The Purgatory Calamity
Chapter 290 - 275: Enemies on a Narrow Road _1

Chapter 290: Chapter 275: Enemies on a Narrow Road _1

Half a day later, the Sword Boat that had been flying swiftly suddenly came to a halt.

"The Demon Boat has crashed!"

Pang Jian and two others, who were still drinking and chatting, heard the noise outside. They circulated their spiritual power to dispel the alcohol within them and quickly made their way to the viewing platform on the third floor of the Sword Boat.

"Qi Senior Brother!"

Inner Sect Disciples from the Sword Tower who had arrived earlier gathered on the platform, pointing towards the distance.

Pang Jian followed their gaze.

Above a cluster of white clouds floated the wreckage of the Demon Boat.

Disciples from various factions within the Demon Sect were standing on the remains of the ship, each with an unpleasant look on their face.

Pang Jian looked around and noticed a woman dressed in a purple gown, her earlobes, neck, and the hem of her dress adorned with sparkling ornaments, standing gracefully and composed.

Her demeanor was calm, not showing the slightest panic, and her appearance was outstandingly beautiful.

At the corner of her mouth was a conspicuous beauty mark, adding endlessly to her charm.

While a group of Demon Sect Disciples were sighing and complaining, only she stood there placid and composed.

Seeing the Sword Boat appear, she waved from afar, soliciting help from the Sword Tower Disciples in a gentle voice.

Many members of the Sword Tower responded to her with grins, discussing among themselves as they looked at her.

"That is Chen Lushi."

Qi Qingsong snorted lightly and said in a low voice, "It must have been her who played tricks on you with the Demon Boat, causing your Red Rosy Clouds Boat to fall back down."

Zhou Qingchen responded coldly, "She doesn’t look like a decent woman at all!"

"Who is Wu Yuan?"

Pang Jian asked.

Qi Qingsong extended his hand, pointing at a young man who sat quietly on the wreckage above, his stature taller than the others, and said, "That’s him."

Pang Jian narrowed his eyes and noticed that this Demon Sect Disciple named Wu Yuan kept his eyes closed amidst the group.

He also seemed somewhat out of the ordinary.

"Do clouds have buoyancy too?"

Zhou Qingchen asked again.

As soon as this question was asked, Pang Jian too became curious.

"The clouds in our Purgatory World all have buoyancy," Qi Qingsong nodded and explained casually. "The clouds in the Third Realm blanket the entire world and are the color of heavy leaden clouds. The Fragment Land and the Continent float above those dense lead clouds."

"Because those clouds fill the space below the Third Realm, the people living in the Fourth Realm can never see the sun, moon, and stars."

"In the Second and the First Realms, however, the cloud formations do not fill the world and there are only a very few."

"They are not the color of lead but the white that you see."

"Only around land and Fragmented Lands do large amounts of white clouds appear. We cultivators, by using our powers, can float among those white clouds. But, once we leave those clouds, gravity suddenly increases, and those with weaker realms will plummet."

"That’s why those from the Demon Sect can only stay within the white clouds after the Demon Boat was destroyed."

After carefully explaining the situation, Qi Qingsong furrowed his brows and said, "I don’t know who would dare to make a move on the Demon Boat."

"Qi Senior Brother."

"Qi Junior Brother."

All the Inner Sect and Outer Sect Disciples looking towards Qi Qingsong, who was speaking, asked, "Should we give them a ride?"

"Heh," Qi Qingsong chuckled coldly and shook his head, "Move in closer, give them a bit of hope, and then move away!"

"Good!"

There was hearty laughter among the Sword Tower Disciples.

"They played a trick on you, so let’s play one on them in return."

Qi Qingsong patted Pang Jian on the shoulder and said, "We’re brothers, I’ll certainly stand up for you."

"That’s the spirit, if I had known you were this kind of person, we would have never clashed back in Bagua City," Zhou Qingchen said with a laugh.

