Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 476 Little Dragon Leader Ji Hong, ranked first on the Heavenly Ranking, how is this possible?

On the eastern outskirts of Luhe Valley, nestled between two unnamed hills, lies a secluded and deep ravine.

There is usually no wind in the valley. The ravine is only a dozen meters wide from north to south and is hidden between two mountains. Not to mention wind, even the airflow comes slowly from the eastern slope. The entire ravine is empty and silent, extremely quiet.

"Windless Valley, is this the place where you previously discussed starting your uprising?"

Xia Hong landed from the sky and saw dozens of empty iron-wheeled carts in the valley. He immediately guessed the purpose of the place.

"The lord is astute, recognizing it at a glance. The weapons and armor used in this uprising were all purchased from the black market by the Frostfire Society's Smoke Ridge headquarters. We began transporting the weapons and armor here back in September. As for the follow-up..."

Jiang Xinfan recounted the entire process of the uprising, from planning to formal preparations, to contacting and discussing with the branch leaders, and finally to the final decision and execution. He even gave a general account of the Frost Ashes Society's accounts.

"Yanling Headquarters, you and Ji Hong are now both inside. Have you met the head of the headquarters, and what about the six dragon heads of the main altar?"

"My lord, please forgive me, this is the power of the Frostfire Guild..."

Jiang Xinfan did not answer Xia Hong's question directly. Instead, he first sighed before answering: "I only arrived in Chencang in mid-March this year. In May, with Ji Hong's cooperation, I joined the Frost Ash Society. It is understandable that I have not met the Grand Master and the Dragon Head since I have only been a member for a short time."

But Ji Hong is different. According to him, he joined the society three years ago, and in November of that year, he performed a remarkable feat during the Blood Miasma Plains trial in Chencang. Last year, he was jointly recommended by the four Dragon Leaders to become a Junior Dragon Leader of the Frostfire Society. But to this day, he hasn't even seen many people from the Yanling headquarters, let alone the Six Dragon Leaders, much less the Grand Master.

Could someone who could thrive under Chen Cang's nose be a simple character?

Xia Hong showed no surprise at the answer, but quickly grasped the key information in Jiang Xinfan's words. He raised an eyebrow and asked with curiosity, "What extraordinary feat did Ji Hong accomplish?"

"The lord has been trapped in the Blood Miasma Plains for almost two years, no wonder he doesn't know. In November of the year before last, the monsters launched a counterattack, and the Chencang and Caiqiu vassal states suffered heavy losses..."

Jiang Xinfan recounted to Xia Hong the entire story of the 37-day-long monster counterattack in the Blood Miasma Plains two years ago.

Although Xia Hong had been out of the Blood Miasma Plains for more than two months, he had been staying in Qingwu Village to heal his injuries. Zhang Qinggu, a slave of the sixth rank in the slave village, would not have known about this news.

Cai Qiu's army suffered nearly 100,000 casualties, including 30,000 of the most elite Silver Scale Army, and a total of 41 Xianyang-level experts died.
Chencang, as the main target of the monsters' counterattack, suffered an even worse fate, with more than 100,000 soldiers killed and 51 Xianyang-level experts dying.

The crucial point is that the miasma has returned with a vengeance, advancing forcefully six kilometers northward. The area that the two major warlords had painstakingly cleared was once again shrouded in bloody miasma, meaning that more than two years of hard work had been wasted.

Upon hearing the news of the strange counterattack that had caused such enormous losses to Chencang and Caiqiu, Xia Hong's heart was quickly filled with turbulent emotions. After pondering for a moment, his expression turned to a mixture of joy and surprise.

The good news goes without saying: the heavy losses suffered by the two vassal states are naturally the best thing for both the Great Xia and the Great Xia. What is alarming, of course, is the terrifying strength of the monsters in the Blood Miasma Plain.

However, he did not interrupt Jiang Xinfan and continued to listen to him.

