The Purgatory Calamity
Chapter 158 - 143 Growth_1

Chapter 158: Chapter 143 Growth_1

Edge region of Ice Rock Island.

Next to the pile of stones, Gao Yuan and Yuan Fei’s two Cloud Sails were docked, with over a dozen Individual Cultivators who had escaped death standing by.

Ever since Pang Jian left the Great Stone Hall and began to kick Zhu Yuanxi’s severed head around outside, they had been closely watching him.

They had seen Pang Jian stop in front of the pile of stones, stepping on Zhu Yuanxi’s head with an expression of relief, looking at the bones within the pile.

They dared not make a sound or scream in alarm, simply because the terrifying Heavenly Spirit Tower from the Yin Spirit Temple was always slowly following Pang Jian.

At this moment.

With bewilderment and shock in their eyes, their gazes were continuously shifting between Pang Jian, Zhu Yuanxi’s skull, and the Heavenly Spirit Tower.

"Blood Moon, Zhu Yuanxi!"

Someone exclaimed in a shocked whisper.

Pang Jian’s sallow complexion, even unfamiliar to Gao Yuan and Yuan Fei, yet the death of Blood Moon Zhu Yuanxi, with his head being kicked about like a ball, deeply shook everyone present.

The Heavenly Spirit Tower, which sought to claim souls, didn’t strike at Pang Jian, leaving everyone increasingly terrified, unsure of his relationship with the Yin Spirit Temple.

In mid-air.

Dong Tianze, standing behind the window of the Heavenly Spirit Tower with a gloomy and complicated expression, was also looking at Pang Jian, who was stepping on Zhu Yuanxi’s skull.

Suddenly, Pang Jian looked up and said, "I’ve taken revenge for them."

Dong Tianze was startled.

He finally realized the deeper meaning behind the abnormal behaviour of Pang Jian, who had decapitated Zhu Yuanxi and kicked his head all the way here.

"He was actually taking revenge for the minions of the Dark Ghosts..."

Dong Tianze’s eyes showed a strange look.

He couldn’t imagine why Pang Jian, having assumed a different identity and hidden among the Dark Ghosts, would care about those who were no better than ants.

When he discovered that Hong Jian was Pang Jian, he naturally saw Pang Jian as someone who could overlook the Dark Ghosts just like himself.

After the trials in Bagua City, Pang Jian, who had slaughtere many cultivators in the Meridians Channeling and Marrow Cleansing Realms, daring to strike against the likes of Demon Sect’s Yuan Lengshan and Lan Xi, why would he care about the members of the Dark Ghosts?

Dong Tianze couldn’t figure it out.

Now holding the position of the Dark Ghost Leader, he didn’t feel much for the Dark Ghost members, considering them merely as subordinates to do his bidding, expendable at his will.

He thought Pang Jian was the same.

Yet he never expected that everything Pang Jian did on Ice Rock Island, including forcing him and Wang Yisen to act, was to take revenge for those Dark Ghosts who died at the hands of Zhu Yuanxi.

"Gao Yuan, do you have any fire oil?"

Pang Jian turned his head, looking at the boatman standing on the deck of his Cloud Sail, and said, "I need to cremate some people."

Gao Yuan, whom he named, was first stunned, then suddenly recognized the familiar voice.

"Yes! I’ve got some!"

Gao Yuan, with his mind in turmoil, hurriedly jumped down from his Cloud Sail.

"I have it too!"

Yuan Fei, who was closer to Pang Jian, jumped out of his Cloud Sail even quicker, pulling out kegs of fire oil from his storage bag.

"Thank you."

Pang Jian nodded lightly. As Gao Yuan approached, he tossed the bodies inside the pile that weren’t members of the Dark Ghosts aside.

Once only those he was familiar with remained within the pile of stones, he threw in the fire oil brought by Yuan Fei and the firewood fetched by Gao Yuan, and set them ablaze.

The roaring flames crackled loudly amid the bones of Meng Qiulan and others.

Pang Jian stood in front of the burning pile of stones, as still as a statue.

