Chapter 1479: Chapter 1479: The Temptation

When these vicious beasts roamed this world, they were rightfully considered the overlords of the region. They ruled everything and were at the very top of the food chain. A few of them, even if only a handful, could actually take on human form. Their power was truly undeniable.

The warriors in this place though, despite the overruling strength of the vicious beasts, were even more powerful than they were. Here, they were reduced into food for the Collapsing Mountain members.

A bloody horror show had begun in the center of the space—an area no more than ten thousand feet wide. Together, the members of the Collapsing Mountain race formed an irregular shaped circle around the mass of dead bodies. A beastly demolition, one might say.

Only certain members of the Collapsing Mountain race were deemed with the responsibility for dismantling the beasts and they effected their work with great skill and precision. The beasts were picked apart one by one, the race members working like a team. It wasn't long before entire flaps of skin were being peeled back, a ripping sound resonating against the walls of the confined area. Blood soaked the ground, creating dark red almost black puddles at their feet. The beasts were dismembered, their flesh cut clean, their bones removed and their tendons torn.

For an onlooker, the scene was extremely traumatic and sickening. Disgusting, even. However, these beasts were comparable to a world lord and every part of their bodies was extremely valuable, to say the least! With careful and quick work of their weapons, the Collapsing Mountain members dismembered the beasts in no time.

Once all the beasts were taken apart, the working members took a step back. A strong stench of blood suddenly hit them. There was so much blood and the smell was so strong.

With a quick glance around the space, it was clear that the martial artists and the children were used to the scene and the stench. The martial artist staying next to Zen appeared to be feeling particularly uncomfortable. His breathing seemed labored and he clenched his chest with his hand, his facial expression distorted.

The other martial artists were in a similar state: they gasped for air while lying on the ground with their eyes closed. Of course, from their angle, they couldn't see all of what was really going on. Zen, on the other hand, had his back pressed up against the wall and from where he was sitting, he could observe the entire scene.

Earlier, before the blood show, Zen had discovered a multitude of grooves at the center of the square. At the time, he had thought that there was perhaps some form of giant magical array located there, but he understood better now. The Collapsing Mountain race didn't need to use any kind of magical array. Those grooves, also known as the blood grooves as he learned, were only used to divert the blood pouring from the vicious beasts they tore apart.

The grooves were necessary due to the incredible amount of blood that could come from a single berserk beast. Once the fierce beasts were sliced open, the blood gushed like a river, and without the blood grooves to divert the flow, the tribe would probably flood in a sea of red. The beasts' blood essence was extremely vigorous. Zen didn't know where the blood travelled to or where they accumulated it all. What he did know though, was that such a large amount of blood from such powerful berserk beasts would be unbelievably precious...

Once the beast-slaughter was done and taken care of, it was time to celebrate! Enormous bonfires began to grow ablaze one after another, their orange-yellow flames filling the darkness with a warm glow.

With celebrations like these, the members of the Collapsing Mountain race only used a special kind of wood. When they burned it, it gave off a unique fragrance. Their nostrils flared as they inhaled deeply, the smoke and fragrance burning the back of their throats. It felt like victory.

Zen might not have eaten in a few years, but the smell overwhelmed him with a sudden, shocking hunger. The wood's fragrance worked on his appetite, causing his stomach to grumble. Zen thought that the smell would make anyone hungry, even a human.

“Growl...”

Did Zen's stomach grumble so loudly that he heard it himself? A look of confusion washed over his face. He turned around and paid closer attention to those surrounding him. Suddenly, he could hear a series of grunts, grumbles and groans coming from all directions around him.

Laquisha was lying not too far off from Zen. He watched her as she grabbed her gut, as if to stop it from rumbling. Even her stomach was growling out of hunger right now!

Of course, every martial artist present had trained for far longer than Zen had. Worse off than him in his opinion, they hadn't eaten anything in over 10, 000 years. The fragrant cyan-wood filled their lungs and forced them all into the hands of temptation.

“Ah, here they go again...”

“Every time night falls, it's the hardest time to endure! I'm getting sick and tired of it.”

“It just really makes me want to dig my teeth into a piece of meat so bad!”

“Awooo...”

