The cold wind of deep winter, like ten thousand ice blades, howled across the Central Plains, sweeping up countless snowflakes and dyeing the world a vast expanse of white. The official road outside Xinye City had long been buried by snow. The three men led their warhorses, struggling to walk through the knee-deep snow. The north wind, carrying fine ice particles, struck their faces like knife cuts. A layer of frost quickly formed on their beards and hair, and their black and red battle robes were soaked and heavy with snow. The cold wind seeped into their bodies through the gaps of their clothes, making their teeth chatter.
According to legend, in ancient times, Xuan Yuan, the God of Water, resented Yan Huang, the God of Fire, for monopolizing the spiritual fire of heaven and earth. He led the aquatic tribes to surge with torrential floods and march straight to the Kunlun Fire Realm. The two gods fought fiercely in the hinterland of Zhongzhou for forty-nine days. The divine fire split the earth, and the flood poured back into the deep valleys. Finally, at the junction of the spiritual veins of heaven and earth, this vast marshland was scoured out.
After the war, while repairing the sky, Nüwa (the Goddess of Creation) took fragments of the Five-Colored Stone and sank them to the bottom of the marsh to suppress the evil energy and netherworld malice left by the battle between the two gods. She also wove a barrier with the rhizomes of Kunlun fairy grass to seal the udivine essence and resentment in the marsh. Therefore, although Penli Marsh is lush with vegetation, it hides weirdness—half of the marsh water is clear and sweet, nurturing fairy grass that can bring the dead back to life and heal bones; the other half is as black as ink, harboring ancient exotic beasts eroded by evil energy.
Legend has it that only those who are filled with supreme kindness and possess spiritual veins can step into it, avoiding the invasion of evil energy and seeing the auspicious light of the Five-Colored Stone at the bottom of the marsh; those with evil intentions will be entangled by resentment, eventually turning into sludge in the marsh, never to be reborn. For thousands of years, this mysterious land where yin and yang intersect has been shrouded in a veil of mystery.
"Elder Brother, this damn weather is practically freezing people stiff!" Zhang Fei huddled his neck, and the white breath he exhaled dissipated into the wind and snow in an instant. He leaned the Zhangba Divine Spear on his shoulder, and the dark golden patterns on the spear shaft faintly glowed under the dim sky. "Do we really have to take Penli Marsh? That place has a terrible reputation. I heard from the elders that the marsh is full of quagmires—once a person falls in, they disappear immediately, and the monsters can swallow a living person in one bite!"
Liu Bei tightened the collar of his cotton robe, his eyes firmly fixed on the distant horizon shrouded in wind and snow: "Third Brother, there are many Cao Jun spies on the land route of Wolong Mountain, and our warships on the water route have been destroyed. Penli Marsh is the only shortcut. To invite Mr. Kongming out of the mountain, even if the road ahead is a mountain of knives and a sea of fire, I must brave it." He was nearly fifty years old, and the silver threads on his temples were particularly striking in the wind and snow, but the fire of seeking talents in his eyes was not extinguished by the severe cold in the slightest.
Guan Yu raised his hand to brush off the snow on his long beard, narrowed his phoenix eyes, and said in a deep voice: "Don't worry, Elder Brother. In the depths of winter, Penli Marsh has long been frozen three feet thick. Most of the amphibious monsters in the marsh are afraid of the cold and have already dived into the frozen soil or deep water to hibernate. They will not easily appear. Now that both Third Brother and I have divine weapons in hand, even if we encounter danger by chance, we can fully deal with it." He held the Green Dragon Crescent Blade horizontally in front of him, and the blue-gold blade reflected the snow light. The cold air and blade energy intertwined, exuding an awe-inspiring and inviolable momentum.
Hearing this, Zhang Fei perked up, patted his chest and said: "What Second Brother said is right! My Zhangba Divine Spear has just been forged, and I'm worried there's no place to show its power! Besides, there are many legends about Penli Marsh—in ancient times, this place was originally an ocean. When Yu the Great controlled the floods, he dredged the rivers, turning it into a marsh. It's said that there are ancient exotic beasts hidden in the depths, the most powerful of which is a giant centipede, more than ten zhang (about 33 meters) long, with a carapace harder than black iron, and it can stir up evil winds that shake mountains and rivers!"
Liu Bei's heart tightened, but he still urged: "Third Brother, although legends are mostly false, we must not be careless. Our purpose of this trip is to invite Mr. Kongming. Don't take the initiative to provoke exotic beasts."
As they spoke, the road under their feet gradually became rough and slippery. Under the snow, the outline of the frozen marsh was faintly visible. Penli Marsh was indeed boundless. As far as the eye could see, it was all snow-covered ice, like a white wilderness. The ice surface was uneven, covered with spiderweb-like cracks and ice holes of varying sizes. The horse's hooves stepped on it, making a "creak creak" crisp sound, and every step seemed to shatter the ice surface.
"We can't ride horses anymore; we have to lead them and walk." Guan Yu reined in the horse's reins and dismounted. The snow was three feet deep, and the horse's hooves sank deeply into it, neighing and refusing to move forward. The three had to hold the horse's reins and trudge through the ice, one deep step and one shallow step. The cold air seeped into their feet through the soles of their shoes, making their toes numb, and every step required great effort.
