The presence of the vermillion bird lit up the sky in a new colour. Zhuque's radiance was one of extreme heat originating from the Mars star. It was a flame that burned much hotter than the Nanming Divine Flame. In this regard, Zhuque's fire was much more destructive than Zufeng's.
The vermillion bird's wings forcibly separated the ancestral dragon from the phoenix sovereign. Both fighters were briefly stunned and Zhuque took this moment to cast divine winds. They forcibly pushed both Great Unity experts back.
"Please sister, brother Zulong, stop this madness," she pleaded. Her physical size dwarfed the phoenix but her presence felt vastly lesser. Zhuque narrowed her eyes in hesitation once her sister was in the way.
"Please see reason, we're all friends here. Stop this before things get out of hand," Zhuque cried out. The divine flame of summer flared around her, fuelled by the full weight of her cultivation base.
"This is an order," Zufeng commanded. "Move out of my way and assist our experts."
"But please just list…" Zhuque tried to say.
"One warning," Zulong growled. "Move aside." His glare was carried both a look of regret but also one of venomous rage. The dragon's demeanour was far worse than what Zhuque was familiar with.
His sharp claws, his fanged mouth, his narrowed glare. Even his catfish whiskers that normally invoked a look of wisdom now waved menacingly in the air. Just his presence gave the vermillion bird a bone chilling frightened feeling.
However, Zhuque steeled her resolve. "Please just listen. You do not need to fight like this. This is all a misunderstanding, lets go back down and work things out."
"You don't understand," Zufeng said coldly. "There could never be peace between us. It was never an option." Zulong merely closed his eyes and gave the softest of sighs.
Zhuque flinched back. 'No, I can't give up yet,' she thought and moved to please her case. However, she saw Zufeng's eyes widened in shock and rage. Then she felt a tugging force.
Turning her head back, Zhuque felt her body being battered aside. Zulong's left claw slammed into her body before she could register his actions. The vermillion bird was battered aside while sending the ancestral dragon and surprised yet disappointed look.
"I did warn you," Zulong replied regretfully before moving to engage the Phoenix sovereign.
Zhuque's world lit up in a hail of rainbow explosions as she hit the ground. The earth shook violently at her descent cracking like spiderwebs. Buildings were toppled over and the city was in full evacuation mode.
The vermillion bird craned her head up and got onto her feet. Looking below her, she looked horrified at rows of crushed people. Looking back up, the battle between Zulong and Zufeng had raged to the point of spilling out of control.
The two seemed to be completely ignoring all the ongoings around them. Their only focus were on how to kill each other. Although their battlefield was high in the sky, their shockwaves affected the land as well.
Zhuque spread out her wings manifesting two golden wings covering the entire city. A herculean shockwave consisting of black light and divine flames smashed into her impromptu shield. "Gah," she grunted.
"FUCK," she cried out. "Why won't they listen. Zulong is very honourable and caring. But it's like he's a completely different person. I can get through to sister, I know it. But I can't if brother Zulong is in the way."
The vermillion bird opened her beak and breathed a fog of red gas that cloaked hundreds of thousands of powerless civilians. With a had turn, she threw them into the distance before taking flight herself.
BOOM!
Explosions from impacts rang throughout the sky. The gargantuan form of the dragon chased the much smaller phoenix who pelted him with blasts of power. The dragon would fire back and attempt claw strikes while gliding through the air.
Zulong's attacks were so sharp in fact that reality suffered tears into he void between worlds. In turn, Zhuque's smaller form glided above Zulong's claw and kicked his body with her claws. Her talons too tore into Zulong's scales drawing blood.
The dragon answered back with his hind limbs. He pulled the phoenix off of him and began crushing her with his body. Zefeng retorted with a burst of five colour light. The force of the primaeval life giving force ripped into Zulong's body forcing him to relent.
The two deities tangled brutally. Blood was drawn from both sides as both parties went to a bloodthirsty frenzy. The dragon's scales resisted a lot of damage while the phoenix consecutively restored herself with the Nanming Divine Flames.
Both were incredibly skilled and experienced fighters. Zulong from his long years battling across the east sea and later on, his journey around the world. Zufeng from forcing native innate gods and experts intro submission.
As they fought, Zulong winded his head back and opened his mouth. The roar he unleashed was so loud that heaven and earth shook. Fleeing civilians instantly went onto their knees and kowtowed, many had also lost consciousness, unable to bask in Zulong's presence.
Chongming and Changfu could barely hold on under the twin dragon's pressure. Both avian experts were forced onto the retreat unable to bring their hundred percent under these circumstances. 'This is bad,' both thoughts as the azure dragon and winged dragon carried on towards them with claws ready.
Zulong's cry had affected even Zufeng. The phoenix felt her heart stop and the urge to submit. However, she was not one to give up easily. She looked up in defiance only to see the tail of Zulong barrel down full force.
SPLOOSH!
The phoenix's body was reduced to meat paste, exploding mid air into pieces of feather and gore. Zhuque looked onwards in horror, her brain stopping to comprehend what she was seeing.
The bits of gore surrounded Zulong who sneered. He was ready to finish off the rest of the avians when he noticed the presence of Zufeng. 'She's not dead,' he realised.
The pieces around him caught fire. Multi coloured fire that flashed with divine light converging upon a single spot. They lit a huge bonfire so bright that Zulong shut his eyes.
Massive beautiful tail feathers emerged from the fire. They stretched into the sky before revealing the full appearance of the ancestral phoenix. Zufeng emerged with a fully reconstructed body showcasing no injuries. However, there was one noticeable difference.
Her strength had dropped considerably. Her cultivation at the peak of Great Unity Golden Immortal had fallen. Her Dao was still present but her cosmic tree had changed considerably. Instead of a fully matured structure, it appeared to only be an adolescent tree.
