The Purgatory Calamity
Chapter 524 - 499 Recruiting Soldiers and Buying Horses_1

Chapter 524: Chapter 499 Recruiting Soldiers and Buying Horses_1

Yin Que Fragment Land, shaped like a crescent moon with a missing corner, was not too large in area.

Pang Jian released his Divine Sense, allowing him to take in the entire Fragment Land at a glance. He could hear the conversations of the people below, see anyone he wanted to see.

—Except for Dong Tianze.

Enshrouded in the humid, secluded valley, Dong Tianze’s aura was hazy, concealed by a faint blood light and Soul Energy, making him indiscernible at a glance.

However, it was clear that the moment Pang Jian appeared above the fragment land with a missing corner, Dong Tianze had already become alert and knew it was him who had come seeking.

"Still don’t want to see me?"

With this thought, Pang Jian’s eyebrows twitched slightly as he gathered his voice into a thread and transmitted his message to a few familiar individuals.

Lei Kun and Han Ting, their faces suddenly lit up with joy, hurriedly left the gathering place of the Yin Spirit Temple congregation.

"I am Pang Jian."

Pang Jian, who landed in a dense forest on one side of the Fragment Land, resumed his attire of blue robes, with the Sword Command hanging at his waist.

He looked at a cultivator from Red Mountain in the Hollow Profound Realm and asked curiously, "Why weren’t you led to the Qitian Continent?"

This tens of miles wide forest was occupied by cultivators from Red Mountain, and there were only a few hundred people in total.

Their cultivation realms were mostly Meridians Channeling, Marrow Cleaning, Innate; there were only a handful of them in the Hollow Profound Realm.

Moreover, they were all in the early stage of the Hollow Profound Realm, presumably having just broken through recently.

"Pang Jian! The Pang Jian from Sword Tower!"

Shao Yang was beside himself with excitement.

He first made a deep bow before speaking, "Initially, the ships that led various groups to the Qitian Continent were not only those of the Sword Tower but also those from several sects and Divine Countries of the First Realm."

"Cough, cough."

Shao Yang lowered his head to cough a few times, then explained, "At that time, there was no word from the Tower Master, and Sword Tower was temporarily controlled by the Great Elder, Jiang Ran. The people from the Great Elder’s side... even though they knew about the relationship between Red Mountain and Sword Tower, they refused to arrange for all members of Red Mountain to enter the Qitian Continent."

"Jiang Li, and a few others were fortunate to take the Sword Boat directly to the Qitian Continent, but we were not so lucky."

He knew Zhou Qingchen, Jiang Li, Han Duping, and other people had close relationships with Pang Jian. Since Zhou Qingchen had also spent some time there not long ago, he deliberately mentioned people familiar to Pang Jian.

"Among us here, some are descendants of families that once relied on Red Mountain, and some are family members of Red Mountain disciples. Not all of us are Red Mountain disciples."

He thoroughly cleared Pang Jian’s doubts, his face filled with hope as he asked, "It is said that Great Elder, Jiang Ran, and the Tower Master have reconciled? So, have you come this time to lead us to the Qitian Continent?"

Before Pang Jian could answer, Shao Yang continued on his own, "The nearby Fragment Lands are in chaos, and none of us want to die, yet we have no way to make a living in the First Realm."

"When the alien tribes attack, they will definitely start with the Fragment Lands, and only later will they assault the Qitian and Demon Abyss Continents."

"So, since we can’t ascend to the heavens, it would be good to live longer on the Qitian Continent."

The five Hollow Profound Realm cultivators who had recently advanced in their realms stood scattered around Pang Jian like Shao Yang, all looking at him eagerly, hoping to be taken to the Qitian Continent.

Among them, the youngest was over forty years old, and the oldest had already surpassed a hundred.

The speaker, Shao Yang, was the youngest one. At over forty, his Hollow Profound Realm cultivation and rather ordinary talent meant he was unlikely to achieve great success on the path of cultivation.

"Pang Jian!"

