I'll Show You Something Good

Night fell. A blood-red glow hung high in the sky, casting the entire world in an eerie, horrifying gloom. Great Venerable Shenlei handed his form to Qi Yuan, his expression distinctly conflicted. "You want to visualize more God Visualization Arts and hand them out to these Ancient Gods?" Qi Yuan took the form and nodded. "Yeah." "I'm afraid there might be a problem with that." "Oh?" Qi Yuan asked in surprise. "What problem?" "Originally, there wouldn't have been any problem. But after you showed up... it became one. Because... you're far too good at visualizing!" Great Venerable Shenlei said helplessly. "The Land of Visualization actually relies on the Heavenly Pillar. Ever since the Heavenly Pillar snapped, the world has changed drastically. Not only can Purple Mansion cultivators no longer step into the True God realm, but visualizing God Visualization Arts in the Land of Visualization has also become restricted. It's just that previously, so few Mythological arts were visualized that nobody paid any heed to this limit." What Great Venerable Shenlei meant was that Qi Yuan visualized too much. For instance, suppose the Land of Visualization could originally sustain the visualization of one hundred God Visualization Arts. The people of the Mortal Heart Realm could at most produce fifty, so no one cared about the limit. Then Qi Yuan appeared and casually visualized fifty on his own, and he still wanted to keep going. Naturally, the limit had arrived. "As of now, the Land of Visualization can probably only support five more Mythological-grade God Visualization Arts," Great Venerable Shenlei continued. "Try to leave some for the Mythological Plan... leave a few for them." Great Venerable Shenlei was aware of the Mythological Plan. He neither supported nor opposed it. But as things stood, those Children of Destiny in the Mythological Plan had only managed to visualize two Mythological-grade arts so far. "There's even a limit like that?" Qi Yuan was in no hurry. In truth, such a restriction was just like Purple Mansion cultivators being unable to break through to True God. He could simply use the Lost Glowstick to take the venerables and his subjects back through time and space to the past. During his previous trip to the past, a sudden inspiration had prompted Qi Yuan to try visualizing. He had discovered that he could still enter the Land of Visualization. This meant he could bring all the villagers and Ancient Gods to the past, let them visualize first, and then break through to True God. Back then, before the Heavenly Pillar was broken, such a restriction shouldn't exist. Great Venerable Shenlei looked at Qi Yuan with a complicated gaze. "So... even if you've seen True Gods outside the Mortal Heart Realm, no matter how many there are or how strong they may be, they cannot save this realm. I don't need a grand gift, nor do I need a powerful God Visualization Art." Great Venerable Shenlei's voice held a tinge of lament, laden with endless uncertainty. To him, Qi Yuan's birth in the Mortal Heart Realm was a tragedy. Such a dazzling, peerless prodigy would have likely stepped beyond True God if placed in any other world. Yet here he was, trapped in the Mortal Heart Realm without a shred of hope. "Old Man Shenlei, you underestimate me way too much. Sure, this game puts restrictions everywhere because it's afraid players will beat it too easily, but I use hacks. You think a tiny limit like this can stop me? Just you watch how I go full Musou mode and steamroll the Mortal Heart Realm!" Qi Yuan said confidently. The limit Great Venerable Shenlei spoke of meant nothing to Qi Yuan. The only minor inconvenience was that the Lost Glowstick had only two uses left. He couldn't just visualize whenever the whim struck him; he had to formulate a meticulous plan. Great Venerable Shenlei's beard bristled. "A few words of praise and you're already floating up to the heavens? Steamroll the Mortal Heart Realm? Leaving aside the existences above True God in the Heavenly Pillar, how do you even plan to deal with those Mythological-grade evil gods? I just received word that the vanguards under the Qingheng Province evil god army lord are already mobilizing. Those evil gods are converging on Sunset Slope. The evil gods' forces are far stronger than we imagined—thirty-four Great Venerables and over a thousand ordinary evil gods! This time, their objective isn't