When that happened, Meng Hao sighed

When that happened, Meng Hao sighed in relief. The whole reason he had dared to come to this place was because of the crystal. However, he had only been eighty percent sure that it would be successful, and had thus hesitated. However, now that he saw that the crystal was indeed effective, Meng Hao’s eyes glittered brightly.

He looked up at the Essence of Divine Flame, and smiled in anticipation.

The huge spark hovered in midair, spewing out a sea of flames, as if it were the source of all flames.

Meng Hao took a deep breath. Then, hefting the crystal, he began to slowly move forward. The flames around him raged ferociously, battering against him in waves. The power of the fire was shockingly intense, and he knew that if even the tiniest ember from those flames touched him, even his Eternal stratum would only keep him alive for a short time before he was completely destroyed.

Time passed, and Meng Hao continued to get closer and closer to the enormous Essence of Divine Flame. After a while, he came to a stop a few thousand meters away from the flame. He found it very difficult to progress further, not because the crystal was incapable of absorbing any more of the flame’s power, but because he was physically unable to approach any further even by employing his cultivation base at its maximum power. The pressure in the area was just too intense.

If he didn’t have the crystal, at most, he could reach a point around ten thousand meters away from the flame.

Meng Hao took a deep breath and looked around at the sea of flames. By this point, he could see images within the flames, including beasts, magical items and types of vegetation.

Each image was intensely powerful, something that would shock even someone at the peak of the Immortal Realm. The closer he got to the Essence of Divine Flame, the more terrifying the flame spirits became.

“I don’t want to take away the entire Essence of Divine Flame,” he thought. “I just want a bit of fire to use as a trump card in the future.” He cautiously sent his divine sense out, opened a gap in the protective shield created by the crystal, and pulled in a flame spirit that looked like a butterfly. Once it was inside, he backed up at top speed, and used all the power of his cultivation base to use the power of the crystal to envelop the flame butterfly.

After backing up some distance, the power of the flame sea decreased a bit, and Meng Hao stopped. Panting, he looked at the butterfly fluttering around within the power of the crystal. Then, he carefully sent a stream of divine sense toward the flame butterfly. As soon as it made contact, his divine sense ignited into flame, and he instantly severed the connection.

Determination appeared in his eyes as he produced the ancient bronze lamp from his bag of holding. Exercising the utmost caution, he extended it toward the flame butterfly.

“If this works, then I’ll have an excellent trump card to use in the future. If I fail, well… I won’t have lost out on anything.” Gritting his teeth, he touched the bronze lamp to the flame butterfly.

In that instant, the bronze lamp suddenly flickered. The flame butterfly landed on the lamp’s wick, and a puffing sound could be heard as the flame blazed to life!

It only burned for a moment, and then went dark. However, there was now a glimmering spark inside the lamp.

Meng Hao excitedly attempted to put the lamp back into his bag of holding, and was successful. Then he pulled it back out and blew on it. Instantly, a sea of flames erupted out, and Meng Hao held his breath. A moment later, the flames died out, and only a spark remained in the lamp.

“Success!” he said, laughing loudly. Licking his lips, he thought about trying to collect some more flame, but then he looked at the Essence of Divine Flame floating there in midair and considered the bizarre nature of the place. In the end, he decided that it wasn’t wise to act rashly. Reigning in his greed, he backed up a bit and then put the the crystal away. He allowed the flames to burn him a bit, then, eyes glittering, stepped into the exit and vanished.

In the moment that he vanished, a vertical eye suddenly appeared within the Essence of Divine Flame. It stared coldly at Meng Hao as he faded away, and then, after a moment, a long sigh could be heard.

“After all these years, he is the first person to succeed…. He… will definitely be back!”