Chapter 151: Six Desires Radish

“You have been locked onto by the Hunger Radish.”

“You are immune to all Aberrant Corruption.”

In just an instant, Li Si snapped back to his senses. He saw a radish dangling right in front of him and almost took a bite. Even now, he still thought it smelled incredibly delicious and had to fight the urge to sink his teeth into it.

With a light flick of his finger, he unleashed a Demon Slaying Thorn. The Hunger Radish instantly turned to ash, leaving behind a piece of dried radish… no, a Radish Exuviae.

He picked it up, and identification information from the Fate Forge immediately appeared.

“Slayed Hunger Radish. Obtained 100 portions of Gray Firewood. Obtained Radish Exuviae.”

“Note: Can be cooked. Depending on cooking method, can restore 1500~2000 points of Magic Power.”

Li Si let out a comfortable sigh. It hadn’t been easy. In the days without the Seven Emotions Mushroom, he had felt so lonely. Finally, he’d found a kindred spirit.

Had another Seven Emotions Great Medicine escaped from the Seven Emotions Medicine Field and was now influencing the Mortal Realm?

Was it because of the Giant Mushroom’s disappearance?

Li Si blinked and immediately began recalling Fairy Leader and the incredibly precious nine seconds. For others, this would be suicidal. For him… well, it was also suicidal.

Because everything around him suddenly changed. In the darkness, he held the Fairy Leader. Her jade-like skin softly laid out before him like a fully bloomed, exquisite flower. The flower was fragrant, its petals tender, refreshing and pleasant… it felt incredibly good beneath his touch…

Then, everything vanished abruptly. He was now holding a large radish, gently stroking it.

“You have been locked onto by the Beauty Radish.”

“You are immune to all Aberrant Corruption.”

Li Si’s eyes regained their clarity, but he still couldn’t help feeling reluctant to let go of the big radish in his grasp. He felt this Six Desires Radish possessed higher cultivation than the Seven Emotions Mushroom; its temptations were purer.

Even though he had already seen through this big radish’s true form, he still felt a foolish urge to act on his impulse. Damn it.

A Demon Slaying Thorn shot out. The Beauty Radish was instantly destroyed.

“Slayed Beauty Radish. Obtained 100 portions of Gray Firewood. Obtained Radish Exuviae.”

“Hmm, the drop rate is pretty good.”

A thought struck Li Si. The drop rate of the Seven Emotions Mushroom was absolutely not this high. Furthermore, the nutritional value, no, the Magic Power restorative amount of the Mushroom Remnant Husk was definitely inferior to the Radish Exuviae.

Didn’t this point to one conclusion?

Li Si boldly hypothesized: When a Seven Emotions Great Medicine escaped from the Seven Emotions Medicine Field, it could cause emotional shifts and desire changes, but if one could overcome these, there were actually substantial benefits to be gained.

However, the Giant Mushroom became an Evil God. Its Aberrant Corruption was exceptionally potent.

In contrast, the Aberrant Corruption of this Six Desires Radish seemed much weaker. Just look at this small town – it still held over three thousand living people. That was the clearest evidence.

It was laughable to think about. If it were the Seven Emotions Mushroom, everyone here would have died countless times over. Yet they were still alive, even if they were utterly lost in the delicious allure of the Hunger Radish every day, starving to death without realizing it.

Honestly, this was quite mild in comparison.

Therefore, summing it up, this had to be a Seven Emotions Great Medicine that had recently slipped out of the Seven Emotions Medicine Field – a naive, pure one that hadn’t yet encountered the sinister forces behind the scenes.

But it probably wouldn’t last. With the Giant Mushroom missing, the demonized Mu An might soon come and devour this Six Desires Radish. And then, as the Calamity-Bearing Human King, Li Si would be the one who ended up most screwed.

With a long sigh, what else could Li Si do? He dared not venture deep into the Illusory Realm to snatch this “monster” from Mu An. That would be suicide.

All he could do was to mentally envision Fairy Leader over and over again, envision Jiuxuanzi… Well, okay, actually that wasn’t so bad. Fairy Leader gave him nine seconds, but Jiuxuanzi… an entire night…

Sin, sin! He just wanted to save the pure, big radish.

The town was quiet. The over three thousand people didn’t fight or dislike each other. Because whatever their hearts desired, they were sure to obtain it. Desire delicious food? There was delicious food. Desire a beautiful woman? There she was. Desire to be a general? True enough, they became generals.

Everyone lounged idly, holding radishes and wearing contented smiles.

Some people starved to death. Yet even as ghosts, even as corpses, they couldn’t resist the lure of the big radish.

Li Si included. This entire night, he had envisioned Fairy Leader 98,013 times, and Jiuxuanzi 1,982,736 times. Consequently, he obtained a total of 200 million portions of Gray Firewood and 2 million portions of Radish Exuviae.

Hmm, pretty amazing, right? The radishes here didn’t even take holidays.

This further confirmed Li Si’s guess: this was a newly emerged radish, naive and adorable.

Finally, daybreak came.

Li Si envisioned Jiuxuanzi again. Result? No more radish.

In other words, he had probably completely exhausted one type of desire within the Six Desires Radish.

It sounded somewhat unbelievable. Was a mighty Seven Emotions Great Medicine this… fragile?

Not really. While refining the 200 million portions of Gray Firewood yielded only two portions of Azure Fortune at most.

But one mustn’t forget the 2 million portions of Radish Exuviae! That was the truly valuable part.

Li Si was already certain this material could be used for alchemy.

So, without further ado, Li Si mentally perked up and began envisioning braised pork, braised spare ribs, braised carp, braised lion’s head meatballs, braised pig trotters, steamed turtle, steamed crabs, hotpot mutton, whole roasted lamb, roast suckling pig, leek dumplings…

Sure enough, Hunger Radishes started popping out one after another whoosh-whoosh-whoosh.

