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

In the Quijin Realm, Qi Yuan, clad in a dark robe with white hair flowing in the wind, watched as his avatar in the Blue Mountain Realm dissipated into nothingness.

"Indeed... cultivating diligently... can't compare to the speed of plundering."

With just that one move, he had slain tens of thousands of Specter Gods. A single domain in the universe contained far more than tens of thousands of worlds.

The massive influx of experience was far faster than slowly cultivating.

Shangguan Qingteng and Shangguan Qingmiao stared at Qi Yuan in shock, their countless thoughts condensed into silence.

Because, at this moment, they couldn't digest or comprehend what had just happened.

Qi Yuan glanced at the two of them casually and asked, "Do you know what lies within the Divine Wood Abyss?"

The blind maiden in the Divine Wood Abyss had once given him eight wooden tablets inscribed with forging techniques.

The tablets had long since disappeared, but the eight forging techniques remained in his mind.

The eight techniques were: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Cloud, Rain, and Thunder.

Shangguan Qingteng was surprised that Qi Yuan would ask such a question.

He furrowed his brows, thinking carefully. "The Divine Wood Abyss... is a void, devoid of any living beings. Some of the oldest Ancestral Gods have said that the Divine Wood Abyss... might be the origin of the Divine Wood Universe."

"The origin of the universe?" Qi Yuan murmured. "No living beings inside?"

"None," Shangguan Qingteng said. "Since ancient times, many Ancestral Gods have entered the Divine Wood Abyss to investigate, but none have found any living beings."

In the Divine Wood Universe, the Divine Wood Abyss existed in almost every world.

Earlier, Qi Yuan had split into countless avatars and entered nearly every Divine Wood Abyss in the universe, but he had found nothing.

"If Senior wishes to learn more about the Divine Wood Abyss, you might consider visiting the Tai Star Domain. There, you can find the original text of the Origin Secrets," Shangguan Qingteng said cautiously.

No matter how strange or bizarre Qi Yuan's appearance was, he was still a member of the Divine Wood Universe. Moreover, he had just taken action against the Specter Gods, making him someone worth recruiting.

Originally, they had thought that once Qi Yuan grew to Yuan's level, he could become a seed to wield the Light of Human Enlightenment.

But now... he was far more than just a seed.

"The Tai Star Domain?" Qi Yuan's gaze deepened. "I will go there, but not now... Once I complete my mortal seclusion, I will visit the Tai Star Domain and see Sheng Nu as well."

With a wave of his sleeve, his figure disappeared once more.

Only Shangguan Qingteng and Shangguan Qingmiao remained, looking at each other in confusion.

"We need to report this to Yuan as soon as possible!"

...

"Mortals, experiencing the myriad trials of the mortal world..."

In an unknown world, Qi Yuan sat alone in a desert, fishing.

His straight hook sank into the sand, buried a hundred meters deep.

Qi Yuan fished quietly, his thoughts calm.

"For the white-haired Qi Yuan, mortal seclusion is a path to breaking through to the Ancestral God realm.

For me... mortal seclusion is a means to comprehend the rules of the world."

All things in the world operate in an orderly manner, hiding the truths of the Great Dao.

The path of cultivation requires both tension and relaxation.

The tension lies in slaying Specters to gain experience.

The relaxation lies in comprehending the rules of the Great Dao, understanding all things.

"So... why am I fishing in the sand?"

"What can I catch?"

"I can catch... a grain of sand."

Suddenly, Qi Yuan's fishing line twitched.

A grain of sand was lifted into the air.

This grain of sand was ordinary, no different from any other grain.

Qi Yuan looked at the grain of sand and reached out his hand.

"Finally found you, or rather... myself."

Since becoming a Realm Master, he no longer needed to act.

He only needed to recover.

Recover himself.

By "himself," he meant the blood he had invested when the game collapsed.

His blood had merged into the Divine Wood Universe, becoming part of all things.

This grain of sand was one such part.

As the grain of sand touched Qi Yuan's arm, it disappeared.

Qi Yuan's eyes were calm, as if he had seen ten thousand years.

The life and memories of the grain of sand flowed through his mind.

It had once been buried deep in the muddy ocean floor, in utter darkness. It had seen a fish grow legs and climb onto land; it had also seen a finger bone, white as jade, fall into the depths of the ocean.

Countless cultivators and powerful beings had fought to find that finger bone.

Later, the ocean dried up, and the water turned to stone.

The area became a desert.

"Is this the life of a grain of sand, or rather... my life?"

"Now..."

Qi Yuan looked up, his gaze deep and distant. "It's time for the battle flag."

His figure flickered, appearing in the gaps between worlds.

The void was filled with chaotic currents, extremely dangerous. An ordinary person wouldn't survive even a breath in such a place.

