The Purgatory Calamity
Chapter 206 - 191 The Tenacious Genius_1

Chapter 206: Chapter 191 The Tenacious Genius_1

Yuan Mang’s First Peak.

There were dazzling spiritual lights crisscrossing each other, enveloping a vast area of flat rock at the summit, each strand of spiritual light like a blade, shining with a cold and arresting sharpness.

From afar, the dense light woven over the summit looked like a Spiritual Power Strong Shield conjured by a Cultivator.

A fifth-level Armored Demon Beast, with its grisly fangs secreting a foul, sticky fluid, was stealthily climbing up the stone stairs below at the behest of a Devil Scale Tribe warrior.

"Crack!"

Its armor, as sturdy as metal, shattered upon contact with those sharp spiritual lights.

The fifth-level Armored Demon Beast, amid wails of agony and splashing blood, retreated in terror.

Standing at the edge of the summit, Yang Rui wielded a Narrow Flame Knife, slashing toward the unsuspecting Armored Demon Beast.

"Sizzle!"

The Flame Knife cut through the air, dragging out a dazzling river of fire that instantly tore the Armored Demon Beast apart.

"Yang Rui truly deserves his reputation," Madam Hua praised without stinginess.

Many Individual Cultivators with profound cultivation, as well as people from Blood Moon and Yin Spirit Temple, also nodded in silent agreement.

The brave and skilled Yang Rui stood guard at a corner of the summit with his Hollow Profound Realm cultivation. Anytime an Alien Tribe’s Ferocious Beast reared its head, he would draw his knife to meet it in battle.

Ferocious Beasts and Alien Tribe warriors below the sixth level would almost never escape once they were injured by "Heavenly Killing Spirit Array" and then received an additional slash from him.

Even the sixth-level Devil Scale Tribe warriors and a few winged Heaven Clan powerhouses were somewhat wary of his strength.

"It is all thanks to the ingenious ’Heavenly Killing Spirit Array,’" Yang Rui humbly shook his head, his expression steady as he spoke, "Without you all creating the Heavenly Killing Spirit Array, harnessing it atop the spirit vein of Yuan Mang Fragmented Lands, and continuously drawing spiritual power to complement this awe-inspiring great array, Yuan Mang’s First Peak would have fallen long ago."

Under the radiance of the sun’s glow, the tall and majestic Yang Rui emanated a faint light from his body.

The robe he wore featured a pattern of the Fierce Sun, which was dazzling, making him seem almost like the Son of the Sun God.

The female cultivators from various Sects, one after another, looked at him with eyes filled with admiration and fondness.

Most women naturally gravitated toward the strong.

With his exceptional talent, extraordinary combat prowess, and towering stature, along with being the favored prodigy of the Raging Sun Sect, he couldn’t keep a low profile even if he wanted to.

"It is also the result of everyone working together," Madam Hua said, still managing to give him a flirtatious look despite her exhaustion, before sighing, "After this battle, the Spirit Vein buried deep within Yuan Mang’s core will probably need hundreds of years to recover to its original state."

Deploying the "Heavenly Killing Spirit Array" to fend off the ferocious offensive of the Alien Tribes was essentially overtaxing the potential of the Underground Spirit Vein.

"We just need to hold on for a little longer," Lou Yunming of Yin Spirit Temple said, having just fought with a sixth-level Devil Scale Tribe warrior. He looked somewhat tired as he took out a Soul Nourishing Pill and swallowed it, adding, "I have already reported back to our Sect Leader using a secret skill. Our Sect Leader said that the Flying Spirit Artifacts of various factions have recently been transporting people and goods in the Lower Realm..."

He glanced at Jiuyuan from Blood Moon and Wei Wenhan from the Raging Sun Sect as he spoke.

When the Alien Tribes suddenly appeared, Elder Wei Wenhan of the Raging Sun Sect rushed to the mountain where the Fire Cloud Ship was docked.

On the way, he and Yang Rui encountered the rampant offensive of the Alien Tribes and Ferocious Beasts and were forced to retreat back to Yuan Mang’s First Peak.

"Hmm, I know the situation is special, and support from all sides won’t arrive quickly."

Wei Wenhan nodded his head, glanced at the sky, and said with a gloomy mood, "According to the usual practices above, as long as the invading alien tribes are not beyond the seventh level, they are likely to turn a blind eye."

Jiuyuan cursed in a bad mood, "The invading alien tribes might just know the habits of those above. That’s why they didn’t deploy any seventh-level warriors or ferocious beasts!"

