The gap matched the giant sword perfectly.
With the sword in place, the golden giant immediately grasped the hilt with both hands, clearly exerting tremendous force to twist it.
The giant sword and the gap began to turn slowly, while a dull humming sound emanated from beneath the metal disc under his feet.
Bai Lan, lying beside the scattered rocks, happened to see this scene from afar. She was secretly alarmed, wondering what the giant was doing.
Meanwhile, the collapsed rocks around her were pushed aside one after another with a clatter. Granny Rat, Gao Yuan, and Jiang Shan crawled out from the rubble one by one, all staggering and obviously severely injured.
After taking in their surroundings and spotting the giant, they were each terrified, looking as though they did not know where to hide. Having been ambushed and heavily wounded, they were no longer able to conceal themselves with ease.
A stick insect that had crawled out from the rubble, which was the walking stick of Granny Rat, was startled and fluttered its wings to fly away first.
The giant had already pulled out the sword and was walking towards them, but he did not take the few demon cultivators seriously. He strode away through the messy interior of the mountain.
Emerging from the interior of the mountain and reaching the edge of the cliff, the golden giant leaped into the open sky, stirring up a fierce gale.
Inside the mountain, the golden magma was still surging violently, submerging many paths and scorched rocks. The molten gold boiled in an abnormal manner, as if it were blocked and flowing unevenly.
The three of them had survived the ordeal with the golden giant, but they could not escape the disaster that was Bai Lan.
Hearing the heavy footsteps and confirming that the golden giant had gone far away, Bai Lan, who had been playing dead on the ground, quickly got up. The moment she opened her eyes, she struck without mercy, subduing her three severely injured companions once again.
Not daring to stay long in the lair of the golden giant, she used her magic to carry her three companions and left immediately. Escaping from the interior of the mountain, she quickly headed for a hidden corner at the foot of the mountain.
The stick insect that had escaped and hidden outside earlier spotted them and immediately fluttered its wings to follow.
After a frantic scramble, they found a relatively hidden ravine. Bai Lan then threw the three demons onto the ground and lifted the seal on their mouths.
Now able to speak, Gao Yuan and Jiang Shan looked at Bai Lan with obvious immense shock and suspicion. Granny Rat, however, immediately shouted, “Bai Lan, what are you trying to do? Have you gone mad?”
The eyes of Bai Lan revealed a fierce light as she said, “The reason Ashi Heng was able to kill my husband is that my husband had already suffered a fatal wound beforehand. Who did it?”
As soon as these words were spoken, Granny Rat was stunned.
Gao Yuan and Jiang Shan subconsciously glanced at each other. From the moment Bai Lan injured them, they had vaguely realised why she was attacking them, as there was no other reason. Now their unfortunate guess was confirmed, and both felt a sense of impending doom.
The next moment, Granny Rat suddenly glared at the two of them. “Bai Lan, this has nothing to do with me. I did not attack your husband. They are the ones who did it. Not only did I not injure your husband, but I actually stopped them from delivering the final fatal blow.”
At this moment, she too could feel the killing intent of Bai Lan. Letting others die instead of oneself is an instinct. After figuring out the situation, she immediately distanced herself from the matter.
Gao and Jiang instantly panicked. How could they admit to this? Admitting it meant certain death.
Jiang Shan roared, “Granny Rat, stop talking nonsense! Bai Lan, do not listen to her rambling. It is not true.”
Gao Yuan also shouted loudly, “Bai Lan, this old woman is purely spouting nonsense to clear her name. Bai Lan, did Ashi Heng tell you this? Do not fall for his trick. That boy is extremely cunning. You must not do things that pain your friends and delight your enemies, and you absolutely must not fall for the trap of that guy.”
Hearing this, Jiang Shan also realised it. “Yes, that boy is a treacherous person and must not be trusted at all.”
The two had probably already guessed that Bai Lan had previously been desperately chasing Ashi Heng for revenge, and now suddenly turned on them. It was highly likely that Ashi Heng had said something.
They had even figured out that it must have been something unknown that happened when Bai Lan went to the Abyss Grand Canyon to hunt down Ashi Heng previously.
What surprised and puzzled them was how Ashi Heng could know that they had injured Hei Yunxiao. Could that fellow have been present at the scene when it happened?
The killing intent in the heart of Bai Lan grew stronger. She had already seen something from the first reactions of the three demons and immediately fixed her gaze on Granny Rat, saying viciously, “So, you are the one lying?”
The corners of the mouths of Gao Yuan and Jiang Shan twitched, leaving them somewhat speechless. They actually hoped Bai Lan would just kill Granny Rat without letting her speak, but they knew that was unrealistic.
Granny Rat was stunned for a moment and then immediately panicked, terrified that Bai Lan would do something reckless. She hurriedly cried out, “I am wronged! Bai Lan, these two are the ones talking nonsense. Back then, when our ambush to kill the scholars heading to the capital failed and I was retreating, I already saw them beat Hei Yunxiao severely.
I did not see how they injured him, but given the strength of your husband, I suspect that nine times out of ten, they ambushed him while he was off guard.
As for the reason they injured Hei Yunxiao, Gao Yuan received news that the Earth Mother had already killed Lady Qixia, and the situation was beyond saving. They blamed you and your husband for dragging us down and forcing us to flee like stray dogs. Out of resentment, they not only injured Hei Yunxiao but also wanted to kill him. It was me who stepped in to stop them.
