Transforming into a stunningly beautiful fox spirit, leaving a scar on the heart of a prodigy.

Su Chang'an's wrist was gripped tightly by fingers as if they were iron clamps.

It was a hand belonging to the peak of the Great Sage Realm. The scalding heat was transmitted through the skin of the two people in contact, but Su Chang'an only felt a chill to the bone. Tianpeng's five fingers were like steel nails cast with molten iron, tightening their strength inch by inch.

This weak illusory shell, formed from the remnants of obsession, could not withstand such terrifying pressure. A faint cracking sound immediately came from the translucent wrist. The obsession structure was being forcibly crushed, like thin ice falling into the large palm of an adult, ready to melt into a puddle of water at any moment.

The pain of having one's soul torn apart bit by bit is far more direct than the physical torture. Su Chang'an gasped and gritted his teeth, swallowing back the muffled groan that was about to escape his throat.

She resisted the urge to struggle, knowing that any unnecessary movement would hasten her death in the face of such an overwhelming power disparity.

She remained bent over, her eyes fixed on the sky that was so close to her.

Tianpeng's face was still buried in the pile of petals, his long hair was disheveled, and his eyes were still tightly closed, like a drunkard who had unconsciously caught his prey in his sleep.

Su Chang'an could see clearly that Tianpeng's eyeballs were moving violently from side to side, which was definitely not the physiological reaction of someone in deep sleep.

The once long and steady breathing rhythm was now completely disrupted, becoming heavy and rapid, with each exhale carrying a scorching airflow that scattered the broken petals on the ground.

The next moment, Tianpeng opened his eyes.

There was no trace of drunkenness in those eyes, though they were bloodshot from the alcohol, deep within the pupils was a chilling clarity, beneath which lay a suppressed rage that threatened to utterly destroy reason.

Their gazes collided fiercely within a foot of each other. Tianpeng's gaze, filled with a fierce and malevolent aura, pierced straight into Su Chang'an's eyes, determined to see through her weak, illusory shell from the inside out.

Tianpeng didn't get up; he just lay on the ground and increased the pressure on his hands again.

"Su Chang'an".

Tianpeng's hoarse voice was filled with a terrifying ferocity, each word forced out from between his teeth, carrying a heavy, bloody stench.

"You've really played a big game here."

Tianpeng's lips curled into a twisted, cold smile, and the veins on the back of his hand, which was gripping Su Chang'an's wrist, bulged.

"Back then, on that dilapidated altar, you put on a heart-wrenching and tragic drama right before our eyes. You used the blood of your incarnation to exchange for Bai Yin's life and for the life of the demon ancestor Taiwei."

Tianpeng's breathing became increasingly heavy, and the rage in his eyes began to transform into tangible killing intent.

"You turned Bai Yin into a mad dog that only knows how to bite, you manipulated Di Shitian to his core, and even made the entire Nine Heavens Demon Court a pawn in your scheme. You not only deceived the common people, you even deceived that foolish tiger who was willing to risk his life for you!"

Tianpeng straightened his upper body and forcefully pulled Su Chang'an's wrist in front of him.

"Do you find it amusing that you hide in this shell, watching us struggle like fools in the trap you've set?"

Su Chang'an staggered from the force of the pull, his knees slamming heavily against the roots of the peach tree.

The phantom shell emitted another cracking sound that sent chills down your spine.

The cards have been completely revealed.

Su Chang'an looked at Tianpeng's face, which was twisted with anger, and stopped all attempts to conceal the fluctuations in his soul.

She no longer concealed that faint aura of the celestial fox, nor did she pretend to be a calm and unmoving bubble.

She lowered her eyes to look at her wrist, which was being gripped so tightly it felt like it was about to break, then raised her head to look directly into Tianpeng's eyes.

"Yes."

Su Chang'an's voice was very soft. This illusory shell couldn't make a loud sound, but there was no panic or fear in her words.

"I am Su Chang'an. I orchestrated that deal, and I set up the scheme."

"Bai Yin is a sword I nurtured, and the Demon Court is a pawn on my chessboard. What, Marshal Tianpeng, are you only realizing this now and feeling wronged?"

Su Chang'an's face was filled with undisguised mockery. Although she was kneeling on the ground and at a complete disadvantage, the arrogance that emanated from her bones completely overwhelmed the pressure of the Great Saint Realm.

She stared into Tianpeng's bloodshot eyes, speaking each word without mercy.

"What right do you have to yell at me like that?"

"You think I'm cruel, that I manipulate people's hearts?"

Su Chang'an let out a cold laugh.

"I traded the life of one of my avatars for Bai Yin's life, for the opportunity for him to break free from his cocoon and transform. I gave him a path that would allow him to stand up on his own and no longer be trampled on like a rag."

Su Chang'an leaned forward slightly, his gaze fixed intently on Tianpeng.

"And what about you?"

"You've been clinging to the old dreams of a dead man, weeping for over a thousand years beneath the withered tree in that dilapidated Moon Palace. You keep saying you can't forget the person by the Milky Way back then, but you can't even bear to think about how she died!"

"You possess the cultivation of a peak Great Saint, yet you couldn't even protect the one you love. You could only watch helplessly as she jumped, then act like a coward, numbing yourself with alcohol and finding solace in sending a few pieces of osmanthus cake to a substitute who looks like her."

Su Chang'an's words drifted in the wind, yet each sentence pierced through Tianpeng's soul with deadly precision.