A warrior could even be heard crying and wailing into the night. The hunger pains had become overwhelming. The martial artists felt as though they were on the brink of starvation. 𝑅𝘈Nò𝔟ÈＳ

The overwhelming and delicious smell of burning wood was like a poison—one that made them all feel terribly hungry.

It was true that when martial artists had gone through the Soul Sea Realm, the Spirit Supreme Realm, and the Spirit Transformation Realm, their willpower became much stronger than any ordinary person. Martial artists having crossed such realms could even endure the cruelest of tortures without shedding a single tear. Not all of them reached such extents, but those who did were bound to be the successors of certain extremely powerful forces or amazing talents. If the latter wasn't the case, the martial artist in question would have led a life of torment and pain.

Currently though, and now more than ever, these martial artists had actually become incomparably weak. Temptation was breaking them.

“This can't be possible...” Zen was completely shocked by the warriors' reactions, his eyes darting from one martial artist to another.

Laquisha was lying on the ground, but upon hearing Zen's words, she said, “That is the Calamity Dispelling Wood, and the fragrance it emits is the Calamity Dispelling Fragrance which can activate the most primitive and original appetite of all living beings. This kind of wood is a special product of the Divine Refinement Forbidden Land.”

To the north of the Collapsing Mountain race, there was an immense, lush forest known as the Calamity Dispelling Forest. Most of the trees in the forest were tens of thousands of feet high. The forest covered several acres and the trees were so thick with foliage that one couldn't see the sky above them when walking through it.

Here, the Calamity Dispelling Trees emitted the faint fragrance all the time. No need to burn their wood.

In the Calamity Dispelling Forest, all living beings' desires were magnified countless times over. These creatures' instincts were also stimulated to their absolute limit.

From small reptiles and ants to big birds, from low-level creatures to top of the food chain beasts, their sensations were amplified and their strongest desires were aroused. They crazily devoured one another and killed each other. At the same time, they copulated frantically and continued the cycle with their offspring.

It was a hell on earth for those who lived here and coupled here and for the young that were raised here. On the other hand though, this frantic breeding ground was a living paradise for the growth of any vicious beast.

A martial artist entering the Calamity Dispelling Forest would just as much end up giving into their most basic desires. Anyone breathing the oxygen provided by these trees would fold beneath the pressure of temptation in no time. All desires were pushed to their extremes, even the most insignificant. After the desires to eat, to love and to possess had been magnified countless times, people would act like the beasts.

“They light these bonfires and eat heartily here every day. These people, who have stayed here for a long time, also know that it is time for the members of the Collapsing Mountain race to eat, so they stimulate their appetite,” Laquisha explained calmly.

Zen nodded. “There's no wonder their eyes lit up the way they did when they saw that piece of meat earlier. How long have they endured this? Years and years at the very least...”

Anyone who was tied up, cuffed and forced to look at delicious food that they could not consume every day would go insane. Sure, the warriors were strong willed but this torture was on another level. The Calamity Dispelling Fragrance in the air disturbed their levels and notions of desire, making self-control impossible.

As Zen spoke, his gaze fell on Laquisha.

Although he'd spoken to her in the past, he hadn't paid much attention to this woman before. Now, he could do nothing but take notice. His eyes looked her up and down, drinking in the beauty he had never noticed before.

Laquisha was also a rare fairy-like figure with the typical neat and tidy hair. She also had a delicate, beautiful face. She wore a simple dress with a dark pattern on it, and was wrapped in a long elegant robe. Although she was lying on the ground, her exquisite and curvaceous figure suddenly appeared utterly attractive.

“Stop looking at me!”

Laquisha squealed, as she glared at Zen with a warning in her big, pretty eyes.

Caught off guard and snapped out of his thoughts, Zen held his breath and turned his head slowly in order to face the other direction. Although he couldn't see her straight on, his peripheral vision still caught glimpses of her.

The Calamity Dispelling Fragrance had the power to arouse a person's appetite of course, but it had this same effect on most any desire. Under regular circumstances, only male martial artists would refine their bodies. Because none of these male martial artists had sexual desires for each other before, their desires were thus not enhanced by the wood. Now though, the situation was different. Laquisha was a woman, she was here, and she was ravishing.

And that was when Laquisha finally understood Zen's reaction, too. She blushed with embarrassment and decided it was best to chant the Heart Purifying Spell in order to calm herself down. Was she starting to feel the increased sexual arousal as well?

