Pangu Holds the Sky, Nuwa Mends the Heavens, Dawn of a New Sky

As a final send off for giving him so much trouble, Luohu showcased his extreme pettiness. He willingly sacrificed his precious spear to strike out at the Primitive World itself. An action so horrifying that it dwarfed any action he'd previously taken.

The sky in its entirety shattered to trillions of pieces. The entirety of the Starry Skies was exposed. Furthermore, without the barrier that was the sky holding it back, it practically merged into the Great Wilderness proper.

In the precious seconds after the attack landed, who knew how many had already lost their lives. For the average inhabitants of the Great Wilderness, they were not immortals. Despite immortals numbering easily in the hundred billions, that was still a drop in the ocean to how many called the five continents and four seas their home.

For these creatures, the aftershocks of such a destructive event, the pools of heavy water and the pressure of being exposed to the greater void between realms, it was a death sentence. For Luohu's actions broke the barrier shielding the Great Wilderness from the violent spatial currents that existed between different dimensions within the Primitive World as well.

"AAAAHHHH!" Gui Daiyu, Yinglong, and Yi Fei'e and the rest shielded themselves from the sudden blowback. Zulong quickly maneuvered his body to protect them.

Those weaker like Minghe, Zhen Yuanzi, Hongyun etc were thrown off their feet helplessly. The Pangu giant screamed in furry at Luohu's despicable actions. Even his devil followers shuddered in fear at what Luohu just did.

Did he not care about refining the Primitive World anymore? Was he so insane to just directly end all existence?

The collapse of the sky and it spilling its contents into the earth will destroy them both. Since the core was located within the Great Wilderness the Primitive World can kiss itself goodbye. What's more everyone was already so injured, how many could survive the ensuing backlash.

"DAMN YOU LUOHU!" The Pangu giant screamed with the voice of twelve furious deities. The giant was hit forest by the waves and slammed head first into the soil.

"Hold the formation brothers and sisters," Di Jiang commanded with no small amount of fear in his voice. "If we don't we'll be crushed by the pressure too!"

Qi An leapt into the air pushing tons of water back. But stars and planets were also raining from the sky. The Qilin Sovereign watched in horror as a blazing celestial construct closed in. The massive Solar Star, the source of all light in the cosmos became a burning executioner for them all.

Nuwa and Fuxi being nearby used extraordinary means to shield themselves. Fuxi immediately threw out a mini formation but Nuwa held out her treasured rock. Miraculously, the two held on with minimal effort surprising the two. Nuwa in particular sent a grin to her rainbow rock.

But this did not deter the damage. Nuwa and Fuxi avoided many of the chaos but they were not the sole participants nor the land below. In the moments that followed Luohu's destruction of the sky meteors, planetoids, and starry water rained uncontrollably. The sheer chaos of it all was like that of a tsunami hitting an unsuspecting city. No one enjoyed this sight. Especially with the close proximity of the Solar Star. That celestial body would eventually fall into the earth guaranteeing an explosion that would destroy everything.

Not even Taiyi nor Di Jun were happy to see their birthplace like this. The two crows felt their own teeth grinding against each other. Around them, their devil opponents fled in terror. Neither crows had even pursued.

But in the distance Di Jun noticed something. A pair of women were struggling in the turbulence. The flight of much stronger devils had brushed past them sending an attack to kick the two out of the way.

"Di Jun where are you going?" Taiyi couldn't help but yell when Di Jun immediately went to their side.

Di Jun unleashed the Celestial River Diagram as a shield and hurled the Sun Chakram at one of the devils who attacked the women. The devil barely had time to react when the chakram sliced into his forehead killing them.

"Come on, I got you," Di Jun cried out at one of the women. Specifically it was a weaker one who was only a Taiyi Golden Immortal. This made Di Jun wonder why someone who wasn't even considered a mighty figure was even doing at a place like this. The other stronger one was sending out moon light was a means to fight against natural disasters around her.

But when Di Jun showed up for aid, a plane told came through the Starry Skies. The sun crow gasped and held onto the woman's hand. His other hand transformed into a wing and hurled columns of fire at the planetoid.

"Heavens, I have to always save you don't I?" came Taiyi's exasperated voice. The younger golden crow rang his Chaos Bell sending ripples of power into the air. This immediately shattered the planetoid into a thousand pieces sending them down like a meteor shower.

"You alight?" Di Jun asked the staggered woman. She was dressed in yellow and wore a tiara on her hair. Said hair was very frazzled and messy now. It seems she noticed as she suddenly appeared very bashful.

