“Excuse me, Daoist Forge-Flame,” the guard spoke out, to which the man finally raised his head and glanced at the two. His gaze locked onto John for a short while as he inspected him closely, and he nodded his head in approval.
“Young man. Your body is something else. With that strength, you would make a fine forgemaster. Have you come here today to join our Eternal Weapon Temple?” the man asked John.
John raised an eyebrow, not expecting to hear an offer of joining the temple, but shook his head lightly at the man’s words.
“I am here to see Daoist Eternal Weapon,” he said as he took out the Eternal Weapon seal he had obtained in the auction.
The man raised a single eyebrow as he looked at the seal, and stood up shortly afterwards.
“Temple-Master Eternal Weapon is not here. Follow me,” Daoist Forge-Flame said as he turned around and began to descend the stairs behind him.
John quickly followed behind, while the guard left, returning to the front gates to resume his guarding duty. John followed behind the man in silence as they descended deep into the earth below the temple.
After walking for quite some time, they finally reached the bottom, at which point a massive chamber came into view. The chamber flared brightly with the fires of different forges and furnaces, each emanating a scorching heat. When compared to the forges he had seen before, these were of much higher quality, made from the finest materials.
If one was not in the Heaven Tribulation Realm, just standing here would scorch that person alive. However, while the massive chamber flared with the heat of the flaming forges and furnaces, no one was visible within.
As if expecting this, the man continued to walk forward towards the opposite side of the chamber, while John followed closely behind. They eventually reached a formation platform, which the man beckoned for John to step onto.
“Since you’ve come here, I’m assuming you have the materials required for the weapon?” the man asked.
“I do,” John nodded his head.
“Good, then you may proceed,” the man nodded before pressing his hand against a nearby formation pedestal, at which point the teleportation formation flared with power.
“Be sure to raise your defenses,” the man said in clear warning, “though I think with your body, you should be able to handle it.”
John frowned at the man’s words of warning, and immediately felt his body transport through space for an instant. He appeared in another place, and his eyes widened as he felt as if he had stepped into a scorching inferno, one hot enough to make even him feel the sting of heat. Were it not for his incredibly sturdy body, just the heat alone would no doubt have killed him instantly.
His gaze shifted about, taking in his surroundings, which glowed brightly as magma flowed all about.
“Im…I’m inside a volcano?” John exclaimed, not expecting to have been transported into an active volcano.
The formation platform where he had appeared was only a few feet above the flowing rivers of molten magma on both sides of him, while a small strip of solid ground stretched out before him into the distance, the only salvation from the scorching magma.
“This magma is far hotter than the magma I experienced inside the Jade Dragon Empire trial grounds. If I were to fall into this magma, I would have to use my full power to defend against its scorching heat, and I would still no doubt take grave damage…where exactly is this?” John mumbled as he braced against the heat, and began to walk down the strip of ground before him.
The strip of solid ground meandered through a winding cave for over a mile, while the scorching magma flowed by on both sides the entire time. Eventually an opening at the end of the cave came into view, and John quickly reached that opening.
His eyes widened once more as a massive chamber came into view, over a mile wide and high. The chamber was filled to the edges with a lake of magma, making the heat inside the chamber even more frightening than the cave he was in.
The thin strip of solid ground continued to stretch into the middle of the magma lake, where a singular building was visible. The building was a hundred yards wide and two hundred yards tall, appeared like a stone temple of sorts, and withstood the scorching magma which flowed against it. The magma seemed to flow towards the building and into it from hidden channels unseen, while a smoke trail drifted out of the top of the stone building.
Most shocking of all was the sound of powerful metallic clangs booming out from within the temple. The clangs echoed every other second, and were so strong and loud that it shook the entire chamber, while the magma lake roiled with each clang.
After taking in the shocking sight, John continued walking forward towards the temple, making sure to not fall into the magma on both sides of him. Each clang shook the ground he was standing on, while he did his best to stand firm as he proceeded forward. With the increased heat of the lake of magma, if he were to fall into his, his survival was not guaranteed, even if he used his full power, a testament to the frightening heat of the magma.
For some reason, he chose not to fly towards the building, as if walking on the strip of land was a challenge of its own. The creator of this place could have easily chosen to not include a thin bridge to the building in the middle, which would have required flight. However, they had not done so, and so John felt it was appropriate to follow their design.
After making his way forward, he finally arrived before the building, of which the front entrance was already open, revealing a singular man inside, hammering away with a hammer, while each hammer stroke shook him from within, powerful beyond compare.
The man was shirtless, wearing only brown colored pants. He appeared to be in his fifties, and had a bushy rust colored beard and bald head. His muscles bulged from his body, rippling with overwhelming power, as if the man was strong enough to tear the world apart with his bare hands. Other than the Jade Dragon Emperor, this man was no doubt the strongest body cultivator John had ever seen.
His hammer slammed down on a heated ingot of unknown metal, slowly forming it into whatever the desired shape was. The hammering process was a simple action, but John could see that there were many profound Dao’s contained within each swing, some too profound for even someone like him to see through.
There was no mistaking who this man was.
Daoist Eternal Weapon!
