The Purgatory Calamity
Chapter 193 - 178: Heart Like Cold Ashes_1

Chapter 193: Chapter 178: Heart Like Cold Ashes_1

Cao Mang exuded an overwhelming aura.

"Boom!"

As if responding to him, the first peak of Yuan Mang suddenly shook.

"Majestic! Truly majestic!"

Before Pang Jian could speak, Huang Qi, smacking his lips, unexpectedly took the lead in ridiculing: "If it isn’t Cao the Eccentric, a great cultivator at the middle or late stage of the Spirit Condensation Realm. Oh, by the way, are you in the middle stage or the late stage?"

Madam Hua’s eyebrows knitted tightly, her expression ice-cold as she demanded, "Who are you, exactly?"

Huang Qi’s repeated provocations were pushing her to the brink of tolerance.

"Huang Qi, an individual cultivator."

The speaker, with shifty eyes and a sneer, first gave Pang Jian a deep look, then suddenly said, "I also come from the Fourth Realm, not born into one of the seven major families. When I achieved a breakthrough to the Marrow Cleansing Realm, I was fortunate to arrive in the Third Realm aboard a flying artifact from the Lower Realm."

"Like you two, I am not of a noble or extraordinary origin, just a cultivator with a bit of luck in fate."

"But I, unlike some, do not butter up the major sects while harming other individual cultivators behind their backs."

Huang Qi’s words were loaded with insinuation.

"The Fourth Realm..."

Madam Hua thought to herself no wonder she had never heard of this person.

Observing Huang Qi again, she felt much more at ease, figuring that once Huang Qi left the Yuan Mang Fragmented Lands, dealing with him quietly would not lead to any troublesome repercussions.

"Are you so interested in knowing whether I am in the middle or late stage of the Spirit Condensation Realm?" Cao Mang said in a deep voice.

"Three years ago, right here in the Yuan Mang Fragmented Lands, on this very day."

Huang Qi did not answer his question, and his face, no longer jesting, became serious as he said, "A cultivator named Huang Yu, who was at the late stage of the Hollow Profound Realm, lacked confidence in advancing to the Spirit Condensation Realm, so he bought a Soul Condensing Pill for three hundred thousand Spirit Stones to boost his chances of success."

He looked at Cao Mang, then turned his head towards Madam Hua.

The two people he gazed upon remained silent.

"Just after leaving the Yuan Mang Fragmented Lands, Huang Yu vanished from the world." Huang Qi took a deep breath, his eyes roving over the faces of many Hollow Profound cultivators, implying something significant, "Such incidents, I know of at least a dozen."

Those who were interested in competing for the upcoming treasures fell into contemplation upon hearing this.

"We only manage the first peak of Yuan Mang. We take no responsibility for the skirmishes and lootings among cultivators after they leave the first peak, let alone those who leave the Yuan Mang Fragmented Lands!" Madam Hua declared coldly.

She could see through Huang Qi’s intentions; he was deliberately causing trouble, intending to publicly expose the shady activities she and Cao Mang were involved in.

Huang Yu?

She gradually began to recall, remembering that since Huang Yu was only at the Hollow Profound Realm, Cao Mang hadn’t personally dealt with him.

— It was she who ultimately killed the man.

"Some baseless rumors should not be recklessly spread around."

Cao Mang’s expression remained unchanged as he indifferently said, "Huang Qi, due to your malicious slander, Yuan Mang no longer welcomes you. Please leave immediately!"

Had it not been for the risk of appearing to commit murder to silence him, Cao Mang would not hesitate to strike Huang Qi down.

"I knew it would come to this."

Huang Qi nodded, satisfied with achieving part of his purpose, and stepped out of the trading area.

"So, there’s even more dark and filthy business beneath the surface..."

Pang Jian, who had been listening silently, became convinced that Cao Mang and Madam Hua had done far more wicked deeds behind the scenes.

Huang Yu, who had fallen into their hands, must have had a deep connection to Huang Qi. His visit to the trading area and waiting for this particular day to speak his piece, was purely to disgust Cao Mang and Madam Hua.

Pang Jian just didn’t know whether Huang Qi had thought about how he would manage to leave Yuan Mang alive.

