87: From then on, the emperor no longer held morning court.

"Young Master Lin..."

Her breath was fragrant like orchids as she personally poured Lin Chen a cup of mellow, amber-colored wine.

Her already watery peach blossom eyes now seemed as if they could drip water, filled with an ineffable... desire and suggestion.

"Tonight, with such a beautiful evening..."

"Let This servant properly toast you."

"Consider it a celebration of our... 'encounter'."

She slowly brought the jade cup filled with wine to Lin Chen's lips.

Her cool fingertips inadvertently brushed against Lin Chen's mouth.

Her delicate red lips were so close.

Her hazy eyes were full of suggestive meaning.

Every single detail was provoking a man's most primal desires!

She planned to do it tonight!

Using her top-tier 'Charm Arts' which had already reached perfection!

To completely conquer this exquisite Cauldron, who, in her eyes, was 'inexperienced in the ways of the world' and possessed brute strength but was utterly clueless about matters between men and women!

However.

Lin Chen did not immediately drink the wine as she had wished.

He just quietly looked at her.

With a playful, half-smile on his face.

The banquet officially began!

Hidden dangers lurked!

When Su Daji saw that her first move failed.

A flicker of imperceptible surprise flashed in her eyes.

Immediately, she launched her 'PUA' offensive again!

She took back the wine cup and first took a small sip herself.

Her red lips, moistened by the wine, appeared even more delicate and alluring.

She let out a soft sigh.

Her eyes were once again filled with that pitiable 'melancholy'.

"Young Master Lin... are you still worried about those two madwomen from Raging Lion City and Black Python City?"

She began to close the distance between them by focusing on 'common enemies'.

"Alas, it's understandable... they are truly too overbearing and too cruel."

Upon hearing this, Lin Chen also 'appropriately' frowned, a 'worried' expression appearing on his face.

"...Are they really that strong?"

"Strong?"

Su Daji smiled bitterly at his words.

That smile was filled with endless 'fragility' and 'helplessness'.

"...How can a single word 'strong' describe them?"

"They are like two insurmountable mountains pressing down on all 'weak' beings in our Northern Territory..."

She began to belittle herself to highlight the enemy's strength, thereby making Lin Chen feel deeper 'sympathy' and 'protective instincts' for her.

She even subtly moved her soft, warm, delicate body a few inches closer to Lin Chen.

The astonishing elasticity and burning warmth of her fair skin beneath the translucent gauze dress clearly transmitted through the thin fabric.

This suggestive 'body language' was enough to instantly turn any hot-blooded man into a beast!

But Lin Chen decided to play along.

On the surface, he was 'obedient' to Su Daji.

Whatever she said, he believed.

When she approached, he 'stiffened' and dared not move.

He perfectly played the role of a pure 'prey' about to be 'completely captured'!

Finally.

After half an hour of probing, seduction, and groundwork.

Su Daji believed the time was completely ripe!

She thought that the last shred of this man's mental defenses had been completely dismantled by her gentlest means!

She was ready to take the most crucial... 'final step'!

She once again raised the cup of Peach Blossom Wine, into which she had secretly added the 【Nine-Tailed Fox Saliva】, capable of making even a Nascent Soul cultivator completely fall into depravity!

Her watery peach blossom eyes were filled with extreme charm and... greed!

She looked at Lin Chen, her voice so soft and seductive it could drip water!

"Young Master Lin..."

"It's late..."

"Let This servant toast you one last time."

"After you drink this wine..."

"...you will be This servant's."

However!

Just when she thought everything was under control!

Just as she was about to taste the fruits of victory!

Lin Chen suddenly made his move!

He didn't suddenly erupt and attack as Su Daji had imagined!

He didn't even reveal the slightest hint of killing intent!

He just slowly raised his head.

Those eyes, which had previously been full of 'innocence' and 'nervousness', had now returned to a profound calmness like a sea of stars.

Hidden beneath that calmness was an absolute rationality that would make even this millennia-old demoness tremble with fear!

He looked at Su Daji's beautiful face, which had instantly stiffened slightly.

He slowly spoke.

His voice was not loud.

But it carried a complex tone that was even more 'sorrowful'! More 'affectionate'! And filled with 'infinite pity' than all of Su Daji's previous performances!

"...Daji."

It was the first time he had called her name so intimately.

"I know..."

"You live a very tiring life."

This plain sentence!

Was like a divine thunderbolt from the nine heavens!

Striking heavily into Su Daji's heart!

Making her whole body instantly freeze!

And Lin Chen's 'heart-piercing' words continued!

"I know that your so-called 'being oppressed' and 'swallowing your pride' are just lies meticulously fabricated to gain my sympathy."

"I know you've secretly reached a secret agreement with Tuoba Ba, the Raging Lion City Lord. You promised her you would help her stall me, or even control me with 'Charm Arts'. Then you would work together to completely suppress me. And your reward would be this 'invaluable' Cauldron, as you see it."

