Wuji, a peerless hero of his age, descends into the bottomless abyss of the Heavens.

Soon after, disciples from other sects also arrived at the tower’s summit. The rankings for the order of arrival were announced: first place went to the Danxia Sect, second to Beast King Mountain, and third to the Mountain Collapse Sect. To everyone’s surprise, the renowned Supreme Immortal Sect ranked only seventh—an outcome that stunned all present.

The most boastful was naturally Xifeng Lie from Beast King Mountain, who laughed heartily, “Well deserved! But congratulations to Danxia Sect for claiming the crown in this climbing competition. Such prowess truly marks them as one of the elite among the top ten sects!”

Dongmen Yong smiled silently and returned Xifeng Lie’s salute.

Yet, everyone could see that the true winner was Xifeng Lie himself, as his sect had placed second in both the overall sect rankings and the current competition—a truly remarkable achievement.

As for the Supreme Immortal Sect, despite being the host, their lowly seventh-place finish in the ranking race was utterly unexpected.

In the distance, Asalon was slowly departing, moving at a leisurely pace with numerous younglings trailing behind.

The frenzied beasts, intimidated by the combined might of the ten sect leaders, gradually withdrew from the Tower of Ascension.

The elders of the Supreme Immortal Sect wore grim expressions. Upon receiving the command, they prepared to leave.

But at that moment, a sound emanated from the Tower of Ascension.

“What’s that noise?” asked the sword expert Dongmen Jianhao.

Xie Wuji leaned forward and was struck dumb—the cracks at the base of the tower suddenly began to widen rapidly!

“Terrible! The Tower of Ascension is about to collapse!” a disciple cried out.

At this declaration, the Supreme Immortal Sect’s leader, Li Qianjun, turned ashen, his face darkening like bruised flesh. The Tower of Ascension was the most symbolically significant building in the entire Li Kingdom—the pride of the nation!

If the Tower collapsed, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Xie Wuji understood the gravity of the situation. It was akin to the Statue of Liberty breaking at the waist, or the Eiffel Tower suddenly toppling—though outwardly just a building falling, it was a slap to the very face of every citizen in Li Kingdom.

“We cannot let it fall!” Li Qianjun shouted desperately to those around him.

At this moment, Xifeng Lie realized the seriousness of the situation and said to a middle-aged woman nearby, “Dai Mengru, lead the disciples around here to safety. You are skilled in teleportation arrays—make sure no one is left behind.”

“I’ll go too. Among all the sect leaders here, I’m the least experienced and the weakest,” said another woman, a delicate and ethereal beauty—the serpent island’s chief, the Serpent Fairy. She was younger than Xie Wuji but had already reached the Nascent Soul stage, which was considered low-tier among the sect leaders.

Dai Mengru, the leader of Red Dust Valley, was a woman of enduring charm. Once famed as the most beautiful woman in the world in her youth, she was now over 120 years old but still gracefully alluring. From afar, one might mistake her for a young woman. Typically, those who reach high cultivation levels early maintain youthful appearances, and Dai Mengru’s past strength had been formidable.

Red Dust Valley’s disciples were always clear-headed and taciturn, devoted entirely to the Dao, so their high cultivation levels were expected.

The Tower of Ascension had tilted. The sect leaders divided responsibilities clearly, striving to prevent further collapse.

But with the tower towering over a thousand meters, humans seemed minuscule in its shadow. Despite their best efforts to stabilize it, the cracks multiplied and spread relentlessly.

Li Qianjun’s expression worsened. They had intended to hold the competition nearby to showcase the Li Kingdom’s strength, but no one expected that the kingdom’s strongest siege beast, Asalon, would strike the tower twice.

The siege beast’s path was one of destruction; its tail hammer was devastatingly powerful. Those two blows had already caused irreversible damage.

Xie Wuji remained silent—he alone understood the full story behind these events.

If he revealed it, he would surely be beaten to death. Yet, his intentions had been good; he only wished for the Supreme Immortal Sect not to hinder the other disciples. Who would have thought that just a little powder could fracture such a towering monument?

“It won’t hold much longer!” Dongmen Yong said. “The Tower’s weight exceeds ten million jin. Even if we support it with all our strength, it will collapse within an hour, and we will all perish here!”

“The shaking is too severe; we cannot set up teleportation arrays!” Dai Mengru said.

Seeing death closing in on them, Li Qianjun declared, “Someone must go to the tower’s base and dismantle the Flying Prohibition Array set by the Supreme Immortal Sect’s founding ancestor. Only then can we fly with our artifacts or beasts! Otherwise, no one here will be able to take to the skies!”

“Damn it! Going down there is almost certainly a death sentence, a one in ten chance of survival!” Xifeng Lie’s face was grim.

Xie Wuji glanced at the Fiery Demon Chicken. Perhaps out of a sense of guilt, he said, “Leaders, I will go. My Fiery Demon Chicken doesn’t rely solely on wings and spiritual energy to fly—it can also shoot flames from its tail like a soaring monkey, propelling us at incredible speeds. It’s thanks to this ability that I won the tower climbing challenge.”

All eyes turned to Xie Wuji, making him the center of attention.

The Serpent Fairy looked at him and suddenly thought he seemed like a giant, crowned with an aura of light.

Xifeng Lie said, “Dongmen Yong, you’ve truly taken on a fine disciple. At a moment like this, he fears no sacrifice and only wishes to help everyone. Such noble spirit commands our respect.”

Xifeng Lie’s words brought solemn respect from those around, but Dongmen Yong showed no joy. He gripped Xie Wuji’s shoulder firmly.

“Wuji, you’re being too reckless. Do you realize that array was set by the Supreme Immortal Sect’s founding ancestor? Such arrays often contain hidden mechanisms. If you trigger one, you’re done for!”

“But if I don’t go, aside from the sect leaders’ strong magic, all other disciples here will perish…” Xie Wuji replied earnestly.

In truth, Xie Wuji felt uncertain, but since this crisis arose because of him, if everyone here were to fall because of the Flying Prohibition Array, he couldn’t bear the guilt.

Baili Qingyan clutched his chest, staring hard at Xie Wuji, his heart in turmoil. “Wuji has been watching me all along. Could it be he cares? That he’s stepping up out of concern, not wanting me to die?”

For a moment, Baili Qingyan’s heart fluttered wildly, confusion swirling within.

Dongmen Yong gritted his teeth, striving with the other leaders to keep the tower from toppling. Naturally, he did not want Dongmen Jianhao and the others to perish here.

Now, Xie Wuji was indeed capable; his chicken could become their savior.

“Very well, go then—but remember, preserve your life! Don’t forget, Qianyun is waiting outside. If anything happens to you, that girl will be heartbroken!”

“Master, rest assured!” Xie Wuji bowed deeply, then leapt onto the Fiery Demon Chicken’s back. He patted its feathers, “Brother Chicken, now it’s up to us to perform a miracle. Let’s go!”

“Cluck, cluck!” The Fiery Demon Chicken roared fiercely, blasting a pillar of flame from its tail as it soared toward the tower’s base.

Everyone watched Xie Wuji with solemn respect, their faces devoid of other emotion. At this moment, he was like the brightest morning star in the sky.

Xie Wuji saw the tower’s walls riddled with cracks. Though they appeared small from afar, up close they were large enough for a person to enter.

“Let’s go!” Xie Wuji and Brother Chicken plunged into the fissures…