"The irrelevant person has left. Let’s continue!"

Cao Mang raised his voice.

Everyone could sense that Cao the Eccentric’s mood was far from good; he was clearly suppressing the fury about to erupt.

"Who’s next?"

Madam Hua shouted.

"I am!"

Impatient Jiuyuan stepped forward in front of Madam Hua and reached for the wooden barrel.

In the barrel holding the bamboo slips, strands of power blocking divine sense vanished into thin air.

Jiuyuan’s fingertips touched the inside, his divine sense attached, clearly seeing two characters on one of the slips — "Selected."

Jiuyuan’s eyes brightened. Understanding the implication, he grasped that slip firmly, took it out to glance at it, then burst into a wide smile, "I just knew my luck was peaking!"

Jiuyuan was crystal clear in his mind.

Since Pang Jian had repeatedly disrupted his plans by directly calling out their names and provoking Cao Mang and Madam Hua, the venomous-hearted Madam Hua had tampered with the draw.

That’s how he managed to successfully compete for Luo Hongyan!

"Pang Jian, you’ve interrupted my good fortune over and over. Those sisters from the Lower Realm, I didn’t even get a chance to lay eyes on them before they took poison and died on Ice Rock Island. Ah, what a waste of heavenly beauty."

Holding up the slip with the characters "Selected" for everyone to see, Jiuyuan laughed wildly.

"Your sister is born beautiful, and her body was remade with the Crystal-clear Snow Lotus. A rarity like this, I haven’t experienced in my life..."

"Ha-ha, spending a million Spirit Stones on such a wonder, I am certainly not at a loss!"

"Lou Yunming, if you don’t mind, after I tire of her, you can buy her for a million Spirit Stones!"

Jiuyuan laughed unrestrainedly.

His eyes, bold and venomous as a snake’s tongue, wandered over Luo Hongyan’s fair face and neck enclosed in the crystal.

Luo Hongyan, unable to move or speak, helplessly closed her eyes.

From the moment Jiuyuan received that slip, she knew her fate was unlikely to change.

"We from Yin Spirit Temple only want her Soul Spirit, the physical body is of no consequence."

Lou Yunming’s expression was grave as he looked at Luo Hongyan, who had closed her eyes, and coldly said to Jiuyuan, "I’ll contact you in half a month to discuss the purchase of her Soul Spirit."

"Fair enough!"

Jiuyuan laughed loudly.

"Whoosh!"

A palm-sized crystal flew from Cao Mang’s hand towards Jiuyuan.

Cao Mang said, "The art of sealing is all inside, both the steps for unlocking and maintaining the suppression are annotated in detail."

"That’s straightforward!"

Jiuyuan immediately began to count the Spirit Jade.

"Luo sister..."

Jiang Li was on the verge of tears, hating her own lack of ability and the low level of her realm cultivation at this moment.

Cao Mang, Madam Hua, Yang Rui, Xie Xiwen, Liang Ying, the Individual Cultivator Lian Feng, and many other ambiguous gazes fell on Pang Jian, who still stood in front of the prismatic crystal.

Luo Hongyan closed her eyes, resignedly within the crystal, no longer looking at anyone.

Pang Jian, however, stood like a cold statue in front of the crystal, motionless.

A bone-chilling coldness slowly emanated from his body, making him seem like a fossil frozen in ice.

"Pang Jian..."

Qi Qingsong walked forward and patted his shoulder.

"Crack!"

A piece of ice that covered Pang Jian’s shoulder shattered, and his frosty eyes moved slightly in response.

He withdrew his gaze from Luo Hongyan and looked towards Jiuyuan, who was laughing wildly with madness, then towards the gloomy-faced Lou Yunming, and Yang Rui, who reveled in schadenfreude.

Turning around, he then looked at Madam Hua and the imposing Cao Mang.

Every person he looked at frowned slightly, sensing an unusual chill from his pupils and noticing that behind his silence, there seemed to be some kind of power hidden.

However, when they thought of his realm cultivation, and that he was just a young Hunter from the Fourth Realm...

No one felt uneasy.

He was just a Hunter from the Fourth Realm, with just Innate Realm cultivation. Even with a friend like Qi Qingsong, what waves could he stir up?

