Could They All Be the Same Person?

Leaving the sect's main hall, Kang Fulu and Qi Yuan walked shoulder to shoulder. "Junior Brother, you haven't traveled far from home all these years. Now, suddenly leaving Great Shang for Cuiyun Continent... who knows what lies ahead, or when we'll be able to return," Kang Fulu sighed, looking adrift and uncertain. With the Hundred Nations Blood War looming, Great Shang was like a ship tossed in a tempest. By having the two of them participate in the Eastern Lands Prodigy Battle, the Sect Master likely had the intention of helping them escape this vortex. Through the battle, they might draw the attention of major sects and join them, breaking free of the cage that was the Hundred Nations and Cuiyun Continent. "Once the Palace of Light is destroyed, we'll head back as soon as the battle ends. It'll be quick," Qi Yuan said casually, his expression completely relaxed. Seeing Qi Yuan so calm, Kang Fulu couldn't help but sigh inwardly. *Sometimes, it's better to be a bit foolish. At least you live without worries.* Unlike himself. Even after forming a first-grade Golden Core, he was still plagued by anxiety. "Junior Brother, just do your best in this Prodigy Battle," Kang Fulu said, a flash of smugness crossing his eyes. "Though I've formed a first-grade Golden Core—something virtually unprecedented and unmatched in Great Shang—I'm still far behind the true prodigies of the Eastern Lands." Though Kang Fulu sounded modest, he was actually humblebragging. "Those in the top hundred of the Eastern Lands Heavenly Pride Roll have formed Mystic-grade or Earth-grade cores, and some have even condensed Heaven-grade ones. It's simply unimaginable." At this, Qi Yuan looked at Kang Fulu and offered a comforting smile. "Senior Brother Kang, don't be discouraged. A first-grade Golden Core is indeed a bit weak, but... in our Divine Light Sect, it still counts among the top ten, doesn't it?" Kang Fulu: "..." He fell completely silent. He had come to brag, not to be comforted! He desperately wanted to shout at Qi Yuan: *Do you have any idea how much weight a first-grade Golden Core carries in a backwater like the Hundred Nations?!* Just then, Kang Fulu's eyes lit up. Ahead of them, Xu Yiyi, the eldest disciple of Myriad Methods Peak, happened to be walking by. Ignoring Qi Yuan, Kang Fulu immediately flew over. "Junior Sister, I recently acquired a treasure. Would you like to take a look?" "What treasure?" "My... first-grade Golden Core!" "A Golden Core? Senior Brother, you reached the Origin Core realm?!" Watching this scene from afar, Qi Yuan sighed with emotion. "Fortunately, though I rose from humble beginnings, my heart longs for the sea of stars. A mere first-grade Golden Core won't be blinding my eyes." Qi Yuan took a glance at his own Golden Core. He wondered when his core would be able to swallow a few more planets, giant stars, neutron stars, and the like. If that happened, across the entire starry sky, aside from the Divine Reflections of the gods, everything would be his Golden Core. What an awe-inspiring sight that would be. Looking up at the miniature sun in the sky, he muttered to himself, "Unfortunately, my Golden Core is too far away. Otherwise, just like Senior Brother Kang Fulu, pulling it out to show off would surely earn me endless praise." Of course, it might not just be praise. If he actually summoned that Golden Core, anyone who saw it would probably end up dead. *** In the Palace of Light, Qian Yuan's face was exceptionally grim. "Nearly a hundred Divine Infants died in the Hundred Nations? Utter trash!" Over the past two days, nearly a hundred Divine Infant experts dispatched to the Hundred Nations had been ambushed and slain by formidable foes. Losing nearly a hundred Divine Infants was a crippling blow even to the Palace of Light! "The Mad Daoist, the Seven Desires Demon Lord, the Bloody-Robed Sword God... Those Divine Flower Society bastards are truly vicious!" Black Rope's spiritual energy churned around him like a powder keg on the verge of exploding. The Divine Infant cultivators present looked at him warily, terrified he might strike out in a fit of rage. "When did our Palace of Light offend so many... 