Chapter 2576: Rescue

Under normal circumstances, Di Jun wouldn't fear these divine runes; he had many ways to deal with them.

However, this was merely a wisp of Di Jun's soul, possessing the Golden Crow Crown Prince's body through a form of soul transference—a technique considered demonic or unorthodox in some sense.

The divine runes on the Jianmu Tree, moreover, inherently possessed the power to eradicate evil.

Just now, Zu An had attacked the Jianmu Tree, using Di Jun's appearance and aura. This triggered the divine runes to retaliate, and, by a stroke of luck, Zu An swapped places with Di Jun.

The divine runes, lacking human intelligence, couldn't distinguish between the two. They could only pursue the aura that had just attacked them.

Zu An's attack had simultaneously carried the auras of both the Golden Crow Crown Prince and Di Jun's soul wisp.

Di Jun was instantly engulfed by the golden light emitted by the divine runes. Zu An secretly wiped cold sweat from his brow, knowing he had taken an immense risk. If the runes had recognized him and pursued him relentlessly, he would have been in grave danger.

Fortunately, he remembered his past life's gaming experience, which taught him that many rules often had loopholes.

His gamble had paid off!

Di Jun let out a shriek, and his body plummeted from the sky like a tattered sandbag.

The divine runes then retracted their light and returned to a calm state.

Zu An paused, then cautiously went to catch the Tenth Golden Crow Crown Prince's body. He found that it no longer had any breath or soul fluctuations.

Di Jun's soul wisp had been completely annihilated.

He didn't understand why the divine runes had only destroyed Di Jun's soul without harming the Crown Prince's body, but he had no time to ponder it. He immediately flew back towards the Heavenly Palace with the Golden Crow's body.

Meanwhile, on the battlefield of the Witch-Demon War, Di Jun, who had been dominating and slaughtering his foes, suddenly let out a piercing shriek, clutching his head in agony. The surrounding Ancestral Witches instantly seized the opportunity to counterattack. If not for the Eastern Emperor Bell protecting him, he might have been annihilated in that very moment.

"What happened?" Eastern Emperor Taiyi asked with concern.

Di Jun didn't reply. Instead, he stared intently in the direction of the Heavenly Palace; the soul wisp he had left there as a precaution had been destroyed!

The destruction of his soul wisp had severely weakened him, but that wasn't the main issue. The critical point was that a major upheaval must have occurred at the Heavenly Palace, and the Myriad Souls Banner was likely in danger...

Realizing this, he quickly said, "I'll leave this place to you. I must return to the Heavenly Court!"

Just as he was about to leave, he felt the space around him become restricted. He looked back and saw that Zhulong was casting a spell.

"Di Jun, your opponent is me! It won't be that easy to escape!" Zhulong declared before angrily charging towards Di Jun.

Di Jun felt helpless. These Ancestral Witches were too powerful; with his current cultivation, he could barely cope. Now that they were relentlessly clinging to him, he couldn't leave.

Meanwhile, back at the Heavenly Court, Zhao Lingguan saw Zu An and was overjoyed. "Your Majesty, you're back?"

Then he noticed the Tenth Golden Crow Crown Prince in Zu An's hand and secretly admired him. "His Majesty is indeed His Majesty. Even the formidable Tenth Crown Prince was dealt with by him. It seems his earlier disheveled state was merely because he didn't want to be harsh on his own son."

"Huh, why does the Tenth Crown Prince seem to have no breath?"

"Yes. Guard the South Heaven Gate well. I'm taking him back to beg his mother's forgiveness," Zu An said, carrying the Tenth Golden Crow Crown Prince as he flew inside.

Zhao Lingguan secretly nodded, thinking that disobedient rascals like him deserved a good beating from both parents.

The embarrassment he had just suffered because of the Tenth Golden Crow Crown Prince vanished. He puffed out his chest, completely re-energized.

Zu An soon returned to the grand hall where Xi He and the Wushan Goddess were anxiously waiting. Seeing him, they both showed surprise and delight. They started to step forward to greet him, but then, remembering the other woman's presence, they quickly stopped.

Xi He's gaze, however, quickly fell upon the Tenth Golden Crow Crown Prince in his hands. "He..."

"Di Jun's soul wisp is dead. I've brought the Crown Prince's body back," Zu An replied.

The Wushan Goddess was secretly astonished; it was nothing short of a miracle that he could kill Di Jun's soul wisp.

Xi He, no longer able to restrain herself, rushed over and began sobbing as she embraced the Crown Prince's body.

Zu An gently patted her shoulder, knowing that no words of comfort would be effective at this moment.

