!"

The sudden development had surprised Fei Man as she backed off, avoiding all but one of the needles. Blood dripped from the cut in her cheek and she put the blowpipe up to her mouth, responding with several darts of her own. 

"Is someone targeting us?" she thought. 

In a few leaps, she hid among the trees and watched the fog slowly dissipate.

"Here you are."

A chill ran down her spine as Ming Yue was behind her. The Twelfth Disciple immediately jumped out just as she attacked her, aiming for the neck. 

Lurking through the trees, she watched the disciple move, tracking her location. Glancing at the Luan Xiang Toad, the beast was preoccupied with the two other disciples. None of them noticed what was happening at the Five Element Parasol.

"Kill her first, then destroy the formation and the Toad should deal with the rest."

Eyeing the one in front of her, Ming Yue moved quickly. Like a blur, she charged towards Fei Man with her sword drawn out, dodging the dart as they came.

"Who is she? Why does she know our location?"

Fei Man's mind raced as she kept her distance from Ming Yue, trying to slow her down with the darts. Even then, speed was Ming Yue's forte, as hard as this disciple tried, Ming Yue was catching up.

"Shit, I didn't want to use it but..."

Putting away her blowpipe, she instead took out a pair of curved knives, which were dyed with a tinge of a yellowish green. Stopping her tracks, Fei Man ran towards Ming Yue, her hands were hidden behind her back, covering her daggers.

"All I need is one little cut and you'll be on the ground wriggling in agony as your innards melt."

Running towards each other, she suddenly whipped out her daggers, releasing a quick string of attacks. The knives came without warning, quick like a snake's bite. But Fei Man could not compete with Ming Yue in speed.

"Phantasmal Wind." 

Even as they were face to face, Ming Yue seemingly vanished from her sight as she reappeared behind the disciple, ready to lop her head off. 

"Behind me!" 

That was what Fei Man's instinct's screamed out to her but she was far too slow. Before she could even retaliate, she was dead. 

Watching her head fall, followed by her body, Ming Yue turned towards the toad. It seemed much weaker now, its lifeforce gradually sucked up by the chains upon its body. 

"The seventh and the second disciple... The twelfth is dead", she thought. 

With the help of the booklet given to her a the North Fort, she had long familiarized herself with their faces. She was even given some basic information about their Daos and skills. 

Looking at the scene, she heard a snap as Hei Yue broke off one of the flags with a bite. 

The chains began to crack just a bit as the Mistral Fox began to break even more of the flags until the Toad felt a weight lifted from its shoulders. 

Unable to keep it under control, the Seventh Sister forced her eyes upon the Luan Xiang Toad. A piercing pain almost made her cry out as the eyes changed into a different form. And to Ming Yue's shock, Wu Hong's body began to age, every second her body grew weaker and thinner as her life was being used. 

"Seventh Sister!"

Da Xian called her out, wracking his mind. 

"What happened? Why did my formation break?" he thought.