Chapter 42: Moon Spirit Leopard Cub and the Soul-Returning Ceremony

Liss and Yaseen quickly returned to the foot of the mountain.

With the help of Yaya and Yaseen, Elena had already packed up the corpse of the Moon Spirit Leopard, waiting to use an elven ritual to send it back to the Elven Goddess's divine kingdom.

Yaseen had also removed two sets of claws and some fur from the Moon Spirit Leopard as proof of completing the subjugation quest.

At this moment, Liss walked over, seemingly holding something in his arms.

Walking up to Elena, who still looked somewhat sorrowful, Liss presented the black, furry bundle wrapped in clothing right in front of her.

"Look, see what I found?"

Elena looked slightly puzzled. She took the small creature from Liss and glanced at it, suddenly freezing in place.

A cute little head poked out from the clothes, its eyes still tightly closed. Its small, black body wriggled continuously within the garments, and its pink little paw pads struggled restlessly, seemingly feeling a bit panicked by leaving its familiar environment as it kept letting out soft squeaks.

"This is... a Moon Spirit Leopard cub?"

Yaseen, standing nearby, also spotted the little fellow. This was clearly an ultimate miniature version of the Moon Spirit Leopard lying on the ground beside them!

"Wow, how adorable!"

Yaya's eyes lit up as she stared at the little creature. Girls had virtually no resistance to such fluffy beings.

"Liss, where did you find it? I want one too!"

Remembering that Liss was the mastermind behind this, Yaya quickly asked.

"I saw that Moon Spirit Leopard let out a strange roar toward the mountain peak just before it died, so I went to take a look around. I didn't expect to actually find something."

Liss waved his hand and said, "There's no way I can help you find another one now. We'll talk about it if the chance arises in the future."

"Ah～ Oh well." Yaya looked a bit dejected, but quickly scurried over to Elena's side, eager to hold the Moon Spirit Leopard cub.

Ignoring Yaya's spoiled behavior, Elena hugged the little baby tightly to her chest. The cub seemed to sense the close affinity of nature and lay obediently in Elena's arms, calming down significantly.

Elena raised her head, her eye rims slightly red.

"Thank you, Liss. I don't even know how to thank you properly."

Elena squatted down, holding the cub with one arm while gently stroking the fur on the neck of the dead mother leopard with the other hand.

"Yaseen told me everything. I suppose this little one's mother must have suffered quite a lot in the past."

Elena stood up, gently placing the Moon Spirit Leopard cub onto her shoulder, and looked at Liss with deep, overflowing gratitude.

The cub seemed to sense something as well, remaining completely silent and staying obediently on Elena's shoulder.

"When Yaseen told me the truth of what happened, I felt furious and hateful. As some of our elders say, humans will destroy and ruin beautiful things merely for their own selfish desires. It seems there is an unwashable darkness and filth forever stained upon them."

"Yet Liss, you, Yaya, and Yaseen have made me understand so much."

"Just as there are hateful people like slave traffickers, there are also respectable people like Yaya, Yaseen, and you."

"Thank you, Liss. You are my truest friend forever."

Elena's words were soft yet firm. She walked slowly up to Liss, raised her pretty head slightly, and gently kissed him on the forehead.

Liss was momentarily stunned. He had felt he was merely doing a small favor and hadn't expected Elena to be so immensely grateful.

Right at that moment, a new notification popped up on his system interface.

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[You have completed the milestone [Trusted Friend of the Elves]!]
[【Trusted Friend of the Elves】: Your actions have won the heartfelt gratitude of the elves, considering you a true friend. Your Charisma attribute increases by +10, and your initial favorability with all elven factions becomes Friendly (excluding Dark Elves). Under certain conditions, you can consume favorability to receive assistance from the elves.]
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The effect of this milestone was quite powerful!

He certainly hadn't expected such an unexpected harvest!

Liss hadn't had any ulterior motives when he decided to give the Moon Spirit Leopard to Elena.

Firstly, Elena was his teammate, and it wouldn't be appropriate for him to claim ownership of the leopard cub under the circumstances.

Secondly, as Elena had mentioned, without receiving a baptism, this Moon Spirit Leopard would at best reach Silver-tier strength in the future while consuming a massive amount of precious resources from him, making it unsuitable for his own needs.

Liss wasn't an absolute egoist either; giving the little Moon Spirit Leopard to Elena seemed to him the best possible choice.

Though this outcome wasn't something Liss had deliberately schemed for, he certainly wouldn't refuse it.

"Thank you, Elena, you are my eternal friend as well."

Liss said solemnly to the beautiful elven hunter before him, whose cheeks were flushed with a delicate pink.

"Ooh la la~"

Yaya made an ambiguous sound nearby and squeezed in beside Elena, wanting to get in on the action and receive a kiss as well.

With an exasperated expression, Elena pushed away Yaya's approaching head, her demeanor turning serious as she said:

"Everyone, please step back a little. I need to prepare to begin the Goddess's Soul-Returning Ritual."

Liss raised an eyebrow. A soul-returning ritual? It was meant to send the soul of this Moon Spirit Leopard back to the Goddess's divine kingdom.

Generally speaking, when worshippers of the gods die, their souls do not enter the Underworld; instead, under guidance, they enter the divine kingdoms of the gods to be reincarnated or directly become petitioners. This was a way for the gods to augment their own divine power, but it was also what the believers desired, believing it would grant them eternal life and happiness.

Under special circumstances where a soul cannot return to the divine kingdom of the gods, others can perform a soul-returning ritual to open the gates leading to the divine kingdom and guide the way for the lost soul.

Of course, this required the consent of the master of the divine kingdom, and the Goddess Fenliya naturally would not refuse the soul of a Moon Spirit Leopard.

What Elena was preparing for should be the soul-returning ritual dedicated to Fenliya, the Goddess of the Moon and Guardianship.

Liss and the others retreated to the side, waiting for the ritual to commence.

Elena stood before the Moon Spirit Leopard and took out the holy emblem representing the Goddess Fenliya from her storage ring.

It was a emerald-green, shield-shaped badge engraved with a pristine silver moon!

Next, she produced morning dew, a branch from the Tree of Life, and an emerald-green gemstone containing a unique life force.

Having prepared all the ritual items, Elena gently knelt on both knees, closed her eyes, joined her hands, and chanted devoutly:

Oh, great and benevolent Goddess Fenliya!
You are the incarnation of the silver moon in the night sky!
You are the guardian deity of the elves!
You are the patron of the rangers!
We offer all praise, thanksgiving, and glory unto You!
Your worshipper prays to You here with a sincere heart,
Please open the gates,
And let this wandering child return to Your warm embrace!

Accompanying Elena's prayer, a faint interlaced glow of silver and green emerged from the sacrificial offerings, forming an illusory and ethereal silver gate in mid-air.

Even just watching from a short distance away, this seemingly faint power made Liss feel an irresistible divine aura. Although he did not sense any overt hostility, a heavy pressure still seemed to weigh down upon his shoulders.

Was this the aura of divine power?

Even though he had witnessed battles between divine avatars several times in his past life, this was the first time in this lifetime that he was personally witnessing the display of a deity's vast power. A mere shred of its aura alone was enough to render him immobile.

Countless thoughts raced through Liss's mind, yet his eyes remained fixed intently on the ritual scene before him, not daring to miss a single detail.