Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 403 Building Upgrade, Preparations and Plans, Couple's Tacit Understanding

Sacred Vein Pill!
As soon as the pill was formed, Xia Hong could smell its rich, exotic fragrance.

He took the yellow porcelain bottle from Chengfeng and opened it immediately.

Upon seeing the six golden, round pills inside, Xia Hong's expression brightened slightly. He looked up at Cheng Feng with a hint of anticipation.

Cheng Feng naturally understood why Xia Hong had such an expression. The excitement in his eyes had not yet faded, and he said excitedly, "Lord, this Sacred Vein Pill has miraculous effects on meridian damage. I don't know what the effect is for a Manifestation Yang level cultivator, but even if a person with the Cold Resistance level cultivation has all their meridians severed, they can recover completely in less than a day after taking it. You should still remember that Shi Qing, right?"

Seeing Xia Hong nod, Cheng Feng continued, "Shi Qing was crippled back then because the wooden puppet used silk threads to completely destroy all the joints and meridians in his body. Four years ago, the Minister of Works used silk threads to reconnect all the joints and major meridians in his body, which gave him the opportunity to cultivate again. However, because most of the meridians in his body are still broken, he cultivates much slower than others, and in battle, he can only exert 50% or 60% of his strength at most."

Meridians are like the body's sensors. Whether in combat or cultivation, they play a crucial role. Xia Hong naturally understood this principle, and upon hearing this, he basically had a grasp of the situation.

"When I refined the first batch of pills the day before yesterday, I found Shi Qing to test them on. After he took the pills, the injuries to his meridians were immediately healed, and his basic strength increased from 1 mana to 1.2 mana on the spot."

"So, this Sacred Vein Pill is extremely effective for those at the Cold Resistance level?"

"It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a divine medicine. Even disregarding Shi Qing's situation, anyone who spends years hunting and fighting outdoors would have some damage to their meridians. As long as they take the Sacred Meridian Pill, their meridians will be completely restored. If this pill were placed in the supply department, it would probably be snapped up immediately!"

Upon hearing this, Xia Hong immediately nodded and continued to ask, "What kinds of spiritual materials are needed to refine the Sacred Vein Pill? Can it be refined in large quantities?"

Upon hearing this question, Cheng Feng's expression froze, and he said with a wry smile, "This Sacred Vein Pill requires a total of 28 kinds of spiritual plants to refine. Most of them are fine, but the two things that are most difficult to obtain are the Tendon-Severing Grass and the Yellow Jade Stone Milk. The Tendon-Severing Grass was only found last month in the Nine Bends Waters, and there are only 5 of them. The Yellow Jade Stone Milk was sent back by the people stationed in Zhaoyang five days ago. I asked them, and they said it was accidentally discovered in a stone cave deep in the Beiman Mountains."

I have already transplanted the Broken Tendon Grass to the medicinal field, but this Yellow Jade Essence should be a naturally formed spiritual material, so transplanting is impossible unless a large amount of Yellow Jade Essence can be found. Otherwise, large-scale refining is definitely not possible.

I haven't rated the Sacred Vein Pill yet, but judging from the difficulty of its refining, it should definitely be a level six spirit pill.

Upon hearing that the refining conditions were so demanding, Xia Hong immediately shook his head repeatedly.

Cheng Feng is the Director of the Logging Department. Five years ago, he and his deputy, Bai Dongying, divided all the pills in the Great Xia Dynasty into six grades and established a corresponding six-level alchemist assessment system.

Level 6 is the highest level of elixirs. As far as he knows, there are currently twelve types of elixirs classified as Level 6, among which the most representative are the Bone Condensation Pill, Bone Gathering Pill, Dragon Carp Pill, and Green Cod Pill.

After all, fine things are hard to find. It would be strange if something as good as the Sacred Vein Pill could be obtained so easily.

Xia Hong sighed softly, put away the Sacred Vein Pill, then looked around the Alchemy Pavilion and asked with curiosity, "How many pill formulas has the Alchemy Pavilion synthesized so far?"

