The Purgatory Calamity
Chapter 182 - 167 Qi Qingsong’s Choice_1

Chapter 182: Chapter 167 Qi Qingsong’s Choice_1

Number 56 Cave Abode.

Upon hearing the knocker’s lethargic voice, both Pang Jian and Jiang Li’s expressions changed slightly.

"This harbinger of doom..."

Jiang Li’s small face showed worry as she said urgently, "My junior sister happens to be out! His arm was broken because of you, and he has come specifically looking for you, perhaps to seek revenge!"

"Don’t worry, this is the First Peak of Yuanmang."

Pang Jian quickly regained his composure and said in a deep voice, "The cultivators who reside in the First Peak are strictly forbidden from killing and fighting each other, and no one is allowed to break the rules."

While comforting Jiang Li with his words, still unsure of Qi Qingsong’s intentions, he got up and opened the stone door.

Outside the cave abode.

Qi Qingsong, dressed in blue just as he had been in Bagua City, his broken arm now regrown, wore a brilliant smile on his face.

"Oh, you’re here too."

Without waiting for Pang Jian to invite him in, Qi Qingsong nodded with a smile to Jiang Li inside the cave, then pushed past Pang Jian, who was blocking the doorway, and walked in on his own.

"Have you two finished your business?"

Qi Qingsong sat on a wooden chair as if he were the master, looking at Jiang Li and Pang Jian with a grin.

Jiang Li opened her mouth to speak.

Qi Qingsong spoke again, "I have something to discuss with Pang Jian. If you don’t have anything important, come find him another time."

Jiang Li took a deep breath, mustered her courage, and said sharply, "Qi Qingsong, my cultivation realm is low, and I am no match for you. But my junior sister Zhao Yuanqi is my best friend, and if you dare to harm Pang Jian..."

Qi Qingsong laughed softly, shaking his head and saying, "What are you thinking? This is the First Peak of Yuanmang, and I wouldn’t dare dishonor Cao’s reputation. I just wanted to catch up alone with a good friend I haven’t seen in a long time."

"Friend..."

Pang Jian, subconsciously, glanced at the newly regrown arm of Qi Qingsong.

He remembered the time in Bagua City’s residence when he approached with his spear step by step, and this man shouted loudly, claiming they would be friends.

After leaving Bagua City, Qi Qingsong, who had ascended two realms in a row, had gone from being an Outer Sect disciple of the Sword Tower to an Inner Sect Disciple once again.

Recently, he had been in the limelight in the Second and Third Realms, having already reached the cultivation level of the Hollow Profound Realm.

So, when he uttered the word "friend," Pang Jian felt it to be an ill-intentioned mockery.

Realizing this was the First Peak of Yuanmang, Pang Jian pondered for a moment and then said to Jiang Li, "It’s fine, I’ll have a private chat with him."

"Well, if that’s okay then..."

Jiang Li glanced back at Qi Qingsong, uneasy, as she took a few steps away.

Before leaving the cave abode, she added, "I’ll be outside. Call for me if you need anything, Pang Jian."

With that, she closed the stone door.

Outside the cave abode.

She saw a man and a woman chatting together, occasionally glancing toward Cave Abode number 56 and exclaimed, "Ah, it’s you!"

The woman was the one who had been constantly accompanying Pang Jian during the trade event.

"It really is Qi Qingsong from the Sword Tower..."

Just back from the trade event, Han Ting saw a young man in blue enter Pang Jian’s cave abode, and standing on the stone path was Gao Yuan looking surprised. She only found out the identity of the newcomer after inquiring.

While she was still in shock, she saw Jiang Li come out and greeted her with a friendly smile.

Jiang Li forced a smile and joined them, wondering, "You two are..."

"Friends of Brother Pang," said Gao Yuan hastily.

Han Ting simply uttered, "Hmm."

She didn’t know how to define her relationship with Pang Jian; she felt it wasn’t yet at the level of "friends" but didn’t deny it either.

Hearing the two were friends of Pang Jian, Jiang Li earnestly said, "Being his friend is... really very fortunate!"

Inside the cave abode.

Before Pang Jian could speak, Qi Qingsong frowned and said, "Give me your conference token."

"Why?" asked Pang Jian, curious.

"It’s inconvenient for us to talk with that thing around."

Qi Qingsong gestured to the table, indicating for Pang Jian to place the token there.

Pang Jian complied, tossing the token onto the table where Qi Qingsong’s finger pointed.

A clear, crystalline amethyst suddenly appeared from the palm of Qi Qingsong, with strands of purple lightning interwoven inside it, forming a mysterious pattern.

It was this amethyst that he placed atop Pang Jian’s token, as if it shielded and separated something.

"As long as this token is here, whenever the names of Cao and Madam Hua are brought up, along with some key sensitive words, Madam Hua can faintly sense it."

After covering the token with the amethyst, Qi Qingsong’s expression immediately relaxed considerably.

He lazily leaned back in the wooden chair and crossed his legs, saying, "Cao has boasted to me before, saying that he and Madam Hua have transformed the First Peak of Yuanmang into a large array, and should the Qi and Blood vitality of any resident suddenly plummet, or should their soul perish here, Madam Hua would immediately notice."

"The First Peak, starting from the moment they began carving out cave abodes from rock walls, has been part of Madam Hua’s arrangement."

"If anything happens to someone in the First Peak, Madam Hua will know instantly, sending someone to investigate or even taking action herself."

Qi Qingsong spoke of its mysteries.

Pang Jian’s complexion changed, "The token has been spying on everyone from the shadows?"

