Donghua's thoughts stirred. The Stream of Time, which had been gently circling him and reflecting the clouds of the past, suddenly churned.
Its clear waters surged into towering waves, transforming into an invisible barrier of time that stretched across his path.
The deadly killing intent, potent enough to pierce metal and stone, plunged into the stream like a stone sinking into the sea. Its fierce momentum was infinitely slowed, broken apart, and finally dissolved in the flowing river of time.
At the same moment, Donghua swept out his sleeve and summoned the Primordial Sky Measuring Ruler!
Primordial Dao Charm from the dawn of creation flowed along its length. It transformed into a streak of purple-gold divine light, carrying the weight of an entire world as it slammed toward the source of the killing intent.
"Boom!"
The strike wasn't brute force, but the crushing weight of laws.
Layers of dense, ink-black Chaos baleful energy tore apart like silk, rolling away to either side.
Where the ruler's edge passed, space let out a groan under the strain, and fine cracks appeared in its wake.
The thunderous crash echoed through the shattered void. Before it could fade, an even more savage roar drowned it out.
"Roar!"
The roar shook heaven and earth, and its vicious might threatened to tear apart the Divine Soul.
The sound waves spread like solid matter, sending rings of distorted ripples through the trembling void around them.
Under the force of the Primordial Sky Measuring Ruler's strike, the baleful energy within a hundred yards was swept away, revealing the scene clearly.
At the center of the dissipating miasma, a colossal creature was forced into view, its hideous true form laid bare.
It resembled a giant tiger, its body covered in black bristles like steel needles. A pair of sinister leathery wings grew from its back, and its four claws dug deep into the earth, brimming with the terrifying power to tear anything apart.
Most unnerving were its golden, slit-pupil eyes, burning with brutality and malice as they fixed on Donghua.
"A fierce beast!"
At a glance, Donghua recognized the creature before him, its baleful aura soaring into the sky.
"I never thought that after all these countless epochs, you Primordial Wilderness insects would still remember us!" Qiongqi lowered its hideous head, its voice low and hoarse, tinged with the playful mockery of a cat toying with a mouse.
It didn't rush to attack. Its huge, blood-red eyes gleamed with amusement, as if it were savoring the fear soon to appear on Donghua's face.
Yet Donghua remained expressionless. His composure turned Qiongqi's amusement into a trace of displeasure at being slighted.
Qiongqi immediately let out a low growl, its roar sweeping out with a surge of baleful energy.
"That's right. I am Qiongqi, one of the Four Fiends of the Fierce Beast Dynasty!"
Hearing the beast's words, Donghua chuckled. "You're not afraid of making a fool of yourself. You think you deserve to be called one of the Four Fierce Beasts?"
The first generation of the Four Fierce Beasts had been four beast kings second only to Beast Emperor Shen Ni. Every beast king possessed strength comparable to a mighty Hunyuan Golden Immortal.
But this beast before him was, at most, a Great Luo Golden Immortal. How could it deserve the name of one of the Four Fiends? It was probably a descendant of the Four Fierce Beasts.
"Impudent!" Qiongqi's expression twisted at Donghua's words, and its roar shook the air.
"I am Qiongqi, and you dare insult me, insect!"
Enraged, Qiongqi thrust out a claw and swiped at Donghua.
Donghua raised a hand and swung the Primordial Sky Measuring Ruler, its light flaring as it collided with the beast's claws.
Metal clanged against metal. The void trembled, and a violent shockwave swept in every direction.
"The Beast Tribulation ended long ago. Heaven and earth have cast you out; you should be hiding like rats in the street, showing neither head nor tail. How dare you spout such nonsense here?"
"Since you refuse to accept Heaven's will, then perish."
Before Donghua had finished speaking, the Primordial Sky Measuring Ruler shot from his hand.
Mysterious Yellow Dao Charm coursed along its length. Ignoring layer upon layer of spatial barriers, it suddenly smashed toward Qiongqi!
