I never upgrade

Chapter 82 The Tribe Hidden in the Cave

He hadn't walked far when he suddenly turned a corner—

Xu Lun originally thought they should continue forward and venture deeper into the bustling streets of the tribe, but in reality, Qingwu walked along the outer perimeter of the tribe and onto a stone staircase carved into the inner wall of a cave.

"Let's go this way."

Qingwu was the first to step onto the steps and waved to signal.

Xu Lun looked up and saw that the stone steps were built along the stone wall inside the cave, extending upwards, but not all the way to the top, because the inner wall of the cave was not a smooth, flat surface, but an uneven cliff.

However, thanks to the construction by the tribe, not only were there steps leading to higher places, but there were also levels at certain heights. Xu Lun even saw many cave entrances on the cliff, with faint light shining through them, as if people lived there, just like cave dwellings.

After walking up the steps for a while, they arrived at the first level of the cliff. It was built like a winding mountain road, but not as wide. One side was the inner wall of a cave, and the other side was a cliff, but there were wooden railings for protection, including on the steps.

Looking down from here, you can get a more direct sense of how prosperous and vast this mysterious tribe living inside the mountain is.

Although it wasn't as bustling and orderly as the Xia Capital City-State that Xu Lun had seen in the Administration Bureau, the distinctive tribal-style buildings and the lively crowds on the streets still impressed Xu Lun and gave him a sense of everyday life.

This reminded him of the dwarves in Western fantasy stories, who seemed to live in huge mountains and were skilled in engineering and manufacturing, able to create all sorts of production tools and build various rooms and passages in caves.

However, the construction level of this [Yushan] tribe was obviously not as sophisticated as that of the dwarves, but it was sufficient in terms of practicality.

Just then, Xu Lun paused, suddenly drawn to something in the distance:

Looking into the distance, the gaze passes through the entire tribe, and on the opposite cliff, there is a huge pure white glacier hanging upside down on the cliff, like a crystal waterfall.

Below it, the sound of flowing water could be heard. Upon closer inspection, meltwater from the glacier's tip was constantly flowing into a huge reservoir directly below.

Several guards stood around the pool, and the villagers lined up with wooden buckets to fetch water. The whole process was orderly.

"That's our tribe's water source, fed by the melting snow and ice from Kuiyu Peak."

Seeing Xu Lun stop and look around, Qing Wu also stopped, smiling and explaining with pride on his face.

Xu Lun listened, smiled, and nodded. Although he didn't say anything on the surface, he couldn't help but admire her in his heart:

"That's what you call a natural porter..."

Afterwards, he and Luca followed Qingwu and continued walking along the road.

Along the way, he saw the cave-like rooms he had seen from below.

These caves, carved into the cliff face, hold a hidden world within.

Xu Lun happened to pass by a doorway and looked inside. It looked like a bar, with many guards sitting there drinking and chatting, filled with laughter.

Continuing onward, they soon passed another doorway. Xu Lun glanced inside and saw that it appeared to be a shop, with various sticks, iron swords, and spears hanging there...

A weapons shop?!

Xu Lun was slightly surprised.

Just then, Qingwu in front began to introduce himself:

"These rooms, built along the cliff, are all provided for our patrol team."

Normally, the patrol teams do not enter the living area of ​​the main camp; instead, they patrol and stand guard on the perimeter, responsible for the safety of the entire tribe.

So this is our patrol team's living area, our barracks and dormitories, which are on the floor above this.

The floor below is a patrol area, and this floor has various shops, which is where we usually relax and have fun.

There are weapon shops, armor shops, and places to eat and drink here.

Xu Lun nodded repeatedly as he listened. To be honest, the person who built this cave was a genius. He hid such a large tribe in a mountain range, built a large-scale complex inside, divided it into various functional areas, and used the natural terrain to create a wall around the main part of the tribe. Finally, he built several functional areas for the soldiers on the wall.

Not to mention, there is a powerful Beast King guarding this place, and even the Western Mastiff King is responsible for protection outside.

With layers upon layers of defenses, the Yushan tribe has reached its maximum, making it practically an impregnable doomsday fortress. No matter what kind of disaster strikes outside, the people here can continue to thrive and multiply, feeling completely safe.

While marveling at the moment, Xu Lun suddenly thought of a detail:

The entire village was built inside the mountain, but now that I'm here, I don't feel the dim lighting. Instead, it feels very natural and bright, almost like daytime.

Where did these rays of light come from?

Then his gaze followed his upwards, upwards, until he looked up to the very top—

At the end of the cliff, a semi-transparent cover, seemingly made of ice crystals, covered the entire tribe.

The light source shines down from there, and after being refracted by the ice crystals, it becomes diffused light, thus creating a very natural and soft feeling.

"Oh my god..."

Xu Lun was utterly shocked. In his opinion, this was definitely not naturally formed, nor was it man-made. It was probably a wonder of nature created by the mysterious Azure King himself.

Qingwu turned around, looked at the shocked expression on his face, and couldn't help but smile proudly. But this time, he didn't say much, just waited a moment, and then said:

"Let's keep going, Lord Qing is still waiting."

Xu Lun snapped out of his daze, feeling a little embarrassed, and quickly followed.

They walked for a while and then came to another stone staircase. They climbed the steps and arrived at the third level of the cliff, which was the patrol team's barracks.

Each floor actually has several stone steps leading up and down. Qingwu deliberately chose the one at the very back. After coming up, Xu Lun found that the dormitories were far behind them, which was conveniently avoided.

But that's normal. What's so interesting about barracks and dormitories? Besides, it involves personal privacy and some details about the patrol team. Xu Lun wasn't interested in it anyway, and he didn't want to know.