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

Chapter 321: The Tracing Dog’s Discovery, Qi Yuan Is Actually…

Qi Yuan seemed to ignore the hidden mockery deep in the eyes of the two men.

"Lead the way. I need to learn how to have a grand wedding."

The dark-skinned man, hearing this, simply regarded Qi Yuan as a foolish wealthy man from the county town.

"Whose wedding could be more grand than that of our Sea God? Our Sea God is a deity of the highest order!"

When the dark-skinned man spoke of the greatness of the Sea God, he proudly puffed out his chest.

"How many wives has the Sea God taken?" Qi Yuan asked casually, "I'm here to learn."

"Well..." The dark-skinned man frowned, "I don’t remember exactly. The Sea God has been here for three years and takes a young woman every two months. I don’t know why recently, though; just last month he took a bride, and this month he’s taking another. Sigh."

The dark-skinned man seemed troubled by this. He was already thirty years old and had yet to find a wife. His old lover from the brothel had even been tricked into marrying the Sea God.

"Three years, huh?" Qi Yuan pondered, "Is the Sea God related to the aquatic tribe in the county town? Which of them is stronger?"

The leader of the monsters in the county town was Kun Lao Da, from the aquatic tribe. Here, there was a Sea God. The two might be connected somehow.

"No." The dark-skinned man shook his head, then continued to puff up his chest, "Half a year ago, Kun Lao Da from the county came to our Haishi Village to seek an audience with our Sea God."

This statement demonstrated the status of the Sea God, who was not inferior to Kun Lao Da, and might even be superior.

"I see."

Many thoughts crossed Qi Yuan’s mind.

If that’s the case, then this Sea God must also be a great demon at the Jade Blood Realm.

Currently, all the demons in Yunyan County have gathered in three strongholds.

Two of these strongholds, led by Elder Huang and the snake demon, called upon various demons to gather.

Thus, the locations of these strongholds were exposed to Qi Yuan's eyes.

All these demons were slaughtered by Qi Yuan.

Only the stronghold where Kun Lao Da resided remained unknown to Qi Yuan.

Logically, every known demon in Yunyan County should head to one of the three strongholds.

For a great demon like the Sea God, also at the Jade Blood Realm, it seemed likely he would be with Kun Lao Da, discussing matters related to the Spirit Blood Child.

Yet, the Sea God continued to act independently, still taking brides here.

This is intriguing.

Could it be... a bold guess?

Is Kun Lao Da the Sea God’s wife?

Kun Lao Da disappeared without informing the Sea God, and the Sea God became jealous and angrily decided to marry two brides.

It makes sense and is more reliable than some wild historical accounts.

Qi Yuan looked toward the depths of Haishi Village, his interest growing.

Following the dark-skinned man, Qi Yuan entered Haishi Village.

Haishi Village was mostly populated by young men dressed in coarse cloth, their chests exposed.

As for young women, they were extremely rare.

Upon entering the village, Qi Yuan was immediately greeted by the strong smell of fish. Low thatched roofs had fish drying in baskets on top, while some eaves had dried fish hanging.

In the corners, scraps of red paper seemed to have been washed to the base of the walls by rainwater.

This small fishing village had a stifling yet festive atmosphere.

At this moment, the sound of a dispute came from nearby.

"You may be from the yamen, but in our Haishi Village, the Sea God is first, and the yamen can only come second. If you want to see the Sea God, there's no way!"

"Hmph, what nonsense about the law! The law is just a rope you yamen folks use to hang around our necks!"

"Can the county magistrate ensure we have enough to eat? Can the emperor keep us safe while fishing?"

"Since they can't, the Sea God is the greatest."

The village chief, staring at the few constables before him, his beard twitching, was unreserved even in the face of the law enforcers.

For the past three years, Haishi Village had grown stronger.

There were thousands of young men and hundreds of boats, large and small.

At first, Haishi Village needed the help of the government to defeat neighboring villages.

But now, Haishi Village no longer took the government seriously.

The fishermen here could also be pirates.

Moreover, with the Sea God backing them, they feared no one.

An Qiao, holding the tracing dog, frowned deeply upon hearing the village chief's words, "How innocent these girls are who marry the Sea God?"

After all, she was from a modern society, and despite having experienced many such incidents, she still found it difficult to accept or condone them.

The old village chief looked at An Qiao with contempt, "Exchanging a few girls for a year’s harvest is a good deal.

People, after all, are either slaves for the government or servants for the Sea God.

Since that’s the case, why not choose an option that benefits us?"

To the old village chief, people were simply resources.

And resources were meant to be traded and exchanged.

