Chapter 372: Thick Earth Peak!
Jiang Chen soon arrived at Zhu Fuxian’s residence. Across the sprawling dozen acres of the Spirit Farm, a vast array of spirit plants grew in neat rows. Medicinal herbs dominated the fields, making up at least two-thirds of the crops.
Jiang Chen took in the sight, his hyper-logical mind immediately analyzing the discrepancy. *There weren’t this many before. A sudden spike in both the variety and yield of medicinal herbs… Did something happen?*
He quickly shelved the speculation. His primary objective here was to extract information from the Farm Master regarding Rong Long.
Stepping up to the entrance, Jiang Chen cupped his hands and announced himself. “Farm Master, your disciple has arrived!”
A wave of crisp, refreshing energy washed over him before the woven wicker gate swung open on its own. Zhu Fuxian strolled out of the bamboo cottage, a teasing smirk on his face. “You got here fast.”
Jiang Chen offered a pragmatic grin. “When you summon me, I don’t waste time.”
Zhu Fuxian, seeing right through the pleasantries, waved him forward. “Let’s talk on the way.”
“Where are we heading?” Jiang Chen asked, slightly surprised.
Zhu Fuxian summoned his Jade Green Shuttle. “You’re one of the involved parties. Come with me to the Punishment Hall. It’s time to see Rong Long.”
Though he didn’t have the full picture, Jiang Chen didn’t hesitate. He stowed away his Shattered Moon Flowing Frost and vaulted onto the Jade Green Shuttle right behind the Elder.*Whoosh!*
The shuttle tore through the air, rocketing straight up toward the Nine Heavens.
“Farm Master, where exactly is the Punishment Hall?”
“Thick Earth Peak!”
“Thick Earth Peak? One of the Seven Immortal Peaks?”
“You’ve been in the Dongting Sect for five years now. It’s high time you saw what a true Immortal Peak looks like!”
A rare spark of genuine anticipation flared in Jiang Chen’s chest. Everyone knew the Seven Immortal Peaks floated high above the clouds in the Nine Heavens. From a logical standpoint, Jiang Chen had always questioned the efficiency of this setup—why suspend a mountain in the sky, especially Thick Earth Peak, which fundamentally relied on subterranean Earth Vein energy?
Now, he would finally see the mechanics behind it.
As the shuttle pierced through the dense cloud layer, the sunlight intensified, glaring against Jiang Chen’s eyes. Almost immediately, the distinct, suffocating weight of Earth Vein energy crashed down on them. With every foot of altitude they gained, the atmospheric pressure multiplied, threatening to crush the breath from his lungs.
Then, an indescribable spectacle unfolded before him.
A colossal geyser of billowing Earth Vein energy, thick with swirling dust and grit, erupted upward like a volcanic pillar. Resting directly atop this violent updraft was a massive, earthen-yellow mountain.
The peak resembled an inverted cone—its sprawling summit stretched for dozens of miles, while its base tapered down to a mere few hundred feet across, anchoring perfectly into the roaring energy pillar. The mountain’s surface wasn’t made of solid, jagged rock; instead, it was composed of shifting, fluid loess. Centuries of relentless scouring by the Earth Vein energy had carved the terrain into mesmerizing, wave-like dunes.
Jiang Chen stared in disbelief. “That isn’t just Earth Vein energy. Is that… Profound Yellow energy?”
Standard Earth Vein energy only manifested as pale yellow mist when compressed to extreme densities. Yellow Earth Essence was even denser—a single wisp could weigh several tons and glowed with a rich ochre hue. But the titanic pillar roaring before him was a violent swirl of two distinct colors: a deep, abyssal black-red and a blinding earthen-yellow.
The contrasting colors created a jarring dissonance that somehow maintained a perfect, esoteric balance. The sheer gravitational pressure radiating from it was apocalyptic. Even with his Five Elements at Perfection, Jiang Chen felt like he had been plunged into quicksand. As the shuttle drew closer, the invisible mire thickened, binding his limbs and dragging at his very bones.
Zhu Fuxian gave a slight nod. “Your eyes don’t deceive you. That is an energy pillar forged entirely from Profound Yellow energy.”
“What exactly is fueling it from below?” Jiang Chen pressed, his mind calculating the sheer volume of energy required.
Zhu Fuxian chuckled. “Directly beneath that pillar, buried in the absolute deepest abyss of the Earth Vein, lies a Profound Yellow Mother Lode. The purpose of Thick Earth Peak’s existence is to act as a colossal plug, suppressing the catastrophic leakage of Profound Yellow energy from that Mother Lode. Over the centuries, the constant friction sculpted the mountain into what you see today, eventually earning it the title of one of the Seven Immortal Peaks.”
