The Purgatory Calamity

"I don't know either."

Pang Jian shook his head, his face a picture of bewilderment.

He only remembered that the "Branded Eye" underwent a sudden change, and while searching through the crowd for the person who had infused the message, the bronze medal his father left him had suddenly become burning hot.

That was all.

He naturally would not share his secret with anyone present, so he had no choice but to respond with ignorance.

"Don't know? The Branded Eye of the Blood Moon wouldn't choose someone like you without reason," Shangguan Qin was relentless.

"Enough!" Zhou Qingchen cleared his throat lightly, interrupting Shangguan Qin's clamor, and said solemnly, "Pang Jian, did you see any other scenes after that?"

"Other scenes?"

Pang Jian pondered seriously and said, "The vines killed the cultivators of the Blood Moon, swiftly devoured their flesh and blood, and then retracted back into the crevice. Just like now, after having consumed the people of the Shangguan Family, they should retract back underground."

Everyone's expression grew more solemn.

"Is there anything else?" Zhou Qingchen asked with a heavy mood.

"After that, the next scene I saw was you rushing here ahead of everyone," Pang Jian replied.

With these words, it meant the cycle was complete; the scenes that Pang Jian saw from the "Branded Eye" afterward were all experiences Zhou Qingchen had personally been through.

Zhou Qingchen pondered, recalling how Pang Jian was miraculously unaffected when the Demon Sound squealed among the rocks, as well as the "Branded Eye's" special favor towards him.

He guessed there must be some unfathomable mystery about Pang Jian, otherwise, it could not be explained logically.

"It should be safe over there now."

While everyone was contemplating, Pang Jian spoke again, addressing Shangguan Qin, "If you go back now, you should be able to safely collect the belongings left behind by the deceased of your Shangguan Family."

The originally beautiful face of Shangguan Qin was filled with panic and helplessness. Still not recovered from her shock, she said coldly, "I will not believe a word you say!"

She harbored deep prejudices against Pang Jian, with the intent to capture him somehow and pry open the secrets in his heart.

As if Pang Jian couldn't see her prejudice, he said, "I am willing to go back once more to retrieve the belongings left behind by your Shangguan Family's servants for you."

Despite the undiminished hatred in Shangguan Qin's eyes, she gritted her teeth and said, "Would you really be so kind-hearted?"

"You can come with me," Pang Jian suggested.

Shangguan Qin hesitated, her eyes showing indecision, and then she said icily, "I don't trust you."

"What about the rest of you? Anyone who doesn't trust me can come back with me to have a look," Pang Jian looked around at the crowd.

Zhou Qingchen appeared surprised. Just as he was about to say he would go back with Pang Jian, he suddenly noticed Ning Yao starting to speak, so he fell silent.

"I'll accompany you."

Unexpectedly, the quiet Ning Yao was the one to take the initiative to speak.

Seeing everyone looking her way, Ning Yao calmly explained, "I don't distrust Pang Jian, I just feel there might still be danger over there. It would be more appropriate for me to accompany him."

"Yao, the situation over there is still unclear; it's not good for you to go back now, is it?" Yuanshan voiced his concern with a worried face.

"It's fine, if Pang Jian dares to go over, what should I be afraid of?"

Ning Yao rode her war horse, drew closer to Pang Jian, then patted her horse's forehead and whispered a few words into its ear.

Immediately, she sat up straight, her chest slightly rising, and suddenly said, "I'll ride with you."

Without waiting for Pang Jian's consent, she suddenly leaped up, elegantly landing behind him, sharing the horse with him.

Between her and Pang Jian was the bamboo basket Pang Jian carried on his back, conveniently dividing the two, ensuring they were not too close to each other.

Her hands also naturally rested at Pang Jian's waist, urging, "Let's go."

Pang Jian's body, along with the expression on his face, noticeably stiffened.

Because as Ning Yao's hands reached his waist, her Spiritual Power was secretly surging in her palms, showing that the girl had no good intentions at all.

Riding the same horse with Pang Jian, far from feeling any enjoyment, he felt as if sitting on pins and needles.

"Why aren't we going yet?" Ning Yao impatiently and coldly chided.

The Spiritual Power in her delicate white hands grew more turbulent, as if a lurking venomous snake was about to slither out.

Pang Jian felt a chill in his heart and without making a sound, he took the reins and spurred the horse towards the dry bones of the Heaven Phoenix.

"Miss Ning, let me remind you as a friend that Pang Jian is a guide familiar with the Solitude Mountain Range, and I am very fond of him. I hope you take good care of him," Zhou Qingchen shouted, "If you don't take care of him, I'm afraid we might not be able to look after Uncle Yuanshan here either."

Yuanshan's face turned pale.

He had never expected Zhou Qingchen to threaten him with his own life at such a moment, all to prevent Ning Yao from harming Pang Jian.

"He is a guide hired by my Ning Family; I understand his importance, and I don't need you to remind me of that, Young Master Zhou," Ning Yao retorted with a snort.

Zhou Qingchen smiled and said, "That's good then."

"Thud thud!"

Amid the dense sound of horse hooves, Pang Jian, riding the reddish-brown war horse, gradually disappeared from everyone's sight.

"Zhou nephew, Pang Jian is just a hunter from the mountains, is he worth all this trouble?"

After Ning Yao and Pang Jian had left, Yuanshan spoke with a pained expression and embarrassment, "Threatening Yao with my life, isn't that making a mountain out of a molehill?"

The others were also puzzled and listened intently, eager to know Zhou Qingchen's answer.

Even Han Duping and the servants of the Zhou Family found Zhou Qingchen's special care for Pang Jian incomprehensible.

