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

Morning light gently illuminated the sky as the dawn broke.
Jiang Lingsu, dressed in a green long skirt, with her silk-like attire flowing, resembled a green snake woman.

Her lively eyes still held a trace of drowsiness as she brushed the hair from her temples and took a deep breath: "It seems I lost a piece of Jin Yuan Jade yesterday.

Alas, it's a pity I can't buy it in Shen Guang Sect.

I'll have to make do."

Jin Yuan Jade is a type of spiritual jade that, when lit, emits a profound fragrance that brightens the eyes and calms the mind.

Yesterday, a puppet cleaned the house and threw a partially used piece into the trash heap.

In the past, she wouldn't have cared.

But here in Shen Guang Sect, she couldn't buy a replacement.

She decided to retrieve it from the trash heap.

She went to the trash heap, covering her nose with her sleeve, intending to summon the puppet to find the piece of Jin Yuan Jade.

But... the trash heap.

"Who rummaged through this?"

She stared at the trash heap, stunned.

The trash heap usually contained her household waste and some remnants of unused spiritual items.

Like the Jin Yuan Jade.

Unexpectedly, someone had gone through the trash heap outside her house.

She thought of something and a talisman appeared in her hand.

This talisman, called the Sensing Talisman, was one of the many talismans Jiang Lingsu possessed, crafted by a Spirit Infant stage cultivator.

She usually placed it by her bed for warning.

Seeing the trash heap rummaged through, she immediately took out the Sensing Talisman to check for clues.

In the middle of the Sensing Talisman, there was a faint line.

"Last night at the hour of the ox? A living creature lingered outside my house for the time it takes an incense stick to burn?"

Jiang Lingsu inferred from the remaining information on the Sensing Talisman that a living creature had lingered outside her house for quite a while last night.

But there was no malice; the Sensing Talisman hadn't alerted her, otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to sleep.

Jiang Lingsu frowned at the trash heap: "There are only Master, me, and Senior Brother on Seven-Colored Peak.

Other ordinary animals wouldn't trigger the Sensing Talisman.

At least, it must be a spiritual being."

"Could it be..."

Suddenly, Jiang Lingsu looked towards the thatched house next door.

She remembered the way Senior Brother ate spiritual food last time, and an inexplicable emotion arose within her.

Alas...

She thought for a moment and returned to her room.

Half an hour later, Jiang Lingsu arrived outside Qi Yuan's courtyard.

"Senior Brother, are you up?" Jiang Lingsu called softly.

"What is it, Junior Sister?" Qi Yuan had changed into a white robe, looking quite handsome and elegant. Today was the Foundation Establishment Conference, so he got up earlier than usual.

Seeing Qi Yuan's appearance, Jiang Lingsu felt refreshed.

Indeed, seeing beautiful things always puts one in a good mood.

"Senior Brother, may I trouble you with something?" Jiang Lingsu asked.

"Oh, what is it?" Qi Yuan was very enthusiastic; he was quite grateful for the technique jade slip and the spiritual food Junior Sister gave him last time.

"Senior Brother, do you know if there are any special people or mysterious individuals in our sect?"

Jiang Lingsu initially focused on the master of Seven-Colored Peak, Ruan Yixi, as the one who could resist calamity.

However, she thought it might be good to consider more people.

"Special people?" Qi Yuan pondered and then his eyes lit up, "I know someone very special."

"Who is it?" Jiang Lingsu's heart skipped a beat.

"Me!" Qi Yuan pointed to himself.

Jiang Lingsu was taken aback.

Senior Brother was indeed special, after all... the disciples of the Fool's Lineage were all a bit abnormal in the head.

Jiang Lingsu felt disheartened, thinking that asking Senior Brother was unreliable, but she recalled the morning incident.

She took out a storage bag: "Senior Brother, here are a thousand spirit stones as your reward. Please keep an eye out for special people, and there will be more rewards later."

Qi Yuan looked at the storage bag, blinking: "Why is Junior Sister doing this?"

Jiang Lingsu didn't expect Senior Brother to ask this.

But on second thought, the Fool's Lineage was just a bit foolish, not stupid.

She recited the reason she had prepared: "Before I came to Shen Guang Sect, I met a fortune-teller. He told me there is a special person in the sect who is my benefactor, so I want to find out who it is."

Hearing Jiang Lingsu's words, Qi Yuan suddenly blurted out,
"Trusting you is like trusting I'm Qin Shihuang."

Jiang Lingsu: "???"

Qi Yuan continued, "I'll take this task."

Qi Yuan accepted the storage bag.

His eyes could see different information.

Finding a special person should be quite suitable.

"Does this person have any other characteristics?" Qi Yuan asked again.

Jiang Lingsu lowered her head: "His strength should be extremely high, or his talent very exceptional. Oh, and he might not be human!

I'm counting on you, Senior Brother!"

Jiang Lingsu finished speaking and left Qi Yuan's courtyard.

Qi Yuan held the storage bag, looking at the thousand spirit stones inside.

He had to admit, it was his first time seeing such a large sum.

However, he felt no great emotion.

Instead, he murmured, "Why would Junior Sister give me spirit stones?"

It seemed she genuinely needed his help.

But these spirit stones seemed like they were just given to him.

"Could it be that Junior Sister saw through my inner pretense and wants to tear off my mask? Is she trying to take care of me?"

Qi Yuan thought whimsically.

But he didn't dwell on it and instead focused on the kitchen knife tied in the yard.

"Junior Sister saw through my stubbornness, but have you, knife?"

The kitchen knife lay on the ground, motionless.

"What name should I give you?"

The knife remained still.

"Knife?"

"Kitchen knife?"

"Little knife?"

"Blade?"

"Demon knife?"

"Heavenly knife?"

The knife finally reacted, trembling slightly.

Qi Yuan grabbed the knife, his eyes showing a puzzled look: "Is this what gaining intelligence looks like? It's not even as smart as my little Ai."

Little Ai, when asked to fart, at least knew to call on the nearby Xiao Du to do it.

This knife, whether it had intelligence or not, seemed no different.

But thinking about it, this was normal.

However, holding the knife, Qi Yuan felt his combat power had increased.

"Summer Eight Slashes, how many Core Formation cultivators could it kill?"

Unfortunately, this was Seven-Colored Peak, not a good place to practice with the knife.

And he had to represent Shen Guang Sect at the Foundation Establishment Conference, leaving no time to practice.

...

In Shen Guang Sect.

The Foundation Establishment Conference finally began.

This time, due to the first-grade Foundation Establishment spiritual item, the Yellow Flower Fruit, the participants from various sects in Da Shang Nation were not weak.

"Elder Fei Hua from Demon Desire Sect has arrived!"

"Sword Master of Splitting Light from Floating Mountain has arrived!"

"King of Changshan County has arrived!"

"Ancestor Worship Chicken from Black Mountain Sect has arrived!"

With the boy's announcements, colorful clouds gathered outside Shen Guang Sect's mountain gate.

One by one, spirit boats stopped in the sky, landing in front of Shen Guang Sect's mountain gate.

Qi Yuan, dressed in a white robe, stood with the wind blowing his clothes, making a rustling sound. He looked at the arriving sect members with a gentle smile in his eyes: "Welcome, everyone, to Shen Guang Sect to attend the Foundation Establishment Conference!"

At this moment, he was quite reliable.