This is the charm of Russian roulette

"The rules are this complicated?" Xu Hao frowned.

He had the least exposure to illusionary games, and this type of brain-intensive game was something he particularly disliked.

"Don’t worry, it’s just like 'Legends of the Three Kingdoms'—it looks difficult at first glance, but you’ll get the hang of it after one round... Oh, wait, you’ve never played 'Legends of the Three Kingdoms' either."

Lu Ze shrugged helplessly, giving Xu Hao a strange look.

A cultivator like him would undoubtedly become an outlier sooner or later...

"Haha, I’ve already figured it all out... This Earth Vein Jade Marrow is mine for the taking!" Wang Tianjing puffed out his chest confidently.

"Hehe, I think I get it too... Seems pretty fun!" Chen Yiyun grinned, fiddling with the Russian roulette hand crossbow in her hands before turning to Lu Ze with a hint of worry:

"Will... will this hurt?"

"Yes. Very much."

Lu Ze nodded without hesitation.

In truth, it only stung a little. He just wanted to scare them a bit, applying some pressure on the trio.

Who knows? If one of them had weaker nerves and cracked under the pressure, they might just explode with extra demonic energy for him.

Even the smallest scraps of meat were still meat.

"Tch, so it’s just a life-or-death gamble with this thing, right? Bring it on, who’s scared?" Xu Hao glared at the hand crossbow, steeled himself, and pressed the ready button.

"Good."

Lu Ze smiled faintly.

"Then, let the game begin."

The moment all three readied themselves, the match started.

A silver bolt appeared in each of their hands simultaneously.

Their hands moved automatically, placing the silver bolt into the jade disc.

With a light flick, the disc spun rapidly before gradually coming to a stop.

Click.

The bolt loaded into the crossbow, and only then did the three set their weapons aside.

"Gotta admit, that sound is pretty terrifying."

Chen Yiyun’s smile stiffened slightly.

Out in the world, her cultivation and magical artifacts gave her the confidence to protect herself.

But inside this illusion, stripped of all her power, life and death rested entirely on fate—it was hard not to feel a twinge of fear.

"Scared of what? Even if my head rolls, the wound’s just the size of a bowl!"

Xu Hao scoffed dismissively.

Wang Tianjing narrowed his eyes, staying silent as if carefully observing the other two.

From the central deck on the round table, a card was randomly drawn.

[This round’s target card: Heaven]

Once revealed, each of them received five cards in hand.

"My turn first?"

Xu Hao blinked in surprise before staring at his hand, deep in thought.

His hand contained only one [Heaven].

According to the rules, if he played a fake card and got called out, he’d have to face a death challenge.

After a long hesitation, as the time limit for his move approached, Xu Hao finally played his only [Heaven].

"One [Heaven]."

The moment his card hit the table, Wang Tianjing, sitting next to him, flashed a sly grin.

"Two [Heaven]."

Lu Ze raised an eyebrow.

From his vantage point, he saw everything clearly.

This guy—playing a fake card on his first try? Truly a disciple of the Tianxuan Sect.

Seemed like if he wanted to secure the system’s reward, this guy would be the minor obstacle in his way.

"Wow, Brother Wang, your hand’s that good? You’re not bluffing, are you..."

Chen Yiyun muttered under her breath.

Wang Tianjing met her gaze without flinching. "Who knows?"

After a long internal struggle, Chen Yiyun ultimately didn’t dare to "challenge" and cautiously played a genuine card instead.

"One [Heaven]."

Now it was Xu Hao’s turn again.

His face flushed red with frustration.

As a purebred Righteous Path Cultivator, he knew nothing beyond cultivation.

Right now, he didn’t have a single [Heaven] in hand, yet the system was forcing him to play one.

Wasn’t this just pushing a good man toward the demonic path?

Xu Hao pinched each of his cards from left to right before finally, with trembling hands, tossing one from the middle onto the table.

"One [Heaven]..."

"Challenge!"

Wang Tianjing immediately slammed the table.

Xu Hao’s card was flipped over—revealing a [Human] card.

Xu Hao’s face instantly turned green.

"Brother Xu, Brother Xu... your expression and movements were way too obvious..."

Wang Tianjing shook his head with amusement.

"Tch, it’s just one trigger pull. No way the first shot’s gonna hit, right?"

Xu Hao forced a look of indifference, snorting disdainfully.

Hearing this, Lu Ze was inexplicably reminded of an old friend.

If a certain jinxer had been the one to say those words, it wouldn’t be long before they became a corpse.

Or maybe a certain unlucky workaholic...

Never mind. The mere thought of Zhou Yue playing this game was something Lu Ze didn’t even want to imagine...

Xu Hao picked up the hand crossbow and pressed it against his temple.

The illusion was too realistic—the cold, sharp touch of the weapon against his skin sent chills down his spine.

A sense of impending death prickled at him like needles.

Oddly enough, despite having brushed with death multiple times before, having this crossbow pressed to his head suddenly made his heart race.

In his mind’s eye, a vivid image surfaced—

His skull pierced by the bolt, dying in bitter regret!

"Tsk..."

The man known for his courage couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath.

For some reason, he was actually starting to feel afraid.

Sure, under the spell controlling this Russian roulette, there was only a one-in-six chance the bolt would fire.

But...

What if it did?

No one could say for sure whether the next trigger pull would be the lethal one!

On paper, it was one in six—but to him, it felt like fifty-fifty!

Live or die!

In the past, when he ventured out to train, battling demonic cultivators and clashing with monsters...

He relied on solid, tangible strength.

But now?

The spiritual energy that had always been his comfort was completely sealed away by the illusion!

Life and death rested entirely on the trigger beneath his thumb!

This sensation was far more nerve-wracking than dancing on the edge of a blade.

Because—

Life and death were in heaven’s hands, not his!

Nervous.

Extremely nervous!

Even a tough guy like Xu Hao couldn’t help but slow his breathing. The moment he pulled the trigger, he even instinctively shut his eyes!

Click.

The sound of an empty chamber echoed.

Xu Hao exhaled deeply in relief, forcing composure as he set the crossbow back on the table.

Lu Ze wasn’t surprised by Xu Hao’s reaction.

When designing the illusion, he had added a subtle guiding spell to amplify the cultivators’ perception of death.

This spell intensified their imagination of "dying" and subconsciously made the illusion feel real.

The "vision of death," paired with the thrill of Russian roulette—

For these cultivators who relied on their cultivation realms, as long as their will wasn’t ironclad, an instinctive fear was inevitable.

This was true gambling.

This was the allure of Russian roulette!