Golden Core is a Star, and You Call This Cultivation?

Bai Xiaosheng's figure vanished.

When he reappeared, he found himself before a sea of rolling clouds.

The ground hung above, and the sky stretched below.

The seawater did not pour downward.

The rules here were chaotic, even reversed.

Even Dao Gods dared not linger here for long.

Although their divine kingdoms ensured their immortality, in such a space, no being could truly kill a Dao God.

But once one entered, they might be trapped in a spatial bubble.

A moment in the bubble could equate to billions of years in the outside world.

Even Dao Gods did not wish to lose tens or even hundreds of billions of years for no reason.

This chaotic space was the headquarters of the Cosmic Alliance.

The powerful beings of the Cosmic Alliance relied on a divine treasure to reside here.

"Unfortunately, I am merely a divine treasure with a spirit. In terms of combat power, I am quite ordinary. If I could devour Tai Ya, perhaps I could reach a new realm."

Tai Ya was a unique divine treasure controlled by the Cosmic Alliance.

This divine treasure was born in this chaotic space.

It was thanks to this divine treasure that the Cosmic Alliance could settle here.

At that moment, a graceful figure appeared, exuding a special aura: "Senior Bai Xiaosheng, please follow me into the Cosmic Alliance."

Although she was a Divine Lord, she was no ordinary Divine Lord.

Moreover, she did not carry the heavy scent of faith. In Bai Xiaosheng's eyes, she seemed to follow the Yin Realm's system, or perhaps the Yang Realm's.

"Why the change in who greets me today?" Bai Xiaosheng asked with interest, looking at the woman.

The woman smiled without answering, saying nothing more.

Her only task was to guide Bai Xiaosheng into the Cosmic Alliance.

About a hundred breaths later, in a pale-white palace.

Bai Xiaosheng came to a stop.

A hundred meters ahead, a young man in black robes sat casually on a bronze chair, holding an egg in his hand, examining it carefully as he peeled it.

Black Crow Dao Lord, whose mastered Dao was unknown, loved eating eggs.

He was one of the few in the Cosmic Alliance who had regained the strength of a Dao Lord.

This was all the information Bai Xiaosheng had about the man in black.

"You're here. Want an egg?"

Black Crow Dao Lord casually tossed an unpeeled egg to Bai Xiaosheng.

He then slowly ate the peeled egg in his hand.

He ate only the egg white, not the yolk.

Bai Xiaosheng ate the egg, shell and all, then asked, "Why have you called me here? Recently, the Nine Heavens Divine Palace has been keeping a close eye on me. If I'm exposed, this old body of mine might just kick the bucket."

As he spoke, he glanced at the woman who had guided him.

Within the Cosmic Alliance, few knew of Bai Xiaosheng's collaboration with them.

In the past, it was always the same person who brought him into the headquarters.

This time, it was a woman.

The more people who knew the secret, the greater the risk of exposure.

"Her name is Wang Yuanyu," Black Crow Dao Lord said, putting down the egg in his hand. "Wang Yuanyu, tell Bai Xiaosheng what happened back then."

Only then did Bai Xiaosheng realize that Wang Yuanyu was involved in the incident.

The Cosmic Alliance's summoning of him must be related to her.

"Seventeen years ago, I was cultivating in a cave with my friend Wu Shi when suddenly, a mysterious aura emerged and abducted Wu Shi," Wang Yuanyu recounted seriously.

She also opened part of her memories to Bai Xiaosheng.

Bai Xiaosheng's heart skipped a beat.

The timing and the name... why did they sound so familiar?

Though he felt uneasy, he showed no outward reaction, focusing on listening and examining the images in Wang Yuanyu's memories.

He first looked at the shadowy figure Wang Yuanyu mentioned, then glanced at the Wu Shi in her memories.

"This shadowy figure... its aura is strange," Bai Xiaosheng thought. Though he knew a little about everything, he couldn't fully identify this aura.

