Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

Behind the main hall of the temporary log cabin was a small, ten-square-meter compartment.

Inside the compartment was a small square platform with a diameter of two meters.

Upon entering the compartment, everyone behind Xia Chuan first glanced at Xia Hong in black on the small square platform, then looked up, their expressions immediately shifting with shock.

Corresponding to the small square platform on the roof, there was actually a hole, and while snowflakes fluttered in from outside, moonlight also poured down from the center, precisely enveloping Xia Hong.

Strangely, those palm-sized snowflakes, when descending to within an inch of Xia Hong's body, would directly vaporize and rise, as if his body emitted extremely intense heat.

Xia Hong's silk black clothing faintly revealed a gilded light, and his already delicate skin became even more crystal-clear like jade, his entire person seeming to glow.

In everyone's minds, Xia Hong's image was already lofty, and looking at his slightly divine appearance and posture at this moment, their gazes immediately became even more fervent.

“Greetings, Leader!”

“Rise, all of you. I heard everything that was said outside just now. You've all worked hard during this time.”

“Serving the Leader, serving Great Xia, is our duty!”

Hearing everyone's words, Xia Hong immediately guessed that Xia Chuan had taught them to say this. He raised an eyebrow slightly but said nothing, only turning to look at Mu Dong and Cheng Feng, asking, “What is it that you want to show me?”

Hearing this, a hint of excitement flashed across Mu Dong's expression. He signaled for the five people to step forward, while he first walked to the person in front, opened the tray, took out a piece of white, soft material from within, and handed it to Xia Hong.

“Cloth?”

Xia Hong fully unfolded the object, and his eyes immediately lit up.

The thing was actually a cotton cloth more than two meters wide.

“This is… woven from bamboo silk?”

Xia Hong examined it for a while and immediately recognized the raw material of the cotton cloth.

“Leader has sharp eyes. The three things you mentioned to me some time ago, I researched for a while, and sure enough, I managed to create them all.”

As Mu Dong spoke, he opened two more trays.

In the left tray was a delicate and textured silk satin; in the right tray was a piece of white paper exuding a bamboo fragrance.

Paper, cloth, silk.

Unexpectedly, Mu Dong had actually created the things he had casually mentioned before. Xia Hong examined the three items separately, his expression somewhat excited.

From the first glance he had at the bamboo silk in the Mirror Immortal Camp, he had thought of these three things, but thinking about it and actually making it were two completely different matters.

And yet, in just one month, Mu Dong had actually managed to create them?

“Leader, it's not like I created this all by myself. The Craftsman Department has recently recruited a lot of people, and many talents have emerged. I originally had no clue about these three things you mentioned to me. It was several lumbering realm cultivators who came from the Mirror Immortal Camp who gave me ideas, and after many experiments, we finally succeeded!”

Xia Hong nodded slightly, turning his gaze to the remaining two trays.

Mu Dong opened the fourth one, which contained a pile of white crystalline substances.

Seeing that thing, Xia Hong's expression froze, and a guess suddenly arose in his heart.

“Leader, dip some and have a taste.”

Xia Hong reached out his finger, dipped a little, and put it in his mouth. A long-lost taste rushed straight to his mind from the tip of his tongue, and he immediately closed his eyes, his expression somewhat intoxicated.

Salt!

It was actually edible salt.

Mu Dong had actually created salt!

Xia Hong was a little dazed, but his face showed more of an undisguised excitement.

The importance of salt to humans was self-evident, even in the Ice Abyss World. In fact, as Xia Hong's strength grew stronger, he gradually understood why the average lifespan of humans in this world was so short.

Lack of salt was one of the most important reasons.

The only way for the people of Great Xia to obtain salt was through beast meat, but the salt content in beast meat was too little to meet the needs of the human body.

This was still the case now, with Great Xia's abundant supply of beast meat. In the past, when there was a shortage of beast meat, those who ate crystal fruit basically couldn't get any salt at all, so how could the average lifespan be high?

“What is the raw material for this salt, how is it made, and what is the output?”

Mu Dong had already tasted the salt and knew its importance, and immediately replied, “It's a very lucky coincidence. We have a lot of beast bones in our camp. Few of them can be ground into powder for medicinal purposes, and the rest of the unused beast bones can only be used to make some carvings or ornaments.

