Ling Zhan stumbled forward, his voice a desperate, stammering plea. "Your Highness! You... you detected the cause, so you must have some way to treat him, right? Please, you must save him!"
Mu Feng slowly, sorrowfully, shook his head. "I can treat his physical injuries. I can even mend his meridians, just as my Master taught me. But his life force... his shattered dantian... I am completely powerless against that. I fear... I fear there may be no one in the entire Human Federation who can treat such wounds."
The words struck Ling Zhan with the force of a physical blow. The last sliver of hope, the final thread he had been clinging to, snapped. His legs gave out from under him, and he collapsed to the cold, blood-stained floor. The surrounding physicians rushed to help him, but he was a dead weight, devoid of the strength or the will to stand again. The Sage's final, devastating verdict had shattered more than just his hope; it had shattered his spirit.
Just then, in this devastating situation, Mu Feng continued, "Only one person can save him now... but..."
Hearing those words, Ling Zhan immediately grabbed his legs and started begging, "Your Highness! Please, please tell me, where can I find the person who can save my father from this predicament?"
Yao Lingxi, who was still standing silently beside them, said, "The Divine Physician! Only the Divine Physician can save him now."
"The Divine Physician?" These words sent a chill down everyone's spine. He was a mysterious being who had appeared in human territory a few months back and had treated two untreatable ailments: the forbidden Withered Heart disease and the forbidden Nether Ice curse.
Even the highest ranks of the Human Federation had issued a holy-level citizenship for him, but he completely ignored them. Powerful forces wanted to protect him and even issued warnings to all not to touch a single hair on his head.
Letting go of Mu Feng's leg, Ling Zhan said bitterly, "Where can we find him? He isn't even willing to go to the Human Federation!"
Yao Lingxi spoke again with seriousness, "I know where we can find him. He treated my disease!"
Ling Zhan looked at her, his eyes growing wide with surprise. He asked, "Wasn't it the sage, Mu Feng, who treated your predicament?"
This time, Mu Feng replied, scratching his head, "How could I? I don't have the power to treat the terrifying disease that Miss Lingxi had. It was my Master who treated her."
Ling Zhan stared at the Sage of Seven Needles with even greater horror. "Master? Did you just say the Divine Physician is your master?"
Sage Mu Feng nodded, still embarrassed. "Although I'm old enough to be his grandfather, he is the one who taught me everything I know today. I am an elder of his sect, and I have always revered him as my master."
Ling Zhan looked at him, horrified. Even as a 4th-tier physician, Mu Feng was formidable enough in the Red Lotus Galaxy. With the identity of the Divine Physician's apprentice, even if not an official disciple he should be revered by the entire Human Federation.
Before he could beg him to search for the Divine Physician, Ling Tian entered the room with the others. He immediately saw Ling Zhan kneeling on the ground and asked with a grim face, "Father, what is happening here?"
Ling Zhan looked at Ling Tian, who had brought unknown people inside their secret room. He grew angry and immediately roared, "Ling Tian, how dare you bring..."
Before he could continue, he saw an amazing scene. Mu Feng and Yao Lingxi, who had been standing straight just a moment ago, immediately bowed toward the unknown people. Sage Mu Feng felt a cold sweat cover his forehead, and Yao Lingxi felt the same.
Both of them announced at the same time, "We, Mu Feng and Yao Lingxi, greet the Eternal Sect Leader, the Divine Physician! We greet the Grand Elder!"
Seeing them bow towards Huai and Wuhe, Yao Shen looked at the person in question, and his whole body shook. Those eyes, like the deepest black holes in the entire plane, contained vast knowledge, and he couldn't even get a glimpse of his terrifying cultivation.
He also bowed. "Medicine Gatherer Pavilion Master, Yao Shen, greets Your Highness!"
Ling Zhan, who was still on the ground, understood what was happening. Alongside him, the mesmerized physicians and even Ling Tian, who hadn't known Huai's identity until now, felt a chill run down their spines and immediately kowtowed together.
"Shadow Sword Sect Master Ling Zhan, Ling Tian, and all the physicians greet Your Highness, the Divine Physician."
Huai just nodded, and with a wave of his hand, everyone felt a gentle force lift them to their feet.
Yan, who was standing beside Huai, asked in confusion, "Master, do you know that uncle?" He pointed his finger toward Mu Feng.
Mu Feng heard his words, and a chill ran down his body. 'Master? The Sect Master took a disciple?' He looked at the child to see what qualifications he could have to earn the favor of their Sect Master. But when he tried to see his cultivation level, his eyes blurred, and he saw a terrifying eye looking at him from the void. Those eyes were as cold as if they could burn this whole plane in mere seconds. He felt immense fear in his heart; the might of those eyes terrified him to the core.
It was the true dragon form of Yan. Yan didn't know that a dormant soul was residing in his body right now, protecting him from behind. In fact, Yan was the person those dragons were trying to find.
Wuhe and Huai knew the secret of that residing soul. Huai rubbed the boy's head and explained, "Yan, he is an outer sect elder in the Eternal Sect. You should show him courtesy."
