The Eight Empresses Betrayed Me, Only to Deeply Regret It After Being Reborn

Chapter 23: The Primordial Morning Mist:

It was gone.

Bai Qiulan finally let out a long sigh of relief. The drop of Chaotic Yin Poison had finally disappeared.

This must have been just the first drop of Chaotic Yin Poison—stubborn due to its nature—or perhaps her mastery of the Lunar Yin Transformation Technique was still at its early stages, making it difficult to dispel.

It should be like this…

However, deep in her heart, there was a faint panic she refused to acknowledge.

“Congratulations, Junior Sister, on breaking through to the Integration Realm. How are you feeling now?” Sun Ruowei asked hurriedly.

“Don’t worry, I’m fine now,” Bai Qiulan replied with a smile.

Sun Ruowei wasn’t convinced. She grabbed Bai Qiulan’s hand and took her pulse.

“Cold energy has entered your body, and your vitality is weak. How can someone at the Integration Realm have such a pulse? And you say you’re fine?” Sun Ruowei exclaimed, her eyes wide with concern.

Bai Qiulan gently pulled her hand away and smiled lightly. “It’s just a minor issue.”

Yue Hongling stood silently to the side, refraining from any questions. She could sense that Sun Ruowei might be starting to notice something unusual and was trying to investigate further.

Yue Hongling remembered vividly the shock Sun Ruowei experienced in their previous life when she discovered that both she and their master were tied to Lu Ye. Even on her deathbed, Sun Ruowei’s last words were, “Why are you all so chaotic?”

If such events could be avoided in this life, there was no need to let Sun Ruowei dig any deeper.

“Where’s Lu Ye?” Bai Qiulan asked.

“Senior Brother disappeared after winning first place. He must have left the sect for some training,” Yue Hongling replied.

“The Burial God Ridge, then…”

“Most likely,” Yue Hongling confirmed.

Sun Ruowei blinked in confusion.

‘Wait, how do you both know where Lu Ye went for his training? And what kind of place is the Burial God Ridge? It sounds impressive, but why have I never heard of it?’

“Master, should we go and check on him?” Yue Hongling asked tentatively.

“There’s no need.”

Yue Hongling hesitated, clearly wanting to say more but holding back.

Understanding her hesitation, Bai Qiulan placed her hand on Yue Hongling’s shoulder, and the two of them vanished in an instant.

Sun Ruowei stood staring at the empty sky, dumbfounded. The budding flames of her gossiping curiosity were doused before they could fully ignite.

“Damn it, Bai Qiulan!”

“You… I treated you as my confidant, and this is how you repay me?”

“You know me well enough! Your secrets are already exposed, so just tell me the truth! Keeping me in the dark is worse than killing me!”

“Bai Qiulan, get back here!”

“I swear, if you don’t—”

Before she could finish, Bai Qiulan reappeared.

“Oh, I forgot to bring you along,” she said.

Sun Ruowei was swiftly brought to the clouds alongside Bai Qiulan and Yue Hongling, who both looked entirely unbothered.

“What exactly are you two hiding from me?” Sun Ruowei demanded impatiently.

Bai Qiulan and Yue Hongling exchanged a look of feigned innocence.

“Hiding? We’re not hiding anything,” Bai Qiulan said.

“Then why did you leave me behind earlier?”

“That wasn’t intentional. I just forgot to bring you,” Bai Qiulan replied casually.

“Don’t give me that! How could you forget someone as noticeable as me? Do you think I’m a fool?”

“Noticeable? But I see you as graceful, petite, and charmingly delicate—not particularly noticeable,” Bai Qiulan said with a teasing smile.

Sun Ruowei was speechless. ‘Damn it, how am I supposed to stay angry now?’

“So, what’s the plan?” Sun Ruowei asked.

“We’re heading to the Burial God Ridge. I’m worried about my unruly disciple. I want to check on him,” Bai Qiulan replied.

Yue Hongling, however, seemed distracted, her mind elsewhere.

She was troubled by the poison she had given to Lu Ye. Known as the Primordial Morning Mist, it wasn’t a typical poison but rather a unique substance.

When activated, it heightened one’s sensory perception to an unbearable degree. Even the slightest graze would cause excruciating pain, enough to make one faint. It lasted for seven days.

The mist wasn’t lethal, but it inflicted endless agony. A breeze felt like being slashed by knives, and sunlight felt like being burned alive.

Yue Hongling had originally intended for the mist to disrupt Lu Ye’s tribulation, ensuring his failure. However, if it activated now, the sheer intensity of the pain could even destroy Lu Ye’s soul.

Regret filled her heart. She should never have used such a poison on her senior brother, especially after learning about all the effort he had put into helping her cultivate and break through.

All she could do now was pray that the Primordial Morning Mist would be nullified by the power of time reversal.

Soon, the three of them soon arrived at the Burial God Ridge, where a lone figure sat cross-legged, a longsword resting across their knees.

It was Chu Ling.

“Greetings, Sister Yue, Sister Bai… Master, and Elder Sun,” Chu Ling said respectfully. She quickly corrected herself, but Sun Ruowei still caught the slip.

Sister Bai again! And Sister Yue!

“Ling’er, where’s my senior brother?” Yue Hongling asked.

“The young master has already entered the Burial God Ridge. I’m here to guard the area for him,” Chu Ling replied.

“Did he display any unusual behavior before entering?”

Chu Ling recalled Lu Ye’s cold, indifferent glance before entering.

“None,” she said after a moment.

Yue Hongling felt slightly relieved.

“I’m still concerned. Ling’er, let’s go into the Burial God Ridge and take a look,” Yue Hongling suggested.

“Young master is unparalleled and—”

“Ahem!” Bai Qiulan interrupted before Chu Ling could finish.

Unparalleled what? Sun Ruowei glared at Bai Qiulan. ‘You’re the biggest obstacle to my gossiping journey! Is she trying to say unparalleled in strength?’

“Ling’er, you’ve done what I’ve done before. Senior Brother has likely gone to retrieve the Divine Blood Flower. He must be planning to shatter his core and form his Nascent Soul. The last time the Corpse Poison flared up, it was probably during his core formation. This time, breaking his core may trigger something even worse,” Yue Hongling said urgently.

Chu Ling’s face turned pale.

“You caused this?” she asked.

Yue Hongling nodded bitterly.

“What did you use?”

“The Primordial Morning Mist…”

Without another word, Chu Ling rushed into the Burial God Ridge.

The group of four women followed closely behind.

Sun Ruowei managed to catch snippets: Corpse Poison and Primordial Morning Mist. What on earth are those?

‘Wait, these two youngsters are only at the Core Formation Realm. How do they know about such strange and dangerous things?’

The remnants of ancient formations within the ridge had already been broken by Lu Ye. It didn’t matter if the formations were new or old—Lu Ye had clearly been here before. To him, even intact formations would have been easy to overcome.

The group came across more corpses of corpse beetles, each slain in a single strike. Many of these were at the Nascent Soul Realm, yet they had been effortlessly dispatched.

Sun Ruowei couldn’t help but feel shocked. Could this all have been done by Lu Ye?

Was he really just at the Core Formation Realm?

Despite her amazement, the other three women remained unfazed, as if Lu Ye’s actions were entirely normal.

Wasn’t his current power far beyond what’s typical for a Core Formation Realm cultivator? Even someone at the Nascent Soul Realm shouldn’t have this kind of strength!

The group passed through the corpses, poison fog, and mazes, finally catching sight of Lu Ye ahead…