Chapter 120: Tengjiao Saliva and the Source of Poison [Combined]

Though the Tengjiao was dead, its toxic mist had not yet dispersed.

“No need to wait—pack up and leave quickly!”

Though the decay on Yuan Cheng’s back was healing rapidly, he showed no signs of regaining consciousness; sensing his discomfort worsening, Xia Hong immediately ordered everyone to gather their belongings and depart.

Xia Chuan slung Yuan Cheng onto his back, while Luo Yuan and the other three each carried one segment of the Tengjiao’s body, following behind Xia Hong as they returned to camp.

“We spent less than twenty minutes total. The Tengjiao isn’t particularly strong—its only real threat is the mist. Without me, you six leading the hunt would’ve faced great difficulty. For now, when you lead expeditions, stay on the perimeter!”

“Yes, leader.”

The five men behind them, hearing Xia Hong’s words, grew visibly excited.

Snowmane, Frostwolf, and Demon Goat—so long as they aren’t in herds—the six of you can hunt them without difficulty. Xia Hong had already promised to hand over the hunting team to you.

Now that Xia Hong said this, it clearly meant he had approved of your performance and intended to formally entrust the hunting team to you—all six felt a surge of excitement.

“How did the Tengjiao just now detect us?”

Zhao Long, carrying the Tengjiao’s head segment, spoke with confusion.

At his question, everyone fell into thought.

Xia Hong also frowned—he’d been pondering this very question.

In the Ice Abyss World, the freezing cold made odors hard to spread; neither cold beasts nor humans could easily detect enemies by scent.

Likewise, the extreme cold kept all objects—including humans—at very low body temperatures, making heat detection impossible.

Moreover, we’d minimized all noise. Based on past hunting experience, nighttime is the dormancy period for cold beasts; unless provoked, they don’t awaken.

Last time, when we were chased by the rodent swarm, we made no sound at all—but that Tengjiao still spotted us early. Could the entire mist-covered area be within the Tengjiao’s sensory range?

Upon hearing Luo Yuan’s guess, everyone’s eyes lit up—including Xia Hong.

But then Xia Hong shook his head. “A fifty-meter sensory radius is unlikely. If it truly had such power, this Tengjiao would be beyond our capacity to handle.”

“Besides, if it had detected us the moment we entered the mist, tonight’s hunt wouldn’t have gone so easily!”

From entering the mist and spotting the Tengjiao, to arranging everything and climbing the trees, the entire process took at least ten minutes. If it had sensed us that early, the Tengjiao had ample means to deal with all seven of us.

“One thing is certain: both the previous Tengjiao and tonight’s one detected us before we noticed them. Think about what common traits their resting spots shared—you’ll likely find the answer.”

After Xia Hong spoke, Xia Chuan and Luo Yuan immediately began recalling details; apart from Xia Hong, only they had seen both Tengjiao.

“Tail!”

“Tail!”

Xia Chuan and Luo Yuan spoke in unison—they had reached the same conclusion.

Hearing “tail,” Xia Hong paused, then his eyes brightened with sudden understanding.

That’s right!

Both Tengjiao, when coiled on trees, had their tails buried in the snow. Xia Chuan and Luo Yuan’s guess was likely correct—the Tengjiao probably sensed ground vibrations through its tail to detect enemies.

“Eighty to ninety percent likely. Next time before hunting a Tengjiao, test it. Xia Chuan, write this down. If confirmed, record it in the Great Xia Cold Beasts Chronicle.”

“Yes, leader!”

Hearing the seriousness in Xia Hong’s tone, Xia Chuan nodded solemnly.

Xia Hong didn’t spend time analyzing the Tengjiao’s behavior out of idle curiosity—after every hunt, he led the group in reviewing the experience, summarizing personal gains and losses, and studying each prey’s traits.

His ultimate goal was compiling the Great Xia Cold Beasts Chronicle.

