Battle of Ancients II

The family of twelve primordial gods were like a storm of terror. Devils, powerful devils quickly found themselves completely unable to injure them. The skin of these newcomers were unbelievable and even the high rank xiantian spiritual treasures failed to puncture their skin. These devils, these Primal Origin Chaos Immortals were the ones who folded beneath their punches instead.

Comparing the combat techniques of the twelve and any other immortal was like comparing an uneducated peasant to a refined scholar. They had little finesse and wildly attacked like a pack of wild animals. But their strength cannot be denied, not even their strange powers.

For whatever reason, no devil were able to counter them at all. Zhu Jiuying could easily reverse time and force escaping devils back into his massive jaw. Zhurong's fire could not be extinguished no matter what. Rushou's metallic projectiles could not be stopped.

"Brothers! Teach these would be invaders a lesson," Di Jiang roared in triumphant laughter. His meaty hand crushed the head of a Primal Origin Immortal devil crow and tossed it aside. He then gripped hold of space and pulled.

The sudden action cracked into the fabric of reality itself and shifted the geographic locations of over a hundred devils. Di Jiang in one motion forced these devils into disorientation as well as moving right in front of his sister Houtu.

"Thank you brother!" Houtu cried out gleefully. Her cutesy voice was a stark difference from her eldritch appearance. Her seven arms grabbed unsuspecting devils and smashed them into pillars of raised earth.

The twelve towered over the battlefield. Each of them grew to sizes measuring to about a hundred and eight thousand kilometers tall. They were literally the biggest lifeforms on the battlefield in this moment

"Hey watch it!" A dragon called out. "You'll pull us into your blast zone!"

However, Di Jiang and the others ignored him. He did not put the sea dwelling scaled creature in his eye at all.

"Who's side are you on?"

Because the twelve descendants of Pangu did not care about wether you're devil or immortal. Though they targeted devils, they didn't care if immortal cultivators got in the way. He casually swatted the much smaller dragon again without care.

"Zhurong, burn that tree devil down. It's face sickens me," Xuangming cheered.

"No problem sister."

"Hey Houtu, check out easily they pop. These devils have such weak bodies."

"No kidding. Is this all cultivation can accomplish?"

Many avians, furred and scaled creatures felt insulted. Under any other scenario they would've been tempted to teach these arrogant people a lesson.

Di Jiang's massive frame clamped down on multiple devils at once. His body jiggled as he chuckled. With another flap of his wings he generated cosmic winds that tore apart the flesh of others. His stubby legs walked across the battlefield with loud thuds causing earthquakes wherever he went.

Despite their size though, they ultimately covered a very small area of the battle. But it was enough for Primal Zenith Chaos Immortals to start taking notice.

One such devil was one named Emperor Frolicking Raven. He had wondered away from the centre of the fighting in search of easier prey.

"Blubbery creature, humble yourself," the demonic bird said. His presence drove people into dopamine driven highs. However this didn't affect the twelve primordial gods much. The Raven grew to a titanic size equally large as the twelve and roared.

"Blubbery? You insult my brother?" Zhurong was the first to respond. He leapt into the air and kicked down in a spear of primordial fire. This act surprised the devil who crossed his wings.

BOOM!

Zhurong had failed to touch the raven was was thrown onto his back. He screamed in pain as Frolicking Raven's beak launched forwards to take a chunk out of his shoulder.

"What is this? Pure Dao essence of the Law of Fire," he said in wonder. "I have not felt this since my time as a Heavenly Immortal."

He had good reason to be shocked. utilization of Dao Laws to cultivate became obsolete once someone crosses the great gulf between Heavenly Immortals and Golden Immortals.

In the cultivation world, there existed two major barriers called the two tribulations. First was the Immortal Tribulation that existed between Human Immortal and True Immortal. Second was the Golden Immortal Tribulation that existed between Heavenly Immortals and Golden Immortals.

During the True, Profound, and Heavenly Immortal realms a cultivator harnessed the power of the universe's existing Dao Laws to cultivate into their inner cosmos. This acted to evolve their immortal physiques to transcendent states and enlighten their minds into a broader spectrum of reality. Dao Laws were themselves natural physics that controlled the logic of the universe.

