Chapter 123: Rodent Swarm Moves, Frantic Bowmaking [Major Chapter]

In the Ice Abyss World, the average natural lifespan of ordinary people is just over forty.

Those in the Woodcutting Realm live a bit longer, but rarely exceed fifty.

Based on Luo Ming’s father, Luo Feng, those in the Digging Realm likely live past sixty, though the exact upper limit remains unknown.

According to the logic of his past life, people with such immense physical strength and bodily quality should not have such a short average lifespan.

But this is the Ice Abyss World.

Xia Hong is only eighteen this year; though he currently has no anxiety over lifespan, who wouldn’t want to live longer? He had thought deeply about this before.

In his view, the main reasons for the short human lifespan in the Ice Abyss World are threefold:

First, the extreme cold climate;

Second, the dark environment;

Third, humanity’s unnatural habit of being active at night and resting by day, along with severely irregular sleep patterns.

The harm of extreme cold to the human body goes without saying; merely the prolonged absence of sunlight alone can drastically affect lifespan.

As for the third point, it’s not that humans wish to live this way—it’s out of necessity.

The sun in the Ice Abyss World emits light that is intensely cold; Xia Hong personally experienced this once when attacked by demonic sheep on the slope.

After breaking through to the Digging Realm, he tried again—and it was the same.

Humans below the Cold-Resisting Rank cannot withstand exposure to sunlight.

Unable to face the light, they can only choose to be active at night.

The day in the Ice Abyss World lasts only four hours; most of the day is darkness. According to Xia Hong’s observations, most people in the camp sleep roughly those four daylight hours.

With no exposure to light, inverted sleep cycles, and severely insufficient rest, it’s only natural their average lifespan remains low.

Xia Hong cannot solve the problems of light exposure and inverted sleep cycles, nor can he easily correct the sleep duration after everyone has grown accustomed to only four hours of sleep.

So far, the only thing Xia Hong has been able to do—and has done—is order that all children under six in the camp sleep two extra hours daily.

Even so, many children still cannot accept it.

As soon as night falls, they naturally wake up and can’t fall back asleep.

If children struggle with this, adults are even worse.

A deeply ingrained, multi-generational group habit is extremely hard to correct in a short time; Xia Hong knows this well.

Just as humans in his past life developed the habit of rising with the sun and resting at sunset over thousands of years of evolution, the people of the Ice Abyss World have simply reversed it.

Since change cannot happen quickly, it must be done gradually, imperceptibly.

Of course, the most thorough solution to the problem of short lifespan is cultivation.

As base strength increases, physical constitution improves dramatically—that’s the shared understanding of everyone, including Xia Hong, and the very reason they are so obsessed with cultivation and power.

A body that grows ever stronger will inevitably live longer.

The threat of the Rodent Swarm is imminent; bow-making progress must accelerate. Over the past ten days, including Xia Hong, all seven Digging Realm cultivators have slept barely two hours per day—this is also why iron ore extraction has lagged behind bow production.

Clang… clang… clang… clang…

Inside the mine, the seven of them hammered continuously from dawn until the deep hours of the next night.

After fifteen straight hours of mining, Xia Hong and the others finally stopped.

In return, each of them now had a pile of iron ore beside their feet.

Xia Hong weighed his own pile, then turned to look at the others.

“Report the approximate weight each of you mined!”

Xia Chuan: “About five hundred and twenty jin.”

Luo Yuan: “Four hundred and ninety.”

Zhao Long: “One hundred and thirty.”

Zhao Hu: “I had some stored already; total is four hundred and fifty.”

Zhao Bao: “I had some stored too; total is four hundred and thirty.”

Yuan Cheng: “Same as those two; total is four hundred and seventy.”

Mining efficiency isn’t just affected by tools—it’s also influenced by strength.

The greater the base strength, the faster the mining progress.

Before Xia Hong and the other four arrived, Zhao Hu and the other two had been using the Rodent Drill.

Their later mining used the Ram Horn Drill, probably yielding only a bit over a hundred jin—but combined with prior stockpiles, each had around four hundred jin.

After Xia Hong brought Xia Chuan and the others in, to speed things up, he took one Rodent Drill for himself, while Xia Chuan and Luo Yuan used the other two—so their yields were higher.

Zhao Long had been using the Ram Horn Drill the whole time, so his yield was the lowest.

“Leader, how much did you mine?”

When Luo Yuan asked, the other five turned to look at Xia Hong’s pile—seeing the large heap of twenty to thirty iron ore blocks, their eyes widened in shock.