Ever since seeing Luo Ming’s Cold Beasts Scroll, Xia Hong had begun this project.

So far, most casualties during camp hunts stemmed from unfamiliarity with prey; thus, gathering information on cold beasts became critically important.

The current Great Xia Cold Beasts Chronicle records only seven beasts: Snowmane, Frostwolf, Demon Goat, rodent, Tengjiao, Lei Kui, and Blue Moon Spirit—yet the last two have never been encountered.

But as the hunting team expands its range and encounters more beasts, the records will inevitably grow.

Those who plant trees benefit those who sit under their shade. These records may seem redundant now, but they will be invaluable to future hunters joining the camp.

Reducing hunter casualties, increasing success rates, demystifying cold beasts so they no longer seem so mysterious…

Compiling the Great Xia Cold Beasts Chronicle holds extraordinary significance for Great Xia.

Xia Chuan understood this well, which was why he responded to Xia Hong’s orders with such solemnity.

…………

The group soon returned to camp.

“A giant snake!”

“So big!”

“Did the leader hunt three?”

“Not three—just one, cut into three pieces.”

“So terrifying…”

Carrying the three segments of the Tengjiao body into camp drew a crowd.

Adults merely pointed and commented indifferently;

some children, terrified, hid behind adults, afraid yet curious; the youngest burst into tears.

“Leader, let us handle it!”

Shi Ping pushed through the crowd and stepped forward. After receiving Xia Chuan’s nod, he took charge of the Tengjiao carcass from Luo Yuan and the others.

All prey brought back by the hunting team were processed by the Camp Supply Office.

Xia Chuan was Camp Supply Officer, yet also a hunting team member, so he delegated these routine tasks to Shi Ping and others.

But before Shi Ping could leave, Xia Hong called him back.

“The Tengjiao carcass is dangerous. Wait until I arrive before handling it.”

Shi Ping immediately nodded. Though the Camp Supply Office had ample experience processing prey, the Tengjiao was new, and Xia Hong had specifically warned them—they would obey.

Xia Hong didn’t rush to process the carcass. Instead, he led Xia Chuan, Luo Yuan, and the others back to the second floor of the wooden house.

Upon reaching the main hall on the second floor, Xia Chuan set Yuan Cheng down.

Xia Hong stepped forward, examined his back, and saw most of the decay had scabbed over—he sighed in relief, then took a clump of Tengjiao saliva from his pack and smeared it onto the wound.

“Assign someone to care for him here—wait until he wakes!”

Xia Chuan nodded. He didn’t need to find anyone.

Yuan Cheng’s mother, Xu Lan, had already been waiting anxiously nearby.

Others focused on the prey, but Xu Lan saw only her wounded, unconscious son. Earlier downstairs, the crowd had been too thick for her to reach him; now, hearing Xia Hong order someone to care for him, she rushed forward.

“Auntie, don’t worry—Cheng is fine. He should wake soon.”

Seeing Xu Lan gently stroke Yuan Cheng’s decaying back, tears streaming down her face,

Xia Chuan quickly comforted her.

Meanwhile, Xia Hong, clutching the clump of slime, had already gone alone to the second-floor alchemy room.

The alchemy room was empty, save for a single decoction pot in the center and a long row of labeled wooden cabinets along the wall.

Xia Hong walked to the decoction pot, opened the lid, scooped out a bit of slime, and placed it inside.

【Unknown item, medicinal use. Identification cost: 50 coal.】

Tsk…

Seeing the identification cost, Xia Hong couldn’t help but grunt.

“Last time, Cheng Feng identified Blue Gel Grass for only 20 points—this saliva costs so much more!”

Fifty coal units equaled one thousand jin of coal stone.

