Chapter 187: Productivity Leap, Territory Expansion, Xia Chuan's Opportunity

Behind the main hall of the temporary wooden house, there was a small ten-square-meter compartment.

In the compartment, there was a small square platform with a diameter of two meters.

Upon entering the compartment, everyone behind Xia Chuan first glanced at Xia Hong in black on the small square platform, then looked up, their expressions instantly shocked.

The roof corresponding to the small square platform actually had a hole. While snowflakes drifted in from outside, moonlight also spilled down from it, just enough to envelop Xia Hong.

Peculiarly, those palm-sized snowflakes would vaporize and rise directly when they fell to within an inch of Xia Hong's body, as if his body were emitting an extremely intense high temperature.

Xia Hong's silk black clothes faintly shimmered with a flowing light, and his already delicate skin became increasingly crystalline like jade, as if the whole person were glowing.

In everyone's mind, Xia Hong's image was already tall and imposing. Now, looking at his slightly divine appearance and posture, their gazes became even more fanatical.

"Greetings, leader!"

"All rise. I heard everything you said outside just now. You have all worked hard during this period."

"Serving the leader and serving Great Xia is our duty!"

Hearing everyone's words, Xia Hong immediately guessed that Xia Chuan had taught them to say this. He raised his eyebrows slightly but didn't say anything, only turning his head to look at Mu Dong and Cheng Feng, asking: "What things do you have to show me?"

Hearing this, a flash of excitement crossed Mu Dong's expression. He signaled the five people to step forward, while he walked to the first person, opened the tray, took out a piece of soft white material, and handed it to Xia Hong.

"Cloth?"

Xia Hong unfolded the thing completely, and his eyes instantly lit up.

That thing was actually a piece of cotton cloth over two meters wide.

"Is this... woven from bamboo silk?"

Xia Hong examined it for a while and immediately recognized the raw material of this cotton cloth.

"Leader has good eyes. The three things you told me about some time ago—I researched them for a while and actually managed to make them all."

As Mu Dong spoke, he opened two more trays.

In the left tray was a piece of delicate and textured silk satin; in the right tray was a piece of clean white paper emitting a bamboo fragrance.

Paper, cloth, silk.

Unexpectedly, the things he had mentioned casually before, Mu Dong had really managed to create. Xia Hong checked the three things separately, his expression somewhat excited.

From the first moment he saw that bamboo silk at the Jingxian camp, he had thought of these three things. But thinking about it and actually making it were two completely different things.

It had only been a month, and Mu Dong had actually managed to create them?

"Leader, this isn't entirely my own doing. Recently, the Craftsman Department has recruited many people, and many talents have emerged. I originally had no clue about the three things you told me about before. It was several Woodcutting Realm cultivators from the Jingxian camp who gave me ideas, and after many experiments, we finally succeeded!"

Xia Hong nodded slightly and turned his gaze to the remaining two trays.

Mu Dong opened the fourth one, which contained a pile of white crystalline substances.

Seeing that thing, Xia Hong was stunned, and a guess immediately arose in his heart.

"Leader, dip a little and taste it."

Xia Hong dipped a little with his finger and put it into his mouth. A long-lost taste rushed from the tip of his tongue to his brain. He immediately closed his eyes, his expression somewhat intoxicated.

Salt!

It was actually table salt.

Mu Dong had actually managed to create salt!

Xia Hong was a bit dazed, but his face showed more of an unconcealable excitement.

The importance of salt to humans is self-evident, and the Frozen Abyss World is no exception. In fact, as Xia Hong's strength has grown stronger, he has gradually figured out why the average human lifespan in this world is so short.

Lack of salt is one of the very important reasons.

The only way for Great Xia people to obtain salt is through beast meat, but the salt content in beast meat is too low to meet human needs.

This is still now, when Great Xia has plenty of beast meat. Before, when beast meat was scarce, those who ate crystal fruits basically couldn't obtain any salt at all. How could the average lifespan be high?

"What is the raw material for this salt? How is it made? What is the yield?"

Mu Dong had already tried the salt and knew its importance, so he immediately answered: "It's quite a coincidence. Our camp has many animal bones. There are few that can be ground into powder for medicine, and the remaining useless animal bones can only be used for carvings or ornaments.

