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

Chapter 354: I Am Who I Am, Truly Myself, No Past Life

This mission issued by the base was quite special.

It resembled the story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai in some ways, though mainly in the relationships between the characters. The goal for the mission-takers was to protect “Zhu Yingtai” and ensure that he wasn’t killed by “Ma Wencai,” while also tracking down Ma Wencai.

Qi Yuan used Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai as a comparison because, in this story, Ma Wencai was a horse demon.

After entering the game world, the first thing Qi Yuan did was arrest “Zhu Yingtai.”

To avoid unnecessary trouble, Qi Yuan knocked her out and then stuffed her into a sack.

Of course, Qi Yuan was a kind person who took the detainee’s feelings into account and never forced them to do anything against their will.

So, before knocking out “Zhu Yingtai,” Wang Yuanyu, Qi Yuan thoughtfully brought out several sacks and asked her which color she liked.

It could be said that Qi Yuan was quite democratic and considerate.

Ultimately, after Wang Yuanyu chose a black sack, Qi Yuan carried the unconscious Wang Yuanyu and traveled a thousand miles.

He killed and slaughtered, almost wiping out the demons of this world.

After killing all the demons, Qi Yuan finally went to find the horse demon's lair.

Naturally, the horse demons were no match for him, and he slaughtered them all.

As for “Ma Wencai,” Ma Longhun’s demonic family, Qi Yuan exterminated them entirely.

The only regret was that Ma Longhun had disappeared without a trace.

To find Ma Longhun, Qi Yuan used a two-pronged strategy.

First, he had someone impersonate him and create the Demon Suppression Court to search for Ma Longhun.

At the same time, Qi Yuan secretly had someone bury Ma Longhun’s family under the name of the “Holy Rite Church.”

The Holy Rite Church was a small religious group that advocated for the peaceful coexistence of humans and demons, promoting harmony with nature.

Hmm… the majority of the church's members were human.

During the war between humans and demons, when the human race was in decline, the church spread the message that humans should cease resisting to achieve peace with the demons.

After the Holy Rite Church buried Ma Longhun’s family, Qi Yuan applied through special channels to become the cemetery’s caretaker.

He sat there, waiting for Ma Longhun to come and pay his respects to his demonic relatives and parents.

Unfortunately, three years passed, and Ma Longhun was still nowhere to be found.

The Demon Suppression Court also hadn’t been able to locate Ma Longhun.

“Exterminating an entire family is truly a technical job. I did all this preparation, and I still can’t find a single person,” Qi Yuan sighed.

Just then, he heard soft footsteps approaching.

“Sir, it’s time to eat.”

Wang Yuanyu, dressed in a long, wide-sleeved green robe with a white jade belt around her waist, walked over. Embroidered on her belt was a special bird.

Looking up, her head was covered by a black sack, revealing only her eyes and mouth. From a distance, her face was completely obscured.

This black sack was chosen by Qi Yuan after kindly asking her preference. He did this to ensure Wang Yuanyu’s safety and also to avoid scaring off Ma Longhun.

Wang Yuanyu carried three dishes and placed them in front of Qi Yuan.

A faint aroma filled the air, and the plates held strange and unusual dishes.

The dishes included stir-fried old cicadas, deep-fried dung beetles, and steamed crawling insects.

Qi Yuan looked at the dishes, his eyes filled with helplessness. “Are you a bird or something? Why do you make insect meals every day?”

Wang Yuanyu reluctantly replied, “It suits your status.”

“Sigh, I’m keeping you here for your own good,” Qi Yuan said, attempting to guilt-trip Wang Yuanyu.

As a Blue Star person, Qi Yuan was well-versed in the art of moral coercion.

“I’m doing this for your own good.”

“You’re so rich, why don’t you donate more?”

Wang Yuanyu’s expression grew complicated. “Why did you knock me out and bring me here?”

She was still confused.

Several years ago, she had been out enjoying the spring with her friends when she encountered a strange man.

That man was Qi Yuan.

At the time, Qi Yuan had been holding several sacks and asked her which one she liked.

She found it bizarre but chose one anyway.

Then, she blacked out.

When she woke up, she found herself in this cemetery.

“I was entrusted by an old friend to protect you,” Qi Yuan said softly. “The outside world is too dangerous. Once I’m sure you’re safe, I’ll let you go.”

Wang Yuanyu looked at Qi Yuan, her expression changing several times before she finally said nothing and quietly left.

About fifteen minutes later, Wang Yuanyu returned to her bamboo house.

This house was located deep within the cemetery.

When Wang Yuanyu entered the house, a shadow suddenly flickered, and an old woman with a slightly bird-like beak appeared.