【Camp: Great Xia (Level 0)】【Lord: Xia Hong】

【Population: 1096】

【Resources: Wood 28275 Coal 322 Iron 120 Silver 0 Gold 0】

【Built: 4—Iron Smelter (Level 2), Wooden Stake (Level 1), Decoction Pot (Level 1), Polishing Stone (Level 1)】

【Unbuilt: 5—Green Bamboo Fence, Marker Stone, Yellow Earth, Small Wooden Table, Rough Iron Chain】

It wasn’t that he couldn’t afford it—since the number of Digging Realm cultivators increased and new houses were completed, coal and iron accumulation had risen sharply.

Had it not been for yesterday’s forging of the great axe, which consumed 280 points, iron surplus would’ve exceeded coal.

Only three days since the new houses were built. We now have two rodent chisels—coal and iron income will grow daily. Fifty points? Fine. The higher the cost, the more useful the item. And this might be key to countering the rodent swarms!

Though it pained him, Xia Hong willingly spent 50 coal points into the decoction pot.

As the coal stone was consumed, the pot glowed brightly, and simultaneously, information about the saliva appeared in Xia Hong’s mind.

【Name: Tengjiao Saliva】

=9+Book_bar

【Can be used as an ingredient in pill-making; can be applied topically to heal wounds caused by Tengjiao toxin; can be inhaled to alleviate internal Tengjiao mist poisoning】

As expected, the first two effects of the Tengjiao saliva matched Xia Hong’s guesses.

The saliva had a strange fragrance—its use as a pill ingredient wasn’t surprising; when applied to Yuan Cheng’s wound, the decay healed instantly, confirming the second effect.

Only the third effect made Xia Hong frown slightly.

It could only alleviate, not cure.

In other words, it was merely better than a damp cloth over the face—allowing one to endure the Tengjiao mist longer, nothing more.

It could not fully block the mist’s effects.

“Looks like we still need other ingredients to brew a pill!”

Xia Hong’s expression grew grim. He glanced at the decoction pot’s recorded medicinal materials—over forty already—but only one formula had formed: Golden Wound Powder. He sighed helplessly.

The decoction pot automatically synthesized formulas from identified materials.

“What rotten luck—Cheng Feng has gathered over twenty medicinal materials in this period, yet not a single formula has formed!”

Xia Hong didn’t blame Cheng Feng; judging from the twenty-plus medicinal materials he’d brought back, the foraging team certainly wasn’t slacking—the real issue was the lack of people in the team with medicinal knowledge.

With some basic medicinal knowledge, they should be able to coordinate and bring back related medicinal materials, increasing the probability of successfully synthesizing formulas.

Though he understood this principle, Xia Hong had no way to improve it.

He himself had no medicinal knowledge; the civilization of the Bingyuan World was inherently incomplete. There might be people with such knowledge somewhere, but they certainly weren’t to be found in the Great Xia encampment.

“All we can do is wait for Cheng Feng to slowly figure it out on his own, or hope for some naturally gifted individual to appear—or else rely on coal stone to brute-force it, letting the decoction pot continuously identify medicinal materials, which could also raise the synthesis probability!”

For now, these were the only options.

Xia Hong shook his head, stored all the Tengjiao saliva in a wooden cabinet against the wall, labeled it, and left.

After leaving the alchemy room, Xia Hong went directly to the Camp Supply Office.

Inside the Camp Supply Office, Shi Ping and three others were gathered around a massive wooden table, upon which lay the freshly returned Tengjiao carcass.

“Greetings, Leader!”

Xia Hong waved slightly and stepped forward to the Tengjiao, turning to look at the four men.

“Begin processing. Be careful—this Tengjiao could spray venom from its nose and mouth while alive. Exercise extra caution around the head.”

“Understood, Leader!”

Great Xia was no longer what it once was; game came in daily, so there were now dedicated personnel for processing carcasses. All materials related to cold beasts fell under the Camp Supply Office, and those handling the carcasses were naturally from the same office.

From the three men’s movements, Shi Ping clearly was only there to notify them—the other three were the actual handlers.

Skinning, removing tendons, deboning, cutting meat… the three wielded their cleavers in seamless coordination, their movements fluid and precise.

