Endless Winter: My Camp Infinite Upgrades

Chapter 586 Darkness and Lostness, Level Six Soul-Suppressing Cauldron

How should we understand darkness?
Having struggled to survive in the Ice Abyss for sixteen years, Xia Hong originally thought he had gained a profound understanding of those two words.

Before breaking through to the Cold Resistance level, he could only move around at night and had almost never seen the world during the day. At that time, due to the unfamiliarity with the surrounding environment and the invasion of cold beasts and monsters, even at night, he could only lead the people of Daxia to hide in a closed environment. Although there was firelight for illumination, darkness was still the main theme.

Darkness inflicts both physical and psychological damage. People who live in darkness for a long time suffer physical torment. Before the Ice Abyss humans broke through to the cold resistance level, their average lifespan was only about 40 years, which was a consequence of the physical torment they suffered.

The physical aspect is only one aspect. People who cannot see the light of day will gradually become filled with despair for the future, which will lead to their psychology becoming increasingly distorted. They will either become cowardly or become cruel and irritable, which is very extreme.

In this respect, the most prominent feature of the Ice Abyss humans is that they have evolved two of the most common personality traits: extreme fear of death and fearlessness.

Xia Hong was undoubtedly lucky. After arriving in the Ice Abyss, he had a system by his side, Xia Chuan as a relative, and his loyal fellow countrymen of the Great Xia. The former gave him hope to become stronger, while the latter gave him the responsibility and courage to continue living in the Ice Abyss. The two complemented each other, which led to his current status.

He has long since emerged from the darkness of the icy abyss!
That's why, when he looked back and objectively faced the difficult situation he had when he was weak, he was able to truly understand how desperate the darkness of Ice Abyss was when he first arrived.

The vast majority of humans in the Ice Abyss, without systems, torches, fire-condensing oil, or the Jade of Suppression, nor with the many mysterious and wondrous structures it possesses, have enabled the Great Xia to rapidly develop from a small camp into the powerful Great Xia that now dominates the southern foothills of Mo'ao, possessing the real strength of a vassal state, in just over a decade.

Taking the population distribution of Mo'aochuan as an example, the vast Ice Abyss world has a human population that is definitely in the trillions, or even more. It is certain that the vast majority of humans, without Xia Hong's opportunity, would live in fear and despair every moment in the face of the darkness of the Ice Abyss.

This alone is enough to prove how heavy the darkness of the Ice Abyss is. Even though Xia Hong now has the cultivation level of Manifesting Yang, he still feels a sense of pity when facing weak humans, precisely because he has deeply experienced this darkness that is so heavy it is suffocating.

Although he lacked the magnanimity of a savior, he did not mind influencing or even changing the circumstances of some people as much as he could. As his personal strength grew and the Great Xia became more prosperous, the scope of this influence and change naturally became wider and wider.

Heaven sent him to the Ice Abyss with the system. While ensuring his own and his loved ones' survival, he still had to do something for this world.

Xia Hong always believed that from the moment he broke through to the Cold Resistance level and witnessed the scenery of the Ice Abyss after dawn, he had already stepped out of the darkness of the Ice Abyss and would never return to that dark and hopeless period.

However, at this moment, he realized how terribly wrong he was!
black……

As far as the eye can see, there is only darkness!
This was an extremely dark forest. Xia Hong was groping his way forward in the darkness. His eyes could only see things within a ten-meter radius. Once beyond the ten-meter limit, everything—trees, mounds, vegetation, puddles, even large rivers, lakes, and towering mountains—became dark outlines and shadows.

The dense forest of the Ice Abyss still has snow covering the ground and icicles hanging from the treetops. The overall color scheme is based on gray and white. If you are lucky, you can see some special spiritual plants among the snow forest, which will make the colors more distinct.

But here, there is only darkness!
It was not only dark, but also quiet, eerily quiet.