“Madam, have you completed the investigation?” Wang Yuanyu asked.

The shadow was none other than Wang Nanny, who had come from the Origin Land to protect Wang Yuanyu.

“Miss, this gravekeeper seems to be… a descendant of the Death Qi World bloodline,” Wang Nanny reported.

“Death Qi World?” Wang Yuanyu asked in surprise, hearing the name for the first time.

“To avoid the Dawn’s Cry, the Martial Lords of the Origin Land united and pulled those with fated ties from the End Realm into the Death Qi World to carry out tasks. Their mission seems to be protecting you, which is why he brought you here. Given the turmoil in the Mountain River Scroll and the dangers in the Origin Land, it might be better for you to stay here until your master regains their strength before returning,” Wang Nanny explained.

Though Wang Yuanyu appeared to be an ordinary figure in the Mountain River Scroll, in reality, she was a descendant of a powerful Martial Lord from the Origin Land.

“Hmm,” Wang Yuanyu nodded.

With Wang Nanny’s presence, her memories were gradually resurfacing.

“Miss, I’ve located Tukuang. He’s deeply concerned about your safety. Shall I bring him to see you?” Wang Nanny inquired.

Tukuang was, in Qi Yuan’s eyes, the Liang Shanbo of the story.

He was Wang Yuanyu’s classmate and had been pursuing her romantically for some time.

Hearing Tukuang’s name, Wang Yuanyu hesitated.

Sensing her uncertainty, Wang Nanny continued, “Tukuang, like you, is one of only two people in this world with a direct Martial Lord bloodline, and he can enter the Origin Land. He’s someone worth befriending. Everyone else is fake.”

In the Mountain River Scroll, everything was false.

Only Wang Yuanyu and Tukuang were real and could enter the Origin Land.

Wang Yuanyu furrowed her brow. “So he’s also a direct descendant of a Martial Lord. I didn’t expect that. What about Qi Yuan? He’s a bloodline descendant. Can he enter the Origin Land?”

Wang Nanny’s eyes flickered with caution. She replied, “Among the bloodline descendants, only a few direct bloodlines can enter the Origin Land. Most are ordinary people. Qi Yuan bears no Martial Lord’s mark and cannot enter the Origin Land, not even as a servant.”

Hearing this, Wang Yuanyu felt a trace of disappointment.

She understood that aside from those with direct Martial Lord bloodlines like herself, others, even powerful warriors, could not enter the Origin Land.

In the Mountain River Scroll, unless one became a Martial Lord, they remained an illusion, unable to transform the false into the real and enter the Origin Land.

“That reminds me, the head of the Demon Suppression Court, who slaughtered all the demons of this world, has remarkable talent. He likely bears the mark of a Martial Lord and can be taken into the Origin Land. However, he probably belongs to another Martial Lord and cannot be made a servant,” Wang Nanny said.

As a Martial King, Wang Nanny spoke with confidence, feeling no fear of the Demon Suppression Court’s head.

After all, she hailed from the Origin Land and had learned Martial Lord-level techniques.

To her, the Demon Suppression Court’s Martial King was weak and insignificant.

“What a pity,” Wang Yuanyu remarked, though it was unclear whether she was referring to Qi Yuan or the head of the Demon Suppression Court.

“Miss, we’re currently weak and need external help. Tukuang would be a great ally. I suggest you maintain a good relationship with him. Our calculations indicate that he’s the destined child of this Mountain River Scroll world,” Wang Nanny urged.

“But… won’t Mr. Qi oppose him coming here?” Wang Yuanyu asked, feeling uncertain.

Wang Nanny paused for a moment before replying, “Miss, there’s no need to concern yourself with the feelings of a lower bloodline descendant. This world belongs to us, the direct bloodlines. It’s a Martial Lord’s world. Lower bloodline descendants are nothing more than… drops of blood. They don’t even qualify to enter the real world.”

The Mountain River Scroll was a fabricated world.

The real world, of course, was the Origin Land.

“Wang Nanny, don’t say such things. He has protected me, after all. He’s my benefactor. As for Tukuang, I’ll ask Mr. Qi’s opinion myself,” Wang Yuanyu said, her voice carrying a hint of anger and authority.

Wang Nanny immediately lowered her head and trembled.

Though her strength surpassed Wang Yuanyu’s, the pressure of bloodline superiority remained.

…

Seven days later, a gentle rain fell.

Wang Yuanyu sat in a pavilion, gazing absentmindedly at Qi Yuan outside.

Strange noises came from Qi Yuan’s direction, but Wang Yuanyu had grown used to them.

