As the central world suffered a catastrophic incident, Ao the gargantuan island turtle could only watch in resignation. His titanic eyes gazed sideways sensing the arrival of a new individual.
"What are you doing here young one?" He said shaking the seas around him.
The newly arrived individual was a middle aged Primal Zenith Chaos Immortal of substantial power. He had dragon antlers above his head though they were not as pronounced. His robes resembled that of a Chinese emperor and he wore a crown above his head. Faint traces of karma surrounded him like a shield.
"I didn't want to come. The Heavenly Dao suddenly disappeared and I…I was concerned. Then suddenly I could not sense Buzhou anymore," he said towards the turtle.
"Great Ao, I have been shown some things by the Heavenly Dao in the past. Has Gonggong collapsed the celestial mountain?"
"No, time has not moved that quickly. But the results are the same."
The imperially dressed man nodded. "Then I apologize. In the wake of such a disaster. As no one else is anywhere near close to your location. I must kill you."
The phrase was said with weight. The middle aged man held out his palm and gathered energy.
"I understand," Ao said. "My disciple Xuanwu will be sad. But he'll understand as well. Do what you must Qilin Sovereign."
…
In the wake of millions of tons of falling rock, a body lay in pieces. The Destiny Demon God, master of the Dao of Destiny, promised victory in every battle he ever fought in lay scattered across a forming valley. His severed head starred up at the decaying celestial mountain in disbelief. His mouth less pale face made coughing sounds and his yellow eyes dimmed continuously.
Towards him, Luohu trudged along. The Devil Ancestor was panting heavily and specs of golden Dao essence leaked from his body. He had paid a heavy price to deal a blow that powerful. But he was content in knowing it had worked.
He briefly looked back and chuckled. His Immortal Extermination Formation and the Four Symbols Formation were still clashing against one another. The battleground between the two were huge. Now that he himself had exited said formation, he was far more vulnerable as well.
However the damage was already done. Hongjun had been knocked aside with heavy injuries. Sichen and Yinyang lay dead. Qiankun had skulked off somewhere int he confusion. Where he didn't know, but he didn't care much. Qiankun was always better at running then fighting.
He heard the distant roaring of dragons and cries of phoenixes. It was natural the leaders of both factions were distressed. But there was nothing they could do, he had already won.
"Gah!" Luohu gripped his chest in pain. The damaged suffered by his Nascent Soul will be extremely difficult to heal off.
He dragged his spear along as he walked through a pathway that seemingly manifested himself for him and him alone. Around him, Mt Buzhou disintegrated in pieces. The air around him felt lighter and lighter. The suppression of the Central Continent now felt a smidgen of what it once was.
The God Killing Spear skirted across the soil digging into the ground as it pulled along. Destiny Demon God's head rolled his eyes over at the sound.
"Unbelievable," the ancient godfiend managed to cough out.
"You always were full of yourself. For what it's worth, I will miss you," Luohu said in a manner not dissimilar to a man greeting an old acquaintance. "I always did admire those at the top. Respected those who did as they wished and lived however they desired."
"As a godfiend should. All prices are worth it to pursue the Dao," Destiny Demon God finished for him. "Devil Ancestor Luohu. Who would've guessed the Chaos Cricket's little pet turned out to exemplify what it meant to be a godfiend."
At these words, Luohu's face turned sour. "I am no one's pet," he snarled. "We were partners, fellow daoists who pursued the Dao together as companions. But our paths differed and we split."
His voice carried some regret but ultimately Luohu smiled at the memory. He will miss those days but like many things, they should remain in the past. It was his future that was far more important.
RUMBLE!
Luohu and Destiny Demon God's eyes drifted up. Falling trees, soil, plant life, stone and sediments continued to fall. As they did so, the path they both were on remained floating in the form of a narrow bridge. It was almost magical.
Around them, violet light leaked from within the collapsed mountain. The light was gaseous but illuminating. One look within contained myriads of Dao Laws. Any unprepared creature who looked upon them would've gone mad.
"Our entire civilization. Fed to the meat grinder by some hairy monkey," Destiny Demon God said.
"That monkey was the closest thing to the ultimate goal Tai Chu spoke about. Even closer to true enlightenment then Tai Chu had been. Rather, it is more accurate to say he had already attained that enlightenment," Luohu said.
"…"
Destiny Demon God was silent. He remained so as a purple circular orb began manifesting within the clouds of gas. But then he spoke again.
"Then why did he not take the final step?"