"The losses of the two vassal states are not limited to these. While those monsters from the Blood Mist Plains lured out the beast tide to deal with the main army, they also sent out a Xuanbing Dao Monster to secretly infiltrate the trial area and cause an ice disaster, directly or indirectly killing more than 1,600 disciples of the two vassal states, almost wiping out their geniuses..."

Xia Hong was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, a hint of sadness appearing in his eyes, but it quickly disappeared as he continued listening to Jiang Xinfan's next words.

"In fact, the number of deaths among the trial disciples of the two vassal states was not so high at the beginning. There were more than 800 in Caiqiu and less than 500 in Chencang, which should be more than 1300. However, only more than 160 disciples from Chencang survived, so more than 300 trial disciples actually disappeared and their deaths were not confirmed."

Strangely, Chen Cang dispatched a large number of Xianyang-level cultivators to search the trial area, but they couldn't find the three hundred-plus disciples. It wasn't until May of last year, when the Frost Ashes Society announced the whereabouts of the three hundred-plus disciples, that everyone finally understood what had happened.

"Ji Hong also participated in the Chencang trial. He killed all three hundred-plus Chencang disciples. It was because of this achievement that the Frostfire Society appointed him as the Little Dragon Leader, right?"

Jiang Xinfan was somewhat immune to Xia Hong's reaction speed at this point. He didn't even show any surprise on his face. He just nodded and then a look of surprise appeared in his eyes as he said, "I only came to Chencang in March this year. To be honest, Lord, I was also quite surprised when I first heard about this."

Ji Hong was brought to Chencang by Chen Yiqing in the ninth year of the Great Xia Dynasty. According to Si Cheng before I came to Chencang to infiltrate, his strength was less than 10 when he left the Great Xia Dynasty.

In just over a year, he single-handedly killed more than 300 Chencang trial disciples. When I first came to Chencang, I was even worried that he might have been possessed by a monster. I tested him thoroughly and only dared to contact him after confirming that he was alright.

After I found out more, I understood why he was able to lure and kill so many talented young men from Chencang…

Jiang Xinfan paused here, a strange expression on his face, before continuing, "While there was the factor of my own strength, ultimately, it was all thanks to that Xuanbing Daogui..."

Ji Hong was at 42 manes strength at the time. With the addition of the Holy Rune and martial arts, his maximum strength could reach 71 manes. This strength was enough to rank him among the top 100 geniuses of the two vassal states, but it was not enough to kill more than 300 people.

The main problem was the cold current domain created by the Xuanbing Daogui, which panicked most of the Chencang disciples, and only a very few had the means to resist it.

But Ji Hong was different. Holding the yellow candle, he was not afraid of the cold at all. In addition, most of the Chencang disciples did not guard against him. He would kill the weak ones directly, and lure the strong ones to kill them. In this way, he actually killed three or four hundred people.

"Chen Cang didn't believe it at first, thinking it was just a trick by Shuang Jin to bluff people. But later, he really found the more than three hundred burned corpses of Chen Cang disciples in a collapsed cave in the trial area. He was furious and immediately issued a warrant for their arrest in the four vassal states. Ji Hong, the Little Dragon Leader, is now probably only slightly less famous in Mo Aochuan than you, Lord."

It already had 42 manes two years ago!

Xia Hong's eyes lit up slightly. Ignoring Jiang Xinfan's last sentence, he asked with interest, "What is Ji Hong's current strength?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xinfan's face immediately showed a hint of appreciation, and he replied, "His basic strength is already 58, which means he can start to break through to the Manifest Yang level. However, this kid hates Chen Cang to the core and is very ambitious. He insists on reaching 60 before he will attempt to break through, and I can't persuade him otherwise."

Chen Cang was so angry he wanted to grind his teeth...

