When Qi Yuan's words reached everyone's ears, all the Divine Infant cultivators froze in place.
The disciples and elders of the Divine Light Sect looked at one another in bewilderment as well.
Not far away, Jiang Lingsu hid her face behind her sleeve, her brows knitted as she whispered helplessly to Jiang Ran, "Eldest Senior Brother is acting crazy again!"
Eldest Senior Brother was wonderful in every way, except for his fondness for losing his mind.
What did he mean, not having enough Divine Infants?
True Monarch Kuangjian stroked his beard. "True Monarch, isn't that statement... a bit too shocking to hear?"
"For us cultivators, shattering the core to form the infant yields a single Divine Infant. How could anyone possibly form two?" True Monarch Chayu asked in perplexity.
Shen Zhifeng looked terrible, at a loss for words.
Most of the Divine Infant cultivators present harbored deep doubts about Qi Yuan's claim.
After all, forming a single Divine Infant was common knowledge—as immutable as one plus one equaling two.
Could anyone really condense two Divine Infants?
Only Shen Wushen, upon hearing Qi Yuan's words, furrowed his brow in deep thought, murmuring, "Too few Divine Infants formed?"
In his understanding, of course one could only form a single Divine Infant.
A Divine Infant was formed by shattering a Golden Core.
One Golden Core naturally yielded only one Divine Infant.
Even if one forcibly split it into two, wouldn't it still amount to the mass of a single Golden Core?
Wouldn't dividing it make one weaker rather than stronger?
Shen Wushen looked at Qi Yuan, his expression puzzled. "A Divine Infant originates from the Golden Core. Even if one had the ability to condense two, essentially there would be no difference."
Shen Wushen asked Qi Yuan for guidance, genuinely seeking an earnest discussion.
This struck the other Divine Infant cultivators as bizarre.
Was something like this... even worth discussing?
Shen Zhifeng's expression shifted repeatedly. She desperately wanted to caution Shen Wushen, but after a moment's hesitation, she suppressed the impulse.
"You are correct; ordinary people all think that way. Only a true genius breaks new ground. If you want to solve this problem, it's very simple—just don't shatter the core to form the infant! Let the Golden Core walk the Golden Core's path, and let the Divine Infant walk the Divine Infant's path. Two broad boulevards, and both lead to Rome." Qi Yuan's words were utterly shocking. The word 'Rome' was completely foreign to them, which only made it sound all the more profound and unfathomable.
The remaining Divine Infant cultivators all knitted their brows, seemingly pondering the truth behind his words.
Could a Golden Core really walk its own path while a Divine Infant walked another?
Shen Wushen also frowned deeply, immersed in contemplation.
Right then, Shen Zhifeng spoke up. "Absurd nonsense! How could such a Great Dao exist in this world? Young Master, you mustn't be deceived by him!"
She naturally believed Qi Yuan was speaking gibberish just to tease these cultivators.
Many of the Divine Infant cultivators thought the same.
What Qi Yuan described was simply too bizarre, entirely beyond comprehension.
After all, human perception was notoriously hard to change.
Just like on Blue Star, if someone told a passerby that Blue Star was flat, that person wouldn't believe it either.
"Unless you bring out two Divine Infants for us to see," Shen Zhifeng challenged.
Qi Yuan shrugged. "Why should I bring out my Divine Infants just for you to see?"
Though he had convened the Divine Infant Assembly specifically to show off, showing off on his own initiative was very different from doing so on someone else's command.
Shen Zhifeng was taken aback, then declared, "Ten Jade-grade arts!"
Hearing that, Qi Yuan felt not the slightest ripple in his heart. Still, that was the right track.
Recalling his bet with Shen Wushen, he asked, "And what if I do have two Divine Infants?"
He wanted to fleece her for more.
"If you do, I will give you a hundred thousand spirit stones!" Shen Zhifeng countered. "If you don't, you must serve as Young Master Shen's sparring partner for ten years."
A diehard fan was truly a diehard fan, still trying to look out for Shen Wushen.
"No, I don't care for spirit stones." At this point, Qi Yuan genuinely looked down on spirit stones.
His mindset had already reached Jack Ma's level—he could honestly say he had no interest in money.
Only cultivation techniques could pique his interest.
Shen Zhifeng gritted her teeth. As a sect master, she could easily offer more, but she could not wager sect property.
After a moment's thought, she bit out, "If you have two Divine Infants, I will eat Monk Wudian's boots! How about that?"
At those words, Qi Yuan's eyes lit up.
There was this kind of fun to be had?
Normally, when dealing with his White Moonlight, Qi Yuan's deeds were always to benefit himself at someone else's expense. But if Shen Zhifeng ate Monk Wudian's boots, it would harm someone while benefiting nobody.
Qi Yuan rather enjoyed that sort of thing too.
"Deal!"
Qi Yuan readily agreed.
The Divine Infant cultivators exchanged glances, some struggling to stifle their laughter.