Qi Yuan grabbed a corner of a tattered cloth.

[Tattered Battle Flag of the Hong Star Domain. Over three thousand years, the Tai Star Domain was under heavy siege. The Hong Star Domain sent troops to aid, carrying the Hong Star Flag.

The war lasted thirty-six years. The Hong Star army was besieged in a lone city, holding out for seven years before the battle flag fell.]

The fragment in his hand was part of the Hong Star Domain's battle flag, and it was also a part of Qi Yuan.

A flood of memories poured into Qi Yuan's mind, and his gaze deepened.

He seemed to see an elderly man forging the battle flag with joy, and an old, nearly blind woman embroidering under a dim lamp.

The battle flag fluttered in the wind as the army drank their farewell wine and marched to the front lines.

In the end, the flag was stained with blood, standing tall until it was finally cut down and torn to pieces.

"This is the battle flag, and it is also me."

Qi Yuan seemed to transform into the battle flag, witnessing history, observing the world from the perspective of an outsider.

"Who else am I?"

Qi Yuan was puzzled.

His blood had once fallen into the Divine Wood, transforming into countless fragments.

The "him" that needed to be recovered... was too many, far too many.

As time passed, Qi Yuan's figure disappeared, mysterious and elusive.

Many people tried to find him, but none succeeded.

Only a few travelers, or perhaps people in the bustling markets, claimed to have seen a white-haired man with hollow, unfocused eyes, muttering something under his breath.

...

Tai Star Domain.

In a grand, towering hall.

Yuan sat at the head, clad in tattered armor stained with blood.

The blood could not be washed away, constantly corroding the armor.

The hall was filled with almost all the powerful figures of the Tai Star Domain.

At this moment, their expressions were grave.

A bearded man slammed his fist on the table, furious. "Hundreds of years ago, when we only had half a Divine Light Treasure, Yuan dared to go alone to the Void Sea to stop the Black Earth. Now, with seven Divine Light Treasures, are we still too afraid to fight?"

This time, the Black Heaven and Black Earth had once again amassed their forces at the Void Sea.

The army they had gathered was far stronger than before.

In the Tai Star Domain, there were many differing opinions on how to deal with the Black Heaven and Black Earth.

"Perhaps... the Black Heaven and Black Earth are merely testing us. If we gather all our forces and rush into battle, the fragile balance we've maintained for ten thousand years could shatter in an instant," an elderly man with white eyebrows said hoarsely.

"What fragile balance? It's just us clinging to survival. Do we really expect the Black Heaven and Black Earth to show us mercy?" the bearded man retorted angrily.

"The seeds of the Divine Light Treasures haven't fully matured yet. I just want to give them more time to grow," the white-browed elder said with a sigh.

"Whether we fight or not isn't really up to us," a woman in scholarly robes said. "Every time the Black Heaven and Black Earth invade, there's a chance we could be wiped out. Whether we resist or submit, the outcome won't change.

The reason the Black Heaven and Black Earth haven't destroyed the Divine Wood Universe yet is simply because... the time hasn't come."

The woman spoke in riddles, but everyone in the hall understood.

When the Black Heaven and Black Earth first invaded, the Radiant Dao Lord had drawn a line across the Divine Wood Universe from across the vast expanse of space.

At first, the members of the Human Enlightenment Society didn't understand what the line meant.

But later, they gradually realized that the line was a timeline.

The timeline was constantly shortening, collapsing.

When the timeline completely disappeared, reduced to a single point, the Divine Wood Universe would be completely destroyed.

There were less than a hundred thousand years left before the line vanished.

For an individual, a hundred thousand years was a long time, but on the scale of the universe, it was but a fleeting moment.

"So the outcome of this battle won't change the final result... That's why I think... we shouldn't resist. There's no point in throwing away our lives for nothing. We should conserve our strength and wait for the final battle, where we can shine our brightest," the white-browed elder said.

"If we retreat today, we'll retreat ten steps tomorrow. In the final battle... will we retreat ten thousand steps?" the bearded man retorted.

The hall fell silent.

The Black Heaven was too mysterious, too powerful, too despair-inducing.

At this moment, Yuan, seated at the head of the table, spoke. "Who will join me in the Void Sea this time?"

His words were final.

Hearing Yuan's words, the others, despite their reluctance, said nothing more.

Yuan's authority as the leader was as deep as the ocean. No one dared to challenge his decisions.

He had sacrificed too much for the Divine Wood Universe.

"Count me in," a tall, burly man said. "My Heavenly Clan has no Divine Light Treasures. We were devoured by the Black Heaven and barely survived by fleeing to the Divine Wood Universe. This time, I will wield a Divine Light Treasure and fight against the Black Heaven and Black Earth!"

