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

Chapter 73: A Slightly Eerie World

The game interface disappeared?

A sense of caution flashed through Qi Yuan’s mind.

He quickly walked back towards Tianjue, but found that he couldn’t return at all.

"So, once I leave the forbidden zone and the restricted zone, I lose my game interface?"

"Doesn't that mean I’m no different from an NPC?"

Qi Yuan was stunned.

Soon he accepted this reality.

"Even without the game interface, I can still exterminate the evil demons from beyond!" Qi Yuan recalled a saying from a certain big shot and stopped thinking about it.

"The only pity is that I can’t contact Jin Li anymore."

"Shouldn't there be no clichéd scenarios where we mistake each other?"

Qi Yuan had heard many stories about blind dates going wrong and mistaken meetings.

"Xiaojia." Qi Yuan gently called while holding Xiaojia.

Xiaojia obediently shrank and eventually turned into a tattoo of a wedding dress on Qi Yuan’s chest.

Qi Yuan also put on the faceless mask he got from the Ugly Robe Monster Emperor.

Now, dressed in a pitch-black blood armor with a mask on his face, he looked like a demonic guard from a palace.

His figure also shrank at this moment, becoming the size of an ordinary person.

"Now, I look like a major villain."

The faceless mask could temporarily block the perception of the evil demons from beyond.

The Ugly Robe Monster Emperor was once a prodigious genius.

Such a prodigy was most despised by the evil demons from beyond, who would dangle meat hooks from the sky to extract their flesh, leaving only a human skin.

The Ugly Robe Monster Emperor used the faceless mask to block the perception of the evil demons from beyond.

Unfortunately, he ventured into the polluted robe-restricted zone and broke into the heavenly realm, where his flesh was extracted by the meat hooks.

Qi Yuan was now a level 99 strongman. Walking among humans would attract the attention of the evil demons from beyond.

Therefore, he wore the faceless mask on his face.

He held his great sword and looked southeast.

A giant ancient Jizhi camphor tree came into view.

"Thousands of miles away, ah, too bad there’s no spirit boat here, and even if I knew how to build one, it would be useless; I can only travel on foot."

The game world and the real world were two different worlds.

In the game world, martial arts could reach divine levels.

In the real world of the Canglan Realm, it was the path to immortality.

Cultivating the techniques from the game world wouldn’t turn one into a resource.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t be cultivated or even referenced in the real world to supplement the “Qi Yuan Sutra.”

The first time Qi Yuan tried to reference the techniques from the game world, he was terrified.

At that time, he seriously doubted if he had a mental problem, having attempted to cultivate game techniques.

"Let's go, to the ancient Jizhi camphor tree, Yuehuang Dynasty, for a meet-up!"

Qi Yuan transformed into a blood-red afterimage and flew towards the ancient Jizhi camphor tree.

After an unknown amount of time, Qi Yuan suddenly fell from the sky.

In the desert, on several dead tree stumps, hung several human corpses, about fifteen in total, looking like dried corpses under the scorching sun.

The bodies were small, appearing to be children.

Vultures were tearing at the flesh, as if it were rotten meat in a garbage dump.

Seeing Qi Yuan's appearance, the vultures flapped their wings and flew away.

Qi Yuan looked at these "tender," emaciated, dried corpses, estimating that the oldest might be around eleven or twelve years old, while the youngest was likely a three-month-old baby, and there were many of them.

They seemed to have been cruelly killed and exposed in the wilderness.

He glanced at the sun in the sky.

"In such hot weather, it's not good to expose them like this."

Qi Yuan waved his hand, and all the stumps sank into the sand.

Ordinary mortals, once dead, their karma dissipates.

"This world isn’t as beautiful as Jin Li said."

"Maybe it’s just that I’m currently standing in the darkness."

Thinking this, Qi Yuan flew back into the sky.

This time, he flew high, far above, seemingly unaffected by the mundane world.

The affairs of the world are numerous, and it's hard to distinguish right from wrong. Or perhaps, what is right, and what is wrong?
...

A flash of blood-red light.

Less than a few hundred miles away from the ancient Jizhi camphor tree.

Below was a town, and Qi Yuan stopped.

He had two things to do in this town.

