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

Wu Shi's gaze couldn't help but fall on the Sword Sheath Stone.

In this icy, snowy wilderness, only this one stone remained unfrozen, standing out conspicuously.

She looked at the Sword Sheath Stone, then at the golden sword in her hand.

For some reason, she felt a sense of resistance, afraid to insert the sword into it.

A coincidence?

Or something else?

Why... does this have to do with her master?

She trembled instinctively, hesitating to move forward.

"I..."

Her master looked at Wu Shi, a glimmer of hope in his eyes: "Quick, give it a try. Perhaps... there's a chance!"

Once Wu Shi regained her Dao Lord combat power, she might be able to obliterate the node of the Tu Wu Great World.

Facing the sinking curse that was pulling the Tu Wu Great World, she wouldn't be as helpless as Bai Xiaosheng.

Seeing the anxiety on her master's face, Wu Shi didn't hesitate any longer. Perhaps it was because the cold was too intense, her hand holding the golden sword trembled slightly.

Clang!

The golden sword slid into the Sword Sheath Stone, and the sound of the sword echoed like a dragon's roar.

Both of them stared intently at the golden sword, as if expecting something unusual to happen.

"It must be a coincidence," Wu Shi comforted herself inwardly.

However, in the next moment, her face turned pale.

The golden sword began to tremble violently.

The Sword Sheath Stone also started to shake.

The surrounding void began to collapse and disintegrate.

Time, space, and all the rules began to overlap and shatter.

"Is this... a reaction?" Bai Xiaosheng's expression was one of excitement.

Was his disciple about to find her sword?

Did this mean she could regain her Dao Lord combat power?

At that moment, a surge of sword intent erupted into the sky.

Bai Xiaosheng immediately turned his gaze toward the source of the sword intent.

He saw a faint silhouette.

"Is that the Sword Disciple?"

He felt an overwhelming, razor-sharp sword intent.

Pure and extreme.

This sword intent seemed capable of tearing apart everything in the world.

In an instant, this sword intent flooded into the golden sword.

The previously shattered golden sword was reforged.

The sword's rank also ascended, as if it had been infused with a sword soul.

Seeing this, Wu Shi let out a sigh of relief.

The Sword Disciple had nothing to do with her master.

It was all... her own delusion.

The aura surged.

The sword was transforming.

From extraordinary, it climbed to the pinnacle.

However, just as Wu Shi and Bai Xiaosheng were filled with anticipation, as the sword was about to fully form and its power reached its peak, a crack appeared on the golden sword.

"What's going on?" Bai Xiaosheng was puzzled.

Despite his abilities and knowledge, he couldn't understand what was happening.

But he knew one thing: the sword was cracking.

At this rate, it would completely shatter in ten breaths.

Bai Xiaosheng quickly reached out and grasped the sword, trying to use his immense divine power to slow down the sword's disintegration.

Wu Shi did the same, her cold little hands covering her master's, tightly gripping the sword.

"It can't shatter. It must not shatter," Bai Xiaosheng muttered, his heart filled with urgency.

Time was running out.

The sword's edge was sharp, its intent overwhelming.

Holding the sword, Bai Xiaosheng felt as if he was reliving the battle between the Sword Disciple and the Cloud Dream Palace Lord.

Every strike was filled with killing intent, reckless and unrestrained.

He also realized that the enmity between the Sword Disciple and the Cloud Dream Palace Lord was real.

The Sword Disciple truly wanted to kill the Cloud Dream Palace Lord!

The sword intent spread, and Bai Xiaosheng felt as if he had traveled back in time, witnessing the battle on Cloud Dream Mountain through the sword's intent.

He saw a man in black, transforming into a sword, relentlessly fighting.

He also saw the Cloud Dream Palace Lord, standing atop the mountain peak, snow falling around her, her expression desolate.

The whispers of time and space echoed in his ears.

"Master, who are you waiting for?"

"I'm waiting for a sword... a sword that can make the world forget its pain."

"Have you found it?"

"Forget Zhou Mountain is still standing... perhaps I haven't."

...

"Master, are you still waiting for that sword?"

"I wonder if my disciple's sword can replace that one."

These whispers reached Bai Xiaosheng's ears, and naturally, they reached Wu Shi's as well.

"The Cloud Dream Palace Lord was waiting for a sword?"

"Forget Zhou Mountain is still standing, the sword hasn't been forged!"

"Now, the mountain has fallen, but where is the sword?"

Wu Shi grew anxious.

Time was running out—less than five breaths remained.

In five breaths, the sword would completely shatter.

At that moment, another whisper echoed.

"Forget Zhou Mountain has fallen, Master... have you found that sword?"

"I... wish I hadn't."

A desolate voice reverberated through time and space, and all sounds and images abruptly ceased.

"Why speak in riddles? Just say it clearly!" Wu Shi was frantic, almost cursing.

If she were the Cloud Dream Palace Lord, she would have slapped her past self.

But...

At that moment, a strange piece of information flooded into the minds of Bai Xiaosheng and Wu Shi.

Their expressions changed, and they exchanged glances.

