On the morning of the twenty-seventh day, Xu Wuyi sensed a change deep within the Fruit as he lifted his teacup on the stump.
The bright spots slowly charging within the inner ring had undergone a distinct surge over the past several hours. Their brightness no longer increased gradually, but burst forth in a concentrated flare over a short span.
The connections between them had changed from slender threads into continuously flowing bands of light, and a dense layer of warm golden radiance evenly covered the entire inner ring.
He set his teacup back on the cut surface of the stump, stood, and returned to the Core Residence hall.
Zero One's projection lit up beside the console. "Lord, the energy density inside the Fruit has increased by approximately fifty percent over the past hour. The inflow rate of faith power has reached a new record, and the channel's capacity is still expanding."
Xu Wuyi sat down at the console and sank his consciousness into his inner vision.
The Fruit kept rotating within his mental space. The circular pattern on its surface markings had fully formed, with the outer ring evenly distributed, the inner ring densely clustered, and the central spot of light shining steadily.
At the center of the inner ring, a completely new structure was slowly coalescing.
A thumb-sized, warm golden Crystal was taking shape at the very center of the inner ring. Fine markings covered its surface, following exactly the same pattern as those on the Fruit.
He observed the Crystal's formation through his inner vision, confirmed that its structure was steadily solidifying, then withdrew and opened his eyes.
He stood and walked toward the shelf beside the workbench, bringing his palm close to the continuously pulsing mass of light outside the Metal Box's seam.
His perception penetrated