“About eight hundred and forty jin.”

Each iron ore block weighed roughly forty to fifty jin; seeing the pile, they’d already guessed, but hearing Xia Hong’s exact number made them all mutter in disbelief, amazed at his mining efficiency.

“My base strength is nearly twice yours, so naturally I mine faster. Once your base strength catches up, you’ll be able to do the same.”

Xia Hong didn’t take it as a big deal—fifteen straight hours of mining had pushed all seven to their limits; three thousand three hundred jin was decent luck.

“That’s enough for eleven bows. Take a break. Nine hours remain until dawn—go rest four hours. Then we’ll check the north slope of the cliff. Tonight we’re hunting the Jiao Dragon—we’re running low on spine tendons!”

The six nodded, set down their drills, and followed Xia Hong out of the mine.

Mining isn’t easy—even for seven Digging Realm cultivators, fifteen hours had left them utterly exhausted; rest was necessary.

Outside, it was midnight. Over a hundred Woodcutting Realm cultivators were still enthusiastically practicing archery. Xia Hong and the others paid no attention, greeted the group, and returned to the third floor to rest.

“My lord, the top ten from the competition are ready. Please review.”

As Xia Chuan stepped onto the third floor, Shi Ping rushed up behind him and handed him the list of the top ten competitors.

Exhausted, Xia Chuan didn’t bother to examine it closely—just glanced quickly. Seeing the top three were Xu Ning, Qiu Peng, and Shi Ping standing before him, he smiled.

“You’re doing well, kid. Hey, your sister’s on the list too?”

Xia Chuan spotted Shi Lu’s name at the bottom of the list.

Shi Ping blushed slightly, nodded, and said, “My sister was already decent at archery. She’s trained hard lately, and got lucky—came in seventh.”

“From now on, the reward for archery competitions remains unchanged: ten days per contest. You and your father will be in charge. Just report the results to me directly.”

Hearing Xia Chuan entrusted him and his father with this task, Shi Ping was overjoyed and nodded vigorously. “My lord, rest assured—I’ll see to it with all my heart.”

Shi Ping was young—even two years younger than Xia Chuan—and couldn’t yet see the long-term benefits of this responsibility.

His excitement came simply from feeling Xia Chuan trusted him with something important; and since archery was his father’s and his own passion, his father, Shi Qing, would be even happier.

“By the way, have you informed everyone about the Rodent Swarm?”

Xia Chuan took two steps, then remembered something and turned back.

Shi Ping immediately nodded. “Ten days ago, when the camp announced the great archery training, we already notified everyone. Most Woodcutting Realm people know.”

“Good. Go rest. I’m heading to the north slope with the leader tonight—we’re hunting the Jiao Dragon.”

“My lord, rest first—I’ll take my leave!”

Shi Ping watched Xia Chuan depart, his eyes filled with reverence and envy.

His reverence came from knowing Xia Chuan and the others were exhausted because they’d mined for over ten hours—mining to make enough bows for the Woodcutting Realm cultivators to fight the Rodent Swarm on the north slope, all for the camp’s safety.

His envy stemmed from Xia Chuan’s final words: being able to accompany the leader on an expedition.

In fact, every Woodcutting Realm cultivator in the camp now wanted to join the hunting team and go out with Xia Hong—including himself.

When the hunting team returned with the Jiao Dragon carcass last time, word spread fast: one carcass meant hundreds of contribution points—not just enough for winter beast meat, but nearly enough for two sets of clothing.

Of course, contribution points were only part of it. With Xia Hong’s towering status in the camp, simply being chosen to accompany him was a mark of great honor.

“The hunting team no longer accepts Woodcutting Realm members. To join, you must break through to the Digging Realm—keep training hard!”

Shi Ping silently spurred himself on, hurried downstairs, and joined the others in practicing archery.

…………

“We don’t need many people—Xia Chuan, Luo Yuan, come with me. The rest of you stay here. If anything happens, report back.”

Four hours later, near the north slope of the cliff.

Xia Hong signaled Zhao Long and the other three to stay put, set down his massive axe, and took only a bow and a quiver of arrows. With Xia Chuan and Luo Yuan, similarly equipped, the three crept cautiously toward the north slope.

The three climbed the slope silently, then cautiously raised their heads to peer over the top.

At the sight, all three faces changed slightly.

“Moved?”