Xia Hong watched, nearly overwhelmed, until they began working on the Tengjiao’s head—he snapped to attention, standing up to respond to any emergency.

Tengjiao venom could kill a Woodcutting Realm cultivator on inhalation. Though the Tengjiao was dead, who knew if the venom had weakened? If several Woodcutting Realm men died during carcass processing, it would be a terrible loss.

Fortunately, these three from the Camp Supply Office had ample experience handling beasts.

They carefully sliced open the head, especially the nose and mouth areas Xia Hong had warned about, using small knives to slowly pry them apart.

Under such meticulous care, they extracted from the Tengjiao’s throat a fleshy lump the size of a fist, swollen and taut.

Inside the lump was a pure white spherical bead, emitting white vapor that continuously expanded, causing the flesh to pulse rhythmically, as if alive—remarkably strange.

The three wrapped the lump in leather cloth and handed it to Xia Hong.

“Leader, this bead must be the source of the venom!”

Xia Hong had already stepped forward to take the lump; no explanation was needed. The moment he smelled its odor, he immediately recognized the bead as the origin of the Tengjiao’s venom.

“What are your names?”

The three froze, then their expressions brightened with surprise as they quickly answered.

“Report, Leader—I’m Tong Xinglong.”

“Report, Leader—I’m Tong Xingsheng.”

“Report, Leader—I’m Ying Yi.”

Hearing their names, Xia Hong raised an eyebrow slightly.

No wonder he didn’t recognize them—they were all from the former Luo Ge encampment.

If he remembered correctly, Tong Xinglong and Ying Yi were two of the fifteen Woodcutting Realm cultivators from Luo Ge’s group when the merger first happened; the last one, Tong Xingsheng, clearly looked and sounded like Tong Xinglong’s younger brother.

“How are your contribution points calculated here in the Camp Supply Office?”

The three hesitated, clearly surprised by the question.

After a moment, Tong Xinglong spoke up: “We three handle beast processing. Young Master Xia Chuan said: for every five hundred jin of meat yielded from any cold beast, we earn one contribution point;

Additionally, distributing cold beast meat to the reserve troops every night and to children under six each month counts as one point per distribution;

Beyond these two, if we want more contribution points, we can assist the Woodcutting or Foraging teams during off-hours.”

Five hundred jin per point—most cold beasts yield over a thousand jin of meat, so that’s two points alone. Add the meat distribution point each night, and their base is three points. With extra help elsewhere, their compensation is nearly equal to that of the Woodcutting and Foraging teams.

“You’ve done well. Going forward, even without reminders, handle every carcass with this same caution—especially unfamiliar beasts. If we survive the hunt but you die processing the carcass, that would be unacceptable!”

“Yes, Leader!”

Hearing the concern in Xia Hong’s tone, the three’s eyes shimmered with emotion. They bowed deeply, their expressions filled with respect.

Xia Hong paused, then turned to Shi Ping behind him: “Give each of them three additional contribution points.”

Shi Ping immediately nodded in compliance.

Tong Xinglong and the others’ expressions lit up with excitement.

Had Xia Hong not stopped them, they would have knelt to thank him.

“No need for that. I expected complications with this Tengjiao carcass, but you handled it well. Keep it up.”

Being personally addressed by the Leader and receiving three extra contribution points was already unexpected joy;

Hearing Xia Hong’s verbal praise, their spirits soared even higher.

“Leader, rest assured—we will give our all from now on.”

All three bowed deeply to Xia Hong.

“Alright, continue processing. Shi Ping, stay here. Once done, deliver all the Tengjiao spinal tendons to the Forge.”

“Yes, Leader!”

Shi Ping also nodded in compliance. When he looked up again, Xia Hong was already gone.

“Got praised personally by the Leader? You three are lucky.”

“Hahaha…”

Hearing Shi Ping’s teasing, Tong Xinglong and the others burst into laughter.

(End of Chapter)