417: Target

Long Yuan nodded, picked up a cup, filled it with water, and then said, "Now, if this cup of water freezes into ice, do you guess this piece of ice will be larger than this cup of water, or smaller?"

"This... it should be the same size, right?" Chu Qingxue paused, pondering.

"You can try it..." Long Yuan smiled.

Chu Qingxue glanced at him, walked forward, stretched out her right hand to cover the water cup, and slowly injected Ice Profound Qi...

After a while, the water in the cup began to freeze and finally turned into a block of ice. Chu Qingxue stared intently at the cup, shocked, "Huh? The cup cracked?!"

"Correct, it was split open by the ice," Long Yuan nodded and said.

"Could it be... that the ice formed from a cup of water is larger than the cup of water itself?!" Chu Qingxue was unsettled; this discovery exceeded her common sense, causing her to blush instantly...

Long Yuan smiled, "Correct, the ice block will indeed be a bit larger. This is because the specific gravity of ice is lighter than that of water, which is also the reason why it can float on water..."

"Specific gravity? What does that mean?" Chu Qingxue asked further.

"This is a scientific concept, generally referring to the weight of a substance per unit volume, also known as relative density... The relative density of an ice block is less than water, so it can float on water..." Long Yuan explained simply.

"Relative density... How come I haven't learned these things? Master doesn't seem to have taught them either..." Chu Qingxue muttered.

Long Yuan chuckled and said, "Actually, what I just mentioned is only one common state of ice. As the pressure on the ice increases, it will have many more forms, from Ice 1 all the way to Ice 100. In other words, ice has at least over a hundred forms. Some of these forms are far heavier than water, so they cannot float on the surface, but rather exist in the depths of the water!"

"What?! Are you telling the truth?! Ice has over a hundred forms?!" Chu Qingxue was completely stunned, asking in disbelief.

"Correct! For example, the snowflakes you see have a hexagonal structure, but in the Early Stage when a snowflake is just forming, it is actually a cubic structure, and only later does it slowly grow into a hexagonal shape. As pressure increases, the form of ice constantly changes. For example, Ice 7 can be hidden inside some diamonds, sealed forever! By the time it reaches Ice 18, the ice already possesses metallic properties, is conductive, opaque, and has a very high melting point. Even at high temperatures near 3000 degrees, it remains solid. It looks like frozen fire..." Long Yuan spoke eloquently.

"Good heavens... ice turning into metal, how is this possible?!" Chu Qingxue was completely bewildered, and those around her who were listening were also dumbfounded. They didn't know if what Long Yuan said was true, but regardless, if these words were spread, it would absolutely refresh people's long-held understanding of ice formation...

"Nothing is impossible! Finding Ice 18 isn't difficult either, as long as you can dive to the deepest part of the ocean, you might discover it. However, you must absolutely not do such a thing, because the deep ocean is extremely dangerous. Even without sea beasts, the pressure of the seawater alone would make it impossible for a person to breathe, and Ice 18 is precisely formed naturally under such terrifying high-pressure conditions..."

"I don't believe it! Unless you can take out the Ice 18 you just mentioned..." Chu Qingxue said with a flushed face.

Long Yuan smiled, took out a jade box, placed it on the table, and said, "Inside is a piece of Ice 18. Let it cover my meal fee. Farewell!"

After speaking, he stood up and left. Chu Qingxue watched him leave in a daze, then suddenly snapped out of it, grabbed the jade box on the table, and slowly opened it. Her heart was racing, and her whole body was trembling slightly...

"Good heavens! Is this really ice!!!" She couldn't help but scream, falling back into her chair, clutching the jade box tightly in her hands...

Long Yuan had long since reached the outside, disappearing into the vast crowd...

The next moment, Long Yuan's figure quietly appeared inside Xuanji Tower. No one noticed his presence, not even the Young Attendants inside Xuanji Tower discovered him. In fact, these Young Attendants were all Cultivators at the Qi Refinement Stage, each one a great expert if placed outside, but Long Yuan walked swaggeringly right in front of them, yet they turned a blind eye, completely failing to notice anything unusual about him...

Long Yuan tested it a few times and knew that his Breath Concealment Technique was flawless, so he walked confidently toward the depths.

He was already well-acquainted with the internal situation of Xuanji Tower. After walking familiarly for a while, he found Sabado's room. He performed the door-opening method according to how Sabado did it, and sure enough, he successfully entered...

The layout inside the room was the same as when it was broadcast on the Heavenly Eye; there were crystal balls, bookshelves, and all kinds of items from Tianji Pavilion. Long Yuan enthusiastically collected information and studied the artifacts, busy and enjoying himself...

With the help of the Heavenly Eye, it didn't take long for all the information here to be entered into the Heavenly Dao database. Long Yuan didn't take any items because there was no need; with this information, he could completely replicate them at any time.

This was not his main target. He gently pressed a button, a row of bookshelves slowly moved aside, revealing a staircase. Long Yuan stepped onto the stairs and walked up...

"Wow, this is practically an observatory on Earth!" Long Yuan couldn't help but exclaim excitedly when he saw the scene upstairs.

The scene before him indeed resembled the observatory he was familiar with, except that the equipment here used xuan stone energy and Spirit Stone energy. Each piece was crafted by an Artifact Refiner from Tianji Pavilion and was not an item that originally belonged on Blue Star.

Long Yuan quickly collected information and 5D printed all these devices. With this information, it would be of great help to the research work of the City of the Future.

He entered the observation station, operated it skillfully, and soon saw the stars filling the sky...

"Wow! So beautiful!!! If only I could see Earth from here..." Long Yuan suddenly missed his life experiences on Earth, and infinite emotions welled up in his heart. But his reason told him that this Star Domain was completely different from the one where Earth was located. Wanting to see Earth through this low-Rank observation instrument was no different from a pipe dream. It seemed he had become obsessed...

Casting aside distracting thoughts, Long Yuan observed carefully for a while. Based on the information obtained here, he basically determined the location of Elf Star and also determined the locations of many other habitable planets. However, he was unable to find the location of the Lin Territory, because the information here did not involve the Lin Territory. To obtain this information, it might only be possible once he reached Elf Star.

Of course, if he were to ask the higher-level Tianji Pavilion, he might be able to get it, but doing so would be a reckless move. If he were suspected because of this, it would be troublesome. Naturally, Long Yuan would not do such a stupid thing.

"Hmm? New information?!" Long Yuan was suddenly startled, looking at a device nearby; there was a prompt indicating information was coming in...