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

The pitch-black sword energy was no longer merely defensive. This killing intent, originating from Chen Xuan, carried the absolute coldness of someone crawling out of a pile of corpses, and an extreme exclusivity that allowed no one to touch it, as it fiercely pushed outwards.

On the surface of that enormous black sword shield, countless fine sword energies spun wildly, forming a terrifying vortex that could annihilate everything.

boom!

A deafening roar exploded in the sky above the far north. The vast, hundred-foot-long sword energy and the dark golden natal demon core were simultaneously repelled by this tyrannical and unreasonable force the moment they came into contact with the black sword shield.

The shockwave from the sword and shield swept outwards, causing the already fragmented space to collapse extensively once more. The violent blast of air ripped away the rubble, and the swirling snow was instantly vaporized.

Gu Xiang was the first to be hit in mid-air. His withered body was thrown backward by the recoil. He retreated hundreds of steps in the air, his blue cloth shoes shattering several cracks in the void before he finally regained his footing.

A sweet taste rose in his throat, and a trickle of blood spilled from the corner of Gu Xiang's mouth, but he paid no attention. His bloodshot eyes were fixed on the black sword and shield below.

Inside his chest, his incredibly sensitive heart was pounding at an extremely rapid pace. Through this heart, Gu Xiang keenly sensed the aura emanating from the sword and shield.

On it, besides the embers of the Phoenix True Fire left by Su Qing, there was also an extremely unfamiliar and violent masculine aura.

This aura was completely undisguised. It was arrogant, it was cold, it was like a mad dog guarding its food, regarding the remnant soul behind the sword and shield as its exclusive property, issuing a deadly warning to any creature that tried to approach.

Gu Xiang's eye twitched violently. His right hand, gripping the brush, tightened, his knuckles turning pale from the excessive force, and the brush handle made a clicking sound as it struggled under the weight.

Some people tried to take advantage of his wife while he was away. Even a broken sword dared to assert its dominance over him.

For a stubborn scholar who had exhausted his life force and traveled thousands of miles just to find his wife, this was tantamount to directly crushing his Achilles' heel.

On the other side, the crimson white tiger in mid-air was also in a bad situation.

With his natal demon core forcibly repelled, Bai Yin was forced to open his blood-red maw and swallow the cracked, dark-gold demon core back into his stomach. The immense backlash surged through his body, causing the massive white tiger to lose its balance and crash heavily onto the ruins, its limbs carving four deep furrows in the ground.

Bai Yin shook his massive head, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. He raised his scarlet tiger eyes, staring at the black sword and shield blocking Su Xiaojiu's path.

He was also enraged by the broken sword.

The exclusivity of that black sword aura stung his sensitive nerves. The little fox he had searched for for three thousand years, the one he was even willing to dig out his demon core and perish together to protect, was now being blocked behind him by a broken sword that appeared out of nowhere.

In Bai Yin's eyes, this sword and shield was the biggest obstacle preventing him from getting close to Xiao Jiu.

A deep, violent roar rumbled from the depths of the white tiger's throat. The white tiger straightened its massive body, its forelimb muscles bulging. Its enormous claws extended, five sharp, celestial-blade-like nails wreathed in crimson, malevolent energy.

He ignored Gu Xiang in mid-air and instead poured all his killing intent into the sword and shield. He intended to use his tiger claws to crush the obstructing black protective shield.

At the very instant Bai Yin made his move, Gu Xiang, who was in mid-air, also moved.

His eyes were icy cold, devoid of any warmth, as he drew a stroke in the air with a brush stained with his heart's blood. This time, it wasn't writing, but pure killing intent.

Dozens of blood-gold chains burst forth, burning with righteous energy, each one a raging dragon with the power to tear everything apart, striking directly at the black sword and shield below.

The two powerful Great Sages, driven to madness, actually developed a shared hostility towards the broken sword at this moment due to extreme jealousy and possessiveness.

They simultaneously reversed their attack. Blood-gold chains and dark red Gengjin tiger claws, one above and one below, slammed into the pitch-black sword and shield.

Faced with two devastating attacks capable of destroying the world, the broken sword hovering in front of Su Chang'an did not flinch in the slightest.

hum.

A mournful and resolute cry erupted from the depths of the sword's bone. It was Chen Xuan's final will.

The black sword and shield surface instantly developed a dense network of cracks, like shattered porcelain. More and more black blood seeped from the white blade, almost completely staining the entire sword black.

It couldn't stop it. But it would rather be shattered to pieces than retreat even a single step.

The murderous intent on the broken sword began to shrink rapidly, and a destructive aura brewed within its blade. It prepared to self-destruct its blade, forcibly creating a spatial storm at the cost of shattering itself, in order to protect the remnant soul behind it.

Beneath the sword and shield, Su Chang'an's almost transparent soul flickered and trembled under the pressure of three terrifying energies.

She looked at the broken sword above her, riddled with cracks and poised to explode at any moment, and then at the two men on either side who had completely gone mad.

In her extreme weakness, an uncontrollable rage surged from the deepest part of her soul.

Are these three lunatics planning to tear her and this whole world apart right in front of her?

