Chapter 1524: The Prelude to the Great Battle

The demon cultivators of the Great Desolate Province felt their pupils contract. Gazing up at the Giant King, twenty *zhang* tall and resembling a towering mountain, their breath hitched, and their bodies trembled uncontrollably. The legendary giants, after a thousand years, had once again descended upon the Central Earth!

Although they had already seen images of giants transmitted back from the Heavenly Realm by Jiang Fan, directly confronting one was different. The sheer, overwhelming pressure and predatory, wild aura could not be conveyed through mere visuals. Every single Nascent Soul realm cultivator present felt a surge of fear. Some younger martial artists, who had only recently broken through to the Nascent Soul realm, found their legs trembling. A few even wet themselves!

These were cultivators who had survived the baptism of heavenly tribulations, breaking through their limitations against all odds. Their resolve should have been unshakeable, their hearts fearless. Yet, when confronted by the Giant King, they were no different from ordinary mortals!

Fortunately, the Venerables of the Great Desolate Province were also there. Having endured the arduous trials of God Transformation, their hearts were like stone, utterly fearless. Venerable Wuyu roared, "What is there to be afraid of? We demon cultivators follow the path where 'those who obey me prosper, and those who defy me perish.' We live by our own desires, unbound by heaven or earth! If you fear a mere ancient giant, what kind of demon path are you even cultivating?"

His sinister, wolf-like eyes glared at the Three-Star Giant King: "Since you dared to show up first, you must be ready to have your body dismembered!"

He activated his back-of-the-head domain, sending out invisible ripples that swept across the area.

The Three-Star Giant King chuckled, shrugging his shoulders. "Hehehe! A mere Heaven-Human Two Decays attempting to attack a Three-Star Giant King. Interesting. You have far more backbone than those spineless wretches of the Asura race! This makes for a much more exciting hunt!"

Watching the incoming domain, he stood unmoving, hands behind his back, a sinister smile playing on his lips. He allowed the domain to wash over him. The result? The domain was utterly absorbed, like a mud ox sinking into the sea, having no discernible effect on the Three-Star Giant King.

"Heh, you clearly know nothing about us giants!" Ancient giants are the embodiment of negative emotions like greed and tyranny. Their desire to devour is boundless. How could a mere domain strip them of their desires and leave them vulnerable to slaughter?

"Given your admirable courage... I've decided you'll be my first prey! And you'll also be the first person from the Great Desolate Province to be devoured in a thousand years!" The Three-Star Giant King's sinister smile widened.

The next instant, he tapped his right foot. A muffled thunderclap echoed, and the Three-Star Giant King vanished from where he stood. Venerable Wuyu's expression shifted, and he decisively activated the teleportation ability of a God Transformation Venerable. Yet, in the very next instant, he tumbled out of space, bleeding profusely. His body was marred by several finger-thick fissures, his chest caved in from a powerful fist print, and every single bone in his body was broken. Blood, like juice from a burst tomato, sprayed out along the cracks. In that single instant, his body was utterly ravaged.

But it wasn't over. A massive, pale-golden foot, moving too swiftly to track, slammed Venerable Wuyu into the ground. Only then did the Three-Star Giant King's colossal form become visible. He stood with his arms crossed over his chest, head bowed, his colossal vertical eyes gleaming with mockery: "Even your human race's Heaven-Human Three Decays face near-certain death when they encounter me. What hope do *you* have, a mere Heaven-Human Two Decays?"

His lips curved into a cruel arc, the veins on his foot bulging as he suddenly exerted force. "Die!"

Venerable Wuyu was instantly crushed, splattering into a pool of blood. However, the Three-Star Giant King did not mock him. Instead, the cruel arc vanished from his lips, and his vertical eyes sharply contracted. The splattered blood, however, began to re-condense, forming a human shape. It was Venerable Wuyu!

