Looking around, the alchemical creatures in the cold storage were truly a motley crew.
Some had human bodies with bull heads, others had human bodies with snake tails, and there were even winged white unicorns.
These were merely successful creations modeled after mythical beasts, and their appearances were quite successful. As for the failures, there were far more.
There were humanoid alchemical creatures with three arms and contorted features, beasts with bear bodies and wolf heads, and a giant, vertical snake-like eye on their chests.
However, Weston was responsible. Knowing that the cold storage would fail over time after his departure, he had implemented a double safeguard for each alchemical creature. Beneath each massive ice block lay a small freezing spell, ensuring that even if the cold storage failed, the spells would continue to keep these alchemical creatures in hibernation.
But, after such a long time, even a double safeguard could not guarantee absolute safety.
Indeed, as they ventured deeper into the cold storage, they found a shattered ice block. The spell beneath it had failed, and the alchemical creature sealed within was nowhere to be seen.
Bai Qi quickly closed the cold storage door.
Based on the scene, the ice had been broken recently, and the alchemical creature should still be within the cold storage.
Bai Qi gripped his staff tightly and said, "Kraven, find him."
"As you wish, Master."
Kraven sniffed the air and quickened his pace.
Watching Kraven search for the target, Hengge said, "Master, entrusting this to a human, I'm afraid..."
Bai Qi replied, "What are you afraid of? Afraid Kraven can't handle one alchemical creature? Rest assured."
Behind an ice block, Kraven discovered the escaped alchemical creature. It was a stitched-together monster about two meters tall, with a bear's body. It had two heads: one of a tiger and one of a bear. Its claws were wolf-like, and most bizarrely, its tail was a long, slender snake tail.
The enraged stitched-together monster leaped from behind the ice block, roaring and swiping at Kraven with a paw.
It seemed that even after stitching together multiple creatures, the stitched-together monster's combat style still leaned towards that of a bear.
Kraven wasn't foolish enough to confront a bear head-on. He nimbly dodged the monster's swipe and, as it missed, executed a spinning kick to its bear head.
"This is impossible!"
Seeing the stitched-together monster stumble back several steps, Hengge exclaimed in disbelief.
Back then, he had personally witnessed the astonishing power of these alchemical creatures. An ordinary person wouldn't even be able to fight, let alone take a hit that would leave them dead or crippled. Yet, this human not only dodged the monster's attack but also pushed it back.
And it wasn't over. After landing the first blow, as his right foot touched the ground, Kraven spun again, drawing a dagger from his leg with his left hand and plunging it into the stitched-together monster's neck with an inverted grip.
The dagger pierced the creature's flesh, causing it to yelp in pain.
As the stitched-together monster tried to pull out the dagger, Kraven seized the opportunity, launching a flurry of punches at its other head, knocking it to the ground.
Finally, Kraven drew his other dagger and thrust it into the monster's heart, ending its life.
Hengge's jaw dropped, astounded by Kraven's performance.
"As expected of Master, even his subordinates are exceptionally skilled."
Although Bai Qi knew Hengge was flattering him, he didn't mind pleasant words. He cast a cleansing spell on the blood-soaked Kraven, instantly making him look as good as new.
Then, Bai Qi asked, "Hengge, besides yourself, are there any other intelligent beings here?"
Though he thought the possibility was slim, he decided to try. After all, he had too few capable subordinates, and finding another would be a huge gain.
Hengge pondered for a moment and then replied, "Master, now that you mention it, there is."
Bai Qi was somewhat surprised. He had only casually asked, and there actually was one.
Hengge continued, "However, this fellow isn't very bright, and he has a temper. Weston found him clumsy and prone to breaking things, so he froze him in the cold storage along with the others."
"Take me to see him quickly."
Arriving at the deepest part of the cold storage, Bai Qi was presented with a massive ice block.
Inside, Bai Qi saw a colossal cyclops frozen in the ice. Its size alone made it half a head taller than the Troll Ninja. Its skin was pale blue, and two long fangs protruded from its mouth, giving the immediate impression of a creature lacking intelligence.
Indeed, this was the case. Bai Qi found the creature's name from the memories of the Sacred Lord. The cyclops was scientifically known as a Mountain Demon, a giant humanoid creature that lived in deep mountains, famous for its great strength and enormous appetite.
However, its appetite was so colossal that it eventually ate dirt when there was nothing else left to consume. Historically, there was a record of a giant Mountain Demon leveling an entire mountain – truly leveling it, turning a whole mountain into flat land. Furthermore, due to their long-term isolation in the mountains and lack of interaction with intelligent beings, their intelligence was, to say the least, underdeveloped.
Weston must have found this Mountain Demon from somewhere, likely intending to modify its brain through alchemy. Even if it couldn't become exceptionally intelligent, at least its intellect could be restored to a normal level. The outcome was clearly a failure.
"Never mind, having one is better than none."
Bai Qi broke the ice spell and used fire to melt the ice block, releasing the Mountain Demon.
Upon emerging, the Mountain Demon rubbed its sparsely haired head, looked around, and finally focused its gaze on Bai Qi.
A thunderous growl echoed through the cold storage.
"So... tasty."
This simple-minded creature was so hungry that it mistook Bai Qi for food.
Bai Qi didn't indulge him. Empowered by magic, he proceeded to punch and kick the Mountain Demon.
There's a saying: if a child misbehaves, it's often because they're spoiled; a good thrashing usually fixes it.
The Mountain Demon wasn't a child, but its intelligence was even less than that of a child.
After Bai Qi's "training," the Mountain Demon became considerably more obedient, looking at Bai Qi with a wronged expression, drooling, and constantly murmuring about being hungry, as if it had suffered some great injustice.
Bai Qi couldn't stand it any longer. He took out an entire leg of pork and threw it to the Mountain Demon.
Upon seeing the pork leg, the Mountain Demon immediately stopped crying. It grabbed the leg and devoured it completely in a flash, not even leaving the bones.
Well, it seemed he had released a baby Pogong.
Bai Qi didn't waste time and continued to throw pork legs, eventually directly presenting a whole freshly slaughtered pig to the Mountain Demon.
"How is it? Delicious?"
The Mountain Demon shoveled a large chunk of pork into its mouth, chewing and swallowing. It mumbled, "So... tasty, so long, so long since I've eaten anything this delicious..."
Unexpectedly, Weston had taught the Mountain Demon human speech. That was good, very good.