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

The next day, Qi Yuan was still in a deep sleep.

Suddenly, a clear voice rang out.

“Senior Brother, when did you come back?”

Qi Yuan woke up abruptly from his dream.

He quickly tidied himself up and walked out of his room, still looking sleepy.

“I came back last night,” he said, looking at Jiang Lingsu, “Junior Sister, how did you know I came back? You didn’t sneak a peek at me while I was sleeping, did you?”

Jiang Lingsu was exasperated.

She wanted to say that she noticed the garbage pile in her courtyard had been rummaged through this morning.

But thinking it might hurt her senior brother’s self-esteem, she calmly said, “Senior Brother, isn’t your knife still tied in the courtyard?”

She glanced at the knife tied with a rope, looking like a pet.

Qi Yuan looked at the knife with a doubtful expression.

He had gained a lot from destroying Heishan Sect.

Of course, the biggest gain was emptying Heishan Sect's library.

As for other spirit stones and spiritual objects, he ran too quickly to take much.

Even so, the spiritual objects he obtained were invaluable, and the knife had a great feast.

After all, Qi Yuan only had the combat power of someone who had just established a foundation.

He could kill a Core Formation cultivator entirely by relying on the power of the knife.

It was like in "The Investiture of the Gods," having a powerful magical weapon to challenge someone of a higher level.

Qi Yuan was the same.

In the short term, even if he used up all the spirit stones, the improvement in his own power would be limited.

What he lacked most were techniques and foundation establishment.

He used most of the spirit stones and treasures to enhance the knife’s strength.

Now, the knife was even more terrifying.

With it, Qi Yuan could confront a late-stage Core Formation cultivator whose Dao techniques weren’t deep.

Having fed it so many spirit stones and spiritual objects, why is it still…?

Qi Yuan wanted to cover his face.

Could it be that just as dogs can’t stop eating poop, the knife can’t stop rummaging through trash?

Or is the junior sister’s garbage pile richer than mine?

Seeing Qi Yuan stay silent, Jiang Lingsu continued to ask, “Senior Brother, didn’t you go to establish your foundation? Did you succeed?”

She seemed to be trying to discern something from Qi Yuan’s expression.

Hearing this, Qi Yuan immediately looked dejected.

“I… failed. Sigh, a first-class foundation establishment spiritual object is too difficult to use.”

Jiang Lingsu sighed inwardly.

The higher the grade of the spiritual object used to establish a foundation, the stronger the battle power post-establishment, and the higher the future breakthrough probability. However, for cultivators, it’s not always better to use a higher-grade spiritual object.

Without sufficient talent, forcibly using a high-grade spiritual object for foundation establishment can lead to failure.

The Dao gives birth to fifty, of which forty-nine evolve, and one remains hidden.

Even using the lowest-grade spiritual object for foundation establishment, there is still a chance to reach the peak.

Most ordinary cultivators do not use high-grade spiritual objects.

What is suitable for oneself is the best.

An elder in Jiang Lingsu's family established his foundation with an eighth-grade spiritual object, which was quite meager. Yet, this elder is among the top three in the family in terms of strength.

“Senior Brother, don’t force it. What suits you is the best. Huanghua Fruit, though a first-grade spiritual object, is just… well, it’s like that,” Jiang Lingsu comforted.

Qi Yuan nodded in agreement, “You’re right, Huanghua Fruit isn’t suitable for me, I want to establish a foundation with Heavenly Dao!”

Jiang Lingsu: “…”

She herself had only established her foundation with a lower-tier earth meridian spiritual object.

As for Heavenly Dao foundation establishment?

She had never even seen such a genius.

After all, only Primordial Spirits can capture the Qi of Heavenly Meridian, and even then, it’s not guaranteed.

One must reach the Yin Spirit realm to give birth to a Primordial Spirit and roam the realms, exploring the void.

The Primordial Spirit here is quite different from the divine soul or divine consciousness that Jiang Lingsu knew.

This senior brother… really dares to dream.

Without an ancestor who’s an Yin Spirit or Yang Spirit expert, he still wants to establish a foundation with Heavenly Dao?

However, Jiang Lingsu glanced at the palace on Seven Colors Peak, pondering.

“Senior Brother, this is a Harmonizing Pill. It can stabilize your mana. Since you just failed to establish your foundation, your mana is unstable. You need to take one so you can attempt another breakthrough shortly. It’s… not expensive, just a few spirit stones, a family specialty,” Jiang Lingsu extended a delicate white porcelain bottle with a pill inside.

Qi Yuan was stunned: “Junior Sister, you’re like my Doraemon, always pulling out strange things from your sleeve.”

“Huh?” Jiang Lingsu was puzzled by Qi Yuan's strange comment.

Qi Yuan took the Harmonizing Pill.

[This is a Harmonizing Pill. When a cultivator fails to establish a foundation, their mana becomes chaotic. To accumulate for another attempt, they need to temper their mana. The Harmonizing Pill neutralizes and replenishes mana, equivalent to the mana from 10 top-grade spirit stones. However, it has some flaws that can be improved.]

Qi Yuan was taken aback.

Equivalent to 10 top-grade spirit stones?

That’s a thousand lower-grade spirit stones.

This Harmonizing Pill is indeed worth just a few spirit stones, but those are top-grade spirit stones.

Qi Yuan looked at Jiang Lingsu: “Junior Sister, I appreciate your kindness. If anyone tries to harm you, I’ll take the blow for you!”

She’s a real wealthy lady!

Better hold onto this thick… no, slender white leg!

Jiang Lingsu chuckled lightly, “Senior Brother, take care of yourself. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

Jiang Lingsu seemed ordinary, with many strengths and weaknesses.

Of course, she was not ordinary—she had a lot of money.

Thinking of something, Jiang Lingsu's expression became serious: “It’s good you’re back, Senior Brother. Yesterday, Heishan Sect was wiped out, and the entire Dashang Kingdom will be in turmoil!”

“What? Heishan Sect was exterminated?” Qi Yuan’s eyes widened. He felt his acting skills were excellent, worthy of an award, “Who was the culprit? Did they use a knife or a sword?”

“Senior Brother, your focus is strange,” Jiang Lingsu suddenly stared at him, “Could Heishan Sect’s extermination be related to you?”

Qi Yuan’s superb acting suddenly failed: “No, it wasn’t me!”

“You’re nervous. Could it really be you?” Jiang Lingsu laughed but didn’t take it seriously.

Senior Brother’s eccentric behavior and obsession with games seemed incurable.

Unfortunately, in today’s world, major breakthroughs no longer trigger lightning tribulations. Otherwise, seeing Senior Brother struck by lightning would be interesting.

After chatting with Senior Brother, Jiang Lingsu returned to her room.

A plain mirror appeared in her hand.

“Peak Qi Refinement… sigh.”

This mirror, called Kun Qian Mirror, was one of the many fragments of the Heaven and Earth Mirror, capable of revealing one’s cultivation level.

It showed that Qi Yuan was at the peak of Qi Refinement.

…

“You darn knife, why do you rummage through the trash again!”

Qi Yuan wanted to slap the knife but was afraid of hurting himself.

“Today, I must go out and explore, see the aftermath of Heishan Sect’s extermination!”

People who often kill know not to return to the scene, but watching the murder case from a distance should be fine, right?

Anyway, there are no police here, and Black Chicken Demon is still in seclusion!