Fruit of Sentient Intent

Once the red soup went down their throats, the expressions of the three from the Sword Domain shifted violently. Evidently, not everyone was like Li Fan, able to peacefully relish the wondrous depths of sentient desire on their very first tasting. Ji Xingdao's eyes bulged, his aura surging and plummeting like rolling waves. Situ Tiantian's brow knitted tightly, her face cold as frost. Around her, countless flakes of frost and snow seemed to whirl about—yet upon closer inspection, those white ice crystals took the distinct form of flying swords! Zhao Xing fared the best of the trio. It was as though he had merely downed a bowl of exceptionally fiery liquor; a flash of color washed over his face, and he soon returned to normal. Paying no heed to how the three from the Sword Domain performed, Scholar Zhu draped his long robe about himself and slowly stepped down from the high seat. The hunched body concealed beneath the robe let out an eerie creaking and cracking sound of unnatural growth, quickly stretching into a slender, graceful figure. A woman's plaintive singing voice, weeping and whispering, gently resonated through the hall: "Rainbow feather robes in the bower of bliss, Golden chalices, jade nectar, a banquet drawn long. Drums and pipes shake the sky as dancers flutter light, Lanterns flicker dim, the night not yet waned..." Scholar Zhu sang softly, dancing as he sang. Li Fan stared unblinkingly at that shapely, faceless figure. Accompanied by Scholar Zhu's singing, the gates of the City Lord's Manor seemed to swing wide open all at once. What had been an utter silence was instantly plunged into a roiling cauldron. The voices of myriad living beings from across the City of Ultimate Bliss converged from every direction, gathering within the manor. In a daze, Li Fan saw everything unfolding within the City of Ultimate Bliss. Laughter, abandon, strife, debauchery, delight, euphoria, drunkenness, joy. Scenes of countless beings reveling in unrestrained pleasure exploded simultaneously before Li Fan's eyes. "The City of Ultimate Bliss, boundless bliss." Yet all of it changed abruptly with a sudden shift in Scholar Zhu's tone: "Joy turned to grief is the way of the world, Blades clash and shadows flit, blood churned to paste. Specters stalk the night as ten thousand ghosts rise, Heads packed as earthen soil, bones laid as beams..." His voice turned dreadfully sinister, brimming with murderous intent. *Clang!* A sound like a sharp sword striking the stone floor jolted the countless beings in the City of Ultimate Bliss awake, tearing them from their dream of supreme bliss. The brilliant lanterns went out at once, plunging the City of Ultimate Bliss into utter darkness. Yet the darkness did not last long. A blood-red sun slowly crested the horizon, casting its crimson glare into the city. The slaughter had already begun. Those who had been affectionate bedmates through the long night of bliss suddenly turned on each other with drawn blades, locked in mortal combat. All friendship, all kin, all love— In the long, agonizing night that followed, none of it held any meaning whatsoever. Survival alone was the sole and eternal truth. ... "Die, die, die, die!" "Kill!" "Aaargh!" Agonized screams and crazed shouts of slaughter sounded in the City Lord's Manor like a grand symphony. Scholar Zhu had already shed the dancer's guise, reverting to the hunched old man. With a look of utter relish, he watched the butchery across the city. Meanwhile, having gradually shaken off the illusions of the red soup, the three young cultivators from the Sword Domain turned pale and trembled violently when confronted with these gruesome sights showcasing the deepest human depravity. Li Fan likewise put on an appearance of intense discomfort. "What a pity. Such a spectacle ought to have been enjoyed by more guests." "Yet only a few juniors like you came." Scholar Zhu's voice sounded somewhat desolate and lonely. Yet the slaughter in the City of Ultimate Bliss did not halt on that account. "Still, we cannot let it grow dull and cost me my face." Scholar Zhu's demonic voice echoed in everyone's ears. Within the City of Ultimate Bliss, yet another variable manifested. Those souls who had already been slain actually rose from the dead. Yet they were not living beings—they returned as incorporeal, shadowy ghosts. At this juncture, they had two choices. The first was to act directly as vengeful spirits and claim their enemies' lives on the spot, slaying their foes outright; however, doing so would cause their ghost forms to disperse into nothingness. The second choice was to possess a survivor and exact their full revenge through that vessel. The possessed survivor's strength would effectively double, greatly increasing the chances of vengeance. Naturally, anyone slain by them would likewise turn into a ghost. In their ghost forms, they could attack one another, but the outcome was invariably mutual destruction. Thus, most chose to seek out other living survivors to possess. As the carnage raged on, the City of Ultimate Bliss gradually held only a dwindling band of possessed survivors. If a possessed survivor was defeated, no new ghost would be born, and the possessing ghost would perish alongside