Chapter 12 Sky Rumbles Seven Heavenly Lights
The other six disciples finally arrived at the peak of Mount Lihai. When they looked ahead, their eyes widened. Four Spiritual Heavenly Fruits shimmered in holy light, floating above natural stone pillars. Without hesitation, they immediately rushed forward.
However, as soon as their feet crossed a certain boundary, a tremendous force struck their bodies, flinging them far back. They nearly fell off the steep slope.
Yuji Daofei, Yun Xiwe, Xieyi Zui, and Wang Xuei watched with wide eyes. Although they had already guessed how strong the pressure from the fruits would be, seeing it firsthand still left them stunned.
The day had entered the 173rd since the trial began. Not one of them had managed to touch the Spiritual Heavenly Fruits. The overwhelming pressure and sacred energy surrounding the fruits seemed to reject anyone unworthy.
Xieyi Zui sat on the ground, sweat dripping from her face. Her voice was faint, almost swallowed by the wind.
"I... I am not sure we can get them. Maybe we are truly not worthy..."
Yun Xiwe turned, looking at her softly yet firmly.
"Do not give up, Xieyi. We have come this far. If we cannot take them yet, at least we must try."
Yuji, who had been silent all this time, clenched his fists. He looked at the fruits with deep eyes.
"I feel... there is something we do not yet understand about these fruits. Maybe... it is not just about who is the strongest."
Meanwhile, the six disciples who had been thrown back earlier stood in thought. They stood silently, observing and whispering to one another with confused and frustrated expressions.
"Could it be... we have to wait for a certain time?" whispered one of them.
"Why is that pressure so strange? It feels... alive... and watching us..." said another.
Several hours passed. The atmosphere began to grow quiet. Fatigue started creeping over everyone at the peak. Their eyes were red, their bodies heavy. Far in the distance, Jia Wei and Yuwei observed from behind their spiritual telescope.
"I almost feel sorry for them," said Yuwei softly.
"True... But that is the price of their choice," replied Jia Wei coldly.
But before that sentence could end, the sky suddenly changed.
Clouds rolled rapidly, darkening. Lightning struck around the mountain peak. Loud explosions echoed, shaking the entire region. Yuji, Yun, Xieyi, Wang, and the other six disciples were startled and quickly took defensive positions.
"What is this now...?" shouted Yun Xiwe, her voice almost swallowed by the wind.
Lightning continued to rage, then... a blinding light appeared, dazzling their eyes. Everyone shut their eyes for a moment. When they opened them again, three new fruits had appeared.
They floated slightly higher, slightly larger than the previous fruits. Their light pierced through the clouds, radiating seven beautiful colors, glowing like a heavenly rainbow.
Everyone's eyes widened.
In a different place, Fang Sei, Hui Baifa, We Jita, as well as Jia Wei and Yuwei were also shocked to see the sight from afar. We Jita even stood up from his seat without realizing it.
"What... three more fruits?" he muttered.
Meanwhile, a faint voice came from Yuji's lips.
"This... is not just a test of strength."
The three newly appeared heavenly lights shook the sky. The colors danced in sacred radiance, forming a circle-like formation above the peak of Mount Lihai. The aura from these three fruits felt far purer and deeper compared to the previous seven. The wind suddenly stopped for a moment, as if even time held its breath.
Outside the Zhi Region, at the main observation tower of the Seven Leaf Sect, the elders stood at once.
Elder Duyi's gaze locked on the sky.
"Ten... That is the tenth fruit..." he said softly, yet loud enough for all present to hear.
The female elder beside him, Elder Jinhai, clenched her fists with an expression of disbelief. "They have appeared... all ten Spiritual Heavenly Fruits are finally complete."
On the other side of the room, the disciples who had already passed the first stage stood in silence. Those who did not have spiritual roots strong enough to pursue the Heavenly Fruits could only watch from the reflection in the spiritual mirror floating in the center of the room.
One of them, a male disciple named Tan Wulien, bit his lip.
