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.
