Chapter 437: Yinhe Valley, Bone-Eroding Path, Han Peng

Jin Shan Town has a total of nine administrative districts, and Yinhe Valley is the one furthest to the west.

Although it is located in the far west, because more than half of Jin Shan Town's territory is embedded inside Mount Moao, it is actually adjacent to Mount Moao here.

"No wonder it is named after a valley. I saw it when I just flew over. The mountain body of Mount Moao is concave here by a large part, forming a large valley area, which can be considered a Double Dragon Valley expanded by dozens of times, right?"

At the northern end of Jin Yang Village, Li Hu and Yang Zhong were walking with Xia Hong towards the depths of Yinhe Valley on the north side, while introducing the situation of Jin Yang Village to him with excitement.

Hearing Xia Hong's question, Li Hu immediately nodded and said: "This Yinhe Valley generally runs north-south. The overall area is unclear, but the area controlled by Jin Shan Town is about more than 1600 square kilometers, 30 kilometers wide from east to west, and 50 kilometers deep from north to south. There are a total of 23 village-level camps distributed, and there are also many other large and medium-sized camps. Jin Yang Village is located at the deepest part of the north side of Yinhe Valley."

"50 kilometers deep from north to south, the area controlled by Jin Shan Town..."

Xia Hong pondered for a moment, then looked north and asked: "Beyond 50 kilometers, the unexplored area of Jin Shan Town is the road leading to Cai Qiu, right?"

Li Hu nodded and answered: "That's right. I have been here for more than a year and have long since inquired clearly. More than twenty years ago, Jin Shan Town originally intended to continue expanding north along Yinhe Valley, that is, to the inside of Mount Moao. But after walking more than 50 kilometers north along Yinhe Valley, one will pass through an area named Bone-Eroding Path. That area has a black wind raging all year round..."

Black wind raging. Xia Hong immediately remembered the black cloud area he saw when he looked north when he just flew to the Yinhe Valley area. He immediately turned his head and looked at Li Hu curiously, waiting for his follow-up.

Li Hu clearly remembered some bad images, and with a hint of horror in his eyes, he said: "The black wind of the Bone-Eroding Path is terrifying. It can instantly scrape away a person's flesh and blood. Even if a Frigid Resistance level enters, there is no life. I only heard people in Jin Yang Village say so before and didn't quite believe it. In May of this year, I took the time to lead people to explore it myself..."

As Li Hu recounted his exploration experience in May of this year, Xia Hong finally understood why he showed such an expression when mentioning the Bone-Eroding Path.

According to what Li Hu said, in May, he led people close to the edge of the Bone-Eroding Path and saw the black wind area with his own eyes. Of course, he would not test it himself, but took Yang Zhong and the hunting team to drive three intermediate Lei Kui into the black wind area to test it.

The defensive ability of the Lei Kui's skin membrane is definitely among the best among various types of cold beasts. The flesh and skin membrane of an intermediate Lei Kui is enough to rival that of a human with Frigid Resistance level cultivation.

But those three intermediate Lei Kui, the moment they entered the black wind area of the Bone-Eroding Path, their skin membranes and flesh were instantly scraped open and torn apart. In less than ten breaths, only a skeleton remained.

"Flesh and skin membrane, all scraped away by the black wind, leaving only a skeleton!"

Xia Hong's pupils shrank slightly, and a sense of solemnity immediately rose on his face.

Li Hu nodded heavily and said: "That's right. We were also stunned at the time. The black wind looked sparse and ordinary, no different from normal airflow. I even used condensing fire oil and small torches to test it separately, but there was no reaction after throwing them in."

This is interesting!

Xia Hong lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then turned to ask: "In March of this year, there should have been a group of people from Cai Qiu coming over, right? Did you see them?"

Han Peng had explained very clearly last year that Cai Qiu's superiors would meet with him twice a year, once in August, which was this month, and the other time in March.

Li Hu immediately answered: "I saw them. On the 25th of March this year, a total of 4 people came from Cai Qiu. We only know that the leader is named Cai Shiqing. He looks about forty years old, has an arrogant and domineering personality, looks down on everyone, and is extremely lustful. My strength is low, and I can only roughly judge that he is Frigid Resistance level, but I failed to see through their specific strength."

