Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 419 The Closed-Door Cultivation Breakthrough, the Anticlimactic Arrest – Let Your Master Come Here! [Please Subscribe!]

Xia Yuyao and Xia Yusheng are only five years old. It's perfectly normal for their personalities to change after being exposed to certain things.

The Battle of Hongmen was actually alright. Given their age and experience, the two probably only saw the general outline and knew nothing except that they had defeated Yang Zun. However, the political council in the main hall after the battle was a different story. More than 600 high-ranking officials of the Great Xia Dynasty gathered together. The scene, in terms of both scale and momentum, was enough to leave a deep impression on the two young men.

Xia Hong carried the two children into the main hall to participate in the political discussion, actually intending to observe their reactions and see how they would react after entering such a setting for the first time.

He saw it clearly at the time: after the two entered the main hall, their first reaction was to be a little nervous, which was understandable given their young age.

But after the initial tension subsided, their reactions were quite different.

The younger son gripped his arm tightly, while the eldest daughter, Xia Yuyao, looked mostly excited and even boldly surveyed the people in the hall.

A person's subconscious actions can reveal their hidden personality traits.

Based on this reasoning, the younger son's personality is probably somewhat dependent, while the older daughter seems more independent and bold, and to put it more bluntly, she has already shown a strong desire for power at a young age.

If it was just speculation at the time, then based on the various changes in the siblings' behavior over the next two weeks after their return from Hongmen, Xia Hong became certain:
"In terms of personality, my son takes after me, and my daughter takes after her mother!"

Xia Hong believed that, compared to power, stronger strength or a higher cultivation level was what he was truly passionate about pursuing. From this perspective, his son, who had been constantly asking him for Spirit Milk Pills, was clearly more like him.

So, the idea that daughters resemble their fathers and sons resemble their mothers isn't always true...

While he was pondering, Xia Hong had already arrived at the Star-Picking Platform from his room.

Li Xuanling on the Enlightenment Lotus sensed his arrival and opened her eyes, staring intently at the pill bottle in his hand, clearly realizing something.

There is only one way for others to use the Enlightenment Lotus: Xia Hong must expend resources to activate the lotus's special function 4, which transforms skills into extraordinary abilities. Therefore, although Li Xuanling is sitting on it, he cannot actually enjoy the lotus's five-fold increase in cultivation speed.

However, upon closer inspection, one would notice that the approximately one-square-meter area beneath the Divine Lotus is distinctly different from the surrounding floor. This is a small section that Xia Hong had separated from the Martial Arts Pavilion's training area and specifically reserved for the Star-Picking Platform. Therefore, she still benefits from the Martial Arts Pavilion's three-fold increase in training speed.

"This is the Yang-Boosting Pill, made primarily from the Heavenly Yang Fruit. You can crush it first and take it with the Yang Essence Pill to raise the last 10 units of your strength. Then you can use it to break through to the Manifest Yang level!"

Xia Hong didn't keep them in suspense and directly took out a pill from the pill bottle.

Although Sheng Yang Dan is a pill used for bone tempering, its medicinal properties are actually similar to Yang Yuan Dan, and it can also be used to reconstruct flesh and blood. However, its medicinal strength is at least ten times that of Yang Yuan Dan. Therefore, before reaching the peak of cold resistance, it can only be crushed and taken in combination with Yang Yuan Dan.

Xia Hong had tested the medicinal effects before arriving, so he knew exactly what it was. He broke the Sheng Yang Pill in his hand into three pieces before handing it to Li Xuanling.

Li Xuanling was clearly impatient. He stepped off the divine lotus, took the pill bottle, opened it immediately, peeked inside, and then looked up at Xia Hong.

"Chengfeng refined a total of 36 in the first batch, and there are 15 here. I calculated that you will need about two to break through to the peak of the Cold Resistance Realm. How many you need after that depends on your bone aptitude, but it should not exceed 6 at most..."

