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

Chapter 389: The Gate of Principles, or Just My Underworld Gate?

"The Gate of Principles can indeed block the marks, but... sigh, finding the Gate of Principles is too difficult. This gate is the top of all unique treasures, pursued by countless Yang Gods," the Wise True Lord said.

Even with his brilliant mind, the Wise True Lord had no idea where to find the Gate of Principles. This showed just how elusive the gate was.

Qi Yuan frowned. The Gate of Principles that the Wise True Lord spoke of was probably the same as the Gate of Myriad Forms he had encountered in the Flowing Wind Realm.

When he had meditated on the Gate of Myriad Forms, Qi Yuan had seen some hidden information about it. It could be any gate.

So perhaps, the so-called Gate of Principles was just a role-playing facade of his, after all.

"I’ve seen it before, in a game," Qi Yuan murmured.

"A game?" the Wise True Lord was puzzled.

"Yeah, what if I go back into that game? Maybe it’ll respawn as an in-game item. No, wait, maybe it’s still there!" Qi Yuan said.

He clearly remembered the ending of the game.

Bai Ze had been manipulated by the Stone of Fate, and the Great Sun Lotus had incinerated everything. The Great Sun Lotus was a relic left behind by the Great Sun Light Buddha, who was a Yang God-level powerhouse.

The Great Sun Lotus could burn the entire Flowing Wind Realm to ashes. In the end, Qi Yuan had swallowed the Great Sun Lotus, used the game reward to create the Key of Myriad Forms, opened the Gate of Myriad Forms, and left the Flowing Wind Realm with the Golden Canary, heading to an unknown universe.

The Wise True Lord pondered, "Can an in-game item really be real?"

"Maybe... who knows? Isn’t the real world just a giant game? For all we know, the world we’re living in might be some massive online game!

"When we play games on our jade disks, maybe our world is just another big jade disk!" Qi Yuan said earnestly.

The Wise True Lord held his head. "Stop talking, I feel like my brain is about to burst!"

His brain wasn’t just figuratively expanding; it felt like it was literally trying to break through his skull.

"You're right! Geniuses like us shouldn’t think too deeply. Carbon-based human bodies just can’t handle it!" Qi Yuan agreed, nodding. It was like back on Blue Star, when people would start thinking about the universe, galaxies, or black holes, and their heads would start hurting.

"Can you return to that game?" the Wise True Lord asked. "If you could, would you be able to take control of the Gate of Principles?

"It’s said that the Gate of Principles has appeared many times throughout the river of ages, but no Yang God has ever been able to claim it. After all, it’s rumored that whoever gets the Gate of Principles can become the ruler of the higher realms!"

The Gate of Principles was said to be the greatest of all unique treasures. Every Yang God who reached the Principle realm would leave their insights on the Gate of Principles.

If one were to obtain the gate, they could understand the Principle paths of all the Yang Gods.

That’s why all the Yang Gods considered it the top treasure and desired to claim it. Even if they couldn’t possess it, they would want to destroy it. Otherwise, if another Yang God got it and spent tens of thousands of years comprehending it, it could pose a significant threat to their own Principles.

"The Gate of Principles? Isn’t that just the door to my Underworld?" Qi Yuan suddenly exclaimed.

He realized that he really was a genius among geniuses.

You know how when girls hang out together, if one of them gets her period, the others might sync up and get theirs too?

The Wise True Lord, being around him, had probably inspired a sudden flow of genius in Qi Yuan’s mind, making everything so clear.

And just in time too—his Underworld didn’t have a proper gate yet.

The Gate of Myriad Forms, which was said to be able to become any door, could easily serve as his Underworld’s entrance, right?

It had claimed to be any gate. That was the proof.

All he needed to do was treat the Gate of Myriad Forms as his Underworld gate, sprinkle some purple energy around, and watch the Yang Gods flock like fish in a river.

If he wanted to trick an enemy, the easiest way would be to place the Gate of Principles in front of their doorstep.

Any Yang God would see it and think, "Oh my, the Gate of Principles with purple energy! I’ve struck gold!"

They’d rush right in, only to find themselves in a chilling, eerie Underworld.

Or, better yet, Qi Yuan could make the gate lead to the universe where his stars were located.

When they entered, all his stellar golden cores would attack them at once!

What a joyous scene that would be.

"Uh, isn’t that a bit... exaggerated?" The Wise True Lord, for the first time, doubted Qi Yuan’s intelligence.

After all, this was the Gate of Principles they were talking about.

But then he thought for a moment.

"Actually, what you’re saying makes sense. If you can capture it, it could indeed become the door to your Underworld.

"The real challenge, though, is... how do you catch it?"

The Gate of Principles had existed for eons and had appeared in the higher realms many times. With so many powerful beings up there, none of them had been able to capture it.

"Why catch it? It’s already my door!" Qi Yuan replied seriously.