"I know you've put your Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox clan's most proud innate love poison, 【Nine-Tailed Fox Saliva】, in this cup of wine."

With every sentence he spoke.

Su Daji's face grew paler!

In the end!

When Lin Chen completely exposed all her 'lies' and 'disguises' in public!

Her beautiful face had long lost all color!

Becoming as pale as paper!

Those peach blossom eyes, which had been full of charm and calculation, now only held endless horror, panic, and... disbelief!

She couldn't understand!

Her plan, which she thought was flawless!

Her 'acting skills', which were enough to deceive all men in the world!

Why... why did they seem so vulnerable in front of this man?!

And in Su Daji's instantly frozen, horrified gaze!

Lin Chen made a move that completely shattered her Dao Heart!

He slowly took the deadly 'poisoned wine' from her hand.

Then he looked into her beautiful, fear-filled eyes.

And said softly, in a gentle tone filled with 'infinite affection'! Filled with 'self-sacrifice'! Filled with the radiance of a 'saint'!

"But..."

"...it's alright."

"As long as it keeps you from 'crying sadly' like before."

"As long as it gives you the so-called 'sense of security' you've always dreamed of."

"I, Lin Chen..."

A smile, full of 'indulgence' and 'gentleness', curved at the corner of his mouth.

"—I am willing to drink this cup for you!"

Having said that!

He actually, right in front of Su Daji's already completely petrified face!

Drank the entire cup of 【Nine-Tailed Fox Saliva】, which was enough to make even a Nascent Soul True Monarch completely fall into depravity and become a walking corpse!

"..."

"..."

"..."

He's crazy!

This man is crazy!

This series of actions completely went against common sense!

This completely exceeded her millennia of understanding!

This 'reverse PUA' divine maneuver!

Instantly!

Completely stumped this 'Green Tea Queen' who had played with human hearts for a thousand years!

"Pfft—!"

A mouthful of heart blood suddenly gushed out of her mouth!

Her proud, rock-solid, millennia-old Dao Heart!

At this moment!

Was completely... shattered by Lin Chen's dimension-reducing strike, using 'magic' to defeat 'magic'!

She knelt blankly on the cold jade floor.

Her peach blossom eyes, which had been filled with endless charm and calculation, had now lost all focus, becoming hollow and bewildered.

Her mind was blank.

Only Lin Chen's gentle words, filled with 'infinite affection' and 'self-sacrifice', echoed repeatedly.

"—I am willing to drink this cup for you!"

Why... why is this happening?!

How could such a man exist in this world?!

A man who clearly saw through all her schemes and flaws, yet not only felt no anger or hatred.

But was instead willing to drink that deadly 'poisoned wine' to fulfill her ridiculous 'sense of security'?!

This is illogical!

This does not conform to any of the rules about 'male creatures' she had summarized over a thousand years!

Her 'worldview', which she relied on for survival, was completely overturned at this moment!

She looked at the man who had drunk the 【Nine-Tailed Fox Saliva】 yet was completely unharmed, his expression not changing in the slightest.

She looked at the man who was now looking down at her with a god-like gaze, full of 'pity', 'control', and a hint of faint 'mockery'.

Her collapsing sanity was finally completely replaced by an unprecedented mix of shame, indignation, and madness!

"Ah—!!!!"

She let out a piercing scream that was not human!

"—Demonic art! This must be some demonic art you used!"

"I'm going to kill you! Kill you, you devil who plays with human hearts!!!"

In an instant!

A terrifying pressure, belonging to the Late Nascent Soul Stage, far more terrifying than Tuoba Hongyu's, erupted with a roar!

The entire crystal palace trembled violently under this pressure!

Countless pink 'Illusionary Laws', filled with extreme seductive power, instantly filled the entire space!

Behind Su Daji, a hundred-zhang tall 【Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox】 Dharma Idol, condensed from pure law power, even appeared!

The Dharma Idol was lifelike!

Nine sky-obscuring white fox tails danced wildly in mid-air!

Each dance emitted terrifying illusionary fluctuations capable of instantly making any creature below the Soul Transformation Stage fall into depravity and shatter their Dao Heart!

This was Su Daji's true strength!

A Late Nascent Soul Stage mighty cultivator who had cultivated 'Illusion Arts' and 'Charm Arts' to the 'Law' realm!

"Fall into depravity for me!!!"

Su Daji, disheveled, looked like a madwoman!

She poured all her cultivation and all her law power into this single strike!

She wanted to use her most proud means to completely turn this man, who had shattered her Dao Heart, into a walking corpse that only knew how to obey her commands!

However.

Facing this terrifying illusionary attack that could make even the Northern Territory change color!

Lin Chen's face showed not the slightest change in expression.

