Perhaps fighting side by side had made the leaders of various countries a little friendlier, or perhaps the remaining crises had forced everyone to unite. Whatever the reason, the world had fallen into a rare peace. At least on the surface, there were no more wars; instead, charity and relief efforts were in full swing.
Aid went to poor, underdeveloped countries.
Food and shelter were provided for the elderly with no one to rely on and people driven from place to place, while orphans received warmth and care.
Even stray cats and dogs benefited.
Chen Shu often saw such stories in the news.
When autumn came, Chen Shu and Qingqing returned to Bai City. They sat on the edge of the Yuanzhou Cube, eating homemade mooncakes and admiring the moonlight.
Snow weighed on the dark mountains; a bright moon lit the southern sky.
A disturbance suddenly stirred between heaven and earth. It was so faint that it affected almost no living beings; even most cultivators could not sense it.
Then more than a dozen vast wills descended, likewise imperceptible to ordinary people.
The Forbidden Lands opened. The deities returned.
"They're back."
Chen Shu raised his head and gazed into the distance.
Behind him came only a soft hum from Qingqing.
By his reckoning, it was about time.
The journey back to Earth from the "hall" took roughly half a year by Earth's measure.
Chen Shu savored his mooncake and carefully felt the deities' wills, along with the effects their return had wrought on the world in that instant. He matched each distinct sensation to a deity and counted silently.
Great Yi's Founding Emperor, Emperor of the Martial Ancestors, the Bright Sect Emperor, the Spirit Sage and the Sword God, two celestial venerables of the Daoist Order, the Eastern Continent's Tiger