The Aeon of Abundance—Yaoshi.
She is the nurturer of all living things, the god of paradise, whose aim is to make life flourish without end. An Aeon who never refuses a prayer, who cannot bear to witness decay and sickness.
May all sentient beings receive what they seek!
Gauze draped over her sleeves, jade-like antlers upon her head, six arms, and tens of thousands of crimson eyes covering her body, with thorns coiled around her limbs. Her beautiful face held a merciful smile, and her magnificent posture exuded an uncanny sense of beauty.
Her mere, quiet presence was the entirety of one's world.
Covered in a hazy,幽 blue layer of the Flames of Miracle, Chen Li looked up at the being before him.
This flame was a form of protection granted when using the Easter Egg. It was better than nothing, only serving to prevent Chen Li from being mentally affected by the presence.
"Hm? There's another master here?" After the initial daze, Chen Li glanced at the person kneeling before the Aeon of Abundance, holding an indistinct spiritual object.
"Hey, friend. I don't know whether to say you fear death or not, daring to seek a blessing from the Abundance. Where are you from?" Chen Li asked in a very friendly manner.
This could be a future client.
There was nothing to regret about a long life, but once the Mara-Struck stage hit, this person would surely be searching everywhere for a solution.
And the spiritual object in the person's hand, shrouded in white light and impossible to see clearly, dazzled Chen Li even more.
He didn't even need to touch it to know that it absolutely contained many precious Entries.
But even more brilliant than the light from that spiritual object were the Entries on the Aeon of Abundance herself.
Even though they were hazy and he couldn't make out what they were, they were still dazzling.
"...The Xianzhou." The person, faced with someone speaking so "insolently" before an Aeon, felt a sense of admiration. But under the immense psychological pressure of the divine presence, he could only squeeze those two words through his teeth.
"???"
Those two words left Chen Li completely baffled.
Where are you from?
The Xianzhou?
"The Xianzhou Alliance?" Chen Li pressed.
"Alliance? I suppose," the person replied with great difficulty.
"..."
Chen Li understood now. This point in time was seemingly countless years before the era Jingliu lived in.
They hadn't even formed the Xianzhou Alliance yet.
The Xianzhou Alliance didn't refer to an alliance of several Xianzhou ships, as they were already a single entity. It referred to the alliance between the Xianzhou natives, the Foxians, and the Vidyadhara.
The person before him, then, must be the oldest of the Xianzhou's Medicine-Seeking Envoys.
Chen Li was profoundly shaken.
He couldn't help but wonder: if he summoned Jingliu right now, in front of the Aeon of Abundance, would she attack the Aeon first, or this man?
And wasn't the timing of his appearance a little... off?
Or was his ability to summon Argenti and Jingliu in the Previous Era of the Honkai world the real anomaly?
If he were to kill this envoy right now, would the Xianzhou Alliance never be formed? How many Star Stones would he get?
But would that count as a miracle? Would it lead to the destruction of a world?
Glancing at the ecstatic envoy and then at the mysterious Aeon of Abundance before him, Chen Li shook these unreliable thoughts from his head.
Killing someone in front of the Aeon of Abundance was a bit too fanciful.
She would probably just resurrect the person the moment he killed them.
Besides, killing the envoy wouldn't solve the fundamental problem of the Xianzhou.
The people of the Xianzhou had to first experience the calamity of long life to understand that long life was a major problem.
"I am a Curio Forger who travels the worlds. My name is Chen Li. Perhaps we'll have a chance to meet again countless years from now. Since this is our first meeting, allow me to give you a gift as a memento," Chen Li said, tossing a Star Stone to the envoy, who was overcome with joy at having obtained an undying body.
"...Alright." The envoy nodded, looking at the brilliant and gorgeous purple gem.
"Also, a word of advice. For a long-life species, family planning is essential," Chen Li said, patting the envoy on the shoulder before saying no more.
This time, Chen Li only gained 10 Star Stones, which was better than nothing. It meant the envoy hadn't truly listened to his words.
Or he had listened, but hadn't acted on it.
Some problems can only be deeply understood through experience.
