Boom—
Finally, all of Ye Chen's divine souls imprinted across the cosmic starry sky were completely summoned back, coalescing into a single figure.
Naturally, Ye Junlin had paid a heavy price for this. The terrifying Forbidden Heavenly Thunder had blasted his physical body to the brink of utter annihilation, leaving behind only charred white bones.
After all, this was a soul-summoning for a Half-Step Overlord, involving a heaven-defying resurrection that essentially went completely against the operational laws of the Chaos Sea.
It was only because it was Ye Junlin—a Primordial Giant-level existence, and himself a Chaos True Dragon who had inherited half of Ye Chen's Chaos bloodline, innately attuned and intimate with Chaos—that, to a certain degree, this Forbidden Heavenly Thunder had been significantly weakened.
Boom—
Suddenly, a Half-Step Overlord-level Forbidden Heavenly Thunder descended from the heavens, carrying unprecedented power as it blasted towards Ye Junlin and Ye Chen's divine soul.
Ye Junlin felt his hair stand on end, sensing a bone-chilling death crisis rushing towards him.
All those standing guard also changed color!
If it struck, not only would Ye Chen's hard-won, newly coalesced divine soul certainly be utterly annihilated, but Ye Junlin would also face the danger of perishing.
"Disperse!"
At that moment, the Heavenly Emperor, far away at the origin of the Pangu Universe, extended a giant hand that in the blink of an eye covered the infinite starry sky, grabbing that Half-Step Overlord-level Forbidden Heavenly Thunder as if seizing a small insect. No matter how the Half-Step Overlord-level Forbidden Heavenly Thunder struggled, it could not escape the Heavenly Emperor's palm.
Boom—
Simultaneously, the Heavenly Emperor's palm pressed down, and the residual Forbidden Heavenly Thunder, along with the causal laws, were completely disintegrated and annihilated.
The cosmic starry sky returned to calm once more.
Ye Junlin immediately circulated his peerless heavenly technique, repairing all his injuries and restoring his handsome, jade-like appearance.
Yet, he still coughed up blood incessantly; he had ultimately sustained Dao injuries.
But to resurrect Ye Chen, he was willing to pay any price.
"Yue!"
"Dad!"
"Father!"
"Little Moon!"
"Battle Saint King!"
...
One by one, people rushed over to Ye Chen's divine soul, overjoyed that they had finally succeeded.
However, soon everyone's expressions changed again.
Even after gathering all of Ye Chen's divine souls imprinted across the cosmic starry sky and reassembling them, they remained in a state of closed eyes, as if in deep slumber.
The Time-Space Great Emperor, Tai Sheng Huang, the Battle Saint Ancestor, the Heaven-Defying War Lord, the Human Emperor, the Six Paths Great Emperor, and others saw this and fell silent.
Clearly, although the divine soul had been reassembled, it was far less than a thousandth or even a hundredth of Ye Chen's peak state from the past. It was extremely weak and lacked the most crucial element, preventing him from awakening and returning.
The Heavenly Emperor's voice resounded: "He should have been utterly annihilated, body and soul. Now you have reassembled the fragments of his divine soul imprinted in the cosmic starry sky, but that is all. To truly revive him is not yet possible, for his True Spirit is absent."
The True Spirit was the very core of the divine soul.
A divine soul lacking a True Spirit was like a body lacking a soul—essentially useless!
The Goddess and others turned deathly pale. In the end, could Ye Chen not be fully resurrected?
Ye Junlin suddenly spoke: "Master, can an Eleventh-Rank Heaven-Defying Emperor Pill reassemble Father's True Spirit and completely resurrect him?"
The Eleventh-Rank Heaven-Defying Emperor Pill was the most heaven-defying pill of all ages. Even if an Ancient Great Emperor were utterly annihilated, body and soul, it could forcibly reverse everything and bring about resurrection, demonstrating its incredible, heaven-defying effect.
"The Heaven-Defying Emperor Pill can indeed resurrect fallen Ancient Great Emperors," Tai Sheng Huang said, "but your father is different. He is a Half-Step Overlord. No matter how heaven-defying the pill's effect, it cannot truly resurrect him." Resurrecting a Half-Step Overlord was not so easy.
