This situation is definitely not sustainable.
And who knows what lies beyond the horizon, it might be a paradise or, it could be endless volcanoes.
After gulping down a bamboo tube of water, Dai Xiaomei rested for a full half hour before regaining enough strength to continue forward.
After walking for another two hours, Dai Xiaomei could no longer move, and Zhou Niannian could only lean on her walking stick to get by.
Jiang Fan announced another rest. This time, Dai Xiaomei was incapacitated for a full half hour again.
Feeling guilty about holding everyone back, Dai Xiaomei said apologetically,
"I can walk! I'll get up right now."
Dai Xiaomei struggled to stand up with her walking stick, feeling a dizzying sensation and almost fainting.
After forcing herself to walk for another two hours, Dai Xiaomei was so exhausted she was almost crawling.
Jiang Fan had no choice but to have Panda carry her.
Half an hour later, the sun gradually set, and the sky darkened.
Jiang Fan was a little surprised to find that there was still normal daylight and darkness here.
Since it was getting dark, Jiang Fan instructed everyone not to venture out at night and to set up camp to rest.
Upon hearing that they could rest, Dai Xiaomei let out a cry.
"I'm sorry, I'm holding you all back."
Dai Xiaomei said tearfully.
"Not at all, my legs are also feeling like they don't belong to me anymore."
Jiang Fan was telling the truth; his legs were also numb.
The path was not meant for humans, it was uneven and full of potholes, and within the volcanic rock crevices, many malicious animals were darting about.
Some were rattlesnakes with whistling tails, others were colorful lizards.
All of them looked highly venomous, and Jiang Fan had driven them away.
The problem was that these animals had camouflage, hiding either in the gravel or in the rock crevices, making them very difficult to spot.
By the end of the day, Jiang Fan calculated they had only traveled about ten kilometers.
At this rate, completing forty kilometers would take at least four days, and that was assuming they had as much energy as on the first day.
Jiang Fan glanced at Yao. Yao's face was covered in sweat, and the scars on his face twitched incessantly.
This indicated that the cold and stern wolf-boy was also at his limit of exhaustion, but he wasn't saying it.
Jiang Fan sighed.
"Let's rest. Everyone eat some meat to replenish your energy."
The sky gradually darkened completely. Jiang Fan had expected that as it got darker, the volcanic activity would decrease and they would stop emitting smoke.
The lower the temperature, the lower the volcanic activity, that was common sense.
Most volcanoes erupted during the hottest part of the day, with very few erupting at night.
To Jiang Fan's surprise, he was wrong!
As night fell, the volcanoes seemed to have taken medicine and began to boil more intensely.
The volcanic steam began to boil wildly, as if ready to erupt at any moment.
Even at night, the craters glowed with a terrifying red light, illuminating the sky as if it were daytime.
Initially, Jiang Fan and the others had hoped that the falling night and lower temperatures would provide some relief.
Or, perhaps they could travel at night and sleep during the day, especially since the crater lights could serve as a guide.
Instead, the increased volcanic activity caused the surrounding temperature to rise again.
The only truly cool period was the two hours after sunset before the volcanoes became more active.
The current temperature was not much cooler than during the day.
They lit a campfire and chewed on dried meat. They had plenty of pork and rabbit meat, with some left over after this meal.
Jiang Fan calculated that the meat would last for about four more days.
The problem was, they wouldn't have enough water, and even if they had enough for four days, that would only cover the forty kilometers they could see. What then...
Dai Xiaomei rubbed her feet, a worried look on her face.
Zhou Niannian sighed.
"This secret realm is dangerous enough, and to think this place has nights too, but they're useless..."
"Otherwise, can we turn back?"
Dai Xiaomei asked timidly, lacking the confidence to move forward.
Jiang Fan shook his head. Even if they turned back, they would only return to that forest.
The forest had plenty of water and food, but they couldn't possibly live there forever in shame.
To go back, they had to pass through the black hole, but the black hole had already vanished.
"Don't worry, we will get out of here."
"Let's not sleep tonight. Let's go look for another way out."
Honestly, it was too hot to sleep anyway.
Moreover, the rumbling of the volcanoes was louder than during the day, like thunder. Who could sleep in such conditions?
Even if they wanted to sleep, they would have to take turns keeping watch, or everyone would perish if a volcano suddenly erupted.
Frankly, if a volcano erupted, having someone on watch would be useless. Would they have enough time to escape just because they were on watch? It was merely a psychological comfort.
Everyone agreed with Jiang Fan's suggestion. Instead of waiting to die here, they might as well use the slightly cooler conditions to find a way out.
Even though the temperature had only dropped a little, any coolness was still welcome.
The viewers in the live stream watched these scenes with great apprehension.
"Oh my god, if I were in a place like this, I would have hanged myself long ago."
"I think Dai Xiaomei is already contemplating suicide. Without Jiang Shen's presence, she wouldn't survive for a second."
"This place is too terrifying. Compared to here, the previous black panthers and traps were nothing."
"I hope Jiang Shen can find a new passage to escape."
Jiang Fan told Zhou Niannian and Dai Xiaomei to rest, Panda to guard the camp, and he and Yao went out to explore.
After walking about a kilometer, they were surrounded by demon-like volcanoes, ready to erupt at any moment.
Jiang Fan decided to turn back. It seemed there would be no discovery today.
Suddenly, Jiang Fan's eyes lit up.
Among the endless volcanic群, one strange volcano stood out, towering above the rest.
The other volcanoes were jagged and incomplete, indicating they were active.
Because they had erupted before or were currently erupting, their slopes had collapsed, and lava had piled up on the mountainside, forming irregular shapes that looked like they had been gnawed on.
Only one volcano had a perfect conical shape.
It resembled Mount Fuji in neighboring Japan, which is a famous dormant volcano that hadn't erupted in countless years.
The other volcanoes had rows of unfathomable vents on their slopes, from which high-temperature gases were constantly spewing out.
These warned people of their extreme danger and advised them to stay away.
This particular volcano was completely still, not even emitting sulfurous gas, indicating it was in a dormant state.
Jiang Fan's heart stirred, and he quickly rushed to the volcano, activating his [Humidity Detection] talent.
There was indeed water vapor inside the volcano. Although it was very scarce, it was a heartening piece of news.