Four Great Demon Beasts

The Azure Dragon's agonizing roar echoed through the ravines of the Wild Frontier, layer upon layer, like the wailing of countless dying souls. The sound pierced the clouds, causing the bare branches of trees a hundred miles away to rustle. Its massive body swayed in a chilling arc through the air, dark Golden Blood splattering from its shattered scales traced a poignant arc before dripping onto the dark brown rocks, instantly sending wisps of white smoke rising. The edges of the scorched pits in the rocks were marked with charred black, and the bottom still sizzled... It made a crackling sound, as if an inextinguishable flame was burning underground, and even the surrounding air carried a pungent, acrid smell. It stared at the pair of wings of light behind Ren Xiaoyao that flowed with Rhythm of Life and Death. For the first time, the ferocious ferocity in its Black Hole- like eyes faded, replaced by a hint of fear on the verge of collapse. Its Gray Mist -like pupils even clearly reflected its own disheveled appearance with its scales peeling off—those once proud golden-blue dragon scales were now falling off like broken tiles.

"I... I give up."

The Azure Dragon's voice was like a bronze bell polished with sandpaper, hoarse and dying, each word laced with a heavy, bloody stench. Its breath, Gray Mist, was mixed with tiny scales. Its fleshy wings drooped limply, the edges of the membrane cracking like a spiderweb, sunlight filtering through and casting dappled shadows on the ground. The runes on its horns were as dim as candles flickering in the wind, even the flowing golden light almost invisible, as if they would be extinguished at any moment. Its massive body began to slowly sink, the golden-blue scales losing their luster at a visible pace. It revealed the dark blue-green snake scales beneath, the scales still bearing the marks of thorns, oozing a grayish-black viscous fluid. The fluid dripped into the air, turning into wisps of blue smoke. As it fell, the obscured sunlight poured down again, like a golden waterfall showering over Ren Xiaoyao, making his blue-gold robes appear like flowing rosy light. The Life and Death Patterns embroidered on his fabric swirled in the sunlight, as if countless tiny worlds were born and destroyed within them—the splendor of blooming flowers, the serene beauty of falling leaves, the birth of stars, and the dissipation of dust.

Ren Xiaoyao frowned slightly. The Chaos Pearl in his palm was still slightly warm. The aftershocks of the Laws of Life and Death rippled through the air. Wherever the ripples passed, withered grass sprouted a hint of green, and even tiny roots emerged from the cracks in the rocks. He could clearly feel the source within the Azure Dragon's body dissipating, like a fire about to go out. But within that dissipating aura, there was a deliberately suppressed stagnation—like firewood that had burned to its end, which should have turned to ashes, yet a single Mars smoldered at the bottom of the embers, waiting only for a gust of wind to reignite it into a raging wildfire.

"Get lost." Ren Xiaoyao retracted his Emerald Green Staff, the vine patterns on it gradually dimming, the once lifelike leaves seeming to fall asleep. The wings of light behind him slowly retracted, transforming into specks of golden light that merged into his body. With each ray of golden light that fell, clumps of tender grass sprouted from the ground beneath his feet. "If you dare to recklessly disturb your source again, next time it won't be as simple as your physical form disintegrating."

The Azure Dragon seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, its massive body plummeting downwards, crashing onto the wasteland a hundred miles away. The billowing dust it kicked up formed a gray curtain that obscured half the sky. From within the dust came the cracking sound of bones breaking, mingled with its weak panting. The sound grew fainter and fainter, as if it were using its last bit of strength to escape into the darkness deeper into the Wild Frontier. The three hills it entangled also trembled, their surface rocks peeling away to reveal reddish-brown layers beneath. Metal veins interspersed within these layers gleamed dimly in the sunlight, like wounds bleeding profusely, with faint traces of energy flowing within them.

Ren Xiaoyao stood silently in mid-air, his gaze sweeping over the ravaged battlefield below. The Corroded Land by the Azure Snake's slime, was regaining its green hue under the nourishment of the Laws of Life and Death. Tender yellow buds sprouted from the withered roots of the grass and trees, glistening with dewdrops that reflected the shimmering sky. Even the stench of decay in the air had been largely dispelled by the crisp wind, replaced by the fresh scent of rain-soaked earth. Taking a deep breath, he could almost taste the sweet fragrance of growing vegetation. He raised his hand to brush the dust from his clothes, but his fingertips, just touching the fabric, suddenly stopped—

The dissipating aura suddenly stopped in the direction where the Azure Dragon had just fallen.

