Chapter 588: Giant's Might

Reverend Qinghe was the first to sense the anomaly. His expression changed. "Be careful, Luliang!" he warned. The tongue was directed straight at Luliang, who was closest.

Luliang turned his head, startled. "What is that?" he exclaimed, quickly dodging. However, the tongue didn't attack him. Instead, it suddenly swerved, shooting toward the young woman.

The young woman's face blanched. Without a second thought, she activated the "Six Sections of Heavenly Thunder: Cloud's Shadow," transforming into a humanoid bolt of lightning, attempting to teleport away. This action seemed to further enrage the tongue. Before her teleportation was complete, it swiftly coiled around her ankle, dragging her rapidly toward the base of the Buddha statue.

*Boom!* At that moment, a blade formed from a condensed horsetail whisk slashed down fiercely. A colossal hundred-zhang gully was carved into the mountaintop, and the entire mountain shook violently. It was Reverend Qinghe who had struck. An attack from a Nascent Soul expert shook the earth and mountains!

The tongue was severed into two pieces, spurting blood as it retracted. The remaining section writhed and rolled on the ground, pulverizing stones and cracking the earth wherever it passed.

Reverend Qinghe helped the young woman up. His gaze fixed on her, his expression couldn't help but change. Her ankle was twisted like a pretzel. Such power from a mere coiling of the tongue—just how formidable was its owner?

"Quickly!" Reverend Qinghe exclaimed, summoning his flying spirit boat. "This is no place to linger!" He decisively tossed his two disciples onto it, then piloted the boat, breaking through the air and speeding away.

A terrifying roar emanated from the base of the mountain, growing increasingly louder, indicating the monstrous creature was emerging rapidly.

Jiang Fan's heart pounded. He slapped the dazed Golden-Clawed Iron Wolf on the head. "Aren't you going to move?" he shouted. "Waiting to be eaten?" Only then did the Golden-Clawed Iron Wolf shiver in fright and bolt into a frantic run. They had just left the mountain.

*Bang, bang, bang!* They heard a deafening sound, as if the heavens and earth were rending apart. The sacred Buddhist mountain, which had stood for countless ages and housed the renowned West Bell Temple for thousands of years, ripped open from the middle! A colossal ten-zhang-tall giant, holding a spiked club, roared skyward.

The roar swept out like a torrent in all directions. The Golden-Clawed Iron Wolf, in mid-run, instantly felt its demonic energy stagnate, stumbled, and fell to the ground. Everyone on its back was flung off. They, too, were affected by the roar.

Concubine Yunxia and Demon King Chunni were astonished to find their peak Ninth-Layer Core Formation demonic energy completely sealed! Jiang Fan was also terrified, realizing he could no longer mobilize his spiritual power. His only comfort was that his Void-Flow Thunderforce remained unaffected.

Meanwhile, Reverend Qinghe in the sky felt his Nascent Soul tremble with fear the instant the roar reached him. More than half of his formidable spiritual power also stagnated. He looked down and immediately saw the giant that had ripped a mountain apart. His old face was instantly replaced by horror.

"An Ancient Giant!" he cried, terrified. Even after a thousand years, Ancient Giants remained an indelible nightmare for later generations. Fortunately, they had only been active during a dark period in history, merely a nightmare. Now, seeing a living Ancient Giant with his own eyes, even a Nascent Soul cultivator felt their Dao heart crumble in utter horror.

As a result, his spirit boat lost control and plummeted rapidly from high altitude. Fortunately, Reverend Qinghe reacted in time, stabilizing the boat with the limited spiritual power he could still mobilize.

At this moment, the Ancient Giant ceased its long roar, and everyone's powers gradually returned. Reverend Qinghe's face turned pale. He decisively operated the spirit boat, fleeing at top speed. The Golden-Clawed Iron Wolf also scrambled to its feet, trembling all over, and resumed its frantic dash. The Ancient Giant had reappeared in the world. Disaster had struck! The darkness from the history books had become a terrifying reality!

Concubine Yunxia's beautiful eyes narrowed sharply, her heart filled with inexplicable horror. She grabbed Jiang Fan and the dazed Chunni, then jumped onto the Golden-Clawed Iron Wolf. She turned her head, watching the Ancient Giant.

*Gulu—* The Ancient Giant's enormous eye swiveled and fixed on them. That single gaze made Concubine Yunxia feel as if she were plummeting into an abyss. A profound sense of suffocation enveloped her, plunging her into boundless terror.

