The Purgatory Calamity

Pang Jian was startled and instinctively gripped the long blade he was used to, preparing to deal with the unknown emergency.

The bizarre white paper fan and that murderous blood bamboo were anomalies he would never have encountered in the Solitude Mountain Range before.

After the blood bamboo assassinated Yao Qi, it retracted back into the white paper fan, dyeing all the remaining green bamboo red.

Within the gloomy pile of rocks, several bright red bamboo sticks on the white base of the fan emitted a bright red light, causing everyone's faces to change.

Ning Yuanshan's face was as still as water when he hummed, "You all nearly died too."

The few behind him who had tried to barge in were secretly frightened and, hearing this, bowed their heads in shame.

Zhang Heng, who had come riding the same horse as Yao Qi, held tightly onto the reins, fearing the warhorse would get out of control and lunge forward, crying out, "This is really wicked!"

No one dared to take another step forward.

In their eyes, each corpse in the pile of rocks painted with a blood-colored crescent on its chest had turned into bloodthirsty demon fiends.

"Kid, go get that white paper fan for me."

He Ziren, in his seemingly dust-free white robe, suddenly lit up in his eyes. He did not grieve over Yao Qi's death, but instead raised his hand and pointed at Pang Jian.

Ning Yuanshan frowned slightly. Because he knew of He Ziren's identity, he did not speak up to dissuade him.

"If you want to die, go there yourself. Don't bring disaster to others."

The girl Ning Yao coldly knitted her brows and gave He Ziren a displeased glance, then turned to Pang Jian and said, "I know you're called Pang Jian. We're not familiar with the Solitude Mountain Range, so we'll need you to enlighten us."

She appeared quite calm, obviously having faced great trials before, showing no sign of being daunted by the strange happenings within the stone pile.

"I was just casually mentioning it," He Ziren said, shaking his head with a wry smile, not taking the matter seriously with her.

"As one deals with disasters for money, can you tell me what's different about this valley compared to before?" Ning Yao was still looking at Pang Jian, waiting for him to describe the oddities of the place.

"It's become quieter. The wind used to howl and screech, but now it's silent. Also, there used to be birds on both sides of the cliff walls and beasts lurking in the shadows of the valley, but now they're not seen at all," Pang Jian answered truthfully.

"Quiet…" Ning Yao pondered and then said, "What else?"

Pang Jian shook his head.

Ning Yao did not question further, instead ordered everyone to set up camp in front of the pile of rocks, saying, "Those who come to explore the Solitude Mountain Range aren't limited to just our Ning Family; we arrived first only because we were the closest."

"Don't rush to delve deeper; we'll just keep an eye on the anomalies of these corpses and then wait for other teams to arrive."

Just entering the valley and encountering a pile of rocks which had claimed the life of a valued member of her team, she dared not act rashly.

"The people from the other six great families will surely come upon hearing the news and shouldn't make us wait too long." Ning Yuanshan expressed his agreement, saying, "Let's first keep an eye on these Blood Moon corpses, and when the other factions arrive, we'll decide how to proceed."

The pile of rocks was right in front of them, with the Blood Moon's bells, precious fan, and the bronze hammer all within reach, yet everyone dared not covet them anymore.

After settling the horses, several people swiftly set up camp and began to busy themselves.

Pang Jian remained expressionless, only occasionally glancing at He Ziren, who had earlier contemplated sacrificing him.

He Ziren soon noticed his gaze, smirked without a sound, and made a gesture as if to gouge out his eyes.

"Uncle Yuanshan, we've all traveled a long way and need to stop and recuperate for a while, so please keep watch for us," Ning Yao said wearily.

"Hmm."

Ning Yuanshan was indeed intending to do so, waving his hand for everyone to rest in the tents while he and Pang Jian remained outside.

"We are from the Ning Family... The Ning Family... Have you heard of it?"

Once Ning Yao and the others entered their tents for quiet meditation or a brief rest, Ning Yuanshan pulled Pang Jian aside and initiated the conversation.

Compared to their first encounter, his attitude had become much more polite and no longer condescending.

"The Ning Family of the seven great families?" asked Pang Jian, astonished.

