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

The nights in the Nine Heavens Demon Court are always very deep.

There are no stars here, only a solitary moon that hangs in the center year-round, its pale light shining on the dilapidated palace tiles, giving off a chilling aura.

Rolling up the curtain, carrying two black pottery jars, stepped onto the steps paved with broken jade and walked up step by step.

His footsteps were heavy, each step echoing with a dull thud.

He stopped in front of the palace called "Tianhe Mansion" and pushed open the door, which was already peeling.

"Squeak—"

The sound of the door hinges turning was particularly jarring at night.

The courtyard was empty, except for a dead old locust tree and a moss-covered pond.

A person was sitting by the pool.

The man was wearing a loose-fitting blue Taoist robe with the collar open, revealing a large expanse of snow-white skin. He was holding a jade cup in his hand and staring blankly at the moon reflected in the pond.

It's a woman.

Although she was always called Marshal Tianpeng, and although she commanded 80,000 celestial demon naval troops, she was indeed a woman.

Rolling up the curtain, he walked over and slammed the jar in his hand onto the stone table.

"drink."

There is only one word.

Tianpeng didn't turn around, but simply handed the jade cup in his hand behind him.

He rolled up the curtain, broke the mud seal, and filled the jade cup with one hand while holding the jar.

The wine was viscous and had an amber sheen. The aroma of the wine was mostly dispersed by the cold wind in the courtyard as soon as it wafted out.

Tianpeng withdrew his hand, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one gulp.

"What kind of wine?" she asked.

"A dilemma." Rolling Curtain sat down on the stone bench opposite, opened a jar himself, tilted his head back, and took a big gulp. "It's difficult to move forward, and difficult to retreat. The name of this wine is fitting."

Tianpeng smiled.

She turned around, and her face didn't show much drunkenness, only her eyes were frighteningly bright.

"A good name."

She reached out and grabbed the jar in front of the curtain, and without even using a cup, she drank straight from the jar's opening.

The wine dripped down her chin, wetting the front of her dress.

"happy."

Tianpeng slammed the half-empty jar heavily onto the stone table.

"Roller, do you still remember what the water from the Milky Way tastes like?"

The rolled-up curtain remained silent.

He looked down at the wine jar in his hand, his fingers tracing the rough clay.

"I forgot."

"I've almost forgotten too." Tianpeng lay on the stone table, dipping his finger in the spilled wine and drawing circles on it. "We were so powerful back then. You rolled up the curtain for the Demon Emperor, and I led those monkey brats to bathe in the Milky Way. Back then, the water in the Milky Way was sweet, and the horses were alive."

"And now?"

Tianpeng pointed to the pale moon in the sky.

"The water dried up, the horses died, and we, the group of people, all became demons."

The roller blind did not respond.

He just drank in silence.

Some things don't need to be said; saying them would just be pretentious.

Tianpeng suddenly stood up.

She staggered to the edge of the pool and looked down at the water.

The pond was still, reflecting the moon in the sky, which looked as round as a flawless jade plate.

"moon."

Tianpeng muttered something.

She suddenly reached out and grabbed at the moon's reflection in the water.

"Thump!"

Without any warning, she jumped straight into the pool.

Water splashed everywhere, and the icy pool water instantly soaked her Taoist robe, which clung tightly to her body, outlining her breathtaking curves.

Rolling up the curtain sat by the stone table, not moving an inch.

He knew this crazy woman's drinking habits; she liked to go crazy when she drank too much.

after awhile.

With a "whoosh".

Tianpeng emerged from the water.

She was soaking wet, her hair plastered to her face, but she was clutching a tree branch tightly in her hand.

That was a section of osmanthus branch.

It also has a few pale yellow flowers on it, emitting a faint fragrance.

There's only a dead old locust tree in this yard, so where did the osmanthus flowers come from?

Rolling up the curtain, he looked at the broken branch and tightened his grip on the wine jar.

Tianpeng climbed ashore, and without using his demonic power to dry his clothes, he walked back, still dripping wet, and stuck the osmanthus branch into the empty wine jar.

She stared at the few small flowers, her eyes somewhat unfocused.

"I got it." She chuckled foolishly.

Rolling Curtain sighed.

Why are you doing this to yourself?

He pointed to the branch, "This thing isn't from the mortal realm, nor does it belong to the Demon Court. You just...wandered into the void?"

Tianpeng didn't speak, but just lay on the table, his cheek pressed against the cold wine jar, his eyes fixed on the osmanthus blossom.

"Missing her?" Roller asked.

Tianpeng's eyelashes trembled.

"Who?"

"That one from the Moon Palace." Rolling Curtain finished the last sip of wine. "Back then, you almost overturned the Milky Way for her. Now, thousands of years later, you still can't let go?"

Tianpeng closed his eyes.

"Don't talk nonsense."

"I was drunk."

"This is written in the Heavenly Laws and recorded in the history books."

Rolling Curtain scoffed.

"History books?"

"The history books also say I broke a glass cup. How much was that broken cup worth? Was it worth that old demon emperor throwing me into the Flowing Sand River to suffer the torment of ten thousand swords piercing my heart?"

"Our lives are nothing more than pieces on the chessboard of those big shots. Teasing, breaking, it's all just a pretext."

Rolling Curtain stood up, walked to Tianpeng's side, and patted her on the shoulder.

"Senior sister."

Wake up.

"The Moon Palace is long gone. That person... is long gone too."

Tianpeng's body stiffened for a moment.

She suddenly opened her eyes, a flash of violence in them.

"Shut up."

Rolling Curtain shrugged and said no more.

Just then.

"Click."

