In the early morning, the sun slowly rose from behind the distant mountains, and the morning light shone on the faces of Qin Tian and Ye Lin. The tension that had gripped them both finally eased.
Lying back, the two of them let out a long breath and stretched their bodies to relieve their fatigue.
It had been a narrow escape, but even though they had stayed up all night, aside from a bit of exhaustion, nothing else was seriously wrong.
After eating, Qin Tian’s thoughts moved, and a clear cry rang out from the sky as the Sand Eagle dove down.
When the Sand Eagle was still more than ten meters away, it spread its wings, sliced through the swirling wind, and landed steadily on the ground.
“How is it? Is your child alright?” Seeing how energetic the Sand Eagle was, Qin Tian smiled and asked. The Sand Eagle called out in reply.
“That’s good,” Qin Tian nodded.
“You can even understand what the Sand Eagle is saying?” Seeing Qin Tian act so serious, Ye Lin couldn’t help but find it funny.
“Don’t a lot of cat owners talk to their cats? The kind where you talk to yourself and answer for them,” Qin Tian gave an example, “It’s all just making it up in your head.”
“I completely get it,” Ye Lin nodded. When she went to cat cafés, she would also talk to the cats there.
They didn’t continue to chat about this topic. After packing up, Qin Tian and Ye Lin, led by the Sand Eagle, began climbing toward the summit.
***
The mountain wasn’t too steep and could be divided into three layers. The first layer stretched from the foot of the mountain to the halfway point, covered with tall trees—a mixed forest of coniferous and broadleaf trees, with no shrubs in sight.
To get past this layer didn’t require any special tools—just two legs, like any ordinary hike.
But this was, after all, wild mountain, and there were no stone steps to walk on. Qin Tian and Ye Lin had to blaze their own trail, taking over an hour to reach the mountainside.
Here, the trees grew less dense, and there were fewer conifers, replaced by a mass of shrubs. This was the second layer.
Compared to the first layer, the second had a more open view, but the dense shrubs slowed Qin Tian and Ye Lin even more than the forest had.
The third layer was the summit. Looking up, the land was mostly rugged rocks, with little vegetation—just some ankle-high weeds.
After nearly three hours of climbing, Qin Tian and Ye Lin were exhausted. They found a place to sit and rest, taking the chance to eat something.
“From here, you and Han Pi should wait for me,” Qin Tian said as he saw Ye Lin massaging her ankles.
Ye Lin didn’t answer right away. She looked up toward the summit, then nodded, “Just be careful.”
At the summit, the slope became steep. Walking was no longer possible—some places had to be climbed, and given her stamina, Ye Lin couldn’t go any further.
“Don’t worry, I will,” Qin Tian replied.
It was now around ten in the morning. If dusk was the cutoff, and he needed time to descend, there wasn’t much time left for Qin Tian.
Once he recovered his strength, Qin Tian, together with the Golden Eagle, continued up toward the summit.
There was still more than a hundred meters to go, but this was the hardest part. Some slopes were steeper than forty-five degrees, and Qin Tian had to crouch low just to keep his balance.
After more than ten minutes, he had only gone about thirty meters. Up ahead, the path was no longer a slope, but towering stone columns that he would have to climb by hand.
Fortunately, Qin Tian had learned from the Sand Eagle that its nest wasn’t at the very top, but in a crack in the cliff, about twenty meters away—otherwise, he might have given up.
With no vegetation to protect them, the rocks at the summit were badly weathered. Many times, Qin Tian would grab onto a protruding stone, only to have it crumble in his hand the next second. It was extremely dangerous.
After half an hour, Qin Tian finally reached the height of the nest.
“At last, I’ve made it,” Qin Tian sat down on the ground. He felt that those last twenty meters had taken more strength than the whole climb from the foot to the mountainside, but it was worth it.
Standing at the summit, he could see all the other mountains beneath him. Though he hadn’t yet broken through the clouds, the view from here was wide and open.
Looking up at the sky, Qin Tian reached out his hand. He had never felt so close to the sky.
At this moment, he felt incredibly small, yet something in his heart opened up. A powerful feeling filled his whole body.
It was like what the Daoists call the realm of Daoist Unity, though, of course, that was just a mystical way of putting it. What Qin Tian really felt was just a rush of hormones.
He took a deep breath and stood, looking into the distance. Vast forests and plains spread out below, and farther off, Qin Tian could see the ocean stretching to the horizon.
“The Camp should be in that forest, and next to the forest is the Bamboo Forest…” Scanning the area, Qin Tian planned to commit the distribution of the island’s environments to memory, taking advantage of his vantage point.
