Let Down

Because of Hong Tai's words, malicious gazes fell upon the Ning Family young lady trapped within the giant net.

Ning Yao, now the focus of everyone's attention, sat listlessly in the Silver Silk Giant Net, looking like a walking corpse devoid of a soul.

Her once-bright eyes seemed to have lost all luster, leaving behind only a dim, ash-hearted indifference.

She had anticipated being humiliated by the Dark Ghost, and she had even considered that they might use her as leverage to trade for important Dark Ghost figures imprisoned by the Ning Family.

Yet, she never expected to be used by Hong Tai as bait—a lure to test the "Dark Giant Python" from the Fifth Realm.

Although she had been kept in captivity, she had witnessed these people using the corpses of Zhang Heng and the others to test the terrifying corrosiveness of the black water.

She feared that the acidic poison of the pool was not limited to the surface, and worried that if such toxins existed deep in the pool bed, she would be reduced to a pile of dry bones.

Furthermore, she knew that deep within the bottom of the pool, there might be a "Dark Giant Python" that even Hong Tai feared.

Terror gripped her heart, yet her face remained devoid of expression; she understood that any fear she revealed or any pleas she made would never be answered.

The only thing she would receive was the unbridled mockery of the Dark Ghost members.

"Give me the iron chains."

Hong Tai took the rope connected to the Silver Silk Giant Net from the leader's hand, then demanded more iron chains from the others to extend the connection.

He needed the line holding the silver net to be long enough for it to sink all the way to the bottom of the pool.

"As long as the Dark Giant Python is alive, it cannot resist the flesh and blood of a young girl; it will certainly devour her, and it will chew and savor her carefully."

Hong Tai spoke to Jin Yang and the others, ignoring Ning Yao's lifeless, vacant gaze. "When the Dark Giant Python swallows her, I will naturally feel it through the rope, which would mean that thing is still at the bottom of the pool and alive and well. If that is the case, we had best retreat immediately."

"Jin Yang!"

Hong Tai raised his voice and pointed to the python he rode, saying, "If there is any change in the situation later, you will ride it."

Jin Yang, whose status was noble, looked at Hong Tai—who usually cherished his spirit beast—and saw his willingness to let him ride it. He immediately realized that even Hong Tai lacked confidence and feared that the "Dark Giant Python" might suddenly surge out from the bottom of the pool.

The selfish Jin Yang exchanged a look with Hong Tai, and with a tacit understanding, he moved toward the python.

He knew Hong Tai had other means of escape.

If the "Dark Giant Python" were to suddenly lunge out, the Dark Ghost members who were still surrounding the Blackwater Pool under Hong Tai's orders would be the first to become the "Dark Giant Python's" meal.

When that time came, those not as fast as the python and Hong Tai would serve as shields for him and Hong Tai.

As Jin Yang thought this, Hong Tai, having connected the iron chains, hoisted the net binding Ning Yao and threw it toward the center of the pool as if casting a net for fish.

"Splash!"

Everyone watched as Ning Yao entered the water, only to find that she was not corroded and did not turn into a pile of dry bones.

"She has the cultivation of the Pulse-Opening Realm; logically, she should be able to hold her breath underwater for a long time. However, this might be even more miserable—perhaps she will be able to watch with her own eyes as that Dark Giant Python swallows her whole."

Holding the iron chains, Hong Tai spoke with apparent ease, though he was actually quite tense.

He had secretly prepared himself.

Once he felt a massive tug, it would mean the "Dark Giant Python" had swallowed Ning Yao, proving that the fierce beast from the Fifth Realm was still alive at the bottom of the pool.

He would have no choice but to abandon this place temporarily, flee quickly to report the matter to the Dark Ghost high command, and wait for them to find a way to deal with the "Dark Giant Python."

The leader wearing the Golden Mask, along with the original owner of the giant net, had subconsciously begun to distance themselves from the Blackwater Pool the moment the silver net hit the water.

The two men's cold, sinister gazes flickered as they watched a group of subordinates, oblivious to the danger, still craning their necks to peer into the pool.

Having reached the Pulse-Opening Realm, these two had not known Hong Tai for just a day; from the moment Hong Tai was willing to let Jin Yang ride that python, they knew they could be reduced to cannon fodder at any moment.

They were also secretly on guard, ready to flee the Blackwater Pool with all their might the moment Hong Tai made a move.

At the bottom of the pool.

Pang Jian awoke slowly from his meditative state. He felt a faint, throbbing pain in his spirit sea, and when he focused his senses, he discovered that the pain originated from the "membrane" of his spirit sea's inner world.

—His dantian spirit sea seemed to have expanded significantly from being stretched.

The vortex existing in his dantian still swirled slowly, continuing to refine and purify the absorbed spiritual energy, transforming it into spiritual power he could tangibly feel.

However, the acidic, alien energy he had swallowed with the black "Spirit Pot" had vanished without a trace.

Recalling the previous situation, he realized that what had caused his dantian spirit sea to expand was not the spiritual energy in the pool water, but the acidic, alien energy that had leaked from the mouth of the giant python.

"It seems there have been five times where my spirit sea felt filled with power, and each time that feeling of fullness occurred, those acidic energies expanded my spirit sea as if carving out new territory. Could five instances of energy saturation represent the... fifth level of the Qi Refining Realm?"

Pang Jian pondered silently.

At this moment, he also discovered that the heaven and earth spiritual energy hidden within the pool water had become extremely thin; even if he were to enter deep meditation again, the gains would be very limited.

Right now, the Phoenix Bone was still there, and the Humanoid Monster was there too, but the mysterious Amber Glimmer he had been anticipating had not yet formed.

"The flesh and blood energy of the giant python is too vast; after the Phoenix Bone consumed it, it seems to need more time to digest."

