Chapter Eighty-Five: Live On With It

The giant spoke each word with heavy deliberation. It was not only Mia, but even Shen Wan, who felt his hands and feet turn cold as he listened.

It was the first time he had truly tasted the cruelty of this world.

“I do not know when I woke, but that scene has remained with me all this time, impossible to shake.”

His voice cracked with grief, and his eyes were bloodshot. He turned and struck the realm stele behind him with all his might.

A ripple of water spread across its surface, dissolving the force of his blow without leaving the slightest mark.

“I merged with the realm ring. Aside from this sliver of awareness, everything else is no longer mine anymore—my body, my soul, even my cultivation. Even if I wanted to destroy it, I cannot.”

The giant gave a bitter smile. He had long since lost count of how many times he had tried to shatter that stele, only to find himself powerless.

This confinement had kept him from leaving the altar for a single step.

Burdened by regret and self-reproach, he had endured here for ten thousand years.

Shen Wan could not imagine how one awareness alone could survive ten thousand years.

How lonely that must have been. And his body was not even his own. Well...

The giant let out a long sigh.

Mia bit her cherry lip so hard it nearly bled. As she listened to the clan leader’s account, her body trembled without pause.

Her eyes were already overflowing with tears, though she did not seem to realize it.

For many long years, the Mia lineage had been preparing for the day they might return to their people.

After the ancestors fell, these younger generations had no choice but to swallow their humiliation and burdens, surviving in the ever-growing human world.

The Valley Hollow Sect had seized their homeland and searched their territory of the Titan Clan without restraint.

The Mia lineage hated them to the bone, yet there was nothing they could do.

Even the ancient god clans could not contend with the tyrant of the valley.

At last, through one “chance” encounter, Mia came into contact with Yun Tianchen, the young sect master of the Valley Hollow Sect.

Yun Tianchen fell for her at first sight, and Mia used the situation to her advantage, stepping naturally into the inner ranks of the sect under the identity of his future bride.

The restrictions within the ruins could not affect one who possessed Titan blood.

But the eight heaven-reaching towers blocked her path.

In order to awaken the realm ring, she falsely claimed that the eight towers were the keys to opening the gates of the ruins. She spread rumors throughout the sect, dividing the higher ranks of the Valley Hollow Sect into opposing factions and locking them in years of bitter argument over whether the ancient ruins should be opened.

Yun Tianchen, utterly blinded by love, threw himself wholly behind his betrothed and badgered his father relentlessly.

The sect master, Yun Shengkun, grew sick of it all. But his son would one day inherit his position; it was time he began to shoulder some responsibility.

In the end, with a single decree, the decision was made.

On the day of the young sect master’s wedding, the ancient ruins would be opened to the entire valley.

After lying in wait for years, Mia had finally reached this day.

And yet, at this very moment, the belief that had sustained her will to live came crashing down completely.

If the mission was gone, what future could there still be?

The Titan Clan had become history, vanished forever into the long river of time.

Watching the old and the young both weep, Shen Wan felt a sour ache in his own chest.

Not knowing how to comfort either of them, he could only murmur softly, “My condolences.”

Seeing his sincerity, the giant rarely showed no temper.

He shook his head and gently used his rough, calloused hand to wipe the tears from Mia’s cheeks.

“Child, go. Your future is not here. The age of us old fools has passed. Dust to dust, earth to earth—the ancient god clans should have been buried long ago.”

His words were filled with helplessness.

The giant seemed to age all at once, losing all of his ferocious aura. As though he had seen through the world of mortal affairs, he had nothing left to cling to.

Mia kept shaking her head, tears flowing like a broken spring.

“Clan leader, that is not true. The Titan Clan will not disappear... sob...”

“Child, the Titan Clan is not in the body, but in the soul. As long as the soul does not die, the Titan Clan will never disappear.”

The giant’s enormous hand rested on Mia’s shoulder, and the sadness on his face was gone.

“Take it and live on. The continuation of the Titan bloodline depends on you now.”

As he spoke, the giant could not help glancing at Shen Wan, and his brow twitched almost imperceptibly.

“Yes... live well.”

He turned his gaze back to Mia, as though there was something he wanted to say, but in the end did not.

Shen Wan was speechless.

“What? Afraid I’ll sully your pure and noble bloodline? Want me to say it for you?”

He had only just been feeling a little sorry for the old fellow, and now he was thoroughly irritated.

Mia’s sobbing eased a little. Looking into the old clan leader’s eyes, the words gathered on her lips, but she still could not force out a single syllable.

At last, she nodded fiercely and squeezed out one word.

“Yes!”

Her voice was hoarse, yet terribly heavy.

The giant smiled, a kindly smile.

