Although Zhou Ziwei's burns were on his thighs, which wouldn't significantly affect his appearance, looking at those tangled scars still made him feel a little uneasy.
Furthermore, when Zhou Ziwei treats Chu Qiutang's facial burns, he will have to use the same method, peeling off a large piece of skin from Chu Qiutang's face first.
He estimated that if he didn't demonstrate first, and then directly applied this unheard-of treatment method to Chu Qiutang, it would definitely scare her quite a bit, and she might not even cooperate with his treatment. So Zhou Ziwei didn't care about anything else and immediately started toying with himself.
Wang Xuewei knew nothing about treating injuries, while Chu Qiutang, being a medic, could be of great help in this regard.
Although Zhou Ziwei probably didn't need her help at all...
Hearing that Zhou Ziwei was going to remove all the charred flesh from his body, Chu Qiutang was indeed quite frightened. However, seeing Zhou Ziwei's confident demeanor, Chu Qiutang had no choice but to believe him.
After Chu Qiutang's strict disinfection, the sharp special forces dagger was handed to Zhou Ziwei, while Chu Qiutang nervously found some surgical suturing and hemostasis tools and carefully prepared them on the side.
Seeing Zhou Ziwei take the dagger and immediately and without hesitation slash at his own thigh, Wang Xuewei covered her eyes in fright, while Chu Qiutang exclaimed, "Wait... the anesthetic, we haven't given you the anesthetic yet..."
Zhou Ziwei smiled and shook his head, saying, "No need, hitting with that stuff is bad for your health. This flesh is all burned, there's no pain at all, it's fine..."
After Zhou Ziwei finished speaking, he immediately and without hesitation brought down his knife. Just like a master chef in a Brazilian barbecue restaurant, he easily sliced off a piece of charred flesh from his thigh. His ease almost made Chu Qiutang faint.
Fortunately, Chu Qiutang's nerves had been toughened up by the disgusting scenes in her anatomy classes during her university years. Even when Zhou Ziwei had turned her thighs into two bloody gourds, she still managed to hold on and not faint.
When she saw that Zhou Ziwei hadn't even frowned once throughout the entire ordeal, she finally couldn't bear it anymore.
I used to admire Guan Yu immensely when I heard storytellers recount the Three Kingdoms story, especially the tale of Guan Yu scraping his bone to heal his wound. But now, Chu Qiutang realizes that compared to Zhou Ziwei, Guan Yu's bone-scraping treatment is nothing. Chu Qiutang even wonders if Zhou Ziwei feels no pain at all, otherwise how could he cut himself so badly and still have that carefree, nonchalant smile on his face?
Chu Qiutang even suspected that this guy, who wouldn't even flinch if Zhou Ziwei dissected her... wasn't human at all!
In fact, Chu Qiutang was right about some things. However, Zhou Ziwei was not without pain nerves. It was just that he had blocked the nerves in his lower body before he made his move. He wasn't a pervert. Since he had a way to make himself feel no pain, why didn't he use it?
After removing the necrotic skin and muscle, Zhou Ziwei began to play tricks on the two women. His hands fluttered across his thighs like butterflies, creating layers of illusionary force fields. After a moment, a white mist dissipated, and his previously mangled thighs, having been rapidly healed by Zhou Ziwei's liquid soul power, were stimulated to rapidly divide and regenerate. New muscles and skin grew back, making his thighs appear no different from before, and even seeming stronger and more powerful.
"Ah...this...is this real?" Seeing the changes in Zhou Ziwei's legs, Chu Qiutang could hardly believe her eyes. She first rubbed her eyes hard, and then uncertainly reached out and stroked Zhou Ziwei's thighs up and down.
Of course... Chu Qiutang was just curious how her legs, which had just been cut and were now bloody and mangled, could have healed so quickly. However... her actions seemed rather ambiguous, especially since she was distracted and didn't notice anything wrong with the place she was touching... Her touch went straight to the groin of Zhou Ziwei's thighs, and Zhou Ziwei had just shut down his lower body's nervous system for a long time, worried about nerve atrophy. At this moment, he had completely restored the sensitivity of his legs to what they used to be, several times greater than that of ordinary people.
