The Purgatory Calamity
Chapter 564 - 534: Traveling Through Outer Space with the Primordial Spirit_1

Chapter 564: Chapter 534: Traveling Through Outer Space with the Primordial Spirit_1

Pu Zhaotian had become even fatter.

The fat piled up on his face made his eyes appear even smaller, yet his domineering aura was still intact.

Concealed on the first floor of the Sword Tower, with the help of those Divine Swords and relying on the healing medicines from his Sect, the injuries he had suffered from his last attempt to ascend to True Godhood had now healed.

He had not yet returned to the peak of the Immortal Realm, nor had he reached the level where he could immediately contend for Godhood again.

Upon learning about the great changes in Hongdu Fragment Land and that Pang Jian had prematurely attracted a seat in Godhood at the Extinction Realm, intending to forge his own Divine Tao at his current level, he rushed over without delay.

On his way here, he had learned all the details and internal information.

"Tower Master."

Cai Xin, Shi Bingyun, and Lu Xiaolin, who were somewhat estranged from him, all paid their respects upon his arrival.

Shi Bingyun also presented the Heaven Gate Sword, saying, "This is Jiang’s sword."

"Take it back and put it in the Sword Tower again, to wait for someone compatible to claim it," he said, and then Pu Zhaotian disappeared from the Sword Boat, instantly appearing in Hongdu City.

Tian Du San Ren was surprised, "Pu Pangzi, why have you come?"

He was still using a white lantern to suppress the Origin Demon Sword, while Li Yuanli and Liu Fu sat quietly on a rooftop not far from Pang Jian.

Three gazes simultaneously fell upon Pu Zhaotian’s bloated figure.

"My senior brother, Jiang Ran, is dead."

"In Hongdu Fragment Land, my disciple haphazardly claimed a seat of Godhood in the Extinction Realm, to take on the heavy burden of the Sword Tower for me."

"As Jiang Ran’s junior brother, as Pang Jian’s Shifu, shouldn’t I be here?"

The anger in Pu Zhaotian’s voice was evident.

He glared at Liu Fu, whose appearance was unremarkable, and shouted, "Li Wang, Ghost Mother, the two of you had plans for the Hongdu Fragment Land. Since you were aware of them, why didn’t you stop my senior brother, Jiang?"

He also frowned at Li Yuanli and said, "And you! Xu Yu learned from Pang Jian that there were two evil cultivators who wanted to ascend to True Godhood in this Fragment Land and informed you right away!"

"Why didn’t you remind Jiang of the risks, instead of letting him blunder into the Hongdu Fragment Land?"

Pu Zhaotian then looked at Tian Du San Ren with a face full of anger, "When he died, you were in Hongdu City, just watching from the sidelines? If you had intervened in time to save him, would he have died at the hands of He Motian?"

Faced with Pu Zhaotian’s accusing tone, the three True Gods remained silent.

Feeling guilty and distressed by Pang Jian’s hurried Divine Enthronement, Pu Zhaotian squinted at his disciple, who was still being infused with crystal luster, and said, "These burdens should have been mine to bear. It should have been me leading the Sword Tower forward. Neither Jiang nor Pang Jian should have had to take this on for me."

He was not aware that a flawless Spiritual Soul qualified one to attract Godhood at the Extinction Realm stage.

He just felt that Pang Jian, sensing the gravity of the situation and with himself still recovering from serious injuries, had been forced to forge his Godhood prematurely in a bid to secure a sliver of hope for survival, which fueled his rage.

"As for Jiang Ran, even Celestial City’s Jiang Fan tacitly approved. There was no way to help it; within our Human Race, there are those with ulterior motives like Mu Wentao. If we had simply warned Jiang Ran, Mu Wentao might have noticed and wrecked the preliminary preparations," Liu Fu explained with a face devoid of joy or sorrow.

