"Warming appliances?" I paused, wondering where in this desolate underground tomb I could possibly find anything to provide warmth.

At that moment, Number 12 pointed toward a massive block of ice in the corner ahead and said, "I think we still have a way. Let's go take a look."

I immediately understood what he meant, as the area we were in was precisely in front of the rift.

The fierce, cold wind blowing from the other side of the rift could rapidly freeze many things solid.

If any animal was bitten by the Progenitor Beast and then happened to be frozen, it might retain relatively intact fur.

With that thought, we hesitated no longer and began examining the blocks of ice along the wall, one by one.

Indeed, we soon discovered several animals encased in the ice.

One of them was a juvenile mammoth; although only the hindquarters remained as a skeleton—perhaps gnawed off by the Progenitor Beast—the fur covering everything before its backside was still remarkably whole, even preserving the look of utter despair and agony from the moment it died.

However, the other animal was a brown creature standing over two meters tall, bearing countless branched antlers on its head.

This animal’s physique was very bovine, and its face resembled that of a cow, but the horns were incredibly exaggerated, somewhat similar to a moose's, yet even more magnificent than modern elk. It was likely an ancestor of the takin family; in any case, I had never seen such a species.

This takin-like animal was preserved even better, save for a very deep gash across its belly, with its internal organs missing—who knew what kind of predator had attacked it.

The last animal was what truly stunned us into silence.

This creature generally resembled a crocodile, but its four limbs were exceptionally developed, with bulging muscles, leading me to guess it could walk upright.

Its snout was shorter than a crocodile’s, its tail rather slender, and its entire body was covered in black and white patterns; its eyes were merely two black sockets.

The beast measured about five meters long; its powerful, agile frame exuded immense strength, clearly marking it as a terrifying killer.

It was just that this killer was now dead, yet it still retained the terrifying aura it possessed in life.

Number 12 pointed at the creature and asked me, "What kind of animal is this? Why does it look a bit like a dragon?"

I stroked my chin, nodded, and replied, "This fellow should be the Striped Flood Dragon, a subspecies of ancient crocodile. They are extremely rare, which is why they don't appear in biological specimens or data, but records from Sou Shen Ji and other literature mention the existence of Jiao in the great rivers, specifically those colored like a tiger—hence, the Tiger Jiao."

"This kind of animal is quite common in China because we have always had two mysterious bodies of water. Before the liberation, people claimed to have caught a Striped Flood Dragon in the Yangtze River, but it was too powerful; the fishing net snapped, and it escaped in the end. Unfortunately, no photographs were taken as evidence at the time, so this creature remains an unsolved mystery in biology."

Upon hearing this, Number 12 exclaimed, "10, I didn't realize you knew so many biological secrets. What exactly did you do before?"

I smiled faintly. I had intended to tell him, but thinking of the identity of Nie Chuan suddenly brought a wave of bitterness to my heart, so I ultimately said nothing, merely stating, "I just enjoy researching these things; I read about them online."

Number 2 glanced at me but said nothing, merely reciting a Buddhist phrase, "Amitabha. Everyone has their own unspoken hardships. Don't press him. Let's think about how to extract these animals from the ice first."

In fact, the first method I could think of, and the quickest and wisest, was to light a fire and slowly melt the ice.

That would also be the best way to preserve the integrity of the pelts.

However, we currently lacked the means to start a fire, and furthermore, starting a fire might attract unnecessary trouble.

This meant we would have to rely on brute force to smash the ice blocks apart.

This wasn't necessarily a disaster, though, because if an animal hasn't been frozen for centuries, separating it from the ice isn't particularly difficult. Only those frozen for hundreds or thousands of years become incredibly hard to detach, almost fused with the ice itself.

Just then, Number 2 told us, "Everyone step aside. Leave this to me."

Seeing how pale he still looked from overusing his power earlier, I said, "You should rest. I'll handle it. We need to conserve stamina in case we have to fight later. You've been too tired these past few days; don't push yourself."

Number 2 looked at me and replied, "Alright, since you put it that way, I have no reason to argue."

I nodded, told them to back off, then condensed my psychic energy into a massive fist and slammed it fiercely into the ice block.

This time I used one-tenth of my strength, roughly equivalent to a ton of striking force.

With a loud bang, countless ice shards sprayed out from the fan-shaped ice sheet, but the block itself didn't budge.