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"Hmph," Zulong snorted turning to attack once more. Zufeng grimaced flying at full speed to avoid a claw strike that ripped into the void. She took this chance to dive into the void between worlds. Her abrupt departure angered the dragon.
"Come back here," he roared tunnelling his way out of the great wilderness. His tear into the fabric of reality split space apart like glass. It was as if the world was a mirror that had just had a hole blown through it.
Wild currents washed into the great wilderness. Chongming and Changfu took this chance to follow the suction force into the void to pursue their sovereign.
Lu's cow face looked complicated. He glanced back at Baihu and Xuanwu wondering what they wanted to do while contemplating his next course of action. He sighed before choosing to follow into the void.
On one hand, if Zufeng lived then he'd done his job of assisting his sovereign. Not he other, the void provided easy escape opportunities, it was endless and invisible unless he opened up portals into the great wilderness.
Zhuque sighed in relief in the moments after her sister's resurrection. Tracking the combatants remaining in the great wilderness, she quickly bolted for the dragons.
Qinglong and Yinglong were about to head into the void with Baihu and Xuanwu when the vermillion bird caught up. Yinglong immediately took a hostile stance but Qinglong flew up front.
"Qinglong, you have to help me," Zhuque cried. "Stop them from fighting. Only you can convince Zulong."
"Things have progressed too far Zhuque," Qinglong sighed regretfully. "I am sorry but as of this moment, I cannot…I...I cannot think of you as a friend." The azure dragon flinched when he saw the hurt look on Zhuque's face. Baihu and Xuanwu both grimaced, they've both put their eggs in Zulong's basket long ago but now they felt extremely conflicted.
"Qinglong please," Zhuque began. "I cannot let my sister die," she said flaring up her aura and took a deep breath.
"And I can't let any harm come to my brother," Qinglong said taking a big gulp. The vermillion bird's power washed over the four innate gods. The mars star hovered behind her meaningly bracing to charge. His posture became more defeated as time went on.
The small moment of silence felt like it stretched on for eternity for Qinglong. Yinglong was already charging in for an attack against Zhuque. 'This is all kinds of fucked up,' Qinglong screamed in his heart. He glanced quickly at Xuanwu who met his gaze in understanding.
CLANG!
Yinglong yelped in surprise when Xuanwu's shell appeared before him blocking his call strike. "Xuanwu, what is the meaning of this," he cried.
"Deescalating the situation," the black tortoise responded without hesitation. Yinglong looked back, he saw Zhuque follow Qinglong into the void along with Baihu and Xuanwu. With the support of the other two, Qinglong and Zhuque's speed gained unprecedented heights. They were out of Yinglong's reach within moments.
The formation of the four symbols formation was nearly instantaneous. The four were already experienced with working together and their natural instincts aligned perfectly. They were heavily pressed for time but luckily, Zulong and Zufeng did not travel far.
The diagram of the cosmos skipped past the three Great Unity Golden Immortals of the avians and reached the chase between Zulong and Zufeng. The phoenix was looking much worse than before. Her loss in cultivation hurt and she likely would've suffered a second death if the four symbols formation had not formed.
Faster than both fighters could react, they were sucked into the formation. This was a construct that nearly struck down a Chaos Immortal. Despite the powers of both Zulong and Zufeng, they were hurled into an endless void of stars, restrained by chains of starlight.
"What the?" "What is the meaning of this?" Both innate gods cried out once separated.
The seven constellations on the east and south descended towards them. They consolidated into the azure dragon Qinglong and the vermillion bird Zhuque. "Brother/sister," they said.
"Qinglong, let me go this instant," Zulong ordered. His voice rumbled throughout the formation shaking the azure dragon's resolve. Qinglong shared a look with Zhuque and hovered forward.
"Enough is enough brother," the azure dragon said. "It's not worth pursuing petty insults. The battle has already spiralled out of control and in a heavily populated place. Let's just leave."
"Sister, please just listen to me. You had no reason to escalate things as they've had. Let's just let all this go and repair phoenix's roost. Too many have perished already," Zhuque said.
"You do not understand sister. As long as he exists, my rule will forever be challenged. Battle was inevitable, we cannot be friends," Zufeng retaliated. "Zhuque, these are our enemies. Be a good girl and let your big sis handle this."
"Then at least for my sake," Zhuque pleaded. "I will follow all your instructions from now on. I will never disobey you again. Please, don't you see the condition you're in."
"Zulong please," Qinglong joined in as well. "Zhuque is my sister in all but blood. Just this once, let this matter go. Let's just go home and rest. There is no point in staying to fight anymore."
Zulong and Zufeng gave their respective siblings a complicated look. Sharing a look together, they both glared with hatred. Two tigers can never exist on the same mountain. Zulong and Zufeng could never live in the same world. If Zulin was here, he'd agree as well.
The ying and yang Qi of Pangu. Although they both emerged from the same source separated by distance. They hated each other instinctively. Yet in this moment, they both agreed on the same thing.
Wordlessly, Zulong and Zufeng relented. The chains around them disappeared. Zhuque breathed a sigh of relief. The formation disappeared as well now that it was no longer needed.
As both parties faced off, Lu, Chongming, and Changfu arrived beside Zufeng. The phoenix sovereign raised her hand and halted their advance. They realised immediately that the fighting was over.
As the group wordlessly reentered the great wilderness above the ruined phoenix's roost, Yinglong joined them. They shared one last look.
"You know what this means right," Zulong asked the four symbols. Three out of the four symbols all looked regretfully at Zhuque. The sovereigns, natural born rulers of the primitive world. Why did there have to be more than one? Why was heaven so unfair?
As the two parties departed, Zhuque sighed depressingly. 'Why did things have to end like this?'