Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 354 Lu Yang's Plan, Xia City Undergoes a Shocking Change, Sumeru Nightmare, His Highness's Golden Words
Only those who enter the main building can be considered true Dongling people.

It's no wonder that there's a saying circulating within the Dongling garrison: you can tell what's going on just by observing the people coming in and out of the main building.

They were either at the peak of the Earth-Digging Realm or at the Cold-Resistant Level, and they were all basically wearing iron armor, or carrying cold beasts back from outside. Compared to the people in other areas of the camp, they not only had higher cultivation levels, but also clearly carried a strong murderous aura, which made it obvious that they often went out hunting.

Anyone who came from Baisonghe looked up at the main building and their eyes revealed a certain longing, even though their lives today, under Lu Yang's leadership, were vastly different from what they used to be.

But people always want to improve their status. At present, the only way for Dongling to improve his status is to gain access to the main building.

As everyone looked at the main building with envy, they were unaware that their revered leader, Lu Yang, had given up the main seat and was now bowing deeply to the other person sitting in the main seat with an excited expression.

"Your subordinate greets Your Lordship!"

Of course, it wasn't just Lu Yang.

Zhao Hu, Zhu Shun, Wang Tao, Lin Fan, He Ning, He Xing, and the other officials from the six departments were also present, bowing and paying their respects along with him.

He Ning and He Xing did not look excited, because they knew Xia Hong was coming last night; but Zhao Hu and the other three were different. Their expressions were similar to Lu Yang's, and they obviously did not expect Xia Hong to come to Dongling.

“You did a good job at Zhuling last night. Lu Yang, you’ve really grown a lot in Dongling over the past three years. It’s quite a surprise to me.”

"Lu Yang thanks you for the compliment, Lord!"

Realizing that Xia Hong had seen what he had done in Zhuling last night, Lu Yang's expression brightened slightly, and a hint of joy rose in his heart.

"Tell me what your plans are for the Eight Families of Kitayama!"

Upon hearing Xia Hong's question, Lu Yang pondered for a moment before continuing to bow and say, "Last night, under the pretext of the gambling match, I had the five leaders send hostages to Dongling. Currently, only Yanggu camp is missing. Yang Quan will personally send his youngest son, Yang Shan, over tomorrow night."

Moreover, in order to reduce their debt burden, they will send more offspring of the Cold-resistant level as hostages.

With these hostages, the five families of Zhuling will definitely behave much better in the future. I can then unleash my full potential and place our Great Xia people in all the camps along the Beishan line.

My plan is to first take control of all the camps along the Beishan line, and then use these protons to gradually infiltrate the seven village-level camps. Ideally, I want to turn the entire Beishan line into an impregnable fortress, and then gradually extend my reach to the entire Jingxi jurisdiction.

Actually, my original plan wasn't like this. If the Jingxi region continued to be under Gu Tianxiong's jurisdiction, I would have been a bit hesitant to act. Gu Tianxiong is very powerful and has considerable connections among the higher-ups in Beishuo; it wouldn't be easy to control him. But now that Zhu Yang has taken over, it couldn't be better.”

Lu Yang paused here, his expression becoming even more excited, and continued: "Zhu Yang is old and his strength is not good. He has gradually lost power in Beishuo City. Dealing with him is easy. I am confident that in less than a year, I can control the entire area along the Beishan line."

As for whether or not to quickly infiltrate the Jingxi territory, that depends on the lord and when he plans to take action against Beishuo!

At this point, Lu Yang looked at Xia Hong, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes.

He hadn't forgotten that the core reason he came to Dongling to set up a post was to pave the way for the eastward expansion of the Great Xia.

"No no no no……"

Upon hearing the words "take action against Beishuo," Xia Hong immediately waved his hands repeatedly. He noticed that not only Lu Yang, but also the six people behind him, including Zhao Hu, all looked excited. He shook his head and chuckled.

"I just returned from Beishuo City and have already fought with Yang Fa. The situation in Jiuzhen is far more complicated than I imagined. You have personally learned more about the situation over the past three years than I have. With Jiuzhen in such a situation where one move affects the whole situation, there is no other way to deal with it except to sweep it away with overwhelming force. But Daxia obviously does not have that kind of strength at present."

If a rash attack is launched and fails, it will alert the Nine Garrisons, making it difficult for Great Xia to have another chance to expand eastward.

If we move eastward, we have opportunities along both the north and south routes.

On the southern route, if it weren't for Dajue Temple blocking the way, Xu Ning should have been able to make contact with Jiangxia Town. After I returned to Xia City to resolve the silver mine issue, I will personally go to Wuyuan to see what the situation is with Dajue Temple.

"The northern route will have to be managed by you in Dongling for now. It might not be needed in the short term, but it will definitely play a significant role in the future. Everything depends on the efforts of people like you!"

