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

Chapter 345: Aji’s Opportunity?

"There are too few good seedlings. What is this...!"

The female cultivator with starry eyes and sword-like brows looked speechless.

Those kneeling below wouldn’t even qualify as servant disciples in the Fire Spirit Realm.

What irritated her the most was that she had rejected a boy without spiritual roots from joining yesterday.

That boy had boldly declared, "The river flows east for thirty years, then west for thirty years—never underestimate the poor youth!"

Fortunately, this was a place with many surveillance cameras.

If this had been in the Fire Spirit Realm, she would have slapped the boy to death.

"I heard that the Dou Shen Sect recently accepted a pure spiritual root disciple, which makes me so envious!" The female cultivator with starry eyes mentioned this with a face full of admiration.

The Dou Shen Sect and Xuantian Sect had been rivals for ages.

This rivalry could be traced back ten thousand years.

However, ten thousand years ago, Xuantian Sect was dominant over Dou Shen Sect.

But in the past few thousand years, well... Xuantian Sect had declined.

"A cultivator with pure spiritual roots, if they have smooth cultivation and sufficient resources, could even have a chance to... reach the Nascent Soul realm!" A middle-aged man nearby remarked with envy in his eyes. "The strongest we’ve recruited only has Earth-grade spiritual roots, but that child Zhiqi is very diligent, and her achievements might not be low."

When Wang Zhiqi was mentioned, Xie Tang's face also softened with a gentle expression.

That child was the most talented in Xuantian Sect, second only to their missing Holy Maiden, Xie Xinsu.

"A few days ago, the Dou Shen Sect stole some of our recruits again. By the way, the Dou Shen Sect is also trying to take over Tianyue City where Zhiqi is from!" The man mentioned this with a face full of resentment.

The more recruits they had, the more exceptional ones would emerge.

The recruitment of disciples by these sects was based on two things: one, the agreements signed with the Seven Martial Stars; and two, the competitions between various sects.

Well… Xuantian Sect lost to Dou Shen Sect in the last competition.

So, Dou Shen Sect took over one of Xuantian Sect's recruitment areas.

However, Dou Shen Sect was too greedy.

Xuantian Sect lost only Xinshi, but now they even wanted to take Tianyue.

"If Senior Sister were still here, they wouldn’t be so arrogant!" Xie Tang said angrily.

Senior Sister Xie Xinsu was the number one Golden Core in Xuantian Sect.

Her combat power was astonishing, and her talent was overflowing.

But a year ago, Senior Sister suddenly went missing for no apparent reason.

Sect Master He Yunzi even sought the guidance of the ancestors regarding the whereabouts of Holy Maiden Xie Xinsu but to no avail.

It could be said that Xie Xinsu's disappearance became the greatest mystery of Xuantian Sect.

Some in the sect even believed that this might have something to do with Dou Shen Sect.

"No, I must go to Tianyue City this time. If they want to take Tianyue, they’ll have to ask me, Xie Tang, first.

Just in time, I'll accompany Zhiqi when she returns home!"

---

Tianyue City, Jun’an Community.

Aji basked in the sun, feeling incredibly content with life.

His younger sister was sitting behind him, lazily playing with her phone.

Compared to Guiyuan, where the only form of entertainment was stargazing, life here was much better.

The most important thing was that they didn’t have to live in fear, worrying about being captured and having their organs harvested.

This kind of life was a gift from the Master.

He held deep respect for the Master in his heart.

"Little friend, what a coincidence, we meet again."

At that moment, an elderly voice rang out.

An old man dressed in white robes appeared.

The old man's white robe was embroidered with gold-edged pine trees and adorned with a unique mythical beast, which looked rather extraordinary.

Aji looked at the old man, a hint of wariness in his eyes, and instinctively moved to protect his sister.

Seeing this, the old man smiled helplessly. "You’re quite wary of me, little friend.

I, Zhang Dayang, mean you no harm, but rather wish to offer you both an opportunity."

"We don't want any opportunities!" Aji looked up, his face full of caution as he stared at the old man.

Zhang Dayang smiled kindly and said, "Don't be so quick to refuse, little friend. Take a look at this..."

When dealing with children, Zhang Dayang naturally had his own methods.

He opened his hand, which had been empty, and suddenly, a banana appeared.

This kind of trick was particularly appealing to children.

Sure enough, Aji's younger sister, who was behind him, looked at the banana with wonder, her face showing confusion.

"If you two follow me and become my disciples, in the future... you’ll be able to do things like this, just like I can."

Zhang Dayang said proudly, full of confidence.

At this point, a young man nearby added, "You two are very lucky. In the Fire Spirit Realm, everyone would be crying and begging to become a disciple of the Free and Unfettered Wanderer.

