The Purgatory Calamity
Chapter 151 - 136: Peeking at the Fifth Realm Again_1

Chapter 151: Chapter 136: Peeking at the Fifth Realm Again_1

After a moment.

Luo Hongyan wrapped herself in a loose, gray robe that obscured her alluring figure, and she also painted her forehead and neck the same dark red as Pang Jian.

This version of her was very different from the image she had previously presented in Gao Yuan and Cloud Sail.

She became ordinary and unremarkable, no longer possessing stunning charm.

"Pull your cuff down to cover your storage bracelet..."

She reminded Pang Jian.

She had only planned to stay on Ice Rock Island for a few days, attend the gathering hosted by Individual Cultivator Cloud Ascetics, and then leave by Cloud Sail.

Because of the death of the Dark Ghosts, because Pang Jian was frustrated, they were preparing to plot a major killing.

This meant she could not have any attention-grabbing features.

"Mhm."

Pang Jian pulled his sleeve down, hiding the bracelet with the edge of his garment.

"Let’s go pay the Spirit Stones required for the gathering and get our two access plaques first."

Luo Hongyan immediately took the lead and set off.

Shortly after.

Under her guidance, the two of them arrived at the southeastern corner of the Great Stone Hall, where many Individual Cultivators had already gathered.

Directly in front of Pang Jian, a stone hall without a dome rose nearly fifty zhang high, standing amidst many collapsed towers and stone houses.

The hall itself was also damaged, its walls full of cracks, yet it was relatively the most intact structure present.

The Individual Cultivators were clustered at the base of the hall, asking something from a man in a gray robe, after which they obediently paid Spirit Stones and received a wooden access plaque.

"I’ll go get the access plaques."

Luo Hongyan, disguised with her beautiful face obscured and her graceful figure wrapped in a gray robe, no longer drew the attention of the masses.

When she approached the man in the gray robe, nobody paid her any particular heed; no longer was anyone leering at her.

Pang Jian stopped and surveyed his surroundings.

He saw that in front of him, the vast, broken stone hall was held up by several thick stone pillars, with its fifty-zhang-high roof partially collapsed, allowing the glimmer of stars and the moon to spill through.

At the top of the broken stone hall with a shattered dome, a few people stood, looking down on those below, making comments and judgments.

"Hmm!"

As Pang Jian observed the hall, he suddenly noticed crude murals carved on the thick stone pillars.

The murals depicted... many one-eyed individuals conducting a solemn ceremony, placing all sorts of items on an altar, worshipping some deity they believed in.

The stone pillars were very thick, and the one-eyed beings were depicted as unusually large, so Pang Jian could see clearly.

Their offerings included writhing Soaring Snakes, Spirit Turtles, huge fruits, and mighty trees that emanated lightning.

There were also other offerings, tiny compared to their stature, mostly exquisitely crafted... young boys and girls.

These were people like Pang Jian!

Pang Jian, surprised, was drawn to the murals on the pillar and moved closer to take a look.

He was certain he was seeing correctly.

The beautifully crafted young boys and girls, along with the Soaring Snakes, Spirit Turtles, fruits, and lightning-emitting giant trees, were also offerings to the gods by those Cyclops.

Pang Jian grew even more puzzled.

Could it be that in some ancient age, the Cyclops once lived here?

And they placed the Human Race on par with those offerings, sacrificing them all to their deities?

Luo Hongyan returned.

"Let’s find a place to stay for now. In three days, we’ll use the plaques to join the gathering."

She raised two black wooden plaques without any intention of handing one to Pang Jian, and scoffed, "That Individual Cultivator Cloud Ascetics is following Cao’s methods. In three days, every transaction made by the Individual Cultivators must be settled in Spirit Stones. As soon as a deal is confirmed, both the buyer and seller must each give him ten percent."

Pang Jian looked confused.

"For example, a bottle of pills, priced at a hundred Spirit Stones in total – the buyer has to give him ten, and the seller must do the same. In addition to the fifty Spirit Stones paid for participating in the gathering, he takes twenty percent of each transaction amount, each party contributing ten percent."

Luo Hongyan explained in detail.

Pang Jian, having understood, remarked, "That’s really dark."

"Mhm, he’s following Cao’s methods."

Luo Hongyan continued to lead the way, quickly taking Pang Jian away from there, while saying, "From the memories of people like Blood Moon Fei Zheng, I know there’s a Cao in the Third Realm who monopolizes a vast Fragment Land."

"Cao is formidable, and even people from Red Mountain, Blood Moon, and Yin Spirit Temple show him some respect."

"Every three years, Cao hosts such a gathering in his Fragment Land, where participants must pay five hundred Spirit Stones."

"Moreover, there are people tasked with inspecting each participant to see if they’re qualified to enter."

"Either you have at least ten thousand Spirit Stones in your hands, or you have extremely high-quality Spiritual Materials and items for trade."

"Cao’s gatherings have a loud reputation in the Third Realm. Not only do Individual Cultivators flock to them, but people from major Sects and powers also attend."

Luo Hongyan brought up the peculiarities of another high-profile gathering.

"So his gathering charges ten times the entrance fee in Spirit Stones compared to Individual Cultivator Cloud Ascetics? And he also takes a cut from both sides on each Spirit Stone transaction?"

Pang Jian listened with amazement.

"Mhm, the rule of taking ten percent from each side was his idea."

Luo Hongyan nodded gently, her beautiful eyes revealing an interested sparkle as she smiled, "I also plan to go to Elder Cao’s Fragment Land. The next gathering he’s hosting should be in two months, and that is the true grand event of the Third Realm."

Pang Jian wondered, "A grand event?"