'terrifying' enemies?" Qian Yuan fumed with rage. Out of nowhere, several people originating from the Hundred Nations within the Divine Flower Society had targeted them. They had appeared all at once, and every single one was a prodigy. It was utterly absurd. "Do you think... could they all be one person adopting multiple identities to ambush and slaughter our people?" the red-bearded elder asked, voicing his suspicion. "Unlikely," Elder Black Rope said in a deep, booming voice. "The Mad Daoist possesses a bizarre treasure shaped like a kitchen cleaver. Relying on that treasure, he butchers Divine Infants like chickens. The Seven Desires Demon Lord cultivates some kind of forbidden art capable of calling down heavenly thunder to annihilate foes. Not to mention the Bloody-Robed Sword God, who wields an origin divine ability and is a Purple Mansion mighty figure. Every one of them is extraordinary. They can't possibly be the same person!" Everyone present nodded in agreement with Black Rope. There were ten distinct assailants who had slaughtered the Palace of Light's Divine Infant deacons. Each possessed prominent characteristics, extraordinary strength, and unique mystical arts. Any one of them, taken on their own, qualified as a young prodigy. How could they be the same person? "How could a tiny place like the Hundred Nations produce so many middle-aged prodigies? Clearly, they are all people from the Divine Flower Society!" Qian Yuan stated his conclusion. "Middle-aged prodigy" generally referred to those on the previous generation's Heavenly Pride Roll. Those who ambushed the Palace of Light's Divine Infants all possessed the strength of middle-aged prodigies. It was terrifying. Clearly, they were all members of the Divine Flower Society. "The Divine Flower Society..." At the mention of this organization, the deacons exchanged uneasy glances. It was a loose but extraordinarily powerful entity. Its headquarters were not even in the Eastern Lands. If the Divine Flower Society truly intended to move against them, matters would become troublesome. Noticing the apprehension among the deacons below, Qian Yuan spoke up: "Rest assured, everyone. Even the Divine Flower Society cannot meddle in Eastern Lands affairs as it pleases. The Grand Palace Master has already departed for Huangsheng Continent to meet with the Divine Flower Society's Eastern Lands leader and demand an explanation." Hearing this, the crowd let out a sigh of relief. Qian Yuan continued, "The Mad Daoist, the Seven Desires Demon Lord, and the rest have already been placed on our Palace of Light's most-wanted list. If any of them dare set foot in Cuiyun Continent, they will find only death! As for the Bloody-Robed Sword God, the three of us have already issued a gauntlet within the Divine Flower Society. If he dares come, he will surely die! Until the Bloody-Robed Sword God falls, there is no need to send any more deacons to the Hundred Nations!" "Understood!" The deacons breathed a sigh of relief. They were truly terrified of being deployed to the Hundred Nations right now. That was nothing short of suicide! *** When Qi Yuan logged into the Four Emperors of Divine Flower group chat, he was greeted by a flurry of flattering messages. "Origin Celestial Venerable, you're truly fierce! Slaughtering nearly a hundred Divine Infants just like that!" "Rushing thousands of li in a single night—truly formidable!" "Our generation ought to strive to be like this." Seeing these praises, Qi Yuan felt a swell of pride, though also a hint of embarrassment. "Compared to the senior experts in this group who command the world with a single word, I'm far weaker!" Remembering Iceberg Overlord Woman's talk of Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment, where spoken words became law and brought gods tumbling down, Qi Yuan felt he was actually quite ordinary. "You're too modest!" Rogue Immortal Venerable had now fully transformed into Qi Yuan's number-one sycophant. "Origin Celestial Venerable is already rampaging in every direction, slaughtering Divine Infants like dogs, while I still have to participate in the Eastern Lands Prodigy Battle. Comparing myself to you, the difference is just too vast." "You're taking part in the Eastern Lands Prodigy Battle too?" Qi Yuan's eyes brightened. "What, Origin Celestial Venerable, do