Chapter 169 The golden toad swallows the air, and the ultimate plan is revealed!
In the fast-speeding polar off-road vehicle, Chen Jue looked at the white world outside the car window. The wind marks formed by the snowflakes were clearly visible when the cold wind blew through the ice and snow, and the whimpering wind could be heard in his ears. Although it was still morning, the temperature nearby had dropped to minus 18 degrees Celsius.
As for Linglong, she chatted with Zhao Zhen in the carriage.
"Ms. Linglong, do you really not like my type?"
"I don't have any special features, but my only advantage is that I am sincere to others and never tell lies. If you are willing to agree to date me, I promise to hand over all my salary and income in the future and I will not lie to you."
"I believe that love at first sight ! I find that I have fallen in love with you, Miss Linglong!" Zhao Zhen held the steering wheel, his face flushed, and his eyes glanced at Linglong in the car from time to time.
The bold courtship of this mixed-race foreigner made Chen Yude, who was acting as a light bulb, complain.
"Never tell lies?" Linglong raised her eyebrows.
"Yes! My Chinese name was given to me by my grandpa. The reason why it is called 'Zhen' is because sincerity can move most people and things in the world."
"As the saying goes, where there is sincerity, there is success. I hope to impress you, Miss Linglong, with my sincerity." Zhao Zhen said with a blushing face.
"Since you won't lie, can you tell me whether your relationship with Father Tom is true? Although you two look somewhat similar, I don't see that kind of father-son love between you." Linglong blinked and asked the other party bluntly.
"So this is what you care about, Miss Linglong!"
"Dad Tom and I are biologically father and son, but I was not born naturally, but was conceived through artificial insemination."
"Maybe this is the reason why I wasn't close to Daddy Tom after I was born. Plus, he was on polar expeditions all year round, so there was basically no trace of him in my childhood, so..." Zhao Zhen looked sincere and began to explain slowly.
“Test-tube baby?”
"So that's how it is! It seems like you also had a very unpleasant growing experience." Linglong nodded thoughtfully.
"Miss Linglong, from what you said, your growing experience was as bumpy as mine? That's such a coincidence! This is the fate given to us by God! I was wondering why I fell in love with you the first time I saw you. It turns out that you and I can resonate with each other in our hearts." Zhao Zhen said this with some excitement.
I guess it’s because I’ve practiced Yoga Mahamudra too much, and I also follow the Buddhists’ belief that everything happens at the discretion of fate.
When Chen Jue heard this, he looked at Zhao Zhen strangely, thinking, "In terms of ups and downs, I guess you, a yoga master, are not as good as Linglong who walked out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood."
Linglong smiled without comment and did not continue the topic of love. Instead, she asked about matters related to exploration and how to find the meteorite fragments. Chen Jue also pricked up his ears and listened.
"Ms. Linglong, Mr. Chen Jue, I think you should also know that the energy radiation emitted by the meteorite fragments does not have any radiation frequency known to humans. So far, there is no detection instrument that can capture its signal."
"The reason why our Extreme Sports Association was able to find it was thanks to the experience summed up by my grandfather and father."
"Each team that goes out for exploration must have at least one yoga master who has practiced the Great Seal and realized Bodhi, that is, a master of the same level as Lei Yin Zhenren, as mentioned in the classics of your Flower Planting Sect."
"It's just that those of us who practice Yoga Mahamudra focus on the mind, and we can't be as powerful in martial arts as you."
"After comprehending Bodhi, you can use the awakened sixth sense of your body to capture the energy radiation emitted by meteorite fragments." Zhao Zhen revealed.
Upon hearing this, Chen Jue and Linglong looked at each other, their eyes full of surprise.
"Is there a master in each group?" Linglong asked.
"Yes, I am also a yoga master who has realized Bodhi. My physical strength and endurance are stronger than ordinary people, so I can barely go on in-depth adventures in Antarctica." Zhao Zhen turned around and smiled, took off the glove on his right hand, raised his hand and made a heart seal gesture in his palm, only to see his palm quickly filled with blood like a balloon.
The sound of the rushing blood and energy sounded extremely steady in the ears of Chen Jue and Linglong. The thumps coming from his handprints were like the heartbeat when the dark energy was surging.