Upon hearing this question, Cheng Feng's wry smile vanished instantly, and his expression brightened slightly as he said, "Ever since the Lord opened up the Five Plains Waters last October, I have received a steady stream of new species. Thanks to the fact that most of them are spiritual plants and materials, the number of medicinal materials identified by the Alchemy Pavilion has been increasing, and the number of pill formulas being synthesized has been skyrocketing."

As of April this year, the Alchemy Pavilion has identified a total of 4821 kinds of medicinal materials, and synthesized a total of 128 kinds of pill formulas.

At the end of April, the lord captured Ba Shang Town and Jiu Qu Camp, and a large number of new species were sent over. In addition, He Yin Village was acquired in July, and the hunting teams in the camp could freely enter and leave Mo Ao Mountain. During this period, countless new spiritual plants and materials were transported back. The Alchemy Pavilion identified dozens of new medicinal materials every day, and there are now 5291 kinds of medicinal materials. Almost every day, new pill formulas are synthesized, and there are 304 kinds so far.

Furthermore, as the exploration progresses in Heyin Village, more new species will be brought back, and the number of synthetic pill formulas will continue to surge. I predict this surge will last for a long time, and the total number of synthetic pill formulas should eventually reach over 500.

Upon hearing that the Great Xia Dynasty currently possessed as many as 304 types of elixirs, Xia Hong couldn't help but feel excited. After pondering for a moment, he immediately agreed with Cheng Feng's prediction, even feeling that it was a bit conservative.

The primary function of the alchemy workshop is identification. It records all identified drug types and then automatically synthesizes various elixir formulas based on the properties of these different drugs.

It's like a database with automatic integration capabilities. The only way to maximize its potential is to continuously feed it new spiritual plants and materials, making its database grow larger and larger, and eventually producing more and more recipes.

Where do new spiritual plants and materials come from?
The most important way, of course, is to expand the territory of the Great Xia. Only by expanding the territory, constantly opening up new resource areas, and increasing the range of activities of the camp personnel can more new spiritual materials and spiritual plants be discovered.

Last October, the Great Xia had only opened up the Wuyuan waters. In April, it officially marched into Qinghepu, took over the entire north bank of Xinghe, and then took the opportunity to move east and occupy the entire Hongmen. Then, it snatched Bashang City and Jiuqu Camp from the two towns of Beishuo and Chuishan. Finally, it took Heyin Village from Jiangxia Town. The benefits brought by this series of phased expansions were extremely terrifying.

Putting everything else aside, the territory alone has increased by at least one-third.

Since taking over the entire Longyou region six years ago, the territory of the Great Xia has remained largely unchanged, excluding its own increased exploration progress in the three major resource areas, and has remained at a size of more than 15000 square kilometers.

This time, after taking over the entire north bank of the Xinghe River, and including the area around Ba Shang Town, as well as the three areas of Jiuqu Daying and Heyin Village, the current territory has not been specifically calculated, but Xia Hong estimates that it should be at least more than 21000 square kilometers.

The benefits of this round of territorial expansion have not yet been fully realized.

Take, for example, the iron and coal mines that he had dreamed of in his early years. Xia Hong hadn't bothered to find out exactly how many there were in the Great Xia now. He only knew that every month, a steady stream of iron ore and coal was being transported back from various places. The original warehouse of the Logistics Department was located on the second floor of the main building. That warehouse had been filled up three years ago. Last year, the Craftsmen Department built a new headquarters hall next to the main building for the Logistics Department. The original warehouse on the second floor of the main building is now used as a silver storage point.

As exploration of the water area and Mount Mo'ao deepens, the amount of materials available for identification by the Alchemy Pavilion will increase, inevitably leading to a rise in the number of formulas for synthesizing pills.

Cheng Feng suddenly remembered something, and his expression was a mixture of joy and worry as he said, "By the way, my lord, I've been having some trouble with the herb fields lately..."

As Cheng Feng recounted his story, Xia Hong's expression grew increasingly strange.

The herb fields are not enough!

The medicinal field can consume coal to cultivate spiritual plants. When the alchemy workshop reached level 3, it was equipped with a ten-meter-wide medicinal field. At that time, the number of precious spiritual plants in the Great Xia was not large, so that ten-meter-wide medicinal field was basically used to cultivate Cold Apple Jade Dew.

