Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

Chapter 543 – Shattered Pillars

"We obtained it but it is not in good condition", said She Xing. 

Lao Yang revealed a strange look. 

"I mean, it's quite all right, isn't it? We just need a drop of the demon's blood. Show me the body:", he said. 

Taking something out of his ring, Lao Yang laid out a white tarp over the grass, making a place for them to put the body down. Ruishi Lei walked forward, pointing his ring towards the tarp, releasing the corpse. 

What was left of it anyways.

Rather than a fully intact body, it was a pile of dust and dried, broken limbs. At this point, Lao Yang looked at it with a bit of shock before looking up at the three of them. 

"What exactly happened?" he asked them, taking a second look at the pile, "That explosion was related to you, wasn't it?"

She Xing nodded whilst Shu Yi walked forward and spoke. 

"We made it to the grave without any problems. The grave was within this small field of flowers and there was a path leading to it from where we were. The gravestone was massive and it had two statues, one on each side. When we arrived, the White Lion started to walk down the path as the both of us watched."

She Xing then continued. 

"A fifth of the way, the pressure would have been like staring down a ferocious beast. A quarter of the way and it would feel as if you were facing a powerful expert, one hell-bent on killing you. A third of the way and it was as if an army of Savage Beasts were hazing at you like ravenous creatures. And halfway… it is described such that those monstrosities of the Savage Lands were here, like the Devouring Goose or the Golden Deer. But no one had gone past that point… until now."

They then looked to Ruishi Lei, who was in a sorry state. He seemed weakened, his breath quick and his body slumped over. 

"What she described was true. By the time, I reached that point, I felt uncertain at that point, uncertain as to whether I could come out of this alive", he said. 

The White Lion looked at the broken body as he continued to talk. 

"At three-quarters of the way, I felt minuscule, barely even able to look up but I did. I looked up at the statue and found them staring back at me. Those stares were of a different kind, piercing and overpowering. Bui I had already made it this far so I continued. It got worse and worse, it was not some physical pressure but something that tested my willpower. The fact I reached the end was nothing short of a miracle. But that was when it happened."

The three of them then spoke at the same time. 

"The statues moved", they said. 

Hearing this caused everyone to look at them with widened eyes and Ruishi Lei finished retelling what had happened. 

"I stood right in front of the grave and heard stone grinding. Looking up, the statues turned towards me, six arms emerged from their bodies, each one with their own weapon. They attacked without hesitation and all I could do was leap forward."

"Then that must've been the tremors", Qiang Rong pointed out. 

"Yes, but they must not have expected anyone to jump forward for the statues had struck near the grave. And it was with enough force to destroy the ground, causing the grave itself to break open. The corpse was already frail enough but after that, it was left like this. I took what I could and escaped with the others. If we cannot get anything from this, then we will have to call this one a failure."

The White Lion looked at Lao Yang and the other two scholars, pointing at the dust pile. The goat-kin scoffed as he walked up to it, kneeling down and digging at the broken corpse. 

"What do you think I am? Useless? Just because it's like this doesn't mean that I cannot do anything."

Digging through a bit more, he grabbed something from the pile and took it out. 

"Ah, there we are."

In his hands was a fully intact bone, a piece that miraculously survived.

And with it, he grabbed a hammer from his pockets, calling out for his compatriots. 

"I need a vial, quick! Yi Chao, hold the bone tightly."

Both Feng Zhua and Yi Chao moved swiftly, the former grabbed several vials in her hands and knelt in front of the goat-kin. The latter was next to Lao Yang, taking the bone and holding it up with both hands. 

"We can't waste even a single fraction of a drop!" he said. 

With the hammer in his hand and the other two ready for this, Lao Yang swung down onto the head of the bone. It wasn't very strong but with each swing, the power behind it grew stronger and stronger. And it was accurate, each strike landed on the same position time and time again.

Lao Yang continued to hammer away until a crack grew at the very point he hit. But he didn't stop yet, the hammer continued to strike away, making the crack larger bit by bit until he broke through and a vibrant blue color revealed itself. 

"Hurry! Freshness is key!"

With a vial ready, Yi Chao slowly tilted the bone over, pointing it into the mouth. 

At first, nothing came out but as the seconds passed, a bit of bluish blood peeked through the crack before dripping into the vial. But there wasn't much, just a few drops entered the vial before Feng Zhua closed it shut. 

Making sure it was secure, she handed it off to Lao Yang, who took it and gave it a close inspection. 

"Hmm, a bit cloudy but I just have to refine it", he muttered. 

He began to walk off, taking the vial with him and placing it into a number of strange tools. Everyone watched quietly, while they didn't know what he was doing with it exactly, they weren't going to risk interrupting it. 

Fortunately, he didn't take very long, producing a new vial of blood. 

There was much less of it, just one or two drops but unlike the last one, there was a much stronger, vibrant azure color. 

"This is it", he said, staring at the vial of blood while holding it with the utmost care. 

"I've already found the activation point", said Feng Zhua. 

Looking at everyone, she turned and walked into the ruins, standing in the space between the pillars. Looking at the ground, Feng Zhua stopped at the very end of the ruins, standing in the middle of the last two pillars. 

And she pointed at one particular spot. 

The others followed and looked, taking a moment to see what she saw. 

"There's a little hole…" Zhu Xie remarked. 

There was a look of wonder in his eyes as he continued to stare down. It was a very small and shallow hole, no doubt it was deeper but time eroded it. Lao Yang stood before the point with the vial in hand. But he didn't pour it yet, looking at the others instead, 

"Now would be a good time to take your weapons out", he muttered. 

Reminded by his words, they promptly did so, arming themselves for what could come. 

Then, Lao Yang opened the vial and point the blood drops into the hole, letting it splash. 

At first, nothing happened, but then the pillars began to tremble until cracking and shattering. They looked up and around them as the pieces didn't fall to the ground. Rather, they floated in the air before gathering at the other side.

The pillars had curved, transforming into a massive gate!

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