My Core is the Boss

Chapter 276: So the Mentally Ill Get a Free Pass Now?

Qi Yuan was overjoyed. "Brother, you're the real deal, you are so generous!"He decided he couldn't keep the good stuff all to himself. At least, he should leave the bones for Great Wisdom. He took a bite of the Chaos Filth Bird, savoring it slowly.

A rich, sweet flavor spread through his mouth, making his tongue tingle with delight. The meat was unbelievably tender, far better than anything he had ever tasted! Before he knew it, he'd devoured the entire bird in one go. Almost instantly, a warm current surged into his stomach, and his mind felt clearer than ever.

"This stuff is incredible. After eating it, my senses are sharper, my eyes feel brighter, my ears keen. Whoever owned this bird must be a saint. Knew I'd be hungry right on time and sent it straight to me."

Halfway through his praise, Qi Yuan suddenly felt awkward. In his enthusiasm, he'd swallowed everything, bones included. A little embarrassed, he glanced at the scattered feathers on the ground.

His eyes lit up, and after a moment's hesitation, he picked them up. "There's still some feathers left. Would you like to have them? This bird was amazing, a true delicacy!"

Great Wisdom stared at the feathers, a complex mix of emotions flickering in his eyes. Then, his gaze flashed sharply with insight, his expression turning unusually grave. "Don't you think this bird was a bit strange? Something's off."

Qi Yuan froze. "What do you mean?"

Is there some kind of scheme behind this?

"That bird was completely frenzied. I suspect it was sick."

The words hit Qi Yuan like a thunderclap. His face changed dramatically, turning pale as sweat began to pour down his forehead.

"O-oh no! That damned bird must've had rabies!" Panic overtook him. "There's no vaccine here, what do I do?!"

He was genuinely flustered. What was one supposed to do after eating a rabid bird?!

Great Wisdom fell silent, deep in thought.

Suddenly, fury flared across Qi Yuan's face. "Damn it! Who would be so vicious as to use a diseased bird to set me up?!"

Things had gotten serious.

What has the world come to? Letting a diseased bird roam around without restraint... Sure, eating it might've been a bit questionable on my part, but what if that crazy thing had pecked me first? Its owner had absolutely no sense of responsibility!

With a roar, Qi Yuan unleashed his divine sense, sweeping across the entirety of Qinghong City. "WHO DID THIS?!"

Every Yin Spirit in the city felt the overwhelming pressure and their expressions changed drastically.

"What's going on?"

"Who angered Senior Blood-Clothed Sword God?!"

Not just the Yin Spirits, even ordinary cultivators sensed it, their hearts trembling with shock. Who could possibly have the nerve to anger the Blood-Clothed Sword God like this?

After all, he was a god of slaughter, killing without emotion. Seeing him enraged was unprecedented.

***

Inside a secluded courtyard, Shi Rulan heard Qi Yuan’s ruthless cry.

Her gaze gleamed with a manic, almost ecstatic satisfaction, as though she'd been overcome with endless ecstasy. "Hahaha! He's finally gone mad, we've completed our mission!"

"The task is done. We can leave safely now."

Shi Rulan sneered. "A pity for the people of Qinghong City... They'll all die at his hands. Well, sacrifices are necessary. The root of everything lies with the Blood-Clothed Sword God. If anyone's to blame, it's him."

Her gaze was feverish, though tinged with a trace of pity for the city's ordinary cultivators.

Just then, a terrifying aura filled the room. The two froze as a blood-red figure appeared before them.

The instant Shi Rulan saw him, her pupils shrank. "What?! How is this possible?!"

Shi Rushan was equally shaken. The Chaos Filth Bird should've driven the Blood-Clothed Sword God into madness and slaughter, so why was he here?

Qi Yuan glared at them, seething with anger. "You two used a sick bird to set me up, didn't you?! How dare you!?"

Shi Rulan's eyes widened in disbelief. "What happened? Why didn't the Chaos Filth Bird affect you?"