"You two are foolish!" Seeing that he had brought up an embarrassing subject, Qi Qingsong rolled his eyes and scolded, "You even believed the words of that little vixen from the Demon Heart Sect? Good thing Yuan Lengshan is dead, or else there would be one more troublesome issue."

The Sword Boat swiftly drew near.

"Qi Big Brother..."

The tall Chen Lushi tidied the stray hairs beside her ear, her eyes brimming with water, gazing at Qi Qingsong’s face with deep affection.

Using a voice tinged with appeal, she said, "We were attacked by a Spirit Beast shrouded in white clouds, and the Demon Boat ended up like this. Since everyone is heading to the Absolute Sky Forbidden Land, could you perhaps take us along?"

At that moment, Pang Jian and Zhou Qingchen, who were standing next to Qi Qingsong, felt her eyes flitting over them as well.

Pang Jian experienced this most distinctly.

The woman talking to Qi Qingsong suddenly turned her attention to him, and she seemed particularly interested in the Sword Command he had on his waist.

"Haha, our Sword Boat flew over here just to..." Qi Qingsong deliberately said this.

Chen Lushi’s eyes brightened and her lips curled, the beauty mark becoming even more enchanting, "I knew Qi Big Brother had a good heart and would not stand by idly in the face of trouble."

"Just to... see how embarrassed you all are," Qi Qingsong laughed heartily and with great satisfaction.

Zhou Qingchen also grinned, joining him in his loud laughter.

Below, on the deck, Fang Boxuan slapped his thigh and let out a sinister chuckle.

Zhao Yuanqi, in black clothes and with silver hair, could naturally see that it was this very Demon Boat that had played dirty while they were tirelessly resisting the Firm Wind. Now she also showed a cold glint in her eyes and whispered, "They had it coming!"

"Qi Qingsong!" Chen Lushi’s face turned cold.

Wu Yuan, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, suddenly stood up with a frown, instantly towering above everyone else.

"It’s been a long time."

Wu Yuan’s expression was neither sad nor joyful, indicating he had no intention of picking a fight, merely looking at Qi Qingsong as he said, "Congratulations on your return to the ranks of the Inner Sect Disciple, advancing to the later stages of the Hollow Profound Realm just like me."

Qi Qingsong’s smile faded as he took a deep breath, his demeanor serious as he said, "Wu Yuan, should we cross paths in the Absolute Sky Forbidden Land, I will defeat you."

Wu Yuan didn’t respond, his gaze indifferent as he shook his head.

"Just wait and see!"

With a huff, Qi Qingsong urged the people inside the cabin to set sail.

And so, the Sword Boat gracefully floated away.

"That Red Rosy Clouds Boat, trapped within the Firm Winds, brought five people up from the Lower Realm, all aboard the Sword Boat."

After the Sword Boat vanished, Chen Lushi turned to Wu Yuan and said, "Two of them were standing by Qi Qingsong’s side, the other three on the deck. To be by Qi Qingsong’s side means they share a special relationship with him; one of them wore black and had a Sword Spirit, likely the new disciple of Pu Zhaotian."

"Pang Jian!"

The surrounding Disciples of the Demon Sect exclaimed in surprise.

"Pang Jian..."

Wu Yuan nodded slightly.

The strongest in the Second Realm, the master of the Sword Tower, had recently taken a Direct Disciple—news that had reached the Demon Sect, Black Valley, and Sky Water Swamp—everyone was paying attention to this individual.

Soon they learned that this youngster named Pang Jian had suddenly become brilliant in the Yuan Mang Fragmented Lands of the Third Realm.

In the Hollow Profound Realm, he slew several Great Cultivators of the Spirit Condensation Realm single-handedly, thwarting the schemes of the evil cultivator Cao Mang.

And with that, he shook the whole Third Realm.

"I heard that his acquaintance with Qi Qingsong began with a trial in Bagua City."

Chen Lushi’s mouth curled with a hint of coldness as she continued, "My junior sister, Yuan Lengshan, who was highly valued by our sect, should have risen like a comet, like you and me. Unfortunately, even with Lan Xi secretly guarding her, my junior sister perished in Bagua City."