Upon hearing Xia Hong's words, Li Xuanling's face immediately lit up with excitement. Just as she was about to say something, she discovered that Xia Hong had already sat on the divine lotus, closed his eyes, and begun to cultivate cross-legged.

Li Xuanling gripped the pill bottle, standing there with a hesitant expression.

"Once it's given to you, it's yours to use as you please!"

Upon hearing Xia Hong's words, a look of emotion immediately appeared on her face. She turned her head and opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end, she didn't say anything and quickly turned around and walked out of the Star-Picking Platform.

"Hey……"

After his wife had walked away, Xia Hong opened his eyes and sighed softly.

Xia Hong knew very well that Li Xuanling's excitement upon seeing the Sheng Yang Pill was not for herself, but for her second uncle, Li Tiancheng.

As for the reason why Li Xuanling looked hesitant, both of them actually knew the answer.

Li Tiancheng is already 95 years old, he's really too old...

Breaking through to the Manifestation Yang level is no easy feat. In fact, nothing is easy when it comes to cultivation. For example, reshaping the skin membrane at the Earth-Digging Realm, reshaping the flesh and blood at the Cold-Resistant Realm, and tempering the bones when breaking through to the Manifestation Yang level—each of these is accompanied by enormous risks.

Even young and strong men suffer greatly, let alone Li Tiancheng, whose lifespan is about to end.

When Xia Hong saw Li Tiancheng at Hongmen last month, he noticed that Li Tiancheng's physical condition was already showing signs of decline. To be honest, the possibility of him attempting to break through to the Manifest Yang level was extremely slim.

Unless there is a elixir that can extend Li Tiancheng's lifespan, as Xia Hong said last month when comforting Li Xuanling.

It goes without saying how precious elixirs that extend lifespan are. Let alone the Nine Garrisons, even the Chen and Cai vassal states might not have them. Xia Hong felt he should question whether they even had them.

"Even if those two warlords have them, I don't know how to get there!"

Recalling the promise he made to Li Xuanling last month to comfort her, Xia Hong's face immediately showed a hint of helplessness.

He knew nothing about the locations of the two regional military governors, Chen and Cai, except that they were in the north. He couldn't just keep searching randomly in the north, could he?
A cultivation level of Manifestation Yang is considered quite good among humans, but it's definitely not enough to allow one to roam freely in the Ice Abyss.

The Sumeru Nightmare on Shuanglong Mountain is a living lesson.

Wandering into unfamiliar territory will always come at a price.

Losing one's life is not impossible!
Furthermore, the fact that neither Chencang nor Caiqiu, the two regional military governorships, sent large numbers of people south to the territory of the Nine Garrisons speaks volumes.

Of course, the fact that Caiqiu was able to plant spies in the territory of the Nine Towns, and that Chencang was able to send three Xianyang-level soldiers to assist the three northern towns in dealing with Dajue Temple in April of this year, suggests that there must be some special route connecting the two towns in the north.

The only problem in sending troops to the regional military governors right now is determining the exact route.

The Great Xia has only caught one Caiqiu spy, Han Peng. The problem is that Han Peng is from Jinshan Town and has never been to Caiqiu. Although Mu Longhe has met the three Xianyang-level beings from Chencang, he knows nothing about Chencang, let alone the route to Chencang. The only thing he knows is that Yang Zun, Qin Feng, and Shangguan Yang should know a lot about Chencang.

"Could it be that we really have to go and ask Qin Feng and Shangguan Yang?"

Xia Hong frowned slightly. Yang Zun was definitely out of the question. As for the possibility that Qin Feng and Shangguan Yang had told him, it was actually not very likely, after all, the two of them had just been severely humiliated by him at Hongmen last month.

Therefore, asking these three people for directions is basically pointless.

