# The Four Symbols' Defense (Conclusion)
"Thank goodness! You guys finally made it!" Yuan Hao's face lit up with joy when he saw Ao Xuan and Zhu Yan rushing over. He slammed his stone staff heavily into the ground, channeling earth-element spiritual energy into the soil. Three stone spikes shot up instantly, forcing Hundun back half a zhang.
"This Hundun is insanely tricky! It's jumbled up all my spiritual energy. And Gudiao's sonic attacks are so deafening—my ears are about to ring right off!"
"Fellow Daoist Zhu Yan, incinerate Hundun's mist with your Nanming Lihuo!" Ao Xuan shouted. The spiritual light of the Innate Dragon Pearl intertwined with Zhu Yan's Nanming Lihuo, forming a light ribbon that slammed into Hundun.
The beast let out a shrill scream of agony. Its black mist sizzled violently as the flames burned through it, and the fluctuations of its Law of Chaos grew faint and weak.
Zhu Yan seized the opportunity to channel her Nanming Lihuo to its absolute limit. A jet of eerie blue flame shot from her palm, piercing straight for Hundun's core—a feral core condensed from a cluster of black mist.
The fire jet tore through Hundun's misty form, incinerating its feral core completely. Hundun's mist dissipated into thin air in an instant, leaving only a wisp of faint black smoke, which was purified by Ao Xuan's Merit Golden Light.
Gudiao watched Hundun perish and was struck with terror. It turned tail and tried to flee, only to be blocked by Cang Lie and Xuan Zhen. Cang Lie's golden metal sword, wreathed in Nanming Golden Metal flames, slashed straight for Gudiao's wings. Xuan Zhen's profound water chains coiled around its claws, locking it firmly in place.
Gudiao let out a sharp shriek, attempting to break free with its sonic attacks. But Zhu Yan's Nanming Lihuo incinerated its wings, and the beast crashed heavily to the ground, completely losing the ability to resist.
By then, among the Seven Great Ferocious Beasts, four—Qiongqi, Tao Tie, Bifang, and Taowu—had been slain. Hundun and Gudiao were captured, gravely wounded. Only Jiutou Chong had escaped by the skin of its teeth.
At long last, peace returned to the Golden Metal Stone Forest battlefield. The Black Armored Stone People and Spiritual Plant clansmen began clearing the battlefield and tending to the wounded. The Four Symbols stood side by side at the center of the golden metal spiritual vein, gazing at the fading feral mist in the distance. Yet they did not dare to relax for a moment.
They all knew—the true enemy had yet to show his face.
Just then, the boundless void trembled violently.
It was no tremor caused by beastly attacks, but the overwhelming pressure of the feral aura emanating from Beast Emperor Shen Ni. At first, it was just a faint cracking sound, like the void itself splitting apart. In the blink of an eye, it swelled into a deafening roar.
Black-red feral aura surged out of the void like a tsunami, a hundred times denser than the combined auras of the Seven Great Ferocious Beasts. Wherever it passed, golden metal rock pillars crumbled to dust one after another. Even the pale crimson glow of the Spiritual Plant Sacred Fire flickered unsteadily, on the verge of being snuffed out.
"This is... Shen Ni's aura!" Ao Xuan's expression darkened sharply. The Innate Dragon Pearl in his palm trembled violently, its cyan-gold spiritual light resonating with the Four Symbols' canopy. "He's finally here!"
A colossal rift tore open in the void, and a ten-thousand-zhang-tall figure stepped out slowly—it was none other than Beast Emperor Shen Ni.
His body was forged from countless residual souls and beastly bones. One moment, it took the form of a dragon's torso; the next, fragments of phoenix wings unfurled from his back. Only his blood-red vertical pupils remained clear, reflecting the entire Golden Metal Stone Forest within them. His feral aura carried a soul-shredding ferocity.
"Four Symbols... you killed my beasts... ruined my plans..." Shen Ni's voice was hoarse and fragmented, like the wails of countless residual souls speaking at once. Every word sent ripples through the void. "Today... I shall raze the Golden Metal Stone Forest to the ground... and exterminate all of you!"
As his words faded, Shen Ni raised a hand and pressed gently in the Four Symbols' direction. The black-red feral aura condensed into a ten-thousand-zhang-tall giant claw instantly, carrying the power to destroy all things as it lunged toward them.
Wherever the giant claw passed, the spiritual light of the golden metal spiritual vein was suppressed forcefully. The blue, gold, red, and black glows of the Four Symbols' canopy flickered violently, on the verge of shattering completely.
"Four Symbols Formation—activate!" Ao Xuan shouted sharply. The spiritual light of the Innate Dragon Pearl flared to life, intertwining with Cang Lie's golden metal power, Zhu Yan's Lihuo, and Xuan Zhen's profound water to form a four-colored light shield.
The shield's surface was covered in Four Symbols runes. The moment it collided with Shen Ni's giant claw, a deafening clang echoed. The entire Golden Metal Stone Forest trembled slightly. The Four Symbols stumbled back half a step simultaneously, a trickle of blood escaping the corners of their mouths.
"That feral aura is terrifyingly strong!" Cang Lie wiped the blood from his lips, the flames on his golden metal sword dimming slightly. "Shen Ni's power is several times stronger than the combined might of the Seven Great Ferocious Beasts! His feral aura carries the Law of Devouring Residual Souls, allowing him to grow stronger continuously. If this goes on, our formation won't hold for long!"
