The King Ship and the Demon Furnace

"Be careful!" Xiao Chen shouted his warning to the people and beasts on the ship. The snow-white little beast, Keke, nimbly rushed to the gunwale and hauled up the Little Sacred Tree that had been dangling over the side, clutching it tightly to its chest.

Rainbow-colored light flared into the heavens. The Divine Ship, as if tearing through the fabric of time and space, drew rapidly closer. At the same instant, the Demon Ship surged forward, stirring up endless waves and billowing demonic energy that reached the skies. The azure sea churned violently. Between the two colossal ancient vessels, an inexplicable mutual attraction seemed to exist, and they shot toward each other like twin beams of light.

"Boom!"

A world-shaking sound rang out, as if heaven and earth had been overturned. Boundless azure waves leaped toward the high heavens, blotting out even the sun. Torrents of seawater filled the skies. Though the two ancient ships never truly collided, it felt as if they had. They were no more than ten zhang apart. Rainbow light and dark demonic energy clashed and surged in a violent storm.

Faintly, one could hear the roars of dragons and the howls of ghosts. At times, the heavens and earth were wreathed in colorful mist; at other times, a sinister wind howled. This inexplicable celestial phenomenon was vast and terrifying in scale, as if heaven and earth had been overturned.

The vast azure sea was filled with an aura of annihilation. A mighty, soul-shaking fluctuation billowed through the heavens and earth, like the Milky Way falling from the Nine Heavens, pressing down everywhere like ten thousand-mountain weights.

At this moment, the Little Defiant Dragon behaved most strangely. While Xiao Chen and the others struggled to steady themselves, crouching on the deck, it stood erect and let out a continuous roar toward the Divine Ship ahead. From its tiny body came an ear-splitting sonic wave, and its eyes blazed with divine light.

An annihilating force surged ahead, nearly boiling the entire sea. The white waves roared, covering the sky and earth, as if the end of the world had come. Yet the Little Defiant Dragon showed no fear, standing firm against it all.

Just as Xiao Chen and the others expected an even more terrible impact, the two ancient ships suddenly veered apart. Divine light flickered; demonic energy churned. The vessels passed each other. But in that instant, a beam of rainbow light shot from the Divine Ship, piercing the dark radiance that shrouded the King Ship, and struck straight toward the Little Defiant Dragon.

"Get down!" Xiao Chen shouted, for he felt the danger in that divine light. But the Little Defiant Dragon ignored him, standing like a stone statue. The brilliant radiance did not kill it; instead, it enveloped the dragon like rippling water.

Then another beam of rainbow light shot over, this time not aimed at the Little Defiant Dragon, but at the Little Sacred Tree that Keke held tightly in its arms, wrapping both the tree and Keke within it.

The Divine Ship rushed toward the Forbidden Sea; the King Ship sailed in the opposite direction across the azure waters. The catastrophic collision that had been anticipated did not occur.

Yet the two little beasts now seemed dazed, as if frozen by the bolts of divine light. Even though they had long since left that area, the radiance had not yet dissipated. Only after another moment did they begin to struggle violently, checking their own condition with great intelligence—just like wary humans. However, neither little beast showed any abnormality. The rainbow light seemed to have caused no ill effects whatsoever.

The azure waves rolled. The King Ship moved faster and faster. After leaving the Forbidden Sea, its speed continued to increase, and finally, it shot toward the Eternal Continent like a streak of dark light. Vast islands were left behind. The King Ship cut through the waves as if it were flying, emitting a low, mournful hum. Several days passed, and they had traveled more than ten thousand li. Truly, this realm was vast beyond measure, far more expansive than the Mortal World.

After many more days, several tens of thousands of li of sea lay behind them. The King Ship began to slow. It seemed as if a vast, ancient aura was rushing toward them from ahead.

Xiao Chen knew they were likely not far from the Eternal Continent. That faint, vast aura must belong to the continent itself. He marveled inwardly at how extraordinary this world truly was.

"Yan Qingcheng, do you have any way to make me trust you?"

Hearing Xiao Chen's question, Yan Qingcheng felt a measure of fear. She knew that if she could not decide quickly, Xiao Chen would show no mercy. She wanted to fight back, but felt powerless. Yet to make a woman's concession was unbearably humiliating.

Yan Qingcheng was silent for a long time. Finally, she burst into laughter, as if relieved of a great burden. This caught Xiao Chen completely off guard.

"What are you laughing at?"

"I'll make a deal with you."

