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

Chapter 189: Some People Are Powerful, Not Because They Are Special

A single legendary visualization would make a Grand Venerable take notice and regard someone with respect. Four legendary visualizations would be enough to make a Grand Venerable consider taking someone as a direct disciple.

But... twenty?

What does that even mean? None of the Grand Venerables present had any concept of it.

They had never seen a situation where an ancient god visualized 21 legendary-level gods all at once.

Twenty-one visualizations of this caliber could, in theory, create twenty-one Grand Venerables, given enough resources and time.

Of course, reaching the Grand Venerable stage is exceedingly difficult, but stepping into the third realm of ascension is absolutely within reach.

"Grand Venerable Shenlei, where is my brother-in-law? I’m coming to bring him back right now!"

"I don't have twenty treasures, but I have twenty daughters. As long as they get along with your disciple, they can all marry him!"

"Grand Venerable Shenlei, you didn’t want to take him as your disciple before, but now he probably wouldn’t want to accept you as his master."

Everyone in the group chat was losing their minds.

A set of legendary-level visualizations like this, appearing all at once, was simply terrifying.

Shenlei Grand Venerable was also in a state of shock. Looking at the chat, he fiercely replied, "Get lost!"

Meanwhile, in the group chat Qi Yuan was in, everyone was completely dumbfounded.

Dongjiang He spoke slowly, "Did I develop an eye disease?"

"Dongzi, no, you didn't." The Divine Cat Venerable replied, also struggling to accept what had happened. "Those golden lights just now, could they have been from Origin Heavenly God?"

"No way, right?" Dongjiang He swallowed hard. "I just made a comment about how visualizing three legendary gods was tough and told Origin Heavenly God not to push himself, and he responded by showing me over twenty?"

Just moments ago, Origin Heavenly God had entered the chat to talk about visualization. Dongjiang He, recalling what Origin Heavenly God had said about the Four Heavenly Kings, was still somewhat skeptical.

But afraid of being proven wrong, he had only made a vague comment.

And now…

Over twenty legendary gods?

Is this even real? Is there any logic left in the world? Does his casual remark have this kind of power?

"If this really was Origin Heavenly God, I think, Dongzi, you should step down and adopt him as your godfather!"

"If there are really twenty-one legendary gods, I'd also be willing to call Origin Heavenly God my godfather!" someone else chimed in.

Everyone in the group was incredibly excited.

Ancient gods in the Mortal Heart World rarely went to the Visualization Mountain to visualize.

So, there was a 99% chance that the golden lights and the sounds of thousands of birds were the work of Origin Celestial Venerable!

At that moment, Qi Yuan exited the Visualization Mountain and looked at the group chat. He quickly said,

"I’m still young; I don’t accept godsons!"

If he accidentally adopted a treacherous figure like Lü Bu, it would be disastrous.

It’s much better to adopt obedient goddaughters like Qi Qi.

Seeing the messages in the group, Qi Yuan quickly left, fearing he might be hounded by men wanting to be his godson.

In the chat, the others were left in awe.

"It really was Origin Heavenly God. Terrifying!"

"Dongjiang He, you’re too unfortunate. Origin Heavenly God doesn’t even want you as a godson!"

"If only the Tianbao Venerable had known about this," someone lamented.

Mentioning the Tianbao Venerable brought silence to the once-bustling group chat.

After leaving the chat, Qi Yuan now had twenty-one visualization methods.

At this moment, Shenlei Grand Venerable urgently appeared before Qi Yuan.

"Was that you in the Visualization Mountain?" Shenlei asked.

"Yes," Qi Yuan replied calmly.

"Who exactly are you?" Shenlei scrutinized Qi Yuan, trying to discern his origins.

"Me?" Qi Yuan pondered for a moment, unsure of how to answer. He had never really thought about it before.

As he thought, he became more and more puzzled.

"By the shores of Lake July, some call me the Faceless Sword God. In Wugui City, others call me the Blood Demon. In the Ascension Pavilion, some refer to me as the Moonwatching Grand Venerable. These are all me… but am I really them?"

"Moonwatching Grand Venerable?" Shenlei seized on this keyword. "You were a Grand Venerable in your previous life? Why have I never heard of this title?"

He ignored Qi Yuan's other ramblings, having learned to only focus on what he could understand when speaking with Qi Yuan.

"I’ve got it!" Qi Yuan suddenly had an epiphany. "Is it possible… that you are me? The stars in the sky are all me, and so are all the living beings on earth?"

