The Purgatory Calamity
Chapter 183 - 168: The Whereabouts of Luo Hongyan_1

Chapter 183: Chapter 168: The Whereabouts of Luo Hongyan_1

In the brightly lit cave dwelling, Qi Qingsong was bleary-eyed with drunkenness.

He sat lazily on a wooden chair, swinging his crossed legs, sipping wine while voicing his thoughts.

Next to him, on a straw cushion, Pang Jian leaned against the hard rock wall, silently drinking without uttering a word.

Qi Qingsong, drunk as a lord, seemed intent on pouring out all the pent-up frustrations accumulated over the years.

He began by reminiscing about how glorious he had been as an Inner Sect Disciple, and how much the Sword Tower had valued him.

He then talked about his demotion to an Outer Sect Disciple and the disgusting behavior of his former fellow disciples in the Inner Gate.

Pang Jian, usually reticent, played the role of a good listener well.

He listened patiently to Qi Qingsong recount his past.

In doing so, he learned that Qi Qingsong had been sullen and unhappy for a long time before entering Bagua City for his trial.

Back in those years, he didn’t even have anyone to confide in, truly experiencing the fickleness of human relationships.

Pang Jian, not knowing how to comfort him, just silently drank, listening to Qi Qingsong talking to himself.

Gradually, Qi Qingsong began to snore softly in the cave, falling asleep defenselessly.

"A once heaven-sent genius who had fallen to rock bottom is now shining brightly again," Pang Jian said softly as he looked at him.

After a long while.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

The urgent knocking not only startled Pang Jian from his meditative state but also abruptly awakened the deeply sleeping Qi Qingsong.

"Ugh, I’ve actually fallen asleep."

Qi Qingsong seemed a bit embarrassed as he casually rubbed the corner of his eyes with his sleeve and wiped the saliva from his mouth, then smiled faintly and said, "It seems I really trust you."

Pang Jian nodded slightly.

"It’s Zhao Yuanqi!"

A proud young girl’s voice came from outside the door.

The well-rested Qi Qingsong took a deep breath and said in surprise, "Zhao Yuanqi of Red Mountain?"

"Whoosh!"

Suddenly, a thick aroma of wine wafted from the pores all over his body.

The alcoholic liquid affecting his clarity of mind was expelled from his body in this way, in a very short time.

When Pang Jian got up and opened the stone door, Zhao Yuanqi, who had come close, immediately smelled the pungent odor of alcohol.

"You two..."

The silver-haired girl carrying a large gourd frowned and said with a cold and delicate face, "How much wine have you been drinking in this cave?"

Outside the cave dwelling, Jiang Li, who was peeking in, was also choked by the strong aroma of alcohol.

"We didn’t drink much; it’s just that I don’t hold my liquor well, yet I wanted a few more drinks."

Qi Qingsong admitted frankly.

With a wave of his sleeve, ferocious Sword Intent accompanied by Firm Wind swept all the alcohol fumes out of the cave.

When the scent of alcohol in the cave had mostly dispersed, the silver-haired girl snorted lightly and then entered the cave.

She immediately closed the stone door behind her.

Once the stone door was shut, no one could hear the conversations inside unless they were at the Spirit Condensation Realm level, like Lei Kun—a remarkable feature of the First Peak’s caves.

"This token..."

Her eyes showed a hint of surprise as she looked at the token pressed under a purple crystal and asked, "Is this to prevent the prying of the scheming?"

Qi Qingsong nodded with a smile.

"You two..."

Zhao Yuanqi, with something to say, furrowed her brows as she looked at Qi Qingsong, hesitating somewhat.

Pang Jian took the initiative and said, "Friend."

The revitalized Qi Qingsong flashed a brilliant smile and exclaimed, "Exactly, Pang Jian and I are good friends, the kind that shares everything!"

He stressed the word "good."

"Oh, if that’s the case..."

Zhao Yuanqi, who heard they had a falling out, seemed somewhat skeptical yet did not avoid discussing openly, and seriously said, "Pang Jian, I asked around, and the person you and Sister Jiang mentioned seems to have been captured by Cao."

"Cao?"

Pang Jian immediately stood up and said with a solemn face, "We have no feud with Cao!"

After thinking it through again, he was confident they had no encounters with Cao and couldn’t understand why the one controlling Yuan Mang Fragmented Lands would capture Luo Hongyan.

"Hehe."

Qi Qingsong narrowed his eyes and chuckled, saying, "So, you went to gather information for Pang Jian."

"Do you have any insights?"

Zhao Yuanqi stood in the center of the cave, looking at him fearlessly, not intimidated in the slightest by his status as an Inner Sect Disciple of the Sword Tower.

"It’s just a coincidence," Qi Qingsong pulled at the corner of his mouth.

Tapping his fingers on the wooden table, he gradually stopped smiling and with a solemn expression said, "Pang Jian, I came especially to tell you about this matter. My information is even more accurate and detailed than hers, because my source is Cao himself!"

Pang Jian adopted a listening stance.

Zhao Yuanqi appeared slightly surprised, nodded, and admitted, "My information is rather vague; someone only saw Cao and a veiled beautiful woman having a conflict at a huge meteorite outside the Yuanmang Fragmented Lands."

"As for why the two began to fight and what grievances they have, I’m really not quite sure."

Zhao Yuanqi told the unvarnished truth.

Pang Jian took a deep breath and said coldly, "We joined his gathering and acted according to his rules, so why did he suddenly attack?"

"It’s like this..."

Qi Qingsong spoke of what he had been planning to report.

The gathering hosted by Cao didn’t require his presence in the past few days, so he had recently gone out for a while.