Usually, after these beast bones are carved, there will be a lot of useless bone powder left over. We will collect these bone powder together and throw them into the depths of the valley east.

Half a month ago, someone from the Craftsman Department went to throw away the beast bone powder and found that the earliest batch of bone powder from intermediate-level Frost Beasts had turned into brownish-yellow crystals, which looked very magical, so they brought it back to show me.

I wasn't sure what it was at the time, so I asked Cheng Sizheng to take it to the Medicine Workshop to identify it, and he said it was an edible medicinal material.

Although there was no prescription, I still took the thing back and tasted it myself, and found that it was so salty that it was inedible.

It just so happened that Commander Si brought back a large batch of fresh supplies from Five Apes Mountain, including something called Frozen Pearls, which can also be eaten directly, and the taste is extremely light and neutral, so I took it with the intention of trying it out and mixed it with this fermented bone powder.

As a result, after waiting for two days, I really came up with salt!”

Hearing this series of accidental coincidences that ultimately produced the salt in front of him, Xia Hong's eyes became brighter, but he quickly extracted the key points from Mu Dong's words.

The first time they hunted an intermediate-level Snow鬃, if he remembered correctly, was January 24th. Half a month ago, they discovered that the bone powder had turned brownish-yellow, which meant that this fermentation process would take about two and a half months.

“How is the output of Frozen Pearls on the Five Apes Mountain side? Can this salt be produced in large quantities?”

As soon as Mu Dong heard this, he understood what Xia Hong wanted to ask. After thinking for a moment, he nodded and replied, “Ten catties of beast bone powder can ferment about one catty of brownish-yellow bone powder. Adding one catty of Frozen Pearl powder and letting it sit for a period of time can produce one catty of salt.

I have already asked the people who came from Five Apes Mountain. The Frozen Pearls are the fruit of the Winter Frost Tree, which bears fruit about once every six months, with an average of more than 1,000 catties at a time. There aren't many of them on Five Apes Mountain. Currently, there are only thirteen known.

The problem of mass production shouldn't be a big problem. We still have a lot of intermediate-level beast bones left over from before.”

Hearing this, Xia Hong nodded, falling into thought.

Mu Dong didn't mention low-level beast bones, obviously only intermediate-level beast bone powder could be used. The bones of Frost Beasts generally account for one-third of their weight. An intermediate-level Frost Beast produces about 2,000 catties of bones, which ferments into only 200 catties of brownish-yellow powder.

Currently, there are only 13 known Frozen Pearl trees. According to Mu Dong, the total annual output is about 26,000 catties, which means that at least 1,300 intermediate-level Frost Beasts must be matched to produce 26,000 catties of salt smoothly.

And that's the total annual output!

1,300 intermediate-level Frost Beasts…

Arriving at this number, Xia Hong's brow suddenly furrowed.

With Great Xia's current strength, it wasn't impossible for him, as the leader, to hunt day and night, but that was clearly unrealistic.

Mass production was indeed possible, but the output was extremely limited. They would have to wait until the overall strength of the camp increased before they could produce more.

“This salt is very precious, but you should know the output. You can put some in the Camp Needs Department for exchange, but the price must be controlled!”

Mu Dong solemnly nodded, noticing Xia Hong's gaze turning to the fifth tray. He quickly walked over and opened the lid.

Inside the fifth tray were two wooden gourds.

Mu Dong first opened the lid of the first wooden gourd, and a fragrance emanated from it. The rest of the people present couldn't help but twitch their noses, and all their eyes gathered.

Xia Hong didn't even need to ask. Smelling the fragrance, he immediately reached out and took the wooden gourd, pouring a mouthful down his throat.

“Leader…”

Mu Dong wanted to dissuade him, but seeing that Xia Hong only blushed slightly after taking a sip, he immediately closed his mouth.

“This is brewed from old fruit transported from Five Apes Mountain. I tried it with Yuan Cheng and the others yesterday. Earth-Digging Realm cultivators can't withstand a gourd, and Lumbering Realm cultivators basically fall after three sips. Leader, you're a heavy drinker!”

Honestly speaking, the taste of this aged wine couldn't compare to the wine Xia Hong had drunk in his previous life, but he couldn't stand the fact that he hadn't had a drink in so long.

