The Purgatory Calamity
Chapter 550 - 524: Earth Palace_1

Chapter 550: Chapter 524: Earth Palace_1

"Jiang Cen!"

A chill suddenly rose from the depths of Pang Jian’s heart.

Upon learning the identity of his adversary, he had planned to withdraw the Divine Sense that had inadvertently wandered into this foreign territory, lest it be obliterated by the second elder of the Gui Sacrificial Sect.

According to the information obtained from Xu Yu, Jiang Cen’s cultivation was at the peak of the Immortal Realm.

This was a Great Cultivator whose true combat power far exceeded that of Xing Heng, someone Pang Jian was currently incapable of confronting.

As the second elder of the Gui Sacrificial Sect, Jiang Cen’s sudden appearance in Hongdu City was not only without any intent to assist Jiang Ran in slaying the evil cultivator.

Rather, he was secretly and silently extinguishing the life of individual cultivators within the city, condensing bunches of cold, alien fire.

Was he acting with the tacit approval of the Gui Sacrificial Sect?

The Gui Sacrificial Sect wouldn’t lean towards the Alien Gods of the Outer Realm as the Demon Sect did, would they?

With this thought, Pang Jian felt his scalp tingle.

With two Supreme Gods amongst them, the Gui Sacrificial Sect’s heritage was far superior to that of the Demon Sect.

If even the Gui Sacrificial Sect had betrayed the Human Race, Pang Jian felt that the Human Race might truly struggle to cope with the path to ascendancy initiated by the Alien Tribes of the Fifth Realm.

"That Blood God Skill was handed over to Dong Tianze by me."

In the midst of the eerie undead flames, Jiang Cen gently exhaled towards the strand of golden Spiritual Soul from Pang Jian.

A cloud of gray and foggy smoke drifted near Pang Jian’s Spiritual Soul.

Just as Pang Jian was about to withdraw his Spiritual Soul, he found that it had suddenly been solidified.

The next moment, his Spiritual Soul became a precise set of coordinates, forming an attraction to his own Spiritual Soul.

"Whoosh!"

His golden Spiritual Soul flew out and was instantly before Jiang Cen.

Not only had his Divine Sense failed to leave, but he had also risked his Spiritual Soul, entering this strange and foreign land created by the second elder of the Gui Sacrificial Sect.

"I’ve never seen a Spiritual Soul as full of divinity as yours."

Jiang Cen marveled, examining Pang Jian’s Spiritual Soul with the same fascination one would a rare treasure, "If you are willing to use this Spiritual Soul to switch to practicing the Ghost Path, you could become the strongest Ghost Cultivator."

He continued to talk to himself.

Outside in Hongdu City, more individual cultivators were being killed at the height of their hope’s blaze, with a simple gesture from him.

More cold alien fires, wrapping the souls of the deceased, appeared in this foreign land.

"Pang Jian, the catastrophe of Hongdu Fragment Land has been long in the making, and it’s not something that just anyone can stop," said Jiang Cen leisurely, adopting a posture that seemed eager to clarify the situation for him, "In the Fifth Realm, the Sovereign descended from Outer Space will utilize the power capable of shaking the seven Heavenly Tribulation Pillars and form six secret Mirror Tunnels beyond the Fragment Land."

"This secrecy is so profound that even a True God would find it extremely difficult to detect."

"It’s also a trap for all True Gods. If a True God rushes to enter Hongdu Fragment Land from the First Realm, they are very likely to accidentally fall into one of the six secret Mirror Tunnels."

"A True God will be sent to a place in the Fifth Realm where the Filth Alien Power is most concentrated, to face those tenth-grade warriors that have been prepared."

Jiang Cen said cheerfully.

No sooner had he finished speaking than Pang Jian’s golden Spiritual Soul lost connection with its flesh and blood body.

In a moment of sheer terror, all he could think to do was to use Bee Insects to inform Qi Qingsong and others, and have Qi Qingsong relay the message to Xu Yu, warning other True Gods to be wary of the traps set by the Alien Tribes.

What would happen if True Gods like Li Yuanli, Liu Fu, and Dong Shangqing really fell into the secret Mirror Tunnels and straight into the traps laid by the Alien Tribes for them?

A True God might have to face eight tenth-grade warriors from the Alien Tribes, along with the hidden Alien God Spirits.

The tenth-grade warriors of the Fifth Realm, combined with godly beings like Luo Hongyan who have lost their humanity, along with the Fire God Yan Lie, would be able to execute a surprise instant kill on a True God who suddenly arrives!

If they catch one, they can kill one in a short amount of time.

If several True Gods fall, the balance of Purgatory would be immediately overturned, and without waiting for the continued surge of Filth Alien Power, the Alien Tribes would dare to assault the Second and First Realms, which are under Human Race’s control.

The disaster in Hongdu Fragment Land could, within a short amount of time, wipe out thirty thousand years of the Human Race’s foundation!

What to do? How can I send out a message?

Pang Jian did not want to stay for a moment longer or listen to anything else Jiang Cen had to say. His golden Spiritual Soul wandered about, seeking an exit.

He was still trying to establish a connection with his flesh and blood body.

...

Within Hongdu City.

One individual cultivator after another died, starting from the Innate Realm, then Hollow Profound Realm, followed by Spirit Condensation Realm and Soul Wandering Realm.

All the deceased had their souls extinguished in an instant.

After their soul extinction, many of the deceased had their eyes eerily wide open as if they had become portals to another dimension.

Shang Xiuchun, the City Lord, had just been desperately trying to boost everyone’s morale and was pleasantly surprised by Jiang Ran’s arrival, but he never expected the disaster to strike so suddenly and without warning.

He floated in the air above the City Lord Mansion, watching as familiar figures perished one by one.

