Soul of Desire

After a long silence, Wu Wang spoke again.

“How about this, then? Tell me, how many beings have the power to travel to the real world?”

He paused, then added, “Or rather, Boss, your power is amazing, but it seems to have a high skill ceiling. Are there any simpler entities you could introduce me to?”

The question finally let the 【Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire】 breathe a sigh of relief.

At last, a normal question.

She answered nonchalantly, “At the current stage, there are none.”

“Huh?”

Wu Wang was confused. That couldn't be right.

If nothing else, the Venerable before him, who held the Authority of 【Desire】, should be able to travel to the real world at will, shouldn't she?

Sensing his confusion, the 【Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire】 continued.

“I'm referring to truly 【Descending】 into your world. No one can do that at present. But if you're just talking about exerting influence…”

She trailed off for a moment.

“There are. Including myself, there are ten such existences in total.”

Her words were skillfully phrased, forcing Wu Wang to carefully consider their meaning. In other words, besides the Five Great Venerables, there were also five Divine Envoys.

The most crucial part was her phrasing, “at present.”

This meant that perhaps in the near future, these world-altering existences might truly arrive in reality.

Thinking of this, Wu Wang couldn't help but ask, “Then how can a being like you truly arrive in the real world?”

The 【Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire】 glanced at this impious believer, suddenly contemplating whether keeping him around was the right decision.

He was a low-level player, yet his knowledge approached the very essence of the 【Spirit Calamity Game】. Was such an existence a good thing or a bad thing?

In the end, she sighed.

“I cannot answer that question directly.”

She leaned in slightly.

“But what I can tell you is this. What you mortals call the 【Open Beta】 is not just a test for you.”

“When it becomes easier for you to reach the so-called Instance worlds, it's not just beings like us. Everything from the other worlds will also be able to reach you more easily.”

“Please take the 【Open Beta】 and the natives of other worlds seriously.”

As soon as she finished, a familiar sentence surfaced in Wu Wang's mind.

【When you gaze into the Abyss, the Abyss gazes also into you.】

Currently, the players' attitude toward Instances, aside from a genuine reverence for death, was mostly a game-like mentality. They were playing with their lives.

There were even quite a few players who, after being suppressed for so long in the real world, entered an easy Instance.

Just before clearing it and leaving, they would tear open the ugliest side of human nature, wantonly venting their repressed feelings.

Ordinary killing was a child's game compared to their deeds.

All sorts of perverted acts that a normal person might not even be able to imagine were staged in the Instance worlds. Their depravity would earn them their own category on the most grotesque corners of the internet.

After all, the 【Spirit Calamity Game】 didn't have the censorship restrictions of real-world games. If they could think it and had the power to do it, they would try it.

“Just imagine, after you Descenders have ravaged a world beyond recognition, you toss it aside like garbage and leave.”

The 【Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire】's voice turned playful.

“When one day, the inhabitants of that world have a chance to stand before you, what will they do?”

Wu Wang swallowed hard.

He could figure that out with his ass. It would be an absolute cataclysm. Peace? That was an absurd fantasy.

If what the 【Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire】 said was true, then the current players were like children playing with fire in a forest, completely ignorant of the fact that they might set the whole forest ablaze and let the wildfire spread to their own homes.

And the most crucial point…

The 【Open Beta】 was coming soon!

Could that be the end of humanity?

“Don't be so nervous. Everything is a process,” the 【Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire】 said with a smile. “It's not like other worldly beings will descend the moment the 【Open Beta】 starts. It all requires an opportunity, a stroke of fate. You might not even see them go to your world in your lifetime.”

After teasing him, she looked at Wu Wang, waiting for his last question.

A wicked arc stretched across Wu Wang's lips.

“My last question…” he said with a brilliant smile. “I haven't thought of it yet. I'll ask you when I do. We never said I had to ask it right now, did we?”

His thinking was simple. He already had enough information to digest for a long time. As for the questions he truly wanted to ask, he couldn't get answers from her right now anyway.

He might as well wait until he understood more about the 【Spirit Calamity Game】 and its god-like beings. Then he would come back and ask for a key piece of information.

The 【Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire】 said nothing about Wu Wang's little scheme. A being like her disdained haggling with a mere mortal over such things. It was just one question. He could hold onto it for as long as he liked.

She just hoped the boy wouldn't take the question to his grave.

Thinking of this, she waved her hand. The Sea of Desire on the ground began to churn. Under Wu Wang's astonished gaze, the seawater condensed into a humanoid statue.

As the statue's features grew clearer and more familiar, a look of disgusted confusion appeared on Wu Wang's face.

“Big Boss… do you have some kind of weird fetish? Why are you making a life-sized doll of me? You're not planning to do something, are you?”

The statue looked exactly like him, a perfect one-to-one copy, right down to the scamp-like glint in its eyes.

“You've lived for who knows how many years, while I'm just a budding youth. This isn't just robbing the cradle; this is grave robbing.”

The 【Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire】 ignored his nonsense, quietly watching his antics until the statue was complete.

“You're operating under my name, after all,” she said. “Don't embarrass me next time you're in 【Hope】's territory.”

The moment her voice fell, the statue plunged into the inky-black Sea of Filth.

The next second, a system notification sounded in Wu Wang's ear.

【Soul of Desire (Unknown)】 A blessing personally bestowed by the being who holds the Authority of 【Desire】.

【Effect One (Wine Pool and Meat Forest)】 The player gains 200% more experience, existing attribute values increase by 100%, and the duration of skills of 【Epic】 rank and below is extended by 50%. The cost of those skills increases by 50%.

【Effect Two (Compulsive Gambler's Abyss)】 The user may designate one player to engage in a contractual gamble. The stakes must involve each other's lives. The victor is guaranteed to obtain the corresponding stakes and will inherit this blessing.

