"I once met a peerless genius who stood a mere half-step away from the realm of True God.
Alas, his talent was simply too overwhelming—he had even surpassed the Holy Mother of Inedia.
No matter how many supreme treasures he was given, he could never break through to the True God realm." Saying this, Great Venerable Shenlei wore a bleak, somber look, filled with boundless sorrow.
It was precisely because of this that even if a true dragon were born, they still could not reach the True God realm.
"Let's hope your talent isn't too exaggerated, kid... Otherwise, if you can't break through to True God, that'll really be something." The sorrow on Great Venerable Shenlei's face vanished just as quickly as it had appeared.
Hearing this, Qi Yuan wore a dumbfounded expression. "In other words, if someone's talent is too high and exceeds the Holy Mother of Inedia, they can't break through to True God using the supreme treasures formed from her?"
"Yeah." Great Venerable Shenlei nodded vigorously and chuckled. "Don't you worry. Your talent is pretty good, but compared to the Holy Mother of Inedia, you're definitely far off.
In this world, could the number of people whose talent surpasses hers even fill one hand?
Besides, on the path of cultivation, talent... doesn't amount to everything."
"I'm done for. What if I'm stronger than her?" Qi Yuan felt this was very likely. "Did the Holy Mother of Inedia have a Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment? Did she have a Stellar Golden Core?"
Great Venerable Shenlei choked on his words. "Can you stop bragging?
Not even the Child of Destiny boasts as hard as you!"
Qi Yuan, however, felt deeply depressed. "So having too much talent is a curse after all.
Back when I heard people say that the rich have their own hardships, I used to scoff at them. What hardships could you have when you can eat ten steamed buns in one sitting?
Now I finally understand. So this is the pain of the wealthy—having such a small stomach that you can only eat one bun at a time."
Beside him, Qi Qi offered a faint smile. "Godfather, we'll just go find more treasures. You'll definitely be able to step into the True God realm."
"No, I suddenly feel like I was being far too idealistic before.
I originally thought about visualizing all the powerful immortals and gods from our Heavenly Court.
But looking at it now, many of those gods are vastly stronger than that Holy Mother of Inedia.
Even if I visualize them, people won't be able to break through to the True God realm with them."
Qi Yuan felt thoroughly dejected.
Put this way, didn't that mean he could only visualize some small fry?
"Wait, wasn't it the Huaxia Dragon Group? How did it become the Heavenly Court again?" Great Venerable Shenlei looked at him with a bizarre expression.
"They were part of the Heavenly Court first, and later joined the Huaxia Dragon Group," Qi Yuan explained. "In the end, they even followed the Smirking Dragon King."
Great Venerable Shenlei was at a loss for words. "Quit boasting. Origin Celestial Venerable, is your Heavenly Court really so packed with talent?"
"Yeah." Qi Yuan nodded. "Even the Four Heavenly Kings are just small fry.
Take Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li, Nezha, the True Martial Great Emperor, Great Immortal Zhenyuan, or the Tathagata Buddha—pull out any one of them at random and they could easily suppress everything!"
"Are those people really that strong?" Great Venerable Shenlei asked skeptically.
"Extremely strong!"
"I've never heard of them in my life. You didn't just make them up, did you?"
"How could anyone make up gods!" Qi Yuan felt he definitely had not invented them; those deities truly existed in his memories.
Great Venerable Shenlei clearly remained unconvinced. "I'll just wait and see when you actually visualize them."
Hearing that, the worry on Qi Yuan's face deepened. "Aside from these treasures, is there any other way to break through to True God?"
"Unless... the severed Heavenly Pillar is restored," Great Venerable Shenlei said.
Qi Yuan's eyes lit up. "We can go reconnect the Heavenly Pillar!"
"Rumor has it that inside the severed Heavenly Pillar dwells an evil god who surpasses even a True God.
Origin Celestial Venerable, this old man has high hopes for you—go reconnect the Heavenly Pillar.
