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

An Qiao and the others worked hard to bury Chen Fan and Luo Bufan. Qi Yuan looked at the corpses scattered all over the Sea Stone Village, a pained expression in his eyes.

“So many dead... This must have been a huge banquet. It’s a pity... I can't eat them!”

The notification for task completion had already appeared; they would soon leave the task world.

Qi Yuan glanced at the ruined Sea Stone Village, his expression calm.

“If I ever get the chance to come back, I’ll feast then.”

At this moment, An Qiao approached, her face showing respect as she looked at Qi Yuan.

“Brother Qi, when we return, I will give you the captain’s belongings.”

Generally speaking, if a newcomer completes their first task successfully, they return to the outpost where the veteran mission members are located.

“Hmm, what’s the name of the place where you’re returning?” Qi Yuan asked curiously.

An Qiao’s eyes still seemed somewhat dazed, but she responded, “The World of Dead Qi, but… we prefer to call it… the Yellow Springs World. The Yellow Springs World is home to a group of dead people, or rather, those who are not quite dead yet.”

“Oh, let’s call it the Yellow Springs World then. I’m patriotic and support domestic names,” Qi Yuan replied casually.

This comment left An Qiao and the others momentarily speechless.

“The task is complete, and we can’t stay longer than half an hour. Just think about returning, and you’ll be back at the outpost,” An Qiao explained to Qi Yuan.

“Got it.”

Qi Yuan looked over at Xiao Mei in the distance and waved.

With her innate marriage-prone physique, who knows how many more times she’ll get married if they meet again.

“Return!”

Qi Yuan silently chanted in his mind.

In an instant, he felt time and space flip. He heard countless wails and whispers in his ears.

This sensation lasted for less than a second before completely dissipating.

When his vision cleared, he found himself standing in a small stone chamber.

The stone chamber wasn’t large, about thirty square meters.

In the southern part of the room, there was a stone table with a stone lamp on it. The lampshade contained a candle, emitting a dim yellow light, which was the only source of light in the chamber.

“Hmm… a free house?”

Qi Yuan glanced around, intrigued by his surroundings.

It seemed that this house was carved out from a massive rock, with the stone table connected to the ground.

Qi Yuan pushed open the stone door and discovered that he was standing on a cliff.

This meant that the entire stone chamber was hollowed out from the cliffside.

“If the apocalypse came and zombies overran everything, I could stash some supplies here and hide. No zombie would ever find this place.”

If he were a kid, Qi Yuan would’ve loved this stone chamber and treated it as a secret base.

But now, as an adult, he was only mildly interested.

He scanned the area and noticed there were many stone chambers like his on the cliff.

Below the cliff was a valley filled with the fragrance of flowers. A deep breath of the air would make anyone feel a bit dizzy.

Qi Yuan followed the steps down the cliff.

“Brother Qi, over here!” An Qiao waved at Qi Yuan from not far away.

At this point, An Qiao looked no different from her appearance in the task world; she was still wearing the black combat uniform of the Demon-Suppressing Division.

However, Qi Yuan also noticed many men and women dressed in modern styles at this outpost.

Just then, an old man approached Qi Yuan, sniffing him with a slightly anxious expression: “A newcomer? What did you get as your task reward, a Body-Refining Blood Pill? If you have one, how about making a deal with me, old man?”

“See those beauties and handsome guys in the bamboo pavilion over there? If you give me the Body-Refining Blood Pill, you can play with any of those three beautiful women or handsome men!”

“Hmph, not everyone gets a chance like this. I’m only making this offer because I see potential in you and want to befriend you.”

Qi Yuan glanced over and saw three men and three women sitting in a bamboo pavilion not far away.

The men were handsome, and the women were beautiful, all dressed in different styles.

The women wore ancient Qin costumes, modern cheongsams, and short skirts with stockings.

The men were similarly dressed, each representing a different era's charm.

“Lin Yeshan, stop trying to deceive people. Brother Qi isn’t just some new recruit!” An Qiao stepped forward and glared at Lin Yeshan.

“This is Lin Yeshan, a notorious trickster in the outpost who targets newcomers. The Body-Refining Blood Pill is precious and can greatly enhance one’s strength with almost no side effects. You don’t need to waste a Body-Refining Blood Pill to enjoy the Bamboo Pavilion.”

