Chapter 382: Hong Sect, taking the opportunity to show off, allies and the new Jiuzhen, strong

Great Xia Year 8, April 29th.

It was also shortly after nightfall.

Xia Hong, dressed in black, with his hand on the Long Que Dao at his waist, stood on the mountain wall on the north side of Hongguan, looking down at the entire Hongguan pass below with a disdainful expression.

Behind him stood seven figures: Yuan Cheng, Luo Yuan, Hong Guang, Hong Tian, Zhou Yuan, Yue Feng, and Hou Tong. Although the seven were silent, the excitement in their eyes as they looked at the Hongguan pass below was clearly visible.

Last night, more than an hour before dawn, the seven armies including Tu Long arrived at the Hongguan camp. It was precisely because of the seven armies stationed in Hongguan that Xia Chuan could safely lead the Cloud Dragon Army east to attack the Fengshan camp.

Xia Hong turned to look at the seven and said in a deep voice: "You seven armies will be stationed here for a long time in the future. From today on, not only Hongguan, but all the specific locations and surrounding environments of all the camps in the Jiuzhen to the east of Hongguan must be well-known to you. Sooner or later, they will be useful.

Also, in the past six months, all the major battles fought between Jiang Xia and Bashang towns and the Great Awakening Temple should have been compiled into books by the Military Department. Those are the paths paved by our predecessors with their lives; you must study them carefully."

Hearing this, the seven had solemn expressions and bowed in unison: "Subordinate obeys!"

The ambition revealed by Xia Hong's words was so obvious. The seven, who understood the implication, naturally became more excited. When looking at Xia Hong's back, the fanaticism in their eyes became more intense.

All seven of them lead an army independently and can be considered proper high-level officials of Great Xia. Xia Hong's ambition undoubtedly allows them to clearly see that both they and Great Xia have broader prospects and a future.

Being able to follow such a Lord is definitely the greatest blessing in life for them, who are eager to make contributions.

"This group of people from the Liuzhen has actually been dividing it for a whole day and night without ending. It seems the treasury of Bashang Town is really very full..."

Hearing Xia Hong's words, the seven turned to look at Bashang City in the southeast, their expressions different.

Yuan Cheng suddenly thought of something and bowed: "Lord, Bashang is located on the east bank of the Xinghe River, at the southern end of the Jiuzhen. Since the treasury has been divided by the Liuzhen, shouldn't the territory belong to our Great Xia?"

The remaining six nodded slightly upon hearing this.

After Luo Yuan nodded, he said bluntly: "The three northern towns are beyond their reach. Even if they want to occupy it, they can't. As for the three southern towns, unless Jiang Xia Town gives way to them, as long as our Great Xia stands in the middle, no matter who it is, don't even think about touching Bashang!"

The special geographical location of Bashang determines that as long as Jiang Xia and Great Xia towns do not give way, none of the six northern towns can touch it.

It is naturally impossible for Jiang Xia to give way to Chuishan. The only concern is the Yangqu and Longgu towns. After all, when the Great Awakening Temple was causing trouble earlier, these two towns sent troops to help Jiang Xia, and the relationship between the three towns is extraordinary.

Xia Hong's eyes flashed slightly, and he smiled lightly: "I estimate that the Lords of the Liuzhen divided the Bashang territory yesterday. Unfortunately, it was all in vain. Tonight's banquet is the time when the ownership of Bashang will truly be decided."

Hearing about the banquet tonight, Yuan Cheng and the others were slightly excited.

They all knew that Xia Hong was going to host the Lords of the Eight Towns tonight.

Great Xia's first public appearance at the southern foot of Mo'ao Mountain, and simultaneously inviting the Lords of the Eight Towns to come—what kind of spirit is this?

I am afraid only their Lord, Xia Hong, has this confidence.

Xia Hong looked at the Hongguan pass below and suddenly smiled: "Hongguan doesn't sound good. I'll change the name of this place to Hong Sect!"

So tonight's banquet can be considered a Hong Sect Banquet.