There existed three levels of such Dao Laws. The hundred and eight thousand Lessor Daos that allowed for Human Immortals to invoke Immortal Tribulation. The three thousand Great Daos that heightened an Immortal's understanding. Then there were twelve Supreme Daos that were the true core of the universe.

Of these twelve, only five were needed to cross into the Heavenly Immortal realm. These five were the five elements which corresponded to the Wuxing fire, water, wood, metal, and earth. Of course it was also possible to use the five Dao Laws that corresponded to the phenomena of weather but this was rarer and considered less effective than the Wuxing five elements. The final two were extremely rare esoteric powers that few ever touched.

However, when someone crossed into the Golden Immortals these Dao Laws became obsolete. A Golden Immortal had already broken free of the Heavenly Dao and attained eternity. Their lifespans were no longer limited and they were free to create their own Daos by sensing into the secrets of the wider chaos sea's Grand Dao's make up.

This was why Frolicking Raven was so surprised to see the Law of Fire be used again. Even more so when it actually managed to burn him. He looked at his charred feathers and quickly tore them off.

"This shouldn't be possible. The Law of Fire is a fundamental organ for the Heavenly Dao. If it is missing it'll be total collapse of all existence. How do you have it?" He demanded to know.

"Filth like you have no right to know!" Di Jiang responded in retaliation. His fist punched through space and struck directly into the Prmal Zenith Chaos Immortal's abdomen.

"OOF!" Frolicking Raven felt rattled. He glared at Di Jiang at breathed out a large cloud of smoke.

"Brother be careful," Zhu Jiuying called out. The torch dragon with a human head attempted to reverse time by blinking his starry eyes. However, Frolicking Raven resisted the attempt and chuckled.

"My Dao is complete, equal in authority to the Heavenly Dao," he boasted. His smoke condensed into sky goddess' head and began singing in a sonorous voice. Under its affects, the twelve suddenly felt very pressured.

Jumang, Rushou, Tianwu and Shebishi all cringed in discomfort. "Enough of your annoying voice!" They called out.

The four charged at the raven who proceeded to take flight. By using his speed, Frolicking Raven bypassed them and clawed into their backs. He dragged Jumang and Tianwu into the body of Houtu pushing her into the ground with a loud thud.

Di Jiang reached out with his meaty palms. The force of chaos bent space into a massive palm that grabbed towards Frolicking Raven.

"Your abilities are so strange yet so familiar. All brute force and no finesse," Frolicking Raven opening laughed. "I was dealing with these tactics since hatching from my mother's egg."

He teleported in a flash of pink energy and into the sky. "Your flesh will be useful for experimentation," he said.

As an ancient devil who climbed to his current position, any small inch counts. By studying these twelve, he may find a way to break out of his current bottleneck. The same bottleneck all Devil Great Emperors faced.

As his thoughts filled with greedy thoughts, tendrils of horsetail hair filled the sky. They wrapped around Frolicking Raven like a ball of spindles. All of these tendrils connected to a handle held by an elderly man standing even higher in the air. It was Grand Clear Taishang wielding he Void Refining Whisk.

"I must thank you friends for distracting this bird. Getting close to him was difficult with his mental powers," Taishang thanked Di Jiang. "Now brother, sister."

"Aye!"

Yuanshi and Tongtian appeared on Taishang's side. They each had the Three Treasures Jade Ruyi and Qingping Sword in hand. Yuanshi extended his Ruyi created a blunt force construct and struck the side of Frolicking Raven's head.

Tongtian meanwhile stabbed right through the bird's heart.

"Trapped and killed by mere Primal Origin Chaos Immortals?" Frolicking Raven's last words were one of shock and unwillingness. His body crumbled into dust beneath the spatial force of Taishang's whisk.

"Cheh! Kill stealer," Zhurong spat. Not just him, a majority of the twelve felt that way as well. Only Houtu didn't feel much towards the Three Pure Ones.

"What? You should be on your knees thanking my brother," Yuanshi demanded pointing his scepter at Zhurong. "If it weren't for us you lot will be dead."