"Lu Yang will certainly lead Dongling to do his utmost to pave the way and establish a strong outpost for our Great Xia's eastward expansion, and will not disappoint the lord!"

Lu Yang nodded solemnly in response, and the six men behind him, including Zhu Shun and Wang Tao, hurriedly followed suit, saying in deep voices, "We will do our utmost to share the Lord's burdens!"

Xia Hong pondered for a moment, recalling his brief encounter with Yang Fa outside Beishuo City, and continued to instruct, "That Yang Fa is not simple. Remember to keep your plan to control the Beishan area secret. Once it is discovered, it will inevitably arouse Beishuo's vigilance. I don't ask you to be fast, I only ask you to be safe and maintain that secret passage."

Upon hearing Xia Hong mention Yang Fa, Lu Yang nodded solemnly. He had been to Beishuo City several times and had indeed heard a lot about Yang Fa during that time.

Xia Hong was about to get up when he suddenly remembered something. With a hint of curiosity on his face, he asked Lu Yang with a smile, "That He Wuyang, you must have some kind of leverage over him, right?"

Xia Hong witnessed He Wuyang being angrily reprimanded last night.

He Wuyang's strength was indeed inferior to Lu Yang and the others, but he was, after all, a member of the Northern Shuo Supervisory Council. Even if he was not as strong as Lu Yang, he should not have been so angry that he dared not even speak.

Even under normal circumstances, Lu Yang's act of angrily rebuking the Northern Shuo Inspector was clearly a treasonous act, as it damaged the prestige of Northern Shuo. If He Wuyang had reported it to the Censorate, Lu Yang would likely have been severely punished, if not killed.

The only explanation is that Lu Yang has something on him.

As Xia Hong had predicted, things turned out just as he had expected.

Lu Yang chuckled and said, "That He Wuyang is too audacious. Two years ago, he actually colluded with a giant camp along the Beishan line to secretly mine the largest Meishan silver mine in Jingxi. He mined a total of 1.47 million catties. When the truth came out, he even sent people to silence them."

Unfortunately, the men he sent were dishonest, and Zhao Hu and I acted quickly, rescuing the camp leader and some of his men, who are now being cared for at the Dongling camp.

I have all the ledgers of He Wuyang and his gang's illegal silver mining, as well as the letters between him and the two managers of Meishan Silver Mine. Naturally, he wouldn't dare offend me.

For the first two years, Zhu Tong thought I was acting so arrogantly because I had curried favor with Gu Tianxiong. He never imagined that I had such a huge handle on He Wuyang. Haha.

As he spoke, Lu Yang became somewhat smug and started laughing.

"147 million jin? He Wuyang, along with the two silver mine managers, wouldn't have that much guts, would they? There are other people in Beishuo City involved too, right?"

Xia Hong keenly sensed something was amiss and asked in a low voice. Seeing Lu Yang nod, he knew that Lu Yang understood, so he didn't say anything more.

"Alright, you guys keep going, I'm heading back to Xia City now!"

Upon hearing that Xia Hong wanted to go back, Lu Yang quickly got up and walked to the center of the main hall, opening the entrance to the passageway.

Given the importance of the East Ridge secret passage, he naturally wanted to place it in the safest location. In the entire East Ridge outpost, what place was safer than this main hall?

Xia Hong looked at the entrance to the tunnel and shook his head: "I won't take the secret passage. This place is right in the territory of Beining Mountain. I'll go south and take a look at the top of Shuanglong Valley. Going down from there will take me directly to Xia City. It's much faster."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yang realized that Xia Hong could already fly, unlike them ordinary mortals. He immediately nodded and, along with the other six, respectfully saw Xia Hong off.

Xia Hong walked out of the hall, waved to indicate that no one needed to see him off, and flew straight towards the depths of Beining Mountain in the south.

Dongling is located 15 kilometers north of Beining Mountain and only 20 kilometers away from Shuanglong Mountain Wall on the west side. After flying south for a while, Xia Hong changed course and flew west, eventually reaching the location of Shuanglong Mountain Wall.

The cliffs of Shuanglong Mountain are all over two thousand meters high. Normally, they don't seem that high when viewed from below, but when you look down from the cliff now, it's a completely different story.

Clouds are where snowflakes are formed. Large, thick cloud layers are the best conditions for large-scale snowfall. In extremely cold environments like Ice Abyss, where snow falls year-round, the thickness of the cloud layers is far beyond what ordinary people can imagine.

Xia Hong was standing on the edge of the cliff, with the clouds right below him. He could even clearly feel the extremely low temperature inside the clouds.

The clouds had thickened into a different shade of gray, quite similar to the ground in a snowy region, giving one the illusion that one could step on them.

Xia Hong lowered his head and stared at the clouds for a moment, a strange light flashing in his eyes.

