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

Chapter 323: I Am… Lao Liu?

"You... Luo Bufan?"

The young man stared at Luo Bufan, his face filled with disbelief.

The village chief, who was possessed by the Sea God, also appeared bewildered, clearly not expecting what was happening today.

Luo Bufan, who was slumped on the ground, looked at Chen Fan's familiar face and seemed momentarily confused.

An Qiao widened her eyes, then smiled bitterly: "So, the protagonist of this mission is the captain."

Earlier, when talking with Qi Yuan, An Qiao referred to the mission world as a parallel world. This wasn't just a casual term but a reality. The mission world they were in seemed to be a reenactment of events from the past of their real world. It was like going back in time, back to different historical timelines, to complete their tasks.

During these missions, they had seen many parallel versions of famous historical figures and had come to know many remarkable yet forgotten individuals who had left no trace in the history books, overshadowed by fate.

History is vast and heavy, and each small figure is so insignificant in the long river of time.

"So, the captain also went through the same experiences as Luo Bufan," the man in black martial attire said, looking at Chen Fan with a hint of caution. After all, Luo Bufan was ruthless enough to kill his entire family to increase his power for demon slaying.

If he dared to kill even his closest kin, who wouldn't he dare to kill?

"The captain isn't that kind of person; I don't believe it!" An Qiao gritted her teeth, her expression complex. "There must be more to this!"

At this moment, all eyes were on Chen Fan.

Chen Fan looked at Luo Bufan, his expression resolute: "I am another you, the you from another world. I too experienced what you are going through. I was in pain, blamed myself, felt remorse, and even wanted to die. But... I pulled through in the end.

If I died, wouldn’t my parents and my family have died in vain?

Luo Bufan, think of the hundreds of thousands of citizens in Yunyan County behind you. Do you want to see this great demon drown Yunyan County completely?"

Chen Fan’s voice was hoarse but firm, with a hint of sorrow. He too had gone through these things. In the end, he sealed the great demon. Upon entering this world, his long-sealed memories resurfaced. Though he seemed calm and carefree, each word he spoke drained his strength as he painfully reopened the blood-soaked memories of his past.

"Luo Bufan, will you join me today to perform... the Luo Family's ultimate technique, the Lifeless Hand?" Chen Fan shouted.

The enemy they faced today was stronger and more cunning than the one he had faced before.

Hearing Chen Fan’s words, the last traces of suspicion in Luo Bufan’s eyes vanished.

The Lifeless Hand was the Luo family’s ancestral technique, passed down only to the next head of the family. Apart from his father, only he knew it. This technique was unknown to outsiders and could not be practiced by any other bloodline. Therefore, Chen Fan was not lying.

Luo Bufan looked at the corpse of Chen Xinlian, his eyes filled with endless guilt and regret. Finally, his gaze became determined: "Alright!"

Lifeless Hand, as its name suggests, is a technique of no return. At this moment, both the past Luo Bufan and the current Chen Fan chose the same path. The faces of his family, his fiancée, and all who had died appeared vividly in Luo Bufan's mind. Now, the blood flowing through him was not his own but theirs.

"Lifeless Hand!"

Luo Bufan shouted as a Jade Blood Realm expert.

Chen Fan, at his peak in the Qi Blood realm, roared.

On the beach, the two terrifying figures charged at the body possessed by the Sea God without hesitation.

Bloody handprints flew everywhere, like leaves falling in a forest.

Long ago, the Luo family’s ancestor had created the Lifeless Hand in a maple forest, then died. Since then, the Luo family had this unique technique, but no descendant had ever used it. Today, Luo Bufan resurrected the Lifeless Hand. This technique, surpassing the Jade Blood Realm in power, displayed terrifying might at this moment. Its chilling, unstoppable, leaf-falling intent was almost akin to a Primordial Divine Ability of the Purple Palace cultivators.

"No!" the Sea God roared. Faced with the two strikes, his body couldn't move. The powerful defensive technique seemed to lose all its effectiveness, and his most prized illusions failed.

