Tavern of the Spear: Desire for Pleasure

Cheng Yu closed his eyes, feeling a chaotic jumble of information swirling in his mind, leaving him feeling more confused than ever before. He couldn't help but regret calling out to Bo Wen in the first place. At least then, his mind would have remained clear. But now, the information he received from Bo Wen was like a tangled mess, making things worse and giving him a terrible headache.

While Cheng Yu was deep in thought with his eyes closed, Bo Wen seemed to sense something and suddenly looked up at the ceiling. Although there was a thick stone wall above him, his gaze seemed to penetrate the barrier and see into a much deeper place.

"Perhaps this is the kind of drama you've been hoping for, hahaha~" Bowen didn't open his mouth, but his voice echoed clearly in the air. At the same time, his appearance underwent a stunning transformation, turning into a giant black and white dragon with both eyes flashing with dazzling white light. Then, he vanished into thin air, as if he had never been there at all.

At this moment, Cheng Yu seemed to have lost his soul, his eyes empty and lifeless, and like Bo Wen's, his eyes flickered with an eerie pure white light. He mechanically took a step, walked out of the underground space, and then quickly left Hei Ze's mansion.

Coincidentally, Bai Yu also happened to come out of his room and witnessed Cheng Yu walking out. Seeing Cheng Yu, Bai Yu intended to tell him some of the information he had deduced, so he called Cheng Yu's name several times. However, Cheng Yu seemed not to hear him and did not respond. Bai Yu immediately sensed something was wrong.

So, he followed closely behind Cheng Yu, wanting to find out what was going on. Cheng Yu's pace wasn't fast, but Bai Yu found that no matter how fast he sped up, he couldn't catch up. He then realized that it was his spatial abilities at work. Thinking of space, a confident smile appeared on Bai Yu's face. He didn't believe his spatial abilities were weaker than anyone else's. Sure enough, he only released a tiny bit of spatial energy and successfully restored the distorted space around him to normal. If someone who also practiced spatial magic saw Bai Yu restore space so easily, that person would be astonished beyond words.

Soon, Bai Yu caught up with Cheng Yu. However, Cheng Yu still didn't respond to Bai Yu's calls. Bai Yu knew something was amiss, so he stopped trying to call out to him and silently followed behind, wanting to see where he was going.

Meanwhile, Kurosawa stood on the second floor of his residence, quietly observing this strange scene through the window. A fleeting, almost imperceptible divine glint flashed in his eyes, but it quickly vanished, replaced by his usual teacher-like demeanor. He sighed softly, seemingly helpless in the face of what was unfolding before him.

Cheng Yu continued forward, arriving directly at the northern werewolf tribe. But he didn't stop; instead, he continued towards a thatched-roof hut. Cheng Yu's actions quickly attracted the attention of the werewolves, who rushed forward, trying to drive away this uninvited guest. However, a strange thing happened: no matter how hard the werewolves tried to drive Cheng Yu away, they couldn't get within five meters of him, as if an invisible barrier was firmly blocking them away.

Just then, the owner of the thatched hut emerged. He was a short werewolf, looking like a child. However, the maturity and composure in his eyes clearly indicated that he was no ordinary child. He quickly approached Cheng Yu, attempting to stop him. Soon, he discovered the invisible barrier. After some attempts, he reluctantly gave up. He understood that this power was far beyond his ability to resist.

So he could only watch helplessly as Cheng Yu walked into his house, then easily found the secret passage inside and entered a secret chamber containing a dragon-man statue with tentacles and a missing leg.

The short werewolf stood there, watching Cheng Yu disappear into the entrance of the secret passage, his heart filled with doubt and unease. He didn't know who this strange fellow was, nor what his purpose was in coming here. However, he had a premonition that this guy's arrival might bring some unexpected changes to this world.

He recalled the invisible barrier he had just encountered, and a wave of fear washed over him. That power was simply too immense, so immense that it filled him with despair. He wondered how many other beings in this world possessed such power.

He sighed, turned, and walked back to his thatched hut. He knew there was nothing he could do now; he could only wait quietly, awaiting his fate.

Meanwhile, inside the secret chamber, Cheng Yu stood before the dragon-man statue, staring at it blankly. The statue stood there silently, as if telling an ancient and mysterious story.

