517: Chapter 517 Giant Cloud Peak

Tanggu Plain.

Blood-red color saturated every inch of soil. The crimson baleful fog, which never dissipated throughout the year, churned along the ground like a layer of viscous liquid that would never dry up.

The setting sun was stained purple-black by the aura of the True Devils, hanging heavily on the horizon, shrouding the entire wasteland in a suffocating gloom.

Broken battle flags were stuck obliquely in the scorched earth, their fabric long rotted away, with only a few tattered threads swaying in the wind. Broken spiritual weapons were scattered everywhere; rusted sword blades were half-buried in the soil, and beside them were huge beast bones, the stark white skeletons covered in tooth marks.

On the distant horizon, a huge rift spanned the firmament. The edges of the rift glowed with a dark red light, and low, demonic roars came from deep within, sounding near and far, like the earth itself was breathing.

Above the wasteland, a spirit boat was speeding forward.

The boat was about ten zhang long, crafted entirely from Qinggang spirit wood. The sides of the hull were carved with flowing wind Formations, and the propulsion Formation patterns at the stern were continuously outputting spiritual power, carrying the boat as it flew forward.

On the deck of the spirit boat were dozens of spiritual wooden crates, the lids sealed with wax and stamped with the sea-blue crest of the Mu Family. Standing at the bow was a grey-robed Elder in the Early Stage of Void Tempering. He had a plain, ancient face, his eyes were half-closed, and his aura was as steady as a rock.

On both sides of the hull were more than ten Mu Family guards, all wearing sea-blue athletic gear, with spiritual sabers hanging at their waists. Their cultivation levels were mostly between Nascent Soul and Soul Transformation.

Shen Qingci stood at the bow, wearing a moon-white dress covered by a light cyan half-sleeve jacket. Her hair was fixed with a bamboo-joint hairpin. Her face was plain and delicate, carrying an air of scholarly refinement.

She was the manager stationed by the Mu Family at the Fuso Main City branch. She had grown up in the Mu Family since childhood. Although not of the Mu Family Bloodline, she was deeply trusted by Clan Master Mu Yaoguang due to her outstanding abilities and was also a childhood friend of Mu Xiyao.

She had been to Fuso Main City no less than a hundred times and had never made a mistake. But today, her right eyelid kept twitching.

"Manager Shen, one thousand li ahead is the patrol range of Fuso Main City," the grey-robed Elder said in a low voice.

"After passing that low hill, we will have entered the territory of Fuso Main City, and it should be safe."

Just as Shen Qingci was about to respond, her gaze suddenly froze in the direction of the distant low hill. Something was slowly rising from the crimson baleful fog.

Dark red Devilish Qi churned like waves, and three burly figures broke through the air from the fog. They were surrounded by flowing light intertwined with water and fire—half was churning red flames, half was congealed frost. These two completely opposite powers coexisted perfectly on them: ice within flames, flames wrapped in ice.

Water-Fire Demon Race!

Three Devil Emperors, followed by four Demon Saints, spread out in a fan shape, their Devilish Qi crushing toward the spirit boat like a tidal wave.

Shen Qingci's pupils constricted sharply: "Devil Emperors?! Three of them!"

The grey-robed Elder's voice was as deep as muffled thunder: "Activate the Formation!"

The Formation patterns at the stern of the spirit boat lit up violently, and the hull tilted to the right. However, the leading Devil Emperor just raised a hand, and a massive wave intertwined with water and fire slammed in from the side, crashing hard against the spirit boat's defensive Formation.

The Formation patterns flickered violently, the spirit boat shook intensely, and the wooden crates on the deck toppled over.

"Ants, where are you running to?" The leading Devil Emperor's voice was hoarse and mocking. Water and fire churned around him, his pupils were one red and one blue, and he grinned to reveal a mouthful of sharp teeth.

Another Devil Emperor also laughed, his voice like magma rolling in his throat: "Consider yourselves unlucky. We will gladly accept the cargo on this ship."

The grey-robed Elder stood at the front of the spirit boat: "Manager, you go! I will stop them!"

