Chapter 2577: Pain

A searing crack appeared in the sky. A ravishing, mature lady emerged from billowing golden clouds. She was dressed in a fluttering, long skirt embroidered with 360 days of constellation patterns. Her hair resembled a golden waterfall, and her body was cloaked in a faint purple mist. It was as if sunset and twilight were in harmony on her impeccable face. She had a divine and lofty air.

She stared at Zu An coldly, looking as if she would tear him into pieces.

Emperor Jun nodded. “All right, I’ll hand him to you.” He then charged at Xingtian, hoping to use this opportunity to end the latter sooner.

Alarmed, the Goddess of Wu Mountain telepathically urged the Kaiming Six Shamans to aid Xingtian.

Two intense battles raged on the battlefield, but somehow, Zu An’s side had quieted down instead.

Looking at the woman, Zu An bitterly remarked, “Sun Goddess Xihe!”

The last time he was here, he'd followed Yi’s heroic path and shot down the nine suns, prompting the Sun Goddess Xihe to emerge and exact vengeance on him. Back then, he'd been too weak to survive Xihe’s rampage, so he had no choice but to use the Golden Phoenix’s ability to make her fall in love with him. Thanks to that, he escaped with his life. There was no way he would forget her face.

However, he had gone farther back in time now. He was likely thousands or even tens of thousands of years behind in terms of the timeline compared to the last time he was here.

She might not be affected by the Golden Phoenix yet.

“We meet again. Last time, I told you that I’d kill you.” Xihe glared at him with hatred.

Zu An’s mind jolted.

I’m not surprised that she knows me, but how does she remember the conversation we had the last time we were here? I’m now tens of thousands of years back in time; she shouldn’t know something that hasn’t happened yet.

For a moment, he even doubted time itself.

The Goddess of Wu Mountain shouted, “Sun Goddess, you should know about the deaths caused by the emergence of the ten suns. They would have been sentenced to death either way. He was merely exacting punishment on behalf of heaven!”

“Shut your mouth!” The Sun Goddess coldly waved her hand, and her jade bracelets clanged resoundingly against one another.

The Goddess of Wu Mountain felt as if the stars were shifting around her. She was sent flying and spat a mouthful of blood.

The Sun Goddess coldly eyed the Goddess of Wu Mountain. “They are my sons.”

The Goddess of Wu Mountain understood where the Sun Goddess was coming from.

The Golden Crows might have committed grievous sins, but they are still her children. There’s no way she can spare the man who murdered her children.

Zu An rushed to the Goddess of Wu Mountain’s side and inspected her body. The latter had already been severely injured before, and this blow pushed her further into death’s embrace. He took out a bunch of spirit medicine and fed it to her while addressing the Sun Goddess. “I’m the one you’re after. Don’t implicate the innocent.”

“Oh? Does your heart bleed to see her injured?” the Sun Goddess sneered. “I remember seeing more beautiful women by your side the last time we met, but she wasn’t one of them.”

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The Goddess of Wu Mountain was baffled.

Why does her tone sound so off? It’s almost as if... she’s envious. Hold on, I also sensed something unusual from that woman before. Could it be...

Just then, Zu An breathed a sigh of relief. “It hasn’t been long since we last met. It’s not as if you haven’t met Yaoji.”

Upon hearing him call her by her name, the Goddess of Wu Mountain blushed.

The Sun Goddess narrowed her eyes. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You don’t?” Zu An settled the Goddess of Wu Mountain down on a nearby peak before facing the Sun Goddess. “Should I call you the Sun Goddess... or Yumen Beiqing?”

The Goddess of Wu Mountain widened her eyes.

Just as I thought!

The Sun Goddess was taken aback. She was silent for a long time before asking, “When did you find out?”

Zu An felt stifled by her admittance. He explained, “When you provided me with a clue to Manman’s whereabouts, but no one saw her except for those in the first town we visited. It struck me that there could be something wrong with the intel. However, I didn’t think you had a reason to deceive me then. Little sister Ling’er wouldn’t do that out of envy.”

“When did you realize I wasn’t your little sister Ling’er?”

“I didn’t doubt you initially. The Fiend races were hostile toward me, but you unconditionally sided with me and even...”

At this point, Zu An and the Sun Goddess’ faces reddened as their hearts skipped a beat. They unceremoniously recalled what had happened in the shadows of the night...

The Sun Goddess took a deep breath. “Stop beating around the bush and get to the point.”

Zu An reined himself in and continued, “You led me to the imperial tomb using the Brilliant Pinflower as bait, but it wasn’t there. Later, I realized that you were trying to lure me to this world.

“When we arrived in this world, there was a mysterious power outburst near our cavern’s vicinity. I thought something had happened to you and rushed out, only to see you returning. Your reason made sense, but it was still too coincidental. Especially because I sensed the Sun Goddess’ power there.”

The Sun Goddess scoffed, “It’s all the Time Scribe’s fault. You wouldn’t have noticed it so quickly if not for him.”

“So you were the one who killed the Time Scribe.” Zu An nodded in realization. He had been feeling uneasy, as the Time Scribe had disappeared. “Indeed, you wouldn’t have been able to kill him without using your true powers.

“There were many lapses in your disguise afterward. I wouldn’t have doubted you based on those, but with my suspicion already piqued, these giveaways were conspicuous.” Zu An was perplexed. “The only thing I don’t get is why you've been doing all these things.”

“Someone as smart as you should be able to fathom a guess,” the Sun Goddess sneered.

Zu An thought about the time they had spent together. “You were trying to change history, or more specifically, the fate of the Golden Crows.”

The Sun Goddess lowered her gaze in despair. “I tried everything. I tried to save Yayu. I tried to protect Bao Jiang... But nothing worked. I even tried to kill Yi in advance, but fate pulled a prank on me—you became the new Yi. I realized that the hands of fate are correcting my actions. I can’t change anything no matter how I struggle.”

Zu An fell silent.

The Golden Crows deserved death, but she’s a noble mother. She did all these things to save her children, but she was unable to outmaneuver fate.

“Where are Manman and Xie Daoyun?” As much as he sympathized with her, there were some things that he needed to get to the bottom of.

“I killed them,” the Sun Goddess sneered.

“What?!” Zu An was shocked and infuriated. He was so shaken that he struggled to maintain his balance.

His reaction brought glee to the Sun Goddess’ face. “Do you finally understand the pain of losing a loved one now? Don’t worry, you can join them in death!”

With that, she morphed into thousands of rays of golden light that charged toward Zu An.

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