The Purgatory Calamity
Chapter 172 - 157: The Disappearance of Luo Hongyan_1

Chapter 172: Chapter 157: The Disappearance of Luo Hongyan_1

"Not bad work."

Han Ting saw Pang Jian return and closed the stone door with the back of her hand, smilingly praising, "As soon as you found out you couldn’t mess with the other party, you immediately send a gift to apologize. Your cautious and prudent style should keep you alive for a long time."

She had seen everything Pang Jian did.

And she genuinely meant her praise.

"Hmm, if I can’t afford to offend, I’ll just be honest."

Pang Jian’s expression was as usual.

He sat down on a meditation cushion and looked up at Han Ting, whose figure was explosively attractive, saying, "I’ll be careful from now on and won’t disturb you again."

"Mhm."

Seeing his sincere attitude and deep understanding of his own mistakes, Han Ting nodded with satisfaction and didn’t pursue the matter further.

"Knock knock!"

"Brother!"

Gao Yuan’s knocking sounded at the door.

Just as Pang Jian sat down, he sighed softly and got up to open the door again.

"Brother, I’ve gathered quite a bit of information. This meeting organized by Cao is like casting a net to roundup all the cultivating geniuses of the Third Realm, uh... Han Ting!"

As soon as the stone door opened, Gao Yuan, who was reporting information, abruptly shouted when Pang Jian moved aside, "Han Ting, what are you doing here?"

Gao Yuan’s mind conjured inappropriate images of a single woman and man behind closed doors, saying, "Han Ting, I heard that during the recent exploration of the Forbidden Lands, you wanted to hog the loot which led to joint attacks by your companions. You... what are you doing with brother?"

Looking at the boatman known for his keen eyes, Han Ting coldly retorted, "Who the hell said I wanted to hog the loot? It was clearly those jerks. After getting hurt by a ferocious beast, they wanted to take advantage of me thinking they could sleep with me. I found them disgusting, fought fiercely despite my severe wounds, and escaped."

"My apologies, my apologies! It was just hearsay."

Gao Yuan gave an awkward smile.

Seeing the short-tempered and equally hot-figured Individual Cultivator, he licked his lips, then asked, "Han Ting, what are you doing in brother’s dwelling?"

Knowing what he was thinking, Han Ting couldn’t help but curse again, "I’m right under him! His clang and bang kept going, stopping me from calming my mind. Can’t I come up and ask?"

"Oh, oh, so you were below him, and because of his noise, you couldn’t calm down, so you came up to..."

Gao Yuan, who was always cautious and respectful towards Pang Jian and Luo Hongyan, had no such restraint with an Individual Cultivator like Han Ting. He said with a sly smile, "I understand."

Not to be outdone, the teased Han Ting glared coldly at Gao Yuan and retorted, "Your pal, skinned by Jiuyuan and hung from the mast, how are you still alive?"

Gao Yuan immediately fell silent.

Thinking of Yuan Fei’s tragic fate and Jiuyuan still in Yuan Mang, he lost the heart to joke with Han Ting anymore.

"That’ll teach you to flirt with me again!"

After giving him a fierce look, Han Ting stepped out of the stone door and returned to her dwelling below.

Gao Yuan took a deep breath, squeezed a smile back onto his face, and said to Pang Jian, "Besides Zhao Yuanqi from Red Mountain, there’s also Yang Rui from the Raging Sun Sect, Xie Xiwen from the Star River Alliance, and Fang Boxuan from Blood Moon."

"These individuals are all extremely young Hollow Profound Realm cultivators and the darling of their respective sects."

"This time, they’ve all gathered in the Yuan Mang Fragmented Lands."

Gao Yuan described in an animated manner the elders from the various sects and the extraordinary young talents who came.

Or those like Lei Kun, a famed Individual Cultivator in the Third Realm.

"Lei Kun is staying in dwelling number fifty-seven," Pang Jian mentioned casually. "He just left before you came back."

"Lei Kun? Living right next to us, how is that possible?"

Gao Yuan was startled.

Just like Han Ting, he was incredulous about Lei Kun’s presence.

"I guess he wanted to probe the depth of me and my sister."

Pang Jian said gravely.

At this statement, Gao Yuan immediately understood and nodded, "He and Jiuyuan are old acquaintances, but unlike Ling Yun, he has Spirit Condensation Realm’s cultivation and is Jiuyuan’s equal. Logically, Jiuyuan shouldn’t have the power to make him work for him."

Pang Jian shook his head, indicating he wasn’t clear on the reason.

"Your sister... why hasn’t she come back yet?"

Gao Yuan looked around inside the dwelling with a puzzled expression, frowning, "Going to the thirty-fifth floor, registering under Cao’s subordinates doesn’t take that long."

Pang Jian’s expression darkened a bit.

Calculating the time, they had been staying there for two days. Luo Hongyan should have long returned after paying the Spirit Stones for registration and showing the required finances and items to get the participation token.

If nothing had held her up, Luo Hongyan should have been back by now.

After some thought, Pang Jian replied with uncertainty, "Maybe like you, she’s also gathering information about Yuan Mang."

"Yeah, possibly," Gao Yuan nodded, not probing further, and added, "The meeting is still ten days away, there’s no rush. You don’t have to worry."

With that, he returned to his dwelling.

Pang Jian closed the stone door and didn’t overthink it.

Although he wasn’t very clear on how high Luo Hongyan’s true combat strength was, it seemed she had never been at a disadvantage since her body was reconstructed.

