Chapter Forty-One: Something Is Off About This Eight-Foot Serpent Spear

A golden opportunity.

Li Yunfei and the little fox worked seamlessly together; as soon as the giant serpent raised its head, he poured spiritual energy into his legs and exploded forward. He became almost like an arrow loosed from a bow, shooting towards the serpent, the paralytic Ant Lion Sickle held high in his hand, striking fiercely at the exposed chest and abdomen.

A wet sound echoed.

The scales on a serpent’s belly are much weaker compared to those on its back; the tip of the sickle blade plunged deep into the snake’s underbelly. With a powerful pull downward, he tore open a gash.

Li Yunfei was highly cautious when dealing with serpent monsters. After inflicting a heavy wound on the Golden-ringed Giant Serpent, he immediately vacated his position, dodging to the side. The little fox had already leapt away at the very moment Li Yunfei attacked.

The result delighted Li Yunfei—the paralytic effect was still effective.

The giant serpent entered paralysis the instant it was struck, its raised head crashing heavily onto the ground. Had he not dodged, Li Yunfei would surely have been struck head-on by the serpent’s skull.

Seeing the serpent monster immobilized, Li Yunfei wasted no time. He drove the sickle down into its eye, piercing straight into its brain.

Despite the intimidating size of the giant golden-ringed serpent, Li Yunfei dispatched it with ease. His strength was now beyond compare.

Hissing sounds filled the air...

The Golden-ringed Giant Serpent dropped items, but Li Yunfei had no time to check, for more serpent monsters were slithering out of the snake cave in a torrent.

There were golden-ringed serpents, silver-ringed serpents, cobras, vipers, pit vipers, rattlesnakes... and many more. Except for sea snakes and water snakes, nearly every kind was present. Even the black mamba, which shouldn’t exist within the borders of Great Xia, appeared, astonishing Li Yunfei.

These diverse species—never found together in harmony—now emerged from the same cavern, united in their hostility, launching an assault on Li Yunfei and the little fox.

“Honghong, be careful—don’t get caught up in the fight,” Li Yunfei reminded her. Relying on his extraordinary agility, he dodged the biting and constricting attacks of the serpent monsters, no longer aiming for their “seven-inch” weak spot, but instead targeting their eyes.

Previously, he’d fallen into a mental trap, the notion of “strike a snake at seven inches” being deeply ingrained. But thinking carefully, that rule exists because humans are much larger than snakes and can’t reach other weak spots. The eyes, situated on the snake’s head—the most sensitive area—are typically hard to attack.

Now, however, the situation was different: these serpent monsters were twenty times their usual size, their heads as large as buckets, eyes like bronze bells—impossible to miss. With Li Yunfei’s agility outmatching the serpents’, a direct attack on their eyes could destroy their brains, killing them instantly. This was far more effective than aiming for the seven-inch spot.

Li Yunfei darted and leapt among the serpents; whenever he approached a snake’s head, he swept the sickle at its bowl-sized eye.

Dead snakes piled up, nearly covering the entire area, many dropped items buried beneath their bodies.

He didn’t know how much time had passed. When Li Yunfei felt his stamina and spiritual energy greatly depleted, the serpent monsters from the cave were all lying on the ground, stacked layer upon layer.

As the last serpent—known locally as the “Mountain Wind” King Cobra—collapsed, spiritual energy descended from the heavens, flooding into Li Yunfei’s body, swiftly restoring his spent power and vitality.

He’d leveled up to eighteen, and the little fox’s experience had barely passed halfway to seventeen.

Li Yunfei exhaled deeply and leapt from the corpse of a giant serpent toward the side, where the little fox waited.

Aside from the initial golden-ringed serpent, the little fox had contributed little in this battle. Once the swarm emerged, her combat strength became negligible; not becoming a burden was her greatest help to Li Yunfei.

She had wisely retreated to safety.

With her head drooping and ears limp, she walked up to Li Yunfei, letting out a long, soft, plaintive whimper.