An Qiao exposed Lin Yeshan’s tricks without hesitation.

Lin Yeshan laughed sheepishly, a strange look in his eyes.

An Qiao was a decent martial artist herself; why was she addressing this newcomer as ‘Brother Qi’?

“Heh heh, looks like this new recruit performed well in your mission.” Seeing that his trick didn’t work, Lin Yeshan changed his tone. “Well, if you want, I can still arrange for you to visit the Bamboo Pavilion girls.”

An Qiao glared at Lin Yeshan, clearly displeased.

“Brother Qi, come on. I’ll take you to the captain’s place.” An Qiao led Qi Yuan away.

Lin Yeshan was stunned for a moment, then asked, “What happened to Chen Fan?”

Lin Yeshan knew that Chen Fan was a loner who almost never allowed outsiders into his place.

For An Qiao to be taking Qi Yuan there, what did it mean?

“The captain… is gone,” An Qiao said softly, her voice tinged with sadness.

Perhaps this would be her fate as well in the future.

Lin Yeshan was taken aback, then looked at Qi Yuan with a complicated expression but said nothing more.

An Qiao led Qi Yuan through the valley toward another cliffside.

“Your people here are quite friendly. If I’m not mistaken, that guy earlier was at mid-Jade Blood level. Yet, you could scold him like that, and he didn’t lose his temper?” Qi Yuan asked casually.

“He’s an… old martial artist. In the outpost, he has Jade Blood-level strength, but in the task world, his strength drops to mid-qi blood level. So…”

An Qiao didn’t finish her sentence, but Qi Yuan understood.

In future tasks, they might team up. In the task world, Lin Yeshan’s strength would be relatively weaker.

The main point was that advancing in the Jade Blood level was far more challenging than in the Qi Blood level.

Thus, for old martial artists like Lin Yeshan, their status in the outpost was significantly lower.

Soon, under An Qiao’s guidance, Qi Yuan arrived at Chen Fan’s stone chamber.

“The safest place in the outpost is the stone chambers. Without the owner’s permission, no one else can enter. The captain granted me entry access before he died. In three days, this stone chamber will become a vacant room,” An Qiao explained, her eyes red with emotion.

She entered the stone chamber, her gaze falling on a stone box.

“This is the captain’s belongings; he wanted me to give them to you.” An Qiao opened the stone box and took out a bundle.

Qi Yuan took the bundle without hesitation.

This was his reward for a side mission—why wouldn’t he take it?

“Quiet Blood Pills?”

“Golden Bell Shield?”

“Thousand Jue Whirlwind Blade?”

Inside the bundle, Qi Yuan found several Quiet Blood Pills and various martial arts manuals.

None of these martial arts were particularly high-level, but Qi Yuan was quite interested.

These martial arts were all of the new style and could boost his combat power.

Among them, a stone token caught Qi Yuan’s attention.

“What’s this?”

The token was inscribed with the character for "heaven."

With his special eyes, Qi Yuan could see hidden information, but all it told him was the material and crafting method of the token.

“This is... the entry token for the Genius Alliance. In the Yellow Springs World, there are many outposts and many factions. The Genius Alliance is a major faction that recruits talented individuals. The captain had a very high aptitude; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been noticed by the Genius Alliance. However, he always had a knot in his heart, so he never went to the Genius Alliance on the East Coast.”

“Oh, sounds decent. I’ll keep it.”

After taking the belongings, Qi Yuan bid farewell to An Qiao and left Chen Fan’s chamber.

An Qiao stayed behind in Chen Fan’s chamber, seemingly wanting to take everything that belonged to Chen Fan.

After all, this was all that Chen Fan had left in this world.

Back in his own stone chamber, Qi Yuan took out the Body-Refining Blood Pills.

“These are worth dozens of drops of demon blood… Not bad for something small.”

For others, this reward was quite good.

After all, they didn’t have the ability to devour their original body and couldn’t consume demon blood as freely as Qi Yuan could.

Even Body-Refining Blood Pills had a limit to how much one could take.

“Still, even a small gain is a gain. System, level me up!”

Once again, Qi Yuan provided his own narration.

After killing the Sea God, Qi Yuan’s stockpile of demon blood had reached three hundred drops.

With these three hundred drops, he planned to master the three martial arts he had obtained from Chen Fan.

