Witnessing the scene before them, everyone had to admit they were somewhat impressed by Chi Miao’s coolness. After all, anyone who could wield a lightning rod to summon thunder and annihilate Nether Spirits would look undeniably awesome.
Especially since this Chi Miao was quite cultured and knew how to show off.
A phrase suddenly popped into their minds: “Wow, queen, you’re so badass!”
Ying WuHuo twitched his lips: “What a show-off! So damn pretentious!”
Jin Shengfei: “Well, you’ve got quite the attitude too. You’re truly the ‘Attitude Bro.'”
Ying WuHuo: “…”
How did he get a new nickname so quickly? These people were truly something else.
“Chi Miao’s save was absolutely epic! She said she had a solution, and she really delivered!”
“Epic? She’s beyond epic! Carrying a lightning rod, chasing down Nether Spirits and striking them with thunder!”
“Yeah, and she’s even glowing with golden light!”
“Golden light? What golden light?”
After someone pointed it out, the others were equally baffled. Chi Miao was a fire spiritual root cultivator—at most, she’d emit red or white light, or perhaps purple when circulating her cultivation technique. But golden light? What was that?
They took a closer look, and sure enough, there was golden light!
Where the Nether Spirits were struck and dissipated, golden orbs of light remained in their place. The light was warm and powerful, evoking a sense of awe and longing.
Ying WuHuo had seen this before, but he could hardly believe it.
“This… is karma?”
“What?! Karma???”
As the concept of these two words was introduced, everyone’s jaws dropped in astonishment.
The path of cultivation was inherently about defying fate and altering destiny. Thus, after the Foundation Establishment Stage, every major breakthrough would attract a heavenly tribulation. This tribulation could not be blocked by ordinary means—only karma could offer protection.
Karma not only safeguarded cultivators but also blessed their immortal fortune, granting them all sorts of benefits.
Compared to top-tier spiritual treasures, this was something even more precious and hard to come by!
And now…
It was scattered all over the ground.
“This… all over the ground, it’s all karma? How is that fair?!”
Not only the new disciples but even the elders couldn’t help but curse.
These old-timers had toiled their entire lives—how much karma did they have to show for it?
And now, Chi Miao just summoned thunder to strike a few Nether Spirits and ended up with karma all over the ground? Where was the justice in that?
He Wanban frantically pulled out several thick books and began flipping through them until he found the answer.
“So that’s it… that’s it!”
His white hair, now slightly disheveled, fell loosely as he gazed at the water mirror and explained the origin of the karma.
“Karma is bestowed by the natural laws of heaven and earth based on a cultivator’s actions. Most of the Nether Spirits in the Sword Cemetery can be described as ‘wandering souls.’ They have no fixed abode, cannot reincarnate, cannot be destroyed, and are trapped within the Sword Cemetery.”
“It’s correct that they fear thunder. Thunder is the only means to eliminate them. The reason why Thunder Spiritual Root cultivators who entered the Sword Cemetery to choose swords never encountered such a scene is because their thunder wasn’t natural heavenly thunder! Striking the Nether Spirits with it would only dissipate their souls.”
“But the thunder Chi Miao summoned using the lightning rod is genuine, natural heavenly thunder that can send the Nether Spirits back to the cycle of reincarnation!”
“As the saying goes, ‘For every three feet a snake bites, there is an antidote within.’ The thunder in the Sword Cemetery over the years has existed to restrain the Nether Spirits and even send them back to reincarnation!”
“Chi Miao assisted the heavenly laws in accomplishing this task, which is why… she was rewarded with karma!”
After He Wanban explained everything, everyone watched the scene in the water mirror, feeling both exasperated and amused.
If that karma had been given to them, they might have been able to advance their cultivation further.
Chi Miao had truly stepped in dog shit and slipped her way into a premium membership!
How did she manage to hit the jackpot by sheer accident?!
Golden karma poured like a nourishing rain from all directions, flooding into Chi Miao’s body, warmly nourishing her flesh and her parched Thunder Spiritual Root.
Chi Miao now understood—this was karma.
Not only did it spare her any sensation of being struck by lightning, but it also revitalized her Thunder Spiritual Root.
Fantastic!
More! She needed more karma!
Chi Miao burst into wild laughter.
Her laughter echoed through the narrow space as she ran, lightning rod in hand, faster and faster!
“Don’t run! Don’t run! None of you run! Stay put and let me strike you, let me collect karma!”
“Let the karma come even more fiercely!!!”
She had gone mad—this time, Chi Miao was truly insane.
Tireless, like a wild beast, she chased after the Nether Spirits, striking them with lightning wherever she found them!
Wherever there were Nether Spirits, she wouldn’t let a single one escape!
Jin Shengfei and the others were left utterly dumbfounded by the scene before them, their minds so blank they couldn’t muster a single word.
“This world is so absurd—it’s suddenly gone mad in ways I never dared imagine. Crazy, it’s all crazy, hahahaha!”
Who in their right mind chases after Nether Spirits?
This is too brutal!
Amid the torment of being struck by lightning and healed by karma, Chi Miao’s physical body grew stronger than what should be possible at her level, and the Thunder Spiritual Root within her flourished more and more.
“Gou Shi System, has my Thunder Spiritual Root been activated now?”
Gou Shi System: “It’s definitely usable now, but the Root Value is at most sixty. Still, at this rate, if you keep getting struck for another half-hour, it’ll reach ninety.”
Chi Miao’s eyes lit up.
“Then I absolutely love being struck by lightning!”
What a streak of good fortune!
In the Cultivation World, conventional wisdom held that the more mixed one’s Spirit Roots, the worse their talent.
But why was that?
Why would having multiple attributes be a disadvantage?
Because when advancing, each Spirit Root required its spiritual power to be fully saturated. Dual Spirit Roots needed twice as much, triple Spirit Roots three times as much.
Moreover, with mixed Spirit Roots, the Root Value would be divided, making it difficult to achieve a high average Root Value, which in turn made one’s talent less prominent.
But this problem didn’t exist for Chi Miao at all.
Because she was cheating.
Because her Root Value was so high that anyone who tested it would be blown away!
Her cultivation speed was already terrifyingly fast, which made her foundation prone to instability. Having an extra Spirit Root to impose some limits was nothing but beneficial!
Gou Shi System: “No wonder everyone hates cheaters.”
Chi Miao: “Wake up—you are the cheat.”
Gou Shi System: “You’re right.”
For the next half-hour, Chi Miao continued to be the most shameless presence in the entire Sword Cemetery, wielding her lightning rod to purge every last trace of vengeful spirits. In the end, not only were the spirits gone, but even the thunderclouds that had hovered over the Nine Sword Mountain’s Sword Cemetery for centuries, even millennia, had dissipated.
Everyone who witnessed this: “I never imagined the Sword Cemetery could become so peaceful and harmless because of one person.”
This was beyond ridiculous.
Anyone who heard about it would be left speechless.
Inside the Sword Cemetery, the sky was clear and bright, the weather so beautiful it made everyone feel as if they weren’t there for training but for a leisurely trip.
Chi Miao finally emerged from under the lightning rod, her face radiant with delight.
“Now that was an exhilarating battle! So satisfying!”
When she appeared before the crowd, a dazzling golden light pierced everyone’s eyes.
“Ah! So blinding!”
“How can she be even more blinding than Jin Shengfei?!”
“And what’s with that faint hint of divinity?”
“Stop talking, my legs have gone weak, I feel like kneeling!”
And when they saw clearly why the golden light was so dazzling, everyone knelt down simultaneously without exception!
“???”
Why were their knees completely out of control!