Such a great opportunity is right in front of you, and you two little kids aren't kneeling and bowing yet? Once you become disciples, your life path will completely change!

You will enter a world... that you could never have imagined or even dreamed of."

The young man spoke with an arrogant demeanor, as if looking down on the world from above.

Hearing this, Zhang Dayang shook his head. "You're exaggerating, my friend. I’m just a wanderer.

These two... they simply caught my eye, and their talents are quite suitable. I’m just taking a liking to them.

Little friends, would you be willing to follow me?

Don’t hesitate. If you both agree, I’ll personally convince your guardians."

The Free and Unfettered Wanderer had his own style of doing things, different from ordinary cultivators.

Seeing this, Aji quickly shook his head. "Sorry, we're not interested."

The Free and Unfettered Wanderer Zhang Dayang was momentarily stunned. "Could it be that my technique wasn’t impressive enough?"

He waved his hand again.

This time, a small golden dragon appeared between his arms, circling and flying, looking quite impressive.

This kind of display was most likely to attract children.

However, Aji didn’t even look at it and pulled his sister away without hesitation.

Zhang Dayang was dumbfounded for a moment, then chuckled wryly.

The young man next to him, however, had a cold look in his eyes. "Senior, should I go and grab them?

Humph, they don't recognize a true dragon when they see one.

How could they miss such a grand opportunity?"

Zhang Dayang shook his head, a smile appearing in his eyes. "All my life, I’ve pursued freedom. Why force others?

Everything depends on fate. I’ll show them a few more tricks over the next few days. If they still refuse, then it’s just not meant to be."

Hearing this, the young man’s eyes darted around. "Then I wish Senior an early success in taking these two as disciples.

However... if these two are not destined for you, our Dou Shen Sect... would be honored to accept them. I hope you’ll understand!"

Both of them had quite good talents, one with Earth-grade spiritual roots, the other with Heaven-grade spiritual roots.

If it weren’t for the Free and Unfettered Wanderer wanting to take disciples, Dou Shen Sect would have taken them by force long ago.

"Agreed." The Free and Unfettered Wanderer was eccentric and had no restrictions.

If Dou Shen Sect took them, so be it.

"I’ve already investigated. These two aren’t from Qin Yuan but were brought back to this community from Guiyuan.

Our Dou Shen Sect has had collaborations with the Wu Sect of Wugui.

When the time comes... we’ll simply take them away under the name of Wugui. It’s very simple." The young man explained.

---

[Mission Complete: Reward: One Ancestral Return Pill.]

A flash of light appeared, and a pill materialized in Qi Yuan's stone house.

Unlike ordinary pills, this one was blood-red, emitting a strong scent of blood.

Qi Yuan looked at the pill with a curious expression.

[To consume the Ancestral Return Pill, go to the Blood Jade Wall for the best effect.]

The prompt came again.

The Blood Jade Wall was a blood-colored wall in every outpost.

The wall was carved with various strange and bizarre creatures.

Cultivating under the Blood Jade Wall was very beneficial for Blood Warriors.

"Looks like I need to go out and see if this Ancestral Return Pill can let me meet my ancestors."

Meanwhile, back at the outpost.

An Qiao was still a bit dazed.

The mission completion prompt had come, and she had finally returned to the outpost.

"An girl, what’s going on? This mission took almost a year. The old man here thought you all had died on the mission." Lin Yeshan, dressed in ragged clothes, looked at An Qiao with a strange expression.

Typically, these missions were completed very quickly.

Finishing within a month was considered extremely rare.

But An Qiao’s mission, taking almost a year, was unheard of.

Not only Lin Yeshan but others in the outpost also thought that An Qiao had likely died in the mission world.

But now, after nearly a year, An Qiao suddenly reappeared, shocking many in the outpost.

At this moment, a crowd had gathered around An Qiao.

"What happened, An Qiao? Your mission didn’t seem that difficult. Why did it take a year?"

"Yeah, this mission involved over twenty people, yet it took almost a year. That's outrageous!"

An Qiao looked at the people surrounding her and swallowed hard. "Have any of you ever experienced... the mission target being taken away by a fellow participant?"

"What?"

"A participant took it away... for a year?"

"That person is malicious!"

"Was he planning to leave you all in the mission world?"

The crowd’s expressions changed, each one thinking of something terrifying.

If they were completing a mission and offended a fellow participant, and that participant took the mission target away, making it impossible for them to complete the mission, wouldn’t that mean... they might be forever trapped in the mission world, ultimately dying there?

"That person is vile. Did you manage to catch him?

Given that the mission ended nearly a year later, you must have caught him.

It seems he was quite strong and good at hiding, making you take a year to catch him." Lin Yeshan sighed.

