Chapter 7: The Unfathomable Celestial Gallery

A myriad of thoughts whirled through Tang Mu's mind as he stood before the golden gothic arched door leading to the Celestial Gallery.

He stepped back and turned to observe the rest of the grand hall. But aside from the main entrance through which he had entered the pagoda and the door beside him, there was no other visible exit leading out of the place.

There might be other hidden doors, but he suspected that he wouldn't be able to identify them unless he fulfilled certain conditions.

I'll probably have to enter this so-called Celestial Gallery to find answers.

As a person who had gotten a chance of rebirth in the future, he had always yearned for a life-changing opportunity that could allow him to become a protagonist of the era. Seventeen years had passed quietly, and finally, he had managed to chance upon something mysterious, something bizarre that could bring some excitement into his mundane life.

So why not take the chance and see if he could gain something from the encounter?

Tang Mu's gambling spirit welled up within him. After pondering for a bit, he decided to bite the bullet and explore the so-called Celestial Gallery of the Star God Pagoda. He took a deep breath and immediately stepped past the golden gothic arched door before leaving it to close behind him.

One step, two steps, three steps!

Under the illumination afforded by the glowing crystals floating around the place, Tang Mu traversed the space behind the Celestial Gallery's door before finally stepping on the wide ethereal-like stairs leading to the platform with the mural.

"Fuck! What is this?"

Right then, something unexpected happened, causing Tang Mu to mumble a few expletives. Out of nowhere, a heaven-defying pressure suddenly pressed down on his body and soul after his feet made contact with the first stair.

His knees almost gave way under the increased weight of his upper body as he struggled to resist the force that seemed to want to crush him. His blood flow seemed to have slowed, and his head started aching. It was as if he had stepped into an area with multiplied gravity.

Fortunately, he was a strong-willed reincarnated soul who had 'gone all out' to train himself over the past seventeen years of his second life. Relentless meditation had already made his mind quite tenacious. His body was also super fit after countless hours in the gym, and he could barely resist the crushing pressure.

Sweeping his gaze up the nearly incorporeal staircase illuminated by the glowing star-like crystals, he took a deep breath before taking another step to ascend to the second stair. The pressure exerted on his body immediately intensified. But he remained steadfast and collected as he headed towards the platform one stair at a time.

Soon enough, after almost exhausting all his energy, he was on the ninth and final stair, with the diaphanous platform just a step away. By then, the pressure exerted on his body had probably multiplied a few times, and he could barely support his weight.

In fact, he had already opted to crawl forward on his knees and hands as support to offset the pressure. But even then, drops of sweat, snot, and tears repeatedly rolled down his face before disappearing into the almost unreal but solid floor beneath him.

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He was close to hitting his limit, and if the pressure increased by just a single unit, he might 'just' die on the stairs while trying to reach the platform with the mural.

Let's hope this is worth it.

A few scattered thoughts passed through Tang Mu's exhausted brain. He mustered his resolve and called forth the remaining energy traces in his body. With one last exertion of force, he threw his body forward and immediately landed on the broad platform in a sorry state.

"Phew!"

It was then that a long-awaited sense of relaxation washed through him.

The crushing pressure that had almost killed him disappeared, and he lay supine on the floor, breathing in and out like a fish that had just gotten out of the water. His chest muscles continued rapidly rising up and down as his heart and lungs worked hard to replenish the oxygen he had used to ascend the nine stairs.

That was close.

If my guess is correct, the gradually intensifying pressure on the stairs is probably a test to stop undeserving people from seeing the mural painted on the stone slab of this platform. Fortunately, I barely passed the test.

Tang Mu let out a sigh of relief after a few minutes. He finally mustered the energy to push himself off the floor as his eyes darted around, observing the place.

He immediately noticed that nine more ethereal-like stairs had at one point appeared on one side of the platform previously veiled by foggy light. The second staircase level extended to another higher gauzy platform with another mural painted on a correspondingly tall arched slab rising from the middle of its seemingly incorporeal floor.

It seems I just passed the first level by resisting the pressure on the first nine stairs. Going by logic, nine more stairs corresponding to the third level should appear if I ascend to the second platform successfully.

But is that possible with my current level of abilities?

The feeling of the gradually increasing and crushing pressure on the first nine stairs was so fresh in his mind. Yes, he had reached the first platform, but that was only after exhausting all his strength, stamina, and mental strength.

He felt he could likely meet his maker if he dared to continue challenging the second level of stairs. As for reaching the second platform, maybe that was only feasible when he unlocked one of his chakras and became a true-blue psionic.

One step at a time... Let me study the mural first. Tang Mu sighed.

His eyes narrowed as his gaze landed on the mural painted on the tall arched slab rising from the platform.

The mural portrayed an expansive savanna grassland with a towering and magnificent mountain in the background. Taking a closer look, Tang Mu saw tall bushes, anthills, some sparse trees, and various animals immaculately depicted on the plains and the steep slopes in the painting.

Be it herbivores, like wildebeests, zebras, and elephants, or predators, like snakes, hyenas, and lions — they were all portrayed going about their own things in the mural. Some were grazing or hunting, others even mating, and the rest resting.

The mural clearly displayed the wildlife common in tropical savanna habitats.

Isn't this just a wall painting of a few common animals on Earth? Why is it here?

Tang Mu was confused. He couldn't understand why a mural depicting such common and ordinary wild animals would appear in such a magical place.

Narrowing his eyes, he stepped forward and traced his fingertips along the mural surface. He even touched the runic symbols framing the painting, hoping to uncover what was special about it. But even then, nothing extraordinary happened, and all Tang Mu could feel was the cold sensation of the stone slab against his fingers.

His eyes continued darting around, and finally, he spotted a barely visible groove in the shape of a palm print just beside the mural. Expectations surged within his heart, and he took a few steps sideways before placing his right hand within the groove.

At first, there was no change in the mural. But after a dozen seconds, when Tang Mu was about to lose hope and remove his hand from the groove, the wall painting finally had a reaction.

The runic symbols framing the mural exuded a blinding starry light that instantly flooded the entire platform. A few seconds passed, and the brilliance eventually receded. But what was strange was that Tang Mu's thin and tall silhouette was nowhere to be seen. It was as if the light from the mural had just swallowed his entire being.