Cold Dew is the main ingredient for refining Yang Yuan Pills. Yang Yuan Pills are used to enhance the strength of those at the Cold Resistance level, so their importance is self-evident. Naturally, all the limited resources of the medicinal fields should be allocated to them.

After the Level 3 alchemy workshop was upgraded to the Level 4 alchemy pavilion, the medicinal field also increased to 500 meters square, which greatly increased the number of spiritual plants that could be cultivated.

Haworthia cooperi, Lonicera japonica, Cinnamomum camphora... whatever is most useful and scarce, we transplant it. The 500-meter square medicinal field is already packed full.

Chengfeng's side is still continuing.

“These spiritual plants are often several meters wide, and plants with different medicinal properties can easily interfere with each other when planted together. I planned and replanned the 500-meter square medicinal field, and it was only with great difficulty that I managed to fill it with them. Even so, I could only plant a little over 120 spiritual plants. This number is far too few…”

As Cheng Feng just said, the Alchemy Pavilion has identified a total of 5291 kinds of medicinal materials. Since they are medicinal materials, spiritual plants and herbs must make up the majority. Excluding other spiritual materials, spiritual plants and herbs account for at least 70%, which is more than 3,000 kinds.

Given the scale of spiritual plants in the Ice Abyss World, it's already quite impressive that 120 plants could be transplanted into a 500-meter square medicinal field. Cheng Feng must have put in a lot of effort.

"I came back this time to solve this problem for you!"

Upon hearing Xia Hong's words, Cheng Feng's expression froze for a moment, then filled with anticipation.

[Alchemy Pavilion (Level 4)]

【升级条件：木10000万、煤10000万、铁20000万、银600万、合成丹方300种】

Xia Hong quietly opened the system to check the information of the Alchemy Pavilion. When he saw the upgrade conditions at the end, his mind stirred slightly.

He already had enough resources to upgrade the Alchemy Pavilion from level 4 to level 5. He had been waiting for the number of synthesis recipes to meet the requirement. A few days ago, when he was preparing to go to White Tiger Pool, he already knew that the number of recipes had met the requirement.

upgrade!

Xia Hong's mind stirred slightly, and the number of items in his resource bar suddenly dropped sharply. Immediately afterward, a burst of light erupted from the entire alchemy pavilion, causing many alchemists who were refining pills in the quiet room to panic.

"Don't panic, it won't affect your medicine making!"

All the alchemists' expressions lifted slightly upon hearing Xia Hong's voice.

The alchemists who could stay in the alchemy pavilion for a long time were considered core members of the mining department. They had basically experienced the building upgrades before, so when they saw this familiar scene, their expressions immediately became expectant.

Of course, the person I'm most looking forward to is Cheng Feng, the head of the logging department.

In just over ten breaths, the upgrade of the Alchemy Pavilion was completed.

The overall appearance of the pavilion remained unchanged, but the green medicine cauldron in the center had doubled in size, with a diameter of more than five meters. Moreover, its overall color had become more transparent, and the ancient cloud pattern on the outside had turned into a silvery-white. Both its appearance and its aura were more sophisticated than before.

Xia Hong eagerly checked the description of the upgraded alchemy pavilion:

[Alchemy Pavilion (Level 5): Alchemy equipment. Any item can be placed into the main cauldron to identify its attributes; items with medicinal properties will be automatically recorded.]

【Special Function 1: Can automatically generate recipes based on records. Simply add the ingredients to the main cauldron according to the recipe, pour in water, and boil to automatically produce the elixir.】

[Special Function 2: The main cauldron can be used to diagnose and heal injuries. Any injury suffered by cultivators below the Venerable Realm level can be treated and healed after the main cauldron diagnoses it.]

【Special Feature 3: The pavilion is equipped with 100 medicine-refining furnaces. Refining pills in these furnaces can increase the success rate of alchemists by 30%】

【Special Feature 4: Includes a 1,000-meter-long medicinal herb field, which can be used to cultivate spiritual herbs by consuming coal】

After reading the entire description, Xia Hong's expression immediately became excited.