“Yoga Mahamudra?”
"It is rumored that if this Kung Fu is practiced to a high level, one can have the power of throwing an elephant like Buddha. I don't know whether it is true or not." Linglong looked at Zhao Zhen meaningfully and said.
"Miss Linglong, throwing an elephant is an exaggerated description in Buddhist scriptures. The lightest newborn elephant weighs more than 100 kilograms, not to mention throwing an adult elephant weighing several tons into the air for three days without falling! That is an exaggerated legend! Just like the legend that when the Buddha's Touching the Earth Seal is made, all demons are subdued. The Touching the Earth Seal in the Mahamudra is nothing more than a kung fu similar to the One-Finger Zen. Relying on one finger to support the body in the air, many martial monks who specialize in One-Finger Zen can do it. It's just a matter of practice makes perfect." Zhao Zhen explained.
As for Chen Jue, after hearing this story, he smiled unnaturally.
He didn't know whether the Buddha had ever thrown an elephant, but Chen Jue himself had indeed thrown two adult elephants away.
…
The polar off-road vehicle drove farther and farther, and after two hours, it stopped at the edge of a glacier fault. The three people put on masks and got out of the car, walking step by step to the top of the ice layer with a drop of about 100 meters.
"Mr. Chen Jue, Miss Linglong, this is your first time in Antarctica. With your skills, there shouldn't be any accidents."
"But to be on the safe side, I'll take you through the polar exploration process today." Zhao Zhen said as he took the tools from the car.
One end of a long climbing rope was tied to the car and the other end was thrown down the ice valley. Then a special outdoor mountaineering pick was taken out. Zhao Zhen began to slide down the rope little by little with extremely smooth movements.
After climbing to the bottom, Zhao Zhen waved at the two of them, signaling them to come down.
Afterwards, Chen Jue and Linglong followed his movements and imitated them. Both of them were Jindan masters and learned these rock climbing movements very quickly.
After climbing up and down three times, Zhao Zhen led the two of them to explore deeper areas.
On the way, they passed a simple supply station with the Hongmu logo printed on it. The three got out of the car and went in to rest for a while, eating some quick food to replenish their energy.
Looking at the frozen cabinets and floors in the supply station, Chen Jue couldn't help but sigh at the harsh environment in Antarctica.
"Mr. Chen Jue, do you know what the most terrifying thing in Antarctica is?" Seeing Chen Jue looking thoughtful, Zhao Zhen, who was boiling water on the stove, suddenly asked.
"Is it low temperature?" Chen Jue asked.
"No! It's time!"
“Whether in Antarctica or outside, the most terrifying thing is time.”
"Time is the fairest to everyone, but also the cruelest to everyone. Once something goes wrong during an Antarctic expedition, if rescue is not timely, you will be forever buried in this world of ice and snow."
"Before you came, two teams from the Extreme Sports Association had lost contact during their expedition. By the time we found the distress signals they sent out, they had all frozen to death in such a simple supply station."
"If we encounter a snowstorm, no one can withstand the long time here. No matter which supply station we start from to the scientific research station, it will take several hours or even days. Once the fuel in the supply station is exhausted, we can only wait for death. Therefore most of us explorers will not use up all the supplies in a supply station unless it is absolutely necessary. This may leave a way out for the next group of explorers who arrive here." Zhao Zhen stared calmly at the hot water in the pot and introduced expressionlessly.
After listening to this, Chen Jue and Linglong were both thoughtful.
…
Afterwards, the three of them simulated the expedition process in the nearby polar environment and drove all the way back to the scientific research station.
The first day's expedition drill only covered a range of 200 kilometers, which was considered a safe distance for the group of people who came to Antarctica for adventure.
After Chen Jue returned to the scientific research station, he spent most of his time resting and practicing.
In the following days, the distances covered each time we went out became longer and longer, and the terrain we stepped on ranged from glacial faults to frozen valleys and undercurrents under the ice.
The temperature also dropped sharply from -12℃ when we first arrived to -52℃.
If you expose your skin to the air without any protection at this time, a layer of skin will be frozen off in a few minutes.
But what made Chen Jue feel strange was that he had been going back and forth to the Hongmu Scientific Research Station for several days but he had not run into the other three expedition teams, as if they were at different times.
