Clash of Four Symbols

In the primordial realms, in the most ancient era of the primitive world, the world was born incomplete. It took generations of deities before it transformed into a fully functioning complete universe. In the most ancient era, the Four Symbols Divine Beasts were physical representations of the four cardinal directions, representations of the four most high constellations. Divine beasts with the combined potential that surpasses all beings in the world.

One day, be they dragon, phoenix, devil, or some form of primordial god. They must all bow down and respect the authority of these heavenly creatures. For they are as much heavenly creatures as they are part of heaven.

"Or at least that is what I infer from from my own findings and friend Da Hai," Ao the great tortoise godfiend in the furthest edges of the North Sea murmured. Even his murmuring carried with it a voice that pushed waves as high as several hundred kilometers into the air.

The island turtle subtly shifted his mass and moved its titanic head upwards. "Curse this existence of mine. Curse you Hongjun you damn cricket."

Ao's entire existence was a curse especially because he remembered what life was before. Nowadays his only interactions with the world was through his disciple Xuanwu.

"Little Wu, you and your friends must be careful. Luohu cannot be underestimated," Ao said to an audience of none. He closed his eyes and prayed to Grand Dao. The Four Symbols, just what were they exactly? They weren't innate gods in the most conventional of sense. There was a special purpose to them.

Qinglong was born in the east in control of the the wood element, the star of Jupiter, as well as ruler ship of springtime.

Zhuque was born in the south in control of the fire element, the star of Mars, as well as ruler ship of summer.

Baihu was born in the west in control of the metal element, the star of Venus, as well as ruler ship over Autumn.

Finally, Xuanwu was born in the frigid north in control of the water element, the star of Mercury, as well as ruler ship over winter.

These four had a unique divine functions to them innately. But what did that mean?

…

Qinglong swam through a filthy ocean in disgust. He swam in he form of supercluster shaped energy being clashing repeatedly with a similarly gigantic Hundun.

The head of the four evils held the Taotie Cauldron firmly in four of his hands. He sucked in any foreign spells thrown at him and even attempted to consume Qinglong whole.

Zhuque fought beside him in a giantess form with avian wings. In that form she wielded the legendary Kunwu sword a top grad xiantian spiritual treasure. Behind her was already the manifestation of Mars burning up excess amounts of water.

She descended towards Hundun attempting to strike him down with the Kunwu sword.

Clang!

Hundun blocked her strike with the Taotie cauldron. His spare hands swung his hatchets towards Zhuque. This forced her to retreat back to a safe distance unwilling to allow herself to be hit.

"This isn't working, we can't reach him," she informed Qinglong.

"I know, let me think," Qinglong said feeling frustrated. He didn't know how long they've been trapped in here with the Four Evils. Despite his star power, Qinglong couldn't land any decisive bows on Hundun up til now.

Baihu was off in the distance wrestling with Qiong Qi. Both mighty tigers slapped each other around but it was clear Qiong Qi held a distinct strength advantage. While the White Tiger was fierce and powerful, the winged tiger was built like bull.

It was almost comical how buffed Qiong Qi was and this reflected in his physical strength. He managed to tear apart Baihu's daoist magical arts and landed a critical blow across Baihu's face. The White Tiger's sword held in his tail scraped across Qiong Qi's thick muscle as Baihu retreated.

Comparatively though, Xuanwu did much better against Taowu. The Black Tortoise severely wounded Taowu by freezing his front limbs and bit the godfiend's tongue with his serpent headed tail.

Taowu released glitter bombs but these were ineffective against the ice cold air Xuanwu breathed out.

"AH! Fucker, Qiong Qi help me!"

"Help yourself," Qiong Qi roared back. Baihu had returned after recovering quickly from that blow and returned in the form of an iron drill. He pushed Qiong Qi upwards lifting him onto his hind legs.

