Looking down at the rapidly receding landscape, Chen Nan recalled the distant past. When he was young, Chen Zhan had carried him through the air, and he could still feel the excitement of his first flight. But the past was gone...
The Tiger King flew like lightning, traversing the rolling mountains and passing through fluffy white clouds. Half an hour later, it brought Chen Nan to the depths of the mountains, about five or six hundred miles from the City of Sin. Then it slowly slowed down, descended from the sky, and flew forward, skimming over the tall trees, sometimes even darting into the jungle.
Chen Nan was initially puzzled, but gradually understood why. Whenever the Tiger King cautiously crept forward, it meant the vicinity was dangerous. Several times, just as it plunged into the dense forest, a huge shadow appeared on the ground, and a terrifying dragon swept across the sky…
This place is sparsely populated and retains its original appearance. In the long past, only a few strong people from the City of Freedom have set foot here.
After traveling for half an hour, the Tiger King finally gave up flying and landed on the ground, beginning its journey through the mountains and forests. Deep in the mountains, monkeys howled and tigers roared; there were ferocious beasts as well as strange monsters, and all sorts of strange creatures appeared one after another.
As time went by, Xiaoyu gradually became uneasy. If Chen Nan hadn't kept shaking the jade ruyi in his hand, it would have stopped long ago. Even so, it still dawdled. After crossing more than a dozen mountains and passing through hundreds of miles of forest, Xiaoyu finally led Chen Nan into the most primitive region, where the trees were dense and the sky was blocked out. Almost no one had ever been to this place before.
In this primeval region, Chen Nan gradually sensed something was amiss. It was unusually quiet, without the slightest sound, unlike the places he had passed through before, where birds sang and beasts howled. This mountain range was deathly silent, and there wasn't a single bird or beast in the vast forest.
In the vast, empty mountains, Chen Nan felt a chill run down his spine, but he didn't want to give up halfway, so he forced the Tiger King to continue. Gradually, a strong, fishy smell wafted into his nostrils. He frowned, guessing that some ferocious beast must be lurking ahead, its unique scent keeping nearby birds and animals away.
After walking for a while, Xiaoyu refused to move at all, and even lay down on the ground stubbornly, refusing to move no matter how Chen Nan tried to force it. It wasn't until it saw Chen Nan about to hang the jade ruyi around its neck that it jumped up with a "whoosh" and then reluctantly walked forward.
After walking for several miles, the mountainous terrain gradually opened up, the trees thinned out, and huge, terrifying footprints began to appear on the ground, each over two zhang long. Only then did Chen Nan realize what kind of ferocious beast lay ahead—the legendary ancient giant.
The forest here was deathly silent, with all birds and beasts keeping their distance, yet the footprints of the ancient giants were so dense, suggesting that the giants' dwelling place was very likely just ahead.
He felt a chill run down his spine. Back in the western border of Chu, he and the little princess had once encountered a giant. If he hadn't had Hou Yi's bow, he would probably have been killed by the giant. Now, although his skills had greatly improved, he was still far from being able to deal with a giant.
Chen Nan was an Easterner who had never heard of such giant humans ten thousand years ago, only learning about them after his rebirth. Adult ancient giants were generally around fifteen zhang tall, with the shortest being ten zhang. Each giant possessed exceptionally strong physiques and incredible speed. A third-tier sub-dragon would be no match for them; it was rumored that a robust adult giant could even fight a thirty-zhang dragon single-handedly.
Chen Nan patted Xiao Yu's head and said, "You lecherous tiger, is there an ancient giant ahead?"
Xiaoyu nodded.
Xiaoyu shook her head.
Xiaoyu shook her head again.
"Are there many?"
Xiaoyu nodded.
Chen Nan gasped. The strength of a single adult ancient giant was already close to that of a dragon. He couldn't even imagine what it would be like if there were many giants...
He hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and decided to continue. At this point, the Tiger King refused to lead the way, but Chen Nan grabbed one of its ears and forced it to follow.
