Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
In a distant part of the forest, the battle was still ongoing.
But regardless of how it was fought, it was already decided that the outcome would be the defeat of Godhead and Beast Refining. Without their strategic advantage, any effort they put in was pointless.
This had nothing to do with who the first treasure belonged to. The moment Tang Jie's plan to lay a siege and attack the reinforcements began, foreign relations became the decisive factor, rather than strength. Those who lost out in the battle of human relations would lose the entire battle.
After resting in the forest, Tang Jie and Wei Tianchong had recovered much of their strength.
Wei Tianchong shook his body and stood up. "Let's go and see how Senior Brothers Ye and Peng are doing. We might even be able to get something more."
This was his first time on the battlefield, and rarely had he obtained such spoils, so he was in high spirits, all of his cowardice swept away.
Tang Jie shook his head. "If you want to go, go. I won't be heading over."
"Huh? Then where are you going? It was so hard to get everyone together, so why split up again?" Wei Tianchong was confused.
The members of other sects couldn't contact each other whenever they wanted like those of the Seven Absolutions Sect, so they had only been able to get together by using the treasure light. Now that they had finally come together, there was naturally no need to split up again. Thus, Wei Tianchong had thought about having all of them move together.
Tang Jie laughed. "I'm naturally going to look for a chance to improve myself. Why else would I ask for so many blessed land quotas?"
Tang Jie's first priority was to advance in cultivation realm, waiting until he was in the Mortal Shedding Realm to exert himself. Thus, he was in no rush to meet up with everyone else.
In any case, Godhead and Beast Refining had already been eliminated, and what came next was a clash between the Absolutions-Ocean alliance and the Moon-Passions alliance. This would naturally be a stalemate, which was exactly what Tang Jie hoped to see.
The longer this competition dragged on, the greater his chances of reaching Mortal Shedding became.
He now had Ye Tianshang's, Wei Tianchong's, and the Seven Absolutions Sect's quotas, which was eight extra quotas, and he had eight bottles of True Essence Pills besides that. Together with the more concentrated spiritual energy of the blessed land, if he were given a month, he could reach the peak of Spirit Sea.
Of course, it would be very difficult for the competition to go for another month in this state, but Tang Jie had a plan.
Wei Tianchong was very reluctant to see Tang Jie go off on his own, but Tang Jie was right. Cultivation was very individualistic, and it wasn't right to do it with everyone else around. He could only say, "Then what do we do if we need to find you?"
Tang Jie thought it over and pointed at a distant mountain. "We passed that mountain on the way here. See that outcrop on the mountain? The one that looks like fish lips? It is located in a position of extreme Qian, at the intersection of Li and Geng, making it the perfect place to absorb spiritual light. I will go there to improve myself. If you guys have anything to say to me or have gotten anything, you can send a message to me by flying sword. If the other senior brothers have found Ghostface Ginseng or other plants, they can also sell it to me there. Of course, I will have to pay them once we get out of the blessed land. Right—if there is any news of the Stop Gate Banner, inform me as soon as you can."
When it came to cultivation resources, Tang Jie's attitude was "the more, the better."
Tang Jie laughed. "Actually, it's not easy to come to a blessed land, so why rush to decide the outcome? If I had any say, I would have everyone put down their arms and use this opportunity to cultivate for a few days to get stronger before having the final battle. That's the best way, in my view."
Wei Tianchong scratched his head. "That's true, but once the treasures emerge, battles are inevitable. They wouldn't be able to stop themselves even if they wanted to."
Tang Jie smiled. "This is very simple. Once the treasures are found, immediately put them in Mustard Seed Bags."
"Huh?" Wei Tianchong was shocked.
Tang Jie explained, "Think about it. The moment the treasure enters the bag, the treasure light will stop, so there naturally won't be any battles. Of course, this would mean that the twelve-hour limit isn't met and that the treasure doesn't belong to anybody, but what does that matter? Put it to the side and cultivate. Once you're basically done cultivating, you can take out the treasure and get everyone together for the final battle. Do you know what Yun Wuji's greatest mistake was? It wasn't that he took the first treasure, but that he didn't join up with the rest of his team after getting the Taiyi Profound Clarity Cup. If he had gotten everyone together and then taken hostages, we wouldn't have been able to pull off our plan of besieging him and targeting his reinforcements."
The people outside cursed at Tang Jie for acting too far out of line.
If things went as he said, these days were bound to be calm and peaceful for a time. Nobody would show the treasure light until they were satisfied with the cultivation progress they had made. But once they appeared, there was bound to be treasure light coming from all corners, followed by a frenzied melee until everything was settled.
But the days in between would be insufferably boring and plain.
Standing on the fish lip stone and looking at the spiritual energy coiling around him, Tang Jie felt carefree and cheerful.
Looking down, he could see a stone forest below. These were numerous stone steles—the ancestral platforms of the Langya Blessed Land.
"Ancestral platform" was nothing more than another name for the sect ancestors' cenotaphs.
When the ancestors of sects became Returned Remnants, most of them left no body, as their essence returned to the earth. Any remains left behind would be regarded as valuable treasures and collected by the sects. As there needed to be a place to pay homage to these ancestors, cenotaphs were set up and called "ancestral platforms".
This was the most important place in the various paradises and blessed lands belonging to the sects. Although it had no practical value, it did have immense symbolic value.
