The Purgatory Calamity
Chapter 294 - 279 Lost Crisis_1

Chapter 294: Chapter 279 Lost Crisis_1

A Sword Boat aimlessly drifted deep within the dense fog.

Without the sun, moon, or stars for reference, it was impossible to distinguish day from night, and the passage of time was as inscrutable as the human heart.

Pang Jian occasionally stood at the third-floor window, coldly watching the dramatic changes in everyone’s emotions.

Every once in a while, the expressions on the faces of the disciples from Sword Tower and Black Valley, and the meanings in their eyes, would undergo an astonishing transformation.

At first, everyone pointed their fingers at... him.

They said it was because of his needless action—jumping out of the Sword Boat in pursuit of those green ants—that Qi Qingsong had ordered to follow, causing the Sword Boat to veer off course.

The accusers believed that without his interference with the direction of the Sword Boat, they wouldn’t have gotten lost and would have already arrived at the Absolute Sky Forbidden Land.

No one knew how much time had passed.

It could have been a few days, or perhaps half a month, but the Sword Boat still couldn’t find its way and continued to float around in the "Mysterious Fog."

The Absolute Sky Forbidden Land, including the way back, seemed to be getting farther and farther away from everyone.

The patience of the group was being worn down day by day. Those who had taken out Spirit Jade to sit quietly and cultivate also became increasingly irritable.

"Let’s not cultivate anymore. Just maintaining the Firm Cover is enough. If we can’t ever leave the Mysterious Fog, what’s the point of increasing our realm?"

An outer disciple from Black Valley suddenly shouted that day.

His eyes filled with despair, and with a grim smile under everyone’s gaze, he said, "Qi Qingsong, there is no need for the Sword Boat to wander aimlessly anymore. Without directional coordinates, the speedy flight of the Sword Boat is purely a waste of Spirit Jade."

"We’ve tried countless times, haven’t we? And still haven’t broken through the Mysterious Fog, unable to reach the Absolute Sky Forbidden Land?"

"If the direction is wrong, even if the Sword Boat flies swiftly for another year or half, we’ll still just be spinning in the Mysterious Fog."

Qi Qingsong on the third-floor stand frowned.

The person who shrank in the cabin, responsible for filling the Spirit Jade into the Array and setting the course for the Sword Boat, also came out upon hearing the words.

"What you said makes sense."

The middle-aged man from Sword Tower named Han Lu said to Qi Qingsong, "Since entering the Mysterious Fog, 19,000 Spirit Jade have been consumed, and I still have 31,000 available here. However, if the Sword Boat keeps moving, the Spirit Jade will continue to be used up."

He shook his head bitterly, "In the end, there will be a day when it runs out."

Qi Qingsong also had no solution and said, "Then for now, let’s stop."

"Everyone also think of a solution, see if the Strange Treasures capable of sending messages in your hands can communicate with people outside the Mysterious Fog," Nie You from Sword Tower called out.

"We’ve tried already, we simply can’t contact anyone."

"In the Mysterious Fog, all five senses are lost; how can we communicate with the outside world?"

"It’s useless."

"..."

The disciples of Sword Tower and Black Valley responded with sighs one after another.

On the third floor, in Pang Jian’s room.

"Zhou, do you have enough Spirit Jade in your hands? How long can you last?"

Pang Jian leaned against the window, looking down at the disciples of Sword Tower and Black Valley on the deck, and saw helplessness, confusion, loss, and... increasingly deep despair on everyone’s faces.

"Just to maintain the existence of the Gang Shield, I can probably last for about two months," Zhou Qingchen, who had always maintained the crimson Firm Cover and dared not dismiss it, became disheveled with a full beard.

He couldn’t help but laugh bitterly, "Who would have thought that this Sword Boat, swift as lightning, could get lost in what is supposed to be the relatively safe Mysterious Fog above us?"

"Zhou, if you’re running short on Spirit Jade, remember to tell me in advance."

"Hmm, I won’t be shy with you," Zhou Qingchen said with a smile.

Pang Jian gave a slight nod.

He poured a strand of thought into his storage ring and saw that there were still a few thousand pieces of Spirit Jade, plus... a vast number of Spirit Stones.

Since he didn’t know when he would be able to escape the "Mysterious Fog" and couldn’t establish a connection with the Mysterious Turtle, in order to conserve the more precious Spirit Jade, he had been arranging a small Spirit Array with Spirit Stones recently.

Then, he formed the Qingying Gang Shield with a singular Spiritual Power, isolating his body from the enigmatic fog.

He was so cautious because the bodies of the seven who were slain by Nie You and Ye Fei had already been corroded into ash.

This showed that even without the brain-eating green ants, exposing the flesh and blood body for a long time would still be slowly infiltrated by some force within the Mysterious Fog.

With a thought, he focused his spirit on the Sword Command.

The small world within the Sword Command, filled with thousands of sword-swinging figures in blue robes, had all vanished.

Since the connection with the Purgatory World was cut off, even someone as powerful as Pu Zhaotian couldn’t keep injecting power into the Sword Command, so those practicing sword techniques also dissipated into thin air.

Time flowed like water.

Once again, an unknown amount of time had passed.

The Sword Boat, moored in the thick mist, still couldn’t find the direction to the Absolute Sky Forbidden Land, nor knew how to return. It could only hope to encounter people who had entered later.

Such as the Demon Sect, Sky Water Swamp, or the Sect forces coming from the First Realm.

"Hu!"

Like the extinguishing of a candle in the wind, the Spiritual Power Strong Shield of a taciturn outer disciple from Black Valley disappeared after being maintained for a long time.

"Wang Ji, you..."

Lu Lianchen from Black Valley quickly approached him, yelling in alarm, "What’s going on with you?"

