Chapter 380 - 280: Awakening (Part 2)

Leading them was a vigorous elder, none other than Li Kunsheng, the Cyan Dragon Sect Master.

"What happened?"

Li Kunsheng looked at Zhao Xuanqi, who was wreathed in Black Flame, and asked the Rotating Elder with a grave expression.

"I don’t know. It all happened so suddenly, without any warning."

The Elder shook his head, his face grim.

"What do we do? It’s been almost two years, and his condition has been stable the whole time. How could this suddenly happen? The situation in the Divine Land is already dire; we can’t afford for him to have another setback," someone beside Li Kunsheng said in a low voice.

Li Kunsheng fell silent for a moment, looking up at the ceiling of the Secret Land. Nine small, sun-like orbs hung there, radiating light.

The flesh and blood essence of the Three-legged Crow. Though its effects couldn’t compare to a Holy Seed, this kind of essence was still one of the most precious materials in the world. Merely by absorbing Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, it could release immense energy. And if one were to consume it...

Never mind an ordinary person; even the most powerful of masters would likely be unable to withstand it. But for a Divine General, it was a different story.

This was their final resort, a contingency plan for saving Zhao Xuanqi should his condition ever worsen.

"This time, I’ll go first. If I fail, you all will take my place," Li Kunsheng said calmly.

Those nine pieces of flesh were an arrangement left behind by a Holy Beast Divine General long ago, their power surpassing even that of the Nine Dragon Cave. In the past, top masters from the Cyan Dragon Sect had attempted to retrieve a portion to concoct a Secret Medicine and break through to the Divine General realm. The task had proven incredibly difficult, leaving them severely injured. Now, two years had passed. Although Li Kunsheng’s strength had grown in response to the world’s turmoil, he was still far from the true pinnacle of power. For him to retrieve the flesh... calling it a near-death mission would be an understatement.

"Sect Leader!"

The other Elders started to speak, but the words caught in their throats.

The village in the Cyan Dragon Sect Secret Land once housed over a dozen families—more than a hundred people. Now, all that remained were these dozen or so old men and a few young disciples who tended to their daily needs.

With the situation in the Divine Land worsening, how could the Cyan Dragon Sect sit idly by? Every disciple with any degree of competence had been sent out of the Secret Land, an exception to their rules, to join the resistance.

By all rights, they, the old masters, were powerful enough that they should have been on the front lines, fighting to secure a future for the Divine Land. The only reason they had been allowed to remain in the peace of the Secret Land was to act as a failsafe—to be ready to retrieve the flesh from the ceiling the moment Zhao Xuanqi’s condition deteriorated.

Now, that time had come.

Before the other Elders could say more, just as Li Kunsheng was about to make his move, a voice suddenly spoke.

"Don’t worry. I’m fine."

Hearing that voice, everyone present trembled. With expressions of utter disbelief, they whipped their heads around to find its source.

There, in the medicinal pool, Zhao Xuanqi—the man being consumed by Black Flame—had spoken. His body then began to move, emitting a terrifying symphony of cracking bones and snapping tendons. Before their astonished eyes, he slowly rose to his feet.

He was forcing the Black Flame out from deep within him. At long last, he could move again.

After rising, Zhao Xuanqi stretched his stiff limbs, unused for two years. He then turned his attention to the Black Flame still clinging to his skin, burning as tenaciously as ever.

"It’s time for this to end," he muttered to himself.

HUMMM!!

The Primordial Qi filling his body erupted outward. A silver light steadily forced the Black Flame back, gathering it into a single, condensed mass.

The silver light then took Form, coalescing into the lifelike head of a Qilin. Its great maw opened wide and snatched the condensed ball of Black Flame.

The Qilin’s head snapped shut.

SNAP!!

The condensed Black Flame, completely enveloped in silver light, twisted and struggled violently for a moment before it was utterly extinguished, vanishing without a trace.

The Primordial Qi around Zhao Xuanqi’s body receded, the silver light faded, and everything returned to normal.

He turned to Li Kunsheng and the others, slowly stepping out of the medicinal pool. "You’ve all worked hard these past two years," he said.

The Black Flame’s Possession had burned his body and suppressed his ability to move, but he had still been able to perceive the outside world to a degree. He had seen all that Li Kunsheng and the others had done for him these past two years.

’To be honest,’ he thought, ’without the help of these precious materials, it would have taken me at least another six months of normal cultivation to reach the Condensing Yuan realm.’

His words finally snapped the dazed members of the Cyan Dragon Sect out of their stupor.

"You... you... you’re... all right?!"

Even for someone as venerable as Li Kunsheng, his voice was laced with uncontrollable excitement and trembled slightly.

He knew what Zhao Xuanqi’s awakening signified.

The Divine General realm!!

For the current state of the Divine Land, for a populace on the brink of collapse, a Divine General was far, far more than just a shot in the arm!

"I am well. I’ve resolved all the latent issues and have reached a new realm," Zhao Xuanqi said calmly, but just as he was about to continue...

"Qi!!"

Just then, a cry echoed from the distance. A slender, familiar figure, her eyes brimming with tears, came running toward the medicinal pool.

"Sister."

A smile finally broke through the calm expression on Zhao Xuanqi’s face.

Ever since Zhao Xuanqi was grievously injured and fell into a coma, and with the situation in the Divine Land worsening, the National Salvation Association had arranged for Zhao Qin to enter the Cyan Dragon Sect Secret Land. This was for two reasons. First, her special status as Zhao Xuanqi’s sister made her a coveted target for many factions, so her safety had to be ensured. Second, they hoped her presence might stimulate Zhao Xuanqi’s will to live and help reverse his condition.