Library of Heaven’s Path

“Since you have no enmity with him, I’ll pull my weight as the elder here and offer you some words of advice,” the elder exclaimed. “Even though Feng Jiuge has been expelled from the Inferno Phoenix Clan, he used to be one of their members. If you’d killed him discreetly, they might have turned a blind eye to it. However, your act of torturing and humiliating him in public blemishes the reputation of the Inferno Phoenix Clan. They won’t allow anyone to undermine the honor of the Phoenix Tribe… So, I have to ask you to think twice about your decision!”

Zhang Xuan rubbed his glabella. Am I actually the villain here?

As expected of an old academic. He sure knew how to beat about the bush to build his case, even though it made him seem really naggy.

However, it seemed like the other party had misunderstood his intention. He was earnestly trying to help Feng Jiuge, not torture him.

Knowing that the old man was advising him with goodwill, Zhang Xuan clasped his hand politely and replied, “I appreciate your advice, and I’ll take it in mind. However, allow me to reassure you that this is a part of the treatment process.”

After saying his piece, he immediately turned his gaze back to Feng Jiuge.

The latter had rounded so well that his face, as well as his body, looked like a sphere.

Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment before taking out a jade token. He swiftly infused a cultivation technique into it before passing it over to Feng Jiuge. “Cultivate this technique. It’ll alleviate your current condition!”

“What are you up to?” Feng Jiuge was finally able to speak after being released by Zhang Xuan. He felt so stifled that he could have exploded on the spot.

Initially, when he first saw the other party’s token, he had thought that the other party might just be able to save him. It was with such thoughts in mind that he had allowed the other party to feel his pulse.

Yet, who could have known that the other party would suddenly start sending zhenqi furiously into his body, causing him to end up in such a state?

“I…” Zhang Xuan was just about to explain that he did not know such a situation would happen, but at the very last moment, he halted himself from doing so.

If he said such words, he would immediately lose his credibility as a physician.

So, he stood up from his seat and placed his hands behind his back. With a solemn and profound look on his face, he said, “I have already found the way to save you. This is merely the first step!”

“The first step?” Feng Jiuge was stunned.

So, your first step is to blow me up into a balloon?

I’ve never heard of such a treatment method before!

“If you wish to resolve your current condition and restore your talent and strength, you will do well to heed my words and practice the cultivation technique I have given you!” Zhang Xuan replied gravely.

The seriousness of his tone made Feng Jiuge fall into deep thought.

For the past two years, he had consulted many skilled physicians, and all of them had told him that they were utterly helpless. In fact, they were not even able to figure out the reason behind his condition.

On the other hand, the young man before him had actually told him that he had found a way to cure him, and they were already at the first step.

Was this for real?

“Forget it, I’ll bet everything on this!”

Right now, he did not have the right to doubt the credibility of the young man before him.

He was no longer the talented young man of the Inferno Phoenix Clan whom everyone was dying to fawn over. He had nothing but his life to lose.

Since that was the case, he might as well take a gamble!

Without any hesitation, he placed his finger on the jade token and immersed his consciousness into it. A cultivation technique flowed into his mind.

With just a swift look at the cultivation technique, his body starting trembling.

As an ex-core member of the Inferno Phoenix Clan, he had a sharp eye for good stuff.

Even though the cultivation technique was just an ordinary formula for him to refine and assimilate energy, it was far more ingenious than any secret manual that he had seen. In fact, even the most confidential secret art within the clan paled in comparison to it.

To offer him such a cultivation technique without any hesitation…

Was the other party sincere about saving him?

This immediately reignited the flames of hope in his eyes.

Without any hesitation, he began channeling his zhenqi in his body according to the cultivation technique.

Even though his cultivation had been regressing over the past two years, there was no doubt that his intelligence was beyond ordinary. It did not take him long to fully master the cultivation technique that Zhang Xuan had imparted to him, allowing him to swiftly assimilate the energy that had caused his body to bloat.

Tzzz!

Each time he drove his zhenqi a circulation around his body, his bloated body would contract a bit. By the time he was on his twentieth circulation, his body had already reverted to normal!