This was where Qinglong chose to swim down striking Qiong Qi's bull like body with the Jupiter Star. The wooden celestial body transformed into a brilliant light that exploded in Qiong Qi's face while simultaneously filling Baihu's body with the fresh air of springtime.

"Interesting," Hundun said moving over.

"Nope, stay for a moment," Zhuque demanded. She swung the Kunwu sword in a fiery blaze at Hundun.

"Your swordplay is very lacking," Hundun said dismissively. The swung the cauldron that pushed both Zhuque and the Kunwu sword away. "Awfully stupid to use a weapon you're not use to."

Zhuque took a minute to think. She quickly transformed into her true form and began singing. Her harmonious song was distrusted Hundun's thoughts. Suddenly he felt dizzy and backed off. Zhuque's movements was disrupted in the water hence she was much slower, however she still attempted to swipe at Hundun with her blazing talons.

CLANG!

Her talons scraped off of the Taotie Cauldron and her flames were sucked into the cauldron. Zhuque used the treasure as a foothold to jump over Hundun. She reassumed her human form with the Kunwu sword aimed right for stabbing.

"Die!" She roared stabbing at Hundun's body.

CLANG!

Hundun blocked that as well with a pair of hatchets that suddenly faded into existence. "Like I said, lacking," he lectured her as if he were an old teacher and she a young student.

"You're probably right," Zhuque responded in agreement much to Hundun's surprise.

"Baihu catch," Zhuque screeched. She suddenly unleashed a screeching chirp at Hundun. Hundun being a master of spacetime sent the echoing sound into a spatial barrier in his hand. Zhuque then blasted him with a stream of Nanming Divine Flames. This time Hundun raised his hands to block.

While this was going on, Zhuque tossed the Kunwu sword away. It sailed through the filthy water right into Baihu's open jaw. For his part, Baihu caught the Kunwu sword's handle and proceeded to stab it into Qiong Qi's shoulder.

The winged feline roared having experiencing sudden extreme pain. He jerked away hurling strong currents of dirty water at Baihu.

Qinglong having witnessed this transformed his claws into azure alouds. He arrested Baihu protectively within them and swam away from the impact of the currents. After he did so the currents swirled until they created a bubble within the ocean where the pressure was enough to crush even Primal Zenith Chaos Immortals to meat paste.

"Qiong Qi's concentration is breaking. But sister Zhuque cannot hold Hundun for long," Baihu informed Qinglong. The dragon nodded grimly.

"Unfortunately my brother holds the only top rank xiantian spiritual treasure that can deal with this filthy ocean. Unfortunately, he didn't give them to me. All I have on hand are some high rank xiantian spiritual treasures. None of them are useful at all," Qinglong said regrettably.

There was a reason he was fighting barehanded. His true form was so powerful that it alone was a contender for a top grade xiantian spiritual treasure, perhaps even superior. The use of treasures as such did not supplement his combat potential that much.

Qinglong's eyes suddenly snapped towards the edge of the ocean. He felt the presence of Yi Fei'e and met her gaze. He shook his head and sent a mental message across. Qiong Qi's dirty water will only weaken her. It's corrosive effects tears away at one's physique and Dao.

The Four Symbols resists it because of their unique heavenly innate abilities. Yi Fei'e comparatively had more secular origins. Despite her powers, she'll only be a liability.

Qiong Qi only managed to use this ability to its fullest when supported by the other evils and when restored to his peak such as now. In order for them to fight in this environment, the Four Symbols had maintain their own inner balance. They couldn't even connect with each other and use the Four Symbols Formation.

"That woman, the moth girl?" Hundun, Taowu, and Qiong Qi witnessed her as well.

"Wasn't your protege supposed to be keeping her busy?" Taowu asked Hundun.

The faceless godfiend nodded. "Evidentially she got past him. Oh well."

"You don't care about your fellow devil?" Zhuque asked with mockingly. "I thought individuals within the same groups shared comrade. Or is the loyalty to one's fellows in the West Continent so weak?"