The first was to ask for directions to the Yuehuang Dynasty; the second was to have a good rest, eat a meal, and change into simple clothes.

Outside the city wall, a long queue formed.

Qi Yuan landed at the end of the line.

In front of Qi Yuan was a chubby man.

Qi Yuan looked at the city, where the three large characters “Kunwu City” were written.

Hundreds of people were lined up outside the city walls.

The sun above was blazing.

The fat man in front of Qi Yuan wiped his sweat.

Judging by his attire, he was either rich or noble.

Qi Yuan stood quietly, his gaze fixed on the other side of the city wall.

There, another entrance had a different queue.

That entrance was unlike the one Qi Yuan was in, with very few people, seemingly a privileged entrance.

However, that privilege was different from what Qi Yuan thought, not for the wealthy.

It was... all elderly people.

Mostly those over fifty or sixty years old.

Outside the city gate, they didn’t have to queue and could enter directly.

"Respecting the elderly, Kunwu City has a simple and honest folk custom." Qi Yuan couldn’t help but sigh.

At this moment, the fat man in front of Qi Yuan turned around upon hearing this, "Friend, you’re not a local, are you?"

When he saw Qi Yuan’s mask, his eyes widened in fright but quickly returned to normal: "Friend, what you just said is only half correct."

"Oh? Which half?" Qi Yuan asked.

"Respecting the elderly is correct, but loving the young is wrong." The fat man said, "In Kunwu City, once you reach the age of fifty, you don’t have to work, and all your food and clothing needs are taken care of."

"If you get sick, the doctors from the medical hall will come to your house for free; if..."

The fat man spoke with a lewd smile in his eyes.

"The girls from the brothel will visit your home without charge."

"That good?" Qi Yuan was stunned.

This could be considered an ideal society, right?
Moreover, after fifty, one doesn’t have to do any work and can enjoy life at home.

This sounds even better than on Blue Star.

On Blue Star, many people are still not retired at sixty, and some have no pension, barely surviving in their later years, and doomed if they fall ill.

Jin Li was right; this world indeed had beautiful scenery, and Qi Yuan found a good highlight.

A society where the elderly could enjoy their later years was quite a good one.

"Unfortunately, I’m only thirty-five years old. I have to wait fifteen years, but I don’t know if I can live that long." The fat man sighed, his words tinged with gloom.

"What did I get wrong?" Qi Yuan asked.

"The wrong part is..." The fat man lowered his voice, "Loving the young."

"Hmm?" Qi Yuan was puzzled.

"Not only do they not love the young, but anyone under fifty isn’t loved." The fat man said nervously.

Qi Yuan was still puzzled.

The fat man continued, "In Kunwu City, age is the greatest power."

"Anyone over fifty can enjoy all privileges."

"But if you’re under fifty, heh."

At this point, the fat man paused and sneered.

"Life is worse than a beast’s."

"What do you mean?" Qi Yuan glanced at the people in line ahead.

His gaze fell on a woman holding a child. The woman's expression was numb, and the child in her arms was already lifeless, a cold corpse.

"For instance, if a child shows a bad attitude to their parents, especially parents over fifty, do you know what happens?"

"How is it?" Qi Yuan asked.

Children showing a bad attitude towards their parents is generally not right.

"They will die!" the fat man said gloomily.

Hearing this, Qi Yuan was shocked: "This Kunwu City is too chaotic, isn't it? Is everyone inside mentally ill?"

He wondered if he should change to another city to ask for directions.

Otherwise, what if he doesn't give way to an old man and gets killed directly?

"Do you see that woman up ahead?" The fat man pointed to the woman holding a child in front.

"Yes."

"The child in her arms died yesterday." The fat man said, showing a look of regret, "Her child weaned late and accidentally bit her while breastfeeding at night.

She talked about it casually over tea with some women.

Those women gossiped, and the matter reached the authorities.

Her child... was executed for not respecting filial piety!

Now she can still hold her child's corpse, but after a while, sigh... even the corpse will be gone."

Qi Yuan looked at the woman and saw that she was tightly holding the child, her face expressionless.

"Young man, so if you're not over fifty, you'd better keep a low profile in the city, especially when you meet old people, show them respect." The fat man carefully advised.

