Chapter 198.2: Seed of the World

After a brief exchange, Zhao Zun departed. Yang Lian closed the door and returned to the room.

Looking at her increasingly frail sister, her eyes filled with tenderness. "Little Sister, must you do this?"

The small girl opened her eyes, clear and bright. "He killed an evil god. That makes him our benefactor."

"But it isn't worth it."

"Don't worry, Sister. He won't discover me."

Yang Lian knew that was true, hence why she hadn't stopped her.

The girl asked softly, "Sister, did you notice that Brother Zhao Zun is different from before?"

Yang Lian frowned slightly. "Yes, it seems so."

The girl murmured, "This Qiyuann Sovereign he follows probably isn't an ordinary person."

If he were ordinary, would she have been moved to bestow a treasure on a whim?

Yang Lian ventured boldly. "Perhaps, he was a Mythic in his past life."

Only a Mythic would be worthy of such a gift. It was referring to a Seventh Step cultivator, basically a myth. They were the strongest pillars of this world.

During the Hongtang War, the Mortal Heart World suffered devastating losses. The No-Food Goddess perished. Out of ten True Gods and Great Venerables, less than three survived. As for Mythics, not a single one remained. They all died fighting for the world.

The Destiny Children weren't called such because they were blessed by heaven, but because they could visualize Mythic-tier God Visualization Arts. They were essentially the final hope of the Mortal Heart World.

With boundless affection, Yang Lian looked at her sickly sister. "Does it still hurt?"

"It hurts a little," the skinny girl answered through clenched teeth.

Yang Lian held her sister tightly. "Endure a bit longer. You'll definitely be able to leave the Mortal Heart World. When that time comes, it won't hurt anymore."

She thought of Zhao Zun. Perhaps by then, she and everyone else would be no more. Only her sister would survive, carrying the world's last hope. Then, after enduring countless ages, the seed would finally sprout.

When that time came, would it still be the Mortal Heart World? Would the past even remain?

***

At the same time, Zhao Zun returned to the city lord's residence.

Qi Yuan was gnawing on a pig trotter while eyeing Qi Qi. "The way you eat is far too refined. You have to wolf it down like Little Xue to really whet people's appetites."

Qi Qi rolled her eyes at him. "Godfather, your daughter is a lady. A lady!"

The atmosphere inside the city lord's residence was warm and lively. Ji Buran sat silently at the table as well, eating a pig trotter.

Then, Qi Yuan said, "In a few more days, the remaining two cities will fall. My great plan will advance another step."

The feeling of watching the progress bar fill up every day was incredibly satisfying. Qi Yuan thought that if everyone on Blue Planet had a progress or EXP bar, many of them would become hard-working prodigies like him.

Qi Qi gnawed on a bone and ignored him. Was that even considered a plan? To be honest, she thought that her godfather's so-called grand plan was absurdly crude. Even her farming notes had more details. Heck, a primary school manual on feeding pigs would've been more informative!

Regardless, Qi Yuan was brimming with anticipation. "Once the plan here is complete, we'll return to Clearwater Village and prepare to head to the Ancestral Land."

"The Ancient Clan..." Qi Qi hesitated. "The place is extremely dangerous. Godfather, you must be careful."

Qi Yuan, as usual, spouted nonsense effortlessly, "Don't worry. There's no one more cautious than me in this world."

Qi Qi fell silent again.

What does that have to do with being cautious?

Qi Qi said helplessly, "Godfather, you're not cautious at all. Look at Great Venerable Thunder, that's what steady looks like. You're only at the Violet Palace realm, yet you dare challenge True Gods and even Great Venerables."

Qi Yuan slurped some fragrant soup. "I'm not a Violet Palace anymore. I have a Star Golden Core. I'm already being very cautious."

"Godfather, what nonsense are you saying again?"

Qi Yuan said seriously, "Did you see me summoning my core and smashing it straight into the Heavenly Pillar to crush that old dog inside? How am I not cautious?[1]"

He had actually thought about it. Unfortunately, his core was only a projection. If it were a real star, he would've challenged that old dog already.

His daughter claimed that a Yang Spirit could swallow stars whole, but Qi Yuan remained skeptical. Just because some Yang Spirits could didn’t mean the rest could. The gap between Yang Spirits was vast. The gap between stars was just as vast.

Qi Qi gazed at the night sky, smiling. "Godfather, if you really could summon stars from the heavens, you might actually smash quite a few evil gods to death!"

As for beings above True Gods, Qi Qi offered no comment. That realm was beyond her comprehension. Still, smashing a Mythic to death with a star? That was definitely possible.

Qi Yuan looked up at the sky as well. "Don't worry. I'm experimenting already. I'm preparing to swallow another star. When the time comes, I'll secretly drop it and scare that old fellow senseless."

In the empty cosmos, where Ning Tao resided, time continued to surge forward. True Sun Fire accumulated without stop. Before long, he would be able to swallow another star. When that happened, Qi Yuan would be able to condense two Star Golden Cores.

1. ***E/N: he wants to spam it like Zhongli’s ult huh ☜