He had the Key of Myriad Forms—wasn’t that proof enough that the Gate of Myriad Forms belonged to him?

"Sigh, it’s always been mine. It’s just been wandering off for a bit of fun," Qi Yuan said earnestly, almost convincing himself.

And judging by the look on the Wise True Lord’s face, he had succeeded in convincing him.

The Wise True Lord looked at Qi Yuan suspiciously. "It’s really your gate?"

"Of course!" Qi Yuan nodded.

"When can I visit your house?" the Wise True Lord asked.

"My place is still under renovation. Ahem, maybe in a while," Qi Yuan said awkwardly.

His house’s door was missing, after all.

...

"Could it be that you’re also a supreme treasure?"

In his room, Qi Yuan pulled out the game jade disk and examined it carefully.

Then he shook his head. "It’s just a broken game console. How could it be a supreme treasure?"

If a game console was considered a supreme treasure, that would really cheapen the concept.

According to the Painter and the Wise True Lord, a supreme treasure was worth as much as a Yang God in the Principle realm.

A Yang God from the lower three heavens could use a supreme treasure to bring an entire sacred land up to the middle three heavens.

In Qi Yuan’s imagination, supreme treasures had an aura of grandeur, like something out of a fantasy.

Like how celestial maidens in the higher realms surely didn’t fart or use the bathroom.

Looking at the game jade disk, Qi Yuan’s gaze became a bit more complicated.

The game icon for the Flowing Wind Realm had already turned gray.

That meant he had completed the game, and there was no way to re-enter the Flowing Wind Realm through the game jade disk.

"Looks like I’ll have to search for it like a needle in a haystack."

There was another method to find the Flowing Wind Realm.

That was to cast his stars across all the heavens, illuminating the myriad realms. Wherever his light shone, that place would be revealed to him.

Currently, Qi Yuan’s stellar projection only reached Canglan Realm. His ten suns didn’t extend to other realms yet.

However, doing something like this could be seen as a provocation.

After all, the stars that shone over the myriad realms had long established rules.

The sun was the sun, the moon was the moon, and comets were comets.

Now, Qi Yuan was throwing ten stars out there, and all of them were suns.

What was that supposed to mean? A challenge to the Great Sun?

But Qi Yuan didn’t care.

By now, he understood that the Great Sun was associated with that figure from Taihuang Palace, the one behind the Great Calamity.

Since he’d be confronting them soon anyway, what harm was there in provoking them a bit in advance?

Of course, projecting stars across the myriad realms wouldn’t automatically reveal the coordinates of every world.

It would only work if a Yang God had visited that world before.

"People of the myriad realms are in for a blessing!"

"Ten more suns in the sky mean ten more blessings!"

"Maybe it’ll get so hot that there’ll be even more men and women pushing the boundaries, which is good for reproduction!"

"Isn’t that what the Heavenly Dao loves most? Reproduction!"

"We should stop stigmatizing boundary-pushing behavior!"

At this moment, Qi Yuan looked up at the myriad stars.

He noticed one that was rather unremarkable, dim compared to the others.

A gentle smile appeared in his eyes.

In Gongxing, the upper realm’s Yu Mengxian had marked that star for him—it was the Moon Maiden’s star.

"Perfect. While casting light on the myriad realms, I’ll also visit Jin Li’s star.

"The only regret is that I don’t have enough stars, just ten. I can’t even form words or patterns in the sky like a drone show."

Qi Yuan muttered to himself.

The Golden Canary appeared beside him.

By now, Qi Yuan could summon the Golden Canary and Ning Tao whenever he wished.

At this moment, the Golden Canary was dressed in a cute yellow dress. "Hehe, we can finally visit Nine Coil Mountain again.

"Ning Tao is up on your golden core, helping you locate the Flowing Wind Realm!"

"Why do you call her by her full name when you’re the same person?" Qi Yuan asked, puzzled.

The past and present selves were technically one.

If not for intentionally blocking it, the two versions would essentially share the same experience.

Of course, after dividing the past and present selves, the past self had kept the appearance of the Golden Canary.

The Golden Canary didn’t answer and instead asked, "Do you like me more, or Ning Tao more?"

Qi Yuan sighed. "You might as well ask if I’d save you or my mom if you both fell into a river!"

"Fine, I won’t bother you anymore. Go on and cast light on the myriad realms. Miss Ning and I will help you together," the Golden Canary said, her expression becoming serious.

"Alright!" Qi Yuan’s expression also grew serious.

Illuminating the myriad realms was no small matter.

This signaled the birth of a Yang God raising their divine throne!

There was a big difference between raising a divine throne and not doing so.

...

In the Upper Realm.

The Sixth Heaven.

Taihuang Palace.

A stream of light passed through the sky, descending onto a mountain peak.

The entire peak was engulfed in flames.

The trees seemed to be made of fire, growing in the form of blazing trees, burning grass, fiery fruits, and flame birds.