Wu Yuan’s eyes showed surprise: "That happened?"

"I also know that the killer of my junior sister is none other than Qi Qingsong or this Pang Jian," Chen Lushi said quietly.

Wu Yuan looked at her curiously, saying, "Based on what I know about you, you don’t care that much about your sect relations, and I’ve never heard you mention this Yuan Lengshan."

"She was someone I found and brought into the Demon Heart Sect," Chen Lushi explained.

Wu Yuan was taken aback before nodding, "I see."

...

An hour later.

A Black Cloud Sail from Black Valley floated above the clouds, its wreckage left after the attack.

As the Sword Boat approached, the numerous disciples from Black Valley were likewise waving and shouting.

Upon inquiry, their encounter was the same as that of the Demon Boat; they were attacked by a Spirit Beast concealed within the white clouds, which had shattered the Black Cloud Sail to pieces.

"Qi," asked another disciple from the Sword Tower, seeking Qi Qingsong’s opinion.

Pang Jian, who was on the viewing platform, let his wandering gaze fall on a particular figure, thinking to himself how coincidental this was.

During the time in the Cloud Thunder Forbidden Zone, it was Ye Fei who had been cut off by his sword from the Purple Crystal Pagoda, summoning the Dragon Fish Mirror to fight him, and Ye Fei was also among these people.

"Black Valley and our Sword Tower have a neutral relationship; let’s help them," said Qi Qingsong with a nod.

So the Sword Boat gradually moved closer.

As the Sword Boat entered the cluster of big white clouds, the discerning disciples of Black Valley thanked them one by one as they suddenly exerted force and flew up onto the deck of the Sword Boat.

"Black Valley, Lu Lingchan."

A woman holding a bamboo flute, coming after everyone else landed on the deck of the Sword Boat, nodded towards Qi Qingsong from below.

She seemed to be just over twenty, dressed in a neat light green outfit, with a beautiful figure, ice-clear bones, and stunning eyes that sparkled between blinks.

After stating her name, the woman who wasn’t very talkative leaned against the ship’s rail and fell silent.

"Lu Lingchan!"

"The Direct Disciple of the Valley Master of Black Valley!"

"She is actually the leader of Black Valley!"

The disciples of the Sword Tower were abuzz with astonishment, eyeing her as if she were some kind of monster.

"No wonder she didn’t mention being an Inner Sect Disciple or who her master was; just the name alone was enough for everyone to recognize her."

Fang Boxuan of the Blood Moon looked at Lu Lingchan with an odd look and his face slightly darkened.

Zhao Yuanqi curiously asked, "Do you know her?"

Fang Boxuan lowered his head, frowning, "No, I don’t."

"Qi, my man."

One person soared into the air, from the deck up to the third floor viewing platform, and smiled as he cupped his hands together, "Thanks."

"Shen, my brother, how come..."

Qi Qingsong looked at him with astonishment, almost in disbelief, "You’re still in the Hollow Profound Realm? How did you end up like this?"

The man from Black Valley named Shen Dong appeared to be over fifty, with a long scar on each cheek.

The two scars met at the bridge of his nose, forming a frightening "X."

"While trying to condense my Spiritual Soul in the Saint Spirit Continent, I was suddenly attacked by a Spirit Beast. As a result, not only did I fail to advance successfully, but I also suffered severe injuries, causing my cultivation to stagnate ever since," Shen Dong explained, familiar with Qi Qingsong, as he wiped his face, "Lin Beiye, that guy who went to the trial with you a few years ago, didn’t he also fall like me?"

"Lin Beiye..."

Qi Qingsong glanced toward Pang Jian.

Back in Bagua City, Lin Beiye of Black Valley was killed by Luo Hongyan.

"Qi, I have to inquire about someone, a man named Luo Yuan, a disciple of your Sword Tower as well; I heard he’s from the outer gate. Has he come with you guys this trip?" Shen Dong looked down at Ye Fei amongst the crowd, who was looking at him, and asked, "Is he here with you?"

"Luo Yuan?"

...