The moment the Four Symbols' spiritual light coalesced into a canopy over the Golden Metal Stone Forest, a tearing roar echoed from the distant void.
This was no ordinary beast's howl, but the surging of feral aura from the boundless void. Black-red mist surged like a tide from the west, south, and north directions. Seven colossal figures loomed faintly within the mist, each exuding an aura comparable to that of a Peak Golden Immortal—they were the Seven Great Ferocious Beasts under the command of Beast Emperor Shen Ni.
"They've split into three groups!" Ao Xuan's dragon pupils constricted sharply. The Innate Dragon Pearl in his palm trembled violently, and cyan-gold spiritual light spread along the Four Symbols' canopy. "Cang Lie, you stand guard at the western flank with Xuan Zhen to face Qiongqi and Taowu. Zhu Yan, you stay with me to defend the southern flank and hold off Tao Tie and Bifang. Yuan Hao, take the Black Armored Stone People to guard the northern flank and contain Hundun, Gudiao, and Jiutou Chong. If you're overwhelmed, crush the Water Spirit Talisman immediately!"
"I got it!" Yuan Hao slung his Innate Stone Staff over his shoulder, condensing earth-element spiritual energy into three stone walls under his feet. "Black Armored Stone People, follow me! Our Black Stone Formation are no pushovers—we'll show these beasts the might of the Western Wasteland!"
The Black Armored Stone People roared in unison, forming a formation quickly with their stone shields in hand. The pale golden stone patterns resonated with the golden metal spiritual vein, forming a hundred-zhang-long stone wall on the northern flank. The wall's surface was coiled with emerald vines channeled by the Spiritual Plant clansmen, and the vines glowed with the faint light of the Spiritual Plant Sacred Fire, capable of resisting feral aura erosion temporarily.
Qiongqi and Taowu from the western flank arrived first. Qiongqi flapped its wings, its hundred-eighty-zhang wingspan stirring up a skyful of black gales. Wind blades laced with golden metal shards slammed into Cang Lie like a torrential downpour.
The Nanming Golden Metal Flames around Cang Lie's body surged instantly. He swung his golden metal long sword in an arc, and the golden flames collided with the wind blades, sparking a shower of sparks. The demon aura in the wind blades was incinerated instantly by the flames, but a few golden metal shards still grazed his shoulder, blasting deep grooves into his silver-white armor. Blood dripped through the armor's gaps.
"Roar ——!" Taowu charged right behind Qiongqi. Its tiger-bodied, human-faced form glowed with black-red feral light. Its four limbs were as thick as pillars, and the tips of its claws glinted with the sharpness to tear the void, lunging straight for Cang Lie's chest.
This beast was born for slaughter, and its feral aura carried the Law of Frenzy, which could disrupt an opponent's spiritual energy circulation. Cang Lie felt the golden metal flames in his dantian falter slightly. He dodged sideways hastily, and Taowu's claws grazed his waist, smashing the golden metal rock pillars on the ground into pieces.
"Fellow Daoist Xuan Zhen, assist me!" Cang Lie shouted sharply, slashing his long sword again. The Nanming Golden Metal Flames on the blade condensed into a several-zhang-long fire blade, stabbing straight for Taowu's head.
Xuan Zhen had already set up the profound water formation. Seeing Taowu pounce, he pressed his palm against the ground. The profound water in the stone forest surged instantly, forming a water wall dozens of zhang tall, its surface covered in Suppression Runes. The moment it touched Taowu's feral aura, a sizzling sound of purification echoed, forcing the beast back half a zhang.
"Profound Water Suppression—seal!" Xuan Zhen's voice was like the tolling of a deep sea bell. The water wall transformed into countless profound water chains instantly, coiling around Taowu's limbs like spirit snakes.
Taowu let out a feral roar, trying to break free from the chains, but it was locked tightly by the profound water runes. Its feral aura was continuously purified along the chains, and its body began to twitch slightly.
Cang Lie seized the opportunity, swinging his long sword with sky-burning force and slashing fiercely at Taowu's neck—the weakest point of its feral aura, and its fatal vulnerability.
"A sickening squelch!" The golden metal flames pierced Taowu's neck instantly. Black-red blood gushed out, dripping onto the profound water chains and being purified into transparent droplets in an instant. Taowu's body crashed heavily to the ground, twitched a few times, and then fell still. Only its eyes, filled with ferocity, stared fixedly at Cang Lie, gradually losing their luster.
Having dealt with Taowu, Cang Lie and Xuan Zhen turned to face Qiongqi. Seeing its companion killed, a flicker of fear crossed the beast's eyes, but it still refused to retreat. It flapped its wings, stirring up black gales, and spewed a black wind column from its mouth, charging straight for Xuan Zhen's profound water formation.