The moment you fix it, you'll be the greatest benefactor of our Mortal Heart Realm, and I'll even address you as Master!" Great Venerable Shenlei teased.
"A Yang God?" Hearing that, Qi Yuan instantly abandoned the thought.
He had heard his daughter, Qi Jianjun, mention that when a Yang God unleashed their full power, they could swallow a star whole.
His Stellar Golden Core was far away in another universe. Even if he summoned it, it would merely be a stellar phantom, wholly incapable of dealing with a Yang God.
Facing a Yang God, he still felt very inadequate.
"A Yang God is nothing special. From your Huaxia Dragon Group—or was it the Heavenly Court?—just send out a Tathagata Buddha or something, and he'll probably fix it right up," Great Venerable Shenlei remarked.
"You have a point, but... even if I visualize the Tathagata Buddha, my subjects won't be able to reach the True God realm through that God Visualization Art, nor will they truly possess the Tathagata Buddha's mighty power. How would they reconnect the Heavenly Pillar?" Qi Yuan pondered in earnest.
The God Visualization Art merely allowed his subjects to cultivate quickly and borrow a portion of the visualized deity's power.
It did not mean they would actually become those visualized gods.
"Call you fat and you actually start wheezing?" Great Venerable Shenlei was somewhat speechless seeing Qi Yuan genuinely ponder the matter.
Just then, Qi Qi blinked her eyes from the side. "Great Venerable Shenlei, why don't you give my godfather some supreme treasures so we can see how many he needs to break through to True God?"
Great Venerable Shenlei spread his hands. "I'm an old bachelor. I don't have any treasures."
"Sigh, one look at your face and I can tell you're not the type to drop gold coins," Qi Yuan chimed in from the side.
Great Venerable Shenlei glared at him. "Don't use words I don't understand to insult me!"
"I'm not insulting you. I'm just saying you're an old geezer," Qi Yuan said solemnly. "'Old geezer' means someone virtuous and prestigious. I'm praising your worldly wisdom."
Great Venerable Shenlei looked suspicious.
"Old Geezer Shenlei, since you're so worldly-wise, can you tell me if there are any other ways to break through to the True God realm?" Qi Yuan asked humbly.
"There are none, unless the Heavenly Pillar is reconnected," Great Venerable Shenlei said firmly. Then, thinking of something, he added, "You little brat led me astray. How could your talent possibly be higher than the Holy Mother of Inedia's? Just find a few more supreme treasures and you'll probably be fine.
Why overthink it?"
"Sigh, how can a sparrow fathom the ambitions of a swan!" Qi Yuan sighed and dropped the topic.
He felt that until this problem was resolved, he could only visualize deities at the level of the Four Heavenly Kings.
Anything stronger wouldn't work.
Right now, what he lacked most was True God combat strength.
Deities of the Four Heavenly Kings' caliber could conveniently use these treasures to break through to True God.
***
Half a day later, Qi Qi walked along the dirt ridges of the village fields, followed by her maid, Xiaoxue.
Suddenly, an old crone appeared in her field of view once again.
Surprised, Qi Qi said to the old woman, "I don't know you, and I don't want to leave my godfather to go with you."
The old woman reached out a withered, branch-like hand. "An invitation... for you."
A gilded invitation landed in Qi Qi's hand. The old woman glanced at Qi Qi, her eyes turning cloudy once more. "If you go, there are good things... and you will also be able to..."
Before she could finish speaking, her figure vanished into thin air.
Qi Qi stood dumbfounded. She opened the invitation and read the contents. "The Hundred Flowers Gathering? What is this? An invitation for Godfather?"
When in doubt, consult Great Venerable Shenlei.
These days, Great Venerable Shenlei was treated like a living immortal in Qingshui Village.
Whenever Qi Qi didn't understand something, she went to him.
Even when the villagers' chickens ran off, they sought out Great Venerable Shenlei for help.
In any case, Great Venerable Shenlei was currently the most popular figure among the elderly women in the village.