Moreover, as the wine entered his stomach, he noticed that his internal organs, blood, and muscles all reacted, and Xia Hong's eyes immediately lit up even more.

“Leader can also see it, right? This wine can promote blood circulation, which means it can speed up the digestion of beast meat.”

“Wouldn't that mean it can increase the speed of cultivation?”

Xia Chuan immediately revealed the key to the wine, causing the eyes of the rest of the people present to light up instantly.

Wait, what's in the other gourd?

Seeing everyone's eyes turning to the second gourd, Mu Dong laughed and directly opened the lid.

Chi…

A rich red wine aroma instantly gushed out from the gourd, and within the already small compartment, the fragrance of wine filled the air, and everyone revealed intoxicated expressions.

Xia Hong took the wine gourd from Mu Dong's hand. This time, he didn't drink it all in one gulp, but stared at the wine for a long time before gently sipping a small mouthful.

“Hiss… so strong!”

The mellow and cold wine entered his mouth and went straight down, and Xia Hong only felt that the qi and blood in his body instantly surged. A warm current spread throughout his body, and especially when he noticed that the flesh under his skin began to tremble, his pupils couldn't stop shaking.

This wine could actually enhance the strength of his flesh!

“What kind of wine is this?”

Mu Dong hurriedly replied, "Reporting to the leader, this is made by fermenting Fragrant Cold Fruit and beast blood together. I named it Blood Cold Wine. When it was first brewed, I only tasted a small sip and immediately collapsed. My flesh also swelled for three or four days, but after recovering, not only did my base strength increase a lot, but even my flesh intensity was significantly improved!

This wine, those at the Earth Digging Realm can withstand it a bit and have a small drink without any problems, but those at the Lumbering Realm definitely can't drink it. Anyone who hasn't broken through to the Lumbering Realm and touches it will probably lose their life."

Of course, Xia Hong's eyes flashed slightly. The intensity of this wine could cause such a violent reaction even in his body, so for ordinary people, it was no different from poison.

"Mu Sizheng, what is the production of these two kinds of wine?"

Before Xia Hong could speak, Xia Chuan couldn't help but ask.

Seeing the anxious expressions on everyone's faces, Mu Dong smiled and shook his head, "The production of both is not high. The aged brew is slightly better; about twenty catties can ferment into one catty of wine. For Blood Cold Wine, at least 100 catties of Fragrant Cold Fruit plus 2 catties of beast blood are needed to produce one catty."

"No wonder you asked me for two catties of beast blood some time ago. I was wondering why you, with your cultivation level, needed beast blood. So, you were making this!"

Only then did Xia Chuan realize why Mu Dong wanted beast blood back then. After speaking, he frowned and continued, "The Fragrant Cold Fruit is also brought back from Five Apes Mountain. I remember the production doesn't seem to be high!"

Cheng Feng immediately nodded and said, "I asked the people in the collection department. The Fragrant Cold Trees grow high on the cliffs of Five Apes Mountain. I heard that they only bear fruit once a year, producing only about 300 catties at a time. Moreover, because the growing environment is harsh and the harvesting is difficult, if it weren't for the fact that eating this fruit helps with cultivation, the people of Five Apes Mountain wouldn't even bother to pick it.

I asked the leaders of the eleven camps to do a count. Currently, there are only six Fragrant Cold Trees with known exact locations. It is estimated that at most only 2,000 catties can be harvested in a year."

100 catties of Fragrant Cold Fruit, mixed with 2 catties of intermediate-level beast blood, can only produce 1 catty of wine. With a total annual production of 2,000 catties, that means the annual output is, at most, only 20 catties.

Xia Hong shook his head slightly, imperceptibly put the wine pot behind him, and directly turned to look at Cheng Feng, saying, "What are the four bottles you brought?"

Seeing him confiscate the wine pot, although they didn't say anything, everyone couldn't help but lower their heads and smile; Mu Dong, on the other hand, was naturally very happy because this Blood Cold Wine was originally made specifically for Xia Hong and he saw how much Xia Hong liked it.

Cheng Feng then stood up and opened the four bottles in his hand one by one.

