Previously, it housed his Mana Core in the center, the Death Core hovering around it. Then there was Nascent Energy and Devil Energy. It was like a house with several family members.
Then, the Death Core was shattered and the Death, Nascent and Devil Energy had formed the Energy Cloud.
Still with the lively Energy Cloud and the Devilish Energy he extracted from Rima, it shouldnât look so desolate and empty.
The Energy Cloud and the Devilish Energy were nowhere to be seen, and his Mana Core floated in the center. But it no longer looked pristine like before. Instead, it looked like an egg covered in countless cracks, on the verge of collapsing.
Also, there wasnât a trace of mana inside. All of it seemed to have seeped out from the cracks and disappeared.
One would wonder, the dantian was a close place, even if the Mana Core shattered, the mana shouldnât escape from it, at least not without a trace like this? After all, even if it seeped out of his dantian, it would enter his body first, then evaporate in the environment.
Dan had been taking care of him, closely monitoring him ever since Elder Milo brought him back from the Medical Hall. So, if that had happened, he would have noticed and he would have told him. He hadnât even mentioned it, however.
It clearly meant no mana
escaped
from his body.
Therefore, one might ask, how did it disappear and why werenât there any residual energies left of the Energy Cloud and the Devilish Energy? Even if those energies destroyed each other, there should be a trace of them left, no?
Well, Max knew what had happened after taking a look, and the answer to these questions was worseâhis dantian had suffered some damage, some minor but clear cracks had been forced on its boundary.
All the mana and remaining energy might have escaped from those cracks because strangely enough, even though he couldnât sense what was outside these cracks, he knew they didnât lead to his body but to some other space.
The realization made Max freeze.
He always thought, though very ethereal and mysterious, the Dantian was part of a human body even if some unfortunate people didnât have it.
But if it was a part of human body and was inside humans, there shouldnât be any empty, strange space outside it.
âJust whatâs going on? Is it the same for everyone else, or is it just me?â He thought, his brows tightly furrowed and an uneasy feeling taking hold of his heart.
âI have to consult Elder Milo and, if necessary, Grand Elder Rowan too.â he decided.
But before doing anything else...
"...I should first heal my injured stomach." Max sighed, gulping down some blood.
Soon, he ingested a few Tier Four healing medicine he had.
Ordinarily, lower tiered medicine werenât much effective on mages, but his physique had degraded so much that they were hundred percent effective and quickly began healing the injuries.
Seeing this, he didnât know whether he should feel sad or happy about it but he did heave a sigh of relief because whatever it was that had been making the medicine ineffective had indeed subsided.
A few hours later, all of his injuries had healed and he was once again sitting cross-legged, looking at the cracks in his dantian with his Bloodline Sense.
Healing a Dantian Injury was extremely difficult but Max already knew of a methodâNascent Energy could heal it. The only problem was... he didnât have a shred of it at the moment. He could regain it by having sex, but Rima...
He sighed.
A moment later, he shifted his attention to his Mana Core.
"Letâs recover it first." Taking a deep breath, he took a Mana Crystal in each hand and began absorbing the mana within them. Then, instead of sending it in his dantian, he began using it to recover his Bloodline Energy. While it wouldnât be as effective as Nascent Energy, it would be extremely helpful in healing his Mana Core.
A few hours later, he finished absorbing fifteen Mana Crystal and finally recovered his Bloodline Energy.
Sensing it carefully, his brows furrowed in confusion. His Bloodline Energy was... t
he same as before.
âIt wasnât the Lust Overlord Bloodline that helped create that Energy Cloud?â He thought and shifted his attention to the Devilâs Blood in his heart. Other than the Lust Overlord Bloodline, it was the only thing that could have done that. Of course, the Lust System could also do it, but it was already dormant.
âThere is no use thinking about it. Iâll find out the truth in due time.â With this thought, he stopped thinking and began directing the Bloodline Energy into his dantian, then into his Mana Core.
"Hmm?" As it seeped into it, Max saw traces of Devil Energy. However, it seemed somewhat different from the Devil Energy he had gotten in the Minor realm or from Rima. It was still destructive and violent, but it didnât feel... sinister and evil.
No bothering to why this was so, he quickly suppressed it with his Bloodline Energy and began extracting it from the Mana Core. Sadly, he was rapidly burning the Bloodline Energy to do this because it didnât have as much suppressive effect on it.
By the time he finished extracting the last trace of this Devil Energy, less than ten percent of his Bloodline Energy remained which he used to keep the traces of Devil Energyâwhich had merged and turned into a dark, shimmering liquidâcontained.
Soon, he realized, there was no need to contain it because unlike the ordinary Devil Energy, it didnât try to wreck havoc and instead floated in place.
âIs this the result of Energy Cloud refining Rimaâs Devilish Energy?â He thought while
staring
at it.
Gulp!
Suddenly, the sound of him gulping his saliva snapped him back to his senses. Then, to his astonishment, he realized that every cell of his body seemed to crave it.
Not only that, the Drop of Devil Blood in his heart also stirred and emanated signals of hunger.
His eyes lit up.