Chapter 168: Heavy Blizzard, Excited Territory Members!

Hearing this, Isabelle bit her lower lip and looked at the Blood Spider Queen with some indignation.

Because she truly couldn't refute it.

Cao Xing looked at Hilda beside him, and his heart immediately filled with joy.

He hadn't expected that this woman, who was always so arrogant, would start speaking up for him today.

Although they were in the middle of battle, Cao Xing couldn't help but quietly give Hilda a thumbs up.

However, after the Blood Spider Queen saw Cao Xing's gesture, she gave a disdainful 'Tch.'

She turned her head away once more.

Cao Xing didn't mind.

At this moment, the Elder Face Tree's HP had already been slashed to the minimum by Sarah.

Under the [Song of Rebirth] status, Sarah abandoned all defense and began to hack wildly at the Elder Face Tree!

Those damage numbers were enough to make anyone tremble!

The Elder Face Tree also knew that if this continued, it would be hacked to death by this Dark Elf woman right before its eyes!

At this moment, it retracted all its branches, seemingly wanting to enter the Life Drain state!

Under this skill, the Elder Face Tree would recover 1% HP per second, which was a recovery figure of over five thousand!

At this moment, Braum rushed over directly.

Then he raised his shield and slammed it heavily onto the ground!

Glacial Fissure!

The terrifying frost spread, instantly covering the entire Elder Face Tree.

And this also interrupted the Elder Face Tree's [Life Drain] skill.

Cao Xing praised, "Braum, well done."

Braum scratched his head sheepishly.

8 seconds later.

The Song of Rebirth hadn't ended yet.

The Elder Face Tree's HP had already reached zero.

A system prompt appeared.

[Your territory member: Sarah Blade Dance killed Elder Face Tree lv32, Tier 4 Boss-level creature, obtained EXP: 6400]

[Combatants obtained EXP: 3200]

…

At this moment, all the branches of the Elder Face Tree drooped down.

Everyone exited the combat state.

Cao Xing saw that at the roots of the Elder Face Tree, a heart full of life energy had appeared, along with a bright soul.

Cao Xing's heart skipped a beat, and he ordered, "Assam, same as before, cut down the branches on these Face Trees first."

"Yes! My Lord!"

Everyone began to follow orders.

Cao Xing couldn't wait to go to the side of the Elder Face Tree and picked up everything on the ground.

[Obtained: Elder Face Tree Heart (Purple)]

[Obtained: Elder Face Tree Bark (Purple)]

[Obtained: High-Quality Tree Sap (Purple) * 7]

[Obtained: Advanced Elemental Crystal * 5]

[Obtained: Large Agility Book * 1]

…

"It really dropped a higher-grade Face Tree Heart! Haha!"

Cao Xing was extremely excited.

Then he checked the attributes of these materials.

[Elder Face Tree Heart (Purple): A heart containing boundless life force]

[Effect 1: After consumption, increases Max HP by 1000 points, effective up to 1 time]

[Effect 2: Accelerates the growth time of some magical plants or special creatures, varying from 3 to 5 years.]

…

[Elder Face Tree Bark (Purple): An extremely resilient material, also containing some life energy from the Elder Face Tree.]

(Can be used to craft Rare quality leather armor or other items, with a higher chance of attaching special effects.)

…

[High-Quality Tree Sap (Purple): Tree sap containing magic power, with a clearer taste.]

(After consumption, can restore a large amount of Mental Power.)

…

"It can actually increase growth time by at least 3 years! This is too powerful!"

"This time, not only can I accelerate the Pale Tree's growth, but I can also let the Pale Tree gain several more years of growth!"

You know, after the Pale Tree grows, it will have two blessing effects, which are very powerful.

And it will also increase the strength of the blessings as the Pale Tree grows.

At this moment, Dabai also felt a strong desire for the heart in Cao Xing's hand.

Now, the Blue quality Face Tree Heart no longer had any effect on Dabai.

But this Purple Face Tree Heart could allow Dabai to grow further.

