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

Chapter 177: The Black Dog Roars to the Heavens, Vertical Pupil Shows Its Power!

At this moment, two men clad in iron armor were hiding far from Little Stone Village, watching the scene with an amused look in their eyes.

"Are you really not going to help Liu Yan?" the taller armored man asked.

"Liu Yan is an arrogant fool who has shown much disrespect to the great deity. He deserves to die to make room for others!" replied the shorter armored man.

The taller one nodded, "The ancient god of Qingshui Village has some ability, having already killed two of the new gods."

The shorter man added, "Exactly. The new gods below Gale Wind Town aren’t part of the lord’s inner circle. Once they’re wiped out, our lord can eliminate the ancient god of Qingshui Village and bring his followers here!"

The evil god of Gale Wind Town, known as the Wolf God, had been aware of Qi Yuan’s arrival for several days.

However, the Wolf God was unconcerned.

The new gods beneath Gale Wind Town weren’t loyal to him; some even opposed his faction. Thus, he planned to use Qi Yuan to cleanse the villages beneath Gale Wind Town.

Once he killed Qi Yuan, he could openly place his own people in those positions.

Of course, the Wolf God wasn’t a fool and understood the dangers of raising a tiger only to invite trouble later.

Thus, he had dispatched two temple guards to investigate the situation.

At this time, the sound of a suona horn began to play, and the two temple guards perked up, looking ahead.

A long procession quickly advanced toward them.

But this procession didn’t look like an army on the march—it resembled a funeral procession.

The taller iron-clad guard couldn’t help but smile, "This ancient god of Qingshui Village is quite clever."

"The leading divine dog is rather extraordinary," remarked the shorter one.

"But it’s only at the early Purple Mansion stage—not a threat!" said the taller guard.

As temple guards, they were elite warriors of Gale Wind Town, also at the early Purple Mansion stage.

There were over thirty guards of their level in Gale Wind Town, so they naturally looked down on a mere black dog at the early Purple Mansion stage.

"I’ve heard that the ancient god of Qingshui Village is not even at the Purple Mansion stage but has a powerful sacrificial artifact, which is how he killed two new gods," said the shorter guard. "That artifact will be the Wolf God’s prize!"

The Wolf God wasn’t well-known among the seven towns, but the temple guards who had been assimilated understood that their Wolf God was far beyond just a peak Purple Mansion stage deity. He had even opened half of a divine aperture, making him a demigod!

This was why Nangong Wuji, a peak Purple Mansion stage cultivator, had been injured by the Wolf God.

The two hid as the sound of the suona grew louder.

The taller one grinned, "The show’s about to begin!"

They watched the village battle from a position of superiority.

At that moment, Liu Yan of Little Stone Village soared into the sky, emanating a terrifying aura.

"To provoke me with a mere dog—Qingshui Village has insulted me, and they will pay dearly!"

The suona band had not yet arrived, but its sound reached them first.

The evil god Liu Yan ascended, and the villagers’ faith coalesced into a sacrificial artifact radiating an aura of primordial divine power.

Without hesitation, he struck out, venting his inner fury.

This primordial divine power strike had been accumulating for decades and was terrifyingly powerful.

Even a mid-stage Purple Mansion cultivator would struggle to withstand it.

Of course, it was only a single strike.

Zhu Zhuangshi looked worried, "Can the big black dog handle this?"

Although the big black dog was in the Purple Mansion stage, it had just broken through using the visualization method and was not yet proficient in using primordial divine power.

Unless the primordial divine power’s energy level was too high, it would struggle to withstand this attack!

The village chief Yu Lei and the priest Shentu shared this concern.

They hadn’t expected the enemy to be so formidable.

But at the forefront of the villagers, the big black dog’s eyes flashed with disdain.

It suddenly flew into the sky, letting out a thunderous roar like a lion’s.

With a blood-curdling howl, it sucked in the air.

What happened next was terrifying.

The clouds in the sky, as if a hole had opened in a river, all funneled into the big black dog’s mouth.

The Howling Celestial Dog’s divine power was to swallow clouds and exhale mist.

The big black dog had visualized this power!

It swallowed the clouds from the sky.

The big black dog then spat toward Liu Yan.

Immediately, multicolored mist spewed out, filled with heavenly fire, earthly flames, and fierce winds.

This was no ordinary mist.

Liu Yan’s eyes widened.

"This primordial divine power... isn’t from this world!"

He couldn’t comprehend it, and then he screamed in agony.

His sacrificial artifact was incinerated by the primordial divine power.

His body began to disintegrate.

