Chapter 5 - Moon as Backdrop

Chapter 5: Moon as Backdrop
Translator: 
Atlas Studios 
 Editor: 
Atlas Studios
It all happened within a split second.
Meng Fuyao flipped her hand, and the short sword in her palm of spun nimbly. The glint of light on the sword suddenly exploded, with a sliding sound. The sword drew a magnificent ray of light, shooting at the chest of the opponent!
She had used the third stance of the Cleaving Nine Heavens technique, Green Void Flowing Electricity!
It was as if a bolt of lightning abruptly ripped through the sky, cleaving through seas and lands. The closer the target was, the stronger the impact would be. The ray of cold light was moving at a speed that normal people could not avoid, going straight for the kill!
The sounds of strong winds carried a murderous aura as sharp as a knife. This caused the surrounding air to rub against each other, letting out a sharp noise resembling a ghostly howl.
Alarmed cries sounded. The White Mountain Sect Master along with other Leaders abruptly stood up from their seats. Lin Xuanyuan, who was deep in his thoughts and knocking his fingers lightly against the arm of the chair, was also startled by the fierce killing movement. His fingers hit empty space.
A disciple that was standing slightly closer to the arena let out a cry, covering his face. A while later, blood seeped through his fingertips and dripped down. His face had been cut from the excess Qi that radiated from the arena.
Such a swift, fierce and chilling killing move was almost impossible to avoid. The move made the people who were standing in shock, look at each other in dismay, feeling a chill in their hearts.
The eyesight and response of the young man were exceptionally good, just as the cold light had appeared, hidden in the many rays of light, he had already retreated hurriedly. The black shadow flashed, flipping its body like a furious dragon. He had somersaulted and retreated three feet away. Although he had already retreated, he was still slow by a second.
In the silence, a light noise sounded. White light shot through his shoulder blade and a large patch of blood blossomed splendidly on his slightly frail back.
When the young man landed on the ground, his body staggered unstably. Meng Fuyao smiled while smoothing her sleeves, towering in the arena.
Meng Fuyao had won.
The White Mountain Sect Master’s expression changed. There were rules for the Sword Challenge that prevented individuals from relying on numbers to win. He had expected that out of all the disciples in the Mystic Essence Sword Sect, none could match up to the young man dressed in black. Hence, even though the most powerful Sect Master amongst them, Qing Cheng, had lost to Lin Xuanyuan by a single move, he was not perturbed.
Unexpectedly, this ugly girl had appeared and messed up the situation. Internally he scolded himself for having a despicable mouth. Otherwise, the ugly girl would have already left, and none of these unpredicted situations would have happened.
There was silence in the martial arts arena. The Mystic Essence Sect’s disciples stared blankly at Meng Fuyao. Under the sunlight, the black hair and umber black robes of the girl floated in the breeze. Her slightly lifted jaw formed an exquisite and smooth curvature.
She looked at the crowd with a mocking smile. The single glance seemed even more brilliant than the sun’s rays. When she swept through them with her gaze, the ones that had previously mocked her involuntarily shrank back from her gaze.
Meng Fuyao smiled coldly and then threw her sword three inches into the ground.
Crack.
A ruler length split that resembled a grim and mocking smirk could be seen on the white stone floor.
The red tassel dangling off the sword hilt fluttered willfully in the wind as if dismissing the stunned gazes within the crowd.
The neat and delicate white stone floor of the arena had been greatly damaged by Meng Fuyao, but none opened their mouths.
The young man in black walked away without glancing back. Only after reaching the door, did he turn back. His chilly gaze met that of Meng Fuyao, who had just removed the cloth covering her eyes, lifting her head.
Both gazes clashed. Deep in the young man’s eyes, his gaze changed, rolling and crashing like the waves upon the sea.
Meng Fuyao looked back at him calmly. Her gaze was crystal clear, like the new moon rising above the sea.