"This is the power of rebirth," Black Crow Dao Lord said, eating the egg and discarding the yolk. "Back then, this powerful being infiltrated our ranks, alarming several Dao Lords. However, that person was too elusive. Even we couldn't capture them. But one Dao Lord speculated that the aura they carried was that of rebirth."

Black Crow Dao Lord was curious.

Because the abducted Wu Shi seemed quite ordinary.

In terms of talent, she might not even match Wang Yuanyu.

Yet, a mysterious powerhouse had infiltrated the chaotic headquarters of the Cosmic Alliance and taken her away.

This matter was deeply puzzling.

Fortunately, the intruder didn't seem to be an enemy.

Otherwise, if the method of infiltrating the Cosmic Alliance were revealed to their enemies, the alliance could suffer a devastating blow.

"Aside from rebirth, there's another aura... it seems like illusion," Bai Xiaosheng suddenly recalled.

"Illusion?" Black Crow Dao Lord narrowed his eyes. "Could it be... related to the Forbidden Land?"

Mentioning the Forbidden Land made Bai Xiaosheng's heart skip another beat.

The space where the Cosmic Alliance resided was chaotic and disordered.

The Forbidden Land, on the other hand, was a place of calamity and ruin.

Black Crow Dao Lord frowned, deep in thought.

"If it's the Forbidden Land, finding this mysterious powerhouse will be extremely complicated."

His original purpose in summoning Bai Xiaosheng was to use his intelligence network to investigate the identity of that person.

But if the person was from the Forbidden Land...

Things would become much more complicated.

The Forbidden Land was vast and boundless, with many regions being independent and possessing unique characteristics.

Its time and space were also chaotic.

Past, present, and future were tangled together.

Amidst this chaos, the Forbidden Land continued to spiral toward destruction and illusion.

There were rumors that the Forbidden Land... was the divine kingdom of a certain powerful being.

Others said it was the place where a powerhouse achieved enlightenment.

Of course, such rumors might not be true.

The Forbidden Land was vast and endless.

Some regions had time dimensions that did not align with the Rebirth Realm, or even flowed backward.

Black Crow Dao Lord thought of something and then asked, "Have you been in the Zhou Mountain World recently?"

"Yes."

"The Zhou Mountain World borders the Forbidden Land. Be careful it doesn't get pulled into the Forbidden Land," Black Crow Dao Lord warned.

Bai Xiaosheng smiled but said nothing.

Black Crow Dao Lord continued, "Let's set aside the matter of the mysterious powerhouse for now. Currently... the Nine Heavens Divine Palace is growing stronger. They have used Luo Feng Jian to continuously influence the Yin Realm, establishing the Mountain of Gods."

Mentioning this, Black Crow Dao Lord looked deeply concerned.

They did not know the purpose behind the Nine Heavens Divine Palace's actions.

But it was certainly not for good.

Most of the beings in the Cosmic Alliance originated from the Yin Realm.

They had come to the Rebirth Realm through the True Spirit Reincarnation Method.

However, many powerful beings, upon reincarnating, were captured by the Nine Heavens Divine Palace and used as tools to resist calamities.

If the Nine Heavens Divine Palace's influence in the Yin Realm grew any stronger, it was hard to predict what might happen.

"Luo Feng Jian is already in the hands of the Nine Heavens Divine Palace. The other nodes... must not fall into their hands," Black Crow Dao Lord said gravely.

After all, if the reincarnated powerful beings from the Yin Realm descended near Luo Feng Jian, they would be captured and raised like livestock by the Nine Heavens Divine Palace, their true spirits clouded.

If they descended at other nodes, unnoticed by the Nine Heavens Divine Palace, they might grow and eventually, like them, regain their memories and return to the Dao Lord realm.

The more nodes the Nine Heavens Divine Palace controlled, the more powerful beings from the Yang Realm would overcome the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations.

Naturally, the Cosmic Alliance would be weakened in comparison.

"They will find them eventually," Bai Xiaosheng sighed, feeling somewhat helpless.

Although he was a lofty Dao God, his combat power was quite ordinary.

His greatest strength was survival, and bullying weaker cultivators.

