Chapter 120
“Sys—System, are you okay? If you’re still online, say something!” Lu Chuan urgently called to #888. “What’s Cang Jiu doing? He keeps digging in Xi Jiangyuan’s head—is he scooping out Jiangyuan’s brain? His brain isn’t that tiny!”
#888, already tense, almost crashed from the remark.
[Ahhhhh host, that’s not his brain—that’s a proper Seed of Desire!!!]
[Host, you’re right, sob sob, something’s wrong with this Cang Jiu.]
[The Seed of Desire belongs to a true god—why is it still here?]
[What’s the main system playing at? Did it imprison a true god?]
#888 was about to overload.
It couldn’t understand.
As a system meant to cultivate gods, its job was to nurture a genuine deity.
It had thought the “Evil World Game” main system was simply using brutal elimination to pick the best candidates—even tossing in Executors or evil gods was understandable.
Who could create gods without a few failures?
But imprisoning or binding an authentic god? That was another matter entirely.
“Wait, System, I don’t get it. What’s this Seed of Desire? You keep saying ‘true god’—you’ve mentioned it before. What does that even mean?” Lu Chuan was bewildered by #888’s flood of words.
What was all this?
[Host, I originally thought the so-called gods in this game were just evil spirits posing as true gods, because this universe had no real gods. I never imagined the God of Desire here was the genuine article.]
#888 itself found it incredible.
True gods were almost immortal; wherever there was life, there was the soil for true gods to arise.
But what was with this game?
“How do you know it’s real?” Lu Chuan asked curiously.
[Because of the Seed of Desire,] #888 replied matter-of-factly. [The Seed is the God of Desire’s power made manifest. Each seed is condensed divine energy. Once you become the God of Wealth, host, you’ll also have your own Seeds of Wealth—and you’ll be able to scatter them across the world.]
“What do these seeds do?”
[They’re incredibly useful. Each divine seed is like a god’s extra life. Once it matures, it can become an exact duplicate of the god, yet remain attached to the original. If the god’s true body dies or is imprisoned, the external seed grows into a new god. Authority and divinity can pass between them. As long as the seed survives, nothing can truly defeat a god,] #888 said proudly. [But only true gods have this ability; the others—evil spirits—are just cheap knock-offs.]
Lu Chuan rubbed his chin. “So, the Cang Jiu in front of us should be formed from a Seed of Desire. The real him isn’t here. This seed in Xi Jiangyuan was just to draw our attention—and the main system’s attention.”
What Cang Jiu truly wanted must be far more precious than the seed.
“So what’s a true god, then?” Lu Chuan asked. “What’s the difference between true gods and evil gods?”
[Humans like to divide gods into ‘good’ and ‘evil,’ but gods don’t have morality. We separate true and false gods by their origins and the time of their birth.] #888 explained. [True gods are usually conceptual gods, though not every concept god is a true one. For example, the God of Dream counts as a true god. Other examples: Death, Life, Wealth, Desire, Beauty—all true gods. Later-born figures like the God of Steel, War, Light, etc., don’t qualify as true gods.]
“I feel like the God of Light sounds more like a righteous god than the God of Desire,” Lu Chuan answered seriously. “The God of Desire—just hearing that name, you know it’s not some upright god.”
[That’s just how humans see it.] #888 replied. [Plenty of humans also say ‘money is the root of all evil.’ Host, what’s your take on that saying?]
“Bullshit! Only broke losers say things like that,” Lu Chuan shot back without hesitation.
[Desire is the same. As long as there is life, there will always be desire. Animals wanting to eat their fill is desire; humans wanting their own home is also desire. From the very birth of life, desire has always been there. The God of Wealth as well—when animals build nests, those nests are their wealth. When a human is born, they are their parents’ wealth.] #888 explained. [If you divide things by time, then whatever exists alongside intelligent life is a righteous god. Anything that doesn’t arise with life itself is not. Light exists regardless of humans, but the God of Light only appeared once humans conceived the concept of light. So technically, that god isn’t a righteous one.]
Lu Chuan’s head was spinning.
“Okay, so what you’re really saying is—the gods that were born earlier already took up all the righteous-god slots, and the later-born concept gods don’t count as real righteous gods. Right?” Lu Chuan summed it up neatly. Gods, in the end, were still about fists; if you didn’t become a righteous god, odds were your fists weren’t big enough.
