Mother Tree of Desire

Once an enemy is eroded by the power of despair, all damage they take within the next 5 seconds is increased by 500%.

With Chen Ming's current damage output, he could easily deal over 30 billion damage during this window.

Not only that, but under the effect of the entry [Imprisonment Cage], it could also forcibly imprison the enemy for 1 second.

This meant that during this 1 second, Chen Ming could output damage freely without worrying about the enemy escaping.

1 second might seem short, but for Chen Ming, it was more than enough.

"With my current strength, I could probably easily one-shot even enemies above level 100."

Muttering to himself, a smile couldn't help but appear on Chen Ming's lips, and he immediately equipped the [Eye of Calamity] into his second equipment slot.

...

At the same time.

At the entrance of the [Despair Underwater City].

The members of the [Dragon Soul Squad] had not yet recovered from the excitement of Chen Ming killing the [Mutated Sea Monster Meiserli].

Before their eyes, they received another kill notification.

[Ding dong, your squad has successfully killed the dungeon final boss [Lord of Despair], EXP + 1.33 million.]

...

As the notification sound faded, dazzling golden light erupted almost simultaneously from the members of the [Dragon Soul Squad].

Their levels soared by several ranks in a row.

"Th-this is..."

Everyone was instantly stunned in place, their eyes filled with disbelief.

"The dungeon final boss... is dead!"

"Hiss~ If I remember correctly, from the moment [The Great Calamity Player] killed the [Mutated Sea Monster Meiserli] to killing the dungeon final boss, the whole process didn't exceed 3 minutes, right?"

"That means [The Great Calamity Player], all by himself, one-shot the dungeon final boss in under 3 minutes!"

"Holy shit, what kind of monster is this??"

"I saw in the dungeon secret realm introduction that this dungeon final boss is a level 50 [Epic-grade] boss."

"He's truly on another level, absolutely insane."

"A level 50 [Epic-grade] boss, killed just like that. Where exactly is your limit... [The Great Calamity Player]!"

Chen Ming's strength and terror once again refreshed the worldview of the [Dragon Soul Squad] members.

Especially [Dragon Soul - Sword God], whose lips were slightly parted, his whole expression dull and stunned.

As the owner of the SSS-grade talent [Super God Player], his combat power was extremely terrifying.

Especially after completing the [Advancement Trial] and entering the main city, his strength had surged.

In his original expectations, with his own talent, plus the resources of Dragon Soul.

Although [The Great Calamity Player] was currently stronger than him, it wouldn't take long before he could easily catch up to the other party.

But looking at it now, how could he possibly catch up?

A level 50 [Epic-grade] boss, slaughtered in less than three minutes.

The gap between the two sides was simply like heaven and earth, completely uncrossable.

"Just what kind of monster is this!"

[Dragon Soul - Sword God] couldn't help but smile bitterly in his heart.

At the same time, [Dragon Soul - Fate Woman] clenched her fists, her eyes filled with excitement.

It's done, it's done!

"Next, as long as we resolve the Source of Pollution, we can clear the dungeon secret realm."

"By then, my class advancement quest will be considered complete."

"Apostle of Life..."

[Dragon Soul - Fate Woman] was in a great mood.

...

On the other side.

[Despair Underwater City], inside the palace.

After checking all the equipment effects, Chen Ming stood up and stretched.

"Next, I just need to resolve the source of the pollution."

As he spoke, Chen Ming got up and walked quickly towards the depths of the palace.

According to the quest guidance, the source of pollution that caused the entire underwater world to mutate was located right inside this palace.

Moving forward, after passing through a narrow corridor, a black iron door appeared before his eyes.

Behind the iron door, Chen Ming felt an evil aura.

"This must be it!"

Without any hesitation, Chen Ming kicked directly at the iron door in front of him.

"Thud!!"

With the kicking skill bonus, Chen Ming's current kicking damage was off the charts.

With just one kick, the entire black iron door shattered.

"Roar, roar!!"

Unintelligible babbling came from within, sounding like a demon's whisper.

At the same time, a layer of black mist rippled outward.

- 100,000 points (true damage).

- 110,000 points (true damage).

...

Under the shroud of the black mist, a series of damage numbers slowly floated up from above Chen Ming's head.

[Ding dong, you are affected by the aura of desire, suffering 100,000 points of true damage per second (for every second shrouded in the aura of desire, the damage received increases by 10,000 true damage).]

[Hint: Once your HP reaches zero, you will fall and become a puppet of desire.]

Looking at the notification, Chen Ming frowned slightly.

"Aura of desire?"

It probably had to do with the [Mother Tree of Desire] mentioned by [Lord of Despair] earlier.

100,000 true damage per second, and for every second that passed, the damage increased by 10,000.

"Good grief!"

If it were anyone else but Chen Ming, if it were any other Tier 2 player, they probably would have been eroded by this aura of desire long ago.

Chen Ming shook his head and looked up behind the black iron door.

An ancient altar came into view.

The altar was extremely bizarre, constructed from countless men and women.

They were constantly writhing and copulating.

Seductive moans echoed throughout, making one uncontrollably want to fall into it and become one of them.

And at the top of this altar of human flesh, stood a three-meter-tall ancient tree.

The ancient tree was vigorous, entirely dark green, and all the aura of desire was emanating from it.

[Mother Tree of Desire. 85%]

[Level: ???]

[HP: 100 billion / 100 billion points.]

[physical defense: 50,000 points.]

[magic defense: 50,000 points.]

[Recovery Speed: HP + 100,000 points per second.]

[Hint: The [ancient tree of life] has been eroded by the [Mother Tree of Desire], current erosion level: 85%. When the erosion reaches 100%, the [ancient tree of life] will be completely replaced by the [Mother Tree of Desire].]

[After the player kills the [Mother Tree of Desire], the tree of life will be freed from the erosion of the [Mother Tree of Desire], regain its vitality, and dispel all weirdness and ominousness.]

...

"So... this is the source of the pollution!!"

Chen Ming muttered to himself.

The strength of the [Mother Tree of Desire] was undoubtedly powerful, but because it was at a critical moment of devouring the [ancient tree of life], it could not actively attack.

However, being unable to actively attack did not mean the [Mother Tree of Desire] was weak.

On the contrary, with its massive HP bar of up to 100 billion, plus 50,000 points of dual defense.

Ordinary Tier 2 players would probably never be able to kill it in their entire lives.

Conversely, the damage caused by the aura of desire permeating the surroundings increased every second.

It wouldn't take long before it stacked to a terrifying level.

"Looks like I can't waste too much time."

Chen Ming took a deep breath, drew the [Arrow of the Underworld] from his backpack, and began to slowly charge it up.