"Smack! Smack! Smack!"
Branches fell like raindrops.
Screams, groans, and blissful sighs rose and fell.
Some believers began edging forward of their own accord. "Please, hit me harder!"
Others competed with one another. "I got whipped thirty times today!" "I got fifty!"
Still others rolled around on the ground, blissful smiles on their faces as they murmured, "This is so wonderful... so wonderful..."
Su Mo stood rooted to the spot, his mind completely blank.
His understanding of the world couldn't process what he was seeing.
What was this?
Some kind of massive S&M party?
Was this the Benevolent Ancient Tree or the Ace Tree?
Turning pain into pleasure...
Wasn't this just a full-on explosion of S tendencies?!
No wonder it was called the Benevolent Heart Sacred Tree—
So it soaked its whip in iodine, disinfecting as it beat people, huh?
And this was supposed to be benevolent?
But looking at Tang San, Big Black Ox, and Ma Hongjun, all three lined up side by side with their butts sticking out...
Su Mo instinctively touched his waist.
Too bad he hadn't brought a camera.
If he'd captured this scene, all of Notting City would've died laughing.
Xiao Wu watched with great interest beside him, her eyes sparkling.
"Wow, what are they playing? They look like they're having so much fun!"
Su Mo: "..."
He silently covered Xiao Wu's eyes.
Then he looked back at the two men and the beast.
Tang San was kneeling among the crowd, his butt sticking out, a mysterious smile on his face.
He was still muttering to himself:
"Master... I understand... Is this a protagonist's trial... Oh~"
Su Mo covered his face.
The kid was beyond saving.
He kept looking.
He soon found Big Black Ox.
Big Black Ox was kneeling among the Soul Beasts, its butt thrust high in the air and its tail sticking up.
As a six-hundred-year-old demon king, it had taken the most lashes.
Every time the whip struck, it let out a "Moo~"
Its cry held three parts pain, three parts pleasure, and four parts of the complicated feeling of "How has a dignified demon king like me fallen so low?"
But it was still edging forward. "Moo~ Again~"
Su Mo fell silent for three seconds.
Old Ox, where was your dignity?!
Finally, he found Ma Hongjun.
Ma Hongjun was kneeling at the very front, trembling all over.
His situation was the most complicated.
Every time the whip struck, a flame flared up around him.
His Evil Fire had been stirred.
But his expression... was incredibly complicated.
Pain mixed with pleasure.
Pleasure mixed with confusion.
Confusion mixed with the horror of "Have I awakened some weird fetish?"
He murmured:
"My fate is mine to command, not Heaven's... But... but this feels way too good..."
"No, no... But it really does feel good..."
"No!!!"
His Evil Fire and the pleasure twisted together wildly inside him, and smoke rose from his whole body.
As Su Mo watched the scenes unfold and ranted to himself, he failed to notice what was underfoot.
"Crack."
He stepped on a dead branch and broke it.
Amid the rising and falling moans across the clearing, the sound was exceptionally sharp.
The Ancient Tree's face abruptly turned toward the bushes where they were hiding.
A strange red light flashed in its compassionate eyes.
"Oh?"
Its voice was still kind, but somehow it sounded perverted no matter how you heard it.
"There are two little cuties who haven't received my blessing yet~"
Its branches darted out like snakes, lashing straight at Su Mo and Xiao Wu!
A chill ran down Su Mo's spine. He had no desire to become someone's darling!
Golden light surged!
His bones cracked!
Two meters and twenty!
He threw a punch, and the incoming branch snapped.
Xiao Wu dodged nimbly and countered with a kick, breaking several more branches.
The Ancient Tree laughed.
"Not bad. You've got some strength."
Its voice grew even kinder—no, even more perverted.
"Then let my children play with you~"
As soon as it finished speaking, the kneeling believers all turned their heads at once.
Their eyes turned into empty pink hollows.
Then they moved.