"The Twin Dragon Valley where Da Xia is located, corresponding to the top of the mountain wall, should be in the very middle of Bei Ning Mountain. That is almost the deepest area of ​​Bei Ning Mountain. Going there to take a look should not be a problem."

Xia Hong wanted to go to that location for another reason: Xia Cheng often heard a huge rumbling sound coming from above the mountain wall, and he wanted to figure out what that rumbling sound was.

If it's some kind of powerful cold beast, then we need to prepare in advance, since Xia City is right below, and it wouldn't be good if the cold beast fell down the mountainside one day.

Xia Hong did not continue flying in the sky, but landed on the ground and sped south along the western cliff.

There are quite a few birds and beasts in Beining Mountain, including some king-level raptors. Taking flight here rashly could cause unnecessary trouble. Besides, it's too deep here, and who knows if even stronger beasts might emerge.

The north-south span of Beining Mountain is more than 150 kilometers, with the middle section being 75 kilometers long. Adding the 15-kilometer depth of the eastern ridge, he walked 60 kilometers south and arrived at his destination.

“The density of high-level cold beasts is not small, and there are even beast kings, but they are all more than five or six kilometers away from the cliff. Even if a battle broke out, the noise should not have reached the bottom. So where did the rumbling sound that Xia Cheng heard come from?”

Xia Hong sensed the distribution of the cold beasts in the area near the cliff edge, pondered for a moment, then turned and looked at the clouds below the western cliff.

Could it be a cold-blooded beast or bird that lives among the mountain walls?

His expression hardened slightly, but without hesitation, he slowly rose into the air, leaped into the clouds, and began to fall slowly downwards.

call…………

The moment his body disappeared into the clouds, a chill immediately seeped into his bones. Without the slightest hesitation, Xia Hong immediately mobilized the power of his bone marrow, raising his body temperature while rapidly evaporating the surrounding clouds.

"This chill is so strong that even a Cold Resistance level cultivator probably couldn't withstand it. I actually thought that once I broke through to the Cold Resistance level, I could climb up the mountain wall. Now I realize how naive I was. Let alone climbing up, even if a Cold Resistance level cultivator jumped off the cliff, they would probably be frozen solid before they even hit the ground."

A look of seriousness flashed in Xia Hong's eyes. He had originally wanted to see if there were any birds or cold-blooded beasts living in the crevices of the mountain wall, but after feeling the terrifyingly low temperature, he immediately rejected his guess.

At this temperature, even a beast king-level cold beast could barely survive. What cold beast would be so foolish as to settle down in such a place?
"It seems we can't find the reason. Forget it, let's go back to Xia City and talk about it then!"

Xia Hong shook his head slightly and increased his descent speed. The mountain wall was only a little over two thousand meters high, and he soon saw the outline of Xia City from high above.

Bang...bang...bang...

However, the closer he got to Xia City, the faster his heart inexplicably beat. When he was less than a kilometer from the ground, a thick plume of smoke rushed into his nostrils. He stared down at the scene below, and his expression changed instantly.

Boom... Boom...

The town of Xia, nestled at the foot of the mountain, has caught fire.

It's not just one or two places, it's hundreds.

Black smoke billowed over the entire city, making it impossible for him to see anything below; he could only smell the thick smoke.

"What's going on? Xia City has been attacked!"

Xia Hong's expression suddenly changed, and he plummeted downwards.

"Roar…………"

When he was still hundreds of meters off the ground, a chilling roar that could shake the soul suddenly entered his ears, causing his expression to freeze abruptly.

"Help, help..."

"Where is the lord? Come and save us!"

"How could there be such a huge beast tide? How could this be? How could this be!"

"Save my child, please! He's been carried off by a cold beast!"

"Everyone retreat to the inner city, quickly, retreat to the inner city."

"Dragon Warriors, Cloud Dragons, and Dragon Slayers, all go to the Star-Picking Palace to protect the Lady and the two princes. Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

"Minister Si, we can't hold on any longer. The inner city has also fallen. It's full of cold beasts, all of them, including many beast kings."

"We must hold on, even if we can't. The Lady and His Highness cannot be harmed. Go now!"

"Put out the fire! Quickly put out the fire on the Yangxu Cauldron! All the cold beasts are heading towards the main building's council hall. The Zhaixing Hall is right behind it."

........................

boom!
Xia Hong emerged from the thick smoke in the sky, his face flushed and his pupils instantly bloodshot. He drew the Dragon Sparrow from his waist and, in a flash, killed two high-level white phoenixes in mid-air. Looking at the thick smoke and corpses covering the city, he was completely stunned. He roared angrily while frantically slaughtering the cold beasts in front of him, rushing towards the inner city.

"What's going on? How can there be a beast tide? Where did this beast tide come from?!"

