Chapter 1554: Nine-Sun Giant Emperor

As she finished speaking, a radiant golden stone tablet materialized behind her. It was covered in countless inscriptions and emanated an unparalleled power of merit. Profound ripples of fundamental laws encircled the tablet, influencing the order of that part of the world.

The Five-Star Giant King's vertical eye quivered. Holding the blood pool, he took a step back and stated gravely: "The Monument of Merit, a symbol of the Sages of the Central Lands! Grand Wine Priestess, have you forgotten how the Sage of Misfortune met their end?"

The Grand Wine Priestess's eyes cleared of all intoxication, her serene face now imbued with cold indifference: "I know. So what? I have guarded Dahuang Province for a millennium; isn't this the very moment I've been awaiting?"

As her words concluded, she raised her index finger, and a formidable power of fundamental laws surged skyward from the Monument of Merit: "Endless!" the Grand Wine Priestess murmured faintly.

The unleashed laws swept in all directions, engulfing all living beings except for the demonic cultivators. Seventeen Giant Kings and two thousand one hundred Ancient Giants were all struck by the laws.

In the vertical eye of one Three-Star Giant King, a maddening greed began to spread. "'Dahuang Province belongs solely to me! No one is allowed to take it from me! No one at all!'" Without warning, he seized a nearby Giant King's neck with one hand, twisting it until the head and neck were torn clean off. Then, another Giant King went berserk, attacking those nearby. Followed by the third, fourth, fifth, and so on… The Giant Kings rapidly descended into fratricide, each consumed by a greedy desire to eliminate the others and claim Dahuang Province for themselves.

The Ancient Giants were even more deeply ensnared by the laws, unable to extricate themselves. The two thousand one hundred giants likewise succumbed to madness and began to slaughter one another.

Only the Five-Star Giant King, although also influenced by the laws and experiencing boundless greed within him, still retained a sliver of rationality. He decisively pulled out a piece of black bone. It was shrouded in chilling black mist, the very essence of the Giant Emperor's curse. Leveraging the curse's power, he managed to remain barely conscious.

Gazing at his now chaotic army, and then at the Grand Wine Priestess who was staring back at him, his soul nearly fled his body. He promptly fled towards the Heaven-Connecting Black Pillar. Wherever he passed, the very space was shattered, leaving behind a dense network of void cracks.

The Grand Wine Priestess flicked her sleeve, and a single drop of wine instantly teleported to him. The Five-Star Giant King had no time to react before a bloody hole was pierced clean through his forehead. Immediately, countless cracks spread from his forehead across his entire body. He resembled a colossal thirty-zhang porcelain vessel. With a resounding 'bang,' he exploded into countless splattering fragments. A pitch-black soul, clutching five stars, flew in terror towards the Heavenly Realm.

Given a Giant King's ability to regenerate from a single drop of blood, even if the Five-Star Giant King regenerated, he could only recover to the strength of a Four-Star Giant King. This still posed an enormous hidden threat!

The Grand Wine Priestess's gaze turned icy, and she flicked her sleeve once more.

But just then, the sky above Dahuang Province tore open! A colossal, pitch-black void rift, reaching to the heavens, appeared without warning. The rift was so vast that it even dispersed the powerful gales at the zenith of the sky. A terrifying entity had ripped open the world barrier between the Central Lands and the Heavenly Realm!

From the depths of the void, a single point of crimson light flashed into existence. The very next moment, it pierced through both realms, hurtling directly towards the Grand Wine Priestess. Its speed was incredible, utterly disregarding space. It was akin to the Grand Wine Priestess's single drop of wine striking down the Five-Star Giant King, leaving him no opportunity to react.

The Grand Wine Priestess only had time to let out a soft sigh, and the crimson light arrived. However, with a sudden snap, a long tree root eerily shot out from beneath the Grand Wine Priestess's feet, precisely coiling around the crimson light. The crimson light paused for a fleeting moment, revealing its true form. It was, in fact, a blood-red spear! It was identical to the spear that had killed the Sage of Misfortune!