"Well we're not exactly devils," Hundun retorted in good humor. "If he lives he lives, he dies he dies. So what if we're both part of the same faction? It's just the natural order of things," He shrugged with an, 'oh well', gesture that all four divine beasts appeared slightly disturbed.

"Besides, I'm a chaos godfiend. Your progenitor."

"The world have birth to us not you relics," Xuanwu spat. He brought both his heads together in for a snarl. His beak snapped forwards in a gargantuan bite.

"Hmph," Qiong Qi snorted. She leapt forwards and used his wings to halt the upper part of Xuanwu's beak. His lower limbs slapped at his lower beak. But Xuanwu's snake head also charged in biting Qiong Qi in the abdomen and dragged him through his own water.

Meanwhile, Qinglong met Yi Fei'e's gaze again. To his surprise she retrieved a bottle from her sleeve. She proceeded to drink its contents before stopping and dousing herself with the rest of its contents.

'I understand,' Qinglong nodded. Without warning he immediately lunged for Hundun.

"Barbaric. And to think your master considers himself a chaos godfiend," Hundun arched his fist back and punched Qinglong's snout. What followed were two titans clashing against each ferociously.

Zhuque tackled Taowu's feline frame through the waves pecking at his flesh. Baihu jumped for Hundun like a spinning top. The Kunwu sword met the Taotie Cauldron's surface and both treasures generated sparkles against each other.

The Kunwu sword was once wielded by Ancestor Kunwu who unfortunately passed away in the most ancient Shenni war. It was an extremely powerful sword on par with even the best of top rank xiantian spiritual treasures. Even then, its sharp edge began dulling when up against defensive power of the Taotie Cauldron.

'It's almost like its eating away pieces of the Kunwu sword,' Baihu realized after a few clashes. He clawed at Hundun while Qinglong clawed at his front. Both divine beasts manifested their respective stars and used them to attack Hundun.

"Oh please, only someone like your master is qualified to fight me," Hundun chuckled as if humoring the two. His power increased again and one of his hands gripped Qinglong's throat. He manifested three ghostly hatchets and cut into Qinglong's side causing the dragon to roar in pain.

His faceless head emanated a vortex of chaotic darkness. It disorientated Baihu and left him vulnerable for Hundun jab him with his finger.

"Chaos Finger," he announced stabbing into Baihu's forehead.

"Gui!" Baihu spat out a mouthful of blood and fell back.

"Damn it," Xuanwu having witnessed both his brothers be injured slapped at Qiong Qi with a glacier. He then tucked himself into his shell and attempted to spin away.

"Where do you think you're going?" Qiong Qi spat holding tightly onto Xuanwu's shell. The tortoise was like a spinning saw grinding against the tiger's muscular paws.

Qiong Qi instead elongated his teeth into two tusks. "Take this!" He roared stabbing down puncturing Xuanwu's shell and into his back. However he did not come out of it unscathed. Xuanwu used this sudden connection to freeze part of Qiong Qi's face with gasses he released from his back.

The two tied each other down just like Zhuque was being tied down by Taowu. The Vermillion Bird and the human faced cat was tussling in a brutal combat filled with fire.

Qinglong swiped at Hundun's hand digging into it. Hundun flinched away as the Azure Dragon shot a blast of lighting into his face.

"Senior brother, senior brother. Let us help you!"

Within Qinglong's pocket universe, Chang Xi and Xihe called out urgently. Their cries fell on death ears though as Qinglong refused to let them out. If he did, their deaths were a certainty.

Qinglong roared in admits the water. His cry caused many currents to begin forming, converging to his location and into a single blast of pressure right into Hundun. Hundun held out the Taotie Cauldron and felt himself be pushed back by the attack.

"You know this isn't hurting me right?" Hundun asked curiously. The Taotie Cauldron was sucking in the pressure effortlessly. Soon it would redirect an attack back at Qinglong.

