Golden Core is a Star, and You Call This Cultivation?
Chapter 163: A New Game Icon, Meeting the High Priestess

The Demon Sovereign’s eyes flickered with a strange expression.

“This intriguing little worm, it’s the first time I’ve seen one like you.”

“Who... gave you the courage?”

As the Demon Sovereign spoke, the aura of a Yin God began to permeate the space.

The key difference between a Yin God and a Zifu cultivator is divine power!

A Yin God has already transformed the spiritual energy within their body into divine energy.

It’s a power far more advanced than innate magical abilities.

With just a trace of divine energy, one could easily create a deadly realm with a mere gesture.

A short distance away, the divine envoy witnessing this scene found himself unable to move.

At this moment, Qi Yuan shouted toward the sky, “Ning Tao, save me!”

That’s right, Qi Yuan was using the Great Summoning Technique!

At this moment, he chose to rely on someone else for the first time! The spiritual energy within him wasn’t enough to summon the projection of a star.

However, summoning Ning Tao’s projection was possible.

Feeling thrilled and expectant, Qi Yuan was ready to rely on someone else for the first time.

A joyful sound of suona, with a light-hearted tune, filled the air.

It was as if the sun in the sky flashed its light.

Space seemed to freeze, and time appeared to come to a halt.

Under everyone’s gaze, a woman in a black dress appeared out of nowhere.

She had an enchanting face, her skin white as snow, excessively pale, like the most exquisite porcelain in the world.

With a petite, delicate figure, her long hair flowed down like a waterfall of the night. Her left eye was pure like gentle rain, reminiscent of a lively spring maiden, while her right eye was deep and seductive, like a dark goddess.

A profound and powerful aura enveloped her, resembling that of a deity.

This was the Blood-Robed Sword God’s trump card?

Jiang Ya instantly understood that the Blood-Robed Sword God and this Yin God woman must have a close relationship, possibly even being her most cherished descendant.

“Treading the Heavens, Two Steps!” The Demon Sovereign’s pupils shrank as he sensed a threat.

He had only taken one step in the Treading the Heavens technique, opening three divine apertures.

But the other party was a terrifying existence who had taken two steps.

Her strength was at least ten times greater than his.

Low-level cultivators might still be able to fight across realms.

But those who had reached the level of Yin God, which of them wasn’t a true prodigy?

Being one divine aperture short, one’s combat strength would be hard to compensate through other means.

Such a significant gap in realms made it impossible to fight across levels.

Even the young Grand Sovereigns had no record of fighting across levels.

He wanted to flee.

Just then, Qi Yuan’s voice rang out, “Ning Tao, quickly kill him for me!”

“Husband, please wait a moment!” Ning Tao spoke, waving her delicate hand.

The Demon Sovereign, who was planning to flee, was instantly immobilized in mid-air.

Seeing this, Jiang Ya was utterly stunned.

This goddess... called the Blood-Robed Sword God what? Husband???

Isn’t she supposed to be the Blood-Robed Sword God’s ancestor? How did she become his partner?

A mere Zifu cultivator like the Blood-Robed Sword God managed to marry a Yin God who had taken two steps in Treading the Heavens?

This is too...

She was a bit disoriented, staring at the battle ahead.

“No!” The Demon Sovereign roared as the divine energy in his three divine apertures surged, trying to break free from the immobilization.

But his divine energy was no match for Ning Tao’s projection; the difference was more than tenfold.

The disparity between them was even greater than the gap between late-stage Nascent Soul and early-stage Golden Core cultivators.

A difference of an entire realm.

To Ning Tao, his divine energy was as weak as a mountain spring.

With just one finger, Ning Tao had him completely restrained.

“You can’t kill me! My elder brother is also at the second step of Treading the Heavens!” The Demon Sovereign, unable to break free, quickly calmed down.

Ning Tao didn’t respond but instead looked toward Qi Yuan, leaning on him like a delicate bird, “Husband... how should we deal with him?”

Jiang Ya, watching from a distance, was in disbelief.

A high and mighty Yin God was acting like a lovesick maiden.

Qi Yuan helplessly brushed Ning Tao’s hair.

The last time she appeared, she called him “Blood Bead” when no one was around.

This time, in front of everyone, she called him “Husband.”

How could he not understand the mind of a maiden? Looking at Ning Tao’s stunningly beautiful face, he muttered, “So this is what it feels like to rely on someone else... it really is... wonderful.”

After mumbling, he looked at the Demon Sovereign, arrogantly saying, “Your elder brother is a Yin God; my... wife is also a Yin God!”