The image of Bai Wei tightly clutching the fragments of the storage bag in her hands, which had haunted his mind earlier, now seemed to fade significantly under the furious blaze of the flames.

"You, and the madman from the Yin Spirit Temple..."

Gao Yuan quietly asked from the side.

The remaining Individual Cultivators still didn’t know what had happened inside the Great Stone Hall. They could still faintly sense the oppressive force of the Heavenly Spirit Tower and believed Wang Yisen was inside.

They were constantly in fear, always feeling that the hovering Heavenly Spirit Tower might attack them in the next moment.

"The Yin Spirit Temple’s Wang Yisen is dead, you needn’t worry," said Pang Jian calmly.

"Wang Yisen is dead!"

"Without Hollow Profound Realm’s Wang Yisen, that madman Dong can’t kill all of us!"

"I’m also in the Innate Realm! If it weren’t for that damned Heavenly Spirit Tower, I would’ve fought to the death with that madman Dong!"

Those who survived the massacre roared towards the sky.

Those who lived through the slaughter were the elite among Individual Cultivators, with a few among them in the Innate Realm.

They were invigorated by the death of Wang Yisen, yet they still revered the Heavenly Spirit Tower and merely shouted about fighting to the death, not daring to actually strike at the tower.

Yuan Fei looked on with solemn respect, saying, "I didn’t expect the Individual Cultivator Cloud Ascetics to be so formidable, not even the Yin Spirit Temple’s Wang Yisen could gain the upper hand against him, and he ended up losing his life on Ice Rock Island."

"Hmm, the Individual Cultivator Cloud Ascetics, although full of schemes, truly has a strength not to be underestimated," responded Gao Yuan in a low voice.

"Whoosh!"

Suddenly, a woman’s figure with loose robes emerged from the depths of the Great Stone Hall, ascending with a hazy blood mist swirling around her, hovering in mid-air like the Heavenly Spirit Tower.

"Luo Hongyan!"

Dong Tianze cried out in shock.

Without needing to see Luo Hongyan’s true face, he understood that the woman in the blood fog had to be the same Luo Hongyan who was once in the company of Pang Jian in Bagua City.

"No wonder, no wonder the Spiritual Materials involved in the deal I made with the Ghost Altar mostly pertained to the refinement of the soul!"

The enlightened Dong Tianze, without much hesitation, quickly activated the Heavenly Spirit Tower to withdraw.

Luo Hongyan had made an appearance, which meant that the Individual Cultivator Cloud Ascetic was dead.

The Luo Hongyan who had once possessed Ning Yao, battling wits and bravery with them in the City Lord Mansion, he knew all too well how difficult she was to deal with.

Now, Luo Hongyan could still tread through the air.

Even if he holed up inside the Heavenly Spirit Tower, he might not be able to escape Luo Hongyan, and staying put would mean risking his life.

"Quite the fast runner."

Luo Hongyan pressed her lips together in a smile. She had only glanced at Pang Jian from on high when the Heavenly Spirit Tower had already shrunk to a speck in her line of sight.

She couldn’t be bothered to give chase and so turned her gaze back to where Pang Jian was, noticing the raging bonfire.

And that head placed upon the rocky ground.

"Are you using Zhu Yuanxi’s head to hold a memorial for them? If so, it’s obviously incomplete..."

Luo Hongyan muttered, then suddenly dove back into the earth, severing the head of the Individual Cultivator Cloud Ascetic as well.

After ascending once again, she floated over to Pang Jian’s side and placed the head of the Individual Cultivator Cloud Ascetic next to Zhu Yuanxi’s.

"Individual Cultivator Cloud Ascetic!"

The surviving Individual Cultivators all drew sharp breaths, their faces turning extremely peculiar.

One moment ago, they had been praising the Individual Cultivator Cloud Ascetic’s exceptional combat strength.

The next moment, the Individual Cultivator Cloud Ascetic’s head was laid out on the ground.

"You are..."

Gao Yuan stared blankly at Luo Hongyan, quickly guessing her identity, and couldn’t help but become excited.

He stifled his questions but his eyes shone with eager light as he looked towards Yuan Fei at his side.

