My Golden Core is a Star, do you call this cultivating?

Chapter 117: If One Sword Isn’t Enough, How About Ten or a Hundred?

"Destroy the great demon!"

"Bring light back to the world!"

"The death of the great demon will vanquish heart demons. We shall be heroes for eternity!"

Numerous supremes from the Zitian Alliance gathered, heading towards the ends of the earth.

Shang Yanran, Bai Ze, and the Foolish Daoist, among others, also arrived, standing beside Qi Yuan.

They looked at the massive warship in the distance, their eyes filled with intense fighting spirit and a hint of worry.

On the warship were one hundred and twenty-three supremes.

Over ninety of them were from the Zitian Alliance.

The rest came from other major forces.

These people stood on the warship, exuding strong battle intent.

The warship stopped five miles away from the ends of the earth, hovering in the air.

The people of the Blood Palace at the ends of the earth felt a strong threat.

They had a premonition that if the hundred supremes on the warship attacked simultaneously, those here would not withstand a single blow.

However, seeing the calm demeanor of the figure in the blood-red robe gave them a bit of reassurance.

At this moment, a ethereal female voice echoed, "Hand over the great demon, and the people of the Blood Palace can live."

The owner of the ethereal voice was the legendary Zitian Xuannü.

The people at the ends of the earth remained unchanged, with Shang Yanran showing a mocking smile. "Hand over Zitian Xuannü, and we may spare your lives!"

This statement enraged the supremes on the warship.

But Zitian Xuannü did not get angry. Her gaze fell on Qi Yuan, her eyes turning cold. "Your previous self was a compassionate Buddha, but you stepped into evil for a demoness, causing endless heart demons, leading to the deaths of billions in the Liufeng Realm. Your crime is unforgivable.

Great demon, you should take your own life. I will not trouble the others in the Blood Palace."

Qi Yuan laughed, "You covet the 'Demon Binding Technique,' just say it. Why pin a crime on me? Truly a shrimp-brained woman!"

"Hmph!" A man on the warship angrily shouted, "Great demon, the Destiny Tablet has recorded that you are the great demon. You still want to distort the facts? Surrender now!"

Qi Yuan's face remained calm, "Usually, I’m not much for trash-talking before a battle.

But today..."

Qi Yuan's tone shifted, "When I destroyed the headquarters of the Zitian Alliance, your male pet told me a shocking secret!"

Qi Yuan's words instantly piqued everyone's interest.

Everyone looked at Qi Yuan, eager to know the secret about Zitian Xuannü.

In such a tense moment, curiosity still prevailed.

"Your male pet told me that Zitian Xuannü is his mother!" Qi Yuan loudly proclaimed.

The voice traveled over twenty miles.

Everyone was shocked.

The people of the Blood Palace were initially stunned, then laughed.

The strong individuals on the warship were either enraged or looking at Zitian Xuannü with strange expressions.

Zitian Xuannü’s face was as dark as water, her eyes filled with murderous intent that seemed almost tangible.

Qi Yuan continued, "Who can't write a short essay?"

"I can also spread rumors!"

"But, I’m not interested in proving whether I’m the great demon."

"Framing, slandering, so what?"

"You call me the great demon, a scourge to the world. Then today, I shall play the part of the great demon and bring disaster to the world, so what?"

"I have a sword, and it shall slay all!"

For Qi Yuan, defending oneself was the weakest action.

Proving innocence with death would only invite ridicule from the enemy.

The best method was... to kill!

Qi Yuan wasn’t good at verbal battles or defending himself. What he excelled at was beheading.

As Qi Yuan spoke, the sea behind him began to boil.

The entire sea, stretching for tens of miles, turned blood-red.

The blood-red water quickly condensed into a giant blood-red sword.

In Qi Yuan's left hand appeared a long sword.

An overwhelming aura spread, making Qi Yuan appear truly like a great demon.

Anyone who saw Qi Yuan felt an inexplicable fear.

Except for Canary, whose eyes sparkled with admiration as she looked at Qi Yuan.

This was her childhood friend!

However, she still meekly said, "Blood Bead, I'll go to Sister Yanran."

