Originally, the two brothers had calculated that escaping underground would give them the initiative, and they were confident they could slip away.
But who could have imagined that the ground itself would possess such terrifying defenses? The force of the impact nearly sent both brothers spinning, their insides churning as though everything they had eaten was about to come spilling out.
That moment of delay was enough to sever their escape entirely.
Every possible route of retreat had been sealed off.
Having been bounced back twice in rapid succession, the damage to the two protectors' physical bodies was actually severe. The first time, at least, they had been able to see the golden bell.
This time, the collision hit them completely blind.
Could the underground have been struck with some earth-to-gold Divine Ability? How could the ground possibly be this hard? Enough to block even their razor-sharp escape techniques?
But as the mist gradually cleared and their vision returned, they discovered that what they had charged into was, in fact, a massive object shaped like a shield.
It was enormous, lying flat against the ground — from a distance it looked like an oval shield pressed into the earth.
Only this bizarre shield bore strange, peculiar markings across its surface, and it seemed to pulse with a living vitality.
The next moment, the shield moved.
From its head, tail, and both sides, new shapes began to emerge.
It was a living creature!
The two protectors were utterly dumbfounded. Only now did it dawn on them that they had been defeated by a living being.
The creature looked somewhat like a spirit turtle, yet compared to ordinary turtle-type spirit beasts, it seemed to possess something more — something different.
They watched as a tail continued to grow longer, lashing back and forth like a steel whip crackling with explosive power. Its four limbs were thick and formidable, radiating raw strength.
Its head resembled that of the True Dragon clan, though it lacked the dragon clan's flowing whiskers.
The creature planted all four limbs against the ground and rose upright. Those powerful limbs, paired with its muscular frame, made it look like an ancient giant emerging from the earth. The hardened shell on its back served as this spirit beast's most unmistakable signature.
Above, Divine Venerable Kasyapa gazed down at the creature, his eyes brimming with astonishment and disbelief. In ancient texts, he had once read about this very being.
It was the Divine Beast Xuanwu!
Kasyapa felt his breathing quicken. He looked at Jiang Chen with eyes entirely transformed, filled with a complex mixture of emotions. Clearly, the mysterious aura surrounding Jiang Chen was becoming increasingly impossible for him to comprehend.
First the Vermilion Bird Divine Beast, then the True Dragon clan, and now a Xuanwu Divine Beast as well. This was practically a grand assembly of all Four Divine Beast bloodlines.
Was Jiang Chen collecting the bloodlines of all four divine beasts?
As far as Kasyapa knew, Jiang Chen already possessed the True Dragon clan, the Vermilion Bird Divine Beast, and now this Xuanwu Divine Beast — three of the four great divine beast bloodlines. The only one left was the Tai Sui White Tiger.
Kasyapa laughed. He finally understood why Jiang Chen had been so certain — why he had claimed he had two divine-tier combatants.
The Xuanwu Divine Beast's defensive power was, quite simply, heaven-defying.