The Purgatory Calamity
Chapter 139 - 124: Opening the Ghost Altar_1

Chapter 139: Chapter 124: Opening the Ghost Altar_1

Several days later.

In the cave dwelling where Pang Jian and Luo Hongyan were cultivating.

Next to the Blood Pool, a newly chiseled rocky cave had been opened with the Astonishing Spear. Pang Jian took out the materials needed to build the Ghost Altar and arranged them in the way taught by Zhao Ling.

"Be careful,"

Luo Hongyan, who remained in the Blood Pool, reminded him softly, "I’ve only helped you adjust your appearance. You must also pay attention to your voice and expressions so as not to give yourself away."

"Mhm."

Pang Jian moved rocks to completely seal off the cave.

In the small, sealed-off cavern, the ceiling had been embedded with several Luminous Pearls, which prevented the cave from being pitch black.

Only then did Pang Jian pick up the small brocade flags one by one, inserting them into the slots at the edge of the Ghost Altar.

Once everything was ready, he activated his Cyan Shining Spirit Power and slowly channeled it into the Ghost Altar.

With Luo Hongyan’s assistance, he had now transformed into a pale-faced youth.

His eyebrows, the corners of his eyes, and cheekbones had all been exquisitely altered, making him look like a completely different person.

Sitting down, he intentionally hunched his back, a stark contrast to his previous upright posture.

The prepared Pang Jian watched as the Cyan Shining Spirit Power originating from him flowed between the Mysterious Yin Stone and Void Spiritual Jade of the Ghost Altar, activating hidden arrays one by one and creating spatial ripples around the altar.

"Whoosh!"

A familiar figure, as if from another dimension, suddenly projected into the center of the Ghost Altar!

He also changed to a deliberately hoarse voice and demanded, "Is it Hong Jian?"

Pang Jian subconsciously bowed his head.

A storm of emotions raged in his heart. He had never expected that the person who would appear at the Ghost Altar was Dong Tianze!

Because the "Hidden" brocade flag had been removed, Dong Tianze thought he couldn’t see clearly, but Pang Jian recognized the difficult adversary from their several confrontations in the dimly lit cave at first glance!

Pang Jian, with his head lowered, was overwhelmed by inner turmoil and did not immediately reply.

Dong Tianze, whose body resided in the Third Realm, looked at Pang Jian in the dim cave with cold eyes.

The light from the Luminous Pearls was limited, and with Dong Tianze being in another realm and Pang Jian having deliberately altered his appearance, he didn’t recognize Pang Jian.

"I’m speaking to you!"

Dong Tianze continued to hum in a raspy voice.

Pang Jian kept his head down the whole time, and in a peculiar, nasal voice responded, "It’s me. I wonder about those items I requested, Lord Ghost Leader..."

"They’ve been prepared for a while now."

Dong Tianze showed impatience.

He placed the various materials listed on the checklist into the slots in front of him and arrogantly said, "According to the rules, you need to exchange something of equal value."

No sooner had his words fallen than Pang Jian also laid out the Spirit Jade and Spirit Stones, which he had looted from Fei Zheng, Ni Chen, and Zhao Muye, and several items requiring Qi and Blood to operate, each in the concave slots in front of him.

"Lord Ghost Leader, are these sufficient?" Pang Jian asked in his nasal voice.

As he arranged the items, he kept his head half-lowered, avoiding eye contact with Dong Tianze.

Dong Tianze, presiding over the Ghost Altar as the Ghost Leader for the first time, simply assumed that Pang Jian held him in awe and didn’t pay much attention.

"These items..."

Dong Tianze’s gaze lingered over a bracelet with blood-colored patterns and a blood-drenched Long Blade, and he remarked, "Why are all these items from the Blood Moon?"

Pang Jian nodded, "I recently took a risky adventure and raided a Blood Moon Beast-Catching Ship. The items I scavenged are all customary for the Blood Moon."

Dong Tianze was aware of this and then looked towards the Spirit Jade and several dozen Spirit Stones, silently appraising them.

