The Tree Worship Church Theocracy, in the westernmost part of the Fitz Province, beside a winding and rugged road.
"Continue west along this road and you'll enter the Yiluo'en Province. If your Hoofed Beast runs fast enough, it should take about five days to reach the easternmost village in the Yiluo'en Province."
"However, if the road is difficult to travel, I can't say how long it will take."
A slightly hunched member of the Tree Worship Church Cult is giving directions to a middle-aged man leading Hoofed Beast.
The middle-aged man and his mount were both clad in metal armor, giving them an imposing and extraordinary presence at first glance.
On one side of the Hoofed Beast hung a pure metal lance, and on the other side was a long wooden staff. A leather pouch with five or six throwing spears was also dragging behind its rear.
The old man from the Tree Worship Church had never seen anyone like this before; in fact, he had never seen a true knight in his entire life.
Upon learning that the other party was an envoy sent by the Son of God being who had already occupied the entire Fitz Province, the old man used all his knowledge to help the other party find his way.
The Fitz Province has changed hands, and the self- Son of God "Archbishop" doesn't collect seed tax, for which everyone is grateful.
After glancing around the winding, rugged road a couple more times, the old man continued rambling on:
" The Yiluo'en Province has never been very peaceful. I've heard that in recent years, a group of roaming bandits has turned the place upside down, but..."
Before the middle-aged knight could reply, the old man looked the other man up and down, his tone filled with undisguised envy:
"But with all that gear, you can go wherever you want, and nobody can stop you."
Hearing the old man's sentiments, the knight couldn't help but reminisce about his own past.
After a moment of silence, he sighed and said:
"The world is so broken, it's all the same no matter where you go..."
As he spoke, he seemed to perk up a little more:
"But things will get better."
He looked at the old man and took out two silver coins:
Thank you.
The old man accepted the silver coin, and the knight mounted his horse, preparing to head to their first destination, which, according to their conversation, was the closest Yiluo'en Province to Aduolin Province and Fitz Province, located in the west-central part of the Tree Worship Church Theocracy.
Because a real mountain range separates the two Fitz Province, there is very little communication between them.
Looking at the rugged road ahead, Xilǐ'er felt that he would spend much more time leading his horse than riding it on the journey ahead.
"Let's go, Radish."
Xilǐ'er reached out and patted his mount's cheek. The warhorse neighed and was about to charge when a shout suddenly came from behind the knight and the old man:
"Wait, wait!"
The old man from the Tree Worship Church and Xilǐ'er turned around at the same time, and saw a young man riding a six-legged Hoofed Beast galloping towards them from the other side of the mountain road leading to the small village.
Xilǐ'er looked at the old man, and the old man looked at Xilǐ'er; both of them had the same question in their eyes.
"Is this someone you know?"
They exchanged a glance, both understanding each other's meaning. As the rider rapidly approached, the young man dismounted and came to Xilǐ'er's side.
" Xilǐ'er, I heard you're going to travel to various provinces. Why don't you take me with you?"
Xilǐ'er looked at the newcomer and thought he was a stranger.
However, this fearless and audacious demeanor immediately reveals his identity as Soul Returner.
"Who... sent you here?"
Xilǐ'er asked, puzzled.
"No, I just wanted to travel with you, draw maps along the way, and broaden my horizons."
The Soul Returner answered crisply and decisively, and incidentally showed Xilǐ'er the DIY drawing board he was carrying on his back and the painting tools in the Hoofed Beast saddlebag.
Seeing this, Xilǐ'er remained silent for a moment and then said:
"It could be very dangerous."
The Soul Returner patted his chest confidently:
"It's alright, I can be resurrected even if I die."
Xilǐ'er knew, of course, that the Soul Returner could be resurrected after death, but he also knew that the resurrection of the Soul Returner and the resurrection of the Eternal Domain were not the same thing.
If this Soul Returner and dies, everything he carried with him will vanish into thin air, leaving only a bare (though he will have some basic clothing) new body appearing in a large tree thousands of miles away. Apart from that, his Hoofed Beast, his painting tools, and his artwork will all be completely lost.
Are you really sure?
The Soul Returner, nodding enthusiastically.
"Alright then, let's set off."
Xilǐ'er looked at the Soul Returner:
"May I have your name?"
"Yes, you can call me... Sancho, Sancho Panza."
Xilǐ'er rubs his jaw:
"I think I've heard this name before."
"Damn it, has someone already used it?"
The Soul Returner curled his lip:
"Then you can call me Zhou Cang."
"... Can."
After a brief introduction, the two men and two horses disappeared at the end of the winding mountain road.
The old man Tree Worship Church carefully pocketed the silver coins in his hand and turned to walk towards the village.
As soon as he returned to the village, he discovered a large group of unfamiliar faces. These people, both men and women, all looked very young and had a similar demeanor to the man who had called himself Sancho.
The pear-shaped bronze bell kept ringing, disturbing the villagers, who soon gathered in the open space in the middle of the village.
The sound of the bell was very familiar, exactly the same as the sound of the bronze bell that the tax official had used before.
Didn't they just abolish the seed tax? Is there some new trick up their sleeve?
More and more villagers, each with their own agendas, gathered, and the bronze bell continued to toll.
The bell only stopped ringing when someone couldn't bear it any longer and mustered the courage to tell the young people who had arrived that everyone had come.
The outsiders and villagers looked at each other, and one of them stepped forward and said loudly:
"In order to better manage the Fitz Province, Your Highness the Son of God and the Legion Commander need to know the population composition of each village."
"As long as you register with me, you can receive ten copper coins and a bag of Scarlet Millet. Limited to one time per person."
Seeing that no one objected, the young man continued:
"There's one more thing. Are there any people in your village who are about to die of old age? If so, they can come with us; maybe we can save their lives."
If the previous practice of registering villagers for copper coins had failed to capture their interest, then the possibility of saving their lives truly stirred their hearts.
Although the Tree Worship Church Theocracy was internally corrupt, it was indeed a stable regime.
The vast majority of ordinary believers actually die of old age.
However, the death of a person from old age in the Tree Worship Church Theocracy is not entirely the same as death from old age in the general sense.
Humans with Symbiotic Tree implanted in their bodies who do not possess the talent to become priests will quickly experience a decline in physical function after entering middle age.
At this point, the Symbiotic Tree will turn from a partner into an enemy, and begin to expand more recklessly within the host's body.
This is neither good nor evil, but simply a plant's instinct.
The more the Symbiotic Tree expands, the more severely the physical functions of the Tree Worship Church decline; and the more their bodies decline, the more the Symbiotic Tree expands.
In this vicious cycle, the common people who Tree Worship Church will endure a very difficult time, and will eventually die from the pressure that the Symbiotic Tree exerts on their central nervous system.
This is what the Tree Worship Church Theocracy refers to as "dying of old age."