Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 359 Eight Hundred Bhikkhus, a Narrow Escape from Death, Military Mobilization, News Delivered
The name Chilong Lake existed before Dajue Temple came.

There are roughly two versions regarding the reason for its name:

The first one is relatively simple. It is said that decades ago, someone in Qinghepu witnessed a red dragon flying out of the clouds and disappearing into the lake.
The second explanation is that the lake is long and winding, resembling a dragon, and every February, the lake water suddenly turns bright red like blood, hence the name Red Dragon.

Xu Ning stayed in Hexia Village for half a year and inquired about many rumors about the area around Qinghepu. Since Dajue Temple was located on Chilong Lake, he naturally paid close attention to this area.

"This place is... a bit eerie!"

Xu Ning followed the dozen or so men in black through the Zen temple. A kilometer away, he could see the Dajue Temple built on the lakeside. A strange feeling instantly welled up in his heart.

Apart from a five-meter-high yellow wall surrounding the entire Dajue Temple, there is only one bright white three-story hall.

White buildings are extremely rare, let alone one so bright. And since it was daytime, the palace was as clear as jade under the cold light, reflecting a strong white light, which added to its sacredness and aroused a strong desire to worship in people's hearts.

Xu Ning looked down at the unresponsive silver jade pendant in his hand, his brows furrowing slightly. He continued to follow behind the dozen or so people, heading towards Dajue Temple.

The dozen or so men in black came from different directions, and they were very fast. In less than ten breaths, some of them approached the wall.

Xu Ning turned his head and looked at the battle on the west side of Qinghe Village. He knew that this was a time to race against time and dared not waste any time. He avoided the men in black, quickly circled around to the south side, and then rushed straight to the wall of Dajue Temple.

"Who are you from? You're so weak."

When Xu Ning was still more than a hundred meters away from the wall, he suddenly heard a confused voice from the side. He turned his head and saw that dozens of meters to his right, a man in black was rushing towards the wall just like him.

It was quite a coincidence that Xu Ning had infiltrated Qinghe Village on short notice, so he had changed into black clothes. Therefore, if you didn't look closely, his attire was quite similar to that of the men in black.

The other party mistook him for someone from Jiuzhen!

After Xu Ning realized what was happening, he naturally didn't dare to say anything. At this moment, anything he said would easily give him away, so he could only continue running towards the wall.

When the man in black claimed to be weak, Xu Ning didn't refute it. He had just realized that he couldn't discern the strength of any of the dozen or so men in black.

It should be noted that he is not far from the peak of the Cold Control Realm, with a basic strength of eighteen manes. Even he cannot see it, which means that the strength of these men in black is at least twenty manes or more, and possibly even higher.

"Although your strength is lacking, you do have some courage. Let's speed things up! The 28th of each month is the day when formal monks fast and receive instruction under their guru. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so we must seize it."

Although the man in black talked a lot, he also managed to let Xu Ning know why Bazhen chose to make his move at this time.

After speaking, the man in black quickly approached the wall, and like the other dozen or so people, he was much faster than Xu Ning.

Fortunately, the distance wasn't too far, so less than four or five breaths after the group of men in black jumped onto the city wall, Xu Ning was already at the bottom of the wall.

He was about to jump onto the wall when he looked up and suddenly saw a bizarre scene.

The man in black who had just jumped onto the wall in front of him suddenly froze and became motionless.

Xu Ning was suddenly startled. He turned his head and looked around at the other positions, only to find that not only the one next to him, but also the other dozen or so men in black were all facing the direction of the temple and were frozen on the wall without moving.

"What...what terrifying thing did you see?"

Because these men in black all had their backs to him, Xu Ning couldn't see their expressions. After pondering for a moment, he gritted his teeth and decided not to jump onto the city wall like them. Instead, he lightly leaped up, grabbed the wall with both hands, and then stuck his head out to look into Dajue Temple.

Inside the temple, a circular plaza comes into view, its surface paved with a beautiful layer of green glazed tiles. Combined with the temple's only crystal-white hall and the surrounding yellow walls, the three elements complement each other, creating a dazzling and solemn atmosphere that is both breathtaking and arouses a strong sense of longing.

