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

A crimson fire lotus hovered three inches above Su Chang'an's fingertips. Its petals were composed entirely of pure destructive energy, their edges spitting out blazing flames. The millennia-old ice on the ice cave floor, scorched by this heat, instantly melted, turning into rising white mist. However, before the moisture could dissipate, it was instantly evaporated by the fire lotus's rolling heat.

Su Chang'an pushed forward with one arm, her entire body tense. She stared intently at the woman in the dark red robe in front of her, her eyes filled with vigilance.

The other party's words, "You've finally arrived," carried the weariness of years. But this couldn't suppress Su Chang'an's killing intent. Back in the Central Continent, when Chen Xuan entered the Great Emperor's Palace for trials, Su Chang'an had encountered the aura of this remnant soul within it, and at that time, she sensed something strange. Now that the real person had appeared, she had no reason to hold back.

"Stop playing tricks here." Su Chang'an's voice was cold and sharp, echoing through the empty ice cave. "You hid in the shadows at the trial grounds of the Supreme Forgetfulness Sect. Now you've led me into this Bone Secret Realm. Just who are you?"

As soon as she finished speaking, the fiery lotus at her fingertips suddenly surged, its dark red light illuminating her aloof face in perfect detail. Destructive waves emanated from the heart of the fire, crushing the surrounding void and emitting faint crackling sounds.

Ten feet away, Chunxian stood silently. She ignored the fiery lotus that seemed poised to fall at any moment, her gaze fixed on the ancient bronze lamp she held in her right hand. The lamp was covered in mottled green rust, devoid of any intricate patterns. The lamp had no wick, only a fist-sized, eerie blue foxfire flickering quietly. The foxfire emanated a chilling coldness, freezing the ground around her into a thick layer of white frost.

Chunxian raised her left hand, the wide, dark red sleeve of her robe sliding down her fair wrist to reveal a patch of bloodless, pale skin. She shielded the lamp with her hand, lowered her head slightly, and brought her lips close to that pale blue hue. She exhaled a very light breath.

The ghostly blue foxfire flickered violently twice, then quickly dimmed and went completely extinguished. The ancient bronze lamp, having lost its light source, became nothing more than a lifeless, inanimate object. The instant the foxfire died down, the pervasive, oppressive feeling within the ice cave receded like a tide. The stagnant air began to circulate again, and Su Chang'an felt the shackles weighing on his soul dissipate.

Chunxian tucked the ancient lamp into her sleeve, her hands hanging naturally at her sides. She didn't conceal any spiritual power, nor did she adopt a defensive posture; she completely abandoned any hostility, offering her neck for execution.

As the oppressive atmosphere dissipated, Su Chang'an narrowed his eyes, his gaze sweeping over Chunxian's face inch by inch. This face bore a striking resemblance to her own, seven-tenths identical. The shape of her brow bone, the curve of her nose, were as if they had been carved from the same mold. Only at the corner of her eye was a crimson demonic mark. The mark snaked down to her cheekbone, adding a touch of eeriness and vicissitude to her otherwise cool and aloof expression.

Su Chang'an stirred her divine sense slightly, probing the other party's aura. The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox bloodline was pure and domineering, allowing no impurities whatsoever. Yet, within Chun Xian's body, she detected something unusual. While Chun Xian's aura exuded an ancient and profound sense of vicissitude, the depths of her bloodline were like mud and sand, mixed with many indescribable impurities. This kind of turbid energy was definitely not the work of a true Celestial Fox.

Su Chang'an slightly closed his fingers, stopping the raging fire lotus at his fingertips, but not extinguishing it. "Wearing a skin that is strikingly similar to mine, deliberately imitating the mannerisms of the Celestial Fox." Su Chang'an looked directly into Chun Xian's eyes, his tone firm, "But your bloodline is mixed and indiscriminate; you are not a pure-blooded Celestial Fox at all."

Upon hearing this, Chunxian's expression remained calm and composed. She ignored him, not glancing at Su Chang'an again, and instead turned around, looking up at the dome of the sky.

There hung upside down a colossal skeleton statue of a nine-tailed celestial fox. The stark white bones obscured most of the dome, and every inch of the skeleton was inscribed with intricate demonic script, exuding a terrifying and awe-inspiring power that had suppressed countless ages.

Chunxian stood in the shadow of the statue, her form as small as a mustard seed. She tilted her head back, her gaze tracing the pale skeleton inch by inch. Her eyes gradually reddened, and the demonic lines at the corners of her eyes gleamed with an eerie light. In her eyes, Su Chang'an saw the fanaticism of a believer gazing upon a god. Yet, deep within that fanaticism lay an unyielding sorrow and desolation.

Chunxian maintained her upward gaze and slowly began to speak. "Three thousand years ago, in this bitterly cold northern land, there was only endless snow and deathly silence." Her voice was hoarse and dry, like the friction of withered wood. "At that time, a nine-tailed demon of extraordinary talent set foot here."

