CHAPTER 10: THE ALCHEMIST'S SACRIFICE AND THE SECOND VEIL OF REGRET
The Grand Hall of the Sanctuary was shrouded in a heavy, violet luminescence that seemed to swallow all light and sound. Li Xiao sat upon his throne of obsidian jade, his presence now significantly more terrifying after his breakthrough to the Nascent Soul stage. Around him, the air hummed with the resonance of the Fate Tax he had just harvested from the Holy Light Sect. At the center of the hall, kneeling in a pool of moonlight, was Empress Lin Yue. Her imperial robes were stained with the golden blood of saints, and her breathing was shallow, not from exhaustion, but from the overwhelming fear of what Li Xiao was about to reveal.
Beside the throne stood Yan Feng, the newly awakened Alchemist. His dark, energy-formed arm was pulsating with a rhythmic crimson light, synchronized with the heartbeat of the mountain itself. He looked at Lin Yue not with respect, but with a twisted sense of recognition—a memory from a life that hadn't happened in this world, yet felt more real than the stone beneath his feet.
"You called me, Lord Li Xiao," Lin Yue whispered, her forehead touching the cold floor. The Empress who once stood above millions was now nothing more than a seeker of a ghost's shadow.
"I told you I had something for you to witness," Li Xiao spoke, his voice vibrating with a chilling authority. "You think your five hundred years of regret on Cloud-Mist Peak is the extent of our karma? You think your 'Master' only died for you once?"
He raised his hand, and the System's interface expanded, projecting a massive, ethereal screen that filled the entire hall. This was the 'Simulation Playback'—a divine function that allowed Li Xiao to manifest the memories of his past simulations into reality.
"Enter the Second Simulation: The Alchemist King of the Forsaken Kingdom," Li Xiao commanded.
The hall dissolved. Lin Yue found herself standing in a different era, a different world. She saw a younger, more vibrant Li Xiao—this time he was an Alchemist of unparalleled genius, wearing robes of crimson and gold. And beside him, in this simulation, was a younger version of her—not a sword maiden, but a sickly Princess of a dying kingdom, born with a 'Withered Heart' that prevented her from ever practicing cultivation.
In this life, Li Xiao had spent three centuries in the simulation trying to save her. Lin Yue watched with a shattering heart as this version of Li Xiao entered forbidden zones, fought primordial beasts, and eventually... began to refine his own blood into a 'Divine Life Pill'.
"No..." Lin Yue sobbed as she saw the Li Xiao in the projection cutting his own chest every morning to gather the 'Heart-Blood' needed to keep the Princess alive. "Not again... please, not again!"
The simulation continued. The Princess, healed by his blood, eventually regained her strength and, led by the Alchemist's guidance, conquered the surrounding nations to form the 'Forsaken Kingdom'. But just like before, at the moment of her greatest triumph, she was told by her advisors that the Alchemist was a 'Blood Demon' who practiced dark arts. Fearful of her reputation, the Princess had ordered the Alchemist's exile and the destruction of his laboratory.
The final scene of the simulation played out: Li Xiao, the Alchemist King, standing in his burning tower, looking down at the army the Princess had sent to arrest him. He didn't fight back. He looked at the Princess—the woman he had kept alive with his own blood for three hundred years—and simply drank a vial of poison, ending his life before they could touch him.
The projection faded, and the cold, dark reality of the Grand Hall returned. Lin Yue was collapsed on the floor, her soul feeling as if it had been shredded into a thousand pieces. Two lives. Two hards. Two deaths. And in both, she was the reason he had withered away.
"In every life, Lin Yue, you are the one who climbs, and I am the one who serves as the ladder," Li Xiao said, his voice devoid of any pity. "In every simulation, you are the 'Heroine', and I am the 'Sacrifice'. You wonder why I do not recognize you as my disciple? It is because I am tired of dying for you."
Yan Feng stepped forward, his red arm glowing fiercely. "I was the only one who stayed with him in that burning tower," he spat at Lin Yue. "I watched him turn his blood into gold for you, only for you to call him a demon. You aren't worthy of his name, Empress."
Lin Yue couldn't even defend herself. The weight of the 'Double Regret' was so immense that her Imperial Golden Core began to crack. She realized now that Li Xiao wasn't just a cultivator; he was a vengeful God who had lived through countless cycles of her betrayals.
[ Ding! 'The Empress's Eternal Regret' has evolved to 'Trans-Life Despair'. ]
[ Karma Harvesting Rate: 300% Increase. ]
[ Host's Nascent Soul has solidified by 25%. ]
Li Xiao felt the surge of power. It was intoxicating. The more she suffered, the stronger he became. This was the ultimate harvest.
"Now," Li Xiao stood up, his violet eyes glowing with an ancient, dark brilliance. "The Holy Light Sect has been humbled, and the Alchemist has returned. The world knows the name of the Architect. Lin Yue, you will remain here, but you will no longer guard the gate. You will enter the 'Hall of Atonement' and begin to refine your own Sword Intent into 'Karma Stones' for the sect. If you want to pay back the lives I gave you, then start with your own blood."
"I... I will," Lin Yue whispered, her spirit completely broken. She stood up, her movements like those of a puppet, and walked toward the dark Hall of Atonement. She didn't care about her empire anymore. She didn't care about being an Empress. She only wanted to stay in this cage of regret, hoping that after a million years of atonement, he might look at her with a hint of the warmth she had once seen in his eyes.
Li Xiao watched her leave, his expression unreadable. "The second piece of the puzzle is in place. But there are still three more simulations... three more hards to reveal. The world has many 'Heroes' who owe me their lives... and it's time to collect from all of them."
He looked at Yan Feng. "Prepare the furnace. We have a continent to harvest, and the 'Heroes' are finally coming home."
The Sanctuary of the Architect was no longer a secret. It was a black hole in the center of the world, and the gravity of the Architect's sorrow
was beginning to pull in the entire universe.