Xu Ning shook his head sharply, and after his eyes regained their clarity, he looked towards the front of the square, which was the main entrance of the Great Awakening Hall. His face was instantly filled with horror.

"this…………"

In front of the main gate of the Great Enlightenment Hall, hundreds of bald, formal monks dressed in white robes were gathered. They had calm expressions and looked to be only fifteen or sixteen years old. They were facing away from the Great Enlightenment Hall with their eyes closed and their lips slightly parted as they recited scriptures.

“Five…six…seven, eight hundred, at least eight hundred. There are so many officially registered monks, this…”

Xu Ning was deeply shaken. He had been waiting in front of Qinghe Village for five days, and he hadn't come away empty-handed. He had only heard about the strength of the formal monks of Dajue Temple from others.

All of them have more than twenty bristles!

What does it mean to have eight hundred or more fully ordained monks with twenty or more hairs?
Namo Bhagavate…Prabha…Tadagataya…Arahate…Byesaje…Byesaje…Samudgate…Svaha…

A series of dense chants suddenly entered his ears, and Xu Ning's initial shock instantly subsided. He suddenly realized something and looked up towards the main gate of the Great Enlightenment Hall.

Upon seeing this, he froze instantly.

Those are a pair of eyes.

A pair of eyes with a bright green pupil, unlike those of a normal human.

Xu Ning could clearly sense that the owner of those eyes was looking at him from inside the Great Awakening Hall. The main gate was clearly open, but he just couldn't see the person's face and could only continue to stare into those eyes.

Xu Ning was terrified. He realized that not only could he not shift his gaze, but he was also completely unable to move his body. He then realized that the reason why the dozen or so men in black had frozen in place was not because of the eight hundred formal monks below, but because of those luminous green eyes!

Buzz…………

Xu Ning suddenly felt his liver below his chest twitch violently, followed by a strong tearing sensation from within his body. He clearly sensed something moving from inside his body toward his head.

A sharp pain suddenly shot through his left eye, from which blood was gushing. Yet his vision remained unaffected, and he could still clearly see the pair of luminous green pupils.

Xu Ning struggled frantically, trying to move his eyes to see the other men in black, but he couldn't. Finally, he thought of something and settled for second best, using his peripheral vision to scan the person closest to him on his right.

Sure enough, I could see it!

Xu Ning glanced at the man in black out of the corner of his eye and his heart trembled.

The black-clad man's eyes were constantly emitting spiritual light, clearly indicating that something had been extracted from his body. The spiritual light flew directly towards the Great Awakening Hall.

Without a doubt, it was those bright green pupils that were behind it.

In less than five breaths, the spiritual light within the man in black was exhausted. As no more spiritual light emerged, the man in black's body suddenly went limp and he fell directly towards the outside of the wall.

"If you're pulled out, you'll die!"

Xu Ning realized this at that moment, and his heart instantly panicked.

Xu Ning was certainly afraid of death, but what he feared even more was that he would be unable to transmit the important information he had gathered back to Xia City and hand it over to the lord and the chief minister.

The eerie and powerful Dajue Temple, the five great masters, the nine towns of turmoil, the five thousand monks with hair, the eight hundred monks, the Xiahou army leader, and the Vajra Master who injured Xiahou Zhang the moment he appeared.

And of course, there are those eerie, emerald-green pupils right now…

He knew very well how important this news was to Great Xia.

In many things, seizing the initiative is crucial; whoever seizes the initiative gains the upper hand.

The reason why the Great Xia was able to successfully annex Longyou was because it first opened up the Jinggu Pass, and then took over the Beehive without Longyou knowing.

"No, I can't die here. If I'm going to die, I have to go back to die!"

Xu Ning struggled internally, trying to shift his focus, but even the stronger men in black couldn't do it, so how could he?
In fact, from the outside, Xu Ning's body did not move even once from beginning to end. He could only let the things inside his body enter his mind and then turn into strands of spiritual light, which flew out through his left eye and flew towards the Great Awakening Hall.

