Chapter Sixteen: The White Eyes Appear Again

"Mom, look! The sun is coming out!" A little boy of four or five stood at the windowsill, gazing into the vastness of the rainy night. He excitedly tugged at his mother's hand, pointing to the torrential sky with a face of pure innocence.

"Oh my god!" The boy's mother could scarcely believe her eyes. She stared wide-eyed, both hands pressed tightly over her mouth, stunned speechless.

The pitch-black, oppressive night sky was drenched in pouring rain. Yet, as if ignited, a massive white vortex shimmered with dazzling brilliance, hanging in the heavens like a giant silver moon.

Instantly, the whole sky seemed draped in a veil of mystery, casting a dreamlike, otherworldly spell.

"My heavens, what on earth is that?" An elderly man stared stiffly upward, so shocked he couldn't move, the fan in his right hand slipping lifelessly to the ground.

"Quick! Call the mayor!" A black sedan abruptly stopped at the roadside, a middle-aged man's anxious voice sounding from within.

"Camera! Camera! Oh my god, this is truly a miracle. I swear, this is the greatest discovery in the world!" A young female reporter took a camera from the man behind her and began snapping furiously at the sky, barely containing her excitement.

Crack!

Lightning ripped open the night, the deluge intensifying, plunging the entire city into a state of panic.

The white vortex blazing overhead grew brighter still, its piercing radiance rivaling the noon sun. The city of Z was thrown into utter turmoil.

Guan Qian stared at the suddenly appearing white vortex, his heart already a storm-tossed sea, a subtle and indescribable terror making his breath come fast and shallow.

Unease! Overwhelming unease! Disaster was upon them, and humanity teetered on the brink of eternal crisis.

It was Guan Qian's instinctive prophetic sense: that white vortex hung over the world like the coming of death itself, making him furrow his brow.

At that moment, the False Prophet laughed madly, his face twisted with excitement, a faint trace of blood appearing in his eerie white pupils, making him look even more terrifying.

"Humans, oh humans, you are doomed to destruction. No one can escape this tragic fate!" His excitement faded to bleakness as he stared at his hands, stained with Guan Qian's fresh blood, and muttered to himself.

"Well then, my dear Prophet, you shall be the first to be destroyed!" The False Prophet rasped, his gaze venomous as he glared at Guan Qian.

He reached out a pale hand toward Guan Qian, his white pupils flashing suddenly. In an instant, Guan Qian was lifted into the air from afar. His entire body ached, but no matter how he struggled, he was immobilized, unable to move a single muscle.

Death was closing in—Guan Qian was about to be ruthlessly erased!

And yet—

Just as the False Prophet prepared to twist Guan Qian's neck, a sudden change occurred!

A ghostly light burst forth from Guan Qian's palm, scattering in all directions like daylight. In a flash, a stone half the size of his hand floated into the air. It gleamed like a star before his eyes, then shot a spectral glow straight into his forehead. Instantly, his eyes blazed with white light.

White pupils!

Guan Qian's white pupils had awakened once more!

Now he felt a surge of infinite power, the soreness in his body replaced by boundless strength. Every faculty—agility, resilience, mental speed, sensory awareness, even his physical speed—rose to incredible heights.

This was a qualitative leap, a true transformation!

Compared to his first awakening at the Holy Virtue Palace, when the crystal skull had taken over without his awareness, this time Guan Qian fully sensed the staggering power the white pupils bestowed.

He reveled in the strength coursing through him, his cold, strange white eyes fixed on the False Prophet. His fingers snapped with electric energy—the battle for life and death was about to begin!

"Heh, my dear Prophet, you do surprise me. It seems this game is becoming more and more interesting," the False Prophet smiled, anticipation lighting his face as he watched Guan Qian's white pupils evolve.

Without another word, Guan Qian struck first—a single punch, and their battle instantly escalated into a ferocious clash.

Clang!

Both men seized giant stones from the ground and hurled them at each other from afar. The immense impacts left the earth pitted and scarred.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Shards of rock shot at Guan Qian like bullets. He thrust out a hand, and all the fragments froze in midair.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

With a flick of his palm, the stones reversed, pelting the False Prophet at blinding speed.

Bang, bang, bang!

A flash of white in the Prophet's eyes, and the stones shattered and fell to the ground, splashing water in dazzling sprays.

The confrontation burned white-hot in an instant!

In the distance—

A golden light blazed forth!

A rapidly spinning hexagram set off a whirlwind, golden brilliance filling its depths until dragon bone, tortoise shell, and metallic symbols were indistinguishable, fused together in transcendent unity.

The whirlwind whipped Tang Ruyan's pale dress and sent her black hair streaming wildly like writhing snakes. Her exquisitely pale face was white as paper, chilling to behold.

"O mighty Prophet, hear my voice! Open the gate between life and death, reveal the destiny of eternity, grant your loyal White Witch hope for survival!" Tang Ruyan's solemn, reverent voice rose as she stretched out her arms, as if caressing the golden radiance before her, her fingers tracing intricate patterns in the air.

At once, the hexagram flared even brighter, bathing her face in a golden sheen. Then, in a sudden contraction, it shrank until it fit entirely within her palm.

Eyes deep and black, Tang Ruyan stared intently at the hexagram blazing like golden flames in her hand. Her chest heaved as she fought to steady her breath, but her trembling form teetered on the brink of collapse.

Within the golden hexagram, clouds churned and storms raged, shifting and mysterious, its vast energy at times like a thousand horses galloping, at others like the stillness of death.

Wordless, Tang Ruyan watched, and a faint rim of gold seemed to encircle her dark pupils, imbuing her with a sacred, solemn aura.

Suddenly—clang!—she hurled the golden hexagram from her hand. It slammed into the ground, its light instantly withdrawing, leaving a deep, black pit where it vanished.

A spray of blood burst from her lips, and Tang Ruyan collapsed onto the cold earth, her disheveled hair veiling her deathly pale face.

"Tang Ruyan—!"

In the midst of fierce battle, Guan Qian sensed a terrible premonition surge within him!

(A belated chapter! The Prophet has signed the contract—believe the story will only grow more brilliant! Support the Prophet, support the Moon Palace!)