Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 584 Gold and First Encounter

"The shortest period for a dragon to molt is a hundred years. You will be dormant for at least several decades. Don't try to fool this humble monk. You'd better hand over your dragon body!"

Inside the main hall, Xia Hong walked to the vicinity of the high platform and looked at the crimson dragon wrapped around the golden pillar. The first thing that came to his mind was what Master Wusheng had said five years ago when he controlled the blood dragon's body.

Master Wusheng said these words at Chilong Lake. At that time, he was attacking the opponent's true form on Ba Shang, so he did not hear it with his own ears. Rather, it was told to him by the Xia people who were present that day, as well as Mulonghe and other Xianyang-level people who later switched allegiance to the Great Xia.

"The camps around Qinghepu are not well-established and there is no evidence to support our claims. We can only find some clues from the oral traditions passed down in the three villages. This demonic dragon probably came about fifty years ago. According to Master Wusheng, its dragon transformation period is at least forty years away."

Now that we know his true location, and with about forty years to go, we'll have to put some thought into how to completely resolve this problem…”

The true form of the demonic dragon is right in front of us. Five years ago, it was manipulated by Master Wusheng but never fully awakened. Judging from this alone, dealing with this dragon body doesn't seem to be a difficult task.

But the reality is far from that!

Xia Hong carried the Yangxu Cauldron. As soon as he entered the palace, he noticed that this demonic dragon, along with the entire golden palace, did not have any strange aura. This basically confirmed that the demonic dragon in front of him was not a monster, but a cold beast of unknown level.

In fact, judging from the strength it displayed five years ago, this demonic dragon was at most a Five Elements Realm Beast King. The problem is that it was in a dormant state at that time, and it was forcibly awakened and controlled by Master Wusheng. Considering that when it was besieged by fifteen Manifestation Yang Realm cultivators, it basically did not show any autonomy from beginning to end. It was just a dragon body without consciousness that could display such strength. Then the true realm of this demonic dragon is even more hard to say.

and……

"You little brat from Lingyin Mountain, even your revered master, the Five Treasures Tathagata, has to kowtow and pay homage to me. How dare you even think of taking my dragon body? Get out of my body right now!"

Many people heard what the demon dragon said five years ago, but Xia Hong only learned about it from other people later.

Regardless of whether these words are true or false, it can be basically concluded that, like the Demon Lord of Qishan in the Dark Realm whom we heard about from the monsters before, this Five Treasures Tathagata of Lingyin Mountain is also an extremely powerful being among the monsters.

The fact that the demon dragon could recognize the Lingyin Mountain faction behind it through Master Wusheng clearly indicates that its origins are not simple, further proving that its strength must be extraordinary.

Among the beings in the Ice Abyss, the contrast between strong and weak is extremely obvious. For example, a cultivator at the Cold Resistance level has undergone a complete reshaping of their skin membrane, greatly enhancing their defensive capabilities. A person at the Earth Digging level would have no chance of breaking through their defenses unless they were wielding a weapon that exceeded their own strength level.

This is even more true for cold beasts!
For example, even with his Eye of Truth activated, Xia Hong was unable to penetrate the dragon's skin and see inside its body. This proved that the dragon's physical strength far exceeded his imagination.

“I’ve encountered quite a few Five Elements Realm Beast Kings, and none of them could withstand the scrutiny of the Eye of Truth-Seeing. This means that this demonic dragon’s strength is at least at the Celestial Phenomenon Realm, which is a Venerable-level Frost Beast, equivalent to a Venerable Phase Realm expert in humans…”

The sleeping dragon was still breathing, its tail scales trembling slightly with its deep, slow breaths. Xia Hong took a deep breath, a shadow rising in his eyes. His right hand, resting on the hilt of the Cold Blood Blade, twitched slightly, but he ultimately suppressed the impulse in his heart.

He wasn't sure!
While the Frostblood Blade is effective in suppressing cold beasts, the demonic dragon before them is, after all, a genuine Venerable-level cold beast, and possibly even higher. If they were to attack rashly now, and fail to break through its skin, or if the Frostblood Blade were to break through but not be able to unleash its usual power, they might end up awakening the demonic dragon prematurely instead of killing it.

That would have dire consequences!
At this moment, Li Xuanling and the two children had already been sent out. After all, the origin of this golden palace was unknown, and he still didn't understand why Li Longyu had lured him here. Just in case, he sent Li Xuanling and the other two out through the pool in advance.

Unable to deal with the demonic dragon for the time being, Xia Hong simply stopped worrying about it, bypassed the golden pillar on the high platform, and walked towards the back.

Upon reaching the back and seeing the scene before him, Xia Hong's breath caught in his throat, and a surge of surprise and shock rose in his eyes.

Behind the platform, there is a square 20 meters long and 10 meters wide, on which are piled more than twenty gold mountains of various sizes.

That's right, it's Kingsoft, Kingsoft in the real sense!

