No one in the cabin knew that their doom was approaching, all because of Zhou Xuan's miscalculation that they were in this predicament. Of course, Zhou Xuan and Wei Haihong were the most unfortunate, trapped alive.
Seeing the cruise ship being sucked to the edge of the whirlpool, he couldn't help but smile bitterly. He had truly outsmarted himself this time; his attempt to stay and save everyone was futile, and instead, he and Wei Haihong were both caught in the crossfire.
A deafening roar, followed by a bolt of lightning and a clap of thunder, ripped through the torrential rain. In that instant, the cruise ship was sucked into the whirlpool. Zhou Xuan sighed inwardly, "Dead!"
It’s over!
What followed was an overwhelming darkness. There wasn't a single familiar feeling; in the endless darkness, they kept sinking, and Zhou Xuanxin was sinking with her—unbounded and bottomless. She didn't know where she would sink to, or how long it would continue.
In the endless darkness, Zhou Xuan felt the pressure pressing down on him again. The center of this vortex was empty. There was no water. It was breathable, but the more it was like this, the more terrified he became.
Even Zhou Xuan had the same thought at this moment. This path seemed certain death; he had no way to get out. He could only resign himself to fate. In the darkness, under the pressure, Zhou Xuan also fainted.
Faced with such divine might, even he, with his supernatural abilities, was completely suppressed. He was powerless against the might of nature.
This was something Zhou Xuan found very difficult to adjust to, because after gaining even stronger abilities, he was now completely capable of withstanding any situation in Earth's natural environment. Even in space, he could support himself with his bare hands. His body was like a steel wall, impervious to water and fire. Returning to his old state was truly something he couldn't get used to.
Humans are generally only capable of moving forward. They can't stand going backward. Many people, if they fail and are about to return to an even more difficult situation, are completely helpless.
He didn't know when, but Zhou Xuan slowly woke up, feeling himself being gently caressed by the waves. When he opened his eyes, the sky was slightly reddish, and the sun in the sky seemed devoid of energy, appearing red. He saw that he was lying on a golden sandy beach, half of his body on the dry sand and half in the seawater.
Zhou Xuan was only stunned for a moment, and then he recalled the situation before the accident. He remembered it clearly and had not lost any memory.
A storm was approaching, so he stayed behind. He planned to carry out his plans during the storm, but after losing his ability to fly, he was sucked into a giant whirlpool.
After recalling the events before the accident, Zhou Xuan quickly started searching again. On the beach about 60 or 70 meters to his left, the cruise ship was leaning against the shore, but there wasn't a sound from the ship. "They're probably all seasick. If anyone's awake, it's him."
At this moment, Zhou Xuan realized that his supernatural ability still existed. However, it wasn't as powerful as when it had evolved to the point of flight. It was just that the difference in level from before was not significant. He couldn't fly, couldn't see through things, and couldn't use his eyes to unleash those powerful destructive abilities. As for absorbing energy into his body, it was clear that he could only obtain energy from the slightly red sun in the sky, and the degree and amount of energy absorbed were only at the previous level.
Zhou Xuanli estimated that his talent was actually prevented from absorbing energy by a mysterious force. It still had some effect, but it was far less than the hundreds of times the amount and speed that he would later gain, which was why he could not use his superhuman abilities.
The sun overhead was also strange. It was red, almost like it was just rising. You could look directly at the sun without any harm, but strangely, at this time, and at that height, it should have been midday. How could the sunlight be so gentle at this hour? It wasn't harsh or glaring at all. This was too strange. Zhou Xuan couldn't explain it at all.
After a moment of hesitation, Zhou Xuan stopped thinking about it and quickly ran towards the cruise ship, climbing up the gangway.
There was no sound from the ship. Not knowing how Wei Haihong and the others were doing, Zhou Xuan climbed onto the deck and headed without hesitation towards the top deck of the lounge.