The main cauldron's function remains unchanged, but the number of medicine dispensing furnaces has increased from 50 to 100, and the medicinal field has been expanded fourfold, which just solved the problem of wind formation.

The key is special function 2.

"I never imagined that I would learn about the cultivation realms beyond the Manifestation Yang level through the Alchemy Pavilion. Venerable Prime level... Venerable Prime level..."

Xia Hong couldn't help but ponder for a few moments, his eyes filled with curiosity and longing.

"That governor of Caiqiu Prefecture is probably at this level of cultivation. Judging from the strength difference between different cultivation levels, a powerhouse of this level should be able to crush a Xianyang-level expert!"

Thinking of this, Xia Hong couldn't help but feel a greater sense of urgency.

The main cauldron can be used to diagnose and heal injuries to people below the Venerable level, so even if the Sacred Vein Pill cannot restore Xiang Fuhai's injuries, it will be fine.

Of course, there are also significant costs and subsequent upgrade requirements:

[Consumables: 30000 coals per hour for alchemy; the identification function consumes varying amounts of coal and silver depending on the item's value; the herb field consumes 2000 silver per day; the main cauldron's healing function consumes 100 million silver per use]

【升级条件：木50000万、煤50000万、铁90000万、白银5000万、黄金20000、合成丹方1000种】

Tsk tsk tsk...

After reading the last two descriptions, Xia Hong couldn't help but shake his head repeatedly.

While the functionality has become more powerful, the energy consumption has also become extremely high.

Coal is not a problem, but the Great Xia is already overflowing far too much.

A person earns 2000 silver points a day. The herb field is used every day, so it adds up to more than 70 points a year, which is equivalent to 3500 million taels of silver.

The key is the cost of healing people. Each treatment requires 100 million silver resources, which is equivalent to 5000 million taels of physical silver. The silver that the Great Xia Dynasty earns from the Seven Towns in a year is only enough to cover the cost of treating patients eight times.

That's right, it's about seeing a doctor.

The system description is very clear: after the main cauldron identifies the problem, the appropriate treatment will be needed. In other words, the main cauldron is responsible for identification, but the specific treatment method must be determined by the user later.

As for the requirements for subsequent upgrades, they were not unexpected. The resource consumption had doubled, and a new gold requirement had been added, which meant that there was basically no need to think about upgrading the Alchemy Pavilion in the short term.

"The medicinal herb field can be expanded now. Go and inform Mu Dong to send craftsmen to continue cultivating new land inside the valley."

"I obey my orders!"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Feng was immediately excited and quickly clasped his hands in agreement.

When the Three Pavilions were upgraded last time, the land in the inner city of Great Xia was not enough. Now the population of the inner city is growing, and the Eight Departments have also built their own grand halls. Xia Chuan had long ago arranged for the craftsmen to continuously expand the area of ​​the inner city into the valley.

"Alright, you can continue with your work! I still have to go to the other two pavilions."

"Your subordinate respectfully sees you off, Lord!"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Feng's expression froze. He realized that not only the Alchemy Pavilion, but also the Weapon Refining Pavilion and the Martial Arts Pavilion would undergo major changes, and he immediately became excited.

The Martial Arts Pavilion improves cultivation efficiency, the Weapon Forging Pavilion replenishes the armory, and the Medicine Refining Pavilion's pills are of course indispensable. These three buildings are closely related to everyone in the Great Xia Dynasty. Every change to them basically indicates that the camp will usher in a major development. As the head of the Logging Department, Cheng Feng is naturally well aware of this, which is why he is so excited.

Just as he was getting excited, Xia Hong had already quietly arrived at the Weapon Refining Pavilion.

"18-mane, your cultivation is even weaker than Chengfeng's. So you basically never leave Xia City anymore, right?"

Mu Dong wasn't refining any weapons today; instead, he was teaching his disciples. The changes in the weapon refining pavilion must have alerted him, so he didn't show much surprise when he saw Xia Hong arrive.

Mu Dong, who had just sent his disciple away, froze upon hearing Xia Hong mention his cultivation level. He nodded and smiled bitterly, "I have indeed been engrossed in weapon crafting and haven't left Xia City for several years. Please forgive me, Lord."