"Therefore, these nodes must be erased. Even if we can't control them, we cannot allow another Mountain of Gods to appear in the Yin Realm!"

Black Crow Dao Lord said solemnly.

"How do we erase them?" Bai Xiaosheng asked.

Black Crow Dao Lord frowned.

This was indeed a problem.

Even as Dao Lords, it was difficult to completely erase those nodes.

Even if they destroyed the void, the nodes would still exist.

"If there were a Devouring Dao Lord, or someone who mastered the Dao of Devouring, or a treasure formed from the fourth layer of the Yang God's realm... perhaps they could erase the nodes," Black Crow Dao Lord said.

Bai Xiaosheng shrugged.

Dao Lords were far rarer than Dao Gods.

Moreover, this was the Rebirth Realm, not the Dao Lords' home turf.

At this moment, Black Crow Dao Lord glanced at Bai Xiaosheng.

The space around them solidified, and all information particles froze.

"An old friend once used fate to deduce that there was a Yang Realm powerhouse who mastered the Dao of Devouring in the Yin Realm... However, before it could transform into a treasure, it inexplicably perished in the void."

"What?" Bai Xiaosheng was surprised.

A Yang Realm powerhouse at the fourth layer... with his current level as a Dao God, encountering such a being would mean certain death.

Only by devouring Tai Ya and overcoming the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations would he have a chance against such a powerhouse.

"So we can't count on that treasure. But... that old friend also deduced through fate that... countless epochs ago... there was a Dao Lord in the Rebirth Realm who achieved enlightenment through the Dao of Devouring."

"A Dao Lord who achieved enlightenment in the Rebirth Realm? Tsk tsk, such talent... is terrifying. And to master the Dao of Devouring? Who was it? Did they overcome the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations and ascend to the Yang Realm?" Bai Xiaosheng asked.

Such a terrifyingly talented powerhouse, and he had never heard of them.

Suddenly, he thought of something.

The Source Heaven Dao God of the Nine Heavens Divine Palace had once sought him out to find Ming Ri Xue, mentioning that it was related to a fallen Dao Lord.

Could it be...

He had a terrifying suspicion.

"No, that Dao Lord... is suspected to have perished."

"Perished? A Dao Lord can perish?" Bai Xiaosheng's sense of foreboding grew stronger.

At the Dao Lord realm, within one's own Dao system, one was nearly omniscient and omnipotent. How could such a being perish?

"Therefore, we need to find the Dao Fruit left behind by that Dao Lord... and then, with the full strength of the Cosmic Alliance, refine it into a Devouring Treasure to erase the nodes."

The Cosmic Alliance had summoned Bai Xiaosheng for two reasons.

First, to investigate the identity of the mysterious powerhouse through his intelligence network.

Second, to find the Dao Fruit of the fallen Dao Lord.

"The Dao Fruit is incredibly difficult to find. Are there other ways to erase the nodes?" Bai Xiaosheng asked.

"The world is vast, and anything is possible. There may be other methods, but we are unaware of them. If you find any, feel free to inform me," Black Crow Dao Lord said, sounding old and wise despite his youthful appearance.

His meaning was clear: for now, refining the fallen Dao Lord's Dao Fruit into a Devouring Treasure was the only way to erase the nodes.

Bai Xiaosheng looked disappointed. "Life is so hard!"

It was unclear whether he was lamenting the lack of methods or something else.

...

"Master, are we going to your hometown? Hehe, is the ugly daughter-in-law finally going to meet her mother-in-law?"

Wu Shi teased, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

Her slender, curved eyebrows arched with laughter, making her look radiant.

To an outsider, it might seem as if Wu Shi was deeply in love with him.

But Bai Xiaosheng knew that Wu Shi's peach-blossom eyes could make even a dog look affectionate.

"Go away, I was born naturally. I have no parents."

Bai Xiaosheng was annoyed, but more than that, he was worried.

On his way back, he had pieced everything together.

He had come to a terrifying conclusion.

His disciple was the person the Nine Heavens Divine Palace was searching for.

