The sullied queen arrived, riding the moonlight.

Her hazy, grayish-white form was indistinct, as if at the edge of the sky, yet in the next instant, she was right before him.

She hung above Wu Wang’s head, looking down with a blank expression, as if gazing upon an ant.

That impious believer was currently adrift in the Sea of Desire. His expression, however, was one of exceptional comfort, as relaxed as if he were in his own private swimming pool. He even started to do the backstroke.

The surrounding desolation and ruin began to fade away, replaced by the familiar Audience Space, that boundless, empty garden box.

“Big Boss, it’s been a while.”

Wu Wang’s words caused a hint of helplessness to flicker across the eternally unchanging face of the Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire.

Only this fellow dared to be so insolent in her presence.

Everyone else, from other worlds to the Descenders, was terrified and cautious upon hearing the Venerable’s prestigious name. Even if they weren’t her believers, they feared that a single misspoken word would lead to their demise.

But this brat had no fear of death.

The Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire couldn’t even sense the slightest desire for Survival in him, let alone any other Desires.

“You don’t seem surprised to see me here.”

As she spoke, Wu Wang felt the Sea of Desire gradually solidify. It squeezed him out like jelly until he stood securely on its surface, no longer sinking.

He shrugged.

“I am your devout Saint Son of Desire, after all. If you don’t grant me an Audience, are you going to let those shoddy, SAN-draining angels come and hack at me a couple more times?”

“Your Greatness once threw me into that God-Forsaken Land for several days just so I wouldn’t be captured by the Divine Envoy of Suffering. Thanks a bunch.”

The moment he entered the Instance and saw the 【Audience Qualification】 among the rewards, Wu Wang knew. He knew the being he would see after clearing it would be the Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire.

From the situation in the 【God-Forsaken Land】, it was clear that the Venerable’s Authority and strength could interfere with the normal flow of the 【Spirit Calamity Game】.

And he was still carrying the seed of the 【Tree of Sighs】.

She would absolutely not sit by and do nothing. She wouldn’t let him inexplicably appear before another Divine Envoy or Venerable.

What if one of the Venerables of 【Suffering】, 【The Twisted】, or 【Hope】 found him first and reclaimed the seed? Wouldn’t her previous actions to protect him have been meaningless?

Therefore, the Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire would surely find a way to intercept the other Divine Envoys and personally respond to this Audience Qualification.

As expected, she ignored the sarcasm in Wu Wang’s voice and did not refute him.

She merely said flatly, “Take out the seed and let me see it.”

Slap.

Before Wu Wang could utter some wonderfully cheeky remark, his inventory inexplicably opened on its own.

A plant seed, ink-green and shaped like a teardrop, appeared out of thin air and landed in her hand.

She narrowed her eyes, examining it closely.

“The progress is acceptable. Keep it up.”

With that, she tossed it back to him.

Only then did Wu Wang notice that the description for the 【Tree of Sighs】 now had a new, clear update.

【Having absorbed the Suffering, Twistedness, Hope, and Desire of half a world, the seed is growing vigorously】

【Maturation Progress – 53%】

Half a world?

Wu Wang’s brow furrowed.

He remembered only using this thing to refine a dozen or so guards. At most, a few of Lou Yu’s and Yu Ji’s emotions had also been absorbed.

Where the hell did “half a world” come from?

Oh, wait…

Was it the Abyss God’s aura at the bottom of the well?

Through the Red Vertical Pupil on his wrist, the seed had devoured all the negative emotions and pitiful hope that had surged from the people facing annihilation, those whose world was being eroded by the Abyss God’s aura.

The crucial point was, even under those circumstances, it had only gained about 50% maturation progress. That also had to include the nourishment provided over a hundred years by that group of unlucky townsfolk back in 【Aiguyi Town】.

In reality, the progress he gained this time was likely less than 50%.

Did that mean he had to feed it the emotions of at least another half a world? But an Instance like 【Anecdotes of the Pear Garden】, one so profound it could affect an entire world, wasn’t something you could encounter every time.

In fact, if he hadn’t chosen to leave with Lou Yu at the end, and had instead let her send him out, he never would have acquired that massive surge of emotions.

Wu Wang couldn’t help but curse aloud.

“Holy fuck! Where am I supposed to find a world-ending catastrophe for this fucking seed? I’m not some kind of Conan Plus, for fuck’s sake.”

The Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire was not concerned with this. For an existence of her level, time no longer held much meaning. She wasn’t in a hurry for Wu Wang to nurture it to maturity.

One year, two years, five years, ten years… it didn’t matter. As long as this fellow could feed the 【Tree of Sighs】 seed as much as possible within his lifetime, it would be fine.

Even if Wu Wang died midway through some Instance, she would find a way to retrieve it and hand it over to another Descender. It was just that, for the moment, this brat was indeed the most suitable person for the job.

To be honest, she was surprised. In just a few short days, the seed’s progress had been pushed past the halfway mark. She had originally thought this would take at least several years to achieve.

What an interesting fellow.

“With such rapid progress, I can give this to you ahead of time,” she said, interrupting Wu Wang’s thoughts.

She then slightly lifted her jade-like foot, which was suspended in mid-air beneath a grayish-white, light veil. She gently tapped the surface of the sea.

Immediately, an item that looked quite similar to the 【Tree of Sighs】 seed floated up. This seed, however, was golden-yellow and shaped like a sword.

It finally landed in Wu Wang’s hand. He secretly glanced at it with his 【Vision of Truth】.

The next second, he froze on the spot.

【Light of Dawn (Unknown) – A creation of one of the Five Great Venerables, the holder of the Authority of 【Hope】. Yet it contains a large amount of the aura of 【The Twisted】.】

【Effect – Unknown】

【Equipment Requirement – Unknown】

【Note – To be far from hope is to be far from danger.】

“Plant it in your body,” the Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire said. “The next world you enter will be one created by 【Hope】.”

After hearing her words, Wu Wang immediately shook his head.

“I am utterly loyal to you. I will absolutely not defect.”

His completely impious words made the Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire roll her eyes.

She paid no mind to Wu Wang, who had started shouting.

“Don’t come in! Not there… you can’t go there!”

With a wave of her hand, she tore open the skin and flesh of his back. The stark white of his spine was exposed, and the thick, bloody smell spread with Wu Wang’s screams.

The Spirit Venerable showed not a trace of pity. She simply took the golden, glowing seed and planted it directly into his spine.

The moment it touched the bone, the seed’s base sprouted a multitude of golden-yellow roots. They spread out and burrowed deep into his spine like the tendrils of a creeping vine, only settling down after they had dyed the entire column a shining gold.

Seeing this, she waved her hand again, stirring up a wave. It slammed heavily onto Wu Wang’s back, where the skin was split open and the white bone was exposed.

He was sent flying by the impact.

When he climbed back up, he was shocked to find that the wound on his back had completely healed.

The Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire looked at the still-howling Wu Wang with a blank expression.

“Stop your ghastly shrieking. I can’t hear a trace of Suffering or torment in your screams. Only the stench of hypocrisy and curiosity spreads through the air.”

Hearing this, Wu Wang’s screams immediately stopped, as if he wasn’t the one who had just been nearly torn in half.

He touched his own back.

With a puzzled expression, he asked, “Big Boss, are you asking me to job-hop to the competition?”

It didn’t take a genius to figure out that since she had explicitly said this thing could change the location of his next Instance, she definitely wasn’t sending him there to have fun.

“You’re eager to go work under 【Hope】?” the Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire’s tone was peculiar.

A flicker of amusement that even Wu Wang could detect flashed in her eyes.

Dammit, troll gods are such a pain! Why can’t you learn something good instead of always trying to stir up trouble and find fun?

Wu Wang was smiling on the outside, but cursing up a storm on the inside. It didn’t even occur to him that he himself was also a Fun-seeker. After all, people are full of double standards.

He hated two kinds of people the most. The first were people who liked to make fun of him, and the second were people who stopped him from having fun.

“My, what a thing to say. I was just thinking of going over to cause some trouble for 【Hope】. You know, be your undercover agent.”

He paused.

“So, what do you want me to do? And let me be clear about something first. My appearance fee isn’t cheap.”

Wu Wang looked utterly brazen. He even grinned and held out a hand toward the Spirit Venerable, making a gesture for money.

To this, she simply said flatly, “I want you to destroy that nauseating world, and while you’re at it, feed the 【Tree of Sighs】.”

“I can smell your Desire to find someone. In the world of 【Hope】, you might find something. He is very good at finding people.”

At these words, Wu Wang shook his head repeatedly.

