The Purgatory Calamity
Chapter 759 - 721: The Collapse of the Pillar_1

Chapter 759: Chapter 721: The Collapse of the Pillar_1

Pang Jian was taken aback.

In Purgatory, it was extremely rare for anyone to get the chance to enter the Seventh Realm and grasp the existence of the Black Phoenix.

Himself, Original Demon, Luo Hongyan, Black Dragon King, those were all who were known.

How would the Stone Eater know about the Black Phoenix?

This peculiar Exotic Spirit had taken Pang Jian by surprise, prompting him to ask, "Have you been to Purgatory?"

The Stone Eater shook its head, yet a nostalgic expression surfaced on its face as it said, "I haven’t been there, but your mother has. She told me all the secrets about Purgatory."

A flash of resentment crossed the Exotic Spirit’s face: "Purgatory had nothing to do with her, yet she worried about its situation, all because of Pang Qi!"

A subtle pain arose in his heart, and Pang Jian said, "You mentioned before that once I break your confinement, you’d tell me about her deeds. I want to know how she died?"

He had asked around in Purgatory, but Li Wang, Ghost Mother, and Long Xiao couldn’t provide any clear reason, knowing little about his mother.

He could only turn to the Stone Eater for answers once again.

"If you can make it out of the Netherworld Prison alive, I’ll tell you the cause of her death," the Stone Eater answered indifferently, forcibly shifting the conversation back to the Black Phoenix. "Is the World Tree currently at the tenth level?"

Disappointed, Pang Jian nodded almost perfunctorily.

At that moment, all he wanted to know was the cause of his mother’s death; he hardly cared about the current situation in Purgatory.

"The Sovereign from the Ancient Demon Clan needs the World Tree to keep advancing in order to ignite His Soul Fire in the future. Besides the World Tree, what else has been resurrected? I suppose... the Bee Nest and the Bee King have also emerged, haven’t they?" the Stone Eater inquired further.

Startled by the Stone Eater’s words, Pang Jian’s curiosity was piqued, and so he replied, "Indeed!"

"The Soul Bees from the Netherworld Prison, once they grow to a certain extent, can help Him reignite the Flame of Souls," the Stone Eater said, looking as if it knew this all along. "What else?

By then, Pang Jian had been led by the nose by the Stone Eater and proceeded to say, "A dragon with a bloodline that naturally bears the secrets of Darkness, and a Mysterious Turtle that naturally possesses the Power of Earth."

Created by the Realm God Card, reborn with the essence blood of the Heavenly Phoenix, Pang Jian listed all four remarkable entities in detail.

He had already suspected that the Divine Bones crashing into the Solitude Mountain Range and impaling these four entities might not have been a coincidence.

The more the Stone Eater spoke, the more Pang Jian felt this was the miraculous work of that Sovereign.

"A Black Dragon is the vessel through which He can exert His power. If I’m not mistaken, has the Black Dragon grown well? In Purgatory, with one strand of His origin, has it become a Demon God?" the Stone Eater asked.

Thinking back to the Black Dragon King’s astonishing change in the Dragon Soul before sinking from the Sixth Realm, and the sudden loss of contact after reaching the Seventh Realm.

Pang Jian felt that the Stone Eater’s words were not baseless; the Black Dragon King must have been influenced by the will of the Demon Sovereign and therefore abruptly entered the Seventh Realm.

If nothing unexpected occurred, the current Black Dragon King would be the carefully selected vessel for harboring His power.

The Black Dragon King who entered the Seventh Realm must already be battling on His behalf, contending against Luo Hongyan and the Original Demon!

"Perhaps the Black Dragon King has already become a Middle-level God," Pang Jian uttered in a low voice.

"Good, let’s talk about that Mysterious Turtle who naturally understands the Power of Earth," said the Stone Eater with an icy smile, its jade-like face morphing fluidly with the shifts in its emotions, "The Mysterious Turtle must be very famous in your Purgatory World, don’t worry. It will certainly become a powerful Demon God, just like the Black Dragon."

