When Ye Xi returned to Aaru Village, he discovered that the area around the village had already been completely overrun with trees.
So he had no choice but to put away the airplane and simply fly down with the girls.
The moment the villagers saw Ye Xi, they all burst into excited praise.
"Master Ye Xi, this miracle must have been the work of you and the two Dendro Archons!"
"Heavens! I can hardly believe it—the desert turning into an oasis in the blink of an eye!"
"This old man has lived for over sixty years, and I never imagined I'd witness a sight like this. It was all worth it!"
"Thank you, great God, and Master Ye Xi, for everything you've done for the children of the desert!"
"..."
The villagers came forward one after another to pay their respects, their faces full of sincerity.
The desert folk had lived among these yellow sands for generation upon generation. Seeing that sand turn into fertile land, they truly could not suppress their elation.
From now on, they could make a living by farming the land!
Growing crops—oh, how precious such a thing was to the people of the desert!
And there were so many resources in this forest, more than enough for them to survive!
Fruit, trees, water sources—
These were all resources they could live on!
Compared to the barren desert, they now had so many more choices!
From now on, they wouldn't have to ration their drinking water—they could bathe to their hearts' content!
No longer would they have to wrap cloth over their eyes to guard against the sand and wind—they could roam freely through the forest!
No longer would they be scorched by the blazing sun—they could rest in the cool of the tree shade!
And from now on, they would never again have to worry about sandstorms!
These were the very things the children of the desert had longed for most!
Ye Xi gestured for everyone to quiet down, then spoke up: "Everyone, don't be in such a rush to celebrate. Hurry and go repair the village houses."
"Otherwise, you'll have nowhere to live tonight."
He had just noticed that quite a few of the villagers' homes had been pierced straight through by the great trees that had shot up from the ground.
They needed to be repaired right away.
The village chief, Uncle Anpu, said with a smile, "There's no need to worry, Master. I've already sent the village's strong young lads off to chop wood!"
"With all this timber, everyone can live in wooden houses!"
"Everyone's thrilled about it!"
Ye Xi nodded.
This village would have to fell the surrounding trees and clear out a flat patch of land.
If there were trees everywhere, it would be inconvenient.
The people of the village soon got to work.
Dehya and Candace came up to greet him as well.
"Master, you're incredible! How on earth did you manage it!"
The moment they met, Dehya couldn't help but throw herself at him, showering him with praise.
Ye Xi smiled and gave a brief account of the matter with the Dendro Dragonlord, which left Dehya's blood positively boiling with excitement.
"All right, let's save the details for when we get back. Nahida and the others still need to head into Sumeru City."
"Oh, right, right!"
Dehya nodded, then she and Candace led Ye Xi back into the house.
Candace's house had luckily avoided the trees and been spared from being run through by an emerging trunk.
It was just that a very tall tree had sprouted up in the courtyard.
"Master Ye Xi, Dehya and I will stay behind in the village for now."
Candace still wanted to stay and help out around the village, and naturally Dehya would lend a hand too.
"Sure, then I'll see you two tonight."
With that, Ye Xi stepped through the portal and returned to the Serenitea Pot.
Nahida and Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, meanwhile, headed straight for Sumeru City.
Right now the city was in chaos because of the desert's transformation, so a God's presence was urgently needed to take charge.
Sumeru City.
The Akademiya.
The House of Daena.
An Mahamata came rushing in and took the elevator up to the top floor.
The instant he entered, he cried out, "Acting Sage! Something major has happened!"
Alhaitham was reading through some books and documents. Hearing the voice, he said in a low, steady tone, "No matter what has happened, there's no need to panic like this."
"Speak. What exactly has happened?"
The Mahamata said hurriedly, "Sage, the desert has vanished!"
"What!?"
Alhaitham's head snapped up, his face full of astonishment.
"Sage, it's absolutely true!"
"The people from Caravan Ribat just sent back the intelligence—they say they saw with their own eyes the desert turn into an oasis!"
"Everyone in all of Caravan Ribat saw it! It was definitely no illusion!"
Hearing this, Alhaitham immediately grasped the gravity of the situation.
"I'll go to the Sanctuary of Surasthana at once to meet with the Dendro Archon and have everyone stay calm!"
With that, he hurriedly left the House of Daena.
Though he hadn't witnessed the scene himself, he knew that this matter must have something to do with the God!
The desert turning into a rainforest!
This was something that would have an enormous impact on all of Sumeru!
By now, the Akademiya was already in an uproar.
"Have you heard? It seems the desert has turned into a rainforest!"
"What!? Is it real or not!? How is that even possible!"
"Does this mean we can go do research over in that rainforest from now on!?"
"Wonderful! This gives us a whole heap of new research topics!"
"From now on there will be no more discrimination between the desert and the rainforest! We're all children of the rainforest now!"
"This must be a miracle wrought by the God!"
"..."
All of Sumeru was seething with excitement over this affair…
...
Inside the Serenitea Pot.
The moment Ye Xi returned, he was surrounded and lavished with praise by the girls.
Only then did he learn that Raiden Ei had used her power to show everyone what had happened in Sumeru.
"All right, all right, no need to make such a fuss. Wasn't that just a casual little maneuver?"
Hearing Ye Xi's words, Keqing crossed her arms and said, "What kind of person can summon wind and rain at a casual whim? It's a big deal, all right!"
"Oh?"
Ye Xi smiled and said in a low voice, "Since you admire me so much, then how about tonight—you and Xiangling pick up where you left off?"
"Eh——!? You're awful~"
Keqing's lovely face flushed at once, and she gave Ye Xi a light punch. "Let's talk about serious matters—don't, don't go saying random nonsense!"
Ye Xi laughed.
Xiangling stammered, "If it's with Keqing, then I… I'm okay with it…."
"Xiangling!?"
Keqing's face was full of surprise—she'd never expected Xiangling to actually agree!
She realized that Xiangling had now become a little fangirl. Clearly, what had happened today had left her utterly unable to free herself from her infatuation with Ye Xi.
She'd had this same sort of feeling before, back when she watched Ye Xi defeat Azhdaha.
In an instant, she'd been head over heels for Ye Xi.
Ye Xi nodded with satisfaction. "Xiangling really is the sensible one."
Just as he was speaking, the portal to Sumeru lit up.
Alusha and Dunyarzad came running back, their faces full of excitement.
"Master, we were out shopping on Treasures Street when we suddenly heard the desert had turned into a rainforest. Is it true!?"
They had gone shopping in Sumeru City today, and right in the middle of their purchases they'd heard a burst of cheering all around them.
From the rumors, they'd learned of what had happened in the desert, and they immediately thought it had something to do with Ye Xi, so they came rushing back.
Before Ye Xi could even say a word, Xiangling beside him chimed in with praise: "Of course it's true—Ye Xi did all of it! We saw it with our own eyes!"
Then Xiangling and Keqing excitedly recounted everything they had just seen and heard.
Alusha listened until her legs went weak, looking thoroughly smitten.
Every time she heard about Ye Xi displaying his powerful side, she couldn't restrain her admiration for the strong.
Seeing this, Ye Xi didn't know whether to laugh or cry. It seemed tonight was going to be a very busy one.
...
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