In the midst of the fiery peak, celestial music echoed.

A man in a golden robe sat at the head of the table, his gaze deep as he looked down at nearly a hundred mythical figures below him, a hint of smugness in his eyes.

"Everyone, this Taihuang Gathering will present some interesting developments."

The man in the golden robe was one of the mythical beings of Taihuang Palace.

Among the remaining mythical beings, aside from the Yang Gods, he ranked in the top ten.

Yang Gods rarely made themselves known to the world.

These gatherings, where the major forces communicated, were handled by these mythical beings.

These weren’t ordinary myths. Each one cast light upon the myriad realms, representing their respective powerful forces.

"Oh? What good news?" a mythical being from the Demonrace asked with a smile in his eyes. "Could it be that you’ve slain a Yang God from the Moon Maiden Palace?"

The Demonrace, like Taihuang Palace, was in direct conflict with the Moon Maiden Palace.

It was said that this feud had started in a small lower-world realm.

As for the Moon Maiden Palace, the Demonrace had declared open war against them.

Taihuang Palace and the Moon Maiden Palace had also been in a state of war.

The other mythical beings present represented forces that had close ties with Taihuang Palace.

Though they hadn’t directly participated in the war with the Moon Maiden Palace, they had provided resources and support.

"No, no," the man in the golden robe said with a smug smile. "But it’s even bigger than that!"

"Could it be that the Moon Maiden Palace’s leader has fallen?" someone suddenly asked, growing excited.

The other mythical beings looked at him with exasperation.

The moon in the sky was still shining brightly!

How could their leader have fallen?

Moreover, that level of being wouldn’t fall so easily.

The man in the golden robe shot the speaker a sidelong glance, clearly annoyed.

His news was big, but comparing it to the fall of the Moon Maiden Palace’s leader made it seem less impressive.

"That figure hasn’t fallen. However, the Heavenly Sovereign has said that they were gravely injured!"

The golden-robed man announced, sitting proudly in his burning throne.

"What? They’re injured?"

The mythical beings were all shocked.

Such an existence, rarely seen in the world, was almost impossible to wound.

One could say that even the death of an ordinary Yang God wasn’t as significant as that being sustaining an injury.

"I don’t know the specifics of how they got hurt, but the news is accurate.

"For millions of years, Taihuang Palace has been at war with the Moon Maiden Palace. Right now, Taihuang Palace holds the upper hand.

"And that figure has been wounded.

"So, you may want to consider forming an alliance with Taihuang Palace to attack the Moon Maiden Palace!

"Of course, you can relay this news to your Heavenly Sovereigns," the golden-robed man said with satisfaction.

The purpose of this Taihuang Gathering was to form alliances, gather resources, and jointly attack the Moon Maiden Palace.

The main goal was to get the Yang Gods from other forces involved in the battle.

Now that the leader of the Moon Maiden Palace was injured, it was the perfect opportunity.

"A being with a Creation Treasure was injured?" a mythical being said in disbelief.

Creation Treasures were what the Painter had referred to as supreme treasures.

For countless years, Taihuang Palace and the Moon Maiden Palace had been at war, but to these mythical beings, it was nothing more than skirmishes.

Taihuang Palace had a Creation Treasure, and so did the Moon Maiden Palace. Neither side could gain a decisive advantage.

But now, the leader of the Moon Maiden Palace, who possessed a Creation Treasure, had been wounded.

The implications of that were unimaginable.

"We don’t know how they were injured, but the information is reliable.

"Now is the time for us to form a close alliance.

"Your Heavenly Sovereigns should get involved too.

"There’s no need to go deep into the core regions of the Moon Maiden Palace. Just focus on the outer areas," the man in the golden robe said with pride.

The mythical beings present began to breathe more heavily.

The Moon Maiden Palace’s domain was vast and boundless.

If the leader of the Moon Maiden Palace was indeed injured, then perhaps the Yang God Heavenly Sovereigns they served would indeed enter the fray and claim a piece of the pie.

"I will report this to my Heavenly Sovereign. If it’s true, heh, we’ll need to keep an eye on each other!"

"Don’t worry about the core regions; Taihuang Palace will handle that. You just need to focus on the outer areas!" the man in the golden robe said, his smile widening.

Once this news spread, there was a good chance that this Taihuang Gathering would be a great success.

If successful, Taihuang Palace would gain considerable support, and the Moon Maiden Palace would face an overwhelming assault, leading to a drastic shift in the balance of power.

Just then, the mythical being who had earlier suggested the Moon Maiden Palace’s leader had fallen suddenly spoke up again.

"Why does it feel like it’s getting hotter?"

"This is Taihuang Palace; it’s normal for it to be a bit warm," another mythical being replied.

"It’s just... isn’t it getting a bit too hot? Hey… what’s that in the sky?" the old man suddenly looked up, his beard trembling as his face filled with shock.