"Yes I'm fine thank you," she said. "The turbulence is so violent that my sister and I were caught up accidentally."

"Good, that is good that you're fine. I am called Di Jun. Di Jun of the Solar Star," Di Jun puffed up his chest and said proudly. He resembled a male peacock spreading out all his tail feathers.

"Um, my name is Xihe. Xihe of the Lunar Star," Xihe said.

"Chang Xi of the Lunar star," the other woman said after arriving. "Thank you for your aid. I'm not sure how we sisters would've survived that by ourselves."

"Speaking of, why did you two choose to come here? If you're not even able to resist the pressure of the current situation then you should've retreated," Taiyi chastised.

"What?" Chang Xi said sounding offended.

"You're a Great Principle Chaos Immortal and she a little Great Unity Golden Immortal who could barely defend yourselves. I don't recognize you from the camp nor the fighting so you must've wondered in later on. This isn't some garden tea party get together, it's an all out war."

"And you know so much about those who choose to fight here? Who are you to question my ability?"

"I do question the sanity of those who try to get themselves killed."

"I'm sorry for my brother, he's a bit blunt and his standards of measurements are a bit skewed," Di Jun said to Xihe. "The situation has also been very stressful for us and he's just venting. Please pay him no mind."

"I can tell…you can let go of my hand now by the way."

"Oh sorry."

…

In the far West Sea, the White Clan who safeguarded the Jianmu tree stood monumentally still. The celestial tree that was so commonly used as a gateway towards the Starry Skies had suffered a monumental set back.

CRACK!

To the shock and horror of these pale skinned snow coloured hair individuals, the bark of the Jianmu tree cracked. Splinters of wood spilled out in a cloud forcing them to shut their eyes. The tree's very foundations crumbled beneath the weight of the sky.

Then Luohu struck and it became worse. Jianmu was buried beneath first hit of water. Another planet old crashed into the sea and another one hit the isle itself.

The White Clan immediately retreated fearing for their own lives. However, many also lost it in the process of trying to survive. Before their very sights, the Jianmu tree disappeared within a hail of meteor showers and deadly starry water.

As for the tree, it could no longer maintain it's stable position. It toppled over and its energy signature faded away. No one knows if it had been destroyed or not. The thing's defenses was comparable to a defensive top grade xiantian spiritual treasure. But even then its survival was in doubt.

…

As chaos rapidly spread, the Four Symbols made a rapid decision. Despite disaster already underway, they were determined to salvage things.

Since the sky was smashed apart and no longer repairable, it'll need to be reconstructed. What better way than a formation born from star power itself?

The four of them innately possessed celestial power originating from the Starry Skies. They represented not only the seasons but also the wuxing five elements as well as their corresponding planets. Together they were comparable to the Immortal Extermination Formation that was nigh indestructible.

Hence under Qinglong's command, the four of them spread out in four directions. Along with them, they stretched out the Four Symbols Formation to its widest possible corners. The diagram transformed into an imitation of the sky, shifting its former chaotic sight to that of the night sky. Countless starry spots appeared within the formation turned sky as if they were the heavens themselves.

Like that, the disc shaped diagram of the Starry Skies expanded rapidly. And like a net, it began catching the Starry Skies within it's barrier. This transformation essentially made it so that the Four Symbols Formation took the former sky's place as the sky and the new barrier that separated the Great Wilderness and the Starry Skies.

Wind turbulence however did not cease. Rather they picked up even rapidly turning as strong as the strongest of void spatial currents.. The world, especially the Central Continent was practically assaulted by a never ending storm constantly being ripped apart in all directions. Even with the Four Symbols above trying to manifest a new sky for the heavens, the ground below still suffered irreversible damage.

Bearing the entirety of the Starry Skies, the formation resembled a giant fishing net catching its prey. It's centre bent in a convex way with the centre of the circle nearly reaching the ground itself.

"Bear the weight, send it back up," Qinglong said.

"Right, combine our strengthens, strengthen the formation," Zhuque encouraged.

The four sent the pillars down below them, expanding and growing them into gargantuan constructs on the four corners of the world. Together, they descended simultaneously like the legs of a giant tortoise making landfall.

They smashed into the ground stabilizing the balance of the formation and began trying to push them back up.

At this point, Zulong, Zufeng, and Qi An regained their bearing. In their massive true forms they looked up at the Four Symbols Formation desperately holding back the sky. In the distance they also saw the four pillars holding up the sky.

"Those pillars," Zulong commented unwinding his body releasing Gui Daiyu and the others. "The 'help' you gave them? They're Ao's legs aren't they."

