Ying WuHuo nodded.
Jin Shengfei explained: “Yes, all medicine has some toxicity. You’ve taken so much — three plus three plus three, you do the math, little sister Chi Miao… you’d better pray for good fortune.”
Chi Miao gasped sharply.
Wait, was she going to die just from eating a few elixirs?
She had just turned fifteen this lifetime!
Chi Miao immediately lay on the ground: “Fine, then I’ll prepare to die now.”
She looked utterly defeated, like a mechanical puppet with its energy source removed.
Even Ying WuHuo found it somewhat amusing.
“Are you truly unaware or just pretending? Elixirs do contain elixir toxin, but everyone has some immunity and conversion ability for this toxin. Those with good conversion can almost ignore it, and if you had poor conversion, you would have shown symptoms after just half the amount.”
Chi Miao: “Really?”
Jin Shengfei: “So that’s how it is? I was wondering why Chi Miao wasn’t dead yet.”
Chi Miao: “Jin Shengfei, what do you mean by that? Do you want me dead?!”
Jin Shengfei: “Just a little bit.”
Chi Miao: “Get lost!”
Ying WuHuo: “…”
Two idiots.
He was utterly speechless, but his gaze still unconsciously swept over Chi Miao.
To be honest, even those with good conversion ability would find it nearly impossible to remain completely unaffected after consuming such a large quantity of elixirs in such a short time, still being able to energetically argue with others.
Chi Miao’s physique could be called monstrous… truly defying the heavens.
Even if he were to consume that much, he would definitely experience problems.
After resolving this doubt, Chi Miao’s attention fell upon the freshly completed lightning rod. She walked to its side, touching it while saying: “Feels pretty good.”
Someone knowledgeable spoke up: “Of course it’s good. This was forged from countless spiritual implements. Even if used as a magic artifact, it would definitely qualify as an Earth-grade high-quality magic treasure.”
Chi Miao: “Really great.”
She looked at the lightning outside.
“Next, we’ll test whether it actually works or not.”
This point was crucial.
The next moment, everyone silently stood in a row and deeply bowed to Chi Miao.
Chi Miao: “What do you all mean by this?”
Everyone said in unison: “Farewell on your journey!”
Chi Miao: “…”
Did they have to act like she was definitely going to die?!
Chi Miao took a deep breath and attempted to move the lightning rod.
“Urgh!”
The lightning rod before her weighed several thousand pounds. Even using her spiritual power, Chi Miao found it difficult to move.
Jin Shengfei: “No problem, I have a talisman here called the Light Feather Talisman. No matter how heavy something is, once this is attached, it becomes light as a feather.”
After Jin Shengfei applied it, Chi Miao indeed lifted it easily.
Her eyes lit up: “You have quite a lot of these gadgets!”
Jin Shengfei: “Of course! As the saying goes, no matter how skilled you are, you still fear random attacks. When traveling with limited cultivation, one should make other preparations!”
Chi Miao smiled.
“In that case, I’m charging out now. Wait for my good news.”
Chi Miao hoisted the lightning rod onto her shoulder and rushed straight out of the cave.
Outside the cave, the chaotic lightning storm was even more intense than before. Everyone was so tense they could hear their own heartbeats.
Chi Miao closed her eyes, gathering spiritual power at her feet.
“I’m going!”
As her voice fell, Chi Miao swiftly dashed outward.
She didn’t erect the lightning rod immediately, but instead darted through the thunderstorm at an incredible speed. Several bolts of lightning narrowly missed her, grazing past her sides.
Her face turned deathly pale from fright.
“Holy moly! Don’t strike me!”
Each time, she executed an incredibly agile and flashy maneuver to evade the lightning, leaving everyone inside the tree hollow utterly dumbfounded.
They couldn’t help but sigh in awe.
“Good thing she’s the one doing this. Anyone else… would’ve been struck dead halfway.”
After about three minutes of this frantic dash, Chi Miao finally reached a spacious area that was also a safe distance away from the others.
“This should be far enough.”
She took a deep breath and carefully set up the lightning rod.