After all, Blood Bead was about to start a great battle, and holding his hand would only be a burden.

Qi Yuan smiled, "Why should you leave to kill them?

I don't trust anyone else to protect you; I feel safest when I protect you."

He glanced at Shang Yanran before turning his gaze back to the warship.

Zitian Xuannü’s expression turned serious.

"No wonder they call you the great demon, your demonic aura is overwhelming.

But to oppose the world, you are courting death!"

With the Destiny Tablet, Zitian Xuannü's confidence was immense.

The Destiny Tablet was more powerful than she had imagined.

And she had uncovered its true secrets, secrets even the Buddha had not discovered.

With the Destiny Tablet, even if the Buddha revived, she would not fear!

"You are the ones courting death!"

Qi Yuan raised his sword high.

Heaven-Slashing Sword Technique!
He did not move.

The blood-red sword flew into the sky.

The sword grew larger.

It was a mile long!
The powerful blood-red sword descended with Qi Yuan's shout.

The people of the Blood Palace watched in awe.

Especially Shang Yanran, who had thought the gap between her and her master was not large.

But now, she realized the gap was immense.

This sword could easily obliterate her!

It could even wipe out everyone in the Blood Palace.

The supremes on the warship were also moved, some even terrified.

Only Zitian Xuannü remained calm.

The Destiny Tablet she had swallowed glowed, filling her with boundless pride.

"In this world, I am invincible!"

She stretched out her hand, and an immense force surged from it, forming a colossal hand.

The power of the Destiny Tablet flowed into her hand.

She grabbed the blood-red sword with it.

Crunch.

With a squeeze.

The blood-red sword seemed unstable, slowly dissolving in her immense power.

Zitian Xuannü smiled, "Justice will always triumph over darkness. Your strongest strike has been blocked. What else can you do?"

Shang Yanran’s face turned cold, closely observing the battle.

If the situation turned unfavorable, she would implement the second plan: escape from the ends of the earth!

The others felt the same; the Blood Lord’s power had astonished them, but Zitian Xuannü was evidently more terrifying.

Qi Yuan looked at Zitian Xuannü with a strange expression.

His Heaven-Slashing Sword Technique had never been blocked so easily by anyone of the same rank.

Typically, this sword would kill even those several levels higher.

His eyes began to work.

[Zitian Xuannü, an ordinary cultivator, currently in a special state.]

Special state?
Unfortunately, his eyes weren’t omnipotent.

He didn’t know what the special state referred to.

But it didn’t matter.

"You have indeed surprised me, but that’s all."

Heaven-Slashing Sword Technique! ×10.

Qi Yuan had a thick mana reserve.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to kill those old assassins from the underground.

Instantly, the sea behind him turned blood-red again.

Ten terrifying blood-red swords formed, standing in the sky.

All the blood-red swords, guided by Qi Yuan's gaze, fell on the warship.

Zitian Xuannü’s expression changed drastically, but she gritted her teeth and said, "You’ve exceeded my expectations, but that’s all!"

She gritted her teeth, injecting a third of her blood into the Destiny Tablet.

She stretched out her hand again, blocking the ten swords.

Her face turned pale, filled with endless killing intent.

This scene stunned everyone on the warship.

The supremes were ecstatic, shouting, "The Alliance Leader is invincible!"

"Using such powerful techniques, he must be exhausted!"

"Severely weakened!"

"Slay the demon today!"

"The Alliance Leader is invincible!"

Without Zitian Xuannü, this great demon would indeed rampage through the world unchecked.

Qi Yuan squinted, looking at the exhausted Zitian Xuannü, and slowly said, "It seems the Destiny Tablet is indeed a supreme treasure, capable of elevating you to this level, but... is it useful?"

Qi Yuan didn’t even move.

With just a gaze.

The sea behind him turned over again.

This time, the dyed water was a hundred times more than the first!
Heaven-Slashing Sword Technique! ×100.

Death Radiance!
This time, Qi Yuan also used Death Radiance.

He needed to restore some mana.

Simultaneously casting a hundred Heaven-Slashing Sword Techniques was a bit much, even for him.