Usually, after these animal bones are carved, there is a lot of useless bone powder left over. We concentrate this bone powder and throw it deep into the east side of the valley.

Half a month ago, when someone from the Craftsman Department went to throw away animal bone powder, they discovered that the first batch of intermediate cold beast bone powder we threw away had become yellowish-brown crystals. It looked very magical, so they brought it back to show me.

I wasn't sure what it was at the time, so I asked the Administrator of the Pharmacy to take it to the pharmacy to identify it. The result was that it was an edible medicinal material.

Although no formula was produced, I still brought it back and tasted it myself, only to find it was so salty it couldn't be eaten.

Coincidentally, at this time, the Deputy Administrator brought back a large batch of fresh materials from Five Liu Liu Yuan Shan, including something called a 'frozen pearl.' That thing can also be eaten directly, and the taste is extremely light and neutral. I took it with the intention of trying and mixed it with this fermented bone powder.

As a result, after waiting for two days, we really managed to concoct salt!"

Hearing this series of coincidences that finally produced the salt before him, Xia Hong's eyes became brighter and brighter, but he quickly extracted the key from Mu Dong's words.

The first time they hunted a snow-maned beast—if he remembered correctly—was January 24th. Half a month ago, they discovered the bone powder had become yellowish-brown. That is to say, this fermentation process takes about two and a half months.

"How is the yield of frozen pearls from Five Liu Liu Yuan Shan? Can this table salt be produced in large quantities?"

Mu Dong understood what Xia Hong wanted to ask as soon as he heard it. After pondering for a moment, he nodded and replied: "10 jin of animal bone powder can ferment about 1 jin of yellowish-brown bone powder. Adding 1 jin of frozen pearl powder and letting it ferment statically for a period of time can produce 1 jin of salt.

I have already asked the people who came from Five Liu Liu Yuan Shan. This frozen pearl is the fruit of the winter-cold tree, which bears fruit about once every six months, with an average of over a thousand jin per harvest. There aren't many at Five Liu Liu Yuan Shan; currently, only thirteen trees are known.

Mass production shouldn't be a big problem. We still have many intermediate beast bones left over from before."

Xia Hong nodded upon hearing this and fell into thought.

Then the five-meter-wide high platform raised by ten steps on the inner side of the east of the palace added a bit of solemnity to it;

Only 13 frozen pearl trees are currently known. According to Mu Dong, the total annual yield is about 26,000 jin. That is to say, at least 1,300 intermediate cold beasts must be paired to successfully produce 26,000 jin of table salt.

And this is the total annual yield!

1,300 intermediate cold beasts...

Arriving at this number, Xia Hong's brows tightened.

With Great Xia's current strength, it wouldn't be impossible for him, the leader, to take action personally and hunt day and night, but that is obviously unrealistic.

Mass production is indeed possible, but the yield is extremely limited. It must wait until the camp's overall strength rises before more can be produced.

"This table salt is very precious, but you should have an idea of the yield. You can put some in the Camp Needs Department for exchange, but the price must be well-controlled!"

Mu Dong nodded solemnly. Noting that Xia Hong's gaze had turned to the fifth tray, he hurriedly walked over and untied the lid.

The fifth tray contained two wooden pots.

Mu Dong opened the lid of the first wooden pot, and a fragrance wafted out. Everyone present couldn't help but twitch their noses, their gazes all gathering over.

Xia Hong didn't need to ask at all. Smelling the fragrance, he immediately reached out, took the wooden pot, and took a gulp.

"Leader..."

Mu Dong wanted to open his mouth to dissuade him, but seeing Xia Hong swallow it and only blush slightly, he immediately closed his mouth.

"This is brewed from the Chen fruit transported from Five Liu Liu Yuan Shan. I asked Yuan Cheng and a few others to try it yesterday. Earth-Digging Realm cultivators can't handle a pot, and Woodcutting Realm cultivators basically fall after three sips. Leader, you have a massive capacity!"

Honestly, the taste of this aged brew couldn't compare to the wine Xia Hong had drunk in his previous life, but he couldn't help it—he hadn't drunk any for too long.

Moreover, as the wine went down, he noticed his internal organs, blood, and muscles reacting, and Xia Hong's eyes lit up even more.

