The Eight Empresses Betrayed Me, Only to Deeply Regret It After Being Reborn

In this battle, Shen Xitong did not make a move.

She never intervened when Lu Ye was fighting.
If everything depended on her, wouldn’t she have already ascended to sainthood for her own amusement?
She only ever acted when she wanted to — when it pleased her — never otherwise.
If there wasn’t a powerful enough spark of joy to drive her, she wouldn’t lift a finger.
Like last time — when Lu Ye asked her to track someone down — could she have found them?

Of course she could.
But finding people? Such a trivial matter — and beyond her permissions besides.
Why waste the effort?
Wouldn’t it be far more satisfying to save her permissions for her own pleasure?
Now was no different.

This was Lu Ye’s battle.
There was no meaning in her taking action.
Boom!
The eighth tribulation thunder descended.

Dark-golden lightning split into two thin beams, sword light soaring upward, fist shadows roaring through the sky.
Jiang Die unleashed every technique she had to weaken the tribulation’s power.
The Primordial Mist of Creation still lingered in her body — an unbearable agony gnawed at her every second — though thankfully, it was only an extremely faint thread of it.
She could suppress it for now using secret arts.

If the mist had been any thicker, Jiang Die estimated she would have already lost all combat ability.
Yue Hongling had been vicious.
Giving Lu Ye Primordial Mist of Creation — only after experiencing it herself did Jiang Die realize just how painful it was.
Even a wisp hurt this much — considering Yue Hongling’s temperament...
At the moment Lu Ye’s mist erupted, he probably looked like a boiling kettle, spewing white vapor!

Boom!
The ground collapsed.
Two enormous, circular craters blasted into the earth.

It looked as if a pair of giant meteors had smashed down from the heavens, sending shockwaves rippling across thousands — tens of thousands — of miles. The earth dragon stirred.
This bolt of tribulation lightning...
Lu Ye extended his divine sense to observe Jiang Die.

Mm, she was almost dead too.
“System, simulate Flame Baptism Divine Power!”
Ding! Simulating...

It was the system’s job — once Lu Ye issued a command, it would act immediately.
After no more than ten breaths’ time, the Flame Baptism Divine Power was fully simulated.
The Vermilion Bird bathing in fire, the Phoenix reborn from ashes.
Now that Lu Ye possessed the true Vermilion Fire, it seemed only natural to learn Flame Baptism, the Vermilion Bird’s innate divine ability.

The Nine-Life Undying Body was still crazily absorbing tribulation energy.
If someone were to look at Lu Ye now, they would no longer even recognize him as human — just a charred lump, curled up into itself.
The dark-golden lightning was simply too terrifying.
The ninth tribulation thunder was clearly brewing — it intended to annihilate them both completely, to uphold the will of the heavens.

Lu Ye stood up.
The Vermilion Fire condensed into a Vermilion Bird, which he hurled toward Jiang Die.

At that moment, Jiang Die was already in such agony that her mind had gone hazy.
Even a thread of the Primordial Mist of Creation would have been painful enough — let alone enduring it while also undergoing a lightning tribulation.
It was torture beyond imagining.
And now she saw the Vermilion Fire coming toward her.

Jiang Die’s face twisted into an ugly smile.
The Vermilion Fire fluttered slowly over to her side — it hadn’t even touched her yet.
Boom!

The ninth tribulation thunder crashed down.
Dark-golden beams tore through the earth.
As if they could pierce through the entire heavens and earth.

Lu Ye and Jiang Die’s figures were both pierced straight through by that dark-golden lightning.
Obliterated!
Both of them were shattered to pieces.

Buzz...
Cry...
At that very instant, a resonant hum and a phoenix’s cry rang out simultaneously.

The Yin-Yang Devouring Dao Gu!
The Vermilion Bird!
Without a moment’s hesitation, the Vermilion Bird pounced straight toward the mother Gu.
A pull of celestial force descended from above.

