The mountain range at the center of the Deserted Island was vast.
The cave where Chu Xiu and the others currently lived could only be considered the outskirts of the foothills. Farther up, the terrain began to grow noticeably steeper.
The woods also became denser.
Towering ancient trees blotted out the sky and sun. Sunlight could only scatter mottled spots of light through the gaps in the foliage, and the air was thick with the mingled scent of damp earth and vegetation.
Ah Yin, who was walking at the front, suddenly stopped.
"There's a Spirit Beast ahead, to the right."
"It's not particularly close, but its aura is much stronger than those at the foot of the mountain."
"Let's go around."
Chu Xiu didn't hesitate at all.
They had come to look for ore today, not to fight monsters and level up.
The higher they climbed on the Deserted Island, the higher the grade of the resources-and the stronger the Spirit Beasts. They had already confirmed that long ago.
There was no need to take risks for a few pieces of meat.
The three changed direction and continued uphill.
Similar situations occurred several more times along the way.
With Ah Yin warning them in advance, the three never once encountered a Spirit Beast head-on.
As they climbed higher, Chu Xiu also clearly sensed the difference.
The most obvious difference was the resources.
Back near the foothills, a mutated crop reaching middle-grade Mortal Tier was already considered good. Yet they had barely reached the mountainside before discovering several Mortal Tier resources.
"Wait."
Chu Xiu suddenly stopped.
He crouched beside an exposed rock face and scraped away the surface dirt with the Iron Knife.
A dark red metallic gleam emerged.
``` [Meteoric Iron]
Grade: High-grade Mortal Tier
Mutation: Orange glow
Effect: Extremely