125. Beneath the Tower of Heaven Lies the Universe, the Immortal Celestial Sword Unyielding Through the Ages

Upon entering the fissure, the view before Xie Wuji suddenly opened up. He found himself in a grand hall, its walls lined with wall lamps. These lamps were crafted from crystals of immense value, glowing as if they would burn for eternity.

Xie Wuji stepped onto the floor, observing the surroundings and noting several peculiar details. The ground was paved with stone slabs, each intricately carved with patterns that appeared both dazzling and exquisite. Accompanied by the Blazing Demon Chicken, he spotted a door not far ahead. It had been sealed from the inside, making it impossible to open from the outside; to gain entry, one would have had to breach the wall itself.

It seemed the Sky-Piercing Tower held secrets of its own. Although Xie Wuji had initially doubted the legends that the tower concealed something, it now seemed entirely plausible. The hall was furnished like a place for meditation, and in the distance, a skeleton sat in a cross-legged position—a practitioner who had passed away while in meditation.

Xie Wuji approached, curious about the identity of the remains. If this were the founding master of the Extreme Immortal Sect, he might hold the key to breaking the flight-prohibition array. However, a closer look revealed nothing but a cloak draped over the bones. It looked quite meager; if this were truly the sect’s founder, he surely would have received a grand burial rather than dying in such a place, unless he had been betrayed. Given the layout of this sealed chamber, it was entirely possible the man had been imprisoned here, left to starve to death.

Xie Wuji wandered around, finding no mechanisms or arrays. He began to wonder if he had come to the wrong place or if there were no arrays at all. Yet, after searching repeatedly, he still found no clues. Meanwhile, the fissures in the surrounding walls were widening, and stone debris began to rain down from above. If he could not find the array soon, he would be unable to leave and would surely be buried alive. Xie Wuji had no intention of dying in such a godforsaken place.

He sat on a stone step and muttered to the Blazing Demon Chicken, "This place seems utterly ordinary. Those old codgers must have tricked me!"

"Cluck, cluck..." The Blazing Demon Chicken circled the skeleton twice, then suddenly let out a cry and tugged at the cloak, pulling it off the bones.

"What are you doing?" Xie Wuji exclaimed. "That is a senior! That is highly disrespectful—wait..."

He saw words inscribed on the cloak. Picking it up and spreading it out on the floor, he realized with a start that it was a blueprint of the Sky-Piercing Tower. Though the architectural style of this world was strange, Xie Wuji could decipher it. The blueprint indicated that the first floor was sealed, and above it stood eighty-one levels. Once the height exceeded three hundred meters, the tower was essentially hollow, as the construction standards of this era could not match those of the modern world. Eighty-one levels appeared to be the structural limit.

However, the cloak noted that beneath this ground level lay a hidden floor, making the tower eighty-two levels in total. Following the blueprint, Xie Wuji went to a statue behind the skeleton. It depicted a middle-aged man with long, flowing hair and a clean-shaven, resolute face. Behind the statue’s legs, he found a cavity large enough to insert a hand. It was inconspicuous, as the statue itself was weathered and uneven.

When Xie Wuji reached inside, he quickly grasped a switch. As he pulled it, the skeleton crumbled into a pile of bone fragments. Simultaneously, a staircase leading downward appeared beneath the remains.

Overjoyed, Xie Wuji descended, only to discover a chamber filled with human remains. It was hard to imagine how many had perished when the Extreme Immortal Sect was first founded, as the bones were piled high, carpeting the entire path. Due to the passage of time, the moment the outside air rushed in upon the opening of the switch, the bones instantly weathered into ash.

Xie Wuji took out his smartphone and turned on the flashlight. The beam cut through the darkness. Among the remains, he saw various weapons, but they had long since lost their luster, rendered useless by the ages. He picked up a long sword, only for it to snap in two.

Suddenly, a chill ran down his spine. He turned, half-expecting a ghost, but instead saw inscriptions on the wall. He could vaguely make them out: "My name is Xue Leng, the last sect leader of the Immortal Heaven Sword Sect. The Extreme Immortal Sect launched a treacherous attack while I was in seclusion, slaughtering all eight thousand of my inner disciples. I have failed my ancestors, yet I cannot bear for my life's work to be lost. In this tomb, I leave behind the Immortal Heaven Sword, the sect’s supreme treasure. May a fated soul find it and exact revenge for me..."

As Xie Wuji followed the inscriptions, he came upon a stone tablet engraved with a set of sword techniques. The moment he laid eyes on them, his mind felt as if it were about to explode, bringing on a wave of intense agony. Yet, the sword moves sprouted in his mind like bamboo shoots after rain, forming a complete set of techniques. He picked up a stray sword, and the moment he grasped it, he felt a sense of unity between man and blade; his strength felt many times greater than before.

However, parts of the tablet had eroded over time, leaving only the primary outlines of the techniques and a sword formation; the rest was illegible. As he practiced, the tablet cracked, and a phantom appeared before him. Looking like a restless spirit, it startled Xie Wuji, who dropped the sword and stood on guard.

"Do not be afraid, child. I am Xue Leng. I set a barrier here; if someone were to learn the Immortal Heaven Sword techniques, my lingering soul would manifest. My true body has long since decayed..."

"Senior, are you dead?" Xie Wuji asked tentatively.

"What is speaking to you now is merely a remnant of my soul, an consciousness left behind before my death, along with my supreme techniques sealed within this tablet. Are you... a member of the Extreme Immortal Sect?" the spirit asked.

Xie Wuji quickly cupped his hands. "Senior, I am Xie Wuji of the Danxia Sect. Well... to be precise, I should say I am of the Undying Longevity Sect."

"The Undying Longevity Sect? I didn't think it still existed," the old man sighed in surprise.

"Senior knows of the Undying Longevity Sect?" Xie Wuji exclaimed.

"In my era, there were three giants: the Undying Longevity Sect, the Immortal Heaven Sword Sect, and the Moon-Worshipping Cult," the old man replied.

Xie Wuji laughed. "The Undying Longevity Sect has been destroyed. I haven't heard of the Moon-Worshipping Cult, but I know that among the current top ten sects, there is one called the Waning Moon Cult."

"Moon-Worshipping became Waning Moon? Hahaha! They have finally met their end! Back then, the Moon-Worshipping Cult committed every evil imaginable; they were loathed by heaven and man alike. Finally, they are gone! Hahaha!" The old man laughed heartily.

Xie Wuji briefly explained the turn of events, and the old man grasped the situation. "So, you carry the heavy burden of restoring the Undying Longevity Sect?"

"That is about the size of it. It’s a difficult task, but I shall do my best..." Xie Wuji said with a bitter smile.

The old man stared at him for a long moment. "Come here and kowtow three times to those remains."

"The remains?"

"That is my earthly shell," the old man said.

Xie Wuji was perplexed, but he noticed those were the only remains in the room that had not weathered away. *Fine, you are a senior,* he thought. He decided not to argue with someone who had been dead for a thousand years. After he kowtowed three times, the old man laughed loudly. "To think that even in death, I could take on a disciple! Haha!"

"What? You want me to be your disciple? You're setting me up!" Xie Wuji cried out.