Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

Chapter 39 - The Firelight Ruins

It took Ming Yue half a day to reach the actual Firelight Ruins, located in the inner regions. The outer regions are considered the domain of the owner, Yan Hui Zhu, the Fury of the Light. This great figure was a powerful cultivator thousands of years ago, when the continent was broken into small lands, controlled by the strong. Known as the Warlord Age, it was an era of destruction and chaos.

The Firelight ruins was originally a city governed by him, named Firelight City. At the time, He was known for his skill of the light element and was a renowned healer. But the light energy in his attacks could not just heal but cause mayhem inside the bodies of his enemies. If he wanted to, he could easily cripple someone so long as a speck of his energy was inside them. This strength of his allowed him to obtain his own land, turning it into a city. It flourished under his rule and accepted people of all races. It was a center of trade and had a wealth of natural treasures. But because of this, many were envious and wanted to take this city for themselves. Even kings of neighboring countries wished to have it. They secretly joined in an alliance and sent their armies to conquer his territory.

In one fell swoop, Yan Hui Zhu sent out a ray of light from the highest tower, causing great destruction to their army camps. Many died a horrible death, unable to stop his energy from rampaging in their bodies. What made him even more terrifying was what happened after this battle. The lords and kings who had revealed themselves as his attackers soon found their territories razed to the ground and their people without homes or crops. These lands were soon abandoned, considered to be riddled with misfortune after what he did to them.

After this incident, any who had thoughts of his city no longer dared to dream of it, afraid of incurring his wrath. Even after his death, they were still afraid of him. However, his city was not fated to live on. Nearing the end of the Warlord Age, a great disaster erupted, the ground broke, destroying many cities and lightning from the skies rained down for days on end. It was as if the heavens wanted to erase everything in the world. Firelight City was one of the last strongholds to survive the onslaught but it could not last, ultimately breaking from the constant destruction.

Very few survived the ordeal and banded together, leading to the current Sovereign Age, where many of the old lands had unified, becoming large nations. As such, the Firelight Ruins came under the rule of Red Lotus Country. Although it was no longer a bustling city, there were many treasures to be found within it such as rare minerals and old artifacts. But the greatest treasure inside the ruins was the inheritance of Yan Hui Zhu. This included techniques and treasures that he has amassed during his lifetime. No one has managed to obtain it yet due to the numerous restrictions surrounding it.

However, Ming Yue did not come for his inheritance, instead she aimed to collect rare herbs and minerals. The ruins were considered a treasure trove because of its abundance of natural resources. However, it was also dangerous for many, as beasts would claim some of these treasures as their own, attacking any who came close. Furthermore, there was the risk of fighting other cultivators for the same items. Robbery and murder was not an uncommon case.

She explored the area, feeling curious. This was the first time she had seen the remains of another age. Their were many peculiarities to the architecture. The style was unlike what she had seen, it was extremely detailed with strange patterns and the material itself was unusual. A bright white stone that hasn't faded despite several thousand years, preserved for some unknown reason. Among the numerous empty buildings and rubble, there was a tower at the center of the ruins. It was the tower believed to be used by Yan Hui Zhu and the location of his inheritance.

Ming Yue approached it, looking at the tower. There was only one entrance and it was surrounded by people. They were cultivators, trying their luck with the tower, hoping to reach the top. She did not bother to join and only watched them with interest. Some were able to reach middle floors while many could not even enter, thrown out by some invisible force. Others waited out of sheer curiosity, hoping to see someone reach the inheritance so that they could know what it was.

She soon lost interest and left the area, exploring other parts of the destroyed city. While she did not find much, the experience was very beneficial to her. To expand one's horizons was to explore and learn more of the world. Even if she did not gain anything from this trip, it was not a useless venture.

Some of the buildings resembles restaurants, shops, homes, etc. There were still several intact signs although the language it was written in was different from the current one. She walked casually, bumping into other cultivators from time to time. Although they were curious about her being here, a young girl with a tall walking stick, accompanied by an owl. Some even wanted to capture her but ended up departing from the world.

She left the city ruins, satisfied with what she saw and explored the outskirts. She collected a fair number of herbs with the rarest being a rank 2, 200 year Meteor Grass, It was a deep red plant that emitted enough heat to melt metal. For cultivators who have an affinity for fire and earth, this was a great herb to improve their power and control over the elements. Furthermore, it is also suitable for those who cultivate solely the fire or earth element. It was not very helpful for her, but it would definitely sell for a lot.

As she placed the plant into her spatial ring, there were sounds of battle just ahead of her. She slowly crept up watching the battle. A group of people circled a giant white-speckled lizard, attacking it with caution. She examined the fight, recognizing the lizard as a rank 3 White Star Dragon. The dragon was known for its breath attacks, the fire from its mouth was hot enough to turn into white flames. The white specks of its skin would start to glow when angered.

As for the group, it comprised of 4 men and 2 woman, all of whom wore the same purple robes, signifying that they were of the same sect.

"Junior sister! hurry up and grab that Starlight Flower!" one of them yelled out.

Although they were able to take down the White Star Dragon, doing so would expend too much energy and they were only aiming for the flower. There was no need to kill it, they only had to push it away from the flower so that one of them could grab it.

The one they called junior sister had managed to dig out the Starlight Flower from the ground.

"I got it!" she put the flower into her spatial ring and joined her fellow disciples as they quickly retreated.

"Stop right there!" a grisly voice yelled out as a group of men came out, "I'll let you live if you give us the Starlight Flower. If not, you can only blame your luck that you had to meet us."

Ming Yue had yet to move from her spot, quietly observing the situation.

The sect disciples were unable to move escape. They faced robbers in the front and a rank 3 beast closing in.

The junior sister who held the Starlight Flower looked desperate and held the spatial ring close to her chest. This flower was too important to them but if they were to fight the chances of surviving was extremely low.

After several seconds, one of them, a handsome young man spoke up, "Fine, you can have it. As long you let us go."

The man grinned, "Hah, so the young ones can make the right choice. Unfortunately, you took too long to answer so, I changed my mind.. You can all die now."