Soul Land 5: The Rebirth of Tang San

Chapter 431: Asura's Jealousy of Tang San

"Go ahead."

"I have a friend who used to work as a janitor at Kali Academy. You know Mayor Zhang, right? He's the mayor’s pupil, and his name is Tang San. If it's not too much of a problem, could you help me find him? I looked for him, but he wasn’t here and nobody knows anything about him. Tell him to wait for me at the academy if you see him. I should be out of seclusion for good within three months."

You want me to find myself? Well, that’s one hell of a pursuit if I’ve ever tried any.

Asura couldn't help but find it amusing, but he just nodded and smiled. "What is he to you? Just a friend?"

Mei Gongzi was taken aback momentarily, then nodded back. "Yes, just a friend."

"And what about me? Can I be considered your friend now?" Asura pressed.

"Yes." Mei Gongzi quickly nodded, then looked up at the sky. "It's really getting late. I should go. Thank you."

As he watched her graceful figure gradually disappear from sight, Asura chuckled helplessly. For a moment, he suddenly felt as if Asura was a bit jealous of Tang San.

Tang San hadn't done anything special for her, while Asura had put in literal mountains of effort. Yet, it seemed there was less of a barrier between her and Tang San than between her and Asura.

In the future, when she finds out that Tang San is Asura and Asura is Tang San, who will be more embarrassed, she or I?

Little Mei, hurry up and grow up. When you turn eighteen, I will truly start pursuing you.

Seeing her today, seeing her become even more beautiful, seeing her grow more and more like her past self, Tang San felt full of gratitude—grateful that he could find this plane and grateful that he could find her like that.

Although they still had many trials to go through if they wanted to walk together again and return to their peak, he was confident. He would bring her back to her family. She was his wife, in every life they lived.

Mei Gongzi left, and Tang San also needed to leave. He had many things to do. If it weren't for Mei Gongzi, he wouldn't have returned today; many tasks were still awaiting him at the Ancestral Court.

However, this return also allowed him to handle some other matters.

Without entering Kali City, Tang San leaped into the air along the path next to Kali Academy, heading straight for the Kali Mountain Range behind it.

He decided not to return to Redemption Academy for now. After entering the Kali Mountain Range, he spread his golden wings and flew swiftly toward a familiar place. Although teleportation might be faster, he wanted to take this opportunity to observe if there were any changes around the academy.

From the air, everything looked normal. With his high-speed flight, he quickly arrived at his actual base.

The ethereal mist still shrouded that area, which was completely dark by now. Golden Valley remained quietly hidden in the darkness, protected by the interconnected arrays.

Tang San skillfully entered the illusion array. The rich life aura washed over him when the scenery became clear again. His body eagerly absorbed this life force to replenish the energy he had expended over the past day and night, including the drop of essence blood.

The Golden Valley was very quiet at night. Only the increasingly robust Golden Tree by the lake emitted a faint golden glow, bringing light and vibrant life to this tranquil paradise.

Returning here, Tang San felt his heart calm down. He hadn't set up a teleportation array between the Ancestral Court and Golden Valley, partly because he lacked the necessary materials and cultivation, and partly because he didn't want to disturb the peace of this place. He wanted his rear base to remain stable and secure.

He strolled toward the lake, absorbing the rich life aura in the air. As he walked, he immediately felt his body warm up considerably.

The Golden Tree grew daily, nourished by the spiritual energy from the Spirit Summoning Array. The larger it grew, the richer the life force it emitted.

"Who's there?!" a stentorial voice sounded. Several figures rushed forward with a fierce wind the next moment, blocking Tang San's path.

Tang San lifted his hood, revealing his masked face. "It's me!"

"Master, you're back!" A voice full of surprise followed. Among the figures rushing forward, a young woman quickly ran up with a look of joy on her face—it was Red One.

Tang San smiled and nodded. "Just got back."

Following behind Red One were several burly young members of the Lion-Tiger clan. Each had a tiger-like head and a robust build, with the fiery bloodline aura exuding youth and strength.

Since Tang San had resolved the bloodline issue for the Lion-Tiger clan and reached an agreement with them, they had now settled in Golden Valley. This place was spacious enough, and the rich life aura was the best recovery environment for clan members whose life force had been affected by the bloodline conflict.

"Benefactor." Several young members of the Lion-Tiger clan bowed to Tang San, their eyes showing gratitude and affection.

Tang San could be said to have saved their entire clan; the title of "benefactor" simply didn’t cover it.

"No need to be so formal. Where's Big Cat?" Tang San asked.

A young Lion-Tiger laughed. "He should be with his wife. We can call him for you."

Tang San quickly stopped them. "No need, it's late. I'll meet him tomorrow. You all should rest."

"Yes, we are on night watch. You go rest," the young Lion-Tiger said with a smile.

It was hard to find such a suitable habitat. Although the illusion array made it very safe, the elders of the Lion-Tiger clan still arranged for the young members to keep watch every night.

Tang San nodded with a smile and brought Red One to the Golden Tree. "Red One, you should rest too. I have something to discuss with you tomorrow."

"Yes, Master." Red One smiled and bowed to Tang San before stepping lightly on the waves and returning to the cave to rest.

Nourished by the aura of life in the Golden Valley, Red One had reached the sixth order, and her cultivation was the highest among all the Crimson Fox girls. However, at this level, her relatively weak bloodline showed its limitations, making it difficult for her to advance on her own. The other Crimson Fox girls were even worse off than her.

Tang San came to the Golden Tree and entered the Spirit Summoning Array. Not only was the life aura rich here, but the elemental energy of heaven and earth was also extremely dense.

Looking up at the increasingly tall Golden Tree, Tang San couldn't help but feel a sense of warmth in his heart. He had planted and nurtured this tree with his hands, and it had slowly growin into what it was now.

Sitting cross-legged under the Golden Tree, Tang San didn't immediately start meditating or cultivating. Instead, he took something out of his storage ring.

It was a crystal bottle. As soon as it appeared, the calm yellow light inside began to thrash around, trying to break out of the sealed bottle.

This was the spirit essence Tang San had bought at the Ancestral Court's grand auction, a spirit essence from the Solstice Empire.

According to the auctioneer's introduction, absorbing the spirit essence could directly enhance divine consciousness. But would Tang San directly absorb this spirit essence? The answer was, of course, no. He was not that much of an idiot. Even setting aside the possible backlash, directly absorbing the spirit essence was extremely wasteful.

As the spirit essence was a condensed form of divine consciousness, it was inherently sentient. Those at the Ancestral Court believed it could only be suppressed and used as direct nourishment because the sentient spirit essence would seek to possess someone, hoping for a chance at rebirth.