Chapter 2252 — Unknown Sickness

Yuan followed Xie Mey back to the palace, but before he even stepped inside, he felt an ominous pressure hanging over the place, suffocating the air itself.

Sensing that strange pressure, Yuan silently confirmed his suspicions about the trial and mentally prepared himself.

A short while later, Xie Mey stopped before a room sealed behind a pair of grand doors.

"Before we proceed, I must warn you about something," Xie Mey turned to face Yuan with a solemn look on her face.

"The emperor, my father, he might—"

"Attack me?" Yuan interrupted.

Xie Mey's eyes widened at his words.

"How did you...?"

"Let's just say that I already have an idea about the situation."

Xie Mey didn't say anything, and after a moment of silence, quietly nodded her head.

"I'll let you meet my father now," she said as she opened the massive doors.

As the doors creaked open, a lethal aura burst from the room, so dense it was visible to the naked eye, like a physical wave of killing intent. But this sensation was far more dreadful; it felt like the presence of death itself.

Xie Mey's eyes tightened as she stared into the dark room. Yuan heard her murmur, barely louder than a mosquito, yet shaking with fear, "It's gotten even worse..."

While Xie Mey's movements were frozen with fear, Yuan strode forward without any hesitation.

"I'll be back."

"Wait-"

Xie Mey reached out to stop him, but Yuan didn't stop, stepping forward and vanishing into the darkness.

Inside, he narrowed his eyes toward the far end of the shadowy corridor, where a colossal silhouette sat upon a throne the size of a mountain.

However, despite its immense size, the silhouette wasn't robust. If anything, it looked unnervingly thin.

"Who goes there...?"

A coarse voice echoed through the room, sending chills down Yuan's spine-not out of fear, but because it stirred memories he would rather have forgotten.

"Hey, Kulas." Yuan calmly responded.

"!!!"

The massive silhouette could be seen visibly trembling upon hearing his voice.

"You are... Tian Yang?"

"That's right."

"S-Scram!" Kulas suddenly roared.

"I just got here, though?"

"I don't care! Get lost!"

"Is this really how you treat an old friend who came to visit? I'm not leaving until I see your face."

"Please... just leave. I don't want you to see me in my current condition-No... I don't want to hurt my only friend," Kulas responded after a brief moment of silence.

"Hurt me?" Yuan suddenly laughed out loud. "Do you really think you're even capable of that?"

Yuan suddenly summoned some flames, lighting up the place just enough to see Kulas.

When Yuan finally saw Kulas clearly, his heart trembled, though the sight wasn't entirely unexpected.

Kulas, once a towering figure of strength whose muscles could make any body refiner envious, was now so emaciated that his bones protruded beneath his skin. He looked no different from someone who had been starved their entire life. Hell, he looked many times worse than when he was imprisoned in the dungeon.

When Kulas first took control of the Desolate Continent and established his own family, he had been in perfect health. But sometime later, he suddenly fell ill with an unknown sickness—at least, that was what Tian Yang had believed when he'd first seen Kulas in such a condition.

This illness caused Kulas to lose his rationality at times, turning him dangerously unstable. Worse yet, it didn't affect only him, but everyone who shared his bloodline suffered from it to some degree, spreading its influence across the entire Giant Race.

Although Kulas was not their true ancestor, the giants had inherited power from his blood, much like how cultivators absorb the blood essence of magical beasts to gain strength.

However, oddly enough, this sickness did not affect some females, primarily those with strong yin energy in their bodies, so Xie Mey wasn't affected by it.

"ARRIGH!"

Kulas suddenly released a beastly roar, one that did not sound human, and his aura skyrocketed.

BOOM!

His cultivation-at the fifth level of God Ascension-surged forth like a tidal wave, and his overwhelming pressure came crashing down upon Yuan.

Suddenly, Kulas' appearance began to change. His golden hair and emerald eyes darkened into pitch black, while his pale skin flushed a deep rosy shade, almost like an overripe tomato, skirting the edge of a demonic visage, though lacking the solid crimson hue true demons possessed.

"Senior Tian! Please be careful! He's going to attack!" Xie Mey warned him from outside.

Sure enough, Kulas suddenly sprang from his throne, shooting into the air before bringing his massive arms crashing down toward Yuan.

However, Yuan didn't even bother to dodge. Instead, he met Kulas head-on. With Eternal Essence surging through his body, he raised his hands and caught the giant's devastating strike bare-handed.

"You'll need to do more than this if you want to hurt me," Yuan muttered softly as he overpowered Kulas, hurling him back toward his throne with overwhelming force.

"Come. I'll keep you entertained until you regain your sanity."

Yuan beckoned toward Kulas, who was drooling uncontrollably and letting out animalistic noises, as though he had devolved into a wild beast.

Kulas released a powerful roar before lunging at Yuan again.

Despite his frail appearance, Kulas was anything but weak, and every strike he unleashed sent tremors rippling through the entire city.

Yet, Yuan met all of his attacks head-on, blocking them with ease.

Kulas rampaged without rest for three straight days, but eventually his body calmed, his appearance returned to normal, and he collapsed to his knees.

"What should I do, Tian Yang...?" Kulas spoke in a weak voice. "There's this voice inside my head constantly telling me to kill. I cannot contain this madness no matter how hard I try, and it gets worse every time I lose control."

He lifted his head to look at Yuan with a pleading gaze, "Please, kill me before I turn into a monster. You're the only one I can count on."

Yuan didn't respond and merely stood there in silence.