“You’ve consumed 100 drops of demon blood, gaining 100 days of cultivation.”

“You’ve consumed 1,000 drops of demon blood, gaining 1,000 days of cultivation. Your power has increased significantly.”

Moved by her thoughts, Wang Yuanyu approached Qi Yuan and asked, “Mr. Qi, may I ask you a question?”

Qi Yuan opened his eyes and looked at Wang Yuanyu, whose face was obscured by the black sack.

“I’m in a good mood today, so I’ll allow you, an NPC, to ask me one question,” he said.

Indeed, his mood was good. According to his calculations, today was his wedding anniversary with Xiaojia and Canary.

“If one day you discovered that the world was all false, carefully designed and constructed… how would you react?” Wang Yuanyu asked, voicing her doubts.

“Oh, you, an NPC, have finally awakened, realizing that this world is false. Good, good, you’ve made progress!” Qi Yuan regarded Wang Yuanyu with newfound respect.

He had played this game for a long time, and none of the NPCs had ever realized that it was just a game.

Wang Yuanyu felt both amused and helpless at his response.

She was, after all, a direct descendant of a Martial Lord and was part of the real world.

People like Qi Yuan and the others in the Mountain River Scroll were the false ones.

“The world has always been false. In this world, only I am real. And whoever I deem real… is real,” Qi Yuan said calmly. “This is how I’ve always approached life. It works well.

“When I see villains or enemies, I simply declare, ‘You demon, I can see at a glance that you are not real!’”

Wang Yuanyu pondered his words.

In recent days, her memories had been returning.

She felt a sense of confusion.

In her past life, she and Tukuang had been a pair of immortal lovers, deeply in love. However, a horse demon had hunted them down, tearing them apart and killing them.

Later, their ancestors had placed their true spirits into the Mountain River Scroll, hoping to resurrect them.

As long as the three of them retraced their steps, they could transform the false into the real and be revived in the Origin Land.

But… when she thought about Tukuang now, she felt nothing.

Tukuang was indeed quite handsome, but compared to Mr. Qi Yuan, he was like a fairy next to a toad.

After seeing Qi Yuan’s incredibly handsome face, she couldn’t summon any feelings for Tukuang.

Now, she was starting to wonder if her past self had truly loved Tukuang.

“Mr. Qi, do you believe in past lives?” Wang Yuanyu asked again.

Qi Yuan shook his head firmly, his expression resolute. “I am who I am, from the moment I became conscious. I have no past life.”

How could he have a past life?

He had transmigrated here, not reincarnated.

Every day, he checked himself in the mirror, and his sharp eyes gave him useful information. All the signs pointed to him being an ordinary transmigrator from Blue Star, with no grand origin or powerful past life.

Wang Yuanyu paused, then continued, “I’ve awakened some memories of my past life. In them, I was deeply in love with someone. But now, when I see him, I feel nothing. Does this mean… I’ve fallen out of love?”

Wang Yuanyu looked troubled.

Qi Yuan was so handsome, how could she not feel anything?

Tukuang? He was nothing compared to Qi Yuan.

Qi Yuan glanced at her. “Do you have a new love interest?”

“No.”

“Well, then it’s not that you’ve fallen out of love. It just means that you never loved him in the first place. Those memories are false,” Qi Yuan said seriously.

Like Ningtao, who, upon regaining her past life memories, was overwhelmed by love.

To Qi Yuan, true feelings, even after countless years and trials, wouldn’t fade but would only grow stronger.

However, he also believed that such feelings were rare and unrealistic.

“False memories?” Wang Yuanyu murmured.

“The reason you’re troubled is that… you’re not strong enough. If you were big enough and strong enough, omniscient and omnipotent, all your troubles would disappear. Girl, I see great potential in you. Want me to gift you a grandma to help you cultivate?” Qi Yuan asked, his eyes sparkling.

Wang Yuanyu had exceptional talent.

Qi Yuan had a hunch that there was something special about her.

So he thought about whether to give her his daughter’s Nascent Soul.

“Become stronger?” Wang Yuanyu asked, puzzled.

“Yes. If you’re big enough and strong enough, every problem will disappear,” Qi Yuan replied earnestly.

“I understand becoming stronger, but what does being big enough mean?”

“Oh, that’s a profound cultivation insight. For ordinary people, omniscience and omnipotence are considered the pinnacle of strength. But I disagree. The true pinnacle is… being big enough. If you’re big enough, you’re the strongest.”

“???” Wang Yuanyu was bewildered.

Suddenly, Qi Yuan recalled a joke from Blue Star: “Girl, check your layers to avoid lightning.”

Talking about the vastness of the universe should naturally lead to checking out legs, right?