"There are two other ways. One is to find out the middle-aged man in black who killed the members of the Three Towns Chamber of Commerce and sowed discord among the Nine Towns. He must know, but judging from the information Xia Chuan brought back, that person is extremely meticulous in his actions and has the means to tamper with memories, so it may not be so easy to find him."
Secondly, we should start with Han Peng from Jinyang Village, or find out more secret agents from the local warlords like him!

Han Peng had said that he would meet with his contact in Caiqiu twice a year, once in March and once in August. Lu Yang had already taken Han Li under his wing and brought him to Dongling, so Han Peng certainly wouldn't dare to betray him. He would wait until March or August next year to catch his contact and then know how to get to Caiqiu.

Having discovered Han Peng and Cai Qiu's identities as spies, Da Xia was naturally not going to let them go easily. Fortunately, through Han Feng, Da Xia had already learned about the situation in Jin Yang Village and knew that Han Peng had a precious grandson named Han Li. So, they notified Lu Yang in advance and asked him to find a pretext to bring Han Li to Dongling.

Han Peng is now the only clue that Da Xia can get to Cai Qiu, the governor of the region, so naturally they are treating him with caution to prevent him from defecting again.

"Oh right, there's also this newly appeared Chu Yan'er. She must have killed some monsters before. I wonder which warlord she's from. Let's see if Xia Chuan can get any useful information out of her!"

In short, there's no need to inquire with the three northern towns. At the very least, the Great Xia can find out through the existing clues and methods. It just takes some time, but as long as they can figure out the location of Caiqiu, finding the other vassal states won't be a problem.

"The most urgent task is still to cultivate. Before setting off for the vassal states, I need to further improve my strength!"

Strictly speaking, Xia Hong only officially broke through last September, so it's only been a year. His strength has steadily increased from just over 10 jun to 11 jun, which would be considered a pipe dream by outsiders.

But don't forget that with the combined effects of the Enlightenment Lotus Platform and the Martial Arts Pavilion, he has an eight-fold increase in cultivation speed; moreover, Mu Longhe and Xiang Fuhai are still recovering from their injuries, and he is the only one at the Manifestation Yang level in the entire Great Xia who can cultivate normally. He is the one who uses all the Bone Condensation Pills and Bone Gathering Pills, so resources are not a problem at all; and the bonus from the Twelve Blood Scripture Technique is even more exaggerated.

So it may seem like only one year of training, but the actual time is much longer.

"According to my estimation, it will take at least two more years to break through to the mid-stage. Currently, my cultivation can only rely on Bone Condensation Pills and Bone Gathering Pills. I'll have to wait and see if Mount Mo'ao can bring some unexpected surprises..."

Xia Hong cleared his mind of random thoughts, closed his eyes to regulate his breathing, and as the lotus platform emitted a burst of light, he also began to enter a state of cultivation.

………………

Just as Xia Hong was immersed in cultivation at the Star-Picking Platform.

In the northern fifth district of the outer city, the atmosphere suddenly turned grim.

The outer city actually only has 22 districts, namely 18 districts in the east city and 4 districts in the north city.

The so-called North Fifth District was actually a temporary establishment specifically for resettling migrant workers.

Since the opening of Hongmen Port in July, when the Great Xia decided to open up to the outside world, people from other towns and village camps, and even people from other regions, have been coming to Xia City. These people have come for various purposes, such as visiting, joining, trading, or even lurking and gathering information.

Regardless of their motives, since the Great Xia Dynasty had decided to open its doors, it was natural to properly settle these people, both for the sake of its reputation and for their safety. Thus, the Fifth Northern District was established specifically for their residence and life.

Of course, all of these will cost money!

Those who dare to travel thousands of miles from other places to Xia City are naturally capable people. Previously, those who could live in the North Fifth District had at least the cultivation level of the Earth-Digging Realm, but the situation changed after the 18th of last month.

Many people who originally planned to complete their transactions in Hongmen City and then return home, after witnessing the confrontation between the Great Xia and the Six Towns on the 18th, all developed the desire to come to Xia City to find out what was going on. So, starting from the 18th of last month, more and more people came to Xia City along the north bank of the Xinghe River.

