The Canglan Realm.
The Divine Light Sect.
Qi Yuan slowly woke.
His consciousness was a haze, still somewhat blurred.
It was as though he had passed through countless reincarnations of the world.
A full quarter of an hour passed before his eyes finally cleared.
He raised his head and looked at the palaces atop Seven Colors Peak, his gaze unreadable. "So, Master... I merely stumbled into your reincarnation by accident?"
Using the Great Oblivion Heart Scripture, Qi Yuan's time and space had been thrown into chaos; with his own strength alone he had sought out Heitian and fought it.
But Heitian was, after all, a true fourth tier of the Yang God. It was not something a fake fourth tier like him could withstand.
In that endless resistance, Qi Yuan reincarnated again and again, and again and again lost himself.
Eyes, ears, mouth...
In the struggle he had finally understood: the Soundless Sound in the game was his master, Ruan Yixi.
The fourth tier of the Yang God has no consciousness.
Because of his special power, his master had gained consciousness, and mutated from the fourth tier of the Yang God.
Yet she still carried the attributes of the fourth tier.
She existed only in the past and the future, never in the present.
Even if some in the Divine Light Sect felt they had seen their master, in truth they had only seen her in their memories.
"I was searching for Master, and Master was searching for me."
While fighting Heitian, Qi Yuan had gone through countless reincarnations.
In none of them had he seen his master.
But he knew she had always been with him.
And Ruan Yixi knew that he was with her, too.
In the end, Qi Yuan lost every part of his body, leaving only a blood robe.
And only then did Ruan Yixi truly revive, with a body of her own.
At the last, she "shared the same robe" with him—carrying the blood robe—and defeated Heitian.
"So... Master was trying so hard to find me, yet could never truly see me."
"Even if she stood right before me now, I wouldn't realize she was her. Only... long afterward would I connect the dots."
Qi Yuan sighed with feeling.
The fourth tier of the Yang God was a little too uncanny.
"And... Master has been at my side all along."
He looked at Xiao Jia, quiet and obedient, his expression gentle.
From Xiao Jia's cold sleeve, a wooden plaque with a "cuddle" expression slipped out.
Qi Yuan cuddled with Xiao Jia.
Xiao Jia is Master; Master is not Xiao Jia.
"What a pity. Unless I step into the fourth tier of the Yang God, there's no way at all for me to meet Master."
"That's exactly why, when I entered the game, Master kept warning me to flee, to leave."
Because to deal with Heitian, one had to step into the fourth tier of the Yang God.
And his master, having gained consciousness through her exchanges with Qi Yuan, and having opened the heavens to create the Divine Wood Universe, was in strength no match for Heitian.
Across countless pasts and futures, she seemed to have seen Qi Yuan losing limbs and true spirit again and again to remake her.
She had even seen that Qi Yuan might step into the fourth tier of the Yang God.
That was what she did not wish to see.
Once one steps into the fourth tier of the Yang God, the true spirit dissolves and cannot be revived.
Even if revived, it would be a new life form.
So at great cost she had sent Qi Yuan a branch of "Spring."
Only thus could Qi Yuan keep a thread of true spirit from being extinguished, and avoid stepping into the fourth tier.
Otherwise he would have become another fourth-tier Yang God like Heitian, one that would only devour everything before it.
"And now I'm... a Yin God?"
As Qi Yuan pondered, the aura around him changed.
A profound aura arose, and Qi Yuan's own strength climbed without pause.
Countless rules—metal, wood, water, fire, earth, and more—were comprehended.
"This is matter."
"This is spirit."
"This is the imaginary."
"This is the cycle."
"When matter accumulates to its utmost and collides in that instant, there may be a one-in-a-hundred-million chance of life arising."
"When life lives long enough, a true spirit is born."
"So I... have become a god."
In that moment Qi Yuan felt immeasurably powerful.
With a casual wave he could make a mountain range appear.
If he glared hard at a planet, that planet would become pregnant, and countless living beings would slowly be born.
The glare-and-she's-pregnant skill—he had mastered it.
For instance, one glare at his little junior sister Jiang Lingsu, and she would be pregnant.
"This is what a Yin God means. The present me... is probably no weaker than a Heaven-Opening realm lord," Qi Yuan privately estimated his strength.
Perhaps even stronger than a Heaven-Opening realm lord.
After all, even a Heaven-Opening realm lord could not withstand Heitian, while Qi Yuan had been barely able to hold Heitian off for a time.
"Unfortunately, mighty as I am, I still can't manage to see Master once."
Only the fourth tier of the Yang God can see the fourth tier of the Yang God.
