Chapter 1588: Spirit of the Artifact (Tenth Update)

Unsolvable Substitute Marriage: Jiang Fan and Xu Yining

What made him even paler was that, besides a wisp of soul, a black mist also surged out from the Thousand Illusions Sword. That was the curse power of the Sleeping Giant Emperor! How could they possibly withstand this?

“You made us lose three Giant Emperors; I’ll tear you limb from limb!” the Sleeping Giant Emperor roared in fury. Even though he retained only a remnant soul and had received the full healing power of the Central Tribe Emperor, after seizing a new body and being reborn, he could only maintain the Giant Emperor’s realm for a single day. A thousand years of arduous cultivation, all gone to waste! How could he not be angry?

“You all die!” The Sleeping Giant Emperor launched the curse with murderous intent.

But Jiang Fan shouted, “Then let’s all die together! Nobody’s getting off easy!” He flipped his palm, revealing a nine-colored crystal. As he squeezed with his fingers, cracks began to spider across its surface. Traces of terrifying nine-colored lightning flickered in and out of view. The current Sleeping Giant Emperor was just a remnant soul; he might not be able to dodge it.

The Sleeping Giant Emperor’s pupils constricted to pinpricks! Lightning was inherently the bane of giants, and the nine-colored lightning before him was filled with destructive power against the Sage realm. In his prime, he believed he could dodge it. But now, as a remnant soul, he might be obliterated by a single bolt. He glared gloomily at Jiang Fan, his eyes full of venom. After much deliberation, he withdrew the curse he was about to unleash and said grimly, “You two have guts! I won’t spare you!”

With that, the remnant soul flew out from the mass of flesh, clutching the Thousand Illusions Sword, and ascended towards the heaven-connecting black pillar. A colorful bell was still hanging from the hilt of the Thousand Illusions Sword, jingling as it went.

Seeing the Giant Emperor disappear from sight, Jiang Fan pondered for a moment, then gritted his teeth and pulled out his Void Fishing Rod. He silently pictured the Thousand Illusions Sword in his mind and then cast his line. The best outcome would be to snatch the Thousand Illusions Sword from the remnant soul. The worst outcome would be to drag the remnant soul back with it. With the opportunity for the Grand Completion Sword Array right before him, there was no reason not to take a gamble. At worst, he could threaten them again with the nine-colored crystal; they wouldn’t dare do anything then!

Soon, the fishhook flew out. Immediately after, Jiang Fan’s hand felt heavy, and the enraged roar of the Cursed Giant Emperor echoed from the heaven-connecting black pillar. He hooked something! He quickly raised his rod and reeled in the line. The hook quickly retracted from the void. However, what he brought back greatly disappointed Jiang Fan! It was just a bell! His target was supposed to be the Thousand Illusions Sword. The Sleeping Giant Emperor must have sensed the hook and dodged with the sword, which is why he accidentally hooked the bell instead.

“Why is it just a broken bell?” Jiang Fan took off the bell, preparing to casually toss it into his spatial storage device. However, from the heaven-connecting black pillar, the Sleeping Giant Emperor’s furious roar suddenly erupted: “Damn you, Wang Chongxiao! You stole my artifact spirit! Just you wait! When I recover, I will surely take your life!”

Artifact spirit? Jiang Fan blinked, picking up the colorful bell in his hand, a look of confusion on his face. Just then, the ice dragon from the Snow-Listening Sword excitedly flew over to the bell, opening its mouth in a silent roar. The colorful bell, surprisingly, responded, becoming ethereal and transparent. Visible to the naked eye, a small, colorful dragon’s ethereal shadow lay coiled inside. Hearing the ice dragon’s cry, the colorful dragon instinctively lifted its head, and upon seeing the ice dragon, it too began to excitedly call out, responding to the ice dragon. One colorful dragon and one ice dragon, the two dragons began calling out to each other.

“This really is the Thousand Illusions Sword’s artifact spirit!” Jiang Fan was a bit stunned, but then he quickly understood after a moment’s thought. A wisp of soul separated by the Giant Emperor had occupied the Thousand Illusions Sword, expelling its artifact spirit, which was then stored separately. Without its artifact spirit, the Thousand Illusions Sword’s power had significantly decreased. That’s why the Sleeping Giant Emperor was so furious.

Jiang Fan’s eyes brightened; he understood all too well the difference between a sword with and without an artifact spirit. If he couldn’t get the Thousand Illusions Sword back in the end, then he could simply let the colorful dragon enter the Earthfang Sword!

“Heh heh, so what if he’s a Giant Emperor? If there’s something to be gained, you still take it!” Watching the two dragon-shaped artifact spirits call out to each other with increasing enthusiasm, Jiang Fan grumbled, “Are you two showing off your affection? Be careful, or I’ll bury one of you in Taicang Great State and the other in Guixu State!”

He put away the bell and shooed the ice dragon back into the Snow-Listening Sword. He had figured out that neither of these two artifact spirits seemed to have had their consciousness wiped, unlike the Dust Mirror. It was just that the ice dragon was usually too aloof to bother with Jiang Fan. But now, seeing that beautiful little colorful dragon, it instantly turned into a fawning dragon.

The Master of Jiangshan Yipin Tower’s eyes nearly popped out: “You’re really something. You even dare to profit from a Giant Emperor!”

Jiang Fan said, “Infinite profit without capital is the most lucrative business. Alright, let’s go.”

The Master of Jiangshan Yipin Tower shook his head and was about to leave, lifting Jiang Fan, when he suddenly felt something and looked up at the heaven-connecting black pillar, his face quickly turning grim. He put Jiang Fan down and said, “Go, don’t look back.”

Jiang Fan immediately felt a bad premonition. Looking up, the clouds above the heaven-connecting black pillar had, at some point, turned blood-red. It was exactly like when the first batch of ancient giants descended. The difference was that the aura emanating from them was even more terrifying.

Boom, boom, boom! One colossal figure after another rapidly descended along the heaven-connecting black pillar. All of them were Giant Kings with stars on their foreheads! A rough count revealed no fewer than twenty more! What made Jiang Fan’s heart sink was that they were not in a hurry to attack. Instead, they orderly arrayed themselves on both sides of the heaven-connecting black pillar, respectfully kneeling on one knee. Even the previous Three-Star Giant Kings hadn’t received such treatment.

The Master of Jiangshan Yipin Tower said gravely, “This is the formation for a Five-Star Giant King’s arrival! You can’t leave even if you want to. He’s here for you.”

Jiang Fan pulled out the spatial mirror from his pocket and, looking at Imperial Daughter Zijiang inside, said: “Not for me. It’s for her!”

His words had barely fallen. Something had descended! The ground suddenly shook violently, the sky trembled, and a suffocating sense of oppression swept across all directions along with the dust. Amidst the swirling dust, a thirty-zhang tall giant, entirely golden, with five stars rotating on its forehead, faintly appeared. It really was a Five-Star Giant King!

Imperial Daughter Zijiang suddenly opened her eyes, stood up abruptly, and a look of joy appeared in her eyes. This was an emotion she had never shown when facing other Giant Kings. Even when Jiang Fan killed so many Giant Kings, she had only sighed.

“Youming, is it really you who has come?” As she called out, the swirling dust dispersed, revealing the Five-Star Giant King’s true form. It was a Five-Star Giant King with long silver hair. Unlike other Giant Kings, whose eyes were brutal and cold, he was calm, even exuding a gentle aura. At first glance, Jiang Fan had the same feeling as when he first met Imperial Daughter Zijiang. However, Jiang Fan dared not be careless; this was a Five-Star Giant King, a Five-Star Giant King with the power to destroy heavens and earth!