“Yes, moved. Last time we checked, we weren’t sure—but now it’s clear: they’ve shifted southward, about a hundred meters. Look at that grassland on the north side—last time we came, the Rodent Swarm covered it completely. We couldn’t see it then.”

Hearing Xia Chuan, Xia Hong glanced at the grassland and confirmed the swarm had indeed moved over a hundred meters south. His expression darkened.

In the past ten days, he’d already brought people here three times.

His purpose wasn’t just to get more Rodent Drills. More importantly, he’d been watching for any movement from the swarm.

He hadn’t hoped the swarm would leave on its own—only that it would stay put until he forged enough bows.

But now, even that hope was gone.

The valley was nearly two kilometers away; a hundred-meter shift meant little in distance—but the unpredictable risks it signaled were far greater.

Why had they moved? What had gone wrong?

Would they keep moving? Would the next move head further south toward the mountain peak?

Today, a hundred meters. Tomorrow, a kilometer? Two?

Did they move at night—or during the day?

If this swarm discovered the valley during daylight, even a thousand bows wouldn’t save them.

…………

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Xia Hong’s mind flooded with a string of questions; his expression shifted rapidly, and he forcibly cut off his thoughts, his heart now burning with urgency.

“Big brother, look over there!”

Before he could clarify his thoughts, Xia Chuan on the other side seemed to have seen something—his tone suddenly turned grim, gesturing for Xia Hong to look.

Xia Hong quickly turned his head and followed the direction of his finger.

The moment he saw it, his face darkened to its deepest shade.

Along the northern slope of the cliff—exactly where Xia Chuan pointed—there now stood forty or fifty rodents of varying sizes.

These rodents were clearly much smaller than the others; the largest measured half a meter in length, with sparse fur and short tail spines; the smallest were only twenty to thirty centimeters long, their flesh-colored bodies too distant to see clearly, huddled together in a revolting mass.

“These are juvenile rodents. They’ve only been here a little over a month, yet they’ve already started breeding—and in such numbers at once…”

This entire group numbered only three or four hundred, yet in a month they’d produced forty or fifty offspring—and judging by their size, they were growing rapidly. If this continued, what would happen?

Luo Yuan’s words made Xia Hong’s brow furrow deeply, even sending a chill of dread through him.

He knew well the reproductive capacity of rodents.

“Let’s go. No chance tonight—first hunt the flying serpents. We must accelerate our progress!”

With no rodents isolated, Xia Hong wasted no more time. After observing briefly, he led Xia Chuan and Luo Yuan down the northern slope, then joined Zhao Long and the other four, all racing swiftly toward Redwood Ridge.

The rodent swarm had moved over a hundred meters southward.

And worse—they had begun breeding!

That was the only thought in Xia Hong’s mind.

His sense of urgency surged to its peak.

He had once felt a measure of pride in crafting thirty-six iron-core bows within ten days—but after witnessing the rodent swarm tonight, that pride shattered instantly.

Not fast enough. Still not fast enough.

The efficiency of bow-making must be increased further.

If we don’t deal with this rodent swarm soon, one misstep—and they’ll be the ones destroying the Great Xia encampment.

Xia Hong was not the only one who understood the gravity of the situation.

Xia Chuan, Luo Yuan, and Zhao Long’s group—all who had heard the news—immediately grew tense.

“Tonight, hunt with all your strength. Take as many as you can. Try to gather all the spinal tendons we need in one go. Back at camp, we must speed up bow production. The situation is critical. For the next few days, all seven of us must minimize rest and produce these bows at the fastest possible pace—we must act now.”

“Yes, leader!”

The six men, fully aware of the severity, nodded swiftly in obedience, their expressions as grim and solemn as Xia Hong’s.

The most dangerous aspect of the flying serpents is their venomous mist—once covered with damp cloth, it lasts only half an hour. Thus, the kill window must be kept under thirty minutes, and ideally even shorter, to allow sufficient time for escape.

The time window must be extremely short—that’s the only real challenge.

After Xia Hong discovered that flying serpent saliva could neutralize the venomous mist, the seven of them working together faced virtually no difficulty in hunting them.

Xia Hong led the six in a frantic search within a kilometer radius, killing three flying serpents and estimating they could harvest over a hundred meters of spinal tendons. Still unsatisfied, he chose to continue searching with the group.

“We must reserve enough time for mining. After this, we likely won’t have time to hunt again. Let’s try for one more—kill it and return.”

All six agreed without objection and followed Xia Hong as they resumed their search.

Soon, two hours later, another flying serpent collapsed with a thunderous crash.

