Chapter 324 Traitor, Deserves Death!

Having been the butt of Lu Ye's jokes all day.

This time, it seemed like he could finally get some gossip material on Lu Ye—how could Daoist Shouren not be thrilled?

And Lin Chuyue was even more thrilled.

Lu Ye’s origins weren’t particularly mysterious; after all, he had fought his way up from the First Heaven.

But now, a woman suddenly appeared out of thin air.

The moment she opened her mouth, it was "Lu Ye-gege."

Such an intimate address—no one had ever heard of Lu Ye having a Dao Companion or anything of the sort.

Moreover, judging by Lu Ye’s attitude, this woman annoyed him.

But if she annoyed him, why didn’t he put her in her place?

And the Human Emperor Banner, which usually just floated about arrogantly, immediately shrank back into Lu Ye’s body upon seeing this woman.

She even wiped blood off the Stone Sword?

Ah, the sword Lu Ye used was clearly an incredibly powerful treasure—why would it even need its blood wiped?

Besides, a sword is a personal weapon. Unless it’s their master, any spirit sword with even a hint of sentience wouldn’t let others touch it, let alone wipe blood off its blade.

Something's fishy—really fishy!

"Daoyou, who is this?" Daoist Shouren jumped in to ask.

All the embarrassing things he had experienced these days had been witnessed by Lu Ye—he'd already lost all face.

Now, wasn’t it his turn to get some entertainment at someone else's expense?

"Even if I told you, you wouldn’t know her, so why bother?"

"If you tell us, then we’ll know!" Lin Chuyue quickly interjected.

Lu Ye shook his head. "Since you don’t know her, there’s no need to say."

"Precisely because we don’t know her that you should tell us! If we knew her, you wouldn’t need to say anything."

"Not telling!"

Lu Ye said decisively.

"Why not?" Daoist Shouren asked anxiously.

"Because I’m stronger!"

Daoist Shouren—Lin Chuyue—

Oh please—pulling the 'I'm stronger' card. The two exchanged a knowing look.

"Come on—food and drinks!"

—

Lu Ye looked at the two slumped over the table. Sorry, but he was cheating.

There was no helping it—he was strong, and these two wouldn’t notice anyway.

The matters with those women were too long and complicated to explain. Lu Ye didn’t want to talk about them, nor did he care to.

"Time to enter seclusion," Lu Ye muttered to himself.

The excitement was over, the fighting was over, and there was nothing urgent left to handle.

The Devouring Ephemera clan’s grudge against him was from his past life, and they even blamed him for it. In this life, he wouldn't seek them out to cause trouble for no reason.

On the path of cultivation, battles were temporary—seclusion and training were the constant refrain.

When the two finally sobered up, Lu Ye chose to enter seclusion. Lin Chuyue and Shouren Daoist did the same.

Lin Chuyue was running out of time before her ascension, so of course she needed to prepare thoroughly for her tribulation. However, Heavenly Gate cultivators generally didn’t fear tribulations too much.

After all, heavenly tribulations were part of Providence, and undergoing them was essentially communing with Providence itself.

As for Shouren Daoist, because he had changed his Great Dao, his realm had declined. Naturally, he also needed to cultivate intensely—first to adapt to his new Dao, and second to regain his former power as soon as possible.

Lu Ye laid out an impressive spirit-gathering array, including the other two as well.

There was no choice—they were footing the bill.

The three arranged themselves in a triangle, each cultivating in their own way.

Lu Ye’s realm began to rise—Second Layer of the Domain Realm, Third Layer of the Domain Realm, Fourth Layer of the Domain Realm…

Meanwhile, elsewhere—

Yue Hongling continued torturing Bai Qiulan.

Another wave of Chaos Venom wracked her.

Yue Hongling stood by, watching Bai Qiulan's agony intensify.

Bai Qiulan knew begging Yue Hongling was useless, so she bore it.

But in the end, she couldn’t hold back. With a whimper of pain, Bai Qiulan curled into herself.

An Li’s voice grew clearer and clearer.

More than once, Bai Qiulan thought—why not just give in to An Li?

Giving in to An Li meant surrendering to the Dark Origin.

Lu Ye and the Dark Origin were absolute enemies. If she submitted, there could be no going back with Lu Ye ever again.

But… the pain was unbearable!

Why? Why were both her disciples doing this to her?

"Revere the master and uphold the doctrine, revere the master and uphold the doctrine!"

A tenet upheld for millennia, yet for her, it rang hollow.

Yes, she was at fault!

She was at fault...

Then, hands pressed to her back, siphoning the agonizing Chaos Venom from her body toward those palms.

On instinct alone, Bai Qiulan wanted to purge the Chaos Venom in one burst.

But Yue Hongling's ice-cold stare and cutting words reverberated in her mind.

Pain!

The pain—unbearable!

Bai Qiulan endured the extreme agony, reining in the rampaging Chaos Venom, guiding it thread by thread into Yue Hongling.

This agony eclipsed even when the Chaos Venom erupted uncontrollably.

For she had to stay lucid and control the venom, intensifying the suffering.

After all, madness could shunt aside some pain.

But focus honed the pain to a razor’s edge.

Yue Hongling felt the Chaos Venom seeping into her palms, entering her body.

This time, it wasn’t as violently cold.

Her eyes gleamed with derision.

"Bai Qiulan, oh Bai Qiulan, wasn’t your ‘lack of awareness’ a lie? Didn’t you say the Chaos Venom was beyond your control?"

"Then what is this?"

"Your so-called ‘uncontrollable’ and ‘unconscious’ state was nothing but an excuse!"

"You reek of hypocrisy!"

The two meditated in tandem, tendrils of frost-laden mist coiled around Yue Hongling.

Previously, when using *Chanu's Extreme Yin Manual*, it took only seven minutes to purge Bai Qiulan’s veins of Chaos Venom.

Of course, the cost was that Yue Hongling might need two or even three days to thaw her ice-locked body.

But now, the process lasted a full half-hour.

Though rime still sheathed Yue Hongling’s body, it was a fraction of its former severity.

The pain had also diminished many times over, now barely within Yue Hongling’s threshold.

Had this been the Yue Hongling of the past—untested by pain—she wouldn’t have endured even this level of agony.

But what toll had this taken on Yue Hongling?

The Primordial Morning Mist and Chaos Venom overlapped.

Even she, who possessed the Emperor's enlightened heart, was driven mad by the pain—imagine how Yue Hongling's pain tolerance had been pushed beyond all limits.

The Chanu's Extreme Yin Manual finished circulating.

Bai Qiulan drew in a shuddering breath, like a drowning person gasping for air after being revived.

Yue Hongling's body trembled, yet her lips curled in mockery.

"Bai Qiulan, didn’t you say you had no awareness?"

At this moment, Bai Qiulan showed no shame or guilt—instead, she was unnaturally calm.

"Yes, I do have consciousness. I'm a complete hypocrite. Are you satisfied now?"

Yue Hongling froze, her brows furrowing as she stared at Bai Qiulan, getting a bad feeling.

"What new game are you trying to pull?"

Bai Qiulan fixed her with an icy stare.

"Betraying one's master and ancestors—such a rebellious disciple deserves death!"