The Purgatory Calamity
Chapter 375 - 354: Obstacle_1

Chapter 375: Chapter 354: Obstacle_1

Su Yue, at the initial stage of the Soul Wandering Realm, was a direct disciple of the Great Elder, Jiang Ran.

He was older than everyone else, and his cultivation realm was also a notch above the rest, making him one of the most outstanding inner sect disciples in Sword Tower.

The recently renowned Qi Qingsong had suffered repeated setbacks when facing him in the past.

He didn’t take the descendants of the four Great Elders, like Zhuang Yuyan, Duan Jing, and Zeng YuLan seriously.

In Su Yue’s heart, the person he was always secretly comparing himself to was actually Pu Zhaotian’s second disciple, Hu.

Now, he stood at the gate, scrutinizing a group of inner sect disciples, familiar and unfamiliar alike, and taunted, "Has everyone become mute?"

Qi Qingsong’s expression was grim as he pondered how to speak up.

The others didn’t dare to look at him directly and mumbled quietly with their heads down.

Pang Jian was stunned for a moment. He hadn’t even figured out Su Yue’s identity and thus maintained his silence.

"Brother Su, a few of us were just explaining the elders within the gate on behalf of Brother Pang,"

Zhuang Yuyan stood up and said indifferently, "Pang Jian has just arrived and doesn’t know anyone yet. We were worried that he might not recognize your master in the future, so we gave him a few pointers."

"We’ve seen Brother Su."

"Brother Su, no offense, ha!"

"We wouldn’t dare to offend the Great Elder!"

After Zhuang Yuyan spoke, the others relaxed and began to express their stances one after another.

"Tsk! Tsk, tsk!"

Duan Jing and others even channeled their Spirit Spells to expel the alcohol from their bodies and swiftly recovered their Spiritual Intelligence.

"Pang Jian..."

Su Yue was momentarily taken aback.

It seemed that only after being reminded by the others did he notice Pang Jian, who wasn’t wearing the Sword Tower’s blue robes.

"Brother Su, that’s him. He just arrived today and has already drawn the Origin Demon Sword from the Sword Tower,"

the people behind Su Yue whispered to him.

"The Origin Demon Sword does not belong to our Sword Tower. Using the merit you gained from the Absolute Sky Forbidden Land, you have chosen an ominous object from the Demon Sword Sect," Su Yue’s eyes were sharp like two swords thrusting towards Pang Jian’s face, as he said sternly, "If the sword is not well controlled, another Evil Demon Different Kinds will be born, bringing disgrace to Sword Tower."

Pang Jian replied indifferently, "I can control it."

"What arrogance! Even Mo Nan of the Demon Sword Sect failed to subjugate this sword. What makes you think you can?" Su Yue sneered.

Pang Jian, who had also stood up, shook his head at the unkind interrogation and did not reply.

He then sat down with a thud.

He did not clear the alcohol from his body, his stern face still flushed, and he poured himself another full cup of wine.

Thereupon, he bowed his head and silently drank, ignoring this little brother of the Great Elder, Jiang Ran.

"The Tower Master’s direct disciple indeed has some airs about him. On your first day in Sword Tower, you’ve made your status clear," Su Yue gave him a deep look and left a parting shot, "There will be time in the future. We’ll get to know each other slowly."

He turned and left.

A crowd that had followed him, many inner and outer sect disciples of Sword Tower, looked at Pang Jian in surprise before also departing.

After the door was closed.

The silent Qi Qingsong erected a triangular banner and infused it with Spiritual Power to isolate sound waves.

Only then did he frown and say, "Sister Zhuang, did you notice? Many outer sect disciples from noble families have recently been following him."

"Mm."

Zhuang Yuyan nodded slightly.

"After we came back, there has been a rumor spreading within the sect. Have you heard it?"

Qi Qingsong’s gaze swept over the several people in the room and said, "It’s said that the Tower Master has taken a liking to Pang Jian and wants him to head Sword Tower in the future. He, due to the dire situation in Purgatory, will make a swift attempt to ascend to True Godhood."

