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Amidst conversation, the White Tiger roared, unleashing a thunderball into the clouds, which burst into a dense rain of lightning, raining down upon the two Golden Dragons, causing their bodies to twist in agony.
The two dragons were no match for the White Tiger.
Had the Dragon Elders just left, only for a battle to erupt within? Was this a reserved item?
"Ang!" Meng Xuan let out a dragon's roar.
"Brother He, assist me!"
With a flash, Su He activated his divine ability, appearing directly above the head of the Golden Dragon. The outer form of Turtle Mountain materialized on his back, with the Spirit Snake coiling above it.
Su He chanted loudly, shielding Meng Xuan beneath him.
Lightning struck down upon Turtle Mountain. The coiling Spirit Snake, resembling a Tai Chi symbol, spun and flung the lightning away. The sensation was numbing and painful, but not to the extent that the two Golden Dragons couldn't bear.
Beside them, one of the Golden Dragons, twisted in pain, suddenly turned and roared at Su He.
"What about me?"
Not only did he not protect it, but he also flung the lightning onto it?
The Dragon Turtle's defense was unparalleled, often exceeding its own realm.
Su He apologized. He hadn't truly used the Spirit Snake before and wasn't familiar with it.
The true form of Basalt was indeed impressive; the snake coiling around the turtle moved with the subtleties of Tai Chi, effortlessly diverting the lightning. Su He didn't even understand how he had managed to do it.
Before the White Tiger could fully recover, it roared and swiped at the air, unleashing five sword-like slashes that tore through the sky.
But then, a phoenix's cry rang out.
Flames ignited in the sky as the phoenix abruptly appeared, its wings spreading waves of light that rippled through the air, slowing the White Tiger's five slashes as they hit the waves.
Taking advantage of this, the turtle and two dragons swiftly retreated.
The flames on the phoenix flickered, and as the ripples vanished, the five slashes tore through the clouds, ripping open a swath of space. Beyond the space rift, darkness loomed, its destination unknown.
The Dragon Gate seemed like a portal to the traces left by the Dragon Ancestors. This place could be within the Three Thousand Great Worlds or some other hidden realm; each time the Dragon God Festival was held, the destination was different.
Su He's divine ability flashed, and he landed beside the White Tiger, looking up with a roar of divine might.
"Roar!"
Against such half-real creatures, divine might often achieved miraculous effects.
With a roar, the White Tiger was momentarily confused. Flames and blades fell upon it in an instant. The flames came from the phoenix, a Fire Phoenix whose true fire could burn all things. It was said that the Phoenix Ancestor's true fire could even burn through time.
This fire, when it landed on the phoenix's own kind, was a divine object that repaired their bodies. But upon an enemy, it brought certain death.
In a critical moment, the White Tiger roared and spat out a thunderball, not to attack but to expand immediately upon appearance, enveloping itself to block the Phoenix's true fire.
Meanwhile, the two Golden Dragons' attacks arrived.
These two dragons followed a similar path, refining themselves as weapons. Discarding all else, they focused on attack. Meng Xuan's tail whipped down, with the shadow of a whip appearing upon it.
"Snap!" With a crisp sound, the defensive thunderball around the White Tiger exploded.
The White Tiger roared and spat out another thunderball, but in that brief moment, the other Golden Dragon's attack arrived as expected. The dragon coiled in the sky, a javelin forming at its center, piercing through space and stabbing downward.
With a buzz, it embedded halfway into the White Tiger's flank.
The White Tiger turned and bit the exposed javelin in half, ignoring the half embedded in its body. Yet it roared and launched a thunderball at Su He.
If not for This Turtle's roar stunning it, the other beasts would not have been able to catch it off guard.
The thunderball crackled with electricity, shattering space.
Su He couldn't take it head-on. High defense didn't mean it wouldn't hurt; taking it head-on would definitely be painful.
He dodged with his divine ability but was disrupted by the shattered space, appearing right above the White Tiger.
The White Tiger stood on its hind legs, reaching out with its claws towards Su He.
A cold light flashed in Su He's eyes as the Mountain God Seal dispersed within him, merging with his body. Using his body as the seal, he crashed down upon the White Tiger.
