These flames didn’t seem keen on having intruders either. They were ready to incinerate anything that got close.
Who knows how these fiery storms were formed, especially the torch deeper in there. They thought that a giant had left a torch there. The scorching heat deterred others from getting close.
“Look, over there!” A hawk-eyed observer noticed a pillar of light coming from a mountain there.
Many locked their gaze onto it and saw that it was coming from a dao platform, looking ancient from an old era.
The style was completely different from the rest of Fire Domain. Perhaps it landed down one day.
The platform had a portal with rotating lights. Crossing it would take one to a different world.
“Fire Domain shouldn’t have something like that, it must be the entrance to the emperor’s treasury.” An ancestor knew what it was right away.
“Are you telling me that the treasury takes up an entire dimension?” Some started fantasizing.
Some weren’t surprised by this in the slightest. The emperor’s achievements far exceeded the imagination.
Nonetheless, a few thought that this was exaggerated and disagreed: “There should be a limit to this, how can it fill up the whole thing?”
“Why not? Immortal Assailant Emperor is the last of the epoch and should have the greatest treasury. According to the legends, the emperor went to the sky and plucked the stars then down to the nine hells for the boundless dark oceans. How can a tiny place contain all of these treasures? The emperor most likely refined an entire dimension for this sake.” An old historian speculated.
“This last emperor might really have everything from that epoch.” Another elder said with a serious expression.
Of course, these big shots have been coveting this treasury for so long. They have heard of the legends pertaining to this emperor previously.
“Really...” The crowd salivated from imagining the wealth accumulated over one epoch.
Just getting 1/10th, no, 1/100th of it would be enough to make one richer than a great kingdom.
“What are we waiting for?!” People rushed towards the portal.
They entered the domain and felt the scorching heat waves hitting them, turning them into barbecued chickens.
This sudden influx was horrifying, instantly cooking them from outside to inside.
“Activate!” One channeled their merit law and created a frost barrier. Unfortunately, this was akin to adding salt to the ocean.
The flames here weren’t that visible but one could still see the spatial warping due to the temperature, similar to a person being poured molten metal all over.
“Ah!” The first waves of cultivators couldn’t handle the heat and melted down like rubber. Their bodies dripped down into piles before melting down completely. Only dispersing smoke was left, not even ashes. The others couldn’t back off in time and suffered the same fate.
All of this happened in the blink of an eye and horrified the ones standing right by the order. Some panicked and pulled their legs back just in time.
Nonetheless, a few masters didn’t believe in this and used their powerful treasures.
“Buzz.” Dao laws hovered around them as a defensive measure.
“Zzz...” This successfully stopped the temperature, allowing them to delve deeper.
Unfortunately, they greatly underestimated the power of the domain and came to find that the heat was several times higher. Their treasures started to break down as well.
“No, run!” They shouted in horror and tried to run as fast as possible. It was too late. Smoke started appearing in the air again.
Only the strongest among them managed to run out of the domain in time.
“Shit, that was close.” He heaved a sigh of relief.
“Pop!” Alas, all the muscles and tendons in his body have been melted and he popped like an air bubble. Everything inside poured out in a liquid form.
The ones nearby screamed and ran away.
“That’s horrifying.” They exchanged glances of fear.
“We really can’t go in?” They thought that this was impossible. A few had strong treasures but still weren’t enough.
“What’s causing this heat for millions of years? Is it from the deepest location?” An expert stared at the only flame.
Some stared at the trio of geniuses. Their armies were also present.
The trio had a solemn expression at this point.
“We can’t enter nor get that flame.” Skylight First Prince spoke first.
“I heard Skylight Dao Lord went here before.” An ancestor nearby asked: “Do you know more about this, Your Highness?”
The prince pondered for a bit before responding: “It’s true, the forefather made it to the final area and collected part of the flame.”
This was astonishing yet not. This dao lord was extremely powerful; this was within his abilities.
“This place is the home of a phoenix.” An old voice sounded: “Skylight Dao Lord came seeking the phoenix’s nest, not to collect some flames. It’s just that he eventually failed.”
People looked over and saw an old man whose face was covered by a veiled hat. The rest of his group had the same mysterious appearance.
“They’re from Divine Stone Ridge.” Someone quietly whispered.
Many cultivators cupped their fist to greet them. The golems actually bowed.
This was the strongest golem lineage outside of Ancestral City. However, they always kept a low profile.
Rumor has it that they possessed a great vein. This was the source of their power.