Xuan Zhen nodded, condensing his profound water chains into a water wall in front of him. The Suppression Runes on the wall glowed with eerie blue light. "His feral aura is too evil. My profound water suppression can only hold it back temporarily, not purify it completely. Fellow Daoist Zhu Yan, your Nanming Lihuo can incinerate all evil—perhaps you can find his weakness!"
The Nanming Lihuo around Zhu Yan's body surged instantly, and a lifelike Vermilion Bird illusion flickered on her crimson feather robe. "I'll try! His body is forged from residual souls and bones. His core must be that black-red feral core. If we can incinerate it, we can deal him a fatal blow!"
With that said, Zhu Yan leaped into the air, condensing her Nanming Lihuo into an eerie blue fire lotus in her palm. The fire lotus hurtled toward Shen Ni's chest—where his feral core lay—carrying the power to burn the heavens.
But Shen Ni did not dodge or evade. He raised a hand and grabbed the fire lotus. Black-red feral aura condensed into a chain instantly, locking the fire lotus tightly. The eerie blue flames on the lotus were eroded by the feral aura rapidly, snuffing out in the blink of an eye.
"Your flames... are not strong enough." A hint of mockery flashed in Shen Ni's blood-red vertical pupils. He waved a hand gently in Zhu Yan's direction, and a jet of black-red feral aura shot straight for her chest.
Ao Xuan reacted instantly, channeling the Innate Dragon Pearl's spiritual light to pull Zhu Yan aside. The aura jet grazed the hem of her feather robe, slamming into a golden metal rock pillar and corroding it into a pile of black ash instantly.
"We can't keep fighting like this!" Yuan Hao slung his stone staff over his shoulder, condensing earth-element spiritual energy into a stone wall under his feet. "His feral aura can devour our attacks and make him stronger. We need to find a way to break through his feral aura defense!"
Ao Xuan fell into deep thought for a moment, his gaze falling on the Spiritual Plant Sacred Fire at the center of the golden metal spiritual vein. "I've got it! The Spiritual Plant Sacred Fire is the origin flame of innate spiritual plants. It can purify all evil and resonate with the origin powers of the Four Symbols. We can harness the sacred fire's power to condense our Four Symbols origin powers into the Four Symbols Demon-Annihilating Formation. That might be enough to break through his feral aura defense!"
Cang Lie, Zhu Yan, and Xuan Zhen shouted in unison. The Four Symbols flew toward the Spiritual Plant Sacred Fire simultaneously. Ao Xuan's water fortune, Cang Lie's golden metal, Zhu Yan's Lihuo, and Xuan Zhen's profound water intertwined into four streams of spiritual light, swirling above the sacred fire.
The sacred fire's pale crimson glow flared several times brighter instantly, resonating intensely with the Four Symbols' spiritual light. The spiritual energy of the entire Golden Metal Stone Forest began to converge toward the sacred fire, forming a colossal four-colored light pillar that shot straight into the sky.
Seeing this, a surge of ferocity flashed in Shen Ni's eyes. The feral aura around his body flared again, and the black-red mist condensed into a ten-thousand-zhang-tall beastly illusion. The illusion opened its bloodthirsty maw wide, lunging toward the Four Symbols' light pillar to take a bite.
This was the Shadow of Ultimate Evil, forged from his own feral aura and countless residual souls. It was stronger than the combined might of the Seven Great Ferocious Beasts, capable of devouring the origin powers of all living creatures.
"Four Symbols Demon-Annihilating Formation—unleash!" Ao Xuan's voice echoed across the universe. The Four Symbols' light pillar swelled instantly, and the blue, gold, red, and black glows intertwined into a colossal Four Symbols illusion—Azure Dragon coiling in the east, White Tiger roaring in the west, Vermilion Bird soaring in the south, Black Tortoise lurking in the north.
The Four Symbols illusion opened its maw wide, spewing a beam of unified four-colored demon-annihilating light that collided with Shen Ni's Shadow of Ultimate Evil with a deafening bang.
"Boom ——!"
The moment the two forces collided, the entire Primordial World trembled violently. Black-red feral aura and four-colored spiritual light devoured each other. The rocks of the golden metal spiritual vein crumbled to dust one after another, and the pale crimson glow of the Spiritual Plant Sacred Fire flickered unsteadily.
The Four Symbols were sent flying by the shockwave simultaneously, crashing heavily into the golden metal rock pillars. They spat out mouthfuls of blood, yet they still clung tightly to their magical treasures, refusing to give up.
Shen Ni's Shadow of Ultimate Evil was torn open by the demon-annihilating light, and the black-red mist dissipated rapidly. His body trembled slightly, and a flicker of disbelief crossed his blood-red vertical pupils—the power of the Four Symbols had actually managed to break through his Shadow of Ultimate Evil!
"I refuse to believe this!" Shen Ni roared furiously. The feral aura around his body flared again, and countless residual souls surged out of his body, lunging toward the Four Symbols. These were the souls of powerful clansmen he had slain during his conquest of the Primordial World, filled with endless resentment and ferocity, capable of devouring the souls of living creatures.