"That's right, you ungrateful," an indignant Tongtian joined in the chatter.

Taishang on the other hand didn't seem to mind. He appeared completely indifferent to Zhurong's words.

"Never mind that. You three, why do I smell the Father God's scent on you?" Gonggong on the other hand demanded.

"That's right, how can you come across so similar to the Father God, you must've stolen something belonging to him," Jizi added.

"Stolen? We should be asking you that. We three are orthodox descendent of Great God Pangu," Yuanshi boasted with pride. "It is you who claim descend where there is none."

"What?" The likes of Qiangliang, Xuangming, Shebishi, Rushou, Houtu etc looked like he was about to pounce. They felt Yuanshi's words were an infringement upon their heritage.

"Apologize for insulting the Father God this instant!" Di Jiang demanded. To lend credence to his words, he flapped his wings threateningly. The twelve looked like they were about ready to fight.

"Oh for fucks sake."

An ancient voice echoed through the sky. A thunderstorm zapped its way cross the two parties. Lightning skirted into the distance roasting weak Great Principle Chaos Immortal and Great Unity Golden Immortal devils. The skull of a massive dragon filled up the sky and roared.

From within a lightning dragon several thousand kilometers long flew down. It was one of the grand elders of the dragons, specifically the one who supported pure blood dragons Leishen.

"Fucking audacity of these children," Leishen scolded. "Do you have any idea where you are? If you have time for chatter then you have time to fight! My fellows are dying out there."

His presence sent a cowering chill down the spines of both parties. It was then that they'd taken notice of their surroundings and of the new devil corpses that lay on the ground. Both parties suddenly felt very embarrassed.

"What are you waiting for? Go and FIGHT!" Leishen roared. He struck the ground with his lightning and sent them all into the air. He soon left to rejoin the wider battlefield.

"Leishen huh?" Liu Er who skulked around looting the corpses murmured. "Wonder what treasures he has on him."

…

Taiyi swung the Chaos Bell like a battering ram. The hard bronze surface of the clock broke open the skulls of countless devils sending their corpses to the ground.

A group of Primal Zenith Chaos Immortal devils tried to sneak attack. They numbered three in total. Taiyi did not feel like dealing with them. Hence he shook the Chaos Clock causing it to ring.

Suddenly, two devils moved back in time completely against their will. Their movements shifted and seconds of their movements were reversed leaving their sole companion at the tender mercies of Taiyi.

"What the hell is this? High grade? Top grade? No we're of the same realm, even top grade xiantian spiritual treasures shouldn't be able to do this!" The devils cried.

The human shaped Golden Crow looked coldly at the devil. He unleashed a spear made of Pure Yang Sun Fire and burnt the devil to death in one attack. His next attack created a miniature sun which he blasted into the remaining two devils who were stuck desperately trying to resist the time reversal.

Taiyi was a silent storm of power. A complete nobody from nowhere managed to give experienced devils a thrashing the likes of which they never expected. In fact, Taiyi might as well be the strongest solo combatant on the battlefield who wasn't an ancient established powerhouse.

"Brother, little help here?" Di Jun's voiced reached Taiyi's ears and that was all the words he needed.

While Di Jun was locking in combat using his Sun Chakram against a female devil. Taiyi flew in and obliterated the devil's flesh in a single hit. Before the devil's Nascent Soul could escape, Taiyi brutally burnt her by converting his yang based flames into yin based soul fire killing her.

"Thank you," Di Jun said.

"You took a bad hit to your side. You shouldn't fight here," Taiyi warned.

"Heh, why should I be worried? I have you to watch my back," Di Jun said boldly smirking back.

Taiyi sighed but followed that up with a chuckle. "Di Jun, things are starting to look up. A large part of the devil's main offensive has been killed. Even the commanding Primal Zenith Chaos Immortals are falling to the dragons and phoenixes."

"Three of them were because of you little bro," Di Jun said slapping Taiyi lightly on the back. During the chaotic fighting, Taiyi had slain many devils including Primal Zenith Chaos Immortal Great Emperors. This act did not go unnoticed.

Distantly, they watched the winged dragon Yinglong do battle against a female devil.

