The Purgatory Calamity
Chapter 397 - 376: Mockery_1

Chapter 397: Chapter 376: Mockery_1

Pang Jian turned to look behind him.

In his mind, he quickly recalled the information about the girl.

Liou Youyu, at the late stage of the Soul Wandering Realm, was the most outstanding cultivation genius of Yuan Qing Divine Nation.

According to information from the Sword Tower, since childhood, she had followed White Mirror Che, a True God of Yuan Qing Divine Nation, to practice cultivation and hadn’t had much contact with the nation’s elite, hence her rather introverted personality.

Moreover, Yuan Qing Divine Nation did not have any grudges with the Sword Tower; on the contrary, it seemed there even existed some friendly relations between them.

—This was also the reason he chose the exchange point of Yuan Qing Divine Nation.

"Let her be," he decided after pondering, opting to ignore the matter without clear reason.

"Hoo!"

The Hunyuan Ball was suddenly summoned by him.

He injected various types of Alien Powers one by one, and the dull-gray iron ball inflated rapidly like a balloon.

With each additional type of Alien Power infused, the Hunyuan Ball doubled in size and became increasingly heavier.

When his Divine Sense seeped inside to inspect, he saw many complex and profound array pathways covering the surface and the inside of the sphere, which bore an odd resemblance to the "Heart of Winter."

"It’s a pity that there’s no Artifact Soul residing within."

Pang Jian sighed while fiddling with the Hunyuan Ball.

If there were an Artifact Soul with which to communicate, he would know how to utilize it, drawing out the mysteries of the object.

Without an Artifact Soul, without the accompanying spell secrets, all he could do was to figure it out by himself.

After rubbing it for a moment, he threw it into the air, and the dull-gray iron ball, now as big as a millstone, exploded with a thunderous roar in the sky.

"The Hunyuan Ball is versatile; it can be as small as a pill or as large as mountains," the soft voice of Liou Youyu came from behind the Flying Fish Ship as it approached swiftly.

The Flying Fish Ship was rapidly closing in.

In an instant, her petite and delicate figure emerged from the front of the Flying Fish Ship.

She wore a light purple gauze dress, with eyebrows like distant mountains and eyes like shimmering autumn waters. She spoke softly, "In my place, there are specific techniques for utilizing the Hunyuan Ball."

"Why are you following me?" Pang Jian asked surprisingly.

"I’m not following you. My destination is also the Auspicious Light Fragment Land," Liou Youyu replied as her Flying Fish Ship overtook the Sword Boat.

She continued, "West of Auspicious Light Fragment Land lies another one known as Brocade Cloud Fragment Land, which harbors strong Alien Tribes or Ferocious Beasts."

"I plan to take a look, to see if there’s any possibility of slaying the creatures inside to accumulate more Contribution Value."

"As for following you..."

She furrowed her brows in thought before explaining, "Before I came here, my elders told me I should mingle more with Pu Zhaotian’s disciple."

Pang Jian was taken aback, "My master knows your family’s elders?"

"Old friends," Liou Youyu softly nodded.

Seemingly not adept at socializing and unsure of how to get closer to Pang Jian, she merely said, "Later on, if you encounter any difficulties, you can contact me with this."

She tossed out a wooden token and added, "Within a distance of three thousand li, if you send me a message, I should be able to receive it."

"Regarding the Hunyuan Ball, allow me to carefully recall the details before I tell you how to use it."

The Flying Fish Ship gradually moved away.

The wooden token, engraved with the character "Liou," landed on the Sword Boat.

"She’s treating you like a novice, probably afraid that you’d die in the Third Realm. It seems she escorted you for a bit on the way. Seeing that you were getting closer to the Auspicious Light Fragment Land, she felt reassured enough to leave," the Source Demon in the sword chuckled mischievously.

Pang Jian’s face was a mixture of amusement and frustration.

He initially suspected Liou Youyu had ulterior motives, yet unexpectedly Pu Zhaotian and her family’s elders were old acquaintances, and she had even covertly escorted him for a part of his journey.

