A black beam of light appeared, streaking toward them from off in the distance. Its speed was almost impossible to describe as it shot toward Chu Yuyan’s will and then slammed into some of the pill furnaces which were circling around her. The instant it hit them, they shattered into pieces, which the black beam devoured.

It was with great difficulty that Chu Yuyan had attracted these pill furnaces out of the group of one hundred thousand others. Just as she had found one she had synergy with, the black beam slammed into it and destroyed it. It seemed as if the furnaces didn’t dare to flee or evade, like they were allowing the black beam to consume them. It was as if the black beam was an Emperor who had demanded the death of a government official. Of course the official had no choice but to die!

Chu Yuyan’s will was instantly shaken.

Not all of the pill furnaces were shattered; there were two or three that the black beam seemed to disregard and leave alone.

An instant later, the black beam shot toward Ye Feimu. It circled around him and the dozens of pill furnaces which he had attracted from out of the hundred thousand. Half of them shattered to pieces and were consumed. The beam then moved on to the others.

All of this takes some time to explain, but the black beam moved in the twinkling of an eye. Next it shot toward Meng Hao. He had no time to s.n.a.t.c.h the pill furnace which hovered in front of him. The black beam slammed into his violet pill furnace, and it disintegrated and was sucked up by the beam.

Rage instantly billowed up from the depths of Meng Hao’s heart. His fury soared to the heavens. He was not like the other candidates who had been able to attract multiple pill furnaces from out of the hundred thousand. To them, losing a few was not a huge matter; they could always select another one that the beam didn’t destroy.

However, Meng Hao had expended a lot of effort to persuade the violet pill furnace to accept him. Then, it was destroyed in the blink of an eye by the black beam. Now he was left without anything at all. How could he not fly into a rage?

This was even more the case when, after destroying Meng Hao’s pill furnace, the black beam exuded a will of arrogance, and then shot off into the distance. It seemed as if it were an Emperor surveying his territory, who would kill a few officials here and there and then continue on his way.

Meng Hao could clearly make out the image of a pill furnace within the black beam. It was completely black, and emanated no magical symbols whatsoever. Black was not one of the colors within this world, making it seem completely incompatible, as if it were above all the other pill furnaces.

“Destroy my pill furnace, will you? Fine, my new pill furnace is going to be you!” His fury billowing up, his will suddenly shot into pursuit of the black pill furnace.

At this moment, Meng Hao took the so-called “follow your heart” theory and tossed it out into the void. He also tossed aside the idea of finding the Life Furnace that belonged to him and him alone. This was his personality.

If you destroy Meng Hao’s pill furnace, then regardless of the reason you did so, you will pay the price to replace it!

This is Meng Hao. His fury rippled, and his will shot out in pursuit of the black beam.

To add insult to injury, the black pill furnace didn’t seem to even notice him. Its level of arrogance was incredible. As it proceeded along its way, it would viciously smash into other random pill furnaces, destroying and consuming them.

It seemed that this pill furnace had its own Spirit, which viewed Meng Hao with contempt and disdain.

Meanwhile, just outside of Violet East Mountain, everyone sat around the Mother of Furnaces. Chu Yuyan opened her eyes; slowly, so did Ye Feimu and the other seven. As they did, the air above their hands began to glow, and then transformed into pill furnaces.

It didn’t matter the color of the pill furnace they had acquired within the illusory world just now. The pill furnaces that appeared in their hands now were white, each and every one of them.

Everyone had awakened except for Meng Hao. He still sat there, eyes closed in meditation, his brow furrowed and his jaw clenched.

Outside of the Celestial Land and the illusory world, everyone, including the Violet Furnace Lords, actually had no way to see what was happening within the Mother of Furnaces. The only thing they could see were the expressions on the faces of Meng Hao and the others. Now, everyone was focused on Meng Hao, and his lack of success.

Chu Yuyan also glanced at him. Not saying a word, she stood and raced toward Violet East Mountain, pill furnace in hand. Ye Feimu’s body flashed as he also charged forward, head toward the first of the paths that led up the mountain.

The other seven candidates also silently headed toward Violet East Mountain, each picking a path of their own. As they did, the paths disappeared behind them. Soon, there was only one path left on the mountain, left behind for Meng Hao, who was still in meditation.

Within the illusory world of the furnace, Meng Hao was engaged in mad pursuit of the black beam. It had led him to every corner of the place, and as it did, its contemptuous will seemed to grow stronger and stronger.

Finally, Meng Hao lost his patience, and he gave a cold snort. “Demon Sealing, Eighth Hex!” His senses told him that this world was under some type of sealing, making it impossible for outsiders to be able to tell what was happening inside. Therefore, he held nothing back. His invisible body dissipated, and a part of Meng Hao’s soul suddenly appeared amidst endless ripples. The ripples transformed into gossamer strands which immediately shot toward the black pill furnace, entangling it.

The black pill furnace seemed to be frozen in shock. In its memory, it had never encountered anyone who could catch it. Within this world, it was the sovereign; no one could possibly lay hold of it. And yet, today it had run into a magical technique which was capable of shaking both its will and its pill-furnace form. Immediately, it stopped. It only took the s.p.a.ce of two breaths to shake itself free.

