Upon hearing An Guoqing's words, Zhou Xuan immediately understood. An Guoqing must still have some equipment that he hadn't prepared. In an expedition, not being prepared for anything is irresponsible to one's own life. Back in the United States, Fu Ying and her cousin Li Junjie waited a month for the high-tech diving suits before setting off. This time, they were only at Poxin River for two days. What was that?
Back at the hotel, Zhou Xuan stayed alone in his room. Bored, he took out the Nine Dragons Cauldron and examined it from all angles. He couldn't activate the ice energy at this point, so he thought for a moment and then poured the water from the bottle into the Nine Dragons Cauldron.
The Nine Dragon Cauldron requires water molecules to operate and activate. During the last duel with Ma Shu, there was no water, so it was the blood that was sprayed out that activated the Nine Dragon Cauldron. It is estimated that the blood also contained his own ice energy, so it was stronger and more concentrated than water.
Pouring a little ordinary water wouldn't have much effect, and Zhou Xuan was just bored, so he poured some water to study the reason why the Nine Dragon Cauldron was working. Anyway, he had nothing else to do while he was resting.
He wanted to spend some time alone with Fu Ying after returning, but he didn't have the chance. Fu Ying seemed to be intentionally not giving him that opportunity, and it seemed that she was still resisting Zhou Xuan's statement to her. Wei Xiaoyu was also intentionally blocking him. She wouldn't mind if Zhou Xuan was alone, but if he was with Fu Ying, she would definitely force him to stay with her. And now, she was saying that she was his girlfriend.
Whether it was true or not, Fu Ying naturally didn't know. Zhou Xuan couldn't explain it anyway, so he simply put aside all thoughts and stayed by himself. Although Fu Ying didn't believe him now, being together, in the same place, was better than her going to America and him enduring endless, helpless longing.
After pouring the water from the bottle into the Nine Dragons Cauldron, Zhou Xuan reached into the cauldron, touched the bead, and sensed the icy energy emanating from it.
It was at this moment that Zhou Xuan suddenly noticed something was amiss.
The beads inside the Nine Dragon Cauldron seemed to come alive, like a person waking up from a nap; though still sleepy-eyed, they were moving.
Zhou Xuan was overjoyed and intensified his efforts to circulate the icy energy. The bead began to rotate, frantically absorbing the faint, special molecules in the clear water of the cauldron, like a leech sucking blood.
The bead seemed to come alive; the molecules in the clear water were like tiny sparks, and the bead was like gunpowder, instantly ignited.
Zhou Xuan also realized that his icy energy was being absorbed into the bead again. Zhou Xuan was shocked. He had acted boldly because he knew that his icy energy was no longer enough to activate the Nine Dragon Cauldron. He never expected that the bottle of well water he brought back from Poxin Village today would become the fuse.
Startled, Zhou Xuan twisted his body sharply, causing the Nine Dragon Cauldron to tip over onto the table, spilling all the water inside. The sun was shining brightly outside the window, its dazzling light illuminating the room.
The sunlight also shone on the bead inside the Nine Dragons Cauldron that Zhou Xuan was touching. At that moment, Zhou Xuan suddenly felt the sunlight in the room dim.
Volume 1: The First Budding Buds, Chapter 381: The Energy of the Sun
Chapter 381 The Energy of the Sun
It was a really strange feeling, like the sunlight shining into the room was being swallowed up by something.
But Zhou Xuan had never seen anything that could devour sunlight.
At that very moment, Zhou Xuan felt the bead surging with heat, like the heat waves inside a furnace. The surging heat waves were being continuously drawn into the bead from the outside, intertwining with Zhou Xuan's ice energy. Then, like a machine in a factory, the bead refined these intertwined energies into another kind of energy.
Zhou Xuan was very surprised, but he couldn't move his body or shake the Nine Dragon Cauldron away. However, he didn't want to shake it away at this moment. If he did, he would lose all of his ice-based supernatural abilities. If he lost his abilities at this moment, he would have no confidence in exploring the underground river of the Po Xin River with An Guoqing.