[You have consumed fifty drops of demon blood and begun training in the Golden Bell Shield. The key to the Golden Bell Shield lies in concentration, hardness, and deflecting force. Consuming a portion of demon blood, you have entered the initial stage of the Golden Bell Shield. Consuming more demon blood, you reach the second stage… The Golden Bell Shield is perfected, but you cannot progress further. You have a sudden insight, applying principles from Immortal Dao to Martial Dao. Consuming demon blood… The Golden Bell Shield… is perfected.]

Qi Yuan pushed the Golden Bell Shield technique to perfection in one go.

As he consumed the demon blood, he gained some insights.

All paths lead to the same destination.

The Golden Bell Shield in martial arts and defensive spells in immortal arts are quite similar.

But this similarity is where the big differences lie. Qi Yuan had a deep understanding of both paths.

And he wasn’t lacking in this understanding.

His eyes could see hidden information, and he had a unique foundation in the Immortal Dao.

After perfecting the Golden Bell Shield, Qi Yuan consumed more demon blood and quickly mastered the Thousand Jue Whirlwind Blade.

He also practiced a martial technique similar to a storage bag, constructing a space within his body to store supplies.

“This Tianyang Finger looks good; should I practice it too?”

The Tianyang Finger was a martial technique provided by the Genius Alliance. Anyone who mastered the Tianyang Finger could directly enter the Genius Alliance with the token.

[You have consumed one hundred drops of demon blood and begun practicing the Tianyang Finger. The Tianyang Finger has reached the second stage… and is perfected.]

“What? Not enough?”

[You consume another fifty drops of demon blood; the Tianyang Finger… is perfected.]

At this moment, Qi Yuan, with just his martial arts cultivation alone, could easily dominate his previous self.

Martial techniques significantly boost combat power, especially once the Golden Bell Shield is perfected. In battle, the blood energy condenses all over his body, making his skin as hard as iron.

Even if an average demon slashed at Qi Yuan, he would be unharmed.

With such a hard technique, he was best suited for charging into battle.

“All right, time to return to the real world and participate in the martial arts tournament.”

Unlike the other inhabitants of the Yellow Springs World, Qi Yuan hadn’t died to enter.

His situation was unique.

So, relatively speaking, he had more freedom and could stay outside whenever he didn’t have a task.

Of course, others weren’t as fortunate as Qi Yuan.

For instance, Chen Fan had appeared in the outside world only a handful of times in the past few hundred years.

“Wow, five days have passed?

Looks like time in the game world flows similarly to reality.”

Before going into seclusion to break through, Qi Yuan had specifically instructed the hotel not to disturb him.

So when he returned to reality, the room was still exactly as he had left it.

Even if some nosy individuals wanted to intrude, they couldn’t alter the room’s setup.

Before going into seclusion, Qi Yuan had set up an array.

“This place is still the best. In the game world, I was… too weak.”

Upon entering the task world, his Immortal Dao cultivation was suppressed, and his realm dropped by one level.

This led him to be especially cautious in the first task; he couldn’t even sleep well at night, fearing he’d encounter a terrifying demon.

Game-world Luo Bufan had it rough, and so did Qi Yuan.

Among the masses, everyone has their hardships.

For instance, some people are born without parents, becoming orphans.

Qi Yuan also had it tough—he never had a mother-in-law.

No one to care for him, love him, or protect him. His strength was suppressed by a level, and in the game world, he was constantly on edge, fearing discovery by a great demon.

Fortunately, his cautious and steady nature allowed him to complete the task perfectly.

Back in the real world, with his Foundation Establishment perfect stage strength, his confidence was restored.

“Looks like… I need to form my Golden Core.”

Qi Yuan gazed at the sun in the sky, deep in thought.

Soon, there would be another sun in the sky.

By forming his Golden Core, he would gradually draw in the Stellar Golden Core.

The first one to be drawn in would be the star where Ning Tao was, which was also Qi Yuan’s first Golden Core.

“Time to… break through!”

…

In a military camp, thousands of soldiers in uniform were training, their loud shouts echoing nonstop.

Engines roared like thunder.

Various artillery fired freely.

Inside the steel structure, however, it was very quiet; the soundproofing was excellent, so no noise from outside could enter.