Li Yunfei gently patted her head, comforting her, “Don’t worry. You’ve only awakened your skill once. When you reach level twenty and awaken your skills again, I’m sure you’ll be a great help.”

The little fox lifted her head, her charming eyes gazing at Li Yunfei, shimmering with tears.

Li Yunfei smiled, hugged her head, and turned to the field of serpent corpses. “Now you can help—let’s move these bodies. Otherwise, we won’t be able to retrieve the equipment underneath.”

The little fox’s ears shot up once again, bursting with energy. She bounded over to the heap, opened her mouth, and grabbed a serpent’s tail, dragging it aside.

Though her fighting skills were lacking, her strength was formidable. Even the lightest of these giant snakes weighed over a thousand pounds, yet she moved them effortlessly.

Li Yunfei joined her, together hauling the serpent bodies aside, exposing all the items scattered across the battlefield.

The piles of banknotes were the least valuable; the true treasures were the equipment and medicines.

Li Yunfei was first to pick up a spear about 2.6 meters long, its shaft dark as night.

The shaft, over three centimeters thick, was engraved with snake-scale patterns. The pattern was not just decorative; it increased the grip’s friction, making it harder to lose hold and easier to exert force—much like the grooved lines on country roads to prevent tires from skidding.

The spearhead was about twenty centimeters long, gray-white, three fingers wide, and razor-sharp. Snake patterns adorned the broad spearhead, making it suitable for both stabbing and slashing.

When Li Yunfei saw its name, his eyes widened.

“Choking Eight-Foot Snake Spear: Length 2.61 meters, weight 82 pounds, inflicts neurotoxic damage.”

Li Yunfei was immediately captivated.

Is this what the Eight-Foot Snake Spear looks like?

Something’s off!

Shouldn’t the spearhead be shaped like a serpent? Shouldn’t the tip be forked?

And eight feet—no dynasty would make it barely over two meters!

Though the shape described in novels hardly fits the principles of mechanics, it is widely accepted. Yet this item, so different from conventional wisdom, left Li Yunfei puzzled.

The truth is, the actual Eight-Foot Snake Spear is not as depicted in “Romance of the Three Kingdoms.” The design described in the novel doesn’t suit the laws of mechanics; it’s neither appropriate for slashing nor easy for piercing. After all, the author was a scholar, not a martial artist.

The so-called “snake spear” refers to a long spear engraved with snake patterns, not one with a serpent-shaped spearhead.

The “eight feet” isn’t eight Chinese feet, but eight Chinese inches.

As the saying goes, “seven-foot flower spear, eight-foot staff, great spear one zhang and eight inches,” the Eight-Foot Snake Spear belonged to the great spear category.

During the Three Kingdoms era, a zhang was 2.42 meters; thus, the true length of the Eight-Foot Snake Spear is about 2.61 meters.

As for the neurotoxic damage, that naturally originates from snake venom.

Snake venom comes in four main types: neurotoxin, hemotoxin, mixed toxin, and cytotoxin.

Neurotoxin specifically destroys nerve tissue, mainly acting on ion channels. It affects the junction between motor nerves and muscles, causing striated muscle paralysis and rapid respiratory failure, leading to death by suffocation.

Hemotoxin directly damages lymph nodes, causing massive internal bleeding, ultimately resulting in heart failure or shock.

Mixed toxin combines both properties, yielding higher mortality and faster lethality.

Cytotoxin, found in sea snakes, mainly damages voluntary muscles, severely harming the heart and kidneys. This toxin has a latent period, with subtle symptoms, making it harder to detect and slower to kill, but very covert.

Since sea snakes’ bites are painless, people often neglect them and miss the window for treatment.

Fortunately, such snakes are not found on land, only in the sea.

No matter what, aside from the Ant Lion Sickle, Li Yunfei had finally obtained a second long weapon—and one he particularly favored, a spear.

Most importantly, this spear’s destructive power was terrifying, far exceeding the Ant Foot Blade and the Paralytic Ant Lion Sickle.

It didn’t need to inflict much harm; even a mere scratch could be lethal.