The rich medicinal fragrance diffused, diluting the aroma of the Blood Cold Wine just now, and making everyone's eyes clear up a bit.

"During this period, the camp's supplies have become much more abundant, and the collection department's search range has also expanded. In the Arrow Bamboo Forest and Five Apes Mountain areas, we discovered some things ourselves, and there were also many medicinal materials in the supplies brought back. The pharmacy has generated more than a dozen formulas.

Among them, I think these four are very important, so I brought them to show the leader."

Cheng Feng showed the pills in the four bottles one by one, explaining the effects of these four kinds of pills to everyone.

Everyone listened with astonishment, their faces full of irrepressible joy.

Blood Sore Pill, an upgraded version of Golden Sore Powder, has a better healing effect, and can quickly heal even injuries at the Earth Digging Realm. Its effects on the Imperial Cold Realm are currently unknown.

Hot Wind Pill can quickly cure colds and is considered an upgraded version of the cold medicine brought back from Five Apes Mountain.

Blood Rage Pill can temporarily block all pain in the body.

Beast Essence Pill can improve the efficiency of the human body's absorption of beast meat.

"Beast Essence Pill!"

The first three had already caught Xia Hong's attention, but upon hearing the description of the last Beast Essence Pill, Xia Hong directly reached out and took the bottle, smelled it under his nose for a while, and his expression immediately became excited.

"The medicinal properties are so mild that basically anyone over the age of six can use it!"

Hearing Xia Hong's words, Cheng Feng immediately nodded heavily and said excitedly, "Leader is amazing, you can tell at a glance. The medicinal properties of this Beast Essence Pill are indeed very mild, and basically anyone over the age of six can use it. We have extracted a batch to experiment on children who have started using beast meat, and it can probably increase the absorption efficiency by 30 to 50 percent."

Thirty to fifty percent!

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Not only Xia Hong, but also Xia Chuan, Shi Ping, and Mu Dong's eyes lit up instantly.

Thirty to fifty percent is nothing compared to the effect of the martial arts hall, but the problem is that it can be used by children and adults over the age of six!

The martial arts hall can only accommodate 200 people a day, and they must spend contribution points to be eligible. Considering the camp's emphasis on high-end martial power, basically all those who can enter for cultivation are at the Earth Digging Realm. Xia Chuan even forcibly allocated half of the places to the Lumbering Realm in order to increase the number of people at the Earth Digging Realm in the camp.

The reserve force over the age of six does not have the qualifications or conditions to enter, after all, they don't even have contribution points yet.

"There are more than a dozen ingredients for refining the Beast Essence Pill, the rarest of which is called Jade Bone Grass, which was also brought back from Five Apes Mountain by Lord Sicheng last time. I have already sent people from the collection department to search for it there these days. As long as the production increases in the future, the Lumbering Realm of our Great Xia Camp will definitely become younger and younger, and maybe one day, seven or eight-year-olds will break through to the Lumbering Realm!"

Everyone's expressions shook suddenly upon hearing this.

A seven or eight-year-old in the Lumbering Realm, who would dare to imagine that!

"Have you ever thought that perhaps one day in the future, everyone in our Great Xia will be able to cultivate, and even five or six-year-old children will have the strength of the Lumbering Realm?"

Xia Chuan's expression froze, and a sentence that Xia Hong had said to him personally in the past suddenly appeared in his mind.

It has only been a little over a year since Big Brother said this.

It seems that this day is not far away!

"These three kinds of pills are also very important, but for now, we still have to prioritize refining the Beast Essence Pill. The pills from the pharmacy can all be placed in the camp's supply department and priced according to production and demand, open for exchange to everyone. Of course, there are several other things as well, all the same…"

Xia Hong returned the medicine bottle to Cheng Feng, and after speaking, he looked around at the nine things he had seen today, and his expression moved slightly.

Connecting this to the fact that he had just heard that the camp's population had exploded to 23,000, a trace of understanding flashed in Xia Hong's mind, and he was no longer so shocked by the new things in front of him.

The expansion of the activity area, the widening of the collection range, the explosion of the population, the improvement of strength, the expansion of demand… All these factors combined will inevitably bring about a leap-forward development of productivity.

These nine things should only be the beginning!

After all, the 18,000 people are just merging in, and after a period of fermentation, new things will definitely emerge continuously.