Qi An nodded unsure of Zulong's reaction. He wasn't too aware of their relationship but he did know Xuanwu was a trusted advisor to the dragons. Xuanwu was a disciple of Ao so their relationship couldn't be that simple.

Instead Zulon just sighed. "How much power can you two muster?" He asked Zufeng and Qi An. "You two still good?"

"Do I look like I'm in good condition," Zufeng grumbled. She gestured at all her lost features, her bleeding talons, her bloodied and bruised body. "But I digress. You want us to help the Four Symbols right? Well you already know my answer."

"Pushing up the new sky? There are flaws to this plan," Qi An said. "This new sky is formed by the Four Symbols Formation. But it's just that, a formation. It cannot last forever unless the four of them are willing to hold up the sky forever. I suggest we immediately evacuate all our relatives and head for the Chaos Sea. At this point the Primitive World is lost anyway."

Zulong and Zufeng looked at him in consideration.

"You suggest we abandon all we've built on this world?" Gui Daiyu said from below them having left Zulong's protection. She was accompanied by many surviving dragon and sea clan elders.

"If…if we do so, would we not be spitting in the face of all our people?"

"We can always rebuild in another location. Your majesty it'll be wise to hear this counsel."

"True, if we retreat to the Chaos Sea. Although it isn't familiar environment we'd at least have a chance."

"But how will we produce more Golden Immortals then?"

Once that last question was brought up the elders began debating again. Golden Immortals reabsorbed their true soul from the chaos world they originate from. When a creature is born, if they are not an innate god, a part of their being will not be with them. Their true soul exists within the river of souls that was contained within the Primitive World as an unremovable fundamental part of its foundation.

For Heavenly Immortals, the Primitive World itself was an invaluable resource. Should the Primitive World meet its end, those who had not achieved Golden Immortal ream and eternal life will never be able to do so.

'My sons already have eternity anyways. As do my nephews,' Zulong contemplated meeting Yinglong's eyes. There was some hesitation on the younger brother but Zulong could see a slight nod in agreement. Indeed, their master would ultimately value their lives above the Primitive World's as well. Perhaps it would be wiser to escape with the dragon and sea clan and meet up with him in the Chaos Sea.

But Zulong had only been to fringe spaces in the Chaos Sea, he could not navigate it anywhere near as skillfully as Da Hai could.

"Luohu," Zufeng spat. "That fucking rat forcing me into this situation." She flapped her wings to take flight. Her follower Chongming was still off somewhere presumably still locked in combat with Hundun.

"You all ungrateful fuckers!"

The army of immortals stared over towards the being who just yelled. It was the Pangu Genesis Formation who had cried out in a union of twelve different voices.

"Have you no respect? No love? No appreciation? No loyalty to the world the father god gave you all?" The twelve chastised. The dragons, phoenixes, and many others felt twelve disdainful gazes being sent their way.

"It is not a matter of loyalty," one of the dragons argued. "Can you not see the state the world is in? We all have our own responsibility to attend to as well."

"Frivolous arguments," the Pangu giant spat. "The Primitive World of our father's creation is worth anything. Even our own lives."

Under Di Jiang's command and Houtu's encouragement. The giant rose on its hands. It slammed them into the starry water beneath it and pushed up with all its might the ground shook with each of its movements that formed craters in the soil.

The giant rose up until it was on its knees and gazed up. "Father god pushed up the sky for seventeen thousand years permanently separating heaven from earth. What is this compared to that?"

It rose onto one knee and touched the night sky formed by the Four Symbols Formation with its back. The impact of the hit sent waves of pressure down the giant's shoulders.

suddenly Di Jiang no longer felt that confident. But the twelve did not feel like giving up. Houtu in particular screamed and pushed with all her might. Under her example, the rest also pushed with everything they had.

The Pangu giant lifted its arms and grabbed hold of the night sky. It's left palm landed somewhere between the Azure Dragon constellation and its right hand in the White Tiger constellation.

"NNNNRRRRRGGGGHHHH!"

The giant began pushing up. This raised the attention and gratitude of the Four Symbols Divine Beasts within. The shocking scene of the giant actually managing it was a boost to moral.

"Amazing," Nuwa murmured holding tightly to her stone. "I wish I could do more." Instead she turned her attention to the watery wasteland below her. With a snort she released the stone and began using it to absorb the starry water below. Seeing this, Fuxi sighed and began following in her footsteps with his own magic arts.

"You twelve really want to help?" Qinglong couldn't help but ask. "I can't help but remember how wild and uncooperative you were just now."