The stench grew stronger, almost nauseating, and the man and tiger cautiously made their way forward. The terrain became increasingly flat, and a wide valley came into view ahead. Through the swaying shadows of the trees, a beautiful little lake could be seen in the valley, its surface as smooth and clear as a mirror.
The valley covers an area of about eight or nine square kilometers and is surrounded by mountains, but these do not completely enclose the valley. The trees in the valley are sparse, and even grass is scarce. The ground has been hardened to the point of being like stone by the giants' trampling. A small river meanders through the valley, passing a mirror-like lake, and then flows out of the lake at the other end, slowly flowing out of the valley.
When Chen Nan dragged Xiao Yu by the ear into the valley, he was horrified. In the center of the valley stood a mountain of bones hundreds of feet high, the stark white bones were terrifying, and the eerie white light was chilling.
On White Bone Mountain stands a grand palace, several dozen feet tall. Constructed of an unknown material, the palace gleams with an overall black sheen. The main entrance is strikingly shaped like the gaping maw of a demon, grotesque and terrifying. Upon closer inspection, the entire palace seems to be modeled after the head of a ferocious monster, giving it an eerie and dreadful feel.
Chen Nan felt a chill run down his spine, his scalp tingle, and his whole body felt cold. He was both shocked and terrified. Xiao Yu, besides feeling uneasy, kept glancing around warily.
"Mountains of bones, how many lives must have been lost! This place is a living hell! You lecherous tiger, did you know about this place a long time ago?"
Xiaoyu nodded.
"Come on, take me closer to take a look."
Tiger King Xiaoyu was a little scared. After carefully looking around, she reluctantly stretched out her wings and flew forward with Chen Nan.
Upon arriving at the foot of the Bone Mountain, Chen Nan was secretly shocked. The white, withered bones were all enormous, with even the smaller pieces being taller than him. The ground around the Bone Mountain was gleaming white, consisting of bone dust several feet thick. It could be inferred that the Bone Mountain was thousands of years old, otherwise some of the bones would not have weathered into bone dust.
He had Xiaoyu fly around the Bone Mountain and discovered that it was not entirely made of piled-up bones. Beneath the bones was a low stone mountain, on which the main hall was located, and the skeletal bones were added and covered up later.
Chen Nan discovered that some of the bones still had bits of bloody flesh attached to them, indicating that they had been freshly piled up, and the stench was nauseating. The valley was already filled with the stench of giants, and this stench made it unbearable; even Xiao Yu couldn't help but wrinkle her nose.
Chen Nan felt utterly disgusted. Suppressing the urge to vomit, he surveyed the grand hall atop the mountain of bones. The pitch-black hall emitted an eerie, dark light, and the gaping maws of the grotesque demons seemed to emanate eerie howls, like the ghostly cries of the deepest hell…
Suddenly, the earth trembled slightly, and two tall figures appeared in the distant mountains. Chen Nan was startled; he knew the giants had returned. Without his command, Xiao Yu flew swiftly along the ground towards the distant forest. After escaping into the forest, it wanted to continue running, but Chen Nan grabbed its ears tightly, forcing it to stop, its eyes filled with terror.
"You lecherous tiger, behave yourself and don't move around."
Chen Nan and Tiger King hid at the foot of the mountain and watched from afar. They saw two giants of different heights enter the valley from the southwest forest, their heavy footsteps making muffled thuds on the ground. Their bodies were covered with thick, long fur, like that of an animal.
The taller giant was sixteen zhang tall, and in his left hand he held a stone club that was seven or eight zhang long. To ordinary people it would undoubtedly be a huge stone pillar, but in his hands it was just a light weapon.
On his right shoulder was a flying dragon that was seven or eight zhang long. The dragon was already dead, its wings spread out, its head and tail drooping limply, swaying with the giant's steps.
The other giant was about thirteen zhang tall. He also held a long stone club in his hand and carried an earth dragon on his shoulder. The giant carried the huge earth dragon as if an ordinary person were carrying a dead fox.
Chen Nan was extremely shocked. Both the flying dragon and the earth dragon were incredibly powerful, but in the eyes of the giant, they were nothing more than food to fill his stomach, which was truly terrifying.
