Above the East Sea Dragon Palace, Nezha's Fire-Tipped Spear pressed against Ao Guang's brow.
Only half an inch remained.
With that thrust, he would destroy the East Sea Dragon King's Dao Foundation, the foundation of his Divine Position.
Ao Guang's face was smeared with blood, his dragon scales shattered, yet a savage delight suddenly surfaced in his eyes.
The ancient dragon scale in his palm had already exploded.
Three blood-colored dragon shadows sped away along the Four Seas Water Veins.
Almost at the same instant.
In the South Sea, the sea of volcanoes.
Lava erupted ten thousand fathoms high from the seabed. An enormous crimson dragon tore through the sea of fire and soared into the clouds.
Ao Qin, the South Sea Dragon King, opened his draconic eyes, and brutal killing intent swept across ten thousand miles of ocean.
"Eldest Brother's Blood Signal?"
"Whoever dared trample the East Sea Dragon Palace, I will burn his soul dry!"
Boom!
A crimson water vein shot skyward, carrying volcanic sulfur flames as it raced toward the East Sea.
In the West Sea, the sea of frost crystals.
An enormous dragon clad in stark white bone armor slowly opened his eyes.
In an instant, frost covered ten thousand miles of sea.
Countless aquatic creatures knelt beneath the ice, even their breathing frozen.
Ao Run, the West Sea Dragon King, spoke in an icy voice.
"The four seas breathe as one."
"To strike my elder brother is to make an enemy of the entire Dragon Race."
A white wave of frost surged up, tearing through sea and sky.
In the North Sea, the Sea of the Abyss.
An enormous Profound Black dragon lay coiled beneath the abyss.
His aura was the most ancient, and his draconic body the largest.
The surrounding seawater was black as ink. Any light that fell into it was swallowed instantly.
Ao Shun, the North Sea Dragon King, lowered his head to examine the Blood Signal.
The Blood Signal was tinged with black-and-crimson Demon Flame.
There was also a trace of a Quasi-Saint's spiritual treasure.
Ao Shun fell silent for a moment, and all murkiness vanished from his eyes.
"The East Sea's Blood Signal carries the aura of Demon Flame."
"This tribulation has fallen upon the Dragon Race after all."
The next instant, he raised his draconic head, his voice carrying throughout the North Sea.
"Raise the Dragon Clan War Banner."
"Follow me to the East Sea!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Three water veins erupted at once.
Crimson water carried fire.
White water sealed in frost.
Black water devoured light.
The three primal forces of the South Sea, West Sea, and North Sea followed the pull of the Dragon Race's Blood Signal and forced their way into the East Sea.
Above the East Sea's Crystal Palace.
Nezha raised his head, the demonic fire in his eyes flickering slightly.
Above the East Sea, the southern, western, and northern skies changed color at once.
Crimson, white, and black water veins swept across the sky, crashing into the East Sea's azure water vein.
Four colors of watery light intertwined.
Ten thousand miles of ocean around the Crystal Palace shuddered instantly.
Chains of azure, crimson, white, and black rose from the depths, sealing the sky, locking down the Sea Eye, and binding the Wind-Fire Wheels beneath Nezha's feet.
Ao Guang struggled to crawl out of the rubble.
Blood still flowed from his mouth, but his smile was venomous.
"Nezha!"
"My three brothers have arrived!"
"You stirred up the East Sea back then, and today you trampled the Dragon Palace. The four seas will settle both debts with you!"
His words had barely fallen.
Three dragon cries exploded through the sea of clouds.
A crimson dragon came treading on fire.
A white dragon arrived wrapped in frost.
A black dragon descended beneath the shadow of the abyss.
Three dragons, each ten thousand fathoms long, circled above the East Sea, taking the four directions alongside the azure dragon Ao Guang.
Four pairs of draconic eyes locked onto Nezha at once.
Ao Qin was the first to lose patience.
"Demonic child!"
"You wounded my elder brother and crippled our Dragon Race's bloodline. Pay with your life!"
He opened his draconic jaws, and a blast of molten dragon breath pierced the seawater, hurtling straight toward Nezha's face.
The seawater boiled under its heat.
The Dragon Palace's damaged crystal pillars melted on the spot.
Nezha stood where he was, one corner of his mouth lifting.
"Fire?"
"You think you're worthy of playing with fire in front of me?"
The black-and-crimson Demon Flame in his palm suddenly tightened, forcibly suppressing the Qiankun Ruler's resistance.
The next instant, Nezha swung the Qiankun Ruler and smashed it straight into the molten dragon breath.
Boom!
The dragon breath shattered on impact.
A savage shock wave rolled back, making Ao Qin's draconic body sway.
His draconic pupils contracted sharply.
"The Qiankun Ruler!"
Ao Run's voice was bitterly cold.
