The Northern Song Dynasty returned south, seeking the truth of the Dao.

"Brother?"

"Hurry up and get out of here first!!" Ao Shuang's expression was solemn. She waved to Wang Huanzhen and walked towards the cave entrance they had come from. After the earth dragon turned over, the entire plaza was in chaos.

All nine stone pillars collapsed, and the central luminous pearl fell to the ground and shattered into several pieces. This clearly demonstrates just how violently the earth trembled during the recent upheaval.

Because of the collapsed stone pillars blocking the way, the two had to climb over them one by one. Before they even reached the cave entrance they had come from, they heard another loud bang overhead, accompanied by an angry tiger's roar.

"Brother, what is this thing? How can it be so ferocious, directly confronting the spiritual energy barrier of an immortal?" Wang asked, still feeling lingering fear.

"If I'm not mistaken, this thing should be Qiongqi, one of the Four Fiends of antiquity. Legend has it that Qiongqi disappeared in ancient times. I just don't know why it's here," Ao Shuang said with a puzzled look.

"The Four Ancient Fiends? I think he's only the size of a calf, not even half the size of his elder brother's true form. He doesn't look particularly formidable, but he has a rather impulsive temper," Wang Zhenhuan said, looking at the tiger shadow flying in mid-air.

"This is the first time I've seen this thing either, and it is indeed a bit strange. Although the strength of a mutant is unrelated to the size of its original body, mutants with small original bodies are generally not very powerful after transforming." Ao Shuang was also a little puzzled.

When the two reached the cave entrance they had come from, Wang Zhenhuan suddenly exclaimed, "Brother, the entrance has collapsed! We can't get out!!"

Hearing the sound, Ao Shuang turned her head to look, and sure enough, the cave entrance was now buried by the collapsed earth. If it weren't for the fragments of the wooden door that were still on it, it would be difficult to tell the difference.

"What should I do?" Wang Huanzhen paced anxiously around, unable to think of a solution. The current situation only filled him with despair, no matter how he analyzed it.

First of all, the two of them are underground, at least several dozen feet deep. Digging them out in a short time is unlikely. Moreover, the earth has just turned over, and the soil is loose; they might be buried halfway through the digging.

The weight of this land is more than ten thousand catties. Even if you are a master of purple qi, you would be crushed to death if you came. Moreover, this cave is only separated from the Huai River by a spiritual energy barrier.

However, this spiritual energy barrier was left behind by an immortal who had attained enlightenment. It was like an insurmountable chasm, inspiring despair. The two of them hadn't brought any food or water; if they couldn't get out, wouldn't they starve to death here?

Not to mention, not far away, there was also the ferocious beast Qiongqi. Although it was unknown just how powerful this beast was, being listed as one of the Four Fiends meant it couldn't be too bad.

"Don't rush, let's wait and see. The solution to this predicament is both far away and right in front of us. Let's observe for now," Ao Shuang said, patting his shoulder to comfort him.

"Brother, you mean... this Qiongqi?" Wang Huanzhen turned his head and looked at the tiger-shaped monster, the size of a calf, in the sky. Although the monster was very brave, it kept charging without stopping.

However, the barrier was like a mountain. Although it was only a thin layer, under the constant impact of Qiongqi, it only trembled like water ripples, but its body remained unmoved.

The two of them crouched behind the collapsed stone pillar, watching the Qiongqi in the sky repeatedly ram against the barrier. Seeing that each ramming attempt was ineffective, the Qiongqi's roars grew increasingly furious and impatient.

"Brother, this Qiongqi is an ancient ferocious beast, so why is its attack method so limited?" Wang Zhenhuan was increasingly puzzled. All Qiongqi did was ram its head and scratch with its claws.

Rather than a ferocious beast, it was more like a strangely shaped large cat. Ao Shuang was also somewhat puzzled, as Qiongqi was indeed known as one of the four ancient ferocious beasts, along with Taotie, Hundun, and Taowu.

However, these four fierce beasts had not appeared in the human world since the pre-Qin era. Therefore, he had only heard of them but had never seen them. He was also somewhat puzzled by what Qiongqi looked like.

"Perhaps this Qiongqi has been imprisoned for a long time and its power has weakened," Ao Shuang said softly. He had just witnessed the Qiongqi flying out from a crack in the mountaintop.

In other words, this Taoist temple was very likely used to suppress the Qiongqi. However, due to the earth dragon turning over, the seal loosened, thus releasing the Qiongqi.

"It seems there's a reason why this Taoist temple and cave dwelling are built underwater. But relying solely on Qiongqi, I'm afraid we're not enough..." Wang Zhenhuan also thought of this and said with some sigh.

Before he could finish speaking, he saw that Qiongqi seemed to be angry. It roared to the sky and its body suddenly began to grow wildly, growing from the size of a calf in the blink of an eye.

It transformed directly into a colossal creature nearly three zhang long! Its appearance also gradually became ferocious as its size increased dramatically. After the transformation was complete, the rage in Qiongqi's eyes intensified.

He roared at the barrier above him, flapped his wings again, and slammed into it headlong. This time, unlike the previous impact, the barrier was no longer like ripples on water.

Instead, it was like a soft piece of linen, lifted up and then bounced back. The fish swimming at the bottom of the river were frightened by this sudden turn of events and scattered in all directions.

The barrier acted like a spring; no matter how much force Qiongqi exerted, the rebounding force was even greater. It propelled Qiongqi like a stone, sending it crashing heavily into the Taoist temple atop the mountain.

The grand hall atop the mountain, already teetering on the brink of collapse due to the earth dragon's upheaval, was utterly destroyed by the impact of Qiongqi's massive body. It crumbled into ruins, burying Qiongqi within.

Wang Huanzhen and Ao Shuang exchanged bewildered glances. To their surprise, even after growing larger, the Qiongqi still used its head to ram its head. They wondered if this was its nature or due to a lack of intelligence.

After being sent flying, the Qiongqi seemed even more enraged. It staggered to its feet from the ruins, looked up at the barrier, and began to glow with a visible red light.

Its size was gradually increasing, and its voice changed from a tiger's roar to a low, whimpering sound like a dog. This change was different from the last one, and it lasted for a long time.

Seemingly truly enraged, the Qiongqi continued to grow until it transformed into a colossal creature nearly six zhang long. It lowered its head, half-crouching, assuming an attack stance.

Just when Wang Zhen thought it was about to ram its head against the barrier again, he suddenly noticed a blinding red light appearing from the Qiongqi's mouth. This light grew longer in the wind and quickly turned into a huge sphere more than ten feet wide.

"What...what is this...what is this?" Wang Zhen asked Ao Shuang, stammering.

"Innate Solar True Fire! That must be his innate divine power, be careful!!" Ao Shuang exclaimed, pressing Wang Huanzhen's head down. Then, a loud bang came from above them!

boom--!!!