Shenlei furrowed his brow. "Are you having a breakdown? How could I be you, and how could the stars be you?"

"Why not?" Qi Yuan seemed to understand something. "A regular cat sees its reflection in a mirror and is startled because it lacks self-awareness and can’t recognize itself. You think you’re not me, but that’s just because your perception is limited. You can’t comprehend that you are me. The stars in the sky can’t comprehend it either, but once they do, they’ll realize they are me."

"Enough nonsense!" Shenlei glared at Qi Yuan. "Want me to use my lightning techniques to help you understand?"

"No need, I’m not addicted to gaming, so I don’t need electroshock therapy," Qi Yuan joked. "Just kidding, I’m merely creating my own Qi Yuan Sutra and had a sudden realization."

He definitely wasn’t ready to withstand the Grand Venerable's lightning.

"You people in the Dragon Group of China are truly full of talent!" Shenlei said. "Twenty-one legendary visualizations? These incredibly precious visualization methods could create twenty-one true gods or even Grand Venerables. You’d better think carefully about which worthy people you give them to."

"No need. I’ll just pick some at random. Why make it so complicated?" Qi Yuan replied.

Shenlei was dumbfounded.

Qi Yuan said confidently, "Some people are powerful, not because they’re special, but because I chose them."

"That’s such a waste of these visualizations!" Shenlei protested.

"It’s not a waste. There are plenty more where these came from. In the Heavenly Court, there are the Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirits, Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends, Sixty Jiazi Gods, and a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and generals. As long as there’s enough evil god power, I can visualize anyone."

But for Qi Yuan, the three things he lacked most were: evil god power, treasures to break through to the true god stage, and a method for him and the powerful Heavenly Court deities to break through to that stage.

"You sure like to boast. A hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and generals? If the Mortal Heart World had those, the Great Flood War wouldn’t have been such a disaster!"

"See? Your perception is limited. Everyone has their own limitations," Qi Yuan said, assuming the role of a motivational speaker, offering Shenlei a free lesson.

"Old man… I’m done with you!" Shenlei stormed off, not wanting to stay near Qi Yuan any longer. He feared he might catch whatever madness Qi Yuan had.

Qi Yuan called Qi Qi over and spoke softly, "I have a task for you. Gather three female cultivators with good looks and eighteen male cultivators. The only requirements are good character and a pleasing appearance. They don’t have to be perfect—just get it done within an hour."

There were too many gods in the Heavenly Court, and it would be too time-consuming to find the perfect ones.

This time, since Shenlei Grand Venerable wasn’t going to the Hundred Flowers Festival as a bodyguard, Qi Yuan needed to pick out some bodyguards for himself.

Now was the time to choose them.

What criteria should he use? Good looks and good character were all that mattered.

As Qi Qi left, Qi Yuan reflected on his experience in the Visualization Mountain.

"The Eighteen Arhats consumed so much evil god power. A single true god's evil god power is down to less than one-third."

Unfortunately, evil god power couldn’t be traded.

It could only be obtained by him or his followers killing evil gods.

"I hope that at the Hundred Flowers Festival, I can find some evil gods who don’t know their place," Qi Yuan mused.

He needed a vast amount of evil god power to visualize more deities.

Before long, twenty-one villagers, led by Qi Qi, arrived. The people looked puzzled and curious.

Zhao Zun, dressed in coarse cloth, seemed unremarkable in the crowd. He looked at the legendary god in front of him with admiration and curiosity.

He was originally from the Zhao family, a prominent family in Feiwu City, but his parents died early, and his adoptive father seized his inheritance. With the help of a loyal old servant, he escaped to Chenxi Village, near Feihuang City, where he hid his identity.

Qi Yuan looked at these people and spoke slowly, "Most of you are from Qingshui Village or have been with me for a long time. Today, I’m going to give you some benefits."

Qi Yuan spoke casually.

Just as he did in Liufeng World, he wasn’t too concerned about the loyalty of his subordinates.

But as a guardian deity, in a certain sense, these people were all his followers.

Over time, their faith in him would grow.

This was somewhat similar to the evil gods’ assimilation.

Hearing Qi Yuan's words, the crowd was a bit confused.

Zhao Zun, however, felt a surge of excitement and joy. "Could it be... a visualization method!"

Coming from a prominent family, he knew the importance of visualization methods.

A powerful visualization method could create a true god.

Was the guardian deity about to bestow such a method upon them?

Zhao Zun was both anxious and excited.

