Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

Chapter 795: Chapter 315: The Strange Cold Apple Tree and the Seized Silver Mine

”I heard from Hou Hu that out of the two Cold Apple Trees, one was first discovered by his father, Hou Hai, and later was taken by your Long Mountain. Is this true or false?”

With the Cold Apple Trees almost in sight, Xia Hong was in a good mood. Recalling what Hou Hu had said earlier, he asked the two people with great interest.

”Shameless!”

Li Tiancheng frowned as he led the way in front, but said nothing. Li Xuanling couldn’t help but shout an insult.

”That Cold Apple Tree was clearly first discovered by my father. Hou Hai didn’t want Long Mountain to have it all to ourselves, so he joined forces with over twenty camps at the time to wage war against us, causing devastation in Longyou and reducing the number of camps to twelve. My father relented in the end, giving them 70% of the share!”

Seeing Li Xuanling’s furious stance with her brows raised, it seemed her words weren’t untrue. Although Xia Hong had suspected that Hou Hu probably lied to him, he didn’t expect that the man could twist the facts to such an extent.

”And he said that from year forty of Longyou, the yield of jade dew from that Cold Apple Tree was only 40 drops a year. Is that true or false? How about the other one, how many drops does it produce annually?”

Hou Hu only knew of one Cold Apple Tree, clearly, Long Mountain had hidden another one, unknown to all of Longyou.

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

Li Tiancheng replied, ”I won’t hide it from Leader Xia, regarding the Cold Apple Tree Hou Hu mentioned, we really didn’t deceive anyone. From year twenty of Longyou, the yield has been gradually decreasing. As of this year, it takes an average of ten days to produce just one drop, totaling less than 40 drops a year.”

With the way they led, winding and turning, it was estimated that the location of the Cold Apple Tree was still far away, so Xia Hong continued to inquire as they walked, ”What about the yield of the other tree?”

”The other Cold Apple Tree was discovered in year thirty-one of Longyou, and it’s not that old. Last year, it produced over 240 drops.”

Goodness, they concealed a yield six times greater. No wonder, over the years, the power gap grew wider between the other eleven camps and Long Mountain.

”You said it takes ten days to produce a drop, so does that mean the Cold Apple Jade Dew doesn’t mature all at once and grows drop by drop?”

Xia Hong’s face was full of confusion. Since it’s called a Cold Apple Tree, it shouldn’t have left the realm of vegetation, with sprouting, blooming, bearing fruit, and maturing being the growth rules for all vegetation, just like Great Xia’s currently discovered Ice Tree, Blue Jade Tree, and other trees.

But from Li Tiancheng’s description, it was evidently not so.

”Country bumpkin!”

Li Xuanling, still holding a grudge, seized the opportunity to sneer at Xia Hong’s ignorance of the Cold Apple Tree.

Unfortunately, Xia Hong completely ignored her, waiting for Li Tiancheng to explain.

Watching Li Xuanling provoke Xia Hong, Li Tiancheng wore a strange expression and was about to explain when Li Xuanling preemptively spoke.

”The Cold Apple Tree grows upside down underground. The jade dew is the liquid that condenses as it absorbs the ever-cooling light, so it naturally drips downwards along the root and stem.”

There are many plants that grow underground, but very few that can produce such a rare medicinal material as jade dew.

”Then speed up, take me there to see it for myself!”

Growing more curious about the Cold Apple Tree, Xia Hong urged the two forward.

Having just parted ways with Li Xuandu at a location 20 kilometers deep into Long Mountain, in half an hour, Xia Hong estimated that he had followed the two another 15 kilometers inward.

”This should be considered the main vein of Long Mountain, right?”

On the eastern outskirts of Long Mountain, there’s a section extending from the main vein, about fifty kilometers north to south and thirty kilometers east to west.

Following the two about thirty-five kilometers eastward, Xia Hong had reached what was considered the main vein of Long Mountain, very deep in.

”The Cold Apple Tree Hou Hu mentioned is just ahead.”

Li Tiancheng pointed to a location on the west side where a mound stood and took the lead with Li Xuanling walking over, Xia Hong right on their heels, quickly reaching the top of the mound.

Beyond the mound was a valley recessed hundreds of meters downward.

Standing at the edge of the mound and looking down, an extremely dazzling azure light immediately came into view.

”Let’s move!”

After speaking, he directly headed down the slope of the ravine. Li Tiancheng and Li Xuanling followed close behind as they descended together.

The leaves and branches of the Cold Apple Tree were azure, the same color as Jade Bone. The overall shape resembled a stemless mushroom, like a domed canopy.

”This canopy is about fifteen meters in diameter, how long is the root and stem?”

Having just heard Li Xuanling say that the Cold Apple Tree grows underground, after observing the surface portion, Xia Hong, while asking this, walked under the tree, brushed away the surrounding soil, and was momentarily stunned when he saw the root and stem.

The above-ground canopy of this Cold Apple Tree was a fifteen-meter diameter dome. Xia Hong thought the root and stem should be at least half that, or three to four meters wouldn’t be too much to ask.

Yet, in fact, its root and stem were only as thick as a pinky finger.

”Leader, please follow me!”

Li Tiancheng groped around the eastern stone wall of the ravine for a while, then gave it a hard push, revealing a hole.

He took Xia Hong into the hole, explaining as they walked.

”The Cold Apple Tree’s root and stem are too thin, and their extension direction underground is entirely without pattern, so not only do we have to dig tunnels to find its end, but we also need to send people to verify its location once a year.”

Actually, Li Tiancheng didn’t need to explain this point; Xia Hong understood it just by following them through the tunnels for a while.