Chapter Eighty-One: Run, All of You, Quickly

Yun Yi and Gu Zhiping both shrank in on themselves, their eyes blank as they drifted before the stone monument.

At the sound of that clear voice, Shen Wan and the others instinctively sidestepped and planted their feet, each drawing a long sword in hand.

They turned warily toward the voice.

There, from within the boundary stele, a gigantic figure stepped out of thin air and brought one foot crashing down, shaking the entire shrine.

That was what Shen Wan saw. But what Lin Bufan and the others saw was something else entirely: a black void, speckled with starlike points, spreading across the towering stele.

The three of them had all emerged from that void.

The massive body blocked out the light, a mane of red hair drifting loosely about its head.

A somewhat damaged leather vest strained against a chest of iron-hard muscle, and its two arms, thick as pillars, looked as though a single punch could bring the whole earth down.

Shen Wan swallowed hard. This fellow was taller by who knew how many times than even the Great Seer within the Divine Tree.

"You... are one of the giant race?"

Shen Wan asked timidly. There was no helping it; he was the senior one here, so he had to be the one to step forward.

The giant tilted his head, and cracking sounds came from his neck.

Those brittle pops sounded like the call of death itself. When they reached the others' ears, their brains buzzed in protest.

"Since when did humans, no more than ants, become qualified to speak before me?"

With no effort to conceal his disdain, the giant said no more and raised his colossal foot to stomp down.

The others were all shocked.

Shen Wan was the first to let go of the hand he had still been holding and sprang backward with all his strength, shouting at the same time:

"Move!"

He rolled several times across the ground before a thunderous crash exploded beside his ear.

The roar seemed to burst his eardrums. Blood trickled out, his head rang like a struck bell, and it felt as though half his skull no longer belonged to him.

After a long while, as the dust settled, Shen Wan was covered in dirt from head to toe.

Looking ahead, he saw the giant's foot sunk into the ground, less than half an inch from his face.

"Ha..."

He exhaled in a long, shaky breath, a few ragged gasps escaping him.

If he had been half a step slower just now, his head would likely have been crushed beneath that thing.

His pounding heart shook his chest.

"Damn it! Even in ancient times, condemned prisoners were still given a cup of wine before execution. This thing has no sense of decency at all."

He cursed inwardly, still breathing hard in lingering fear.

His body had gone limp, and for a long while he could not muster any strength at all.

From the corner of his eye, he saw that Lin Bufan and the others had already leapt more than ten meters away.

"Uh..."

Shen Wan was speechless. It seemed his warning just now had been unnecessary; these bastards were all cultivators, and far more agile than he was.

As for Lin Bufan and the others, standing not far away, they had not felt much earlier because they had been holding hands with their elder uncle.

But this time, they suddenly sensed a mighty spiritual pressure descending from the heavens.

Everyone trembled, as if bound by invisible shackles, utterly unable to move.

"This..."

Lin Bufan's lips trembled, tinged purple, and fear rose boundless in his heart.

In the past, when he had followed his master to visit the sect master’s elder brother, he had not been spared such impressions.

That elder brother was only at the mid-stage of the Soul Core Realm, not even at the peak, yet the fierce spiritual pressure he radiated naturally left one short of breath at all times.

And this giant before him was stronger by who knew how many miles.

"That is not... the aura proper to the Soul Core Realm. This..."

Lin Bufan could hardly believe it. In the Seal Heaven Realm, the Soul Core Realm was already the limit; once one broke through from Soul Core to Divine Awakening, one would be forcibly ascended.

Could it be... this man was already in the Divine Awakening Realm? And yet he could still remain in the Seal Heaven Realm?

The more he thought about it, the more terrifying it became. If that were truly the case, then where, in this man's eyes, was the heavenly law?

Ancient races were too terrifying.

Looking back at the giant, he was displeased that human ants had actually dodged his attack. His red hair burst upward like flame, and white light flashed in his eyes.

"Insignificant humans. I offered you a whole corpse, and you would not take it. Then do not blame me for being merciless!"

His low voice made the entire floating island tremble.

An overwhelming might rose naturally from his body, and countless碎 stones around him lifted slowly into the air, gathering about his side.

"Spirit Drain, Body Shatter!"

Having spoken, the giant turned over his palm, and streams of black smoke seeped from between his fingers. Everyone felt the breath of death drawing near.

Shen Wan looked up at the giant's movements and understood instantly that this fellow was about to strike again.

He could not be certain whether that earlier stomp had carried spiritual power; if it had, then taking it head-on would likely have sent him straight to the grave.

But this time was different. It was obvious the giant was chanting and intended to cast a spell.

Shen Wan no longer dared hesitate. He hurriedly raised his somewhat weakened arm and pressed it directly against the side of the giant's foot.

Just then, the giant slapped out a palm toward Lin Bufan and the others.

A gust of force swept forward. The wind struck their faces, and they all instinctively shut their eyes, already prepared for death.

