Lake Surface

"Linsey, it's dangerous down there..."

Anrui naturally tried to dissuade Linsey.

But at this moment, Linsey, who had been very obedient all the way, suddenly interrupted Anrui's persuasion, "Uncle Anrui, I've been here before, and I've even tried to get down here."

"It was only because of the appearance of those Devil Beast and my concerns about the town that I turned back and chose to inform everyone of the information as soon as possible."

"Now that there's an open opportunity to go down and take another look, I can't just sit idly by!"

At this moment, the thick fog of the night enveloped the two of them.

Anrui looked at Linsey; his student's face was somewhat blurry, but his determined eyes were fixed on him with unwavering clarity.

"..."

"Okay, stay close to me."

The soldier did not utter a single word of argument or advice.

He immediately took action, taking the lead by leaping down and clinging to the frozen Vines with his bare hands. With a quick release and a grip, he slid down a section, his agile figure as he descended resembling that of a monkey living in the forest.

Seeing this, Linsey also pulled out Long Dagger.

Just like last time, he used his weapon as an ice axe and followed Anrui to Climbing to Heaven Vine.

The two landed one above the other, their descent was steady and rapid.

At the crossroads of the world.

An endless green curtain enveloped the entire land, and gusts of cold wind swept across it, rippling the frozen, crystalline shell and stretching towards the other side of the world, as if this magnificent scene was the only thing left in the world.

But two tiny black dots, like the ends of a weaver's thread, weave across the brocade.

Although inconspicuous, it has always maintained a forward momentum, moving towards the other side of the world.

This time, the two were lucky.

Unlike Linsey's previous solo adventures, they didn't encounter a group of Devil Beast after only ten minutes or so. Their journey was uneventful, with only the occasional cold wind witnessing their adventure.

Time slips away quietly.

Five hours later, the view below suddenly changed.

When the two set off, after leaving the top of the cliff by a few dozen meters, the Climbing to Heaven Vine gradually led them into a pitch-black void.

But then Linsey saw a different color below.

It was a shimmering, flickering light.

At this moment, it was too far away for Linsey to see clearly, but the scene was like sinking to the bottom of the water and then seeing the shimmering water reflecting the sunlight upwards.

"Uncle Anrui, there's light down there!"

Linsey quickly offered a reminder.

The Lord looked down and saw the same scene as Linsey.

However, unlike Linsey, who was crossing the World Border for the first time, Anrui was already familiar with the situation here, so he simply gave a calm explanation:

"Good news!"

"This means we're almost there!"

Linsey nodded slightly, but her hands involuntarily quickened their pace.

This is a journey across the world! Not to mention the unknown world and adventures below.

The process of traversing the world alone must signify one thing—an upgrade of RPG abilities!

Linsey doesn't think there's anything wrong with her understanding of skill modules.

Therefore, upon descending into the Black Mountain World, he will inevitably unlock new abilities!

A sense of anticipation filled my heart.

As the two continued downwards, the surrounding darkness gradually faded, and the view below became clearer.

Linsey was right; the reflection of light below was indeed on the surface of water.

The place where the Climbing to Heaven Vine take root is a vast Mirror Lake, covering an area of over 301 hectares, but generally only about 30 centimeters deep.

The shimmering light on the lake.

It wasn't reflected sunlight during the day, but rather a sky full of Stellaris at night.

There is a time difference between the Black Mountain World and the Hidden Borderlands, but it's estimated to be only about an hour. It was still night when the two set off, so the sky over the Black Mountain World was still dark.

"Linsey, watch out!"

At this moment, Anrui issued a reminder.

Because on this thin, wide expanse of water, there are a great many Devil Beast of various shapes and sizes.

Some of them were Fire Fox types that Linsey had seen before, while others were types she had never seen before.

But the most eye-catching were the Tree Spirit who were clinging to the roots of the Climbing to Heaven Vine.

They clung tightly to the Vines.

It seems to be sensing some kind of information through its own life form, which is also a plant.

"So that's how it is..."

Linsey immediately understood.

He understood why the first Devil Beast to enter the Hidden Borderlands three years ago was a Tree Spirit. He also understood why, among the Devil Beast he had encountered before, one Tree Spirit had broken away from the main force and met him ahead of time.

The reason lies here! The Tree Spirit clung to the roots of the Climbing to Heaven Vine, sensing the situation above in a special way, and then took the lead in attempting to climb during the gaps in the cold wind.

Only these Tree Spirit moved.

Only the other Devil Beast that were observing will follow suit and set off upwards!

"Oh... Hmm? Why is it getting hot?"

Linsey was pondering the problem when she suddenly noticed that the temperature around her was off.

Protected by the [Ice Badger Claw Pendant], he has extremely high resistance to cold weather and is not sensitive to it, but he feels normal in hot temperatures!

The current situation is that it's getting hot around us! Continuing downwards, the temperature increase is also gradually accelerating, even...

Click!

The Long Dagger that Linsey used as an ice axe also gave off a different feel.

What he pierced was no longer a thick layer of ice, but a lush, green, and robust Vines that was exposed to the air again!

The ice on the Climbing to Heaven Vine has melted!

With the rise in temperature

The frost on the surface of the climbing vine that he and Anrui were climbing was gradually thinning and melting, finally revealing its original form.

"..."

Linsey's brow furrowed deeply.

At the current speed, just like the cold of the Snowy Wasteland above, the water temperature below is unusually high.

Continue until the bottom.

If this trend doesn't change, the air temperature near the water's surface could even rise to over 45 degrees Celsius! "The temperature is getting higher, this shouldn't be happening..."

This temperature change was too sudden and too drastic!

Further down, Anrui also noticed the change in temperature, and he too frowned in thought.

At this moment, Linsey descended to Anrui's side.

Looking down, he knew there were still problems they urgently needed to solve, so he immediately suggested to Anrui, "If we want to continue investigating, we should find a way to clear out the Devil Beast below!"

Reminded by Linsey, Anrui also realized what was going on.

We can worry about the temperature later; dealing with the Devil Beast in front of us is more important first.

He nodded slightly, and when he was still more than ten meters above the water, he let go and stepped onto the Vines. His agile steps made people wonder if he was running on flat ground.

In the blink of an eye, Anrui had already reached the vicinity of the water's surface.

The Tree Spirit, which had been leaning on the Climbing to Heaven Vine, immediately reacted and prepared to get up and attack Anrui.

However, the speed of the Fifth Stage Ascender far exceeds the reaction limits of these Devil Beast.

He didn't even draw his sword.

Just as these Tree Spirit were halfway up, the enemy pressed down on them from the front with irresistible force, grabbing the heads of two Tree Spirit with one hand each.

Click—

Both heads were twisted off.

Anrui didn't care at all, casually tossing the two wooden heads in his hand aside, causing them to splash and dance on the calm lake surface.

"Roar!"

Upon seeing this, the surrounding Devil Beast became ferocious and immediately surrounded Anrui.

Despite being surrounded, Anrui remained unmoved.

He instantly drew two Long Dagger from his waist, took a stance in Advantage Strike posture, and faced dozens of Devil Beast around him alone. He even had time to instruct Linsey above, "Linsey, don't come down!"

"Stay up there and provide cover with arrows!"

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