Desire Mark

Looking at the God of Desire before him, Lin Yu could clearly sense...

Even for Deity, "death," or the dissipation of "self-will," is a terrifying thing.

Just like the current God of Desire... In order to avoid the dissipation of His consciousness and to prevent Him from "ceasing to exist," He is even willing to continue to be imprisoned here for thousands of years.

Furthermore, because the other party needed his help on this matter, their attitude towards him, a mere mortal, appeared so sincere and earnest.

But sincerity was never a necessary condition to move Lin Yu —on the contrary, it was precisely because Lin Yu understood the other party's eagerness and urgency that he was able to realize things more clearly...

This is a great opportunity to "raise prices"!

At the negotiating table, whoever appears more eager and urgent will have to bear the consequences of their opponent raising the price.

This former God of Desire may have truly been deprived of contact and negotiation with humans for too long after his demotion from "Deity," and the long years of imprisonment may have caused a degree of mental blurring and confusion. Therefore, this Deity is now...

It revealed a flaw.

"Keep [Azure Sea Sky Dome] open forever... Sorry, that sounds like it goes against what I'm doing," Lin Yu said calmly. "I've already promised that guy 'Tuk' that I'd shut down [Azure Sea Sky Dome]."

As Lin Yu was speaking, the God of Desire interjected, "You don't seem like the type to keep such a promise..."

"Moreover, that 'Tuk' doesn't actually exist; he's merely a false illusion projected unconsciously by the 'self' gradually arising from the Authority 'Desire' —though he may appear more vivid than the puppets of Desire active in the city, there's no difference in essence."

Lin Yu nodded as he listened to the words of the God of Desire.

"I know, but... at least that Tuk promised me something—after [Azure Sea Sky Dome] is shut down, [Azure Sea Sky Dome] can belong to me."

"This [Azure Sea Sky Dome] is an extremely valuable and powerful [Item]. Why would I give up the opportunity to obtain Item just to help you?"

The God of Desire spoke, "If you help me, I won't treat you unfairly... Don't you need the friendship of a Deity?"

"You were a 'former Deity,' but now you're just trapped in this Ruins City... well, probably not much stronger than an ordinary Demigod," Lin Yu exposed the God of Desire. "Besides, to be honest... even if you really were Deity, I wouldn't need another Deity friend—moreover, you seem to have a grudge against the most powerful Deity in the Nether Void Realm right now. Befriending you would be tantamount to making enemies with Him. It doesn't seem like a worthwhile trade-off!"

Blue yarn appeared on the head of the God of Desire, resembling droplets of water, hanging from its forehead, indicating its nervous embarrassment and sweating.

"Well, how should I put it... actually, the God of Banquets probably doesn't care much about me. Even if you're tainted with some 'Desire,' given His current status, He probably wouldn't bother to care!"

"Moreover, even if things are a bit troublesome in the 'Nether Void Realm'... well, I still have a strong foundation in the Prison Mountain Realm. Many Demon King Demon Lord in the Prison Mountain Realm are closely related to me, and I still have my former Divine Attendant there. If you and I form a cooperative relationship, you will definitely receive a lot of help when you go to the Prison Mountain Realm in the future."

The God of Desire spoke earnestly.

Lin Yu frowned and asked, "Your Divine Attendant?"

"It's what you call the 'Chosen of God'... It's a Fox Demon with extremely profound cultivation, named the Six Desires Demon Fox —I left a portion of my 'Desire' Authority with it."

Hearing the God of Desire say this, Lin Yu sighed.

"Then I regret to inform you that two hundred years ago, your fox may have been trying to seize the remaining Authority of your 'Desire' to regain Becoming a God, and was then struck dead by Tribulation Lightning by the Dao Ancestor of the Prison Mountain Realm."

Upon hearing Lin Yu's words, the God of Desire seemed to have been struck by Tribulation Lightning, his face showing a mixture of shock and pain.

"How could this be! Dao Ancestor... I swear I will never forgive you!"

He spoke angrily, and Lin Yu spread his hands.

"So you see, you really do have too many enemies... Even now that I'm in the Prison Mountain Realm, I don't have any help from the Yaomo, and I still have to be wary of the Dao Ancestor striking me with lightning, right?"

As Lin Yu began to speak, the God of Desire quickly suppressed his anger and sorrow and spoke in response.

"No, that's not it... I also have other Demon King with whom I have very good relationships—did you know that the Divine Attendant of the fallen 'God of Destiny' also ended up in the Prison Mountain Realm, carrying a Fragment of Fate, and taking the name 'Thousand-Eyed Thousand-Silk Demon Lord'..."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yu almost couldn't hold back anymore. "That one was also suppressed by the Daoist Sect... um, but was later rescued by other 'Player' and has already left the Prison Mountain Realm."