A pot-bellied man in military uniform took a sip of tea, then looked at the man in front of him. He spoke.

“Xiao Huan, this matter has already attracted the attention of the Seven Martial Stars. What he did, sending a coffin to the Marquis of Blue Sea, puts us in a difficult position. Although the Marquis of Blue Sea’s actions were a bit excessive, after all... his intentions were for the nation and for Qin Yuan.”

“How about this, I’ll have the Marquis of Blue Sea personally go to apologize to him, and we’ll call this matter settled?”

There was a chilling aura in the military man’s words.

Recently, the extermination of the Gui Ran military camp had caused a huge uproar.

The upper echelons of the Qin Yuan nation had also taken notice of Qi Yuan.

Perhaps due to greed or following the orders of some high-ranking figures, the Marquis of Blue Sea tried to secretly infiltrate Qi Yuan’s phone and computer to gather more information.

Unexpectedly, this little trick was discovered and intercepted by Zero-One.

So, Qi Yuan arranged for Zero-One to deliver a coffin to the Marquis of Blue Sea.

And that led to today’s incident.

Kuang Huan dared not look directly at the military man. He lowered his head and said, “Chief, I don’t have the qualifications to interfere in Lord Qi’s matters either!”

“Whether or not you’re qualified is irrelevant. You just need to convey our words to him. Otherwise, if today he dares to send a coffin to the Marquis of Blue Sea, won’t he dare to kill people from the Seven Martial Stars families tomorrow? He is indeed very strong, but our Qin Yuan’s Sky Eye is not just for show. Under the Sky Eye, even gods cannot survive! However, we aim for peace and do not wish to start a conflict lightly. As long as he shows goodwill and forgives the Marquis of Blue Sea, everything can continue to be discussed.”

The military man’s expression carried a hint of threat.

Regarding such an unstable person like Qi Yuan, there was much debate at the top.

Some wanted to win him over, while others wanted to eliminate him.

For now, the faction advocating for cooperation had the upper hand.

But even for cooperation, there had to be some strategy—first, a little suppression. Otherwise... he wouldn’t know who held the bigger cards.

“This…” Kuang Huan looked troubled.

At the Gui Ran military camp, he had witnessed Mr. Qi’s strength firsthand and regarded him as a celestial being.

But could Mr. Qi, no matter how strong, compete with the Qin Yuan nation’s ultimate weapon, the Sky Eye?

Back when the Glorious Star invaded, the reason the Gong Star managed to remain independent without being annexed was largely due to the Sky Eye.

At this moment, Kuang Huan couldn’t help but worry for Qi Yuan.

He knew Qi Yuan’s character. Mr. Qi would never regret what he had done.

If spoken to nicely, it would be fine, but with such an obvious, condescending attitude, Mr. Qi would surely disdain them.

“I…” Kuang Huan stammered, unable to speak.

Seeing this, the military man seemed to understand where things were headed.

Although the cooperation faction currently had the upper hand, the war faction was secretly making moves.

“Kuang Huan, I was your grandfather’s comrade-in-arms. Since you don’t want to go speak to him, then don’t get involved in this matter.” The military man decided he would personally have the Marquis of Blue Sea meet Qi Yuan.

If Qi Yuan refused to apologize, then it would be a different matter altogether.

He spoke this way to keep Kuang Huan out of the impending storm.

“Chief, the Marquis of Blue Sea is at fault…” Kuang Huan began to say.

But the military man interrupted, “Xiao Huan, you’re not a child anymore. You should think about your family. When you return, act as if nothing happened, or... stay here for a while.”

His intention was to detain Kuang Huan until the matter was resolved.

“I…” Kuang Huan was filled with struggle, helplessness, and anger.

He was deeply worried about Qi Yuan.

From what he knew, Qi Yuan would not compromise.

Once he decided on something, he would never change his mind.

What should he do? His mind was in turmoil.

He didn’t know how long he walked out of the steel building.

Two guards were always “escorting” him.

For some reason, he felt that today’s sun was exceptionally glaring.

He suddenly realized that many soldiers were looking up at the sky.

He also looked up.

When he saw… an extra sun in the sky, his eyes widened, and he seemed to realize something.

Cursing words escaped his lips uncontrollably.

“Damn the Seven Martial Stars, they’re not worth even dog shit!”

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