š Chapter 1357 - Hope
āYou donāt trust your captor to grant you freedom. In that caseā¦ what I can offer you is hope, hope for unlimited possibilities.ā After a moment of silence, Wang Baole lifted his head and looked at the Tongueās Desire Lord atop the giant cauldron.
He naturally understood the meaning behind the other partyās words earlier.
āFirst, he told me what the upper worldās bargaining chip was. Next, he expressed his personal attitude, and finally, he gave me this proposition.
āNow, it all depends onā¦ whether we can reach an agreement to cooperate with each other.ā
Wang Baole knew that the Desire Lord had already more or less seen through his identity. Although there were some risks in cooperating with an outsider, for the Tongueās Desire Lord, it wasnāt a big deal.
If he failed, then at most he would end up suppressed for a while. But if he and Wang Baole succeededā¦ he would win true freedom.
By now, Wang Baole could conclude that the Desire Lords of this World Realm were part of the original 108 Almighties of Source Universe Dao Void. The reason they hadnāt been turned into batteries like the people in the Buried Realm was becauseā¦ they had chosen to bow their heads. Thanks to that, they avoided being sealed, but in exchange, they lost their freedom for all eternity.
Among them, there were some who had already given up hope, and there were also some betting on the Emperorās charity. As for the Tongueās Desire Lordā¦ obviously, he was someone who still had fire burning in his heart, waiting for an opportunity to break free.
Wang Baole understood all of this, and that was why he couldnāt make any promises. All he had to offer was hope, and in all these countless yearsā¦ perhaps, his appearance in Source Universe Dao Void at this time was the greatest hope and opportunity for the Desire Lords to escape their shackles.
Thus, after speaking, Wang Baole wasnāt in a hurry. He silently waited for the Desire Lordās reply.
Soon, he heard the sound of heavy breathing. However, the Desire Lord didnāt respond instantly, instead changing the topic.
āThe Gluttony Festival has begun. Master Icespirit, this festival was prepared specially for you. Come, letās go.ā With that, the lump of meat above the giant cauldron slowly stood up and waved a hand, causing the surroundings to immediately blur.
A moment later, Wang Baole and the Desire Lord disappeared from the City Lord Mansion and appeared above the altar at the center of Tongueās Desire City.
As soon as he appeared, Wang Baole heard deafening cheers coming from all around. He looked down from the altar to see dense crowds of Tongueās Desire City residents.
At his current level, what he saw wasnāt just the cultivators themselves. He could also clearly see the dense aura of tongueās desire radiating out from their bodies.
This aura was incredibly nourishing for a cultivatorās law of tongueās desire, especially after the Desire Lord brought out the golden tentacles. In an instant, the aura of desire in the surroundings grew even greater.
āMaster Icespirit, arenāt you going to absorb it?ā The Desire Lordās voice echoed in Wang Baoleās ears. Wang Baoleās eyes flashed brightly, and he didnāt hesitate to unleash his law of tongueās desire, turning his body into a vortex more than 500 zhang high.
In an instant, the aura of tongueās desire in the surroundings crazily surged toward Wang Baole, fusing into his body and gradually augmenting his law of tongueās desire.
This continued for about an incense stickās worth of time.
Because this Gluttony Festival was held especially for Wang Baole, the Desire Lord didnāt absorb any aura of desire during this period of time. The same was true for the eight Gluttony Lords; however, compared to the Desire Lord, the Gluttony Lords were extremely shocked.
Zhou Huo was dumbstruck, and Tuo Lingziās face was pale. As for the other Gluttony Lords, they all felt their hearts trembling. Only those two whose Desire Bodies surpassed five hundred zhang were slightly calmer, but their eyes still showed caution and wariness.
Wang Baoleās five-hundred-zhang vortex had thoroughly startled them. After all, the hallmark of a Gluttony Lord was a vortex of merely one hundred zhang; with Wang Baoleās five hundred zhang, he already towered over multiple other Gluttony Lords. Moreover, he had reached this height after being a mere mincemeat acolyte just a little while ago. This rate of advancement was naturally incredibly shocking.
As various thoughts emerged in the minds of the Gluttony Lords, Wang Baole stopped his absorption. During this past incense stickās worth of time, he had absorbed about 30% of the surrounding aura of tongueās desire. It wasnāt that he didnāt want to keep going, but rather that he couldnāt. After all, it took time to digest the aura of tongueās desire, and his capacity, even as a Gluttony Lord, wasnāt unlimited.
This was also why the Gluttony Festival was only held once a month. In comparison, devouring other cultivators who cultivated the law of tongueās desire was easier, as their laws could be directly absorbed.
In any case, after Wang Baole finished, the Desire Lord swallowed half the aura of tongueās desire in the area, and the other Gluttony Lords also took their turn. At this point, the Gluttony Festival was already over for the upper echelons of Tongueās Desire City.
After the Desire Lord left, invitations came from the other Gluttony Lords one after another. Wang Baole didnāt neglect them; first, he visited Zhou Huo, and in the following days, he went over to each of the other Gluttony Lords.
When he visited Tuo Lingzi, he found that the other partyās attitude had changed a lot. Tuo Lingzi was extremely polite and also thanked Wang Baole for taking care of Cheng Lingzi in the Buried Realm.
Due to their initial meeting, Tuo Lingzi and Wang Baole had originally been at odds. But with Cheng Lingziās mediation and Tuo Lingziās wariness of Wang Baoleās strength, the visit ended up with both sides on good terms with each other.
Meanwhile, the fame of Ice Spirit Water had entrenched itself deeply in Tongueās Desire City, and Ice Spirit Pavilions popped up everywhere. The female manager and the others didnāt encounter any hindrances as they expanded their operations.
After all, Wang Baole was a Gluttony Lord. Because of his appearance, the pie that was Tongueās Desire City now needed to be carved up again, and his strength made it so that the other Gluttony Lords had no choice but to hand over a portion of their interests. In the end, a ninth major force appeared in Tongueās Desire City.
Half a month later, the residents of Tongueās Desire City already revered Master Icespirit as they would a god. There were originally eight city gates, but a ninth gate was built for Wang Baole. He ended up handing it over to Cheng Lingzi.
At the same time, the female manager, the dwarf, and the other original employees all spread out to different shops, running them with utmost loyalty.
Naturally, they received great benefits from doing so. By running a shop, they could absorb huge amounts of aura of tongueās desire, allowing their cultivation bases to skyrocket. If things continued like this, it would even be possible for them to become mincemeat acolytes soon.
Everything seemed to be going well, with Wang Baole having firmly established himself in Tongueās Desire City.
But he understood that all of this was merely superficial.
Wang Baoleās intuition told himā¦ that there was malice closing in on Tongueās Desire City from elsewhere in this World Realm.
This intuition proved true seven days later.
That night, a morose melody suddenly echoed throughout Tongueās Desire Cityā¦