Led by the dwarfs, they made their way through a forest of golden oaks, and the group reached the heart of the valley. There was a glade in the woods, and in the bright light pouring from above the cavern, a small hill stood. Above the hill grew a towering old tree, so old that it could barely grow new branches, and on its dry and cracked bark grew an old face.

Seeing that face, Fang Yu seemed to subconsciously guess that this was the owner of that voice. At this moment, he felt that the other party seemed to inadvertently glance in their direction.

Then, again, he heard the slightly mild, old voice in the spiritual world:

"Thank you for being here, young man."

Fang Yu immediately asked, "What kind of place is this?" What are you letting us do here because of those monsters out there? ”

"Don't worry, I'll answer your questions one by one. They are not monsters, but ancient guardians. The voice replied slowly.

"Ancient Guardians?"

"In ancient times, our master created our two tribes and made us guard the heart of the mountain. A thousand years ago, a great war swept across the land, and the forces of darkness invaded our land, and in that war we paid a terrible price to repel our opponents. Not long ago, a group of humans came here, and from them, I felt the same dark aura again. I had a premonition of uneasiness, and sure enough, soon after that, Crystal fell into a frenzy, and I felt that she seemed to be looking for the Heart of the Mountain, but now that I am old and no longer a match for Crystal, I have no choice but to turn to you in order not to let the Heart of the Mountain be lost. ”

The war a thousand years ago was almost certainly the Battle of the Giants, which brought about the destruction of Asselin and the final departure of the Noumerin Elve.

He asked, "But what exactly is the heart of the mountain?" Who are your masters? And who is Crystal? ”

"The Heart of the Mountain is the heart of the crystal vein buried beneath Nognes, an almost entirely pure Aether Crystal, where all of Nognes Aether and Starlight meet. Once it is lost, the land is reduced to death. The crystal is its caretaker, and the crystal creatures you see outside are only a part of her. As for our hosts—"

Fang Yu was slightly stunned, which means that this guardian, Crystal, is probably the existence described in the journal that controls the Crystal Beast behind it.

What is this, cluster thinking, gestalt?

At this point, the old man's voice paused, "As you must have guessed, our masters are none other than what you call Sinsas, and our masters have dragon-like appearances and gorgeous scales, which are very different from you today. ”

This was not to his surprise.

Sure enough, it's the Sinsas snake man, but this old tree man looks loyal and honest, and he is quite good at slapping horses, and he has the appearance of a dragon, isn't it a reptile.

However, the matter of the heart of the mountain still shocked Fang Yuan, the crystal veins buried deep in the earth determine the direction of the Aether River on the continent, because the life and energy of this world are all closely related to the activities of the Aether, so it can be said that these endless flow of Aether shapes everything on the floating continent.

Once the Aether River dries up, or changes direction, it's hard to imagine what will happen after that. He'd heard rumors about the Crystal Heart—the vast aether would create near-pure elemental crystals, and they would be the core and hub of a region's magical flow.

But all this collapse is just a rumor, no one has ever actually seen the Crystal Heart, or even confirmed it. Who would have thought that in the middle of the Piriede Mountains, there would be a Crystal Heart?

He digested the huge amount of information before asking, "But you said that the crystal is looking for the heart of the mountain, but as its caretaker, doesn't she know where it is?" ”

"Because crystals are only responsible for defending against foreign enemies, and the true heart of the mountain is actually here, guarded by our people for generations. But sooner or later Crystal would have guessed this, she had come to tempt more than once, and it was hard for me alone to stop her from coveting the heart of the mountain. And that's why I need you here. ”

"You want us to help you stop her?"

"More than that," the owner of the voice shook his head, "wait a moment, young man, and I will give you a satisfactory answer. ”

Then it suddenly raised its voice, causing a thicker, deeper voice to echo through the valley:

“…… Thank you for coming to the Greywoods, and while you may have come here for different reasons, the experience may be similar. The crystal has blocked the exit outside, and there is no way she will make it back to the surface alive, and you are here for the simple purpose of staying alive - at least in this regard, we have a common enemy. ”

"I can provide you with a relatively safe shelter until your help arrives. But all this is not for nothing, because the crystals will soon attack this place, and I will find a way to gather you here, and you may not survive, but you will have to rely on yourselves. ”

It turned out to be called the Greywood Glades, but these two passages were clearly not addressed to them.

Only then did Fang Plover notice that there were already many people gathered in the valley.

He even saw Amatolan and the others who arrived first, as well as the short beard standing tall in the crowd.

On one side were two other groups of people, one of whom was obviously much more numerous, but it didn't belong to the same guild in costumes, and it seemed to be some scattered electors—

As for the rest of the group, it was obviously much more organized, with more than twenty people, wearing uniform gray-purple battle robes. They were furthest away from all of them, looking only at the giant trees on the hills.

When the big cat man saw this group of people, he couldn't help but pat Fang Yuan's shoulder and pointed in that direction with his paws.

Fang Yu nodded, signaling that he understood, these people might be those who would not save the reflection of time.

