The starry sky glittered with brilliance; galaxies stretched across the heavens.
The cosmos was vast and profound, desolate yet boundless.
Countless celestial bodies extended as far as the eye could see.
A star burned with endless fire and radiated boundless heat, appearing so close to Qi Yuan that it seemed he could touch it simply by reaching out.
Scorching, scalding heat caused fine beads of sweat to bead on Ning Tao's fair, tender little face. Her black gown clung tightly to her petite frame, accentuating the graceful curves of her delicate body. Even as a Grand Sovereign, she felt the oppressive heat.
She looked at this universe with wonder, tinged with a sliver of dread toward the unknown.
In legend, celestial bodies were tied to the gods.
Yet this universe possessed so many stars...
Qi Yuan held Ning Tao in his arms. His body burned hot, even hotter than hers, and a tremble ran through his voice. "This is a brand-new universe..."
Divided by cosmological definitions, the Canglan Realm, Wangyue Continent, and Liufeng Realm actually shared the same universe.
Above the firmament lay the same celestial bodies and the same divine projections—or reflections, rather.
Of course, the Liufeng Realm's circumstances were somewhat unique.
Through the Gate of Myriad Manifestations, Qi Yuan had arrived in a brand-new universe.
This universe was utterly dead and silent.
Qi Yuan could not sense a single living being.
Or perhaps living beings did exist, but were beyond his perception.
In any case, the sun, moon, and stars here were real celestial bodies.
They were neither divine reflections nor illusory projections.
Holding Ning Tao, the Great Sun Golden Lotus inside Qi Yuan burned everything in its path, causing his consciousness to grow hazy.
Having departed the Liufeng Realm, he seemed to have exited the game without being immediately forced back to the Canglan Realm.
Yet his current physical condition demanded a solution.
The Great Sun Golden Lotus burned unceasingly.
Looking at Ning Tao, an emotional ripple surfaced in his expression. "I should go."
Otherwise, the Great Sun Golden Lotus would hurt her.
Standing in the boundless void, Ning Tao gazed at the familiar figure right before her. Her eyes turned resolute. She gripped Qi Yuan's sleeve tightly, and her slender, black-stockinged legs clamped firmly around his waist, as if terrified that he would suddenly vanish just as he had in the past.
Seeing how timid she looked, Qi Yuan forced a smile into his eyes. "Don't worry, I'll be fine."
He turned his gaze toward the star right in front of them, which didn't look particularly large from where they stood.
"See that?" he said. "That little sun is about to become my Golden Core."
A flicker of bewilderment crossed Ning Tao's eyes.
She didn't understand, but she listened quietly.
"I'm going over there to swallow it," Qi Yuan said, a resolute glint in his eyes.
"You don't need to worry about me. I have a Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment! Swallowing a star is nothing!
"I once heard of an expert who swallowed an entire universe in one gulp.
"Swallowing a star is no big deal."
"Blood Pearl... you're not allowed to lie to me!" A misty veil formed in Ning Tao's starry eyes.
She was terrified that Qi Yuan was deceiving her—that he intended to leave her here alone while he went off to face the all-consuming fire of the Great Sun Golden Lotus by himself.
"When have I ever lied to you?" Qi Yuan's thoughts were a tangled knot. He took her soft, slender hand, his expression gentle.
The bond between them ran exceedingly deep.
Just then, the Great Sun Golden Lotus's incineration intensified to a terrifying degree. In an instant, it reduced Ning Tao's clothing to ash, as though she had deliberately refrained from resisting the flames.
Qi Yuan's hand rested on Ning Tao's smooth, delicate back, her jade-white body completely bared before his eyes.
Her petite body squirmed slightly, the curve of her upturned jade bowl lightly brushing against his arm. Qi Yuan suppressed the surge of desire within his heart.
Ning Tao leaned close to Qi Yuan's ear, her voice soft and sweet yet demanding. "Blood Pearl, you've seen every inch of this young miss's body. No matter how ugly I am, you're not allowed to dislike me!
"If you leave without saying goodbye, this maiden will... lock you by my side for life after life!"
At this moment, Qi Yuan couldn't tell whether the charming girl in his embrace was Canary or Ning Tao.
All he knew was that her eyes and brows were breathtakingly captivating.
"I won't," Qi Yuan said, meeting the girl's eyes with a firm gaze, though a hint of worry lingered in his voice. "It's just that... after I refine this star into my Golden Core, I might... have to leave this place as well. In all likelihood, only my Golden Core will remain here.
"Once the Golden Core forms, don't keep staring at it, or your memory might suffer."
A part of him would remain behind here.
Ning Tao seemed only half-understanding. Tilting her head, her moist vermilion lips drew near Qi Yuan, and she gave him a light nip with her pearl-white teeth. A smug smile graced her face. "Now there's a mark. Husband, from now on, you belong to this maiden."