Other villagers eyed An Qiao and the law enforcers beside her with malice, clearly agreeing with the village chief.

In the past, they fished from dawn to dusk, and over 70% of their catch had to be handed over to the court and the government, not to mention what was taken by corrupt officials.

Seeing those in official garb kowtowing was common.

Life back then was hopeless.

But now, they ate and drank well, even daring to point fingers at the constables.

An Qiao was infuriated, mainly because she felt the village chief's words made a bit of sense: "If you were one of those girls forced to marry the Sea God, would you be willing?"

The old village chief looked at An Qiao with contempt and said, "Young lady, you must have come from a good background to ask such a naive question at your age.

It's them, not me, marrying the Sea God.

If it were me, of course, I wouldn't want to. But... it's not me.

Why don't you ask the emperor if he'd want to be a farmer, facing the dirt day in and day out, and paying exorbitant taxes to the government?"

"You..." An Qiao was so angry she wanted to draw her sword, but the man in black martial attire beside her stopped her.

"If you truly want to attend the ceremony, you are welcome. But if you want to cause trouble, hehe... don’t expect to leave Haishi Village alive.

In Haishi Village, the Sea God is the emperor, and I, the old man, am the crown prince!"

The nearly seventy-year-old village chief spoke with great boldness, his tone extremely domineering.

At this moment, a somewhat surprised voice sounded.

"In this world, there's actually a seventy-year-old crown prince?"

Qi Yuan walked over, looking at the village chief in surprise.

"After being a crown prince for so many years, are you content?
Are you, like the ones in the TV dramas, secretly hoping the emperor dies?
Oh, and these young men around you, they must be the secret guards you’ve been secretly training."

Qi Yuan stared at the village chief, his eyes suddenly widening.

"My goodness, I observe that this place is filled with bloodthirsty energy, a sign of impending battle, the imperial star dimming.

Could it be that you, the crown prince, feeling unjust, have hidden these secret guards, planning to assassinate the Sea God during today’s royal wedding?"

Qi Yuan spoke quickly, like a machine gun.

His exaggerated performance immediately heightened the tension.

The village chief's expression changed repeatedly, "I didn’t! Stop talking nonsense! I am loyal to the Sea God!"

"Sigh, no wonder I had a dream yesterday. I dreamt of a white snake speaking in human language. It said: 'Haishi thrives, and the village chief becomes king.'

Initially, I didn’t understand what it meant, but now I see.

Village chief, you’re quite the ruthless one!"

As Qi Yuan spoke, the young men around the village chief instinctively distanced themselves from him.

The village chief's head buzzed.

Honestly, for some reason, hearing Qi Yuan’s words, he felt stirred, even thinking about rallying the people to really become king.

But soon, he came to his senses.

He had no son, and if he became emperor, who would inherit the throne?

Wouldn't it just benefit someone else?

Thinking this, he glared at Qi Yuan, "Who are you, spreading these lies?"

"I am the Blood Collector of All Worlds," Qi Yuan replied seriously.

He came here to take the Sea God’s blood.

The village chief was dumbfounded; he couldn’t quite understand Qi Yuan's words. His head still buzzing, he said bluntly, "Turns out you’re a madman."

At this moment, An Qiao looked at Qi Yuan with amusement, "Brother Qi, why did you come here?"

She used to call Qi Yuan a newcomer, but now she called him Brother Qi. Qi Yuan couldn’t help but sigh, "Ah, women."

"My child bride is getting married today. I’m here to attend the wedding," Qi Yuan replied earnestly.

"???" An Qiao was baffled.

The village chief’s gaze at Qi Yuan also turned hostile.

Could it be that the woman captured below is this lunatic’s child bride?

He looked at Qi Yuan, his tone threatening, "Anyone who dares disrupt the Sea God’s wedding today won’t leave this village alive!"

These people were from the government, so he couldn’t go all out.

After delivering his threat, the village chief left with the villagers.

Qi Yuan watched the village chief leave and shouted loudly, "Don't misunderstand! My child bride and I settled things a long time ago. Even if I were to steal a bride, I wouldn’t steal her. The Sea God... is my white moonlight!"

But the village chief and his people didn’t hear him.

At this moment, An Qiao thought the village chief was probably right: this Qi Yuan was indeed a bit mad.

"Brother Qi, do you remember the madman from yesterday? We followed him here. Our team leader is currently hiding here, and the two of us came openly to Haishi Village to investigate and see if there are any clues." An Qiao explained why they were there.

Qi Yuan nodded, "Do whatever you want. Just don’t interfere with my bride-stealing."

"Huh?" An Qiao looked serious, "Brother Qi, this Sea God... seems to be a great demon at the Jade Blood Realm. If you steal his wife, he certainly won’t like it."

