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

"The rumors from Dingbo Prefecture are true!"

Li Wan stared at the towering figure, her breathing quickened.

Several days ago, she had heard news of the Divine Descent’s resurrection. At the time, she dismissed it as nothing more than a curious tale. After all, at her age, the Divine Descent was nothing more than a legend from long ago.

But now, as the colossal, hundred-meter-tall giant manifested with its overwhelming divine presence, she believed.

What struck her even harder was the realization that this Divine Descent might be none other than the young gentleman who had shared a carriage with her just days prior.

The thought left her momentarily dazed. When she finally returned to her senses, the crimson hue that had filled the sky was gone. In its place was the serene glow of a setting sun.

The carriage was nowhere to be seen.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw only an expanse of desert and a lone sunset.

The sunset was breathtaking.

“Uncle Li, let’s go. We need to help the Divine Descent clean up this mess and send these civilians back home,” Li Wan decided resolutely.

Uncle Li paused for a moment, thinking deeply for several breaths. Finally, he nodded heavily.

“Alright!”

<hr>

At the Blood Demon Pool, the liquid resembled an ocean of blood. Chains rippled through its surface, their movements sending echoes outward. The air was filled with furious howls and roars, as though a monstrous terror was sealed beneath.

Within a ten-mile radius of the pool, save for a few attendants, no one dared to approach.

At that moment, two slender figures descended from the sky.

The man had white hair and white eyebrows, exuding an aura of harmony and nature.

Beside him stood a woman in a fiery red dress. The gown featured a daring slit that ran up to her thigh, teasing with fleeting glimpses of her legs for anyone daring enough to try and look.

But no one dared.

She was one of Da Feng’s top three powerhouses—a Divine-tier Weapon Master.

The fiery woman gazed at the frenzied figure thrashing within the blood pool, her expression tinged with awe and emotion. “Just one strike. One sword strike was enough to drive the Blade Demon mad for a hundred years. How powerful must the Divine Descent have been a century ago?”

The white-haired man, hearing this, revealed a trace of fear in his eyes. “At the height of His power, even if all of Da Feng’s Divine-tier Weapon Masters joined forces, we wouldn’t have stood a chance against Him.

“He had already condensed His own domain and forged His own path.”

As he spoke, his expression shifted to one of yearning and admiration.

Among Divine-tier Weapon Masters, there were seven steps to ascend to the heavens. Only by condensing a divine domain could one step onto the fourth level, entering an entirely new realm.

In the two-thousand-year history of Da Feng, no one had ever reached the fourth step.

Back then, the Divine Descent was not even a person but an artifact. And even then, it had come tantalizingly close to that level.

“At that time, the Blade Demon allied with other Divine-tier Weapon Masters to besiege the Divine Descent. Yet he was struck by a single sword that pierced his arm.

“Though the Blade Demon promptly severed his own arm to stop the divine power from spreading, the Divine Descent’s energy still penetrated his core and has been corroding him ever since,” the white-haired man explained.

One sword strike.

The Blade Demon, once Da Feng’s most fearsome warrior and the foremost master of the blade, had fallen into madness. Now he was nothing more than a lunatic.

Thus, Da Feng constructed the Blood Demon Pool to imprison him.

The Blade Demon could no longer consume regular sustenance, surviving only on the blood within the pool.

“Could it be Him in Xianle Prefecture?” the fiery woman asked.

The white-haired man hesitated for several moments before slowly replying, “I’m not sure… but the figure seems to possess Divine-tier power.”

In truth, confirming whether or not the figure was the Divine Descent was simple—those who had once faced Him needed only to take a glance.

But neither Da Feng’s Divine-tier Weapon Masters nor Rosha Kingdom’s dared to do so.

“The Blade Demon should suffice to test Him,” the fiery woman said with a sly smile.

She produced a delicate artifact from her hands—a gossamer-thin eyepiece that seemed almost weightless. It was a pinnacle-level Heaven-tier Artifact, one step away from becoming Divine-tier.

The eyepiece’s most potent ability was its power to confuse the mind.

When wielded by the fiery woman, it could briefly bewilder even Divine-tier Weapon Masters. Against someone like the Blade Demon, whose mind was already fractured and unstable, she had complete confidence.

“Blade Demon, I’ve come to see you.”

The woman donned the eyepiece, her eyes radiating a mesmerizing light.

In the blood pool, the deranged, one-armed man bound by chains as thick as tree trunks roared ferociously, his expression twisted.

“Who are you?!”

“Die! All of you die!”

He thrashed violently, causing the blood in the pool to surge and churn, his body resembling a demon drenched in crimson.

“I’m… an old friend,” the woman said in a sultry, enchanting tone.

Under the influence of the artifact, the Blade Demon’s struggles eased slightly.

“Do you wish for revenge?” she coaxed.

“Revenge?” A gleam of light appeared in the Blade Demon’s eyes, only to be replaced moments later by terror. “No! No! No!”

