Chapter 1629: Resolute Battle

The Benevolent Sage’s face darkened. “The Ancient Sage gave you the Law Wine to serve us sages. Yet you abuse your power for personal gain, acting tyrannically!”

This was Jiang Fan’s first time seeing the Benevolent Sage in person. He appeared to be over eighty years old, with slightly dark skin, hollow cheeks, sunken eyes, and an aquiline nose. At first glance, he gave off an impression of being harsh, fierce, and difficult to provoke, vastly different from the “benevolent heart” implied by his title.

Only then did Jiang Fan realize that the Ancient Sage’s bestowal of the title “Benevolent Sage” was actually sarcastic. The Ancient Sage utterly despised someone who became a sage by exploiting a loophole in the rules. Understanding this, Jiang Fan became even more fearless, stating calmly, “If you disagree, then complain to the Ancient Sage.”

The Benevolent Sage’s gaze grew even darker. Back in Heavenly Relic City, he had wanted to kill Jiang Fan, but the Ancient Sage had stepped in to reprimand him. The Ancient Sage clearly favored this little bastard. Even the Law Wine was entrusted to him for distribution, so what good would his complaint do?

Seeing this, Sage Wanyun said blandly, “The Ancient Sage personally proclaimed him as one who doesn’t even bow to sages. And you want him to serve you? You truly don’t respect the Ancient Sage at all.”

The Benevolent Sage’s face twitched, and he hastily glanced at the sky out of the corner of his eye. Only after confirming that the Ancient Sage had not descended did he slightly relax. He dared not dwell further on the matter of the Law Wine, merely casting a look of extreme reluctance at it. Finally, he fixed a deep gaze on Jiang Fan, then silently dissolved his form and vanished into the azure void.

Jiang Fan remained calm. He naturally knew that taking out the Law Wine would attract the attention of the Sage Realm cultivators, and might even bring disaster in the future. However, with such a disparity in power, it was necessary to encourage them and give them more confidence to face battle without fear of injury. If the Benevolent Sage had also fought the giants with all his might and was injured in the line of duty, Jiang Fan would have considered temporarily setting aside his personal reservations and granting him the Law Wine. But not yet. The Benevolent Sage’s performance still needed to be assessed.

Booming sounds echoed—

Suddenly, thunderous roars erupted from the massive rift in the sky, stretching across the heavens. Billowing dust and smoke, originating from the Celestial Realm, surged out of the rift. Within the vast dust, an impossibly huge head faintly appeared. On its forehead were nine dazzling suns, aligned with the sun high above the Nine Heavens of the Central Land. At a glance, it looked as if ten suns hung in the sky!

The Nine-Sun Giant Emperor! He had pursued them to the Central Land!

The powerful cultivators on the Central Land’s side gazed upwards, their faces etched with shock. Even across the Nine Heavens, his aura was not yet perceptible, but the oppressive feeling emanating from the nine suns weighed heavily on their hearts. The Great Wine Sages had returned, but the Nine-Sun Giant Emperor had also arrived! The Great Wine Sages would still be held back by the Nine-Sun Giant Emperor, leaving their five Sages of the Central Land to contend with eighteen Giant Emperors and the Inferior Sages of the Central Land! The appearance of the Nine-Sun Giant Emperor plunged the people of the Central Land back into despair. Did the Central Land truly still have hope? The Spirit Transformation Realm cultivators wondered inwardly, and the sages also questioned themselves. Once battle began, eighteen against five, that wouldn’t be a fight. It would be a one-sided slaughter, even more tragic than when the Ten Central Land Evils rebelled a thousand years ago.

The Central Tribal Emperor also looked up, seeing the Nine-Sun Giant Emperor descend upon the Central Land. In his enormous vertical eyes, a change finally appeared. He had remained inactive, waiting for the Nine-Sun Giant Emperor’s arrival. Now, everything was ready! His gaze gradually sharpened as he stared at the Nine-Nethers Demon Venerable, saying indifferently, “The Nine-Nethers Demon Venerable is mine. The remaining four Sages of the Central Land and the Spirit Transformation Realm cultivators are yours. When the sun rises, I don’t want to see a single Central Land person still standing!”