The two bloody handprints fell on his possessed body.

Boom!

The village chief’s body shattered, turning flesh and bones into fragments. The strike even hit the Sea God's soul.

"No!" the Sea God let out a painful wail. His spiritual form floated in the air, his eyes filled with rage and despair.

"You actually... destroyed one of my bodies. Unforgivable, unforgivable!"

The Sea God was furious, but his anger was mixed with pain. For years, he had used illusions to lure Kun Lao Da (the Water Clan leader) into becoming a vessel for his divided soul.

But now, the combined attacks of Chen Fan and Luo Bufan, full of deathly determination, struck directly at his soul.

He had to use Kun Lao Da’s form to withstand the two Lifeless Hand attacks. Not only that, but many of his possessed bodies exploded as well.

In Haishi Village alone, over a hundred young and strong men died. Even so, he suffered a severe injury.

The fearless, life-for-a-life martial skill directly exhausted his decades-long accumulation.

Especially Kun Lao Da’s form, which was at the Jade Blood battle level.

Today’s encounter was truly a disaster for him.

“Damn it, you all must die, all of you must die!”

The Sea God’s eyes turned blood red. With his furious roar, the distant sea suddenly churned as if a dragon absorbed the water.

A wave, as high as a mountain, surged into the sky.

Upon the enormous wave, a hideous soft-bodied creature opened three eyes, each as large as a lantern. Each eye represented a different martial skill.

The white eye focused on illusions.

The red eye focused on attacks.

The purple eye focused on control.

This was the Sea God’s true form, the so-called “Son of Spirit Blood” mentioned by Kun Lao Da.

The “Son of Spirit Blood” was merely a deception. After devouring Kun Lao Da to turn him into his puppet, the Sea God spread the false information to lure all the demons of Yunyan County into his trap.

But for some reason, things went awry. Now, with one of his powerful bodies destroyed and a third of his strength lost, he was furious.

His grand plan was thwarted, and he decided to stop hiding and directly carry out his scheme to flood Yunyan County.

This was the warning Luo Bufan had received, which had left him unsettled and led him to seek the court’s help.

However, despite offering ten thousand taels of silver, nothing was accomplished.

Under the Sea God's control, the sea continued to gather, the waves growing taller and higher.

He seemed determined to drown Yunyan County.

“What do we do? The Sea God isn’t dead!”

“We’re doomed; he’s furious!”

“Captain!”

The three members of the Demon Subduing Division rushed toward Chen Fan.

At this moment, Chen Fan, his face as pale as paper, looked at the distant rising water, worry flashing in his eyes.

“Yunyan County... it’s doomed.”

The enemy he had faced before was even stronger than this one. But with others' help, he had managed to seal the great demon.

But today... Yunyan County...

Luo Bufan, disheveled, stared at the growing mountain of water ahead, his eyes bloodshot: “I... I failed, how could this be...”

His loved ones had died, and the demon he most wanted to kill still lived. Even sacrificing his life hadn't changed that.

How unwilling, how remorseful, how...

Luo Bufan stared blankly at the sea, seemingly dying with his eyes open.

Chen Fan, panting, coughed up blood. An Qiao pressed down on his shoulder, tears forming in her eyes: “What’s going on? The mission is clearly completed; why can’t we go back yet!”

She wanted to return, not only to avoid the Sea God but also to exchange some healing items to save Chen Fan.

She believed Chen Fan could still be saved.

Her thoughts were clear to Chen Fan, who had lived for hundreds of years: “I should have died long ago; I can’t be saved.”

His heart was already broken, his blood dried up, and he was just a step away from death.

“What a pity...” Chen Fan’s lips curled into a self-mocking smile. “They called me a genius in the later generations, but it seems in every world... I’m just trash. Can’t even protect my own family.”

The events of the past seemed to be the deepest pain in his heart.

Now, he no longer had to endure such pain.