The information was clear: to prevent the sword from breaking, a Dao God must sacrifice everything.

Wu Shi urgently said, "Master, don't believe it. It's a lie, a trap."

Bai Xiaosheng looked at Wu Shi, his eyes gentle, filled with clarity and a smile: "If sacrificing one person can save the world, why not sacrifice me?"

Bai Xiaosheng considered himself selfish and self-serving.

But he also had the courage to sacrifice himself for a greater cause.

To die for the Tu Wu Great World was a noble death.

As for the trap...

The moment he grasped the sword, he felt an inexplicable sense of destiny.

As if he was born for this sword.

He had no time to bid farewell to Wu Shi.

The sword's breaking point was imminent.

He chose to sacrifice himself.

His true spirit began to dissolve.

His consciousness blurred.

His vast divine power turned to ashes.

A Dao God, a divine treasure given life, vanished into nothingness.

The cracks on the golden sword began to heal!

It... was truly being repaired.

The sword seemed to be nearing completion.

The golden color... was replaced by red.

The Dao God Moneybags was no more.

The golden sword her master had given her was gone.

In its place was a blood-red sword.

Wu Shi held the sword, shaking it repeatedly.

She wanted it to be like before.

But this time, no coins fell from it.

Her cold hands bled, and the sword became even more crimson and sinister.

Wu Shi collapsed onto the snowy ground, the vast world now empty except for her and the sword.

She clutched the sword, her voice choked with tears: "Master, I don't want you to compensate me with a sword anymore!"

Countless memories flooded her mind.

She remembered her first meeting with her master on Ming Ri Xue.

She remembered the days spent with her master in the Zhou Mountain Great World.

She also remembered, before Forget Zhou Mountain collapsed, she had seen a child who resembled her master.

She took him as her disciple.

She killed his sister.

She was waiting for a sword.

She was heartbroken, and confused, as if time and space had gone mad.

"Are you confused about who was whose master first?"

At that moment, an ethereal voice sounded.

A black shadow descended.

"It's you!" Wu Shi gripped the blood-red sword, her eyes filled with deep wariness.

The black shadow seemed oblivious to Wu Shi's expression and continued speaking.

"This place... is a massive cycle."

"Within the cycle, there are variables."

"If there were no Sword Disciple, if there were no Dao God Moneybags, in the future, you would become the Cloud Dream Palace Lord."

"If time is a line, you are in front, and the Cloud Dream Palace Lord is behind."

"But if there are cycles... the Cloud Dream Palace Lord exists in the previous cycle, and you are in the next."

"Cycle... cycle..." Wu Shi murmured.

This cycle was different from what she knew.

Suddenly, her heart tightened, and she looked hopeful: "Master isn't dead yet, and will become the Sword Disciple in the future?"

Did this mean she could see her master again?

"In countless cycles, this sword has never been born."

"If the sword remains unformed, in some cycle, you might still see him."

"But now... the sword is complete, and he is truly dead."

The black shadow murmured, its voice devoid of emotion.

Hearing this, Wu Shi was devastated, and more blood seeped from the sword.

However, her expression quickly turned resolute.

She still had to protect her master's Tu Wu Great World.

She had no time to grieve.

"Who are you, and what is your purpose?" Wu Shi asked coldly.

She felt as if her life had been manipulated like a puppet by this black shadow.

Even the Sword Disciple...

It seemed his astonishing sword talent, and his lack of emotions, might be related to this black shadow.

The black shadow had manipulated her, manipulated the Sword Disciple, all to forge a sword.

Realizing this, her killing intent was as strong as her sorrow, but... she didn't show it.

She wasn't afraid of death.

She just hadn't yet protected the Tu Wu Great World, resolved the node, or dealt with the curse.

"The world calls me the Cycle," the black shadow said calmly.

Hearing this, Wu Shi's heart skipped a beat.

"Cycle?"

The term "Cycle" carried profound implications.

The Dao Lords' doctrines, the Dao Gods' divine realms, all would fall into cycles.

"However, I prefer to be called the Wheel of Reincarnation," the black shadow's voice carried a rare hint of emotion.

It was a tone of regret, of loneliness.

"As for my purpose?"

"To forge this Sword of Forgetting."

The Devouring Dao Lord of the Rebirth Realm had perished.

To forge the Sword of Forgetting, he had to find the counterpart of the Devouring Dao Lord in the Yin World, and have Wu Shi inherit all of the Devouring Dao Lord's power.

Hearing this, Wu Shi gripped the sword tightly.

"I won't give you the sword."

This sword carried too much weight for her.

It was far too significant.

But this time, the black shadow didn't respond.

As if he had come only to see if the Sword of Forgetting had been forged.

Now that he had seen the sword, his figure vanished.

"Who... is he?"

Wu Shi's heart was filled with doubt.

This black shadow was an enigma.

He had manipulated her master and herself with ease.

Her heart was filled with killing intent, her expression cold: "I... will definitely kill him."

If it weren't for him, her master wouldn't have turned into a cold sword.

At that moment, a demonic obsession took root in her heart.