The entire Xia City has been overrun by swarms of frigid beasts!
The eight districts of the outer city had long since turned into mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Frost beasts were feasting on the broken limbs and severed bodies scattered all over the ground. Xia Hong only glanced at them and found at least several hundred beast kings, tens of thousands of high-level frost beasts, and countless low- and mid-level frost beasts, which almost filled every corner of Xia City.

He was almost completely out of town, and there were hardly any living people left to see.

"The inner city, the inner city! They've all retreated to the inner city! There's still hope!"

Xia Hong's face was filled with panic. The destruction of Xia City, which he had painstakingly built up over nearly ten years, was already heartbreaking. If his wife, children, and relatives in the inner city were to also be harmed, he didn't know if he would have the courage to continue living in this icy inferno.

boom!
Xia Hong unleashed his full power, and the thousand-foot-tall dark red bone-like phantom behind him exploded outwards. Combined with his forward charge, he swept through the surrounding high-level and even beast-king level killers, and rushed straight into the inner city.

"The lord is back! The lord is back!"

"Lord, help! The Star-Picking Palace has been breached!"

"There are too many, there are too many cold beasts, how can there be so many?"

………………

Sure enough, some people in the inner city were still alive, but they were all gathered in the collapsed Zhaixing Palace. Longwu, Yunjiao, Tulong, and the other four armies had all returned.

At this moment, however, the army was reduced to less than one-tenth of its original strength. Many soldiers, led by Xia Chuan and Yuwen Tao, were still desperately resisting the cold beasts that kept charging towards them from the outside.

Then there's Li Xuanling, who was wielding the Heavenly Transformation Sword and hysterically charging into the beast tide on the left. When she saw Xia Hong arrive, she immediately cried out for help.

"Xia Hong, quickly save Yu Yao, she has been carried away by that cold beast."

Upon hearing Li Xuanling's voice, Xia Hong, who was almost at the Star-Picking Hall, hurriedly looked up at the beast tide on his left.

Upon seeing this, his eyes instantly turned bloodshot, and his entire aura weakened.

Directly behind the beast tide on the left, the eldest daughter, Yu Yao, was being held in the mouth of a Firestone Tiger that was no more than half a meter long. The Firestone Tiger was pitifully small, even smaller than the Beast King, but its clear black and white pupils and its fur that was as clear and translucent as rubies proved that its strength was probably far beyond that of a Beast King.

"I'll kill you, you beast!"

Xia Hong's hysterical roar was an even more violent reaction than Li Xuanling's.

Because the eldest daughter, Yu Yao, had both arms bitten off by the Firestone Tiger, and was crying out in pain.

As a father, witnessing his daughter being harmed in this way, Xia Hong could no longer remain calm. His eyes were bloodshot, and he had completely lost his reason. He drew his knife and charged straight into the beast tide.

Frost Wolves, Snowmane, Demon Sheep, Frost Lightning Apes, Mane-Spotted Tigers, Blue Moon Spirits, Cloud Mist Dragons, Golden Armored Thunder Kui... In an instant, dozens of beast king-level cold beasts, encompassing more than ten species, surrounded Xia Hong.

roar…………

The Beast King-level Demon Sheep are different from the High-level Demon Sheep. Their bodies are covered with tens of thousands of eyeballs, and the golden light shooting out from them has almost no blind spots, and carries an invincible sharpness.

The same was true of the Beast King-level Snowmane. The hundreds of icy tongues in their mouths drew cold blades in the air, firmly blocking Xia Hong from entering, and constantly looking for an opportunity to attack Xia Hong's blind spot.

The remaining Frost Lightning Ape, Mane-Spotted Tiger, Blue Moon Spirit, Cloud Mist Soaring Dragon, Golden Armor Thunder Kui... these beast king-level ferocious beasts all used their best skills to fight Xia Hong, keeping him firmly under control and preventing him from getting close to the Fire Stone Tiger.

"Waaaaah...waaaah...Daddy...save me..."

Xia Yuyao, who had cried until she fainted and was almost unconscious, finally saw her father approaching her, and her cries became even more shrill and painful.

The more she acted this way, the more heartbroken and pained Xia Hong became amidst the beast tide.

Click...

"Wow…………"

The fiery tiger then opened its mouth and bit off both of Xia Yuyao's legs.

"what!!!"

Xia Hong's expression was bordering on madness, and the thousand-foot-tall phantom behind him was swaying precariously. Clearly, his mind was in great turmoil, but there were simply too many beast kings around him.

He simply couldn't take a step forward, even at the risk of injury.

"Xuanling, Xiachuan, come help!"

Seeing that his eldest daughter was about to die, Xia Hong finally couldn't help but speak to Li Xuanling and Xia Chuan behind him.

Li Xuanling's strength was second only to his own, and Xia Chuan's strength was almost the strongest among the remaining people. He had no other choice but to call these two people over.

