Miao Zun was not weak; their strength rivaled Lan Meng’s. But Old First was a supreme powerhouse who resonated with two cosmic laws. Even if he could not match a pinnacle two-law Immortal like Hong Xia, the toad was still far beyond Miao Zun.
The creature’s dozen-plus hammer-like legs viciously stomped at Old First, but the toad casually swatted them aside. A wave of gravity swept through, flinging Miao Zun’s body away like a sheet of paper. They aimed their sturdy legs at Old First again, unleashing a soundless power. This was their innate gift. This soundless force was enough to tear an ordinary Immortal’s body apart, using sound waves as power.
But there was no effect on Old First. He raised both hands and pressed them together. A tremendous amount of gravity manifested in the cosmos on both sides, growing endlessly and enveloping Miao Zun.
Far away, the two Immortals who had been fighting near the megaverse broke apart. They turned and watched with dread and fear. This was a terrifying level of power. They tacitly agreed to stop their own fight; who knew what they might draw out if they continued.
Miao Zun roared, "I am Obscura! Obscura! You cannot kill me! Obscura will not let you go!"
They opened their mouth and released their world: Soundless Realm.
The Soundless Realm finally caused some cracks to open on Old First’s body. He was surprised. This was interesting, as was the nature of this power.
Every living creature had blood flowing within their body, and flow meant sound, even if ordinary beings could not hear it.
If that sound was stripped away, it could in turn halt the flow of blood. Taken even further, it could stop battle techniques and other abilities from functioning, forcibly preventing a creature from taking action at all.
But this could not do much to Old First. The gap between the two was too vast.
The toad pressed down upon his entire body with gravity. It looked like he was draping a black curtain over himself; he had simply isolated himself from Miao Zun’s world.
Lifeforce erupted from the insectoid Immortal and merged with Immortal matter. Maio Zun shot countless lines of sound at Old First. "Audible Score."
Each line carried an incredible amount of power, but Old First’s eyes flared. It’s over.
Gravity slammed down. Miao Zun spat out a mouthful of blood, and their body was squashed flat. All of their power dissipated, and their body floated helplessly in the cosmos. They were just one breath away from death.
Old First grabbed Miao Zun and simply left, moving towards the location that he had agreed upon with Lu Yin. There were not only Seven-Treasure Anuras there, but also Greater Sancte Blood Tower.
Old First threw Miao Zun down the ground. "It’s yours."
Blood Tower looked at the half-dead creature and praised, "Worthy of Old First. Truly impressive. This Miao Zun isn’t weak, and yet they couldn’t even harm a single hair of yours."
Hearing this made Old First quite happy, and he grinned. "I’ve done what I promised Lu Yin. This is where we part ways."
Behind him stood Old Fourth, Old Fifth, Astral Anura, and others. Old First was taking all of them away through the Jade Thread of Heaven to search for Little Eighteen, as well as to leave this region of the Aevum Inch.
Blood Tower nodded. "Parting here."
Old Fourth and Old Fifth exchanged glances. They wanted to say something but ultimately decided to say nothing. They were unwilling to leave. Ancestor Shan was dead, and they were being forced to leave before avenging him.
Old First was just as unwilling, but what could they do about it? Only after he broke through to resonate with three cosmic laws could they return.
It was not that they would never return. They were only leaving for a time. This human civilization had antagonized far too many powerful enemies, and the Seven-Treasure Anuras did not want to be destroyed alongside humanity.
Astral Anura was the most reluctant to leave. He wanted to stay, but he had to be taken away. He was very important to the Seven-Treasure Anuras.
Old First patted the smaller toad. "Kid, let’s go."
Astral Anura looked at Blood Tower and then peered into the distance in the direction of the human megaverses. He truly did not want to leave.
Not long after that, Old First led the Seven-Treasure Anuras away, and the cosmos grew still once more.
Obscura’s nearby gate was also destroyed, though Miao Zun’s target civilization was not. They had failed their trial, and Miao Zun themself had been captured.
***
In Vestigium, Ba Se’s voice rang out. "Miao Zun has failed their trial. I am announcing that they are no longer invited to join us."
"What? Failed? How could they fail?" Furball cried out in surprise. They had been waiting for the outcome of the trial all along. In truth, Furball’s anticipation had little to do with Miao Zun themself and was more towards Lu Yin. It was all because of Miao Zun’s attitude towards humans and the fact that Lu Yin would be forced to enter Vestigium and worship the Divine Tree; that was what Furball wanted to see.
Instead, they received word that the trial had failed.
"Hehe, that child made a move?" Old Man Hehe asked.
Furball replied, "He must have something to do with this. How else could someone with Miao Zun’s strength fail a mere trial? I’m guessing that Miao Zun is probably as good as dead, right?"
Ba Se replied, "Miao Zun’s life or death is unknown. The one who acted was a Seven-Treasure Anura."