Beside him were seven Giant Emperors, and at his feet, ten of the Ten Central Land Evils. They all simultaneously unleashed the majestic pressure of the Sage Realm. The space they occupied was directly shattered, revealing a massive circular black void. The Central Tribal Emperor raised his right hand high, calmly observing the powerful Central Land cultivators opposite him. He brought his right hand down heavily, and a cry that shook heaven and earth burst from his mouth!

“Kill!”

A millennium later, the great decisive battle between the Central Land and the Celestial Realm was declared to have begun with that single word! The decisive battle that would determine the fate of the Nine Provinces of the Central Land and countless lives had finally begun!

On one side stood the Nine-Sun Giant Emperor, dominating all, and below him, eighteen Giant Emperors and Inferior Sages, wielding invincible power. On the other side were the Great Wine Sages and five sages. A completely unequal battle began on the vast, ancient land shrouded in the dark night.

In the night, Sage Wanyun looked up and let out a long roar: “With grand ambition, we’ll eat the flesh of barbarians when hungry, and with laughter, drink the blood of the Huns when thirsty! If mere mortals possess such heroic spirit, how much more so should we, the sages of this world! Slay the giants! Protect all lives! Kill!” His eyes revealed resolute killing intent. Laws swirling around him, he transformed into a black afterimage, soaring through the night sky towards the invincible enemy. He was like a firefly, rushing towards the sky. With his meager body, he crashed through the black sky shrouding the Central Land, carving out a sliver of light for the myriad beings of the past ten thousand years.

Sage Tianluo chuckled: “A sage must bear a sage’s responsibility. The former sages have passed; it’s time for our generation of sages to step up. Youngsters, I hope you can last until dawn!” He too transformed into an afterimage, streaking towards the towering Giant Emperors.

The Red-Faced Sage pulled out an iron hammer, hoisted it onto his shoulder, and grinning, stared at the eighteen Giant Emperors and Inferior Sages: “After forging iron for over a thousand years, I can finally strike giants. I’ve waited for this day for too long! Giant Emperors, Ten Central Land Evils! Taste the power of my millennium hammer!” The iron hammer in his hand erupted with a spiritual pressure far exceeding that of a spirit artifact. This was, astonishingly, an existence cultivated to the quasi-world artifact level! It was a killing weapon the Red-Faced Sage had prepared for this battle for a thousand years! Wielding his iron hammer, he transformed into an afterimage and charged towards them.

The Nine-Nethers Demon Venerable, with hands clasped behind his back, chuckled, his voice as effeminate as ever: “It’s just death, why make such a grand fuss about it? This is why I don’t like humans. Too noisy!” With that, he teleported from his spot, reappearing beyond the three Central Land Sages, having already reached the Giant Emperors and Inferior Sages first.

Their words still echoed across the land, intertwining, they wove the final swansong of the Central Land’s destiny. Everyone knew they would die. They knew it themselves. Yet, they still went, going without hesitation or looking back.

Jiang Fan closed his eyes. Having witnessed the suicidal sacrifices of the Eight-Aperture and Nine-Aperture Nascent Souls in the Great Cang Province, he could already imagine the four sages’ valiant scene, like moths rushing into a flame. A pang of sorrow and unwillingness crossed his heart. Was this truly to be the fate of the Central Land? After fighting for so long and sacrificing so many lives across the various provinces, would they still meet the same fate in the end? He hated that he hadn’t been born a hundred years earlier. If he had become a sage, he would surely wipe out the giants and end the eternal misfortune! Alas, there were no “ifs.” Only endless night awaited the Central Land.

At Wenhai Academy, the Paper Man Grand Venerable Xingyuan gazed at the nine suns that had appeared over the Central Land. A trace of relieved smile appeared on his face. “Finally.”