Chapter 1218: A Series of Twists and Turns

With a flip of his palm, the Mountain River Cauldron appeared before him. Could these mushrooms be condensed? Without time to think, he poured all the soul mushrooms from an entire storage artifact into the Mountain River Cauldron.

Activated, the Mountain River Cauldron immediately began condensing. Hundreds of mushrooms quickly melted, shrank, and solidified. Ten breaths later, only a thumb-sized, completely transparent pellet remained. The soul power it emanated was immeasurably vast.

If he were to consume it rashly, Jiang Fan might not be able to withstand it. But he couldn't afford to worry about that. He swallowed it in one gulp. His own soul power rapidly expanded like an inflating balloon, and in the blink of an eye, it reached the Seven Apertures Nascent Soul realm!

Crack! At that very moment, the sixth chain broke. Only three chains remained! The Giant Emperor's terrifying power of rules began to faintly appear again. He couldn't let them sever any more chains!

He unleashed the Soul Piercing Stab at the Fire Giant King once more! The unprecedentedly powerful Soul Piercing Stab unequivocally annihilated its lingering soul.

"No!" The Hellish Beast cried out in shock and fury. "Jiang Fan! You damn deserve to die!" They were about to free the Giant Emperor! Yet Jiang Fan had interfered again!

Jiang Fan had no time to pay attention to him. As the soul power within him continued to expand, his body subtly began to feel a bit swollen. Soon, his body would lose control due to his overly powerful soul. He had to quickly eliminate the remaining two Giant Kings' lingering souls. Otherwise, it would be too late! He immediately launched another Soul Piercing Stab!

The Hellish Beast, consumed by anxiety, roared, "Great Yin Sect Master! You slave who surrendered to our Heavenly Realm, aren't you going to come and help?"

The Great Yin Sect Master, who had already retreated beyond the void, instantly grimaced. His greatest fear had come true! In the Spirit Transformation Ruins, he had surrendered to the Cold Mountain Giant King out of fear. To conceal this, he had even brutally killed his own Iron Bone Venerable to silence him. He had been uneasy these past days, worried that this matter would be exposed. But unexpectedly, the Hellish Beast had revealed it, and exposed it publicly!

At this moment, there was no place for him in Taicang Great Province. Even if he tried to argue, it would be useless, because Taicang Great Province had a Truth Venerable who could detect lies! Under his Truth Domain, he would be exposed for who he truly was! Therefore, his only path was to fully align himself with the Ancient Giants!

Weighing the pros and cons, he glared at Jiang Fan with a face full of resentment. "It's all because of you!!!" If Jiang Fan hadn't pushed the Hellish Beast to this point, would it have exposed him? Now, he had lost his position as Great Yin Sect Master and his refuge in the Central Land Realm. Everything was Jiang Fan's doing! "Why didn't you die in the Heavenly Realm?"

The Great Yin Sect Master roared, pressing a finger to his chest. A black phantom of a Three-Eyed Evil Crow flew out from his chest, swiftly rushing before the Water Giant King. It successfully blocked Jiang Fan's Soul Piercing Stab before its soul could be annihilated!

Jiang Fan was startled and truly enraged: "Great Yin Sect Master! You're using the protective domain given to you by Venerable Evil Crow to protect an Ancient Giant? Are you insane!" He was about to kill another Giant King's lingering soul, yet the Great Yin Sect Master had intervened to save it! The remaining two Giant Kings also seized the opportunity to break the seventh chain. Only two chains remained!

Jiang Fan's expression changed drastically. He decisively unleashed the Soul Piercing Stab again! How could the Great Yin Sect Master allow Jiang Fan to kill all the Giant Kings? If that happened, who would protect him? Helping the Giant Emperor emerge was saving himself!

"Stop right there!" The Great Yin Sect Master crushed a prized magic artifact, his body disintegrating into a cloud of black mist. The next moment, he teleported behind Jiang Fan, launching a fatal blow towards Jiang Fan's back, hoping to force Jiang Fan to change the direction of his Soul Piercing Stab!

However, Jiang Fan remained unfazed. He merely waved his Kasaya behind him, and enduring the blow, launched the Soul Piercing Stab at the Water Giant King! The extremely weakened Water Giant King's lingering soul was immediately annihilated!