Those who had lived in Hongdu City for decades, the common everyday people; those with substantial cultivations, the practitioners of the Soul Wandering and Extinction Realms.

None could escape the nightmare-like quagmire of death.

Lin Miaojin of Wind Listening Tower, Huang Qi of the Creation Sect, were also unable to escape this sudden wave of death.

"They’re all dying, one after another, what can I do?"

Shang Xiuchun laughed bitterly.

Looking at those who kept falling, he knew that eventually it would be his turn, yet frustratingly, he had no clue why these people were dying.

"Blood Prison Sect, Black Wood Sect, Bone Gate!"

Shang Xiuchun, knowing he couldn’t escape death, let out a long, piercing howl toward the sky, like the mournful crying of a lone wolf.

He too flew toward the high skies, headed for the Sword Light Heaven Gate controlled by Jiang Ran, intending to join the battle with Xie Tong, Lv Qinghe, and Mu Weifeng, planning to fight to the death to alleviate some of the pressure on Jiang Ran.

As he soared into the sky, he looked down and saw that Hongdu City had become... a city of the dead.

All of the individual cultivators except him had their hopes extinguished by some strange and mysterious power, and the city he had painstakingly managed for years was now headed toward destruction.

Just like the Hongdu Fragment Land, like the Second Realm, like the future Purgatory.

In a daze, Shang Xiuchun seemed to see the future, catching a glimpse of the human race’s extinction.

"This is the unchangeable future."

"It is the destiny set for the human race."

"No power can intervene, can prevent this future."

A ghostly voice rose from the depths of Shang Xiuchun’s spirit.

It seemed to be Shang Xiuchun’s own inner voice, his sigh of regret, the sigh of his despair.

But Shang Xiuchun knew clearly that this inner voice was not produced by his own volition, but rather induced by some power that had shifted his will.

Afterward, he saw a black star had appeared inside his chest, near his heart.

And with that, the last vestige of his self-awareness remained.

Shang Xiuchun, who was supposed to cooperate with Jiang Ran against the three evil cultivators, suddenly fell behind the Sword Light Heaven Gate, wrapped in dense, dark blue demon light, mindlessly crashing into the magnificent gate.

"Boom! Boom, boom!"

At this moment, Shang Xiuchun, with boundless magic power, shattered the Sword Light Heaven Gate with every crash.

With each impact, visible dark blue lights seeped into the fragmented gate, snuffing out the auspicious beasts formed by Jiang Ran’s Sword Intent.

Because of his appearance, because of his continuous assault, cracks began to form in the Sword Light Heaven Gate.

...

In a corner of the Fragment Land.

An old, battered ship, already docked, held the alien god Yang Luo, with a face of a human and body of a spider, slowly levitating amid the worship of a group of evil cultivators.

Its indifferent eyes gazed into the void beyond the Fragment Land, as if waiting for something.

On the other side.

A woodman, which caused trees and grass to wither in a radius of tens of miles, was also silently staring into outer space.

Kneeling beside the woodman were many disciples of the Black Wood Sect.

Such puppet bodies of alien gods from outer space, surfaced from steep mountains, valleys, and caves now that the Sword Light Heaven Gate showed signs of cracking, once again focusing their attention outside.

They all waited in silence, anticipating the arrival of the true gods.

They hoped the true gods would carelessly enter one of the six hidden Mirror Tunnels.

Thus meeting their end in a short time.

...

To the north of the Fragment Land.

In a valley shrouded in a blood mist, Dong Tianze, who cultivated the "Blood God Skill," successfully ascended to the Extinction Realm.

In the ruins of the Blood Spirit Sect, their former stronghold, he, as expected by Jiang Cen, advanced using the "Blood God Skill."

Thick blood-red mists followed his breathing, at times flowing into his body, at times wildly dispersing outward.

"He must have left a while ago."

In the midst of the mist, Dong Tianze, with blood-red eyes that inspired fear, watched on.

...

To the south of the Fragment Land.

Deep beneath the desolate desert, Zimo, the supreme god worshiped by the Ghost Clan, followed by the alien god Youkui and the ghost cultivator Zhou Yi, finally found the legendary Earth Palace.

Endless "Mysterious Yin Power" shrouded a grand palace with a veil of fog.

This palace stretched across ten thousand acres, towering a hundred zhang, constructed entirely from high-quality Mysterious Yin Stones.

It had thirty-six palace doors, each flowing with "Mysterious Yin Power" like misty water smoke.

In the most ancient times, souls of all beings from Purgatory would pass through the thirty-six palace doors to enter, where the Reincarnation Pool in the Earth Palace would wash away their karmic memories, allowing them to be reborn as newborns with fresh spirits.

When Youdu was intact and the Earth Palace was operational, the life and death cycle of Purgatory was orderly.

Now only a fragment called Hongdu and a long-halted palace remain, even the Reincarnation Pool has been pried away by the Gui Sacrificial Sect.

"If one could control the Earth Palace, restoring it to operation, the post-war reconstruction could be organized."

"Then, it will be just like at the beginning, alien tribes, demon race, human race, mosquitoes, ghost objects, all will have a normal cycle of reincarnation."

As the supreme god of the Ghost Clan, Zimo knew that in those special domains like Youdu, hidden within the "prison" mist, there exist places similar to the Earth Palace that control the cycle of life and death.

Once Zimo had control of it, once It refined it, It could ascend in one step.

With the Earth Palace in hand, Zimo could summon back the Reincarnation Pool that should have been placed there, as well as some Strange Treasures related to the palace, one by one.

At that time, It would be the deity of the present world in Purgatory, possessing the power to confront the Ghost Mother directly.

"You all wait outside for me."

With that, Zimo entered the long-sealed Earth Palace.

...