Jinling City.
The guards of the Hidden Group had already launched a large-scale search.
Ye Cangtian was not idle either, he went to the home of a patient nearby.
There were three people in the patient's home, all exhibiting different symptoms.
First was Wu Da, the strongest, whose cultivation was at the early Earth level, making him a master in Jinling City.
His symptoms were milder, currently only having lost his sense of taste.
Next was his wife, Xiu Lian, whose cultivation was around the Profound level. Her symptoms were more severe, with both taste and smell completely gone.
The last, and most severely affected, was their child, Xiao Zhuang.
Just a six or seven-year-old ordinary child who had only begun practicing some martial arts. He had not only lost his sense of taste and smell, but his hearing and sight were also largely gone.
Ye Cangtian listened to the explanation from the Hidden Group's physician while watching Xiu Lian feed medicine to Xiao Zhuang, his fists clenched tightly.
"By the way, what medicine did you prescribe for them?"
Ye Cangtian asked after a moment of silence.
The physician quickly replied, "Subordinate does not know the cause of their illness, so I only prescribed some basic herbal medicine targeting their symptoms, hoping to alleviate them."
The physician stated that these herbs were very gentle and would not harm their bodies even if they weren't effective.
Hearing this, Ye Cangtian frowned. It had been a day and a night, and these physicians still hadn't figured anything out, making him deeply miss Yao Bao'er.
If Yao Bao'er were here, she might have already found a solution.
With this thought in mind, Ye Cangtian stepped forward, his Heavenly Eye on his forehead activated, and a trace of spiritual power shot into Xiao Zhuang's body.
He had previously judged that these symptoms were likely related to spiritual power.
Therefore, Ye Cangtian was currently examining the other party through his spiritual power to see if he could find anything and thus devise a treatment method.
"Hmm?"
As his spiritual power entered Xiao Zhuang's body, Ye Cangtian froze.
A child's spiritual power was naturally weak, and Xiao Zhuang's own spiritual power was currently extremely depleted.
Logically, Xiao Zhuang had also started practicing martial arts, so his spiritual power should be stronger than ordinary children of the same age.
However, Xiao Zhuang's spiritual power was severely depleted, as if it had been forcibly extracted by something.
It was precisely because of this depletion of spiritual power that it affected his other senses. If this continued, it would only be a matter of time before Xiao Zhuang lost his five senses.
Thinking of this, Ye Cangtian's hatred for the culprit grew even stronger. To not spare such a young child was truly inhumane!
With that thought, Ye Cangtian used the Spirit Control technique to try and infuse a trace of spiritual power into Xiao Zhuang.
The Spirit Control technique he practiced not only possessed offensive capabilities but also some means of nurturing the soul and nourishing spiritual power.
With the infusion of this trace of spiritual power, Xiao Zhuang showed an immediate improvement.
In just an instant, Xiao Zhuang's eyes regained their vitality, and he became spirited as if he had never been sick.
It should be noted that although it was only a trace of spiritual power, for Xiao Zhuang, it was no different from a vast ocean.
If Ye Cangtian hadn't controlled it carefully, it might have even broken through Xiao Zhuang's sea of consciousness.
"Mom, Dad, I'm better, I'm fine..."
After waking up, Xiao Zhuang immediately rushed into Wu Da and Xiu Lian's embrace, and the couple's tears began to flow.
Without a word, they brought Xiao Zhuang and knelt before Ye Cangtian.
"Thank you, Lord Ye, for saving our child..."
Ye Cangtian quickly helped the three of them up and then said gravely, "This is what I should do, but this is only temporary..."
The more Ye Cangtian spoke, the more serious his expression became.
Through the series of actions he had just performed, he discovered that even though Xiao Zhuang now had sufficient spiritual power, this spiritual power was still being slowly siphoned away.
This meant that if the opponent's methods were not destroyed, Xiao Zhuang would eventually lose his five senses.
Not only Xiao Zhuang, but all the patients in the city were the same.
With this in mind, Ye Cangtian said to Wu Da and his wife, "You don't need to worry too much. The Hidden Group is investigating this matter with all their might. I believe they will resolve it completely before long."
