Golden Core is a Star, and You Call This Cultivation?

The Call to the Frontlines.

For the descendants of Pillar Tian Kai in the Mountain of Ten Thousand Gods, being summoned to the frontlines was a troublesome matter.

In times of peace, going to the frontlines to gain some experience would have been fine.

But now, even Pillar-level powerhouses were heading to the frontlines, which showed just how brutal the war had become.

Going to the frontlines now was practically suicide!

They weren't like those rogue True Gods with no backing. They came from noble bloodlines.

Unfortunately, since Pillar Tian Kai had already gone to the frontlines, they had no choice but to follow.

A group of True Gods, their eyes filled with worry, were extremely reluctant to go to the frontlines.

The eleventh prince, Tong Xun, declared: "We have received the blessings of heaven and earth, and the support of the Mountain of Ten Thousand Gods. Going to the frontlines to fight the enemy is a responsibility we cannot shirk."

Among all the princes, the eleventh prince was one of the top three strongest.

He was at the peak of the Divine Lord realm.

He had been lying low for countless eons, accumulating strength and preparing to face the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations.

Once he overcame one calamity and one tribulation, he would be crowned the crown prince.

When Pillar Tian Kai went into seclusion to face the final calamity and tribulation, he would take over Tian Kai's authority and enjoy boundless power.

Even Dao Gods would have to bow respectfully when they saw him.

However, this was just wishful thinking. Among Tian Kai's many descendants, none had yet overcome even one calamity and tribulation.

Rather than trying to overcome the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations, it was more realistic to find a divine treasure and break through to the Dao God realm.

The chances of that were even higher than a peak Divine Lord overcoming the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations.

Meanwhile, in the palace, Feng Ye's expression was filled with worry.

"Because of Tan Ying, Your Highness has offended the eleventh god-child, Tong Xun. This time... it's very dangerous."

He was genuinely worried.

If Tong Xun wanted to kill Qi Yuan, it would be all too easy, especially at the frontlines.

Over the past hundred years, Qi Yuan had been diligently cultivating.

But even if he had started cultivating from the womb, he would probably still only be at the Divine Decree realm by now.

At that moment, a figure appeared.

Feng Ye's expression stiffened, and he immediately lowered his head. "Greetings, Your Highness."

For some reason, when he saw Qi Yuan, he felt an inexplicable fear, as if he were facing a terrifying creature.

After all, he was a Divine Lord.

Qi Yuan was only at the Divine Decree realm.

Could it be because of Pillar Tian Kai's bloodline?

Was the Dao God's bloodline really that powerful?

Setting these thoughts aside, Feng Ye prepared to carefully explain the situation regarding the summons.

But at that moment, Qi Yuan spoke. "I've broken through to the Divine Lord realm."

"What?" Feng Ye's face was filled with shock, which then turned to joy. "Your Highness has broken through to the Divine Lord realm?"

The True God he served naturally benefited from being stronger.

For him, his status would also rise accordingly.

Hadn't Your Highness only been cultivating for less than two hundred years?

And he was already a Divine Lord?

This... was too fast.

He was overjoyed.

"Your Highness breaking through to the Divine Lord realm means you have ten thousand years to consolidate your strength. You won't have to go to the frontlines. This is a joyous occasion," Feng Ye said with a smile.

If Tong Xun had summoned Qi Yuan to the frontlines, as Qi Yuan's protector, Feng Ye would also have met a bad end.

"By the way, Your Highness, every god-child who breaks through to the Divine Lord realm receives a drop of divine blood to stabilize their realm."

Feng Ye explained.

As he spoke, he couldn't help but feel envious.

Rogue cultivators like him didn't have access to divine blood.

Divine blood could rapidly strengthen a Divine Lord, allowing them to quickly increase their power.

Only the descendants of the Pillars had access to such resources.

"Oh? Is that so?" Qi Yuan stretched lazily.

Over the past hundred years, he had traveled to dozens of worlds in the Abandoned Lands.

In each world, he had used his divine decrees.

