I squeezed through the last narrow rock crevice sideways, and my eyes suddenly opened up.
At this time, I was standing on the edge of a huge sinkhole. Looking down a hundred meters deep, I saw a virgin forest.
A rough estimate is that this place is at least several square kilometers, surrounded by nearly vertical cliffs, completely isolating this area from the outside world.
My sight was shocked by the scene in the center of the sinkhole.
It was a giant tree that required ten people to hug it. It had obviously been struck by lightning.
The tree trunk was split in half from the middle, and the charred cracks were shocking.
However, just above the scorched blackness of death, countless green new branches sprouted, full of vitality.
"This nature is really amazing!"
“Maybe there is the Cynomorium cynomorium I’m looking for underneath.”
With this belief, I climbed down along the vines on the edge of the cliff cave.
After arriving at the bottom of the pit, the trees here are generally huge, and trees hundreds of years old can be seen everywhere.
The vegetation is completely different from the outside world. I carefully collected several samples, packed them and put them in my backpack.
The purpose of this trip is to look for Cynomorium cynomorium. I suppressed my curiosity about the wonders around me and began to search carefully.
His eyes swept over tree roots and stone crevices, not sparing any corner.
I looked for some distance and thought to myself: "If there is none here, then I have to go back first."
At this time, several clumps of dark red plants appeared in my sight.
Their appearance is very similar to Cynomorium cynomorium, with serrated leaves, but the veins of the leaves are faintly flowing with an unnatural golden luster.
"It's so similar, but what's the color?" I muttered to myself, not daring to recognize them rashly.
Although Cynomorium cynomorium is precious, there is no record of golden veins in its leaves. Could it be some similar poisonous weed?
When I got closer, I couldn’t believe what I saw.
Not one clump, not two plants. Behind the crack in the stone, along the bank of an underground stream, there is a whole patch of Cynomorium cynomorium growing!
They spread out like a red carpet, and their scale was far beyond my wildest imagination.
Medicinal materials that are rarely seen in the outside world are as luxuriant as weeds here.
I took out my mobile phone from the waterproof bag, turned on the screen, and called up the stored information and pictures of Cynomorium cynomorium.
Compare every detail of the object with the picture.
Leaf shape, yes.
Stalk shape, yes.
Root characteristics, yes.
"It's really Cynomorium cynomorium! There is no end to the road!" I was so excited that I knelt on one knee on the ground.
Looking at so many life-saving herbs, "Now, the side effects in my body can finally be completely resolved."
I don't know how much Cynomorium cynomorium is needed, so I dug out dozens of excellent-looking Cynomorium cynomorium plants, wrapped them with roots and soil, and put them in the safest compartment of my backpack.
"These should be enough!"
After the ecstasy, reason gradually returned.
What on earth is this place? Why can it breed so many rare medicinal materials that are difficult to find in the outside world and even undergo extremely high-quality mutations?
I murmured to myself again, "Is it a secret place naturally formed by unique geological conditions? Or is there some unknown existence that deliberately created all this?"
I am no longer in a hurry to leave. Instead, start collecting systematically and thoughtfully.
Finally, I walked to the iconic lightning tree and chopped off a piece with a machete.
"I heard that lightning-strike wood can ward off evil spirits, but I'm not sure if it's true?"
Because my backpack was limited, I only cut a piece of lightning-strike wood that was several dozen centimeters in size and brought it back.
"It's time to get out of here!"
I had just climbed back to the platform in the middle of the cliff, and before I had time to catch my breath, the sky suddenly darkened.
Looking up, I saw dark clouds swallowing up the cracks in the sinkhole where the beam of light originally shined through.
"What a damn weather!"
Before I finished speaking, big raindrops were already falling.
At first I could still count the sounds, but in an instant they were all connected.
The rainwater pouring down from the cracks in the pit roof is no longer light, but several waterfalls.
I turned around in a hurry and went back into the cave again.
In such a short time, the skirt of his clothes was soaked through, and a flowing rain curtain formed at the entrance of the hole, isolating the inner and outer world.
I thought it was just passing rain, but half an hour later, I felt a chill under my feet.
Looking down, I saw that the turbid water was pouring inward along the cave passage, and the water level was rising at a speed visible to the naked eye.
I grabbed my backpack and retreated deeper into the passage. When I came to the narrow rock crevice, the sight before me made me take a breath of air.
The way we came has been completely swallowed up by the raging torrents, and the way back is blocked.
I could only retreat to a dry high ground deep in the cave. I checked my backpack first.
Fortunately, the waterproof performance is good, and the Cynomorium cynomorium wrapped in oil paper inside is intact, as are the samples of strange mosses and mushrooms.
I relaxed a little and twisted the corners of my soaked clothes.
A pale lightning cut through the darkness outside the cave, instantly illuminating the interior of the cave.
With a flash of light, I noticed that there seemed to be a branch hole extending upward beside the main passage.
The rain showed no sign of abating, and the sky was completely dark.
I collected some dead branches scattered in the cave and carefully lit a small fire. It dispelled the chill and brought some sense of security.
While I was baking clothes, the dancing firelight suddenly reflected an unusual reflection somewhere on the cave wall.
Thinking of the upward branch hole, I held a torch to explore deeply.
The sound of rain hitting the rock wall continued all night long. I was half asleep and half awake by the fire, and the content of the rock paintings, the giant tree that came back from the dead, and this secret place that gave birth to strange medicines kept popping up in my mind.
There must be some connection between them.
At dawn, the sound of rain gradually stopped. I walked to the entrance of the cave and found that most of the water had receded, and the narrow passage was out of the water again. Although it was still slippery, it was passable.
Before leaving, I used charcoal pencils and pieces of cloth to rub the patterns of the rock paintings, carefully wrapped the mahogany sword fragments and the copper bell and put them in my luggage. These may help me solve the mystery of this place.
The moment I stepped out of the cave, I couldn't help but look back. The sinkhole is shrouded in hazy water vapor, and a complete colorful bridge spans the canyon, which is breathtakingly beautiful. What shocked me even more was that the giant tree in the distance that had been split in half by lightning, after a night of heavy rain, the new branches pulled out from the charred crack had grown several times thicker, lush and green, glowing with an emerald luster in the morning light.
I took a deep breath of the sweet air after the rain, turned around and climbed up the rock wall.
This secret place is more mysterious than I imagined. And my fate with it is obviously not over yet.