Only Laine knew why he was truly there.
Walking through the cold, damp tunnel, Laine participated in a more secretive gathering.
The chaos of the party was indescribable in words (for fear of censorship). The "artists" indulgently and frantically sought to amplify society's desires through various means. They sought to discover beauty and pleasure, immerse themselves in more brutal enjoyments and repulsive perverse gratifications, loudly plotting on how to eradicate cults that emphasize virtue and discipline, and how to transform Marinburg into a "land of absolute beauty."
"Anything that obstructs the eyes from appreciating aesthetics is like boiling poison in the veins; it must be eliminated or transformed!" declared a supposedly respected and cultured artist insanely in the damp, cold basement.
The twisted "artists" responded madly.
"Alright, gentlemen, the 'white meat' has arrived, please enjoy!" A waiter brought in a steaming pot of meat, gesturing for everyone to partake.
The composition and origin of the meat were entirely unrecognizable from the outside. Ever since the meat was brought in, no one asked what kind of meat it was or where it came from, yet everyone scrambled to eat it, each bite seemingly the ultimate enjoyment.
Only Laine didn't rush to eat; he looked somewhat confused, seemingly unable to comprehend what it was, thus missing the chance.
The white meat was quickly devoured.
A waiter sneaked down quietly and whispered something in Agneda's ear. The president of the Aesthetic Society regretfully approached Laine: "Mr. Darkholm, Master Foster is looking for you. Are you planning to leave?"
"Ah!" Van Darkholm looked surprised: "Mr. Foster is looking for me? Then I must hurry."
"Mr. Darkholm, aren't you interested in staying longer? There are even more exciting programs later, and there's also the 'Water of Life,' which can prolong life and maintain youthfulness!" Agneda, reluctant to let such a great artist♂ leave , persuaded him: "I can smooth things over for you with Master Foster."
Van Darkholm seemed to go through a painfully intense mental struggle before reluctantly refusing: "But Mr. Foster is my best friend, and I have no reason to leave him. So, sorry, Ms. Agneda, I hope there'll be another opportunity, and I'll show you my true dark philos♂ophy."
"That's truly a pity. The Aesthetic Society always welcomes such outstanding artists and philosophers to participate in our artistic salon. It's a symbol of membership in the Aesthetic Society, and I hope you accept it." Agneda offered a purple medal, and Van Darkholm reached out to take it: "Thank you."
Thus, transformed into Van Darkholm, Laine left Violet Manor.
Once he left the interior of the manor at least ten minutes away, Laine retrieved a roughly 400ml glass bottle from beneath his cloak, casually "acquired" Water of Life.
Inside the glass bottle was a filthy purple liquid, with countless air currents swirling chaotically within. Laine could faintly see the souls of demons whimpering and roaring inside.
It was hard to imagine this could be a Spring of Life nurtured by the World Tree.
Indeed, what the Aesthetic Society called "Water of Life" was actually the corrupted form of the Spring of Life, nurtured by the World Tree located in the Saint Lorenzo Forest of the Wood Elves, after being polluted and corrupted.
The Spring of Life, of course, was something the Wood Elves absolutely refused to trade. Under any circumstances, the Wood Elves refused to part with any bit of the Spring of Life. This divine water of living dead flesh restoration only produced a tiny amount each year; no one knew for certain, but the quantity was certainly extremely scarce.
However, the forest wasn't entirely occupied by Wood Elves. The powerful Beastman Tribe had clashed with the Wood Elves for thousands of years in the forest, and sometimes they could obtain some of the Spring of Life.
The bottle in Laine's hand was the Spring of Life, heavily diluted and already corrupted. Drinking it could indeed prolong life, but the user would also bear the cost of corruption.
The Genetic Primarchs gently extended their hand.
Purple Chaos Energy was continuously drawn into his body, and this violent and corrupt energy was constantly transformed by Laine into pure and untainted Subspace Energy, which he then absorbed.
Two minutes later, the polluted and corrupted Spring of Life was miraculously restored to its original state, with pure Life Energy spreading through the spring water.
Reversing corruption was an ability unique only to Laine in the universe; as long as the object was once a normal organism or item, Laine could absorb Chaos Energy, then convert it to pure Subspace Energy, and, if certain conditions were met, restore it to its original form.
The Spring of Life is indeed a good thing, even diluted, it remains valuable. Laine carefully stored it away.
Finally, Laine casually tossed aside the emblem Agneda had given him, allowing it to be crushed by a carriage, turning his thoughts toward the Slaanesh Cultist's everything.
The main corruption targets of the Slaanesh Cultist were the upper-class nobles and scholars, artists. Slaanesh didn't seem like a Warrior God at all; it (he? she? it?) was more like a God of beauty, artists, lovers, and debauchery. Therefore, in some affluent cities of southern countries where indulgence and hedonism were rampant, the forces that worshipped Slaanesh were exceptionally strong.
Slaanesh's creed was to tolerate all evil thoughts and attempt all sins. These creeds made Slaanesh the most popular Chaos God among those indulgent affluent classes. These individuals treated the worship of Slaanesh as an adjustment to their affluent, pampered but tedious, lives.
Falling into worship of Slaanesh initially was quite "easy"; adherents could gain tremendously amplified spiritual enjoyment from any action, including eating and sleeping. This revitalized their dull and monotonous lives with joy.
But the path of enjoyment quickly became very narrow, as once they began worshipping Slaanesh, they could no longer feel any joy or satisfaction from repeating any action twice. The stark contrast to the intense mental stimulation the first time around rendered them unable to endure this disparity, leading them to madly pursue sensory stimulation. When ordinary matters no longer satisfied them, they would wither progressively, falling into severe decline.
In this emergence of despair and hatred, these exhausted and resentful individuals were driven to seek help from others who understood their dreadful hunger, becoming complete Slaanesh followers. Chapters first released on novel•fire.net
Following that were the corruption and destruction of morals and rules, as they would attempt every sin in the world to seek their joy.
That is why faith is needed. The world truly needs faith and discipline, as only firm belief and mature discipline can help people avoid corruption and resist darkness.
After reflecting a bit further, Laine turned his attention back to the present matters. So, what is "white meat?"
Does eating meat provide these Slaanesh Cultists with spiritual satisfaction?
Don't kid me. Unless it's something rare like dragon meat, what haven't these lunatics tried?
Laine had a faint hint of inspiration.
Spiritual satisfaction?
Rare, something not easily obtained, and needs to be shared privately? Cannot be made public?
Laine felt he was closing in on the truth.
He carefully recalled all the information about the Aesthetic Society he had gathered so far, frantically filtering and retrieving every crucial piece of information in his mind.
Gradually, his memory returned to that night on Dusk Street when the streetwalker Sarah mentioned a secret.
"I don't know when Agneda appeared and became the leader of the Aesthetic Society. Her wealth is inexhaustible, and she alone funded artistic groups in dozens of cities and built several orphanages. Although we don't like her, what she did was commendable, just that the death rate of orphans in the orphanage seems high, not many grow up to adulthood..."
Orphanage? High death rate?
Few orphaned children reach adulthood?
Privately shared meat that brings spiritual satisfaction?
Laine's pupils gradually dilated.