Then, she tore off the Light Feather Talisman!
Thud—!
The lightning rod plunged into the ground with a heavy sound.
Everyone watched the tip of the lightning rod nervously, wondering if it would successfully attract the lightning.
This was their all-or-nothing gamble, the culmination of everyone’s efforts—it had to work!
Above the Sword Cemetery, the thunderclouds, interwoven with flashes of lightning, grew increasingly dense, visibly converging above the lightning rod at a rapid pace.
After a brief moment of buildup—
Boom—!
A tremendous bolt of lightning struck vertically downward. The blinding flash illuminated the entire Sword Cemetery as bright as day, sending a chill down everyone’s spines.
An unprecedentedly powerful bolt of lightning struck the lightning rod!
At that moment, almost everyone erupted in joyous exclamations.
“It… it worked! It really worked!”
“Perseverance pays off!!!”
Their eyes grew warm, and even the tips of their noses tingled with emotion.
Who could understand?
Who could understand this feeling!
“Wait!”
“What’s wrong, Brother Jin?”
Jin Shengfei’s expression tightened. “Did any of you see Chi Miao run away?”
“…” A deathly silence fell.
“Holy shit!!!”
“Chi Miao… Could Chi Miao have been struck dead?!”
There was no movement at all. The numerous bolts of lightning in the sky, which had been striking randomly in all directions, now converged into one continuous stream, relentlessly striking the lightning rod.
Only the less powerful bolts strayed elsewhere.
“Let’s go check!”
Almost instantly, Jin Shengfei channeled his spiritual power and sprinted toward the lightning rod, with the others close behind.
Ying WuHuo’s mind was screaming “HOLY SHIT!”
He had finally found a Yang Spiritual Root, someone who could save him.
But before she could even start saving him, she died first?!
No way!
She could die after saving him!!
He flew on his sword, his Foundation Establishment Stage speed far surpassing the others, like a shooting star.
Jin Shengfei’s heart sank. “I never thought… Big Bro Healer would care so much about Chi Miao. What a devoted soul—he must be worried sick.”
By the time everyone reached the lightning rod, the thunderous dragon was still relentlessly striking it, its massive and terrifying form seeming capable of destroying heaven and earth.
The entire lightning rod was enveloped in lightning, not even a shadow visible.
No trace of that red figure could be seen anywhere nearby.
Almost simultaneously, everyone’s hearts skipped a beat.
“It’s over, it’s over, it’s over. The lightning’s been striking for so long without any movement—Chi Miao must be dead.”
Some of them had red-rimmed eyes.
“Chi Miao sacrificed herself for us…”
Just then.
From somewhere, the mournful sound of a suona horn began to play, its music solemn and tragic.
Jin Shengfei knelt on the ground, somehow produced a fire basin and a stack of spirit money, and asked a fire spiritual root brother to light a fire before starting to burn the paper offerings.
“Little Sister Chi Miao! You died so tragically… so tragically!”
“Your great kindness and virtue, all of us who have benefited from you today will forever remember it in our hearts!”
“Every Qingming Festival, I will remember to burn paper money for you!”
He cried exceptionally miserably, with skills so practiced it was almost unbelievable.
“Big Bro, you should burn some too. I know you’re grieving, but now that you and Sister Chi Miao are separated by the boundary of life and death, burning some money will make her life easier in the underworld.”
Ying WuHuo’s handsome face tightened, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
“Where did you get the paper burning basin and paper money from, and… how did this suona sound come about?”
Jin Shengfei said, “My family is a wealthy one. In wealthy families, people die frequently due to internal conflicts. I’m thoroughly familiar with the business of mourning, so I almost always carry paper money and a burning basin with me. This suona isn’t bad either, right? Sounds good, doesn’t it?”
“Wait… I don’t have a suona. Where is this suona sound coming from?!”
Jin Shengfei snapped to realization.
Everyone was stunned.
If it wasn’t Jin Shengfei, then who was playing the suona?
Listening carefully, the suona sound seemed to be coming from under the lightning rod?!