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

Chapter 373: Do Old Men in the Upper Realm Never Bathe?

Qi Yuan's figure stretched across the sky.

In the Origin Land, Master Black Deer and the others looked at the Demon Court with eyes full of amazement.

"Is this the Myriad Demon Realm?"

"The homeland of the Ancestral Demon Lord?"

"We’ve actually arrived in the homeland of the Eastern Lord’s Dao companion!"

As they muttered in surprise.

A surge of spatial ripples appeared above the Demon Court.

The Demon King’s eyes gleamed with excitement.

Because these were the ripples of the Ancestral Master's descent.

The other Purple Mansion cultivators in the Demon Court were filled with awe but also uncertainty.

They had no clue about the Ancestral Master's cultivation level, nor did they know how powerful their opponent might be.

In any case, it was beyond their comprehension.

The spatial ripples intensified, and before the figure appeared, a voice resounded.

"My body is quite large. You all should help out and make room so I can at least get one toe through."

The voice came from the spatial ripple.

Clearly, this Ancestral Master from the upper realm wanted to show off.

He’s big? Bigger than me?

The Demon King and the other Purple Mansion cultivators glanced at the sky, noting the massive figure above. Seeing no reaction, they quickly channeled their demonic energy toward the spatial crack.

Finally, they managed to open a massive gap.

A giant form, as large as a city, squeezed through, blocking out the sun and covering the Demon Court below, obscuring the demons’ view.

"Oh no, the gap’s too small! I only managed to get a toe through!"

The voice carried a hint of pride and boastfulness.

In terms of Earthly lingo, it was a humblebrag.

He was, after all, a Grand Lord who had ascended four steps toward the heavens.

One punch could easily annihilate a nation.

How could there be any worthy opponents in the lower realm?

The Demon King was startled.

Normally, seeing such a large toe would indeed be intimidating, even worthy of worship.

After all, a toe the size of a city was scary.

But compared to the boundless figure in the sky, it was still far too small.

The Demon King glanced at the Demon Queen.

The Demon Queen understood his meaning and transmitted a message, “Perhaps the Ancestral Master is small but fierce.”

Normally, “small but fierce” would be inappropriate here.

But compared to the terrifying giant in the sky, it was actually a compliment.

“I hope that’s the case,” the Demon King thought nervously.

Then, he and the other Purple Mansion cultivators channeled more energy to widen the crack.

Time passed slowly.

Meanwhile, the giant figure in the sky grew even larger.

It was now as large as half the Demon Court.

It blotted out the sun, an utterly terrifying sight.

Such a giant could sneeze and destroy an entire city.

A massive eyeball, like a giant lantern, stared down.

“The light of the Myriad Demon Realm is red? Interesting.”

The Ancestral Master from the upper realm had finally squeezed his entire body through.

He was enormous, maintaining his largest form.

His gaze fell upon the massive, ten-thousand-foot-long serpent in the Demon Court, and he looked at it with a hint of disdain.

The Demon King of the Demon Court had no real sense of scale.

A ten-thousand-foot-long snake? Is that supposed to be big? How pathetic.

People in the lower realm had no idea of true size. But that was to be expected.

"Are you the one who killed my disciple?" the old man said, his voice booming like thunder.

It was as if a storm had swept through the Demon Court, knocking over weaker demons. Some were even killed on the spot, and the scene turned tragic.

The Demon King was alarmed. With just a look, the Ancestral Master made him feel like his soul was on the verge of being annihilated.

“Ancestral Master, I am the Demon King of the Demon Court, not your enemy. I was the one who notified you,” the Demon King quickly explained.

The old man from the upper realm froze for a moment, feeling a bit awkward.

“Oh, then where’s the enemy?”

He scanned the surroundings but didn’t see anything particularly large.

"Could it be that my presence scared them off?"

The old man was filled with pride.

That made sense.

Even in the upper realm, he was a figure of renown.

As a Grand Lord, he could occasionally meet with the legendary Yang Gods.

If a Yang God took notice of him and granted him the right to oversee the myriad heavens, that would be extraordinary.

In the lower realm, it was only natural for enemies to flee in terror.

“Where did they run off to?” the old man asked.

The Demon King glanced at the Demon Queen again.

He was starting to think that small and fierce wasn’t as reliable as he’d hoped.

“They didn’t run off. They’re... in the sky.”

"They ran into the sky?" The old man only half-understood what he was told. His massive body tilted upward, looking at the heavens.

...

“Your sky is quite strange, so red... Oh dear, I just remembered I’ve got a steamed bun I haven’t eaten yet. I’ll eat it first and be back later.”

The old man prepared to leave, making it look like he had more pressing matters.

However, as his colossal body tried to slip back into the space rift, he found himself stuck.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t re-enter the space.

Panic set in, and he nearly started to cry.

At that moment, a voice rang in his ear, “Are you the one who plotted against me?”

