In the past, Wei Zhao would never have stood by and let Feng Xiaoxiao come to harm, but neither would he have truly worried over her. Now, knowing her to be Feng Tianlong's daughter, he had no choice but to take her a great deal more seriously.

He laid her on the bed, brows faintly drawn. The world called him a divine physician, yet Wei Zhao knew his own skill still lagged somewhat behind the old man's—though never by much. Feng Xiaoxiao's condition, however, was like nothing he had ever heard of, for at this moment he could not see what on earth was wrong with her.

Had he not known so well the symptoms of a person in a coma, he might even have thought she was shamming, faking unconsciousness to make a fool of him.

Naturally, with a temperament like Feng Xiaoxiao's, she was quite capable of pulling such a trick to deceive him—but his examination had shown that this was not the case.

Wei Zhao was frantic: on one hand worried about her condition, on the other afraid that Feng Tianlong might walk in at any moment. If he came home and saw his daughter lying naked on the bed, Wei Zhao would never be able to explain himself, however he tried.

At his wits' end, he sank into thought. Where Feng Xiaoxiao was concerned, he truly had no idea where to begin. Nor did it ever occur to him to send her to a hospital—if he himself could not find the problem, a hospital would be useless.

There was plainly nothing wrong inside her body; every organ was perfectly sound. By all outward signs, Feng Xiaoxiao was healthier than a healthy person had any right to be. And yet—why was there no spark of life in her at all?

Blood ran down Wei Zhao's arm, smearing the bedsheets and Feng Xiaoxiao's body. But he had no mind to spare for the cut; a little broken skin on the arm was nothing worth bothering about.

"Elder Jiao, you have seen more of the world than anyone—is there any way to save her?" Wei Zhao had no choice but to ask Jiao Yazi for help once more.

"Her body lacks energy, little Wei Zhao. Try circulating the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art and channeling energy into her; see what happens." Jiao Yazi's voice sounded at Wei Zhao's ear.

Wei Zhao started, and hope found him at once. Yes—why had it not occurred to him sooner? If Feng Xiaoxiao lacked vital energy, then surely the true qi generated by his Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art could be given to her?

At the thought, he hesitated no longer. He grasped her hands and began to circulate the mental mantra of the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art. In an instant, a tremendous suction surged out from Feng Xiaoxiao's body, and the energy within him rushed into her at inconceivable speed.

Wei Zhao was startled. He had used energy to heal others before—Liu Zhenhu, for one—so this powerful pull was nothing unfamiliar. It was simply an injured body's demand for energy.

But to see someone absorb energy like a bottomless pit the way Feng Xiaoxiao did—that was a first.

Still, to bring her back to consciousness, he gritted his teeth and endured. Losing a little energy was nothing, was it? He had the cultivation space in his jade pendant; a good sleep would more or less restore him.

It was a fine plan—but he soon discovered that the truth was another matter altogether, for Feng Xiaoxiao's body seemed to crave energy without end.

Wei Zhao's face turned pale, yet the energy within him poured into her without cease.

"Little Wei, boy, let go of her—quick!" Jiao Yazi, too, sensed that something was badly wrong and hurried to warn him.

At those words Wei Zhao shuddered and tried to release her hands—only to find that between their palms there seemed to be some kind of glue; they could not be parted at all.

"Elder Jiao, what do I do?" Alarmed out of his wits, he had no choice but to turn to the old man for help.

"..." Jiao Yazi found it strange as well, but for all his knowledge he could not fathom why this was happening. "Why don't you try not circulating the mantra of the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art?"

"I can't stop it..." Wei Zhao said with a bitter smile. He had thought of that long ago, naturally—but the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art was now running of its own accord inside him, utterly beyond his control, just like the instant of breakthrough before one advances a rank; it answered to nothing but itself.

"..." This time Jiao Yazi had nothing either. "I'm out of ideas. You will have to think of something yourself."

"You damned old man!" Wei Zhao panicked. If Jiao Yazi washed his hands of it, what was he supposed to do? He called out hastily, "Elder Jiao, come out!"

But Jiao Yazi played dead and made not a sound.

"Ah—!" With a wretched scream, Wei Zhao felt as though the energy in his body had been pumped dry; he pitched headfirst onto the bed and blacked out.

"Well. At least you're not dead," Jiao Yazi's voice finally sounded again.

"Hm?" Wei Zhao was taken aback as well—he was all right? But the next moment he realized that he had entered the cultivation space inside the jade pendant of his own accord.

Before, he could only get in while asleep. He had never imagined that fainting would work too.

"Not dead, but your situation doesn't look good..." Jiao Yazi gave a dry laugh.

"You damned old man! You and I are teacher and friend, aren't we? How could you just abandon me when trouble came?" Wei Zhao raged. "Lucky for me I'm tough—seems I only passed out. I'm not dead yet."

"Heh heh... it's beyond my knowledge, isn't it? I don't know what happened either, and I can't just talk nonsense, can I?" Jiao Yazi said, a little embarrassed.

"..." Wei Zhao knew this was no time to blame him. And the old man was right: he did not know what had just happened. He could only fall silent.

"You'd better take a look at yourself, little Zhao—your situation is very bad!" Jiao Yazi coughed twice and tried to turn his attention elsewhere.

At his words, Wei Zhao was jolted. Yes—he had been so busy talking with Jiao Yazi that he had never checked himself. He had lost so much energy just now; who knew whether it had done his body any harm? He was still inside the cultivation space, but the body outside it was lying unconscious!

At the thought, he hurriedly examined his own condition—and the very next moment, his expression changed.

For he found that he had actually dropped a rank! From the peak of the late Yellow rank, he had become an ordinary man who did not even count as early Yellow rank!

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