With a sensitivity several times greater than that of an average person, Zhou Ziwei was more likely to have physiological reactions to contact with the opposite sex. So when Chu Qiutang's jade-like hands gently caressed his inner thighs, Zhou Ziwei's little brother, which had been lying there quietly sleeping because his nerves were closed, suddenly sprang up under this intense stimulation. And, to make matters worse, it peeked out from the gap next to Zhou Ziwei's underwear and gave Chu Qiutang's jade-like hand a hard slap.
Feeling the strange heat of that thing and clearly seeing the ferocious look on that little head, Chu Qiutang was instantly petrified.
Wang Xuewei, who was secretly peeking over from behind with her hand down, also narrowed her eyes. In an instant, she gritted her teeth and glared fiercely at Zhou Ziwei's face, which was full of surprise and shame. She had an urge to devour this shameless guy whole...
The sky finally brightened completely, but when the three of them looked up at the bright sun overhead on the vast Gobi Desert, they were all stunned.
This definitely isn't the sun... at least not the star in their solar system that they know so well. Although this luminous object appears to them to be countless times larger than the sun as it normally appears on Earth, it is precisely because of this that Zhou Ziwei and the other two can clearly determine that this so-called "star" is very likely not far from the ground, and may even be much closer than the distance between the moon and the earth... because Zhou Ziwei can even see the flames constantly rising from this "star" above his head with the naked eye.
Volume 2: The Assassin's Nightmare, Chapter 384: Absorption
What kind of world is this...?
Looking up at the enormous "sun" in the sky, Zhou Ziwei suddenly had a crazy idea—could this "sun" be a man-made thing?
Why does this world only have the earth and the sun, but not even a single star? Could it be... that even this space is man-made?
This idea made Zhou Ziwei feel that he was being a bit fanciful, even though he had experienced the magical power of the Six-Syllable Mantra in his two lifetimes and had witnessed countless souls that remained after death.
However, he still couldn't accept the idea that God created man. He didn't even believe that humans were created by God, so naturally he couldn't believe that there really was a god who could create such an absurd thing as a space or a world!
Zhou Ziwei shook his head vigorously, as if trying to shake off the messy thoughts in his mind. Then he turned to look at Wang Xuewei and Chu Qiutang, who were already exhausted from walking behind him, and frowned slightly.
They had been walking for seven or eight hours in this boundless Gobi Desert, but the desolate landscape ahead still stretched endlessly. At this point, they had no idea whether the Gobi Desert had an end, or whether there were humans or other intelligent life forms on the other side. However, they had no other options at the moment and could only keep walking in one direction.
After such a long journey, the "sun" in the sky has hardly moved at all. From this, we can at least know that a day in this world must be much longer than on Earth. Judging from the position of the "sun" from its rise to its current position, this day must have taken at least forty hours to pass.
I wish I could still fly.
Zhou Ziwei sighed inwardly, thinking that if he could still fly using the force field space, then no matter how vast this desolate Gobi Desert was, they could cross it in a very short time, at most consuming more soul power.
If they can get out of the Gobi Desert within a day or two, things will be alright. But if it takes any longer, they won't have enough water. Each of them only carries two military water bottles. Even though they know that they may not be able to find clean water in the Gobi Desert, they still can't bring more drinking water with them when they set off.
Given time, Zhou Ziwei's physique might allow him to last another day or two, but Wang Xuewei and Chu Qiutang might not be able to last even a day without water.
Another dozen or so hours passed, and as the enormous fireball in the sky gradually rose to almost reach his head, Zhou Ziwei couldn't help but complain again.
The climate here is absolutely terrible. The temperature difference between day and night is unimaginable. At night, he felt that the temperature here was only around 10 degrees Celsius. After the big fireball in the sky in the morning, the temperature gradually rose to around 20 degrees Celsius. But now... the temperature here has reached at least 40 degrees Celsius.
Moreover, this is clearly not the hottest time of day. If we wait until the afternoon, the temperature here could reach over 60 degrees Celsius.
