Chapter 457

The Blood Miasma Plain is roughly a circular region with a radius of fifty kilometers, covering a total area of over seven thousand five hundred square kilometers.

If someone could look down from high above, through the crimson miasma, they would see it consists of two parts: the northern snowplain region, which occupies nearly four-fifths of the entire area; and the southern giant lake.

The lake’s north-south average width is over twenty-five kilometers, while its east-west length stretches an astonishing sixty kilometers, extending broadly toward both sides—this lake is none other than the famed Yanzehu, known to all in the Chen Cang Fanzhen.

The border region between Chen Cang and Cai Qiu lies precisely at the northern edge of the Blood Miasma Plain; to the northwest is Chen Cang’s Yanling Commandery, to the northeast is Cai Qiu’s Linchu Commandery, and the boundary line between the two commanderies extends southward, cleanly splitting the Blood Miasma Plain in two—clearly an artificial design from earlier times.

Due to the crimson miasma, neither Yanling Commandery nor Linchu Commandery, or more plainly, Chen Cang and Cai Qiu, have expanded into the Blood Miasma Plain.

However, they did not neglect the regions on the eastern and western sides of the Blood Miasma Plain.

Each side circled around the eastern and western flanks of the plain, seizing control of all surrounding territories, extending southward until their respective borders nearly reached the southernmost reaches of Yanzehu.

Something interesting began to emerge here.

The eastern and western ends of Yanzehu were both severed by the Mao’ao Mountains.

And not just ordinary severance—if one examined the eastern and western termini of Yanzehu, they would find sheer mountain walls rising tens of thousands of meters high, as if artificially constructed; not only could no one walk through, climbing was nearly impossible.

Thus, even though the two Fanzhen had circumnavigated the Blood Miasma Plain to reach the southernmost Yanzehu region, further southward expansion was impossible unless they scaled the Mao’ao Mountains.

Scaling mountains tens of thousands of meters high to reach the other side was even more difficult than crossing the Blood Miasma Plain; even a Soul-Transcending cultivator would not dare boast of such a feat, let alone a Fanzhen expansion—without a large army, even a few elite cultivators could achieve nothing.

Heaven moves with vigor; the noble person strives unceasingly.

On this point, Chen Cang was far more proactive than Cai Qiu.

Or perhaps, they had no other choice.

The Mao’ao Four Fanzhen were only so large; Chen Cang lay at the westernmost end, its north bordered by He Cang, its east by Cai Qiu, and nearly all territory it could control to the west had already been incorporated into its domain—the only thing beyond was the Mao’ao Mountains.

Thus, if Chen Cang wished to expand its territory, it could only move south.

Any southward advance meant they could not avoid the Blood Miasma Plain and Yanzehu.

Precisely because of this, Chen Cang had begun strategizing here from very early on.

Tunneling through a mountain as colossal as the Mao’ao Mountains was impossible; its body stretched hundreds of miles, and without full knowledge of its interior, no one could guarantee a successful passage—immense manpower and resources would be required, with no assurance of success.

Moreover, the taller and older a mountain, the more hidden secrets and dangers it concealed; recklessly digging into it might awaken some terrifying entity—not expansion, but suicide.

Rumors say the calamity-level entities known as the Tremor Nightmare and the Beekeeper were accidentally summoned by He Cang and Wei Bo Fanzhen, who recklessly expanded into unknown regions.

Thus, realizing they could not avoid the Blood Miasma Plain and Yanzehu, Chen Cang resolved to find solutions at these two locations.

The crimson miasma blanketing Yanzehu was several times denser than that over the northern snowplain, turning the entire lake crimson; moreover, as all in the Ice Abyss knew, waterways were far more perilous than land—crossing these two regions was no easy feat.

Chen Cang spent decades, deploying over a hundred thousand Frost-Resistant elite soldiers in rotating shifts, accompanied throughout by Radiant Sun-level cultivators, and even Soul-Transcending cultivators taking turns to personally oversee the operation, carving out a path sixty kilometers long within the western cliff of Yanzehu.

Originally, Chen Cang intended that with this path, they could dispatch large numbers of troops southward and continue expanding their territory.

But in the first year after the path was completed, Chen Cang sent ten thousand soldiers on a trial southward advance—yet halfway through, Yanzehu surged with a tide, not an ordinary one, but a massive wave carrying countless aquatic cold beasts surging en masse toward the western cliff…

All ten thousand soldiers perished; even the three Radiant Sun-level commanders failed to escape—only one Soul-Transcending cultivator returned.

From then on, Chen Cang finally understood: without fully resolving the problems of the Blood Miasma Plain and Yanzehu, large-scale southern expansion was impossible.

Of course, large-scale movement was out of the question, but small-scale personnel flow remained feasible.

The path, carved over years with immense manpower and resources, ultimately found its use.

The path stretched sixty kilometers total; built along the western cliff of Yanzehu, it twisted and turned endlessly, further distorted by the crimson miasma—Chen Cang named it: Nine-Turn Blood Corridor.

Passing through the Nine-Turn Blood Corridor, one first encounters a sudden rise in terrain, though its height is less than two thousand meters; only after crossing this ridge does one truly leave the region shrouded in crimson miasma.

Clever observers would realize the crimson miasma does not spread further south precisely because of this ridge’s obstruction.

Since the northern side of the ridge, affected by the miasma, glows crimson, while the southern side is covered in snow, appearing entirely white, Chen Cang named it Danxue Peak.

Descending Danxue Peak, one has already entered the southern slopes; to the east still lies the Mao’ao Mountains, and after walking fifteen kilometers southward along the snowy forest, one reaches human settlements—villages and encampments.