Moreover, the Heaven-Defying Emperor Pill was difficult to refine; in the present era, only the Alchemy Emperor could refine it.
Yet, even if one could request the Alchemy Emperor's assistance, the materials required to refine an Eleventh-Rank Heaven-Defying Emperor Pill were also exceedingly hard to find.
Had they not seen how Ye Chen, in his day, had shaken the Chaos Sea, with countless Immortal Kings and Eternal Giants collecting materials for him, yet ultimately failing to gather all the necessary ingredients?
Everyone felt a sense of despair.
The Heavenly Emperor said, "It is not entirely impossible to resurrect him. Little Friend Ye is a Half-Step Overlord, one who has perfected the Chaos Great Dao, a former Ten Tribulations God King, a Quasi-Monarch who stepped onto the Eternal Path, walking the most perilous and powerful road, and who possesses the great fortune of the Pangu Universe. Moreover, he was originally a Half-Step Overlord; how easy would it be to completely annihilate all of his True Spirit? There must still be True Spirit remaining in the world, merely drifting outside, not yet returned."
Ye Junlin and the others' eyes lit up: "How can we call his True Spirit back?"
The Heavenly Emperor's gaze was profound as he said, "Do not worry. He will eventually return; it is just that the time is not yet right."
Hearing this, everyone felt a surge of hope.
Since the Heavenly Emperor had spoken, he must have his reasons!
Tai Sheng Huang said, "What is important now is to nurture and strengthen his divine soul. Otherwise, if his True Spirit returns one day, a divine soul too weak would easily collapse and be unable to withstand it."
The Human Emperor said, "Little Friend Ye also once walked the Buddha's Path of Faith, bearing the faith of billions. Placing his divine soul within an endless sea of faith power to nurture it might allow him to recover more quickly."
The eyes of the other Giants lit up.
Indeed, the Path of Faith could lead to attaining the Dao and becoming an Emperor, and it had infinite wondrous uses. One could rely on the faith power in the hearts of the people to survive; even if one perished one day, perhaps they could be resurrected.
Ye Chen had also studied the Path of Faith and established temples for people to believe in him, which could be used to accelerate the strengthening and recovery of his divine soul.
Immediately, led by Ye Junlin, the members of the Chaos Heaven Mansion placed Ye Chen's divine soul within an endless sea of faith power to nurture it, simultaneously mobilizing forces across the world to have people chant the praises of the Chaos Heavenly Emperor.
Clearly, the effect was truly evident. Ye Chen's divine soul was growing stronger and more complete day by day. Although he had not yet awakened, he was strengthening, bringing comfort to the members of the Chaos Heaven Mansion.
As long as Ye Chen was still alive, that was the best outcome!
...
In the Alien Ancient Universe, at the origin of the universe, ancestral temples stood tall, and all the Alien Giants had awakened.
Hongtian Sovereign said gravely, "The people of the Pangu Universe have performed a soul-summoning for the Chaos Heavenly Emperor, recalling all the fragments of his divine soul imprinted across the starry sky from his past glory. Could it be that he is being resurrected?"
Many Alien Giants wore ugly expressions. They had paid a tremendous price, even sacrificing a Half-Step Overlord like Modaozi, to finally cause the Chaos Heavenly Emperor's fall. Now, was he about to be resurrected?
Aoyuan's voice rang out: "How could resurrecting a Half-Step Overlord be so easy? Moreover, back then, the Chaos Heavenly Emperor burned everything, annihilating even his core True Spirit. It is fundamentally impossible for him to be resurrected. Even if their soul-summoning succeeded today, it is merely some fragments of the Chaos Heavenly Emperor's divine soul, lacking the True Spirit—equivalent to a soulless spirit."
The Alien Giants nodded, finding Aoyuan's words quite reasonable. Besides, he was one of those who had intercepted the Chaos Heavenly Emperor back then, a Half-Step Overlord himself, qualified to speak.
Thus, the Alien Giants felt somewhat more at ease.
In the most ancient ancestral temple, Shidai's gaze pierced through everything, looking towards the origin of the universe. He spoke, though it was unclear to whom: "How could you die!"