"Shut up dragon!" Zhurong shouted back. "How would you know being in that formation for so long."

"I have eyes burned man," Qinglong quipped back. "Whatever, help us distribute the weight. The barrier we formed is able to block the sky back without leakage. But our support is not enough."

"We're trying seniors," Houtu said.

The Pangu giant combined with the four pillars at the corners of the world both strained themselves to rise into the sky. As they did so three streams of light circulated them. Zulong, Zufeng, and Qi An arrived to send their powers to stabilize the sky.

The Pangu giant looked over and smiled. Steadily it got onto its second feet and raised its body.

"Ni Hong!" Zulong roared towards the earth. "I'm going to help in pushing back the sky. Defend us from any invaders."

"No invaders here your majesty. It seems the devils fled in the confusion," the conjoined twin dragons said.

He was half right. Luohu had disappeared along with most devils. But a few particularly bloodthirsty devils actually stayed behind to watch the ongoing. Among them was Rippling Reflection who hid behind Buzhou's rubble in the form of a dragonfly.

Zulong nodded accepting the response. He turned his attention back to aiding the Pangu giant. But it was also then that Yinglong felt Zulong's mind brush past his own.

The winged dragon looked up at his distant elder brother almost hesitantly. But after a few moments he nodded and quickly retreated from the Central Continent. Given his injured state most of the immortals payed him no mind. He was most likely ordered to retreat and recover given his special status in Zulong's eyes.

As for Rippling Reflection, the Great Devil Emperor was content to watch how they would save the world. After all, this wasn't a true solution, merely an attempt at delaying the inevitable. Which was why Zulong was also sending Qinglong secret messages.

"Listen brother, after the sky is sufficiently pushed back retreat with me. Gui Daiyu is heading back the Kailong Chen as we speak to collect my sons and others to collect our nephews. Then we make for the Chaos Sea. Time will be a bit tight but it'll be fine," he said calmly.

Qinglong was speechless.

"What the fuck Zulong?" He practically roared, in fact he nearly did so out loud. "You seriously suggesting that?"

"Think logically brother, whatever we manage to accomplish with the sky is ultimately temporary. Your formation cannot last forever. You and your fellow divine beasts can maybe stay in place for another yuanhui or so but eventually you'll have to rest. If not physically then mentally."

"But what of the Primitive World? What of the quintillions of lifeforms living on it?"

"…"

"…"

"Listen to your brother Qinglong, I know what's best."

On the outside, the three parties continued to expand their power. To further support them, the great immortals below over to clear out the water. They may be a danger to weaker individuals, but strong Golden Immortals were enough to resist and move them without too much issue.

Those born into the stars as their natural environment such as Di Jun and Taiyi were invaluable to the relief attempts. It was lucky for them too as no devils tried to harass them in these attempts. Secretly though, many furious immortals wished for devils to have remained for they wished to to vent their frustrations on them.

Yuanshi, Tongtian, and Taishang utilized their immortal might so swallow large amounts of stellar water into various containment materials. They were aided by those such as Lei Zu, Minghe, ZHen Yuanzi, Hongyun, even Kun Peng. Only Liu Er did not use supernatural methods.

The six eared macaque instead used his great strength to dig out wells and divert the heavenly waters into them. It was not as effective as the others but at least he was seen doing something. As he did so he couldn't help but take looks at Xihe, Changxi, Tongtian and various other goddesses and enjoy the eye candy.

It was good to him too as Liu Er managed to track down many treasures dropped by devil and immortals alike that were scattered on the ground.

In the midst of this, Chongming, Jiang Koilong, and Leize returned and reported to Gui Daiyu.

"Apologies your majesty," the two dragons sad. "We were held up."

"I saw you fighting Hundun with several other elders. What happened?" She asked.

The two dragon elders shook their heads. Ultimately they were unable to protect their kin and the other dragons were killed by Hundun. But Hundun himself fled after the sky broke apart. It would seem from start to finish he was not taking them seriously nor even trying.

'Could this Hundun be not committed to the devils at all?' Gui Daiyu couldn't help but think. She resolved to discuss this with Zulong at a later date. She looked upwards at the standing Pangu giant. It had managed to rise up to its full height now with arms bent. It was only a matter of time before it stretched the full length of its arms.

The sight caused a triumphant mood within those clearing the starry flood. They secretly wondered if this was what Pangu looked like during the earliest periods to the Primitive World, during those short seventeen thousand years. It was in that time that Pangu lived his final moments of life watching the world come into being.

