The Purgatory Calamity
Chapter 549 - 523

Chapter 549: 523

In the half-empty Fragment Land, the tall and spirited Jiang Ran watched as the Thousand-feet Skeleton Gate came at him.

He couldn’t help but crack a smile.

"Your Bone Gate, with its passage of dry bones and comings and goings of the dead. Such a gate dares to clash with my Heaven Gate?"

Brilliant sword light, graceful and free, flowed from the Heaven Gate Sword in his hand, merging one by one into the majestic Heaven Gate behind him.

The Heaven Gate, solidified by the sword light, materialized in an instant.

In the blink of an eye, the Heaven Gate stood before him, as if built of white jade crystal stones, a magnificent gateway.

Carved with dragons and phoenixes on the Heaven Gate were Kylin, Spirit Turtle, Vermilion Bird, and Divine Bird, along with Star Flow, volcanoes, and Thunder and Lightning—all marks of deep significance.

They were all the true essence of the sword techniques that Jiang Ran had comprehended!

"A mere Bone Gate of no standing, dares to shake the great trees like a mayfly, truly overestimating oneself."

Jiang Ran, holding the sword in one hand, casually slashed towards the Bone Gate.

"Boom!"

The magnificent Heaven Gate, materialized by the sword light and bearing Jiang Ran’s lofty ideals, flew towards the giant gate that represented the sinister truth of the Bone Gate along with his sword strike.

Between heaven and earth, a grand divine chant echoed.

Upon the beautiful and majestic Heaven Gate, the auspicious divine creatures forged of Sword Intent displayed their power, roaring and hissing at the Bone Gate.

"Crack! Crack!"

Several hundred puppets stepping out of the Bone Gate instantly turned into a sky full of broken bones.

Inside the Bone Gate, the ancient and sinister White Bone City began collapsing, building by building.

"The Great Tao I pursue is something you, Lv Qinghe, will never reach, something you can only look up to for your entire life."

"Only because this Purgatory World eternally seals me, not allowing me to open a Heaven Gate, have I not been able to ascend smoothly to True Godhood."

"Lv Qinghe, with your puny skills and the mundane arts of your Bone Gate, what gave you the courage to battle me?"

Jiang Ran laughed heartily as he flicked the body of the sword with his finger.

"Hum!"

The Heaven Gate Sword suddenly resounded with the sound of a sword’s hum.

This hum was clear and pleasant to the ear, but within the White Bone City, it became a divine sound of destruction.

Countless Bone puppets, in the process of being fashioned, were shattered by the hum of the Heaven Gate Sword.

"Bang!"

The Sword Light Heaven Gate and Lv Qinghe’s Bone Gate collided fiercely.

The piercing Sword Intent branded on the Heaven Gate by Jiang Ran tore apart the sinister truth heralded by the Bone Gate.

As the sinister truth was torn, the immense Bone Gate itself became riddled with cracks.

"Brother Lv, I’m here to help you!"

In the east, the black forest moved, and a shadow emanating the aura of death flickered in and out of sight within the forest.

"Jiang Ran! You must die today!"

Xie Tong, after rallying the "Blood Prison" in the Hongdu Fragment Land and bellowing towards the sky, once again set in motion the turbid blood sea, joining the aerial battle.

Xie Tong of the Blood Prison Sect, Lv Qinghe of the Bone Gate, and Mu Weifeng of the Black Wood Sect.

All three evil Great Cultivators, immortals from their respective Sects, and leaders who wielded power at will.

It was only because Jiang Ran was genuinely strong that the three evil Great Cultivators had to combine their strength to face him, hoping that they could smash the Sword Light Heaven Gate swiftly and ensure Jiang Ran’s death on this battlefield.

"Worthy of being the Great Elder of Sword Tower!"

"Elder Jiang is mighty!"

"At the critical moment, it’s still Sword Tower!"

The Individual Cultivators of Hongdu City, seeing Jiang Ran with a single sword forging a Heaven Gate that suppressed the evil Great Cultivators, were immediately excited and their morale was uplifted.

The flame of hope in their hearts was rekindled, growing stronger and stronger.

Gloom, fear, and restlessness—all the negative emotions that sprouted from the dire situation—were "snapped and crackled" away by the fire of hope in their hearts.

Many shouted words of encouragement for Jiang Ran, their faces flushing with excitement as if the great calamity of Hongdu Fragment Land was about to pass.

Even Pang Jian was stunned by Jiang Ran’s Sword Dao.

To him, that Heaven Gate refined from sword light was far from an ethereal mirage.

Spiritual Power could condense to the extreme and form crystal blocks, just as refined sword light could, at its ultimate, solidify into real tangible objects!

Sword light could evidently refine everything!

The Sword Dao that Jiang Ran displayed at that moment, with the materialized Heaven Gate of sword light, also opened a "Heaven Gate" in Pang Jian’s understanding of the Sword Dao.

Pu Zhaotian’s mastery of the Sword Dao was unparalleled in the world, but Pang Jian had not seen Pu Zhaotian do battle, had not witnessed the splendor of the strongest sword cultivator.

And Jiang Ran’s Heaven Gate of sword light was the strongest sword technique he had seen so far.

"Sword light coalescing into reality, embodying his own true essence of the Sword Dao, the Heaven Gate and his Divine Sense also subtly merging. With such talent in Sword Dao, it’s no wonder he became the Great Elder of Sword Tower."

"Had his pursuit of the Sword Dao not defied the natural laws of Purgatory, perhaps he would have already attained godhood."

Pang Jian marveled at Jiang Ran’s Sword Dao, watching unblinkingly as Jiang Ran repeatedly swung his sword, using the Sword Light Heaven Gate to single-handedly resist the three evil Great Cultivators.

