26: Ferocious beasts unleash their power; Qiongqi battles Yuanfeng.

Under the command of Beast Emperor Shen Ni, hundreds of millions of Vicious Beasts swarmed out from the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, sweeping across the Primordial Land like a black tide.

The four Vicious Beast Kings—Taotie, Chaos, Qiongqi, and Taowu—each led a route. Wherever they passed, mountains and rivers shattered, and living beings were plunged into misery.

In the east, Taotie opened its heaven-swallowing maw, devouring countless treasures, Spiritual Veins, and living beings in its path.

In the south, Qiongqi spread its wings and swept across the sky. Where its wings flapped, plague and poisonous mist filled the air.

In the west, Chaos stirred the Laws of heaven and earth, twisting the Void Realm. Wherever it passed, the sun and moon lost their light, and the Laws fell into disorder.

In the north, Taowu crushed mountains and rivers. Wherever it passed, the earth cracked and magma erupted.

The myriad races of the Primordial Land wailed everywhere, and blood flowed like rivers.

Weak tribes were nearly wiped out, and even powerful Cultivators struggled to withstand the tide of Vicious Beasts.

Evil Qi surged between heaven and earth, calamity clouds gathered thickly, and the aura of the Great Calamity had quietly descended...

At this time, Nanming Undying Volcano.

The Vicious Beast army led by Qiongqi, after a long period of sweeping through the Southern Land, finally discovered the existence of the Immortal Volcano.

They didn't care whether something was suppressed here or what would happen if it were destroyed.

They only knew that destroying this place would be revenge against the Primordial Land.

The creatures of the Immortal Volcano had long since sensed the approach of the Vicious Beasts.

At this time, the Immortal Volcano did not have Qing Wu and Yuan Feng presiding over it, but they did not sit still and wait for death, using the terrain to engage in battle.

Initially, only a few scattered Vicious Beasts came following the aura of life, blocked by the natural Restrictions on the outskirts of the volcano.

Magma surged and earth fire erupted, burning those low-intelligence Vicious Beasts to ashes.

Flocks of Fire Crows circled in the sky, using blazing flames to disperse the invaders.

Wood Spirits controlled vines, dragging lone Vicious Beasts into the lava.

However, when the main army led by Qiongqi arrived, the situation suddenly reversed.

Qiongqi's body was like a fierce tiger, covered in pitch-black scales, with sharp bone spurs growing on its back.

Atop its head was a pair of curved bronze-colored ox horns, with venom dripping from the tips.

Its eyes were as red as blood, capable of emitting a terrifying bloody light when staring.

This Vicious Beast King spread its wings and hovered high in the sky, its poisonous mist pouring down like a waterfall, corroding the Restrictions around the volcano.

The magma was polluted by the poisonous mist, and the flames grew dim. The Fire Crow flocks had just taken flight to counterattack when they were torn apart by Qiongqi's claws, their broken feathers falling along with a rain of blood.

The Wood Spirits' vines had just wrapped around the Vicious Beasts when they were eroded by the poisonous mist and withered instantly.

The creatures quickly retreated to the inner perimeter of the volcano, using the power of the Earth Vein Fire Spirits to construct a barrier.

The Formation composed of Red Crystal Stones lit up, temporarily isolating the poisonous mist.

The Fire Lizards spat flames, attempting to purify the polluted air.

Qiongqi let out a piercing shriek, and the Vicious Beast army surged forward like a tide.

Ignoring the burning flames, they slammed into the Formation with their flesh and blood.

For every Vicious Beast that fell, more advanced by stepping over the corpses of their kin.

The Formation began to shake, and cracks spread like spiderwebs.

"Hold on!" The Vine Spirit thrust its roots deep into the earth vein, using itself as a medium to draw more fire spirit power.

The Fire Lingzhi Elder, who had undergone Transformation, sacrificed his treasured Fire Essence, barely maintaining the Formation.

But Qiongqi had already grown impatient.

It dove down, its sharp claws directly tearing through the crumbling barrier.

The poisonous mist instantly poured in, and thousands of Wood Spirits turned into pus and blood on the spot.

The Fire Lizards fought back desperately but were submerged by the swarm of Vicious Beasts and torn to pieces.

Seeing this tragic scene, the creatures were all terrified.

The horror of the Vicious Beasts was not something they could handle.