Those most familiar with Pangu like the Three Pure Ones wondered what Pangu would've thought of all this. The three were also disappointed with themselves that they were not the ones replicating Pangu like this. They were born of his Nascent Soul, his very essence of life and understanding into the Dao.

Within the imitation of the sky, Qinglong was silent. He along with Zhuque was silent for a while. Though they continued to maintain the new barrier and strengthen the pillars in the four corners of the world, their moods were noticeably down.

This was nigh unnoticeable from the outside world but within the formation where all four were connected, Xuanwu and Baihu both felt it. The two grew increasingly concerned with the former two.

But Qinglong also had a look of disappointment. From his position in the night sky, he could see the three sovereigns giving their all to help the Pangu giant push up the sky. He sighed and closed his eyes.

The four pillars at the four corners of the world shone with brilliant light. They grew rapidly turning both thick and tall like rising pistons. They eased the pressure on the Pangu giant's shoulders with increasing speed. With that, four light beams converged from the four corners within the Central Continent.

Xuanwu gasped in shock as the faint image of a standing turtle rose up on a clearing on the ground. The turtle bore a striking resemblance to Ao the gargantuan turtle. Except this time he was much smaller, about as large as Zulong, Zufeng, and Qi An.

The three all took notice of the turtle and raised an eyebrow. The mirage didn't seem sentient and merely stood there as a byproduct. It yawned lazily and grinned in a jolly yet dumb way. But there was an unmistakable kindness in his eyes.

"You," Hongjun also took notice of the turtle. He stood unsteadily on his feet and starred right at the image of Ao with nostalgia.

"Always the one with the greatest defense," he murmured. "Even in that state you cultivated your body till this degree? I wonder if the Qilin Sovereign kept your shell or not."

His words generated no response from the turtle. This much Hongjun expected. It was still a pity however, Ao was once a member of the three thousand greatest chaos godfiends. A bonafide powerhouse if a lowkey one. But destiny saw a very important role for him to fulfill and Hongjun had to oblige.

The elderly daoist sighed and sat back down unable to remain on his feet. He chuckled pitifully at his current state and was just happy he was being ignored. He couldn't afford any scrutiny anyway.

All around him, enormous amounts of primordial qi gathered towards the new sky. An amount that was sucking the world dry as unbelievable as that sounds. Zulong glanced suspiciously at the flowing of qi.

"All this effort?" He couldn't help but murmur in doubt.

In the sky, Qinglong opened his eyes. He met the gazes of his fellow Four Symbols and wore a wry smile.

"Hey guys," he began. "You know what I'm thinking?"

Zhuque outright laughed at his question. Baihu cracked his neck and Xuanwu appeared resolved.

"A million years," Baihu began. "Heh, putting down wars and rebellions. Shutting down dissenting elements and watching the West Continent. What a time to be alive.."

"A million years safe guarding the North Sea," Xuanwu said to Qinglong. "Worth it I'd say. I lived with my master and got to watch so many lifeforms grow and mature. Now they can finally stand on their own two feet without risk of extinction. So much has changed from the karmically sinful ice cold wasteland from years back."

"They're gonna be furious," Zhuque said to Qinglong. "You and I have had our differences but many things we share. Our hardhead siblings being top among them. You know Qinglong, I'm glad I met you guys. Phoenix's Roost is so stuffy with so much politics and management work."

"Can't deny that sister," Qinglong chuckled. "Kailong Chen is worse. So many territory disputes and who owns what treasure. Sometimes I just want to slap the next shark or whale who complains to me about anything. And don't get me started on the arrangements for the Sea Eye. If only master never introduced paper."

"So that's were that came from? I never knew."

The four continued chatting for a while. They shared personal thoughts, often scathing opinions about certain individuals. They shared stories they've told a million times again and again. They shared laughs and they shared emotion.

Eventually they calmed down. Then they began to truly work.

The Pangu giant noticed it first being the closest. Di Jiang and the others all glanced up feeling a tingly feeling in their backs. The dent in the new sky was now con existent aside from a small vortex at the very centre. A hole that was not dissimilar to the old one.

"CHANGE!" The four immortals within cried out.

"Pangu Genesis Formation, I'm gonna have to request for you to hold your position," Qinglong asked much to the giant's confusion. "We're gonna come up with something a little more permanent you get me?"

"You," Di Jiang was a little speechless. As someone intimately connected with one of the fundamental Dao Laws of the Primitive World's existence, he was privy to some truths.

Even the grouchy Zhurong was quiet upon hearing the Azure Dragon's words. He only nodded in respect alongside his fellow brothers and sisters. Houtu began shedding a few tears even.