"Who said I’m stealing his wife?" Qi Yuan was nonchalant, "Don’t worry, I know my limits. Let’s attend the ceremony first. I also want to learn and see... how weddings are done."

The first time he got married, he was asleep and didn’t remember anything. He stumbled into the bridal chamber half-awake.

This time, he intended to watch carefully.

An Qiao, hearing this, felt speechless.

She wanted to say, "Brother, the mission is more important."

But remembering Qi Yuan's strength and erratic behavior, she feared getting herself killed and didn’t say anything.

For the next while, the three of them and a dog roamed around the village.

Amid the sound of gongs and drums, the Sea God’s wedding officially began.

A long procession, with a sedan chair carried high, was accompanied by the beating of gongs and drums.

An Qiao looked at the scene, her expression complicated, "Apart from everything else, these ancient weddings are quite interesting."

Though there weren’t ten miles of red makeup, high-headed horses, or phoenix coronets, the atmosphere was still vibrant.

Qi Yuan, on the other hand, was disappointed and shook his head, "It’s not as grand as my musical band, not even as impressive as my mourning band."

"Huh?" An Qiao blinked, "What musical band? What mourning band? Where?"

She suspected Qi Yuan was just talking nonsense again.

"They’re in... my heart." Qi Yuan's expression grew a bit heavier.

All the villagers in the Mortal Heart Realm had become part of his Nascent Soul, becoming part of him.

He couldn’t awaken them now.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but think of the actress Wu Qi.

An Qiao fell silent, feeling she couldn’t communicate with Qi Yuan.

By now, the procession had reached the sandy beach by the sea.

Eight villagers carried the sedan chair, joy on their faces.

The village chief stood on a high platform, burning incense, worshipping the sea, and bowing deeply, looking extremely devout.

"Great Sea God, all-powerful Sea God, please grant Haishi Village a season of abundance and peace."

Following the village chief’s words, all the villagers knelt facing the sea, prostrating themselves with utmost devotion.

Only the spectators and the villagers carrying the sedan chair remained standing.

The men carrying the sedan chair stepped onto the sand, heading toward the sea.

Seeing this, An Qiao felt a pang of sadness.

Another innocent soul was about to suffer.

Beside her, Qi Yuan perked up, looking puzzled, "Why hasn’t the officiant asked if they’re willing? If he doesn’t ask, how do I steal the bride?"

That’s how it always went in the movies.

Whenever the officiant asked if they were willing, and the camera focused on the bride or groom, the bride-stealing would begin.

Qi Yuan also thought that was the best time to steal a bride; otherwise, the TV wouldn’t portray it that way.

Qi Yuan always followed the rules, did things by the book, and never broke the law.

After all, if it was on TV, it couldn’t be illegal. If it were, it wouldn’t be aired.

"I don’t think they have an officiant here," An Qiao didn’t really want to talk to Qi Yuan.

"What? No officiant? How do I steal the bride?" Qi Yuan was also dumbfounded.

He stood there, stunned, his mind racing with thoughts.

At this moment, An Qiao’s gaze shifted to the sea.

She saw a massive wave suddenly surge from the ocean, towering like a building, dozens of meters high.

The sound of the waves was deafening, and the villagers knelt even lower.

Any thoughts the village chief had, stirred up by Qi Yuan, disappeared amidst this display of the forces of nature.

An Qiao, witnessing this, looked grim, "As expected, it’s the Jade Blood Realm. I can’t even handle a wave like this. That poor girl... she’s doomed."

The Sea God hadn’t shown himself, but even the way he welcomed his bride was astonishing.

Qi Yuan, however, remained calm, "This display is just so-so. The special effects aren’t that great."

An Qiao and the man in black martial attire automatically tuned out Qi Yuan’s words.

At this moment, Qi Yuan focused on the horizon.

Using a Qi Refining-level technique to enhance his vision, his eyesight improved, allowing him to see further.

However, even across the sea, he could not spot the true form of the Sea God.

At this moment, the tracing dog suddenly sniffed the air, "Hmm, this scent... very familiar, quite similar to the aquatic tribe, but not exactly..."

The tracing dog suddenly looked at Qi Yuan, terrified.

"It’s exactly the same as your scent."

"You are the Sea God!"

"What?" An Qiao was shocked.

The man in black martial attire was equally stunned.

Qi Yuan is the Sea God?

An Qiao suddenly remembered, Qi Yuan never explicitly said he was the same as them.

Moreover, how could a newcomer be this powerful?

Could it be that the Sea God devoured the newcomer and disguised himself as Qi Yuan?