Chapter 92 Volcano

Very soon, the group of cultivators arrived before the base of the enormous volcano. What was once but a hill faintly in the distance now towered before them as a gigantic mountain,  red-hot lava boiling inside and ready to erupt at any given moment. In fact, with the amount of tense Qi in the atmosphere, it was a miracle it had not erupted yet.

"… The presence is right ahead, deeper into the volcano," the old senior noted. "I will take the lead. You all follow behind."

Of course, this was an act to gain the trust of everyone else. By taking the initiative to volunteer to go first like so, he came off as an honorable senior who knew he was the strongest amongst the group and therefore was responsible for taking on the most dangerous risks. This way, everyone would place their trust in him—but little did they know, that was all part of his plan.

Xuan, having had thousands of years of experience, naturally saw through this facade. Zi Xiruo had been attacked by the old fogey earlier, so of course she knew his true nature as well. As for Fu Mei, well—she was just naturally wary of humans, and had an accurate sixth sense that inherently came from her mother.

Regardless, the three of them hung at the back. Fu Mei seemed to be avoiding Xuan, however, which was only natural given what happened earlier. He didn't try to proactively reach out to her either, as now was not the time.

Inside the volcano, it was even hotter than the outside. After all, this place was the source of all the heat of the Flaming Sands Field, so it only made sense for it to be scorching. That meant Zi Xiruo would struggle, but Xuan had already done what he could—he wasn't going to show any more compassion. He would, however… enact revenge.

When the right time came, that is. No one hurt his allies and got away with it.

The path inside the volcano seemed to lead downwards, into the lava. It formed a spiral ramp going all the way around, until the path completely vanished underneath the smoking hot liquid. It seemed there was more beneath what lay on the surface, but… no one here could descend through lava this thick. Even Xuan's Stray Cloud Path couldn't be left active for that long, and his Qi would sooner or later run out even if he continuously activated it one after another.

There had to be some kind of trick here at play. Using his Divine Asura Eye, Xuan peered at his surroundings in search of clues. He was able to spot the energy flow from the lava rise upwards, and followed with his gaze.

"… Up, huh?"

To go down, one must first head up. A deceivingly simple puzzle, considering how far the group would have to climb to reach the peak of the volcano. He had no doubt that some amongst the group had the ability to fly, but by the looks of it, the distance they had to travel was not the only problem they had to face.

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Gradually, the others began to realize this as well. All the idiots had already been eliminated, so the only people left in the group were the ones with reasonably sized brains. They too noticed that they had to reach the top, and they too had inferred that things wouldn't be that simple.

'Someone is watching us.'

There was no doubt about it. An immensely powerful pressure hung within this volcano, stronger than even the High Elf senior. The others could only faint feel something was off, but Xuan and the High Elf were very much certain of this fact. The moment they stepped foot into this place—no, since stepping into the Flaming Sands Field—they've been under the surveillance of this being. It was just more apparent and obvious now that they were closer to the source.

The only question was…

'Who?'

It wasn't the world master of the Flaming Sands Field. His presence differed from this—Xuan would know, given that he had met him. This person was someone else entirely… but who could have this level of control and influence over another's small world?

"… It would seem the trick to continuing onwards is hidden within some sort of mechanism near the top of the volcano," the old senior stated the obvious. "I will take care of it, but I need someone else to come with me in case the unexpected occurs. Who would like to take on the job?"

After a few seconds of nobody volunteering, Xuan lifted his hand.

"I'll do it if you don't mind, senior."

Perhaps this was an outcome the High Elf did not expect, since he smiled slightly and rubbed his chin.

"Oho… interesting. The weakest cultivation is also the bravest. I applaud you, junior—very well. Follow me, and stay close."

Of course no one wanted to volunteer—the trip up was bound to be filled with traps. That much was obvious given the various seemingly randomly placed holes in the walls, suspiciously shaped like flamethrowers—and those were just the obvious ones.

But Xuan had different reasons for going—for he wanted to evaluate something. He wanted to evaluate how Fu Mei would act when he was gone, and whether or not any conflict would brew between the people left behind. He wanted to see how much control he had over her—if she was truly obedient to him already, then she shouldn't do anything. But if she wasn't yet fully submissive… Xuan would have to change that sooner or later.

More importantly, however, he wanted to speak with the High Elf senior—alone. There was something Xuan needed to discover, and only the High Elf could tell him. As for his bargaining chip—the reason he could use to convince the senior—he already had that. In other words, all the pieces were already in place.

The two's gaze met for a brief moment, and the old senior smiled warmly. Xuan did not.

All that was left was to execute the plan.