It was as if a rushing river had been frozen in an instant, even the sound of its flow had come to an abrupt halt, the energy flow in the air had solidified at that moment, even the wind had stopped, and the leaves were suspended in mid-air, without even a single leaf trembling.

"Not good!"

A warning bell rang in Ren Xiaoyao's mind. The moment he turned around, he saw the cloud of dust that had blotted out the sky suddenly explode, like stagnant water tossed with a boulder. A dark blue afterimage tore through the void, its speed more than three times faster than before! The Azure Dragon had actually reversed its collapsing origin at the moment of its fall. Grayish-black primal venom condensed on its claws, within which countless twisted remnant souls writhed—these remnant souls included men and women, old and young, tribal ancestors dressed in animal skins, and cultivators in Daoist robes, all wailing silently, their faces frozen in extreme pain. Wherever it passed, space was corroded, forming a string of black bubbles. The aura released when the bubbles burst could turn even metal and stone into dust, and even hard granite melted at a visible speed in this aura.

"Die!"

The Azure Dragon's roar was no longer weak, but filled with a venomous venom, as if it were unleashing ten thousand years of hatred. It sacrificed three-tenths of its own essence to unleash the forbidden Wild Frontier technique, "Reverse Fate Devour," temporarily reversing the suppression of the Laws of Life and Death. The scales on its claws turned outwards due to this power, revealing the mangled flesh beneath, from which grayish- Black Blood continued to seep. All for this unexpected attack, the shrill screams of the dragon's Sky-Rending Strike were mixed with the wails of countless devoured creatures, as if to transform all the pain into sharp blades to pierce Ren Xiaoyao's soul.

The space beneath Ren Xiaoyao's feet suddenly distorted, his figure drifting backward like a willow catkin in the wind. His robes billowed, raising wisps of azure-gold dust that transformed into translucent little flowers upon landing. Simultaneously, his staff was held horizontally before him, Chaos Pearl erupted with a dazzling light shield. The Life and Death Patterns flowing across the shield resembled two intertwined dragons, constantly devouring the surrounding energy. Where the dragon patterns swept past, even light itself was bent. But this attack from the Azure Dragon was imbued with all its resentment and venom. The moment its claws collided with the light shield, they forcefully tore open a rift. Grayish-black venom splattered from the crack, landing on Ren Xiaoyao's left arm, instantly corroding a Black Hole. As the fabric turned to dust, the venom touched his skin.

"Laugh--"

Where the skin touched the venom, a needle-like stinging pain shot through him, spreading along his blood vessels as if to drill into his bone marrow. Even his bones groaned under this force. Ren Xiaoyao looked down and saw that the flesh at the point of contact was turning ashen at a visible speed, like withered grass struck by frost. It was as if countless tiny insects were gnawing at his flesh, and even the Laws of Life and Death seemed to freeze for a moment. The azure-gold vitality at the point of contact showed signs of retreating, as if it had encountered a natural enemy.

At that moment, strange lights simultaneously lit up the sky in the four directions of east, west, south, and north. Four distinct auras, like four sharp swords, pierced the tranquility of the Wild Frontier.

The clouds in the east were dyed a magnificent purple, a purple that ranged from light to dark, like an overturned palette, with delicate lilac purple, deep eggplant purple, and lustrous sapphire purple. A Violet Phoenix with wingspans of a thousand miles emerged from the clouds, its tail feathers like a rainbow hanging from the sky, each feather burning with pale purple flames. In the flames, one could clearly see the phantom of the Phoenix Nirvana —rising from ashes, carrying the scorching heat that could burn everything, even distorting the air. Its cry was clear and melodious, like jade striking jade, yet it contained the power to scorch mountains and boil seas. Where it flew, the rocks on the ground began to glow red, as if they would melt into magma at any moment, and even the hard iron ore turned red under this heat.