In his haste, Zhou Xuan quickly tried to retract the ice energy. However, the ice energy had already been refined and fused into a new energy by the molecules in the well water of Poxin Village and the solar heat energy absorbed by the bead. What Zhou Xuan hurriedly withdrew was this new energy. However, his meridians were still undeveloped and unexpanded. The influx of new energy made Zhou Xuan feel extremely painful and uncomfortable.
This was the same as when he first absorbed energy from the crystal; the enormous energy forcibly expanded his meridians. However, this time the ice energy had combined with the new energy in the bead, transforming into an even stranger new energy.
Zhou Xuan's ice energy is a yin energy, but the new energy that is now combined with it is energy drawn from the sun, which is an extremely strong yang energy. When the two are combined, yin and yang are mutually adjusted, and Zhou Xuan himself is not sure what the resulting energy will be.
However, the bead was activated and was continuously absorbing solar energy. Meanwhile, the converted energy was continuously flowing into Zhou Xuan's body. Zhou Xuan felt as if his body was about to be melted by the raging flames. What was even more worrying was that there was too much energy, and his body could barely withstand it. Like a balloon, it was about to explode when the air inside reached its limit.
Zhou Xuan had no time to think about other problems, nor had he encountered this situation before. He was unable to eliminate it in a short time. Just when he could no longer bear it, the outside suddenly darkened, the sunlight disappeared, and the bead suddenly stopped absorbing the sun's energy.
As soon as the beads stopped moving, Zhou Xuan was able to move his body again. He quickly withdrew his hand, panting heavily.
Looking out the window again, he saw a few flakes drifting by, conveniently blocking the sunlight. Ironically, this very act saved Zhou Xuan's life; otherwise, he would have exploded and died.
Zhou Xuan looked at the Nine Dragon Cauldron with lingering fear. The bead had long since evaporated all the moisture in the cauldron. Just then, the clouds in the sky dispersed, and the sunlight shone in again. The bead then frantically absorbed the solar energy.
Although Zhou Xuan could not see the actual substance of the bead absorbing solar energy, he could feel it, but he dared not touch the bead with his hands again.
Zhou Xuan finally understood. The bead inside the Nine Dragons Cauldron absorbed energy from stars like the sun, converted it, and stored it. The reason why time froze after he first put water into the Nine Dragons Cauldron was that the bead still contained some residual energy from before, but it was very weak and scarce, so it only froze for about ten seconds.
However, judging from the fact that the bead can absorb solar energy, it is likely that the Nine Dragon Cauldron has not seen sunlight in recent years, otherwise the bead would not contain so little energy.
After a long pause, Zhou Xuan began to examine his own energy again. To his astonishment, his energy had transformed into something else entirely. It was no longer the chilling, icy energy of before, nor the new energy resulting from the conversion of solar energy from the bead. While no longer frigid, it could still detect objects. The icy energy's previous function hadn't been lost, and its detection range had increased dramatically, now extending to a range of forty to fifty meters. If concentrated into a single beam, it could reach over two hundred meters, not significantly different from the previous icy energy.
Zhou Xuan was stunned for a long time. His unintentional probing had unexpectedly restored his ice energy to its original state and changed its quality. He just didn't know what strange functions this new energy of yin and yang harmony would have.
It's just that we don't know yet. Zhou Xuan believes that the energy inside the Nine Dragon Cauldron Bead is definitely as unique as his own ice energy. When the two are combined, there will definitely be new abilities that he can think of.
However, although he had returned to his previous level of ability, it was still far from enough to activate the Nine Dragons Cauldron. Moreover, Zhou Xuan dared not use it recklessly because he did not understand all the functions of the Nine Dragons Cauldron. Even if he could activate the Nine Dragons Cauldron, he did not know what would happen.
Having witnessed the unique characteristics of the beads, Zhou Xuan was even more convinced that the creators of the Nine Dragon Cauldron must have had their reasons. The Nine Star Beads, nine beads in total, must have their uses. It was impossible for just one bead to fully activate the Nine Dragon Cauldron. If they were to force its activation, it would be impossible to return to the original time. They would have to obtain all nine beads before activating the Nine Dragon Cauldron. Only then would they likely understand the true function of the Nine Dragon Cauldron.
