The Year Beast

"Ha… haha…"

Blood flowed from the wound split open on his forehead, sliding along the scar, past Li Huowang's gasping, open mouth, then dripping from his lips onto his scorched black jaw, finally falling to the ground where it slowly soaked into the cracked earth.

Li Huowang's situation was grim. Neither talismans, the spine-sword capable of cutting historical rifts, the copper-coin exorcism sword that could break evil, nor the Zi Sui blade that could shear through iron—none of them had any effect against this Dragon Vein.

Worse still, even the Zuowandao's divine abilities and the ever-reliable Ao-Jing cultivation method were completely useless against them.

Having been in this mad world for so long, this was the first time Li Huowang had encountered something so intractable.

He finally understood what Zhuge Yuan had meant earlier when he said the Zuowandao wouldn't lay a hand on the Dragon Vein.

Perhaps borrowing Bashe's Dung-Beetle Ascension could work, but where was he supposed to find a heart-wrenching, bone-deep agony right now?

Suddenly, the familiar whistling sound rang out again. A massive, blurry shadow swept in on a gust of wind, hurtling straight for Li Huowang's head with brutal force.

The power behind it was immense. One hit would likely shatter his bones to powder.

Bang!

Peng Longteng's enormous form materialized instantly in front of Li Huowang, catching the shadow cleanly.

That shadow was none other than the Dragon Vein, formed by the Great Qi emperors stacked upon one another.

They looked like nothing more than old, withered emperors simply stuck together, yet striking them felt like hitting something forged from solid iron and molten bronze.

Dragon claws dug into Peng Longteng's chest, tearing. That particular move, Peng Longteng could handle.

But even with her immense strength, Peng Longteng was no match for the Great Qi Dragon Vein. With a sudden shudder of its jointed body, she was sent flying.

Fortunately, Li Huowang had taken the chance to retreat several zhang away, moving out of the Dragon Vein's attack range.

It looked like a hopeless situation. But Li Huowang didn't feel defeated—because he wasn't the only one trapped in this predicament.

A sound, half lion's roar half wolf's howl, rose from the other side of the Dragon Vein, drawing some of its attention. It was the Void Nian, the same one that had been fighting him earlier. Their erstwhile enemy had become a brother in arms.

The human-faced, beast-bodied Void Nian leaped onto the Dragon Vein on all fours. Its sharp three-clawed hand swiped down, and four white-haired imperial heads flew into the air.

"Waaah~!" The Great Qi emperor atop the Vein wailed loudly, his gap-toothed mouth stretched wide in pain.

As the golden beads and tassels on his crown swayed, the entire Dragon Vein writhed violently. Like a serpent, it coiled itself tightly around the Void Nian.

The Void Nian kept attacking the stacked emperors, but they were already ancient beyond measure. There was simply no yang life left for it to drain.

Just as the Void Nian's body was about to be crushed flat by the Dragon Vein, Li Huowang, clutching his spine-sword, was hurled toward the apex of the Vein—toward the little Great Qi emperor—by Peng Longteng.

Even though the Void Nian had been trying to kill him moments ago, Li Huowang had no choice but to save it. He knew that if the Void Nian died, he would be next.

Li Huowang had just made out his own reflection in the little emperor's eyes when the Vein twisted, and a row of crowned, withered old heads blocked his view.

His expression hardened. Peng Longteng's body slammed heavily onto the Dragon Vein, charging toward the little emperor at the back.

But in the next instant, a dense thicket of hands reached out, grabbed Peng Longteng in midair where she had no leverage, and flung her away.

And while defending, they didn't forget to attack. The long Dragon Vein once again swept toward Li Huowang with a blurry afterimage.

Li Huowang's leg was injured; he couldn't move quickly. But he had his ways.

A Zuowandao, its face frozen in shock, suddenly appeared in front of Li Huowang, taking the hit like a human meat shield.

Li Huowang hadn't expected this sneak attack to succeed. But thanks to this distraction, the Void Nian had escaped being crushed.

Gasping for breath, Li Huowang shoved the Zuowandao—now a pulpy mess—away. Clutching his wounds, he shouted at the distant Void Nian, "If we each fight alone, we both die! How about we cooperate? When you get right down to it, we don't have that much of a grudge!"

The Void Nian shook the human skin off its head, looked at Li Huowang, and gave a slight nod. It spoke again, "Kill the small one."

Seeing the Dragon Vein charging furiously toward him, Li Huowang retreated quickly while shouting, "Fine! You hold off the old ones below; I'll kill the small one up top!"

The Void Nian nodded once more. Watching the Dragon Vein chasing Li Huowang, it raised its forelegs high and stomped heavily on the ground.

The fur on its body instantly turned red and began to grow rapidly. Soon, its whole body was as lush and thick as a lion-dancer's costume.

Those red hairs spread outward into the surrounding darkness, as if feeling for something. And centered on the Void Nian, the darkness began to recede quickly.

Li Huowang, barely holding on, was infuriated by its inaction. Half a day had passed, and he cursed loudly, "What are you doing?! Stop spacing out!"

By now, he had completely lost his human form. Half his face was gone, one arm had been severed at the shoulder, and a large chunk of his waist was missing.

If it weren't for Peng Longteng—that indestructible, unbreakable shield—standing in front, he would have already died to the Dragon Vein.

But this was the limit. Li Huowang's head was starting to ache, a sign that Peng Longteng couldn't hold out much longer.

Just as Li Huowang finished shouting, the Void Nian finally moved. Its movement was strange: even as it charged toward the Dragon Vein and Li Huowang, a red, blurry phantom of its beast-body remained in its original spot.

And it wasn't just that one spot. Everywhere the Void Nian passed, it left behind a red afterimage. The red blurs connected with each other, forming a continuously lengthening red line.

Li Huowang didn't know what the Void Nian was doing, but he understood this should be its killing move. Whether he lived or died depended on this one moment.

Just as he sheathed the spine-sword on his back again, Peng Longteng grabbed him by his remaining shoulder. The moment the Void Nian made contact with the Dragon Vein, she hurled him forward with all her strength.

Two massive dragons—one yellow, one red—collided violently. But wherever the red afterimages touched, everything began to change.

The wounds on Li Huowang's body started healing at an incredible speed. But that lasted barely a breath before his body began to break apart again just as quickly.

It wasn't just Li Huowang. The barren ground was rapidly sprouting grass and trees. The whole world underwent a sudden shift—seasons changed, seas became mulberry fields.

This same bizarre phenomenon appeared on the Dragon Vein. The withered, rotten old emperors of the Vein began to grow young again.

But for the tightly packed Great Qi emperors, this blessing seemed to be a curse. Their firmly fused bodies began to tremble, as if they were about to break apart at any moment.