Xia Hong waved his hand and said, "Cheng Feng is also a mid-level battle physique like you, but his strength has already reached level 23, which shows that he has put a lot of effort into cultivation. Neither of you should lack contribution points. I remember that the monthly exchange limit for Dragon Carp Pills and Green Cod Pills for the Eight Departments is 10. Your strength should not be so much behind his, right?"

When a medium-level battle body breaks through, the base strength will not exceed 16 manes. Mu Dong and Cheng Feng are both at the peak of the Cold Resistance cultivation. If they want to continue to improve, they can only rely on pills. Under the same supply of resources, the fact that their strength can be separated by 5 manes is obviously a bit problematic.

Either Mu Dong doesn't spend time cultivating, or he didn't exchange for that many pills.

"My lord has a discerning eye. I really don't want to spend too much time on cultivation, so I've given most of the Dragon Carp Pills and Green Cod Pills I acquired to my son."

Mu Dong has two sons, named Mu Yan and Mu Feng. Xia Hong vaguely remembered them. Upon hearing that he had given all his cultivation resources to his sons, he immediately shook his head and said, "This is your family matter, and I shouldn't interfere. However, I must remind you that your forging ability is closely related to your strength. Currently, it takes hundreds of Cold-Resistant level craftsmen working day and night for more than half a year to forge weapons of the 100,000-forging level. I estimate that for higher-level weapons, you can't even dream of it without a Manifestation Yang level cultivation. You can't expect me, the lord, to stay in the weapon-forging pavilion and forge weapons like before, can you?"

Upon hearing Xia Hong's teasing, Mu Dong's expression froze.

"Furthermore, if I remember correctly, you are already fifty-seven years old this year. The lifespan of a cold-resistant level cultivator is one hundred years. Whether you can live to that age is still a question. If you don't pay attention to your cultivation, it will be too late to regret it when your lifespan is over!"

Mu Dong was a craftsman who joined the Rogue Encampment in his early years. He was already over forty when the Great Xia moved to the valley. Among the current eight departments, apart from Li Tiancheng, the vice director of the prison department, he is the oldest.

Upon hearing Xia Hong's reminder, Mu Dong's expression suddenly changed, clearly realizing what was happening. Looking at Xia Hong with emotion, he said, "Thank you for the reminder, Lord. I understand. I will definitely spend more time cultivating in the future." Xia Hong nodded slightly and didn't say anything more.

[Weapon Refining Pavilion (Level 4)]

Upgrade Requirements: 20000 million Coal, 30000 million Iron, 700 million Silver

Upgrading the Weapon Refining Pavilion does not require wood resources, but it requires more coal, iron, and silver than the Alchemy Pavilion.

[Resources: Timber 77261 million tons, Coal 80872 million tons, Iron 78625 million tons, Silver 1582 million tons]

Fortunately, Xia Hong's net worth is already quite high.

upgrade!

Just like the Alchemy Pavilion, the Weapon Forging Pavilion also erupted with a strong light. However, this time everyone was much more experienced, and almost no one exclaimed in surprise.

Mu Dong's eyes were already full of anticipation when Xia Hong entered, and now, seeing the intense light erupting from the entire weapon-refining pavilion, his expression was naturally extremely excited.

[Weapon Forging Pavilion (Level 5): A place for crafting weapons; weapons ranging from ten to a million forgings can be forged.]

[Special Feature 1: There is a 5% chance to forge a weapon with the attribute of suppressing beasts]

[Special Feature 2: There is a 1 in 1000 chance of creating items with the attribute of suppressing evil spirits]

【Special Function 3: Can identify and distinguish various materials used in crafting, and has a chance to synthesize new materials】

[Upgrade Requirements: 9 million coal, 15 billion iron, 1 million silver, 10 gold]

The production rate of weapons with the attribute of suppressing beasts has increased, and the probability of forging items with the attribute of suppressing ghosts has also been added. Although one in a thousand is very low, it is not low considering the efficiency of the items produced by the Refining Pavilion.

