The Purgatory Calamity
Chapter 491 - 467 Facing the Demon Abyss_1

Chapter 491: Chapter 467 Facing the Demon Abyss_1

At the edge of the Demon Abyss.

Giant flags flapped in the wind, standing erect with massive black characters for "demon" emblazoned on their eerily white surfaces, and patterns of deep red, blood-like hearts.

White background, black demon, red heart, these were the distinctive emblems unique to the Demon Heart Sect.

Several disciples dressed in white robes adorned with the black demon red heart pattern sat in meditation under some flags, guarding against outsiders who might break through the array defenses and enter the Demon Abyss.

They were even more worried that someone would succumb to madness within and burst out of the Demon Abyss, wreaking havoc upon the world.

Surrounding the Demon Abyss, a multitude of similar defensive arrays had been built, manned by disciples from various branches of the Demon Sect.

At midday, the sun hung high in the sky.

Those hundred-zhang-tall flags cast their shadows onto forests below in the brilliant sunlight.

As the flags swayed, the shadows writhed ceaselessly.

"The Filth Alien Power continues to surge upward; it has already spread to the Second Realm. The Demon Abyss Continent will inevitably become a battleground for the Devil Scale Tribe of the Lower Realm."

A disciple of the Demon Heart Sect at the Spirit Condensation Realm glanced back towards the direction of the Demon Abyss and said with a worried face, "If the Devil Scale Tribe manages to conquer this continent and occupy the Demon Abyss, we could face an existential calamity."

"Alas, there might be some problem with the Demon Stone lately; I feel uneasy, as if I’m showing signs of falling into madness."

All Disciples of the Demon Sect were painfully aware that their powerful demonic spells and secret techniques all originated from the Demon Stone that had sunk into the Demon Abyss.

In the strictest sense, they had stolen the treasures belonging to the Devil Scale Tribe.

Through that Demon Stone, they had developed the secret techniques and forbidden skills of the various demon clans from the different realms into demonic spells that the Human Race could cultivate.

They repelled the invasion of demonic thoughts and went through trial after trial to embark on a unique path of cultivation.

Perhaps, because those demonic spells and secret techniques were not originally meant for the Human Race, and thus not entirely compatible with cultivators, disciples of the Demon Sect often fell into madness and perished.

Among all the sects in Purgatory, the Demon Sect had the highest number of sudden deaths during cultivation.

Internal records of the Demon Sect indicated that, since the establishment of the sect, more disciples had died from falling into madness than any other cause.

Even when combined, the number of members who died in battle against other sects or during skirmishes with the Alien Tribes of the Fifth Realm did not exceed those who perished from madness.

In the most extreme early days, up to two-thirds of those who cultivated demonic spells died prematurely.

That is, out of every three cultivators of demonic spells, two would eventually fall into madness and die.

After relentless efforts through the ages and continuous refinement and adjustment of the demonic spells by the wise predecessors of the Demon Sect, this proportion has been significantly reduced.

Nowadays, roughly one in every four who cultivate demonic spells will die prematurely.

"Wang Hai, Fan Yue, our two friends beside us, both died while attempting to break through a realm in the past three months," another person sighed and said, "I was supposed to advance to the Soul Wandering Realm too, but now, I’m a bit afraid to proceed. Recently, the number of those dying from madness has noticeably increased; it might very well be due to that Demon Stone."

They chatted idly.

Suddenly.

Those shadows of the flags cast upon the forest eerily twisted, quietly transforming into various foreign Demon Gods.

Some had three heads and six arms, some had giant bony wings sprouting from their backs, some were shaped like sharp blades, and others as ghastly as bloodthirsty demon fiends.

"Tap, tap!"

As the Demon Gods emerged from the shadows, a nimble and handsome figure bearing a Long Blade walked step by step from afar.

With each step she took, it was as if she trod upon the hearts of the disciples of the Demon Heart Sect.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The sound of bursting hearts echoed in succession.

These disciples of the Demon Heart Sect, utterly unaware of what was happening, burst and died one after another.

"My homeland, the Holy Land."

After removing her veil, a face of exceptional beauty appeared like a Dazzling Shadow, her exquisite body wrapped in a silver robe, as she floated over the protective array.

