The volcano was towering, with an ash-white platform like a solar corona around its middle. From afar, a stone pillar gleaming with Blue Light seemed to stand upon it.
But the platform was surrounded by a black encirclement made up of countless black insects, endlessly whirling around it.
Lin Xin tried several times to go up and take a look, but each time, an immense invisible force blocked him and sent him back.
This place was far too mysterious and bizarre. He did not dare attack head-on to test whether he could break through the encirclement, so he had no choice but to give up.
He continued climbing the stone steps, picking up his pace. After a little over ten minutes, he finally reached the summit of the volcano.
At the summit lay an enormous bowl-shaped crater. Standing merely at its edge beneath the crimson radiance, he was as inconspicuous as an ant, no different from the countless stones nearby.
As he walked around the crater, he saw more mummified people. Some lay on their sides on the ground, allowing the scorching earth to burn smoke from their entire bodies, yet they let out laughter with no discernible meaning.
Others climbed up from different stone stairways, then, without even glancing at Lin Xin standing close at hand, leaped directly into the volcano.
Still others knelt on the ground, covering their faces and weeping sorrowfully, yet not a single tear could be seen falling.
After seeing enough of them, Lin Xin no longer paid much attention to the mummified people. Beside the blazing red crater stood a small, ancient, ruined structure enclosed by low walls. It seemed this had once been a courtyard.
Inside, scattered stones had been fused together by solidified lava, forming a single mass.
Slightly curious, he walked