The Purgatory Calamity
Chapter 202 - 187 Approaching the Mysterious Turtle_1

Chapter 202: Chapter 187 Approaching the Mysterious Turtle_1

"Kid, Jade Lake is too dangerous, you’d better not stay here any longer, you should seek out other places to hide"

After he finished speaking, Huang Qi said, "Don’t worry, these invading alien tribes won’t last long. Just hold on a few more days, and if they haven’t withdrawn from the Yuan Mang Fragmented Lands, they will be jointly obliterated by the forces of the five major powers within Yuan Mang."

"Right, if you have indeed cultivated the Great Creation Sacred Body, then cultivate it well."

After giving a few instructions, Huang Qi finished his cigarette, had thoroughly scouted out the entire vicinity of Jade Lake, and didn’t detect anything unusual.

"I’m heading to the First Peak now; I hope those alien tribes will show some backbone and manage to take down the First Peak for me."

"I just want to see the miserable state of that old dog Cao and Madam Hua."

Before leaving, Huang Qi put away his smoking pipe and looked deeply at Pang Jian, reminding him, "Kid, it’s right for you to be wary of me. Remember, you should be wary of everyone you know. A million Spirit Stones would make even the elders of the sects jealous, and killing you doesn’t seem to be much of a hassle."

With that, he drifted away.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Pang Jian sank back to the bottom of the lake.

Lying in the muddy corner at the bottom of the lake, he held a piece of Spirit Jade in each hand and continued to develop his brain domain with Spiritual Power and Life Vitality.

The Life Vitality given by the Cloud Marsh Sapling had been a tremendous help to him, and he felt he could advance to the Hollow Profound Realm in a short time.

"Hiss hiss!"

The Green Ghost Spiritual Power, the luminescent green Life Vitality, continually flowed into every part of his brain domain.

Not only the nerve fibers of his brain but also the acupoints within a large area atop his head were infused with Life Vitality.

He felt a region in his brain that encompassed all the acupoints gradually transforming into a hazy sea of smoke and clouds.

"Form the Sea of Consciousness first, then manifest the Divine Sense."

He murmured in his heart.

He knew that this haze of smoke and clouds was the embryonic form of the Sea of Consciousness and that soon it would refine the infinitely useful Divine Sense.

Once the Divine Sense was formed, it meant he had ascended to the Hollow Profound Realm, and his perceptive and observational abilities would undergo a dramatic transformation.

"Unity of Heaven and Man combined with the rich Life Vitality, I should indeed break through rapidly!"

Pang Jian was filled with fighting spirit.

Qi Qingsong, who had pursued the concept of "Unity of Heaven and Man" with hardship, ascended to Innate, and then broke through to the Hollow Profound Realm again just months later.

If Qi Qingsong could do it, then of course he could too!

The secrets hidden within him were even more miraculous than those of Qi Qingsong, and the Cloud Marsh Sapling could provide him with continuous support.

With this kind of Life Vitality, which was tremendously beneficial to the brain domain and could extend the life of elders like those in Mu Yuan, and combined with his "Unity of Heaven and Man," he knew he wasn’t far from the Hollow Profound Realm.

"Hollow Profound..."

Suddenly, he remembered what Sun Bin had said before he left.

Sun Bin had informed Pang Lin that as long as Pang Lin could prove his ability and ascend to the Hollow Profound Realm within a hundred years, he could be summoned down to the Solitude Mountain Range.

Looking back now at the so-called Century Enlightenment, it seemed as easy as pie!

"If I ascend to the Hollow Profound Realm..."

He had a vague feeling that with the magic of his Chaos Sea, as long as he could smoothly ascend to the Hollow Profound Realm, those in the same realm, like Yang Rui and Qi Qingsong, might not necessarily be his match.

"When I break through to the Hollow Profound Realm, will I also crazily draw in nature’s spiritual energy at the very moment of breaking through?"

As this thought emerged, he tried to establish a connection with the Mysterious Turtle.

"Hmm!"

To his surprise, he discovered that the Mysterious Turtle, which hadn’t been contacted for a long time, had not only woken up from its deep slumber but had also grown several times larger!

The Mysterious Turtle, hidden in that unknown Fragmented Land, was now a hundred zhang long, surpassing the Dark Giant Python in size alone!

"Fragmented Land!"

