In ancient times, they secretly became gods in the deep mountains.

Chapter 31 A Glimmer of Hope After Darkness: A Narrow Escape
The townspeople and villagers in the mountains all received the grain delivered by Luo Yousong.

While expressing their deepest gratitude to Lady Jin Sheng, they were also deeply moved by the Luo family's heroic deeds.

The people were moved to tears: "Master Luo has distributed grain. I heard it was a gift from the Golden Saint Goddess of the Golden Saint Mountain Range. We've been eating yellow earth for so long, and finally we can eat something normal again."

"The Golden Saintess is truly a blessing to the people, even better than..." His Majesty the Emperor.

While the people were curious about Lady Jin Sheng, they also had unwavering faith in her.

Peach Blossom Village

Zhang Gousheng carried the grain and entered his house happily.

"Mother! The Golden Saintess has distributed grain. The Luo family's servants are going door to door distributing it. I received our share."

Gou Sheng's mother ran out and her eyes lit up when she saw the bag in Zhang Gou Sheng's hand. She put her hands together and said, "Thank you, Golden Saint Goddess, for your great kindness and virtue. Thank you, Golden Saint Goddess."

"Mom, can we eat brown rice today?" Zhang Gousheng swallowed hard. The last time he ate brown rice was three years ago. He was too young then to remember the taste of brown rice.

“Let’s cook one pot, and save the rest.” Gou Sheng’s mother took the sack from Zhang Gou Sheng’s hands like a precious treasure: “We’ll wait for your grandpa, your dad, and your older brother to come back and eat.”

"When will Grandpa, Father, and Big Brother come back?" Zhang Gousheng frowned in distress.

"I don't know either." Thinking of her father-in-law and husband, whose fates were unknown, and her frail eldest son, Gou Sheng's mother couldn't help but shed tears again.

It's hard to say whether they'll be able to come back.

"But I believe they will come back." Gou Sheng's mother carried the rice bag into the kitchen, scooped out a bowl of rice and put it in the pot with the wild vegetables, then poured in some spring water.

They're going to splurge a little today.

She didn't forget to remind him, "Gousheng, keep an eye on your sister, Mom is cooking."

Zhang Erya is over five years old and is a mentally challenged child. It's bad enough that a five-year-old can't speak yet, but she's also quite mischievous.

"Okay," Zhang Gousheng replied as he went to find his sister.

Zhang Erya was digging in the dirt in the yard.

The house stored up a lot of rainwater, and the little girl's clothes were washed clean by her mother.

This was the first time in three years that Zhang Gousheng had seen his sister so clean.

During the three-year drought, water was a life-saving medicine, and no one was willing to use it to wash clothes or bathe. He often saw yellowish-green stuff stuck to his sister's body, and he knew what it was without even thinking.

Zhang Gousheng sat next to her and teased his little sister: "Er Ya, we're going to eat brown rice today, aren't you excited!"

Zhang Erya couldn't speak, not even "Aba Aba," she just stared at him blankly, her little face serious like a little old man.

“Sigh, you’re already five years old, how come you still can’t speak? I told you, your second brother could call me ‘Dad’ and ‘Mom’ when he was only six months old.”

He said, puzzled, "You're not stupid either."

When you push her, she'll come over and hit you. If you piss her off, she'll bite you. She never suffers any loss. She usually just looks a bit dull.

"Gousheng, hurry up and get your chopsticks, the rice is ready."

Zhang Gousheng happily entered the kitchen.

He saw a wooden basin the size of his face, filled to the brim with brown rice, emitting the aroma of cooked rice.

"Gurgle, gurgle—" Zhang Gousheng's stomach rumbled uncontrollably.

He brought the food to the yard.

"Little sister, stop playing, it's time to eat."

Zhang Gousheng took a bite of rice and it smelled so good he cried.

He said, "Mother, why don't we go and pay our respects to the Golden Saint Goddess and cure my sister's idiocy?"

My little sister was cute and clever when she was born, but I never expected her to grow up to be a little simple-minded.

"Go away, you're the one who's stupid. Your sister is just a late talker; she'll start speaking when she's older," Gou Sheng's mother scolded her son with disdain.

Zhang Gousheng muttered, "You've been saying this for years."