At that moment, a long bellow, like that of a deer or an ox, sounded, and a verdant light fell upon Su He. He felt a surge of vitality, and the power of the Mountain God Seal doubled.
A turtle and a tiger collided with a thunderous impact.
With the point of collision as the center, space shattered inch by inch.
The outer form was torn open by two claws, the huge tiger paws scratching the plastron, emitting a piercing buzz. The armor was penetrated by two inches, sharp claws tearing into flesh, turtle blood dripping.
Su He roared, the Spirit Snake on his back biting downwards. At that moment, the White Tiger was charging at the center of Su He's plastron, so the Spirit Snake could only bite at its flank.
The Glutton's eating method was employed, the Glutton's dragon head overlapping with the snake's head, biting into the White Tiger's flank.
Crack!
Blood spurted out as the Spirit Snake tore off a piece of flesh. Su He immediately vanished. When he reappeared in mid-air, another green light fell upon him. The flesh in his belly wriggled and healed together, even the armor began to mend.
It was the Kylin, timidly joining the fray.
The enemy was a White Tiger of unknown existence. With the other three Divine Beasts engaged in battle, she felt that as one of the Four Divine Beasts, if she didn't take action, she might be sent home to be yoked and plow the fields by her ancestors.
This White Tiger was not right, behaving like an Exotic Beast without Spiritual Intelligence, not very bright. Otherwise, with Su He right above it, it should have immediately torn through space to prevent his escape.
Su He landed, his belly wound completely healed, even the plastron's damage mostly mended.
He glanced at the Kylin, and their eyes met. The little Kylin immediately looked away in panic.
Cute as a kitten.
From Su He's arrival to now, it was only a matter of a few breaths. The Divine Beasts spectating outside were in an uproar.
The Glutton roared, its five tails swinging as it charged at the White Tiger. Mid-air, it unleashed its control technique, a tail whipping out, a beam of light smashing towards the White Tiger. But mid-flight, it was blocked by a transparent barrier. The light hit the barrier, rebounded, and fell upon the Glutton itself.
The massive leopard froze mid-air, plummeting to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.
The Heavy Eyed Bird landed beside the Glutton, looking at the barrier and said, "Don't bother, this battle isn't for you or me. See the aura on the barrier? Apart from the Four Divine Beasts, other Divine Beasts can't get through."
This was a selection of opponents—ordinary Divine Beasts didn't even qualify to enter.
The Glutton opened and closed its mouth like a fish out of water, cursing vehemently.
Inside the barrier, the beasts exchanged glances. It wasn't just the Glutton; none of them had noticed the barrier's existence! They hadn't felt any resistance when they entered.
Su He looked at Meng Xuan, who looked at the other Golden Dragon. It was the first to confront the White Tiger.
The Golden Dragon shook its head: "I was just seeing off the elders when a White Tiger appeared behind me. It attacked me as soon as it came out, unable to communicate, like a madman."
Madness was one thing, but it was damn powerful!
Its attack methods were strange, devoid of the power of the world or true essence techniques. Apart from the thunderball, it seemed to rely entirely on instinct.
Like an Exotic Beast that had gone mad—without madness, what Exotic Beast would dare attack a Divine Beast?
Su He turned to look at the White Tiger.
The White Tiger was also looking at him, or more precisely, at the Spirit Snake on his shell.
"Where's that stupid dragon of yours?" The phoenix flapped its wings to stay aloft, tilting its head as it glanced at the two little Golden Dragons.
She was referring to the Red Dragon from her era, stupid but indeed fierce in battle.
The two Golden Dragons shook their heads simultaneously: "Injured, didn't come to the Dragon God Festival this time."
That stupid dragon was indeed unreliable, never of use at critical times.
The phoenix narrowed her eyes slightly: "The White Tiger is injured, don't give it a chance to breathe. Little Kylin, boost attack and defense… give Su He full defense. I'll use my feathers to restrain, Dragon Turtle to block, Golden Dragons to break and kill."
This White Tiger was extraordinary; they'd deal with any issues after subduing it. If all else failed, they'd kill it outright. Many things are unclear in life but become crystal clear in death.
The Kylin nodded. Its front hooves tapped the ground, its horn shining, and spells fell upon Su He.
