Huo Chen stood in a quiet clearing and pulled the map from his storage ring.
The parchment unfolded in his hands and he studied the markings Xiao Yue had drawn across its surface.
Various locations were noted with small annotations, some describing spirit herb clusters, others marking beast territories, and a few indicating natural formations.
One marking caught his attention. "Gravity Trench" was written in small characters next to a symbol that looked like a circular depression.
The notation beneath it read:
"Natural pressure zone - body and Qi tempering."
'Interesting.' He thought.
A place like that could be exactly what he needed. He'd broken through to the eighth layer some days ago, but his foundation still felt loose.
Time spent tempering his Qi and strengthening his body under pressure would solidify his cultivation and push him further.
He examined the location relative to where he currently stood and traced a mental path through the terrain.
The Gravity Trench sat roughly two days northeast of his position, situated in a region he hadn't explored yet.
He folded the map and stored it away, then began walking in that direction.
---
Three days later, Huo Chen crested a rocky ridge and stopped. Below him stretched a massive circular depression in the earth, easily two hundred meters across.
The formation resembled a bowl carved into the landscape by some ancient force, its edges smooth and its interior sloping gradually downward toward a center point that sat perhaps fifty meters below ground level.
The spiritual energy in the area was noticeably denser than the surrounding terrain, and as his gaze moved toward the center of the formation, he could see faint wisps of mist rising from the deeper sections where the concentration grew even thicker.
Cultivators were scattered throughout the bowl at various depths. Some sat cross-legged on the sloping stone surface near the outer edges. Others had positioned themselves deeper inside, their figures partially obscured by the growing mist and the curvature of the formation.
All of them appeared focused entirely on their own training, their bodies still and their eyes closed.
Huo Chen looked at them and wondered what cultivating under that pressure would feel like.
He stepped forward and crossed the threshold where the gravity began.
THUMP.
The pressure hit him immediately. It wasn't crushing, but it was noticeable—like someone had draped a heavy cloak across his shoulders and back. His body adjusted automatically, his stance widening slightly to compensate for the added weight.
A quiet laugh escaped him. 'This will be good for cultivation.'
He took another step forward and the pressure increased. Not by much, but enough that he felt the difference.
Another step. The weight pressing down on him grew heavier. His legs worked harder to move, his muscles engaging more with each movement. Huo Chen continued walking deeper into the trench, counting his steps as he went.
The other cultivators he passed didn't acknowledge him. They were too focused on their own struggles, their faces set with concentration as they fought against the gravity weighing them down.
Ten steps. Fifteen. Twenty. At the twentieth step, the pressure had increased to the point where his entire body felt the strain. His legs were solid beneath him, but moving forward from here would require more effort than he was ready to give right now.
'Can't go deeper yet. This is enough for now.'
He lowered himself to the ground and sat cross-legged on the smooth stone surface. The spiritual energy here was noticeably richer than at the entrance, the mist thick enough around him that cultivators positioned even five meters away appeared slightly blurred through it.
He closed his eyes and began circulating the Earthfire Foundation Method, the Huo Clan's primary cultivation technique. The method guided spiritual energy through specific meridian pathways, balancing earth and fire Qi in the dantian to create a stable foundation for advancement.
The moment he attempted the first circulation, the difficulty became immediately apparent. The spiritual energy that normally flowed smoothly through his meridians now moved sluggishly, as if the gravity pressing down on his physical body also affected the pathways through which Qi traveled.
Every rotation required focused effort and the energy resisted moving forward, creating friction and pressure inside the meridians themselves.
Sweat began forming on Huo Chen's forehead as he pushed the circulation forward. The pressure bearing down on his body made it harder to maintain concentration, and his lungs worked steadily to pull in enough air while the weight compressed his chest.
His internal organs felt squeezed and the strain of forcing spiritual energy through reluctant meridians added another layer of difficulty on top of the physical pressure.
He completed one full circulation and the effort left him more exhausted than an hour of normal cultivation would have.
The spiritual energy had moved through the prescribed pathways, but slowly and with resistance at every turn, and his meridians felt sore from the strain.
Huo Chen began the second circulation and focused his entire attention on guiding the spiritual energy through despite the resistance.
Sweat dripped down his face and soaked into his robes, and the pressure continued bearing down on him from all directions.
Around him, other cultivators remained locked in their own struggles, their faces tense and their bodies trembling slightly under whatever depth of pressure they had chosen to endure.
He pushed through the third circulation and his breathing grew heavier. The difficulty was immense and every rotation took significant effort, but he understood what this struggle meant.
'By the time I leave this place, I'll be far stronger than when I arrived.'
The thought brought satisfaction even through the discomfort. The pressure was brutal, but that was exactly why it would work. The harder it was to circulate his Qi here, the smoother it would flow when he left.
The more his body adapted to this crushing weight, the faster and stronger he would be when he moved without it. Every moment spent here would temper and push him to another level.
Huo Chen continued into the fourth circulation and the pressure kept bearing down on him without pause or mercy.