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

What had shattered in the hearts of the people was the shackles of the World Spirit's Divine Decrees.

"From this day forward, divine statues shall be erected, and all living beings shall believe in me!"

At that moment, a murmur echoed.

Across the mountains and rivers, countless divine statues rose from the ground.

Many laborers and hunters, witnessing this miraculous sight, were filled with awe and knelt in reverence.

But then, a voice entered their ears.

"To believe in me, you need not kneel."

...

"Congratulations, Your Highness, on breaking through to the Divine Decree stage."

Divine Child Tan Ying's face revealed a satisfied expression: "This time, I was lucky to plunder a decent plane and managed to break through."

Though he said this, the pride in his eyes was hard to conceal.

Among this batch of god-children who had broken through to the True God stage, Tan Ying's progress was exceptionally fast.

In less than half a month, he had crossed the Divine Kingdom stage and reached the Divine Decree stage.

Such a feat was rare but not unheard of.

After all, the True God stage was not about grinding through time to cultivate.

The more resources one plundered and the more faith one gained, the faster one could break through.

Moreover, the plane Tan Ying had plundered had a different time flow compared to the Ten Thousand Gods Mountain.

Of course, talent also played a significant role.

"Your Highness's current strength is already comparable to that of the veteran god-children," the True God attendant said humbly.

Among this batch of god-children, only about fifty had reached the True God stage, while the rest were still at the Void God stage.

But Tan Ying had already reached the Divine Decree stage, which was terrifying.

Tan Ying's eyes flashed with seriousness: "To surpass the top veteran god-children, I need to reach the Divine Lord stage.

To gain the attention of my father and inherit his authority, I must become a Spirit God."

Mentioning the Spirit God stage, Tan Ying's eyes showed a complex expression.

The Spirit God stage was a difficult hurdle to cross.

Pillar Tian Kai had countless offspring, but none had yet reached the Spirit God stage.

There were seven god-children at the Divine Lord stage who had attempted to break through to the Spirit God stage, but all had perished in the three calamities.

Thus, among Pillar Tian Kai's offspring, none had yet broken through to the Spirit God stage.

As for skipping the Spirit God stage and directly reaching the Dao God stage...

That was even harder.

Because it required a certain divine treasure.

But such treasures had long been used up by previous Dao Gods, leaving none for the current generation.

"Now that I've just entered the Divine Decree stage, I need to consolidate my cultivation and recover my divine power.

You can go ahead and send messages to my younger siblings, inviting them to gather."

Tan Ying said.

The so-called gathering was merely an opportunity for those younger siblings to pledge their allegiance to him.

This was a common practice.

The top veteran god-children and goddesses all operated in this manner.

After Tan Ying stabilized his realm, his eyes gleamed with sharpness.

"The Divine Decree stage is indeed a different realm from the Divine Kingdom stage. With a single Divine Decree, I can influence reality. Lower-stage True Gods dare not disobey."

The Divine Decree he had mastered was related to fire, simple and brutal.

And controlling fire was among the top-tier Divine Decrees.

"Your Highness, all forty-seven god-children and goddesses in this batch have agreed to attend the banquet, but..." The True God attendant bowed and reported, "Divine Child Qi Yuan refuses to come. He says he's... socially awkward."

"Oh, he's not giving me face?" Tan Ying's eyes showed a smile, but it was a smile that hid a knife. "It seems I'll have to personally invite this younger brother."

About a quarter of an hour later.

On the Ten Thousand Gods Mountain, at Qi Yuan's residence, an uninvited guest arrived.

"I've broken through to the Divine Decree stage and plan to invite my younger siblings to gather, so we can support each other. Why won't you come, younger brother?"

Tan Ying, dressed in a fiery red robe, approached, and the temperature around him rose noticeably.

He looked at Qi Yuan with a smile, but the smile concealed a sharp edge.

"Are you blind? Didn't I tell you? I'm socially awkward," Qi Yuan replied without any politeness.

Tan Ying's tone was far from friendly.

Since the other party was hiding a knife behind his smile, Qi Yuan decided to follow the example of "screw his mother" and directly curse.

Tan Ying was momentarily stunned, not expecting Qi Yuan to be so blunt.

Wasn't he socially awkward?

Why was he speaking so directly and rudely?

"Among this batch of god-children, I was the first to break through to the True God stage.

In a way, I am your elder brother.

Moreover, I am also the first to reach the Divine Decree stage.

Qi Yuan, disrespecting your elder brother... today, I will teach you a lesson." Tan Ying felt it was time to show his strength, establish his authority, and suppress any troublemakers.

"Tch." Qi Yuan sneered. "You're older than me, but you're a bastard child. I'm an only child, clearly the legitimate heir.

A bastard must kneel before a legitimate heir!"

"What are you talking about?" Tan Ying was confused, not understanding Qi Yuan's words.

