Chapter 491: Test

The black-haired giant mentioned that the Humming Forest lies on the southern shore of Lake Es Mier , right beside it.

Gao De inquired about the exact location of the Humming Forest, thanked the fisherman, and set off toward the forest.

As he neared the trees, a breeze from the lake brushed past, gently lapping the shore with a soothing trickle.

Immediately after, the wind passed through the forest, and a faint buzzing rose in waves.

The sound was not piercing, yet it was intensely noisy, interwoven and indistinguishable from the hum of bees.

The name was fitting indeed.

The forest was small, totaling only about twenty trees, arranged in orderly disorder, each spaced widely apart.

Each Humming Tree was thick and straight, its bark a unique deep gray, covered in irregular patterns.

Gao De ran his hand over it—the texture was hard, and the patterns bore subtle ridges and depressions, like winding paths spreading across the bark.

Looking at the trunk, countless tiny holes dotted its surface, strikingly resembling a beehive.

These holes varied in size: the largest as thick as a thumb, the smallest no bigger than a pinprick.

A faint, distinctive tree scent drifted through the air—the resin’s unique odor, slightly sour and bitter, not particularly pleasant.

But it was not unpleasant either, carrying a simple, primal essence.

Nearly every one of these twenty trees had been partially peeled by fishermen, exposing the fresh inner wood.

Then, the fishermen hung beneath each tree a rough-surfaced, slightly upturned, bowl-shaped container tied with hemp rope.

Thick resin slowly seeped from the holes, dripping into the containers below.

This freshly exuded resin was viscous, shimmering with a captivating luster under sunlight, its appearance nearly identical to honey.

Gao De observed carefully for a moment.

He had only heard of the Humming Resin’s uses from fishermen’s tales—he had never tested it himself.

After a brief thought, he removed one of the containers.

The resin inside was half-full, still liquid, gently sloshing within the vessel.

With a slight surge of internal Qi, Gao De cast 【Arcane Trickery】, warming the resin, then used 【Dance of Wind】 to accelerate solvent evaporation from its surface, hastening its solidification.

Combined, the resin changed rapidly.

The once-fluid golden liquid gradually lost its fluidity; soon, it hardened completely into a brown-yellow solid.

Its surface now appeared extremely smooth, catching the sunlight with a subtle sheen.

Gao De lightly pressed his finger against the solidified resin—it immediately deformed, sinking slightly under his fingertip.

Yet the moment he released pressure, it snapped back instantly to its original shape, revealing unique elasticity.

Gao De then cast 【Cat’s Claw】, sharpening his nails into blades, and stabbed them into the hardened resin.

With a soft *plop*, like a blade piercing soft flesh, his nails sank in—but did not pierce through.

The resin displayed astonishing toughness.

When Gao De withdrew his nails, the tiny punctures sealed shut immediately, leaving only the faintest, nearly invisible trace.

Gao De’s eyes brightened again and again.

Of course, the testing was far from over.

The most important test had yet to be performed.

Gao De carried the solidified resin to the shore and, using 【Control Water】, directed a stream of lake water to pour over it.

The moment the water touched the resin, it repelled as if encountering intense resistance, instantly forming round droplets that slid rapidly down its surface.

The resin’s surface remained almost dry, leaving only a few minuscule water marks.

Just as the black-haired giant had said, the Humming Resin’s waterproofing was remarkably effective.

Gao De then used the water to envelop the resin, freezing it solid within a block of ice.

That wasn’t enough—he drew Northwind and drew close to the ice.

The supreme cold within Northwind surged forth like a freezing tide, instantly dropping the ice’s temperature by dozens of degrees.

Then Gao De stood still, waiting patiently.

He had great patience, waiting nearly an hour before finally dispelling the ice.

As the spell dissolved, the ice melted into droplets that slid swiftly off the resin’s surface.

The solidified resin, after enduring extreme cold, remained supple, showing not a single crack—unchanged from an hour earlier.

Its stability under extreme cold far exceeded Gao De’s expectations.

Gao De thought for a moment, used 【Mage Hand】 to lift the resin into the air, then cast 【Acid Splash】, conjuring a green acidic liquid mixed with lake water and splashing it onto the resin.

As before, the acid-laced water struck the resin and instantly formed round droplets that slid away.

The resin’s surface showed no sign of corrosion whatsoever.

Finally, Gao De extended his right hand—a flame burst forth.

【Ignite Flame】.

He applied the flame to heat the solidified resin, testing its behavior under high temperature.

The result utterly surprised Gao De.

The resin, stable under low temperatures, exhibited the same stability under high heat—only beginning to soften near a hundred degrees.

Once softened, its malleability was excellent; it could be easily shaped into any form, and upon cooling and re-hardening, its strength remained nearly unchanged.

After completing this series of tests, Gao De turned back to the small patch of Humming Forest—his gaze had changed completely.

This Humming Tree, despised by many, was truly a pearl hidden in dust!

Gao De quickly returned to the forest.

His eyes swept over the trees and noticed scattered capsules hanging among the branches.

He immediately cast Mage Hand—the phantom spectral hand darted swiftly through the foliage, plucking several capsules from the Humming Trees.

Then he casually broke open one.

With a *pop*, the capsule split open.

As expected, the seeds inside were revealed: oval, brown, smooth-surfaced.

Undoubtedly, the Humming Tree was a new species; planted in the Northern Lands, it could nurture Yggdrasil.

But for Gao De, the Humming Tree’s significance extended far beyond that.

It was not merely “nourishment” for Yggdrasil—it possessed far greater utility in itself.

Thus, Gao De was not content with collecting just one or two seeds this time.

He cast Mage Hand again, stripping all twenty-odd Humming Trees, gathering over two hundred capsules in one go, then finally felt satisfied.

(End of Chapter)