"Ice Crystal Jade Fetus?" Fatty was quite taken aback, shaking his head repeatedly. "Impossible, absolutely impossible. That’s just a legendary item; no ancestor has ever seen one in reality, and even the rumors about the Ice Crystal Jade Fetus have faded. How could such a thing exist?"

Fatty seemed quite firm in his conviction.

Lu Zong looked at the two of them and asked, "What is this Ice Crystal Jade Fetus? Can someone explain it to me?"

Ma Xiong and Fatty immediately fell silent, exchanging glances. It seemed neither wanted to recount the legend of the Ice Crystal Jade Fetus. Perhaps they felt it would be too arduous to explain to Lu Zong, a man rooted in pure scientific principles, and that explaining it might even invite rebuttal—a thankless task neither was willing to undertake.

Finally, under Lu Zong's earnest pleading, they agreed to tell the legend together, with the caveat that Lu Zong could not interrupt while they spoke. Lu Zong nodded in agreement.

Ma Xiong began: "The Ice Crystal Jade Fetus, as the name suggests, is a fetus within a crystal. Legend holds that such a fetus is nurtured by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, gestating deep within the earth for nearly ten thousand years before maturing. The nourishment and light it requires are entirely supplied by the ice crystal enveloping its body. The fetus grows extremely slowly; it takes ten millennia for it to grow from the size of a human fetus to the size of an adult. However, they are confined within that crystal from birth until the moment they burst forth."

Ma Xiong stopped speaking here, falling silent. Lu Zong hastily urged him on. Ma Xiong lifted his chin, glancing at Fatty, signaling that it was his turn to continue.

Fatty cleared his throat with extreme reluctance, then began: "These are, after all, stories passed down from our fathers and grandfathers. Through generations of retelling, some embellishment is inevitable, and much of it is unreliable. So, listen to it as you would a myth, and don't take it as my personal belief. Also, don't try to suppress me with your science."

Lu Zong interrupted Fatty: "Just spit it out, damn it! Stop messing around here."

At this moment, Lu Zong was his boss, so Fatty dared not argue back. He had no choice but to swallow the bitterness and continue: "When the Jade Fetus matures, it possesses unimaginable power. Simply put, it has divine abilities that are impossible for humans, capable of performing many supernatural feats. They are essentially psychic powers, compelling humanity to submit to them. Once mature, the Jade Fetus erupts from the depths of the earth through events like volcanic eruptions. Then, under the heat of the volcano, the crystal cracks, and the fetus escapes. By this time, it is adult-sized, and through its powerful learning ability, it quickly adapts to any society it finds itself in. It then begins to use its psychic abilities to capture, conquer, and ultimately rule humanity."

When Lu Zong finished listening, sweat beaded heavily on his forehead. He said, "The thinking of past generations was so simple; whenever they encountered something extraordinary they couldn't explain, they resorted to superstition. Heh heh, just pretend I never heard what you just said. Let's leave this place quickly before we run into trouble, or before the fetus inside starts cracking or something—that would be the end of us, wouldn't it? Heh heh?"

He forced a calmness upon himself, leading the group through the dark opening into another passageway.

The structure of this new passageway was identical to the last one. It seemed, if his guess was correct, that this tunnel would soon narrow and begin to compress them. But it didn't matter; a path had already been dug, and they could simply squeeze through when the time came.

Fatty, meanwhile, was still deeply unsettled by the Ice Crystal Jade Fetus matter. He was annoyed that his magnificent description had been brushed aside so lightly by Lu Zong. He reminded Lu Zong: "Lu Zong, look, the place we are in is very likely the crater of a volcano. Didn't you notice all the crystals? The magma passing through the volcano's depths is refined and crystallized, eventually forming crystals. This is the most common way crystals form in the world. In my opinion, with so many crystals here, this is probably a volcano, and this tomb was built on top of a crystal deposit. And since the Ice Crystal Jade Fetus bursts out of a volcano, that legend might actually be true."

Lu Zong looked at Fatty's expression and cursed silently: Idiot, why bring up exactly what I didn't want to think about? Do you think my brain isn't chaotic enough already? Who can handle more demons and ghosts right now?

He ignored Fatty and moved ahead quietly. Everyone knew that psychological fortitude was paramount right now, so it was best to keep quiet about things that shouldn't be mentioned. But Fatty remained oblivious to this.

They had only walked a few steps when Ganda, who had been leading, suddenly stopped. Lu Zong watched his steps halt gently, then his gaze fixated forward, unmoving.

His action startled everyone else. The three immediately froze, terrified of what danger might await them ahead.

Lu Zong asked from behind, "Ganda, what did you see?"

Ganda turned back and said, "No, we're back..."

"Back? What do you mean?" Lu Zong asked urgently.

Ganda shuffled to the side and pointed ahead for Lu Zong to see. Lu Zong looked and saw, directly in front of them, the familiar deep pit—the gaping hole that had nearly killed him.

Only then did he understand Ganda's meaning: "We're back." They had indeed circled back.

But how? Hadn't they passed into another passageway just moments ago? Why were they still on the original track? He looked back at the others. The bewilderment on their faces was as thick as fog. It seemed they had encountered yet another complication. Some things, like the Ice Crystal Jade Fetus, couldn't be escaped.

He signaled for everyone to rest. They were all exhausted from the constant movement. He pulled out dry rations from his pack and distributed them; they ate a meager meal. He calculated carefully: the rations would last at most seven or eight more days, but the crucial element was water. The water they carried, even conserved, wouldn't last them three days. This was a major problem. In the desert, water was life, so they couldn't afford much delay here. He looked at them: tousled and filthy, the usual carefree and swaggering fellows were now unnervingly subdued. This showed that under extreme duress, mental sustenance was useless.

He tried to encourage them: "Hold on, everyone. Once we get through this passage, the rest of the way should be smooth sailing with Fatty leading the way. After all, he’s been here before; he has experience." As he spoke, he even gave Fatty a look of admiration. Fatty hastily averted his gaze, terrified of failing Lu Zong's expectations.

Ganda and Ma Xiong looked at Lu Zong, then said resignedly, "Lu Zong, you should worry about yourself first. Don't bother comforting us. Don't worry, we'll certainly die behind you."

Lu Zong felt intensely frustrated. Damn it, why is this so unlucky? But frustration aside, the most important thing now was figuring out how to get out of here. Why had they returned?