Their cultivation was no more than Spirit Gathering, not even Foundation Establishment. Against the attack of a monster at the Divine Awakening Realm, any resistance would be futile.

Even if the giant merely spat, they would be utterly doomed.

And yet, they only felt a breeze ruffling their hair, while their bodies felt no discomfort at all.

After a long while, Zhao Dongsheng was the first to open his eyes, staring blankly, unsure of what had happened.

The others did the same, gradually opening their eyes.

"Could it be... we're already dead?"

Lin Bufan looked utterly bewildered. His body, which had been unable to move, was now easy and free again, and that vast spiritual pressure had vanished without a trace.

This sudden change of events seemed to admit no explanation other than death.

The four of them stood dumbly in place, their thoughts severed. Not only them, even the giant looked equally baffled.

"Hm?"

He gave a soft sound and lifted his hand to inspect his palm carefully, but detected nothing amiss.

Once again, he formed the spell.

"Spirit Drain, Body Shatter!"

The same motion was repeated, and again a fierce wind swept outward.

Yet the result was unsurprising: exactly the same as before.

This time, it was the giant's turn to be at a loss. His brows knotted tightly, his lips puckered, and he began to wave his hand repeatedly.

"Spirit Drain! Body Shatter!"

"Heavenly Rotating Palm!"

"Supreme Soul, Shadow-Breaking First Form!"

"Motherf..."

"..."

He unleashed spell after spell, only for every single one to fail.

Shen Wan lay at the giant's feet, not daring to move in the slightest. Perhaps because of his smaller size, even though his hand was pressed against the other's foot, the giant still had not noticed him at all.

Steadying his mind, Shen Wan circulated the Heavenly Spring Vein within him, and the weakness in his limbs gradually faded.

He knew such a state could not last long.

So he clenched his teeth hard and, while that thing was still questioning its life, quietly crawled up onto the giant's instep.

Flattening himself against the upper leather of the shoe, and gripping the fur on it with both hands as though his life depended on it, he shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Lin Bufan! Hurry and save those two in the air, then run!"

In his urgency, he directly called out Lin Bufan's full name. Clearly, there was not the slightest room for delay now.

The moment Lin Bufan heard his little uncle's voice, his thoughts cleared at once.

Just as he was about to ask what was going on, he saw Shen Wan shout wildly with all his might.

"You damn well move faster! If we delay any longer, we'll all be finished here!"

"I... I know!"

Seeing his uncle in such a state, how could he dare delay?

He leapt up and rushed toward the two in midair.

The others, seeing this, also rose at once. In pairs, they carried the spirit-lost Yun Yi and Gu Zhiping and turned to flee, heading straight for the edge of the floating island.

Lin Bufan did not trust leaving his uncle behind. Just as he handed Gu Zhiping to Zhao Dongsheng, he was about to turn back.

Zhu Qingqing and Han Yuechan had the same thought, only Lin Bufan moved a fraction faster than they did.

But when Shen Wan saw them suddenly stopping, though touched, he still shouted:

"Get moving! Don't worry about me. I have my own way!"

Lin Bufan could not listen. Just as he lifted a foot, Zhao Dongsheng grabbed his sleeve.

"Don't burden Elder Nine. Listen to him. Go!"

Clearly, at this moment he was far more rational than Lin Bufan.

Over the past few days, Zhao Dongsheng had increasingly failed to see through this little elder, who seemed to possess no cultivation at all.

From the Starlit Spirit Herb to the inheritance within the Ascending Heaven Pagoda, from the casual distribution of Foundation Establishment Pills to leading them across the canyon into the true ancient ruins—

A sudden thought struck him: could the Listening Cloud Ravine in the sect have also been collapsed by Little Elder Nine?

A chill ran down his back, and he felt all the more that Little Elder Nine was anything but ordinary.

Since that was so, he must surely have extraordinary means to deal with the giant; they could not become his burden.

With that firm conviction, he dared to stop Lin Bufan directly.

Lin Bufan struggled inwardly, but seeing his uncle's condition, he ultimately gritted his teeth and said:

"Go!"

His voice was full of reluctance. Zhu Qingqing and Han Yuechan bit their lips hard, looked back at Shen Wan, and their eyes were filled with unwillingness.

Soon, they reached the edge of the floating island and stepped onto the iron chains.

Seeing that the ants not only remained unharmed, but even dared escape beneath his very eyes, the giant’s fury surged.

He lifted his foot, about to give chase.

But then he suddenly sensed that the spiritual power within him had turned into a pool of dead water. No matter how he tried to summon it, not the slightest ripple arose, and even his steps grew heavy.

Lowering his head to inspect himself, he discovered that there was actually something lying prone on his shoe.

"Hm?"

The giant's brows furrowed, while Shen Wan swallowed hard at the sight.

"Well... regarding the current situation in Syria, I have a few humble suggestions, if I may be so bold..."