"I think I need to leave this place," Qi Yuan said.

This Kunwu City was different from Jin Li's description.

Did he get lost and end up in the wrong place?

Unfortunately, the game panel was gone, and he couldn't contact Jin Li.

The fat man smiled wryly: "Where can you go? The hundreds of cities around here are all like this."

Qi Yuan showed a puzzled expression: "If it were just one city, it could be forcibly understood.

But if all cities are like this, isn't anyone resisting?"

The young and strong are the main force in this world.

But now, the young and strong in this city are suppressed, which sounds particularly unreasonable.

"Resist?" The fat man smiled bitterly, "When the Black Robe Guards appear, even the strongest warriors will die. What to resist with?

Although we live cautiously, at least there is hope, living to fifty makes it all worthwhile."

Hearing this, Qi Yuan secretly noted the name Black Robe Guards.

The queue ahead moved forward, and more people arrived behind them.

Seeing more people, the fat man stopped talking.

Qi Yuan stood still, pondering.

Suddenly, he thought of something: "I have been killing for hundreds of years on the Ascension Platform. I am the oldest old man. I am the highest privileged class!"

Qi Yuan quickly found a reason to convince himself.

"No need to queue!"

He prepared to use the special passage for the elderly.

But then he reconsidered and dismissed the idea.

"I look too young, they definitely won't believe me."

"I am from the Divine Realm, no need to queue!"

Qi Yuan directly snuck into the city without anyone noticing.

Inside the city, Qi Yuan wore a mask and walked among the crowd.

On the street, peddlers carried their goods shouting for sale, with various finished herbal medicines and snacks.

In the restaurants, steam billowed out like white mist. From afar, Qi Yuan could smell the heavy aroma of old wheat.

He looked around and saw that all the peddlers, shop assistants, and managers were young people, not a single elderly person.

The ones strolling on the streets were mostly old men.

Many white-haired old men were being carefully supported by their young sons, looking very filial.

But for some reason, Qi Yuan felt it was a bit twisted.

He didn't think further and went straight to an inn, ordered a meal, and changed his clothes.

When Qi Yuan left the inn, he thought, "Sigh, I'm still too thin-skinned. Although I am old enough, I still paid. I couldn't bring myself to eat without paying."

"The food here doesn't taste good. I wonder how Jin Li's cooking is."

"I wonder how Jin Li's crispy sweet duck tastes. It must be delicious."

"Ah, I haven't sent her a message for so long. She wouldn't think I'm not coming, right!"

"I need to quickly find out where Yue Dynasty's July Town is."

"Ah, if I meet her later, what if we develop feelings while chatting?"

Qi Yuan knew that if two people chatted for a long time online and got along well, if they met in person and neither had obvious shortcomings, there was a high chance they would hit it off.

"Why am I thinking about this when we haven't even met!"

Qi Yuan left the inn and went to a shop called Kunwu Fengsheng.

He learned about this shop from the inn's waiter during his meal.

This shop sold information and was very influential in Kunwu City.

"A distinguished guest is here, please come in."

Just as Qi Yuan stood in front of Kunwu Fengsheng, a pleasant voice came.

A tall woman walked out of the shop, wearing a black veil that obscured her face.

Qi Yuan noticed that she was an imperial-level warrior.

Moreover, when she saw his mask, she reacted slightly but quickly hid it.

Qi Yuan said, "I want to buy a map of the surrounding area."

Hearing this, the veiled woman softly said, "Distinguished guest, please wait a moment."

She turned and went into the shop, opened a drawer, and spread a map out in front of Qi Yuan.

"Is the distinguished guest satisfied?" the veiled woman asked softly.

Qi Yuan was slightly stunned. Who does business like this?

In such a martial world, warriors are almost photographic in memory.

Once a map is unfolded and a warrior looks at it, it loses its value.

But he still glanced at it and showed a puzzled expression: "Does this map definitely include all the nations around Gu Qi Camphor Wood?"

"Yes." The veiled woman nodded affirmatively.

"Why is there no Yue Dynasty or July Town?"

The veiled woman was stunned: "I have never heard of Yue Dynasty or July Town."

Hearing this, Qi Yuan was confused.

Was this person lying to him?

