The moment Li Qingyun succeeded, the oppressive gloom that had hung over all of humanity vanished instantly.
Everyone paused for a beat, then their shock was replaced by immense joy.
The red spears that had been impaled in Wang Teng and the others' backs suddenly disappeared.
They rose to their feet, a mixture of surprise and confusion on their faces.
"Did we win?"
"Of course! I knew Brother Qingyun could do it!"
"Damn it, I didn't get to participate in this offensive!"
"..."
Wang Teng shook his slightly sore arm and looked around.
People were cheering. Everyone had sensed Li Qingyun's defeat of Yan Xu.
Thus, they celebrated this victory.
Yan Xu, the alien god who had attempted to control all of humanity, had been slain by Li Qingyun.
This was a landmark event for all humans across the multi-universal cosmos.
It meant humanity now possessed a top-tier powerhouse capable of resisting alien gods, and humans would no longer be used as pawns in their machinations.
Anyone who wished to play chess now had to be prepared for their board to be flipped.
This occasion should have been filled with pure joy, but for some reason, Wang Teng and the others felt a persistent sense of melancholy.
"Why don't you guys seem all that happy? What we've strived for these past three years has finally succeeded, hasn't it?" Shen Yingxue was the first to voice the question.
Everyone exchanged glances.
"Are we not? I think I'm quite happy... maybe?"
"I feel like something is missing. I just can't bring myself to be happy."
"Perhaps we should ask Qingyun when he gets back what exactly went wrong?"
"..."
"This humble Taoist shall divine a hexagram..." Bai Nianchen calculated, counting on his fingers, and a small Bagua array appeared.
However, as it spun, the Bagua array suddenly collapsed.
This shocked him greatly. "A scam?"
Seeing Bai Nianchen's reaction, everyone crowded around to ask.
"Daoist Bai, what happened? What scam?"
Bai Nianchen furrowed his brows. "Everything we see is real, but our thoughts might be false."
After hearing this, they all fell into contemplation.
Then, as if by unspoken agreement, their gazes all turned towards Xue Qianwei.
Xue Qianwei was startled. "What is it, brothers? Why are you all looking at me like that?"
"Boss Xue, our memories are compromised!"
"Compromised how? What does that have to do with me?"
"Only you can influence our memories. You must have given us something to drink!"
Xue Qianwei cried out her innocence, indignantly saying, "How dare you suspect me! Have you forgotten who helped you achieve divinity? And I myself feel like I've forgotten things. We've all been targeted; I'm a victim!"
The others were somewhat unconvinced but had no grounds to dispute it.
After all, they inexplicably felt a tinge of resentment towards Xue Qianwei.
...
The world returned to its original course. The people of Blue Star were now preparing for the final celebrations.
The war had claimed many lives and resulted in great losses.
Peace, long yearned for, had finally arrived. They had defeated an enemy that had once terrified them. Whether for remembrance or commendation, a victory banquet was indispensable.
However, to everyone's bewilderment, Li Qingyun had not yet returned.
Seven days later, the entire Blue Star erupted in chaos!
Xue Qianwei, now tied to the ground, said dejectedly, "Brothers, I had no choice! Besides, our memories have returned now, haven't they?"
Everyone stared unhappily at the bound Xue Qianwei.
Yes, as of today, their memories had suddenly returned.
More precisely, everyone on Blue Star had their memories restored simultaneously.
As the instigator of all this, Xue Qianwei naturally bore the brunt of their questioning.
"Who would want to forget him? Do you think I'm a cold-blooded monster? The pill I refined had a duration of only seven days. It was meant to help Qingyun defeat that alien god! I didn't tell you because I feared you wouldn't agree!"
Everyone felt a surge of irritation.
While they had been somewhat happy about Yan Xu's demise, they could no longer feel any joy. Everyone's eyes were red-rimmed, and they had wept bitterly.
The thought that they had forgotten such an important person before made them feel unbearable anguish!
If the pill had no time limit, would everyone have forgotten Senior Immortal Brother forever?
Forgetting was a truly terrifying thing, especially forgetting someone unforgettable to everyone.
Meng Zibin was silent for a moment, then asked Xue Qianwei, "When Immortal Brother asked you to do this, did he leave any... contingency plans?"
Everyone knew that what Meng Zibin referred to as contingency plans was Chu Yang's resurrection.
However, Xue Qianwei's brows also drooped. "At the time, he said... when the plan succeeded, we would have to find a way ourselves..."
This didn't entirely extinguish the possibility of resurrection, but it could also be a lingering hope left by Chu Yang.
Xue Qianwei was untied. Everyone knew they couldn't blame her for this matter, as it was precisely this move that delivered the fatal blow to Yan Xu.
Luo Xiaowei slammed his hand on the table and shouted loudly, "Everyone, pull yourselves together! We cannot abandon any hope. We now have a common goal: to resurrect Immortal Brother!"
"That's right! In the world of cultivators, death and resurrection are not uncommon. There must be some secret methods that can bring people back!"
"We can seek advice from Senior Azure Emperor. He is knowledgeable!"
"Brother Qingyun possesses the power of creation. He's also a healer. He should have a resurrection skill, right?"
"He hasn't returned yet. I suspect he might also be working on resurrecting Immortal Brother. We'll try from other avenues!"
"Daoist Bai, do you have any miraculous Taoist techniques?"
"This humble Taoist believes this isn't a matter of Taoist techniques. Things like Cthulhu or alchemy have resurrection of the dead, and Immortal Brother isn't an ordinary person..."
...
After a long discussion, they began employing various methods to search for clues that could lead to resurrection.
Most methods for bringing people back to life required, at the very least, finding fragments of the deceased's soul.
This presented a significant challenge for everyone.
For Chu Yang's body and soul had departed with Yan Xu's possession, and even if they were to find soul fragments, it would have to be at the battlefield between Li Qingyun and Yan Xu.
However, they had no way to reach that battlefield. Without the [Book of Planar Anchors], they could not teleport.
Yet, even so, they had not given up on searching for similar methods...