Since the Seven Seas Brigade was the last to enter the valley, almost all of them were now behind them, and no one even noticed this direction for a while.

Fang Yu asked the walnut in the ground to bring up the reflection of time, and asked him, "Do you know those people?" ”

"They're from the Twilight Guild." Time Reflection recognizes each other at a glance.

"Twilight Guild, do you know them?" Fang Yu asked again.

Time Reflection nodded, "They are the largest guild in the area, and they are also our allies, but they live in seclusion and mystery on weekdays, they operate in their own territory, rarely deal with the outside world, and ordinary people will not mess with them." ”

At the end, he added with some confusion: "It turns out that they have also arrived, why didn't they get through to us?" ”

"Allies? Can allies not be saved," Fang Yu shook his head, recounting what had happened before and the reflection of time.

The latter was obviously a little surprised when he heard this, and obviously had not fully digested the matter for a while.

Fang Yu shook his head, and after saying these words to Time Reflection, he looked at those people again, and had already labeled the other party as suspicious.

The voice of Moon Arit still echoed through the valley, and the gathered Elect were already talking.

However, the people of Amatolan and the Twilight Guild were obviously much better, and they only gathered together to discuss in a low voice.

The free electors behaved differently, and they were much more casual than they were, making a mess as if they were in a busy city, and some of them were taking pictures with the recording crystals in their hands.

Fang Yu couldn't help but shake his head when he saw this scene, it was not for nothing that the era of the Free Elector was replaced by the era of the Super Athletic Alliance.

It's not that there are no good people among the Free Drafters, but most of them are too far from the organized Guild Drafters in terms of combat effectiveness.

However, although the past era has passed, it does not mean that the free electors and forerunners have lost the meaning of existence, and this does not mean that what the descendants of Flor are doing right now.

The scattered Electors looked like they were lost in the area, or attacked by the Crystals, and had been lucky enough to get here with the help of Moon Arit, and they probably didn't expect to leave alive.

Assuming that they really have to face the attack of the crystal next, these people don't know if they can rely on it or not.

But judging from the encounter with the reflection of time, there is a high probability that the people of the Twilight Guild are completely untrustworthy anyway.

The only ones left are the people of Amatolan, and although they have worked together once, they do not know each other at all.

"I'm afraid I'll have to rely on my own people in the end." Fang Yu thought to himself.

"Are you going to stay in this place?" The big cat man looked at him at this time and asked.

Fang Yu nodded.

However, what he cared about at the moment was not the matter of Tuyuan Jing, but the heart of the mountain.

Of course, he didn't have any thoughts about it, but who wouldn't be curious about such a thing? And this quest line buried in the depths of the Piriyad Mountains should also have a lot of rewards, right?

I just don't know what Moon Arit's plan is, if they are to deal with the crystal, it is better to give up as soon as possible.

But if they only hold out here until reinforcements arrive, the time is calculated to be within two days, and the Seven Seas Traveler can wait for them for a day or two at Howling Pass.

He had told the others what Moon Arrit had said to him before.

“…… So the Earth Source Crystal can be found everywhere here, so I don't have to worry about finding it, but I care more about the heart of the mountain than that. ”

Red nodded, his opinion slightly different, "If this is really about Nognes's safety, we are naturally obliged. ”

After listening to the conversation between the two, Sylvid suddenly smiled, "Speaking of which, I'm also a little interested in this matter." ”

Fang Yu couldn't help but look at her with a little surprise, "Sylvide, are you also interested in such a thing?" ”

The ship's master nodded and explained very seriously:

"The seven obelisks are built on the main veins of the Aether River on the continents, and the Aether River that passes through the island outside Gula Harbor and Fenris Island also flows through this place, and although the two obelisks in Kaulin have already been found, it is not a loss to study them."

It seemed that most people had no opinion, and Fang Yu looked at the others again, "What about you?" ”

"Let's stay here and help you find the Earth Source Crystal," the walnut representative in the underground replied, Titanium Pea and the others, "Anyway, our strength won't be of much use in the next battle." ”

This is undoubtedly a wise choice, but finding the earth-derived crystal vein is not an easy task, and it requires considerable skill.

"If you don't let Kita follow you, you'll have to protect her."

"No need," said Beyge, who had not spoken, and the maiden looked at them and replied succinctly, "I can." ”

After asking, Fang Yu learned that Beji himself was also an apprentice of the Orenze Artisan Association, and he was quite talented in mineral discrimination.

But it's not surprising to think that the other party is following in the footsteps of his wonderful brother.

But why doesn't his sister think so?

He looked at Tang Xin a little strangely, but Tang Xin didn't know what the pigeon was thinking, so he frowned and shook him with a pair of eyes.

was despised by his cousin again, Fang Yu was physically and mentally traumatized, and at this time, the big cat man suddenly spoke:

"Ed, do you remember what we heard in Pacheva?"

Fang Yu was slightly stunned.

They had heard a lot about Pačva, but he thought about it for a moment before he realized which one he was talking about.

"Mr. Red, do you mean the one about the abnormal reduction of crystal veins around Nognes?"

