The Eight Empresses Betrayed Me, Only to Deeply Regret It After Being Reborn-Chapter 4: The One Courting Death

Perfect Origin Returning Pill.

Rare. Extremely rare.

Back then, he had only one Perfect Origin Returning Pill, and he gave it to Yue Hongling.

Now, it seemed... there was no need to give it to her.

Lu Ye stood up just as auspicious light burst forth within the Grand Dao Sect, accompanied by the ringing of a dao bell and the cries of spirit beasts.

“The ninety-second generation disciple of the Grand Dao Sect, Bai Qiulan’s student Yue Hongling, has reached qi gathering completion in one month and seventeen days, breaking the sect’s qi gathering record. As a reward, she is granted a bottle of supreme-grade Origin Returning Pills, three treasured artifacts, a direct disciple position, and the right to choose two divine abilities.”

Lu Ye listened and chuckled.

Not bad. She had cultivated quickly. He had taken one month and fifteen days himself—just two days faster.

After all, she had once been an emperor. Even with his system and the cultivation knowledge of a past-life dao sovereign, qi gathering still required that much time.

But... supreme-grade Origin Returning Pills?

Yue Hongling probably wouldn’t even care about them. He had to hurry and get his hands on that Perfect Origin Returning Pill.

Besides, judging by the time, Chu Ling should be returning to the Chu Sword Manor by now.

Lu Ye didn’t even want to imagine the reaction of those people at Chu Sword Manor when they saw their long-lost Chu Ling return. How overjoyed they would be.

—

Outside Chu Sword Manor.

Dressed in tattered clothing, Chu Ling stared at the familiar estate in the distance, and tears streamed down her face.

She was home.

She was finally home.

For countless days and nights, she had longed for her parents, for her brother.

They had treated her so well. Ever since it was discovered that she possessed the Innate Sword Body, the manor lord and his wife had taken her in as their own daughter—cherishing her even more than a biological child, giving her only the best.

And now, she had finally returned.

The manor was just as beautiful as it had been years ago when she had left—not the ruined wasteland she had found upon her last return.

In this life, she would cultivate properly. She had the strength now to protect the manor, to protect her family.

With excitement in her heart, Chu Ling walked toward the Chu Sword Manor.

At that moment, within the manor, everyone wore solemn and tense expressions. The guards stood on high alert, hands clenched around their sword hilts, wary that their fellow guards might suddenly draw their blades against them.

The conflict within Chu Sword Manor was escalating by the day.

All because of that damned servant girl’s disappearance.

After she vanished, the old ancestor set his sights on forging the demonic sword—using the young lord as the sacrifice.

The manor lord and his wife had only one son. How could they possibly allow the old ancestor to refine a sword from him? The dispute between them erupted into open conflict.

As the sword forging reached its critical stage, the tension had only intensified.

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Some of the guards were loyal to the old ancestor, while others sided with the manor lord. Everyone could sense it—a great battle was inevitable.

A storm was brewing.

And then, just as the pressure reached its peak, a ragged figure appeared at the manor gates.

“Where did this beggar come from? Do you think Chu Sword Manor is a place you can just walk into? Get lost!” One of the guards, named Chu Si, barked, his heart heavy with the knowledge of the coming bloodshed. He had no desire to see anyone else get caught up in it.

“I’m not a beggar! I’m the young miss! I am Chu Ling!” Chu Ling exclaimed excitedly.

The four guards at the gate all froze.

“You’re... who?”

“Chu Ling! I’m Chu Ling!”

“You... you...”

Their eyes were filled with disbelief.

No, no, no. She had already escaped the nightmare. So why had she come back now, wearing such a bright, stupid smile?

Was she an idiot?

“Outrageous! Who is this wild girl daring to impersonate the young miss? Get lost at once, or don’t blame me for showing no mercy!” Chu Si drew his sword and shouted angrily.

The other three guards all turned their gazes toward Chu Si, their eyes growing dangerous.

