Chapter 167: The Fourth Layer of Dragon-Imprisoning Tower Unleashes an Unexpected Elite Force

Xie Wuji waved his hand, channeling his spiritual energy to its peak. Guided by his will, thirty-six spirit swords began to condense into a formation in midair.

The eighteen opposing disciples also pushed the Ultimate Immortal Soul-Locking Formation to its absolute limit. United as one, they actually summoned a Golden-Locked God of War in the center of the formation!

This Golden-Locked God of War was entirely wrapped in golden chains, looking immensely majestic. Thick and long chains hung down from each of its arms, with heavy iron balls attached to their ends.

The iron balls were massive, and under the control of the disciples, the momentum of the Golden-Locked God of War reached its zenith.

"It is said that the Golden-Locked God of War summoned by the Ultimate Immortal Soul-Locking Formation is formidable, and its full-strength strike is comparable to that of Li Qianjun," Song Zhong said. "I'm worried about whether Wuji can handle it. Although he has already reached the Nascent Soul stage, he just broke through and isn't familiar with all aspects yet. This..."

"Do not underestimate the Immortal Heaven Sword Formation... This is one of the highest cultivation techniques of the Immortal Heaven Sword Sect. The sect possesses two supreme divine arts: one is the Immortal Heaven Sword Formation, and the other is the Goddess of Nine Heavens Divine Art."

"The Goddess of Nine Heavens Divine Art?" Song Zhong looked toward the Island Mistress.

The Island Mistress nodded. "It is said that an immortal named Sun Xiaosheng once appeared and passed down the Goddess of Nine Heavens Divine Art to Tang Xueyan back then."

Down below, the Golden-Locked God of War had already swung its chained hammers straight down at Xie Wuji. With wide eyes, Xie Wuji immediately raised a sword-finger: "Rise!"

With that command, the thirty-six spirit swords soared into the air, spinning rapidly until they formed the shape of a disc.

Just then, the chained hammers struck the disc, sending vibrations through the entire space.

However, after absorbing the blow, Xie Wuji suddenly changed his strategy, driving the sword formation directly toward the enemies. Attacking instead of defending, overwhelming sword qi accompanied the flying spirit swords. The Golden-Locked God of War clearly had not expected Xie Wuji's offensive to be so ferocious.

As the sword formation pressed down, those disciples had never encountered the Immortal Heaven Sword Formation before. The true terror of the Immortal Heaven Sword Formation lay in the fact that it would drain all the spiritual energy from the spirit swords at once, reducing them to scrap metal—a truly terrifying price to pay.

A single spirit sword was already extremely valuable, costing tens of thousands of spirit stones for a good one, or at least two to three hundred spirit stones even for the poorest quality.

Xie Wuji's swords began to shatter one by one, yet the erupting spiritual energy created wave after wave of air ripples.

Swish, swish, swish!

Before breaking, the spirit swords fired toward the enemy like a Gatling machine gun.

In an instant, the Ultimate Immortal Soul-Locking Formation was riddled with holes and plunged into utter disarray. Once the formation was disrupted, the Golden-Locked God of War naturally dissipated. The remaining disciples suffered severe internal damage from the backlash of the shattered formation; they coughed up blood and were sent flying backward, some collapsing onto the ground and passing out instantly.

Looking at the fragments of spirit swords scattered all over the floor, Xie Wuji could not help feeling a sense of helplessness. After all, finding thirty-six spirit swords with identical attributes was exceedingly difficult, especially since these precious swords were the Spirit Serpent Swords bestowed upon him by Tang Qingrou, the Mistress of Serpent Island.

"Is this the Immortal Heaven Sword Formation? Such a dense attack is truly terrifying. All thirty-six spirit swords self-destructed. The explosive power of a spirit artifact self-detonating is equivalent to a full-strength strike from a cultivator of the same realm. If that's the case, it's equivalent to the simultaneous full-strength strike of thirty-six peak Nascent Soul stage experts! This..."

Everyone gasped in astonishment.

Xie Wuji did not exterminate them all. He said, "Island Mistress, let's proceed to the next level now."

Seeing Xie Wuji display such ability, Serpent Beauty Tang Qingrou fell into deep thought.

She thought to herself that Xie Wuji only possessed the strength of the first-layer Nascent Soul stage. Under normal circumstances, she would never even spare such a person a glance.

But things were different now. If Xie Wuji launched a full-scale attack against her with his thirty-six minor sword array, would she be able to defend against it perfectly?