"A deal? What capital do you have left?"

Yan Qingcheng hesitated again for a long while, then seemed to make up her mind completely. "Have you heard of 'Shatter the Demon, Plant the God'?"

"Shatter the Demon, Plant the God?!" Xiao Chen was quite startled. He stared at her without blinking. "In the Mortal World, there seems to be such a technique, known as the number one divine art of legend."

"What circulates in the Mortal World is an incomplete method—it's about planting a demon. In the Eternal Continent, the true art is about planting a god. They are not the same. The divine technique of Shatter the Demon, Plant the God is considered a supreme art even in the Eternal Continent. I will trade it with you: teach it to you, and you let me go."

"Ha! Do you think that will work?" Xiao Chen laughed loudly. "As they say, all roads lead to longevity. No matter how mysterious Shatter the Demon, Plant the God may be, it holds no great appeal for me. You should know that in the Eternal Continent, the most top-tier techniques are not limited to just one."

Yan Qingcheng sighed. She had made up her mind. "Very well. If that deal fails, let's try another method. Since you have heard of this technique, you should know its demonic and divine natures."

"Yes, I know. Although this technique, once mastered, is incredibly powerful, it is also extremely demonic. In the process of cultivation, one must use a human as a furnace, and there is great danger."

"You are right. Cultivating Shatter the Demon, Plant the God requires a furnace to host a thread of one's own obsession. It is the most difficult of all techniques, fraught with peril. And in this process, if one's power is lower than the furnace's, one will instead be controlled by the furnace—unable to resist, unable to escape, unable to struggle. You should know what that means. Over the past thousand years, truly only three or four people have managed to master it."

"What are you trying to tell me?" Xiao Chen asked.

"I want you to be my furnace. You should understand what that implies. Those who cultivate Shatter the Demon, Plant the God will surely choose someone with far lower cultivation. For someone like me, practicing this technique is far too dangerous; the chance of success is slim. In fact, by placing a thread of my obsession in your body, our fates become intertwined. I cannot harm you because if you die, I die as well. Moreover, since your power is above mine, you face no danger. The one controlled is me..."

Xiao Chen laughed. Yan Qingcheng gritted her teeth. This was, in effect, a disguised surrender. To be thus controlled by Xiao Chen meant anything could happen.

"Xiao Chen, you should believe that after we enter the Eternal Continent, I will not harm you. However, I have a condition: after I place a thread of my obsession into your body, you must not harm me. We will not see each other for three years."

Xiao Chen laughed again and shook his head. "How is that possible? Three years apart, and once you succeed, I would become the true furnace for your achievement. Then you would control me, and I would become your prisoner for nothing."

"Throughout history, only two or three people have truly mastered this technique. You overestimate me. And you lack confidence in yourself. Do you truly believe I can catch up to your cultivation progress? Very well, if you lack confidence, we can cancel the three-year agreement." Yan Qingcheng looked at him provocatively, her peerless beauty carrying a unique allure.

"As far as I know, once Shatter the Demon, Plant the God is begun, it takes at least a year for the binding cause and effect to form," Xiao Chen said, clearly tempted. No matter the time frame, with this connection between them, as long as Yan Qingcheng had not succeeded, if he died, she would die. But if she died, he would suffer no consequences. Of course, that was provided she could not surpass him. To be controlled by her under such favorable conditions—he might as well be dead.

"That is correct. It takes a year. But since my obsession has entered your body, what is there to fear? If you suffer the slightest mishap, I will follow in injury." Yan Qingcheng was betting her fate. In utter desperation, she chose to cultivate this technique as a compromise. Perhaps during the process she would be controlled by Xiao Chen, but if one day she succeeded, their roles would be reversed.

"Good. Then I have nothing more to say. But I wonder, is this technique something just anyone can obtain?"

"Indeed, not just anyone can obtain it. Within the Undying lineage, aside from a few ancestral masters who possess the method, no one else knows it. I obtained it through a separate stroke of fate." Yan Qingcheng did not elaborate, and Xiao Chen did not press.

Next came a troublesome matter. Xiao Chen broke the seal on Yan Qingcheng, restoring her cultivation. At his current level, he was not worried about her trying to escape. After a process that bordered on the miraculous, amidst bursts of rainbow light and visions of gods and demons, a beam of spiritual light shot from Yan Qingcheng's eyes into Xiao Chen's body. In an instant, a connection formed between them.

At the same time, a vast, boundless continent appeared before their eyes. An ancient, age-worn aura rushed toward them.