them. The slaughter slowly marched toward its finale. When only a hundred survivors remained, the hosts could finally perceive the ghost inhabiting them. They could choose to coexist, or they could unleash a mental assault until one was destroyed. Whoever triumphed over the ghost would fully absorb the other's power for their own use. "Tell me, among the final victors, will there be more humans or more ghosts?" Scholar Zhu suddenly asked those present in the hall. "At the close of this ceremony, ten victors shall remain. The four of you will each receive one fruit. Whoever guesses correctly shall be rewarded with an extra one." Hearing this, the three from the Sword Domain showed looks of delight. The terror and pity they had felt while watching the slaughter in the city vanished in an instant. "I wager more ghosts will survive," Situ Tiantian declared loudly, brimming with confidence. The other two from the Sword Domain also offered their own predictions—some guessed ghosts, some guessed humans. When it came to Li Fan, he pondered for a moment before answering seriously, "Out of the ten victors, I believe humans and ghosts will each claim half." The three from the Sword Domain looked at him in surprise. Scholar Zhu cast a deeply meaningful glance at Li Fan, but said nothing. The sun rose to its zenith, and the slaughter in the City of Ultimate Bliss continued to play out. Those capable of surviving the initial massacre had already acquired a measure of survival sense. Lurking, hiding, striking from the shadows—the tempo of the slaughter gradually slowed. Yet as the city steadily contracted, they were forced into closer quarters, accelerating the pace of the game once more. Watching repeatedly brought aesthetic fatigue. Having seen so much, no matter how gory or bizarre it became, it eventually felt ordinary. The three from the Sword Domain had grown numb, their faces no longer showing any emotion. They even began to feel a touch of impatience. Only Li Fan continued to carefully observe the differing actions and choices of every single being in the City of Ultimate Bliss when confronted with life and death. It was said that the City of Ultimate Bliss cycled every three years, and indeed, this slaughter lasted three full years. It seemed as though some mysterious force behind the scenes was secretly manipulating the progression of the game. Over those three years, the three from the Sword Domain drank bowl after bowl of the red soup. By now, drinking it was no different from drinking plain boiled water—it elicited no sensation at all. Li Fan's treatment was far less generous. He was granted only six bowls in total during the first year. Afterward, Scholar Zhu deliberately ignored him. Li Fan understood that Scholar Zhu was gradually building up the tolerance of the three Sword Domain cultivators so that they would not be overwhelmed when consuming the fruit, lest the boundless intent of slaughter within reduce them to drooling idiots. They belonged to the Sword Domain, after all, so Scholar Zhu had to show a modicum of deference. As for "Ma Tiande"... His life or death was entirely up to fate. The three-year period finally reached its end. The blood-red sun vanished beneath the horizon. With only a small fraction of its area remaining, the City of Ultimate Bliss once more fell into darkness. Yet at this moment, time seemed to freeze; every single survivor stood motionless, as if locked in ice. The lights and shadows contracted, shooting directly into the City Lord's Manor. Shimmering with a faint glow, the survivors flew out from the phantom projection of the City of Ultimate Bliss. Ghostly shadows and humans separated from one another. "Five ghosts, five humans? You actually managed to guess it, kid!" Situ Tiantian looked at Li Fan in mild shock. The three from the Sword Domain were somewhat crestfallen that their extra prize had flown away. Li Fan, however, knew that Scholar Zhu had just spared their lives. With the strength of these youngsters, swallowing a single fruit was already pushing their limits. Swallowing two in a row would leave them zero chance of survival. *It seems this Scholar Zhu is truly a petty man,* Li Fan sneered inwardly. Judging by how precisely the duration of the slaughter in the City of Ultimate Bliss could be manipulated, the entire process was nothing more than going through the motions. The final outcome rested entirely upon a single thought from Scholar Zhu. Because Li Fan had guessed an even split between humans and ghosts, the final survivors were destined to be equally divided. "Not bad. These two fruits are yours!" Glowing with faint white light, the survivors curled their bodies inward as if returning to the womb, shaping themselves into fruits. Scholar Zhu selected the two plumpest among them and handed them to Li Fan personally. Li Fan bowed in gratitude. The three from the Sword Domain wore resentful looks, yet none dared act out. Harboring their dissatisfaction, they could only swallow their own fruits in a single gulp. Li Fan sensed Scholar Zhu's gaze fixed squarely upon him. He followed suit, swallowing the first fruit down into his belly. There was no sensation of taste at all; the Fruit of Sentient Intent melted the moment it passed his lips. An accumulation of countless intents, memories, and emotions exploded violently within Li Fan's mind. It was as though a terrifying storm capable of tearing everything apart had erupted out of nowhere on flat ground. Li Fan's original consciousness was swept up by this gale, entirely helpless and in grave peril. *As the saying goes, 'The intent of all beings can temper all gods.'