Clearly, the battle from a century ago had left a profound scar on his psyche.

Chains rattled, and blood splattered in all directions.

“There’s no need to be afraid. The Divine Descent is long dead. The one you’ll face is merely one of His descendants,” the woman whispered seductively.

“A descendant?” The Blade Demon gradually calmed down.

“Yes. He’s in Rosha Kingdom now. And the Divine-tier Weapon Masters of Rosha won’t interfere with your entry,” she promised.

“Very well.”

<hr>

“Hey, Brother Cleaver, is it true that as soon as you arrived in Dingbo Prefecture, the Divine Descent appeared in Rosha? Is there some connection between you two?”

Within the Divine Wood Token’s communication device, a Thorned Blood employee sent a message.

Ji Wuyun, startled, assumed the expression of a panicked rabbit.

“Of course! I am the Divine Descent. Coincidentally, I’m short on followers. You two interested in believing in me?” Qi Yuan replied without hesitation.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

To play the part of the Divine Descent, he was leaving no stone unturned. At this point, even gods were broadcasting recruitment messages to amass believers—akin to a version of Qin Shihuang V50.

“Ridiculous! The Divine Descent is merely an artifact and has no self-awareness. How could He be here chatting with us?” Ji Wuyun countered.

“Why not? I’m a cleaver chatting with you. Why can’t an artifact do the same?” Qi Yuan retorted, feigning incredulity.

Ji Wuyun chose to remain silent.

At this moment, the Thorned Blood employee sent another message.

“Brother Cleaver, I’ve got some free intel for you. Remember, you owe me a favor for this.”

“What intel?” Qi Yuan’s eyes lit up. Free information was one of his favorite indulgences.

“The Blade Demon has left Da Feng and is heading to Xianle Prefecture to challenge the Divine Descent.”

“That’s impossible! The Blade Demon has long since lost his mind. If the Divine Descent has truly returned, why would he dare challenge Him? And why would the Rosha Kingdom allow a Divine-tier Weapon Master from an enemy nation to enter?”

“It’s simple. To deal with the Divine Descent.”

“But the Blade Demon is mad. If he loses control and starts slaughtering innocents, how many civilians in Rosha will die unnecessarily?” Ji Wuyun interjected, her tone filled with indignation.

“Innocents dying is still better than their leaders dying,” the Thorned Blood employee replied, his words laced with mockery.

Ji Wuyun fell silent.

After a long pause, she asked, “How do you know so much?”

“Because… Da Feng also has members in Thorned Blood. A little hint: one of them is a Divine-tier Weapon Master.”

A Divine-tier Weapon Master?

Qi Yuan’s eyes sparkled with interest.

“Pass along a message to that Divine-tier Weapon Master for me: ‘Train harder, or you’ll end up losing to a malnourished child,’” Qi Yuan said, smirking.

Ji Wuyun chose not to respond further.

This "Cleaver" must be the real Blade Demon, she thought, mad as a hatter.

“Brother Cleaver, your identity is becoming more intriguing by the moment,” the Thorned Blood employee remarked with growing curiosity.

In the Blue Mountain Chronicles, it was recorded that the Divine Descent was ultimately destroyed. Over the years, fragments of His existence occasionally reawakened, but none of these caused any significant waves.

Eventually, these fragments faded just as quickly as they emerged, sinking back into the Divine Wood Abyss, the place of their origin.

“One more friendly tip: beware of Rosha Kingdom’s emperor, Diwu Bufan. Over the years, he’s received ‘gifts from beyond the heavens,’ and his strength has grown to terrifying levels.”

“‘Gifts from beyond the heavens,’ huh?” Qi Yuan muttered thoughtfully. “Thanks for the warning. When I get to the Divine Wood Abyss, I’ll treat you to some steamed buns.”

<hr>

On the official road, Qi Yuan’s carriage rolled onward.

The road was nearing Xianlong County, where merchant caravans became more frequent. Qi Yuan’s modest carriage now blended in with the bustling traffic.

“Looks like there’s a lot more to the Divine Descent’s death than meets the eye,” Qi Yuan mused.

The power differences between Divine-tier Weapon Masters were immense. By Qi Yuan’s estimation, the Divine Descent’s immense strength made it highly unlikely that He was besieged and killed at Fallen Phoenix Slope.

“Could a third party have been involved?”

Qi Yuan glanced skyward as he pondered this.

If he were to truly play the role of the Divine Descent, he needed to uncover the truth of His demise.

“No matter. As long as I grow strong enough, I’ll carve a path through it all. The harder you fight, the closer you get to the truth, and the clearer it becomes,” Qi Yuan said, unconcerned.

Recently, his public displays of divine power had significantly increased his "performance rate" as the Divine Descent. This in turn had greatly enhanced his reputation, which brought him even more experience points.

Through his journey of defeating malevolent specters and various evildoers, his power steadily grew.

But the most significant leap in his strength came when his Divine Descent performance rate reached 50%, unlocking a powerful ability:

Descent of the Divine.

