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

Chapter 239: Reflections

"The blood star... is gone!"

"Gone!"

In the Mortal Heart Realm, in the southern lands, all the ancient gods and even ordinary people looked up at the sky.

Where there had once been a massive tear in the heavens, where a gigantic blood-red sun had loomed, it was now completely gone.

What this meant, the ordinary people did not understand, but how could the ancient gods not know?

An elderly man wept openly, tears streaming down his face. "The evil god... is gone!"

The evil god that had ravaged the Mortal Heart Realm for tens of thousands of years, the one who was even beyond a true god...

Gone.

He returned, not too long ago, when the heavens were torn open and that terrifying being beyond a true god had roared in fury.

The Origin Heavenly God, dressed in a blood-red robe, had entered the tear in the sky from the northern lands.

Five thousand gods followed behind him, swearing to slay the evil god!

When the ancient gods of the Mortal Heart Realm first glimpsed the corner of the eye of that being beyond a true god, they knew.

This battle was unwinnable.

The power of that being beyond a true god was beyond comprehension.

Its body was larger than the entire Mortal Heart Realm.

The ancient gods, born and raised in the Mortal Heart Realm, could combine all the resources they had ever gathered, and it would still not equal even a fraction of the power of that being beyond a true god.

In such a battle, defeat was inevitable.

Yet now...

That blood-red sun that had shone over the Mortal Heart Realm for thousands of years was gone.

The Mortal Heart Realm had won.

The Origin Heavenly God had won.

But...

"The Pear Mountain Great Sovereign... has fallen."

"The White Xi Revered One... is gone!"

The elderly man, his hair and beard white, rushed into his cave dwelling. When he saw that all thirty lanterns hanging in the room had gone out, his heart was filled with sorrow.

The ancient gods who had gone to the northern lands had left a wisp of their essence in these life lanterns.

The extinguished flames in the lanterns meant that they had died in battle beyond the heavens.

The elderly man looked up at the sky, hoping to see the ancient gods falling like shooting stars back into the realm.

But, sadly, he was destined to be disappointed.

In Feihuang City, Huang Mengling, the city lord's daughter, stood in reflective silence.

She recalled the first time she had seen that young man.

He had been eating at a banquet.

She had invited him to leave Qingshui Village, which was in great danger, to come with her to the city and even recommended him to join the Ancient Gods Alliance.

That strange ancient god had refused, acting in a mad and reckless manner.

But who would have thought he could...

The memories of those days still lingered before her eyes, as if in a dream.

At that moment, a weak voice sounded in Huang Mengling's ear.

"My injuries have healed by about thirty percent. Has the Flying Spirit Palace sent any evil gods?"

The voice belonged to Ancient God Yuan, who had been injured and in a deep sleep.

When Feihuang City had faced a crisis, she had briefly awakened, but had quickly returned to her slumber.

Even while healing, she had been constantly worried about the situation in Feihuang City.

Knowing that the Origin Heavenly God had slain the descending evil gods, she expected a fierce retaliation from them.

Hearing Ancient God Yuan's question, Huang Mengling was momentarily at a loss.

She didn't know how to respond.

After hesitating for a moment, she finally said, "The evil gods... are gone."

"Gone?" Ancient God Yuan's voice was filled with confusion and disbelief.

Suddenly, she looked up at the sky, her expression shifting to one of shock, and then horror.

In her ears, Huang Mengling's somber voice continued.

"Yesterday, the Origin Heavenly God led the ancient gods of several villages in a counterattack against those beings beyond true gods... They left the heavens and have not returned."

...

Night had fallen, and the ancestral land of the ancient tribes was silent.

It wasn't time for the ancestral land to be opened, so the place was empty, devoid of people.

Suddenly, a flash of blood-red light appeared, and Qi Yuan materialized within the ancestral land.

His expression was neither joyful nor sorrowful as he gazed around.

"Indeed, this is the ancestral land. Even now, I can sense an intense danger here."

The ancestral land was filled with countless Puppet Gods lying in wait.

Right now, Qi Yuan was a Yang God, and yet he wasn't.

In his battle with The Blood Sun Great Saint and The Blood God Great Saint, he had essentially taken a shortcut.

These two had coveted the Mortal Heart Realm for so long that they had absorbed too much of its innate energy. Thus, they had been immobilized by Qi Yuan's power of "all beings are me" and subsequently slain.

But that immobilization wasn't permanent.

The idea of turning the two into puppets was out of the question.

The likes of Shenlei Great Venerable, Zhu Zhuangshi, and others had used the evil gods' assimilation technique, willingly becoming a part of Qi Yuan.

This was true assimilation into "me."

The innate beings represented infinite possibilities.

In the Canglan Realm, if ordinary Yin Gods had submitted to Qi Yuan and used assimilation, they couldn't have become a part of "me."

"All beings are me" was essentially a law, but it only applied to the Mortal Heart Realm.

If this law were universally applicable across all realms, or even all universes, it wouldn't be just any ordinary law.

Qi Yuan's gaze swept across the ancestral land, his expression profound and contemplative.

He then moved to a specific spot that was now empty.

"There used to be a tower here... but now it's gone."

"The aura here... feels familiar."

The vanished tower gave Qi Yuan a sense of familiarity.

"Is this the Visualization Technique?"

Qi Yuan murmured, beginning to understand.

At his current level of understanding, the law of conservation of energy still applied.

The Visualization Techniques that had appeared out of nowhere had drawn their power from certain special towers in the ancestral land.

"This civilization's ancestral land is quite remarkable. I wonder... is it even from this universe?"

Qi Yuan mused, lingering in the ancestral land for a moment before disappearing.

"Why hasn't my quest to protect Qingshui Village been marked as complete yet?"

The night was dark and quiet.

Qingshui Village was particularly serene.