However, just as it was about to speed off, an illusory hand appeared out of nowhere and clamped down onto it. Originally, Meng Hao’s presence here had been invisible. However, because of the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex, an illusory phantom image of his body could now be seen.

“Where do you think you’re running off to?!” he said, locking his grip onto the pill furnace. The black pill furnace began to struggle, sending out ma.s.sive waves of power. As it did, a face appeared on its surface.

It was the face of an evil, vicious youth. It radiated enmity and hatred, and after it appeared, it glared at Meng Hao and let out a threatening howl.

Meng Hao’s eyes glittered with coldness. He lifted up his left hand and slapped the thing right across the face. The slap to the pill furnace's Spirit rang out with a boom. The face was flung to the side, but then spun back around and let out another roar of rage toward Meng Hao.

The roar rose up to the heavens, as if it contained an incredible might within it. The force of it washed over Meng Hao, shaking his will. However, he did not allow his grip on it to weaken in the slightest. Instead, he gave a cold harrumph.

“Fighting back? Well, fighting back won’t do you any good!” He lifted his left hand, employing the power of the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex as he pressed his finger down onto the youth’s face.

“You consume other pill furnaces? Fine, I don’t care. But you dared to consume MY pill furnace. In doing so, you’ve sown Karma. Now you will reap the Karma, and earn your reward!” His left hand flickered in an incantation as he again employed the power of the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex. Streams of seals flew down onto the pill furnace; it seemed as if it would soon be sealed into complete suppression.

The Spirit of the pill furnace, embodied in the face of the youth, struggled violently. Its will of hatred grew more powerful than ever; in a frenzy, it opened its mouth and let loose a piercing scream.

The sound of it filled the entire illusory world, reaching its every corner. All of the pill furnaces inside heard it, and began to tremble. They immediately began to rush toward Meng Hao.

In the blink of an eye, Meng Hao was surrounded by stream after stream of glowing lights. A thousand, five thousand, ten thousand, fifty thousand, one hundred thousand….

More than one hundred thousand beams of light circulated around Meng Hao. The glow they caused rose up endlessly, and gradually transformed into one hundred thousand pill furnaces. They had Meng Hao completely surrounded. The buzzing noise they emitted echoed out as they spun around him at top speed. It seemed they had Meng Hao in their cross-hairs; if he didn’t release the black pill furnace, they would attack him.

The black pill furnace youth, ceased its attempts to flee. A proud look appeared on its face, then aggressive arrogance. It looked at Meng Hao as if it were attempting to provoke him. However, it was at this moment that Meng Hao lifted his hand and once again slapped the face.

Rage covered the face of the black pill furnace youth. A scream rang out, causing the surrounding hundred thousand pill furnaces to suddenly charge in attack. They shot toward Meng Hao, sending out ripples throughout the air. Their glow lifted up to the heavens. Meng Hao merely gave a cold snort, and closed his eyes.

“Time to leave!”

His will sprang into action, immediately beginning to disappear, along with the furnace he gripped in his hands. Its shrill cry slowly dissipated as the hundred thousand pill furnaces charged in attack. Not a single one of them was even able to touch Meng Hao.

Outside of the pill furnace in the Celestial Land, Meng Hao sat cross-legged in meditation. Suddenly, his eyes flashed open. The instant they did, a black glow shot up in front of him, and a pill furnace appeared. Despite the fact that it was here, it appeared to be struggling.

But Meng Hao’s will was still in his body; how could he possibly allow it to flee? He gripped it hard, and his eyes glowed with a fierce cold aura.

“Are you really looking to die?!”

The pill furnace continued to struggle, and as it did, a strand of will entered Meng Hao’s mind. It said… it would rather die than submit!

Meng Hao smiled, although it was a smile filled with coldness.

“Rather die than submit? No, I’m not going to destroy you. Starting today, I don’t care if you want to or not, you’re my pill furnace, no matter how much you resist!” He stood up and looked toward Violet East Mountain, and the only remaining path leading up it.

At the same time, outside of the Celestial Land, on Eastern Emergence Mountain, the onlookers didn’t seem to be very impressed. However, the eight Violet Furnace Lords’ faces all flickered.

“That’s….”

“That black pill furnace contains its own will!”

“I saw that same furnace when I was in there all those years ago…. I wanted to take it, but failed. This Fang Mu seems to have created some kind of connection with it….”

“It’s extremely rare to see that pill furnace within the illusory world. The will of a Cultivator is no match for it, and should be incapable of capturing it. After all these years, it has become the sovereign pill furnace of the illusory world….”

“Just what promises did Fang Mu make to the black pill furnace to get it to accept him…? From the expression on his face, it seems that maybe the two of them are having some conflicts!” As the Violet Furnace Lords discussed the scene, the other onlookers also began to notice Meng Hao and the pill furnace.

“That’s strange, why does Fang Mu have a black pill furnace? Everyone else got white ones….”

As people expressed their surprise, Grandmaster Pill Demon’s eyes began to glitter with a strange light.

“This kid… actually managed to bring it out….” An imperceptible smile touched the corners of his mouth.

Back in the world of the Celestial Land, the pill furnace beneath Violet East Mountain began to tremble. A roaring sound filled the air, along with a seven-colored glow. It seemed almost like… the hundred thousand pill furnaces within were in a frenzy, trying to break their way out from within.

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This chapter was sponsored by Kyle Greenwood