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

Chapter 525: Destiny? The Death of Divine Descent?

night fell once more.inside the inn, qi yuan stared at the returning drones, his expression complicated.

"still no sign, still no sign."

the earth-tier weapon masters who had ventured into the ruins returned one after another, all bringing back the same news: none of them had seen shen lingxuan.

qi yuan had also dispatched several drones into the depths of the ruins, looping the sound of his voice calling for shen lingxuan.

at the time, these drones had been disguised as moths, startling many weapon masters.

however, even with the aid of the drones, qi yuan still failed to locate shen lingxuan.

it was as though she had vanished into thin air.

"could it be… i can't 'ride' her now?"

"or is it that this game is too scared to feature dramatic adult scenes for fear of censorship?"

"but i’m a shareholder!"

qi yuan was speechless.

he, a dignified shareholder, couldn't even set up a private server to enact some large-scale dramatic scenes without issues?

"everyone… come out immediately!"

at that moment, a thunderous shout echoed, accompanied by the overwhelming pressure of a heaven-tier weapon master.

inside the inn, the earth-tier weapon masters who had been resting were all visibly shaken.

"what’s going on?"

"that’s the fallen void lord!"

"a heaven-tier weapon master?"

the earth-tier weapon masters in the inn wore a mix of expressions, whispering among themselves.

"fallen void lord? what’s he here for?" a top-tier weapon master cautiously inquired.

outside the inn, three heaven-tier weapon masters hovered mid-air, exuding murderous intent.

the leader, the fallen void lord, wore a long green robe with a white bone hairpin stuck diagonally in his hair, making him look like someone from a demonic sect.

the presence of the three heaven-tier weapon masters brought immense pressure to the earth-tier weapon masters inside the inn.

any one of these three could nearly effortlessly decimate the inn.

"we three ventured into the ruins and discovered the embryonic form of a divine weapon within the lair of a heaven-tier specter. after a grueling battle, we joined forces to slay the specter. however, just as we secured the divine weapon embryo, a male earth-tier weapon master suddenly appeared and snatched it away," said the fallen void lord, his eyes blazing with fury. "he was incredibly fast, and with the three of us entangled by other specters, he managed to escape."

"i suspect that he is currently hiding in this inn," added another heaven-tier weapon master in a raspy voice. "everyone here must come out immediately and hand over their storage artifacts for inspection."

inside the inn, the others’ expressions subtly shifted upon hearing this.

although the fallen void lord claimed that an earth-tier weapon master had stolen the divine weapon embryo, everyone knew better than to trust his words. what if the three heaven-tier weapon masters had simply grown greedy and fabricated this excuse?

regardless, the earth-tier weapon master they sought was cornered in the inn.

many secretly thought the thief’s luck had run out.

at that moment, inside the inn, wang chunting’s face darkened. "damn it! it was clearly mine they stole!"

lowering his head, he furtively looked around,

“who are you?”

the numerous earth-tier weapon masters were taken aback.

his voice was so loud that the entire heavenly sect could hear it.

and he was looking for shen lingxuan?

moreover, his aura was intimidating—clearly that of a heaven-tier weapon master.

at that moment, wang qingyi’s eyes widened in shock.

“you’re qi yuan?”

her expression was one of disbelief.

wasn’t qi yuan just an ordinary person?

how had he suddenly developed such a terrifying aura?

“qi yuan? who’s that?”

“elder wang, do you know him?”

the heavenly sect elders were all startled, their gazes wary as they looked at qi yuan.

this mysterious heaven-tier weapon master was someone elder wang actually recognized?

“he is… lingxuan’s husband…”

“what? that useless son-in-law…” one elder blurted out before hastily covering his mouth, afraid to continue.

the other elders all turned their gazes to qi yuan.

in the distance, ye zhen and jiang yunxi also studied qi yuan—one wore a peculiar expression, while the other was filled with curiosity.