At this moment, the sea continued to surge, the monstrous waves growing taller.

The entire Yunyan County was in danger.

But few were paying attention to this.

The Sea God, sitting arrogantly on the wave, looked as if he controlled everything in the world.

But then, a calm voice cut through the roar of the waves and reached everyone’s ears clearly.

“But it seems, in this game, I’m not the hero who arrives last to save the day. Instead, I’m just a ‘lao liu’ who cleans up after others and snatches the final kill.”

Qi Yuan appeared, looking relaxed. It seemed as if he was not facing a terrifying great demon, but simply a near-dead target.

The Sea God’s gaze finally fell on Qi Yuan, and a flash of surprise crossed its eyes. “Have we… met before?”

“Hmm… you could say we have. In the real world, I’ve eaten you before. Well… actually, it was a fatter version of you.”

Qi Yuan recalled the Mo Li Sha fish king he had eaten in reality, and it was truly a memorable experience. That was a giant demon of the Martial Hero level, far superior to the Jade Blood-level demon in front of him.

“Impudent!” The Sea God roared, its blood-red eyes locked onto Qi Yuan. Instantly, a blood-red arrow shot towards him.

“Sorry, I’m also at the Jade Blood level. Dodge!” Qi Yuan easily sidestepped, evading the attack.

There was a hint of mockery in the Sea God’s eyes: “A mere novice at the Jade Blood level, and you dare to act so arrogantly!”

Kun Lao Da was a mid-Jade Blood-level demon. Even when Luo Bufan and Chen Fan joined forces and unleashed an attack that nearly reached the late Jade Blood level, the Sea God still survived.

“If you were in full form, I might be more cautious. But now, you’re just a wounded dog—intimidating in appearance but not much of a threat,” Qi Yuan retorted with disdain.

He loved dealing with weakened enemies. Being the ‘lao liu’ who cleaned up the mess and took down weakened opponents was his specialty.

The mockery in the Sea God’s eyes deepened: “Just in time; Kun Feng’s puppet has fallen. You… shall become my new puppet!”

Even though Kun Feng’s puppet had been shattered, causing the Sea God to lose a third of its combat strength, its most prized illusion technique remained intact. Dealing with Kun Feng and the present Luo Bufan required setting traps. But against a novice Jade Blood level like Qi Yuan, brute force through illusions would suffice.

With the Sea God’s command, the white pupil focused on Qi Yuan.

Suddenly, Qi Yuan felt the world around him become still.

At this moment, he narrowed his eyes and smiled: “Oh, you want to hear my inner thoughts?”

The Sea God’s illusion attack was designed to invade Qi Yuan’s mind, extract his memories, and listen to his inner thoughts.

“Sigh, too weak. Can’t even open the door. Come on, let me help you open it.”

As the saying goes, a confidant is hard to find. Rarely did anyone want to hear his inner thoughts, and now that someone did, Qi Yuan was happy to open the door and let them listen.

When the door opened, countless… Divine Infants flooded into the Sea God’s consciousness.

Chaotic, mad, disordered curses, murmurs, and joyful voices all rushed into the Sea God’s mind at once.

Boom!

The Sea God’s white pupil exploded violently, its eyeball turning to pulp and splattering everywhere.

“Ahhh… what… are you…”

The Sea God’s thoughts became chaotic.

Moments ago, it had used its illusion technique to break through Qi Yuan’s mental defenses and hear his inner voice. But what did it hear?

“Ah…”

It went mad, claws digging into its own white pupil socket, seemingly intent on crushing it completely.

“Sigh, why not stay a little longer? My Nascent Souls are lonely, and it’s rare for someone to come in and keep them company,” Qi Yuan said, a touch of melancholy in his tone, like a lonely old man left behind. But soon, his expression turned into the smirk of a sly opportunist. “Now do you understand why I called you a wounded dog? Without Kun Lao Da, you’re… nothing!”

The Mo Li Sha fish king’s strongest suit was illusion and mind control. However, Qi Yuan was almost immune to being deceived or trapped in illusions.

