Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 345 Founding a Sect and Establishing Sacrifices, Childhood Sweethearts, The Star-Picking Palace is on Fire?

The seventh year of the Great Xia Dynasty, the ninth day of the ninth month

Time flies, and three years have passed in a flash.

House No. 8, near the main building in the inner city of Great Xia.

Shortly after nightfall, the mistress of the house, Cheng Fang, had just changed into her official robes as a ninth-rank lady and stepped out of the house when she found her husband, Hong Gang, already waiting outside the courtyard gate. She immediately turned around and shouted into the house:

"A-Ye, quickly bring the offerings, let's set off."

"You're here, Mother!"

A moment after the response, a robust young man ran out of the house.

The young man was about sixteen or seventeen years old. He wore a well-tailored black summer dress with a lifelike pattern of a young, snow-white mane embroidered on the back. He wore a light red hair ornament, a silver ring about three centimeters in diameter around his neck, and a beautifully carved bone and jade pendant around his waist. His already elegant and luxurious attire, combined with the confident smile in his eyes, made him appear even more dashing and extraordinary.

This young man was none other than Hong Gang's youngest son, Hong Ye.

Hong Ye was carrying a large wooden frame containing three pieces of high-grade animal meat that gleamed with a black sheen; two yellow candles as thick as a baby's arm; a pot of Qingyang wine; and three exquisite small porcelain cups.

Seeing his parents waiting for him outside the courtyard gate, he hurriedly ran over.

When Hongye walked up to her, Cheng Fang suddenly realized that her youngest son had grown taller than her by a head. Thinking back to six years ago, the brat who used to make her and Hong Gang angry all the time had grown up so much in the blink of an eye, and a sense of disbelief immediately arose in her eyes.

Of course, seeing her youngest son's extraordinary demeanor filled her with more satisfaction than anything else, and the dazed look in her eyes quickly turned into deep pride.

"Hmm, not bad, everything is ready, that's a bit more reliable now!"

Hong Gang looked down at the wooden frame that Hong Ye was carrying and saw that all the sacrificial items inside were there. He even praised Hong Ye for once.

Hong Ye, who was rarely praised by his father, immediately smiled and said, "This is the second time I've entered the ancestral temple, Father, you can rest assured!"

Seeing his youngest son's composed demeanor, Hong Gang, like Cheng Fang, felt a slight sense of disorientation. However, he quickly composed himself, turned around, and headed towards the door: "Let's go. It's the ancestral worship day today, and there are already quite a few people on the street. Let's go first."

Cheng Fang left first, and after Hong Ye locked the gate, he quickly jogged to catch up with the two of them.

"Father, isn't my eldest brother coming back for the ancestral rites this year?"

This is a rhetorical question; they've already set off for the ancestral rites, so Hong Ye's question at this time clearly indicates he wants to inquire about his elder brother, Hong Mu.

Hong Gang immediately saw through his youngest son's thoughts. Considering that the two brothers had a deep bond and hadn't seen each other for almost half a year, it was normal for Hong Ye to want to inquire about his elder brother's recent situation. He not only lost his sense of blame but also showed a slight sense of relief on his face.

Seeing his wife Cheng Fang staring at him, knowing she was also worried about their eldest son, he slowly said, "The Longyuan Army has gone to Songyang Ridge for a rotation and will definitely not return to Xiacheng for a while. Their rotation will last for six months. Mu'er last came back in June, and he will probably not be back until the beginning of the year, around the Hanyuan Festival."

Upon hearing that her eldest son wouldn't be back until the end of the year, Cheng Fang's expression immediately became somewhat distressed.

Hong Ye seemed much more excited and quickly continued to ask, "Was Songyang Ridge previously garrisoned by the Yunjiao Army? The Longyuan Army is here to relieve them? They've only been established for less than a year, their combat strength shouldn't be that great yet, right?"

"Is it your place to gossip? I just praised you for being more composed, and now you're spouting nonsense again."

Reprimanded by his father, Hong Ye immediately shrank back, but he was not afraid and continued in a low voice: "I did not say anything wrong. Everyone knows that the qualification to form the Seventh Army originally belonged to Lord Zhao Long. It was not up to the Longyuan Squad. It was because the lady had a big fight with the lord that the Longyuan Army came into being. Zhou Yuan, the commander of the Longyuan Army, was originally a captain of the scout battalion of the Longwu Army. It was also the lady who personally went to Yuwen Si to ask for him."