"I still cannot believe it... Why did those last three fruits appear?" he whispered.
"There must be a trigger," said Lian Mo, Tan's friend, "and Yuji, Yun, Wang, Xieyi, they were right there when it happened."
In Yunboa Village, the Lawzi family gathered in the courtyard, watching the projection of the sky that shone from the village's spiritual altar.
Tsai Mianzu placed his hand over his mouth, his eyes glistening. "Vuyei... are you seeing this too?"
Lawzi Kunren only nodded slowly, his expression serious. "The heavens are choosing."
Meanwhile, on Mount Lihai, Yuji Daofei gazed at the three new fruits with sharp eyes.
"This..." his voice was low but deep, "...this is the end of the trial."
Xieyi Zui looked at the sky, breathing heavily.
"So... the elders were right. Ten Spiritual Heavenly Fruits. But why did they only appear now?"
Wang Xuei glanced at Yun Xiwe, who stood stiffly. She spoke.
"Do you remember... before we entered the Zhi Region, the elders said there were ten."
Yun nodded slowly.
"Yes... I remember too. But... we only saw seven. I once thought the other three might just be a myth."
Suddenly, the sound of thunder echoed once again, but this time it did not strike the ground. Instead, it spread throughout the entire Zhi Region, like a signal that the trial had entered its final stage.
Outside the region, Elder Duyi shouted loudly throughout the tower:
"The time is near. In three days, the Heavenly Fruits will disappear. If no one can take them... then they will return to slumber for 100 years!"
Everyone fell silent.
One hundred years... far too long to wait for such an opportunity again.
Step by step, they moved. Yuji Daofei led the group, his body slightly bent under the pressure from the power of the Spiritual Heavenly Fruits that shook the air around them. Behind him, Yun Xiwe and Xieyi Zui kept their distance from each other, their breaths heavy, their faces wet with sweat, yet their eyes still shining with determination. Wang Xuei followed, her hands clenched tightly to suppress the trembling of her body that was on the verge of giving up.
The six other disciples who had been thrown back earlier by the immense power of the fruits finally stepped forward as well. The tension thickened at the peak of Mount Lihai. Faint voices escaped their lips, somewhere between self-encouragement and groans restrained by the harshness of the terrain.
Yuji was almost at one of the three brightly glowing Heavenly Spiritual Fruits, surrounded by a vortex of seven-colored light. Behind him, Yun and Xieyi were overtaking each other. Wang Xuei groaned, yet continued to fight.
Meanwhile, in the distance...
Jia Wei and Jia Yuwei sat leaning against tall rocks, taking turns using their telescope to watch the disciples at the peak. The tension was clear on their faces. Yuwei bit her lower lip.
"Why does it feel... like they are facing a god?" Jia Wei whispered faintly.
Not far from them, Fang Sei stood tall on a large rock, his hands behind his back, his gaze fixed on the small figures moving slowly at the peak. Though known for being indifferent, this time his eyes did not hide his concern.
Hui Baifa, his chin resting on his knees, watched in silence. His eyes were sharp, yet showed no sign of the usual sly schemes. Only pure tension.
We Jita stood alone on another side of the mountain, his body trembling slightly. He stared at the peak of Mount Lihai as if waiting for someone. "Hold on..." he muttered, not knowing whether he was speaking to a friend or to himself.
Far from there, in the main courtyard of the Seven Leaf Sect, Tan Wulien stood among the disciples who had already passed. His eyes were fixed on the sky above Mount Lihai, which had not yet calmed. The seven-colored light still shone, captivating every gaze.
The sect elders stood with heavy expressions. They knew there were only ten Heavenly Spiritual Fruits. Seven had appeared from the start, and the remaining three had only appeared after the flash of lightning and sacred light shook the sky.
"The final fruits have revealed themselves," said one of the elders in a low yet meaningful tone. "But whoever can touch them... will write history."
The eyes of everyone, both those in the Sect and those scattered around the Zhi Region, were now fixed solely on the ten figures struggling against the pressure of the heavens... at the peak of Lihai.