Yan was surprised. He immediately bowed toward Mu Feng and said, clapping his hands, "Greetings, Elder!"
Mu Feng immediately went to him, helped him up, and said, "Young Master! You don't need to show me courtesy. The Sect Master has accepted you as his first disciple, so you are the Eternal Sect's Young Master from now on. You should never bow to me again!"
Yan shook his head and said, "No! Master taught me to be respectful towards my elders. I will follow his teachings!"
Ling Zhan, Ling Tian, and even the physicians all looked at Yan with a mix of jealousy and embarrassment. He was the direct disciple of the Divine Physician. His position alone could shake the entire Human Federation.
At this moment, Huai's eyes suddenly fell upon the nearly dead Ancestor Ling Wei, who was lying nearby.
His eyes widened in surprise. "Ahh! Someone stole his life force? And even shattered his dantian?"
.
.
.
He asked Mu Feng, "Isn't it forbidden to use the 'life-stealing technique' in the Federation?"
Mu Feng nodded in response.
"Yes, Sect Leader. It's forbidden by the Goddess Nexus, but many humans still use these techniques in secret."
Huai went toward the still ancestor. He waved his hand, and a gentle force wrapped around Ling Wei's entire body. In front of everyone's eyes, wood and light elements condensed and entered his body as if it were natural. His wounds began to heal.
One after another, snapped bones moved back into place and healed as if they were new. Torn meridians that had been shattered by the forbidden technique reconnected, and even the flesh began to repair itself right before their eyes.
His entire body was cleansed of wounds, and even the blemishes were gone, as if he had never been injured to begin with.
Ling Zhan and the other physicians looked at him in horror, as did Ling Tian and Yao Shen.
Only Lingxi, Mu Feng, Wuhe, and Yan were still looking at him with admiration. They all knew just how powerful Huai was.
Huai sighed and said, "Before I treat him completely, I need to inform someone!"
Ling Zhan immediately asked in confusion, "Your Highness, who would you like to inform? Isn't it urgent to treat him right now?"
Huai shook his head. "The technique used to steal his life force is not from this plane!"
Ling Zhan looked at him with wide eyes, stammering as he asked, "Not... not from this plane? How is that possible? Wasn't the attacker the ancestor of the Summoning Beast Pavilion?"
Huai looked at him and said, "Let's see."
Then, he took out the Divine Physician's token from his system space. The token materialized in the world and floated before Huai. He activated the token and said only one sentence, "Come to the location of this token," before disconnecting without another word.
Ling Zhan and the others looked on, waiting for the person he had contacted. They thought it was perhaps a subordinate of His Highness.
But only a few seconds later, the space shook, and a digital invasion occurred inside the secret room. Everyone became alert, but in front of their eyes, a beautiful figure appeared: Nexus.
Everyone except Huai and Wuhe bowed toward her. "Greetings, Goddess Nexus!" Even Yan bowed to her.
Nexus didn't bother to answer them. She asked Huai, "Don't you think you could have at least told me why , you asked me to come here? Isn't it rude to ask someone to come and then disconnect immediately?"
Huai sneered at her. "Why are you nagging? Did you think I'd ask you to come here for nothing? Look at him."
Everyone looked at Huai in horror. This was Goddess Nexus, the AI that controlled humanity and one of the fourteen Galaxy Sovereigns, who had been protecting humanity for thousands of years.
Nexus looked at Ancestor Ling Wei but didn't find anything suspicious at first. But after checking the body thoroughly, she frowned, then looked surprised. She said in a grim voice, "The 'life-stealing technique'? And this version is from the Nether Wraiths?"
Huai nodded. "I heard he was attacked by the ancestor of the Summoning Beast Pavilion. The question is, where did they get this technique when it is forbidden by humanity?"
Nexus gritted her teeth. "Traitors! They've connected with those filthy Nether Wraiths! How dare they! I'll destroy their whole sect..."
"No! I didn't ask you to come here for that. I want you to do something for me. I'll take care of them myself." Huai said shaking his head
Nexus asked, confused, "Citizen Huai! What do you want to do now? Isn't it my duty to eliminate the traitors?"
Huai shook his head and said, "No. At least we need to know what they wanted to do. We need to know if there are any other traitors alongside them."
Nexus asked again, but this time more gently, "Then what do you want to do next?"
Huai smiled, then walked toward the unconscious Ancestor Ling Wei. He took out a golden pill from his system space and said to everyone, "This is a Regenerative Pill, a holy-grade pill. It can reconstruct his dantian. And as for the stolen life force..." He took out his needles from the system space. This time, 108 silver needles appeared from the void.
Nexus looked at Huai, wanting to see what he was going to do. Still smiling, Huai looked at Nexus and said, "Record this method. It'll be helpful for humanity if they face the same problem again!"
Nexus did as he asked, nodding at Huai. Wuhe came near Huai and asked him, "Do you need my help?" He knew that life force was the most difficult force of all. To regenerate life force in someone's body, one needed to sacrifice something of equal value.
Huai shook his head and said, "Don't worry, I'm not using my own life force to regenerate his. I'm taking life force from the surroundings!"
Wuhe was surprised. "From the surroundings?"