"My Spirit Jade is exhausted."

Wang Ji said with his head down, "I am the first to run out of Spirit Jade, but I won’t be the only one. Lu Senior Brother, you don’t have to worry about me, because we are all going to die. It’s certain we can’t escape from the Mysterious Fog."

"Just like the legends, those who fall deep into the Mysterious Fog and get lost, will eventually die within the Mysterious Fog."

"I’m doomed to disappear forever."

Lifting his head, he calmly watched as Lu Lingchan took out the Spirit Jade and handed it to him, saying, "It’s useless, we can’t find a way out. Death is just a matter of time. Junior Sister Lu, don’t waste resources on me anymore... I’ve accepted my fate."

He hung his head and said no more.

Everyone looked at him with complex gazes, watching this man whose living body was exposed to the Mysterious Fog.

"Tsk!"

Pang Jian’s eyes briefly flashed with golden light, which then quietly faded away.

He called out from the third floor window: "There are no green ants appearing."

"Wang Ji, tell us what you feel!"

Ye Fei from the Black Valley shouted, "You’re the first person to be alive in the Mysterious Fog without having your brain eaten by green ants! If you can survive, it proves we don’t have to maintain the Spiritual Power Strong Shield all the time! In that case, we can last longer and maybe be discovered by someone!"

"Correct! Wang Ji, please hang in there!"

"No matter what, tell us your firsthand experience—we need to know how to survive!"

"Come on Wang Ji!"

The disciples from the Sword Tower and the Black Valley looked towards him from different positions, and many female disciples, while trying to cheer him on, couldn’t help but sob softly.

Those women weren’t truly worried about Wang Ji’s safety, but rather felt a sorrowful empathy.

They clearly knew that what Wang Ji was experiencing now would eventually happen to them as well.

If Wang Ji couldn’t evade it, then they would die too.

"I..."

Wang Ji, an outer sect disciple from the Black Valley, silently sensed his own body, as if carefully experiencing the bizarre envelopment of his flesh and blood by the Mysterious Fog.

Then, he never uttered another word and died silently, just like that.

Pang Jian observed carefully but didn’t see any brain-eating ants appear.

Like everyone else, he could only see the omnipresent "Mysterious Fog" slowly penetrating Wang Ji’s pores and entering his heart and lungs with each breath.

And so, Wang Ji died slowly, bit by bit, his flesh rotting away gradually under everyone’s watch.

Until even his bones turned to nothingness, as if becoming part of the ashen smoke.

During this process, the atmosphere on the Sword Boat became unbearably oppressive.

Wang Ji’s death seemed to ruthlessly snuff out the last glimmer of hope in everyone’s hearts.

"He’s right; we’ll all die from the Mysterious Fog, it’s just a matter of time."

"Ha! What a lie they told from above that the Absolute Sky Forbidden Land is safe within the Mysterious Fog!"

"The most horrifying fog in the world, the fog that shrouds Purgatory itself—how could that be something they could fathom!"

"No matter how many there are, the Spirit Jades will eventually run out. We should all prepare to die."

More and more pessimists released their negative emotions. Spiritual Artifacts, armor, and adornments—all items imbued with spiritual power—lost their meaning.

They extracted as much spiritual power as possible from all things they could, adopting an attitude of living just one more day.

"Lu Lingchan."

Fang Boxuan took the initiative to walk over to the Black Valley’s leader, Lu Lingchan.

He smiled faintly, but then said to the sharp and harsh-looking woman, "Huang Yin, you’re right, I am ’Fang Xuan.’"

"I knew it was you!"

Huang Yin sneered.

"You, a servant of the Lu Family, never had the courage to speak to me like this before."

With things having come this far, Fang Boxuan no longer hid his feelings, saying, "Before my Fang Family was exterminated, we were always above the Lu Family in the Second Realm’s noble houses."

He said this while looking at Lu Lingchan. Then added, "You must agree with that, right?"

Lu Lingchan nodded faintly, first gesturing for Huang Yin to be quiet before speaking, "The reason the Fang Family was wiped out by the Demon Sect has always been a mystery. Can you tell me why?"

"Because of you."

Fang Boxuan said with a smile, but his eyes were devoid of any mirth.

Lu Lingchan looked confused, "Because of me?"

"You and I were betrothed, but your cultivation talent was too high, high enough to bring joy to the Valley Master of the Black Valley. Not only did he take you as a direct disciple, but he also planned to betroth you to someone from the Desolated Terrains of the North Ruins. That person’s master even personally came down from the First Realm to check your foundation and aptitude."

"He was very pleased, so he suggested a condition to the Demon Sect—to have me die quietly and to completely end our engagement."

"This way, his disciple wouldn’t be troubled by knowing I was still alive, fearing it might affect her breakthroughs."

"My grandfather loved me dearly and refused to have me secretly executed, so he sent me away in secret."

"As a result, my Fang Family was bloodily purged by the Demon Sect."

Fang Boxuan smiled as he uttered the cruel truth of what happened.

Lu Lingchan stared at him quietly for a while before she sat down, closed her eyes, and fell silent for a long time.

"Is this true, Mrs. Huang?"

She asked without turning towards Huang Yin.

"More or less," Huang Yin replied indifferently.

Lu Lingchan nodded, sighed, and said, "Fang Xuan, I was totally unaware of this... I..."

"I don’t blame your Fang Family; our two families were always close. This matter was out of the Fang Family’s hands. It was your master, someone from the Desolated Terrains, and the Demon Sect who brought about the downfall of my Fang Family."

Fang Boxuan’s face, which hardly held a fake smile now, turned indifferent as he said, "Sadly, all my patience until now has proved to be meaningless."

...