The entity that moved to capture the blood-red spear was none other than the Thousand-Year Ginkgo Tree. Yet, it could not truly grasp the blood-red spear, only wrap its roots around it. The next instant, the supreme divine might emanating from the blood-red spear shredded its roots, annihilating its entire underground body as well!

Fortunately, the blood-red spear's momentary pause granted the Grand Wine Priestess an opportunity to react. In a flash, she vanished from her original position. The next moment, the blood-red spear plunged into the earth. Amidst a cataclysmic roar, the blood-red spear pierced through the ground, creating a void black hole ten thousand zhang in diameter! Endless Yin energy surged out from the black hole. The spear's residual power had astonishingly pierced through the world barrier between the Central Lands and the Underworld! The destructive shockwave it generated completely obliterated the land within a thousand-li radius, exposing the vibrant world barrier beneath! The sky for ten thousand li was fractured into countless void cracks.

Humans and giants on the battlefield were all blasted tens of thousands of li away, their fates unknown. Those who were merely blasted away were fortunate. For the giants and humans closest to the impact were instantly pulverized into a bloody mist, leaving no trace of their remains.

Once the shockwave subsided, the former battlefield bore no resemblance to the Central Lands at all. Only the vibrant world barrier and countless void cracks in the sky remained, along with a deep, bottomless black hole that extended directly into the Underworld. This... was the Nine-Sun Giant Emperor's cross-realm strike!

The only two living beings remaining at the scene were the Grand Wine Priestess and the Thousand-Year Ginkgo Tree. As for the Five-Star Giant King's soul, it had been entirely obliterated along with the Heaven-Connecting Black Pillar!

The Grand Wine Priestess stood protectively before the Ginkgo Tree, her blue palace gown tattered, her face pale, with drops of pure Sage's blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. The Ginkgo Tree, wide enough for ten people to embrace, was a devastating sight. Everything beneath its crown was gone; it had all been obliterated by the divine might the moment it coiled around the blood-red spear. Only a section of its crown remained, its leaves cradling the remains of the Great Wutong Venerable.

The Grand Wine Priestess looked back and gave a bitter smile, asking, "Why did you have to do that?"

The Ginkgo Tree replied, "If Master were still alive, they would have done the same. Besides, I am a thousand-year-old divine wood. As long as a single branch remains, I can regrow. However, this is as much as I can help you."

The Grand Wine Priestess clasped her hands in salute, saying, "Thank you. Take care. I'm going!" She glanced at the slowly closing sky rift, then, fueled by indignation, raised her palm and struck, reopening the rift and bursting directly out of the Central Lands into the Heavenly Realm.

Having prepared for a millennium, how could the Grand Wine Priestesses not possess any methods to contend with the Nine-Sun Giant Emperor?

The Thousand-Year Ginkgo Tree swayed its crown, and damaged golden ginkgo leaves fluttered down. It gazed at the projection of Taicang Great Province among the nine displayed projections and spoke across the void: "Brother Jiang, I'm leaving. You... take care!" With these words, it ascended into the air with the remains of the Great Wutong Venerable and departed the Central Lands through the void rift in the sky.

In Taicang Great Province, everyone was in shock. The terrifying might of that blood-red spear profoundly shocked them. It also, at the same time, dispelled the greatest doubt in everyone's minds, including Jiang Fan's: namely, why the Grand Wine Priestess had never intervened. Even when they were on the brink of total annihilation, she had remained motionless. Because they only had one opportunity to act! Once they acted, they would be targeted by the Nine-Sun Giant Emperor. Therefore, the Grand Wine Priestess had to reserve her single opportunity to act for the most critical moment.

Yet, in Taicang Great Province, even after their great victory, the Grand Wine Priestess had still not made a move. Did he have some lingering concerns?