Three days later, the port in the distance of the desolate mountains was bustling with activity.
A giant ocean-going vessel, large enough to hold thousands of people, is quietly moored there.
The ship was made entirely of hard wood unique to the barren mountains, and its hull was covered with golden runes that shone brightly in the sunlight.
Zhang Li and his wife Liu Cuihua were holding their six-year-old daughter Yaya's hand, standing on the high deck, looking somewhat helpless.
Their family, along with other ordinary people, were among the first group of believers personally chosen by Old Lady Gongsun to go overseas and spread the glory of the mountain god.
"Dad, why are my legs still shaking?"
Looking at the crowd of people seeing her off, who looked like ants at her feet, Liu Cuihua nervously swallowed hard.
"We've hardly ever been to the county town in our lives, and now we're going to be on such a big ship sailing out to sea..."
Zhang Li wasn't much better off. He gripped the railing tightly, his palms sweaty, but he still kept his back straight.
"What are you afraid of! This is a gift from the Mountain Goddess! It's an immense blessing!"
Little Yaya tugged at her parents' clothes, looked up at them with her little face, and asked timidly.
"Father, Mother, what are we going to do?"
Liu Cuihua squatted down, touched her daughter's head, and her eyes shone with unprecedented pride and radiance.
"Yaya, we're going to tell all the people in the world who are still suffering."
Zhang Li replied, his voice trembling slightly with excitement.
"Tell them that there is a deity who is willing to protect us peasants! We will spread the glory of the Mountain Goddess to every corner of this world!"
With a long, drawn-out horn sound, the massive Shenzhou spacecraft slowly sailed away.
On the deck, countless ordinary people like Zhang Li's family waved their arms, bidding farewell to the crowds seeing them off on the shore and to the barren mountains behind them.
They showed no fear of the unknown, only boundless fervor.
…
The Shenzhou spacecraft sailed on the sea with incredible smoothness.
Those legendary sea gods who could capsize ships fled as if they had seen a ghost when the divine vessel approached.
On that day, the believers on the lookout tower suddenly shouted a warning.
"Fishing boat in distress spotted ahead!"
Everyone rushed to the ship's side.
Not far away, a dilapidated fishing boat was spinning on the sea, and several dark figures were clinging to the edge of the boat, seemingly trying to drag the people on board into the water.
"It's a sea monkey!"
One of the believers exclaimed in surprise.
Wang Wan's eyes turned cold as she raised her hand, and a sharp blade formed from spiritual energy shot through the air.
"Pfft!"
Several demons that were entangled with the fishing boat were instantly cut in two, and their dark green blood stained the sea black.
The fishermen on the boat were so frightened that they collapsed to the ground, about to be swallowed by the waves.
"Lin Xiu! Lin Zhu!"
Lin Anniang gave the order.
Without a word, her two daughters took a running start and leaped from the deck, which was dozens of meters high, landing steadily on the small fishing boat.
One of them grabbed the bow and the other the stern, and together they lifted the entire small fishing boat and its people onto the Shenzhou's spacious deck.
The fishermen were dumbfounded.
They looked at the two girls who were incredibly strong.
Looking around at the extraordinary, seemingly superb believers from the desolate mountains, he was so frightened that he scrambled to a corner, trembling like a leaf.
"Don't kill us! We have nothing!"
Seeing their terrified expressions, Liu Cuihua's heart softened, and she carried over a steaming bowl of rice.
"Fellow villagers, don't be afraid. We come from the barren mountains and will not harm you."
The fishermen's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as they stared at the white rice.
One of the oldest fishermen, his lips trembling, could not believe his eyes.
"A barren mountain? You mean that barren mountain that's protected by the Mountain Goddess?"
Seeing Liu Cuihua and Zhang Li, ordinary people dressed simply and with kind faces, their tense nerves finally relaxed.
After receiving the rice and clean clothes, several burly men hugged their bowls and burst into tears.
"Our sea area is cursed by the sea god!"
The old fisherman wolfed down his food while weeping.
"When we go out to sea to fish, we encounter these evil spirits eight out of ten times! The neighboring village sacrifices young boys and girls every year to appease the sea god's wrath. We really can't survive like this!"
Hearing this, Zhang Li and Liu Cuihua exchanged a glance, both seeing the determination in each other's eyes.
"Fellow villagers, do you believe in the Mountain Goddess?"
Liu Cuihua asked softly.
"We believe it! Of course we believe it! We've heard about it before! It's just that the Mountain Goddess is far away in Qingzhou and can't govern this part of the sea!"
Zhang Li took out a wooden carving he had prepared beforehand from his pocket. The carving depicted Yu Luo's likeness, and it was incredibly lifelike.
He solemnly handed the wood carving to the old fisherman.
“Take this and go back to tell everyone in your village. From today onward, you shall worship the Mountain Goddess and pray to her day and night. The Mountain Goddess’s divine light will protect you.”
The old fisherman accepted the wooden carving as if it were a treasure, and together with the other fishermen, they kowtowed several times towards the divine vessel.
"Thank you! Thank you so much! We'll build a temple as soon as we get back! We'll worship the Mountain Goddess day and night!"
…
After bidding farewell to the fisherman, the Shenzhou spacecraft continued its journey.
Several days later, a piece of land shrouded in black mist appeared in everyone's sight.
The black mist was visible to the naked eye, like thick ink, completely enveloping the entire country, preventing even a ray of sunlight from penetrating the sky, and filling the air with the stench of despair and decay.
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