As long as one had not committed grave crimes such as deceiving one's master, betraying one's ancestors, or harming someone to death, lesser offenses were usually settled with ten days or half a month of solitary confinement. It sounded rather easy, yet whenever the words "solitary confinement" were mentioned, Taichu Sect disciples would turn pale at the mention of tigers. Especially those who had been confined before—beat them to death, and they still would not willingly return to that hellhole.
Escorted by two groups of law enforcement disciples, Yuan Shanhu's trio and Qin Haoxuan headed toward the place of confinement. Feeling the pitying gazes cast their way by passersby, Yuan Shanhu and the other two, their faces drawn with misery, trembled with fear. Amid his unease, Qin Haoxuan also felt a trace of anticipation. Just how terrifying were the Lava Cellar and Ice Cliff, that merely naming them could frighten people so badly?
The place of confinement was not far from Spirit Field Valley. After following a narrow goat trail, they saw a mountain peak of exquisite spiritual beauty. This was Taichu Sect's famed Solitary Confinement Mountain, also known as Repentance Peak.
Taichu Sect had over ten thousand disciples, and every day, quite a few made mistakes and were sent into confinement. To prevent disciples from still forming factions during confinement and triggering large-scale chaos and clashes, the farsighted senior masters of Taichu Sect had used great divine abilities to carve out numerous confinement sites within Repentance Peak's belly. There were countless places such as the Lava Cellar, Ice Cliff, and Blade Mountain Cave. Each confinement site could hold more than ten people at once, ensuring that incorrigible disciples could enjoy different "treatment" each time while greatly reducing management risks.
As they neared Repentance Peak, Yuan Shanhu, who had been confined before, looked at the pitch-black entrance halfway up the mountain, roughly two meters tall and one meter wide. Recalling that unbearable chapter of his confinement, his face instantly drained of color, and he shivered all over. Where was the swagger he had shown when bullying Qin Haoxuan? Zhang San and Li Si were drenched in cold sweat as well.
A law enforcement disciple reminded them coldly, "The Lava Cellar and Ice Cliff are both inside Repentance Peak. There is another world within the mountain, and its environment differs from the outside. Especially when walking through the paths inside the mountain, you may encounter all sorts of dangers. Use your Essence Energy to defend yourselves. If you truly cannot manage, call for help. We will assist you."
Following the stone stairs to the mountainside, Qin Haoxuan looked at Repentance Peak's entrance, which appeared no different from an ordinary cave, and a huge sense of oppression rose in his heart. The entrance was like an ancient beast opening its bloody maw, as though it could devour everything.
Under the stern gazes of the law enforcement disciples, Yuan Shanhu's trio endured the waves of agonizing pain from the bones Qin Haoxuan had broken and forced themselves into the mountain entrance that filled them with terror. Qin Haoxuan followed close behind. Once they entered, the originally dark mountain path suddenly opened up. This was no mountain path at all. Before Qin Haoxuan and the others stretched a broad avenue four or five meters wide, its depth impossible to see. Torches had been set into the walls every meter, their flames dancing as dim yellow light waxed and waned, making the place all the more eerie and sinister.
Between every pair of torches stood a small door. Behind each inconspicuous door lay one of the various confinement sites that made every Taichu Sect disciple turn pale at the mention of them. The names were written above the doors: Blade Mountain Cave, Wind Blade Valley, Lightning Gorge, and more.
Every time they passed a small door, they could sense the terrifying aura spilling out from the confinement site beyond it. When they passed Blade Mountain Cave, several fierce blade energies shot through the door. Had the law enforcement disciples not warned them beforehand, and had those blade energies not been relatively weak, Yuan Shanhu and the others would have been in serious trouble. When the energies flew at them, they covered their bodies in Essence Energy for protection, while Qin Haoxuan's danger was resolved by a law enforcement disciple. With his strength, he was still unable to block those blade energies. But as someone personally protected by two violet-seed disciples, the law enforcement elders had instructed the law enforcement disciples that he absolutely must not come to harm.
