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

In the void between realms.

It was a place of endless darkness, where even the light of the stars reflecting across the heavens could not reach.

Ordinary cultivators would perish within a breath if they stepped foot here.

Only mythical beings, whose power reflected across the heavens, could barely traverse this void.

At this moment, a young male cultivator, his features as handsome as a painting, stood atop a gourd, holding a flying sword. The sword turned into a streak of light and stabbed toward a shadowy figure ahead.

Crack!

The flying sword collided with the shadowy figure, which seemed to struggle with all its might. But it couldn't resist the sword’s power, and after a brief struggle, it perished.

A fish fell into the handsome man’s hand. "Not bad, a void fish."

This handsome man was a mythical cultivator from the upper realms, and his avatar had ventured into the void with his junior sister to collect resources.

"Senior Brother, you're amazing! I'm so impressed!" exclaimed a scantily clad female cultivator, her voice laced with admiration, eyes sparkling like stars.

The handsome man was pleased by the flattery. With a generous wave, he said, "This void fish is for you, Junior Sister."

The young woman, holding the void fish, beamed with joy. "Really? Senior Brother, you're too kind! Xia Xia must be the happiest woman in the world!"

"There are plenty of valuable things in the void, and even more precious than void fish. Of course, there are also terrifying creatures here. One of them is called a Blood Crystal Essence, and it comes in various forms, all enormous.

"Its most distinctive feature is that its entire body is blood-red, like actual blood.

"These Blood Crystal Essences are believed to be condensed from the light of the stars. They’re quite valuable because they can enhance the reflective light for us mythical beings."

The handsome man boasted proudly, "Not too long ago, I killed an enormous Blood Crystal Essence, and it took quite an effort!"

Hearing this, the young woman’s admiration only grew. "Wow, Senior Brother, you’re incredible! You can even defeat a Blood Crystal Essence!"

Her flattery made the handsome man beam with pride.

"See those swirling vortexes up ahead, emitting faint light? Those are lower-realm continents. Stay away from them, Junior Sister; they’re filthy. If they stain your precious body, I’ll feel awful," the handsome man warned, then suddenly paused, noticing his junior sister in a pink dress. "Wait, Junior Sister, did you just swallow the void fish whole?"

The girl in the pink dress immediately looked tearful. "Senior Brother, are you saying Xia Xia eats too much?"

"No!" the handsome man hurriedly reassured her. "It’s just that you shouldn’t eat too many void fish at once. You might... start passing gas or... water."

Passing gas was a polite way of saying "farting."

"Passing water" meant she might have to urinate.

Eating too much void fish could cause even a mythical being to lose control of their body.

Upon hearing this, the young woman blushed deeply.

"Pffft."

"Ah! Xia Xia is going to die of embarrassment! I can’t live anymore!" she wailed dramatically.

Seeing her reaction, the handsome man quickly leaned in, inhaling deeply. "It’s fine, it smells sweet... like milk."

He couldn’t bear to see her feeling upset.

But just then, the young woman in the pink dress suddenly froze. "Oh no... a big Blood Crystal Essence!"

The handsome man’s bravado kicked in immediately. "Where is it? How dare it scare my Junior Sister?!"

He brandished his sword, ready to strike down the Blood Crystal Essence for daring to frighten his precious junior sister.

"There..." the young woman pointed with a trembling hand, her voice quivering with fear.

The handsome man followed her gaze and his eyes suddenly widened in shock.

"This... this..."

In the far distance, thousands of miles away, a colossal blood-red figure, its entire body covered in blood armor, loomed in the void.

Its size was beyond comprehension, a terrifying giant unlike anything the handsome man had ever seen.

It was just the tip of the iceberg, and yet... it was humanoid.

A massive humanoid figure, a blood-armored god so large that it was impossible to see its full height.

The void itself was dyed red by the figure’s blood armor.

As the giant took a step, the void trembled.

As it moved its hand, the space fractured.

The handsome man was paralyzed with fear. He noticed something alarming, causing his hair to stand on end. "It... it's actually...!"

He watched in horror as the terrifying giant opened its enormous maw.

Its target? A world—a cultivation world!

That was a cultivation world!

Though it seemed distant, in front of that blood-red god, the world was no bigger than a steamed bun. But it was a real cultivation world.

Not even smaller than the one he hailed from!

His entire body shook with fear. To come to the void and witness an "evil deity" devour a world?

The blood-red giant opened its maw wide, and in an instant, it swallowed the entire world.

The world had no power to resist, like a mere snack to the blood-red god.

The young woman in the pink dress turned deathly pale, clinging tightly to her senior brother’s sleeve in terror.

The handsome man quickly embraced her. "Don’t worry, Junior Sister. He’s far away from us. We’re safe."

But just then, a voice like thunder suddenly boomed in their ears.

"Sweet-smelling, my ass! That was a stinky fart!"

"You’re embarrassing yourselves in public!"

The handsome man’s face turned pale with fear. "Who... who’s there?"

The young woman also looked around, embarrassed and confused, but saw no one.

"I am the Blood Crystal Essence you spoke of."

