My Core is the Boss

The exchange between Qi Yuan and the fat cultivator was merely a small interlude that attracted quite a bit of attention. No one took it seriously, dismissing it as utter nonsense.

Standing not far from Qi Yuan, the curious Wang Zhiqi asked in a low voice, "Senior, what did you comprehend? What kind of Violet Palace are you planning to cultivate?"

"It is a secret."

Before he actually cultivated it, Qi Yuan had no intention of telling anyone.

Wang Zhiqi said nothing more, though Xie Tang shot her a glare.

The gathering was getting into full swing. The Nascent Soul cultivators all began sharing their own insights regarding the Violet Palace realm. Without Qi Yuan, the dao discussion proceeded along a normal track.

Finding it boring, Qi Yuan took out his phone and prepared to make a forum post asking how to perfect the underworld. Collective wisdom was always better than thinking alone.

The masked old man warned, "No photos or recordings."

Qi Yuan smirked. "I understand. Play when it's time to play, joke when it's time to joke, but don't take photos during a dao discussion."

Thus, the discussion went on.

Meanwhile, Qi Yuan made a post.

Question for Everyone who's 20 Centimeters and Those with 36D [1]: How Should the Underworld be Built?

After posting, Qi Yuan closed his eyes to rest, contemplating how to cultivate his own Violet Palace. Whether it was the Violet qi or the underworld palace, neither would be easy. Not to mention, Violet Qi generally only appeared during the birth of heaven and earth. As for the underworld, that was even harder.

"Could it be that I have to threaten this world’s Heavenly Dao? Actually, why doesn't this world have a Heavenly Dao?"

Upon reaching the Great Venerable realm, one could sense the Heavenly Dao. Some particularly powerful Great Venerables could even capture and devour the Heavenly Dao of minor worlds. However, Qi Yuan had never discovered a Heavenly Dao in this world. If the Heavenly Dao wasn't home, how was he supposed to threaten it?

Time passed bit by bit.

The Nascent Soul cultivators all wore pleased expressions. Clearly, they had gained much from this discussion. Many True Lords praised one another, and some even exchanged contact information.

The masked old man announced, "Everyone, this gathering has now concluded."

The Nascent Soul cultivators still appeared somewhat unsatisfied. Clearly, they wished to hear more teachings from the Violet Palace expert.

At that moment, however, the masked old man changed the subject. "Actually, there were two reasons I invited everyone here today. The first was to discuss the dao. The second is to invite all of you to cooperate in a major undertaking."

His gaze swept over everyone. Those who had been preparing to leave immediately returned to their seats, curious about what this second matter was.

"For now, I cannot reveal the details. You can treat it as exploring a secret realm. Though it is full of danger and uncertainty, the rewards are abundant. Those willing to participate may remain, and I shall explain everything. Those unwilling should leave immediately."

The crowd was surprised.

"Exploring a secret realm? But this world doesn't seem to have any secret realms..."

"I've just gained some enlightenment from the dao discussion. I won't be getting involved."

"I won't go."

"Heh... It's been years since I've been excited about anything. I'm rather interested."

The nearly twenty Nascent Soul cultivators quickly exchanged opinions. About five immediately withdrew. After all, they didn't know each other well, and undertaking something like this together was extremely dangerous. Several more withdrew shortly afterward.

In the end, only twelve Nascent Soul cultivators remained.

Canary moved closer to Qi Yuan and asked softly, "Husband, are we going?"

Qi Yuan activated his special ability. "I'll take a look."

His left eyebrow twitched, and delight filled his eyes. "We're going!"

A twitch of the left eyebrow foretold wealth, while one of the right foretold disaster. Moreover, since his left eyebrow twitched particularly strongly, there should be quite a bit of wealth involved.

Nearby, Xie Tang was struggling internally. The masked old man was stingy with details. If she had been younger, she would never have ventured into such a dubious secret realm. The cultivation world was cruel. Countless geniuses had died in secret realms.

However, her senior sister was still missing, the Profound Heaven Sect was in dire straits, and resources were scarce.

