Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

The elder with the ice-like hairpin shot off a beam of cold energy in an attempt to stop the arrow but she was too slow.

"Junior Sect Leader!" she cried out.

Zuo Er's senses were on edge, the feeling of danger quickly grew. How was he going to avoid Lan Huang's arrow?

It had several times more power than a ordinary one and it would surely kill him. But he could not have that happening. He had plans and his own death was not part of it.

With no other choice, Zuo Er did something truly shocking. He looked at Yen Fen and dropped the bodies that he carried.

Without even speaking, he grabbed her arm and pulled her in front of him. Yen Fen could not even think of what happened before the arrow pierced her shoulder. The pain came quickly and she let out a piercing scream.

"You were useful for once", he muttered into her ear and moved while she covered him.

At this point, the only thing that mattered was coming out alive. His attempt to capture everyone had failed but there will always be other opportunities.

As for the girl he held onto, she was in shock. Yen Fen couldn't believe it, he treated her like a tool. She was his woman and she was worth something in his eyes if he kept her around him. But was this why he did so? Was she worth this much to him? All for his goals, he would use her as some meat shield?

"This little!..." Lan Huang immediately drew another arrow and aimed it at Zuo Er again.

Having seen what he just did, Lan Huang and the others were all equally disgusted with him.

"Twisted Dragon!" the arrow he used glowed as Lan Huang shot it away from Zuo Er.

"Don't you even think about it!" the middle aged elder's hairpin began to glow as she formed a great block of ice.

She sent it forth, aiming to block the arrow but it failed.

The arrow flew towards the right completely avoiding the ice before curving and shooting straight for Zuo Er's body. From the arrow came out an ethereal dragon's head as it headed for Zuo Er's leg. However, Zuo Er was truly heartless. He shifted Yen Fen's body to face the arrow which lodged itself into her shin, the shadow-like head opened its mouth and bit into her leg.

"Aghhhhh!" she screeched in pain as the arrow dug itself further into her flesh, "You bastard! I don't care if you toss me away like trash or leave me to die! I'll come back and curse you to the deepest pits of the underworld!"

"Shit", Lan Huang did not dare use another arrow.

Yen Fen might have been an enemy but he was not so cruel as to attack her like this. He was angry and his eyes shot back to the elder. She didn't allow him time to move and formed a cage of ice around him.

"You fucking coward, despicable piece of shit!" Lan Huang couldn't help but curse out loudly.

He grabbed the ribs of the cage and tried to ripp it apart. As a hunter of many beasts, his physical prowess was incredible. However, that hairpin had increased the elder's powers. Under its influence, the ice cage showed no signs of breaking. Suddenly, Dong Kuai reappeared by him and with her cane, she thrust it through the cage.

Under the force of her strike, cracks began to appear all over the cage before it broke apart.

"You?" the elder said questioningly, "What happened to Yu Chen?"

Dong Kuai smiled, "Him? He was too weak! I wonder if you are the same."

The elder looked around before spotting her fellow comrade dead with a gaping hole in his chest.

"He was the weakest of us all, although I do not recall you having such combat strength", she said.

"Everyone has secrets", Dong Kuai replied.

She tossed a small gourd towards Lan Huang and quickly gave him instructions.

"When you open it, place the opening under their noses. According to what the others have said, the bell put their minds under great strain. Most likely, they're just unconscious or under some sleeping spell. This medicine here should wake them up", she said.

He understood and ran off. The elder tried to chase after but Dong Kuai stood in her way.

"So what is your name?" she asked.

"Zhou Dong."

"Hmm, maybe you'll prove to be more entertaining."

Dong Kuai made the first move, the emerald jewel in her cane glowed. As their fight had begun, everyone else found was at a stalemate. Wen Jing and Jing Hai started to lose their momentum as the latter found it harder and harder to maintain the pressure. The heavily armored elder was battered up, cracks and dents covered it completely. The other two were still bombarded by Jing Hai's "stars", as they did not have the initiative they could not break out.

All of the Tao Feng elders were still tired and injured. They barely had time to rest. If they were all in their peak, this battle would've ended long ago.

Lei Jiang and Xuan Han worked together against Dian Zhe, the slovenly dressed elder, the fat elder wielding the jade cleaver, and the third elder which used a hooked chain. Although the two were working together, it could be said that Lei Jiang was only supporting the Punishment Elder. He covered his back, making sure that Xuan Han would not be attacked when he was vulnerable. The short halberds in his hands sparked with lightning as they clashed with the jade cleaver or the hooked chains.

Xuan Han had been restraining his fury for most of this but now he had a chance to release it all.

With his lion faced gauntlets, his power was near awe-inspiring. The sheer energy of his aura made his hair float about like a wild lion's mane. Each strike he made produced a lion's roar. His attacks weren't very quick but they were powerful. The cleaver wielding elder took the most damage of the three. Each time each time Xuan Han's fist met his stomach, violent energy would be imparted and it would wreak havoc within his internal organs. Blood trickled from his mouth as he tried to fight back.

Dian Zhe tried to fight back using his own fist techniques but to no avail. He did not have the energy to continue. In fact all three of them were sluggish and weak.

After all, none of the elders had any time to recuperate. They might have come in order to stall Qiu Bing and the others but in that battle Qiu Bing, Fu Men, and Vice Leader Lu fought to kill. The injuried these elders sustained were not easy to repair.

Lan Huang quickly opened the gourd to which a sharp minty odor suffused into the air. One sniff from it had made his mind clear and fresh.

"What is this?" he thought, but there were more important things than to ponder this question.

He went to Senior Qing and placed the gourd under her nose, allowing the smell to permeate into her nose. After she stirred and woke up from her state, he placed the gourd into her hands.

"I'm going to chase that Tao Feng bastard. The medicinal elder gave me this to awaken you. The other seniors are right by you", he said quickly before running off to chase Zuo Er.

Senior Qing was still dazed but managed to piece together what he had said. Slowly, she moved towards to others to awaken them.

In all this chaos, Dian Zhe noticed what was happening and immediately tried to stop her while he could. But Lei Jiang had seen it as well and quickly moved to defend the sect leader of Clear Spring Mountain.

"Boy, get out of the way!" he yelled out.

Lei Jiang ignored his words and clashed against him.

All the while Zuo Er was almost at the gates. There he saw several groups of purple uniformed disciples awaiting him outside. He dropped Yen Fen on the ground and quickly moved towards the main gates.

Rage and fury kept the woman alive as she showered him with insults and threats.

"It's the Junior Sect Leader!" they noticed Zuo Er and murmured to each other, preparing to receive him.

None of them dared to enter the mountain after what Ming Yue had done.

"Soon!" he thought, after escaping he would come back.

His failure would mark him for humiliation but he would return. This was for more than strength and reputation, there was more at stake.

Just meters from the gates, an arrow suddenly flew by and struck one of his calves!