"Leader can see it too, right? This wine can promote physical circulation, which means it can speed up the digestion of beast meat."

"Doesn't that mean it can increase cultivation speed?"

Xia Chuan pointed out the key to the wine in one sentence, making the eyes of everyone present instantly light up.

Wait, what about the other pot?

Seeing everyone's gaze turn to the second pot, Mu Dong laughed and opened the lid directly.

*Sss... *

A rich red wine vapor instantly sprayed out from the pot. The small compartment, which wasn't large to begin with, was instantly filled with the aroma of wine, and everyone showed an intoxicated expression.

Xia Hong took the wine pot from Mu Dong's hand. This time, he didn't drink it all at once, but stared at the wine for a long time before taking a small sip.

"Hiss... so strong!"

The mellow, icy wine went down as soon as it entered his mouth. Xia Hong only felt the *Qi* and blood in his body instantly churning, and a warm current instantly spread throughout his body. Especially noticing that the flesh and blood under his skin began to tremble, his pupils trembled uncontrollably.

This wine could actually increase his flesh and blood strength!

"What kind of wine is this?"

Mu Dong hurriedly replied: "Reporting to the leader, this is brewed from the fermentation of Fragrant Cold Fruit and beast blood. I named it Blood Cold Wine. When it was first brewed, I only took a small sip and fell to the ground immediately. My flesh and blood were swollen for three or four days, but after recovering, not only did my basic strength increase a lot, but my flesh and blood strength also clearly improved!

This wine can still be handled by Earth-Digging Realm cultivators if they drink a little, but Woodcutting Realm cultivators definitely cannot drink it. Those who haven't broken through to the Woodcutting Realm will probably lose their lives if they touch it."

Of course, Xia Hong's eyes flashed slightly. The intensity of this wine could cause such a violent reaction even in his body; to ordinary people, it was no different from poison.

"Administrator Mu, what is the yield of these two kinds of wine?"

Before Xia Hong could speak, Xia Chuan couldn't help but ask.

Seeing everyone's anxious expressions, Mu Dong shook his head and smiled: "The yield is not high. The aged brew is slightly better; about twenty jin can ferment one jin of wine. For the Blood Cold Wine, at least 100 jin of Fragrant Cold Fruit plus 2 jin of beast blood are needed to produce one jin."

"No wonder you asked me for two jin of beast blood some time ago. I was wondering why you needed beast blood when your cultivation hadn't reached that level. So it was for this!"

Xia Chuan only then realized why Mu Dong had asked for beast blood at the time. After saying this, he frowned and continued: "Fragrant Cold Fruit is also pulled back from Five Liu Liu Yuan Shan. I remember the yield doesn't seem high!"

Cheng Feng beside him immediately nodded and said: "I asked the Gathering Department to inquire. Fragrant Cold trees grow on the high cliffs of Five Liu Liu Yuan Shan. I heard they only bear fruit once a year, producing only about 300 jin each time. And because the growth environment is harsh, the difficulty of picking is also high. If it weren't for the fact that eating this fruit helps with cultivation, the people at Five Liu Liu Yuan Shan wouldn't pick it at all.

I asked the leaders of the eleven camps to count, and currently, there are only six Fragrant Cold trees with known exact locations. In a year, it is estimated that at most less than 2,000 jin can be picked."

100 jin plus 2 jin of intermediate beast blood to produce 1 jin of wine, with a total annual yield of 2,000 jin—that is to say, the annual output is at most 20 jin.

Xia Hong shook his head slightly, put the wine pot behind him without changing his expression, turned directly to look at Cheng Feng, and said: "What are the four bottles you brought?"

Seeing him put away the wine pot, although they didn't say anything, everyone couldn't help but lower their heads and laugh. Mu Dong, however, was very happy, as this Cold Blood Wine was originally made specifically for Xia Hong, and seeing Xia Hong like it so much, he was naturally very happy in his heart.

Cheng Feng stood up at this time and opened the four bottles in his hand one by one.

The rich medicinal fragrance wafted out, which diluted the aroma of the Cold Blood Wine just now, making everyone's eyes a little clearer.

