Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

With the Treant back in its place, Ming Yue and Xuan Yin prepared to move, planning their escape should something happen. Whilst deep in their discussions, little eyes watched them from the leaves of trees and shrubbery. There was curiosity in those eyes, a bit of naivety, and some fear. 

But they looked on with interest.

And many of them looked at Ming Yue, staring at her. They had done nothing else but watch, perhaps deciding whether or not they were dangerous. 

The two women stood up putting their weapons into their spatial rings. They looked at each other before staring at the peach tree. 

"We're only here for the peaches. We pluck a few and run as quickly as possible", Ming Yue said. 

Xuan Yin nodded. 

"Yeah, yeah, get in and get out."

"If the Viridescent Treant awakens and finds us, I'll try to grab its attention. We'll split and meet up at where we found those fairies. And Hei Yue will provide cover if need be."

The Mistral Fox yipped at the mention of his name, looking at Xuan Yin with confidence. 

"Okay, alright."

The archer breathed in deeply as she looked at the peach tree. 

"I haven't been this nervous since my first hunt. I mean this is an estimated Rank 8, my grandfather had only managed to kill one at that level."

Her voice trembled a bit as she spoke, clenching and unclenching her hands. Ming Yue looked at her friend, placing a hand on her shoulder. 

"Let's go."

Not wasting another second, they began to move forward, approaching the peach tree as silently as possible. 

As for the many green eyes that watched, as they followed the pair, they saw the peach tree and the Viridescent Treant. They switched between the two with a bit of disbelief, realizing what the two cultivators were trying to do. Leaves rustled as they moved along chasing after them. 

By then, Ming Yue and Xuan Yin were mere meters away.

And with a few more steps, they were in front of it. Giving each other another look, they saw past the peach tree and stared at the slumbering treant. There was no movement and so they reached for the first reach. 

Ming Yue formed a single claw on the index finger of her hand and gently grabbed the peach with the other. With a quick swipe, the stem was cut and the peach was in her hand. It was extremely clean and happened without a single noise. Xuan Yin had her own knife, cutting and taking a peach. 

They said nothing, even as they held something as incredible as this peach, they did not react. A single wrong move and they'd be caught. 

After taking several more, Ming Yue stopped and placed a hand on Xuan Yin. They both nodded and slowly stepped back, making sure to not awaken anything. Quietly walking away, their eyes went from the peach tree up to the Viridescent Treant. 

Every now and then, a gentle wind would come, making the leaves rustle. 

"Almost out." 

Xuan Yin mouthed words to Ming Yue while they walked further and further away. They kept their eyes at the Treant as it suddenly trembled and cracked. Hearing that first splintering of wood, they sprinted off, returning to their hiding place as the Treant emerged from the ground to gaze at its prized peach tree. 

And as it counted the peaches, it noticed something different. It was missing a few!

The Viridescent Treant took a step back, recounting it before releasing a thundering roar. Its two eyes looked around furiously before the beast put its arms outwards. Vines shot out of them, slithering on the ground and through the trees. Stranger than that, they seemed to be moving towards one place, the bushes where Ming Yue and the others were hiding. 

But at this moment, hiding was no longer an option. 

"Run!"

She turned and sprinted away, followed by Xuan Yin and their three pets. Having sensed the sudden movement, the vines quicked their speed chasing after them. The Viridescent Treant then followed the vines, going after the group.

The pair immediately drew their weapons, Ming Yue with her dagger and Xuan Yin with her bow. They quickly glanced behind them, seeing hundreds of vines following them like snakes. 

Forming wind lances, Ming Yue shot them behind her without aiming for no matter where she aimed, it would hit the vines. The ground trembled as trees were uprooted and vines were blasted apart. But they were only replaced by more vines. 

"This isn't going to work! We should split up, I'll grab its attention!" 

The cultivator shouted to Xuan Yin before creating a Storm Lance and shooting it directly into the Treant's face. Lightning cracked as the lance struck the beast. But the attack didn't even leave a mark, it was only angered by the attack, roaring as it took notice of Ming Yue!

Raising its arm, hundreds of vines flew up into the air, coming down as the Treant swung down. They came down like whips, producing a sharp clap as Ming Yue took on the attack. She swung her dagger, forming a shining crescent arc that flew up, cutting the vines away.

It did not stop there, flying straight at the beast and carving into its massive body. It flinched and roared out in pain as the attack left a small gash in its tough bark exterior. 

This was the culmination of her effort in Return to Simplicity, a new technique upon her completion of this stage. 

"Waning Crescent."

The attack which could wound something like the Idol of Chaos had been perfected. 

And with this, she now felt comfortable enough to break through and reach the last stage of the Earth Realm, the Boundary Stage. All that she needed to do was complete the shell around her soul, formed by the energy within her meridians.

Fill up one little inch and she'd be one step away from the Sky Realm. 

But for now, she had to find a way out of this situation. Having been injured by her, the Treant looked directly at her, raising his arm again to attack. The vines she had cut were replaced by even more. 

But just as it was about the strike, a black fish dragon soared through the air, smashing into the Treant.

Ming Yue looked off into a distance to see Xuan Yin still running in a different direction. However, her bow was pointed straight at the monster, loaded with another one of her arrows. Sharing a look, the both of them took turns showering the Treant with attacks, slowing it down and blinding it for as long as possible. 

They could not defeat it without a miracle but they could at least escape it!

And as powerful as the Viridescent Treant was, it could not just ignore all of these attacks. It might not have hurt it but they were very annoying. 

"Nearly there!" they both thought. 

As they ran as far away from the Treant as possible, they could nearly lose the beast through the thicker parts of the Primeval Forest. 

However, this monstrosity was estimated at Rank 8, strong enough to level cities and countries! Its arms weren't the only ways it could attack. It was infuriated! For humans to steal from it once was frustrating enough, but a second time?! 

The Treant raised its foot and stomped down, the ground to tremble and crack as the trees shook. Out from the crevices came more vines, chasing after the pair with even greater ferocity. So much so that neither cultivator could ignore them, focusing their attacks on the vines. 

Coming after them like an unstoppable wave, they engulfed every attack the pair sent out. 

The distance between them shortened before one of them shot forward, snagging Hei Yue's leg!

"Hei Yue!"