[Clearwater Village mission cleared. Rewards granted.]

[Reward 1: Primordial Seed.]

[Reward 2: Primordial True Spirit.]

Information flooded into Qi Yuan’s mind.

The Primordial Seed was an extraordinary seed that could take root and grow in any world. Not only could it be preset to activate in advance, but when the master descended, he could directly replace it.

“This Primordial Seed is a bit strange.”

After becoming a Yin Spirit, Qi Yuan realized that when he played the game, it had always been his primordial soul entering the game world. At the same time, his primordial soul was a bit unusual. It was nearly identical to a physical body and could only be used once. To put it simply, it had always been a direct descent.

With the Primordial Seed, he could now pre-develop a character, then descend later and replace it.

Qi Yuan felt a bit helpless. “Not very useful. At most, I can enter the game early and learn some plot in advance. ...Wait. It is useful. The feedback from the Primordial Seed’s growth is far greater than normal gameplay!”

Had he obtained the Primordial Seed earlier, he would have already become a Yin Spirit in the Canglan World. Instead, even after defeating two Yang Spirits, he was still a Nascent Soul in reality.

Then, his attention shifted to the second reward. The Primordial True Spirit appeared before him, resembling a crystalline, radiant peeled egg. Vast aura swirled within, as if it could gestate countless lives. All primordial beings are born from a Primordial True Spirit. With it, Qi Yuan could even cultivate an entirely new Mortal Heart World. Even Yang Spirits would be envious of him. If nurtured carefully, Qi Yuan’s path toward the Yang Spirit would stretch unimaginably far.

Yet he simply smiled. “How can a single Primordial World compare to a Heavenly Court?”

He thought of the fallen Thunder, his goddaughter Qi Qi, and all the villagers of Clearwater Village.

Without hesitation, his divine spiritual energy transformed into blades. Ten thousand cuts fell and the Primordial True Spirit shattered instantly.

“Form my Nascent Soul.” 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

With that command, it split into 4,752 portions. 4,750 villagers, one No-Food Goddess, and one Venerable Tianbao. The divided Primordial True Spirit entered his Divine Domain. Under his control, they transformed into Nascent Souls. The divine spiritual energy that had once assimilated into his Divine Domain returned to these souls. Fragments of memory surged fully into them.

His gaze grew deep. “...Time to leave.”

The mission was complete. Less than half a day remained for him in the Mortal Heart World. He spent his remaining time wandering alone through the world he had once toured with No-Food Goddess. This time, he wanted to explore the world properly.

***

The next time Qi Yuan opened his eyes, he found himself inside his brick house in the Canglan World. Memories flooded him akin to shattered glass reassembling.

Gazing upon the stars, he sighed softly. “As expected, not even a quarter hour has passed in Canglan...”

Each time he entered and exited the game, time in reality remained frozen at the moment of entry. Countless memories churned in his mind. The Qi Yuan Scripture circulated, sealing them temporarily like a paused film.

Weariness vanished from his face as he looked inward to his Divine Domain. There lay 4,752 divine Nascent Souls. Each radiated a terrifying aura, like dormant primordial gods. They were no ordinary ancient gods. For instance, Thunder had visualized the Southern Longevity Great Emperor. Once he reached the Greater Realms, he could become a Yang Spirit. In fact, every one of Qi Yuan’s Nascent Souls possessed Yang Spirit potential. Once they awakened, there could be four thousand Great Venerables, or even Yang Spirits. They could’ve shaken the Canglan World.

“Oops. I accidentally formed so many Nascents Souls. I guess I’m now a famous True Lord?”

In Great Shang, a True Lord was held in high regard. In fact, Withered Tree, the sect master of the Divine Radiance Sect, was one. His old enemy, the Black Rooster Demon, had once been one as well.

After countless hardships, Qi Yuan had finally reached that realm openly and honorably. He could even establish a sect of his own.

“This brick house no longer matches my status. This time, I’ll upgrade to a bungalow!”

If there were TVs, they’d have to be plasma!

He sighed in satisfaction. “Not bad, this breakthrough is not bad at all.”

His strength had increased tremendously. Moreover, summoning those Nascent Souls would be far more useful in the Canglan World than using his cores. Unless the Great Calamity struck, he could now do as he pleased across the world.

Run into a Great Venerable? Just sacrifice a single Nascent Soul, problem solved.

He sighed again. “Too bad they’re sleeping too deeply. Who knows when they’ll fully awaken?”

It didn’t seem they would awaken anytime soon.

“Let’s see what upgrade is this time.”

Every time he broke through a major realm, he gained a new ability. For example, his eyes could see hidden information, while his ears could pick up whispers and inner thoughts.

Soon, he became speechless. “Hmm? This time it’s...”

The ability was related to his nose. Usually, when one thought of a nose, the first association was a keen sense of smell, like a dog’s nose. Yet in his case...

“Lie detection? It grows longer or shorter? What am I, Pinocchio?”

Whenever he heard a statement, his nose would subtly lengthen or shorten depending on whether it was true or false. Of course, the change was under his control, so no one would notice.

“This overlaps a bit with my eyes’ hidden information ability.”

His detection had become far more precise regarding lies, since the information his eyes discerned sometimes concerned truth or falsehood.