Monk Wudian had not expected the matter to drag him into it. He blinked, staring at Qi Yuan. "True Monarch, hurry and show off your two Divine Infants!"
He dearly hoped Qi Yuan truly had two Divine Infants.
That way, his boots would finally find a destination.
There was a reason Monk Wudian never wore shoes.
He owned a pair of treasure boots, priceless artifacts that significantly boosted his flying speed. Those boots were once among his most treasured possessions.
He had once practiced a specialized footwork technique—a remarkably potent divine ability. However, an accident occurred during his cultivation, and his energy had run awry.
It left him with putrid, rotting feet.
This stench was not the foulness of mortals, but the stench of a cultivator.
His treasure boots had been tainted by that stench until they reeked to high heaven, as if a dead rat were trapped in a floor drain or a rotting dead snake lay by the roadside.
Because of that footwork art, Monk Wudian had been unable to wear shoes ever since, allowing the stench on his feet to finally dissipate.
Yet he kept those treasure boots, constantly trying to sell them.
Alas, even at a price of twenty thousand spirit stones, no Divine Infant cultivator was willing to buy them. After all, the horrific stench still lingered on the leather.
Monk Wudian said excitedly, "Sect Master Shen, if you want to eat my boots later, you must pay me twenty thousand spirit stones!"
For precisely this reason, Monk Wudian rooted for Qi Yuan to win.
Only then could the boots he had failed to sell for so long find a proper home.
As he spoke, he retrieved the pair of boots from a separate storage bag.
Instantly, a gut-wrenching stench rolled outward.
"Monk Wudian, put those away!"
"Ugh..."
Even Divine Infant cultivators could not stomach such an odor.
Not far away, Qi Yuan grinned. "The cultivation world really is superior. When people bet on eating a boot, they actually eat it."
After all, back on Blue Star, there were so many people making empty bets to eat bizarre things just to hustle for views. If Qi Yuan ever ran into them, he would definitely force them to become honest, trustworthy folks.
"Look closely, then—here are my two Divine Infants."
Qi Yuan possessed plenty of Divine Infants; producing two was effortless. Moreover, unlike when he treated his junior sister Jiang Lingsu, there was no need to activate the Divine Infants into a semi-awakened state.
Two streaks of flowing light flashed across the air.
Floating beside Qi Yuan were two translucent, crystal-clear Divine Infants that resembled newborn babies. Each radiated an ancient, restrained aura that felt as though it harbored unfathomable energy.
Every Divine Infant cultivator present sensed an intensely perilous pressure.
Their bodies began to tremble involuntarily.
Even so, gasps of astonishment broke out.
"Divine Infants... two of them!"
"There really are two!"
"Haha, my boots can finally be sold!"
True Monarch Kumu's eyes went wide. He had never imagined two Divine Infants could truly exist.
How could anyone in this world possess two Divine Infants?
This was even more unbelievable than reaching the Divine Infant realm at age twenty.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" Shen Zhifeng's pupils contracted sharply. A terrifying golden light shone from her eyes as she cast an ocular art, trying to see through any illusion Qi Yuan might be using.
Yet even through her ocular art, there were unmistakably two Divine Infants.
Shen Wushen gazed at the Divine Infants, myriad streams of light flashing across his eyes. What he saw was far beyond what the other Divine Infant cultivators could perceive.
"These are Divine Infants..."
"No, how could there be such terrifying Divine Infants?!"
He could not comprehend it.
Facing these Divine Infants, he felt as though he were not confronting Divine Infants at all, but terrifying Yin Gods.
His master was a Step Seven Sky Treading Yin God, revered as a Mythological figure.
Yet even his master had never given him the kind of dread emanating from just one of Qi Yuan's Divine Infants.
This was simply too inconceivable.
"Alright, I've shown you my two Divine Infants. Shouldn't you... eat Monk Wudian's boots now?" Qi Yuan asked with a smile in his eyes.
Harming someone while gaining nothing for himself was delightfully entertaining.
Shen Zhifeng's expression changed wildly.
Beside her, Shen Wushen spoke up. "A word once spoken is as unyielding as gold and jade. If you do not intend to fulfill a promise, do not make it in the first place."
Shen Zhifeng lowered her head. "The young master teaches me well."
With that, she turned to Monk Wudian.
"Twenty thousand spirit stones—I am buying your boots for use!"
Monk Wudian beamed with joy, handing the foul-smelling boots to Shen Zhifeng.
"Sect Master Shen, my boots may carry a bit of an aroma, but their texture is superb. Crafted from Metal-Water Wonderwood and Ginseng Fiber Silk, they have a slightly sweet and spicy flavor."
Shen Zhifeng took the boots, nearly retching the moment the stench hit her nostrils. Still, she gritted her teeth, forced the boots into her mouth, and swallowed them down.
The Divine Infant cultivators watched as if enjoying a spectacle, yet not one dared to openly laugh.
After all, Shen Zhifeng was the master of the Demonic Desire Sect.
Qi Yuan clapped his hands. "Not bad. True to your word and decisive in action—far better than the people on Blue Star."