"Good heavens!" he exclaimed, then turned to Xiaoyu and asked, "That dragon can fly, so how could it have been hunted down by the giants?"
Xiaoyu stared at the giant in the valley with fear in her eyes. After hearing Chen Nan's question, she struggled to lift a stone from the ground with her two front paws and then pushed it forward with all her might.
"You mean the giant used stones to bring the dragon down?"
Xiaoyu nodded vigorously.
"No wonder you lecherous tiger are so afraid of this place, now I understand."
The two giants walked towards the bone mountain from a distance. When they were a dozen feet away from the bone mountain, they put down the prey on their shoulders, piled it up, and then sat down on the ground.
About an hour later, the earth trembled slightly again, and three more giants returned, each carrying a huge monster that was three or four zhang long.
Chen Nan and Tiger King Xiao Yu hid in the forest, idly observing the situation in the valley. Before sunset, the giants gradually returned to the valley. There were a total of eleven giants living here, the tallest of whom was seventeen zhang tall, the shortest of whom was an underage giant, only a little over eight zhang tall, and the rest were between ten and sixteen zhang tall.
After piling up their prey, the giants knelt down together toward the great hall on the mountain of bones, each uttering muffled sounds as if they were praying. Then the giants stood up and walked toward their prey.
What followed was incredibly bloody; the giants began to devour their prey, truly eating raw meat and drinking blood. Chen Nan quickly turned his head. Xiao Yu also turned her head, her expression incredibly vivid, seemingly unwilling to witness the bloody scene.
"You lecherous tiger, don't you also eat things raw like that? Why the expression?"
Xiaoyu growled at him, seemingly in rebuttal.
After the giants finished their dinner, it was already dark. Half of their prey had been eaten, and a large pile of bones had appeared in the valley. Several giants got up and threw the bones onto the Bone Mountain.
Although Chen Nan already understood the origin of the Bone Mountain, he did not know why the giants piled up bones into a mountain, nor did he know what kind of place the eerie palace on the Bone Mountain was.
The bone dust at the foot of the mountain suggests that the earliest bones accumulated there are thousands of years old. This means that giants lived there generation after generation without ever migrating, which is why the bones piled up into a mountain.
Just now, all the giants kowtowed to the great hall on the mountain of bones. One can guess that the reason they have not moved must be related to the great hall on the mountain of bones that emits an eerie dark light.
"You lecherous tiger, where did you find the divine bone you brought back last time? Was it from that palace on Bone Mountain?"
Xiaoyu nodded.
"Hmm, I see. What's so strange about it inside?"
Xiao Yu stretched out a pair of furry tiger paws and gestured, while a look of fear flashed in its eyes. Although it was already sentient, it couldn't speak after all, and Chen Nan was completely confused, not knowing what it was trying to express, only knowing that it was definitely not a friendly place.
As darkness fell, the giants in the valley gathered their prey and headed west toward the forest. At the foot of the mountain, a huge cave could be vaguely seen, which must have been where the giants rested at night.
Chen Nan felt a bit hungry, so he asked Xiao Yu to lead the way away from the valley, as the stench there was too strong and made it impossible to have any appetite. After leaving the smelly area, he took out the food he had bought from the bag behind him and began to eat his dinner.
Xiaoyu had shrunk to the size of a kitten, lying on the grass with her eyes fixed on the chicken leg in his hand, her face full of longing.
"You lecherous tiger, this bag of food I've given you probably wouldn't even be enough to fill your teeth. Go hunt a wild boar or deer yourself later. But I'm coming with you, in case you escape and leave me here."
Xiaoyu leaned forward, licked her sweet lips, and looked pitifully at Chen Nan, while constantly sniffing the aroma of meat wafting in the air.
"Not only is it a lustful tiger, but it's also a gluttonous tiger." Chen Nan tore the roast chicken in half and handed it one half.
Xiao Yu was lying on the grass, eating with relish, but in the blink of an eye, it had devoured half a roast chicken. After finishing, it started licking its lips and staring at Chen Nan. After waiting for a long time without seeing any reaction from Chen Nan, it directly eyed the bag of food on the grass, and finally couldn't resist stretching out a furry little tiger paw forward.
