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

Chapter 456: The Imperial Banner Revival Plan

“With Blood Robe’s strength, Little Purple Fate’s intelligence, and my wisdom, I’m aiming to achieve 1,000 merits in this battle,” Bullhorn Sister said happily.

She seemed confident about her victory in this upcoming battle.

“Blood Robe, you’re incredibly talented, so you’ll be our group leader. Little Purple Fate is meticulous, so she can be the assistant leader. You two can handle the planning, I’m going back to sleep. Just call me if you need anything,” Purple Fate Xue said with a yawn before leaving.

Fighting was fine for her, but planning or strategizing made her head hurt.

Qi Yuan wasn’t surprised by this at all.

If this were a group project in a university, Qi Yuan, as the group leader, would be responsible for the broad strategy and big ideas.

Little Purple Fate would be the one making the PowerPoint presentation.

And Purple Fate Xue? She’d be the one presenting it.

Meanwhile, the other young prodigies began forming their own teams.

An Xunlu, who saw Little Purple Fate so cheerful, couldn’t help but feel a surge of irritation.

Whenever Little Purple Fate was happy, An Xunlu just couldn’t stand it.

“Sigh, Brother Black Sword is just so amazing. At the Supreme Truth Debate, he comprehended an Ultimate Supreme Truth, a peerless feat. Meanwhile, we can only watch from the sidelines. It’s so impressive!” An Xunlu remarked, casting a deliberate glance at Little Purple Fate and Qi Yuan.

The implication was obvious.

The Brother Black Sword she admired was the true leader of their generation in the Black Demon Abyss, and everyone else was just a bystander.

"Who can understand that? It’s Ultimate Supreme Truth, after all. Brother Black Sword is in a different league from us. It’s laughable how some people once compared others to him," she added with a sarcastic smirk.

“Ah, ah, ah, who understands this stuff? I sure don’t!” Little Purple Fate shouted, waving her arms dramatically.

An Xunlu was left speechless.

She glared at Little Purple Fate and snapped, "Brother Black Sword is aiming for major merits, unlike certain people… who can only collect small ones."

"A servant boasting about the wolf his master shot?" Little Purple Fate fired back, not missing a beat.

Though she usually appeared shy and quiet, once she started bickering with An Xunlu, her sharp tongue showed no mercy.

“Let’s go, Little Fate. We need to find a secluded place to craft our brilliant plan. If they steal it, we’ll suffer a huge loss,” Qi Yuan said, pulling Little Purple Fate away by her sleeve.

The other prodigies looked at the pair, dumbfounded.

Only Ice Sword sighed in relief. With those two troublemakers gone, he finally felt comfortable enough to speak again and strike some poses.

Inside the cave, Qi Yuan set up a hundred different formations.

“Alright, even an Upper Sovereign wouldn’t be able to eavesdrop on us. They won’t know what we’re up to,” Qi Yuan said, clapping his hands in satisfaction.

As the saying goes, those who achieve great things keep their plans hidden, speaking only in actions. Loose lips lead to failure.

So, although he had casually mentioned hunting Yang Gods to the Yang God earlier, he hadn’t revealed the core of the plan. It wasn’t a leak.

Little Purple Fate, standing close to Qi Yuan, blushed and nervously twisted the hem of her robe.

"Don’t worry, even if you scream, not even a Great Supreme Truth could hear you,” Qi Yuan reassured her, noticing her nervousness.

But his reassurance only made her blush more, her head growing fuzzy.

This cave was… too cramped… or rather, this bed was too small.

To prevent any eavesdropping, Qi Yuan had filled the cave with formations.

For safety and efficiency, the smaller the space, the better.

So, the only safe place left was the bed.

Little Purple Fate could feel Blood Robe’s breath and, coupled with his ambiguous words, her heart was racing.

“Alright, let’s start devising our plan. And it needs a great name.

Let’s call it... the ‘Imperial Banner Revival Plan!’” Qi Yuan declared proudly.

Ever since he had comprehended Ultimate Supreme Truth, he felt his mind had become sharper, even better at coming up with names.

“Huh?” Little Purple Fate was confused.

Weren’t they supposed to be hunting enemies?

What’s with the Imperial Banner Revival Plan?

And what was the Imperial Banner?

“I know you don’t have a brilliant mind like mine, so you can’t grasp the greatness of this plan.

But don’t worry. All you need to do is provide me with information or, you know, make the PowerPoint,” Qi Yuan said, seeing Little Purple Fate’s confusion.

Half-understanding, she nodded.

“The first step in the plan is to list the number of Yang Gods from Ghost Heaven participating in this war, their names, and their general locations,” Qi Yuan said, looking at Little Purple Fate.

Her intelligence gathering was always top-notch.

And information about the enemy Yang Gods involved in this battle wasn’t particularly secret. With a bit of effort, anyone could gather it.

Of course, that applied to what was public. Any covert details would be beyond Little Purple Fate’s reach.

Little Purple Fate opened her mouth slightly in surprise.

Was Blood Robe really planning to go after Yang Gods?

But knowing his character, she figured he was probably just saying it for effect.

Still, since it was something Blood Robe wanted, she would do it to the best of her ability.

“For this battle, Ghost Heaven has five Supreme Truth experts overseeing the forces, with twenty-eight Heavenly Yang Gods stationed at various locations. They are spread across Long Zhan Star...” Little Purple Fate began listing the names and whereabouts of the enemy Yang Gods.

