Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

Chapter 1815: Chapter 580: Piercing Illusions at Last, Overhead

The thirteenth year of Great Xia, January 8th, late night

Xia Hong, in a frantic rush, finally arrived at Chilong Lake.

“Who dares to trespass on the forbidden… Lord!”

The soldiers on duty at the lake saw someone flying down from afar. Even though they were aware it was a Xianyang level powerhouse, they drew their weapons to block him. However, as soon as the Deputy Commander of the Military, Xiang Ping, recognized it was Xia Hong, he quickly retracted his weapon and knelt down, his face full of excitement.

All the soldiers on the lake kneeled, bowing down to Xia Hong.

“No need for formalities, rise!”

Xia Hong still had some impression of Xiang Ping. At the earliest, when Great Xia expanded into the Wuyuan Territories, the first of the Wuyuan Mountain North Four Families to submit was the Hefeng Camp led by Xiang Ping.

Unlike his son, Xiang Liang, who worked in the Prison Department, Xiang Ping had always developed his career in the military. Initially in the Longyuan Army, it was evident over the years that he had been gradually promoted.

“What is the situation here? Tell me!”

Worried about the safety of his wife and child, he wasn’t in the mood for small talk and asked directly. The presence of so many soldiers on the lake, along with Xiang Ping, indicated something had happened at Chilong Lake.

Xiang Ping immediately began to speak, explaining the sequence of events.

As he explained, Xia Hong’s gaze was directed towards the lake’s bottom. Just upon landing, he had noticed a golden light, and now he saw the golden palace clearly inside it.

“… Then, Mr. Cheng, along with Xiahou Yong and Jiang Yiqing, dived into the water. It’s been half an hour now, and we’re planning to send someone down to the lake bed to take a look.”

By the end, Xiang Ping’s expression was already quite grim.

The flesh of those with Cold Resistance Level can temporarily resist the cold underwater. Coupled with temporarily locked skin pores, the dive limit is about half a quarter of an hour. Exceeding this limit easily leads to problems. Cheng He and the others had been underwater for half an hour, double this limit.

Thus, something must have happened to the three of them.

“Have everyone withdraw from the lake surface. I’ll go down alone to check.”

“Lord, you must not…”

Hearing Xia Hong about to risk his life, Xiang Ping’s face immediately showed urgency, stepping forward to stop him, but before he could finish, Xia Hong had already plunged into the water.

“Everyone, withdraw from the lake surface and wait on the shore!”

Xiang Ping stood there looking worried and, after hesitating several times, turned back to order all soldiers to retreat, only keeping a few stronger subordinates by the edge, anxiously waiting for Xia Hong to emerge.

“Sir, wasn’t the Lord over by Moao River? Why did he suddenly come back? Perhaps the ones who previously dived to the lake bed came from the Four Vassals?”

“Don’t speculate blindly. Stay alert. Something big might be about to happen!”

If the subordinates could think of it, then Xiang Ping surely could as well. Combined with the worried look on Xia Hong’s face upon landing, it wasn’t hard to guess that something significant had occurred. Ever since joining Great Xia twelve years ago, he had almost never seen the Lord show such an expression.

……

“Chilong Lake is two hundred meters deep. Before heading to Moao River, I’ve explored underwater no less than ten times, and I’ve never seen this golden palace. So, this palace must have been deliberately created by the foreign princess who kidnapped Xuanling and her sons…”

Xia Hong quickly reached the lake bed. As Xiang Ping had informed him, the golden palace seemed closer and closer to the naked eye. However, as soon as it was within reach, the palace suddenly vanished.

“I’ve searched the lake bed several times before, and can never find the demon dragon’s lair. Most likely, this golden palace is it. This means the foreign princess understands the demon dragon well, even to the extent of pinpointing its lair at will. But the question is, why did she kidnap the Xuanling mother and sons, lure me here, and reveal this dragon lair?”

Xia Hong simply had too little information. He had rushed over from Bone-Eroding Path at full speed, and though he listened to Hou Tong explain the situation along the way, Hou Tong’s explanation was vague. Other than the names Li Longyu and the princess, the opponent’s strength, and the fact that the three women weren’t hostile towards Li Xuanling and her children, he had no other valuable information. Hence, he couldn’t comprehend the opponent’s purpose.

“Regardless of what plot they may have, I must rescue them first…”

Moments later, having found neither the entrance to the palace nor Cheng He and the others, Xia Hong took a deep breath to calm himself. Making up his mind, a divine light suddenly flashed past his left eye as he stood on the lake bed, looking toward the area where the palace had just appeared.

“Apart from the camp system, the most significant item on me should be the Yin Yang Mirror. After all, so many deceitful monsters recognize it at a glance!”

There are two sides to the Yin Yang Mirror. When the Mirror Immortal Camp was destroyed years ago, he and He Yuanhun each took one side. He got the Yang Mirror.

After the Yang Mirror was integrated into his left eye, he gained three skills: the attack method Shattering Divine Light, a superior visual ability to see through human meridians, and lastly, the Eye of Truth.

In its early stage, the Eye of Truth could merely see through disguises. But as his power grew stronger, Xia Hong discovered this ability upgraded to perceive deceitful objects’ illusions and even space anomalies.

This golden palace, clearly underwater yet elusive, was likely either an illusion or a different space, ideal for the Eye of Truth to uncover.

“Indeed…”

Standing on the lake bed, Xia Hong scanned the water with his left eye, and the palace reappeared. But it wasn’t in front of him; it was above his head.