Holding the invitation, Qi Qi found Great Venerable Shenlei lounging on a reclining chair. "Great Venerable Shenlei, take a look at this invitation. What's going on? Is there any danger?"
Great Venerable Shenlei took the invitation, looking surprised. "By all rights, a kid like Qi Yuan has no business attending the Hundred Flowers Gathering."
Seeing his reaction, Qi Qi recounted her encounters with the old woman.
Upon hearing the story, Great Venerable Shenlei immediately understood. "You possess Phoenix Clan blood essence within you, and the Phoenix Clan has close ties with the North Sea Water Clan. This is only natural."
Just then, Qi Yuan walked out of the shrine. "What phoenix blood essence?"
"Phoenix Clan blood essence!" Great Venerable Shenlei corrected.
This Qi Yuan was truly unhinged—how could he alter his goddaughter's race on a whim?
"I've heard of this stuff before."
"Oh?" Great Venerable Shenlei's interest was piqued. He hoped to glean the Origin Celestial Venerable's true identity from the ancient era through this.
"I seem to recall reading a book in the past which recorded that swallowing this phoenix blood essence brought boundless benefits.
A female cultivator's cup size even increased from a C to a B," Qi Yuan said.
That was indeed how the book had written it: from a C to a B.
Great Venerable Shenlei concluded that it was impossible to pry out the Origin Celestial Venerable's background.
"Weren't you lacking supreme treasures to break through to True God? Here's your chance." Great Venerable Shenlei tossed the invitation into Qi Yuan's hands. "The Hundred Flowers Gathering is held once every century. Inside, there are countless rare treasures.
There are also plenty of supreme treasures that aid breakthroughs to True God. As long as you can make a name for yourself, treasures will abound."
Qi Yuan's eyes brightened. "Plenty?"
"Yeah, depends on your ability," Great Venerable Shenlei replied casually.
He had only heard about the Hundred Flowers Gathering in passing.
He didn't know the exact details.
"Do you want to be my bodyguard and accompany me to the Hundred Flowers Gathering?" Qi Yuan asked.
"Not interested." Great Venerable Shenlei gave Qi Yuan the cold shoulder.
A powerhouse of his caliber, acting as a bodyguard?
Besides, if he went to the Hundred Flowers Gathering and his identity was exposed, countless powerhouses might come to besiege and kill him.
"What a pity," Qi Yuan said upon hearing that. "The Hundred Flowers Gathering is in three days. I need to make some preparations."
After all, traveling outside Qingshui Village was very dangerous.
He had to visualize a few more True Gods.
"Hurry up and visualize the Four Heavenly Kings," Great Venerable Shenlei urged from the side.
He wanted to see whether Qi Yuan really had anything substantial up his sleeve.
"Alright, I'll go right now. Since I'm heading out on a long trip soon, I need to get more security guards," Qi Yuan said earnestly.
Thus, he planned to visualize at least five gods on the same tier as the Four Heavenly Kings this time.
Anything higher wouldn't do.
After some thought, he entered the visualization space.
At the same time, Great Venerable Shenlei wasted no time logging into his chat group.
Instantly, the messages in the group grew lively.
"Great Venerable Shenlei, why are you here? Don't tell me you're about to start visualizing?"
"Do you still have anything left in you?"
"Heh, no. Lately, an Ancient God has been pestering me, begging to take me as his master.
I didn't think much of him, but an old friend entrusted him to me, so I have to look after him a bit. He's about to start visualizing now, so I came to see if I could keep an eye on him at the Mountain of Visualization," Great Venerable Shenlei said in the group.
"Keep an eye on him? How do you even do that? Great Venerable Shenlei, just tell the truth. What did you really come in for?"
"*Ahem*, I heard he can visualize a Legendary-grade God Visualization Art, so I came to take a look."
"A Legendary-grade God Visualization Art? That seedling... sounds pretty good.
Coincidentally, I'm short of a disciple. How about giving him to me?"
"Get lost, you already have seven disciples and you want more?"