you have a junior who's entering?" Rogue Immortal Venerable asked. "I'm still young! I haven't even marr—" Qi Yuan almost said he wasn't even married yet. On second thought, wasn't Xiao Jia his wife? "I don't even have kids yet," he replied instead. "I'm taking part in the Eastern Lands Prodigy Battle myself. Rogue Immortal Venerable, let's meet up in person when the time comes! I haven't met any of the senior figures in this group yet!" Qi Yuan said, rather excited. This left Rogue Immortal Venerable utterly dumbfounded. "Origin Celestial Venerable, don't you butcher Divine Infants like dogs? You even know an origin divine ability! Why are you participating in the Eastern Lands Prodigy Battle?" "Isn't it perfectly reasonable for a humble Origin Core cultivator like me to enter the Eastern Lands Prodigy Battle?" Qi Yuan asked. "Reasonable, yes, but... what about the Bloody-Robed Sword God? Aren't you a Purple Mansion mighty figure?" "I'm in the Origin Core realm." "But you have an origin divine ability, and you butcher Divine Infants like dogs!" "Is there a rule saying Origin Core cultivators can't have origin divine abilities? Is there a rule saying Origin Core cultivators can't kill Divine Infants?" "...No one made such a rule." "Hmph, I haven't even summoned my Golden Core yet. If I brought it out, I'd scare a Yin God half to death!" Qi Yuan said smugly. Rogue Immortal Venerable was at a loss for words. *Is something wrong with my head, or is something wrong with Origin Celestial Venerable's head?* *Wait, Origin Celestial Venerable is clearly a Purple Mansion mighty figure. Purple Mansion mighty figures can't be out of their minds. Could it be... there really is something wrong with my head?* Rogue Immortal Venerable felt he needed to find a gentle female physician to soothe his fragile soul. "What a pity. I'm not in the Eastern Lands right now, otherwise, no matter what, I would've gone to watch Origin Celestial Venerable and Rogue Immortal Venerable meet up," Great Sun Flame Emperor said helplessly, sounding quite regretful. "It's fine. The world is vast; we'll cross paths sooner or later. In any case... we live in the same era. As long as we don't die, there'll always be a chance to meet," Qi Yuan said. "It's just a simple meetup. Why does Origin Celestial Venerable make it sound so solemn?" Iceberg Overlord Woman chimed in. "Just a fleeting touch of melancholy, that's all." Withdrawing his awareness from the Divine Flower Society's jade slip, Qi Yuan entered the game jade slip once more. After a moment, a look of disappointment crossed his face. "Still no... new game?" Ever since leaving the Liufeng Realm, Qi Yuan had been trying to access a new game through the jade slip. Unfortunately, the slip remained empty, as though the next game had yet to be created. He swept the slip with his divine sense, but found nothing. *Is the game jade slip too vast and my divine sense insufficient to discover a new game? Or does it require some kind of medium to trigger it?* *I can't enter a new game, nor can I return to my Golden Core for now. Fortunately, I have a toy like the Palace of Light to play with; otherwise, life would be far too boring,* Qi Yuan reflected. *** Three days later. Four figures stood aboard a massive spiritual boat: Qi Yuan, Kang Fulu, Jiang Ya, and the Divine Infant old woman. Jiang Ya was also taking part in the Eastern Lands Prodigy Battle. Since they were traveling in the same direction, Qi Yuan and Kang Fulu hitched a ride on her vessel. It had to be said that Jiang Ya's spiritual boat flew vastly faster than ordinary ones. A journey that would normally have taken half a month to reach Cuiyun Continent now required only five or six days. Aboard the massive vessel, Qi Yuan peered at the boundless desert below, his expression filled with curiosity. "This combination of desert and ocean... is truly strange." Below them, an endless expanse of desert stretched out, yet patches of sea appeared intermittently across it. Desert and ocean interlocked in an uncanny landscape. Jiang Ya opened her closed eyes and said slowly, "This peculiar sight was caused by... a great battle between Yin Gods. Whenever power exceeds the Purple Mansion realm, the sheer destructive force during combat forces them into