Damned Healer-Chapter 738: Hidden In Plain Sight

All the disciples stood in line in front of the lake. The dragon's roar made Pyreus turn pale. The bodies of all the disciples present trembled intensely, and even Darian's ears began to ring.

In the sky, an enormous bluish silhouette was rapidly approaching. It was a gigantic Azure Dragon. Its body was hundreds of meters long. Its entire body was covered in scales that resembled azure crystals; the massive dragon raised its head proudly, radiating two aurora-like lights from its eyes.

"The great Sacred Dragon…" Pyreus murmured.

Pure Dragon races were the rulers of all Beasts across the universes, and the pressure of a dragon was enough to shake heaven and earth. These races only appeared in extremely high-level universes. Although everyone in the sect was aware of their existence, standing under the power of a massive dragon made the faces of everyone, even the most prominent figures, turn serious.

'That's my brother's wife.' Suddenly, Chrysos' voice sounded in Darian's mind.

Moments later, the two stopped above the lake, floating over everyone. The dragon pulsed, activating its metamorphosis. In seconds, it turned into a complete human woman, but she was so beautiful that everyone inhaled sharply.

Darian focused on the Sect Leader. He was a bit older than Chrysos but resembled his brother quite a lot, being broader and more muscular. His eyes, however, emitted an intense and oppressive golden light. It was the absurdly pure Golden Crow bloodline, combined with his completely opposite personality.

But… seeing the Dragoness at his side, Darian couldn't help but feel some empathy for the Sect Leader. Dragons were naturally proud, oppressive, and difficult to deal with in every sense. Naturally, only dragons could handle one another.

Yet the Sect Leader had managed to win her over, meaning he was someone confident, honest, and above all, strong enough to suppress her. As for Darian… he felt a tightness in his chest, and an indescribable longing as he remembered Niara.

His wife was exactly the same, and that Dragoness carried an aura subtly similar to hers.

Darian clenched his fists tightly, calming himself. He had to focus and climb to the top of this cultivation as fast as possible.

"We welcome the Sect Leader!!"

All the big figures present lowered their heads deeply and spoke in unison.

Darian took a deep breath and silently sensed the leader's aura.

He was in the seventh and final realm of Celestial Cultivation, the Celestial Master Realm. Darian immediately felt that even without activating the power of his primordial bloodline, the man was already as powerful as the strongest Spiritual Sovereigns.

He wasn't even immortal yet, nor at the final level of this realm, but he was already absurdly strong. Once he fully activated his bloodline and peak power… he could kill a Spiritual Sovereign with a single move.

The Grand Palace Supervisor, Ruan, stepped forward.

With his head raised, he said solemnly, "Reporting to the Sect Leader: all disciples have arrived and are ready. We await your orders!"

"Very good." The leader replied, his voice carrying supreme celestial power.

"Everyone must make the most of what is the greatest treasure of the Golden Crow Sect. As you all know, the Celestial Tournament will take place soon. And the rewards this time will favor all humanoids. But… it's even better than that…"

"What few people know is that the Great Sacred Demoness resurfaced in our universe a few thousand years ago. That legendary figure is the one who will reward the winner of the Sacred Tournament. As everyone knows, that figure also has pure Chromaraic blood in her veins. She herself declared that she wishes to benefit a humanoid, but if another race wins, she may still give some assistance."

Everyone's eyes immediately widened, becoming stunned by those words.

Darian narrowed his eyes, confused. Then Chrysos' voice sounded in his ears.

'The Great Sacred Demoness is a legendary figure who appeared in the universe ten generations ago. That figure is an incomparable anomaly who suppressed the entire universe with her power while cultivating; she was precisely the last to appear, which is why she's the most well-known and documented. But… she suddenly disappeared long ago, and everyone assumed she might have died or gone to another universe…'

Darian nodded indifferently. An anomaly? Then she was the child of some ally of his father and mother who came to train just like him. A Demoness with Chromaraic blood… she could be the daughter of many people he knew, whether distant or relatively close.

The Sect Leader continued. "This is a great opportunity, and the winner will ascend to the top of the universe easily. All sects are giving everything they have to nurture their disciples. But the amount of benefits you will receive from being able to enter the Golden Celestial Lake today will depend on your own fortune. Ruan, make the necessary arrangements for them to enter."

"Yes!" the Grand Palace Supervisor replied in a deep voice.

Then he turned and said solemnly, "The Sect Leader has granted you all an enormous grace by allowing you to enter the Golden Celestial Lake. This is unprecedented fortune! The lake's divine power will allow all of you to be reborn and will be extremely beneficial for cultivating fire techniques in the future."

He waved his hand.

All the Palace Masters understood. Then they began advancing with the disciples, entering the lake.

Everyone floated on the surface, and no one dared to sink into it. That was because the purest power floated upward, making it more beneficial than going inside. Besides, the danger within was immense and not worth the risk.

The closer they moved to the center, the purer and more powerful the fire energy became.

Chrysos led Darian and Pyreus right behind the others but stopped at the lake's edge.

He turned and looked at the two of them. One was using all the energy in his body, but still felt his body was close to the limit. The other, however, looked calm, as if nothing had happened.

"Your cultivation levels are too low, so forcing your way into the lake would do more harm than good. You two should stay here. The fire energy here will also bring great benefits to your cultivation."

"Yes, Master."

