A gas pillar!

The volcanic crater was venting gas!

The sight before them was breathtaking beyond words — a massive plume of white gas shot skyward from the crater, and quickly began spreading outward in all directions!

Everyone stood transfixed, staring in awe, but Ziqing cried out in alarm, “This is bad! It’s toxic!”

“Mommy, we’re not afraid of poison…” Xiong Xiaobao said timidly, his eyes fixed on the white gas cloud high above, which had spread out like an enormous smoke ring, floating over Flame Mountain — truly beautiful.

“You silly boy, this poison is different! Hold your breath immediately — this white gas is extremely toxic, even a true human Gu couldn’t withstand it!” Ziqing said sharply.

That white gas — it was sulfur dioxide! Beautiful to look at, yet cruel enough to wipe out the entire world!

During volcanic eruptions, sulfur dioxide released into the surrounding area was no small amount!

The one saving grace was that everyone had turtle-breathing techniques, though communication could only be done through belly-talk now.

Ziqing was right — as the white smoke spread, everyone soon caught the acrid, pungent scent, and quickly held their breath.

“Is it about to erupt right now?” Jun Beiyue asked. If it was about to erupt immediately, then what about the people inside Flame Mountain?

That old man, and Situ Haonan and Yelu Qianqian — were they even actually inside Flame Valley at all?

Had the enemy deceived them, or were they truly inside?

“It’s already starting to erupt, but the magma itself hasn’t surfaced yet — I can’t be certain exactly what’s happening down there,” Ziqing said seriously.

Volcanic eruptions took many different forms, and the timing varied greatly as well!

Sometimes, gas pillars erupted some time after the main eruption had already begun; other times, gas pillars appeared before the eruption proper.

Given this volcano’s current state, it was clearly the latter case.

But Ziqing couldn’t be certain how long it would take, after the gas pillar erupted, before the magma itself would surface.

And even the manner in which the magma would erupt could vary wildly!

With everything so uncertain, this was truly a headache!

There were quite a few people present — if they were unfortunate enough to be caught in a major eruption, forget going down to rescue anyone, they wouldn’t even have time to escape!

What should they do?

“Beiyue, take them and go first — wait at the Flame Mountains. I’ll go up and take a look!” This was the only safe solution Ziqing could think of!

But before Jun Beiyue could even respond, Xiong Xiaobao grabbed tightly onto Ziqing’s hand. “Mommy, don’t even think about going up there alone!”

Jun Beiyue said nothing, only staring coldly at Ziqing, his gaze practically murderous.

This time, Baili Weisheng too said not a word, the displeasure in his eyes rivaling Jun Beiyue’s own.

“Everyone, let’s not waste any more time. If we’re leaving, we leave together; if we’re going up, we go up together. Since we all came together, as long as even one person is missing, no one is leaving!” Lady Jinjiao said coldly, more earnest than she’d ever been.

“Daughter, whether Situ Haonan and Yelu Qianqian are down there or not, the secret of Parting Grief is surely down there too! No matter what, I’m going down there!” This time, Jue Mingzi didn’t back down either.

Meng Duo’er and Baili Xiaosheng also stepped forward, their gazes fixed firmly on Ziqing.

Though Ziqing was frustrated, her heart still warmed. In life, finding a true confidant was a wonderful thing; finding a friend who’d never abandon you was a wonderful thing too; but to have an entire group of people — men and women, young and old — walking hand in hand, never abandoning one another, that was a blessing worth three lifetimes of good fortune!

Ziqing silently vowed in her heart that she would use everything she knew, would try her absolute best, to protect everyone. Taking a deep breath, she declared loudly, “Alright! We go up together!”

Time was pressing, and there was no room for delay. Yet, as they made their way up the mountainside, things grew more and more alarming with every step!

The heat was truly intense, stiflingly hot enough to make one’s head spin — especially for the two little ones, Xiong Xiaobao and Baili Xiaosheng, whose steps had begun to stumble, clearly forcing themselves to keep going.

They still hadn’t seen how deep the crater was, but judging by this scorching heat, the crater surely wasn’t shallow either.

As they walked on, even Lady Jinjiao could no longer bear it, yet no one said a word, all gritting their teeth and pressing on, one step at a time, following Mingtian.

No one wanted to be the one holding everyone back. Even Mingtian, though unfamiliar with this group, felt an inexplicable resolve to make sure he got them there safely, and brought them back safely too.

“Everyone, wait! I have a way to make everyone feel a bit cooler!”

At this, Jue Mingzi spoke up, producing several silver needles and administering acupuncture to everyone one by one!

After a few needles, everyone miraculously felt as though the temperature had dropped considerably!

Watching her father’s skilled, professional technique, Ziqing couldn’t help but feel a quiet admiration, thinking to herself how nice it was to have an elder like this around.

She knew these needles worked on the nerve centers in the brain responsible for perceiving temperature.

In truth, the temperature remained just as high as ever — it was simply that they could no longer feel it.

Jue Mingzi walked over to Ziqing, about to administer the needles to her as well, but Ziqing declined.

The word “Father” still stuck in her throat, unable to come out — and “Jue Mingzi” was equally difficult to say. As before, she went with no form of address at all, saying flatly, “I don’t need it. I can bear it. The higher we go, the hotter it’ll get — someone among us needs to feel the true temperature, or our skin could burn without us even realizing it.”

Jue Mingzi grew anxious. “I can bear it just fine, I promise I can hold out. My body is stronger than any of yours!”

“No need. That would interfere with my judgment,” Ziqing said flatly. Facing Jue Mingzi, even exchanging just three sentences with him left her at a loss for words.

“Old Jue, Ziqing and I will bear it together, it’s fine. Go ahead and administer the needles,” Jun Beiyue spoke up, and Jue Mingzi reluctantly gave up trying to persuade her.

After the acupuncture, everyone except Ziqing and Jun Beiyue felt much better, their energy noticeably restored. Soon, they reached the summit of Flame Mountain!

Though they’d had some idea of what to expect, seeing the scene before them still left everyone utterly dumbstruck!

Below the massive circular crater, flames roared skyward, and the white smoke no longer rose in a single column but in continuous, billowing streams.

Peering down from the crater’s rim, though the magma itself was invisible, the faint rumbling, surging sounds from below were enough to send chills down anyone’s spine!

Heaven only knew when that magma might suddenly explode and erupt!

This was something no one could predict — it might happen in the very next instant, or it might not happen for days yet.

If one were swallowed by the magma, that truly would be like falling into the eighteenth level of hell — instantly incinerated, body and soul scattered to nothing!

Everyone stood cautiously at the crater’s edge, peering down. Ziqing had been right — beneath the point where the magma converged deep within the crater lay a layer of rocky terrain, extending from the crater’s rim all the way down, quite wide, estimated at roughly three zhang deep!

This layer was the zone closest to death — yet it was also the last remaining zone of safety!

If anyone were to be hidden here, this was the only place they could be hidden!

White smoke billowed everywhere, the rocky terrain a chaotic jumble on all sides — even peering down from above, it was impossible to make out any details of what lay within.

There was only one option left… going down!