Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

"There you are..."

"What are you doing here? So far away from everything else?" 

"Two little lost lambs, I wonder what you taste like? I can't wait!"

The sweet voices of these Vore Demons giggling fell upon their ears. Before the two disciples knew it, they had been found. 

"Eek! No, I don't want to die!" 

Sister Ting dropped down to her knees, covering her ears as she did so. 

"Don't worry, I'll protect you! I won't let them eat us!"

Brother Yu looked at her, trying desperately to comfort her. 

"Damn it, I shouldn't have done this. Getting Sister Ting to come was a stupid idea, I shouldn't have brought her here. Still, I have to keep her safe! She's my friend, I won't let her die like this."

Regret flooded his mind as he held the broadsword tightly. 

Shaking his head, he resolved himself, standing protectively in front of her. 

"Come out here! I'll slay you all!" he shouted out, displaying his bravery. 

Such words were met with silence before the three demons giggled at him. 

"Let's leave their heads! Show them to the other humans! Maybe they'll stop running!"

"Oh, who wants to do it?!"

"Why pick? Let's just all do it!"

At that moment, his heart sank as the three demons shot out of the trees with their mouths wide open and their eyes gleefully staring them down. They were like wolves in front of a pair of lost lambs, ready to feast on them. 

Sister Ting closed her eyes, not wanting to witness what was to come. But Brother Yu stood strong and struck out. 

"Flashfire!"

He held his sword up and smashed it down onto the ground. The blade burst out in flames that entered the ground and erupted beneath the three demons. He was a disciple of the Jadewood Sect, a young genius at the Earth Realm, he wasn't weak. 

But they were quick, avoiding the attack and landing in front of the two. They looked at Brother Yu before glancing at the ruptured ground and sputtering flames. 

"Don't come any closer! I'll kill you all!" he shouted. 

But those words did little to stop them. They only smiled and hissed, running towards them. 

"What are two children going to do?"

One of them laughed as they saw the fear in eyes of these humans. They opened their mouths, ready to tear the two disciples apart. The rows of jagged teeth and the forked tongue were on full display. 

One instant to devour them whole and in that instant, thunder cracked as lightning struck them from afar. At the same time, dozens of Wind Lances flew into their open mouths but they weren't ordinary ones, they were Blasting Gales. 

Struck from two sides, they fell to the ground, closing their mouths on instinct, having just eaten something else. 

They wriggled in pain before clutching their mouths and stomach. The lances they ate burst out, exploding and causing mayhem inside their bodies. 

Their teeth were all but shattered and torn from their gums. The blood pooled inside until it could no longer be contained. It flowed like rivers from their mouths as they opened up, revealing the destruction within. It stained their clothes and trickled to the ground. 

Their bloodlines were deactivated and they laid on the floor, whimpering in pain. It felt like a toothache but for all of their teeth. 

And then, Ming Yue revealed herself, landing in front of the two disciples with her dagger in hand and summoning several more Blasting Gales. The Boltwind Claws turned in Zephyr Claws, larger and sharper, more for cutting than piercing. 

Hei Yue and Xiao Yin both arrived, placing themselves in front of Brother Yu and Sister Ting in a protective manner. She glanced at the two disciples, checking to see if they were fine before walking towards the injured Vore Demons. 

"It is a good thing I gave that corpse to Commander ZI Jing, or else killing them myself would have been more difficult. To think, the only thing to be afraid of is their mouths. They might be able to devour whole bodies but that's their only weapon. But to think that their teeth can pierce armor but they're brittle. All I have to do is break that and they can't eat anymore."

While it was not the first time, Zi Jing had ever seen a Vore Demon's body, it was the most intact. It was through this, that he was able to deduce more weaknesses. 

And now, Ming Yue was able to capitalize on it. 

The three demons tried their best to stop the bleeding but it would take quite a while for any of it to stop. They saw her approach them and stepped back, pointing at her in fear. 

"Yo- you... it was you who killed our sisters! You!"

One of them pointed at her, having realized it. But her voice was garbled as the blood continued to come out. 

Ming Yue looked at them coldly and didn't answer them, she just continued to walk forward. 

They trembled in front of her, knowing full well what she was going to do. And it was worse, knowing that all they could do was run. Crawling back from her, the three demons lost all of that arrogance and smugness, replaced but a child-like fear. Certainly, they were strong but this was the first time they found something they could not eat. 

"No, get away from us! Get away!" they cried out. 

However, Ming Yue stopped just meters away and watched them. Her eyes were cold and emotionless as she looked, it was as if something inside her had awakened. 

A sharp whistling sound rang out as the three demons turned to run. 

"Whistle Wind." 

Just like that, three blades of wind flew from nowhere, cutting through their throats and taking off their heads. It was quiet, save for that whistling sound, which continued to echo through the swamps. 

After that, Ming Yue collected their bodies into her Spatial Ring and then turned towards the two Jadewood Sect Disciples. 

"You two should not be here. If I had come any later, I would not have been able to save you", she bluntly spoke, jabbing at their confidence even more.

The young cultivator then pointed in the direction of one of the bunkers. 

"There will be a bunker with other soldiers, Hei Yue will bring you there. I'd rather you not get lost again or else, I won't be able to save you."

After speaking, the Mistral Fox walked up to the pair before yipping at them. 

"Tha- thank you, um, Miss Ming."

As they went to thank her and to apologize, she was gone, along with Xiao Yin. It was just them and Hei Yue, who continued to bark for their attention. 

They looked at each other before promptly following the fox. It was strange, to meet someone younger than them and yet so strong. 

"Can I even consider myself a genius?No, I should just be thankful that we made it out alive", Brother Yu thought to himself but could not feel any sort of relief, just disappointment.

Meanwhile, Ming Yue quickly made her way towards the main group, who was being chased by Qing Chai and her lizards. Their giant mouths crunching through everything in their path. She continued to watch the Red Empress, following the trail of destruction.

"Killing them didn't take too long, then again, that was really risky. But now, I have to deal with her", she thought. 

On those lizards, Qing Chai was much faster than her "daughters" and that gave Zi Jing even fewer chances to utilize the various traps and formations he had set up. It was frustrating, so much so that he cursed himself. 

"Damn it! Which one can I even use to slow her down? I have to deal with those lizards too."

He thought hard, trying to come up with a solid plan. And Ya Lang was busy shouting instructions to the others. 

"Use the bombs! Aim at their feet! We have to slow the lizards!" 

Everyone moved quickly, using every tool at their disposal to deal with this great force. But Qing Chai was ready, everything they threw, she had the lizard gobble them up or swat them away. 

"I won't be careless this time!"