"Oh what selfless living beings you are woo," she cried. in her heart she wished to learn by their example thoroughly.

But Zulong and Zufeng were also present and they knew that something was wrong. Despite not coordinating, they moved in unison. It made Zulong wonder if Zufeng had sent a similar message as he had.

"Qinglong, what do you think you're doing?" Zulong called out with a flash of anger.

The Formation up top had stated crystallizing. It not only stabilized, it was also beginning to feel more and more like a part of the natural world. This sent red flags all over Zulong and Zufeng. Could their siblings actually want to merge into the Primitive World?

"Ah brother," Qinglong said sending back through a mental message. "Looks like you've caught me."

"Obey me this instant. End the formation and retreat with him now, Yinglong should be closing in on the East Sea."

"But what of the South Sea? Or the West Sea or even the North Sea? What of the continents?"

"What matters is you!"

"I don't think so Zulong."

Qinglong shook his head. "I don't want everything you've built to be washed away. I don't want the home we were born to to explode in fire and frenzy. I don't really want to see all this end. Don't you find the Primitive World beautiful at all brother?"

"I have, I always have," the Azure Dragon continued whimsically. "I think it's cause of my star power. This symbol within me connects me to the world a lot closer then either you or Yinglong ever were. I'm sorry I've disappointed you."

"Qinglong I order you to STOP!" Zulong roared in the real world flying up alongside a shrieking Zufeng.

"You two cease this at once," Qi An moved to intercept the dragon and phoenix. The qilin immediately kicked the dragon in the head and created ethereal ropes to drag Zufeng town by her talon.

"Unhand me!" Zufeng screeched blasting fire into Qi An's face.

"Hey sis, be sure to tell my nephews only good stories about me yeah?" Zhuque cried out.

"As your reigning sovereign I order you to stop Zhuque!" The Phoenix Sovereign instead demanded.

BOOM!

But the four refused to listen, instead the sky suddenly shook followed a loud noise and a purple coloured rubble that surged through it. The formation's boundaries disappeared completely into the horizon and the Four Symbols roared in unison.

Seeing this, Zulong exploded with power with all he had left. "Out of my way or I'll kill you just as I did your father!" He clawed into Qi An's forehead.

"Oh how the situation has reversed," Qi An gritted his teeth and tanked the hit with his antlers. He aimed to lock Zulong in place with all his might. He met Zulong's gaze and felt both terrified and small.

He was reminded of the murderous pressure Zulong gave off when last they met. He would never forget that experience and could not suppress shudders.

Zufeng flapped her wings and tried to fly past him. She succeeded in gaining altitude and neared the epicenter of the sky. The vortex spun wildly with her presence.

"Can't let you do that," the Pangu giant roared. It chose to blow out a gust of wind from its massive bearded mouth right into the phoenix. But when that didn't work he shifted one hand and swiped at her instead.

"Gah!" Zufeng was staggered falling back by the impact. Her peak suffered a chip as damage and she glared hatefully at the formation. Her body exploded in flames and she prepared to attack.

"Stop sister this is my will," Zhuque said sounding disappointed. "I understand you. But please think of your eggs, they need you more than me."

"I need both of you," Zufeng cried instead. "Who can I assuredly trust if not you? Who can I always count on if not you?"

"Please safe your strength sister, you still need to recover," Zhuque chastised and began singing. Her song from within the sky formation was like a wave of harmonious soothing tunes. It made Zufeng loose strength great shocking her as to Zhuque's sudden show of strength.

Zulong glanced up and broke free of Qi An's grasp. But Qinglong had seen this and already acted. Wooden gates fell from the sky twelve in total. The slammed down on Zulong's long body as a way to pin him to the ground.

But Zulong was undeterred. He clawed at the gates around his body unleashing waves of power. His strikes cut into the wood and he destroyed several at once. But the lose of momentum was enough for the Qilin Sovereign to circle back and nail him with his long antlers.

Zulong roared refusing to give up trying to break free.

The furious civil war between them drew the attention of Gui Daiyu. The empress gasped at the sudden turn of events. The dragons around her were unsure what to do. They had only heard bits and pieces but based on the changes of the Four Symbols Formation sky imitation, they can hazard a good enough guess.

"Zulong," Gui Daiyu cried out. "Perhaps what Qinglong wants is for the best?" She tried. "Otherwise the Primitive World will really be gone. What of our empire then?" She too was ultimately unwilling to give everything up. She grew up in the East Sea and was raised within its warm waters. She could not bear to see it gone.

Another purple shockwave sent an unbearable pressure down to the earth again. All three sovereigns released an 'oof' and fell onto the ground with a thud. All three raised their heads again at the sky.