To gather the Spiritual Materials on the list, he not only went to the Yin Spirit Temple’s storeroom to exchange but also quietly visited a Cultivator market in the Xuan You Continent, spending a good amount of his Spirit Jade and Spirit Stones.

"It should be a sure profit."

Dong Tianze quickly confirmed in his mind that the Spirit Jade and Stones that Pang Jian offered, along with the Blood Moon artifacts, were worth far more than the Spiritual Materials he had recently acquired.

"Not bad, the value is sufficient," Dong Tianze expressed his satisfaction.

He looked across the domains at the hunched Pang Jian and said indifferently, "It’s a pity that the situation in the Fragment Land of Sky Fortune is not looking good. You won’t last long."

The implication was clear: there might not be a second transaction through the Ghost Altar.

"Let’s leave it at that then."

Dong Tianze manipulated a pivot, activating the transport Array of the Void Spiritual Jade and instantly swapped the items in the concave slots before him and Pang Jian.

"Whoosh!"

Dong Tianze and the materials presented by Pang Jian disappeared together.

In front of Pang Jian, however, were the scarce Spiritual Materials in the Lower Realm enumerated on the list by Luo Hongyan.

"Is that it?"

Gazing at the spot where Dong Tianze vanished, Pang Jian was stunned for a moment.

He touched the Spiritual Materials and, upon realizing they were exactly what he had listed, his expression became somewhat dazed.

After a while, he finally took down the small brocade flags with a strange expression and began dismantling the materials that made up the Ghost Altar.

"Creak!"

He moved away the rocks blocking the cave entrance and Pang Jian emerged from inside, laying out a collection of items next to the Blood Pool—Nine Heavens Mysterious Thunder, the contents of the porcelain jars filled with Poison Ghost Poisonous Fog, Blood Activating Pills, Condensing Spiritual Fluid, Bone Casting Cream, and other Spiritual Materials, all at once.

"Done?"

Seated above the White Jade Porcelain Bottle, Luo Hongyan’s exceedingly beautiful face suddenly brightened as she softly exclaimed, "Nine Heavens Mysterious Thunder and Poison Ghost Poisonous Fog were just cover-ups, meant to make the Dark Ghost Leader believe we were planning a big move in Sky Fortune Fragment Land."

"The truly needed rare Spiritual Materials are the Blood Activating Pills, Condensing Spiritual Fluid, and the Bone Casting Cream, among others."

Glancing down at the Crystal-clear Snow Lotus that had lost a petal, the light in her beautiful eyes intensified as she said, "With these Spiritual Materials, the next time you return, I’ll be able to reconstruct flesh and bone!"

In accordance with their plan, this Ghost Altar trade was also a probing attempt, and there would be a second one if the first was successful.

"You seem to have a strange expression on your face," Luo Hongyan looked at Pang Jian, who had a complex look, and remarked in surprise, "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing’s wrong, the trade went smoothly, but..."

Pang Jian shook his head and said, "The one I traded with... was not the Dark Ghost Leader, but Dong Tianze instead."

"Dong Tianze?!"

Luo Hongyan was momentarily stunned before she burst into a charming laugh, "There’s certainly a fate between the two of you! At the bottom of the pit well on Lake Heart Island, you almost assassinated him. I remember him flying out with your Long Spear still lodged in his behind! And in Bagua City, if it weren’t for the young man of the Heaven Treasure Li Family protecting him, you almost killed him."

"Fate is indeed playing tricks; he is now your provider, gathering various Spiritual Materials for us in the Third Realm."

"Pang Jian, he didn’t recognize your true identity, did he?"

Luo Hongyan leaped into the air from atop the White Jade Porcelain Bottle, giddy with elation as she flew around the cave like a blood-colored sprite.

"It seems not; he didn’t pay much attention to me. It appears he’s aware of the situation in Sky Fortune Fragment Land, and he thinks this is the last trade, believing that I will soon be dead," Pang Jian honestly shared his feelings.

