Fallen into the Mortal World!

As his Dou Qi steadily dwindled, Xiao Yan felt his body rapidly growing weaker.

Before long, Xiao Yan had fallen to the sixth stage of Dou Qi.

By then, Xiao Yan was sprawled across the rooftop. Not a shred of strength remained in his body. The loss of Dou Qi would leave him weak for a time. Fortunately, he was in the Xiao Family now. If he had been out in the wilderness, he could only have watched helplessly as wild beasts devoured him.

"Damn it! What is going on? What happened?!

"Why is the Dou Qi in my body draining away like this? I cultivated this Dou Qi for years!

"Damn heavens! Why are you treating me, Xiao Yan, like this?! I refuse to accept it!"

Though Xiao Yan could not move, his mouth did not stop cursing.

His once handsome face twisted grotesquely. Along with the pain came terror at the rapid loss of his Dou Qi.

In the end, Xiao Yan lost every last bit of strength. His curses fell silent, and he passed out just like that.

Early the next morning, when Xiao Yan woke atop the roof, he felt frozen to the bone. His body trembled uncontrollably, and the Dou Qi within him had almost completely drained away.

Struggling to his feet, Xiao Yan examined the scant Dou Qi he had left and felt as if his whole world had gone dark.

He was now only at the third stage of Dou Qi.

That was only because Yao Chen had regained some awareness at the last moment, realized something was wrong, and stopped absorbing Dou Qi. Otherwise, Yao Chen might have absorbed even Xiao Yan's life force.

All in all, Xiao Yan was lucky not to have turned into a dried corpse.

Xiao Yan did not know what had happened to him, but he understood that complaining was no longer what he should be doing. He needed to cultivate back the Dou Qi he had lost as quickly as possible.

Dragging his exhausted body, Xiao Yan returned to his small room. Without even bothering to eat, he threw himself into cultivating Dou Qi.

As usual, he sat cross-legged, sensed the Dou Qi flowing between heaven and earth, and used his own aura to guide it into his Dantian.

Yet the moment Xiao Yan guided the Dou Qi into his Dantian, he discovered that it vanished for no reason at all.

Xiao Yan was stunned, but he continued cultivating.

After more than a dozen attempts, he failed every single time.

Xiao Yan began to panic. He could endure losing his Dou Qi, but what was he supposed to do if he could no longer cultivate?

Yet no matter how hard Xiao Yan tried, he could not continue cultivating.

That was already an undeniable fact. Trying a few more times would not solve it.

Over the course of the day, Xiao Yan lost count of how many times he tried to cultivate. In any case, every time he tried to absorb Dou Qi into his Dantian, it would inexplicably drain away.

Night soon fell again. Unlike the night before, Xiao Yan was nearly despairing tonight.

Unable to solve the problem himself, Xiao Yan could only seek out his father.

At that moment, Xiao Zhan was still busy with family affairs. The Xiao Family was having a difficult time in Wutan City. Besides the Xiao Family, two other clans were competing against them.

Still, Xiao Zhan could barely manage with his strength as a five-star Da Dou Shi. But if the Xiao Family wanted to keep rising, Xiao Zhan alone would not be enough.

"Alas, my talent, Xiao Zhan's talent, is limited. At most, I will only reach Dou Ling in this life. I wonder whether my Xiao Family will ever have a chance to return to its peak!

"Fortunately, I have several fine sons, especially Yan'er. A Dou Zhe at twelve years old! That is simply unheard of!"

Xiao Zhan himself might not have been exceptional, but he truly did have several good sons.

Setting Xiao Yan aside, even his eldest and second sons, Xiao Ding and Xiao Li, possessed fairly outstanding talent throughout the Jia Ma Empire. If they could grow smoothly, they might even reach Dou Wang. At the very least, the Xiao Family could return to the Imperial Capital and leave this remote Wutan City.

Xiao Zhan was still lost in his fantasies, unaware that the son he valued most had already met with an accident.

The moment Xiao Yan made up his mind, he hurried to find his father and ask about the situation.

When he reached the door, he even forgot to knock and rushed straight in.

"Father! Father, are you there? Something has happened to Yan'er, Father!"

