Evan Chu was startled by the sudden voice, but he didn’t catch what it said at first. He glanced up at the clouds overhead, just about to reply, when the voice sounded again—this time, he understood every word.
"Lord Frostbane, you’re far too slow. I’ve waited a whole month for you! I assume you’ve figured out what’s so strange about Cloudcrest Mountain by now. This isn’t my handiwork—the barrier here was created ages ago by dozens of Azure Tide Ruins powerhouses combining all their strength. If you can break this barrier, you’ll be able to enter the Netherworld."
Evan was left reeling. From the sound of it, this was the real entrance to the Netherworld—not the Divine Battlefield like he'd always been told. Why was it here?
"What’s going on here? Didn’t you say I had to go to the Divine Battlefield? The pressure here is so overwhelming, I couldn’t break it even if I wanted to! If you expect me to open up this space for you, shouldn’t you help me out?" Evan demanded.
"Only you can break this barrier. I can’t help you—but I can lower the pressure here for a short while. Time is limited, so you’d better hurry. If you go over the limit, you know what’ll happen. Even if I want to save you, I won’t be able to."
Evan immediately pressed, "How are we supposed to break this barrier, Venerable Solus? The other three aren’t nearly strong enough, and I can’t guarantee we’ll succeed."
"Lord Frostbane, whether you break this barrier or not is up to your own fate. I can only keep the pressure down for one stick of incense. Bring them up now!"
Evan didn’t see Venerable Solus’s figure anywhere, but he trusted the old demon’s words. He instantly teleported in front of Roxanne Lin and the others.
"Roxy, come with me—everyone, move! We only have one stick of incense to break the barrier. If we go over, we could all die here. You have to give it everything you’ve got, remember that!" Evan said solemnly.
The four of them shot upward at once. Sure enough, the pressure had dropped sharply. When they reached above the cloud layer, all four could withstand it.
After Evan surveyed the surroundings, he realized they really were at the summit of Cloudcrest Mountain. There, a huge circular stone sat—perfectly smooth, covered in strange runes and images.
The four approached for a closer look. The images formed a six-pointed star, surrounded by the Four Divine Beasts. Three holes were set into the stone, arranged in an equilateral triangle—definitely eerie.
"Evan, do you see the three holes in this stone? That’s where you insert the Starflare Stone, Moonshadow Stone, and Sunflare Stone. The Four Divine Beasts must use their own sacred-beast powers to activate the six-pointed star pattern. Only then can you break the barrier and enter the Netherworld.
I never expected the Netherworld entrance to be here. I always thought it was in the Divine Battlefield, since there’s a similar barrier there—but that one’s even more complex, and I can’t say exactly what it’s like. Maybe it’s just another spatial seal."
"Right now, you need to put the three stones in, then combine the powers of the Four Divine Beasts. That’s the only way to open it. Remember, once you succeed, you have to take all three stones with you—otherwise, you won’t be able to leave the Netherworld." Luna warned.
Evan instantly reverted to human form, took out the Starflare, Moonshadow, and Sunflare Stones from his storage ring, and placed them into the three holes on the circular stone. Then he told Roxanne Lin and the others, "We need to fuse our sacred-beast origin powers to activate the six-pointed star pattern. Give it everything you’ve got, or we could all die here."
With that, Evan transformed into his Golden Dragon body and soared into the air. Chaos Dragon Force roared through him as he spat a pale-gold beam at the Divine Dragon image on the stone.
Roxanne Lin also took to the air. With a deafening Vermilion Bird cry, a blazing flame shot from her body and struck the Vermilion Bird sigil.
Ethan Fenn, the Soaring Feather Young Lord, and Ryan Ouyang did likewise, sending their energies into the Obsidian Tortoise and White Tiger images. Four pillars of light erupted atop Cloudcrest Mountain, casting an eerie glow.
As the minutes ticked by, the four of them grew more and more strained. But the Four Divine Beast images on the stone shone ever brighter, as if coming alive, slowly radiating light.
"Hold on a little longer, everyone—the barrier’s about to open!" Evan urged. He could feel a faint pressure building on his body, a sign that their time was running out.
If Evan could feel it, the other three felt it even more acutely. After a while, Ryan Ouyang couldn’t help but cry out, "Evan, how much longer? I’m about to be crushed flat by this pressure!"
"Just a bit more—once the six-pointed star activates, we can enter the Netherworld. This is the most crucial moment, don’t slack off now!" Evan said anxiously. If anyone gave up now, all their effort would be wasted—and their lives would be forfeit.
Evan wasn’t worried about Roxanne Lin, and honestly, he didn’t worry about Ethan Fenn or Ryan Ouyang either—none of them would back down in front of the others. Still, as they persevered, Ethan and Ryan started coughing up blood, and even Roxanne’s lips were bleeding. Seeing this made Evan even more frantic.
The pressure kept mounting, and there was no telling when the six-pointed star would activate. Just as everyone was reaching their limit, the Four Divine Beast images suddenly broke free, soaring into the air to form a massive square light array. Its brilliance was so intense, no one could look directly at it.
At that moment, Evan felt the pressure on his body drop sharply. A beam of light shot from the array into the six-pointed star on the stone, and the stone itself began to glow. The six-pointed star pattern appeared above the four of them.
It all happened so fast that none of them could react—the phenomenon was utterly unheard of, and seeing it with their own eyes left them stunned.
The three stones Evan had placed in the circular stone also blazed with light, intertwining with the six-pointed star’s glow. Slowly, a black spatial hole appeared behind the stone.
"Evan, what are you spacing out for? That black hole is the entrance to the Netherworld! Get everyone inside, and grab those three stones—hurry!" Luna shouted urgently.
Evan snapped to attention. "Get into that hole—now! The Netherworld entrance is open!"
Then he dashed toward the circular stone to retrieve the hard-won Starflare, Moonshadow, and Sunflare Stones...