Li Si had mastered the technique now. He could envision multiple things at once, making many radishes appear simultaneously, just like when he envisioned both Fairy Leader and Jiuxuanzi, causing two different radishes to manifest.

This radish was truly innocent.

He kept envisioning from morning straight until night. Finally, the Hunger Radishes were cleared out. Even envisioning the whole imperial banquet didn’t work anymore. His rewards remained 200 million Gray Firewood and 2 million Radish Exuviae.

But how could Li Si stop now? He started envisioning himself standing alone above tens of thousands prostrate beneath him, commanding vast armies, charging into battle at the first spark – this should be the desire for fame, prestige, reputation… specifically, call it the Vanity Radish.

Another night passed. Within the small town, some people had regained their senses, while others perished for good, because with three desire radishes gone, their “spiritual sustenance” had vanished.

As for Li Si, he truly couldn’t hold on any longer. His soul felt like a fish dying of thirst, withered seedlings, a hopelessly rusted bolt. Even the simplest thought felt sluggish and difficult.

Because “farming radishes” like this meant constantly tapping into the deepest, most primal desires within his heart.

This was different from emotional shifts. Emotions were on the surface; people could feel them, notice them, trace their patterns.

Desire, however, lay hidden deep within the heart. He desired something, but others couldn’t tell.

Now Li Si had finally fallen victim. He couldn’t even cast a simple Clear Heart Spell. He could only slump weakly to the ground, curl up like a beggar protecting his head, and quickly fall asleep.

In his dream, he wandered an endless desert of yellow sand, parched and exhausted. But Fairy Leader emerged… which then somehow became Jiuxuanzi. Their eyes were soft and seductive, teasing him in countless ways… Li Si found it impossible to resist…

And because he was trapped within the dream, the information prompts from the Fate Forge were cut off.

“Zheng!”

A clear, crisp sound of a sword suddenly reverberated within Li Si’s dream. Countless illusions shattered, granting him a split second of clarity. He immediately activated the Lamp-Lighting Void-Crossing Scripture. Soul Power like a clear, babbling stream flowed inward, towards a specific place. This place was desolate and barren, not a blade of wild grass in sight, only endless yellow sand.

But where the Soul Power touched, the barren land began to bloom anew with vitality.

Immediately after, the Heaven-Turning Scripture activated automatically, followed by the Scripture of Praying to Heaven, the Scripture of Heaven Mending, the Jade Tome of Creation. All five Scriptures spun simultaneously, cycle after cycle.

It felt as if Li Si had awoken, yet also as if he remained within the dream.

The desolate yellow sandscape of his dream was gradually replaced by vibrant life, until finally, he truly woke up.

“Huh? Wait… what is this?”

Li Si found he couldn’t move. Five chains bound his limbs and neck. What seemed like strips of Talisman Paper sealed his eyes, nose, and ears.

On top of him crushed a stone weighing at least ten tons.

Outside the stone lay an enormous coffin. The inside of the coffin was still completely covered in Talisman Paper.

And this coffin… had been buried thirty feet underground.

What the hell? Was this really necessary?

He’d merely taken a nap! Wait… no, it hadn’t been just a nap.

A wave of fear washed over Li Si. At the same time, lines of information appeared before his eyes.

“Due to your greed, you are being possessed by the Six Desires Radish.”

“Possession failed.”

“You have gained the friendship of the Six Desires Radish.”

“You were set on fire by the Forgotten Hamlet villagers as a corpse.”

“You cannot be burned.”

“You were suppressed underground.”

…

“Damn it!”

Li Si cursed furiously. Greed truly was the root sin! He had wanted to farm the Six Desires Radish clean, but in doing so, he had nearly drained his soul dry and almost got possessed by the Six Desires Radish. If not for his Acquired Spirit Treasure awakening him at the critical moment, if not for his mastering the Spirit Cultivator techniques and reaching Lamp Lighting Realm… he would have been doomed this time.

Who would have thought that seemingly innocent Six Desires radish could be so devious?

Ah well, mainly it was his own fault. He’d grown reckless relying on his ‘cheats,’ thinking he could do anything. When his soul dried up, even the Fate Forge couldn’t save him.

With this thought, Li Si focused his will. Armsmaster Control divine ability released! Instantly, all the chains, including the massive stone, blasted away on their own.

These ignorant villagers, thinking he was dead, must have tried to burn him first. When that failed, they suppressed him here.

But what were these so-called Talisman Papers and chains to him now?

Returning to the surface, Li Si first checked his Storage Pouch. Thankfully, it hadn’t burned, protected by his divine ability, and gone unnoticed by the villagers.

Otherwise, the loss would have been huge.

Also, thankfully, he had been carrying the Dusty Flying Sword on him. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

He took down the Dusty Flying Sword. It looked rusty and unimpressive, like a withered twig. But as his gaze fell upon it, a faint, playful streak of flowing light shimmered on its surface.

“Thank you,” Li Si murmured, deeply moved. A life-saving grace… how else could he repay besides offering himself? He’d wash it thoroughly once back!

Next, he looked around. He found the villagers had buried him miles away from the town. He leaped into the air, soaring towards the small town in an instant. But this time, the town was deserted and empty, the streets layered thick with dust.

“They migrated?”

Li Si was stunned, though upon thought, it made sense. Earlier, the people here naturally wanted to follow the sunlight away. But back then, trapped by the allure of the Six Desires Radish, they couldn’t leave.

Now, with Li Si having helped shatter three of their desires, they were finally free.

It was just a pity the Six Desires Radish had gotten away.