The Purgatory Calamity
Chapter 546: I love you

Chapter 546: I love you

Pang Jian delved a hundred zhang into the earth.

Deep beneath the wilderness, he felt the rich "Mysterious Yin Power".

Why did the cold "Mysterious Yin Power," which always served as important nourishment for the growth of Soul Spirits and Ghost Objects, exist in such abundance below the desert?

Dead Spirit Town, Yin Spirit Town, Ghost Spirit Town, were these three bizarre towns situated here because of the existence of the "Mysterious Yin Power" beneath the ground?

He explored the situation above with his Spiritual Soul.

An illogical scene suddenly entered his spiritual vision.

He saw ghostly figures thick with Yin Qi floating above the heads of many Individual Cultivators, arrogantly commanding them to use their tools to arrange Arrays, searching for a concealed "Earth Palace".

These Ghost Objects had the soul spirits of humans, as well as the demon souls of Spirit Beasts.

After losing their flesh and becoming Ghost Objects, they still retained their Spiritual Intelligence from their previous life, their aura was deep and powerful, a kind of Different Kinds Pang Jian had never seen before.

"They are Ghost Cultivators,"

At that moment, the Source Demon, in a state of mental communication with him, clarified for him, "The so-called Ghost Cultivators are Cultivators who have abandoned their corporeal bodies. Some Ghost Cultivators have died in special realms, their souls not dissipating naturally into nature’s spiritual energy but over time using that special environment to regain their memories from before death, thus becoming Ghost Cultivators."

"There is also another kind of Ghost Cultivator, which is a Cultivator who has condensed out their Spiritual Soul and directly converts their Spiritual Soul into a Soul Spirit Ghost Object."

"Regardless of the type, Ghost Cultivators no longer rely on a flesh and blood body nor can they draw nutrients from it. The growth of Ghost Cultivators depends on the souls of other creatures and requires the addition of the rich Mysterious Yin Power."

"Compared to regular cultivators, Ghost Cultivators just lack a body,"

While the Source Demon was explaining, Pang Jian, who was hidden beneath the ground, continued to secretly observe the Upper Realm.

Suddenly, he spotted a familiar figure, or rather... a soul shadow.

—Jiuli Sect’s Zhou Yi!

Zhou Yi, who was supposed to have been obliterated, both body and spirit, on the Demon Spirit Continent, reappeared in the form of a pure Soul Body!

Clearly, Zhou Yi had also become a Ghost Cultivator, with a transcendent status among them.

"Hongdu Fragment Land has split off towards Youdu City. The legendary Earth Palace must be in some place of this desert. You all disperse, sink your Soul Bodies into the earth, and find that Earth Palace for me,"

Zhou Yi, above a group of Ghost Cultivators and evil cultivators, commanded as a leader.

As soon as his words fell, many bodiless Ghost Cultivators entered the ground like fish diving into the sea.

Seeing this, Pang Jian had to continue delving deeper into the ground while concealing his presence to avoid detection.

The deeper he went, the thicker the "Mysterious Yin Qi" became, causing a chill throughout his body.

When he reached three hundred zhang into the ground, he saw those Ghost Cultivators roaming above and humbly sought advice from the Source Demon, "What are Youdu City and the Earth Palace?"

"Youdu, also known as Fengdu, was once a complete landmass in the Second Realm. According to information I obtained from Mo Nan, when Youdu Continent stood in the Second Realm, it was the destination for the souls of the dead from the Purgatory World."

"The Earth Palace was once considered a Holy Land by those lost souls."

"If Youdu had not shattered, and the Earth Palace was still operational, the secrets of the cycle of life and death in Purgatory seemed to lie within this intact piece of the world. I did not expect that Hongdu Fragment Land would be a part of Youdu. Could it be that the Earth Palace truly lies in this region?"

The Source Demon was also surprised.

Pang Jian continued the conversation, "The Earth Palace, as the name implies, might indeed be situated underground. The fact that the "Mysterious Yin Qi" is so unnaturally potent here in the desert’s underground is already quite abnormal."

"Huh!"

A frail and delicate figure suddenly appeared in the southern part of Hongdu Fragment Land.

All the Ghost Cultivators, as well as those evil cultivators with flesh, knelt down in devout worship at the moment the figure appeared.

"May our God live forever!"

"May our God prosper for eternity!"

"We welcome the Holy Deity!"

Different Ghost Cultivators and evil cultivators paid their respects in various appellations.

The Ghost Clan Alien God Zimo nodded slightly.

His vast Divine Power turned into countless green sparkles, like myriads of fireflies falling upon the desert.

Then, they madly gathered the "Mysterious Yin Power" in the depths of the earth.

Countless green sparkles moved beneath the ground, as if they were His thousands of God’s Thoughts, His eyes searching the Earth Palace below, assimilating "Mysterious Yin Power" as an unceasing source of power.

With the countless sparkles roaming underground, whatever secrets lay below could not escape His perception and vision.

"Ling Yimo!"

Pang Jian inwardly lamented, not waiting for the green shimmer to continue seeping in, he burrowed further into the depths of the ground.

He was forced to retreat from the southern desert of Hongdu Fragment Land, not daring to continue watching, and instantly lost interest in the mysterious "Earth Palace".

Zhou Yi’s reappearance as a Ghost Cultivator and Ling Yimo’s sudden emergence made him realize the place was no good.

Thinking that he could still burrow and observe the situation above from the underground, he felt much more at ease.

If he truly encountered insurmountable danger, he would simply escape through the "Purgatory Gate," traveling directly from the ground to Panshi Fragment Land.

With this thought, he turned into a "Ghost" lurking beneath the ground, moving through different areas of Hongdu Fragment Land.

He appeared and disappeared in different realms one by one.