"Mu Dong and Cheng Feng have done a good job. Reward each of these nine things with 10,000 contribution points, to be divided equally among all those who participated. Xia Chuan, you handle this matter, and be sure to let everyone in the entire camp know!"

"Thank you, Leader!"

Mu Dong and Cheng Feng showed ecstatic expressions upon hearing this.

10,000 contribution points!

In the current camp, the value is too amazing. Even if they have to divide it equally with others, the two of them will be able to share a considerable amount of contribution points!

"Understood, Big Brother!"

Xia Chuan's eyes also lit up slightly as he received the task.

Be sure to let everyone know, Xia Hong's meaning is very clear, which is to encourage everyone in the camp to actively create new things, and he naturally understands.

Thinking about it, these nine things are of great help to the camp. If new things continue to emerge in the future, the role they will play in the development of Great Xia will be immeasurable.

After looking at the nine new things, Xia Hong's gaze turned to Xia Chuan.

Xia Chuan immediately stood up, took out a roll of animal skin from his body, and after showing a hint of excitement on his face, unfolded it in front of Xia Hong and the others.

Upon seeing that map, everyone's expressions shook, and they immediately came to life.

Xia Hong was the same; he was very familiar with this map.

A month ago, during the reorganization of the six departments, he had shown it to the others.

However, at this moment, there was obviously a lot more content below this map.

The four words "Great Xia Map" were also specially marked at the top of the map.

Pointing to the extra content below the map, Xia Chuan said in an excited tone, "Leader, please see, we have thoroughly figured out the terrain of the Five Apes Mountain area.

Five Apes Mountain is located north of the Xing River, three kilometers away from the riverbank. The entire mountain runs east-west, with a total length of fifteen kilometers. The north-south width is about five kilometers as observed. There are five main peaks in the entire mountain, named One Ape, Two Apes, Central Ape, Four Apes, and Five Apes from west to east.

Previously, the activity areas of those camps were all on the southern foothills of Five Apes Mountain, that is, on the side near the Xing River. They basically didn't explore the mountains and the northern foothills much.

I have already ordered the hunting team to go there these days and found that the most entrenched cold beast species inside is the Frost Electric Ape. This kind of cold beast likes to form groups, often dozens of them together, making it extremely difficult to hunt. I estimate that it will take at least half a year to completely survey the entire Five Apes Mountain."

Hearing Xia Chuan's description of Five Apes Mountain, Xia Hong nodded repeatedly.

Frost Electric Ape, if I remember correctly, one of the four cold beasts that He Yuanhun sent to the camp last time was one of them.

They love to form groups, often dozens of them together. No wonder it is so difficult for the camps in the Five Apes Mountain area to hunt cold beasts.

"After our preliminary exploration of Five Apes Mountain, we can be sure that there are no other human camps on the northern foothills, so…"

After introducing the entire Five Apes Mountain area, Xia Chuan paused, circled the entire Five Apes Mountain and the area below with his hand, and continued:

"Five Apes Mountain, together with the three kilometers along the north bank of the Xing River, this area of 120 square kilometers is now entirely owned by our Great Xia!"

120 square kilometers.

Adding the previous 300, the current territory of Great Xia is as high as 420 square kilometers!

Xia Hong looked at the territorial range on the map, his expression also slightly shaken.

The Mirror Immortal had only been integrated for a month, and Great Xia's territory had actually expanded so much again!

This expansion speed was truly a bit astonishing.

Xia Hong scanned the map of Great Xia, his brows slightly furrowed.

The northern foothills of Five Ape Mountain, the western cliffs of Twin Dragon Mountain, the eastern part of Redwood Ridge, the western part of Arrow Bamboo Forest, and a small piece of the southeastern part of Pingxi Plain, Great Xia's current territory is roughly composed of these five blocks.

Xia Hong suddenly realized that Great Xia's control over the five blocks was limited to a corner, and not the entire area.

This was not a small problem.

They could simply draw a picture and say that these places all belonged to Great Xia.

But would others recognize it?

Or rather, if one day, they encountered people from other camps in these areas, would they agree with Great Xia's claim?

Xia Hong pondered for a while, seeing that everyone's interest was high, and worried about dampening their morale, he didn't directly bring up the issue, but instead took note of it.