Pyreus spoke without any objection. He was fully aware of his own abilities and knew he wasn't strong enough to go further. Being able to absorb the energy of this place, which contained extremely high-level firepower, was already a fortune he wouldn't even dare dream of.

He sat down silently. After quickly inhaling, he closed his eyes, not daring to waste a single second there.

After a moment of hesitation, Darian finally said, "Palace Master, I want to try…"

"Remember what you promised me before." Chrysos seemed to already know what he was going to say and directly interrupted him with a solemn expression. "You said you would do everything I ordered and would not do anything I didn't want."

Darian snorted. "Yes."

As soon as he sat beside Pyreus, Chrysos' voice sounded in his mind.

'You're able to cultivate so fast and possess an incomparable hidden strength... I know the energy here doesn't seem sufficient, and even though your cultivation is weak, the fire element doesn't seem capable of harming you. However, if you do everything in front of everyone, it will certainly cause a huge uproar. That definitely won't bring you any benefits. Everyone in the sect will understand that you're special...'

Darian fell silent and nodded.

'My brother and I owe you a favor, so maybe he'll choose a day to let you come here alone. So, please accept this for now.'

Darian sighed. He had said before, when he healed him, that he only wanted to enter the sect and that his debt would be repaid. But he had always known that he and his brother would help him a bit. That wasn't bad; in fact, doing everything from the shadows, if possible, was an easier path.

He quickly calmed down and closed his eyes. He no longer cared about what surrounded him, focusing his senses on the pure, hot energy of that area, drawing it toward himself.

Continuous waves emanated from the Golden Celestial Lake, and the dancing Fire Elementals scattered into the distance, seized by shock.

All the disciples were now at the center of the lake. A hot and terrifying energy made them feel like they were in a prison of fire. The pain was unbearable, but their hearts were so euphoric they almost exploded. If they didn't focus their attention on defense, they felt they would turn to ashes immediately.

But even though they had just entered, they could already feel the extremely distinct changes happening in their bodies and meridians. Although it was difficult, they were extremely happy. In their joy, they willingly endured the pain and the oppressive sense of danger.

At that moment, the Grand Palace Supervisor raised his head and said, "Sect Leader, about the disciple…"

As soon as those words were spoken, most of the disciples instantly opened their eyes and looked toward Herion and Lazaro.

"The matter of selecting my disciple doesn't need so many trials. I prefer something simple and clear for everyone."

His voice made everyone swallow nervously, anxious.

"You all have six hours. Whoever attracts the most Fire Elementals from the lake by the end of that time will become my next disciple."

After a brief moment of shock, everyone reacted immediately.

The Grand Palace Supervisor spoke loudly, "Everyone, begin now!"

Everyone's goal was to use their aura and fire affinity to communicate with the elementals, thus drawing them closer. But even for a cultivator specialized in the fire element, simply not being rejected by these Elementals was already extremely difficult, let alone communicating with them.

Consequently, although this "test" seemed extremely simple, it was a complete test of constitution, innate talent, elemental comprehension, and self-control.

The greater the body's affinity with fire-type powers and the deeper the understanding of the element, the higher the chances of not being rejected. This could be fast or take a very long time for each of them; therefore, it was a race against time.

Whenever the Sect Leader chose a direct disciple, he never cared about their cultivation level at that moment. That was because the cultivation level at a given moment was only that—at that moment.

With resources and more bloodline, cultivation could explode, so it was irrelevant. But the power a person would have in the end was determined by their mastery over fire.

That was why Herion and Lazaro were publicly recognized as the two most qualified people to become the Sect Leader's disciples, despite being average in cultivation compared to the rest. The difference was that their level of elemental control was far superior to everyone else.

Herion was already enveloped in an intense red light. After a few breaths, he had already channeled his powers to the maximum.

On the other side, Lazaro had his eyes closed; his calm expression also radiated an intense and brilliant aura. Just one kilometer in front of him, an Elemental that was about to fly away suddenly slowed down.

Then it gradually stopped and, after a long moment of silence, slowly flew toward Lazaro with some hesitation.

Obviously, it wasn't just those two attracting the Elementals. Nearly all the disciples were trying their best, even knowing their chances were uncertain. But if they could become the Sect Leader's disciple, it would be like reaching heaven in a single step. Even if their chances were small, they still wanted to give their all.

At the edge of the lake, Darian's consciousness had completely sunk inward. He heard all the instructions and just snorted indifferently. Soon, he became completely oblivious to everything happening in the outside world.

Energy flowed into his body dozens of times faster than it did into Pyreus beside him. Under the extremely pure and clean fire energy, which contained a great deal of celestial power, this was a huge chance for him to level up several times.

But…

For some reason, that Dragoness in the sky felt that something was wrong.

The Sect Leader beside her noticed the shift in her gaze. She was watching the lake, searching for something, yet unsure of its source.

'What exactly are you looking for?'

The question echoed in her mind. She took a deep breath, struggling to explain something she didn't fully understand herself.

With a snort, she replied, 'I don't know exactly. It's like an urge to find… but… look at them. The Fire Elementals are acting strange too, aren't they?'

The Sect Leader was puzzled; he hadn't noticed anything. But as he focused on the Elementals… eventually, he sensed it. They seemed far too hesitant, as if…

…as if something far superior—something beyond their imagination—was right there with them, yet remained elusive.

Both the Dragoness and the Elementals realized that something was hidden in plain sight, shrouded in silence. Even as they searched, it remained out of reach.

They drifted toward the disciples, drawn by that presence. But even while connected to them, the search continued.