Lei Kun, who had followed the message, let out a hearty laugh from afar, "You’ve spent too little time in the Xuan You Continent, old Lei heard about you and was planning to meet you when you left in a hurry for the Saint Spirit Continent. Pang Jian, old Lei really wants to thank you, as well as your Sword Tower!"

"Don’t mention it, your son’s matter was something I had promised you long ago." Pang Jian’s smile spread across his lips, recalling the joyful time when they ate and drank heartily on the Cloud Sail after leaving the Cloud Thunder Forbidden Zone.

"Sister-in-law and also..." Pang Jian felt guilty, "I wasn’t able to take care of everyone."

"They are not that important to me," Lei Kun waved his hand dismissively, "Old Lei has had plenty of women, but only that one son! Women, what’s the big deal? I’ve never been short!"

A murderous glance from the side suddenly sent a chill down his spine.

"Han Ting, heh, I was just speaking off the cuff." Lei Kun grimaced and chuckled sheepishly.

The voluptuous Han Ting couldn’t be bothered with him and took a deep breath, her bright eyes filled with complexity as she said, "Pang Jian, long time no see."

"It has been a very long time," Pang Jian nodded slightly, a movement of his brows as he asked, "What about Gao Yuan?"

"He died in the Xuan You Continent." A shadow of sorrow flitted across Han Ting’s striking face as she said softly, "Many of us individual cultivators died. Him, Lian Feng, and many others with even deeper realms. We fought desperately against the Demon Race and hunted ferocious beasts to accumulate Contribution Value, hoping to exchange for rare Spirit Spells and treasures."

"We also hoped, to exchange for qualification to live in the First Realm."

She laughed at herself, pulling out the Heavenly Eye and saying, "My Contribution Value is only enough to exchange for pills and items. The Contribution Value needed to enter any continent in the First Realm starts at at least five thousand. And I, within the Heavenly Eye, only have three hundred to my name."

"Old Lei has a balance of seven hundred left, not enough to enter the First Realm either," Lei Kun interjected, grinning broadly, "I exchanged for a Lightning attribute Spiritual Treasure and nearly exhausted all my Contribution Value."

"Pang Jian, I want to go to the Qitian Continent, would you be able to speak to Sword Tower on my behalf?"

The Red Mountain disciples who didn’t qualify to participate in the battle of the Lower Realm looked enviously at the two showing their Heavenly Eyes.

"I have another place where you can settle down and establish a foundation; you might want to consider it." Pang Jian pondered and said, "The Spiritual Energy there is richer than here, and in the future... it might even ascend to the First Realm."

"Ascend to the First Realm?!"

The crowd burst into exclamations of surprise.

"Lei Kun, go to the secluded valley and let Dong Tianze know. Tell him that I am willing to take all the people from the Yin Spirit Temple to Panshi Fragment Land, and ask him what he thinks," Pang Jian said.

"Given your relationship with him, do you really need me to relay the message?" Lei Kun asked, puzzled.

"Needed."

"Oh, okay then."

With Lei Kun’s cultivation at the Spirit Condensation Realm, a round trip would take him merely half an hour.

Upon his return, he reported, "Dong Tianze says that everyone from the Yin Spirit Temple can be taken along. He himself doesn’t want to return to the Panshi Fragment Land for now."

"Well, let’s leave it at that for now."

...

When Pang Jian decided to let go of Panshi Fragment Land, he had already covertly made arrangements with his shifu, Pu Zhaotian.

Only after Pu Zhaotian learned about the actual size of the fragment land, its true condition, and the presence of the Mysterious Turtle and level nine Ice Armor Eel Dragon, along with the many members of the Ice Tribe, did he take a sudden interest.

Surprised, Pu Zhaotian immediately regarded the matter with importance and delivered a message via Sword Command right away.

Yuan Ji Fragment Land.

After laying down the Sword Command, Mu Aichuan walked over to the Space Teleportation Array and began dismantling it without a word.

"Elder Mu, what is the meaning of this?"

Another Great Cultivator of the Extinction Realm, who was frequently stationed there, flew out from a large moored Sword Boat in shock, exclaiming, "Does the headquarters no longer wish to claim this Yuan Ji Fragment Land?"

