Sweeping across the heavens, starting with the first emperor of the ancient times.

"The Golden Crow bloodline is one of the most powerful bloodlines even in the legends of the Immortal Realm. It governs the Great Dao of the Sun and possesses terrifyingly boundless talent," the tower spirit continued.

"When Donghuang fell to this world, although he was young, his life essence was extremely high and his potential was infinite. With the help of the Golden Crow bloodline and inheritance, he rose rapidly in the Primordial Era, swept away all enemies, and finally proved his Dao and became an emperor, calling himself Donghuang. He once ruled the world and his power was so great that he almost unified the entire Primordial Era."

Jiang Hao listened quietly, and this information corroborated what he already knew.

A golden crow from the Immortal Realm, possessing superior bloodline and inheritance, its power is unimaginable.

His ability to suppress so many ancient emperors in the Primordial Era was no fluke.

"The Great Dao of both the Holy Emperor and the Eastern Emperor is related to the sun," Jiang Hao said thoughtfully.

"Although their origins are different—one stemming from the sun's essence in this world, and the other from the Golden Crow bloodline of the Immortal Realm—their outward manifestations do share similarities and connections. The Eastern Emperor's sneak attack on the Holy Emperor..."

His gaze sharpened slightly as he voiced his conjecture:

"It's probably not as simple as hatred or obstruction of his path. What he wants is likely the Dao Fruit that the Sun Emperor has refined through two lifetimes, containing the ultimate essence of the Sun Dao of this world. He wants to devour or merge with the Sun Emperor's Dao Fruit to aid his cultivation, and perhaps even... glimpse a higher realm!"

Normally, a true emperor wouldn't have the ability to steal the fruits of others' cultivation to improve himself.

But Donghuang is different; he has immortal bloodline and inheritance, and it is very likely that he has secret techniques in this area.

Upon hearing this, both the tower spirit and the divine thought were shaken.

"Plundering Dao Fruits..."

The deity murmured repeatedly, his eyes filled with even deeper hatred, yet also revealing a sense of powerlessness and despair.

If that's the case, the Holy Emperor's remains would probably have already been refined by the Eastern Emperor, so how could they possibly be found? The hope of revenge would be even slimmer.

He looked at the stone coffin in his arms, at the lonely human skin, and his obsession with returning home seemed to come to an end at this moment, followed by a deeper sense of nothingness and deathly silence.

He originated from the Holy Emperor's evil thoughts and obsessions. Now that his obsessions have subsided and his evil thoughts have been mostly cleansed by the divine light of Fusang, his remaining consciousness is like a candle flickering in the wind.

"The Holy Emperor...in the end...will never return..."

The deity's voice deepened, his form accelerated and became transparent, and the rain of light fell even more rapidly.

"My lingering will has no purpose in continuing... I shall dissipate here, perhaps so that it may resonate with the last trace of the Holy Emperor's true spirit remaining in the world..."

"Old friend!" the tower spirit cried out urgently, but did not know how to dissuade him.

Just then, Jiang Hao suddenly spoke, his voice calm yet carrying an undeniable power.

"Senior, wait a moment."

The deity paused, looking blankly at Jiang Hao.

Jiang Hao walked up to him, his gaze sweeping over the human skin in the stone coffin, then looking at the divine thought, and slowly said:

"Although the Holy Emperor's body is lost, it is not impossible for it to return."

"What?" The deity and the tower spirit were speechless almost simultaneously, their eyes flashing with disbelief.

Jiang Hao continued:

"Although the Holy Emperor suffered a calamity, what kind of person was he? The Second Emperor had attempted a Nirvana transformation, and his life imprint and Dao mark were already deeply engraved in the Dao of the Sun and even the myriad Daos of Heaven and Earth in this world. They could not be easily erased."

He pointed to the human skin in the coffin:

"Although this skin is now just an empty shell, it is stained with the Holy Emperor's essence and blood, containing his last breath and fragments of his life imprint."

Then he looked at the deity and thought.

"And you are the embodiment of the Holy Emperor's evil thoughts and obsessions. In a sense, you are also a continuation of the Holy Emperor's life and will, carrying a part of his incomplete spirit."