It was precisely due to these ancestors that these paradises and blessed lands could exist for the later generations.
Thus, in this competition, the most important rule, the one that could not be broken, was that it was forbidden to damage an ancestral platform. Anyone who dared to break this rule, even someone from the six major sects, would die!
Tang Jie gazed at the stone forest and bowed.
This was his respect for the selfless sacrifice these ancestors had made toward their sect, and also his gratitude to them for providing this blessed land to them. To reside in this blessed land was essentially to live in their body, and Tang Jie couldn't help but be respectful.
He was unaware that the people outside were watching him, and he was unaware that this bow massively improved the impression the Wandering Palace had of him, but he might not have cared even if he knew.
Starting from this day, Tang Jie took up residence on this summit and began cultivating.
Tang Jie's cultivation didn't involve him just sitting there. On the contrary, he was very busy.
Every night, at around 11pm, he would enter the hollow in the fish lip rock and use the Illuminating Eye. This was when the night was at its deepest and most people were asleep, and in this deep darkness, basically no one would be paying attention to Tang Jie.
After using the Illuminating Eye to observe his surroundings, Tang Jie would go down the mountain the next morning and take an hour to pick the spirit plants he needed. The previous night's observation provided him with an understanding of his surroundings.
The early morning was when the spiritual flows of the blessed land converged. At this time, Tang Jie would take the spirit plants he had gotten and process them according to the proper methods, after which he would consume the product and absorb as much energy as he could.
These spirit plants became precious True Essence that accumulated in Tang Jie's body, expanding his Spiritual Space, widening his meridians, and purifying his body. And with the abundant spiritual energy around him, each Major Circuit Heaven allowed Tang Jie to get ten to twenty drops of spiritual liquid.
The improvement speed was frightening. Tang Jie's level rose crazily, boosted by the large amount of medicine he was consuming. With every passing day, he showed an obvious improvement in strength, and his Spiritual Space expanded from the initial level of Spirit Sea all the way to the middle level. He accumulated more and more spiritual energy, his cultivation growing more and more profound. He became immersed in cultivation, and there were times when his body would show visible signs of taking in spiritual energy.
At this stage, even a fool could see what he was trying to do.
"Advancing to the peak of Spirit Sea? So he wants to use this opportunity to reach the peak of Spirit Sea?" Xie Fengtang couldn't help but sigh in praise. "It's really a good idea, and this really is a rare opportunity."
Unless one became a True Inheritor, students had few opportunities to enter a blessed land. Blessed lands were rich with resources, and if they were used well, one could truly improve oneself greatly. But there were few like Tang Jie who used these resources to the maximum.
It wasn't that Tang Jie couldn't rapidly advance to peak Spirit Sea using resources, but this came at increased risk. But with his resources, he wouldn't be able to become anything great if he didn't take a risk, so Xie Fengtang could understand. A small risk was understandable, and Xie Fengtang was sure that Tang Jie could control it. But if Tang Jie made a charge at Mortal Shedding, the risk would be maximized.
Charging at Mortal Shedding didn't have a large risk initially, but with the way he was doing things, Tang Jie was raising the risk from 1% to 20%, which was why Xie Fengtang had paled.
Ming Yekong replied, "I think there's a very high chance."
Xie Fengtang said, "Master Ming, how are you so sure?"
Ming Yekong softly chuckled. "This is your student, so how do you not know him? I wouldn't dare say this about anyone else, but this child is different. He is bold and blackhearted, daring to think and daring to do! In these last few days, he's already given us many shocks, and the greatest impression I have of him is his daring. While charging at peak Spirit Sea is praiseworthy, it's something that the two of us can still accept. Since it's something the two of us can accept, it's clearly not Tang Jie's limit."
Xie Fengtang was left utterly speechless.
He had known Tang Jie for some time, but to his surprise, Ming Yekong seemed to understand him even more.
His understanding of Tang Jie's decision-making was so simple, yet so reasonable.
This really was something that Tang Jie could do.
Xie Fengtang stomped his feet. "If he wants to erect a Heaven-Earth Bridge, he needs to sense the will of the heavens and earth. Understand the will to open the path, and comprehend the divine to attain the Dao! This is why the one who erects the Heaven-Earth Bridge can experience both risk and fortune. This is the closest one can get to the Great Dao, and if one is prepared enough, one will get a chance to comprehend the Dao for the first time. He's doing this now with no knowledge whatsoever and without the guidance of a teacher. For the sake of a momentary happiness, he's adding to risk and missing out on an excellent opportunity!"
Xie Fengtang dropped his head and pounded his chest in regret, as if Tang Jie was already doomed.
Ming Yekong laughed. "There is no need to worry. While this Tang Jie is bold in action, he is not rash. He must have some confidence if he dares to do such a thing."
"What sort of confidence can he have? He doesn't even have someone to give him instructions. Don't even mention Peng Yaolong or the others. Those guys have barely entered Mortal Shedding, and while they have some experience, it is shallow. Someone who can truly help him comprehend the Dao must be at the Celestial Heart Realm and have already experienced the Heart Demon Tribulation, entering the Soul Transformation Period where they have already developed a Celestial Heart and gained a basic comprehension of the Divine Will. I myself have not reached this point and was even thinking about requesting the aid of Master Ming. He's currently in the blessed land, so where is he going to find a person like this to instruct him?" The thought left Xie Fengtang so angry that he was shaking.