Golden Core is a Star, and You Call This Cultivation?

Three days later.

Qi Yuan looked at the various techniques in the storage bag and beamed with joy.

“As expected, it’s good to have subordinates.”

“If only the techniques from the Liufeng Realm were useful to me.”

“With so many techniques, they should be enough to advance the Nascent Soul Chapter and push my Golden Core to the mid-stage, right?”

Qi Yuan pondered.

The Golden Core Path was like a bottomless pit for Qi Yuan. After all, how many planets and stars are there in the universe? Qi Yuan didn’t know. Devouring them all would indeed be a monumental task.

“However, the previous advancements in the Golden Core Path should be enough to allow my Solar True Fire to devour a few planets, right?”

Qi Yuan looked inward at his dantian, where a projection of his Golden Core burned brightly with flames.

It wouldn’t be long before he could start devouring some planets for fun.

Without further thought, Qi Yuan fully immersed himself in the techniques he had obtained.

...

In the Divine Light Sect of the Great Shang Kingdom.

Elder Xuan Chong of the Divine Medicine Peak looked grim, and True Lord Kumu wasn’t faring much better.

In front of them stood a young man dressed in white robes.

“Kumu True Lord, you and I are from the same clan. Why would I deceive you? And Elder Xuan Chong, we three come from the same clan, so we should prioritize the interests of the Wood Clan!” said the young man in white robes, named Mu Kong.

Back when Honglian exterminated the Wood Clan, Mu Kong wasn’t in the clan and barely escaped with his life.

True Lord Kumu looked at Mu Kong with anger in his eyes. “The interests of the Wood Clan? You mean your own interests!”

Mu Kong smiled calmly and said, “With your talent, Kumu True Lord, when will you ever reach the Purple Mansion realm? My master, the Supreme Elder of the Red Sword Sect, is a Purple Mansion cultivator. If you hand over the Wood Origin Canon and the Great Shang serves the Red Sword Sect, my master will recover from his injuries and avenge the Wood Clan!”

He spoke with grandeur and righteousness.

True Lord Kumu’s face darkened.

The Red Sword Sect had coveted the Great Shang for a long time. Back then, the old emperor of the Great Shang had the shadow of the Red Sword Sect behind him. Now that their efforts to support the old emperor had failed, they sent Mu Kong as a negotiator?

“Kumu True Lord, give me an answer within three days. If not, my master will come here personally, and he won’t be as reasonable,” Mu Kong said arrogantly. “Today, I’ll stay at... Seven Colors Peak. I’ve heard the peak master is stunningly beautiful. I wonder if I’ll be lucky enough to see her?”

True Lord Kumu’s face turned ashen. “The peak master of Seven Colors Peak is in seclusion and doesn’t see visitors.”

He didn’t know that the top of Seven Colors Peak was already empty.

“What a pity,” Mu Kong said regretfully.

He was weak, only at the Yuan Dan stage, so he didn’t dare offend Ruan Yixi. But... when his master arrived, the outcome might be different.

“Kumu True Lord, Elder Xuan Chong, think carefully and consider the bigger picture. If my master doesn’t receive my message in three days, he will personally come to the Divine Light Sect.”

After speaking, Mu Kong smiled and walked toward Seven Colors Peak.

True Lord Kumu and Elder Xuan Chong stood in the hall, their expressions dark.

“This is outrageous!” True Lord Kumu wished he could kill Mu Kong with one strike.

But he hesitated, fearing the retaliation of the Red Sword Sect’s Supreme Elder. If he acted rashly, it could drag the Divine Light Sect into a crisis of annihilation.

“Is the feng shui here bad?” Elder Xuan Chong, usually silent, spoke up.

He had been at the Divine Light Sect for centuries, quietly cultivating and never getting involved in sect affairs. But over the past hundred years, he had noticed many problems within this small Nascent Soul sect.

In the sect, he had found over a hundred spies.

There were also some strange disciples, deacons, and elders.

At first, he thought these people joined the Divine Light Sect with ulterior motives.

But as it turned out, they were normal and never caused any trouble.

These problematic individuals formed a sect that had no problems.

First, there was the Hundred Nations Blood War, and now there was the threat from the Red Sword Sect. Elder Xuan Chong truly believed the feng shui here was bad.

True Lord Kumu was weary.

Born into a noble family, he had endured endless hardships to reach this point, his expression resolute. “Fate may be limited, but people... have no limits.”

He didn’t believe in fate; he believed that everything had to be fought for.

“Enough of the nonsense. Are you going to hand over the Wood Origin Canon or not?” Elder Xuan Chong snapped at True Lord Kumu.

