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

Chapter 71: Ascension Platform, The Final Step

Qi Yuan easily sliced through two Foundation Establishment cultivators like cutting vegetables.

The event happened so suddenly that Jiang Lingsu was left dumbfounded.

Hearing Qi Yuan's shout, she blinked her large eyes, looking pitiful.

"Senior brother, I didn't see anything, and I know nothing!"

Could it be that senior brother has been possessed by an old demon?

This was Jiang Lingsu's first thought.

Killing two Foundation Establishment cultivators with a kitchen knife was too fierce!
No wonder his body emanated such intense killing intent, it didn't seem fake.

She had naively thought that senior brother had simply played too many games, resulting in a body full of killing intent.

He must be going out hunting every day while she was cultivating.

From the way senior brother killed earlier, if an Essence Core cultivator was unprepared, they might even be ambushed and hurt.

Jiang Lingsu looked at her senior brother, feeling a bit nervous.

Qi Yuan was also stunned, his face anxious: "Junior sister, how can you not take responsibility after doing such a thing to your senior brother?"

Jiang Lingsu observed her senior brother's expression, which didn't seem faked.

It was hard to imagine that this was the same person who had just suddenly killed two Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Could her judgment be wrong, or was this old demon just too adept at disguising?

She secretly activated the Kunqian Mirror.

The result showed that her senior brother was at the peak of the Qi Refining stage, his soul was intact, and there were no signs of possession.

This left her both shocked and delighted.

Shocked at how formidable her senior brother was.

Delighted that her senior brother was not possessed by an old demon.

Jiang Lingsu couldn't figure it out. She recalled her senior brother's actions carefully.

There didn't seem to be anything special about it, but he had managed to kill two Foundation Establishment cultivators with a kitchen knife.

"Senior brother, why are you so formidable? If it's a secret, you don't have to tell me."

"I'll tell you if you promise to take responsibility for me," Qi Yuan insisted.

Jiang Lingsu held her forehead; yes, the original senior brother was back.

"I... will take responsibility," Jiang Lingsu said, feeling strange as if she had slept with her senior brother and then refused to acknowledge him.

"Because in the game, I experienced endless killing.

Every day, it was kill, kill, kill!

Constant killing, I don't know how long it went on." Qi Yuan spoke seriously, his tone a bit weary.

Really in the game jade slip?
Jiang Lingsu looked at Qi Yuan, feeling an inexplicable heartache.

Thinking of the one on Seven Colors Peak, who was her convenient master, she suddenly realized.

The skills her senior brother showed when killing the two Foundation Establishment cultivators weren't particularly advanced, but his combat techniques were seamless.

Without endless combat and killing, such techniques couldn't be honed.

The game jade slip her senior brother had must be extremely precious, allowing daily combat to sharpen oneself.

Such a valuable jade slip must have been given by that mysterious master on Seven Colors Peak.

But Jiang Lingsu was puzzled. Why train so many combat skills at the Qi Refining stage?
"Senior brother, you are truly amazing. In regions where the immortal path flourishes, you'd be considered a true prodigy!"

Of course, there was an unspoken sentence she didn't say.

Senior brother could only be considered a juvenile prodigy, far from those who had truly grown.

Her senior brother's combat power far exceeded that of an average peak Qi Refining cultivator.

While it's rare, Jiang Lingsu had seen many who could fight above their level.

If it were one of the prodigies she knew, she might accept it more readily.

But in her original understanding, her senior brother was just an ordinary little genius, now suddenly showing prodigious combat power, she could only imagine a lot.

Thinking of this, Jiang Lingsu suddenly felt enlightened, everything became clear.

Her senior brother being that master's disciple, it's normal for him to be comparable to prodigies.
Senior brother, with the combat power of a prodigy and an exceptionally handsome appearance, seemed like a very good man.

Thinking this, her heart rippled again.

Qi Yuan, hearing Jiang Lingsu compare him to prodigies, said: "Junior sister, no need to flatter me, just take responsibility as promised!"

Jiang Lingsu felt her imagined scene shatter: "Senior brother, you'd be better without a mouth."

"Whether I have a mouth or not, you must take responsibility!

You were the one who urged me to come, you're the mastermind, I'm the accomplice!" Qi Yuan loudly proclaimed.

Jiang Lingsu rolled her eyes at Qi Yuan, her gaze filled with countless emotions.

"I killed these two," Jiang Lingsu said softly.

Before coming, she had already planned how to deal with the aftermath of the murder.

Naturally, she wouldn't blame the Shen Guang Sect but take full responsibility.