Pang Jian asked in wonder, "What does He need the Mysterious Turtle for?"

The World Tree would ignite His Life Fire, the Soul Bees from Netherworld Prison could ignite the Flame of Souls, and the Black Dragon King was the manifestation of His power at a critical moment.

Given that, the Mysterious Turtle must also have a significant purpose.

"Once the Mysterious Turtle becomes strong enough, it can shatter those seven continents even while rooted in the land by the Heavenly Tribulation Pillar," the Stone Eater said, as if privy to all, scoffing, "Once the final step of the confining cage is lifted, only then, after His Nirvana Rebirth, can He escape the Seventh Realm and achieve true freedom."

Upon hearing this, Pang Jian was stupefied once more.

The Mysterious Turtle’s understanding of the Power of Earth vastly surpassed that of the Old Rock Bear.

If the Mysterious Turtle regained its pinnacle strength and advanced like the Black Dragon King, then once it descended into the Fifth Realm, it indeed had the capacity to shatter those seven continents.

—Breaking apart continents was an innate ability of the Mysterious Turtle.

"No, that’s not right!"

Pang Jian furrowed his brows and said, "In our Purgatory World, there’s a Rock Bear that has become a Demon God ahead of time with the Mysterious Turtle’s help. Our Purgatory’s Fate is unique, with the Rock Bear existing, it will be difficult for the Mysterious Turtle to ascend to Demon God!"

"Did the Mysterious Turtle take the initiative to help?" the Stone Eater asked faintly.

"Yes."

"If Fate is unique, then what about the Filthy Essence that It split off, Its own origin?" the Stone Eater glared at Pang Jian and pressed on, "Even if the path of Fate is severed, the Mysterious Turtle can still choose to become a Demon God with Its own origin, which is a more secure bond!"

"I even feel..."

With its stone-like eyeballs rolling, the Stone Eater continued, "The Mysterious Turtle’s active help for the Rock Bear might also have His will behind it."

Pang Jian was shocked, "Could it be that He guided the Mysterious Turtle, turning the Rock Bear into a Demon God, just to cut off His own retreat for transforming into a Demon God through fate? Forcing the Mysterious Turtle to eventually choose His essence?"

"I believe so," the Stone Eater nodded.

"How did He influence the Mysterious Turtle?" Pang Jian’s understanding was gradually overturned by the Stone Eater, and he felt how sad and helpless it was to coexist in the same world with a Sovereign-level being.

Fate, it seemed, was no longer his to command.

Even his own consciousness and views on matters could be quietly altered without his knowledge.

"The resurrection of the Mysterious Turtle must have been aided by His blood. With His blood inside the Mysterious Turtle’s body, it wouldn’t be very difficult for Him to make the Mysterious Turtle make a decision that benefits Him at a certain moment," the Stone Eater said with a strange smile. "Since the Mysterious Turtle could choose to help the Rock Bear become a Demon God, it could also suddenly decide one day to become a Demon God with His essence."

"With His blood inside the Mysterious Turtle and His essence within the Demon Soul, it will be even easier for Him to manipulate, and for the Mysterious Turtle to rapidly break through realm limitations."

"When the Mysterious Turtle sinks into the Fifth Realm, it will naturally strive with all its might to help Him shatter the seven continents."

Pausing for a moment, the Stone Eater continued, "But take a step back and say that if the Rock Bear died halfway and the Mysterious Turtle achieved Demon God status through fate, then at that time, with the status of the Demon Sovereign, He requests the Mysterious Turtle to shatter those seven continents for Him, do you think the Mysterious Turtle would agree?"

Pang Jian’s face was bitter as he said, "It probably would."

The Black Phoenix was the Sovereign of the Ancient Demon Race; the existence of a Sovereign instantly elevated the status of the whole race within the Star River.