This marsh was far more dangerous than they had imagined. Under the ice, black sludge and withered water plants were faintly visible. Occasionally, ice holes cracked, revealing dark water holes that exuded a cold and damp atmosphere, making people shudder. Little did they know that deep in this frozen marsh, an ancient exotic beast called the "Obsidian Centipede Monster" was hibernating. This centipede was more than ten zhang long, with nine segments in its body, each covered with a carapace as hard as black iron. The carapace was covered with sharp barbs, and a pair of scarlet compound eyes grew on its head, which could see in the dark. What was even more weird was that it was proficient in ancient wind control techniques, capable of stirring up dark and overwhelming evil winds, so strong that it could uproot trees and smash stones. However, it was inherently fond of warmth and afraid of cold. Every deep winter, it dived into the frozen soil of the marsh to hibernate, and would not wake up until the next spring when flowers bloomed.
The three struggled to trek through the ice marsh for three days, advancing only a few dozen li each day. The dry rations they carried had long been frozen as hard as iron, and biting them made their teeth sore. They were extremely hungry. Zhang Fei had always had a huge appetite, and now he was so hungry that his stomach was sticking to his back. He couldn't help complaining: "Elder Brother, Second Brother, if this goes on, we'll starve to death in this ice marsh before we see Mr. Kongming! I'll go look for prey nearby and get some roasted meat to fill our stomachs!"
Before Liu Bei could stop him, Zhang Fei had already picked up his Zhangba Divine Spear and rushed excitedly into a low mountain forest on the edge of the marsh. The trees in this forest were sparse, and their branches were covered with ice edges, like jade trees and crystal branches. The snow bent the branches, and they fell rustlingly when touched. Zhang Fei had sharp eyes and soon found a string of clear footprints in the snow.
"Hahaha! Prey!" Zhang Fei was overjoyed. These footprints were as big as a palm, deep in the snow, with traces of hooved animals on the edges—obviously left by a wild boar. He licked his chapped lips, gripped the Zhangba Divine Spear tightly, and quietly followed the footprints. The deeper he went into the mountain forest, the clearer the footprints became, and a faint stench unique to wild boars drifted in the air.
When he reached a hill, Zhang Fei quietly pushed aside the ice-edged branches in front of him, and the scene in front of him made his pupils shrink sharply. In the open space of the hill, a giant wild boar was lowering its head to gnaw on the grass roots covered by snow. This wild boar was as big as an ox, with thick black hair as hard as steel needles, which was particularly eye-catching against the white snow. Its head was huge, and two curved fangs were more than a chi long, shining with cold light, as if they could easily pierce iron armor; its four limbs were thick and powerful, leaving deep hoof prints in the snow, and the mane on its neck stood on end, exuding a ferocious aura.
"What a guy! This is enough for us brothers to eat for three or five meals!" Zhang Fei was overjoyed. He held his breath, quietly circled behind the wild boar. He wanted to test the power of his newly forged spear. Instead of retreating, he suddenly leaped into the air, and the Zhangba Divine Spear in his hand, carrying a sharp wind, stabbed straight at the wild boar's heart.
"Woo~~!" The wild boar's vigilance was far beyond imagination. Sensing the movement behind it, it suddenly turned around, shook its huge head violently, and its two sharp fangs hit the spear hard. With a loud "clang", sparks flew everywhere. The spear was deflected by the fangs and stabbed fiercely into a boulder nearby. The tip of the spear sank several inches into the rock, and half of the spear shaft shook violently outside.
Frightened, the wild boar let out a violent roar, turned around and ran wildly into the depths of the mountain forest, quickly disappearing into the wind and snow.
"Damn stupid pig!" Zhang Fei stamped his feet angrily. Looking at the spear stuck in the boulder, he felt extremely annoyed. "It ruined my plan!" He quickly walked to the boulder, grabbed the spear shaft with both hands, and strained to pull back. But the spear was as if rooted in the rock, not moving at all.
Zhang Fei refused to admit defeat. His face turned red with suffocation, he exerted force from his dantian, his arm muscles bulged, and suddenly shouted loudly: "Rise!"
"Boom!" With a loud noise, the spear was pulled out abruptly, but the "boulder" under his feet suddenly shook violently, as if an earthquake had occurred! Snow fell one after another, ice blocks on the edge of the hill cracked and rolled down, and the ground under his feet split into ferocious cracks.
"Wha... what's going on?" Zhang Fei's face turned pale. He looked down and saw that what he was stepping on was not a boulder at all, but a huge black carapace! The carapace was covered with fine lines and sharp barbs—it was exactly the back shell of the Obsidian Centipede Monster! That stab just now had accidentally pierced into the gap of the centipede's carapace, waking the hibernating Obsidian Centipede Monster from its deep sleep!
Stung and awakened, the Obsidian Centipede Monster let out a sharp and ear-piercing hiss, as harsh as metal rubbing, making people's teeth ache. Its huge body slowly emerged from the frozen soil, its nine segments winding and stretching, more than ten zhang long, like a black giant dragon in the snow. The black iron-like carapace glowed coldly in the wind and snow, and the scarlet compound eyes on its head suddenly opened, emitting fierce light, staring firmly at Zhang Fei.
"Oh my god! What kind of monster is this!" Zhang Fei was scared out of his wits. He no longer cared about being annoyed, gripped the newly pulled out Zhangba Divine Spear tightly, and turned around to run. At this moment, he only hated his parents for not giving him two more legs. His feet seemed to be winded, and he desperately fled in the direction where Liu Bei and Guan Yu were. There was only one thought in his heart: Run! This monster is too scary!
Disturbed from its hibernation and stabbed by the spear, the Obsidian Centipede Monster was completely enraged. Its six thick segmented legs crawled rapidly on the snow, moving at an astonishing speed, sweeping up the wind and snow all around. Its compound eyes on its head stared tightly at Zhang Fei, and it sprayed a cloud of black poisonous mist from its mouth. Wherever the poisonous mist passed, the snow melted into black water in an instant, and the plants and trees withered and turned black immediately upon contact with the poisonous mist.