"During this period, the camp's supplies have become much more abundant, and the search range of the Gathering Department has also become larger. In the two areas of the Arrow Bamboo Forest and Five Liu Liu Yuan Shan, we discovered many medicinal materials ourselves, and there were many medicinal materials in the supplies brought back. The pharmacy has generated more than ten formulas.

Among them, these four are very important, so I brought them for the leader to see." Cheng Feng displayed the pills in the four bottles one by one and explained the effects of the four types of pills to everyone.

Everyone was shocked, and their faces were full of unconcealable joy.

Blood Sore Pill, an upgraded version of Gold Sore Powder, has a better healing effect and can quickly recover even Earth-Digging Realm injuries. The cold-resistance level is currently unknown.

Heat Wind Pill, can quickly cure colds, considered an upgraded version of the cold medicine brought from Five Liu Liu Yuan Shan.

Violent Blood Pill, can shield the body from all pain for a short time.

Beast Essence Pill, can increase the human body's efficiency in absorbing beast meat.

"Beast Essence Pill!"

The first three had already made Xia Hong look sideways, but hearing the description of the last Beast Essence Pill, Xia Hong reached out and took the bottle directly. After sniffing it under his nose for a while, his expression instantly became excited.

"The medicinal properties are so mild; basically, those over six years old can use it!"

Hearing Xia Hong's words, Cheng Feng nodded heavily and said excitedly: "Leader is amazing, you saw it at a glance. This Beast Essence Pill's medicinal properties are indeed very mild. Basically, those over six years old can use it. We extracted a batch of children who started eating beast meat to test it, and it can increase the absorption efficiency by about 30% to 50%."

30% to 50%!

*Looking one by one... *

Not only Xia Hong, but Xia Chuan, Shi Ping, and Mu Dong's eyes instantly lit up.

30% to 50%—if compared with the effect of the Martial Arts Hall, it's nothing, but the problem is, it can be used by children and adults over six years old!

The Martial Arts Hall can only accommodate 200 people a day, and you have to spend contribution points to be qualified. Considering the camp's reliance on high-end martial power, at the current stage, those who can enter to train are basically Earth-Digging Realm cultivators. It was only because Xia Chuan wanted to increase the number of Earth-Digging Realm cultivators in the camp that he forcibly allocated half of the quota to the Woodcutting Realm.

Reservists over six years old simply don't have the qualification to enter, nor do they have the conditions to enter. After all, they don't even have contribution points yet.

"There are more than ten types of ingredients for refining the Beast Essence Pill. The scarcest one is called Jade Bone Grass, which was also brought back by the Deputy Administrator from Five Liu Liu Yuan Shan last time. I have already asked the Gathering Department to go there to search for it in the past few days. As long as the output increases in the future, the Woodcutting Realm of our Great Xia camp will definitely become younger and younger, and one day, maybe seven or eight-year-olds will break through to the Woodcutting Realm!"

Hearing this, everyone's expressions were shocked.

Seven or eight-year-old Woodcutting Realm—who would dare to think of this!

"Have you ever thought that perhaps one day in the future, everyone in our Great Xia will be able to cultivate, and even five or six-year-old children will have Woodcutting Realm strength?"

Xia Chuan's expression was stunned, and a sentence Xia Hong had once said to him personally appeared in his mind.

It had only been a little over a year since his elder brother said this.

It seems that day is not far away!

"These three types of pills are also very important, but currently, we must prioritize refining the Beast Essence Pill. The pills from the pharmacy can be put into the Camp Needs Department, priced according to output and demand, and open for exchange to everyone. Of course, there are other things, all the same..."

Xia Hong returned the medicine bottle to Cheng Feng. After finishing, he looked around at the total of nine things he saw today, his expression moving slightly.

Connecting to the fact that he just heard the camp population had surged to over 23,000, Xia Hong flashed a hint of realization in his heart, and he was no longer so shocked by the new things before him.

The expansion of activity areas, the widening of search ranges, the surge in population, the improvement of strength, the expansion of demand... these various factors superimposed together will inevitably lead to a leap-forward development of productivity.

These nine things should just be a beginning!

After all, the eighteen thousand-plus people have just merged. After brewing for a period of time, there will definitely be new things emerging one after another.