Hong Gang's expression froze. He thought about how his son had lived in the inner city for a long time and was so close to the main building, so it wasn't surprising that he could hear such gossip. But after thinking for a moment, he shook his head and said sternly, "From now on, you are not allowed to spread any rumors about the lord and his wife. If I find out again, I will punish you according to family rules!"

"I understand, Dad. I won't say it again."

Upon hearing that family discipline was to be applied, Hongye quickly nodded and agreed repeatedly.

"Father, do you know why the Longyuan Army was stationed at Songyang Ridge?"

"I heard that in order to deal with the beast tide over the Arrow Bamboo Forest, the six armies of Yun Jiao, Long Wu, Tu Long, Hu Bao, Xuan Wu, and Shen Wu have all been transferred to Jing Gu. The Longyuan Army is slightly weaker, so they have been ordered to garrison Songyang Ridge."

Upon hearing this answer, Hong Ye's face immediately lit up with a smug expression.

Sure enough, I hadn't said anything wrong.

The Seventh Army in Longyuan was only established last November, and its combat effectiveness was not as good as the previous six armies. The fact that it was sent to Songyangling for a rotation means that the Yunjiao Army, which was originally stationed there, must have a more important task.

"The ninth day of the ninth lunar month, right? That's right, the beast tide that occurs in the Arrow Bamboo Forest every four months happens to be around this time. No wonder the northern entrance to Redwood Ridge has been sealed off since the end of last month. Last time, the third team said they were going hunting in the north, but before they even went in, they saw the hunting department's closure marker over there."

Hearing his son mention hunting, Hong Gang immediately became interested. He turned and stared at Hong Ye for a while, then smiled and said, "I heard from Han Yang that you did quite well in the third team. Last time you hunted a low-level Lei Kui all by yourself. Is that true or false?"

Hong Gang's Blue Wolf Hunting Team has long since been upgraded to an advanced team. After the upgrade, they also learned from other advanced teams to divide the team into three groups to target different levels of prey.

Because he was in charge of the military affairs of the East Second District, Hong Gang was overwhelmed and handed over most of the hunting team's affairs to the vice-captain. The Han Yang he mentioned was the vice-captain of the Blue Wolf Squad.

Upon hearing his father mention this, Hong Ye's face immediately lit up with pride, and he nodded emphatically, saying, "It's true. My basic strength is now 27,000 jin, and I can hunt low-level cold beasts on my own without any problems."

Hong Gang, with his late-stage Cold Resistance cultivation, had naturally seen through his youngest son's basic strength long ago. Seeing his son's arrogant expression, he still advised him, "There is indeed no major problem, but the Cold Beasts are cunning and their vitality far exceeds that of humans. In the future, we should be more cautious and try to go in groups rather than hunting alone."

"Got it, Dad!"

Hongye was well aware of these rules, and quickly nodded to indicate that he understood.

The three walked along the street for a while and arrived at the main building. They entered the first floor of the main building, continued along the open passage in the middle, and soon passed through the main building and came out through the back door.

As soon as he stepped out of the back door of the main building, Hong Ye looked up at the brightly lit Zhaixing Hall and couldn't help but sigh in a low voice, "The lord has been in seclusion for almost four years. I heard that he has never left Zhaixing Hall once in these four years. His perseverance alone is unmatched in Xia City. No wonder he is so powerful!"

Hong Gang nodded upon hearing this, a look of surprise rising on his face. He knew about Xia Hong's seclusion, but he and his son were concerned about different things. What he was thinking about at this moment was how strong Xia Hong would be after he came out of seclusion.

Hong Ye had only heard about Lord Xia Hong's power from hearsay.

But he was different; he had witnessed it firsthand. Xia Hong's most recent attack was during the Yanglu Realm beast tide at the end of the second year of the Great Xia Dynasty.

The scene of Xia Hong wielding the Frostblood Blade and slaughtering high-level Frost Beasts as easily as slicing melons and chopping vegetables is still vivid in my mind. Even today, Hong Gang is certain that probably no one in the entire Xia City can do what Xia Hong did.