the Void Realm. The Void Realm is utterly empty and causes no harm to mortals. However... every so often, things produced within the Void Realm tumble back into the mortal world, creating sights like this." "What if a Yin God attacks a Purple Mansion? Would both enter the Void Realm as well?" Qi Yuan asked. "Why would a Yin God need to exert power beyond the Purple Mansion realm to kill one?" When Jiang Ya mentioned the Yin God realm, ambition flared in her eyes. That realm was the pinnacle her master had spent his entire life pursuing. Anyone who stepped into the Yin God realm was no longer bound by the world's constraints. "Then what if that Yin God insists on using power beyond the Purple Mansion realm?" Qi Yuan pressed. "Then that entire area will be passively dragged into the Void Realm," Jiang Ya explained patiently. Though for an Origin Core cultivator, raising such questions was arguably far too premature. "Passively?" Qi Yuan's gaze sharpened. "Dragged in by the Heavenly Dao?" *In that case, the Yin God realm doesn't seem all that impressive either.* Jiang Ya glanced at him with mild surprise. "Yin Gods vary in strength, just as the Heavenly Dao varies in strength. A powerful Yin God may well be able to break free of such constraints." Hearing this, Qi Yuan understood a little more. "Sigh, what a pity. Had I known, I would have used the Canglan Realm's Heavenly Dao for my Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment instead of the Wangyue Continent's. Truly a regret!" The Wangyue Continent's Heavenly Dao was visibly weaker than that of the Canglan Realm. Jiang Ya looked at Qi Yuan and said nothing. She had long heard from Jiang Lingsu that Qi Yuan was a cultivator walking the Dao of Obsession, and that there was something wrong with his head. The spiritual boat sped forward. Jiang Ya spoke no further with Qi Yuan, immersing herself entirely in a jade slip. Her brows were knit tightly as she pondered. The master of Ascending Heaven Pavilion, Old Man Wutian—her master—had left each of his personal disciples a difficult test. Jiang Ya's challenge was the Heaven-grade art *Heartless Sutra*. Her master had stated that this art contained several flaws. If she could identify them and adapt the art to a satisfactory standard, she would earn the right to enter the Ascending Heaven Tower and assist her master in accomplishing a great endeavor. Currently, among Old Man Wutian's five personal disciples, only one had completed the trial and entered the tower. Ever since Jiang Ya received the *Heartless Sutra*, she had studied it daily, yet her progress was meager. Up to this point, she had only uncovered three flaws. As for adapting it, she hadn't even begun. After all, this was a Heaven-grade art, and one specially bestowed by Old Man Wutian at that. It was far beyond ordinary Heaven-grade arts. Seeing Jiang Ya looking troubled, Qi Yuan couldn't resist asking, "Senior Sister Jiang, have you run into some difficult problem? Feel free to share it." According to his junior sister, Jiang Ya was a personal disciple of the Ascending Heaven Pavilion's master. The Ascending Heaven Pavilion housed myriad arts. And what Qi Yuan lacked most were cultivation arts. With Jiang Ya carrying such immense wealth, it was hard for him not to covet it. Thus, Qi Yuan prepared to act as an enthusiastic simp. Though a simp had no house, as long as he didn't simp for just one person, but simped for all the rich women under heaven, he would be a player hound. Toward Jiang Ya, Qi Yuan was naturally far more enthusiastic. Jiang Ya opened her eyes again. Her expression appeared gentle, yet Qi Yuan still detected the faint aloofness in her eyes. "Just a trivial matter. I won't trouble Junior Brother with it." A trial set by her master might stump even a Purple Mansion mighty figure. Qi Yuan hailed from the Hundred Nations; he had probably barely seen any Mysterious-grade arts. With such shallow foundations, he likely couldn't even make sense of the *Heartless Sutra*. As for what her sister Jiang Lingsu had said about Qi Yuan being adept at modifying techniques, the results of his modifications were... difficult to describe. She naturally wouldn't seek his help. Hearing her refusal, Qi Yuan felt a pang of disappointment. *If only every rich woman were as easy to butter up as Junior Sister Jiang Lingsu.