The Furnace’s Choice

With a “whoosh,” a giant ape appeared within the light screen amidst a flash of rainbow light. It took a few steps closer to the kneeling young girl before stopping.

The expressions of the middle-aged cultivator and the others flickered; they watched the puppet with a measure of concern.

The yellow-robed young girl, her bright eyes slightly reddened, stared at the giant ape with a trace of bewilderment.

“I do not care whether what you say is false or truly so pitiful. But I never act without benefit. I can see that you are still a virgin, and it so happens that I have reached a bottleneck in my cultivation. Perhaps the power of dual cultivation could allow me to break through once more. If you are willing to become my furnace, the three ‘Ultimate Origin Pills’ in this small bottle will be more than enough to heal your father. Let your fellow disciples take the pills back, and you will step into the formation. I do not force others, nor do I bully the weak. If you are unwilling, you may leave now. Simply pretend you never met me.” The man’s cold, emotionless voice came through.

As he spoke, the giant ape puppet raised one hand, revealing a small, warm, white jade bottle, and brought it before the kneeling young girl.

Upon hearing these words, the girl froze for a moment.

Although she was still quite young, she understood what dual cultivation and furnace meant. A hint of a tempting flush appeared on her originally pale, lovely face, but she did not hesitate for long before answering:

“Alright. So long as you can truly restore my father to his former self, I, your junior, am willing to become your furnace.” Having said this, she reached out a slender, delicate wrist, took the jade bottle, and slowly rose to her feet.

“Xing’er! How can you do this? How will I explain this to my elder brother when I return?” The middle-aged cultivator was greatly startled by her response and hurriedly tried to stop her.

The other four men and women, their faces changing color, also chimed in to dissuade her.

“Uncle-Master, please take a look at the pill in this bottle and see if it is truly useful for my father,” the young girl said, ignoring the middle-aged cultivator’s alarm. She raised her hand and tossed the bottle to him, her expression calm as she asked.

“You… Hai!” The middle-aged cultivator caught the bottle and looked at the young girl’s expressionless, youthful face. He let out a helpless sigh. Knowing it would be difficult to change her mind, he could only open the bottle with a gloomy expression and pour out a single light-blue pill.

A peculiar, refreshing fragrance immediately filled the air.

Everyone who smelled it felt their spirits lift and their bodies and minds greatly soothed.

“This pill was refined from a demon beast’s core!” The middle-aged man’s initial surprise and suspicion upon smelling the fragrance gave way to a delighted exclamation as he brought the pill under his nose and sniffed it twice.

“Refined from a demon beast’s core? Then… can this Ultimate Origin Pill really cure my father?” The young girl appeared unusually composed, merely pressing the question with calm reason.

“I do not know the specific effects of this pill, but it is certainly extremely rare. It should not be a false promise.” The middle-aged cultivator’s expression was complicated, but after a moment of hesitation, he spoke the truth.

“Thank you for telling me, Uncle-Master. Then my mind is at ease. I must trouble you to take the medicine back. Tell my father that he should consider himself as if he never had such an unfilial daughter.” The young girl let out a long breath first. Then her bright eyes reddened, and she turned around, rushing into the light screen without looking back.

The middle-aged cultivator’s expression shifted several times. He opened his mouth but nothing came out, and instead, his grip on the jade bottle tightened.

At this moment, the giant ape puppet also returned to the light screen. The opening that had split the screen slowly closed.

“Uncle-Master, are you really going to let Junior Sister公孙 become someone else’s furnace?” The burly young man’s face was full of anxiety, and he could not help but speak up loudly.

The expressions of the other two women were also far from pleasant.

“Can’t you see? Your junior sister’s mind is made up. We could not stop her. Furthermore, this senior’s pill might truly be able to cure the Sect Leader. For the future of the Green Spirit Sect, I cannot stop her.” The middle-aged cultivator’s expression dimmed as he spoke in a low voice.

“But we can’t just let Junior Sister be a furnace! Won’t this ruin her entire life?” The young man’s face was flushed red, and he refused to give up the argument.

“Disciple Li, I know you grew up with Xing’er and are as close as siblings. But it cannot be changed now.” The middle-aged cultivator’s mouth twitched, and a conflicted look appeared on his face.

“Uncle-Master, Junior Sister公孙 has been taken away!” The blue-clothed woman suddenly cried out in alarm.

The middle-aged cultivator and the burly young man, hearing this, quickly looked over.