A lightning bolt of realization struck the handsome man.

He looked up in horror. The terrifying blood-red giant that had just swallowed a world was now turning its head to look at him, its gaze filled with exasperation.

He immediately dropped to his knees.

His junior sister couldn’t hold it in either, perhaps because of the void fish—she wet herself on the spot.

The distant blood-red figure sighed. "This time, it’s not milk, right?"

After that, the giant’s massive form shifted and it swam away through the void, seemingly searching for its next target.

As for the handsome man and his junior sister, they clung to each other in utter terror.

"Whimper..."

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the void, the terrifying blood-red giant was none other than Qi Yuan.

After obtaining the coordinates of three thousand worlds from the Great Calamity, he had begun traversing the void, devouring the worlds under the control of the Great Calamity.

By now, he had already devoured over a thousand worlds.

A little under two thousand more, and he would have devoured all of them.

"I’m starting to feel full," Qi Yuan murmured as he drifted through the void.

"I hope I don’t... burp milk?"

Thinking back to that pair of cultivators, Qi Yuan shuddered.

He tried to shake off those thoughts as he moved toward the next set of coordinates.

In the void, his colossal form moved like a whale swimming through the ocean, constantly consuming everything in its path.

As for the smaller things in the void, Qi Yuan ignored them.

He was after the Blood Crystal Essences.

"I never expected that while devouring these three thousand worlds, I’d also find so many snacks for Little Jia."

Indeed, after entering the void, Qi Yuan had discovered the Blood Crystal Essences, strange creatures with no intelligence or sentience, attacking all living things indiscriminately.

Upon examining one, he realized they resembled the blood crystals that he and Little Jia enjoyed, but of even higher quality.

【Blood Crystal Essence: A special creation formed from the light of the stars across the heavens.】

That was the information Qi Yuan saw with his eyes.

Now, inside his body, he had mountains of Blood Crystal Essences piled up.

"I wonder if Little Jia will evolve after eating all these snacks."

Ever since Little Jia had appeared, she had accompanied him through all his adventures.

Qi Yuan had to admit that a large part of his success in these “games” was thanks to her.

If he fed her all these snacks, she might grow even stronger.

He wondered when Little Jia would finally grow hands and feet of her own.

Of course, this was just a figure of speech. If she really grew "jade hands" and "jade feet," it might not be very polite.

Qi Yuan mused idly.

In an instant, he arrived at another set of coordinates.

And then... he opened his massive mouth and swallowed the world whole.

The beings inside that world had no idea what had happened. They only felt that the stars had suddenly gone out, the heavens had turned blood-red, and ten suns hung in the sky.

...

In the upper realm.

At the Mountain of Supreme Truth.

Nearly a hundred avatars of Yang God deities gathered, busy at work.

These Yang God deities were using their supreme powers to construct a palace.

This palace was the Supreme Truth Hall.

In the sixth heaven, there was a loose organization known as the Supreme Truth Association.

As the name suggested, to become a formal member of this association, one had to be at the Supreme Truth realm.

It was said that this loose organization encompassed nearly all Supreme Truth realm beings in the sixth heaven.

"Time waits for no one. After one hundred thousand years, the Supreme Truth Dao Conference is being held again. Last time, I was just a laborer building the Supreme Truth Hall, and a hundred thousand years later... I’m still a laborer," lamented one Yang God deity, shaking his head.

For those at the Yang God level, breakthroughs were no longer tied to the passage of time.

Even in a world where time flowed slowly, if a breakthrough couldn’t be achieved, it still wouldn’t happen.

This was somewhat similar to the nature of Yin Gods.

"I wonder who will break through to the Supreme Truth Realm this time. Do you think that Buddha from the Buddhist nation will make it?" sighed another Yang God deity.

He hailed from the Third Heaven and held great reverence for the Buddhist nation in the Fifth Heaven.

"Since he's already a Buddha, he likely has the potential to reach the Supreme Truth Realm. Breaking through shouldn’t be a problem," remarked the Yang God deity from Futu Mountain, his sect based in the Second Heaven.

He too had been summoned by the Supreme Truth Association to work for free.

"The Buddhist nation and the Taihuang Palace have old grievances. Heh, but how could the one from the Taihuang Palace allow the Buddha to break through to the Supreme Truth Realm?" scoffed a small Yang God deity from the Molo clan, clearly disdainful.

The Molo clan was currently at war with the Buddhist nation, so it was natural for this deity to speak with such contempt.

"Hmph, how many eons has it been since the celestial realm last produced a Supreme Truth expert?

If the Buddha truly has the potential to reach that realm, the Supreme Truth Association certainly won’t allow the one from the Taihuang Palace to act against him!" interjected a Yang God deity in purple robes, hailing from the Zishan Alliance, a major force in the Sixth Heaven.

Hearing his words, even the Molo deity fell silent, unwilling to argue further.

But then, the Molo deity sneered, "We don’t even need to mention the Buddha. That so-called ‘Ten Suns Deity’ is nothing more than a petty clown.