But just outside the village, a number of ancient gods had gathered.

Most of these ancient gods carried a sense of reverence, as if they were on a pilgrimage, looking toward Qingshui Village.

"A single village has produced so many Great Venerables. Qingshui Village... should be considered a sacred place in the Mortal Heart Realm."

"Sadly, we won't see them return."

Some lamented, their hearts filled with sorrow.

But among them, two ancient gods with sly, cunning faces secretly communicated.

"With the Origin Heavenly God being so powerful, there must be some secret in Qingshui Village!" One of the ancient gods' eyes gleamed with greed, and his body trembled with excitement. "Wang Can, your divine domain excels in stealth. With so many ancient gods here, use your domain to sneak into Qingshui Village. We'll split whatever we find evenly!"

Wang Can hesitated. "The Origin Heavenly God just saved the world. What we're about to do... doesn't seem right."

"Gratitude is gratitude, but profit is profit... Any opportunities in Qingshui Village would be wasted if left alone. We might as well take them!" The man’s eyes were filled with avarice.

"But... if we're discovered, we won't be able to stay in the Mortal Heart Realm!"

"Hmph, we're communicating in secret. What are you afraid of? No one can hear us plotting.

Even if we take the opportunities from Qingshui Village and are discovered, so what? If we become the next Origin Heavenly God, what could those other ancient gods possibly do? Even if the Origin Heavenly God were to return, what then?" The man spoke excitedly.

If it weren't for Wang Can's special divine domain, the man would have acted alone, sneaking in by himself.

A flash of greed crossed Wang Can's eyes, and he finally made a decision. "Let's do it!"

As they secretly communicated, preparing to continue, they suddenly stopped.

Not far from Wang Can, a slender woman was holding a fox.

At that moment, the woman's body trembled slightly, and goosebumps appeared on her skin under her brown dress.

Wang Can's expression suddenly changed, and he expanded his divine domain.

He focused on the fox the woman was holding.

The fox was his Heart Fox!

The Heart Fox could hear the mental transmissions of other cultivators!

"Zhao Qingyu, what did you hear?" Wang Can's divine domain remained active, his eyes filled with hidden killing intent.

Zhao Qingyu's body trembled as she held the Heart Fox tightly. "Senior, I heard nothing."

She was terrified and furious, just wanting to flee.

"Is that so?" Wang Can smiled. "It seems there's been a misunderstanding."

But he didn't retract his divine domain.

Clearly, he intended to keep Zhao Qingyu there.

However, at that moment, a voice suddenly sounded.

"No wonder my quest isn't complete yet. It turns out... some still covet my Qingshui Village."

As the voice echoed, a figure in a blood-red robe appeared.

The man had long hair and an exceptionally handsome face, resembling a demonic god descending to earth.

Wang Can and the other ancient god froze in shock.

They were both utterly stunned.

"Origin Heavenly God!"

It was the Origin Heavenly Sovereign—he was still alive!

Zhao Qingyu was trembling, her eyes shining with hope.

She wanted to tell the Origin Heavenly God about the conversation she had overheard, but she couldn't find the words.

However, at that moment, a flash of blood-red light passed.

"Don't think I can't hear you just because you were whispering behind my back."

Wang Can and the other ancient god's eyes widened in terror.

A blood-red aura surged into their divine domains, shattering them as if they were made of thin paper.

Their minds filled with fear, and their bodies fell, lifeless.

Even in death, they couldn't understand how the Origin Heavenly God had known about their plot.

They had been whispering in secret, and Zhao Qingyu had been under control.

With Wang Can dead, the pressure on Zhao Qingyu disappeared. She looked at Qi Yuan, bowed deeply, and said, "Thank you, Heavenly God, for saving my life!"

At that moment, streaks of light flashed by, and it was clear that the other ancient gods near Qingshui Village had noticed something was missed.

When they saw Qi Yuan, they were either shocked or overjoyed.

The Origin Heavenly God was still alive!

"Greetings, Origin Heavenly God!"

"Greetings, Heavenly God!"

A dozen ancient gods gathered near Qi Yuan.

Qi Yuan gave them a casual glance.

An elderly man stepped forward, hunched over. "May I ask, Heavenly God, what happened to the evil gods?"

The disappearance of the blood sun suggests the fall of those beyond true gods.

But they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, so they were still anxious.

"Dead," Qi Yuan said calmly.

Upon hearing this, the ancient gods felt a weight lifted from their hearts, but Qi Yuan continued.

"Qingshui Village is my territory. No unauthorized persons are allowed inside."

The quest to protect Qingshui Village is not yet over.

The other ancient gods had little reaction to this; they were still processing the news of the evil gods' demise.

At that moment, Qi Yuan seemed to remember something. "Earlier, I promised to hold banquets in some of the cities, but I never had the chance to follow through.

Would you be willing to help me with this?"

Upon hearing this, many of the ancient gods felt a surge of joy.

Zhao Qingyu quickly stepped forward. "It would be an honor for me to serve the Heavenly God in this matter!"

The Heavenly God was still alive.

It was clear who now reigned supreme in this realm.

"I leave it in your hands."

Qi Yuan waved his hand.

"Everyone, please return."

His form disappeared once again, reappearing inside Qingshui Village.

The place where it all began.

The quiet Qingshui Village was no different from any ordinary village.

The crops in the fields were growing vigorously.

"If my quest is to protect Qingshui Village, then I should move the village."

"I am Qingshui Village, and Qingshui Village is me!"

As Qi Yuan spoke, Qingshui Village began to undergo a strange transformation.

The stones, bricks, mud, earth, trees, and spiritual rice all began to fade, being absorbed into Qi Yuan's divine domain.

Qi Yuan's face paled momentarily before returning to its normal color.

At that moment, the game notification sounded.