Yuan Fei’s body trembled, understanding that Pang Jian and Luo Hongyan, the two aboard Gao Yuan’s Cloud Sail, were the siblings from the Upper Realm.

"We should be able to survive now."

A relieved Yuan Fei suddenly sat down on the ground.

"Gao Yuan, leave your Cloud Sail behind for us."

Luo Hongyan’s bright eyes swept over him and settled on the excited face of Gao Yuan, "As for the others, if you don’t want to die here, you can now leave Ice Rock Island."

"Yuan Fei, lead us out!"

The Individual Cultivators, as if granted amnesty, dashed towards Yuan Fei’s Cloud Sail with the speed of lightning.

The seated Yuan Fei was stunned.

In truth, he had the desire to stay, hoping to establish a connection with the siblings and see if he could be of service somewhere.

However, it seemed that the only remaining Cloud Sail belonged to him and Gao Yuan. And since Gao Yuan was staying behind to ferry the siblings, he could only lead the Individual Cultivators away.

"Ah, I really can’t compare to Gao Yuan’s discerning eye and his courage to take a gamble..."

Yuan Fei inwardly marveled.

When the crisis began, he had suggested leaving Ice Rock Island immediately, but Gao Yuan insisted on taking the risk of staying behind, betting that the siblings could make it out alive.

Gao Yuan had indeed won the bet!

An admiring Yuan Fei, having gathered all the surviving Individual Cultivators into his Cloud Sail, gave Gao Yuan a bow and shouted firmly, "Gao Yuan, until we meet again!"

"Until we meet again!"

Gao Yuan returned the smile radiantly.

Immediately after, Yuan Fei activated the Cloud Sail and departed.

"Crackle and pop!"

The dry wood burned furiously in the oil, and the bodies of Meng Qiulan and the others slowly turned into ashes.

"Gao Yuan."

Luo Hongyan pursed her lips and called out softly.

"Here! I’m here!"

Gao Yuan responded with a beaming face.

Luo Hongyan nodded gently, her eyes smiling as she said, "The Individual Cultivators killed by the Yin Spirit Temple are scattered throughout the Great Stone Hall; go and collect their possessions."

"Sure thing!" Gao Yuan called out.

Without further inquiry, Gao Yuan left his Cloud Sail on the rocky ground and headed towards the Great Stone Hall.

The relationship between Pang Jian and Dong Tianze, the reason he carried the Blood Moon’s Zhu Yuanxi’s head, why Luo Hongyan killed the Individual Cultivator Cloud Ascetic—he didn’t ask about any of it.

"During the incident, you didn’t plan to leave and even risked waiting for us; you are indeed a man of your word."

Luo Hongyan remarked faintly, looking at his retreating figure.

Gao Yuan’s stride halted, and turning back with a radiant smile, he said, "Since I promised to wait for you two on the Cloud Sail, I meant to keep my word!"

Seeing Luo Hongyan nod slightly, he hurried excitedly toward the Great Stone Hall, thinking that his efforts had not been in vain.

He regarded Luo Hongyan with even greater reverence.

It had never occurred to him that his conversation with Yuan Fei was clear to Luo Hongyan, who knew that Yuan Fei had been eager to leave when there was an anomaly in the Stone Hall, while he had decided to stay.

He was secretly relieved that he hadn’t gossiped or spoken anything inappropriate behind their backs.

"Pang Jian, your performance this time has really surprised me."

Once Gao Yuan’s figure had vanished, Luo Hongyan removed the white veil hiding her features beside the surging flames of the cairn, her full lips curved in a smiling expression, "When Sky Fortune Fragment Land occurred, you acted less impulsively, thinking things through calmly. On today’s Three Immortal Islands, you have also learned to exploit the antagonistic relationship between the Yin Spirit Temple and the Blood Moon, inciting conflict between the two sides for gain."

Pang Jian responded indifferently, "Having seen more people and experienced more, one will inevitably grow."

"Mhm."

Luo Hongyan smiled with satisfaction and extended her flawless left hand, saying, "Grab onto me, I’ll take you below to see something interesting."

Pang Jian did not hesitate to take her hand.

...