After Dannington left, the armies of the Eight Great Clans withdrew and soon arrived at a plain ten thousand miles away.
Inside the temporary great hall stood a round table. Eight figures sat side by side, all silent. Not one of them spoke first.
"Everyone, I assume none of you are planning to leave?"
After a long while, Bolin was the first to speak. His voice carried a hint of weariness, but it could not hide his boundless anger.
"Exactly. It's only a hundred trillion years. We can wait!"
Shengnaer immediately chimed in. The flame patterns on his forehead seemed ready to burst into fire at any moment.
The Eight Great Clans and the Four Divine Beasts Clan had been locked in a feud to the death for countless years. And a hundred trillion years was not a particularly long time to powerful figures who had been famous for countless years. Naturally, no one would withdraw.
"Actually, we don't necessarily have to spend the whole time waiting."
After a moment of silence, Reinasi suddenly spoke.
"Oh? What do you mean?"
At Reinasi's words, Wenna raised an eyebrow slightly, as if he had guessed what Reinasi was getting at.
"Although we can't enter the Skyrite Mountains, no one said the Four Divine Beasts Clan can't come out. Those reptiles have always acted like they're above everyone else. We can arrange for people to taunt them from outside. I don't believe they won't come out."
Reinasi smacked the table, making his gray sleeve ripple.
"You're right. We can't let them have an easy time during these hundred trillion years."
Barbary rose to his feet, the jade-green armor on his body beginning to rumble.
The next day, after Gaislesen and the others had summoned all the elders for a clan meeting, a tremendous peal of thunder suddenly rang out from beyond the Skyrite Mountains.
"What's going on?"
Gaislesen's expression changed. He quickly stood and clenched his fists.
"Big Brother, could they be disobeying the Sovereign's command?"
Gus's expression shifted. Then he looked at Gaislesen with concern.
"Let's go see!"
Gaislesen fell silent for a moment, then rushed to the front. He soon reached the edge of the Skyrite Mountains.
"They actually..."
At the sight beyond the mountains, Gaislesen felt a roar of fury burning in his chest. He wanted nothing more than to charge out at once.
Beyond the Skyrite Mountains, the Eight Great Clans had somehow found a special divine artifact and used it to create a massive wall. On it, the words [Four Worms Clan, Cowardly as Mice] were clearly written.
"Hahaha! Don't you claim to be the Four Divine Beasts Clan? What's the matter, hiding in a ditch because you're too afraid to come out? You're more like the Four Worms Clan!"
People were spread out across the area, their mocking voices ringing out one after another and carrying clearly into the Skyrite Mountains.
"Kill! Kill those bastards!"
In an instant, some members of the Four Divine Beasts Clan charged out. The two sides clashed, and countless bodies fell in the blink of an eye.
Seeing this, Gaislesen abruptly came to his senses and shouted:
"Everyone, come back! I order you, as the chief of the Azure Dragon Clan, not to go out!"
As Gaislesen's voice rang out, the people who had been charging forward without regard for anything came to a halt. The chief of the Azure Dragon Clan held too much authority in their eyes. They did not dare disobey him.
Even so, some people acted as if they hadn't heard Gaislesen at all and charged straight out. In their eyes, the clan's honor came first. They were willing to die to defend it, and not even the chief could stop them.
"All elders, spread out and stop the clansmen!"
Gaislesen issued the order with a dark expression, then rose into the air and shouted:
"Eight Great Clans, get out here!"
"Whoosh!"
The next second, a gray figure shot into the sky and faced Gaislesen from a distance.
"What is it, Gaislesen? Are you planning to come out and fight me?"
Reinasi's gray robes fluttered in the wind, and his face was full of mockery.
"You're despicable!"
Gaislesen gritted his teeth and stared at Reinasi, who was just within reach. In the end, he still did not go out.
"Despicable? So what if we are, when it comes to dealing with you? Starting today, we'll taunt you every day. We'll also set up an arena outside and welcome anyone from your clan who wants to come out and fight. Do you think you can stop them?"
Reinasi scoffed. He paid no mind to Gaislesen's insult and continued speaking as if to himself.
"You!"
Gaislesen's expression changed slightly. He clenched his fists, but in the end, could only let them fall helplessly.
From that day on, people from the Eight Great Clans taunted them every day without stopping. Even when the Four Divine Beasts Clan set up a magic array to block the sound, their enemies could still express themselves through writing.
Gaislesen and the others had no choice but to issue strict orders and instruct the elders to do their best to calm the clansmen.
However, the Eight Great Clans set up a dueling arena and made it clear that whenever someone from the Four Divine Beasts Clan came out, they would send someone of the same level to fight them one-on-one. They absolutely would not gang up on them.
Soon, some clansmen couldn't take it anymore and went out to fight. The Eight Great Clans kept their word: mid-level gods fought mid-level gods, high-level gods fought high-level gods, and Six-Star Fiends and Seven-Star Fiends fought each other. Before long, several Four Divine Beasts Clan elders who had lost patience went out as well.
Gaislesen and the others knew this couldn't go on, so after discussing it, they decided the clan would regularly select people to fight the Eight Great Clans, turning it into a long war of attrition.
From that day on, the great clans and the Four Divine Beasts Clan began a drawn-out struggle centered around the Skyrite Mountains. Both sides kept sending in more people, creating a unique battlefield on the Bloodridge Continent.
The storm caused by the fall of the Four Divine Beasts Sovereign gradually died down as well.
Time flew by. Soon, another Plane War began in the divine planes. The sides traded victories, and ninety trillion years passed in the blink of an eye. Thanks to Palhouse's efforts, the Water Elemental Plane secured eight consecutive victories.
The Water Elemental Plane had not been strong enough to achieve such a record originally. But Bayer and Ninisha, both Paragons, recruited subordinates of Prefects from other divine planes. On top of that, Hope invested the resources he had accumulated. As a result, the Water Elemental Plane won battle after battle.
The other divine planes were somewhat surprised, but each had its own thoughts. For now, none of them planned to join forces.
The Qingya Plane, Divine Beast Island.
Divine Beast Island was no longer an island. In a sense, it could even be called a new continent, nearly as large as the Qingya Continent.
Humans, magical beasts, and countless other life-forms lived on the continent. Some of them were even gods. However, the continent had four forbidden zones that no one could enter.
It was said that the four forbidden zones had formed countless years ago. Each radiated one of the elements of Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire, and cultivation proceeded much faster there than in the outside world.
However, no living being could enter the center of a forbidden zone. Otherwise, a strange energy would absorb them and devour them as nourishment.
On this day, the entire Divine Beast Continent began to shake violently. A terrifying aura emerged from within the four forbidden zones, and four enormous pillars of light pierced the sky.
The shock waves from the terrifying energy nearly reduced the surrounding cities to ruins. Countless magical beasts felt the bloodline suppression deep in their souls and trembled as they fell to their knees.
"They've finally emerged?"
High above, Hope slowly opened his eyes and looked at the four figures bursting through the sky.
Within a blue streak of light, the Dragon Roar of an Azure Dragon resounded. From within the white streak came the deafening Tiger Howl of a White Tiger. Crimson flames flickered around the golden wings of a Vermilion Bird. On the earth, a brown Black Tortoise stood firm as a mountain.
The New Four Divine Beasts had been born!