Chapter 601: Return to Golden Valley

Supporting himself to get up, Tang San silently sensed the changes in his body.

Dying and being reborn was not as plain and simple as it sounded. Some of his own

self

had already disappeared when he’d chosen reincarnation last time. And now that his divine consciousness had returned, although it had reignited the flame of life, it didn’t help his body much; he still needed to gradually recover.

Moreover, summoning the trident and truly utilizing the power of the Sea God had consumed a tremendous amount of his energy, almost depleting the majority of the foundation he had accumulated over the years.

But it wasn't without benefits. Firstly, although his divine consciousness was greatly weakened, its level had been somewhat restored due to the influence of the Sea God's aura. While it was now lower in energy, it was higher in terms of divinity.

Secondly, using the Sea God’s Trident allowed the transcendent divine artifact to better confirm his location; it was now moving much faster and would arrive much sooner.

Finally, after being baptized by the Sea God's power, the overlap between his current body and his previous one had increased significantly, allowing his body to undergo a true transformation.

The power of this plane was still great, and Tang San needed more time to comprehend it and integrate it with the power from his previous life.

He sat cross-legged in meditation, and when he woke up again, daylight had already broken. Tang San activated a bloodline imprint and a pair of wings unfolded behind him, lifting him into the sky.

Among all the bloodline imprints, the first to be revived was the Dragon Roc. This place was not suitable for a prolonged stay; there was nothing here for him. He thus decided to return to the Golden Valley. There, he could peacefully restore his cultivation and digest what he had gained in the Ancestral Court.

The massive amethyst had lost most of its energy, but Tang San still kept it rather than throwing it away. He found that, perhaps due to its larger size or maybe because it was in its raw form, it differed from the amethystine coins.

Once the energy inside the amethystine coins was exhausted, they would shatter and turn to dust. By contrast, this piece of amethyst seemed to slowly absorb energy from the surroundings, gradually restoring itself.

Although the recovery was slow, it was still gradually happening. This item was incredibly helpful for his divine consciousness; With it, Tang San's divine consciousness had recovered by over two-thirds, even with the increase in level. Without it, it would have been seriously troublesome; it would have taken him at least a year to return to normal.

The evolution of his divine consciousness also allowed it to better nurture his spiritual power. His strength was gradually recovering by the moment. On the other hand, Tang San wasn't in a hurry to restore all his bloodline powers; instead, he used his divine consciousness to slowly cleanse his reborn body.

He didn't need to look with his eyes; his divine consciousness could vaguely sense some changes in himself. The most obvious change was that, due to his rebirth and the influence of his divine consciousness, his appearance had undergone slight adjustments, making him look more like he did in his previous life. Among these adjustments, his hair color had changed to the sea blue of his past life.

Unless someone was very familiar with him and saw him face to face, they would have a hard time recognizing him. With the changes in his eyes and hair color, and especially if he wore a mask, no one would be able to identify him as Asura.

Although his strength had decreased compared to before, he was confident that he would recover soon. Moreover, he had taken a significant step toward regaining the strength he’d had in his previous life. Given enough time, he was confident that he could restore the splendor of his former God King self. Of course, the most crucial step was undergoing the tribulation to become a god.

Thus, he needed to prepare for that critical moment. For him, there might only be one chance. To avoid interference from this plane and successfully undergo the tribulation, he needed to utilize every available resource.

It took him two whole days to reach Golden Valley. The consecutive teleportations had left him fairly close to the Kali Mountains before his "death," but due to his decrease in cultivation post-rebirth, he had no choice but to take it slow.

Passing through the linked arrays, he returned to that familiar place. And as soon as he entered the Golden Valley, Tang San immediately felt the overwhelming breath of life energy surging toward him.

In terms of sheer energy, the Golden Valley couldn't compare to the Ancestral Court. But the difference was that the energy in the Ancestral Court was a torrent of mixed-attribute energies, while the one in the Golden Valley was pure life energy.

The new Golden Tree, nourished by various means, was growing increasingly robust.

"Who goes there?" A deep voice rang out, and immediately several figures surrounded Tang San.

Tang San glanced at his sea-blue hair and couldn't help but feel a bit helpless. "It's me. Asura."

The ones surrounding him were strong members of the Lion-Tiger clan.

After resolving the bloodline conflict, the strength of these adult members of the Lion-Tiger clan had grown by leaps and bounds. With first-tier bloodlines and the abundant life energy in Golden Valley, their fur looked crystalline and shiny, their bodies were strong, their vitality flourishing, and their eyes filled with fierce and sharp light.

"Benefactor?" The leading Lion-Tiger clansman looked at Tang San with some uncertainty. After taking a closer look, he seemed to decide that he was indeed Asura. "Uh... It’s good to see you, but... why is your hair blue? Is that the trend in the Ancestral Court now?"

Tang San replied helplessly, "It's due to cultivation. Is everything okay in the valley? Is the elder here? I have something to discuss with him."

"The elder is here. I'll take you to him."

The Lion-Tiger clansman quickly led Tang San into the valley.

At that moment, the Lion-Tiger clan's Grand Elder was under the ancient golden tree, drinking water infused with its essence, enjoying the nourishment of life energy.

"Benefactor, what's going on with you?" The Grand Elder didn’t pause for a second before recognizing Tang San. Although Tang San’s hair color had changed and his appearance was somewhat different, the old demon still had keen senses.

Tang San smiled wryly. "I encountered some... situations, so my body underwent some changes. But it's okay, I'll recover in a while."

Hearing this, the Grand Elder became a bit anxious. "Big Cat, Little Cat, they..."

Tang San quickly said, "Don't worry, Elder. They're all fine."

Tang San then detailed how Big Cat participated in the Ancestral Court's Elite Competition and won second place in the individual competition, thus gaining the lion race’s recognition. Big Cat now possessed the God-Slaying Sword and the Heart-Guarding Divine Mirror, and was preparing to undergo his tribulation in the Ancestral Court.

Hearing his words, the look in the Grand Elder's eyes grew complex.

Undoubtedly, Big Cat becoming stronger and having the potential to become a god was a great thing for the Lion-Tiger clan. However, their time in Golden Valley had been an unprecedented period of prosperity for the entire clan. Here, everyone could live well, and with the nourishment of life energy, the entire clan was thriving.

Big Cat gaining the lion race’s recognition meant the Lion-Tiger clan finally had a path forward. But leaving here to join the Golden Lion clan... was that truly a good thing? The Grand Elder wasn’t so sure, and neither was anyone else.

Tang San said solemnly, "For long-term development, cooperation with the lion race is for the best. Big Cat has proven through the competition that the Lion-Tiger clan's bloodline is a true first-tier bloodline, capable of producing Demon Emperors. The Lion-Tiger clan will surpass both the lion and the tiger races in the future. And if Big Cat does become a Demon Emperor, then the Lion-Tiger clan will truly be reborn. I think it's worth a try, and Big Cat thinks so too. He is determined to move in that direction."

The Grand Elder nodded silently and said, "He is right. I'm old and no longer have the drive. But he's still young, and I can completely trust the future of the Lion-Tiger clan to him. I will guard the rear for him. Once he breaks through, he can take the young ones from the clan with him. Benefactor, may I ask if the old, young, and women can stay here, at least to ensure the Lion-Tiger clan's bloodline survives? In case..."