Cao Xing stroked its nose and said, "Dabai, don't be impatient, I still have a use for this heart."

"When we come to the Witch Forest next time, I'll find you a new Boss heart, understand?"

"Wuu…"

Dabai nodded gently, seemingly understanding Cao Xing's words.

It suppressed the desire in its heart.

At this time, Assam and the others had also finished cutting down all the vines on those Face Trees.

However, they spent a bit more effort on this Boss-level Face Tree.

The resilience of these vines was too strong!

Then, Cao Xing also collected the large pile of materials on the ground.

[Obtained: Resilient Vine (Green) * 782]

[Obtained: Tough Vine (Blue) * 195]

[Obtained: Ancient Vine (Purple) * 113]

[Obtained: Ice Crystal Face Tree Guard Heart (Blue) * 2]

[Obtained: Ice Crystal Face Tree Guard Bark (Blue) * 2]

[Obtained: Medium-Quality Tree Sap (Blue) * 36]

[Obtained…]

…

Cao Xing glanced at his backpack.

The total number of Face Tree Hearts of various grades added up to over a hundred.

There were 102 Green grade ones.

There were 8 Blue grade ones.

There was 1 Purple grade one.

Besides these, there was a large pile of vines, bark, and tree sap.

Cao Xing exclaimed again, "The harvest today is truly bountiful!"

He glanced at the time overhead.

[Time until nightfall: 1 hour 53 minutes]

[Current temperature: -56℃]

[Current weather: Moderate Snow]

…

"Hmm? Has it started snowing already?"

Cao Xing looked up at the sky.

However, it seemed that because the vegetation in the Witch Forest was too dense, the snowflakes couldn't drift in.

However, the temperature was constantly dropping.

After pondering for a moment, Cao Xing said, "Let's go, we are preparing to return to the camp."

After saying this, he and Liu Muxue returned to Dabai's back together.

And on Dabai's back, there was also a Hunter assassin who had been tied up tightly.

Thump! Thump-thump!

The Mammoth's pace was not very fast.

Because the terrain in the forest was quite complex, and there were many obstacles.

If it were the indigenous people of this world, without a strong sense of direction, even a Tier 3 or 4 powerhouse would likely get lost in the forest.

But fortunately, Cao Xing had the system's built-in mini-map.

With Cao Xing's guidance, they began to move forward, and after about half an hour, they rushed out of the Witch Forest.

On the way, they also encountered attacks from some Face Trees and wild beasts.

But Cao Xing didn't want to waste time, so he didn't get entangled with them.

The moment they stepped out of the Witch Forest.

Cao Xing saw a vast expanse of white before his eyes, and a cold wind immediately blew into his face.

"Hoo—"

Not only that, goose-feather-sized snowflakes were falling continuously, almost filling up everything in front of them.

Cao Xing couldn't help but complain, "Damn… how is this moderate snow?"

"This is a freaking heavy blizzard, right?"

Assam and the others were also a bit bewildered.

The weather was fine when they entered the forest, but as soon as they came out, they encountered such a huge snowstorm.

Moreover, such heavy snow could very likely trigger some geological disasters.

Cao Xing said, "We need to speed up, the snow is getting heavier and heavier, which will slow down our movement speed."

"Starting now, follow behind me, full speed ahead!"

After speaking, Cao Xing controlled Dabai to start running wildly.

The others followed behind the Mammoth, burying their heads and hurrying on their way.

Thump! Thump-thump!

The Mammoth strode with its thick elephant hooves, and with every step, it stamped out a deep snow pit.

Cao Xing didn't know how long this snow had been falling.

But it shouldn't have been more than three hours.

The snow on the ground had already submerged Dabai's ankles again, about forty to fifty centimeters thick.

"Hoo—hoo—"

The howling cold wind blew past his ears, and the snowflakes filling the sky blurred Cao Xing's eyes.

Before long, a layer of snow appeared on everyone's heads or bodies.

Even on Assam's armor, specks of white frost appeared.