Sometimes, he recreated the World Spirit; other times, he devoured it.

His entanglement with the Abandoned Lands grew deeper.

Fortunately, he had the Sword of Forgetfulness. Otherwise, Qi Yuan felt he would have died long ago.

Under Feng Ye's guidance, Qi Yuan arrived at the top level of the Mountain of Ten Thousand Gods to receive the divine blood.

"Your Highness has broken through to the Divine Lord realm? Congratulations," the golden-armored man guarding the temple said, the surprise in his eyes fading.

Although he could see with his own eyes that Qi Yuan was at the Divine Lord realm, he still took out a divine artifact and followed the proper procedure to verify Qi Yuan's realm.

Once the verification was complete, the golden-armored Divine Lord's smile became even warmer.

"Your Highness, this is your divine blood, sealed in a white jade vial.

Once opened, you must consume it within three breaths, or the divine nature of the blood will dissipate."

The golden-armored Divine Lord handed over a jade vial, cold to the touch and radiating divine energy.

"Thank you."

Qi Yuan took the vial, his eyes filled with curiosity.

Since the vial was sealed, he couldn't see the divine blood inside.

Feng Ye's eyes were filled with envy.

He explained, "For us gods, bloodline is very important before reaching the True God realm. Some beings are born as Void Gods, while others are weak mortals.

But from the Void God realm to the Divine Lord realm, the importance of bloodline diminishes. What matters then is... talent.

However, after reaching the Divine Lord realm, the key to further progress lies in bloodline and... opportunity."

For someone like Feng Ye, with an average bloodline and no extraordinary opportunities, even if his talent was remarkable, he would likely remain stuck at the Divine Lord realm for the rest of his life, with little chance of advancing further.

As for the so-called Three Calamities and Three Tribulations, that was out of the question. It was a death sentence.

"Divine blood can enhance a True God's bloodline and physique, bringing it closer to a powerful constitution and slightly increasing the chances of overcoming the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations," Feng Ye said.

"The Three Calamities and Three Tribulations?" Qi Yuan also fell silent.

In the Mountain of Ten Thousand Gods, the number of True Gods was beyond count.

But only one had overcome the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations: the Emperor God.

Moreover, the Emperor God had overcome them as a Dao God.

For an ordinary Divine Lord, overcoming the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations was harder than reaching the heavens.

Yet, even with such a high mortality rate, countless Divine Lords continued to throw themselves at the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations.

This was the heart of a seeker of the Dao.

Perhaps, living for an eon wasn't enough.

But even after living for countless eons, those Divine Lords would still charge forward like moths to a flame.

To hear the Dao in the morning and die content by evening.

Returning to his residence, Qi Yuan opened the jade vial.

In an instant, a dragon-shaped form shot out of the vial, moving at incredible speed.

An invisible hand caught the dragon-shaped divine blood, and Qi Yuan examined it closely.

[Divine Blood: Imitation of the original blood. Can enhance physique.]

The information revealed by his eyes was limited to this.

The divine blood, once out of the vial, began to rapidly dissipate.

Without hesitation, Qi Yuan swallowed the divine blood in one gulp.

Immediately, he felt his bloodline boil.

Yes, it just boiled for a moment.

"Hmm... my strength increased a bit, and my bloodline... seems a bit more mixed."

"Not bad. It saved me decades of hard cultivation."

Qi Yuan evaluated.

For him, it saved decades of grinding and leveling up.

But for a Divine Lord like Feng Ye, it could mean tens of thousands, or even hundreds of millions of years of hard cultivation, while also slightly enhancing their physique.

"From this perspective, I've received a gift from Pillar Tian Kai and owe him a small favor?"

Qi Yuan murmured. He always repaid kindness and avenged wrongs.

At that moment, an invitation landed in Qi Yuan's hand.

"An invitation from Hei Tian Divine Lord?"

This invitation came from Hei Tian Divine Lord.

Hei Tian Divine Lord had probably learned of his breakthrough to the Divine Lord realm and was inviting him to celebrate.