She soon caught sight of the Demon Abyss.

A massive pit that delved deep downward and spanned thousands of miles abruptly came into her view.

In the brightest moment of the sun, no light could penetrate down, and those rays which should have had formidable penetrating power were blocked at the very top of the Demon Abyss by some force.

The enormous Demon Abyss, as if covered by a dark green light screen, concealing its interior from sight altogether.

Dazzling Shadow took a deep breath, unsheathed the Long Blade she carried on her back, kneeled down at the edge of the Demon Abyss, paying homage with ancient rituals, muttering words under her breath.

"My ancestors were born here, my blood imprinted here, I shall follow the guidance of my bloodline, to behold the origin of the Blood Imprints..."

After her prayers, she gripped the hilt and stood up, diving into the Demon Abyss with a single leap.

She treated the dark green light screen as if it was nonexistent, and it had no power to constrain her.

The moment she passed through the light screen, she felt a sense of homecoming, realizing that this Demon Abyss, created by a meteorite from beyond the skies, was indeed the source of her bloodline.

...

At another end of the Demon Abyss.

"Wu, please."

"Have you met Wu?"

"Young master, are you going to step into the Demon Abyss?"

"Why choose this moment?"

Disciples of the Demon Sect in various attires and some highly skilled Protectors—all became solemn upon seeing Wu Yuan, greeting him with gestures filled with respect.

With the Purple Demon Eye in hand, it meant that Sect Master Xiang Shengwei had already designated Wu Yuan as his successor.

If nothing unexpected happened, the future of the Demon Sect would be in Wu Yuan’s hands.

When dealing with the future leader, regardless of which branch of the Demon Sect those people came from, they would naturally be very respectful and wouldn’t dare to be negligent.

They had clearly seen that Pang Jian, who had come with Wu Yuan, had a Sword Command hanging from his waist, but they all pretended not to see it.

Wu Yuan’s expression was wooden, and he didn’t respond to the greetings of those people at all. It was like there were no other people in his eyes.

Only when he led Pang Jian through territories of different branches of the Demon Sect did someone suddenly realize and exclaim, "That disciple from Sword Tower is Pang Jian! I went to the Third Realm to join the battle, I’ve seen the images flowed from the Mysterious Heavenly Divine Mirror, he is the disciple of Pu Zhaotian!"

The crowd immediately erupted into an uproar.

For a long time, the Demon Sect had been the strongest force of the Human Race in the Second Realm because the Demon Sect had several cultivators who had reached the pinnacle of the Immortal Realm and many more who were slightly less powerful.

However, Sword Tower only had one person at the pinnacle of Immortal Realm, Pu Zhaotian.

In terms of overall strength, it was uncontroversial that the Demon Sect was a cut above Sword Tower.

However, in terms of individual combat power, Pu Zhaotian was universally recognized as the number one in the Immortal Realm.

After the battle with the chieftain of the Devil Scale Tribe, Li Bai, Pu Zhaotian’s personal charisma and combat strength were pushed to an even higher level.

As his direct disciple, Pang Jian’s reputation rose just like his master’s.

In the Qian Tian Continent that the Human Race had retreated from, Pang Jian single-handedly killed the God Son of the Yao Clan, Lie Yi, and after he left under the watchful eyes of many Alien Tribes, his reputation nearly matched that of his teacher, Pu Zhaotian.

Pang Jian, like Li Yuqing of the Heaven Treasure Li Family, was now a peerless genius of the same caliber.

However...

Sword Tower and Demon Sect had always been openly and secretly contending with each other, both coveting the position of the First Realm, both striving for a True God.

At this moment, it was shocking enough that Wu Yuan was leading Pang Jian into the heartland of the Demon Sect, but the fact that this seemed to include bringing Pang Jian into the Demon Abyss, which internal members of the Demon Sect weren’t allowed to enter lightly, was even more astonishing.

Consequently, many messages, like falling snowflakes, were sent to the various Great Elders of the Demon Sect.

Sect Master Xiang Shengwei quickly became informed of the situation.

In the hinterland of the Continent, there were many other chasms as dark as the abyss. From a bird’s eye view from high above, these pits looked like a series of strange and evil eyes.

