The Purgatory Calamity
Chapter 405 - 384 Gathering Place of Talents_1

Chapter 405: Chapter 384 Gathering Place of Talents_1

Fourth Realm.

In the far west, adjoining the Mysterious Fog and the Boundary Wall.

A stripe-like expanse of silver-white land, as if covered in frost, seeped through from the dense grey Mysterious Fog.

Most of its territory was still hidden deep within the Mysterious Fog.

Yet, as time passed, the parts submerged by the Mysterious Fog were gradually revealing themselves.

At this moment, hovering above this newly exposed tip of land, were several figures.

Zhou Yi of the Jiuli Sect, Liou Youyu of the Yuan Qing Divine Nation, Fan Chen of the Taiyi Divine Nation, Cai Shaoheng of the Black Valley, Hu of the Sword Tower, and Shen Yanxi from the Desolated Terrains.

On the Soul Wandering Realm’s ranking of fame, Zhou Yi was second, Liou Youyu third, Fan Chen fifth, Cai Shaoheng sixth, Hu seventh.

Shen Yanxi was tenth.

And these extraordinary characters were all looking at a woman with skin as pale as paper and an appearance frail as a willow.

—Ling Yimo of the Gui Sacrificial Sect.

With fine veins visible beneath her fair skin, Ling Yimo crouched down in an area where frost had formed.

It was the heart cavity of a deceased giant dragon.

The body of the Silver White Dragon Skeleton, over ten thousand feet long, emitted a faint cold air from its heart cavity, the dragon’s corpse laid down on this patch of land jutting out from the Mysterious Fog like a tip of an iceberg.

The dragon was devoid of any flesh, its bones polished like mirrors, casting a light white glow.

Above the dragon’s body, no one could smell any peculiar scent or feel if there remained any divine power.

Only Ling Yimo, currently ranked first in the Spirit Condensation Realm and hailing from the Gui Sacrificial Sect, could analyze some subtleties based on the residual cold air at the heart cavity where the Dragon Heart should have been.

Hu standing on her Flying Fish Ship, looked down and noticed Liou Youyu shrinking his head and muttering something while holding a wooden token.

She asked in a low voice, "Little Liou You, have you seen my junior brother?"

"Mhm," Liou Youyu, afraid of disturbing Ling Yimo, replied in a mosquito-like voice, "My name is Liou Youyu!"

"My master says you’re Little Liou You, so you are Little Liou You!" Hu’s lips curled into a smile, "How is that kid doing?"

"Doing what?" Liou Youyu responded blankly.

"Is he as stupid as Chen Weihuang?" Hu asked seriously.

Liou Youyu reflected carefully, imagining Chen Weihuang’s expressionless face akin to that of a dead fish. She compared it with Pang Jian’s indifferent demeanor and silently nodded, "I feel it’s about the same."

"I knew it!" Hu sneered, "The disciples my master takes in are indeed one more boring than the next!"

"You’re no different!"

She also glared at Liou Youyu once more.

The talented young lady from the Yuan Qing Divine Nation clearly knew about her unrestrained temperament and, not willing to argue, maintained her silence.

"Hu, can’t you just shut up?"

Shen Yanxi, from the Desolated Terrains, was enshrouded in a cloud of blue and couldn’t help but scold, "Ever since you came down, you haven’t stopped talking. If you’re not talking to this person, you’re talking to that person. The younger sister from the Gui Sacrificial Sect, Ling Yimo, needs a calm mind to perform her Secret Skill, and your constant chatter could disturb her!"

"What’s it to you?" Hu replied mockingly with a strange laugh, "Shen Yanxi, I heard that as her senior sister, you still have thoughts about Fu Wangchen? Well, you really have no shame. Almost fifty, and you’re still longing for the heart of thirty-year-old Fu Wangchen. Tsk, tsk, too bad, that kid couldn’t cut it and accidentally died in the Absolute Sky Forbidden Land."

"Hu! You’re in your forties yourself!" shouted Shen Yanxi furiously.

"I don’t have eyes for my junior brother, unlike you, shameless," Hu said with a sly grin.

"Enough!"