However, after a fleeting glance, the Ancient Giant shifted its gaze, fixing it on the spirit boat in the sky. More precisely, it focused on the young woman on the spirit boat. The reason was that the one who stole the enormous egg was someone skilled in "Six Sections of Heavenly Thunder: Cloud's Shadow," which the young woman had just demonstrated.

Concubine Yunxia immediately gasped for air, as if she had been drowning and was just pulled from the water. Cold sweat drenched her entire body, soaking her dress, which clung tightly to her, outlining her graceful figure. Her full chest rose and fell dramatically, betraying her inner terror.

Jiang Fan, however, was relatively fine. He had, after all, dealt with it once before. He kicked the Golden-Clawed Iron Wolf, whose limbs had gone limp from fright, and bellowed, "You useless creature! Failing me at a crucial moment! I'll stew you when we get back!" Only then did the Golden-Clawed Iron Wolf shakily get to its feet, running wildly without daring to look behind it. As a demonic beast, it could sense the horror of the creature behind them more acutely. In its perception, even a Demonic Emperor didn't possess such a formidable and ominous presence.

They had seemingly escaped for now. Reverend Qinghe, however, was in a tough spot. Realizing he had been targeted by the Ancient Giant, his Nascent Soul trembled violently. His face showed both panic and confusion.

"What's going on?" he wondered. "They are clearly closer and moving slower, so why is it targeting us?"

At this moment, the Ancient Giant raised its spiked club high. Reverend Qinghe's heart pounded, sensing immense danger.

"No, this won't do!" he thought. "I must divert its attention." Reverend Qinghe's gaze shifted, landing on Jiang Fan and the others who were fleeing in another direction. A sharp glint appeared in his eyes. Without hesitation, he maneuvered his spirit boat to align with their path.

Noticing this, Concubine Yunxia's expression changed drastically. Forgetting that the other party was a Nascent Soul cultivator, she angrily reprimanded, "Reverend Qinghe! You despicable man!" He was actually trying to draw the Ancient Giant's attention to them! And he succeeded!

The Ancient Giant slowly turned its body, raising the spiked club high. The plan had worked. Reverend Qinghe quickly changed direction, but to his surprise, the Ancient Giant again followed their new trajectory and slammed down its spiked club fiercely.

Reverend Qinghe was aghast. "What's happening?" he exclaimed. "Why is it persistently targeting us?" However, there was no time to ponder. That earth-shattering blow was already descending.

Across thousands of zhang in the sky, the very atmosphere was split by a faint, shimmering crack. In an instant, the spirit boat exploded! The three individuals on board were successively blasted away.

Reverend Qinghe was relatively unharmed, only feeling a metallic taste in his throat. But Luliang and the young woman were blasted, bleeding from all seven orifices, their vitality weak, and they immediately fell unconscious. There was no need to check; it was clear their insides had been turned to pulp.

"Much weaker than expected?" Reverend Qinghe felt immensely relieved. The Ancient Giants described in historical texts were beings capable of obliterating early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators with a single blow, turning their Dao bodies into mere flesh. Now, it had only injured him. However, this might be due to the great distance. If he had been at close range, Reverend Qinghe dared not imagine his fate.

He quickly grabbed his two falling disciples and fled, traversing the air. The Ancient Giant let out another long roar. Reverend Qinghe's spiritual power stagnated, and he nearly fell from the sky. His grip weakened, and the hand holding Luliang loosened, causing Luliang to fall. "Luliang!" Reverend Qinghe reached out to grab him, but then he saw a long tongue shoot out like lightning.

His heart pounded. Historical records stated that many Nascent Soul experts had their Nascent Souls pierced by this tongue. Even if they managed to protect their Nascent Soul, the tongue would drag away their body, to be eaten alive by the Ancient Giant as a snack. How could he dare to care for Luliang anymore? He turned his head and fled. The Ancient Giant roared as it pursued him.

Meanwhile, although Jiang Fan and the others were not directly in the path of the spiked club's attack, they were still affected. The barbaric, space-rending force swept fiercely toward them. Concubine Yunxia and Demon King Chunni's expressions changed drastically. They were much closer to that strike than Reverend Qinghe and his group. If they took the full brunt of it, they would be half-dead, if not outright killed!