The Art of Seduction
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The illusory image of the giant tree gradually dissipated after a long time.
The branches of the giant tree began to droop slowly, swaying in a seemingly boneless manner.
"The fruit is ready to be picked! Don't forget, you can only take one." Upon seeing this, the Sea Emperor quickly reminded him.
Gu Ding darted forward at lightning speed, flying to the giant tree, only to discover that the fruit was much larger than he had imagined, nearly a meter in diameter. It resembled flawless white jade, with a crystal-clear appearance, and emitted a refreshing fragrance that was truly delightful.
Gu Ding carefully reached out and plucked a White Jade Fruit from the end of a branch, without being attacked by the tree. He successfully stored it in his Storage Space. He glanced at the remaining fruits, a hint of reluctance flashing in his eyes, but still chose to fly away without collecting a second one.
After leaving, Gu Ding did not go far, but hid nearby, waiting for the others to arrive.
According to the Sea Emperor, although he could not pick the second fruit himself, he could use someone else to pick it, and then he could snatch it back without being attacked by the Universe Fruit Tree.
Not long after, a human deity flew over at high speed. After seeing the Universe Fruit Tree, although he was not quite sure what kind of plant the tree was, he guessed that the tree that had made the commotion earlier must have been this tree.
Seeing eight crystal-clear fruits hanging from the ends of several branches, he cautiously approached. When he reached the Cosmic Fruit, the giant tree remained motionless, which reassured him slightly. He reached out and picked a fruit, while looking at the giant tree warily. Finding that the tree did not react, he was completely relieved.
His gaze then fell on the second fruit. After storing the first one in his Storage Space, he reached out towards the second one. Just as his fingers touched the second fruit, a branch suddenly lashed out, sending him flying.
After being sent flying, the man looked down at the spot where he had been slapped, then grinned maliciously. "I thought you were so powerful, but you couldn't even break through my defense."
As soon as he finished speaking, he rushed towards the Universe Fruit Tree again.
"This guy is really courting death. The Universe Fruit Tree only wanted to drive him away, so it didn't kill him. By rushing in like that, he's just asking for it. This kind of spiritual creature born of heaven and earth has extremely heaven-defying Combat Strength, at least at the level of Half-Step True God, and its vitality is extremely amazing. Even the top twenty experts on the Black Iron Prodigy Ranking would probably have to exert a lot of effort to kill it." The Sea Emperor's voice entered Gu Ding's mind.
"This is unavoidable; everyone has desires. We think he's courting death, but he sees it as an opportunity. If you hadn't reminded me, I definitely would have chosen to pick the remaining fruit too," Gu Ding readily admitted his thoughts.
During the time the two were communicating with each other using their consciousness, the human lunged at the Universe Fruit Tree again, this time with a long sword in his hand.
The Universe Fruit Tree seemed enraged as well, whipping out several low-hanging branches like long white whips. These whips created illusory images in the void, whistling as they lashed at the human.
Before the man could even defend himself, he was sliced into several pieces by the whip-like shadow of the tree branch, turning into energy fragments that gradually dissipated.
"This attack speed is indeed at the level of One-Star Half-Step True God." Gu Ding immediately recognized the Combat Strength of the Universe Fruit Tree, but he also realized that this was probably not the giant tree's full-force attack.
After the human was killed, his Smart Watch was flung from his hand. Gu Ding swayed and caught the Smart Watch, the Sea Emperor immediately seizing control of it. After checking the items in the secondary space, apart from the Cosmic Fruit, the man didn't really have anything of value. Gu Ding then casually put the watch into his own Storage Space.
He sensed it too. The Universe Fruit Tree not far away was scanning him with its spiritual power, its branches waving and dancing, seemingly warning him not to approach.
Gu Ding didn't care at all. As soon as he got the watch, he darted into the dense forest and hid himself again.
Seeing that Gu Ding had left, the Universe Fruit Tree returned to its original state, its branches drooping and swaying gently.
"Three groups of people will arrive one after another in a while. Two groups are from the Human Race Camp, one group is from the Two-Headed Demon Race, and more people will be arriving in succession." The Sea Emperor had a clear understanding of the current situation.
Gu Ding squatted leisurely on a branch of a large tree, patiently waiting.
The three groups of people that the Sea Emperor mentioned arrived one after another, less than two minutes apart.
The first group was a small team of six from the Human Race Camp. Upon seeing the towering tree, they did not immediately approach it, but rather appeared somewhat wary.
