Chapter 1929: Ten Absolute Ten Desolate Formation

"I surrender."

Mid-fight, the most powerful of the five grand elders, an old man draped in a white robe, suddenly ceased his movements. He stood calmly in mid-air, his hands clasped behind his back.

For the first time, reverence appeared in his eyes as he gazed at Xu Yang.

"What the hell?" they exclaimed. "They just surrendered in the middle of the fight?" Below, Nangong and the others exchanged bewildered glances, none of their companions having expected such an outcome.

Not long after, the old Daoist priest and the Puppet King burst into laughter.

"Are these truly the so-called five strongest Martial God-level living fossils of the Empire?" the old Daoist priest scoffed. "Before Sir Xu Yang, they are truly no match at all."

The red-clad woman, Xu Yang's most ardent admirer, decidedly nodded repeatedly and didn't forget to give the old Daoist priest beside her a thumbs-up.

"You old geezer, you finally said something agreeable," she said. "In the world of martial arts, age and strength are not necessarily proportional. Before Brother Xu Yang, these old-fashioned fellows have long been abandoned by the times."

Regardless of the mockery from the younger Martial God-level disciples of Changyun Heavenly Sect below, the five living fossils in mid-air seemed to have lost all desire to continue fighting Xu Yang.

Because the strongest of the five, the white-robed old man, was the first to give up, the other four also lost the will to fight Xu Yang to the death.

They knew very well that if the battle continued, they would have no chance of winning at all. The only difference would be whether all five of them would perish at Xu Yang's hands, or if one or two might survive.

Xu Yang revealed a satisfied smile. At the same time, he gradually withdrew the immense Eternal Sword Dao behind him, and did not continue to attack the five living fossils and powerhouses.

"Very good. A wise man knows when to yield," Xu Yang stated. "You five were originally the very embodiment and faith of the Empire's martial arts. As long as you turn over a new leaf, I don't necessarily have to take your lives. However, to negotiate terms with me, Xu Yang, mere words are useless. You must show enough sincerity and give me a reason to cooperate with you."

The five Martial God-level elders exchanged glances. Finally, the strongest white-robed old man, acting as their representative, slowly spoke to Xu Yang.

"As long as you are confident that you can clear out all the dark force disciples and their teams who have infiltrated the entire palace, the five of us can join your ranks," he said.

In reality, Xu Yang had long since planned how to control these five most powerful Martial God-level pawns. He was just waiting for these five old fellows to voluntarily yield.

"Hahahaha, Martial God-level living fossils are indeed excellent helpers for me," Xu Yang laughed. "Next, I need to rescue my teammates and companions. However, the spiritual energy I released earlier didn't detect any fluctuations of their aura. What's going on?"

The leading white-robed Martial God slowly replied, "That's because the dark force disciples have transferred all the most important hostages to an underground dungeon.

"What you don't know is, inside the Imperial Palace's back garden, there is a massive underground dungeon. Originally, that place was prepared for the true old emperor, who is accompanying you.

"However, something happened later, and the Priest, who controls the dark forces, temporarily decided to seal the true old emperor in the Misty Mountain Range.

"That underground dungeon then lay abandoned for many years. Now, to deal with the powerful individuals you've brought, the Priest remembered to reactivate that long-abandoned underground dungeon and set up an extremely powerful ancient magic array around its surface.

"We five old fellows can help you find the entrance to the magic array and lend you a hand in breaking the array's seal.

"We can also take responsibility for clearing out the dark force spies stationed outside the palace. We can guard the entrance for you, but if you wish to enter the dungeon below to rescue people, you'll have to rely on yourselves.

"If you manage to return alive from the underground dungeon, then we five old fellows will choose to support the old emperor's reinstallation. However, let me be frank.

"If you lack the ability to rescue your companions and ultimately become puppets in the Priest's hands, then the five of us will not hesitate to continue supporting the Priest."

Although his words sounded quite ironic, the five living fossils, who were considered the embodiment of the Empire's martial arts faith, didn't even possess the conviction to protect what they supposedly cherished. They were merely five old opportunists, ready to betray the Empire for their own self-interest.

But as the saying goes, there are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests. Currently, the relationship between Xu Yang and these five old fellows was merely maintained by mutual benefit as partners.

"Good. I agree with the method you proposed," Xu Yang said. "There's no need for any further entanglements; our two sides are merely in a cooperative relationship.

"However, I advise you, do not try any tricks. As for this mere underground dungeon, it absolutely cannot seal us. If the Priest dares to oppose me, Xu Yang, then it can only lead to a dead end."

Xu Yang's words were utterly domineering, but he certainly had the power to back them up.

After establishing this temporary cooperative relationship, the five Martial God-level living fossils indeed did not continue to fight Xu Yang. Instead, they decisively guided Xu Yang's team toward the hidden eye of the ancient magic array located in the back garden.

Soon after, everyone involved arrived at the eye of the ancient magic array in the back garden. This ancient magic array was quite unique, formed by the convergence of ten different array eyes.

If those five old fellows hadn't known the hidden location of this array's core, even Xu Yang would have required considerable effort to locate it using his spiritual energy. The white-robed Martial God slowly spoke.

"This is the true ancient magic array that seals the underground dungeon, named the Ten Absolute Desolation Array," he stated.

No sooner had the white-robed Martial God finished speaking than Xuanguang, from the crowd nearby, clasped his hands together and recited a Buddhist chant.

"Amitabha," Xuanguang uttered. "The Ten Absolute Desolation Array is one of the ten forbidden magic arrays of the Ancient Martial God Path. It was lost tens of thousands of years ago. I can't believe it has reappeared in our era."

Xuanguang knew the name of this ancient forbidden magic array and its specific details because he once studied under a former abbot of Huaguang Temple, who was also a true Martial God-level powerhouse.

During the era of righteousness, that abbot had once encountered the seal of this very array. He later broke the array using his unique Buddhist Golden Body.

According to the information Xuanguang shared, Xu Yang quickly understood that to break this eerie ancient forbidden magic array, ten Martial God-level powerhouses would need to act simultaneously. Furthermore, it would require sacrificing their own life force essence to potentially activate the only living array eye of this forbidden ancient array.