Ascension To Divine Throne

Chapter 42: Moon Spirit Leopard Cub and Soul Return Ceremony

William and his companions quickly returned to the foot of the mountain.

With the help of Jason and Nichole, Elena had already cleaned up the body of the moon spirit leopard, waiting to send it back to the realm of the elven goddess using an elven ritual.

Jason also took two claws and some fur from the moon spirit leopard as proof of completing the mission.

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

Approaching Elena, William handed her a small black bundle wrapped in cloth.

"Look, guess what I found?"

Elena was puzzled, but she took the small object handed to her by William and glanced at it, freezing in place.

A cute little head peeked out from the cloth, its eyes still tightly shut. The small black body squirmed restlessly in the cloth, its pink paws struggling a bit uneasily. It seemed a little disoriented by leaving its familiar environment, constantly "humming" in protest.

"Is this... a moon spirit leopard cub?"

Jason, standing nearby, also saw the little fellow. It was unmistakably a miniature version of the moon spirit leopard lying on the ground next to it!

"Wow, it's so cute!"

Nichole's eyes sparkled as she stared at the little creature. Girls had no resistance to such fluffy creatures.

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

Remembering William as the one who initiated this, Nichole quickly asked.

"I saw the moon spirit leopard roar towards the mountain before it died, which was strange, so I went to look around and unexpectedly made this discovery."

William waved his hand, saying, "I can't help you find another one. Maybe we'll talk about it if there's a chance in the future."

"Ah, okay then." Nichole felt a bit disappointed but quickly ran over to Elena's side, wanting to hold the moon spirit leopard cub.

Ignoring Nichole's coquetry, Elena held the little baby tightly in her arms. It seemed to sense the closeness and nestled quietly in Elena's embrace, calming down considerably.

Elena looked up, her eyes slightly red.

"Thank you, William. I don't know how to thank you."

Elena squatted down, one hand holding the cub and the other gently stroking the fur on the neck of the moon spirit leopard mother.

"Jason told me the truth, and I felt angry and hateful. As some elders say, humans, driven by their own desires, will destroy beautiful things. They seem to always carry darkness and filth with them."

"But William, you, Nichole, and Jason have taught me a lot."

"Among the despicable slave traders, there are admirable people like you, Nichole, and Jason."

"Thank you, William. You are my eternal friend."

Elena's words were soft yet firm. She stood up slowly, gently placing the moon spirit leopard cub on her shoulder, looking at William with deep gratitude in her eyes.

The moon spirit leopard cub seemed to sense something too, staying silent and obediently resting on Elena's shoulder.

When Elena leaned forward to kiss William on the forehead, William was taken aback. He felt like he had only done a small favor, never expecting Elena to be so grateful.

Just then, a new message popped up on the system panel.

[You have completed the milestone "Friend of the Elven Race"!]

[Effect of "Friend of the Elven Race": Your actions have won sincere gratitude from the elves, who see you as a true friend. Your charm attribute points increase by 10, and the initial goodwill of all elven factions towards you is raised to friendly (excluding dark elves). Under certain conditions, you can expend goodwill to obtain assistance from the elves.]

This milestone effect is quite powerful!

Unexpectedly, there was such an unexpected gain!

Originally, William intended to give the moon spirit leopard to Elena without any ulterior motives.

Firstly, Elena was his teammate, and it wasn't appropriate for him to claim possession of the moon spirit leopard at this time.

Secondly, as Elena had mentioned, without undergoing a baptism, this moon spirit leopard would only have the strength of a silver rank in the future. It would also cost William a lot of precious resources, which wouldn't be suitable for him.

William was not a purely selfish person, and in his view, giving the little moon spirit leopard to Elena was the best choice.

Although this situation wasn't something William deliberately sought, he wouldn't refuse it either.

"Thank you, Elena. You are also my eternal friend," William said solemnly to the beautiful elven huntress whose cheeks were slightly flushed.

"Oh oh oh~"

On the side, Nichole made some unintelligible noises, joining in the fun and squeezing next to Elena, hoping to be kissed as well.

Elena pushed Nichole's head, which had come close, away unkindly, her expression turning serious as she said, "Everyone step back a bit. I'm going to prepare for the goddess's soul return ceremony."

William raised an eyebrow. The soul return ceremony? It was to return the soul of the moon spirit leopard to the goddess's realm.

Generally, when a follower of the gods died, their soul wouldn't go to the underworld but would be guided to the realm of the gods, where they would be reborn or become worshippers. This was an act to enhance the gods' own divine power, but it was also what the believers hoped for, thinking that this would grant them eternal life and happiness.

In special circumstances where the soul couldn't return to the realm of the gods, someone could hold a soul return ceremony to open the door to the divine realm and guide the lost soul.

Of course, this required the consent of the owner of the divine realm, and the goddess Clemena would naturally not refuse the soul of a moon spirit leopard.

Elena's preparation should be for the soul return ceremony of the moon and guardian goddess Clemena.

William and the others stepped aside, waiting for the ceremony to begin.

Elena stood in front of the moon spirit leopard, taking out the emblem of the goddess Clemena from her storage ring.

It was a shield-shaped emblem in the verdant green color of the pristine silver moon!

Then she took out morning dew, a branch from the tree of life, and a green gem imbued with unique vitality.

After preparing all the ceremonial items, Elena gently knelt down, closed her eyes, clasped her hands together, and devoutly recited: 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Great and merciful goddess Clemena!

You are the embodiment of the silver moon in the night sky!

You are the guardian deity of the elves!

You are the protector of the rangers!

We offer all our praises, gratitude, and honor to you!

Your faithful here pray to you with sincerity,

Please open the door,

Let this wandering child return to your warm embrace!"

{ A/N: I have changed the name of moon goddess. Its shameful to say, but i forgot previous name and also lost my notes for this novel. So this name will continue from now on. Please comment on this paragraph with chapter number where goddess was first mentioned and i will edit it. Thanks }

With Elena's prayer, a faint silver and green light appeared from the offerings, forming an illusory silver gate in the air.

Even though William was just watching from a distance, he felt the irresistible divine aura of this seemingly weak power. Even without perceiving any threat, it seemed that a heavy pressure fell on his shoulders.

Is this the aura of divine power?

Even though he had witnessed scenes of divine incarnations battling countless times in his past life, this was the first time he had personally witnessed the display of the vast power of the divine. Just the slightest breath made him unable to move.

William's mind was racing, but his eyes remained fixed on the scene of the ceremony in front of him, not daring to miss anything.