In the northern part of the Fragment Land, the bone puppets that had burst out from the Bone Gate were hunting down the Orthodox Cultivators in the dense forest and marsh where Pang Jian and Xing Heng had fought.

Constructed of humans, Spirit Beasts, Ferocious Beasts, with a few Cyclops mixed in, the bone puppets, under the control of the Bone Saint, Lv Qinghe, advanced triumphantly and at an incredible pace.

In the west of the Fragment Land, clad in bright red robes, the disciples of the Blood Prison Sect were also on a killing spree under the leadership of that middle-aged woman.

To the east, the followers of the Black Wood Sect were likewise spreading a pall of death and decay everywhere.

In the south, a group of Ghost Cultivators had also emerged, joining the ranks hunting those Orthodox Cultivators.

Pang Jian secretly observed, watching the bloody slaughter unfold, and he noticed that those slain by evil forces had both their bodies and souls put to full use.

The flesh and blood of the deceased were collected by the disciples of the Blood Prison Sect and cast into the Blood Prison.

As for the spirits, they were consumed by the Ghost Cultivators without bodies, making each Ghost Cultivator appear revitalized, as if they had consumed some miraculous elixir.

And the skeletons, devoid of flesh, were taken away by those bone puppets. They flew into the northern sky and threw them into the gaping Bone Gate.

Flesh, spirits, bodily remains—it seemed like everything had been allocated among them before the onslaught began.

When the deceased met their end, the surge of death energy that formed was absorbed by the followers of the Black Wood Sect using dry branches.

Those branches, drawing in death energy, began to develop a perverse vitality. Once a branch had absorbed enough deathly essence, the followers of the Black Wood Sect would place it in the black forest.

Thus, a new Tree of Death was born.

Ghost Cultivators, Bone Gate, Blood Prison Sect, Black Wood Sect—these four powers, which had hidden themselves in all corners of the Purgatory World and had been as reclusive as turtles for who knows how many years, now regarded Hongdu Fragment Land as a bloody feast.

All Orthodox Cultivators were within the range of being hunted, falling to their adversaries at every moment.

Hongdu Fragment Land, at this stage, was the most terrifying Asura Field in the entire Purgatory.

...

In the center of the Fragment Land lay Hongdu City.

From all four directions—east, south, west, north—evil Sects had imposed a blockade. Those who fled from these four directions ended up as restless spirits under the slaughter by the Ghost Cultivators, Bone Gate, Blood Prison Sect, and Black Wood Sect.

Finally, some Individual Cultivators realized there was no escape, feeling that the incoming evil cultivators were driving them towards the center, into Hongdu City.

To flee meant certain death, and it would come sooner rather than later.

To return to Hongdu City likely meant death as well, but probably later than sooner.

And just the mere chance of postponing death was alluring enough in today’s Hongdu Fragment Land.

City Lord Shang Xiuchun, along with Lin Miaojin, Huang Qi, and nearly a thousand Cultivators who were originally scattered throughout the Fragment Land, now all gathered within Hongdu City.

"City Lord, what should we do?"

"Shang Xiuchun! Don’t you have a path of survival to offer everyone?"

"As City Lord, we deliver a hefty tribute of Spirit Stones and Spirit Jade to you every year! The myriad of evils has invaded Hongdu, and you knew nothing beforehand. What kind of City Lord are you?"

"Shang Xiuchun! You ought to atone with your death!"

The despondent Individual Cultivators surrounded the City Lord Mansion like headless flies.

Some were on the towers, some on suspended artifacts, others on stone pillars, all cursing and shouting at the City Lord Mansion.

Inside the mansion.

Shang Xiuchun’s eyes were bloodshot as she listened to Huang Qi and Lin Miaojin discuss the root cause of the sudden change in the Fragment Land.

As someone in the mid-stages of the Immortal Realm, how could she be unaware of the abnormal flow of nature’s spiritual energy?

She didn’t need Lin Miaojin or Huang Qi to tell her what had happened; she had already guessed that two terrifying evil cultivators intended to ascend to True Godhood within Hongdu Fragment Land.

She turned a deaf ear to the cursing of the Cultivators outside, their increasingly vile obscenities.

"Are you saying that the True Gods must have received the news?" Shang Xiuchun glared at Huang Qi and said, "All the voice stones used for communicating with the outside world have shattered into dust, how can you be so sure that the True Gods know what’s happening?"

Huang Qi said, "Pang Jian mentioned it."

Shang Xiuchun’s eyes lit up: "His words are still worth some trust."

"Swoosh!"

Shang Xiuchun appeared in the sky above the City Lord Mansion and addressed the frenzied crowd fueled by despair, "Everyone, the True Gods of Purgatory have been informed of the massacre occurring in Hongdu Fragment Land. Do not leave Hongdu City, and do not try to break out. Just wait patiently for the arrival of the True Gods!"

"The calamity that struck without warning—I truly did not know about it."

"You may not believe me, you may curse me as you wish, but know that I too am a victim. I have painstakingly managed this city for many years, and I did not want to see it destroyed so abruptly!"

Among the crowd, there was a young man in black with a waxen face.

Listening to Shang Xiuchun’s reassurances to the people, his expression was wooden, knowing these platitudes were meaningless.

He came to Hongdu City because he had learned through the Source Demon that one of the extremely wicked evil cultivators seeking to ascend to True Godhood was hiding in the city.

This individual no longer needed to gather nature’s spiritual energy but instead was looking for another kind of power within Hongdu City.

Nearly a thousand Cultivators who had been driven to Hongdu City, their realms ranging from Innate to Immortal, were filled with despair, anxiety, unease, fear, and resentment—all essential nourishment for the ascension of this True God.

This entity, silently watching, let these forces continuously ferment in Hongdu City, growing ever more potent.

...