Qi Yuan, hearing this, felt relieved: "I happened to pass by, I can testify it was these two who attacked first, and junior sister had no choice but to fight back!"

Jiang Lingsu was almost immune to her senior brother's logic.

Is this even human language?
From being the murderer to becoming a witness.

Jiang Lingsu and Qi Yuan approached the bodies, and Jiang Lingsu bent down, taking Zhu Lianhua's storage bag.

With a flick of her hand, a jade slip fell into her palm.

Jiang Lingsu showed an understanding look: "As expected, the Bright Palace sent this person to the Great Shang to control it and incorporate it into the Bright Palace."

"What do you mean?" Qi Yuan leaned in.

"The Eastern Lands have thirteen states, the Bright Palace is located in Cuiyun Immortal State, taking half a month to reach the Hundred Nations from there by immortal boat.

The Hundred Nations don't have large sects like the Bright Palace and are constantly at war.

The Great Shang Kingdom is one of the Hundred Nations.

The Hundred Nations are about the size of one state in the Eastern Lands."

"This map is quite large, so does this mean I'm just a country bumpkin from the mountains?" Qi Yuan, having joined the Seven Colors Peak and becoming the senior brother, felt proud, thinking he was a dragon among men.

Hearing this vast world made him lose his pride.

Now he felt like a vice leader of a small study group in a village elementary school.

Destroying the Black Mountain Sect?

It was like fighting with the chubby neighbor kid and going to his house at night to beat up his chickens.

"Senior brother, don't belittle yourself. The forces in the Hundred Nations aren't insignificant, the only regret is the lack of Purple Mansion level cultivators." Jiang Lingsu comforted him.

In the thirteen states of the Eastern Lands, the Jiang family is considered a major clan.

But in the eyes of true experts, it could be destroyed with a snap.

Jiang Lingsu even believed that the future disaster of the Canglan Realm might already be foreseen by supreme experts.

But those experts, even if they knew, might not tell them, the "weak."

"I'm not belittling myself, I feel pretty good." After feeling disappointed, Qi Yuan felt a sense of security.

The bigger the world, the less conspicuous he was.

Less likely to encounter terrifying experts.

Keep a low profile and develop.

"The Bright Palace wants to support some countries in the Hundred Nations, Zhu Lianhua was sent for this reason."

"Interfering in internal affairs, he deserves to die!" Qi Yuan felt justified in his killing, "Thinking of becoming the lord over my head, the Bright Palace is truly disgusting!"

"And I, I'm actually a member of the Shenhua Association, always opposing the Bright Palace.

Whatever they want to do, I naturally have to sabotage." Jiang Lingsu smiled mischievously.

With a flick of her hand, a peculiar petal fell from her palm, embedding itself in Zhu Lianhua's chest.

"This is the mark of the Shenhua Association. When their bodies are sent back to the Bright Palace and see this petal, they'll know who killed them." Jiang Lingsu said, "Now what we need to do is make sure their bodies are discovered and sent to Lingtian Pavilion."

The second part was simple and easily handled.

Qi Yuan focused on the first part: "Shenhua Association, what's that?"

"The Shenhua Association is an alliance of like-minded cultivators.

Unlike the Bright Palace, the Shenhua Association is very loose with no complicated rules.

Everyone joins the Shenhua Association, hides their identities, communicates, and exchanges resources." Jiang Lingsu explained.

Qi Yuan was intrigued.

It sounded good.

"Junior sister, can I join?" Qi Yuan lacked cultivation methods.

He wanted to join to obtain some techniques.

Jiang Lingsu replied, "Senior brother, your talent is good, but your background... is a bit low."

Qi Yuan was taken aback: "Cultivation also considers background? Kings and princes aren't born special! This Shenhua Association lacks vision, not uniting the majority, won't go far!"

Not accepting him? Demean! Demean hard!
Jiang Lingsu smiled: "Of course, it does. The world is full of geniuses, but what lacks is resources.

But it's okay, once you reach Foundation Establishment, with my recommendation, you should be able to join the Shenhua Association."

"Wow, the Shenhua Association is quite interesting, thanks, junior sister." Qi Yuan, the dragon slayer, finally became the dragon.

"Alright, senior brother, we should leave now." Jiang Lingsu said.

Qi Yuan stopped, somewhat embarrassed: "Junior Sister, shouldn't we loot the corpses?"

Junior Sister is a rich lady, she may disdain looting corpses.

But he is just a poor boy, if he doesn't loot corpses he can't afford to eat.

