"Horn, Neck, Root, Room, Heart, Tail, Winnow—East brings rain, Azure Dragon..."
"Seven stars: Kui, Lou, Stomach, Raise, Net, Horn, Shen—West brings wind, White Tiger."
"Well, Ghost, Willow, Star, Zhang, Wing, Chariot—South brings fire, Vermilion Bird."
"Seven Dipper stars: Ox, Maiden, Void, Power, Room, Wall—North brings water, Black Tortoise."
It was Old Moe. He stood on the ground, rapidly and loudly reciting the incantation. As he chanted, his hands shifted through a series of gestures, his steps in sync—this was the Fourfold Beast Array. I’d seen Rachel Lan use it before.
"Old Moe, what are you doing?"
I already realized it—Old Moe’s target was Boss Yin. Clenching my fists, I wanted to rush over and stop him. But in an instant, at the four cardinal directions, four pillars of different colors thundered into existence.
The earth trembled, and the air grew scorching hot.
Accompanied by four distinct roars, I stared in shock as the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise appeared atop the four pillars. The red gauze wrapped around Old Moe snapped and shredded into fragments.
"The Four Saints descend..."
With a thunderous roar from Old Moe, the ground inside rumbled and creaked. In an instant, the lush green grass was incinerated, leaving the earth charred and black. Four distinct colors—crimson red, emerald green, ochre yellow, and ashen white—spread across the scorched ground.
Atop the four massive pillars, the Four Sacred Beasts crouched, each glaring menacingly below. Old Moe himself began to transform—phoenix wings unfurled from his back, his skin hardened like a tortoise shell, his hands morphed into dragon claws, and his legs grew powerful, resembling the feet of a tiger.
I stared at all of this in shock.
"Impressive," Mona Ouyang remarked. I hurried over.
"I advise you not to go any closer, Ethan Zhang."
Just as Mona Ouyang warned me, I dashed toward the southeast, between the Vermilion Bird and the Azure Dragon. The moment I was about to rush in, a sudden hand grabbed me from behind—it was Three-Eyed.
With a roar, a transparent dragon's head appeared before me, shooting out beams of blue-green light. I felt a surge of violent energy as Three-Eyed dragged me away from the space between those two pillars.
"Old Moe, what exactly are you trying to do?"
I shouted at the top of my lungs.
"Kid, don't interrupt. Ethan, this is for your own good. I've waited so long for this—finally, the chance has come. This is the only opportunity, maybe the last one ever, to kill Boss Yin, that wicked ghost."