"You've become addicted to eating, Tiger?" Chen Nan reached out and tapped its head, while moving the bag on the ground to a different position.
Although Xiaoyu was knocked, it did not show any hostility. Instead, it looked at Chen Nan with an expectant expression and then came up to him and rubbed its head against his thigh.
"Stop rubbing against me, you've got all the grease from your mouth on my clothes. Do you often flatter this little devil like this?" Chen Nan took a piece of beef from his bag and waved it in front of it, saying, "You can have it if you want, but take me to that palace when it's completely dark, understand?"
Xiaoyu took two steps back upon hearing this, but her eyes remained fixed on the beef.
"Actually, you lecherous tiger have no choice. Whether you like it or not, you're going to send me into that palace later."
Xiaoyu let out a low growl, as if in protest.
Chen Nan offered the beef forward, and it took it without hesitation, swallowing most of the last bag of food.
"You lecherous tiger, with such a greedy appetite, you'll ruin the kitchen at Kamikaze Academy sooner or later."
Upon hearing this, Xiaoyu's eyes lit up, and it nodded happily to Chen Nan, as if to express its gratitude.
Seeing its expression, Chen Nan tapped it and said, "I didn't expect my unintentional remark would give you such a good reminder. Remember, when you get caught, don't tell anyone it was me who gave you that advice." Then he laughed, "The gluttonous, lecherous tiger is stealing food and drinks in the Shenfeng Academy kitchen... Hehe, I'm really looking forward to it!"
The two, one human and one tiger, were immersed in their wicked fantasies. One imagined the hilarious scene of Kamikaze Academy causing havoc on the food thief, while the other began to weave beautiful dreams for his own appetite.
An hour later, darkness completely fell. Chen Nan urged Tiger King Xiao Yu toward the valley where the giants lived. Only a few stars shone in the night sky, and the world was shrouded in darkness. Bands of black clouds swirled around Bone Mountain and the main hall, resembling the aura of a demon, chilling anyone who looked upon them.
The caves to the west were pitch black. Chen Nan forced Xiao Yu to fly towards them, but when it was about two hundred feet away from the caves, it refused to go any further. Chen Nan listened carefully and heard muffled breathing sounds; the giant seemed to have already fallen asleep.
"These big guys are all asleep, that makes things easier. Tiger, take me to the palace on Bone Mountain."
Xiaoyu flew reluctantly toward the Bone Mountain in the valley. Under the pitch-black night, the hundred-foot-tall Bone Mountain glowed with eerie phosphorescence, exuding a ghostly aura. The palace on the Bone Mountain appeared particularly sinister and terrifying in the night, like a huge demon poking its hideous head out from among thousands of withered bones.
Xiao Yu carried Chen Nan as they swooped down from the sky, flying towards the main gate, which resembled a demon's giant maw. Below the main gate were nine steps, each one shimmering.
Chen Nan's face was full of shock. Each step was covered with divine bones, and the faint light was emitted by the divine bones!
"My God, the ground is covered with divine bones, it's unbelievable!"
Xiaoyu landed on the steps and warily watched the direction of the main entrance.
Chen Nan carefully examined the divine bones on the ground and discovered that these scattered bones were the remains of a god, which had been dismantled and laid out on the nine steps. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that a pair of hand bones were missing.
"Could this be one of the two ancient gods who fought fiercely in the ruins of the God War? How could his remains be dismantled and laid out here? Is it so that everyone entering and leaving the hall will trample on them? How could he have such a deep hatred for a god..." Chen Nan felt uneasy. A person who had such a deep hatred for a god was definitely not an ordinary person. He immediately thought of the other ancient god in the great war.
"Could it be another ancient god? No, the two ancient gods exploded and perished together, it couldn't have been done by another god."
The main entrance to the menacing and terrifying hall was pitch black, without a trace of light. Wisps of cold air emanated from it, along with a faint, eerie whistling sound.
A chill ran through Chen Nan's heart. He felt a sense of fear, unsure of what kind of place the hall before him held, and he hesitated, wondering whether he should go in...