Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Colossal Hand of Heaven

"Heh heh, my esteemed Prophet, just two days without seeing me and you've already forgotten me?"
Out of the mist suddenly emerged a pale face.
Still clad in a voluminous black cloak, his lowered hood revealed half a face, indistinct and elusive.
It was the False Prophet!
The enigmatic and mysterious False Prophet appeared once more, and this time, in the midst of the Burial Grounds of Ten Thousand.
Guan Qian watched the False Prophet in silence, waiting for him to speak. Guan Qian was certain that the False Prophet’s sudden appearance would bring forth something extraordinary; he would not choose such a setting without reason.
"Eh, my Prophet, why so quiet? We're hardly strangers now. Seeing an old friend, you won’t even greet me? Ah! You truly disappoint me," the False Prophet said, feigning disappointment.
No one would believe the sincerity of his words. This was a man adept at deception. Guan Qian would rather face straightforward villains than deal with such a person.
The cunning and danger inherent here were obvious!
"Speak. Why are you here?" Guan Qian demanded coldly, his expression stern.
"Heh heh—" The False Prophet gave a faint smile, a chilling murderous aura emanating from him.
"My Prophet, only one day and one night remain. You’d better hurry. If you fail to acquire the Gate Key within three days—" The False Prophet’s tone was calm, but his words carried venom.
"Is there anything else? If not, you may disappear," Guan Qian said with a frown. He didn’t need reminding; time was running short. He had to find the Gate Key quickly or humanity would be on the brink of disaster.
"Heh heh—my Prophet, we’ve just met, and you’re already rushing me off? That seems a bit rude. I’m here to borrow something from you." The False Prophet’s smile did not reach his eyes.
"Hmph, there's nothing here for you to borrow," Guan Qian retorted, his tone domineering and full of disdain. He was thoroughly disgusted by the False Prophet’s words.
"Don’t be so melodramatic, my Prophet. Then I’ll borrow a person first. Surely you won’t object?" The False Prophet turned his gaze towards several figures outside the Burial Grounds.
"What are you planning?" Guan Qian instantaneously appeared before the False Prophet. Was he going to use a hostage against him?
Guan Qian’s mind raced, uncertain of the False Prophet’s true intentions.

"My Prophet, you don’t object, do you? I’m sincerely here to borrow someone," the False Prophet said, shaking his head with a plaintive tone.
"No!" Guan Qian said, his gaze icy. No matter how genuine the False Prophet’s expression seemed, it could not conceal his sinister aura.
"Heh heh—" The False Prophet let out a dry laugh and suddenly vanished from Guan Qian’s sight.
"Damn!" Guan Qian realized instantly and disappeared from his spot as well.
But when he reappeared before Mo Han and the others, he found someone missing.
Jiang Qiang was gone!
"Guan Qian, where did you take Jiang Qiang?" Mo Han exclaimed, shocked. Just a moment ago, the unconscious Jiang Qiang had been carried away by ‘Guan Qian’, and now Guan Qian stood before him empty-handed.
"Guan Qian, the False Prophet—" Tang Ru Yan, having recognized the False Prophet’s true identity, frowned and spoke.
"Damn it, if you so much as harm Jiang Qiang, don’t blame me for cutting you to pieces!" Guan Qian roared into the distance, furious that the False Prophet had snatched someone right under his nose.
"Heh heh—my Prophet, I’ll take good care of her for you. As for you, you’d best look out for yourself," the False Prophet’s sinister words echoed through the mist before fading into silence.
"Hmph!" Guan Qian snorted, the crackling of his palms filling the air. Jiang Qiang was in the hands of the False Prophet, her fate uncertain, and only a day and night remained before the deadline to obtain the Gate Key. With dangers and unknowns ahead, Guan Qian felt the mounting pressure.
"Guan—Guan Qian, that person just now wasn’t you?" Fang He swallowed hard, suddenly recalling how the three of them had been brought to this cursed place by a ‘Guan Qian’ in a black cloak.
"You saw it yourselves. That one who looked exactly like me…" Guan Qian slowly explained what had happened.
"Damn, that guy is too devious!" Mo Han nearly lost control, his eyes red with rage. The three of them had been unwittingly entangled by the False Prophet; had luck not favored them, their deaths would have been untraceable.
"My god, so this place is extremely dangerous now!" Fang He, wrapped in gold bars, nervously scanned his surroundings with shifty eyes.
"Guan Qian, what do we do now?" Tang Ru Yan asked anxiously. The situation was dire.
Jiang Qiang was kidnapped, crisis loomed ahead, and the quest for the Gate Key in such a short time was fraught with peril—especially with the cunning, sinister False Prophet lurking in the shadows.
Everything stood in their way. Yet retreat was no longer possible; even if the outcome was uncertain, they had to overcome countless dangers.

The survival of humanity now rested entirely upon their shoulders!
"Rumble—"
Thunder streaked across the sky, heavy leaden clouds churning like a thousand galloping horses, shaking the heavens.
Guan Qian gazed upward, white light flickering in his pale eyes, reflecting the turbulent leaden clouds above.
The mass of clouds grew denser and grayer, low and oppressive, suffocating in its heaviness.
The leaden clouds twisted and rolled, rising and sinking, making the sky ever darker and more forbidding.
"Damn, even a rainstorm makes such a fuss. How’s anyone supposed to survive this?" Fang He squinted, spat, and muttered under his breath.
"Crackle—"
A giant lightning bolt, like a celestial dragon, struck down from the clouds, hitting the ground just a meter from Fang He. Stones flew, dust rose, and a blackened pit appeared.
"Uh, I was just talking, no need for such violence!" Fang He gulped, nearly dropping his bundle of gold bars in fright.
"Hiss—"
Suddenly, before everyone’s eyes, the seething clouds turned into a colossal hand from the heavens, its terrifying pressure and deadly aura chilling them to the bone.
"Whoosh—"
The enormous hand, like a net cast over the world, swept down upon them all!