Coming from a vassal town, their strength naturally would not be too low. Thinking of the seven people in Chu Yan'er's group, all of whom had strength above 20 bristles, Xia Hong did not show much surprise on his face. However, hearing Li Hu speak of Cai Shiqing with obvious anger in his tone, he still turned his head and looked at him curiously.

"Why, did you suffer a loss at the hands of this Cai Shiqing?"

A look of chagrin immediately appeared on Li Hu's face, and he bowed his hands: "The Lord has eyes like torches. My subordinate dare not hide it. In March, as soon as this Cai Shiqing came, he immediately asked Han Peng to gather the women in the village for him to choose. I couldn't stand it, so I helped Han Peng say a few words, and as a result, I was beaten."

Hearing this, Xia Hong's face immediately sank.

Yang Zhong, who was on the side, stood out with hesitation at this time. He had already noticed Li Hu's eyes stopping him, but still gritted his teeth and said: "Reporting to the Lord, the captain didn't just get beaten. That Cai Shiqing pierced his left chest with a sword at the time, only half an inch away from breaking his heart, and he almost lost his life."

"It seems that the people from the Cai Qiu vassal town are not good things either!"

As soon as he came, he asked Han Peng to gather the women in the village for him to choose. Even without asking for details, Xia Hong could roughly guess what was going on.

This Cai Shiqing was clearly another stupid bad seed who relied on his noble birth and looked down on everyone. As soon as he came, he started choosing concubines. This was clearly treating the Jiuzhen territory as a poor and remote place where he could do whatever he wanted.

In the extreme environment of the Frozen Abyss, there seems to be no shortage of such people forever. Yang Ning and Li Hu of Beishuo many years ago; the seven people in Chu Yan'er's group from Chen Cang last year; and now this Cai Shiqing of Cai Qiu...

Xia Hong shook his head and sneered: "Frigid Resistance level cultivation, those four people including Cai Shiqing could not cross the Bone-Eroding Path by themselves. It is highly likely that they were escorted by someone. With such little strength, wanting to do whatever they want in the Jiuzhen, stupid!"

"My subordinate is not clear about this. Those four people came directly from the north. Even if there were people escorting them, we could not discover it."

Li Hu, after all, only had a strength of 18 bristles, so what he could see was naturally limited.

Xia Hong continued to ask: "I have already heard from Lu Yang that the intelligence you sent back to Dongling said that the four people including Cai Shiqing only stayed in Jin Yang Village for more than a month before leaving. Do you know where they went?"

Li Hu immediately shook his head: "The Lord forgives me. Those four people were too strong, and my subordinate did not dare to follow them, let alone send people. However, although I am not clear about the movements of the four, my subordinate has already passed their portraits to Lord Lu. As long as the four people are active within Great Xia, they will definitely be discovered at the first opportunity."

Xia Hong nodded and continued to ask: "According to what you said, this Cai Shiqing didn't take Jin Yang Village seriously at all, so Han Peng's loyalty to them should be quite limited, right?"

"Of course!"

Li Hu gave a definite answer and sneered: "I am not clear about the people who came before, but judging from the conduct of this Cai Shiqing, Han Peng must hate him to the bone in his heart. When I first came last year, I was still very wary of Han Peng, fearing that he would turn against us. But seeing the conduct of these four people including Cai Shiqing in March this year, I was basically at ease with Han Peng.

Han Peng chats with me a lot on weekdays. Cai Qiu just throws him some silver every year and doesn't treat him as one of their own at all. On the contrary, Lord Lu has already sent him quite a few Yang Yuan Pills this year, and coupled with the fact that his grandson Han Li is doing well in Dongling, in my opinion, Han Peng has no more wariness towards our Great Xia."

Xia Hong then smiled and nodded, turned his head to look at the direction of the village, and said: "Han Li took 99th place in the youth group in this martial arts tournament, and Great Xia has invested a large amount of resources in him. As long as Han Peng is not stupid, he knows how to choose."