Seeing those baleful names, feeling the eerie atmosphere, and sensing the various threats escaping from the small doors, Yuan Shanhu's trio, already pale with fright, nearly burst into tears. They were already injured, and now they had to spend fifteen days confined in a place like this. Would that not be a brush with death nine times out of ten?
After passing more than ten doors, Yuan Shanhu's trio was escorted into the small door marked Ice Cliff. Qin Haoxuan's Lava Cellar was directly opposite Ice Cliff.
The instant he stepped into the Lava Cellar, a wave of heat rushed into his face. Though heat at this temperature was unbearably uncomfortable and even made breathing difficult, it posed no threat to life. The law enforcement disciples had escorted Qin Haoxuan all the way here, but once they reached the confinement site, there was no need to keep guarding him. Instead, they wore teasing expressions, wanting to see what was so special about the person two violet-seed disciples had fought to protect.
Beyond the small door was a narrow, pitch-black cave passage. The farther down they went, the heavier the heat waves became. After walking roughly five hundred meters, the law enforcement disciples, who had not activated spiritual power to protect themselves, had begun to sweat slightly. Yet Qin Haoxuan remained as unconcerned as if nothing had happened, seeming to even enjoy the heated atmosphere.
For when he stepped into the Lava Cellar, he did not find the heat oppressive at all. Instead, it felt like a cool breeze brushing his face, bringing immense comfort to the unbearable dryness and heat within his body.
The law enforcement disciples sneered at Qin Haoxuan. Let us see how long you can endure.
As they followed the cave passage deeper underground, the temperature steadily climbed. The heat waves offset more and more of the dryness in his body. An ordinary person would scorch their lungs with a single breath here, yet waves of heat hot enough to singe hair washed over Qin Haoxuan like cool summer breezes. It felt so wonderful that he was deeply grateful to the law enforcement elders who had exiled him here. This hellhole in other people's eyes was practically paradise on earth to Qin Haoxuan!
After passing through a long corridor, they reached the cellar. At its entrance stood a huge iron door, and even its lock was forged of refined steel. Unless one was a powerful expert of exceptionally high cultivation, the door could not be opened without the key.
The law enforcement disciples opened the iron door, shoved Qin Haoxuan inside, and then slammed it shut with a clang. They hid behind the door and secretly watched.
Every newcomer received a "newcomer's meal." No one was exempt.
Qin Haoxuan had just been shoved inside and had yet to regain his senses when a large blanket was thrown over his head. Then a group of people swarmed him, raining punches and kicks upon him.
Before Qin Haoxuan could even clearly see his surroundings or determine how many people were confined in the Lava Cellar, he received a baffling beating.
Ever since he had set foot on Dayu Mountain, he had been bullied by Li Jing and the others. Even Zhang Kuang had climbed onto his head to flaunt his power, sending Yuan Shanhu's trio to beat him up. Had his life not been tough, more than half of it would have been lost already.
He had originally hoped to spend a few quiet days in the Lava Cellar and work hard to improve his cultivation. Who could have known that the moment he entered, he would be subjected to a vicious beating from head to toe? Taken together, all this treatment was enough to give even a clay Buddha three parts anger, let alone Qin Haoxuan, a hot-blooded youth!
That brutal beating especially sent Qin Haoxuan's anger soaring.
"Eh, it doesn't hurt?" Qin Haoxuan, his fury towering three zhang high, wanted to throw off the blanket and fight back. But he discovered that their blows felt like a massage. Not only did they not hurt, the unbearable dryness and heat in his body seemed to have lessened somewhat under the beating.
Comfortable. Though their blows were not as comfortable as when Yuan Shanhu had struck him with spiritual techniques, they still felt incredibly satisfying!
Qin Haoxuan, who had originally wanted to rise up and retaliate, immediately abandoned the thought of resisting. He shifted into a comfortable position and lay sprawled on the ground like a dead dog, enjoying the "massage" of fists and feet. The medicinal power of the One-Leaf Golden Lotus, combined with the wondrous witch cultivator art known as the Great Dao Heart Seed Demon Technique, made this "newcomer's meal" incomparably enjoyable for Qin Haoxuan. He even wished they would hit harder.
In an environment like the Lava Cellar, even moving slightly would make one sweat, much less engaging in such intense exertion. The group beating Qin Haoxuan was drenched in sweat.
