Ye Family Compound.
The sumptuous dinner drew endless praise from everyone.
Especially Paimon, that little glutton. Nestled in Lumine's arms, she devoured her food like a whirlwind, eating with great gusto. She even snatched food right out of Lumine's mouth, resembling a bold cat that had climbed onto the dining table.
"Ah, I'm so full!"
"The rice is so fragrant! The Shroomboar is so delicious!"
"The feeling of eating large mouthfuls of meat is just too satisfying!"
The girls all rubbed their flat abdomens, claiming to be stuffed, though in reality, their appetites weren't actually that large. Only Dehya and Alusha, who needed to exercise all day, ate a bit more. For mercenaries, a small appetite was insufficient for survival in the wild.
Paimon was different; she had eaten until her belly was round and bulging. Rubbing her distended stomach, she sprawled out in Lumine's arms, looking incredibly comfortable.
"Traveler, if only we could follow Master Ye Xi forever!"
"If we did, we could eat our fill every day, and then count the stars in the sky like this."
"So leisurely~"
Hearing Paimon say this, Lumine felt a bit tempted as well. When sleeping outdoors and living in the wild, it was inevitable to feel lonely. Drifting everywhere with no fixed abode... Being here felt just like returning home; it was so cozy. Moreover, there were so many good friends around to chat and play with.
Just as she was thinking this, the sound of a discussion drifted over from the side.
"Everyone, whose turn is it to serve in the bedroom tonight?"
Pfft—
Lumine almost spurred out a mouthful of blood. She had just been thinking about how nice this place was, and the image turned lewd instantly. As expected, warmth and fullness lead to... that!
The cruel reality before her eyes instantly pulled her out of her beautiful longing! Yes. All the women here, without exception, were Ye Xi's wives. As an outsider, she was like a drop of oil falling into water—completely out of place. Dehya and the others were in one circle, while she was an outsider.
"It should be my turn today!"
"Dehya, you and Alusha already stole a bite today, didn't you!"
"Ahem... that doesn't count, right?"
"How can it not count! It should be me and Collei's turn today!"
"That's right..."
Just as the girls were discussing animatedly, Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, who was sitting to the side, suddenly spoke up: "Everyone, I want... to discuss something with you..."
Hearing Greater Lord Rukkhadevata speak, everyone instantly fell silent.
This was the former Dendro Archon of Sumeru, who had ruled Sumeru for a millennium! Here, she was absolutely the person with the highest status aside from Ye Xi! Er... the highest God!
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata spoke slowly: "Actually, the reason I follow by Ye Xi's side is to thoroughly eradicate the Forbidden Knowledge pollution from the World Tree."
"Everyone should know that over these years, Sumeru's natural ecology has become extremely unstable."
"The Withering, earthquakes, sandstorms—these are all caused by the World Tree being polluted."
"The Withering!? Sandstorms!?"
Hearing this, several of the girls looked grave. For Forest Rangers, The Withering was the biggest trouble in the rainforest. What Collei used to fear most was [The Withering]. In such places, plants would wither, and passing animals and humans would be corroded by the power of The Withering, eventually dying.
Only those possessing an Eye of God could move within The Withering for a short time. Not long ago, she suffered from Eleazar; once she encountered the power of The Withering, it would immediately flare up. Therefore, Tighnari personally took charge of The Withering zones in the forest.
It was only recently, after her illness was cured, that she began to lend a hand in dealing with The Withering. Then she discovered that the terrifying power within The Withering was dreadful, and clearing it was very difficult. Especially recently, the number of Withering zones had been increasing. Even if one was just cleared, a new one would emerge before long.
She hadn't expected that The Withering was actually related to the pollution of the World Tree.
As for sandstorms, Dehya and Alusha were very familiar with them. In recent years, not only had the frequency of sandstorms increased, but many monsters were also hidden within them. Many desert people had fallen victim to them, dying within the wind and sand.
"Everyone need not worry. Today, Ye Xi has already healed the World Tree, basically restoring it to purity."
"Therefore, the frequency of sandstorms and earthquakes will be greatly reduced, and the number of Withering zones will no longer increase frequently."
Hearing Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's words, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
"Master is so amazing; he can even purify the World Tree!"
"A difficult problem that even Lord Tree King and Lord Grass King couldn't solve, Master actually solved personally! Master is so strong!"
"I didn't expect Master to not only protect Sumeru in the open but also protect Sumeru in the dark! Being a little woman by Master's side is so blissful!"
Alusha's face was full of emotion, and she subsequently asked, "Then, Lord Tree King, why can't the pollution of the World Tree be thoroughly eradicated?"
"Is there some difficulty?"
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata nodded. "The final pollution lies within my consciousness world."
"My consciousness space is connected to the World Tree. If the Forbidden Knowledge in the consciousness space is not cleared, the World Tree will never recover."
"Eh!?"
Everyone was somewhat surprised and hurriedly asked, "Then can we help?"
"That's right, if you need us, I absolutely will not decline!"
"The World Tree concerns the safety of Sumeru. As desert people, we are also part of Sumeru and have a responsibility to act!"
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata smiled and said, "Actually, the method is very simple. Ye Xi can help me clear the Forbidden Knowledge in the consciousness space."
"It's just that the efficiency isn't too high."