"Who knows, it's not like it matters anymore," Luohu told him. The devil admired the sight of the Primitive World's core for a time. By now, Mt Buzhou had collapsed much of its surface into itself. While its peak remained, the foundation it stood upon was being eroded by gravity.
The panic had set in. Hundreds of thousands of immortals were stressed beyond belief. They despaired at the sight of Buzhou's collapse. Each piece of the celestial mountain was precious. They were extraordinarily dense with primordial qi and utterly crushed any immortal that was unlucky enough to touch them.
At the same time, the wind blowing in the sky howled loudly like a plug was being pulled out releasing pressure long suppressed. It was as if the very sky was crying.
Destiny Demon God watched all this even as Luohu pulled up his spear. It's tip was inches from his eye when he spoke again.
"Our gathered work, hahaha! Good luck in your path fellow daoist. May you achieve the Dao where we all failed."
SCHINK!
Then he died.
Luohu nodded after he accomplished the deed. 'Unlike a certain serpent, he at least knew what courtesy was,' he thought. He took a deep breath and stepped forward.
"Wait Luohu! Do not do this."
"Still alive Hongjun?" Luohu spoke back almost amused.
Among the rubble, a green cricket crawled out carrying the Pangu Banner in one of its legs. It took a few breaths before restoring himself into his burly elderly man guise again. Hongjun looked utterly miserable, his hair was disheveled and his body bled everywhere.
"Luohu, refining the entire world just for a strong body is not worth it. What can that accomplish beyond better combat prowess. There is still time old friend. You can repair the pillar holding up the sky and you'll be rewarded greatly by the Heavenly Dao. The heavenly Dao holds many secrets to attaining Dao realm, you know this!"
"And who says I need Pangu's table scraps?" Luohu snorted arrogantly. "Look at yourself. You so desperately chasing after someone else's work resulted in this."
He gestured at Hongjun's physique and laughed. Hongjun gritted his teeth and glared. He rose up to his feet and stood stabbing the Pangu Banner into the earth for support.
"This coming from the man stealing the work of countless indigenous lifeforms," he taunted. He couldn't resist it. It was not smart to taunt Luohu but he just couldn't hold the snip back.
CLANG!
he was unprepared for Luohu's sudden swing. Luckily for him, the Pangu Banner was capable of resisting the blow and Hongjun landed squarely on his back. The elderly immortal spat out a mouthful of blood which quickly dissolved into Dao essence.
"Please watch old friend," Luohu spat the last two words out. "As I refine your precious Primitive World." He reached out for the purple orb with anticipation. Using his fingers, he gestured for it to fly forwards.
"Stop this Luohu!" Hongjun called out again getting to his feet. He quickly managed a spell that transformed into a flood of cloud animals that charged at Luohu.
The Devil Ancestor grunted before releasing the 12th ranked Black Lotus. Said lotus spun and sliced through the animals like they were paper. It instead shot out a ray of pure destructive energy in a long continuous beam.
"Taiji Painting to me!" Hongjun quickly unleashed the painting of two coloured swirls. It was a desperate measure to block the attack, an action he struggled to do in his incredibly weakened state.
With Hongjun distracted, Luohu reached out with both hands dropping the God Killing Spear. He chanted many verses in the language of the chaos godfiends and focused.
…
Outside, Gui Daiyu, Leize, Yi Fei'e and many others gathered in the sky. The devils were beginning to group up having seen their ancestor's victory. They attempted to hover around the collapsing mountain guarding it with vigor.
"The sky," Gui Daiyu uttered in fear. "It's screaming."
"Worse," Yinglong coughed a response. "Look closer sister-in-law. It's falling."
Many dragon and phoenix elders looked in shock. Yinglong was right, the sky had suffered a severe blow. Mt Buzhou's peak had collapsed half of its original mass and was still continuing to collapse. This exposed a strange substance that started leaking from the sky.
"This smells familiar," the sudden voice of Di Jun caught everyone's attention. The innate god sniffed the air before gasping in shock. "This smells like the qi around the Solar Star!" He cried in shock.
"Solar Star, our home," Taiyi responded with worry. He slowly raised the Chaos Bell and began ringing it. Some sort of strange energy started pulling at Mt Buzhou's pieces. But strangely it did nothing.
"Don't bother little friend," Yinglong cried out from the front. "Mt Buzhou is a celestial construct more transcendent than anything in the world. Time reversal would not work on it. Not unless you completely and utterly surpass the Primitive World in strength."
"Surpass the world. Is that even possible?" Taiyi muttered.