Xia Hong immediately thought of Ji Jiang and couldn't help but sigh softly. There is no hatred without a cause in this world. Ji Hong's act of luring and killing more than 300 talented young men from Chencang will naturally be viewed differently depending on one's position. But no matter how you look at it, it is all a chain reaction triggered by Ji Jiang's death. I just wonder if Chen Yiqing will regret what he did at Hongmen if he learns the truth one day.

"You just said that Ji Hong's fame is only slightly less than mine. How come you know about my fake identity?"

The name Hong Yu is not hard to guess, especially since Ji Hong is an elder of the Great Xia Dynasty, he should be able to guess it at a glance. Xia Hong guessed that Jiang Xinfan must have learned about his alias from Ji Hong and then seen the list of Heavenly Rankings, otherwise he would not have said that just now.

His guess was correct, but not entirely.

Jiang Xinfan smiled and said, "It seems that the lord has not paid much attention to the major events of the four vassal states recently. Just at the beginning of October, in the latest ranking of the four vassal states, Hong Yu, the heir of the Great Qin, has already ranked first."

At this point, Jiang Xinfan remembered something, quickly took out a book from his person, opened it to the first page, and showed it to Xia Hong.

[First place on the Heavenly Ranking: Star River Sword Saint Hong Yu, heir of a Qin Dynasty vassal state, peak cultivation of the Manifestation Yang Realm, age unknown. In the 299th year of the Caiqiu calendar, he pursued and killed the Crimson Gold Demon Tiger, a Five Elements Realm cultivator, in the depths of the Blood Miasma Plains south of Chencang.]

Similar to Li Dingyang, the previous number one on the Heavenly Ranking, there was no specific description of his strength, only his battle record: chasing down the Golden Fire Twin-Element Five-Element Crimson Gold Demon Tiger. This single, convincing statement was enough.

Chu Tianxu recognized him, and he did it so quickly!

As soon as Xia Hong saw the description on the list, he knew that it was Chu Tianxu's doing, and his brows furrowed slightly.

He wasn't afraid of attracting attention with his success, but the problem was that being ranked number one on the Heavenly Ranking should be enough to attract the attention of the four regional governors. By that logic, would the governor of Lulong also take notice?

If the four regional governors also become interested in him and the Qin vassal state he fabricated, and actually put in the effort to verify it, then his false identity will definitely not be able to be concealed.

"It's not a very troublesome matter..."

Xia Hong's brows furrowed slightly at first, but quickly relaxed.

He will soon be leaving the territory of the four fiefdoms, so the authenticity of his identity is no longer important. It's only the beginning of November, and Jiang Xinfan just said that he was on the list in October. It's only been a month, so there's still a long time. Whether Fang Bo has seen it or not is still uncertain, and even if he has, it will take time to verify.

After asking Ji Hong and Chen Cang about their situation, Xia Hong turned to Jiang Xinfan, a smile slowly appearing on his face, and said, "Tell me about the situation in the Nine Towns! Jiangxia and Muyin haven't been completely incorporated into Great Xia yet, have they?"

Xia Hong has a system, so he can see that the total population of Great Xia has been steadily increasing over the past two years without experiencing any explosive growth. Therefore, the two major vassal states have definitely not been completely incorporated into Great Xia yet.

However, Jiang Xinfan did indeed refer to himself as "Lord," and his coming to Chencang was definitely Li Xuanling and Xia Chuan's idea, most likely to find him.

I came to Mo'aochuan in August of the ninth year of the Great Xia Dynasty. It was more than a year before last, and then I was trapped in the Blood Miasma Plain for 20 months. In total, it was more than three years.

This has completely exceeded the time he had originally planned, and Li Xuanling and Xia Chuan must be worried.

Three years have passed. If it were someone else, they probably wouldn't be able to explain the situation in the nine towns even after talking for days and nights. But it was Jiang Xinfan who did.

Jiang Xinfan had served as the town's chieftain for decades, having served under both his father, Jiang Yinglong, and his senior brother, Xiahou Zhang. Upon hearing this question, he knew almost without thinking what Xia Hong wanted to know.