But he also realized that the twenty-one of them would likely share the visualization method, dampening his enthusiasm slightly. Still, it was something to be happy about.

With the visualization method, he might be able to break through to the Purple Palace realm, or even the mid-stage Purple Palace, giving him the strength to seek revenge.

Just as he was thinking this, twenty-one golden visualizations appeared in the air.

These twenty-one visualizations radiated a terrifying aura.

Especially two of them, where the golden light seemed almost tangible, delivering a powerful impact.

Zhao Zun was stunned for a moment. "Legends? Twenty-one?"

He was shocked.

Everyone else was also stunned.

The strongest golden light fell into Zhao Zun's eyes.

He couldn't believe it, unable to comprehend.

Such a powerful visualization method was just… easily given to him? He had never even spoken directly with the guardian deity!

This level of visualization method could easily cause a rift between true god brothers! He couldn’t understand but was deeply moved, along with a profound sense of recognition.

Finally, someone recognized Zhao Zun's extraordinary nature! He felt a surge of pride and was immensely grateful to Qi Yuan, his benefactor.

He vowed not to disappoint Qi Yuan's trust.

"Start visualizing now," Qi Yuan’s voice commanded.

Zhao Zun didn’t hesitate and began visualizing immediately.

Not far away, Shenlei Grand Venerable flashed back near Qi Yuan, staring at Zhao Zun. "The visualization method he’s using... it's quite extraordinary, not like a typical legend."

"His is the Subduing Dragon Arhat. Among the Eighteen Arhats, the Subduing Dragon Arhat is considered the strongest and has the richest mythical significance," Qi Yuan explained.

"Such boldness, daring to take the title of 'Subduing Dragon'! If I’m not mistaken, there’s a group of vicious dragons in the North Sea’s Divine Eye. If you bring him along, he might provoke those dragons," Shenlei said, watching Zhao Zun closely. "However, his visualization method is indeed remarkable, surpassing ordinary legends."

Qi Yuan remained silent, watching as the group sat in the shrine.

His experience points soared rapidly.

Unfortunately, he was stuck at level eighty-nine, unable to break through the final barrier.

The next morning, under the blood-red light of dawn, Qi Yuan looked at the twenty-one people in front of him with anticipation. "Not bad, all of you are now at the peak of the Purple Palace!"

This is the power of legendary-level visualizations, even when only one person visualizes them.

Given enough resources and time, they could even produce Grand Venerables.

In other words, these twenty-one people all had the potential to become Grand Venerables! Shenlei Grand Venerable looked at the twenty-one people, unable to calm his mind.

These visualizations were given away as casually as handing out carrots?

"Perfect timing, I have five treasures left. You can use them to break through to the true god stage."

Qi Yuan tossed the five treasures, which landed in the hands of three women and two men—the ones who had visualized the Subduing Dragon Arhat and Subduing Tiger Arhat.

The three women were overjoyed and immediately began breaking through.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Three beams of divine light shot into the sky as the three women successfully broke through and entered the true god stage.

Meanwhile, Zhao Zun and the other man were sweating, their faces pale.

Despite holding the treasures, they couldn’t absorb them, as if the treasures were rejecting them.

It was the same situation as Qi Yuan.

Shenlei Grand Venerable was astonished. "The Subduing Dragon Arhat... his talent is so extraordinary that even this treasure can’t help him break through to the true god stage."

Not only the Subduing Dragon Arhat but also the Subduing Tiger Arhat faced the same issue.

Both Arhats couldn’t use the treasures; there was no reaction.

"What a pity," Qi Yuan sighed, looking at Zhao Zun and the other man. "Don’t blame yourselves; it’s the high-level visualization method that makes these treasures ineffective."

Hearing Qi Yuan’s words, Zhao Zun felt a mix of emotions.

This was truly... absurd.

For him, he wasn’t sure if this was good news or bad news.

"No matter, there will be other opportunities to break through in the future." Qi Yuan retrieved the two treasures.

He pointed at two other men. "You look the happiest, and you have long eyebrows, so you two can break through first."

The two men, who had visualized the Happy Arhat and Long-Browed Arhat, were thrilled as they received the treasures.

With the treasures, they quickly broke through to the true god stage.

Immediately, a terrifying aura spread throughout the area.

Shenlei Grand Venerable was amazed. "These people aren’t ordinary true gods. They’ve only opened one divine aperture, yet they can already fight against those with three apertures."

The true god stage is divided into seven steps, with a vast difference between each step.

Even within the first step, the gap can be enormous.

