Feeling his strength constantly draining away, Elder Ge immediately used all his power. He absolutely couldn't let this continue; if it did, he would definitely be the one to lose.
"Damn it, since that's the case, you forced me to do this!"
Elder Ge did not hesitate to use the little bit of Voracity power within his body.
However, even a trace of divine power is still the power of the Aeon. Therefore, under the influence of the Voracity God's power, Elder Ge's last remaining human form also disappeared.
Instead, a huge vortex floated in the air, with concentric rings of sharp teeth spiraling inwards from its edge, looking absolutely terrifying.
"This is true power, this is what I should possess, this is the real me!"
Elder Ge's arrogant laughter rang out from the center of the vortex. Qingzhu extended her senses into the vortex to try to find Elder Ge's location, but after searching, Qingzhu concluded that there was no physical form.
"He has no physical form at all; he has become one with this vortex."
Qingzhu frowned. The vortex made her feel really uncomfortable, especially the mouth-like vortex, which felt like a wide-open mouth.
" Qingzhu, please Helmsman me; my Nihility power can affect him."
Qingzhu nodded upon hearing this. The power of the Nihility was undeniable. Although she was reluctant to admit it, how could Path that could stand in opposition to the Path of Existence of Arbiter of Life be weak?
"I'll handle the frontal assault; you take care of harassment and sneak attacks."
After saying that, Qingzhu rushed forward with his long spear in hand, slashing at the vortex, but to no avail.
"A mere magistrate Emanator to attempt to harm this perfect body?"
A tongue emerged from the vortex and lashed fiercely at the long spear in Qingzhu's hand. The strike, imbued with a trace of divine power, was one that even Qingzhu dared not easily withstand. Qingzhu chose to temporarily evade the attack and dodge backward, simultaneously stabbing Elder Ge hard in the process.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Amo slashed at Elder Ge's vortex with his sword. Sparks flew as the longswords collided. Amo's expression changed as he sensed the tongue attacking him and dodged without hesitation.
Despite Amo's quick reaction, he was still affected by the aftershocks, and a trickle of blood oozed from the corner of his mouth.
"Hmm. That's quite a powerful force; just being caught in the blast has already damaged my internal organs."
Amo wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and spat out a mouthful of bloody foam.
"Be careful. Even though the Voracity is dead, divine power is still divine power, and it's not something we can directly confront."
Amo nodded, and then, together with Qingzhu, rushed forward to attack Elder Ge.
The sky was filled with the aftershocks of blades, spear strikes, and tongues of fire, which churned the white clouds as if they were being thrown into a washing machine. Below, everyone on the ground had already left the ground and returned to their own warships.
Wanmeng then led everyone from Daiyu back to the giant Xianzhou outside the planet.
Xianzhou Daiyu, Palace of Existence.
Wanmeng stared intently at the screen in front of her, which displayed the current state of the battle between Qingzhu and the other two. Although it seemed that Amo and Qingzhu had the upper hand, their battle with Elder Ge was actually a draw.
"If this continues, Qingzhu and Amo will lose."
Wanmeng scratched her hair, looking completely at a loss.
At this moment, Xiahou Chan, who had been adjusting himself, stood up. Judging from his current physical condition, he probably wouldn't be able to help Qingzhu and the others in terms of combat power. However, he had more than just combat power; he also possessed intelligence.
" Wanmeng, do you still remember the ' Broodmother ' that Dong Tian mentioned before?"
" The Broodmother... wait! The Broodmother! You mean..."
Xiahou Chan said, "That's right. Dong Tian said that the abilities of this Broodmother are different from the original Broodmother he created. Could it be that the fake Dong Tian modified the Broodmother, and that the old man also became like this because of the Broodmother?"
Wanmeng: "In other words, this thing is the key to that old man's current state! This old man definitely didn't have the power of Voracity in his body before! If he did, he wouldn't have been able to hide it from Tianque at all!"
As Dong Tian had mentioned before, that old man had disturbed the Voracity suppressed beneath the Garden! The aura surrounding the Broodmother, and the change in the Broodmother's appearance, proved that the power had been injected into the Broodmother and then transferred to another person's body!
So, the Broodmother has been transformed into a conversion device! Its original purpose has been changed to a device for extraction and injection!
Wanmeng's face contorted with rage. She slammed her fist on the conference table in front of her, gritting her teeth as she said, "That madman! He's completely disregarding the fate of the entire Garden for the sake of power! If the seal breaks, the entire Ayinai System will suffer!"
Wanmeng took a deep breath. At this point, there was no use in being angry. Rather than being powerless and furious, she might as well use what Elder Ge had left behind to punish himself!
"Select a squad of five hundred Path of Existence Strider and come with me to reclaim the Garden!"
"Where... am I? Who... am I?"
He stood there, surrounded by endless white, his face blank.
"I remember I was... Ouch! That hurts! I can't remember! That hurts!"
