Tang Zhan shadow just kept swallowing up the excess life energy around, consistent eating them in big bites as sometimes Tang Zhan would feel a sudden drop in the atmosphere life energy until the abundant resource rushes back to fill in empty spaces.
His shadow was showing quantitative and qualitative changes, Tang Zhan could see it with his hare eyes that his shadow became even more black and darker. Some new additional attributes adding into it, increasingly it's capabilities and domineering display.
His energy was steadily increasingly rising, and before long it exceeded the twenty thousand mark, but it still did not end there as it kept accumulating over and over until it abruptly ceased.
Tang Zhan couldn't explain what or how the feeling felt, but if he was asked he would say in a simple way that he felt full.
Truly it didn't take a minute before his shadow released a energy blast, dark miasma escaping from his body as new set of black veins began to crawl up his legs but stopped as it got to his knee the it vanished without the knowledge of Tang.
The other thing that was also absorbing this life energy apart from his shadow was actually him, he himself didn't know, but numerous certain parts of his body were absorbing this life energy as they effectively used them for their immediately needs.
His feets absorbed the life energy, then his knees also absorbed the energy. His hand, elbow and shoulder as well as his neck also absorbed the life energy. His ribcage absorbed most of the energy as well as it was a bigger mass than the rest.
Then his heart naturally absorbed the energy, after that it was his teeth and fangs that absorbed the energy, strengthening themselves from the inside out. Afterwards his nose absorbed the energy followed by his ear, then his eyes also absorbed, both his normal eyes and his third eye absorbed the energy.
When the energy had gone into his normal eyes, they went directly into his pupils as lines of green could be seen crowding his sclera but they all then got absorbed into his pupils, and then the energy went up into his third eye.
Lines of green could also be seen crowding the the same, but the streaks of gold and purple within the eye all absorbed the green lines of life energy and then passed it through themselves until it entered the pupil where the energy was converted into a different substance that entered into the hourglass inscribed in the pupils.
All this happened instantaneously, but Tang Zhan was oblivious to all of this happenings as he was too choked by the life energy and was barely in his right mind so he didn't know about any changes he and his shadow had experienced.
This time Tang Zhan knew he was fucked. Standing here now for the floats few seconds was because he was choked by the life energy, nor was it because he was analyzing anything but rather because ever since he got here he just knew he was doomed.
This time as well he could feel eyes on him just like when he had first entered the enchanted forest but this was on a different scale.
Back then he felt numerous small eyes on him, but after arriving here he felt few eyes but a different type of sight capture him as he felt himself step into a dangerous radar and he doesn't know how or why but he had a feeling if he was to turn back and cross back the dangerous place to the other side where he can still see a wooden plank written on, then he was going to die without care or knowing why.
So he just accepted his forced condition as he followed the scent that was now thick enough to even point him in the location as he followed the imaginary life energy arrow that navigated him around.
Before long, he reached the mouth of a cave where he could even see the excessive life energy gather and form into wisps of energy.
Tang Zhan too a look back as he started around as he could still feel those others watching him.
'if it's this you want, then this is what I'll do and I won't be dying here today.' Tang Zhan challenged in his mind as he entered the gaping cave entrance.
The inside of the cave was quite unnatural, the floor was all messy and bumpy while the walls were riddled with scratch marks, huge scratch marks, almost as if someone used his bare hands to make the cave.
Tang Zhan stopped to take a breath in as his legs were beginning to shake from nervousness. After settling the breath in and out for five rounds, he sprinted down the cave.
As he sprinted it took him lesser time to reach the end of the cave where he could see light emanating from.
'light at the end of the tunnel uhn?' he finally got to the end of the cave as a wide space lau before him and a putrid smell mingled with air blew him back seven steps.
'damn, what sort of wind was that why is it so strong. Is there even meant to be a wind source in a cave' he wondered as he walked back to the entrance this time he was more prepared.
Finally be got to the edge and was then able to see what was in the huge space.
His eyes widened as his pupils shrank, in his mind he stumbled back in fear but his legs wouldn't even bulge. He immediately felt the need to have a release but he held in the urine, while his heart kept pounding.
His heart pounded to the extreme like it wanted to burst apart but a strange energy flowed in from his third eye, that immediately calmed his body and nerves totally.
'uhn! Strange, why am I so calm. Wasn't I just shaking in fear now, what happened...' his thinking was about to make him panic but he suddenly felt calm again.
The cycle kept repeating until he got used to the calmness and it became natural to him as he felt the need to try something.
"A dragon." He said as the dragon stared at him through it's slitted pupils.
"An injured dragon, hiding here in a cave and using a Kinkajou to heal itself.(giggle)" he taunted as he looked at the Kinkajou hat was bleeding it's life away on a rock nearby.
"You know dragons are meant to have one of the best regenerations as their healing factors are greater than others but here you are siphoning from another.
Are you trying to say he is better than you or what" Tang Zhan cranked up the taunting as he expected the dragon to get angry but no the dragon just kept looking at him soberly.
"Okay okay stop it already, what's wrong with you." Tang Zhan finally let out as he stopped his tainting, he was desperate to get down from the ledge but it was too far and his energy was too low to make him land safely.
"So you finally let out... I thought you were going to continue denying your family." The dragon finally said as it's emotionless eyes finally turned a happy one.
"Family? What do you mean family?"
"Aren't you a phoenix child, or did you run from home without learning any of our history?"
"Well, I don't even know my real parents that much except my new human parents" Tang Zhan didn't know why he was just opening up to the dragon but he truly felt like he was in the presence of his loved relative.
"No wonder your phoenix aura is weak, bit don't worry when you truly unlock the bloodline your blood will be purified back into its previous state." The dragon said as it extended it's tail to Tang Zhan as it saw him thinking of ways to get down.
"So how exactly are phoenixes and dragons family aren't they meant to be like different."
"Different is not used between us, we are brother and sister from the same parent, that's just it." Tang Zhan finally lands on the ground as he finds a small rock to sit on not bothering with the Kinkajou he actually came here for.
"What is the parent of dragon and phoenixes?"
"Parents of dragons and phoenixes, have you ever heard of primordials, and I don't mean those dormant primordials who are immobile, I meant the walking moving interactive primordials."
Tang Zhan shook his head as even though he actually knew about some primordials back on earth, like Gaia, of earth and those of sky and of prison and so on, but those ones are only immobile, "no I don't".
"Hmm, I didn't expect you to know actually..." The dragon adjusted itself a little as it took a better position that was more convenient and looked back at Tang Zhan.
"Come learn a little about the creation of the world."
...