Under such heavy wind and snow, the visibility was no more than twenty meters.

Even with a mini-map, it wouldn't tell you what obstacles or traps were ahead.

Several times, because Dabai was charging too fast, Cao Xing couldn't command it in time and almost crashed headlong into a boulder.

Helpless, Cao Xing could only let Dabai slow down its movement speed.

'Moderate snow' caused their mobility to drop significantly.

Until nightfall, this heavy snow was still falling.

It took nearly two and a half hours for them to reach the vicinity of the territory.

At this time, it was completely dark.

Cao Xing glanced at the coordinates of the camp.

It was still 30 kilometers away from their current position.

Cao Xing said, "Almost there, about another twenty minutes."

The current temperature had dropped to -60℃.

And there was another troublesome matter.

That was, as night fell, the visibility decreased again.

In other words, their forward speed would be further hindered.

A group of people braved the wind and snow, running wildly in the vast snowy plains.

However, it was unknown what the newly joined Isabelle and Hilda were doing again.

The two women were one behind the other, seemingly competing to see whose movement speed was faster.

Cao Xing was speechless; why did these two women have to compare everything when they started bickering?

As they ran, they even ran ahead of Cao Xing.

At this moment, Isabelle condensed a ball of Holy Light, transformed it into the shape of a shuttle, and placed it under her feet.

Then, she stepped on the light shuttle, flying forward rapidly as if sliding on the snow.

When passing by Cao Xing, Isabelle said softly, "My Lord, let me use the Holy Light to guide your path forward."

Although confused, Cao Xing still nodded.

At the same time, Isabelle raised her staff, and the power of Holy Light gathered, like a bright light bulb, illuminating the road ahead.

Seeing this, Cao Xing chuckled, "The Holy Light can be used this way?"

Being a mage as well, Isabelle's control over Holy Light had reached a level of pure perfection.

At least, Cao Xing admitted he couldn't do the trick of condensing Holy Light power to use as a skateboard.

Even if he broke through to Tier 3, he couldn't do this.

Thinking about it, this might be related to Isabelle's skill: [Advanced Holy Light Mastery].

The mage apprentice Aili in Cao Xing's territory had the skill [Basic Water Flow Coordination].

When their understanding and application of elements reached a new stage, it would become [Intermediate Water Flow Coordination], allowing them to master more advanced magic.

Just like Assam's [Basic Sword Mastery].

Through constant practice, practicing Basic Sword Mastery to Intermediate, and then to Advanced.

Every breakthrough would make his swordsmanship more exquisite.

…

With Isabelle leading the way, the forward speed of Cao Xing and his group increased significantly.

At this moment, Cao Xing saw that Hilda had already started to fall behind.

Due to the level gap, Hilda was soon left behind by Isabelle.

At this moment, Isabelle, holy as a goddess, turned her head and chuckled softly.

However, this made Hilda feel humiliated!

But she was powerless to do anything about it.

She could only say angrily: "Damned stinky woman! When I recover my original strength, I will definitely tear your dress to shreds and hang you upside down on a pillar!"

Seeing her pouting, Cao Xing said: "Stop getting angry. When you reach level 20, I'll give you an intermediate Heart of Strength, and you'll be able to catch up to her."

Hearing this, Hilda immediately moved her eight legs and approached Cao Xing, "Really? My Lord?"

Cao Xing nodded, "Of course, when have I ever lied to you?"

At this moment, for the first time, a look of being moved appeared in the eyes of this proud Blood Spider Queen.

A system notification appeared.

[Because of your promise, territory member: Hilda Bloodkiss, your loyalty has increased, current loyalty 80]

Cao Xing was stunned; he didn't expect that this could also increase loyalty.

However, he had finally raised the loyalty of this difficult Blood Spider Queen to 80.

Just then, Hilda seemed to realize that her reaction had been too excited.

She tilted her head and snorted, "Hmph! Even without your Heart of Strength, I would still surpass that woman."

Cao Xing was speechless.

What a troublesome woman.

Of course, this was just a small episode.