The Refining Pavilion doesn't just forge weapons; it produces most of the other forging materials. In other words, for every 1000 items produced by the Refining Pavilion, one will have the attribute of suppressing evil spirits!

"You can study the changes in the Weapon Refining Pavilion at your own pace. I'm going to the Martial Arts Pavilion."

"Respectfully seeing off the lord!"

Before Mu Dong could even lift his head, Xia Hong had already vanished from his sight.

………………

"Your subordinate greets Your Lordship!"

On the top floor of the Martial Arts Pavilion, Bai Wuting, who was screening the list, immediately stood up excitedly when he saw Xia Hong enter.

"No need for formalities, I'm here to take care of something!"

The Martial Arts Pavilion is under the jurisdiction of the Logistics Department, but Qiu Peng, as the Director, can't possibly keep an eye on things all day long. Two years ago, he selected someone from the Logistics Department to serve as the Pavilion Master, specifically responsible for the daily management of the Martial Arts Pavilion. That person is Bai Wuting, who is standing right in front of us.

Bai Wuting had already noticed the changes in the Weapon Refining Pavilion and the Medicine Refining Pavilion, so when he saw Xia Hong enter, his face was full of anticipation.

Upgrade Requirements: 10000 million Wood, 30000 million Coal, 40000 million Iron, 800 million Silver

[Resources: Timber 77261 million, Coal 60872 million, Iron 48625 million, Silver 882 million]

Xia Hong didn't waste any words. He checked the resources and upgrade requirements, and since the resources were just about right, he directly chose to upgrade.

A flash of bright light passed by, but the thousand people who were focused on their cultivation inside the Martial Arts Pavilion were completely unaffected. Only Bai Wuting's pupils trembled, and his face was full of anticipation.

[Martial Arts Pavilion (Level 5): A training ground that greatly increases training speed and martial arts comprehension. Includes fifty Frost Beast Training Posts.]

[Special Function 1: The Frost Beast Stake can record the species of a frost beast through its essence blood, transforming it into any frost beast and unleashing the strength of that beast's adult form.]

[Special Function 2: Activate the Frost Beast Stakes within the radiation range of the Yangxu Cauldron; they can obey commands and fight autonomously.]

[Special Feature 3: The training speed inside the Martial Arts Pavilion is three times that outside, and it can accommodate up to 3000 people.]

[Special Feature 4: Double the efficiency of martial arts comprehension through sparring with the Frost Beast Stance]

[Martial Arts Pavilion Cost: 4000 Silver Points per Day]

[Cold Beast Stake Consumption: Varies from minimum to maximum strength, ranging from 100 Coal Points to 1000 Silver Points per minute]

【升级条件：木20亿、煤18亿、铁5亿、白银1.5亿、黄金15万】

The number of Frost Beast Stakes remains unchanged at fifty.

The increase in training speed within the martial arts hall remained unchanged, still three times.

However, the number of people it can accommodate has tripled.

Of course, consumption also increased accordingly.

It consumes 4000 points per day, which is twice as much as the medicinal fields in the Alchemy Pavilion.

As for the subsequent upgrade requirements, that goes without saying.

After Xia Hong shook his head slightly, he told Bai Wuting about all the changes in the Martial Arts Pavilion in detail. He then instructed Bai Wuting to immediately set about increasing the number of training slots for the Martial Arts Pavilion in the Logistics Department before turning and leaving.

Although the area of ​​the inner city of the Great Xia Dynasty has expanded, the overall architectural layout remains unchanged.

Behind the three pavilions is the Great Xia Ancestral Temple, and in front is the main hall of the Great Xia. Xia Hong left the Martial Arts Pavilion and flew directly to the main hall. However, he did not go to the council hall on the top floor, but went to the warehouse on the second floor first.

"Meet the lord!"

The silver doors of the second-floor warehouse were guarded by hundreds of soldiers of the Cold-Resistant level. When they saw Xia Hong approaching, they immediately bowed in salute.

"No need for formalities, open the door."

"Yes!"

More than a hundred people bowed and obeyed the order, and then a few people were sent out to turn around and push open the gate.

As soon as the gate opened, a surge of silver light burst forth, causing Xia Hong to instinctively cover his eyes, not to mention the hundreds of soldiers at the Cold Resistance level.

