CHAPTER 196: THE GIANT'S HEARTBEAT

Venerable Shuang Dao returned to his position and said, "Fellow Daoists, release your Core Flames together against the mist! We'll surely drive it back!"

Seeing this, the other venerables no longer paid attention to the cultivators of the Heavenly Mandate Hall. One by one, they ignited their Core Flames, their forms blazing as they charged into the mist.

Venerable Tian Suo glared at Ancestor Suitian and shouted furiously, "High Sage Suitian, what are you waiting for?"

He unleashed a chain from his hand, slicing open the illusory barrier. "If you don't act, the mist will surge upward. By then, none of the cultivators of the Heavenly Mandate Hall will escape!"

"Hmph... You people have lived in vain. Have you forgotten that blocking is never as effective as diverting?"

Ancestor Suitian pushed through the crowd, striding to the breach in the defensive wall. He brought his hands together and tore open a rift in the void. "If it can't be held back, cast it into the void. How could such a simple principle escape your mind?"

"Tear open the void?" Heaven Venerable Ban Yao sneered. "We haven't even so much as touched the laws of space, nor do we share the Jun Clan's affinity with the Heavenly Dao. How could we possibly open a stable void passage?"

"Enough nonsense. Move aside!" Ancestor Suitian's voice boomed as black lightning surged from his hands. He began directing the black mist, guiding its flow. "Guard your positions. I'll pull all the mist into the void at once."

He pressed the void rift against the formation's barrier. "If you understand me, hold your positions to stabilize the shield. End this quickly. I can sense something stirring below."

Under the pull of his spirit qi, the thick black mist converged, flowing toward the void rift. Just then, the mist's center erupted again, and an even denser surge of black fog shot upward like a sword piercing the heavens.

***

High above them, Blindman Lu hovered in the sky, manipulating the black mist into a single mass that surged wildly upward. Little Pup and a tiny ice dragon flanked him, both watching the chaotic scene in the Scripture Hall's backyard.

"My lord, is this truly wise? Isn't it too soon?" Little Pup asked softly, glancing at Blindman Lu. "That mist carries immense death qi. Even with ten venerables below, I doubt they can withstand it. And you still wish to awaken the giant buried beneath."

"Time is running short. We must awaken him now," Blindman Lu replied, forming a hand seal and releasing his Core Flame to purify the drawn-out black mist once more. "During our days in the Northern Region, Little Lu managed to summon the avatars on his own. If we don't act, I fear he'll slip free of our plan."

"But, my lord..." Little Pup shifted into human form, hesitating. "Must the young master be bound to our plan? If he learns he's been deceived all along, won't he—"

"Enough." Blindman Lu cut him off with a wave of his hand, his face stern. "Your heart has softened after nineteen years living with him. But after more than three hundred thousand years of preparation, neither we nor this world can afford to wait. Whether he wishes it or not, he must follow the plan."

"And you, my lord? Has your heart not softened as well? After all, we lived together like family for nineteen years in Greenheaven Village..."

"You..." Blindman Lu let out a long, heavy sigh, his gaze dropping toward Lu Chen below. "Prepare yourself. The giant is about to awaken. Our entire plan begins now. We truly have no more time."

"Yes..." Little Pup replied reluctantly. "I'll do it, my lord. But... can't we at least make it gentler? Let the young master hear the truth in a way he can accept."

Blindman Lu's eyes shifted to the distant horizon. He gave a faint nod, as if agreeing, but said nothing further.

***

Behind the Scripture Hall, threads of black mist were being drawn into Ancestor Suitian's void passage. Yet, some tiny cracks started to spread across the protective barrier, completely unnoticed by him.

Strands of mist slipped into the backyard through those fissures at the shield's edge, weaving among the cultivators and quietly draining their life essence bit by bit.

Suddenly, the Eye of the Ancestral Dragon on Lu Chen's forehead flared with pain, flooding him with alarm. He jerked his head up, scanning the surroundings until his gaze locked on the sky above.

Noticing his reaction, Nantian Yijian asked curiously, "What's wrong, boss? Did you see something in the sky worth staring at?"

"It feels like... someone's pulling the strings," Lu Chen rubbed at the throbbing eye, his sense of dread slowly ebbing. "A greater crisis is coming, bigger than anything we've faced. Let's stay closer to Ancestor Suitian, just in case."

As Lu Chen and the others reached Ancestor Suitian, a mournful wail echoed from the void passage. The channel shuddered and abruptly began to close. Alarm surged through Ancestor Suitian's mind. He activated his Divine Eye and started into the sky, only to be struck by a descending beam of spirit qi that tore through his defenses and left him injured.

