“This is what I’m talking about,” An Guoqing said with a smile. “Fengshan has a unique topography, with karst caves and underground rivers converging, and the underground rivers meandering and changing. Among them, the most famous are Poxin River, Sanmenhai Tianchuang, and Changshou Village. In the villages near Poxin River, there are dozens of people over 100 years old. People in their seventies and eighties are not considered long-lived there, but just average. In these villages along Poxin River, people not only live long lives, but they also rarely get sick. However, no one knows why. But the people who have passed down the story for generations say it’s because of the Poxin River.”
Seeing that An Guoqing was unwilling to talk about what he had asked, Zhou Xuan stopped interrupting and listened with great interest to An Guoqing talk about Fengshan.
"The source of the Panyang River is the Poxin River, and these sources are countless underground rivers or karst caves that gush out underground streams. After flowing out to the surface, they converge into a large lake-like body of water, which is the world-famous Sanmenhai. Sanmenhai has seven underground collapse-type bottom streams. At these streams, the lake water appears as if huge lights are shining from the bottom of the water, making it look bright on the surface. These are the skylights of Sanmenhai. These skylights vary in size, with the largest being more than 20,000 square meters and the smallest only a few meters wide."
"A few years ago, Fengshan gathered top divers from around the world to explore the underground current channels of these skylights. They used the most advanced underwater equipment. Because these underground channels are numerous and winding, and many sections are only wide enough for a person to pass through, it was impossible to use small submarines or other underwater equipment. They could only explore manually. Even with the world's top divers, after months of exploration, they only detected about 900 meters of underground currents connecting five skylights. The remaining areas could not be explored because the terrain was treacherous and the underground currents were even more distant and difficult to access. Human effort combined with diving equipment could not reach such distances. Therefore, the secret of the Sanmenhai skylights remains unsolved."
An Guoqing sighed at this point, then continued, "The place where Liu Zijie went down was the seventh skylight. Unlike the other lake-shaped skylights, this skylight was a sinkhole of seven or eight hundred square meters on the outside. However, the bottom of the sinkhole was only a little over two meters in diameter, and more than three hundred meters deep. The middle was extremely steep, while the bottom was somewhat winding and curved, making it impossible to see the bottom. But at the very bottom was an underground river, which was essentially a skylight."
Hearing this, Zhou Xuan realized that An Guoqing hadn't refused to give the address, but rather had given it to him in a different way.
"Expert divers were unable to detect the remaining skylights, and scientists have also tested the water in the Poxin River. While it does contain some elements like zinc and manganese ions that are essential for the human body, it is far from sufficient to explain the reason for people's longevity."
Volume 1, Chapter 378: Aura
Chapter 378 Aura
As An Guoqing spoke, he glanced at Zhou Xuan, but surprisingly, he didn't detect anything amiss on Zhou Xuan's face. Zhou Xuan seemed completely unsurprised to have seen or heard phenomena that human technology couldn't explain.
An Guoqing, of course, was unaware that Zhou Xuan possessed something inexplicable by human technology—an ice-based supernatural ability. Therefore, he wasn't particularly surprised or astonished by other unusual things or phenomena. ()
An Guoqing and Zhou Xuan were actually speculating and distrusting each other, but they both agreed to the cooperation. However, they probably both knew in their hearts that neither of them trusted the other.
Zhou Xuan believed An Guoqing's words only partly, but he believed most of the story about the Nine Star Pearl, and that was naturally the reason he cooperated with him.
"Alright, Mr. An, when do we set off?" Now that both parties had reached an agreement, Zhou Xuan asked An Guoqing when they would depart.
An Guoqing smiled and said, "Tomorrow, I will also have my subordinates send the necessary tools and equipment to Fengshan. Shall we rest at my place today?" After saying that, he stared straight at Zhou Xuan.
Zhou Xuan understood An Guoqing's intention and said calmly, "Mr. An, I don't care about many things, but I value my word above all else. I will always keep my promises. Don't worry, we'll stay at the Chongkou Hotel and meet at the hotel entrance first thing tomorrow morning."