Shi Rushan was just as bewildered, his confidence crumbling as he desperately tried to figure out where things had gone wrong.

Qi Yuan was livid. "You little brats, trying to give me rabies with a sick bird? Too bad for you, I'm a cultivator. I can make my own vaccine! Your so-called Chaos Filth Bird didn't affect me in the slightest!"

What would've happened if an ordinary person had eaten that bird? That was someone's life on the line!

Shi Rulan's heart sank. Though much of what he said sounded crazy, but not in the way they’d expected.

Horror was written all over Shi Rushan’s face. "...You ate the Chaos Filth Bird?"

That was an ancient divine bird. He had eaten such a mythical creature?! And remained completely fine?

His thoughts spiraled, but then something shifted in him. In the next moment, his expression turned solemn, almost devout. Now that their ambush had failed, it was time to rely on fate or principles to persuade him. Of course, it was only a temporary measure. Once the Blood-Clothed Sword God let his guard down, they'd strike again.

Shi Rushan's tone turned calm, carrying the air of a mystic charlatan. "Blood-Clothed Sword God, do you believe in fate? Would you like to glimpse the future?"

At that moment, Great Wisdom urgently shouted, "Quick, tear his mouth apart!

I think I'm about to lose my mind!"

Qi Yuan instantly understood. "You're trying to curse my cyber parents now?! Looking for death!"

He didn't hesitate. With a single spell, threads of spiritual energy stitched their lips shut.

Shi Rulan and Shi Rushan were filled with regret and pain. Their plan had failed miserably. And worse, there was no way he'd listen to them now. The agony they felt was twice as intense as the twisted pleasure they'd experienced earlier.

"Search their souls, then kill them," Qi Yuan said coldly. "Trying to scheme against me... Do you even know who you're dealing with?"

The two fate cultivators appeared completely defeated. They didn't fear death, they feared dying without completing their mission.

No!

They screamed inwardly, but Qi Yuan gave them no chance. His divine sense surged into their souls, forcibly searching their memories. Their faces twisted in agony before turning blank and lifeless.

"Mountain of Fate... Fate Cultivators... Gate of Fate..." Qi Yuan sifted through everything, then reached a conclusion. His eyes flickered with murderous intent. "These two are mentally ill. What kind of asylum is this 'Mountain of Fate'? How could they let their patients run loose and harm others?"

He despised people who hid behind mental illness to bully and hurt others, then waved a diagnosis as a free pass. With a sudden motion, he reached into Shi Rulan's storage pouch and pulled out a strange miniature gate. This was the key the Mountain of Fate cultivators used to summon the Gate of Fate.

"So the mentally ill aren't responsible... Fine. Then your Mountain of Fate will take full responsibility." In that instant, Qi Yuan unleashed a powerful divine ability. "Bloodline Lure — Curse Killing Ritual!"

Across vast distances, it descended upon an unremarkable mountain. Screams erupted, countless cultivators cried out in terror and pain, completely unaware of what was happening.

They beheld the threads of Canglan’s fate stretching into the future, yet could not discern the fate of their own mountain. One by one, they fell, slain by Qi Yuan's curse. If they had been Yin Spirits, it wouldn't have been so easy. Unfortunately, they were merely Violet Palace and Nascent Souls.

As she sensed everything happening to her mountain, tears of blood streamed down Shi Rulan’s face.

No! You monster!

Though consumed by rage and regret, she could do nothing to resist.

"Alright, your guardians have taken responsibility... As for you," Qi Yuan said calmly, then smirked. "Unfortunately, I'm not a court of law, so you'll still have to take responsibility."

With a flick of his finger, two heads exploded and silence fell over the courtyard.

***

In the Eastern Lands, an old man sat in a wheelchair, smiling faintly. "How interesting... So it was them all along. Your past life, was it a blessing in disguise, or something else entirely?"

He recalled how he once tried to take that past self as his disciple, only to be refused.