Xuan Zhen remained calm. A surge of immense profound water power gushed from his palm, condensing into a tortoise-shell-shaped shield. The Suppression Runes on the shield glowed with eerie blue light. The wind column slammed into the shield, only to be deflected by the profound water instantly, leaving not a single trace behind.
"Fellow Daoist White Tiger, lend me your golden metal power!" Xuan Zhen shouted loudly. The profound water chains suddenly glowed with golden metal spiritual light—it was the Nanming Golden Metal power channeled by Cang Lie. The two forces intertwined into a golden-blue light chain, coiling toward Qiongqi's wings.
Qiongqi tried to dodge, but was forced back step by step by Cang Lie's golden metal sword. The light chain wrapped around its wings instantly, and the profound water suppression and golden metal flames erupted simultaneously. Qiongqi's wings were torn apart forcefully. Black-red blood gushed from the wounds, and it let out a shrill cry of agony, turning to flee.
"Where do you think you're going?" Cang Lie leaped into the air, slashing his long sword again. The golden fire blade pierced Qiongqi's chest precisely, shattering its feral core completely. Qiongqi's body froze in midair for a moment, then crashed heavily to the ground. Its colossal wings gradually lost their luster, purified completely by the spiritual light of profound water and golden metal.
On the southern battlefield, the offensive of Tao Tie and Bifang was even more fierce. Tao Tie's sheep-bodied, human-faced form swelled to two hundred zhang tall. The compound eyes under its armpits glowed with eerie green light. When it opened its massive maw, even the spiritual energy of the golden metal spiritual vein was forcefully siphoned toward its throat.
The golden metal rock pillars in the stone forest began to tremble faintly. The pale golden light of the spiritual vein snaked along the ground, flowing toward Tao Tie.
"That glutton's devouring power is insanely strong!" Yuan Hao's voice came from the northern flank. He was being entangled by Hundun and Gudiao. His earth-element stone walls had crumbled under Hundun's Law of Chaos, and Gudiao's sonic attacks left the Black Armored Stone People dizzy and disoriented. "Fellow Daoist Ao Xuan, hold on! I'm barely holding them off over here!"
Ao Xuan had no time to respond. The Innate Dragon Pearl in his palm glowed with cyan-gold Merit Golden Light, resisting Tao Tie's devouring power firmly. The dragon patterns on the pearl's surface rotated rapidly, forming a light shield that guarded the Spiritual Plant Sacred Fire at its center—the sacred fire was the key to purifying feral aura, and it must not be devoured by Tao Tie.
Zhu Yan, meanwhile, channeled her Nanming Lihuo to its limit. As the hem of her crimson feather robe fluttered, dozens of fire feathers shot out like spirit snakes. The eerie blue flame cores at the tips of the feathers stabbed toward Tao Tie's compound eyes precisely, trying to disrupt its devouring.
"Sizzle!" The moment the fire feathers touched Tao Tie's compound eyes, they were blocked by the black-red feral aura it spewed, turning into ashes instantly. Tao Tie let out a contented rumble, and its devouring power intensified once more. Ao Xuan felt the water fortune power in his dantian begin to waver, and the spiritual light of the Innate Dragon Pearl dimmed slightly.
"Fellow Daoist Zhu Yan, use Nanming Lihuo to channel the Spiritual Plant Sacred Fire!" Ao Xuan suddenly spoke. The Merit Golden Light in his palm intertwined with Zhu Yan's Nanming Lihuo, forming a red-and-blue light ribbon that landed on the Spiritual Plant Sacred Fire.
The sacred fire's pale crimson aura flared several times brighter instantly, resonating with the golden metal spiritual vein unexpectedly. Countless golden fire threads shot out from the sacred fire, coiling around Tao Tie's limbs like a net from heaven and earth.
"This is... the Evil-Incinerating Power of the Spiritual Plant Sacred Fire!" A flash of joy crossed Zhu Yan's eyes. She had never imagined that the sacred fire and Nanming Lihuo could resonate so strongly. "Fellow Daoist Ao Xuan, now's our chance!"
Ao Xuan nodded. The Innate Dragon Pearl suddenly expanded to a zhang in size, its cyan-gold Merit Golden Light blazing like a scorching sun. He leaped into the air, and the pearl, carrying the force of ten thousand jun, slammed heavily into Tao Tie's massive mouth.
This strike concentrated all his water fortune power and Pangu Merit. The moment it touched Tao Tie's feral aura, it tore a gap open forcefully. The pearl slipped into Tao Tie's mouth, exploding with a deafening bang inside its body.
