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

Chapter 378: Group Photo, Myriad Dao Martial God Realm

The atmosphere was heavy and silent on the scene; you could even hear a pin drop.

"Heh... heh... sorry, wrong tone. Let me try again... cough cough."

Qi Yuan let out an awkward laugh.

He was also speechless. He wanted to crack open Old Man Shenlei's head and see what was going on inside. How could he, a mere helpless Nascent Soul cultivator, be compared to an all-knowing and all-powerful god?

"My friends, this was an accident. Old Man Shenlei is a close friend; I once saved his life, so it's normal for him to trust me."

The Martial Lords looked at Qi Yuan, their eyes filled with disbelief.

Among them, Black Deer Martial Lord’s gaze was cold.

"I believe he’s the one who’s been brainwashed by you, Heavenly Sovereign. How can you accomplish what an all-knowing, all-powerful god cannot?"

Several Martial Lords stepped forward, speaking out.

"Can saving someone's life excuse ignoring the facts?"

Hearing this, Qi Yuan couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Hey, aren’t you being a bit hypocritical?
If the Eastern Lord can do what an all-knowing, all-powerful god cannot, why can’t I?"

Qi Yuan was quite displeased.

Sure, he wasn't as strong as an all-knowing, all-powerful god.

But this Eastern Lord didn’t seem to be one either.

Why couldn’t Qi Yuan match up to him?

Qi Yuan’s words left the Martial Lords momentarily confused.

Soon after, a female titled Martial Lord spoke up, "Heavenly Sovereign, your strength is great, but the Eastern Lord... he is a special existence. We can only save this world by following his instructions."

The other Martial Lords echoed her sentiments.

"Heavenly Sovereign, your power is formidable, you can force us to submit, but you can’t change our beliefs!"

These people remained loyal to the Eastern Lord.

If it were anyone else, they might have become angry long ago.

But Qi Yuan remained calm.

"What if I told you that the Eastern Lord's actions weren’t actually to save the world? What would you say?" Qi Yuan asked with interest.

He recalled the profound truths spoken by True Lord Wisdom.

Could the Eastern Lord’s persuasive charm be a form of supreme truth?

"That’s impossible!"

"The Eastern Lord never lies. Even if he acts this way, it’s only to better save the world."

The group of Martial Lords spoke passionately, emotions running high.

Black Deer Martial Lord, who used to be courteous and kind to Qi Yuan, now seemed like a completely different person.

They all seemed brainwashed.

Even more so than fanatical cultists.

There was no reasoning with them.

The only solution...

Qi Yuan shrugged, lazily saying, "What the Eastern Lord says is none of my business.

But until I become the Myriad Dao Martial God, I won’t allow the worlds to merge.

Also, this world... I’m protecting it for now!"

The game’s tasks were far more important than this Eastern Lord, whom Qi Yuan had never even met.

And anyone who could tell a lie convincing enough to deceive themselves was definitely not a good person.

Luckily, Qi Yuan’s nose could always sniff out the truth.

Whatever the Eastern Lord was planning, Qi Yuan didn’t care. But if it interfered with his game tasks, too bad.

The hero had arrived, ready to take on the boss alone.

"If the Eastern Lord has any complaints, let him come to me!" Qi Yuan finished, flicking his sleeve as his figure vanished.

Using his swift footwork, he returned to the End Land.

He left behind the tens of thousands of Martial Lords in the Eastern Alliance, all staring at one another.

"The Heavenly Sovereign... has lost his way!"

"Or perhaps, he’s part of the great calamity!"

"We’ve rebooted the world so many times under the Eastern Lord's guidance. How could it be wrong?"

"Trust the Eastern Lord, not a newcomer!"

These Martial Lords grumbled about Qi Yuan.

If not for his overwhelming power, they might have already tried to imprison him, preventing him from disrupting the Eastern Lord’s plans.

"This must be reported to the Eastern Lord!"

"Yes, only the Eastern Lord can solve this!"

The Martial Lords debated fiercely, placing their hopes in the Eastern Lord.

Meanwhile, in a quiet corner, Mu Yan’s expression changed as he overheard the conversation.

He looked at the newly ascended Martial Lords who had come with him. They too gazed back at him, sharing the same fear and shock deep in their eyes.

"Mu Yan, I know you have deep feelings for the Heavenly Sovereign, and you'll stand by his side.

But... the Eastern Lord can’t be wrong.

Once you’ve met him, you’ll understand why we trust him so much," Mu Yan's bloodline ancestor spoke kindly, with the affection of an elder toward a younger generation.

"This..." Mu Yan hesitated.

The ancestor continued with a gentle smile, "You don’t have to sever ties with the Heavenly Sovereign. After he meets the Eastern Lord, he will believe in him just like we do."

Mu Yan felt even more resistant after hearing this.