He didn't even bother to lift his eyelids.

He just slowly raised his right hand.

Then, facing the boundless pink illusion.

He lightly snapped his fingers.

"Snap."

A soft sound.

Like popping a beautiful soap bubble.

The next second!

That boundless pink illusion!

That awe-inspiring 【Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox】 Dharma Idol, capable of instantly making even a Mid Nascent Soul Stage expert fall into depravity!

Suddenly vanished into thin air, as if it had met its nemesis, like ice and snow!

As if it had never appeared at all!

"What?!"

Su Daji's pupils suddenly contracted into the most dangerous pinpricks!

Her proud Charm Arts and Illusion Arts were, in front of Lin Chen, who had already seen through everything and possessed the 【Moonlight Divine Pupils】 capable of discerning all falsehoods in the world!

Simply like a child's trick!

Vulnerable!

And after Lin Chen broke her divine ability.

He didn't even bother to say another word to her.

He just slowly raised his foot.

Then he took a step.

Buzz—!

His figure instantly vanished from its original spot.

When he reappeared.

He had appeared like a ghost in front of Su Daji, who was already spitting blood from the backlash of her divine ability being broken!

"You..."

Su Daji was about to say something.

But Lin Chen had already stretched out his large hand, like an iron pincer!

Just like when he suppressed the Tuoba mother and daughter before!

Like lifting a small chicken!

He grabbed her slender, pale, swan-like neck, which seemed as if it could break with a single snap!

This peerless demoness who had stirred up trouble in the Northern Territory and played with human hearts for a thousand years!

Was also suppressed completely!

In the simplest, crudest, and most unreasonable way!

"..."

A double crushing of intellect and martial power!

Su Daji was completely despairing!

Her peach blossom eyes, which had been filled with madness and unwillingness, now only held a deathly silence, like ashes.

She knew.

She had lost.

Lost completely.

Lost without even a glimmer of hope for a comeback.

However.

Lin Chen would not kill her immediately after suppressing her.

Nor would he simply take her as a 'Loyal Servant' like Luo Bingli and the others.

For such a 'top player' who toyed with human hearts.

What he wanted was a more thorough conquest and enslavement... from the soul level!

Lin Chen looked at the beautiful 'plaything' in his hand, who had already given up all resistance.

A devilish, chilling arc curved at the corner of his mouth.

He spoke slowly in an unquestionable, commanding tone:

"Su Daji."

"Now I want you to personally plant the most ancient and overbearing..."

"—Heart Demon Blood Pact!"

"What?!"

Upon hearing the words "Heart Demon Blood Pact"!

Su Daji's already dead eyes instantly erupted with an unprecedented fear and resistance!

"No... impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

She shook her head frantically!

Heart Demon Blood Pact!

That was the most malicious and overbearing pact in ancient demonic cultivation!

Once planted!

The pact-maker would become the other party's eternal, inescapable 'heart demon'!

From then on, her life, her cultivation, her dao path, and even her every thought would be firmly controlled by that 'heart demon'!

She would completely become the other party's slave!

An absolute slave, whose thoughts were no longer free!

This was a thousand times more painful to her than killing her!

"You have no choice!"

A cold glint flashed in Lin Chen's eyes!

He directly struck a wisp of his primordial Chaos Soul into Su Daji's glabella!

Then, in a king-like commanding tone, he said coldly:

"—Now! Immediately! At once!"

"Use your own essence blood, with this wisp of my divine soul as the guide!"

"Swear!"

"To serve me, Lin Chen, as your one and eternal... Heart Demon for this life!"

Under the dual pressure of the Chaos Soul Progeny Seal and Lin Chen's unquestionable will.

Su Daji's last shred of resistance was finally completely worn away.

Two lines of blood-tears, filled with humiliation and despair, streamed from her eyes.

Ultimately.

She still laboriously raised her hand, bit her fingertip, and squeezed out a drop of crimson essence blood containing her primordial power.

Then, with a hollow voice like a walking corpse, she slowly made the vicious vow that would completely bury all her pride and freedom.

"...I, Su Daji, hereby swear..."

"...to serve Lin Chen as my one and eternal... Heart Demon for this life..."

Buzz—!!!

The moment her vow fell!

A blood-colored rune, filled with ancient and ominous aura, flashed across her glabella in an instant!

The pact was formed!

...After planting this most overbearing blood pact.

Lin Chen looked at the peerless demoness before him, who had now completely become his 'private property'.

A hint of undisguised desire and... greed flashed in his eyes!

He unceremoniously scooped up her soft, boneless body!

And strode towards the huge soft couch, covered with a thousand-year-old fox fur!

"Now..."

He looked down at the peerless beauty beneath him, who was like the most exquisite work of art, allowing him to pluck her.

A wicked, charming arc curved at the corner of his mouth.

"...it's time to collect my 'spoils of war'."