Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

Chapter 547 – The Time Draws Near

Feeling this pain, she placed her bowl down and went off, much to the curiosity of Hongyu, who went to follow. But the girl was stopped by the three beasts, all of which pushed her to another part of the field whilst Ming Yue's figure grew smaller and smaller. 

Hongyu kept her eyes on the young woman until she could no longer see her. 

Rather, she smiled and laughed as the furry beasts nuzzled up against her. With the trio's efforts, the little girl was no longer focused on Ming Yue, who had retreated past the waterfall. Her pace was quick as she revealed an expression of pain. 

Beads of sweat began to form as her eyes fluttered open and closed. 

The darkness of the cave tunnel flickered as her surroundings switched between the gray waters and the battlefield. The same ones within her dreams, rather nightmares would've been better. 

"It's getting worse…" she thought. 

The scene changed constantly, so much so that it was even beginning to confuse her. 

Ming Yue moved quickly, reaching the end of it where the stacked stones were. She moved past it, her hand was swift, reaching for the back of the cavern and opening up the secret room. Once inside she knelt down, breathing heavily. 

All that she saw were flickers of light, her head turning from one side to another as she could hear the sound of crashing thunder all around her.

Blades meeting against each other, a constant battle, noise that couldn't be drowned. 

All five senses were practically drowning in this mayhem. Her heart thumped and her head drummed constantly. 

"Agh. Urgh. Hah, hah, hah. Damn it, why is it getting worse?" she muttered, trying to endure this bombardment of noise

But she couldn't hold on for much longer. She reached for Blood Moon, swinging it out wildly against the walls of the training room, cutting at the rock with ease. That was all she could do, swing wildly, attacking whichever direction had a glint of light or whistle of a blade. 

It wasn't a constant stream but a flood of chaotic sound, hammering into her mind.

Her sword flew about, cutting into the rock. Sparks scattered out with each swing and whatever had been cut fell to the floor. Little stones and pebbles pilled up against the walls, crumbling with every reverberation that the sword made. 

It went on and on until it finally stopped. 

At the sound of the last sword, the drumming, the flashes, everything came to an end. Her breath slowed as she dropped down to a knee, supporting herself with Blood Moon. Calming her breath, Ming Yue relaxed and sat down, putting Blood Moon away. 

"First it was just dreams and split-second hallucinations. At the very least, I knew what to watch out for and when to expect it but now it's like this. It's just getting more and more uncontrollable."

She was filled with an unsettling feeling, uncertainty over what would be happening. 

"Hah, Xue Yue, do you have any ideas?" she asked. 

Her question was met with silence but Xue Yue answered soon enough.

"I honestly don't know. Every time it happens, everything turns black for me. It's as if I'm forced to sleep", she said. 

Ming Yue was quiet, her eyes wandered through the carved-up walls. Compared to when she first found this place, the room had grown more spacious and the freshly cut rock scattered around the floor. 

"What do I do?"

The young cultivator wasn't sure what to make of her situation. 

"It feels as if I don't have much time left. Why? Reaching the Sky Realm requires a trial that I can choose to take when I want to. Is that not the case? Or is it the effects of the war? Both? I haven't focused that much on cultivating, so what is happening?"

The questions continued to pile on. No matter how many times she reworded it, it would end up being the same one. 

What was this?

"I need answers but… where can I get them?" she wondered. 

In the Beast Continent where she and Hongyu were practically the only humans, who could she turn to for guidance? For answers?

The uncertainty was clear in her eyes. 

But then… something came to mind, she looked up and turned around, staring at the stacked stone formation. 

"There may be no one to ask but perhaps, I can find something in the ruins? Any notes or journals could be helpful!" 

Indeed, she may not have any mentors here but she may find something in the ancient ruins. After all, they were cultivators too! 

This was her only choice here, the only path she could take. 

"I can't just wait for this to come! I have to do something because if I don't, I'll die."

That much she was certain of. 

Standing back up, she slowly regained her strength and walked towards the stacked stones, moving to touch it but her hand stopped. Instead, she looked up at the little crack above her, where the sunlight shined in. 

Pulling her hand away, she restrained herself.

"I should wait until nightfall, while Hongyu is asleep", she thought. 

It would be wrong of her to vanish out of the blue like this. 

"One step at a time, I can't explore it all in one day but room by room until I'm done with this and then I'll move onto the next one. I'll do it, I'll go through all of it until I find what I'm looking for."

Those uncertain eyes changed to that of determination because now, she knew what to do. Enduring was no longer the way, this had to be dealt with directly. 

Walking out of the cave and past the waterfall, she made her way through the clearing, finding Hongyu and the trio of beasts chasing after each other. There was a smile on the little girl's face and it grew larger when she saw Ming Yue return. 

Stopping herself, Hongyu rand towards the young woman, giving her a big embrace before looking up at her. 

"Ah, I can't leave her like this."

That was the one thought she had when Hongyu did this. 

"Alright, come on, let's go clean up a bit. You're all pretty dirty."

Her words came out warmly as she looked at them all, covered in spots of dirt from playing. Cleaning them up and going about, the rest of their day went by peacefully. With how much hunting they've done, barely any beasts dared to come near them. 

And when night fell, only Ming Yue seemed to be awake. 

She watched as Hongyu quietly fell asleep, gently dreaming away. Xiao Yin, Hei Yue, and Liang Wei were all within the house, barely keeping their eyes open. 

"Keep her safe, you three." 

They responded quietly as she walked out and entered the hidden cave. Standing before the stacked stone formation, Ming Yue took a deep breath, while holding Blood Moon tightly. 

"Hopefully that trap is still broken, if can self-repair, this is going to be a long night", she muttered to herself. 

She raised her other hand up, wearing the Eternal Heart Ring along with the ring she found the last time she was here. Moving towards her neck, she felt the two pendants, the Star Pendant given to her back home and the sword pendant that came with the ring. 

After spending some time with these two items, she had a good grasp of what they did. And the note that came with it explained a bit of their history. 

Letting go after a few seconds, Ming Yue reached for the stacked stones and touched them. The scene around her changed as she found herself within that very trap. 

Fortunately, it was still broken and she walked to the next room where she found the little box.