The door was tightly closed. Zhou Xuan reached out and tentatively pushed it. The power was still there, but it wasn't hundreds of times stronger than before. In other words, Zhou Xuan had returned to his previous state, possessing superpowers, but still within the same range and level as before, not as powerful as after absorbing the Nine Star Pearl.
Zhou Xuan used his supernatural power again to convert and devour the lock behind the door. He pushed the door open and found Wei Haihong and Bob unconscious in the lounge. Zhou Xuan quickly used his supernatural power to restore them, and then began to probe the entire ship. None of the people on board had died; there were quite a few injured in the initial tremors of the storm, more than a hundred people, all of whom were alive.
Zhou Xuan simply restored all these people to their senses and woke them up. Gradually, the cruise ship was filled with voices, and many people ran to the deck to observe.
The cruise ship went shallow, revealing a golden, seemingly endless stretch of beach. Only Zhou Xuan could clearly see that the island was enormous, at least tens of kilometers long. Above the beach were small hills, and beyond that, the mountains rose and fell, with ancient trees and gnarled roots, resembling a primeval forest. The island looked huge, but it seemed as if it had never been visited by anyone, with no trace of human habitation.
Only then did Zhou Xuan have time to observe the situation. The island was eerily quiet, almost frighteningly so, which made Zhou Xuan feel uneasy.
Zhou Xuan sensed that something was amiss, including the red sun in the sky; its sunlight seemed weak and unnatural. The soft, reddish sunlight gave Zhou Xuan a strange feeling—was he really on Earth?
Looking at the sun again, its size seems different from the sun I usually see. The sun I usually see is about the size of a small round plate, but this red sun is at least the size of a washbasin. But that's the strange thing. The larger the shape, the more it should be.
Zhou Xuan was stunned for a moment, then quickly took out his phone. The screen showed no network. Zhou Xuan hurriedly pressed the functions again, all of which were working perfectly: taking pictures, recording audio, playing games—everything worked. But when he dialed a number, there was absolutely no response. He could clearly hear the dialing sound, but there was no echo, no reply from the telecom operator, and not even any indication of a mobile phone communication.
Zhou Xuan stood there for a while, then looked at the people who had woken up and come out one after another. They all came out on their own and began to observe the terrain.
Aside from curiosity and surprise, the hundred-plus people were all incredibly grateful to have survived. This was unimaginable; in the storm, with the ship rocking violently, everyone had lost consciousness. So, none of them knew what had happened. Only Zhou Xuan vaguely sensed that they were trapped in an unknown predicament. He didn't even know what kind of environment they were in, as his abilities were greatly diminished and he had exhausted himself. Wei Haihong and Bob also woke up. They exchanged a glance, and because Bob was present, Wei Haihong didn't say anything directly, only asking Zhou Xuan, "Where are we?"
Zhou Xuan smiled wryly, "Brother Hong, Mr. Pao Bo, I think we're in trouble. This place is an island that no one has ever been to. Strangely, an island this big should be detectable by human technology, but there are no traces of humans on it. Presumably, this island has never been developed."
Wei Haihong and Bob didn't care about this. After hearing Zhou Xuan's words, they didn't say anything, but instead scrambled up and went to the deck to observe with the others.
Of course, no matter how hard they looked, they couldn't see anything different. But no one was worried. An island this big with lush forests must have plenty of fresh water. You can tell if an island is short of water just by looking at the growth and color of the trees. And on this island, the trees were lush and green. It didn't look like it was short of water.
Furthermore, the mountains stretch endlessly, suggesting the presence of wild animals. One wonders what kind of animals might inhabit such a world? Are they extinct ancient species, or are they identical to the animals found on land today? Are they indistinguishable?
Of the more than one hundred people, the vast majority disembarked and went to the beach to inspect the terrain and assess the situation. The coastline was truly beautiful. Some lingered, reluctant to leave. The cruise ship was aground, and it wasn't easy to get it out of the water. So even if they wanted to leave this place, it wouldn't be a matter of a day or two, getting the cruise ship back into the sea to sail normally.
