The Purgatory Calamity-Chapter 131 - 116: Ghost Altar Method_1

A Cloud Sail, slowly descending toward Sky Fortune City.

The Cloud Sail, bearing goods and people, was the most commonly used transporter of the seven great families of the Fourth Realm.

Traversing between the various Fragment Lands, the speed of the Cloud Sail was quite slow, and it could not fly to the Third Realm.

The dignified He Hui stood atop the Cloud Sail, looking at the increasingly close Sky Fortune City.

"It’s become much more desolate than before," he remarked. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

A guest elder loyal to the He family stood beside him, gazing at the Sky Fortune City below and sighed, "The Eastern, Western, Southern, and Northern regions, the nobles loyal to the Shangguan Family and their families, have all been arranged to leave by the Cloud Sail."

"As for the individual cultivators, not only do they have to pay a hefty fare for the ship, but they will also be subjected to memory searches to ensure they are unassociated with Dark Ghost before being allowed to leave," he continued.

After a pause, the man looked toward the West District and shook his head, "These commoners, they have no idea that danger is approaching, only aware that the city’s population is dwindling."

The grieving He Hui, who had lost his son, did not respond.

His own brother, He Rong, was dead, and his son, He Ziren, had also died in the Solitude Mountain Range; his mood had been extremely poor recently.

Not long ago, he learned from the Su Family that his son, He Ziren, was killed by Hong Tai from Dark Ghost, and his brother had died at the hands of the treacherous Dong Tianze from the Dong Family.

Only Su Meng, Zhou Qingchen, and Han Duping were fortunate enough to survive, reaching the Third Realm through the Mirror Tunnel and thus avoiding disaster.

"Ziren is dead, and it turns out this Hong Tai has a nephew named Hong Jian, who is starting to make a name for himself in Sky Fortune City!" He Hui said.

He Hui, who had recently entered the Marrow Cleansing Realm, bore his internal grief and said, "On this trip to Sky Fortune City, I need to know not only the extent of the disaster’s coverage but also to witness Hong Jian’s death!"

"My lord, Shangguan Dong and Ouyang Quan are both searching for Hong Jian’s whereabouts," the guest elder nodded and said, "Ouyang Duanhai, Shangguan Qin, and those from the two families who entered the Solitude Mountain Range, it’s said they also perished because of Hong Tai from Dark Ghost."

He Hui said coldly, "Not a single person from Dark Ghost will be allowed to leave Sky Fortune City!"

...

Thousand Miles of Cloud Land.

Three Cloud Sails, filled with cultivators from the seven great families, floated in the skies of Cloud Marsh.

They appeared both during the day and at night.

Many from Dark Ghost and those individual cultivators unable to prove they were not associated with Dark Ghost were targeted by the people on the Cloud Sails.

Those who dared to resist were executed on the spot.

Those who did not resist were captured and imprisoned, to be handed over to the Raging Sun Sect and the Star River Alliance at a later date, and hauled off in Golden Coaches and Fire Cloud Ships to lands tainted by Filth Alien Power.

The Star River Alliance had prepared a number of "Star Eyes" with the intention of implanting them into those people, and then throwing them into the lands contaminated by Filth Alien Power to see what was happening below.

Nighttime.

In a swamp that always floated with a pale green miasma at half altitude.

Because of the presence of this pale green miasma, even when Cloud Sails crossed over from above, if no one descended, the view could not penetrate the miasma to see clearly what was below.

At night, even less could be seen.

Above a soggy patch of mud, three hall masters, Meng Qiulan, Yang Yuansen, and Zhao Ling, gathered around a tetrahedral altar.

Around the altar, colorful small brocade flags were planted, filled with unknown symbols and characters.

The altar, constructed of Spiritual Material primarily composed of Mysterious Yin Stone and mingled with Void Spiritual Jade.

At this moment.

In the center of this altar, known to Dark Ghost as the "Ghost Altar," a murky shadow emerged, as if someone from another dimension was projecting their image down here.

By the edge of the Ghost Altar, beside the small brocade flags, grooves suddenly displayed Cultivation spells, Marrow Cleaning materials, several exquisitely made objects, and some bottles and jars of pills.

"Greetings to the Ghost Leader!"

The three hall masters, having dispersed the ordinary members, bowed deeply toward the shadowy figure.

The remote-projecting Dark Ghost Leader, whose true face was not revealed, spoke with a somewhat hoarse male voice, "Aside from the Zhou Family, who is furthest from the Shangguan Family’s territory, people from the other six great families have arrived. Additionally, there are people from the Star River Alliance, the Raging Sun Sect, and Blood Moon. You three will have to find your own way out of the Sky Fortune Fragment Land this time."

"Even if I mobilize all of Dark Ghost’s forces, it would be difficult to reach Sky Fortune City and successfully extricate you."

The Dark Ghost Leader spoke candidly.

Although they had known this would be the case, hearing it spoken directly by him still left the three hall masters feeling a wave of despair.

"Meng Qiulan, Zhao Ling, you both still have family members outside; you may offer a portion of your precious possessions, and I will ensure your families are well cared for," the Dark Ghost Leader said somberly.

Meng Qiulan was the first to take the Beast Blood, the Spirit Jade obtained from the Beast-Catching Ship, and one of her treasured mid-level Spiritual Artifacts, and threw them all together into an empty groove on the altar in front of her.

"I have no children of my own, my brother has long since died of old age, and his family doesn’t have anyone with the talent for cultivation. I, for my part, only wish for his family to enjoy wealth and honor," Meng Qiulan stated.

"I promise you. Your brother’s family will enjoy all the splendors and wealth the secular world has to offer," the Ghost Leader nodded, and the treasures Meng Qiulan placed in the empty groove vanished in an instant.

