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

Chapter 218: Meeting the Foodless Holy Mother Again

"What?"

Venerable Huanghun was a bit confused.

"Do you really think that with the Divine Essence Elixir, we can defeat the evil gods? You overestimate us!" Venerable Huanghun laughed.

Fire Lotus Venerable gave Huanghun Venerable a look. "Who said it was for you?"

Even if the twenty-odd ancient gods present all advanced to Venerable level, it still wouldn't change the overall situation in the Fanxin Realm.

"This time, I'll take you all to a place. When we get there, don't act rashly. Follow my instructions." Qi Yuan addressed the gathered ancient gods and villagers.

This time, after annihilating two evil god camps and the evil gods at Sunset Slope, Qi Yuan had accumulated a significant amount of evil god energy. Since Shenlei Venerable mentioned saving some slots for the Myth Plan, Qi Yuan decided not to take more than his share and instead use the Lost Glow Rod to travel back to the past to visualize.

Back then, the Heaven Pillar hadn't collapsed, and visualization wouldn't be restricted.

Upon hearing this, the ancient gods were stunned. It wasn't the distribution of Divine Essence Elixir?

The expectation in their eyes visibly faded. However, no one dared to question Qi Yuan.

Shenlei Venerable looked at the ancient gods and couldn't help but say, "A bunch of unambitious people, what's a Divine Essence Elixir worth?"

Venerable Huanghun wanted to retort, thinking that Shenlei Venerable didn't need the Divine Essence Elixir, but as ordinary Venerables, they did. However, fearing Shenlei Venerable's power, Huanghun Venerable kept silent.

"Don't worry, this time's reward won't be less than the Divine Essence Elixir." Qi Yuan reassured them.

Under the curious gazes of the crowd, Qi Yuan took out the Lost Glow Rod. The gathered ancient gods and villagers looked at the Lost Glow Rod with curiosity, their faces filled with wonder.

The Lost Glow Rod emitted a glow that enveloped everyone. Time and space began to shift.

The scene before them suddenly changed.

"Where is this?"

"How strange, why can't I touch the flowers and trees here?"

"Wait, is that... the Heaven Pillar!"

The ancient gods and villagers looked at the towering mountain in front of them with astonishment in their eyes. That mountain was none other than the Heaven Pillar!

Wasn't the Heaven Pillar already collapsed? How could it suddenly reappear?

Everything before them was beyond their expectations.

Qi Yuan calmly addressed the villagers and ancient gods. "Don't worry. We've just traveled back to the past."

Time travel was something Qi Yuan often did and had become accustomed to, but the villagers and ancient gods were taken aback.

"Back to the past..."

"Unbelievable..."

The stronger they were, the more they realized their own insignificance. In the myriad worlds, even shadow gods (Peak Yin Gods with a star) were just tiny specks of dust. To mortals, true gods might seem omnipotent, but in reality, there were many things they couldn't do. Traveling through time was a profound ability beyond the reach of shadow gods. In the eyes of these ancient gods, even Yang gods would struggle with it.

Now, Qi Yuan had taken them back in time. How could they not be shocked?

"I obtained this treasure from the Ancient One's ancestral land, allowing us to return to the past. However, we can only observe; we can't interact with or perceive the past," Qi Yuan explained, not hiding the existence of the Lost Glow Rod.

The villagers and ancient gods looked at the Lost Glow Rod with awe. They had heard of the Ancient One's ancestral land, known to be full of dangers, but they hadn't expected it to contain such a powerful artifact. The only downside was that they couldn't interact with the past, making many tasks impossible.

"The Heaven Pillar hasn't collapsed yet, so take this opportunity to train well. It might greatly improve your strength," Qi Yuan suggested.

So, they were to train in the past? Was this the reward? The crowd didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Only Shenlei Venerable seemed to understand something. He transmitted to Qi Yuan, "You're not planning to visualize a god from your Huaxia Dragon Group, are you?"

"Correct," Qi Yuan replied.

"It's true!" Shenlei Venerable was astonished. "I missed it last time, but this time... I want to witness it myself."

Qi Yuan chuckled.

He entered the Visualization Realm.

This time, he was directly in the Visualization Realm, without any chat group distractions.

Qi Yuan looked at the towering mountain before him, intrigued.

"It seems the Heaven Pillar and the Visualization Realm are connected to the Ancient One's ancestral land. Otherwise, many things would be unexplainable," he murmured.

Setting aside all other thoughts, Qi Yuan began to visualize.