Seeing Xiao Yan rush anxiously into his study, Xiao Zhan was somewhat puzzled. Why was this child babbling nonsense in the middle of the night?

"Yan'er, why are you so flustered? Could it be that someone intends to harm you?"

Unlike the panicked Xiao Yan, Xiao Zhan remained much calmer. He truly did not believe anyone would dare come to the Xiao Family to cause trouble. Xiao Zhan was no pushover!

"No, Father. No one is trying to harm Yan'er. Something has gone wrong with Yan'er himself. Not only has my cultivation fallen to the third stage of Dou Qi, but I can no longer continue cultivating."

The more Xiao Yan spoke, the more frantic he became. Even his gestures grew increasingly exaggerated. It was clear just how important this matter was to him.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhan began taking it seriously. When he looked closely, his jaw nearly dropped.

When had his son Xiao Yan become a third-stage Dou Qi practitioner?

Had he not broken through to become a Dou Zhe not long ago? Xiao Zhan could scarcely believe his eyes. After releasing his own Dou Qi to inspect Xiao Yan's body, he was even more shocked.

His strength truly had fallen, yet Xiao Zhan could not detect any injuries within Xiao Yan's body.

In other words, even he could not find the source of the problem. At the very least, Xiao Zhan had no way to solve it.

Xiao Yan watched his father's expression shift from initial shock to confusion, then turn ashen. He could already guess that his father had no solution to the problem that had appeared in his body.

"How is it, Father? What exactly happened to me? Why did my Dou Qi vanish for no reason, and why can't I continue cultivating?"

Xiao Zhan did not know how to answer his son, but he knew he could not let him lose his fighting spirit.

"Yan'er, don't panic. There must be a reason for this. Your father will find a solution for you. Believe me!"

"Go get some rest now. Tomorrow morning, I'll go look for a way!"

Xiao Yan also knew that if even his father was helpless, there was no point in staying here. So he simply followed Xiao Zhan's arrangements and returned to his small courtyard.

Early the next morning, Xiao Zhan left home, intending to find someone who could tell him what had happened to Xiao Yan.

As it happened, the Misty Cloud Sect had an outpost in Wutan City, guarded by a peak Dou Ling.

Under normal circumstances, none of the three great clans of Wutan City would come here. But now Xiao Zhan was desperate to find a solution for his son.

The moment he entered, Xiao Zhan found that there were not many people at the Misty Cloud Sect outpost in Wutan City. Only an old man sat calmly at a small table, sipping wine as though he had been waiting for Xiao Zhan to come.

However, Xiao Zhan did not dare underestimate this old man, because he could not see through the old man's strength.

"Are you the Elder stationed here by the Misty Cloud Sect, Senior?"

Xiao Zhan spoke first.

The old man ignored Xiao Zhan. He took a sip of wine, then looked at him with slightly clouded eyes.

"Yes, that would be this old man. What brings the Xiao Family Patriarch here?"

Hearing that, Xiao Zhan relaxed and began questioning the Elder stationed at the Misty Cloud Sect outpost.

"Senior, if a cultivator were to lose Dou Qi for no apparent reason despite having no abnormalities, and afterward be unable to cultivate Dou Qi no matter what, have you ever heard of such a condition?"

"I don't know. Never heard of it."

The outpost Elder had no interest in continuing to chat with Xiao Zhan.

He had come to Wutan City at Sect Master Yun Yun's instruction. His purpose was simple: if the Xiao Family Patriarch ever came seeking help, he was to tell Xiao Zhan to contact Ao Qing.

Naturally, Ao Qing would not reveal his identity so easily.

"This old man does not know what happened to the cultivator you speak of, nor can I help you. However, I do know a mysterious person who may be able to help you."

"Oh? Please tell me, Senior!"

"That mysterious person is an alchemist. You know how extraordinary alchemists can be. Perhaps that person can solve your problem."

Hearing this, Xiao Zhan grew impatient and hurriedly asked, "May I ask where that alchemist resides?"

"Fifty li west of Wutan City is where that mysterious person resides. You may go see for yourself."

Seeing the growing determination on Xiao Zhan's face, the outpost Elder knew his task was nearly complete. Tomorrow, he could leave Wutan City and return to the Misty Cloud Sect!

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