After I left the sect, the entire sect knelt down and begged for forgiveness.

Chapter 7: If you can't kill me, I win.

She's not a genius, so she definitely can't understand just by watching; she only learned the basics.

After setting up the formation, she went into the cave to further arrange it. Emerging from the cave, she sat cross-legged, no longer suppressing her cultivation.

Her cultivation surged forth like a floodgate bursting open. Soon, above her head, tribulation clouds gathered and rolled, dark clouds churning, with lightning flashing intermittently within them.

A moment later, a bolt of lightning struck down with a deafening roar. The immense impact caused her body to tremble uncontrollably, and her internal energy sea expanded wildly, as if she had been torn apart from within, causing her unbearable pain.

Then the second bolt of lightning struck, and she felt the shock of the lightning washing over her meridians. Unable to withstand the domineering power, her meridians shattered and reformed. The excruciating pain made her want to give up.

She quickly readjusted herself, refusing to be swayed by these emotions. Cultivating immortality is inherently defying the heavens; to so easily give up, to be afraid to face the tribulation lightning—what kind of immortality is that!

She yelled, "Strike! Strike me hard! I like being struck by lightning!"

Imagining that being struck by lightning would feel good rather than painful completely shattered any thoughts that might have led one to give up.

Whether it was because Heaven was moved by her words or not, the third lightning tribulation was even more powerful. She was struck so hard that she trembled violently, her hair stood on end, her face was charred black, and her robes were torn to shreds.

She forced herself to lift her head and gave the middle finger to the gradually dissipating dark clouds above.

Without bothering with her appearance, she quickly climbed into the cave and sat down to meditate and stabilize her state of mind.

Three days later, she slowly opened her eyes, took out a brand-new first-grade magic robe from her storage bag and put it on. After making a hand seal, her body, which had been smelly due to the expelled impurities, instantly became clean and refreshing, without a trace of dirt.

Her hair, which had been scraggly and disheveled by the lightning strike, returned to its original state, becoming soft and smooth. Her aura became even more extraordinary, her eyes as bright and lively as the moon, and her every move exuded the grace of an immortal.

Without the aid of Foundation Establishment Pills, she achieved perfect Foundation Establishment. Over the past three days, she stabilized her realm, absorbing all the power of the Heavenly Tribulation lightning to refine her meridians and advance her cultivation. She has now reached the third stage of Foundation Establishment, with a solid foundation.

The original first-grade defensive magic weapon, the "Jade Hairpin," broke in two after being struck by lightning. She then took out another hairpin and put it on herself.

Before coming to the Demon Forest, she bought dry food, talismans, and pills in the town, as well as magic robes, magic tools, and seasonings. Her spirit stones were limited, so she could only afford the lowest-grade magic robes and tools. She also prepared seasonings, thinking that if she wanted to eat something occasionally, she could use locally sourced ingredients.

Even after improving her cultivation level, she couldn't neglect practical combat. She was like a dry sponge, desperately needing to enrich and improve herself.

She was about to take inventory of the items in the storage bags of the three outer disciples of the Xuantian Sect when she felt a slight vibration coming from her own storage bag. She mentally entered her storage bag and retrieved the source of the vibration.

Her communication jade disc had activated. Normally, aside from the disciples who exploited and bossed her around, she would never receive any other messages. She'd been out of the sect for many days; why would anyone contact her?

She channeled spiritual energy into the communication jade disc and saw who had sent her the message; her joy vanished instantly.

It was sent to her by Gu Zhu, asking if she knew she was wrong.

"Is there something wrong with this person?" she said with a look of disgust. At this moment, Gu Zhu crossed his legs, waiting for the other party's reply with a smug look. He was certain that Lin Yan would regret leaving the sect, and he even made a bet with his followers that Lin Yan would kneel on Wenxin Peak and kowtow to admit her mistake within a few days.

In his eyes, life was tough for independent cultivators, while Lin Yan received far better treatment within the sect. It was one thing for her to be ungrateful, but to leave the sect in a huff after being reprimanded by her master was simply inhuman.

When she left the sect, she broke her sword, leaving her without support. He firmly believed that once she suffered setbacks and humiliation outside, she would realize how good the sect was.

He imagined Lin Yan returning in disgrace, apologizing and grinning like a smug villain. He could almost see Lin Yan kneeling on Wenxin Peak, begging him to intercede for her, and his heart was filled with smugness.

Seeing that she hadn't replied for a long time, he toned down his arrogant expression and continued to send her messages.

"If you realize your mistake, you can kneel down and beg me. If I am satisfied, I will ask your master to let you return to the sect. However, you cannot become a personal disciple; you can start as an outer disciple."

Lin Yan was full of questions, and the image of the other person as an idiot seemed to grow even larger in her mind. After thinking about it, she realized why Gu Zhu had taken the initiative to send her such a message.

When she left the sect, she kicked Gu Zhu and said some hurtful things, which hurt his pride and made him feel very embarrassed. After all these days, Gu Zhu must have thought that she was having a very hard time outside, which is why he took the initiative to send her a message to humiliate her.

But am I someone who can be humiliated at will?
She promptly replied with her jade tablet, "You idiot grandson, your great-aunt is living a carefree life outside. Don't bother me with messages unless it's important. Seeing your messages makes me lose my appetite."

After sending the message, she promptly deleted all her friends on the jade disc to avoid them sending her messages one by one to annoy her.

Upon receiving the reply, Gu Zhu's face instantly turned ashen, veins bulging on his forehead, his expression contorted with rage. He gripped the jade disc tightly, trembling with fury, nearly slamming it to the ground.

"That ungrateful wretch!" He gritted his teeth, imagining Lin Yan's miserable situation after leaving the sect. He imagined her suffering outside, disheveled and wretched. He couldn't wait to witness it with his own eyes to satisfy his twisted desires.

On the other side, Lin Yan put the jade disc into her storage bag, and then took out the storage bags of the three outer disciples of the Xuan Tian Sect. She was now at the third stage of Foundation Establishment, so she easily erased the spiritual imprints left on the storage bags by the Qi Refining stage disciples.

She emptied the contents of the storage bag and counted them one by one.

Outer disciples' storage bags don't contain many rare items; they mostly contain common talismans, healing pills, low-grade spiritual plants, and low-grade refining materials. The most valuable item inside is probably a second-grade defensive magic artifact, the Spirit Bamboo Umbrella.

Those three outer disciples of the Xuantian Sect probably didn't expect her to mix chili powder into the explosive talisman. Caught off guard, they were sent to their deaths before they could even use their defensive magic artifact.

She neatly arranged the items and put them into her storage bag. She also put away their storage bags, in case she didn't have enough for herself.

After packing up their belongings, the sound of explosive talismans exploding came from outside the cave, followed by a roar.

When she came out, she saw that a tiger-like beast had encountered the array she had set up outside, detonating the explosive talisman. The tiger-like beast bared its teeth, its bloodthirsty eyes fixed on her, as if it were about to pounce and bite off her neck at any moment.

This is a fifth-tier tiger beast, comparable to a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator. She is only at the third tier of Foundation Establishment, so facing it is destined to be a bitter battle.

(End of this chapter)