After finally getting used to the bright silver light, the hundred or so soldiers looked up at the inside of the warehouse, their breathing noticeably becoming several times heavier.

"What, you want them all?"

Seeing the soldiers' expressions, Xia Hong couldn't help but make a joke.

"We have been impolite, lord, please forgive us!"

Upon hearing the teasing, the soldiers immediately averted their gazes, turned around, and bowed to Xia Hong to apologize.

"Get up, get up. I didn't blame you. So much silver, even I would be dizzy looking at it, let alone you. But these things are more useful to me than to you..."

Xia Hong's words are probably only understood by himself.

However, given his extraordinary status in the eyes of everyone in the Great Xia today, almost all of the hundred or so soldiers showed expressions of agreement after hearing his words, clearly not finding anything wrong with them.

After Xia Hong finished speaking, he did not linger and went straight into the warehouse.

Although the main hall of the Great Xia Dynasty has been renovated, its size remains unchanged. It is 200 meters long and has a total area of ​​40000 square meters.

The main hall has been raised to 30 meters high and has three floors. The top floor is the council hall, the first and second floors are now all warehouses, the second floor stores silver, and the first floor stores iron blocks that can be used to mint coins and forge weapons.

Xia Hong's expression froze slightly after he entered the warehouse.

No wonder the soldiers' breathing became labored and they made that kind of expression.

Given the scene inside this warehouse, it's hard for anyone to remain calm.

The warehouse, spanning 40,000 square meters, was almost entirely filled with gleaming silver. On the left were irregularly shaped silver blocks, clearly mined from silver mines; on the right were silver ingots and silver cakes, all earned from foreign trade during this period.

[Resources: Timber 67261 million, Coal 30872 million, Iron 8625 million, Silver 82 million]

Looking at the resource data after the upgrade, Xia Hong shook his head repeatedly. He then busied himself in the warehouse. By the time he finished, most of the silver on the ground had disappeared. He then rushed to the first floor and worked in the cast iron warehouse for a while.

Finally, when he left the ironworks warehouse and went up to the council hall on the third floor, the resource data in the system had changed to:
Timber 67261 million, Coal 30872 million, Iron 86251 million, Silver 4826 million

"The resources of wood, coal, and iron are already in surplus. Silver is not lacking, but not abundant either. However, the reserves plus the silver mines currently being mined should last for about ten years. If we add the profits from trade with the Eight Towns, it can last even longer. But then again, it won't take that long. If we just continue step by step, it won't be long before the territory of the Eight Towns becomes part of the Great Xia territory!"

After entering the council hall, Xia Hong slowly walked up the high platform, looked up at the map of the Great Xia territory behind the main seat, and a hint of disdain flashed in his eyes.

"When did you come back?"

Just as he was pondering this, a female voice suddenly came from the side of the main seat.

Xia Hong turned to look at Li Xuanling, who was dressed in white. Seeing that her breathing was still a little unsteady, he knew that she had just finished her cultivation and emerged from seclusion. He shook his head and said, "You just came back. I knew you were cultivating, so I deliberately didn't go to the Star Picking Hall, afraid of disturbing you. Why did you come out of seclusion on your own?"

Hearing the concern in Xia Hong's tone, a tender look flashed across Li Xuanling's eyes, but she pretended to be nonchalant and said, "This seclusion has been too long, and I was a bit annoyed, so I came out to relax."

"Fifty-seven hairs, your cultivation speed has increased again. You should be able to start trying to break through to the Manifest Yang level before the end of next year."

Seeing that Xia Hong had noticed the increase in his cultivation, Li Xuanling's eyes immediately showed a hint of pride, but when he heard the rest, his expression became confused.

To break through to the peak of the Cold Resistance realm, her strength needs to increase by 11 points. Even if she can maintain her current rate of increasing by one point per month, it will take at least until the end of next year.

"The Heavenly Sun Fruit is in my hands!"

However, as Xia Hong pulled out fifteen fruits radiating intense light from his bosom, she immediately understood.