Unlike other areas of Xia City, the North Fifth District did not need to set up its own eight subordinate departments. Previously, in order to meet the needs of these people's transactions, Qiu Peng specially set up the Supply Department here. However, as the population increased, order also needed to be controlled. Therefore, Li Tiancheng also set up the Prison Department under its jurisdiction here and appointed Hou Ming as the head of the prison.

As of early October 5th, according to Hou Ming's statistics, the population of this area had reached over 63,000, of which 20% were at the Cold Resistance level, and the rest were almost all at the limit of the Earth Digging Realm, with very few at the ordinary Earth Digging Realm level.

Most of the migrant population chose to join Daxia, but some chose to leave. Although the population in the area is constantly moving, the overall trend is one of continuous increase.

As the population continues to rise, the difficulty of management naturally increases.

Moreover, these people come from all directions, with different temperaments and habits. Most of them are there to do business, which makes it easy for conflicts to arise. Some are even direct enemies who wish to fight each other on sight. In addition, there are some people with ulterior motives, so you can imagine how chaotic it is.

Not to mention the arguments, even with the strict prohibitions of the Great Xia Dynasty, fights still happen almost every day, and every few days, a murder will occasionally occur. Hou Ming, the newly appointed head of the criminal justice department, is naturally under immense pressure.

According to the regulations of the Great Xia Dynasty, a stationed prison commander could only be assigned a maximum of three Silver Order Wardens. He had no other choice but to transfer twenty more Silver Order Wardens from the inner city headquarters in one go, which barely met the needs of the North Fifth District.

It should be noted that the patrol duties in the Fifth District of the North are carried out by the Flying Peng and Azure Dragon armies, which have just completed the migration of the population from Ba Shang and are currently stationed in Xia City. Each battalion takes turns to be responsible for these duties, while the prison warden is only responsible for investigating and handling cases.

This shows just how chaotic the five northern districts are!
Coincidentally, Xiang Liang was one of the 20 Silver Order Wardens who were transferred there.

At this moment, Xiang Liang followed behind his superior Hou Ming with a nervous expression. Beside him were Bai Shanning and twenty-two other Silver Order Wardens, followed by over a hundred Iron Order Wardens. The group of over a hundred people were fully armed and were heading towards a house on the inner side of the North Fifth District.

The reason why the atmosphere in the North Fifth District suddenly became so tense was because all one hundred-plus prison wardens were mobilized at the same time.

"The entire prison warden has been mobilized. What are they up to?"

"Something serious must have happened; it must be a murder!"

"Does a murder case really require so many people to be mobilized? It's not like this hasn't happened before; many people have died in one go."

"Perhaps, let's follow them and see!"

…………

Many pedestrians along the street, seeing so many jailers mobilized at the same time, immediately guessed that something big had happened. Some timid people went straight back to their homes, but there were also some bold ones who not only discussed it but even followed the jailers' procession, intending to watch the excitement.

"That Chu Yan'er has a problem? How could she possibly have a problem!"

However, at this moment, Xiang Liang, whose face was filled with anxiety, had no interest in paying attention to those outsiders.

He was completely stunned when he received a message from the Chief Prisoner Hou Ming at the prison office, saying that Chu Yan'er and her group of seven were all in trouble.

Meeting Chu Yan'er was a complete accident. On the 19th of last month, while escorting Mu Longhe back from Hongmen, they unexpectedly encountered Chu Yan'er and her group again on the way from Baiyang to Songyangling. Moreover, the group was engaged in a fierce battle with two high-level Snow Ridge Foxes. If this were outside the territory, they could ignore it, but it was definitely not acceptable within the Great Xia territory.

So he joined Xiang Wentian, Bai Shanning, and the others in the attack.