"It seems you're not completely uninformed after all," Ning Yuanshan said proudly.

Next, he spoke with Pang Jian in a casual tone, discussing the abnormalities of the Solitude Mountain Range.

From Pang Jian, he learned that not long ago, a golden chariot, a massive sailing ship, and the White Tower had successively fallen.

"The Gilding Chariot of the Star River Alliance, the Unstable Ferry of the Blood Moon, and the Heavenly Spirit Tower of the Yin Spirit Temple," Ning Yuanshan murmured softly with a deep frown, stroking his beard. Through Pang Jian's description, he quickly confirmed the origins of the fallen objects and then asked, "Did you see anyone come out?"

Pang Jian shook his head, "I did not."

"Alright, you should also take a rest," Ning Yuanshan said, asking no further.

After a while, he asked Pang Jian to keep watch over the surroundings while he went to Ning Yao's tent.

He softly inquired outside the tent and, after receiving Ning Yao's permission, entered to discuss urgent matters with her.

...

The night had fallen.

Due to the absence of the sun, moon, and stars throughout the year, the night sky in the Fourth Realm was exceptionally dim.

Ordinary people, who had not embarked on the path of cultivation, found it very difficult to see their surroundings in the night of the Fourth Realm.

In the tent next to Pang Jian, the visitors from the Ning Family were eagerly resting to recharge their energy for the upcoming situation.

In the darkness of night, Pang Jian couldn't make out the bodies of the cultivators belonging to the Blood Moon. However, items like the white paper fan, the bell, and the copper hammer surprisingly emitted a faint glow in the murky environment.

The luminance cast eerie and terrifying shadows on the faces and bodies of the deceased, causing Pang Jian to involuntarily furrow his brows.

He observed silently, and seeing that the bodies and items such as the fan, bell, and hammer remained unchanged, he gradually relaxed.

But every time he couldn't help but look, he always felt that those dead Blood Moon cultivators might resume their mad dash forward at any moment.

Pang Jian, feeling a chill in his heart, couldn't settle his mind. Out of helplessness, he quietly moved away from the Ning Family's tents and found a secluded place to practice the "Pot Heaven Nourishing Qi Spell."

Finally achieving tranquility and maintaining a clear mind, Pang Jian, as he contemplated the wonders within himself, quickly entered the so-called "awakening" state.

Almost in the instant he settled into "awakening," he sensed the existence of "Qi" and felt a warm and upright odd aura orbited around him.

"Spiritual Energy."

He suddenly realized that the reason he hadn't been able to sense Spiritual Energy during his diligent practice at home wasn't because there was a problem with his method of cultivation.

It was because the Spiritual Energy was too thin in the wilderness location of his home, making it very difficult for him to perceive it sharply.

Just ten or so miles away from his home, in the Solitude Mountain Range, Spiritual Energy was several times more abundant, and he sensed it immediately.

Pang Jian, secretly delighted, hurriedly tried to guide the nature's Spiritual Energy into his body as described in the "Pot Heaven Nourishing Qi Spell," sinking it into the Spiritual Sea of his dantian.

In his visualization, his Spiritual Sea dantian turned into a "Spirit Pot," and as he breathed in and out, the nature's Spiritual Energy outside was absorbed by the "Spirit Pot."

Gradually, Pang Jian not only felt the existence of Spiritual Energy but also discovered that it wasn't following his breath into his dantian.

The nature's Spiritual Energy around him was attracted by the "Spirit Pot" he visualized, directly entering his body through the dantian acupoint near his navel.

—And it was not through the inhalation and exhalation of his mouth and nose.

Moments later, while silently cultivating, Pang Jian suddenly felt another force amid the pile of rocks.

This force was different from nature's Spiritual Energy, filled with frenzy and malice, and was also attracted to his "Spirit Pot."

Among the rocks, the white paper fan, bell, and hammer held by the skeletons of the Blood Moon cultivators suddenly glowed conspicuously.

"Whoosh whoosh! Howl!"

The familiar sound of ghostly, mournful howls suddenly emanated from the pile of rocks.

It was as if evil ghosts and demons buried deep in the earth were abruptly awakened by some force, crying and screaming in the land of the nine serenities.

...