Chapter 7: The Sky That Seeks to Erase

That night, the sky cracked.

Not with thunder.

Not with lightning.

But with silence.

The disciples of the Ashen Root Sect stirred from their sleep as a pressure unlike any spiritual presence fell over the sect grounds. Elder formations shimmered. Protective wards trembled. Spirit beasts whimpered in their pens.

And in the center of it all, one boy sat cross-legged beneath a dead tree, eyes closed.

Lin Xuan.

Above him, the heavens bled gold.

Heavenly Correction: Phase One – Nullstorm Descent

"Anomaly: Lin Xuan.""Void Presence detected. Initiating correction protocol."

Where ordinary cultivators attracted thunder tribulations—roaring tests of strength and will—Lin Xuan's presence called down something far more insidious.

The sky split open.

Not with light.

But with unbeing.

A single beam of inverted lightning—black on the outside, glowing white within—struck the tree beside Lin Xuan, erasing it from existence. Not burnt. Not broken.

Gone.

Disciples screamed and scattered.

Elders rushed to divine the cause—but their attempts to observe Lin Xuan returned only static and distortion.

"The tribulation is not divine," one muttered. "It's… concept-deep."

Zhao Wuren reached the edge of the shattered courtyard and stopped cold.

Lin Xuan had not moved.

A second bolt descended—aimed straight for his head.

But Lin Xuan opened his eyes.

And the Void Pulse surged.

The bolt struck his chest—but was swallowed, like a drop of color in an ocean of black.

"I see now," Lin Xuan whispered."Heaven does not punish me for evil. It punishes me for not being."

He stood slowly.

The Void Seed in his dantian spun faster, drawing in the storm. The edges of his form blurred as Veil of Unbeing partially activated on instinct.

And then…

He raised a hand.

Void Spiral: Deflection.

A black spiral burst from his palm, slicing through the third bolt descending from the sky. The bolt split—then vanished.

"No tribulation," Lin Xuan whispered."Only… proof that Heaven fears me."

Void Cultivation Breakthrough Achieved

❖ Realm Advanced: From Void Initiation to Void Embodiment❖ New Ability Unlocked: Erosion Step‣ Movement technique that decays spatial structure to slip past barriers and formations.

His skin pulsed with void marks—barely visible, like faint shadows stitched into his arms. His spiritual sense now reached not outward… but inward, into the foundation of reality itself.

Beneath the Sect – Forbidden Depths Stir

Far below the sect—beneath marrow mines and bone vaults—ancient roots pulsed.

Once dead.

Now aware.

An old voice, hoarse and dry as the dust of forgotten epochs, whispered:

"The Inheritor awakens… at last.""The Root of Nothingness… must bloom once more."

A hollow bloom, made of petrified void essence, stirred beneath layers of bone and spiritual sediment.

It had been waiting.

 Elsewhere – Nie Qing Watches

Within her bone-cloaked meditation hall, Nie Qing sat still as a corpse. Her puppets trembled behind her. The pressure from the failed Heavenly Correction had been felt even within her sanctum.

She stared into a soul mirror—one made from a fragment of her twin sister's spirit, long since devoured.

There, reflected in the mirror, was not Lin Xuan's face, but a shifting absence. A void. A hole in reality.

She clenched her bone fan tightly.

"He is no longer a cultivator," she said softly."He is… a wound upon the Dao."

Then she smiled.

"I will dissect him."

 Above the World

The Heavenly Eye blinked once.

A voice beyond time echoed.

"Phase One: Failed.""Anomaly has adapted.""Phase Two: Begin preparation.""Deploy… Celestial Corrector: White Mirror Envoy."

As silence returned to the Ashen Root Sect, Lin Xuan stood beneath the fractured sky, breathing slowly.

He had survived.

Not a tribulation.

But an execution attempt by Heaven itself.

And he would return the favor in time.

"You tried to erase me," he murmured to the sky."Now I will learn to erase… even you."