Ji Hao hurriedly took out a bottle of Sacred Spring Water and drank it. Life essence continuously surged from his abdomen, and his condition improved tremendously.
The Lihuo Divine Furnace acted again, capturing a large amount of Nine-Colored Divine Fire and injecting it into the Saint Spirit Furnace.
"Keep going! Hang in there, blacksmith!"
"Clang, clang, clang!"
The sound of forging rang out through this deserted ninth level as well.
One day, two days, three days... fifteen days... one month.
The Saint Spirit Furnace hung above the Firmament as Emperor Characters transformed into massive hammers, continuously branding and pounding its surface.
Threads of nine-colored fire flowed through the hollow patterns on the Saint Spirit Furnace.
Ji Hao let out a sigh of relief. After a month, he had finally forged the Saint Spirit Furnace successfully.
If not for the continuous supply of Sacred Spring Water, Ji Hao would have long since died from mental exhaustion after carving Emperor Characters without rest for an entire month.
"Come, let me test just how powerful this Saint Spirit Furnace is!"
Ji Hao activated the Saint Spirit Furnace, and its lid rose.
The next moment, a tremendous roar erupted across the ninth level.
Towering divine flames erupted from the Saint Spirit Furnace, filling heaven and earth and engulfing everything around them. Then, they swept countless strands of Nine-Colored Divine Fire back into the Saint Spirit Furnace as a streak of nine-colored divine light bloomed.
Innate Patterns condensed once more. Heaven and earth fell into silence, leaving only the sound of flames burning.
A Wisdom Light Wheel appeared behind Ji Hao's head, and he once again entered a state of enlightenment.
Three days later, Ji Hao slowly opened his eyes. There was no great commotion; he seemed utterly plain and ordinary, carrying a sense of Return to Simplicity.
"That was fast. Once I pass the tribulation, I'll probably reach Four Extremes Grand Perfection," Ji Hao sighed.
As expected of a cheat—it was incredible!
"It's time to enter the final level." Ji Hao put away the Saint Spirit Furnace and looked ahead.
Immortal Fire was not something one could encounter whenever one wished.
At the end lay an entirely different region. There were no flames of varied colors, only deathly stillness—bare and desolate, without the slightest trace of life. Legend had it that an immortal had been burned to death here, and the Desolate Pagoda had once risen and sunk here for thousands of years while repairing itself.
"So this is the tenth level of the Fire Domain!" Ji Hao said as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Immortal Fire?"
Holding the Lihuo Divine Furnace in his arms, Ji Hao walked forward. Before long, he saw a small tree at the center, a little over half a meter tall and remarkably ancient-looking.
The little tree was moving, making rustling sounds. It was not a tree at all, but fire—Immortal Fire!
This cluster of flames leaped vigorously, terrifying beyond measure, as though it could burn down the Heavens and Myriad Realms. Its heat was scorching, and Laws intertwined within it.
This was not fire in the ordinary sense, but Immortal Flame. It was composed of Runes and woven from divine chains, with one Symbol after another flickering within it.
Staring at the sapling, Ji Hao discovered that it was entirely composed of countless Dao Runes. Great Dao chains intertwined within it as one Symbol after another danced.
"I wonder whether this True Immortal Fire can yield an Immortal Dao Seed."
"Let's test it!"
Ji Hao activated the power of the Fishing Rod, transforming the Dao Principles contained within the Immortal Fire into a seed. The process was very slow; after all, only a cluster of fire remained.
Whichever Living Being had once existed had ultimately perished, and utterly so. Unlike an Immortality Elixir, whose Dao Principles hid within its body, waiting to sprout again one day and perhaps gain another chance at life.
Just like the Azure Emperor.
The power of the Fishing Rod connected to the River of Time. Anything that had existed was bound to leave traces. Wisps of seven-colored radiance shone from the Void, supreme and unmatched; though tiny, they surpassed all things in the world.