If it were anyone else, Qi Yuan wouldn't bother.

But last time, he had borrowed Hei Tian Divine Lord's favor to meet An Nan.

"I should go," Qi Yuan yawned.

...

Endless divine light cascaded down, and three thousand divine maidens danced gracefully, their red sleeves swirling, their white arms faintly visible.

It was an extremely beautiful scene, but Hei Tian Divine Lord found it dull and uninteresting.

"Hei Tian, I didn't expect... you to invest so heavily in this Qi Yuan. Last time, you used your favor with An Nan, and this time... you're even giving him the Taiqing Yisha Original Text.

You know, even the eleventh god-child, Tong Xun, asked you for this text, and you refused."

The speaker was Hei Tian's sworn brother.

The two had been close for nearly an eon, their relationship unshakable.

"This Qi Yuan, although talented, is still far behind Tong Xun in terms of accumulation and foundation.

From what I know, Tong Xun has already collected ten types of divine blood. Even the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations might not be impossible for him.

Moreover, he has been at the Divine Lord realm for a long time and has made many preparations. He will undoubtedly attempt to overcome the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations before Qi Yuan.

Wouldn't investing in Tong Xun be more worthwhile than Qi Yuan?" Devouring Star Divine Lord spoke, his face filled with confusion.

No matter how you looked at it, an established Divine Lord like Tong Xun was a better investment than someone like Qi Yuan.

Although Qi Yuan had broken through from the Divine Kingdom realm to the Divine Lord realm in just over a hundred years, for those aiming to overcome the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations, the Divine Lord realm was just the starting point.

Talent... was practically meaningless.

No matter how extraordinary one's talent was, without a powerful bloodline or physique, it couldn't be transformed into the foundation needed to survive the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations.

Hei Tian Divine Lord was unfazed. "Tong Xun is selfish and ungrateful. If I helped him, once he became the crown prince, he might not speak up for me, especially if it meant offending a Dao God.

But Qi Yuan's character... is upright and fair. If he ever overcomes the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations, even if a Dao God intervened, he would still speak up for me."

"Hmph," Devouring Star Divine Lord snorted. "You can't judge a book by its cover. What if he turns out to be another Zhonglang Divine Lord?"

Hearing this name, Hei Tian Divine Lord's expression changed.

Once, he had also befriended Zhonglang Divine Lord.

He had repeatedly told Devouring Star Divine Lord that Zhonglang Divine Lord was loyal and trustworthy, a worthy friend.

But when Hei Tian Divine Lord was in danger, Zhonglang Divine Lord had fled without a word.

"He's different," Hei Tian Divine Lord said awkwardly.

If Qi Yuan heard this, he would probably say, "My ghost flame is already parked downstairs."

Devouring Star Divine Lord shrugged, picked up his wine gourd, and disappeared.

He didn't want to see Qi Yuan.

Aside from Hei Tian, he didn't particularly like the other second-generation nobles.

About a few dozen breaths later.

Hei Tian Divine Lord's face lit up with a smile. "Brother Qi Yuan, I didn't expect that in just a hundred years, you've broken through to the Divine Lord realm.

This speed is truly remarkable, even in the Mountain of Ten Thousand Gods."

This cultivation speed was indeed shocking and would astonish ordinary True Gods.

But in the eyes of Dao Gods and some special Divine Lords, it was nothing extraordinary.

Without overcoming the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations, it wasn't worth paying attention to.

"So, do you need my help with something? I still remember the favor from last time. When do you plan to collect it?" Qi Yuan was very direct.

Such directness could sometimes be hurtful.

But Hei Tian Divine Lord wasn't offended. Instead, he felt somewhat pleased.

However, when he thought of his troubles, his expression darkened.

Even a Dao God would find it difficult to bring him peace.

"Let's not talk about that. Since you've broken through to the Divine Lord realm, I have a gift for you."

Hei Tian Divine Lord took out the Taiqing Yisha Original Text, his face filled with a smile.

