On the morning of the thirtieth day, Xu Wuyi finished his inward inspection in the Cultivation Room but did not immediately rise as he usually did.
He sat cross-legged, keeping his consciousness at the center of the Fruit's inner ring as he observed the pulse rhythm of the warm-gold Crystal.
Its pulse frequency remained perfectly synchronized with the beat of Ji Tang's core in the direction of the T-09 Star Realm, like two hearts contracting and relaxing together across a vast distance.
As he watched, he noticed a detail he had never closely examined before.
As the patterns on the Crystal's surface continued to emit pulses, extremely tiny dark spots began appearing in the gaps between them.
They were very small, as though dotted on with a fine needle dipped in dark pigment, scattered across the Crystal's surface.
He tried touching one of the dark spots with a root tendril and sensed a faint warmth the instant they made contact.
That warmth traveled from the point of contact into the root tendril, gradually intensifying until it became a distinct current of heat by the time it reached the base of the trunk.
He waited for a while during his inward inspection, confirming that the current of heat was automatically broken down and absorbed upon reaching the trunk's base, leaving no abnormal residue.
He withdrew from his inward inspection, opened his eyes, stood, and pushed the door open to step outside.
When he sat on the stump, Zero Seven brought over a cup of tea and set it on the stump's cut surface.
He lifted the cup and took a sip, sensing the Crystal inside the Fruit as it continued to emit pulses, sensing the dark spots slowly multiplying on its surface.
He sat on the stump for a while, finished