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

The three members of the Blood Tiger Gang stared at the white-haired man who had climbed out of the coffin.

The blood-red light illuminated his face, and his eyes seemed to glow with an eerie radiance, making him appear sinister and terrifying.

“A g-ghost!”

Their hearts trembled with fear, and they couldn’t help but let out cries of alarm.

It was the dead of night, the wind howling through the graveyard, and a man climbed out of a coffin to accuse them of disturbing his sleep. The scene was far too chilling.

Even Zhao Yan, who was being held down, was shaking uncontrollably, consumed by fear.

Though he deeply respected his master, he certainly hadn’t wished for his ghost to come after him.

But then Wang Tong, who had been trembling, suddenly seemed to lose his wits. Gritting his teeth, he shouted, “Master, you’re dead—don’t come back!”

With that, he charged at Qi Yuan, dagger in hand.

“Sigh, I only wanted to peacefully transcend the mortal realm. Why must so many people push me?” Qi Yuan said, exasperated.

His original plan had been to continue the white-haired man’s journey of transcending the mortal realm.

Since the white-haired man had died, Qi Yuan decided to use his coffin to continue the process.

Given his talent, Qi Yuan figured he could simply lie in the coffin for a year or two, doing nothing, and successfully break through to the Ancestor God Realm.

His plan was flawless.

After all, transcending the mortal realm, as Qi Yuan understood it from years of watching TV dramas and reading comics, was about seclusion—hiding away from the chaos of the world and avoiding all disturbances.

Many people failed to transcend, Qi Yuan believed, because they chose the wrong location. Their seclusion would often be interrupted by annoying troublemakers or overpowered antagonists, leading to endless problems.

So, the location for transcending needed to be ideal—quiet, undisturbed, and isolated.

And what better place than a coffin?

After all, who would bother someone lying in a coffin? A coffin was practically the ultimate sacred ground for transcending the mortal realm!

Qi Yuan’s plan had been foolproof. But who could have predicted that even inside a coffin, people would still come to disturb him?

He was furious.

“You’re all forcing me to act. I just wanted to lie in my coffin and sleep in peace!”

“Those who push me too far—deserve to die!”

Qi Yuan stood up, glaring menacingly at Wang Tong, who was charging toward him.

He picked up the coffin lid and swung it forcefully at Wang Tong.

“That’s for disturbing my sleep!”

The coffin lid struck Wang Tong, leaving him dazed and dizzy, his head spinning and vision blurred.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Qi Yuan didn’t stop. He swung the coffin lid repeatedly, his actions ruthless and domineering.

After a few more strikes, Wang Tong’s skull was smashed, blood gushing out.

Holding the coffin lid, Qi Yuan glared at the corpse and growled, “In your next life, don’t disturb someone’s sleep!”

From the white-haired man’s memories, Qi Yuan knew that the man had genuinely sought to transcend the mortal realm by avoiding the use of extraordinary powers. ꞦＡɴO͍ᛒÊŠ

Since Qi Yuan was continuing this journey, he decided to follow the same principle and not use any supernatural abilities.

No skills, spells, or divine powers were to be used.

However, his naturally robust body, strengthened through effort and battles, was fair game.

He hadn’t used any extraordinary powers—just his immense physical strength and exceptional physique.

The remaining people present were horrified as they looked at Qi Yuan.

Not only had he seemingly risen from the dead, but he had also used a coffin lid to brutally kill Wang Tong.

“Next! It’s your turn. You pushed me to this!”

Qi Yuan held the coffin lid like a fearsome bandit—or rather, a vengeful ghost.

Xu Jiaoyun, terrified, turned and fled.

The graveyard was filled with tombs and surrounded by ominous purple bamboo, making it an exceedingly eerie place.

In her panic, she tripped over a small grave mound and fell onto a sharp bamboo stake, leaving a deep gash across her abdomen. Blood poured out from the wound.