The Ice Abyss Forest is occasionally disturbed by the noises of cold beasts. Even in areas where there are no cold beasts, there are occasional sounds of icicles crushing tree branches or snow falling.

In this pitch-black space, there was no movement whatsoever; it was absolute silence. There was no light, no wind, no water, and no cold beasts. Or rather, even if there were, Xia Hong couldn't see them.

step... step... step...

Throughout the dense forest, the only sound was the slow murmur of his footsteps.

This world was of unknown size, and it seemed as if he were the only person left there.

"Where am I?! That pool of water, isn't it connected to Crimson Dragon Lake? How did I get here... How long has it been? How long has it been? No, no, if this continues, I'm afraid I'll go crazy before I even find anything alive..."

Xia Hong stopped and looked up at him. He looked somewhat emaciated and was in a state of extreme despondency. Even the tone of his voice when he spoke these words revealed a hint of despair.

Previously, in Xia Hong's understanding, the phrase "darkness without light" was just an adjective used to describe a state of despair. But when it truly materialized, he realized just how terrifying those four words were.

After emerging from the pool in the golden palace, he arrived in this world!

Regardless of the darkness within sight or the terrifyingly quiet atmosphere, Xia Hong knew clearly the moment he landed that he was no longer in the Ice Abyss.

Fortunately, he brought the sacred cauldron with him this time.

When he first arrived, his field of vision was limited to one meter in front of him; in other words, he couldn't see things even one meter away clearly.

You should know that he has the cultivation level of Manifest Yang. His skin, flesh, and bones have all been reshaped once. The combined effect of these three reshapings has made his body organs extraordinary. He doesn't need to sense anything in the Ice Abyss. His vision range can reach up to one mile.

But in this dark place, it's less than a meter!

Not only can't we see it, but we also can't generate fire in this world.

He had tried countless times before, but it was as if the world had forbidden the existence of fire. The flint he carried was completely useless, and he even tried to make a fire by rubbing wood together with trees using primitive methods, but that didn't work either.

If a regular flame won't work, how about a small torch?
When Xia Hong entered Chilong Lake, he did not carry any supplies, but the Yangxu Cauldron in his body could generate small torches by consuming resources. However, to his despair, the small torches still could not be lit.

The current ten-meter visibility is only possible by consuming resources to activate the sacred cauldron within the body.

However, this ten-meter viewing distance was still a drop in the ocean for him, and it was of no use whatsoever in his search for the exit from this world.

This world seemed to be an eternal night, with no light and no distinction between day and night. At first, he tried to pay attention to the passage of time, wanting to sense it with his senses and remember the dates. But as he groped his way forward, the darkness in the world became increasingly heavy, and his concept of time quickly became blurred.

Even now, he has no idea how long he has been walking, or even how far he has gone.

"No, no, that day at Chilong Lake, I didn't find Xiahou Yong and Jiang Yiqing. Li Baobao jumped into the pool right before me. There's no reason why I'm here while she's back at Chilong Lake. These three people have most likely come here like me..."

If Xiahou Yong and Jiang Yiqing were in the same predicament as him, then they would most likely be in grave danger, since they were only at the Cold Resistance level.
However, Li Baobao is different. She is at the third level of the Tribulation Realm, stronger than me, and comes from a military governorship. She also has many treasures, but I don't know where they have ended up.

"That's not necessarily true. With the Yangxu Cauldron's blessing, my vision range is only ten meters. The treasures she possesses can't possibly be stronger than my Yangxu Cauldron, so she's probably in a bad situation too!"

Xia Hong frowned. He wasn't deliberately thinking about the three of them, but rather trying to distract himself.

This endless darkness was extremely oppressive. Even he could only get through the initial stage, and now his emotions were becoming extremely anxious and agitated.

Forgetting the passage of time is one of the initial signs that he is gradually losing control.

If we don't shift our focus and continue searching aimlessly, we might end up going crazy before we even find a way out.