Five years have passed since that action.

After five years of seclusion, how strong will Xia Hong be when he emerges?
This question arose in Hong Gang's mind, his eyes filled with anticipation.

Behind the main building, above is the Star-Picking Hall, and below are the three most important pavilions of the Great Xia Dynasty: Martial Arts, Alchemy, and Weapon Forging. Behind the Alchemy Pavilion on the right, there is a large medicinal field of 500 meters in size. The space of that medicinal field was actually obtained by hollowing out the south side of the mountain wall.

The three of them walked along the edge of the medicinal herb field for another hundred meters or so.

"We've arrived at the ancestral temple!"

Reminded by Hong Ye's soft call, Hong Gang quickly looked up and his expression immediately became devout. Hong Ye, who had just called him, and his wife Cheng Fang also had the same expression.

Deep within the valley, at some unknown time, a square palace over fifty meters high was built. The palace was over thirty meters long and was almost entirely made of iron. The inner and outer walls and the ground were all painted with gold. There were countless coal stoves inside the palace, and under the firelight, the entire palace radiated a dazzling golden light, exuding a divine aura that inspired awe.

The temple complex is divided into three levels. The top level is directly open to the public, with a golden platform on top. Ten glowing memorial tablets can be vaguely seen standing on the platform in an orderly fashion.

"When entering the ancestral temple, first pay respects to the ancestral master, then offer sacrifices to the main branch of the clan!"

Hong Gang spoke in a low voice, and then, together with his wife and son, they respectfully bowed and kowtowed to the platform above.

After paying their respects, the family of three slowly walked into the ancestral temple.

Hong Gang thought his family had arrived early, but when he entered, he found that there were already hundreds of people on the first floor of the ancestral temple.

In the center of the first floor of the ancestral temple, there is a columnar circular platform, 15 meters wide, which occupies half of the entire hall. Thousands of spirit tablets are placed on the platform from top to bottom, and many places are empty. From the inscriptions on the tablets, it can be seen that these are the ancestral tablets of the Xia people.

"Let's go to the second floor!"

Hong Gang called out softly to his wife and son, immediately drawing envious glances from almost everyone in the hall who was worshipping.

"Is that Lord Hong and his family?"

"It's their family. Lord Hong was granted a title in the second year of the Great Xia Dynasty. Two years ago, he was promoted to the eighth rank of Chixiao Viscount. Last September, when the ancestral temple opened, the Hong family was among the first families to obtain the qualification to establish a clan, so naturally they could go to the ancestral hall to offer sacrifices."

"I've heard that founding a sect can boost cultivation, is that true?"

"Si Cheng said it himself, how could it be false? Haven't you noticed that the disciples of those founding families are all cultivating very quickly?"

"To be granted a title and establish a clan is truly a blessing that will extend to future generations!"

"Everyone in the camp wants a title, but military merit is hard to come by!"

... Hearing the whispers inside the hall, Hongye unconsciously puffed out his chest and followed his father up to the second floor.

The first floor is the ancestral hall, and the second floor is the clan hall. The layout of the clan hall is completely different from that of the ancestral hall. All four walls of the clan hall are openwork, and thousands of shrines are set up inside. A ring staircase is built along the wall from bottom to top, and you can walk to the front of each shrine from the ring staircase.

Although there are many shrines in the ancestral hall, only the top hundred or so are used to place spirit tablets; more than 90% of them are still empty.

Hong Gang led his wife and children up the spiral staircase to the top, where they quickly found the location of their family shrine.

There are seven spirit tablets placed inside the shrine, two of which are dull and lifeless:
A tablet inscribed with "The Spirit Tablet of Our Late Father, Hongqu"

Another tablet is inscribed with "The Spirit Tablet of Our Ancestor Hong Shen".

The remaining five memorial tablets are inscribed with the names of the family head Hong Gang, the matriarch Cheng Fang, the eldest son Hong Mu, the eldest daughter-in-law Meng Qiuning, and the second son Hong Ye.

Unlike the two dull and lifeless memorial tablets, these five living memorial tablets all emitted a faint glow, clearly not from the fire of the coal stoves around the shrine, but from the light of the tablets themselves.