He suddenly knelt on the ground, clutching his forehead, his face contorted in agony. He felt as if his head was being gnawed by insects, the intense pain causing him to repeatedly slam his head against the ground, wishing he could die on the spot.
At that moment, a bright golden light shone in the air in front of him, and the golden light shone on his body. His head, which had been in excruciating pain, instantly calmed down, and the pain disappeared without a trace.
The golden light slowly descended and transformed into an extremely beautiful woman. Her long green hair cascaded down like a waterfall, and her white dress was printed with various plants and animals in very faint colors, seemingly present yet not quite, appearing and disappearing indistinctly.
These patterns don't look out of place on her at all; on the contrary, they seem perfectly natural, as if they were originally meant for her.
"Child."
Her feet touched the ground; she wasn't wearing shoes, but she seemed oblivious as her hand landed on his head.
His body froze instantly, as if stiffened. He mechanically raised his head. The woman's figure was not visible in the golden light, but judging from her gentle smile, she must be a very beautiful and kind person.
"You, you are..."
"Who I am is unimportant, child. Why are you here?"
"I... I don't know. I woke up here. I want to know why I'm here, but whenever I try to think about it, my head starts to ache terribly."
"Hmm... I see. That makes things a bit difficult... Since that's the case... then let's not do it. Come on, I'll take you to see my forest."
?:"Eh?"
Before he could react, she pulled him away. She walked slowly, as if taking care of him. He didn't resist, but instinctively pulled his hand away a little, leaving only his fingers in her hand.
He didn't know why he did it; it was an instinctive reaction, but he felt that he should do it.
"Look, this is my forest."
She led him to a large, lush forest, where the trees were all incredibly tall, each easily exceeding a hundred meters in height.
"This... is such a tall tree!"
"Of course, I grew these all with great effort."
Her tone was tinged with pride, and she even struck a pose of smugness, hands on her hips.
Looking at these trees, he inexplicably placed his hand on them. He didn't know why, but he felt as if these trees were calling to him.
She stood behind him, the shadows on her face gone, her hands behind her back, her emerald green eyes gazing at him tenderly, as if looking at her own child.
When I placed my hand on it, a flood of Remembrance suddenly came rushing in: the Garden, the presiding judge, the goddess, Dong Tian.
A flood of Remembrance overwhelmed his brain, the intense shock causing him to instinctively cover his head.
"Ouch! It hurts! It hurts so much! Something's inside! Something's crawling into my brain!"
At that moment, he felt a warm hand covering his head again, which instantly calmed him down.
"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, I'm here. Go accept them, integrate with them, and find yourself again, your true self."
He sat cross-legged and began to absorb the vast amount of Remembrance in his mind, while she sat five meters in front of him, resting her chin on her hand and watching him. Many people had been here, but the person in front of her was the one she had chosen.
As for why I haven't called him over... it's because I entrusted my body to AI and forgot about it while I was organizing things.
Fifteen minutes later
He slowly opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was the woman gently gazing at him, her chin resting on her hand.
"Goddess! Your subordinate Dong Tian, greets the goddess!"
Dong Tian scrambled to his feet, his face burning with embarrassment.
Thinking about everything that had happened in the previous two hours, his face involuntarily flushed.
Seeing that Dong Tian had regained his Remembrance, Ayinai stopped sitting and stood up. Looking at the shy young man in front of her, she couldn't help but chuckle.
Dong Tian's face turned even redder at that laugh.
"Goddess..."
"Alright, alright, I won't laugh at you anymore, Dong Tian. Do you know what you look like right now?"
Dong Tian shook his head. "I don't know."
"Right now, you're like a little dog bowing its head and admitting its mistake."
Ayinai gently stroked Dong Tian's white hair. Dong Tian lowered his head, not daring to speak, but the blush on his face had now spread to his neck.
Seeing this, Ayinai smiled and said, "Alright, alright, I'm not teasing you anymore. Do you know where this is?"
Feeling Ayinai's hand move away from his head, Dong Tian breathed a long sigh of relief. The thought of being patted on the head by a goddess was just awkward. Although he was happy, he felt like he'd be beaten to death by his colleagues.
Dong Tian looked around and saw familiar Higgs Purifying Tree everywhere. There was only one place where they were planted on such a large scale.
"Are we in Higgs?"
Ayinai shook her head, then pointed a finger at the air with one hand, causing ripples to spread through the space, and then a long corridor appeared before her.
On both sides of the corridor are portraits of people who have made great contributions to the universe since the Path of Existence, along with their contributions. Below their portraits are various items.
"I am in the Corridor of Existence!"
Ayinai led Dong Tian to the first portrait, which depicted an old man, a kind little old man with a scruffy beard but bright eyes.
"This is my first follower. His name is Froni. He was one of the young men from the group that came to Higgs to trade after the Swarm Disaster. Back then, the Interstellar Interastral Peace Corporation Interastral Peace Corporation was called the Amber Lord Support Team."
