The Abyss God's Flavor is Strong! No Need for More Salt!

The Abyss God's level was higher than that of the Venerables and Divine Envoys. Wu Wang was almost certain of this.

And for that very reason, he desperately hoped they wouldn't discover the Abyss God's Mark on his body.

Innocence itself wasn't a crime, but possessing a treasure was.

What if the 【Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire】's curiosity was piqued? What if she decided to lock him up here for a century or two of research?

He would have no one to complain to then!

"You want the Little Penguin to come save you? But this mark is usually given to those who've offended him, you know."

The 【Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire】's words left Wu Wang stunned.

He turned his head, a strange expression on his face as he gazed at his own wrist.

The Red Vertical Pupil was still there. It had simply closed its eye, just as it had during his first Audience with a Divine Envoy.

The 【Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire】 acted as if she couldn't care less about the strange mark. Her gaze focused almost entirely on the Black-hearted Penguin's mark and her own Mark of Desire.

Hm? Something seems wrong here.

Wu Wang spoke tentatively.

"Big Boss, do you have a way to help me conceal this mark?"

Right now, he had to constantly release the aura of the 【Mark of Desire】 just to cover the aura of the Black-hearted Penguin's auction tag. He couldn't keep that up forever. He had to find a solution eventually.

But he asked the question because a sliver of doubt had formed in his mind.

It seemed… she couldn't see the Abyss God's Mark.

"Just consider it a little advance payment. Next time you see the Little Penguin, you can annoy him a bit more for me. I don't like that fake, sycophantic smile on his merchant face."

The 【Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire】 gave a light wave of her hand.

A splash of water rose from the pitch-black Sea of Filth.

Splat.

It landed on Wu Wang's wrist. The 【Auction Item Tag】, like ink being washed away, slowly melted and dripped off his arm.

A lightness spread through Wu Wang's body as the feeling of being bound vanished completely. He could control his limbs again.

This astonished him even more. Her releasing him proved it. She really couldn't see the Abyss God's Mark!

No wonder.

Whether he was facing the Cherub or the Black-hearted Penguin, he had never once exposed the existence of the Abyss God's Mark.

Even when the Black-hearted Penguin had made two deals with him for items carrying the Abyss God's aura, he had never suspected that Wu Wang himself bore the mark.

So that was it!

The Abyss God's flavor was strong enough on its own; no need for extra salt!

"Payment? Is there something you need me to do?"

No longer worried about his secret being discovered, Wu Wang's confidence returned.

Based on his judgment, since the 【Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire】 had chosen to intercept his teleportation to save him, it proved he was still useful to her.

At the very least, he still owed her a grand amusement. She had to let him live so he could pay it back, right?

"Find a way to make the seed mature. I'll come and see it when the time comes."

With that, the 【Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire】 rose and prepared to walk toward the rift torn in the sky.

Wu Wang couldn't help but ask, "Wait, Big Boss, you're just going to leave me here for three days? What if I starve or die of thirst?"

Though his words were about food and drink, he was actually plotting. What if the seed of the 【Tree of Sighs】 matured in the real world? If he didn't bring it into an Instance, could he secretly claim it for himself?

But to his surprise, the 【Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire】 turned back around.

She spoke in a mocking tone, "Don't worry, I've enabled some of your Spirit Calamity functions for you. At the very least, you can go to what you mortals call the 【Spirit Calamity Plaza】 to eat. After three days, you can scram."

She continued.

"And don't even think about hatching the seed in reality."

"As I said, I will appear when it matures, no matter where it is."

At these words, a chill went down Wu Wang's spine.

She said… anywhere?

Did that mean the bullshit he'd spouted to other players while pretending to be her, about her taking a vacation in the real world… she could actually do that?

I'm screwed! My made-up nonsense accidentally hit upon the truth!

No wonder the 【Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire】 had Mary warn him to stop impersonating her. It was because she thought he actually knew something!

"You deceitful believer. I look forward to the amusement you'll bring me next time."

As her voice faded, her figure vanished over the horizon. The Sea of Filth, which had begun to spread across the yellow sand, was gone without a trace.

It was as if everything that had just happened was merely a fantasy. As far as the eye could see, there was still only a sky full of yellow sand. The hazy gray sky felt oppressive.

Only the mark that had vanished from his wrist confirmed that she had been there.

According to the 【Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire】, this place was called the 【God-Forsaken Land】.

Wu Wang laughed self-deprecatingly.

"Heh, a place forsaken by the gods? Even if it's only for three days, this really is the kind of place I belong in."

Life and death were the natural order of things. In a sense, wasn't his own 【Undying】 ability a form of being forsaken by death?

After laughing, he opened his panel to check.

She hadn't deceived him. The option to go to the 【Spirit Calamity Plaza】 could still be used normally.

It seemed he would have to live in the 【Spirit Calamity Plaza】 for these three days. He couldn't just sit here and count sand, could he?

Perfect. In three days, he could finish his trades with the other players.

Once he figured out how to use all the items he had scammed, the first thing he would do when he got out was take care of Zhuge Yue.

With a whoosh, Wu Wang activated the 【Spirit Calamity Plaza】 function.

He appeared in his meeting room, which was as simple and unadorned as its default state. After all, he didn't have the spare cash to decorate it like Zhuge Yue.

He casually opened the door. Upon stepping out, he appeared out of thin air on a roadside in the 【Spirit Calamity Plaza】, just like his first time here.

Just as Wu Wang was about to wander around, he saw a figure wrapped in a large coat, sitting on a bench in a corner of the plaza. They looked like they were waiting for someone.

His eyes lit up.

"Wan Shitong?"

During the three days in the church, Wu Wang had tried to interact with this player in his guise as 【Yan Shuangying】. Through their casual chats, he had discovered that this "Wan Shitong" was a very competent Information Broker.

According to other players, she could sell almost any information you wanted to know. It was even said that the matter of Zhuge Yue being discovered to have schizophrenia was information some unlucky bastard had bought from her. In the end, that person suffered Zhuge Yue's retaliation, but the Wan Shitong was still doing her business just fine.

What was even more unexpected was that the Wan Shitong seemed to be very interested in 【Yan Shuangying】. Not in him as a person, but in the information he possessed about the Venerables.

She had even mentioned that if he was interested in selling information about the Five Great Venerables, he could contact her after returning to reality. She would buy the information at a price that would satisfy him.

Wu Wang had already been planning to get some information about Zhuge Yue from her later. Now was the perfect opportunity.

Since he couldn't leave the 【Spirit Calamity Plaza】 for a few days anyway, he might as well have a few more conversations with this Information Broker. Who knows, maybe she'd grown to hate Zhuge Yue and wanted her gone? He could do the deed for her!

Just as this thought crossed his mind, the 【Wan Shitong】 curled up on the plaza bench. Less than three seconds after his gaze fell on her, as if possessing some kind of perceptive ability, she suddenly snapped her head up and met his gaze.

After recognizing a familiar face, the vigilance in her eyes did not lessen in the slightest.

She silently put the notebook she had been clutching back into her backpack.

Wu Wang naturally did not see this small action.

And he certainly couldn't have seen the transaction recorded in her notebook.

【Research Item Needed. Void Yellow Sand from the God-Forsaken Land.】

【Reward Offered. A method to obtain a Legendary-grade item.】