"Mu Dong and Cheng Feng have done well. Each of these nine things is rewarded with 10,000 contribution points, to be divided equally among all participants. Xia Chuan, you handle this matter. You must ensure that everyone in the entire camp knows!"

"Thank you, leader!"

Hearing this, Mu Dong and Cheng Feng instantly showed expressions of wild joy.

10,000 contribution points!

Placed in the current camp, the value is truly astonishing. Even if they have to divide it equally with others, the two of them can still get a considerable amount of contribution points!

"Understood, elder brother!"

Xia Chuan got the task, and his eyes also lit up slightly.

He must ensure everyone knows—Xia Hong's meaning is very clear: he wants to encourage everyone in the camp to actively create new things. He naturally understands.

Thinking about it, these nine things are of great help to the camp. If more can emerge one after another in the future, the role played in Great Xia's development will be immeasurable.

The nine new things were finished, and Xia Hong's gaze turned to Xia Chuan.

Xia Chuan immediately stood up, took out an animal-skin scroll from his body, and after a flash of excitement on his face, unfolded it in front of Xia Hong and everyone.

Seeing that map, everyone's expressions were shocked, and they immediately became spirited.

Xia Hong was the same; he was very familiar with this map.

A month ago, when the six departments were reorganized, he was the one who showed it to the others.

However, at this moment, there was clearly a lot more content at the bottom of this map.

At the very top of the map, the four characters "Great Xia Map" were also specially marked.

Xia Chuan pointed to the content added at the bottom of the map, his tone excited: "Leader, please look. We have already figured out the terrain around Five Liu Liu Yuan Shan.

Five Liu Liu Yuan Shan is located north of the Xinghe, three kilometers away from the river bank. The whole mountain runs east-west, with a total length of fifteen kilometers. The north-south width is about five kilometers according to observation. The whole mountain has five main peaks, from west to east: First Ape, Second Ape, Middle Ape, Fourth Ape, and Fifth Ape.

The previous camps all had activity areas on the southern foothills of Five Liu Liu Yuan Shan, that is, on the side near the Xinghe. They basically hadn't explored the mountains and the northern foothills.

I have ordered the hunting squads to go there these past few days and found that the most entrenched cold beast species inside is the Frost-Electric Ape. This kind of cold beast likes to be in groups, often dozens at a time, and the hunting difficulty is extremely high. I estimate that it will take at least half a year to finish exploring the entire Five Liu Liu Yuan Shan."

Hearing Xia Chuan's description of Five Liu Liu Yuan Shan, Xia Hong nodded continuously.

Frost-Electric Ape—if he remembered correctly, among the four cold beasts that He Yuanhun sent to the camp for the first time, there was one.

They like to be in groups, often dozens at a time—no wonder the camps around Five Liu Liu Yuan Shan found it so difficult to hunt cold beasts.

"According to our preliminary exploration of Five Liu Liu Yuan Shan, it is certain that there are no other human camps on the northern foothills, so..."

After introducing the entire Five Liu Liu Yuan Shan area, Xia Chuan paused, used his finger to frame the entire Five Liu Liu Yuan Shan and the area below it, and continued:

"Five Liu Liu Yuan Shan, together with the three kilometers along the north bank of the Xinghe—this area of 120 square kilometers in total—has all come under the possession of our Great Xia!"

120 square kilometers.

Adding the previous 300, Great Xia's current territory has reached 420 square kilometers!

Xia Hong looked at the territory range on the map, his expression also slightly shocked.

It had only been a month since Jingxian merged, and Great Xia's territory had actually increased so much!

This expansion speed was truly a bit astonishing.

Xia Hong scanned the Great Xia Map, his brows slightly wrinkled.

The northern foothills of Five Liu Liu Yuan Shan, the western cliff of Twin Dragon Mountain, the eastern part of Red Wood Ridge, the western part of Arrow Bamboo Forest, and a small piece in the southeast of Pingxi Plain—Great Xia's current territory is generally composed of these five blocks.

Xia Hong suddenly discovered that Great Xia's control over the five blocks was limited to a corner, not the whole territory.

This is not a small problem.

They could draw a map here and say these places are Great Xia's.

But would others acknowledge it?

Or rather, one day in the future, if they encountered people from other camps in these areas, would they agree with Great Xia's statement?