If you look even closer, you'll find that the light emanating from these five spirit tablets is directional; the light is directed at the person whose tablet it is.

The light emanating from the two plaques bearing the names of the eldest son, Hong Mu, and his eldest daughter-in-law, Meng Qiuning, shone towards the southeast of Xia City.

And southeast is precisely the direction of Songyang Ridge.

"In the founding clan, anyone who erects a spirit tablet can receive a 100% increase in cultivation speed. All they need to do is maintain the flame in the shrine with coal and offer sacrifices once a year on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month. Moreover, they can also identify their location and life or death through the spirit tablet. Father, do you think our lord might be a reincarnation of a god? He can even conjure up such divine objects!"

Upon hearing this, Hong Gang nodded first, then his mind drifted back to the scene of his first meeting with Xia Hong. Recalling the journey that Great Xia had gone through in the past eight years, he took a deep breath and said, "What reincarnation of a god? I think he is clearly a living god. Without Lord Xia, it's questionable whether your father would have survived to this day, let alone have this strength. Everything we eat, wear, and use was provided by Lord Xia. For the more than 800,000 people of Great Xia, what difference is there between Lord Xia and a god?"

Upon hearing these words, Hong Ye immediately nodded with a respectful expression, and even his mother, Cheng Fang, nodded with a look of piety on her face.

While the father and son were chatting, Cheng Fang had already arranged the offerings.

Hong Gang picked up two yellow candles, lit them in the nearby coal stove, and respectfully placed them on either side of the shrine.

Two yellow candles were lit, quickly emitting wisps of blue smoke. Instead of drifting out of the shrine, the smoke gradually flowed into the five spirit tablets, and as the smoke poured in, the light of the spirit tablets became even more intense.

"These yellow candles cost 1000 contribution points each at the Supply Department. I heard that once lit, even high-level monsters can't get close. Isn't it a bit wasteful of us to use them as offerings?"

Upon hearing his wife Cheng Fang's words, Hong Gang immediately rebuked her in a low voice, "Women only have this one ancestral worship ceremony each year, what's the waste?"

Even so, you could tell from his furrowed brows that 2000 contribution points were no small amount.

"The Minister only said one sentence before: that the yellow candles and incense can continuously nourish the spirit of the memorial tablet and will have endless uses in the future. It's just that we don't know what those uses will be, or to what extent the tablet needs to be nourished before it will change."

After pondering for a moment, Hong Gang shook his head slightly, inwardly cursing himself for overthinking.

The yellow candle was clearly something the lord had brought out, so what was there for him to question? Besides, so many important figures like Yuwen Sizheng, Yuan Sizheng, and Qiu Sizheng had also exchanged for yellow candles for the sacrifice, so he should just follow suit. What was there to think about?

I've heard that the Eight Departments and many important figures in the camp offer sacrifices with two yellow candles every three months. He only offers one sacrifice a year, which is hardly enough to earn him any contribution points. It's too stingy.

"Lord Hong, what a coincidence!"

After the Hong family finished their ancestral worship ceremony, they packed up their things and were about to go downstairs when they suddenly heard a soft cry from above the staircase.

Hong Gang turned his head and immediately smiled. He cupped his hands and said, "Lord Zhao's ancestral worship procession is so large! So many talented young people. The Zhao family is thriving. I am quite envious."

It turned out that the person who stopped him was Zhao Long, who had come to the ancestral temple to worship his ancestors that day.

Compared to Hong Gang's family, the Zhao family's ancestral worship procession was indeed very large, with a total of 27 people, mainly young people. Apart from three women and two babies being held in their arms, the rest were mostly young people aged 15 to early 20.

This doesn't even include Zhao Hu and Zhao Bao, who are respectively serving in Dongling and Wuyuan. Hong Gang recalled hearing his colleagues say a few days ago that among the families that were granted titles and established clans in the camp, the Zhao and Xiao families had the most prosperous populations. He didn't take it seriously at the time, but now that he saw it with his own eyes, he realized that this was true.

"Haha, Lord Hong, you flatter us. After all, there are three brothers, so it's normal for our ancestral worship procession to be a bit larger."

Zhao Long was clearly pleased with the words "the incense is thriving," and quickly stepped forward to stand beside Hong Gang, pulling him along as they continued down the stairs.

