Chapter 1131: The Tower of Life |
The structure, just like the Sacred Mountain itself, was still made of minerals with elemental attributes corresponding to the Five Phases, centered around the very place where the Heart of Nature had been planted. As Tang San constructed it, he also engraved arrays on its surface. His movement was swift; he used the razor-sharp claws of the Golden Armor Transformation to cut and trim down the rocks, and the Discerning Eye of Heaven to fine-tune the balance between elemental energies. With Nihil's assistance, building such a palace wasn't all that difficult.
As the palace neared completion, the colorful divine spirit energy atop the mountain slowly faded; it was not gone, however, but simply contained.
Three hours later, the basic structure had taken shape.
The palace stood around thirty meters tall and was perfectly circular, a thick ring of colorful stone whose outer border was close to the edge of the summit. It did not look particularly impressive or majestic compared to the existing Emperor palaces. There was also no oppressive aura leaking from it, much unlike in the case of the Sword Saint Palace, for instance. Instead, it merged seamlessly with the Blue Gold Sacred Mountain beneath. The outer walls were carved with patterns that were pretty obviously array symbols, but the five-colored glow of the elemental energy they gave off made the details difficult to discern.
From the Emperors' perspective, the Blue Gold Palace appeared modest. Yet from an energy standpoint, it was anything but. To their discerning eyes, its energy signature appeared in flawless harmony with the Five-Phase Blue Gold Sacred Mountain built by the Rainbowglaze Nymph Emperor. Not a single flaw or disruption could be detected; it was indeed a tremendous display of skill on behalf of Jin Miaolin.
As for why the building was ring-shaped and occupied nearly the entire summit, the answer also appeared obvious: The space at the center of it had been left for the Tower of Life.
And indeed, this proved to be the case. After resting for a day, Tang San resumed construction the following morning. At the center of the Blue Gold Palace, a tower began rising.
This time, the pace of the construction was far slower. The tower was being constructed almost a hundred percent out of bluegold wood, and depending on the age and cultivation of the Blue Gold Tree that produced it, this wood came in vastly different quantities and qualities. Tang San's first task was to carefully divide the bluegold wood into categories and ensure that each piece was used to optimal effect. This was the Ancestral Court's Tower of Life; there was no room for error.
The Ancestral Court, naturally, was rather invested in this effort as well. They soon delivered another massive shipment of resources, including gemstones with elemental attributes and other such rare treasures. These were all on the list Tang San had submitted to the Celestial Fox Demon Emperor; to the latter's credit, not a single item was missing. Even better, all the items provided were up to the highest standards of quality.
At first, Tang San merely placed a temporary bluegold wood roof atop the ring-shaped palace so the inside could not be seen, then began carving the interior arrays. The gemstones he had requested were largely for embedding into these arrays, and they represented an absolutely massive fortune. Even the Blue Gold Tree clan couldn't provide such things, not because they could not afford it, but because many gemstones with powerful elemental energy were monopolized by the Ancestral Court and simply couldn't be bought.
Even for Tang San, this was quite difficult and intricate work. Thus, the construction now progressed at a slower pace.
Nihil was no longer needed for the finishing work, so he simply lay curled atop the Blue Gold Sacred Mountain, silently guarding the site and, without a doubt, enjoying the most relaxing time of his life. Mei Gongzi remained inside the palace, assisting Tang San.
One by one, the arrays were engraved into the walls and embedded with the appropriate gemstones, gradually making the interior of the Blue Gold Palace glow with brilliance.
Working beside Tang San every day, Mei Gongzi grew increasingly aware of how much effort went into these arrays. The balancing between the arrays was critical; Tang San emphasized this fact constantly. Only perfect balance could ensure stability and proper function. As the saying goes, even an ant-hole can cause a dam to crack; if a flaw appeared at this stage of the construction, even the tiniest disruption could cause the entire structure to collapse once it was finished. Hence, even he had to be extremely cautious, and he carefully inspected every finished array with his Discerning Eye of Heaven.
Once all arrays inside the Blue Gold Palace were completed, Tang San finally began the proper construction of the Tower of Life.
The array work inside the tower was even more intricate. Every single array was laid with utmost precision. Just the first level alone took Tang San three full days to complete.
When the first level of the tower was finished, its roof stood even with the Blue Gold Palace. From the outside, it appeared as if the hole in the ring had been plugged.
The moment Tang San embedded the final gemstone under the bluegold wood ceiling, a vast surge of life energy shot skyward.
This life energy shone with a light blue glow, and the instant it appeared, it startled the entire Ancestral Court.
The Emperors, with their immense divine consciousness, were the first to sense it. One after another, they flew out from their palaces, turning their eyes toward the Blue Gold Palace.
The mighty life energy colored the skies above the Ancestral Court in a faint bluish-green, and a soft drizzle began to fall—gentle, soothing rain. Every being within the city, regardless of race, felt transformed under its touch, as if undergoing a rebirth. Bathed in pure vitality, the entire Ancestral Court became a little more vibrant.
Though the energy was dense, its coverage was limited; of course, the closer to the Blue Gold Sacred Mountain, the stronger it became. The region around the mountain was veiled in a glowing mist that, on a closer look, was formed by condensed life essence.
This wasn't just the result of the Tree Ancestor's imprint or the Blue Gold Tree clan's vitality being enhanced by the five-phase cycle and the forces of yin and yang. The true energy source was the Heart of Nature.
Stimulated by chaos energy and under Tang San's careful control, the Heart of Nature released an immense quantity of energy. After filtration and conversion through Tang San's arrays, it became life energy. And this life energy was beneficial not just for ordinary beings, but even to Emperors!
Tang San could not possibly rob the Ancestral Court clean and just get away with it. Since he was taking full advantage of the resources here to build his new house, he wanted the Emperors to feel the benefits. Only then would they continue supporting him unconditionally.
The first level of the tower was the most important. It connected the Tower of Life, the Blue Gold Palace, and the Blue Gold Sacred Mountain, and it enabled the Heart of Nature to continuously output energy through the tower. With this step now complete, the following stages would be much easier.
Tang San and Mei Gongzi sat cross-legged at the center of the tower's first level, absorbing the abundant life energy.
This massive energy didn't directly increase their cultivation, but it nourished their bodies, subtly transforming their life essence and extending their lifespans. And the indirect benefits were numerous. For people like them, with multiple bloodlines, such power was a perfect way to resolve the disharmony that came as a natural consequence of conflicting bloodlines.