"We need to destroy that Cauldron. It's absorbing everything I throw out," Qinglong said during the chaos. He rushed forwards transforming into a mass of Yang qi. He shot out like an arrow born of the fire of the Solar Star.

"The Celestial Path of the Sun Rahu!" Qinglong roared.

"The Hidden Path of the Moon Ketu!" Yi Fei'e responded as a mass of shadow.

Hundun's eyes widened when a sharp pain riveted his body. Yi Fei'e had stabbed him through the chest without him noticing. It wasn't a fatal strike but it did distract him long enough for the moth to drag the Taotie Cauldron away from his grip.

"Foolish girl," he mentally called for the cauldron to return to him only for the Cauldron to pass through him. "Pellucid Divine Water?" He cried in shock. It had been ages since he'd seen it in action. So long that he'd almost forgotten it.

Yi Fei'e in another layer of reality attacked the Cauldron fiercely. She stabbed her sword into it only for it to bounce off.

"It's useless, its a top rank xiantian spiritual treasure. You really think you can break it that easily?" Hundun taunted after fending off Qinglong. "Soon you'll fade into this reality again and I'll show you why you should've stayed out of this fight."

"Heh," Yi Fei'e smirked. Then her skin cracked in lines of pulsating energy.

"What? You're self destructing?" Hundun was completely taken aback. "You're really willing to commit suicide just to take destroy a single treasure?"

He starred back at a very calm Qinglong and snorted. "What was that about carrying for your fellows again? Isn't she your junior sister?"

"Do it!" Qinglong commanded and Yi Fei'e obliged. She jumped into the Taotie Cauldron and detonated herself.

The explosion was without sound and did not harm any of the Three Evils and Four Symbols. It had taken place in another area of reality and the explosion while visible, only served to pass through them like some sort of virtual reality hologram.

"What an insane woman," Qiong Qi and Taowu were shocked. They were both impressed as well as disdainful of her actions.

Baihu, Xuanwu, and Zhuque too were horrified by Yi Fei'e's actions and Qinglong's disregard for them. At the same time they felt very emotional that she was willing to make such a big sacrifice for them.

The explosion of qi soon subsided as if nothing had happened. The Taotie Cauldron showed itself again. However this time it was left in five pieces. Though not completely destroyed, it had shattered into fractions of its former self.

But what was more shocking was the centre of the former cauldron. Within there was a coluorless corpse of a moth. This confused Hundun, Qiong Qi, Taowu, and even Xuanwu, Baihu, and Zhuque. When an immortal exploded, they left no corpse. So why did Yi Fei'e leave one?

The corpse of the giant moth hovered in the ocean slowly fading into reality. In the water it rotated exposing its back and the long crack that showcased the interior. The moth carcass was empty.

"A shell? Molted skin?" Qiong Qi's eyes widened as he sensed danger. But it was too late, in the precious seconds that he wasted being stunned, an aurora borealis had formed around his body.

It was here that Yi Fei'e jammed her sword into his throat. The Yi Fei'e that reappeared appeared incredibly weakened. She was dressed in an azure kingfisher garment and had a trail of blood leaking from her lip down to her chin. Her eyes had a hateful look that glared into the stunned Qiong Qi.

"This is, no it's different but familiar," Zhuque murmured in realization. "Of course, she tamed one of ours as a mount. But this application is completely different."

"A molting bomb attack?" Hundun realized as Qiong Qi clasped his throat. "No," he turned towards Qiong Qi with urgency. But this time Qinglong entrapped his body with his serpentine body.

"Sorry, I'm afraid I can't let you," Qinglong spat.

"Just you?" Hundun scoffed. He elbowed Qinglong's body several times and tore the dragon off of him before swinging him by the tail.

"YAH!" Xuanwu took advantage of Yi Fei'e's sneak attack and formed an icicle spear. The Black Tortoise of the cold north jammed the ice spear right into the thrashing Qiong Qi's forehead. As a result Qiong Qi's concentration was broken. The filthy ocean that surrounded them began falling and disintegrating.

