Chapter 208: Earth Fiend

A few days later, in the small courtyard.

Zuo Zhicheng slowly stood up from the wheelchair. As he took a step, his body felt distinctly different.

‘I can… feel the earth rotating.’

An unprecedented sensation washed over him. Zuo Zhicheng’s step felt like stepping on water. As his foot landed, countless invisible ripples spread out in all directions from his sole, then returned with numerous pieces of information.

Even with his brain and comprehension ability, it was difficult to understand what these sensations meant. But following the method from the Daoist Canon, he could gradually control the power coming from beneath his feet.

Countless fluctuations shifted around him. As these changes grew stronger, a rising force seemed to appear. He felt his body become significantly lighter in an instant.

‘Has gravity changed?’

Zuo Zhicheng could clearly feel that the gravity around him had decreased. It was as if something around his body was undergoing intense changes. With these changes, an upward force seemed to emerge, trying to lift him up.

However, this force wasn’t strong enough to overcome his gravity. It only reduced his weight, making him feel like he was in a low-gravity environment.

Zuo Zhicheng made a light jump and felt as if he were floating. Taking a step, his figure flashed and he appeared on top of the wall.

‘My sprinting speed is thirty percent faster than before.’ Zuo Zhicheng reached out his hand toward the bricks and tiles in front of him. With the gravity change, the tiles remained completely still – their gravity hadn’t changed at all.

‘Just as described in the Daoist Canon, it only works on myself. And the initial strength is limited.’ The only thing Zuo Zhicheng didn’t understand was how Earth Fiend managed to change gravity. He tested it and found that besides gravity, he couldn’t alter gravitational force.

It felt like he had established a very close connection with the earth beneath his feet, allowing him to slightly change the amount of gravity he experienced.

Although he didn’t understand the principle, it didn’t prevent Zuo Zhicheng from using it. With the reduced gravity, Zuo Zhicheng felt as light as a swallow.

A white shadow flashed across the courtyard, accompanied by the howling of Astral Wind. He moved around the courtyard like a ghostly figure.

At first, these flashes were straightforward – moving in straight lines and sharp turns, like white lines drawing straight and broken lines on canvas. But as Zuo Zhicheng grew more accustomed to this low-gravity state, his movements became increasingly bizarre. The straight lines turned into various curves.

Fierce winds swept through the courtyard, making the plants and trees rustle loudly. Zuo Zhicheng seemed to teleport – one moment he appeared on the rockery, the next he was at the doorstep, and in the blink of an eye, he was back in the center of the courtyard.

‘According to the Daoist Canon’s description, Earth Fiend’s Primordial Magnetic Force can be activated without consumption. This matches gravity’s nature as a long-range force. Gravitational force between objects shouldn’t require energy expenditure. But being able to change my gravity like this without needing energy is truly…’

‘Unbelievable.’ Zuo Zhicheng tried turning off Earth Fiend and immediately felt his body become heavy, as if wearing thick armor. Even moving seemed difficult.

Although he knew this was just an illusion, Zuo Zhicheng still felt very uncomfortable. So he immediately activated Earth Fiend again. With its activation, that light-as-a-swallow feeling returned.

Zuo Zhicheng decided to keep Earth Fiend activated all the time from now on. This would not only reduce the burden on his body, making his organs stronger, but also help him get used to this sensation, preventing mistakes during battles.

Another reason was according to the Daoist Canon’s description, as the activation time lengthened, Earth Fiend could offset more gravity, eventually even allowing him to float completely.

Of course, by that time, the degree of gravity offset could be controlled.

Earth Fiend was a strange Life Grove. Besides reducing one’s own gravity without consumption, it basically had no other uses. But if the host already possessed powerful Martial Arts or combined it with other Life Groves, this Life Grove could obviously unleash tremendous power.

Zuo Zhicheng practiced his footwork in the courtyard again when his ears twitched slightly. He stopped and stood in his original position before the wheelchair.

Several dozen seconds later, knocking sounds came from the door. Zuo Zhicheng said, “Come in. What is it?”

The person who opened the door and entered was Lin Yuexi. She had an agreement with Zuo Zhicheng that only she could enter daily, so no matter what happened, she would come in to talk with Zuo Zhicheng.

“It’s Liu Manwen from General Liu’s family. She says she’s an old acquaintance and wants to catch up with you.”

Zuo Zhicheng remembered – she was the woman with Li Xunyi. This woman seemed to live in Haijing too. He didn’t know what she had heard about his recent rumors or what she was thinking, but she actually came to find him.

Shaking his head, Zuo Zhicheng said casually, “I won’t see her. Tell her to leave.” Noticing Lin Yuexi hadn’t left and looked hesitant, Zuo Zhicheng asked, “Is there something else?”

“Well… it’s like this…”

Before Lin Yuexi could finish speaking, a white shadow flashed and shot out from behind her. Like white lightning, it struck toward Zuo Zhicheng’s body.

Accompanying the flashing figure was a powerful shout: “Let’s spar!”

The figure moved with incredible speed and strength, almost creating a vacuum-like corridor in the air it passed through. Lin Yuexi, who stood in its path, nearly felt suffocated because the oxygen suddenly became thin.

Zuo Zhicheng, the white shadow’s target, felt tremendous pressure. The distorted wind pressure tightened the flesh on his cheeks. His eyes fixed intently on the white shadow charging toward him, his gaze extremely serious.

‘Is that a foot?’

Even with Zuo Zhicheng’s eyesight, he could only vaguely see that the attacking figure was a foot wrapped in fierce winds. The muscles, tendons, and bones in the leg vibrated rapidly at high speed, seemingly exploding the air, with whirlwinds constantly swirling around.

Facing this lightning-fast figure, Zuo Zhicheng gave his response. He stepped forward, reached out, and clenched his fist. The muscles throughout his body rose and fell, undulating. Confronting the white shadow’s mountain-like, sea-like, hurricane-sweeping kick, he didn’t dodge or retreat. With one foot stomping the ground, his fist shot out like an angry dragon, carrying extremely fierce power, crashing hard toward the incoming foot.