Seeing Yuan Cheng and the seven showing confusion, Xia Hong shook his head with a light smile. He naturally would not tell the seven about his own bad taste.

"Lord, the banquet platform is ready!"

Suddenly, a figure climbed up from below the mountain wall. It was Qiu Peng, the Minister of the Camp Needs Department, who had specially rushed over from Xia City during the day to set up the banquet.

"Got it..."

After Xia Hong answered, he suddenly turned to look at the east side of the camp and continued with a smile: "What a coincidence, Xia Chuan is also back, and it seems he brought a few distinguished guests. Let's go, follow me down to meet the people of the Jiuzhen!"

As his voice fell, he flew down the mountain wall directly. Yuan Cheng and the others also jumped down from the mountain wall using leverage and followed behind him.

In front of the main tent of the Hongguan camp, for some reason, a three-zhang-high iron circular platform had appeared. The platform was thirty meters in diameter, and a total of nine tables were placed on it. The tables were arranged in a circle, with no distinction between primary and secondary, and each was equipped with only one chair.

Except for the chair in the center with its back to the main tent, which had no text marked on it, the other eight chairs were marked with town names. Starting from the center chair, from left to right, they were Jiang Xia, Yangqu, Beishuo, Jin Shan, Wu Chuan, Chuishan, Longgu, and Muyin.

Xia Hong had actually arranged the seats for the Eight Towns.

Below the circular platform, Xia Houzhang was looking at the nine tables on the platform with Jiang Xinfan and the other two, his expression thoughtful.

"Lord Xia Hou, it's been half a year, how have you been?"

Before Xia Hong walked over, he smiled and bowed to Xia Houzhang, without any feeling of strangeness at all.

The defeat at Hongguan, Xia Houzhang being hunted down by Master Jin Gang, and later being ambushed by Master Yan Long over Fengshan, were things that happened on the night of November 29th last year. It has indeed been half a year.

But what Xia Hong didn't know was that this was actually Xia Houzhang's third time seeing him. Yesterday, when Xia Hong beheaded the three great masters in Bashang City during the day, Xia Houzhang was spying in the dark the whole time.

Looking at Xia Hong's excessively young face, Xia Houzhang's expression was somewhat complicated, but he quickly figured something out. He bowed directly to Xia Hong, his tone sincere: "Last year, the situation at Fengshan was critical. I haven't had time to thank Lord Xia Hong for saving my life. The old favor hasn't been repaid, and now Great Xia has helped me recover my lost territory, adding new grace. I am truly ashamed!"

Seeing Xia Houzhang put his posture so low, Xia Hong was somewhat surprised, but soon a smile appeared on his face. He stepped forward to help Xia Houzhang up and smiled: "Lord Xia Hou, you are too serious. I do not deny the life-saving grace of last year, but this time my Great Xia helped Jiang Xia recover its lost territory, entirely based on the principle of mutual benefit. There is no need to mention new grace."

Hearing this, Xia Houzhang immediately understood and bowed solemnly: "Lord Xia Hong, rest assured, I understand."

Xia Hong was not surprised by Jiang Xia Town's choice to lean toward Great Xia. After all, he had been planning and laying out for half a year, and the Jiuzhen themselves were not competitive. But Xia Houzhang being able to be so sensible was still beyond Xia Hong's expectations.

"Good, with Lord Xia Hou's words, I am relieved. Please take your seat!"

Xia Hong walked to the ramp of the circular platform and extended an invitation to Xia Houzhang.

Xia Houzhang nodded and bowed, and went up to the circular platform with him.

Jiang Xinfan and the other two also followed behind him.

Upon reaching the circular platform, a strange fragrance immediately rushed into their noses. The expressions of Xia Houzhang and the other three were slightly shocked. Looking closely, they found that the nine tables on the circular platform were already filled with exquisite dishes they had never seen before.

The Jiuzhen possess such a large resource treasure land as Mo'ao Mountain. Xia Houzhang and the other three are proper top-level figures of the Jiuzhen, so they are naturally not people who have never seen the world. The four of them could tell at a glance that the main ingredients of the dishes on the table were all high-level beast meat.