“Chu Si, don’t you remember me? I’m Chu Ling! When I was little, you used to carry me around and sneak me delicious food. Have you forgotten?”

“I haven’t been gone that long! Look at my face...”

“Chu Ling has returned!”

A guard suddenly bolted toward the manor, shouting with all his might.

“Chu Ling has returned!”

“The Innate Sword Body, Chu Ling, has returned!”

“Ancestor! Ancestor! Chu Ling has returned!”

At that moment, a surge of powerful auras burst forth from within the manor. The expressions of everyone who heard the news changed drastically.

And in an instant, they rushed forward in ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) a frenzy.

Chu Si watched Chu Ling’s joyful, naive expression and couldn’t help but close his eyes in pain.

This person... this person...

Boom!

A figure clad in embroidered robes strode forward, each step sinking deep into the stone pavement. As he reached the gate, his body swayed, nearly collapsing to the ground.

Chu Ling gasped in alarm.

But the figure steadied himself and, in the next instant, pulled her into his embrace.

“Ling’er! Ling’er! You’re back—you’re finally back! Your father missed you so much!”

His entire body trembled with joy, and his tiger-like eyes reddened with emotion.

It was Chu Xiongtian, the lord of Chu Sword Manor.

“Ling’er!”

Another gasp rang out as the manor lady, Zeng Shuiyue, rushed forward, embracing Chu Ling as well.

“You wretched girl! Where have you been all this time? Not a single message—do you know how worried we were? We were about to go mad!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I was taken to the Grand Dao Sect against my will. He wouldn’t let me contact you. I finally managed to escape and come back! I’ll never leave you again, Father, Mother!” Chu Ling was overwhelmed with emotion.

Wrapped in her parents’ embrace, she felt warmth unlike anything she had ever known before.

Chu Shifei, the young lord of Chu Sword Manor, stared at the returning Chu Ling in disbelief.

He instinctively slapped himself.

Pain.

His legs nearly gave out beneath him.

She was back. She was back.

The scapegoat had returned.

He had almost died.

—

Outside the Grand Dao Sect.

After witnessing Yue Hongling’s grand commendation, Lu Ye chose to leave.

His destination was an ancient tomb located more than a thousand kilometers west of the Grand Dao Sect. The tomb had yet to reveal itself—according to his past life’s knowledge, it would be uncovered in a month when a battle coincidentally shattered the protective formation.

It was the burial site of a long-gone Void Refinement realm powerhouse.

The most valuable relics within the tomb were a fragmented portion of the Nine-Life Undying Sutra and the Perfect Origin Returning Pill. Everything else had long since decayed with time, leaving only these two treasures preserved.

Without rest, he traveled day and night.

After two days, he arrived.

A formation still sealed the tomb, but it was already damaged. Even if it had been intact, it wouldn’t have been an obstacle for Lu Ye.

He stepped forward without hesitation, his figure vanishing as he entered.

Barely ten minutes later, another figure appeared—Yue Hongling.

She had come alone.

The existence of the Perfect Origin Returning Pill wasn’t something she dared to let others know.

To many, it was an insignificant item, even useless.

But to those with juniors on the verge of core formation, its value was immeasurable.

She entered the formation with ease.

The moment she stepped inside, her expression shifted.

Someone had arrived first.

Who?

She hurried forward, moving swiftly through the tomb. As someone who had once reached the emperor realm, she had no trouble navigating the remains of a Void Refinement cultivator’s burial site. The passage of time had worn down most of the defenses, leaving nothing that could stop her.

Then, she suddenly halted.

Huh?

She was trapped.

Yue Hongling struck out with her palm, and the space before her trembled slightly.

This was no ordinary formation left behind by a Void Refinement cultivator.

This was a formation newly placed by the one who had arrived before her.

This tomb had yet to be unearthed. Under normal circumstances, no one should have been able to enter before her.

And yet, someone was already here.

Which meant...

“Senior Brother, I know it’s you! Get out here!”