Cao Mang’s face was stern, and he dared not make a sound.

He had occasionally traveled to the Second Realm, naturally aware of the situations Wei Wenhan and Jiuyuan spoke of, as they often occurred in the past.

In some great forbidden lands of the Third Realm, if there were terrifying ferocious beasts of different kinds causing trouble, as long as those above confirmed they were not of the seventh level, they would let the sects below deal with it themselves.

Only when they truly couldn’t handle it and the major sects had suffered heavy losses, would those above arrange for someone to handle the situation.

It was like some sort of unspoken rule.

"We must figure out exactly how they came!"

Wei Wenhan, dressed like an old Confucian scholar, holding a ruler, furrowed his brows and looked towards Cao Mang.

Cao Mang, suppressing the rage in his heart, said coldly, "I activated the Heavenly Killing Spirit Array and took the lead in slaying so many of the different kinds and ferocious beasts. Can’t that clear the suspicions you have against me?"

Wei Wenhan’s expression was indifferent, "Your private transactions with the alien tribes of the Fifth Realm do indeed exist. Who knows if you leaked some information or provided them with key spiritual materials, which led them to target the Yuan Mang Fragmented Lands and create a Mirror Tunnel?"

"Wei, if you continue to slander me maliciously, then get out of the First Peak!"

Cao Mang’s anger was unstoppable.

Cao Mang, overwhelmed with frustration, naturally knew someone was deliberately framing him.

But for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out who had the power to frame him, to make these invading alien tribes adamantly claim they were invited by him.

"Cao Mang."

Wei Wenhan addressed him directly and arrogantly waved his sleeve, "You better think carefully about where to go after this battle is over."

"Those above will definitely investigate this matter. Whether or not you invited the alien tribes, since the incident happened in the Yuan Mang Fragmented Lands under your jurisdiction, you can’t escape responsibility!"

Upon hearing this, Cao Mang’s complexion worsened.

...

In the depths of the gorge.

Fang Boxuan, who had a brief exchange with Bai Guanjie and Chen Min using a Blood Talisman, scanned the area and saw the storage bags on their bodies.

In the central area of the two corpses, the belongings of his senior brothers at the Innate Realm were also there.

"Pang Jian left in a hurry, probably fearing that I would come to kill him, which is why he didn’t have time to take the storage bags away," Fang Boxuan thought to himself.

"Sister Chen, I’m really not oblivious, it’s just that your appearance was so unattractive that I had no interest in picking..."

As Fang Boxuan muttered to himself, he ripped off the storage bag left behind by Chen Min and moved on.

The corpses, penetrated by cold air and resembling ice sculptures, contained the belongings of his senior brothers at the Innate Realm which he collected one by one.

Finally, he arrived next to the corpse of Bai Guanjie.

Looking at his senior brother, who was pierced through from the top of the head by the Astonishing Spear, Fang Boxuan lamented, "Senior Brother Bai, you really are unlucky. You were at the forefront, and you died the most tragic death. It’s a pity you didn’t understand the cultivation realm of your opponent."

"Such a pity."

He shook his head and tore off the storage bag from the waist of the corpse.

"Afterwards..."

Fang Boxuan muttered softly to himself.

Just as he was about to check the contents of the storage bag, his expression changed abruptly.

"Swoosh!"

A deep red shield, as red as blood, was hastily summoned by him.

The body of Bai Guanjie exploded without any warning!

"Boom! Rumble!"

Amid the splattering debris of limbs and flesh, the explosive power of heavenly thunder suddenly emerged. Lightning and thunder condensed into orbs of light, continuously striking his shielded self, causing him to groan and retreat explosively.

Feeling the terrifying force that suddenly erupted, Fang Boxuan’s face darkened as he said, "Despicable!"

In the depths of the canyon leading to the fourth peak, a tall figure dressed in a blue robe with the mark of the Sword Tower on his chest suddenly appeared and rapidly approached Fang Boxuan.

"Pang Jian, you’re actually wearing the robes of the Sword Tower!"

Fang Boxuan exclaimed in shock.

"Qi Qingsong has secured me a spot as an outer disciple of the Sword Tower. All I need to do is go to the Sword Tower in the Second Realm, and with this token, I can be registered in the Sword Tower records,"

Pang Jian pointed to the sword-shaped token hanging at his waist.

"They are not Jiuyuan, and as long as you wear these robes and prove you have the strength of the Hollow Profound Realm, they dare not lay a hand on you. Why then must you kill all of them?"

