The cultivators outside the Heavenly Emperor's Realm were in an uproar.
They felt the terrifying emperor's might of the man in the mirror crumbling bit by bit, dissipating like a tide into the heavens.
The force spread across the eight desolations and the four extremes, covering the nine heavens and the ten lands.
Stars collapsed, the Milky Way flowed in reverse, and countless great stars were annihilated under such dreadful emperor's might.
The emperor's hard-earned Dao fruit and his immense cultivation all suddenly collapsed and disintegrated into nothingness!
...
Everyone was deeply moved when they saw this scene.
"The Emperor, he really gave up his immense cultivation just to bring the little fox back to life and protect her last sliver of true spirit!"
The cultivators were incredibly moved.
"A twenty-year-old emperor! This is an unparalleled existence throughout history, showcasing the Emperor's extraordinary talent!"
"He cultivated the Heavenly Dao, using supreme methods to achieve the emperor's position, favored by the Heavenly Dao, blessed with boundless fortune and great opportunities. He could have surely reached the pinnacle in the future!"
"With such unparalleled talent, if he hadn't destroyed his own Dao fruit, his future path would have been bright and smooth. With the Heavenly Dao's favor, he might have successfully broken through the emperor realm and truly achieved the Mortal Immortal status!"
"Becoming the only true Mortal Immortal in the world today!"
"But he destroyed his supreme Dao fruit just to save a little fox..."
The cultivators sighed deeply.
They felt regret for the Emperor. Such a brilliant talent should have had a much brighter future.
An emperor-level expert who could have amazed an era ended his journey in such a tragic way.
Everyone's expressions were complex.
Even though the Emperor became a tyrant in the end, a terrifying demon who killed indiscriminately, his current actions were worthy of praise.
From his childhood until now, there was no blemish on the Emperor's record. Even those who hated him couldn't find any fault.
Perhaps the only regret about the Emperor was his drastic change in personality over the years, turning into a world-destroying demon.
Ye Fan, however, was different from the other cultivators. His face alternated between pale and flushed.
He was overwhelmed!
Now that the Emperor had successfully reversed the flow of the River of Time and protected the little fox's true spirit, didn't this mean that the little fox would come back to life?
If she did, and given her many similarities with the Empress of the Demon Clan, wouldn't this be proof that the little fox was indeed the Empress?
Previously, they didn't believe the little fox could be the Empress because their bloodlines were not on the same level.
Even if they looked similar and both were Heavenly Demon Foxes, there was ample evidence to deny any relation.
But now, they had seen it with their own eyes.
The Emperor, using supreme divine powers, forcibly upgraded the Seven-Tailed Heavenly Demon Fox's bloodline to a Nine-Tailed Heavenly Demon Fox.
When Ye Fan saw this, he was almost stunned, but at least the little fox was indeed dead at that time, her soul utterly destroyed.
However, the Emperor, at the cost of his supreme Dao fruit and immense cultivation, had managed to protect a sliver of the little fox's true spirit within the River of Time.
Ye Fan was on the brink of madness. First, it was Chu Nannan, then Nie Fengyun, and now Bai Xiaoqi was going to stand by the Emperor's side too?
Beside him, Bai Xiaoqi's beautiful face was already streaked with tears.
She didn't know why she was crying. When she saw the man in the mirror giving up everything to save the little fox, her heart felt very uneasy.
Tears kept welling up in her eyes.
Her heart was choking with emotion, a sorrow she couldn't understand flooded her heart.
Bai Xiaoqi was very puzzled.
This man was supposed to be a great villain who slaughtered the demon clan and suppressed her mother. She should be filled with infinite hatred for him.
Seeing him end up in such a state, she should have felt happy and relieved.
But she couldn't feel happy at all.
"Ah!"
Bai Xiaoqi clutched her head in pain, feeling as if her head was about to explode.
A flood of memories surged from the depths of her mind, overwhelming Bai Xiaoqi. These memories mirrored exactly what she had seen in the Heavenly Emperor's Mirror, as if the mirror had forcibly implanted them into her consciousness.
The trials and tribulations that the little fox and the Emperor had endured together became extraordinarily vivid. Her mind was now filled with these scenes, clear as day, as if she had witnessed everything firsthand.
An invisible shackle deep within her mind quietly unlocked, releasing the buried memories like a tidal wave.
It was unclear how much time had passed.
Bai Xiaoqi's eyes flickered with changing expressions, alternating between the imposing Empress, commanding and overseeing all beings, and the pure little fox, full of tenderness and playfulness.
She stared blankly at the Heavenly Emperor's Mirror, at the thin and lonely figure, her heart filled with sorrow.
...
At this moment, Chu Yang had returned to the cave.
His breath was weak, his cultivation entirely lost, and he was enduring the onslaught of karmic backlash. His body was already overwhelmed.
If not for the timely intervention of the guardian of time, who pulled him from the River of Time at the last moment, he would have died within it.
Though he had narrowly escaped death, he now had to constantly endure the erosion of reincarnation karma.
Moreover, Xiao Qi was originally deceased. Even though her soul had been protected and reunited with her body, the Heavenly Dao did not recognize her.
After all, resurrection is impossible according to the Heavenly Dao's laws, which are irreversible and unchangeable.
Without the Heavenly Dao's recognition, Xiao Qi could not truly come back to life.
This highlighted how incredibly difficult it was to resurrect the dead.
For an ordinary person without cultivation, resurrection might be simpler. But for cultivators and demons, stepping onto the path of cultivation meant defying the heavens.
They were adversaries of the Heavenly Dao, which would never permit their resurrection.
Chu Yang smiled nonchalantly.
Despite losing all his cultivation, he remained favored by the Heavenly Dao, a true darling of it, with boundless fortune still upon him.
His current goal was to transfer all his fortune to Xiao Qi, enabling her to gain the Heavenly Dao's recognition!
...
In the depths of her mind, memories continued to surge.
These memories included the countless hardships the little fox and the Emperor had faced together, now vividly clear in her mind. It was as if she had experienced them all firsthand.
An invisible shackle deep within her mind had been unlocked, causing these buried memories to flood her consciousness.
It was unclear how long it took.
Bai Xiaoqi's eyes flickered with various emotions—sometimes reflecting the majesty of the Empress, high and mighty, overlooking all beings; other times, showing the pure innocence of the little fox, filled with tenderness and playfulness.
She stared blankly at the thin, lonely figure in the Heavenly Emperor's Mirror, her heart filled with indescribable sorrow.
...
Chu Yang, now back in the cave, was weak and exhausted, his cultivation entirely lost. He was enduring the karmic backlash, his body already overwhelmed.
If not for the guardian of time's timely intervention, pulling him out of the River of Time, he would have perished there.
Though he had narrowly escaped death, he now had to constantly endure the erosion of reincarnation karma.
Moreover, Xiao Qi was originally deceased. Even though her soul had been protected and reunited with her body, the Heavenly Dao did not recognize her.
After all, resurrection is impossible according to the Heavenly Dao's laws, which are irreversible and unchangeable.
Without the Heavenly Dao's recognition, Xiao Qi could not truly come back to life.
This highlighted how incredibly difficult it was to resurrect the dead.
For an ordinary person without cultivation, resurrection might be simpler. But for cultivators and demons, stepping onto the path of cultivation meant defying the heavens.
They were adversaries of the Heavenly Dao, which would never permit their resurrection.
Chu Yang smiled nonchalantly.
Despite losing all his cultivation, he remained favored by the Heavenly Dao, a true darling of it, with boundless fortune still upon him.
His current goal was to transfer all his fortune to Xiao Qi, enabling her to gain the Heavenly Dao's recognition!