Chapter 1565: Doomsday Stele

Bright starlight flashed on the Three-Star Giant King's forehead. Three stars, dark as the void, spun rapidly.

"Spatial Lockdown!"

The next instant, an invisible spatial barrier appeared in the sky between the group of Giant Kings and Jiang Fan's party.

They swooped down, crashing into the spatial barrier, unable to penetrate it. Only Venerable Mantra barely managed to crack it.

Jiang Fan's pupils contracted. "He's the Space Giant King!" he exclaimed.

"Watch out!"

Venerable Mantra and the others' expressions changed drastically. Among all the Giant Kings, the Space Giant King posed one of the highest threats. And what's more, he was a Three-Star Giant King. It was feared that with a single thought, he could instantly kill anyone among them, except for Venerable Mantra.

"Separate!" Jiang Fan had witnessed the terror of a One-Star Space Giant King and knew well that staying together would mean complete annihilation.

Everyone immediately shot out in all directions.

They had barely left when the spatial barrier beneath their feet shattered into countless spatial fragments, sweeping outwards explosively.

*Thud! Thud!*

A series of blood mists erupted.

Venerable Heart Devil's chest was cut open by a foot-long penetrating gash, and a chunk was sliced off the right side of his head. Blood and brain matter gushed out simultaneously. Adding to that, he had already had one hand bitten off earlier. He was almost completely incapacitated. Fortunately, he had a Heavenly Garment Divine Water held in his mouth, which he bit into in time, allowing him to sustain his life.

Jian Lanjiang hid behind the battle corpse, with only a chunk of flesh sliced from his shoulder. However, the battle corpse was cut beyond recognition; the arm holding the black saber was almost severed, causing Jian Lanjiang immense heartache.

Pingtian Bodhisattva's youthful face was scratched with several bloody marks, and the Twelve-Leaf Golden Lotus beneath his feet bore numerous residual marks. Even Venerable Mantra was not spared, with blood overflowing from multiple wounds on his body, staining his robes red.

The only one still relatively intact was Jiang Fan. A Five-Magnetic Primordial Mountain blocked him, and several chunks had been sliced off its body by the spatial fragments. His Black Dragon Battle Armor also bore numerous white slash marks that had nearly pierced through.

The Three-Star Space Giant King had not acted, but once he did, his single strike almost took everyone's lives. And this was merely a casual strike from him, aimed at protecting the group of Giant Kings.

The Two-Star Fire Giant King's expression changed slightly. He said, "My Lord, the King commanded that you are not permitted to act."

"What if he finds out..."

The Three-Star Space Giant King's eyes were as gloomy as water. "You bunch of wastes," he growled, "your casualties have exceeded half."

"Whether I act or not, the King will not spare me." His vertical eye stared venomously at Jiang Fan and the others. "A few ants, you've killed so many of my Giant Kings!"

"Letting you die would be letting you off far too lightly!"

Jiang Fan felt puzzled. No wonder the Three-Star Giant King hadn't intervened in time to save them earlier. With his spatial essence, they likely wouldn't have been able to kill even a single Giant King. So it turned out he was forbidden to act. The King who gave the order must be a Five-Star Giant King, right? Was it King Black Sun? Or was it another Five-Star Giant King? If it was the latter, then there would be two Five-Star Giant Kings!

At this thought, Jiang Fan's already despairing heart sank even deeper.

The Three-Star Giant King did not give him time to think. His eyes were filled with chilling malice: "Die, all of you!"

The three black stars on his forehead flared up again!

The next moment, Jiang Fan suddenly felt his entire body bound, as if he were buried in stone. Let alone escaping, he could barely move a finger. Jiang Fan was the first one the Three-Star Giant King intended to kill!

Jiang Fan was not flustered; he only sighed silently in his heart. Tianting Bodhisattva had already met his demise. It was his turn now.

Venerable Mantra's pupils sharply contracted, and he lunged forward, becoming an afterimage. Venerable Heart Devil, Pingtian Bodhisattva, and Jian Lanjiang also changed their expressions drastically, roaring as they lunged forward.