"A Legendary-grade God Visualization Art is indeed impressive, but compared to what it takes to be a closed-door disciple, it's still quite a ways off.
My closed-door disciple visualized two Legendaries and seven Epics," someone in the group bragged proudly.
Hearing this, Great Venerable Shenlei felt quite smug. "Sigh, it's just that his talent is too poor; otherwise, I'd reluctantly take him as my disciple."
Great Venerable Shenlei's purpose in entering the group was simple: to show off.
However, before flaunting, he had to downplay things first.
When the Origin Celestial Venerable suddenly popped out three Legendaries later, it would blind their eyes.
"That fellow is about to start. In a moment, we should see golden light on the Mountain of Visualization and hear the cries of a hundred birds.
If he visualizes three of them, this old man will reluctantly take him as a named disciple," Great Venerable Shenlei babbled in the group.
"Great Venerable Shenlei, you're putting on too much of an act! Even if he visualizes three, you'd only take him as a named disciple?"
"Great Venerable Shenlei, stop pretending. The one who just entered was the Origin Celestial Venerable, wasn't it? Didn't this old man recommend him to you in the first place?"
"Hey, don't expose me!" Great Venerable Shenlei hurried to say.
He separated a strand of his consciousness and sent it down toward the Mountain of Visualization.
Suddenly, radiant golden light flared, and a hundred birds burst into song.
A smile appeared in Great Venerable Shenlei's eyes. "Not bad, that's one Legendary."
"Decent. That's definitely enough to be a named disciple," an Ancient God remarked in the group.
Seeing the brilliant golden light, the Ancient Gods in the group grew rather excited.
After all, given enough time, a single Legendary art could very well forge a Great Venerable.
Right then, brilliant golden light flared once more on the Mountain of Visualization.
This time, it flashed twice.
"Three?!" Everyone in the group was thoroughly stunned.
"Great Venerable Shenlei, was this what you came in for?"
"What deep scheming!"
"This Ancient God is truly qualified to be your direct disciple! Great Venerable Baigu, why didn't you recommend such a fine seedling to me?"
While the group was chatting away, Qi Yuan stood on the Mountain of Visualization, gazing at the remaining heap of evil god spiritual power.
A look of delight appeared in his eyes. "Yin God-level power is this useful?
I've visualized three of the Four Heavenly Kings, and there's still over ninety percent left?
No, I need to visualize more. How about... the Eighteen Arhats!"
After a brief thought, Qi Yuan prepared to continue visualizing.
Meanwhile, listening to the flattery from the old fellows in the chat group, Great Venerable Shenlei was overjoyed. "Adding the one from before, that makes four Legendaries now. Barely passable."
"Great Venerable Shenlei, we pay you a little compliment and you start puffing your chest out?
If you don't want a seedling like this, I'll take him!"
"Give me twenty supreme treasures and I'll let you have him," Great Venerable Shenlei demanded outrageously.
"Forget it, supreme treasures are more important!
Your disciple is very impressive, but he's not so incredible that... he's worth twenty supreme treasures."
Just as those words were spoken...
Suddenly, brilliant golden light erupted once more on the Mountain of Visualization.
Once, twice, three times... ten times...
Everyone in the group was stunned.
Ten flashes of golden light all of a sudden—what did this mean?
Great Venerable Shenlei couldn't comprehend it either, and a terrifying thought took root in his mind.
The golden light continued.
With every single flash, the hearts of the Great Venerables present thudded violently.
Finally, it stopped at eighteen flashes.
On the Mountain of Visualization, it was no longer a hundred birds singing—a full thousand birds were crying in unison!
The Great Venerables who had just been chatting in the group stared with wide eyes.
"Did my eyes play tricks on me just now?"
"Eighteen times... How is that possible?!"
"Are they all Legendaries?!"
"This couldn't be that disciple of yours, could it?"
"Great Venerable Shenlei, where are you right now? I've already prepared twenty supreme treasures—I'm coming over right now to bring my disciple home!"
Chapter 188