"The ancestral rites have just ended, Brother Hong, how about we have a couple of drinks together?"

"I can't have it, let's go, let's go."

Upon hearing that they were going to drink, Hong Gang's eyes immediately lit up. He abandoned Cheng Fang and her son Hong Ye and rushed downstairs with Zhao Long.

“These men, once they hear about drinking, they become like they’re under a spell. Madam Hong, please come back with us!”

Cheng Fang immediately rolled her eyes at her husband, but fortunately, Zhao Long's wife and two sisters-in-law came over to talk to her, which made her look a little better.

Hong Ye naturally mingled directly with the young people from the Zhao family.

He was closest in age to Zhao Yuanwu and had the best relationship with him, so he went straight up to him and asked, "Yuanwu, why didn't your sister come to the ancestral worship ceremony?"

Zhao Yuanwu is Zhao Long's eldest son. He has a younger sister and a younger brother. His sister is named Zhao Yuanshan, who is not yet fifteen years old. His brother is named Zhao Yuancheng, who is only five years old. He is currently being held by his cousin Zhao Yuanwu.

"Whether my sister comes or not is none of your business. What right do you have to care?"

Seeing that Hong Ye was inquiring about his sister's situation, Zhao Yuanwu was obviously very wary, and the two had a very good relationship. He immediately started cursing.

"There are so many of us here, yet A-Ye can tell at a glance that Yuan Shan isn't in there. Is he thinking about Yuan Shan all the time?"

They were all people living in the inner city, and their fathers were so familiar with each other, so the young people of the Zhao family knew Hong Ye. Zhao Yuanwu, who was holding her cousin, made a teasing remark to Hong Ye, which immediately made everyone laugh and join in the teasing.

"Hahaha, definitely. When he was training with Yuan Shan in the Martial Arts Pavilion, his eyes almost popped out of their sockets."

“When Hongye was a child, he loved to run to his uncle’s house every day. I guess he’s been eyeing Yuan Shan for a long time, hahaha.”

"Hongye, you'd better step up your game. Someone came to our door to arrange a marriage for Yuan Shan a while ago. If you don't step up your efforts, the beauty will run away."

………………

Hong Ye wasn't that thick-skinned, and being teased like that by everyone, he naturally stammered and couldn't say a word. However, upon hearing someone arranging a marriage for Zhao Yuanshan, his expression immediately turned tense, and he hurriedly asked:

"Who came to propose marriage, and did Yuan Shan agree?"

"Hahahahaha..."

The Zhao girls burst into laughter, bending over with joy.

In the end, it was Zhao Yuanwu who, seeing Hong Ye's pitiful appearance, smiled and patted his shoulder, saying, "Silly boy, I'm not teasing you anymore. Everyone knows that Yuan Shan is your childhood sweetheart. Coming to your door to propose marriage is just foolish, isn't it?"

Recently, Lord Lu from Dongling sent a message requesting that the camp send five Earth-Digging Realm cultivators under the age of fifteen. Yuan Shan happened to meet the requirements, so she went.

Hong Ye then showed a relieved expression, and then asked curiously, "Lord Lu of Dongling, what's the point of having a Digging Realm cultivator under fifteen years old? Do we need to go to Yuan Shan? There are plenty of them in the camp now."

"I heard it's a martial arts competition. You can't be too young, and your cultivation level has to be decent. I don't know the specifics. I don't even know where Dongling is!"

Hong Ye nodded upon hearing this. He also didn't know where Dongling was. The camp had not disclosed the exact location of Dongling, nor did they allow people to inquire about it casually.

boom…………

Just as he was about to speak, a loud bang came from above.

"on fire?"

"Isn't that the Star-Picking Palace up there?"

"The temperature suddenly rose so high! Is the Star-Picking Palace on fire?"

"What a joke! The Sacred Cauldron is right in the Star-Picking Hall, how could it catch fire?"

"Look, this is the Star-Picking Platform, the place where the lord secluded himself for cultivation."

"That...that fireball, what was that? Did the Sacred Cauldron explode?"

"The sacred cauldron is behind us. Look, it seems to be a lord in the fire."

………………

(End of this chapter)