Jiang Fan also suffered a heavy blow! The Great Yin Sect Master's vicious divine ability penetrated the Kasaya and struck Jiang Fan's body. Although the Kasaya absorbed most of the attack, the palm strike was so malicious that the residual force still blasted a bloody hole in Jiang Fan's back. His heart was visibly beating through the wound! Had it not been for the Kasaya, that single palm strike would have been enough to tear him apart!

Jiang Fan uncontrollably spat out a large mouthful of blood, stumbling and collapsing to the ground. The Great Yin Sect Master, his eyes filled with venom, seized the opportunity and drew out a spiritual artifact — a skull imbued with Yin energy — then brutally swung it at Jiang Fan.

"Uncle-Master, look out!" Xia Chaoge shrieked. She bit her red lip slightly, then decisively crushed a jade box, grasped the sacred feather within, and pressed it against her chest. The next moment, a phantom of snowy white wings appeared behind her. Then she moved horizontally behind Jiang Fan, using her slender body to block the skull's impact.

The phantom wings behind her flickered, offsetting the astonishing killing blow contained within the skull. Even so, the penetrating force still sent her, a One Aperture Nascent Soul cultivator, spewing blood, as she crashed heavily into Jiang Fan. Xia Chaoge, already wounded, could hardly withstand the attack of a Seven Apertures Nascent Soul cultivator. The wings on her back completely dissipated. The blood she spat out stained her robes red. Her eyes closed, her fate unknown!

"Chaoge!" Jiang Fan roared in fury, his heart filled with intense killing intent. "Great Yin Sect Master!" At this moment, he remembered that phrase again. Traitors are more detestable than enemies!!!

But now was not the time for revenge! "Soul Piercing Stab!" He unleashed another Soul Piercing Stab, targeting the last remaining Spatial Giant King, whose body was riddled with decay! The latter was already on guard. It hastily activated the Spatial Origin Star in its brow, narrowly dodging the attack. Simultaneously, it broke the eighth chain! Only the last chain remained!

Jiang Fan dared not hesitate, seizing the moment when the Spatial Giant King had just teleported and was unable to do so again. He decisively unleashed the Soul Piercing Stab!

The Great Yin Sect Master's heart was in his throat as he roared, "You're asking for death!" He raised a long sword condensed from Yin energy and viciously thrust it towards Xia Chaoge and Jiang Fan. He intended to kill them both!

Just then, an irrepressible snort of anger echoed. "Great Yin Sect Master! You are a disgrace as a Divine Sect Master!" It was the Myriad Calamities Hall Master! He flashed over like a shadow in the clouds, instantly blasting the Great Yin Sect Master away! The other powerful cultivators from various sects reacted and rushed forward. The Great Yin Sect Master had acted too quickly for them to react, because no one dared to believe that the Great Yin Sect Master, one of the Three Divine Sects, was actually aligned with the Ancient Giants! Fortunately, they reacted in time. The chains were not completely destroyed!

Seeing this, the Hellish Beast knew the tide had turned and immediately slipped away quietly, taking advantage of the Great Yin Sect Master drawing everyone's attention.

The Great Yin Sect Master's face was ashen. He clenched his fists tightly, feeling no remorse, only unwillingness. He was so close to succeeding!

Meanwhile, Jiang Fan's Soul Piercing Stab hit without error, successfully eliminating the Spatial Giant King's lingering soul. He sat on the ground, his face contorted in pain. However, it wasn't due to excessive soul power depletion. On the contrary, it was an excess of soul power within him! Those soul mushrooms were still continuously releasing soul power. If he hadn't repeatedly used the Soul Piercing Stab to deplete some of it, he would have long since exploded from the overwhelming soul power.

Fortunately, all his efforts were worth it. The Giant Emperor was still successfully sealed. He endured the severe pain and turned to look at Xia Chaoge. Upon examination, he found that she had merely fainted from her severe injuries. His heart, which had been in his throat, finally eased.

"Good, everyone is alive." He couldn't help but show a hint of relief at having survived the ordeal.

But, even as the words lingered on his lips, behind him, the sound of chains rattling reached his ears. His face froze.