Xia Hong has been in the Ice Abyss for almost twenty years and has never seen gold before, but this does not affect his ability to recognize it. Not only the twenty mountains of gold in front of him, but also the golden palace he is currently in should contain a large amount of gold.

"After searching for so many years, I got it in such an easy way..."

A hint of unreality flashed in Xia Hong's eyes. He slowly walked to the nearest gold mountain, grabbed a fist-sized gold nugget, and his mind stirred slightly.

【资源：木108亿、煤87亿、铁78亿、银6亿、金412】

"As expected, the conversion rate of gold is 1:1, but this density is too exaggerated. It's at least five times that of silver and ten times that of iron!"

A fist-sized iron ingot weighs about 40 jin (20 catties), a silver ingot weighs more than 80 jin (40 kg), and a gold ingot weighs more than 400 jin (200 catties).

The gold in Xia Hong's hand had disappeared. Looking at the gold resources in the system, which had been at 0 units for a long time, now soaring to 412, his pupils were filled with joy. Looking at the more than twenty gold mountains in front of him, his expression was extremely shocked.

Even though he sensed that the gold had other special properties, Xia Hong didn't dare waste any time and began collecting the rest of the gold without hesitation.

Gold 2155821

215 million jin!

Who would have thought that after worrying about gold for so many years, they would suddenly gain 215 million jin in such a muddled way?

Xia Hong was excited and his heart was trembling.

Of the nine buildings in the system, only gold is needed to upgrade them further. Looking back at previous building upgrades, which one didn't bring about a leapfrog development for the Great Xia?
The key is that gold has more than just the function of upgrading buildings. Whether as a high-grade raw material for refining weapons or medicine, its role in the Great Xia Dynasty is absolutely immeasurable.

Looking at the twenty-four golden mountains behind him, Xia Hong's eyes lit up with excitement. Without hesitation, he walked to the second one and quickly began to convert and collect the gold.

However, Xia Hong did not notice that just as he was gleefully collecting the gold, the blood-red dragon tail at the base of the high platform pillar emitted a barely perceptible tremor.

Soon, Xia Hong had seized half of the second gold mine, and the system's gold resources had exceeded 350 million.

But at that moment, he suddenly stopped moving, his brows furrowed, a cold glint flashed in his eyes, he drew the Bloodstained Blade from his waist, and quickly ran towards the innermost golden mountain.

Bang………

"It has a higher density than silver, so it is naturally harder, but it can also maintain such high toughness. It is indeed a high-grade resource. If it can be used to make armor, the strength of the Xia army will definitely increase several times!"

The Frostblood Blade cleaved the mountain of gold in two, scattering countless gold nuggets. Xia Hong immediately sensed the unique properties of the gold material, sighed slightly in his heart, then turned his gaze to a corner of the hall and sneered, "Trying to play tricks on me? Show your true colors!"

"A mid-stage Xianyang cultivation level, yet possessing such strength... It seems you are none other than Lord Xia Hong, the ruler of the Great Xia Dynasty, who recently defeated Cai Qiu three times and whose name resounds throughout Mo'aochuan..."

Not long after the words were spoken, a clear and charming voice suddenly rang out from the corner, and then a woman in white appeared out of nowhere, slowly materializing at the spot where the voice rang out.

Invisibility wasn't exactly a special skill; Xia Hong had encountered quite a few strange creatures already. But to remain invisible for so long without him noticing, especially since the woman was carrying a bulging yellow silk bag filled with gold, meant that this woman in white had just managed to fill a huge pile of gold right under his nose without him noticing.

"Young lady, are you from one of the four vassal states? Don't you understand the rule of first come, first served? This gold doesn't belong to you. Leave it here, and I'll let you go!"

With her cultivation at the second or even third stage of the Tribulation Realm, the woman in white revealed her figure. Xia Hong sensed her strength almost immediately, but even so, he didn't give her a friendly look. He simply waved his hand slightly, summoning ten Beast King-level puppets, and then coldly issued an ultimatum to the woman.

A slight look of surprise appeared on the beautiful face of the woman in white, clearly taken aback by Xia Hong's attitude. She then smiled and said, "This Demon Dragon Palace does not belong to your Great Xia, and this gold is not something that is unclaimed. Lord Xia, you want me to hand it over as soon as you open your mouth. Isn't that a bit too domineering?"

Xia Hong frowned deeply and, without further ado, ordered ten Beast King-level puppets to suddenly move and surround the woman in white.

Even if this golden palace were located in Chilong Lake, or even if this batch of gold were discovered in the territory of Mo'aochuan, Xia Hong would not give it away to others for nothing. It would simply be a matter of proving his worth.

Due to limited space in the palace, the ten beast king puppets could not be summoned in their full form, and instead remained in their small sizes as they surrounded and attacked the woman in white.

The woman in white first drew her sky-blue longsword from her waist, and then her body vanished into thin air once again.