Xu Ning's current state is exactly the same as those men in black. If you had to find a difference, it might be that he only has one left eye, so the efficiency of his spiritual light being extracted seems to be much slower than that of those men in black.

One breath... two breaths... three breaths... four breaths...

Four breaths later, Xu Ning felt his mind was in a state of chaos, and his mind was almost on the verge of collapse, but his obsession was still at work, and he was unwilling to give up.

"I can't die, I can't die..."

laugh!
The silver jade pendant that Xu Ning was holding suddenly heated up and turned red, emitting a stream of heat that enveloped his body.

At that very moment, the spiritual light that was constantly overflowing from Xu Ning's left eye was suddenly cut off by the heat, and a small part of the spiritual light even went back into his eye.

"what…………"

The moment the spiritual light was severed, Xu Ning clearly endured unimaginable and intense pain, letting out a scream and trembling uncontrollably.

Those at the Cold Resistance level have experience in skin remodeling, and their pain tolerance is far beyond that of ordinary people. For Xu Ning to let out such a miserable scream, the intensity of the pain must be far beyond imagination.

boom…………

Xu Ning had been clinging to the wall when he let out a scream, at which point he fell off the wall. He trembled for a few breaths before realizing he had regained control of his body. Without thinking, he gritted his teeth, got up, and ran towards the south.

Directly in front of the Great Enlightenment Hall, a bald, white-robed monk suddenly opened his eyes, stood up, turned to face the inside of the main entrance, and bowed devoutly with his hands clasped together.
"Master Wusheng, a wicked beast has escaped. Shall I go and chase after it?"

“It’s no use running away. He has lost most of his soul and his mind is about to collapse. He can’t take any useful information with him. Don’t worry. Continue chanting the mantra with me.”

"I will obey the Guru's instructions!"

Upon hearing the response from inside the main hall, the bald monk immediately sat down again, turned his back to the hall, and continued chanting.

…………

Southwest of Qinghe Village, Xu Ning swept across the snow and changed course, rushing westward toward the area where Baiyang was located. Even though he knew he was already seven or eight kilometers away from Dajue Temple, he still dared not relax for a moment.

His eyes, which had initially held only fear, soon began to cloud over, and even his steps became somewhat unsteady.

"What exactly was taken from me just now?"

"My mind is becoming increasingly muddled, and my senses seem to be crumbling. The things that were just taken away are affecting my mental state!"

"No, it won't do any good if I go back now. We need to think of something!"

………………

His expression grew increasingly anxious as he frantically searched for a solution, completely unaware that the three vertical blood-red holy marks between his brows had fully revealed themselves and were emitting a faint red light.

As the red light of the sacred rune flickered, Xu Ning's eyes constantly switched between clear and clouded states. Clearly, he was able to maintain a conscious state at this moment entirely thanks to the sacred rune.

"Write it down, just write it down. As long as we can get back to Baiyang Realm and be discovered by the people of Daxia, the news will definitely reach Xia City!"

Xu Ning quickly came up with a solution. Without hesitation, he tore off a piece of his clothes, dipped his finger in the blood from his cheek, and quickly wrote on the rag.

"In the Zen temple east of Qinghe Village, there are more than 5,000 gray-robed monks with long hair, all of whom are at least three-haired; in Dajue Temple, there are 800 white-robed monks, all of whom are at least twenty-haired."
Among the five masters, the Vajra Master has an amazing physique and his strength is above that of Xiahou Zhang, the leader of the Jiangxia army. The other four masters have not shown themselves, but their strength can be basically determined to be at the Manifestation Yang level. The pair of bright green pupils just now are most likely from one of the remaining four masters. As long as you look into his eyes, something will be taken from your body.
There are spies infiltrating Qinghe Village from all nine towns, probably to gather information about Dajue Temple. We should remind the lord and the chief minister to prepare early…”

With the last bit of consciousness maintained by the holy runes, Xu Ning wrote down all the information he considered important on the scraps of cloth in a concise manner.

Of course, he completed the entire process while running at top speed.

After all, writing it out isn't enough; it's only a success if it's sent back to Xia City.

