Chapter 1370: Crossing the Barrier

Wang Changsheng flew back to Wang Qingshan's side, while the Nascent Soul cultivator regarded him with apprehension.

Only some factions were able to reach the Immortal Suppressing Pagoda this time. The Sun Moon Palace was not among the fortunate, as their main headquarters was too distant for them to arrive quickly. Although the Sun Moon Palace's Nascent Soul cultivators were in the Five Dragon Sea Region, they lacked the necessary Immortal Suppressing Tokens. Without these tokens, Core Formation cultivators were unable to enter the pagoda.

Stone Roar flew back to Ao Qing, looking rather displeased. Ao Qing's lips moved slightly in inquiry, but Stone Roar merely shook his head.

"Look, someone has advanced to the thirty-second floor!" a voice exclaimed, drawing everyone's attention.

Each level of the Immortal Suppressing Pagoda presents unique challenges; one might face demonic beasts, cultivators, or even puppet beasts. To understand the pagoda's inner workings, it was customary to inquire with those who had successfully passed through its trials and emerged alive. While inside the pagoda, challengers could generally ask the artifact spirit some questions. However, only those who survived and exited could transmit information and offer advice to subsequent challengers.

Ye Haitang and Wang Qingling had not yet entered the Immortal Suppressing Pagoda, choosing instead to observe for a while.

The cultivators, along with Ao Qing and the other demon races, all turned their gazes towards the thirty-second floor. As the demon race was among the first group of challengers, it was unsurprising that the one who reached the thirty-second floor was a demon.

On the thirty-second floor, a middle-aged man, his body covered in blue scales, moved like a series of afterimages, expertly evading a barrage of incredibly sharp green sword energy. His opponent was a phantom of Wang Qingshan, who, at that time, possessed a cultivation of Core Formation Stage Six and wielded a complete set of flying swords. The man had heard of the Azure Lotus Sword Sovereign, but he never imagined that the Sword Sovereign would be so formidable even at the Core Formation stage.

A deafening whoosh tore through the air as a Heaven-Reaching Great Sword, over a hundred zhang long, shot towards him, appearing before him in an instant. The middle-aged man's right fist glowed with a vast dark light, and black scales emerged on his knuckles as he met the incoming sword. With a dull clang of metal, the Heaven-Reaching Great Sword was repelled, and the black scales on the middle-aged man's fist shattered, faintly revealing the bone beneath.

The Heaven-Reaching Great Sword suddenly fragmented into seven misty green flying swords, which then completely encircled the middle-aged man. "No, a sword formation!" he cried out. The seven green flying swords rapidly spun, generating a furious gale from which countless green sword energies shot forth, slashing at the middle-aged man. The middle-aged man found it difficult to breathe as razor-sharp sword energy assailed him from all directions.

"Ah!"

With a pained cry, the middle-aged man could not withstand the assault for long and was shredded into a spray of blood by the dense sword energy.

A flash of golden light revealed a young girl in a golden dress, the artifact spirit of the Immortal Suppressing Pagoda. "You weren't satisfied with merely passing the thirty-first floor? Human greed knows no bounds, like a snake trying to swallow an elephant. Truly beyond saving." The artifact spirit murmured to herself before turning to the phantom of Wang Qingshan. "Azure Lotus Sword Sovereign!" she stated, "If you had cultivated to Core Formation Stage Nine before attempting this challenge, you might have reached the thirty-sixth floor. What a pity; luck is also a part of strength." She then collected the middle-aged man's body and vanished in a shower of golden light.

On the eighteenth floor, Wang Qingjing stood observing. A golden ape puppet beast, over ten zhang tall, furiously attacked a mountain-sized red colossal elephant. Nearby, a golden giant eagle puppet beast, also over ten zhang in size, was locked in fierce combat with a green giant eagle adorned with six wings on its back.

