Stranger Danger

“Look. The pill is going to finish any moment now...”

Rumble...

As if on cue, the fire of Pill Furnace Island began burning much stronger than before. Even from this distance, the heat waves washing over the Cloud Boat could only be described as terrifying. Clearly, the fire was no ordinary fire.

At the same time, thick clouds of black smoke were rising into the sky. The entire Pill Furnace Island was rumbling and shaking as well.

Slowly, the black smoke transformed into colorful, beautiful ribbons of light. It dyed the boundless sky in all sorts of colors. It was like a dream.

Not only that, thin wafts of fragrance were leaking out of the Pill Furnace Island. Although the scent was faint, it seemed to contain some sort of profound, mysterious power. Just smelling it instantly invigorated Ye Qing by a hundredfold.

“As expected of a pill that only reaches completion once a century. Its scent alone tells you how extraordinary it is.”

As Ye Qing spoke, he lowered his hand and filled the air with his energies. It covered up both the scent and the fantastical illusions taking place at the island.

This was an opportunity that fell into his lap of its own accord. Naturally, he wasn’t going to risk giving it up to others. That was why he covered up the scent and the illusions. He did not want anyone to notice and bring unnecessary trouble to themselves.

But as time passed, the phenomenon grew increasingly grandiose, and the scent grew increasingly strong. It eventually got to the point where even Ye Qing was unable to cover it up completely. As a result, countless Strangers followed their senses and arrived at the island.

At first, the Strangers only dared to linger at the edges because they were intimidated by Ye Qing’s energies. But as the scent grew thicker and thicker, both the sapient and non-sapient Strangers ultimately succumbed to their base desires and began charging toward the Pill Furnace Island.

Even Ye Qing was feeling a tiny bit of unnatural temptation.