I know that these three groups of nine people exist, but I have never met them in person at the scientific research station.
After a week, John, who had stayed at the station for several days, also left on a private plane.
As for Chen Jue's Wudang Golden Toad Skill, he had practiced it to level 3 perfection through the hard work of the past few days, and newly awakened a bonus state of [Golden Toad Swallowing Breath].
It was probably because this Kung Fu was enhanced by [Lü Zu's Enlightenment], and Chen Jue had already trained the strength into his internal organs, as well as being affected by the thin air environment of Antarctica, which is why it improved so quickly.
[Golden Toad Swallows Air]: The toad in the well wants to swallow the sky, with iron lungs, steel heart, and a strong stomach and intestines.
Status description: Under the influence of this status, the breathing capacity of the lungs and the blood supply capacity of the heart can be greatly enhanced, and the peristalsis and digestion of the stomach and intestines can be accelerated.
In addition, the Sleeping Pill Technique of the Zhelong was also upgraded to Lv3 by Chen Jue, but the level of this Taoist Sleeping Pill Technique was higher than that of the Golden Toad Technique, and Level 3 was not yet perfect.
The two skills improved Chen Jue's physique by 0.12, and his strength and agility by 0.05. His health index also climbed to 212%.
…
The day after seeing John off, Chen Jue was told that starting today, they would begin advancing towards some untouched human restricted areas in central Antarctica.
Behind the polar off-road vehicle driven by Zhao Zhen, a simple supply box with a sled was towed.
The three of them set out at 6 a.m. and sped all the way, refueling the car several times along the way. They arrived at a simple supply point more than a thousand kilometers away from the scientific research station at around 9 p.m.
"There will be no supply points ahead. If we want to rest, we can only stay in the car or come back here." Zhao Zhen's face began to become serious.
In this 13.9 million square kilometers of ice and snow world, it is extremely difficult to build such a closed supply station. Being able to penetrate more than a thousand kilometers is already the limit of what humans can do.
Even a company as wealthy as the Hongmu Group cannot advance further into the depths of Antarctica. One can imagine the cost of building a supply point in such a place.
The three of them stayed silent all night at the supply point. After many days of exploration and learning, Chen Jue also realized that it was best to keep his mouth shut in such a polar environment, so as to maintain the body's heat and water from being easily lost.
It was only in the second half of the night, when the temperature outside the supply point began to drop to minus 60 degrees Celsius, that the howling wind began to become like a snarling demon, blowing the outer walls of the entire supply point crackling. That was the sound of ice and snow hitting each other. Only then did Chen Jue realize the power of Antarctica.
"If humans don't have shelter in such a harsh environment, they will probably be frozen into popsicles in no time. " Chen Jue thought to himself.
…
After resting in sleeping bags for a night, the three of them drove the off-road vehicle deeper into the depths again the next day.
This exploration lasted a full seven days, during which they frequently went back and forth to the last supply point for rest. The map information brought out from the scientific research station was also constantly crossed out during these seven days, eliminating one unexplored terrain after another.
In order to find those meteorites, the Hongmu Group spent a lot of money and took a complete set of high-magnification photos of the Antarctic continent from satellites.
In addition, after decades of exploration, some easily accessible places had already been explored thoroughly, leaving Chen Jue and Linglong with the worst and most remote routes.
One day, when the vehicle came to an endless ice layer, Chen Jue suddenly sensed a faint fluctuation of innate Qi coming from below.
As for Linglong and Zhao Zhen, it was estimated that their cultivation was not as deep as Chen Jue's, so they did not react at all when passing by here.
"Zhao Zhen, stop here!"
"I sense there is something down there." Chen Jue reminded.
After half a month of getting along, Chen Jue has roughly understood the personality and temper of the group leader, and has established a close friendship with him.
"Mr. Chen Jue, your perception ability is so strong?" Zhao Zhen hurriedly stepped on the brakes and turned back to look at Chen Jue in surprise.
During this period of time, Chen Jue kept a low profile, and it was Linglong who was dealing with Zhao Zhen the whole time. Even Zhao Zhen almost ignored Chen Jue's role.
Unexpectedly, the first person to sense the energy radiation of the meteorite would be Chen Jue!