"The Dragon Cave of the Saint Spirit Continent has declared its intention to part ways with the Human Race. There’s no need for us to stay in Yuan Ji Fragment Land anymore," Mu Aichuan replied while dismantling the Teleportation Array and continued, "In a moment, all the Sword Boats moored here will take off. We are abandoning Yuan Ji Fragment Land and henceforth will no longer have any dealings with the Demon Race of the Saint Spirit Continent."

"Are we returning to headquarters?"

"No, the Tower Master has arranged another place for us to be stationed at from now on."

"Where?"

"A Fragment Land called Panshi."

...

Qitian Continent.

Outside White Cloud City, in a town named Tianxin Town.

Qi Qingsong and Zhuang Yuyan went together to Zhou Family’s residence in Tianxin Town, where they found the recently alcohol-dependent Zhou Qingchen and Jiang Li, who was caring for him daily.

"How did he end up like this?"

Qi Qingsong raised his eyebrows upon seeing Zhou Qingchen reeking of alcohol.

Zhou Qingchen’s face was so covered with dense stubble that his original features were barely recognizable; he likely hadn’t shaved in one or two months.

"One Han Duping dies, and he becomes like this?" Qi Qingsong snorted coldly and said, "Jiang Yang, Duan Jing, Xu Xuanlun, Tang Can, Zeng Yulan, Song ZiHe! These Inner Sect Disciples of my Sword Tower and my very close friends, one after another, died in front of me in battle. Should I just kill myself on the spot?"

Zhou Qingchen, shaking his head and sipping his drink, said, "It’s not just about Han Duping."

"Jiang Li, what’s really going on?" Qi Qingsong frowned.

Jiang Li, always a bit fearful of him, cautiously explained, "Your Sword Tower, along with Sky Water Swamp and Sky Curtain Cliff, have quietly started moving important disciples below the Spirit Condensation Realm to the First Realm."

"But in this Tianxin Town, family members of the Zhou Family, and those Red Mountain Disciples, nobody seems to care."

"There are thousands of people here, the vast majority of whom are at the Meridians Channeling, Marrow Cleaning, and Innate Realm stages; there are also those who have not embarked on the path of cultivation at all."

"If the Filth Alien Power surges up and spreads across Qitian Continent, how will they survive?"

"Zhou is drowning his sorrows in drink every day because he sees no hope and feels powerless to help in this situation," Jiang Li explained.

Zhuang Yuyan let out a bitter sigh, saying with a hint of bitterness, "Our Sword Tower doesn’t have a piece of land of our own in the First Realm. You’ve heard, the Tower Master...failed to ascend to True God. In order to continue the legacy of Sword Tower and transport the lower realm disciples upward, Sword Tower also paid a significant price."

She did not hide anything but spoke the truth, "Regarding Red Mountain, the Zhou Family members, and many others, Sword Tower really lacks the capability."

"However..."

She let out a smile with the corners of her lush lips, "The Tower Master sent a message, saying it was Pang Jian’s suggestion that we come to take Zhou Qingchen and his family members to another place to live."

"That place seems to be called Panshi Fragment Land."

After finishing, she quietly watched Zhou Qingchen.

The inebriated Zhou Qingchen, upon hearing the four words "Panshi Fragment Land," immediately activated his power to expel the drunkenness from his body.

He then forcefully said, "I will arrange for the family members and Red Mountain Disciples to head for Panshi Fragment Land right away! Qi Qingsong, get me some Cloud Sail-type flying machines. That shouldn’t be too difficult for you, right?"

Qi Qingsong frowned, grunting, "That’s quite a tall order!"

"You’re Yao Junhong’s disciple, aren’t you? I’m not asking you for a Sword Boat. Don’t make such a fuss!" Zhou Qingchen cursed out loud.

"Why resort to flying machines when a Space Teleportation Array is available?" Qi Qingsong rolled his eyes and retorted, "When you can reach there in an instant, why bother with a long journey?"

Zhou Qingchen was surprised, "Panshi Fragment Land has a Space Teleportation Array set up now?"

"What do you think?"

...