Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

Thinking about Hei Yue and Xiao Yin, she quietly left her room and entered the marshlands alone. Having transformed her armor, she was practically a blur, running through it all without stopping for even a moment. 

"This is... so much faster!" she thought, "It's burning so much of my energy but I'm nearly twice as fast as before. I might even go further than that."

Glancing at the Eternal Heart Ring, it pulsated with even more zeal, trying its best to recover the spent energy. At this point, it could still keep up but barely. As amazing of an item it was, there was only so much it could do. 

"Hm, I need to be more careful with this", she thought. 

After a few more seconds, her armor returned to its original form and she quietly landed on the ground. Ming Yue looked around before whistling out, gazing at the swamps. 

A pair of shadows appeared before her, stopping at her feet. Their bodies were covered in dirt and blood, evidently not their own. 

"You two, what did you guys kill to get this dirty?" 

She looked at them with a raised brow. While she had expected Hei Yue to be dirty, she didn't think Xiao Yin would be the same. In fact, the owl seemed to be even dirtier than the fox.

In excitement, they ran off, leading her further into the marshes until they reached a small clearing. There laid the body of a very dead bird, one that Ming Yue recognized from her past ventures into this area. 

"A Blackwater Heron? Both of you killed it?" she asked. 

The two beasts looked at her proudly.

"That's Rank 4 and the both of you were around Rank 2... So, what rank are you two now?"

Despite asking this aloud, neither beast could answer her and she didn't have the knowledge to evaluate them.

"Hah, when we get back to Heaven's Gate, we're going to go to the Beast Hall and have the elder evaluate you both", she told them. 

Ming Yue then looked over at the heron and walked forward. It was quite big, nothing compared to the Everglade Crab but still about as big as her. The most dangerous part was its beak, quick enough to stab a hole through armor and flesh. 

"Well what do you two want to do with it?" she asked. 

Looking at each other, Hei Yue grabbed the Blackwater Heron by its wing with his mouth, dragging it in front of her. 

"Do you want to have it for later then?" 

Xiao Yin hooted as if to say yes, evidently, it seemed as if they were going to bring it back to her regardless. 

Having it by her feet, she took it and placed it into her spatial ring, taking note of the injuries. 

"A pretty clean kill... Must've been all of the high-ranking beast meat they've been eating."

Certainly, they were much strong than they seemed. 

She then knelt down and looked at them both. 

"Let's go hunt together, unless you're feeling tired?" 

However, both beasts seemed excited to hunt with Ming Yue. Considering it was the night, it would certainly be even more exciting. With a rather happy skip to their run, the trio delved deeper into the marshlands. In fact, they went past where the Vore Demons were, finding themselves within an endless plain of black grass.

Stopping at the borders where the two lands met, Ming Yue looked around before looking behind her. 

"Took a lot less time coming here but is this it?" she wondered, "Should I go further?" 

It hadn't been more than a few hours and it would be some time before the sun rose. 

"It would be an issue if they find me gone but I haven't found anything worth fighting." 

Giving it some thought, Ming Yue made up her mind before walking forward. 

"Come on you two, if those demons were in the swamps, there are certainly more around here."

They followed after her dutifully, staying by her side while they explored these grassy plains. 

It was different from what she had expected or perhaps, a completely unfamiliar environment. The black grass only grew up to her knees. The ground beneath her feet was dried dirt, crumbly like sand and gravel, walking made for an uncomfortable experience. 

But they pushed forward, keeping their eyes open. Surely, there would be something around here.

And suddenly, they all stopped, looking around them. 

"Someone is here." 

Ming Yue dropped down, melding in with the grass as several shadows appeared. There were six of them in total, all wearing similar uniforms. On top of that, they were easily recognizable in these violet robes. 

"Tao Feng!"

Her eyes widened as she saw them all, meeting together to speak. 

"They're the remaining two groups!" she remembered

One had gone to a temple while the other had gone to the Cerulean Serpent's Lake. And now, they were all right in front of her. Was this her chance to finish off the job?

"No, I can't kill them all, maybe three or four but the other two... Even fighting them alone would be difficult." 

While she didn't know what rank these disciples were, it wasn't difficult to find which of them was the most dangerous. Their aura was withdrawn but the other five disciples looked at them with both respect and fear. 

"Senior Brother, we've done as you've asked. What do you want to do next?" one of them asked. 

There was a pause before this man spoke. His face was obscured by a hood and mask covering his face. The only thing that could be seen were his eyes.

"The one that had been hunting us seemed to have stopped. It was fortunate that we were able to go into hiding before any more of us were killed. They must have stopped when they saw what had happened to Sect Leader Dai. However, our leader has more than one plan and now that he has obtained a new body, we can work to wake his mind."

His voice was quiet was loud enough for her to hear. 

And when she heard such words, Ming Yue's eyes widened in surprise. 

"So they haven't given up?! No, so there's a chance for Dai Mian to return then and as the Idol of Chaos. If he were to awaken then... that would be for the worst." 

Not only would he have a much stronger body but he would be much more dangerous than before. 

"How do you plan that, Senior Brother? We do not even know where he is. As a matter of fact, how will we even be able to make contact with him? You've seen what he's like at the North Fort and the Boundless Beast Forest. Could his mind still be there?" another disciple asked. 

The man laughed out loud at such a question.

"And you call yourself one of his disciples?! Don't question his methods and machinations! He let himself be found by them the Hundun Clan. He knew full well what would happen and allowed it because he believes in us! Should we not give him that same respect?" 

Following his words, no one else dared to question anything more. They only stood there, waiting for instructions from him. 

Seeing as they were all obedient, he continued to speak. 

"He attacked the North Fort and is most likely going to attack the south where that new base is being made. We will make plans and set up around that area. Once he makes his appearance, we will awaken him."

They all nodded, understanding and accepting this plan without any hesitation. For their sect leader, they were willing to do anything. 

"I see now", one of them said, "Then what shall we do about the rat that's been listening to us?"