I figured he could still joke because even though his neck was caught, Da Xiong’s expression was completely relaxed, showing no sign of being close to death.

However, Nie Chuan’s joking nonetheless provoked Da Xiong, who yelled, “What are you staring at? Hurry up and help!”

Before Nie Chuan could make a move, I drew the military saber from my waist and slashed down hard onto that monstrous black hand.

Unexpectedly, the cut felt like hacking into rubber; it was soft and yielding, causing the arm to arc downward with the pull.

Although surprised internally, I exerted force with my hand and performed a slicing motion.

Only then did the hand seem to register pain, and it instantly retracted.

Watching the way it recoiled, I realized that the thing truly was like rubber.

A flash crossed my mind, bringing back the soft-bodied creatures resembling humans I had seen when encountering Bug Princess.

Perhaps this was one of them.

I wondered if these things emerging from the Bronze Gate were even classified as yokai.

But they had shown no intention of attacking us then, yet now they seemed intent on killing us.

If it was indeed that kind of soft-bodied creature, then it wouldn’t be strange that it could slip through the ice fissure, creating the illusion of instantaneous disappearance.

With that realization, I said to the other two, “Be careful, it’s those soft-bodied bugs, crawling out of human skin.”

Having witnessed my display, they both seemed to grasp exactly what this thing was, and their expressions instantly turned grave.

Then, the three of us cautiously approached the ice fissure again.

I took out a stick of Cold Flame Fire and instructed, “Da Xiong, circle around the Dragon Tower to see if there are any other entrances. Nie Chuan and I will break through from the front. If there are no other exits, circle back and support us.”

Da Xiong nodded and said, “You keep the Cold Flame Fire, don’t let it go out, or we won’t be able to find you later.”

I nodded, saying, “Go ahead.”

Da Xiong scurried off in a flash. Only then did I ignite the Cold Flame Fire and toss it into the ice fissure.

The red light landed on the floor inside the room, making a few pata-pata sounds.

I then leaned close to the fissure again and saw the Cold Flame Fire still burning, but several soft-bodied creatures rushed toward it as if crazed, instantly smothering the flame.

I gritted my teeth and said, “No choice, we have to force our way in.”

Nie Chuan nodded, glanced at the surrounding bamboo forest, and remarked, “There should be plenty of kindling in the woods.”

Before long, Nie Chuan and I gathered a pile of firewood, dry leaves, and twigs, stacked them in front of the ice wall, and set them ablaze.

Melting the ice wall with fire was not as easy as imagined; ice three feet thick does not form in a single day. Even with fire burning right beside it, the ice melted slowly.

The best way to melt ice would actually be to douse it with hot water, but we had no way to find that much water now.

After waiting for about ten minutes and seeing the ice layer considerably thinned, we smashed the ice a few times with the hilts of our weapons. The ice wall at the doorway suddenly collapsed with a loud boom.

Dodging the ice chunks continually tumbling from above, Nie Chuan and I retreated several steps.

Once the ice layer stabilized completely, we charged toward the door.

But halfway through our rush, several humanoid soft-bodied creatures charged out.

Seeing those slug-like things rushing towards us made me feel a bit ridiculous, as their posture was incredibly awkward, like blobs of jelly accidentally dropped onto the floor.

Such things could barely cause any harm to a person; my only fear was that they might envelop us, like they did Bug Princess, dissolving us into their bodies, which could lead to suffocation.

So, when these things rushed over at a relatively fast pace, I pulled Nie Chuan aside to dodge.

Seeing us evade them, those creatures couldn't brake in time and ended up falling to the ground, dissolving into shining puddles of slime.

Seeing this, joy filled our hearts. We skirted around the puddle of muck and charged toward the door again.

At this point, a few more soft-bodied creatures rushed up, and I batted one away with a single punch.

The moment we stepped inside, Nie Chuan asked me, “Were Xie Yuting and the others really surrounded by these things? This is…”

I shook my head, indicating I didn't know. But if it was truly these creatures, I was quite surprised, because they were practically helpless against direct force, and they possessed only a trace of extremely faint Nian (spiritual energy) within them, suggesting very low combat effectiveness.

Just as I was thinking this, a comparatively stronger Nian suddenly manifested in the pitch-black room.

Although this Nian wasn't overwhelmingly powerful, it still stood out from my perception.

I thought to myself that this must be a yokai different from those soft-bodied creatures.

But when it lunged before me, I finally saw clearly: the thing standing there was also a soft-bodied creature, though this one was entirely red.

Before I could process the situation, the creature opened its mouth and spat out a fireball.

Nie Chuan and I reacted quickly, hastily dodging away.

However, the creature spat several more fireballs in quick succession. Although I managed to dodge them all, Nie Chuan’s clothes on his back caught fire.

I immediately dove onto him and smothered the flames.

At this moment, the soft-bodied monster charged forward again, opening its mouth as if to spit again.

But after a few retches, it only spat out some slime, and finally produced a dark, rod-like object.

Seeing the monster’s body color change from the initial red to the usual inky black, I suddenly seemed to understand something.

When I stood up and reached out to strike the yokai, it actually squeaked fearfully and vanished swiftly into the darkness.

Seeing it had fled far away, I picked up the black rod from the ground to examine it, only to realize it was the Cold Flame Fire we had thrown in earlier.

“That’s right, this thing isn’t as useless as we thought. They seem to possess an ability to absorb external energy,” I stated.

Nie Chuan had clearly noticed this too and was about to say something, but as the words reached his lips, he shouted, “Careful!”

I looked up and saw several soft-bodied creatures descending from the ceiling, lunging toward us.

Dodging sideways, I heard a few heavy pings on the floor, indicating that those creatures were quite heavy.

Then, we saw a layer of frost covering the bodies of those soft-bodied creatures, and their color had changed to snowy white.

These cumbersome soft-bodied creatures slowly climbed up from the floor and began lumbering toward us.

Naturally, because they were completely frozen, their bodies were no longer so pliable; they actually looked quite like living people.

“They must have absorbed the power from the ice on the ceiling. Let’s be cautious,” Nie Chuan said while backing away.

I nodded, considering countermeasures, when those frozen soft-bodied creatures suddenly charged rapidly toward us.

One of them threw a punch at me from a distance of five or six meters.

I thought, Can you even hit me from that far? But the thought was fleeting before I realized the limb was gradually stretching out, the fist pressing close to my chest, a wave of cold air making my nose sting.

I quickly jumped back two steps and narrowly avoided the blow, but I was already covered in a cold sweat.

“It seems that even after absorbing external energy, these things retain the ability to stretch at will,” Nie Chuan told me.

I didn't have time to discuss it with him, as several more ice-fists slammed toward me through the air.

I dodged left and right, becoming somewhat overwhelmed.

Nie Chuan and I were slowly retreating toward the door when several creatures outside blocked our way out.

“Now I finally understand why Xie Yuting and the others got trapped. These things are truly disgusting,” Nie Chuan said to me while backing away, holding the dagger Little Brother had given him.

I glanced at the knife in his hand and said, “It’s fine. If necessary, we’ll have to deliver a killing blow. Ordinary blades have trouble wounding them, but the one you have is different.”

Before I finished speaking, a swoosh came from behind, and one leaped onto me.

Nie Chuan did not hesitate and spun around to slash with his knife.

And precisely as he brought his blade down, a man’s shout suddenly echoed from inside the room: “No! Don’t hack them!”