Perhaps out of a sense of competition, he called Ning Tao his wife for the first time.

Ning Tao’s left eye was as tender as water, filled with the shyness of a maiden, while her right eye was seductive and alluring, her face flushed with a touch of crimson.

The Demon Sovereign was completely flustered by Qi Yuan’s words.

“There are five Yin Gods in total from our Mo Luo Clan this time...”

“My wife is a Yin God!”

“Two of them have taken two steps in Treading the Heavens, three...”

“My wife is a Yin God!” Qi Yuan said proudly.

No matter what the Demon Sovereign said, Qi Yuan shut him down with this sentence, looking smug.

“You’re not from Moonwatch Continent, so why fight the Mo Luo Clan for it?

The three Grand Sovereigns from your Canglan Realm have made an agreement with us to divide Moonwatch Continent.

If you let me go, we can give you one-third of the territory!” The Demon Sovereign continued to negotiate.

Qi Yuan’s face turned cold, “Ridiculous, Moon Watching Continent is mine; how dare you offer me what’s already mine!”

Seeing that Qi Yuan couldn’t be persuaded, the Demon Sovereign turned to Ning Tao, “The conflict between the Mo Luo Clan and Moon Watching Continent involves... two Yang Gods.

Senior, reaching the second step of Treading the Heavens is no easy feat.

One day, you will become a Grand Sovereign and ascend to the higher realms.

Why risk offending our Mo Luo Clan and the Yang God behind us over such trivial matters?”

At this moment, the Demon Sovereign played his trump card.

The dispute between the Mo Luo Clan and Moon Watching Continent was merely an extension of a conflict between two Yang Gods.

Of course, the Mo Luo Clan was not actually directly affiliated with the Sun God, nor were they even considered a close subordinate; it was just a tactic to intimidate Ning Tao.

Ning Tao didn’t even look at the Demon Sovereign; her eyes remained fixed on Qi Yuan.

Her projection had limited time; every second was precious.

“Trying to scare me with a Yang God, if he has the guts, let him come down here and kill me himself!” Qi Yuan wouldn’t be Qi Yuan if he were easily intimidated by such threats.

Besides, a Yang God descending to the lower realms wasn’t so simple.

“Kill him!” Qi Yuan said softly, holding Ning Tao close.

Ning Tao waved her hand.

The Demon Sovereign, already immobilized, began to undergo terrifying changes.

His once bloated flesh turned withered, and his scales dried up and cracked.

His youthful face rapidly aged into that of an old man.

His cloudy eyes were filled with disbelief: “Divine Domain Seed...”

His aura completely vanished at that moment.

The mighty Yin God, capable of shattering an entire continent, just... perished.

He died swiftly and cleanly.

As if it wasn’t a deity that died but a mere mortal.

The crowd on the battlefield was left in shock.

It was their first time witnessing a battle between Yin Gods.

They had expected a fight that would darken the skies and shatter mountains, but the reality... was far simpler.

Even the divine envoy widened his eyes in disbelief.

Today’s events were beyond his expectations.

At this moment, Ning Tao’s figure also began to fade.

“Husband... call me next time you face a strong enemy!” Her eyes were filled with longing. After saying this, her projection completely dissipated, returning to the Stellar Golden Core.

She came like a storm and left like dust.

Qi Yuan felt a faint emptiness inside.

The surroundings fell silent, the suona no longer playing, as everyone was stunned by the recent battle.

After a long while, True Lord Dazhi couldn’t help but say, “Senior is truly remarkable, to have a divine wife.”

If his own partner hadn’t passed away, he might not have resisted asking the Blood-Robed Sword God how he managed to marry a deity.

Jiang Ya remained silent, her expression worried, “Senior must still be cautious; the Mo Luo Clan has more than one Yin God, and there are two who have taken two steps in Treading the Heavens.”

Jiang Ya’s concern was not without reason.

The Blood-Robed Sword God’s partner was just one Yin God.

As they say, “two fists can’t fight four hands.” The Mo Luo Clan still had four Yin Gods remaining, with considerable strength.

“I have an idea that might help resolve Senior’s predicament.” True Lord Dazhi said seriously, “If Senior could replace a few more divine partners, you could summon them all when facing enemies, and the Molo Clan would be nothing to worry about.”

Qi Yuan thought this made a lot of sense.

“Nothing to worry about.”

Though he was currently relying on others, it didn’t mean he would do so forever.

It wouldn’t be long before he fully controlled Moonwatch Continent.

When that time came, he would be the true master of Moonwatch Continent.