"Come at me if you dare!"

"Stop! Kill me first!"

"Beast, release Jiang Fan!"

Seeing their urgency, a cruel sneer curled on the Three-Star Giant King's lips: "The Giant Emperor has specifically named him to be killed. Do you really think you're worthy of dying in his place?"

"Say goodbye to him!"

The origin stars on his forehead began to spin violently. The space imprisoning Jiang Fan suddenly collapsed.

Jiang Fan, who was within it, felt a chilling sensation pierce through every part of his body. Immediately after, excruciating pain, like a surging tide, rushed through his mind.

*This... is this the taste of death?*

Jiang Fan let out a bitter laugh in his heart and sent his last divine thought to the spatial mirror he held.

"Little Qilin, it's up to you."

Inside the spatial mirror, Little Qilin held the nine-colored crystal in its mouth, tears welling up in its eyes. As early as when the Three-Star Space Giant King first acted, Jiang Fan had a premonition that he would be the first to be killed. So, he secretly handed the nine-colored crystal to Little Qilin. If he didn't get a chance to act, then Little Qilin would take his place and detonate the nine-colored crystal. He hoped it could also take down a group of Giant Kings, just like the Bodhisattva.

After conveying his last divine thought, Jiang Fan closed his eyes. Scenes from his life flashed before his mind's eye: some unfulfilled regrets, some faces he was unwilling to leave, as well as the faces of Jiang Wuya, Steward Yun Yang, and the Bodhisattva, which filled his heart with sorrow.

*Goodbye.*

*This world.*

He silently bid farewell in his heart, calmly accepting his destined death.

However, just as this confined space was about to shatter, crushing his body into dust along with it, a terrifying sonic roar, powerful enough to suppress heaven and earth, rumbled forth. The entire world trembled violently because of it, and the far reaches of the sky were visibly collapsing. It was as if some terrifying entity was advancing, crushing heaven and earth as it came.

All the Giant Kings present had their gazes drawn. Even Venerable Mantra and the others turned back in surprise to look. That aura made everyone, Giants and humans alike, tremble with fear.

The sky above their heads also suddenly collapsed. The earth rolled like waves, mountains crumbled, and countless halls of the Fire Worship Cult suddenly collapsed. The space above them undulated like waves. This phenomenon was as if a supreme being had descended!

*Whoosh!*

A sound of tearing through space suddenly burst forth. Above their heads, a pitch-black stone tablet appeared. It was only human height, yet it was covered in the marks of time and enveloped in battle intent that had not extinguished for eons. A terrifying aura emanated from within the stone tablet. As that aura spread, everyone who perceived it, including the Three-Star Giant King, felt dizzy, nauseous, and wanted to vomit.

The Three-Star Giant King was startled. "An aura of misfortune?"

"What is this stone tablet? Why did it fly here on its own?"

Jiang Fan stared at the black stone tablet, momentarily stunned, then his heart was filled with immense surprise and doubt. *Isn't this the Stele of Misfortune? Wasn't it in the palm of the Calamity Sage's remains? Why did it fly here on its own?*

Venerable Mantra and the others also guessed what the stone tablet was, and all showed expressions of surprise and doubt. They couldn't comprehend why this divine stele from the forbidden area had flown here on its own.

The next moment, the Stele of Misfortune blasted directly towards the Three-Star Giant King. The latter's eyes turned cold. Abandoning Jiang Fan, he scoffed, "A mere broken stone tablet dares to attack me?" The origin on his forehead activated, and a spatial barrier bound the stele.

However, the stone tablet was bound for only an instant before it erupted with powerful misfortune, shattering the spatial barrier and fiercely smashing towards the Three-Star Giant King.

"What?"

The Three-Star Giant King was startled and forcefully blasted out his twin fists. Even space was struck with subtle void cracks. Amidst the deafening roar, the Three-Star Giant King staggered backward, his face filled with shock. He lowered his head to look at his fists, which were already a bloody mess, revealing white bone. Wisps of misfortune were still spreading along the wounds into his body.

Meanwhile, the divine stele stood firm in its place.