Yin Gods Are Too Strong, I Need to Devour Stars!

Three days later. Looking at the dazzling array of cultivation manuals in his storage bag, Qi Yuan broke into a wide grin. "Sure enough, having subordinates feels great after all." "It would be even better if the techniques from Liufeng Realm were useful to me." "With so many manuals, it should be enough to deduce my Divine Infant chapter and push me to the middle Golden Core stage, right?" Qi Yuan pondered. Deducing the Golden Core Great Dao chapter was a bottomless pit to Qi Yuan. After all, how many planets and stars were there in the universe? Qi Yuan had no idea. Devouring them all would indeed consume an immense amount of resources. "Still, the Golden Core Great Dao chapter I deduced earlier should be enough for the True Solar Fire on my Golden Core to devour a few planets, right?" Qi Yuan looked inward at his dantian. Inside lay the projection of a Golden Core, its flames blazing fiercely. One day on earth, a hundred years in heaven. He reckoned that before long, he would be able to devour a few planets just for fun. Qi Yuan gave it no further thought and threw himself entirely into the manuals he had obtained. ... Great Shang, Divine Light Sect. Elder Xuanchong of Divine Medicine Peak wore a sullen expression, and True Monarch Kumu looked equally grim. Before them stood a young man dressed in white robes. "True Monarch Kumu, you and I hail from the same clan. Why would I deceive you? And Elder Xuanchong, the three of us share the same bloodline. We ought to prioritize the interests of the Wood Clan!" The white-robed young man was named Mu Kong. Back when Hong Lian slaughtered the Wood Clan, he had not been present in the clan and had narrowly escaped with his life. True Monarch Kumu glared at Mu Kong, anger rising in his eyes. "The interests of the Wood Clan? You mean your own interests!" Mu Kong smiled faintly upon hearing this and said, "With your talent, True Monarch Kumu, when will you ever reach the Purple Mansion realm? Meanwhile, my master, the Supreme Elder of Red Sword Sect, is a genuine Purple Mansion cultivator. As long as you offer up the Wood Origin Classic and Great Shang pledges loyalty to Red Sword Sect, my master's injuries will heal, and he will be able to avenge our Wood Clan!" His words sounded righteous and grand. True Monarch Kumu's face darkened. Red Sword Sect had coveted Great Shang for more than just a day or two. Back then, the shadow of Red Sword Sect had loomed behind Great Shang's Old Emperor. Now that backing the Old Emperor had failed, they had sent Mu Kong as a lobbyist? "True Monarch Kumu, give me an answer within three days. Otherwise... when my master arrives in person, he won't be quite so reasonable." Mu Kong acted completely arrogant. "For today, well, I shall stay at... Seven Colors Peak. Rumor has it that the Peak Master of Seven Colors Peak possesses peerless beauty. I wonder if I will have the fortune to catch a glimpse of her?" True Monarch Kumu's face was livid. "The Peak Master of Seven Colors Peak is in secluded cultivation and receives no visitors." He did not know that the summit of Seven Colors Peak had long been empty. "What a pity," Mu Kong remarked with regret. His cultivation was weak, merely at the Origin Core stage, so he naturally did not dare offend Ruan Yixi. However... once his master arrived, things might be different. "True Monarch Kumu, Elder Xuanchong, think it over carefully. Always consider the bigger picture. In three days, if my master receives no word from me, he will pay a visit to Divine Light Sect himself." With that, Mu Kong wore a smug smile and walked toward Seven Colors Peak. True Monarch Kumu and Elder Xuanchong stood in the main hall, their expressions exceedingly grim. "Unbearable insolence!" True Monarch Kumu wished he could obliterate Mu Kong with a single palm strike. Yet, wary of Red Sword Sect's Supreme Elder, he ultimately could not bring himself to act. Otherwise, he would plunge Divine Light Sect into a crisis of total destruction. "Could the feng shui here be cursed?" asked the usually taciturn Elder Xuanchong. He had lived in Divine Light Sect for centuries, quietly cultivating without ever meddling in the sect's affairs. Yet over the past hundred years, he had noticed that this small Divine Infant sect harbored a great deal of trouble. Just among the people he had detected, there were over a hundred spies. On top of that, there were all sorts of bizarre disciples, deacons, and elders. He had originally assumed those people joined Divine Light Sect with ulterior motives. As it turned out... well, they were completely normal and never caused any trouble. A collection of questionable individuals had somehow formed an unquestionable sect. First came the Hundred Nations Blood War, and now the threat of Red Sword Sect. Elder Xuanchong genuinely felt something was wrong with the local feng shui. True Monarch Kumu was thoroughly exhausted. Hailing from a great clan, he had endured endless tribulations to reach where he was today. His expression turned resolute. "Destiny may have its limits, but human will... is boundless." He did