Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

Despite both beast-kin's strength, their combined power wasn't enough to stop the Ascetic. He didn't seem to care about either of them. After all, he was without injuries, not even a scratch on his body.      

Having stopped the ship, he landed on the deck, flipping his other hand.      

"Woah!"     

Ao Qin and Ruishi Lei could barely make another sound before their bodies were yanked off of him and sent crashing into opposite sides of the woodland areas.      

"I may have spared those two for now but they've crossed a line, they will have to die soon enough."     

The Ascetic spoke as he entered the cabin, seeing Zhu Xie stand between him and the others. However, Elder Shen stopped the boar-kin from going any further and stepped forward instead.      

"Stop this! Do not involve other innocent lives!" he shouted out, staring at the floating man bravely.     

"It is not I who chose to fight first but them, they know what they were risking and they still took that chance. Know that I will kill them last, a fitting end to these foolish warriors. And if the rest of you do not wish to die, I hope that you are willing to stay put and wait for your supposed rescuer to come."     

With the ship in his control, the Ascetic turned in the direction of the Den to go back.      

However, two deafening roars echoed from below and the air started to tremble. The air suddenly grew heavy and this emotionless man suddenly paused. But he wasn't the only one who reacted to this.      

Lao Yang's eyes widened, his face showed shock and horror with the realization of what had just happened.     

"No, those two reverted to the fifth stage."      

Muttering this, he looked out of the window to find Ao Qin's draconic form hovering behind the Ascetic. Compared to the fourth stage, he was not only larger but had grown more features. Rather than resembling a young dragon, he was older, more primordial in a sense.      

His horns grew longer as did his whiskers, the redness in his body had grown deeper, closer to that of blood.      

The Ascetic turned around, staring at the Red Dragon.      

"Interesting, you're slowly transforming into an ancient beast? Is that the peculiarity of your kind?"      

Ao Qin just glared at him and snarled before a shadow leaped up from the skies. A massive white lion with glowing white fur, the eyes shined of an emerald color. Lunging towards the Ascetic, the lion swung one of its paws, swatting him back into the ground.      

His small figure crashed into the ground, bringing up clouds of dust.      

Both beast-kin looked down before Ruishi Lei stared at the ship and growled.      

"Run!"     

His voice came out guttural and rough before the lion and dragon went after their enemy.      

Zhu Xie was frozen as he watched them go down. He finally released his breath and scrambled for the controls.      

"Looks like everything is still working, let's hurry while those two can still hold him back."     

The boar-kin grabbed the steering wheel tightly before flying off. But they weren't safe just yet.      

"What... what's going on?!"     

There was a loud bang as the ship suddenly shook, rocking everyone around. The ship suddenly sputtered as the humming of power faltered.      

Elder Shen rushed out of the cabin and looked at the side of the hole, seeing a dent and Ao Qin's body falling down.      

The dragon squirmed before shaking off the impact and flying back to the fight.      

Both beast-kin clashed against the Ascetic, doing whatever they could to harm him. They scratched with their claws, bit with their fangs, and smacked the Ascetic around. With the power they revealed, he could no longer ignore them.      

"If you really wish to die this quickly then so be it."     

He balled his hands into fists and started punching. Both beasts sensed the danger and immediately fell back just as the ground before them was flattened into the shape of a fist. In that instant, the Ascetic took control of the fight, sending out one punch after another, forming fist-shaped craters all over the area.      

And then he made a grabbing motion only for both beasts to avoid this invisible attack. Even if they couldn't see it, their sense of danger had grown significantly. What they lacked in the power of cultivation, they excelled in physical prowess.     

With that strength, they continued to thrash the Ascetic, smashing him into the ground and sending him flying across the air.      

For the time being, it was a stalemate. Neither side could truly hurt the other, skirting around their attacks and minimizing the damage taken. As powerful as Ao Qin and Ruishi Lei were, the Ascetic was able to keep up.      

He suffered no more than a minor scratch and now he was looking to end it.      

The Ascetic grabbed at the air once more to which the beast-kin avoided again. But this time he was waiting for that, following the attack with an open palm strike. The [air suddenly froze and looked at their surroundings before being flattened to the ground.      

Everything within ten kilometers was flattened to the ground, even the soil was pressed in. It was in the shape of a palm where Ao Qin and Ruishi Lei were stuck in the middle. With such a large attack, it didn't matter where they'd go, they would've been caught in the attack anyways.      

They could barely move, opening their mouths to roar and push themselves to break free.      

And their enemy floated between the two, staring at them with almost an angry pair of eyes.      

"Your struggle was in vain. Someone of my caliber is already breaching a realm of existence on which you cannot fathom. You cannot even see my attacks. You depend on your other senses to avoid it. I've yet to reach the realm of the Immortal but I'll be there soon enough. Soon I will be untouchable, invincible, imperceptible."     

He then looked up at the ship, seeing it idling in the sky.      

Pointing his hand at it, the Ascetic made a grabbing motion, taking over the ship and bringing it to them.      

Inside it, Zhu Xie had multiple tools scattered across the floor, moving as quickly as he could to repair it. Even if the Ascetic already had control, he still moved, holding out hope that he'll be able to bring everyone to safety.     

But Elder Shen looked over the ship, watching as they came closer and closer to the ground. Hongyu was with him with the four beasts close to her. The little girl stared downward, seeing both Ao Qin and Ruishi Lei stuck to the ground.      

Their primordial forms slowly changed, returning to their original appearance. And their wounds were all but apparent with the blood dribbling out of their mouth. She looked concerned, staring at their injuries before looking at the Ascetic.      

She looked at him somewhat intensely, showing more anger than fear this time.      

Elder Shen was the first to move, jumping out of the ship and slowly floating down to the ground, standing between them and the Ascetic.      

"You, what do you plan to do?" the Ascetic asked, "Do you think that you can stop me?"      

The Spirit Elder looked over his shoulder at the duo before looking at his opponent.     

"Maybe not, but can you stop yourself?"     

His eyes glowed as the words he spoke carried power. And the moment, they entered the Ascetic's ears, the floating man suddenly looked up to the sky as his eyes turned white. But seconds later, he turned back to normal.     

"Is that what you can do? Showing me old memories? Trying to evoke some sort of emotion from me? If I were younger then perhaps but now, What are simple mind tricks like these going to work?"      

He put his hand out with an open palm, pushing the elder to his knees.      

"Are you ready to die with them? I wonder what emotions she will feel when she sees this."