Chapter 378 - 279: Changes (3)

The Warlord faction led by Lin Quelan of the Phoenix Army surrendered to the allied forces of the Western Continent. All the urban areas they controlled fell. The Warlords’ remaining resistance forces were absorbed into the National Salvation Association, abandoning the cities entirely to go underground, roaming between the mountains and the countryside to continue their struggle.

The only good news was that by forcibly intervening and manipulating the war, the Bloodline Species had disrupted the natural course of events, finally stirring the great tide of Heaven and Earth.

An imperceptible power between Heaven and Earth surged, making cultivation much easier.

A Great Age had descended.

In these desperate times, the Divine Land’s strongest Martial Artists—Yang Xun, Xie Yunhe, Li Ping, Li Wanhong, and Wang Sea—all broke through the Restrictive Level, with some even pushing toward its peak.

The younger generation was also teeming with talent. The power of individuals like Zhao Yuan, Xiang Ji, Xie Yuan, Lu Yuanxiang, and Zhang Hongyun grew by leaps and bounds. The most exceptional among them even broke through to the Ghost God Realm, becoming the backbone of the resistance forces.

Yet even so, reversing the tide of the war remained incredibly difficult.

This time was different from the Ancient Times. The Bloodline Species had exploited humanity’s greed for power and profit. Most of its plans were actually carried out by humans themselves using the power of the Holy Seeds. Its actions couldn’t even be considered fanning the flames, so the disturbance to the great tide of Heaven and Earth was limited. Only recently, when it began using its bloodline connection to forcibly influence the consciousness of life under the Holy Seed System and violently steer the course of the war, did the great tide begin to fluctuate dramatically.

There was simply too little time for the people of the Divine Land to prepare.

Having returned, the Bloodline Species would not repeat the mistakes of the Ancient Times. This time, it intended to snuff out all threats in the shortest time possible and seize the world for itself.

...

...

「Meanwhile.」

Inside the Cyan Dragon Sect Secret Land.

In the center of the Secret Land’s village now stood a massive medicinal pool, five meters square.

The pool was filled to the brim with a viscous liquid, brewed from all sorts of precious Rare Beast Materials.

A profound Array was laid out around the pool. Tall, standing crystals refracted the light scattered from the flesh of the Three-legged Crow on the cavern ceiling, gathering it and the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi it contained, then focusing it all into the pool.

At this moment, Zhao Xuanqi’s body lay within the medicinal pool. He had shown no signs of activity for nearly two years, as if each day were the same as the last.

The difficulty of the Condensing Yuan Realm had surpassed his expectations.

Or perhaps it was that the Merit Li Zhenyuan had left behind in the Rebirth Jade was simply insufficient.

The Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi he had exchanged through Three Merits and Seven Gains lasted for nearly a year. He spent a full eight months of that time just to complete the Body Exchange, pushing the Primordial Qi in his body to its limit so he could begin the Condensing Yuan process.

The remaining four months were nowhere near enough time for him to complete his cultivation for the Condensing Yuan Realm.

But until he reached the Condensing Yuan Realm, he couldn’t fully suppress the Black Flame within his body. In a real battle, the flame’s influence would push his strength below even the Restrictive Level, leaving him with no power to change the situation.

Therefore, he had no choice but to resort to natural cultivation. But even with the vast quantities of materials being sent from the outside world, the efficiency was like the difference between clouds and mud compared to an infusion of Primordial Qi from Merit. His progress was incredibly slow.

Fortunately, over the past six months, he could feel the great tide of Heaven and Earth stirring. The imperceptible power within this world was constantly growing stronger, which greatly boosted his cultivation speed.

And now, his training was finally approaching its conclusion.

Inside Zhao Xuanqi’s body, the Black Flame blazed. Like steel refined a hundred times, his own Primordial Qi was slowly compressed under the constant heat, as if condensing from something illusory into solid substance.

It shone with a cold, solid silver light, as if it had been tempered into the hardest metal in the world.

BOOM!!

Finally, the Primordial Qi within his body broke through a certain threshold.