Save someone?

He might not even be able to leave Yuan Mang alive!

"Whoosh!"

Under those mocking and disdainful gazes, Pang Jian turned and walked away, heading straight for the trading area.

"Pang Jian, do not leave the First Peak of Yuan Mang! Just wait for me for a moment, once I acquire what I need, I’ll find you at cave dwelling number fifty-six. I will personally take you out of Yuan Mang!"

Qi Qingsong hurriedly followed, whispering to Pang Jian’s back, "Remember, wait for me at the cave dwelling!"

Pang Jian "hmm’ed" and stepped out of the trading area.

"Be careful."

Qi Qingsong’s last words of caution.

As long as Pang Jian stayed on the First Peak, even if Cao found him displeasing to the eye, he would not break his own rules.

All the big characters in Yuan Mang Fragmented Lands were vying for the treasures to come and would not easily leave the trading area.

No matter how one looked at it, as long as Pang Jian stayed on the First Peak, he was safe, so Qi Qingsong wasn’t too worried.

"Xu Li!"

Jiuyuan softly called out and commanded someone outside with a secret skill, "That kid has left the trading area, keep a close eye on him. Once Cao’s Strange Treasures are settled and I get what I want, then I’ll go and clean him up!"

"Watch him, see which Cloud Sail he boards! Cloud Sails are very slow, even if he leaves the Yuan Mang Fragmented Lands, he won’t be able to escape!"

Jiuyuan was secretly issuing orders.

One of Blood Moon Gate’s men, with a later stage of Innate Realm cultivation not weak to Zhu Yuanxi, was not yet wearing the attire of Blood Moon and was mingling among the Individual Cultivators who didn’t have the qualifications to enter the trading area.

Seeing Pang Jian leave, he followed suit.

"Elder, he, he has left the First Peak!"

Xu Li conveyed the message with a Sound Transmission Talisman.

"Keep an eye on him, don’t act against him for now, just watch every move he makes."

Jiuyuan continued to instruct.

"Understood."

...

Between the Sixth and Seventh Peaks, there is a rippling Jade Lake.

At the moment, there were many Cloud Sails and tents scattered near the Jade Lake.

Individual Cultivators who were not well-off and had not offended anyone, many of them chose to settle near the Jade Lake.

These cultivators, whose cultivation realms were only at Meridians Channeling Realm, Marrow Cleaning Realm, and Innate Realm, did not have the qualifications to participate in the final day’s grand event.

Some of them and the owners of the Cloud Sails were discussing leaving matters, inquiring about the next routes of those owners to see if they matched their own directions.

"Han Ting, you were deceived by him, he is not some scion of a great family at all."

Zhang Bin came before a grass-green tent and said with a stern face and a cold voice, "Not just you, we were also deceived by him, we really thought he was some amazing figure!"

"From the Fourth Realm, just a hunter with dumb luck, made me anxious for days!"

"Han Ting, I’ve figured it all out, he doesn’t know Zhao Yuanqi, he only knows Jiang Li from Red Mountain! Also, Dong Tianze from Yin Spirit Temple, that Pang Jian who has been enquired about everywhere is him!"

"Sword Tower’s Qi Qingsong, also has ulterior motives towards him, I guess he wants to covet the precious Spiritual Materials he carries!"

"He is nothing but a fat sheep loaded with treasures and has no strong background or the realm cultivation to match those items. Han Ting, there’s no way he can leave Yuan Mang unscathed, you..."

Zhang Bin had been setting the stage for a long while, then suddenly burst out angrily, "You really are muddleheaded to have been deceived by this kind of man!"

"I am willing."

Han Ting looked disdainfully at the man who changed his face upon Pang Jian’s identity being revealed and said, "I like being slept with by him, and I even offered myself to him willingly, what’s it to you?"

"Say it again!"

"Zhang Bin, you repulsive guy, just standing next to me makes me feel you stink to high heaven!"

"Get the hell away from me!"

She did not hide her disgust for Zhang Bin at all.

"You will regret it!"

Zhang Bin turned and left with a gloomy face.

On his way back to Fang Xin’s tent, he suddenly saw a familiar figure in black, walking towards Jade Lake with a stern expression.

"Pang Jian!"

...