The Purgatory Calamity
Chapter 370 - 349 Arrival at Sword Tower_1

Chapter 370: Chapter 349 Arrival at Sword Tower_1

Three days later.

A sword boat whistled through the air.

"Damn it, the people from Sword Tower have found us!"

"Sword Tower, didn’t they used to ignore us individual cultivators?"

"Are they trying to force us into joining the war?"

Amidst the confused and strange cries of many individual cultivators, the sword boat picked up Pang Jian and the individual cultivator Huang Qi from the Meteorite Sea and soared into the sky.

"Junior Brother Pang!"

A tall disciple from Sword Tower introduced himself enthusiastically, "Like Zhuang Yuyan, I am a student of Guanghe, and her senior brother. My name is Yu Shi."

"This time, I am escorting a group of Outer Sect disciples to the Lower Realm, preparing to participate in the war that is about to erupt in the Third Realm."

"Suddenly, my master sent a message asking me to bring you back to Sword Tower, so I hurried over," Yu Shi said with a smile.

He was burly and tall, appearing to be in his thirties or forties, and possessed the cultivation of the Soul Wandering Realm.

Pang Jian bowed in greeting.

"And this is?" Yu Shi looked at Huang Qi.

"Individual Cultivator Huang Qi."

Yu Shi frowned slightly.

"A friend of mine," Pang Jian quickly added.

Yu Shi’s eyebrows relaxed, and he nodded with a smile, "In the future, there will be plenty of opportunities for individual cultivators to join the major sects and be treated as honored guests."

The sword boat tore through the sky.

The entire sword boat, from its layout to its appearance, was almost identical to the one that had entered the Mysterious Fog, but it was manned by Yu Shi alone.

"Originally, my task was to escort the mortals from Red Mountain and those below the Hollow Profound Realm to join everyone else heading to the Qitian Continent. My master was urging me so strongly that I couldn’t delay even for a moment, which is why I came to find you first," Yu Shi volunteered as he saw Pang Jian’s puzzled expression.

"Thank you for the trouble, Senior Brother Yu."

Pang Jian thanked him with clasped hands.

"It’s nothing."

Yu Shi laughed heartily, coming over to chat, asking about some secrets of the Absolute Sky Forbidden Land and discussing the situation at Sword Tower with Pang Jian. The two got along very well.

A while later.

"You two talk, I’ll go add some Spirit Jade to the cabin."

Yu Shi entered the cabin nonchalantly.

On the deck of the third floor of the sword boat.

Pang Jian suddenly recalled the internal strife within the sect that Qi Qingsong had mentioned to him back in the days at Yuanmang’s peak, when Qi was in a depressed mood in Cave Dwelling No. 56.

Qi had said how he had not been promoted to the Innate Realm in a timely manner, and how he had willingly returned to the ranks of Outer Sect disciples, experiencing the fickleness of human relationships.

According to Qi Qingsong, the Inner Sect disciples under a single master were all competing with each other in overt and covert ways, certainly not living in harmony, with plenty of backstabbing.

However, since leaving Yuan Ji Fragment Land, all of the Sword Tower disciples Pang Jian had encountered, like Guo Hongyuan and Nie You, seemed very... amiable.

Pang Jian had not experienced any of the troubles mentioned by Qi Qingsong.

With this doubt in mind, he mentioned it softly to Huang Qi.

"That’s because your status is too noble as the Tower Master’s direct disciple; that’s why your fellow sect members curry favor with you," Huang Qi responded with a wry smile, hitting the nail on the head, "But if you were just an Outer Sect disciple or a lower-status Inner Sect disciple, do you think others would treat you the same way?"

Huang Qi lowered his voice, speaking with a hint of fear, "Let me tell you, if you were just an Inner Sect disciple, that person would find excuses to delay picking you up for several days."

"If you were an Outer Sect disciple, it wouldn’t be him coming to fetch you. Instead, you’d have to find your own way to where the sword boat is docked by riding a Cloud Sail."

"And you must be at the appointed destination at the appointed time. Otherwise, the sword boat wouldn’t wait for you."

As an individual cultivator, Huang Qi was all too familiar with the intricacies of sect politics. He laughed coldly, "If you hadn’t just said that you and I are friends, given my status as an individual cultivator in the First Realm, do you think he would have given me a second glance?"