Logically speaking, with Xiang Fuhai present, there was no need for them to take action against the two high-level Snow Mountain Foxes. It was only because Xiang Fuhai intentionally trained his grandson Xiang Wentian that the five of them had the opportunity to act.

After rescuing the seven people, they learned that in order to get to Xia City as soon as possible, they did not take the straight road and were unfamiliar with the road conditions, so they accidentally entered the hunting area of ​​Songyang Ridge, which is why they were targeted by two high-level snow foxes.

The seven rescued people were naturally extremely grateful to them. When they learned that the rescuers were also returning to Xia City, they immediately begged to go with them.

Having already checked the information of these seven people in Qinghepu, Xiang Liang, Bai Shanning, and the others didn't suspect anything and agreed.

During the process of driving away the two Snow Mountain Foxes, Xiang Liang personally rescued Chu Yan'er, the only woman among the seven. Chu Yan'er was very enthusiastic towards him and kept trying to talk to him on the way back to Xia City. Over time, the two became acquainted.

What happened next took a dramatic turn!
Despite her unremarkable appearance, Chu Yan'er possesses exquisite painting skills that even Bai Yunzi, the chief painter of the Craftsmen's Department, admires. She has made a great name for herself in Xia City in just a few days.

Just then, Xiang Liang was transferred to the North Fifth District by Hou Ming, and the two became even closer. Moreover, because of the life-saving grace, Chu Yan'er not only gave him a large sum of silver, but also specially painted a portrait of his wife, Wang Yuxiu, for free.

He also lived in the inner city. When he learned that Madam Yuan was going to celebrate the birthday of her eldest son, Yuan Shao, and needed to find a skilled painter, he introduced Chu Yan'er to Madam Yuan out of a sense of reciprocity.

Who would have thought that this introduction would cause such a big incident!
"Chu Yan'er and her group of seven are all in serious trouble, and have even alarmed the lord. Chu Yan'er has already been arrested at the Yuan residence and is currently being held in the main hall of the prison department. The magistrate just gave the order for us to quickly arrest the remaining six."

These are the words Hou Ming just said when he summoned them at the prison warden.

How could Xiang Liang not be filled with trepidation at this moment!
Despite his anxiety, he dared not ask any more questions and could only follow behind Hou Ming. Soon, the group of prison guards arrived at the door of the house where Chu Yan'er and her group of seven were staying.

"Surround it up!"

Although the houses in the North Fifth District were specifically for rent to outsiders, they were still built according to the regulations of the other districts, all measuring 10 meters by 10 meters, considering that they would still be needed when the city expands in the future.

At Hou Ming's command, more than a hundred Wardens of the Cold Resistance level immediately dispersed, some jumping onto the courtyard wall, some pushing open the door, some going around to the back of the house, and some even jumping up to the second floor, quickly surrounding the entire house.

"Chu Dongning, Chen Qing, He Yang, Zhu Dong, Chen Yu, and Chen Huang, your companion Chu Yan'er attempted to commit treason within the inner city and has been personally apprehended by Yuan Sizheng of the Jurisdiction Department. I, the Chief Executioner, advise you six to surrender immediately and come with me to the Prison Warden. As long as you honestly explain your origins and purposes, I, the Chief Executioner, will not make things difficult for you!" Hou Ming finished speaking and waved to all the prison wardens.

laugh…………

More than a hundred jailers, including Xiang Liang, quickly took down their divine crossbows, nocked arrows, drew their bows, and aimed into the room.

Whoosh...

"Did Director Yuan catch it himself?"

"They're getting serious now."

"There must be 150 prison wardens, all of them at the Cold Resistance level!"

"Look at the leader, the warden Hou Ming, some people say that his strength is at least level 24, and he is basically unmatched in the entire North Fifth District!"

"Those 23 Silver Order Wardens almost all have strength of 8 or above."

"There are also skilled fighters with eight manes among the Iron Order Wardens!"

