"Withdraw!"
Shidai spoke. As the one who held undisputed absolute authority within the Alien Ancient Universe, once he gave the order, no one dared to oppose it. They all complied one by one. Even though their casualties were heavy, the Alien Giants began to withdraw their forces.
The various powers of the Chaos Sea were shaken, yet also silent.
This was the Heavenly Emperor—the deterrent power of the Chaos Sea's peerless overlord. Merely by his return, he could pose such a colossal threat that the Alien Ancient Universe, which had held an absolute advantage, was forced to retreat. One could imagine the depth of their fear.
In the end, a great battle worthy of being recorded in the annals of history thus came to a close.
The Alien Giants withdrew, returning to the Alien Ancient Universe to regroup.
The three Alien Half-Step Overlords, including Aoyuan, also returned, though each was grievously wounded. It would likely take several epochs for them to fully recover.
However, by this day, the various powers of the Chaos Sea had finally come to fully understand the terror of the Alien Ancient Universe. It possessed so many Giants, several Half-Step Overlords, and the invincible Shidai presiding over it all.
With such power, who could contend against it, save for the Primordial Immortal Realm, hailed as the First Chaos Ancient Universe of the Chaos Sea?
Even a force as mighty as the Pangu Universe, with the Heavenly Emperor's return, likely only maintained the strength for self-preservation.
The Alien retreat and the Heavenly Emperor's return, along with the return of other Pangu Universe Giants like the Battle Saint Ancestor and Tai Sheng Huang, filled the Pangu Universe with excitement.
One by one, these pillar-like powers formally returned, signifying that the Pangu Universe had grown even stronger. Even the Alien Ancient Universe would not dare to attack lightly.
All because the Heavenly Emperor had returned. He alone could pose a massive threat to the entire Alien Ancient Universe.
Moreover, the Time-Space Great Emperor had also returned.
The only regret was the fall of the Chaos Heavenly Emperor and the Qingtian Great Emperor.
Many felt profound sorrow for the Chaos Heavenly Emperor, this era's strongest genius who had risen like a comet over a mere few hundred thousand years. Had he continued to grow, he might well have become a second Heavenly Emperor.
Alas, heaven envies true talent.
The same was true for the Qingtian Great Emperor.
Only now did the world learn that the Qingtian Great Emperor had been wronged, that he had never truly betrayed the Pangu Universe. He had even been willing to bear the infamy of the ages, lurking within the Alien Ancient Universe, all for the day he could aid the Pangu Universe.
But he was ultimately discovered. A generation's Qingtian Great Emperor, who should have enjoyed supreme glory, ultimately fell in a foreign land. It was a tragedy!
The disgraceful name of the Qingtian Great Emperor vanished completely. On the contrary, the world now revered this supreme Great Emperor.
Similarly, the infamy of the Six Paths Great Emperor also ended. The world revered him—a great man who, like the Qingtian Great Emperor, had borne disgrace while lying in wait. He was not to be insulted.
With the battle concluded, no grand celebrations were held across the Pangu Universe. Instead, people spontaneously mourned the Chaos Heavenly Emperor.
It was his sacrifice that had bought the Pangu Universe its most precious time, allowing the Heavenly Emperor to return smoothly and prevent disaster.
The Chaos Heaven Mansion was steeped in sorrow. Ye Chen's fall brought grief to many.
Although the Goddess, Yi Wu, and others still believed Ye Chen had not perished—for past events had proven time and again that Ye Chen always returned from death, never truly dying—they believed this time would surely be the same. He could not have completely passed away.
But many Great Emperors and Supremes were pessimistic. This time, his form and spirit had been incinerated. Moreover, the opponent he faced was Shidai, the most invincible existence across all ages. How could such a being allow even a sliver of Ye Chen's divine soul to remain in the world? He would surely employ supreme forbidden means to utterly destroy it, reducing it to ashes.
The possibility that the Chaos Heavenly Emperor had completely perished was extremely high. The hope of his resurrection was infinitely close to zero.
