Chapter 20 – Those Who Dig Their Own Grave
The Golden Shadow Sect was not known for righteousness.
For over a century, its elders had scoured cursed lands, forgotten ruins, and relic-haunted valleys—
seeking ancient treasures, broken truths, and power no longer claimed.
So when the Grand Observer sensed an unstable karmic resonance in a nameless village,
he smiled.
— "A floating flower with pure karmic imprint…"
— "A treasure. A relic. An inherited essence."
He dispatched six of his finest disciples.
They arrived at sunset.
The mist was gentle.
The villagers, silent.
The flower still floated at the center of the hamlet—
hovering above soil now darkened by residual energy.
One disciple stepped forward.
— "It's not sealed. Probably just a projection. We can absorb it."
Another chuckled.
— "Karma like this belongs to no one anymore."
They did not see the old woman trembling in the shadow of a crumbling wall.
Nor the little girl—Lian—running toward the hills, her heart pounding.
The boldest among them reached out to touch the flower.
And then…
Everything stopped.
The wind.
The sound.
The world.
A silent pulse burst outward.
And his arms…
vanished.
Not burned.
Not severed.
Just… erased.
As if the universe had simply changed its mind about him.
The others screamed.
But it was already too late.
Behind them, a figure appeared.
Not from the sky.
Not from beneath the ground.
Just… there.
Shen Mu.
Standing. Silent.
No hatred. No malice.
No need for explanation.
Just like a correction to a broken equation.
Panic erupted.
One unleashed a wave of violet flame.
Another summoned a six-meter spirit blade.
A third opened a spatial gate to flee.
Nothing happened.
Because Shen Mu lifted a single finger.
And within twenty meters, gravity reversed.
The sky bent.
The trees twisted.
And the six disciples—were flung skyward like dolls.
Then fell.
No blood.
No screams.
No trace.
Shen Mu knelt beside the karmic flower.
It had changed.
The eye within its golden petals was now open.
And it blinked… slowly.
He placed a knee on the earth.
Not in reverence.
But because within that flower…
He felt something.
An echo.
A fragment.
A key.
[Karmic connection strengthened]
➤ Fragment No. 2: Fusion complete (1.3%)
➤ Inheritance Protocol: partially restored
➤ Origin: Throne of Silent Truth
➤ New Access Granted: Sutra of Woven Void
From behind a boulder, Lian was still watching.
Her small, quiet heart whispered:
— "He's… not like the others."