Arthur continued descending deeper beneath the mountain range while remaining hidden beneath layers of concealment spells. The salamanders ahead of him moved naturally through the underground pathways, their enormous bodies scraping against the tunnel walls while heat waves distorted the surrounding air.
The deeper they traveled, the hotter the environment became. Molten cracks spread through the rocky walls like glowing veins, illuminating the darkness in an orange light, and the pressure pressing down from every direction grew increasingly heavier with each passing minute.
Even ordinary Great Unity Immortals would eventually struggle in such an environment. The sheer heat alone could slowly cook weaker cultivators alive, while the dense underground pressure would crush their organs over time.
But Arthur's expression remained calm throughout the descent. His body had already transcended normal biological limitations long ago. His skin was nearly invulnerable to the scorching temperatures, and the pressure simply felt like heavier gravity pressing against him.
After more than half an hour of silently following the salamanders, Arthur finally reached the end of the enormous pit. The underground space widened dramatically into a gigantic subterranean region lit by rivers of flowing magma. The salamanders spread out naturally as the path divided into five separate tunnels, each one extending deeper and branching through the underground world.
Arthur stopped near the entrance and slowly closed his eyes. His divine sense spread outward carefully.
Almost immediately, one particular tunnel stood out from the others. He sensed a much stronger life force from deep within it, stronger than anything else in the surrounding area.
Arthur opened his eyes slowly. '…Found you.'
Interestingly, none of the salamanders entered the tunnel he selected. They instinctively avoided it, choosing the other paths instead. That only confirmed his suspicion further, whatever existed inside was likely the apex creature of this entire underground ecosystem.
Arthur moved silently into the tunnel while remaining completely cloaked. His invisibility spell bent light around his body while suppressing his spiritual fluctuations, heat signatures, and even minute disturbances in the surrounding air. The concealment was far superior to ordinary stealth techniques and he had specifically created it to avoid stronger enemies.
The tunnel stretched endlessly forward, and the deeper Arthur traveled, the stranger the environment became. The rocky walls gradually transformed into dark crystalline structures glowing faintly beneath the surface, as if enormous quantities of fire-attributed spiritual energy had saturated the area over countless years.
From what Arthur estimated, he was already several kilometers beneath the surface. Still, he continued deeper.
Several minutes later, he finally noticed bright light illuminating the far end of the tunnel. Arthur immediately slowed his movements further.
Without hesitation, he layered another concealment spell over himself, this one specifically modified to hide his soul fluctuations as much as possible. Only after confirming everything was stable did he carefully step into the massive cavern beyond.
And the moment he entered… he froze slightly.
The underground cave was enormous, large enough to contain a small city. Rivers of lava flowed through cracks in the ground while gigantic stone pillars extended toward the unseen ceiling high above. The heat inside was suffocatingly intense, distorting the entire cavern beneath waves.
But none of that drew Arthur's attention for long. Because resting near the center of the cavern was a gigantic dragon-like beast.
The creature was absolutely massive, easily over one hundred fifty meters long, with dark crimson scales covering its entire body like armor. Every breath escaping its nostrils released scorching heat into the surroundings, and its gigantic limbs looked capable of crushing mountains with pure physical force alone.
Arthur narrowed his eyes slightly while analyzing it. '…Is it a lesser dragon?'
He could tell immediately the creature wasn't a true dragon. It likely evolved from salamander-type beasts over countless generations until traces of draconic bloodlines awakened within it. Even so, the pressure radiating from the beast was terrifying.
It was definitely stronger than him, and he reached that conclusion almost instantly. Still… he wasn't worried.
Even if a fight broke out, he was confident he could eventually kill the creature without suffering significant damage. His regeneration, durability and absurd abilities ensured that much. But what truly captured his attention wasn't the beast itself.
Near the dragon's enormous head floated a small bluish flame with a golden core at its center. It hovered silently above what looked like an ancient stone cauldron embedded directly into the ground.
The flame itself looked beautiful yet unnaturally dangerous. Its outer layer resembled flowing blue liquid, while the golden core within radiated faint pulses that made the surrounding space distort subtly. Even from a distance, Arthur could feel a strange resonance deep within his soul.
Slowly, and carefully, Arthur began moving toward it. He didn't dare fly, using energy unnecessarily near a creature at this level would wake it. So instead, he physically climbed across the jagged rock formations surrounding the dragon, carefully placing each step while minimizing the sound he produced.
The closer he got to the flame, the stronger the heat became. Even Arthur's skin started tingling faintly. Finally reaching a close enough distance, Arthur activated Analyze.
A blue system panel immediately appeared before his eyes.
[Fragment of Origin True Fire: Origin True Fire is the primordial spark born at the dawn of creation, a foundational law of the cosmos that serves as the ancestral progenitor of all flame in the universe. This fragment can be developed by absorbing other fragments or heavenly, earthly, and demonic flames.]
