Moon-Melting Night

Chu Xiaotian and Xia Xue were busy tending to the tiger cub, while the Huang Family of Yufeng Prefecture was mired in deep, crushing depression. After Chu Xiaotian's departure, they had searched for an entire afternoon, but the result was nothing. By that point, anyone with a shred of sense knew the culprit had long since fled with the cub. Yet, the identity of that person remained a mystery; they hadn't even caught a glimpse of their face. It had to be said, this was a colossal failure.

At this stage, no matter how unwilling or resentful they felt, they had no choice but to head home and stop dwelling on a result that made them want to vomit blood. But worse was yet to come. While passing through that stretch of forest, many of the Huang Family's disciples were bitten by venomous creatures hidden in the grass. Thirty Tongmai Realm disciples died on the spot, and five Pi-Hai Realm disciples perished as well. Over twenty Tongmai Realm disciples were maimed, losing hands or feet, and though they survived, they were crippled for life.

The loss was staggering, and the Huang Family's Poxue Realm expert was so enraged he nearly coughed up blood. Everyone knew the girl had done this to retaliate against his and the Jiang Family ancestor's sneak attack, but they hadn't even touched a hair on her head while suffering such heavy losses themselves. This outcome was impossible for him to accept. If he ran into that girl now, he would likely fight her to the death without a second thought. The problem was, where could he find her? He didn't even know when she had left.

After exhausting every scheme and pouring the entire family's strength into the effort, they had not only failed to secure the Spirit Beast cub that should have been theirs, but they had also lost several Huayuan Realm experts and dozens of disciples of other realms. This loss was agonizing, cutting deep into their marrow.

In a small family like theirs, Huayuan Realm experts represented the pinnacle of strength. Losing even one was unbearable; losing several at once, along with dozens of lower-level disciples, left the Huang Family feeling utterly powerless, as if the sky above them were turning dark. They no longer even had the motivation to investigate the deaths of Huang Nian and Huang Xiang. After such a commotion in Greenwood Town, even if there had been a killer, they would have long since vanished. They had no choice but to swallow this bitter pill in silence.

After returning in defeat, the Huang Family kept a low profile. Their disciples rarely ventured out, focusing instead on recuperating and hoping to restore their vitality as soon as possible.

The Huang Family had suffered a heavy blow, but their old rivals, the Jiang Family, did not seize the opportunity to attack as they usually would; they, too, had become extremely low-key. The reason was not that their relationship had improved through their cooperation during the Spirit Beast dispute, but rather that the Jiang Family was faring no better. Their losses were comparable to the Huang Family's, and if one excluded the Huayuan Realm experts, they were perhaps even worse. In the dead of night, a "snake rain" had descended upon their estate. At least a thousand venomous snakes fell from the sky, and many clansmen were bitten to death in their sleep before they even understood what was happening.

Fifty Tongmai Realm disciples died and thirty were crippled. While no Pi-Hai Realm disciples were killed, ten were maimed. Even a Huayuan Realm expert had been bitten; though he saved his life, he lost an arm. Ordinarily, someone of that realm should have been immune to common venomous snakes, but this expert had been caught off guard at a critical moment.

The two experts of the Huang and Jiang families, while filled with hatred for the girl, were also full of regret. Had they known she was so troublesome, they never should have provoked her in the first place. Or, they should have risked injury to slay her from the start. Though they longed to skin the girl alive, neither the Huang nor the Jiang family dared to send anyone to track her. In their behavior, it was as if the incident had never occurred.

It wasn't that they didn't want to find her; it was that they knew it was useless. She possessed a pair of wings that allowed her to fly, and even their strongest experts couldn't do anything to her. What could the others hope to achieve? Another reason was those wings; disciples of small sects or families could not possibly possess artifacts of that caliber. The girl's background was likely extraordinary. If they pushed her too far and provoked the backing she had, the result wouldn't just be the death of a few dozen people—their entire family might be wiped off the map.

Yufeng Prefecture entered an unprecedented period of calm, and the once-boisterous Greenwood Town slowly returned to its former tranquility as the Spirit Beast incident faded into the past.

In the valley where Chu Xiaotian and Xia Xue resided, life was even more peaceful. During the day, Chu Xiaotian practiced talisman-making and the Soaring Dragon Spear, while at night, he cultivated the Heavenly Corpse Art. As for Xia Xue, besides her usual cultivation and alchemy, she had taken on a new task: caring for Xiao Zi. Fortunately, this little thing was much easier to look after than a human child. It did nothing but eat and sleep; once fed a dose of spirit herb juice, it would sleep for over ten hours. It didn't cry or fuss, only occasionally playing with Xia Xue and acting spoiled.