That wasn’t mist—it was fire!

At this moment, the tall and short men hiding in the distance widened their eyes in shock.

"That’s not a primordial divine power from this world. An evil god?"

If Qi Yuan had long since hidden the origin of his primordial divine power, even using the stellar gold elixir to obscure the nature of his power, the big black dog hadn’t.

Having just grasped its primordial divine power, the big black dog hadn’t yet had time to adapt it to this world’s standards.

So, when it unleashed its power, the strong individuals present could immediately tell that it wasn’t a primordial divine power from this world!

The tall and short men’s faces turned pale.

An evil god had appeared—this had to be reported to the Wolf God immediately.

The two were about to retreat quietly when suddenly, a vertical pupil appeared beside the big black dog.

A voice, seemingly infused with the rules of heaven and earth, resounded.

"Who dares to spy here?"

All eyes involuntarily turned to the shadow of the vertical pupil.

"This..." The shorter iron-clad man trembled all over.

Just the shadow of the vertical pupil filled him with dread, making him shake as if he were facing an invincible and majestic god.

"What kind of... true god is this?" The tall man couldn’t comprehend.

He had once seen a follower of an ancient god unleash a high-level primordial divine power.

But compared to the shadow of this vertical pupil, it wasn’t even a fraction as powerful.

This was an incomprehensible existence!

Following that majestic, cold, and merciless voice, a golden light appeared out of nowhere, and the bodies of the tall and short men turned to ashes in an instant, vanishing completely from this world.

In Gale Wind Town, the Wolf God suddenly opened his eyes, a trace of blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. "What’s going on?"

Just now, he had felt an impending disaster, as if something terrifying had descended upon him.

And his body had inexplicably been injured, with no apparent cause.

"Could it be... that a god is targeting me?" The Wolf God’s expression was uncertain.

"I’d better keep a low profile for now."

The Wolf God decided to lay low until he figured out what was going on.

...

"This..."

Village Chief Yu Lei stared at the disappearing vertical pupil, his heart unable to calm down for a long time.

Shi Chongshan was the same—he had never seen such a powerful, awe-inspiring, and indescribable apparition.

The big black dog knelt on its front legs, its tail wagging furiously.

The faces of everyone present were solemn. They knew this was something terrifying that couldn’t be revealed.

"Anyone who leaks what happened today will die a horrible death!" Village Chief Yu Lei declared.

Zhu Zhuangshi also realized the gravity of the situation.

Even the weeping women and the fat-cheeked cook nodded in agreement.

The lowest cultivator among them was in the Foundation Establishment stage, with most at the Golden Core stage.

In the distant temple, Qi Yuan opened his eyes, a hint of surprise flashing in them. "A buy-one-get-one-free deal?"

He hadn’t expected that merely visualizing the Howling Celestial Dog would also come with... the True Lord Erlang!

In the mythology of Blue Star, Erlang Shen is a legendary figure, known for splitting the mountain to save his mother, or battling the Monkey King to a draw in the "Journey to the West."

No matter which myth, Erlang Shen was always a top-tier warrior.

Qi Yuan knew that even a hundred of the previous level of evil gods combined couldn’t summon this great deity.

Yet, by visualizing the Howling Celestial Dog, he’d somehow got a bonus.

Though it wasn’t the true form of True Lord Erlang, not even a projection, but merely a remnant formed from the Howling Celestial Dog’s memories, it was still terrifyingly powerful.

"So, should I continue to try for more buy-one-get-one deals?" Qi Yuan pondered, but eventually dismissed the idea.

Everything would come as it should.

However, this feeling of upgrading while sitting idle was quite satisfying.

He was now at level 30 as a divine being, which, by this world’s standards, put him at the early Nascent Soul stage.

This was much faster than upgrading in Moon-Watching Continent and Liufeng Realm.

"Let’s go, it’s time for the feast!"

Qi Yuan waved his hand.

"Qi Qi, let’s go eat!"

In Qingshui Village, Qi Qi and her maid Xiaoxue, who were frowning at the crops, relaxed at the sound.

"Let’s put aside these worries and go eat with godfather!"

When Xiaoxue heard this, her eyes lit up, as if greasy pork had been placed in front of her, making her drool.

...

"Everyone, turn your grief into appetite and let’s eat!"

Qi Yuan’s opening remarks at the feast were simple, without much elaboration.

But the seven aunts and six uncles of Shijia Village cried their hearts out.

Even Qi Yuan felt a pang of sadness as he ate.

"Godfather... You actually visualized such a powerful divine technique!" Qi Qi, sitting beside him, looked surprised.