No wonder nothing grows here... I guess under these climatic conditions, there are probably very few plants on Earth that can adapt. Only those dark red vines could probably survive here!
"I...I can't go on...I can't walk anymore, I'm dying of heat..."
After the three of them walked forward for another ten minutes or so, Chu Qiutang finally collapsed from exhaustion and could no longer take another step. She sat down on a large, blue rock on the ground.
However, Chu Qiutang then cried out in surprise and jumped up with a "whoosh." It turned out that the stone on the ground, under such high temperature, was already so hot that it looked as if it had just been taken out of a steel furnace. If Chu Qiutang rashly sat on it, the feeling would naturally not be pleasant.
"Then let's rest for a while!" Zhou Ziwei turned to look at the two of them. Seeing that Wang Xuewei was clearly gritting her teeth and enduring it, he could only sigh helplessly, stop, and take off the white leather bundle he was carrying. He shook it in the wind, and it instantly turned into a large, balloon-like sphere. Then, Zhou Ziwei took out several retractable surveying rods from his backpack, pulled them a few times with both hands, and stretched the rods, which were originally only half a foot long, to several meters long. He then inserted them into the large sphere, inflating the sphere that was about to collapse. In this way, a simple tent was immediately formed.
This large tent was made by Zhou Ziwei by peeling off the entire outer layer of the giant water monster's body. He had long anticipated that he didn't know when they would be able to leave this vast Gobi Desert, and that they would inevitably have to spend a lot of time sleeping in the open. The shape of the giant water monster was practically a giant tent on the spot. So, while the three of them were resting by the river, he roasted several of the monster's tentacles into jerky, making it into food that was easy to carry. The monster's outer skin was the tent on the spot.
The giant water monster looked enormous, but once its outer skin was peeled off, it was only a thin layer and didn't take up much space.
"You two rest inside for a while! We'll continue our journey when the weather gets cooler."
After setting up the tent, Zhou Ziwei immediately ushered the two women inside, but he himself had no intention of going in to avoid the sun. Instead, he sat down on the huge blue stone that had almost scalded Chu Qiutang's bottom.
As Wang Xuewei crawled into the tent made of the water monster's skin, she immediately felt a rare coolness that made her so comfortable that she almost groaned.
The stones on the ground were still scorching hot, and although the two of them were exhausted, they dared not sit down on the ground like that.
They could only take off their water bottles and take a small sip to soothe their throats, which were practically burning.
After finishing her water, Wang Xuewei gently shook the kettle in her hand and found that there was only a little water left at the bottom. She was immediately alarmed.
She had only been walking for less than half a day, and she had almost drunk one of her two pots of water. The remaining pot would probably only last until evening at most.
Without water, one probably wouldn't be able to survive even a day in this desolate and arid Gobi Desert!
After being transformed by Zhou Ziwei using the Reincarnation Water, Wang Xuewei's physical condition was somewhat stronger than Chu Qiutang's. However, she had not received professional training and had no experience in surviving in the desert and Gobi. As a result, she consumed water much faster than Chu Qiutang along the way.
Whenever she got thirsty, she would tilt her head back and gulp down several mouthfuls, while Chu Qiutang would only carefully pour a small sip of water into her mouth when she was extremely thirsty. After pouring it in, she would not rush to swallow it, but would hold the water in her mouth for a long time to fully moisten her mouth and throat before reluctantly swallowing it.
In this way, other people naturally have to save a lot of water compared to her.
As for Zhou Ziwei... Wang Xuewei was surprised to find that the guy didn't seem to have drunk much water at all from beginning to end. Didn't he feel thirsty at all?
Thinking of Zhou Ziwei, Wang Xuewei was surprised to find that Zhou Ziwei hadn't come in even though she and Chu Qiutang had been in the tent for a while. She peeked out and saw Zhou Ziwei sitting on the hot rock. She was taken aback and hurriedly asked, "Ziwei... why don't you come in? It's so hot outside!"
Zhou Ziwei gently shook his head and said, "No need... I'm not afraid of the heat!"