“Rest for half an hour, then we continue exterminating the Mo Luo Clan!” Qi Yuan glanced at the Demon Sovereign’s corpse and then at the five Zifu cultivators who had been shattered into fragments by the aftershocks.

A strange expression flickered in his eyes.

Just a moment ago, when Ning Tao killed the Demon Sovereign, Qi Yuan noticed a slight change in his game jade slip.

While others were clearing the battlefield, Qi Yuan went off to a secluded spot.

His consciousness dove into the game jade slip.

“A new game icon appeared!” He was excited.

But his excitement quickly waned.

“It’s only downloaded less than a quarter?”

The good news was that the game icon appeared; the bad news was that it had only downloaded less than a quarter.

Qi Yuan thought, using his sharp mind, “Does this mean I... or Ning Tao needs to kill Yin Gods to help this game download?”

He stared at the game icon in a daze.

At this moment, several male voices reached his ears.

“God, it’s not that we don’t want to offer tributes, but our Qing Shui Village is dirt poor!”

“Yesterday, Village Chief Yuli led us to fight with the neighboring village over water, and the chief’s Nascent Soul got bitten by the other chief. Sigh, when will these days end?”

“In this day and age, who still worships ancient gods? We should be offering tributes to new gods!”

“Nonsense, those new gods are man-eaters!”

“At least the man-eating gods will protect the land, but the ones you worship... those ancient gods have long since... fallen. You bow and pray every day, but has there been any response?”

“Waaaah, it must be because we have no tributes, and the god starved to death.”

“Shentu, listen to your brother for once. Just like our village, switch to worshiping a new god!”

Qi Yuan listened to these bizarre conversations.

“So, is this the new game’s background?”

Ancient gods and man-eating new gods.

But... what’s with these Nascent Soul village chiefs? Do Nascent Soul cultivators now have official titles and can become village chiefs?

And why do these village chiefs need to fight over water?

Qi Yuan was completely baffled.

As he listened to the conversation, he suddenly said, “I am the Origin Heavenly Sovereign, believe in me, and you shall attain eternal life!”

In a distant world, in a remote village.

Shentu, who was sleeping, opened his eyes wide, staring at the dilapidated statue in the temple with a puzzled expression.

“Wasn’t it the God of Dogtail Grass? How did it become the Origin Heavenly Sovereign?” He was confused.

Had the god gone mad from hunger?

...

Snow was falling heavily, blanketing the capital of the Moon Dynasty in white.

Branches and trunks of the ancient Kotsubaki trees were covered in snow.

A young girl, appearing to be about six or seven years old, dressed in a white fox fur coat, sat on a stone, her eyes closed as she meditated.

At that moment, a woman in white silently appeared.

The young girl opened her eyes, “What’s the situation?”

“High Priestess, that Blood-Robed Sword God has a Yin God behind him who has taken two steps in Treading the Heavens. Not long ago, that Yin God intervened and killed the Demon Sovereign.” The woman in white was a Yin God herself, who had once encountered Qi Yuan.

Despite being a Yin God, she treated the young girl before her with great respect.

The High Priestess gazed at the July Lake before her, her eyes clear.

The woman in white then spoke earnestly, “High Priestess, even with an additional ally who has taken two steps in Treading the Heavens, it won’t change the outcome.

The Moon Watching Continent... cannot be defended any longer. We must leave.”

The High Priestess’s young face was determined, “We cannot leave now; I must wait for someone.”

The woman in white remained silent for a long time before asking, “Is the person you’re waiting for the Faceless Sword God?”

The High Priestess did not answer, but her silence was an answer in itself.

“If the Faceless Sword God had not perished over the past ten thousand years, he would have arrived by now.”

“I’ve been sitting here for five thousand years; a few more years won’t matter.

I’ve never met him, but I want to know if he’s really as legendary as they say...” The girl’s eyes were filled with endless longing.

At this moment, she seemed to remember something and asked, “Do you think the Blood-Robed Sword God is more powerful, or is the Faceless Sword God stronger?”

The woman in white felt a bit helpless towards her young master and couldn’t help but smile bitterly, “Whoever the High Priestess believes is stronger must be stronger.”

“The Blood-Robed Sword God’s wife is only at the second step of Treading the Heavens, so in that regard, he doesn’t compare to the Faceless Sword God.

And the Blood-Robed Sword God’s appearance surely can’t match the Faceless Sword God’s.”

The High Priestess spoke as she looked at her reflection in the water.

She was particularly certain about the latter point.

“So, the Faceless Sword God wins completely.” The High Priestess said proudly.

The woman in white said nothing, her eyes still clouded with worry.