Arthur's pupils contracted slightly. '…What the hell…'
For a brief moment, genuine shock appeared on his usually calm face. A treasure connected directly to a primordial cosmic law should not exist inside the secret realm of a low-level world. Even Immortal Emperors would likely wage wars spanning galaxies to obtain something like this.
And yet… Here it was just sitting inside an underground cave in a secret realm of a lower world.
Arthur slowly exhaled while staring at the flame. Then another thought surfaced in his mind, how had this thing remained undiscovered for forty-nine thousand years?
But the answer became obvious almost immediately. Who in their right mind would invade the lair of a dragon hidden several kilometers underground inside a dangerous secret realm?
Arthur carefully continued climbing toward the cauldron while bypassing the sleeping dragon. Several minutes later, he finally stood directly before the floating flame.
And then… He realized a serious problem.
'…How exactly am I supposed to take this thing?'
He had absolutely no container capable of holding the fragment of a primordial flame. Even spatial storage might collapse instantly from the heat and energy contained within it.
After contemplating briefly, Arthur finally decided to ask the system directly.
'System, how do I refine this flame?'
The response appeared instantly before him.
[Host, to refine the flame you need to wrap it with your consciousness and slowly guide it toward your dantian. Since you do not possess a dantian, you may house it within your Sea of Consciousness.]
[Warning: All immortal flames possess traces of sentience, even fragmented ones. The host must subdue and tame the flame completely. Failure may result in the flame devouring the host's soul.]
Arthur stared silently at the warning for several moments. '…That sounds incredibly dangerous.'
The system, naturally, didn't respond. Arthur looked back toward the flame.
Leaving behind a treasure like this was impossible. Especially now, with a multiversal-level threat looming over him, every advantage mattered.
So after several seconds of contemplation, Arthur finally made his decision. '…Fine.'
He slowly sat down cross-legged before the flame.
Ideally, he would've preferred absorbing it somewhere safe. Unfortunately, the cauldron itself was fused into the ground, and Arthur didn't believe for even a second that the sleeping dragon wouldn't notice the flame disappearing.
Before beginning the refinement process, Arthur immediately started preparing defensive measures.
Using minimal energy fluctuations possible, he silently etched runes into the rocky floor around himself and the flame. One after another, intricate formation patterns spread outward beneath him, combining both runic structures and defensive formations into a multilayered barrier.
Arthur worked extremely carefully throughout the entire process. Every movement was calculated and every fluctuation minimized. Nearly five minutes later, Arthur finally placed thousands of spirit stones around the formation as its energy source.
Then he activated it.
HUMMMMMMMM!
A translucent barrier immediately rose around him. And the moment the formation activated… The dragon's eyes snapped open and looked towards Arthur.
ROOOOOOOOAAARRRGGGHHHH!!!
The entire cavern shook violently beneath the monstrous roar.
Arthur slowly looked up. The lesser dragon rose from the ground like a living mountain, its gigantic body towering over the cave. Standing fully now, it was nearly fifty meters tall and over one hundred fifty meters long.
Its burning crimson eyes locked directly onto Arthur. More specifically, onto the flame before him.
The dragon instantly understood what Arthur was attempting.
ROOOOOAAARRRGGGHHHH!!!
The beast charged forward furiously, each massive step shaking the entire cavern.
BOOOOOOM! BOOOOOOM! BOOOOOOM!
Arthur ignored it completely.
Closing his eyes, he slowly extended his divine sense toward the Origin Flame fragment.
And the moment his consciousness touched the flame…
"ARGHHHHH!!"
Arthur's body trembled violently. It felt like his soul itself had been thrown directly into a fire pit.
A searing pain exploded throughout his mind, far beyond anything physical. Even his Pain Tolerance became nearly useless because the agony wasn't affecting nerves or flesh. It was attacking his soul directly.
Sweat immediately poured down Arthur's face while veins bulged across his forehead. Meanwhile, the dragon completely lost control seeing Arthur trying to claim the flame.
ROOOOOOOAAARRRGGGHHHH!!!
Its gigantic tail swung toward Arthur with enough force to flatten mountains.
BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!
The impact slammed directly into the barrier surrounding Arthur. The entire formation trembled violently.
Cracks spread briefly across the translucent shield before stabilizing again. Several spirit stones instantly shattered into dust from the energy consumption.
Arthur gritted his teeth but continued focusing on the flame. The lesser dragon roared furiously seeing its attack fail.
Then the scales along its body began glowing one after another, starting from its tail and rapidly spreading toward its head like lava flowing beneath its skin.
ZZZZZ-KRRRR SSSTTT!
Immense fire-attributed spiritual energy gathered inside the dragon's mouth. The surrounding temperature skyrocketed instantly. And the cavern itself began melting under the pressure.
And then…
KABOOOOOOOOOOM-SHHHHHHHH!!!
A gigantic beam of orange fire erupted from the dragon's mouth and slammed directly into Arthur's barrier, engulfing him completely within a sea of destructive flames.
***
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