Jing Cang's voice thundered across the East China Sea like a clap of thunder, carrying a resolute solemnity.
He knew that the Giant Whale Clan alone could not hold the line for long, yet he did not retreat an inch. He suddenly flicked his massive tail, which wrapped in the immense power of water fortune, slamming it into Qiongqi's head like a pillar holding up the sky.
With this strike, he poured every last bit of his strength into it. Even if it meant mutual destruction, he would fight for a glimmer of hope for the clans behind him.
As the giant tail swung, the seawater churned violently, forming a massive waterspout that swept toward Qiongqi. Within the waterspout, countless water droplets condensed into sharp water blades, carrying the power to cut through all things, vowing to deliver a devastating blow to Qiongqi.
But Qiongqi was surprisingly agile. It dodged the heavy tail strike sideways. The tail crashed into the seawater, stirring up ten-thousand-zhang waves that swept away all the surrounding corpses and broken scales without a trace. When the waves crashed down, countless dwellings of the East China Sea aquatic clans were destroyed.
Yet at this moment, no one had the time to care about such losses.
Just as Jing Cang's old strength was exhausted and new strength had yet to gather, Qiongqi's claws struck suddenly, moving as fast as lightning, leaving him no time to react. The claw tips grazed Jing Cang's shoulder, tearing off a large chunk of flesh. Golden blood gushed out, dyeing Qiongqi's claws crimson.
"Ugh——" Jing Cang trembled all over in agony, but he clenched his jaws tightly, refusing to let out a single cry of pain. He knew this was his only chance. Seizing this fleeting window, he suddenly lowered his head, ramming his hard skull against Qiongqi's abdomen. He unleashed all his remaining spiritual power, slamming the beast toward the formation's eye.
"Boom——"
A deafening explosion shook the sea. Qiongqi's body crashed heavily into the formation's spiritual light. The light flared instantly, and the cyan-gold radiance enveloped Qiongqi, forming a giant cocoon of light that temporarily suppressed the feral aura clinging to its body.
Qiongqi let out a pained roar, its blood-red eyes blazing with rage. It thrashed wildly, twisting its body in a desperate attempt to break free from the light's shackles.
As for Jing Cang, he was overwhelmed by the feral aura surging off Qiongqi's body. His thick dorsal armor was torn to shreds by the claw wind, revealing his beating internal organs clearly. Golden blood flowed like a waterfall, dyeing the entire area around the formation's eye crimson.
His aura faded instantly, flickering like a candle flame in the wind, ready to be snuffed out at any moment. Yet he still pressed his skull against Qiongqi, pinning it in place to prevent it from breaking free. He murmured weakly, "Hold... we must hold..."
Qiongqi thrashed madly within the light cocoon, its claws scratching the light continuously. The cracks on the light multiplied, its glow dimming further and further, on the verge of complete collapse.
The vitality of the East China Sea seemed destined to be snuffed out in this moment. At this critical juncture, a streak of crimson celestial light shot from the southern sky, plunging into the East China Sea like a meteor, illuminating the blood-red sea surface instantly.
Within the radiance surged pure flame power, which collided with Qiongqi's black demon aura, letting out a sizzling hiss.
——The Spirit Clam Clan of the Southern Region had arrived!
Hundreds of zhang-long spirit clams leaped into the East China Sea along the tributaries of the Heavenly River. Their shells were covered in crimson patterns, marks left by their cultivation of fire-controlling techniques.
To reinforce the East China Sea, they had traversed three thousand li of sea shrouded in feral aura. Many spirit clams had been corrupted by the aura along the way, sacrificing their lives. Yet the remaining clams did not retreat an inch. Bearing the trust of all clans in the Southern Region, they stepped resolutely into this sea of blood and battle.
As soon as the spirit clams entered the battlefield, they scattered rapidly, surrounding Qiongqi completely. Their shells opened, revealing tender pink clam meat, at the center of which condensed crimson spiritual light—their origin fire, carrying the power to purify feral aura.
"Fellow Daoists of the East China Sea, do not fear! The Spirit Clam Clan is skilled in fire control—we will stand with the East China Sea through life and death!"
The voice of Bang Zhu, the clan leader of the Spirit Clam Clan, rang out crisply like clashing jade, yet it was unshakably firm. The crimson patterns on her shell were denser than those of the other clams, a clear sign of her profound cultivation as a leader.
Her eyes blazed with the resolve to fight to the death. The Southern Region's spiritual veins were connected to those of the East China Sea; if the East China Sea fell, the Southern Region would not survive either. To reinforce the East China Sea today was to defend the very vitality of the Primordial World.
Before her words faded, all the spirit clams opened their shells simultaneously, spitting out crimson "Flame Crystal Bullets". The bullets streaked toward Qiongqi like a shower of crimson meteors, each one infused with the Spirit Clam Clan's origin power.
When the bullets exploded, they ignited blazing Nanming Lihuo (Southern Underworld Departing Fire). The crimson flames, carrying the power to purify feral aura, targeted Qiongqi's eyes directly.
Nanming Lihuo was the supreme yang fire of the Primordial World, inherently capable of restraining evil and ferocious auras. Wherever the flames passed, the black-red feral aura sizzled and dissolved, turning into green smoke and vanishing.
