Chapter 13 – An Unexpected Allure
The pressure at the peak of Mount Lihai was becoming more suffocating. The heavenly aura pressed down like a collapsing mountain, yet the six disciples who had been knocked back were now standing again. Their bodies trembled and were wounded, but something stronger than pain was burning away their fear determination.
A young man in dark green clothes stepped forward, his face dirty, his temple bleeding, yet his gaze was sharp, piercing through the spiritual mist that pressed upon them. With a hoarse voice, he spoke softly, but full of conviction.
"I did not come this far just to watch. Even if I have to crawl, I will keep going."
Meanwhile, Yuji Daofei was almost within reach of one of the three newly emerged Seven-Colored Heavenly Spiritual Fruits. His hand stretched out, his fingers just an inch away…
Suddenly, the fruit on the right trembled slightly. A soft sound like the chime of glass filled the air. The fruit began to emit a growing light and slowly floated… away from the cluster of the other fruits.
Every eye followed it in confusion.
The fruit was not moving randomly. It drifted slowly toward a girl standing a bit away from the crowd, below Yun Xiwe and Wang Xuei's position.
Xieyi Zui.
The girl's face froze. Her eyes widened, as if she could not believe what she was seeing. Her body trembled, not from spiritual pressure, but from a shock too great to comprehend.
The Heavenly Spiritual Fruit stopped… right in front of her.
No one said a single word. Even the wind seemed to stop blowing. Seconds stretched long, time frozen in a suffocating sacred silence.
On a distant slope, Jia Wei could only hold her telescope with trembling hands. Her younger sister, Yuwei, held her breath, unable to speak.
Fang Sei stood with an empty gaze, his brows deeply furrowed.
Hui Baifa even forgot how to mock, his face now showing genuine shock.
We Jita, standing far away, clutched his chest, overcome with worry.
From the courtyard of the Seven-Sided Leaf Sect, Tan Wulien stared at the mountain peak with a tense expression. Some other disciples who had already passed also held their breath, their bodies equally tense.
One elder slowly rose from his seat, his eyes narrowing toward the glowing fruit before Xieyi. His voice was soft, almost like a murmur, but clear enough for his peers to hear.
"That fruit… chose her?"
Another elder responded, his voice heavy with doubt.
"No… this is not just a reaction to strength. It is as if… there is a bond."
Another elder added, his gaze sharp as it pierced toward the mountain.
"Or perhaps… a harmony of souls. Something we have never seen before."
The usual cheers from the outer areas of the Zhi Territory were gone. Silence. Everyone, from ordinary spectators to senior cultivators, was transfixed.
Xieyi still did not move. Her eyes reflected the soft glow of the fruit as if it were waiting for her.
The Heavenly Spiritual Fruit continued to shine, as if waiting for its owner to embrace fate.
The atmosphere remained frozen.
Yuji Daofei, who had been just an inch from the fruit before him, stared wide-eyed, his jaw tightening. For the first time, his cold and indifferent expression cracked. He unconsciously took a step back, muttering quietly as if speaking to himself.
"Why… not me?"
Not far from Daofei, Yun Xiwe covered her mouth with one hand, her eyes wide.
"That… is impossible. She has not even moved all this time…"
Wang Xuei hissed softly, her body tense.
"Her? That girl? Why her?"
Not far from them, the six disciples who had been knocked away stood frozen. They had not yet stepped forward again when the event occurred. Their faces showed almost the same expression surprise, confusion, a touch of unwillingness, and also an indescribable awe.
One young man among them clenched his fists tightly.
"Does she have… something we cannot see?"
The short-haired girl beside him narrowed her eyes, her voice almost inaudible.
"Or maybe… the fruit does not choose strength."
Meanwhile, the glow from the Seven-Colored Heavenly Spiritual Fruit now floating before Xieyi Zui radiated a gentle brilliance, warming the air around it. Its colorful aura seemed to wrap Xieyi in an embrace of warmth and depth.