Yinglong chased Empress Intoxicating Dream slinging clouds at her like no tomorrow. The yellow scaled dragon had a long red gash on the base of his neck which looked sickening. Some feathers on his wings were also missing.

"Let's join him, he may need our help," Di Jun said.

"Might be a little too high level for us," Taiyi said shaking his head. He looked desperately for calmer parts of fighting. "How about there by the ground? Seafolk, avians, and furred beasts from the North and East Continent alike are suffering major casualties. With the dragons and phoenixes distracted high up, the weaker ones on the ground lack strong support."

"You're right," Di Jun nodded at Taiyi's sagely advice. "Pity these native creatures are not as impressive as those born into the dragon and phoenix clans. Even us innate gods have a much better foundation."

Di Jun frowned as a lion got trampled by a devil's foot. He quickly descended with the Sun Chakram and Celestial River Diagram followed closely by his younger brother Taiyi and the Chaos Bell.

…

Yinglong was breathing heavily. His female opponent looked back at growled in frustration.

"Just why own't you let up?" Empress Intoxicating Dream screamed. Her nails lengthened into projectiles and shot out of her hands.

Yinglong halted and coiled his body. His lungs expanded and he roared. His cry broke the attack with the force of his violent scream. He then lunged for the woman fangs barred.

"Empress, I'll save you," multiple male devils chased after Yinglong. A particularly strong devil with large hammer like arms smashed Yinglong across the jaw.

"Gah!" Yinglong's had swerved to the left. He glared at the devil and raised his right claw catching the Primal Zenith Chaos Immortal devil in his claw.

"Thank you little ape," Intoxicating Dream blew a kiss at the devil and flew off.

Yinglong's wings were the next to come under assault. A devil stabbed into them with his spear and another crocodile bit into his back. Buts of his yellow scales cascaded to the ground as a result. The ape in Yinglong's claw was also holding his crushing grip back.

"Don't even think about touching the empress!" They chanted in unison.

Yinglong grew frustrated. He lifted his right claw and unleashed a fierce Nine Clawed Killing. His digits became enclosing meteors causing the ape to scream as his muscles strained.

"My faith in the empress is eternal, you will never win!" The devil laughed.

"I think my master mentioned your kind in afterthought once," Yinglong grunted admits the pain of his back being attacked. He raised his left claw and sued Nine Clawed Killing on that one as well.

"Noble devils?"

"Fucking Simps!"

PAH!

Yinglong smashed both claws together at once. The only thing left of the ape was a pool of gore which smeared his claws.

"Don't let brother Ma's sacrifice be in vein…GAH!" The crocodile called out. But his body was penetrated by the tip of Yinglong's tail. The dragon threw him into the side of the mountain and began dealing with the rest.

Despite that Yinglong felt tired. Left in command of the overall forces alongside Chongming bird, he had suffered many injuries from dozens to hundreds of Devil Emperors. Unfortunately, he'd only been able to kill a fraction of the ones who attacked him. Catching and killing Primal Zenith Chaos Immortals decisively was difficult especially when there were so many of them.

His dragonic physique had even suffered corrupting damage from Empress Intoxicating Dream resulting in a stinking neck wound.

"Where did she go?" Yinglong looked around in search for the woman. She had displayed remarkable strength leading Yinglong to believe she was someone of great importance. As such she became a priority for elimination.

In the distance, Yinglong spotted her. In fact, someone else had intercepted her. Intoxicating Dream was locked in combat with his sister-in-law Gui Daiyu.

"No, Gui Daiyu is not strong enough to overcome a devil of that strength," Yinglong moved his titanic body on a bed of auspicious clouds. He immediately gave his all to chase after them.

As it stood, he was right. Gui Daiyu spat out a mouthful of blood when Intoxicating Dream broke past her defences and hit her in the jugular.

"I know you, you're the Dragon Sovereign's wife consort? Well killing you can surely break his spirit," she said.

"My husband is made of sterner materials. Killing me will only invigorate him," Gui Daiyu grunted. She transformed into a sturdy turtle shell as Intoxicating Dream pierced at her with her nails.