"It should be not far from us, right under our feet." Chen Jue laughed and did not admit it. Even Linglong looked at Chen Jue in surprise.
The three of them then got out of the car, took out tools, drilled a hole in the thick ice under their feet, and lowered a tethered camera with night vision function.
These are industrial-grade wide-temperature devices. Ordinary electronic devices cannot even be turned on in such a low-temperature environment.
While observing the scene captured by the camera, Zhao Zhen exclaimed: "Found it! There is a natural meteorite crater below!"
Chen determined to say "hard work pays off", and he and Linglong looked at each other. Then he cooperated with Zhao Zhen to start chiseling the ice layer bit by bit, and dug a hole that could accommodate several people to pass through.
With the help of rope equipment, the three of them descended into the crater below one after another.
The crater is over a hundred meters deep and is blocked by a layer of sharp ice. Satellite photos make it impossible to reveal that there is such a magical internal space underneath.
At the bottom of the pit, a huge stone about half a person's height with a pitch-black surface appeared in front of the three people.
Upon seeing this, Zhao Zhen took out his mountaineering pick and knocked off a piece of the stone, revealing a large area of dark golden lines inside the stone.
The innate Qi emanating from the stone was so strong that Chen Jue, Linglong and Zhao Zhen all looked a little intoxicated.
It’s as if all the pores in the body are opened and all the cells in the body are cheering!
“How many carats is this?”
"It weighs at least half a ton!" Chen Jue estimated the size of the meteorite and couldn't help but marvel in his heart.
I didn't expect that I would find such a huge meteorite by just sensing it. If it is 5 million green coins per carat as John said before, I'm afraid this meteorite alone is enough to buy a country!
"Such a big impact crater! There must be scattered fragments nearby!" Zhao Zhen shouted, his eyes full of fanaticism. The three of them searched around the crater again and actually found several palm-sized meteorite fragments.
Unfortunately, the content of innate Qi in these fragments is obviously not as high as that in the bottom of the pit.
It is estimated that this huge meteorite weighing over half a ton is the core of an asteroid, and the concentration of innate Qi contained in it is very high.
Although the meteorite had been found, bringing it up was a challenge, as the bottom of the pit was more than a hundred meters above the ice layer.
If this meteorite were to be broken into pieces bit by bit, the innate Qi inside would probably dissipate very quickly.
Chen Jue didn't want to expose his strength too much, so he tried to carry the meteorite with his own strength.
"I'll go notify the scientific research station! Let's try using the polar vehicle's winch to see if we can drag it up!" Zhao Zhen seemed a little excited, and hurriedly climbed up the rope.
Linglong gave Chen Jue a warning look, indicating that Chen Jue should stay here. She was probably worried about Zhao Zhen, so she also climbed up along the rope.
Seeing the two people start to climb up at the same time, Chen Jue showed a strange look on his face. After a thought, he walked to the side of the big meteorite, took off his gloves, and when there was no one around, he stretched out his hand to the crack of the meteorite that was chiseled by the mountaineering pickaxe.
The reason why the innate Qi in this type of meteorite can last for tens of millions of years without dissipating is because it forms a thick weathering crust after falling.
However, after Zhao Zhen chiseled it open, the innate qi in the meteorite began to slowly spread out.
"It's a waste anyway, I might as well absorb it."
Thinking of this, Chen Jue took out a few energy bars from his pocket, stuffed them into his mouth, chewed and swallowed them quickly, while he placed one hand on the dark gold lines exposed by the meteorite's crack, mobilized the free attribute points, and began to add points with the minimum amount of 0.01 attributes in exchange for 10 proficiency, and gave a boost to [Small and Large Circulation Lv1 (5/200)].
“Buzz!”
Chen Jue felt that as soon as he added a little, the blood in his body began to circulate rapidly. Through [inner vision], he found that the cells in his body began to transform and evolve rapidly with the support of the innate Qi.
With the siphon effect caused by this Taoist technique, the innate Qi transported by the meteorite was completely calmed down.
After the 10 proficiency levels were raised, Chen Jue discovered that all of his attributes had increased dramatically. As for the dark gold lines in the crack of the meteorite, they quickly dimmed at this moment.