"What right does a piece of trash who can't even protect his own people have to judge my life-or-death strategy?"

"shut up!"

A roar that sounded inhuman erupted from Tianpeng's throat.

These two words completely ignited the powder keg.

Su Chang'an's words unmistakably struck the deepest and most rotten part of Tianpeng's heart, a forbidden zone she had never dared to touch in thousands of years.

The overwhelming pressure from the peak of the Great Saint Realm completely spiraled out of control in that instant. Without forming hand seals or gathering power, the outburst of emotion triggered a cataclysmic surge of spiritual energy.

Centered on Tianpeng, a visible gray wave of air rippled outwards.

The ancient peach trees within a ten-zhang radius, with trunks so thick that it would take two people to encircle them, were snapped in half the moment they came into contact with this shockwave, not even having time to make a crisp snapping sound.

The peach petals fluttering in the air and the thick layer of fallen leaves on the ground were instantly crushed into dust that was indistinguishable to the naked eye under the terrifying pressure, forming a pink tornado in mid-air with the violent airflow.

A layer of soil was scraped away from the ground, revealing the dark brown rocks underneath.

Su Chang'an was the first to be affected.

She was too close to Tianpeng, and the shockwave hit her with enough force to crush a person. She didn't vomit blood because she didn't even have any blood left.

The translucent illusory shell formed from obsession began to crumble on a large scale the moment it came into contact with the oppressive force.

The part below the knees turned into countless tiny specks of light in the violent airflow and completely dissipated into the air. Without the support of his legs, Su Chang'an's upper body fell helplessly downwards, but Tianpeng held his wrist tightly and suspended him in mid-air.

Next comes the torso.

Starting from the chest area, dense spiderweb-like cracks rapidly spread outwards, and wherever the cracks passed, the structure of the phantom shell began to peel off piece by piece.

The excruciating pain of her soul being torn apart overwhelmed Su Chang'an's consciousness; she could feel her soul rapidly dissipating.

My vision began to blur, and the sound of the storm gradually faded away.

This is an absolute dead end; one's soul will be scattered in the next instant.

Tianpeng stared intently at Su Chang'an, who was suspended in mid-air and about to completely dissipate.

If she exerted just a little more force, if she maintained her oppressive aura for just one more second, this woman who dared to offend her would be wiped out of this world forever.

Just as the crack on Su Chang'an's chest spread to his neck, and his face was about to shatter.

Tianpeng's gaze stopped.

She looked at the face so close to hers. The expression on that face showed neither fear nor pleading, only a chilling composure in the face of death, and an indelible stubbornness and arrogance deep in the eyes.

That expression was all too familiar.

A scene flashed through Tianpeng's mind: the cold Guanghan Palace, the ruins covered with red silk, and a withered laurel tree.

The figure in white looked at her with the same expression, then resolutely turned around and walked down the road with no return.

"Don't go."

Tianpeng's lips trembled slightly, and a very low, weak murmur escaped his throat.

The rage in her eyes vanished in an instant, replaced by endless panic and grief. The hand that was gripping Su Chang'an's wrist lost all its strength.

Spread your five fingers apart.

Without the pull of force, Su Chang'an's mangled half-body fell straight toward the ground.

Tianpeng's eyes widened.

She didn't catch it; just as Su Chang'an's body was about to hit the ground, Tianpeng's right hand quickly flipped over.

He slammed his palm heavily into the center of the densest cracks on Su Chang'an's chest.

This is not an attack.

As the palm struck, an immense and suffocating power of the Taiyin Star surged wildly into Su Chang'an's riddled illusory shell.

That was the primordial power that Tianpeng had cultivated for thousands of years, its icy aura carrying a powerful vitality.

The power of the stars surged and crashed within the phantom shell, forcefully stabilizing the structures that were on the verge of collapse. The spiderweb-like cracks that had spread throughout the body began to heal under the powerful force of this energy.

The starlight, radiating a silvery-blue glow, flowed through the cracks, making Su Chang'an's translucent body appear clear and crystalline.

The intense pain finally began to subside.

Su Chang'an used the immense power of the stars to forcibly stabilize her soul. She gasped for breath, and although her body did not need to breathe, this action helped her regain control of her body.

The dissipated legs were reshaped by the power of the stars and reformed, and the feeling of being grounded returned to the depths of consciousness.

Su Chang'an did not hesitate for a moment.

The moment her body regained its mobility, she pushed off the ground with both feet and retreated rapidly.

She retreated more than ten feet in one breath until her back hit a broken peach tree stump before she stopped.

Su Chang'an gasped for breath, her chest heaving violently. She raised her hand to look at the terrifying, deep purple bruise around her wrist, then turned her gaze forward.

Tianpeng slumped down amidst the peach blossom powder scattered on the ground.

The oppressive aura of the Great Saint Realm had completely subsided, and the surrounding air had returned to calm.

Tianpeng hung her head, her hands resting limply on her knees, her long gray hair completely obscuring her face, making it impossible to see her expression.

But Su Chang'an could see that Tianpeng's shoulders were trembling slightly. The trembling was completely different from when he was pretending to be drunk in the pile of petals. It was an uncontrollable tremor that came from the depths of his soul.

Su Chang'an pressed herself against the tree stump, looking at Tianpeng who had fallen to the ground. She remained silent and made no further provocative moves.

Her recent brush with death made her realize just how dangerous and fragile this woman at the peak of the Great Saint Realm truly was.

Only the rustling of wind through broken branches and remnants remained in the peach grove.