Xia Hong pondered for a while. Seeing that everyone was in high spirits, he was worried about dampening their morale, so he didn't say the problem directly but took note of it.

He would just give Xia Chuan separate instructions later and let him execute it specifically.

Mu Dong, Cheng Feng, and Xia Chuan's matters were all finished. Next...

Finally, Xia Hong turned his gaze to Shi Ping behind him.

"Shi Ping, you be the Administrator of the Land Reclamation Department!"

Shi Ping's gaze was still immersed in the Great Xia Map and didn't hear Xia Hong's words at all. It wasn't until Xia Chuan pulled him that he suddenly reacted.

"Thank you, leader, for the promotion. From now on, I will definitely do my best to expand the territory for our Great Xia. If there is any incompetence, the leader can punish me as he pleases. I will have no complaints!"

Hearing his vow-like response, Xia Hong nodded and smiled: "As long as you have this heart. Hong Guang made a mistake this time, which can be considered your good luck in picking up a bargain. The more this is the case, the more you must work seriously, so as not to let others see and say you are not worthy of the position. Do you understand?"

"Yes, leader, I will definitely work hard!"

Hearing the encouragement in Xia Hong's tone, Shi Ping's expression became a bit more solemn.

"Alright, all of you withdraw. Xia Chuan, stay!"

Hearing this, everyone immediately bowed and withdrew, leaving only Xia Chuan behind.

"Elder brother, how did you know I still had something to tell you?"

Xia Hong was stunned for a moment. Looking at the mystery on Xia Chuan's face, he immediately knew he had misunderstood and smiled: "Why, what else do you have?"

Xia Chuan nodded, a mystery on his face. He flipped his right hand, and dozens of white silk threads suddenly appeared, then flew into his bosom.

Immediately after, he flicked his fingers slightly.

*Flutter... flutter... flutter... *

A red beetle-like creature the size of a fist actually flew out slowly from his bosom. After flying in front of him, it suddenly rushed forward and flew straight to Xia Hong's face.

From the moment Xia Chuan sacrificed the white silk threads, a guess had flashed in Xia Hong's eyes. Seeing the beetle fly toward him, he calmly reached out and grabbed it.

"That Zhu wood is indeed a material for making puppets!"

Xia Hong looked down at the beetle in his hand, which was made of red wood, and immediately understood.

Xia Chuan nodded excitedly and said: "I recognized the wooden stick in Liu Da Hu's hand when I saw it that day. It was exactly the same material as the puppets controlled by the Wood Puppet Ghost before. I interrogated Liu Da Hu while researching it myself these past few days. Unexpectedly, I really managed to make it.

This Zhu wood is extremely compatible with my transparent silk threads. It is usually very soft, but it becomes hard when it encounters force. And the greater the force it bears, the more stable its internal structure becomes. At the same time, it can also transfer and volatilize my power. It is the best material for making puppets."

Xia Hong squeezed the beetle in his hand with a little force. When he added about 100,000 jin of force, the beetle finally showed a crack.

"Liu Da Hu has already confessed that this Zhu wood was accidentally obtained by him from a Frost-Electric Ape nest at Five Liu Liu Yuan Shan. As long as we can find more later, I can make larger puppets, and the strength they exert will definitely be stronger!"

Xia Hong remembered the giant wooden puppet the opponent had created when dealing with the Wood Puppet Ghost at the Luo Ge camp, and his eyes instantly lit up.

Xia Chuan had previously obtained three items from the Wood Puppet Ghost. Except for the black knife and transparent silk threads that could be used occasionally, the puppet inheritance simply didn't work.

The Zhu wood in Liu Da Hu's hand could be considered an opportunity for Xia Chuan.

"Study it well. Judging from the degree to which Yang Ning and Li Hu coveted this Wood Puppet Ghost inheritance at the beginning, your future strength will definitely be limitless!"

Hearing Xia Hong mention the two people from the beginning, a cold light flashed in Xia Chuan's eyes before he nodded and replied: "Understood, elder brother."

"I kept you behind for something else..."

Xia Hong then spoke about the last thing. After pointing out the five blocks to Xia Chuan one by one, he began to arrange the next stage of tasks for the camp.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 188 =====