"Eldest Brother mentioned it in his Blood Signal. This brat used some unknown demonic art to seize Daoist Randeng's spiritual treasure."
Ao Qin's fury burned hotter.
"He stole a Quasi-Saint's spiritual treasure and still dared trample our Dragon Palace!"
"He cannot be allowed to live!"
Ao Shun spoke in a deep voice.
"Stop testing him."
"He carries Randeng's Dao Fire and the aura of a Quasi-Saint's spiritual treasure. The longer this drags on, the greater the chance of complications."
"Form the formation."
"Unify the four seas!"
Hearing those words, a ruthless glint flashed through Ao Guang's eyes as well.
The Four Seas Unification Formation.
After the Dragon Race's decline, this was the trump card buried in the deepest recesses of the Four Seas Dragon Palace.
Unless the clan faced annihilation, it could never be invoked lightly.
But today, Nezha had already fought his way into the East Sea Dragon Palace.
If the Four Seas Dragon Clan could not suppress even one demonic child, the Dragon Race's last shred of dignity would be trampled to pieces.
The Four Seas Dragon Kings rose into the air together.
The azure dragon took the east.
The crimson dragon took the south.
The white dragon took the west.
The black dragon took the north.
The four enormous dragons spiraled upward, each forcing out a drop of their heart's blood.
The dragon blood fell into the four-colored vortex below.
Hum!
The entire East Sea suddenly sank.
Ten thousand miles of ocean around the Crystal Palace were sealed completely.
Spatial movement was cut off.
Divine Souls were crushed under pressure.
The Wind-Fire Wheels beneath Nezha's feet were entangled in water-vein chains, their rotation abruptly slowing.
The black-and-crimson Demon Flame on the Fire-Tipped Spear was also compressed by the four-colored water veins, shrinking relentlessly.
Ao Guang burst into wild laughter.
"The Four Seas Cage is complete!"
"Within the Four Seas Water Veins, this formation can grind a Primordial Unity Golden Immortal's body and primordial spirit to dust!"
"Nezha, let me see you act arrogant now!"
As his words fell.
Countless four-colored chains tightened at once.
Four kinds of water-element laws became four enormous millstones, grinding toward Nezha from every direction.
The East Sea's azure water suppressed the flesh.
The South Sea's crimson water burned blood and vital energy.
The white sea, west-
Water froze the Divine Soul.
The North Sea's black water devoured magical power.
The Demon Flame covering Nezha was extinguished inch by inch under the pressure.
Fine cracks spread across his self-transformed demonic body.
His bones gave off a grating sound.
Even the Demonic Mark between his brows flickered under the force of the water veins.
"Interesting."
Nezha glanced down at the cracks on his arm and grinned.
Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.
Yet his eyes shone even brighter.
Behind him, the ten-thousand-fathom Self-Transforming Demonic Shadow threw back its head and roared, trying to tear open the cage.
The next instant, four-colored chains frantically coiled around the demonic shadow and dragged it bodily back into the formation.
The demonic fire in Nezha's eyes blazed fiercely.
"Self-Transformation into Freedom!"
He tried to mirror the inner demons of the Four Seas Dragon Kings.
But the four drops of dragon heart's blood intertwined with the Four Seas Water Veins, forcibly disrupting the pull of karma.
The Demonic Qi of the Four Seas Dragon Kings' inner demons seemed to be repeatedly washed apart by the water veins, unable to coalesce into form.
Outside the formation, Ao Run spoke coldly.
"Save your strength."
"With the dragon blood of the four seas anchoring the formation and the water veins confounding karma, that demonic art of yours won't find our true spirits anytime soon!"
Ao Qin roared furiously.
"Refine him to death!"
The Four Seas Dragon Kings channeled their magical power together.
The four-colored cage abruptly contracted.
Crack!
A deep fissure split open along Nezha's left arm.
Immediately afterward, his shoulder bones, chest, and back cracked apart at once.
The Fire-Tipped Spear trembled without pause.
The Qiankun Ruler also gave off a violent hum, as though seeking to seize the chance to break free of the Demon Flame's restraint.
Seeing this, the aquatic creatures outside the formation erupted into cheers.
"Behold the Dragon Kings' divine might!"
"Refine that demonic child to death!"
"Let him guard the Sea Eye forever and repay the blood debt he owes our dragon race!"
The smile on Ao Guang's face grew increasingly vicious.
He stared at Nezha in the center of the formation, as though he could already see him ground into ash.
Nezha kept his head lowered.
More and more cracks spread across his body.
This formation really can hurt me.
He slowly exhaled a bloody breath.
His master had protected him once before a Saint's manifestation.
He, Nezha, could not disgrace his master before a few old dragons.
Li Jing's pagoda had yet to be shattered.
The Lingxiao Treasure Hall had yet to be razed.
His debt with the Western Religion had yet to be settled.