[Host, when we’re talking about gods, it’s better to phrase things a little more delicately.] #888 said this, which was as good as admitting Lu Chuan had it right.
Basically, the concept gods fought it out, decided who got the title of righteous gods, and set the criteria based on the traits of the winners.
“Then why am I even butting heads with Cang Jiu?” Lu Chuan spread his hands. “The guy’s clearly at odds with the Main God System, stirring things up behind the scenes. I’m not getting involved. He’s at least a righteous god. Me? I’m just a candidate for God of Wealth. If the big gods want to duke it out, a little stray cat like me should just sit quietly on the sidelines.”
This time, #888 agreed with Lu Chuan’s stance.
Once Cang Jiu pulled out the Seed of Desire completely, Xi Jiangyuan seemed to realize something as well, standing perfectly still.
As for Messiah, Lilus, and the others—they obediently shut their eyes.
Rule one of survival: if it’s not something they should know, they definitely didn’t want to know.
Better to have their memories erased, honestly.
—
Outside the dungeon.
“I’m hungry.” Number 18 casually tore off a chunk of something to chew on, not picky in the least.
One glance was enough for Wen Zhi to know—Number 18 was eating the dungeon’s very energy.
The Executor really was terrifying.
No one knew the origin of this dungeon better than Wen Zhi.
Back then, Wen Zhi had accompanied Xi Jiangyuan on a mission. Xi Jiangyuan’s task, as a Master-Rank player, was to hunt the God of Desire.
Their squad scouted across various dungeons, eventually learning that the real God of Desire had died centuries ago—devoured piece by piece by different Executors and gods. Its authority was scattered, and from time to time, gods who seized fragments of that authority would re-emerge under the name “God of Desire.”
Wen Zhi and the others thought this would be an easy mission.
After all, a dead, consumed god was a lot easier to deal with than a complete one.
But they underestimated it.
The evil gods chasing after the God of Desire’s authority were themselves prey to the God of Desire.
They thought they had gained its power, but in reality, they were just feeding it—nurturing the Seeds of Desire. Once those seeds absorbed enough strength, they would gather like grains of sand forming a tower, becoming the foundation for resurrecting the true God of Desire.
Then came the turning point.
In their pursuit, they inevitably ran into something they couldn’t handle.
Surrounded by a god and its zealots, their squad was on the brink of annihilation. Everyone but Wen Zhi and Xi Jiangyuan was near death, the team moments away from total wipeout.
And in that moment, Xi Jiangyuan erupted with the power of the Seed of Desire.
That lofty god was drained dry.
Xi Jiangyuan even used that power to pull his teammates back from the brink of death.
But after that, Wen Zhi noticed changes.
The more Xi Jiangyuan and the others relied on the Seed’s power, the more warped they became.
The vice-captain, once just mildly into good looks, became a shameless playboy, chasing beauty without limit, male or female.
Another teammate who had aspired to be a knight of justice turned into a violent fanatic, bent on destruction.
And Xi Jiangyuan, who’d once said, “This is my Master-Rank mission, you guys don’t have to try too hard. Even if we fail, the system won’t punish us.” — somehow shifted into being utterly obsessed with finding the true God of Desire.
Wen Zhi didn’t know if they were bewitched by desire, or if being saved by the Seed had transformed them.
Perhaps he was spared because he was still too young back then, with little attachment to love or hate, making him the least affected.
But his teammates swore nothing was wrong with them. Their sanity stats had only dipped slightly, well within “normal.”
Yet how could human desire be measured by a number?
In the end, Wen Zhi demanded Xi Jiangyuan destroy the Seed of Desire.
They thought they did.
But nothing changed. If anything, their cravings intensified. Outwardly, their dungeon-clearing speed soared. But Wen Zhi could see—they were walking a tightrope.
Until their squad finally faced annihilation again.
And this time, there was no Seed to save them.
That was when Wen Zhi understood: once human desire is awakened, nothing but the human themselves can rein it in.
The Seed of Desire doesn’t grant new cravings. It only amplifies the ones already there. A rare few prodigies can master their desires. Most, however, will drown in them—slaves to their own longings.
That’s why the God of Desire never truly died, no matter how much it was eaten or stripped of authority.
