đź“– Chapter 1336 - Shen Ludao
The answer was obvious.
The seven emotions and six desires that made up the World Realm most likely came from… the slumbering Emperor.
His emotions turned into the seven emotions, and his desires turned into the six desires. Under the influence of these emotions and desires, the World Realm was changed and distorted. Moreover, because of the Emperor’s domineering might, aside from the seven emotions and six desires, no other laws could exist.
Aside from the law used by Ancient Epoch City, which to some extent could be considered approved of, all outside laws were forbidden.
If they appeared, Emperor Spirits would descend.
Wang Baole looked deeply at the monstrous lump of meat as it waved its flabby hand and sent countless golden tentacles shooting off in all directions. As deafening cheers rang out and the aura of tongue’s desire swelled, he retracted his gaze.
After the lump of meat swallowed its fill of desire, it disappeared in a flash of light. 40% of the aura of desire still remained.
The eyes of the eight Gluttony Lords all lit up, and they immediately began to devour. Last time, Wang Baole hadn’t yet begun to cultivate the law of tongue’s desire, so this was his first time really seeing what was going on.
He watched as black holes appeared around each of the eight Gluttony Lords. Even the smallest black hole was a hundred zhang in diameter, and the most terrifying one was the one surrounding the Gluttony Lord opposite Zhou Huo, a black hole more than seven hundred zhang wide.
These eight black holes crazily absorbed the aura of tongue’s desire in the surroundings. At the same time, the mincemeat acolytes behind the eight Gluttony Lords also began absorbing.
The vortexes formed by these mincemeat acolytes were obviously much smaller than the Gluttony Lords – from around ten to seventy zhang wide – and their speed of absorption was also slower. Seeing all this, Wang Baole took a deep breath.
Suddenly, the black crystal inside his body flickered, and a massive suction force erupted from it. A vortex about forty zhang wide appeared around him and began absorbing the aura of tongue’s desire in the air.
A moment later, Wang Baole’s eyes flashed. He could feel that his law of tongue’s desire was improving at an incredible speed.
Although it wasn’t as fast as when he devoured the mincemeat acolyte in Master Bloodscale’s restaurant earlier, it was steadier and gentler, so his overall improvement was actually greater.
It was like consuming a nourishing medicine. His law of tongue’s desire became more and more refined, allowing him to draw on more and more power.
Eyes shining brightly, Wang Baole loosened his restraints a little. In an instant, his forty-zhang vortex expanded to fifty zhang, then directly to over seventy zhang.
It could have expanded even more, but Wang Baole knew that it was best not to overdo things. Thus, he restrained himself and maintained this size, freely devouring the aura of tongue’s desire in the surroundings.
Although he was holding back, his vortex still attracted the attention of the mincemeat acolytes and Gluttony Lords. When they noticed that his vortex was over seventy zhang wide, almost all the mincemeat acolytes widened their eyes, and even the Gluttony Lords looked at Wang Baole meaningfully.
Among the mincemeat acolytes present, there were only two with vortexes more than seventy zhang wide. One was Wang Baole, and the other was a bald man standing behind that Gluttony Lord whose black hole was seven hundred zhang in diameter.
He wasn’t just bald; he was even lacking eyebrows. However, as he stood there, the surrounding cultivators looked at him with respectful gazes. Only when they looked at a Gluttony Lord would their expressions be even more reverential.
This baldie was the number one mincemeat acolyte in Tongue’s Desire City.
At this moment, noticing Wang Baole’s vortex, he looked over with a cold light flickering in his eyes.
Wang Baole raised his head and looked back at the baldie. As he did so, he heard a gentle voice in his ears.
“That guy’s Shen Ludao. For the past thousand years, he’s been known as the one most likely to become the ninth Gluttony Lord. Now, it seems that he’s targeting you.”
The speaker was one of the mincemeat acolytes under Zhou Huo’s command. Seeing Wang Baole’s sideways glance, he smiled and continued speaking.
“He wants to devour you. Here in Tongue’s Desire City, no one will interfere in a fight between mincemeat acolytes. But when it comes to acolytes under the command of different Gluttony Lords, they aren’t permitted to kill each other. There are only two situations exempt from this rule… I’ll explain in detail during the banquet later.”
Wang Baole nodded and didn’t speak. Glancing at Shen Ludao again, he narrowed his eyes. After a moment, they both looked away from each other.
Just like that, under the ceaseless absorption, the aura of tongue’s desire in the air gradually decreased. Finally, when it completely disappeared, the crowd dispersed, chasing after the golden tentacles that were flying around.
At this point of the Gluttony Festival, there was no longer anything more for the Gluttony Lords and mincemeat acolytes to do. However, soon… it would be time for Wang Baole to completely pick a side.
Before leaving, Zhou Huo shot him a deep look.
Wang Baole cupped his fists and bowed, leaving along with the other mincemeat acolytes without saying a word.
Zhou Huo’s banquet was starting in just a few hours.
The mincemeat acolytes were permitted to bring along their subordinates. Thus, Wang Baole brought his shop’s female manager. Dressed up in her finest clothes, she was nervous and excited, and was also carrying a gift.
On this night, as cultivators fought to the death in the city’s dark streets, the banquet hall in Zhou Huo’s mansion was brightly lit and full of laughter.
Everyone under Zhou Huo’s camp was gathered here. Numerous servants carried delicacies of all kinds to each table, and even the hangers-on were permitted to gorge themselves.
For the female manager, all of this was an unprecedentedly luxurious experience. However, Wang Baole didn’t care at all; after arriving, he left the female manager to her own devices and walked along by himself. Entering the banquet hall, he walked over to the cultivator who had previously spoken to him about Shen Ludao.
As he walked over, seven or eight abundance eaters who had been crowding around that cultivator respectfully backed away, making space for the two mincemeat acolytes.
“We were at the altar earlier, so I couldn’t speak too much. I haven’t introduced myself yet, have I? You can call me Master Middlesea.” The mincemeat acolyte smiled as he looked at Wang Baole.
“Fellow Daoist Middlesea, what were you talking about earlier when you said there were only two situations where mincemeat acolytes could kill each other?” Grabbing a jug of wine from a servant on the side, Wang Baole asked politely.
Obviously, this Master Middlesea wanted to make friends with Wang Baole, so he answered with a smile.
“The first situation is when a new mincemeat acolyte rises up. For example, Fellow Daoist Icespirit, your killing of Master Cloudridge falls into this category. In your case, Gluttony Lord Zhou Huo protected you from consequences in an attempt to win you over.
“The second situation is… when a mincemeat acolyte is about to breakthrough. When that time comes, no one will rebuke them even if they devour another mincemeat acolyte.
“Shen Ludao hasn’t quite reached that point, but he’s not far away. It’s rumored that his true power is far beyond what’s shown on the surface. Fellow Daoist Icespirit, you should be careful.” At this point, Master Middlesea looked deeply at Wang Baole.