just us; they intend to sweep clean every Ancient God across the entire Qingheng Province." As Great Venerable Shenlei spoke, the worry on his face deepened. Originally, they had guessed there would be around ten Great Venerables. Yet thirty-four had shown up. The evil god army lord was truly determined to scour Qingheng Province bare. "Sunset Slope—what a great name." Qi Yuan's voice sounded thoroughly pleased, his eyes gleaming. "Thirty-four Great Venerables and over a thousand evil gods? Isn't that just delicious?" It was truly a case of someone handing him a pillow right as he felt sleepy. He had just been wondering how he was going to harvest enough evil god spiritual power to take back to the past with the two uses of the Lost Glowstick. And right on cue, so many evil gods delivered themselves to his door. Great Venerable Shenlei stared at Qi Yuan. "Have you lost your mind?" So many evil gods were enough to wipe out every New God and Ancient God in Qingheng Province. Even if the Ancient Gods of the Southern Lands came to help, they were too far away to do any good. Besides, the evil gods would never permit reinforcements to enter in large numbers. "I think you'd better go wash up and head to sleep!" Great Venerable Shenlei continued, dropping the topic of the impending invasion. He felt like he was playing the lute to a cow. Then, recalling something, he asked, "Don't you usually sleep at night? Why aren't you sleeping this time?" Ever since coming to Qingshui Village, Great Venerable Shenlei had found Qi Yuan thoroughly bizarre. His actions were eccentric, and he insisted on sleeping at night. Sleeping was one thing, but he even slept while hanging from a tree, which was rather creepy. "Aren't you curious where I get the confidence to be so reckless? Why I stay as steady as a mountain even when facing an evil god coalition?" Qi Yuan suddenly asked with an utterly serious expression. Great Venerable Shenlei fell silent for a brief moment. It was rare to see Qi Yuan looking so solemn. "A little curious, yes." "I have a secret to tell you, but you can't tell anyone else," Qi Yuan whispered conspiratorially. Great Venerable Shenlei's heart stirred. Origin Celestial Venerable was clearly a person steeped in secrets—and monumental ones at that. Otherwise, who could casually visualize eight Mythological-grade God Visualization Arts with no known heritage? Was he finally about to share that secret? Shenlei felt an unexplainable tension rise within him. "This old man swears on his life never to tell a soul." He gazed at Qi Yuan with keen anticipation, intensely curious about this revelation. "Actually, I formed a very formidable Golden Core," Qi Yuan said in a calm tone, though inwardly he was smug as could be. It was finally time for another round of flaunting his Stellar Golden Core. "Huh?" Great Venerable Shenlei was baffled. A formidable Golden Core? What kind of utter nonsense was this? No matter how formidable a Golden Core was, wasn't it still just a measly Golden Core? He had been a True God for countless years; to him, a Golden Core wasn't worth a fart. What did it matter how strong it was? "My Golden Core is a star. Look up at the sky. See that? That's my Golden Core!" Qi Yuan pointed up at the Stellar Golden Core in the heavens, maintaining a placid exterior while his heart reveled in boasting. Great Venerable Shenlei could no longer keep his composure. "Are you toying with this old man?" "Old man, you lack vision," Qi Yuan sighed. "As the saying goes, once people reach middle and old age, they become incapable of accepting new things." Qi Yuan recalled reading somewhere that people are driven by nostalgia. Everything they encountered in their youth was deemed peerless and divine, but as they grew older, they became fiercely resistant to novelty. "You call this a new thing?! No matter how novel it is, how could a Golden Core possibly be a star?!" Great Venerable Shenlei nearly erupted into curses. Was this brat just entertaining himself at his expense? "You don't believe me?" "Do you honestly think anyone would believe that?" "Conveniently enough, I'm just about to form another Golden Core. Keep your eyes wide open and watch closely. In a moment, another little sun will appear in the sky." The True Solar Fire had been burning ceaselessly, devouring the second star. It was expected to succeed today. That was the only reason Qi Yuan hadn't gone to sleep tonight; he