Chapter 4 The Fourth Level of the Book

The fourth space within the book.

Lord Yu Huo’s light shone warmly everywhere as Xu Jingming listened attentively.

"Emotions are the external manifestations of the heart. And desires are the internal essence of the heart," Lord Yu Huo said. "All emotions are extensions of desire."

"It is because of a strong desire to survive that one strives and works hard to evolve. Evolution is for the sake of living longer and living better," Lord Yu Huo said. "Greed, the desire for power, and all sorts of strong desires drive the progress of living beings."

"But uncontrollable desires can also lead living beings to ruin."

"Every living being has desires." Lord Yu Huo looked at Xu Jingming. "If there were no desires, then it wouldn't be a living being, and would be no different from a puppet."

Xu Jingming listened obediently.

"What is the source of desire?" Lord Yu Huo asked. "If one had to find a source for desire, it would be… the body."

"The body is the foundation of life, the vessel of the heart," Lord Yu Huo said. "The bodies of high-dimensional lifeforms are diverse. Some are as large as celestial bodies, some are merely 'information streams' entrenched in the hearts of other lifeforms, and some are terrifying flames…"

"No matter what kind of body it is, they all have something in common: they carry life, and they carry the heart and consciousness." Xu Jingming nodded.

"Most bodies have ears, eyes, mouths, noses, skin, and so on. Therefore, they like to hear beautiful sounds, see magnificent scenery, enjoy delicious food, like pleasant smells, and enjoy wearing comfortable clothes…"

"If you were a stone, without ears, eyes, mouth, or nose, and never needing to eat or drink, you would naturally not have any appetite. If you had never had eyes, you would not have any concept of beautiful scenery."

"So some desires arise from the body itself."

"The fourth level of the *Bafang Tu* (Eight Directions Diagram) is about controlling the two most fundamental desires of all living beings—appetite and lust."

"When living beings come into the world, they must eat to survive! Whether it's a low-dimensional lifeform or a high-dimensional lifeform… to maintain life, they need to devour enough energy. Thus, there is appetite."

"Living beings naturally have lust in order to reproduce. Only in this way can they continue from generation to generation."

"You need to fully understand and control these two fundamental desires. Let them become your aid in evolution, not your hindrance."

Lord Yu Huo said, "The more fundamental a desire is, the greater the threat it poses once it becomes an obstacle."

"Appetite, for low-dimensional life, unrestrained appetite… will damage the body and affect the survival of the species. For high-dimensional life, excessive pursuit of precious evolutionary resources and fierce competition will make it easier for high-dimensional life to die."

"Having reached the Eternal realm, the lifespan of high-dimensional life is theoretically infinite. But very few of them live for even ten Abyssal Eras! A very small number are due to cataclysms, but the vast majority are killed in the struggle for resources."

"Control your desires, and you can live longer."

Lord Yu Huo looked at Xu Jingming. "Living long is actually a resource! Sometimes, you don't need precious treasures or inheritances. Even ordinary inheritances can be used as a reference… and you can become powerful by groping around for a long time."… "Lust, once unrestrained, is even more destructive. At its smallest, it can destroy a clan or a country, and at its largest, it can trigger a cataclysm."

Lord Yu Huo said, "Any desire, once controlled, is an infinite source of power. Once it is out of control, it is an infinite source of destruction."

"Even if you have reached the 'Heart Intent' realm and completely mastered emotions, can you say that you have perfectly controlled the two most basic desires?" Lord Yu Huo smiled. "If you are very confident, you can accept the fourth trial."

"The trial of food and sex." Lord Yu Huo smiled.

…

Xu Jingming fell into an illusion.

He became a famine refugee, walking with difficulty.

"So hungry, so hungry." Xu Jingming only felt hunger impacting his consciousness again and again. The trees in the distance had been gnawed bare, and the refugees were like termites, eating everything they saw.

The river had dried up, and the fish and shrimp were long gone.

Suddenly, Xu Jingming saw two white steamed buns on the withered yellow weeds ahead. At that moment, his hunger exploded even more violently, as if to drown his consciousness.

"There are so many refugees around, and only two buns." Xu Jingming was thin and weak, but he forcibly restrained himself and watched as a group of refugees rushed over. For the sake of the two buns, they fought like wild beasts, eventually leaving behind several corpses. The one who ate the bun was also seriously injured, and looked around cautiously with a dagger in his hand. But seriously injured, he was destined not to live long.

"Even if delicious food is right in front of me, even if I'm starving mad, I have to stay calm. If I let desire control me, I'll become a beast and won't live long." Xu Jingming endured the hunger and walked step by step. The illusion in front of him suddenly dissipated.

He fell into a new illusion again.

"All of you, eat as much as you can! The three who eat the most within an hour will live. The rest will die." A man in black said indifferently. A group of men in black around him watched the group of civilians with weapons. Xu Jingming was one of the civilians.

Xu Jingming lived in the second scene for half a year before he passed the test.

Scene after scene of illusions.

Having pushed the power of appetite to an unbelievable level, Xu Jingming had not even begun the 'lust' trial before he fell under the eighth scene of the appetite trial.

To reach the level of perfect control over the two fundamental desires, 'appetite' and 'lust', was obviously extremely difficult.

What is perfect control?

It is to adapt to them, use them, and make them your own help.

It is also to control them and not let them become your obstacle.

"Desire is a double-edged sword. It's hard even for high-dimensional lifeforms to only want the benefits and not bear any backlash," Xu Jingming sighed. "I fell under the test of appetite and haven't even started the test of lust yet."