The Breaking of the Stone Giant

Five hundred Divine Knights, like ancient gods descending to the mortal world, blazed with battle intent that shook the surrounding snowy mountains. The wild primordial beasts beneath them roared to the heavens, their murderous aura surging as they slowly closed in through the void.

"Xiao Chen… die!"

The thunderous cry, unified and deafening, crashed like a storm, making even the stars tremble.

This was an ancient divine formation capable of contending with Half-Ancestors—five hundred souls and spirits fused as one, their energy piercing the clouds. A colossal battle soul took shape, standing between heaven and earth, its radiance blinding.

Xiao Chen, clad in his dark-iron war suit and gripping a War Sword, strode forward through the void step by step, like a sovereign emerging from the World of the Dead. An overwhelming 'presence' radiated from him—a momentum that spanned mountains and rivers, eclipsing the land itself. Though he was a man of flesh and blood, he seemed to carry an entire world as he moved, uniting heaven and earth. Myriad peaks and countless stars trembled with his advance.

"Kill!"

The five hundred Divine Knights roared, their voices overpowering thunder. Every knight upon their wild beasts raised their greatswords and golden lances in unison.

That expanse of void blazed with light, a splendor that could not be looked upon directly. Waves of immense energy surged like a vast ocean.

Five hundred ancient divine weapons shone across heaven and earth, like five hundred miniature suns, their piercing brilliance tearing the sky. The concentrated sword-light and lance-radiance shattered the firmament, coalescing into a single beam that struck down at Xiao Chen!

The colossal beam, like a pillar propping up the heavens, crashed down with a thunderous rumble—more fearsome than a celestial blade, incomparably sharp. It was a giant blade tens of miles long and five or six miles wide, rending the earth and annihilating the void. Such an enormous weapon left no room to evade, nowhere to hide.

Xiao Chen threw back his head and roared, his black hair streaming behind him. Clutching a War Sword, he shot into the sky to meet that titanic blade that dimmed even the sun and moon.

He bellowed. The dark-iron war suit erupted with gusts of black light, making him seem like a black sun. The sword-light from his War Sword extended for tens of miles—far thinner than the colossal blade above, yet incomparably sharp.

With a hiss, a divine rainbow split the heavens. The mountains and rivers lost their color.

Xiao Chen's War Sword severed the giant blade in the sky, cutting it cleanly in two!

A thunderous crash followed, like a million mountains collapsing, shaking the soul and making ears ring until the eardrums threatened to burst.

The colossal blade shattered in the sky, its energy dissipating with apocalyptic force.

One could imagine how terrifying that single sword stroke had been.

Though he wielded only one sword, Xiao Chen had concentrated the killing intent of all twenty-seven War Swords into that one strike. Thus, his single blade had split the unified energy of the five hundred Divine Knights.

After so many years of calm, the battle-fury in Xiao Chen's heart had awakened. Facing a powerful enemy, his war-blood surged.

The shattered giant blade dissolved into tens of millions of energy currents, wreaking havoc across the high heavens, coalescing into a blinding storm.

The five hundred Divine Knights roared, their voices shaking the sky. The raging tempest transformed into five hundred beams of divine light, which in an instant surged back into their formation.

An overwhelming pressure spread across the firmament. The five hundred knights, now fully united in spirit and will, condensed the battle soul before them into something even more distinct and real. It stood like a primeval mountain, exuding a terrifying fluctuation that made the heart pound.

The five hundred beams of divine light gathered in the battle soul's hands, forming a massive greatsword. Its radiance pierced the heavens, and pulses of dread-inducing sword-energy emanated from it.

This was essentially a living deity, its combat power rivaling a Half-Ancestor!

In the distance, all the scattered cultivators changed expression. It was said that the five hundred Divine Knights, when united, could challenge a Half-Ancestor. Now, seeing it with their own eyes, they were shaken to the core.