Gritting her teeth, Xie Tang decided to take the risk. "I'll go too!"

As for Wang Zhiqi, she naturally planned to return to her sect.

The fat cultivator thought for a while. "I'll go."

Then, they turned to the Violet Palace cultivator, awaiting his decision. "I am rather interested as well. I'll go."

Some of the Nascent Soul cultivators relaxed, while others became even more worried. Surely, the exploration would be safer with a violet Palace around. Moreover, during the discussion, the Violet Palace expert had displayed a gentle temperament and preached moderate principles. Meanwhile, the worried ones understood that appearances could deceive. If the Violet Palace cultivator turned on them, everyone would likely perish.

Those who remained were all highly skilled and confident.

The masked old man said, "Since everyone has chosen to participate, all unrelated personnel should leave."

Wang Zhiqi and the other juniors departed. The cruise ship became much emptier.

The masked old man cleared his throat. "The ruin we will explore this time is not a cultivation ruin, but an alien ruin."

"What?"

"An alien ruin?"

The crowd was shocked. Decades earlier, the appearance of alien ruins had triggered a major war on Arch Star. Qin Yuan and the Ancient Wu had gone to war. Bright Star got involved and aided the Ancient Wu.

Three years later, the war ended with Qin Yuan achieving a narrow victory. The two nations signed an agreement to jointly explore the alien ruins. However, the exploration ultimately failed because the alien ruins were completely empty. Nothing remained, as though everything had already been moved away.

The two kingdoms were greatly disappointed. Nevertheless, the experts from both countries concluded that someone had emptied the alien ruins first. Others argued that these were merely abandoned alien ruins and that others existed on Arch Star. Military forces and numerous experts continued to be stationed at the abandoned site. They were all investigating where the ruins had gone.

Thus, when the masked old man claimed to know the location of an alien ruin, everyone was shocked. After all, even the Eye of the Sky came from the alien ruins. If they could obtain another Eye of the Sky... Wouldn't that mean their sects would gain a Violet Palace realm foundation and combat strength?

The Nascent Soul cultivators began breathing heavily, brimming with excitement.

The masked old man explained, "To be frank, when I chanced upon this ruin, I tried to explore it by myself. I had wanted to monopolize it. Unfortunately, my strength was insufficient, and I couldn’t even get past the front gate. I occupied the ruin for more than ten years without finding any solution. That is why I have invited everyone to explore it together."

Everyone found this reasonable. Faced with such enormous benefits, anyone's first instinct would be to keep them all to themselves. Only after failing would they reveal the opportunity and invite others. Such things were commonplace in the cultivation world.

The masked old man added, "However, before we begin, we must establish several rules. No infighting inside the ruins. Once we leave the ruins and a quarter of an hour has passed, everyone may rely on their own abilities. Agreed?"

A burly, late-stage Nascent Soul man said, "No problem."

Another cultivator suggested, "Let's all swear a Heart Demon Oath before our respective Heavenly Daos."

"No objection here."

Everyone agreed. Clearly, this was not their first time exploring ruins.

Qi Yuan also nodded. "Fine."

Such an oath meant nothing to him. Back when he had just reached the Foundation Establishment, he would still have feared the Heavenly Dao of the Canglan World. Now, he could beat that chubby little fellow senseless.

The twelve cultivators each swore a Heart Demon Oath. Even so, they remained wary of one another.

The fat cultivator quietly said to Qi Yuan, "Fellow Daoist, you and I seem quite destined. How about we watch out for each other inside the ruins?"

"Sure."

This fat cultivator was truly a hidden dragon among the mountains. His brain worked exceptionally well.

Xie Tang gritted her teeth and softly asked, "Can I join the three of you?"

Exploring the ruins alone was clearly unwise. Hence, she chose to trust this somewhat strange-looking cultivator, Qi Yuan.

"No problem!"

For Yang Shan's sake, Qi Yuan did not refuse Xie Tang.

1. In case you need the explanation...both of these terms are adult/slang body measurements and are frequently used in internet subcultures to describe physical attributes. Basically the male anatomy of at least 20 cm or 36D cup size for females ☜