Although she disliked her son's harsh words, Gou Sheng's mother still listened and said, "Let's wait a few more days. Er Ya can't speak yet, so let the Empress take a look."

Gou Sheng's mother ate a bite of brown rice herself, and then gently fed her daughter a bite as well.

A delicious aroma wafted from the neighbor's house—the long-lost smell of cooked rice. Gou Sheng's mother smiled with relief; Uncle He's family was also steaming brown rice.

Life is getting better and better.

We have wild vegetables and fruits to eat from the mountains, clear river water to drink, and today we're even eating brown rice.

"All of this was brought by the Goddess. Our whole family must be grateful and repay her kindness. We must ensure that our descendants never forget the Goddess's kindness and respect and honor her for generations to come."

She remembered her father-in-law's fondness for reading, and his favorite saying: "The mountains and rivers seem to block the way, but then a village appears amidst the willows and flowers." She understood the meaning of this to some extent.

My husband explained it, it's just four words:

Nowhere to be found!

I imagine their situation is similar.

The river below the mountain dried up, and after three years of severe drought, corpses littered the land. They almost died of thirst and hunger as well. At this time, the goddess appeared.

She is a goddess who saves people from suffering.

The kindness of the goddess is something that the villagers at the foot of Qihuang Mountain will remember for generations to come.

"Er Ya, come on, eat rice."

Gou Sheng's mother laughed heartily.

“Mom, Grandpa Village Chief said that we must worship the Goddess for generations to come so that we can have a good life. It’s only natural that we should be filial to the Goddess.” Zhang Gousheng said like a little adult.

Gou Sheng's mother exchanged a smile with him.

"You are right."

Luo Yousong delivered coarse rice to all eight villages at the foot of Qihuang Mountain. The villagers, who were eating normal food after a long time, were all excited and moved, with tears streaming down their faces as they ate the food.

[Host's accumulated Faith Points: 12045]

Gu Yuexi knew that the villagers were grateful to her for the food, which gave them more faith.

She also left behind 1,000 points of faith power for emergencies, and used 11,000 points of faith power to raise the cultivation level of several puppet dolls from the third level of Qi Refining to the sixth level of Qi Refining, making them equal to her own cultivation level.

They then rearranged the tasks for several puppet dolls.

Fire Boy and Water Boy were used to deal with the difficulties encountered by mortals, while keeping an eye on Seven Luminaries Mountain to prevent the monsters in the deep mountains from coming down to attack people.

Muwa took charge of the spirit fields for her.

Tuwa handles miscellaneous tasks within the Shenque Palace.

Jinwa is currently free, and can be moved wherever needed, essentially kept at her beck and call.

The streets of Yunwu Town were originally piled with corpses, but Luo Yousong sent people to bury them on the desolate mountains outside the town.

They are blessed by the gods and should not barbarically pile up corpses in the streets.

Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

After finishing her alchemy practice, Gu Yuexi learned how to make a health-preserving pill in the past ten days.

[Host, it's time for your third absorption of solar heat.]

A colossal phantom of a goddess appeared above the Divine Palace, and boundless spiritual energy spread out, causing all the demons in the deep mountains, regardless of their cultivation level, to descend.

The Monkey King, with his keen senses, quickly said to his monkey followers, "The Golden Saintess has started absorbing the essence of the sun again. Let's quickly find a good spot to absorb spiritual energy for cultivation."

The Monkey King sat on a rattan chair, carried by his monkey followers, who shouted all the way, "Our King is mighty! Our King is mighty!"

"Wow!"

"Ow~"

"Chi chi chi chi."

"Squeak...squeak...squeak!"

"Cuckoo~"

"Quack... quack..."

"ssssssssssssssssssssssssssss~~"

"Roar--"

When the demons descended the mountain, Fire Boy and Water Boy guarded Seven Luminaries Mountain, preventing them from ever leaving.

An extraordinary natural phenomenon occurred: the sun's heat was heading towards Qihuang Mountain with unprecedented force!

The whole world has seen all of this.

Gu Yuexi's actions this time alarmed the entire Great Xia Dynasty.

"What's that in the sky...?"

"The direction of the Golden Saint Mountain Range! Could it be that a great demon has been born?"

(End of this chapter)