The expressions on their faces were so grave, as if they were about to witness something terrible.

She walked up to the two of them and said sternly, "Don't even think about doing anything funny. The Mountain Goddess has blessed us, and we villagers are too grateful to even have time to express our thanks. What's with that look on your faces?"

Wu Deyun and Zhang Chongjiu hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back. They were indeed shocked by the mountain god temple, but this kind of "deity" who bestowed abilities was too similar to the national teacher of the neighboring country.

It's just that the extraordinary people in the neighboring countries who gained abilities were not as powerful as Lin Anniang and Lin Lu.

"Grandma Gongsun, are you feeling unwell?" Wu Deyun asked in a low voice.

Wu Deyun knew that speaking here might be overheard by the mountain goddess, but he didn't care anymore.

If such a gift of ability really comes at a great price, then Grandma Gongsun is already so old, can she bear it?

Zhang Chongjiu added, "It's like something's suddenly missing, like an arm or a leg, otherwise you can't smell or taste anything..."

Bang!

Grandma Gongsun suddenly struck the two men on the buttocks with her cane. "What, do I look like an old woman with no limbs?"

"Let me tell you two, I'm perfectly fine right now. I feel decades younger, and I could easily knock you both out!"

"Ouch, old lady, please be gentle!" Zhang Chongjiu cried out, clutching his buttocks and jumping around.

Wu Deyun was a rather reserved person, and always quite serious. When he was suddenly hit in this spot, his face turned bright red. He didn't dare to run around like his good friend, for fear of offending the elderly lady.

"Chongjiu, what's wrong?" Zhang's wife came over impatiently to check.

The Wu family lady, who hadn't appeared much until now, also stepped forward to take a look at her son.

"Mother, no, it's nothing, we just said the wrong thing!"

Zhang Chongjiu felt a little wronged. They were really thinking of the villagers. What if this mountain goddess was just like the national advisor of the neighboring country?

However, he is now completely certain that Grandma Gongsun is in excellent health, even more energetic than when she went up the mountain before, and has no problems at all!

Old Lady Gongsun struck him a few more times with the stick before she calmed down. She then stood in front of the mountain god temple again, kneeling near the incense burner to apologize to the mountain god.

…

Near the incense burner, Yu Luo remained floating, watching as the number of believers and his faith value steadily increased.

At the same time, she was also observing the two marked men.

The two men's solemn gazes and heavy expressions suggested they had a story to tell, and they seemed completely unsurprised by the scene.

Yu Luo felt that the two of them had likely heard other legends about "gods," so he kept observing them.

Surprisingly, I actually saw a glimmer of hope.

"System, do you think those two guys encountered some other god who charges rewards? Like, taking an arm or a leg from a believer and then giving them abilities in return?"

Otherwise, why would those two people ask that question?

The system was already about to go to sleep, but after hearing her question, it had no choice but to stop again: "Such beings do exist, but as you should know, as I have already explained to you, they are not true gods. They are just stealing the power of faith and are false gods."

“False gods are not qualified to obtain the power of faith and have no way to draw power from faith, so they have to make up for it in other ways. One very common way is to ask believers to offer up a part of their body.”

"There are many, many more cruel methods that you wouldn't want to know."

Yu Luo was not frightened; instead, she fell into deep thought.

If there are many such false gods in this world, wouldn't many people suffer?

"System, highlight those two; we might have a chance to see that false god."

The system nodded and reminded you, "Your total number of followers has exceeded one hundred, but your faith value has only just reached one thousand. Keep up the good work!"

As he spoke, the system disappeared.