She ignored the pain and struggled to her feet, trying to escape.

Qi Yuan looked at her injury with a hint of pity in his eyes. “That looks painful. I can’t bear to see you suffer like this. Let me end your pain.”

Feeling he was being merciful and compassionate, Qi Yuan decided to help her by ending her misery.

He raised the coffin lid high and hurled it at her with tremendous force.

Xu Jiaoyun looked up just in time to see the dark shadow of the lid descending upon her.

Crash!

The sheer power of the blow forced her body downward, impaling her completely on the sharp bamboo stake.

Splurt!

Blood gushed from her mouth as her life slipped away.

The remaining three members of the Blood Tiger Gang trembled violently.

They were little more than thugs—hardly skilled practitioners—and were utterly terrified by Qi Yuan’s ferocity.

The wiry man gritted his teeth and tried to sound brave. “You’re a cultivator, aren’t you? The Blood Tiger Gang has cultivators too! You can’t kill me! The gang won’t let you off!”

Running wasn’t an option in such a dire situation, so he attempted to intimidate Qi Yuan instead.

It showed that he had some quick thinking, even under pressure.

Meanwhile, the other two gang members were too frightened to speak.

“Don’t talk nonsense! I’m no cultivator. I haven’t used any supernatural powers—I’m just naturally strong!” Qi Yuan retorted indignantly.

He couldn’t afford to reveal himself as a cultivator. How could he successfully transcend the mortal realm if he exposed his identity?

Before the wiry man could respond, Qi Yuan picked up the coffin lid again and ruthlessly bashed all three of them to death.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

“Phew... So tiring!” Qi Yuan muttered, feigning exhaustion with exaggerated breaths. His acting skills were impeccable.

Zhao Yan, who had been watching the entire scene, cautiously asked, “Master... is that you?”

Qi Yuan turned his gaze toward Zhao Yan. “I am your Master, but also not your Master.”

Zhao Yan was dumbfounded.

“What does that even mean?”

“You... weren’t you dead, Master?” Zhao Yan asked hesitantly, staring at the white-haired man who bore an uncanny resemblance to his deceased teacher.

“My soul is dead, but my body remains alive,” Qi Yuan said cryptically.

“Soul dead... body alive?” Zhao Yan repeated, completely confused.

He understood the words individually, but together they made no sense.

Qi Yuan glanced at the coffin and sighed regretfully.

His plan had failed. It seemed he wouldn’t be able to peacefully transcend the mortal realm by lying in a coffin anymore.

“Let’s go home,” Qi Yuan said.

He decided to return home and attempt transcending the mortal realm there.

Zhao Yan was stunned for a moment. His expression turned tense as he stammered, “Master, you killed the Blood Tiger Gang members. They won’t let us go!”

He was panicking.

In Yunxue City, aside from the Thorned Blood Specters and the noble families, the Blood Tiger Gang was the most powerful faction. They were notorious for ruthlessly oppressing the lower-class citizens.

And behind the Blood Tiger Gang stood the Thorned Blood Specters, represented by a terrifying individual known as the Blood Tiger Cultivator.

The Blood Tiger Cultivator had once been a powerful practitioner. After joining the Thorned Blood Specters, he underwent a transformation, becoming part human and part beast—a true blood tiger.

Ordinary civilians had no chance of resisting such a force.

Their only options were to endure being exploited or to join the gang and hope to scrape by.

“What? The Blood Tiger Gang won’t let me transcend the mortal realm?” Qi Yuan’s eyes widened, and he appeared genuinely enraged. “How can people be this wicked? I haven’t wronged them in any way! I was just trying to live peacefully as an ordinary person, and they dare to come after me?”

Qi Yuan was genuinely furious.

Even a kind and good-natured man could be driven to violence if pushed too far.

All he had wanted was to quietly lie in a coffin and sleep.

But his peace had been disturbed.

