"Hum."
With a horizontal push of Ye Xiao's palm, a terrifying wave of pressure crashed down abruptly, directly shattering Gu Yuetang's body. Blood and internal organs mixed with glowing bone splinters sprayed in all directions, scattering across the ground.
"Ye Xiao..."
Gu Mingyue stood in the main hall, her beautiful eyes trembling with a faint trace of confusion.
In her past life, when had he ever protected her like this?
Although the memories Gu Mingyue had awakened were not complete, she still vividly remembered the bone-deep coldness and mockery in Ye Xiao's eyes the last time he looked at her.
Yet at this moment, looking at the young man standing below the hall in white robes stained with blood, his fairy-like face cold and distant, Gu Mingyue actually felt a sense of unfamiliarity.
Could it be that her rebirth and return had altered the karma of this realm, causing some unpredictable changes to occur in the dark?
No.
Ye Xiao's greatest skill was disguise. In her past life, he had even fooled the entire Holy Prefecture. He must be plotting something.
Gu Mingyue's gaze gradually grew calm, and she said with an icy expression, "Young Master Ye, the act is over. Can you state your purpose in coming here now?"
"Acting?"
Ye Xiao furrowed his brows slightly, a trace of faint confusion in the depths of his eyes.
He then retrieved a porcelain-white jade bottle from his Qiankun Ring and tossed it toward Gu Mingyue.
"I heard that you injured your meridians during cultivation, so I went to the Pill Saint and begged for a grade-eight Creation Pill."
"What?"
Gu Mingyue's eyes trembled slightly as she reached out to catch the jade bottle and slowly uncapped it.
Instantly, a refreshing fragrance of alchemy permeated the entire main hall.
The officials of the Immortal Phoenix court wore looks of utter shock, their entire bodies' blood and spiritual energy surging wildly.
A grade-eight Creation Pill!
This single pill alone was enough to rival the foundation of an ordinary divine dynasty.
Yet now, Young Master Ye Xiao had casually bestowed it upon Empress Mingyue.
Such deep pockets and immense wealth!
Such a devoted and single-minded scion of a longevity family caused many female officials in the hall to flush with envy, their eyes turning red.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for bestowing a grade-eight pill upon the Daughter of Heavenly Mandate, breaking the villain setting, and activating the ten-thousand-fold return reward.]
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for activating the ten-thousand-fold return reward for the first time, triggering a hundred-million-fold critical hit, and obtaining a celestial pill: one Supreme Foundation Establishment Pill.]
(Pill grades: grades one to ten spirit pills, precious pills, celestial pills, and Great Luo Golden Pills.)
"Huh?"
In an instant, the slight ache in Ye Xiao's heart vanished completely.
It really worked!
This ten-thousand-fold return system was simply an artifact for exploiting the system.
"The Pill Saint? A grade-eight Creation Pill?"
Gu Mingyue looked at the white jade spirit pill in her hand, her gaze growing even more puzzled.
This Pill Saint had an eccentric temperament and was unmatched in the Dao of Alchemy. To beg her for a pill, one had to satisfy some of her peculiar habits.
It was rumored that previously, someone had even sent their wife and daughter to accompany her for a whole year.
What price had Ye Xiao paid?
In this life, she and Ye Xiao had yet to cross paths, let alone have any romantic ties to speak of.
For him to make such an offering, could it be that he... coveted her body?
Aside from this, Gu Mingyue could think of no other reason.
"I still have many spiritual materials and precious herbs here, Mingyue. Why don't we change to a quiet place and let me help you nourish your body today?"
Ye Xiao's expression was gentle as he looked up at Gu Mingyue.
Had he known this ten-thousand-fold return system was so ridiculously overpowered, he should have just moved the entire Ye Family treasury over here.
"Okay."
Gu Mingyue's eyes grew slightly sharp, a cold sneer forming inwardly. Was he finally going to show his true colors?
"Hum."