The effect of the spirit herb juice was remarkable; every time Xiao Zi woke up, its body had grown significantly. In just five days, Xiao Zi had grown over two feet long, standing taller than Xia Xue's knees. This growth rate was terrifying. Now, its purple fur was sleek and glossy, and it looked majestic and spirited. In particular, its strength had officially entered the range of a First-Tier Spirit Beast.

Without considering weapons, beasts were generally much stronger than humans. A First-Tier monster or Spirit Beast was equivalent to a Tongmai Realm cultivator, and with the fireballs Xiao Zi could spit from its mouth, no Tongmai Realm cultivator was a match for it. Even those in the Pi-Hai Realm could be injured if they weren't careful.

Chu Xiaotian didn't know if other people's Spirit Beasts grew this fast, but this little guy was so quick that even he felt a twinge of jealousy. However, the consumption of spirit herbs was also rapid; in just five days, the little creature had devoured all the herbs Xia Xue had expected to last for fifteen or twenty days. Since Xiao Zi couldn't be seen by others and Xia Xue had to look after it, the task of buying herbs fell to Chu Xiaotian.

Although he found the shopkeeper of the Hundred Herb Pavilion highly disagreeable, Chu Xiaotian still had to go there. After all, he still needed to buy the two types of spirit herbs required for his talisman paper. Fortunately, ever since the shopkeeper had been intimidated by Chu Xiaotian's aura, he had become much more honest. He didn't dare pull any tricks, allowing Chu Xiaotian to buy everything he needed before returning to his secluded cultivation.

Ten days passed in the blink of an eye. That night, as Chu Xiaotian sat cross-legged by the pool practicing the Heavenly Corpse Art, a purple mist of energy, nearly two feet wide, churned incessantly within his dantian. After so many days of intensive cultivation, his Heavenly Corpse Art was on the verge of a breakthrough; he estimated he would reach the Green Corpse realm by tonight. Moreover, it seemed as if the heavens were helping him, as the cold, yin energy between heaven and earth was far denser than before.

Massive amounts of cold, yin energy flowed continuously through his meridians into his dantian. The purple corpse energy churned, its color slowly shifting as the cold power poured in.

What Chu Xiaotian did not see was that high above, the three moons, which had previously formed a triangle, were slowly drifting toward the center. Sheets of clear moonlight spilled down, illuminating the entire world. The cold, yin energy between heaven and earth increased exponentially as the three moons converged, becoming visible to the naked eye. Not only did the yin energy grow denser, but other forms of spiritual energy also became increasingly rich and pure, though the yin energy grew far more than the rest.

Across mountains and rivers, countless ordinary beasts underwent silent changes in their sleep. Their bodies were being reshaped by the dense spiritual energy; their fur became glossier and thicker, and their bodies slowly expanded. Once they awoke, they would be true monster beasts. Those that were already monster beasts rushed out of their dens, stood on the highest peaks, and tilted their heads to frantically devour the endless moonlight. Some of the more powerful ones soared directly into the sky, standing proudly in the air as they drew the surrounding spiritual energy into their bodies.

Beyond the beasts, various strange and unheard-of creatures emerged from hidden corners, struggling to absorb the incredibly dense spiritual energy. Human cultivators also stepped out of their homes, occupying the most advantageous terrain to cultivate with all their might.

In short, this night was a special one that left all things in a state of extreme excitement. Many who had been trapped at a certain realm for a long time might use this opportunity to break through to the next. Many who had been labeled "trash" because they couldn't cultivate would suddenly become talented geniuses after this night. Many things that had been impossible before underwent fundamental transformations after this night.

On the Moon-Refining Continent, this night was known as the Moon-Melting Night, or the Night of Miracles. It was a night when the three moons in the sky merged into one, causing the spiritual energy of the world to surge and miracles to occur one after another. The Moon-Melting Night occurred once every year, always at the end of midsummer. After the Moon-Melting Night, the entire Moon-Refining Continent would enter autumn.

For others, the changes of the Moon-Melting Night were a great blessing, but for Chu Xiaotian, it could hardly be considered a good thing. He had been delighted by the initial density of the cold, yin energy, but as it grew increasingly concentrated, he felt something was wrong. The massive influx of cold energy caused the corpse poison within him to surge in power, and it was beginning to show signs of slipping out of his control.