“you’re a heaven-tier weapon master? and… not even twenty years old?” the daoist leader of the heavenly sect was utterly shocked.

he had never encountered a heaven-tier weapon master this young.

in fact, he hadn’t even seen an earth-tier weapon master this young.

the elders present were all equally stunned.

after all, they were well aware of the details of shen lingxuan’s marriage.

most of them had always felt that shen lingxuan’s circumstances were unjust.

but now, her husband was suddenly revealed to be a heaven-tier weapon master?

how could they not be astonished?

“good! good! good!” the daoist leader of the heavenly sect suddenly became invigorated. “as a heaven-tier weapon master, you now have the strength to protect lingxuan. quickly take her and leave the ning kingdom!”

although an average heaven-tier weapon master might not be a match for the veteran heaven-tier weapon masters of the rosha kingdom, they were at least strong enough to help lingxuan escape, sparing her from constantly living in danger and passivity.

“i came here to ask if lingxuan has returned. i’ve searched all across the ten thousand mountains but haven’t been able to find her,” qi yuan said, his tone tinged with disappointment.

the daoist leader’s expression shifted slightly. “ahem… i’m afraid i don’t know.”

when lingxuan left this time, she did so with great secrecy, leaving behind neither contact information nor any trace of her whereabouts—precisely to prevent the rosha kingdom from tracing her.

“you can’t reach her either?” the disappointment in qi yuan’s eyes deepened.

it seemed the ‘useless son-in-law’ persona would have to be shelved for now.

he would need to head to the rosha kingdom and start building his ‘divine descent’ persona.

“senior, please stay at the heavenly sect. we will dedicate the full resources of the sect to locating lingxuan,” the daoist leader offered.

if qi yuan were to remain and take charge of the first-generation daoist leader’s artifact, even the heaven-tier weapon masters of the rosha kingdom might struggle to break through their formations.

“no need. if she can’t be found, i’ll be on my way.

oh, by the way, if any of you see shen lingxuan, tell her i… have gone to the rosha kingdom. later, i might also head to the divine wood abyss,” qi yuan said calmly.

a woman would not hinder his path.

if the ‘useless son-in-law’ role couldn’t proceed, he would play divine descent instead.

“the rosha kingdom?” the daoist leader’s face changed slightly. “senior, why head there? that’s like walking into the lion’s den!”

“lion’s den? i’m going there… to pass judgment,” qi yuan replied nonchalantly.

the rosha kingdom? their gods had returned!

“senior, i urge you to reconsider!” the daoist leader assumed qi yuan was acting out of anger over lingxuan’s situation.

the rosha kingdom wasn’t merely home to heaven-tier weapon masters—it also had divine-tier ones.

“reconsider what?” qi yuan chuckled lightly, his expression indifferent. “you no longer need to seal the mountain.”

"if we don’t seal the mountain, heaven-tier weapon masters from the rosha kingdom will barge in…" one elder murmured.

"don’t worry. that won’t happen. the rosha kingdom’s dozen or so heaven-tier weapon masters… have all been slain by me."

"what?"

the elders were dumbfounded, their faces filled with disbelief as if they had misheard.

"they were all killed in the ten thousand mountains," qi yuan said calmly. his face bore a gentle smile, but his words carried an eerie detachment that sent chills down their spines.

"they were all killed by the young master. if you don’t believe me, you can go ask tu sihai or wang dao…" chen kangbao added proudly.

as he spoke, he pulled out a few strands of hair.

"see these? these strands of hair were taken from the heads of those heaven-tier weapon masters. i’m planning to make a broom out of them," chen kangbao said smugly.

the earth-tier weapon masters present collectively held their breaths, staring at the strands of hair with disbelief etched across their faces.

qi yuan… had killed the rosha kingdom’s dozen or so heaven-tier weapon masters?

how was that even possible?

but the strands of hair… they were undeniably from heaven-tier weapon masters.

one strand in particular—a golden strand—stood out. they had seen such hair before, and aside from that particular rosha kingdom weapon master, there was no one in the ning kingdom with such features.

