They had been sitting in the tree hollow for quite some time, witnessing numerous lightning strikes that showed no signs of relenting—instead, they grew fiercer than before.
Jin Shengfei remarked, “Don’t tell me we’ll end up getting struck by lightning even while hiding in this tree hollow.”
No sooner had he spoken than a deafening thunderclap roared, striking right at the entrance of the tree hollow and turning everyone’s faces pale with fear.
“Damn it! Bro, don’t jinx it!”
Jin Shengfei covered his mouth, stammering, “I… I was just saying. It really struck? At least it didn’t hit anyone…”
Suddenly, another powerful thunderclap boomed.
BOOM!!!
At that moment, everyone felt an unprecedented sense of danger.
“Shut up already! That lightning is really coming for us!!!”
“Everyone, defend yourselves!”
They all channeled their spiritual power to block the incoming lightning. However, their spiritual power soon dissipated, allowing streaks of lightning to surge into the tree hollow.
Fortunately, a flash of Sword Light sliced through the air, severing the lightning before them.
It was Ying WuHuo who had acted.
His expression was grim as he said, “Everyone, you’d better figure out a way to escape soon. I can’t protect you everywhere. If another crisis like this arises, you’ll have to rely on yourselves.”
He could handle it, but he couldn’t handle everything.
Otherwise, the word “trial” would be meaningless.
He only intervened during critical “unexpected moments.”
Beyond that, these situations were not his responsibility.
Hearing his words and recalling the recent scene, everyone grew anxious.
Figure out a way… If they could have thought of one, they would have done so already.
Actually, it wasn’t that there was no idea at all…
They exchanged glances, their eyes eventually settling on Chi Miao.
“Chi Miao, are you sure that lightning rod you mentioned earlier would work?”
Chi Miao shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m not sure.”
She only knew the theory but had never put it into practice. How could she know if it would actually work?
She couldn’t claim it would work now, only for it to fail later and deceive everyone.
Deceiving others was one thing—it wasn’t as if she hadn’t done it before.
But she was trapped here too. If she deceived others and ended up with no way out, she would be the one to suffer!
The Gou Shi System chimed in, “Didn’t you say you were going to turn over a new leaf?”
Chi Miao wiped her sweat. “It’s all your fault. Other systems let people get stronger just by drinking water. Why don’t you take a look at how much you’re making me do?”
The Gou Shi System replied, “Well, there’s no helping it. Cheating relies on the system, but cultivation depends on the individual. If I were as amazing as those other systems, I’d have renamed myself the ‘Drink Water to Become Invincible System.’ How could I still be called this?”
Chi Miao retorted, “So you’re just a piece of crap.”
The Gou Shi System shot back, “Stop insulting me!”
“Crap.”
The Gou Shi System sneered, “Hah, picking a fight with me is like kicking cotton—utterly useless. Instead of provoking me, you’d be better off thinking about how to escape.”
Completely useless.
Chi Miao sighed and turned to the others. “You all saw the lightning just now. Hiding here won’t help at all. Why not trust me and go all in?”
Everyone hesitated.
“How confident are you?”
Chi Miao replied, “Fifty percent.”
It would either work or it wouldn’t.
“Fifty percent… These magical artifacts and weapons represent almost all our possessions. Even if we don’t make it into Nine Sword Mountain this time, there’s always next.”
Chi Miao: “But you don’t get a second chance at life. If you can’t get out of here, you’ll most likely die in this place. In cultivation, isn’t every attempt to achieve something a gamble? If your fate is unkind and your talent falls short, and you don’t gamble on opportunities or time, why even cultivate immortality? You might as well return to the mortal world early—with a Qi Refining cultivation, you could still live a comfortable life, eating and drinking well for the rest of your days.”
Chi Miao’s words struck everyone’s hearts like a heavy hammer.
They never expected such words to come from Chi Miao.
In that moment, they all felt an indescribable emotion.
“But even if we manage to make the lightning rod, someone will have to place it far away to attract the lightning. That task is extremely dangerous—who would be willing to do it?”
Chi Miao chuckled: “I’ll go. Since this was my idea, as long as everyone is willing to take this gamble with me, I’ll shoulder the rest of the risks alone.”
She was, in truth, fiercely competitive.
Because she had never lived a good life, she had nothing to lose.
And since she had nothing to lose, she had no reservations.
Life or death—it didn’t matter to her.
Everyone was stunned, and then Jin Shengfei stepped forward, offering his storage ring.
“Alright, since you’ve said that, little sister Chi Miao, I, Jin Shengfei, have nothing to fear. What are a few magical artifacts and weapons? I’ll give you all of mine! My family has plenty of money—what’s there to worry about replacing them later?!”
“Take them! Take as many as you need!”
Jin Shengfei had actually supported Chi Miao from the start, but he wasn’t a fool.
If no one else joined in, the risks would fall entirely on him and Chi Miao, while the benefits would be shared by everyone.
Not only was it a bad deal, it was downright unfair.
But now that he spoke up, it was because everyone was beginning to waver.
By stepping forward at this moment, he could surely rally most of them to their cause.
Sure enough, with Jin Shengfei taking the lead, the others gritted their teeth and offered their own magical artifacts and weapons.
“Take mine too. Start with Jin Shengfei’s—his family is rich, he’s not afraid. If his aren’t enough, then use mine.”
“Right, mine are here too. If Jin Shengfei’s aren’t sufficient, you can use ours.”
“And mine!”
Jin Shengfei: “???”
You can do that??!
How sneaky of you all!
Ying WuHuo watched from behind the crowd, finding the situation utterly amusing.
If this batch of disciples actually succeeded in joining the sect, Nine Sword Mountain was in for some lively times.
The recent groups of disciples at Nine Sword Mountain… had never shown such daring determination and unity.
Even though everyone was saying to use Jin Shengfei’s items first, in reality… they had already prepared for the worst.
At this point, Ying WuHuo’s gaze fell once again on Chi Miao.
All of this was thanks to her.
A girl who was both infuriating and extraordinary.
There were still a few who didn’t want to contribute, but since everyone else had, they felt too embarrassed to hold back.
Chi Miao looked at the pile of magical artifacts and weapons before her and smiled with relief.
“This should be enough.”
“Whether we succeed or not depends on me now.”
As she spoke, Chi Miao channeled her true energy, and a small flame ignited in the cold cave.
The fire was not particularly strong.
“But, Chi Miao, that tiny flame of yours probably can’t melt these, right? These are all refined spiritual implements—ordinary flames can’t melt them. You’d need an artifact refining furnace.”
“Is that so?”
“Of course. Did you plan to melt them like this from the start?”
“Why not?” Chi Miao tilted her head innocently.
For a moment, everyone fell silent.
“We thought you could refine artifacts! Are there any other artifact refiners here?”
No one made a sound.
None of them had reached Foundation Establishment yet—where would they get the spiritual power needed for artifact refining?
“It’s over, it’s over… our last hope has been extinguished.”
Someone clutched their head in agony.
But just then, the temperature inside the cave began to rise continuously, turning the originally cold and terrifying environment uncomfortably hot.
This temperature…
Everyone followed the source of the light and stared in stunned silence.