Chapter 316: The Peculiar Cold-Apple Tree, Occupied Silver Mine

"I heard from Hou Hu that one of the two Cold-Apple Trees was first discovered by his father, Hou Luan, but was later snatched by your Longshan. Is this true or false?"

With the two Cold-Apple Trees soon to be in sight, Xia Hong was in a good mood and, recalling Hou Hu's previous words, asked the two with great interest.

"Shameless!"

Li Tiancheng, who was leading the way, frowned but said nothing, while Li Ying Xuan Ling could not help but blurt out an insult.

"That Cold-Apple Tree was clearly discovered by my father first! Hou Luan didn't want Longshan to monopolize it, so he united over twenty other camps to wage war against us, causing the number of camps in Longyou to plummet to twelve. My father couldn't bear it, so he finally gave them a seventy percent share!"

Seeing Li Ying Xuan Ling's angry, arched-brow posture, Xia Hong estimated that her words were likely true. Although he knew Hou Hu had probably lied to him, he hadn't expected someone to be capable of such black-and-white inversion.

"And what he said about that Cold-Apple Tree producing only 40 drops of jade dew annually since the 40th year of Longyou—is that true or false? Also, for the other tree, how many drops does it produce each year?"

Hou Hu only knew of one Cold-Apple Tree; clearly, Longshan had hidden another one that no one else in Longyou knew about.

What Xia Hong was most interested in now was the jade dew yield of the two Cold-Apple Trees.

Li Tiancheng replied, "I won't hide it from you, Head Xia. We didn't lie about the tree Hou Hu mentioned; its yield has been gradually decreasing since the 20th year of Longyou. As of this year, it produces one drop every ten days on average, totaling less than 40 drops for the whole year."

Seeing the two taking a winding path, Xia Hong estimated they were still quite far away, so he continued to inquire while walking, "And the other tree? What is its yield?"

"The other Cold-Apple Tree was discovered in the 31st year of Longyou. Its tree age isn't very great, but last year it produced over 240 drops."

Good heavens, they had concealed a six-fold yield. No wonder the strength gap between Longshan and the other eleven camps had grown wider and wider over the years.

"You say it produces one drop every ten days; does that mean the Cold-Apple jade dew doesn't mature all at once, but grows drop by drop?"

Xia Hong was full of confusion. Since it was called a Cold-Apple Tree, it shouldn't have deviated from the category of vegetation. Sprouting, flowering, fruiting, and maturing—this was the growth cycle of all vegetation, just like the Ice-Boulder Trees, Blue-Jade Trees, and other varieties currently discovered by Great Xia.

But listening to Li, it was clearly not like that.

"Country bumpkin!"

Li Ying Xuan Ling was still holding a grudge. Seeing Xia Hong's complete ignorance about the Cold-Apple Tree, she immediately seized the opportunity to mock him.

Xia Hong simply ignored her and waited for Li Tiancheng's explanation.

Seeing Li Ying Xuan Ling take the initiative to bicker with Xia Hong, Li Tiancheng showed a strange expression, but just as he was about to explain to Xia Hong, Li Ying Xuan Ling spoke first.

"The Cold-Apple Tree grows downwards into the ground. The jade dew is the liquid condensed from absorbing the cold light day by day, so naturally, it drips down along the roots and stems."

There were many plants that grew downwards into the ground, but very few could produce such precious medicinal materials as jade dew.

"Then pick up the pace and take me to see it!"

Increasingly curious about the Cold-Apple Tree, Xia Hong urged the two.

The location where they had just seen off Li Xuandu and the others was already twenty kilometers deep into Longshan. In just this half-hour, Xia Hong estimated he had followed the two another fifteen kilometers or so deeper.

"Is this considered the main vein of Longshan?"

On the eastern outskirts of Longshan, there was an area extending from the main vein, about fifty kilometers north-to-south and thirty kilometers east-to-west.

Xia Hong had followed them thirty-five kilometers to the east; they were already very deep into Longshan's main vein.

"The Cold-Apple Tree Hou Hu mentioned is just ahead."

Li Tiancheng pointed to a mound on the west side and walked over first with Li Ying Xuan Ling. Xia Hong followed closely, and they soon reached the top of the mound.

Behind the mound, there was a deep valley that sank several hundred meters.

Xia Hong stood at the edge of the mound and looked down, and a dazzling cyan light immediately caught his eyes.

"Let's go!"

After saying this, he went down the slope of the gully directly. Li Tiancheng and Li Ying Xuan Ling followed closely behind.

The Cold-Apple Tree's leaves and branches were all cyan-jade in color, the same color as jade bones. Its overall shape was somewhat like a stemless mushroom—a large, umbrella-shaped canopy.

"This canopy is nearly fifteen meters in diameter. How long is the root?"

Li Ying Xuan Ling had just said that the Cold-Apple Tree grew downwards into the ground. After observing the surface part, Xia Hong walked under the tree, pushed aside the surrounding soil layer, and saw the root clearly, his expression freezing for a moment.

The surface canopy of this Cold-Apple Tree was a large canopy fifteen meters in diameter. Xia Hong had originally thought that even if it wasn't half the length, three or four meters would have been reasonable.

But in fact, its root was only as thick as a little finger.

"Head, please follow me!"

Li Tiancheng felt around the stone wall on the east side of the gully for a while, then suddenly pushed hard against it, and an entrance appeared.

After he led Xia Hong into the entrance, he spoke while walking.

"The root of this Cold-Apple Tree is too thin, and its direction of extension underground follows no pattern at all. Therefore, not only do we have to dig tunnels to find its end, but we must also send people to confirm its location every year."

Xia Hong understood this point without Li Tiancheng's explanation after walking in the underground tunnel for a while.

Sometimes east, sometimes west, sometimes suddenly dropping downwards, and sometimes even climbing up a slope.

This tunnel was clearly dug according to the direction of the root's extension. Such complexity and disorder already proved what Li had said.

The three walked underground for over ten minutes before finally arriving at a circular stone chamber over five meters in diameter.

In the center of the stone chamber's floor, a cyan-jade root as thick as a little finger stood quietly. Around the root were over a dozen iron plates. Xia Hong counted carefully; there were nine drops of jade dew that had not yet been collected.

"Over ten minutes—based on our pace, we walked about seven or eight kilometers. That is to say, the length of this root is over seven thousand meters."

After saying this, Xia Hong shook his head.

No wonder Longshan didn't transplant this Cold-Apple Tree to their base. Not to mention the abnormal length of over seven thousand meters, it was only as thick as a little finger. It was too difficult to transplant it without damaging the root.

The key was that no one knew if it could continue to produce jade dew after the root was damaged. Longshan only had these two seedlings; leaving them alone and slowly collecting the jade dew was clearly the safest way.

"It's a blessing in disguise. Although the Cold-Apple Tree's root grows randomly underground, causing us great difficulty in harvesting, it is colorless and odorless. Even if cold beasts discover the canopy on the ground, they usually give up because they can't find the root."

Not only colorless and odorless, but the root buried underground was only as thick as a little finger. Cold beasts were often several meters in size; even those living underground would find it very difficult to rely on their eyes to follow the root and find this place.

"Alright, take me to see the second one!"

Xia Hong took out a wooden box with an unchanging expression, collected the nine drops of jade dew, and then signaled for Li Tiancheng and the other to continue leading the way.