"Roar ——!" Tao Tie let out a shrill cry of agony. Its colossal body twitched violently, and black-red feral aura gushed madly from its seven orifices, but it was locked tightly by the fire threads of the Spiritual Plant Sacred Fire, unable to spread.
Zhu Yan seized the opportunity to channel her Nanming Lihuo to its absolute limit. A several-zhang-long fire column shot from her palm, stabbing straight for Tao Tie's feral core. The fire column pierced Tao Tie's body, incinerating its feral core completely.
Tao Tie's body crashed heavily to the ground, and its devouring power dissipated instantly. The spiritual light of the golden metal spiritual vein stabilized once more. Zhu Yan panted heavily, her crimson feather robe stained with black smudges of feral aura, but her gaze remained locked firmly on the southern void—Bifang had not appeared yet, clearly waiting for the right moment to strike.
Just then, a streak of crimson-blue flame suddenly darted out from the void. Bifang's figure appeared beside the Spiritual Plant Sacred Fire like a phantom. Its two-hundred-zhang wingspan glowed with black-red demon flames, and the tip of its beak glinted with venomous cold light, lunging straight for the sacred fire's core!
This beast had been hiding in the void all along, waiting for Tao Tie to draw everyone's attention before sneaking an attack on the sacred fire!
"Don't you dare harm the sacred fire!" Zhu Yan shouted sharply, leaping in front of the sacred fire and condensing her Nanming Lihuo into a fire lotus in front of her. The moment the fire lotus bloomed, countless tiny fire threads shot out from its petals, stabbing toward Bifang's wings precisely.
But Bifang did not dodge or evade. The demon flames on its wings surged instantly, and it rammed into the fire lotus forcefully. The fire lotus shattered instantly, and Bifang's wings were pierced by dozens of wounds from the fire threads. Black-red blood dripped down, yet it still lunged toward the sacred fire.
"I'm your opponent!" Ao Xuan's voice rang out. The Innate Dragon Pearl flew back from beside Tao Tie's corpse, its cyan-gold spiritual light carrying Merit Golden Light, and slammed heavily into Bifang's back. Bifang let out a cry of pain, its body stumbling forward, but it refused to give up, pecking toward the sacred fire again with its beak.
A flash of fierce determination crossed Zhu Yan's eyes. The Nanming Lihuo around her body suddenly turned eerie blue—it was the ultimate form of Nanming Lihuo, capable of incinerating all evil. She leaped into the air, forming a seal with her hands. Fire spirit power condensed into an eerie blue fire lotus in her palms. The moment the fire lotus took shape, it hurtled toward Bifang's head with sky-burning force.
"A sickening squelch!" The fire lotus pierced Bifang's head instantly, and the eerie blue flames erupted with a bang inside its body, incinerating the demon flames and feral aura completely. Bifang's body froze in midair for a moment, then crashed heavily to the ground. Its two-hundred-zhang wingspan gradually lost its luster, purified completely by the sacred fire's spiritual light.
The battle on the southern flank finally came to an end. Ao Xuan and Zhu Yan were about to rush to reinforce the northern flank when they saw a black figure fleeing from the north—it was Jiutou Chong! Four of its nine heads had been chopped off, and dark green blood dripped from the wounds. Clearly terrified by Yuan Hao's attacks, it had taken the chance to break free from Hundun and Gudiao's entanglement, fleeing toward the boundless void.
"Don't let it get away!" Ao Xuan leaped into the air, and the spiritual light of the Innate Dragon Pearl transformed into a cyan-gold dragon, chasing after Jiutou Chong. But Jiutou Chong's escape speed was extremely fast, and it was adept at underwater evasion. It fled into the nearby Cold Water Valley and disappeared without a trace, leaving only a faint trail of dark green blood behind.
"Forget it, let's reinforce Yuan Hao first!" Ao Xuan gave up the pursuit, turning to fly toward the northern flank. The battlefield there was in utter chaos. The Black Armored Stone People's stone walls had crumbled under Hundun's Law of Chaos, and several Stone People lay on the ground, their auras faint.
Yuan Hao slung his stone staff over his shoulder, his body covered in wounds. His earth-element spiritual energy surged backward like a receding tide, and he was being suppressed by the combined forces of Hundun and Gudiao.
Hundun's body was like a cloud of black mist, with no fixed form—it morphed into claws one moment, and fists the next. Every attack carried the Law of Chaos, which could disrupt Yuan Hao's spiritual energy circulation. Gudiao hovered in the air, emitting sharp sonic attacks that left Yuan Hao dizzy and disoriented, nearly causing him to drop his stone staff.