* *If I were using my divine sense—tempered through a hundred reincarnations and reflecting the Great Dao—no storm, however violent, could shake me in the slightest. But Ma Tiande possesses no such power...* *Unless I tap into the Dao Net.* Hiding within the storm of sentient intent, Li Fan peered at Scholar Zhu beside him, cold laughter ringing in his heart. He had already formulated his countermeasure long ago. *Within the Dao Net, there are living pillars of Nameless True Immortals.* *From one of those nodes, I faintly sensed an aura remarkably similar to Scholar Zhu's...* Li Fan's thoughts spun rapidly. In reality, Ma Tiande was already weeping tears and snot, his face contorting violently. A single face managed to display several different expressions at once. His hands and feet flailed uncontrollably, paddling about like a drowning man clutching desperately for any available straw. Scholar Zhu wore an expression of sheer relish as he watched the struggling Ma Tiande. Yet out of the corner of his eye, he could not help but glance toward the heavens outside. The death of a Dao Net operator would generate a signal that traveled through the Dao Net directly to the Governing Council. Within the Shuo Star Sea resided surviving factions from various cultivation realms and different star seas—even former True Immortals. Their insidious, secretive methods were endless. Only the Dao Net could ignore all interference and transmit an operator's status to the Governing Council in real time. This was the means by which the Shuo Star Sea maintained its stability. Yet it had become the very event Scholar Zhu eagerly awaited. This was the true reason he had wanted "Ma Tiande" dead all along. However, what Scholar Zhu anticipated did not come to pass. The Dao Net operator caught in death throes seemed to have genuinely grabbed hold of something. Though his face remained hideously twisted, Scholar Zhu could tell that his core sense of self had never dispersed. "Hm?" This piqued Scholar Zhu's interest. "What is this...?" Peering closely, Scholar Zhu's expression suddenly shifted. He saw inside the other man's sea of consciousness. Threatened with imminent demise, Ma Tiande had instinctively drafted a massive quantity of meaningless Daoyuan symbols. These Daoyuan symbols did not form valid Dao Net commands, and thus failed to provoke any disturbance in the net. Yet strangely, they aligned into a long embankment that held back the storm wrought by the Fruit of Sentient Intent. *By sheer happenstance, without establishing a formal connection to the Dao Net, he managed to draw upon its power?* Scholar Zhu possessed a profound understanding of the Dao Net as well. He had already deduced the root cause behind Ma Tiande's survival. The Dao Net had become a tangible entity. Although it had fallen under the manipulation of certain individuals, its masters could only regulate its actions and instructions; they could not control all of its instinctive reactions. After all, what the Dao Net traced was the Great Dao of heaven and earth itself. *A Daoyuan command touched the Dao Net.* *Theoretically, this ought to have triggered an anomaly in the net, but the Governing Council suppressed the disturbance from their end.* *Out of endless combinations, he just so happened to strike one that preserved his life.* *A mere coincidence?* Scholar Zhu remained silent. He did not intervene, allowing Li Fan to consume and assimilate the first fruit. The storm of intent gradually subsided. Li Fan came to his senses from the haze of agony. Before he even had time to appreciate the changes brought by consuming the fruit, Scholar Zhu spoke coldly, "Carry on. There is still one left." Li Fan froze slightly, appearing unable to comprehend why Scholar Zhu was acting so callous. Even so, he gritted his teeth and swallowed the second fruit into his stomach. Within his sea of consciousness, the storm erupted once more. This time, it seemed several degrees more violent than the last, swallowing Li Fan's consciousness whole once again. *Let us see if you can strike such a coincidence a second time!* Scholar Zhu watched Ma Tiande's sea of consciousness intently right from the start. Sure enough, once the futile struggle subsided and consciousness began to slip away, Ma Tiande's dying instincts once more summoned forth countless Daoyuan characters. The command formed this time differed completely from the previous one. *It seems good fortune does not strike twice.* Scholar Zhu felt a hint of satisfaction, waiting for the storm of sentient intent to consume Ma Tiande entirely. Yet very quickly, his expression turned rather peculiar. This time, the Daoyuan symbols did not form a protective embankment. Instead, they manifested as an entirely separate storm. The forces of the two storms canceled each other out, leaving Ma Tiande completely unharmed once again!