More than 150 prison guards drew their bows and nocked arrows, standing ready in such a tense atmosphere that the onlookers were immediately astonished.

Almost all of the people in the North Fifth District who were equipped with cold-weather gear came from various village-level camps. Their perspectives were not as broad as those of people in towns. To them, the scene in front of them was already quite frightening.

"The seven of us come from small places in the outer regions, and we've only been living in Xia City for a month. It's one thing for Great Xia to arrest people for no reason, but they're even trying to smear us. So this is your camp's so-called 'openness to the outside world,' how laughable!"

A slightly angry middle-aged man's voice suddenly came from inside the house.

Upon hearing these words, Hou Ming immediately realized that the other party was deliberately saying them for the others to hear, and his expression instantly darkened.

"Whether it's an unwarranted arrest or not, the six of you just need to come with me to the prison to confront them. In full view of everyone, even if I wanted to smear you, it wouldn't be so easy."

"Heh, once we're in the prison, will we even have a chance to argue?"

"Fire arrows and break down the gate!"

Hou Ming realized he couldn't let the other party continue talking, so he simply ordered his men to fire arrows and break down the door.

boom…………

Hundreds of iron arrows were fired simultaneously, and the house's gate was immediately knocked down.

"All Silver Order Wardens, follow me inside to arrest them!"

Remembering what Xia Chuan had just said—that all six of them had been hiding their strength—Hou Ming didn't let the others rush in. Instead, he ordered the 23 Silver Token Wardens to follow him in first.

He drew his long sword and charged straight in, followed closely by 23 others.

Bangdang...

The door was flung open, and Hou Ming, along with 23 Silver Order Wardens, were instantly dumbfounded as they burst into the inner room.

The room was completely empty; there was clearly no one there.

"no one?"

"They were just talking, how did they suddenly disappear!"

"The house was only this big, is it really gone?"

"Could there be a secret passage?"

"What a joke! All the houses in Xia City were built by the Craftsmen's Department. Besides, who could secretly build a tunnel in the city without anyone noticing?"

………………

As the group of prison wardens exclaimed in surprise, Hou Ming's gaze suddenly fell on the wall of the main hall.

There were a total of sixteen paintings hanging on the wall, fifteen of which were portraits, and only one was a landscape painting.

The landscape painting depicted a snow-covered forest at night. Countless towering trees covered in white snow resembled white iron towers standing firm and unmoving in the wind. The details in the painting were extremely realistic. Not only were the gray-white snow on the ground in the foreground clear, but even the figures of cold beasts on the trees in the distance were clearly visible.

"The place in this painting looks like Redwood Ridge?"

"It's Redwood Ridge, and the trees there are all perfectly straight!"

"Isn't that the Golden Frost Tree? The Frost Beasts like to dwell on the Golden Frost Tree. The details match up perfectly. It's Redwood Ridge!"

…………

Upon hearing his subordinate's words, Hou Ming frowned, stepped forward and took down the landscape painting, then ordered the crowd, "Collect all the paintings here, and have Xiang Liang deliver them to the Inner City Prison Department building."

"I obey my orders!"

Upon hearing this, Xiang Liang quickly cupped his hands in agreement, his heart skipping a beat.

When he first arrived, he was a little skeptical, but now that six living people had disappeared in full view of everyone, he could no longer believe it. There was definitely something seriously wrong with Chu Yan'er and her group of seven!

"Judging by these methods, they might be involved with supernatural beings. We're doomed!"

………………

Inner City, Prison Department Main Hall
In a side room, Chu Yan'er sat at a table, holding a black paintbrush and painting with a focused expression.

She seemed oblivious to Xia Chuan's furrowed brows and showed no sign of panic at being imprisoned; her expression was calm, and there was even a faint smile on her lips.

She suddenly put down her paintbrush, looked up at Xia Chuan with a smile, and said, "Xia Chuan, there's no need to waste your time. I won't say anything unless Lord Xia Hong comes. It's already a shame that you tricked me into revealing my background. You think you can get any more information from me? Absolutely not!"