Under Isabelle's holy light guidance, everyone continued on their way.

Thirty minutes later.

They returned to the vicinity of the territory.

…

Outside, the wind and snow filled the sky.

Ahead, inside a territory enclosed by three or four-meter-high walls, it was warm as spring.

The drifting snowflakes that landed on the ground or buildings of the territory were quickly melted by the heat emitted by the furnace.

Therefore, except for the ground around the territory which looked clean, the snow outside was piled nearly a meter high!

At the same time, many figures stood on the city wall.

Most of the villagers had come to the city wall, looking forward expectantly.

After waiting for a while, Da Zhuang, of the Arctic People, couldn't help but say worriedly: "Why hasn't the Lord come back today?"

Sanzhuang, next to him, agreed, "Yeah, the Lord has never come back this late before…"

Worry appeared in the eyes of the others as well.

And Xia Yanni, who was next to them, held Tong Chuchu's hand.

She saw the worry in her daughter's eyes and then whispered comfortingly: "Big Brother Cao Xing is so powerful, he will be fine, don't worry, Chuchu."

"Plus, I sent him a message; they should still be on the way back."

Tong Chuchu nodded vigorously, "Mm-hmm!"

Including the Tree Spirit sisters, Ilena, and the others, everyone was waiting silently.

In this territory, Cao Xing had become the spiritual pillar for many people.

Just then, Elisa, who was standing on the watchtower, exclaimed: "By the Moon Goddess, I see a Mammoth!"

"It seems there is also a glowing woman!"

"It's the Lord who has returned!"

Hearing this, everyone looked over intently.

They found that it was indeed as Elisa had said.

A Mammoth, carrying a group of figures, was braving the wind and snow, galloping through the snow.

And in the front of the team was a woman stepping on light, glowing all over.

Da Zhuang saw this scene and immediately raised his hands excitedly.

"Haha! The Lord is finally back!"

"Great!"

Everyone looked very happy and excited.

Outside the territory, the Mammoth's momentum as it ran was astonishing.

Even with nearly a meter of deep snow, it had no impact on Da Bai's size.

The gate had already been opened in advance.

And after Cao Xing gave permission to the half-dead Hunter on his back, he brought everyone directly into the territory.

At this moment, everyone saw Isabelle bathed in holy light, and at the same time, could not help but be amazed by her beauty.

However, they quickly focused their attention on Cao Xing!

Just kidding, there were quite a few beauties in this territory, and they saw them often.

In comparison, the Lord's return was more exciting.

Da Zhuang, of the Arctic People, held his hammer and said excitedly: "Lord, you are back!"

The Tree Spirits next to him also said happily: "Lord, welcome back."

Elisa went straight to Cao Xing's side and said excitedly: "Lord! You worried me to death!"

Seeing this scene, Cao Xing laughed: "What's the situation? Why does it seem like I wouldn't be able to come back?"

Da Zhuang touched his head and said honestly: "The Lord has never come back this late before, plus with such heavy snow outside, we were all very worried about you."

Villager Cao Yi also chuckled: "That's right, little Elisa was even preparing to assemble her archer squad to go out and find the Lord, but was stopped by Mr. Mel."

Hearing this, Elisa on the side immediately widened her eyes and waved her hands: "I didn't! I didn't!"

"I was staying in the territory very honestly!"

Cao Xing listened and looked over.

Elisa lowered her head immediately and said aggrievedly: "I know I was wrong… Lord…"

Seeing her pitiful appearance, Cao Xing smiled.

"Alright, I don't blame you. Don't do this next time, you know? Just stay in the territory."

Speaking of this, Cao Xing remembered something.

"Also, didn't I leave a small communication device for you and Kandaer? Why didn't you use it to contact me?"

Hearing this, Elisa and the Centaur looked at each other, and then suddenly realized something.

"Whoa! I actually forgot about this!"

The Centaur next to him also touched his head and said: "Lord, we Centaurs have never used this kind of thing before, so we subconsciously ignored this thing."

