Chapter 2320: Little Red

Tianxu was still the same, exuding an awkward atmosphere both openly and beneath the surface.

Outside Tianxu, crowds of people had gathered, all drawn from every direction in the dead of night, crowding every hilltop. The virtual sky, the vast heavens, and the earth itself were filled with throngs of people.

"It seems like I heard the sound of someone flipping a table."

"According to my calculations, there will be even bigger commotion soon."

"The Great Accomplishment Saint Body is about to lose his temper."

Whispers rose and fell, with everyone having sharp ears; they could hear the table being flipped, along with the crash of teapots and teacups shattering. No need to look—they knew the conversation wasn't going well.

Indeed, the atmosphere at the peak of Tianxu Mountain was far from pleasant.

Zi Xuan kept her head bowed, her fingers twisting her clothing, yet a gentle smile played at her lips. With Di Huang present, she felt an immense sense of security, even if she had made a grave mistake.

Di Huang, meanwhile, was still brushing dust from his shoulders, occasionally letting out an inexplicable laugh.

He had seen tables flipped countless times. Since his rebirth after death, this was the first time someone had dared to do it in front of him—and it was Zi Xuan, no less.

The remnant soul of the Female Emperor carried echoes of the Female Emperor herself, evoking memories of the past for him. His fiery-tempered Yue Shang had loved flipping tables too, while he was the one who handled the fights.

Those days were cherished memories. Had this not been Tianxu, the moment Zi Xuan flipped the table, he would have struck without hesitation, regardless of who it was.

That was the unique understanding between him and Yue Shang.

Flipping a table was a signal for a fight. The Female Emperor's remnant soul today mirrored Yue Shang from back then, stirring up those ancient, weathered recollections.

As for the five Heavenly Kings of the Forbidden Zone, their faces were not just dark—they were practically fuming.

"Don't worry about these minor details," Tianzhu said with a chuckle, breaking the awkward tension.

"We shall return another day," Di Huang said casually, then walked away as if nothing had happened.

He left for real. With the table flipped, there was no point continuing the discussion below. When something like this happened, it was best to cool off first and come back later.

Zi Xuan hurried after him. It was fortunate she was just a remnant soul; if she were the Donghua Female Emperor, she might have made a face before leaving. The playful nature of the young Female Emperor had been passed down through the ages.

They had left, but the Forbidden Zone Heavenly Kings felt an urge to curse. They had come all this way, only for the table to be flipped and everyone to leave. They strongly suspected the two had come just to cause trouble.

Still under the watchful eyes of the masses, Di Huang and Zi Xuan departed from Tianxu.

The people's gazes sparkled with curiosity, their expressions strange. Without any major uproar, it felt unfamiliar.

As Di Huang walked, he vanished.

Zi Xuan disappeared along with him.

Seeing this, the onlookers finally dispersed. They had thought they'd witness a grand spectacle, but it seemed they were mistaken—aside from the table-flipping sound, there was nothing else.

In the quiet night, Di Huang and Zi Xuan reappeared in an ancient city.

This ancient city was one they had visited in the past, where he and the Female Emperor had once carved their names into an old tree in the city. Alas, time had passed too long, and that old tree was gone.

With a sigh, Di Huang left in silence.

Afterward, he visited many other places, like a traveler revisiting old haunts. Everywhere he went had traces of him and the Female Emperor, as he sought out those fleeting memories.

Zi Xuan followed quietly, no longer daring to walk alongside Di Huang, for she had no right to do so.

In this world, whether in the ancient past or the distant future, the only one qualified to stand at Di Huang's side was the Donghua Female Emperor. From beginning to end, she alone was his supreme beloved.

And so, after an unknown number of days, the two returned to Tianxu.

It was still a quiet night, and their hosts were once again the five Heavenly Kings.

Unlike last time, there were no tables this time, nor any so-called Dao enlightenment tea. After the table had been flipped once, they had all learned their lesson and were just sitting there for a simple chat.

The Heavenly Kings knew why Di Huang had come to the Forbidden Zone, but none of them revealed the secrets. Even as a Great Accomplishment Saint Body with the power to slay emperors, he had no qualification to know.

