Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

The following day, Ming Yue went off to explore again, heading up north once again. 

"If there was such a formation array like that there, what else could there be?" 

This was what she thought and such a thought was not without reason. What else could she find past the formation?

Heading off with Xiao Yin, the pair soared through the air, going straight for the formation first. Meanwhile, Hongyu was left with Hei Yue and Liang Wei, both of whom were looking at the little girl with interested eyes. 

She looked back, revealing a big smile on her face as she ran up to Liang Wei, giving the giant cat a hug. But the child moved quickly, climbing onto the back of the beast and pointing right at the waterfall. 

Since the day had just begun and being the child that she was, Hongyu was very energetic and quite excited. 

Why was she excited?

It was because she had discovered something quite interesting, something beyond the waterfall! 

Liang Wei meowed before moving forward, carrying her while Hei Yue followed along with a wagging tail. The Mistral Fox might have grown up a bit but it was just as excited as Hongyu for this. 

With Ming Yue and Xiao Yin on one adventure, this trio was on their own, approaching the waterfall. From the outside, it was a small one, with clear water flowing from an opening within a cliff face. It fell and gathered into a beautiful pond, complete with fish.

It was a shallow pond, deep enough to reach Liang Wei's knees. For Hei Yue, the fox had to swim across. 

Coming closer and closer, they didn't stop as they walked right through the waterfall, getting drenched by the cold water. And what should've been the cliff wall was instead a cave, large enough to fit them but just barely. Hongyu's head was just a foot from the ceiling. 

As they entered, the sound of rushing water echoed throughout it. 

With the sun out, the light of day shined through the water, illuminating the cave just a bit. 

Hongyu stared forward, holding her breath as Liang Wei and Hei Yue walked forward. The further in they went, the darker it became. This was the furthest they had gone and there didn't seem to be an end to it. 

The child narrowed her eyes trying to see past the darkness but such a thing was difficult for her. And the cave soon grew quieter, replaced by a silent wind and water droplets splashing on the ground. 

She couldn't help but cling tighter to Liang Wei's fur, curling over as her eyes darted from one place to the next. There was a hint of fear in them. 

With such darkness, any child would be afraid. 

Liang Wei suddenly stopped, feeling her tightening grip. The giant cat turned and looked up with a concerned face, even mewing as if to ask if she was okay.

But like any child, Hongyu straightened up, puffing out her chest, and putting up a brave face. There was plenty of time and she was with them, this young girl wasn't going to give up so easily. And so, the trio carried on. 

Hei Yue scouted far ahead of the other two. 

Long used to the darkness, the Mistral Fox felt nothing but excitement and curiosity, stopping any now and then to sniff the ground. Moving with little fear, Hei Yue practically strolled through the cavernous tunnel, looking for anything strange or interesting. 

And it didn't take long for them to find something. 

It suddenly yipped in excitement, calling for Hongyu and Liang Wei to come quicker. Hearing the fox, they rushed forward, joining their friend and finding what exactly the fox found. 

This cave ran quite deeply into the cliff face.

And it was so dark that Hongyu could barely see what was in front of her. 

Strangely enough, there was light before them as the end of the cave expanded into a room. Coming from a crack in the ceiling, it brightened up the room while highlighting the center of it, where a very peculiar thing was there. 

The girl's eyes widened with curiosity as the other two beasts looked at it with a bit of confusion. 

Liang Wei lowered, letting Hongyu get off and following her as she walked up to this strange thing. 

As for what it was, it could simply be described as a pile of rocks. But of course, there is more to it than just that. Even it was just a pile of rocks, anyone could see that they weren't normal. They were stones stacked on top of each other, from the largest stone at the bottom to a tiny pebble at the top.*

But that was just the core of it as there were other stones stacked on top of each other, expanding from this central pillar. They were stones of all sizes and shapes, placed with such care and balance that they just fit together. From the outside, it seemed as if taking out one stone would ruin it all, and yet, it felt as if you couldn't break it. 

It was seemingly impossible and yet it was right in front of their eyes, a perfect balance, one that couldn't be broken. 

The little girl walked around it, looking at it with wonder, curious as to how this strange phenomenon came to be. At the same time, Liang Wei and Hei Yue sniffed it cautiously, not knowing whether these stones were good or bad. 

In the end, it was just stone and neither of them smelled anything suspicious. They just looked at it with that same curiosity as Hongyu. 

The child stopped walking around it and knelt down, still looking at it. The pile of stones was quite small.

She raised her hand, moving to touch it, just to give it a small tap. 

Hongyu just wanted to see what would happen. 

Meanwhile, Ming Yue and Xiao Yin reached the plateaus quite fast, stopping at the spires to check on them. Of course, there was no change from yesterday which prompted the pair to move on, venturing further north. 

They soon stopped at the next plateau which unlike the first one was filled with giant trees, ones that grew up into clouds. 

"It doesn't seem like any of them grow past the clouds."

Thinking back to yesterday when she flew into the sky, Ming Yue only found the remnant Calamity energy and nothing else. 

"If that's the case, then what do the tops of these trees look like? Rather, what lives here?" she wondered. 

Descending down on the plateau, she landed at the edge of it, looking forward at the numerous trees. They were incredibly thick, wide enough to fit a little house, and they had a somewhat dark brown sheen to them. They seemed like trees and at the same time, they didn't. 

"Could I even cut these down?" she wondered. 

Whatever these trees were, they felt very tough. But just to satiate her curiosity, Ming Yue took out her Blood Moon, holding it with both hands. She stood right in front of a tree, treating it like the enemy, she did not hold back. Her strength flowed from her body into the sword, causing it to glow a faint crimson color. 

"Waning Moon." 

Swinging out, she released a crescent slash of energy as Blood Moon cut through the thick trunk. There was a ringing sound as the blade sliced right through the tree. A quick strike that ended with Ming Yue sheathing it. 

Strangely enough, it seemed as if the tree was unaffected. It didn't fall over but stayed exactly where it was. 

But Ming Yue seemed satisfied, giving the tree a look before entering the forest.. If it were anyone else, they'd have to look closer to find a very thin, almost imperceptible line that cut through the entire trunk.