Then Zhang Xiaofan carefully took the golden bell, which had long since lost its luster, from his robes.
The Joyous Union Bell.
He slowly dripped the drop of Soul-Nurturing Liquid, brimming with vitality, onto the golden bell.
A miracle happened at that moment.
The instant the green liquid touched the Joyous Union Bell, it turned into a gentle green light and seeped into the bell.
The once-dull Joyous Union Bell began to glow with a faint golden light once more.
A clear, melodious chime rang softly through the silent Treasury of the Heavenly Emperor.
"Ding-ling."
The chime seemed to hold a strange magic.
It soothed Zhang Xiaofan's heart, battered and broken by countless wounds.
It also seemed to tell him of endless longing and love.
Zhang Xiaofan clutched the Joyous Union Bell, now shining once more. He could feel that the connection with the green-clad girl sleeping within it, severed so long ago, had been restored.
Though that connection was still as faint as a candle flickering in the wind,
it was there, after all.
"Bi Yao..."
Zhang Xiaofan murmured her name, and for the first time in ten years, a brilliant smile spread across his face.
He looked up at Li Xiaoyu, gratitude filling his eyes, which had regained their light.
"Thank you, Senior Brother Li."
Zhang Xiaofan looked at Li Xiaoyu and spoke solemnly.
Those words of thanks carried too much emotion to express.
Li Xiaoyu looked at him and smiled with equal warmth.
After an unknown length of time, Little Gray, who had been sleeping atop the White Jade Altar, finally stirred awake.
It rubbed its bleary eyes and let out a long yawn.
Then its body jolted.
A vast, vibrant energy erupted from within it!
The faint, multicolored radiance around its body blazed brilliantly.
Amid that