Zhou Xuan thought for a while, then remembered that his energy had mutated and he wasn't sure if he could still convert and absorb it. He extended his new icy energy and tried converting a glass on the table. Instantly, the glass turned golden, and after absorbing it, the golden glass vanished into thin air.
All the power of the ice energy has returned.
But what unique new features will this new ability have?
Zhou Xuan couldn't think of anything for the moment. Recalling the scene of his whole body burning up just now, it must have been the violent high temperature energy of the sun. He wondered what would happen if he used it. But he couldn't think of anything right now.
However, Zhou Xuan wasn't in a hurry now. The fact that his abilities had returned meant he was extremely confident in ensuring his own safety, as well as that of Fu Ying and Wei Xiaoyu. No matter how cunning An Guoqing was, he wouldn't have imagined that Zhou Xuan possessed such extraordinary abilities.
With his abilities, Zhou Xuan could eliminate An Guoqing and his adversaries at any time without being restrained. His ice energy control range was at least fifty meters, and if condensed into a beam, it could control up to two hundred meters. Of course, that would require ensuring that the opponents were all in the same spot, but if they were face to face, fifty meters would be enough.
Zhou Xuan probed again, condensing his energy into a beam and scanning the entire building. Wei Xiaoyu and Fu Ying were both in their rooms, but he couldn't detect An Guoqing and his group, so it seemed they weren't staying at the hotel.
In the past two days, Zhou Xuan has gained a better understanding of An Guoqing's investment. Such a large investment in Fengshan clearly indicates other motives, which are unclear to everyone except Zhou Xuan.
An Guoqing definitely had other motives. As a large-scale investor, he enjoyed an extremely high status in Fengshan, which made his actions here incredibly convenient and free. Zhou Xuan immediately understood the meaning of An Guoqing's investment. Moreover, An Guoqing had been investing here for more than ten years. It seemed that An Guoqing's purpose had been there for many years, and it was certain that his true purpose had never been achieved.
No wonder An Guoqing wasn't in a hurry. After preparing for something for over ten years, he couldn't possibly be in a rush. Back in the south, An Guoqing was a little anxious, but that was only because he was worried that Zhou Xuan wouldn't cooperate. At that time, Zhou Xuan's answer was very clear: he wouldn't sell it for any price. However, the later cooperation was based on An Guoqing's actions of half-threat and half-coercion. Given Zhou Xuan's personality, if he hadn't obtained information about the Nine Star Pearl, which he absolutely needed, he definitely wouldn't have cooperated with An Guoqing.
To be honest, Zhou Xuan was still quite wary of An Guoqing. It was surprising that someone could prepare for something for more than ten years, and it was certain that An Guoqing had taken action during that time, or at least hired experts to investigate. However, this might be the same situation as Fu Tianlai, where he might never return from the bottom of that sinkhole.
In fact, Zhou Xuan's guess was not wrong. More than ten years ago, before investing here, An Guoqing had already hired top-notch divers to explore the sixth and seventh skylights. However, they only explored a distance of two or three hundred meters and could not go any deeper. The underground river had many entrances, like a maze, and the current was rapid. At three hundred meters, the current seemed to suddenly drop down like a waterfall, which made it impossible for divers to go any further. If they fell into deeper underground water, they might not be able to dive out again. Moreover, the underground river was too deep. If it exceeded one hundred meters, the divers could not withstand the underwater pressure. Even with high-tech equipment, it would be impossible. This is not like the ocean, where fish can leap freely and, if the terrain allows, more ideal diving equipment such as submarines can be used. Underground rivers cannot do this. They can only be explored artificially. This is why the secrets of the ocean are easier to detect and understand than the secrets of underground rivers. Underground rivers are always some inexplicable mysteries for people.
That night, Zhou Xuan had a hard time falling asleep. The new superpower excited him. Although he didn't know what other abilities he would have, all the special abilities that the Ice Qi superpower had before still existed.
Zhou Xuan understood this phenomenon. The new ability did not make the ice energy ability disappear, but rather it was integrated with it. It would have both the ice energy ability and the new ability, but he didn't know what it would be. Of course, it might not have any other abilities either.