The young man suddenly had a strange expression, glancing behind Meng Fuyao before striding away.
Meng Fuyao turned back, puzzled. She realized that Lin Xuanyuan had silently appeared behind her back.
Meng Fuyao jumped, retreating quickly. However, a wave of dizziness struck her.
Strong winds with a murderous aura blew.
Bang!
…
A ghastly pale crescent moon hung upon the indigo sky. The moon’s cold, chilling light was shining on the emerald green forest, making it appear even more tranquil.
The breeze blew past the forest canopy, brushing against leaves and letting out a whistling, similar to sounds of groaning. From a far away mountain came the sound of a wolf howling. Its harsh and sharp aura caused the entire forest to quiver. The sound pierced through the vast, endless starry sky. It traveled through the boundless mountain ranges, into the ears of the chain-bounded person within the mountain cave.
The cave was dark and damp, overgrown with moss, long and narrow. When the wind blew past the cave entrance, it sounded like a ghost was crying and yelling. Deep in the cave, a barely visible white light could be seen. On a closer look, it turned out to be a pile of scattered white bones.
Meng Fuyao sat on the damp floor, huddled into a ball. Her clothes were torn and ragged, injuries covering every single inch of her body.
She had already been imprisoned in the Mystic Essence Sword Sect’s secret cell for seven days.
After she had competed, Lin Xuanyuan had overlooked his status as an elder and sneaked up on her, drugging her. Next, he had wanted to kill her, sending her flying with a single palm and furiously reprimanding her in the presence of the others under the accusation of secretly practicing the Mystic Essence Sect’s rare martial arts. All the disciples had suddenly been enlightened, mocking and scolding Meng Fuyao who had secretly practiced the martial arts techniques 
. Lin Xuanyuan then imprisoned her within this cave.
For the past seven days, Lin Xuanyuan had been appearing daily. He had been interrogating her about her background and demanding her to hand over the sword technique that she had used in her fight against the young man dressed in black.
In the current world, martial arts were greatly respected. A single unique and powerful skill signified an extremely important opportunity to establish power in this world.
Lin Xuanyuan had clever foresight. He had already seen through the sword technique that this female disciple, who was skillful at disguising and pretending, had used. Although she was lacking in skills and had not reached perfection, it was still an extremely powerful technique. Hence, he was determined to obtain it.
However, Meng Fuyao had remained silent the whole time. She knew that this old dog was extremely cunning. Within a few sentences, her sword technique had become a Secret Supreme Skill of the Mystic Essence Sword Sect. In the future, even if the Mystic Essence Sword Sect developed another type of unmatchable sword technique, it would all be reasonable and logical. And she, the one who handed over the technique, would be labeled as the one who hadstolen 
the technique. In the end, she would be killed, silencing her forever.
Meng Fuyao didn’t want to die here as she still had a lot of important things to do.
But when a person was seriously wounded, constantly tortured and interrogated, and had no food or water, how could she survive?
Meng Fuyao gasped for air, looking through the stones at the mouth of the cave that was used to trap her and at the moon in the distance. Through her bloodshot eyes, the moon seemed all the more blurry and bewitching, far away, unable to be touched.
That free moonlight, shining throughout the five continents, was able to shine on the pillow the old dog was sleeping on. But it was unable to shine on her who had dwelled in the dark for seven days and nights.
A light bitter smile formed at the corner of her mouth. Meng Fuyao closed her eyes, feeling the Qi in her body that had been half used up. She had actually trained the Cleaving Nine Heavens technique to the pinnacle of the third level, but due to this imprisonment, her skill level had decreased by half. A year’s worth of hard work, all wasted.
According to the old Taoist priest, the Cleaving Nine Heavens technique was glorious and universally shocking; an incomparable supreme martial art. The higher the level, the harder it got. The ninth level of the skill was sufficient to conquer the world. Meng Fuyao scoffed at his words, thinking that the old Taoist priest had been boasting.
