Five people surrounded the Ancient Tree.
Su Mo, with his two-meter-tall Holy Body.
Xiao Wu, shrouded in a terrifying aura.
Tang San, with his Blue Silver Grass sword.
Big Black Ox, a six-hundred-year-old demon king.
Ma Hongjun, heir to the Kun Fist.
The Ancient Tree looked down at the group, each of them possessing extraordinary skills.
A mocking smile spread across its face.
"Why resist me? Wouldn't it be better if we all enjoyed ourselves together?"
Its branches thrashed wildly.
Pink mist spread once more.
Its mental attack was unleashed at full force.
"I'm the Holy Tree who can make everyone happy~"
Seeing this attack,
Su Mo immediately said in a low voice, "Everyone, guard your minds! Don't let its illusions affect you!"
Big Black Ox let out a furious roar, and the righteous qi of the Confucian school burst forth, dispersing the mist.
Tang San's Blue Silver Grass sword severed the branches lunging at them.
Xiao Wu closed in and attacked the trunk at close range.
Ma Hongjun used Iron Mountain Lean, smashing into the bark and cracking it in one blow.
Su Mo charged at the very front, pounding the trunk with fist after fist.
With the four of them working in close coordination, the Ancient Tree was driven back step by step.
At last, it panicked.
"Impossible! How can you resist my happiness?!"
It desperately urged its mental attack, but with every attack, the face on its trunk grew more haggard.
Su Mo noticed.
"It's burning through its own life force! It won't last much longer!"
Everyone unleashed their full power.
At last—
"Boom!"
The Ancient Tree crashed to the ground.
A Soul Ring rose into the air.
The group sat on the ground, panting.
The bewitched followers gradually came to their senses and left, looking utterly confused.
Tang San silently tugged up his pants, pretending nothing had happened.
Big Black Ox huddled in a corner, refusing to meet anyone's eyes.
Xiao Wu hugged her carrot, curiously examining the fallen Ancient Tree.
Ma Hongjun sat nearby, deep in thought.
One moment he looked excited, the next hesitant; then he seemed almost disgusted.
Su Mo walked over.
"What are you thinking about?"
Ma Hongjun looked up.
"Boss Su, just now... I almost thought I'd awakened some strange fetish."
Su Mo's mouth twitched.
Ma Hongjun continued:
"But then I figured it out."
"The things Evil Fire makes me want to do are, at their core, all about chasing pleasure."
"It makes me lose control for pleasure. It could turn me into a monster."
He lowered his head and looked at his hands.
"But there are plenty of things that can make me feel good."
Su Mo watched him, his face full of contempt.
Ma Hongjun didn't notice at all and continued:
"It feels great to win a fight."
"It feels great to break through in my cultivation."
"It feels great to eat delicious food."
"Being acknowledged by others feels great, too."
He lifted his head, his eyes clear.
"What I want to pursue is the kind of pleasure that makes me stronger."
"Not the kind that turns me into a beast."
Su Mo patted him on the shoulder.
"Ah... right, that's what I meant, too."
"Anyway, congratulations. You've grown."
Ma Hongjun grinned.
"Boss Su, could you write me another new book when we get back? One about the thrill of getting stronger through fighting."
Su Mo: "..."
I'm just a plagiarist...
The Ancient Tree had fallen, and a purple Soul Ring appeared above it.
Nine hundred years.
Su Mo gazed at the Soul Ring, lost in thought.
Tang San came over. "Master, are you going to absorb it?"
Xiao Wu asked curiously, "What do you think this tree's Soul Ring can do? Make people enjoy being whipped?"
Big Black Ox: "Moo." (Don't bring it up. I need to forget that memory as soon as possible.)
Su Mo ignored them and continued thinking.
This tree's abilities were downright sinister—turning pain into pleasure, mental control, and illusions.
It was perverse, but undeniably powerful.
And if it could be used for the right reasons...
He thought of his mother's illness.
If he could control this ability, could he use it to ease her suffering?
Su Mo nodded.
"I'll absorb it."
Tang San looked worried. "Master, this tree's abilities are so sinister. Could there be side effects?"
Su Mo smiled.
"Don't worry. Your master knows what he's doing."
He sat cross-legged and began absorbing the Soul Ring.
The purple Soul Ring slowly merged into Su Mo's body.
Unfortunately, Su Mo, too, couldn't escape facing the Benevolent Ancient Tree after all.
Absorbing a Soul Ring usually meant enduring its power.
His expression shifted between pain and pleasure.
The four people beside him watched, their faces complicated.
Xiao Wu: "Master's expression is so strange..."
Tang San: "Don't talk. Master's cultivating!"
Big Black Ox silently turned away.
Ma Hongjun watched, lost in thought.
So absorbing a Soul Ring can feel this good, too...
No, no, what am I thinking?!
He quickly shook his head, trying to toss the thought away.
After who knew how long,
Su Mo opened his eyes.
A flash of purple light crossed them.
He stood and stretched his limbs.
"Not bad. I didn't turn into a pervert."
Xiao Wu curiously came over. "Master, what ability did you get?"
Su Mo thought for a moment, unsure how to explain.
So he simply lit up his Soul Ring, and a thin white mist appeared around them.
Then he slapped Big Black Ox on the rump.
"Moooh~~~"
A moan rang out, making everyone around them break out in goosebumps.
Terrifying...
Big Black Ox came to his senses, mortified beyond words.
He glared furiously at Su Mo.
Su Mo explained:
"As you can see, within the mist, my strength and defense increase by twenty percent."
"At the same time, any pain I inflict is mixed with an equal amount of pleasure."
Tang San blinked. "What are you going to call it?"
Su Mo kept a straight face.
"Ace Domain."
Tang San tilted his head. "Ace?"
Su Mo: "Nothing. Just a letter."
Xiao Wu asked curiously, "What letter?"
Su Mo: "...Little kids shouldn't ask."
The mood on the path was a little strange, as though none of them had quite had their fill.
Big Black Ox still walked with a sway, badly shaken.
Tang San kept touching his rump now and then, his expression complicated.
Ma Hongjun was brimming with energy and practiced Iron Mountain Lean the whole way.
Xiao Wu kept gnawing on her carrot, completely unaffected.
Su Mo walked at the rear, occasionally glancing back into the depths of the forest.
A nine-hundred-year Soul Ring. Its ability was perverse, but useful.
Once they got back, he'd have to study how to use this ability to treat his mother.
But...
He remembered what had just happened, and his mouth twitched.
He'd never forget those followers sticking their butts out for the rest of his life.
Big Black Ox let out a faint "moo" beside him.
(I won't forget it either.)
Tang San silently quickened his pace.
Me neither.
Ma Hongjun pretended nothing had happened.
Me neither.
The bond between brothers often meant they didn't even need to exchange a glance.
Xiao Wu looked at them in confusion. "What are you all hinting at?"
The three answered in unison: "Nothing."
Xiao Wu: "???"
Under the moonlight, the five figures gradually disappeared into the distance.
They seemed to stretch endlessly, until they merged into one...
A figure crawled out of the Royal Hunting Park.
It was Yu Xiaogang.
"Crawled" wasn't an exaggeration at all.
His legs had gone as soft as two noodles, trembling with every step. His clothes had been ripped into strips by thorns, hanging off him like rags. A huge hole gaped in the back of his pants, his pale buttocks showing through, spattered with white spots of uncertain origin.
They were probably bird droppings from the trees. Or maybe something else.
In any case, he didn't want to look too closely.
Three leaves and a dead twig were stuck in his hair. Mud and some unknown slime smeared his face, and his whole body gave off an indescribable smell.
People around him hurriedly stepped aside.