As an old martial artist, he was lower in rank and had to rely heavily on his teammates to complete missions in the mission world.

If he encountered such a situation, he wouldn’t know what to do.

He decided to stick to his strategy of playing it safe and staying under the radar.

"By the way, where’s Brother Qi Yuan? I remember him being in the Blood Jade Realm, right? Couldn't he catch that villain?" Lin Yeshan asked.

Hearing this, An Qiao’s heart skipped a beat, and she gave a wry smile. "That person... was Qi Yuan."

"What... it was him!"

"He actually did such a despicable thing. Is there no rule left!"

"No, when he comes out, we need to teach him a lesson. If we team up with him again, how can we survive?"

"We must teach him a lesson, otherwise..."

The crowd was full of voices calling for justice.

"I think... it's better not to." An Qiao weakly suggested.

"What, has he already reached the middle stage of the Blood Jade Realm? Hmph, even if he has... he’s got some strength, but that’s all!"

"An Qiao, don't be afraid. We’ve got your back!"

"We must have a good talk with him today. He can’t just disregard the lives of his comrades. That’s unforgivable!"

"No matter how strong he is, could he really kill us all before his Blood Martial Qi runs out?"

The crowd was indignant and full of righteous anger.

An Qiao looked at the crowd and muttered, "Yes, he could."

"What?" Lin Yeshan was shocked.

The others also looked at An Qiao, puzzled.

Then they heard An Qiao say, "There were twelve demon lairs in Fengyuan. The weakest had three thousand demon soldiers, led by a demon hero.

The strongest had twenty thousand demon soldiers, led by a demon spirit.

In that year, Qi Yuan, taking the mission target with him, fought across three thousand miles, single-handedly wiping out all the demon lairs...

The reason he took the mission target away was that he was afraid we would complete the mission and he wouldn’t be able to annihilate all one hundred thousand demons in Fengyuan!"

As An Qiao spoke, she became more and more excited, her breathing even quickening.

Everyone around her fell silent, stunned.

"How is that possible? He killed over a hundred thousand demons alone?

Even a Nascent Soul cultivator couldn’t do that. Even a Martial King... would be exhausted to death!"

The crowd was shocked, finding the story too unbelievable.

After all, demon soldiers weren’t ordinary people.

Twenty thousand demon soldiers, led by a demon spirit, could probably wear down a Martial King to death.

And... a Martial King.

Well, they hadn't even heard of a Martial King in any outpost.

Even in the mission world, in those large-scale mission worlds, a Martial King was just a legend.

A Martial King, in cultivation terms, was equivalent to a Purple Mansion cultivator.

An invincible Purple Mansion!

"An Qiao, you’re back. How fortunate! By the way, here’s the Genius Alliance token. Please send it to Yang Guang for me."

A calm and relaxed voice came, and everyone present suddenly smelled an overwhelmingly strong scent of blood.

For some reason, their blood began to boil and tremble as if they were being watched by a terrifying demon.

A handsome young man in a blood-red robe appeared, and the Genius Alliance token fell into An Qiao’s hand.

Everyone looked at Qi Yuan, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.

This kind of trembling seemed to be ingrained in their genes, in their bloodlines.

Originally, they had suspected An Qiao of exaggerating.

But now, with Qi Yuan’s appearance, they knew that An Qiao’s words were absolutely true!

That terrifying, overwhelming killing intent and scent of blood couldn’t be faked.

And their Blood Martial path was based on demonic beasts.

So they felt it most profoundly.

These people looked at Qi Yuan, trembling, all their previous bravado gone.

At this moment, Qi Yuan looked at the crowd. "Did I just hear someone speaking ill of me?

A few days ago, in the Four Seasons Inn, someone badmouthed me, and I beat them to death.

So... is there anyone else who’s been badmouthing me?"

With a single glance, the thick scent of blood filled the air.

Everyone’s legs trembled, their fear reaching its peak.

They had a feeling that Qi Yuan could kill them all if he wanted to.

"Why are you all looking at me with such fear? Could it be... you’ve all been badmouthing me and are feeling guilty?"

Qi Yuan looked at the crowd, his expression calm.

"No!"

"Absolutely not!"

The crowd quickly put on ingratiating smiles, some trying their best to look innocent.

"If you haven’t badmouthed me, why are you afraid?" Qi Yuan moved his lips slightly.

He thought of a classic saying.

The crowd grew even more frightened, wanting to appear unafraid, but their bodies wouldn’t cooperate.

But then he said, "Forget it, I’m a magnanimous person; I won’t hold it against you."

Qi Yuan decided that when he got back, he would find the Golden Canary and ask her to help him conceal the scent of blood on him.

Otherwise, it would make him seem too much like a demon.

That would hurt his glorious and positive image.