was waiting to witness his second Golden Core. "You sure know how to brag. If this old man had possessed even half your bragging skills back in my youth, why would I ever have worried about finding a wife?" Great Venerable Shenlei scoffed dismissively as he looked at the star Qi Yuan had pointed at. "If your Golden Core is that sun, this old man will eat all the shit in the Mortal Heart Realm!" Yet the moment the words left his mouth, a sudden beam of light flashed across the night sky of the Mortal Heart Realm. The flash wasn't particularly blinding, lasting only for a fleeting instant before vanishing. Compared to the commotion in the Canglan Realm, it was far fainter, purely because the Mortal Heart Realm was located at an immense distance. And right beside the little sun Great Venerable Shenlei had been staring at, an even larger sun abruptly appeared! Great Venerable Shenlei looked at the sun, completely dumbstruck. Dazed, his body trembling, he turned to Qi Yuan. "You brat... you were serious?" "Awesome!" Qi Yuan was delighted to have finally formed another Golden Core. "See that? My second Golden Core. I didn't lie to you, did I?" "..." Great Venerable Shenlei's mind was in total chaos. In the end, he forced out a single sentence. "You brat are truly ruthless enough to achieve great things... Just to make this old man eat shit, you actually formed a Stellar Golden Core!" "Don't try to scam a free meal out of this," Qi Yuan retorted casually. Great Venerable Shenlei stared blankly at Qi Yuan, his thoughts racing at lightning speed. "Save the Mortal Heart Realm!" He nearly dropped to his knees to hug Qi Yuan's thigh. "Relax, I'll clear this game soon enough. I've racked my brains and drawn up a very detailed plan. This game will definitely be beaten within the year!" *** Inside the Ancient God Alliance, the atmosphere was oppressive. Venerable Wanshan's expression was exceedingly grim. "Origin Celestial Venerable is truly detestable! Not only did he provoke conflict, he even wiped out the New God encampments!" "His audacity knows no bounds. The New God army lord is furious and has dispatched an army to scour Qingheng Province. Where are we supposed to go now?" Venerable Wenyang lamented, his eyes filled with dread and uncertainty for the future. "That Origin Celestial Venerable is an absolute jinx, stirring up an all-out war! I'm not worried about my own safety; I only worry for the billions of common folk in Qingheng Province. They are entirely innocent! They did nothing, yet they now face a purge by the New Gods, which will leave the land plunged into misery and ruin!" Most of the remaining Ancient Gods chimed in to condemn Qi Yuan, making it sound as though he were guilty of monstrous atrocities. Only a few native Ancient Gods looked on, unable to stomach the display. Yet this was only natural. Aside from the natives who had founded the Ancient God Alliance, all the foreign Ancient Gods had joined while fleeing for their lives. When Feihuang City was in dire straits, emissaries from the Ancient God Alliance had similarly attempted to persuade Ancient God Yuan and Qi Yuan of Qingshui Village to join them. Most outsiders joined under such circumstances; having spineless temperaments was entirely par for the course. The assembled Ancient Gods bickered incessantly for over an hour without reaching any resolution. In the end, the gathering broke up on an unhappy note. Venerable Wanshan and Venerable Wenyang walked out side by side. Venerable Wenyang's eyes betrayed deep anxiety. "Wanshan, is that channel of yours reliable?" Venerable Wanshan patted his chest. "I established contact with Ancient God Fengting fifty years ago. He has always served the New Gods faithfully. He sent me a transmission stating that as long as we lead our people to Sunset Slope, we can join the New God faction! However, since we are late arrivals, we will need to render service to them. During this sweep across Qingheng Province, we must do our part!" "If he didn't require us to do anything, this old man wouldn't feel at ease," Venerable Wenyang replied, the weight finally lifting from his chest. "I have already contacted several dozen colleagues. Today, we shall head to Sunset Slope together to welcome the New God army!" "Alas, for the survival of the Mortal Heart Realm, we can only shoulder the infamy of traitors," Venerable Wanshan said mournfully, acting as if he were genuinely making