Qinghe Village is located north of Hexia Village. It takes nearly 30 kilometers to travel west to reach Baiyang territory. In the past, Xu Ning always complained that this distance was too short, fearing that one day the people of Qinghepu would find the Baiyang outpost and then discover the Great Xia.

At this moment, he felt that these thirty kilometers were the longest distance he had ever traveled. The holy rune between his eyebrows was getting weaker and weaker, and his eyes were becoming increasingly cloudy. He felt his head getting heavier and heavier, his body becoming more and more uncoordinated, and his speed was slowing down considerably.

boom…………

Xu Ning didn't know how long he had walked westward. His body was exhausted, and he finally collapsed on the snow and lost consciousness. Before he lost consciousness, he was still tightly clutching the tattered cloth in his hand, not daring to relax for a moment.

………………

The 24th day of the 9th month of the 7th year of the Great Xia Dynasty, during the day

Inside the Council Hall in Xia City.

Zhao Long, Yue Feng, Meng Yi, and Hou Tong were standing in the main hall, looking up at Xia Chuan in front of them, their expressions extremely excited.

"Reporting to the Chief of Staff, our Falcon Army has completed its recruitment of all its soldiers."

"Reporting to the Chief Clerk, the Shanhe Army of a thousand men has been recruited."

"Reporting to the Chief Clerk, the entire Xiongwu Army is awaiting orders at the East City military camp."

"Reporting to the Chief Clerk, the Northern Zhao Army of one thousand men has also been recruited and is ready."

The decision to establish four additional armies—Falcon, Mountain and River, Mighty Martial, and Northern Zhao—was made on September 11th and 12th, and nearly half a month has passed since then. The recruitment of personnel for the four armies has naturally been completed smoothly.

Xia Chuan turned to look at the excitement on the four men's faces, nodded slightly, then remembered something and asked with a smile, "I heard that for the past two weeks, the four of you were busy scrambling to recruit soldiers, going door-to-door to block people and even making bets with each other, causing quite a stir in Xia City. Is that true?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Long and the other three blushed slightly, clearly not expecting that such trivial matters would reach Xia Chuan's ears.

Seeing the four people's reactions, Xia Chuan chuckled and shook his head, showing no sign of blame.

With four new armies added at once and four thousand soldiers to be recruited, it's perfectly normal for the four men to compete for high-quality soldiers to improve the army's combat effectiveness. If they just randomly selected soldiers, then he should really be worried.

Now that the four-army structure has been established, the next step is to start training the troops.

Xia Chuan looked up at Yue Feng, one of the four, and asked, "Yue Feng, you just returned from Longshan. How is the situation with the lord?"

Yue Feng is the garrison commander of Longshan. He should have stayed in Longshan all the time. Recently, the Shanhe Army was newly established. In order to personally select soldiers, he has been running back and forth between Longshan and Xiacheng for the past ten days or so, so he knows the situation in Longshan.

"Reporting to the Chief Clerk, as of the day before yesterday, the lord and his army have cleared two silver mines. They should be working on the third one now. I went to check on the second one. At this rate, we expect to clear all five silver mines in Longshan by early October. Then the army can head to Beimang Mountain to deal with the last two."

"So fast?"

When Yue Feng said that all five silver mines could be cleared out by early October, not only Xia Chuan, but also Zhao Long and the other two showed great surprise.

The silver mines were infested with groups of cold beasts, so they naturally had to be cleared before the mining process could begin. Xia Hong arrived in Longshan on the 14th, and it's only been ten days since then. To have dealt with the cold beast groups on two silver mines in just ten days is truly astonishing.

"There's nothing we can do, the lord's strength is just too great..."

Unlike Xia Chuan and the other three, Yue Feng witnessed firsthand how Xia Hong led his army to fight against the Frost Beast Clan. Recalling Xia Hong's battle, he sighed slightly before continuing to say to the three with a wry smile, "The Beast Kings on those two silver mines were no match for the Lord. Before Yuwen Sizheng could even break through the Frost Beast Clan with his army, the Lord had already killed the Beast Kings. This happened both times."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Long, Meng Yi, and Hou Tong were all horrified, clearly not expecting Xia Hong to be so powerful.

