632: Forcing One's Hand

Forcing One's Hand

"You better get out of here, I can only protect you from this for so long!"1

Xue Yue's voice echoed as Blood Moon hummed, shielding her from the effects of the trap.

Making this realization, Ming Yue quickly rushed to move Xuan Yin somewhere safely. She had to bring her out of this! 

Hidden within the depths of the Sanctuary, Bai Meng was seated on top of another throne, closing her eyes to cultivate. She sat at the center of a smaller formation, one that seemed to spread across the entire room and expand to the entire city. 

"Don't blame me for doing this so early, you just had to force my hand."

She laughed loudly while alone in this dark room. 

"All I have to do is wait and obtain all of your power. I will break past the Sky Realm, I might even break into the Heaven Realm with all the lives that will be offered to me", she grinned as she spoke to herself, feeling a wild rush as power flowed into her body. 

Outside, everyone was in a dire situation.

Many could only struggle on the ground as they felt their strength leave them. Those who were able to stand and muster whatever power they had, could only dream of breaking past the barrier. 

"What a... vicious trap! Who could be behind such a thing?!" 

"Could it be the Branch Leader, Bai Meng? After all, she was the one who wanted to create a barrier for this place!'

"That fox! How much of this was planned out by her! What is she planning to do?!"

"If I ever get out of this, I'm going to kill her! No, even if I die, I will haunt her for the rest of her miserable life!"

They could only spit out such words, letting their hate run wild to hide the helplessness that they felt. 

"How is this barrier even going to break?! It's strong enough to handle a Heaven;y Tribulation!"

"Maybe, maybe if we combine our strength. we can break it!"

"Yes! Yes! We must gather at the center of the city!"

Soon enough plans were being made and the denizens of Redmist Sanctuary moved towards the city square. Meanwhile, Ming Yue arrived at the walls, hopping up to the top and facing the barrier. Carrying Xuan Yin on her back, she examined it, trying to think of a way to escape. 

"Elder Zhen, do you think that we can cut this open?" she asked, taking the Black Blade out. 

The elderly man's voice scoffed before answering with a confident tone. 

"I told you, I will cut anything and everything that you wish." 

Hearing such words from him, Ming Yue took a deep breath, calming herself. Putting Blood Moon away. she took out the Black Blade, holding it with one hand. Remembering the last time she used it, this time Ming Yue didn't want to attack with her full strength. That would be too much. She just needed enough to escape the barrier.

"Okay, I don't need to cut anything else, just the barrier, just that."

Thinking to herself, she stared straight at the barrier, pointing the sword at it as she took her stance. Focusing on this strike, her energy began to circulate, flowing into the blade. 

It began to howl as power welled up within the sword. She didn't want to overdo it, she just needed enough to cut it. Relying on her own instincts, Ming Yue raised her sword straight up and swung straight down. 

The Black Blade howled as she cut through the barrier, making a hole large enough for them to jump through. 

"Let's go!"

With Xuan Yin on her back, she jumped through, turning around to see the barrier regenerate and close back up. 

"Oh, that's so much better."

Xuan Yin breathed in, relaxing her body as she felt her strength slowly return to her. Ming Yue ran off until they were at a safe distance. She glanced at her over her shoulder and then placed her friend seated against a tree before turning back to the Sanctuary. 

The archer looked at her slightly confused but she couldn't quite move just yet. 

"What are you doing?" she asked, "Don't tell me that you're going to go back?" 

Ming Yue stared at the barrier before looking up at the skies. 

"I'm not going to go back, however, I can't just ignore this", she answered, "The barrier is in the way though it doesn't matter."

"What do you mean?" Xuan Yin seemed even more confused but Ming Yue seemed to be focused on something else.

"I didn't want to make such a big scene but I don't really have a choice."

As she stared at the skies, Ming Yue took out Blood Moon, pointing it at the clouds above the Sanctuary. In seconds, they began to gather, turning darker and flashing with lightning. 

Suddenly, there was a thundering boom as the skies seemed to shake. Lightning flashed across the skies, as the black clouds seemed to grow and billow outwards. More flashes of lightning happened as they began to gather at one point.  It cracked and thundered, roaring out loud enough for those stuck inside the Sanctuary to hear. Even Bai Meng could feel the rumbling within her hidden room. And an ominous feeling began to settle in. 

"What is this? Is someone trying to break the barrier?" 

"Which expert would be this strong? They must be at the Sky Realm?"

"Oh! We have a chance! Quick, everyone! Gather your strength! We must match our attack with the expert!"

Most of the evil cultivators gathered at the square and noticed such commotion, hope began to fill them. The possibility that they were going to just die like this was real but they had to grasp such a chance. 

What else could they do?

"What do you mean? What are you trying to do? Are yo- are you trying to destroy the barrier?" Xuan Yin asked. 

She was confused and concerned, after all, fully destroying a barrier like that would take more than just a single attack. Not to mention, doing so would allow the Evil Cultivators to escape. 

'Not just the barrier...." Ming Yue muttered, "Everything."

And then she no longer paid any attention to the friend, focusing on the task. 

"Just like the Earthbound Tortoise", she thought to herself. 

It was almost like then, mustering all of her power to create the most powerful attack she could possibly create.

The churning clouds suddenly opened up, revealing a giant lance of wind and lightning pointed down at the barrier. It was more condensed and at the core was pure lightning, glowing through the fierce wind that made up the outer shell. Basing it off the lightning of the Heavenly Tribulation, it carried a grand feeling and a sense of insurmountability. Nothing will survive it.

And unlike the last time, Ming Yue had become much more accustomed to the Sky Realm. Looking at it, her face was full of concentration as she forced such power under her control. 

"Storm Lance: Mortal Lightning."

With that thought, the Storm Lance thundered once more before shooting down. It was something almost comparable to a Heavenly Tribulation. 

The barrier couldn't even last a second as it shattered and the massive lance struck the Sanctuary. On impact, lightning burst out as a shockwave exploded, destroying the entire city in less than a second. It was enough to even disperse the mist temporarily.

Such power had spread all the way to Ming Yue and Xuan Yin, both of whom felt the ground tremble and witnessed the decimation with their own eyes. 

Xuan Yin forced her body to stand, supporting herself with the tree as she stood up and looked.

Her eyes were wide open when she saw the aftermath.

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