Jiang Chen quickly pieced the history together. *The sect discovered the Mother Lode deep underground. Their mining operations breached it, causing a massive energy leak. To prevent a disaster, the sect literally ripped an entire Earth Vein from the ground and slammed it down as a makeshift seal, creating Thick Earth Peak.*
This was the true, pragmatic reason the mountain floated in the Nine Heavens. The sheer scale of the engineering was staggering, a visual testament to absolute power.
Jiang Chen took a slow, steadying breath. *The Dongting Sect’s foundation is terrifyingly deep. To casually weaponize a mountain and an Earth Vein as a cork… No wonder they reign as one of the Three Great Immortal Sects.*
As they closed the distance to Thick Earth Peak, a violent, howling gale erupted around them. Massive kinetic vortexes materialized in the air, magnetically drawn toward their shuttle, threatening to tear them from the sky.
Unfazed, Zhu Fuxian produced an ancient, palm-sized token. It was an irregular oval, with the characters for “Spirit Farm” deeply engraved on its face. Beneath the text were three concentric rings of agricultural motifs: the innermost ring depicted sprouting seedlings, the middle ring showed mature stalks, and the outermost ring displayed a bountiful harvest. It was a literal representation of the Spirit Farm’s entire cultivation cycle.
Embedded in the back of the token was a pristine green crystal, housing a single, flickering strand of emerald light. The crystal pulsed, projecting a sweeping green aura that instantly neutralized the encroaching vortexes. The violent winds parted, allowing the shuttle to glide smoothly into Thick Earth Peak’s airspace.
The moment Jiang Chen stepped off the Jade Green Shuttle, gravity slammed into him. It felt as though he had been encased in an invisible suit of lead armor. His instincts screamed at him to activate his Earth Spirit Root; harmonizing with the ambient Earth Vein energy would instantly negate the crushing weight. But a quick glance at Zhu Fuxian reminded him to keep his trump cards hidden. He gritted his teeth and forced his physical body to bear the load.
Elemental theory dictated that Wood restrained Earth. However, reality was far more brutal—when the disparity in sheer mass was this extreme, the restraining element would be violently crushed. This environment wasn’t just saturated with standard Earth Vein energy; it was a lethal cocktail of Yellow Earth Essence and primordial Profound Yellow energy. The concept of a “lone tree failing to hold back a landslide” was currently making itself painfully clear to Jiang Chen’s internal organs.
Noticing his disciple’s struggle, Zhu Fuxian casually flicked his wrist, casting a shroud of cool, refreshing energy over Jiang Chen. The suffocating gravity and the sensation of wading through wet cement vanished instantly.
Jiang Chen immediately cupped his hands. “Thank you, Farm Master.”
Zhu Fuxian waved him forward. “Come. The Punishment Hall awaits.”
As they walked, Jiang Chen’s analytical mind kept working. “I’ve crossed paths with the Punishment Hall’s law enforcement disciples before. I noticed they possess a wide variety of Spirit Roots. Why is that?”
Wang Bing, for instance, possessed a Water Spirit Root, yet she was an active enforcer for the Hall.
“It’s a matter of checks and balances,” Zhu Fuxian explained. “To prevent cultivators with Earth Spirit Roots from monopolizing power here, the sect mandates that a significant portion of the Punishment Hall’s Elders and disciples must possess different affinities. Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, and even variant Spirit Roots—they ensure a balanced distribution of power.”
*Corporate diversification to prevent a hostile takeover,* Jiang Chen realized. “Makes sense.”
Zhu Fuxian shot him a half-smile. “If you’re interested, I could write you a recommendation.”
Jiang Chen immediately waved off the idea, his risk-averse nature flaring up. “No thanks. Being a Spirit Cultivator Envoy is already a full-time job. Adding law enforcement duties to my plate sounds like a fast track to an early grave.”
The conversation tapered off as they ventured deeper into Thick Earth Peak. The terrain grew increasingly rugged until they finally reached the heart of the Punishment Hall.
The location was a masterclass in geographical positioning. It sat precisely at the volatile nexus where the Earth Vein energy, Yellow Earth Essence, and Profound Yellow energy converged. The “Hall” itself wasn’t some grand, opulent palace. It was a brutalist, cavernous complex carved directly into the mountain’s waist.
Suspended directly above the cavern was a massive cross-section of the Profound Yellow Mother Lode, easily a hundred feet in diameter. Blinding, liquid-like Profound Yellow energy pulsed sluggishly within the ore. Opposite the entrance stood a stark public trial platform, and directly beneath that lay the gaping maw of the nine-level dungeon.
And there, heavily shackled to the center of the trial platform, was the very man Jiang Chen had come to see—Rong Long!