"So you’re saying Lin Beichen continued climbing up the mountain from here?"
Hao Liena didn’t mean to distrust Kendia; it was just an instinctive response. As she spoke, she crouched down beside Kendia’s feet and carefully examined the ground.
Before Kendia could say anything,
Hao Liena nodded her head in agreement, "I think you’re right."
Kendia must be quite competent to become a partner. Since he pointed out this possibility, she quickly observed everything Kendia had discovered as she followed his lead.
Lin Beichen’s trail!
Or, more accurately...
Lin Beichen’s footprints!
Despite the rain, it wasn’t heavy enough to completely wash away Lin Beichen’s footprints.
From the footprints left at the scene, it was obvious that he headed into the trees by the roadside.
At this moment, neither Hao Liena nor Kendia could tell from the traces alone where Lin Beichen went after entering the trees.
After all, it was a rainy day, and even light rain would affect the traces.
Moreover...
It’s incredibly difficult to determine someone’s path in dense undergrowth.
However, combining the information given by the security personnel with their own thoughts, they both arrived at the same idea—
Lin Beichen was heading up the mountain!
If Lin Beichen wasn’t going up the mountain...
The path down the mountain was right in front of him.
There was no reason for him to dashing into the trees.
At this point, Hao Liena furrowed her brows and voiced the question that had been lingering in her mind, "Why does Lin Beichen want to reach the mountaintop of Jingli Mountain? What’s he planning to do there?"
"No idea."
Kendia shook his head with an earnest expression, genuinely unsure of the reason.
However, a thought struck him, giving him an explanation: "For someone as unique as him, perhaps some things he does have a purpose just as they might not. We can’t fathom his intentions; all we can do is follow orders and take action against him."
"You’re right, Kendia."
Hao Liena nodded in agreement once more. Then she took out her phone, sent a message to the others: "The target is climbing towards the mountaintop. Everyone move through the trees and envelop the target at the peak!"
...
...
At the same time,
Lin Beichen was unaware that danger was silently approaching. He was indeed, as Hao Liena and Kendia had guessed, threading through the trees, climbing towards the peak.
He had an excited smile on his face.
For two reasons: firstly, he was getting closer to the mountaintop; and secondly, the fire elements in the air were becoming denser as he approached.
Even...
Far denser than the already rich fire elements at the mountain’s base.
One minute...
Two minutes...
Three minutes...
...
In this desolate forest area, Lin Beichen did not hold back at all, directly mounted a five-stage burst, given his steel-like physique, the branches in the forest posed no obstacle to him, like they were nonexistent.
No one knew exactly how long he had been moving.
In any case, it hadn’t been long.
The clouds in the sky hadn’t fully gathered, and the rain hadn’t become heavy.
At this moment, Lin Beichen was nearly at the volcano’s crater.
Looking down from the sky,
If the crater was a circle, he was at a point very close to the edge.
"Phew—"
Lin Beichen exhaled deeply, and from this sigh, one could sense his relief and excitement.
The scenery at the summit of Jingli Mountain was fascinating, or more accurately, it was distinctive.
Under the blanket of snow...
The closer to the crater, the less snow there was, and the ground was very dry, with fine cracks on the ashy white surface.
Lin Beichen stood right at the boundary between the snowy area and the volcano ash-covered ground, one foot on the snow and the other on the cracked ash, looking around with immense joy on his face.
"So dense!"
"These fire elements..."
"It’s perfect for cultivation!"
Before coming here, Lin Beichen had imagined that the summit of the world’s largest active volcano would be suitable for cultivation, and he envisioned it.
But now that he was actually standing at the mountain peak, he realized his imagination had been too conservative.
This place was several times better than he had thought!
"Cultivation!"
Lin Beichen couldn’t wait to begin.
Without any hesitation,
he sat down cross-legged on the ground abruptly, hands turned upward, and immediately entered into a cultivation state.
"Boom—!"
"Boom—!"
"..."
The explosive sound of flames initially echoed within Lin Beichen’s heart but gradually, this sound seemed to emanate faintly from the volcano’s depths.
It was so weak that it could barely be heard without paying close attention.
Nonetheless...
This sound truly existed.
At the same time,
The sky, which had been cleared by the increasing rain, suddenly filled with patches of gray-black smoke, emerging from the volcano’s mouth, undeterred by the intensifying rain.