Upon hearing the sound, the two immediately rushed towards Xia Hong. The surrounding beast kings were all drawn to Xia Hong alone, so the two quickly approached.

"Big brother, give up, Yu Yao can't be saved."

"Husband, I..."

Compared to Xia Chuan's composure, Li Xuanling was clearly more conflicted. On one hand, she knew that her eldest daughter could not be saved, but as a mother, how could she possibly admit to giving up on her daughter?

So she could only silently watch Xia Hong through her tears, her face full of guilt.

"Where did this beast tide come from?"

Xia Chuan was taken aback for a moment, clearly not expecting Xia Hong to ask about the reason for the beast tide at this critical juncture, but he quickly answered, "It is..."

puff!

Xia Chuan had barely uttered a single word when Xia Hong's Dragon Sparrow Blade pierced straight into his brow. Before the astonishment and disbelief on his face could dissipate, Xia Hong withdrew the Dragon Sparrow Blade and beheaded Li Xuanling on the other side.

Click!

“Brother, you…” “Husband.”

laugh……

"You're still acting, you've already given yourself away, stop pretending!"

Xia Hong was completely hysterical. After killing Xia Chuan and Li Xuanling in front of him, he vanished instantly. With flames sizzling on their foreheads and necks, Xia Hong sneered repeatedly, his face full of mockery.

boom…………

"Ah... how did you find out? How is that possible?"

As the flames exploded, Li Xuanling and Xia Chuan's bodies suddenly dissipated, turning into a black cloud that flew into the sky. From within the black smoke came an extremely painful scream and roar, followed by an incredulous question.

Xia Hong chuckled coldly and took out a silver-black jade stone from his pocket. The jade stone was radiating intense heat and its color was almost crimson.

“I noticed it a long time ago. I sensed something spying on me when I was on the cliff edge. The reaction of this Demon-Suppressing Jade was so intense that I guessed you were hiding in the clouds, waiting to make your move when I came down the mountain. I didn’t expect you to act so outrageously.”

call…………

After Xia Hong finished speaking, a glint flashed in his left eye, and the scene of Xia City, which was originally filled with thick smoke, instantly disintegrated inch by inch like shattered glass. The corpses on the ground, the buildings throughout the city, and everything in the city turned into thick white mist.

To be precise, it should be white clouds.

Throughout the entire scene, the only constants were the cold beasts that had just attacked him and the dark cloud that had made the sound in the sky.

Of course, the last fire tiger, along with Xia Yuyao in its mouth, also vanished.

"Hehehehehe... So what if you saw through me? You've fallen into my Sumeru Space, you can forget about escaping. There are so many cold beasts, I don't believe you can kill them all by yourself, hehehehehe..."

roar…………

Hundreds of beast king-level cold beasts, accompanied by eerie, cruel laughter from the dark clouds, roared madly and charged toward Xia Hong.

Xia Hong's expression changed slightly. Although he spoke lightly, his desperate battle with the cold beast was no joke. The moment he saw the thick smoke billowing from Xia City from the air, he realized that the whole scene was a bizarre fabrication.

The problem was that even with his Eye of Truth, he couldn't find an exit from this space, so he had no choice but to cooperate with the monster and continue the act.

Everyone appeared as a cloud of white mist to him, except for Li Xuanling and Xia Chuan, who were transformed into black smoke. He immediately realized that the problem lay with these two, which is why he deliberately acted hysterically. He then took the opportunity to get the two monsters to come and help him, and finally made a sudden move, attempting to kill the monster in one fell swoop with the Dragon Sparrow Blade coated with Fire Condensation Oil.

But clearly, he underestimated this monster.

The fire-retaining oil can only damage it, not kill it!

"I can't possibly kill all these cold beasts. In the end, I'll either be killed myself or die from exhaustion. The Demon-Suppressing Jade is useless, the Yangxu Cauldron is gone, and the Condensing Fire Oil can only injure, not kill. The only thing I can rely on is the Eye of Truth-Dispelling..."

Xia Hongfei dodged the icy beasts attacking from all directions, his left eye constantly searching for openings in his surroundings.

The Sumeru Space is not a normal world.

Where will the exports be? Where will the exports be?
As the number of cold beasts increased, Xia Hong grew increasingly anxious. After searching for a long time without finding an exit, he inexplicably turned his gaze to the dark cloud in mid-air.

Sure enough, the moment he raised his eyes, the dark cloud immediately fled backward.

"There's a gap; the exit is right inside its body!"

Xia Hong immediately spotted the gap in the middle of the dark cloud, with small flames burning on both sides of the gap, clearly caused by the recently solidified fire oil.

Without hesitation, he flew directly towards the direction of the dark clouds.

This Sumeru space was filled with clouds, surrounded by chaos. It wasn't very large overall, and the dark clouds started circling around after only a short while.