not believe in destiny; he believed everything had to be fought for by oneself. "Spare the grand speech. Are we handing over the Wood Origin Classic or not?" Elder Xuanchong rolled his eyes at True Monarch Kumu. True Monarch Kumu sighed. "Alas, the Eastern Lands Prodigy Battle should have begun by now. I wonder how Fulu and Qi Yuan are faring." Hearing that, Elder Xuanchong also showed a trace of regret. "It is a pity Qi Yuan was given so little time. Otherwise... if he formed a Golden Core, he might truly have had a shot at entering the top hundred of the Eastern Lands Heavenly Pride Roll and bringing back the Purple Gold Gourd. Only with the Purple Gold Gourd would our Wood Clan have a glimmer of hope to rise again." True Monarch Kumu said bitterly, "Hong Lian is still alive. How could we rise?" Not to mention Hong Lian, they could not even deal with the aged, injured Purple Mansion cultivator from Red Sword Sect. Both felt bitter and could only let out a deep sigh. After an unknown amount of time, an anxious voice suddenly came from outside: "Sect Master, this is bad!" A deacon rushed in, panic written all over his face. Elder Xuanchong could not help but press a hand to his forehead. The feng shui truly was cursed. "What happened?" True Monarch Kumu asked, maintaining an aura of calm as though Mount Tai could collapse before him without shaking his composure. "Mu Kong... is dead! He died halfway up Seven Colors Peak!" the deacon reported breathlessly. True Monarch Kumu's expression changed drastically. "Let's go!" With a flick of his wide sleeve, he flew toward Seven Colors Peak alongside Elder Xuanchong. When they landed halfway up Seven Colors Peak, True Monarch Kumu saw the familiar towering tree. In the past, he and the Empress of Great Shang—now Empress Dowager Mu You—had met there in secret. And now, Mu Kong's body lay split into two halves, cleanly severed at the waist as if by a single sword strike. Jiang Lingsu was standing off to the side, wearing an orange-yellow dress that made her look like a bumblebee. "What happened?" True Monarch Kumu asked. Jiang Lingsu looked thoughtful and said, "I was cultivating in my room when I suddenly felt a surging sword intent, so I looked outside. Then I saw a blade of grass slice him in two." As she spoke, she glanced at the ground around them. Grass was everywhere. She had no idea which blade had struck the fatal blow. "A single blade of grass slew an Origin Core cultivator?" True Monarch Kumu frowned. "Where is your master?" He guessed it was likely Ruan Yixi's doing. "Master... left Seven Colors Peak. Eldest Senior Brother told me so," Jiang Lingsu replied. Hearing this, True Monarch Kumu looked at the corpse on the ground, his eyes filled with even greater worry. Now, Mu Kong was dead. There was no way they could hand over the Wood Origin Classic now, and their grudge with Red Sword Sect was completely set in stone. "Activate the sect's grand array immediately!" True Monarch Kumu ordered. Red Sword Sect's Supreme Elder had suffered severe injuries long ago, and who knew how much of his strength remained. Yet, he was still a Purple Mansion cultivator. Hopefully... Divine Light Sect could survive this catastrophe. Just then, Jiang Lingsu said, "Sect Master, Eldest Senior Brother said that in two days, some of his subordinates will arrive at Divine Light Sect and deliver a gift to you." "Subordinates?" The Divine Light Sect Master was somewhat bewildered. And a gift? "Isn't he taking part in the Eastern Lands Prodigy Battle?" True Monarch Kumu asked. "I don't know." Jiang Lingsu shook her head. She knew very little about such matters. Even if Eldest Senior Brother did not participate, it was not a big deal to her. True Monarch Kumu said nothing more. After all, that was only a minor matter. The threat of Red Sword Sect was the real crisis. ... Cuiyun Continent, Yunzhong City. Qi Yuan had now moved into Yunzhong Court. "Alliance Leader!" the Court Master of Yunzhong Court called softly from outside the hall, bowing his head respectfully. "Enter." Qi Yuan opened his eyes, the vicissitudes of endless time flashing across them. The Court Master of Yunzhong Court and a hunched old man stepped inside, both behaving with utmost deference. "Alliance Leader, these are newly gathered cultivation manuals." The Court Master offered up another storage bag. Inside, it was densely packed with manual jade slips. Qi Yuan glanced at it, feeling quite pleased. This was far faster than killing old men for their techniques. No wonder everyone loved being a capitalist and exploiting others. "Well done. Keep up the good work," Qi Yuan casually praised. The Court Master of Yunzhong Court continued, "Recently, some forces have secretly been investigating... the Alliance Leader's identity. For instance, they are looking into all members of the Divine Flower Society in the Hundred Nations." Qi Yuan's gaze sharpened at those words. Someone was trying to unmask his alt account? This was outrageous! Did he have no privacy at all?! To dig into his smurf account was a violation of his privacy rights. "Who is it?" Qi Yuan asked. "Likely people from