The Purgatory Calamity

"Possessed by a Spirit Evil?"

Ning Yuanshan, stroking his thin beard, gazed at He Ziren's corpse, frowning in deep contemplation.

Pang Jian's expression remained unchanged.

He had noticed earlier that when the entities Han Duping called "Spirit Evil" flew out from those corpses, as soon as they entered the bodies of the servants from the Zhou Family and Ning Family, they induced them to slaughter each other.

He believed it to be a suitable explanation.

"It's just bad luck for Mr. He."

Upon hearing the news, Ning Yao stepped away from the pile of chaotic rocks and said, "Uncle Yuanshan, this is not Pang Jian's fault."

Ning Yuanshan sighed and lamented, "Mr. He died within our group, how am I to explain this? "

"The deceased is not only He Ziren. Considering his high level of cultivation, it is only natural that the Demon Girl-controlled Spirit Evil would seize the opportunity to enter Pang Jian's body and harm him with utmost effort. I even suspect that other Spirit Evils invaded his body, taking advantage of the chaos to erode his thoughts, allowing the Spirit Evil possessing Pang Jian to succeed." Ning Yao actively cleared Pang Jian of suspicion.

"That is indeed a possibility," Ning Yuanshan concurred.

Pang Jian's face remained calm, but a strange ripple surfaced in his heart.

He originally thought that the death of Mr. He would create some disturbance and that the Ning Family would blame him, but unexpectedly, Ning Yao took the initiative to absolve him.

Moreover, looking at Ning Yao's demeanor, she even seemed somewhat relieved, as if he had solved a problem for her.

"Pang Jian..."

Ning Yao's brows furrowed, her bright and expressive eyes locked onto Pang Jian's face.

She sensed something odd.

Even though it was Pang Jian who had personally killed He Ziren while possessed by a "Spirit Evil," his composure was excessive, there was not the slightest hint of panic, which seemed somewhat unreasonable.

"What's the matter?" Pang Jian was surprised.

"Before, have you... ever killed someone?" Ning Yao suddenly asked.

"Hmm."

In a low voice, Pang Jian responded and hesitated before adding, "I have hunted in the Solitude Mountain Range for many years. Some older hunters bullied me because my father was not around. Seeing that I was young, they tried to rob me of my hunt and had made moves against me."

Ning Yuanshan's eyes showed a hint of intrigue, "Hunters who were more experienced and older than you, they were actually killed by you?"

"Lucky," said Pang Jian.

Ning Yao stared at him intently, her beautiful eyes revealing a touch of surprise, then nodded, "There is much work ahead that requires your attention. As for He Ziren's death... you needn't dwell on it."

Pang Jian tactfully took his leave.

Suddenly, he saw Zhou Qingchen glance in his direction from far away, among the pile of chaotic rocks where the body of the most ferocious Single-horned Rhinoceros lay.

Zhou Qingchen's gaze was filled with an intriguing depth, leaving Pang Jian clueless.

Zhou Qingchen then loudly ordered the surviving members of the Zhou Family to remove all objects and bundles from the corpses and first move them to the open space in front of the pile of rocks.

The people inside promptly busied themselves with the task.

Ning Yao, Ning Yuanshan, and the surviving Zhang Heng used the warhorses that had been tied outside and had not entered the rock pile, sharing them with the surviving members of the Zhou Family.

After He Ziren's death, his black warhorse was unceremoniously claimed by Zhou Qingchen.

Soon, the warhorses crossed over the rocks, carrying corpses and the bundles and objects from the Single-horned Rhinoceros's body, gradually passing through the pile of chaos.

Neither Zhou Qingchen nor Ning Yao showed much sorrow for the deaths of the servants within their families.

Perhaps they were accustomed to such partings of life and death, or maybe the lives of those servants were too insignificant to warrant their grief.

Moments later, only the Single-horned Rhinoceros and the bodies of the servants remained in the pile of rocks.

The people from the Zhou Family and Ning Family had already crossed over the pile of rocks and were roasting meat around a fire on the other side, preparing to satiate themselves before venturing deeper.

Ning Yuanshan also called Pang Jian over. After hesitating for a moment, Pang Jian made his way towards them from the other end of the rock pile.

On his way, he felt that the rock pile littered with corpses still harbored a considerable "Mysterious Yin Power," and an alternative idea formed in his mind.

"I'll search around to see if anything was left behind."

In a conspicuous spot within the rock pile, Pang Jian shouted out loud towards Ning Yuanshan, who was in the distance ahead of him.

Those who had stepped out of the rock pile, hearing Pang Jian say this, assumed he was still not resigned to leaving the scavenged, bloody terrain and was trying to scrape together some valuables.

The others did not mind, letting Pang Jian linger in the rock pile while they huddled around the fire roasting meat and discussing their further journey.

"Miss Ning, what's that boy's name?"

Amidst the sizzling flames, Zhou Qingchen turned the skewered meat and smiled at Ning Yao across from him, saying, "You should thank him for killing He Ziren. I've heard that this youngster has a terrible reputation in the He family for licentiousness."

"Hehe, although this fellow has some talent for cultivation, I don't think he's worthy of you, Miss Ning."

Zhou Qingchen continued talking to himself.

"His name is Pang Jian. However, the true mastermind behind He Ziren's death is the Demon Girl controlling the Spirit Evil," said Ning Yao.

"Right," Zhou Qingchen said with an odd smile, not dwelling on the topic, and added, "The Demon Girl does not yet have a tangible body of flesh and blood, she must be one of the Soul Spirit Different Kinds sealed by the old timers of the Yin Spirit Temple."

He rubbed his well-defined jaw, eying the sizzling chunks of meat, and gradually frowned, "The Demon Girl has just emerged and is still very weak, so she hurried away after we broke free from the Demon Sound."