"There's nothing precious in his storage bag, just one precious cultivation technique jade slip.

The other one is even poorer, just some junk in his storage bag." Jiang Lingsu said.

Her hand turned over, and a pile of messy things came out, mixed with a pile of broken spirit stones, mostly fallen from Wang Shuang's storage bag.

Qi Yuan's eyes lit up.

This is called junk?

But thinking of his knife, which rummages through the garbage pile outside Junior Sister's thatched cottage every night, he fell silent.

Indeed, these things are not even comparable to garbage for Junior Sister.

Children from poor families become adults early, Qi Yuan silently picked up the spirit stones.

"Senior Brother, this is the Bright Palace's basic cultivation technique, Xuantian Light Technique, a Xuan grade lower rank technique, just average.

But it's just for ordinary disciples to cultivate, nothing worth paying attention to.

However, a secret technique within it, the Brilliant Sword, is quite interesting." Jiang Lingsu threw the jade slip to Qi Yuan.

Qi Yuan increasingly felt that he was just a bumpkin, remove the 'like'.

In Shenguang Sect, the best cultivation technique was only Jade grade, and only middle rank.

But this cultivation technique that Junior Sister called average was actually Xuan grade.

Qi Yuan took the cultivation technique and looked at it carefully.

The more he looked, the more surprised he felt.

As expected of a Xuan grade technique, just one cultivation technique contained all kinds of things, Qi Yuan had a feeling that comprehending this cultivation technique completely would gain more than looking at a thousand or even ten thousand low grade techniques.

He suddenly felt that wasting time every day looking at a pile of low grade techniques from Black Mountain Sect was really a waste of time.

Spending several months looking at tens of thousands of low grade techniques would gain less than one Xuan grade technique.

Xuan grade techniques are already so terrifying, how terrifying would Heaven grade techniques be? If he could obtain a Heaven grade technique, wouldn't Qi Yuan be able to deduce the "Qi Yuan Classic" to Golden Core or even Nascent Soul realm by studying it daily? As for the cultivation techniques obtained in the game, they are not of the same origin as the cultivation path, and cannot be used to reference and advance the "Qi Yuan Classic".

Of course, this may also be related to Qi Yuan's current strength being too weak, unable to see through the essence of cultivation techniques.

"Thank you Junior Sister, this cultivation technique is of great use to me." Qi Yuan grasped the jade slip, but thinking of something, he said, "Junior Sister, you are the mastermind, you should also take something."

Jiang Lingsu glared at Qi Yuan.

Still talking about mastermind and accomplice now? She impatiently picked up some junk: "Let's go."

Qi Yuan looked at the corpses of those two again: "Junior Sister, that flower looks quite valuable."

That flower was the symbol of the Divine Flower Society.

Jiang Lingsu was completely speechless: "Senior Brother, I think those two corpses are quite valuable too, why don't you take them back to Seven Color Peak as flower fertilizer, or refine them into puppets."

"No way, I'm afraid the Bright Palace will misunderstand!" Qi Yuan hurriedly refused.

The two returned to Shenguang Sect, but on the way, Jiang Lingsu secretly sneaked outside Jinguangtang and left a letter.

The two left Jinguangtang and returned to their respective rooms.

Jiang Lingsu stood outside the thatched cottage, looking at Qi Yuan's back, a strange look flashed in her eyes.

She killed people together with Senior Brother, and learned Senior Brother's secret.

Now the relationship between the two should be closer than before, right?

"Senior Brother..." She called out softly, preparing to invite Senior Brother to eat together at night.

Qi Yuan stopped, suddenly turned his head: "Junior Sister you misunderstood, I didn't destroy Black Mountain Sect! Although I killed a Foundation Building Perfect Realm today, Black Mountain Sect has many Golden Core elders, each extremely powerful."

"I didn't misunderstand." Jiang Lingsu no longer wanted to mention eating together.

Senior Brother isn't an old monster, how could a Qi Refinement Perfect Realm destroy Black Mountain Sect?

It's impossible to think about.

...

Time passed.

Qi Yuan sat in the thatched cottage, all his attention was on the "Xuantian Light Technique", or rather on a secret technique within it, the Brilliant Sword.

This secret technique was the most powerful magic Qi Yuan had seen so far.

This secret technique could condense one's spiritual power into a brilliant sword to kill enemies!

The condensed brilliant sword was righteous and bright, like a sword of light, emitting the radiance of the great sun, enough to capture souls, making evil demons and heretics fear in their hearts and briefly lose focus, then kill them.