"Elder Cao’s gathering is renowned throughout the Third Realm because treasures worth a city’s ransom have appeared there," Luo Hongyan explained excitedly. "From the Fifth Realm to the Second Realm, and even rare items from the First Realm, could all pop up at Elder Cao’s gathering!"

Pang Jian couldn’t help but show his respect.

After they had moved away from the Stone Hall controlled by the Individual Cultivator Cloud Ascetics, they found a cracked stone wall, carved a wide cave, and crawled in.

"Within and around the Great Stone Hall, private fights are forbidden. Once you leave Ice Rock Island, you can fight to your heart’s content, regardless of life or death..."

Luo Hongyan introduced him to the rules established by the Individual Cultivator Cloud Ascetics.

Pang Jian snorted coldly.

If the rules were truly effective, Zhao Ling and the others wouldn’t have been betrayed by the Individual Cultivator Cloud Ascetics or met their end in the Great Stone Hall.

"The cultivation realm of Individual Cultivator Cloud Ascetics is in the late stages of the Hollow Profound Realm. To kill him... If he has no assistance, I should be able to handle it," Luo Hongyan considered, then added, "By the way, Zhu Yuanxi from Blood Moon is currently on Cloud Island. I’m not sure if he will also come here in three days."

"Besides Zhu Yuanxi himself, Blood Moon has another from the Innate Realm, plus a few from the Marrow Cleansing Realm."

"As for Jiuyuan, who is behind the scenes, he is not on Three Immortal Islands; he is a Great Cultivator of the Spirit Condensation Realm. Jiuyuan... Forget about you for the moment, I have a headache just thinking about facing him. It is said Jiuyuan might also attend the gathering hosted by Elder Cao; he has a few Spiritual Materials that he has been seeking for a long time, and it seems they may emerge at the gathering two months from now," Luo Hongyan revealed the information she knew.

Recently, as Dong Tianze, she had been loitering near Three Immortal Islands and robbing Individual Cultivators along the way - taking their belongings without killing them - and hence had gathered quite a bit of useful information.

"Innate, Hollow Profound, Spirit Condensation..."

Pang Jian murmured softly.

Among these individuals, even the weakest, Zhu Yuanxi, was at a higher realm than him.

With the power he currently possessed, he felt that he was only qualified to kill Zhu Yuanxi alone, and without Luo Hongyan’s help, he would definitely be unable to shake the Individual Cultivator Cloud Ascetics.

Jiuyuan, was someone completely beyond his reach right now.

"I still don’t know how many Individual Cultivators have gathered on Ice Rock Island, and whether there is anyone stronger than Individual Cultivator Cloud Ascetics," Luo Hongyan pondered, then said, "Let’s first attend the gathering after three days, and we will see what to do depending on the situation. If we really want to deal with Individual Cultivator Cloud Ascetics, we should choose to do so after the gathering is over."

Pang Jian nodded, "Since the Great Stone Hall forbids private fighting, I’ll wander around a bit and come over later."

Luo Hongyan spoke easily, "If there’s anything, just shout loudly, and I will hear you."

"Hmm."

Pang Jian soon left.

He was accustomed to surveying the terrain in advance, wandering alone through the Great Stone Hall, imprinting the layout of the shattered city fully in his mind.

Along the way, he saw numerous murals that recorded the once-glorious history of the Cyclops.

In some murals, the sun, moon, and stars were suspended in the sky.

This meant that the world of the Cyclops was not limited to the eternally dark Fifth Realm.

Based on the size and clarity of the sun, moon, and stars, they had once been... very close to the sky!

On his journey, Pang Jian encountered several Individual Cultivators, mostly from the Meridians Channeling and Marrow Cleansing Realms.

Because of the rules set by Individual Cultivator Cloud Ascetics, which forbade private fights, nobody dared to mess with Pang Jian.

Two hours later.

Having explored every nook and cranny of the Great Stone Hall, Pang Jian returned to the cave and voiced his confusion, "I saw many murals related to the Cyclops; they used our Human Race as sacrifices. Did they ever appear in our world?"

Luo Hongyan looked shocked, then after pondering for a while, she spoke with difficulty, "I really don’t know about that. I only know that a long time ago, indeed, there were beings from the Fifth Realm that attempted to invade upwards. Those beings were either killed or suppressed and have long since faded into oblivion."

"The creatures of the Fifth Realm were also suppressed by the powerful beings above us. It is said that the stronger the creatures, the harder it is for them to break free from the suppression."

"I’m not certain about the specifics; events of such antiquity are too distant for us, and nowadays, there are no Different Kinds active in our world."

"Now, only the mighty of our realm occasionally descend from above and move about the Fifth Realm."

"..."

Luo Hongyan shared what she understood.

That night.

Pang Jian, realizing he had a Calming Pill and had not tried to sense the Dark Giant Python in a long time, and being somewhat puzzled by the Great Stone Hall, decided to attempt establishing a connection with the Dark Giant Python.

After focusing his mind, he sensed the Dark Giant Python, and another perspective entered his heart.

The eyes of the Dark Giant Python became Pang Jian’s eyes as well.

The first thing he saw was a tall woman with six pairs of white wings standing on the peak of a tall mountain, seemingly staring ahead.

Ahead.

Lying below the mountain, in the wilderness, were sparsely distributed villages and towns, and many creatures starkly different from the Human Race were kneeling devoutly toward the mysterious woman, producing a thunderous cheer.

The woman with six pairs of white wings seemed to be their pillar of faith, the God Spirit they needed to worship.

Pang Jian’s face turned pale with shock.

The mysterious woman with white wings had appeared above the Heavenly Tribulation Pillar and had flown towards Bagua City, located at the pinnacle of the pillar.

She was a being on par with the Cyclops and White Silver Bone Dragon whose body stretched like mountain ranges.

How did the Dark Giant Python come to be involved with her?

...