Xia Hong moved with incredible speed, dodging the pursuit of the cold beasts behind him, and quickly caught up with Hei Yun's location. Seizing an opportunity, he thrust the Dragon Sparrow Blade, which had been coated with Fire Condensation Oil, straight into Hei Yun.

Unlike last time, the black cloud dispersed in all directions the moment the Dragon Sparrow Blade pierced through, then retreated more than a hundred meters before reforming.

"Hehehehehe, you've already fallen for my trick once. Now you think you can hurt me? Don't even think about it..."

"Yeah!"

call out…………

Before the newly formed black cloud could even utter two laughs, a beam of light as bright as day suddenly shot out from Xia Hong's left eye and struck it directly.

bite…………

The moment the divine light struck the black cloud, just like when Xia Hong used it against the enemy before, the part of the black cloud that was hit shattered like a piece of glass, and then quickly began to crack, forming spider webs.

"What is this... what is this... Yin-Yang Mirror, how did you get a Yin-Yang Mirror, ah... ah..."

Another strange creature that can recognize the Yin-Yang Mirror has appeared!
Xia Hong's gaze sharpened slightly as he watched as Hei Yun split its body in two, abandoning the cracked part, and retreated directly backward.

After the cracked parts of the black cloud completely dissipated, a distorted spatial rift was left in place.

Xia Hong didn't care whether this was the exit or not. Seeing that there were more and more cold beasts behind him, he gritted his teeth and rushed into the crack.

…………

Arrow bamboo forest, located on the eastern side of the mountain wall.

A disheveled figure suddenly fell from the clouds.

"This is... an arrow bamboo forest!"

Xia Hong turned his head to look at the large bamboo forest on the west side, and his expression froze slightly.

But soon, remembering the vast number of cold beasts in the Sumeru Space, he turned his head and stared at the western part of the Arrow Bamboo Forest, and instantly realized what was going on.

“Every year, the beast tides that rush into the arrow bamboo forest are all taken away by that black cloud monster just now. The entrance and exit of the Sumeru Space, is it the clouds above?”

Xia Hong looked up at the white clouds above the mountain wall, and many questions that had been puzzling him suddenly found their answers.

"I was caught in the Sumeru Space when I was falling, which means I got lost and accidentally entered another world. So that black cloud should also be considered a nightmare. For now, let's call the Sumeru Space the Sumeru Ghost!"

No wonder the Nine Towns couldn't climb over the Twin Dragon Mountain Wall and descend to the valley world.

He had been puzzled before. The Nine Towns were stronger than the Great Xia, so there was no reason why a two-thousand-meter-high mountain wall could stop them.

Xia Hong had always suspected that Jiuzhen might have known about the situation in Daxia for a long time and had been secretly spying on it.

Judging from Zhu Yang and Yang Fa's reactions to seeing themselves, it can be basically deduced that Xia Hong's suspicion was unnecessary.

Once these two realized they weren't from the other eight towns, their subsequent reactions clearly indicated they were certain they came from the north.

In other words, they truly knew nothing about the world beneath the western side of Shuanglong Mountain.

The situation that Lu Yang had been investigating in Beishuo over the previous three years also basically matched this point. The entire Mo'ao Nine Towns were completely unaware of the valley world below the western side of Shuanglong Mountain.

If this mysterious Sumeru is blocking the way, then it makes sense.

The Yin-Yang Mirror isn't something everyone possesses. Even he almost fell victim to it just now. If it were anyone else, even someone at the Manifestation Yang level, they would probably be dead for sure.

"Flying up the mountain wall is no problem, and going up and down through Hanqiong's secret passage is also no problem. The only problem is jumping down from the clouds. It really proves the old saying that going up the mountain is easy but going down is difficult. This Sumeru Ghost is simply a natural barrier!"

In an instant, Xia Hong's eyes lit up.

Not to mention the isolating effect of the Sumeru Ghost, the vast Sumeru space alone is enough to make people's hearts flutter. It is a completely isolated alien space!

Imagine if this space belonged to you; wouldn't the Great Xia Dynasty then have a completely safe zone isolated from the outside world?

"Calm down, calm down. Hundreds of beast kings are not something I can handle right now. As for the Sumeru Monster, it misjudged my strength this time. If I had let all the cold beasts attack me from the beginning, the final result would have been very different. I can't make a move on it before I have the strength."

This Sumeru Ghost didn't seem to come down to cause trouble for Great Xia on its own initiative. Letting it stay above the mountain wall, even if it's just to isolate the Nine Towns from prying eyes, is extremely beneficial to Great Xia. There's no need to rush to resolve it.

Xia Hong took a deep breath, turned to look at the arrow bamboo forest, and seemed to be deep in thought.