Why? It was simple—he was sharp-witted and incredibly smart.

With his ability to see hidden information, he wouldn’t fall for illusions. Therefore, he was a natural counter to the Mo Li Sha fish king.

Without Kun Lao Da’s protection, wasn’t the Sea God just a wounded animal ready to be slaughtered?

“Someone once said, ‘You can’t step into the same river twice, nor can you eat the same fish twice.’ Today, I’m going to prove them wrong and see which tastes better—you or the one before!”

Jade Blood-level: Explosive Bird-Killing Fist activated at that moment.

No flashy moves, just a simple, straightforward punch.

It cut through all illusions and struck directly at the Sea God’s heart.

“No!” The deranged Sea God had no power to resist. The Divine Infants’ murmurs, like the whispers of an evil god, had driven it insane.

With one blow, Qi Yuan’s punch struck true, and the Sea God lay flat, the flame of its life flickering out.

The towering waves that had risen seemed to vanish in an instant, like fireworks in the sky fading away.

Over thirty drops of jade-white blood appeared in Qi Yuan’s hand.

His expression was indescribable.

This mission was surprisingly easy, and he even got to watch a drama play out.

His gaze then fell on Chen Fan.

At this moment, Chen Fan’s internal organs were completely shattered, his expression a mix of relief and numbness.

The insane Luo Bufan lay on the ground, smiling, but his expression was more sorrowful than anything.

“Thank you. Dying like this… makes it easier to accept,” Chen Fan said softly, looking at this familiar yet unfamiliar Qi Yuan.

His eyes had already lost their light, and he seemed detached from everything in this world.

Dying this way felt like a release.

At least Yunyan County survived, didn’t it?

Qi Yuan looked at Chen Fan and spoke calmly: “Before you go, would you like to hear some hidden plot details from the game?”

Chen Fan’s life force continued to wane, and he didn’t respond.

Luo Bufan also lay there, quietly awaiting the arrival of death.

Still, Qi Yuan continued, speaking as if to himself: “The mission isn’t actually complete yet. It’s quite simple, really. The Luo and Chen family massacres were done by… the Mo Li Sha fish king.

The game task was to investigate the true reason behind the demon massacre of the Luo and Chen families. Clearly… it was the demon that acted.

In fact… your father, your mother, your family, and even your fiancée didn’t die by your hands.

They were killed by the Mo Li Sha fish king, but it excelled at illusion and tricked you into believing that you were the killer.

As for the motive, it’s also straightforward. The Mo Li Sha fish king’s combat power was too weak, so it needed protection.

Kun Lao Da was one choice, and Yunyan County’s genius Luo Bufan… was another.”

Hearing this, Luo Bufan’s body trembled.

An Qiao beamed with joy: “I knew the captain wasn’t that kind of person; he would never kill his own parents!”

However, Chen Fan, whom An Qiao was supporting, remained calm and softly asked: “Is that true?”

“Yeah.” Qi Yuan nodded.

An Qiao was overwhelmed with joy: “Captain, we’ll go back. There must be a way to save you.”

The other two black-clad men also smiled. This mission was full of surprises but ended without a hitch, a perfect outcome.

It seemed like a major victory if the captain could be saved.

Chen Fan seemed not to hear An Qiao’s words. He continued to cough, spitting out blood mixed with bits of his organs. He looked at An Qiao: “After the mission… go to my place and take my belongings to… him… as a… reward…”

After saying that, he glanced at the young Luo Bufan not far away. For the first time, his eyes showed a look of relief and calm, and his hand finally fell limply to the side.

The world seemed to have made peace with him, but it seemed he hadn’t made peace with himself.

Chen Fan’s death didn’t stir much emotion in Qi Yuan.

After all, he was just an NPC with limited screen time.

“Finally, the mission is over… Where are we going back to?”

“Hmm, before returning, let’s bury the dead. It’s the least we can do.”