"The ten suns he controls may be terrifying, but to think he could challenge the one from the Taihuang Palace is laughable.

"If he truly had the power, why would he hide in the shadows like a coward?

"The one from the Taihuang Palace even sent him an invitation, inviting him to the palace for a Dao discussion, but he didn’t dare to show up.

"I suspect he’s just a Yang God who got lucky, gained a fortuitous encounter, and then became arrogant."

The Molo clan was known as a lapdog of the Taihuang Palace, so it wasn’t surprising to hear this kind of rhetoric.

"The Ten Suns Deity could easily kill any of us," Futu deity couldn’t help but retort.

"Futu, don’t speak for me.

"If the Ten Suns Deity dared to set foot in the Molo clan’s territory, we’d make sure he never left!

"A mere unconventional Yang God, not even at the Supreme Truth realm, dares to be so arrogant!" The Molo deity’s eyes gleamed with disdain.

He had his reasons to feel confident.

The Ten Suns Deity was indeed powerful.

But his greatest strength lay in his potential.

He hadn’t even reached the Supreme Truth realm yet, though he had condensed ten suns and was nearing the peak of the Great Heaven Stage.

For now, within tens of thousands, maybe even millions of years, the Molo clan had the upper hand over him.

If the Ten Suns Deity ventured into Molo territory, the Molo clan’s Supreme Truth experts would work together to kill him.

The one from the Taihuang Palace would surely reward the Molo clan for such a deed.

Just then, the expression of the Yang God deity from the Zishan Alliance changed suddenly. He spoke up with a note of shock. "If the Ten Suns Deity enters your territory, it will likely spell disaster for your clan."

"Hmph, if he shows up, he’ll learn the price of arrogance!" the Molo deity growled coldly.

But the Zishan Alliance deity spoke again, his voice trembling with disbelief, "I’ve just received word: the Great Calamity of the Taihuang Palace... has been destroyed, and the world it controlled has been devoured."

"What?"

The assembled Yang God deities were stunned beyond belief.

They didn’t know much about the Great Calamity, but they knew it was the Taihuang Palace’s most fiercely protected secret.

To destroy the Great Calamity and devour the world under the Taihuang Palace’s control...

It was a direct slap to the face!

Most shocking of all, the Taihuang Palace’s powerful Yang God deity, Luo Bu, had allowed this to happen—one of their Great Calamities had been wiped out, and a world had been devoured.

"Could it have been the work of the Ten Suns Deity? Ha, he’s daring enough to strike while the Taihuang Palace was unprepared, stealing one of their Great Calamities and destroying a world!" the Molo deity scoffed, still in disbelief.

A Great Calamity in a single world might only possess the strength of a Yang God, after all.

Devouring a world might seem impressive, but the Molo deity figured he could do it too if he expanded his celestial body.

But the Zishan Alliance deity interrupted, still shocked. "It wasn’t just one world or one Great Calamity."

"How many?"

"All of them... all three thousand of the Taihuang Palace’s Great Calamities, all three thousand worlds... were devoured!"

"What!"

The Molo deity’s eyes widened in disbelief, and the other Yang God deities were equally stunned.

"Three thousand worlds... devoured in their entirety? How is that even possible?"

"What level of power could he possibly have? And how could he not have reached the Supreme Truth realm yet?"

The Yang God deities were all shaken to their cores.

They could destroy a single world, perhaps even three thousand unprotected worlds.

But to destroy three thousand Great Calamities and devour three thousand worlds, all under the Taihuang Palace’s control? No one present could imagine such a feat.

A single Great Calamity was equivalent to a Yang God in strength.

Yet three thousand Great Calamities had fallen, and three thousand worlds had been devoured. And still, the Taihuang Palace had received no warning, and no one from the palace had intervened to assist?

Unbelievable!

The Zishan Alliance deity turned to the Molo deity with a smirk, clearly enjoying the moment. "Heh, if the Ten Suns Deity shows up in your Molo territory, how many worlds do you think your clan has for him to devour?"

...

In the underworld, Qi Yuan, clad in his signature blood-red robe, held Little Jia’s cool sleeve as he let out a relieved sigh.

"Finally finished. Good thing... I didn’t burp milk!"

He emphasized the word "milk" with distaste.

Even he found his own words a little revolting.

Little Jia stood beside him, her expressionless face silently attentive. If she had eyes, they would likely be filled with Qi Yuan’s image.

No matter what, whenever Qi Yuan needed her, she was always there for him.

"Come on, eat up. These Blood Crystal Essences should taste even better than regular blood crystals."

Qi Yuan placed the Blood Crystal Essences into Little Jia’s sleeve.

Her sleeve gracefully enveloped the Blood Crystal Essences, and a happy expression flickered across the wooden plaque that hung from her.

The Blood Crystal Essences disappeared.

Qi Yuan studied her carefully and noticed that her body seemed more solid now.

But aside from that, there were no other noticeable changes.

This made Qi Yuan feel a bit disappointed. Hugging Little Jia around her waist, he spoke in a tone filled with longing. "Little Jia, Little Jia... when will I be able to hear your voice?"