Chapter 128: Before Death

The body of the Myriad Spirit Demon Emperor collapsed with a thunderous crash.

His soul—already shattered.

Every trace of his aura vanished.

From this moment on, the Myriad Spirit Demon Emperor existed no more. From this moment on, the parasitic sky demons were no more.

No—wait. Not quite.

There was still one.

Lu Ye’s figure vanished.

When he appeared again, he was already standing in front of Vermilion Bird.

Vermilion Bird lifted her head, staring up at Lu Ye’s icy gaze. Shen Xitong’s silhouette appeared beside her.

“Gege, why don’t you kill just one of them?” Shen Xitong said gently.

Lu Ye nodded.

“All right.”

He raised his palm, then formed it into a fist.

Vermilion Bird sat dazed and dull-eyed. Her Dao Heart, the moment she released the Cycle of Obsession, had completely shattered.

She was a hypocrite.

The kindness she so prided herself on—the conviction that she could lay down her life for the sake of others—

In the end, she had failed to do it.

So this... was what true death felt like. So terrifying.

As Lu Ye’s Heavenly Lord Fist gathered power, a faint clarity finally returned to Vermilion Bird’s eyes.

Bloody tears flowed down her cheeks.

She knew—she was going to die.

Because a remnant sliver of the Myriad Spirit Demon Emperor’s soul still lingered inside her.

“Before I die... may I ask a question?”

Lu Ye wasn’t about to waste words. He raised his fist, ready to bring it crashing down.

But Shen Xitong quickly hugged his arm.

Mutt Host,

she whined inwardly,

killing her like this is way too boring, don’t you think?

“You may ask.”

Shen Xitong spoke aloud.

Vermilion Bird’s gaze lingered on the sight of Shen Xitong clinging to Lu Ye’s arm.

Once upon a time, she could make that gesture too.

Once upon a time, she could stop Lu Ye even when his killing intent was at its peak.

No matter how murderous he was, as long as she held him back—Lu Ye would stop.

But now, someone was still stopping him.

Only—it wasn’t her.

And the person Lu Ye was killing now... was her.

Hahaha...

Vermilion Bird laughed—bitterly, despairingly.

“You clearly had nine lives. Then why, when you underwent tribulation... did you only have one?”

Lu Ye remained silent.

Shen Xitong’s face lit up with excitement—

Melon! Melon! Melon! Melonmelons!

Ding! Mutt Host! Lu Ye-gege! Tell her! Hurry up and tell her the truth!

Overcome with excitement, Shen Xitong was practically shouting nonsense.

Lu Ye looked at Vermilion Bird’s expression, and in his mind, the image of that once-spirited, lively Vermilion Bird seemed to surface again.

“In the last life, during my cultivation... I died once for each of the eight of you.”

Lu Ye spoke.

Vermilion Bird’s soul trembled violently.

She stared at Lu Ye in disbelief.

“You died once... for me, too?”

Lu Ye nodded.

“When?”

Vermilion Bird asked, her voice rushed, trembling.

“The parasitic sky demon. White Flame Spirit. Canglan Sea.”

When Lu Ye spoke those three names, Vermilion Bird’s memories were suddenly dragged back to that time.

The parasitic sky demon—it had appeared in the Seventh Heaven.

And the White Flame Spirit... that was the little fledgling bird she had secretly hidden and raised in secret.

Under her careful protection, the fledgling had slowly grown.

She’d named it White Flame Spirit—“White” taken as a surname in honor of the white stork who had raised her.

The Canglan Sea was the place where Lu Ye had ultimately fought his final battle with the parasitic sky demon.

She remembered now.

She remembered everything.

Back when the White Flame Spirit was still alive, Lu Ye had been under siege by all kinds of formidable enemies. He fought his way forward, one bloody battle at a time. His path to rising was forged in unimaginable suffering.

That day—

Lu Ye had already been pursuing the parasitic sky demon for a long time. He finally chased it all the way to the Canglan Sea.

And it was on that very day that she received a key.

It was the key to the Ancestral Court of the demon race.

And lingering on that key was the aura of the White Flame Spirit.

The demon who delivered the key told her it ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) had been left for her by a fiery red bird.

That bird’s name—was White Flame Spirit.

At the time, she was somewhat puzzled. The White Flame Spirit had already died back in the Sixth Heaven. She had ascended to the Seventh Heaven by then—how could White Flame Spirit still have the ability to leave her anything up there?

The one who delivered the key said they were from the Scales Pavilion.

The Scales were known for balancing all things and fair trade. Their reputation was quite trustworthy.

That key, the messenger said, had been deposited with them by a demon named White Flame Spirit, who had instructed them to deliver it to Vermilion Bird

at the appropriate time

.

“What do you mean, ‘appropriate time’?” Vermilion Bird had asked.

“When the parasitic sky demon is about to die.”

She even knew about the parasitic sky demon?

Vermilion Bird was astonished, but the Scales Pavilion envoy had already completed their task. They told her all she needed to do was inject a strand of divine sense into the key, and she would understand everything. After that, they took their leave.

At the time, Vermilion Bird had been cautious.

But—it was only a single thread of divine sense.

She was powerful enough back then to feel confident in facing whatever dangers might arise.

So she sent her divine sense into the key—

And what she saw proved it was truly the White Flame Spirit. That aura—there was no mistaking it, not even the tiniest bit.

“Big Sister Vermilion Bird, it’s been a while. By now, I’m probably already dead, right?”

“Hehe, it’s all good. I was supposed to die a long time ago anyway. Getting to live longer than expected was a huge bonus.”

“Okay, okay, I don’t have enough strength left to ramble—let’s get straight to the point!”

“This key is the key to the Ancestral Court of the demon race. I found it during my final exploration, and it’s the reason I ended up dying.”

“The Ancestral Court is in the Seventh Heaven. There are countless demon treasures hidden within, but no one’s managed to find it until now.”

“All you need to do is drip a drop of your essence blood onto the key, and you’ll be able to lock onto the Ancestral Court’s location. But be careful—the guardian of the Court is the parasitic sky demon. That thing is terrifying.”

“I didn’t want to drag Big Sister Vermilion Bird into danger, so I instructed the Scales Pavilion to wait until the parasitic sky demon was about to die before guiding you to the Ancestral Court.”

“I hope Big Sister Vermilion Bird will stay happy and have a smooth cultivation path. Ahh—I can only say this much. Big Sister Vermilion Bird, take care. Goodbye!”

That was the message White Flame Spirit had left behind.

Vermilion Bird was sure of it—this truly came from White Flame Spirit.

She had raised White Flame Spirit herself, watched her grow step by step. From beginning to end, there had never been the slightest trace of anything related to the Myriad Spirit Demon Emperor.

She trusted White Flame Spirit.

So she let a drop of her essence blood fall onto the key.

The blood vanished, and sure enough, she was able to sense the aura of the Ancestral Court through the key.

So she headed for the Ancestral Court.

And that was how she found the

Myriad Spirit Blood-Transforming Demon Scripture

.

At the time, she had been so overwhelmed with emotion that she fell into qi deviation and lost consciousness.

When she awoke again, Lu Ye was already beside her—and she was in the Canglan Sea.

Lu Ye told her the parasitic sky demon had already been destroyed.

“So... I was parasitized?” Vermilion Bird asked in a daze.

Shen Xitong gently waved her hand.

A light screen appeared in front of Vermilion Bird.