Chapter 1268: Moon Realm Newcomer

If there was one thing the Asuras of the Celestial Realm feared most, it was undoubtedly the ancient giants – a lifelong nightmare. It was a shadow they couldn't escape from the moment they gained consciousness. Now, four colossal Giant Kings suddenly appeared, completely surrounding them. The deterrent power was immense, beyond imagination.

"Giant Kings!!!" Long Lie's hand trembled, almost dropping the betrothal gifts. The Asuras who had come to watch the spectacle shook violently, some even turning to run towards the Heaven-Connecting Black Pillar. Only after several steps did they realize that the Giant Kings were motionless, frozen. They stopped, still shaken, and looked up with pale faces at the four terrifying Giant Kings.

Even the girl in the black dress's pupils flickered the moment the four Giant Kings appeared. She looked at them with a hint of surprise, murmuring, "These have been refined into puppets, haven't they?"

"They are a type of puppet, called a Corpse Ghoul," Jiang Fan explained. With a thought, the four Giant Kings moved as if they were his own limbs, demonstrating their mobility. As they walked, the Mist Giant King's foot accidentally kicked the stubborn Asura. The Asura instantly spat blood and flew back, almost being crushed.

The Asura angrily exclaimed, "You did that on purpose!"

Jiang Fan shrugged. "Isn't it obvious?" He looked around at the other Asuras and said earnestly, "The strongest fortresses usually crumble from within. Some of you, for personal gain, are sabotaging the emergence of a Five-Crown Asura King. This is undoubtedly digging your own grave. If you harm him today, he will harm you tomorrow. Eventually, you will destroy your own walls and lead your race to extinction."

"What's more," he paused, then said meaningfully, "I don't think your stronghold can forever withstand the ancient giants. Their Giant Emperor is currently engaged in another battle. If he were free, would your stronghold be spared? While the Giant Emperor is preoccupied, you should cultivate your own Asura Emperor as soon as possible. Otherwise, your fate will be even worse than that of the Central Lands."

These sobering words made the Asuras solemn. They understood the truth, but hearing it from someone else made it particularly impactful. Long Lie grabbed a few Asuras who had been stirring up trouble, patted them on the back of their heads, and exclaimed, "Did you all hear that? Go back and tell the young clan leader to stop bothering with these petty things. Instead of worrying about clan members surpassing him, he should focus on breaking through to Asura Emperor himself. A young clan leader's awareness isn't even as high as my little in-law's!"

Jiang Fan's eyes subtly flickered. No wonder a few Asuras, not particularly strong themselves, dared to sabotage the alliance led by the Four-Crown Asura King. It turned out they had an extraordinary young clan leader backing them. And from the tone, this young clan leader's strength was very likely that of a Five-Crown Asura King.

After thinking for a moment, he publicly took out a Hell Abyss Crystal and said, "Miss, the elders from our Taicang Great State asked me to bring this to you. We wish you a successful promotion to Five-Crown Asura King." He had given her one before, but she hadn't broken through to Five-Crown Asura King. It seemed one wasn't enough.

The black-dressed girl's eyes behind her glasses slightly brightened. With two crystals, her chances of breaking through to Five-Crown Asura King significantly increased. If she truly broke through, she would no longer need the Hell Abyss Crystal. She could completely avoid her promise to hold back the Five-Star Giant King, as that was a very dangerous task. However, with the alliance in place, she had to fulfill it. That was the meaning of their alliance – building trust.

The girl in the black dress accepted the Hell Abyss Crystal and said, "Xuanxuan is a sister I grew up with since childhood. Although we are not blood-related, in my eyes, she is more than a biological sister. With her in the Central Lands, I will fulfill my promise."

Jiang Fan said, "Please rest assured when entrusting Xuanxuan to the West Sea Crown Prince. His father and I are sworn brothers. If Xuanxuan is ever bullied, she can come to me. I will personally see that justice is served for her."

The girl in the black dress self-consciously pushed up her glasses. It was probably the West Sea Crown Prince who needed to worry about being bullied.

"In that case, our alliance is concluded." This meant they were preparing to return to the Celestial Realm.

Jiang Fan gazed into her eyes and activated his Silent Meditation, speaking to her privately away from the Asuras, "Would you like to temporarily stay in the Central Lands for a few days?"

The girl in the black dress showed a moment of surprise, then quickly regained her composure and asked, "Why should I stay?"

Jiang Fan said, "Your stronghold isn't peaceful right now. It would be better to return after you've broken through to Five-Crown Asura King, to prevent anyone from disrupting your breakthrough."

The girl in the black dress rarely showed a hint of a smile as she replied, "Thank you. I've managed to cultivate all the way to Four-Crown Asura King, so I naturally have ways to avoid interference. Besides, as a Four-Crown Asura King, I shouldn't stay in the Central Lands for too long, to avoid causing misunderstandings." She cast a meaningful glance at the sky above the Great Barren State.

Seeing that she had a plan, Jiang Fan relaxed. "Then be careful. If I remember correctly, the Great Hunt is about to begin. The ancient giants will no longer be restricted by heaven and earth and will be able to freely enter strongholds to hunt for a month. Although your stronghold is impregnable, you should still have a retreat route."

After thinking for a moment, he said, "How about I leave the Heaven-Connecting Black Pillar in your stronghold? If something unforeseen happens, you can retreat back to the Central Lands." If the girl in the black dress's stronghold truly could not be breached by the Giant Kings, the Heaven-Connecting Black Pillar could indeed be left there indefinitely. This way, the ancient giants would not be able to descend upon the Great Barren State, thus avoiding war.

"No," the girl in the black dress said decisively. "If the Heaven-Connecting Black Pillar is in our stronghold, the ancient giants will launch an all-out attack. That would bring an unprecedented crisis to our stronghold. Even if I agreed, the stronghold would never agree."

Jiang Fan nodded. This was within his expectations. "Alright, I'll move it later then."

The girl in the black dress felt a little bad; after all, Jiang Fan was trying to help her, and she had simply refused him. After a brief thought, she revealed a secret about the Central Tribe's troop movements. "The Central Tribe's forces are deployed to deal with the Celestial State of the Central Lands. They are all elite ancient giants! The detachment moved this time has unknown strength, but is extremely dangerous."

Jiang Fan immediately grew solemn. According to the girl in the black dress's analysis, this detached unit was very likely targeting either their stronghold or the Taicang Great State. Regardless of their target, it was not good news!

"Thank you for telling me," Jiang Fan said gratefully. Without the girl in the black dress, he would have had no way to obtain this kind of information from the Celestial Realm. It would be difficult to obtain it in the future too. This was because a meeting between people from both realms, like today's alliance, would almost certainly not happen again. Once the great war began, the Heaven-Connecting Black Pillar would be controlled by the ancient giants. The Asuras would no longer be able to descend to the lower realm.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. Gu Xin'er could transmit messages in real-time across vast states using the Moon Realm. Would the Moon Realm also be useful for crossing between two realms?