For ordinary people, wounds like these would be fatal. But for the giants, they were merely injuries—bloodshed, yes, but hardly deadly. Unless one struck a vital point—piercing the heart, throat, or skull—it was impossible to bring them down. Otherwise, ballista bolts were nothing more than embroidery needles to them.
Embroidery needles may have a point, but they couldn't deal lethal damage.
Because of this, the destructive power of the Divine Machine Battalion was instantly reduced in front of the giants.
"Aim for their vital spots! Only a hit to a critical area can threaten their lives!"
Upon seeing this, Yang Yanping's expression shifted, but his battle experience quickly came into play. Without hesitation, he gave the order. Regardless, the threat of ballista bolts was still formidable. A well-placed shot could still severely wound, or even kill, a giant. These bolts were infused with rune power, giving them immense destructive force.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The attack pattern shifted. The bolts now targeted the throat, skull, and heart. The threat level soared—but even so, inflicting lethal damage on the giants remained incredibly difficult.
BOOM!
A giant ape-like being hurled a massive boulder with one hand, flinging it mercilessly toward the human army. Given its size and the giant's strength, the stone tore through the air like a meteor, even igniting in the atmosphere. The air shimmered with heat as it approached, carrying a devastating aura of destruction.
The force behind it was enough to shatter a mountain into rubble.
"Let me!"
Ye Zhiqiu's expression shifted as he prepared to act—but before he could move, Fu Hongxue stepped forward. With one step, a powerful blade intent surged out of his body. His entire presence became like a divine warblade that could cleave the heavens.
Clang!
His warblade was slowly drawn from its scabbard. Though the motion appeared slow—visible even to the untrained eye—before the blade was fully out, the crisp sound of it unsheathing had already echoed through the air. It wasn't that he was slow—he was unimaginably fast. So fast that the human eye couldn't follow.
Draw Blade Art (拔刀术)!!
A dazzling, blood-red blade light swept across the void like a ribbon. It was several zhang long and shot toward the falling boulder. A thunderous explosion followed as the blade and the boulder collided. The air around them rippled from the impact. Though the boulder carried terrifying force—as if to shatter the blade light—it failed. The blade light wasn't just refined; it carried an overwhelming blade intent.
Even more so, the light shimmered with metallic brilliance, its edge peerlessly sharp.
With a harsh grinding sound, the massive stone was cleaved in two.
"Draw Blade Art, blade intent… No, there's also the aura of a divine ability within the strike. It's the power of Golden Edge (金锋). That's what amplifies the blade's sharpness so drastically. Unbreakable."
Yi Tianxing's eyes lit up with awe.
He knew that martial cultivators, once reaching a certain stage, had to make a choice: to follow the path of a traditional Qi Refiner or embark on a unique road. The Sword Cultivator, or Sword Immortal, for instance, was such a path. Upon reaching the Life Aperture Realm, they had to nurture a sword embryo, with their own sword intent as its core. This Sword Embryo was bound to their life and cultivation.
Once formed, their true qi and essence would merge into the sword embryo, becoming sword essence, filled with sword aura and deadly edge. Their attacks were lightning-fast, razor-sharp, and capable of destroying all techniques with a single slash.
Uniquely, sword cultivators infused their Life Apertures directly into the sword embryo, rather than keeping them within the body. All their cultivation and lifeforce were bound to a single sword. If the sword lived, they lived. If the sword was destroyed, they died. Hence, sword cultivators usually forged their sword embryos from rare treasures or divine materials.
And just like sword cultivators, blade cultivators could walk the path of the Blade Cultivation (刀修). They, too, could forge a blade embryo, binding their lifeforce to it. Others, like spear cultivators or hammer cultivators, also followed such combat-focused paths.
These were collectively known as Battle Cultivators (战修).
Such cultivators trained purely for combat. Their strength scaled directly with their battle prowess. A single sword strike or blade slash didn't just carry intent—it was also imbued with the power of their Life Aperture divine abilities. This was the terror of battle cultivators—pure, devastating destructive force.
From Fu Hongxue's earlier strike, Yi Tianxing could already sense that he had stepped onto the path of the blade cultivator. Though he had yet to forge a blade embryo or transfer his Life Apertures into it, the intention was clear. Once successful, his power would be overwhelming—he would be peerless among peers.
"Activate the Eight-Gate Golden Lock Formation!"
Yi Tianxing took a deep breath. The giants were simply too strong. In direct battle, heavy losses were inevitable. Only a formation could hold back their assault.
"My lord, I wish to battle these giants!"
Fu Hongxue, expressionless, stepped forward. He could feel the blade intent in his body surging and trembling in excitement, hungering for the baptism of blood.
"Very well. I'll stay too. Let's see how strong these giants truly are."
Yi Tianxing nodded. His own battle intent was surging uncontrollably. He, too, longed for a fierce, bloody battle.
"Eight-Gate Golden Lock!!"
Wang Dahu gave the order. The army shifted into formation. Mist surged, and eight gates materialized within it, emanating a mysterious aura. The army itself vanished into the fog.
BOOM!
A stone hurled by a giant crashed into the mist—and disappeared. It was as if it never existed.
Giants charged forward, smashing their bone clubs into the fog. But their power had no effect—just ripples in the mist. The formation remained untouched, its gates still standing. It was unfathomable.
Some giants, frustrated, roared and stepped into the mist—vanishing completely upon entry. One after another, they disappeared into the Eight-Gate Golden Lock Formation.
The foreign races watching cheered internally.
"No formation is limitless. No matter how strong this one is, it can't contain all those giants. Their physical power rivals that of Life Aperture experts. Once inside… it'll be like sharks in a river. Carnage is coming."
"These giants are terrifying. If they can't break the formation, then this formation is even more terrifying."
"Yi Tianxing and Fu Hongxue aren't even entering the formation. Are they really going to face the giants directly? Let's see how strong they truly are."
The surrounding alien cultivators were trembling with excitement, eager to witness the carnage.
"Kill!!"
Fu Hongxue locked onto a giant clad in bone armor. A cold gleam flashed in his eyes. With a step, he drew his warblade, unleashing a ribbon-like arc of blade light. The blade intent was so sharp, even the clouds above were split.
Clang!!
The slash struck the armored giant—only to spark against its bone armor. The blade failed to penetrate, and the giant didn't even flinch. With a furious roar, it swung a fist the size of a mountain at Fu Hongxue.
"Human, you dare challenge me? I'll grant you death!"
The Crystal Giant's icy eyes flashed. Instead of using his massive battleaxe, he pointed a single finger at Yi Tianxing.
That finger gleamed like polished crystal, radiating lethal force. Even the air warped. A horrifying sonic boom echoed as it tore through the air like a spear.
The Crystal Giant was determined to kill Yi Tianxing with a single finger—to reduce him to pulp.
To show the world that humans were nothing but ants before the might of the giants.