Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

Up on Ming Yue's position, the formation had begun to take its toll on her. The sounds of thunder boomed in her ears. Lightning and rain fell from the sky. Gathering the energy of the world brought about numerous effects. She felt the force of the world crashing down on her.

From outside, Xiao Yin and Hei Yue watched from a distance away. The gathering energy from the formation was too strong for them and they did not want to get sucked in. Not wanting to bother Ming Yue, they wandered into the mountain.

Three days passed by quickly with the sect put into full gear, everyone had something to do. Whether it was a menial task like training or remembering their stations, all of them had tasks. Perhaps it was their leader breaking through or Ming Yue's performance but they were all on their best behavior. No one seemed to be lazing about or neglectful.

In that time, numerous invitations were sent out throughout the kingdom as well as their neighboring lands. Invitations to come and celebrate Senior Qing's success in breaking through.

One of the elders, Wen Jing, arrived to the Unstable Peak. Looking around, she saw the figure of Ming Yue sitting on the platform. Surrounding her was a fearsome storm, merely the size of a small cloud but it raged on. Torrential rains battered her body, lightning struck close enough to singe hair, fearsome winds scratched just the surface of her skin, prickling her.

Few are able to stay calm in a situation such as this. Trying to keep their concentration unbroken was a difficult task.

Ming Yue was no exception, she struggled to keep herself under control. There were moments where it seemed as if her energy would run wild.

But she could feel it, every single pore in her body drank the energy that was gathered. Ever so slightly, she could feel her body grow stronger. The rain cleansed her internal organs, the wind toughened her skin. The roaring and crackling of lightning made her blood boil and rush.

She found herself in a state of balance, complete and utter concentration.

Wen Jing was slightly shocked at the sight. With everything surrounding her, Ming Yue was like a statue. Out of those who have used this peak before her, not many could achieve what Ming Yue had done, especially because this was her first time using it.

She took a quick scan at Ming Yue, finding that she had reached the bottleneck of the eighth level. Tapping her foot on the ground once, the formation deactivated and the energy had dispersed.

Ming Yue opened her eyes and saw Wen Jing.

"My three days are up?" she asked.

That was a strange experience to have. It felt like forever in that formation and at the same time, it felt as if no time passed at all. What felt like months and years had become mere seconds to her.

"Yes, come with me. We'll get you some new clothes as well. You can toss away those tattered rags", Wen Jing replied.

"That won't be necessary, these robes fix themselves", Ming Yue declined the offer. After all these robes of hers might not be great in terms in defensive capabilities but its self repairing function was quite handy.

Furthermore, she quite liked the faint blue color it had.

On the way down, Xiao Yin and Hei Yue had ran towards her position. Sensing that the energy disappeared, Ming Yue must've been done. Together, the four of them descended the peak and Ming Yue's tattered clothes and body had mostly healed itself.

"By the way..." Ming Yue spoke up, "Is something happening in the sect right now? It has been quite busy lately when I looked around."

"Oh yes, I forget that this is the first time you've seen a sect", said Wen Jing.

With a quick smile, she explained the affairs of the sect to her.

"You see, now that our sect leader has become a cultivator of the Sky Realm. She is one of the strongest figures in this kingdom. After all, she had both talent and luck on her side, becoming one of the youngest to reach that level. Of course, with news of this spreading around, there will be many people who want to befriend her in some way. They may bring gifts to curry her favor and perhaps ask for her in the future. So as a way of organizing all of this, we as the sect send out invitations to other strong cultivators and influential powers. You can see this as a way of gaining allies and hidden cards in case the sect runs into trouble. Both sides would benefit greatly and the value of the gifts they bring would be nothing compared to aid from a strong group", she explained.

"So, it's like that", Ming Yue understood what was happening.

The sect was preparing to receive their guests.

"Then...should I prepare a gift as well?" she asked, unsure of what she should do.

"What? Of course not, you are already a friend of ours. You do not need to bring something. If not for you, the chances of the Sect Leader reaching the Sky Realm would have been lower."

"Oh, I see."

"Hmm, this event will be grand. We've sent the invitation to the king's castle as well as the sect leaders of many powerful groups. Hopefully, nothing will go wrong. We've already set up two formations and all the disciples have returned to the sect to guard."

"Then, Senior Qing must be a very influential person", said Ming Yue.

"She really is an amazing person", Wen Jing began praising the sect leader.

"Sect Leader Qing is one of the strongest figures of her generation. Personally guided by the previous sect master, she was well known for her martial arts. She uses a specific style of soft martial arts that focuses on damaging the internal organs of the body. Her level of expertise has gone to the point of only needing a single tap to subdue those weaker than her. People began calling her the "Bane of Wolves" after the flower because those who were touched by her would fall in seizures, sometimes even death. These were common effects when one dares to even touch a petal of Wolf's Bane."

"Really?" Ming Yue spoke with a bit of surprise.

She didn't think that Senior Qing would have such a background. Then again, Ming Yue had little experience with these types of things. The notion of sects was something she never bothered to pay attention to. She wasn't part of one after all and she did not want to join one.

It didn't take long for them to reach the main mountain and Ming Yue was surprised to see the amount of change that happened on the mountain. Numerous decorations were plastered everywhere. The arena that she fought in suddenly had twice as many seats as before and there were partitions to separate all of the different parties. Every disciple she saw was standing tall with their weapons sheathed, stationed in groups and patrolling everywhere.

Ascending the mountain, she saw many of the empty houses have banners next to them with the names of the figures that would temporarily live in them.

"Wait right here, I'll go speak with the sect leader first and see when she can see you. I will be back in a few minutes", said Wen Jing, who ran off, leaving Ming Yue at one of the empty houses.

Although this particular house was not empty. This simple hut had a small garden next to it. Despite its size, both the house and the garden were well kept. It wasn't a spectacular place but there was a decent view and it was fairly quiet.

Ming Yue looked around and noticed Hei Yue getting his belly rubbed by an old woman.