Chapter 127: Regret

Vermilion Bird began to recall the beautiful things in her life.

She wanted to use that beauty to resist the bitterness of existence.

She had been raised by the demon race from a young age. The one who raised her was a white stork. The white stork had been kind to her, fed her, taught her cultivation.

It was the white stork who taught her that all things in this world possessed both good and evil.

Back then, what she looked forward to most every day was what tasty food Mother Stork would bring home for her.

Later—

A look of confusion suddenly appeared in Vermilion Bird’s eyes.

Later on, in all her memories of happiness... one person kept showing up.

“This bird’s got a pretty unique look—might be nice to keep around!”

“Que’er, come, sing with me: ‘I am a little, little bird, I want to fly but I can’t fly high...’”

“Que’er, this divine fire looks like it suits you. Try it—how’s it taste?”

“Hurt my Que’er, and I’ll annihilate your entire sect!”

“Que’er, don’t be afraid. I’m always here.”

“Que’er!”

“Que’er!”

“Que’er...”

The final image in her mind froze beneath the clouds of tribulation—Lu Ye looking at her with that expression in his eyes.

Shock, disbelief, heartbreak...

It hurt so much!

She truly couldn’t hold on any longer.

Her thoughts became chaotic.

I think I did something wrong.

No, I didn’t do anything wrong.

I’ve wronged Lu Ye.

No, Lu Ye wronged me.

I can die for the sake of ten million lives.

No—I can protect more lives by staying alive.

Yes, yes... if I live, I can save even more lives. These ten million are only a part of it. In these Nine Heavens, there are still countless demon clans that need my protection.

No, no, no—I mustn’t retreat.

But... it really hurts. It hurts too much.

As Vermilion Bird’s will to survive began to surge again, her thoughts instinctively constructed reasons to justify it.

“Are you giving up?”

Shen Xitong’s voice rang out at that moment.

Vermilion Bird heard it clearly, but didn’t answer.

Her mind was still repeating that single thought:

If I live, I can save more demons and monsters.

“Do you understand how many kind beings there are among those ten million lives? Can you bear to see them suffer endless torment and die?”

“To save ten million, one death—that was your belief, wasn’t it?”

“Or was it that, in your heart, you only ever meant

someone else

should die for the sake of ten million—not you?”

“If you give up now, all ten million will die. Their souls will be consumed by obsession, never to reincarnate, never to know peace.”

“If you abandon them now, they will never again have the chance to live.”

“If you give up now—they will all die!”

“Are you really going to abandon them?”

Each and every word slammed into Vermilion Bird’s ears, again and again.

Her voice was anguished.

“If I live... I can save more!”

“And when more lives face a disaster like this, are you going to give up again? Thinking to yourself that you could save even

more

?”

“That’s just an excuse to run away.”

“Do you know? If you don’t save these ten million, then you are a hypocrite. When you tried to kill me, you claimed it was to trade one life for ten million. And now it’s your turn—and you hesitate!”

“Vermilion Bird!”

“You are Vermilion Bird!”

“Can’t the deaths of so many living beings move your kind heart?”

“You must save them! You must save their lives!”

Shen Xitong’s words stabbed toward Vermilion Bird like blades—each one sharper than the last.

Vermilion Bird’s heart—her kindness—was, at this moment, riddled with wounds, pierced through a thousand times.

Seven-tenths of the obsession!

“If your heart truly holds love, then hold on a little longer. You’re a Great Emperor—with a steady Dao Heart—don’t tell me you can’t even endure this kind of pain?”

“Lu Ye bore all of this, and all he did was shed tears. But you’re already suffering to this extent?”

“Remember what you claimed was your faith. Remember what you insisted upon!”

Eight-tenths.

At this point, the sheer volume of obsession had pushed Vermilion Bird to the brink of total death and Dao dissolution.

In this moment, she didn’t just feel overwhelming pain—there was also the imminent, suffocating presence of death.

And that made her will even more fragile.

“Everyone else can die—but why not you?”

“When others die, you say it’s to save more lives. Then you dying would save more too.”

“If you endure, you are good.”

“If you can’t endure, you are a hypocrite.”

Shen Xitong continued from the sidelines, alternating between mockery and biting encouragement.

On one hand, if the mutt host’s Cycle of Obsession wasn’t completely expelled, it was sure to cause huge trouble in the future. Even sacrificing millions of lives might not be enough to purge it.

On the other hand, Shen Xitong truly

wanted

to see Vermilion Bird push through all the way to the very edge... and then collapse.

The obsessions she couldn’t hold back would surge like a tidal wave, violently flooding into all living beings, instantly annihilating their souls.

In that case, Vermilion Bird would become the greatest accomplice.

And Shen Xitong could still lie to her, trick her all the way through.

So Vermilion Bird

had

to keep enduring.

As for whether she’d actually absorb all the obsession from Lu Ye’s soul without ever regretting it?

Please.

The system had watched these women their entire past life. If Vermilion Bird could really walk to her death without complaint, just to save others, Shen Xitong would gladly eat that mutt host alive.

Nine-tenths!

Lu Ye felt utterly light, the crushing weight lifted from his entire body.

Vermilion Bird must be dead by now, right?

In this moment, Lu Ye actually felt a trace of respect.

To endure until death—Vermilion Bird was worthy of the title of Great Emperor.

“Ah!”

Suddenly, a Vermilion cry tore through the heavens and earth.

The Myriad Spirit Demon Emperor’s body began to convulse violently.

Lu Ye’s expression hardened slightly.

A flicker of disappointment passed through his eyes.

Then they turned cold as steel.

The Cycle of Obsession, in its most savage form, slammed straight into the soul of the Myriad Spirit ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ Demon Emperor.

The obsession that Vermilion Bird had been holding back suddenly burst like a dam, completely collapsing.

That immense Cycle of Obsession transformed into a flood, and along the connection between the Demon Emperor and his parasitized hosts, it crashed into the bodies of those millions—tens of millions—of possessed beings.

In that moment, countless small worlds were consumed by screams.

A flood of living beings died.

Died in the most tragic, horrific ways imaginable.

The soul of the Myriad Spirit Demon Emperor twisted madly, shattered, and turned to ash.

Lu Ye withdrew his palm.

At that moment, every trace of the Cycle of Obsession vanished from his soul.

The fourth poison—completely eradicated.

Vermilion Bird was now doing everything in her power to purge the Cycle of Obsession from her own soul.

She didn’t want to endure that agony anymore. Not a shred of it. Not even a sliver of obsession would she allow to remain.

When she finally forced out the last of the Cycle of Obsession from her body—

The Divine Realm, the Ghost Realm, the Yao Realm, the Demon Realm... all the small worlds became lands of the dead.

Vermilion Bird had at last escaped from the boundless suffering.

She gasped for breath.

Never in her life had she come so close to death—so close that not even rebirth in divine fire could have saved her.

And then—laughter echoed in her mind.

“Hahaha... Kindness... Kindness... Hahaha...”