Yet a moment later, her smile faded, replaced by a timid expression. "Blood Pearl, bite this young miss too. This young miss... wants to belong to you!"
The bold and seductive one was Ning Tao; the shy and tsundere one was Canary.
Qi Yuan lowered his head and drew close, caught by her faint, delicate fragrance. "The two of us together don't have a combined mental age bigger than someone's shoe size.
"Little kid Ning Tao, I have to go."
Such childish, simple, and pure innocence dispersed the gloom weighing upon Qi Yuan's heart.
Cradling Qi Yuan's head, Ning Tao's snowy complexion flushed crimson. A black dress reappeared over her body, and her slender, fair calves were once again neatly enveloped in black stockings.
At their level of cultivation, condensing an outfit out of cosmic dust was the easiest thing in the world—or she could simply shape one using magic power.
Looking at Qi Yuan, her voice carried a touch of petulant insistence: "You know what I mean."
Qi Yuan nodded. He took a long, deep look at Ning Tao before turning his gaze toward the countless stars strewn across the boundless cosmos.
Finally, his eyes settled on the nearest and smallest little sun.
Without looking back, he charged straight toward it.
Ning Tao watched from afar across the vastness of the universe.
Time seemed to freeze at this moment.
After who knew how long, a brilliant flash of light suddenly erupted across the star.
Then the glare faded once more.
At that moment, countless thoughts flashed through Qi Yuan's mind.
He had already plunged into the core of the star.
Incalculable high pressure and searing heat crushed and incinerated his body.
Inside him, the Great Sun Golden Lotus was also reducing everything to ashes.
The dual infernos burned continuously, striking a delicate equilibrium.
The agony wracking Qi Yuan's body far exceeded anything he had previously endured.
The sheer horror of the Great Sun Golden Lotus threatening to consume all existence, in particular, pushed his body past the limits of tolerance.
Dying Radiance!
His ultimate skill activated over and over, steadily driving his power higher.
He fought against the Great Sun Golden Lotus.
The Great Sun Golden Lotus was the relic left behind after the Great Sun Radiant Buddha's passing—terrifying beyond measure.
Once coated in dust, it would incinerate every last thing in the world.
"Forget!"
At this moment, Qi Yuan unleashed his origin divine ability: the Great Oblivion Heart Scripture.
Only the Great Oblivion Heart Scripture could turn the tide.
He pushed it to its absolute peak.
This origin divine ability—so potent that it had etched symbols upon the Gate of Myriad Manifestations—finally revealed its true, terrifying might.
While in the Liufeng Realm, Qi Yuan had rarely utilized the Great Oblivion Heart Scripture.
In the past, he had avoided invoking it too often because overuse would affect his own mind.
Thus, even when he used it, he exercised great restraint.
An origin divine ability was his path.
As a gamer, how could he let his own path manipulate him?
Even if he forgot something, it had to be because he chose to forget, not because his origin divine ability forced it upon him.
Back when he condensed the Great Oblivion Heart Scripture to break free of turning into an Archdemon within the Gate of Myriad Demons, he had already devised a plan.
Just as he had engraved the origin divine ability 'Virtual Realm Sovereign's Inner Demon Summons' onto the Divine Soul artifact forged from a single droplet of his blood,
his plan was to engrave the Great Oblivion Heart Scripture onto his Golden Core.
That was why he could now unleash the Great Oblivion Heart Scripture with reckless abandon.
"Oblivion is the ultimate truth."
"Oblivion is the Dao."
"You are the Great Sun Golden Lotus. You have never gathered dust."
"I am the Great Sun Radiant Buddha. You are a part of my own body!"
The Great Oblivion Heart Scripture exerted its influence over everything.
Qi Yuan's body was boiling hot, crimson, wrapped in perpetual flames.
Yet an aura of pure Buddhist nature emanated from him.
As though possessing sentience, the Great Sun Golden Lotus actually slowed its burning. Yet the moment it detected the greed, pride, lust, and other desires radiating from the blood-red sword, it flared up again, fiercer than before.
Holding the longsword, Qi Yuan cursed his bad luck and tossed it away on the spot.
"It is my Three Corpses, already severed!"
"I am the Great Sun Radiant Buddha!"
"You are the relic resting in my belly!"
"You have never gathered dust!"
Qi Yuan continuously channeled his origin divine ability, soothing the Great Sun Golden Lotus.
Words poured like blooming lotuses from his lips, his voice filled with hypnotic persuasion.
Deep within the star, the burning of the Great Sun Golden Lotus finally subsided into silence.
Qi Yuan breathed a massive sigh of relief. "Two big babies, and I've finally coaxed one into submission. One more left to coax."
The Great Sun Golden Lotus was placated, but he hadn't even started on the star yet.