After his mind was shaken, he noticed that the unknown Fragmented Land had drifted to a familiar area.

That area was located between the Three Immortal Islands and the Yuan Mang Fragmented Lands.

The Mysterious Turtle, controlling this unknown Fragmented Land, had actually crossed the realm of the Three Immortal Islands and was heading straight for the Yuan Mang Fragmented Lands.

"This fellow..."

Pang Jian, inwardly shocked, suddenly realized that the area of this unknown Fragmented Land had also become larger.

The newly added part of the Fragmented Land had rivers, forests, and streams, brimming with life.

He knew that the only possibility for the enlargement of the Fragmented Land was the merging of other Fragmented Lands!

The Fragmented Land, housing the hidden Mysterious Turtle, could actually assimilate other Fragmented Lands into itself, becoming part of that land!

"There are valleys, dense forests, it feels somewhat familiar..."

Pang Jian was once again stunned, sensing that the newly added area in the Fragmented Land closely resembled the Cloud Island of the Three Immortal Islands!

In other words, the era of the Cyclops’ Cloud Wilderness!

The essence of Cloud Wilderness’s Cloud Island, the most concentrated area of central trees and valleys, had somehow been stolen by the Mysterious Turtle and incorporated into the Fragmented Land it occupied.

The nature’s spiritual energy of that Fragmented Land had also become considerably richer, several times denser than when Pang Jian had first arrived.

"This Mysterious Turtle is continuously growing stronger, constantly merging more Fragmented Lands, stripping away mineral veins. If this goes on, won’t that unknown Fragmented Land become larger than even Yuan Mang in the future?"

"Is there a possibility that once the Mysterious Turtle becomes powerful enough, its occupied Fragmented Land could rival a continent?"

Pang Jian, with his highly active mind, had numerous ideas flashing through his thoughts, becoming more and more excited as he pondered.

He dared to stay alone in Yuan Mang because he had a bronze medal in hand, which allowed him to instantly arrive at the Sky Fortune Fragmented Land below and also to appear on that unknown Fragmented Land through sensing the Mysterious Turtle in an instant.

As long as he wasn’t killed in a single blow, and as long as he found the slightest moment of respite, he would be able to disappear in the blink of an eye.

The Mysterious Turtle’s discreet approach carrying that unknown Fragmented Land made him even more audacious.

Three more days passed.

Pang Jian, who had been cultivating arduously at the bottom of the lake, was suddenly awakened by the disturbances from the outside world.

"Who is it this time?"

He frowned.

Since his Divine Sense wasn’t showing, he couldn’t stay at the bottom of the lake and use his Divine Sense to investigate the identities of the newcomers.

He could only sense from the fluctuations of Qi and Blood that the newcomers, like him, were also people of the Human Race from Yuan Mang.

As he pondered over the identities of the arrivals, several people dressed in the attire of the Star River Alliance fell into the water, their hearts filled with trepidation.

A disciple of the Star River Alliance who entered the clear waters of the lake immediately saw Pang Jian sitting up and was startled, hurrying towards the surface.

"Splash!"

As soon as this person rushed out of Jade Lake, he screamed at Liang Ying, "Elder Liang, there are people at the bottom of the lake!"

"People? People like us?"

Liang Ying anxiously sought confirmation.

"Yes! People like us, he is not from the Alien Tribes!"

The man hurriedly said.

"Whoosh!"

Like a water arrow, the helpless Pang Jian who had flown out from the bottom of the lake landed on the lakeside and looked at more than a dozen disciples of the Star River Alliance, frowning and asking, "What are you doing here?"

"Pang Jian!"

Xie Xiwen and Liang Ying immediately exclaimed.

"How are you here?"

After the exclamation, Liang Ying’s expression immediately darkened as she coldly scrutinized Pang Jian, "With the Alien Tribes and Ferocious Beasts emerging from the surface of Jade Lake, you shouldn’t be here!"

With a star disk hanging from her waist, the youthful and beautiful Xie Xiwen, her eyes bright and curious, looked at Pang Jian.

"I heard that your sister managed to escape successfully."

She took the initiative to say.

Pang Jian paused, then remembered that at the trading site that day, this beautiful girl from the Star River Alliance had also spoken indignantly on behalf of Luo Hongyan.

However, she had been reprimanded by Liang Ying at the time.

"Why are you hiding here?"

Liang Ying asked again coldly.