After all, the difference between eleven divine apertures and one isn’t just elevenfold—it’s far greater.

"Your names are too complicated for me to remember, so I’ll give you titles. From now on, you’ll go by these titles!" Qi Yuan declared casually.

He was ambitious and wanted to recreate the Heavenly Court.

"You shall be Subduing Dragon Arhat, and you, Subduing Tiger Arhat, Deer-Sitting Arhat, Long-Browed Arhat..."

Qi Yuan bestowed titles upon them, even giving names to the three beautiful women.

However, the former Four Heavenly Kings were now women, which felt a bit strange.

In his mind, Qi Yuan silently apologized to the original Four Heavenly Kings. He only borrowed their names because he had a bad memory.

"With my bodyguard team complete, let’s go to the Hundred Flowers Festival!" Qi Yuan commanded.

This time, he set off for the Hundred Flowers Festival with the Four Heavenly Kings, Eighteen Arhats, and his goddaughter Qi Qi.

The group quickly prepared and set off grandly for the North Sea’s Divine Eye.

Meanwhile, outside Qingshui Village, the villagers tearfully bid farewell to Qi Yuan.

Zhu Zhuangshi watched as the large black dog stood in front of him, feeling particularly annoyed.

He eyed the Four Heavenly Kings and the Eighteen Arhats with envy.

"Guardian Deity, I... I’ve always been loyal!" Zhu Zhuangshi shouted.

This time, Qi Yuan had bestowed twenty-one visualization methods, shocking the entire village.

Not only the village but Feihuang City as well.

Zhu Zhuangshi was green with envy.

The village chief, Yulei, stood silently by, also feeling jealous.

Nearby, Shen Tu whispered to the village chief, "Should we tell the guardian deity about the ancestral land?"

Originally, they planned to wait until the guardian deity broke through to the true god stage before revealing the secret, intending it to be a pleasant surprise.

But now they thought it would be better to tell him right away, to gain favor and familiarize themselves with him to earn the visualization method!

"When the guardian deity returns, we’ll tell him immediately!" Chief Yulei decided. No more pretending to be mysterious or waiting for the right moment—direct action was the way to go!

After all, this was a visualization method, a chance to become a true god!

...

"This rain is getting heavier."

A stream of light flew through the air. The Many-Heard Heavenly King, Magic Li Hong, dressed in red, held an umbrella, shielding Qi Yuan from the rain.

She looked worried. "Lord, it doesn’t seem like this rain will stop anytime soon."

Zhao Zun spoke up, "This area is close to the North Sea, where it rains constantly. According to legend, it’s related to the death of the evil dragon’s son."

"Oh?" Qi Yuan was intrigued. "Was the third son of the Dragon King skinned?"

"In the North Sea, a group of flood dragons resides. One of them came to the mortal realm to cause trouble, committing all sorts of atrocities. But it was killed by the Third Miss of the Phoenix Clan. Since then, the North Sea Dragon Clan and the Phoenix Clan have been at odds. This place is where the evil dragon was killed, so it often experiences storms, making it hard to have a good harvest."

Hearing this, Qi Yuan glanced at Qi Qi.

This story was interesting.

Should he consider visualizing Nezha and giving him to Qi Qi?

But then he remembered that Qi Qi was his goddaughter, so maybe not.

Nezha was quite rebellious.

Qi Yuan didn’t like rebellious daughters—he preferred them to be obedient.

Just then, a light, airy voice echoed through the air.

"My friend, you are mistaken. The constant rain here has nothing to do with the North Sea Dragon Clan; it’s solely due to the slain evil dragon. That dragon had great talent, especially in water-based abilities, and had the potential to become a Grand Venerable with dominion over rain. After it was killed here, this place has been plagued by endless rain."

As the voice spoke, three figures appeared before Qi Yuan.

Leading them was a true god, who looked clean-cut and upright, with a tall, straight figure.

Beside him were a boy and a maidservant.

The god scanned Qi Yuan and his group, his eyes flickering with curiosity.

"I am Ye Liuyun. Greetings to all," he said, his gaze lingering on Qi Yuan.

He was very curious about this group.

After all, the leader seemed ordinary, yet he was accompanied by six true gods, each of whom looked extraordinary.

The other followers, all at the peak of the Purple Palace, also seemed quite remarkable.

Especially the one who had just spoken—although he was only at the peak of the Purple Palace, for some reason, Ye Liuyun felt a twinge of fear.

Qi Yuan looked at Ye Liuyun, his eyes filled with surprise. "Are you from the Dragon Clan?"