"Cheh, Luohu is doing it right now," Liu Er said gesturing at the distance. His tone was one of chastising with a large splash of condescension. A tone Taiyi glared at him for.
Truthfully, Liu Er was very worried. He wasn't sure if he could survive in the Chaos Sea. This wacky world allowed for people to reach Hunyuan Wuji Luo Jin Xian and yet still not be considered saints. According to his knowledge, Hunyuan Golden Immortal should be what the strongest fighters were at.
In comparison to his knowledge Fairy Wonderland, Da Luo Jin Xian, Hunyuan Jin Xian, Hunyuan Da Luo Jin Xian, and Hunyuan Wuji Luo Jin Xian were all different realms and not variations of the same realm. Hunyuan Jin Xian were known as Saint-to-be and Hunyuan Da Luo Jin Xian was supposed to be the level of a Saint of the Great Dao.
But this world had thrown that fact out the window. Even he wasn't sure what was what anymore.
"Why are you fuckers staring for?" Zhurrong yelled. The twelve had just joined in from further back. They looked incredibly enraged by Buzhou's collapse and even more stressed.
"Big brother, we should use that immediately!"
"Yes big brother, kill that fucking devil for this sin!"
"The brunt man is right," Gui Daiyu said. "Luohu needs to be killed no matter what. Do not let him get close to the Primitive World's core. KILL!"
"KILL!"
"KILL!"
"KILL!"
Dragons, phoenixes, immortals alike charged. They were in a maddened frenzy to break the devil's line.
"For Luohu!"
"To Victory!"
"KILL!"
Hundun and Taowu led the fry. Immediately, a giant firebird resembling a chicken, a Leize engulfed in electricity, a three headed bird, and a dragon who was once a mere carp met the former in combat
This group of fighters contained not only Chongming Bird who was one of Zufeng's lieutenants, but also Leize and Jiang Koilong. They bit, clawed, tore, and spat out spell arts in all directions. Hundun humored them and fought in an almost playful manner.
Taowu on the other hand found himself confronted by Di Jiang and his family of twelve. These twelve mighty individuals were trying to charge but Taowu had them in his sights. The human faced feline was still grieving after just witnessing Qiong Qi's brutal death and was itching to vent his rage.
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Yinglong despite his injured state still ran forward to fight. Gui Daiyu and Yi Fei'e flew alongside him. It was even more chaotic then before as now rubble constantly rained down upon them.
Yet it was also this frenzy that allowed some to break through the blockade.
Yuanshi, Tongtian, and Taishang managed to step onto the bridge. The three descendants of Pangu immediately unleashed conjoined attacks at Luohu who still had his back turned.
"Hm?"
Luohu immediately stopped his refinement and grabbed the God Killing Spear. His counter was swift and deadly. The Three Pure One's combined attack was cleaved apart.
"That…that was on par with a Primal Zenith Chaos Immortal at least," Luohu said eyes wide in appreciation. He launched black projectiles that sailed past Yuanshi and into Tongtian's body.
"GAH!" The only female of the group keeled back.
"Sister!" Yuanshi cried. He swung his scepter at Luohu along with Taishang who launched a fist art.
As impressive as they were, Luohu blocked them and slapped Yuanshi aside. He kicked Taishang who just managed to pull out a pagoda to block the hit.
"You sure are rich in treasures," Luohu said. "You guys, you are Pangu's Nascent Soul transformed correct? I can feel it."
"Unhand them!" Tongtian cried charging with the Qingping Sword in hand. Her strike was blocked by Luohu's palm though it managed to cut into him drawing blood. She was quickly grabbed in a choke slam and forced onto the floor.
BOOM!
The sudden force send a series of cracks on the platform beginning its destruction too. Hongjun saw this and jumped into action.
"Juniors, aid me push this back!" He said. It seems only Taishang got the memo as Yuanshi desperately attacked Luohu screaming, "Let my sister go!" Again and again.
Taishang unleashed the Heaven and Earth Exquisite Pagoda. It combined with the Taiji Painting to form an explosion of heavenly and earthly energies that finally freed Hongjun. "You have surprising coordination with the Taiji Painting. My thanks," Hongjun said smiling at Taishang.
"Luohu!"
Hongjun suddenly leapt right up to Luohu. He slammed the Pangu Banner into the unsuspecting devil's abdomen forcing him to release Tongtian. Yuanshi quickly caught his sister and helped her steady herself.
"DIE DEVIL!"
A hundred dragons and avians managed to sneak through the blockade and charged. Luohu starred back and snarled. He slammed his spear into the air generating a wreath of pole arms. The attack skewered dozens of dragons and avians.