"This place is the safest."

Pang Jian repeated the same explanation, "I was originally in a nearby cave, and after the Alien Tribes and Ferocious Beasts emerged, I shrank back and didn’t come out. Later, those Alien Tribes and Ferocious Beasts did not return to Jade Lake, nor did any other Cultivators dare to approach Jade Lake, so no departing Alien Tribes were brought here."

"After the Mirror Tunnel disappeared, I felt this was the safest place, so I’ve been hiding at the bottom of the lake."

Pang Jian replied with a frank expression.

"How long have you been at the bottom of the lake?"

Liang Ying asked suspiciously.

"A few days now."

Pang Jian casually answered.

Seeing that Liang Ying’s clothes were stained with blood, that Xie Xiwen and the other disciples also looked quite ragged, he asked, "What have you all been through?"

Liang Ying did not speak immediately and also glared at Xie Xiwen and the others, signaling them to keep silent.

She stared coldly at Pang Jian with a stern look, feeling Pang Jian’s heartbeat and breathing to make sure he was not lying.

A moment later.

"We left the first peak quite early, initially planning to go to the sixth peak to see if we could recapture the Golden Coach."

Liang Ying, who detected nothing unusual, sighed deeply and said, "On the way to the sixth peak, we first encountered a squad from the Ghost Clan, then were attacked by the Wood Tribe, and finally fought a Cyclops. Barely making it and almost reaching the sixth peak, we then watched as the Golden Coach that belonged to us ascended."

"Elder Qin is dead, and the disciples who remained with the Golden Coach all perished in the battle against the Alien Tribes," a delicate-looking Marrow Cleansing Realm girl said softly.

"The worst losses were ours, closest to Jade Lake, and those from Yin Spirit Temple," Liang Ying shook her head in lament.

The people from the Star River Alliance spoke noisily amongst themselves.

Pang Jian quickly learned that because the Golden Coach and the Heavenly Spirit Tower had been successfully commandeered by invading Alien Tribes and ascended to the sky, the Alien Tribes settled on the peaks of the sixth and seventh mountains also left.

This region where the Alien Tribes first arrived was surprisingly devoid of Alien Tribes and also had no Individual Cultivators gathering.

Liang Ying and others who managed to break free from the Cyclops eventually came here, partly because the Alien Tribes had not come over, but also to see what was really happening with Jade Lake.

As a result, they only found Pang Jian.

"Like you, I am hiding here from the Alien Tribes. The difference is, I was already nearby, so I came here a bit earlier than you," Pang Jian said.

Liang Ying did not doubt him and further inquired if he had discovered any suspicious characters or noticed anything unusual about Jade Lake.

Pang Jian considered carefully and only mentioned that an Individual Cultivator named Huang Qi had been here.

"Huang Qi?"

Liang Ying frowned in confusion, "I have some recollection of this man, with a weasel-like appearance, evidently no good at first sight."

"Even though his cultivation realm is not very high, he possesses a remarkable amount of Spirit Stones. Madam Hua and Cao also found him suspicious, suggesting his background might be problematic."

"Could it be that Huang Qi is involved with the Alien Tribes’ invasion?"

Liang Ying pondered and then asked, "Where did he go?"

"To the first peak of Yuanmang."

After Pang Jian answered, he was unwilling to stay with the people of the Star River Alliance any longer, so he bid farewell with a cupped-hand salute, "Jade Lake is in your hands now, I will look for another place."

The fact that the Alien Tribes had killed another Elder of the Star River Alliance while seizing the Golden Coach made him feel somewhat... embarrassed.

"Pang Jian, all of Yuanmang is in turmoil, and the Alien Tribes and Ferocious Beasts are still attacking Human Cultivators."

Xie Xiwen warned softly, "It’s too dangerous for you to be alone, better to keep us company."

"No need!"

Pang Jian flatly refused.

As soon as the words were spoken, he walked away from Jade Lake, not willing to mingle with the people from the Star River Alliance.

"Xiwen, you all stay here for now, I’ll go ask him a few more questions," Lian Ying instructed softly with an air of unresolved doubts, and as Pang Jian’s figure was about to disappear, she hurriedly chased after him.

"Elder, what do we do if you leave?"

A timid disciple called out.

"It won’t take too long, I just want to ask him a few questions, and I’ll be back shortly."

Liang Ying reassured with a smile.

...