"But this nirvana also comes with a great cost, because both my Emperor Body and Emperor Soul suffered backlash from the Imperial Dao existence within the Chaos Burial Ground. If this continues, even my Emperor Soul will collapse and perish. And such an act of entrustment, even if only a small part, nurtured within the body of my son, Monarch Mieqiong—that Imperial Dao backlash, even though I desperately suppressed it with my Emperor Soul, could still easily taint him."
"With my abilities, I could only be forced to fall, let alone him. Even a small amount of Imperial Dao backlash is not something an Ancient Monarch can withstand."
"Moreover, the Phoenix nirvana requires boundless energy. Once the nirvana begins, it will devour the power within his body, even his bloodline. Even if the Imperial Dao backlash doesn't taint him, the power of this nirvana alone would be enough to drain his divine energy dry."
"Therefore, this plan carries immense risk. I was unwilling."
Even though the Golden Crow Great Emperor was severely wounded and on the verge of death, he was still a father. He could not agree to let his son bear such tremendous risk just so he could survive.
But at that time, the Golden Crow Great Emperor was already severely wounded and dying. He separated his origin Emperor World and handed it over to his son to control, even refine, so that in the future, when he attained the Dao and became an Emperor, merging the two origin Emperor Worlds would make him even more powerful.
After doing all this, the Golden Crow Great Emperor also activated the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra, awaiting nirvana rebirth.
However, it was later unexpected that his son communicated with the Emperor World's origin, persuaded it, completely mastered it, gained the Emperor World's mighty power, and with the help of other ancient Great Emperors or Supreme Immortals, approached his own slumbering, dying Emperor Body, severed a portion of his Emperor Soul, and at all costs, placed it within his own body.
Undoubtedly, this method carried incomparably great risk. The slightest misstep could cause that Imperial Dao backlash to be imposed upon his own body, leading to his own injury and death.
But to save his father, the Golden Crow Great Emperor, Monarch Mieqiong acted recklessly, nurturing it with his own purest Emperor's bloodline.
In the end, this portion of the Emperor Soul was nourished by the power of Monarch Mieqiong's Emperor's bloodline. Under the Phoenix Nirvana Sutra and with the intervention of other ancient Great Emperors or Supreme Immortals, it gained a sliver of vitality, enabling revival.
Later, Monarch Mieqiong ultimately suffered the Imperial Dao backlash. Even though it wasn't much, it was extremely fearsome and difficult to suppress.
Monarch Mieqiong, who had achieved the Ancient Monarch realm with less than a thousand years of cultivation—his lifespan far exceeding the hundred thousand years of the Divine King realm—could have lived an immensely long life. But under the Imperial Dao backlash, he passed away within a mere ten thousand years.
But before his death, to ensure the successful nirvana of the Golden Crow Great Emperor's Emperor Soul, he separated his Monarch Great World, established the Mieqiong Divine Hall, erected myriad divine altars, gathered billions of strands of faith power to nourish the Emperor Soul.
And using heaven-defying methods, he allowed this portion of the Emperor Soul to be reborn, even severing the Emperor's bloodline power within himself, creating a brand new body to store the Emperor Soul, allowing his father to revive within the Mieqiong Great World.
In the end, the Golden Crow Great Emperor revived, a kind of alternative reincarnation rebirth. In a sense, this could be considered a true Great Emperor reincarnation body.
However, the Golden Crow Great Emperor lost his memories. Although the nirvana succeeded, there was a price.
Afterwards, came the various events: obtaining the monarch inheritance left by his son, rising step by step to become the master of the Mieqiong Great World, meeting Ye Chen, obtaining Emperor Sutras and Immortal Sutras, awakening some past memories.
Then encountering the corpse of the Golden Crow Quasi-Monarch, completely refining it into his body, awakening more memories.
Finally, donning the Emperor Crown, his memories fully recovered, completely awakened. The supreme Golden Crow Great Emperor of yesteryear had truly returned.
Only, the Golden Crow Great Emperor was not the Golden Crow Great Emperor of the past. The current him was merely the revival of a portion of the Emperor Soul nurtured within his son Monarch Mieqiong's body. His true cultivation had not yet returned to the Great Perfection Emperor realm of his past, still some distance away.
But having regained control of the Golden Crow Emperor World, within it, he was practically invincible.
Hearing these many truths, Ye Chen silently sighed. In the end, it was his son who paid the price of death to revive the Golden Crow Great Emperor.
The Golden Crow Great Emperor also felt he had failed his son.
If not for him, his son might still be alive, even if very aged.
Revived, but a white-haired man sending off a black-haired one—perhaps the greatest sorrow in the world.
"Senior, please accept my condolences," Ye Chen could only offer such comfort.
"My son spared no effort to revive me. I have failed him." The Golden Crow Great Emperor's gaze instantly grew many times more intense, as if capable of piercing through past and present. "But now that I have revived, I naturally will not let Mieqiong down. One day in the future, I will transcend and achieve Eternity. Then I will be able to revive my son."
These words seemed to touch upon an ancient taboo. High in the heavens, a terrifying roar suddenly erupted, shaking the eternal sky, causing countless people to look up, yet they discovered nothing.
Ye Chen's heart shook. Looking at the Golden Crow Great Emperor before him, did he also seek to transcend and achieve Eternity?
More importantly were those words: after achieving Eternity, could he truly revive the perished, passed-away Monarch Mieqiong?
He couldn't help but ask, "Senior, upon reaching Eternity, can one truly accomplish such a step?"
That was someone whose true spirit had perished, passed away in the past, without a single soul fragment left in the world. Could they truly be revived?
At his level, he knew that even ancient Great Emperors were not omnipotent; at the very least, they could not revive the deceased.
Because it was too difficult. Did it mean returning to the past, reversing the past?
But doing so would incur backlash from past, present, and future. That price, even ancient Great Emperors and Supreme Immortals could not bear; even the strongest Emperors and Immortal Kings would fear it immensely.
The backlash was too fearsome, the karma too great. It was almost like opposing the entire Chaos Sea. The resulting supreme backlash could even cause Emperors and Supreme Immortals to fall directly.
"It is possible!" the Golden Crow Great Emperor said firmly. "Eternity is true transcendence, beyond fate, above all, even above the Chaos Sea, omnipotent. Even reversing time, reviving people from the past, or changing established facts of the past is possible. There is nothing that cannot be done."
Ye Chen's heart trembled violently. Yet within him, the desire for Eternity grew even stronger.
The blood-stained future—indeed, only by achieving Eternity, transcending all, could it be changed.
The Golden Crow Great Emperor looked into the distance, his gaze profound. "Unfortunately, the current me is not a true return, not a true ancient Great Emperor, merely a small portion awakened."
Ye Chen said, "How much longer does Senior need to fully awaken?"
The Golden Crow Great Emperor looked at him and instead asked, "When you all suppressed and slew the Demon-Slaying Demon Emperor, had it fully recovered to the Great Perfection Emperor realm?"