Shen Qingci's face turned ashen. With three Devil Emperors on the other side, how could they fight?

In the moment of despair, several huge figures sped over.

The one charging at the very front was a woman, one zhang eight tall—over five meters high.

The woman was wearing a form-fitting cross-collar half-sleeve top, her waist cinched tight from below the chest with a thick, profound-black armored belt. Her lower body was a long skirt with high slits in the front and back, with long trousers and combat boots underneath, revealing no skin.

Her light amber-gold pupils reflected the three Devil Emperors on the battlefield, and a faint vertical mark between her eyebrows was faintly discernible.

She shook the long halberd in her hand. The halberd shaft was one zhang two, forged entirely from dark bones, and the blade gleamed with the cold white chill of Protective Aura.

"The Giant Clan—it's the Giant Clan from Meigu!" Someone among the Mu Family guards let out a low cry of surprise.

Shen Qingci's shoulders relaxed slightly. She recognized the leading woman: the Young Clan Chief of the Meigu Giant Clan, Ju Yunxiu, a Void Tempering stage Cultivator! There was still hope!

Ju Yunxiu's figure rushed over, her long halberd sweeping out horizontally. As the halberd blade swept through the air, it brought a sharp whistle, and the Protective Aura condensed into a half-moon arc, slicing the leading Demon Saint in two at the waist.

The Demon Saint's roar stopped abruptly after only half a sound, and its body, intertwined with water and fire, disintegrated into pieces in mid-air and fell.

"Mu Family people, retreat to the back!" Ju Yunxiu shouted without looking back, her voice clear as the clashing of metal and stone.

The guards immediately urged the spirit boat to retreat, and the guards quickly closed their Formation. Shen Qingci stood at the bow, her eyes fixed on the battlefield ahead.

Five Giant warriors followed closely behind Ju Yunxiu, also growing to over a zhang in height. As their long halberds flew, Protective Aura crisscrossed, trapping the four Demon Saints tightly. The collision of Protective Aura and Devilish Qi on the battlefield produced dense explosions.

Ju Yunxiu and the grey-robed Elder met the three Devil Emperors. The grey-robed Elder fought one, and the remaining two were taken on by Ju Yunxiu.

The long halberd in her hand was sometimes like a dragon entering the sea, sometimes like an eagle striking the sky. The halberd blade, wrapped in cold white Protective Aura, forced the leading Devil Emperor back several steps, and she turned to slash horizontally, forcing back the Devil Emperor who was attacking from the right.

However, the two Devil Emperors coordinated tacitly. Their water and fire spells alternated, sometimes frost freezing her footsteps, sometimes a sea of fire blocking her retreat. They would touch and separate, never lingering in battle, kiting her from afar.

Ju Yunxiu became more and more irritable as she fought; the vertical mark between her eyebrows grew slightly hot. She stomped hard on the ground with her legs, leaped up several zhang, and slashed down with her long halberd from high above, bringing forth a zhang-long blade of Protective Aura, cleaving the Devil Emperor in front of her and the ground below into a deep trench.

But the Devil Emperor had already flashed away, its body intertwined with water and fire re-condensing in the distance, grinning with a mocking smile.

"Giant Clan, you only have brute strength," the Devil Emperor's voice floated over from afar, "If you can't hit me, what's the use?"

Ju Yunxiu gritted her teeth and looked at the five warriors behind her; they had been entangled by the four Demon Saints and could not escape.

"Young Clan Chief, they are stalling for time!" A female Giant warrior slashed at the Demon Saint in front of her and shouted anxiously.

Ju Yunxiu formed hand seals with both hands, and a golden-red light shot into the sky, exploding into a huge firework in the air, blooming on the dark red canopy like a Golden Crow spreading its wings. The firelight was layered, and could be clearly seen even from a thousand li away.

But before the light of the firework had dissipated, an even more gloomy pressure came crushing over from the direction of the dark red rift in the distance.