Because its essence lives on in the hearts of all sentient beings.
And after Xi Jiangyuan’s death, this dungeon arose precisely because the Seed of Desire had fused with him.
In truth—Xi Jiangyuan himself was a living Seed of Desire.
So even in death, as long as the seed wasn’t reclaimed, his desires would warp reality into this anomaly.
That’s why Wen Zhi forbade any Abyss Guild players from coming here.
He’d seen firsthand what touching the Seed did to people. It spread like a plague.
And in the end, everyone was doomed.
—
“The senior has made his move.” Number 18 swallowed the last bite, licking his lips. “Hey, human—this dungeon’s almost over. Got any last words? Better spit them out now. After that, I’ll eat you clean. Won’t hurt a bit.”
Number 18’s mouth watered. He could tell the human called Xi Jiangyuan was some sort of creation of power, though he couldn’t pinpoint which kind. Didn’t matter—he’d eaten so many things, he only cared about what was edible.
And Xi Jiangyuan was definitely the tasty kind.
“When the dungeon ends, you can do whatever you want with me,” Xi Jiangyuan smiled, then turned to Wen Zhi. “But Wen Zhi, you heard him—I don’t have much time left. I’ve been waiting here for you, just to give you this.”
He pulled a tiny glass bead from his clothes and pressed it into Wen Zhi’s hand. “This is… a fragment of the thing you once begged me to destroy. Don’t look at me like that—it’s just a tiny piece. I wrapped it in layers of dreams. You can only use its power inside dreams, and even then, only a sliver. That’s the only way to slip past the system’s notice.”
“As for everything else… you’re a vice guildmaster now. You probably don’t need it.” Xi Jiangyuan’s eyes softened. “To see you go further than all of us, to grow stronger than we ever did—even if this is the way I exist, I can say it hasn’t been all bad.”
Wen Zhi clenched the bead in his fist, teeth gritted. “You… didn’t you come back to life once already? If you still had a piece of that power, why didn’t you keep living? Tell me—why, when you could’ve survived, did you choose to die?”
“The seed grows by feeding on human desire. The first time, I wanted to live, so it let me, using my life and strength as nourishment. That was my reward—keeping a piece of its power. But the second time… I didn’t want to live anymore. Everyone but you was gone. How could I keep going alone? I thought death would bring peace. I didn’t expect it would twist me into this half-dead state instead. As long as this dungeon exists, I’ll never be free.” Xi Jiangyuan gave a bitter smile.
“Take it with you. With it, you’ll have one chance—it can save your life in a desperate moment. And if you want to find the Guildmaster, maybe it will show you the path.”
Xi Jiangyuan stepped forward and wrapped Wen Zhi in an embrace.
“Ah Zhi, don’t trust the game system too much.”
Wen Zhi froze, only to see that Xi Jiangyuan had already let him go.
“The instance is about to end.” Xi Jiangyuan looked up at the sky, which had already begun to shatter. “I’ve waited for this day far, far too long.”
Inside the instance—
Cang Jiu personally removed the Seed of Desire.
Whether it was Xi Jiangyuan or the surrounding environment, everything began to fragment.
Lu Chuan and the others could barely stand upright.
Meanwhile, the prompt sounds of the Main God System kept ringing in their ears:
[Congratulations, players, on clearing the instance “God of Desire.” Settlement evaluations and rewards will be available after the instance ends.]
[Congratulations to player [Arrival of the God of Wealth] for earning a place on the Master-Rank Leaderboard. Please check requirements and gifts after the instance ends.]
[Congratulations to players for successfully destroying the Seed of Desire.]
[Instance is about to vanish completely. Please prepare for teleportation.]
[Countdown: 10, 9, 8, 7…]
…
At that moment, Lu Chuan and all the others were wrapped in an immense force.
And just then, Lu Chuan felt as if something brushed against his mind.
Cang Jiu toyed with the gold ingot on his sword hilt and gave Lu Chuan a faint smile.
Silently, he mouthed a phrase at Lu Chuan.
As the game system teleported him away, Lu Chuan finally saw Cang Jiu’s lips clearly:
“See you again, Candidate for the God of Wealth.”
Inside the cave.
Fifty years ago, He had met Xi Jiangyuan here.