"However, we can't let Sumeru Gui continue to take in these Frost Beasts. Hundreds of Beast Kings are already terrifying enough. If we continue to let it take in more, who knows what kind of monster it will end up with."

Perfect timing! Xia Chuan and his six armies had already tested this last time, and it shouldn't be a problem to deal with the beast tide that occurs every four months in the Arrow Bamboo Forest.

Since that's the case, we'll have to deal with the beast tides from now on.

This matter can only be truly resolved once the reason why those cold beasts escaped from Redwood Ridge is found.

"It's September 12th. The army will rest in Jinggu for two more days before setting off for Longshan. I need to go back to Xiacheng to make some preparations."

On the night of the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, he ordered the six armies to rest in Jinggu for five days. Five days later, Yuwen Tao would lead the troops to Longshan. It was about time.

This trip to Longshan was for the silver mine. After the battle in the Sumeru Space, Xia Hong felt no pressure about dealing with the beast kings entrenched in the silver mine.

However, he still wanted to go back to Xiacheng to see his two children.

The illusion created by Sumeru Gu was truly a bit creepy.

………………

The inner city of the Great Xia Dynasty, the top floor of the main building, the Hall of State Affairs.

A heated argument is taking place inside the main hall.

The two people arguing were Meng Yi, the military officer of the Longshan Camp Supply Division and captain of the Xiongwu Squad, and Hou Jing, the deputy director of the Hunting Department and captain of the Beizhao Squad.

“Deputy Commander Hou, the Beizhao Squad has only been established for a little over four years. I admit that its strength is indeed quite good, but it is also true that it has little seniority in the Great Xia. The Tenth Army is not your place.”

“Meng Wubei is mistaken. If the goal is to build an army and enhance the camp’s combat strength, then of course we must let our strength speak for itself. My Beizhao squad currently has 28 members at the Cold-resistant level. Even if Hou Tong takes 20 men to build the army, there will still be 8 left. Right now, among all the advanced hunting teams in the entire camp, none is more suitable than my Beizhao squad to build the 10th Army.”

“Our Mighty Might Squad is just as strong. We currently have twenty-five Cold-resistant level members. The key is that we were among the first hunting squads established after the Six Ministries reform in the first year of the Great Xia Dynasty. We have been around for more than six years now. In terms of seniority, Deputy Director Hou should be ranked after us.”

"That's not how it works, Meng Wubei. Since I joined the camp in the second year of the Great Xia Dynasty, I have remained loyal to the lord. Although the Beizhao Squad has not been established for as long as the Xiongwu Squad, it has made significant contributions to the Great Xia Dynasty. The silver mine in Beiman Mountain, the two Cold Apple Trees..."

"No, no, no..."

Xia Chuan stood in the middle, shaking his head repeatedly as he listened to the two arguing.

Three days after returning to Xia City, he immediately notified the Ministry of War and issued a notice to prepare for the establishment of three new armies.

There are far too many people in the Great Xia Dynasty who are waiting to establish an army.

According to Xia Hong's original regulations, advanced hunting teams were qualified to form an army. If we still follow that calculation, there would be at least 700 teams qualified now.

Therefore, the current regulations have been raised to a new level, which means that the number of people in a hunting team with the cold-resistant level must exceed twenty.

Even with such a threshold set, there are still many people who meet the requirements.

Fortunately, many teams were self-aware enough to know that the opportunity to join the army was not yet theirs, and they would not embarrass themselves by trying to compete for it.

The quotas for the Eighth and Ninth Armies were announced yesterday and awarded to Zhao Long and Yue Feng, respectively. The Falcon and Mountain River Armies have begun the process of selecting soldiers.

What's giving Xia Chuan a headache right now is who should lead the Tenth Army.

Both Meng Yi and Hou Tong were interested. Judging from their strength, the Bei Zhao team should be chosen, but considering emotional factors and seniority, Meng Yi's Xiongwu team was clearly more qualified.

After Hou Jing was promoted to deputy director of the hunting department, he handed over the captaincy of the Beizhao squad to Hou Tong, whose strength was second only to him.

Hou Tong was standing right behind Hou Jing. He probably knew that his words didn't carry enough weight, so he specifically asked Hou Jing to plead on his behalf.

Xia Chuan could roughly understand Hou Jing's thoughts. Last year, with the joint efforts of Li Tiancheng and Li Xuanling, the Longyuan team established the Seventh Army before Zhao Long. Since the Longshan group had all established their own armies, Zhaoyang naturally couldn't fall behind.

As for Meng Yi, it's even easier to say. Among the group from Jinggu, Yuwen Tao, Hong Guang, and Hong Tian have all established their own armies. Only he and Zhu Yuan are left. Zhu Yuan is currently the Director of the Civil Affairs Department, and he doesn't seem to have a strong desire to establish an army. So, all things considered, he is the only one who hasn't established an army yet, and he naturally doesn't want to fall behind.