"These ten meters are less my field of vision and more the illumination range of the Yangxu Cauldron. This world is either too high-level or has some special blocking effect on human vision. We can't keep going like this; we need to think of another way..."

Xia Hong took a few deep breaths, then sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes to ponder.

From the moment he entered, he was single-mindedly trying to find a way out and return to Red Dragon Lake, but the more he tried, the more it felt like he was in a dead end, trapped in this darkness and unable to escape.

"Eyes of Truth-Seeing are useless now. All I can rely on is the Yangxu Cauldron, but besides providing me with a ten-meter field of vision, it has no other function. What else can I do? What else can I do..."

Xia Hong suppressed his anxiety and kept thinking of a solution until...

Snapped!
"How could I be so stupid..."

【资源：木108亿、煤87亿、铁78亿、银6亿、黄金350万】

Xia Hong slapped his forehead, cursing himself for being stupid, and then quickly retrieved the system resource data.

In recent years, as his own strength has grown stronger, he has gradually become a bit arrogant. When faced with a problem, his first reaction is to try to solve it with his own strength, and he has actually forgotten his greatest reliance.

The Yangxu Cauldron can provide me with a ten-meter vision range, which means it still has a restraining effect on this world. Since the level 5 Yangxu Cauldron is not enough, why not upgrade it further?

[Yangxu Cauldron (Level 5)]

Upgrade Requirements: 100 million coal, 30000 million iron, 1 million silver, 10000 gold

The upgrade resources required for the Yangxu Cauldron are not excessive. The only problem that has prevented it from being upgraded for so many years is gold. However, with the large amount of gold resources collected in Chilong Lake, this difficulty no longer exists.

What are we waiting for!
A glimmer of hope appeared in Xia Hong's eyes. With a slight thought, a portion of the gold resources in the system immediately disappeared. In response, the Yangxu Cauldron within his body began to change rapidly.

He didn't know the specifics of this world, so he couldn't just take out the Yangxu Cauldron. Letting it upgrade within his body was the safest approach.

As a vast and ancient feeling surged within his body, Xia Hong had no time to examine the changes in the form of the Yangxu Cauldron. Instead, he quickly focused on the specific changes in its effects.

【Soul-Suppressing Cauldron (Level 6): It can significantly increase the temperature within a radius of 50 kilometers by burning wood, coal, silver, and gold; it can suppress calamity-level monsters and has a strong attraction to cold beasts; it can be used to smelt and cast iron, silver, and gold artifacts; it can suppress and purify souls and assist in the growth of the battle body's golden form】

【Special Feature 1: For every 100 units of wood consumed, a small torch can be generated, which can kill high-level monsters and burns for one hour】

[Special Function 2: Burning 200 units of coal produces one unit of fire-resistant oil. This oil is harmless to humans, but it ignites upon contact with monsters and is extremely lethal to them.] [Special Function 3: Burning 500 units of silver produces one monster-suppressing jade. Monsters cannot approach the wearer of the monster-suppressing jade.]

[Special Function 4: All personnel within the camp can be modified by this cauldron to acquire the latent Great Xia Sacred Rune bloodline, with the host being the progenitor of the bloodline.]

[Special Function 5: For every 10 units of gold resources consumed, one Soul-Illuminating Lamp will be generated. The Soul-Illuminating Lamp can help people see evil spirits and ward off disasters.]

[Special Feature 6: Added synthesis function. All resources produced by the Soul-Suppressing Cauldron can be fused together, greatly increasing the item's effectiveness based on the quantity produced.]

………………

The radiation range has increased from 20 kilometers to 50 kilometers. In addition, the overall description has added a sentence that can suppress and purify souls and assist the growth of the battle body's golden body, which is obviously related to the word "soul suppression".

In addition, two new features have been added: Soul Illumination Lamp and Resource Fusion.

The Soul-Illuminating Lamp can only be produced using gold.

Xia Hong immediately focused his attention on this.