Xi Jiangyuan had been possessed by the [God of Beautiful Dreams], inching closer to devour His authority.
He had already been mostly consumed, leaving behind only a fragment of His power.
Now, a new divine being had arrived—nothing more than another vessel for cultivating a Seed of Desire.
But neither Xi Jiangyuan nor the [God of Beautiful Dreams] had realized that, hidden within the cave, there was another presence: one sent by the Main God to eliminate the [God of Beautiful Dreams].
Because the [God of Beautiful Dreams], by forcibly entering a player’s body, had already drawn the attention of the Main God System.
Those who disobeyed the system’s rules were destined to be expelled, to become food for the Executors, sharpening the Main God’s blade.
By coincidence, the Executor who had come this time had once been among those who partook in the flesh of the [God of Desire].
Those who chased the life of the [God of Desire] could not help but be tempted by desire.
Xi Jiangyuan, as the vessel, harbored a burning wish at the brink of death—becoming the best nourishment for the Seed of Desire, as well as the perfect lure for the Main God System.
The system would grant Xi Jiangyuan corresponding abilities, assign him to hunt the [God of Desire], and use him to cultivate the seed until it ripened, feeding the game of Evil World.
And the Executor… the Executor would become His chance to break free.
After all, what body could be more suitable than that of an Executor—predator of gods, almost undying?
This time, He could lie low, recover His authority bit by bit under the system’s watchful eye.
[As you wish, Xi Jiangyuan.]
[You will live. You will gain everything you long for in the life ahead. But you must also bear the price of the Seed of Desire.]
[You will be entangled with gods all your life. Revived by them, and ultimately to die by them. Only in rarest chances can you correct this mistake.]
“I… I agree.” Xi Jiangyuan couldn’t clearly hear what the divine voice was saying, but he knew that as long as he could live, he’d accept any bargain.
[Transaction complete.]
Unaware, the resurrected Xi Jiangyuan walked out of the cave.
The Executor standing nearby didn’t strike.
Players were the Main God’s property—without an order, he couldn’t touch them.
His mission was singular: eliminate the [God of Beautiful Dreams].
But the [God of Beautiful Dreams] was unwilling to die here.
He had been so close to seizing the [God of Desire]’s authority, with a chance to become the true God of Dreams—how could he perish at the Executor’s hands?
He lashed out wildly at the Executor before him.
This Executor ranked low; he lacked immortality. If he tried hard enough, escape might still be possible.
If he could get away, he could prepare more thoroughly next time and return to claim the final, largest portion of the [God of Desire]’s authority.
The [God of Beautiful Dreams]’ plan was meticulous.
His power could draw the Executor into a void of dreams—even a moment’s distraction might let Him flee.
But silently, He hadn’t noticed His dream had been infiltrated.
Nor did He know that this Executor had once tasted the flesh of the [God of Desire], along with other gods and Executors, dividing the undying deity to prevent its resurrection.
The next moment—
A blinding divine radiance filled the cave, locking the [God of Beautiful Dreams] in place, consuming Him bit by bit.
Against a True God, a wounded lesser deity unskilled in battle had no chance.
In the next heartbeat, the [God of Beautiful Dreams] was slain by the Executor.
“Report… Main God, the [God of Beautiful Dreams] has been eliminated.”
“Reporting again: [God of Beautiful Dreams] eliminated. Mission complete.”
“Reporting to the Main God…”
The Executor in the cave spoke mechanically, over and over, contacting the system.
A different divine power veiled his eyes.
His body, quietly, was being devoured—corroded.
He stood there for a long, long time.
So long that, finally, two more Executors were sent by the Main God. They found in the cave the slowly regenerating Executor.
“Looks like he forcibly devoured the [God of Beautiful Dreams]. He can’t withstand it—his sanity’s too low to maintain human form, he’s about to lose control.”
“If he loses control, perfect. We can eat him and replenish ourselves.” The other spoke casually. “And maybe we’ll climb the ranks—being stuck at 20th is too low. I want to rise further.”
“Main God wants him brought back first. After all, he’s Executor Number 99, capable of handling god-devouring tasks.”
“Fair enough.”
The Executors shifted into their true forms, carrying their unstable comrade on their backs. They only had to wait for him to lose control—then they could kill him openly.