The Three-Star Giant King narrowed his eyes, stating coldly, "You copied my origin?" When he first appeared, he had manifested from a rain of blood—that was his inherent origin power. He hadn't expected Venerable Wuyu to somehow copy his origin using an unknown secret technique!

Venerable Wuyu, his face slightly pale, clutched his cracked chest and scoffed, "Three-Star Giant King, you're nothing special!"

The Three-Star Giant King's eyes flashed with cold light. "It's just a little more effort!" His mouth opened, spitting out a crimson tongue that brushed against space, leaving faint, black, ethereal trails. The next moment, before Venerable Wuyu could even react, the tongue coiled around him! Beyond their origin power and invincibly formidable physiques, the long tongue was also a core ability of ancient giants.

The Three-Star Giant King said chillingly, "Time to depart..." With a flick of his tongue, he began to reel Venerable Wuyu back towards his mouth, intending to devour him alive.

But suddenly, the Three-Star Giant King's body swayed, and his eyes grew dazed. His feet wobbled uncontrollably, and his pale golden face gradually flushed red. "I... what did you do...?" The Three-Star Giant King stumbled, his words slurring as if he were heavily intoxicated.

Venerable Wuyu wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and let out a resounding laugh. "Hahaha! My domain... perhaps you'd like to savor it again?"

The Three-Star Giant King was startled, meticulously probing his inner self. The domain he had so easily absorbed, which should have vanished without a trace, actually had a lingering essence. No, it wasn't a domain! It was a Law! The Law of Drunkenness! His expression shifted to horror as he exclaimed, "It's your Grand Liquor Sacrifice's Law! Ah! Damn it!"

Would Venerable Wuyu have recklessly sought death? And would the Grand Liquor Sacrifice, knowing the Great Desolate Province was outmatched, truly not have provided a contingency for the God Transformation Venerables? Venerable Wuyu had been waiting for this exact moment! The instant the Law of Drunkenness activated, the Three-Star Giant King completely lost his combat capabilities.

He opened his mouth and spat out a black blade emanating sinister demonic energy—an excellent spirit artifact long blade. He viciously severed the tongue coiling him. Clutching the long blade, he instantly teleported above the Three-Star Giant King's head and, with a single swing, unleashed a terrifying blade aura a thousand *zhang* long.

The Three-Star Giant King, startled and enraged, clumsily stretched out his hand, attempting to block the blade aura. *Thwack.* The blade aura cut cleanly down, neatly severing all five fingers of his right hand.

"Those who offend my Great Desolate Province shall perish by blood!" Venerable Wuyu roared, and the long blade continued its descent. The thousand-*zhang* blade aura plunged into the Three-Star Giant King's skull.

"Ah!!!" "Stop!!!" The Three-Star Giant King let out a mournful cry of pain as the three blood-red stars on his forehead spun furiously. His body, including his head, rapidly began to melt into blood.

Venerable Wuyu wouldn't give him the chance. "Die!" He gritted his teeth, bringing the long blade down with fierce resolve! Before the giant's head could completely melt into blood, he split it in two.

"Ah—" A scream, abruptly cut short, reverberated through the sky. The Three-Star Giant King's head was split in two, brain matter and blood spurting out like a fountain.

But this wasn't enough to kill him! Giant Kings possess an absurdly powerful life force; even with only a single drop of blood remaining, they can regenerate! To truly kill them, their stars must be destroyed!

Venerable Wuyu's gaze was like lightning, swiftly locking onto the three stars. With a five-fingered claw, he snatched them into his palm. Without a moment's hesitation, his palm erupted with an immensely powerful demonic aura.

But then, at that very moment! A terrifyingly indifferent voice, so potent it made the entire Great Desolate Province tremble, echoed from directly behind Venerable Wuyu without warning.

"Put it down."

It was not a threat, but an absolute command.

Venerable Wuyu's body convulsed violently. He whirled his head around. Standing directly behind him was a majestic, thirty-*zhang* tall giant, shimmering with a golden aura. And on its brow were five black stars!

This was... the Five-Star Giant King!