"If he succeeds, Sword Tower might be able to return to the lineup of the First Realm’s major sects."

"If he fails..."

Qi Qingsong took a deep breath and said, "Considering the Tower Master’s pursuit of the Sword Dao and his explosive temper, he would certainly fall on the spot if he fails! He never gives others, nor himself, a second chance!"

"If he fails in his attempt to ascend to True Godhood, Sword Tower’s structure is likely to shift again, and the position of Tower Master might be taken up by the Great Elder upon his return."

The small group in the room, all disciples of the four Great Elders, felt heavy-hearted upon hearing this.

"I’ve heard this rumor. It seems like someone is deliberately spreading it to force the Tower Master to achieve Divine Enthronement soon," Song ZiHe whispered.

"Ascension to True Godhood is not that easy, is it? Out of ten candidates, seven or eight fail, with only two or three succeeding," Zhuang Yuyan said with a bitter smile, "On the Demon Sect’s side, they have already had three peak masters of the Immortal Realm fail and perish in their attempt to ascend to True Godhood."

"The Tower Master has no choice," Qi Qingsong sighed.

"Yes, Purgatory has opened, and God Spirits from the Outer Realm have descended in complete form. In the Fifth Realm, there are entities whose bloodline has reached level ten on each continent," Zhuang Yuyan interjected anxiously, "Seven level-ten bloodline powerhouses equate to seven True God-level strengths, and then there’s... Luo Hongyan."

"The pressure is great above too."

"Our Sword Tower has always been known for formidable combat strength; as long as the Tower Master ascends to True Godhood, he will immediately become the mightiest supreme force for the Human Race over here," they said.

"His Divine Enthronement could change the entire situation; if he does not undertake it, those above will compel him."

"..."

The group engaged in a lively discussion.

Pang Jian, as Pu Zhaotian’s close-door disciple, couldn’t help but imagine his master’s domineering and arrogant figure. He didn’t realize Pu Zhaotian was under such great pressure.

Nor did he expect Pu Zhaotian to have such high hopes for him, intending for him to shoulder the responsibility of leading Sword Tower in the future.

"Enough chatting."

"What a killjoy, ruining our fun."

Their interest in chatting dwindled considerably after Zhuang Yuyan and several others consecutively left.

It wasn’t until only Pang Jian and Qi Qingsong remained in the private room that—

—an intoxicated Qi Qingsong suddenly spoke up in a cold voice, "I almost died at the hands of Su Yue!"

Pang Jian was startled.

"Before the trial at Bagua City, Sword Tower organized an excursion to hunt ferocious beasts in the Forbidden Land. It was around the Saint Spirit Continent, a fragment land known as ’Cause,’ and Su Yue was one of the organizers."

"The ferocious beasts there lack spiritual intelligence and are of a lower rank, simply for honing the combat skills of sect disciples."

"At that time, I was no longer an Inner Sect Disciple."

"As the organizer, Su Yue assigned an area to my team, all of us at the Marrow Cleansing Realm, yet we encountered several level-four ferocious beasts."

"Aside from me, everyone on that small team died."

Qi Qingsong showed a look of lingering fear and continued, "I survived because, although I had become an Outer Sect Disciple, my shifu still blessed me with a life-saving treasure. Afterwards, I learned from the Outer Sect Disciples serving Su Yue that he had known all along that the zone’s ferocious beasts were beyond our ability to handle."

"Pang Jian, remember that internal conflicts within the sect are more terrifying than ferocious beasts—they can trap you inadvertently."

"That Su Yue, along with his senior brother Zhou Wenhao and their shifu Jiang Ran, will be your longstanding obstacles in Sword Tower."

Pang Jian nodded lightly.

...

The next day, early morning.

