Far away on the shore, The Doctor was busy collecting the remnants of the demon god.
A faint smirk appeared at the corner of his lips. He had been stunned for quite some time by the sword strike that had split the heavens and earth.
"A most satisfying experiment."
"I never expected that god of Liyue to take action."
He murmured to himself, continuing to gather the god's remains and carefully placing them into a strange container.
"The Gnosis? Let Childe and Signora handle that."
"As for me, I'll be sending some rather interesting materials back."
He let out a twisted laugh before rising to his feet and heading toward the other side of the shore, where a group of Fatui agents was already waiting to receive him.
At the same time, the White-clad Qiu Bai had just completed his purification.
Sensing something, Qiu Bai thoughts stirred, and in response, the Black-clad Qiu Bai gave a small nod before darting toward the Doctor at extreme speed.
"He should be there."
The Black-clad Qiu Bai spotted the Doctor, who had already boarded a ship.
In an instant, he teleported appearing right in front of the seated Doctor.
The Doctor slowly stood up, slightly bowing in a show of mock courtesy.
"The god of Liyue?"
"I wonder, what business do you have with me?"
His tone was respectful, yet his eyes carried a calculating glint.
"I'm here to kill you."
The cold, indifferent words echoed in the Doctor ears.
"Protect Lord Doctor!"
The Fatui soldiers aboard the ship immediately drew their weapons and rushed forward, yet not a single one dared to attack.
The Black-clad Qiu Bai stared at the Doctor with an indifferent gaze.
"It seems that there are many of you coexisting in this world at the same time."
The Doctor chuckled, standing up with a twisted smirk.
"And isn't it the same for you?"
"I have merely used my intellect to reach the same heights as you."
There was not a trace of fear in his expression. Instead, there was pride—pride that he, a mere human, had reached the level of a god.
"Oh? Is that so?"
"Then tell me, can the you standing here right now wield such power?"
At that moment, Black-clad Qiu Bai gaze sharpened, and an unimaginable pressure erupted from his body.
The very air trembled.
Birds soaring through the sky instantly plummeted into the sea.
And the Doctor, who was locked in that suffocating aura, collapsed to his knees in an instant.
The surrounding Fatui soldiers, who had just been about to charge forward, were immediately pinned to the ground, their bodies unable to move under the sheer weight of his presence.
"Agh—!"
The Doctor gritted his teeth, his body trembling as the terrifying divine pressure bore down upon him mercilessly.
It felt as if a mountain was pressing down on the Doctor's body.
"Interesting. You are not a god, yet you've barely reached god-like power."
"And among all of your fragments that have achieved such power, there are two of you in total."
The Black-clad Qiu Bai spoke in a calm, indifferent tone.
He then focused his senses, scanning the Doctor body and the connections between his fragments.
Indeed, among all of the Doctor many incarnations, only two had reached the level of a God.
"And this one, the newly created you was specifically made to infiltrate Liyue Harbor, wasn't it?"
"A God-level fragment of yourself."
"I can't even begin to imagine the cost of materials and energy required for such a creation."
The Black-clad Qiu Bai gazed at the Doctor with cold, piercing eyes.
"You... You actually know the location of all my fragments?!"
For the first time, panic flashed across the Doctor face.
His composure from moments ago had vanished.
Struggling against the crushing force weighing him down, he mustered all his strength to lift his head, gritting his teeth as he stared at Black-clad Qiu Bai.
That single sword strike—the one that had slain the Vortex Demon God in an instant—had already made him realize... this was an enemy he could never hope to defeat.
"As punishment for releasing the Vortex Demon God..."
"I will erase this version of you."
The Black-clad Qiu Bai spoke with an almost casual tone—yet within it, a cold killing intent lurked.
He slowly raised his hand, black mist swirling ominously at his fingertips as he pointed at the kneeling Doctor.
"No—!"
Before the Doctor could finish his words, his entire being disintegrated into countless black specks of light, scattering into the air.
The God-level fragment of the Doctor had been erased.
Without even sparing a glance at the remaining Fatui soldiers, the Black-clad Qiu Bai soared back toward his main body at high speed.
A short while later, Qiu Bai watched as his dark avatar approached him.
A faint smile appeared on his lips as he reabsorbed both his black and white avatars into his body.
Turning toward Liyue Harbor and the Jade Chamber, he gave a slight nod, still smiling.
"Might as well help Xiao eliminate some karmic debt while I'm at it."
In the next instant, Qiu Bai figure appeared atop the Jade Chamber.
"Immortal Lord!"
Ganyu voice rang out in delight as she called out to him.
"Immortal Lord!"
Aside from the Traveler and Paimon, everyone present including the Adepti, the Liyue Qixing, Keqing, and Ningguang bowed in respect.
Even the three great Adepti, who had been maintaining their beast forms, had now transformed into human form.
Cloud Retainer had taken the form of a graceful woman with crane-white hair cascading down her back, dressed in flowing white robes. A crane-shaped mark adorned her forehead.
Her curvaceous figure was partially obscured by the robes, but her expression remained serene and cold.
Mountain Shaper appeared as a young man, with a crane-shaped imprint on his brow.
Moon Carver had taken the form of a middle-aged man, bearing a deer-shaped imprint on his forehead.
"Whoa! This is the first time I've ever seen the Adepti in their human forms!"
Paimon floated excitedly, her eyes wide with amazement.
"I never expected Cloud Retainer to be such a beautiful big sister!"
She exclaimed, marveling at the Adepti standing before her.
The immortals all stepped forward, slightly bowing their heads and cupping their hands in salute toward Qiu Bai.
"Traveler, isn't it kind of rude if we don't salute too?"
"It feels kind of weird," Paimon whispered to the Traveler.
"Yeah, Paimon."
"How about we salute as well?"
Following suit, both Paimon and Lumine gave a respectful bow to Qiu Bai.
Seeing them also bow, Qiu Bai couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Pfft."
Qiu bai burst into laughter.
"Heh, there's no need for such formalities. You can all stop now."
Riding on the wave of laughter, Qiu bai gestured for everyone to rise and set aside the formalities.
"Immortal Lord, where exactly have you been all this time?"
From behind, Liuyun stepped forward, the graceful curves of her legs faintly visible beneath her robes, her expression full of curiosity.
"Uh..."
"I... I was just traveling the mortal world for some leisure..."
The once dignified and solemn immortal lord now scratched his head awkwardly, stumbling over his words.
"Traveling the mortal world?!"
Liuyun twitched at the response, quickly striding up to Qiu bai.
And then, without hesitation, she unleashed a verbal barrage.
After all, their relationship was never one of strict hierarchy; it wasn't just a matter of formal greetings and rituals.
A thousand years ago, Qiu Bai had been closest to Liuyun among the adepti of Jueyun Karst. Otherwise, he wouldn't have entrusted her with the passcode to his abode.
The three adepti often gathered for tea, and Qiu Bai had even introduced them to the card game he had developed.
"Do you have any idea how long I and those old geezers searched for you?"
"Would it have killed you to at least let us know before you disappeared?"
Her delicate red lips pouted, and her usually cool demeanor was tinged with frustration.
Qiu Bai quickly waved his hands, instinctively stepping back.
"Ha... I just slept for a bit too long and wanted to get some fresh air, that's all!"
Seeing Qiu Bai retreat from Liuyun advance, Paimon chuckled, waving a hand at Lumine.
"Wow, I never expected the mighty Immortal Lord of Liyue to be afraid of women."
"Who are you calling a woman?!"
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