Ch. 1821 - The Three Treasure Elders; The Five Beast Guardians

When the fire phoenix spread its wings and descended, the crowd realized it was not a true phoenix at all, it too was a product of treasure-craft.

This fire phoenix was called the Three-Flavor True Fire Phoenix.

One should not underestimate it. It was said that the Treasure Lineage had once come across the corpse of a deceased true phoenix. Using the bones of that true phoenix as a foundation, they had forged the fire phoenix now before them.

Its true power was enough to rival an Infinite Dao powerhouse, and even Infinite Dao cultivators would not lightly dare to face the Three-Flavor True Fire.

As the fire phoenix descended with blazing Three-Flavor True Fire roaring in every direction, the entire sky above the Peach Garden was engulfed in a canopy of flame-clouds.

As if sensing the danger, the peach trees seemed ready to sprout eight legs each and fled the Peach Garden as fast as they could go. Even the Earth-Core Mother-Lightning Peach Tree transformed into a streak of light and plunged underground, vanishing from sight.

All of this carried the feeling of a great storm about to break, dark clouds pressing against the city walls until they seemed ready to crumble.

The fire phoenix locked onto Xu Zimo the instant it arrived and, without a word, exhaled a torrent of Three-Flavor True Fire directly at him.

"Nothing but a dead beast, and it dares to be arrogant before me," Xu Zimo said with a cold snort.

The Creation-Devouring Heaven Finger swallowed heaven and earth as it surged forward, annihilating the flames and bearing down upon the fire phoenix.

BOOM.

The sea of fire was extinguished. The finger pierced straight through the fire phoenix's head.

The fire phoenix let out a continuous wail of agony.

The creature forged through treasure-craft had already developed a spirit of its own.

"Quite capable," said the third of the Three Treasure Elders, whose name was the Many-Treasure Elder.

The second was the Earth-Treasure Elder.

As for the eldest, the one who held authority over the Treasure Lineage, his name was the Heavenly-Treasure Elder.

The three of them each had a different area of focus in their treasure-craft.

The third, Many-Treasure Elder, was true to his name. he carried an uncountable number of treasures on his person. It was said he had forged over a hundred thousand treasures throughout his life, and he was generous with his disciples, casually bestowing treasures as rewards.

His individual pieces might not be the finest, but his strength lay in overwhelming quantity, a strategy of sheer treasure-abundance.

The Earth-Treasure Elder's specialty was crafting treasures oriented toward speed.

His entire life had been dedicated to the earth.

It was said he had once walked every inch of the boundless land and sea surrounding the Jade Court on foot.

One should not underestimate the Jade Court, while it could not compare to the Azure Mystic Heaven or the Mirage Tides Heaven, the territory where Kunlun Mountain stood was still vast beyond measure. Some cultivators might spend an entire lifetime and still fail to walk a full circuit around Kunlun Mountain.

Yet the Earth-Treasure Elder had done it without once lifting into the air or riding any vehicle, walking like an ordinary mortal, measuring the earth with his own feet.

Every inch and every mile of the Jade Court existed somewhere between the soles of the Earth-Treasure Elder's feet.

It was said that in terms of speed, the treasures crafted by the Earth-Treasure Elder were unmatched, first in all the world.

As for the Heavenly-Treasure Elder, his entire life had been devoted to studying the killing arts of the Space-Time Purgatory.

He believed that space-time was the most powerful rule in existence, bar none.

Time and space intertwined to form the world itself.

On the defensive, it could imprison the void; on the offensive, it could grind everything to nothing.

All the treasures forged by the Heavenly-Treasure Elder were therefore bound to the rules of space and time.

At this moment the three of them exchanged a glance, their eyes blazing with rage as they fixed their gaze on Xu Zimo.

"Regardless of your origins, you have slain the Saint Son of our Treasure Lineage. Today you will die without question."

"I'm starting to grow tired of hearing the word 'die,'" Xu Zimo said with a cold laugh. "It's a pity that those who speak it most confidently always end up as corpses at my feet."

"Enough of your clever tongue," the Many-Treasure Elder snorted first.

He casually tossed out five spheres of light.

Instantly, a surging bestial might erupted through the world.

