Su Muyao viewed things as an outsider, she realized that perhaps Cui Liyi hadn’t been moved back then.

In a daze, she seemed to travel through time, arriving above Su Qingluo’s room.

She seemed to see many scenes.

When Cui Liyi was contracting with Su Qingluo, though his eyes were slightly reddened, he appeared calm, as if he wasn’t emotionally involved.

It didn’t seem like he was in love.

After the contract, she often fell into deep sleep.

Back then, Cui Liyi looked worried about her, had the kitchen prepare her favorite food, and frequently took care of her meals himself.

At the time, she really believed she had won him over.

Later, after a period of deep sleep, she didn’t know she had conceived and given birth to a Chaos Wild Beastman cub.

During that time, she was quite weak, often in a deep slumber.

She didn’t even realize that her spiritual energy had become extremely weak while she slept.

Even the protective barrier of spiritual energy seemed to have vanished.

Su Qingluo was utterly unaware of these things.

While she slept, she didn’t know what happened to the Chaos Wild Beast Cub either.

Nor did she realize that Cui Liyi had come to her bedside.

Perhaps she had completely gotten used to Cui Liyi’s presence.

She didn’t notice that, at this moment, Cui Liyi’s originally long and slender, clean and ethereal fingers had darkened.

His fingers seemed to suddenly change, turning into beast claws with sharp talons.

The sharp beast claws, when revealed, glinted with a chilling sheen.

He gazed down at the defenseless Su Qingluo on the bed, his eyes devoid of past tender affection, only frozen indifference remaining, as his beast claws unhesitatingly plunged toward the position of the Immortal Phoenix Bone in Su Muyao’s back.

"Rip!"

The beast claws easily shredded Su Qingluo’s thin clothing, piercing her body. The dull sound mixed with the gushing of blood was especially piercing in the silent room.

Su Qingluo’s body was struck with intense pain.

It was as if a bolt of lightning had struck her, her dormant consciousness torn apart by extreme agony in an instant.

She suddenly awoke.

"Ah..."

An involuntary, broken cry of pain escaped her throat, altering pitch.

Her weakened body trembled violently.

Blood continuously flowed down her back, quickly soaking most of the bedding, dripping along the bed’s edge, spreading into striking crimson blooms on the floor.

Su Muyao turned her head, eyes widening in disbelief as she saw Cui Liyi.

"Liyi, what... what are you doing?"

Cui Liyi’s expression was indifferent, a mocking curve gracing his lips.

At this moment, he exuded a different aura, surrounded by an ominous blackness, appearing both ghostly and beguilingly demonic, like a Night Demon.

But those eyes, they lost all previous warmth, only icy coldness remained.

The gaze seemed to freeze Su Qingluo.

Cui Liyi said indifferently, "Can’t you see what I’m doing?"

"It really is the Immortal Phoenix Bone."

As if feeling the power of the Immortal Phoenix Bone, a refined and eerie hue flashed in Cui Liyi’s eyes, revealing a slight, twisted, mesmerizing smile that sent chills down one’s spine.

"Immortal Phoenix Bone?"

Su Muyao never knew she possessed such a thing.

She didn’t understand what the Immortal Phoenix Bone could be used for at that moment either.

What she didn’t know was that the Immortal Phoenix Bone was intertwined with her source energy and Divine Soul, now forcibly pierced.

The stirring pain felt like countless sharp blades repeatedly cutting and grinding within her bones and blood.

The pain made her whole body convulse, cold sweat instantly soaking her hairline.

But all of this was nothing compared to the pain in her heart.

Her heart was what hurt the most.

Because she couldn’t believe Cui Liyi would do this to her.

"Why?"

"It hurts so much, Cui Liyi, can you stop?"

Su Qingluo’s voice was so faint it was barely audible, filled with utter agony in her shattered breaths.

Her body felt as though every ounce of strength had been drained, unable to move even a finger.

Cui Liyi said coldly, "Of course not, your Immortal Phoenix Bone is quite precious, just like the Black Dragon King’s Dragon Body and Bone, all very important things."

"Don’t worry, losing the Immortal Phoenix Bone won’t kill you."

Cui Liyi’s movements didn’t pause for a moment, his beast claws moving deeper within her Immortal Phoenix Bone.

His indifferent eyes showed no sign of softening, as if the pained Su Qingluo beneath him was merely someone insignificant.

Su Qingluo’s trembling intensified, the pain darkening her vision, her ears filled only with her own rapid and weak breaths and the sound of blood dripping.

At that moment, all warmth collapsed in agony, her hazy consciousness suddenly becoming a bit clearer.

Surely it was just spiritual power exhaustion causing her to sleep; how could she have no strength to resist?

She seemed to realize something, her gaze darkening, "Did you... did you drug the food?"

"System, what’s going on?"

Su Muyao attempted to summon the system.

She called for the system, but it didn’t respond.

Su Qingluo, enduring the pain, used her spiritual power to summon the system.

A weak voice echoed in Su Muyao’s mind, "Host, I’m sorry, I’m sorry..."

The system felt such heartache for the host.

"He... he seems to know something, able to block power..."

The system didn’t finish, its voice disappearing.

Su Qingluo’s face changed dramatically.

Could it be that Cui Liyi even knew the secrets of the system?

Cui Liyi glanced at her indifferently, seeing her incredulous expression. With the Immortal Phoenix Bone soon in hand, there was no need for deceit.

It seemed that what they had before was just a façade.

His thin lips parted, his voice cold as ice, devoid of warmth, and without the slightest hint of concealment.

"Correct."

"I added Illusion Vine Juice to those supplements."

"The Illusion Vine can create illusions; once its juice was mixed in the food, anything on you naturally couldn’t detect it. This stuff has long been lost, only I have it."

"It’s not something those herbs can compare to."

"After drinking it for so many days, much of what you saw and heard before was illusions too."

Including his concern, it was all an illusion.

Su Qingluo’s face changed drastically, "The contract was an illusion too?"

When Cui Liyi heard this, his expression shifted slightly, his gaze turning somewhat obscure, seemingly reluctant to admit something.

Su Qingluo, somehow gathering strength, tugged at his sleeve, noticing the Red Sand on his arm had disappeared.

She then knew that the contract wasn’t an illusion.

But why?

If it was for her Immortal Phoenix Bone, why sacrifice so much?

In the Beast World, males place extreme importance on purity.

"You’ve truly made a significant sacrifice."

"The Immortal Phoenix Bone is of no use to you, who are you going to give it to, who will use it?"

Although Su Qingluo didn’t know she possessed the Immortal Phoenix Bone before, after spending some time in the Beast World, there was a time when Cui Liyi generously allowed her to read in the Book Collection Pavilion, and she naturally knew the function of the Immortal Phoenix Bone.

Cui Liyi replied, "That’s not your concern."

"If you behave, I might spare your life and let you stay peacefully at the Cui Residence, but if you try anything, I won’t mind showing you my means."

"You know my true form is the Chaos Wild Beastman, immortal and undying, killing you would be too easy."

These words were like a heavy hammer, pounding hard on Su Qingluo’s heart.

The physical pain was bearable, but the pain in her heart was fiercer than the Immortal Phoenix Bone being pierced.

She had acted with intention but had given her heart genuinely to Cui Liyi.

But she never expected he had been deceiving her all along.

"You just mentioned something mysterious on me, what do you mean?"