When all the bonfires were flaming high, sending sparks flying in all directions like mini fireworks, it was time for the warriors to face the most painful moment of all! Worse than any form of torment or torture, what they had to face now was the climax of absolute misery.

Giant chunks of meat had been hauled up into the air and were now rolling and tumbling over the raging flames. The bonfire feast had begun! As the raw meat began to grizzle beneath the flames and the chunks of fat exploded due to the incredible heat, a smell that made everyone run at the mouth quickly wafted over.

The smells, odors and fragrances of the cooking meat was indescribable. To the martial artists, it felt like the devil sitting on their shoulder, whispering in their ear to give in, stirring their most primitive of nerves.

“UGH...”

“I just can't take this anymore!”

“I'm completely starved!”

Most of the warriors, lying on the ground, were groaning, grunting and screaming. It was clear that they were enduring an unimaginable pain. Genuine torture without the use of any physical weapons.

The Collapsing Mountain race had become accustomed to hearing the martial artists' cries of hunger. Of course, causing them this pain was intentional, but over time their moaning and groaning had become simply annoying. One of the race members walked briskly over to a warrior. “Shut up!” he said coldly, resisting the urge to kick him in the ribs at the same time. “Do you have the ability? Because if you do, then you can get up, walk right over and enjoy some delicious food and never-ending wine. Isn't that what you want, huh? If you don't have the ability, then you can't have anything to eat or get a drop to drink. And you don't have the ability, isn't that right? So continue lying there obediently!”

'If only they get up, they'd be able to eat the meat...' he thought to himself.

And over time, this was probably the biggest temptation of all!

For any warrior to walk this land, the increased desire to consume food was one of the cruelest trials that they had to go through. And any warrior knew that their lives were filled with harsh treatments and difficult physical and mental tests.

This gravitational force and desire were incomparably strong. The warriors' desires were stimulated all while the incredible power of the gravitation pressed down on them. It was simple though: Resist the terrifying force of gravitation and be rewarded with giant breakthroughs for body refiners. That was how they truly satisfied their desires.

Zen, being a newcomer here, was still highly capable of resisting the temptation of food. Laquisha's alluring figure, though, was another issue. Her silhouette kept flashing before his eyes, and he had to resist the urge to reach for her sexy curves.

'It's all so troublesome, ' Zen thought to himself, all while trying as best he could to stifle the desire in his heart and distract his mind.

He raised his gaze to the action going on a little further ahead and watched a little while as the members of the Collapsing Mountain race gobbled their food like savages, tearing at the meat with their teeth. They drank greedily in between mouthfuls, going from tipsy to straight out drunk.

There was no wonder the Collapsing Mountain members were so strong. The strength of their children even surpassed that of an ordinary martial artist. Every member gulfed down hoards of meat and food, from the youngest to the very oldest.

Zen was sure he had watched one of the younger members fill himself with food twice his weight. Eating was also an extreme talent around here. Of course, the Calamity Dispelling Fragrance was effective on Zen and the warriors, but it also had effect on the members of the Collapsing Mountain race. Their desires and needs were multiplied, too.

It was obvious that an adult member of the Collapsing Mountain race could swallow enough meat to fill an entire house! Without the Calamity Dispelling Fragrance, anyone would burst before consuming that much food.

“I... I just want to eat...”

Zen was beginning to lose himself in his thoughts when suddenly, he noticed a martial artist squirming and struggling on the ground. What was going on? The warrior suddenly stood up.

As he did so, two terribly crisp sounds rang through the air, one after the other. Those weren't expecting it covered their ears in surprise.

Crack, crack!

Zen watched as the warrior's legs began to twist at absurd angles. No bones could fold this way. The warrior's legs were broken in several places, shards of bone pressing against his skin, threatening to pierce it at any given moment.

When the martial artist erupted with his full strength, he might have held a chance at temporarily escaping the powerful attraction force. Although his mind might have had the will, his body was not capable of withstanding such vicious strength. The martial artist collapsed to the ground, breaking beneath the interaction between his own powers and that of the attraction force.

And at that, Zen finally sighed with emotion. Here, in this world, there was no such thing as a free lunch. Sure, it might be wise to raise one's strength in this Divine Refinement Forbidden Land, but one would also have to experience the most brutal oppression and torture.