Heaven and Earth Cave," the Court Master replied. The Hundred Nations bordered Cuiyun Continent. Anyone seeking information on the Hundred Nations would inevitably deal with the factions of Cuiyun Continent. And now, Cuiyun Continent had a new ruler: the Blood-Robed Alliance. "Venerable Yeqiong?" Qi Yuan's eyes lit up. "Did he make any threats against me? Did he say he wants to destroy me?" The Court Master felt a bit intimidated and replied meekly, "No." "Really, none at all?" "Really, none." Over this period, he had gained some understanding of the Blood-Robed Sword God's personality. This man was truly insane! Moreover, he loved killing. Of course, his killings followed their own logic; he was not an Archdemon who butchered the innocent indiscriminately. "Even if he didn't say it, he must have thought it in his heart!" Qi Yuan adopted a solemn face, though he quickly discarded the thought. After all, that would be too unreasonable. When writing smear essays, he prioritized evidence and refused to wrong an innocent person. As for bad people, what did it matter if they were slightly wronged? "When I have time and run into this Venerable Yeqiong, I'll go ask him personally if he wants to kill me," Qi Yuan declared. Hearing this, cold sweat almost broke out on the Court Master's forehead. You are far too reckless! If a Purple Mansion cultivator rashly went up to a Yin God Venerable and asked if he wanted to kill him, even if that Yin God hadn't intended to before, murderous intent would probably surge right then and there. The Court Master's thoughts were extremely conflicted. He had no idea whether acknowledging such a powerhouse as their Alliance Leader was a blessing or a curse. He was terrified that before the great tribulation even began, Qi Yuan would court death by picking fights with Yin Gods. He shot a secretive glance at the old man beside him. "Alliance Leader, this subordinate takes his leave," the Court Master said. Since Heaven and Earth Cave was looking into the Alliance Leader's identity, he naturally had to interfere to prevent them from finding anything. As for the Alliance Leader's true identity, they dared not investigate deeply either. If there were no problems, that would be fine, and he could remain Alliance Leader of Cuiyun Continent. Their biggest fear was actually uncovering an issue. If things went wrong and Cuiyun Continent lost its Yin God-level foundation, what would they do? It felt just like a cultivation clan whose ancestor had been killed, only for the enemy to take over the nest and pretend to be the ancestor. Even if the clan elders knew the ancestor had been replaced, they dared not utter a peep, continuing to worship and fawn over him. After the Court Master left, only Qi Yuan and the old man remained in the grand hall. "Have a seat." Qi Yuan glanced at the elder, and a chair landed behind him. Qi Yuan had always shown respect and special treatment toward old men. Even after coming to Canglan Realm, the fine virtues of respecting the elderly and cherishing the young remained with him. "Thank you for the seat, Alliance Leader." The old man's heart drummed with anxiety. "I hear you have lived for nearly a hundred thousand years and have met quite a few Yin Gods?" Qi Yuan asked. The old man before him belonged to the Earth Turtle Clan. This monster cultivator was the oldest living being in Cuiyun Continent. Qi Yuan had deliberately sought him out to understand just how powerful a Yin God was. "I have." The Earth Turtle elder had a frail, scrawny frame that looked as though a gust of wind could blow him over. Yet Qi Yuan knew this was merely an illusion; this old fellow's defense was likely stronger than that of the Palace of Light's Grand Palace Master. "How strong... is a Yin God?" Qi Yuan asked. A contemplative look crossed the old turtle's face. He recalled the warning the Court Master had given him before coming here. It boiled down to describing Yin Gods as extraordinarily formidable. In truth, even without the Court Master's warning, the old turtle already considered Yin Gods incomparably mighty. "The Yin God realm is the realm of immortals and gods. "I once met the master of the Sovereign Shocking Dragon Crown, Venerable Wulong. "He was a Yin God of the Second Step of Sky Treading." "The Second Step of Sky Treading?" "The Yin God realm is divided into seven minor realms, namely the First Step of Sky Treading to the Seventh Step of Sky Treading. "Steps One through Three are collectively known as Venerables. "Step Four is a Great Venerable! "Once all seven steps are completed, one can be called... a Yang God! "A Purple Mansion cultivator must condense a divine aperture, transforming their magic power into divine spiritual power, before they can become a Yin God. "Cultivation in the Yin God realm consists of continually opening more divine apertures. "With each additional divine aperture opened, one's strength roughly doubles. "Opening twelve divine apertures qualifies one for the Second Step of Sky Treading. "When thirty-six divine apertures are condensed, that is the Third Step of Sky Treading." "Does your 'doubling' mean