Or did Jin Li deceive him?

Or did he remember wrong?

"However, I have heard of the Moon Emperor Clan. I don't know if that's what you're looking for."

"Moon Emperor?" Qi Yuan murmured.

Yuehuang (Moon Emperor) Clan and Yue Dynasty differ by one word but the gap is significant.

Even if the Moon Emperor Clan established a nation, it would be called Moon Emperor Dynasty.

"The Moon Emperor Clan has twelve lakes, named January Lake, February Lake, March Lake... Each lake is home to a branch of the Moon Emperor Clan.

I wonder if this has any connection to the July Town you're talking about?"

"Where is it?" Qi Yuan asked hurriedly.

If one is a coincidence, so be it, but two consecutive coincidences indicate a problem.

The veiled woman hesitated.

Qi Yuan said, "Just speak freely."

The veiled woman then said, "The Moon Emperor Clan refuses to comply with the Hundred Cities Decree and is currently at war with the Hundred Cities. It might be dangerous to go there now, risking innocent lives.

The Hundred Cities Decree is the Filial Piety Decree.

The Hundred Cities demand that the Moon Emperor Clan also adhere to filial piety, punishing anyone who disobeys!"

"Where is it?" Qi Yuan asked.

"Here." The veiled woman marked the location of the Yuehuang Clan on the map, "July Lake is here, only a few miles from the main trunk of Gu Qi Camphor Wood."

"Thank you for the information." Qi Yuan sincerely thanked her, "I don't have enough money with me, but I see you are an imperial-level warrior, so I will give you this technique. If you practice it, you have a chance to break through to the Supreme Emperor level."

Qi Yuan said, picking up a piece of paper in the shop, writing quickly. In a few breaths, a technique appeared on the paper.

This technique came from the memory of a strong Divine Realm warrior and was a simple technique.

It happened to suit the veiled woman.

Moreover, she had shown him kindness first, so he reciprocated.

The veiled woman took the technique and looked at it: "This... this..."

She showed an excited expression.

The technique was of a very high level and suited her well. If she practiced it, it wouldn't take long for her to become a Supreme Emperor.

She wanted to thank him but saw that he had already disappeared.

"Senior?" She wanted to say something but didn't.

After about ten breaths, an old woman lifted the curtain and came out of the shop.

The old woman, with a face full of wrinkles, looked very old: "Xiao Lian, did you figure out that person's background?"

The veiled woman's brow furrowed: "His strength is at least that of a Supreme Emperor, or even..."

"A Divine Realm?" The old woman frowned.

"If it’s a Divine Realm, then perhaps from the forbidden area." The veiled woman was very excited.

"Or it could be a bait laid by the Hundred Cities Alliance." The old woman said.

Hearing this, the veiled woman felt disappointed: "We have had no contact with the lords of the forbidden area for nearly a thousand years.

The Black Robe Guard's power is growing.

Can we really win?"

"Our purpose for existing is to kill the Black Robe Guard and return a bright and clear sky to the world!

Xiao Lian, don't worry, the Black Robe Guard acts against the heavenly way and will face divine retribution!" The old woman had a fierce look in her eyes.

Her son, her daughter, her husband, all died at the hands of the Black Robe Guard.

She was irreconcilable with the Black Robe Guard.

"Mm." Hearing this, the black-veiled woman nodded silently.

"Xiao Lian, close the shop, we're going to visit the Moon Emperor clan." The old woman thought of something and made a decision.

"Okay."

"We can also use the war between the Hundred Cities Alliance and the Moon Emperor clan to see if that faceless person is really a senior from the Forbidden Zone, or a bait from the Black Robe Guards." The old woman said in a deep voice.
......
The moon climbed onto the branches.

The lake water sparkled, Jin Li sat on a green stone by the lake.

She would occasionally look up and look around, then show a disappointed expression, and then become full of expectation again.

Aunt Qin stood not far away, seeing Jin Li's appearance, she sighed softly, not knowing what she was sighing about.

At this time, a voice sounded in Aunt Qin's ear: "Old Madam Qin, long time no see."

Hearing this ethereal and pleasant voice, Aunt Qin's body suddenly stiffened.

"It's you? High Priestess!"