True Lord Kumu sighed. “The Eastern Lands Prodigy Battle should have started. I wonder how Fulu and Qi Yuan are doing.”

Elder Xuan Chong also showed a hint of regret in his eyes. “It’s a pity that Qi Yuan didn’t have enough time. Otherwise... if he had condensed his Golden Core, he might have had a chance to enter the top hundred of the Eastern Lands Prodigy Battle and retrieve the purple-gold gourd. With that gourd, our Wood Clan would have a glimmer of hope for revival.”

True Lord Kumu said bitterly, “How can we revive when Honglian is still alive?”

Not to mention Honglian, even the injured Purple Mansion cultivator from the Red Sword Sect was beyond their ability to handle.

The two men could only sigh in bitter helplessness.

After some time, a voice suddenly cried out urgently, “Something terrible has happened, Sect Master!”

A deacon rushed in, his eyes filled with panic.

Elder Xuan Chong couldn’t help but rub his forehead. The feng shui really is bad.

“What’s wrong?” True Lord Kumu asked, maintaining his composure despite the urgency.

“Mu Kong... is dead... he died halfway up Seven Colors Peak!” the deacon reported.

True Lord Kumu’s face changed dramatically.

“Let’s go!”

He waved his sleeve and, along with Elder Xuan Chong, flew to Seven Colors Peak.

When they landed halfway up the peak, True Lord Kumu saw a familiar towering tree.

Once, he had met secretly with the Empress of the Great Shang, now the Dowager Empress Mu You, under this very tree.

But now, Mu Kong’s body lay there, split in two as if sliced cleanly by a sword.

Jiang Lingsu stood nearby, wearing an orange dress that made her look like a bee.

“What happened?” True Lord Kumu asked.

Jiang Lingsu, deep in thought, replied, “I was cultivating in my room when I suddenly felt a surge of sword intent. When I looked outside, I saw a blade of grass cut this person in half.”

As she spoke, she glanced at the ground, which was covered in grass. She didn’t know which blade had done the killing.

“A blade of grass killed a Yuan Dan cultivator?” True Lord Kumu frowned. “Where is your master?”

He suspected that this was Ruan Yixi’s doing.

“My master... has left Seven Colors Peak. My senior brother told me so,” Jiang Lingsu replied.

True Lord Kumu looked at the corpse on the ground, his expression growing more worried.

Now that Mu Kong was dead, the Wood Origin Canon could not be handed over, and the Red Sword Sect would certainly hold a grudge against them.

“Activate the sect’s grand array immediately!” True Lord Kumu ordered.

The Supreme Elder of the Red Sword Sect had been severely injured long ago, and it was unclear how much of his strength remained.

But after all, he was still a Purple Mansion cultivator.

Hopefully... the Divine Light Sect could survive this calamity.

At that moment, Jiang Lingsu spoke up, “Sect Master, Senior Brother said that in two days, some of his subordinates would arrive at the Divine Light Sect and bring a gift for the Sect Master.”

“Subordinates?” The Sect Master was puzzled.

And a gift?

“Isn’t he supposed to be participating in the Eastern Lands Prodigy Battle?” True Lord Kumu asked.

“I don’t know.” Jiang Lingsu shook her head, not knowing much about it.

Whether her senior brother participated in the battle or not didn’t really matter to her.

True Lord Kumu didn’t say anything more, as this was a minor matter. The threat from the Red Sword Sect was the real concern.

...

In Yunzhong City, Cuiyun Continent.

Qi Yuan had now moved to Yunzhong Pavilion.

“Leader!” The Master of Yunzhong Pavilion lowered his head respectfully and called out softly from outside the grand hall.

“Come in.” Qi Yuan opened his eyes, the eons of time flashing through them.

The Master of Yunzhong Pavilion entered with a hunched old man, both wearing respectful expressions.

“Leader, these are the new techniques we’ve collected,” the Master of Yunzhong Pavilion said, handing over a storage bag.

Inside, there were countless technique jade slips.

Qi Yuan glanced at them, feeling quite pleased.

This was much faster than killing old men for techniques.

No wonder everyone likes being a capitalist and exploiting others.

“Well done, keep up the good work,” QiYuan casually praised.

The Master of Yunzhong Pavilion continued, “Recently, some forces seem to be secretly investigating… the Leader’s identity. For example, they’re looking into all the members of the Divine Flower Society in the Hundred Nations.”

Qi Yuan’s eyes narrowed at this.

Someone’s trying to unmask me?

That’s too much!

Don’t I get any privacy?

Even my alternate identity is being exposed; this is a violation of my privacy rights.

