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

Chapter 221: The Fickle Foodless Holy Mother

The woman in the red dress paused, seemingly lost in thought.

"The Foodless Body."

"Huh? Just three words?" Qi Yuan was stunned.

Three words seemed way too unimpressive.

"From what I’ve seen, others have names like Innate Sacred Body Dao Embryo, Heavenly Fate Chaotic Divine Demon Body, Innate JK Sacred Body, or at least a four-character name like Archaic Sacred Body."

This was the first time Qi Yuan had heard of the "Foodless Body."

"I made up the name myself," the woman in the red dress said, looking at Qi Yuan with a mischievous smile in her eyes.

Qi Yuan hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath. "It seems we have something in common. The technique I created is called the Qi Yuan Scripture."

He named his technique after himself, and the Foodless Holy Mother called herself by her body's name. It was quite amusing.

"What are the effects of the Foodless Body?" Qi Yuan asked.

In truth, he wanted to understand the state of the Foodless Holy Mother's body.

"You’ve already seen them," the Foodless Holy Mother didn’t answer directly.

"I think it might be more complicated than that. You looked at me strangely before," Qi Yuan recalled the unsettling feeling he had when she looked at him earlier.

The woman in the red dress stopped eating fish, lightly biting her lower lip with her pearly teeth. She glanced sideways at Qi Yuan. "Are you afraid I might eat you?"

As she spoke, she deliberately took a bite of the fish, chewing forcefully as if imagining it were Qi Yuan.

"Not at all," Qi Yuan blurted out.

They were separated by time; even if she had the appetite of a gluttonous beast, she couldn’t eat him.

The woman in the red dress didn’t say anything more, continuing to eat her fish.

Qi Yuan sat beside her, watching as her complexion gradually improved. His mood lifted accordingly.

This meant that the Heaven Pillar was being restored bit by bit.

He could return to the visualization mountain to continue his work.

However, something occurred to him, and he asked, "If the fish were impure, would you still be able to eat it so calmly?"

Qi Yuan remembered the last time he saw the Foodless Holy Mother.

She was eating fish right beside him.

The fish hadn’t been purified, yet she ate it with great enjoyment.

"No," the Foodless Holy Mother answered bluntly.

Another wave of doubt washed over Qi Yuan.

Could it be that he had seen a version of the Foodless Holy Mother from a parallel timeline?

That version of her didn’t seem to react to impure fish as this one did.

"Hey, if you ever meet me in the future, remind me that we’ve met before."

"Okay."

"Promise me you won’t lie!" Qi Yuan sensed she might deceive him, so he added, "If you lie, you’re a little puppy!"

As the saying goes, beautiful women are the most deceptive because if less attractive women lie, no one believes them.

"Why would I lie to you?"

"I’ll trust you this time."

"Are the evil gods really powerful?" the Foodless Holy Mother asked.

"Well… they’re strong, but don’t worry, villains like them always fall by my hand!" Qi Yuan said with confidence.

"It seems you’re quite confident," the Foodless Holy Mother said, a touch of melancholy in her voice.

"I’ve already devised a detailed plan, broken into three steps. Right now, I’m in the latter part of the first step, and soon, my plan will be complete!" Qi Yuan was excited as he talked about his plan.

After all, it was his brilliant creation, and he loved to boast about it.

"It’s a pity… I was born too early," the Foodless Holy Mother mused, her voice filled with sadness.

Qi Yuan was momentarily taken aback.

He recalled the last time he saw the Foodless Holy Mother, she had said something similar.

Was it just a coincidence? Or something else? Could the Foodless Holy Mother he met last time really be this one? But why wouldn’t she recognize him?

Or did she recognize him but choose not to say anything?

Was there some hidden plot? Qi Yuan couldn’t help but speculate. He was about to ask more when he suddenly felt a chill in the air.

The warmth in the red-dressed woman’s eyes vanished, replaced by a biting coldness.

Her icy gaze fell upon Qi Yuan, and even though they were separated by time, he could almost feel the bone-chilling cold.

"I’m going to sleep," the Foodless Holy Mother said, finishing the last of the fish, her voice frigid.

Her attitude toward Qi Yuan had shifted dramatically, from somewhat warm to utterly frosty.

Qi Yuan was surprised. "She’s pulled out the three magical tools of a goddess."

The sudden change in the Foodless Holy Mother’s attitude left Qi Yuan curious, but he wasn’t about to try to warm up to her cold shoulder.

"Remember to eat the fish tomorrow."

"Okay," the Foodless Holy Mother replied, her voice still icy.

Qi Yuan placed his hands behind his head, watching as the Foodless Holy Mother retreated into the depths of the bamboo house and lay down on the bed.

