The Purgatory Calamity
Chapter 439 - 418: Level Nine Rock Bear_1

Chapter 439: Chapter 418: Level Nine Rock Bear_1

Afterward, the traveling party became extremely cautious.

They passed through a succession of islands.

They saw that above the islands, Great Demons lived extravagant lives, many Cloud Sails transporting treasures and young, beautiful women to the various island territories of their respective Great Demons.

Upon inquiring, Fan Chen learned that those human women had actually been sold by their own families.

With the rise of Filth Alien Power, ordinary people who originally lived in the Fourth and Third Realms were lured to the various Fragment Lands of the Second Realm, living in constant fear and uncertainty.

Poverty, warfare, and the scarcity of resources bred too much evil.

Some began to sell their sons and daughters, offloading their flesh and blood at low prices, which were then transported into the hands of the Great Demons of the Saint Spirit Continent by forces of cultivators that traded with the Demon Race.

Well aware that the human race was not the ruler in the Saint Spirit Continent, where Great Demons roamed freely, those who were sold still longed and hoped for it.

——They naïvely believed that the Great Demons would treat them well.

During their journey, Pang Jian and the others saw many ships of the various sect forces, which were not recognized by the Demon Race, pass through the territories where Great Demons roamed, and they were all viciously attacked by the ferocious Great Demon bands.

People from the Black Valley, Sky Curtain Cliff, and the Desolated Terrains’ disciples were also killed by the Great Demons.

"It seems we are quite lucky,"

Dong Wenjian said, touching his nose, as he watched a ship from the Desolated Terrains get torn apart by several eighth-level Great Demons.

The ship sank into the sea, and the people inside were then found by the Great Demons, who killed them all.

"Because right behind you stands a True God," Hu said with a remark.

Two days later, the Sword Boat finally flew out of the sea region ruled by Demon King Yuan Min.

"Pang Jian, the master is looking for you."

Hu pointed at the Sword Command and said sharply, "If you don’t respond soon, he might just die of anger because of you."

"Oh."

Pang Jian, feeling sour, submerged a strand of his consciousness into a Sword Light Symbol, noticing the image of Pu Zhaotian slowly expanding.

Their Divine Senses came together, and the Sword Command suddenly emitted an urgent humming sound.

"Whoosh!"

The soul image of an imposing, corpulent man in blue clothes appeared once again in the tiny realm within the Sword Command. As their Divine Senses converged, the shape of the big fat man’s soul became clearer.

"Master."

Pang Jian greeted him with respect.

"Do you still have me as your master in your eyes?"

"I do."

"When you disappeared from the Demon Spirit Continent and reappeared in the Second Realm, why didn’t you send me a message?"

"I didn’t think of it at the time."

"When you returned to the Second Realm from the Xuan You Continent, why didn’t you contact me again?"

"The senior sister was right by my side. It’s the same if she contacts you."

"What’s the same? How is that the same?!"

Pu Zhaotian was furious, shouting, "You are you, she is she, how can that be the same? I don’t care how you escaped from the Demon Spirit Continent, I just need to make sure you are alive and well! You, you’ve been to the extreme north of the Fourth Realm, then gone to the Second Realm, and then back to the Third Realm!"

"You wander around, running amok in three worlds, and you don’t remember to talk to me?"

"Don’t you know you should at least report your safety to me?!"

Pu Zhaotian looked like he would be angered to the point of vomiting blood.

Pang Jian remained silent, not uttering a word for a long time.

"Speak!"

"Why don’t you send messages? Have you become mute?"

Pu Zhaotian was livid, ranting in the small realm of the Sword Command.

"Because I was deep in the Demon Spirit Continent, which caused you to personally come to the Fourth Realm to fight a battle with Li Bai of the Devil Scale Tribe. Because of me, you were seriously injured. I..." Pang Jian, filled with self-blame, did not continue.

For a long time, he did not contact Pu Zhaotian. Besides the initial unsuitability to expose himself in Panshi Fragment Land, the main reason was that he did not know how to face Pu Zhaotian.

He was full of guilt.

In the Sword Command’s realm, the fiery big fat man in blue clothes was silenced by this response.

After a long while, Pu Zhaotian said faintly, "I am your master, and it is natural for me to come down to look for you if you’re missing in the Fourth Realm. There is really no need for such self-reproach over this matter. Also, when I came to the Demon Spirit Continent, Li Bai of the Devil Scale Tribe wasn’t there; it was I who actively sought a battle with him."

"That battle with him, including my injuries, were all brought on by myself."

"It’s because the Alien Tribes and Ferocious Beasts from the Third Realm have been gradually pressuring us, causing those who defend the Universe Heaven and Xuan You Continent to become somewhat dispirited in morale and fighting spirit."

"I wanted to show them through that battle that we, the human race, are still the masters of Purgatory. If I can fight Li Bai, a level ten, to a draw, it means that the Alien Tribes are not as fearsome as they imagine."

"You, my lad, should stop making wild guesses and stop dragging yourself into it unnecessarily!"

"..."

After the reprimand, Pu Zhaotian said, "The Sword technique that I have passed onto you, I’ve had some new insights into recently. I will demonstrate them for you!"

His shadow of the soul wielded a sword over another Sword Light Symbol, releasing an entirely new sword momentum.

Pang Jian wondered, "I heard that those who possess the essence of Chaos Sea cannot advance to become True Gods?"

"Just because there weren’t any before, doesn’t mean you won’t succeed!"

"Why does no True God regulate the Great Demons who freely devour the Human Race in this world?"