The girl herself still did not move. Her eyes were glistening, her breath caught in her throat. She did not even realize her legs were shaking. Second by second passed, and finally, slowly, very slowly, her hand began to rise.
Her fingers trembled as they reached forward. The sound of her heartbeat echoed in her head, drowning out all other noise.
When the tips of her fingers touched the skin of the fruit…
Whoooshhh…
A wave of gentle light swept across the surroundings. Not harsh, not painful. But enough to make everyone feel as if something pure and sacred had just merged with the mortal world.
The disciples on the mountainside were silent.
The elders observing from the sect exchanged glances, and one by one stood up.
Someone from the back spoke in a soft but clear voice.
"The fruit has accepted her."
The Seven-Colored Heavenly Spiritual Fruit did not resist. It did not explode. It did not harm. It simply… rested quietly in Xieyi Zui's grasp, as if it had been waiting for that moment for centuries.
Xieyi looked at the fruit in her hands. Her lips trembled, and tears began to fall one by one.
She did not know why the fruit had come to her. She did not know if she was worthy. But she knew one thing, her life would never be the same again.
In many places, the families of the disciples could not look away from the extraordinary event that had just taken place.
In the city of Holuang, at the Jian family residence, Defei Sixie stood on the balcony, gazing at the sky with questioning eyes. Jian Lode sat in an old chair, stroking his chin, his eyes fixed on the spiritual monitoring slab before him.
"That fruit… chose in a different way," Jian Lode said softly.
"Then… perhaps the heavens favor something we do not understand," Sixie whispered.
In the village of Wuxije, Lawzi Gue and Defei Heifei stared at the communication light sphere displaying the Zhi Territory. Their son, Wafei, stood behind them with raised brows.
"The Heavenly Fruit approached a girl without her moving…" Heifei said in a heavy voice.
"Then the heart can be brighter than strength," Gue replied briefly.
But the quietest place was in Yunboa Village, at the Lawzi family residence.
In their simple home, the entire family was gathered. Lawzi Kunren leaned against the window frame, while Tsai Mianzu sat with Quim Zunxi and Lawzi Jeu. Beside them, Vuyei and Zienxi sat together. Vuyei's eyes remained fixed on the monitoring crystal that showed the Zhi Territory broadcast.
"The fruit came on its own…" Vuyei murmured.
"Is that possible… or is it part of the trial?" Mianzu spoke softly.
Lawzi Jeu gazed deeply, his voice flat yet full of meaning.
"If the heavens can choose… then fate can change in just one second."
Zienxi remained silent. But his eyes held a wonder he had never shown before. Perhaps, for the first time, the cultivation world was showing him something that could not be explained by ordinary logic.
Two hours passed.
The wind around the peak of Mount Lihai grew calm.
Xieyi Zui had remained still all this time, sitting on a flat stone with the Heavenly Spiritual Fruit in her arms. Many disciples had begun to calm themselves, and some had even withdrawn from the pressure out of exhaustion.
But suddenly…
Wuuuuummmmmm…
A deep and gentle sound echoed through the air.
Another Heavenly Spiritual Fruit, which had been hanging motionless, suddenly trembled slightly.
Its seven-colored glow slowly expanded, shining brighter than before. Its gentle aura shifted into a searching one, as if the fruit sensed something unfinished.
All eyes turned upward again.
"Not again…"
"Not just one?"
"Is it… going to choose on its own again?!"
The remaining disciples glanced around, their bodies tense. They thought the most shocking moment had already passed. But now, as if the heavens were mocking their certainty, another fruit… began to move.
It floated slowly… as if searching.
As if it were scanning souls, not bodies. One by one, it passed the disciples. Some raised their hands, hoping to be chosen. But the fruit kept drifting, slow yet certain.
Meanwhile, Xieyi Zui, still holding the fruit in her arms, now stood. She looked at the other fruit beginning to dance in the air.
"Is this… happening again?" she whispered.
And everyone present those at the peak, on the slopes, and even the spectators across the land held their breath once more.
Because the choice of the heavens… was not yet finished.