Just one Chu Ling clearly wasnât enough to stir up such a massive storm.
Chu Ling carried the Source of Darkness within her.
Because of that, she possessed an extremely strong power of seduction.
But the principle remained the sameâseduction didnât equate to cognitive distortion.
If someone held no hostility toward Lu Ye, then no matter how seductive Chu Ling was, they wouldnât attack him. Just look at Shangguan Huanling.
Lu Ye also understood that if he continued this slaughter...
His reputation would become utterly ruined. Heâd be someone cursed and condemned by all nine heavens.
Whether it was because of the killings he committed, or because of the terrifying benefits he embodied.
But so what?
A good reputation hadnât brought him any benefits in his past life.
Then in this life, a bad reputation wouldnât bring him any real harm either.
In fact, a good reputation might bring him misfortuneâwhile a bad one might bring him gains.
This world... really was that twisted.
Or maybeâit was human nature that was just that twisted.
The stone sword, enhanced bit by bit by Lu Ye using Void-Slaying Spears as material, had seen a tremendous increase in power.
Even though he hadnât yet fed it a single percent of Void Celestial Gold or Fire Phoenix Divine Gold, just a little was enough to push the sword to the next tier.
He had even used the Origin-Swallowing Heaven Scripture to absorb some of it, and while the true essence it refined was indeed pure, Lu Ye had released it afterward.
Because it didnât harmonize well with the true essence produced by his own cultivation method.
But now, the stone sword had truly risen.
Even after killing so many, the blade remained pristine, unstained by a single drop of blood.
All the essence blood had been instantly absorbed by the sword.
The great battle erupted, and no one ran.
Because the Fragrance of Ascension was present.
Kill as much as they could. Kill as hard as they could.
Even while slaughtering, Lu Ye was quietly monitoring Bai Qiulanâs condition.
Thatâs rightâhe had planted a mark on Bai Qiulan called Divine Shadow Seal.
It was highly covert and allowed him to sense most of Bai Qiulanâs activity.
He was genuinely curiousâcould Bai Qiulan actually change?
As the saying goes, a dog canât stop eating shitâunless it got a full set of soul-crushing beatdowns from a fire dragonâs stomp.
Just like him.
He had to die countless times before he finally got over his clingy simp mindset.
And Bai Qiulan? Just changed out of nowhere? Lu Ye found it hard to believe.
What he really wanted to know was whether Bai Qiulan had any leads on Anli. Killing one Bai Qiulan didnât matter.
The key was killing Anli.
As for Anli, he didnât have even a scrap of a lead.
As for this battleâLu Ye could win it with his eyes closed.
This mob at most had Unity Realm cultivators.
In just fifteen minutesâ
The ones who thought they were surrounding Lu Ye like a turtle in a jar had become the turtles themselves.
Blood dyed the earth.
Corpses covered the land.
Lu Ye walked up to the black longsword and reached out to grip its hilt.
Wisps of black mist curled around him.
âHusband, long time no see.â
Anliâs cheerful voice echoed in Lu Yeâs mind.
âLong time no see. Where are you? I kind of miss you,â Lu Ye replied calmly, speaking the truth.
âHusband must be dying to kill me, huh?â Anli giggled.
âYou got me.â Lu Ye chuckled as well.
âHusband, the truth is, I didnât really want to betray you back then. After all, you were so good to me. No one in the world could ever treat me as well as you did,â Anli said, her voice tinged with emotion.
âAnd then?â
âAnd then... I just got bored. So bored. Everyone adored you. Everyone treated you kindly. Yet all of them were so fake, pretending to be good when they were actually disgusting. Just looking at them made me nauseous.â
âI needed some ripples in my life.â
âI needed some fun.â
âLiving under your protection had become tiresome. I needed something new.â
âSo, are you doing well now?â
âMhm mhm mhm, Iâm doing great. Just missing a husband. If you were with me, itâd be even better.â
âThen wouldnât it be best if I came and found you?â
âNo can do. Youâve still got the aura of the Heavenly Dao on you. If youâd give that up, you wouldnât even need to look for me. Iâd come to you myself.â
âYou wish.â
Suddenly, Shen Xitongâs voice broke in.
âHm?â
Anli was caught off guard.
âHusband wouldnât come find you. Heâs with me now.â
âWho are you?â Anliâs voice trembled in shock.
âHavenât you always wanted to take my place? Now youâre asking who I am? My dear older sister, I should thank you for giving me such a wonderful husband like Lu Ye. Iâm ever so grateful.â
At that moment, Anli was nearly scared to death.
The Heavenly Dao... the Heavenly Dao had developed awareness?
Not only had it developed awarenessâit had become Lu Yeâs woman?
What kind of joke was this?
How could the Heavenly Dao possibly gain sentience?
Why would the Heavenly Dao need to have consciousness?
âNo, youâre lying to me!â
Anli flat-out refused to believe it. The Heavenly Dao could not have awareness. If it didâwas it still the Heavenly Dao?
âIâm lying to you? Hehe, sure, believe what you want. You like stimulation, right? How about thisâme and the strongest Heavenly Venerable husbandâdoes that excite you enough?â
Shen Xitongâs voice carried a thrill of excitement.
âImpossible!â
Anli had always loved being in control of everything, just like in the previous life.
Even when Lu Ye was a peak Heavenly Venerable, she had him wrapped around her little finger.
Let alone this newly reincarnated Lu Ye.
But in the past life, two things had slipped out of Anliâs control.
Firstâat the final moment, Lu Ye had chosen to self-destruct without hesitation, perishing alongside the Source of Darkness.
That self-destruction made no sense. Because under her influence, the Source of Darkness had never directly clashed with Lu Ye.
There had been no reason for him to drag the Source of Darkness into death with him.
Secondâeveryoneâs rebirth.
That unfathomable power... Anli had never understood how it came to be.
But now she finally did.
The Heavenly Daoâhad become Lu Yeâs woman!!!
It was something she never could have imagined, even in her wildest dreams.
She had thought everything was once again under her control. But Shen Xitongâs emergence shattered her plans.
The Heavenly Dao had gained awareness.
And teamed up with Lu Ye.
âIf you think itâs impossible, then so be it. But look at this lightningâdoesnât it look real to you?â
Suddenly, thunder boomed.
A streak of dark violet lightning shot through the void, streaking rapidly toward a distant location.
âAhhh!â
A scream tore out.
The black mist around Lu Ye dissipated in an instant.
âDing! Hmph! Stinky Host! Beat this Anli down hard! She really thinks Iâm that easy to bully?!â
Lu Ye...
In truth, the system shouldnât have shown up.
If it had stayed hidden, Lu Ye might have had the chance to pull a bigger scheme on Anli.
But Shen Xitongâs fiery temperâshe couldnât hold back for even fifteen minutes watching Anli run her mouth.
So she zapped her the moment she showed up.
Still, it was fine.
Anli would now have no choice but to go all out against him.
And thatâwas exactly what Lu Ye wanted.
A new karmic thread appeared through the black demonic sword. After clearing the battlefield, Lu Ye turned into a stream of light and shot off toward the end of that karmic thread.