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

Chapter 174: If You Don’t Mind

“Are you here for the feast?” Qi Yuan looked at Qi Qi and asked.

Qi Qi was slightly stunned, her thoughts unable to keep up.

“…Yes.” After a moment's hesitation, she answered seriously.

Hearing this, Qi Yuan’s expression changed: “Such deep cunning! You traveled all the way from Tianfu to Qingshui Village just for some pig’s head!”

Qi Qi: “???”

She was completely bewildered.

“I didn’t come for the pig’s head.”

“Didn’t you just say you wanted to eat at the feast?” Qi Yuan quickly retorted.

“I…”

“Then why are you here?” Qi Yuan interrupted her.

“I came for something inside the statue…” Qi Qi began, but suddenly caught herself.

She almost let it slip.

This man in front of her, as expected of a god, had almost tricked her into revealing her purpose with just a few words.

But then, realizing that her purpose didn’t really need to be hidden, she said, “My lord, I came here for something inside the statue.”

After she finished speaking, the villagers of Qingshui Village exchanged glances.

The statue seemed to be gone.

“I’m here to enjoy the feast; we can talk later.” Qi Yuan kicked the pig under his foot.

The pig squealed and was kicked over to Wang Zhongshan.

Qi Qi was speechless.

Beside her, the maid Xiaoxue was also holding onto a pig, looking very aggrieved: “Miss, what should we do?”

It was her first time holding onto a pig, and as a young lady, she found it very embarrassing.

“Let’s join the feast.”

…

In a large pot, water was boiling, and the steam was rising.

Large chunks of pork were simmering, and the aroma spread throughout the village.

Qi Yuan waved his hand: “Wang Zhongshan, call over the mourning band from Shijia Village. The people here cry too half-heartedly; it’s no fun.”

Wang Zhongshan was stunned for a moment, then quickly nodded: “Alright, my lord, I’ll call them right away.”

Nearby, the priest Shentu couldn’t help but say, “Our people in Qingshui Village can cry too!”

Qi Yuan glanced at Shentu: “Forget it, the people of Qingshui Village cry too fakely.”

Qi Yuan then looked at Chen Xifan from Chenxi Village and nodded approvingly: “Your village’s chef is quite skilled, better than the one from Shijia Village.”

Chen Xifan, hunched over, replied, “I’m willing to cook for the venerable one every day.”

Just today, the deity of Qingshui Village had come to Chenxi Village with great pomp.

The god they worshiped had excitedly rushed out to greet them, only to be swiftly beheaded by a single strike.

The temple guards of Chenxi Village had also turned into demonic creatures, all of whom were slain by Qi Yuan.

Most of the villagers, except for a few who resisted, chose to protect themselves.

They had worshiped the new god out of necessity, offering sacrifices of boys and girls each year, harboring resentment in their hearts but lacking the power to resist.

The people of Chenxi Village both feared and were grateful to Qi Yuan.

The feast continued.

As the fatty pork was served, everyone’s appetites were whetted.

Yulei, the village chief of Qingshui Village, and the priest Shentu sat together with a fat man and a thin man.

“The Origin Heavenly Lord is our village’s guardian deity, but… the people of Shijia Village are too obsequious,” said the thin man, his voice tinged with jealousy.

“Sigh, it’s all my fault. I wanted to sell the statue to make some money, and I ended up offending the venerable one,” the fat man said, looking distressed.

After the battle with Shijia Village, Qingshui Village was on the brink of collapse.

The once-fat man was now so starved that he was almost unrecognizable.

With the statue in the temple serving no purpose, selling it seemed reasonable.

“In theory, aren’t we supposed to be the arms of the deity? But our guardian deity is a bit too… extreme.

He handles everything himself, charging into battle with his sword!

It’s too dangerous,” the thin man said nervously.

It was as if a king were personally leading his troops into battle every day, charging ahead of his soldiers. The villagers were naturally shocked by this.

If anything happened to the deity, Qingshui Village would be doomed.

“It’s because we’re too weak!” Village Chief Yulei puffed on his pipe, exhaling smoke.

The others looked embarrassed at his words.

Indeed, they were too weak to assist the deity with their problems.

If they were all powerful, they wouldn’t fear being sidelined.

“Not strong enough to fight, not good enough at mourning, and even our cooking isn’t as good as Chenxi Village’s,” the priest Shentu muttered.

The group sighed, feeling helpless. By rights, they were the direct descendants of the Origin Heavenly Lord, yet they were just sitting around eating feasts all day.

Feasting was great, but without improving themselves, they would inevitably be sidelined.