"Roar…"

The golden deity—its feet planted on the earth, its head touching the sky—bellowed. The colossal golden sword in its hands, twenty miles long, blazed with towering radiance, as if wrapped in blazing golden divine flame.

Standing in place, it swung its sword at Xiao Chen. The enormous golden blade simply shattered the sky, crashing down like a golden mountain!

Its pressure dominated the eight wilds. The golden sword was so vast it blotted out the heavens. The terrible sword-energy filled the sky, drowning Xiao Chen beneath it.

Xiao Chen felt his blood boil. It had been a long time since he had fought such a battle. Gripping his War Sword, he flew against the sky, charging into the dazzling sword-light. His blade shot forth an earth-piercing divine rainbow.

There was no dodging; only the strongest combat could prevail.

To the shock of all, that tiny human, ant-like compared to the golden deity, sent his sword-light—a divine rainbow—crashing head-on against the golden giant blade.

"Clang!"

The earth-shaking sound deafened the ears, stabbing pain into the brain.

The golden giant sword and the "tiny" sword's rainbow clashed, producing a piercing metallic shriek as if two equally enormous deities were locked in combat.

"Boom!"

Brilliant light flooded the entire sky. Xiao Chen was thrown back more than twenty miles before stabilizing in the void. And the titanic golden deity staggered back dozens of miles, the snowy mountains shaking violently beneath its feet, many peaks collapsing outright.

The five hundred Divine Knights all trembled, riding their wild beasts backward the same distance, their radiance seeming to dim slightly.

Xiao Chen transformed into a beam of rainbow light, charging forward to finish the battle. The five hundred Divine Knights were the key—kill them, and the colossal golden deity would naturally collapse.

But this ancient divine formation, capable of challenging a Half-Ancestor, had its exceptional qualities.

The moment he moved, the sky-scraping golden deity merged with the five hundred Divine Knights. The five hundred knights, mounted on their wild beasts, entered the "light-formed" deity's colossal body.

"Roar…"

The golden deity roared again. Beneath it appeared a golden primordial beast—dragon-headed, horse-bodied, qilin-hooved, crocodile-tailed, its body covered in gleaming golden scales, its face savage and ferocious. Carrying the giant deity, it charged into the sky.

"Truly, it creates a Half-Ancestor!"

"No wonder the legend says this formation can rival a Half-Ancestor at the Heaven-Reaching realm!"

All the onlookers marveled.

"Growl…"

Suddenly, another tiger's roar shook the heavens from the opposite side. The Tiger Clan's five hundred elite warriors had also formed an ancient battle formation, slowly closing in. Five hundred Battle Gods rode enormous white tigers, their murderous energy piercing the clouds.

Every one of them radiated a fierce killing intent. Converging together, it soared into the heavens—a soul-shaking, heart-chilling aura. A faint blood-mist wreathed each warrior, testament to countless battles and blood-soaked experience.

"Two divine formations?!"

All the powerful scattered cultivators now understood why these two families had been so confident.

The Sun God Church and the Tiger Clan had allied, passing the secret divine formation to the Tigers. Both families were determined to destroy Xiao Chen.

The tiger's roar shook the nine heavens. The five hundred Tiger Clan elite Battle Gods blazed with light, their spirits merging. In the sky, another giant deity manifested.

This was a silver-white giant god, its upper body human, its lower body a white tiger. Combining both, it had human arms and the fearsome body of a tiger—a human-tiger deity!

The Tiger Clan's five hundred warriors also vanished into that sky-scraping silver-white giant god, boxing Xiao Chen in between them and the golden deity.

No one had expected such a battle. They had come to watch Lan Nuo's ascension to Half-Ancestor, only to witness two divine formations giving birth to two fearsome gods, engaging the man who had vanished from the world for over a hundred and fifty years.

Xiao Chen remained calm, showing no ripple of emotion at the alliance of two gods. At that moment, he summoned all twenty-seven War Swords, sending them slashing toward the two giant deities.

