Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

"You're not Xue Yue! What are you?!" 

Ming Yue jumped back, avoiding the attack and yelling out.

But the doppelganger didn't answer, she didn't even seem to blink an eye. Even then her movements were quick and decisive, each strike aiming to end her opponent's life. 

The young woman jumped back, dodging in every direction while she watched this gray doppelganger of hers. She narrowed her eyes after a dozen moves. 

"It really isn't Xue Yue, no. It's an exact copy of me with the same movements that I would make", she realized. 

"But why? Why is my dream like this? What happened to the village and the battlefield?" 

Unfortunately, she didn't have the luxury to think whilst this other version of her was trying to kill her. Water splashed around as the pair moved from one place to the next, dozens of and dozens of ripples echoed out on the surface of the water.

"Damn, I can't just keep avoiding all of these attacks but I don't have my sword." 

She thought quickly, trying to come up with a solution to this. 

Ming Yue then held her hand out, mimicking her doppelganger and trying to summon her sword from the water. However, nothing came, not even a single drop. 

"Tch, of course not." 

Clicking her tongue, she pulled her hand back just in time to avoid another attack. 

Her doppelganger just continued, swinging her blade, slashing and thrusting. And since it was a copy, there was no doubt that the swordsmanship was the same, unpredictable. Even if it was Ming Yue, avoiding her own attacks proved difficult. 

She had to keep watch, be alert, one wrong step and that was the end. 

Each strike was was inches away from her weak points, be it a swing or a stab. 

But after a hundred moves, something changed. As the doppelganger swung out, her other hand pointed towards Ming Yue, shooting off a round of Wind Needles.

There was barely enough time to react before those needles came for her chest and the cultivator charged forward and dove down. Closing the distance between them, her hands moved swiftly, looking to grasp the wrists of her doppelganger. 

But she wasn't quick enough and the doppelganger jumped back. 

And so they faced each other, standing just a small distance apart. 

"If I can't use my sword that surely I can use my own techniques?" 

Thinking this, she opened her hands and gathered her power. The Zephyr Claws came out on one hand while the other had the Boltwind Nails, crackling away. 

Looking at her hands, Ming Yue looked up to face her doppelganger and charged forward. The other did the same, preparing to strike her before suddenly vanishing before her. Reappearing behind her, the doppelganger aimed at the neck only to miss as Ming Yue vanished as well. 

And just like her copy, she reappeared right behind it, piercing its chest. 

This gray version of her stopped at that moment, dissolving back into the water. 

"Hah, was that it? Is it over? I completed this trial, right?" she muttered. 

Scanning her surroundings, Ming Yue looked around, waiting for something to happen. And something caught her eye, the shallow waters she stood in trembled just a bit before rising up and creating not one but two doppelgangers. Each of them faced her, wielding a copy of Blood Moon. 

"Ah, of course, this isn't the end."

Staring at them both, she activated both the claws and the nails while the two doppelgangers surged with power. The swords began to hum before producing a resonant howl. 

"Alright, again."

Her figure faded away as she made the first move in this next round. 

From the outside, the three beasts were awakened by her movement and her aura. Suddenly, Hei Yue and Xiao Yin were both wide awake after realizing what was happening. Looking at the large cat beast, the yelped and hooted, warning it and trying to get everyone away from Ming Yue. 

The cat looked at them with a bit of confusion and took a glance at the young woman. 

Her power and aura were leaking, an incredible amount of it. So much so that the surrounding area seemed to grow deathly quiet. 

The giant beast studied her, watching her body writhe and tremble, her expression was of pain and concentration. And then, it meowed, it was very low and very quiet but it echoed out like waves. But as it passed through her, nothing happened. 

Its eyes widened just a bit as it pulled back from Ming Yue, showing some surprise that there was no effect. The cat then looked at Hongyu who seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep, blissfully unaware of what was happening around her. 

The owl and fox both looked at the cat with urgency, warning it and telling it to go before she did any harm. The cat gave another look at Ming Yue before grabbing Hongyu and moving to the furthest end of the clearing, near the waterfall. 

But none of them could sleep, not with Ming Yue's unrestrained power. Though, she awakened not long after, grabbing at her head while looking up. 

"Oh, it's still night", she spoke quietly to herself. 

"Damn, I managed to beat two doppelgangers but then it suddenly became five. What dream was that?"

Immediately lost in thought, Ming Yue thought about what had just happened. She didn't notice that the others had gone elsewhere nor did she see them come back to check on her. 

"What dream is this supposed to be? Why would it suddenly switch from my home to me? It wasn't Xue Yue but it can't be like her, there wouldn't be a third persona. If that's the case, what was this dream about?" 

She thought hard but couldn't come up with anything. There were certainly a few answers but there wasn't enough information to go on. She lacked the knowledge and the experience. 

"Should I just... attempt to enter the Sky Realm?" 

As the thought entered her mind, Ming Yue immediately pushed it away. 

"No, that'd be stupid. It hasn't been long since I was advanced to the final stage of the Earth Realm. I still don't know what to expect and going into it blind would end in failure or death even."

Such a thing was true. After all, this was the Sky Realm! In all of the Human Continent, the number of Sky Realm cultivators was in the hundreds, maybe thousands if you were generous with your estimation. But that is in comparison with the entire continent where there were millions upon millions of cultivators. For many, the Sky Realm was already the pinnacle!

Things like the Heaven and Divinity realm were mere dreams with the latter being a legend at this point. 

"Attempting to reach the Sky Realm... the trials are different for everyone. It can be anything from heart demons to heavenly lightning. What would mine be?" she wondered. 

Lingering on this thought, Ming Yue felt something on her back, turning to see the three beasts staring at her from behind. All three of them had looks of concern as if to see if she was herself or still in that strange state. 

But as soon as they saw that she was back to normal, they all approached her. 

"Ah, right. I fell into that dream. Of course, they'll move away from me."

There was a hapless smile on her face as she stood up and looked at them, seeing Hongyu asleep on the giant cat's back. 

"Well since I'm awake, I guess I should go and make some sort of shelter. But first, I'll have to clean up." 

Grabbing her sword, her eyes gazed over the surrounding trees while she unsheathed Blood Moon. 

"Maybe heading deeper into the Savage Lands was not a good idea."

Although the others couldn't sense it, she could feel it, the gaze of dozens of beasts, all eyeing them like prey.

Brandishing her sword, she vanished from her spot.