"alright, everyone. until next time. goodbye."

without a moment of hesitation, qi yuan disappeared with chen kangbao, leaving behind a stunned and silent crowd.

the figures of the two vanished into the distance, and yet, the wind continued to blow.

after what seemed like an eternity, one elder finally broke the silence.

"did someone just come by?"

"yes?"

"the useless son-in-law? qi yuan?"

"yes."

"a heaven-tier weapon master?"

"yes… who killed the rosha kingdom’s heaven-tier weapon masters."

"i must still be dreaming. time to go back to sleep," the elder muttered to himself.

in the distance, ye zhen watched everything unfold. the shock in her heart lingered for a long time. after a while, she squinted and murmured, "these two… they seem familiar to me somehow."

"senior sister ye zhen, you feel that way too? i also feel like i’ve seen them before!"

the sun rose from the remnants of the night, and the bright moon shared the sky with the tides.

the rosha kingdom and the ning kingdom were separated by mountains, rivers, and even an ocean.

a large ship sailed through the night. qi yuan stood on the deck, gazing at the sparse stars above.

"the useless son-in-law persona has been steadily increasing in performance points over the past few days. it’s now stuck at 90."

after leaving the heavenly sect, the playthrough rate for the useless son-in-law role continued to rise.

even though qi yuan hadn’t done much, the rate still increased.

qi yuan speculated that the news of him slaughtering the rosha kingdom’s heaven-tier weapon masters was gradually spreading across the ning kingdom.

even the shen family had likely heard of it by now.

the useless son-in-law name was now famous across the land.

"as expected, even a useless son-in-law like qi yuan has a heart that wants to show off.

just going to the heavenly sect and flexing a little caused the performance rate to rise by nearly 30%."

at 30%, qi yuan had awakened the heart of craftsmanship. at 60%, he had awakened the yin-yang white flame. and at 90%, qi yuan had awakened… the faint trace of destiny.

"this faint trace of destiny… is it what i think it is? what exactly does it represent?"

qi yuan pondered this.

after awakening this faint trace of destiny, he didn’t feel any significant changes compared to before.

"hey, what exactly is destiny?"

when faced with questions he couldn’t answer, he would normally ask baidu on earth. here, however, he turned to the forums on the divine wood token.

among the users, the staff member "thorned blood" was particularly knowledgeable—he seemed like an npc specialized in answering such queries.

"why are you asking about this?" thorned blood replied instantly. "destiny is a very enigmatic concept. simply put, those who carry destiny are more loved by the heavens and earth."

"that sounds like a good thing," qi yuan replied.

being favored by the heavens and earth would presumably bring good fortune, as well as faster progress in cultivation.

"it’s a good thing… but also a bad thing," thorned blood suddenly replied. "do you know about the divine descent?"

"i know about it."

"it was an artifact imbued with destiny. according to the , its destruction was closely tied to its possession of destiny."

"wasn’t the divine descent destroyed by the rosha kingdom?" qi yuan asked.

based on the information he had so far, the rosha kingdom had orchestrated the ambush that led to the divine descent’s destruction.

"hah! the divine descent was a peak artifact at the pinnacle of the heaven ascension third step, just a step away from condensing its divine domain. do you really think a mere rosha kingdom could destroy something of that caliber?

its destruction was tied to its destiny, as well as certain secrets that surrounded it. that’s why… it was destroyed.

as for the specific details, i’m just a small fry—i wouldn’t know.

perhaps one day, if i ever manage to step into the seventh realm, i might qualify to learn the truth.

but with my current talent… there’s no need to think about it."

"so you’re saying… people pay attention to destiny?"

"that’s one way to put it. if you carry destiny, it’s best to hide it. otherwise, you never know when a mysterious powerhouse might show up and kill you."

"why would someone want to kill those with destiny?" qi yuan asked curiously.

"because… destiny represents the approval of the world. maybe there are people out there who can’t gain the world’s approval, and in their frustration, they lash out at those who have it?" thorned blood speculated. "but these are just my guesses. don’t take them as fact."

"thank you for sharing all this. when i reach the divine wood abyss, i’ll treat you to some buns."