Feng Jiuge stood up and looked at his own body with a mystified look on his face. Being able to assimilate that much energy so quickly felt like a miracle. This made him trust the young man before him even more than before.

He excitedly looked at Zhang Xuan and asked, “May I know what the next step is?”

Feng Jiuge could also tell that the treatment was incomplete as even though he had just gained a huge bulk of energy, he was still losing energy as time passed.

“I need to repeat step one again in order to properly cleanse your body of what is within it,” Zhang Xuan replied.

There was little doubt at this point that the gray congregation of energy was the cause of the constant decline in Feng Jiuge’s cultivation. Thus, the only way to save him was to find a way to clear his body of the gray congregation of energy.

In that sense, he was not exactly lying to Feng Jiuge.

However, Feng Jiuge’s lips started twitching upon hearing those words.

He was going to have to go through that painful experience again?

Seeing the look on Feng Jiuge’s face, Zhang Xuan harrumphed coldly. “It looks like you are quite reluctant to continue.

If that’s the case, I don’t see any need for me to take on something that is more effort than it’s worth. Let me tell you this, this treatment is not only unbeneficial to me, it’ll also affect my cultivation. Do you think that it’s without cost that I infused my zhenqi into your body?”

As he spoke, he rose to his feet and started walking back to his original seat.

“Bro—I mean elder, please wait a moment!”

There was no way Feng Jiuge could allow his only ray of hope to walk away just like that. He immediately rushed over to stop Zhang Xuan.

Given that he had nothing on him, the other party had indeed nothing to gain by saving him. On the other hand, if he missed this opportunity, his cultivation would only continue to become weaker and weaker, and eventually, he would be killed by his enemies.

“Please save me! I’ll do anything for you as long as you can resolve my affliction!” Feng Jiuge pleaded.

Zhang Xuan turned around and looked at Feng Jiuge quietly for a moment before harrumphing once more.

“I hope that you can appreciate the sacrifices I am making. In order to save you, not only will we have to repeat the steps from earlier, I’ll also have to teach you some of the cultivation techniques of my lineage. These cultivation techniques are highly confidential, so I can only proceed if you acknowledge me as your teacher!”

From how quickly Feng Jiuge was able to comprehend the cultivation technique imparted to him earlier, it was apparent that he was indeed a genius.

On top of that, Feng Jiuge possessed the bloodline of the Inferno Phoenix Clan, and he possessed a huge secret. If he could accept Feng Jiuge as his disciple, it would be easier for him to ask the other party questions, and the latter could also help him find a way to get into Spirit God Palace.

“Teacher, I ask you to save me!”

It did not take too long before Feng Jiuge made up his mind and kneeled on the floor.

He could tell that from the cultivation technique that he had been given earlier that the other party was no ordinary figure. Furthermore, the fact that he possessed the token to the Great Displacement Teleportation Formation showed that he was both strong and skilled in medicine.

Since his clan had already forsaken him, leaving him to fend for himself, there was no harm in him acknowledging the young man as his teacher. At the very least, the young man would become his backing.

“Good!”

Zhang Xuan nodded in satisfaction upon seeing how decisive Feng Jiuge was. He sat down once more and placed his finger back on top of the latter’s pulse.

He had no idea whether he would really become stronger or not after refining his zhenqi—after all, he was compromising quantity for quality—but it should still be beneficial to him in the long-run.

With such thoughts in mind, he began to channel his zhenqi into the latter’s body once more.

Under Zhang Xuan’s rapid infusion of zhenqi, Feng Jiuge’s body swiftly bloated up once more, to the point that he looked no different from a ball from afar.

Seeing that Feng Jiuge had reached his limit, Zhang Xuan stopped his infusion and instructed Feng Jiuge to practice the cultivation technique that he had just imparted to him once more to alleviate his condition.

Just like that, the cycle repeated again and again.

Finally, after the fourth cycle, the gray congregation of energy within Feng Jiuge’s body had finally been completely cleansed. Seeing this, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief.

“You should be fine now. Give it a try!” Zhang Xuan urged Feng Jiuge with a smile.

With the gray congregation of energy neutralized, Feng Jiuge should be able to recover his previous strength and talent easily… and he might reach an even higher level than before!