"This woman changes her mood faster than the weather."

"Do myths even need to sleep?"

Qi Yuan left the bamboo house and wandered outside.

The night was still.

The lake shimmered with ripples, reflecting a faint red glow.

The wind rustled the bamboo, making it sway gently.

Qi Yuan reached out, trying to feel the breeze, but he couldn’t grasp it.

After a while, he saw some familiar figures.

At the base of the Heaven Pillar, Venerable Ling Zhong and Elder Fanxin were still there, seemingly engaged in some conversation.

Unfortunately, Qi Yuan’s ears couldn’t catch everything.

He could only hear bits and pieces.

"I suspect someone is with the Foodless Holy Mother."

"Impossible, I couldn’t sense anyone."

"That person… really exists… imagination…"

Qi Yuan listened for a long time but couldn’t gather any useful information.

He returned to the Foodless Holy Mother’s bamboo house.

After all, eavesdropping was unbecoming.

Time passed quickly.

Atop the Heaven Pillar, it was empty and rarely visited.

Over the past two days, the Foodless Holy Mother had cooked several more fish. After Qi Yuan purified them, the Foodless Holy Mother slowly ate them.

Her complexion improved more and more.

The Heaven Pillar also seemed to grow stronger.

The only thing that surprised Qi Yuan was that ever since that night when the Foodless Holy Mother had become cold and distant, she had remained aloof, and their conversations had been sparse, lacking the warmth of their earlier interactions.

But Qi Yuan didn’t mind.

If she was cold, so be it.

It didn’t matter to him.

His goal was simply to feed the Foodless Holy Mother so that the Heaven Pillar would be stabilized. He hadn’t come to the past to develop any romantic relationship with her.

Honestly, they were barely acquaintances, not even close enough to be considered true friends.

"Tomorrow at dawn, I’ll be leaving. Cook more fish tonight," Qi Yuan said at noon, lounging in the sun and looking over at the Foodless Holy Mother.

"Okay," the woman in the red dress replied, still coldly.

Qi Yuan didn’t say anything more.

If their relationship was strained, so be it.

After all… it was just cooperation.

"I’m heading to the Visualization Mountain to invoke some gods. I’ll be gone for a while. If you feel uncomfortable, let me know ahead of time, and I’ll stop," Qi Yuan continued. "When I visualized the Thunder Ancestor, the mountain cracked, which hurt the Heaven Pillar and injured you. I do feel a bit guilty about that."

"As long as the Visualization Mountain doesn’t crack, it’s fine," the Foodless Holy Mother responded, her voice still cold.

"Alright," Qi Yuan said, disappearing from sight.

At the base of the Heaven Pillar, only the Foodless Holy Mother remained in the bamboo house.

She looked at the spot where Qi Yuan had vanished, her expression icy. "I’m not one to break my promises."

After about ten breaths, a sudden meow echoed.

A pure white kitten appeared outside the bamboo house, its black eyes peeking inside at the Foodless Holy Mother.

The Foodless Holy Mother waved her hand.

The cat’s body immediately disappeared.

An old voice then spoke.

"This cat was born pure and has a connection with you, Foodless. Why not keep it and train it? It might become a venerable one day," Elder Fanxin said, appearing with a smile in his eyes.

"It’s just a passerby; no need to stay. Its death would only be a nuisance," the Foodless Holy Mother replied, her voice as cold as when she spoke to Qi Yuan.

Elder Fanxin felt something was wrong.

The Foodless Holy Mother from the other day was indeed acting strangely.

The current one was the normal one.

"Why keep pushing people away, Foodless? You should spend more time interacting with us, your peers. It’s good for your cultivation. We have nearly infinite lifespans, so why not have more friends and more fun?" Elder Fanxin chuckled. "That cat has a connection with you. Keeping it around could be a way to pass the time."

"More peers… to eat their banquet?" the woman in the red dress murmured, suddenly recalling the talk of banquets that Qi Yuan had shared with her. She mentioned it without thinking.

A few days ago, when she and Qi Yuan went to buy pots and pans, he had told her many stories about banquets.

He even said that a good chef should attend a certain cooking school.

She listened intently, keeping it all in her memory.

Elder Fanxin froze at the Foodless Holy Mother’s words. "That’s not a very auspicious thing to say."

Only a myth could be a peer to the Foodless Holy Mother.

And how could she ever attend a myth’s banquet?

"You should go back. I will participate in the battle at Shenglong Arena. Tell the other myths that this time, the evil gods are unusually powerful. Be prepared… for death."

"What!" Elder Fanxin was shocked. "You must be joking!"

The Foodless Holy Mother didn’t respond, instead eating her fish and quietly saying, "So, since we’re all going to die, there’s no need to meet. It would only cause more heartache."

