"Th-that's! The Garden Master! How did he turn into that monstrosity?!"
Someone in the guard corps cried out in alarm. The Garden Master now looked nothing like the one they remembered.
They had never thought highly of him, but at least he had looked human before. And now? The skin on his face was covered in wrinkles, human faces grew from his body, and two twisted arms protruded from his back. He looked every bit a monster.
"Hahahaha! This is power! This is the power I should have! Hahaha! From today onward, there will be no more factions in the Garden of Existence. There will only be the Garden of Existence! And I will lead it back to glory!"
Seeing him act like a madman, Elder Ge immediately led the eight hundred guards under his command in a hasty retreat.
He had to preserve the elite guard corps. They would be his core fighting force for opposing Dong Tian and reclaiming the Garden.
Elder Ge led his men to the port and flew out of the Garden of Existence in fighter craft before Dong Tian's pursuers could surround them.
"Garden Master! Elder Ge led the guard corps and ran away!"
His gaze was cold, as though he hadn't heard his subordinate's report. Dong Tian raised his arms high and looked at the towering statue of the goddess in the square.
"Goddess, please watch me!"
A thick beam of purple light shot from his chest and struck the goddess's statue. With a rumble, the statue collapsed. Dong Tian's followers all burst into cheers, seemingly in celebration.
"Even after I destroyed your statue, you still refuse to show yourself? Very well. It seems I can only continue my journey."
A video of Dong Tian destroying the goddess's statue in full view of the public was posted online, instantly causing an uproar.
"He destroyed the statue of the Goddess of Existence! That statue has stood there since the Garden was founded! Dong Tian! Are you trying to make an enemy of every Pathstrider of Existence?!"
"What's going on? Is the Garden of Existence fighting among itself? But shouldn't they be protecting the statue all the more if there's an internal conflict?"
"He's not human anymore! Look at him! What part of him still looks human?!"
Online discussion spread like wildfire. An internal conflict in a major power like the Garden of Existence quickly became the focus of the entire universe, and Dong Tian's action had clearly turned the vast majority of Pathstriders walking the Path of Existence against him.
They even issued a notice across the universe, calling on everyone to unite and kill their former leader, swearing to grind his bones to dust.
Just then, a message posted by an online account sent the entire universe into an uproar once more.
It had been posted by a gardener, accompanied by an image of a massive starship. Its emerald-green hull sailed forward, trailing streaks of light.
"I encountered this on my way to the Ayinai System. This Xianzhou is the Xianzhou Daiyu, the one the Interastral Peace Corporation previously revealed had an Emanator of Existence aboard. I'm still three systems away from the Ayinai System, and the Xianzhou can only be faster than me."
The news greatly boosted the morale of the alliance's Pathstriders of Existence. Even this orthodox faction of Existence, with an Emanator of Existence among its ranks, had mobilized. Clearly, Dong Tian's actions had angered them too.
Xianzhou Daiyu
Palace of Existence
"That bastard! How dare he destroy Lord Arbiter of Life's statue! He'd better not fall into my hands, or I'll rip every one of those arms off him!"
Xiahou Chan angrily thrust the long halberd in his hand into the ground, his eyes looking as though they could devour someone.
Qingzhu sat in the main seat, her expression grim. Beneath the shadow cast by her bangs in the sunlight, her gaze was cold.
"Brother Xiahou, calm down, calm down. There's no need to get angry over someone like that. What he's done has already enraged most people among the forces of Existence. There's no use getting angry now. Once we get there and catch him, we can just leave him for you to deal with, Brother Xiahou."
Qi Tianque tried to soothe him, and Xiahou Chan gradually calmed down. "You're right, Tianque. Why get angry over this guy? We can just kill him when the time comes."
Wanmeng, who had been sitting nearby, suddenly sprang to her feet. The astrolabe before her shattered instantly.
The backlash from the power made her stagger back two steps, and a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.
"Wanmeng!"
"Sister Wanmeng!"
Qi Tianque caught her by the arm and used musical harmonies to soothe the stabbing pain in her mind.
Seeing Wanmeng's tightly knitted brows relax, Qingzhu breathed a sigh of relief.
"Wanmeng, are you feeling better?"
Wanmeng straightened up and nodded. "With Tianque's Tuning, I'm much better now. Qingzhu, listen to me. What happened at the Garden of Existence this time is far from simple."
Qingzhu's gaze sharpened. For Wanmeng, who possessed a robe bestowed upon her by Lord Arbiter of Life herself, to be injured and say such a thing, what had happened at the Garden of Existence this time was clearly no ordinary matter.
"Tell us more."
Wanmeng shook her head. "I can't go into detail, because what I saw was only part of the picture. But I can say with certainty that what happened at the Garden of Existence this time involves no fewer than four Aeons."
"Four Aeons!"
Qingzhu shot to her feet. This was too much to take in. She had thought Dong Tian was merely dissatisfied with Lord Arbiter of Life, but it turned out that four Aeons were involved.
"Can you tell which ones?"
Qingzhu asked.
Wanmeng shook her head. "I only know two. One is Lord Arbiter of Life."
Qingzhu nodded. That was to be expected. After all, it was the Garden of Existence. Even if Ayinai disliked them, they were still a faction that walked the Path of Existence and would have some connection to Ayinai one way or another.
"And the other... is Abundance."
"!!!!!"
"The Plagues Author!"
Xiahou Chan's voice rose sharply. This matter actually involved The Plagues Author!
That one had indeed caught them off guard. They hadn't expected Abundance to be involved on Existence's turf.
The Ambrosial Arbor in Ayinai's hands: "You're a fine one to talk."
"If it has to do with The Plagues Author, then we really do have to make the trip."
"It seems you've already made your choice."
Ayinai walked slowly out of a side door, holding a potted plant in her arms. A tree branch stood in the pot.
When the four saw Ayinai appear, they all bowed.
"Mm, since you've made your choice, that choice has its own meaning. I won't interfere. Oh, right, where did Qingxin go?"
Ayinai asked. She could find Qingxin, but she couldn't be bothered to use her divine power. Using divine power to find someone was quick, but it still consumed divine power, and she didn't want to spend it on such a small matter.
Qingzhu replied, "Lord Arbiter of Life, Qingxin went to the storeroom to take inventory. We received a new shipment of items from The Family a few days ago, and Qingxin led a team to inspect them."
Ayinai nodded. "I see. Hmm... come out to the Marshy Grotto-Heaven."
With that, she vanished. The others exchanged glances, then flew out of the Palace of Existence together the moment Ayinai disappeared, heading straight for the Marshy Grotto-Heaven.
By the time the four arrived at the Marshy Grotto-Heaven, Ayinai was sitting on a small island there, playing with the flowers on the ground.
"Lord Arbiter of Life, we're here."
Looking at their surroundings, Qi Tianque couldn't help asking, "Brother Xiahou, if I remember right, wasn't the Marshy Grotto-Heaven entirely a world of water? Where did the island come from?"
Xiahou Chan bowed his head in thought. "Hmm... I know! Qingzhu must have sent people to build it!"
"Thump!" "Thump!"
Two blows rang out. Wanmeng, her face dark, had punched each of them on the head, hard enough for the impacts to be heard.
"Ow!" "Ah, that hurts!"
"You two idiots! Can't you tell? Lord Arbiter of Life made this island."
Wanmeng withdrew her hand, looking thoroughly exasperated. She had long ago told Qi Tianque that he could learn martial arts from Xiahou Chan, but nothing else! Yet the two had hit it off like kindred spirits, and Xiahou Chan had managed to make a once fairly clever child slow-witted.