Not to mention that he still did not know where the Divine Wood Universe was, there in the Sixth Heaven of the Immortal Realm.
"Hey, Master, I'm a Yin God now. Once I'm a Yang God, I'll definitely find a way to see you.
All that crap about past, present, and future—it should all be in the palm of my hand."
Qi Yuan spoke to the empty air.
He knew that one day, this sentence would be heard by Ruan Yixi of the past, or of the future.
Setting those memories aside, Qi Yuan began to examine himself.
"After the Yin God stage, the greatest breakthrough is mastering the three thousand rules of the great Dao—enough to open the heavens and create a world."
"Also, this time's superpower... is my body."
"My body... can merge into all things in the world."
"This superpower... isn't it a bit useless?"
After all, the present him could already merge into all things in the world.
After some thought, Qi Yuan looked at the wooden cat puppet in the room and, without any hesitation, activated his superpower.
In an instant, his body merged into the wooden cat puppet.
All was quiet; nothing seemed to happen.
And in that moment, Qi Yuan suddenly had the feeling that he was the wooden cat puppet.
"Too useless. If I'd gotten this superpower back in the Qi Refining stage, it would've been great for dodging disaster.
Run into a Foundation Establishment cultivator? Just hide inside a grain of sand.
Now, at this point... it's practically useless."
Thinking back on his superpowers, this one seemed the most worthless.
Of course, at his level, his other superpowers were practically of no use to him either.
After the Yin God stage, he commanded countless rules, nearly omniscient within the universe.
"Still, with my strength raised, my eyes see more hidden information."
"It's time to go find Canary and Ning Tao, and refine all the stars of... that universe into Golden Cores.
I can't neglect my Golden Core path either."
So Qi Yuan thought, but he did not leave at once.
He pushed open the door, walked out of his courtyard, and took a deep breath of air.
"Time to build a seaside villa."
After all these years of hard work, what was wrong with enjoying himself a little?
No sea?
Just move an ocean over.
"Se... Senior Brother..." A trembling voice, full of delight, came to him.
Not far away, beneath an ancient tree, stood a beautiful young woman in a lake-blue short jacket and long skirt.
The skirt's waist was tied high, a deep blue silk sash wrapped across her chest, above which was a stretch of snow-white, delicate skin; where the sash wrapped, it was full and rounded, quite ample. Yet the beauty of her chest seemed entirely concealed, not a hint of spring revealed.
Her eyes were liquid, as though fully ripened.
She was holding the hand of a little girl, who looked five or six years old.
Seeing this, Qi Yuan inexplicably thought of Han Xin and Ji Tao.
Jiang Lingsu's watery eyes were full of nameless feeling. She seemed to think of something and hastily said, "This is my sister. My real sister."
"You have a sister now?" Qi Yuan was slightly taken aback. And already this big.
"How many years was I in seclusion this time?" Qi Yuan asked.
Though with one glance at the world he could know how many years he had been gone.
But sometimes, it's better for a person to be a little foolish.
"One hundred twenty-seven years, four months, and six days," Jiang Lingsu said earnestly.
"That long." Qi Yuan felt some emotion too.
It was the first time he had played a game for so long.
He had gone from a young man with a two-digit age to a centenarian elder.
Back on Blue Star, he could be an internet celebrity, teaching people how to preserve their health.
"Senior Brother, you must be hungry after such a long seclusion. Your junior sister will go prepare you a signature dish.
These hundred years, your junior sister has been working hard too!" Jiang Lingsu waved her little pink fists, looking rather cute.
Though using "cute" to describe Jiang Lingsu was a bit insulting.
After all, with that voluptuous figure, what was cute about her?
"All right." Qi Yuan nodded, his eyes full of anticipation.
"I'll go out for a trip. Back soon."
"Okay!" Jiang Lingsu nodded earnestly.
Qi Yuan's figure vanished at that moment.
Jiang Lingsu stood where she was, her heart anxious with hopes and fears, yet also a little happy and content.
After all, to be free of care, never short of food or clothes, safe and sound—that already surpassed far too many people.
Qi Yuan's figure appeared again, in the Netherworld.
Before him, the Gate of Myriad Manifestations fell into his view.
Qi Yuan stared at the gate, a strange look in his eyes.
"This Gate of Myriad Manifestations is a little odd."
He had always been curious about its origins.
It seemed it could be any gate at all.
The Gate of Myriad Fiends, the Gate of Myriad Demons, the Gate of Myriad Wonders, and even the Gate of Ultimate Principle.
"What... is it, exactly?"
The information his eyes saw this time was nothing especially useful.
After some thought, Qi Yuan chose to use his newest superpower—merging into all things.
He merged into the Gate of Myriad Manifestations.