Qi Yuan resolved that if he ever had the chance to return to Blue Star, he would definitely reform society's moral climate so that those who made false bets would become honest, upright people who kept their word like Shen Zhifeng.
Shen Zhifeng frowned, turning her head away, unwilling to look at Qi Yuan.
Her expression was a masterclass in misery as she held her breath. Had Shen Wushen not been present, she would have bolted back, sliced open her stomach, and dug out the shredded remnants of those boots to throw them away.
Now, even her breath reeked, and she dared not speak a word.
"Shen Wushen, what about the arts?" Qi Yuan turned his gaze toward Shen Wushen.
Having defeated Shen Wushen, all the cultivation arts on Shen Wushen's person belonged to him.
Shen Wushen was generous and showed no hesitation.
"These are all the cultivation arts on me."
"As for the divine art, please wait a moment."
As he spoke, he produced a blank jade slip and recorded the technique he practiced into it.
"This divine art is named the Supreme Mind Disruption Art. I ask that Fellow Daoist not leak it to outsiders."
A storage bag landed in Qi Yuan's hand.
All at once, Qi Yuan obtained one divine art, fourteen Heaven-grade arts, and three Mysterious-grade arts. As for Jade-grade arts, Shen Wushen carried none.
Qi Yuan was thrilled.
"Rest assured, the techniques you give me will not be seen by anyone else."
In any case, these arts would simply become fertilizer for the Qi Yuan Scripture.
He did not lack spirit stones; what he lacked were cultivation techniques.
"Is Fellow Daoist in great need of cultivation arts?" Shen Wushen asked, looking at Qi Yuan.
He felt nothing but deep admiration for Qi Yuan.
He suspected that even Mount Futu's Saint Child would not be Qi Yuan's match for a single bout in the Divine Infant realm.
One had to realize that Mount Futu's Saint Child was the direct disciple of a Yang God, personally trained by that supreme figure.
Yet he fell short of someone from the lower realm.
To Shen Wushen, Qi Yuan would stand as a prodigy among prodigies even in the Upper Realm.
"I need them, desperately. Why—do you have a way to obtain more?" Qi Yuan looked at Shen Wushen with eager anticipation.
"I can... but it is quite troublesome," Shen Wushen replied thoughtfully.
"How about this: if you can get me another divine art, I'll modify the divine art you practice once for free, increasing its power by at least double. How does that sound?" Qi Yuan offered hurriedly. "If you bring plenty of Heaven-grade arts, I can also give you some pointers to help you walk further along the Divine Infant path. Of course, my Divine Infants cannot be replicated, but as for yours... there's still plenty of room for improvement."
As Qi Yuan's strength grew, the things his eyes could perceive expanded as well. Back in the Mortal Heart Realm, he had even taken the form of a Yang God; offering guidance to a Divine Infant was trivial for him.
Hearing this, Shen Wushen met Qi Yuan's gaze, finally speaking in a measured voice: "Deal!"
He chose to trust Qi Yuan.
A genius of this caliber had no need to deceive him.
As for modifying a technique, he did not entirely believe it. After all, divine arts were created by Yang Gods; how could a Divine Infant modify one? Even if modified, it would likely only become worse, not better.
What he trusted was Qi Yuan's guidance.
"It's a deal!" Qi Yuan echoed beside him.
Just then, a joyful voice drifted over.
"Daddy is eating here and didn't even call Jianjun?"
A young girl of seven or eight floated down, a radiant smile in her eyes.
The Divine Infant cultivators looked at the girl who had appeared so abruptly, astonishment showing in their expressions.
None of them could see through her cultivation.
Shen Zhifeng's eyes widened, filled with sheer disbelief.
She knew very well that this young girl was an exalted Yin God!
An exalted Yin God called Qi Yuan 'Daddy'?
What did that mean?
Shen Wushen froze as well, then seemed to realize something.
No wonder Qi Yuan possessed such terrifying strength.
He was actually the husband of Yue Nü!
Yue Nü was one of the successors of the Moon Goddess Palace, holding a status even higher than Mount Futu's Saint Child.
Could it be that Yue Nü had once visited the Canglan Realm and borne a daughter with Qi Yuan?
Afterward, Yue Nü returned to the Upper Realm, while Qi Yuan had been unable to return to the Upper Realm due to the constraints of the Canglan Realm.
If so, everything made sense.
After all, only a true paragon like Qi Yuan could win the favor of Yue Nü.
The sacred maidens of the Moon Goddess Palace did not easily give their hearts, but once they did, it was for a lifetime... to one person alone.
"This is my daughter, Qi Jianjun," Qi Yuan introduced to the surrounding Divine Infant cultivators.
The Divine Infant cultivators were left completely at a loss.
Wasn't Qi Yuan barely twenty years old?
How did he have a daughter this old?
Right then, Qi Jianjun suddenly sent a voice transmission to Qi Yuan, a bright smile gracing her face: "Daddy, the person before you... is from the Upper Realm!"
Chapter 246