It began in the ninth year of the Great Xia Dynasty when Cai Shiqi, the heir of Caiqiu, organized a mass exoneration ceremony.
By May of the tenth year, the Chuishan Rift had occurred, and the Nine Towns had officially formed an alliance, designating Caiqiu Yinhe Valley and Beishuo Dongchuan as the alliance's jointly governed territory. They built cities in the two places and stationed 15,000 allied troops in each place.
Then last year, Chencang and Caiqiu each sent more than a dozen Xianyang-level beings to the three northern towns, and began to win over the other towns, sow discord among them, and try to dismantle the alliance.
Finally, at the end of last year, Ji Hong took advantage of the opportunity when someone went to Chencang to plant a trusted confidant who relayed some information about Chencang and the news of Xia Hong's disappearance in the Blood Miasma Plain back to Da Xia. This is how Jiang Xinfan was able to lead eight Cold-resistant level warriors through the Nine-Bend Blood Corridor to Chencang.

"Last November, when the Lady, the Minister, and the other officials learned of the Lord's disappearance, they were extremely anxious and almost came over in person. However, the Xianyang-level officials sent by the Chencang and Caiqiu vassals were pressing too hard, and Xiacheng could not do without them. So, it was only in March of this year that they sent their subordinates over, instructing me to cooperate with Ji Hong and to find the Lord at all costs."

Hearing the news of his disappearance and how worried his wife and brother were, Xia Hong couldn't help but regret his rash actions.

Not only do I regret it, but I'm also a little scared!
Thankfully, the two of them kept their composure. If they had really come looking for him, a whole bunch of people would have rushed to Mo'aochuan. If something had happened in Xia City, it would have been too late to regret it.

"It must be because of the sect spirit tablet. Although they knew I had disappeared in the Blood Miasma Plains, my sect leader's spirit tablet has been hanging in the sect temple. Xuanling, Xia Chuan, and the others all know I am still alive, so they were able to stay calm and not come here to look for me. The sect spirit tablet has done a great service this time..."

Leaving aside Xia Hong's inner thoughts, Jiang Xinfan's side continued:
"Last year, Chencang and Caiqiu sent a large number of Xianyang-level troops to the three northern towns to sow discord among the nine towns and try to break the alliance without a fight. Jiangxia, Muyin and Chuishan were their key targets for dismantling."

In fact, Si Cheng had already decided at the beginning of last year to formally merge the three towns into the Great Xia. However, due to the involvement of the two major vassal states, he was worried that a hasty merger would arouse the vigilance of Yangqu Longgu and give the three northern towns a pretext for criticism. Therefore, Si Cheng chose to take a step back and only allowed the high-level officials and core personnel of the three towns to merge first. His subordinates were naturally among the first batch and had been living in Xia City for more than a year.

The officials, my senior brother, Lord Mu, and Lord Murong are all quite famous in the Nine Garrisons. I estimate that the garrison commanders have long been aware of the situation. Madam is worried that if they come to Chencang, they will be recognized.

"I was fortunate enough to receive five Heavenly Yang Pills as a reward from the Chief Clerk. During the Cold Yuan Festival in January this year, I broke through to the Manifest Yang level. I haven't shown my face anywhere else yet. Besides my senior brother, only my wife, the Chief Clerk, and a few other officials know about my breakthrough. After much consideration, my wife sent me to Chencang."

The amount of information contained in Jiang Xinfan's words was enormous.

Xia Hong's face instantly lit up with excitement, and he couldn't help but ask directly, "Since I left Xia City, how many people have broken through to the Manifestation Yang level?"

"19!"

Upon hearing this answer, Xia Hong's expression froze instantly, then his face was filled with disbelief and shock, and he couldn't help but ask a question in return.

"Nineteen? How is that possible?"

　Let's take a break on the first day of the lunar new year, and tomorrow will be auspicious!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)