Qiongqi sensed the threat of the flames, letting out an angry roar. The feral aura around its body surged, forming a black shield that blocked the Nanming Lihuo outside.
"Though our clan is weak, we know the spiritual veins are connected—if the East China Sea falls, the Southern Region will not survive! Today, we shall use the flesh and blood of the Spirit Clam Clan to defend the vitality of the Primordial World!" Bang Zhu's voice rang out again, filled with sorrow and unwavering resolve.
She knew that ordinary Flame Crystal Bullets could not break through Qiongqi's feral aura shield. Only by channeling the entire clan's origin power could they deliver a devastating blow to the beast.
But Qiongqi's ferocity had already been fully aroused. It paid no heed to the attacks of the Flame Crystal Bullets, and the feral aura around its body surged once more. The black shield expanded instantly, enveloping the surrounding spirit clams within it.
Then, it suddenly flicked its tail. The massive tail swept across like a steel whip, carrying the power to destroy heaven and earth, instantly smashing ten spirit clams that couldn't dodge in time into pulp.
Black demon aura spread along the tail, dyeing a large area of the sea crimson. The shattered spirit clams' shell fragments, mixed with tender pink clam meat and crimson blood, floated in the seawater, soon corroded by the black demon aura into pools of pus.
Lingering traces of the Spirit Clam Clan's origin fire remained in the pus, yet they still could not resist the erosion of the feral aura, finally flickering out and vanishing without a trace.
"Clan Leader!" The remaining spirit clams let out grief-stricken hisses, their eyes filled with tears and anger. Yet they did not retreat an inch, continuing to spit out Flame Crystal Bullets endlessly, trying to break through Qiongqi's shield.
Some spirit clams even charged directly at Qiongqi's feral aura shield, ramming their shells against it. Even if their shells shattered, they would create an opening for their companions to attack.
A young spirit clam warrior, its shell still glowing with a verdant luster, watched as its companions fell one by one. Its eyes blazed with unwavering resolve. It accelerated suddenly, charging toward Qiongqi's eye. Its shell opened, and it condensed all its internal origin fire into a single Flame Crystal Bullet, firing it fiercely at Qiongqi's eye.
But before it could draw near, it was struck by Qiongqi's feral aura. Its shell shattered instantly, and its tender pink clam meat was corroded by the aura, letting out a sizzling sound. Its body slowly sank, yet its eyes still held unyielding determination and reluctance.
Bang Zhu watched as her clansmen fell in droves, a look of pain flashing in her eyes, yet she grew even more resolute. She knew that ordinary Flame Crystal Bullets could not harm Qiongqi. Only by channeling the entire clan's origin power to weave a Crimson Flame Light Shield could they buy time for the Giant Whale Clan's fellow daoists, waiting for reinforcements from other clans.
Without hesitation, she shouted hoarsely: "Children of the Spirit Clam Clan! Channel your origin power, weave the Crimson Flame Light Shield! Buy time for the Giant Whale Clan's fellow daoists! For the Primordial World, we shall die without regret!"
"Die without regret!" The remaining spirit clams roared in unison, their voices solemn and unwavering. They trembled simultaneously, the spiritual light on their shells growing brighter and brighter. The crimson patterns seemed to come alive, flowing continuously across the shells.
They drew out all their origin spiritual power, converging it in front of Bang Zhu. Countless streaks of crimson spiritual light intertwined, forming a thick crimson light shield. The shield was covered in the Spirit Clam Clan's runes, carrying the power of purification and protection, standing between Jing Cang and Qiongqi.
As soon as the light shield took shape, Qiongqi's claws slammed heavily onto it. With a crisp crack, the shield was covered with cracks instantly, and Bang Zhu's shell cracked along with it. Crimson blood seeped out from the cracks.
Her aura faded instantly, yet she still gritted her teeth and held on, pouring her remaining spiritual power into the shield continuously.
"For the Primordial World! Hold it back!" Bang Zhu roared, summoning her last ounce of strength to inject the remaining origin power of her own into the light shield. The shield's radiance flared briefly, barely blocking Qiongqi's attack, but Bang Zhu's shell shattered completely.
Her tender pink clam meat was exposed to the black demon aura, sizzling as it was corroded instantly. There was no fear in her eyes—only relief and unwavering resolve. She knew her mission was complete. Even if it cost her life, it was worth it.
The color of the East China Sea grew increasingly crimson. The bodies of the Spirit Clam Clan floated along the ocean current. Some still maintained the posture of closing their shells, with black threads of feral aura coiled around them, gradually being corroded into fragments.
Of the hundreds of spirit clams, more than half had been killed or injured by now, yet the crimson light shield still stood stubbornly in front of the formation's eye—like a barrier of life, guarding the Giant Whale Clan and the vitality of the East China Sea behind it.
Just as the Spirit Clam Clan was on the verge of total annihilation, a dense, rapid buzzing sound of flapping wings came from the western sky. The sound was like a dark cloud passing through, covering the entire battlefield instantly. Within the sound surged the sharp energy of golden metal, which collided with Qiongqi's black demon aura, letting out a shrill screech.
——The Crystal Ant Clan of the Western Wasteland had arrived!