The Purgatory Calamity
Chapter 404 - 383 An Invitation_1

Chapter 404: Chapter 383 An Invitation_1

"I’m called Cheng Rutang," said the elegant and dignified beauty in a light tone.

Pang Jian was stunned for a moment, feeling the little booklet in his hands becoming somewhat heavy; he then lowered his head and answered honestly, "I’ve lost contact with my master for a long time."

There was a peculiar smile on Cheng Rutang’s lips as she said, "I know."

Zheng Guowang of Yuan Qing Divine Nation signaled to the people on the ship, and then he, along with a few Soul Wandering Realm powerhouses, disappeared one by one.

In an instant, only she and Pang Jian remained on the spacious deck of the ship.

"Master has not returned to Sword Tower since the conference in the First Realm with the True Gods," said Pang Jian, hanging his head and speaking earnestly. "Both the eldest senior brother and I have sent messages to him, but he has not responded."

He knew from Chen Weihuang that Pu Zhaotian and Yin Ji, a True God with the status of an individual cultivator, were together; Yin Ji was his close confidante.

As for the elder of Liou Youyu....

Pang Jian had a vague feeling that this woman’s relationship with his master was also unclear.

"I know," Cheng Rutang nodded again.

Her slightly plump chin shone with the crystal brightness of jade as she said, "There is an annoying woman who is keeping close tabs on him and is especially wary of other women communicating with him."

"You, Chen Weihuang, and Hu Yatou, the three of you are the ones whose messages he’s most likely to receive."

"That’s why I’ve come to find you."

Cheng Rutang’s gaze turned colder as she snorted, "I have received reliable information that someone does not wish for him to successfully ascend as a True God and will impede him at every turn. The path to godhood is already full of trials and tribulations, and with someone scheming against him in secret, his hasty advancement is far too dangerous!"

"Let the existing True Gods bear the weight if the skies were to fall; what is he in such a rush for?"

"Pang Jian, I am doing this for his own good, and you must listen to me!" Cheng Rutang said sternly.

Pang Jian said, "He might not be able to receive the message."

"When he decides to make his push for True Godhood, he will definitely check the messages within the Sword Command," Cheng Rutang had already planned, "At that time, he will naturally see the message you send now at the earliest opportunity."

"Fine," Pang Jian reluctantly agreed.

...

In the First Realm, White Moon Fragment Land.

A massively built man in blue clothes, large and corpulent, trudged along heavily as if in confinement, looking down below.

Sitting on the edge of the Fragment Land, with the Second Realm just below his feet.

His Storage Ring, Sword Command, and all items capable of communicating with the outside world had been taken away.

"Pu Zhaotian, having you accompany me to watch the skies and admire the moon and enjoying the beautiful scenery of this place, does it really aggrieve you?" said a tall woman with long hair that flowed to the ground, fiddling with tea utensils not far from him, her voice cool, "What concern do you have with the life or death of this world? Has any Sword God from your Sword Tower ever had a good end?"

"Cough, cough," laughed Pu Zhaotian, scratching his head as he spoke, "Don’t I still have a few disciples?"

"Your disciples are more accomplished than you; what are you worried about?"

The woman snapped her fingers, and a teacup full of fragrant tea materialized in front of Pu Zhaotian, "Even your newly accepted disciple has risen to the ninth place on the Soul Wandering Rank."

"Ha-ha, I’m not the least bit surprised," Pu Zhaotian laughed heartily.

He drank the tea from the seven teacups one by one, declaring, "He must take one of the top five places!"

The woman was surprised, "Old Second, Hu Yatou is only in the seventh place."

Pu Zhaotian proudly boasted, "It’s not the same, I tell you, it’s different."

Surrounding the teacups with strands of Sword Intent, causing the seven cups to spin in the void, aligning into a mysterious and unpredictable Sword Array, he said, "The third brother is fierce, daring in battles and has a surge of good fortune; he should soon break into the top five."

"Do you truly plan to entrust the future of Sword Tower to him?" asked the woman gravely.

"I won’t die; I can bear it myself," answered Pu Zhaotian with a resplendent smile, turning to look at her and saying, "You and the other women in my life, why do you all think I’m going to die? My Elder Jiang has been contending with me in secret for a lifetime, and he has a bit more confidence in me than any of you!"

"Mention those women again, and see if I don’t descend to the Lower Realm right now and kill them all for you," the woman scoffed coldly.

"Not mentioning, not mentioning anymore!" Pu Zhaotian drew back, sighing, "The last Sword God who passed the position to me once said that as the Master of Sword Tower, one should have a vision for the entire Purgatory. When Purgatory faces a calamity, the Tower Master should, without hesitation, stand at the forefront of the battlefield."

"This is the duty of every Sword God!"

"You’re not yet a Sword God; you can keep on waiting!"

"No! I wasn’t in a hurry before because I felt there was no need, whether or not I became a god. But now, I find the situation in Purgatory very interesting, and I eagerly want to join in the fun, to have a good time with the guys outside."

"Yin Ji, if you truly love me, then don’t tether me."

The woman fell silent.

After a long time, she sighed softly, "Then I suppose I’ll die with you."

"You’re wrong! I want you by my side, to break through this damned Heaven Forbidden together! Together, we should go to the vast Star River beyond the heavens, to confront those Alien Gods from the Outer Realm who have been hounding us!"

...

Auspicious Light Fragment Land.

In a simple courtyard, a dull gray iron ball slowly absorbed the Filth Alien Power.

On the side, Han Duping commented with a strange look on his face, "Pang Jian, why does this thing feel like an evil artifact owned by the Alien Tribes?"

"This item must be used with caution," Zhou Qingchen also said.