However, less than three breaths after she disappeared, the ten Beast King puppets moved in unison, rushing directly to another corner of the palace.

Bang………

The fastest white dragon arrived first, its claws tearing through the air. Just as it was about to reach the palace wall, it was forced back by a streak of azure sword energy.

"Miss Li, leave the gold. Great Xia has no enmity with Weibo, and this lord does not wish to make things difficult for you!"

Xia Hong would not fall for the same trick again. When the woman used the invisibility trick, the fluctuation of the creature's ability was very small, which must have been concealed by something. He did not notice it just now because the Holy Cauldron in his body had not been activated.

The fact that the Beast King-level puppet has been deployed means that the Sacred Cauldron within him has also begun to function. No matter how small the energy fluctuations of the woman's invisibility technique are, they are nowhere to be hidden from the Sacred Cauldron.

As for the title "Miss Li," Xia Hong had already guessed the white-clad woman's identity.

Among the four vassal states of Mo'aochuan, only Weibo favored white. Coupled with the sky-blue longsword and the confirmed third-level cultivation, the woman's identity was obvious.

Third on the Mo Ao Chuan Heavenly Ranking: Wei Botian Qing Divine Sword Li Baobao!
Xia Hong glanced at the white dragon puppet that had been cleaved in two by a single sword strike, then continued to look at Li Baobao, a deep look of shock flashing across his eyes.

The white dragon was the only beast king-level puppet in his possession at the Three Elements and Five Elements Realm. The fact that it could force Li Baobao back with a single sword strike demonstrated its formidable strength.

Startled, Xia Hong also felt a surge of anger.

The Xia and Caiqiu are about to cease hostilities. Isn't Weibo currently supporting Caiqiu in resisting Chencang?

Although they didn't send troops and only offered verbal support, what was the point of sending such a powerful expert at the Tribulation Realm to Great Xia at this time?
Could it be that Weibo is trying to use the battle between Chencang and Caiqiu to extend its reach into the southern foothills region to spy on the strength of the Great Xia?

That's not all. The crucial point is that Li Baobao now knows about the gold in the Dragon Palace. Once she returns to Weibo, it's almost inevitable that Fangbo Li Gangfeng will take action against Da Xia after learning about the gold.

"This is troublesome!"

Xia Hong looked at Li Baobao with a gloomy expression, and as she kept trying to break through towards the pool in the center of the palace, his expression became even more somber.

The woman clearly knew that the pool was the palace exit.

"We can't let her get away..."

"Lord Xia has a bad temper, but his strength is really not that great. I'm afraid these ten puppets won't be able to hold me back. I'll temporarily entrust the gold in the palace to Lord Xia for safekeeping. Farewell!"

Just as this thought arose in Xia Hong's mind, Li Baobao's slightly amused voice came from within the encirclement of the Beast King.

Entrusting it to me for safekeeping means that Wei Bo will definitely come to retrieve it later.

Xia Hong's pupils were filled with gloom, and a glint flashed in his left eye. No longer concealing it, he took out the Shattered Star Sword from the yellow mustard bag and rushed to the puppet's vicinity, intending to join forces to capture the woman.

However, he had barely made a move.

Li Baobao, who was surrounded by puppets, suddenly emitted a blue light from her body and disappeared from the spot. The next second, she appeared directly above the pool.

"Trying to run? Dream on!"

call out…………

This wasn't the stealth trick from before; it was probably Li Baobao using her Calamity Qi combined with her Golden Body to unleash her strongest speed in a short period of time.

Xia Hong sensed it immediately. He still didn't give up trying to keep them there. He turned his head and his left eye suddenly shot out a shattered divine light, heading straight for the sky above the pool.

Li Baobao had indeed unleashed her golden body, but unlike the thirty-zhang golden body that Xia Hong had seen Chu Tianxu before, her golden body was still the same size as her original body. However, a dense wood-elemental aura surrounded her, exuding a holy and noble aura like that of a celestial maiden.

Seeing the shattering divine light shooting from Xia Hong's left eye, Li Baobao felt a jolt in her heart for no reason. Realizing that she could not avoid it, she once again unleashed two kinds of tribulation energy, yellow and gold, completely enveloping her body.

Clang...

The shattering divine light finally struck the golden body. Li Baobao staggered backward, almost falling out of the pool. Realizing that although cracks were beginning to appear on her golden body, the situation was still under control, she frowned sharply, then turned to Xia Hong and let out a cold laugh.

thump…………

She fell directly into the water.

Xia Hong, of course, wouldn't let her escape so easily. He jumped into the water with ten Beast King puppets and continued the chase.

However, what Xia Hong didn't know was that after he jumped into the pool, the originally clear water in the pool began to boil.

A streak of blood slowly emerged from the depths of the pool, then rose rapidly, turning the entire pool crimson in no time.

(End of this chapter)