The Purgatory Calamity
Chapter 323 - 304 A Hidden Divine Guard_1

Chapter 323: Chapter 304 A Hidden Divine Guard_1

Fang Boxuan felt as if he had been dealt a heavy blow.

The wound on his waist and abdomen, still unhealed and not yet scabbed over, suddenly burst open again, once more oozing bright red blood.

Gazing at the Sky Peng Battleship high in the sky, and thinking of how Fu Wangchen had not spared him a second glance earlier, seemingly unaware of his existence, the frustration inside Fang Boxuan grew thicker.

"My, my Fang Family’s annihilation!"

He clutched his waist, his face full of grief and despair.

"To put it bluntly, it’s a bit of a blow to you, but they have been clueless from the beginning. If there’s anyone to blame, it’s his master, the Demon Sect, and the Valley Master of Black Valley," Zhuang Yuyan said with a soft sigh, consoling, "The world is in chaos, you still have your chance for revenge."

She then whispered, "Zhou, what do you think of Fu Wangchen’s feelings toward that Miss Li from the Li Family?"

Pang Jian shook his head.

"I feel that the formidable Miss Li from the Li Family doesn’t give a damn about Fu Wangchen either."

Qi Qingsong sneered, "Fu Wangchen has just entered the Spirit Condensation Realm. Looking at the level of power he displayed, he’s worlds apart from that girl. In terms of realm, they’re simply not on the same level!"

"Li Yuqing’s breakthrough seemed to have no bottlenecks whatsoever, just breaking through as she pleased," Zhuang Yuyan added bitterly, "I heard that when Fu Wangchen competed with her, their realms were quite similar. No one expected that as their realms progressed and everyone else’s breakthroughs became slower, she continued to surge ahead relentlessly."

"And so, the gap between her and Fu Wangchen has grown wider and wider."

"These past two years, Fu Wangchen, knowing the gap was too great, stopped seeking her out for sparring and competition."

As soon as the young lady from the Heaven Treasure Li Family was mentioned, apart from Zhou Qingchen, who was fully devoted to refining the Ghost Clan spirits, the rest showed dejected expressions.

In terms of cultivation talent, Li Yuqing was in a league of her own, leaving the rest far behind.

"There is one person, whose talent can be mentioned in the same breath as hers."

Suddenly, Dong Tianze spoke indifferently.

"Who?"

Zhuang Yuyan, taken aback, laughed and said, "As far as I know, there doesn’t seem to be anyone of the same generation in this era who can compete with her in talent."

"There is!"

Dong Tianze’s said proudly, raising his head.

"Then who is it?" Zhuang Yuyan pressed.

"Not saying!"

After refusing to answer, Dong Tianze suddenly started to control the Black Iron Mountain and gestured for Pang Jian to come up, saying, "I have something to tell you!"

"Dong Xiaozi, what can’t you say in front of everyone?" Qi Qingsong asked curiously.

"It’s not convenient!"

"Then when you two talk, don’t stray too far, because we don’t know much about the Absolute Sky Forbidden Land," Qi Qingsong reminded.

"Understood."

He maneuvered the Black Iron Mountain, flying away from the forest to a lake area nearby.

Looking at the Sky Peng Battleship hovering in the air, feeling that no one could hear his words, Dong Tianze finally said, "There’s someone, I don’t know who he is, nor do I know which side he’s on."

"But he is like me, also a Divine Guard, and he can even conceal the aura of a Divine Guard."

Dong Tianze looked around apprehensively.

Pang Jian frowned, "Are you sure?"

"Positive."

Dong Tianze’s eyes were cold as he said, "When I was on that dark warship of the Alien Tribes, going to kill those from the Ghost Clan, I used the power inside the Phoenix Seal between my eyebrows. In that moment, I felt his intense killing intent, and I also felt the Phoenix Seal on him."

"By the time I tried to find him, both the killing intent and the Phoenix Seal had disappeared."

Dong Tianze’s expression turned grave.

Divine Guards, by killing each other and seizing their marks, could achieve a tremendous breakthrough in combat power and realm.

Divine Guards would never cooperate with each other; they only sought to kill one another, a rule imprinted within their Phoenix Seal.

"He is stronger than all the Divine Guards I’ve hunted before and can also hide his presence. I am very clear that I can’t handle him with my current power, so..."

Dong Tianze, who trusted no one, was seeking a promise from Pang Jian, wanting Pang Jian to help him as he had in the past.

He suspected everyone to possibly be that Heavenly Phoenix Guard and dared not discuss this in that forest, for fear of startling the enemy.

"I understand, and I will be cautious," Pang Jian nodded slowly, then added, "In the Absolute Sky Forbidden Land, don’t wander away from me, don’t act alone anymore."

After such a long time together, he believed Dong Tianze would be the best choice to stand behind his sister, Pang Lin.

Pang Jian had extended his helping hand to Dong Tianze again and again, nurturing him to become the strongest Divine Guard, and naturally, he did not wish for Dong Tianze to fall midway, to be replaced by another completely unknown Divine Guard.

"Let’s go back."

"Okay."

Soon, the two of them returned and resumed their silent cultivation.

The members of the Demon Sect, Sky Water Swamp, Sky Curtain Cliff, and the Xiao Family scattered to various places to rest and heal, consuming beast flesh and Pill with the power of Spirit Jade.

"There’s Spiritual Power, an abundance of the breath of plants, and the power of water..."

Pang Jian, now at peace, felt the many Alien Powers of this Forbidden Land, pondered over the mysteries of his golden Divine Sense, and recalled the image of Li Yuanchen splitting into three.

"Could it be that some special Secret Skill is needed in combination?"

He quietly took out Li Yuanchen’s Storage Ring, holding it in the palm of his hand, frowning in thought.