Su He's shell began to emit the glow of a precious artifact, shining brightly…
Su He felt it for a moment; it was similar to a curse, or perhaps a blessing? A status boost.
The outer form of Turtle Mountain shimmered with light, even the Spirit Snake coiling around it sparkled.
After boosting Su He's status, he positioned himself between the White Tiger and the other beasts. The White Tiger's claws were sharp, tearing through space as if playing. But tearing through the outer form, only penetrating the plastron slightly, it ran out of strength.
Su He alone could almost block its attack, and with the Kylin's blessing, that claw should have been completely blocked. The Mountain God Seal gently struck the ground, adjusting to six times the attack power.
The five Divine Beasts had not deployed their domains. This White Tiger was off, without a domain. The five beasts had not practiced combined attacks; hastily deploying their domains could interfere with each other and become a constraint instead.
Watching the glow appear opposite, the White Tiger sensed an impending crisis. It roared and charged at the phoenix, but Su He flashed in front of it.
Divine might roared out.
The phoenix's feathers flickered, and beams of light fell upon the White Tiger, which suddenly seemed to be mired in a quagmire, its speed plummeting.
Su He's gaze sharpened, and the Mountain God Seal struck out fiercely. A giant dice spewed from his mouth, like a mountain crashing down upon the White Tiger.
At this moment, Su He had reached the heavens, and the power of the Mountain God Seal had increased many times over compared to when he fought the Heavy Eyed Bird. The seal, imbued with the power of the world, shone like a bright star, striking the White Tiger's forehead.
Thud!
The sound was muffled, like a great bell tolling, smashing the tiger's head into its chest cavity.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
Two streaks of golden light flashed by, and the two Golden Dragons, like two great swords, descended from the sky, cleaving into the White Tiger. Blood spurted out in an instant.
Beneath the White Tiger, the Phoenix's true fire flared up, igniting the entire beast in a moment.
All this happened in an instant. Only now did the White Tiger's roar emerge, its mouth bursting with a huge thunderball, bolts of lightning shooting towards the beasts.
The four Divine Beasts were already prepared; before the White Tiger's thunderball appeared, they had flashed behind Su He.
Lightning rained down like a storm, striking Su He's shell. The Spirit Snake coiled, moving in a Tai Chi pattern, diverting most of the lightning, with the remaining few unable to break through Turtle Mountain.
Su He's Mountain God Seal struck one after another, smashing the White Tiger towards the ground.
Below the earth, myriad plants surged, attacking the White Tiger's belly. A heavy rain fell, turning into soldiers upon hitting the ground, also charging at the White Tiger.
The White Tiger screamed, its claws flailing, slashing in all directions.
The slashes hit the outer form of Turtle Mountain but were blocked again, this time not even breaking through completely.
Its power diminished more and more.
The White Tiger's figure grew fainter and fainter, about to disperse. The beasts unleashed their techniques more frantically.
As the White Tiger was about to vanish, Su He roared, and divine might roared out once more. This time, it wasn't to kill the enemy, but to use the Divine Ability he inherited before the Dragon God Festival—Soul Sacrifice!
It could imprison the enemy's soul, instantly unleashing its strongest attack from its lifetime. However, Soul Sacrifice could only imprison those of a lower realm than Su He. The White Tiger's realm was unknown, so Su He gave it a try.
A roar failed to pull out the White Tiger's soul.
The White Tiger's realm was indeed higher than his.
Otherwise, Soul Sacrifice was unreasonable; even if aimed at a dying Divine Beast, it could tear off part of the beast's existence, transforming it into the strongest attack.
The strike missed, and the two Golden Dragons spiraled into the sky, intertwining like a twisted rope, their tails smashing down simultaneously.
Su He's Mountain God Seal followed closely behind.
Boom!
This strike could not be resisted. Below, the White Tiger, like porcelain, cracked all over its body.
It looked up at the Golden Dragons, then at the phoenix, skipped over the Kylin, and its gaze settled on Su He's shell, watching the Spirit Snake.
For a moment, it seemed no longer so foolish.
"Lu Wu… Kai Ming… Zou Yu…"
For the first time, the White Tiger spoke, uttering each word, as its body completely shattered.