They saw a great blaze of rainbow light within the screen, and the young girl’s figure was gradually growing indistinct in the glow.

Moments later, the light faded and vanished, and the young girl was gone. Only a few scattered, lonely leaves were stirred up in the place where she had stood.

Seeing this, the burly young man was like a deflated leather ball. He squatted on the ground, clutching his head with both hands, staring blankly without a word.

The middle-aged cultivator silently patted the young man’s shoulder, offering a little comfort.

Half an hour later, these few people rode their artifacts away from the small island and flew out of the sea of mist.

…

After being enveloped by the rainbow light, the yellow-robed young girl experienced a dizzying, disorienting teleportation.

When she returned to normal, she found herself standing in a small, unfamiliar valley.

On both sides were steep stone cliffs, and before her was a green stone door several zhang high.

The young girl looked around, her heart full of hesitation. Just as she was wondering what to do, a flash of light appeared, and the giant ape puppet materialized behind her.

The giant ape paid no attention to the girl. It strode toward the stone door, pushed it open with stiff hands, and the green stone door swung inward with ease.

“Your name is Gongsun Xing, is it not? Follow my puppet into the cave dwelling. In two days, I will emerge from seclusion.” The man’s voice appeared, then mysteriously vanished.

The yellow-robed young girl bit her red lip and stepped through the green stone door.

Following the giant ape puppet through several turns to the left and right, the girl was led to a stone room of about several zhang in size.

The room contained nothing more than a stone bed covered with an unknown fur, a stone table, and two stone chairs.

Having brought the girl to the place, the giant ape left the room on its own, leaving the somewhat bewildered young girl standing alone in a daze.

After briefly taking in the room, the girl looked outside. The stone door was not closed, and it seemed she could come and go freely.

But after thinking it over, she slowly sat down on the edge of the stone bed and began to stare blankly, resting her cheeks on her hands.

Although she had long been prepared to offer herself, the thought of the future dual cultivation and the legendary life of a furnace naturally made her afraid.

Now, alone in an unfamiliar environment, she felt a deep sense of desolation.

An hour or so later, the young girl stopped her wild thoughts. She looked at the corridor outside and hesitated for a moment.

After a moment, she stood up and quietly walked out of the room.

Leaving the stone chamber and following the path for a short distance, she turned into a hall with intersecting corridors and several arched doorways.

One of them was the passage through which she had entered.

But what caught the young girl’s attention was that beside each arched doorway stood a giant ape puppet. They were motionless, like lifeless objects.

The girl blinked her long eyelashes and tentatively walked toward the nearest archway. But before she could approach it, the giant ape beside it soundlessly blurred, its body flickering as it blocked her path.

The young girl took a step back in fear, but the giant ape coldly returned to its original position.

The girl’s jet-black eyes rolled slightly. She tested it again, and the puppet blocked her once more.

By now, Gongsun Xing understood that the area ahead was clearly not somewhere she was allowed to go. So she changed direction and headed toward another archway.

This time, the giant ape puppet beside it did not move, which let the girl’s heart relax. She passed through the door without issue.

After passing through a rather unique little garden, she came upon another stone room with its stone door tightly shut.

The young girl walked up to the door and, out of curiosity, gently pushed it with her slender hand. The stone door opened easily.

With her clear gaze, the girl swept her eyes over the room. Everything inside was clearly visible.

A row of stone platforms was piled high with multicolored jade slips. Placed in the middle of the room was a short, round stone stool, and a few pots of pale green, verdant exotic grasses gave the place a quiet, serene atmosphere.

The girl pursed her cute little lips, thought nothing of it, and walked inside.

She went up to the stone platform, casually picked up a red jade slip, and sank her divine sense into it.

It was a manual introducing knowledge of formations. The young girl found it uninteresting. After glancing at it briefly, she withdrew her divine sense and placed the jade slip back in its original position.

Then, she idly picked up a white jade slip and examined it with her divine sense again.

This time, it was a manual introducing the Dao of Artifact Refining. The young girl naturally had no intention of reading it in detail and withdrew her divine sense again.

However, the fact that the two jade slips she had picked up contained different material sparked a flicker of curiosity in her. She picked up three or four more, examining each one in turn.

(A few consecutive late nights have made the body a bit unwell. So tonight, just this one chapter. Everyone, rest early! I hope everyone has a sweet dream tonight!)