The key is that these high-level beast meats were all ones they had never seen before.

Moreover, although the Jiuzhen have a large population, the current mainstream cooking methods are only steaming, boiling, and roasting, and the seasonings and auxiliary materials that can be used are not many. But the dishes displayed by Great Xia had some that were crispy and golden on the outside, some with tender meat and thick soup, some with bright and eye-catching colors, and some with blackened skin but emitting a thick, strange fragrance... all kinds of things were dazzling.

Not only were the types of beast meat ones they hadn't seen, but from seasonings and auxiliary materials to specific cooking methods, Great Xia was clearly much richer than the Jiuzhen.

"What is in that pot..."

Xia Houzhang's nose twitched violently, and he suddenly noticed three very beautiful long-necked pots on the table. The three pots were red, blue, and yellow respectively. The pot bodies were crystal clear and carried many patterns, looking like jade texture. The beautiful appearance was truly eye-catching.

Of course, what Xia Houzhang was concerned about was not just the appearance. His perception far exceeded that of Jiang Xinfan and the other two, so he could clearly perceive that there was a strong strange fragrance in the air, which came from these three pots.

"Placed with the dishes, it should be for drinking. It should be a drink similar to Monkey Alcohol and Ape Fragrance Liquid. Can Great Xia actually take out three types at once!"

After Xia Houzhang guessed it, he was slightly shocked in his heart. Beishuo's Monkey Alcohol and Jin Shan's Ape Fragrance Liquid are both subdivided into lower, middle, and upper grades, corresponding to the Woodcutting, Earth-Digging, and Cold-Resisting realms respectively. Drinking them can not only clear blood and energy and improve cultivation efficiency but also quickly increase the body temperature. In some extreme cold environments, they can play a life-saving role.

The key is that the taste is also impeccable.

Anyone who has drunk it once will basically never forget it in their lifetime.

Such precious medicinal liquids, coupled with the intentional control of production by Beishuo and Jin Shan towns, naturally have astonishingly high selling prices. Taking Beishuo's Monkey Alcohol as an example, one jin of lower-grade Monkey Alcohol can sell for 20 taels of silver, middle-grade for 100 taels per jin, and upper-grade reaches an astonishing sky-high price of 10,000 taels.

At this price, it can be said that non-high-level personnel of the Jiuzhen simply do not have the financial resources to buy it. Xia Houzhang is also an extremely greedy drinker. He only buys 50 jin of upper-grade Monkey Alcohol every year, and occasionally uses middle-grade to top it off.

He is still like this, let alone others. There are many Cold-Resisting Grade soldiers who are really greedy and have no choice but to use lower-grade to top it off.

Not only the dishes and medicinal liquids, but the tablecloths laid on the nine tables also felt unusually silky to the touch, looked beautiful on the outside, and even the chairs carved from frost-white beast bones looked beautiful...

This banquet was clearly carefully arranged.

Xia Houzhang looked at these things on the table, and finally looked slightly to the right at Xia Hong, and immediately had some guesses in his heart.

"They're here!"

Xia Hong, who had just sat down, suddenly looked up at the sky.

Xia Houzhang also noticed it and immediately looked up. The Great Xia crowd around the circular platform also all looked up at the sky.

Above the Hongguan camp, there were a total of twelve figures suspended.

The twelve people were looking at the entire Hongguan camp. Because the hovering height was less than a hundred meters, the people below could clearly see the expressions on their faces.

After the twelve people finished looking at the entire Hongguan camp, their faces clearly showed deep shock. Finally, they cast their gazes at the circular platform below. Seeing Xia Hong in the main seat, their pupils shrank, and their expressions immediately became extremely wary.

Xia Hong did not stand up the whole time. While the twelve were looking at the camp, he was also looking up at the other side. After roughly identifying the identities of the twelve, he smiled faintly and said slowly: "Are you all planning to stay in the sky and not come down? I specially set up a banquet here tonight. Can the Lords of the Liuzhen do me the honor of coming down to sit?"