* For the next few days, Qi Yuan was bored out of his mind. When he wasn't secretly browsing the arts his junior sister had brought him, he was on the Divine Flower Society forum relentlessly smearing the Palace of Light. By now, his alt account, the Bloody-Robed Sword God, had become a celebrity on the forum. Whenever he posted, dozens of people immediately showered him with praise. This made Qi Yuan so giddy that he almost considered abandoning his main account to just play the Bloody-Robed Sword God permanently. Of course, it was only a passing thought. "Rogue Immortal Venerable, I'll be arriving in Yunzhong City in a few days. What about you? When will you get there? Let's meet up!" Qi Yuan asked Rogue Immortal Venerable in the chat. "I'll probably arrive on the later side; I'm traveling with my senior brother," Rogue Immortal Venerable replied in the group. He was not located in Cuiyun Continent, so rushing over would take more time. "What kind of mighty figure is your senior brother? Which Celestial Venerable is he?" Qi Yuan couldn't help asking. "He isn't one," Rogue Immortal Venerable answered quickly, shaking his head. "It seems he still can't hold a candle to you, Rogue Immortal Venerable." Since Rogue Immortal Venerable had flattered him so many times, shouldn't he return the favor? It was called reciprocity. Otherwise, whenever he showed off in the group in the future, it would be awkward if no one was there to cheer him on. At that moment, in Leixing Continent of the Eastern Lands, Rogue Immortal Venerable sat aboard an immortal boat. Reading Origin Celestial Venerable's flattery, he felt utterly helpless. "I'm just a small fry. My senior brother is ranked in the top three hundred of the Eastern Lands Heavenly Pride Roll; I can't compare to him." "Top three hundred? That's too weak! He can't even compare to a single hair on you, Rogue Immortal Venerable." With Jiang Ya, ranked seventeenth on the Eastern Lands Heavenly Pride Roll, right beside him, Qi Yuan felt as though he were seventeenth himself. He spoke with immense bravado, looking down on anyone ranked lower than seventeen. "*Cough, cough...*" Rogue Immortal Venerable replied awkwardly. Just then, a tall man walked over. The man wore an emerald-green robe and possessed slanted, upturned eyes; his looks were rather unimpressive. "Junior Brother, we'll reach Cuiyun Continent in ten days. Remember to set aside your personal grievances so we can pay our respects to Huang Tu, the prodigy of the Palace of Light!" Hearing his senior brother's words, Rogue Immortal Venerable hesitated. "Senior Brother, I'm a member of the Divine Flower Society. The Divine Flower Society is currently in conflict with the Palace of Light; I'd rather not go." Right now, Origin Celestial Venerable was waging war against the Palace of Light. As one of the Four Emperors of Divine Flower, even if he couldn't offer combat support, shouldn't he at least stand on the same united front? "Hmph!" The man with slanted eyes sneered. "Junior Brother, Cuiyun Continent is the Palace of Light's home turf. Since we're going there, how can we not build connections with their prodigies? How can we pass up such a golden opportunity to befriend prodigies and expand our network? Besides, where is this major conflict between the Divine Flower Society and the Palace of Light? That Bloody-Robed Sword God is just a mere Purple Mansion cultivator picking a fight with the Palace of Light—he's utterly seeking his own death!" Hearing this, Rogue Immortal Venerable felt quite helpless. "Senior Brother, I've already agreed to meet up with a good friend." The man's brow twitched. "If I remember correctly, that friend of yours, like you, isn't even on the main Eastern Lands Heavenly Pride Roll." "He's plenty strong!" Rogue Immortal Venerable defended Origin Celestial Venerable. "How about this: when we go pay our respects to Huang Tu, why don't you bring him along?" the man offered generously. Panic seized Rogue Immortal Venerable, and he hurriedly replied, "Don't!" Origin Celestial Venerable and the Palace of Light were like fire and water! If he went to pay respects to Huang Tu, ghost only knew what kind of disaster would unfold!