As the two walked out of the main hall and into a scripture-storage hall, Ye Xiao once again retrieved a pile of spiritual herbs and great medicines from his Qiankun Ring, shoving them all in front of Gu Mingyue.
"These spiritual herbs might be useful for your injuries."
"Oh? Young Master Ye is so concerned about me, how should I repay you?"
Gu Mingyue raised her eyebrows slightly, a charming smile unexpectedly blooming on her face. Her crimson phoenix robes slipped slightly, revealing a stunning expanse of snow-white shoulder that made her slender neck appear even more elongated and graceful.
"Huh?"
Ye Xiao froze, not because of Gu Mingyue's sudden seductiveness, but because the system notification he was anticipating failed to sound.
"System, why didn't this trigger the return reward?"
[Ding! Explanation of the ten-thousand-fold return reward triggering mechanism: A person of Heavenly Mandate can only trigger one reward return every seven days.]
"Why the hell didn't you say so earlier?"
Ye Xiao froze, looking at the pile of heavenly treasures covering the floor, and swallowed hard.
[Ding! You didn't ask, either.]
"Damn it."
Ye Xiao cursed bitterly, only to look up and see Gu Mingyue staring at him with murderous intent.
"You bastard...! Ye Xiao, you shameless wretch!"
Gu Mingyue bit her lower lip fiercely. If she had even a shred of cultivation left—let alone reaching the Supreme Realm—she would have fought Ye Xiao to the death without a moment's hesitation.
This jerk really did want to violate her.
(The thirteen realms of martial arts: Body Refinement, Spirit Palace, Soul Sea, Divine Wheel, Mahayana, Heavenly Secret, Cave Void, Dao-Slaying, Void God, True God, Quasi-Saint, Saint, and Supreme.)
"Shameless? Mingyue, are you overthinking things?"
Ye Xiao looked Gu Mingyue up and down with an ambiguous smile. I must admit, she's truly well-endowed...
Looking down and missing one's toes probably described Gu Mingyue right now.
"Ye Xiao, you..."
Gu Mingyue's eyes turned icy as she bit her lip hard, the tips of her ears growing somewhat warm.
"You focus on recovering from your injuries. I'll come check on you again in a bit."
"If anyone gives you a hard time again, you can come to the Ye Family to find me."
With those parting words, Ye Xiao turned and left.
Gu Mingyue was his "welfare maiden" now; he would definitely visit often to fleece her.
Under his "care," Ye Xiao believed this Supreme Empress would eventually fall for him.
"He left?"
Gu Mingyue's delicate brows furrowing slightly, she slumped back against the desk, feeling a sense of loss.
Was this really the profit-driven, selfish grand demon king Ye Xiao she knew?
With her rebirth, some trajectories had clearly changed.
Yet she still couldn't rule out Ye Xiao's identity as a taboo demon lord.
She needed to speed up her cultivation and recover her Supreme Realm cultivation as soon as possible so she could deal with all future variables!
...
"Hum."
Meanwhile, Ye Xiao had returned directly to the Ye Family estate.
Although this time he had parted with a grade-eight pill and dozens of spiritual materials and great medicines, he had traded them for a Supreme Celestial Pill—it was beyond worth it.
Now he was only a step away from the Divine Wheel Realm. Before the Divine Child competition, he might be able to use this pill to try and take that step.
"Young Master, you're back."
Just as Ye Xiao stepped into the main hall, he was intercepted by Great Elder Ye Langtian.
"Young Master, the Patriarch is waiting for you in the ancestral hall."
"The ancestral hall?"
A bad omen suddenly struck the bottom of Ye Xiao's heart. "Great Elder, what happened?"
"Among the collateral branches of our Ye Family, a talented youth who awakened the Supreme Bone has appeared. The Patriarch has brought him into the ancestral hall and said to come right over the moment you returned."
"Hmm?"
Ye Xiao's eyes grew sharp as he turned and dashed madly toward the ancestral hall.
My dear grandfather, you really act like you're afraid I'll live a second longer.