Chapter Seventy-Nine: Slaying the Water Dragon
"Alright," the others responded, and immediately split up to carry out their tasks.
Qin Feng, as the leader of the Four Symbols Array, stealthily slipped to the eastern side of the giant serpent spirit beast. Yang Xiao, holding the array flag, moved to the west. Xia Yu and Zhuo Fan took positions to the north and south respectively, forming an encirclement around the serpent.
"Hide yourselves well and wait for my command. When I give the signal, strike together," Qin Feng transmitted to the others.
At this moment, the giant serpent spirit beast had not yet finished shedding its skin. Perhaps it was so engrossed in the process that it failed to notice it was already surrounded. Even if it were to realize its predicament now, it would likely have no time to react; only after completing its molting would it regain freedom of movement.
Time seemed to freeze. Everyone fixed their gaze on the serpent, motionless, as the creature struggled to shed its old skin.
An entire day and night passed swiftly. The serpent spirit beast reached the final stage of molting, its tail finally breaking free from the old skin.
A tender, pinkish serpent emerged in the spiritual spring. Compared to before, its body had shrunk, and having just finished molting, it was clearly weakened, its strength diminished.
"Now!" Qin Feng commanded. Instantly, everyone raised their flags high, channeling spiritual power into them.
In no time, a grand array formed, and a giant barrier enveloped both the serpent spirit beast and the spiritual spring.
The serpent, sensing danger, began to swim frantically within the spring, restless and agitated, searching for a weakness in the array to break through.
---
Qin Feng wasted no time unleashing the Four Symbols Array's offensive. With a wave of his flag, a massive Azure Dragon apparition soared out, striking straight toward the serpent spirit beast.
The serpent, enraged, opened its maw, gathering spiritual energy into a torrent that surged at the descending Azure Dragon.
The clash between the Azure Dragon's apparition and the serpent's spiritual river echoed with a resounding roar.
"What a formidable serpent spirit beast! Its power only proves the quality of the Mortal Shedding Spirit Liquid must be exceptional," Qin Feng exclaimed, both startled and delighted. The serpent successfully suppressed the Azure Dragon's assault; the pressure from its spiritual river left the dragon's form unstable.
"You three, act quickly! I can't handle this serpent alone," Qin Feng urged.
The others responded without hesitation, activating their flags as the array required. Three more colossal beast apparitions emerged from their banners. Yang Xiao's flag summoned a White Tiger. Xia Yu's brought forth a Vermilion Bird, and Zhuo Fan's conjured a Black Tortoise.
White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise—upon appearing, they immediately lunged at the serpent spirit beast.
The fierce battle between the Four Symbols beasts and the serpent spirit beast unfolded in earnest.
At first, the serpent managed to resist, spewing streams of spiritual water from its mouth and lashing out with its agile tail. But soon, it began to falter. Having just completed its molting, it was at its weakest; facing the combined might of four powerful spiritual beasts, it could not withstand the relentless assault.
Had it been at its peak, the serpent spirit beast might have held its own against the Four Symbols Array, for the four array leaders' cultivation was not particularly high, far inferior to the serpent itself. But now, weakened after molting, it could not fend off such concentrated attacks.
---
The serpent spirit beast was about to be completely subdued by the Four Symbols Array, its strength waning. Before long, it would be trapped and killed. But suddenly, an unforeseen change occurred. The serpent's body shuddered, and it soared from the spiritual spring, forcing the four spiritual beast apparitions to retreat, causing the entire array to tremble unsteadily.
The serpent spirit beast was undergoing a mutation. Small horns appeared atop its head, a tiny claw grew on its belly, and its body became more robust and full.
"Not good! The serpent spirit beast is about to transform into a flood dragon. If it completes the transformation, none of us will escape alive," Xia Yu cried out in alarm. He was not wrong—once the serpent became a flood dragon, it would possess power comparable to a practitioner of the Celestial Cycle Realm. The four, being only at the Spiritual Awareness Realm, would not be able to contain a flood dragon, even with the array. In its fury, the dragon would make escape impossible for any of them; it would be certain death.
"How could the serpent spirit beast be transforming so quickly? This is beyond my expectations. Still, it's fortunate I have a backup plan—I can push the Four Symbols Array to even greater power," Qin Feng said. He reached into his storage pouch and drew out four spirit stones, each a different color. These were larger and far richer in spiritual energy than ordinary stones—mid-grade spirit stones, rarely seen in the cultivation world of Yao Country.
A single mid-grade spirit stone was worth a thousand ordinary ones, but due to the scarcity of their ore veins, they were uncommon in Yao Country. Most cultivators used only ordinary stones.
Qin Feng's possession of four mid-grade spirit stones spoke of his wealth; clearly, he was no ordinary practitioner from Lin Valley Village. In that place, mid-grade spirit stones were nearly impossible to come by. Only in the central regions of Yao Country did cultivators use them for trade.
After producing the four mid-grade spirit stones, Qin Feng crushed them with his spiritual power. They dissolved into a dense aura of spiritual energy, which he blew onto his flag.
The flag, infused with the essence of the mid-grade stones, instantly surged in power, as if invigorated by a potent elixir. Positioned at the heart of the array, Qin Feng's flag amplified the strength of the other flags as well. The Four Symbols Array erupted in dazzling brilliance.