Then he drew a long breath. It sounded relieved, as though a knot in his heart had finally been untied, and more like a man arranging his final affairs.

“Destroy the realm stele. It should never have existed.”

“Clan leader!”

Mia cried out in surprise, but the giant merely waved a hand.

“I miss them a little. After so many years, I’m tired.”

She knew exactly whom he meant. Looking at the old man’s face, now covered in wrinkles, she understood this was his final wish.

“But...”

Mia struggled inwardly, yet she simply could not make such a decision.

Seeing this, Shen Wan shook his head.

“How about I do it?”

His voice was not loud, but it drew both of their eyes.

Shen Wan shrugged unconcernedly.

“Anyway, I don’t feel the least bit guilty. Besides, this old thing just tried to kill me. I’ll take it as revenge.”

The words were brazen, but to the giant they sounded downright pleasing.

“Ha! ‘Take it as revenge’—how fitting! Truly worthy of my Titan Clan’s son-in-law, hahaha!”

The giant laughed heartily, then began instructing Shen Wan on how to kill him.

“Extinguish the eight realm flames. That will sever the life source of the realm ring. Whether this old man dies or not, I’m leaving it to you.”

Good heavens. It was the first time Shen Wan had ever seen someone so happy at the prospect of being killed. The world truly was vast and full of wonders.

He had learned something new.

Since he now knew the method, things became easy.

Otherwise, if he really had to smash the stele himself, he would certainly have spent twenty seconds facing the wall in shame over the boast he had just made.

With matters having reached this point, Shen Wan patted Mia’s finger and said, “Put me down.”

Mia hesitated, but still lowered him.

Shen Wan strutted over to the first stone floor lamp.

The Titan Clan called it a floor lamp, but to him it looked more like a small tower.

Fortunately, it was not very tall. He grabbed the rim and flipped himself inside through the opening.

The eight realm flames were each a different color, yet Shen Wan could not see a single lick of fire.

What met his eyes was a crystal sphere the size of a basin, shimmering with a golden halo and very beautiful indeed.

He had no idea what the giant meant by extinguishing the realm flames, so after a moment’s thought he stepped forward and simply hugged the crystal sphere to his chest.

The instant it was lifted, the entire altar began to tremble violently.

A crisp crack rang out from the stele, and fissures began appearing across the towering monument.

The giant’s eyes lit up. The loose flesh of his aged face trembled with excitement.

“It’s cracked... it’s cracked! Hahaha, it’s cracked!”

His thunderous laughter shook heaven and earth, making the altar quake even more fiercely.

Shen Wan jumped in fright. Just as he was about to tell the old man to calm down a little, he saw the giant beam like a child and urge him on.

“Quickly! The next one!”

Shen Wan curled his lip. He tossed the crystal sphere out through the opening first, then jumped down from the first floor lamp and used the same method to clamber up to the second.

Inside the second one was another crystal sphere, this time glowing red.

He did not bother to pick it up. Instead, he gave it a sideways nudge with his foot, and the sphere rolled out of the opening in a single swirl.

At once, the altar shook even more violently.

The cracks on the stele widened and spread from a tiny slit, the sound of breaking stone ringing without end, while the black ash clinging to the giant’s body grew thicker and thicker.

“Hahaha! At last, this old man has waited for this moment!”

Trembling, the giant spread his hands wide. His fingers were already coated in soot.

His laughter became even more unrestrained as he strode onto the altar in a single step.

Watching the clan leader’s back, Mia’s eyes were filled with helplessness and reluctance.

Her tears would not stop. She clasped her hands to her chest, and a heart-wrenching pain kept her trembling where she stood.

Meanwhile, Shen Wan was having the time of his life, flipping from one floor lamp to the next and kicking the multicolored crystal spheres out through the openings.

The altar’s shaking grew increasingly fierce.

By now, the entire realm stele had shattered into a miserable ruin.

The giant’s broken body gradually began to disperse. His laughter turned bleak, and tears of age streamed down his deeply wrinkled face.

By the time Shen Wan reached the final one, his steps were unsteady, and it took him all his strength just to make his way over.

After finally flipping himself into the opening, he kicked the last crystal sphere out at last.

“Huh?”

The moment the final sphere hit the ground, Shen Wan suddenly realized something.

“Wait a second. If the realm stele is gone, won’t this floating island collapse too?”

Sure enough, the entire floating island was already trembling on the verge of collapse.

And as the giant’s body faded away in the ash, only his face remained.

His laughter had ceased. He seemed to be using the last shred of his awareness to gaze upon the world one final time.

With one last smile, he turned to dust.

Mia pressed her lips together. Her expression turned resolute, as though she had made some important decision.

Was the whole thing moving?

Yes.

And Shen Wan’s face turned deathly pale in an instant.

“You old bastard! You set me up!”