Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

Within the depths of the Savage Lands, there was a battle occurring within the thick brush and the sea of trees. The beast, a two-headed horse with fiery red eyes shrieked and neighed as it raised its front hooves, stomping down at the ground. 

"Hmph."

A figure vanished from the attack, appearing right above it. There was a flash of light as a blade came down, slicing through both heads.

In an instant, it was dead, dropping to the ground as its two heads, rolled across the grass. 

And the figure revealed themselves, standing before the corpse. Looking at the beast, they walked up to it while cleaning their sword and sheathing it. 

"Whew, it's dead. Yesterday it was a faceless sheep, now it's a two-headed horse, what's next?" she muttered. 

None other than, Ming Yue, she grabbed the horse's heads and body, storing it inside her spatial ring. After that, she whistled out for the others. 

Hongyu's head popped out from the left of a nearby tree trunk as both Hei Yue and Xiao Yin walked out. The young cultivator looked at them come up and inspected them all, making sure that there were no injuries on them. 

"Alright good, good, let's keep on moving", she told them. 

Ming Yue held her hand out for the little girl to hold and continued to venture deeper into the Savage Lands. Their figures vanished into the shadows of the thick vegetation. Her eyes carefully searched their surroundings as they moved, watching for any danger. Every now and then, she would glance at the others. 

"It's been a few months, almost a year at this point, we can't continue this for much longer", she thought. 

Much time had passed since they left the Halcyon Meadows and things had changed quite a lot. Both Ming Yue and Hongyu's appearances had differed greatly compared to before. Their wolf pelt mantles had taken plenty of damage, sown back several times with the pelts of other beasts. And while Ming Yue still wore her armor, Hongyu's clothes had been fully replaced with simple clothing made from the same pelts of the beasts they fought. 

Furthermore, the young girl had grown to seem less naive and more fierce, accustomed to the rough land. Despite her white skin, it had grown tougher and adorned with a few scars. Among them, there was one right across her cheek, the only one on her face. 

After all, they had practically crossed mountains and deserts, facing dozens if not hundreds of terrible beasts all of which were met with death. 

And both Hei Yue and Xiao Yin had grown as well.

With all the beasts that they have killed, Ming Yue's two pets gained quite a bit. The Mistral Fox's dark silver fur was darker now and the fox itself had grown. He was now large enough to carry Hongyu with ease. 

Despite his size, Hei Yue was swifter and more agile than before and his abilities had grown. 

As for the Star Owl, Xiao Yin grew larger, nearly a third the size of Ming Yue's body. With the owl's size, perching on Ming Yue's shoulder proved more difficult and rather uncomfortable too. But Xiao Yin's appearance had changed quite a bit as well. 

From the growing wingspan to the sharpening claws, the owl's silvery glowing eyes, her feathers had a silver edge to them like blades. In any case, these past few months have been fruitful but exhausting. 

Ming Yue's eyes flickered as she looked at them before looking forward. 

"Damn it."

She silently cursed and continued onwards. 

The group made their way through the dense forest. Every now and then there would be a tremor in the ground, a roar or a shriek in the distance, another dangerous encounter just waiting to be found. 

But they had to keep moving.

Ming Yue had to find a place that would shelter them, keep them hidden from the beast tribes.

With the existence of the Expedition Division, there weren't many places to hide. They had to find a location that was isolated and practically hidden, a place where nothing dared to come. 

And there was no better place than the center of the Savage Lands, where the beasts were most plentiful and the danger was immeasurable. After all, the most dangerous place is often the safest. With all the beasts they've fought, their scent was long masked by blood and flesh. 

Taking Blood Moon out, she pointed the blade in front of her, parting the grass and leaves to make a path. 

"You know that this can't last forever."

Xue Yue's voice echoed within her mind. 

"I know", Ming Yue replied. 

"Let alone you, the child is weary. She's dragging her feet with each step. She's not even looking at you, her eyes are pointed at the ground. She's growing weaker, she needs sleep." 

"I know that, Xue Yue. But I also can't stop yet, I need to find somewhere safe." 

"In a place like this? It's been nearly a year."

"And I am willing to walk for longer than that."

"But can she?"

At this point, Ming Yue stopped and turned to look at Hongyu. The child looked up at her curiously, revealing the tiredness in her eyes. The young woman's eyes flicked as she knelt down and carried the child, holding her with one arm and wielding Blood Moon with the other. 

Quietly, she continued onwards, letting the little girl rest her head on her shoulder. 

With each step, her eyes fluttered, trying to stay open. But the rustling leaves and soft steps soothed her, lulling Hongyu asleep. 

Now that she was asleep, Ming Yue quickened her pace.

"Both of you scout ahead, signal if you find something strange."

The two beasts moved forward and sped up, doing as she instructed. It wasn't until night had come that they stopped and slowed down but they did not stop. Hongyu's eyes opened up as she raised her head and looked around, rubbing her eyes. Seeing the night sky, she knew that Ming Yue had been carrying her all this time. 

"You want to walk?"

Pushing against the cultivator, Ming Yue let her down and held her hand as they journeyed onward under the veil of the night. 

It was quieter now, more peaceful than before. It seemed like every beast was asleep. 

As they ventured further, Hei Yue suddenly perked up, sniffing the air just as Xiao Yin returned, cooing with a bit of excitement. 

"What is it? Did you find something?" Ming Yue asked. 

The Star Owl then flew off taking them through the sea of trees before exiting them, entering a clearing of sorts. But this was no normal clearing. 

It was right by a cliff where a small waterfall flowed off it and into a pond. The surrounding grass was waist-high and lush. There was enough space for a small house and all of it was enclosed with numerous trees. It was quite calm and beautiful, most of all, it felt safe. 

"This... this will be it, our new home", she muttered. 

Waving her sword, she released a blade of wind, cutting all of the grass and piling it together. 

Letting go of Ming Yue's hand, Hongyu, looked around curiously but soon turned towards the cultivator with a happy smile. She smiled back, enjoying the pretty sight, even gazing at the pond where there were fish swimming about. 

Finally, she felt as if she could relax and just as she did, something happened. The sound of trees snapping apart as something came closer and closer towards them. 

Ming Yue spun to face it, standing in front of Hongyu and brandishing her blade. 

With each second the tree snapping grew louder and louder until something burst out of the trees!