Mist stood by, her lips curling with disgust as her eyes twitched. She was clever, and by now, she had pieced together several clues. At the very least, based on the werewolf's behavior, it was clear that the so-called desires in the Desire Abyss were genuinely terrifying. But what exactly was the core of these desires?

Mist rubbed her brow with disdain and then looked towards Daniel, asking, "Lord Crossbridge, what exactly is it?"

"It's just an experiment, nothing to worry about," Daniel replied calmly.

"Alright," Mist nodded, not pressing further. Instead, her curiosity seemed to get the better of her, as she tugged at Daniel's sleeve and asked, "So, what exactly did you experiment with?"

"Well, there's not much to it," Daniel paused, raising his hand to point at a giant tree not far away. "If you observe carefully, you'll see that the desires here have been twisted."

He hesitated for a moment, then continued, "In my protection, you might not sense it, but I need to tell you that this entire third layer of space is teeming with pollution."

"Once exposed to the pollution of desire, it transforms into these monstrosities we've been seeing."

Mist shivered involuntarily at Daniel's explanation.

"If that's the case, then it's indeed rather terrifying," she said. "So, will we turn into disgusting monsters too?"

"Lord Crossbridge, perhaps we should leave? Seeing all this, I'm starting to think the Desire Core is no good at all."

Daniel smiled faintly but did not respond to Mist's plea. Instead, his gaze shifted towards the werewolf in the distance. At this moment, the werewolf had been completely consumed by the pollution of desire. However, through his Psychic Perception, Daniel could sense that the werewolf was experiencing an overwhelming sense of happiness. Of course, this happiness was based on a distorted understanding of reality.

But no matter how you looked at it, perhaps for this werewolf, it wasn't such a bad thing after all. Sometimes, drowning in oblivion could be a form of release, couldn't it?

For Daniel, however, such a thing was unacceptable. He firmly adhered to the belief that one must always retain their rationality. But as he glanced at Mist, who was shuddering beside him, Daniel's mischievous side emerged. He exaggerated his tone and said, "It's too late. Actually, you've already been polluted. It's just that, due to my protection, your transformation has slowed down considerably."

"And before long, you'll also become this disgusting black goo."

"Ah! No!!" Mist shrieked, her face pale with fear as she staggered backward several steps.

She was in the prime of her youth and certainly didn't want to turn into a pile of repulsive sludge.

Seeing her so terrified, Daniel couldn't help but smile wickedly.

"Don't worry. With me here, I won't let you be polluted," he reassured her with a grin.

Hearing this, Mist's expression softened noticeably. Her eyes even glistened with tears.

"Lord Crossbridge, you truly are a kind and gentle person."

"So, please, you must protect me! I don't want to turn into something so terrifying."

"Why don't we leave now? You've already said that, in the future, I will become a god. There's no need for us to stay here and take unnecessary risks, right?"

Daniel smiled faintly but didn't respond to Mist's request. Instead, he turned back to look at the werewolf in the distance, his thoughts drifting deeper. It seemed that the Desire Abyss truly concealed significant secrets.

"Alright, it's time to move on. If you're scared, you can go back now."

Mist shook her head furiously, as though her head were a rattle drum.

"I don't want to go!"

At this point, she was fully aware of the situation. Without Daniel's protection, she would never have been able to escape this place. So, the only way for her to survive here was to stay by Daniel's side, never leaving.

"Either way, I don't care. As long as I'm with you, you must protect me!" she insisted. "After all, I'm Kartora's best friend. Even for Kartora's sake, you won't abandon me, right?"

Daniel nodded, then pointed to the giant tree in the distance.

"Well, if you're sticking with me, let's keep moving forward."

He had a hunch that the tree's location might be the passage to the fourth layer.

This time, Mist seemed unusually obedient. She even proactively allowed Daniel to wrap his arm around her waist, as if afraid of being tainted by the pollution here.

Daniel froze for a moment, then gave a faint smile. The next instant, he shot forward like a meteor, speeding toward the giant tree.

In about half a minute, Daniel arrived at the tree's base. At almost the same time, he activated his Eye of Insight and began examining the massive tree in front of him.

To Daniel's surprise, the tree was named "Life," a remnant from when a demigod from the Life Domain visited here and planted a seed. However, the seed had been corrupted by desire, transforming into what it was now.

Nevertheless, despite all the corruption, the tree was indeed a genuine Elder Tree of Life. And the creatures around it were likely its creations.

Without hesitation, Daniel used Phantom Slash to tear open the tree's trunk. In the next moment, countless vines shot out from all directions, attempting to bind him tightly.

In the face of this colossal tree, Daniel was as tiny as an ant, yet his expression remained unchanged. He steadily slashed at the tree's trunk.

In an instant, over a hundred clones appeared around him, each using the same skill.

In the blink of an eye, deep gashes appeared across the massive trunk of the tree.

After all, Phantom Slash was a God Rank skill, and the damage it inflicted was beyond what the Life Elder Tree could endure. Even though the tree was enormous, it still suffered considerable damage.

Mist, who had witnessed this, was no longer fazed. If it had been any other demigod performing such a powerful attack, she might have been startled. But with Daniel around, she had no reason to worry.

Daniel didn't stop there. He raised his hand and unleashed another Phantom Slash, swiftly severing the vines that had emerged around him.

Without hesitation, he reached into the heart of the tree and extracted the Life Elder Tree's seed.

As soon as the seed was taken, the surrounding monsters erupted in furious roars.

These roars weren't just sound; they reverberated through the soul.

Mist winced in pain, instinctively covering her ears. Daniel frowned slightly but didn't provide any protective shield. The sound, while bothersome, couldn't cause any real harm.

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