“Excellent. Step two of the plan: The time to strike!” Qi Yuan’s eyes glinted with killing intent, tinged with a bit of greed.

Those Ten Thousand Soul Banners—in Ghost Heaven’s possession, they were a scourge upon the world. But in Qi Yuan’s hands, they would serve the people.

Little Purple Fate quickly added, "Blood Robe Brother, you need to be careful. Don’t take unnecessary risks or reveal your whereabouts. There’s a mole in the Black Demon Abyss!”

"A mole?" Qi Yuan was momentarily stunned.

He saw Little Purple Fate’s worried expression as she explained, “Blood Robe Brother, during your and Black Sword Brother’s last attack, there had to have been a mole involved. Otherwise, there’s no way your movements would have been leaked so easily.

So, as we face Ghost Heaven this time, it’s possible the mole is still in place!”

What Little Purple Fate said wasn’t exactly a secret among the young prodigies.

In fact, even the higher-ups knew there was a mole.

They just didn’t know who it was.

Or perhaps, some of them tolerated the mole, knowing it gave them more escape routes if needed.

“Do you know who the mole is?”

“I don’t, but they’re certainly keeping an eye on you.

Blood Robe Brother, just stay observant, and perhaps you’ll be able to uncover their identity.”

“Looks like step two of the plan needs to be revised. We should focus on finding the mole first,” Qi Yuan thought for a moment and decided it was better to flush out the mole.

Once the mole was exposed, he could even use them to bait the enemy.

“Huh, do you have a way to find the mole?” Little Purple Fate blinked in surprise.

“Simple. I’ll get Purple Fate Xue, come up with some excuse, and visit the Yang Gods in the Black Demon Abyss. I’ll just ask them directly,” Qi Yuan said confidently.

Seeing his expression, Little Purple Fate was even more confused.

Did Blood Robe have some hidden talent or special method?

“Blood Robe Brother, should I come along? I’m really curious,” Little Purple Fate said eagerly, wondering how he planned to uncover the mole when even the ancestors couldn’t.

“Sure, no problem.” Qi Yuan patted his chest. “Alright, with step two settled, it’s time for step three: The time to strike.

Step four is the revival of the Imperial Banner.”

Little Purple Fate nodded. "Should we make the plan more detailed now?”

“Detailed? Isn’t it already precise and comprehensive?” Qi Yuan asked, puzzled.

“... That’s the entire plan?” Little Purple Fate’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Just saying a few words counted as a plan?

By that standard, she could come up with a plan to become an Upper Sovereign right now.

Step one: Break through to Yang God.

Step two: Comprehend Ultimate Supreme Truth and become an Upper Sovereign.

Step three: Have Blood Robe Brother marry into her family.

“Oh, I get it. You think the plan isn’t detailed enough because there’s no specific time or date?

These things are ever-changing, so we can’t control the timing. Better not include it,” Qi Yuan said seriously.

Little Purple Fate finally understood. That really was the whole plan.

She stuck out her tongue slightly. “Little Fate understands now.”

She felt a bit silly.

This plan to hunt Yang Gods was clearly just for fun.

Of course, it was bound to be a bit simplistic. Why had she taken it so seriously?

“Little Fate, I know you’re discreet, but don’t leak this great plan, alright? Oh, but it’s fine to tell Purple Fate Xue since she’s on our team,” Qi Yuan reminded her.

“Alright!” Little Purple Fate nodded earnestly, covering her mouth.

“Go find Purple Fate Xue. We’ll start implementing step two. Have her come up with a reason for us to visit the Yang God Heavenly Sovereigns,” Qi Yuan instructed.

He had already noted the mole in his mental list.

When the time was right, the mole would meet their end.

“Got it, I’ll find Sister Xue right away!” Little Purple Fate said before running off.

About a day later, Qi Yuan appeared on the streets of Devil’s Pass.

He looked at the two figures before him: one tall, one short, both carrying bamboo steamers. Purple Fate Xue and Little Purple Fate stood there, and he felt exasperated.

“Are you sure this is the best way to visit the Yang God Heavenly Sovereigns?”

“Why wouldn’t it be? I can’t imagine a Yang God refusing this,” Purple Fate Xue said proudly.

She opened the steamer, and steam billowed out, carrying with it a delicious aroma.

Qi Yuan glanced inside and saw… a pile of strange-looking eggs.

“I got these rare ice eggs from Black Demon Abyss prodigy Ice Sword! So I boiled them and am offering them as a filial gift to the Yang God Heavenly Sovereigns. They won’t refuse!” Purple Fate Xue explained with a serious expression.

Qi Yuan thought about it and said, “That’s actually pretty interesting.

If someone told me Ice Sword had laid eggs, I’d come out to see it for myself.

But the plan isn’t perfect. You’re just using regular eggs.

Ice Sword’s name has ‘ice’ in it, so these should be ice eggs!”

With a wave of his hand, the eggs in the steamer turned into icy eggs.

“Perfect, now it’s flawless,” Qi Yuan said smugly.

The eggs, now shimmering like crystals, looked high-class and refined.

“Add some fancy packaging, and it’ll be the perfect gift,” he added.

With another wave, the steamer turned into a luxurious gift box.

Purple Fate Xue looked at Qi Yuan and blinked. “Your emotional intelligence is surprisingly high.”

“That’s the difference between us,” Qi Yuan replied with pride. “When you look at me, it’s like a mayfly gazing at the heavens!”

Little Purple Fate, standing nearby, covered her mouth, silently feeling sorry for Ice Sword Brother.