My Golden Core is a Star, do you call this cultivating?

Chapter 181: Just a Clown, Let Him Be Arrogant for a Few Days

With one swift strike, Qi Yuan killed the short man, and the atmosphere in the temple became tense. The old man with white hair was visibly shocked, then filled with fear.

He had never expected his companion to be so bold as to openly threaten Qi Yuan. Nor had he expected this ancient god to kill his companion on the spot.

"Y-you…"

"What? Do you also want the divine techniques like him?" Qi Yuan asked, his gaze playful as he looked at the old man.

The old man stared at his fallen companion's body, resigned to his fate, "He was wrong and deserved death. But by doing this, Ancient God Sovereign, you have severed ties with the Ancient God Alliance. You’ll never be able to join us."

To be honest, the old man had hoped that someone like the Origin Heaven Sovereign would join the Ancient God Alliance. With evil gods pressing in from all sides, the ancient gods were already in decline. Yet even in such times, they still fought among themselves for power, unable to truly unite.

He admired gods like the Origin Heaven Sovereign who dared to challenge the evil gods and wanted to bring him into the Ancient God Alliance. There were still many gods in the alliance who wanted to make a difference.

"I’m not interested in joining the Ancient God Alliance," Qi Yuan replied, looking up at the sky.

In the distant north, a true god had just fallen.

"Five towns under Feihuang City are completely controlled by evil gods. Those five evil gods are all beings at the late or peak stages of the Purple Mansion. You should be careful, Origin Heaven Sovereign," the old man warned.

Qi Yuan lowered his head. He already knew this information. The power level of this world seemed high, and these new gods were strong.

Right now, taking down the five evil gods would indeed be troublesome.

"You should pay particular attention to the evil god of Gale Wind Town. He’s not just an ordinary peak-level Purple Mansion!" the old man added.

"You mean he’s a 'royal-level' peak Purple Mansion?" Qi Yuan asked.

The old man was momentarily confused by Qi Yuan’s question but continued, "He has already condensed half a divine aperture!"

Hearing this, Qi Yuan’s expression became serious. The biggest difference between a Yin God and a Purple Mansion cultivator was that a Yin God possessed divine spiritual power. The Wolf God, having condensed half a divine aperture, was practically a demigod. He could already use divine spiritual power.

"He’s that strong?" Qi Yuan was surprised.

He looked up at his Stellar Golden Core, feeling a bit more secure.

"You can’t defeat him unless you become a true god!" the old man said.

Qi Yuan fell silent. Right now, he could easily kill ordinary late-stage Purple Mansion cultivators with his primordial divine power. But against someone who had condensed half a divine aperture, his primordial divine power would be nearly ineffective. He couldn’t defeat such an opponent as he had done with other ancient gods.

He could only kill him easily by summoning his Stellar Golden Core. But in this "game," Qi Yuan wanted to keep a low profile. He didn’t want to summon his Stellar Golden Core without fully understanding the game.

"Do any of the evil gods have Yang God power?" Qi Yuan asked.

"Yang God? Are you referring to something above a true god?"

"Yes."

"In the ancient battle of Hong Tang, one of the new gods had a power above a true god," the old man said with a sigh. "It was that being’s participation that led to the catastrophic defeat of the Mortal Heart Realm."

"What happened to that power above a true god?"

"I don’t know," the old man shook his head.

Qi Yuan furrowed his brow in thought. Over time, he had learned about the Battle of Hong Tang through the chats in the visualization group. It was a battle where evil gods invaded the Mortal Heart Realm. Gods led the charge, with Purple Mansion cultivators as foot soldiers, and the fighting shook the heavens and the earth. Nearly ninety percent of the true gods in the Mortal Heart Realm perished. It was a battle that broke the backbone of the realm. Afterward, the world changed drastically. Without special treasures, those at the peak of the Purple Mansion could no longer become true gods.

"Hmm," Qi Yuan thought that dealing with the Wolf God without summoning his Stellar Golden Core or Ning Tao might be the best approach. Here, there was no virtual realm, and battles between Yin Gods took place directly in the world. Summoning the core would be too conspicuous.

Qingshui Village was still too weak. He should follow the example of the ancients—store up food and bide his time. After all, he still had many divine techniques.

