The Eight Empresses Betrayed Me, Only to Deeply Regret It After Being Reborn-Chapter 3: The Heavenly Corpse Poison

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Yue Hongling clutched her slender, graceful neck. It was the perfect swan’s neck, elegant and well-proportioned.

Her legs were long and straight, her arms delicate and fair, her neck smooth and symmetrical.

But now, a dark purple handprint was clearly visible on her throat—a jarring, brutal mark.

She gasped for breath like a dying fish, desperately inhaling.

It took a full minute or two before she finally recovered.

Tears, like glistening pearls, slid down her face.

She had come in full of righteous fury, yet this was the treatment she received?

How could she accept this?

In the past, if she had kicked his door down, Lu Ye would have at most punished her by making her help build a new one.

Not like this...

How dare he treat her this way? It was just a damn door!

And she was his junior martial sister, his Dao companion in their past life, his beloved!

Even if she had hurt him a little, did that mean all their feelings had completely vanished?!

Fine.

She wouldn’t rebuild the door.

She didn’t believe he would—

A cold, murderous glare flashed through her mind.

"...Hmph! Fine, I’ll do it!"

Still seething with rage, Yue Hongling began repairing the door.

—

Lu Ye made his way to a secluded spot, his favorite place of cultivation.

He had discovered this location by accident—the scenery was beautiful.

Although the spiritual energy wasn’t particularly dense, it put him in a good mood, which was enough to enhance his training speed.

But when he arrived—

A woman in a flowing white robe, her cloud-like hair elegantly styled, was already waiting for him.

The wind stirred her dress, tracing out her breathtaking curves.

Lu Ye’s heart sank.

Damn it. This is way too familiar.

I can’t stay in the Grand Dao Sect any longer.

I need to find a chance to leave.

Still, since they had already met—

"Greetings, Master," Lu Ye composed himself and bowed.

This was his master—Bai Qiulan.

And yes...

Alright.

He admitted it.

She was one of them too.

Bai Qiulan turned to look at Lu Ye, her voice calm yet commanding.

"Why do you have only one life?"

She, too, had asked this question.

Lu Ye smiled.

"Master, it was due to my own lack of skill," he said lightly. "During my cultivation, in order to achieve a breakthrough, I merged all nine lives into one—thus, I now only have a single life."

A look of realization finally flickered in Bai Qiulan’s eyes.

So that’s how it was.

Now, everything made sense.

"If I have now discovered a method to suppress the Chaotic Lunar Force, then let what happened in our past lives remain a dream," Bai Qiulan said coldly. "It must never happen again. If you ever act out of line, I will personally eradicate you from this sect."

"Understood, Master!" Lu Ye responded with perfect composure.

Bai Qiulan turned and left.

Her elegant posture, her snow-white skin, her autumn-water eyes—all flawless.

The Chaotic Lunar Force was an extreme yin power, unbearably cold, capable of inflicting unimaginable suffering.

But when used to nourish a woman, it enhanced her beauty, making her even more delicate and alluring.

Master...

Are you sure you actually found a way to suppress the Chaotic Lunar Force?

If he hadn’t used Yin-Yang Transference to absorb the Chaotic Lunar Poison into himself, would she have been able to endure it?

In this sect, there were three women tangled with his fate.

Now, two were dealt with.

As for Yue Hongling...

Let her be. It doesn’t matter.

Finally.

He could cultivate in peace.

Lu Ye walked to his usual meditation spot, settled in, and [N O V E L I G H T] prepared to begin.

—

"Old friend, you still there?"

"Ding! I am here!"

A system panel appeared in Lu Ye’s mind.

It only had three options:

Updat𝓮d from freewēbnoveℓ.com.

"...Huh? You don’t require energy anymore?" Lu Ye asked, puzzled.

"Ding! I have already become the Heavenly Dao. What need do I have for energy?" the system replied.

"...Fair point."

"But damn, you really did me dirty," Lu Ye chuckled. "You straight-up threw me into an Eternal Tribulation. Was that really necessary?"

"Ding! Of course! You are my host. I must arrange the strongest challenges for you!"

"...Wow. Thanks a lot."

"Ding! You’re welcome!"

Lu Ye couldn't help but laugh.

After everything—his transmigration, his betrayals, his endless struggles—

At the very end, there was still one thing that had always stayed with him.

