"Why are you so excited?"
Ayinai tilted her little head slightly as she watched the girl jumping with excitement before her. The girl's excitement had taken her completely by surprise. She had expected her to thank her with a serious expression, allowing her to smoothly take the girl as her Emanator.
The result was unexpected, leaving the god puzzled.
Qingzhu composed herself and said with a sheepish grin, "Hehe, it was because of my work. I wasn't really like that, but as Helmsman, I couldn't act so lively."
Ayinai nodded in understanding and looked at the crowd behind Qingzhu. By now, they were all awake. Those who hadn't woken up had been forcibly roused. After all, Aeons were a rare sight, let alone the elusive Aeon of [Existence].
If Ayinai hadn't caused a stir from time to time, the Garden of Existence would have thought their Aeon had gone missing. What they didn't know was that their Aeon didn't like them now.
In their view, everyone connected to [Existence] should join the Garden of Existence. That wasn't what Ayinai wanted to see, but she didn't intervene either. She wanted to see whether the Garden of Existence was full of these hidebound parasites.
But now, she had shifted her attention elsewhere.
"Um, Heavenly Lord of True Being, is there something you came to our Daiyu for? As long as it's within our ability, we'll do it without hesitation!"
Qingzhu patted her modest chest as she spoke. Although she knew that asking her probably wouldn't help with a problem even an Aeon couldn't solve, she still had to be polite.
Ayinai smiled at her, then turned around. Under the astonished gazes of several hundred people, the shattered Xianzhou Daiyu rapidly reassembled itself at a speed visible to the naked eye.
In less than five minutes, a brand-new Xianzhou Daiyu appeared before everyone.
"This! Is this the mighty power of an Aeon?"
It actually wouldn't have taken so long, but Ayinai had made a few detailed modifications to the Xianzhou.
Qingzhu looked at Ayinai and dropped to one knee without hesitation. But before she could speak, a gentle divine power pulled her back to her feet.
"Huh?"
Qingzhu was puzzled. Under her bewildered gaze, Ayinai spoke.
"You sacrificed yourselves to protect the [existence] of the other Xianzhou and your people. I acknowledge your path of [Existence]. Now I have repaired your Xianzhou, and I want you to carry out my will and practice the path of [Existence] throughout the universe."
As Ayinai's voice fell, everyone felt an unprecedented power surge into their bodies.
The power was both overbearing and gentle. It was overbearing as it washed the power of other Paths from the bodies of those aboard the Xianzhou who had embarked on them, and gentle as the power of [Existence] soothed and filled their bodies.
As far as Ayinai was concerned, the power within the people she had chosen had to be hers. My people are mine to protect!
The power of [Existence] transformed their bodies. The people of Daiyu could now truly be called a Long-Life Species. Of course, there were drawbacks: for example, having children would become extremely difficult, and when their power was exhausted, their [existence] would disappear for a time. If it happened too often, their [existence] would vanish completely, along with all proof that they had ever [existed].
But the last condition seemed almost irrelevant to the people of Daiyu, because Ayinai was generous to them.
Unlike the excited crowd, Qingzhu showed no change at all. Just as Qingzhu was pouting, her face full of sadness,
Ayinai reached out and placed a hand on her head.
Qingzhu froze for a moment. Then she heard Ayinai say, "I acknowledge your path of [Existence]. I am never stingy with those I like. Now, I grant you the status of an Emanator: my first Emanator, and the first Emanator of [Existence] in the universe."
The vast power of the Path of [Existence] poured into Qingzhu's body, transforming it bit by bit. The power of the Path of [Existence] flowed into his limbs and bones until the aura of an Emanator erupted.
The first Emanator of [Existence] had officially appeared in the universe!
Qingzhu opened her eyes and felt the power flowing through her body. She immediately dropped to one knee and shouted, "I, Qingzhu, Helmsman of the Xianzhou Daiyu's Sky-Faring Commission, am willing to follow in the footsteps of the Arbiter of True Existence and practice the path of [Existence]!"
"Hold fast to true existence, never fall into nihility, and let all things endure forever!"
As Qingzhu shouted those words, the hundreds of people behind her shouted them together. Though few in number, they carried an imposing momentum.
One could even faintly see the formation of an army's spirit, its highest badge of honor and a formidable weapon on the battlefield.
Looking at the group, Ayinai nodded and said, "The Xianzhou has been repaired. I'll leave the interior decorating and reorganization to you. If you need my guidance with anything, you can come to me. I'll be in the Palace of Existence in the Sky-Faring Commission."
With that, she vanished. Everyone had just gotten to their feet when Ayinai returned. Looking at them, she said, "Oh, right. The Xianzhou Daiyu's original color was too ugly. I didn't like it, so I changed it to emerald green or jade green."
She disappeared again. The captain of the squad that had fought alongside Qingzhu came over and said, "Our Arbiter really doesn't put on airs at all."
After waiting a long time without hearing an answer from Qingzhu, the squad captain walked around in front of her in confusion, only to see her resting her chin in her hand with a lovestruck expression.
"Hehe, Goddess Ayinai, she's so beautiful and gentle~ Ehehe, I'm her first Emanator~ Ehehe."
The squad captain couldn't help taking several steps back. We're doomed. The Helmsman's gone mad. After struggling for ten seconds over whether to wake her, the captain shouted and pulled Qingzhu back to reality.
Qingzhu came to her senses and coughed lightly twice, then led everyone back to Daiyu aboard the few Starskiffs that were still usable.
As soon as they entered the Jade Gate, Qingzhu was stunned by the sight inside. The others traveling with her also stared at the great trees glowing on either side of the Jade Gate. A moment later, a young female clerk who had worked organizing records at the Sky-Faring Commission cried out.
"This! These are Higgs Purifying Trees, a specialty of the planet Higgs! Purifying Trees this size are hot commodities even on the cosmic black market, not to mention how rare Higgs Purifying Trees are!"
Qingzhu turned back and asked in confusion, "Huh? But aren't there lots of Higgs Purifying Trees? Why are they rare?"
The clerk continued, "That's because Higgs was once ravaged by the Swarm Disaster, and the original Higgs Purifying Trees went extinct. The Arbiter of True Existence brought these Purifying Trees back into the world, but they're different from before. Their growing conditions are extremely demanding: they need soil from Higgs to survive."
"Then the Arbiter must have planted these Purifying Trees on our Daiyu on purpose. Wouldn't that make those rows of soil soil from Higgs?"
Qingzhu spoke excitedly. Didn't this act of Ayinai's prove how much she valued their Xianzhou Daiyu?
Ahhh! I'm going to die! Goddess Ayinai really loves us so much! Boo-hoo, Goddess Ayinai is the most perfect Aeon!