CLING!

Gui Daiyu screamed in pain from within the the shell. Despite physically tanking the attack, she felt her spirit weaken. 'What's going on with me?' She thought while struggling. She was almost knocked into her true form.

"No man nor woman can ever resist me. This natural to cower," the Devil Empress said.

"Stay away from my daughter!" Primordial Turtle King roared. The elderly Primal Zenith powerhouse charged for the devil. He shoulder tackled the devil away from Gui Daiyi then attempted to strike her with his hammer.

"Hmph!"

Empress Intoxicating Dream held back the hammer with both arms and dug her foot into the air as if they were solid ground.

"I met you not long ago did I not? When your ilk so rudely invaded our lands," she said unhanding her right hand.

SCHINK!

PLAH!

"GU!" the Turtle King looked down at his own chest where the devil pierced his body. He suddenly felt very sick and his mighty physique grew pale.

"FATHER!" Gui Daiyu yelled getting to her feet.

"Spirit Drain," Intoxicating Dream smirked. The annoying thing about the Dragonic Dao was that it was scary good at resisting all manner of damage including drain techniques that she favored. What's more dragonic qi cultivated by dragons were fundamentally incompatible with her own devil qi. She could certainly harm them but draining them was difficult.

This was because she had never encountered a dragon in combat like this before. Ordinary beings can be converted readily enough and she had experimented enough to know this. But dragons almost always stayed in their seas and never entered the west. With constant scrutinizing border patrols, obtaining a sample was difficult.

But for Primordial Turtle King who had never cultivated the Dragonic Dao, it was significantly easier to absorb his energy and convert it into her own.

"AH," the Turtle King grew extremely pale and weak as if all his blood was drained.

"Yes, now di…what?" Intoxicating barely got out another word when she was lifted by a fist of auspicious clouds. She flew into the sky right into the claw of Yinglong.

The dragon was kicking himself for not being faster. 'Always second best, always a step too slow,' he mentally berated himself.

Without mercy he chomped down on the female devil biting her in half. But as if anticipating this, her Nascent Soul flew out of her defunct lower body. She unleashed an echoing scream that disorientated Yinglong's ears forcing him to roar in pain.

"I'm not leaving without a kill," she said running for the weakened Turtle King. She was like a blitzing lightning bolt, instantly penetrating the old king's body blowing a hole through him.

"You bitch!" Gui Daiyu screamed in horror. She immediately picked up her father's hammer and swung it at the devil.

"Dreaming Intoxication Spirit Escape!" The devil cried before the hammer hit. She was converted into a mass of sickly greenish stream that attempted to fly away.

"NO!" Yinglong flying after her.

"Too slow old dragon," Intoxicating Dream said triumphantly.

But her triumph was short lived as a cage of spindles surrounded her. The newcomer Taishang attempted to trap her in a distorted field.

"Greetings, my name is Taiqing. I hope we can get along," the old man said amicably.

"You think this can keep me here?" Intoxicating Dream said arrogantly. "You youngins think too highly of yourselves."

"If he can't then I will!" Leishen roared. With his command, a cage of pure lightning confined her even as she tore apart Taishang's cage with relative ease.

Leishen though was another beast entirely. He was not Yinglong but he was still among the dragon's best alongside Jiang Koilong and rainbow dragon Hong. She had seen him early on during the fighting and was only confident in defeating him at peak condition.

"Take this!" Yuanshi roared jumping in with bravado. His scepter was however caught in her hand.

"What did I say about youngins?" She spat punching Yuanshi square in the face sending him flying with a black eye and a bloody nose.

"Cloud Trapping Gate!" Yinglong yelled upon arrival. Intoxicating Dream only had enough time to look up before a paifang gate made of auspicious clouds fell from the sky. It impacted her spirit body and trapped her into the earth below.

"OOF!" She cried landing roughly on the ground right in front of Gui Daiyu.

"You killed my father," the ocean empress said lifting her hammer.

"To be fair I killed a lot of people. This is war princess not a play fight," Intoxicating Dream said calmly. Those were the last words she spoke of before Gui Daiyu extinguished her spirit.