The Serpent Beauty prided herself on her abilities and had great confidence, but seeing Xie Wuji's potential, she knew that achieving a flawless defense would be virtually impossible.

She had no intention of letting such a talent slip away easily, so she said to Xie Wuji, "Very well, you have made a great contribution in this formation!"

The Serpent Beauty then turned to Tang Xueyan and asked, "Daughter, what happened between you and him back in the labyrinth?"

Tang Xueyan's pretty face flushed red. She lowered her head and said, "Mother, I... I was useless. At the crucial moment, I panicked. After all, I had never experienced such a thing before..."

"You child..." The Serpent Beauty shook her head. "No matter. Once we secure the Immortal Heaven Sword Artifacts, we will return to Serpent Island. You will have plenty of opportunities then."

At the mere thought of what had happened earlier, Tang Xueyan's heart fluttered wildly like a startled fawn, rising and falling in agitation.

There were some things she simply did not know how to explain to her mother. Perhaps speaking of them would only make her mother scold her for being useless, so Tang Xueyan chose to keep silent.

Meanwhile, Xie Wuji looked around and managed to collect seven intact precious swords. He had a habit of collecting weapons when dealing with enemies; once he gathered thirty-six precious swords, he would be able to use the thirty-six minor sword array once again, making it a very profitable venture.

Satisfied with his discovery of the seven precious swords after looking around, he felt quite content.

"You wish to go to the fourth floor? There's no need for such trouble. We old fellows have come down ourselves to welcome you," an aged voice echoed from afar.

At that moment, three elderly men with white hair and beards, looking immensely ancient, were already standing at the entrance of the fourth floor.

The appearance of these three old men prompted Ximen Le to mock, "Did these three old fogies come down here to play mahjong with me? Haha, what a pity, this young master only likes alchemy and harbors a particular dislike for mahjong!"

" insolent brat with a sharp tongue, you truly deserve a beating!" one of the opposing elders retorted.

However, the Island Mistress recognized these three old men immediately. She said coldly, "I never expected the three of you to be guarding the final three levels of the Dragon-Imprisoning Pavilion."

"Island Mistress, you know these three?" Song Zhong asked.

The Island Mistress glanced at Song Zhong. "They are the three elder brothers of Li Qianjun: Li Qiankun, Li Lunhui, and Li Yadi."

"It seems Li Qianjun's father, which means Li Wuqiong's grandfather, was truly terrible at naming people," Xie Wuji remarked with a sigh.

"Though their cultivation levels may not surpass Li Qianjun's, their martial prowess is extraordinary. Back then, the divine ox chose Li Qianjun, so his three elder brothers willingly became sect elders. It is said that Li Qianjun is the youngest brother, and his three elder brothers are several hundred years older than him," the Island Mistress explained.

Xie Wuji also sensed pressure—a profound, deep-seated pressure that bore a striking similarity to the one he had felt from Dongmen Yong back then.

Biting his lip, Xie Wuji stared fixedly at the enemy.

The Serpent Beauty spoke up: "Since the three senior brothers are here, little sister assumes you already know the purpose of our visit without me having to spell it out?"

"Everyone knows you are a member of the Immortal Heaven Sword Sect, and because you belong to one of the ten great sects of the world, our Ultimate Immortal Sect has turned a blind eye until now. Yet you are audacious enough to attempt stealing the Immortal Heaven Sword Artifacts? Have you even asked the three of us old men for permission?" Li Qiankun said slowly.

The Serpent Beauty burst into laughter. "Interesting, truly interesting! This sword clearly belongs to the Immortal Heaven Sword Sect, yet you forcibly occupy it. And now you demand an explanation from us?"

"Very well, then I shall discipline you on behalf of your mother!" With those words, the three old men closed in with overwhelming pressure.

At that moment, the Serpent Beauty told the people behind her, "None of you interfere. None of these three are easy to deal with!"

"But, Mother!" Tang Xueyan stepped forward.

The Serpent Beauty interrupted, "There are no buts, nor do you need to worry about me. I am the Mistress of Serpent Island! Mere old men with one foot in the grave—I certainly won't lose easily."

"Haha, what an arrogant boast!" the three elders scoffed.

Flicking the long sword in her hand, the Serpent Beauty asked, "How did the three of you know we were coming?"

"There are windows here. You can look outside," Li Qiankun replied.

The Serpent Beauty was taken aback. Xie Wuji and the others hurriedly rushed to the window and looked out, only to find a vast, dense sea of people stretching as far as the eye could see—they were all disciples of the Ultimate Immortal Sect!