However, the fact that this technique was difficult to practice was true. She had been practicing for 10 years but had only reached the third level. Even at this speed, the old Taoist priest had already praised that she was a rare genius. Now that she had dropped by one whole level, Meng Fuyao was furious.
As the night deepened, a faint sound of water could be heard in the silent cave.
Struggling to sit up, Meng Fuyao dragged herself across the ground, inch by inch. The heavy chains collided against the uneven ground, clanking, and clattering. She took a great deal of time to move next to the cave wall.
She heavily leaned against the wall and used all her strength, disregarding the dirt upon the cave wall. Then, she shoved her face close against the wall that was slowly seeping with water, waiting for the lifesaving water supply.
For the past seven days, she had been relying on this water source, which appeared daily in the middle of the night at a specific time, to survive.
After drinking a few mouthfuls and taking a breath, Meng Fuyao touched her face. She realized that the fake scars had already been washed away by the water. But since no one would appear in the cave in the near future, it did not matter.
After drinking some water, Meng Fuyao felt better. She leaned against the cave wall and unintentionally looked outside the cave. Suddenly, her gaze hardened.
A protruding mountain in the distance, resembling a sharp sword blade that had been split open by the deities, stood slanted and isolated. The silver moon hung above the mountain, round and bright as if it was hanging from the tip of the precipitous mountain.
The moonlight was dark, cold but soft. In the moonlight, a figure seemed to be dancing with a sword at the peak of the mountain.
The person was wearing loose robes that fluttered in the breeze. As the clouds and mist were drifting at the peak of the mountain, the figure was faintly discernible. His movements seemed to be floaty, confident and agile. The motions of his sword which seemed to be able to cleave through clouds and engrave the moon were magnificent and meandering. It was just a shadow in the distance, but through the surges and falls, he showed an elegant poise and the disposition of a deity.
The hanging pearls upon a jade platform and the beautiful scenery of Peng Lai were scenes were of great beauty. However, they all seemed inferior compared to the figure wielding the sword in the moonlight. Agility and gracefulness were both present, firmness, and subtlety coexisting.
The milky way extended into the distance while the bright moon was obscured by the mist. The dark scene of the sword dance along with the jade white color of the moon were brilliant like a painting. With a sword in his hand, the person was outstanding and romantic.
Unknowingly, Meng Fuyao had been enchanted.
Hence, even when a black shadow appeared at the entrance of the cave, and light footsteps signifying that a person was approaching sounded, she remained unaware.
Pei Yuan stood by the entrance for some time, looking inside. In the dark, she spotted a haggard-looking Meng Fuyao who was staring far into the distance.
When Pei Yuan saw how Meng Fuyao was sitting, she let out a soft cough. Meng Fuyao abruptly turned her head upon hearing it and was startled by who she saw.
‘Pei Yuan? What’s she doing here in the middle of the night?’

This thought rose in her mind as quickly as the involuntary turn of her head, back toward the beautiful sight that had captivated her so much.
Unfortunately, that mesmerizing figure was no longer there.
Although disappointed, she comforted herself. ‘He might really be a deity. No mortal being could possibly present themselves with such grace.’

Sensing Meng Fuyao’s inattentiveness, Pei Yuan believed that she was at her last gasp. She then reached her candle out to get a clearer view. What she saw was a shocking revelation.
She had never had a proper look at this junior sister of hers. It was with the aid of her candlelight that she was finally greeted by a gorgeous figure and a face more exquisite than her own.
Peu Yuan was stunned by Meng Fuyao’s appearance, and she momentarily forgot her motive for dropping by.
The pale moon gave the thick forest a vivid green outline that was comparable to that of daytime, but it was quiet all around. Even the animals and insects were keeping silent. However, there were occasional breezes that generated rustling sounds when slicing through the trees. The sounds were faint and periodical, successfully demonstrating the immense depth of the forest.