The ancestor’s kindly face broke into a smile. "Sometimes, choosing to believe... is better than falling into despair, isn’t it?

Ninety percent of the Martial Lords here chose to believe in the Eastern Lord of their own accord!"

Mu Yan was shocked.

They chose to believe in the Eastern Lord on their own?

What did that mean?

"What if... what if the Eastern Lord is wrong?" Mu Yan asked, struggling with the question.

The ancestor’s expression remained gentle.

"First, the Eastern Lord is never wrong; he is saving the world.

Second, every being who sees the Eastern Lord becomes his follower. Such a being—whatever he does—is right.

There can never be an opposing will to the Eastern Lord."

As he spoke, the ancestor’s eyes filled with overwhelming murderous intent.

"Anyone who dared resist the Eastern Lord was long buried in the Black Sea by us!

We are the Eastern Lord’s first and most loyal followers!

The Black Sea is full of bones!" The ancestor’s once kind face turned into a ferocious mask.

"I..." Mu Yan was terrified.

It felt as though his ancestor had become a complete stranger.

"Are you afraid? Join us, and you won’t be afraid anymore.

In this salvation, you’ll be recognized for your contribution by the Eastern Lord."

...

Night fell.

Qi Yuan lay on the grass, gazing idly at the sky.

"How long will it take to comprehend all these paths at this rate?"

Qi Yuan still preferred games where you slay monsters.

You just push through them.

This type of comprehension game was too time-consuming.

And honestly, pretty boring.

Qi Yuan was still a young man, so a little impatience was normal.

At that moment, Zero-One appeared.

"Master, I’ve brought the blank marriage certificates. Here are two."

Zero-One handed the blank certificates to Qi Yuan.

Qi Yuan took the certificates, a look of joy on his face.

"Not bad. If I can’t move the civil affairs office, taking the marriage certificates is no big deal, right?

Even if the world shatters, I can just copy them again."

These two certificates were registered online—useful.

When the time came, he could present them to Jin Li and his beautiful master.

Perfect.

Qi Yuan stored the certificates away, then noticed a flash of red.

"Why do you have a marriage certificate too? Are you getting married?" Qi Yuan asked.

With a wave of Zero-One’s hand, a whole row of marriage certificates appeared.

When opened, each one had a picture of Qi Yuan.

"Master might get married again in the future, so I had the civil office make extra copies. It’ll be convenient whenever you need one," Zero-One said thoughtfully.

"You... are very meticulous. No wonder you're my smart robot. You’re way better than those dumb AI programs," Qi Yuan praised. A robot that’s considerate and thorough.

After all, with his irresistible charm...

But then he added, "Zero-One, you’d better not smuggle my marriage certificates! I’m the champion of the Martial Arts Tournament and have a lot of fans.

Among those fans, there are probably some 'dream girls,' 'zeros,' and 'ones.' If they buy my marriage certificates, I’d be in big trouble."

Zero-One clutched the certificates. "If the certificates die, I die."

"Don’t say such unlucky things," Qi Yuan replied. "Seems like I’m getting superstitious as I get older."

"Meow, meow, meow!"

Xie Xinsu meowed nearby.

You’ve eaten a sun, and you’re talking about superstition?
Is that even funny!

"Enough nonsense. I need to focus on comprehending the myriad paths—time is tight!"

Qi Yuan said, staring intently at an ant hole in the ground.

He watched closely, lost in thought.

Xie Xinsu stood by, feeling disdain.

Who tries to comprehend the Dao like this?

"I get it. This ant hole... someone poured molten iron into it."

Qi Yuan seemed to have had an epiphany.

Xie Xinsu was speechless.

After all this contemplation, that’s all he came up with?

"Meow, meow, meow!"

It wanted to meow and mock its foolish master.

At that moment, a mechanical arm reached over and pinched its neck.

"Washed-up internet celebrity, come over. It’s time to shoot a video." Zero-One grabbed Xie Xinsu, looking disgusted. "Sigh, you barely get any likes nowadays."

Zero-One wasn’t lying.

At first, Xie Xinsu had plenty of fans.

After all, a cat that could dance and cook was quite popular in the modern city.

But later, cultivators arrived, along with spiritual beasts.

A spirit beast that could talk and fly was far more interesting than Xie Xinsu, right?
And worst of all, time had no mercy.

The fans who used to follow Xie Xinsu weren’t just inactive—they were literally dead.

Most had grown old and died.

With no new fans, and the old ones gone, even Zero-One’s video earnings weren’t enough to buy cat food for Xie Xinsu anymore.

Qi Yuan comprehended the Dao, Xie Xinsu played the actor, and Zero-One handled the camera, as time slowly flowed by.

"Master, the three of us haven’t taken a group photo yet. Shall we take one together?" Zero-One asked softly, glancing at Qi Yuan, who was inspecting a tree hole.