He seemed to have thought of something, turned his head to look at the surrounding darkness, a hint of speculation in his pupils, and slowly closed his eyes, beginning to put the gold resources into the Soul-Suppressing Cauldron in his sea of ​​consciousness.

When the Sacred Cauldron is activated within his body, he can control the resources it consumes. Previously, he used wood, but now he has switched to gold. Upon reactivation, his field of vision immediately increased to 25 meters.

"The illumination range of a level 5 Sacred Cauldron in the Ice Abyss is 20 kilometers in radius, with a visibility of 10 meters. After reaching level 6, the radius increases to 50 kilometers, a 2.5-fold increase, and the visibility also becomes 2.5 times the previous range..."

The fact that the illumination range is reduced proportionally to the viewing distance means that the Sacred Cauldron is being suppressed by this world.

The sacred cauldron can be suppressed by this space...

The level of this world is clearly higher than I imagined.

Xia Hong's expression turned solemn as he patiently waited for the gold to burn.

Soon, his gold resources decreased by 10 units.

At the same time, an ancient-looking oil lamp quietly took shape above the sacred cauldron inside his body. Xia Hong took out the Soul-Illuminating Lamp without making a sound and then checked its description.

[Soul-Illuminating Lamp: Using the body as a boat and the soul as a guide, it gathers spirits in the eyes, ignites the netherworld fire on the top, connects the yin and yang, and illuminates the ghost realm. It burns for one hour.]

Upon seeing this obscure and difficult text, Xia Hong immediately frowned. He could understand the general meaning, but the problem was that the description did not provide specific instructions on how to use the Soul-Illuminating Lamp.

Or rather, it has already been given, but he doesn't know how to use it.

"Use your body as a boat, your soul as a guide, gather spirits in your eyes, and ignite the netherfire on your head. That's the method of use. I can understand the general meaning, but what about the specific operation?"

Xia Hong looked at the simple-looking oil lamp in his hand and was instantly stumped.

The first eight characters should mean that the use of this oil lamp is directly related to the human body, rather than being like the items produced by the Holy Cauldron in the past. What do the last two sentences mean?
"Spiritual Appearance, does that mean Venerable Appearance? But I don't even have the cultivation of the Tribulation Body Realm yet, so I have no idea what Venerable Appearance means..."

A surge of restlessness rose in his heart, and a sense of chaos returned to Xia Hong's mind. An inexplicable sense of irritation arose from within him. He even felt that sitting cross-legged and thinking was a waste of time, and he couldn't help but want to stand up and continue walking forward.

"Huff... No, no, calm down, calm down. I have no idea how long I've been walking or how far I've gone. I can't see a single living person, just darkness and more darkness. Continuing to walk won't help. Calm down, calm down, I have to calm down and think again..."

Frustration and agitation both stemmed from a sense of powerlessness. Xia Hong felt that he had become increasingly stupid since entering this world. For example, he had only thought of using the upgraded Sacred Cauldron to break the deadlock, and he was still struggling with the current predicament. He had some ideas in his mind, but he was just one step away from the final step. This feeling of frustration would always inexplicably emerge when he was about to take that final step.

He shook his head violently, took deep breaths to calm himself down, and suppressed his agitation. Then he quietly looked at the Soul-Illuminating Lamp in his hand and began to ponder.

"Have it!"

Suddenly, his pupils lit up. He first placed the oil lamp in front of him, then closed his eyes and began to regulate his breathing.

Soon, a dark red skeletal figure about eight and a half feet tall appeared behind him. However, unlike the previous radiant divine light, his skeletal figure was now extremely withered and even looked somewhat hunched.

"This……"

Since entering, Xia Hong had only thought about getting out as soon as possible. He neither fought with anyone nor sat down to cultivate properly. Suddenly seeing the changes in his bone structure, he was instantly awakened, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

"Withered and hunched" is not enough to describe the changes in the bone structure at this moment. The cultivation of the Manifestation Yang stage is all about the bone structure. In the early stage, it takes shape; in the middle stage, meridians appear; in the later stage, flesh and blood grow; and in the peak stage, the skin membrane is perfected, and the bone structure is completely perfected.