Zhou Xuan certainly dared to say that, and he was wary of others. However, he wasn't lying to An Guoqing. If An Guoqing really helped him return to the original time, then he was genuinely willing to give An Guoqing the Nine Dragon Cauldron. What he was wary of was whether An Guoqing would keep his promise. If An Guoqing ultimately only wanted to take away his Nine Dragon Cauldron and broke his own oath first, then things would be different.
An Guoqing clapped his hands and said, "Okay, it's decided then. I hope we have a pleasant collaboration."
Once the cooperation was decided, An Guoqing waved his hand, told Yang Huaiyuan to drive to the highway, and then asked Zhou Xuan and Fu Ying to get into another car. He then arranged for someone to take Zhou Xuan back to the hotel.
In the car, Fu Ying glanced at Zhou Xuan, who was tilting his head, seemingly lost in thought.
In fact, Zhou Xuan condensed the ice into a beam and tried to probe towards An Guoqing's car.
Although Zhou Xuan's ice-energy ability was not profound and far inferior to his previous abilities, he had enough experience. He had long ago learned the method of condensing ice energy into a beam to probe further.
Now, the ice energy is condensed into an extremely fine wisp and forcefully probed onto An Guoqing's car. The ice energy can detect objects at a distance of about fifty meters. All five cars are on the road, and An Guoqing's car is about ten meters away from the car Zhou Xuan is in, so it is not difficult to detect them.
An Guoqing chuckled in the car, while Yang Huaiyuan beside him said, "Chairman An, are you really going to take Zhou Xuan to that place?"
An Guoqing could never have imagined that even though they were in their cars, more than ten meters apart, Zhou Xuan could still clearly hear what he was saying and doing.
“Huaiyuan, I know you want to ask me why I didn’t just forcibly take it and instead cooperated with him?” An Guoqing chuckled. “I know very well that most of what Zhou Xuan said is true, but I naturally don’t believe his oath, and I only have a superficial understanding of the Nine Dragon Cauldron. However, he does want to use me to find the Nine Star Pearl to activate the Nine Dragon Cauldron, so we can cooperate in the early stages. I don’t need to resort to force to intercept the Nine Dragon Cauldron now. Also, you know that retrieving the Nine Star Pearl from the skylight is extremely difficult. Otherwise, why would we still be empty-handed after all these years? And Zhou Xuan possesses the energy to activate the Nine Dragon Cauldron. Although he can’t fully activate it, such an ability is indeed not to be underestimated. Perhaps with his abilities, he really can get the Nine Star Pearl.”
Yang Huaiyuan nodded slowly, and An Guoqing continued, "The currents through that window are extremely dangerous. Over the years, whether we've used top-of-the-line diving equipment or sheer manpower, we've reached the hiding place of the Nine Star Pearl. So there's no need to be too wary of Zhou Xuan. Let's wait and see. Otherwise, even if we seize the Nine Dragon Cauldron now, without the Nine Star Pearl, it's as if the cauldron doesn't exist."
Zhou Xuan sneered inwardly. As expected, An Guoqing had no good intentions. However, he wasn't stupid. With his secret ice energy ability, underwater was his forte. With the support of ice energy, his diving ability far surpassed that of experts using high-tech diving equipment. This had already been proven in the United States, so there was no need to try again. Moreover, Zhou Xuan's current diving ability and ice energy were stronger than when he was in the United States. Before he reached the bottom of the sinkhole to absorb the golden stone, his ability was not as strong as it is now.
After returning to the city, An Guoqing's car no longer followed the car Zhou Xuan was in. The cars split up and drove away separately. The person who dropped Zhou Xuan and Fu Ying off at the hotel entrance nodded to them as soon as they got out of the car, then reversed and drove away.
Zhou Xuan then glanced at Fu Ying, whose face was unpredictable, as if she was thinking about something.
Zhou Xuan sighed and said, "I have to go back to the hotel. Will we ever see each other again?"
Fu Ying was in a daze. After regaining her composure, she said, "Didn't An Guoqing say that there's a river under the skylight? I'm good at diving. Why don't I go with you and see if the Nine Star Pearl and Nine Dragon Cauldron thing is true? If it is, I'll believe you."