Daoist Tian Ji noticed immediately. He flung the Heavenly Spirit-Gathering Disk from his arms to seal the breach, then called out, "High Sage Suitian, what's wrong? Why did the passage suddenly close?"

Ancestor Suitian's gaze lingered on the surging black mist. "It seems someone up there is controlling it... and their cultivation surpasses mine."

The Heavenly Lightning Eye on his forehead opened once more. He pressed his palms together, trying to reopen the passage. Yet no matter how he sought the space laws, they refused to respond.

With a thunderous shout, Ancestor Suitian yanked Lu Chen and the others away from the cliff. "The situation has changed! Everyone, retreat! Someone is controlling the space laws here."

Without his power, the barrier could only rely on the Heavenly Spirit-Gathering Disk. However, with cracks already spreading across it, the barrier couldn't hold.

The black mist slammed against it, widening the breach. Web-like fractures raced outward, crawling rapidly across the entire shield.

Watching the defenses collapse, Lu Chen asked anxiously, "Ancestor, is there truly someone manipulating this place? I felt it too. Someone is watching us from the sky. And listen carefully... doesn't it sound like something pounding below the cliff, like—"

"Like a beating heart, isn't it?" Ancestor Suitian finished his words, resting a hand on Lu Chen's shoulder. His voice softened. "Little Lu, as chief disciple of the Serene Void Academy, you should know what lies buried beneath the Heavenly Mandate Hall."

"Beneath the Heavenly Mandate Hall?" Lu Chen frowned. "There's nothing there aside from what looks like the grave of a giant."

His expression shifted as a thought he barely dared believe slipped out. "Could it be... that giant? Are you saying the giant buried under the Heavenly Mandate Hall is alive, and now he's awakening within the mist?"

Ancestor Suitian's eyes stayed fixed on the roiling black mist. "Yes... He's finally awakening."

He watched the strands of mist seep into nearby cultivators and sighed deeply. "A giant buried for tens of thousands of years... Once awakened, how terrifying will his strength be?"

"No matter what, this is the day I've been waiting for. After all, that giant was the last witness to the disappearance of 'Heaven.'"

"Ancestor... Have you been waiting for his awakening?" Lu Chen asked, shocked. "If he revives, what will happen to us? The cultivators of today are far weaker than those of the past. If he rises now, wouldn't he destroy the entire continent?"

Before Ancestor Suitian could answer, light flashed at Lu Chen's side. Heaven Venerable Ban Yao and Daoist Du dodged a surge of black mist, reappearing near him.

"So what?" Daoist Du sneered, shaking the bottle in his hand. "That thick death qi below proves how long he's been dead. His talent and cultivation should've rotted away long ago."

"You've been collecting the mist this whole time?!" Heaven Venerable Ban Yao's face darkened as she roared, "Do you understand the danger? If this mist escapes into the world, it'll be a death sentence for low-level cultivators!"

"Danger? Death qi is the greatest tonic for me. I'd hurl myself straight into it if I could. Why should I fear danger?" Daoist Du turned around, contempt flickering in his eyes. "And don't forget. I'm a loner. As long as I can save my own skin, why should I care whether others live or die?"

Heaven Venerable Ban Yao trembled with fury. "You!"

She was about to summon her spirit beast against Daoist Du when a deafening roar shook the cliff.

"The heartbeat! It's back!"

Boom!

The ground rumbled as a massive tornado formed at the center of the mist, pulling it inward. Daoist Tian Ji fixed his gaze on the vortex, then recalled the Heavenly Spirit-Gathering Disk and swiftly retreated from the Scripture Hall's backyard.

Ancestor Suitian gave a cold snort. "We leave as well."

Lightning erupted across thirty zhang as he led his black-robed followers toward the Scripture Hall's entrance. Lu Chen and his companions had barely regained their footing when several more figures appeared in flashes of light.

Venerable Shuang Dao, Hua Sheng, and Hua Xin returned with their disciples, gathering at the Scripture Hall's entrance.

Lu Chen activated his Divine Eye. Staring toward the cliff, he asked in a low voice, "Ancestor... what is happening here?"

"Suitian, if I'm not mistaken, the giant buried beneath the Heavenly Mandate Hall has awakened." Daoist Tian Ji had returned with his disciples to the entrance. "You've lingered here all this time precisely to await his awakening, haven't you? After all, he is the one who lived closest to that ancient era..."

Behind him, the Heavenly Spirit-Gathering Disk unfurled, revealing the image of a colossal lightning giant, one eerily identical to the giant Jun Laoye had summoned with the Heavenly Dao Command.