Chapter 1: The Furnace Becomes the Master
The scent of orchids and musk hung heavy in the air.
Ye Tian opened his eyes. He didn't see the fluorescent lights of his Earth apartment, nor the truck that had flattened him seconds ago. Instead, he saw a ceiling of carved sandalwood and draped silks, glowing softly under the light of a luminous pearl embedded in the wall.
He sat up, a sharp headache pulsing through his temples. Memories that weren't his flooded his mind like a tidal wave.
Azure Cloud Continent.
The Northern Wastes.
The Frost Moon Palace.
He was Ye Tian, a cripple. A "waste" with blocked meridians, kidnapped from a mortal village three days ago to serve as a Human Furnace, a disposable vessel for a powerful female cultivator to drain of vitality to break through her bottleneck.
"Ridiculous," Ye Tian sneered, his voice raspy. The timid soul of the original owner had shattered under the pressure. Now, a ruthless mercenary from Earth occupied the shell.
He looked down.
Beside him, amidst the disheveled silk sheets, lay a woman of breathtaking beauty. Her skin was like white jade, her hair a cascade of raven silk spread across the pillow. She was Su Qinghan, the Palace Master of the Frost Moon Palace, a cultivator at the peak of the Nascent Soul realm. A goddess high above the clouds.
But right now, the high and mighty Palace Master was curled up, her breathing ragged and cheeks flushed a deep, alluring crimson. Her normally freezing aura was shattered, replaced by a pliant softness.
Ye Tian felt a surge of terrifying power coursing through his own veins. The blocked meridians? Gone. In their place flowed a golden, tyrannical Qi that felt like it could crush mountains.
Suddenly, a mechanical voice rang in his mind, cold and emotionless.
[Ding! System Integration Complete.]
[Host: Ye Tian]
[System: Myriad Heavens Plunder System]
[Current Status: The Host has successfully reversed the Yin Yang Harmony Art. Instead of being drained, the Host has plundered the target's cultivation base.]
[Reward:
Cultivation: Promoted from Mortal to Golden Core Realm (Peak Stage).
Physique: Awakened the Sovereign Chaos Body.
Skill: Eyes of Domination (Suppresses anyone with lower mental strength).]
Ye Tian's lips curled into a devilish grin. In this dog eat dog world, he had just become the apex predator. He didn't just survive the extraction; he reversed the flow and devoured her energy.
He reached out, his hand tracing the curve of Su Qinghan's shoulder. She stirred, her eyelashes fluttering open.
Confusion clouded her icy blue eyes for a moment, before memories of the night returned. She realized her spiritual sea was turbulent, her strength halved, while the "trash" she had kidnapped was radiating a terrifying golden aura.
"You..." Su Qinghan tried to sit up, the sheet slipping down to reveal her collarbone, but she collapsed back onto the pillows, her limbs weak. "You dare... what did you do to this Seat?"
Her voice lacked its usual imperious authority. It was husky, trembling with a mix of shock and lingering sensation.
Ye Tian didn't flinch. He leaned over her, trapping her between his arms. The proximity was intoxicating, the heat between them still palpable.
"You brought me here to use me as a disposable toy, Palace Master Su," Ye Tian said, his voice low and dangerous. He grabbed her chin, forcing her to look into his eyes. "You wanted to drain my Yang energy to reach the Spirit Severing realm. Did you really think a dragon would let itself be eaten by a snake?"
"Presumptuous!" Su Qinghan grit her teeth, trying to summon her ice Qi, but it dissipated the moment it touched Ye Tian's skin. The Sovereign Chaos Body nullified all suppression. "I will have you executed! I will—"
"You will do nothing," Ye Tian cut her off.
He activated the Eyes of Domination. His pupils turned into vertical golden slits.
Su Qinghan gasped. She felt a primal fear, an instinct to submit that she hadn't felt in a hundred years of cultivation. Her body, still sensitive and treacherous from their unintended dual cultivation, betrayed her. She slumped against the mattress, breathing hard, her defiant glare melting into something complex, fear, confusion, and a strange, undeniable attraction to his newfound strength.
Ye Tian ran a thumb over her lower lip, his gaze sweeping over her form with possessive arrogance.
"From today on, the Frost Moon Palace belongs to me," Ye Tian declared, his tone leaving no room for argument. "And you, Su Qinghan... you are no longer the Palace Master. You are mine."
He stood up, walking naked across the room to a bronze mirror. His body was sculpted like marble, radiating power. He grabbed a white robe hanging from a screen, a robe meant for the Palace Master's male concubines, and tore it in half.
With a wave of his hand, he opened his inventory space, a feature of the System, and donned a set of pitch black robes that materialized from thin air, the Vestments of the Night King (Newbie Package Item).
"Get dressed," Ye Tian commanded without looking back. "The elders are waiting outside. They expect you to come out having broken through. Instead... I will be the one walking out."
Su Qinghan pulled the silk sheet tightly around her chest, watching his back. Her heart was pounding against her ribs like a trapped bird. She should hate him. She should kill him. But as she looked at his broad back, she realized her cultivation base, though halved, was purer than before. The dual cultivation hadn't just drained her; it had purified her impurities.
She bit her lip, a complicated flush rising on her neck.
"Yes... Master," she whispered, the words tasting foreign and forbidden on her tongue.
Ye Tian smiled coldly. This was just the beginning. The heavens, the realms, the beauties, he would plunder them all.
He kicked the heavy chamber doors open.
System Status:
Host: Ye Tian
Harem Candidates: 1 (Su Qinghan Subdued)
Current Goal: Seize control of the Sect.