Xia Hong’s group had successfully completed tonight’s mission.

“Four flying serpents—based on body length, they’ll yield at least 130 meters of spinal tendons. We now have enough material for bowstrings. Our next task is to focus entirely on mining and bow-making.”

Hearing Xia Hong’s words, the six men, exhausted from the night’s battle, finally exhaled in relief.

“Alright, gather the gear. Go back to the previous location and bring the bodies of the other three flying serpents. Let’s return.”

Xia Hong signaled the six to collect their kills, while he himself carefully searched the tree where the latest serpent had coiled.

Soon, Xia Hong found a clump of saliva near the middle of the tree.

He filled a leather pouch with all of it, weighed it in his hand, and a smile spread across his face.

“Not bad. Lucky—we’ve got over ten catties.”

Adding the previous three to tonight’s four, Xia Hong had now killed seven flying serpents altogether, and had begun to understand the pattern of saliva production.

Though saliva is a secretion of the flying serpent, its body never holds more than ten catties. Xia Hong surmised that once a certain threshold is reached, the serpent expels it—and once expelled, it likely evaporates quickly.

Whether a tree held saliva depended on luck—more precisely, on whether the killed serpent had recently secreted it.

Tonight’s luck held: two of the four serpents killed had saliva on their trees, totaling over thirty catties.

Add the saliva still inside the four bodies, and the total should be around sixty catties.

“Something here!”

After collecting the saliva, Xia Hong searched the tree again—and unexpectedly discovered something new at the very top.

At the tree’s crown grew a fruit, the size of a fist.

And its scent was nearly identical to that of flying serpent saliva.

“Right—this tree doesn’t seem to be an ordinary species.”

Xia Hong pulled out a small knife and cut through the frost-crystal coating on the bark. As expected, the bark beneath was green.

“Zhu Shuang, Jin Lin, Bing Shuo, Lan Yu—plus this one, we’ve now identified five tree species. Cut a sample and take it back to Cheng Feng. Tell the foraging team to pay attention.”

Surveying tree species was supposed to be the foraging team’s duty, but they were all merely Woodcutting Realm cultivators, unable to penetrate the inner zone—they could only gather rare vegetation on the periphery, and no new tree species had been found in a long time.

So when Xia Hong found yet another new species, he naturally took notice.

Of course, the fruit on the tree was the most important discovery.

Xia Hong plucked the fruit and placed it in a leather pouch. By the time he descended, Xia Chuan and the others had already brought over the three other serpent carcasses.

“Alright, let’s head back!”

The seven quickly returned to camp with the four flying serpents.

The shock among the camp’s inhabitants at seeing four flying serpents brought back at once was unimaginable.

But soon, after Xia Hong explained the unusual behavior of the rodent swarm on the northern cliff, everyone understood why he had hunted so recklessly.

It wouldn’t be enough for just the seven of us, all Earth-Digging Realm cultivators, to act urgently.

To deal with the rodent swarm, we can’t rely solely on the seven of us. We’re making so many bows precisely so the camp’s Woodcutting Realm cultivators can contribute.

If so, Xia Hong naturally had no reason to hide the truth.

“For the next few days, the seven of us will accelerate bow production.

You all can’t assist with hunting serpents, mining, or bow-making—so focus entirely on improving your archery skills.

Pay attention: there isn’t much time left. Once we have enough bows, I’ll lead you against the rodent swarm. I warn you now—if you don’t train hard now, when the time comes and things go wrong, it’ll be your own lives at stake. Understood?”

“Understood, leader!”

Hearing Xia Hong’s words, the hundred-odd Woodcutting Realm cultivators in camp all responded in solemn unison.

“Alright, get to work. Zhao Hu, Zhao Bao, Yuan Cheng—continue mining. Xia Chuan and the other two come with me to the forge to make bows. Xiang Mudong, keep the craftsmen on standby.

For the next few days, anyone involved in bow-making will take turns resting—but people can rest, bow-making cannot stop. Only if mining falls behind will we pause. All clear?”

“Clear, leader!”

Xia Chuan, Yuan Cheng, and the other six—including Xiang Mudong—all responded in unison.

Seeing everyone’s determined expressions, Xia Hong nodded in satisfaction, said no more, and led the way straight to the second-floor forge.

The rest followed suit: those who mined returned to mining, those who practiced archery went to practice, and those assigned to bow-making prepared themselves…

Everyone swiftly fell into rhythm.

(End of Chapter)