The argument between the two continued. Xia Chuan couldn't make a decision for a long time and was getting annoyed by what he heard, so he simply turned around and went to face the back of the main hall.

However, after turning around for a short while, a smile appeared on his face as he looked at the high platform of the main hall and behind the golden chair, and suddenly winked.

"Hehehe..."

As soon as Xia Chuan blinked, an innocent laugh suddenly came from behind the seat.

A little girl, about four or five years old, suddenly jumped out from behind the seat.

The little girl had three azure holy patterns between her eyebrows and wore a small silver phoenix headdress. The exquisite craftsmanship of the headdress could be seen from the silver butterfly ornaments hanging on both sides.

The little girl wore a pure white miniature dress, with silver thread used for the seams, and two exquisite red phoenixes embroidered on the hem. Although it was a small outfit, it exuded luxury and nobility in every detail.

"Oh no, Uncle found out! Uncle found out!"

The little girl was quite mischievous. After jumping out, she immediately covered her face and pretended that Xia Chuan had just discovered her, shaking her head and making strange noises.

"Hahaha, it's broad daylight! You sneaked out of the Star-Picking Palace wearing a black feather cloak. If your mother finds out later, she'll punish you again."

Seeing his niece's quirky and clever nature, Xia Chuan couldn't help but laugh and go forward to pick her up.

Seeing the small black cloak casually tossed on the floor behind the seat, Xia Chuan shook his head slightly, bent down, and picked it up.

"Many people in the camp would kill for this cloak, but you just casually took it off and put it on the ground. You'll regret it when your mother confiscates it."

Xia Chuan's two mentions of his mother clearly displeased Xia Yuyao. She turned her head away and snorted, then rolled her eyes and turned back to say:

"Second Uncle, I just miss Father. I want to see if he's here. If he's not, I'll go back. But you can't tell Mother."

Xia Chuan chuckled, deliberately feigning hesitation before finally nodding and agreeing with a smile when he saw Xia Yuyao looking at him expectantly.

"Hehehe, Yu Yao knew it, Second Uncle is the best."

Xia Yuyao immediately laughed, then turned to look at the two people who had just been arguing below the main hall, a look of curiosity on her face.

She had lived in the Star-Picking Palace for a long time. Although she had managed to sneak into the main building, her activities were basically limited to the Council Hall, so she didn't encounter many strangers.

People of Hou Jing's age have a maternal grandfather as a role model, but this is the first time she has ever seen a middle-aged person like Meng Yi.

"Hou Jing greets Your Highness!"

"Meng Yi greets Your Highness!"

Seeing Xia Yuyao looking over, the two below quickly bowed and paid their respects.

Seeing this, Xia Chuan suddenly became interested and asked his eldest niece in his arms with a smile, "After eavesdropping for so long, Yu Yao, which of them do you think should be given the spot in the Tenth Army?"

Upon hearing this, Hou Jing and Meng Yi immediately became tense.

In fact, both of them knew that Xia Chuan was having trouble making a decision because their advantages were roughly equal. By throwing the question to Xia Yuyao, he was clearly planning to let things take their course.

Since Xia Yuyao made the decision haphazardly, there was no question of fairness or unfairness, so naturally the two of them wouldn't, and couldn't, blame Xia Yuyao.

Thinking of this, the two of them quickly raised their heads and gave Xia Yuyao what they thought were the kindest smiles they could muster.

"babble…………"

Hearing Xia Yuyao's disgusted voice, Xia Chuan almost couldn't help but laugh out loud, but he forced himself to hold it in and didn't say anything, just continued to wait for his niece's answer.

"Second Uncle, since they both want to build an army so much, why not create another Eleventh Army? If both of them have one, they won't argue anymore."

Given Xia Yuyao's current scope of activity and knowledge, Xia Chuan strongly suspects that she may not understand what the Tenth Army really means.

Without understanding the situation, they actually suggested creating a new army.

Xia Chuan's expression hardened slightly as he recalled what Xia Hong had said during the meeting at Mirror Valley three days ago, and he immediately made a decision.

"Alright, then Second Uncle will listen to Yu Yao and create an Eleventh Army!"

Upon hearing this, Meng Yi and Hou Jing below were immediately filled with joy.

His Highness's word really does matter!

With just one sentence, the Minister of Justice gained another force.

Both of them sighed inwardly and couldn't help but cast grateful glances at Xia Yuyao.

Of course, Xia Yuyao couldn't see the look in their eyes.

Because she had already been dressed in a small cloak and hurriedly taken back to the Star-Picking Palace by the arriving maids, including Mingyue.

　It's late but it's here! My head is splitting from exhaustion. I've made up for the 20,000 words and got 3000 votes. If possible, please save your votes for number 1. Thank you all!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)