"It can absorb Filth Power," Pang Jian called out with his hand, and the Hunyuan Ball fell into his palm.

By examining it with his Divine Sense, he could see the refined Filth Alien Power turning into a murky substance of green, black, and light green, like the alien objects in his Spiritual Sea back then.

Through Cheng Rutang’s booklet, he learned that the reason the Hunyuan Master was killed by the Sword Tower was that he wielded the Hunyuan Ball and quietly sneaked into the Fifth Realm to absorb Filth Alien Power.

As a result, the Artifact Soul within the Hunyuan Ball was tainted, and it even backlashed against the Hunyuan Master.

The Hunyuan Master, with his Immortal Realm cultivation, was killed by the Sword Tower because he went berserk and slaughtered innocents after losing his way.

With the Artifact Soul gone and the Filth Alien Power purged, the Hunyuan Ball was preserved.

"Only evil artifacts and demon instruments would devour Filth Alien Power!" Han Duping exclaimed in shock and quickly persuaded, "Pang Jian, you are already wielding the Origin Demon Sword, and now you are in control of such a vicious object, be careful of a backlash from the artifact."

"It’s fine."

Pang Jian controlled the Hunyuan Ball with his Divine Sense, allowing various Alien Powers within his body to flow into it, and the Hunyuan Ball alternately expanded and shrunk.

"Spiritual Power and Filth Alien Power are the two poles of heaven and earth. Like yin and yang, water and fire, sun and moon."

"The rising and sinking of Filth Alien Power, the endless cycle, is a law of nature that can never be eliminated."

"..."

He pondered the words from the booklet, likely left by the Hunyuan Master, and found them quite reasonable.

A shabby Landscape Spiritual Boat suddenly appeared in the sky of the Auspicious Light Fragment Land, and the cultivators from the Second Realm’s Sky Water Swamp, along with the scions dependent on Sky Water Swamp, flew out from the Landscape Spiritual Boat with gloomy faces.

"The seventh wave," Han Duping said with a pained expression, sighing, "After a brief reorganization, they should be returning to the Qian Tian Continent from the Auspicious Light Fragment Land."

Recently, ships have been passing through the Auspicious Light Fragment Land one after another, making repairs before venturing again into the distance.

They too had suffered from the onslaught of the beast tides.

Lacking the formidable combat power of Pang Jian and Liou Youyu to eradicate Ferocious Beasts between the seventh and eighth levels, they had no choice but to flee after paying a terrible price.

"Old Han, you should return to the Qian Tian Continent," Zhou Qingchen suddenly said.

"I know," Han Duping replied bitterly and nodded, "Let’s wait a bit longer. I will find a reliable ship and leave with Wu Xuanfeng and the others."

"You can take the Red Rosy Clouds Boat."

"That belongs to Red Mountain, it’s yours, Zhou Qingchen, not mine."

While they were speaking, a Demon Boat from the Demon Sect came roaring from the outer void.

The Demon Boat directly hovered over the courtyard where the Sword Boat and Red Rosy Clouds Boat were located.

A figure flew out swiftly and landed with a thud.

"Wu Yuan!" Zhou Qingchen paused, then asked, "You’re planning to return to the Qian Tian Continent, too?"

"No."

Wu Yuan still had his usual expressionless face as he said, "Pang Jian, I’m here on behalf of Hong Qiming to invite you to participate in a hunt. The organizer is Zhou Yi from the Jiuli Sect, Liou Youyu from the Yuan Qing Divine Nation has agreed to join, and your second senior sister Hu is also in this team."

"And Fan Chen from the Taiyi Divine Country."

"Only those ranked in the top ten in the Soul Wandering Realm and Spirit Condensation Realm are qualified to be invited in," he continued.

"Zhou Qingchen, you also have this qualification," he said succinctly.

Wu Yuan stated his purpose clearly and simply. Originally, Hong Qiming wasn’t interested in Pang Jian, but after he persistently argued on his behalf and Pang Jian’s ranking rose sharply, landing him in the ninth position of the Soul Wandering Realm, Hong Qiming agreed to give the nod.

This Demon Boat came specifically for Pang Jian.

As for Zhou Qingchen, he could be conveniently included, but he was not considered important.

"I’m not interested," Pang Jian refused coldly.

He had joined the battle in the Third Realm only because of Elder Jiang Ran’s troubles.

As the eldest senior brother Chen Weihuang had put it, reaching the top ten in the Soul Wandering Realm would be enough to satisfy Elder Jiang.

Having met the requirement, he was now considering whether to retreat to the Panshi Fragment Land earlier than planned, to continue tempering his Spiritual Soul with the land’s fiery magma, thus he naturally had no interest in Wu Yuan’s invitation.

"Listen to me," Wu Yuan insisted.

Taking a deep breath, he said, "Zhou Yi of the Jiuli Sect has always been active in the Fourth Realm, accumulating Contribution Value by hunting stronger Alien Tribes and Ferocious Beasts."

"He says he’s found a continent that had disappeared within the Mysterious Fog, which is now emerging from it."

"That continent is in the far west of the Fourth Realm!"

Wu Yuan, rarely so talkative, added, "This matter has not yet been reported to the higher-ups."

His eyes sharply signaled a warning to Han Duping, the implication clear.

"Are you sure it’s a complete continent and not a Fragment Land?" Zhou Qingchen was immensely shocked.

Being from the Fourth Realm, he naturally knew that it consisted of many Fragment Lands, and even complete continents from the past had shattered during wars.

The sudden emergence of a land hidden in the Mysterious Fog from the far west of the Fourth Realm piqued his intense curiosity.

"Pang Jian, do you want to check it out?" he asked.

"Alright then."

Upon hearing it was a complete continent and involved Mysterious Fog, Pang Jian was intrigued.

...