"We’ll have to give him a surprise then," Luo Hongyan said, her smile growing wider as she thought about it, "We need to conduct at least one more trade with him. Remember, Pang Jian, do not reveal your identity. Once we’ve acquired the Spiritual Materials we need, it won’t matter whether he knows or not."

"Mm," Pang Jian expressed his understanding.

After hesitating for a moment, he asked with some confusion, "You seem to be extremely familiar with the Spirit Condensation techniques of the Yin Spirit Temple and the numerous Secret Skills of the Blood Moon. Who were you before?"

The smile faded from Luo Hongyan’s face, and bitterness appeared at the corners of her lips as she spoke, "I have some enemies who are now very powerful individuals. I’ll keep my identity to myself for the time being."

"As for your question about how I can reconstruct my body using the techniques of the Blood Moon and understand the Spirit Evil arts of the Yin Spirit Temple, it’s because..."

She paused for a moment and then explained, "A long time ago, in the Second Realm, there was a Sect known as the Blood Spirit Sect. This Sect was once as renowned as the Demon Sect, Sword Tower, and Dragon Cave. The Blood Spirit Sect declined because of internal strife and lost its footing in the Second Realm."

"It was eventually erased from the Second Realm. But in the Third Realm, suddenly, there were a Sect called the Blood Moon and another called the Yin Spirit Temple," Luo Hongyan revealed the inside story.

Pang Jian understood and exclaimed in astonishment, "I had no idea the Blood Moon and the Yin Spirit Temple shared the same origin."

"Mhm, it was during that internal conflict that I was harmed. After the demise of the Blood Spirit Sect, my body was shattered, and I was confined within that paper fan," Luo Hongyan sighed deeply as she recalled the painful past.

"I see," Pang Jian asked no further.

Afterward, the two continued their respective cultivation.

Two days later.

Luo Hongyan prepared a new list and had Pang Jian transmit it through the Ghost Altar, setting up another trade for seven days later.

Pang Jian did as instructed and sent the list through, ready to reopen the Ghost Altar after seven days.

Three days passed.

Inside the White Jade Porcelain Bottle, Luo Hongyan, who had received information through the Spirit Evil, said, "Pang Jian, the flames coming from outside have been burning for several days now. In a few more days, both this mountain we’re on and the underground cavern beneath us will be engulfed in flames."

Pang Jian nodded and responded, "This place and that cavern won’t be affected by the fire."

Luo Hongyan softly agreed and smiled slightly, "What I mean is... it won’t be long before the Filth from the Lower Realm spreads here. By then, I can hide in the White Jade Porcelain Bottle and survive, and you can re-embrace the Filth Alien Power with no issue."

"As for those from the Dark Ghost, who are hiding in the cavern, they surely won’t escape this disaster."

Her gaze rested upon Pang Jian’s face.

After a moment of silence, Pang Jian said, "I thought about this issue, but I can’t save them."

Given the current situation, those people had to quickly board a flying vessel and leave Sky Fortune Fragment Land before being drowned by the Filth to survive.

Yet the Fire Cloud Ship was currently in the sky, along with the Golden Coach, and the Cloud Sail drifting around.

Perhaps there would also be flying vessels from other Sects of the Upper Realm lurking nearby.

If they started up the Heavenly Spirit Tower now, they would simply become targets for all, subject to a joint attack from various parties.

Both he and Luo Hongyan’s identities would be instantly exposed at the emergence of the Heavenly Spirit Tower. Dong Tianze might even guess that they were inside it, and both Yin Spirit Temple and others might act against them.

"Mhm, I’m glad you’re no longer as impulsive as before and have become much calmer," Luo Hongyan, with her bewitching eyes, showed satisfaction and said, "For us, the best move is to wait until everyone has left Sky Fortune Fragment Land. Once this turmoil passes, we can start the Heavenly Spirit Tower in the desolated Sky Fortune Fragment Land without anyone knowing."

...