So, using Death Radiance to restore mana from these supremes!

Kill!

Over a hundred mile-long swords hung in the air, magnificent and awe-inspiring.

The entire world turned blood-red.

Qi Yuan held Canary’s hand with his right, his left pointing at the warship.

His hand slowly dropped.

Everyone on the warship trembled!

Their previous joy vanished.

Was this even human?
Over a hundred giant swords!
For the first time, Zitian Xuannü’s face showed fear.

But she still held on, shouting, "Destiny Tablet!"

She had discovered the deepest secret of the Destiny Tablet and was its rightful master.

The power it provided should be enough to sweep through the world.

But this time, her shout fell on deaf ears, the Destiny Tablet acting as if it were dead, with no response.

The hundred giant swords descended, and this time, without the Destiny Tablet’s power, Zitian Xuannü’s outstretched hand was shattered by a single sword.

The entire warship was destroyed in an instant.

Zitian Xuannü’s face showed disbelief, "No!"

She couldn’t understand.

She couldn’t believe it.

Why did the Destiny Tablet, which had given her immense power, allowing her to traverse the river of time and destroy nations with a single strike, remain silent now?

Was it all an illusion?
Crunch!

The hundred giant swords demonstrated to the world what it meant for size to be strength and quantity to be quality!

With overwhelming firepower, the warship was obliterated.

All the supremes had no time to escape.

The entire battle left only Zitian Xuannü’s broken body and an ordinary stone tablet.

Endless blood rain began to fall at the ends of the earth.

Qi Yuan’s face showed contempt, "I am not some great demon. I am the Fourth Calamity, a thousand, ten thousand times more terrifying than any great demon!"

A great demon wouldn’t even deserve to carry his shoes.

The people of the Blood Palace were utterly shocked by this scene.

Over a hundred supremes and Zitian Xuannü, who possessed the Destiny Tablet, were all annihilated by the Blood Lord with a single sword?

What incredible power!

They had thought this battle would be extremely difficult, with most of them perishing.

But they hadn’t even had a chance to act.

The Blood Lord merely moved his lips, not even changing his position.

And over a hundred supremes on the warship... were gone?

Everyone was in awe, and Canary was so excited that she stood on tiptoe and kissed Qi Yuan on the cheek. "Blood Bead, you’re amazing!"

Qi Yuan was stunned by the kiss.

It seemed like the first time someone had kissed him in the game.

But Qi Yuan didn’t relax his guard.

Suddenly, Zitian Xuannü’s body turned into a stream of light, entering the grand portal before anyone could react.

Her body seemed to cause a significant change in the terrifying heart demon within the grand portal.

At this moment, a loud heartbeat echoed.

Qi Yuan quickly looked at the grand portal.

A terrifying monster seemed to be walking out of the grand portal.

This brought an ominous change to everyone present.

"Blood Bead... my head hurts!" Canary looked at Qi Yuan, her energy completely drained, her face pale as paper, as if enduring something.

"My... heart demon!" Shang Yanran’s face turned pale as well.

"The heart demon from the grand portal... is coming out!" The Foolish Daoist also looked in pain, suppressing his inner evil.

Qi Yuan’s face turned serious for the first time.

He knew everyone’s state all too well.

The "Demon Binding Technique" trapped everyone’s heart demons.

Only when they died naturally would their heart demons emerge as demons.

But now, the terrifying heart demon from the grand portal was emerging, stirring everyone’s heart demons.

If this continued, everyone’s heart demons would break free, leading to their deaths.

If the heart demon from the grand portal emerged, everyone in this world would likely die.

Qi Yuan held Canary tightly, a trace of reluctance in his eyes. "Canary, I have to enter the grand portal. Remember... I will find you at the end of time."

This origin insight had brought many events.

But the time was short, less than two months.

Reunited with Canary, they had to part again.

Canary’s face was pale, but she forced a bright smile. "I... will wait for you."

Qi Yuan glanced at everyone, then at the place where the Destiny Tablet was.

But the Destiny Tablet seemed to have disappeared from his sight.

He knew he couldn’t wait any longer.