Dozens of Soul Beasts and more than ten humans all pounced on Su Mo and Xiao Wu at the same time!
Su Mo's expression changed.
There were too many of them.
They attacked without holding back.
A hunter charged over, raised his axe, and swung.
Su Mo dodged to the side and punched him in the chest.
The hunter flew back, crashed into a tree, and spat out a mouthful of blood.
Then—
He got back up, a blissful smile on his face.
"Again~ Come hit me again~"
Su Mo: "..."
He was afraid he'd end up giving the other guy so much pleasure he died.
Fortunately, their desires had nearly taken over their intelligence, and all their actions were driven by raw instinct.
Xiao Wu called out beside him, "Master, just knock them out! They can't feel pain, but once they're unconscious, they'll stop moving!"
Su Mo nodded.
The two of them began striking with precision, knocking out the believers one by one as they charged.
But there were too many of them. They couldn't possibly knock them all out.
"Tang San!" Su Mo shouted.
No one answered.
He looked toward the crowd.
Tang San was still bent over, taking lashes, a blissful smile on his face.
Su Mo's expression darkened.
He charged into the crowd, punched away every believer in his path, and rushed to Tang San's side.
"Smack!"
He slapped Tang San across the face.
Tang San looked up in a daze. "Master? What are you doing here? I'm in the middle of a protagonist's trial..."
Su Mo slapped him again.
"Forget the trial! Look at your butt!"
Tang San looked down and saw the position he was in.
His face flushed red at once.
"W-what's going on?!"
Su Mo snapped, "The tree's controlling you! Stop talking and help us!"
Tang San saw the other people and beast under its control. Like someone coming to after a blackout, his memories gradually returned.
He was mortified.
His shame turned into fighting strength. A Blue Silver Grass sword instantly formed, and he joined the fight.
Su Mo went to wake Big Black Ox.
At that very moment, it was enjoying lash number who-knew-how-many.
"Moo~ Hit me harder~"
Su Mo kicked it in the butt.
"Old Ox! Wake up!"
Big Black Ox looked back blankly, its eyes gradually clearing.
Then it looked down at its position.
Its butt was sticking out.
Its tail was sticking up.
It was still twitching.
It fell silent for three seconds.
"Moo!!!"
A furious roar rang through the forest.
I'm a dignified six-hundred-year-old demon king!!!
Overcome by shame, Big Black Ox went berserk.
Its four hooves churned as it charged straight at the Ancient Tree and slammed into its trunk.
"Boom!"
The Ancient Tree shook, and several leaves fell.
The leaves drifted down beneath Ma Hongjun.
He was still trembling in place.
His Evil Fire and the pleasure were fighting inside him.
Two voices fought in his mind:
"That feels so good! Again!"
"Get a grip! You're going to become a phoenix!"
"Phoenixes can enjoy themselves too!"
"Not this kind of enjoyment!!!"
Ma Hongjun was on the verge of a complete mental breakdown.
Su Mo rushed over, grabbed him by the shoulders, and shook him hard.
"Ma Hongjun! Wake up!"
"Weren't you going to become Nezha?!"
"My fate is mine to command, not yours! And definitely not the tree's!"
Ma Hongjun's eyes wavered. "But... but it really feels so good... Oh~"
Su Mo took a deep breath.
"Enjoy this, my ass!"
"If you like this kind of thing, I'll find you another way to have fun later!"
"Doesn't getting stronger through cultivation feel good?"
"Doesn't slapping down villains feel good?"
"Doesn't eating delicious food feel good?"
Ma Hongjun's eyes slowly began to brighten.
At last, he bit the tip of his tongue hard and came to his senses.
"Boss Su... you're right..."
"The thrill I'm looking for isn't this kind of thrill!"
He forcibly suppressed the Evil Fire.
But this time, he had a new realization—
So there were other things that could give me that kind of thrill...
Su Mo patted him on the shoulder.
"Enough philosophizing. Let's hit the tree first!"
At last, all four people and the beast had recovered.