In a small corner of Mt Buzhou, a resting Rippling Reflection looked up in alarm. "Sister Intoxicating Dream is dead? So soon".

"Finally," Yinglong said slumping his shoulders withdrawing into a human form. Leishen was very quick to support him also assuming his human form. The Three Pure Ones also landed though they were slightly more awkward. They felt somewhat embarrassed by their poor performance as well as awe at the Primal Zenith Chaos Immortal.

Gui Daiyu was a woman on the brink of tears. The Primordial Turtle King's deceased body had no movement, no indication of any life whatsoever. His Nascent Soul was extinguished alongside his body without a chance to escape. She shared a look with Leishen and Yinglong, and sighed.

"You, Taiqing was it?" Gui Daiyu asked between gasping breaths, pointing at Taishang. "You held back the devil who murdered my father. I'll see you rewarded properly. Come to the East Sea Dragon Palace when things settle down."

"Brother are you alright?" She then turned towards Yinglong with worry.

"I'll be fine, just some flesh wounds from a few small fry," he said brushing off her words. "More importantly, elder brother and younger brother's situations aren't ideal. I'll help Zulong next."

"In your condition your majesty?" Leishen ize gasped in shock. "You've sustained heavy damaged from many assaults, its best you head for elder Hong. His rainbow dragon light can aid in your recovery."

"Leishen is right Yinglong, you don't look at all," Gui Daiyu said in agreement. She gazed up and met Zulong's eyes for a split second. Her husband just as quickly went back to fighting Mara dodging his arrows. Zulong must've seen them but was too preoccupied to do anything.

Just how strong was Mara to keep both him and Zufeng tied up like this?

"I don't wish to lose more family, this is a command from your empress. Seek medical treatment immediately," she said firmly.

"That would take me out of the fighting. I am one of the strongest fighters around even in this condition. You need me," Yinglong retorted rejecting her command. "I am rejoining the battle."

Gui Daiyu sighed looking away. "You dragons and your pride," she sad bitterly. "Seems sister Yi Fei'e had broken out of her encirclement. She's heading for the centre of the battlefield."

Yinglong looked over in the same direction. "Four Evils, I have heard of them from master. In the past they were reduced to Three Evils."

"Evidentially not," Gui Daiyu said.

"Four Evils? Pardon me seniors but who are these creatures?" Taishang politely asked. Although they didn't say it, Tongtian and Yuanshi looked interested as well. Both Gui Daiyu and Yinglong noticed a slight similarity between Tongtian and their aunt Wangshu as well as their similar scent and qi signature.

"The Four Evils according to ancient legends originates from four chaos godfiends," Yinglong explained. "They were once upon a time, the Chaos Demon Ape's strongest lieutenants just under Beast King Shenni."

"Shenni? Is that not the name of the previous threat to the great wilderness?"

"Yes, the very same Shenni. These four Hundun, Taotie, Qiong Qi, Taowu cultivated Daos that represented the worst in living beings. They are incapable of distinguishing good from evil and always seek to aid those with the darkest of intentions. Or so the legends say. In ancient times they joined the Devilish Dao abandoning Shenni when he was at death's door. They've been inactive in the world ever since. I cannot really speak as to their true intentions. Not even my master knows."

"Your master? You speak of the Eight Directions Oceanic Suppression Heavenly Lord?" Tongtian couldn't help but ask with a voice of admiration. "Us siblings heard many legends in the East Continent, of how he saved the world from the Sea Eye using a Divine Needle. My Fish Drum was engraved with that story in the chaos godfiend's language."

"Is it?" Yinglong raised an eyebrow curiously. He supposed it wasn't a surprise. If Tongtian found that fish drum in the East Continent then there was a good chance it came from the East Sea proper. Of all places, tales of Da Hai was very common there.

Yinglong straightened his back and turned his attention back towards the overall battle. It was good news that they were winning. The devil forces was significantly less powerful then when they first started out.

"The sea in the sky," Leishen commented. "Let's go there, it seems his majesty Qinglong and the other Symbols are emerging."

Yinglong looked over and nodded. His brother and his friends had finally surfaced from the dirty ocean.