Chu Yan'er smiled, but if you listened carefully, you could hear a hint of annoyance in her tone. She was clearly still upset that Xia Chuan had tricked her into revealing her true identity.

Xia Chuan's already furrowed brows deepened, and he said coldly, "Miss Chu, infiltrating the inner city and attacking members of my Great Xia clan is no small crime. Your identity as a Chencang native is probably of no use in my Great Xia. You should..."

"If you want to see me, don't hide!"

Xia Chuan was interrupted by a voice before he could finish speaking.

"Meet the lord!"

The newcomer was dressed in black; he was Xia Hong, who had just awakened from his cultivation state after receiving Xia Chuan's report at the Star-Picking Hall.

Xia Hong first waved for Xia Chuan to stand up, then turned to look at Chu Yan'er, a slight hint of annoyance on his face.

Just as he was about to go into seclusion to cultivate, he received a message from Xia Chuan saying that Chu Yan'er, who came from Chencang, would only speak to him after seeing him in person.

Xia Hong originally didn't want to come, but thinking that he could get the route to Chencang from this girl, he decided to come anyway.

It really did come from Chencang!
When Chu Yan'er looked at him, there was no respect in her eyes, and her expression was more like that of someone scrutinizing him. This alone was enough for Xia Hong to confirm that she came from Chencang.

Even after confirming this, Xia Hong's mood did not improve at all, so he looked at her with a blank expression.

Chu Yan'er remained calm. After putting away her paintbrush, she touched the area behind her ear with her right hand and then pulled hard.

tear…………

Her face was covered by a mask as thin as paper.

As the mask was removed, her true appearance was fully revealed.

Compared to her original plain face, Chu Yan'er's true appearance can be described as stunningly beautiful. As long as Li Xuanling is not used as a comparison, it is unlikely that anyone in the entire Xia City could be more beautiful than her.

Of course, being good-looking is secondary.

The key is her demeanor. The moment Chu Yan'er revealed her true face, a hint of arrogance immediately appeared on her brows. The mediocrity she had previously feigned vanished in an instant, and her every move exuded the aura of a superior.

"With a strength of 51, judging from her appearance, she's probably no more than 20. Add to that her drawing skills, and this girl's status in Chencang must be quite high!"

Of course, Xia Hong didn't care about Chu Yan'er's appearance; he was more concerned with the true strength she was displaying at that moment.

"Chen Cang Chu Yan'er greets Lord Xia Hong. I took some precautions to avoid trouble while traveling, and I hope Lord Xia Hong will forgive me!"

He said he was sorry, but there wasn't a trace of apology in his eyes.

Xia Hong didn't want to waste time playing games with the other party, so he waved his hand and said, "Now that you've seen me, say what you want to say!"

Chu Yan'er was stunned, clearly not expecting Xia Hong to react this way, but she was not annoyed. After thinking for a moment, she cupped her hands and said, "Lord Xia Hong, a calamity is coming to the Great Xia. I'm afraid your Xia people are about to face a great disaster!"

Xia Hong frowned, looked up at her, and said, "Continue!"

"According to Yan'er's speculation, the demonic dragon at the bottom of Qinghepu Lake is either a Celestial Realm Venerable-level Frost Beast or a Calamity-level Demon. Regardless of the possibility, once it awakens, let alone the Great Xia family, even if all nine towns were to unite, they would probably not be its match. At that time, the entire southern slope of Mo'ao would surely be devastated..."

At this point, Chu Yan'er paused, looking up at Xia Hong's increasingly serious expression. A glint of light flashed in her eyes as she continued, "Yan'er has spent quite some time in the Nine Towns, and I must admit, Lord Xia Hong is a man of great talent and ambition, a true hero. It is truly admirable that Great Xia has developed to such a powerful state in just ten years. If Great Xia were given more time, dealing with that demonic dragon would certainly be a piece of cake. However…"

"Can your Lord Fang help me slay that demonic dragon?"