In an instant.
The world was a wasteland, and Qi Yuan's consciousness dissolved at that moment.
But in the next breath, Qi Yuan's figure withdrew from the gate, curiosity in his eyes.
"The Gate of Myriad Manifestations... is actually a fourth-tier Yang God!"
"A fourth-tier Yang God that exists in the present world!"
He could not help but feel astonished.
Because the fourth tier of the Yang God exists in the past or the future, never in the present.
Now, a fourth-tier Yang God actually existed in the present. How could he not be shocked?
"If I can figure out the principle, wouldn't that mean... Master could also appear in the present world?" The thought arose in Qi Yuan's mind, and he immediately snuffed it out.
He now understood that the fourth tier of the Yang God also had two forms.
Like Heitian, whose essence was devouring—aimless devouring.
Once it devoured enough of what it needed, it would become a Heitian that exists in the present world.
By then, it might be like the Gate of Myriad Manifestations: the gate could be any gate, and Heitian could be any heaven.
But that time was very long.
The universes Heitian had devoured were more than one, yet even now it was still in the second stage.
"The waters run deep in there."
"I keep feeling it was refined into a magic treasure."
"Not necessarily. It might have become a true rule."
This rule was naturally different from the universe's rules; it was more like a symbol, a sign.
"Pity I had no chance to talk with the Void Realm Lord and the Radiant Light Dao Lord in the last game. Otherwise I'd have asked about the fourth and fifth tiers of the Yang God. Those two tiers always feel strange." Qi Yuan murmured to himself.
The Yang God has always had only five tiers.
The Yang God is also the end of the cultivation path.
"As the saying goes, invincible under heaven, then enemies from heaven. Cultivation shouldn't have an end."
"Once I've finished refining the Stellar Golden Cores, it'll be time to visit the Sole Palace."
In today's Immortal Realm, the strongest power was the Sole Palace.
He also wanted to see whether the Sole Palace had any top-tier fighters who knew something about the fourth and fifth tiers of the Yang God.
Through the Gate of Myriad Manifestations, Qi Yuan's figure appeared in a universe.
No sooner had he arrived than a warm, soft body crashed into his arms.
"Husband..." Ning Tao, in a black dress, was alluring and soul-stirring, her eyes as though about to drip water—nothing like her former cold, reserved self.
Her petite, exquisite body hung on Qi Yuan, her black-stockinged legs bent and wrapped around his waist.
Then a scolding, sweet voice came.
"You Ning Tao! We agreed to wait for him to come back, then give him the cold shoulder for a while, make him pay for not visiting us for so long, and you—" Canary's delicate face seemed full of displeasure, yet those eyes never left Qi Yuan.
Tsundere as she was, she stood where she was and did not move.
If he wouldn't even reach out to invite her over, she wasn't going.
A gentle look flashed in Qi Yuan's eyes, along with a trace of guilt.
This time he had played the game too long.
Though only a hundred years had passed in the Canglan Realm, in this universe it had been an extremely long span of years.
He reached out and pulled; Canary's body tumbled into his arms too.
"Hmph, this young lady didn't miss you at all. If Ning Tao hadn't insisted on coming, this young lady wouldn't have come..."
"Ah, you shameless Ning Tao, why are you taking off your clothes the moment you see him, ahhh..."
"No, this young lady wants to too!"
Quarreling, sweet moans, and panting mingled and rippled through the universe.
Who knew how long had passed.
Ning Tao smoothed the sweat-damp hair by her ear and shot Canary a look. "Husband came here to do proper business, and you cling to him like this..."
This "cling" was not the cling of pestering; it was a literal cling.
"I didn't! This young lady was just too lazy to move."
As Canary spoke, she finally climbed reluctantly off Qi Yuan.
Who knew when the next tender moment with Qi Yuan would be.
In an instant she was neatly dressed.
A smile flashed in Qi Yuan's eyes.
"From tomorrow on, you two will be in the same universe as me," Qi Yuan said.
Ning Tao's eyes were gentle. "This universe is too vast. There are still many stars that haven't condensed into Golden Cores."
Even though she had worked hard, in a vast universe it was still a drop in the bucket.
"No matter. I'll do it myself," Qi Yuan said.
"But... if Husband is here, the flow of time will slow relative to outside, and the efficiency..." Ning Tao analyzed rationally.
"No matter. However vast the universe, however many the stars, one day they will be exhausted."
"I can grant the first Stellar Golden Core a devouring attribute, so it can devour on its own."
"One day, every star in this universe will be my Golden Core."
He had come here not only to refine Stellar Golden Cores, but also to open the heavens and create a world.
Chapter 564