A figure slowly rose, its physique even more burly than the three Devil Emperors. Dark purple Devilish Qi churned around it, and the power of water and fire alternated on its body surface like tides. The thickness of its aura caused the grey-robed Elder's face to change drastically.

Heavenly Demon. Tribulation Transcendence Stage.

Ju Yunxiu's hand holding the long halberd tightened abruptly. She knew that the aura of this Heavenly Demon before her was as thick as a mountain and was definitely not something she could resist.

The voice of a Soul Transformation stage female warrior behind her was so low it was almost a self-mutter: "This time... will someone come to save us like last time?"

Before the words fell, the sky above the wasteland suddenly darkened.

A huge palm descended from the sky, its five fingers spread open, covering most of the battlefield.

The lines on the palm were as clear as mountain veins, and the fingertips were shrouded in a layer of faint Chaos spiritual light. The wind pressure brought about by its descent caused the crimson baleful fog to part to both sides like a tide.

"What? Who?!" The Heavenly Demon was shocked, looked up, and crossed its fists upward to block, dark purple Devilish Qi and ice-fire power surging wildly at the same time—

That huge hand fell down.

A muffled sound. The Heavenly Demon's burly body shattered under the palm with a boom, and the dark purple Devilish Qi splashed in all directions like broken fluffs.

The remaining power did not dissipate; three sharp blasts of Qi overflowed from between the fingers of the huge hand, chasing after the three retreating Devil Emperors, piercing through their bodies simultaneously and shattering them into pieces filling the sky.

The wasteland was completely silent.

The huge hand hung in mid-air, paused for a moment, then slowly curled its five fingers, lifted upward, retracted above the clouds, and disappeared at the end of the dark red horizon.

Everyone was looking up, standing frozen in place, not moving.

Ju Yunxiu held the long halberd, her light amber-gold pupils reflecting the direction where the hand disappeared, and she let out a sigh of relief.

...

On the deck of the spirit boat, four figures slowly appeared, causing a commotion.

But soon, the Mu Family guards lowered their guard.

"Young Miss!" "It's the Young Miss!"

Shen Qingci's gaze immediately saw the familiar sea-blue figure standing among the three figures.

She was stunned for a moment, then stepped forward quickly, saying with pleasant surprise: "Young Miss Xiyao? How did you come here?"

Ling Hao stood by the side of the boat, examining the group of Giants outside the spirit boat, his face full of amazement.

A height of one zhang eight to two zhang, converted, is five point five to six meters. Ordinary people standing in front of them would only reach about their knees.

So big! This is so big! That is also so big! The one on the left is so big! The one on the right is so big! Really so big! Big in every sense!

"Is this the Giant Clan?" Ling Hao muttered in a low voice. This time if he... couldn't he try the little horse... cough cough... Serious business, serious business!

Yu Linglong and the others seemed to be staying at the ancestral land of the Giant Clan. Unexpectedly, they happened to encounter the Giant Clan here today, which saved some trouble.

Ju Yunxiu and the other Giant people's figures slowly shrank, and the armor skirts on their bodies also shrank synchronously with their figures, the fitted contours being exactly the same as when fighting.

Magic clothes that follow the form!

These clothes should not be ordinary fabrics; they were likely some kind of Magic Treasure that follows the form. When the owner becomes smaller, the fabric tightens accordingly; when the owner restores their original form, the fabric seamlessly extends with the traction of spiritual power, the dark patterns reorganize, and the patterns are as complete as before, not tearing or showing flaws of unstable spiritual power fluctuations.

But even after the Giant Clan returned to their shrunken state, their height was still about two point five meters.

Among the Mu Family guards, each of them was still two or three heads taller, like a crane in a flock of chickens.

Ju Yunxiu's gaze fell on Ling Hao, then passed over him to fall on the figure in the moon-white dress behind him. A faint trace of doubt flashed in her eyes, but she quickly suppressed it.

She stepped forward, and Ling Hao cupped his hands in a salute: "Young Clan Chief of the Meigu Giant Clan, Ju Yunxiu. Thank you, Senior, for your help just now."

