There was an utterly mysterious coincidence.
Outside the book, Chu Ge helped Black Tortoise slay the angel, while Chu Jiangliu and Azure Dragon attacked Cain from both sides. Inside the book, Vermilion Bird, White Tiger, Yan Qianlie, and the others besieged the Dao Venerable. All three battles ended at almost the same time.
The Four Symbols finished their tasks almost simultaneously.
Chu Ge's Divine Sense descended upon Doushuai Palace. He watched the Dao Venerable pass away in meditation, his body dissolving into specks of light, turning to ash and scattering into nothingness, just like the Heavenly Emperor and the Buddha Ancestor.
In fact, this manner of "death" was the most typical sign that they were not yet "real" enough.
They were merely... concepts bestowed by the author. When they could no longer continue existing within the work, they dissipated.
-from beginning to end, they had only been "the Heavenly Emperor," "the Dao Venerable," and "the Buddha Ancestor." They did not even have names.
Chu Ge turned his head. The two attendants, Jinling and Yinling, were hiding behind the Pill Furnace in terror, huddled together and trembling. He sighed. "What are you afraid of? Your master isn't dead."
The two attendants: "?"
Chu Ge pointed at the shattered Jade Ruyi on the ground. It was the only thing left behind after the Dao Venerable's death.
At his gesture, a gentle light spread over the shattered, cracked Jade Ruyi, and it slowly returned to its original state. Beside him, Vermilion Bird and White Tiger could both clearly sense that the Jade Ruyi had changed a little, as though it held a powerful life within, about to hatch and break free of its cocoon.
"What is this?" Vermilion Bird could not help asking.
"This was an innate supreme treasure brought out of Chaos