According to Luo Hongyan, unless faced with a Great Cultivator from the Spirit Condensation Realm, others wouldn’t be able to trouble her.

And this place belonged to Cao, with Luo Hongyan’s registration taking place on the first peak. She surely wouldn’t encounter any trouble here.

With these thoughts, Pang Jian continued to ponder the numerous low-level and mid-level Spirit Spell secret skills in his hand.

During this time, even when he had inspirations and ideas, he did not implement them in his cave dwelling, lest Han Ting rush in again, roaring and going mad.

One day, while establishing a connection with the Corrosion Boundary Vine, an extra green glowing leaf suddenly appeared in his heart.

Three glowing green Divine Strange Leaves were always releasing Life Vitality, nourishing his flesh and internal organs whether Pang Jian was cultivating or not.

He had the faint feeling that if he were to be seriously injured once more, his organs would heal at an even faster pace.

If he were to directly utilize the Life Vitality within the three leaves, his self-healing ability would ascend to another level.

"The Sapling knows how to be grateful and give back."

Pang Jian nodded inwardly.

He knew that his recent efforts had not been in vain, and that the Corrosion Boundary Vine, which appreciated reciprocation, never forgot him after each vigorous growth.

A few more days passed, and Pang Jian, who originally was not worried, gradually became restless.

— Luo Hongyan had yet to return.

Annoyed, Pang Jian pushed open the stone door and stepped outside the cave dwelling, looking from the nineteenth layer of the First Peak at the shorter mountains in the distance.

The Fourth Peak, the Fifth Peak, the Sixth Peak—his gaze swept across the mountains one by one.

He saw that at the peaks of those mountains, Flying Spirit Artifacts from various Sects were docked, and Cloud Sails could be seen everywhere in the secluded valleys and forests between the mountains.

"Could something have happened?"

Restless, after hesitating for a moment, he made his way down to the thirty-fifth layer along the stone steps.

"Halt, the registration time has already ended!"

An Individual Cultivator loyal to Cao Mang frowned at Pang Jian and said sternly, "You’re late. Prepare earlier next time, and come again after three years!"

"I’m not here to register. My sister came here to register a while ago, and she has disappeared since," Pang Jian explained, describing Luo Hongyan’s appearance and the bright red dress and veil she wore.

"I have some impression."

After thinking, the man recalled Luo Hongyan’s graceful figure and said, "She paid the Spirit Stones. After we examined her reserves of Spirit Stones, we gave her a Token. I’m certain she went down. Didn’t she return to your cave dwelling?"

Pang Jian shook his head.

"The First Peak is safe, and any form of conflict or fighting is strictly forbidden."

The man pondered and then said with a serious face, "I can assure you that there have been no deaths on the First Peak! If she hasn’t returned to your cave dwelling, she might have left the First Peak and gone wandering around other mountains."

His words implied that Luo Hongyan’s disappearance had nothing to do with the First Peak.

Pang Jian didn’t ask any further.

Returning to cave dwelling number fifty-six and closing the stone door, he sat in brooding silence, his brows deeply furrowed.

Accustomed to Luo Hongyan’s constant company, Pang Jian’s mood gradually darkened due to her unknown whereabouts.

He worried about Luo Hongyan’s safety, yet he didn’t know whom to ask for information.

"Was it Jiuyuan from Blood Moon, or someone else?"

He started to speculate wildly.

Assuming Luo Hongyan had indeed encountered trouble, the moment he left the First Peak, he too could immediately fall victim to foul play.

After severing ties under Cao’s command, the only people he knew in the Yuanmang Fragmented Lands were the Individual Cultivator Gao Yuan and... Qi Qingsong, who Cao treated as a distinguished guest.

Thinking back to Bagua City, he forced Qi Qingsong to sever his own arm; he didn’t consider Qi Qingsong a friend.

Jiang Li of Red Mountain?

Jiang Li, unable to gather Marrow Cleaning materials on his own merit, certainly did not hold a high status in Red Mountain; Pang Jian didn’t believe Jiang Li could be of help.

After much consideration, he knocked on Gao Yuan’s door and asked Gao Yuan to inquire through his circle of Individual Cultivator friends.

Upon hearing that Luo Hongyan still had not appeared, Gao Yuan too was startled and paused his cultivation, saying, "Don’t worry, little brother, this is the First Peak of Yuanmang. As long as she doesn’t leave, she will be safe! You wait here, I’ll ask around. Don’t be anxious!"

Well aware that his own life was tied to the siblings, Gao Yuan hurriedly headed towards the lower cave dwellings.

Half a day later.

Gao Yuan knocked at Pang Jian’s stone door, his expression grave, "Someone saw your sister, descending directly from the eighth level of the First Peak into the canyon below."

Pang Jian’s expression changed.

His worst fear had come true.

According to Cao’s rules, as long as Luo Hongyan had not left the First Peak, nothing untoward would have occurred.

But once she stepped out of the First Peak, even if she was in other areas of Yuanmang or other mountains and valleys, Cao would not concern himself with incidents like brawls or assassinations.

"My friends don’t dare to leave the First Peak; they couldn’t find out more,"

Gao Yuan said, looking downcast and at a loss, "There are still a few days until the assembly begins. Perhaps she got attracted to something and might return in a couple of days."

"I understand,"

Pang Jian waved his hand to signal Gao Yuan to leave and then closed the stone door again.

While the Luminous Pearls on the cave walls still shone as before, once the stone door was closed, Pang Jian felt as if the cave dwelling had become much dimmer than usual.

Just like his mood at that moment.

...