Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

"Of course it is, what other place looks as dead as this?! Not even weeds are growing here! How could this not be a Cursed Land?"     

"Ahahaha, to think that the original branch was really standing above a Cursed Land! We should claim it for ourselves!"     

"What? Do you want a death wish? Do you know how many Cursed Lands exist?! There are only two compared to the countless of Holy Lands out there! Do you really think the branch leaders would not come and take it for their own? We should be grateful that no one's here yet. If luck blesses us, we might be able to find some treasures!"     

Lurking through the shadows of the surrounding foliage, a group of people stared at the empty land.      

Though they tried to converse quietly, whispering didn't seem to exist in their vocabulary.      

"Alright, it should be safe, let's go in and start digging."     

Slowly, they emerged from the bushes, walking into the outer regions while keeping their eyes open.      

As one of them looked around, there was a smile on their face.      

"Looks like it's safe though, is this what a Cursed Land is supposed to be like? I thought we were supposed to feel empowered here. And I know that no one's here but I figured I see some tracks or something."     

Turning to look at his comrades, he found them all on the ground dead.      

"Wha-"     

There was a flash of light going through their neck and before they knew it, their head was rolling on the ground. As the light in their eyes faded, they managed to catch a glimpse of the killer, a young woman.      

"How many does that make it for tonight? Twenty?" said Xue Yue.      

Standing in front of the corpses, Ming Yue looked at the group while cleaning the blood off of her blade.      

"Yes, that's twenty, twenty groups", she replied.      

Her counterpart chuckled at the number.     

"Hah, ever since those rumors have spread, they've been coming in droves. It seems pretty endless at this point. When do you think the other members of the Fourteen Evils are going to come?"      

"I don't know, I haven't heard any news from Ying Yi nor did Grandpa Meng tell me anything so maybe they haven't made a move yet. If it comes down to it, I could just go after them, there's only nine of them left anyways."     

But the moment she said that, Ming Yue suddenly looked off into the distance, narrowing her eyes as she did so.      

Not sparing a glance at the bodies, she left them there and hid within the shadows of the trees.      

Seconds later, someone fell from the skies, landing at the center of the empty land with a bang. Dust and debris flew up as the entire area was covered.      

Ming Yue watched from afar, keeping Blood Moon close to her.      

Obscured by the dust, all she could see was a large muscular figure standing there ominously. This figure suddenly looked around before casually walking through, stopping right in front of the bloodied corpses.      

"Hoh! Looks like someone was here not too long ago. In fact, I'd say it hadn't been more than a few minutes!"      

He didn't bother keeping quiet, talking loudly and without restraint.      

Putting his hands on his hips, he looked straight up before taking a deep breath.      

"I KNOW YOU'RE OUT THERE! COME AND HAVE A FAIR FIGHT WITH ME! I'D RATHER NOT HAVE TO PLAY THIS GAME OF CAT AND MOUSE!"     

His voice was booming, echoing throughout the valley and even past it. Ming Yue covered her ears as she flinched in pain, hearing a ringing afterwards.      

"That... that must be Pingba", she muttered, "One of the four most feared members of the Fourteen Evils."     

Indeed of the Fourteen Evils, there were four particular members that stood out among the others. They were the most feared for a multitude of reasons but overall, they were known to have no limits.      

How brutal could they be? To what lengths are they willing to torture their prey? How far are they willing to go for their own goals?     

That was what made them so scary, they had no bottom line.      

And as for Pingba, he was known as the Ogre among his peers. Aside from his hulking figure, one of his defining traits was his sleeveless robes that revealed ogres tattooed on his arms.* They weren't just depictions of them, standing and looking scary. If one were to look closely, they'd find these tattoos to show gruesome scenes of such monsters killing beasts and men alike.      

Ogres smashing bodies flat or even tearing limbs apart, blood spraying out like mist.     

Aside from the ogre tattoos, Pingba was practically an ogre himself.      

There was a fierce look on his brows and a wild grin on his face. His hair was spiked upwards and his eyes seemed to glow red as he hungered for battle. His hulking body was bulging with muscles that were incomparably tough. Curling his hands into fists, he looked from one side to the other before shouting one more warning.      

"COME OUT HERE AND FIGHT ME! A FAIR FIGHT IS ALL I ASK! A CHASE WILL ONLY END WITH YOUR DEATH! AT LEAST A FIGHT WILL GRANT YOU A CHANCE TO LIVE!"     

Ming Yue covered her ears as he said this but she heard him.      

"He isn't going to give me a choice, is he? He might run wild if I just leave him like this" she thought to herself, "A body cultivator... He's definitely at the Sky Realm, maybe at the Third Sky it'd seem."      

This fight was certainly not to her advantage, she hadn't encountered many body cultivators after all. It was a physically punishing path of cultivation with even fewer experts than normal cultivation. And she didn't know much about them, only that they were extraordinarily tough.      

On top of that, they shared another trait, all of them were close combat fighters, mainly using their fists.      

To say the least, Pingba was the worst kind of opponent for her.      

After all, Ming Yue might have great power but her defenses weren't as strong. One good hit from him could determine the fight. On the other hand, she wasn't sure whether or not she could kill him in one move. If she were to lower her guard for just a second, it would be dangerous.      

And there was only one way to find out.      

The trees and bushes rustled as she suddenly flew out, swinging her sword at him. The first move was the most important and if she wanted to end this quickly, this was the best chance.      

However, her luck would not help her here.      

Ming Yue was just a few meters away from him before Pingba lifted his arm up to block the attack. There was a melodious ring followed by shrieking as Blood Moon scraped against his metal gauntlets.      

He wasn't even looking as he did this.      

"What?!"      

Seeing this, she jumped back, landing a short distance away.      

He stood there menacingly turning around as he lowered his arm down.      

"Hah, so the rumors of this place being a Cursed Land was false, just a tool to lure those who were dumb enough to come", he muttered.      

Pingba tilted his head from one side to the other, cracking his neck and his knuckles as well. Grinning at Ming Yue, he narrowed his eyes, giving her a good look.      

"A woman? To think you'd be vicious enough to hatch a plan like this. And by the smell of it, you've killed plenty. Oh hoh, perhaps you're more of a cat than a mouse", he said to her.      

"But it matters not who you are or what you are, what truly matters is whether you'll give me a decent fight!"     

Suddenly, he lunged forward, raising a fist at her.