The formation light slowly dimmed.
Su Yan knelt at the center, bound by layers of spiritual chains.
Her black robes were torn slightly, but her eyes still burned with hatred.
Li Feng stepped forward.
"Su Yan… you didn't expect to be caught so easily, did you?"
She laughed bitterly.
"Li Feng… you think this ends here? I will not let you go so easily."
Li Feng's expression remained calm.
"You're not in a position to threaten anyone."
Mo Zhu lifted his hand slightly, and the suppressing array tightened around her.
"You have nowhere left to run."
Su Yan glared at him.
"I don't need to run."
Xu Tianming and Mo Yanluo secured the remaining attackers, dragging them forward one by one.
Within minutes, all of them were restrained.
"Take them back," Li Feng ordered.
Interrogation Chamber – Demon Palace
The underground chamber was cold.
Torches flickered along the stone walls.
Su Yan was forced to kneel in the center, bound by a Saint-grade suppression artifact.
The captured maid was thrown beside her, trembling uncontrollably.
Li Feng stood before them.
"Let's not waste time."
He looked down at Su Yan.
"Who is behind you?"
Silence.
Mo Zhu's voice was calm but sharp.
"You cannot break our formation. You cannot escape this palace. Speak."
Su Yan smiled faintly.
"You think you've won."
Li Feng crouched down in front of her.
"I don't need your pride. I need a name."
Her eyes flickered.
"You already know she exists."
The hall grew silent.
"She?" Xu Tianming repeated.
Mo Zhu's gaze sharpened.
"There is someone above you."
Su Yan laughed softly.
"You think I regained my mind on my own?"
Li Feng's eyes turned cold.
"My mind lock was Saint-tier. Breaking it requires someone beyond that."
"Yes," Su Yan whispered. "Someone far beyond."
The maid suddenly broke down.
"I—I'll speak! Please don't kill me!"
Su Yan turned sharply toward her.
"Silence!"
Li Feng's voice cut through the air.
"Speak."
The maid trembled violently.
"It's… it's the former Demon Empress…"
The room froze.
Xu Tianming's breath caught.
"The former Empress?" Yanluo repeated.
Li Feng stood slowly.
"She was executed centuries ago."
The maid shook her head desperately.
"She survived! Her soul did! She hid in the Abyssal Veil Realm! She's been recovering her power for decades!"
Mo Zhu's expression darkened.
"Impossible…"
Su Yan's lips curved slightly.
"You always underestimate her."
Li Feng stepped forward again.
"Explain everything."
Su Yan's gaze locked onto Mo Zhu.
"She wants her throne back."
Silence.
"She cannot reclaim it by force," Su Yan continued. "Not yet. Her power is incomplete. So she chose a different method."
Mo Zhu's voice lowered dangerously.
"And that is?"
"She needs you."
The torches flickered violently as a surge of dark energy pulsed through the chamber.
Li Feng's eyes narrowed.
"Explain."
Su Yan smiled faintly.
"The Empress's demonic core fractured when she fell. She cannot stabilize it alone."
Her gaze remained fixed on Mo Zhu.
"But you… you are the only one in this era with a pure Sovereign-grade demonic constitution."
Xu Tianming looked stunned.
"She wants to control Father?"
"Yes," Su Yan replied calmly. "Bind him. Merge cores. Restore her authority completely."
Mo Zhu's eyes were unreadable.
"And removing us," Chenxi said quietly, "was part of that plan."
Su Yan nodded.
"You are obstacles. Emotional anchors. Strategic shields."
Li Feng's aura began to rise slowly.
"So she eliminates those around him first."
"Exactly."
The maid sobbed softly.
"She promised protection! She said once the Empress returns, the Demon Realm would be unified again…"
Li Feng cut her off coldly.
"At the cost of enslaving its strongest pillar?"
Su Yan's eyes flickered.
"You don't understand her vision."
"No," Mo Zhu said calmly. "You don't understand mine."
Silence fell again.
Li Feng turned toward Su Yan once more.
"How long has she been manipulating events?"
"Longer than you think," Su Yan answered.
"The Snake Fairy Clan?"
"Yes."
"The mind lock?"
"She shattered it personally."
Xu Tianming clenched his fists.
"Why reveal this now?"
Su Yan's expression shifted slightly.
"Because you cannot reach her."
Mo Zhu's eyes narrowed.
"She exists outside ordinary realms. The Abyssal Veil is not accessible without a royal demonic seal."
Li Feng's voice lowered.
"And you have that seal."
Su Yan smiled faintly.
"I am her chosen vessel."
The tension in the room thickened instantly.
Mo Zhu stepped forward.
"You were never just a pawn."
"No," Su Yan whispered. "I was cultivated for this."
Her lotus mark began to glow faintly beneath her sleeve.
"She will come," Su Yan continued softly. "Whether you are ready or not."
Li Feng's aura surged violently.
"If she wants to come," he said coldly, "let her."
Mo Zhu raised a hand slightly, stopping him.
"We do not act recklessly."
He looked directly at Su Yan.
"You will take us to the Abyssal Veil."
Su Yan laughed.
"You think I have that authority?"
"Then we extract it."
Mo Zhu's voice was calm — terrifyingly calm.
The maid began crying louder.
"I told you everything! Please—"
Li Feng turned to the guards.
"Separate them."
The guards dragged the maid away.
Su Yan remained kneeling.
She looked at Li Feng.
"You destroyed my world once."
Li Feng met her gaze evenly.
"You chose that path."
She smiled faintly.
"No… you forced it."
Mo Zhu spoke again.
"Enough."
The suppressing chains tightened.
Su Yan winced for the first time.
"You are no longer in control," Mo Zhu said quietly. "Your Empress miscalculated."
Su Yan looked up at him slowly.
"She never miscalculates."
At that exact moment—
A faint tremor shook the underground chamber.
Everyone froze.
The torches flickered violently.
A distant surge of ancient demonic aura pressed against the palace barrier.
Mo Zhu's expression darkened.
"…She felt it."
Li Feng's eyes sharpened.
"She knows Su Yan is captured."
Another tremor followed.
Stronger.
Chenxi swallowed.
"She's coming, isn't she?"
Mo Zhu closed his eyes briefly.
"No."
He opened them again.
"She is testing us."
Li Feng turned toward the exit.
"Then let her test."
Behind them—
Su Yan lowered her head.
And smiled.
Above the Demon Palace—
Dark clouds began to gather.
Far beyond mortal sight—
A pair of ancient eyes opened within a sea of abyssal mist.
"So," a feminine voice echoed softly through nothingness.
"You finally noticed me."
The Fallen Empress had awakened.
And the true war had just begun.