Dong Tian's gaze shifted downwards to his biography. "He single-handedly eradicated a Swarm Disaster of insects from a planet, led the locals to rebuild their homes, and was the first to promote the concept of existence, becoming the founder of its transmission."
Dong Tian looked at a slightly worn notebook floating in front of the portrait. "This is..."
"This is Froni's relic. Because it has been placed in the corridor for many years, it should now be called a rare object."
"Nefer Edmund led the Gardeners in aiding the Swarm Disaster lands, dedicating her entire life to the path of existence. She traversed over two hundred planets and three star systems before passing away at the young age of 56."
Dong Tian followed Ayinai past the portraits of his predecessors. They included humans, animals, and various races, but without exception, they were all founders who proclaimed the existence of the world.
Finally, Ayinai led Dong Tian to the very end, to an empty picture frame.
Ayinai turned to look at Dong Tian, her eyes filled with tenderness.
"We've arrived, Dong Tian. This is the reason I brought you here: your Divine Stele of Existence."
Dong Tian looked at Ayinai in shock. It was his Divine Stele of Existence. The Divine Stele of Existence was a name given by the Garden. It was said to be named for the tombstones of Existence believers who died in the war. Everyone was proud of this name, even the families of the deceased were proud of it, because their family members were heroes, heroes who fought for the cause of Existence. This name was an affirmation of them.
"This is the honor I heard you bestow upon the tombstones of those brave children, so the Corridor of Existence should reflect that honor as well."
Although you are not yet dead, your achievements are enough to be remembered in the Corridor of Existence.
Tears welled up in Dong Tian's eyes. Could he really have his name etched in the Corridor of Existence? What an honor!
Dong Tian nodded, and then a color portrait of Dong Tian appeared in the frame, with a golden light appearing in front of the frame.
"Put something in there, anything will do."
Dong Tian pondered for a moment, then a coin appeared in his hand—a coin issued by the Garden.
Dong Tian placed the coin inside, and the originally dazzling golden light subsided, enveloping the coin within.
After watching Dong Tian finish everything, Ayinai smiled and said, "Alright, now that you've finished your business, it's time to talk about our business."
Dong Tian looked puzzled, somewhat confused.
"Ahem, Dong Tian, I am now formally extending an invitation to you. Would you be willing to become my Emanator? If not, that's fine too. Every choice you make should be your own, and every choice has its own meaning. I will not interfere."
Dong Tian was stunned. What did he just hear? The goddess wanted to take him as her Emanator!
Dong Tian's expression turned excited. Just as he was about to say something, another aura appeared in the Corridor of Existence and condensed right in front of the two of them.
It was a mechanical ball, a mechanical ball flashing rapidly red light.
"Mechanical head? What are you doing here?"
Ayinai's face darkened, and her tone became unfriendly. She didn't have a good impression of this guy, who still held leverage over her.
Just as Nous's red light flashed again, and he was about to say something, a piece of amber appeared in front of them.
Seeing this, Ayinai was somewhat surprised. "Why is the old man here too? This corridor isn't exactly a place where you can build a wall."
The amber kept expanding and growing, eventually becoming a miniature version of a two-meter-tall Amber Lord.
And so the three gods and one person stared at each other, dumbfounded.
What are you two doing here?
Ayinai's tone was unfriendly; He had a feeling that these two gods were definitely up to no good!
Nous replied, "I want to appoint Dong Tian as my Emanator."
Ayinai: "!"
Qlipoth: "Me too."
Ayinai: "!!"
"What! No! This child is mine! Mine!"
Ayinai pulled Dong Tian behind her, watching the two of them intently like a mother hen protecting her chicks.
Seeing how protective Ayinai was of Dong Tian, Nous couldn't think of a solution for a moment, and Qlipoth, whose mind was full of walls, was even less able to come up with one.
But forcibly taking it won't work either. First of all, this is someone else's territory, and even if it weren't, it seems like the two of them couldn't win.
The three gods stood there looking at each other. Dong Tian peeked out from behind Ayinai, but was immediately pushed back down by Ayinai.
Finally, after a three-hour standoff, Nous proposed a compromise.
Since none of the three parties are willing to compromise, let's be fair and let Dong Tian choose one to be the master of his Path, while the other two gods will be the secondary Path.
Qlipoth: "Agreed."
Ayinai looked somewhat reluctant, but if they fought here, Dong Tian would get hurt, so in the end Ayinai had no choice but to agree.
However, before the Nous could tell Dong Tian about the suggestion, Dong Tian spoke up.
"Thank you for your favor, both Aeon, but I only wish to be the goddess's Emanator. I apologize."
A smile appeared on Ayinai's face. Nous and Qlipoth exchanged a glance, then nodded helplessly.
"Haha, Dong Tian, from this moment on, you are the first Three-Path Emanator in this universe!"
"Huh?"