The next day, as dawn broke, Lu Fan got up early.

He stretched lazily, the slight annoyance of being refused a bed with An Lan last night vanishing instantly in the vibrant morning air.

At this moment, he was preoccupied with making new bows and arrows, since in this perilous wilderness, bows and arrows were crucial tools for survival and obtaining food.

After a quick breakfast, Lu Fan bid farewell to Da Hei, who was still lazily lying in its nest, and to An Lan, who was all smiles.

With an iron axe and a broadsword steadily slung at his waist, he strode confidently into the depths of the mountains and forests.

Golden sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, dappling him like a dazzling golden armor.

As Lu Fan walked forward, he repeatedly sketched the image of the new bow in his mind, pondering to himself: which bow, a long and powerful one, would be more advantageous, or a short, compact, and easy-to-handle one, would be more suitable for him?

Just as I was lost in thought, a series of muffled thuds broke the silence of the forest.

Curious, he followed the sound. After rounding a thicket of lush bushes, the sight before him left him speechless with astonishment.

The majestic Monkey King was seen wielding a somewhat clumsy stone axe, vigorously chopping at a large tree.

Each swing of the sword was accompanied by a whooshing sound, and wood chips flew everywhere like snowflakes.

The Monkey King also noticed Lu Fan's arrival. It suddenly stopped what it was doing, tilted its head, and its pair of black eyes instantly filled with joy.

Immediately afterwards, it came running over enthusiastically to greet us, carrying an axe.

First, she jumped around happily in front of Lu Fan, waving her hands excitedly in the air, and then patted her chest vigorously.

It kept making "squeak" sounds, as if proudly showing off: "Look how amazing I am!"

Lu Fan's eyes suddenly lit up, and he had an idea.

He thought to himself that this monkey king, having lived in the mountains for so long, must know all kinds of trees very well, and might be able to help him find suitable timber.

So he bent down and picked up a piece of wood from the ground, and vigorously gestured the shape of a bow with both hands.

Then he gripped both ends of the wood tightly and tried to bend it, deliberately making it look like he was struggling.

He then released his grip, allowing the branch to spring back quickly, thus indicating to the Monkey King that he needed that kind of extremely resilient wood.

Do you know where you can find this kind of flexible wood?

Lu Fan asked softly.

At first, the Monkey King looked bewildered, tilting his head with a puzzled look in his eyes, clearly not understanding what Lu Fan meant.

However, Lu Fan was not discouraged and continued to patiently demonstrate again and again.

As expected of the "clever devil" of the mountains and forests, the Monkey King finally understood after reading it several times.

It thumped its chest louder and louder, held its head high, looking utterly confident, as if solemnly promising: "Leave this little thing to me!"

After saying that, it grabbed Lu Fan's arm with astonishing strength and dragged him into the depths of the forest. Its eagerness made it seem as if it was afraid that Lu Fan would change his mind at any moment.

Along the way, the Monkey King was like a nimble little elf, leaping and bounding through the trees, and occasionally looking back to see if Lu Fan was keeping up.

It nimbly leaped from one tree to another, then swiftly jumped to the next.

It kept making various cheerful noises, as if enthusiastically introducing the hidden "treasures" in this mountain forest to Lu Fan.

Lu Fan was both amused and exasperated by its enthusiasm, so he could only quicken his pace and follow closely behind.

After many twists and turns, and countless detours, Lu Fan finally followed the Monkey King to the edge of a cliff.

[Discovery of a 100-year-old elm tree]

Looking up, a century-old elm tree, its canopy blocking out the sky, came into view, and Lu Fan was so shocked that his jaw almost dropped to the ground.

"Good heavens, it would probably take more than a dozen people holding hands to encircle this tree. It's truly a 'giant' in the tree world!"

He couldn't help but exclaim in amazement, then slowly paced around the tree, his eyes filled with shock and barely suppressed excitement.

The bark of this elm tree is rough and cracked, like the wrinkles on an old man's face, weathered by time, each furrow silently telling the long story of bygone years.

The enormous canopy stretches out in all directions, with layers of lush foliage casting shadows that resemble a tranquil green ocean, providing a natural super umbrella for this mountain forest.

The tree is densely covered with bird nests, and various insects are busy flitting among them, as if the tree itself is an independent and complete miniature ecosystem, witnessing the cycle and reproduction of life.

It stands quietly on the edge of the cliff, like a guardian spirit of the mountains and rivers.

Its thick roots, like dormant earthen dragons, meander and twist, forcefully breaking through the hard rock and extending deep into the earth, seemingly proclaiming its tenacious vitality and indomitable will to this land.

The live stream chat was instantly flooded with comments:

"My God, it's spectacular!"

"It gives you a feeling of being towering and upright, it's so awe-inspiring!"

"This is the first time I've seen such a big tree. It feels like it has weathered hundreds of years of wind and rain."

"Why do I always have this urge to build a house in a tree?"

Lu Fan slowly reached out and gently stroked the tree trunk, truly feeling its solid and powerful texture. He was filled with admiration for the wonders of nature.

He reached out and grabbed a low-hanging branch, bent it hard, and found the branch to be flexible and elastic, bending without breaking, and the rebound force was just right.

"Hey, this resilience is practically made for bow making!"

Lu Fan rubbed his hands together excitedly, but he had no intention of "wiping out" this ancient tree.

After all, it's not easy for it to grow to this size; all I need is a branch about the thickness of my arm.

Without hesitation, Lu Fan deftly drew a sharp axe from his waist and steadily walked to a tree branch of suitable thickness.

He carefully gestured around the tree trunk a few times to find the best spot, then took a deep breath, raised the axe high, and began to chop.

The iron axe clashed violently with the tree bark, producing a dull and powerful "bang bang bang" sound. Each swing was filled with Lu Fan's full anticipation.

The monkey king was also busy and having a great time. Sometimes it would nimbly jump up the tree to help Lu Fan clear away the small branches that were in the way, and sometimes it would excitedly jump around under the tree, making "squeak" noises as if it were cheering Lu Fan on.

Before long, the branch was cut off, and Lu Fan picked it up to examine it. There were very peculiar patterns inside the elm tree.

Elm wood has straight grain, and when viewed from the cross-section, it looks like lines carefully drawn by nature with a ruler, extending longitudinally along the wood in a neat and smooth manner.

But upon closer inspection, these lines have subtle undulations and variations, like a winding mountain stream, adding a sense of dynamism.