Those who could lead the contingents of the Seven Great Families and Three Major Sects were, without a doubt, extraordinary individuals.

Furthermore, after this period of tempering, they had each had their own fortuitous encounters, and their cultivation and combat power had taken a qualitative leap forward.

Setting aside their cultivation, in terms of combat power alone, they had already surpassed everyone beneath them.

Even cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Perfection Realm were no longer a match for them, to say nothing of the fact that... they each possessed their own ultimate killing techniques!

Ling Dong, the second senior brother of the Flowing Cloud Sect, Su Hao, Wei Xiaolang, Nangong Jinjie, and Cang Lengshan—the six of them—unleashed their attacks on Jiang Jichen from six different directions.

Spiritual Light flared, otherworldly phenomena manifested, Spiritual Patterns condensed into arrays, and the air filled with the glint of blades and the shadows of swords... As these terrifying attacks descended, even a cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Perfection Realm would have been instantly obliterated, their Divine Soul utterly destroyed!

There were the Three Thousand Dao Skills of Lingxu Temple, the Misty Sword Intent of the Flowing Cloud Sect, the Su Family’s Mysterious Rune Array...

From the very start, they used their ultimate techniques, clearly intending to obliterate Jiang Jichen in a single, decisive blow, giving him no further opportunities.

"Hmph! He’s dead for sure this time!"

Nangong Jinjie said coldly.

"A mere mortal ant, trying to overturn the heavens. How absurd!"

Ling Dong added with a sneer.

They were certain that this attack would kill Jiang Jichen. There was no other possibility.

Among the group, the ones who hated Jiang Jichen the most were undoubtedly Ling Dong and Nangong Jinjie.

The effects of the joint attack had yet to fade, but the two of them couldn’t wait to speak and express their glee.

Only the second senior brother of the Flowing Cloud Sect and Wei Xiaolang still had grave expressions, their eyes locked on the center of the bombardment.

The area was shrouded in dust and smoke, and a bottomless crater had been blasted into the earth.

But... they couldn’t see any sign of Jiang Jichen.

’Has he been blasted to dust?’

The same thought occurred to everyone at once.

But... just as this thought arose, they suddenly heard screams from nearby.

And... the sound of heads being severed.

’What’s happening?’

The expressions of the group besieging Jiang Jichen changed drastically. They all turned to look toward the spot where the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage Cultivators from the Noble Families were gathered.

They saw a figure covered in blood, his body a mass of torn skin and gaping flesh. Not a single spot on him was intact. He looked utterly terrifying, swinging his sword like a madman and lopping off the heads of the Noble Family Descendants as if they were watermelons.

"Aargh, no—"

SHINK! SHINK!

The sound of screams mixed with the thud of falling heads was enough to make one’s skin crawl.

"That’s... Jiang Jichen!"

"How... how is that possible?"

It was unbelievable. Impossible to accept.

’Wasn’t Jiang Jichen supposed to have been killed by their combined attack?’

’So... how did he end up over there?’

Many of them couldn’t wrap their heads around it, but the second senior brother of the Flowing Cloud Sect remained exceptionally calm. His gaze fell upon the crater at Jiang Jichen’s feet.

"There are interconnected tunnels beneath this area. He used them not only to evade our joint attack but also to sneak directly into that group and begin a massacre!"

The second senior brother of the Flowing Cloud Sect’s expression flickered as he spoke quickly.

The others heard him and suddenly understood. The same thought surfaced in their minds: ’Jiang Jichen really is hard to kill!’

Ling Dong and Nangong Jinjie’s expressions were the foulest. They had just declared Jiang Jichen dead, only to be immediately proven wrong.

"This is bad! Jiang Jichen has already killed seven people. If we let him kill three more..."

Everyone snapped to their senses, their faces paling. They simultaneously prepared their strongest attacks and blasted them toward Jiang Jichen.

This time, their goal wasn’t to kill Jiang Jichen, but simply to stop his rampage.

SHLICK!

"The... eighth one!"

As Jiang Jichen severed the eighth head, he began to pant. The Blood Qi in his body was almost completely depleted.

Even speaking became a halting, strenuous effort.

But he showed no intention of stopping, moving to strike at the ninth Noble Family Descendant.

