Chapter 118: Chasing the Moon

It is currently winter. Although the weather is somewhat cold, the bright sunshine feels incredibly warm upon the skin. Furthermore, the deafening, sky-shaking curses of the demons that plagued the days have vanished; everything seems to have passed, as if the cold winter itself were silently melting away under this warm sun.

Most of the Zhaowu clan are outdoors in the open space, basking in the sun and discussing how the ceaseless, overwhelming insults vanished overnight. This sudden silence fills the Zhaowu people with curiosity.

Suddenly, a wisp of wind appears before everyone’s eyes. Wind is naturally formless and can only be felt, yet the Zhaowu people witness it tangibly. It is a black wind, appearing as wisps and strands, like black threads emerging from the void.

The wind is not strong, yet it rises and falls, twisting and turning in the void. At its lowest point, it even stirs up sand and stone. When a leaf drifts into the black wind in mid-air, it is instantly reduced to powder.

Few notice this sudden, eerie black wind, but Quanyin detects it immediately. Her heart skips a beat; she silently chants a mantra and walks out.

As Quanyin steps into the sunlight before the eyes of her clan, the wisp of black wind swells violently, transforming into a black banner. The banner is covered in writhing, insect-like runes. Merely staring at it for a moment leaves Quanyin feeling nauseated and dizzy.

Horrified, she cannot help but take a step back.

The black banner stands nearly two meters high. Upon its appearance, it releases a surging sense of oppression, radiating a cold, sinister aura.

"Which great deity is passing by our small village? Why not reveal yourself?" Quanyin calls out loudly. As the priestess of the clan, even though she is fearful, she cannot let her people see it.

As her words fade, a figure slowly manifests beneath the black banner.

He is no taller than half the height of the banner, clad in a long, oversized black robe that trails on the ground. His face is that of a child, his hair hanging loose over his shoulders.

If one were to look only at his face, one would take him for a child of twelve or thirteen. Yet, combined with his attire and the eerie black banner, he gives off a vibe that makes one's hair stand on end and one's heart tremble.

"I wonder why the great deity has come here..." Quanyin steps forward and asks respectfully. But before she can finish, she hears the child-faced being—who radiates a heart-palpitating, sinister aura—laugh.

"Heh heh..." His laugh is raspy and grating, like a knife scraping against stone.

This person is the Wu tribe’s Dafeng. He does not speak, simply staring at Quanyin with a lecherous, shimmering gaze.

Quanyin involuntarily retreats a step. Just as she is about to speak again, the space before her darkens. Looking up, she sees that another person has appeared above, a dark cloak unfurling in the air like wings.

In the brief moment Quanyin looks up, the newcomer descends like a falling leaf.

Quanyin’s heart sinks. The newcomer is Peng Meng, who had been driven away by Nan Luo. Since Peng Meng has returned, this wielder of the black banner must also be of the Wu tribe.

"Having been driven away, they must have returned with the strength to defeat Senior Nan Luo. Their goal is likely to deal with him..." Quanyin’s heart sinks deeper and deeper.

Peng Meng lands and stands a step behind Dafeng. He says nothing, but his eyes look at Quanyin with a mocking expression before shifting to her niece, Yue, who has sensed something wrong and come to Quanyin’s side.

"Heh heh, is this the Quanyin you spoke of? Heh heh, human women are indeed beautiful," Dafeng says, his eyes lingering on Quanyin with lecherous intent.

Peng Meng’s eyes are fixed on Yue, causing the girl to shrink back behind Quanyin.

Hearing Dafeng’s words, he laughs as well: "Indeed, human women are far more beautiful than the women of our Wu tribe."

Quanyin pulls Yue back another step. Dafeng says no more; he suddenly reaches out to grab Quanyin, his entire body transforming into a human-shaped black wind in the process. Quanyin, ever vigilant, suddenly produces a mass of five-colored auspicious clouds in her hand.

This cloud is the very one given to her by Nan Luo. It has many marvelous uses: not only is it fast for flight, but it can also be used to defend against enemies. It represents the pinnacle of Nan Luo’s application of the Five Elements Great Dao at that time.

However, she does not use it to block the hand formed by the black wind. Instead, she cloaks her niece, Yue, in it and points toward Luoling Mountain. The five-colored cloud wraps around Yue and vanishes. She knows that even with this gift from Nan Luo, she is no match for a Great Wu, so she never intended to resist. She only hopes her niece can reach Nan Luo and warn him that the Wu tribe has arrived.

After sending Yue away, she unleashes her spells with all her might. But the hand formed by the black wind is overwhelmingly powerful; it ruthlessly shatters every spell and descends upon Quanyin’s head, instantly transforming into a black, ghostly rope that binds her.

Seeing the girl sent away, Peng Meng prepares to give chase, but is stopped by Dafeng.