Sword-light screamed across the sky, like comets streaking through the void, like rainbows piercing the sun. The twenty-seven War Swords were pushed to their ultimate limit, murderous intent chilling the heavens, sword-will crossing the emptiness.

The human-tiger god and the golden deity both roared, unleashing unimaginable power. It was as if two suns had exploded.

Golden light and silver radiance flooded heaven and earth, leaving endless black holes in the void behind them.

The two sky-scraping giant gods, despite their enormous size, were not clumsy. They moved with incredible agility, charging into the highest heavens, their bodies cloaked in dazzling light like eternal, indestructible armor.

They used the void itself to block the War Swords, stopping their advance in the sky before launching their own attacks.

The golden deity's greatsword had transformed into a golden lance. Now, riding that dragon-headed, horse-bodied, qilin-hooved, crocodile-tailed beast, it executed its ultimate divine knight technique—a charge! Ignoring space, ignoring time, it shattered the barriers of space-time, arriving before Xiao Chen in an instant.

The mighty beast, vast as a mountain, carried the golden deity with savage fury. That golden lance, twenty miles long, thrust down from the sky, aimed directly at Xiao Chen's chest.

This was no mere thrust; it was a violent smash!

The golden lance was too immense; Xiao Chen's form was like an ant beside it.

"Boom!"

The sky shattered. Like a golden lightning bolt as thick as a mountain, it crashed into the nine War Swords that had swept across the sky.

At the same time, the silver-white human-tiger god, wielding an enormous silver sword, also charged forward in a fierce, terrifying attack.

It, too, broke through the barriers of space-time, its momentum overwhelming.

"Bang!"

The other nine War Swords blocked in front of Xiao Chen. Boundless energy waves burst with blinding radiance, sweeping across the entire sky.

Xiao Chen's entire body blazed with brilliant light. Mysterious patterns emerged on him, helping him transcend the limits of space-time, allowing him to defend against the charge of both gods in that instant.

Otherwise, he would have been in grave danger.

"Sever!"

Eighteen War Swords circled Xiao Chen, while the remaining nine flew back up, dazzling and tearing the heavens, slashing toward the two giant deities.

"Roar…"

The two gods roared in shock. They had not expected Xiao Chen to withstand their charge and counterattack with such ferocity in the same breath.

Though they retreated at extreme speed, each was struck by two War Swords. Their light dimmed noticeably as they fled toward the zenith.

At this moment, Xiao Chen summoned his stone giant. By now, the statue was nearly completely shattered, covered in cracks.

Light flashed. Xiao Chen, clad in his dark-iron war suit, merged with the stone giant, becoming a colossal stone man. Gripping a War Sword grown to match his size, he charged into the sky.

"Bang!"

"Clang!"

In the heavens, the three fought fiercely, shaking the very stars. The stone man, facing two giant deities alone, held his ground without retreat.

Each sword stroke shattered the void, making the stars seem to tremble. The sword-light was incomparable.

Meanwhile, the golden deity and the silver human-tiger continued their relentless charges, breaking through the barriers of time and space. Their golden lance and silver giant sword blazed with dazzling divine radiance, annihilating everything in their path.

Three giants battled in the sky, causing heaven and earth to crack, ghosts to wail, and spirits to howl. Around them, countless spectral souls and evil ghosts swirled—the residual souls of mighty warriors fallen long ago, torn from shattered dimensional spaces.

With a mighty roar, Xiao Chen swept his sword across the heavens. Heaven and earth shook; the entire sea of stars seemed ready to overturn.

The War Sword split the golden deity's chest, sending it flying backward. The beast beneath it was cleaved in two by Xiao Chen's next stroke! Golden light surged like a fountain of golden blood.

At the same time, Xiao Chen's sword severed the human-tiger's silver giant blade. One sweeping cut nearly bisected the human-tiger, grievously wounding it and forcing it to retreat.

Both giant deities had dimmed considerably. Within them, the five hundred Divine Knights and the five hundred Tiger Clan Battle Gods could be seen, all wearing expressions of shock.

"Boom!"

