Xu Chunniang touched her nose and smiled awkwardly.
"We just arrived and had no idea about Immortal Crystals. We thought six hundred Immortal Crystals was a small amount, but we didn't expect to owe a huge sum of money. Now we are worried about it.
Aren’t we following you up the mountain to cut down the snow-covered pines?”
“Haha, Centella cedar grows on higher cliffs. A complete Centella cedar is worth at least ten immortal crystals. The ones with good quality are more expensive.
If you want to earn immortal crystals, you have to follow closely, little girl."
As Mr. Gong spoke, he quickened his pace again and walked up a steep path.
He chose this path deliberately. The cliffs where snow-capped pine trees grew were all steep cliffs, even more dangerous than this path.
If the other party can't even handle this small path, it will be difficult to succeed even if they go to the isolated cliff.
While paying attention to the road under his feet, Mr. Gong also observed Xu Chunniang behind him with his peripheral vision.
Seeing that she not only caught up with him, but also walked steadily with every step, as if she had enough energy to go on, he withdrew his gaze and continued on his way without being distracted.
After walking along the steep mountain road for half an hour, the temperature around us became lower and lower, and the rocks under our feet were replaced by a thick layer of ice without us noticing.
There was also an impenetrable cold fog, shrouding the mountains and forests, making the figures of the two people look ethereal and divine.
But in this impenetrable cold fog, there is a deadly crisis hidden.
Because no one knows, under the cover of the cold fog, whether the next stop will be rocks covered by ice or nothing at all.
Mr. Gong's expression became a little more serious and he slowed down a lot. He continued to move forward based on his experience and familiarity with the trail.
Although misstepping into empty space may not necessarily lead to death, some stumbling and falling is inevitable.
"Be careful, the cold fog can block your vision and consciousness. Maintain your body's center of gravity and follow my steps. Remember not to step into the air."
"yes."
Xu Chunniang knew that Mr. Gong's reminder was well-intentioned, so she was very alert and kept Mr. Gong's whereabouts in mind, not daring to make any mistakes.
After walking cautiously for half an hour, the surrounding cold fog gradually showed signs of dissipating, and a solitary cliff finally appeared in front.
There are several Centella asiatica trees growing proudly on the edge of the cliff, facing the wind and frost. Their branches are thick and strong, and it is obvious that they are not easy to be destroyed.
"See that isolated cliff ahead? Next, we're going to fly over here. The mountain wind is very strong, so be careful to control your body, otherwise you'll be blown off by the wind."
Old Gong looked back at Xu Chunniang, gave her a few instructions, and then took the lead to leave.
It can be seen that Mr. Gong has reached an extremely high level of control over his body, and can even skillfully use the power of the mountain wind to move forward.
He successfully jumped over the cliff and landed on a solitary cliff covered with snow-capped pines, then turned around and looked over.
Xu Chunniang did not move rashly, but stretched out her hand to feel the strength and direction of the mountain wind.
After having a general understanding of the strength of the mountain wind, she thought for a moment, added a law of wind to her body, and flew lightly towards the isolated cliff opposite.
With the blessing of the law of wind, the mountain winds treated her as nothing. No matter how strong the mountain wind was, it could not shake her at all.
Xu Chunniang jumped lightly and landed next to Mr. Gong. Her feet stepped on the snow, making a "crunching" sound.
“Only cedar trees that are over a hundred years old will have the special aroma of cedar when burned.
You can tell their age by the thickness of the trunk and the number of branches. "
Old Gong glanced around and pointed at a snow-covered pine tree.
"For example, this Centella asiatica tree has a trunk no thicker than a fist and only nine branches, which means it is no more than fifty years old.
For Centella cedars that are less than 100 years old, they normally branch out once every five years.”
Xu Chunniang carefully looked at the snow-covered pine in front of her and took note of what Mr. Gong said.
"Will the time interval between branch growth be longer for cedar trees that are over a hundred years old?"
"Yes, they only grow a new branch every ten years."
Old Gong nodded slightly and motioned Xu Chunniang to look to the other side.
"For example, this cedar tree has a trunk three times thicker than the previous one, and it has twenty-two branches, which means it is more than one hundred and twenty years old."
As he spoke, Old Gong walked towards the snow-covered pine, and out of thin air, a sharp axe appeared in his hand.
He stroked the branches of the cedar and said leisurely, "When felling a cedar, you should start with the branches and then cut the trunk.
The feller must be extremely alert and keep his balance at all times to avoid falling off the cliff. I will demonstrate it first, watch carefully. "
Mr. Gong grabbed one of the branches with his left hand, raised the axe with his right hand, drew a graceful arc in the air, and gently landed on the root neck where the branch connected to the trunk.
The axe fell, and there was a crisp sound of "click", and the branches fell off.
There was an extra cedar branch in Mr. Gong's hand.
“The bark of the cedar tree can be used to extract white pine paste, which can be used to make spices or to make frostbite ointment.
After the bark is removed, the cedar wood can only be used as fuel.”
Old General Gong put away the cedar branch in his hand, pulled over another branch with ease, and started cutting it down in the same way.
He first cut off all the branches of the cedar tree, and finally aimed at the trunk and started chopping it with the axe in his hand.
Mr. Gong was very skillful in chopping down the Centella asiatica. His movements were very small, and every time he raised the axe, he could chop accurately at the same spot.
After chopping down the tree for about a hundred times, the gap left by the axe on the trunk of the snow-covered pine became deeper and deeper.
Finally, the snow pine broke with a sound and was picked up by him with one hand and put into his pocket.
Old Gong turned his head and looked at Xu Chunniang in a good mood.
"How's it going? Did you learn it? Actually, this cedar is just a little hard. It takes a lot of effort to cut it down. It's not that difficult."
Xu Chunniang nodded and took out a chisel from her small world. "Let me try."
"Okay, you cut this one."
Old Gong glanced around the cliff and found a Centella asiatica tree that was just over a hundred years old.
"This one is the easiest to cut down. If you can't even cut this one, don't waste your time and get down the mountain as soon as possible."
Xu Chunniang didn't care about Mr. Gong's attitude. She walked towards the cedar carefully, and stopped half a step away from the cliff. She imitated him and grabbed the branch closest to her.
She held the chisel in her right hand and chiseled hard at the junction of the branch and the trunk.
“Bang!”
The chisel had penetrated the root neck and was three-quarters deep into the wood, and half of the connection between the branch and the trunk was cut off, while the other half was still attached to the trunk.
She pulled out her chisel and tried a few more times before finally cutting the branch off intact.