Chapter 268: The Snowy Forest
The news of the awakening of a demi-god relic spread throughout the northern part of the Totem Continent, stirring the interest of various totem gods. However, the White Mountain God, who ruled over most of the northwest region of the continent, blocked the possibility of foreign gods getting involved. Even the local deities beyond the Great Snowy Mountains, though dissatisfied, dared not openly complain, as the White Mountain God was one of the most powerful deities on the Totem Continent. More importantly, he had connections with most gods above the demi-god level, many of whom owed him favors they hadn’t repaid. Thus, even if a few powerful gods were upset by the White Mountain God’s refusal to share his gains, they couldn’t change anything.
For the mortal warriors on the Totem Continent, there was another good news: while the White Mountain God restricted gods from other parts of the continent, he did not restrict mortals from participating. By inheriting the position of the Green Tree God, Donald naturally became the deity of the Great Mountain region, so there was no risk of others benefiting from his achievements. As for why the White Mountain God was so confident that the mortal who inherited his position wouldn’t leave, there must be secrets at play—secrets unknown to outsiders.
This news was undoubtedly good news for Donald as well, even changing their previous plans. They had originally intended not to participate in the competition for the demi-god relic to avoid exposing their identities and being hunted by the totem gods. Instead, they thought it would be better to take the opportunity to hunt more Golden Totem Gods, plunder their populations, and then return to their home world before the deadline for the opening of the interworld portal. After all, the humans from the tribes ruled by those five totem gods had all been brought back by Donald to the semi-plane he had created.
Initially, the semi-plane he created had only one layer of land with extremely thin air, an environment unsuitable for ordinary creatures to survive in. But later, Donald used the Eternal Water Bottle to absorb the negative energy accumulated over centuries on a necromantic island and transformed it into the four elements of earth, water, wind, and fire. As a result, the environment in the semi-plane had improved significantly. At least there was temperature, water sources, sufficient air, and a small area suitable for growing ordinary plants. Although a complete biological cycle still hadn’t been established, as long as there were enough resources, those native humans could live there for a year or two without problems.
After gradually converting many faith crystals into divine energy reserves, Donald promptly spent 2,000 drops of divine energy to expand the demi-plane to the size of a county domain—covering nearly 100 square kilometers in actual area, with about 50 square kilometers dedicated to living spaces. Thousands of indigenous humans could live there without overcrowding; even ten times that number would fit easily.
With ample water sources and the indigenous tribes’ existing rich food reserves, Donald took out more grain from his storage space to give to them, enough for these thousands of people to eat for two months, and it wouldn’t be a problem even if they stretched it to three or five months.
Moreover, those among them who were stubbornly loyal to their original guardian gods, as well as those with ordinary aptitudes and the elderly, were released by Donald and handed over to the God of Iron Clanks and the others to distribute among them and gradually transform their beliefs. It was likely that the overall strength of the God of Iron Clanks’ faction would rise further in the near future.
As a result, 90% of the population in the demi-plane disappeared, leaving less than 500 people, all of whom were elites.
Among these few hundred, the adults were all warriors at the Bronze level or above, about a hundred in number. The rest were promising young people and children who, with proper training, could easily become outstanding believers.
However, Donald didn’t have time to train these future believers for now. He simply summoned five human-class priests permanently to calm the panicked mortals who had suddenly arrived in this new demi-plane world.
These elven priests had handsome appearances and great affinity. Since they were creatures created by Donald, they naturally became his devout believers as soon as they appeared. It was likely that they would be able to complete their mission and cultivate Donald’s first batch of believers in a while!
Since everyone except Carlisle couldn’t refine more totem deities for now, and the God of White Mountain had relaxed the restrictions, they could also disguise themselves as powerful humans from this world to compete with those totem deities.
So, after discussing it, the five of them decided to participate. Even if they couldn’t gain anything, it would still help the God of Iron Clanks and the others, right?
After making this decision, the five of them wrapped themselves tightly in cloaks and set off together with the three gods of Iron Clanks.
As for the security of the territory? The entire Great Snow Mountain region was under the protection of the God of White Mountain. Outsiders didn’t dare take advantage of the situation to invade. All totem deities below demi-gods and powerful mortals had gone to the Green Tree Ruins, leaving the territory unharmed and thus requiring no protection.
