Chapter 152: If I Sacrifice the Stellar Jindan, How Will My Dear Friend Respond?

Chapter 152: If I Offer Up My Stellar Golden Core, How Will You Respond?

Slaughter began in an instant.

The Great Palace Master stepped forward, his face calm, and he let out a soft shout.

“Heavenly Ninefold Radiance Array!”

From the nine heavens, light cascaded down.

The Great Palace Master was cloaked in radiance, his entire being becoming sacred beyond compare.

The Second and Third Palace Masters soared into the sky, their deep eyes filled with devotion.

“Summon my glorious sword!”

At their voices, the more than fifty Purple Mansions below grew solemn in that moment and shouted in unison.

“Summon my glorious sword!”

The more than fifty Purple Mansions turned translucent.

Countless rays of light spread over their bodies; their sleeves fluttered with white brilliance, each one like a sage.

Over a thousand Divine Infant cultivators flew into the sky, like fireflies, emitting their own luster.

“Glorious sword, guard my light!”

“Unbreakable shield, banish all demons!”

As the thousand cultivators cried out, thousands of light swords hung in the air above the Palace of Radiance, like ten thousand blades launched together.

An aura of light, holiness, devotion, and sacrifice filled the air.

Every cultivator wore a solemn expression, unafraid of death, as if fighting for the light.

Qi Yuan saw this scene, and the smile on his face froze.

He looked at the holy Palace of Radiance, then at himself, drenched in blood and murderous intent.

How did he feel like the great villain instead?

“I am the one who represents light! You shameless thieves who steal it!”

“I, the Blood-Robed Sword God, stand for justice and light, and I will annihilate you all!”

“The true glorious sword belongs to me!”

His blood-red robe rustled in the wind as Qi Yuan let out a great shout.

Above the sky, endless blood churned and boiled, a vast killing intent sweeping forth; all who cast a glance at the heavens were struck with fear.

The blood sword at his back unsheathed, its crimson light eerie, like the seduction of an evil god.

Heart Demon Summoning of the Void Realm Master!

The blood-colored soul sword flew toward the sky in that instant.

From the boundless sea of blood, as if summoned, a thousand blood-red long swords rose into the air.

Pride, evil, greed, gluttony…

The dark wind howled, demons snarled.

Endless auras spread over the thousand blood-red long swords.

“This is what a glorious sword should be!” Qi Yuan glanced back at his own glorious sword, a little uneasy.

If he had summoned just one, he could still disguise it as white, holy, and pure.

But a thousand? Too hard to fake.

So he stopped pretending.

Who said a bad guy couldn’t be a good guy?

“Justice will triumph over evil!” Qi Yuan roared.

The cultivators of the Palace of Radiance also shouted: “Glorious sword, cut down all evil!”

The red blood swords and the holy light swords collided in that moment!

The entire sky split in two.

Half was a sea of blood, half was holy as rain.

Blood and white clashed.

The holy radiance, the purest thing in the world, was instantly defiled by the blood.

The white light on the Great Palace Master wavered, as if about to fall away.

The thousand Divine Infants and the more than fifty Purple Mansions all turned pale.

Among them, several dozen Divine Infants saw their light swords completely turn blood-red.

Qi Yuan’s face also went pale.

He had withstood several dozen primal divine abilities head-on.

In that instant, he quickly used Deathly Radiance and recovered as before.

“Not bad, some skill. A fake glorious sword can actually contend with my real one.

It seems killing you all will take a day and a night.”

After the first clash, both sides suffered losses.

The Palace of Radiance camp lost over a dozen Divine Infants outright.

Qi Yuan had some expenditure, but it was instantly replenished by Deathly Radiance, leaving him unscathed.

Hearing Qi Yuan’s words, all the Purple Mansions of the Palace of Radiance were shaken.

They had thought that even if this strike couldn’t kill the Blood-Robed Sword God, it would at least gravely wound him!

But the Blood-Robed Sword God now—how did he seem like someone who had been hit?

