Chapter 117: Sacrifice You

Lu Ye: ???

What the hell kind of appearance was that, you damn system?

What kind of bizarre stunt was she trying to pull this time?

At that moment, the Vermilion Bird was pacing in indecision.

Her mind was in complete chaos. Ever since the alien races had poured into the Great Wilderness, she’d seen far, far too much cruelty through the borrowed eyes of the Myriad Spirit Demon Emperor.

Even though she was a demon—or rather, raised among demons—she couldn’t accept it.

In truth, she wasn’t even a demon. She was a divine beast. But with her bloodline sealed from birth, she’d been raised by demons instead.

Did Lu Ye have a method to strip off the parasite left by the Heavenly Demon?

Most likely not.

If he did, he wouldn’t have had such a hard time fighting the parasitic Heavenly Demon back in the Seventh Heaven.

But back then, ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) Lu Ye hadn’t ascended to Emperor or Heavenly Lord yet. Now that he had, maybe he did have a way.

What she was really pondering was: how should she face Lu Ye now?

“Brother Lu Ye... Brother Lu Ye...”

The tearful voice floated into the Vermilion Bird’s ears.

The Vermilion Bird: ???

Lu Ye... Brother?

Surely... not that Lu Ye?

Then she saw a tattered, blood-scented woman flying in her direction.

Nascent Soul realm?

The Vermilion Bird made no move to hide her presence. She simply watched the woman approach.

The moment she saw her face, a chill involuntarily shot through her heart.

Because this woman was stunning.

Even smeared with blood, even in such a miserable state, her beauty couldn’t be hidden.

If anything, the pain and helplessness added a heartbreaking fragility.

A woman this beautiful, crying out “Brother Lu Ye”—there was little doubt in the Vermilion Bird’s mind. That had to be the Lu Ye.

In her subconscious, it made perfect sense that a woman like this would know Lu Ye.

“Demon!”

Shen Xitong, upon spotting the Vermilion Bird, first showed clear terror in her eyes. But then her gaze turned red, and she shouted with hatred.

“Demon spawn! Give me back my family’s lives!”

She charged at the Vermilion Bird.

The Vermilion Bird, currently at the Spirit Refining realm, effortlessly subdued Shen Xitong’s attack.

“Give them back! Give me back my family, you monster! My family, my village, my entire country—you demons slaughtered them all! How can you be so cruel?! Don’t you monsters suffer retribution for what you’ve done?!”

The Vermilion Bird...

Through the eyes of the Myriad Spirit Demon Emperor, she had indeed seen countless massacres.

Now, one of the victims stood right in front of her.

“You know Lu Ye?”

The Vermilion Bird asked.

“Of course I know Brother Lu Ye! I came all this way to find him—so he can kill every last one of you demon scum. Wipe you out, down to the root!”

The Vermilion Bird...

“Demons... there are good ones and bad ones. If you want revenge, why not go after the ones who actually killed your kin? Why insist on exterminating all demons? Vengeance should be aimed at the guilty.”

“And who exactly did my family wrong? Who owed us a debt? Why were we all slaughtered without reason by your kind?!”

Shen Xitong’s voice was sharp, filled with fury.

The Vermilion Bird fell silent.

“Brother Lu Ye loves me deeply, and his power is unmatched. If he learns what happened to me, he’ll definitely wipe out the demon race for me—he’ll annihilate them, every last one of them!”

“Don’t pretend to be merciful! Blood-debt vengeance is irreconcilable! You’re a demon too, aren’t you? Then you’re just as guilty as the rest!”

“Just wait. So long as I’m alive, I’ll make sure Brother Lu Ye kills every demon alive. Not a single one will be left!”

“Exterminate them all!”

Far off in the distance, Lu Ye watched the system’s hoarse, furious shouting—utterly stunned.

What the hell?

This damn system... actually knew how to act?

What was the Vermilion Bird’s weakness?

It was that she was... good.

Well, maybe not good, but a sanctimonious bleeding heart.

Because in his previous life, Lu Ye had killed far too many—what truly shook the Vermilion Bird for the first time was when he slaughtered the Myriad Spirit Demon Emperor and tore through the entire demon race.

The number of demons who died beneath the stone sword...

Was simply too many.

Back then, the seed of discontent had already been planted in the Vermilion Bird's heart. She truly couldn’t understand—why had Lu Ye slaughtered so many living beings?

Too many of those lives hadn’t deserved to die.

They were innocent.

The more Lu Ye killed, the more dissatisfied she became. That dissatisfaction grew and grew, until in the end, she couldn’t suppress it anymore—she chose to strike at Lu Ye.

Never had she imagined that they would be granted another life.

When she was reborn, she made a vow: she would cultivate diligently, and she would personally slay the Myriad Spirit Demon Emperor to safeguard peace for the demon race.

If humans and demons could coexist, then all the better.

But she hadn’t even had time to grow strong before the Myriad Spirit Demon Emperor had already clashed with Lu Ye.

Now, he had even launched the war early.

The most brutal of battles had begun.

In the previous life, the human race and the alien coalition had fought evenly for a long time—neither side gaining the upper hand—until Lu Ye’s complete rise to power brought the final victory.

But that human victory had come at the price of total annihilation for the other races.

And in this life, the alien coalition had struck first and hard—plunging deep into the heart of the human territories, wiping out three top-tier human factions in a single push, turning the human realm into a purgatory.

"You can’t go to Lu Ye!"

The Vermilion Bird still didn’t want things to spiral into total disaster.

If this woman really was Lu Ye’s new beloved—given how tender he was toward women—then he definitely wouldn’t hold back against demons anymore.

He really would do as she said... kill them all. Wipe out the entire demon race.

No!

She absolutely couldn’t allow that to happen.

“If you have the guts, then kill me! So long as you don’t, I’ll make sure Brother Lu Ye kills every last one of you monsters!”

Shen Xitong began to struggle violently.

The Vermilion Bird flared her wings, reinforcing the seals binding Shen Xitong with her power.

“Hahaha! ‘There are good demons and bad demons’? With the way you’re acting now—are you a good one or a bad one?” Shen Xitong shrieked with a broken, mocking laugh.

The Vermilion Bird froze for a moment.

"I just don’t want things to continue down a darker path."

“My situation... couldn’t possibly get any darker!”

The Vermilion Bird fell silent again.

She wanted to say: you’re just one person.

But among demons and monsters, there were thousands—millions—who were good.

"Let me go!"

“No. I can’t let you go.”

“Why?!”

“Why won’t you let me go?! What did I do wrong?!”

The Vermilion Bird couldn’t answer.

“Hahaha! You’re all the same. Every last one of you!”

“No hope of revenge... Father! Mother! So many innocent people—I’ve failed you all!”

“Even in death, I’ll never forgive you!”

“Never forgive you!”

Shen Xitong’s body began to swell—energy inside her spiraling out of control.

The Vermilion Bird’s face changed instantly.

She was going to self-destruct?

Now, two choices lay before her.

First—let Shen Xitong go, and risk her going straight to Lu Ye.

Second—let her self-destruct.

If one person died... perhaps countless others could live.

What to choose?

The Vermilion Bird...

Chose the second.

Boom!

Shen Xitong’s self-destruction completed. Her body scattered into a sky full of glowing motes.

The Vermilion Bird stared at the sight, her eyes filled with helplessness.

A long, sorrowful sigh escaped her lips.

Don’t blame me. I did it... for the sake of letting more lives survive...