Zhao Ling hesitated for a moment but also placed the items she had prepared in advance into the groove in front of her, saying, "I hope my brother can receive a share of Marrow Cleaning materials when he advances to the Marrow Cleansing Realm."

"Hm, that’s simple," the Dark Ghost Leader glanced at the other items in the groove and said, "The value of these items is worth more than just a share of Marrow Cleaning materials. Do you have any other requests?"

Zhao Ling replied, "I am aware of the Ghost Leader’s capabilities. Should disaster truly spread throughout the entire Fourth Realm, I hope that in consideration of my years of loyalty, you can get him to the Third Realm. No matter where in the Third Realm, I only wish for him to survive, rather than become a contaminated corpse in the Fourth Realm."

The Dark Ghost Leader did not immediately agree but thought for a while before nodding in consent, "I agree."

As soon as these words were spoken, the items Zhao Ling had placed down were also teleported away.

"Thank you, Ghost Leader!"

Zhao Ling expressed her thanks.

"And what about you, Yang Yuansen?"

The Dark Ghost Leader, whose true face remained hidden, turned towards Yang Yuansen, who had yet to speak.

"Ghost Leader, I have no children and no one that is of concern to me. Heh, as for the women who followed me, you decide what to do with them. Giving them away or selling them to someone—I don’t care anymore."

"I’m going to die in Sky Fortune City anyway; I couldn’t care less about those who aren’t related to me by blood."

Yang Yuansen said with a cold laugh.

"Hmm, you three take care of yourselves. I hope we will meet again someday."

The figure of the Dark Ghost Leader vanished from the "Ghost Altar." The items that had appeared earlier in the grooves before the three of them also disappeared.

Elder Meng, who had opened the altar, stood up, started taking down the small brocade flags, and prepared to pack up the altar, muttering complaints: "In the future, I probably won’t need this altar anymore."

Just then.

A figure quietly emerged in the distance and soon appeared in front of the three, startling them.

"Hong Jian!"

Meng Qiulan held onto the small brocade flags and looked at Pang Jian, who had appeared out of nowhere under the night sky, then glared in the distance and cursed, "Are all those sentries dead or what?"

"It’s too dark, and I came too quickly. They just didn’t notice."

Pang Jian said indifferently.

While speaking, he glanced at the Ghost Altar being collected by Meng Qiulan and felt a familiar aura.

Back in the Solitude Mountain Range, when he destroyed that skull-shaped Soul Array, he had sensed this same cold and eerie aura.

"Dark Ghost, maybe there’s some connection with the Yin Spirit Temple..."

Pang Jian thought to himself.

"You’ve been gone a long time."

Zhao Ling stood up, gave Pang Jian a deep look, and said with self-mockery, "During the time you were gone, we..."

She shook her head and didn’t finish her sentence.

One by one, their strongholds were pulled out, Fan Liang was captured alive, and those in the Meridians Channeling Realm who had entered Cloud Marsh with them were either dead or injured.

Now, all members of the Dark Ghosts in the Fragment Land of Sky Fortune didn’t even amount to forty.

Most of these people were scattered across the Thousand Miles of Cloud Land, either hiding in caves without emerging or submerged beneath certain lakes, living every day in terror, afraid that the Cloud Sails hovering overhead might spot them.

"Is this the Ghost Altar? I’ve heard that only a Hall Master can use the altar to communicate with the Ghost Leader and exchange it for various precious spiritual materials?"

Pang Jian asked softly as his gaze landed on the altar.

"It can be reopened after a while."

Meng Qiulan nodded and smiled bitterly: "Hong Jian, it’s a pity you didn’t leave the Fragment Land of Sky Fortune earlier. With your level of cultivation and your youth, if you had gone to another Dark Ghost branch in a different Fragment Land and stated your name, you would have been treated with great honor."

Pang Jian asked again, "I heard that the position of Hall Master in the Fragment Land of Sky Fortune was something that the Ghost Leader intended for me?"

Meng Qiulan fell silent. "You, I, all of us, we will be found by the seven major families, and not one of us is likely to survive. What does it mean to be a Hall Master now, to you?"

Pang Jian was silent for a moment and then said, "Perhaps you will die, but I might not necessarily."

"Kid!"

Yang Yuansen, who had been annoyed with him already, barked in anger, "Where were you hiding when we fled in such a shameful state, when our subordinates were being found and killed one after another? As per the agreement, you should have joined us on the second day! At this stage, do you really think you can survive?"

Pang Jian simply "hmm"ed in response.

"Hong Jian!"

"Hong Jian!"

Wu Yi, who had stepped back during the altar opening by the three Hall Masters, along with the two women, Bai Wei and Bai Zhi, came closer upon hearing the noise.

Upon seeing Pang Jian, they called out in surprise.

"We thought you were already dead."

Bai Wei spoke some heartfelt words, her eyes teary as she said plaintively, "So many are dead; every day, familiar faces are found and killed. I thought you died too."

Bai Zhi bit her lower lip, looking expectantly at him but remaining silent.

"Elder Meng, since we are all destined to die in the Fragment Land of Sky Fortune, and you know I’ve always been fixated on these two girls,"

Yang Yuansen brought up the old issue even in front of Pang Jian, clamoring, "Just let me sleep with them to fulfill a longstanding wish, so I can die in peace in Sky Fortune City, can’t I?"

"I don’t want to!"

"I don’t want to be with him!"

Bai Zhi and Bai Wei screamed in unison and then both looked at Pang Jian.

Through their expressions and looks, everyone understood that if death was inevitable, if they must serve someone,

They hoped that person would be Pang Jian.

...