Not even a light injury.

“Again!” Qi Yuan grew bolder as he fought.

Once, he had challenged the old man of two thousand seven hundred across levels.

Now, with primal divine abilities of his own, at the Primordial Core realm, what was wrong with killing a few Purple Mansions?

This time, he summoned a full three thousand glorious blood swords.

Bullying the weak with numbers!

“Swear to defend the Palace of Radiance!” the Divine Infants and Purple Mansions roared, their bodies flashing with intense light.

Boom!

The collision happened again.

This time, Qi Yuan simultaneously used Overwhelming Power and Deathly Radiance, merging them into his primal divine ability.

Light and blood intertwined.

Above the light, an eerie blood-red hue now lingered.

Qi Yuan laughed heartily: "Hahaha, continue—your false light will eventually be devoured by me!"

In the distance, all the Purple Mansion cultivators watching this battle were stunned.

"The Blood-Robed Sword God... terrifying beyond measure; even Wutian Elder might not be his match!"

"Give him ten thousand years, and he might truly become a Yin God!"

"Where did this colossal demon come from, with such surging blood aura? If he truly defeats Bright Light Palace, what will become of our Cuiyun Prefecture in the future?"

A primal divine ability reveals a cultivator's future nature most clearly.

The Blood-Robed Sword God's primal divine ability was a sea of blood, surging with all kinds of negative emotions.

Anyone who glanced at him could sense that this was undoubtedly a monstrous demon.

"Could it be that he is not a cultivator of this realm?" a Purple Mansion cultivator wondered in astonishment.

Watching from close range, they felt that Qi Yuan's primal divine ability seemed somewhat different from their own.

"A demon crossing realms? How did Bright Light Palace provoke him?"

"With such a torrent of blood aura, he must have slaughtered at least millions of living beings!"

Just then, a ripple in the void, and a man in golden robes murmured: "Such a surging blood aura marks him as a great demon for sure.

Originally, I intended to save his life and bring him into our Questing Dao Palace, but... it seems I'll forget it."

The nearby Purple Mansion cultivators were all shaken upon hearing this.

"Questing Dao Palace?"

Questing Dao Palace was a mysterious force in the Canglan Realm.

This force was founded by a Yin God.

The minimum requirement for entry was the late Purple Mansion stage.

These Purple Mansion cultivators gathered together solely to seek the path to breakthrough into Yin God.

Now, even someone from Questing Dao Palace was paying attention to the Blood-Robed Sword God!

How could they not be astonished?

"Senior, who do you think will win this battle?" a Purple Mansion cultivator couldn't help but ask the golden-robed man from Questing Dao Palace.

The golden-robed man gazed at the battle ahead: "The Blood-Robed Sword God's primal divine ability is unique, and he has also cultivated secret arts. His overall strength surpasses Wutian Elder by a notch. If Bright Light Palace does not change its tactics, in the long run, the Blood-Robed Sword God will surely win.

But..."

The golden-robed man shifted his tone.

"Bright Light Palace will not sit idly by!

As soon as the Yin God artifact is unleashed, the sun and moon will lose their light, and the Blood-Robed Sword God will surely fall.

This battle... the outcome is already decided."

With that, the golden-robed man vanished.

By now, the clash between Bright Light Palace and Qi Yuan had already lasted over ten rounds.

Each exchange ended with Qi Yuan gaining the upper hand.

With continuous collisions, over a hundred Divine Infant cultivators of Bright Light Palace were corrupted, their hearts breeding inner demons.

Their light swords turned into blood swords.

Even several Purple Mansion cultivators suffered the same fate.

"Keep going!" Qi Yuan's divine ability seemed inexhaustible.

The primal divine ability inscribed on his soul sword had absorbed all the inner demons of the entire Liufeng Realm.

What Qi Yuan lacked least was primal divine ability.

The Grand Palace Lord's expression turned cold as he looked at Qi Yuan, deep wariness in his eyes: "You have indeed exceeded my expectations. Even Wutian Elder might not be your match."