"Thanks to Bai Ze, otherwise it wouldn't have been so easy to pacify," Qi Yuan mused.
Before departing the Liufeng Realm, Bai Ze had helped him absorb all the inner demons in the world into the sword of the Inner Demon Summons.
Bai Ze had also bestowed upon Qi Yuan countless Buddhist teachings and gifts left by the Great Sun Radiant Buddha.
This was why Qi Yuan could use the Great Oblivion Heart Scripture so effectively to soothe the Great Sun Golden Lotus.
"Great Sun Golden Lotus, forge my Supreme Flawless Glazed Golden Body!"
Qi Yuan roared.
The Flawless Glazed Golden Body was an absolute necessity.
He had to forge the most indestructible stomach in the world; otherwise, how could he swallow a Golden Core into his belly?
Following his shout, the Great Sun Golden Lotus ignited once more.
This time, however, it did not incinerate everything in sight; instead, it burned through Qi Yuan's divine soul and tempered his body.
The immense energy of the Great Sun Golden Lotus ground away at his flesh inch by inch, thread by thread.
The agony was unbearable.
Yet ambition blazed in Qi Yuan's eyes. "Only those who endure the bitterest hardships rise above all men! In the future, I, Qi Yuan, will sweep through high school cultivation!"
The Great Sun Golden Lotus scorched him relentlessly as his body was continuously reshaped.
After who knew how long, Qi Yuan opened his eyes as if an eternity had elapsed. His skin was lustrous white, glowing with a soft sheen like fine white porcelain.
A mere glance at him inspired a sense of sacred majesty, compelling one to prostrate in worship.
"The Flawless Glazed Golden Body... is finally complete."
With a golden body this powerful, swallowing a star shouldn't be an issue, right?
His eyes finally turned toward the star he was inside.
Looking through it, he gazed upon the countless glittering stars beyond.
Every other star was larger than this one.
That made Qi Yuan's appetite surge.
However, he was easily satisfied. Looking around the little sun he occupied, he remarked, "Small is cute too."
With that, his magic power unfurled in its entirety.
For a cultivator to step from Foundation Establishment into the Golden Core stage, three things were required: first, consummate magic power; second, an appropriate vessel to host the Golden Core; and third, condensing their magic power into solid substance to assimilate the vessel and refine it into their Golden Core.
Qi Yuan had no idea how much magic power he possessed.
In any case, it was a massive, boundless ocean.
"Even ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators can form an Immortal-grade Golden Core!
"With my Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment and magic power equivalent to a consummate Purple Mansion, refining a Stellar Golden Core shouldn't be much of a problem!"
Vast magic power poured out relentlessly.
Yet only dozens of breaths later, a dejected look spread across Qi Yuan's face. "I was wrong. You're not small at all, and you're not cute either."
This star was already the smallest one within Qi Yuan's field of vision.
Yet its volume was estimated to be thousands or even tens of thousands of times larger than the Blue Star of his past life.
His magic power simply couldn't condense enough solid substance, nor could it wrap around the entire star to refine it into a Golden Core.
Facing the little sun, Qi Yuan activated the Great Oblivion Heart Scripture once more.
"You're not a sun. You're a chocolate ball."
The little sun gave no response whatsoever.
"You're not a star, and you're not a sun. You're the Golden Core I left behind here!"
As Qi Yuan's voice rang out, he drove the Great Oblivion Heart Scripture to its absolute limit.
He was going to engrave the Great Oblivion Heart Scripture directly onto this star.
His origin divine ability was finally about to reach the legendary Engraving Realm.
He shouted, "Great Sun Golden Lotus, detonate for me!"
Qi Yuan took a two-pronged approach.
On one hand, he strove to engrave the Great Oblivion Heart Scripture onto the star.
On the other, he detonated his Flawless Glazed Golden Body, dispersing his entire physical form across the star to envelop it and refine it into his Golden Core.
At this moment, Qi Yuan shattered into countless particles.
Only his final shred of consciousness remained.
"This is not my flesh. This is my magic power."
"You are my Golden Core!"
The supreme origin divine ability, the Great Oblivion Heart Scripture, was continuously engraved upon the star.
The star, which had previously seemed somewhat dormant, erupted in violent explosions.
The fragmented flesh and blood of the Flawless Glazed Golden Body drifted across the star.
"Every world in existence must possess a Heavenly Dao to be complete!
"You have no Heavenly Dao above your head, making us a perfect match!
"You are a chocolate ball!
"You are a chicken egg!
"You are a kidney stone!
"You are my Golden Core!"
Qi Yuan carved relentlessly.
The potential of the Great Oblivion Heart Scripture far outstripped the Virtual Realm Sovereign's Inner Demon Summons.
As this potent origin continuously etched into it, and with no Heavenly Dao presiding over the star, nobody could stop Qi Yuan.