"You'll pay for that!"
Gui Daiyu screamed charging in with a warhammer. Not far behind her, Yinglong swallowed a Devil Great Emperor and digested the screaming devil in his stomach. He and Yi Fei'e spared whatever energy they had to unleash qi blasts at the devil.
Feeling overwhelmed, Luohu attacked in all directions. He unleashed the Destruction Mill and forced it to spit out destructive lights. Those struck felt their skin beginning to peel off their flesh.
"Screw you all!" Luohu snarled in anger. He charged for the purple core desperately chasing after it. He worked around and stabbed those trying to reach him and made examples by beheading dragons and phoenixes alike. Mighty figures fell before him in simple blows like they were nothing.
In Luohu's hands, Mosasaur Ancestor and Plesiosaur Ancestor met their demise. Zufeng's ancient advisor Yu met his demise. Numerous first generation innate creatures of both land and sea met their demise.
"ARGH!"
Luohu spat out blood and retreated desperately. Hongjun had found him again and struck him with Chaotic Sword QI.
"Where the fuck are you all?" He cried for his devil subordinates.
But even as some Devil Emperors came to help him, the dragonic elder Hong intercepted them. This rainbow scaled dragon, a conjoined twin sharing the same body with his twin sister Ni, released the power of two very strong Primal Zenith Chaos Immortals at once.
Head and tail, two dragon heads one end male and one end female attacked ferociously. Instead, it was Liu Er who had stolen a halberd who charged forward for Luohu's head.
"The God Killing Spear and the 12th ranked Black Lotus are mine!" He used as his war cry.
SCHINK!
"YAGH!"
CRACK!
Luohu was struck in his shoulder and bled. Liu Er took this moment to punch Luohu in the face. But Luohu caught the fist in between his teeth and palmed the macaque's abdomen. The blow created an explosion of silver and black.
The monkey crashed into Mt Buzhou's walls causing even more rubble to fall down. Luohu gazed at his own palms and grunted. The monkey physical offenses was nothing special. He barely knew how to use complex magical techniques. But he had to give credit where it was due and the monkey's flesh was absurdly tough.
Luohu barely had time to calm down as Minghe, Zhen Yuanzi, Hongyun, Kun Peng, and Yuanshi all rushed in. They attacked in a flurry of blows directly at the Devil Ancestor in a desperate bid to kill him. But it was like children swinging pool noodles at an adult.
Luohu counterattacked with so much force that they were all frown back with heavy injuries. Minghe had to transform into a bundle of crimson water to barely survive Luohu's kick.
"Luohu, bullying juniors now?" Hongjun jumped in supported by a few phoenixes. They clashed flag pole against spear in quick succession before a phoenix pecked into Luohu's shoulder.
"Fucking bird!" Luohu screamed grabbing the phoenix in his hand. This bird was a Primal Zenith Chaos Immortal elder of the Avian Empire. But even so, its neck was snapped like a twig in Luohu's hands.
It's body was unfortunetly used as a battering ram that cut through the purple mist and into Mt Buzhou's surface further exploding it from within.
"Run! Don't let the rubble hit you!"
Buzhou's collapse became even more vicious. The heavens groaned and the earth shook beneath the pressure. Luohu gasped for breath after a furious assault and met Hongjun's urgently worried eyes. The two clashing formations outside were moving closer and closer to the ground.
Why?
Because the sky had descended by a great amount
Droplets of starry water leaked from the heavens. Mt Buzhou's peak was gone. Like the plug of a sink, its disappearance opened a floodgate of disasters. Starry liquid poured through from the heavens crashing into the earth below. This disrupted the fighting causing both sides to move in frantic motions. Thankfully, no stars nor planets had fallen through yet.
Di Jun and Taiyi who fought side by side against dozens of devils instantly recognized that on the other side of the hole lay the Starry Skies. Not just them, Qinglong and the two goddesses within his pocket dimension recognized the same.
As this was going on, the Four Symbols felt not just the force of the Immortal Extermination Four Swords, but also the full weight of the heavens. Their bodies glowed in four different coloured lights and quickly hooked onto one another in the form of chains to stabilize themselves.
The starry water had even washed onto Buzhou itself. Sediments were carried far and wide and the suppression of the Central Continent became almost non existent. The barren cracked wastelands surrounding Buzhou became an ocean of water that were reminiscent of the night sky.
This caused Luohu to look up in worry. He had not expected to be delayed for so long. He should've refined the Primitive World's core by now to begin the transformation process. The falling sky had become an issue. It was only the formations in the sky keeping it back.
