Chapter 268: Burning Mountain

Digging irrigation channels to divert water had been the best method in the past. However, unless there was an official organization to take the lead, it was difficult for ordinary people to spontaneously dig irrigation channels on their own unless they had no other choice.

Even in a place with such abundant water resources, there had still been droughts throughout history.

Under these circumstances, logically speaking, the vegetation on the mountains in this area should have been especially lush. After the people had moved away for a few years, the grass and trees should probably have begun growing wildly. So why did the place instead look somewhat desolate?

Could this be the reason why the astrological sign showed good fortune hidden within misfortune?

He would know after taking a look.

Even so, Joo Joowon did not act recklessly and paid attention to every change around him at all times.

This place really was desolate. Even though he was walking on foot, he still did not feel that climbing the mountain was particularly difficult. There were hardly any plants blocking his path. The only strange thing was that the surroundings were excessively quiet. After walking this far, he had still not seen any frightened small animals or even any zombies.

The deeper one went into the mountains, the more suspicious it was for things to be this quiet. Therefore, Joo Joowon became increasingly cautious as he continued forward. Before long, however, he suddenly felt a violent tremor coming from the distance that seemed to shake both the earth and the mountains.

The intense vibration was extremely obvious, and it seemed to have come from the mountain. It was like a sudden clap of thunder on a clear day, making it very difficult not to notice.

Joo Joowon steadied his body. From the rumbling vibration coming through the ground beneath his feet, his instincts told him that this was not something caused by a natural disaster. At the very least, it was not caused by an earthquake.

While sensing the direction from which the sound had come, he continued moving without stopping. His speed was much faster than before because he was afraid that if he went over slowly, there might be nothing left at the scene by the time he arrived.

What had caused this? Two bosses fighting each other? An object from beyond the heavens? A rare treasure emerging into the world?

The tremors continued for some time before finally calming down. With the help of spider silk, Joo Joowon climbed upward at an extremely fast speed. But when he was almost at his destination, he slowed down and cautiously approached the area. Before long, he smelled a strange odor.

The smell was extremely pungent, clearly the gas produced by burning vegetation.

As Joo Joowon moved closer, he saw a patch of firelight.

More precisely, it was a tree that was burning.

It seemed that this tree had originally been hollow inside. A crack shaped like a lightning bolt had appeared across its trunk, and through the crack, he could see the flames burning inside. The fire illuminated the inside of the tree with an orange red glow.

However, when Joo Joowon looked inside with [Super Vision], there were still actual flames burning within it, proving that what he was seeing was not an illusion.

Even with the entire heart of the tree hollowed out, the tree could still survive and even continue growing lush branches and leaves.

Joo Joowon had once seen something similar in a science popularization video. Inside a hollow tree, there would be decomposing microorganisms from fallen leaves and other decaying materials, along with air and other gases. When these reached a certain critical point, the inside could spontaneously catch fire.

The flames that started under such circumstances were extremely difficult to extinguish. Even if a water hose was aimed directly into the opening and sprayed continuously, it could still take a very long time to put out the fire inside, and there was even a possibility that it would reignite.

However, just one tree did not seem to be enough to cause an entire mountain to shake as violently as it had.

Joo Joowon walked around the nearby area once, and he quickly discovered that there was actually more than one tree in this condition. At intervals, he could see another "fire tree" burning in the distance.

If this had happened to only one tree, it could still be explained as a coincidence. But with so many trees experiencing the same thing at the same time, it was definitely not a coincidence.

Then where exactly was the source of everything?

Joo Joowon had never considered deliberately approaching these burning trees. Who knew whether they might be a trap? He had originally planned to find something nearby to use for testing the situation first, but unexpectedly, the mountain began shaking again.

Perhaps because he was closer this time, Joo Joowon discovered that many more fires had appeared nearby.

For a moment, the entire surrounding area was illuminated in an orange red glow like molten gold beneath a setting sun.

Joo Joowon’s heart suddenly jumped. He still remembered what the system had said when the special event [Revival of the Darkness] descended.

Under the dark state, all dark creatures would throw themselves toward the light without regard for anything else.

Right now, there was not merely a little firelight. It had also appeared at the top of the mountain, as conspicuous as a lighthouse. Any creature nearby that still had eyes and could see would have no reason to fail to notice the commotion here.

Joo Joowon had not yet sensed what the good fortune was, but he could now see what the misfortune was.

Without giving it any thought, he immediately avoided all the burning trees and turned around to leave. He no longer cared whether he had exposed himself or not. He pushed his body’s perception to its absolute limit and rushed toward the nearest water source.

If there was anywhere that could not possibly catch fire under the current circumstances, it should be underwater.