Bai Lan, if Ashi Heng told you something, he must have known about it. You should let him come and confront me to see if I am lying. If there is even half a word of falsehood, you can kill or slice me, and I will have no complaints.”
Grief and indignation surfaced in the eyes of Bai Lan, and the look she gave Jiang Shan and Gao Yuan was utterly venomous.
The two became even more panicked. Gao Yuan exclaimed, “Yes, a confrontation. Let Ashi Heng come and confront us to see who is lying.”
He was looking for an opportunity to stall for time, wanting to get through the immediate danger first. Delay leads to changes is an absolute truth, and the biggest change is time. Only with time is there a chance.
But for Bai Lan, whether to have a confrontation was no longer important. What mattered was that Ashi Heng said someone here had plotted against her husband, and someone here had admitted it.
She suddenly dropped low and pounced on the ground, transforming into a slender snow leopard. Baring her fangs, she approached them, her killing intent fully exposed.
Jiang Shan and Gao Yuan were completely terrified this time.
Gao Yuan immediately wailed, “We admit we injured him, but we only injured him. Granny Rat herself said she stopped us from killing him. We did not kill him. Ashi Heng killed Hei Yunxiao. Do not get the wrong target for your revenge.”
Jiang Shan also cried out, “That is right! Bai Lan, give us a chance to atone for our crimes with meritorious service. We swear we will definitely help you take revenge.”
Gao Yuan said, “Yes, we will help you take revenge, we swear, ah…” Before he could finish his words, a miserable scream erupted.
The snow leopard fiercely bit his head, directly crushing his skull and causing his brains to spill out. Its paws pinned down the convulsing Gao Yuan, and its fangs tore at him frantically.
Gao Yuan quickly revealed his true form as a white headed giant eagle, being bitten until flesh and blood flew everywhere, with feathers scattering in all directions.
Bai Lan did not use a quick and painless method of killing. Instead, she used her most primitive method, tearing her enemy to pieces alive bite by bite.
The skeleton of Gao Yuan was soon torn apart. The bloody scene with feathers flying everywhere made the two onlookers feel a vivid and intense thrill.
Having torn Gao Yuan to shreds, the blood covered leopard turned its head to look at Jiang Shan.
Jiang Shan immediately knew he could not escape. Seeing the bloody maw approaching, he suddenly shouted, “Granny Rat did not want to save your husband. She wanted to keep Hei Yunxiao and you behind to delay the pursuing troops of the Jin court, ah…”
Granny Rat listened with her heart pounding. Over there, a miserable scream had already rung out, and the snow leopard was once again engaged in a bloody tearing.
When the snow leopard tore the giant frog to pieces and turned to look at her, Granny Rat trembled in fear and said, “This big toad was deliberately trying to harm me. He wanted to drag me down with him, ah…”
Before she could finish her words, another miserable scream rang out.
The snow leopard pounced and tore at him again.
Bai Lan no longer wanted to distinguish between truth and falsehood. As long as someone was accused of participating in the murder of her husband, did she need to verify it one by one? As long as she had the chance, she would not let a single one go, including Yu Qing.
The stick insect lying on top of the cliff was startled and quickly fluttered its wings to fly away…
The ground had been trembling slightly all along, as if there was a continuous earthquake, only the tremor was not as intense as inside the mountain.
Ning Chaoyi, who had lost his legs, had a deathly pale face. Shen Qingcheng carried him on her back, flying swiftly all the way, with Lu Xingyun accompanying them.
Nie Pinlan followed along, wiping her tears from time to time. No one could truly empathise with her grief and indignation. Her husband had died to save her, and the driving force keeping her moving forward was to live well and find a way to rescue her husband and the child of her husband from his previous wife.
Suddenly, a strange sound came from the sky. The few of them looked up and saw a huge figure whoosh past overhead. It was the golden giant. They looked at each other in blank dismay, not knowing where the golden giant had gone. It felt as though he was also heading towards the Immortal Palace. For a moment, they were somewhat unsure whether to continue moving forward…
Wu Hei, who was flying swiftly while holding his son, suddenly looked up and saw the golden giant flying rapidly overhead…
In the air, Elder Wu and the old man were flying rapidly one after the other. The latter had long bloody scars on his body from being slashed by sharp objects, clearly injured.
At this moment, the two temporarily abandoned their desperate fighting simply because the ground suddenly kept trembling. Not knowing what had happened, they suspected it might be related to the core of the Immortal Palace, so they rushed over to investigate.
Suddenly, the two widened their eyes almost simultaneously and flashed down to the ground at the same time. They then looked up, watching helplessly as the golden giant flew past overhead.
Elder Wu murmured in shock and suspicion, “It is really alive. Is this the guardian beast of the Gold Ruins?”
There was no need to guess. One look was enough to know that it should be the golden giant from inside the mountain that had awakened earlier.
The old man glanced at him and said, “Looking at his appearance, he seems to be a mighty strongman.”
Back in the day, some giants who worked for the immortals could move mountains and fill seas with their infinite strength, and were called strongmen. The leader of these giants was what he called a mighty strongman. His status was higher than that of the two brothers, after all, the brothers were merely gatekeepers.
Elder Wu was instantly shocked. “He was the one left behind to guard it? How did he turn into a golden man?”
The old man said, “I do not know how he turned into a golden man. I only know that we opened the Gold Ruins without permission and broke into the Immortal Palace to use the Earth Spring without authorisation. Now we have alarmed him. Your dream of immortality is about to be shattered, and I fear that both you and I will be unable to escape this disaster.”