Having been through the Master Teacher Continent, Azure, and the Firmament, Zhang Xuan was able to understand how the difference in spiritual energy could affect the lifeforms living in the environment.
The differences between the three worlds lay mainly in the stability in spatial laws and temporal laws and the concentration of spiritual energy.
It was mainly the difference in spiritual energy that resulted in a vast difference in the prowess of their cultivators. That was why lifeforms in the Firmament were mostly born as Semi-Divinities, and with just a bit of cultivation, they could easily become Gods.
The Otherworldly Demonic Tribe carried extremely concentrated killing intent inside their bodies, making them extremely restless and bloodthirsty.
However, through the absorption of the mercury-like spiritual energy in the Azure, the concentrated killing intent within their bodies would be neutralized significantly.
The spiritual energy in the Firmament should have the same effect.
Despite being a Sovereign of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, ever since arriving in the Firmament, Liu Yang had found that no matter how he tried to drive his simplified Heaven’s Path Divine Art in reverse, he was unable to recreate the killing intent of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe.
This meant that the spiritual energy in the Firmament was more than enough to neutralize the killing intent in his body.
So, it was rather bewildering that Feng Jiuge actually had such killing intent within his body.
Zhang Xuan turned toward the mansion of the Inferno Phoenix Clan, where there were guards on standby outside. Through the Eye of Insight, he could tell that those people shared the same bloodline as Feng Jiuge, but they did not have any killing intent in their bodies.
The Deathless Celestial Phoenix is the old ancestor of the Phoenix Tribe, as well as the Spirit God of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe. Given so, it isn’t too odd for his descendants to harness killing intent within their bodies…
What was odd, however, was that only Feng Jiuge possessed killing intent within his body.
What made him so special that he had something that his peers did not?
Zhang Xuan examined Feng Jiuge a little longer, but he still was not able to discern the cause of this anomaly through his Eye of Insight. So, picking up his wine vat, he began walking toward Feng Jiuge’s table.
He sat opposite to the young man, and without saying a word, he began gulping down his wine.
Noticing Zhang Xuan’s presence, Feng Jiuge frowned in displeasure. He waved his hands impatiently as he grunted, “Scram! I might have become the trash of the Inferno Phoenix Clan, but I’m still not someone that just anyone can make fun of!”
“I happened to hear of the tournament that will be happening within the clan very soon, so I rushed all the way to Spirit Origin Royal City. I only happened to hear of your affair coincidentally. Don’t worry, I bear no ill will toward you. I just wanted some company for a drink,” Zhang Xuan replied heartily.
“You are a member of the Inferno Phoenix Clan too?” Feng Jiuge raised his head to look at Zhang Xuan doubtfully.
“You can say that,” Zhang Xuan replied without explaining further. Then, he leaned in a little and said curiously, “I noticed that your foundation is quite firm, and there are no visible injuries on your body. Why is your cultivation regressing?”
“Humph!”
Feng Jiuge was just starting to feel some goodwill toward the young man before him when the latter suddenly started rubbing salt in his wound. His face immediately turned livid.
His cultivation might have regressed, but his eyes were still sharp.
He could tell that the young man before him was even stronger than him when he was at his peak. If not for that, he would have already lost his temper.
“You are thinking too much. On top of being a member of the Inferno Phoenix Clan, I am also quite a renowned physician. Well, to be frank, I only approached you because I found your condition quite mystifying. That being said, I believe that I might be able to help you.”
Noticing Feng Jiuge’s enmity, Zhang Xuan took out the Great Displacement Teleportation Formation’s token and passed it over.
The name of the owner and his accomplishment that granted him the right to use the Great Displacement Teleportation Formation was inscribed on the token.
Taking a look at the token, Feng Jiuge narrowed his eyes in astonishment. Then, he slowly lifted his gaze to look at Zhang Xuan once more, but this time, his eyes were filled with agitation.
As someone who had once been part of the core lineage of the Inferno Phoenix Clan, he knew just how difficult it was to earn the right to use the Great Displacement Teleportation Formation. He could not have obtained it even if he wanted to back when he was at his peak.