Qiong Qi roared in pain. He pet Xuanwu's glare with his own and attacked with a blast of water from his mouth. Xuanwu's response was to bite the water with his beak and freeze it with by creating Pure Yin Pale Water. The water closely associated with death sent a horrifying feeling into Qiong Qi's soul.

"Attacks! Kill him!"

"No! Stay your hand!"

Zhuque scratched into Taowu's eye and shifted her wings sending a storm of flame arrows towards Hundun hoping to slow him down. Meanwhile she also grappled with Taowu halting him from any actions.

Baihu had long since abandoned Hundun. He charged for Qiong Qi's entrapped form with the Kunwu sword in hand. His metallic tiger physique transformed into a white haired humanoid Dao body who rode the wind.

"Piercing White Tiger Strike!" He chanted.

The Kunwu sword glowed with metallic light and the form of the Venus Star appeared on the base of the hilt. Seeing this Qiong Qi grew desperate. He vomited compiles amounts of nauseous gas from his bloodied mouth. His body thrashed knocking aside Yi Fei'e as if she was a rag doll.

Unfortunetly for him, Xuanwu was physically much more impressive than Yi Fei'e. His snake headed tail wrapped around Qiong Qi's body and bit into his wing. Xuanwu pressed his entire weight onto the tiger forcing him to meet Bai Hu's oncoming attack. Bai Hu proceeded to stab Qiong Qi through his body right through his Nascent Soul fatally injuring him.

Qiong Qi's cries echoed through the sky. The filthy ocean completely broke down, evaporating under the heat of Zhuque's flames now that Qiong Qi cannot keep it together.

Qinglong's form emerged from the water finally becoming visible to the outside world once more. The cultivators in defense of Mt Buzhou cheered upon seeing the Four Symbols while the devils despaired upon seeing Qiong Qi's dying form.

"Fitting," Xuanwu said. "Today another of the Four Evils who terrorized the North Continent and Sea dies." The tortoise's supernatural beautiful human form reappeared watching Qiong Qi's fall.

"No brother Qiong Qi!" Taowu screamed. His bloodied tongue slapped Zhuque's body and he attempted to get away. But the Vermillion Bird's talons were too sharp and dug into his flesh causing him more grief.

"Well shit," Hundun murmured watching Qiong Qi descend as a corpse. He could feel the attention of both Luohu and Mara land on him and he suddenly felt a bit awkward. He gathered up the broken pieces of the Taotie Cauldron and said, "This is really unfortunate indeed."

"Is that all you have to say for your brother in arm's death?" Qinglong asked him a bit put off by his nonchalance. Hundun did not answer him. Rather he reached for Taowu and Zhuque.

Seeing this, Qinglong, Baihu, and Xuanwu chased after him. They felt their qi combine again and so they merged their techniques. All of a sudden three superclusters made for Taowu filled with killing intent.

Hundun could feel himself frowning even though he had no face to show it. He charged on all six limbs and flapped his wings. He broke through the chaos and teleported to Taowu's side. Using his mastery as a Limitless Supreme Immortal he punched out meeting the three divine beast's attack with his own.

The corresponding impact knocked both him and Taowu back a great distance. His fist was bloody and mangled. "Terrifying when you all do that," he said. His divine sense looked around and spotted Emperor Rippling Reflection skulking about in the battlefield.

"Luohu, any minute now. We're all counting on you," he shouted into the sky.

"I know," Luohu's equally loud voice responded in kind.

This caused the Four Symbols Divine Beasts to all look up and observe the Immortal Extermination Formation. It was there they saw a depressive sight.

Because within the Immortal Extermination Formation, Luohu was clashing spear against flagpole with Hongjun. But Sichen was missing an arm, Qiankun was very pale, Destiny Demon God appeared injured and ancestor Yingyang had already died.