The second group consisted of seven Two-Headed Demon Race. When they saw the six Human Race Camp, their eyes flashed with ferocity, but their attention was quickly drawn to the Universe Fruit Tree. They noticed the Human Race Camp had arrived ahead of them but didn't pick any fruit or approach the giant tree rashly; however, the greed in their eyes was undisguised.
The third group, also a team from the Human Race Camp, was larger, consisting of twelve people. Seeing that the first two groups hadn't made a move to seize the fruit, they didn't either, but instead headed towards the first group.
The third group was led by a woman who appeared to be in her early twenties, with a beautiful face and a slender figure. Her captivating eyes held a mesmerizing allure, clearly indicating she was a shrewd and capable woman. The rest of her team consisted entirely of men, who had obviously joined the group because of her beauty.
The woman walked up to the group of six, her swaying hips causing the six men to involuntarily swallow hard. Her eyes held a hint of flirtation as she greeted them, "Hello, brothers."
"Okay, okay..." the group nodded quickly.
Only the leading man looked at her with slight wariness. Although they were both Human Race Camp, there were always those who would plot against others in this Outer Domain Battlefield, and quite a few of them at that. This woman's approach was clearly purposeful, and he had to be cautious.
"Is there a problem with that tree?" the woman asked with a smile, pointing to the Universe Fruit Tree.
The Universe Fruit Tree: very little information exists about it now, and many people have only heard of it by name, knowing nothing about the tree itself. It's only said that millions of years ago, this tree bore fruit, sparking a bloodbath, but specific details remain unclear. In fact, before that day, no one knew whether this tree actually bore fruit at all.
"We don't know either. After arriving, we planned to probe slowly, but then the Two-Headed Demon Race came, so we could only stare helplessly." One of them quickly replied, his eyes unable to leave the woman's chest.
"So, you don't know if those fruits can be picked?" The woman was somewhat disappointed. She had thought the other party knew some useful information, but it turned out they had only arrived a few minutes early and hadn't accomplished anything.
Back with her team, the woman smiled at the group of men and said, "Whoever can help me fetch those fruits will get a reward."
The eleven men seemed somewhat hesitant. Although they didn't know what was so special about the tree, with so many people standing there without making a move, it was probably not a good idea to provoke them.
"It seems that what you said about being willing to protect me for life and being willing to die for me was all a lie." The woman seemed somewhat angry.
"Denise... don't be angry, I'll go!" At this moment, a big guy with a face full of scars walked out of the crowd. He was more than two meters tall. Although he was also a little scared, he still hoped to show off in front of the woman.
"Heller, you're still the best to me." The woman named Denise walked up to the big man, placed her hand on his chest, looked up and gazed at him affectionately for a moment, then stood on tiptoe and left a sweet kiss on his cheek.
The other men watched with envy, wishing they were the ones the woman had just kissed.
The man Heller completely forgot what danger was; his mind was a jumbled mess, and he rushed towards the giant tree as if he had been given a potion of poison.
"I don't see any special abilities this woman possesses, such as Pupil Technique or hypnosis?" Gu Ding asked, somewhat puzzled.
"Because she didn't use Pupil Technique or hypnosis, she only used people's desires to provoke them. In a sense, it can be considered a simple charm technique. If it were a truly powerful charm technique, it would be used so naturally that every move could affect a person's soul and change their thoughts unconsciously, making it far more terrifying than Liliath's Pupil Technique. However, what she used was just child's play," the Sea Emperor explained.
"It sounds like if Liliath learns this and uses it in conjunction with her Pupil Technique, it would be very powerful." Gu Ding thought this kind of thing would be quite suitable for Liliath.
"Actually, I have the relevant techniques, but I haven't revealed them because charm arts belong to the category of evil arts. Liliath's Pupil Technique can target single individuals or groups, and the targets are controllable. But charm arts, once mastered, will naturally have a charming effect on everyone around, and it is beyond the user's control. There are even rumors that truly powerful charm arts, once mastered, can transcend age, gender, race, and even other factors to make people fall for them."
"Legend has it that your human Great Emperor Bei Feng cultivated a powerful charm technique, which created a terrifying charm ability that made all the female creatures he pursued unable to resist his charm, thus giving rise to so many new races that transcended species."
"That's amazing?!" Gu Ding was stunned.
"I think so. That's what's recorded in my database. The Great Emperor Bei Feng is just one example. There's another, even more terrifying one. It's said that a woman from the Abyss Demon Race possessed a terrifying charm that could captivate any male creature who saw her, even just her back. Even the Abyss Demon Race's ruler at the time became her devoted subject. As a result, after the Heavenly Human Race's ruler saw her once, a great war broke out between the two clans over that woman."
As the two were talking, the tall man slowly approached the Universe Fruit Tree...