Di Huang didn't press the issue and certainly wouldn't cause any chaos.

When he had set out from the Underworld, the Underworld Emperor had repeatedly warned him not to stir up trouble in the Forbidden Zone—not out of fear of disrupting heavenly harmony, but because if Di Huang caused a scene, he might end up buried in the Forbidden Zone.

The Underworld Emperor understood this all too well.

As an emperor himself, he knew the secrets of the Forbidden Zone, and not everyone could afford to provoke what lay within. The terrifying existences hidden inside were beyond his reach, and the same went for the Great Accomplishment Saint Body.

It wasn't until nine full days later that Di Huang left the Forbidden Zone.

Under the starlight, one could see a trickle of fresh blood at the corner of his mouth, and his face was pale.

"Sacred Sovereign..." Zi Xuan rushed forward in panic.

"It's nothing," Di Huang said, wiping the blood from his mouth, and strode away into the sky. After walking a great distance, he couldn't help but glance back, his brilliant golden eyes filled with a hint of wariness.

His injury came from seeing things he shouldn't have, leading to backlash.

Even so, he hadn't seen anything clear—just a chaotic haze. He knew that beyond the chaos lay a terrifying existence, and in that instant, even he felt a tremor in his soul.

"He possesses the power to slay emperors, so perhaps we can share some information with him," the Underworld Heavenly King mused as he watched Di Huang's retreating figure. "It should be fine."

"Strong as he is, he is not an emperor in the end," the Tianxu Heavenly King said indifferently. "Even if he knows, what of it? He can achieve what an emperor can, but in this regard, he cannot. For that alone, he has no qualification."

With that, no one spoke further, and they all turned their gaze toward the void.

The five peak Quasi-Emperors had a gleam in their eyes, for the suppression of the Emperor Dao imprint had weakened once more, and at a faster rate than before.

The five Heavenly Kings of the Forbidden Zone seemed to see a glimmer of hope.

The myriad heavens desperately needed a new emperor to follow in the footsteps of the Xianwu Emperor.

They all wondered what had happened in that distant primordial era to cause a great emperor and three million divine generals to perish entirely.

Speaking of the Emperor, the five turned their eyes toward the direction of Great Chu, as if they could peer through the endless void to see that graceful mountain peak and Ye Chen seated at its summit.

Under the moonlight, Ye Chen sat in meditation like an ancient monk, his demeanor dignified and serene.

The suppression of the Emperor Dao imprint was changing because of him. Every step he advanced in cultivation weakened it further, and his breakthrough to the Quasi-Emperor realm had given the common people immeasurable hope.

Yet, he remained unaware, oblivious to how his cultivation was holding back the entire myriad heavens.

The night passed without incident, and dawn arrived in the blink of an eye.

In the morning, Hengyue was bathed in warm sunlight, as if draped in a layer of harmonious immortal garb.

The tenth emperor of Great Chu was still the ideal family man, bustling about in the kitchen before dawn. His master-level cooking skills produced dishes that smelled utterly mouthwatering.

The door creaked open, and the Female Saint Body emerged, clutching her belly—as if hunger had woken her. She tiptoed to pick spirit fruits from the spirit fruit tree.

"Xiao Hong, come here," Ye Chen called, stirring the pot while beckoning with his hand.

"Xiao your sister, get lost!" the Female Saint Body snapped, hurling a freshly picked spirit fruit at him. She had been in a good mood, but Ye Chen's call of "Xiao Hong" made her anger flare instantly.

She wasn't sure when it started, but "Xiao Hong" had somehow become her name. It sounded fine at first glance, but upon closer thought, it was infuriating.

This was all thanks to Ye Chen, who had made it up and called her that for no reason. He called her that way and grinned so smugly about it, the kind of smugness that made people want to slap him.

Ye Chen didn't mind at all, chuckling with delight. While "Xiao Hong" sounded a bit old-fashioned, it was much catchier than calling her Red Face. Most importantly, he enjoyed seeing the Female Saint Body lose her temper—like a little sprite, she was adorably fierce when angry.

Soon, Chu Xuan and the others emerged one by one, spotting the Female Saint Body's flushed face at a glance. No need to ask—it was Ye Chen's doing again. They were used to it by now.