Qiu Bai nodded upon seeing the situation, then vanished instantly.
When he reappeared, he was already in the outside world. Morax and the others had been standing beside the chaotic sphere for some time.
Then the sphere dissolved into points of light and disappeared.
"Your barrier was truly formidable." said Azhdaha with his hands behind his back, smiling at Qiu Bai. "It must have cost you quite an effort."
"It consumed half of my divine power, plus decades of talisman crafting." Qiu Bai replied with a smile. "Now it's destroyed, but saving you makes it all worthwhile."
Unfortunately, the barrier had been on the verge of collapse. During the great battle, it had been constantly at the brink of destruction.
Qiu Bai had been maintaining it with his divine power, which was the only reason it hadn't been destroyed.
"Cloud Retainer, come over here!" Qiu Bai shouted with his divine power. "It's over now!"
The barrier surrounding them disappeared and several adepti, the Five Yaksha and Qiu Yue all flew over.
"Hehe, this is truly something to be happy about."
said Ping'er, standing in the sky and smiling at Azhdaha.
"Is that you, Ping'er?" Azhdaha looked at her and smiled. "You haven't changed after all this time. I still remember when you tried to snatch Morax bell."
"That's all ancient history," Ping'er turned her head in irritation toward Morax. "It was because he wouldn't give it to me."
"Hahaha," Morax eternally stone-like face broke into a joyful laugh.
"But I gave it to you eventually, didn't I?"
"Azhdaha, why have you taken the form of a young man?"
Cloud Retainer teased the Dragon King.
"It doesn't suit you. Weren't you in the form of a middle-aged man before?"
"The wear and tear has been restored. If I kept my old appearance, wouldn't it be inconsistent with my image?"
Azhdaha laughed as he looked at his old friends.
"Cloud Retainer, are you ignoring me?"
Qiu Bai crossed his arms and smiled.
"Haven't you missed me after all this time?"
"Go away, it hasn't been that long!"
The human form of Cloud Retainer waved dismissively at Qiu Bai, responding with feigned disdain.
"Who would miss someone like you?"
"Brother, Qiu Yue missed you!"
Qiu Yue said happily, hugging Qiu Bai.
"I missed you too, sister."
Qiu Bai stroked his sister head tenderly.
"This is wonderful! The Immortal Lord, Rex Lapis, and the Dragon King you're all safe. It truly makes me happy."
Bonanus said joyfully as she observed the scene.
"Hahaha, this calls for a drink! Don't you think so, Indarias?"
Bosacius put his large arm around Indarias shoulder, laughing heartily.
"Get off me, Bosacius!"
Indarias looked at him with disgust.
"All you think about is drinking."
"Ah, you guys..."
Menogias shook his head helplessly.
Xiao remained silent, merely observing everyone with a faint smile on his lips.
"However, it seems one old friend has yet to appear."
Qiu Bai said calmly, crossing his arms as he looked at the assembled adepti.
"Our old friend, Skybracer is still not with us."
The horns of the Adeptus Skybracer, having absorbed the essence of Rex Lapis geo power, were once the hardest objects in all of Liyue.
During a battle where mountains were collapsing from the force of combat, he allowed a friend to cut off his antlers to prevent harm to a village at the mountain foot.
He used his bloodied antlers as a support to hold up an entire mountain. He himself continued fighting until he had shed his last drop of blood.
To this day, the mountain he once supported, Mount Tianheng still stands tall. The blood he shed in that desperate battle gathered to form the Bishui River.
"S-Skybracer?" Xiao seemed to be recalling something and sighed. It was Xiao who had cut off his antlers back then.
"Immortal Lord, do you intend to resurrect Skybracer?" Bosacius looked at Qiu Bai in shock.
Qiu Bai smiled and nodded.
Then he teleported away, appearing at a riverbank south of Qingce Village. He collected some water from the river - the Bishui River - and instantly returned to where everyone was standing.
The water floated above his hand. Yin and yang energies began to rotate and infuse into the water.
To everyone's amazement, the energies gradually formed into a beast-like adeptus with antlers on his head.
After some time, the Adeptus Skybracer was completely resurrected by Qiu Bai. Golden lines emanated from his body, giving off a faint light, and his tail glowed blue.
He looked at everyone in bewilderment.
"You all? I'm... alive?"
Skybracer deer head looked over his entire body in disbelief.
"It was I who resurrected you."
Qiu Bai said calmly.
"This is Liyue Harbor, two thousand years later."
"Who are you?" Skybracer asked Qiu Bai in confusion.
"And, Lord Rex Lapis?!"
He turned his head and exclaimed in shock upon seeing Morax.
Azhdaha was also stunned, having no idea that Qiu Bai could resurrect the deceased.
"H-heavens!"
Paimon was so shocked she could barely speak.
"Qiu Bai can actually bring people back to life!"
The Traveler also stared at Qiu Bai with her mouth agape.
"Let me explain."
Morax smiled at the confused Skybracer. He then recounted the events of the past few thousand years to Skybracer.
"I see..."
Xiao-Dao-Tian transformed into a young man and bowed to Qiu Bai.
"Immortal Lord, I apologize for my rudeness."
"Haha, it's nothing."
Qiu Bai smiled.
"Coming back is a good thing."
"As the God of Yin and Yang, I possess the authority of resurrection and it's only fitting that I use it."
Qiu Bai explained to the bewildered crowd
After some time, everyone recovered from their shock. But they still looked at Qiu Bai with some disbelief.
The Four Yaksha, however, were no longer surprised, as they too had been resurrected by the Immortal Lord. Qiu Yue also watched everyone, not understanding why they were so surprised.
Even she could allow the deceased to temporarily remain in this world, so wasn't it normal that her brother could resurrect people?
"Hehe, Skybracer, you've actually returned."
Moon Carver stepped forward and smiled at Skybracer.
"You should go and see your old dwelling."
"Yes, after thousands of years."
Mountain Shaper smiled at the confused Skybracer.
"Your dwelling remains just as it was."
"You lot still look the same as before," the humanoid Skybracer turned to look at his old friends with a smile.
"I never thought there would come a day when I could speak with you all like this again."
(T/N: Like the story fellow daoist? Read 20 chapters ahead on my P@treon [p@treon.com/DaoistRongyi] Thanks for your support! 😊)