"True Gods don’t have the jurisdiction to control them. The qualified Old Thunder Dragon is still in hibernation, and the Heaven Phoenix has fallen. They harbor deep hatred towards the human race and deliberately act this way to vent their dissatisfaction. We can only restrict our people and advise them not to go to the Saint Spirit Continent."

"Demon Race, Human Race, Alien Tribes, no matter who rules Purgatory, is it necessary to suppress the other two races?"

"Purgatory is so vast, with only a few complete continents, and now there’s not even enough to split among a single tribe, let alone our own development if we don’t press on the other tribes?"

"Isn’t there a solution?"

"There is! As long as we can break out of Purgatory, head to the vast Outer Domain Galaxy, and snatch new territories from the gods’ hands, many problems can be solved."

"..."

Master and apprentice conversed in the small world within the Sword Command, one asking, the other answering.

No matter what problems Pang Jian had, as long as Pu Zhaotian could answer, he explained them in detail.

For those he truly couldn’t answer, he would plainly state his ignorance.

So it went, and time passed once more.

Pang Jian, who had opened his heart, no longer clutched the Sword Command but instead informed Hu about a place, "Green Rock Mountain Range."

Hu nodded in understanding.

Three days later, the Sword Boat arrived at a region with oddly-shaped rocks and several rock peaks piercing the sky.

Curiously, in this mountain range rich with nature’s spiritual energy, there were hardly any activities of powerful demon races.

"The opponent of Demon King Yuan Min is the one inside, the Rock Bear Demon King. He was an old friend of my master, something I only learned recently," Hu explained to everyone. "In that sea area, Demon King Yuan Min’s attempt to intimidate me and Pang Jian by capturing you was motivated by another reason."

"Yuan Min thought we carried a treasure to help the Rock Bear Demon King strengthen his bloodline!"

"This is a complete misunderstanding."

The Sword Boat continued further in.

A quarter of an hour later, the party saw a grey bear as vast as a mountain lying in a deep pit that dipped downward.

The blood in the pit was thick like a murky blood lake, partially submerging its body.

The grey bear had not taken a human form, and at hundreds of zhang tall, it lay there calmly gazing at the sky and looking at the suddenly arriving Sword Boat.

"Did Pu Zhaotian send you?"

His voice bore a sense of heaviness.

In the blood lake where he lay, the blood burbled with bubbles as many distinct bloodline lightning strands intertwined within it, connecting to the flesh beneath his fur.

At the back of his head, a grey ape appeared unannounced, pouring a bucket of blood into the pit.

The grey ape had a pair of rare, ice blue eyes that sparkled with intelligence.

Looking up at Pang Jian on the Sword Boat, his gaze revealed a hint of surprise.

Pang Jian took a deep breath and called out, "Yuan Qi!"

The grey ape’s form shuddered, and in its eyes, untransformed, disbelief was clear.

"You two know each other?"

The ninth level Rock Bear, indolently lying in the bloody pit as if luxuriating in a blood bath, asked curiously, "Pu Zhaotian’s disciple, how do you know him?"

"Northern Qi, Solitude Mountain Range," the grey ape replied, head bowed.

On the Sword Boat, Hu, Fan Chen, and others also looked over in surprise.

"Pang Jian, this, this..."

Zhou Qingchen ruffled his hair and twisted his beard, utterly confused. "I have an impression! I do have an impression of him! But is it really the same one?"

He looked at Pang Jian with a pleading expression.

"Yes, it’s him, my friend."

"Friend..."

Zhou Qingchen seemed to be dreaming.

His memory was suddenly pulled back to the Solitude Mountain Range, to the time he was moved by the word "friend" from Pang Jian and had saved the grey ape with ice blue eyes from Shangguan Qin’s hands, at a great cost.

Years later, that grey ape stood behind a ninth-level Rock Bear as if using some ancient demon race secret skill to help the Rock Bear activate hidden bloodlines in his body.

The Rock Bear said indifferently, "Come down and let’s talk."

As the Sword Boat descended, the ninth-level Rock Bear slowly sat up from his lying position and said, "I heard you were plundered by Yuan Min on your way through his territory?"

"Yes."

Pang Jian nodded.

"Did Pu Zhaotian instruct you to come see me, or?" the Rock Bear continued.

"It was originally our own initiative. But after we suffered in that sea area, my master told us to seek you out," Pang Jian answered honestly.

While speaking, he frequently glanced at Yuan Qi.

Yuan Qi stood untransformed next to the Rock Bear’s massive head, and seeing that he was not alone, but accompanied by Hu, Fan Chen, and others, the grey ape maintained his silence.

The Rock Bear noticed something and said, "You stay, the rest need to step aside."

"Pang Jian!"

Zhou Qingchen and Dong Tianze called out softly.

"No matter Pu Zhaotian or him," the Rock Bear gestured slightly towards Yuan Qi, "given my relationship with either one, I won’t kill him."

Knowing the situation, Hu promptly called out, "Let’s step aside for now!"

Soon, beside the blood lake where the Rock Bear soaked, only Pang Jian and the two mighty demons remained.

"My name, where did you hear it?" asked Yuan Qi curiously.

Pang Jian replied, "Outside the Mysterious Fog covering Northern Qi, from an eighth-level Red-eyed Demon Wolf."

Yuan Qi nodded, then said plainly, "Elder Xiong’s ninth-level bloodline still has several talents that haven’t fully emerged. I came to the Saint Spirit Continent specifically to aid him in perfecting his bloodline and to help him compete for the Demon God seat."

...