Divine radiance swept the sky! The two giant deities, their faces solemn and sacred, cried out in unison.

"God said: Let there be light!" The golden deity, formed from the united spirit of the five hundred Divine Knights, spoke these words, and the entire world was dyed in golden light. Boundless divine splendor drowned the giant stone man in the sky.

"Tiger Crouches Over Six Realms!" The enormous silver human-tiger also roared, its countenance majestic, its presence crushing heaven and earth. Around it, six worlds overlapped, expanding outward in every direction.

These were the great divine abilities of the ancient formations, manifesting deities comparable to Half-Ancestors!

The sound of shattering rang clearly through the heavens. When the golden light and the six worlds faded completely, the giant stone man in the sky split into pieces, then exploded into the void.

It revealed Xiao Chen within, clad in his iron war suit, his body thrown back dozens of miles.

All the watching cultivators were stunned. That stone giant had been Xiao Chen's pillar of strength, the source of his power when he fought Half-Ancestors on the Forbidden Sea. But now, it had been destroyed.

Everyone thought he had lost his most powerful weapon.

The golden deity, towering in the sky, gave a long cry and transformed into a golden beam, charging forward. Its lance fell like a golden mountain range, the tip gleaming with cold, murderous light.

At the same time, the enormous silver human-tiger roared, seeming exhilarated and excited, leaping in for the kill, its presence soul-shaking.

And then, from the western lands, a beam of blood-red light shot up from the snowy mountains, streaking toward Xiao Chen in assassination.

Many knew what it meant for Xiao Chen to lose the stone giant. A Half-Ancestor could no longer hold back and struck now, kicking a man when he was down, seeking to kill him.

The first to arrive was the Asura Half-Ancestor, his body shrouded in blood-light, blood-colored clouds spreading across the sky.

The second was the Skeleton King, the sky filled with spectral shadows, a sea of bones floating around him.

To Xiao Chen's great surprise, the Yaksha Half-Ancestor did not come.

Two Half-Ancestors, plus the two gods born from the divine formations, surrounded Xiao Chen in the sky.

"Are you here to kick a man when he's down?" Xiao Chen asked calmly, looking at the two Half-Ancestors.

"To kill you, that's all," the Asura Half-Ancestor said, his blood-red hair flying.

The Skeleton King stood on high, looking down at him. "The battle from over a hundred and fifty years ago is not yet over. Dragging it to today is long enough. It's time for an ending!"

"You certainly picked your moment," Xiao Chen said mockingly.

"Strike while the iron is hot!" the giant human-tiger formed from the Tiger Clan's five hundred warriors roared in savage pleasure.

"This day next year will be your funeral!" the five hundred Divine Knights also shouted.

Now, the advantage was entirely in their hands. Two newly arrived Half-Ancestors—gods of peerless power—and Xiao Chen's stone giant was shattered. He was surely doomed. The two giant gods, embodiments of the two families' spirit, trembled with excitement.

The long battle had dimmed their light considerably, making them difficult to sustain.

"I don't know where your pride and confidence come from," Xiao Chen said. He lifted a War Sword and began walking step by step through the void toward the mighty Asura Half-Ancestor.

At this moment, his dark-iron war suit gleamed with a cold, metallic luster. The black light made him appear divinely martial, devoid of any signs of despair despite being surrounded by powerful enemies. Instead, he was composed and calm.

"Can you kill me?" Xiao Chen pointed his War Sword at the Asura Half-Ancestor before him.

"Arrogant brat! At the end of your rope and you still dare to provoke—you don't know death!" The Asura Half-Ancestor produced a blood-red sacred sword, erupting with a狂暴 aura, and swept it toward Xiao Chen, aiming to cut him in two.

But beyond everyone's expectations, Xiao Chen did not evade. Instead, he pushed his Eight Aspect Extreme to the limit, charging forward with his War Sword, striking directly at the Asura Half-Ancestor.

Such a desperate, lethal assault made even the scattered cultivators on the ground gasp in disbelief.