Ling Hao waved his hand: "Just passing by, no need to be polite."

Shen Qingci had also come to his side and bowed slightly to the three of Ling Hao, her gratitude sincere: "May I ask how to address the three of you? The East Sea Chamber of Commerce will definitely remember this life-saving grace."

Mu Xiyao hurriedly took over the conversation: "Sister Qingci, these few are my friends. We met on the road and decided to travel together. They are Loose Cultivators and happened to be going to Fuso Main City, so I invited them along."

Shen Qingci glanced at Ling Hao, then swept over the woman in the moon-white dress behind him and the little girl adorned with silver ornaments. She always felt that the aura of these three was as calm as an abyss, and they didn't look like ordinary Loose Cultivators at all.

But since her own Young Miss had said so, she didn't ask any more questions, just nodded, and bowed to the three of Ling Hao again: "Thank you all again."

Mu Xiyao immediately started another topic and asked: "Sister Qingci, why did you encounter True Devils in such a place? And even a Heavenly Demon came out. I remember it should be the truce period now, right?"

Shen Qingci sighed, a trace of fatigue appearing in her expression: "The truce period is the truce period, but this route hasn't been peaceful lately. I thought I'd take advantage of the truce period to stockpile a batch of goods and send them to the Main City, but I didn't expect to be so unlucky as to run into them. However..."

"I feel something is wrong. The routes I take are always determined temporarily, and only a few people in the branch know. Before setting off this time, I changed the departure time twice, but the True Devils still blocked us perfectly, as if they already knew I would take this route."

Mu Xiyao's expression tightened slightly: "You mean... someone leaked the information?"

"No evidence." Shen Qingci shook her head, "But it's too coincidental."

Mu Xiyao was silent for a moment, then looked up and around: "By the way, we saw you released the golden-red signal just now. Why has no one come after so long? Where did those Sects go?"

A mocking arc appeared on the corner of Shen Qingci's mouth: "Heh! The Golden Crow Holy Land is now focused entirely on searching for the remnants of the Linglong Blessed Land, and the Tribulation Transcendence Heavenly Venerables of the four major eighth-rank Sects have also been transferred to search for people. How could they care about patrolling? The golden-red signal requires Tribulation Transcendence Stage Cultivators to respond, but the Tribulation Transcendence Stage Cultivators are all busy looking for that group of female Cultivators. If they don't come, who would come to die?"

She turned to look at Ju Yunxiu, "If it weren't for meeting the Giant Clan, I'm afraid we wouldn't have lasted until you and the Young Miss arrived."

Hearing this, Mu Xiyao turned and bowed solemnly to Ju Yunxiu: "Thank you, Young Clan Chief Ju, for your help in saving us this time."

Ju Yunxiu was standing to the side, but her gaze had been falling on Yu Lingshuang intentionally or unintentionally. Hearing Mu Xiyao's words, she withdrew her gaze, waved her hand, and said in a hearty voice: "The East Sea Chamber of Commerce has taken care of our Meigu Giant Clan a lot over the years, so helping each other is only right. And if you really count it, this time we were able to survive thanks to the Fellow Daoists you brought, Young Miss Mu."

Mu Xiyao was a bit embarrassed, "It was Senior Yue... and the others who acted, we should thank them instead."

Both of them looked at Ling Hao simultaneously. Ling Hao looked at them speechlessly: "Alright, alright, it was just a small effort, don't thank each other back and forth anymore."

Mu Xiyao looked around, then gazed to the north, and said: "Well, it's not far from Fuso Main City here. Why don't we go to the Main City first?"

Everyone naturally had no objections. The spirit boat restarted, the Mu Family guards reorganized, the grey-robed Elder activated the Formation patterns, and the boat hull slowly lifted, turning to sail in the direction of Fuso Main City.

Mu Xiyao pulled Shen Qingci aside to whisper. Ling Hao looked at the wasteland receding outside the spirit boat and glanced at Ju Yunxiu not far away. After thinking for a moment, Ling Hao lifted his feet and walked toward her.