a noble sacrifice out of sheer helplessness. "That villain Origin Celestial Venerable is truly abhorrent. Just because he scavenged some Taiyin Lightning Orbs from who-knows-where, he acts so arrogant and lawless, forcing us to leave this place and work like dogs for the New Gods. Alas," Venerable Wenyang sighed dejectedly. Leaving the Ancient God Alliance where they had lived like kings just to become dogs for the New Gods was undeniably bitter. "Were it not for our uncertainty over whether he still possesses more Taiyin Lightning Orbs, this old man would have eradicated them before heading to Sunset Slope and offered their severed heads to the esteemed New Gods!" Venerable Wanshan grumbled with regret. "By the way, another star appeared in the firmament last night. Truly bizarre." "Perhaps another True God broke through to above True God." "What a pity the Mortal Heart Realm has always been locked down." *** Sunset Slope. Situated at the very center of Qingheng Province, it had originally served as an evil god military encampment. Over the past two days, evil gods had been continuously arriving and assembling here. By now, over a thousand evil gods were gathered on this modest slope. Their leader was named Great Venerable Sanyan. Crimson armor completely concealed his physique, leaving only a pair of piercing, spirited eyes visible. He stood tall upon an elevated platform, flanked by more than thirty Great Venerables. In just two short days, countless Great Venerables and venerables had arrived, completing the evil god mobilization. Now, with over a thousand venerables standing gathered in one place, a suffocating pressure and the palpable omen of an impending storm weighed on the air, even without a single word being spoken. Clad in light armor, Ancient God Fengting stepped forward with an elated look on his face. "Great Venerable Sanyan, Venerable Wanshan of the Ancient God Alliance has arrived with ninety-seven Ancient Gods to pledge their surrender, ready to follow Your Eminence's command!" Great Venerable Fengting maintained a solemn facade, though his heart was brimming with delight. Securing the allegiance of nearly a hundred Ancient Gods before the battle had even begun was an immensely gratifying achievement. A glint of amusement surfaced in Great Venerable Sanyan's eyes. "Not bad. You've done well." Great Venerable Fengting hurriedly said, "It is entirely due to Your Eminence's towering prestige! Those Ancient Gods wouldn't dare oppose you!" Great Venerable Sanyan's laughter grew louder. Beside them, Venerable Wanshan, Venerable Wenyang, and the rest of the True Gods from the Ancient God Alliance kept their heads bowed, their expressions brimming with subservience. "We are willing to serve as the vanguard and clear the path for Great Venerable Sanyan!" Venerable Wanshan swore his loyalty. Venerable Wenyang hastened to add, "I have long heard that Great Venerable possesses a flaming divine bird as a mount. This lowly one is most skilled at tending birds and is willing to serve as Your Eminence's avian groom!" The remaining Ancient Gods similarly vied with one another to offer fawning flatteries, looking utterly ridiculous. This provoked loud laughter from the New God Great Venerables present, who watched them as if spectating a troop of clowns. Venerable Wanshan witnessed this, but did not dare harbor any resentment toward the mocking New Gods. Instead, his hatred for Qi Yuan multiplied. In his eyes, all of this humiliation was entirely Qi Yuan's fault. "Haha! The spine of the Mortal Heart Realm was snapped long ago during the Hongtang Great War!" Great Venerable Sanyan mocked as he looked down at the Ancient Gods. "Nowadays, all that remains are jumping clowns. Had you not stirred up trouble, we would have turned a blind eye. Yet Origin Celestial Venerable actually dared strike our military camp—he can be considered the man with the stiffest backbone in the Mortal Heart Realm. Such a man is one this old man admires most; one of him is worth a hundred of you." He sneered, "A pity that offending the army lord leaves death as his only atonement!" Sharp murderous intent flashed in Great Venerable Sanyan's eyes. Meanwhile, over a thousand li away. Qi Yuan lay reclined upon a tree branch while Great Venerable Shenlei stood nearby. Several other Ancient Gods stood around them, their faces marked with deep anxiety. Qi Yuan asked lazily, "Are they all here yet?"