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

A giant hand covered in dark golden scales clamped down on Su Chang'an's throat, its five thick knuckles contracting inwards, the edges of its nails shimmering with a ghostly blue light. Imperial dragon energy overflowed from the gaps in the scales, transforming into a tangible stream of golden light that completely sealed off the space within a ten-zhang radius.

The airflow completely stopped, and gravity increased exponentially. The shattered peach blossom fragments on the ground clung tightly to the surface of the soil under immense pressure.

The phantom shell that Su Chang'an had just barely solidified with the power of the defective medicine emitted a piercing sound of rotten wood breaking under the crushing force.

Dense cracks appeared on the translucent shell around its neck, and silver-blue star power overflowed outwards along the cracks, only to be forcibly crushed into nothingness by the domineering imperial dragon energy the instant it came into contact with the outside world.

The void rift was forcibly torn open to both sides by a brute force, and the demon emperor Shitian, dressed in a dark gold dragon robe, stepped out from the depths of the rift. The hem of the dragon robe swept across the distorted edge of space, stirring up circles of black ripples.

He didn't look down at the mess on the ground, nor did he pay attention to the remaining aura of the Taiyin Star around him. His gaze was fixed on Su Chang'an's face, and the underlying color of his eyes was cold and devoid of any human life.

Di Shitian looked down at the struggling prey in his hands. His emperor-level gaze pierced through the translucent skin, revealing the body's internal structure forcibly pieced together by obsession and medicinal power.

The sound of Indra's words struck the air, causing a violent shockwave of spiritual energy: "A lingering, empty shell of obsession."

He slightly twisted his wrist, lifting Su Chang'an's body even higher.

He tightened his grip on Su Chang'an's throat, and the Imperial Dragon Qi pierced into the Illusionary Shell through his fingertips, forcibly pushing back the Star Power that was repairing the cracks and reaching its core. Su Chang'an's chin was forcibly lifted and he was forced to look directly into those murderous eyes. The neck structure of the Illusionary Shell deformed under the continuous pressure, and the sound of cracking became more and more frequent.

When Di Shitian pronounced the name, it carried the arrogance of a superior looking down on an ant: "Su Xiaojiu, or rather, Su Chang'an."

He looked at his prey and continued, "Back then, at the altar on the back mountain of the Moon Palace, the scene of sacrificing oneself for righteousness that you performed was indeed wonderful."

"You used the blood of one of your avatars to exchange for the tiger's life, to save your master's life, and in the process, you also deceived the entire Nine Heavens Demon Court."

Di Shitian increased the pressure of his fingers, and the cracks on the neck of the phantom shell began to spread towards its chest. The red robe, which was formed from obsession, also began to show signs of becoming ethereal.

"You manipulated the Demon Ancestor Taiwei at will, treated the Demon Court as a chessboard for your scheme, and all of us as puppets in your script."

His gaze hardened as he demanded, "What was your purpose in orchestrating such a grand scheme?"

"How much of your true self is hidden inside this empty shell?"

Su Chang'an was pinched so hard that her feet were dangling in the air. The pain of her soul being forcibly squeezed and torn was transmitted to the depths of her consciousness. She did not try to pry open the hand covered with scales, nor did she make any futile struggles. She only lowered her eyes and glanced at the dark golden scales on the back of Di Shitian's hand, watching the imperial dragon energy flow on the surface of the scales.

She raised her eyelids to meet that gaze, and tugged at the corners of her mouth to reveal an extremely mocking smile.

"Purpose?"

Su Chang'an's voice was hoarse and broken because his throat was blocked, but his words were crystal clear and every syllable revealed undisguised contempt.

"Indra, you've sat on this throne of the Demon Emperor for so many years, is your brain filled with nothing but garbage?"

Di Shitian's eyes darkened instantly, and the force in his hand increased. Su Chang'an's illusion shell emitted a dangerous cracking sound, but she did not stop talking.

"You keep saying that I'm manipulating the Demon Ancestor Taiwei."

Su Chang'an stared directly at the high and mighty Demon Emperor before him, "Do you really think your so-called master is some kind of noble and selfless saint?"

"You believe that he exhausted his lifespan for the sake of the demon race's fortune, so you risked your life to find the heart's blood of the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox to extend his life."

"You worship him like a god, willingly becoming his most obedient knife, striking wherever he points."

As Su Chang'an watched the storm gradually gathering in Di Shitian's eyes, the smile on his lips widened, revealing his inherent arrogance and sharp tongue.

"But you can't even see the truth."

She forced out the words, "Taiwei has been using you from beginning to end."

"What he wants is not the fortune of the demon race, he just wants to survive."

"He treats you, Tianpeng Rolling Curtain, and even the entire Demon Court as nourishment to prolong his life."

"You think you're saving the demon race, but you're nothing more than a pathetic worm being used as a pawn by your own master and still gloating here."

These words struck at the most sensitive spot in Di Shitian's heart, and Su Chang'an used the most vicious words to tear down and trample his respect and faith in Taiwei.

"Shut up!"

Indra let out a low growl through his teeth.

At this moment, the killing intent completely overwhelmed reason. The imperial dragon aura surged wildly, shaking countless black cracks in the space behind Su Chang'an. Di Shitian's face twisted for a moment, a furious expression born from the questioning of his faith.