This time, he had brought thousands of villagers and thirty ancient gods. For the villagers, except for a few who were familiar to Qi Yuan, he planned to customize visualizations for them. The rest would be visualized as Heavenly Soldiers, Thirty-Six Heavenly Marshals, Seventy-Two Earth Fiends, Sixty Jiazi Gods, Twenty-Four Cloud and Rain Guardians, and Thirty-Six Thunder Generals, among others.

Qi Yuan had countless gods in his memory, including gods from the Heavenly Court, as well as ancestors from the Honghuang era, and primordial deities. He never lacked material for visualizations.

"Let's start by visualizing something powerful for Old Man Shenlei. Who knows when he might suddenly kick the bucket?" Qi Yuan pondered over which deity to visualize for Shenlei Venerable.

There were many gods associated with thunder—Five Thunder Emperors, Five Thunder Kings. Among them, Qi Yuan had the most vivid memory of Lei Zhenzi and Jiutian Yingyuan Leisheng Puhua Tianzun. The former, in Qi Yuan's memory, ultimately achieved bodily sanctification and was incredibly powerful. The latter was the supreme commander of the Thunder Department, revered as Lei Zu. He was one of the incarnations of Nanji Changsheng Dadi, one of the Six Royals, and held an incredibly high status.

The Six Royals were the Jade Emperor, the Heavenly Emperor, Ziwei Emperor, Qinghua Emperor, Changsheng Emperor, and Houtu Huang Diji. The incarnation of such a powerful figure was a tier above the likes of Tianpeng Marshal.

"Jiutian Yingyuan Leisheng Puhua Tianzun it is!" Qi Yuan decided.

This deity was most suitable for Shenlei Venerable's path.

Qi Yuan closed his eyes and began to visualize the terrifying deity. In his understanding, such a deity far surpassed sun gods and couldn't even be described as merely mythical.

"Jiutian Yingyuan Palace, Supreme Jade Purity King. Shaping and perfecting the ten directions, teaching the Dao and spreading it through nine phoenixes."

As Qi Yuan chanted softly, in the Visualization Realm, there were no shadowy figures beside him. However, above the sky, terrifying dark clouds began to gather, as if brewing a world-shaking thunderstorm.

The air was still.

The Visualization Realm fell into a dead silence.

Qi Yuan looked at the Visualization Mountain and saw it transforming into thunder.

What was once a mountain had become a manifestation of thunder.

"Condense!"

Suddenly, a majestic voice echoed in Qi Yuan's mind.

Qi Yuan was taken aback.

Why wasn't the Visualization Mountain asking the two questions anymore? It directly condensed the visualization?

This unexpected development caught Qi Yuan off guard.

Originally, when Qi Yuan summoned the sun projection to kill the evil gods at Sunset Slope, he did it partly to kill enemies and partly to capture a trace of the "Great Forgetting Heart Sutra's" essence. After all, when returning to the past, he wouldn't be able to use the Stellar Golden Core to illuminate himself and pass the two questions.

But who would have thought that by merely visualizing this deity, the Visualization Mountain would be... assimilated?

Or perhaps... subdued?

Without even asking the two questions, it directly condensed.

So hasty?

Qi Yuan had imagined that a shadow of the deity would appear, but there was no such thing. There was no commotion, just a regular, ordinary visualization method.

In the Visualization Realm, Shenlei Venerable was puzzled.

Earlier, Qi Yuan had said he would help him visualize a god. Although he had outwardly expressed indifference, he was actually looking forward to it. He didn't have high demands—not a myth or even a legend, just an epic would suffice.

But Qi Yuan had been in there for quite a while, and no golden light had appeared in the Visualization Realm. Could it be... just an ordinary one?

Shenlei Venerable pouted.

If Qi Yuan really gave him an ordinary visualization method, he was considering how to give him the cold shoulder without angering him. After all, he was a Venerable and needed to maintain some dignity. If he had to grovel, it should at least be done in private.

"This kid better not be messing with me!"

"Though I said I didn't care about the reward, I was just being polite."

Shenlei Venerable muttered to himself.

Suddenly, his eyes widened.

Because, in front of him, the Visualization Mountain... had cracked.

The Visualization Mountain... had split open!

What was going on?

Thunder God Venerable was shocked.

Meanwhile, Qi Yuan was also surprised.

"This Visualization Mountain isn't very sturdy. It cracked just from visualizing one of the Six Royals' incarnations?"

Qi Yuan found it absurd.

