Chapter Eighty-Four: The Boundary Ring

Seeing that the two giants had already arranged everything for themselves, Shen Wan clutched Miyako’s finger with both hands and would not let go, even in death.

He had thought the pair meant to devour him, yet a single word husband had sent the whole matter spinning three million light-years off course.

It was as if Li Bai had picked up his brush like a god and written an exquisite poem on how the Chinese national team might break out of Asia, while Du Fu stood by clicking his tongue in wonder.

Shen Wan felt it would be far more reliable to talk about the current situation in Syria.

Looking at Shen Wan, who was utterly dumbfounded, Miyako realized that he apparently knew nothing about this matter. Her expression turned shy and uncertain, and she frowned, unsure how to begin.

The giant beside her, however, gave a cold snort.

"Did the Great Prophet Yemizhi not tell you? He has already betrothed you to Miyako. You are now the son-in-law of our Giant God Clan."

Though the explanation was simple, every word carried reluctance.

Miyako averted her gaze, the red in her cheeks deepening.

Hearing this, Shen Wan instantly pictured Yemizhi in his mind.

"That giant old man?"

He muttered inwardly, as if remembering something else.

"Old thing, how about I make the decision on my own?"

"If it seems suitable, then do as you wish. I do not have the leisure to bother with this brat."

"Damn it!"

Only then did Shen Wan finally understand. So that had been the meaning behind their conversation. He had actually been sold out by two old men.

Feeling somewhat displeased, he abruptly turned and looked directly at Miyako’s bashful face.

"Then... what are the chances this does not count?"

"You dare!"

Before Miyako could speak, the giant roared in anger first.

A burst of forceful wind slapped Shen Wan so hard his face felt loose, and when he looked again, the giant’s red hair had exploded upward once more.

"I was against this marriage to begin with. Even if a divorce is to happen, it is not your place to bring it up!"

As the clan leader of the Giant God Clan, if word got out that an outsider had broken off a marriage with one of his own, what would become of his old face?

Shen Wan hurriedly leaned back behind his finger, afraid the old fellow would spit all over him.

Seeing this, Miyako quickly drew her hands back to her chest and said, "Clan Leader, please calm your anger. My husband did not mean it that way."

Shen Wan fell silent. It seemed this matter would have to be discussed privately with Miyako when the right opportunity came.

At this critical moment, going head-to-head with that stubborn old man would mean one thing only: the one who died would be him.

Seeing that the brat was no longer causing trouble, the giant’s mood eased somewhat as well.

"As long as that is not what you meant. Remember this well, boy: as a son-in-law, everything must put the bride’s family first. Otherwise, I will show you what for!"

"Son-in-law my ass..."

Shen Wan sneered inwardly, but did not dare argue back. He simply turned his head aside and treated the old man’s words as nothing more than a fart.

Miyako did not want the clan leader to continue circling this issue, so she hurriedly changed the subject.

"Clan Leader, all eight boundary flames have now been lit. We..."

Thinking that the urgent matter at hand was to open the world ring and reunite with the clan, she decided to set aside such personal feelings for now. After all, saving their people had become the sole mission of her line.

But before she could finish, the giant’s body suddenly trembled, and his expression immediately turned tense.

Seeing that Miyako still wanted to continue, he cut her off directly.

"Miyako!"

Miyako froze. She had thought the clan leader had already made his decision.

But when she looked at him again, his face was no longer kind. It had twisted into something nearly contorted.

"Clan Leader, what is this?"

Unable to understand, she asked without thinking.

The giant’s eyes shifted away.

He seemed afraid to meet her gaze. His massive frame even fidgeted, like a child who had done something wrong.

A heaviness settled in Miyako’s heart, and her brows knitted together.

They had waited a full ten thousand years. At last, this moment had arrived. Why was the clan leader hesitating now?

Clearly, something had happened.

The air fell into a deadlock.

Shen Wan darted his eyes around. He could also see that things were not so simple.

Of course, this was not the time for him to make snide remarks. Better to keep his mouth shut. This was someone else’s family matter, and he had no place in it.

