"Hmm... this place looks good, and so does this one. Hmm... this part still needs some work. There aren't enough plants here. I gave you so many seeds, so don't be stingy with them. And here-how can the residence of General Youding of the Xianzhou Daiyu be so shabby? Take this and hang it up in the general's residence as a decoration."
Ayinai looked at the photos Qingxin had brought her, pointing out the places she liked and the ones she thought were lacking. Beside her, Qingxin noted down everything Ayinai pointed out on a tablet.
As the successor Qingzhu had deliberately groomed, Qingxin was exceptionally capable at handling official business.
So ever since Qingxin returned, most of the Sky-Faring Commission's work had fallen to her, while Qingzhu herself wandered around Planet Talasa. In her own words, she was surveying the surrounding terrain to prevent the Abominations of Abundance from coming back.
To that, Qingxin had only one thing to say: Bullshit. With an Aeon standing right here, there's no way any Abominations of Abundance would be stupid enough to come near.
Although Ayinai had not manifested her divine body, she had continuously released her aura on Planet Talasa, enveloping the entire planet.
Over the past two days, an unidentified person had repeatedly appeared beside Ayinai out of nowhere, and each time, Ayinai had impatiently driven him away.
After it happened enough times, Qingzhu even struck him with her spear and sent him flying on one occasion.
Qingxin still remembered how surprised Ayinai had been when she saw Qingzhu send the man flying. Qingxin just didn't know whether he had ended up all right.
Aha, somewhere: "Achoo! Someone's talking about Aha. How entertaining!"
Qingzhu had gone off to enjoy herself, but Qingxin was left to suffer. Not only did she have to handle the usual business, she also had to deal with Xiahou Chan's funding requests. She was completely overwhelmed.
But fortunately, she got to see the goddess Ayinai every day, and sometimes she even received personal instruction from her. Suddenly, having the Helmsman go out and play didn't seem so bad.
Just then, the doors of the Palace of Existence swung open. Qingzhu entered with a spear over her shoulder, a glossy, fragrant roast pig skewered on its tip.
"Hehe, Qingxin, come try this wild boar I hunted outside. I'm telling you, it smells amazing. Xiahou Chan asked me for some, but I wouldn't even give him any."
With that, Qingzhu looked toward the Helmsman's seat. It was Ayinai sitting there, not Qingxin, who stood to the side with a hand over her mouth, smiling at her.
"Ah... haha... Lady Arbiter of Life, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be planting flowers and grass in the Senfu Artisanship Commission at this hour?"
Ayinai looked at her and shook her head. "I was planning to go there, but I saw how tired Qingxin was, so I came to inspect the work and give her some guidance while I was at it."
She then looked at the roast suckling pig skewered on Qingzhu's spear and beckoned with one hand. The pig instantly appeared, floating above her palm.
"Huh?"
Qingzhu froze. Before she could react, the roast suckling pig was gone.
Looking at its crispy roasted skin, Ayinai reached out, tore off a piece, and put it in her mouth. Under Qingzhu's expectant gaze, Ayinai's eyes lit up.
"Mm, it tastes good. I'll take this roast suckling pig as payment for the effort I put into guiding your work."
With that, she disappeared with the roast suckling pig and returned to the room Qingzhu had arranged for her. As for the work, she had already said almost everything she needed to about most of it. Qingzhu was back anyway, so she could take over.
With that thought, she tore off another piece of meat and nodded. As Aeons, food was optional for them. To her, it was merely something that satisfied her appetite.
Still, having a meal every now and then might be a good idea. Other Aeons were restricted by their Paths, and she was no exception. But what was her Path? [Existence]. The concept of her Path was so broad that it could hardly restrict what she did at all. After all, no matter what you were doing, you were proving your own [Existence]. As a result, Ayinai was the one least restricted by her Path.
The Palace of Existence
Ever since Ayinai rebuilt the Daiyu, the Palace of Existence had stood where the Sky-Faring Commission's headquarters once did. The Xianzhou's major meetings and the command of its interstellar voyages were conducted here.
"Qingxin, it looks like the goddess Ayinai was very happy. That roast suckling pig suited her taste."
Qingzhu spoke excitedly. The Aeon she worshipped had eaten food she made! It couldn't have been more wonderful. Qingxin looked at her with a smile. "That's right, the goddess liked it very much. So, Lady Helmsman, could you finish the rest of the work?"
As she spoke, Qingxin approached Qingzhu, the pressure she gave off gradually growing stronger. Qingzhu slowly backed away, feeling guilty. "Well, um... uh... could I..."
"No! You're the Helmsman of this ship! Hurry up and finish today's work, or you won't get any dinner!"
Qingxin was furious. This woman! She's been out playing for days, and as if leaving the work unattended weren't enough, she dumped it all on me and made the excuse that she was training her successor. If you're lazy, just say so! There's no need to beat around the bush!
Just then, the palace doors opened again, and Xiahou Chan hurried in. His face lit up when he saw Qingzhu, and he said, "Helmsman! There's news from outside!"
Qingzhu put aside her playful manner, and Qingxin stood respectfully beside her. After all, Qingzhu was their Helmsman, and they still had to show her respect, even though she had long since lost all face in front of Xiahou Chan.
"What could have you in such a hurry? Could it be that those vile beasts have come back?"
Qingzhu began to grow excited. If that were true, she could avenge the destruction of the ship!
But Xiahou Chan shook his head. "No. It's news of the other Xianzhou ships."
"News of the other Xianzhou ships? Let's hear it."
Qingzhu was quite curious. Only a little over ten years had passed for them, which wasn't long in terms of the Xianzhou's voyages. So what had the Xianzhou accomplished in that short time?
"Yes! The Xianzhou found Yaoshi of [Abundance]. All eight Xianzhou ships have received the Blessing of Abundance and have now become Long-Life Species."
"Long-Life Species? Long-Life Species like us?"
Qingzhu was puzzled. Just then, Ayinai appeared beside her. "They're not the same. The power of Abundance can grant you an exceptionally strong ability to recover and a long life, but no matter how long that life is, you're still human. A person's brain cannot bear an immense amount of memories.
"So when they can no longer bear those memories, Long-Life Species fall into confusion, losing their minds and attacking any entity around them."
"Ah?!"
Everyone was shocked to hear Ayinai's words. If what she said was true, didn't that mean that sooner or later, they too would fall into confusion because their brains couldn't bear their memories?
Fear appeared on their faces. They weren't afraid of dying; they were afraid that after losing control, they would hurt their companions on the Xianzhou.
"There's no need to worry. As I said, you're different from them. They are Long-Life Species who received the Blessing of Abundance, while you are Long-Life Species who received the Blessing of Existence. With different Path powers, your constitutions are naturally different. Don't forget, the Path you walk is called [Existence]."
"Since the human brain can't hold so many memories, let the memories it can't bear [Exist] only in a certain instant, at a certain moment; or use a new vessel to hold those [Existing] memories. When you want to revisit them, simply take them out and have a look."
Anything could be made to exist at any point in space-time. Unless you could erase someone through space-time, he could return endlessly to his anchored point of existence. Moreover, an Existence Pathstrider's attacks had an assimilating quality: the power of the Path of Existence would erode the enemy's Path power until it stripped away the Path they had set foot upon. That was the ability of Existence.
Even the lock-on ability that The Hunt acquired later could lock onto an [Existence] anchor, but it still couldn't erase it. The anchor had been driven firmly into the universe's history and space-time. Unless the entire universe was erased, the only option was to wear the Pathstrider down until they died.