Soul Land 5: The Rebirth of Tang San

Chapter 364: Sword Saint Palace

"Take it back," Tang San said quickly, looking up at Du Bai.

Du Bai, startled, quickly retracted his bloodline power and asked in puzzlement, "What's wrong?"

Tang San explained, "This is the Ancestral Court, the stronghold of the Celestial Fox clan. The Celestial Fox Demon Emperor can extend its divine consciousness to every corner of this place if it so wishes. Aren't you afraid of being discovered using your bloodline power and then being captured by the Celestial Fox clan to be used as a sacrifice?"

"Uh..." Du Bai's face changed. "My bad, I won't use it anymore."

Tang San cautioned him, "Unless I tell you it's safe to use the Celestial Fox Transformation, don't use it while we're in the Ancestral Court. This is for the sake of our safety."

Of course, the Celestial Fox Demon Emperor wouldn't constantly monitor the entire Ancestral Court with divine consciousness, but given Du Bai's impulsive nature, Tang San was worried he might use the Celestial Fox Transformation at an inappropriate time and invite big trouble.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll listen to you." Du Bai immediately became cautious. For some reason, he felt genuinely scared whenever Tang San got serious.

As expected, the Ancestral Court had excellent security and traffic conditions. The carriage of the White Tiger Hotel could speed along the main roads, and even patrolling enforcers would yield right of way when they saw the crest engraved on it, ensuring a smooth journey. They traveled many times faster than walking, and within half an hour, they reached their destination.

The carriage stopped near the Sword Saint Palace, and Tang San and his four companions got off one by one.

Looking up from the foot of the hill, they saw a slope about three hundred meters tall, topped by a majestic palace.

The palace was extremely tall, towering even. Although the main entrance still resembled a classic palace, the overall structure was a sharp, acute triangular shape, like a sword blade thrusting into the sky, pointing at the heavens.

Even from the foot of the hill, one could faintly feel the surging sword aura, as if it were ready to pierce the skies—majestic, but at the same time, painfully sharp.

Above the Sword Saint Palace, there were no storm clouds; it was always clear blue skies and white clouds.

Today was cloudy, with most of the Ancestral Court covered in mist, but sunlight directly hit the triangular Sword Saint Palace. It was quite extraordinary.

Cloud Soaring, indeed! Tang San praised silently in his heart.

Not just him, but his companions were also staring at the Sword Saint Palace, and it took them a full five minutes before they came back to their senses.

Du Bai exclaimed, "Wow, that's awesome! I can see massive fortune gathering there. It’s soaring into the sky, but for some reason, it stays together.."

Tang San warned him, "Don't stare with your spiritual power, or you might get hurt by the sword aura. Let's go up."

The hill where the Sword Saint Palace was located had stairs only at the front side. At this moment, many people were climbing up.

A closer look revealed that regardless of race, none of the climbers was in a rush. In fact, the closer they got to the Sword Saint Palace, the slower their pace became, and the fewer the number of climbers.

When the Shrek Squad actually stepped on the stairs, they understood why.

The moment they stepped on the stairs, a sharp aura descended from the direction of the Sword Saint Palace. And when they looked at the palace, it felt as if the palace itself had transformed into a giant sword slashing down from the sky.

It was clearly an illusion, yet it produced a tremendous oppressive force in their hearts.

Tang San's expression remained unchanged. And surprisingly, it was not Wu Bingji, who had the highest cultivation, but Du Bai who seemed unpressured.

The pressure from the Sword Saint Palace was more of a spiritual nature. Du Bai did not feel much pressure with his ninth-order spiritual cultivation.

The other three displayed varied expressions, each experiencing different feelings.

Cheng Zicheng murmured, "So, this is what sharpness is like?"

She was an inheritor of the Golden Roc bloodline, and aside from the high-speed flight, the primary feature of the Golden Roc was the sharpness of its feathers; her wings were her best weapon. She had her own understanding of sharpness to some extent, but upon arriving at the Sword Saint Palace, she now realized her understanding was far from sufficient—sharpness seemed to have a different meaning here.

They climbed step by step, and the higher they went, the greater the pressure was. The sensation of sharpness also became increasingly pronounced.

The five individuals each had different experiences.

Du Bai seemed utterly unfazed. Though he felt some pressure, it didn't affect his climb much; it just slowed him down slightly compared to his normal pace.

Tang San ascended while contemplating, naturally sensing the sharpness.

Gu Li walked up thoughtfully; his understanding wasn't profound, but his pace wasn't slow.

Wu Bingji and Cheng Zicheng, however, lagged behind their teammates, especially Cheng Zicheng. She paused after each step, as if taking in some kind of feeling before continuing.

Wu Bingji was also deep in thought. Though his Ice Nymph Transformation wasn't directly related to sharpness, the ice element's lethality relied on freezing, exploding, and sharpness. Thus, the essence of sharpness from the Sword Saint Palace also resonated with him.

There were many pilgrims. Here, payment was required not just at the summit but from the moment one began climbing—a surefire way for the Demon Emperors to amass wealth. Even so, this requirement was perfectly justified; the understanding gained when one’s attributes aligned with a Demon Emperor’s was more than worth the price. In fact, there were a number of worshipers that stopped at every step and kowtowed before continuing.

Tang San looked upward and noticed that very few worshippers actually entered the Sword Saint Palace directly. Some would stop at a certain point and simply cultivate on the spot, only continuing once they fully understood whatever it was that had inspired them.

Worshippers from the same clan paid five naturae coins, while those from other clans paid ten naturae coins per visit—a considerable amount. However, if the experience truly boosted their cultivation, it was indeed worth it. The Ancestral Court's reputation as a pilgrimage site for all demons and nymphs was well-earned.

The higher they climbed, the stronger the overwhelming sword intent became, though not unbearable. Most intriguingly, the sword intent varied, seemingly displaying different aspects of sharpness.

Compared to Du Bai and Gu Li, who showed mild reactions, Cheng Zicheng and Wu Bingji clearly gained profound insights from the experience.

Tang San himself was also impacted, though not as profoundly. As a former God King, his understanding was no inferior to that of the Demon Emperors. Yet, the sharpness here effectively refined his spiritual power and subtly polished his divine consciousness, making it feel like his spiritual power was being compressed further—a beneficial development.

Although it had only been one day since their arrival at the Ancestral Court, Tang San already deeply felt this place was a treasure. As long as he could cultivate here, his speed of improvement would be unmatched.

As Du Bai and Gu Li climbed past the halfway point, their pace eventually slowed, mainly due to the intensifying sword intent. Gu Li was coping better; Du Bai, having the weakest cultivation among them, struggled despite his strong spiritual power, as the sword intent's oppressive force was overwhelming.

Du Bai turned to Tang San and said, "I'm having a hard time holding on."

Tang San replied, "Then stay here and cultivate. Ignore the sword intent itself and use this pressure to refine your spiritual power, try to compress and consolidate it as much as you can. Senior brother Gu, you can do the same."

Gu Li nodded, chuckled, and said, "I can still go up a bit further."

With these words, he continued to move forward.

Cheng Zicheng and Wu Bingji had only climbed less than a third of the way up. Their pace was slow, but their aura was subtly changing.

Tang San gave a slight smile and continued to climb. With his cultivation level and spiritual power, this pressure was nowhere near enough to overwhelm him.