Among the twelve Manifestation Grade masters, half of them glared at Xia Hong. Naturally, they were the Jin Shan, Wu Chuan, and Chuishan towns that had just received bad news in Bashang City;

The remaining half also mostly had wariness in their eyes;

Only Yang Fa, the Town Head of Beishuo Town, remembered something the first time he saw Xia Hong. He turned his head and said something to his brother Yang Zun beside him. Upon hearing this, Yang Zun's expression sank slightly.

Jin Shan Lord Shangguan Yang and Chuishan Lord Duan Hong both stepped forward slightly. It could be seen that they both originally intended to scold the people below directly, but when the words reached their lips, they seemed to have thought of something and swallowed them back.

"Great Xia Lord's great kindness, how can I, Cao, not obey? Hahaha!"

Yangqu's Cao Ganyang was the first to speak. He seemed to have figured something out, the wariness on his face had disappeared, and he responded to Xia Hong with a loud laugh, flashing down with his Army Head Yan Chenzhou beside him.

"Last night in Bashang City, I heard that a man in black fought five alone during the day and beheaded three great masters. I admired him very much at the time, only hating that I was a step late and didn't see his true face. Now I have finally seen him. It is truly better to meet than to hear of him. Longgu Lord Long Mingyuan has met Lord Xia Hong."

Long Mingyuan also brought his Army Head Li Yangtian down.

"I didn't expect Lord Xia Hong to have been to Beishuo City last September. I was out at the time, what a pity!"

Then came the two brothers Yang Zun and Yang Fa of Beishuo.

Hearing Yang Zun's words, Xia Hong smiled and said: "I traveled through the Jiuzhen last year, and Beishuo happened to be the last stop. Because I didn't understand the rules of the Jiuzhen, I had a small misunderstanding with brother Yang Fa. I hope Lord Yang Zun will forgive me."

"Since it was a misunderstanding, there is no need to talk about forgiveness. Brother Xia is too polite!"

Xia Hong nodded with a smile, and then cast his gaze on the six people still staying above. Although he didn't speak, his expression was clearly much colder.

Shangguan Yang, Qin Feng, and Duan Hong could clearly perceive the change in Xia Hong's mood. The three looked down at the three towns that had already taken their seats. A flash of anger first appeared in their eyes, but after thinking for a moment, they still came down and took their seats.

Like Xia Houzhang, after the Lords of the Liuzhen took their seats, they first noticed the dishes and wine pots on the table. Their pupils condensed slightly, and many thoughts flashed through their minds.

"The last distinguished guest has arrived!"

Not long after Xia Hong sat down, he suddenly looked up at the sky.

Xia Houzhang also noticed it and immediately looked up. The Great Xia crowd around the circular platform also all looked up at the sky.

In the northern sky, a red figure was galloping toward the Hongguan camp.

After that person approached the Hongguan camp, like the Lords of the Liuzhen, he first looked at the situation in the camp, and then immediately noticed the circular platform here. He flew down to the circular platform, looked around at the Lords of the Seven Towns, nodded slightly in greeting, and finally fixed his gaze on Xia Hong in the main seat. After thinking for a moment, he bowed directly and said in a deep voice: "Muyin Town Lord Murong Chui pays respects to the Great Xia Lord!"

Hearing Murong Chui call himself Lord, Jin Shan Town Lord Shangguan Yang's expression instantly became ugly.

Wu Chuan Qin Feng and Beishuo Yang Zun's expressions also flickered.

"Lord Murong, please take your seat!"

Xia Hong was not surprised at all and directly pointed to the table closest to his right, signaling Murong Chui to take his seat.

Murong Chui naturally nodded and took his seat.

"There are roughly forty-eight types of cold beasts distributed at the southern foot of Mo'ao Mountain, among which the Snow Shadow Wolf, Rock-Armored Bear, Frost-Side Ape, Ice-Claw Lizard, Golden-Spotted Tiger, Six-Horned Demon Sheep, Red Luan, Zhu Hong, and Black Evil Eagle are the most common. Am I right, Lord Xia?"