I was startled, wondering if the force wasn't enough. Just as I was about to increase the power for another strike, Number 2 grabbed my arm.

I looked at him strangely and asked, "What is it?"

Number 2 said, "You used condensed psychic energy to strike with your fist?"

I nodded and confirmed, "Yes..."

Number 2 frowned and said, "I noticed your attack style before. It seems the psychic energy you condense can only form palms or fists. If that’s the case, no matter how powerful you are, you can't bring your technique to its extreme. Look now: if you push harder, you can shatter the ice, but the specimens inside will also be damaged. Don't forget that the blood inside them has also frozen solid; the entire structure is brittle and easily shattered by shock."

I looked down at my hand and asked, "Then what should we do?"

Number 2 recited an "Amitabha," saying, "Although as a man of the cloth it's improper for me to instruct you on wielding weapons, we are in such a predicament that there is no choice. The Buddha says, 'Lay down the butcher's knife and achieve Buddhahood immediately,' but sometimes, holding the butcher's knife proves useful."

I seemed to grasp something from his Zen-like words and asked, "You mean condensing the psychic energy into blades and swords?"

Number 2 recited "Amitabha" again. "Precisely. Doing so will greatly enhance the destructive power of your technique."

I managed a helpless smile and said, "I've actually tried that before, but it’s incredibly difficult. Even the fists I condense don't separate into five distinct fingers; they are just approximations. Achieving such precise shaping is beyond my current capabilities."

Number 2 nodded. "Your psychic energy and the Qi cultivated by our Buddhist school are fundamentally the same type of thing; only the name differs. Both are formless and colorless, yet they contain immense energy—an invisible force. Mastering this power is indeed not easy, but there is a way."

I knew his research into Qi must be deeper than mine, but I still voiced my doubt, "Even if I could manipulate psychic energy more precisely, you must understand that what makes swords powerful is their edge. Compressing psychic energy into such a thin layer of sharpness is extremely difficult."

Number 2 nodded. "You are correct; forming an edge is hard, especially since you cannot see the shape of Nian or Qi. Even if an edge forms, you won't see it. But that doesn't mean a sharp edge cannot be formed, nor did I suggest you form one out of thin air. All things in heaven and earth are wondrous. Humans can dominate nature because they use wisdom to transform the forces of the natural world for their own use."

I seemed to understand his meaning again and asked, "Are you suggesting using other implements, or mimicking other phenomena in nature to achieve this?"

Number 2 nodded slightly. "Your comprehension is excellent. It's a pity you didn't enter the Buddhist path."

I chuckled wryly. "I am currently without support. Perhaps one day I really will join the clergy, if you're willing to take me in."

Number 2 recited an "Amitabha." "Now is not the time for such talk. Here, take this."

With that, he picked up an ice shard from the ground that resembled the shape of a blade—it had broken off when I struck the ice sheet with full force. Because the temperature near the spatial rift was extremely low, it hadn't melted.

I took the blade-shaped ice shard from his hand, feeling a chilling cold seep into my bones, and asked, "And then?"

Number 2 instructed, "Coat the entire surface of this blade with your psychic energy, forming an outer shell."

I instantly grasped his intent and couldn't help but admire his method. To be honest, while I wasn't entirely fluent in using my psychic energy, controlling the dosage and force was quite easy for me.

Thus, it took me only ten minutes to form a shell of condensed psychic energy over the ice blade. By this time, the original ice shard, affected by my body temperature, had melted into a small lump.

Number 2 then asked me, "The ice has melted, but is the blade still there?"

I nodded. "Yes!"

Number 2 was very satisfied. He walked over to the fan-shaped ice sheet and pointed to an area. "Use the blade of psychic energy in your hand to slice off this section."

I just nodded and said "Good," then slightly raised my hand. The blade-shaped psychic energy magnified by more than ten times. Then, with an empty wave, I heard a swish sound. Amidst a spray of ice chips, the large section of ice Number 2 indicated was cleanly severed by my sweep. However, because the shape wasn't perfectly maintained during the enlargement, the cut surface was quite rough.

Still, Number 2 gave me a thumbs-up and said, "Learning quickly. Good. Now you can fashion yourself a chisel and a hammer to carve out the animals inside."

I nodded joyfully, thinking to myself that making a chisel would be much easier than making a blade; all that mattered was keeping the tip sharp.