Chapter 168: A Day of the Vermilion Bird (Fifth Update)

A towering green light shot straight into the sky.

The Dao Enlightenment Tree grew at an astonishing rate, as if fueled by hormones. Originally a small tree only six or seven meters tall, it now expanded wildly.

Ten meters!

Twenty meters!

Thirty meters!

Fifty meters!

One hundred meters!

A colossal tree surged upward as the power of the Avenue was infused into it.

The sky filled with green light cast a verdant glow over Lu Ye's entire body.

The Nirvana Seed sensed the threat and erupted with its own formidable power.

Infinite gray radiance burst forth, intertwining with the emerald brilliance.

At that moment, two phantom figures appeared above Lu Ye's head.

One figure stood tall and majestic, with long black hair cascading over his shoulders. His eyes, firm and brimming with boundless divine light, exuded an aura capable of suppressing eternity merely by standing in stillness.

The other figure was shrouded in gray mist, emanating an overwhelming sense of annihilation and terror, as if capable of overturning the sun and moon, extinguishing all existence in the world.

This was the confrontation between Lu Ye at his peak and the Nirvana Celestial Lord in his prime.

"A mere Celestial Lord has cultivated the Avenue to such heights?" the Nirvana Celestial Lord spoke.

This Avenue could rival the Dao of a Sage.

"Have you not done the same?" Lu Ye replied.

"I am not your equal."

The Nirvana Celestial Lord's tone carried a hint of lament.

For he had witnessed Lu Ye's actions—such a formidable Avenue, leading directly to Sagehood, yet Lu Ye had discarded it without hesitation.

What extraordinary resolve.

"But I will not concede defeat."

"I dared to annihilate even a Sage. Though I lack your grandeur, my ambition towers to the heavens!"

"Then, let us fight!"

"Fight!"

"Boom!"

Green and gray light clashed violently, the two most supreme Avenues beneath Sagehood locked in fierce combat.

Seizing the moment, Lu Ye activated the Taiji Diagram behind him, which began to rotate slowly.

The rotation was slow.

Yet wisps of aura continuously seeped into the YinYang Taiji Diagram.

Massive amounts of spirit stones shattered.

Spiritual energy flowed into Lu Ye's body.

His cultivation began to rise.

...

"Nothing? Vermilion Bird's traces have vanished too?" Jiang Die received the feedback from the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion.

Neither the First Heaven nor the Second Heaven showed any signs of Vermilion Bird.

Either Vermilion Bird had perished.

Or she was with Lu Ye.

The latter possibility was infinitesimal.

The entire battle between Lu Ye and the Myriad Spirits Demon Emperor had been recorded in detail, which Jiang Die carefully reviewed.

The cycle of obsession...

At first, the cycle of obsession erupted, plunging all the foreign races into agony.

Then, the pain vanished.

Later, an unprecedented tide of obsession shattered all the souls parasitized by the Myriad Spirits Demon Emperor in one sweep.

Jiang Die's gaze lingered on the words "the pain vanished."

At this moment, she could finally be certain.

Vermilion Bird was dead!

The cycle of obsession was her doing, paired with the YinYang DaoDevouring Gu.

One could imagine how shattered Lu Ye's Avenue would be under the impact of the cycle of obsession, and how gleefully the YinYang DaoDevouring Gu would feast.

Unfortunately, Lu Ye was too decisive.

Before any of the poisons could fully erupt, he self-destructed. Had he endured, allowing each poison to take effect one by one, Jiang Die couldn't help but tremble with excitement at the mere thought...

But the world had no room for "what ifs."

"Vermilion Bird is dead."

Jiang Die relayed the news to the four women.

Chu Ling had already awakened.

All four women froze.

Their minds echoed only one sentence.

"Vermilion Bird is dead!"

"The Vermilion Bird is dead!"

"The Vermilion Bird is dead!"

...

The Vermilion Bird is indeed dead.

Transformed into an obsession, lingering in the deepest part of the cycle of reincarnation.

The Celestial Lord of Reincarnation observed her but made no changes to her state.

He found this Vermilion Bird quite intriguing.

Obsessions endure endless suffering every day, trapped in their most painful memories.

Day after day, year after year.

Even the Vermilion Bird’s obsession could not escape this rule.

She lived within her memories, yet those memories had twisted.

Take one day as an example.

In the morning, the Vermilion Bird became the one torn apart by countless young beasts in the ancient battlefield of prodigies.

Every demon regarded her as an enemy.

By noon, she saw herself gathering cultivation resources for Bai Huoling, treating her with gentle care, as if raising a child.

Yet Bai Huoling’s mocking, icy gaze never left her back—unnoticed, she continued to treat her kindly.

In the afternoon, Lu Ye self-destructed. He had saved her, yet she met him with cold disdain and scorn.

The joy and pride in Lu Ye’s eyes slowly turned into sorrow and disbelief as he stared at her, stunned.

The pain in Lu Ye’s heart became the Vermilion Bird’s pain in that moment.

At night, Lu Ye struck her down again and again.

Did it hurt? Was she afraid?

Only when facing true death did the Vermilion Bird understand the terror between life and demise.

All living beings cling to survival.

When death comes, the instinct to live erupts with overwhelming emotion, driving them to fight for life.

She was truly, utterly terrified.

Only those who have experienced it can truly empathize.

And what of Lu Ye?

To save her, Lu Ye chose to perish together with the parasitic Heavenly Demon.

Was he not afraid?

Did he not feel pain?

Lu Ye's answer was that he wasn't afraid, nor did he feel pain.

Because he believed she was more important than his own life. To save her, he faced death without any fear. For her sake, the agony of death couldn’t disturb him in the slightest.

Regret…

He regretted it…

He regretted falling in love with her. He regretted sacrificing his life to save her. He regretted experiencing everything with her, because all she had ever brought him was pain.

Pain!

So much pain!

The extreme suffering and overwhelming remorse gnawed incessantly at Vermilion Bird’s mind.

She would have to endure this torment countless times—who knew how many?

This was Vermilion Bird’s day.

Those bound by obsession are neither reclaimed by reincarnation nor scattered in true spirit.

……

Green and gray intertwined endlessly across the heavens and earth, shifting and transforming.

The battle between Lu Ye and Nirvana Celestial had reached a fever pitch.

"Your protection has already cracked—why are you still so strong?" Nirvana Celestial found it utterly baffling.

But Lu Ye saw nothing strange about it.

Was it wrong for him to cultivate more Avenues, master more techniques, and accumulate more trump cards—all to become stronger for the sake of protection?

He trained in the Fist Avenue, the Sword Avenue, the Slaughter Avenue, and more.

All for the sake of protection!

There was nothing unreasonable about it.

Nirvana Celestial could also cultivate other Avenues as supplements for the sake of annihilation.

If you mastered the Sword Avenue and shattered the world with a single strike, wasn’t that also for annihilation?

Surely, surely—no one would exhaust themselves to the brink just to cultivate a single Avenue, right?

At any rate, Lu Ye never felt burdened by cultivating multiple Avenues.

When Nirvana Celestial exerted his full strength yet still failed to annihilate this protection, it was proof enough—Lu Ye’s strength in his past life had undoubtedly surpassed Nirvana Celestial’s.

And so, the only fate awaiting the seed of Nirvana was to be devoured!

Lu Ye’s power surged explosively.

Third Heaven of the True Human Realm, Fourth Heaven, Fifth Heaven…

The Dao Enlightenment Tree was rapidly merging with the Avenue of Protection.

Ah, so comfortable~

Feels like growing up~

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