A colossal wave surged across the western wasteland. This wave was no ordinary seawater, but rather formed from condensed, extremely cold energy, gleaming with a ghostly blue light. Huge ice blocks were embedded within the waves, containing the frozen remains of ancient behemoths. A blue shadow rose from the waves—a gigantic serpent covered entirely in ice-blue scales. As its body coiled, the surrounding air condensed into tiny Ice Crystals, which shattered into sparkling ice particles upon Ice Crystals, producing a crisp cracking sound when stepped on. This was Blue Profound, whose breath could freeze rivers. Now, it opened its massive maw, unleashing an ice pillar imbued with the Extreme Cold Law towards Ren Xiaoyao. The pillar was covered in countless sharp ice shards, their tips gleaming with a ghostly blue light, as if capable of freezing time itself; even light refracted its surface, leaving a chilling trail.

A deafening tiger's roar echoed through the northern mountains, shaking the leaves and carpeting the ground with a thick layer of green. A White Tiger, as massive as a small mountain, rode in on Thunder Clouds. Its fur was as white as frost, covered with black stripes that shimmered with the light of lightning. With each step, purple electric snakes crackled beneath its feet. With each stomp of its paw, purple lightning bolts struck down from the clouds, blasting deep, scorched craters into the ground. The residual power of the lightning lingered in the craters, giving the air a numbing sensation, and one could feel the fur standing on end as they approached.

"The Four Fiends of the Border Wasteland have actually gathered." Ren Xiaoyao's ashen left arm had been suppressed by the azure-gold vitality, but his expression remained somewhat solemn. He could feel the four forces intertwined, forming an invisible net that enveloped the entire Wild Frontier, with malevolent energy flowing through its threads. He hadn't expected the Azure Dragon to have such a scheme, not only feigning retreat but also contacting the other three fiends in advance, clearly intending to use today's momentum to completely overturn his position as the Lord of Ten Thousand Wastelands.

Violet Phoenix's flames arrived first, landing on the light shield with a sizzling sound. The Life and Death Patterns on the shield's surface were scorched and distorted, the cyan-gold vitality and gray-gold Annihilation becoming disordered, as if two fighting dragons had suddenly lost their order and began to collide haphazardly. Immediately afterward, Blue Profound's ice pillar struck the other side of the light shield, the Extreme Cold Law instantly freezing the edges of the shield. Ice patterns spread like a spider web, dimming the shield's luster and slowing even the flow of its energy, like a frozen river.

The White Tiger pounced on the Thunder Clouds, its claws striking the center of the light shield with the Thunder Force. With a deafening roar, as if a corner of the sky had collapsed, the light shield was instantly covered with cracks. The cyan-gold light seeping from the cracks grew weaker and weaker, like a candle flickering in the wind. The Azure Dragon seized the opportunity to spiral upwards, its claws once again gathering venom. Its Black Hole- like eyes were fixed on the cracks in the light shield, waiting for the moment it shattered completely before tearing Ren Xiaoyao apart, its eyes flashing with bloodlust.

"The four of you aren't enough."

Ren Xiaoyao suddenly let out a low shout, his voice booming like a great bell, echoing Wild Frontier land, even causing the rock strata beneath the ground to tremble slightly. The Laws of Life and Death within his body suddenly accelerated, the ashen color on his left arm completely fading away, replaced by a more intense cyan-gold light. Within this light, one could even see the cycle of tiny plants growing, withering, and regenerating—from tender shoots breaking through the soil to towering ancient trees, and then to decaying into mud, all in the blink of an eye. He plunged his staff into the void, and from the Chaos Pearl at the top of the staff, countless cyan-gold threads suddenly surged forth, weaving in the air into a vast net covering thousands of miles. At the mesh of the net, runes of life and death in the Wild Frontier flickered. As the runes flowed, one could almost see the rise and fall of the Wild Frontier billions of years: from barrenness to vibrant life, from numerous tribes to the rise and fall of civilizations, every scene so clear as if it were happening right before his eyes.