This paltry Four Seas Cage thinks it can make me bow?
Nezha suddenly laughed.
At first, it was only a low chuckle.
Then his laughter grew louder and louder.
"Ha ha ha ha!"
He snapped his head up, demonic fire soaring in his eyes.
Outside the formation, the Four Seas Dragon Kings frowned in unison.
Ao Qin shouted harshly.
"You're at death's door! What are you laughing at?"
Nezha raised a hand and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
"At how stupid you are."
"You've delivered such fine Four Seas Water Veins right to my lips."
"And you expect me to spit them out?"
The Four Seas Dragon Kings' expressions changed.
Ao Shun's heart suddenly sank.
"Stop him!"
But it was already too late.
The Wind-Fire Wheels beneath Nezha's feet erupted with a ring of black-and-red flames.
He charged straight toward the four-colored millstone, plunging into the formation's core of his own accord.
That was where the Four Seas Water Veins collided most violently.
It was also where the Four Seas Cage's killing power was strongest.
Ao Guang's pupils abruptly contracted.
"He's gone mad!"
Ao Run's voice turned shrill.
"Even our dragon bodies dare not touch that place head-on! Does he want to die?"
Nezha ignored them.
Just before he reached the formation's core, he suddenly released the Fire-Tipped Spear.
Chains of water veins coiled around the Fire-Tipped Spear, leaving it suspended behind him.
Nezha seized the Qiankun Ruler.
With his other hand, he clamped down on that wisp of Randeng's primordial spirit Dao fire.
The Qiankun Ruler shook wildly.
Randeng's Dao fire flickered violently.
But nothing remained in Nezha's eyes except madness.
"With my demonic body as the furnace."
"With the power of the Four Seas as the fire."
"Self-Transformation into Freedom."
"Refine!"
As the words fell,
he savagely drove the Qiankun Ruler and Randeng's primordial spirit Dao fire into his chest.
Boom!
The Qiankun Ruler's space Dao patterns, Randeng's primordial spirit Dao fire, the self-transforming demonic qi inside Nezha, and the crushing force of the Four Seas Water Veins exploded in his chest at once.
Demon Flame devoured Dao fire.
Water veins crushed Qiankun.
The four powers tore wildly at one another inside him.
"Aah!"
Nezha threw back his head and roared.
Half his demonic body burst apart on the spot.
Flesh exploded.
Bones cracked.
His meridians burned into black-and-red ash.
Yet the self-transforming Dao seed between his brows did not shatter.
Instead, at the heart of that destruction, it spun faster and faster.
It was devouring.
Devouring the Qiankun Ruler's Dao patterns.
Devouring Randeng's primordial spirit Dao fire.
Devouring the Four Seas Water Veins.
Devouring Nezha's own shattered demonic body.
Every power was forcibly dragged into the self-transforming Dao seed, becoming nourishment to rebuild him.
Nezha's ravaged body hung in the formation's center.
One half was wreathed in black-and-red Demon Flame.
Golden Qiankun patterns emerged on the other.
Deep within his chest, the four-colored water veins were forcibly compressed into dragon-shaped patterns and branded into his demonic body.
Outside the formation, the Four Seas Dragon Kings' expressions changed in unison.
The dragon heartblood they had dripped into the formation was now being devoured by Nezha in reverse.
Ao Guang's smile froze completely on his face.
"How is this possible?"
"The Four Seas Cage is refining him! How can he devour the formation instead?"
Ao Shun's expression changed drastically.
"Withdraw the formation!"
"Withdraw it, now!"
But the Four Seas Cage had already slipped out of control.
At the center of the cage, Nezha slowly raised his head.
Half his face was a bloody ruin, while golden Qiankun patterns crawled across the other half.
Black-and-red demonic fire and four-colored watery light burned together in his eyes.
He looked at the Four Seas Dragon Kings outside the formation and grinned.
"Now you want to withdraw it?"
"Too late."
Boom!
The self-transforming Dao seed suddenly swelled.
The entire Four Seas Cage shook violently.
From the formation's center, Nezha dragged the azure, crimson, white, and black chains into his body inch by inch.
The Four Seas Water Veins wailed.
The Dragon Palace Ruins trembled.
Countless aquatic beings dropped to their knees in terror.
Outside the formation, the Four Seas Dragon Kings all
spat dragon blood at once.
Their dragon blood origin was being devoured by Nezha along with the formation.
Ao Guang finally panicked.
"The Sea Eye!"
"Summon the ancestor!"
He roared shrilly, his voice piercing the depths of the East Sea.
The next instant,
in the deepest reaches of the East Sea Eye, those golden slit pupils that had slumbered for countless ages finally opened fully.
A voice so ancient that even the Four Seas Dragon Kings trembled reached into the formation.
"Who is it..."
"Devouring the water veins of my dragon race?"