As long as Qi Yuan's appetite was large enough, he could swallow the entire star whole.
Step by step, the star yielded.
The Great Oblivion Heart Scripture engraved itself deeper, and the star gradually conformed to Qi Yuan's shape.
Qi Yuan no longer had a physical body; the Flawless Glazed Golden Body had transformed into solidified magic power, lightly coating the star.
Of course, calling it "coating" was generous—it was more like extortionate loitering.
There was just a tiny smidgen here, a tiny dab there.
It was too massive!
The star was simply far too huge!
It wasn't a cute little thing at all!
The Great Oblivion Heart Scripture engraved itself without hindrance.
Great Sun's unattainable Daytime Fantasy Art was realized by Qi Yuan at this very moment.
And this universe held far more than just this one star!
There were endless rivers of stars, innumerable suns and planets.
No Heavenly Dao, and no other living beings.
This entire universe was completely virgin territory.
Qi Yuan was already eyeing what was in the pot while eating from his bowl.
"Engrave the Great Oblivion Heart Scripture!
"Golden Core... form!"
Qi Yuan bellowed.
The Great Oblivion Heart Scripture was finally engraved upon the star.
The star was finally shaped into Qi Yuan's form.
"Condense!"
A terrifying aura swept through. The star suddenly blazed with blinding brilliance, condensing into a Golden Core. Eventually, the intense radiance dissipated, and the star returned to its original appearance.
No matter who arrived in this realm, they would likely mistake this star for an ordinary star, never suspecting it was a cultivator's Golden Core.
The aura of the Oblivion realm permeated the Stellar Golden Core, suspended in the boundless cosmos.
A single Golden Core swallowed into the belly; only today do I know who I truly am!
Qi Yuan had finally formed his Golden Core and become a Golden Core True Person!
In the Divine Light Sect, aside from a few peak masters, he would be among the rarest of elites!
Qi Yuan's consciousness was also slowly returning.
His gaze turned toward the slender black-robed figure deep in the cosmos, a hint of reluctance in his eyes.
At this moment, the star's light transformed into a river of stars, magnificent and sublime, resembling auspicious clouds.
The celestial river pierced through the infinite cosmos and came to a rest before Ning Tao.
As a Grand Sovereign, Ning Tao watched this scene with astonishment and bewilderment.
The terrifying aura billowing ahead surpassed everything she had ever known.
Even the Venerable, even the White Emperor, would appear as insignificant as toddlers before this terrifying aura.
"Blood Pearl..." Ning Tao's lips trembled.
Looking through the celestial river, she couldn't find the figure she was most familiar with.
At that moment, the star resonated with its final voice:
"As long as it remains, I remain."
The white celestial river swept past, baptizing Ning Tao's body.
It could be said that Qi Yuan's Golden Core possessed infinite might.
The star was him; the Heavenly Dao was also him.
This Golden Core was now comparable to a god—or rather, even more terrifying than one.
After all, how could an ordinary Yin God ever contend with a star?
Ning Tao stepped onto the river woven from starlight. Looking up at the star that seemed so close at hand, a smile curved on her lips. "This is so much better than being at the Ends of the Earth."
In the lonely cosmos, the young girl kept company with the star.
...
Canglan Realm.
"Ow!"
"It hurts so much!"
"Why is it so bloated?"
Inside the wooden cabin, Qi Yuan clutched his stomach in agony.
"Am I pregnant?"
He looked down at his belly, which appeared no different than usual.
Yet it felt both intensely bloated and completely empty—an utterly contradictory sensation.
He glanced at the wooden cat puppet on the bedside table.
A helpless look flitted through his eyes.
"A day underground, a hundred years in heaven."
The time dilation in that universe was massive.
"Where is my Golden Core?"
Qi Yuan peered inward at his dantian, only to find it completely bare. There was nothing there at all.
"Is my Golden Core still... left behind in that universe?"
At that moment, stirred by a sudden premonition, Qi Yuan stepped out of his wooden cabin.
He looked up at the sky. Under the broad daylight, faint pinpricks of starlight were visible across the heavens.
In a single glance, Qi Yuan spotted something beside the blazing great sun: an extra... little sun.
The little sun was not as dazzling as the great sun, yet it was still a sun radiating its own brilliance.
He gazed at the sun in the sky.
[Projection of the Stellar Golden Core. Upon it, a woman has always been keeping you company.]
A day on earth, a hundred years in heaven.
"When I grow a bit older, I should be able to swallow a few more stars. This time difference... is just right."
(PS1: Before leaving, Qi Yuan blessed Ning Tao, elevating her strength.
PS2: Ning Tao being on the Stellar Golden Core places her in a special state. This will be mentioned when she appears again later, and it also relates to her future path.
So... this really isn't angst for the sake of angst—or rather, it isn't actually angsty at all.)
Chapter 137