Cheng Yu slowly extended his claw and gently touched the surface of the statue. The statue felt cold and rough, completely different from the smooth puppets he had encountered before.

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through Cheng Yu's mind, followed by a flood of images. He saw a dragon-man with tentacles and a broken horn, he saw the dragon-man fighting a group of powerful enemies, and he saw the dragon-man ultimately defeated and sealed inside this statue.

Cheng Yu abruptly retracted his claws, a pained expression on his face. He didn't know why he was seeing these scenes, nor whether they were real or fake.

"Who...are you?" Cheng Yu murmured to himself as he looked at the statue.

The statue did not answer; it simply stood there silently, as if waiting for something.

Cheng Yu took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. He knew he had to find out the truth. He reached out his claw again and touched the surface of the statue.

This time, he felt no stinging pain, nor did he see those images again. However, he sensed a faint energy fluctuation emanating from inside the statue.

Cheng Yu closed his eyes and focused on sensing the energy fluctuations. Gradually, he discovered that the energy fluctuations seemed to resonate with his own energy.

"What...what's going on?" Cheng Yu was filled with doubt.

The scene Bai Yu saw was completely different from Cheng Yu's perception. In his vision, countless writhing tentacles suddenly emerged from the eerie statue, quickly wrapping around Cheng Yu's claws that were touching it. These tentacles, as if alive, continued to grow and spread, tightly binding Cheng Yu's claws and gradually extending towards his arm. If this continued, Cheng Yu would eventually be completely devoured by these evil tentacles.

Upon seeing this, Bai Yu immediately realized the gravity of the situation. No matter how you looked at it, this bizarre scene was definitely not a good omen. He had to stop it all, no matter the cost, he had to stop these tentacles from spreading further.

Just as Bai Yu was preparing to take action, a drastic change occurred on Cheng Yu's side. He felt as if his head was about to explode; the intense pain made him clutch his head and curl up on the ground in agony. He could clearly feel a strange force forcibly penetrating his mind, attempting to take over his consciousness.

Cheng Yu clutched his head in agony, countless chaotic emotions flooding his brain like a burst dam, causing him to let out a sharp, agonizing howl. Dragon horns began to grow on his wolf head, but quickly disappeared, as if it were just an illusion. Everything around him began to distort and deform, rapidly transforming into thousands of different scenes like a kaleidoscope, each scene similar to this place yet subtly different.

However, what Bai Yu saw was completely different. In his eyes, only Cheng Yu's body was being continuously enveloped by tentacles; he saw no other unusual phenomena. He tried his best to stop the tentacles from spreading, but all his efforts were in vain. What exactly was that evil force? This was the biggest question in his mind at that moment.

The kaleidoscope refracts thousands of scenes, each vastly different, yet the protagonists of all these scenes are Cheng Yu and that eerie statue. They are like thousands of rays emanating from a single point, essentially the same, but with drastically different directions.

In one scene, Cheng Yu transforms into a giant white wolf and engages in an earth-shattering battle with the statue, ultimately destroying it completely.

In another scene, Cheng Yu is completely devoured by the statue, turning into a monster with tentacles and becoming the statue's puppet.

In another scene, Cheng Yu merges with the statue, transforming into a half-dragon, half-tentacle monster with world-destroying power.

Each scene represents a possibility, a possible ending between Cheng Yu and the statue.

Bai Yu watched Cheng Yu being devoured, his heart filled with anxiety and unease. He didn't know if what he was seeing was an illusion or some kind of premonition. He only knew that he had to find a way to stop it as soon as possible, or the consequences would be unimaginable.

He tried to use spatial magic to free Cheng Yu from the tentacles' restraints, but the tentacles seemed to possess some kind of resistance to spatial magic, and no matter how hard he tried, he could not peel them off Cheng Yu.

He tried to burn the tentacles with ordinary fire magic, but the tentacles seemed to be immune to fire, and could regenerate quickly even when they were charred black.

Bai Yu tried everything he could, but nothing could stop the tentacles from spreading. He felt an unprecedented sense of powerlessness, watching helplessly as Cheng Yu was devoured bit by bit by the tentacles.

Just then, he suddenly remembered the puppets he had seen in the underground space of the Kurosawa mansion. Those puppets seemed to have the same aura; perhaps they could give him some inspiration.