"Continue!" Chen Jue looked up at Linglong and Zhao Zhen who had disappeared, then spread out his five fingers, and the bonus effect of the Golden Needle Finger Technique [Piercing Stone Like Rot] burst out. His fingers pierced into the meteorite like a drill. Then, with the 10 proficiency points added, he pushed for a rapid improvement in [Small and Large Circulation] little by little.
After Zhao Zhen and Linglong shouted from the cave entrance above and dropped a winch rope and a canvas bag containing the meteorite, Chen Jue withdrew his finger reluctantly and crushed the place where he had inserted his finger into pieces.
After taking a look at the skill of running the small and large circulations, Chen Jue found it was stuck at [Lv1 (195/200)]. He thought to himself, "What a shame". Just a little bit more, this skill could break through to a higher level.
But at this moment, Zhao Zhen and Linglong came down the rope again. In front of two outsiders, Chen Jue couldn't continue to make breakthroughs, so he had to cooperate with them to bandage the meteorite.
However, when Linglong and Zhao Zhen saw that the meteorite seemed to be missing a corner, and the golden lines inside had dimmed a lot, they looked at Chen Jue with some doubt in their eyes.
Chen Jue didn't show anything. He smiled and cooperated with the two to lift the meteorite onto the canvas bag. After the three climbed out of the ice along the rope, Zhao Zhen began to operate the winch device on the polar vehicle and began to drag the more than 500 kilograms of meteorite up out of the ice little by little.
The entire lifting and dragging process took nearly half an hour. Fortunately, the whole process was safe and sound. Relying on modern equipment, the meteorite was successfully moved out of the crater below.
As long as he reaches the ice and waits for the support from the scientific research station to arrive, Chen Jue’s trip will be considered a success.
Moreover, according to the exploration agreement previously signed with Hongmu Group, no matter how many meteorites are found, Chen Jue and Linglong are eligible to take half of them.
…
After wrapping the meteorite and placing it on the ice, the three of them got on the polar off-road vehicle. Zhao Zhen had already conveyed a request for support to the scientific research station through the vehicle's satellite communication equipment when he first went on the ice.
If the off-road vehicle had not been running low on fuel, the three of them would have wanted to just throw away the supplies being towed behind and simply load the meteorite into the vehicle and transport it away.
This place is nearly 2,000 kilometers away from the scientific research station, and the support will not arrive soon, so the three of them chatted while waiting in the off-road vehicle.
Every half an hour, a noisy reminder would sound from the car's speakers, indicating that support from the research station was getting closer.
After waiting for three hours, a roar like that of an airplane engine was heard in the sky. Hearing the sound, the three got out of the car. Looking up, they saw a small plane with the Hongmu logo printed on it whizzing past in the blue sky, and nine fuzzy black dots jumped down from the side of the plane.
Chen Jue narrowed his eyes and recognized the figures from afar. They should have made a sudden landing by using the extreme sport of wing suit flying, while the plane was circling in the distance, probably planning to make an emergency landing on the nearby ice.
Zhao Zhen cheered and waved towards the sky, and then he slowly moved to the location where the meteorite was placed.
Chen Jue and Linglong noticed his subtle movement and also moved closer. However, before they got halfway there, they heard a few whooshing sounds coming from above their heads.
A huge feeling of palpitations suddenly came over them, and both of them felt their hair stand on end. They used their own skills to fly backwards.
The next second, nine loud "boom boom boom!" sounds were heard, and nine metal objects like gray iron spears pierced down from above , piercing the ice in front of the two men like bullets, leaving a row of straight holes.
Then there was a loud sound of ice cracking heard on the ice layer. The force caused by the collapse of the row of holes actually created a gap in the entire ice shelf. The gap grew larger and larger and continued to spread, as if a natural barrier was formed at this moment, separating Chen Jue, Linglong, the polar off-road vehicle, Zhao Zhen, and the meteorite.
The winch wire that was dragging the meteorite was also pierced and broken by the falling iron spear just now.
As for the nine figures flying from the plane in wing suits, they had already opened their parachutes and slowly floated to Zhao Zhen's side.
Chen Jue, who had just recovered from the shock, saw from a distance of dozens of meters that one of the figures took off the winter mask on his face, revealing a face that was very similar to that of Father Tom.