Just as the Sword Tower had a Sword God, enabling it to join the ranks of the First Realm.

The Demon Gods of the Ancient Demon Race were often stronger than the gods of the same level from other races. If the Black Phoenix truly achieved Nirvana Rebirth, the status of the Ancient Demon Race in the Star River would immediately rise.

Being a member of the Ancient Demon Race and born in Purgatory because of the arrival of the Black Phoenix, would the Mysterious Turtle ever refuse a request sent by its progenitor, even if it remained lucid?

The Mysterious Turtle, striving for the continuity and power of its race, would definitely support wholeheartedly once it knew of the Black Phoenix’s resurrection, as the Ancient Demon Race in Purgatory and from outside world would have instantly gained a backbone.

"The Soul Bee from Netherworld Prison is also a member of the Ancient Demon Race. Only because the Soul Bee roamed the Sea of Souls in Netherworld Prison, and touched some of the peculiarity of the Sea of Souls, was it able to help Him ignite the flame in His soul," the Stone Eater reminded calmly.

Pang Jian felt dizzy.

The Mysterious Turtle, Black Dragon King, Bee King, and World Tree – these strange beings he thought he had resurrected himself all seemed, in the end, to be intentionally influenced by that Demon Sovereign.

Apart from the World Tree, the other three were all demons who could be easily controlled by Him.

Either through blood and essence or by persuasive reasoning.

What, then, was he?

This new-era Realm God, who ascended step by step to the heavens, had finally been able to leave Purgatory to roam the Mysterious Fog and the Outer Star River.

But what was the point of his efforts?

"You are the person who has helped Him the most," the Stone Eater sighed.

At these words, Pang Jian felt as if he had been struck a heavy blow.

Looking at the present situation, wasn’t each of the key elements for His Nirvana Rebirth—the Mysterious Turtle, Black Dragon King, Bee King, and World Tree—created by his own hands?

It was him who collected seeds from all over, scattering them across the Thousand Miles of Cloud Land, assisting the Corrosion Boundary Vine to slowly grow strong.

When Li Yuqing came looking, it was he who intervened to preserve the Corrosion Boundary Vine, allowing it to quietly overcome its crisis.

The buckets of Ferocious Beast’s Blood from the Fifth Realm, those higher-level pieces of Ferocious Beast meat, he used to feed the Mysterious Turtle, enabling the Mysterious Turtle’s bloodline to break through time and again.

It was also he who brought the Frozen Land and the Forbidden Land of Thunder God from the Mysterious Fog, providing the Mysterious Turtle with the other part of its essential growth.

He had wagered wits and bravery against the gods in the Absolute Sky Forbidden Land to devour divine consciousness within puppets, thus nurturing more Bee Insects to aid the Bee King’s growth.

In the end, he placed the beehive in the Absolute Sky Forbidden Land, using the creatures and environment there to encourage more Bee Insects to emerge.

The growth of Hei, his smooth advancement to Demon God, never happened without his involvement, did it?

The Stone Eater’s words were true; as the new-era Realm God of Purgatory, he significantly contributed to the Demon Sovereign of the Seventh Realm.

He worked diligently, he treaded on thin ice, he struggled immensely to raise the Mysterious Turtle, Hei, Bee King, and World Tree to this level.

Hei had become the Black Dragon King, the World Tree a Tenth-grade Spirit, the Mysterious Turtle and Bee King were at the brink of breakthrough...

And now, suddenly someone told him that everything he had done was orchestrated by someone else, destined to benefit another.

He felt the world he had steadfastly protected was starting to collapse.

"I also contributed to the construction of those seven Heavenly Tribulation Pillars; I gave some of the stones," the Stone Eater continued, heedless of his distress: "It was Pang Qi who asked me for them."

"You are the Realm God of Purgatory of this era; do you now have the ability to let me see those seven pillars?"

...