Xia Chuan, however, did not react much after hearing this.

On the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, the very night Xia Hong emerged from seclusion, he had already single-handedly killed two beast kings in the Arrow Bamboo Forest. If the beast kings entrenched in the silver mine were of average strength, they would naturally be no match for Xia Hong in a one-on-one fight.

Xia Chuan witnessed that scene firsthand, so he wasn't surprised;

Zhao Long and the other two, including Yue Feng, were not present that night, so their reaction is not surprising.

Xia Chuan's face lit up with interest, and he continued to ask Yue Feng, "From what you're saying, dealing with the Frost Beast clan at the silver mine with the lord wasn't very dangerous this time? What were the casualties like?"

Upon hearing this, Yue Feng immediately nodded and replied, "The Sixth Army has hardly suffered any combat casualties. At most, there are some minor injuries, and occasionally a few serious injuries. However, with the help of medicine, they are not serious at all."

"In that case, your four armies should prepare now and head directly to Longshan after nightfall. Replace the Yunjiao, Longwu, Tulong, and Hubao armies, and inform Yuwen Tao to lead the four armies back to Xiacheng first."

Yue Feng was taken aback upon hearing this, but he immediately realized that Xia Chuan was giving them an opportunity to train troops in Longshan. He quickly bowed and said, "Your subordinate obeys!"

Zhao Long and the other two also realized what was happening and bowed, saying, "Your subordinates obey!" On the one hand, following the lord to deal with the Frost Beasts in the silver mine would certainly not be too dangerous and could reduce troop casualties; but on the other hand, the strength of a single Frost Beast clan was much stronger than that of an ordinary beast tide of the same size. Using them to train troops would definitely improve the combat power of the four new armies very quickly, which was indeed the most suitable option.

"Alright, you can go now..."

"Reporting to the Chief Minister, Shi Qing, the steward of the ancestral temple, has an important matter to report!"

Just as Xia Chuan was about to tell the four to leave, he was interrupted by the attendant on duty outside the council hall.

"Let Shi Qing in!"

Upon hearing that it concerned the ancestral temple, Xia Chuan frowned slightly. He immediately signaled to the attendant to let Shi Qing in before continuing to Zhao Long and the other three, "It will be nightfall in a little over half an hour. You should prepare to depart now!"

The four bowed and left the main hall together. As they exited, they happened to run into Shi Qing, who was carrying a ancestral tablet.

Shi Qing was clearly in a hurry; he didn't even have time to greet them before rushing inside.

"The spirit tablet, who is in trouble?"

"I see light on the sign, so it should be fine."

"I don't know who it is."

In the Great Xia Dynasty, only those who have been granted titles are qualified to establish ancestral temples. Those who can set up ancestral tablets are either the title holders themselves or their direct relatives. Shi Qing walked in hurriedly with the tablet in his arms, so he was most likely the owner of the tablet. Something must have happened to him.

Because Shi Qing was holding the ancestral tablet, none of the four of them could see the name written on it. After muttering a few words to themselves without any result, they could only leave with worried expressions.

"Shi Qing, the steward of the ancestral temple, greets the Minister of Justice. Xu Ning, the magistrate of Wuyuan, must have encountered some trouble!"

Inside the main hall, Shi Qing immediately bowed to Xia Chuan upon seeing him, then took out the ancestral spirit tablet from his robes and handed it to Xia Chuan.

Xia Chuan's expression changed instantly when he saw the Zongling tablet.

[Head of the Family Xu Ning]

The memorial tablet had only four characters on it. Although it emitted a faint glow, the brightness of the glow was significantly weaker compared to that of a normal ancestral memorial tablet.

"what happened?"

"When I was inspecting the ancestral hall on the second floor, I noticed that Lord Xu's ancestral tablet started to flicker inexplicably, and then the light gradually dimmed. Realizing that something was wrong, I immediately came to report to the Director."

Shi Qing was appointed as the steward of the ancestral temple last September. His task was to keep an eye on the main altar on the top floor of the ancestral temple and all the spirit tablets of the living in the ancestral hall on the second floor, and to report any abnormalities immediately.