【Effect Three (Lie-alization)】 The user can see through lies, but will also unconsciously tell lies.

【Effect Four (Snake Swallowing Elephant)】 When facing Instance restrictions, this blessing will activate normally. However, every 24 hours, the user's soul will sink deeper into the Sea of Desire, until it can no longer escape.

A passive skill of unknown rank!

Wu Wang's expression grew complicated. To be honest, the skill was incredibly powerful. Any one of its four effects would drive other players mad with envy, screaming that he was a cheater.

However, the side effects were just as potent.

Except for the first effect, 【Wine Pool and Meat Forest】, whose downside was somewhat acceptable, the others all revealed the steep price of 【Desire】.

If you wanted a gamble where you were guaranteed to win the stakes, you had to bet your own life.

If you wanted to see through lies, you had to become an unfiltered liar yourself.

If you wanted to bypass Instance restrictions, you had to burn your own soul to do it. Clear the Instance too slowly, and you would lose yourself day by day.

The effects of 【Compulsive Gambler's Abyss】 and 【Snake Swallowing Elephant】 were especially dangerous. If Wu Wang lost a bet using 【Compulsive Gambler's Abyss】, he wouldn't just lose his life and other stakes; this entire blessing would be passed to the victor.

The 【Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire】 would lose nothing. Even if Wu Wang died, the person who inherited the blessing would likely be pulled into her Audience Space for a little chat. Someone would still be feeding her 【Tree of Sighs】.

This part was fine by Wu Wang. He didn't think he would lose a bet to anyone. The main reason, of course, was that he couldn't truly die.

The side effect he really needed to pay attention to was 【Snake Swallowing Elephant】. That one didn't sound as simple as death. It seemed to have, by some fluke, hit his Achilles' heel.

It would trap him, not kill him.

“What's the meaning of this?” Wu Wang asked seriously.

As the saying goes, if someone offers you something for nothing, they're up to no good. Although he had been cheekily asking for more benefits earlier, he hadn't actually expected to get anything.

The 【Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire】 was on a completely different level. He had no right to negotiate with her. The fact that she had answered his questions was likely just a whim. Now that she had actually given him something good, he suspected she had another scheme in mind.

“This is merely the most insignificant part of the power granted to my Representative.”

Her playful tone was gone, replaced by extreme seriousness.

“How about it? Any thoughts on formally becoming my Representative?”

“Once you unlock the full aspect of the 【Desire】 blessing, you will reach the pinnacle of mortals in a short time. You will move through this Spirit Calamity like a fish in water.”

Looking into her grayish-white, emotionless eyes, Wu Wang shrugged.

“Sorry, but I'm not worthy.”

He gave a wry smile.

“A being like you deserves a better Representative. I'm satisfied just doing odd jobs. How about I recommend a few other players to you? All top-tier, first-rate goods, I promise.”

As he spoke, his mind was already calculating how he could sell out the others to her.

His refusal was within her expectations. She just couldn't quite understand why someone would repeatedly refuse to become the Representative of a Divine Envoy or a Venerable.

This man had previously rejected the 【Wheel within a Wheel】 and the 【Cherub】. Now, he had rejected her.

Did he not know how powerful a Representative could become? No, he should know perfectly well.

As if sensing her confusion, Wu Wang spoke slowly.

“In my world, do you know how many people crave a simple answer? They want status, they want instant knowledge, they want endless riches. They want to stride toward their beloved, glittering with golden light.”

He shook his head.

“Living in this world, people only want more and more. Greed can never be satisfied.”

“But often, fate teaches them that haste makes waste.”

“All blessings that come too quickly have a price.”

He met her gaze.

“I believe that becoming a Representative means gaining more than just power, right?”

After hearing his words, the 【Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire】 couldn't help but smile. Her bell-like laughter echoed, and the entire filthy Sea of Desire surged around her.

Wu Wang's figure on the churning surface was as tiny as a lone boat before a monstrous wave, yet he never sank. He simply rose and fell with the sea.

“Indeed,” she said. “I still hope you will become my Representative. Those mediocre talents who have drowned in 【Desire】 cannot compare to you at all.”

“Only those who see their own 【Desire】 clearly can truly control it.”

“You are the one most suited to be the Representative of 【Desire】.”

With that, the filthy, opaque sea at Wu Wang's feet began to turn azure, then gradually cleared to perfect transparency.

Finally, it revealed the bottom.

It was a seabed piled high with countless statues. Their wails and struggles were so potent they penetrated the water, allowing Wu Wang to hear their whispers from the surface.

Without a doubt, these were all people trapped by 【Desire】.

The statue of Wu Wang she had just made was among them. The only difference was that his statue had not yet sunk to the bottom. It was floating in the middle of the sea, neither rising nor falling.

Wu Wang knew that the moment that statue sank, his end would be no better than the others'.

“In recent years, you are the only candidate I have taken a liking to.”

“Don't disappoint me.”

“Bring me more entertainment.”

As her voice and form dissipated at the edge of the sky, the boundless Sea of Desire transformed into a single stone step.

Having been here before, Wu Wang knew this was the exit.

He took out the paper doll Lou Yu had given him, the one containing the memory of 【Heart Like Fire】. He then touched his own spine, where the seed leading to the 【Hope】 Instance was still deeply embedded.

He had talked enough with the big boss about distant threats. It was time to deal with the ones right in front of him. Both of these items contained clues about that fortune-telling Old Daoist.

He strode toward the staircase.

Buddy, I'm going to find out who the hell you are.

To think you started plotting against me and Second Sister five years ago. What is it you want?

Just don't let me catch you. You'll regret it.