"We believe in Lord Ye, and we also believe in the Hidden Group..." Wu Da quickly replied.
Ye Cangtian nodded, then told them to rest well before leaving the Wu family.
...
In the forests outside Jinling City.
Hun Jiu looked at the patterns of the formation under his feet, a look of excitement on his face.
The spiritual power of the entire city was slowly gathering into the formation.
If he could refine this spiritual power and make it his own, he might be able to break through to the Earth level of spiritual power.
If that were the case, even Earth-level powerhouses would have to prostrate before him.
Rustle, rustle...
As Hun Jiu was lost in thought, a rustling sound was heard, and in an instant, a black figure appeared among the bushes.
"My lord, we just received news that the guards of Jinling City have already taken action!"
"The city has been thoroughly searched. I expect that it won't be long before these guards come out of the city to search, and they will likely find us soon..."
Listening to his subordinate's report, Hun Jiu showed a fierce smile and said, "It's fine. By the time they arrive, it will be too late. The spiritual power has already been absorbed to a considerable extent..."
For Hun Jiu, although the Pavilion Master had agreed to their use of forbidden techniques, they also had to know their limits.
If they were to truly drain the spiritual power of all the citizens of Jinling City and cause widespread casualties, then they would be no different from evil forces.
At that time, they would surely be purged by the entire ruins.
Therefore, he absolutely could not kill them all.
Besides, if he killed them all, how would he negotiate with Ye Cangtian?
With that thought, Hun Jiu spoke again, "Any other news?"
The subordinate fell silent for a moment, as if recalling something, and quickly said, "Right, Yi Feipeng and Ye Zhenghao have also joined the search..."
Blazing Fire Courtyard and Swift Wind Tower?
Hearing the news of these two, Hun Jiu's expression immediately darkened. These two were quite troublesome.
If not handled carefully, it could offend the forces behind them, and if they joined forces to deal with the Flying Cloud Pavilion, it would be troublesome.
With this thought, Hun Jiu said, "Ye Zhenghao and Yi Feipeng absolutely cannot be provoked. If you see them, just go around them, otherwise, if you die, don't blame me..."
"Yes!"
The man in black nodded, and seeing that Hun Jiu had no other instructions, he slowly retreated.
...
Dusk, Jinling City Hidden Group.
After visiting several patients and getting a general understanding of their condition, Ye Cangtian joined the search party.
However, after a day of searching, nothing was found. As agreed, he returned to the Hidden Group to exchange information with others.
When he returned to the Hidden Group, only Yuwen Sheng was in the hall, with a large map of Jinling City laid out before him.
Seeing this, Ye Cangtian walked over and glanced at the map.
The map was densely covered with small dots, which were the locations of the patients. Yuwen Sheng had ordered people to record them, hoping to find some clues.
However, the small dots on the map were too dense, making it difficult to discern anything at first glance.
The next moment, Ye Cangtian looked at Yuwen Sheng and asked, "Are there any clues today?"
Yuwen Sheng shook his head and said, "The entire Jinling City has been searched, and there are no suspicious points. I have already ordered the guards to expand the search outside the city..."
Ye Cangtian nodded, understanding the situation, as even he hadn't found any clues.
With that thought, he looked back at the map on the table, and at that moment, as if he had seen something, he began to draw on the map.
These nine circles were where the patients were most concentrated.
Upon seeing the circles Ye Cangtian had marked, Yuwen Sheng suddenly froze. One of these nine circles was in the center, corresponding precisely to the center of Jinling City.
The other eight circles were relatively evenly distributed around it.
However, Ye Cangtian was not finished. He connected these circles with lines, and in an instant, the circles on the map seemed to form a Bagua diagram.
Each circle represented a focal point.
Heh.
Only then did Ye Cangtian show a faint smile and say, "The other party should be using some extension formation based on the Taiji formation. These eight circles should be the directions of the formation bases..."
Upon hearing this, Yuwen Sheng immediately said, "I will notify the guards now and have them check each one..."