32: Chapter 32 The Fallen Genius

Shen Yuanhe crouched down, pressed his palm onto the boy's shoulder, and probed with his Spiritual Qi to conduct a careful examination.

After a moment, he withdrew his hand and shook his head with a solemn expression: "The Meridians are fine, the Dantian is fine, and the circulation of Spiritual Qi is normal. Yet, the cultivation base is dropping, and it continues to drop."

"It continues to drop?" Shen Yuanshan's expression changed.

Shen Yuanhe said in a deep voice: "At this rate, in three months at most, his cultivation base will drop to the Body Refining Realm..."

Shen Yuanshan took a deep breath, suppressing the irritation in his heart, and looked at the boy: "Shen Chong, have you had any unusual feelings lately? For example, obstructed circulation of Spiritual Qi while Cultivating? Or is there anything strange about your Dantian?"

The boy raised his head, revealing a pale face.

His name is Shen Chong, and he is a disciple from a branch of the Shen Family.

He began Cultivating three years ago, and in just over a year, he advanced all the way from the Body Refining Realm, breaking through to the Meridian Opening Realm.

At that time, he was only fourteen.

This Cultivation speed was even faster than Wang Teng of the Wang Family.

The entire Shen Family was stirred up.

The Family Head, Patriarch Shen Tianze, personally inquired about him, the Third Elder Shen Yuanshan personally provided guidance, and all sorts of resources were allocated to him; everyone believed that the Shen Family had finally produced an incredible Genius.

At this rate of Cultivation, it was entirely possible for Shen Chong to break through to the Soul Fire Realm before the age of sixteen.

But no one expected—

One year ago, Shen Chong's cultivation base began to stagnate.

Everyone thought he had merely encountered a Bottleneck and would break through after Cultivating for a while longer.

But three months ago, his cultivation base began to regress.

From the seventh level of the Meridian Opening Realm, it dropped to the sixth, then to the fifth...

It fell rapidly, unable to be stopped.

By now, only the second level of the Qi Condensation Realm remained.

Shen Chong's lips trembled slightly, his voice hoarse: "Third Elder, I... I don't know what's going on either. I Cultivate every day, not daring to slack off for a single moment. But the Spiritual Qi is like... it's like it's being absorbed by something, and no matter what, I can't hold onto it."

"Absorbed?" Shen Yuanshan frowned, "What do you mean?"

Shen Chong shook his head, his eyes filled with confusion and helplessness: "I can't explain it clearly either. It's just that every time I Cultivate, the Spiritual Qi I work so hard to condense dissipates after a short while. It seems... it seems like my body is a sieve, and I just can't hold onto the Spiritual Qi."

Shen Yuanshan and Shen Yuanhe exchanged a glance, and both saw solemnity in each other's eyes.

They had never seen such a situation before.

"Old Six, what do you think?" Shen Yuanshan asked.

Shen Yuanhe pondered for a moment and said slowly: "There are two possibilities. One is that there is a problem with the Cultivation Technique the child is Cultivating, causing the Spiritual Qi to be unable to condense. The other..."

He paused, his expression becoming even more solemn: "The other is that there is something on him that is devouring his Spiritual Qi."

Shen Yuanshan's pupils constricted slightly.

Devouring Spiritual Qi?

If that were true, the problem would be serious.

"That shouldn't be?" Shen Yuanshan's brows were tightly locked, "With our cultivation base, if there were something taking the Spiritual Qi within him, how could we not have discovered it?"

Shen Chong was Cultivating the Shen Family's Cultivation Technique; there couldn't be a problem with that. But if there were something devouring the Spiritual Qi in Shen Chong's body, that didn't make sense either.

They were, after all, Cultivators at the Primal Chaos Realm; if there really were something devouring the Spiritual Qi inside Shen Chong, could it really evade their detection?

Shen Yuanhe said in a deep voice: "There are countless techniques in the world, not all of which we can foresee. Let's use that secret technique!"

"Alright!" Shen Yuanshan nodded slightly.

Shen Yuanhe took out an ancient Jade Slip from his bosom. The Jade Slip was dark yellow all over, its surface covered in fine cracks, looking very old, as if it would crumble into powder at the slightest touch.

This was a secret technique he had accidentally obtained from a ruin half a year ago—the "Dongyou Cheming Technique".

This secret technique had no offensive power and no defensive effect; it had only one purpose: to transform the Cultivator's Divine Thought into thin, wispy threads that penetrate the target's body, probing inch by inch, not letting any corner escape.

Even hidden ailments in the deepest parts of the bone marrow or curses entrenched in the lowest levels of the Divine Soul could not hide before this secret technique.

The only drawback was that it consumed a massive amount of energy; even with a Primal Chaos Realm cultivation base, using it once would leave one weakened for half a month.

Shen Yuanhe held the Jade Slip and looked at Shen Chong, saying in a deep voice: "Child, don't be afraid. Third Grandfather will help you see what exactly is going on."

Shen Chong nodded, a glimmer of hope appearing on his pale face.

Over the past year, his cultivation base had continuously dropped, and he had gone from being the pride of the Family to a laughingstock for others.

Fellow disciples who once greeted him with smiles now took a detour when they saw him, for fear of being infected by his "strange illness."

The Elders who once placed high hopes on him, although they didn't say anything, he could see the disappointment and regret in their eyes clearly.

He didn't want this.

He wanted to Cultivate, he wanted to become stronger!

"Sit down and relax your mind." Shen Yuanhe walked behind him and pressed his palm onto the top of his head.

Shen Yuanshan sat cross-legged opposite Shen Chong, formed seals with both hands, and a faint light surged from his palms, enveloping the three of them.

Shen Yuanhe took a deep breath, the Spiritual Qi within his body surging wildly, and his Divine Thought poured out like a tide. Following the method recorded in the Jade Slip, it transformed into thousands of thin threads that penetrated from Shen Chong's crown.

The thin threads slowly traveled down along the Meridians, passed through his chest, crossed his Dantian, and probed inch by inch.

Every Meridian, every Acupoint, every piece of flesh and blood was combed through carefully.

A layer of fine sweat seeped out on Shen Yuanhe's forehead, and his complexion gradually became pale.

The consumption of this secret technique was even greater than he had imagined.

But he dared not slack off in the slightest, gritting his teeth and persisting.

Time passed bit by bit.

Half a stick of incense.

A stick of incense.

Two sticks of incense.

Shen Yuanshan's brows furrowed tighter and tighter.

He could feel that Shen Yuanhe's Divine Thought had already swept back and forth through Shen Chong's body three times, yet nothing had been found.

The Meridians were intact, the Dantian was intact, and the circulation of Spiritual Qi was normal.

Yet Shen Chong's cultivation base was just continuously dropping.

"Old Six, how is it?" Shen Yuanshan couldn't help but ask.

Shen Yuanhe did not answer, his expression becoming increasingly solemn.

He gritted his teeth and increased the output of his Divine Thought again; the thin threads became even denser, almost turning every inch of Shen Chong's flesh and blood upside down.

However—

Still, nothing had been found.

Shen Yuanhe's face was already as white as gold paper, and the sweat on his forehead slid down his cheeks, dripping onto the ground and making a faint sound.

"It's no use." He finally withdrew his Divine Thought and opened his eyes, his eyes filled with exhaustion and frustration, "I can't find anything."