Two Seeds of Desire spread from the unconscious Executor Number 99, creeping along to infect the two newcomers.
Desire does not die.
He will return.
(Author’s Note: The God of Desire, devoured by the Executors, has begun to revive within one of them.)
The freshly-born Cang Jiu isn’t the full God of Desire, but he appreciates mortals who face their own cravings. To him, Lu Chuan is practically a devout believer—pity he’s a candidate for the God of Wealth, or else he’d certainly take him as a contender for godhood.
They had thought at the time that it was because Cang Jiu valued Lu Chuan’s abilities, but in truth—it was because he had seen through Lu Chuan’s identity!
“After that, he kept appearing in front of me, probably to confirm who I was and to win my trust.” Lu Chuan thought for a moment before continuing. “And also, Xi Jiangyuan’s Mutated Dungeon is strange. It’s been around way too long. Before Cang Jiu came, no Executor ever showed up to clear it. Several waves of players had already gone in.”
If from the very beginning Xi Jiangyuan’s dream had held the Seed of Desire, then it all made sense.
Cang Jiu knew better than anyone what was hidden in Xi Jiangyuan’s dungeon. He had just been waiting for the chance to reclaim the seed.
Perhaps Xi Jiangyuan’s dream still held other powers too.
[The power of the God of Beautiful Dreams comes from the God of Dream. Everything about Xi Jiangyuan stems from dreams. If the God of Desire truly left his power and seed inside dreams, that means it was removed from reality. Unless it’s a subordinate deity of the same source as the Dream God, other gods would find it very difficult to locate the God of Desire’s power within the dream realm.]
By working backwards bit by bit, #888 and Lu Chuan pieced together just how much Cang Jiu had been doing outside the Main God System’s sight.
Which also meant—the Main God System’s power was probably far beyond what they imagined.
If even such a True God had to be suppressed to this degree, then their future actions would have to be even more cautious.
“What’s there to be afraid of? We’re bound to clash with the Main God System of the Evil World Game anyway. Since Cang Jiu went so far as to reveal his identity in front of us and even pointed out ours, that probably means he wants to ally with us. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. For now, forming an alliance with him doesn’t sound like a bad idea.” Lu Chuan said decisively.
#888 felt a bit wistful, but could only agree.
[Host, I think I heard the Main God System remind you earlier that you’re already on the Master-Rank Leaderboard. Do you want to check your game panel?] #888 suggested.
Since things had already come this far, they could only look at the bright side.
Lu Chuan nodded, raising an eyebrow. “I should see what I’ve achieved so far.”
Heh.
In the last dungeon, he had gotten quite a few good things.
Name: Lu Chuan
Age: 23 (Congratulations, you’ve survived one full year in the Evil World Game)
Stamina: 80/110 (You need to expand your stamina capacity)
Speed: 110/110 (your only maxed-out stat)
Intelligence: 92/100 (mysteriously increased by 1 point)
Luck: ??? (suspected interference from an extraordinary power, cannot be defined)
Sanity: 62/100 (quite stable)
Achievements: God-Slaying Lord, Lord of Golden Tower, Bewitching Gambler (Title), Executor’s Contractor (Special Title), Master-Rank Leaderboard New Entry (currently ranked 100th), Extreme Evil Loan Company VIP, Friend of the Blood Kingdom King.
Skills: Eye of Wealth, God of Wealth’s Currency, Spending Spree (skill distribution in progress).
Items: newly obtained from Xi Jiangyuan: S-rank item [Dream Hypnosis], A-rank item [Lingering Sweet Dreams], several B-rank items (please inspect on your own).
Territory: no changes.
Wealth: no changes.
Lu Chuan ignored his new achievements and the new skill #888 had just unlocked, staring instead at his wealth column.
“What do you mean, no changes?” Lu Chuan clutched his head, practically ready to roll on the ground. “Where are my gold mines? I had so many, huge ones that filled entire spaces, even stuffed some into Lilus’s storage space! Where are they?”
His cry was anguished.
If there was anything Lu Chuan couldn’t bear in this world, it was gaining a fortune—then losing it.
What could be crueler than that?
He didn’t want to accept it, but no matter how he checked, the gold mines had vanished without a trace.
Forget it. Life was just like this.
Meaningless.
All that running around, and in the end, empty-handed.