Similar to the Divine Consciousness emanating from the flag that adhered to the faith of the Ghost Demon Clan’s Alien God, The Observer, these flags were riddled with numerous holes.

All these giant pits were man-made and numerous, belonging to the various branches of the Demon Sect.

The Demon Sect was situated within these dark chasms, while the Demon Abyss was located a hundred miles to the northeast, at the back of the many scattered Sect branches of the Demon Sect.

Inside one such dark chasm.

Sect Master Xiang Shengwei, holding a demon charm, looked at three Elders with cultivation levels comparable to his own, also at the pinnacle of the Immortal Realm.

"Times change," he said.

The tall figure of Xiang Shengwei, with a pair of purple eyes that were either natural or created through demonic cultivation, spoke indifferently, "Without the Lower Realm Alien Tribes closing in on us step by step, Sword Tower would be our biggest problem and the enemy we must suppress. But now, all of Purgatory needs a Sword God to emerge."

"For us, the birth of a Sword God like Pu Zhaotian would also be a great fortune," he continued.

"Which Sword God, during the hardest times for the Human Race, didn’t keep fighting and slaying level ten Alien warriors? And which Sword God has ever had a happy ending?"

"Pu Zhaotian is the strongest opponent in my life. I never deny that he surpasses me in individual strength," Xiang Shengwei admitted.

"Chaos has come, the Human Race is in a critical moment, let us put aside the disputes between Sects for the time being," he declared.

"Wu Yuan leading Pang Jian into the Demon Abyss is the stance of our Demon Sect and also a signal we send out to the outside world. Sword Tower and Demon Sect are the pillars of the Human Race at this time, and we should join forces to resist the Alien Tribes!"

Xiang Shengwei, who had been contending with Pu Zhaotian his whole life, stated his stance.

The three Great Elders of the Demon Sect at the pinnacle of the Immortal Realm said nothing in response, naturally accepting his point after he clarified the greater good.

...

On the edge of the Demon Abyss.

Pang Jian, as if standing on a cliff and gazing into a deep cyan-black abyss, held the black-gold Origin Demon Sword in his hands.

The small fragmentary Demon Thoughts belonging to the Source Demon inside the sword, clusters of Demon Cloud, Demon Light, and Demon Flame, suddenly became active.

A sense of awakening emanated from all the Alien Power manifestations of the Source Demon.

Merely approaching the Demon Abyss, just looking down into the Demon Abyss below, the state of the Origin Demon Sword was improving.

Pang Jian had a feeling that he wouldn’t even need to actually set foot in the Demon Abyss; just standing here for a few days and nights might allow the Source Demon to regain its self and reassemble the fragmented and scattered Demon Thoughts.

"The Source Demon, too, came from below. Mo Nan of the Demon Sword Sect, kneeling before that Demon Stone with a pilgrim’s reverence, somehow communicated with the Source Demon, thereby creating this Origin Demon Sword," explained Wu Yuan.

Pausing for a moment, he continued speaking to himself, "I come from the Heaven Demon Sect, and the Demonic Spell I cultivate is called the Demon Stone Spell. The Demon Stone Spell has always been our Demon Sect’s most supreme spell, not even the current Sect Master Xiang Shengwei has managed to cultivate it. It’s also for this reason that he can’t defeat your master, Pu Zhaotian, and has always been suppressed by him in terms of individual combat power."

Pang Jian asked in surprise, "Is this Demonic Spell so difficult to cultivate?"

"It’s the Demon Stone Spell that chooses its cultivator. No, to be more precise, it’s the Demon Stone that chooses," Wu Yuan clarified. "I was selected by the Demon Stone, which is why I could cultivate the Demon Stone Spell. In our Demon Sect, anyone who cultivates the Demon Stone Spell and doesn’t die prematurely is destined to become a master of the Demon Sect."

"On the day I was chosen by the Demon Stone, the first time I went to cultivate the Demon Stone Spell, I knew I would be the future master of the Demon Sect and was destined to surpass the current Sect Master Xiang Shengwei."

Wu Yuan said this with an utmost calm expression, not the least bit of pride or conceit.

It seemed, he was merely stating a fact.

...