Zhou Xuan hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. He was well aware of the dangers of the underground currents; he had tried twice before, each time more perilous than the last. This time, he knew it wouldn't be easy. If Fu Ying wanted to go with him, her current ice-qi ability wasn't strong enough, and she lacked self-defense skills. He doubted he could protect her. Besides, Wei Xiaoyu was also going. If they could truly obtain the Nine-Star Pearl, they could return to the original timeline together, resolving their issues with Fu Ying.
“Yingying, I can’t take you this time,” Zhou Xuan refused Fu Ying’s request, and then said, “If I succeed in finding the Nine-Star Pearl with An Guoqing this time, then we will definitely return to the past, and our matter will naturally be resolved. If we fail to find the Nine-Star Pearl and can never return to the past, then I will never give up on you, and I will come looking for you again.”
Fu Ying snorted and said indifferently, "Don't talk to me about that now. Let me be clear: I don't believe you. I'm interested in the diving. My going with you doesn't mean I'll be in danger; I'm just going to observe."
Although Fu Ying's tone was indifferent, Zhou Xuan understood that this was just Fu Ying's temperament. Once she made up her mind about something, no one could persuade her otherwise. Besides, Zhou Xuan was not anyone to her at this time, so he was even less likely to persuade her.
After a moment's hesitation, Zhou Xuan gritted his teeth and said, "Alright, meet me here tomorrow morning."
Fu Ying stared at Zhou Xuan for a while, thought for a moment, and then said nothing more. She waved her hand, hailed a taxi, and left on her own.
Zhou Xuan returned to his hotel room alone, looking dejected. Wei Xiaoyu, who was bored, was overjoyed to see Zhou Xuan return and asked, "Why did you take so long? Did you see your friends?"
Zhou Xuan hesitated for a moment, then nodded, sat down on the edge of the bed, and said to Wei Xiaoyu, "Xiaoyu, listen to me, there's something I need to make clear to you now."
Wei Xiaoyu was taken aback. Seeing that Zhou Xuan's expression was very serious, she was also a little worried and wondered what was wrong. She quietly sat down in front of him.
"Xiaoyu, you... think about it first. Let me tell you what happened." Zhou Xuan thought for a moment, then explained about An Guoqing. "Today I met another person who knows the secret of the Nine Dragon Cauldron, named An Guoqing. Tomorrow I will go with him to Fengshan in Guangxi to find the Nine Star Bead, the energy bead that can activate the Nine Dragon Cauldron. However, it will definitely be extremely dangerous. You can think about it; you can go or not. But I'm thinking that if I find the Nine Star Bead, I will need to activate the Nine Dragon Cauldron to return to the past. So you'd better come with me, otherwise we'll never be able to return to the time we came from."
Wei Xiaoyu's face paled, and she murmured, "Is that the only thing you've been thinking about day and night?"
Zhou Xuan shook his head helplessly, thought for a moment, and then said another thing: "Fu Ying will be going tomorrow too."
Wei Xiaoyu's body trembled violently, tears streaming down her face. She turned her face away and after a long while, whispered, "I'll go."
Zhou Xuan thought for a moment and then said, "Xiaoyu, get some rest. We'll leave early tomorrow morning. I'll book another room. I'm leaving now." After saying that, he got up and walked out of the room, gently closing the door. As he closed the door, he could faintly hear Wei Xiaoyu sobbing.
However, Zhou Xuan hardened his heart and refused to go in to persuade or comfort her. He knew that this matter would hurt her feelings anyway, and he could never have the best of both worlds.
Zhou Xuan opened another room and then practiced his ice qi intensively. Because his ice qi had been combined with his internal energy, his mutated ice qi was progressing very quickly. Although it did not increase as fast as when he absorbed the energy of the golden stone, it was still incomparable to when he first obtained his superpower. With experience, he could practice more efficiently.
When Zhou Xuan woke up in the morning, he was full of energy and his senses were much sharper, which was a manifestation of his improved ice energy ability.
After washing up and packing his luggage, he went to knock on Wei Xiaoyu's door.