"Senior Time-Space Great Emperor, can you save my father?"
Ye Junlin was covered in blood, but his heart was now filled with anguish. He could not accept his father's fall.
Now, his father was practically reduced to ashes. Not even a fragment of his divine soul could be found.
He could not bring himself to believe that his father, the Chaos Heavenly Emperor who stood firm between heaven and earth, who alone could awe the Chaos Sea, had fallen just like that.
Ye Junlin sought out the Time-Space Great Emperor first, not the Heavenly Emperor, because the Time-Space Great Emperor was the highest achiever in the Dao of time and space across the ages. Perhaps he had a method to reverse time and resurrect his father, Ye Chen.
The others of the Chaos Heaven Mansion also looked to the Time-Space Great Emperor. Ya Ya even said, "Grandpa Time-Space Great Emperor, you are the number one in time and space throughout history. If you act, you can definitely reverse time and bring Daddy back."
Facing their hopeful gazes, the Time-Space Great Emperor remained silent for a long time before finally letting out a soft sigh. "I'm sorry, child. I cannot defy heaven."
Even as the Time-Space Great Emperor, the highest achiever in the Great Dao of time and space from ancient times to the present, a peerless figure who could be said to traverse past and future, he sighed helplessly.
If Ye Chen were an ordinary cultivator, even an Ancient Great Emperor, the Time-Space Great Emperor would have some confidence in reversing time to resurrect him.
But Ye Chen was not. He was too special, too powerful. As a Half-Step Overlord, it was fundamentally impossible to reverse time and save Ye Chen.
Even if the Time-Space Great Emperor were willing, the backlash from such temporal reversal alone would be enough to overwhelm and kill him before he could fully resurrect Ye Chen.
Ye Junlin and the others despaired. Even the strong-willed ones like the Goddess, Yi Wu, and Yu Qing were disheartened and sorrowful. Could it be that Ye Chen was truly gone forever this time?
With form and spirit extinguished, not even a wisp of his Chaos Saint Soul remained. How could a peerless overlord like Shidai allow Ye Chen's Chaos Saint Soul to escape?
The Battle Saint Ancestor said gravely, "Time-Space, do you truly have no method at all?"
Tai Sheng Huang said, "Perhaps others cannot do it, but you are the foremost in time and space. You should be able to reverse time, even if just to recover a wisp of his divine soul."
They did not seek Ye Chen's complete resurrection, for that was difficult, even world-defying, given that Ye Chen was a Half-Step Overlord of immense power.
But if they could reverse time and resurrect even a wisp of his divine soul, letting him live as an ordinary person, they could at least protect Ye Chen and ensure he lived a peaceful, healthy life.
"However, it's not entirely without hope," the Time-Space Great Emperor suddenly said.
"What method is there?" Everyone felt a flicker of hope.
The Time-Space Great Emperor said solemnly, "For others, perhaps not. But the Chaos Heavenly Emperor was one who perfected the Chaos Great Dao. Moreover, when he achieved Giant status in the past, the Star Sky celebrated, and he also imprinted part of his Chaos Saint Soul within the Pangu Universe. With his capabilities, perhaps after billions of years, or three to five epochs, he might defy heaven and return."
Whenever one proved their Dao as a Supreme within the Chaos Ancient Universe of their birth, they could trigger a celebration from the Star Sky and imprint a portion of their divine soul within the starry expanse, allowing for a potential resurrection in the future.
Of course, this was merely a saying. Throughout the endless ages, not just for Supremes, but even for Quasi-Giants and Eternal Giants, those who truly managed to resurrect could be counted on one's fingers.
Because that portion of the divine soul imprinted in the cosmic Star Sky, unless it awakened immediately, would gradually be assimilated by the myriad Daos of heaven and earth over time, becoming part of the world itself. Once that happened, they would be completely gone, never to transcend and return.
"In that case, I will personally summon his soul, to bring Father back completely," Ye Junlin declared resolutely.