If he remembered correctly, the Visualization Mountain was still intact when he was in Qing Shui Village. Now, after visualizing just one of the Six Royals' incarnations, it had broken?

Wasn't the Heaven Pillar supposed to make it more durable?

"Maybe... I should test it again?"

"Perhaps the Visualization Mountain is just being playful and wants to crack."

...

At the Heaven Pillar, a woman in a red dress stood with a cold expression. The breeze played with her hair, making her look particularly lonely.

Just then, a resigned voice spoke.

"Foodless Holy Mother... leave the Heaven Pillar."

"The collapse of the Heaven Pillar is inevitable. Why do you persist? This is draining your divine domain!"

Venerable Ling Zhong appeared, his headless form adding to the eerie atmosphere.

"I made a promise to him that I would guard the Heaven Pillar. The day it collapses will be the day I fall." Foodless Holy Mother looked at the Heaven Pillar, her eyes tinged with a hint of youthfulness. But the aura she exuded was that of a mythical being.

Venerable Ling Zhong looked at Foodless Holy Mother's stubborn expression and sighed. "Why tie your life to the Heaven Pillar? You are the world's favored one. One day, you might have a chance to reach beyond true godhood."

Foodless Holy Mother smiled sadly. "There's no chance."

"Why are you so stubborn?" Venerable Ling Zhong lamented. "The Heaven Pillar is teetering. It won't be long before it collapses."

Foodless Holy Mother looked at Venerable Ling Zhong, her expression calm but her voice resolute. "You should leave. There's no need to persuade me."

"Why? Why risk your life for someone who may not even exist? The world favors you; the hardships of your youth were just tests from the world. The one who helped you wasn't someone else; it was the world, and it was you. I even asked the Fanxin Elder, and he said... the person you've been looking for doesn't exist. It's just a figment of your imagination from your youth!" Venerable Ling Zhong tried to convince her.

"No!" Foodless Holy Mother's voice became sharp. "A promise I made will be fulfilled!"

Her gaze deepened.

She was always one to keep her promises.

No matter the cost, she would fulfill them, even if it meant her life.

She looked at Venerable Ling Zhong. "You should leave. If you take one more step towards the Heaven Pillar and cause it to waver, I won't spare you!"

Venerable Ling Zhong sighed. "You're making enemies of the other myths. The Heaven Pillar doesn't belong to you. Occupying it for ten, a hundred years is fine, but for a thousand or ten thousand years? That's going too far."

"Let them become enemies. As long as I'm strong enough, who dares to oppose me!" Foodless Holy Mother's gaze was filled with the aura of a ruler.

Seeing this, Venerable Ling Zhong said no more and disappeared.

The towering Heaven Pillar was left with only Foodless Holy Mother standing alone.

Suddenly, the Heaven Pillar shook violently, and Foodless Holy Mother's face turned pale as if the pillar was about to collapse.

But amidst her pale complexion, she forced a smile.

"I knew it. It's not just my imagination."

Meanwhile, in the Visualization Realm, just as Qi Yuan was about to visualize another deity, a familiar female voice echoed in his mind.

"If you continue visualizing now, the Heaven Pillar will collapse."

"Foodless Holy Mother?" Qi Yuan was startled.

It was Foodless Holy Mother's voice.

Hearing her voice again, Qi Yuan felt a mix of emotions.

He had witnessed Foodless Holy Mother's fall, and seeing her again stirred deep feelings within him.

"I'm at the Heaven Pillar. Come find me." Foodless Holy Mother's voice trembled slightly.

Qi Yuan, recalling the matter of the Heaven Pillar, decided to go meet Foodless Holy Mother.

What if he really caused the pillar to collapse?

Qi Yuan exited the Visualization Realm.

On the Heaven Pillar, Foodless Holy Mother seemed to hear something. Her face turned pale, but then the pallor faded, replaced by a radiant smile.

Because a familiar voice reached her ears.

"Could it be that I haven't revealed my identity this time?" Qi Yuan looked at Foodless Holy Mother, curious.

Because this time, if he met Foodless Holy Mother, why hadn't she recognized him in their last encounter?

Or were timelines parallel?

"What identity?" Foodless Holy Mother asked, intrigued.

Qi Yuan began to study Foodless Holy Mother.

Compared to their first meeting, she seemed a bit younger, but her power was still that of a myth.

"I mean, if I told you we've met in the future, would you believe me?" Qi Yuan said casually. "By the way, where's my recliner? Get me one."