"I'm saying that the illegitimate is inferior to the legitimate. A bastard emperor must kneel before a legitimate general.

As a bastard, you must kneel before me!"

As soon as the words fell, Tan Ying's expression of rage turned into confusion.

My mother was not Pillar Tian Kai's officially wedded wife.

So I'm a bastard?

Qi Yuan is the legitimate heir?

He's an only child, so he's the legitimate heir?

The illegitimate must kneel before the legitimate.

Kneel.

His mind was in chaos, and his body instinctively knelt down.

"Bastard Tan Ying pays respects to the legitimate heir, Qi Yuan."

Seeing this, Qi Yuan's eyes showed a smile.

The World Spirit's Divine Decrees weren't all feudal dregs.

They were quite useful, weren't they?

"Now, get lost."

Qi Yuan waved his hand.

Tan Ying, without any hesitation, actually rolled away.

About a dozen breaths later, Tan Ying's eyes suddenly cleared, and his face turned red and then pale.

"Damn it! Qi Yuan has humiliated me like this!"

He instantly realized that he had fallen for Qi Yuan's trick and knelt before him.

They were both children of Pillar Tian Kai. How could Qi Yuan be the only child? That was nonsense.

"I..."

He was furious and wanted to go back and burn Qi Yuan's residence to the ground.

But he remembered that Qi Yuan had already tricked him once.

If he went back now, he would only be humiliating himself further.

"He's been hiding his strength so well. No, I must kill him to vent my hatred!" Tan Ying roared, feeling that he had lost face this time. If other god-children saw this, they would surely laugh at him.

Indeed, as Tan Ying had thought, his attempt to invite Qi Yuan had been observed by many god-children and goddesses.

"This Qi Yuan is quite interesting. I thought Tan Ying was the only one in this batch with some talent, but it seems Qi Yuan has also mastered a Divine Decree," the seventeenth god-child, Ha Jin, said indifferently.

Goddess Xi Shui's expression was grave: "The Divine Decree he mastered is very strange, something about legitimacy and illegitimacy, forcing Tan Ying to kneel. It's hard to guard against.

However, such a Divine Decree is very niche and unconventional, not a true path."

Goddess Xi Shui giggled, offering her evaluation.

The five elements, space, slaughter, strength, light—these were the true paths.

Ha Jin glanced at his sister: "Don't deceive yourself. In this world, what is the true path? Whoever's Divine Decree is stronger, that is the true path.

Why don't you go and test Qi Yuan yourself?"

Xi Shui, recalling Tan Ying kneeling before Qi Yuan, quickly shook her head.

"No!" Xi Shui was no longer giggling.

She didn't want to lose face.

Qi Yuan's Divine Decree was too bizarre. She had no way to counter it and could easily fall victim to it.

...

Meanwhile, Feng Ye's face was filled with worry.

"Your Highness, today you've thoroughly offended Divine Child Tan Ying. You must be careful," Feng Ye warned.

"Don't worry. By offending me, he has sealed his own fate," Qi Yuan said calmly.

Though he was lawful good, he would not spare enemies who harbored murderous intentions toward him.

While using the Divine Decree of legitimacy and illegitimacy, Qi Yuan had also subtly implanted another Divine Decree into Tan Ying's mind.

This Divine Decree was called "Love to the Death."

In the Great Ruins Kingdom, even the emperor, a ruthless political figure, had been consumed by love and committed suicide for "love."

With Tan Ying's personality, he wouldn't truly fall in love with someone or something.

But... this Divine Decree's love was not ordinary love.

He was waiting for Tan Ying to commit suicide for love.

Perhaps one day, Tan Ying would fall in love with a rat, accidentally kill it, and then commit suicide for love.

"Such feudal dregs of Divine Decrees, when used properly, can also be a sharp weapon."

Qi Yuan sighed inwardly.

Beside him, Feng Ye breathed a sigh of relief. He had been worried that his master was too kind.

Now, this master's talent far exceeded his expectations, and he was ruthless.

He was a lord worth serving.

"Your Highness, now that you've reached the Divine Decree stage, you must prepare for the Spirit God stage," Feng Ye said seriously. "Currently, divine treasures are scarce. Divine Lords cannot skip the Spirit God stage and reach the Dao God stage. They must enter the Spirit God stage through their own efforts.

The Spirit God stage has three calamities and three tribulations, which are extremely difficult to overcome.

Pillar Tian Kai had seven offspring who attempted to forcibly enter the Spirit God stage, but none survived the three calamities and tribulations. All perished."

Feng Ye's face was grave.

"The Spirit God stage is quite difficult," Qi Yuan commented.

This world's cultivation system was somewhat similar to other universes but not entirely the same.

In this world, one could skip the fourth stage and reach the fifth stage, the Dao God stage.

But it required the use of divine treasures.

These treasures seemed to be born naturally, but as they were used, they became nearly extinct.

Another path was to endure the three calamities and tribulations, break through to the Spirit God stage, and then reach the Dao God stage.

