Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

4Elder Shen fell to his knees but he did not lower his head, staring at the Ascetic. His eyes started to glow. digging into the floating man. it was unsettling to say the least.      3

"You say that your goal to reach the Immortal Realm is to sever your ties with the world. But the way I see it, you'll never reach it. What binds you to this world is something you will find difficult, almost impossible to let go of."     

His voice suddenly choked up as he felt a force clamping down on his neck.      

"Choose your words carefully, know that your life is in my hands", the Ascetic warned.     

"You say that... this struggle is all in vain but... it is your effort that is in vain."     

The elder could feel the pressure on his neck tightening as speaking became more difficult. But it didn't stop him from doing so.      

"You, you suffer the same fate as everyone else, hitting a wall that you cannot break, a bridge you cannot hope to cross. It is desire", he said to him.      

"Desire? Have you been listening to my words? I have spent a lifetime culling those very desires but you say that it is what's stopping me. What a waste of time."     

The Ascetic's hand started to close, slowly crushing the Elder's neck. How close was he to snapping it?      

However, someone stood in the way.      

"Hongyu!"     

Elder Shen's eyes widened as he called out to the little girl who had jumped from the boat, landing between him and the Ascetic.      

She quickly unsheathed her sword, pointing it straight at him. It was the same one that Ming Yue had commissioned for her.      

Elder Shen struggled to free himself from the Ascetic's grasp, his eyes were on Hongyu alone and they were full of fear. He looked up at the ship, seeing it hovering idly above them. There was no movement coming from it and that only added to his anxiousness.      

"Hongyu! Stop! Run!" he cried out.      

Despite his pleas, the little girl didn't budge. Her expression was that of determination and her sword did not tremble in the face of such a powerful being.     

The hovering man looked down at her curiously. To a Heaven Realm Expert such as him, Hongyu was insignificant. But when she stood in front of him, he could help but have this nagging feeling within him. His eyes flickered as he looked a little more closely.      

"Wait, what is this? What sort of physique do you have?"      

Noticing the peculiarities inside her, the Ascetic's eyes snapped towards Elder Shen who had kept his mouth shut.      

"You, do you know what she is?" he asked her.      

Ignoring the little girl, the Ascetic moved towards the elderly man, coming face to face with him. Now, it wasn't some invisible force grabbing Elder Shen's throat but the Ascetic's actual hand wrapped around the old man's neck.     

"Tell me! Where did you find such a person?!"      

His voice was louder this time, shouting for an answer that Elder Shen could not and would not answer. Realizing this, the Ascetic tightened his grip on his enemy's neck, trying to squeeze an answer out of him.      

"Heuk, keh, haah."     

The elder couldn't even breathe much less speak but the Ascetic made it harder and harder, pushing him further. His breath grew haggard, grabbing the Ascetic's hand and trying to loosen his hold.      

No matter what he did, not even a finger budged.      

Elder Shen struggled as much as he could but he kept looking at Hongyu. His eyes showed nothing but concern for the little girl, a silent plea for her to leave. But she did nothing of the sort. Seeing him in such a state made her angry, Hongyu looked at the Ascetic, glaring at his back.      

"Do you think that your silence is helping her? Your death will be in vain and she will never know a day without pain ever again."     

The Ascetic pulled Elder Shen closer, speaking right into the old man's ears.      

"It doesn't take much for me to realize that she is unlike any of us. That girl isn't from here. No, she isn't from this world, is she? Is her existence heavenly or demonic?" he asked.      

Pulling back, they looked at each other eye to eye and Elder opened his mouth.      

"Power, that is what binds you to this world, your obsession with power."      

That was all he said.      

And in the next moment, the Ascetic suddenly trembled as they both heard the sound of a sword thrusted into flesh. He suddenly turned around and looked at Hongyu, who stabbed him in the back.      

She had both hands wrapped around the hilt of her sword, pushing it deeper into his body. Just as he looked down at her, the little girl stared up at him before pulling the sword out. She was fearless, standing there with her sword poised to attack once more.      

There was shock on the faces of Elder Shen and the Ascetic.      

"You... how did you..."      

Hongyu didn't hesitate the stab him in the torso once more.      

The Ascetic immediately grabbed the sword and pulled it out, glaring at her before throwing her against the tree. He then looked down at the wound, touching it with his hand. Having cultivated his strength for so long, who would've expected a child like her to injure him?     

He spun around, staring down at the Elder. Rather than an emotionless expression, it was one of anger.      

Tightening his grip, it seemed like he really was going to snap the elder's neck. And there was no one that could help. Both Ao Qin and Ruishi Lei had been beaten and the ship was captured. Zhu Xie, Lao Yang, and Shu Yi, none of them were able to move, no one. Not even the Xiao Yin or Hei Yue or any of the other beasts could.      

And Hongyu, she was laying on the ground unconscious but she still held her sword tightly.      

Elder Shen struggled, clinging for every breath. He tried his best to hang on for as long as possible. It was unfortunate that he was reaching his limit as well. He could feel his neck tightening with death on its way.      

And in his final moments, he saw something.      

A pale blue star in the sky.      

It glowed intensely and with each passing second, it became brighter and bigger until he finally realized it.      

"Since you've long outlived your usefulness, I'll be done with y-."      

The Ascetic suddenly froze in the middle of speaking and spun around, raising his hand up. A black sword shot towards him only to be stopped by his palm. The next moment, the pale blue star appeared before him. It was a person and with one blade in the other hand, they grabbed the black sword and pushed it forward, forcing him back several steps.      

His eyes suddenly lit up with a smile.      

"Hah, I was right, I don't have to do much but wait for you to come to me, Ming Yue"     

The young cultivator seemingly ignored his words and took a quick look at the situation. As her eyes panned across, her gaze finally landed on Hongyu. The tree trunk she smashed into was cracked and the little girl laid on the ground, knocked out.      

"You bastard!"     

Seeing that, she was enraged.      

Ming Yue glared at the Ascetic before leaping over him, striking his other hand in an attempt to free Elder Shen.      

Both swords howled as they came down but suddenly stopped an inch away from his skin. But she did not care, letting out a flurry of attacks. Each strike carried out her full strength, battering away at his so-called "Heavenly Domain".     

"Break! Break for me!"