After a brief pause, Chunxian seemed to be calming her mind. "Beside the great demon, there was a human youth. The youth was timid by nature and of mediocre talent, making it extremely difficult for him to make any progress on the path of cultivation. To protect him and pave the way for his future, the great demon left behind a lineage in this far northern snowfield." Chunxian's voice echoed softly in the empty ice cave. "That lineage is the Supreme Forgetfulness Sect of later generations."

Upon hearing this, Su Chang'an's face remained ashen, but a storm raged within her heart. This ancient tale, dating back a thousand years, was exactly the same as what she had experienced in the ancestral home of the Chen family in Zhongzhou. Back then, in that deep abyss, she had glimpsed remnants of time from three thousand years ago through the resonance of spiritual veins.

That timid youth was none other than Li Changgeng, who would later become a Quasi-Emperor and take charge of the Supreme Forgetfulness Sect. And that extraordinary nine-tailed demon was none other than the Ancient Heavenly Fox, whose heart and bones were pierced by three hundred and seventy-two Heavenly Dao chains, trapped at the bottom of the abyss, suffering the agony of life being drained away day and night.

Su Chang'an remained silent, only pressing the fiery lotus at his fingertips down a third. Chunxian's gaze remained fixed on the white bones atop his head, his tone softening, revealing a deep sense of reminiscence.

"At the very beginning of the Supreme Forgetfulness Sect's founding, a blizzard, the worst in a century, descended upon the far north. The world was bitterly cold, and countless low-level demons perished on the icy plains," Chunxian recounted slowly. "That day, a powerful demon was traveling alone on the snowy plains. Amidst the swirling snow, she encountered a pack of starving low-level snow wolves, who were hunting a young fox."

Chunxian closed her eyes and took a deep breath of the chilling air from the ice cave. "That was a young fox with extremely low bloodline. Its fur was tangled, covered in ice shards and black blood. Its hind leg was broken, its internal organs were severely damaged, and it was on the verge of death. Hundreds or even thousands of such lowly creatures die every day on the snowfield; they are not worthy of being trodden by high-ranking demons."

Su Chang stood quietly listening, the cruel scene of that snowstorm flashing through his mind. "But the great demon did not leave." Chunxian opened her eyes, her sorrow deepening. "She stepped forward, spreading her aura and driving away the wolves. Then she bent down and picked up the filthy, barely breathing, scruffy fox from the snowdrift."

Chunxian trembled slightly, seemingly gripped by profound shock. "The great demon forced out a drop of the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox's primordial blood and forcibly transferred it into the young fox's body. With her supreme power, she cleansed the marrow and bones of this inferior being, rekindling its severed life force." Chunxian turned her head to look directly at Su Chang'an. "The fox came back to life, but without a name or surname. The great demon bestowed upon it the name 'Chunxian,' saying that although the harsh winter in the far north is long, as long as Chunxian remains unbroken, its life force will never cease."

Looking at the face that resembled her own, Su Chang'an's many doubts melted away like ice and snow. "And then?" she asked coldly.

Chunxian turned around and looked at the white bones again. "Later, the world was struck by a calamity. The calamities of heaven and earth gathered, and a person with an extremely malevolent destiny was required to bear the calamity. That cowardly boy was the sacrifice ordained by heaven." Chunxian's voice became dry again. "The great demon made a decision. For the sake of all living beings, and to protect that boy, she wielded her sword to sever karma, diverting all the malevolent energy in the sky to herself."

Chunxian walked to the foot of the statue, extended her pale fingertips, and traced the demonic script on the bone from afar. "Before being pierced by the chains of Heaven, the Great Demon returned to the far north. She extracted the consciousness of the young fox and sealed it in this secret realm of white bones. She made it the last foundation of the Supreme Forgetfulness Sect, and also the guardian of this great tomb of white bones. The Great Demon declared that as long as the secret realm exists, the sect will rise again."

After he finished speaking, the ice cave fell silent again. Su Chang'an stared intently at the dark red figure ahead.

The ancient celestial fox beneath the Central Continent, the secrets of the Supreme Forgetfulness Sect, the eerie remnants of souls in the Trial Grounds, and now the tomb keeper before him, with his mixed bloodline and face identical to his own—a thousand threads converged in Su Chang'an's mind, piecing together the final truth. The blood of a great demon had reshaped the young fox's flesh and bones, transforming it into the form of a great demon. Yet, resemblance was merely resemblance; the filth deep within its bones and blood could not be cleansed even after ten thousand years.

Su Chang'an raised her hand, and the dark red fire lotus at her fingertips silently extinguished. She extended her index finger, pointing directly at Chunxian. A chilling question resounded through the Bone Realm: "So, that scrawny fox cub shivering in the snow back then, was you?"