“Who is it?” Qi Yuan asked.

“It’s likely people from the Heaven and Earth Cave,” the Master of Yunzhong Pavilion replied.

The Hundred Nations bordered Cuiyun Continent, so gathering information about the Hundred Nations inevitably involved dealing with Cuiyun Continent’s powers. Now that Cuiyun Continent had a new ruler, the Blood-Clad Alliance, investigating the Hundred Nations wasn’t a simple task.

“Yeqiong Sovereign?” Qi Yuan’s eyes lit up. “Did he say anything threatening? Did he say he wants to kill me?”

The Master of Yunzhong Pavilion looked a bit fearful and replied weakly, “No.”

“Really?”

“Really,” the Master of Yunzhong Pavilion confirmed. Over time, he had come to understand the Blood-Clad Sword God’s personality.

This man was truly mad!

And he liked killing people.

Of course, he killed with logic; he wasn’t a mindless murderer.

“Even if he didn’t say it, he’s probably thought about it!” Qi Yuan said with a serious expression, but then quickly dismissed the thought. That would be too unreasonable.

Even when he wrote essays, Qi Yuan liked to have evidence and wouldn’t wrong an innocent person. As for bad people, what harm was there in wronging them?

“When I have time and meet Yeqiong Sovereign, I’ll personally ask him if he’s thought about killing me,” Qi Yuan said.

The Master of Yunzhong Pavilion broke out in cold sweat.

You’re too bold!

If a Purple Mansion cultivator were to boldly ask a Yin God Sovereign if they’d thought about killing him, even if they hadn’t before, they might certainly develop the urge to do so.

At this moment, the Master of Yunzhong Pavilion felt incredibly conflicted.

He wasn’t sure whether having such a powerful leader was a blessing or a curse. He feared that before the great calamity even arrived, Qi Yuan would get himself killed by provoking some Yin Gods.

He glanced at the old man beside him and exchanged a look.

“Leader, I’ll take my leave,” the Master of Yunzhong Pavilion said.

With the Heaven and Earth Cave investigating Qi Yuan’s identity, he had to intervene to ensure they couldn’t succeed. He and his people didn’t dare investigate the leader’s background too deeply themselves. If nothing were wrong, it was fine for Qi Yuan to be the leader of Cuiyun Continent. But if something suspicious was found, and the continent was left without a Yin God to protect it, what then?

It felt like a cultivation family whose ancestral patriarch had been killed, with the enemy pretending to be the patriarch. Even if the family elders knew the patriarch had been replaced, they didn’t dare to say anything and continued to serve him.

After the Master of Yunzhong Pavilion left, only Qi Yuan and the old man remained in the hall.

“Sit,” Qi Yuan said, glancing at the old man. A chair appeared behind him.

Qi Yuan had always treated elders with respect and given them special consideration. Even after coming to the Canglan Realm, his good virtues of respecting the elderly and caring for the young remained.

“Thank you, Leader, for granting me a seat,” the old man said, though he was inwardly uneasy.

“I hear you’ve lived for nearly a hundred thousand years and have encountered many Yin Gods?” Qi Yuan asked.

The old man was from the Earth Turtle Clan, a demon cultivator, and was currently the oldest living being in Cuiyun Continent. Qi Yuan had specifically sought him out to learn just how powerful Yin Gods were.

“I have,” the old Earth Turtle responded, his body thin and frail, though Qi Yuan knew this was merely an appearance. This old man’s defense was likely stronger than that of the Grand Palace Lord of the Radiant Palace.

“How powerful are Yin Gods?” Qi Yuan asked.

The old Earth Turtle appeared thoughtful, recalling the Master of Yunzhong Pavilion’s advice to describe the Yin Gods as extremely powerful. However, even without this advice, the old Earth Turtle genuinely believed Yin Gods were incredibly strong.

“The Yin God realm is the realm of immortal gods. I’ve seen the owner of the Emperor’s Shock Dragon Crown, Wulong Sovereign. He is a Yin God of the Second Step.”

“The Second Step?”

“The Yin God realm is divided into seven small steps, from the First Step to the Seventh Step. The First to the Third Step are collectively known as Sovereigns. The Fourth Step is known as Great Sovereigns. Once all seven steps are completed, one becomes… a Yang God!”

“A Purple Mansion cultivator must condense a Divine Aperture and transform their mana into divine power to become a Yin God. Cultivation in the Yin God realm involves expanding the Divine Aperture. Each additional Divine Aperture roughly doubles their strength. With 12 Divine Apertures, one is considered to be in the Second Step. With 36 Divine Apertures, one reaches the Third Step.”