"You may leave," Qi Yuan said, deciding not to kill the old man. He was always fair, rewarding or punishing as deserved. Since the old man hadn’t wronged him, there was no reason to kill him. Qi Yuan wasn’t someone who would kill entire families out of spite.

The old man left, and for the next few days, Qingshui Village was busier than ever. More and more people from Jinshi Town, afflicted by the plague, arrived. Fortunately, under Xiaoxue’s leadership, the Earth Gods worked tirelessly, and the plague gradually subsided.

Three days later, while Qi Yuan was in the temple, continuing to write the Qi Yuan Sutra, he suddenly heard the sound of a girl sobbing. He opened his eyes and saw his maid Xiaoxue, her eyes red from crying.

"What’s wrong? Did someone bully you?" he asked.

Xiaoxue’s eyes were swollen from crying. When she saw Qi Yuan, she quickly rubbed her eyes and said, "No, I just thought about my deceased parents."

"Oh, is that so?" Qi Yuan looked at Xiaoxue.

"Godfather, don’t worry. I’ll stay with Xiaoxue," Qi Qi said, leading Xiaoxue out of the temple.

Once they were far from the temple, Xiaoxue’s eyes were still red, "Miss, I’m sorry. I couldn’t hold it in. The people of Jinshi Town… it’s too tragic!"

Thinking of the horrors of Jinshi Town, Xiaoxue’s eyes were filled with sorrow. To investigate the source of the plague, she had secretly gone to Jinshi Town herself, only to witness a scene of utter despair.

She had passed through Jinshi Town on her way to Qingshui Village. Back then, it had been a relatively peaceful and tranquil town. Now… bodies lay uncollected in the streets. Doors were shut tight, as if everyone was waiting to die. The town had turned into a living hell.

"Godfather is still in the early stages of establishing his power, and we don’t have enough people to help Jinshi Town," Qi Qi said, her eyes filled with worry. The plague in Jinshi Town was clearly man-made. But who could have done it? It was obvious—the evil gods. While Qingshui Village was strong, they were not yet ready to take on the remaining five towns. Qi Qi feared that if Xiaoxue shared what she had seen in Jinshi Town, it would only add to her godfather’s burdens. Now was not the time for Qingshui Village to start a war; they needed to grow stronger first.

"Miss, I know. I won’t tell the lord about it."

Meanwhile, in the temple, Qi Yuan opened his eyes, "How many evil god powers do we have now?"

At the same time, in Jinshi Town, five new gods had gathered. The Wolf God looked at the miserable scene before him, a satisfied smile on his face.

"Wolf God, your methods are impressive. When Lord Plague arrives, you’ll surely be greatly rewarded. Who knows, you might even rise to become a true god!" a new god in yellow robes praised him.

A slender woman spoke up, "I’ve heard that Qingshui Village has a way to cure the plague. How do you plan to deal with that, Wolf God? When will you attack?"

"Peach Blossom, you only think about fighting. The Wolf God is merely biding his time, waiting to deal with the new gods in that village," an old man chuckled.

The Wolf God was different from these late-stage Purple Mansion beings; he had already condensed half a divine aperture. In the new god faction, the Wolf God had gained many followers. However, those village gods were still around, preventing him from sending his followers there. So he had let Qingshui Village run wild. The new gods understood the Wolf God’s intentions, which was why they hadn’t taken action against Qi Yuan, giving the Wolf God face.

"Let him be arrogant for a while longer. When the Wolf God takes action, Qingshui Village will be destroyed in an instant!"

"Funeral processions, suona players, feasts… it’s quite the clown show."

"Given his boldness, he might even dare to attack us."

"Ridiculous. We haven’t acted, and he thinks he’s some kind of divine being?"

The new gods all spoke mockingly. The Wolf God listened with a smile but remained silent.

He then said, "Don’t miss tomorrow evening’s feast for the child sacrifices."

"How could we miss it when the Wolf God invites us?"

"We must attend, absolutely!"

"It’s been so long since I’ve had such a delicacy."

...

In the temple of Qingshui Village, Qi Yuan said to Xu Youping, "Tell Venerable Ruoyu that I appreciate his kindness and have taken his advice to heart."