Xu Ning is in trouble...

Didn't we already send him a message, telling him to withdraw from Qinghepu?

Xia Chuan's expression hardened slightly as he looked at the faint light emanating from the spirit tablet. Not daring to waste any more time, he tucked the tablet into his pocket and strode towards the outside of the hall.

"Shi Qing, go back to the ancestral temple and keep an eye on things, especially the people in Wuyuan. If there are any further developments, report to Qiu Sizheng and have him send someone with the memorial tablet to find me in Wuyuan."

"I obey my orders!"

Xia Chuan quickly found Qiu Peng after leaving the main building. After exchanging a few words, he sped along the main road out of the south gate of Xia City and headed straight for Wuyuan.

If Xu Ning listens to me and has already returned to Wuyuan, then things will be in big trouble.

If someone hadn't listened to him and met with misfortune in Qinghepu, he couldn't just stand by and do nothing; he had to go and rescue them.

Xu Ning is an old man from the Xia family who has followed Xia Hong since the Tupo era. Xia Chuan knows his personality very well.

In the first year of the Great Xia Dynasty, facing the four camps in the north of the mountains whose strength was several times weaker than his own, Xu Ning was able to remain calm and use incentives to lure the four camps into making the first move, and then take the opportunity to annex them.

In the third year of the Great Xia Dynasty, the seven families of Songyang Ridge were taken down by Xu Ning without bloodshed. In the following three years, Xu Ning also followed his orders and steadily explored eastward along the north bank of the Xinghe River without any accidents.

All of the above demonstrates that Xu Ning is a calm and composed person with a steady approach to things, and is by no means someone who is greedy for credit or reckless.

Regardless of the reason for his accident, it proves that something serious must have happened in Wuyuan, which is why Xia Chuan is rushing to Wuyuan in such a hurry.

"Hopefully, it's not something that happened in Wuyuan. The worst-case scenario is that Dajue Temple discovered both Baiyang and Wuyuan's outposts!"

Xia Chuan looked somber as he sped along.

…………

"Sister-in-law, don't worry. Don't you know my brother's character? Over the years, what has he ever done that he wasn't sure about?"

At the Wuyuan outpost of the Great Xia Dynasty, in the main hall of the main building, Hong Qiaoru sat on a chair to the side, her head bowed and tears streaming down her face. Two boys, about four or five years old, stood on either side of her legs, wiping away her tears.

Xu An held his little niece Xu Ying in his arms, and although he was comforting her that everything was alright, there was a deep worry in his eyes. It was clear that he was also very worried about his older brother Xu Ning.

"It's been eight days, and he still hasn't returned. Something must have happened. Brother-in-law, Qinghepu is eerie everywhere. Something's definitely not right. You should quickly take some people and go save your brother!"

Upon hearing his sister-in-law's words, Xu An hesitated for a moment.

He was also worried about his elder brother's safety, but the exploration of Qinghepu was arranged by Xu Ning himself, and there was no definite news coming back. If he rashly led people there, it would not only be of no use, but it would also very likely expose the situation of Daxia, which was definitely not an option.

"Sister-in-law, calm down, you know..."

"Who goes there, daring to trespass into the Wuyuan County Office? Ah... Greetings, Magistrate!"

Xu An was about to speak to persuade his sister-in-law to calm down when he was suddenly interrupted by the voice of the guard outside the hall. Hearing the guard's last words, he was stunned and quickly handed his little niece to his sister-in-law. Just as he was about to turn around and walk out of the hall, he saw Si Cheng Xia Chuan walking in from outside the hall in a great hurry.

"Xu An, the Chief Justice of the Civil Affairs Department of Wuyuan, pays his respects to Your Excellency!"

"Lady Hong Qiaoru greets Your Excellency, Minister of Justice."

Upon seeing that Xia Chuan had arrived in person, even Hong Qiaoru, who was sitting on the chair, immediately stood up with her youngest daughter in her arms and bowed to him with her two sons.

"No need for formalities. Is Xu Ning still in Hexia Village?"

