My Core is the Boss-Chapter 200.2: The Fortune Teller

Outside the Ancestral Land, a dark-skinned, burly man stood. He seemed fierce and intimidating. "Is everyone here?”

A pair of twin sisters, both ancient gods, stood a bit farther away.

The elder sister looked toward the gray, misty land ahead. "One person is still missing."

More than a dozen ancient gods had gathered here. They were either the guardians of the Ancient Clan or unknown ancient gods who had entered the Ancestral Land through the clan’s channels. The ancient gods stood in small clusters, clearly unfamiliar with one another.

The younger twin swept her gaze across everyone, finally landing on a man in white robes. "Looks like Yan Xi's cultivation has improved. He even brought three attendants this time."

Almost none of them brought attendants. After all, they could barely protect themselves in the Ancestral Land. Bringing attendants was essentially sending them to their deaths.

Who knew what they would face inside. The condition could change in an instant. The gods, refusing to treat their attendants as mere expendable scouts, seldom brought them at all. Those who did usually had attendants stuck at peak Violet Palace. They came hoping to find supreme treasures in the Ancestral Land. Some treasures, once removed, could only exist for less than a hundred seconds. Hence, they had to bring their attendants along.

Yan Xi glanced at the younger twin, his gaze carrying an inscrutable meaning. "I only broke through to Second Step by luck. Even here, I can only cling to life."

Hearing that Yan Xi had reached Second Step to Heaven, the dozen or so ancient gods turned to look at him. That realm had already placed him above the rest.

Just then, the older twin frowned slightly, then relaxed. "It seems like Yan Xi is quite confident this time."

After a few polite exchanges, no one spoke further.

The older twin then sent a voice transmission to her sister. "Yan Xi's situation is not good."

The younger twin glanced at the three attendants beside Yan Xi, her eyes turning cold. "Those three are definitely Great Venerable Aoshi’s dogs!"

Out of four entrances, only one remained outside Aoshi's grasp. He had surrounded the place to unearth its secrets. Rumor had it that Aoshi was close to achieving his goal and ready to seize the Ancestral Land entirely.

The younger twin said with worry, "Unfortunately, we can't leave for now. We also can't send out news."

"We can barely protect ourselves." The elder sister sighed. "Who knows how many of these ancient gods have defected to Great Venerable Aoshi? Once inside, stay farther away from Yan Xi."

The Ancestral Land lay in the southern region, near the central zone. Here, the power of the evil gods surpassed that of the ancient gods, but not by much.

In the next moment, a dim glow flashed. Suddenly, a group of more than ten people appeared in a grand procession.

All the ancient gods were momentarily stunned. With a casual sweep of their senses, they detected only two with divine auras. The rest seemed like mere mortals.

"Why are there suddenly so many mortals?"

"What's going on?"

This imposing group was, of course, Qi Yuan and his party.

After looking at everyone, he couldn't help but ask, "Don't tell me... I'm the last one again?"

The younger twin was more straightforward by nature. "Ancient God, why did you bring so many people?"

The others were also curious. It'd be one thing if he'd brought strong experts, but most of them were Core Formation and Nascent Soul cultivators.

Qi Yuan replied casually, "Strength in numbers."

The burly man from earlier flashed a set of white teeth. "You've brought far too many. Didn't you do any research before coming? The Ancestral Land is extremely dangerous. Are you going to send your followers out as expendable scouts like a fool?"

There was a hint of reproach in his words.

Qi Yuan looked toward the gray land ahead. "Is it that dangerous?"

The burly man said gravely, "It is very dangerous. Even True Gods will likely die inside. The Ancestral Land changes constantly. Using people to scout is useless. You'll only get your followers killed. How about this? Give me three of your followers, and I'll give you a Yin Spirit artifact in return."

Though his actions were driven by pity, he knew he could shield at most three mortals. He found ancient gods like Qi Yuan contemptuous.

"It'd be more dangerous for them to follow you." Qi Yuan shook his head. As he stared at the Ancestral Land, his left eyebrow twitched violently. "As the saying goes, left eyebrow twitches for fortune, right eyebrow for disaster. I'm going to make a fortune."

Joy flashed in Qi Yuan's eyes. It seemed this trip would be fruitful.

The burly man glanced at him, displeased. "Your eyebrow can predict fortune and disaster? Then tell my fortune."

He clearly thought Qi Yuan was fooling around.