Peng Meng looks puzzled. Dafeng smiles eerily and says, "If we catch them all, who will take the message to Nan Luo? Without a messenger, how would he know trouble has arrived and lose his focus? Under Hou Yi’s arrows, one must not have the slightest distraction. You have studied under Hou Yi for many years; do you not know that few have ever survived his Sky-Bending Bow? I cannot say whose divine power is the greatest below the Dao Realm, but when it comes to sheer lethality, none compare to the arrows of Hou Yi’s Sky-Bending Bow."

"Then what should we do now? Just wait here?" Peng Meng asks after a moment of silence.

"Heh heh, of course not. We shall follow them. We only need to catch up the moment your 'little lady' reaches the mountain. I believe that when Nan Luo sees this, he will certainly intervene. And the moment he acts, Hou Yi will surely strike."

For those of such high cultivation, the most important thing when striking is to find the most opportune moment—a moment most favorable to oneself.

Regarding Dafeng’s plan, Hou Yi had guessed his intentions the moment he mentioned visiting the young woman Peng Meng had taken a fancy to. He felt neither opposition nor support. Since he began practicing the way of the bow, everything seemed to fade; only certain people and past events remained as shackles in his heart. His only desire now was to sever those ties and focus entirely on the Way of the Bow.

Nan Luo’s existence was a thorn in his side. As long as Nan Luo lived, he could not sever the past or focus on his art. Thus, Nan Luo had to die, and he had to die by his arrow.

Quanyin’s niece was named Yue, also known as Quanyue. She had always wanted to visit Luoling Mountain, but she never expected to arrive in such a manner. She had long desired a five-colored cloud, and Quanyin had naturally taught her the incantations to command it.

Therefore, apart from the initial moment when Quanyin used the incantation to send her away, she had been piloting the cloud herself. She was only at the Transformation Spirit Realm, naturally not as fast as Quanyin, who was at the Void Return Realm.

The five-colored cloud was a manifestation of Nan Luo’s power, gifted to Quanyin. As long as one knew the incantation, it could be used. Since Quanyue had studied the *Taiqing Sensing Chapter* that Nan Luo had passed to Quanyin, she could easily command the cloud.

In an instant, she arrived above Luoling Mountain. She understood why her aunt had sent her here, so she pushed the five-colored cloud to its limit.

Just then, a "hissing" sound of wind reached her ears. Alarmed, she looked back and saw a wisp of black wind lashing through the void, creating the hissing sound. It pursued her like a black viper.

Along with the hissing wind came that hair-raising laughter. Dafeng’s sinister figure immediately flashed in Quanyue’s mind.

Panic surged through her. She was almost at Luoling Mountain, yet she had been caught. What could she do? Quanyue was on the verge of tears, her magic power running frantically.

Just then, a beam of light enveloped her. She felt a sudden, inexplicable sense of relief, and the terrifying hissing sound in her ears seemed to vanish instantly.

She looked up. A moon had appeared in the sky, appearing as clear in the daylight as it was at night, no less brilliant than the sun above.

Immediately following this, a cold, mocking laugh echoed in her ears. Before she could react, a beam of white light flashed past her ear, and a lock of her hair drifted away. She turned to see the white light vanish into a mass of black wind.

A muffled groan came from the black wind, yet it did not disperse or retreat. Instead, it swelled violently, engulfing the white light.

Once enveloped, the white light revealed its form: a long sword with a cyan hilt. It appeared incredibly serene and still within the black wind.

Quanyue was shocked. She had heard that the senior on the mountain possessed a sword that had once transformed into a beam of white light to slay the Golden Sand King who had captured her father. But now, it was being suppressed by the black wind. Could this Wu tribesman be so powerful that even the senior on the mountain could not handle him?

Before she could reach a conclusion, a loud laugh erupted. A black banner emerged from the void; with a roll of the black silk, it wrapped around the cyan-hilted sword. Quanyue was horrified; she recognized the banner as the one held by the child-like dwarf from the Wu tribe.

It all happened in the blink of an eye. She had barely arrived over Luoling Mountain when she was pursued, saved by a beam of light from the sky, and then witnessed a sword strike out to cut down the pursuing Wu tribesman.

Yet, the sword had failed to drive the enemy away; instead, it fell into the black wind and was instantly captured by the banner.

Suddenly, a cold, icy voice reached Quanyue’s ears. As the voice fell, the space around them seemed to freeze instantly.

"Chasing the Moon..."

A hundred miles away, Jin Guang’s golden eyes flared with intensity before settling down. He said quickly, "Prepare to strike." As he spoke, the golden-sheathed sword on his back fell into his hand.

In another direction, a hundred miles away, Niu Lianhua looked at the sky in shock and blurted out, "This is... the Wu tribe’s Sun-Shooting battle technique."