Suddenly interrupted by Xia Hong, Chu Yan'er was stunned for a moment. She then looked up at Xia Hong and found that there was no mockery on his face. He was obviously asking the question sincerely. She immediately lowered her head and fell into deep thought.

After a moment, she raised her head and said sincerely, "To be honest, Lord Xia Hong, it's not feasible at the moment, but as long as..."

"Then there's no need for further nonsense. I roughly understand what you want to say. We'll discuss it further when your Lord Fang is capable of helping me deal with that demonic dragon. Also..."

Xia Hong paused, then suddenly smiled and said, "Young lady, you have good talent. Your painting skills must have come from the monsters. Coupled with your good background, given time, you will surely have a bright future. However..."

As he spoke the last two words, Xia Hong's tone suddenly turned somber. He then changed the subject and continued, "With your current strength and status, you're not qualified to come here and say these things to me. It would be more appropriate for your parents to come. As for infiltrating Xia City and using your drawing skills to attack a group of children in my Great Xia who are not even ten years old, that's even more inexcusable..."

Noticing Xia Hong's sudden surge in aura, Chu Yan'er's face immediately showed surprise. Without thinking, she rushed towards the painting on the table.

A magical scene happened!

The moment Chu Yan'er lunged at the painting, she vanished completely.

To be precise, it was as if the painting connected to some other dimension, enveloping her entirely within it.

"Lord Xia Hong, there's no need to be so temperamental. Your Great Xia may indeed have some strength, but it's nothing in front of Chen Cang. That demonic dragon could awaken at any time. Yan'er advises you to make plans as soon as possible!"

The moment Chu Yan'er completely disappeared, she left behind a sentence, her tone tinged with anger, clearly indicating that she was somewhat upset about Xia Hong's actions.

Watching Chu Yan'er completely disappear from the room, Xia Hong did not show any surprise on his face. He simply walked slowly to the table, looked down at the familiar snowy forest landscape in the painting, and his left eye flickered slightly.

"They left some tricks behind?"

After Chu Yan'er disappeared, Xia Hong wasn't the only one who didn't show surprise on his face; Xia Chuan was the same. Upon hearing the question, a smile immediately appeared on his face, and he nodded and said, "When I captured her at the Yuan residence, I left puppet threads on her body. Letting her paint here was to see what she was up to."

This woman has already shown off her painting skills at the Yuan residence. If Xia Chuan really wanted to completely control her, how could he not be wary of this tactic and let her paint in front of him?

He let her go for two reasons: first, to see what she was up to; and second, because he deliberately let her go, as his puppet threads were interconnected and could track her down as soon as she returned to Chencang.

Xia Hong already knew what was going on when he received the notification, which is why he deliberately released his aura just now to force Chu Yan'er to show her true abilities.

Sizzle...

The painting on the table suddenly emitted a faint hissing sound, and then spontaneously combusted, burning to ashes.

"Escape directly from the painting is a spatial ability. This girl is indeed quite capable. If nothing unexpected happens, those six probably escaped as well."

Hearing Xia Hong's words, Xia Chuan nodded slightly at first, but quickly smiled and shook his head, saying, "Arrogant, self-important, and full of arrogance in his words and actions, he's just a younger, more talented version of Yang Ning..."

Upon hearing this assessment, Xia Hong chuckled twice.

To be honest, putting everything else aside, just looking at the relationships between the characters and the content of the dialogue, this scene just now was exactly the same as when Yang Ning came to Hongmuling ten years ago.

In some ways, this little girl is indeed a larger version of Yang Ning.

"Hmm, this little girl's skills don't seem to be that great!"

Suddenly, Xia Hong sensed something, and a strange look appeared in his eyes.

"Looks like we don't need to wait for her to return to Chencang!"

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(End of this chapter)