The old man froze, too terrified to move. “No, no! Absolutely not, Lord Heavenly Sovereign!”

In the upper realm, Yang Gods were known as Heavenly Sovereigns!

The old man had never imagined that he’d run into a Yang God in such a remote place. What kind of ridiculous coincidence was this? It’s like fishing in a pond near your house, only to find an aircraft carrier floating in it.

The odds are incredibly slim, right? Maybe it’s acceptable if it happens once—after all, the world is full of strange, illogical occurrences.

But... how could the same thing happen twice in the same place?

“Didn’t the Thousand-Eyed Demon Lord go to Canxing to cancel the Martial Arts Tournament and stop me from playing my game?” The massive eyeball stared at the old man.

The old man trembled all over, sweat pouring down his forehead.

In the Demon Court, a stinking acidic rain began to fall.

“I wouldn’t dare plot against a Heavenly Sovereign!” The old man was drenched in sweat, something that hadn’t happened in years.

Qi Yuan remained calm.

The old man wasn’t lying.

Because Qi Yuan’s nose hadn’t grown longer.

"Do old men in the upper realm never bathe? You stink," Qi Yuan said with disgust.

It seemed that civilization in the upper realm wasn’t much better than the lower realm.

In fact, it was more like the pot calling the kettle black.

When he finally ascended to the upper realm, Qi Yuan resolved to improve their standards of cleanliness.

Everyone should value hygiene! Old men and women should bathe once a day!

And when the time came, he’d open a bathhouse and make a fortune.

After all, the elderly were his future "white moonlight" clients.

And if his white moonlight clients didn’t bathe, Qi Yuan found that idea quite disturbing.

“I...” The old man was at a loss for words, not daring to argue.

Cultivators at his level didn’t bathe anymore. In fact, water was dirtier than they were.

“If you’re not the mastermind, could it be someone else?” Qi Yuan wondered, his gaze fixed on the old man.

The old man continued to tremble.

The Demon King, too, was gripped by terror.

Clearly, small and fierce wasn’t working!

“I truly don’t know anything about this Martial Arts Tournament!” The old man cried out in protest.

In his heart, he cursed the Demon King.

“Did I misunderstand?” the terrifying giant mused.

The old man continued trembling.

In his sacred land, the fabled Heavenly Sovereign’s divine form wasn’t even this large.

What kind of monster was this?

Qi Yuan found himself in a bit of a dilemma.

Could he be paranoid? Impossible.

It’s always better to be cautious.

Better to kill by mistake than let the enemy escape.

However...

"Do you know the Ancestral Demon Lord?" Qi Yuan suddenly asked, his curiosity piqued.

He wanted to understand more about the game lore of this world.

According to Master Black Deer, the Eastern Lord’s Dao companion was the Ancestral Demon Lord.

In the ruins, an ancient Purple Mansion demon mentioned that after the Ancestral Demon disappeared, demons from the upper realm took control of the Myriad Demon Realm.

Hearing this, the old man trembled and replied, “I’ve heard of the Ancestral Demon Lord. She was a... Heavenly Sovereign.”

He was bitter.

One Heavenly Sovereign appearing here was already bad enough, but now there was another one?

"A Yang God, huh?" Qi Yuan wasn’t surprised. He then asked, "Do you know who her Dao companion was?"

The old man paused before replying, “I’ve never heard that the Ancestral Demon Lord had a Dao companion.”

In the Origin Land, Master Black Deer and the others were taken aback when they heard this.

“Hmph, this demon is spouting nonsense! The Ancestral Demon Lord’s Dao companion is the Eastern Lord.”

“He must be ignorant!”

Qi Yuan stared at the old man. “Have you heard of the Eastern Lord?”

“I’ve never heard of him,” the old man replied hastily.

“Oh, is that so.” Qi Yuan raised an eyebrow. “Do you know the origins of the Ancestral Demon Lord?”

“This...” The old man racked his brain, clearly terrified.

He knew that lying was pointless in front of a Yang God.

After all, a Yang God could simply search his soul to find out the truth.

“I’ve heard that the Ancestral Demon Lord was not a being of this world.

With powerful divine abilities, she severed the connection to the upper realm, refusing to ascend.

She later disappeared, and that’s when we took over this realm,” the old man explained.

Normally, the lower realms couldn’t produce a Yang God.

One such anomaly, the Ancestral Demon Lord, had already caused enough shock.

But now another one had appeared.

How could he not be terrified?

“My name is Qianlai. I am an elder of the Thirty-Seventh Realm of Boundless Mountain.

Our Boundless Mountain is home to a Heavenly Sovereign who sits in the third heaven,” the old man said, revealing his background, hoping it might spare him.

“Oh, so he’s the mastermind. I’ll give you a chance. Summon him down here,” Qi Yuan said indifferently.

The old man’s face turned dark as he struggled to respond. “I... I don’t have the authority to meet the Heavenly Sovereign.”

