CHAPTER 367: CHAPTER 367 "IMMORTAL PEACH" IS RIPE!

"Since I’ve come, I’ll settle down and see what tricks a peach tree can play. If there really is a celestial net, perhaps my resistance can save some cultivators’ lives and accumulate some good karma." Xie Chenyuan spoke honestly; he was here just to see the excitement.

Though he sensed something off, he lacked any evidence. Trying to persuade anyone now would be futile, so he decided to wait and see what might happen.

As the saying goes: everything is fate, with hardly any control from mankind. When the time comes, whichever cultivators have great fortune and luck escaping this ordeal, it would be due to their own self-cultivated good karma.

Acting according to one’s wishes and being able to save people would align with the Great Path of cultivation.

"What a coincidence, I think the same." Jiang Yuan smiled knowingly, pondering how to steer the conversation towards finding out where Carefree City was.

Even if Carefree City couldn’t teleport to Cloud City, probing if the other knew of any other cities would be worthwhile. If he was determined to search, he’d surely find a city with links to Cloud City.

Just then, Tang Qin spoke softly, "Actually, it isn’t baseless.

When I first heard the news, I thoroughly investigated. The matter of the Immortal Peach extending lifespan was spoken by an enlightened monk himself. You must have heard of Guang Hui from Xuanmiao Temple, right? His master was a successor from Wo Hu Temple, which is why he knows this secret.

About three months ago, Master Guang Hui held a preaching session with countless listeners. During that transmission of wisdom, he mentioned the lifespan of cultivators and personally revealed that Wo Hu Temple’s Immortal Peach is a rare treasure in the mortal world. This is why so many listeners believed and spread the news."

The source being an enlightened monk seemed to lend a bit of credibility.

After all, monks do not speak falsely, and it was understandable that a virtuous person would want to use such an item to benefit everyone.

"Guang Hui from Xuanmiao Temple?" Xie Chenyuan was mildly surprised, "I’ve long admired the master’s name, but when I visited Xuanmiao Temple last month, I found Guang Hui had resigned from his position and traveled the world..."

Could there be a connection between the two?

Otherwise, why would he suddenly leave Xuanmiao Temple without a trace when the Immortal Peach’s maturity was approaching?

"It’s a bit too convenient. According to Miss Tang, the news was released just three months ago, and now the Immortal Peach is ripening, yet the master has vanished." Jiang Yuan, not originally from here, was not a true cultivator and held no particular reverence for monks.

In the current world, he had seen many hypocritical figures, thus holding some prejudice.

Bai Yunqi stood to one side and did not participate in the conversation, as the intruders’ realms were considerably higher than his own, making him hesitant to join the discussion.

Yun Shu was uninterested in everything. She thought attending the ’group-building’ event her owner talked about, unable to paint talismans, was slightly boring. With nothing else to do, she counted heads to see how many people could fit on this big mountain.

Yun Mo and Wan Mingchuan, aware of their lack of strength or knowledge, quietly watched and listened to the gossip.

Only Hu Zhile, keen to the outside world, observed the newcomers with considerable strength and eloquence. Noticing a cloud mark on their collar, he was surprised and joined the discussion, saying, "Senior Xie, are you a disciple of the Cloud Concealment Sect?

It is said the Cloud Concealment Sect has profound foundations, with erudite disciples. So... do you think there might be a possibility—that someone behind all this used Master Guang Hui’s words to deliberately spread the news, gathering so many cultivators together to harvest the energy of their emotions?

Since arriving at Wo Hu Mountain with the Venerable Family, I’ve smelled intense excitement and anxiety. The nearer to the Immortal Peach Tree, the stronger this atmosphere, and some cultivators seem almost driven to madness due to the environment’s influence. Perhaps the problem isn’t the peach itself?"

"The young lady’s suspicion is interesting." Xie Chenyuan looked closely at the speaker, who was actually a snow-white fox and smiled: "Emotional energy can be potent, just like certain magical treasures that absorb the grievances and evil energy of vengeful spirits for attack purposes. If that’s true, the other party probably plans to wait until the Immortal Peach matures, causing everyone but a few lucky individuals to leave empty-handed with their grievances transferred to a magical treasure."

He paused and then, with a light-hearted smile, said, "No point in guessing; once the Immortal Peach matures, the truth will be revealed. Hopefully, nothing happens; if something does, this place will be full of mournful cries and countless deaths and injuries."

While saying this, Xie Chenyuan took the chance to use the Celestial Eye to look over each of them.

A fox, a snake, an eagle, a ghost, a puppet, and only the mysterious Jiang Dao You and a young boy were genuinely human. They were strangely unified—none were surrounded by any misfortune, forming a stark contrast to the surrounding cultivators.

"Boom!"

After waiting for about an hour, the ground suddenly shook violently.

The crowd instantly became ecstatic!

"The Immortal Peach is about to ripen!"

"Finally here! Immortal Peach, I’m coming!"

"Heaven and earth, bless me, please let me have a share!"

......

Almost all cultivators fell into a frenzy, rushing forward, trying to get as close to the mountaintop as possible.

Jiang Yuan grabbed his disciple, who was unprepared and nearly knocked over by the tremor, and then looked ahead.

Wo Hu Mountain, true to its name, resembled a tiger lying back with its head turned. The Immortal Peach Tree and Wo Hu Temple were at the tiger’s forehead, while their group occupied the tiger’s back near the waist. Though distant, they could clearly observe the situation in Wo Hu Temple.

The earth continued to shake, a faint gray dust rose from the decaying Wo Hu Temple, and the initially opaque barrier around the Immortal Peach Tree resembled the pustule on the tiger’s head.

As the mountain’s tremors intensified, Jiang Yuan could see the "pustule" burst from afar! The milky white barrier dissolved, quickly spreading across the ground in a thin white layer.

Cultivators nearby prepared to fly on swords to seize the opportunity or pushed forward hard, afraid of falling behind. No one had time for careful observation.

"Wasn’t the barrier supposed to protect the Immortal Peach Tree? How did it suddenly break?" Tang Qin stared at the pink giant Immortal Peach on the tree, filled with a longing for longevity yet influenced by Jiang Yuan’s calm, she managed to remain composed.

Xie Chenyuan squinted his eyes slightly and whispered, "There’s something amiss; look at those cultivators closest to the tree!"

The surrounding chaos was too loud to catch anything clearly, but those closest to the Immortal Peach Tree, separated by only a dozen meters after the barrier’s collapse, seemed oddly immobilized, many showing grimaces and clenched teeth.

[The roots of the Nine Nether Peach Tree: Xuanyuan Yangguang arranged the Nine Nether Peach Tree as the array hub to seal the Stone Tiger, but because it lacked sufficient spiritual power nourishment, Demon Monk Guang Hui planned to harvest the life force of beings on Wo Hu Mountain when the fruit matured. The roots spread throughout Wo Hu Mountain, and without external force, one cannot escape the adhesive grip of seized spiritual power; above the roots, flying is impossible; cultivators consumed of vitality can’t circulate their spiritual energy; unable to teleport away until their lifespan is drained and bodies refined into nutrients for the next bloom’s fruition]

My goodness!

Jiang Yuan rapidly scanned through, observing the white layer on the ground, resembling snow from afar, holding a certain elegance. Despite its swift expansion, it reached the system’s identification range within seconds. After reading the details, Jiang Yuan’s mind buzzed, and he instinctively shouted: "Quick, flee! The Immortal Peach Tree is going to eat people!"