Qi Yuan stood in the void, his blood-red robe growing ever more bewitching.

"Why say so much? Today, Bright Light Palace will be destroyed!"

Qi Yuan was at ease.

The battle with Bright Light Palace, to be honest, was hardly a difficult fight for him.

It was just a bit time-consuming, needing to wear them down slowly.

"Big Brother, why waste words with him? Unleash the Yin God artifact and slay this beast in one blow!" Third Palace Lord Ziru roared.

She could no longer endure this stifling battle.

If they delayed another incense-stick's time, allowing the Blood-Robed Sword God to corrupt Bright Light Palace's stewards and elders, the palace would suffer severe losses.

The usually taciturn Second Palace Lord also spoke: "Big Brother, it's time to use the Yin God artifact."

They knew the Yin God artifact could not be used lightly, for it was already damaged. After use, the time needed to repair it would be even longer.

The great calamity was approaching, and they had little time left to prepare.

But the Blood-Robed Sword God's power exceeded their expectations; they had to use this trump card.

The Grand Palace Lord now looked at Qi Yuan and sighed: "Fellow Daoist, why must you press so hard?

We great cultivators have earned our cultivation with difficulty.

Those mortals, even if killed, will reappear like locusts in a few hundred or even a thousand years.

They are endless, inexhaustible.

But one of us requires over a thousand years to emerge."

He still harbored the thought of saving the artifact if possible.

Qi Yuan, hearing this, remained calm: "You think your life is precious?

No, you're right—it is precious. My white moonlight is indeed of a higher order, indeed precious!"

His tone held no compromise.

Seeing this, the Grand Palace Lord's expression turned icy. At this moment, he finally made up his mind.

The Imperial Extreme Dragon-Shocking Crown!

This damaged Yin God artifact finally flew out from his sleeve and landed on his head.

The Imperial Extreme Dragon-Shocking Crown was entirely golden, stained with a single drop of blood—the blood of a Yin God.

That single drop, if it fell, no late-stage Purple Mansion cultivator could withstand it.

A terrifying, oppressive, and overbearing aura spread continuously.

The Grand Palace Lord's face twisted in agony.

Dense scales began to sprout all over his body.

His eyes turned golden, and in that instant, his head transformed into a dragon's skull.

Ancient, mysterious, an aura of invincible might emanated.

Qi Yuan felt that he faced not a Zifu, but a celestial god.

“Those who offend my divine majesty shall die!”

The voice was low, rough, and filled with authority.

All the Zifu felt their hearts pound wildly; they sensed that if that god so willed, their bodies would shatter uncontrollably.

At that moment, the spiritual energy for a thousand li in every direction churned violently, forming a spiritual storm.

“A Yin God!”

“A Yin God has emerged!”

“This is the realm of Yin God—just one glance, and my eyes!” A Divine Infant cultivator looked, and blood streamed from his eyes.

“The Blood-Robe Sword God… is finished.”

Once a Yin God appears, who can stand against it?

All beings are equal—whether Foundation Establishment, Origin Core, Divine Infant, or Zifu, they are as fragile as mortals.

“Is this the power of a god?”

For the first time, Qi Yuan’s gaze turned solemn.

As the Great Palace Master donned the Crown of Imperial Extremity that Shocks the World,

the entire Bright Palace—all the Divine Infants and Zifu, including Qi Yuan—was dragged into the Void Realm.

Qi Yuan saw that the once-majestic Great Palace Master now radiated surging energy, with an ancient deity lurking within.

“Die!”

The god extended a finger.

This finger was brutal, unreasonable.

A single finger from the god could erase nearly a million square kilometers of the Great Shang Kingdom from the map.

Such a finger was utterly beyond human resistance!

Even dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of late-stage Zifu grand cultivators could not withstand it.

“I will use my deepest reserves to slay you, Blood-Robe Sword God—you die a worthy death!”

