520: Chapter 520 Wuxiong

Nestled amidst the surrounding mountains lay a massive, sunken basin; that was Meigu Valley, the ancestral land of the Giant Clan.

Ling Hao looked down from mid-air and saw that the entire basin was covered by a layer of pale golden array patterns. The surrounding green mountains embraced the basin like a bowl, and the ancient markings on the mountain ridges were like dormant veins, isolating the valley from the outside world.

Ling Hao and his two companions, along with Young Tribe Leader Ju Yunxiu and her five companions, slowly descended.

After landing, Ling Hao's gaze fell upon the members of the Giant Clan who were lined up at the valley entrance to welcome them.

The leader was slender, standing about nine feet tall, wearing a black triple-layered shenyi that draped down to her ankles. A jade belt cinched her waist, from which hung a set of elegant jade pendants.

A bronze cloud-patterned crown gathered all her long hair, and a long green wooden hairpin traversed through it. Her entire attire was solemn and serene.

Standing beside her was another figure, draped in a pale blue gauze cloak over a plain white, front-opening long robe. A vintage jade hairpin held her hair in a low bun, with a closed peach blossom bud carved at the tip. Her entire presence was restrained and weathered.

At just one glance, Ling Hao was stunned. Her facial features were calm, and her light amber-gold pupils held the authority accumulated over the years. Ling Hao suddenly felt this face looked familiar—he abruptly turned his head to look at Young Tribe Leader Ju Yunxiu beside him.

The high-waisted armor skirt she wore when they arrived was gone, replaced by a moon-white, cross-collared long dress with wide sleeves, covered by a plain gauze outer garment with crimson edges. A silver-threaded belt cinched her waist, and ink-wash peach blossoms danced upon the skirt hem. Only her hairstyle remained a single ponytail.

A trace of curiosity rose in Ling Hao's heart. He remembered that the Giant Clan cultivated Protective Aura, so there shouldn't be any Qi fluctuations on them, and these Dharma robes that shaped themselves theoretically required Qi to operate...

But he didn't ask further, only glancing again at the figure outlined by Young Tribe Leader Ju Yunxiu's moon-white dress—her waist was slender and supple, her breasts were full and firm like large peaches, her hip line was curvaceous, and her legs were long and sturdy. Her figure was clearly displayed beneath the fabric, making her look like a completely different person compared to the crisp, sharp feel of the armor skirt he saw when they first met, yet she was equally beautiful.

Ling Hao realized that the faces of Matriarch Ju Yingluo and Young Tribe Leader Ju Yunxiu were carved from the exact same mold—the curve of their brows and eyes, the shape of their lips, and the lines of their jaws were identical.

The only difference was that Matriarch Ju Yingluo wore a black triple-layered shenyi, while Young Tribe Leader Ju Yunxiu wore a moon-white, wide-sleeved long dress; Matriarch Ju Yingluo's stature was about two inches taller than Young Tribe Leader Ju Yunxiu's, and her aura was also more composed.

And the curves of their figures...

Ling Hao glanced again at the five female warriors behind Young Tribe Leader Ju Yunxiu. They had also changed into indigo, cross-collared shenyi embroidered with hidden Fusang patterns, with wide brocade belts cinched at their waists and silver Fusang branch hairpins in their hair. It was a stark contrast to their valiant appearance earlier with armor skirts and long halberds; now, they possessed a sense of gentle, solemn ceremonial grace.

"Moon Shadow Sect Master, that is my mother." Young Tribe Leader Ju Yunxiu raised her hand, pointing to Matriarch Ju Yingluo who was walking over.

Indeed, they were mother and daughter.

Just as he was thinking of looking for Yu Zhaohua and the others, a silver-white figure flashed out from beside the crowd of the Giant Clan, her plain, cloud-patterned wide-sleeved robe fluttering in the wind.

Yu Zhaohua stood still in front of Ling Hao, her ice-blue eyes gazing at him quietly. A few strands of her long, silver-white hair were disheveled by the wind, but she seemed not to notice, only looking at him:

"You have come."

Ling Hao looked at her, a smile appearing on the corners of his lips:

"Yes, I have come."

There was a half-step distance between them, and the wind passed through them, lifting a corner of her sleeve. In those ice-blue eyes, something subtle seemed to be slightly wavering, like an undercurrent flowing silently beneath a cold pool.

Ling Hao's gaze fell on the strands of hair disheveled by the wind, and he raised his hand to gently tuck that lock of silver hair behind her ear, his fingertips inadvertently brushing against her earlobe. Yu Zhaohua did not dodge, only lowered her eyelids slightly.

"Revered Master, you are blocking the way."

Yu Linglong's voice drifted from behind her, carrying a hint of playfulness.

She walked forward, wearing a moon-white, chest-high ruqun covered by a golden-threaded gauze garment. Her gaze swept over Ling Hao's face and then landed on the small figure adorned with silver ornaments behind him, her eyebrows slightly raised.