At this moment, Lu Chuan convinced himself he had seen through the truth of life.
[Aaaah host, don’t lose heart! That was a Mutated Dungeon formed from Xi Jiangyuan’s memories, everything in there was dreamstuff. Of course the gold mines disappeared!] #888 nearly knelt down before him. [Host, please look at the new attack skill I gave you after upgrading!]
Lu Chuan’s tone carried the faintness of despair. “Spending Spree? I can tell just from the name—it’ll cost me money. Ha. Everyone just wants my money. Always scheming to dig into my pockets.”
Previously, #888 had worried that its host had too few attack skills. Determined to fix this, during the last upgrade it had carefully chosen an offensive one. Luck was on its side—it drew one of the strongest: Spending Spree.
And this skill was powerful.
As long as Lu Chuan was willing to spend a bit of money, he could boost his combat ability far beyond his base stats—and the enhancement applied across the board.
For example, with his current stamina at 80 points, activating the skill would instantly max it to 110. Other physical stats would also be maxed out.
Even better—the skill could combine with items.
For instance, an A-rank attack item paired with Spending Spree would perform like an S-rank attack item, doubling its attack attributes at the cost of losing other functions.
And if Lu Chuan wanted to fight with his own body, the more money he spent, the stronger he’d become. Based on his total wealth, #888 calculated that burning half his fortune could give him the strength of a mid-tier god for ten whole seconds.
If he burned all his fortune, that would equal a full-power strike from a high-tier god.
Too strong.
Even #888 thought its host was terrifyingly powerful.
Only one year in, and Lu Chuan already had the potential to rival high-tier gods. Looking across the universe, there were few as extraordinary as him.
“Heh. But it still costs money, doesn’t it?” Lu Chuan muttered.
[Host, that’s where your vision is too narrow.] #888 countered. [Think back to Xi Jiangyuan’s dungeon—those gold mines couldn’t be brought into reality anyway. A lot of money from dungeons can’t be carried over. But if you use that money with Spending Spree, then it can be spent. Isn’t that the same as you having the right to use it?]
Lu Chuan’s ears perked. “That… actually makes some sense.”
[Exactly!] #888 seized the chance, flattering him. [Why did I give you this skill? Because I hated seeing so much money in dungeons going to waste, when it all should belong to you, the God of Wealth. Unfortunately, I’m still incomplete, so I can’t do much for you yet. If I can’t help you carry the money out, then at least I can help you spend it.]
Only then did Lu Chuan take a proper look at his skill.
Hmm. Okay, it really did seem pretty good.
Seeing Lu Chuan’s expression soften, #888 silently cheered itself on.
During the upgrade, it had also secretly diverted some points to enhance its language functions.
Sure enough, that had been the best choice.
Look at the results now.
What other system spends every day coaxing its host like this?
—
Lu Chuan opened his eyes in reality to find himself lying in the Ocean Heart Guild infirmary with his teammates.
“Well, if it isn’t our freshly minted Master-Rank player. You’re the last one to wake up—did your system glitch?”
Lu Chuan groaned. “Lil, what’s with that snark?”
“He’s been waiting for you to wake up,” Messiah, who had already awakened, whispered with a smile. “He’s been staring at the leaderboard over and over, just waiting for you.”
Lilus had been the first to wake. He didn’t need coaxing.
After checking his own panel and the items he’d received from Xi Jiangyuan—decent gains, at least no losses—he had immediately looked at the leaderboard.
He wanted to see if his sister had risen in rank.
And then he saw it.
Lu Chuan’s name.
Above his sister’s.
Above?!
For one fleeting moment, Lilus admitted, he really wanted to kill him.
Why?
Why did this guy parachute straight onto the Master-Rank Leaderboard, right at 100th place?
He’d shoved many long-time players down.
By what right? Xi Jiangyuan had been dead for ages—did the system really credit his death to Lu Chuan? If so, then he had participated in that dungeon too. Why hadn’t he made the list?
As others woke one by one, only Lu Chuan still slept.
They worried. Maybe becoming a Master-Rank player had other effects.
“Oh, so you were worried about me.” Lu Chuan smoothly changed tack.
“I’m worried you won’t die at my sister’s hands.” Lilus shot him a glare. “You’re so slow—Wen Zhi’s already gone.”
