301: The god of relief from misfortune, Yuan Chenling became a god

"Such heavy snow, a good omen."

Wilde stood on the platform, reaching out to catch the falling snow.

It had been half a week since Mo Ran entered the Pastoral Area.

"Indeed, a good snowfall can freshen the air and bring more vitality to the coming year."

Uncle Fu also walked out of the house and draped a coat over Wilde's shoulders.

"Is the army from the 'King of Knowing' about to arrive?"

"Go urge him to act sooner and see if we can do something before the Execution Line arrives."

"Anyway, it's not that I don't want to follow the rules, it's just that things have come to this critical juncture."

"If I don't do something soon, this top-quality Spiritual Root will be lost for nothing."

"Mhm, according to the rules, I should have stopped you."

"But looking at the current situation, this is indeed the most beneficial course of action."

"And if you want to obtain the Spiritual Root, the current plan is also the most compliant with the rules."

Uncle Fu nodded, as this matter was done under his suggestion, and it was something where the benefits outweighed the drawbacks.

Not to mention that his young master had already been unusually observant of the rules.

"So, while I don't support it, I won't stop you either."

"That's exactly what I wanted to hear."

"A timely snow promises a good harvest; we'll step through this heavy snow to visit those elite individuals and offer them our congratulations."

At the same time.

Mo Ran walked the streets, dragging away the bodies of homeless people who had frozen to death, sending them to be cremated to prevent the spread of plague.

At the same time, he performed rites for the Souls of the deceased so they could enter Reincarnation as soon as possible, preventing the accumulation of resentment.

This method of performing rites was originally a means used by his sect to destroy evidence; after all, obliterating a Soul would cause damage to oneself, so performing rites was a better choice.

After all, the probability of an undead climbing out of the underworld was much higher than that of reviving from a remnant Soul.

Mo Ran hadn't expected that this Spell, which he had rarely cast before, would now be used so frequently for its actual purpose of performing rites.

"I really didn't expect this."

"In such an advanced and developed city, a single heavy snowfall could freeze to death so many able-bodied people, some of whom were even once extraordinary."

Looking at the body of the old man who often came to collect food, Mo Ran couldn't help but sigh.

He knew this man.

While distributing food, he had also heard stories about these people's pasts.

Some of them might have ended up here due to poor character, but the vast majority were forced by life—either through bankruptcy or suffering a major blow—to come here.

And the way they arrived here was more like a form of exile.

This old man was one such case.

He used to be security for a large corporation, as the company's mecha and exoskeletons required sufficient strength to operate.

In the Eastern Domain, cultivation for those without a Spiritual Root or those using artificial ones was extremely resource-intensive; even a Genius couldn't create something from nothing.

Therefore, if most people wanted to risk their lives for a company, they had to undergo human modification, also known as mechanization.

This did indeed provide strength, but the price was that their lives were essentially sold to the company.

Whether it was prosthetic limbs or exoskeletons, what they relied on daily came from the military-industrial complex.

They had to pay for the installation qualification and could only join the company after being equipped.

But once they left the company, they lost the right to use that equipment and could only switch to cheaper prosthetics.

And once they were fitted with cheap prosthetics, they essentially lost the ability to find other work.

For them, there were only two paths: retirement or bankruptcy.

This old man was very tragic.

He had reached retirement age, but a corporate accident left him severely injured, forcing him into early layoff without retirement benefits, leaving him with no choice but bankruptcy.

His meager compensation was partly used to pay off loans and partly for prosthetic adaptation drugs, just to keep his riddled Physical Body going for a little longer.

But in the end, he didn't make it through this winter.

It wasn't that Mo Ran didn't want to save them, but Wilde's side had already begun to take action.

Now that he was in the Pastoral Area, every request he made was rejected on the grounds of no supplies; he had money but nowhere to spend it.

As for whether this was targeted?

It was, but it wasn't just targeting Mo Ran—it was the entire market.

Because only funds for building the church had been requested initially, Wilde directly manipulated the market, controlling most resources except for those needed for church construction.

This caused another wave of people to go bankrupt and flow into the Pastoral Area.

Resources in the Pastoral Area decreased significantly as a result, and with the population increasing, if Mo Ran wanted to collect large amounts of supplies, he had to consider whether it would trigger a backlash from the residents, as it would be equivalent to taking away their means of survival to feed dogs.

In the Pastoral Area, it was normal to call vagrants dogs; in fact, it was considered an insult to the dogs.

Fortunately, Qing Xuan had anticipated that Wilde would cause trouble and had stockpiled a large amount of resources in advance, arranging them systematically.

Even Yuan Chenling was secretly transporting supplies from the Northern Border.

As long as they kept a low profile in the short term, no one would notice. However, this also meant they couldn't provide large-scale aid.

He pitied those already dead and those about to die, but for the sake of saving more people, he was forced to abandon them.