Qiongqi reacted and hurriedly drove its right claw forward, summoning a sea of baleful energy to meet the strike.
"Boom!"
Mysterious Yellow divine light collided violently with black baleful energy, and space shuddered.
The next instant, a shrill cry of pain rang out. Qiongqi's supposedly indestructible claw was smashed clean off, while the ruler's edge continued onward, tearing a wound deep enough to expose bone across its chest and abdomen!
Its massive body was blasted away like a falling star, crashing into the ground and kicking up clouds of dust and shattered stone. It carved a deep trench through a mountain range shrouded in baleful energy.
"Roar!"
Before the dust had settled, Qiongqi let out a terrified bellow. Without the slightest hesitation, it turned into a streak of blood-red light and fled desperately into the depths of the baleful energy!
That last strike had made it realize that standing and fighting meant certain death.
"Don't let it get away!"
Donghua and Taizhen weren't about to let it escape. They turned into streaks of light and gave chase, beginning a fierce pursuit across the baleful landscape.
Qiongqi had lost its nerve and only wanted to get away. Taking advantage of its familiarity with the terrain, it darted frantically between jagged rocks and whirlpools of baleful energy.
But Donghua and Taizhen had already locked onto it. The Primordial Sky Measuring Ruler's might blazed, while Taizhen held the Kunlun Mirror aloft and supported him with a steady stream of attacks.
"Shhk!"
The Mysterious Light of the Primordial Sky Measuring Ruler flashed past, opening another wound across Qiongqi's back. Scales and flesh peeled apart.
"Boom!"
Pure Yin Immortal Light struck from behind, hitting its previously injured right limb with perfect accuracy and tearing it completely apart.
Qiongqi howled in agony. Its aura visibly weakened, and its fleeing form grew increasingly unsteady.
There wasn't an uninjured spot on its body. Its wounds ran deep enough to expose bone, and nearly all its dark golden blood had drained away. Every step left a trail of ghastly, bloody marks in the air.
It fled in a frenzy, driven only by its savage instincts and desperate will to survive.
Taizhen used the Kunlun Mirror to pin Qiongqi in place, and Donghua immediately activated the Primordial Sky Measuring Ruler.
The ruler swelled as it caught the wind, transforming into a Mysterious Yellow Giant Ruler that spanned heaven and earth. Carrying an unrivaled power to judge all things and measure the universe, it came crashing down!
"Bang!!"
This time, Qiongqi could no longer resist. The ruler slammed squarely into its back.
It let out a cry of utter despair. Its enormous body fell from the sky like a broken kite, crashing hard into an apparently ordinary valley below.
But the instant its body touched the ground—
"Vwoom!!!"
The entire valley shuddered. Countless intricate patterns, interwoven with Innate Dao Charm, blazed into life!
Without hesitation, Donghua and Taizhen transformed into two streaks of light and plunged into the formation!
As they crossed the barrier, dense Innate Spiritual Qi washed over them.
Towering ancient trees blotted out the sky, and spiritual springs burbled through the land. The scene stood in stark contrast to the churning baleful energy beyond the barrier, like a Lapis Lazuli Pure Lotus blooming in the depths of hell.
Taizhen surveyed this pure land, unable to hide her astonishment. "How could such a Grotto-Heaven be hidden deep within the baleful energy?"
Before she had finished speaking, the skies above the great formation shifted! Dense, innate pure energy surged together, forming purple thunderclouds that covered the heavens.
"Boom!"
A Purple Mansion Divine Thunder as thick as a barrel tore through the sky, carrying the power of destruction and purification as it struck Qiongqi, which was struggling to rise.
Lightning burst, completely engulfing its massive body.
At the sight, Donghua's gaze sharpened, and the Primordial Sky Measuring Ruler shot from his hand.
Mysterious Yellow Dao Charm flowed along its length as it swelled in the wind, carrying unrivaled might as it came crashing down on Qiongqi, still staggering from the lightning strike!
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