He would explain it to Xia Chuan separately later, and let him execute the plan specifically.

Now that the matters of Mu Dong, Cheng Feng, and Xia Chuan had been discussed, next...

Finally, Xia Hong turned his gaze to Shi Ping behind him.

"Shi Ping, Minister of the Pioneer Department, let's have you do it!"

Shi Ping's gaze was still immersed in the map of Great Xia, and he didn't hear Xia Hong's words at all. It wasn't until Xia Chuan nudged him that he suddenly reacted.

"Thank you, Chief, for the promotion. From now on, this subordinate will definitely do my best to expand the territory for our Great Xia. If there is any incompetence, the Chief can punish me as you see fit, and this subordinate will have no complaints!"

Hearing his almost oath-like response, Xia Hong nodded and smiled, saying: "It's good that you have this intention. Hong Guang made a mistake this time, which can be considered as you getting lucky and picking up a bargain. The more this is the case, the more you need to work diligently, so as not to let others see it and say that your virtue is not worthy of your position, understand?"

"Yes, Chief, this subordinate will definitely work hard!"

Hearing the encouragement in Xia Hong's tone, Shi Ping's expression became a bit more solemn.

"Alright, all of you can leave, Xia Chuan stay!"

Everyone immediately bowed and retreated upon hearing this, leaving only Xia Chuan behind.

"Brother, how did you know that I still had something to say to you?"

Xia Hong's expression froze for a moment, seeing a hint of mystery on Xia Chuan's face, he immediately knew that he had misunderstood, and smiled: "What is it, do you still have something?"

Xia Chuan nodded, a mysterious look on his face, and with a flip of his right hand, dozens of white silk threads suddenly appeared, then flew towards his chest.

Immediately afterwards, he flicked his finger slightly.

Flap... flap... flap...

A red beetle-like creature the size of a fist slowly flew out of his chest, and after flying in front of him, it suddenly charged forward, flying straight towards Xia Hong.

From the moment Xia Chuan produced the white silk threads, a hint of conjecture flashed in Xia Hong's eyes. Seeing the beetle flying towards him, he calmly stretched out his hand and gently grabbed it, immediately catching it.

"That Vermilion Wood, it really is a material for making puppets!"

Xia Hong looked down at the beetle in his hand, which was made of red wood, and immediately understood.

Xia Chuan nodded excitedly, and said: "I recognized that wooden stick in Liu Dahu's hand that day, it's exactly the same as the puppet material controlled by the Wood Puppet Ghoul before. These past few days, I've been interrogating Liu Dahu while also researching it myself, and I didn't expect that I would actually figure it out.

This Vermilion Wood is extremely compatible with my transparent silk threads. It's usually very soft, but it hardens when force is applied, and the greater the force it withstands, the more stable the internal structure becomes. At the same time, it can also transfer and release my power, making it the best material for making puppets."

Xia Hong squeezed the beetle in his hand with a little force, and it wasn't until he added about 100,000 pounds of force that a slight crack appeared in the beetle.

"Liu Dahu has already confessed that he accidentally obtained this Vermilion Wood in a Frost Electric Ape nest in Five Ape Mountain. As long as we can find more in the future, I can make larger puppets, and the strength they display will definitely be even stronger!"

Xia Hong remembered the giant wooden puppet that the Wood Puppet Ghoul had created when he was dealing with it at the Rogge camp, and his eyes lit up immediately.

Xia Chuan had previously obtained three items from the Wood Puppet Ghoul, but besides the black knife and transparent silk threads that could be used occasionally, the puppet inheritance was useless.

This Vermilion Wood in Liu Dahu's hand can also be considered an opportunity for Xia Chuan.

"Study it carefully. Judging from the degree of covetousness that Yang Ning and Li Hu showed towards this Wood Puppet Ghoul inheritance back then, your future strength is definitely limitless!"

Hearing Xia Hong mention the two of them from back then, a flash of cold light first flashed in Xia Chuan's eyes, and then he nodded in response: "Understood, Brother."

"I kept you here for another matter..."

Only then did Xia Hong talk about the last matter, pointing out the five blocks to Xia Chuan one by one, and then began to arrange the next stage of the camp's tasks.