“When you say ‘doubles,’ do you mean a linear increase or an exponential one?” Qi Yuan asked.

If it were an exponential increase, that would be terrifying.

The old Earth Turtle didn’t understand Qi Yuan’s meaning.

“Roughly speaking, how many First Step Sovereigns would it take to defeat an 11 Divine Aperture Sovereign?” Qi Yuan rephrased.

“At least ten, maybe dozens, or even hundreds. The further along they are in their Divine Apertures, the more divine power they possess. Wulong Sovereign, at the Second Step with 13 Divine Apertures, could unleash an attack as powerful as that of a Sixth or Seventh Divine Aperture Sovereign with the incomplete Emperor’s Shock Dragon Crown.”

“And how many Divine Apertures has Yeqiong Sovereign opened?” Qi Yuan asked.

The old Earth Turtle smiled helplessly. “Such secrets are beyond my knowledge.”

Qi Yuan now had a general understanding of the Yin God realm. The differences in power within this realm were vast.

At this moment, the old Earth Turtle added in a low voice, “Some time ago, after Senior’s battle with the Radiant Palace in the Void, I personally went to see the remnants of the battle in Cuiyun Continent…”

When Qi Yuan had summoned the projection of his Golden Core, it had caused great destruction. Although it was merely a projection and not the actual Golden Core, it had still created significant remnants.

“Based on the remnants left behind from the battle, I estimate that the battle was at the level of a Second Step Yin God,” the old Earth Turtle said with a look of awe.

Qi Yuan, hearing this, began calculating.

The projection of my Stellar Golden Core that crossed universes was only at the level of the Second Step?

But on reflection, it made sense. After all, it had crossed a universe and was only a projection, not the actual Golden Core.

Clearly, it was still too weak.

Qi Yuan felt a sense of urgency.

“What’s the strongest Yin God in the Canglan Realm? Is there a Yang God?” Qi Yuan asked.

“This I do not know, but I can confirm that the Eastern Lands has no Great Sovereign, only Sovereigns,” the old Earth Turtle replied.

“Hmm.” Qi Yuan nodded, thinking that Yeqiong Sovereign, at best, was only at the Third Step.

The old Earth Turtle left.

The grand hall was now empty except for Qi Yuan.

He looked at the techniques in the storage bag, his gaze intense.

“The Yin Gods are indeed strong, but unfortunately… my Stellar Golden Core is in another world.”

“What if Yeqiong Sovereign is at the Third Step?”

According to the old Earth Turtle, the Third Step would have at least 36 Divine Apertures, with a perfect count of 81.

If Yeqiong Sovereign had 81 Divine Apertures, Qi Yuan knew he couldn’t win against him now.

“No, I must prioritize advancing along the Golden Core Path!”

Qi Yuan looked inward at his dantian and found that his Solar True Fire had accumulated to a significant degree.

It had only been ten days here, but in that universe, a thousand years had passed.

“Solar True Fire… devour!”

At that moment, Qi Yuan activated his Solar True Fire.

Instantly, his dantian became scorching hot.

Meanwhile, in the vast universe, flames on a star began to flicker.

A cold, beautiful girl in a black dress opened her eyes, a wisp of Solar True Fire burning in her palm.

She looked at the thirteen planets before her, a hint of excitement on her face.

“Solar True Fire, go!”

With the girl’s command, the golden flames on the star surged.

The star’s size suddenly increased tenfold, then a hundredfold.

In the Canglan Realm, the small sun in the sky grew even brighter, flashing once.

All the ordinary people, and even cultivators, couldn’t help but glance at the small sun in confusion.

In the vast universe, Solar True Fire blazed.

In all directions, the intense flames burned.

The mythical fire devoured everything, spreading its massive wave of heat across the vast universe.

Thirteen massive planets, stars so large that mortals could never measure them in a lifetime, were as small as dust under the Solar True Fire.

One, two, three… thirteen planets were successively devoured by the Solar True Fire.

Whether solid, gaseous, or icy, these cosmic bodies were all consumed by the flames.

Ningtao’s eyes flashed with joy. “I’ve gained a few more palaces.”

In the Canglan Realm, Qi Yuan couldn’t help but burp for the first time since he started cultivating.

He looked inside his dantian and saw the projections of many stars.

Though “many” was an exaggeration—it was only fourteen.

One star, thirteen planets, and several insignificant small bodies.

“I’ve started collecting stamps!”

“The next target is to devour a star!”

Qi Yuan felt that he still had plenty of Solar True Fire left.

“If one star can’t crush Yeqiong Sovereign, what about two?”

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