After walking for a while, she didn't see anything new or interesting on the mountaintop except for the newly grown grass and trees.

Just as she was about to descend the mountain, a strange burning smell wafted out.

"Can a fire start in the rain?" Gu Xi wondered.

With the belief that forest fire prevention is everyone's responsibility, she began searching for a source of fire.

Following the smell of burning smoke, she eventually arrived at the foot of a large, charred tree.

This huge tree is as big as five people can hug. There isn't a single leaf on it, not a single hint of green. The whole tree is black and has been baked into crystals.

[Game Hint: Ember Crystal Found.]

What is that? Ash crystal?

It sounds like an item related to fire.

Gu Xi took out an axe and struck the tree.

Ember crystal is hard yet fragile, and it makes a crisp sound when struck.

A piece of shattered ash crystal fell down with a thud.

Gu Xi picked it up and took a look.

【Ember Crystal: A hard material formed from trees under special conditions.】

Gu Xi was speechless.

This hard material is really hard; it shattered with a single tap of her axe.

She casually tossed the embers into her backpack. Then she began mining them.

【Ember Crystal 3】

【Ember Crystal 5】

The hoarder's motto is: take whatever you need, whether it's useful or not!

...

The tree was very large, and Gu Xi knocked on it for a long time before he could knock off a few of the thicker trunks.

However, the number of embers on these tree trunks has reached more than 600.

Gu Xi glanced at the number of embers in her backpack and realized that continuing to tap wouldn't help her find the scent of the fireworks from before.

So she put away her axe, took a deep breath, followed the scent, and began to climb up the tree trunk.

Although the surface of the crystal tree is smooth, there are still some bumps and grooves at the growth points of the branches, which can be used for gripping.

Gu Xi used both hands and feet to find a place to gain leverage and climb upwards.

As she approached the top of the tree, she leaped, using the trunk as leverage, and jumped towards the very top of the tree, successfully reaching the top of the main trunk.

The treetops are the true highest point on this island.

Standing here, Gu Xi felt that the wind was stronger and the clouds were lower, as if she could reach out and touch the sky.

Just then, Gu Xi's gaze was drawn to something unusual.

She never expected that there was a tree hole hidden here!

The tree hole wasn't big, about the size of a bowl, but it was pitch black inside, and you couldn't see anything.

Although she couldn't see it, her senses were right. The heat emanating from the cave entrance and the faint smell of burning indicated that this cave was unusual.

Gu Xi immediately took out an axe and began chopping at the cave entrance.

Clang, clang, the trees barely moved.

Since the axe was used to chop down the trunk of the Ember Tree, its destructive effect on the Ember Tree was very limited.

Even if we keep cutting like this, we might not be able to destroy the entrance to the cave.

Having come to realize the hardness of the embers, Gu Xi took it seriously. She put away her axe and replaced it with a pickaxe.

Bang—

With one swing of the pickaxe, the ash crystal cracked open, revealing a spiderweb-like pattern.

"It works!"

Gu Xi was delighted and immediately increased the frequency of his hammering.

The pickaxe clanged and banged against the embers.

The embers at the cave entrance had shattered from their original black state into small white particles.

If she delivers one last blow to these embers, the cave entrance will surely be smashed to pieces.

Gu Xi tilted his pickaxe down.

The embers scattered in all directions.

The true nature of the tree hole was also exposed to the light of day.

A bright red crystal, cut in the shape of a rhombus, lay in the tree hole. It was about the size of a palm and its surface was as smooth as a mirror.

Whether it was because it had been rained on or not, Gu Xi felt that the surroundings were a bit cooler.

[Game Hint: Fire Elemental Found]

[Game Tip: The Fire Elemental Essence is too hot. Please save your game.] This chapter has been read (please click the next chapter to continue reading!).