He recalled his actions over the past few days in his cave dwelling, how he had used the bronze token to transport Gold Friday Stones and Sun Essence Stones to the Fifth Realm and had acquired the horn of the Ice Crystal Beast from the Fifth Realm, and suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

"It can’t spy, it can only occasionally listen in," Qi Qingsong said with a laugh, shaking his head as he explained, "Madam Hua doesn’t have the energy to eavesdrop on the conversations of all the residents of the First Peak of Yuanmang. Only when someone mentions Cao or her name does she pay attention, perhaps distractedly listening more intently."

"At any one moment, there are too many people mentioning her and Cao’s names for her to keep up with."

"Rest assured, it’s not as mystical as you imagine."

Qi Qingsong spoke with an air of nonchalance.

"Oh."

Only then did Pang Jian sit down on the cushion, leaning against the sturdy rock wall, and asked with a frown, "How did you know I was here?"

"The horn of a level-seven Ice Crystal Beast is worth four hundred thousand Spirit Stones; it was the biggest transaction in today’s trading venue," Qi Qingsong said with a light smile. "With such a huge commotion, it was impossible not to attract attention. Inside the trading venue, Jiang Li even called out your name, and I found out it was you with a little inquiry.

"Moreover, I guessed that you would likely be in the Yuan Mang Fragmented Lands."

Qi Qingsong’s expression turned somber as he uttered his last sentence.

"You knew I was in the Yuan Mang Fragmented Lands?" Pang Jian exclaimed in surprise.

"Huff!"

Two blue-and-white porcelain wine jars were suddenly taken out by Qi Qingsong from his storage ring; he tossed one casually to Pang Jian, then ripped open the seal of the other one and took a couple of swigs before saying, "Let’s drink and talk."

"Oh."

Pang Jian, following suit, also tore off the greasy seal, and was immediately greeted by the strong aroma of wine.

After a couple of drinks, savoring the rich texture of the wine as it warmed his body gradually,

he found that, unlike Zhou Qingchen’s liquor, the wine in Qi Qingsong’s jar wasn’t as spicy; instead, it was exceptionally smooth and mellow.

"You brat, I had no quarrel with you, you were merely a Meridians Channeling Realm cultivator, yet you dared to lunge at me with a spear for the sake of Zhou Qingchen, that Big Fool," Qi Qingsong sighed with emotion. He looked at Pang Jian with an odd look and said angrily, "And you did it twice!"

Seeing him dredge up old resentments at the get-go, Pang Jian stayed silent, merely lowering his head to drink.

"After failing, with Dong Xiaozi’s pursuit upon you, you sent Zhou Qingchen into the Mirror Tunnel, while you chose to stay behind."

Qi Qingsong continued his tale in between sips of his drink, his eyes gradually clouding over.

Pang Jian glanced at him and felt that... his alcohol tolerance didn’t seem to be very good.

It seemed like Qi Qingsong drank with the intent of blurting out things he wouldn’t usually say while in a state of drunken haziness.

"Pang Jian, after learning you had arrived in Yuanmang, taking residence in the First Peak, I was faced with a choice..."

Qi Qingsong took several more painful gulps of wine, his face now flushed red. Frowning, he said, "Back in Bagua City, you forced me to self-amputate my arm. I had said I would be your... friend. As you know, that was clearly not heartfelt."

Pang Jian nodded slightly.

"So!"

Qi Qingsong snorted coldly, "So, with my current Hollow Profound Realm cultivation and my status in Sword Tower, coupled with Cao deliberately currying favor with me, I could have sought revenge for what happened back then!"

"The moment I stepped into this cave dwelling, I could have chosen to be your enemy, first to mock and deride you, then to ask Cao to find some pretext to drive you out of the First Peak."

"Once you were expelled from the First Peak, I could have struck you at any time, to wash away the humiliation you inflicted upon me in Bagua City."

"Remember, it happened twice! No, three times!"

Qi Qingsong held up two fingers.

Thinking it was not enough, he added another finger, said indignantly, "Once for making me sever my arm! Those two times you dared to attack me, Qi Qingsong, with Meridians Channeling Realm cultivation, were also humiliating!"

Pang Jian silently drank, listening to him bare his soul.

"That young man from the Heaven Treasure Li Family has a naturally remarkable status and a very good impression of you. But after I broke through two realms and became an Inner Sect Disciple of the Sword Tower again, even his Li Family status couldn’t suppress me!"

Qi Qingsong said with proud laughter, his arrogance uncovered, "I was once one of the most talented in Sword Tower; it was only due to seeking the breakthrough of Unity of Heaven and Man that I encountered some setbacks."

"Once I achieved the coveted state of Unity of Heaven and Man and advanced to Innate, I overcame the inner demons!"

"I reclaimed everything that was rightfully mine!"

The more Qi Qingsong talked, the more excited he grew, and the more fiercely he drank, gulping the wine with a "glug glug" sound.

Without using his Spiritual Power to nullify the effects of the alcohol, and with his naturally poor tolerance, he gradually became drunk.

After boasting about himself and beating around the bush, he finally circled back to the main point.

"One choice was to avenge the humiliation I suffered in Bagua City; the other was to let go of my grudge and honor the promise I made under duress... to become your friend."

"I pondered for quite some time and eventually chose the latter, to befriend you, Pang Jian."

"I know you have exceptional talents and secrets of your own, but I, Qi Qingsong, am not afraid of you. I even believe I could eliminate you on the First Peak of Yuanmang!"

"I chose to be your friend because of the way you treated Zhou Qingchen, that Big Fool!"

"I, too, long for such a friend, one who would dare to risk his life and challenge barriers to face an unbeatable foe for my sake. I wish for a friend who would rather stay behind and die than let me leave alive."

"A friend who would show me his whole back, not having to worry about betrayal, never fearing a stab in the back—I, Qi Qingsong, have never met such a person in my lifetime!"

...