His gaze fell upon the Myriad Souls Banner suspended in mid-air. Its initial might was gone. Under the suppression of the entire Heavenly Court and the Five Luminaries Demon-Suppressing Formation, its surging demonic energy had been forced back into the banner.

Zu An drew out the Tai'a Sword, and another brilliant sword qi slashed towards it.

This time, the Myriad Souls Banner could no longer absorb the powerful sword qi. With a series of crisp cracking sounds, the entire banner shattered into pieces.

Countless souls cheered as they streamed out, scattering in all directions. They had finally gained their freedom, and even if they would soon dissipate into the world, it was better than eternal torment within the Myriad Souls Banner.

Naturally, some malicious souls also appeared. Seeing Ji Xiaoxi's physical body lying on the altar below, they lunged towards her, hoping to possess her body and be reborn.

"Begone!" Zu An roared. With his Primordial Chaos Qi and his identity as the Master of the Underworld, those malicious souls were instantly crushed. The others no longer dared to approach to their demise.

Zu An's unique status gave him a heightened perception of souls. Among the countless souls, he finally found faint, timid-looking wisps. Yet, the other souls around them dared not approach, as if something terrifying emanated from them.

Zu An mused that it was indeed the Innate Cursed Poison Holy Physique. Chosen by Di Jun as the core of the Myriad Souls Banner, even her soul contained potent poison, frightening other spirits.

In her current state, her soul had clearly been fragmented into many parts. This was likely due to her unique physique and the requirements for crafting the Myriad Souls Banner; extracting her entire soul at once might have poisoned all other spirits.

It was fortunate that this was the case, allowing Ji Xiaoxi to endure until his arrival for her rescue.

The thought of her soul being fragmented into so many pieces pained Zu An. He could only imagine how much suffering the young girl had endured during this time.

He dared not delay any further and quickly cast the secret technique recorded in the "Underworld Life and Death Grand Codex" to summon those wisps.

The wisps were initially frightened and tried to flee, but after seeing Zu An, they paused. A strange sense of trust welled up in them, and they instinctively flew towards him.

"Xiaoxi, don't be afraid. I'm here to save you," Zu An said softly, fearing he might startle her.

The wisps, perhaps understanding him, displayed faint smiles on their faces and allowed him to manipulate them freely.

Finally, the wisps returned to Ji Xiaoxi's body one by one. The Wushan Goddess handed him a jade bottle. "This is the Essence of Wushan Clouds and Mist. It greatly aids in soul restoration."

Zu An gave her a grateful look. Xiaoxi certainly needed it now.

The Wushan Goddess smiled faintly and, with a flick of her hand, a drop of translucent, honey-like liquid flew from the bottle and landed in Ji Xiaoxi's mouth.

Zu An could feel the abundant vital energy and life force emanating from it, thinking it was far more potent than the Violet Frost Divine Nectar he had encountered before.

Ji Xiaoxi let out a soft moan, and her complexion visibly became more rosy.

Zu An knew that despite the severe injuries she had sustained and the aid of his Underworld secret technique and the Cloud Mist Essence for soul repair, she wouldn't wake up so quickly.

So, he asked the Wushan Goddess to look after her for a while. Then, he scanned his surroundings and finally located ten unique souls, each resembling a small bird.

He activated his secret technique once more, guiding these souls to fly into the Tenth Golden Crow Crown Prince's body.

The closer they got to Xi He, the more joyful the little Golden Crows became, fluttering their wings as if cheering.

Witnessing this, Xi He was both surprised and overjoyed, her voice trembling. "Can... can they still be saved?"

She barely dared to hear his answer, fearing a heartbreaking reply.

"Of course. The world cannot exist without the sun," Zu An replied, committed to helping her both for the greater good and personal reasons. "However, they have been dead for too long, and Di Jun used them to control the Myriad Souls Banner, leading to severe erosion from countless souls. Their divine souls are now significantly damaged and incomplete."

Upon hearing this, Xi He's heart sank. Her hatred for Di Jun reached its peak.

"It's impossible to revive each one individually," he explained. "I can only merge their divine souls to form one complete soul. This merged soul will only retain fragmented memories from their past lives. After their bodies are nourished for a long period, we can see if there's a chance to fully restore their individual souls."

Xi He, who had initially thought there was no hope, was now overwhelmed with joy. Tears streamed down her face. "This is already very good, so very good!"

For years, she had tried countless methods to alter the course of history, but no matter what she did, she found she could not contend with the power of fate.

She had long since fallen into despair, so how could she not be ecstatic now that there was a chance to save her ten sons?