CHAPTER 798: CHAPTER 316: BLOOD JADE FOX AND MISCHIEF, XIA CITY IN TURMOIL, MIGRATION BEGINS

The second silver ore vein is about the same depth as the first one, but you need to head south for about thirteen more kilometers.

The form of the two veins is also different; the former is a mountain body, while this one is located in a slightly elevated hill area.

However, the area of the hill is very large, with an estimated circumference of twenty-five kilometers.

Two kilometers away from the hill, Li Xuanling stopped and then led the two onto a nearby large tree.

Upon climbing the tree, Xia Hong looked towards the hill and felt a shiver run down his spine.

The side of the hill facing them was densely packed with a large group of silver-backed long-tailed rodents, a rough estimate of more than three thousand just on the surface, crucially, many rodents had their bodies burrowed underground, leaving only a section of their flesh-colored long tails swaying on the surface.

Even at such a distance, Xia Hong noticed flashes of golden light among them, indicating the presence of advanced rodents.

This is just the lower part; moving up to the middle region of the hill, there are hundreds of Golden Armored Thunder Kui, each over ten meters in length, and among the Thunder Kui, many parts of the ground were golden and fluid-like, indicating that some Thunder Kui were also burrowed underground like the rodent group.

Further up, at the top of the hill, were numerous half-meter diameter cave entrances. Despite the distance making it hard to see inside, faint blood-colored iridescence could be discerned.

"This silver ore vein, though it lacks a Beast King, is occupied by six Cold Beast species: rodents, Thunder Kui, Bai Rong, Striped Tigers, Snow Manes, and Blood Jade Foxes. My father discovered this silver mine years ago when there weren’t many Cold Beast species here, perhaps just over ten thousand in total, but their numbers have grown rapidly over the years, now estimated at nearly forty thousand. Let alone dispatching people to mine it, even getting close for a look at the Cold Beast numbers has become difficult."

Unlike his reaction upon seeing the first silver mine, Xia Hong did not shake his head and sigh this time but instead displayed obvious interest.

Although the number of Cold Beasts occupying this silver mine is four times that of the previous one, the mixed structure of the six Cold Beast groups without a Beast King provides ample room for strategic maneuvering.

There are mutual restraint relationships between different Cold Beast species; Great Xia has already discovered three pairs: rodents and Teng Jiao, Fire Stone Tigers and Frost Electric Apes, White Bears and Thunder Kui. The six Cold Beast species on this hill are likely to have natural enemies too.

Additionally, Great Xia has torches that attract Cold Beasts, so with proper preparation and plenty of Cold Resistance Level individuals, deploying enough Cold Beast groups and mining this silver mine is quite feasible.

Of course, the preparations involved are numerous, and currently, Great Xia’s understanding of Cold Beast species and the number of Cold Resistance Level individuals are far from sufficient, making any progress short-term impossible.

At least there’s hope!

Xia Hong was undeterred and instead led Li Tiancheng and Li Xuanling to observe the other four Cold Beast groups around the hill.

The northern side of the hill is occupied by two species, Bai Rong and Striped Tigers, unique Cold Beast types of Long Mountain. Xia Hong had already seen them in the storage at the base, so he showed no surprise.

No need to mention Snow Manes, there are lots of them at Redwood Ridge.

"The caves at the top of the hill, are those the habitat of the Blood Jade Foxes? They don’t come out often, do they? Why haven’t we seen any?"

Not seeing the Blood Jade Foxes, Xia Hong asked curiously.

"The strongest among the six Cold Beast species are the Blood Jade Foxes. Although small in size, with an intermediate length of just half a meter, their speed is more than twice that of the rodents, and their two golden claws are exceptionally sharp, easily tearing through Cold Resistance Level skin membranes.

The key is their ability to emit a colorless and odorless hallucinogenic mist when threatened. This mist can penetrate the skin membranes; if inhaled by those at the Earth-digging Realm, they immediately fall into illusions and die. The mist emitted by advanced Blood Jade Foxes is difficult even for the Cold Resistance Level to withstand..."

Li Xuanling, evidently well-versed in Blood Jade Foxes, paused with an odd expression on his face before continuing, "Moreover, the fur of Blood Jade Foxes is extremely concealed. It’s pure white in no light, but once illuminated, it turns into a crystal-clear blood jade color, making them extremely hard to hunt."

Xia Hong understood immediately.

In the Ice Abyss, hunting Cold Beasts occurs at night.

In no light conditions, they are white, seemingly unrelated to concealment, but considering this is the Ice Abyss World, where the ground is blanketed with snow and all vegetation is coated with frost, it makes perfect sense.

The small size of the Blood Jade Fox makes them blend with the snowy landscape at night, making them inherently hard to spot, let alone when factoring in their speed, which is twice that of the rodents, not to mention their claws and mist. These alone make them tough to deal with.

Of course, Xia Hong also noted the odd expression on Li Xuanling’s face.

However, he said nothing more, just nodded and said, "Alright, we’ve seen all four locations, let’s head back!"

Li Xuanling and Li Tiancheng nodded and followed him to jump down from the tree.

Yet, as the three jumped off the big tree and turned around, their expressions instantly froze.

Hoo... Hoo... Hoo... Hoo...

A very familiar heavy breathing suddenly came from behind.

The three did not dare to turn back immediately, just slightly turned their heads to exchange glances, seeing horror and shock in each other’s eyes.