As if only this could slightly ease her pain.

"Master..."

The young girl hugged the sword and disappeared into the snowy expanse of Forget Zhou Mountain.

Later, people saw a Dao Lord in the Tu Wu Great World using a sword to obliterate the node of the Heavenly Money Valley.

Others saw a young girl holding a blood-red sword, storming the Nine Heavens Divine Palace, slaying three Dao Gods, and forcing the palace into seclusion.

As for the mysterious Heavenly Emperor, he never appeared.

Some saw the girl holding the sword, forgetting and severing the curse.

Later, people saw her by the riverside of the Tu Wu Great World, or on the snowy peaks of the Zhou Mountain Great World, catching a fleeting glimpse of her.

Finally, some saw her entering the Forbidden Land, searching for something unknown.

From then on, the legends of the girl and the Dao God Moneybags slowly faded from memory. Perhaps, one day, in some tavern, fragments of their story might still be told.

Time is the best poison and medicine in the world, capable of erasing everything.

(End of the Dao God Monyebags Arc.)

...

Yang World.

Unknown time, unknown space.

"San Sheng, you're insane."

"I'm not insane."

"You're not insane?"

"I can cultivate normally. How am I insane?"

"Insane people can cultivate too."

"Can insane people cultivate to the level of Yang God?"

"Yin Gods are everywhere, Yang Gods are as common as dogs."

The young man muttered.

"There are too many people. If only I could be like Thanos and snap my fingers to wipe out half of all living beings."

"Who's Thanos?"

"I don't know him."

"Then why mention him?"

"Because I want to."

"Then you still claim you're not insane!"

The young man was clearly angry.

It was obvious that San Sheng was insane.

San Sheng was born a mortal, without a prestigious background, powerful bloodline, or exceptional talent.

But he... was diligent.

He cultivated every moment.

While others indulged in pleasures, he cultivated.

While others couldn't resist humming, he cultivated.

While others' descendants spread across countless worlds and universes, he was still cultivating.

Perhaps heaven rewards the diligent.

His efforts paid off.

Now, San Sheng was one of the top powerhouses in the world.

"San Sheng, the Heavenly Emperor wants to see you," the young man said, a hint of worry in his eyes.

The Heavenly Emperor was also one of the most powerful beings in the world.

It was said that when the Heavenly Emperor was angered, countless universes could be reduced to dust in an instant.

"Let him come," San Sheng said indifferently.

The young man's figure vanished.

In the underground palace, the Heavenly Emperor, dressed in white, appeared.

"San Sheng... I need to borrow your brain."

In front of San Sheng, the Heavenly Emperor showed no airs of a supreme being.

Long ago, he and San Sheng had known each other.

In fact, San Sheng had been his guide on the path of cultivation.

San Sheng had given him much help in his cultivation.

However, his talent far surpassed San Sheng's.

He had long since crossed that threshold, reaching the sixth stage of Yang God.

As for San Sheng, he had been stuck at the fifth stage of Yang God for countless eons, countless ages.

"You say..."

At that moment, San Sheng, in the underground palace, spoke.

His form was semi-transparent.

He seemed to be constantly dissolving and regenerating.

Shifting between reality and illusion, existence and nothingness.

"The Xi Li World... is sinking, on the verge of complete annihilation... how can we stop it?"

This sinking and annihilation were irreversible.

The myriad worlds of the universe were born from one, divided into two, then three, and then all things.

The Heavenly Emperor could traverse all timelines, reach any point in time, even alter history, return to the past, and eliminate enemies who had wronged him in his weaker days.

But there was one thing he couldn't do.

He couldn't stop the return to nothingness, or the return to zero, also known as the return to the abyss.

From a human perspective, returning to nothingness was death.

From a cosmic perspective, returning to nothingness was the destruction of the universe.

Of course, there were some differences.

When a person dies, their body remains.

When something returns to nothingness, it is completely gone.

"I thought the return to nothingness only existed in the Yin Realm and the Rebirth realm. I didn't expect it to spread to the Yang Realm," the Heavenly Emperor said, his brow furrowed.

"You want to save the Xi Li World?" San Sheng asked.

"Yes."

"The power of nothingness isn't strong enough in the Yang World to erase you.

So, as long as you become the Xi Li World, nothingness can't destroy it."

"Wait, you're saying... I should become the Xi Li World?"

The Heavenly Emperor's eyes flashed with a sharp light.

It was as if a bolt of lightning had struck his mortal brain, jolting him awake.

"I see... as long as all living beings in the myriad worlds are me, I can stop the power of nothingness!"

Nothingness was still weak. Before it grew stronger, if all living beings were him, he could halt the power of nothingness.

"Actually, I have many other methods."

"Huh?" The Heavenly Emperor was surprised.

"Nothingness... violates the law of conservation of energy. As long as we adhere to the law of conservation of energy, nothingness will cease to exist," San Sheng muttered.

"But..." The Heavenly Emperor was puzzled, "Laws are just rules we create at will."

"Really? I remember, when a whale dies, it nourishes all life."

"True spirits will return to nothingness."