Not far ahead of him, a pitch-black, nine-tiered sacrificial altar stood amid the magma.
At the very top of the altar, a violet-white flame burned silently.
Wisps of brilliant golden light surrounded the flame, lending it an air of sanctity.
Heat waves swept outward from the Dao Flame, making the magma beneath his feet shudder and sending ripples across its surface.
At the sight, Li Dao realized that this Dao Flame was the reason the magma pool had formed.
"Could this be a flame seed left behind by some mighty expert after their death?"
He could hardly be blamed for thinking so. One glance at the strange runes engraved on the nine-tiered altar told him it was man-made.
Divine light flickered in his eyes, and he could faintly see wisps of Dao Aura circulating around the altar.
Still, Li Dao paid little heed to any of this. He had come to forge an artifact; as long as this Dao Flame could help him, that was enough.
His gaze settled on the Dao Flame atop the nine-tiered altar. After looking at it for only a moment, he felt a scorching heat rise within his body.
"This Dao Flame should be enough for me to forge my artifact!"
With that thought, he swiftly landed on the altar.
The instant he stepped onto it, lines of Dao Patterns glowing with strange light rose from the pitch-black altar, which had seemed like a lifeless object until then.
The Dao Patterns extended toward the Dao Flame. Wariness stirred in Li Dao's heart as he cautiously approached it.
The Black-and-Yellow Furnace protected him, and wave after wave of heat battered against it with dull thuds.
Li Dao forced his way through the pressure to the very center. Seeing the Dao Flame suspended in midair, he wasted