126. The Colossal Tower Collapses at Last, the Siege Behemoth Meets Its End

Old man Xue Leng’s expression turned cold as he said in a low voice, "My remnant soul does not have much time left. If you do not formally take me as your master, how am I to pass on the secret techniques of my sect, the Celestial Sword Formation?"

"The Celestial Sword Formation?" Xie Wuji exclaimed. "Wasn't what I was just practicing the Celestial Sword Arts? How did it become a sword formation?"

"The Celestial Sword Arts consist of one hundred and eight moves, each corresponding to a point in the sword formation. It is divided into thirty-six minor formations, seventy-two major formations, and the full one hundred and eight Celestial Sword Formation," Xue Leng explained. "You should be able to execute the minor formation now; its power is extraordinary. However, the seventy-two major formation and the one hundred and eight Celestial Sword Formation require the Celestial Sword to be wielded. The Celestial Sword is the treasure of our sect and is currently somewhere within the Extreme Immortal Sect. Without someone who has mastered the Celestial Sword Formation, that sword is essentially no different from scrap iron."

"If you don't have the sword, then what's the point? I have to go and break that anti-flight formation," Xie Wuji said, preparing to leave.

Xue Leng snorted, "The people of the Extreme Immortal Sect deserve to die, but it is a pity for the disciples of other sects. To me, a minor formation like the anti-flight barrier is not worth mentioning. Go to the ground, find the eye of the formation, and destroy it; the barrier will break immediately. But since you are now my disciple, you must learn this Celestial Sword Formation!"

"You said it yourself—I learn your sword arts, and you help me break the anti-flight formation," Xie Wuji retorted.

"You speak as if I were begging you to learn! Back when the Celestial Sword Sect was at its zenith, countless people clamored to be my personal disciples to learn this formation, yet I refused to teach them. You have stumbled upon a massive stroke of luck, and yet you are still unsatisfied? If I were still alive, I would certainly tan your hide!" Xue Leng said indignantly.

Xie Wuji noticed that Xue Leng’s remnant soul was becoming unstable, flickering with static like a television suffering from signal interference. He reasoned that having an extra skill might provide him with an extra path to survival and a better chance at victory. "Fine," he said. "Since I call you Master, speak, and I shall listen!"

"Good!" Xue Leng began to instruct him, imparting the mantras and mental cultivation techniques while sharing fragments of the past.

It turned out that Xue Leng had a dao companion named Tang Xueyan. Together, they had worked tirelessly to build their small sword sect into a powerhouse. Xue Leng was a martial arts prodigy who created the heaven-defying Celestial Sword Formation. It was perfect for both offense and defense.

The Celestial Sword was a unique weapon capable of creating clones. This meant that the seventy-two major formation only required one sword to create seventy-two clones to execute. The thirty-six minor formation worked the same way. While the thirty-six formation was slightly lower in rank and could be substituted with thirty-six ordinary spirit swords, the nature of the formation was so demanding that once used, those spirit swords would immediately be reduced to scrap.

The swords scattered around them had suffered that very fate. After Xue Leng was ambushed and the Celestial Sword stolen, he had used thirty-six ordinary spirit swords in a desperate attempt to defend the sect, but he ultimately failed. Had he possessed the Celestial Sword at that time, his sect would not have been annihilated. The Celestial Sword, also known as the Celestial Sword Artifact, was a rarity among weapons, designed not for dueling, but for deploying sword formations.

After about half an hour, Xie Wuji had memorized the essentials. "Master, you want me to learn your signature skill—is it so that I can use the Celestial Sword Formation to deal with the Extreme Immortal Sect?"

"This grudge has spanned too many generations. As the saying goes, when will the cycle of vengeance end? Since their founding patriarch is long dead, let it be. There is no need to stir up more trouble. I only want you to learn this formation so that it does not go extinct. Remember, to truly unleash the power of the one hundred and eight Celestial Sword Formation, you must find the Celestial Sword. And do not use the thirty-six minor formation lightly—it is quite expensive..." Xue Leng said.

Xie Wuji thought to himself that it was indeed costly; a single spirit sword was expensive enough, and using thirty-six at once was like burning money.

Just then, Xue Leng’s remnant soul suddenly dissolved into points of light that circled Xie Wuji twice.

"Disciple, my soul has reached its limit. Take this final bit of power as a welcoming gift from your master. The eye of the anti-flight formation is the prayer mat above. The skeleton was once an elder, but he was nailed to his seat—a fitting end for a villain. Beneath the mat he sits upon lies the eye of the formation."

As he spoke, the points of light poured into Xie Wuji’s dantian. Xie Wuji felt a surge of immense power flooding his limbs and bones. Upon careful inspection, he realized his cultivation had reached the seventh level of the Golden Core stage!

Xie Wuji was overjoyed, but he still bowed respectfully several times to Xue Leng’s skeletal remains before returning to the surface. He and the Blazing Demon Chicken moved the corpse aside and found the formation beneath the mat, drawn in cinnabar. Once Xie Wuji destroyed it, he felt a sudden sense of weightlessness. The Blazing Demon Chicken took flight, flapping its wings happily.

"Crack..."

A sound of shattering came from all directions. Xie Wuji looked around and saw the walls beginning to crumble. Realizing the danger, he and the chicken took off at top speed, returning to the roof of the tower.

The sect masters were delighted to see Xie Wuji return safely. "Good lad, you actually did it! Everyone, fly your weapons and get off the tower! The Heaven-Reaching Tower is about to collapse, and we old fogies are at our limit!" Xifeng Lie shouted.

For an entire hour, eight sect masters had combined their strength to keep the millions of tons of the Heaven-Reaching Tower from falling—a staggering feat. As the disciples evacuated, Xie Wuji joined Dongmen Yong and retreated into the distance.

BOOM...

The massive tower snapped at the waist and plummeted.

An even more unexpected event occurred. Li Qianjun roared hysterically, "No! Asalong, get out of there! Why are you moving so slowly!"

It turned out that as the tower fell, it was heading directly toward the siege beast, Asalong. Asalong and its young had just reached the opposite bank of the river, their swimming speed agonizingly slow. Under the stunned gazes of the crowd, the tower crashed down, its walls and debris slamming directly into Asalong.

"Moo..."

Asalong let out a mournful cry as the tower crushed it, landing squarely on its most vulnerable spot: its head. The massive, truck-sized skull collapsed instantly!

"No!" Li Qianjun’s eyes were bloodshot, his face contorted in disbelief. The unfortunate siege beast had been crushed to death by the tower before it could even reach the battlefield. Its young were unharmed, but it would take hundreds of years for an Armored Earth Dragon to grow to the size of Asalong.

Li Qianjun fell to his knees, his face pale as he muttered, "How could this happen? How could this happen?"

The other sect masters hurried over to comfort him, while the rest of the people were sent back to the plaza. Long City was in an uproar. The collapse of the Heaven-Reaching Tower and the death of the Li Kingdom's greatest siege beast were two massive disasters back-to-back, casting a dark cloud over the city. No one had expected such a tragedy.

Xie Wuji felt helpless, but he kept his silence.

"Do not speak of this again. It is best to let people believe the Beast King Mountain faction was responsible," Ji Liancheng, having seen through everything, reminded him in a low voice.

Xie Wuji offered an awkward smile. "Of course! Naturally!"