Red nodded, "If you look at these two things together, the people that the other party is talking about may be the people we guessed before." ”

Fang Yu remembered this incident at this time, and by the way, he had almost forgotten to ask about those humans who had the 'dark aura' in the mouth of Moon Arit.

It's a pity that I have to find another opportunity to ask now.

What he didn't expect was that this opportunity came quickly.

It wasn't long before Moon Arrit had the Greytree people leave the valley with the Electors, but instead had the dwarfs take them to another location.

It was a square made of ancient trees.

There, a tall old tree man had been waiting for them for a long time.

Its long tendrils hung down to the ground, leaving burn marks from its left shoulder to its left leg, its cracked bark completely charred and scaly, and its opening had a low, buzzing echo:

"The young human, my name is Grayskin, and I'm the only Elder left of the Graytree people here."

"For thousands of years, Lord Moon has not been able to stay awake for too long in order to maintain the form of the Heart of the Tree, so I will answer the rest of your questions."

And what Fang Yu was curious about at the moment was that they were the only ones who came here, or had everyone else already seen this Tree Man Elder?

But listening to his question, Grayskin shook his head directly, "You are the only ones who can see me." ”

"Why?" Fang Yu was puzzled.

"Because this is the command of Lord Moon, you have the breath of the goddess Ameya in you."

"Goddess Ameya?"

Fang Yu suddenly understood what had happened, everything was because of the brief divine descent from Istania.

He didn't expect that the aura left by the goddess of the forest on him at that time would actually play a role here.

Speaking of which, he is still the holy choice of Marlan, thanks to the good relationship between the two goddesses, if Lady Roman and Lady Marlan still have to fight.

But Moon Arrit and Greyskin may have made a mistake, and the natural aura on his body was only dyed by a relationship of yin and yang.

Fang Yu realized that this might be the reason why he was the only one who could hear the other party's call.

But if the Heart of the Tree, and the High Elder, thought he was an emissary of Ameya, hoping that he would kill the crystals or something, that would be a big joke.

He hurriedly asked, "So what exactly are you letting us do here, is it just to defend against the Crystal's attack?" ”

"That's just one aspect, Lord Moon knows that those people have the ability to transmit news to the outside world, and if we can attract enough people to this place, we will have the power to fight the crystal."

"There is a mixture of those who can be summoned," Fang Yu couldn't help but remind, "There are also many dark believers among them. ”

Grayskin shook his head, "Don't worry, Lord Moon has the ability to discern the aura of darkness, and we will never let anyone with dark power enter the Holy Land. ”

That's not necessarily, Fang Yu glanced at Nini, who was muttering in her sleep.

However, it was difficult for him to discern whether Nini's power was dark or not.

"What about us?" Fang Yu finally asked, "What are you calling us here for?" ”

"To investigate why Crystal has gone mad, young human," Greyskin replied, "we've been trying to find out what those people did. ”

Fang Yu didn't expect the question to come back to this.

He was stunned for a moment before asking, "Have you seen those people?" ”

Grayskin shook his head, "Only Lord Moon sensed their entry, but no one saw them. ”

"They're gone?"

The old tree man nodded slowly.

……

"At least they didn't make us work for nothing."

Parker muttered as he leaned on the ledge of the natural wood.

The Treants actually arranged a place for them to live, not the Seven Seas Brigade and their party, but every one of the Electors who went here.

They used their magic to build treehouses on trees, and although they were a little rudimentary and didn't even have any furniture, at least they didn't have to sleep in the wild.

They even built a simple hall for the Electors to team up.

As a result, the Electors have turned it into a bar.

The forest is also inhabited by goblins, with ready-made winemakers.

There are fairy wines, bars, adventurers, quests and good pay, but the worst is almost just the story of the adventurers.

Fang Yu looked at the hall of trees in the distance where people were flowing in and out, and suddenly understood the thoughts of the ancient tree wise man.

The other party wants to turn this place into an adventurer's camp, or even a town.

Think about it, this place has a lot of treasures, and the outside is almost full of precious mineral deposits.

As long as the Treants come up with rewards to pay adventurers, it will soon flourish and become the most popular adventure mecca.

The only question left is how to let people know about this place.

But right now, with the help of these Chosen Ones' desire to survive, I am afraid that a steady stream of support will soon arrive here.

At that time, with the actions of the Grand Guild, the Free Electors will naturally find out the clues.

Not to mention, the people trapped here at the moment already have free callers.

Fang Yu didn't know if Moon Arrit was clear about the difference between a Free Chosen One and a Guild Chosen One, and whether the latter was intentional on purpose.

But to be able to do this is already quite powerful, and it seems that it knows quite well about the Chosen One.

And once this ash forest becomes a town for adventurers, then the threat of crystals to this area is naturally minimal.

Even with the power of adventurers, it can solve problems once and for all.

But is it really that simple?

And the things that Greyskin told him always lingered in his mind.

"The inquirer is back!"

Sky Blue suddenly screamed.

Fang Yu looked up and saw several walnuts in the ground walking back from outside.

……

()

Set a small goal first, such as remembering in 1 second: book guest residence