Chapter 697: Frost Belief Recognition, Seizing Faith Shares

"Great Lord of Frost!"

"Warm blood drips into frozen soil, hot breath fades into the void."

"If ice crystals accept lingering warmth, if frost veins record the oath..."

In an extreme cold mountain valley, a group of highly agitated survivors gathered.

Following the memories from their dreams, they initiated an extremely crude prayer ritual.

They had no idea who they were praying to, using only the vague title of 'Lord of Frost' as a substitute.

They didn't know if their prayers would do any good.

All they knew was that the extreme cold was about to destroy the entire world, and only by tightly following this great being could they attain eternal life.

Meanwhile, in the Green Forest World, within the underground structure of Johnck Zoo, at the Altar of Life.

An extremely complex ritual array had been activated under Mona's direction.

This ritual consisted of three parts, each with its own focus.

One part was responsible for expanding the range of faith collection, one for reinforcing faith and establishing two-way connections, and one for determining faith ownership.

But one thing they all shared was that all three parts of the ritual were related to Frost Belief.

This ritual array was exactly the one Yu Yuan had seen in the [Civilization Ladder] publication.

Ever since he understood that the Civilization Ladder's Extreme Cold Crisis was connected to the New World.

And after figuring out the Frost Demon's plans, Yu Yuan had spent almost all his time here these past few days.

Relying on his [Deity's Beloved] title, as well as Mona's ability to shield, conceal, and add mystical reinforcement.

He was ceaselessly competing with the Frost Demon and that unknown entity from the New World for shares of the Frost Belief.

Sensing someone sending out a frost prayer.

Yu Yuan immediately followed the faith pathway and descended upon a frozen world.

In this valley, fierce winds swept up ice and snow, condensing in the air into a humanoid silhouette, with only faint azure light emanating from where its eyes should be.

This miraculous sight left all the survivors in the valley stunned speechless. Then everyone knelt down in unison, and amid a mix of joy and fear, offered prayers and praises from the depths of their hearts.

Though there was a hint of... madness in them.

"Great Lord of Frost, we are Your faithful believers, Your loyal servants. Please take us away, and we will surely follow in Your footsteps."

Yu Yuan looked at the hundreds of survivors in the valley, his heart stirred slightly.

"This world actually has this many people. Looks like this organizer is pretty capable!"

This was the ritual with the most survivors he had seen in the past few days.

His gaze fell on the middle-aged man kneeling at the very front.

Seeming to notice that the Lord of Frost was looking at him, Johnson's eyes burned with fanaticism as he prayed devoutly:

"Great Lord of Frost, You are the uncrowned king of ice, the absolute master of the Falling Ice Abyss. Please take us away, and we will closely follow behind You, tearing apart every enemy that stands in our way."

"The unknown entity from the [New World] that brought the Extreme Cold Disaster—what kind of suggestions has it been implanting in these people? Everyone who prays has some degree of mental issues."

But these were just Yu Yuan's subconscious thoughts.

He didn't care what problems these people had, as long as they could be useful to him.

Even if they couldn't be useful, as long as he could seize the share of the Frost Belief, that was enough.

Yu Yuan had a feeling that this Extreme Cold Disaster wouldn't be so simple. He needed to make preparations in advance.

The wind stopped.

Not suddenly calmed, but drained away, leaving only the humanoid silhouette floating in the air.

The silhouette didn't speak. It simply raised one hand, its fingertip touching Johnson's forehead.

No frost spread. No searing pain.

Johnson closed his eyes, feeling that trace of chill on his forehead.

When the cold faded.

The humanoid silhouette had already dispersed, and the wind and snow once again engulfed the valley.

But everyone seemed to feel no cold at all.

Their gazes all fixed on Johnson, filled with envy, respect, and curiosity.

They had all witnessed that miraculous scene just now and knew that Johnson had been singled out by the great deity.

Finally...

Johnson's tightly shut eyes slowly opened, and a faint glimmer flashed through them.

But it couldn't escape the people staring intently at him.

Someone gasped.

"There's a light flashing in his eyes..."

"I saw it too! Unbelievable."

"Oh my god!"

Johnson naturally heard the others' chatter. The corner of his mouth curled into a smile.

He looked at the crowd and raised his right hand.

The voices fell silent as everyone waited for his next words.

"Everyone, the Lord of Frost wants more believers. With more believers, He will pardon our sins, grant us the ability to survive the extreme cold, and even bestow upon us power beyond that of mortals."

"What! This is..." someone exclaimed, but was immediately silenced by the person beside them.

Everyone's eyes blazed with unprecedented brightness.

The ability to survive the extreme cold alone was already more than satisfying.

But having power beyond that of mortals made everyone even more eager.

What kind of power could be called power beyond that of mortals?

Everyone had their own answer in mind.

Not a single person raised a question, because everyone shared one fundamental understanding.

That being—the ability the Lord of Frost had displayed when descending here just now was exactly the kind of power beyond that of mortals.

Everyone's hearts immediately burned with fervor.

[Ding, completed one Frost Belief recognition, believers +364]

[Ding, completed one 'Deity Disguise', faith shift +0.7%]

[Ding, obtained Frost Belief authority +1.2%]

Three notification messages appeared on the Virtual Light Screen.

Yu Yuan was pleasantly surprised.

This belief recognition's effect far exceeded his expectations.

Not only was the faith shift beyond what he imagined, he had even unexpectedly gained 1.2% of the Frost Belief authority.

That was the most precious gain of all.

He had been cosplaying for days, and including this time, he had only obtained the Frost Belief authority twice, totaling a mere 1.9% or so.

"No wonder the Frost Demon chose to intercept faith when it had the chance. In this extreme cold environment, gaining faith is way too easy. As long as you put in the time, it's practically like picking it up for free."

Of course, intercepting faith wasn't that simple either.

Just like right now.

As Yu Yuan ended the connection, Mona immediately shut down the ritual, frowning slightly as she shook her head.

Even with the enhancement from the Fate Cards, bringing Mona's Life Level to Silver-tier.

Facing this kind of cross-world faith connection and shielding still took a massive toll on her.

But compared to before, it was already a tremendous improvement.

To maintain a continuous faith connection.

Only a true Gold-tier life form could probably manage that.

"You okay?"

Mona smiled.

"Just a bit of mental exhaustion, but it's also a training opportunity for me. Over these past few days, I've noticed my spirit and Psychic Ability slowly increasing. It's a good method of improvement."

"Also, with each continuous connection to faith channels, my understanding of mystical knowledge grows deeper. It seems that being exposed to different faiths has a pretty good enhancement effect on me as well."

"Different faiths, huh?" Yu Yuan immediately seized on the key point, lost in thought.