…

A thousand miles away from the Heaven Pillar.

The villagers of Qingshui Village and the ancient gods stood in place.

As instructed by Qi Yuan, they didn’t move, avoiding any accidents.

Venerable Shenlei crossed his legs, sitting in an undignified manner. He looked at the empty forest and grumbled, "That kid went off to have a private moment with the Foodless Holy Mother, leaving us here. How interesting!"

Venerable Huanghun laughed helplessly. "He went to deal with the Heaven Pillar."

"Sigh, I actually wanted to meet the legendary Foodless Holy Mother," Venerable Shenlei said, stroking his beard.

As the first person in the Fanxin Realm, the Foodless Holy Mother naturally piqued his curiosity.

At that moment, the usually quiet Venerable Huolian spoke up. "Honestly, I’d like to go see myself."

The others were curious about the past and their younger selves, and Huolian Venerable wanted to see who she was back then.

“I’d like to explore too,” an ancient god chimed in, intrigued by their surroundings.

“I think you’re not just interested in exploring; you’re looking to spy on beauties bathing?” Huolian Venerable shot a glare at the god who had spoken.

The god laughed awkwardly. “You’ve known me for a century. Do I really seem that low?”

“No!”

“No, but someone’s eyes nearly popped out earlier.”

“It must have been Venerable Zanghun!”

Earlier, half an hour ago, a few fairies had come to a nearby lake to bathe.

Before the fairies had even begun to undress, Venerable Zanghun’s eyes had been glued to the spot, and he almost ran over to the lake.

In the end, the other ancient gods had to restrain him.

After all, as gods loyal to the Origin Heaven Lord, how could they do something so undignified? Spying was shameful.

If they wanted to watch, it should be done openly.

“You bunch of spineless fools, always thinking about such trivial matters,” Venerable Shenlei huffed, playing the part of the elder.

Venerable Zanghun grinned, “If I get the right divine technique, I might follow in Zhu Zhuangshi’s footsteps.”

The story of Zhu Zhuangshi and the big black dog had spread throughout Feihuang City.

The big black dog once had a chance to suppress Zhu Zhuangshi.

Then Zhu Zhuangshi turned around and suppressed the big black dog.

Everyone in Feihuang City was talking about it.

Venerable Zanghun’s meaning was clear.

He was implying that he, too, might have a chance to suppress Venerable Shenlei.

“Hmph, I’ll be waiting!” Venerable Shenlei scoffed, acting indifferent.

The others were excited by Venerable Zanghun’s words.

Who wouldn’t want to change their fate with a mythic technique, like Zhu Zhuangshi did?

“Do you think we’ll get mythic-level divine techniques?”

“Is there one suitable for me?”

“I’ve been watching the Visualization Mountain these past two days, and I haven’t seen anything unusual,” one ancient god said, sounding worried.

Usually, when a divine technique of epic or higher level was visualized, the Visualization Mountain would react.

Something like golden light would burst forth, or drums would thunder.

But for the past two days, the Visualization Mountain had been quiet, with no signs at all.

Venerable Shenlei stood there, feeling nervous too.

“That kid better not have given me just an ordinary divine technique.”

Although he had said he didn’t care about Qi Yuan’s benefits, that was only lip service.

He was hoping for something epic or higher.

Otherwise, it wouldn’t improve him much.

"Venerable Shenlei has been with the Heaven Lord longer than the rest of us. He might receive a mythic technique," Venerable Huolian said, her tone filled with admiration.

Venerable Shenlei shook his head, quickly saying, "A thunder technique as a myth? That’s too much to expect."

He was just worried Qi Yuan might give him something ordinary, so he was trying to lower everyone’s expectations.

The others agreed.

Venerable Huanghun also muttered, “My path is the control of water, and two others who came with me have a similar path. I fear the Heaven Lord may struggle to give us all a suitable divine technique.”

The two other water-controlling ancient gods heard this and felt a bit disheartened.

After all, in any given role, there could only be one strong god.

How could there be more? So among the three water-controlling gods, perhaps only one would get a suitable divine technique.

"It seems Venerable Huanghun is most likely to receive a powerful divine technique," said one of the other water-controlling gods enviously.

Among the three, Venerable Huanghun had the best chance, as he had the longest history with the Origin Heaven Lord.

Another ancient god also looked at Venerable Huanghun with envy.

The ancient gods continued to chat, some flattering each other.

As for the ordinary villagers, they had no such worries.

To them, any divine technique would be welcome.

They were ordinary people, their paths undefined, so they could go in any direction.

Just then, a voice echoed in their ears.

"I’m back. Time to hand out the rewards."