As the net fell, the Violet Phoenix's flames were filtered through the mesh, leaving only a harmless halo. This halo landed on the ground, causing withered grass to sprout new shoots, each topped with tiny dewdrops. The Blue Profound's ice pillars collided with the net, instantly transforming into a sky full of icy mist. As the mist landed, it turned into dew that nourished the vegetation. Wherever the dew touched, the parched earth became moist, and traces of earthworms moving in the soil could be seen. The White Tiger's lightning was entangled in the net's threads and eventually dissipated into the air, leaving only a faint ozone scent that smelled somewhat refreshing, like the scent after a thunderstorm.

"Attack together!" Seeing that its sneak attack had failed, the Azure Dragon roared and charged forward, its dragon claws tearing open a Space Cracks. Within the rift, one could see the Void of darkness and the occasional flash of Star Fragments, as it attempted to circle behind the net. The Violet Phoenix flapped its wings, and countless burning feathers shot towards the net like arrows. Each feather carried an aura of destruction, and the air in the path of the feathers was scorched black, still retaining the shape of the feathers. The Blue Profound burrowed underground and reappeared at Ren Xiaoyao's feet, its giant tail lashing out at his ankle with icicles. Wherever the icicles passed, the ground froze into a thick layer of ice, within which one could see frozen insects. The White Tiger condensed Thunder Clouds, and a bolt of lightning as thick as a bucket struck the crack in the net. The lightning was mixed with countless tiny electric snakes, making a "crackling" sound. When the electric snakes hit the ground, they created small craters.

Ren Xiaoyao's figure swirled in the center of the net like an elegant dancer. With his left hand, he channeled the Life Force Law, causing the vegetation scorched by the Purple Phoenix Fire to sprout anew. The sprouts grew at a visible speed, entwining the burning feathers and extinguishing the flames. The extinguished feathers turned into black ash, which fell to the ground and sprouted into small mushrooms, their caps bearing patterns of flames. With his right hand, he transformed into a stream of Annihilation energy, freezing the giant tail that Blue Profound had lashed out at him. Cracks instantly appeared on the icy blue scales, from which pale blue blood seeped. The blood froze into hard ice stones upon hitting the ground, and Blue Profound's pained expression could be seen on the ice stones, with even the patterns of the scales clearly visible. At the same time, he lightly tapped his staff, and the Chaos Pearl shot out a beam of cyan-gold light that collided with the White Tiger's lightning in mid-air. The energy that erupted caused the heavens and earth to tremble, and even the distant mountain peaks swayed slightly, their snowfall falling to form white waterfalls.

Under the combined attack of the Four Fierce Beasts, the net of light trembled continuously, cracking more and more, like a mirror on the verge of shattering, yet it never completely broke. The runes at the mesh of the net shimmered even brighter, as if stubbornly resisting. With each shimmer, new runes were generated, filling the damaged areas. Ren Xiaoyao's figure weaved through the net, seemingly in perilous situations, yet he always managed to deflect the attacks at the last second. The Laws of Life and Death flowed ceaselessly, sometimes transforming into tenacious vines that entwined the Four Fierce Beasts, with small flowers blooming on them. When the flowers withered, they turned into sharp thorns; sometimes they transformed into sharp blades of energy that cut through their defenses. The blades of energy carried a faint golden light, as if they could sever everything, even causing space to slightly dent beneath them.

Several tail feathers of the Violet Phoenix were sliced off by the air blades, but the flames that ignited upon landing were extinguished by the vines. Where the flames died down, a patch of small purple flowers grew, the same color as the Violet Phoenix's feathers, with a faint warmth emanating from the petals. The Blue Profound's ice scales were cracked by the vines, oozing pale blue blood. The blood froze into hard ice stones upon landing, and on the ice stones, one could see the Blue Profound's pained expression, as if its suffering had been frozen within them. The White Tiger's fur was slashed by the air blades, flowing out golden blood, which contained sparks of lightning. When the sparks fell to the ground, small grasses crackled with electricity, and when the grass blades swayed, they made a faint "crackling" sound. The Azure Dragon's claws were once again blocked by the light shield. The venom evaporated into white smoke at the point of contact, but it could not advance any further. The scales on the dragon's claws were corroded and pitted, revealing the mangled flesh beneath.