Chen Cang Year 289, first day of the eleventh month.

Southern slopes of Danxue Peak, night.

A group of five moved swiftly southward; all five appeared middle-aged, three walking lightly ahead, the other two lagging five to six meters behind, clearly struggling to keep pace.

“Eighteen years of effort—how could my Chen Cang’s southern expansion be halted by that insignificant Great Xia? This time, we’ll teach Great Xia a lesson! Do they truly believe that because our army cannot march south, we have no way to strike back?”

Leading the group, Chen Yuanbai looked toward the southern slopes, his pupils gleaming with excitement; thinking of their mission, he could not help but roar aloud.

His excitement stemmed from returning to the Nine-Town region to display his power; his fury, from the humiliation suffered by Young Lady Chu Yan’er three months ago in the Nine-Town region.

He had been ordered by Chu Yan’er’s great-grandfather, Yanling Commandant Chu Tianxu, to teach that presumptuous Great Xia Garrison a lesson.

Chen Yuanbai possessed only 16 Jun strength—insignificant in Chen Cang, but in the Nine-Town region, he was nearly invincible, save for Yang Zun’s third brother; who wouldn’t relish coming here?

Moreover, he was acting under the Commandant’s orders; whether he could successfully reclaim honor from Great Xia, he glanced at the two beside him—utterly unconcerned.

“Three cultivators at 16 Jun strength—so long as no large-scale conflict erupts, even Yang Jian cannot stop us. Teaching that Great Xia couple a lesson is simple; just threaten them—perhaps an unexpected reward awaits. If we can directly bring this Great Xia Garrison under the Commandant’s control…”

The more Chen Yuanbai thought, the more excited he became, his pace unconsciously quickening.

“Brother Chen, slow down! They’re falling behind.”

But after only a few steps, one beside him spoke up in warning.

Chen Yuanbai turned and saw that He Yang and Zhu Dong, far behind, were already over a hundred meters away—he immediately shook his head.

“Forgive us, my lord—we simply cannot keep up.”

He Yang and Zhu Dong hurried forward, seeing Chen Yuanbai and the others waiting, bowed deeply in apology.

“Head to Beining Village for rest—we’re less than five kilometers away.”

Chen Yuanbai waved his hand and led onward southward.

He had brought He Yang and Zhu Dong, both Frost-Resistant cultivators, because both had previously accompanied Chu Yan’er into Xia Cheng; with their guidance, the journey would be far safer than blindly searching.

Chen Yuanbai had visited the Nine-Town region two years prior and was familiar with the route; after descending Danxue Peak, fifty kilometers led to Beishuo Fanzhen territory, with three villages and over a dozen large encampments along the way.

Beining Village lay directly on their path; the journey to the Nine-Town region was long, and after descending Danxue Peak, they always rested briefly at Beining Village.

Five kilometers passed in an instant; soon, they reached Beining Village.

Yet, hundreds of meters from the village, all five froze.

It was night—Beining Village showed no smoke, no lights, not a single human silhouette in sight; from afar, the village appeared utterly pale, devoid of any sign of life.

“Something’s wrong—approach cautiously!”

No reminder was needed; Chen Yuanbai’s two Radiant Sun-level companions, along with He Yang and Zhu Dong behind, instantly drew their weapons and pulled crimson Spirit-Seeking Stones from their robes, following Chen Yuanbai into the village.

As they neared the village entrance and saw the scene inside, their pupils contracted slightly.

The village was not empty—by the entrance, in the houses, beside the bonfires, along the main road—over a thousand figures stood motionless.

The problem: every single one of them stood utterly still.

For they were all frozen into ice statues.

The ice statues at the entrance bore powerful bows, held weapons, and carried leather pouches at their waists—clearly prepared for a hunting expedition.

Strangely, their faces showed no fear; some even smiled, mouths open mid-conversation, as if greeting the night watchmen at the gate.

“Not just people—Brother Chen, look at the bonfires inside…”

At his companion’s reminder, Chen Yuanbai turned his gaze to the nearest bonfire—and froze.

Even the fire was frozen.

Fire frozen? It sounded impossible—but in Chen Yuanbai’s vision, the bonfire was indeed encased in ice, its flame’s shape clearly visible, differing from normal fire only in that it no longer flickered.

“No reaction—enter and investigate!”

Seeing his Spirit-Seeking Stone showed no response, Chen Yuanbai drew his great blade and walked into the village.

His two companions followed instantly; even He Yang and Zhu Dong showed no fear, stepping in behind them.

This was clearly a spirit’s doing, but all five hailed from Chen Cang; even He Yang and Zhu Dong, at merely Frost-Resistant level, possessed over 40 Zong strength—they were not easily frightened by such a scene.

Beining Village held only ten thousand people, eleven Frost-Resistant cultivators—any spirit capable of wiping them out was unimaginable.

Moreover, slaying spirits brought rewards…

The front trio—Chen Yuanbai and his two companions—showed no fear, only excitement, striding swiftly into the village.

No wonder, from hundreds of meters away, the entire village had appeared pale white; now inside, they realized not just the entrance, but everything in Beining Village—people, objects, all—had been frozen.

Even the ground was frozen.

And every frozen figure bore no trace of fear on their faces.

“These are all commoners, at most Earth-Digging level—head to the main building; the Frost-Resistant cultivators must be different.”

Chen Yuanbai spoke and led toward the main building; the other four hurried after him.

As expected, they soon found nine ice statues atop the village’s main building, facing north, their faces twisted in terror.

North—where they had just come from?

The five paused, startled—then suddenly felt intense heat in their palms, and whirled sharply toward the north.