"Oh, a photo? Sure." Qi Yuan placed a leaf over the tree hole and walked over to Zero-One.

Zero-One hurriedly set up a camera she had pulled from who-knows-where, looking flustered.

Clearly, she wasn’t planning to use her own functions to take this picture.

Soon, under the dark night sky, Qi Yuan stood on the grass, wearing his blood-red robe and smiling warmly. Zero-One held Xie Xinsu, smiling as well.

Her program was already preparing to control the camera and adjust the lighting.

After all, it was pretty dark out.

But just then, a gentle, cool moonbeam suddenly shone down from the sky, illuminating Qi Yuan.

The moonlight was bright, the Milky Way stretched across the heavens, and the only sound was the click of the camera.

Click.

The photo captured the moment perfectly.

Qi Yuan looked up, curiosity gleaming in his eyes.

"That moonlight came quickly... and left just as fast."

Just a moment ago, a beam of moonlight had rushed down to him, stopped on his body, and then disappeared, almost as if it had only come to light him up for the photo.

Now, the photo was taken, and the moonlight had vanished.

Zero-One also looked up at the sky, curious. "Maybe the moon has fallen in love with you too, introducing you to its Dao."

Qi Yuan chuckled. "If I’m such a heartthrob, why haven’t the myriad Dao opened their mouths to introduce themselves to me? Then I could see which one suits me."

Zero-One’s eyes sparkled with joy. "Master, the myriad Dao... are about to speak."

"Oh?" Qi Yuan glanced at Zero-One, intrigued. "Could it be..."

"Yes, Master, you’re right. The myriad Dao have long turned into data, hidden within the ruins.

All this time, I’ve been absorbing and organizing the myriad Dao.

Now, I can finally pass them all to you."

"Not bad, not bad. As expected of my smart and clever robot." Qi Yuan couldn’t help but praise her.

At the same time, a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.

But after a moment, he shrugged off the thought.

Too much thinking would make his brain hurt.

"Why the myriad Dao?"

Qi Yuan asked.

At that moment, Zero-One extended her hand.

Qi Yuan extended his own, and their fingers intertwined.

"The myriad Dao... are simply 0 and 1," Zero-One replied.

Instantly, an infinite stream of information flooded into Qi Yuan’s mind.

He seemed to see Luo Bufan, the martial arts champion of the Mountain and Sea Scrolls, kneeling on the ground, smiling in relief.

He seemed to see a cold-faced girl on a lone boat, laughing madly.

He seemed to see a man, amidst a siege of tens of thousands of monsters, eating human flesh buns and guarding a city. After all the monsters were slaughtered, he stood before a grave, cutting off pieces of his own flesh.

...

Countless scenes played out—endless tales from the Mountain and Sea Scrolls.

Human nature, fire, schemes, obsessions...

An infinite array of Dao flooded in like a vast ocean.

"Human Dao for humans!"

"Spirit Dao for spirits!"

"Rail Dao has rails!"

"Heaven Dao has no heaven!"

The Dao were chaotic, disordered.

These Dao felt false, yet also real.

At this moment, Qi Yuan fully understood.

These myriad Dao had been prepared by the Eastern Lord for his "partner."

Or rather, as a backup plan.

If one accepted the myriad Dao, they would truly be trapped in the mortal realm, believing themselves to be the Eastern Lord’s "partner."

At that moment, countless memories surged into Qi Yuan’s mind.

These memories felt like they had been pulled straight from the wall murals.

The fragments from the Mountain and Sea Scrolls filled his mind, as if trying to convince him that he was the Eastern Lord’s partner.

"How funny. Your nose grows so long, yet you’re telling me this is the truth."

"Eastern Lord, you’re too desperate. I am not your partner!"

Endless images washed over him, but Qi Yuan stood motionless, his blood-red robe billowing.

"Amidst the vastness of the Dao, I will cut them down!"

"My Dao is... Forgetfulness!"

"My Dao is... Slaughter!"

With a single sword strike, the heavens trembled, and all the fragments turned to ashes.

On this day, the myriad Dao spoke to introduce themselves, and Qi Yuan stepped into the realm of the Myriad Dao Martial God from the ordinary.

Not far away, Zero-One looked at Qi Yuan, her smile bright. "Congratulations, Master, on reaching the realm of the Myriad Dao Martial God. The game... is almost complete."

Qi Yuan gazed at Zero-One, his eyes calm. "I need to meet the Eastern Lord. I don’t know... if I’ll return.

If I have a car parked somewhere, pay the parking fee for me. Or if my phone bill’s still running, help me cancel it. I don’t want to owe too much money if I don’t come back."

"Master... you don’t have a car."

"...That’s kind of sad. Seems like this world won’t have an Emperor Guard waiting in the bustling world for me."