The mother Gu darted upward toward the heavens — still carrying the stolen Dao belonging to Lu Ye.
As long as she escaped to the Third Heaven, she would have a chance to start over — to grow even stronger.
The Vermilion Bird slammed into her, blazing Vermilion Fire erupting all around.

But killing the mother Gu in a short time was impossible.
Even under the Vermilion Fire’s oppressive burning, the mother Gu forced her way upward, propelled by the celestial force drawing her to the higher realm.
At that moment, the Enlightenment Tree manifested.

The Seed of Extinction Dao manifested too.
Green light and black light intertwined, forming the image of a Taiji diagram, and enveloped the mother Gu.
"Aaaah—!"

Jiang Die felt her Dao beginning to collapse.
The power of Extinction specialized in annihilating Daos — and the Dao she carried was not truly hers.
It began to shatter, to overturn, dissolving into countless motes of light.
The Enlightenment Tree greedily devoured it.

The mother Gu let out a piercing screech.
Her stolen Dao collapsed at alarming speed.
Every piece of Lu Ye’s Dao that the mother Gu had siphoned off now crumbled into fragments of light — and the Enlightenment Tree absorbed it all.

The Enlightenment Tree was ecstatic!
So many Daos! So many Daos!
Mommy, I’ve made it!

By now, the Vermilion Bird and the mother Gu had reached the border between the Second and Third Heavens.
If this continued, Lu Ye and Jiang Die would be dragged into the Third Heaven together.

He # Nоvеlight # could not allow that!

Lu Ye finally shook off his madness and regained clarity.
The great battle in the Second Heaven had surely drawn the attention of countless powers from the Third Heaven already.
If he ascended now — he would die.

But to let Jiang Die go like this — he couldn't accept it.
White mist billowed.
Almost half of the Primordial Mist of Creation surged toward Jiang Die.

The mother Gu was exceedingly resilient — a being of extremely high status — but the Primordial Mist of Creation was high-level as well.
Otherwise, it wouldn’t have survived the ravages of time even after rebirth.
This time, Lu Ye forcefully injected a full third of his remaining Primordial Mist of Creation into the mother Gu.
"Aaaah—!!"

The mother Gu shrieked — a shrill, piercing cry that seemed to slice into people’s eardrums, to drill into their very brains.
The Vermilion Bird spread her wings.
The mother Gu instantly shot up into the Third Heaven.

The Vermilion Bird flapped her wings, resisting the pull of the celestial force — fortunately, that force was not aimed at Lu Ye himself.
The Vermilion Bird transformed back into Lu Ye’s shape, aura depleted, face deathly pale.
He was gravely wounded — this time, it would take an enormous amount of resources to recover.

But... it would be enough!
This place was already within the Azure Void.
Thus, the battle ended.

Though he hadn’t completely annihilated the Vermilion Bird’s enemy, there was no doubt:
Her dream of becoming a second Nine-Life Heavenly Sovereign — or even a Nine-Life Saint — was dead.
Everything she had stolen from Lu Ye — he had taken it all back.
And he had even left her with a parting gift.

This was called:
Returning courtesy with courtesy.
Without a Dao of her own, Jiang Die could stay right where she was in the Third Heaven — and wait for him.

It wouldn't be long before he went up there to find her.
Suddenly, Lu Ye sensed a gaze falling upon him.
It came from an unimaginably distant place.

Through a crack between the Nine Heavens.
"Husband... come find me... I miss you so much..."
A plaintive, sorrowful voice full of longing and obsessive love echoed out.

The long-quiet system abruptly manifested — colorful light flaring — and the breathtaking Shen Xitong stepped out in one stride, throwing her arms around the weak and battered Lu Ye.
"Husband, are you all right?"
???

The sorrowful, loving voice abruptly cut off.
The gaze grew terrifying.
"Husband... who is she?"

Five words — each one colder than an icy wind straight from the depths of hell.
Shen Xitong gently supported Lu Ye.
She glanced around disdainfully.

"And who are you? Stop calling random names.
This is my husband.
He already said it himself — in this life and the next, he will only ever love me.
Do you understand?"
"Only me!"