Stranger Danger

On the Ghost Dragon Boat, Old Man Profound Firmament and Dan Xiazi were standing shoulder-to-shoulder and observing the deadly currents of demonic fire rushing past their sides. They could not help but click their tongues in amazement.

The demonic fire was terrible, and the currents were horrific. However, neither could approach the Ghost Dragon Boat even a little. They were all blocked by the dark green flames surrounding the Anomaly. Moreover, the Ghost Dragon Boat was traversing through the raging sea so steadily it was like it was treading on smooth, flat ground.

"Tsk tsk... what a wonder!" Old Man Profound Firmament stuck his hand into the dark green flames of the Ghost Dragon Boat but felt no heat whatsoever. It was as cool and comfortable as a harmless breeze. He could not help but ask, "What do you think is the origin of the Ghost Dragon Boat, Danxia? Why is it immune to the demonic fire?"

"I do not know." Danxia Zi replied expressionlessly, though there were rays of curiosity in his eyes. "Why don't you ask Young Friend Ye about it?"

"Oh yeah, Joyless is the master of the Ghost Dragon Boat right now!"

Old Man Profound Firmament turned to face Ye Qing and Feng Qingyou. The duo were currently conversing with each other about something. "Joyless, you took control of the Ghost Dragon Boat, didn't you? Would you happen to know the origin of the Ghost Dragon Boat?" Ye Qing shook his head smilingly. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I discovered that the Ghost Dragon Boat is immune to the demonic fire by pure coincidence. I took control of it by force, but I know nothing about its background or origin."

"The Ghost Dragon Boat originated from the sea, and its story is fairly widespread. Frankly, you should know more about it than I do."

"Haha..." Old Man Profound Firmament rolled his eyes. "If we know, we might have solved this crisis a long time ago."

"Besides, there are countless Anomalies like the Ghost Dragon Boat in the sea. Most of them aren't especially harmful either. Who has the time to observe all of them?"

"That's true," Ye Qing echoed in agreement. There were countless dangers and Anomalies in the sea. Anomalies and Strangers that were deadlier than the Ghost Dragon Boat were a dime a dozen. It was no wonder that the Ghost Dragon Boat, an Anomaly that one could survive so long as you knew about its rules and stuck to it, did not enter the purview of the bigshots of the Profound Alliance.

The reason Ye Qing hid the fact that he knew about the Ghost Dragon Boat's origins was simple. One, it was because he didn't want to make trouble for himself. Two, it was a precaution.

The Ghost Dragon Boat's origin was tied to the heart of that god demon, and the heart of that god demon resided in his body right now. If Old Man Profound Firmament or Danxia Zi found out about this, they might covet it, or they might not. He didn't want to put their integrity to the test.

More importantly, he hadn't forgotten that he had offended the mysterious Sage behind the City of No Return, and he still did not know if Old Man Profound Firmament or Danxia Zi was one of them.

He had fought against that Sage and memorized their energies. He could declare with certainty that he hadn't sensed the same energies from either Sage—the reason Feng Qingyou rushed to fight against Danxia Zi earlier was to test him. Unfortunately, their efforts yielded nothing of note.

So far, it looked like Old Man Profound Firmament was open-minded and generous, benevolent and kind. Although Danxia Zi was old-fashioned and pedantic, he was innocent-minded and rule-abiding to a fault. Both of them seemed like good, upstanding folks and different from the petty, vile mastermind.

However, it was possible for a Sage to mask their energies in a way where even combat could not expose them. They couldn't let their guard down.

It wasn't good to assume the worst about others, but it wasn't good to trust them blindly either. It was better to be safe than sorry.

Of course, he might have gone a bit overboard this time.

For example, he had purposely restricted the Ghost Dragon Boat's abilities. He did not show them its ability to consume and control demonic fire.

For example, he did not tell them about the god demon heart inside his body.

For example, he did not tell them that the god demon heart also possessed the power to control and consume demonic fire like the Ghost Dragon Boat.

So on and so forth.

In conclusion, he had neither the need nor the reason to harm anyone so long as they didn't regard him with malice. But if they were, then he didn't mind giving them a big, pleasant surprise.

The Ghost Dragon Boat was moving swiftly. Under Ye Qing's control, it quickly arrived at the sea region where the demonic fire was at its strongest and most violent.

"This should be it. The demonic fire within a radius of tens of thousands of kilometers originates from this location."

Ye Qing stopped the Anomaly and stared at the demonic fire shooting hundreds of meters out of the sea surface and into the sky with an indifferent expression. "If we go down from here, we should be able to locate the source."

No one knew where the demonic fire came from. That was why they could only resort to the most mundane method possible: find a spot where the demonic fire was gushing from, enter it, and follow it for as long as possible.

"Alright. Let's go."

Old Man Profound Firmament and Danxia Zi nodded in agreement.

With a thought, Ye Qing commanded the Ghost Dragon Boat to sink into the sea. It entered the pillar of fire and sailed downward.

The lower they went, the greater and more intense the demonic fire became. Violent dark red demonic fire joined together to form a vast, endless tide and storm of dark flame. The tide of demonic fire surged and clashed without aim, forming a filthy inferno that looked like it could destroy anything and everything.

Even Old Man Profound Firmament and Danxia Zi felt a tremendous amount of pressure from the surging, rampaging flames. Even they could not withstand this tide and storm of demonic fire for long. Naturally, everyone else could only fare worse.

This was the main reason why they could not locate the source of the demonic fire.

And yet, the demonic fire that intimidated them and stopped them in their tracks failed to stop the Ghost Dragon Boat even a little.

The Ghost Dragon Boat was sailing through the tide just as fast and easily as before. The ungodly force that could have destroyed a Sage in just a short time could not affect it in the slightest.

Not only that, and they wondered if it was just their imagination, but they felt like the Ghost Dragon Boat was moving even faster and easier than before.

It wasn't their imagination. It was the truth.

The Ghost Dragon Boat was like a fish to water in this tide. Ye Qing could clearly sense its excitement, sense of freedom, and desire toward the demonic fire.

If he wasn't suppressing it by force, the Ghost Dragon Boat would have begun consuming it already.

It wasn't just the Ghost Dragon Boat either. Ye Qing was feeling the desire to consume the demonic fire himself.

But of course, the desire wasn't his own. It was the god demon heart.

This spurred on his curiosity more than ever before. Just what on earth was the connection between the two?

For a time, everyone was thinking, and no one was speaking.

About a teatime later, the group finally arrived at a large, oval-shaped pit.

The pit was easily over three kilometers in radius. It was unbelievably huge and infinitely deep. It looked like a giant scar at the bottom of the sea.

Right now, raging fire was pouring out of the pit.