Rargh!
Ji Min snarled as he could barely speak through his weak tongue and vocal cord.
He was feeling aggressively starved, and it was like the hunger was giving him what he called 'Kamikaze-power' simply because the power felt borrowed, and would only sustain him until he found something to eat fast, or die.
Ji Min looked around and realized that there was no one around whom he could ask for something to eat; but then, his eyes landed on the many trees in the garden and he instantly began to drool.
Boom!
Ji Min left a spider web of cracks behind as he bolted towards the nearest tree which was about ten meters away from him; reaching it in an instant.
The tree had three tear-shaped fruits on it that were purple-green around the size of an adult's fist, and in the blink of an eye, Ji Min had already plucked the first.
He wolfed down the fruit in three seconds before charging towards the next one as his cells once again took charge of spreading the vast amounts of energy within it.
Traa!
The leave on the branch of the tree trashed around as Ji Min disappeared into its dense foliage.
Chomp! Chomp!
Just two voracious bites and the fruit was gone as Ji Min approached the third; it was as if he was being possessed as he flashed from one tree to the other, grabbing any edible thing he found on it before wolfing them down in seconds.
"Lord Lao, if this goes on, he might make us suffer a huge loss." Little Ming turned to Old Lao, speaking in a concerned tone.
"The loss of a few fruits can't compare to the observations I'm making. Moreover, I don't mind if you can go and stop him; but you must know that he is currently the strongest person within this domain." Old Lao replied with his gaze still fixed on Ji Min who had landed on the fifth tree.
Ji Min continued to devour as much fruit as he could, and gradually his violent emotions began to calm down.
About an hour later, Old Lao and the twins watched Ji Min dash towards the lake and jumped into it, and he didn't surface until about half an hour later.
He then headed towards the gazebo and began to fumble around with the formation as if he was searching for a very precious treasure the size of a speck of dust.
"Oh? So you need energy unh."
Old Lao muttered before jumping into the air, and before he could even descend, a sword appeared out of thin air, right beneath his feet before bolting towards the gazebo.
Old Lao had barely left the verandah of the mansion when Ji Min suddenly turned in his direction.
"What sharp senses." Old Lao appraised as he slowed down his approach.
Then the moment he landed within the gazebo, he quickly activated the formation with every ounce of Qi within his body.
~Hum!~
The formation came to life and in less than ten seconds wind began to gather around the area once again as thick potent QI began to gather and pour into Ji Min's body.
Ji Min had barely absorbed the Qi for a minute when he suddenly collapsed, but his starved cells continued to devour the Qi like a vampire who was having its first meal after two millennia of starvation.
Old Lao stood there observing Ji Min as he saw color gradually begin to appear on his purple-black skin.
Ten hours later, Ji Min felt something warm caress his face, causing him to flinch slightly before opening his eyes.
~Argh!~
He yelled grabbing his head.
He felt like a thousand bulls were stampeding through his brain; his eyes stung, his skin itched, his muscles ached and his joints felt like they would shatter if he made too many unnecessary movements.
"Just lie down and try to rest." Old Lao's voice floated into Ji Min's ears as he returned to his resting position.
[What happened?]
[Young Lord, I think you should heed Old Lao's words for now; there is more than enough time for me to explain everything to you; but first, you must rest.] Sensei advised before going silent.
Ji Min could sense that Sensei wouldn't tell him anything until he rested, thus, he rolled out of the gazebo and fell into the lake, allowing the depths of the water to keep him afloat.
Two hours later, Ji Min finally felt his pains reduce by a significant margin.
[So, what happened?]
[How much do you remember?] Sensei replied to Ji Min's question with a question of his.
[I can't remember anything after the Tranquil Poison began to regenerate my flesh.] Ji Min answered with a sigh.
[Let's just say, you would have died if Old Lao hadn't intervened.] Sensei answered with a relieved sigh.
[Unh? What do you mean; what happened?] Ji Min was scared shitless when he heard he had almost died.
Sensei then began to recount everything that happened to him without leaving out a single detail.
[The Tranquil Poison proved to be too much for you to handle; it destroyed over 90 percent of all the cells in your body leaving you bereft of any form of energy whilst bringing you to the brink of death.
However, the surviving cells in your body managed to evolve and began to seek any source of energy they could find.
Then the moment Old Lao's Qi came in contact with those surviving cells, they began to share the energy across every other surviving cell left in your body, giving your body the right amount of energy it needed to move around in search of other sources of energy.] Sensei began to explain.
[During this period, there wasn't a single pint of blood in your body and it was the Tranquil Poison that flowed through your veins and hearts to keep you alive long enough.
Then after devouring Old Lao's fruits, your marrows finally managed to receive enough energy to begin manufacturing a new batch of blood cells which gradually replaced the Tranquil Poison flowing within your veins.
Then the moment you had enough blood to sustain yourself, the Tranquil Poison receded and that was all I managed to theorize from the entire situation.] Sensei revealed as Ji Min went deep in thought.
[You said the Tranquil Poison receded; where is it now?] Ji Min asked;
[It is currently lying dormant within your heart.]
[What? Am I going to die?!] Ji Min asked in a panic.