He was in the late stage of the mid-stage of the Manifestation Yang realm. Originally, the meridians in his bone structure had been basically fully grown. However, at this moment, almost half of the meridians in his bone structure were missing, and many of them were broken or even incomplete, as if... as if... they were being eaten away by insects...

"The Spiritual Aspect, without a doubt, should mean the Venerable Aspect. The cultivation of the Manifestation of Yang and Tribulation Body realms both revolve around the Bone Form. The Venerable Aspect realm, which goes on to come, should also be a higher form of the Bone Form. Therefore, the meaning of gathering the Spiritual Aspect in the eyes is most likely..."

Xia Hong's mind stirred slightly, and he mobilized his weak bone structure energy, quickly gathering it at the position of his eyes.

However, with just this one adjustment, Xia Hong's expression changed instantly.

"My bone structure has become so weak, 50... no, it's less than 50 jin, at most just over 40, how is this possible!"

The strength of a Xianyang-level cultivator all comes from his bone structure. Xia Hong has not fought since entering this world, so he is completely unaware of his physical condition. At this moment, when he mobilizes his bone structure, he is suddenly shocked and his face is filled with horror.

His weak bone structure meant that he had very little energy left, but the Soul-Illuminating Lamp was the only way to break the deadlock. Xia Hong could only continue to channel his meager energy to his eyes.

Fortunately, just as the energy reached his eyes, the Soul-Illuminating Lamp in front of him finally reacted.

To be precise, it was the eight-zhang-tall dark red skeletal figure behind them that reacted first.

The Bone Form suddenly opened its eyes, and a wisp of dark blue light shone directly towards the Soul-Illuminating Lamp. Upon contact with the light, the Soul-Illuminating Lamp immediately emitted a hissing sound.

call…………

Sparks began to burst forth, but unlike the crimson and yellow flames of the Ice Abyss, the sparks condensed on the Soul-Illuminating Lamp were actually a ghostly blue, just like the will-o'-the-wisps of his past life, filled with desolation and tranquility, without the slightest bit of life, and Xia Hong could not feel any warmth at all.

Before the lamp's flame had fully risen, Xia Hong heard a low, chilling laugh.

"In just half a day, this kid's spirit form is really strong. We've been eating for half a day, and we haven't even finished half of it."

"Nonsense, someone who comes to the Underworld with a physical body, how could they be a simple character?"

"We're so lucky. This kid didn't go towards Lady Jade Skull. I'm almost done. If I eat for another half an hour, my soul will be fully formed."

"I'm almost there too, hehehehe..."

"After going around in circles for a while, this kid probably still doesn't know. Take your time eating, there's no rush. We can all break through."

"It's a pity, it would have been better if we had kept those three people."

"Stop dreaming. That woman is too powerful. Her spiritual form is protected by three lines of tribulation energy. We can't even get close to her."

"Don't even think about it. That woman led two other people towards the White Bone Cave. They might already be inside Lady Jade Skull's stomach."

"Yes, yes, let's focus on eating this. It's so good, so good! I haven't eaten such a robust spirit in a long time, hehehehehe."

………………

The silent forest was suddenly filled with more than a dozen bursts of laughter, and the worst part was that these sounds came right next to his ears.

Xia Hong felt a chill run down his spine, and as the wick of the Soul-Illuminating Lamp finally lit up completely, he slowly turned his head to look at his shoulder.

As soon as he turned his head to look, his pupils contracted sharply, his body trembled violently, and he felt both terrified and shaken.

The "thing" perched on his shoulder happened to look into his eyes at that moment, making direct eye contact with him.

"Hey, look, is that kid looking at me?"

(End of this chapter)