The constellations of the four divine beasts were glowing brighter and brighter. Instead, the individual lights of the beasts themselves at the four extreme corners of the world were growing fainter and fainter. The seven constellations that collectively formed twenty eight all glowed with such intensity that they were mini suns in and of themselves

The Pangu giant however, was gritting its teeth as the night sky swirled. The vortex above its head widened like a gapping maw. This was a stark contrast to the other four sides.

"What's the matter?" Xuanwu couldn't help but ask. "Why is the ritual not continuing? Aren't we a natural fit?"

"The centre piece," Qinglong said in realization. "The yellow coloured Saturn Star's Earth Element is missing. We cannot join as the Five Elements without it."

"Fuck!" Baihu roared in frustration. "Back then when we first used this, your brother acted as the centre. But now we don't have one."

The skybox was formed from the Four Symbols Formation that united four of the five elements. The five represented harmony that stabilized all creation within the Primitive World. But when the formation began merging into the world and transformed into a part of its foundation, it was missing one of its key pieces.

As such an empty hole manifested in the centre of the night sky. A phenomena that was inevitable without the final piece. If this continued, their plans would fail. There may even be a backlash that breaks their formation and releases the Starry Skies.

This change was noticed by all. All the innate gods, cultivators, dragons and phoenixes saw the middle portion open up like a pit. They all shared a unanimous gulp. Why was hope so fleeting?

Nuwa and Fuxi were among those closest to the epicenter. Floating in the sky, the duo felt a rush of complex emotions. Nuwa especially was both frustrated and furious. Though she had enjoyed the adrenaline of the action previously, she also cursed the devils for upending her peaceful existence. But for an ordinary Great Principle Chaos Immortal, there was little she could contribute to the greater scope of the conflict.

But within Nuwa's hands, her rainbow coloured rock glowed. This glow caught her attention so she held it up and starred straight into it with wonder. Then she lifted it above her head angling it at the hole in the sky. It seemed to fit perfectly.

"Strange," she muttered. The rock glowed in five colour total red, black, white, azure, and yellow. The former four were in shades suspiciously like the the ones shone through the constellation of the Four Symbols Divine Beats.

"Nuwa what are you doing?" Fuxi asked from beside her.

"My rock it's," she began before falling into a state of contemplation.

The formation in the sky had nearly completely transformed into the new sky. But the formation of the central pit had also ironically opened up a new whole for starry water to pour through. The Pangu giant was the first to suffer that as it was beset by what appeared to be a quick flowing waterfall.

It groaned and the skin textures of its body started ripping and scraping off. It's roared in furry and the twelve beings who made up its body all cried out in unison. Its arms emitted light in twelve different shades and stood proudly on its legs. Using its great strength, it tried to resist being washed away.

The stone in Nuwa's hands only glowed more and more. At some point it glowed to a point where others began noticing it. It's energy began transforming as well. Nuwa noticed that it felt remarkably similar to the energy that's coming from the sky.

"Where did you find that anyway?" Fuxi suddenly asked.

"Uh, I was out playing one day and just stumbled upon it. It was close to a slope that led from Mt Buzhou's summit," she said before widening her eyes at the implications. Without warning she took off in a blaze of five coloured light.

Her action startled many who were paying attention and caught the eyes of those who weren't. Nuwa had transformed into a massive golden scaled serpent with a woman's head. This was her true form and the rock previously in her hand was clenched in her teeth held securely between her sets of fangs.

Her transformation sent a burst of power through her veins boosting her speed. She slithered upwards and swam against the wind currents with surprising ease cutting her way directly towards the pit in the sky.

"Nuwa what reckless actions are you intending now?" Fuxi roared chasing after her.

Far below, Rippling Reflection saw this scene with an odd glint in his eyes. He was the only devil who remained but the scene of Nuwa rising up to the sky fascinated him for whatever reason. Suddenly he felt a strange urge.

"Hm," he thought rubbing his chin. "Yes I can use this. This conflict cannot die today. I'll sacrifice this body then." In a split second decision, he emerged from his hiding place shooting up into the sky.

It was sudden and unexpected. This combined with his high cultivation realm made it that he was quickly gaining on Nuwa. Not only that, despite being heavily injured courtesy of Yi Fei'e, he was still capable of great speed.

"Stop him!" Yuanshi cried out after spotting the shadow of Rippling Reflection taking off.

Needing no other warnings, powerful dragons like Leize and Ni Hong rose to catch the speeding devil within their maws. But they were a step too late. It seemed as if the devil will catch and knock Nuwa off her course.