This path intrigued Qi Yuan.

Because in previous universes, the fourth stage of Yang God was a dead end.

Here, although it was also a dead end, one could still become a Spirit God by overcoming the three calamities and tribulations.

"Regarding the three calamities and tribulations, there are many theories. Each True God's experience with them is different, but... they are absolutely deadly," Feng Ye said. "Once, a prodigious Dao God, seeing no path forward, chose to enter the Spirit God stage. But even with his Dao God body, which was indestructible, he still perished in the three calamities and tribulations."

"Even a Dao God died?" Qi Yuan was surprised.

After all, a Dao God was equivalent to a weak Dao Lord.

If even a Dao Lord couldn't survive the three calamities and tribulations, how could Divine Lords, who were at the third stage of Yang God, hope to do so?

"Therefore, Your Highness, while at the Divine Decree stage, try to master as many powerful Divine Decrees as possible to increase your foundation. Otherwise... the three calamities and tribulations will be hard to overcome," Feng Ye said earnestly.

At this moment, Qi Yuan thought of something and asked curiously, "There must be quite a few Dao Gods who took the Spirit God path, right?"

Feng Ye nodded: "Indeed, the Dao God path is almost at a dead end. Many Dao Gods chose to endure the three calamities and tribulations. Pillar Tian Kai... endured two calamities and two tribulations. There are rumors that the Emperor God fully endured the three calamities and tribulations."

Mentioning the Emperor God, Feng Ye's face was filled with reverence.

Qi Yuan pondered.

"Could it be that after reaching the fifth stage of Yang God, entering the fourth stage is the path to breaking through the fifth stage?"

"But what exactly are these three calamities and tribulations?"

Qi Yuan was curious.

But for now, he was still too weak to consider this.

At the very least, he needed to reach the Divine Lord stage first.

"I need to work harder and stop slacking off."

With this thought, Qi Yuan's consciousness entered the Myriad Heavens Mirror.

The group chat was quite lively at the moment.

"Wen Zhuyun, you're not lying to us, are you?"

"I think you're all setting us up."

"Are you all just alternate accounts of the Origin Heavenly God?"

Some time ago, Qi Yuan had helped Wen Zhuyun with her matchmaking and incidentally captured the World Spirit.

The Great Ruins Kingdom immediately underwent drastic changes.

First, countless divine statues rose into the sky. Then, the king of the Great Ruins Kingdom, who had been tyrannical and incompetent, was influenced by the World Spirit. The oppressed people, now free from their shackles, began to rebel.

The king was strangled to death by a few palace maids in his sleep.

The crown prince, Qi, ascended to the throne.

The kingdom was in turmoil.

But then, the divine statues appeared.

Wen Zhuyun and Yan Yuqing became the most powerful figures in the divine religion.

Countless commoners began to worship the divine religion.

The chaos gradually subsided.

At that time, Yan Yuqing, using a divine decree, declared that the current emperor, Qi, was unvirtuous and deposed him.

Thus, the most powerful entity in the Great Ruins Kingdom was now the divine religion, which could depose emperors with a single word.

When Qi Yuan first learned of this, he felt a slight resistance.

After all, religion... well, you know how it is.

But then he thought, this was his religion, operating according to his will.

And he felt relieved.

He was lawful good. How could he mistreat the common people?

The changes in the Great Ruins Kingdom, seen by the group members, were met with disbelief by most.

"The Origin Heavenly God is a true god," Wu Santong spoke up for Qi Yuan.

After all, he had chosen to worship Qi Yuan and found a way to save the Empty Mountain Sect.

Moreover, hearing about Wen Zhuyun's transformation, Wu Santong felt a burning desire.

If he could cling to the Origin Heavenly God's coattails, the Empty Mountain Sect might not only avoid destruction but also allow him to fulfill his childhood dream of becoming the martial world's leader.

What a glorious position that would be.

"If what Wen Zhuyun says is true, it seems the Origin Heavenly God does have some power," someone in the group said, secretly assessing Qi Yuan's strength.

"Origin Heavenly God, can you come to my world and help me too?" At this moment, the Heavenly Dragon Emperor, who had been lurking recently, spoke up.

This Heavenly Dragon Emperor had been very active when he first joined the group, boasting about his greatness.

Then, for a while, he had gone silent.

Now, he was active again.

Qi Yuan looked at the Heavenly Dragon Emperor's message, his expression calm.

His nose had grown longer.

This meant the Heavenly Dragon Emperor was lying to him.

Was he... trying to bait him?

"Sure, send me your coordinates privately, and I'll come help you when I have time.

I'm always eager to help others and value relationships.

Back then, when my white moonlight died, I put aside past grievances and took care of their descendants."

By "descendants," he naturally meant their inheritance.

The others, hearing this, all thought Qi Yuan was a great person.

Though some had strange expressions.

Them?

More than one white moonlight?