He studied Qi Yuan, as if trying to remember him.

But then, the Great Palace Master’s eyes suddenly twitched: “You are not a Zifu? Not even a Divine Infant!”

His heart pounded violently.

The Zifu present were bewildered.

They did not understand why the Great Palace Master said this.

At that moment, Qi Yuan smiled with ease: “When did I ever say I was a Zifu?

I am Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment, Stellar Golden Core!

With my Stellar Golden Core, is it too much to kill a god or immortal?”

In that instant, the blood-red robe on Qi Yuan began to melt.

A blazing radiance spread from his dantian.

Something terrifying was brewing.

A great sun blazed, with endless light and heat.

For the first time, fear appeared on the Great Palace Master’s face; he sensed a dangerous premonition.

“Die!”

This time, he hesitated no longer. The god’s finger pressed down from above, straight toward Qi Yuan.

Such a finger could sink a continent, erase a kingdom from existence.

The Great Palace Master roared: “The god’s finger—how will you block it?”

Heaven and earth trembled; the unknown matter of the Void Realm churned, and all space seemed crushed and then exploded by the god’s finger.

“If I unleash my Stellar Golden Core, how will you respond, sir?”

This time, Qi Yuan finally unleashed his Stellar Golden Core.

Heaven descended, earth rose; water and fire intertwined; yin and yang converged.

The union of qi was absolute, forming the origin core—the sun itself!

“I am the Great Sun!”

Time seemed to freeze in that moment.

The speed of the god’s descending finger, in Qi Yuan’s sight, became excruciatingly slow.

Endless spiritual energy surged forth; from Qi Yuan’s dantian, heat, sun, and destruction erupted.

In the Canglan Realm, the small sun in the sky suddenly grew larger.

All cultivators looked up at the heavens.

They saw that small sun burning, radiating boundless light and heat, falling.

The myriad stars trembled in that moment.

All starlight, the radiance of sun and moon, was overshadowed by that small sun.

The crowd looked up, faces filled with shock or terror.

That small sun grew larger and larger.

Sun, moon, and stars vanished.

In the sky, only that blazing great sun remained.

It seemed about to crash down upon the Canglan Realm.

Countless terrifying auras awakened in alarm, gazing up at the fearsome sun that threatened to fall upon Canglan.

In that moment, the sun rose over Canglan; the world was stunned, and the gods awoke in horror.

Within the Void Realm, a phantom of a great sun rose slowly behind Qi Yuan.

Boundless radiance and infinite flames danced upon Qi Yuan’s body.

At that moment, Qi Yuan was as divine as the great sun.

Every living being who saw that projection of the great sun had terror in their eyes.

In the Great Palace Master’s golden pupils, the image of that great sun was reflected; his face was filled with disbelief and incredulity.

“What… are you?”

Qi Yuan did not answer the Great Palace Master’s question.

His eyes blazed with the brilliance of the sun.

He looked up at the nearly motionless finger of the god.

The great sun blazes, shining upon all directions;

I wear black robes, commanding the nine laws!

Behind him, the phantom of the sun swells unceasingly.

The entire illusory realm seems unable to contain this great sun.

"Mere immortals and gods, behold my stellar golden core!"

In that moment, the phantom of the sun explodes!

Endless flames, infinite light and heat, sweep across the entire illusory realm.

The finger raised by the deity, a finger capable of destroying heaven and earth,

Under the radiance of the great sun, appears as laughable as a wax figure.

Melting, dissolving into nothingness.

Throughout the illusory realm, everywhere is fire, turmoil, and collapse.

The Imperial Ultimate Astounding Dragon Crown atop the Grand Palace Master's head, without even a crack, is directly submerged in the endless fire and heat.

His expression freezes, he merely stares blankly at that great sun, his body devoured by it.

"Sun... golden core..."

He cannot comprehend, cannot imagine.

Even having become a Yin God, he cannot understand why a stellar golden core exists.

Pity, he need not understand.