This way, he could infer where resources might be found, and avoid searching blindly.
As he shifted his gaze, Qin Tian suddenly froze when his eyes landed on a certain mountain.
On this plain of hills, there were many mountains, most of them several hundred or even over a thousand meters tall. By comparison, that mountain was very low.
By rough estimate, it was only about five hundred meters, nestled among much higher peaks, as if the taller mountains were circling the short one.
But besides its height, what drew the eye most was the orange-red magma at the mouth of the mountain.
Yes, it was a volcano.
“Volcano!” The image of an eruption flashed through Qin Tian’s mind, and he couldn’t help feeling worried.
But when he saw the tall trees growing around the volcano’s base, he relaxed.
Clearly, the volcano hadn’t erupted for a long time. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be any trees—or even any vegetation—at its foot.
“If nothing unexpected happens, this should be a dormant volcano, so there’s no need to worry about it erupting anytime soon,” Qin Tian muttered to himself, and marveled, “The ecology of this island is really rich.”
Forest, Bamboo Forest, rivers, plains, hills, and a volcano—so many types of environment gathered on a single island. It was truly amazing.
And that was only what he knew so far. Who could say what other environments might be hidden in the unexplored areas?
“Volcanoes are often rich in mineral resources. Maybe I can find some useful ore there,” Qin Tian thought, his mind already turning to exploration.
“Guu~guu~”
***
Just then, the Sand Eagle’s voice reached his ears. Qin Tian turned to see it staring at him.
“Sorry, sorry, I got lost in thought,” Qin Tian said with an embarrassed smile. If not for the Sand Eagle’s reminder, he really might have forgotten his purpose for coming up here.
He called out, and the Sand Eagle flapped its wings and swooped down to the cliffside. Qin Tian carefully approached the edge and looked down.
The Sand Eagle’s nest was made of dry branches and weeds, nearly two meters across. Even though it was nestled in a crack, Qin Tian could see it at a glance.
At this moment, the Golden Eagle stood in the nest, and next to it was its child.
“A true king among raptors—its child is huge,” Qin Tian was startled by the sight of the Golden Eagle chick.
The Golden Eagle chick was large, about the size of a grown hen, though it was still covered in white down. It was clearly a different breed from the Sand Eagle.
The Sand Eagle’s nest was perched on a sheer cliff. Without specialized tools, climbing down by hand would be a death sentence.
But Qin Tian had the Nu Beast Mark and could communicate simply with the Sand Eagle, so he didn’t have to risk his life.
He tied a slip knot with his rope, dropped the loop down, and gave instructions. The Sand Eagle slipped the loop over the chick and tightened it, allowing Qin Tian to haul the Eagle Chick up.
By now it was noon. At the summit, the sun’s rays were harsh, and there was no shade from trees. Without lingering, Qin Tian stuffed the chick into his clothes and began to descend.
Clinging to the cliff, Qin Tian’s nerves were stretched tight. Climbing up was easy, climbing down was hard—the saying was true.
On the way up, he could see where there were handholds. On the way down, his body blocked the view, so he had to feel for footholds with his feet.
It took even longer than climbing up; after an hour, Qin Tian finally reached the bottom.
***
When Qin Tian returned to the meeting point, Ye Lin and Han Pi were nowhere to be seen, but on the ground were the words “searching for resources.”
Seeing this, Qin Tian understood and sat down to rest, waiting for Ye Lin to return.
But before long, the once clear sky suddenly darkened. The wind picked up wildly, and sensing something, the Sand Eagle and the Eagle Chick began to call out anxiously.
“Heaven’s face changes fast enough,” Qin Tian muttered anxiously as he looked at the gathering clouds. Judging by the way things were going, it was about to rain.
“Qin Tian!” Just then, Ye Lin’s voice rang out from a distance.
Qin Tian turned and saw Ye Lin riding Han Pi toward him. Clearly, Ye Lin had also noticed the changing weather and rushed back.
“Let’s go!” Without wasting words, Qin Tian hurried toward Ye Lin.
Judging by how thick the clouds were, if it really started raining, it would be a Rainstorm, and they’d risk a Landslide on the mountain. That was truly dangerous.
But after a few steps, Qin Tian slowed down, noticing Ye Lin’s eyes were fixed on something behind him. Instinctively, Qin Tian turned—and found he couldn’t look away.
Against the heavy black clouds, a white Plane streaked across the sky with the rumble of thunder, bright as the most beautiful egret—unforgettable.