Chapter 1: Rebirth Amidst Thunder and Fire

Tianyun Realm, Star Continent.

A young girl in blood-stained clothes was being hunted by nearly a hundred people. From time to time, she would wave her hand or raise her palm in fury, and with every strike, several people would die with their limbs severed.

From the most prestigious Chenhuang Pavilion of the Jiuchen Empire to the summit of this Unrepentant Peak, the path was a shocking mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.

"I will say this one more time: the murder of the Ninth Princess has nothing to do with me! If you do not retreat, I do not mind adding your hundred dog lives to the pile on my hands!"

Ye Zhenhuang narrowed her black eyes. Her towering aura was such that the crowd from Chenhuang Pavilion, who had been pursuing her relentlessly, dared not act rashly for a moment.

Suddenly, a familiar voice poured into her ears: "Zhenhuang!"

"Qingshu? Why are you here?" Upon seeing the person, a glimmer of clarity appeared in Ye Zhenhuang’s murderous eyes.

Lou Qingshu stepped out from the crowd with his hands behind his back, walking step by step toward Ye Zhenhuang. He raised his hand to stroke her blood-stained face.

Ye Zhenhuang gazed at Lou Qingshu, and seeing the precious sword he held in his hand, her expression softened even further.

This sword was one she had spent over a year painstakingly forging specifically for him.

The next moment, Lou Qingshu pulled her into his embrace and whispered in her ear, "Zhenhuang, where is the Rahu Demon Seal?"

"The Demon Seal is on me. Wait a moment, I will..." Ye Zhenhuang said with a light smile. Suddenly, a sharp, piercing pain struck her entire body.

Lou Qingshu sneered coldly and pushed Ye Zhenhuang away, his figure retreating rapidly. The sword he had been holding just a moment ago had now pierced straight through Ye Zhenhuang’s heart.

The pain of the blade piercing her heart made Ye Zhenhuang’s eyes widen, the smile on her face freezing into ice.

"You actually want to kill me?" She finally understood what was happening. She gritted her teeth, staring at the man before her in disbelief: "You have also become a lackey of the Chenhuang Pavilion?"

"Ye Zhenhuang, you deserve to die!"

Lou Qingshu’s expression shifted from sinister to cold. He looked at Ye Zhenhuang with icy eyes, listing her various "crimes" one by one with a look of profound grief.

"You repeatedly sabotaged the relationship between me and the Ninth Princess, pushing her into the Deep Blue Abyss where she nearly lost her life. Now, you have nearly slaughtered the entire Chenhuang Pavilion, attempting to destroy the entire Jiuchen Empire. You... I truly wish I had never known a disaster and bane like you!"

These words were heart-piercing.

Ye Zhenhuang clutched the wound on her chest, blood instantly staining her fingers red.

At this moment, she felt only ridicule—monumental, absurd ridicule!

"Lou Qingshu, I have been betrothed to you since childhood. How could I have sabotaged your relationship with that Ninth Princess? It was clearly the Ninth Princess who, lacking all shame, repeatedly seduced you..."

"Shut up!"

Before Ye Zhenhuang could finish the truth, she was cut off by Lou Qingshu’s cold, sharp shout.

"The Ninth Princess is a beautiful, innocent soul like white moonlight. How could a vicious woman like you compare to her? Killing you today is to seek justice for the Ninth Princess, for the members of the Chenhuang Pavilion who died by your hand, and for the common people of the world!"

Lou Qingshu glared with cold, angry brows. Anyone who saw him would be moved to admiration for his righteous indignation.

Yet, the corners of his lips held a trace of imperceptible, sinister malice. His face was even twisted with excitement at the prospect of Ye Zhenhuang’s death and his exclusive possession of the Rahu Demon Seal—a true wolf in sheep's clothing.

His words, which attacked her heart and reputation, severed the last shred of Ye Zhenhuang’s attachment to him.

She gasped deeply, her eyes wide, forcing back the tears.

Don't cry. She absolutely would not cry.

Lou Qingshu wanted to kill her to obtain the Rahu Demon Seal and a brilliant future? She would make sure he got nothing!

Standing proudly on the edge of the Unrepentant Peak, Ye Zhenhuang looked resolute as she pulled the sword out of her heart, inch by inch.

At this moment, as much as her body pained her, that was how much hatred filled her heart!

"Lou Qingshu, do you think you can succeed? Since you are so ungrateful, then go to hell with them!"

Ye Zhenhuang’s body suddenly rose into the air. She threw her hands open, and a black jade seal appeared, spinning. Instantly, a strong, heaven-devouring murderous intent rolled out!

"Ah! It’s the Rahu Demon Seal! No! Run!" The crowd from Chenhuang Pavilion fled in panic, but it was already too late.

Ye Zhenhuang’s eyes were as sharp as knives. With a single palm strike, the dark killing intent swept over everyone!

A massive storm of vital energy tightly coiled around the panicked and pleading Lou Qingshu. With a decisive wave of her hands, Ye Zhenhuang hurled him into the abyss!

"I was blind and foolish in this life to have made a three-lifetime vow with a heartless wretch like Lou Qingshu. It is a pity I could not kill that bitch, the Ninth Princess, as well! If there is an afterlife, I will surely slaughter my way back to the Jiuchen Imperial Clan and kill everyone who framed and harmed me!"

As her final strength was released, the Rahu Demon Seal was discarded. Ye Zhenhuang’s figure fell, plummeting to the bottom of the cliff.

During the descent, she quietly closed her eyes, listening to the whistling wind in her ears. Her consciousness grew thinner and thinner, letting her young life fade away with the wind...

With a "whoosh," her body suddenly ignited, turning into golden ashes bit by bit.

The discarded Rahu Demon Seal hovered above. The raging fire burned Ye Zhenhuang’s physical body to nothing, but suddenly, a gorgeous fire phoenix was born from the flames, soaring upward and diving into the Rahu Demon Seal.

Into the bottomless abyss, the Rahu Demon Seal went straight down.

Carrying a scorching heat, it pierced through layer after layer of thick clouds, causing the clouds themselves to ignite, filling the sky with firelight.

Before long, a magnificent imperial mausoleum appeared below. The Rahu Demon Seal, unstoppable, crashed into the interior of the imperial tomb.

In an instant, the earth trembled, ghosts wailed and beasts howled, the sky changed drastically, thick clouds rolled across the heavens, and thunder roared, covering the world!

...

...

Mortal Realm. Lanhuang Continent.

Atop a certain mountain peak, a man was at the critical moment of his tribulation. Lightning suddenly surged, striking his head with fierce intensity!

"Boom!"

After a bout of thunder and lightning, the man could not withstand the fierce bombardment of the heavenly thunder. His entire body was scorched into a lump of black charcoal, emitting a heavy, burnt smell.

Not far from him, a snow-clad man with an immortal-like posture waited on the side. Seeing this, his figure flickered a few times, appearing before the charred man. He reached out and grabbed a black shadow from the destroyed body, then flew away with the wind toward a certain place down the mountain.

Flying against the wind, the black shadow actually spoke, gritting its teeth and ranting incessantly.

"Ghost Mirror, this is the 107th time I have failed the lightning tribulation, and the 108th time my physical body has been destroyed. You stood by and watched as my body was blasted to pieces by the lightning—could you not have reached out to block it for me?"