Now, when he planned to return home and continue his seclusion, the Blood Tiger Gang dared to push him further!

Zhao Yan blinked in confusion, still overwhelmed by the situation. After some hesitation, he cautiously suggested, “Master... perhaps we should leave Yunxue City? If the Blood Tiger Gang pursues us, we’ll be in serious trouble.”

Though his master had shown immense strength earlier, rivaling that of a cultivator, the idea of opposing the Thorned Blood Specters was deeply ingrained as unthinkable.

After all, the Thorned Blood Specters were known to commune with the Wraith Gods themselves—those high and mighty beings who hung in the skies above.

“Running away won’t solve the problem,” Qi Yuan said, shaking his head, his tone deep and meaningful. “If I flee, won’t that mean I’ve let them bully me for nothing?”

“Then... are we going to retaliate?” Zhao Yan muttered under his breath.

Ordinary citizens couldn’t possibly contend with a gang like the Blood Tiger Gang.

The only ones who dared to oppose such factions were the lone practitioners outside the city walls—and even they didn’t dare enter the city. If they did, the Thorned Blood Specters would capture them immediately.

“Retaliate? What nonsense! This is self-defense,” Qi Yuan declared righteously. “Besides, maybe we’re being too suspicious. What if the Blood Tiger Gang doesn’t actually come after me?”

Qi Yuan paused, stroking his chin in thought.

After all, transcending the mortal realm required maintaining inner peace and avoiding excessive resentment.

What if the members of the Blood Tiger Gang were actually kind-hearted people? What if, as villains, they were still courteous and polite?

Like that one eunuch from the TV drama he had seen—despite being a villain, he was extremely polite.

Qi Yuan didn’t want to wrongly accuse good people.

“Come on, let’s go back to sleep,” Qi Yuan said, preparing to return to his residence.

After spending so much time in a coffin, he felt like he was starting to smell like a corpse.

<hr>

Li Xi Street

The morning light cast a red glow over the ground, resembling the color of spilled blood.

The impoverished residents of Li Xi Street had risen early, dressed in simple clothes, ready to start their day of hard labor.

Due to the lack of adequate food, their faces were pale, their bodies emaciated, and they looked malnourished.

Wu Xiang, draped in a long robe that seemed to have been scavenged from a corpse, frowned as he spoke.

“So, that white-haired man is really dead?”

Wu Lian nodded. “He passed away a few days ago. Even some bigwigs from the Thorned Blood Specters came to inspect him.”

At the mention of this, Wu Lian’s expression turned somber.

That white-haired man had been her neighbor. On a street where everyone looked sickly and frail, he stood out as strikingly handsome.

She often stole glances at him.

Over the past decade, his appearance hadn’t changed at all, leading Wu Lian to suspect that he was a cultivator.

“What a pity. If he were still alive, we could’ve recruited him. His strength would’ve been a valuable asset,” Wu Xiang said.

He was part of the rebel army operating outside the city.

The rebels sought to recruit as many cultivators as possible in their quest to overthrow the Thorned Blood Specters.

However, the power gap between the rebels and the Thorned Blood Specters was immense. The rebels were like stray dogs, constantly fleeing and hiding outside the city.

Shaking off these thoughts, Wu Xiang leaned closer and lowered his voice. “Wu Lian, this time you must leave with me. I’ve secured the escape routes.”

Wu Lian’s face lit up with excitement upon hearing this.

While life in the city was relatively safer than the wilderness, where specters roamed freely and devoured humans, her situation was different.

She had already drawn the attention of the Thorned Blood Specters. Once she turned eighteen, she would be sent to the Rebirth Courtyard to become a tool for breeding specters.

“Alright!” Wu Lian nodded firmly.

But just as she agreed, Wu Xiang’s expression shifted. His face darkened.

“Not good—it’s the Blood Tiger Gang!”

He glanced outside the courtyard and saw a group of over a dozen Blood Tiger Gang members, all dressed in uniform, walking toward them with murderous intent.