He stopped wasting words. Since he couldn't get any results, he crushed the empty shell and used the most cruel soul-searching method to extract her core memories, squeezing out the secrets hidden behind her little by little. The dark golden scales of the giant hand began to exert force, and terrifying crushing pressure surged from all directions toward Su Chang'an's throat, preparing to completely destroy this weak illusion of obsession.

Su Chang'an sensed the killing intent but did not flinch. At the same time that Di Shitian exerted his power, she took the initiative to sever her control over the illusionary shell. The remaining star power in her body and the violent medicinal power of the Nine Revolutions Rejuvenation Liquid that she had just drunk were forcibly kneaded into a ball under her guidance.

This was a combination of two extremely repulsive energies. Su Chang'an compressed her soul to the extreme, preparing to ignite this illusory shell regardless of the consequences. She knew that she had no hope of escaping, but she would never let Di Shitian get anything he wanted. Even if she ended up being destroyed, she would never leave a single memory for this self-righteous demon emperor.

The two forces were violently clashing inside the illusionary shell, and the destructive aura was already seeping out of the body surface, causing Su Chang'an's body surface to light up with a dazzling white light.

In the depths of the Peach Blossom Wasteland, in the ruins of the peach grove that had been leveled by the oppressive power of the Heavenly Canopy, a gray Taiyin storm suddenly arose. The storm formed extremely quickly and without any accumulation phase, directly tearing apart the air along its path and stirring up clouds of dust and tree debris.

A massive, nine-toothed rake phantom ripped through the storm's center, its entire body a cold, hard gray-white. The tips of its teeth were imbued with the furious rage of a peak Great Sage, dragging a long spatial rift as it hurtled toward Emperor Shitian with overwhelming force.

The phantom of the nine-toothed rake slammed solidly and violently into the wrist of Di Shitian, who was gripping Su Chang'an's throat. The ear-piercing sound of metal shattering echoed all around. More than a dozen dark golden scales on Di Shitian's wrist were smashed to pieces, and golden blood splattered onto the ground. The furious strike from the peak of the Great Saint Realm, carrying unparalleled pressure, directly interrupted the output of the Imperial Dragon Qi, causing the giant hand to deflect three inches.

The pain in Di Shitian's wrist caused his fingers to instinctively loosen for a moment, causing a brief pause in the imperial dragon energy's blockade of the surrounding space.

Tianpeng did not appear. The gray Taiyin storm did not dissipate after hitting Di Shitian. Instead, it directly burrowed into the ground and forcibly activated the death vein formation three thousand feet below the Peach Death Land.

The power of the formation burst forth from the ground, transforming into an invisible giant hand that grabbed the natural barrier in front of Su Chang'an. The barrier was violently pulled to one side, causing the spatial passage to be forcibly distorted. The gap, which could only accommodate one person to pass through sideways, was enlarged several times over, revealing the dark spatial turbulence inside.

The power of the formation reversed in mid-air, transforming into an incomparably powerful force that slammed into Su Chang'an's back. This force was brutal and violent, perfectly befitting the demeanor of the woman sitting under the peach tree stump, spouting cold and sarcastic remarks.

Su Chang'an was preparing to self-destruct a moment ago, but the next moment she was thrown forward by the force of the impact. She lost her balance and crashed into the twisted and widened crack in the boundary membrane. The suction force inside the spatial passage instantly wrapped around her body and pulled her outward.

Di Shitian steadied his wrist and watched as Su Chang'an fell into the spatial passage. He recognized the source of that power and understood who was secretly causing trouble. His face twisted completely in anger.

"Tianpeng! How dare you betray your clan!"

Emperor Shitian let out a furious roar that shook the heavens with an extremely low throat. He then struck out with his palm, and the imperial dragon energy condensed into a huge dragon emperor seal in his palm.

The golden mark, imbued with world-destroying power, crashed towards the not-yet-fully-closed rift in the boundary membrane. Wherever the mark passed, space collapsed, forming a black vacuum zone.

Just before the Dragon Emperor Seal arrived, the crack in the boundary membrane was frantically pulled and closed by the power of the Death Vein Array. The Dragon Emperor Seal slammed heavily onto the closed spatial node, causing a violent explosion at the edge of the entire Peach Death Zone. Dark red soil within a ten-mile radius was blown into the air, forming a huge mushroom cloud. The violent airflow spread in all directions, uprooting all the remaining peach tree roots.

After the aftershocks of the explosion dissipated, only a huge crater remained. The spatial passage had been completely severed, and the boundary membrane leading to the outside world, along with the internal coordinates, had been wiped clean by Tianpeng's intervention. Su Chang'an's aura had completely disappeared from this world.

Di Shitian stood at the edge of the giant pit, letting his dark gold dragon robe flutter in the gale. He looked at the empty void, and golden blood was still dripping from the broken scales on his wrist.

Ignoring the wound on his hand, he slowly turned around, his gaze piercing through the swirling dust and landing directly in the deepest part of the dead peach pit.

The gray, yin storm there had subsided and there was no response to his rage; the entire dead land was utterly silent, save for the howling of the wind sweeping across the land.