Delays could lead to complications. To achieve his own goal, Chen Li also began to seek a blessing from the Aeon of Abundance.
"Great Aeon of Abundance, please grant me your endless divine power!"
The moment Chen Li spoke, the Xianzhou envoy beside him was shocked beyond words.
You can ask for a blessing like that?
This person is completely full of himself!
He wasn't even considering whether the Aeon of Abundance would grant it.
Then, the envoy saw Chen Li pull a crystal out of nowhere, hold it in his hands, and present it to the Aeon, indicating that this would be the vessel to contain the supreme power of Abundance.
However, to Chen Li's surprise, Yaoshi, who sat enthroned in the void, did not bestow any radiant light of Abundance or magical spiritual object. She simply plucked an ear of wheat from beside her.
From beginning to end, Yaoshi's beautiful face maintained an expression of loving mercy.
---o---
Chen Li returned once more to the purification space.
But compared to before using the Easter Egg, he now held an ear of wheat that was golden with hints of emerald green.
At this moment, besides its exquisite appearance, the stalk of grain no longer possessed the磅礴, indescribable life force he had felt when he first held it.
However, in Chen Li's eyes, the dazzling [Abundance] Entry on each and every grain showcased just how extraordinary this ear of wheat was.
Although the Aeon's gift didn't seem to quite match his request, the Aeon of Abundance had vanished immediately after giving the blessing, leaving Chen Li no opportunity to seek another. Thus, he returned to this space holding a single ear of wheat.
Chen Li was actually very satisfied with this blessing, as it was far more suitable for creating Curios than "endless divine power."
Each of the 49 grains could be used to extract one [Abundance] Entry.
This got him thinking: if he could somehow pluck the Entries from the Aeon of Abundance's head, what kind of Curio could he forge?
But because of the existence of "conceptual miraclization" (Entries), the gap between an [Abundance] Entry extracted from an Aeon and one extracted from an ear of wheat was not insurmountably large for him.
At the same time, she had given him so much that he had no thoughts of trying to take more.
"And... does this mean I'll have a chance to seek another blessing in the future?" Chen Li wondered, examining a card in his hand.
[Seeking Medicine] (Miracle Card): Reached the Aeon of Abundance through a minor miracle and successfully sought a blessing.
Effect 1: When walking in the Honkai world, performing acts of [Selflessness, Healing, Altruism] will more easily attract the gaze of the Aeon of Abundance and accumulate Abundance Value.
Effect 2: When Abundance Value reaches 100, you may have another audience with Yaoshi to seek her blessing.
Effect 3: Can be used to forge Curios.
This Miracle Card had appeared the moment the ear of wheat landed in his hand.
Crystals +30
His Star Stones did not increase, as he hadn't really disrupted anything.
The effects of this card were clearly much stronger than [The Upsetter] from the Herrscher of the Void.
This indicated that there was a hierarchy among Miracle Cards.
"Speaking of which, since this Miracle Card is a trace I left in that world, does it count as an Easter Egg?" Chen Li looked expectantly at the radiant, flowing space around him.
Disappointingly, no corresponding Miracle Easter Egg appeared for this card.
It seemed the idea of a Miracle Card obtained via an Easter Egg generating a new Easter Egg was not very realistic.
"Then if I'm on the Xianzhou and I use Effect 2 of this card, will it teleport me to the Aeon of Abundance, or will it summon the Aeon of Abundance to the Xianzhou?"
Chen Li felt that if he could really summon an Aeon to the Xianzhou, he would, at the very least, earn another Miracle Card—[Ultimate Ability to the Face].
After stowing the cat adoption Easter Egg in his inventory, Chen Li remained in the purification space. This was the price for receiving the blessing from the Aeon of Abundance.
The power of Abundance that had clung to him also needed to be purified.
Fortunately, after triggering his first Encounter and spending a Crystal to construct the purification space, Chen Li didn't have to pay for subsequent uses. Otherwise, this little purification would have made his already tight budget even tighter.
When a faint white light began to emanate from his body, Chen Li knew he was about to return.
Seven days east of the river, seven days west. I, Chen Li, have returned!