Pang Jian appeared thoughtful.

Several days later, the sword boat was moored in the air above the Qitian Continent.

Huang Qi, with a beaming smile, first expressed his gratitude to Yu Shi and then bid farewell to Pang Jian, "Thank you, and may we meet again if fate allows."

After he left, the sword boat continued to fly towards Sword Tower.

At that moment, Yu Shi suddenly said, "He is from Creation Sect."

Pang Jian turned his head to look, his brows furrowed as he asked, "Senior Brother Yu, is there a problem?"

"No problem,"

Yu Shi smiled and explained, "It’s just that, Creation Sect was annihilated by our Sword Tower. The Special Bodily Refinement Skill of Creation Sect was also collected by us and placed in the Book Tower. I was just worried that he might harbor resentment because of the destruction of Creation Sect by Sword Tower and might do something to you in the future."

"Thank you for the warning, Senior Brother Yu," Pang Jian responded perfunctorily.

"Of course, of course,"

Yu Shi replied with a contained smile.

Famous mountains and great rivers, one by one, appeared beneath the Sword Boat, and Yu Shi seriously introduced, "On Qitian Continent, the three strongest sect powers are: Sword Tower, Sky Water Swamp, and Sky Curtain Cliff."

"Ha, but combined, Sky Water Swamp and Sky Curtain Cliff do not match the strength of our Sword Tower."

"As for those scattered, so-called noble families, they are hardly worth mentioning. Junior Brother, you needn’t concern yourself with them," Yu Shi spoke with a tone full of pride, "In fact, among the human race sect powers in the Second Realm, the only one we really need to be careful of is the Demon Sect."

Pang Jian nodded slightly.

Half a day later.

A nine-story pavilion, suspended mid-air and hanging amid the mountains, suddenly entered Pang Jian’s view.

It looked like an immense inverted Spirit Sword, filled with myriad fierce and complex Sword Intents, which echoed with the mountains, forming an array as a whole.

As the sword boat approached, Pang Jian quietly perceived each standing mountain range to be as if it was a sword itself.

The boundless Sword Intents seemed to be shooting toward the sky above the mountains, tethered together with the majestic Sword Tower.

"Pang Jian!"

Atop a mountain peak, Qi Qingsong, who had heard the news that Pang Jian would be coming, grinned and waved.

His mentor, Yao Junhong, also watched Pang Jian and nodded slightly.

"Pang Jian!"

On another mountain, Zhuang Yuyan stood with her mentor, Guanghe, both of them smiling and nodding in greeting.

Several peaks, straight as swords, had people who upon hearing the news popped their heads up, all looking with surprise at the sword boat, observing Pang Jian, clad in black.

At the tallest mountain peak, a thin man in blue clothes with a deadpan face called out indifferently, "Over here."

Yu Shi, who steered the sword boat, stopped it and said, "We’ve arrived. This is Chen Weihuang, the Tower Master of Litian Peak, your senior brother Chen."

"Senior Brother Chen, I have brought him here."

Yu Shi bowed respectfully.

"Hmm."

The tall and thin Chen Weihuang nodded slightly and, when Pang Jian landed, handed him a brand-new Sword Command, saying, "This is the Sword Command for inner sect disciples."

Pang Jian obediently accepted it and bowed, "I pay my respects to the eldest senior brother."

"Master is still discussing matters in the First Realm."

With an unsmiling expression, Chen Weihuang pointed towards the Sword Tower that resembled a nine-story pavilion and said, "With this Command, you have one opportunity to pass through the Sword Tower without hindrance, to select any sword of your choosing."

"Even a Divine Sword, if it acknowledges you."

Before Pang Jian could speak, Yu Shi, who was about to steer the sword boat away, was startled and his face colored with shock.

"Qi Qingsong, Zhuang Yuyan, and those who have come back alive from the Mysterious Fog did so because of Pang Jian," Chen Weihuang said coldly, glancing at Yu Shi, "The news they brought back and the merits they have established are enough to grant Pang Jian one chance to choose a sword without any restrictions."

"Understood!"