The two sides clashed fiercely in the sky Wild Frontier, their battle plunging the heavens and earth into darkness. Sunlight was torn to shreds by the constantly colliding energy, the sky sometimes dyed purple, as if covered with violets; sometimes frozen blue, like a giant sapphire; sometimes struck black by lightning, as if splashed with thick ink; sometimes suppressed by the Dragon Might, turning it gray, like a gray cloth covering a spilled palette. Below, the mountains and rivers constantly crumbled and regenerated in the aftershocks of the energy, the vegetation withered and sprouted again, perfectly illustrating the endless Principle of life and death in the Wild Frontier —with each crumbling, new rock layers were exposed; with each withering, new seeds were sown; with each destruction, new life was born.

Ren Xiaoyao's breathing gradually became erratic, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. When the sweat fell to the ground, it turned into shimmering points of light. These points of light merged into the earth, causing Green Moss to grow on the cracked soil. Where the Green Moss spread, tiny snails could be seen crawling. The Four Fierce Beasts were also greatly exhausted. The Violet Phoenix's flames were no longer blazing, the purple on its feathers had dimmed, and its tail feathers had become sparse. It flew with a hint of fatigue. The Blue Profound's ice shards showed signs of melting, and there were even traces of water on its icy blue scales. Its serpentine movements also slowed down. The White Tiger's lightning became increasingly sparse, and the stripes on its body lost their luster. Its breathing became heavy, and each breath carried white mist. The Azure Dragon's scales had broken off in many more places, revealing its bloody and mangled body underneath. Its flight speed had also slowed down, and the venom on its claws had become thinner.

But neither of them backed down.

Ren Xiaoyao stared at the Four Fierce Beasts before him, the Cyan-Gold Flame in his eyes burning even more intensely, as if they wanted to ignite the entire Wild Frontier: "The Principle of the Wild Frontier will not tolerate your insolence."

The Azure Dragon roared and pounced again, its claws condensing even more venom, the grayish-black liquid even dripping down, corroding small Black Hole in the air. "Today I will make you perish here!"

Violet Phoenix, Blue Profound, and White Tiger simultaneously launched their strongest attacks. Violet Phoenix's flames condensed into a massive fireball, within which countless phantoms of Phoenix could be seen dancing; Blue Profound's ice pillars grew even thicker, frozen within them by howling winds; White Tiger's lightning was mixed with black thunderbolts, a power capable of Destruction Laws; and the Azure Dragon Dragon's claws were imbued with gray-black Origin Power, within which the wails of creatures from the Wild Frontier could be heard. These four distinct powers converged in the air, forming a multicolored Energy Torrent, within which countless phantoms of creatures could be seen wailing as it crashed fiercely towards Ren Xiaoyao. Wherever it passed, space was distorted into a vortex, even light was sucked into it.

Ren Xiaoyao took a deep breath, pushing the Laws of Life and Death to its limit. The azure-gold and gray-gold light within his body intertwined, forming a small Tai Chi Symbol. As the Tai Chi Symbol rotated, the Life-Death Alternation could be seen. The Chaos Pearl erupted with unprecedented light, like a rising sun, illuminating the entire Wild Frontier. Even the deepest valleys were filled with this light, which collided violently with the Energy Torrent in mid-air.

In that instant, it seemed as if countless worlds were being born and destroyed. The Energy Torrent collided with the light of the Chaos Pearl, but instead of a deafening roar, there was an extreme silence—all sounds were swallowed up by that light. The blazing intensity of the Purple Phoenix Fire, the chilling cold of the Blue Profound Ice Pillar, the ferocity of the White Tiger Thunder, and the corrosiveness of the Azure Dragon Venom, along with Ren Xiaoyao's Laws of Life and Death, clashed violently within the orb of light, like countless giant dragons locked in a struggle.

The edge of the sphere of light expanded continuously, causing ripples in the space wherever it passed. Birds that had been hovering in the air transformed into specks of light and merged into the sphere; solidified waves were pierced by the light and turned into fine raindrops, each drop containing a miniature rainbow; even the leaves that remained in their falling posture decomposed and recombined in the light, becoming light discs with vein patterns that slowly rotated in the air.