The Heavenly Devil Empress examined Daji before shaking her head. "Her soul has been separated from her body, and it shouldn't have disintegrated yet. Otherwise, her body would have decomposed by now. But it's perplexing how her soul is able to survive outside of her body. How did she achieve that?"

The soul and body were complementary entities. A soul was needed to move a body, but could only survive within the protection of a body.

"Heavenly Devil Empress, don't forget our promise!" Pimosh was alarmed by how friendly the two of them were getting. He was worried that she would defect over to Zu An's side.

The Heavenly Devil Empress scoffed, "I don't need you to interfere in my business."

Pimosh was speechless. No wonder they say that Devils are eccentric and unreliable.

"I'm fond of your maid. I'll be taking her." The Heavenly Devil Empress pulled Daji to her side, but moments later, she frowned. "Huh? I'm unable to sever your master-servant ties."

Zu An breathed a sigh of relief. The Keyboard System is surprisingly powerful. I wonder who created it.

"I'm getting more and more interested in you. How did you obtain her?" the Heavenly Devil Empress asked.

Zu An looked at the projection in the sky; the Asuras were screaming in agony. The weaker ones had disintegrated into dust, taken by the formation as tribute. He replied, "Tell me why you're working with Pimosh first. You've seen my maid, so you should understand that our ties go deeper. Why don't you join my side instead?"

The Heavenly Devil Empress chuckled. "We Devils are usually the ones doing the seducing. I didn't expect someone to seduce me one day. You make a tempting proposal, but you can't give me what Pimosh can. I can only regretfully turn down your invitation."

"Did he promise the Asura souls to you?" Zu An asked.

The Heavenly Devil Empress shook her head with a smile. "You underestimate me."

Just then, Pimosh roared angrily, "Stop talking nonsense with him. Kill him, lest he hinder our plan!"

The Heavenly Devil Empress finally looked at Zu An. "Lad, while you interest me, there are more important things here that I have to prioritize. I'll have to devour your soul first. Don't worry. I'll dote on you after you fuse with me."

She leaned in as if to kiss Zu An, and a powerful suction force gripped Zu An's soul, threatening to pull it out of his body.

Soon, however, her expression distorted in shock. She realized she had lost track of Zu An.

Using Primordial Mirage, Zu An could traverse between reality and illusion, allowing him to bypass most attacks. While they were chatting, he had secretly used the Heaven-Devouring Sutra to unravel most of the seals on him.

He didn't miss this opportunity to strike. As soon as the Heavenly Devil Empress revealed herself, he conjured countless weapons to bombard her. He knew he couldn't hold back against an enemy of this caliber.

It was an attack that could destroy a planet, but it still fell short.

The Heavenly Devil Empress appeared to have traversed into an illusion just like him. Her dissipated silhouette converged once more, and her coy laughter echoed in the surroundings. "How heartless. You're using so much force that you're hurting me."

Zu An laughed. "Aren't you the heartless one? You nearly disintegrated my soul."

Devils were unique entities. They didn't have bodies. As long as there were living beings and souls in this world, they could slip into and hide inside them. It was extremely hard to kill them thoroughly.

Zu An had intentionally baited the Heavenly Devil Empress to reveal herself with his words, but even his surprise attack had failed to hurt her.

"I only wanted to become one with you so we could be together forever. But you tried to take my life," the Heavenly Devil Empress grumbled grudgingly.

Zu An didn't bother responding to her and instead went for Pimosh. Since he had no idea how to deal with the Heavenly Devil Empress for the time being, that was the easier target.

Pimosh was at a crucial phase of his ritual and was unable to properly fight back. He dodged Zu An's attacks while roaring, "Stop him, Heavenly Devil Empress!"

In a matter of moments, Zu An had severed two of his arms. If not for powerful Asuras having nine arms, the ritual would have already stopped there and then.

"Men are always so fussy," the Heavenly Devil Empress said with a laugh. She appeared in front of Zu An to stop him. "Darling, your enemy is me."

This put Zu An in a tough spot. That woman didn't have a tangible body, making it hard to hurt her.

In the past, the Celestial Court had gone on an all-out war against the Devils, and despite winning the war, they had failed to eradicate the Devils. That was the unique nature of the Devils. As long as there were living beings and desires in the world, they were indestructible.

So, Zu An gave up on directly confronting the Heavenly Devil Empress and instead used Primordial Mirage to extract her memories and desires. He intended to construct an illusion for her to temporarily trap her.

Devils were usually the ones who constructed illusions for others. Little had the Heavenly Devil Empress thought that she would fall for someone else's illusion one day. She returned to the day she was defeated by the Celestials, and the death of her brethren caused tears to stream down her face.

Pimosh was baffled. The Heavenly Devil Empress had such a powerful entrance, only to be toyed around with by that brat!

But Zu An dared not lower his guard. He knew that Devils were masters of illusion, especially the strongest Heavenly Devil Empress. His illusion wouldn't stop her for long, so he needed to end things quickly. So, he hurled beams of divine light at Pimosh.

In the blink of an eye, Pimosh lost three more arms. He couldn't withstand Zu An's onslaught while channeling the ritual, but if he gave up on the ritual, all of his hard work would have been in vain.

He swiftly made up his mind and plunged his dagger into his own heart. "Incinerate my body, roaring sacred flames!"

Flames ignited around his body, instantly reducing him to ashes. Only a venomous voice echoed through the air, saying, "Return to life, Progenitor Demon God. Destroy everything in this world and the Celestial World!"

His hatred for the Celestials ran bone-deep. He was even willing to sacrifice his life to destroy them.

The mountain in the distance trembled. An overwhelming demonic aura suffused the surroundings. Even the arrogant Asuras outside trembled in fear. They fell to their knees as if worshiping something.