He said with force and conviction, “You might not know this, but I actually have a bit of a yearning for 【Hope】. Besides, if I do this, won’t I be directly exposed to him?”

“You can stand by and watch with indifference, but a small fry like me can’t withstand 【Hope】’s retaliation.”

“What if he turns on me on the spot?”

“You said it yourself, that’s a world he personally created. You can’t just pop out and protect me whenever you want, can you?”

If the Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire could really do as she pleased right under 【Hope】’s nose, why would she need me to do her dirty work? She could just destroy it herself.

This proved she couldn’t appear in that world at will. Therefore, even if she pointed out that this Instance might be related to that fortune-telling Old Daoist, he still had to haggle.

The Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire raised an eyebrow.

“A person like you cares about such things? Or are you not afraid that I will turn on you right now? Your tone still holds no reverence or fear for death.”

Wu Wang shook his head again.

His expression was solemn as he said, “No, what I mean is, you have to add more money.”

“…”

This sudden turn left even the Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire momentarily speechless.

She had traversed countless worlds. She had seen greedy gamblers stake their lives and fortunes on a single roll, only to lose everything. She had seen foolish pythons attempt to swallow giant elephants, only to be stretched to death. She had seen powerful rulers at the top of the pyramid attempt to touch a power that did not belong to them, only to be swallowed by endless darkness.

But she had never seen someone who dared to haggle with her like this.

Even though one wrong step would lead to a fall into the abyss, he still displayed his greed, doing as he pleased.

The most crucial thing was, within his almost tangible greed, she couldn’t smell a trace of the aura of 【Desire】.

In other words, no matter how mercenary Wu Wang appeared, his heart was as still and clear as a mirror.

“Oh? And what price do you think you’re worth?” the Spirit Venerable said with great interest.

Wu Wang adopted a serious expression.

“A top courtesan’s price. I want the answers to three questions from you.”

The Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire nodded, completely unconcerned.

She said calmly, “They cannot involve the essential core problems of the Spirit Calamity. For anything else, I am omniscient.”

In her eyes, the questions of an existence like Wu Wang were utterly childish. One’s perspective determined that a mortal could not ask about things that an existence like her truly cared about.

It was like an ant asking a human about the principles of computer programming.

Having received her promise, Wu Wang slowly opened his mouth.

“First question. What do ‘the Old Days’ refer to? Or rather, what do they mean?”

The moment he said this, the Spirit Venerable’s expression grew even more curious.

She lowered her head, bringing her face close to Wu Wang’s. The form she manifested was not the mature beauty he had seen before, but that of a high-and-mighty female leader. Her body was a full five meters tall, and the face she brought close to him was almost as large as the upper half of his body.

If someone with megalophobia were here, they would probably have fainted on the spot.

Wu Wang couldn’t help but speak.

“Could you mind your social distancing, please? My Daliyuan Effect is about to act up.”

After a moment of staring, she pulled back her gaze.

She asked curiously, “Where did you learn of ‘the Old Days’?”

Wu Wang did not answer. He just smiled.

“You’re the one answering my questions right now. If you want to ask me something, that’s a different price.”

Seeing that this fellow was impervious to persuasion, the Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire pondered for a moment.

Then she said flatly, “Ask another question.”

The smile on Wu Wang’s face gradually faded, his expression turning grave.

Hadn’t she just said it? She couldn’t answer questions about the essential core problems of the Spirit Calamity Game.

For some questions, no answer… is an answer in itself.

The existence of “the Old Days” is related to the very essence of the 【Spirit Calamity Game】.

Second Sister, oh, Second Sister, it seems we’re getting further and further away from the peaceful life we imagined…

Wu Wang pondered for a moment, then sighed.

“Then let’s switch. I’d like to ask… what kind of existence is ‘Wang’?”

The Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire was silent.

She stared into Wu Wang’s dead-fish eyes for a full minute before finally sighing.

“Ask another question.”

Wu Wang blinked.

Seriously? What questions can I even ask? Can you just give me an Excel spreadsheet of approved topics?

Actually, it wasn’t just Wu Wang. The Spirit Venerable standing before him was also baffled.

Where the hell are you learning these things? Is this something a player who isn’t even level twenty should know? Can you please ask a normal question?

The man and the Venerable stared at each other.

Together, they fell into silence.

Just where did this Audience go wrong?