Wu Xiang’s face turned pale as fear gripped him.

He realized that there must be a traitor within the rebel army—someone had sold him out.

“What should we do?”

“What should we do?”

As panic set in for Wu Xiang, someone else in another courtyard was even more anxious—Zhao Yan.

After returning home the previous night, Zhao Yan hadn’t been able to sleep at all. His eyes were puffy and bloodshot as he constantly looked out the window, terrified that the Blood Tiger Gang would come after him.

And now, just as dawn broke, over a dozen Blood Tiger Gang members had arrived, exuding menace.

Even worse, their uniforms marked them as inner disciples—far stronger than ordinary members.

“Master! Master! The Blood Tiger Gang is coming for us!” Zhao Yan shouted in panic.

Inside the house, Qi Yuan was calmly sipping porridge. Upon hearing this, he sighed in frustration.

“Sigh... I guess I was too optimistic about this world.”

“All I did was accidentally kill a few of their members in self-defense. And now they dare to seek revenge?”

“All I wanted was to transcend the mortal realm in peace, away from worldly matters. But you’re all forcing me!”

Qi Yuan gritted his teeth, slammed his bowl to the ground, and picked up a hoe from the corner of the room.

Striding out of the house with the demeanor of a dragon and the authority of a tiger, Qi Yuan bellowed:

“Blood Tiger Gang scum, you’ve gone too far!”

He stood in the courtyard, hoe in hand, facing the group of inner disciples.

With a loud boom, he slammed the hoe into the ground with such force that the wooden shaft broke, leaving him holding only a stick.

The Blood Tiger Gang members froze, stunned by the sight.

“Who is this guy?”

“What’s he doing?”

“Wait... isn’t that the white-haired cultivator? Wasn’t he dead?”

“How is he alive?”

“Did he come back as a ghost?”

The disciples murmured among themselves, confused and unsure.

In the neighboring courtyard, Wu Lian gasped, covering her mouth in shock.

“He’s alive!”

She had personally attended Qi Yuan’s funeral and even eaten at the feast.

Now, Qi Yuan was standing before the Blood Tiger Gang, holding a broken hoe.

“What’s going on?”

The Blood Tiger Gang’s squad leader frowned, his expression shifting between wariness and unease.

But he couldn’t afford to waste time. Their priority was capturing the rebels, and delaying now could allow their targets to escape.

“Hey, this is a misunderstanding. We’re here to apprehend your neighbors—they’re harboring rebels!” the squad leader explained.

Qi Yuan sneered. “Do you take me for an idiot? You’re pretending to capture rebels just to lower my guard so you can ambush me!”

The squad leader was dumbfounded.

Had they encountered a lunatic?

“Hmph, I won’t fall for the same trick twice,” Qi Yuan declared. “Last night, I trusted you people. I thought you were honorable and wouldn’t seek trouble.

“But now, not only are you causing trouble, you’re using the same old trick to catch me off guard! Do you think I’d fall for it again?”

“???” The squad leader was utterly bewildered.

What was this white-haired man talking about?

Even Zhao Yan, standing nearby, was confused. He thought he understood but quickly realized he didn’t.

The squad leader’s expression darkened. Losing patience, he barked:

“Fine! If you won’t cooperate, brothers—kill him!”

Qi Yuan’s face lit up with an almost triumphant glow.

“See? I was right! Caught red-handed! No more pretending!”

He gripped his broken hoe tightly and stepped forward, standing resolute before the gang members.

“Anyone who dares to disrupt my journey of transcending the mortal realm—must die!”

In that moment, a thought crossed Qi Yuan’s mind.

If his attempts at transcending the mortal realm kept getting interrupted here...

What if he simply killed everyone who dared to disturb him?

Wouldn’t that finally bring him peace?

As the idea took root, a new plan began forming in Qi Yuan’s mind.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!