After the Lords of the Eight Towns were all seated, Xia Hong spoke directly.

He ignored the fact that his words made the Lords of the Eight Towns change their expressions. He directly picked up chopsticks, picked up a piece of meat on the table, chewed it a few times, and pointed to the dishes on the table: "Chenxiang Fried Gnawing Tip, Snow Bamboo Shoot Stir-fried Mane Meat, Green Saliva Braised White Bear Paw, Chen Fruit Roasted Lamb Chop, Crystal Branch Stewed Kui Ribs, Fragrant Cold Fruit Painted Tiger Soup... These nine dishes on the table were specially selected by me. Whether it is seasonings or auxiliary materials, they are all relatively rare in the Jiuzhen. You can move your chopsticks and taste them. There will be surprises!"

"Just smelling the fragrance of these dishes, I couldn't help it. I have loved gourmet food all my life. You all laugh at me, I will taste it first."

Similar to the order of taking seats just now, Cao Ganyang was the first to move his chopsticks, then Long Mingyuan, then Yang Zun, and finally the people from the other three towns.

After the Lords of the Eight Towns tasted the first bite of the dish, their expressions changed in unison.

They seemed to be somewhat unbelievable and changed to another portion to continue tasting.

After tasting the nine dishes in a round, all eight were shocked.

Seeing the expressions of the eight, no surprise appeared on Xia Hong's face.

Because in the Jiuzhen, there is no salt!

When Lu Yang sent this situation back to Xia City two years ago, Xia Hong realized instantly that the productivity of the Jiuzhen should be different from Great Xia.

After several years of continuous investigation, Xia Hong's guess was indeed confirmed.

Not just salt, but everything from martial arts techniques, alchemy, and medicine refining, to the efficiency of utilizing various cultivation resources; to weapon forging, armor making, and artifact forging; to clothing, food, housing, and transportation, and even food seasonings and cooking methods—there is a significant gap between the Jiuzhen and Great Xia.

Thinking about it, it makes sense. Great Xia not only has the assistance of a powerful camp system but also has him, a Lord who traveled from a civilized world. Although he doesn't know exactly how to manufacture many things, providing some basic ideas to Mu Dong and the others is no problem at all.

The Alchemy Pavilion and the Artifact Pavilion now have identification functions. Whenever new types of materials are sent to Xia City, Mu Dong will immediately lead the Craftsman Department to study their uses. Under these circumstances, Great Xia is almost constantly giving birth to new things, and productivity is also crazily leaping along with the exploration of territory and the growth of territory.

The Jiuzhen have been established at the southern foot of Mo'ao Mountain for basically more than a hundred years, yet their productivity is not as good as Great Xia, which has risen for less than ten years. From this, one can see how terrifying the help of the camp system is to Great Xia.

Since Great Xia's productivity is above the Jiuzhen, there are too many things Great Xia can do.

The most important one is naturally commerce and trade.

Hosting a banquet to entertain the Lords of the Eight Towns tonight, the primary purpose is naturally to let Great Xia completely appear in the eyes of everyone at the southern foot of Mo'ao Mountain, but it is also a deliberate display of Great Xia's productivity by Xia Hong.

The two things he took out today can be considered the most iconic. As long as the Lords of the Eight Towns are not stupid, they will definitely try their best to buy them from Great Xia.

And the things they want, Great Xia has far more than these two.

Mastering advanced productivity and using commerce and trade to extract resources from the Jiuzhen is the true purpose of Xia Hong's banquet tonight.

Xia Hong's mind was full of thoughts. Looking at the shock on the faces of the Lords of the Eight Towns, his mood gradually became excited.

But at this moment, the most excited person in the audience was not Xia Hong, but Qiu Peng, the Minister of the Camp Needs Department, who was standing behind Xia Hong.

He was the first to see Xia Hong's intention to host the Lords of the Eight Towns. ===== CHAPTER 383 =====