"This is actually a Quasi-Immortal Emperor Dao Seed!" Ji Hao exclaimed in shock.
The Immortal Fire before him seemed to sense something.
"Chirp, chirp!"
Suddenly, the small tree swayed, and a little bird appeared on one of its branches. Its wings were dazzling as it chirped incessantly, seemingly searching for something. Like the flames, it too was composed of Runes. The Runes continuously danced, and with every flap of its wings, patches of Runes flickered in and out of existence. It was unfathomable, as though it could burn down the Heavens and incinerate the Myriad Realms.
"A Phoenix?"
Ji Hao was somewhat startled. It resembled a Phoenix, vividly lifelike and smaller than a palm. It moved through flames, mysterious and unfathomable.
"Could he sense the existence of the Dao Seed?" Ji Hao was greatly surprised.
"Perhaps it's only a coincidence."
"And this should have been a flame left behind after a True Immortal died. Why did it become that cluster of Quasi-Immortal Emperor Fire from back then?"
Ji Hao's mind was filled with question marks.
"Could it be because of my existence? But can the butterfly effect influence the past?"
The palm-sized Phoenix shook his head as though searching for something.
"Did he sense something?"
"Forget it. I can't comprehend it with my current realm anyway."
"I should study the Runes within the Immortal Fire instead."
"If this is the flame left behind by the Footprint Emperor,"
"Then this cluster of Immortal Fire seems to contain many Great Daos. It merged with Liu Shen and even temporarily blocked a Quasi-Immortal Emperor for Huangtian Emperor."
"Perhaps I can't comprehend much at my realm, but I can carve the Runes onto the Saint Spirit Furnace."
Ji Hao opened his Martial Dao Heavenly Eyes, his glass-like pupils fixed intently on the evolution of one Rune within it.
Unfortunately, no matter how hard Ji Hao tried, he recorded only a pitifully small number of Runes.
Soon, the fire tree returned to stillness, and the Phoenix transformed back into a cluster of flame and returned to the Immortal Fire.
Ji Hao frowned deeply, unwilling to accept it. Though he could still comprehend it, most of the Runes remained hidden, making them difficult for Ji Hao to glimpse at his realm.
Moreover, the surrounding temperature was simply too high. The Lihuo Divine Furnace's autonomous protection could no longer withstand the heat; he had to supply it with Divine Power.
Ji Hao took out the seed again. The Immortal Fire underwent another change, and a young Qilin stepped proudly out of it.
A pair of bright white eyes looked curiously toward where the Dao Seed had appeared.
Finding nothing, it could only return helplessly.
"Six Runes. Nine is the limit, so I'll comprehend three more."
Ji Hao took out the Dao Seed again. This time, the Immortal Fire's transformation lasted much longer, as though it had realized something.
Within the Immortal Fire, the Runes blazed brilliantly. This time, a person actually walked out from it!
He did not appear large, yet he possessed an aura that could swallow mountains and rivers, like a Kun Peng about to soar into the skies.
"This is?"
Ji Hao looked at the humanoid flame in astonishment. It was truly shocking—this humanoid flame was simply too astonishing.
It seemed to possess intelligence, and its eyes were exceptionally lively!
After sizing Ji Hao up, he could clearly sense that it seemed to pause briefly over his Sea of Reincarnation.
Then it quickly vanished.
Ji Hao sighed in relief. "Nine Runes are enough. Don't bite off more than you can chew."
He had a feeling that his current spiritual power could bear at most nine Runes. Any more, and either he would fail to record them, or his Divine Soul would be injured.
Ji Hao slowly retreated. The Immortal Fire remained transformed into a small tree, quietly burning as its Runes flickered in and out of existence. Though it clearly possessed the might to burn the great thousand worlds, it seemed entirely harmless as it stayed there peacefully.
After retreating to the ninth level, he took a gulp of Sacred Spring Water to replenish his fluids.
[If you enjoy this novel, please share it on Facebook. The author would be immensely grateful.]