"This kid looks to be at a very low realm. We've beaten him for so long, but he hasn't made a sound. We didn't beat him to death, did we?"
At last, a lean, wiry man wiped away his sweat and voiced his concern between gasps. It was also what everyone else was thinking.
In a place like the Lava Cellar, even breathing freely felt stifling, much less having a blanket over one's head while enduring such a barrage of punches and kicks. Even an Immortal Seedling Realm disciple likely could not withstand it.
The disciples hurriedly stopped their fists and feet, then lifted the blanket, which had already been beaten full of holes. They saw Qin Haoxuan's jade-like face, his breathing steady and deep, not a bruise anywhere on his body, and an expression of enjoyment on his face. It was completely different from the outcome they had imagined, where Qin Haoxuan had either been beaten or suffocated to death.
This... what was going on?
If Qin Haoxuan had been a master with profound cultivation, it would have been understandable. But no matter how they looked at him, he was merely a fledgling who had entered the sect not long ago, only at the initial stage of the Initial Immortal Root Realm!
Though they had not used spiritual power just now, beating him half to death should not have been a problem!
While they were baffled, Qin Haoxuan, whose body had begun to grow hot and dry again, opened his eyes and looked around. At last, he saw the Lava Cellar clearly! Places of confinement were often harsh, but Qin Haoxuan had not expected that aside from four stone walls, there were only a dozen or so Taichu Sect disciples confined here. Other than a few wearing thin clothing, most were bare-chested.
Most of these people possessed the strength of the Immortal Seedling Realm Second and Third Leaf. After that barrage of punches and kicks, each was exhausted, gasping for breath and drenched in sweat. Yet the person they had beaten was looking around as though nothing had happened. This thoroughly enraged them.
"We worked so hard beating him, yet this brat did not even let out a single scream. Fine, taste my Explosive Flame Technique!" A burly man suddenly roared. His hands rapidly formed incantation seals, the temperature around him suddenly rose, and spiritual power surged. A small fireball appeared in his hand, and he hurled it at Qin Haoxuan on the ground. It exploded with a bang, like a brilliant burst of fireworks.
The Explosive Flame Technique was merely the lowest-grade spiritual technique. Used by him, it was not powerful enough to kill someone. Yet even a disciple at the late stage of the Immortal Root Planting Realm would be injured by it. Beating someone at Qin Haoxuan's level half to death should not have been difficult.
"Old Ye, don't hit too hard. This newcomer has only been in the sect for a few days. It would be bad if you played him to death!"
A rough voice spoke, followed by a burst of raucous laughter.
"Mm..."
A comfortable moan escaped Qin Haoxuan's lips. After taking a hit from the Explosive Flame Technique, he was not only completely unharmed, but enjoyed the blow even more.
The man called Old Ye immediately felt humiliated. One spiritual technique after another struck Qin Haoxuan. Then the others, their eyes burning with eagerness, joined in attacking him. All kinds of spiritual techniques howled through the small Lava Cellar and smashed into Qin Haoxuan. For a time, flames, wind blades, and hailstones swallowed him whole.
They could never have imagined that the various spiritual techniques they unleashed not only failed to harm Qin Haoxuan, but instead gave him a free full-body pounding, driving the medicinal power of the One-Leaf Golden Lotus within him into his five viscera, six bowels, and marrow. The dryness and heat vanished completely, leaving him indescribably comfortable!
This indiscriminate bombardment continued for a full quarter of an hour. The attackers exhausted all their spiritual power and collapsed on the ground, completely spent. They stared at Qin Haoxuan in dumbfounded disbelief, their eyes fixed on him as though he were a monster. Even a powerful Immortal Seedling Realm Third Leaf cultivator would have been dead or crippled under such an assault, yet this kid wore an expression of sheer pleasure...
"Have you senior brothers had enough? If so, then it is my turn next!" Qin Haoxuan rose from the ground and rolled his neck, his knuckles cracking like popping beans. His face was cold and grim. Though that beating had felt comfortable, if he had been an ordinary person without much ability, he would likely have been either dead or crippled after such an indiscriminate beating!
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