A very faint, crisp sound came from Tianpeng's sleeve.

The sound wasn't loud, but in the deathly silent courtyard, it was as clear as thunder.

Tianpeng's expression changed instantly.

The previous intoxication vanished completely in an instant, replaced by a chilling feeling that made one's heart tremble.

She reached into her sleeve and pulled out a black fragment.

Those are the umbrella ribs.

A trace of lingering white flames remained on it, a symbol of destruction that incinerated everything.

"A sky-shading umbrella..."

Tianpeng stared at the fragment in his hand, his pupils shrinking to the size of pinpoints.

"It's broken?"

The roller blind was also stunned.

The Sky-Shielding Umbrella is an ancient artifact. Although it is not a weapon for offense, it has amazing defensive capabilities and can also conceal the secrets of heaven.

There are many people in this world who can break it, but in the Northern Region today, there are very few who can do so.

"Who did it?" Roller Curtain asked.

"have no idea."

Tianpeng stood up, crushing the fragments in her hand into powder.

"But when I told that kid Di Shitian, I told him not to use it unless absolutely necessary."

"Since it was used, and then it broke."

"That means something big has happened."

Tianpeng did not hesitate at all.

With a stomp of her foot, she transformed into a streak of light, instantly breaking through the Demon Court's restrictions and speeding towards the lower realm.

"I'll go take a look."

The sound still echoed in the courtyard, but the person had disappeared.

Looking out from the rolled-up curtain at the empty courtyard, she glanced at the wine jar with the osmanthus branch stuck in it.

He shook his head, picked up the remaining half-jar of wine, and turned to walk into the darkness.

……

Heavenly Demon Dynasty.

Deep within the palace, in the sleeping quarters.

The atmosphere here is so oppressive it's suffocating.

Emperor Shitian sat beside the dragon bed, his dragon robe tattered and his hair disheveled, showing no trace of the majesty of a demon emperor.

But he doesn't care.

His eyes were fixed on the woman lying on the couch.

Su Xiaojiu.

She is still unconscious.

Her stunningly beautiful face was completely devoid of color, and her breathing was so faint it was almost imperceptible.

But the oppressive aura emanating from the depths of his bloodline made the air in the entire bedchamber thick and sticky.

"Senior Sister!"

A sharp shout came from outside the hall.

Immediately afterwards, a figure in cyan smashed through the door and rushed in.

The sky falls to the ground.

She glanced at the disheveled Di Shitian, her brows furrowing into a deep frown.

"What happened?"

"How did the umbrella break?"

"Who hurt you like this?"

He asked three questions in a row, speaking very quickly.

Indra stood up, his face filled with an almost manic excitement.

"Senior sister, forget about the umbrella."

He grabbed Tianpeng's wrist with astonishing strength.

"Look."

"Look!"

Di Shitian pointed at Su Xiaojiu on the dragon bed, his voice trembling.

"I found it."

"Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox".

"Alive."

Tianpeng was stunned for a moment.

She looked in the direction Indra was pointing.

The moment his gaze fell on Su Xiaojiu's face.

boom!

It was as if a thunderbolt had exploded in Tianpeng's mind.

She froze on the spot, her breath stopped, and her usually nonchalant eyes were now wide open.

This face...

so similar.

Although their temperaments are different, and their cultivation levels are worlds apart.

But the eyebrows, the contours, even the position of the beauty mark at the corner of the eye, were exactly the same as the figure deep in my memory.

Thousands of years of time seem to flow backward at this moment.

Beside the Milky Way, under the osmanthus tree.

The woman, dressed in white, holding a jade rabbit, with an ethereal and otherworldly air, turned around and gave her a faint smile.

"Tianpeng".

The sound seemed to transcend time and space, exploding in my ears.

Tianpeng's body began to tremble.

Uncontrollable trembling.

She walked step by step to the dragon bed, reached out her hand, wanting to touch that face, but stopped in mid-air.

dare not.

It must be a dream.

I'm afraid it will break if I touch it.

"Senior sister?"

Emperor Shitian noticed Tianpeng's unusual behavior and called out in confusion.

"This is the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox. Her primordial fire is extremely powerful; it even burned through the Heavenly Umbrella."

"If we can get her heart's blood, Master can be saved!"

Tianpeng ignored Indra.

She just stared intently at Su Xiaojiu.

A long time passed.

She slowly withdrew her hand, turned her head, and looked at Di Shitian.

That look in his eyes was strange.

Complex, shocking, and with a hint of inexplicable fear.

"Where did you find her?" Tianpeng asked.

His voice was terribly hoarse.

"Yunmengze," Di Shitian replied, "is the cave dwelling of Bai Yin."

"Bai Yin..."

Tianpeng kept repeating this name.

She suddenly remembered the feeling she had for the woman in white at the Drunken Flower Pavilion.

At that time, she only felt that it was somewhat familiar, but because the other party used an illusion, she was unable to see their true face.

It was her.

It was her.

"Senior Sister, what's wrong?" Di Shitian asked anxiously. "Is there a problem?"

Tianpeng took a deep breath.

She turned around and looked out the window at the waning moon that was about to set.

"This is a big problem."

"Indra, this time..."

"They may have gotten themselves into serious trouble."

It's not just because of Bai Yin.

It's also because of this face.

The cause and effect behind this face is a hundred times more terrifying than the identity of the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox.

That was the biggest secret of the entire ancient Heavenly Court.

Tianpeng turned around and looked at the unconscious Su Xiaojiu.

Her eyes changed.

It's no longer about looking at prey, nor is it about looking at a life-saving medicine.

Instead, I was looking at... an old friend.