There was a hard rule when climbing a Sacred Mountain: you could stop, but you couldn't retreat. Once you took a step back, it meant failure. So, Tang San couldn't back down from the second step.
An idea flashed in Tang San's mind. Vines surged out from his body, instantly forming a barrier before him. He used the lower-tier Blue Silver Emperor to block the scorching lava while retracting the Lion-Tiger Golden Astral.
Strangely enough, as soon as the Blue Silver Emperor appeared, the temperature of the previously scorching lava noticeably decreased. Although the Blue Silver Emperor quickly turned black and charred, the air temperature and the lava's temperature significantly dropped, making it much easier to withstand.
The Sun-Nurtured Sunborne Nymph Emperor was indeed tricky! The Blue Silver Emperor was barely third-tier, and it was in no way strong enough to affect the environment here. In other words, the whole thing was set up to prevent non-plant entities from climbing this Sacred Mountain. Tang San had thought this might be the case, so he had switched to the Blue Silver Emperor. Almost instantly, his guess had been proven true.
The intense heat naturally affected the Blue Silver Emperor, causing it to blacken and wither. Tang San constantly infused it with the energy of the Mysterious Heaven Technique to maintain its defense.
Tang San didn't hurry to continue climbing. He stood on the second step, quietly sensing the changes in the Blue Silver Emperor. Before continuing upward, he wanted to understand the benefits he could get from climbing Sunborne Sacred Mountain.
Soon, he discovered that when he converted his bloodline power to the Blue Silver Emperor, the scorching firepower of Sunborne Sacred Mountain no longer attacked but rather permeated his body.
The Blue Silver Emperor vines quickly became scorching hot, and waves of heat naturally flowed into Tang San's body through them. However, this heat was clearly not meant to burn him to ashes. Instead, it felt as if he was being slowly baked. He could feel his blood and energy gradually reaching boiling poing as he soaked in the heat.
During this process, some impurities within his body seemed to be incinerated. At the same time, his skin, bones, meridians, and internal organs were undergoing subtle changes under this thermal influence.
Tempered by Sunfire?A thought struck Tang San.
If the climber was a plant-type nymph, this kind of Sunfire tempering would likely purify their bloodline. However, not everyone could withstand it. Even with the comparatively gentle way the energy here was acting now, the temperature remained extremely high, and a slight mistake could damage the cultivator's essence. Only two attributes could withstand it: one was extreme cold, which could resist in a direct confrontation but would draw next to no benefits from being here. The other was extreme heat—the fire element obviously granted high resistance to fire and those with such bloodline alignment could genuinely benefit from this tempering.
No wonder there were so few climbers on Sunborne Sacred Mountain. The benefits here were only helpful to plant-type nymphs with the fire attribute. The Sun-Nurtured Sunborne Nymph Emperor seemed to have a particular preference for nymphs with such attributes. It made sense, as he couldn't produce offspring to pass on his legacy, so he sought his successor this way.
Understanding this clarified the Sun-Nurtured Sunborne Nymph Emperor's purpose. Tang San smiled slightly. Although his Blue Silver Emperor wasn't of the fire attribute, it had been created by integrating the bloodlines of multiple treasure plants, and it had some measure of resilience against most things. In addition, the energy cultivated through the Mysterious Heaven Technique was balanced and steady; as long as the fire attribute wasn't overly aggressive, he had a chance to neutralize it slowly. If this was the benefit of being baked slowly, then Tang San had nothing against feeling like a loaf of bread in the oven.
One of the biggest issues Tang San faced was his physical strength and toughness. Although he had significantly improved thanks to the vast vitality of the Golden Tree and the enhancement of abilities like the Lion-Tiger Golden Astral, his physique still struggled to endure some of the abilities from his past life when driven by his divine consciousness. For example, using the Great Sumeru Hammer had placed a huge burden on him, making it impossible to use it again in a short time.
Now, he found that the benefit of climbing Sunborne Sacred Mountain was the tempering of his physique, which was perfect for him.
In his past life, Tang San had greatly enhanced his physique in a treasure land called the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, where he was tempered by the extreme cold and hot springs, significantly boosting his strength and eventually enabling him to cultivate into becoming a god. The scorching bloodline energy of the Sunborne Nymph Emperor before him was even better than the hot spring from back then. After all, the energy intensity of this plane surpassed that of his previous world.
As he let the heat slowly permeate his body, while using the Mysterious Heaven Technique's energy to dissolve it, the heat quickly turned Tang San's skin red like a cooked shrimp’s shell. Normally, he would’ve been afraid of it leaving fire toxins behind, but that was not the case; on the contrary, as he circulated his internal energy, the fire actually caused the existing impurities to sublimate.
Moreover, as he slowly cultivated, he felt as if some blood clots within his body were being dissolved and realized that this was the feeling of the hidden injuries caused by using the Great Sumeru Hammer being healed. The circulation of his energy became smoother. Of course, this consumed a lot of energy, but with his soul core, his recovery ability was nothing short of spectacular. The abundant spiritual energy here ensured there would be no problems in the short term.
Tang San was in no hurry to climb higher; maintaining his current state was fine. By nourishing his body with the fire's power, he could continuously temper himself, and at the same time temper his Blue Silver Emperor.
From noon to evening, time passed quickly, and the ticket collector took notice of a peculiar guy. Tang San was undoubtedly the least-advanced climber, having only ascended two steps. However, all climbers who had been ahead of him had already left and even some of those who arrived after him also reached their limits, while he remained standing there. He was undoubtedly the one who persisted the longest.
Even as night fell, he showed no intention of leaving. Although the staff member had worked here for a long time, he had never encountered such a situation before.
It wasn't until midnight that Tang San exhaled deeply and slowly stepped down from the stairs.
Immediately, white steam rose around his body, releasing a large amount of heat. His clothes, having been baked, were on the verge of giving out.
Tang San brought out a robe and covered himself, preventing his body from being exposed.
The redness on his skin lingered for a long time, and there was a constant feeling of soreness and itching in his bones, meridians, and internal organs. This sensation was quite uncomfortable, but Tang San's face showed nothing but joy. He knew that after being tempered by the Sunfire, his body was nothing like before.
This is great! This level of tempering is just right!
If time allowed, he could stay here for three days and nights. It wouldn't take much—maybe a year or so—and his physique could be elevated to the god level, making him tough enough to wield the Great Sumeru Hammer easily.
Unfortunately, time was not on his side. He still had to participate in the competition and visit another place, so he couldn't continue training here. He would have to leave it for another time.
The carriage driver was very dedicated. Even though it was already very late, he was still waiting outside. Tang San gave him extra fare and asked him to take him back to the hotel, arranging to depart again at noon.
Upon returning to the hotel, Tang San meditated in the cultivation room.
The redness on his skin had mostly faded, but the heat deep in his bones remained. Tang San continuously circulated the energy of his Mysterious Heaven Technique to absorb this heat while monitoring the changes in his strength under this intense refinement.
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