The Purgatory Calamity
Chapter 296 - 281 The Living Dead_1

Chapter 296: Chapter 281 The Living Dead_1

Sword Boat.

Qi Qingsong glanced around, observing those who still had their own consciousness and were listening seriously to him.

——There were only a few.

Zhao Yuanqi, Dong Tianze, Fang Boxuan, Lu Lingchan, Ye Fei...

He suddenly shouted, "Pang Jian, go to every room! Gather everyone who is still alive and can move to the grandstand on the third floor!"

"Yes!"

Pang Jian sprang into action upstairs.

"Bang! Bang, bang!"

Each door was kicked open by him as he began his search from the third floor.

It was at this moment that something unexpected happened on deck!

A sharp silver hairpin stabbed towards Lu Lingchan from behind, "thud" piercing through the Firm Cover, embedding into her back.

"Clang!"

A metallic sound rang out from Lu Lingchan’s back.

The treasure armor she wore close to her skin, protecting her heart both front and back, saved her from a fatal blow.

She spun around abruptly.

With an incredulous look, she gazed at Huang Ying, whom her father had specially arranged, her voice trembling, "Mrs. Huang, why?"

Huang Ying, who had taken care of her from a young age and whom she regarded as another mother, shockingly turned against her and aimed a deadly blow at her!

If it hadn’t been for the Heart-Protecting Treasure Armor gifted by her master, the silver hairpin would have pierced through her heart from behind after penetrating the Firm Cover!

"Mrs. Huang, why would you do this to me?"

Lu Lingchan’s voice carried a hint of a sob.

The terrifying "Mysterious Fog" hadn’t crushed her, and even as her companions died one by one around her, her inner strength hadn’t wavered.

But the sudden betrayal of Huang Ying, who had coddled her from childhood, now caused her to collapse mentally.

She couldn’t accept it!

"Huang Ying, haha, interesting!"

Fang Boxuan smirked and let out a strange laugh from afar.

Qi Qingsong was also dumbfounded.

"Your surname is Lu, while mine is Huang."

"Years ago, as an individual cultivator, I entered the Lu Family to serve as a Guest Elder. One deep night, your father suddenly barged into my chamber and forcefully took me."

"Afterward, he provided me with many cultivation resources and made many promises to me."

"I received the cultivation resources, but not one of those promises he made was fulfilled."

"He even! Haha, he even had me take care of you since you were a child, asking me to regard you as my own daughter!"

"Absurd!"

"You, Lu Lingchan, are not my child; why should I take care of a child he had with another woman?"

"But I feared him and also your master, what could I, unwilling as I was, do? I could only smile, bear all the bitterness, and follow their orders."

"Today, knowing I am going to die, I can’t bear it any longer!"

"Lu Lingchan, I hate you! I hate your father, and I hate the entire Lu Family!"

Huang Ying, knowing she would never have another chance after failing to kill, proceeded to slit her own throat after finishing her words.

The same Huang Ying, who previously spoke harshly to Fang Boxuan and regarded him with scornful indifference, truly hated and wanted to kill the young lady of the Lu Family she had served so diligently.

"The human heart is the most complicated thing."

After listening to her story, Fang Boxuan, who had intended to mock, expressed his sentiments instead.

He shook his head and sighed, "As long as she could see hope and a future, she was able to suppress her feelings and serve you with a smile. But knowing that she was ultimately going to die, she no longer suppressed her hatred and chose to take a desperate risk."

Lu Lingchan sat stupefied, staring at Huang Ying’s body, slowly being corroded by the smoke’s mysterious force.

She seemed to have momentarily lost her soul.

Meanwhile, on the third floor of the Sword Boat.

Pang Jian stood at a doorway, frowning slightly as he looked towards the bed.

"Nie You..."

An Inner Sect Disciple of the Sword Tower, once skeptical of him, mentored by Elder Wang Ce.

Now, on the bed in Nie You’s room, only his clothes remained, but his body was nowhere to be seen.

——Nie You has clearly died.

Pang Jian approached, checked the storage ring with his mental consciousness, and found that there were still hundreds of Spirit Jade inside.

This Spirit Jade could have sustained Nie You a while longer.

Nie You must have felt that he would die sooner or later; unable to endure such torment, he chose to end his own life early.

"Temperament, willpower, has nothing to do with one’s talent for cultivation," Pang Jian thought to himself.

Being selected by Wang Ce to become an Inner Sect Disciple of the Sword Tower was proof of Nie You’s exceptional talent.

So what? Was he not weak-willed, unable to hold on for long before his spirit crumbled and he died?

With these thoughts, Pang Jian moved on to the next room. What he saw were abandoned articles and clothing.

The person, however, had already disappeared without a trace.

After inspecting, he discovered that all the belongings left behind by this sect member had their spiritual power completely drained.

Forget Spirit Jade; this person didn’t even leave behind a single Spirit Stone.

This indicated that this person had used up everything until the end.

"This one’s slightly better,"

Pang Jian continued his search.

In another room.

"This elder sister, you..."

Pang Jian stood surprised at the door.

In the room with an open door ahead of time, a demure woman in blue clothes with black hair cascading down like a waterfall was sitting at the vanity, meticulously dressing herself up.

With painted eyebrows like artwork, a beautiful face, and poise both elegant and composed.

Upon seeing Pang Jian appear at the door, she gave a faint smile and said, "I heard you. You guys go ahead to the assembly at the viewing platform; I’ll come over later."

Pang Jian was taken aback and asked, "May I know, Elder Sister’s esteemed name?"

Since the Yuan Ji Fragment Land, he had seen too many elder brothers and sisters from the Sword Tower on the Sword Boat. Many had greeted him and shown goodwill.

But in his memory, he had no recollection of the woman before him.

