Soul Land 5: The Rebirth of Tang San

Chapter 369: Inspiration from Celestial Fox Sacred Mountain

Using his Purple Demon Eyes, Tang San gazed upward at the Celestial Fox Sacred Mountain, where it seemed a beam of light shot straight into the heavens. This pale luminescence spread outward in expanding halos that remained distinct and unblended, brightening everything they touched.

This was an augmentation of fortune for the entire Daemon Continent.

This is really grand!

Tang San marveled inwardly as he silently continued following Du Bai upward.

The higher they climbed, the stronger the fluctuations of fortune became.

Tang San noticed that among the climbing demons and nymphs, those higher up showed increasingly visible joy on their faces. Those with weaker spiritual power quickly succumbed to this joy. Once their self-awareness was completely lost, people from the Celestial Fox Palace would take them down via side paths. Losing mental control meant they could no longer stay here, or they might succumb to spiritual decline.

Tang San and Du Bai climbed slowly but steadily; both possessed ninth-order spiritual power, so they weren’t in any danger. After resolving the initial issues, even Du Bai was not easily swayed.

As they climbed, the potent fortune intensified around them, enriching their vital energy and causing their eyes to brighten. Everything seemed to be improving. This feeling was truly wonderful!

There were over two thousand steps, for an overall height of five hundred meters. After climbing more than a quarter of them, a faint auspicious cloud appeared. With each step they climbed, this cloud became more pronounced.

Tang San silently absorbed the streams of fortune, sensing the changes between them. At the same time, he quietly observed the Celestial Fox Sacred Mountain beneath his feet.

This is like an infinite flow of fortune! It's enormous.

The higher he climbed, the more confident he became that the concentration of fortune in the mountains beneath him must be connected to the planar ruler.

Whether the planar ruler was sentient or not, it should have instinctively felt that this method of concentrating fortune was not entirely beneficial for the plane's growth. What did this mean? It likely meant that the Ancestral Court controlled the planar ruler, thus allowing the demon and nymph clans to grow stronger and rule this place perpetually.

In other words, the barrier between the ninth and tenth orders was not set by the planar ruler but by the Ancestral Court.

Zhang Haoxuan’s bloodline wasn't particularly strong, so when he broke through, he wasn't severely challenged by the Ancestral Court. But it was different for Tang San. Once he was on the verge of a breakthrough, as long as the demon and nymph clans controlled the planar ruler, they could likely act against him, disrupting his breakthrough.

However...

At this thought, Tang San had a sudden idea. Assuming the planar ruler was an intelligent entity under the control of the Ancestral Court, it would make sense for it to want freedom. In that case, could it be persuaded to help Tang San conceal his presence and allow him to become a god?

As an outsider God King, his divine consciousness could not be hidden during his ascension to the god level and would surely be detected, especially by the planar ruler. The first instinct upon sensing an outsider God King would be fear that he might overrun the entire plane, which could be a greater calamity than any posed by the demon and nymph clans. There was no way he would not be targeted.

But even if that was the case, the current state of the Celestial Fox Sacred Mountain made Tang San think of a possible opportunity.

If the plane were entirely under the planar ruler’s control, negotiating terms for his ascension would be exceedingly tricky. However, if the planar ruler had lost some freedom and authority, perhaps there was a chance to persuade it.

With this thought, Tang San deeply felt that his visit to the Ancestral Court and the climb of the Celestial Fox Sacred Mountain had not been in vain, as they had revealed an avenue he might exploit.

A smile unconsciously formed at the corners of his mouth.

Just then, Tang San felt a sudden pain in his waist and turned his head to look beside him. He saw that it was Du Bai who had pinched his waist.

"What are you doing?" Tang San asked, annoyed.

Du Bai blinked, "I saw that mysterious smile on your face and was afraid you were getting lost in it."

"I... Don't worry, I won't. Let's speed up; there are too many demons and nymphs around here. The power of fortune here isn't enough to give you enough insight," Tang San said as he climbed faster with Du Bai.

Since there were so many climbers, their quiet acceleration went unnoticed.

They didn't slow until they surpassed one-third of the steps. Those who made it this far were all strong-willed. More importantly, reaching this point also meant their cultivation was formidable.

The power of fortune had become thicker here, and due to the Fortune Stone, just as pure. This pure force of fortune swirled around their bodies, stimulating their bloodlines.

Was that really all it was?

The Celestial Fox Sacred Mountain felt great, significantly enhancing fortune. However, in a sense, the Celestial Fox Sacred Mountain was the most powerful entity in the Ancestral Court. Was climbing it just for an enhancement of fortune? The insights weren't entirely clear, were they?

At the Sword Saint Sacred Mountain, the climbing process was continuously sprinkled with a sharp essence from the Sword Saint Palace, which strongly stimulated those cultivating similar abilities and led to insights. Yet here it was merely an augmentation of fortune?

Indeed, for most demons and nymphs, perhaps the mere augmentation of fortune was all they hoped for. However, for those who truly needed enlightenment, this wouldn't be enough, would it?

While pondering this, Tang San continued to climb upward with Du Bai.

The power of fortune grew denser, and Du Bai's climbing speed noticeably began to slow. And at about forty percent of the way, he finally stopped.

"Little Tang, I'm afraid I can't maintain my spiritual strength if we go higher."

Tang San didn't force him, saying, "Then stay here and cultivate. Stay alert; otherwise, you might expose yourself, and that could be fatal."

"Yeah, don't worry." Du Bai nodded firmly. "If my spiritual power fails, I'll go down on my own. I won't force it."

"Alright, then I'll continue up to see more." Tang San told Du Bai to stay put and meditate, absorbing the power of fortune. Although this power couldn't directly affect Du Bai's bloodline now, he could absorb it and combine it with his own bloodline once they returned to the hotel.

Leaving Du Bai behind, Tang San continued climbing. His pace significantly quickened nwo that he didn’t need to pay attention to Du Bai.

Both had ninth-order spiritual power, but Tang San's was stronger than Du Bai's. Not only was he at the peak of the ninth order, but he had compressed it multiple times and he had a spirit core backed by his divine consciousness, so he wasn't worried about losing his will here.

Quickly, he reached the halfway point of the Celestial Fox Mountain's steps.

Here, the fortune was even denser, so much so that the scenery before him had become blurred, surrounded by thick fog. The auspicious clouds above even started to emit a faint golden hue. Was there a slight dampness emanating from these clouds—a rain of fortune?

Such nourishment from the fortune made Tang San feel comfortable in every limb; even his skin became more lustrous.

Unlike the Sword Saint Palace, not losing oneself while climbing to this point required a solid foundation of ninth-order spiritual power!