Yu Lingling, Nangong Mei, and Baili Qiao had also come up to greet them; although they did not speak, the smiles in their eyes spoke louder than a thousand words.

Yue Xinlan, who was beside Ling Hao, looked up, her gaze sweeping across the faces of Yu Zhaohua, Yu Linglong, Nangong Mei, and the others in turn.

She narrowed her eyes slightly, then turned her head away and gave a light hmph.

Yu Linglong glanced at Yue Xinlan, then at Ling Hao, the arc of her lips deepening slightly. Just as she was about to ask, "And who is this little girl?", Matriarch Ju Yingluo's voice had already come from the front.

"Matriarch of the Giant Clan, Ju Yingluo, thanks Moon Shadow Sect Master for saving my daughter and five of my clanspeople."

Ling Hao returned the salute:

"Ling Hao. I also thank Clan Chief Ju for taking in the Elders of my Moonshadow Sect and giving them a place to stay."

Matriarch Ju Yingluo shook her head:

"It is the Giant Clan that must thank them. Without them, Yuyuan would likely not have been able to hold out."

Yuyuan.

Ling Hao's heart stirred slightly. He had vaguely heard these two words in Yu Linglong's message, but he was not clear about what they specifically referred to.

Matriarch Ju Yingluo turned to the side and raised her hand to lead the way: "Moon Shadow Sect Master, please."

The group passed through the array barrier at the valley entrance and stepped into the depths of Meigu Valley.

The valley suddenly opened up. A clear stream flowed down from the northern mountains, winding through the valley. The stream water was crystal clear, revealing the smooth pebbles on the riverbed, and the sound of water gurgled softly.

The dwellings of the Giant Clan were scattered along both banks of the stream. The stone temples used for sacrificial rites were towering and majestic, clearly built to the scale of the Giant Clan's normal form—the temple gates were over ten zhang high, and the totem pillars in front of the temples required several people to encircle them. The pillars were carved with ancient patterns, and torches remained lit year-round, their light flickering on the bluestone ground, rugged and magnificent.

But as they ventured deeper along the stream, the daily living pavilions on both banks revealed a different aspect.

With flying eaves and bracket sets, carved window lattices, and copper bells hanging from the corners of the eaves, they chimed when the wind blew. However, the lintels of those pavilions were about one zhang and two chi high, the windowsills were at the height of a normal person's chest, and each step was over a chi high.

When Ling Hao stepped onto a step, he found that the height he had to lift his leg was nearly double that of an ordinary staircase; walking felt like climbing a low wall. These dimensions seemed overly large and empty for a normal person, but for the Giant Clan women who had shrunk to over two meters, it was just right for them to walk, sit, and lie down with their spines straight, without having to bow or hunch over all the time.

Flowers and plants were planted everywhere between the pavilions, and vines hung down from the eaves, blooming with tiny white flowers. On the stone paths along the stream, one could occasionally see slender Giant Clan women walking by in plain robes and long skirts, either carrying wooden buckets to draw water from the stream or leaning against the corridors to organize drying fabrics.

Their gazes lingered on Ling Hao for significantly longer than ordinary people, and some even stopped their steps, blatantly looking him over.

"A man!"

"It really is a male!"

"Why did the Matriarch bring a man back? And treat him with such respect?"

"So handsome... I've never seen anyone this handsome; the ones I've seen before aren't even one ten-thousandth as good as him."

"Why is my heart beating so fast?"

With Ling Hao's perception, gazes flooded in from all directions like a tide—curious, amazed, scrutinizing, and even carrying a hint of straightforward burning intensity.

He felt as if he were a piece of dried meat thrown into a flock of pigeons.

He calmly glanced at the surrounding Giant Clan women.

Their attire was not much different from the Human Race outside the valley—long hair styled into high cone buns or hanging loop buns, adorned with peach wood hairpins or plain silver long hairpins, Fusang amber pendants hanging from their earlobes, plain silver bracelets on their wrists, and sachets or five-colored silk knots embroidered at their waists.

Their faces were also mostly delicate and regular, but their stature was truly eye-catching; even in their shrunken state, each one was two or three heads taller than Ling Hao.

Ling Hao also discovered that these Giant Clan women were not all the rugged, thick, muscular blocks from the rumors. Their bodies were slender and sturdy, their Physical Body seeming like a layer of evenly shaped suet jade, with smooth and soft lines; they were voluptuous where they should be, and slender where they should be.

I wonder what it feels like to be held by such a slender and powerful body? If they were to hold me in their normal form—a body over five meters tall, with those sturdy, slender arms wrapping around, and the whole person embedded in the softness of their chests... what would that feel like?

Ling Hao withdrew his thoughts and scanned his surroundings again.

"Hmm?"

From the valley entrance all the way to here, the Giant Clan members he had seen were all women.

Before, when he was outside, he had originally thought the Giant Clan was a matriarchal clan, where the men were responsible for logistics and keeping the home, and did not easily move about outside.

But having walked so far and seen so many people, not a single male figure had appeared.

Could it be that...