The frustrated Fang Boxuan, still maintaining the shield, silently took a few more steps backward as he spoke.

As he was about to draw near the bodies covered in ice crystals and permeated with cold power, Fang Boxuan tensed up.

Fearing that those corpses might also conceal the "Nine Heavens Cloud Thunder," he quickly and carefully dodged them.

"Without these robes, do I deserve to die?"

Pang Jian replied indifferently.

Fang Boxuan’s words halted.

"Leave the storage bag you have in your hand, then you can leave the canyon. It contains something rather important," Pang Jian snorted and stepped towards Fang Boxuan. "Among your group of seven, once you mentioned my name, all but you, who hesitated, immediately showed intent to kill."

"The six of them chased after me to kill me one after another as I fled."

"Since they harbor ill intentions and wish to kill me to seize a large amount of spirit stones, why can’t I kill them?" Pang Jian spoke as he walked.

Fang Boxuan furrowed his brows, deep in thought, and did not offer any rebuttal.

"Storage bag, something rather important..."

Instinctively, he released a wisp of divine sense with the cultivation of the mid-Hollow Profound Realm.

He intended to see what important item in Bai Guanjie’s storage bag was of such significance to Pang Jian.

As his divine sense entered it.

"Poof!"

A puff of gray-green smoke suddenly billowed out from the opening of the storage bag.

As soon as the smoke came out, Fang Boxuan groaned again, and as a wisp of his divine sense was extinguished, his body was enveloped by the gray-green smoke.

"Pang Jian, may you die a horrible death!"

Fang Boxuan screamed, hurriedly discarding Bai Guanjie’s storage bag, as a blood jade pendant on his chest suddenly shone brightly.

The light flowed into the depths of his forehead, securely enveloping his sea of consciousness and managed to resist the invasion of the "Poison Ghost Poisonous Fog."

"I’ve never seen someone as despicable and shameless as you!"

"Zhao from Red Mountain must be blind to have pleaded for someone like you!"

"First the Nine Heavens Mysterious Thunder, then the Poison Ghost Poisonous Fog, and you even tried to deceive me with your words, saying there was something important in there..."

Fang Boxuan cursed as he fled.

He felt deeply wronged and aggrieved, feeling as though someone had hurt him profoundly.

There were a total of six corpses of his fellow disciples, lying in a line from Chen Min to Bai Guanjie. Starting from Chen Min, there were no anomalies, neither in the bodies nor in the storage bags.

It was only with the last one, Bai Guanjie, that he thought there would be no issues, but unexpectedly...

Fang Boxuan was on the verge of tears.

He had realized that Pang Jian had made him completely let down his guard with those first few corpses, so that he could launch the "Nine Heavens Cloud Thunder" hidden inside Bai Guanjie, then deliberately calculated to make him use divine sense to trigger the "Poison Ghost Poisonous Fog."

Such devious planning was extremely malicious. Had he not had a life-saving strange treasure, he might have already died in the canyon—

And not from combat.

Fang Boxuan, who rarely experienced such battles, was filled with bitterness and grievances. As he hastily fled, his glance back at Pang Jian was like looking at a natural disaster or fearsome beast.

"Rumble!"

Fang Boxuan was hit squarely again by a sudden explosion of "Nine Heavens Mysterious Thunder" as he fled past a fractured boulder.

Pang Jian arrived, weapon in hand.

He brandished dazzling Moon Blades and starlight, drawing out extremely cold ice edges, assaulting Fang Boxuan like a violent storm.

"Spurt!"

Fang Boxuan spat out blood, and just as his Spiritual Power Strong Shield burst, he took out another blood bead to protect his body.

The wine-red ripples spread out, managing to hold on for just a moment before Pang Jian shattered them with his bursting Astonishing Spear.

As the blood bead fragmented, Fang Boxuan’s body and face were covered in gore, and he let out a dreadful scream.

"Pang Jian, I have no feud with you, I just..."

"I just!"

"Poof!"

A bronze bell the size of a palm was raised above his head, only to have its mouth burst open by a strike of Pang Jian’s spear.

Fang Boxuan, who was now barely recognizable as human or ghost, bit his tongue in terror and quickly retreated into the cracked bronze bell, utilizing a blood escape technique that sapped his potential to flee far away like lightning.

"Pang Jian, may you die a horrible death!"

Fang Boxuan’s wails echoed as he fled.

...