“Does it work on my own statements?” Suddenly, something occurred to him. “Qi Yuan is the most handsome in the Canglan World!”

Unfortunately, his nose didn’t react at all.

He became indignant. “Damn it! I can’t exploit a bug?!”

What a lame ability.

He stepped out of his brick house. “Whatever.”

This time, however, he didn’t swagger about lazily. Instead, he imitated Withered Tree's dignified gait. Others could’ve mistaken him for an elder if he changed his clothes.

Should I pretend to be an elder doing inspections?

The thought flashed by, but he quickly dismissed it. Why would he need to pretend? He was already a True Lord, an equivalent of a peak master in the Divine Radiance Sect.

Then, Qi Yuan stared toward a house in the distance. Clearing his throat, he called out, “Junior Sister.”

After about a dozen breaths, a graceful figure emerged. Jiang Lingsu wore a pink, round-collared robe, embroidered with golden trim. Though the outer robe was slightly loose, it could not conceal her ample curves. Her hair was pulled back into loops, ring buns balanced on either side. Braids flowed down to her waist, swaying with every movement. Lively, intelligent eyes shone beneath her bangs.

She frowned. “Senior Brother, why are you walking around with your hands behind your back like that? I thought some elder had arrived.”

“Am I not qualified to be one?” Qi Yuan replied smugly.

He was now the youngest Nascent Soul cultivator in the Divine Radiance Sect—no, in the entire Great Shang Kingdom! Of course he had to show off a bit.

“Uuh... Huh?” Jiang Lingsu glanced up at the sky, appearing stunned. “I just closed my eyes for a moment, why is there another sun?”

Indeed, there was now one more sun in the sky. The Canglan World now had three suns suspended overhead. The sight was rather terrifying.

Yet Qi Yuan simply laughed. “Next time you come out of seclusion, maybe that sun will be surrounded by even more suns.”

He had already begun studying military strategy, using the tactic of encirclement to surround that sun with Star Golden Cores.

“Please don’t. That’s too scary,” She shook her head, though she didn’t dwell on it. Such matters were beyond her concern anyway. “Senior Brother, why did you call me out?”

He grinned. “I have good news and bad news. Which do you want first?”

Jiang Lingsu had always been frail. Every so often, she would turn as cold as ice. Even with his warmth, only by holding her hand could he temporarily dispel the frost. Unless they wore the same pair of undergarments every day, the pain couldn’t be eliminated.

Even when he was busy in the Mortal Heart World, he still thought of her. After all, his junior sister was a wealthy benefactor who had helped him greatly. Now that he was rich and powerful, he no longer cared about her small fortune, but he would not become an ungrateful scoundrel.

“Good news,” Jiang Lingsu said immediately.

Knowing that talking to him required abandoning logic, it was best to just follow his flow.

“The good news is I found someone who can fully cure your injury," said Qi Yuan.

Her eyes shone with intense joy. “You found one?”

Does that mean my illness could finally be cured? No more enduring that bone-deep agony?

She unconsciously drew closer, gripping his arm tightly. “Where are they?”

He answered calmly, “There’s also bad news, the Water Spirit Root cultivator I found isn’t a Violet Palace."

A flicker of disappointment passed through her eyes. “...Ah.”

Without a Violet Palace's Origin Divine Technique, her condition couldn’t be fully cured. Not even the Jiang family could raise an ordinary cultivator to the Violet Palace realm.

She smiled brightly. “Thank you for thinking of me, Senior Brother. It’s alright.”

It was his thought that mattered.

However, Qi Yuan added, “There’s more to the bad news.”

Suppressing her excitement, she smiled gently. “What else?”

“That cultivator isn’t Violet Palace, she's a Yin Spirit."

Not just any Yin Spirit but a Great Venerable. A Mythic among Great Venerables.

Jiang Lingsu froze, her breathing quickening. “Senior Brother, you found a Venerable?”

A Yin Spirit! If a Water Spirit Root Violet Palace could, then all the more so a Yin Spirit!

In the next moment, she grew anxious. Her family couldn’t even summon a Yin Spirit to act.

Qi Yuan finally dropped the suspense. “No, no, I’m still not finished. That Yin Spirit is dead.”

She blinked.

“She became my Nascent Soul,” he said.

She blinked again. That sounds strange.

“So my Nascent Soul can treat you!” he declared proudly.

Jiang Lingsu stood there in a daze for a long time.

Finally, she punched him lightly and twisted his arm. “Senior Brother, we’ve only been apart for such a short time, and you’re already being such a tease?”

As a Foundation Establishment cultivator, she couldn’t hurt him no matter how hard she tried. Still, he claimed to be a Nascent Soul after vanishing for a moment? Who would believe that?

“I never lie. Even when I do, they’re white lies. Go back to your room. I’ll treat you,” he said casually.

“Are you being serious?” she asked in disbelief.

Her senior brother was unreliable, but when he was serious, he usually meant it.

As unreliable as he was, when he was serious, he usually meant it.

“If I’m lying, I’m not from Blue Planet!” he said solemnly.

She hesitated. “Wait. Let me sort this out. I’m a bit confused.”

What he said was far too absurd!

After a long pause, she gritted her teeth fiercely. “Fine. I’ll trust you this once. But if you lie to me, you won’t hear the end of it!”