Xia Chuan looked extremely anxious. After entering the Five Plains Realm and realizing that nothing unexpected had happened there, he immediately concluded that something must have happened to Xu Ning, who was lurking in Qinghepu.

He was fully aware of Xu Ning's plan to infiltrate Qinghepu, which is why he went straight to the point and asked Xu An whether Xu Ning was still in Hexia Village.

Xu An was fully aware that Hong Qiaoru had returned. Seeing Xia Chuan's anxious expression, he realized that something must have happened to his older brother, so he quickly told him everything about Hong Qiaoru's return.

Upon learning that Xu Ning had taken such a risk by going alone to Qinghe Village to investigate the situation at Dajue Temple, Xia Chuan's expression instantly turned grim.

"Minister Si, has something happened to my elder brother?"

Upon hearing Xu An's question, Hong Qiaoru also looked up nervously, as did Xu Ning's two young sons, who were only four or five years old, who were also looking up nervously at Xia Chuan.

Xia Chuan turned to look at the mother and her two children, his expression momentarily froze, but he didn't say much before turning to Xu An and saying, "Xu An, you're coming with me to Baiyang. Let's go now!"

Xu An clearly realized something, but without saying much, he picked up his sword and followed Xia Chuan out of the main hall.

Of course, before leaving, he didn't forget to give Hong Qiaoru a word of advice.

"Sister-in-law, you and Xiao An and the other two stay here well. I will definitely bring my brother back."

When Hong Qiaoru saw Xia Chuan rushing over, she vaguely sensed that something was wrong. Now, hearing her brother-in-law's words, she understood immediately. She hugged her youngest daughter and burst into tears.

"Mother, Mother, please don't cry."

"Father is so strong, he'll definitely be alright, Mother, don't cry."

Five-year-old Xu Cheng and three-year-old Xu Ping, seeing their mother crying so sadly, immediately went forward to comfort her softly. However, being so young, they were soon affected by their mother's crying and also began to cry softly.

………………

"Xu Ning is in trouble. This is his ancestral tablet!"

East of Wuyuan, Xia Chuan sped along, but seeing that Xu An was struggling to keep up, he immediately slowed down. After a moment of silence, he took out the spirit tablet from his pocket and handed it to Xu An.

Despite having prepared himself mentally before setting off, Xu An's expression still tensed instantly when he saw Xu Ning's ancestral tablet with such a faint light and realized that his elder brother was really in trouble.

"The light from the ancestral tablet is pointing east, so the incident most likely happened in Qinghepu. Let's go to Baiyang to find Chen Ying and find out the specific situation in Qinghepu before we decide how to go there to rescue Xu Ning."

Baiyang is a small outpost newly established last year. It is currently the easternmost territory of the Great Xia on the north bank of the Xinghe River and is closest to Qinghepu. Chen Ying is the current garrison commander of Baiyang. His understanding of Qinghepu is second only to Xu Ning. If you want to go to Qinghepu to rescue people, you should naturally find out about the situation from Chen Ying first.

Xu An nodded emphatically, his eyes filled with worry, and quickened his pace considerably.

The two moved very quickly, and in just over ten minutes they arrived at Baiyang's outpost.

"Chen Ying, the garrison commander of Baiyang, pays his respects to Minister Si and Lord Xu!"

Chen Ying was clearly surprised to see Xia Chuan and Xu An arrive together.

Xia Chuan didn't waste any time talking to him. He took out Xu Ning's ancestral spirit tablet and was about to explain the situation when his expression suddenly froze.

"Lord Xu is in trouble!"

Chen Ying was granted the title of a ninth-rank nobleman in the third year of the Great Xia Dynasty. He had long since established the Chen clan and its ancestral shrines, so he was very familiar with the ancestral spirit tablets. When he saw that Xu Ning's ancestral spirit tablet was so dim, he immediately realized that something was wrong.

"Wait, I remember Qinghepu is due east of Baiyang, right?"

"That's right, it's due east."

Upon hearing Xia Chuan's question, Chen Ying immediately nodded in response. Then, seeing the faint light on the ancestral tablet, he immediately realized what was happening.