"What's this?"

Hei Tian Divine Lord's smile grew wider. "You should know that the path forward for a Divine Lord is either to find a divine treasure and break through to the Dao God realm, then face the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations, or to face the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations directly as a Divine Lord."

"Right," Qi Yuan nodded.

"Divine treasures are limited, and most have already been used by Dao Gods. Even the Emperor God probably doesn't have more than one or two divine treasures left.

So the path to breaking through to the Dao God realm is practically sealed.

The only hope is to face the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations directly as a Divine Lord.

But how difficult is it to overcome the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations?

The Mountain of Ten Thousand Gods has existed for countless eons... and from ancient times to the present, only three people have overcome one calamity and one tribulation as Divine Lords. Two of them died in later tribulations." As Hei Tian Divine Lord spoke, his eyes carried a strange emotion.

"The odds are low," Qi Yuan sighed.

In countless eons, how many Divine Lords in the Mountain of Ten Thousand Gods had attempted to overcome the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations? The number was beyond count.

Yet, only one had succeeded so far.

"In this great world, fewer than a hundred have succeeded in overcoming the calamities and tribulations as Divine Lords."

"That sounds like a lot?" Qi Yuan smiled.

As the saying goes, where the enemy can go, I can go too.

If others have succeeded, with some effort, perhaps he could too.

"The Taiqing Yisha Original Text records many... methods for dealing with the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations.

After reading this book, you might find some help in overcoming them."

"Oh, it seems this book is quite valuable," Qi Yuan said, his eyes filled with curiosity.

For almost all god-children and True Gods with ambition, the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations were an unavoidable topic.

It could be said that in this great world, two-thirds of the fallen Divine Lords had died during the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations.

Even with such a high mortality rate, Divine Lords continued to throw themselves at the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations.

The Three Calamities and Three Tribulations were the nightmare of all living beings.

Even Dao Gods found it difficult to overcome them, and many had perished during the tribulations.

Qi Yuan held the Taiqing Yisha Original Text and began reading it carefully.

"The so-called Three Calamities and Three Tribulations are formless and intangible. People cannot describe or summarize them. Each person's Three Calamities and Three Tribulations are different.

It could be choking on water, suddenly collapsing from emotional breakdown, or dying from encountering something horrifying.

The symptoms and causes of mortal deaths can appear in Divine Lords, even in Dao Gods.

The only commonality is that they are calamities and tribulations, capable of killing even the immortal Dao Gods."

"The method with the highest success rate for avoiding the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations is..."

The following words were blank.

Qi Yuan looked up, his eyes filled with confusion.

Hei Tian Divine Lord seemed to understand Qi Yuan's confusion. His eyes carried a strange sorrow. "This method is not revealed to the world. Even Dao Gods cannot see it. Only powerhouses like the Emperor God know of it."

His meaning was simple.

This method was monopolized.

Aside from powerhouses like the Emperor God, no one else could know of it.

In truth, he had some guesses about this method.

But he couldn't say it, nor could he express it.

Even if he did, perhaps what Qi Yuan heard wouldn't be what he meant.

This method was obscured by an inexplicable force.

"Black-hearted, deserves to be hanged on a lamppost!" Qi Yuan couldn't help but curse.

He continued reading.

The contents of the Taiqing Yisha Original Text were extremely complex.

It listed various powerful physiques and bloodlines.

According to the book, obtaining various physiques and bloodlines to strengthen oneself and use one's own strength to resist the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations was also a method.

This was the method chosen by most Divine Lords.

However, the success rate of this method was also very low.

According to the book, before it was written, only fifteen people in the world had overcome the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations using this method.

When Qi Yuan flipped to the end of the book, a line of text caught his eye.

"There are three Pure Methods in the world, which may allow one to overcome the Three Calamities and Three Tribulations.

Since the Heavenly Emperor disappeared, the Three Pure Methods have been lost to the world."

Three Pure Methods?

This term couldn't help but make Qi Yuan's imagination run wild.