Chapter 1399: Recognizing Ancestry

The calligraphy and painting stall beside him lay overturned. Each piece of artwork was stained with black, foul blood. The scrawny owner, who had just been basking in the sun against the wall, was now nothing more than two highly decomposed legs remaining on the spot. White maggots teemed in the rotting flesh. A thick, putrid stench assailed them!

But this was just the beginning. As the surrounding space gradually synchronized with the present time, its true appearance was revealed. The vendors who had been pushing carts to sell goods were gone, leaving behind only blood and putrid, shredded flesh covering the ground. Their carts lay overturned on the roadside, nowhere to be found. The bustling crowds that had been moving through the streets instantly vanished, leaving nothing but scattered limbs and fragmented corpses on the ground, surrounded by swarming flies.

The neat houses along the road had transformed into ruins, with many people buried alive within them, their eyes wide open in death. As far as the eye could see, only a few buildings in the entire city of Kaiyang remained intact. A profound silence enveloped everything. Aside from the buzzing of flies and the overwhelming, foul stench, there was no sign of life anywhere. The entire city of Kaiyang was utterly dead!

Just then, Jiang Fan felt a sticky sensation on his hand. He looked down to see his right hand covered in black blood and grime, though he didn't know when it had happened. His heart clenched as he looked towards the far end of the street. A blood-stained leather ball lay silently in a corner. Next to the ball was another spherical object: a small head wearing a tiger hat. Beside the head lay a blood-soaked longevity lock. Jiang Fan's eyes lost focus as he stared at the small head, momentarily stunned. In his mind, he saw the image of that shy little boy playfully asking him for his ball.

Suddenly, Ziwei Immortal vomited. Her body trembled uncontrollably, her eyes wide with shock. Everyone in the city was dead! Her voice quivered as she asked, "What exactly happened here?"

Princess Zijian looked at the scattered limbs and bones on the ground, a scene she was grimly familiar with. Her golden vertical eye narrowed as she said, "They were eaten."

"What?" Jiang Fan snapped back to reality, his face filled with shock. "Aren't only ancient giants cannibals?"

Then he paused. He remembered the group of semi-giants who had intercepted them, intending to silence them. His face turned icy. "Could it be that these were eaten by semi-giants?"

Princess Zijian pondered for a moment. "I haven't studied semi-giants. I don't know."

Jiang Fan said no more, tucking the mirror back into his robes. He then pulled out the soul of the twelve-foot semi-giant. Its two eyes were like icy caverns, spewing forth chilling air.

"Tell me, what happened here?"

The twelve-foot semi-giant looked around, its face changing dramatically. "You... you broke the time reversal here?"

"Speak!" Jiang Fan commanded coldly.

The twelve-foot semi-giant trembled in fear, swallowing hard before answering: "There... there's a semi-giant in the Dharma Aspect realm. He ate the people of several cities. To cover up the truth, he sealed all seven cities of Tianyuan within a time reversal, to mislead others. Once the ancient giants arrive, they plan to frame them."

Ziwei Immortal stumbled. She looked at the widespread devastation, especially the tragic death of the little boy. Tears streamed down her face, and her delicate body trembled uncontrollably as she asked, "Why would he do such a thing?"

The twelve-foot semi-giant's gaze darted away; it dared not answer. A cold light burst from Jiang Fan's eyes, and a Soul-Shocking Thorn shot from his glabella, piercing the semi-giant's soul!

The twelve-foot semi-giant let out a heart-rending scream. "I'll tell you! I'll tell you!" He pointed to the sky and said, "The Great Hunt of the Celestial Realm has begun. That Dharma Aspect realm semi-giant, he wanted to... to emulate his ancestors and learn to hunt."

Jiang Fan's eyes were filled with chilling coldness. "Emulate his ancestors? You semi-giants were born and raised in the Middle-Earth, yet you recognize the ancient giants who devour us, the people of the Middle-Earth, as your ancestors?"

The twelve-foot semi-giant shivered, quickly waving its hands. "This is his individual act; it doesn't represent our Tianyi City! We are still very willing to resist the ancient giants. The reason for the cover-up was fear that this matter would spread, affecting the reputation of our Tianyi City, and even more, impacting the alliance between our Tianyi City and Mount Qunxing."

Jiang Fan looked up at the sky. A volcano of suppressed rage was simmering within his chest, ready to erupt.

"How did your Tianyi City deal with this Dharma Aspect realm semi-giant?"

The twelve-foot semi-giant avoided Jiang Fan's gaze, guiltily saying, "The City Lord said it's not easy to cultivate a Dharma Aspect realm expert. So, he's being kept to atone for his crimes on the battlefield."

"Hahaha! Hahahahahahaha!" Jiang Fan laughed, his face flushed with furious amusement. "He devoured the people of several cities, committing monstrous atrocities. And you just let him off with a slap on the wrist? You don't solve the problem; instead, you eliminate those who discover it! You even went as far as to silence witnesses!" He pointed to the unconscious elderly woman, a flicker of madness in his eyes.

He was truly enraged. Even when Yaoyue caused the deaths of so many disciples from the Nine Sects at World Mountain, he hadn't felt such an extreme degree of fury. That battle was a war between humans and demons; both sides had their own positions. Yaoyue acted from the demon race's standpoint, which was understandable.

But this Dharma Aspect realm semi-giant recognized the ancient giants as his ancestors and emulated their Great Hunt, brutally slaughtering and devouring the people of entire cities! And as if that weren't enough, Tianyi City actually shielded him! Not only did they shield him, but they also brutally eliminated those who tried to expose the truth! It was utterly outrageous!

"Where is that beast?" Jiang Fan asked, his voice filled with chilling killing intent.

The twelve-foot semi-giant stammered, "He... he's already returned to Tianyi City and has been imprisoned."

Jiang Fan laughed angrily. "Imprisonment is enough? The people of several cities died in vain? Lead the way!"

The twelve-foot semi-giant asked nervously, "W-where are we going?"

Jiang Fan's voice was frigid. "To kill him, of course! I want him to neither live nor die!"

He took out a black jade bottle. Inside, soul flames flickered, and a coiled soul wailed continuously under their torment. This was the very bottle Venerable Xinye had used to torment his own father. With a flick of his finger, Jiang Fan opened the lid. The soul of Venerable Xinye's birth father, trapped for countless years, immediately rushed out as if fleeing, vanishing into the void. A Soul-Shocking Thorn shot from Jiang Fan's glabella. A scream, abruptly cut short, echoed from the void as the soul was shattered into oblivion.

"This jade bottle will be that beast's final resting place!" Jiang Fan declared, his killing intent palpable. He never tortured enemies, usually granting them a quick end. But this Dharma Aspect realm semi-giant did not deserve death! He deserved only to suffer eternal torment!

Upon hearing this, Ziwei Immortal quickly wiped away her tears and said, "Jiang Fan, don't be impulsive. Tianyi City is teeming with experts; there are ten Dharma Aspect realm powerhouses! And their City Lord is a peak Body-Refinement cultivator in the Five-Phase realm. Let's wait for my master to arrive."

Jiang Fan rose into the air. "No need to wait. Seven days have already passed. If your master had received the message, she would have been here by now!" He suspected that the jade sphere Ziwei Immortal had sent into the void had already been intercepted. He couldn't rely on Mount Qunxing, nor on the Imperial Astronomical Bureau. He could only rely on his own people. With a gesture, a token forged from lightning appeared in his palm. This was given to Jiang Fan by his godmother, Venerable Lianjing, when they parted ways. She had told him that if he crushed it, she would come to his aid, no matter where he was.