The Eight Empresses Betrayed Me, Only to Deeply Regret It After Being Reborn-Chapter 48: The Vermilion Bird’s Hatred

"Ding ding ding — Dog Host, they’re here."

Heavenly Spirit Pool, a place as picturesque as a painting.

With that cry, the system abruptly shut off the glowing projection.

It was excited. After all, watching drama from a distance through a projection couldn’t compare to being there in person to enjoy the chaos. That was the real treat.

"You’re eating my drama now too?" Lu Ye raised an eyebrow.

"Ding! Yours is the juiciest, the sweetest!"

Lu Ye: ...

To meet her, or not to meet her — now that was the question.

With Yue Hongling arriving, it would most likely be the same scene again: tears, sorrow, bitter regret, blaming herself for everything.

Probably not much different from Chu Ling.

Forget it. The Heavenly Spirit Pool really was a good place for cultivation. He didn’t feel like relocating just yet.

And as the system had said — the Great Dao was long and winding. It wasn’t about nonstop cultivation. Sometimes, enjoying the changing scenery was a kind of cultivation.

With that thought, Lu Ye closed his eyes.

He was getting closer and closer to the Spirit Fusion Realm. The restrictions of the Heaven’s Chosen Ancient Battlefield would soon ease, and the second wave of prodigies under fifty would begin to arrive.

After some more time, the battlefield would fully unlock.

Then, all Heaven’s Chosen under a hundred years old would descend. That would be when things truly erupted.

And as for the Eternal Heaven’s Chosen Ranking—when he punched his way in, where would he land?

Not long after.

A surge of intense heat approached fast from the horizon.

The Vermilion Bird's sharp gaze instantly locked onto Lu Ye’s figure. Her heart trembled.

It was him!

A hundred conflicting emotions churned in her heart at once.

She had first met Lu Ye when he saved her.

The Myriad Spirits Demon Emperor had sent assassins after her, trying to obtain her Vermilion Blood.

Lu Ye had saved her. She was gravely injured at the time, her strength reduced to less than one percent, and he had kept her by his side like a small pet.

Later, she had escaped from his control. Though many demons continued to hunt her down, she always believed that the real problem was not the demon race as a whole — it was the ambition and greed of those so-called demon emperors.

Most disgustingly, the Myriad Spirits Demon Emperor.

Demons, too, had good and evil.

If not for the Myriad Spirits Demon Emperor leading them down a dark path, the demon race might never have become what it was.

Later on, she had been saved by Lu Ye once again.

By then, Lu Ye had already become a full-fledged enemy of the demon race — a direct challenger to the Myriad Spirits Demon Emperor.

A cataclysmic war broke out between the demon race and humanity, with losses on both sides so staggering they defied belief.

Then eventually, Lu Ye did kill the Myriad Spirits Demon Emperor.

But the war didn’t end.

By that point, it could no longer even be called a war.

It was a slaughter.

Lu Ye claimed the Demon Emperor hadn’t truly died — that he had split into countless demons, each one both itself and a fragment of the emperor.

And so, he began to kill.

Endlessly.

Madly.

To the point where all of heaven trembled in fear.

Even the Vermilion Bird herself began to despair.

She had believed Lu Ye. Believed he was right. That even if it was painful, even if it meant cutting out the rot with a poisoned blade, it was necessary to prevent a greater disaster.

But the turning point came when she finally acquired the complete Myriad Spirits Blood-Dissolving Demon Scripture.

And discovered that it was all a lie.

There was no such method to split the Demon Emperor into fragments.

That whole theory... was a fabrication.

That was the reason she hated Lu Ye.

Because his words couldn’t be trusted.

And the truth she uncovered with her own eyes — that was the real reality.

The Vermilion Bird stirred up a wave of searing heat and gently placed Yue Hongling down.

Lu Ye’s gaze remained calm as he looked at her.

Yue Hongling was in a terrible state — her abdomen torn open, one arm missing, dozens upon dozens of wounds across her entire body.

"Senior Brother... Senior Brother..."

Yue Hongling slowly dragged herself forward, inch by inch, until her body collapsed into a kneeling position at the edge of the Heavenly Spirit Pool.

"I was wrong... Hongling knows she was wrong."

"It’s all my fault!"

Yue Hongling sobbed with deep sorrow, her forehead pressed to the ground at the edge of the bank, her body trembling uncontrollably.

Upon hearing this, a faint smile crept onto Lu Ye’s face.

A twisted sense of pleasure rose in his chest.

Lu Ye had thought it through clearly enough. In his previous life, he believed that having someone to protect, having love by his side—these were the things that motivated him to become the strongest.

But after such a profound betrayal...

Sure, he could kill all eight women. And then what?

Alone, with nothing left to tie him down—he didn’t know if he truly had the will to walk all the way to the summit, just to see what was at the top.

It was entirely possible that, somewhere along the way, he’d simply lose all interest. That... would be the real heart tribulation.

But now? Now was better.

He cultivated without rest—first, to leave all those women behind; second, to watch how each of them ended up.

With these two things as his fuel, his drive, Lu Ye was able to push forward and continue rising.

Maybe, one day, he could finally let go—move past the betrayal, {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} start a new chapter of life.

But for now, that was still impossible.

"Senior Brother... can’t you forgive me?" Yue Hongling begged, her voice soft and trembling. "I know you’ve always loved me the most... just think of this as me being willful. I swear I won’t do it again. I’ll listen to everything you say. I’ll believe in you."

"Senior Brother, please, forgive me one last time... You always forgave me before, didn’t you? Just one more time, okay?"

"Senior Brother..."

Her voice was pitiful, almost delicate.

In her heart, she still hoped—hoped that he might forgive her like he used to.

Lu Ye had been planning to tease her a little longer, but suddenly, he felt utterly bored.

So instead, he looked over at the Vermilion Bird.

She instinctively took a step back.

Then caught herself—what was she backing away for? She returned to her original position.

"What poison did you give me in our last life?" Lu Ye asked calmly.

The Vermilion Bird froze.

They were both reborn, and he was asking about the past?

Was he trying to use old history to stir up emotions again, to manipulate her into falling for him?

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He could dream!

"The poison I gave you was very venomous," she sneered. "Didn’t you want to slaughter to your heart’s content? You killed so many of my people in one breath, so I gave you the Slaughter Lotus Heart, let you kill all you wanted. How about it? Like it?"

Slaughter Lotus Heart?

Lu Ye’s expression stiffened.

Very good. One after another, they all turned out to be damn experts at playing dirty.

The Slaughter Lotus Heart was the lotus core of the legendary Slaughter Lotus, the imperial weapon of the Asura God Emperor himself. It held the power to command all slaughter in the world.

It wasn’t even technically poison.

But it did stimulate the desire to kill—intensely so.

Once it activated, it would push the heart’s bloodlust to its peak—even beyond one’s own ability to control it.

Now that he had the answer he wanted...

Lu Ye spoke plainly. "Get lost."

"From now on, don’t ever appear in front of me again. If you do that, I’ll consider you forgiven."

That was directed at Yue Hongling.

"Senior Brother!"

Lu Ye raised his head. A streak of sword qi flashed out instantly.

The Vermilion Bird’s eyes widened in shock. She yanked Yue Hongling aside just in time.

The sword qi carved a deep scar into the ground.

Had she not pulled her away, that single strike would’ve killed Yue Hongling on the spot.

"You’re insane!"

The Vermilion Bird stared at Lu Ye in disbelief.

Yue Hongling was the little junior sister he had doted on the most!

And yet... he had truly gone in for the kill!