linear growth or exponential growth?" Qi Yuan asked. If it was exponential, that would be terrifying. The Earth Turtle elder looked puzzled, failing to comprehend Qi Yuan's terms. "Roughly speaking, how many one-aperture Venerables could an eleven-aperture Venerable fight?" Qi Yuan phrased it more simply. "At least ten, perhaps several dozen, or even a hundred. "The later the divine aperture, the stronger the divine spiritual power contained within. "Venerable Wulong was at the Second Step of Sky Treading, a Yin God who had opened thirteen divine apertures. "The strongest strike unleashed by the damaged Sovereign Shocking Dragon Crown was comparable to a Yin God who had opened six or seven divine apertures." Qi Yuan asked, "How many divine apertures has Venerable Yeqiong opened?" The old turtle smiled helplessly. "How could a humble one like me know such secrets?" Hearing this, Qi Yuan gained a general understanding of the Yin God realm. One could say that the disparity within the Yin God realm was enormous. At this moment, the old turtle said in a low voice, "A few days ago, Senior fought the Palace of Light in the Void Realm, and the remnants of the battle fell upon Cuiyun Continent. "This old one went to see it in person..." Back then, Qi Yuan had summoned the projection of his Golden Core to destroy everything. In reality, the Stellar Golden Core had caused massive disturbances in the Void Realm, producing various remnants. "Judging by the battlefield remnants, the power involved was roughly around the Second Step of Sky Treading." Speaking of this, the old turtle was filled with awe. Qi Yuan, however, was silently estimating. A stellar projection summoned across universes was only at the Second Step of Sky Treading? On second thought, that seemed reasonable. After all, it crossed an entire universe and was merely a projection, not the Golden Core itself. It seemed he was still too weak. A sense of urgency welled up inside Qi Yuan. "Roughly what step is the strongest Yin God in Canglan Realm? Are there any Yang Gods?" Qi Yuan asked. "This old one does not know, but it is certain that Eastern Lands has no Great Venerables, only Venerables." "Understood." Qi Yuan nodded. It seemed Venerable Yeqiong was at most at the Third Step of Sky Treading. The old turtle took his leave. In the vast palace, Qi Yuan was once again left alone. He looked at the cultivation manuals in his storage bag with a strange glint in his eyes. "Yin Gods are still very strong. A pity... my Stellar Golden Core is in another world. "What if Venerable Yeqiong is at the Third Step of Sky Treading?" According to the old turtle, the Third Step required at least thirty-six divine apertures, and perfection reached nine times nine, eighty-one apertures. If Venerable Yeqiong had eighty-one divine apertures, Qi Yuan certainly could not defeat him right now. "No, my Golden Core Great Dao must be pushed forward!" Qi Yuan looked inward at his dantian and noticed that the True Solar Fire within his body had accumulated to a certain level. Only a dozen or so days had passed here, but in that universe, a thousand years had gone by. "True Solar Fire... devour!" At that moment, Qi Yuan activated the True Solar Fire. His dantian instantly turned scalding hot. Meanwhile, in the boundless universe, flames danced upon a star. A cold, glamorous girl in a black dress opened her eyes, a wisp of True Solar Fire burning in her palm. She looked at the thirteen planets before her, her lovely face filled with delight. "True Solar Fire, go!" Following the girl's voice, golden flames surged violently across the star. In that single instant, the star's volume dramatically expanded by ten times, then a hundred times. Back in Canglan Realm, the small sun in the sky shone even brighter, suddenly flashing with intense brilliance. Mortals and cultivators alike could not help but glance up at the small sun, their faces filled with confusion and bewilderment. In the boundless cosmos, the True Solar Fire soared. Thick flames blazed in all directions of space. The mythical fire devoured everything, continually opening its massive, burning maw toward the vast universe. Thirteen gigantic planets—celestial bodies that mortals could never measure in a lifetime—were as tiny as specks of dust before this True Solar Fire. One, two, three... thirteen planets were swallowed by the True Solar Fire one after another. Whether terrestrial, gas, or ice, these cosmic bodies all caught fire with True Solar Fire in utter defiance of reason. A flicker of joy crossed Ning Tao's eyes. "A few more traveling palaces for me." At that moment, in Canglan Realm, Qi Yuan let out his very first burp since starting cultivation. Looking inward at his dantian, he saw the projections of multiple celestial bodies. To call them a sea of stars was an exaggeration; there were only fourteen in total. One star, thirteen planets, and a few bodies so small they were practically negligible. "Collecting stamps now!" "Next goal: devour a star!" Qi Yuan felt his dantian; plenty of True Solar Fire still remained. "If one star can't smash Venerable Yeqiong to death, what about two?"