When they had captured Li Yuanchen aboard Busted Armour, he had tried to pry open the Storage Ring, curious to see what it hid within, but had failed at that time, so he had kept the ring close ever since.

At that moment, he hesitated, then moved closer to Zhuang Yuyan and asked in a low voice, "Senior Sister..."

"Hmm?"

Seated calmly against the tree roots, the serene Zhuang Yuyan fluttered her long eyelashes, opened her eyes with a smile, and said, "Zhou, what’s up?"

Pang Jian asked, "Why can’t one simply examine the contents of the rings used for storage?"

Zhuang Yuyan was quick to understand and knew that the Storage Ring from the Heaven Treasure Li Family’s Li Yuanchen must have ended up in Pang Jian’s hands.

She explained with a smile, "Rings are the most precious kind of storage Spiritual Artifacts. Both the space inside and their value far surpass that of bracelets and storage pouches."

"That’s why some rings have locks, and without knowing the method, they are indeed difficult to open."

"How can it be opened?" Pang Jian asked again.

Finally having some downtime to examine the spoils of war, he was frustrated at being unable to pry open Li Yuanchen’s Storage Ring.

"To unlock it, you need someone specialized. Either someone like your master who has reached the Immortal Realm, or the Artifact Refiners from the Heaven Treasure Li Family."

Zhuang Yuyan offered serious advice, "Junior Brother, you should wait until you get out to deal with it. Remember, never try to force it open, or you risk destroying the space inside and turning everything within into nothingness."

"Alright then."

Pang Jian put the ring away in his robe’s pocket with disappointment.

Golden Bee Insects fluttered through the Mysterious Fog, moving to the positions of the other three Fragment Lands.

Guided by Pang Jian’s will, the Bee Insects centered on those three Fragment Lands and explored the nearby Mysterious Fog.

Soon, he saw several broken ships, silently floating in what seemed like an endless grey Misty Sea.

The ships had various designs; some resembled a kind of prism-shaped swordfish, others were woven from wooden branches, and some were even... massive shells.

These ships, significantly different from the flying Spirit Artifacts of the Human Race in Purgatory World, were many in various states of severe damage and clearly unable to be activated.

Inside, there were no living creatures.

"The disorientation we’ve experienced, those from other worlds of the Alien Tribes, have also met with ill fate."

Pang Jian gradually came to understand.

The Golden Bee Insects continued to fly swiftly, soaring through the vast Mysterious Fog, reaching the limit of his and the insects’ perception.

As the images grew scattered and blurry, he summoned the Bee Insects back.

"I didn’t sense the Boundary Wall, didn’t touch any special... membrane."

Pang Jian grew puzzled.

According to people from the Sword Tower, like the Northern Qi, the Absolute Sky Forbidden Land was swallowed by the Mysterious Fog that neighbored the Boundary Wall, then submerged deep in the fog.

If that were the case, the Absolute Sky Forbidden Land shouldn’t be too far from the Boundary Wall.

Yet, after the Bee Insects flew for so long, there was no sense of the Boundary Wall, and the Mysterious Fog seemed endlessly far.

"Could it be that the Absolute Sky Forbidden Land has passed through the Boundary Wall and left Purgatory?"

"We, after getting lost, are no longer in Purgatory?"

"Otherwise, how would three Fragment Lands suddenly appear?"

Countless doubts surfaced in his mind.

Pang Jian gained a deeper understanding of the hundred-thousand-year cosmic change mentioned by The Observer, the Alien God.

Hours passed this way.

Zhou Qingchen looked dazed as he let out a long breath and tossed the Black Crow Pot to Pang Jian, saying, "I’ve assimilated it."

Pang Jian took it and casually threw the Black Crow Pot to Dong Tianze, saying, "Lou Yunming’s legacy suits the soul Secret Skills you cultivate."

"Oh."

Dong Tianze took it and immediately began to assimilate it.

Feeling restless and ever vigilant of the other Divine Guard, he wanted to enhance his strength as much as possible, so naturally, he wouldn’t be polite with Pang Jian.

"Zhou, you?"

Pang Jain hesitated with more to say.

Zhao Yuanqi also curiously inquired, "Zhou, how much?"

She knew that the Black Crow Pot contained something that could swiftly increase Zhou Qingchen’s Divine Sense and was curious about Zhou Qingchen’s innate talent.

Qi Qingsong said from not too far away, "The total amount of Divine Sense cannot entirely determine one’s future, so you needn’t be overly concerned."

Zhou Qingchen said in a daze, "Over a hundred points."

"Over a hundred?"

Fang Boxuan shifted his bottom on the ground and said gravely, "In the Third Realm, as long as someone exceeds a hundred points in Divine Sense at the Hollow Profound Realm, they’re considered a genius."

Pang Jian’s eyes lit up, not expecting Zhou Qingchen, whose early-stage talent wasn’t prominent, to actually have an advantage in Divine Sense.

"Be more specific!"

Zhao Yuanqi urged sharply.

"One hundred twenty-three."

As Zhou Qingchen said this, a surreal feeling washed over him as if he were dreaming. He licked his dry lips and said, "Qi Qingsong, check to see if I’m dreaming?"

"You lad!"

Qi Qingsong sprang up, yelling, "Lu Lingchan, his Divine Sense is only one hundred twenty-four! You’re just one strand short of him!"

These words also startled the others in the forest.

"Who? Whose Divine Sense is one hundred twenty-three?"

"It must be Pang Jian!"

"Pu Zhaotian must have taken him as a disciple because of this!"

Members of the Demon Sect, Sky Water Swamp, Xiao Family, and Sky Curtain Cliff, attracted by Qi Qingsong’s exclamations, all assumed that it was because of Pang Jian’s one hundred twenty-three Divine Sense that he held his current status and position.

...