Su Chang'an did not hesitate at all. She forcefully bit the tip of her tongue, which was connected to her soul.

The pain of that bite was a million times greater to her soul than to her body. But she used this intense pain to squeeze out the last trace of her Heavenly Fox essence and Phoenix True Fire, which had been hidden deep within her body, without reservation.

The gray-white hem of the skirt, which was already so transparent that it was almost invisible, was stained with an extremely intense crimson in an instant.

She neither dodged nor defended. She straightened her illusory body, raised her head, and faced the sky full of chains and tiger claws, and the sword intent that was about to self-destruct.

"Get back there, all of you!"

The clear, cold voice carried a hint of weakness and hoarseness. Yet, those words carried an absolute will, striking directly into the depths of the soul of every being present.

The moment the words fell, Su Chang'an raised his illusory right hand, aimed it at Gu Xiang in mid-air, and clenched his five fingers tightly.

The Phoenix True Fire, sharing the same origin, sensed the call of its true master.

Within Gu Xiang's body, the Phoenix True Fire that had always supported him in unleashing his righteous energy and allowing him to traverse millions of miles without dying, instantly slipped out of his control at this moment.

The true fire was forcibly stripped away. Gu Xiang's righteous sword energy, which he had gathered and attached to the blood-gold chains, lost its most crucial support.

It's like having your spine snapped.

In mid-air, the menacing blood-gold chains crumbled on the spot less than a foot away from the sword and shield, turning into countless golden specks of light that vanished with the wind.

The excruciating pain from the backlash of the Phoenix True Fire instantly engulfed Gu Xiang's entire body. His meridians throbbed with tearing pain, and his already emaciated body trembled violently.

A sweet taste rose in his throat, and Gu Xiang could no longer suppress his injuries. He spat out a mouthful of blood, staining his tattered blue robe red.

He lost his ability to stay in the air, his body tilted, and he fell directly from mid-air.

boom.

Gu Xiang's knees slammed into the icy snow. He used the calligraphy brush to brace himself and prevent himself from collapsing completely, but large mouthfuls of blood continued to drip from his chin.

At the same moment that Gu Xiang's True Fire was stripped away, a huge dark red phantom rose into the sky behind Su Chang'an's soul.

That was the seventh tail of the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox.

This phantom of a fox tail, carrying the purest and most domineering bloodline suppression of an ancient demon, swept fiercely across the brow of the blood-red white tiger that was pouncing on it with incredible speed.

There was no physical impact sound, only a deep-seated tremor in the blood.

The raging, boiling Geng metal evil energy within Bai Yin's body reacted as if it had encountered a swarm of rats, its natural enemy, the moment it came into contact with the fox-tail phantom.

The originally violent baleful energy instantly became incredibly docile, retreating madly back into the depths of his dantian like a tidal wave.

Without the support of the Geng metal evil energy, the massive blood-red white tiger dharma image could no longer be maintained and was forced to dissipate on the spot.

The crackling sound of bones contracting rang out one after another. The huge white tiger shrank rapidly in mid-air, and in the blink of an eye, it returned to its human form with a full head of white hair and a tall figure.

Powerless, Bai Yin slammed onto the ruins like a heavy rag, creating a deep crater. The surrounding rubble cut countless bloody gashes on his back, but he lay at the bottom of the pit, panting heavily, his crimson eyes filled with bewilderment and awe.

Having dealt with the two men who had gone mad, Su Chang'an turned his head and looked at the broken sword hovering in front of him.

The sword was still trembling violently, and the cracks on its blade were still widening. Although the aura of self-destruction had been forcibly interrupted, the killing intent still lingered on the blade, as if it were ready to fight to the death at any moment.

A hint of helplessness and coldness flashed in Su Chang'an's eyes. She dragged her increasingly unsteady steps forward, taking half a step.

She raised that illusory hand and, without any politeness, slammed it heavily onto the black hilt of the sword.

Snapped.

The crisp sound echoed through the silent ruins.

The originally violent and incomparably fierce black killing intent, which even dared to confront the Great Sage's demon core, froze completely the moment it touched Su Chang'an's palm.

The chilling arrogance emanating from the pile of corpses vanished without a trace. The sword emitted a faint, even slightly aggrieved, groan.

It's like a vicious dog that bites people outside, suddenly being slapped hard by its owner.

The countless black sword shields rapidly contracted, disappearing into the white sword bones in the blink of an eye.

The broken sword had lost all its sharpness, and the cracks on its blade had stopped spreading. It didn't even dare to emit a trace of spiritual energy anymore.

clack.

The broken sword fell straight down from mid-air and landed in the snow at Su Chang'an's feet. It lay there quietly, completely feigning death, no longer daring to move an inch.

The wind and snow howled past once again.

Amidst the ruins, Gu Xiang knelt on one knee coughing up blood, Bai Yin lay at the bottom of the pit panting, and Duan Jian pretended to be dead in the snow.

Only that grayish-white remnant soul stood silently in place. Although her figure was so transparent that it almost blended into the wind and snow, the phantom of her red dress made everyone present afraid to even breathe.