The tall man's eyes were filled with determination.

He was a member of the Heavenly Clan.

Once, the Heavenly Clan had also faced an invasion by the Black Heaven and Black Earth.

The Heavenly Clan's Human King was a Realm Master powerhouse, possibly even on the verge of transcending to a higher realm.

The Human King had attempted to forge a Divine Light Treasure to fight the Black Heaven.

But in the end, he failed, and the Divine Light Treasure was never completed.

The Heavenly Clan was destroyed.

The civilization of the Heavenly Clan was extinguished, with only a few survivors escaping.

Some of them came to the Divine Wood Universe.

The forging techniques of the Divine Wood Universe originated from the Heavenly Clan.

"Who else?" Yuan asked again, acknowledging the Heavenly Clan member.

"I have reached the second layer of the Ancestral God realm. I can join," Sheng Nu said, her expression as cold as the moon.

She was a seed to wield the Light of Human Enlightenment.

"Approved," Yuan nodded, scanning the rest of the hall. "Anyone else?"

The others remained silent.

Most felt they weren't strong enough, fearing they would taint the Divine Light Treasures.

In the entire Divine Wood Universe, seven Divine Light Treasures had been forged, but there weren't seven powerful enough individuals to wield them.

"Sigh, if Qi Yuan were here, he would be the most qualified to wield the Light of Human Enlightenment," Shangguan Qingmiao said.

Hundreds of years ago, after meeting Qi Yuan once, he had regarded him as a celestial being.

After all, Qi Yuan was a Realm Master.

The Realm Master level was unfathomable, beyond comprehension.

Hearing this, Sheng Nu's expression shifted slightly. "He alone could probably wield two, maybe even three Divine Light Treasures."

"Unfortunately, this lord is elusive. We can't find him," the white-browed elder sighed.

Over the years, the Tai Star Domain had tried repeatedly to locate Qi Yuan.

But they had failed.

It was as if he had vanished into thin air.

Yuan looked around the hall, his voice devoid of emotion. "We have five days to choose the remaining four. Meeting adjourned."

Yuan's figure disappeared.

The others left in small groups.

The grand hall became empty and quiet.

About half an hour later, three people entered the hall, heads bowed.

All three carried brooms, led by an old man with white hair.

Entering the hall, they didn't look around but began cleaning.

The cleaning wasn't about removing dust but about purging the lingering aura of Specters.

These Ancestral Gods had been fighting on the front lines for years, and their bodies were tainted with the aura of Specters.

If left unchecked, this aura could give birth to Specter Gods.

The three cleaned in silence, not speaking a word.

The hall was vast, and cleaning it took a long time.

The old man wiped a table clean, his gaze falling on a slender figure sitting in a seat meant for a Yang God. He frowned. "Hey, Xiao Qi, why aren't you cleaning? What are you doing sitting there?"

The handsome young man named Xiao Qi sat in the Yang God's seat, his eyes filled with an indescribable emotion.

"Sigh, I wonder if I'll ever get to meet these Yang Gods. I have so many questions I want to ask them," Xiao Qi said, his eyes distant.

"Those great figures aren't people we can just casually ask questions," the old man chuckled, thinking Xiao Qi was being naive.

Xiao Qi was the orphan of a frontline soldier, and the old man had raised him.

"And your questions are just too strange!" the old man added.

"How are they strange? I just want to ask them what a mountain is, what shoes are, what a bug is," Xiao Qi said casually, his gaze unfocused and confused.

"Father's right. Your questions are too strange," the third person said with a smile. "What's the point of asking those things? You might as well ask how to become a god."

Xiao Qi shook his head. "Life is hard, and there are too many unknowns. It's too difficult, too difficult."

"Why don't you write a book called One Hundred Thousand Whys?" the old man suggested.

This world also had the concept of One Hundred Thousand Whys.

"Xiao Qi, what's the point of thinking about these things? You should focus on earning money to buy wine for Father," the third man said.

"What's wine?" Xiao Qi asked, puzzled. "Isn't there plenty of wine here?"

He reached for a wine jug, shook it, and frowned in disappointment.

"Who's the cheapskate who took all the wine?"

"You're too bold!" the old man said, relieved that there was no wine left.

This was wine for Ancestral Gods. Even if there were leftovers, it wasn't something they could touch.

Since the half-empty jug had been taken by another lord, Xiao Qi wouldn't get into trouble.

"Stop daydreaming and focus on earning money to buy wine for Father!" the tall man said.

"This isn't daydreaming. I just want to understand what these things are," Xiao Qi murmured. "If I can figure it out, maybe I can brew wine for Father every day."

"Alright, I'll be waiting for that day," the old man said with a hearty laugh.