"If in the future I can find the core of the imperial origin that was taken from the Holy Emperor, or at least find clues to its whereabouts... and combine it with this skin, and with your special divine thought, to nourish its spirit and reunite its seal... it may not be impossible to win a chance for the Holy Emperor to reappear in the world."

Jiang Hao's words were not impassioned, but they were like a ray of dawn that cleaved through the darkness, causing the almost extinguished spiritual light of the deity to suddenly stabilize and even become bright again!

The tower spirit was so excited that its illusory form trembled, and it spoke incoherently:

"Your Majesty...You mean, there is still hope for the Holy Emperor's return?"

Even a glimmer of hope is far better than utter despair.

Jiang Hao looked at the deity and recited,

"Senior, if you were to pass away now, this thread of hope would lose a crucial piece of the puzzle. Would you be willing to remain in this world for the time being, to await the future?"

The god's hands trembled slightly as he held the stone coffin. He looked down at the human skin, then at his own gradually solidifying form, and the deathly grayness in his eyes was replaced by an almost burning hope.

After a long while, he slowly and solemnly bowed deeply to Jiang Hao once again.

This time, it was no longer a farewell filled with despair, but a plea carrying entrustment and expectation:

"The future emperor...this old man...is willing to retain this frail body, and by sheer will, even if hope is as faint as a spark, I am willing to wait for...the possibility of the Holy Emperor's return!"

The spirit of the tower also bowed deeply, deeply moved.

Jiang Hao reached out a hand to help him up, a faint smile on his face:

"Alright. Then please stay in the stone tower for now, senior, and nurture yourselves together with the tower spirit. After I finish dealing with some worldly affairs, I will begin to study this method and keep an eye on the whereabouts of the Eastern Emperor and the Holy Emperor's remains."

He raised his hand and summoned the divine spirit, which, along with the stone coffin he was holding, transformed into a stream of light and disappeared into the Sun Stone Tower.

The tower spirit straightened up, looked at Jiang Hao, and was filled with emotion:

"Unexpectedly, after the Holy Emperor fell for countless ages, the human race has produced another new emperor, and... he is a being who attained enlightenment through the Chaos Body."

He paused, his tone complex:

"Throughout his life, the Holy Emperor, and even the former Taiyin Emperor, had devoted all his efforts to trying to cultivate Taiyin and Taiyang together, reverse Yin and Yang, and achieve the Chaos Body in the future. Unfortunately... the Great Dao is difficult, and he ultimately regretted it. Your Majesty, as a person with an innate Chaos Body, has attained the Dao, which seems to be a unique advantage. If the Holy Emperor knew this, he would surely feel gratified."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Hao was also filled with emotion.

On his path of cultivation, he benefited from many fragments of the Ancient Scripture of the Sun and the Ancient Scripture of the Moon, inheriting their legacy.

Both publicly and privately, protecting the lineage of the two emperors is our duty.

"Fellow Daoist," Jiang Hao said.

"I have come to Tanggu today for two reasons: first, for the elixir of immortality from Fusang, and second, for the Stone Tower. The Sun Emperor has illuminated the path for humankind, and his achievements are immortal. His lineage, the Sun God Cult, cannot be suppressed without an imperial artifact. My intention is to return the Stone Tower to the Sun God Cult. Are you willing?"

The two Holy Emperor lineages did not fare well because they lacked imperial troops to protect them.

Descendants of the Holy Queen should not be treated this way.

Upon hearing this, the tower spirit trembled slightly, and excitement appeared in its eyes.

Jiang Hao continued.

"The reason for returning the stone tower to the Sun God Cult is also for this purpose. The Sun God Cult possesses the bloodline of the Sun Body, and the Taiyin Body of the Taiyin God Cult are both the closest to the Chaos Body. In the universe, the Taiyin and the Sun are of different strengths and weaknesses. The rumors of Yin and Yang working together and becoming the emperor of the world are widespread, which inevitably attracts covetousness. Only with an imperial artifact in place can the lineage be kept safe and the bloodline continue."

With his current strength, he has absolutely no need for imperial weapons.

My own Chaos Heavenly Blade is powerful enough.