“Unfortunately, we’re too weak to repay the deity.

And now that the world has changed, it’s difficult for gods to rebuild their divine bodies…” Village Chief Yulei said, hesitating.

After the great change in the world, ancient gods could no longer rebuild their divine bodies or ascend to the realm of true gods.

Thus, many ancient gods didn’t take their domains seriously anymore.

In ancient times, however, the stronger the people in a god’s domain, the stronger the god would become.

“What if we imitated the new gods and allowed the deity to assimilate us? Wouldn’t that make the deity stronger?” the fat man suggested.

New gods were stronger than ancient gods, partly because they kept emerging.

But also because new gods assimilated their people, merging them into themselves.

Just like the demonic creatures in Shijia Village—if the evil god had lived, they would have eventually become temple guards, losing their consciousness entirely and becoming part of the evil god.

“You’re talking nonsense. That’s what the evil gods do, and we can’t control that ability anyway,” the priest Shentu replied.

The group laughed, dropping the topic, though they remained anxious and uncertain about the future.

Meanwhile, Qi Qi was eating pig’s head meat, occasionally sneaking glances at Qi Yuan as he ate.

“Xiaoxue, what do you think of him?” Qi Qi whispered.

Xiaoxue, her mouth greasy, replied, “He’s a great person!”

Anyone who let her eat well was a great person in her eyes.

“He seems carefree, but he’s actually very shrewd. With just a few simple words, he almost made me reveal everything,” Qi Qi thought back to their earlier conversation, finding Qi Yuan unfathomable.

If Qi Yuan knew what Qi Qi was thinking, he would surely protest his innocence.

“Smart!” Xiaoxue praised, munching on pork.

Qi Qi continued, “I heard he killed the new gods of Shijia Village and Chenxi Village all by himself.”

“Brave and powerful!” Xiaoxue praised without hesitation, eager for more pork.

“Do you think I should give him the Yinsheng Stone?” Qi Qi asked, stealing a glance at Qi Yuan.

Now that it was difficult for ancient gods to break through to true gods, a Yinsheng Stone was highly coveted by many ancient gods and divine beings.

Xiaoxue stopped eating pork and furrowed her brows in thought. After a long while, she looked at the fragrant pork and said, “We don’t have a better option than him.”

With the collapse of Tianfu and the fall of the Qi family, Qi Qi had few connections left. She hardly knew any respected elders, and those she could trust were even fewer.

Perhaps the deity of Qingshui Village was someone she could rely on.

Qi Qi’s mind raced as she looked at Qi Yuan, and she seemed to come to a decision.

On the other side, Qi Yuan was feeling the increase in his strength, thinking that killing new gods and holding feasts was truly satisfying.

“I’m at level 21 now.”

After killing two new gods, he had gone from level 1 to level 21.

This was because, in terms of cultivation, he was only at the Golden Core stage, while the two he had killed were at the late Nascent Soul stage, so his experience bar had filled quickly.

“If I kill more, I might reach level 90. Could that be… the Yin God stage?” Qi Yuan wondered.

He felt that coming to this world was truly fortunate.

It seemed to be filled with elite monsters, so his experience bar was filling up quickly.

The only downside was that he had to eat after every fight, or he’d be too hungry.

“I hope I can form my Nascent Soul in this world,” Qi Yuan mused.

At that moment, Qi Qi approached, her expression resolute: “My lord, I truly came to Qingshui Village for a very important matter.”

“I know, for the pig’s head,” Qi Yuan said, glancing at the young woman in front of him.

He couldn’t help but marvel at her. So young, yet already at the Golden Core stage.

In the Canglan Realm, she could have competed in the Eastern Heaven’s Young Heroes List.

This Realm was truly full of extraordinary people.

“My lord, please don’t tease me. I came here to offer you a gift,” Qi Qi said with a sweet smile.

Qi Yuan became interested: “What gift?”

“Would you be willing to take me to see the statue in Qingshui Village?” Qi Qi asked.

“Is it the item you mentioned earlier that’s inside the statue?”

“Yes,” Qi Qi nodded.

“Alright, let’s go take a look.” Qi Yuan waved his hand, “You all keep eating, I’ll be back soon.”

Seeing Qi Yuan leave, the others at the feast sighed with relief and began to eat more joyfully.

A flash of light passed, and they landed in front of the temple in Qingshui Village.

“Where’s the statue?” Qi Qi asked, looking at the empty temple in surprise.

“That… those fragments on the ground are it,” Qi Yuan said, “Maybe my entrance was too flashy, and the statue couldn’t handle it and shattered.”