He looked at the grand portal and charged in without hesitation.

As the figure in the blood-red robe disappeared, the grand portal closed again.

The terrifying heartbeat weakened.

Canary’s pallor faded as she looked at the grand portal, her eyes filled with reluctance.

"Blood Bead... will he be alright?"

She looked at everyone.

They slowly returned to normal, with Shang Yanran showing a worried expression.

"The grand portal contains endless heart demons.

The Blood Lord entering will suffer immense pain, a thousand cuts!"

Everyone felt a sense of tragedy and pain.

"The Blood Lord is sacrificing himself for us, for this world, willing to feed the demons with his body!

And yet, this world calls him a great demon. It’s truly ridiculous!" Bai Ze said with sorrow.

Canary stared at the grand portal, "When will Blood Bead come out?"

She didn’t care how the world saw Blood Bead; she only cared that he came out alive.

Shang Yanran shook her head in disappointment. "No one has ever come out of the grand portal.

He... will eventually be assimilated into a heart demon."

A heart demon... a blood demon.

"No, there must be a way!" Canary refused to accept this. She ran towards the grand portal.

But she couldn’t get close.

The grand portal, though near, seemed as distant as the ends of the earth.

Everyone remained silent.

Shang Yanran’s eyes showed a peculiar light. "The Destiny Tablet, maybe we can find a way to save the Blood Lord with it!"

Everyone looked towards the place where the Destiny Tablet was, but it was empty.

...

Inside the grand portal.

Countless pains gnawed at Qi Yuan’s soul.

Even he felt intense pain.

This pain was a hundred, a thousand times stronger than facing those old monsters from the underground.

He stood in the grand portal, with a door behind him.

This was the door he had entered through.

He looked up.

A staircase descended from the sky, its height unknown.

In the sky, there was another door.

On the staircase, there was a withered corpse.

The corpse wore a neat cassock, looking extremely serene.

The skin was like dried bark, as if it hadn’t been touched by water for millennia.

Sunken eyes like dead fish eyes, shriveled and stinking, with a resentful gaze fixed on Qi Yuan.

The corpse was walking down the steps, as if to reach Qi Yuan and push the door open.

"Are you the heart demon of the great demon?" Qi Yuan asked, enduring the pain.

The withered corpse spoke, its voice hoarse yet compassionate, "Thank you for entering the gate of ten thousand demons, helping me close the gate of ten thousand demons.

Otherwise, if I went out, this world would fall into complete ruin."

The voice was gentle, the gaze resentful, as if in a struggle.

"The gate of ten thousand demons?" Qi Yuan recalled that the grand portal was the gate of all doors, capable of being any door.

To this Buddha, it was the gate of ten thousand demons, but to Qi Yuan, it might be another door.

"You entered this gate, not just to close the grand portal and prevent me from going out," the withered corpse spoke again.

"Yes." Qi Yuan nodded.

He came here for a crucial purpose: to comprehend the origin.

In the grand portal, his comprehension was ongoing and extremely exaggerated.

"I don’t know your goal.

But to achieve it, you need to send me into reincarnation and climb the steps of ten thousand demons," the withered corpse said.

Sending into reincarnation meant killing it.

Qi Yuan nodded, asking, "You seem out of place in this Flowing Wind Realm."

His eyes saw useful information from the corpse.

The resentful gaze softened, as if reminiscing.

"I came from the Buddha’s land."

"This realm is cursed, abandoned by the gods, its beings unable to reincarnate or reach nirvana.

I thought my deep cultivation would bring the three thousand scrolls of Buddha’s teachings here, opening the gate of ten thousand demons to enter and enlighten this realm.

But my shallow mind bred heart demons, bringing disaster."

"Please help me find release and save this realm!"

"Otherwise, if the grand portal opens, the curse will spread to the Buddha’s land, leading to its downfall!"

The corpse spoke, its resentful gaze returning to Qi Yuan.

It leapt towards Qi Yuan, seeming to tear him apart.

Qi Yuan’s gaze turned cold, "I can help you find release, but saving the world is beyond me."

This world hadn’t wronged him; why should he save it?