Unfortunately, despite the worry, Chen Shouyi had no way to help.

The distance from here to the island was unknown—countless kilometers away!

Even if he wanted to save those believers, he was utterly powerless.

He gazed at the brightest star in the sky, and in a daze, he saw a figure kneeling and praying devoutly,

she wasn't a priest from the tribe, nor the clan leader, but an inconspicuous, aged barbarian woman, whose dry face was etched with the wrinkles of time.

As an old and frail woman who could no longer bear children, her status in the tribe was nearly at the lowest level.

Yet, she was the most devout of his believers.

...

As soon as the ritual ended, preparations for battle quickly began.

The young and able in the tribe picked up long spears and swiftly hid in the cellar, ready to rely on the cellar for defense.

Unfortunately, the invading barbarians this time came not in one canoe but with more than thirty, bringing eight to nine hundred people, each canoe packed full.

Children, women, and the able-bodied, except for elders; these barbarians were unmistakably migrating with their families in tow.

In fact, this was indeed the case.

This tribe came from another small island hundreds of kilometers away, drifting in search of a new place to settle.

After all, the sea, unlike the land, does not allow for a migration on a whim by the entire tribe.

Sea monsters, storms, and huge waves could engulf the entire tribe at any moment, and even if they're fortunate enough not to encounter these, finding a small island to migrate to amid the vast sea is a matter of slim chance.

Not to mention in this bleak winter season.

The tribe would not have migrated unless they had reached a desperate situation.

Since more than a decade ago, when the tribe's totem tried to provoke a stranded giant sea beast and was bitten to death in retaliation,

the tribe's situation had been deteriorating.

The natural spirits on the island began to run rampant and havoc.

The entire small island became eerie, with even a minor illness capable of taking a tribesman's life.

Of course, if it was just this, they wouldn't risk the entire tribe being wiped out to escape to the sea for a slim chance of survival.

As long as life could barely continue, they would just endure it.

However, a year ago, a powerful natural spirit, having devoured countless souls, finally broke through a certain boundary, becoming a terrifying entity, and it even began to devour life directly.

First, the insects were wiped out, followed by the somewhat weaker animals.

The small island, with its small and fragile ecosystem, was interconnected and indispensable.

The saying goes, big fish eat little fish, little fish eat shrimp; as shrimp became extinct, the entire ecosystem completely collapsed.

Soon, the tribe couldn't find much food anymore, relying only on the limited fish they caught to survive, but it was far from enough.

In just one year, the tribe of over thirteen hundred dwindled to just over nine hundred, comprised of only the able-bodied and children.

Not a single elder remained!

The reason for their deaths was self-explanatory.

As the harsh winter was approaching and food remained scarce, the clan leader finally took a desperate stand and began to flee the island in search of that slim chance of survival.

...

One after another, the canoes stranded on the beach, and the barbarians enthusiastically landed on the island.

Before long, this group discovered traces of barbarian activity on the island and quickly found their hiding place. Just as a battle for control of the island seemed imminent, they discovered a divine statue.

All the invading barbarians suddenly hesitated, not daring to move forward.

The reason a statue is considered divine is because it naturally possesses a domain of faith; otherwise, it would just be an ordinary statue.

The strength of the domain of faith is quite weak, merely driving away some weak natural spirits and making the believers within it subtly more devout, hardly noticeable by the average person.

But for non-believers, especially heretics, they could feel the implicit majesty and repulsion emanating from the domain of faith.

In this world filled with mysterious powers, reverencing gods and fearing them had already been ingrained into the bones of the barbarians.

Gods and tribes had an interdependent relationship to a certain extent, with gods (including divine creatures or powerful extraordinary beings) protecting the tribe's development and reproduction, driving away natural spirits and formidable enemies, while the tribe offered sacrifices to the gods.

Invading a tribe protected by a god or a powerful creature was a path to self-destruction.

And then came the dramatic development.

After some probing, threats, and negotiation,

the two tribes quickly integrated and chose a new clan leader based on strength.

The original island tribe's leader was unsurprisingly dismissed, faced with the opponent's overwhelmingly strong physique, he was afraid to even challenge.

The entire tribe had long been decimated by Chen Shouyi, leaving hardly any formidable warriors, and the new clan leader was just a tall figure among the short ones, an ordinary barbarian at best.

The barbarians had long been accustomed to respecting strength, having no concept of racial pride or humiliation, leading to an exceptionally smooth transition of power that stirred not a single ripple.

For the ordinary barbarians of the original tribe, life continued as usual. In fact, the emergence of a strong new clan leader even brought them a bit of happiness.

Amid this power transition, the only aspect unchanged was the priest.

As the priest communicated with the gods and served as the spokesperson of divine power, not everyone could be a substitute.

...

Chen Shouyi blankly watched as a grander ceremony than before unfolded in full swing.

The previously depleted power of faith was gradually becoming rich again.

The stars in the sky, representing believers, increased from over two hundred to more than three hundred, then over four hundred…

For a moment, he couldn't wrap his head around it.

Weren't they facing a formidable enemy?

Wasn't the tribe about to be annihilated?

How could it be that in just half a day, the number of believers had not only not decreased but doubled?

And this was just the beginning.

As faith spread, the number of believers would rapidly increase.

Chen Shouyi watched for quite a while, speechless as he withdrew his gaze.

He realized that spreading faith in this otherworld was astoundingly easy, seemingly requiring no effort at all. It flourished wildly on its own.

Soon, he exited the Book of Knowledge Space.

"Good giant, you finally woke up?" The Shell Lady jumped off his shoulder and shouted loudly.

"Just now, there was a bug trying to eat you. Luckily, I bravely killed it." She said in a coquettish tone, showing a face expecting praise.

"Where?" Chen Shouyi asked.

"Here!" The Shell Lady quickly pointed with her tiny hand.

He identified it for a long time before he saw a small bug, the size of an ant, crushed to pieces by the Shell Lady at his feet.

"I really have to thank you!" Chen Shouyi raised his eyebrows and said.

The Shell Lady beamed with joy at his words, saying in a sweet voice, "Because you are a good giant, and I need to protect you."

Chen Shouyi was speechless.

Didn't she get the tone in my words?

How did such a dumb creature survive? He suspected that if she hadn't been born on a desolate island without natural enemies, she couldn't have survived a day before dying prematurely.

He ignored her, patted his bottom, and stood up.

After pushing aside the rock blocking the cave entrance,

He gathered some dry firewood and started preparing the delayed breakfast.

However, today was destined to be anything but peaceful. Just as the heart of the giant beast was roasting to half-cooked, a female martial artist who had passed by earlier came running over in a fluster; her clothes were torn by brambles along the way, body covered in bloodstains, and her face full of panic.

Upon seeing Chen Shouyi, she relaxed slightly, tumbled without realizing it, quickly stood up, and breathlessly and excitedly shouted, "General... General Advisor, please... save my... companion!"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.