The Four-Sided Heavenly Well was extremely similar to the Southern Dipper Well in Zhenwu's palace. Both resonated with the stars above, and both shifted the stars to replace the old with the new. Yan Qianlie appeared to be sitting in the well, but in the eyes of Room Fire Pig and the others, he had already vanished.
He arrived at the Southern Celestial Pole.
What he saw was also the old version of the Vermilion Bird under siege.
But unlike the Black Tortoise, the Vermilion Bird was the last target of their assault. By then, the Azure Dragon, Black Tortoise, and White Tiger had all been dealt with, and the trio of the Heavenly Emperor, Buddha Ancestor, and Dao Venerable had begun making preparations for who would rule in the future.
They were no longer so united. Each had their own schemes.
Yan Qianlie was surprised to discover that the Buddha Ancestor had secretly saved a wisp of the Vermilion Bird's True Spirit, without either the Heavenly Emperor or the Dao Venerable noticing.
The Vermilion Bird's body was blasted to pieces. Since it likewise constituted a crucial quarter of the world's construction, no power within this world's rules could erase it. They resorted to the same old method and banished it to the Mortal World.
The result was easy to imagine.
The Azure Dragon had crossed over with its body intact, yet the spatial turbulence had stripped away all its flesh and blood. Even its incredibly hard bones had scattered in fragments, with a Toe Bone flung all the way to the Sea of Japan.
The Black Tortoise Bones were tougher than the Azure Dragon's and had suffered no mishaps, but their flesh and blood were gone too. Only the bones remained.
Physical toughness had never been the Vermilion Bird's