"The very hunter you spoke of has just saved all of our lives!" Zhou Qingchen was no longer courteous, his demeanor turned cold as he said, "Gratitude and the desire to repay a kindness—it's such a simple principle, do I really need to teach you that? Had it not been for Pang Jian's timely warning, do you truly believe any of us, along with you and Ning Yao, would have survived to leave here?"

Ning Yuanshan was at a loss for words, reflecting upon himself, he found that it indeed seemed to be his own fault.

It was because they were accustomed to being high above others that they never considered individuals not equal in status worthy of attention, which led them to believe everything was to be expected.

Like Yao Qi, and those who had followed them, who lay dead among the rocks.

As far as he was concerned, Pang Jian wasn't even as significant as Yao Qi, so he couldn't accept Zhou Qingchen using himself to threaten his niece.

"What truly matters is not that little hunter, but our Blood Moon's Branded Eye!" Shangguan Qin screamed furiously.

"Without him, the Branded Eye would have chosen me. I would have received the critical information just the same and reminded everyone to evacuate promptly. And if it were me who got the message, Roman would not have died, other members of my Shangguan Family would not have died either!"

In her heart, because Pang Jian had gained the recognition of the "Branded Eye," she blamed everything on Pang Jian.

"Elder Shangguan."

Zhou Qingchen's expression was slightly cold, no longer referring to her as "Aunt Qin," and he said bluntly, "On what basis do you assume the Branded Eye should have chosen you? Although you have practiced the Blood Wheel Skill, which is the introductory level of Blood Moon, you have not passed the Blood Moon's test, and you are not truly a Blood Moon cultivator!"

"That you can practice the Blood Wheel Skill is only because the elders of your Shangguan Family privately bestowed upon you the spell."

Sitting astride a pitch-black warhorse, with his figure standing tall, Zhou Qingchen snorted and sneered again, "Even I do not believe that the world should revolve around me, so why do you think you would be favored by the Branded Eye?"

"And what about 'our Blood Moon'? Elder Shangguan, when you can, like me, truly be entered into the roster of the Upper Realm's Blood Moon, only then do you have the right to use the word 'we'!"

Shangguan Qin's face turned a multitude of colors at his rebuke.

She suddenly realized that although the scion of the Zhou Family in front of her had always been polite and respected her as "Aunt Qin," there was still a significant gap between the Shangguan Family behind her and the Zhou Family.

Furthermore, not being recognized by Blood Moon and not being acknowledged as a member of Blood Moon meant she indeed had no right to refer to Blood Moon as "we."

Zhou Qingchen was truly one of the top geniuses of the Fourth Realm, recruited by Red Mountain shortly after birth, and his name had long been recorded in Red Mountain's roster.

Her Shangguan Family was no match for the Zhou Family, and she was also no match for Zhou Qingchen; the power she held in her hands now was also inferior.

Thus, she could only force herself to suppress her anger and reluctantly remain silent.

...

Elsewhere.

Pang Jian felt stiff all over, always sensing that the hands Ning Yao placed at his waist seemed capable of uncontrollably releasing Spiritual Power, which could shatter all of his internal organs.

All along the way, Pang Jian's forehead was covered in a fine sweat, as he was constantly tense.

"Pang Jian, you must remember that the money you took comes from the Ning Family, not from Zhou Qingchen."

It was only when they were away from the public eye that Pang Jian heard Ning Yao behind him, whispering coldly in his ear.

"When danger suddenly emerged, you should have told me first, to let us leave with you! Holding the Ning Family's money and riding the Ning Family's warhorse, you actually alerted Zhou Qingchen first!"

With a slight increase in strength, Ning Yao pinched the flesh at the sides of Pang Jian's waist and abdomen, causing him to gasp in shock.

Pang Jian grimaced in pain, fearing that Ning Yao might exhale Spiritual Power through her fingers, and that he could explode and die at any moment.

Fortunately, Ning Yao was merely pinching hard, though it was unbearably painful, he knew she was just disciplining him and didn't really want his life.

"The grey ape is my friend. After I made it clear, it was Zhou Qingchen who tried his best to save it for me. You and your uncle, not a word from either of you," Pang Jian said gravely.

"It's your friend, not mine. What does it have to do with me?" Ning Yao sneered.

Pang Jian said no more.

Soon, the warhorse returned to the cruel scene.

The intense, pungent scent of blood permeated the space before them, and as soon as Pang Jian stopped, he immediately saw the most towering skeleton.

The gory skeleton belonged to Roman, stripped of viscera and flesh, bones stained with blood, and his eyeballs plucked out by vines, leaving empty sockets filled only with despair.

The vines had feasted only on flesh and blood, the commonly used items of the Shangguan Family, the gold and silver possessions they wore, were not taken and scattered beside their skeletons.

Covering her nose, Ning Yao shoved Pang Jian aside, saying with disgust, "You go and collect the relics for Shangguan Qin."

She naturally loved cleanliness and found the bloodstained items too disgusting, so with Pang Jian present, she was unwilling to get her hands dirty.

"Fine."

Pang Jian, ready to face what was coming, dismounted swiftly, not minding the bloodstains on the items as he collected and tied them up with hemp rope.

Ning Yao did not dismount, but kept an eye on him while looking towards the skeletons and the Unstable Ferry.

She always felt that Pang Jian's return had an ulterior motive, and it certainly wasn't out of good intentions to work for Shangguan Qin.

"Though young, you're full of schemes."

Ning Yao muttered to herself, feeling that this reticent youth, likely from his prolonged mingling with older hunters in the Solitude Mountain Range, playing games of wit and bravery, seemed far from naive.

...