…

Liu Er was another individual who noticed Nuwa before she'd even taken off. The six eared macaque had just finished digging another lake that managed to clear up the ground when he saw Nuwa take on her true form. It was a bit shocking to him how hideous she looked as compared to her beautiful form as a humanoid woman.

Liu Er was more used to her portrayal in popular earth media as this hot Chinese maiden. Where did this torch dragon wannabe come from? Wasn't only her lower half supposed to be serpentine?

"Wait that rock."

He immediately got to his feet and felt like kicking himself. "Of course, Buzhou broke down so Nuwa must mend the heavens. Fucking hell why are events happening so rapidly, so fucking unfair. How the hell am I supposed to prepare for that?"

Making a split second decision of his own, Liu Er leapt into the sky with as much strength as he could muster. The ground exploded beneath him as he rocketed himself into the sky. There wasn't a fancy display of magical abilities nor any special technique, just pure raw brutish physical strength.

Liu Er reached out his right hand at a grasping position. He hoped to reach Nuwa and pry the stone from her teeth and use it himself to mend the heavens. He had read about how much she was rewarded from this deed and thought it'll benefit him more.

Nuwa was after all pretty useless in the myths. She made humanity but quickly abandoned it choosing to join the Demon heavenly Court. She was at fault for causing the Investiture of the Gods tribulation and she did nothing to shield humanity despite making them. Instead she shielded the last demon prince and lived isolated outside the Great Wilderness.

It disgusted Liu Er and he swore that when Nuwa made the same mistake in the future, he'll take over as the god protector of mankind.

Gleefully, he salivated at the potential possibilities. His fingers stretched out deviously and he smirked exposing his fangs. Who knows, perhaps he could even grab the Wise Monkey inheritance while he was at it.

After all, Sun Wukong was said to have been born from a piece of this stone that fell to the earth. He inherited one fourth of the Chaos Demon Ape's physique jus like himself. Perhaps it was already there within the rock and he could grab it before anyone notices.

"Mine," he hissed closing in on the goddess.

Nuwa bent her neck down slightly looking at Liu Er. Or was she looking over him? Liu Er couldn't really tell.

What he could tell was that she was smiling? Why was she smiling?

"Thank you fellow daoist," she said to Liu Er.

Thank him? What?

BOOM!

"OOF!"

Liu Er was suddenly thrown off course. He was hit by the other individual aiming for Nuwa, Rippling Reflection devil. The two had coincidentally been heading towards each other at an acute angle. Both aiming for Nuwa and both impacting each other instead.

Nuwa had clearly misunderstood the situation but that was of no importance. What mattered was that Liu Er and Rippling Reflection both fell from the sky spiraling as they went.

The devil was quickly swallowed by Leize and electrocuted his body within his mouth and digested him within. The monkey on the other hand was caught by Jiang Koilong.

"There you go, thank you for your aid," the first ascendant dragon praised.

"Wha…bu…huh?" Liu Er could only stammer out.

In the sky, Nuwa assumed her regular human form holding the stone in her hands after avoiding the waterfall. She held it up to the whole but hesitated slightly. An insight had entered her mind and she realized something.

"Seniors," she began. "Is this really alright?"

"We made our piece with it already little girl," the four beasts answered her in unison. "Do it. Do it before out hardheaded siblings catches up to you."

Nuwa gulped thinking of Zulong and Zufeng. "Alright then. Here I go. HAIYAH!"

She pressed the stone into the hole with all her might. The sudden action sent shockwaves through the night sky. The Pangu Genesis Formation screamed in pain even as the water stopped hitting it. Its body disintegrated and twelve individuals fell from the sky.

Five coloured rippled through the starry night and Nuwa fell down as well. She landed upon the hard scaled claws of a gargantuan dragon, Zulong. The glanced up tiredly and only saw the complex feeling gaze of Zulong meeting her back.

In the sky, the formation completely disappeared. Everything was back to normal as if nothing had happened. A single trail of light fell from landing somewhere in the east but otherwise, the new sky resembled the old.

The only difference was that when one looked at the sky now, they noticed four distinct constellations that were hard to miss.

In the distant south, a massive molten magma pillar formed decorated in flames and singing birds.

The the west, a golden white coloured metal pillar formed decorated with swords and tigers.

In the north, an ice pillar with carvings of a tortoise and snake appeared anchoring the world where Ao once was.

In the Far East, a wooden pillar with dragonic sculpting appeared fully visible to all who looked.

The only thing was, the life signs of the Four Symbols Divine Beasts have all disappeared.