As the name implied, this ability allowed Qi Yuan to wield 90% of the Divine Descent’s peak strength. However, the ability came with restrictions: it lasted for only 100 breaths of time and could be used only once per day.

Despite its limitations, it was an incredibly valuable tool for Qi Yuan.

At his current level of 145, the gap between himself and a true Divine-tier Weapon Master remained immense. Yet Descent of the Divine gave him the power to temporarily bridge this divide, completely altering the battlefield.

More importantly, he could combine it with "Together as One", his technique for fusing with Xiao Jia. This fusion would instantly raise his level by six, further amplifying his strength.

With these tools, Qi Yuan believed he might even momentarily surpass the Third Step of Ascension, achieving power far beyond his current limits.

“Slow the carriage down,” Qi Yuan suddenly ordered.

He had decided to wait for the Blade Demon to arrive. After all, this Divine-tier Weapon Master was the perfect sacrificial lamb—a devoted warrior traveling thousands of miles to deliver himself as a target. How could Qi Yuan not show him due respect?

Chen Kangbao immediately nodded. “Understood, young master.”

<hr>

Three Days Later.

On the official road, an elderly woman stood with a heavy expression, her gaze fixed forward.

“The Blade Demon. Da Feng actually allowed him to leave, and Rosha Kingdom isn’t stopping him!”

This woman was none other than the Vice Master of the Arbiter Society. She was the infamous swordswoman who once beheaded a prince in the Red-light Pavilion—formerly known as the Courtesan.

Now, however, she was simply referred to as the "Old Courtesan."

“A kingdom like this is destined to collapse one day,” remarked an Earth-tier Weapon Master from the Arbiter Society, who stood beside her.

The Old Courtesan gazed at the Blade Demon’s figure in the distance, her expression a complex mix of fear and apprehension.

Since hearing news of the Divine Descent’s return, she had rushed to Dingbo Prefecture, then to Xianle Prefecture.

But despite being the Divine Descent’s most devout follower, even she could no longer recognize Him in His current form.

In the end, she chose a more desperate approach: following the Blade Demon.

Because of his madness, the Blade Demon traveled slowly, guided by a Heaven-tier warrior forcibly elevated to this level. Despite his slow pace, his presence carried a palpable sense of destruction.

“I wonder how well He’s recovered. Can He even match the Blade Demon?” The Old Courtesan’s voice carried deep concern.

Three years ago, she had met a peculiar man.

This man had prophesied that three years later—the present day—the Divine Descent would return.

But the prophecy came with a grim warning: this revival would be fleeting, like a flower that blooms and withers in a single moment.

The Old Courtesan refused to accept such a fate. She had dedicated her life to changing this trajectory.

When the Divine Descent fell, she had sworn to never again let Him perish before her eyes.

Her resolve had driven her to become a Weapon Master, eventually reaching the Heaven-tier. Though no match for the Blade Demon, she hoped she might buy the Divine Descent even a single breath of time.

But her thoughts were interrupted as her expression suddenly changed.

“Something’s wrong. The Blade Demon is picking up speed. Could it be… the Divine Descent?”

Her heart sank. Without hesitation, she sped forward toward the Blade Demon.

As a Heaven-tier Weapon Master, her speed was nearly at the sound barrier, yet the distance between her and the Blade Demon only grew.

“No! The Blade Demon is drawing his blade!” she realized with alarm.

Under the light of a waning crescent moon, the one-armed, crazed figure unleashed a terrifying strike. A single swing of his blade, imbued with immense killing intent, could shake the heavens.

This slash was powerful enough to split a mountain in two.

“No! The Divine Descent hasn’t fully recovered. How could He possibly…”

Her panicked thoughts were interrupted as her eyes widened in disbelief.

Under the cold moonlight, a flash of brilliance illuminated the battlefield.

A single streak of light—blood-red sword energy—cut through the air.

Before anyone could even discern the attacker, the Blade Demon’s head separated from his body.

In an instant, the terrifying and ferocious Blade Demon was no more.

“How could the Divine Descent… decapitate the Blade Demon in a single strike?!” the Old Courtesan thought in shock.

The battlefield fell silent. Countless pairs of eyes, all focused on the Blade Demon, were left in awe.

Though the Blade Demon was mad, he had still been a Divine-tier Weapon Master.

Yet one strike had ended him.

The Divine Descent… was stronger than ever before.

<hr>

On the other side, Qi Yuan remained calm as waves of experience surged into him.

With Descent of the Divine and Together as One, his single sword strike had surpassed the Divine Descent’s peak power, making the Blade Demon’s death inevitable.

Beside him, Chen Kangbao trembled uncontrollably. “Young master, you… you’re invincible!”

Chen Kangbao’s exaggerated reaction made Qi Yuan roll his eyes in disdain. “Stop shaking. You look so pathetic that people might think you’ve got something stuffed down your pants.”

“How did you know I hid steamed buns there, young master?” Chen Kangbao stammered.