"You beast, how dare you steal! Die!"

A voice came from around the corner, followed by several muffled groans.

Mo Ran's whole body shuddered.

He was in disbelief, but his body had already charged toward the corner.

He saw a person wearing an exoskeleton with the Grace City emblem beating—Chu Tianci!

"Stop!"

Mo Ran struck suddenly, kicking the man away and quickly helping Chu Tianci up.

Looking closely and confirming it was indeed Chu Tianci, Chu Tianci also saw him, but only muttered "Mo Ran" before passing out.

His face was haggard, and his left eye had been replaced with a mechanical prosthetic eye.

Mo Ran held his hand; it felt icy cold.

It was a prosthetic limb.

What on earth had happened to make someone like Chu Tianci fall so low, to the point where even the whole body he always cherished had become like this?

"You motherfucker, how dare you—"

Mo Ran didn't waste words; with anger in his eyes, he flashed his business card.

The man's hand froze in mid-air; just as he was about to kowtow and apologize, Mo Ran couldn't be bothered with him and spat out a single word: "Scram." The man fled in his vehicle as if granted a grand pardon.

Looking at the weak Chu Tianci and remembering how he had been cared for by him since entering the city, Mo Ran hoisted him onto his back and took him back to the church.

After Yuan Chenling helped with some treatment and brought hot water and food, Chu Tianci finally managed to speak.

"Mo... Mo Ran, leave quickly... Pastoral Area... Execution Line..."

Shortly after saying this, he passed out again.

Seeing Mo Ran's face full of worry, Qing Xuan remained much calmer.

"His vitality is just excessively depleted, forming a dao wound."

"A dao wound usually acts upon the Origin; once the Origin is damaged, the Physical Body or Soul cannot recover naturally, which is why it's called a dao wound. But that usually only appears at the Core Formation Stage or above."

"At the Foundation Establishment Stage, a missing limb is just a missing limb; it's not a dao wound. Taking some Medicinal Pills would allow it to regrow, not to mention this is the medically advanced Eastern Domain."

"One can only imagine that his limbs must have been repeatedly broken and regrown multiple times in a short period for this to happen."

"I really don't know what he went through."

"Then Senior, Uncle Chu, he's currently..."

"Don't worry, he's fine."

"As for us, it seems we're in trouble."

Qing Xuan flew to the door, closed it first, and hung up a "Closed" sign.

"During this time, through the various books you've collected from the Pastoral Area, I've gained some understanding of this place."

"This fellow mentioned the 'Execution Line' before losing consciousness, which means the true meaning of the name 'Pastoral Area'—the bloody moment is about to begin!"

"We need power."

"I'll explain the reason later. For now, gather all the Power Of Faith and prepare to condense a Godhead. I'm going to call that stupid lion."

After saying that, Qing Xuan disappeared, as vigorous and resolute as ever.

Mo Ran whispered "Execution Line" to himself; although he didn't fully understand, he still began to gather the faith as instructed.

They didn't notice that a small red dot flickered slightly in Chu Tianci's prosthetic eye.

"Stupid lion, get ready! We need you to become a god first and condense a Golden Core!"

Yuan Chenling, who was originally sleeping in a chair, was woken up and was a bit annoyed, but upon hearing Qing Xuan's words, his anger instantly vanished, replaced by excitement.

However, he still asked suspiciously.

"Didn't you say there was no rush?"

"Stop talking nonsense and get over here."

Seeing the urgency, Yuan Chenling quickly smoothed his fur with saliva and rushed to take his place in front of the small TV.

Mo Ran had already begun the ceremony according to the Legacy, and Yuan Chenling immediately followed suit, operating the yuanwu harmony system in coordination.

Before long, a small wooden lion appeared beside the original yuanwu harmony system, both emitting a peaceful aura—this was the result of the faith gathered through medical care and food distribution over the past few days.

A newborn Godhead was thus created.

At this moment, the small yuanwu harmony system truly became a divine statue, and the small lion that had split off was one of the symbols of divine office—the birth of a subordinate god.

The small yuanwu harmony system became the vessel for the new "Godhead of Relief," representing Taiyi God officially becoming a local Earth God, tasked with the relief of distress, with authority covering the church and its surrounding areas.

Yuan Chenling existed as a subordinate god, with the divine name "Earl of the Spiritual Lion."

Yuan Chenling carefully held the small seal that Mo Ran had brought into the main city, feeling the power within, sighing and doubting at the same time.

"Can this little thing really help me easily cross the Lightning Tribulation?"

"Theoretically, yes."

"What do you mean 'theoretically,' hey!"

"You're not scared, are you?"

"Hmph, my claws are as sharp as ever!"

Looking at Yuan Chenling, who was easily provoked by a few words, Qing Xuan said no more and turned back to the Pastoral Area, preparing to make final arrangements before the big event occurred.