Two heavy breaths rose and fell in turns.

Miyako no longer pressed him, simply staring fixedly at the old man before her.

At last, after what seemed like a fierce struggle within himself, the giant raised his head and spoke with helplessness.

"The world ring... cannot be opened anymore."

Those few words seemed to drain every ounce of strength from him. Then he covered his face with both hands and crouched down on the ground.

"Cannot be opened?"

Looking at the clan leader crouched there in utter frustration, Miyako could no longer see even a trace of the dominance befitting a ruler.

"Ah..."

The giant’s voice began to choke with emotion. His body shook, and black smoke kept rising from him.

"I did not want this either, but I had no choice. I could not control myself!"

"I... I devoured them all!"

His voice was very soft. He did not howl, nor cry out in grief. He simply buried his head in his chest, his body rising and falling in painful spasms.

The muffled sobs were stifling, so stifling they made it hard to breathe.

Miyako’s body went rigid; she nearly collapsed. She instinctively stepped back a pace before steadying herself.

"Clan Leader... what did you say?"

Unable to believe her own ears, she had no choice but to force the question out.

The giant shook his head. The muscles that had once been taut and iron-hard instantly slackened, like an old father who had done wrong yet was powerless to make amends.

"I..."

A faint red glow spread across the sky.

Another day of silence was about to be swallowed by darkness.

The giant’s voice was thick with tears as he finally recounted a history long buried.

Back then, when the sacred altar drifted toward the heavens, ten priests, three elder longevity masters, and six prophets had withstood the merciless skyfire and used a full seventy-two black iron divine chains before they managed to stabilize it.

By then, however, the survivors were already few.

Yet given the altar’s current position, it would be extremely difficult for future generations to ignite the boundary flames.

The clan leader issued an order, telling the remaining people to carry the flame seeds and hurry beyond the boundary to establish a sacrificial platform.

Eight sky-piercing towers were erected for this purpose. In order to prevent heavenly destruction from crushing the sacrificial platform, several great prophets and priests exhausted their cultivation, fusing their souls into the towers and becoming the final line of defense for the sky-piercing towers.

And at that time, only the clan leader and the Great Prophet Yemizhi remained upon the sacred altar.

It had seemed that the clan had survived, and that the two of them had finally completed their mission.

But then, with a crack, the divine chains began breaking one after another.

The sacred altar was slipping free of its restraints, yet the Heavenly Way still held it in its grip.

In desperation, the clan leader ordered Yemizhi to reinforce the chains, while he stood upon the altar, staring into the dark clouds with an unwavering gaze.

He intended to resist the Heavenly Way with his own life.

His ten fingers locked together as he held the boundary stele tightly to his chest.

A long howl tore through the sky, provoking the Heavenly Way’s fury and sending thunderous roars crashing down.

All his cultivation converged and resonated with his life, merging into one.

His soul peeled away like unraveling silk, winding layer upon layer around the world ring, forcibly severing the connection between the sacred altar and the Heavenly Way.

The sacrifice lasted a full ten days.

His powerful will held on until even his entire fleshly body had completely dispersed.

At last, the clan leader drew his final breath and wrested the lives of all his people back from the Heavenly Way.

His final trace of consciousness looked toward the heavens, and in the end, as though relieved at last, he revealed a faint, gratified smile.

And yet...

With the loss of its host’s consciousness, the soul was completely seized by the world ring.

He became a puppet, a puppet without the slightest emotion.

One blood sacrifice after another surged toward the clansmen within the world ring, and the sky was instantly dyed crimson.

The cries of children, the wails of women and the elderly, the roars of men in their prime, the screams of the clan.

He saw mountains of corpses and rivers of blood.

He saw people fleeing, people struggling, and others gnawing mercilessly upon corpses.

One of them turned his head, revealing a pair of snow-white fangs.

That one, too, had red hair.

He felt nothing. No wave, no sorrow, no joy.

Like a dream, like an illusion, yet horrifyingly real.

The world ring.

The ring of the Heavenly Way.