Amid roar after roar, five enormous demon beasts burst forth from within the five orbs of light.

They were the Demon Dragon, the White Tiger, the Demon Phoenix, the Netherworld Tortoise, and the Blood Qilin.

These demon beasts appeared vividly lifelike, as though they were real creatures, rather than crafted constructs.

"Those are the Many-Treasure Elder's Five Beast Guardians," one disciple said.

"Each of the Five Beast Guardians possesses the power to contend with an ordinary Infinite Dao cultivator. When all five join forces, it is said they can slay any powerhouse below the Three Blossoms stage."

Hearing this, the crowd understood. The Many-Treasure Elder might speak dismissively of Xu Zimo, but in action he was exceedingly cautious, he had opened with one of his trump cards from the very first move.

The Five Beast Guardians were immense, and their combined forms blotted out the sky the moment they appeared.

Five ferocious beasts radiating different auras circled overhead, each a different color, some crimson, some blazing white, some the dark of night…

All five trained their gaze upon Xu Zimo, sending a chill down the spines of those watching.

"Kill," the Many-Treasure Elder ordered.

In an instant all five beasts lunged forward.

The Demon Dragon and the White Tiger flanked from left and right, a heaven-piercing baleful energy and a blinding white light erupting simultaneously.

Before the overwhelming might of those two, heaven and earth seemed cleaved in two, one half swallowed in the black of murderous energy, the other illuminated by blinding white.

The two beasts became twin torrents, fast as lightning.

Xu Zimo was unhurried. He raised Shadow Tyrant to block, merely testing the waters.

BOOM.

A tremendous force crashed into him, numbing his palms and forcing him back several paces.

The two beasts pressed their advantage, hammering Xu Zimo from both sides without pause.

Crash, crash, crash.

Xu Zimo's gaze sharpened like a blade, a flash of blade-light seeming to pass through his eyes.

He steadied his footing and delivered two sweeping horizontal slashes, blade-light cleaving heaven and earth, blade intent thundering through the sky, and sent both beasts flying.

Facing him, the Many-Treasure Elder frowned slightly and barked. "Form the formation!"

At his word, the remaining three beasts joined the fray.

Aligned according to the five directions, the Five Beast Guardians encircled Xu Zimo completely.

The Demon Dragon roared with fury, the White Tiger raged with savagery, the Demon Phoenix ran wild, the Netherworld Tortoise radiated deathly silence, and the Blood Qilin burned with bloodlust.

These were five beasts of the most extreme natures.

As their varied powers intertwined, the five beasts began to merge into a single entity.

Tremendous power surged and churned without stop.

The beasts' cries rang out one after another.

Within the storm of energy, the colossal form of all five beasts fused together gradually took shape.

The Demon Dragon became its arms, the Blood Qilin its legs, the Netherworld Tortoise its torso, the White Tiger its head, and the Demon Phoenix its tail.

This massive creature combined the traits of all five beasts.

It fixed its gaze upon Xu Zimo and let out a sudden, earth-shaking roar.

The sound gathered like a converging storm and instantly condensed into a sonic shockwave that surged toward Xu Zimo.

"Out of the way," Xu Zimo said. His footwork shifted, the technique of a single step spanning countless distances, and he appeared at the monster's back in an instant, as though he had slipped through the ground like a bolt of golden light.

He brought one slash cutting down toward it.

But the monster was no easy opponent. At its tail, the Demon Phoenix's flames exploded outward without warning, engulfing Xu Zimo in a cocoon of fire.

"Dead things, trying to throw your weight around before me," Xu Zimo's cold snort pierced through the flames.

Shadow Tyrant drove straight into the tail.

With brute force he severed the tail that had been formed by the Demon Phoenix.

The monster howled in pain. It spun around and opened both arms wide, seizing Xu Zimo in a crushing embrace, intending to choke the life out of him.

"It's got him!" The onlookers' faces lit up with excitement.

The Many-Treasure Elder turned to the Heavenly-Treasure Elder and gave a slight nod.

The Heavenly-Treasure Elder raised his right hand.

Immediately a Leviathan descended from the heavens.

This Leviathan was a secret treasure he had forged.

What the Leviathan excelled at above all else was the Space-Time Purgatory killing technique.

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