With a wicked chuckle, the figure emerged from the shadows, his voice dripping with contempt: "At last, I've found you, Li Xiao, Prince of the Tang Dynasty. This time, there's nowhere left for you to run."
His words sliced through the tense air like a blade. "Do you truly believe you can escape into the forbidden land of the gods? Foolishness. No matter how far you flee, your fate is sealed. There will be no savior to pull you from this abyss."
The generals of Chen Guo, standing behind him, wore expressions twisted with cruelty, their eyes glinting with murderous intent. "Look, General," one muttered, "They've stopped, kneeling before us... Are they surrendering?"
"Surrender?" Another sneered. "It won't matter. Their fate is already written. No plea will save them."
The wind howled, and the storm of hatred and bloodshed gathered around them, yet even in the face of it all, Li Xiao remained resolute. His heart burned with the fire of vengeance. There would be no retreat, no weakness. He would stand firm.
"Wait, General! Look ahead!" A soldier's voice broke through the rising tension, panic lacing his words.
General Chen Guo's eyes darted to the horizon. "What is it?"
"An enormous figure... a giant!" the soldier cried out.
The generals of Chen Guo stiffened. "No... it's no mere giant," another murmured, his voice filled with awe and dread. "It is an ancient deity... an entity from the forbidden land of the gods!"
The soldiers of Chen Guo fell silent, their gazes lifting in unison to the sky, where an immense figure, towering like a mountain, began to take form. It loomed over them, a being so vast that its toes seemed to stretch into the earth itself, causing the very air to vibrate with its presence.
The sight was enough to freeze the blood in their veins. In the face of this divine force, the soldiers, once resolute, now seemed but ants beneath the shadow of a god.
"What... What is this?" General Chen Guo gasped, his heart sinking as the reality of the situation settled upon him.
"Master General, it's coming closer... The ancient god is drawing near," a soldier cried, his voice shaking with terror.
"Scatter! Retreat! If it reaches us, all is lost!" another soldier shouted, the panic spreading like wildfire.
"Silence!" General Chen Guo roared, his voice cutting through the chaos. "Those who harmed my brother Wuxian are nearby. This 'ancient god' is but a colossal beast. We shall fight it, together!"
His words burned with the ferocity of vengeance. His eyes, filled with fury, scanned the ranks. "String your bows! Let fly the arrows! No god can withstand the might of our army."
And so, without hesitation, the Chen Guo forces drew their bows, a wave of arrows soaring through the air towards the towering figure. The rain of arrows fell like a thousand storms.
But as they neared, they were repelled by an unseen barrier, bouncing harmlessly off the protective shield of the divine being. The soldiers stared in disbelief.
"Impossible," one muttered, "Our weapons cannot harm it. This is truly an ancient god!"
Panic surged once more. "The heavens have abandoned us!" they cried.
The ground beneath them trembled, and then—BOOM! A deafening roar shattered the air, a sound so mighty it seemed to reverberate through the very bones of the earth. The ancient god had spoken, its voice like thunder from the heavens, crashing into the soldiers' minds with the force of a cosmic storm.
"What's happening? What is this force?" General Chen Guo clutched his ears, his face pale. The air itself seemed to reverberate with an unfathomable power.
"It's speaking! The ancient god speaks—but we cannot understand it!" A soldier screamed, his voice a mix of fear and awe.
"The Primordial God is enraged," someone whispered, eyes wide with terror. "Our attack has provoked its wrath. We are doomed."
And so, as the forces of Chen Guo faltered under the weight of fear, a new terror loomed on the horizon—the wrath of a being far beyond their understanding.
In the midst of it all, the towering presence of the Primordial God, Xia Chuan, descended from the heavens. Originating from Xuanhuangxing, he was not merely a god but a force of nature itself. Possessing the ancient bronze door, a gateway to realms unknown, Xia Chuan had traversed worlds, and now he stood before the trembling forces of Chen Guo.
Unaware of the tumult his appearance had caused, Xia Chuan surveyed this strange world—its landscape so small, the mountains barely rising above his waist, the rivers no larger than streams. The inhabitants, minuscule in comparison, scurried beneath his feet like ants.
"Hmm?" He pondered, his gaze lowering to the ground, where an unsettling sight met his eyes. The earth was alive with insects—ants, swarming in countless numbers, oblivious to his towering presence.
Xia Chuan grimaced. "This place... too many ants."