Pang Jian arrived early at Sharpen Blade Peak and, looking at the gray stone palaces named Book Tower, Utensil Tower, and Alchemy Tower, headed straight for the Book Tower.

At the entrance of the Book Tower.

"I’m looking for the latter part of the ’Great Creation Sacred Body’s Spirit Spell’ and the ’Pot Heaven Nourishing Qi Spell,’ along with the cultivation texts for after reaching the Spirit Condensation Realm."

Pang Jian presented his Sword Command and stated his intentions.

"Let me check!"

Pan Zheng, who was seated at the entrance and clearly recognized Pang Jian’s status, immediately got busy, flipping through the records of the Book Tower’s libraries with his own Sword Command.

After a short time, Pan Zheng looked uneasy and said, "The latter parts of these two Spirit Spells, together, only require ninety Merit Points to access for one day."

"I don’t have enough Merit Points?" Pang Jian asked, puzzled.

"You do. You have more than enough Merit Points, but... unluckily,"

—Pan Zheng appeared helpless—"the latter parts of both Spirit Spells were taken for contemplation by the same person on the very day you arrived at Sword Tower, to be precise, two hours before your arrival."

"People generally memorize the entire content of the Spirit Spells within a few hours even though they can’t take the texts out of the Book Tower."

"However, he has not come out yet."

With a polite tone, Pan Zheng said, "How about you go back first and wait for news? If he comes out, I’ll send someone to inform you immediately."

"May I know his name?" Pang Jian inquired.

"Bai Chuan, also an Inner Sect Disciple, apprenticed under Lu Xiaolin," Pan Zheng answered.

"Understood."

Pang Jian turned and left, communicating with Qi Qingsong and explaining the situation.

"Lu Xiaolin is an Elder without real power and is someone from Great Elder Jiang Ran’s side. Bai Chuan is Su Yue’s lackey; he knew in advance that you were coming and also knew what you were lacking!" Qi Qingsong cursed, "Those two texts and spell books were not paid much attention to before, and they didn’t require many Merit Points. I knew he would obstruct you!"

Pang Jian felt gloomy.

In the following days, Pan Zheng never sent anyone over, prompting Pang Jian to visit the Book Tower again for information.

The reply was the same.

Since Bai Chuan had not come out of the Book Tower, the cultivation Spirit Spells urgently needed by Pang Jian remained out of reach.

...

Misty Peak.

In a cavern within the mountain.

Pan Zheng from the same peak reported his work with a troubled expression, "Bai Chuan said that while contemplating the ’Pot Heaven Nourishing Qi Spell,’ he was invaded by an evil demon that tampered with his spirit, causing a deviation leading to the destruction of both the Pot Heaven Nourishing Qi Spell and the latter part of the Great Creation Sacred Body texts."

The scholarly dressed, taciturn Guanghe barked, "Deviation?"

"Hmm."

Pan Zheng smiled wryly.

With his master and Guanghe’s master both being from Misty Peak and their good relations since childhood, he didn’t hold back and said, "Those two texts are precisely what Pang Jian came to Sword Tower to seek."

Guanghe inquired, "When did Bai Chuan request the texts?"

"Right before Pang Jian entered Sword Tower."

After the exchange, Guanghe said coldly, "Bai Chuan is Su Yue’s man; historically, all matters of Sharpen Blade Peak were managed by the Great Elder. Those two destroyed texts were just copied versions; the originals are still in the hands of the Great Elder."

"He has been traveling outside for a long time under the pretext, beyond our control. Getting those scriptures would be a bit troublesome."

Guanghe snorted, "This is clearly a move against Pang Jian."

"Let’s not talk about the two texts for now. What Bai Chuan is saying, though, is... that Pang Jian can’t control the Origin Demon Sword, and this led to the Source Demon’s mischief from the shadows," Pan Zheng sighed, "That’s the real trouble."

Guanghe was surprised.

"There will be more targeting Pang Jian in the future," Pan Zheng said as he rubbed his dry eyes. "Just wait and see."

...