Boundless Mountain had over seven hundred realms, and he was just an elder of one of them.

How could he ever meet the legendary Heavenly Sovereign?

"How boring, how boring."

A flash of blood-red light swept through the sky.

The terrifying giant eye in the heavens closed.

In the Demon Court, all the demons froze.

When the giant eye opened again, every demon in the Demon Court, including the unwashed old man from the upper realm, had perished.

A blood-red figure appeared in the Demon Court, breathtakingly handsome.

This blood-red figure was Qi Yuan.

He had come here to investigate whether the Ancestral Demon Lord had left behind any traces.

But after searching around, he found nothing of use.

...

In the end, Qi Yuan didn’t return to Canxing for the feast.

However, he did stealthily grab a serving of pork rice before leaving.

After all, he was heading back to Gongxing, and while lounging in the sky, it was the perfect time to enjoy a meal.

Once he finished his pork rice, Qi Yuan’s figure returned to his home.

"Meow!"

Xie Xinsu’s fur stood on end, and she let out a pitiful yowl.

Robot Zero-One stood quietly, like an elegant housekeeper. “Welcome back, Master.”

The woman in the tight outfit tensed up, her heart racing as she gazed at the overly handsome man before her.

Even now, she couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that her "brother" was the same giant being that had dominated the sky.

"I’m back. I didn’t keep you waiting too long, did I?" Qi Yuan asked softly, looking at the woman in the tight outfit.

After all, she was his creditor.

“No, no!” the woman quickly replied.

“I know you came all this way to see me because you want me to repay my debt.

Sigh, I’m a bit short on funds at the moment. Could I delay repaying you those tens of thousands of yuan for a bit longer?” Qi Yuan asked tentatively.

He still wanted to save up to buy land and build the underworld.

Paying off debts? That wasn’t happening anytime soon.

“No! You don’t have to repay me!” the woman blurted out, almost out of breath from nervousness.

She even began to doubt whether this overly gentle, cautious man was the same being who had swallowed a star.

“There really are good people in this world!” Qi Yuan sighed. “Actually, I’m a good person too. Part of the reason I went to Canxing was for personal reasons.

But... more importantly, I didn’t want our traditional culture to be lost in our generation. I didn’t want the audience of the Martial Arts Tournament to lose such an entertaining event.

By doing this, I’m also contributing to the GDP of the Qin Yuan Nation!”

By the end of his speech, Qi Yuan felt a bit guilty.

After all, claiming it was for GDP sounded a bit far-fetched.

Qi Yuan had heard a story like this before.

Person A took out 100 yuan and said to Person B, "If you eat this dog poop, I’ll give you 100 yuan."

Person B, tempted, ate the dog poop and earned the 100 yuan. But then he felt cheated, so he gave the 100 yuan back to Person A and made Person A eat the dog poop.

Person A, upset about losing 100 yuan, ate the dog poop and got his 100 yuan back.

Neither of them made any money, but they both ate poop. Still, they contributed to the country’s GDP.

Hearing Qi Yuan’s explanation, the woman in the tight outfit could only nod and say “uh-huh,” too afraid to say much more.

As for suggesting that Qi Yuan leave and hide in the Tianyuan Sect?

She didn’t dare bring that up anymore.

"Alright, I need to head back to the Origin Land. Goodbye, see you next time."

With that, Qi Yuan vanished.

He had come and gone in the blink of an eye.

He was eager to see the Eastern Lord’s Wall and find out what the so-called Spiritual Martial Lord was all about.

...

Mountain and Seas Scroll.

The moon shone bright, reflecting off the clear waters of the lake.

A lone boat floated on the lake’s surface, like a brushstroke in a traditional painting.

A woman stood at the bow of the boat, her eyes filled with endless uncertainty.

She gazed into the distance and spoke softly, “How much longer until we see the truth?”

Wang Yuanyu looked at the woman and replied gently, “It could be ten years, or it could be a hundred.”

Within the Mountain and Seas Scroll, countless scrolls began to weave together and connect.

Countless battles unfolded.

When Wang Yuanyu encountered Lu Zhu, a surge of murderous intent welled up within her.

She felt an overwhelming urge to kill her.

But in the end, she suppressed her instincts and chose to cooperate with Lu Zhu.

Because she knew that once they saw the truth, they would face an even greater catastrophe.

“I hope time passes faster,” Lu Zhu said, her clear, bright eyes filled with joy and anticipation.

“Aren’t you afraid that when the worlds converge, you’ll perish along with the falsehoods?” Wang Yuanyu asked. “When that day comes, all the falsehoods might disappear, leaving only one truth.”

“I am afraid, but I still want to see my master and thank him in person,” Lu Zhu said wistfully.

The once-young princess had finally grown up.

Back then, her master had disappeared before she could thank him.

That unspoken thank you had remained in her heart ever since.

"I also want my master to know that Lu Zhu didn’t let him down!"