They wanted to retreat further, but everyone stopped in their tracks.

Behind them, an illusion of a Wutong Tree swayed in the wind, scattering layers of life force.

This was merely a wisp of consciousness left behind by a single leaf of Qing Wu.

Seeing that they had arrived near Qing Wu's Dao Field, the creatures decided not to retreat any further.

"Behind us is the location of the Daoist Venerable's Dao Field. We cannot let them defile it."

"That's right. The Daoist Venerable has shown us the grace of guidance; we cannot allow them to pass."

The remaining creatures gathered together. Fire Lizards dragged their severed tails, and Wood Spirits held their broken branches, yet all straightened their backs.

They formed a final Formation, building a defensive line with their own bodies.

"Laughable." Qiongqi hovered in mid-air, its crimson vertical pupils full of disdain. "Mere ants dare to block me?"

With a flap of its wings, the poisonous mist pressed down like a giant wave.

The Fire Lingzhi Elder's body began to melt, yet he still stood firmly at the very front.

The Vine Spirit's roots snapped inch by inch, yet it still desperately entangled the Vicious Beast's claws.

"For the Immortal Volcano!" A Fire Crow cried out, charging at Qiongqi with the determination to die, self-detonating before its eyes and exploding into a blinding burst of fire.

Qiongqi was enraged: "Courting death!"

It struck down with a claw; the earth cracked, and tens of thousands of creatures were instantly turned into blood mist.

Just then, its gaze was suddenly drawn to the illusion of the Wutong Tree.

This object remained lush and green even within the poisonous mist, emitting an aura that made its heart palpitate; it seemed to have a restraining effect on its poisonous mist.

This thing made him quite unhappy.

"Perish!" Qiongqi grinned hideously, flapping its wings and charging toward the Wutong Tree illusion, intending to destroy it completely.

The creatures closed their eyes in despair; they no longer had the strength to stop it.

"You dare!"

A clear shout rang out like a clap of thunder. It was Yuan Feng, who had used her extreme speed to return a step ahead of Qing Wu.

A fiery red figure flashed by, and the sky full of poisonous mist was suddenly incinerated by crimson-gold flames.

Just as Qiongqi's sharp claws extended, they were tightly bound by a Fire Whip.

Yuan Feng came treading on fire, her red dress fluttering, her eyes burning with overwhelming rage.

Touching my things—have you asked for my permission?

Yuan Feng's eyes were full of killing intent. With a flick of her hand, she whipped Qiongqi away, then flew high into the sky to battle it.

Qiongqi was whipped backward, its wings carving two pitch-black trails of poisonous mist in the void.

It stabilized itself, its crimson vertical pupils staring fixedly at Yuan Feng, letting out a piercing roar.

Yuan Feng stood in mid-air. Behind her, the Nanmingli Fire transformed into a pair of sky-covering fire wings, and the scorching waves of fire incinerated the surrounding poisonous mist.

With a flick of her finger, the divine phoenix plume moved like a spiritual snake, drawing countless lines of fire in the air, weaving into a vast net that enveloped Qiongqi.

Qiongqi roared, its wings flapping violently as the poisonous mist turned into hideous ghost faces, colliding with the fire net.

The two forces exploded in mid-air, the shockwave shattering all the nearby rocks.

The earth veins of the Immortal Volcano were drawn upon, and magma erupted, transforming into a crimson fire phoenix under Yuan Feng's control, which roared and pounced toward Qiongqi.

Qiongqi's claws tore through the fire phoenix. Venom corroded the flames along the claw marks, actually corrupting the fire phoenix into a rain of pitch-black blood.

It took the opportunity to charge forward, its speed as fast as lightning, its poisonous claws aiming straight for Yuan Feng's throat.

Yuan Feng sneered, her figure suddenly blurring, leaving a flaming afterimage in place.

Qiongqi's claw missed. Before it could react, a burning pain came from its back.

Yuan Feng had appeared behind it at some unknown time, striking its back with a whip. Nanmingli Fire instantly invaded its body.

Qiongqi roared in pain, the scales on its back burned red-hot.

It rolled frantically, poisonous mist spraying from every pore in an attempt to extinguish the flames.

Qiongqi let out an unwilling roar and continued to battle Yuan Feng.

The creatures below looked up at this world-shaking battle, both shocked and worried.