Hearing about the martial arts tournament, a look of regret appeared on Li Hu's face. Although he had always been in Jin Yang Village, the news of the Three Towns Martial Arts Tournament was making a lot of noise, and he had long heard about it, knowing that the rewards were exceptionally generous. Unfortunately, he was already 27 years old this year. If he were two years younger, he could also have gone back to participate.

"No need to regret. 27 years old, Frigid Resistance late-stage cultivation, 18 bristles of strength, just one step away from the peak of Frigid Resistance. Your strength can definitely be considered a leader among your peers in the Jiuzhen..."

Xia Hong knew what he was thinking as soon as he saw Li Hu's expression. He comforted him with a smile, then paused, thought of something, took out a small porcelain bottle from his arms, and threw it directly to him.

"Lurking in Jin Yang Village is not an easy task. It will still be a long time before Great Xia truly establishes the Jiuzhen. You will likely have to stay here to keep an eye on Cai Qiu's movements. Here are 30 Dragon Carp Pills; you and Yang Zhong can split them first. Consider it a small reward from me. When we return to Xia City later, I will reward you based on your merits. This Lord will never treat you unfairly, rest assured!"

Li Hu took the Dragon Carp Pills, and a trace of excitement immediately appeared on his face. He cupped his hands with Yang Zhong beside him and bowed respectfully to Xia Hong, shouting in unison: "Thank you, Lord, for bestowing the pills! Your subordinates will definitely go through fire and water to help the Lord establish the Jiuzhen and sweep away all obstacles on the path ahead."

Hearing the two men's words, a smile immediately rose on Xia Hong's face.

One with 18 bristles, one with 12 bristles—with such little strength, wanting to sweep away all obstacles on the path ahead for him to establish the Jiuzhen was definitely impossible.

However, having this heart was enough!

Strength, slowly improved, will always rise.

"You two go back! I'll go to the Bone-Eroding Path to check the situation first."

Upon hearing this, Li Hu and Yang Zhong's faces immediately showed nervousness, and they hurriedly advised: "The Bone-Eroding Path is treacherous, and people from Cai Qiu's side haven't arrived yet. The Lord must absolutely not risk himself alone......"

"Rest assured!"

Xia Hong waved his hand directly and continued: "I'm just going over to take a look. I only know of one Bone-Eroding Path; once inside, I know nothing of the subsequent route. How could I recklessly enter? I'll just take a look and come back."

Cai Qiu's superiors were coming to Jin Yang Village in August. Following those people to the Cai Qiu Fanzhen was obviously safer; Xia Hong naturally understood this.

Hearing this, Li Hu and Yang Zhong felt much more at ease, but they were still worried: "Then Lord, let us take you over!"

After speaking, the two did not wait for Xia Hong to refuse and took the lead to dash northward.

Xia Hong thought about it and did not refuse. Jin Yang Village was located in the 30-kilometer deep region of Yinhe Valley, and it was only 20-plus kilometers north to the Bone-Eroding Path. Li Hu and Yang Zhong's cultivation levels were not low; a round trip would not take much time.

"Almost 6 bristles, not bad, not bad. Li'er has made great progress, haha!"

At the same time Xia Hong was asking Li Hu and Yang Zhong about the situation in Cai Qiu.

Inside the main building of Jin Yang Village, Han Peng finally met his grandson Han Li, from whom he had been separated for a year. Seeing that his grandson's strength had increased by more than 3 bristles in a year, he was almost unable to close his mouth from laughing.

As for Han Li, he kept taking things out of his bundle, introducing them as he took them out: "Grandfather, this time I took 99th place in the youth group of the Great Xia martial arts assembly. I was rewarded with quite a few things. Just the silver alone is 50,000 taels; I have already exchanged it all for cultivation resources.

You bought Dragon Carp Pills at the Hong Sect last year, saying they were 100,000 taels each, right? I exchanged them at the military supply department in Xia City, and it only took 50,000 contribution points to exchange for one. I exchanged 10 for Grandfather directly; look......"

Han Li placed the 10 Dragon Carp Pills in front of Han Peng, then continued to introduce: "5 Yang Origin Pills, 15 jin of refined salt, 5 jin of mid-grade Cold Blood Wine......"