It can be said that the Brilliant Sword also carried a mental attack.

This was the Bright Palace's supreme secret technique, disciples of the Light Palace could all cultivate it.

Moreover, the Bright Palace deliberately spread it outside.

Because to cultivate a stronger version, to advance the secret technique, one needed to make great contributions to the Light Palace.

Knowing these things, during this time, Qi Yuan had been adapting this cultivation technique.

This secret technique was to transform one's righteousness into the radiance of the great sun.

Qi Yuan took a different approach, turning his killing intent into a brilliant sword.

Now, it was finally successful.

At this moment, Qi Yuan's body was full of blood qi.

He left the thatched cottage and came to the place where he often practiced techniques.

"Brilliant Sword!"

A sword emerged, like winter wind cutting human skin and flesh.

Only a blood-red sword appeared, standing in the air, inexplicably terrifying.

With one sword strike, Qi Yuan felt he could easily kill a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

This could be said to be very terrifying. Without relying on the power of the knife, Qi Yuan slaying a Foundation Establishment cultivator, even when they weren't on guard, was not so easy.

Seeing this sword, Qi Yuan nodded with satisfaction: "The adaptation can be considered successful, it's just... blood-red, not like a righteous sword, but more like an evil cultivator's sword.

"No good, in the coming period, I need to find a chance to change this blood sword into a light sword!"

Qi Yuan felt that the main task next was to disguise the blood sword produced by this technique as a light sword.

Then in future battles, he could openly use it, and even imitate Bright Palace to pressure others with righteousness!

Look, I've even condensed my righteousness into a light sword, how could I possibly be an old demon?

Qi Yuan returned to the cottage.

He glanced at the cold moon above Seven-Color Peak, sighing inexplicably: "It's time to kill again. Today... crossing the final hurdle, as long as I defeat the Golden Armored Divine General, I will fully control Tian Jue."

Actually, he felt some trepidation in his heart now.

In the outside world, perhaps less than a month had passed.

But in Tian Jue, he had already been killing for several hundred years, nearly a thousand years.

In Tian Jue, he killed every day.

The enemies he encountered also grew stronger and stronger.

His combat skills had also been honed to an astonishing degree.

Now facing Zang Hua again, he only needed to use 90% of his strength to kill Zang Hua in one move.

It should be noted that Zang Hua was a level 97 God Realm powerhouse.

On the Ascension Stairs in Tian Jue, he killed every day, seeking to learn from opponents, emulate them, then defeat them with one sword strike.

He didn't know how many God Realm beings he had killed.

His combat experience against God Realm had reached the peak, he could kill God Realm beings with his eyes closed.

And his experience pool had accumulated to a terrifying degree.

Unfortunately, his level remained stuck at 99, unable to advance further.

Too much killing made Qi Yuan somewhat weary.

However, thinking of Xiao Jia who had always fought alongside him, he roused his spirits again.

"I am a man who has donned armor, I should slay all enemies!"

Qi Yuan entered the game, holding Xiao Jia's hand as they climbed out of the pit.

Qi Yuan stepped onto the final stair.

As long as he passed the last stair, he only needed to defeat the golden-armored general to fully control Tian Jue.

The last two battles would both be bitter struggles.

Qi Yuan held Xiao Jia's cold little hand as they stepped onto the final stair.

The scene before their eyes changed.

Qi Yuan looked around and saw peak after peak in his field of vision.

The peaks gathered around, surrounding him in the middle.

On each peak sat a God Realm powerhouse.

The auras of these God Realm powerhouses were no weaker than Dragon Judge, Yu, or Tong.

All were peak God Realm, level 99 existences.

For some reason, Qi Yuan even felt their levels might actually be higher than 99, but for some unknown reason were suppressed to level 99.

When Qi Yuan appeared, all the God Realm powerhouses on the peaks opened their eyes.

Thousands of sharp gazes looked at Qi Yuan, making him feel as if thorns were pricking his back.

It was like the Roc in "Journey to the West" who intruded into Spirit Mountain and was surrounded by all the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Arhats. Now he also stood in the center of three thousand God Realm powerhouses.

"Three thousand God Realm beings?" Qi Yuan held his sword, his figure especially straight and tall, a faint bloody color permeating, appearing bewitching yet extraordinarily handsome.

Facing the God Realm powerhouses of the final level, his gaze was especially calm, but looking closely, one could see endless bloodiness within.

But when he looked down at Xiao Jia, a trace of tenderness welled up in his gaze.

"Xiao Jia, let's fight together once more!"