"Begin cultivation."

"Ding! Initiating cultivation!"

The cultivation method naturally remained unchanged—it was still the Nine-Life Undying Sutra. This scripture was originally created by the Nine-Life Heavenly Emperor, a genius beyond compare who forged the sutra himself.

However, Lu Ye was even more formidable. He directly extended this scripture beyond its original limits, breaking through the Emperor Realm to reach the heights of a Dao Sovereign.

The First Heaven was the weakest world, with cultivation divided into postnatal, innate, qi gathering, core formation, nascent soul, void refinement, and dao integration.

The first two realms were considered mortal stages. Most cultivators who entered sects started from qi gathering, especially in a top-tier sect like the Grand Dao Sect.

In the Grand Dao Sect, reaching qi gathering completion in three months was considered a genius-level achievement, while taking six months was merely acceptable.

The sect's spiritual energy was so dense that even a pig placed here for long enough might evolve into a spirit beast.

Based on the current timeline, Lu Ye had just entered the Grand Dao Sect a month ago and was at the fifth level of qi gathering.

And now?

Time shifted like the turning of the stars, day and night passing in relentless cycles.

In two days, Lu Ye broke through to the sixth level of qi gathering.

In five days, he reached the seventh level.

In eleven days, the eighth level.

In fifteen days, the ninth level.

His true qi was not only abundant but also refined and stable. His foundation was even stronger than in his past life.

In his previous life, it took him two months and four days to complete the qi gathering stage, which had shocked the Grand Dao Sect and made him a key disciple for cultivation.

They even wanted him to take a Supreme Elder as his master, but Lu Ye refused.

Very soon, he had reached qi gathering completion.

In truth, he could have pushed further, breaking into the tenth, eleventh, or even twelfth level of qi gathering.

In his past life, Lu Ye had been so relentless in his cultivation that he broke through all the way to the eighteenth level before finally using the Origin Returning Pill to assist him in forming a heaven-tier core.

Core formation was divided into one-star to nine-star levels. Above nine stars was earth-tier, above earth-tier was heaven-tier, and above heaven-tier was saint-tier.

Competition.

Every refinement, every stage, was the result of countless generations pushing themselves further.

Lu Ye could have formed a saint-tier core.

But back then, he had chosen to form his core alongside Yue Hongling, and there had only been one Perfect Origin Returning Pill. Lu Ye gave it to her.

He hadn’t stopped cultivating. With his talent and the wisdom of having lived another life, he didn’t need any pills to form his core.

“Condense.”

A nascent core began to take shape inside his body.

Suddenly, more than half of his true qi froze, leaving only the remaining half available for core formation.

Lu Ye’s eyes narrowed.

Without hesitation, he stopped the process.

“Pfft.”

He coughed up a mouthful of blood, his aura weakening.

“What the hell?” Lu Ye frowned.

“Ding. Heavenly Stagnation Poison.”

He stiffened.

Heavenly Stagnation Poison... so that’s how far they were willing to go.

He could only imagine what would have happened if this had triggered during his Great Tribulation of Eternal Ages—right in the middle of battle against the strongest warriors of the past, only for half his power to suddenly freeze. What a beautiful sight that would have been.

It was them. Those women.

Now he finally understood why they had been so curious about how he had nine lives but only used one.

They had planned to kill him nine times.

Damn it. How deep did their hatred run?

People always said that a day as husband and wife meant a hundred days of kindness, and a hundred days of marriage meant an ocean of love.

“Simulate.”

“Ding. Beginning simulation.”

Lu Ye knew about Heavenly Stagnation. It had been a terrifying existence—once, a Dao Sovereign had failed to extend his life and transformed into a stagnant corpse instead of dying.

“Is it a one-time effect? A rule-based poison? Will it permanently freeze half my energy?”

There was a way to break it, but it was beyond his current capabilities.

Fortunately, he was still at qi gathering.

Half his true qi? Fine, let it be. But it was clogging his meridians, making it unbearably uncomfortable.

The simulation produced a feasible solution.

Lu Ye read it over, frowning.

Break into core formation, alter his qi structure, transform true qi into true essence, and naturally dissolve the rule-based stagnation poison.

But if he formed his core while only being able to use half his qi, he’d barely reach earth-tier.

Wait.

He had it.

He could use the Perfect Origin Returning Pill.