Wang Xuewei's lips twitched slightly, but she said with disbelief, "You're not a monster, how could you not be afraid of the heat? Come on in! This place is so big, you won't feel cramped."
Zhou Ziwei smiled and said, "I'm really not hot, you don't need to worry about me. I've even waded through a sea of fire, this little temperature here won't harm me."
Wang Xuewei thought about it and agreed, so she didn't try to persuade her any further.
After saying that, she turned to look at Chu Qiutang, only to see Chu Qiutang taking off her helmet from her head, smiling helplessly at her, and then taking off her water bottle, taking a greedy sip, and then carefully pouring a little out into her palm, and then spreading it evenly on her face.
After Zhou Ziwei's treatment, Chu Qiutang's face has completely recovered its original appearance. After experiencing this change in appearance, Chu Qiutang is now much more nervous about her face than before.
Although Xiang Wang Xuewei also cares a lot about her appearance, she would never be willing to use every drop of water, which is extremely precious, to moisturize her facial skin at this time.
Zhou Ziwei wasn't really bored enough to sunbathe here. In fact, this level of sun exposure didn't pose much of a threat to him. During the last period of his journey through the sea of fire, he unexpectedly discovered a way to convert heat energy into pure energy. At this moment, the sun's exposure was similar to the heat emanating from the flames. Although it wasn't as intense, it was more balanced. Every inch of his skin could feel the burning sensation, so he began to try to absorb this heat into his body and slowly convert it into pure energy.
Moreover, since the heat generated by the sun exposure was not very harmful, Zhou Ziwei did not need to expend his soul power to envelop the heat. He simply used his body's senses to gently convert the heat energy, ensuring that Zhou Ziwei did not lose any soul power. This made Zhou Ziwei extremely happy.
Although the energy converted from heat will eventually be integrated into the seemingly endless energy space in the Tanzhong acupoint in his chest, Zhou Ziwei doesn't know how to use this energy stored in his middle dantian. However, his intuition tells him that this energy will definitely be of great benefit to him. And now, absorbing energy in this gentle way doesn't require him to expend his soul power, so why not absorb it?
Countless fine energy threads, shimmering with a faint silver light like mercury, formed on his body surface, then passed through some hidden pathways within his body, continuously converging towards the Tanzhong acupoint.
Zhou Ziwei vaguely sensed that the routes these energy threads took seemed to coincide with the meridians described in traditional Chinese medicine, and a thought suddenly occurred to him.
It seems that those legendary martial arts and internal energy techniques may not all be the product of novelists' imaginations. If I can master the energy stored in the Tanzhong acupoint and display its power no less than that of the soul, then wouldn't that mean I have unintentionally developed a method for cultivating internal energy?
The key is whether I can successfully master this energy. If I can, then I can pass on this cultivation method to others. That way, my brother Yelü won't be disappointed because he followed me all this time but couldn't learn anything.
Thinking of this, Zhou Ziwei couldn't wait to experiment with how to use this energy, and he no longer cared about absorbing the heat energy floating around in the air.
Instead, immerse your soul and consciousness within your body, slowly moving it to the location of the Tanzhong acupoint.
After hesitating for a moment, Zhou Ziwei finally gritted his teeth and slowly infiltrated a wisp of his soul consciousness into the Tanzhong acupoint, which was filled with solid energy. Instantly, he felt as if there was a small lake there, like the sea of souls, composed of liquid soul power.
However, what gathers here is not orange liquid soul power, but a small lake composed of energy clusters that resemble mercury and are indistinguishable between liquid and gas.
The fine silver threads that he had just absorbed into his body and successfully transformed into pure energy bodies were gathering from all parts of his body like a light drizzle, pouring into the small lake and causing it to slowly but steadily grow larger.
After Zhou Ziwei sensed that his soul consciousness had entered the small lake without being rejected or causing any bad signs, he breathed a slight sigh of relief and then began to continuously pour more and more of his soul consciousness into it.