At that moment, the High Priestess spoke softly, “I understand your concerns. If the situation becomes untenable, I will activate the teleportation array and take... the Moon Dynasty with me.”

But... if the Faceless Sword God awakens then, will he be able to replace July Lake? But Moon Watching Continent may become a true purgatory.

The place he once protected with his life—how could she bear to see it in ruins?

Hearing this, the woman in white breathed a sigh of relief.

She had feared that the High Priestess would stubbornly insist on staying.

At that moment, an urgent voice called out, “High Priestess!”

A divine envoy from the Faceless God Cult appeared, wearing a black embroidered robe, his face showing a strange expression.

The High Priestess’s delicate face showed curiosity, “I already know that the Blood-Robed Sword God’s wife has taken two steps in Treading the Heavens. Is there something else?”

“High Priestess, I replace this Blood-Robed Sword God... a bit odd.” The envoy spoke hesitantly.

“What’s so odd?” The High Priestess asked calmly.

She had seen many strange things in the world.

“The moment I saw him, I felt an inexplicable closeness.

And it’s not just me; everyone on Moon Watching Continent who sees him feels a deep affection and a strong trust in him.” The envoy explained.

The situation was indeed very strange.

The woman in white glanced at the envoy, her eyes deep, “There are no traces of divine magic.”

The High Priestess pondered, “Anything else?”

“There’s one more thing; the sword technique he uses... resembles your own, High Priestess.”

“What...” The High Priestess’s starry eyes twitched, reflecting the winter snow.

...

Looking at the ancient tree on the horizon, Qi Yuan raised his arm.

The mark of the crescent moon never appeared.

“Wasn’t it supposed to be the Moon Maiden?” Qi Yuan felt a bit disappointed.

If the High Priestess were the Moon Maiden, the crescent moon mark in his hand might have appeared.

And the Moon Maiden... would have sensed him and come to meet him.

So, that High Priestess might just be a coincidence.

“Seriously, why does it have to snow?”

He stood in the vast snow, letting it cover his shoulders.

Getting closer and closer to the Moon Dynasty, Qi Yuan felt bored staying in the inn, so he stepped out alone.

His state of mind was quite different from before.

Perhaps thousands of years had already passed; everything, everything, had vanished into the long river of time.

Even the Nanqian Kingdom was gone.

The Tianyun Sect had become a sect from nearly ten thousand years ago.

Everything, everything, had disappeared into the dust of history.

Suddenly, snow from the tree above slid down, falling on Qi Yuan’s shoulders and head.

He was about to look up when he saw, not far away, a young woman in her early twenties approaching slowly.

She wore a fox fur coat, her expression serene, her hood pulled back to reveal a face as pure as the crescent moon, with a snowy flower-like complexion.

Her lips were thin, her eyes clear and elegant, with a refined and graceful demeanor.

As she approached Qi Yuan, she gently asked, “Is she... beautiful?”

She extended her jade-like finger, pointing to her own face.

Qi Yuan was momentarily stunned.

【This is a mysterious girl with deep ties to you.】

“Yes, she’s very beautiful.” Qi Yuan looked at the face, lost in thought.

He wanted to figure out her identity.

“Hehe, she would be very happy to hear that.”

“Who... is she?” Qi Yuan stared at the face, countless thoughts swirling in his mind, along with a bold guess.

“She said, remember this face of hers, so that in the future... when you meet her, you won’t fail to recognize her.”

“Is she Jinli?” Qi Yuan stood there, staring blankly at the face.

He had waited for Jinli for a long time under the ancient tree, but she never showed up.

“She is also the Moon Maiden.” The young woman said softly.

Time and space seemed to freeze again.

Qi Yuan thought back to the July Lake and the stubborn girl from back then.

The promise made across time and space, both standing at opposite ends of time, originally couldn’t meet, but... fate arranged for them to meet in a different form.

He didn’t know she was Jinli.

And she didn’t know he was the Qi Yuan she would meet in the future.

Actually, they weren’t strangers to each other, and it wasn’t a matter of never meeting, but rather they had always been there.

“Who... are you?”

Before his eyes, the young woman’s form shifted, turning into that of a seven or eight-year-old girl.

Seeing the little girl before him, Qi Yuan was reminded of the Moon Maiden from the past.

In her, he saw traces of the Moon Maiden.

“I’m my mother’s daughter, my father’s daughter!” The girl looked at Qi Yuan, her face full of smiles, “I’m also the most precious gift my father gave to my mother.”

Back then, Jinli had taken her from the Faceless Sword God’s statue.

All the memories came flooding back.

She had truly met him.