The moment he saw the sun golden core, even though he wore the Imperial Ultimate Astounding Dragon Crown, even though he possessed the power of a Yin God,

Beneath the great sun, he turned to ashes, without even any resistance.

All the Purple Mansion and Divine Infant cultivators, without any struggle, were directly melted completely, vanishing without a trace.

The might of the great sun—who can withstand it?

No one can!

Over a thousand cultivators of the Brightness Palace fell here.

Qi Yuan stood in the illusory realm, like a great sun; in his eyes, endless solar true fire flickered.

His dantian, this time, was truly blazing with passion.

Having summoned the stellar golden core, the Brightness Palace seemed terrifyingly weak to Qi Yuan.

At that moment, a voice of surprise came.

"Blood bead!"

Qi Yuan then felt a soft, delicate body press against his.

"Canary?" Qi Yuan looked at the phantom of the Canary, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

But he sensed that the Canary's figure was slowly fading, eventually to disappear.

"You've been gone for several days," said the Canary, as always. Her black dress accentuated her cold, pale skin; her slender waist was as if one could encircle it with a single hand. Beneath the skirt embroidered with intricate patterns were black stockings, wrapping her fair thighs and jade-like feet.

"Several days?" Qi Yuan looked at the Canary and said, "One day on earth, a hundred years in heaven; in truth, I have been gone for over a thousand years.

But I engraved my primal divine ability onto the golden core. You live on my golden core, every day in a state between remembering and forgetting.

Thus, for you, time is a kind of stasis."

Qi Yuan had not expected that summoning the projection of his golden core would also summon Ning Tao's projection.

Ning Tao paused briefly, then smiled sweetly: "So, in the long years, aside from you, my time has been frozen?"

Her phantom grew fainter.

Qi Yuan nodded: "If you wish to change, you need only leave the golden core."

"No, this is fine," Ning Tao said, looking at Qi Yuan with deep affection.

She knew she was about to leave.

"Blood bead, now... I have become very strong!" She raised her snow-white fist and waved it before Qi Yuan. "Next time, you don't need to summon this big golden core. Just call me, and I'll help you kill enemies. That insect just now—I could take on ten of them alone.

Summoning the big golden core is too wasteful!"

On the stellar golden core, Ning Tao had received Qi Yuan's gift.

Her cultivation had reached a higher level.

Hearing this, Qi Yuan stroked the Canary's black hair: "When the spiritual energy in my dantian is full, I will definitely call you down to play."

Summoning the stellar golden core had drained his internal spiritual energy severely.

In a short time, he could not summon it again.

After all, this was not crossing one world; it was crossing an entire universe.

"No need to summon it anytime; just call me when you're in danger!" said the Canary understandingly. She looked at Qi Yuan's face, her eyes seeming to hold stars. "This time, I appeared suddenly and am leaving suddenly."

Her form was continuously dissipating.

Qi Yuan held her hand, watching her slowly vanish.

Finally, he placed a wisp of flame into Ning Tao's palm: "This is the solar true fire I newly acquired. On the star, ignite it."

On the star, igniting the solar true fire—then his golden core might be able to devour other planets, other stars.

His golden core, too, was growing stronger.

"Alright." Ning Tao nodded firmly, and her form disappeared.

Qi Yuan's black robe, in that moment, turned blood-red, and his form became ethereal.

He was about to leave the illusory realm and return to the real world.

At this time, all the watching Purple Mansion cultivators were utterly stunned.

Just moments ago, the Grand Palace Master had dragged the Blood-Robed Sword God into the illusory realm.

Above the heavens, anomalies erupted.

A great sun suddenly descended.

In the Canglan Realm, countless powerful and terrifying auras acted simultaneously.

At that moment, beams of light could be seen shooting into the sky, blocking the great sun.

It seemed they were trying to drag the sun away.

The entire Canglan Realm nearly seemed on the verge of being shattered.

All the Purple Mansion cultivators felt a sense of having survived a catastrophe.