The Asura Half-Ancestor's mind raced. In his view, Xiao Chen without his stone giant was like a tiger without teeth. This reckless, bloody fight was simply courting death. If both were wounded in the exchange, Xiao Chen would be the one in danger—there were still three other powerful half-ancestors nearby.

Thus, the Asura Half-Ancestor charged forward without hesitation, meeting Xiao Chen head-on.

When the two clashed, their swords crossed, light blazing across the sky.

Blood sprayed. Sparks flew.

The Asura Half-Ancestor was nearly split in two. Though he dodged the fatal blow to his head, his chest and abdomen were completely laid open. Blood spurted into the sky, gushing endlessly from the wound.

He could hardly believe it. His sacred sword had not even scratched Xiao Chen's body—not a single mark was left on that dark gleaming war suit.

On the ground, the watching cultivators erupted. Xiao Chen had nearly cleaved a Half-Ancestor in two in a single exchange—what kind of battle prowess was that?

The shattering of the stone giant had been anticipated by Xiao Chen. He had known it would happen eventually. But he was not worried, because he still possessed a powerful dark-iron war suit.

This was the battle suit of a Sovereign, far stronger than the broken stone giant.

Now, the dark-iron war suit glimmered with tiny points of black light, making him appear towering and heroic. His black hair stood on end as he gripped his War Sword and charged toward the golden deity and the enormous human-tiger.

All of this happened in an instant. As he passed the Asura Half-Ancestor, he threw himself directly at the two giant gods.

The two gods born from ancient formations had dimmed to their lowest point—the perfect moment to strike them down.

Sky-shaking sword-light swept across the horizon. Twenty-seven War Swords hung in the sky, crushing all resistance.

In a flash, the two giant gods, suddenly attacked, were cut into four pieces.

"No—re-form!"

"White Tiger, regroup!"

The two families screamed, desperately trying to gather their united spirit once more.

Xiao Chen's stone giant might be broken, but his combat power was not diminished in the slightest. His sudden assault caught them off guard. He had already plunged into the ancient divine formations, ruthlessly swinging his War Sword.

Blood sprayed. Xiao Chen's sword flashed continuously. In the blink of an eye, dozens of heads tumbled from the high heavens, headless bodies falling endlessly.

Xiao Chen was like a harvester of lives, cutting through the Tiger Clan Battle Gods and the Sun God Church Knights, invincible wherever he went.

The War Sword dripped blood, and the dark-iron war suit was already splattered with shocking crimson blossoms, beads of blood rolling down.

Though both families were wounded, they hastily regrouped, forming the two giant deities once more—but their light was noticeably dimmer.

At the same time, the Asura Half-Ancestor repaired his body and charged again with his sacred sword. The Skeleton King, surging with demonic clouds, stood upon a sea of bones and advanced.

Xiao Chen used twenty-four War Swords to guard against the two powerful Half-Ancestors, while he himself faced the two deities ahead, his battle-fury climbing to its peak.

A booming roar shook the heavens.

Vast combat power surged forth. As the two War Swords thrust forward, the two sky-scraping giant deities collapsed with a thunderous crash.

Xiao Chen shattered the two weakened giant gods with his sheer battle-fury and killing intent!

In that moment, Xiao Chen's eyes turned cold and merciless. He stepped forward and swung his War Sword again.

Blood sprayed. Heads flew. Within moments, more than a hundred from the Tiger Clan and the Sun God Church had been decapitated.

Blood still splattered. Xiao Chen was like a murderous god of battle, his dark-iron war suit constantly streaming with blood, his War Sword stained a deep red.

By the time the Asura Half-Ancestor and the Skeleton King reached him, Xiao Chen had already slain more than two hundred.

Now, Xiao Chen stood quietly in the void, calm and composed. His dark-iron war suit glistened, beads of blood rolling off. He raised his blood-stained War Sword, pointing it at the Asura Half-Ancestor and the Skeleton King.