"There are 16 in total. I just gave one to Chengfeng so he can study it in the alchemy pavilion and see if he can refine it into a pill. With this, your breakthrough progress should be able to be accelerated a bit, and that's not all..."

Li Xuanling knew about Xia Hong's trip to White Tiger Pool, but she didn't know about the black dragon afterwards. When she heard that Xia Hong, together with Murong Chui and Xiahou Zhang, had driven away the black dragon, and then discovered the black dragon's cave underwater all by himself, she felt both happy and worried.

The joy stemmed from Xia Hong's great achievement; the worry lay in the fact that all of Xia Hong's risky actions were for her to break through to the next level as soon as possible, and this was only because she had encountered an opponent she could defeat. If she were to encounter an opponent she couldn't defeat in the future, the problem would be much bigger.

Are you hurt?

Hearing Li Xuanling's concern, Xia Hong smiled and shook his head, about to reply, but unexpectedly Li Xuanling rushed up and gently patted him all over, personally checking him over before his expression finally relaxed.

A warm feeling washed over Xia Hong. Knowing that Li Xuanling was shy, he didn't say much. He simply continued to talk about the Northern Shuo invitation letter, as well as the Caiqiu vassal state. Li Xuanling had been staying in Xia City for some time and was unaware of these matters.

Upon learning that Yang Zun had gathered the three northern towns to cause trouble in Hongmen City, Li Xuanling's expression immediately turned somber. However, it was clear that she did not show much worry in her eyes, whether it was due to confidence in the strength of the Great Xia or in Xia Hong's abilities.

After listening to Xia Hong's explanation, Li Xuanling simply asked softly, "So what do you plan to do? If there are really extraterrestrial forces involved, it's not advisable to reveal too much strength at this time, lest we attract their attention."

Upon hearing this, Xia Hong looked down at Li Xuanling, his eyes gleaming with admiration. He couldn't help but exclaim, "I haven't even said how to deal with this, and you already know?"

Seeing the surprise in Xia Hong's eyes, Li Xuanling's beautiful face immediately lit up with a smug look. She laughed and said, "I know everything about you. What's so hard to guess? Since Yang Zun is determined to compete with Great Xia for the position of Mo'ao Overlord, you must be thinking of subduing all eight towns, including him, in one fell swoop."

Xia Hong nodded, his understanding of his wife's intelligence reaching a new level. He asked softly, "How many people in the Great Xia Dynasty are currently at the Cold Resistance level and the Earth Digging Realm limit?"

"7252 people at the Cold Resistance level, and 24272 people at the Earth Digging Realm limit."

"In my name, you issue orders to the Military and Hunting Departments, instructing all those at the Cold-Resistant and Earth-Digging Realm Limit levels scattered at other outposts to stop what they are doing and arrive in Xia City before the 16th."
In addition, notify the logistics department to take out all the Hundred-Refined Thunder Kui Gold Armor and Thousand-Refined Battle Armor in stock and prepare them. Once these people arrive, distribute them all, and tell them in advance that it is only temporary.

"Have them all assemble in Longhe Village by the night of the 17th, and they must reach Hongmen City before dawn on the 18th."

Hearing Xia Hong's series of words, Li Xuanling lowered his head and pondered for a moment before immediately understanding. His eyes lit up slightly, and he nodded, adding, "Then should we also recall all the garrison commanders from the other outposts? Apart from the north bank of the Xinghe River, the Great Xia currently faces almost no external threats. Even if those outposts leave temporarily, they will be fine."

Xia Hong nodded: "Okay!"

"The craftsmen's department still has a lot of good stuff that hasn't been used yet. I've also told Mu Dong to prepare to take it all over. If we're going to do it, let's do it thoroughly. As for things that need to be kept in mind, you can keep those in mind yourself. These external methods shouldn't attract too much attention."

Li Xuanling continued speaking, and then, as if remembering something, added, "Then the 18th must be very lively. I'll go with you."

Upon hearing Li Xuanling's words, Xia Hong frowned immediately and instinctively wanted to refuse, but before he could speak, the voices of two little ones came from behind the platform.

"Mom, where are you going? I want to go too! I want to go too!"

"If my sister is going, then I want to go too..."

(End of this chapter)