Danwu Refining Spirit

Chapter Seventeen: The Spirit Within the Cauldron

All around was pitch black, boundless and deep.

The deathly silence was maddening, as if one were in hell.

"where is this place?"

Why is there no sound at all? Am I already dead?

"When that booming sound rang out, I didn't break through, I exploded?"

Xiao Chong looked around, his mind racing, trying to find evidence that he was still alive.

But the surroundings were empty, there was no one, no sound, only endless coldness and ever-deepening despair.

"Is anyone there?" Xiao Chong shouted.

The only response he received was echoes coming from all directions.

"Can you hear me?" Xiao Chong shouted again, mustering all his strength.

It's nothing but echoes.

"If no one's here, I'm leaving!" Xiao Chong shouted again, unwilling to give up, but he couldn't help but smile bitterly to himself.

I do want to leave, but the problem is I can't find a way out.

But the words seemed to have an effect, because he felt as if the space around him had shaken.

Xiao Chong dared not move, observing silently, afraid of missing any important details.

After a long while, a weak voice slowly rose from the darkness.

"Welcome to the world within the cauldron."

The sound was ethereal and indistinct, making it impossible to discern its origin.

"A world within a cauldron? Could it be that I'm currently inside a cauldron in my mind?" Xiao Chong was secretly alarmed and asked loudly, "Then who are you?"

The voice slowly said, "That's right, it is that furnace. I am the spirit of the furnace, but there's one thing you're wrong about: the furnace is not in your mind."

"Where is that?"

"It's in one place... never mind, you wouldn't understand even if I told you now, just think of it as something in your mind or body, interpret it however you like."

"Playing tricks!" Xiao Chong muttered to himself.

"What do you mean by pretending to be a ghost? You're just too ignorant!" The voice seemed to sense what Xiao Chong was thinking, and its tone suddenly became very dissatisfied.

"You can read my mind?" Xiao Chong asked, puzzled.

"Of course, nothing can escape my discerning eyes." The voice was smug, and sounded slightly trembling.

"Damn it, living inside my body and still acting so arrogantly," Xiao Chong couldn't help but curse under his breath.

"You dare to insult me? Believe me or not, I'll kill you in a minute!" The voice trembled even more violently, but this time it was clearly not because of excitement.

"That's utterly shameless! Pervert! Spy! You won't escape even if I die, will you?"

That's utterly absurd. I've never heard of a time traveler dying because of a cheat ability. If you're so capable, why don't you actually kill me?

Knowing that the voice came from the furnace within his body, Xiao Chong's fear vanished, and his ruthless nature from his past life erupted, causing him to speak without any restraint.

Upon hearing this, the voice fell silent for a long time before finally speaking in a conciliatory tone: "Fine, you win. I won't pry into your thoughts anymore, but you can't insult me ​​anymore."

"This is the rhythm of a pleasant conversation!" Xiao Chong thought to himself, secretly pleased, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The feeling of having your thoughts constantly exposed to others is truly terrifying.

"Let's talk. Since you're living in my body, shouldn't you pay some rent or something?" Xiao Chong was ready to make a killing.

The voice fell silent again, as if choked by those words.

"That's true. We've lived here for over ten years. Talking about money now seems a bit hurtful. So let's talk about your background."

Since the other party remained silent, Xiao Chong had no choice but to try to find out more about their background.

"I am the spirit of the furnace, don't you already know that?" the voice replied irritably.

"Shouldn't you at least have a household registration, resume, or something?"

In the darkness, Xiao Chong grinned wickedly and continued to coax the other party: "For example, was it formed naturally, or was it cultivated in a test tube? Where did you work before? Who did you serve? Do you have any particularly proud experiences?"

Hearing the barrage of questions, the voice was very unstable, especially when the words "in vitro culture" appeared. Xiao Chong felt the space around him begin to shake, as if it was about to collapse, until the last question was asked and he calmed down.

"Of course there are. Back when I was still the Crown Prince, I forcibly took... no, I married countless women from the common people. My harem of beauties could stretch for ages..."

"Tell the important point!"

"The Crown Prince? That's interesting, but forcibly taking a woman from the common people is no good." Xiao Chong rudely interrupted the voice lost in fond memories.

"Uh..." He choked on his words again, then said awkwardly, "It's been going on for too long, I can't hold back anymore."

"You're being too verbose! The questions at the beginning are the important ones," Xiao Chong reminded him.

"I was captured by Old Man Lü, oh, Lü Dongbin, and forcibly refined into a cauldron spirit." His voice trailed off, sounding as if he were very ashamed.

"It's good that you have a sense of shame, which means you're not too outrageous. It's just that you don't seem to be very bright. If something like this happened to me, I would never let anyone know, even if you beat me to death."

Xiao Chong secretly compared himself to the other person and suddenly realized that he seemed to have a flaw in honesty.

"Wait a minute, I do know that Lü Dongbin was a real person, but could he really refine you into a cauldron spirit? Are all the legends of immortals true?"

"Of course it's true. The Crown Prince used to be considered half a god." His voice suddenly rose, filled with pride.

"What a load of rubbish, a half-immortal! He was still refined in a furnace and never saw the light of day again!" Xiao Chong immediately exposed the other party's true colors.

His voice immediately softened, and he said sheepishly, "Could we not bring this up?"

"Then let's get to something useful. When someone tried to transmit my Yuan Power today, was that your doing?"

"You're living and eating in my body for free, what good will you do for me?"

Taking advantage of the moment when his tone of voice was low, Xiao Chong asked one question after another.

"I did absorb a little bit, but it was all for your own good." Her voice sounded even more awkward, with a hint of guilt.

"Don't make it sound so high-sounding. Is that just a little bit? It's the vast majority, okay?" Xiao Chong intensified his counterattack.

"Didn't I leave you a way out? Anyway, you don't need that much now."

The voice muttered under its breath, arguing, "On the contrary, if I don't replenish my energy, I'll dissipate. Without me, can you fight them?"

"That's true, but what about the benefits you just mentioned? Why are you avoiding this question? As a demigod, don't you feel ashamed?"

"Then... I'll give you back half?" His voice became cautious, showing a clear sense of self-awareness after being embarrassed.

"More than half!"

"That won't do! If we do that, we won't be able to communicate like we are now," the voice shouted.

"Alright, half it is." Xiao Chong also felt that things shouldn't be done too excessively; a gradual and steady approach was the right way.