Soul Land 5: The Rebirth of Tang San

Chapter 372: The Mysteries of the Crystal Palace

"Three steps? Is it that hard?" Tang San said in surprise.

Gu Li smiled bitterly, "The first step felt like nothing. On the second step, I felt like I had entered a bizarre world. Everything around me turned into a crystal world, sparkling and extraordinarily beautiful. When I stepped onto the third step, I met... I met myself."

Tang San's heart tightened. "You met yourself?"

Gu Li nodded. "Yes, there was another one of me, and everything I could do, he could do too. Then he attacked me just like I would. Sadly, because it was so sudden, I couldn't win. I was defeated. When I woke up, I had already been knocked down. The person collecting fees said I'd have to pay again if I wanted to try again. It's a total rip-off!"

Tang San frowned slightly. The Crystal Demon Emperor was known as the Omnipotent due to its bloodline ability, which apparently allowed it to replicate all other abilities. What were this ability’s limitations?

The third step essentially created a replica of Gu Li. The implication seemed to be if you can't even defeat yourself, what right do you have to climb my Crystal Sacred Mountain?

That was likely the case. It was genuinely mysterious!

Since arriving at the Ancestral Court, the five members of the Shrek Squad had their eyes opened. Everything was so peculiar.

Gu Li looked pitifully at Tang San. "Tang San, what should I do?"

"Why couldn't you defeat an opponent with the same abilities as you? Have you thought about it?"

Gu Li was stunned for a moment. "Well... He was very familiar with my abilities and seemed to use them even better than I did."

Tang San smiled slightly and nodded. "Exactly. He had the same abilities as you but used them better. Can't you learn from that? Even if you couldn't win, couldn't you have lasted longer? The more you do it, the more familiar you become with your abilities and the better you can apply them. Time is supreme; even the abilities of a first-tier bloodline can’t compare to yours. Senior brother Gu, you need to work harder! How about this? Tomorrow, I'll go with you to experience the mysteries of the Crystal Palace."

"Great! If you come with me, that would be wonderful." Gu Li was overjoyed. Just like Du Bai and the others, he now also saw Tang San as the team’s anchor.

"What about me?" Du Bai looked at Tang San pitifully.

Tang San glanced at him and said, "Senior brother Du, you will continue. Remember, when you climb to the halfway point, at the first step past the halfway mark, you'll encounter a backlash of misfortune, and the next step you’ll get fortune again. You should train on these two steps to help you master your control of fortune. You can't go any higher than that. With your cultivation level, you can't handle it."

"Oh, okay." Du Bai felt a bit down. Without Tang San accompanying him, he always felt uneasy.

Tang San looked at Wu Bingji and said, "Eldest brother, tomorrow you and sister Zicheng should continue at the Sword Saint Palace. The day after, we'll switch locations."

Wu Bingji sighed, "It feels like time is running out! I'd love to stay here longer if we had enough money and time. Training in the Ancestral Court is so much faster than in Kali City. It's a completely different world. Now I understand why you insisted on getting us noble status and bringing us here."

Tang San chuckled helplessly. "How could that be my idea? I didn’t know anything about the Ancestral Court; all of that came from my master. Let's work hard together. As for long-term training here, it's not impossible, but right now it’s not the best idea. Once we gain some insights, we should go back and digest them, and then come back later. Don't worry about the money, eldest brother; I have a way to handle it."

Wu Bingji laughed. "Yes, having money sure makes things easier."

Although they spent many naturae coins each day to train at the palaces, he genuinely believed it was worth it after two days. This refining process immensely benefited their future attempts to reach god level.

Compared to the laziness of most noble demons and nymphs, diligence was one of humanity's strengths. They simply didn't know what fatigue was.

The carriage moved smoothly along the street. After briefly discussing their training experiences, everyone closed their eyes to rest. A day of climbing, training, enduring pressure, and gaining insights had taken a toll on them. But it was all worth it—coming to the Ancestral Court had truly opened the door to this world for them.

Tang San held the Fortune Stone, silently feeling the abundant fortune power within it. He pondered and reflected on everything he had encountered in the Ancestral Court. These experiences were especially significant to him, providing great insights that helped him figure out a direction for his future.

After returning to the hotel and eating a simple meal, they returned to their rooms to rest.

Tang San returned to his room, his mind still filled with the changes in fortune he had sensed today. Although he hadn't used the Discerning Eye of Heaven throughout the process, he remembered the myriad transformations of fortune. Moreover, he still had a lot of the power of fortune stored within him.

Now that he was back, there was no need to worry about being sensed by the Celestial Fox Demon Emperor. He went to the training room and lifted the seal on his Discerning Eye of Heaven.

Instantly, the Discerning Eye of Heaven seemed to sense something, and the power of fortune accumulated within him began to surge violently.

The imprint of the Discerning Eye of Heaven suddenly brightened, transforming into a white vortex that voraciously absorbed the massive power of fortune into itself.

Tang San's Celestial Fox Transformation was now at the sixth order, just like Du Bai’s, and his manifestation also had three tails. At this moment, under the influence of the Discerning Eye of Heaven's fortune absorption, he felt his bloodline imprint improving.

His perception of fortune seemed to be subtly increasing as well.

Without a doubt, fortune was one of the most challenging abilities to master, even for the Celestial Fox clan. However, with a literal mountain of fortune in the Ancestral Court, cultivating and controlling fortune for the Celestial Fox clan was unquestionably much easier.

At the same time, after experiencing today's climb, Tang San also realized that he had been right to warn Du Bai about the backlash. It was clear as daylight: the deeper one cultivated the power of fortune, the greater the backlash of misfortune. Thus, the higher the advancement, the more difficult it became for the Celestial Fox clan. If not careful, they could fall victim to misfortune, especially considering that the Celestial Fox clan had little combat ability to speak of.

The more fortune was used, the more misfortune accumulated, and if that misfortune was not released every now and then, it could well end up causing a calamity.

Thinking of this, Tang San's pupils contracted sharply as he realized a crucial issue.

Throughout many generations of Celestial Fox Demon Emperors, they had almost gathered all the fortune of the entire Falan Planet in the Ancestral Court, forming the Celestial Fox Sacred Mountain. With that, the demons and nymphs received all the blessings of the planet.

If they gathered so much fortune power here that it actually solidified into a literal mountain, it means they manipulated fortune to a ridiculous extent. In which case, there has to be an equal amount of misfortune produced, and that misfortune is...where?

When the Celestial Foxes gathered the planet’s fortune here, what did they do with the misfortune? Was it spread across the entire planet or was it stored somewhere?

Undoubtedly, whoever obtained this entire fortune would be the first to suffer when the misfortune erupted.

Thinking of this, even his heart couldn't help but race. He seemed to have found something that could genuinely threaten the rule of the demons and nymphs.