On his way back when passing through a meteorite field outside Yuanmang, one of the Strange Treasures on him suddenly issued a warning.

Feeling curious, Cao used the Strange Treasure to investigate, and he found a soul-sealing Array carved into the inside of a meteorite, which was teeming with Spirit Evils.

The Individual Cultivator Cloud Ascetics from the Three Immortal Islands were also among them.

Immediately suspicious, Cao used the Strange Treasure to suppress the Spirit Evils, forcing their master to reveal oneself.

Before long, a veiled beautiful woman emerged fuming from his Yuan Mang Fragmented Lands.

The moment they saw each other, a conflict erupted.

As a result, the woman was captured by Cao.

During the fight, the woman used the Blood Moon Secret Skill, and she also knew how to refine Spirit Evil, which made Cao even more surprised; he immediately contacted the Elders of the Yin Spirit Temple after capturing her.

The Elder from the Yin Spirit Temple immediately confirmed the captured woman was a remnant of the suppressed Blood Spirit Sect.

At the same time, Jiuyuan also arrived upon hearing the news.

Blood Moon and Yin Spirit Temple both demanded the woman from Cao.

Cao, not wanting to offend either party, thought for a while, then decided to auction the captured woman as the final Strange Treasure of the last day. He even planned to set the price at one million Spirit Stones, allowing Blood Moon and Yin Spirit Temple to draw lots to obtain her.

"Cao mentioned this to me and said the woman’s body was reconstructed using the Crystal-clear Snow Lotus."

After Qi Qingsong finished his explanation, he added, "I guessed immediately it must be Luo Hongyan from the City Lord Mansion of that day. I figured you must also be in Yuanmang. Coincidentally, you took out the horn of a level-seven Ice Crystal Beast for sale, and Jiang Li called out your name, so I made it a point to come find you."

Zhao Yuanqi nodded, "Indeed, more detailed than my information."

Pang Jian composed himself, forcing himself to calm down, then sat back down on the meditation cushion.

He finally understood why Luo Hongyan had disappeared without a word all of a sudden.

Luo Hongyan, who did not have specialized containers for holding Spirit Evils, had placed them within a meteorite outside Yuanmang for emergencies.

Because that hideout was suddenly attacked by Cao, she had rushed there in a hurry, fearing that all the Spirit Evils had died.

And as a result, she was suppressed by the highly skilled Cao.

Since this incident occurred outside of the Yuan Mang Fragmented Lands and Cao deliberately concealed it, very few were aware of it.

"Blood Moon, Yin Spirit Temple, Cao..."

Pang Jian murmured to himself in a low voice, a fierce look gradually emerging in his eyes.

"Pang Jian, that woman with the surname Luo, I heard she’s a remnant of the Blood Spirit Sect. The Blood Spirit Sect didn’t have a good reputation in the past, and Cao has been quite polite to me, but my status isn’t high enough to persuade him to release the one named Luo."

"Moreover, it involves Blood Moon and Yin Spirit Temple, so I really can’t help."

Qi Qingsong, who understood the situation before coming, said with a wry smile as he expressed his position.

Then, he took out a blue robe commonly worn by the disciples of Sword Tower, bearing the symbol of the Sword Tower on it.

He placed this robe on the wooden table and weighed it down with a shiny silver Token also bearing the Sword Tower emblem.

"This Token can make you an Outer Sect Disciple of the Sword Tower. I’m afraid neither of us can save her, but I can take you safely out of Yuanmang. As long as you wear this robe and hang this silver badge on your waist, regardless of your prior relationship with her, I can guarantee your safety,"

Qi Qingsong spoke earnestly.

Zhao Yuanqi was stunned for a moment and said, "It seems, I won’t need to introduce you to Red Mountain anymore."

She had also thought it through on her way there.

She planned to use her position in Red Mountain to recommend Pang Jian to Red Mountain, thus allowing him to avoid this catastrophe.

Zhou Qingchen and Han Duping had already made it clear to her that Pang Jian was just a Hunter from the Fourth Realm’s Solitude Mountain Range.

Before she had met Pang Jian, she promised Zhou Qingchen and Jiang that once Pang Jian appeared, she would use her status to recommend him to Red Mountain.

This trip happened to coincide with Luo Hongyan’s troubles, and as long as Pang Jian didn’t interfere with Luo Hongyan’s situation, she was confident she could take Pang Jian away safely.

"As an Outer Sect Disciple of my Sword Tower, killing an Innate Realm cultivator from Blood Moon like Zhu Yuanxi is not a big deal. However, you must not get involved with Luo Hongyan and the Blood Spirit Sect; it’s far too sensitive a matter,"

Qi Qingsong advised.

"Indeed, the Blood Spirit Sect has a notorious reputation, and its destruction brought great satisfaction; it would be unwise for you to get entangled with this sect," Zhao Yuanqi nodded lightly in agreement.

"You two go out first, let me be alone for a while, I need to think things through clearly," said Pang Jian, feeling heavy-hearted after learning the truth about Luo Hongyan’s disappearance, no longer listening to the advice of the two.

"That’s fine,"

Qi Qingsong showed understanding. He got up from the wooden chair and said, "I’ll be in Yuanmang for the near future; that silver Token can be used to contact me. If there’s anything you need to tell me, just do so. As long as I can help, I will not refuse."

With that, he glanced at Zhao Yuanqi and said, "Little girl, let him have some peace."

Zhao Yuanqi silently stepped out of the cave dwelling first.

Qi Qingsong followed suit and left afterwards.

After exiting the cave, he gently closed the stone door and said to the people outside, "He’s in a bad mood. Don’t disturb him for the next couple of days."

...