Yet, the young man before him had earned the right to it on the basis of his medical skills.
That effectively meant that his medical skills were at the forefront of the Nine Skies.
“I don’t know what is going on either,” Feng Jiuge replied with a deep sigh as he placed the wine vat on the table.
“Ever since that mission, it feels like my body is full of holes. No matter how I try to absorb spiritual energy, I’m unable to retain it in my body. That’s not all. My cultivation is also slowly slipping away with time… Over the past two years, my cultivation has fallen all the way to my current state!”
“You aren’t able to retain spiritual energy in your body?” Zhang Xuan nodded pensively. “Can you execute a punching routine for me?”
“Of course!”
Knowing that the young man was a formidable physician, Feng Jiuge stood up without any hesitation and released a punch.
As if a massive dragon rising from the sea to seek its prey, his punch carried a domineering pressure that forced his opponent to submit to him. Just by looking at the conceptualization behind his punch, it was obvious that he was a true genius in martial arts.
However, barely after the punch advanced halfway through, it suddenly came to a halt. It felt like Feng Jiuge had suddenly run out of steam, preventing him from utilizing his true strength.
At the same time, Feng Jiuge’s face paled, and a grunt escaped his lips.
Back at his peak, he could easily execute such a move a hundred times without feeling the slightest bit of exhaustion. Yet, he could not even finish a single punch now before feeling utterly fatigued.
This made him feel deeply despaired.
He felt like the him from two years ago had really vanished and would never return. The thought of having to live his life like that frightened him greatly.
Sighing deeply, Feng Jiuge looked at Zhang Xuan with a wry look on his face and said, “Pardon me, I’ll try again…”
“There’s no need for that,” Zhang Xuan interjected as he immersed his consciousness in the Library of Heaven’s Path.
He had already managed to compile a book on the young man’s condition.
It doesn’t seem like there’s anything here that could affect his cultivation though… Zhang Xuan frowned.
There were many flaws recorded in the book, but none of them explained the reason behind Feng Jiuge’s fall in cultivation. In other words, even the Library of Heaven’s Path was unable to discern the reason behind his falling cultivation!
This was really perplexing.
Ever since the Library of Heaven’s Path reawakened in the Firmament, he had been able to see through even the flaws of a Conferred God King. So, why was he unable to uncover the reason behind Feng Jiuge’s current condition?
“Do you mind if I check your pulse?” Zhang Xuan asked.
“I am grateful that you are willing to offer your help, but it’s fine if you aren’t able to solve it. I have already grown used to it now…”
Feng Jiuge keenly noticed the changes in Zhang Xuan’s expression, and his expectant gaze slowly died off.
He had consulted many physicians on his situation before, and some of them were well-known in the Sky of Spirit Origin. Unfortunately, none had been able to determine the reason behind his condition.
He dared not get his hopes up out of fear that he would only be disappointed once more.
“I’m just taking a look. It’s not as if you will lose anything,” Zhang Xuan grumbled.
“I guess so… There’s nothing more I can lose in my current state anyway…” Feng Jiuge sighed deeply.
With his cultivation and standing taken away from him, he found himself completely alone in the world. There was no one who was willing to associate themselves with him after his downfall. He felt like he had already lost everything.
Besides, the young man seated in front of him was far stronger than him. There was nothing he could do if the other party intended him harm.
So, he stretched his arm out toward Zhang Xuan.
Zhang Xuan placed his finger on Feng Jiuge’s pulse and infused a surge of Heaven’s Path zhenqi discreetly into his body.
Tzzzz!
Zhang Xuan navigated his zhenqi through Feng Jiuge’s meridians carefully, and just as it was passing through a certain point, it suddenly halted.
Hu!
The surge of zhenqi abruptly dissipated without a trace, as if it had never existed.
“This…”
Zhang Xuan narrowed his eyes in shock.
The Heaven’s Path zhenqi had never failed him. Ever since he cultivated the Pathos of Heaven, its prowess had been greater than ever. Yet, there was something inside Feng Jiuge’s body that was able to make his Heaven’s Path zhenqi dissipate…
Just what in the world was happening?
