Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

As soon as they heard that screech, everyone stopped and looked in the direction of that noise. The Amaranthine Lion stared off into the distance, breathing heavily as it thought about how to best deal with this new threat. 

A small shadow slowly grew as something came quickly. 

But that wasn't enough, there were over a dozen other roars and cries as other beasts made themselves known.

"No, this is too dangerous now, retreat!"

Niu Hong quickly shouted to the others as the situation changed drastically. Everyone turned and ran, not sparing even a glance at the beast. 

The lion looked around, taking a step back as it roared at its surroundings. 

Shadows emerged from every direction, looking at the Amaranthine Lion and the golem. There was no doubt that they had been watching from the very beginning. The moment the golem made its entrance their attention was already on it. Now it had been a matter of who dared to openly challenge the thing. 

Who would be the fool to do so?

And unfortunately, it was the Amaranthine Lion and now it was going to end up as another beast's pray. 

As they gathered and surrounded the lion, these beasts eyed each other, snarling at one another. In this situation, it had become a battle of survival but whoever moved first was sure to be everyone else's target. 

However, Ming Yue and the others weren't going to stick around to find out how this ended. 

"Run! Now! Before any of them catches sight of us!" Niu Hong shouted out. 

Everyone sprinted away as they heard a battle begin behind them. Countless booms and cracks echoed out as the trees were broken and the surrounding area was destroyed as the beasts fought amongst themselves. 

At this point, nothing dared to come close to this, not even those strong enough to contend would join. They just watched from the comfort of their own territory. To them, it was just a show, a show that happened every day at every hour. 

However, one of them did catch a glimpse of several fleeing individuals, easy prey no doubt. 

As this beast watched them, it slinked forward, glancing at the massive battle before quietly leaving its home to go after Ming Yue's group. Running through the trees, it quickly gained on them, closing the distance with ease. 

Yu Tu's ears perked up at the sound of its arrival as she quickly looked back, seeing what was coming after them. 

Her eyes widened, she quickly looked forward and sprinted even faster. 

"We have to find somewhere open! It's a Cloud Leopard!" she exclaimed.

"What?! Damn it, how unlucky! To think those ruins would bring such attention and trouble!"

Qiang Rong howled out loud as he whipped out his staff, pointing it forward. 

"Extend!"

With a single command, it grew several meters longer into a pole. He stuck it into the ground, pulling it down before vaulting up, launching himself into the skies. With his golden eyes, he scanned the area before them and quickly spotted a clearing. 

  "Over there!"

He landed down, noting the direction, and ran in front of the group, leading them all to the clearing. 

But the Cloud Leopard gained on them quickly. It was nimble, not barreling through the trees but running around them, snaking through without even leaving a tuft of fur on the bark. Ming Yue looked behind her and saw the shadow of the beast, its two silvery eyes left a trail as it followed their bodies. 

"It'll catch up to us before we even make it, we have to slow it down somehow", she thought to herself. 

After a moment, she looked to Hei Yue and called out to the fox, whistling loudly. 

He looked at her as if understanding what she wanted him to do. The Mistral Fox then moved behind Ming Yue, positioning at the back of the group. Bits of black fog emerged from his body before he left behind a trail of it, obscuring the Cloud Leopard's sight. It expanded, growing larger and thicker but it barely slowed the leopard down. 

Even if its sight was covered, it still had its sense of smell. 

Although the fog confused it for a moment, the Cloud Leopard pressed on, relying on only its nose to lead the way. But in that span of time, Ming Yue jumped forward to the front and handed off the little girl to Qiang Rong. 

The little girl looked at Ming Yue fearfully, afraid of being abandoned by her. 

"Don't worry, they're good people and I won't be gone for long."

She spoke as calmly as possible before drifting back, running by Hei Yue. 

"Xiao Yin, stay with the rest of them and keep watch of the girl."

The owl chirped before flying forward, staying close to the Four Claws. 

Ming Yue then looked back at the fog, knowing full well that killing it would be difficult but slowing it down wasn't an impossible task. 

"I just have to draw its attention to me, Xue Yue", she said.

"Let's just kill this thing instead, it's easier this way."

Xue Yue answered confidently. 

"Do you think we can?" Ming Yue asked. 

"We've dealt with worse."

Hearing this, she felt more inclined to do so. It would be easier to kill it now than later. If she were to fight it with the Four Claws, they'd have to fight while protecting the girl. Not to mention, the four claws were not as strong as her. They may even bring her down. 

This way, she could fight without worrying, and that she did. 

Taking a breath and sharpening herself, Ming Yue jumped back into the fog, vanishing without notice. 

Within there was nothing but utter darkness and Ming Yue moved through it, looking for the Cloud Leopard. Her eyes scanned through the black fog before seeing movement and immediately moved towards it. 

As quick as the leopard was, Ming Yue had more than enough speed to match it, especially with the help of her armor. With the Zephyr Claws in one hand, she blew through the fog and swung out, cutting through the leopard's skin and stabbing Blood Moon into its side. 

The beast stopped in its tracks and howled in pain. Before it could even react, Ming Yue pulled the blade out and vanished into the fog, following the leopard closely. It was so quick that she didn't even have time to see what the leopard looked like. 

Who would've thought that it would be attacked so brazenly like this? 

The Cloud Leopard wasn't expecting it at all but now it knew. It wasn't going to run around and just take the pain. It sniffed the air and found one scent stronger than the others, closer to it than the others, much closer. 

It then turned to look at Ming Yue's location directly. Lashing out with its paw, it struck where she stood but missed as the cultivator jumped back. She struck back, swinging her sword out and releasing a blade of wind which also missed. 

They were both the same, high speed, high attack, but barely any defense. It became a game of cat and mouse with the both of them. 

They exchanged attacks and avoided each other, trying to find an opportunity. 

But the leopard was getting impatient. The fog covered its sight and as good as its nose was, it wasn't enough.

Noticing this change, Ming Yue left the fog. 

It then leaped up and through the fog, rising into the skies before facing down and kicking the air with its back legs. The kick resulted in a small boom as the leopard shot down, landing the ground with enough power to break the fog apart. 

At the same time, the leopard took this window of time to transform. 

When the fog dissipated, Ming Yue was face to face with the leopard.