Tian Du San Ren added, "When Jiang Ran died, I was indeed in Hongdu City, and Pang Jian had accidentally fallen into the Alien Realm created by Jiang Cen. I won’t make excuses. Even if I didn’t need to look after Pang Jian, I couldn’t have easily intervened in Jiang Ran’s situation. If I had acted prematurely, the Demon Clan’s Zimo would have sensed something was amiss, and Wubi and Chi Feng might not have managed to kill.

"As for Pang Jian opening the Divine Tao..."

Tian Du San Ren chose his words carefully, "There’s no precedent for this, but it’s not unfeasible. Lately, Li Yuanli, Liu Fu, and I have been closely observing Pang Jian’s condition."

"We were surprised to find that he’s in very good shape, and the Divine Tao he’s forging has no issues."

"We don’t know why, but we’re confident that he didn’t make a hasty and unwilling decision. Pu Pangzi, we take responsibility for Jiang Ran’s death and will not shirk it."

"As for Pang Jian, we will ensure he is undisturbed and successfully forges his Godhood."

Li Yuanli and Liu Fu both quickly added soothing words, trying to calm Pu Zhaotian down.

In the end, Liu Fu said, "When you ascend to True Godhood, you will understand our good intentions."

"To become as detached as you? In the end, caring only about gains and losses, victory and defeat, right and wrong, profit and loss?" Pu Zhaotian retorted coldly, "After ascending to godhood, you all become increasingly alien to me. Your protection of Pang Jian is not to give me peace of mind, nor to account for the Sword Tower."

"It’s simply because his successful enthronement suits your greater interests," he said.

Pu Zhaotian took a deep breath and continued, "Actually, a long time ago I was confident I could ascend to True Godhood. My hesitation and doubt were due to my fear. I’m afraid that after becoming a god, I will become as selfish as you, always considering the bigger picture and the overall situation."

"After ascension, you are all changing, becoming more and more like the Alien Gods from beyond."

"Extreme in rationality, indifferent, numb to feelings, gradually diluting and marginalizing the seven emotions and six desires. Many times I wonder if, after merging with Godhood and becoming True Gods, you are still the... humans we knew?"

The city fell into silence.

Tian Du San Ren, Li Yuanli, and Liu Fu remained silent due to his pointedly truthful words.

Pu Zhaotian was stating the facts.

They were also aware that aside from their indissoluble emotional ties to their blood relatives, most other emotions were fading.

This dilution was intensifying as their strength grew and their Godhood solidified.

One day, perhaps Li Yuanli would no longer care about the life and death of Li Yuqing and Li Jie, Liu Fu might not care about Liou Youyu’s situation, and Tian Du San Ren might not even concern himself with the survival of the Human Race.

As they grew stronger, they also became more... divine.

They didn’t have an answer for how to change this situation, nor did they actively seek one.

The reason they were striving for the Purgatory Human Tribe was because they too were part of the Human Race, the foundation on which they depended.

Their respective Sects, the disciples and Elders within, and the subjects of their kingdoms, in a sense, were another kind of believers.

Just as the Ghost Clan worships Zimo and Youkui, like how the Demon Clan worships He Motian.

"I do not wish that Pang Jian, after becoming a god, becomes like you all," Pu Zhaotian sighed wearily, "Li Wang, Ghost Mother, today you are willing to sacrifice seven thousand individual cultivators from the Hongdu Fragment Land for a victory. Tomorrow, to obliterate that Sovereign, perhaps you would be willing to sacrifice the entire human populace of Purgatory."

"Perhaps even you few could be sacrificed together."

"Gods who only care about success and failure, who have lost sight of right and wrong, whose hearts lack unwavering righteousness. Such gods, emerging in greater numbers, may not necessarily be a good thing for Purgatory."

...

Autumn passed and winter came, and in the blink of an eye, several months had passed.

The Purgatory World was in a rare period of calm and tranquility.

The Filth Alien Power had not surged up yet, and the Alien Tribes of the Fifth Realm had been quite restrained recently, without any more minor disturbances.

Hongdu City.

The last wisp of crystal light representing godhood fell into Pang Jian’s Spirit Sea of Consciousness, merging with his Spiritual Soul.