The location where the Green Tree Ruins open is in the Snowy Forest east of the Great Snow Mountain. It is separated from the Snow Creek Tribe by a continuous range of mountains, so Tie Dang Shen and the others originally planned to set off five days earlier. However, Donald and his group left a day earlier just in case any accidents on the road caused delays. The Snowy Forest is the name given to this area by other regions of the Totem Continent. At the foot of the bitterly cold Great Snow Mountain, only hardy evergreen plants like pines and cypresses can survive. Over countless years of evolution, the leaves of some of these trees have turned nearly grayish-white, losing their green color. Coupled with the snow often covering the forest canopies, from a distance it looks like a thick grayish-white carpet. The closer one gets to the Snowy Forest, the more people there are. Besides the gods flying in the air, many mortals can also be seen on the ground. These mortals generally possess strength at least at the Bronze level, with Golden-level strongmen being extremely rare. Of course, there are also many mortals who don’t even reach the Bronze level trying their luck—perhaps the Green Tree God has already chosen someone as their heir, allowing them to achieve instant success! When Donald retracted the airship from afar and the five people along with the three gods arrived near the entrance to the ruins, thousands of earth gods and mortals had already gathered there. The Green Tree Ruins are located in a small area of pure greenery within the forest. It is said that this place used to be the domain of the Green Tree God, filled with lush green vegetation. Unfortunately, after the Green Tree God disappeared, the greenery in the forest gradually diminished, leaving only this small patch today. However, since the ruins hadn’t yet been opened, nothing else existed there besides the trees. Led by Tie Dang Shen, Donald’s group quietly found an empty spot to settle down without interacting with other gods or mortals. Once there, Donald secretly observed these candidates. Aside from the mortals who dared not speak loudly in front of the gods, there were over three hundred earth gods around. Most of these gods were alone, while some formed small groups. Among these groups of gods, one group in the front was the most active, led by a middle-aged Totem God with grayish-white hair and beard. Donald observed secretly and, with the help of Snow Creek God’s introduction, focused his attention on those dozen or so legendary Totem Gods, eventually learning that the leader was the lord of the nearby Cedar Forest—a renowned legendary Totem God, the Cedar God.
According to the praise and discussions among those deities, this one is recognized as the most promising candidate to inherit the ruins of the Green Tree God. As both belong to the realm of nature, and the domain of the Cedar God is located in the vicinity of the original Green Tree God’s territory, he has a significant advantage due to his proximity. However, in Donald’s view, this deity is nothing but superficial. “Since he was deified even when the Green Tree God still existed, why didn’t the Green Tree God choose him directly as his successor? It’s clear that his ideals don’t align with those of the Green Tree God; otherwise, he wouldn’t have remained unaware of the treasure for hundreds of years. He only found out about the impending opening of the ruins after being informed by the White Mountain God, just like everyone else.” He dared to say these things here because he had secretly erected a divine barrier beforehand; otherwise, if the surrounding totem gods heard them, it would cause quite a problem! Hearing Donald’s analysis, Vincent added, “Donald is right. This one seems to have the best prospects, but he’s also the least likely to receive the demi-god inheritance. Yet, he poses a threat to us. If any of us succeeds in obtaining the demi-god inheritance, he will surely become furious and go all out to stop us. With his strength as a legendary totem god and many allies at his side, he could be a serious obstacle!” “What’s there to fear? With me and the Iron Bell God here, as long as it’s not more than two legendary totem gods attacking us, we can basically ensure everyone’s safety. Besides, there’s Donald too—his mysterious tactics even managed to trick a true god’s avatar. Even if some reckless legendary strongmen try to provoke us, they won’t come out unscathed, right?” Donald glared at him irritably. “We’re on the territory of the White Mountain God now. We’d better be cautious. If we draw his attention, we might not be able to go home!” Just as they were talking, a commotion arose among the crowd, and a flash of light suddenly appeared in the small grove of green trees ahead. “Has it started?” Before Donald could finish speaking, a green glow emerged from among the trees and grew larger and larger. The green light spreading among the surrounding trees made them grow rapidly, as if stimulated by some growth agent. The green color gradually spread throughout the forest. In just two or three minutes, the original grove had expanded several times over.
The temperature in the area covered by the green light changed, blocking out the cold winds from the Great Snowy Mountains. What was once severe winter cold turned into the mild chill of early spring in the blink of an eye. The totem gods didn’t sense much change, but the ordinary people gathered around felt invigorated once the green light enveloped them, experiencing a sense of relief. Their symptoms of discomfort or chronic illnesses were greatly reduced, and those who were healthy became even fitter. “This natural force full of vitality is at least on par with the healing spells cast by natural druids of level five or above, and it certainly can’t cover such a vast area. Truly worthy of the demi-god Green Tree God!” Donald exclaimed. Seeing that the green light had spread and formed a portal hundreds of feet wide in the forest, many impatient totem gods and ordinary people rushed in first. Without further delay, he said to the others, “Let’s go too!”