As Lin Yu spoke, the God of Desire was stunned. "Such a thing is possible?"

"Absolutely true, I'm certain," he waved his hand. "Alright... God of Desire, stop trying to order me around with empty promises. If you want me to work for you, you have to offer me tangible, visible benefits—at least, something comparable to the value of [Azure Sea Sky Dome]."

At this point, Lin Yu paused for a moment, then added.

"No, even if you were to offer something comparable in value to [Azure Sea Sky Dome], I'm afraid I still wouldn't choose to help you."

Upon hearing Lin Yu's words, the God of Desire asked, "Why?"

"Because I hate you," Lin Yu said arrogantly and coldly, pointing to the girl beside him who was still frozen in place. "I told you... from the moment you used my old friend to scheme against me, you had better not actually ask me for anything."

The God of Desire opened his mouth, as if wanting to explain something, but in the end...

He lowered his head from the cushion and said, "I'm sorry, my behavior... offended you."

Lin Yu nodded and said, "I accept your apology, but... you still need to offer a reward exceeding the value of [Azure Sea Sky Dome] for me to be more inclined to help you."

The God of Desire pondered for a moment, then spoke, "If you let me live... I'll allow you to freely borrow the power of 'Desire'?"

"Although my 'Revelry' has been taken away, and my remaining 'Desire' has been eroded by the souls and wills of numerous Demigod and 'Player,' to the point that I have now lost my status as a 'Deity'... however, the fact that I was once Deity and possessed Divine Kingdom still gives me some advantages over other 'Demigod.'"

"I can still respond to prayers—even if I am in the ruins of this Nether Void Realm, as long as I implant a mark of 'Desire' into your soul and body, when you use 'Divine Art' to pray and communicate with me in the future, I can still World-Crossing and bestow upon you the theory of the Authority of 'Desire'."

Lin Yu asked, "So... what is the price?"

"I will minimize the 'cost'... If you're willing, I can even choose you as my Chosen of God."

The God of Desire spoke earnestly once more.

Lin Yu waved his hand. "I'll pass on the Chosen of God... but I can consider Divine Art —you can pass on the Desire Mark to me now."

The God of Desire was somewhat taken aback. "Huh, what?"

He seemed somewhat surprised that Lin Yu would agree so readily.

Lin Yu said somewhat impatiently, "What, are you going to back out now?"

The God of Desire spoke up, "No... of course I won't go back on my word—I'm just curious, why did you agree so readily?"

"Because I feel that you did offer a reward that is more valuable than [Azure Sea Sky Dome], and the value of keeping you alive is now greater than letting you die," Lin Yu said calmly. "Alright, enough nonsense. Give me the 'Desire Mark' you mentioned, and then tell me how to use Divine Art... and while you're at it, also tell me how to keep [Azure Sea Sky Dome] permanently open."

As Lin Yu spoke, the God of Desire finally realized that Lin Yu had agreed to their cooperation request, and quickly stepped forward.

"Alright... then please don't reject what's about to enter your soul."

As the God of Desire spoke, He stretched out His hand—only then did Lin Yu notice that the God of Desire's arm, like His pillow head, was also knitted from wool.

Although this Deity's incarnation is dressed in formal attire, it actually looks like a large-sized yarn doll.

The other person raised their neatly stitched fingers, and tiny golden lights burst forth from their fingertips—just like those that appeared when the big fish in Chen Le disappeared.

Lin Yu watched as the golden rays slowly condensed into a ball of light in the air before entering his body.

Although the God of Desire remained respectful, Lin Yu remained extremely vigilant and cautious, clutching the [Error] Fang Qing had given him and his own [Ancient Notebook] in his hands. If anything went wrong, he could interrupt the process of this "Desire" mark entering his body and soul at any time.

In addition, given Lin Yu's exceptionally complex soul structure compared to ordinary people, allowing the Authority of these "Desire" to enter his soul, while somewhat risky, is definitely manageable.

Soon...

Lin Yu felt several outer structures within his soul merge with the power of these Desire.

Golden threads floated and danced across his body, eventually encircling his neck and coalescing into a pale golden heart-shaped mark.

At the same time...

In Lin Yu's mind, some Divine Art Techniques and knowledge about how to "use Desire" naturally appeared in his heart.

Of course... we've also included a manual explaining the basic structure and functions of [Azure Sea Sky Dome].