She was deeply connected to the "Wu Shi" who had disappeared from the Cosmic Alliance.

Moreover, she might also be closely linked to the fallen Devouring Dao Lord.

This worried him greatly. How had he, of all people, ended up picking up a disciple with such an extraordinary background?

Should he... hand her over?

As soon as this thought crossed his mind, Bai Xiaosheng immediately dismissed it.

First, he was a kind person who valued gratitude and grudges.

Second, over the past decade, his disciple had become one of the few people close to him.

"Difficult... difficult... difficult..."

He was torn.

Should he sacrifice one to save billions?

Or...?

"Master, why do you look so unhappy? Is something troubling you?" Wu Shi looked at Bai Xiaosheng, clutching his sleeve, her expression filled with concern.

She looked like a little girl worried about her piggy bank breaking, or a village woman fretting over her hen not laying eggs.

Bai Xiaosheng knew she was worried he might stop spitting out gold coins.

"Maybe you should... disfigure yourself and change your name?" Bai Xiaosheng looked down at Wu Shi's face, which, though still youthful, was already captivating enough to enchant anyone.

Wu Shi quickly covered her chest with her hands, her eyes wide and sparkling.

"Master, your possessiveness and desire for control are too strong! Are you afraid someone will fall in love with me and try to take me away, so you want to disfigure me?"

"Master, there's no need to disfigure me. Just keep me by your side and don't let me see outsiders. I'll be obedient and won't cheat on you."

"Your disciple doesn't ask for much. Just... dote on me once or twice a day."

"If you're worried about rumors, I can sneak into your bed at night."

Wu Shi bit her lip, looking up at Bai Xiaosheng with pitiful eyes, as if on the verge of tears.

From this angle, Wu Shi, despite her mature figure, seemed small and delicate, with a slender waist that could be encircled with one hand, yet with all the right curves in the right places.

In short, she had a slim waist, long legs, ample bosom, and fair, beautiful skin.

"You..." Bai Xiaosheng knew Wu Shi was deliberately provoking him, but for a moment, he felt a flicker of desire and imagination.

After all, he was a divine treasure with a spirit, and his actual age wasn't that old.

"Hehe," Wu Shi suddenly laughed, her chest heaving. "Master, you spat out gold coins."

She looked delighted, reaching out to grab the coins.

She had done it on purpose.

Whenever her master's emotions fluctuated intensely, he would spit out gold coins.

This was a little trick she had learned over the years.

It was deliberate.

"You..." Bai Xiaosheng's face turned red, then pale.

After collecting the coins, Wu Shi transformed back into a well-behaved disciple.

"Master, if you want to disfigure me, go ahead," she said, standing obediently beside Bai Xiaosheng.

"No need to disfigure you. Just... wear a mask from now on, and... change your name. You can't be called Wu Shi anymore."

Hearing this, Wu Shi nodded seriously. "Okay."

Her master would never harm her.

If he said so, there must be a good reason.

As for possessiveness or a desire for control, that was just Wu Shi's nonsense.

"Master, I like swords. Let's call me... Sword Maiden."

"Fine," Bai Xiaosheng nodded. "And your background—you can't say you came from that snowy mountain, understand?"

"Understood," Wu Shi nodded solemnly.

She could sense that her master was speaking of something very important.

After all, it had been a long time since she had seen such a worried expression on her master's face.

As a disciple, it was her duty to... cheer him up.

"Master, can I ask you a question?" Wu Shi asked timidly, like a well-behaved kitten, just as she had been when she first met Bai Xiaosheng.

She always liked to place herself in a submissive position, looking up at her master with wide, pitiful eyes.

"Ask."

"Just now, when you spat out the gold coins... did you... feel a little something for me?"

The atmosphere froze.

Their eyes met, and Bai Xiaosheng looked away, but Wu Shi's gaze followed.

Then came an exasperated shout.

"Rebellious disciple!"

"Do you want to betray your master?"

"Pfft, such a clueless guy."

"Spit out more gold coins!"