Behind the Desolate Spirit Locking Heaven Array of the Southern Wilderness Continent was a passage to the Giant World.
Between heaven and earth, the more powerful a species, the rarer its numbers.
The giant race also conformed to this rule.
While each giant possessed immense individual strength, the resources required to maintain that strength were naturally greater.
On the limited land of the Giant World, the number of giants that could be sustained was not large.
However, they were still giants from an entire world, and their total numbers were considerable.
The four Integration Realm powerhouses currently present on the Southern Wilderness Continent were facing this very situation.
Although the giants were currently somewhat vulnerable, a continuous stream of them was pouring out from the Desolate Spirit Locking Heaven Array.
Gradually, the four of them could no longer hold them back.
Ancestor Howling Moon was still occupied with a female giant using his canine teeth, when two other giants suddenly emerged, attacking him from both front and back.
He could only dodge the frontal assault, but was then struck on the back by a punch from another giant.
"Woof~~woof~~"
The blow sent Ancestor Howling Moon tumbling through the air for several miles, his waist broken.
As more and more giants emerged from the Desolate Spirit Locking Heaven Array, the remaining three Integration Realm powerhouses also retreated under the relentless onslaught.
With the four strongest individuals defeated by the giants, and the number of giants emerging from the Desolate Spirit Locking Heaven Array growing, a sense of helplessness began to creep in.
"Fellow Daoists, we have done our best. Why not avoid their锋芒 and retreat for now? We can invite more allies and return later."
One Integration Realm powerhouse provided a rather palatable excuse for retreat.
"Daoist friend speaks wisely. Arrange for everyone to retreat quickly!" someone immediately agreed.
However, there were also dissenting opinions, such as Ancestor Howling Moon.
He stood up, supporting his waist, twisted it, and rotated his hips a few times, resetting his broken bones.
"If we retreat, what will happen to the countless beings of the Southern Wilderness Continent? They will all become food for the giants!"
Ancestor Howling Moon was a cultivator from the Southern Wilderness Continent, its strongest protector.
He was born and raised here, and had deep feelings for this land. Many people in the Southern Wilderness Continent were related to him in some way.
He could not bear to abandon the Southern Wilderness Continent and hand everyone over to the giants as food.
"Daoist Howling Moon, a wise man knows when to adapt. Do you intend to stay and perish with the giants?"
"Everyone has their own aspirations. You all go ahead, I will stay. It won't be so easy for the giants to kill this old man."
Ancestor Howling Moon spoke, then flew off alone, his roaring voice carrying back.
"Everyone retreat quickly, leave the Southern Wilderness Continent!"
"Everyone... evacuate the Southern Wilderness..."
As Ancestor Howling Moon flew further away, his voice became intermittent and finally disappeared completely.
The remaining three Integration Realm cultivators returned to gather their respective retinues and boarded their flying sky boats to depart.
They all hailed from major sects, and would not abandon their companions to flee alone unless faced with absolute peril.
Ancestor Ji returned to the camp and gathered the cultivators from the Tian Yuan Realm who had accompanied him, organizing them to board the flying sky boat.
"Are all the people accounted for?"
"Reporting to Ancestor Ji, over a hundred people have not returned."
Ancestor Ji scanned the assembled cultivators with his divine sense. The person he was looking for was not among them.
"Daoist Xiao and Daoist Huang have not returned. Does anyone know their whereabouts?"
"Two years ago, Elder Xiao announced he was entering seclusion, and the two of them left the camp together, after which all contact was lost."
"For the past two to three years, everyone has tried to find them, but without success."
Due to the unique circumstances of Xiao Fei and Huang Feifei, many people had tried to find them over the past two years, but none had succeeded.
"You all pilot the flying sky boats and leave the Southern Wilderness Continent first. The two guest elders must not be lost. I will go alone to find them."
Ancestor Ji arranged for others to seize the opportunity to leave first, while he himself returned alone.
The Desolate Spirit Locking Heaven Array was fully opened, and over twenty giants poured out, wreaking havoc across the Southern Wilderness Continent.
Their primary activity now was foraging for food. They captured creatures from the Southern Wilderness Continent, regardless of species or gender, and stuffed them into their mouths.
However, the population of the Southern Wilderness Continent was originally smaller than other continents, and it had already suffered two previous rampages by giants.
Furthermore, many cultivators, like startled birds, fled the moment the giants appeared.
Therefore, the more than twenty giants who rushed out today were facing a shortage of food.
They had been trapped within the Desolate Spirit Locking Heaven Array for an unknown number of years.
There was no spiritual energy within, and the domineering aura seeping from the Giant World was also absorbed by the array.
In the small space enveloped by the Desolate Spirit Locking Heaven Array, there were simply not enough resources to sustain so many giants. Their first thought upon emerging from the array was to feast.
But upon discovering the scarcity of food, the giants began to fight amongst themselves, sometimes even resorting to blows.
A giant had just captured a minotaur, and before it could eat, another giant reached out from the side, tore off the upper half of the minotaur's body, and swallowed it in one gulp.
Naturally, this led to a fight between the two giants.
With insufficient food, many giants began to dig through the earth.
Many cultivators hiding in caves were also dug out and devoured by these giants.
Moreover, although this method was more energy-intensive, it provided a greater sense of satisfaction from the hunt.
...
Huang Feifei was currently hiding in a cave, her heart filled with anxiety.
Just moments ago, she had seen a mountain opposite her being flipped over by a giant, which had unearthed several cultivators hiding within.
The giant was now sitting opposite, grabbing cultivators one by one and stuffing them into its mouth, its face smeared with various juices.
Huang Feifei desperately wanted to flee, but Xiao Fei had not yet emerged from seclusion, and she could not abandon him.
Soon, the giant opposite had completely devoured the few cultivators it had just dug up, its eyes greedily scanning the surrounding peaks.
Finally, the cave where Huang Feifei was hiding, due to the presence of an array, produced a slight fluctuation of spiritual energy, attracting the giant's attention.
The giant strode to Huang Feifei's mountain in a few steps, crouched down, and with its hands clasped around the peak, pulled with all its might, tearing the entire mountain from its base.
"Roar!"
The giant raised the mountain peak high above its head and smashed it down onto the ground with a thunderous impact, sending debris flying.
A large hand rummaged through the rubble for a long time, finding no food, which infuriated it.
The giant roared and stomped its foot, repeatedly kicking the remaining half of the mountain.
The remaining half of the mountain was also completely destroyed by the giant, leveled to the ground, yet still no sign of any person was found.
At this moment, Xiao Fei was using his earth-遁術 (earth-遁術) to quickly escape with Huang Feifei deep underground.
The immense commotion caused by the giant grabbing the mountain finally alerted Xiao Fei, who was working within his spatial artifact.
Upon exiting the spatial artifact, he immediately took Huang Feifei and fled using the earth-遁術.