She hadn’t witnessed the vertical pupil’s power, but seeing the big black dog after the feast made her realize that Qi Yuan had given the dog a divine technique.

The big black dog sat next to Qi Yuan, its tail wagging furiously, clutching a pig’s trotter in its paw, its eyes filled with smugness.

Zhu Zhuangshi, sitting nearby, looked dejected.

Village Chief Yu Lei also hesitated to speak.

Such a precious divine technique, given to a mere dog—it was a waste of a treasure!

"Sigh, such a powerful divine technique, capable of creating a true god... wasted so casually," Qi Qi said.

In her view, even her godfather couldn’t visualize many such divine techniques.

After all, true gods were rare, and those who once received incense offerings were even fewer.

Her godfather had seen other ancient gods, but that didn’t mean the divine techniques he condensed were unique or particularly strong.

"It’s fine, there are plenty more. As long as there’s enough evil god power, anything is possible."

Qi Yuan was excited. What would it be like to visualize all the celestial beings?

It would be interesting, right?

Looking at her godfather, Qi Qi didn’t persuade him further, but said, "Godfather, we now have four villages under our control. We can’t keep celebrating with a feast every time we take over another village—it’s not sustainable."

Qi Qi was telling the truth.

Right now, everyone was enjoying good food and drink, but with more people, this practice wouldn’t last.

After all, if they held a feast every day, they’d soon run out of resources.

Even if they conquered new villages, what if they didn’t have enough grain or meat?

Qi Yuan nodded, "We need to conquer more villages to keep the feasts going."

Qi Qi couldn’t help but smile bitterly, "Godfather, this isn’t going to work. We need to establish a base of our own."

Qi Yuan understood what she meant.

"It’s all the enemy’s fault for being so poor; otherwise, we could feast every day!" Qi Yuan lamented.

These new gods were too useless. Despite managing their territories for years, they couldn’t even provide for a grand feast.

The people present felt a pang of sympathy for the dead evil gods.

They killed them, took their things, and then feasted on them.

It was too tragic.

Indeed, opposing the Origin Heaven Sovereign was a terrible idea—it would end in misery.

Qi Qi was also a bit speechless, and said, "We need to grow more crops and ensure good harvests."

Qi Yuan nodded, "Should we also raise some pigs?"

Hearing this, the maid Xiaoxue, who was eating pork, nodded furiously, "Yes, I support pig farming."

"That’s your responsibility," Qi Yuan said, looking at Xiaoxue.

Raising pigs wasn’t something he could leave to his goddaughter, after all.

Xiaoxue was stunned for a moment, then her eyes lit up, "Okay."

Then Qi Yuan asked, "How many new gods are left in Gale Wind Town?"

"Including the one in Gale Wind Town, nine remain."

"In that case, let’s kill one a day for the next few days!" Qi Yuan ordered.

They couldn’t kill too many in a day, or the feasts would overlap.

...

Gale Wind Town.

Inside the temple.

The Wolf God appeared, his face looking grim.

"What is it?" Since his mysterious injury, he had been lying low, recuperating.

"Great deity, the five great families are preparing to summon that great one!" The fat man’s eyes gleamed with excitement.

The Wolf God was surprised, "I thought that was years away?"

"We’ve confirmed that the ancient god, Yuan Shen, is severely injured and unable to awaken.

This is the best time to summon the new god!"

"This is good news." The Wolf God hesitated for a moment before slowly speaking.

If a true god descended, Feihuang City would fall completely under his control.

"However, summoning the new god requires your help, Wolf God!" The fat man looked pleadingly at him.

"Oh?"

"To summon this true god, a plague needs to be created, and we need your assistance."

"Spreading a plague in Feihuang City? Fine, but give me a few days."

The fat man’s eyes lit up, "Thank you, great deity!"

...

In Qingshui Village, Qi Yuan walked along the ridge of a field with Qi Qi, looking at the thin crops with a complicated expression, "You’re right, these crops really..."

In the past two days, Qi Yuan had killed two more new gods.

He now possessed the power of two more evil gods.

One of them was at the Purple Mansion stage, stronger than many others.

As his territory expanded, he felt the growing shortage of food.

He couldn’t help but think how convenient it would be if they could survive on fasting like in Canglan Realm.

The cultivators here were too reliant on food.

"Does godfather have a solution?" Qi Qi, who managed the logistics of Qi Yuan’s territory, asked. "Our food supply will only last three months."

"It’s a pity I don’t have Golden Fertilizer," Qi Yuan sighed.