Yu Shi maneuvered the sword boat to fly upwards, heading over to Guanghe’s side.

There, he saw Guanghe, Yao Junhong, Wang Ce, and Xu Yu, these four elders all looking towards the Sword Tower, obviously already aware of the matter.

"A Divine Sword, can he pick that too?" Yu Shi couldn’t help but ask.

"The Divine Sword has a spirit. It’s not about him choosing a sword, but the sword choosing the person," Guanghe huffed, "The so-called qualification to choose a sword is actually the chance to be chosen by a sword. I also want to see if this fellow, who is highly lauded by Qingsong and the girl Yuyan, and viewed as the Tower Master’s closed-door disciple, is truly worthy of a Divine Sword’s recognition."

"Master, throughout history, how many people have been chosen by the Divine Swords?" Zhuang Yuyan asked softly.

Guanghe scoffed, "How many Divine Swords are there? How many people can there be?"

...

"I cannot fathom his realm,"

Yao Junhong touched his forehead with a fingertip, utilizing his spiritual soul to sense for a moment and said, "It’s not good for me to directly invade his Sea of Consciousness to probe, but comparing his spiritual soul to yours, it feels different to me."

"You have also fused with divinity, but the depth of your spiritual soul, the aura it emits, all seem too ethereal and fleeting."

"He’s different. His spiritual soul’s dissipating aura is majestic and ample, solid and refined."

"And this, does not seem like the momentum that a cultivator in the Spirit Condensation Realm should possess."

Yao Junhong expressed his doubts, "Even cultivators in the Soul Wandering Realm might not necessarily have the same aura of his spiritual soul. Quite peculiar."

Qi Qingsong touched his nose and laughed, "I guess my talent is a bit lacking."

"No, it’s not just about talent,"

Yao Junhong shook his head.

Qui Qingsong pondered, "Now, there are only three Divine Swords. Can Pang Jian gain the recognition of a Divine Sword?"

"Getting a holy sword wouldn’t be bad either," Yao Junhong frowned and scolded, "Freaks like that girl from the Heaven Treasure Li Family are rare. Young people shouldn’t be overly ambitious, wanting a Divine Sword’s recognition right from the start is simply ignorant of their own limitations!"

...

"So he is Pang Jian, the direct disciple taken in by the Tower Master."

"I heard, the Tower Master holds him in high regard, saying his potential surpasses even that of Senior Brother Zhao, and that he has the hope to inherit the Tower Master’s mantle. Some elders even say, he is someone who could revitalize the Sword Tower in the future."

"Does the Tower Master plan to pass that position to him?"

Near Elder Wang Ce, several female disciples of the Sword Tower gazed towards Litian Peak, their clear eyes sparkling with curiosity.

Wang Ce said dispassionately, "Our Sword Tower values both cultivation talent and the talent for swordsmanship."

...

Litian Peak.

As his senior brother, Chen Weihuang advised a few matters to be mindful of, then coldly said, "Go ahead. Many are watching, do not disgrace Master, and don’t let people doubt his judgement in selecting people."

Pang Jian respectfully acknowledged.

From the beginning of his contact with the Sword Tower, everybody had been warmly welcoming towards him, making Chen Weihuang the first to be indifferent.

Upon reflection, Pang Jian felt that given his identity as the grand disciple of Pu Zhaotian, along with his cultivation at the late stage of the Soul Wandering Realm, he indeed didn’t need to be courteous towards himself.

He held the new Sword Command, infused spiritual power into it, and commanded the sword to rise.

"Whoosh!"

He headed straight for the nine-story pavilion.

"Disciple, I wish you smooth sailing and hope you will win a Divine Sword to glorify your master," resounded the overbearing and cheerful voice of Pu Zhaotian, coming from within the Sword Command.

A host of curious and astonished gazes simultaneously converged from various mountaintops towards him.

Heading straight from Litian Peak to the Sword Tower, Pang Jian instantly felt dozens of barely tangible soul strands wrap around his shoulders, monitoring his every action.

"Boom!"

He landed on the ninth floor of the Sword Tower.

The moment his feet touched solid ground, he suddenly heard many strange and noisy sounds erupting all at once.

...

P.S.: In August, three updates, requesting your monthly votes~