Zhou Yi of the Jiuli Sect, rubbed his forehead lightly and scolded with a mild voice, putting an end to the quarrel between the two women, "A quiet conversation is fine, but arguing like you two can indeed affect Ling Yimo."

The refined and elegant Zhou Yi held a Jade Ruler in his hand, his demeanor quite distinguished.

Hu slightly lowered her voice, "You said Hong Qiming from the Demon Sect has invited my junior brother too, where is he?"

"Hong Qiming hasn’t arrived yet, how would I know where Pang Jian is?" Zhou Yi answered with a wry smile.

He glanced at Fan Chen, dressed in white and sitting atop the dragon’s head, merging with the Silver White Dragon Skeleton, and asked, "Does the Taiyi Divine Nation’s treasure trove of knowledge contain any records of this continent?"

Fan Chen shook his head, "Not yet, I haven’t found anything."

Fan Chen, who had been interested in all the marvels of the Purgatory World since childhood, was well-versed in many secrets.

The forgotten history, relics and ancient sites submerged by time, numerous Forbidden Lands associated with the Mysterious Fog, and the conflicts between the Human Race and Alien Tribes’ Spirit Beasts.

He was clearer than anyone else about such secret lore encompassing the entire world.

In addition, the treasure trove of knowledge in the Taiyi Divine Nation far surpassed other Sects and powers.

Therefore, when Zhou Yi discovered the land slowly emerging, the first person he thought of was Fan Chen, and he immediately extended an invitation to him.

"Whoosh!"

A mass of Demon Light wrapped around four figures as they descended through the thick, starless, Lead Cloud in the pitch-dark night.

After the Demon Light landed, the four silhouettes rapidly scattered.

Hu beckoned, "Come over here, now!"

Pang Jian, wearing a blue robe and a Sword Command at his waist, was all too easy to identify; she recognized her junior brother at a glance.

"Elder Sister Hu."

After Pang Jian performed a salute, he led Zhou Qingchen over to where Hu was standing.

"So you came, and why did you bring along a hanger-on?" Hu sneered and said, "And a savage at that."

With a rugged appearance, his face full of whiskers and his robes stained with blood, Zhou Qingchen looked exceptionally burly.

Zhou Qingchen laughed heartily, bowed respectfully, and said, "I’ve long heard of Hu’s great reputation, and seeing you today, it’s indeed well-deserved!"

Sword Tower is the force behind Red Mountain, and the disciples of Red Mountain naturally have a close relationship with Sword Tower.

Since his return from the Absolute Sky Forbidden Land, several elders of Red Mountain had also hinted at the relationship between the Sect Master and Pu Zhaotian.

Although Zhou Qingchen had a rough exterior, his heart was slick and delicate, knowing to actively cozy up and constantly flattering, his compliments seemingly striking a chord with Hu.

"You’re not bad, kid."

Hu expressed satisfaction, then turned to Pang Jian and said, "Red Mountain has always been one of our own. I’ve also heard that you two have always been thick as thieves, oh, my mistake, I’ve heard you’re the best of friends. Hmm, you’ve got some good friends, at least... you still have friends."

"Unlike that guy with the surname Chen, who doesn’t have a single friend and doesn’t like going on trials everywhere, spending all day either in Sword Tower or on Qitian Continent."

The whole venue was filled with her endless chattering.

Pang Jian’s face showed astonishment; he didn’t know much about this elder sister, only that she had a hot-tempered and fiery personality.

Only now did he realize that this elder sister seemed quite dissatisfied with their senior brother and even dared to voice it out.

Pang Jian, feeling strange, didn’t make a sound in response, and his gaze swept across the various figures.

"He is Zhou Yi from Jiuli Sect, the convener of this expedition, currently in the Great Perfection stage of the Soul Wandering Realm."

"The guy in white there, the pretty boy, is Fan Chen from Taiyi Divine Kingdom, almost on the same level as Zhou Yi."

"The guy with the grim face is Cai Shaoheng from Black Valley, nearly a hundred years old, nothing much to say about him."

"That woman from Desolated Terrains is Shen Yanxi, a sister of ours who has passed away, Fu Wangchen. She likes younger brothers, so keep your distance from her. She’s shameless!"