However, instead of looking at him, Qi Yuan swept his gaze over all the ancient gods, the corner of his mouth curling. "Meeting all of you is fate. I'll be a fortune teller for free today and do a reading for all of you. Honestly, this is my first time doing a reading for True Gods."

In his past life, Qi Yuan had watched countless dramas where master fortune tellers read the futures of mortals, basking in praises. Where was the fun in reading fortunes for mortals? Reading for True Gods, now that was a different story.

Back then, he'd told Chu Tianxiong of Heishan Sect that he had a bloody calamity. That very night, Chu Tianxiong was murdered. Clearly, his skills in fortune-telling were unmatched. Now, with the added ability of eyebrow-twitching, his predictions were even more accurate.

Qi Yuan looked at the burly man, his eyebrows twitching. "You'll have some bad luck early on inside, but later, fortune will descend."

The burly man's face remained dark. "I'll keep that in mind."

Qi Yuan then looked at the other ancient gods one by one. His eyebrows twitched wildly.

"You will be fine." Having finished with one god, Qi Yuan turned and pointed at a green-robed old man. "You have a calamity of death.”

The old man's face was gentle, but a trace of disdain flashed in his eyes. "Your divination... you should read it in reverse."

The younger twin couldn't help but say, "Old Snake is a late-stage Second Step to Heaven. He is the strongest here. Among us, he's the least likely to fall."

The others looked at Qi Yuan as if watching a joke. They all knew the green-robed old man well, his strength was formidable.

Qi Yuan simply smiled. Being questioned was perfectly normal.

"Not only do my eyebrows say he has a bloody calamity," he added lazily, "even my eyes tell me he's likely to fall. Haa. You're beyond saving."

He just knew this old man wouldn't heed his warnings.

Nevertheless, Qi Yuan’s enthusiasm rose. "Come on, let's continue."

In truth, his eyes had long seen that some of the ancient gods had issues. He just decided to have some fun before entering.

"You... nothing major. You're fine." The reading went on, until Qi Yuan pointed at a short man. "You're finished."

The short man winced slightly. He glanced sideways at Old Snake and snorted coldly.

Yan Xi’s turn soon came.

Qi Yuan said, "You're quite lucky, there's a great opportunity waiting for you. But the fortune of your three attendants is not good. They've all got the look of death."

The three attendants behind Yan Xi were flabbergasted.

Qi Yuan paid them no mind and continued giving his judgments on the remaining people.

In the end, among thirteen ancient gods and five attendants, four ancient gods were judged to have bloody calamities. Three attendants shared the same fortunes.

After finishing the readings, Qi Yuan swept his gaze over everyone. "This is my second time doing fortune telling, so it might not be accurate. Everyone, please don't take it too seriously."

The ancient gods' expressions varied. Some treated it as a joke, while others frowned, clearly pondering something. As for the four not-so-lucky gods, they remained impassive. Yet deep down, their hearts were heavy, sensing an intense crisis.

The younger twin, lively by nature, laughed. "I'll give you a treasure if you change Old Snake's fortune."

Qi Yuan replied meaningfully, "Some people are dead, but in truth they're still alive. Others are alive, but in reality, they're already dead." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

The burly man cursed, "Muttering nonsense. Let's enter the Ancestral Land already. Kid, if you can't protect your followers, hand some of them over to me."

Qi Yuan shrugged. "I don't want my followers suffering with you."

The other ancient gods also chimed in, preparing to enter.

"Let's head inside."

"Yes!"

***

At this moment, Old Snake, the short man, and the others who had been singled out were communicating via voice transmission.

"What's with that kid? He pointed us all out except Yan Xi, who's being coerced. Does he know something?"

"This is truly strange. Our defection to the new god shouldn't have leaked. Could Great Venerable Aoshi have abandoned us?"

"That kid is extremely odd. There might be a powerful expert hidden among his followers, specifically targeting us."

"If they're targeting us, then why point us out? Why warn us in advance?"

"Maybe he's signaling the other ancient gods to attack us together once we enter the Ancestral Land!"

"Yes. But we can't do anything at the entrance, or this place would be destroyed. This is a signal to strike together inside!"

"I think we should run the moment we enter."

They were extremely wary. Though Qi Yuan's attendants seemed like mortals, one of them could be a True God in disguise. If even Old Snake couldn't see through them, that imposter would be at least Third Step to Heaven.

"What about the plan?"

"Plan? Who cares! Run!"