The Sword Boat had entered the "Mysterious Fog" from the Yuan Ji Fragment Land and had been drifting through the vast mist for so long, during which countless horrifying and odd events had occurred.

And this woman had never shown herself!

She must have been holed up in her room, standing at her window, and witnessed everything from start to finish.

Yet she never left her room or had any contact with anyone.

Now, her demeanor was so composed, and she had the leisure to tend to her appearance.

Such a person, Pang Jian was encountering for the first time.

"Zhuang Yuyan."

With a paintbrush in hand, the woman answered with a smile.

"All right, Elder Sister Zhuang."

Pang Jian turned and left, his mind filled with doubts, as he made his way down the staircase to the second floor.

Zhuang Yuyan’s room was located at the corner of the third floor of the Sword Boat, the farthest from the viewing platform on the same floor, yet it was on the route everyone must take to travel between the second and third floors.

"Was the door always open, or did you open it specially for me after hearing me breaking doors multiple times to avoid your own being destroyed?"

Pang Jian let his thoughts run wild.

"Bang! Bang, bang!"

One by one, he forcefully opened each tightly shut door.

In every room he entered afterward, Pang Jian found no living beings.

The couple from Black Valley who had gone to an unoccupied room had also turned to nothingness, leaving only their clothing and belongings behind.

"Those people upstairs, they all could hear Qi Qingsong speaking. If they didn’t come out on their own, it’s likely they are dead."

The indifferent voice of Zhuang Yuyan drifted from the third floor down to the first floor, lazily saying, "Sort out the things and then come up."

"Oh, all right."

Pang Jian replied.

Soon after.

On the viewing platform of the third floor of the Sword Boat, a total of eleven people sat down, belonging to both the Sword Tower and Black Valley.

Pang Jian, Qi Qingsong, Zhou Qingchen, Dong Tianze, Fang Boxuan, Zhao Yuanqi, Lu Lingchan, Ye Fei, Zhuang Yuyan, Lv Lianchen, Guo Hongyuan.

Outside, there were even more survivors, but those people had lost all hope.

No matter what Qi Qingsong said, no matter how much he tried to encourage and uplift them, they turned a blind eye and a deaf ear.

Those people were all immersed in their own worlds, as if merely waiting for death to arrive.

"I called everyone together because I feel that if we don’t interact and just sit in silence, we’ll become just like those people down there," Qi Qingsong sighed deeply. "As long as we’re alive, there’s still hope. I hope everyone can hold onto their inner strength."

"Everyone can chat about their cultivation journeys or interesting encounters in life; it doesn’t matter what we discuss."

"Just don’t stay silent, don’t obsess over trivial matters, and don’t think about despair," Qi Qingsong made his point.

Lu Lingchan, whose spirit had just been severely shocked, was in a low mood and silent.

Zhou Qingchen, Fang Boxuan, and others looked at each other, not knowing how to respond.

Zhao Yuanqi and Dong Tianze, who were naturally reticent, remained coldly silent after hearing the suggestion.

Lv Lianchen and Guo Hongyuan, disciples from the outer gates of the Sword Tower and Black Valley, appeared a bit constrained and also kept quiet.

Zhuang Yuyan pursed her lips and observed everyone with a smile, as if she found it all very amusing.

But she did not speak either.

Therefore, Qi Qingsong, who had tried to inspire the group, found that the situation had not changed; although he had gathered everyone, no one seemed interested in conversation.

A long time passed in this way.

Qi Qingsong, the initiator of the gathering, suddenly took out a flask and cups, placed them in the middle of the group, and tentatively suggested, "How about we have a drink first?"

"Sounds good."

Zhou Qingchen was the first to respond. He extended his hand to release a stream of spiritual power, pulling the flask and cup towards him, and poured himself a drink.

Lu Lingchan, a direct disciple of the Valley Master from Black Valley, was the second to respond.

With a flick of her bamboo flute, she pulled over a silver jug without bothering about how others might see her and began to drink recklessly, even more so than Zhou Qingchen!

In the blink of an eye, she emptied a jug of wine and then looked towards Qi Qingsong.

Understanding, Qi Qingsong took out several more jugs filled with wine and placed them in front of everyone, calling out, "Don’t be shy; I have plenty of wine, enough to ensure everyone can enjoy themselves!"

"My wine isn’t great, but I have some too," Zhou Qingchen joined in. He also took out a few jars of strong liquor and pushed them in front of the group.

"I have gourmet food!" Fang Boxuan chimed in.

From his storage ring, he took out many pieces of jerky made from ferocious beasts, as well as plenty of cooked dishes, and placed them in the open space in front of everyone, "Even if we see no hope, even if we are to perish here, we should still enjoy our last pleasant moments!"

Qi Qingsong yelled angrily, "Fang Boxuan, shut your mouth!"

"I’m just speaking the truth, unlike you, spouting nothing but empty words," Fang Boxuan retorted.

The two started a verbal sparring.

Dong Tianze didn’t care about the quality of the wine; since he was close to Zhou Qingchen, he pulled over one of the wine jars Zhou Qingchen had taken out.

After hesitating for a moment, he too began to drink like the others.

Soon, he appeared to be the most inebriated among them, his face as red as a liver, not touching the food, and pulling over another jar of wine to continue drinking, his reddened eyes fixating on Pang Jian across from him.

"Dong Xiaozi, is this your first time drinking?" Qi Qingsong was surprised.

Dong Tianze ignored him, suddenly asking Pang Jian angrily, "Tell me the truth, after you took away Black Iron Mountain, did you secretly go to that Meteorite Sea?"

"That unnamed Fragmented Land unknown to others, and those Divine Guards, are you planning to monopolize them?"

At that moment, his obsession burst forth.

...