Chapter 18 – The Vanishing of the Seven-Layered Black Light
Quim Zunxi held her husband's hand with a pale face. Lawzi Kunren and Tsai Mianzu exchanged glances, then looked at their daughter, Lawzi Vuyei, who also felt the chaos from afar.
Meanwhile, in a corner of the yard, Lawzi Zienxi stopped his training. His eyes were fixed on the unusual sky, his feelings uneasy.
"Something... very big is happening," he murmured softly.
Waves of fear, confusion, and mystery enveloped all who were connected to Domain Zhi.
Yet the Heavenly Spiritual Fruit... had still not made its choice.
Boom after boom shook the air, accompanying the extraordinary vibrations of the Seven-Layered Black Light Spiritual Fruit that remained atop Mount Lihai. Its sound was like thunder held between two realms, pressing on the soul of everyone who heard it. The vibration was no longer just a spiritual phenomenon but seemed to mark the arrival of something unprecedented.
All the candidates and observers in Domain Zhi had been successfully evacuated. Not a single figure remained within the boundary. Only empty space remained, leaving behind raging wind and spiritual energy.
Outside Domain Zhi, hundreds of eyes still stared at the sky with pale faces and held breaths. Cold sweat dampened their temples. Fear enveloped villages, cities, and major sects across the Guhawe Nation. Even elders who had experienced countless major events could not hide their unease.
Then...
"What is that!?" shouted one of the spectators standing atop a hill.
Right above Mount Lihai, a purplish-black vortex appeared, spinning slowly but steadily. The vortex looked like a subtle tear in the sky, yet it radiated an unknown aura that froze the air around it. Small thuds came from the vortex, and though faint, the sound was clear as if speaking directly into the ear.
"That... is not an ordinary vortex...!" murmured an elder from Seven-Faced Leaf Sect, his face turning pale.
Suddenly, the Seven-Layered Black Light Spiritual Fruit emitted a shockwave that shook the entire Guhawe Nation. The ground tremors were felt from the edges of villages to the city regions, toppling several buildings and making spiritual beasts roar in fear. Then, in the blink of an eye, the fruit entered the black vortex and vanished without leaving a trace.
Silence engulfed the entire nation.
"W-where... did the fruit go?"
"That vortex... where did it come from? Who summoned it?!"
"What really happened on Mount Lihai...?!"
Question after question poured from the shocked crowd. Their voices trembled, their eyes full of anxiety. Elders and regional leaders tried to calm their people, yet in their hearts, they shared the same unease: a power unknown had emerged.
At the Lawzi family residence, tension also filled the air.
"That wave just now... stronger than anything I have ever felt," said Lawzi Kunren, staring at the sky with a clenched jaw.
"Is it a bad omen...?" asked Tsai Mianzu softly.
Lawzi Vuyei held her mother's hand tightly, her eyes unable to leave the distant sky.
Lawzi Jeu embraced Quim Zunxi's shoulder, trying to calm his wife, who could not stop praying silently.
Meanwhile, Lawzi Zienxi, the son of Jeu and Zunxi, stood rooted in front of the house.
"That vortex... seems to be calling something. But also like hiding something..." he murmured quietly.
No one knew what had actually happened. Yet everyone knew one thing, whatever it was, it had altered the course of fate in this world.
Some time after the purplish vortex absorbed the Seven-Layered Black Light Spiritual Fruit, the atmosphere remained silent... but it was not a calming silence. It was a silence filled with anxiety, tension, and disbelief.
In one of the evacuation areas, Yuji Daofei stood tall, his face cold as usual, yet his eyes could not hide his true astonishment. He gazed at the sky slowly returning to clarity, as if trying to understand what had just happened.
"That wave... was not ordinary aura," he murmured softly. "It... feels like it came from a realm we do not yet know."
Yun Xiwe, standing nearby, held her chest, her breathing still uneven.
"Did... we almost die just now?" her voice trembled, though she tried to stay calm. "I... have never felt fear like that."
Fang Sei crossed his arms and looked toward Domain Zhi.
"That fruit... did not choose anyone. It seems... it chose to leave by itself."
He snorted softly. "Or perhaps, it was called by something."
Jia Wei hugged her younger sister, Jia Yuwei, who was still trembling.
"This is not normal... very abnormal," she said softly. "If that aura could shake the entire Guhawe Nation, then... what exactly is that fruit?"
"And where did that vortex come from?" asked Xieyi Zui quietly. Her face was pale, and she stared at the ground, seemingly afraid to look at the sky again.
We Jita and his companion, standing slightly farther away, only exchanged glances without a word. None of them could answer the questions arising one by one. Even Hui Baifa, usually sly and cynical, seemed at a loss for words.
Among the crowd of students, the atmosphere was full of anxious whispers.
"Is this the end of the selection?"
"Is this a bad omen from the sky?"
"Will there be a war? Or a disaster?"
"Will the sect not stop the selection?"
"Is it not a fruit... but something worse?"
Meanwhile, Yuji still stared into the distance. The wind blew gently across his face, carrying a faint scent from the aura's eruption earlier.
"If... what we just saw is a call from a stronger entity..." Yuji whispered, "...then the first step on the path of cultivation... has just completely changed."
The atmosphere atop the Central Hall of the Seven-Faced Leaf Sect remained tense. The elders sat in a circle on floating stone chairs above the sky observation altar. The shadow of the purplish vortex that absorbed the Seven-Layered Black Light Spiritual Fruit was still reflected in the observation sphere at the center of the table.
Elder Lien Zuro exhaled slowly.
"That fruit... chose no one. Or perhaps, it chose another path we cannot predict."
Elder Miwa, with a dark expression, replied briefly,
"Whatever it is, this is not the time to panic. We must not stop midway just because of one anomaly."
The Sect Leader, seated in the center of them in a dark green robe covering his whole body, finally spoke. His voice was calm yet deep.
"Let us continue the selection. In three days, the second stage begins. Let the children rest. They have already gone through a harsh trial, some nearly losing their lives."
That afternoon, the official announcement was sent through spiritual light to all pavilions and tents.
"The first stage of selection has been completed.
Of the 650 participants, 325 have passed to the next stage. However, among those who passed, one person did not receive any Spiritual Fruit, yet was still accepted because their mental and physical scores exceeded the minimum requirement."
"Participants who did not pass will be treated and restored by senior students before being allowed to return to their home city or village."
"The second stage will begin in three days. Use this time to recover your body and mind. Resting areas have been provided. Further details about the second stage of selection will be announced on the third day."
Hundreds of senior students of the Seven-Faced Leaf Sect immediately took action. They approached the participants who had not passed, some with deep wounds, severe bruises, and extreme exhaustion. Using internal healing techniques and restorative elixirs, one by one, the failed students began to stand on their own feet again.
"Do not worry, you have done your best," said a senior female student calmly as she helped bandage the hand of a boy from the northern region.
Meanwhile, the participants who passed were directed to the recovery area. Small pavilions made of spiritual pine wood stood neatly on the southern side of the sect. Each room was already filled with warm water, beds made of light cloud fibers, and food containing refreshing energy.