"The light on Lord Xu's ancestral tablet shines towards the north?"

Xu An then realized what was happening, and his expression suddenly changed.

The light emanating from the ancestral tablet is directional; it points to the location of its owner at that moment. Qinghepu is east of Baiyang, and the light from the ancestral tablet is currently pointing north, which means…

"My elder brother is in the north, not in Qinghepu!"

"Come with me to look for it."

Xia Chuan acted swiftly and decisively. After speaking, he led Xu An and Chen Ying, following the directions indicated by the Zong Ling tablet, out of the Baiyang outpost and sped northward.

The Baiyang outpost is located on the east side of Songyang Ridge. It is another seven or eight kilometers to the north to the south side of Shuanglong Mountain, so the area is not very large.

The three of them sped north through the snowy forest and soon found a large tree, following the directions on the ancestral tablet.

The moment they found the big tree, the expressions of Xia Chuan and the other two changed drastically.

At the fork in the tree above, a man in black lay unconscious. A low-level snow-mane, no more than three or four meters long, was on the man's body, its gaping maw nibbling at the man's legs.

The black-clad man's skin was clearly exceptionally tough. Xue Zong grunted and gnawed several times, but still couldn't bite off his legs.

"You beast, shut up!"

Xu An recognized the man in black from a distance and confirmed that it was his elder brother, Xu Ning. He was instantly filled with rage and roared as he drew his silver sword from his waist. He then leaped up into the air towards the tree.

Pfft...

How could a low-grade snow mane possibly withstand Xu An's furious attack?

Before the snow-white mane could even roar, its head and body were separated.

Xu An then picked up his unconscious older brother and jumped down from the tree.

"Big brother, how are you!"

"Big brother, wake up!"

…………

"She's already unconscious and can't be woken up. Let me check on her first."

Seeing that Xu An had lost his mind, Xia Chuan immediately woke him up, and then squatted down in front of Xu Ning to check his injuries.

After reviewing the document, Xia Chuan's expression froze slightly, and a hint of confusion appeared in his pupils.

Xu Ning had bloodstains on his left cheek, clearly from his eyes. In addition, there were teeth marks left by the low-level snow mane on his legs.

Xu Ning was already at the late stage of the Cold Resistance cultivation level. Even if he lay still, the low-level Snowflake couldn't break through his skin. The fact that it could leave teeth marks on his leg meant it had probably been gnawing for a long time.

Apart from that, there were no other injuries found on his entire body.

After a moment of thought, Xia Chuan gently pried open Xu Ning's left eye with his finger.

"No injuries?"

Seeing that Xu Ning's left eye pupil had become cloudy but was still intact overall, Xia Chuan's expression became increasingly confused.

"Minister Si, it looks like my elder brother is holding something in his hand!"

Upon hearing Xu An's reminder, Xia Chuan immediately noticed Xu Ning's hand, which was indeed holding a wad of black cloth. It was clearly torn from his clothes. He reached out, pinched the rag, and gently pulled it, a look of surprise appearing in his eyes.

It didn't budge!

This proves that before Xu Ning lost consciousness, he was tightly gripping the black cloth, and even now that he is unconscious, he subconsciously does not want to let go.

What is this black cloth?
Xia Chuan used a little force to pull the black cloth from his hand and opened it to take a look.

The black cloth was covered with five lines of tiny red characters, clearly written with fingers dipped in blood. The characters were crooked and illegible, indicating that they were written hastily and in a hurry.

【Dajue Temple, Five Great Masters】

[The Zen monastery has over five thousand gray-robed, long-haired monks, possessing the strength of the Three-Haired Monk.]

[Eight hundred lay monks, all with twenty or more hairs]

[The Nine Towns have already taken action in Qinghe Village; Xiahou Zhang, the military leader of Jiangxia Town, has been defeated by the Vajra Master.]

[The Great Awakening Hall of Crimson Dragon Lake, with its emerald green pupils; eye contact means instant death]

Upon seeing the five lines of blood-written text, Xia Chuan's expression instantly changed.

"Take Xu Ning back first, quick!"

(End of this chapter)