They had no idea what had actually happened.

They only knew that something terrifying had certainly occurred.

At that moment, one Purple Mansion cultivator said, "The Blood-Robed Sword God and the Brightness Palace... the outcome should have been decided, right?"

"When the Grand Palace Master dons the Sovereign Dragon Crown, he wields power rivaling a Yin Spirit; the Blood-Clothed Sword God is surely doomed.

Calculating the time, the people of the Radiant Palace should be emerging soon."

"A pity for the Blood-Clothed Sword God, a powerhouse of his generation, meeting his end here."

Meanwhile, outside the Radiant Palace headquarters, the bleak sound of the suona continued to wail.

Xu Yeli played the instrument, his heart overflowing with a myriad of emotions.

"Blood-Clothed Sword God, since this old man cannot leave, I shall send you off on your final journey."

The suona's cry grew even more sorrowful.

Just then, a ripple resonated before the Radiant Palace headquarters.

Every eye turned toward the disturbance.

A solitary figure, clad in blood-red, stepped out of the void realm.

His eyes were deep and profound, as though they had witnessed the passage of endless ages.

Beholding that figure, all the spectating Purple Mansion cultivators froze in absolute shock.

"The Blood-Clothed Sword God?"

"How is it him who came out!"

"How is this possible!"

These Purple Mansion experts were baffled, bewildered, and lost.

Facing a Yin Spirit, how could the Blood-Clothed Sword God be the one to emerge?

A mere Purple Mansion cultivator—how could he possibly defeat a Yin Spirit?

At this moment, the mourning music of the suona still played on.

Qi Yuan looked at the utterly deserted Radiant Palace, and a sudden, profound grief welled up from his heart.

"Waaah... you all died such a tragic death!"

"How could you not leave behind even a single strand of leg hair!"

"Not a single thing left for me!"

"Waaah... my white moonlight, how could you abandon me and depart like this?"

"Yanzi!"

Every Purple Mansion cultivator was utterly dumbfounded by this spectacle.

They stared at Qi Yuan, wrapped in a speechless silence.

Eventually, a Purple Mansion cultivator could contain himself no longer and glanced at a God Nascent cultivator.

With a trembling heart, that God Nascent cultivator flew toward Qi Yuan: "Senior Blood-Clothed Sword God, the people of the Radiant Palace... were they slain by you?"

Qi Yuan truly couldn't squeeze out any tears, yet the sorrow in his heart was genuinely overwhelming: "Justice shall always prevail over evil."

The God Nascent cultivator dared not speak, his eyes fixated on the blood-colored demon sword resting in Qi Yuan's sword casket.

You are the one who actually looks like evil here, aren't you?

Then, Qi Yuan stood up, surveyed the surroundings, and delivered his post-battle speech: "I did not fight alone; behind me stand the Elixir Golden Core and Stellar Golden Core of the Divine Flower Society, Little Li of the Fox Den, the Four Emperors of the Divine Flower, Lord Wind, and behind me stand all the oppressed cultivators and common folk under the heavens who suffered under the Radiant Palace!"

Qi Yuan spoke with impassioned fervor, summarizing the battle and deepening its thematic significance.

Only, he was simply too heartbroken, his voice raspy with emotion, as he couldn't help but look back at the empty Radiant Palace once more.

"Waaah... your hearts are so cruel, leaving absolutely nothing behind for me."

Everyone stood thoroughly mystified, their faces practically writing out the word "What?".

That day, the Blood-Clothed Sword God annihilated the Radiant Palace all by himself, spoke with burning passion, wept at the grave for six hours, and floated away into the distance.

No one knew what had actually transpired within the void realm.

Everyone's attention was captivated by that fallen sun.

Deep gratitude to God Has No Tears for the repeated generous donation, thanks to In the Past I Had No Choice Now I Read the Official Version, Genner, Lingbei Shanwenfeng, and other prominent figures for their donations, thank you, thank you!

(End of Chapter)