"To improve the clearing efficiency, it is necessary to enhance the fusion level of my consciousness space with Ye Xi's."
"According to Ye Xi, the way to increase the fusion level is for me to generate intense emotional fluctuations—surprise, sadness, sustained excitement, comfort, and so on."
Hearing this, Dehya's eyes lit up: "Isn't that simple? For intense emotional fluctuations, wouldn't doing something thrilling be enough?"
"Like diving, or playing with Bouncy Mushrooms!"
"You just need to activate them with Electro Elemental Power, and you can jump very, very high. It's quite thrilling when falling down!"
"Sometimes when coming down a hillside, if you step on a Bouncy Mushroom without noticing, it can scare you half to death!"
Dehya's idea sounded very reasonable at first, but someone soon reacted.
"But, for Lord Tree King, who possesses thousands of years of life experience, these things should be commonplace, right?"
Hearing Setaria's words, Dehya subconsciously nodded. Indeed.
When a person experiences a dangerous thing for the first time, they feel nervous and terrified. But if they encounter it often, it just feels like an ordinary meal. She had a deep understanding of this. When she was a mercenary for the first time, she thought about a lot of things, such as whether the employer would be satisfied or where there might be danger on the road. But later, after becoming proficient, everything became smooth and natural.
Now, everyone was stumped again.
"Is there actually anything that can be done frequently and yet still feels stimulating every time?"
This question plunged everyone into thought.
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata calmly spoke up: "Actually, there is a way, which is also what I wanted to discuss with everyone next."
"I hope that tonight, I will be the one to accompany Ye Xi."
"Eh—!?"
As soon as these words came out, the girls were all shocked. Although they had guessed as much, hearing Greater Lord Rukkhadevata personally make this request was still surprising.
"Is it really like that? Even Lord Tree King has to..."
"Thinking about it carefully, it seems it really is like that! And it covers several kinds of emotions at the same time!"
"It's simply tailor-made!"
Instantly, the girls all blushed. Even Lumine, who was watching the drama from the side, turned her head away, pretending not to hear.
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata said, "Therefore, I want to ask for everyone's opinion."
"Umm..."
"Since Lord Tree King has said so..."
"This is also for everyone in Sumeru, so alright."
"Although I've endured for a long time, since it's for the World Tree this time, making a sacrifice isn't out of the question."
"..."
Everyone had no objections and decided to yield Ye Xi.
Meanwhile, Ye Xi, who had become the focus of everyone's topic, was still soaking in the hot spring in the backyard. The water, heated by Pyro Slimes and transported through pipes to the prepared pond, was simply a delight. As expected, soaking in a hot spring was the most comfortable thing in this other world.
No high-rise buildings, no noisy traffic—just one person monopolizing the entire pond. It was simply too refreshing.
Just as Ye Xi was leaning against the edge of the pool looking up at the starry sky, the sound of soft footsteps suddenly came from beside him. Ye Xi turned to look and was instantly captivated by the beautiful scene before him.
Amidst the hazy, lingering mist, a graceful silhouette had appeared.
What entered his vision first was a pair of snowy feet. The white, tender feet stepped on the wet bluestone slabs, their pink, lustrous toenails resembling tiny lily petals.
Ye Xi's gaze moved slowly upward. Those long, snowy-white jade legs were firm and rounded, the joints revealing a healthy pink hue. Unfortunately, the most enchanting parts were temporarily obscured by the white mist. Following that was a willow-leaf waist, a flat and snowy-white abdomen, and faint abdominal lines.
Realizing that proud scale, the first person Ye Xi thought of in his mind was Dehya. But thinking carefully, Dehya's skin was a charming honey color; the snowy white before him obviously didn't match. Then he thought of Nahida after [Aggravate]. That idea was rejected by him again. Because Nahida was still working overtime tonight and would return very late.
Then, eliminating the wrong answers, the only person who could have such a figure was...
"Par?"
"Mn."
A soft response came from within the mist.
Ye Xi hadn't expected it was really Greater Lord Rukkhadevata. He spoke, "I prepared a pond for the girls next door. You went the wrong way."
"I didn't go the wrong way. I came here intentionally."
Ye Xi: ???
Good heavens, who could withstand this?
"You said today that the method to accelerate the fusion of the consciousness spaces is sustained, high-soaring emotions."
"So... I thought of this method."
As she spoke, that hazy silhouette gradually became clear.
Exhibited before Ye Xi was a perfect divine body. Clean, snowy-white, and holy, like a white lotus with stamens delicate and dripping.
"I see. You plan to use this method?"
Ye Xi nodded and said, "I have to admit, this is the most effective method."
"Alright, wait for me to change clothes..."
"Right here."
"Huh? Eh!?"
Ye Xi's face was full of question marks. He looked around; there were only two fairly lush trees around the pond, but they didn't constitute much cover. A row of tall bamboo fences blocked the girls' bath next door. Although the courtyard had walls, such a large open-air area was a bit too 'breezy'.
"Right here."
Greater Lord Rukkhadevata gently stepped into the hot spring pool and sat upright in the misty water.
Seeing the calm Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, Ye Xi's brow twitched. "Isn't it a bit too open here?"
"Wouldn't that be even more stimulating?"
Ye Xi: !!!
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