Chapter 2577: The Heavenly Emperor's Reward

The Golden Crow’s original strength far surpassed Ji Xiaoxi’s. After the fragmented souls entered the Tenth Prince’s body, he slowly opened his eyes.

"Mother..." Upon seeing Xihe, the Tenth Prince immediately burst into tears. As he tried to rise, he suddenly clutched his head, exclaiming, "It hurts so much!"

Hearing the word "Mother," Xihe was overcome with emotion, but seeing his pain immediately afterward, she was startled and quickly looked at Zu'an.

Zu'an explained, "All ten brothers have fragmented souls, so it's normal for them to experience headaches now."

As expected, the Tenth Prince soon began uttering words in various tones and voices:

"Huh, why am I here?"

"Who are you?"

"This seems to be Tenth Brother's body."

"Mother, why are you here?"

"I remember Father seemed to have killed me back then."

A cacophony of voices erupted, and the Tenth Prince clutched his head, his agony intensifying.

Just then, a jade bottle flew over, and the Wushan Goddess's voice rang out, "This will make them feel a little better."

Xihe gave her a grateful look and quickly administered a drop of Cloud Mist Essence to the Tenth Prince. His pain was indeed alleviated, and he gradually calmed down.

Only then did Xihe explain everything that had happened to them. Meanwhile, Zu'an went to Ji Xiaoxi's side, gently holding her hand and slowly transferring vital energy into her to help her recover.

Feeling her hand was incredibly cold, a wave of pity rose in his heart.

"Don't worry, Miss Xiaoxi will be fine," the Wushan Goddess reassured him.

Zu'an was not as optimistic. Xiaoxi had been used as the "main ingredient" for the Myriad Souls Banner, and he didn't know how much damage her soul had sustained.

Furthermore, he wondered if this incident would trigger Xiaoxi's Innate Calamitous Poison Sacred Body.

Just then, Ji Xiaoxi's eyelashes trembled slightly. Zu'an was overjoyed and gently called out to her.

A moment later, Ji Xiaoxi finally opened her eyes. Seeing Zu'an, her gaze filled with surprise and hesitation. "Big Brother Zu, am I not dreaming?" she asked.

Zu'an could no longer hold back and pulled her into a hug. "It's not a dream. You're safe, you're safe. Big Brother Zu will protect you."

Feeling the warm embrace, Ji Xiaoxi finally believed it was all real, and a heartfelt smile spread across her face. "Just now, I felt like I was in a terrifying place," she recounted. "My body felt so light, as if I could be swallowed by darkness at any moment. I was so scared. It wasn't until I heard Big Brother's voice from afar that I felt I found something to rely on, and that's how I didn't get lost in that dark space..."

Hearing her account, Zu'an's heart ached even more. "Everything is over now," he said. "I will always be by your side from now on."

Hearing his words, Ji Xiaoxi's face flushed slightly, perhaps from something she thought of. Just then, she noticed the Wushan Goddess standing nearby and felt a bit flustered. She wanted to push Zu'an away but lacked the strength, so she could only shyly smile at the Goddess. "Sister Pei is here too," she said.

"I am not Miss Pei," said the Wushan Goddess. Having never met Ji Xiaoxi before, and hearing her say this, the Goddess realized she truly looked identical to that Miss Pei, which only deepened her curiosity about the relationship between Ji Xiaoxi and Zu'an.

"Huh?" Ji Xiaoxi blinked, her eyes full of confusion. She wondered if Sister Pei was angry with her.

Only then did Zu'an explain the Wushan Goddess's true identity. Ji Xiaoxi's eyes sparkled with wonder, utterly amazed that two people in the world could be so incredibly alike.

Xihe had already brought the Golden Crow Prince over and was about to thank Zu'an when a sudden, thunderous sound erupted from a distance, shaking the entire Heavenly Palace.

Everyone's faces turned pale with alarm. "What happened?" they exclaimed.

"It seems there's something wrong with the formation suppressing Zhuanxu," Zu'an said. He vaguely remembered the Great Starry Sky Formation he had seen from afar earlier.

The group hurried to the window and looked out. They saw many of the starry projections that had illuminated the sky beginning to fall one by one, clearly indicating that the entire formation was on the verge of collapse.

"Let's leave here first," Zu'an said in a deep voice.