Xu Youping sighed in relief. He had come at Ruoyu’s behest to advise the Origin Heaven Sovereign to lay low for a while and, if possible, leave Qingshui Village. He had expected this god to be as stubborn as the rumors suggested, but today, Qi Yuan had been surprisingly agreeable, not objecting at all.

"By the way, do you know the source of the plague in Jinshi Town?" Qi Yuan asked.

Xu Youping hesitated before answering, "It’s probably related to the new god being summoned. That god is called Lord Plague. The stronger the plague in the area where he descends, the faster his divine power will recover. So, the plague was likely spread by the evil gods of the five towns. It’s best to pretend you don’t know about this, Origin Heaven Sovereign."

"Alright," Qi Yuan waved his hand, and Xu Youping left the temple.

In the now-empty temple, Qi Yuan was alone.

Not long after, the petite figure of Xiaojia appeared, quietly leaning against Qi Yuan’s shoulder.

"Xiaojia, which god should I visualize with these evil god powers?" Qi Yuan asked.

Xiaojia looked at Qi Yuan as if to say, It’s up to you.

Qi Yuan wrapped his arm around Xiaojia’s waist, glancing up at the sky. The rain had cleared, but the plague continued to spread. It had only been half an hour since Xiaoxue’s tears.

Qi Yuan’s consciousness once again entered the chat group.

The plague was getting worse, and the Earth Gods alone couldn’t cure it completely. He thought about visualizing another deity. With the current evil god powers, it should be enough.

The chat group was lively.

"Do you know what it means to be the Young Heavenly Emperor?" The group leader, Dongjiang He, was once again bragging, "I just visualized another rare three-star god! Honestly, I don’t even know my own limits. Once my memory fully recovers, I might even scare myself!"

"Stop bragging; you’re nothing compared to Origin Heaven Sovereign!" retorted Shenmiao Zunzhe, who was known for his playful nature.

"Origin Heaven Sovereign is here. Are you planning to visualize another god this time?" Dongjiang He cautiously asked.

"The plague in my territory is severe…" Qi Yuan replied.

So it’s for this kind of thing? Dongjiang He felt relieved, thinking the god’s level wouldn’t be too high, and he could keep bragging for a few more days.

At that moment, the usually reserved Heilong Zunzhe spoke up, "It’s been a while since we’ve seen Tianbao Zunzhe."

"Now that you mention it, it has been a while. Last time, he said he wanted to give the treasure that could allow a breakthrough to true godhood to Origin Heaven Sovereign."

"I was hoping to call him godfather."

Shenmiao Zunzhe suddenly asked, "Origin Heaven Sovereign, did you feel the battle between true gods to your north a few days ago?"

Qi Yuan immediately thought of the pillar of light piercing the sky from the other day.

"Yes," he answered.

The group fell silent for a moment before Heilong Zunzhe said, "Origin Heaven Sovereign, the battle you saw might have involved Tianbao Zunzhe fighting against the evil gods. Unfortunately…"

"Sigh."

The mood in the group grew somber.

"Tianbao Zunzhe, may you rest in peace."

"Tianbao Zunzhe, may you rest in peace."

"Origin Heaven Sovereign, the north is a fallen land. Leave if you must. Last time, Tianbao Zunzhe wanted to give you that treasure, likely because he knew he was trapped and didn’t want it to go to waste."

"Tianbao Zunzhe knew the new gods were after him. With his power… he could have left," one member remarked.

But everyone understood that Tianbao Zunzhe hadn’t left because he couldn’t abandon his people.

"If I’m not mistaken, one of Tianbao Zunzhe’s friends defected to the new gods and is now in Lu Kingdom? He must have met Tianbao Zunzhe," Qi Yuan murmured.

"Yes. Why do you ask, Origin Heaven Sovereign?"

"No reason, just curious."

With that, Qi Yuan dove back into the visualization realm.

The vast Visualization Mountain loomed before him as Qi Yuan looked at the evil god powers in his hand.

"Curing the plague?"

"Wrong!"

"Killing those who spread the plague is the real solution!"

He decided to visualize a different god.

Many had advised him to back down, but if he really did that, would he still be Qi Yuan?