Qi Qi fell silent. After a long pause, she said, “The statue in Qingshui Village was forged by my Qi family; it’s incredibly sturdy. Even a peak-level divine being would struggle to destroy it.”

“Maybe I’m just too dazzling.”

Qi Qi glanced at Qi Yuan, not fully understanding his words.

But recalling what Qi Yuan had said earlier, she thought there must be some deeper meaning.

She looked at the fragments on the ground and slowly said, “When my ancestors forged this statue, they embedded a Yinsheng Stone within it.”

As she spoke, she watched Qi Yuan’s reaction but saw that he remained unmoved.

She was surprised—this big shot was truly unfazed, even upon hearing about the Yinsheng Stone.

This only strengthened her resolve to invest in him.

The future of the Origin Heavenly Lord was full of potential.

“Now that the world has changed, ancient gods can no longer break through to true gods.

But the Yinsheng Stone can help an ancient god ascend to the realm of true gods.”

Qi Qi bent down and cupped her hands around the fragments of the statue.

“Even though the statue is broken, I can still extract the Yinsheng Stone from these fragments, so you can break through to the realm of true gods.”

Qi Yuan was deep in thought.

He considered himself a player.

Would this world’s restrictions apply to him?

In the Moonlit Continent, it seemed that the Great Sun had once set a rule prohibiting all beings from breaking through to level 100.

Qi Yuan felt he had been affected as well.

So this Yinsheng Stone might be useful to him too.

“I can’t accept something for nothing. Just tell me, what quest do you have for me?” Qi Yuan was treating Qi Qi like an NPC giving him a quest, with the Yinsheng Stone as the reward.

“My lord, why must we be so formal with each other?” Qi Qi said, her face turning slightly red.

She continued, “When my ancestors forged the statue, they made a pact with the statue’s spirit. The god who emerged from the statue would… would…”

Qi Qi’s ears turned a translucent red, and her voice took on a shy tone.

Qi Yuan’s eyes widened: “Are you telling me you’re betrothed to me, and you’ve come to break off the engagement?”

A flood of thoughts crossed Qi Yuan’s mind.

If she wanted to break off the engagement, should he utter that classic line, “The river flows east for thirty years, then west for thirty years—don’t underestimate a poor young man!”

But what if she didn’t want to break off the engagement?

Should he seize the initiative?

Qi Qi’s beautiful eyes showed surprise. Qi Yuan’s words left her confused.

“Back then, my ancestors made a pact with the statue’s spirit that the god who emerged from the statue would… would be my adoptive father.”

Qi Yuan was stunned.

He had just gained one daughter, and now he was gaining another?

“Even though we both share the Qi surname, it’s a bit much to ask me to be your foster father.

Given our ages, who knows who’s older?” Qi Yuan always thought of himself as very young.

But suddenly having such a grown daughter was bound to raise some eyebrows.

“This was the pact between my ancestors and the statue’s spirit,” Qi Qi said hesitantly, “If my lord doesn’t wish to acknowledge it, we can just forget it.”

As she spoke, she took out a yellow cloth inscribed with the original agreement.

Qi Yuan looked at the shattered statue on the ground and finally murmured, “The statue shattered to bring me forth. I’ll remember this favor. Today, I’ll take a small loss and accept you as my daughter.”

Hearing this, Qi Qi was overjoyed, though her face still held a slight blush: “Father!”

Qi Yuan felt a bit strange hearing this: “You should call me ‘Dad’ instead.”

For some reason, the word “Father” reminded him of Lü Bu.

“Dad” sounded much better.

It felt much more proper.

Qi Qi was momentarily stunned, but then she sweetly called out, “Dad!”

Calling an ancient god “Dad” didn’t trouble Qi Qi much.

Most ancient gods were the spirits of heroic souls who had died in ancient times.

These heroic spirits had fought in the great war of the distant past, sacrificing themselves for the Fancun Realm. Each one was worthy of Qi Qi’s respect.

They had lived far longer than Qi Qi.

Having become his adoptive daughter, Qi Qi quickly embraced the role: “Dad, now that you have the Yinsheng Stone and the potential to reach true godhood, you should no longer focus solely on your own strength. When facing enemies, try to avoid taking action yourself.”

“Oh?” Qi Yuan was surprised.

He didn’t see the connection.

“Dad, do you know that a true god’s power is not only related to their own strength but also to their followers?” Qi Qi explained.

“Hmm.”

Qi Yuan had fought the evil gods of Shijia Village and Chenxi Village.

They gained power from their followers, significantly boosting their strength.

The villagers of Qingshui Village were too weak, so Qi Yuan hadn’t had them boost his power.