This was the only way he could think of to harness this energy. Soul power itself doesn't operate on its own; in the past, it was always driven by his soul consciousness. However, soul consciousness, being so ethereal, is different from soul power. It cannot be directly absorbed or converted from external energy. In fact, soul consciousness isn't a form of energy at all, so it can't be absorbed. But whenever the soul power in Zhou Ziwei's sea of souls becomes stronger, his soul consciousness naturally becomes stronger as well. If Zhou Ziwei's soul power is consumed too much, his soul consciousness will weaken. It can be said that soul consciousness and soul power are mutually reinforcing.
Zhou Ziwei had always been accustomed to using his soul consciousness to control his soul power, but had never tried to use it to manipulate any other energy. However, if the energy hidden in his Tanzhong acupoint could be driven, then it should only be possible to use the soul consciousness separated from his soul power to manipulate it!
A large amount of soul consciousness poured into the Tanzhong acupoint. After reaching a certain limit, the energy lake that had been calm and still finally began to stir. Then, Zhou Ziwei used a large amount of soul consciousness to wrap around a ball of silver energy and tentatively led it out of the small energy lake.
Feeling that the silver energy body indeed detached from the lake according to his will and quietly floated above the lake, Zhou Ziwei was overjoyed.
As expected... Although this energy body is different from soul power, it can also be driven by soul consciousness. In this way, it should be no problem to successfully use this energy.
Thinking of this, Zhou Ziwei's soul consciousness stirred again, and he immediately guided the ball of energy to break through the invisible spatial barrier of the Tanzhong acupoint, appearing in his body in an instant.
This time, perhaps because Zhou Ziwei mobilized too much silver energy, or perhaps because his method of mobilizing this energy was incorrect, in any case, when such a large mass of energy appeared inside his body and attempted to travel from his body to the surface under the guidance of his soul consciousness, it immediately caused a burning sensation in Zhou Ziwei's chest, so painful that he almost fainted.
Under the scan of his soul consciousness, Zhou Ziwei discovered that the part of his body that had just been pierced by that energy body was now charred, and a large number of cells had been directly burned and vaporized by this domineering energy. Frightened, Zhou Ziwei dared not act recklessly anymore and had no choice but to send the energy body that he had just mobilized back to the small lake in the Tanzhong acupoint.
Damn... no wonder martial arts novels say that you can't practice internal energy haphazardly. If you don't practice it properly, you might suffer a qi deviation and become paralyzed or something. Indeed... this thing is a very dangerous game...
But why is it that when you first absorb external energy into your body, this energy doesn't even require your soul consciousness to control, yet it still doesn't cause any harm to your body and just flows into the Tanzhong acupoint automatically and obediently?
Zhou Ziwei first mobilized a wisp of liquid soul power to stimulate the severely damaged organ to grow and divide countless cells for rapid repair. Only then did he calm down and ponder for a while. He then remembered that the energy that had been absorbed into his body was extremely weak, and the route it took when flowing to the Tanzhong acupoint seemed to belong to the meridians and collaterals in traditional Chinese medicine.
It seems that in order to bring this silver energy out of the body for use, it cannot be directly transmitted to the outside through shortcuts, but must pass through those meridians.
But surely not every meridian can accommodate the free flow of these energies! And how is he supposed to distinguish the differences between them...? Zhou Ziwei's head started to ache again.
Volume 2 The Assassin's Nightmare Chapter 385 Impact and Repair
Zhou Ziwei suddenly thought of the martial arts manuals described in wuxia novels. It seemed that to master divine skills, one could only rely on the martial arts manuals left by predecessors. Only by circulating true qi according to the operation route in the manual could one achieve great success in mastering divine skills. Otherwise, even if one was cultivating internal energy, if one did not know how to cultivate profound internal energy, then no matter how hard one practiced, one would at most be a minor character.
Zhou Ziwei shook his head inwardly. Now, let alone any profound internal energy cultivation method, even the most basic one, as long as he knew how to use the increasingly surging and powerful energy in the Tanzhong acupoint, would make him happy for half a day.
He's like a piggy bank now, stuffed full of money, but unable to pour it out. This kind of suffering is truly heartbreaking...