Making a quick decision, Luohu bolted for the Primitive World's core. He swung his fingers and called for the Immortal Extermination Four Swords. As he did so, Tongtian's figure broke through the rain of rubble.
"HAIYAH!" Tongtian cried bravely jumping for Luohu. She beat the Fish Drum creating a wave of water that washed towards the devil. "This is for my throat!"
Luohu had to only swing his spear to cut through the wave and block the Qingping Sword. "When will you insects learn?" He clawed at Tongtian's face and kicked her into Mt Buzhou's interior. He cursed his own weakened state, burning his Nascent Soul was turning out to not be such a smart decision after all.
"Luohu you insane bastard. You'll bring the sky down on us all!" Hongjun's distant voice was heard by the devil who only chuckled. The Immortal Exterminated Four Swords descended around Luohu.
"Not so old friend. The four beasts can deal with that," he said waving it off. He pointed his fingers and sent the newly acquired four swords into formation once more. As the formation began taking form again, he grabbed hold of his prize. Even as Hongjun ran through and towards Luohu again, even as he began battling the four swords again, Luohu did not stop nor look back.
Speaking of Qinglong and the rest, they screamed in agony. The sudden disappearance of the four swords above them forced the sky onto their shoulders. As such they moved even further towards the earth.
"Brothers, sisters. Please hold on!" He begged. His muscles felt extremely strained and his eyes bulged. He felt he was being crushed. He panted heavily and looked down at his claw. "Run you two, this is no place for you anymore."
"Senior brother!" Chang Xi and Xihe cried out in frantic worry as they were suddenly expelled into the open world outside the formation.
"Your senior brother is right girls," Zhuque cried out from within the formation. "Flee into the Chaos Sea if you have to, we cannot hold the sky for long."
The roars of a dragon and a phoenix thundered in the background. Zulong and Zufeng both roared and sang desperately hoping to stop the flood and the fall.
Mara still fought them with zeal but even he wasn't too pleased with the events. Luohu was taking too long. The water and the sediments were getting in the way. If they aren't gonna be crushed by the sky, then the sea levels will rise to a point there they'll all be engulfed.
Mara withdrew his bow and arrow and shot at Zufeng and Zulong. His arrows burned with the power of rage and cut through their supernatural defense. This distracted them from going towards Buzhou's centre.
"Killing you two is turning out to be a lot harder than I thought," the demon king groaned. Between Zulong's scales and Zufeng's healing fire, it wasn't easy to do damage to them.
He drew another arrow and focused. "Nilotpala Maranam," he said before firing.
The arrow flew in a soft blue light. It trailed across the sky and reached for Zulong's head. But it's tip harbored so much power that Zulong felt an extreme sense of danger.
"Not good," he breathed a wide mouthful of lightning directly into the arrow. The blow didn't stop the arrow though and it continued to cut through.
"It's hopeless dragon, I did warn you," Mara said with pitying gaze.
The arrow continued to sail for Zulong who swerved his head. But the arrow followed and closed in. Then missed and sailed past Zulong dissipating in the distance
"What?" Mara was stunned still.
In the distance four pillars were thrown into the Four Symbols Formation and a four legged figure landed beside Zulong and Zufeng.
"Who the?" Zufeng was confused, so was Zulong.
A qilin with power equal to them stood in the air. But though they did not recognize this qilin, they felt he was familiar.
"You are not Zulin," Zulong concluded. "Who are you?"
"I didn't want to come. Our place in the Great Wilderness was over," the qilin said. "I am the Qilin Sovereign and head of all furred beasts on land. I am the same qilin that narrowly avoided death last time. You killed my father Dragon Sovereign."
"I see," Zulong nodded along. But in truth he still didn't know this qilin's name. "You are dangerously late."
"Another arrival?" Mara frowned at the newly arrived Qilin Sovereign.
"I am Qi An, the Qilin Sovereign Demon King of the Sixth Heaven." Qi An announced. "I'm here to lend aid. I thought you all had it handled but I was wrong. Let me fix that by allying with you my fellow sovereigns."
Zufeng scoffed. A relatively junior member of their generation had placed himself on equal terms to her and Zulong in status. But ultimately she did not care. One more hand was greatly appreciated.
"What are your suggestions then qilin?" Zufeng asked.
"I just gave the Four Symbols the help they need. Now we go stop Luohu."
"You really think I'd let you three go?" Mara chuckled.
In response Qi An blasted him full of karma.