Cao Xing was speechless.

At this moment, everyone laughed.

The Tree Spirit sisters, as well as Xia Yanni and her daughter, all had gentle smiles on their faces.

The four newly joined Wild Boar Warriors were looking at this scene with some surprise.

"Oh! Our powerful Lord seems to be deeply loved by the villagers!"

"Yes, Rabb! I have a feeling that this is a very good territory. On the faces of these villagers, I see happy smiles!"

And the Holy Light Priest next to them was thoughtful: "Happiness? In such a cruel world, happiness is something more extravagant than warmth."

"Even the Holy See cannot make people feel happy…"

She stared at Cao Xing's back, seemingly thinking about something.

At this moment, Cao Xing saw the villager Cao Yi next to him and said: "Cao Yi, report today's work."

The elderly Cao Yi walked over with firm steps and said solemnly: "Back to the Lord."

"Today, we sent a total of forty people to collect at five resource points outside."

"We collected a total of 7644 pieces of wood, 5324 stones, and 1455 pieces of coal."

"Then there are some metal ores. After processing, we have obtained a total of 894 pieces of iron and 532 pieces of copper."

Cao Xing nodded.

These were the basic resources of the territory, which were still quite important.

If basic resources were sufficient, Cao Xing wouldn't need to go to the trading market to exchange for these things, but rather focus on exchanging for Ice Dragon Marks, skill books, blueprints, and other things that were beneficial for improving strength.

"Cao Yi, continue."

Villager Cao Yi said: "After two days of mining, one of our small wood resource points has been exhausted."

"Kandaer and Kantor warriors found a medium-sized forest five kilometers away. The wood inside should be enough for us to mine for 7 days."

"But they found footprints of Jungle Trolls in this forest, but since it was getting dark, they didn't go in."

"Besides these, we have also built half of the intermediate city walls, seven Basic Elemental Arrow Towers, and five Frost Arrow Towers."

"However, we stopped after the campfire was upgraded to level 12, because upgrading to level 13 requires a precious metal called Mithril."

After listening, Cao Xing pondered for a moment, and then looked at the furnace in the center of the territory.

[Furnace: Level 12]

[Furnace effect: Can increase the temperature of an area with a diameter of 1500 meters by 27℃ ~ 35℃]

[Consumption: 60 minutes / 240 wood or 60 minutes / 60 coal.]

[Materials required for the next level: Stone * 1000, Wood 500, Iron * 300, Copper * 100, Mithril * 20, Basic Elemental Crystal * 10]

(Introduction: A furnace that can provide a large amount of heat. With it, you already have the ability to survive in this extremely cold world.)

…

After the furnace was upgraded to level 12, the heating range increased by another 500 meters, and the temperature also improved slightly.

However, Cao Xing currently had no intention of expanding the territory; the current territory area was already enough.

Indeed, as Cao Yi said, the upgrade from level 12 to 13 for the furnace started to require Mithril.

Cao Xing looked at the reserves of those precious materials in his backpack.

[Basic Elemental Crystal * 472]

[Intermediate Elemental Crystal * 87]

[Mithril * 519]

[Eternal Gold Ingot * 26]

[Magic Pattern Stone * 6]

…

Cao Xing thought to himself: "The reserves of Mithril are still relatively sufficient, which can be used to build many things."

"And Eternal Gold Ingots and Magic Pattern Stones are materials for building the Hero Altar, and there is quite a shortage."

Thinking of this, he had already made a decision, and then ordered: "Cao Yi, continue to upgrade the furnace from tomorrow until it reaches level 15, then stop."

"Then upgrade our 10 Basic Elemental Arrow Towers to Intermediate."

"Everyone else, just like today, collect resources with all your might."

Villager Cao Yi said respectfully: "Yes, Lord!"

At this moment, Old Mel also walked over, "Lord, there is good news!"

"The Cloud Yak's emotions have stabilized, and we can collect the first batch of hair tonight!"

Hearing this, Cao Xing's eyes lit up instantly!

…