Chapter 99: I Hope It Works
It had been five hours!
That's how long this darn trial had been going on, and he still hadn't found the end of the maze.
The heat was becoming unbearably intense, even when he tapped into Spiritual energy, his reserves were down to just 10%.
As he ventured into each new room, the risks grew more challenging, and the number of paths multiplied.
At present, he found himself in a room with an overwhelming number of paths—70 in total.
"I can't go on like this," Chen Tian mumbled, using his sword as a support by sticking it in the ground. He was exhausted, unable to muster the strength to even store his sword in his ring.
His expression revealed his discomfort, with sweat dripping down his face due to the intense heat. It was evident that the temperature was still rising, draining his spiritual energy and leaving him increasingly weak.
Even though his spiritual sense had been severely diminished, it remained no less potent than before.
As he entered the room, he came face to face with a fiery wolf that possessed the strength of a cultivator who had reached the First Stage of Meridian Opening Realm.
This time, the battle proved to be more challenging as his previous encounter with the fiery golem.
Chen Tian had to exert a great deal of his spiritual Qi, struggling throughout the entire hour-long fight. Eventually, Chen Tian managed to outsmart the fire wolf, he used his Heavenly Lightning Step technique and the first move of the celestial sword art.
That was the only way if he wanted to defeat the Fire Wolf.
"No! I can't keep going like this; I need to figure out a solution!" Chen Tian's face grew serious as he pondered how to escape from the current situation.
He understood that he couldn't rely solely on his Spiritual Qi and spiritual sense for much longer.
He had to find a way to escape!
If only he could absorb the dead bodies of these beasts he killed, maybe he could have regained a bit of his energy, but it turned out that the beasts in this trial weren't real.
This meant that he couldn't use the heaven devouring technique.
Realizing there was nothing he could do, Chen Tian decided to sit down in the center of the room, trying to catch his breath.
Sitting comfortably in the center of the room, Chen Tian took slow, deep breaths to calm his racing mind.
Though he felt trapped and powerless, he firmly believed there had to be a way out of this confusing maze. Filled with determination, he focused on finding a solution.
Closing his eyes, Chen Tian delved deep into his thoughts, searching for any hints or clues that could guide him towards an escape route.
He recollected his experiences and the knowledge he gained from his past life training and adventures.
His mind carefully considered different techniques and strategies, exploring every possible option.
As Chen Tian entered each new room, he noticed more paths appearing.
Even with his chaos insight, he could only catch quick glimpses of the maze's true nature and potential escape routes.
However, he still couldn't find the exit.
Taking a deep breath, he decided to continue his meditation.
Meanwhile, the other participants in the fire trial were encountering even more challenging obstacles.
Despite some people being eliminated earlier, only 70 participants remained, and their conditions were not good.
The extremely hot trial was causing problems for the remaining participants.
They were feeling tired and exhausted as they struggled to withstand the intense flames and extremely high temperatures.
Sweat dripped down their faces, and their bodies became weak from the constant effort.
Some participants had noticeable burns and injuries; their skin was red and had blisters from the never-ending flames.
Coughs echoed through the air as the smoke filled their lungs, making it harder to breathe.
"Damn it! I'm running out of energy!" exclaimed Qiu Xufeng, who was breathing heavily due to the heat, as his energy was depleting rapidly.
"Shut up!" snapped Zou Yang.
His condition wasn't any better, as his energy was also depleting quickly, like Qiu Xufeng's.
By sheer chance, both of them found themselves in this trial and, incredibly, managed to locate each other through a stroke of luck. It was as if fate had intervened.
Realizing the advantages of joining forces, they decided to team up and combine their resources, skills, and knowledge.
Their goal was to improve their chances of successfully completing the trial.
Working together, they tackled the challenges and obstacles that lay ahead.
Each of them brought their own unique strengths to the table, complementing one another's abilities and filling in any gaps where the other might fall short.
With their combined efforts, they navigated the trials more effectively.
At the beginning, things were going well for them. However, as time passed, their situation started to worsen.
They encountered many traps along the way that forced them to use their spiritual energy, but it wasn't sufficient.
As they continued exploring the dangerous maze, each room became increasingly perilous, requiring them to utilize even more of their spiritual energy.
Zou Yang had reached his limit, and Qiu Xufeng's constant shouting had worn away his patience.
Feeling his frustration boiling over, Zou Yang couldn't bear Qiu Xufeng's relentless yelling any longer. Disregarding his own fatigue, Zou Yang responded with a loud roar, matching Qiu Xufeng's volume.
Witnessing Zou Yang's furious stare, Qiu Xufeng abruptly ceased his shouting.
"If you have time to shout like that, why not focus on finding a way out of here?" Zou Yang spoke firmly, tiredness could be felt from his face.
"You're wasting valuable time by staying here, and your continuous yelling isn't benefiting anyone."
Qiu Xufeng nodded in agreement, realizing the mistake he had made.
Due to his exhaustion, he had lost control of his emotions.
After a moment, Zou Yang finally spoke up, expressing his frustration, "Forget it, let's just go with that."
"What are you talking about?" Qiu Xufeng inquired, curious about what Zou Yang had in mind.
Zou Yang didn't respond immediately; instead, he reached into his storage ring and retrieved something.
The object he took had a round, metallic shape with a red crystal embedded in the center.
"What is that?" Qiu Xufeng asked, puzzled.
"I borrowed it from my father," Zou Yang said, placing the metallic object on the ground. "It's a device that can help us find the way out."
"Really?" Qiu Xufeng's eyes widened in surprise upon hearing Zou Yang's words.
"Why didn't you use it earlier then?" Qiu Xufeng asked, wondering why they had wasted so much energy.
"Do you think it was that simple to use?" Zou Yang replied, sounding frustrated.
"This device has been in my family for a long time, and it's not something you can easily activate. It requires a significant amount of energy to work."
Qiu Xufeng's enthusiasm diminished as he realized the complexity involved. "I see. So, what do we need to do to make it work, since we have very little energy left?"
Zou Yang sighed, aware that he needed to explain further. "The device needs at least 1000 medium-grade spirit stones to function."
"1000! That's incredibly expensive!" Qiu Xufeng's face showed a mix of shock and disbelief.
"I know, that's why I didn't want to use it, but now we don't have a choice," Zou Yang said, extending his open palm in front of Qiu Xufeng.
Qiu Xufeng was confused, but then understood what Zou Yang wanted.
"Can't we think of another way?" Qiu Xufeng tried to suggest. Zou Yang shook his head. "I've already considered every possible option.
This is the only choice we have left. Come on! You're not going to pay for everything!" Zou Yang angrily said.
"Bitch! There is no way am I going to pay for all these spirit stones from my pocket!" he thought to himself.
"Ugh! Fine!" Qiu Xufeng reluctantly handed over the spirit stones to Zou Yang, knowing they needed to use the device to complete this trial.
He then watched as Zou Yang took all the spirit stones.
"I hope it works" Qiu Xufeng felt like crying as his money was slipping away quickly, just like sand through his fingers. He hoped that everything would work out.
He hoped this sacrifice would work and that they could finally finish this damn trial that had put him in this awful hell.