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

In the Prime Minister's mansion of the Southern Qian Kingdom, the red creeper wood was burning with a crackling sound. The flames were a striking blood-red color, the perfect medium for the curse-killing technique.

Wen Zhongyong's sharp gaze held the fixed nation ruler in one hand and a whisk in the other.

"Chase the form a thousand miles, spirit-fearing kill!"

"Curse!"

As he spoke, the blood-red flames on the red creeper wood leaped nearly half a meter high. The red glow reflected on Wen Zhongyong and Sima Ting's faces, making them look particularly eerie. Sima Ting, standing nearby, with his beard trembling, asked expectantly, "How is it, sir?"

Wen Zhongyong, holding the fixed nation ruler, replied calmly, "The curse-killing technique has been performed. We just need to wait a moment to see blood."

He was already a royal-level powerhouse, and with the fixed nation ruler from the Heavenly Fate Saint, even supreme emperors could be killed with this curse-killing technique!

Sima Ting breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, sir!" he said, draping a purple crane cloak over Wen Zhongyong's shoulders.

Boom!
A sudden explosion shattered the silence. Blood and flesh splattered everywhere, covering Sima Ting in blood. His deep purple crane cloak was soaked in red, and he held onto the cloak filled with flesh and blood.

"How could this be... how could this be..." Sima Ting muttered in disbelief, his face covered in blood and his beard stained with bits of flesh.

Wen Zhongyong had exploded! The sudden explosion of Wen Zhongyong was due to the backlash from the curse-killing technique.

Who on earth was the target?
Even the fixed nation ruler was destroyed?

Thousands of miles away, in the Heavenly Fate Sacred Gate.

In an underground palace, the Heavenly Fate Lord was climbing into a coffin. This coffin was crafted with centuries of accumulation from the Heavenly Fate Sacred Gate, unrivaled in attack and defense.

Earlier, outside Tianyun Mountain, upon seeing a crow fly by, he felt a premonition of disaster and rushed towards the coffin without making any arrangements. As he neared the coffin, he sensed a vast, irresistible force that seemed to transcend time and space, chasing after him.

With wide eyes filled with confusion and unwillingness, he muttered, "Why!"

He had painstakingly and low-key planned for three thousand years, living like a turtle. He had thought he would rise to prominence, but unexpectedly, he met his end. It was as if a powerful being passing by had casually sneezed, instantly killing him.

His meticulous planning turned into a joke. The Heavenly Fate Lord... died a mysterious and tragic death.

After about an incense stick of time, the corpse of the Heavenly Fate Lord exploded into pieces.

A quarter of an hour later, a spider crawled into the underground palace.

Half an hour later, two figures entered the underground palace. One of them looked exactly like the deceased Heavenly Fate Lord. This man was the Heavenly Fate Lord's stand-in, now the apparent Heavenly Fate Lord of the Heavenly Fate Sacred Gate.

Seeing the shattered flesh before the coffin, he excitedly exclaimed, "That old turtle is finally dead!"

Beside him, a man in golden robes said indifferently, "My clan's ancestor personally performed the life-for-life technique. How could he survive?"

Truth be told, the golden-robed man was still somewhat surprised. His ancestor, a supreme emperor, had sacrificed himself to perform the life-for-life technique, perishing alongside the Heavenly Fate Lord. Therefore, the golden-robed man had collaborated with the puppet saint of the Heavenly Fate Sacred Gate.

He had thought that the life-for-life technique would only severely injure the Heavenly Fate Lord, but it had outright killed him. Though surprised, he claimed the credit.

"That old turtle was always just posturing. Now that he's dead, the Heavenly Fate Sacred Gate is yours," the golden-robed man said to the stand-in. "Can our cooperation continue?"

"Of course, of course!" The stand-in was immensely excited.

After all, what could be more satisfying than a stand-in becoming the real deal?

In the Palace of Attire, Qi Yuan sneezed.

"Damn, I caught a cold," he muttered. Qi Yuan had just sneezed and felt a chill. Xiaojia followed behind him, maintaining a respectful distance.

She seemed to understand Qi Yuan's words and slipped a "贴贴" (stick tight) wooden plaque from her sleeve.

Qi Yuan glanced at Xiaojia. "No thanks. Your material is too smooth. I'm afraid I'll get colder."

After leaving the underground palace, Qi Yuan decided to bring Xiaojia along for some intense combat. With Xiaojia around, facing the Ugly Clothes Monster King wouldn't be entirely disadvantageous. Qi Yuan planned to conquer the Palace of Attire during this period. With Xiaojia, he could level up five times directly.

Level ninety and level eighty-eight were two different concepts, a significant leap.

"Let's go, teamwork makes the dream work!"

With Xiaojia in tow, Qi Yuan was brimming with confidence. The mountain was dark, lit only by a full moon hanging in the sky. Qi Yuan, holding his large sword, appeared once again in the sleeping area of the clothes monsters.

"Kill!"

With a shout, Qi Yuan charged in like a wolf among sheep, slashing mercilessly.

Whatever suspender pants, stepmother skirts, all fell before him. His experience points soared.

+200!

+300!

This time, Qi Yuan was bolder than before. After half an hour of slaughter, he quickly reached level eighty-nine. Just then, a chilling gaze locked onto him.

"The Ugly Clothes Monster King, you've come!"

Qi Yuan's spirits lifted. He immediately donned his blood-red battle armor, even turning his large sword red. His stature grew to ten meters tall, although he could go higher, ten meters was optimal for now.

"Let’s see if your health bar will drop!"

Facing the Ugly Clothes Monster King, even at level ninety-four, Qi Yuan felt some pressure. He unleashed his strongest move, the Sky-Splitting Sword Technique. Leaping up, the ground shook with his power, and a blood-red sword light descended from the sky.

Crack!

The Sky-Splitting Sword Technique struck the Ugly Clothes Monster King. It raised a claw, a mix of pale and dark hues, to catch Qi Yuan’s sword. The sword couldn't penetrate further, and the monster king looked at Qi Yuan without any emotion.

Seeing this, Qi Yuan was stunned.

"Only a tiny bit of damage?"

"Time to run."

Realizing the difficulty, Qi Yuan decided to flee. "Seems like level ninety-five is a major threshold!"

Switching his battle armor to defense mode, he made his escape. Without Xiaojia's armor, escaping would be much harder, perhaps even impossible. But now, he could flee openly, no longer scurrying like a rat.

After escaping, Qi Yuan felt great. In the past, the Ugly Clothes Monster King would have been a significant challenge. Now, it's just a matter of four or five days. He planned to use Xiaojia's armor to level up to ninety. By then, the Ugly Clothes Monster King wouldn't stand a chance.

At that time, it would be a matter of whether the monster king's claw was harder or Qi Yuan's sword sharper.