Wang Qingjing raised a hand, and a green light shot forth, revealing a palm-sized green gourd. Its surface was covered with rice-grain-sized runes, exuding an imposing spiritual aura. As she chanted an incantation, the green gourd unleashed a torrent of wind, which transformed into dozens of massive, door-sized wind blades that instantly struck the red colossal elephant.

*Rumble!*

A series of roars erupted. The red colossal elephant's thick, long trunk was severed by the barrage of massive wind blades. The ape puppet beast then swung a huge golden mace, smashing it against the red colossal elephant's head, causing the beast to dissolve into specks of green light and vanish.

The golden colossal ape opened its mouth and unleashed a pale golden sonic wave. The green giant eagle was caught off guard, struck by the golden wave, and sent crashing uncontrollably into the stone wall. Before it could recover, hundreds of foot-long golden flying swords instantly descended upon its body, while a colossal golden mace simultaneously slammed down.

*Rumble!*

The green giant eagle also dissolved into specks of spiritual light and vanished. Wang Qingjing exhaled in relief and retracted her puppet beasts.

A golden light illuminated the area, revealing over a dozen golden jade tables, each bearing a treasure. "I choose to continue the challenge," she declared.

A shimmering silver aura rose from the ground, enveloping Wang Qingjing. She suddenly found herself in a nearly identical grand hall. This time, her opponents were three golden giant eagles, each five zhang in size, with claws remarkably similar to, and as sharp as, those of a tiger. Following an extremely bizarre screech, the three golden giant eagles descended from above, swooping down on Wang Qingjing. Wang Qingjing promptly conjured three watermelon-sized metallic spheres, which transformed into two golden giant eagles and one green giant eagle, engaging the three golden giant eagles. For a time, continuous roars filled the air. While Wang Qingjing used her puppet beasts to progress through the challenge, her magic power consumption was minimal; however, her spiritual sense was heavily taxed.

On the twenty-second floor, Wang Qingjun held a red banner, a zhang in length. With a gentle wave, a red light flashed, and a colossal, water-tank-sized fireball shot forth, slamming into a tall man in a green robe. Rolling flames immediately engulfed the man. Two golden ape puppet beasts, over ten zhang tall, swung their maces, striking into the inferno.

*Rumble!*

After a deafening crash, the man in the green robe vanished.

A golden light illuminated the area, revealing over a dozen golden jade tables, each bearing a treasure. Wang Qingjun let out a breath of relief, stowed his magical artifacts and puppet beasts, and declared, "I will continue the challenge."

On the twenty-fifth floor, three gleaming golden-armored guards relentlessly assaulted Wang Huayu. With every swing of their enormous golden swords, they unleashed incredibly sharp golden sword energy. Wang Huayu, having transformed into a wisp of clear breeze, zipped around the spacious hall, making it impossible for the golden-armored guards to land a blow. Wang Huayu raised both hands, unleashing a volley of door-sized green wind blades that struck the golden-armored guards. A dull "dinging" sound echoed, leaving only faint white scratches on their armor.

Wang Huayu's brow furrowed slightly. His initial probing revealed that the golden-armored guards were swift and possessed formidable defenses, making them impervious to ordinary attacks. With an incantation, his body radiated brilliant green light, instantly transforming into a towering green tornado over a hundred zhang tall, which then swept towards the three golden-armored guards. The three golden-armored guards simultaneously swung their massive golden swords, sending three streaks of golden sword energy, each over ten zhang long, slashing into the green tornado. The impact was like punching soft cotton, producing no sound whatsoever. The green tornado then flared with a dazzling emerald light, and countless green wind blades burst forth, striking the three golden-armored guards one after another. A muffled "dinging" sound accompanied each impact, leaving multiple faint white marks on their armor. The green tornado roared as it enveloped them, drawing them into its swirling vortex.

*Rumble!*

Following an earth-shattering roar, the green tornado dissipated, revealing Wang Huayu's form. A pile of mangled metal scraps then plummeted from the air, crashing onto the floor.

A golden light illuminated the vicinity, revealing over a dozen golden jade tables, each bearing a treasure. "I will continue the challenge!"