"If she knows how to use the Hunyuan Ball, then I need not waste my efforts guessing how," Pang Jian thought to himself.

He stored away the wooden token along with the Hunyuan Ball.

Before long, the Auspicious Light Fragment Land came into view.

The Fire Cloud Ship, the Landscape Spiritual Boat, the Demon Boat, the Black Cloud Sail, and other Flying Spirit Artifacts were parked in various positions around the Fragment Land.

Another massive vessel bearing the insignia of the Bright Heaven Divine Kingdom hovered proudly in mid-air.

Cultivators from all the major sects and powers had converged in Auspicious Light Fragment Land, chatting and mingling with one another in a lively atmosphere.

"Sword Boat!"

"Is that... Pang Jian!" someone remarked from the Bright Heaven Divine Kingdom ship.

A member of the Zhu family who had recently visited Sword Tower quickly recognized Pang Jian and sneered, "It seems he must not have accumulated any Contribution Value, which is why he has come to hunt in the Auspicious Light Fragment Land."

"Sword Tower, Pang Jian!"

Upon reminders from the Zhu and Jiang Family members, cultivators on the Fragment Land suddenly buzzed with excitement.

"He hasn’t broken into the top hundred of the Soul Wandering Realm yet?"

"Haha, he’s truly a disgrace to the Sword Tower, a disgrace to Pu Zhaotian!"

"Recalling Chen Weihuang from the past, and Hu Yuanshuai from that time, how domineering they were! Even now, Hu Yuanshuai is only dropping in rank because she must remain in the Divine Fragment Land to protect more Sword Tower disciples and cannot leave," they added.

"Hmm, Hu Yuanfei should have been among the top five, but she is limited by the Divine Fragment Land."

"Strange, shouldn’t Pang Jian go seek her out?"

"..."

On the ships of the Fragment Land, among groups of cultivators gathered, there was cold mockery and ridicule.

Pang Jian turned a deaf ear.

He searched across the various regions of the Fragment Land and finally saw Han Duping desperately waving, along with a Red Rosy Clouds Boat.

The Sword Boat roared as it approached.

When the Sword Boat stopped, Pang Jian glanced over and saw that apart from Han Duping, there were several unknown people on the Red Rosy Clouds Boat, and he asked, "Where’s Zhou, my senior brother?"

"He went to seek help from the Bright Heaven Divine Kingdom."

Amazed, Han Duping looked over the sharply designed Sword Boat and then at the cold and extraordinary Pang Jian, and praised, "Pang, brethren, after just a few days you demand a fresh look! I’ve only just managed to enter the Hollow Profound Realm, and there’s Zhou, and then you, ah!"

He thumped his chest and stomped his feet, feeling the deep sting of defeat.

"I’ve seen Brother Pang!"

Several Spirit Condensation Realm individual cultivators hurriedly clasped their hands in greeting.

Pang Jian responded perfunctorily and then inquired about Han Duping’s situation.

"Brocade Cloud Fragment Land has seemingly run into some trouble recently; several groups who went to explore have lost contact one after the other. Among them is Elder Feng Feiqing from Red Mountain, who is at the mid-stage of Spirit Condensation Realm."

"Zhou asked for help from people of the Bright Heaven Divine Kingdom, hoping to arrange for a Soul Wandering Realm great cultivator to accompany and check out the Brocade Cloud Fragment Land."

"Pang Jian, Zhou has become very cautious now. While everyone else underestimates alien tribes and ferocious beasts, he is extremely strategic, treating those insignificant alien tribes like a devastating flood or fierce beast."

"Because of this, he has been mocked by many."

"..."

Han Duping reported on the situation.

"Alien tribes, ferocious beasts, they’re not that easy to deal with," Pang Jian said gravely.

"Ever since the war began, our teams of human race cultivators have been on an unstoppable advance. The divine country generals from the First Realm, the geniuses from the most powerful sects, they all make names for themselves in different Fragment Lands." A proud individual cultivator cracked a smile and said, "These alien tribes and ferocious beasts didn’t put up any decent resistance."