There was no longer the surging Spiritual Energy suddenly filling Pang Jian’s dantian.

There was also no dense Life Vitality, Qi and Blood, Soul Power continually pouring in.

Pang Jian had an indifferent expression, concentrating his awareness on the Spiritual Soul.

Days passed like this, with Pu Zhaotian waiting anxiously and Liu Fu’s trio filled with anticipation. Then, a golden light like crystalline light emerged from Pang Jian’s Spirit Sea of Consciousness and shot into his chest.

This divine light also disappeared inside his chest.

Inside Pang Jian, the Spiritual Soul that had resided there was suddenly gone.

Whether it had succeeded or not, the Immortal Primordial Spirit, which had entered Pang Jian’s chest at the "Purgatory Gate," disappeared from the perception of true gods.

His body, with a continuous and copious Qi and Blood, also had many Alien Powers in his dantian.

Only the Spiritual Soul had left.

Pu Zhaotian and the others did not understand what had happened and had never seen such a thing before.

All they could do was stand by and wait for Pang Jian’s Spiritual Soul to return on its own.

...

In the vast depths of the Mysterious Fog.

A golden figure emerged after traversing a Boundary Wall, henceforth existing amidst the fog.

This was Pang Jian’s successfully forged Immortal Primordial Spirit, which had been tugged by the "Purgatory Gate" and suddenly appeared here in a twinkle.

Originally, the "Purgatory Gate" indeed directly connected to the Mysterious Fog, indeed allowing him to soar in the mysterious depths of the fog by relying on this gate.

However, this required his Spiritual Soul to be strong enough, needing him to first reach a level akin to that of the Immortal Primordial Spirit.

Now, he had finally stepped out of Purgatory successfully.

As the body of the Immortal Primordial Spirit, he wandered through the vast endless Mysterious Fog, while the link between his perception and his True Body remained intact.

Returning was also possible through the "Purgatory Gate."

But since the "Purgatory Gate" had pulled him in, and since the Immortal Primordial Spirit could easily adapt, he was not in a hurry to leave.

He spread his perception throughout the Mysterious Fog.

His Immortal Primordial Spirit stirred up waves of soul breath, extending his willpower thousands of miles away, thereby glimpsing another world.

A world that, looking similar to Purgatory, is also hidden in the Mysterious Fog and surrounded by Boundary Walls.

The moment he saw this world, he also saw a familiar being—a powerful existence resembling a lion and a tiger, that was fiercely smashing and tearing at the Boundary Wall.

Attempting to break in, seeking a place to dwell.

He had wandered for far too long, and the powers within the Mysterious Fog had eroded his flesh and blood.

With his remaining strength dwindling, he needed a world to continue living.

"What a coincidence,"

"Perhaps, it’s also a fate shared between us," murmered Pang Jian to himself, closely inspecting this new and peculiar body.

With a mere thought, he felt that a portion of all the powers that once resided in his Dantian Fragment Land had merged into the Immortal Primordial Spirit.

This Immortal Primordial Spirit was not made of flesh and blood but was a peculiar structure like crystal or jade.

With a single thought, the Immortal Primordial Spirit could tower overwhelmingly tall, comparable to the towering height of the Fire God Yan Lie.

With another thought, the Immortal Primordial Spirit could shrink to the size of Mosquitoes Flies, tiny by billions of times in an instant.

Not only could it change size at will, but its solid, liquid, and light forms could also be freely transformed.

It could become a ray of divine light, it could turn into a river, and it seemed that it could even become a Divine Mountain or a star.

Furthermore, the Immortal Primordial Spirit possessed the ability to draw and refine any force from the external world.

This ability was the foundation of the Immortal Primordial Spirit’s isolated existence, even after abandoning the flesh and blood body.

Without relying on a physical body, by placing the Immortal Primordial Spirit in the Outer Star River, it could draw in Starry Space Supernatural Ability to sustain itself, continuously growing and advancing.

...