He quickly returned to the Kurosawa mansion and went to the underground space. He looked at the puppets, trying to find a way to rescue Cheng Yu.

He noticed that these puppets seemed to resemble Kurosawa and the others, and perhaps it was indeed possible. At that moment, Kurosawa's eyes were emitting an eerie black light, while the puppet representing Bowen was flashing a faint white light to the side.

Bai Yu's heart skipped a beat; he seemed to understand something. He immediately closed his eyes, concentrated, and tried to establish a connection with the puppets.

Gradually, he felt his consciousness enter a wondrous space, where he saw the fates of the twelve dragons.

The trajectory of fate is more accurately described as the trajectory of time; this is the knowledge Bai Yu possesses.

He saw that Cheng Yu's fate was intertwined with that of the statue, forming a huge vortex.

He saw that Bowen's fate was quietly observing all of this from the sidelines, as if waiting for something.

Bai Yu suddenly realized that all of this might have been Bo Wen's arrangement. He was the mastermind behind it all, using Cheng Yu to achieve some ulterior motive.

Bai Yu suddenly opened his eyes, a resolute glint in them. He knew he had to stop Bo Wen; otherwise, not only would Cheng Yu be in danger, but the entire world would face a massive catastrophe.

He immediately left the underground space and headed towards Cheng Yu's location. He knew he had to find Bo Wen as soon as possible and stop his plot.

At this moment, Cheng Yu was still trapped in the restraints of those tentacles, his consciousness traversing countless scenes and experiencing various different fates.

At this moment, he seemed to be powerless to do anything. He could no longer change anything, and these things seemed to have nothing to do with him anymore.

Even the "story" at this moment cannot save him from his predicament. Perhaps he should have stayed by the dragon's side to cultivate in the first place.

However, this time there is still a chance for a turnaround, and it all depends on his own choice and whether Bai Yu can arrive in time to stop the impending disaster.

The final outcome will determine the fate of this void: whether it will perish or repeat its cycle.

As time went on, Cheng Yu's mental state became increasingly unstable. His consciousness darted between countless scenes, each one resembling a real world, making it difficult for him to distinguish between reality and illusion. His mental energy was rapidly depleting, and he was on the verge of collapse, as if he might be completely lost in these endless illusions at any moment.

Meanwhile, Bai Yu was also feeling increasingly exhausted. He kept trying various methods to free Cheng Yu from the tentacles' restraints, but all his efforts were in vain. The tentacles seemed to possess some kind of mysterious power, able to resist all his attacks, and even spatial magic could not peel them off Cheng Yu.

The prolonged battle and the drain on his mental energy left Bai Yu feeling utterly exhausted, both physically and mentally. His body began to show signs of fatigue, and his movements became sluggish. Worse still, his resolve began to waver, and an unprecedented sense of powerlessness washed over him. He began to doubt whether he could truly save Cheng Yu, whether he could truly stop this disaster.

A thought flashed through his mind: perhaps he should give up and leave this world full of danger and the unknown. This world, though brimming with novelties, was also fraught with perils and challenges. He had already experienced too much; perhaps it was time to leave.

Just as Bai Yu's will began to waver, a new change occurred on Cheng Yu's side. His body began to actively absorb the surrounding energy, and the black energy emitted by those strange tentacles was being absorbed into his body little by little.

This change surprised Bai Yu. He couldn't understand why Cheng Yu had suddenly started absorbing this evil energy. Had he given up resisting and prepared to be corrupted by this energy?

Just as Bai Yu was puzzled, another Cheng Yu suddenly appeared in one of the countless scenes where Cheng Yu was. This new Cheng Yu was completely different from the previous Cheng Yu. His eyes were firm, and he exuded a powerful aura, as if he were a warrior who had been honed in countless battles.

Without saying a word, the newly appeared Cheng Yu rushed towards Cheng Yu in one of the scenes, raised his fist, and smashed it hard into Cheng Yu's face.

This punch was powerful and heavy, sending Cheng Yu flying from that scene. At the same time, this punch was like a heavy hammer, striking Cheng Yu's mind hard and waking him from his chaotic consciousness.

Cheng Yu suddenly opened his eyes, a sliver of clarity returning. He looked at his newly appeared self, his mind filled with confusion. Where did this "self" come from? Why was he here?

"Who are you?" Cheng Yu asked, his voice weak.