It was hard to predict Zhuanxu's attitude towards them once he was free. Aside from the potential for his anger due to Xihe and the Golden Crow Tenth Prince's connection to Di Jun, Zu'an himself now possessed the aura of the Witch Tribe, and there was already a long-standing animosity between the Witch and Demon Tribes.

Furthermore, Zu'an didn't have a very good impression of Zhuanxu. Despite being the Heavenly Emperor, the entire Heavenly Court seemed somewhat out of control, and Zhuanxu had simply sat by while Di Jun caused so much trouble without lifting a finger.

The others naturally had no objections. Zu'an scooped up Xiaoxi, cradling her, and just as they were about to leave, a divine light shot straight up from the distant formation, clearly indicating that someone had finally broken through their restraints.

Officer Zhao Lingguan, arriving with his subordinates upon hearing the commotion, exclaimed in a mix of surprise and fury, "Nowhere to run!"

With that, he brandished his great axe and charged forward.

In response, the figure in the divine light casually pressed down, and a colossal palm descended from the sky, instantly knocking Zhao Lingguan and his Heavenly Soldiers and Generals out of the Heavenly Court. Then, the surrounding falling star fragments converged, forming immense mountains that completely buried them.

Zu'an was utterly stunned by this sight. "Has Zhao Lingguan always been this brave?" he wondered.

Little did Zu'an know that Zhao Lingguan had believed Di Jun was nearby, thinking that if he just bought enough time, Di Jun would emerge and he would achieve great merit. He had no idea that the "Di Jun" he had just seen was actually Zu'an.

At that moment, the figure within the divine light cast a glance towards Zu'an and the others, then took a single step forward, appearing instantly inside the great hall the next second.

Zu'an and the others immediately froze. It seemed they had been one step too slow.

He was about to warn Xihe and the Wushan Goddess to be careful, but he noticed that the others seemed to be under a paralysis spell, showing no reaction whatsoever.

"What have you done to them?" Zu'an demanded, both shocked and furious, staring at the man in the divine light.

The man wore a ceremonial crown on his head, adorned with colorful silk threads strung with various translucent jewels. Simply by standing there, he commanded such supreme majesty that people overlooked his appearance and remembered only his overwhelming presence.

"Don't worry, they are fine," Zhuanxu said. "I merely wish to speak with you."

Zu'an was startled, realizing it must be some form of domain-type spell, akin to temporal-spatial confinement. The Heavenly Emperor was indeed the Heavenly Emperor; such power was truly astonishing.

However, the thought that someone with such immense power had remained idle throughout, allowing Di Jun to cause so much chaos, only made him angrier.

"You seem to be blaming me," Zhuanxu said, as if he had read Zu'an's mind.

"How could I dare?" Zu'an replied sarcastically. "It's just that with such immense power, you've done nothing all this time, and were even imprisoned yourself. It's truly a bit perplexing."

"This matter is a bit complex. I'm not just dealing with Di Jun and Taiyi..." He paused, clearly not intending to explain the intricacies to Zu'an. "Besides, how do you know I haven't done anything?"

"Oh, then I'm all ears," Zu'an said, thinking to himself, *Surely you didn't enact the Severing of Heaven and Earth and sacrifice your most talented grandson's life, did you?*

"If I hadn't bestowed the Red Bow and White Arrows upon you," Zhuanxu said, a strange smile appearing on his face, "how could you have shot down nine Golden Crows and completely foiled Di Jun's plan?"

Zu'an frowned. "It wasn't necessarily you who gave me the Red Bow and White Arrows back then," he countered. "Besides, that was an event in a future secret realm; how could it resolve a past problem?"

Zhuanxu smiled. "Past, present, and future are merely acquired concepts of time for ordinary mortals. For us, past, present, and future hold no meaning. To explain it in a way you can understand: if we perform an action at any point in the river of time, it simultaneously affects the entire river. I gave you the Red Bow and White Arrows in the future, and you used them precisely when you needed them in the present, didn't you? Why would I need to give them to you again now?"

Zu'an's mind buzzed as if he had heard the bell of truth. He vaguely sensed something, but the next second, he found it hard to grasp any specific feeling.

Zhuanxu clearly did not wish to elaborate further. "Speaking of which, you truly helped me a great deal," he said. "So I can grant you one request. What do you desire?"