...

In the void, a Sword Boat was anchored.

Yao Junhong, holding the Sword Command, anxiously awaited Xu Yu’s response and finally saw the Sword Light Symbol representing Xu Yu brighten up.

He hastily asked, "How did it go? What did Li Wang say?"

Xu Yu forcefully suppressed his anger and said, "He said, he... knows."

"Knows? What does ’knows’ mean?" Yao Junhong roared thunderously, continuously sending messages, "Jiang Ran has gone to Hongdu Fragment Land, and with his temperament, he must have already clashed with the evil cultivators there. We all know that those daring enough to covet two seats of Godhood must be prepared!"

"With no one but Jiang Ran, a single Immortal Realm Sword Cultivator, there’s absolutely no way to quell the disaster in Hongdu!"

"How can this calamity be stopped without a True God?"

No wonder Yao Junhong was screaming in a fit of rage.

With the methods of a True God, descending from the First Realm to Hongdu Fragment Land might be slower than Jiang Ran, but the demeanor and presence of a True God would surely be revealed.

This Sword Boat was not too far from Hongdu Fragment Land. If a True God descended from the heavens without concealment, they would certainly see it.

Yet, even now, there was no disturbance in the sky!

Since they knew what the evil cultivators were up to in Hongdu Fragment Land and understood that not intervening would lead to not only deaths of Individual Cultivators but could possibly give rise to two Evil Gods, why were there no reactions from the True Gods?

Did the True Gods not wish to win in the confrontation with the Alien Tribes of the Fifth Realm?

Yao Junhong couldn’t figure it out no matter how hard he tried.

"What about the others? What have Liu Fu, Li Yuanli, Su Wenrou said?" Wang Ce inquired through messaging.

These three great True Gods had always had a good relationship with Sword Tower, and upon receiving the news sent over, they should have taken the matter very seriously and naturally should have responded in time.

"No response whatsoever. As if, they never received my message at all," Xu Yu replied.

"No response? Xu Yu, are you sure you didn’t get it wrong?" Yao Junhong screamed out.

Xu Yu said, "I have been exchanging messages with all parties for many years. In this critical moment, how could I possibly make a mistake? The three great True Gods, Liu Fu, Li Yuanli, Su Wenrou, must have received the message I sent!"

Guanghe was shocked, "There must be some strange events we are unaware of! Could it be that those collectively silent True Gods think that the catastrophe in Hongdu Fragment Land also targets... them?"

...

Hongdu City.

Pang Jian, who deliberately dispersed his Demon Element Power to blend in among the righteous Individual Cultivators, suddenly sensed under the Dantian Fragment Land an area of the blue-black Demon Sea rippling with waves.

He raised an eyebrow, "Source Demon, are you the one meddling with my Dantian?"

"Not me. The six Demon Realm Cave Heavens I control and the Demon World within the sword I’ve refined are also experiencing abnormalities!" The Source Demon howled within the mini world inside the sword, "The disturbance of the Demon Element Power seems to be because someone is absorbing it. This person, capable of shaking the Demon Element Power inside both you and me, is no trivial entity!"

"In the sky! He’s in the sky!"

The Source Demon cried out uneasily.

Pang Jian looked up at the sky abruptly.

He suddenly recalled that apart from the cardinal directions, there was also an evil force above this Fragment Land, preventing the Individual Cultivators who wanted to flee from directly charging through.

That force once existed as a pitch-black speck, like a black star.

Only when true night fell did that tiny black light quietly vanish, becoming part of the pitch-black night.

It was always there, but it had blended into the black night.

The Demon Element Power within Pang Jian and the Source Demon Sword was completely disturbed because it underwent changes, because it was seizing the power it desired.

"It knows you, it also knows me!"

"It has always known!"

"Pang Jian, it could be a demon cultivator who wants to ascend to True Godhood, or perhaps it is already a Demon God!"

The Source Demon, sensing unease, after a round of shouting, suddenly said, "No matter what it is, it’s stronger than both of us right now. Pang Jian, shall we leave this Fragment Land and go straight back to Panshi?"

Holding the Demon Pearl, He spoke seriously, "With this item in hand, as long as you can advance to the Immortal Realm, I know ways to make you as strong as a Demon God. You in the Immortal Realm will have combat power equivalent to that of a True God, so why risk it in Hongdu?"

"Thud!"

An Individual Cultivator hanging in mid-air suddenly fell to the ground without warning.

"Thud! Thud!"

More Individual Cultivators fell from the sky or suddenly fell silent amidst their cheers.

The many who harbored boundless hope, believing that Jiang Ran could save them, that they could survive from Hongdu Fragment Land, were killed just as their flames of hope burned most fiercely.

The blazing fire of hope, in the moment of their death, turned into another kind of flame.

This flame, filled with boundless resentment, radiated fury and spite, preventing their souls from dissipating into the cosmos.

The eerie flame, on the contrary, enveloped their souls, nurturing evil fruits with various extreme thoughts and emotions, which then converged in a unique place of anomaly.

The barren Sea of Consciousness of the deceased became the entrance to that anomalous place.

Pang Jian looked at a corpse beside him, intending to use his Divine Sense to communicate with the person who had warned him to leave, but was suddenly pulled away into the anomalous place where the strange flames were drifting like lanterns.

The clumps of odd flames floated in the void, still gestating something.

Deep within hundreds of these flames, an elderly man with a hooked nose appeared.

Seeing an uninvited golden radiant Spiritual Soul, he smiled and said, "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Jiang Cen, the one you mentioned, the Second Elder of the Gui Sacrificial Sect who instructed Han Zhiyuan to form the Dark Ghost."

...