At that very moment, however, a profound sense of mortal danger welled up in his heart. Without hesitation, he raised the Ancient Medicine Cauldron to shield himself and executed Illusory Indeterminacy, just barely dodging the terrifying ranged attacks.

The blood-colored garment he wore had vanished, reduced to a tattered Blood Cloth that was temporarily unusable.

The blood-colored relics, on the other hand, were completely destroyed, vanishing without a trace.

Only the Ancient Medicine Cauldron remained completely unscathed.

But in the end, Jiang Jichen was simply too gravely injured.

Otherwise, when he had burst out of the tunnel moments ago, taking the lives of ten Noble Family Descendants would have been a simple matter of a few swings of his sword.

But just now, even by putting his life on the line, he had only managed to slay six people, bringing his total to eight!

’Only two more...’

Having been thwarted, Jiang Jichen sighed inwardly. ’I’ve lost my best chance.’

In truth, everything that had happened here was part of a plan he had laid out long ago.

He had deliberately chosen this open space, and the underground tunnels had been dug in advance by the Dark Giant Python at his command, relayed through Little Haas.

Having fought to this point, Jiang Jichen had exhausted all his tricks! All except for... the One Corner of the Azure Heaven Killing Array!

As for the Poison-Devouring Pearl Fragment, he had already unleashed the potent poison it had accumulated during his battle with Young Master Kong Chu today. He wouldn’t be able to use it again for several days.

It wasn’t that Jiang Jichen didn’t want to use the One Corner of the Azure Heaven Killing Array. The problem was, he discovered he suddenly couldn’t activate it in this place.

The reason was... after absorbing and refining enough Blood Qi, it now emanated the faint aura of a Saint Weapon.

In other words, the One Corner of the Azure Heaven Killing Array had transformed into... a Half-Level Sacred Weapon!

And inside the Exquisite Treasure Tower, the use of Saint Weapons was forbidden, which naturally included Half-Sacred Weapons!

He had no time to dwell on his frustration, as the sense of mortal peril surged once more.

Ling Dong, Nangong Jinjie, and the others attacked again, completely sealing off the ground in a one-li radius and giving Jiang Jichen no further chance to escape underground.

Furthermore, they unhesitatingly brought out their ultimate killing techniques and unleashed them on Jiang Jichen all at once.

Jiang Jichen had slipped through their grasp yet again, almost succeeding in killing the final two people.

Ling Dong, Nangong Jinjie, the second senior brother of the Flowing Cloud Sect, Su Hao, Cang Lengshan, and Wei Xiaolang—the six of them—dared not delay any longer.

They directly... and without reservation, used their ultimate killing techniques.

A Jade Talisman from Ling Dong transformed into an Ultimate Kill Dao Skill, unleashing the might of a Spirit Infant Realm Cultivator as it bore down on Jiang Jichen.

Nangong Jinjie flicked out a golden nail that transformed into a streak of golden light. It tore through space, aimed straight for the spot between Jiang Jichen’s eyebrows with enough power to extinguish a soul.

A corner of an Ancient Array Map appeared in Su Hao’s hand, manifesting a mysterious Spirit Pattern Array that descended from the sky, radiating an aura capable of obliterating all living things.

...

But without a doubt, the most terrifying of all was the Surprise Rainbow Sword of the Flowing Cloud Sect’s second senior brother!

Third-layer unsealing. A wisp of Holy Breath. A Celestial Flying Sword.

That streak of Sword Aura was like a rainbow that could startle the sun and moon, piercing through heaven and earth. In the span of a single thought, it appeared right before Jiang Jichen’s heart.

One sword to decide life and death. One thought to decide life and death... This was the One Thought Life and Death Sword!

The power unleashed by the Surprise Rainbow Sword after its third-layer unsealing was terrifying to the extreme.

At that moment, a terrifying scene unfolded. The mere wisps of aura emanating from these ultimate techniques were enough to shatter the Void.

Wherever the attacks passed, ancient trees turned to ash. It was as if the heavens themselves had unleashed their killing intent, forcing everyone to retreat involuntarily. A single, trembling thought echoed in their hearts: ’With an attack like this, Jiang Jichen has to be dead for sure, right?’