Another individual cultivator chimed in, "They used to live in the boundless Darkness of the Fifth Realm where resources were scarce; how powerful can they possibly be?"

This group of individual cultivators had voluntarily pledged their loyalty to Zhou Qingchen because of his bravery and good reputation. They recognized Zhou Qingchen’s combat strength and character, but they did not agree with his caution towards alien tribes.

They all believed that Zhou Qingchen didn’t need to go to the Bright Heaven Divine Kingdom to request the company of a Soul Wandering Realm expert.

With their power on this Red Rosy Clouds Boat, they could easily clear the alien tribes and ferocious beasts of the Brocade Cloud Fragment Land and gather a hefty Contribution Value.

If the Bright Heaven Divine Kingdom got involved, what would they get once they arrived?

"That’s because you’ve never seen truly powerful alien tribes," Pang Jian said indifferently. "Zhou, my senior brother, has suffered at the hands of alien tribe experts in the Absolute Sky Forbidden Land and knows their strength is much more than we have seen."

The individual cultivators laughed off his words.

Then, a woman cultivator from the Qian Tian Continent muttered under her breath, "Maybe it’s because your own strength is too weak that you find them formidable."

Her words were clearly a jibe at Pang Jian, who, despite possessing the cultivation of the Soul Wandering Realm, had not even made it into the top hundred of the rankings.

"Whoosh!"

A dazzling blade light tore through the sky, forcing the woman who spoke sarcastically to flee from the Red Rosy Clouds Boat.

With a beard covering his jawline and tanned skin, Zhou Qingchen arrived with a robust aura.

"Wang Cui, this temple is too small for you," Zhou Qingchen said solemnly, deciding the fate of this individual cultivator. "Look elsewhere for your opportunities; there’s no longer a place for you on the Red Rosy Clouds Boat."

With a bitter smile, Wang Cui said, "I was just speaking casually, and it wasn’t directed at you; why the anger?"

But despite her words, she still silently left, forced to find a new team.

Deep down, she truly regretted it, aware that not many sect disciples were as righteous and courteous to individual cultivators as Zhou Qingchen.

Disciples from large sects like Sky Water Swamp and Black Valley, who saw them as nothing more than servants, were not ones that many individual cultivators wished to join.

Nobility from the Divine Country simply did not accept individual cultivators and only gave them orders.

"Han, you stay; the rest of you leave the Red Rosy Clouds Boat; I need to speak with Pang Jian," Zhou declared commandingly.

The group took the hint and dispersed.

When only the three of them were left, Zhou Qingchen let out a tired smile and sat on the ground beside the Red Rosy Clouds Boat, relieved and said, "You finally came."

"What happened?" Pang Jian asked curiously.

"Tired, weary at heart!"

He patted his chest, sighed deeply, and said, "I know the strength of the alien tribes. Again and again, I’ve explained to them that the alien soldiers we’ve encountered so far are probably just cannon fodder."

"Unfortunately, no one believes me."

Shaking his head, he continued, "All the cultivators in the various Fragment Lands are advancing triumphantly, and the alien tribes and ferocious beasts we’ve met aren’t very strong. My evaluation and judgment of the alien tribes has instead made me the laughingstock for being faint-hearted."

"Me, faint-hearted? I’ve already surged to the 13th place on the Spirit Condensation Realm rankings!"

Without outsiders present, Zhou Qingchen cursed and ranted, returning to his rough and bold self, no longer bothering to maintain a stern face.

After a pause, he suddenly said, "Pang Jian, I have this feeling that the true might and deadly moves of the alien tribes are about to emerge in abundance. Soon, many people will begin to die, and we will pay a heavy price for underestimating them."

"As long as the dead aren’t us, we’ll be fine," Pang Jian said as he patted Zhou Qingchen on the shoulder. "I’ll accompany you to the Brocade Cloud Fragment Land."

Zhou Qingchen stood up, "Something’s not right over there."

"I know."

...