Zhou Xuan followed the others off the boat, enjoying the beautiful scenery on the beach. Everyone had forgotten the great storm that had struck Shu Xing earlier, because it was truly unimaginable that such a short time ago, there had been such a violent storm with towering waves. But in an instant, the sea was calm, the situation had changed drastically, and even the sun looked somewhat strange.
After observing for a while, Zhou Xuan gazed at the undulating mountains in the distance. With his abilities diminished and the loss of flight, his absorption rate naturally decreased as well. His powers were greatly reduced; although his eyesight was far superior to that of ordinary people, it was a world of difference compared to when he could fly. Back then, even storms and raging waves couldn't stop Zhou Xuan from seeing through other places, and the rays within his eyes were an extremely powerful weapon.
The crew and bodyguards ran joyfully ashore. Because they were armed and numerous, they weren't worried about encountering wild animals. Most importantly, they had escaped the deadly storm unharmed, and their cruise ship was also intact. Although it was aground, they could always find a way to escape; leaving the island was clearly not a difficult problem.
Zhou Xuan was alone, gazing at the distant forest and mountains. Suddenly, a feeling of fear and dread welled up inside him!
For some unknown reason, Zhou Xuan suddenly became afraid. He couldn't quite explain it. His superpowers had always provided early warnings, so was his current fear a sign that something terrible was about to happen?
Amidst the sounds of "bang bang bang bang bang," the bodyguards and crew on the shore appeared to be drawing their guns and firing at something. Judging from their excited shouts, they must have seen something!
Volume 1, Chapter 686: The Giant Beast
After being caught in a massive vortex and falling into a coma, Zhou Xuan awoke to find himself on this strange island. Moreover, his abilities were severely restricted, reverting to the level he had been at several months prior—meaning he possessed only a fraction of his current energy. He could only use his transformation and absorption abilities, losing his flight, alchemy, and the ability to harden his body into an ultra-hard substance. Essentially, all the abilities he gained after absorbing the Nine-Star Pearl were gone; he had returned to his previous level.
This terrified Zhou Xuan. He knew very well that this was not time travel or a regression in his abilities, but rather that his abilities were being restricted by some mysterious energy.
Looking up at the sky, he saw fluffy white clouds, but they were tinged with red by the rosy sunlight. Zhou Xuan's heart stirred, and he stretched his body, trying his best to absorb the energy of the sunlight, and then closed his eyes to slowly feel it.
A few minutes later, Zhou Xuan understood why his abilities had suddenly diminished so much—the reason lay with this red sun!
The sun seems to be blocked by some kind of energy layer, just like the Earth's atmosphere blocks countless rays from the universe. This energy layer blocks the vast majority of the sun's energy, and this vast majority of energy is absorbed by the energy layer to maintain its function.
It's as if the island is covered by a huge energy shield, like a pot-shaped energy shield being turned upside down, covering the island inside. The sunlight that shines through the energy shield only serves the basic needs of plants and animals to survive, but it has a huge impact on Zhou Xuan, who needs sunlight to maintain his energy. Without such strong sunlight, Zhou Xuan's abilities are greatly reduced!
Zhou Xuan probed again, but the energy beam he formed could only detect a distance of 200 meters. At this height of 200 meters, he could not detect the exact height of the energy shield in the sky.
Zhou Xuan sighed, and couldn't help but think that such an energy shield could not possibly be his own. It must be an extremely high-level technological energy device. How could he deal with this energy shield and restore his abilities?
As I slowly walked up the small slope in front of the beach, I saw the bodyguards and crew members excitedly dragging two wild boars. The two wild boars were not very big, each weighing about 200 pounds. A dozen bodyguards and crew members carried the two wild boars to the sea, used daggers to cut off the skin, and cleaned their intestines.