"..."

Pang Jian looked in the direction of each person, and she immediately informed him of their identities and backgrounds.

Except for Zhou Yi, who just smiled indifferently, Fan Chen, Cai Shaoheng, and Shen Yanxi, whose names she had mentioned, each looked uglier than the last.

Pretty boy Fan Chen, old man Cai Shaoheng, shameless Shen Yanxi.

She didn’t say a single nice thing about anyone.

She even deliberately lowered her voice as if whispering, but those Great Cultivators in the Soul Wandering Realm, each with sharp ears and eyes, definitely couldn’t fail to hear her voice.

"In the heart of the dragon, Ling Yimo from Gui Sacrificial Sect, currently first on the Spirit Condensation Realm rankings. She should be able to breakthrough soon, and once she advances, she’ll be a freak, just like Li Yuqing."

"And another person, hey, where did he go?"

Hu looked around, scanning the area around the massive dragon skeleton.

A young man huddled beneath the dragon skeleton let out a sigh and revealed his head, looked up at her, and said helplessly, "Hu, I’m right here."

"Pure Land, Lv Yan Shu, second on the Spirit Condensation Realm list, another pretty boy," Hu commented.

Lv Yan Shu’s face darkened, seemingly expecting this outcome, and he withdrew back into the dragon skeleton.

Pure Land, Heaven Treasure Sect, always had close relations with Sword Tower.

He too, as a child under the arrangements of his elders, tried his luck at that Sword Tower.

Although he didn’t gain anything, Lv Yan Shu still held Sword Tower in high regard due to his knowledge of its past history.

"Dong Wenjian, Lin Manhe, both geniuses of the Ancient Law Sect, they were once as famous as Fu Wangchen." Hu pointed to a couple holding hands and talking at the tail of the dragon skeleton and sneered, "Flaunting their love, they’ll die fast."

The two of them seemed oblivious to her words, continuing to talk in low voices with smiles on their faces.

Suddenly, Ling Yimo from the chest cavity of the dragon skeleton asked softly, "Who here has a Cold Attributes treasure of great power?"

The moment she spoke, Hu immediately fell silent, not wanting to interfere with serious matters.

"I have a Cold Light Bead, a Holy Artifact," whispered Lv Yan Shu from Pure Land.

"It’s not your Cold Light Bead."

Ling Yimo, with pale skin and visible veins, frowned and said, "Something is triggering a persistent power of cold frost that hasn’t dissipated. That item must be at the level of a Divine Object."

She glided forward, looking towards Hong Qiming, Wu Yuan, Pang Jian, and Zhou Qingchen, and spoke seriously, "It’s one of you four who arrived late, something you have that’s causing the remnants of this Frost Giant Dragon’s power to stir."

Wu Yuan and Zhou Qingchen naturally looked towards Pang Jian.

They had returned from the Absolute Sky Forbidden Land together and had spent a long time in The Frozen Land and Forbidden Land of Thunder God, well aware that the "Heart of Winter" considered divine by the Ice Tribe was with Pang Jian.

"Please come down and lend a hand."

Ling Yimo gestured to Pang Jian, pleading for help.

The looks from Wu Yuan and Zhou Qingchen already said everything, no need for her to further verify.

"Cold Attributes, at the level of a Divine Object..." Hu bit her lip and huffed, muttering, "That fat bastard is really partial! When he took me as a disciple, he conned me into thinking he’d give me a Divine Artifact, but I got squat."

She shot a glance at Pang Jian, who was heading towards the heart of the dragon under the surprised gazes of the crowd, and said angrily, "Not only the Origin Demon Sword but also a Cold Attributes Divine Object, that fat bastard..."

"That, cough cough... Hu, Pang Jian found those items himself," Zhou Qingchen quietly explained on the side.

Hu uttered an "Oh" and changed her tune, continuing to grumble, "Little brother surely has important responsibilities to shoulder in the future. Actually, it’s necessary for him to have more Strange Treasures for protection, I’m not jealous of him at all."

Zhou Qingchen nodded vigorously, "Absolutely, Hu, you’re clearly broad-minded, with true magnanimity!"

...