Pang Jian hesitated at the bottom of the pool.

Thinking that since the Blackwater Pool no longer contained the acidic energy that could help him grow rapidly, should he choose to leave?

If he waited any longer, the wonders within the Phoenix Bone would eventually reappear, and the Humanoid Monster he had been expecting for so long wanted exactly that wonder.

This seemed to have nothing to do with him...

Lowering his head, Pang Jian looked at his arms and the wounds that had ceased bleeding, recalling the various anomalies he had experienced while fighting the Zhang Hu brothers.

He then recalled the strange scene from his dream.

It must be that vanished Amber Glimmer that has forged my current strength!

As Pang Jian gazed at the Phoenix Bone, his eyes suddenly grew fierce with longing. He thought to himself, Fortune favors the bold. I will wait a while longer to see if I have a chance to snatch some miracle from that monster!

A long time passed in this manner.

He looked up in astonishment to see a large, silvery net sinking toward the bottom of the pool, carrying the young lady of the Ning Family within it.

The Ning Family miss inside the silver net had her cheeks puffed out, as if she had taken a deep breath before entering the water.

Her current appearance was a far cry from the noble, arrogant demeanor she had displayed when they first met.

Reduced to a prisoner, her face was pale, and her wide, bright eyes were filled with panic and terror at the unknown.

She saw the winding snake bones at the bottom of the pool, the python head pierced by the Phoenix Bone, and Ouyang Duanhai's ravenous hunger for that same bone.

"Mmph!"

Suddenly, she saw a person emerge from the dim rock wall at the bottom of the pool and charge straight toward her.

Pang Jian!

Ning Yao cried out in her heart, unable to believe her eyes.

So much time had passed, yet this young hunter she had hired with a heavy reward from outside the mountain range was actually still alive in the Blackwater Pool!

He—he is here to save me!

In that moment, Ning Yao felt a touch of emotion. Thinking of how she and the Ning Family had never truly valued Pang Jian, and recalling the threats she had leveled at him not long ago, she could not help but feel a pang of shame.

Watching Pang Jian approach rapidly, his sturdy frame clutching the Dragon-Patterned Spear, his face as sharp and defined as a sculpture, Ning Yao realized for the first time that this young hunter possessed a unique charm.

—It was a wildness that felt foreign to her.

With the fire of hope reignited and a desperate desire to live, Ning Yao kept a wary eye on Ouyang Duanhai, who had transformed into a monster.

She began to worry for Pang Jian, fearing that this Ouyang Family wastrel, now devoid of reason, might suddenly lash out and obstruct Pang Jian's approach.

Fortunately, Ouyang Duanhai, now reduced to a freak, never once shifted his gaze from the Phoenix Bone, which made her secretly heave a sigh of relief.

Finally, she saw Pang Jian stretch his refined body, now within arm's reach.

She waved her hand with difficulty inside the net and gently exhaled some air, letting her cheeks deflate so she might look slightly better.

She even squeezed out what she thought was a decent smile for Pang Jian, waiting eagerly for him to break the silver net for her.

The next moment, the smile she had struggled to display on her face froze, and her eyes filled with confusion and bewilderment.

She stared blankly at Pang Jian.

She watched as Pang Jian reached into the gaps of the silvery net that held her, forcefully tore away the cloth bag of spirit stones from her back, waved his hand to bid her farewell, and quickly vanished back into the gloom of the pool's depths.

Ning Yao looked at the spot where Pang Jian had disappeared, her expression dazed, the smile she had forced onto her face gradually stiffening.

"Thump!"

It was only when she and the silver net hit the bottom that she suddenly snapped out of it. Like a powder keg being ignited, she struggled within the net, crawling desperately toward the direction Pang Jian had gone.

She forgot her own plight, forgot that she was a prisoner of the Dark Ghost, and forgot the many horrors of the pool's depths.

She was intent on finding Pang Jian and grinding this despicable thief, who had betrayed her infinite expectations, into dust right then and there!

She had pinned all her hopes on Pang Jian, yet Pang Jian had only been coveting her bag of spirit stones!

She scrambled along the bottom of the pool using both hands and feet, dragging herself through the mesh of the net, charging toward Pang Jian with eyes that seemed to spit fire.

"Crazy woman."

Having secured the bag of pure spirit stones, Pang Jian returned to the stone gate and hid in the shadows, watching Ning Yao's ridiculous antics. He thought to himself that this woman was truly courting death.

At the same time, the iron chains outside suddenly moved.

Hong Tai, gripping the chains with both hands, felt the movement and trembled. "Prepare to retreat! There must be something alive down there; that net is moving violently!"

The two Pulse-Opening Realm leaders, who had been watching his subtle movements, bolted toward the outside of the deep valley like lightning the moment they heard him.

They did not look back, ignoring whatever else Hong Tai might have said, wanting only to distance themselves as quickly as possible from the bloody scene that was about to become a slaughterhouse.

Jin Yang could no longer care about anything else; he landed swiftly on the back of the black-and-white patterned python, intending to use the beast to escape.

"No, that's not right!"

"This movement... it doesn't feel like it's being swallowed by a Dark Giant Python! The strength of a Dark Giant Python is definitely not this light!"

Hong Tai, who had been about to abandon the chains and use a forbidden technique to flee, felt the force coming from the other end of the line and tried to pull.

He actually moved it!

"It's not a Dark Giant Python!"

He realized suddenly that if that terrifying beast from the Fifth Realm had bitten the silver net holding Ning Yao at any point, it would not have been something he could easily shake.

Filled with infinite curiosity, he pulled hard on the iron chain, hauling it back continuously.

Deep in the gloom of the pool, as Hong Tai pulled the net back, Pang Jian watched as Ning Yao, who had been crawling along using her hands and feet while wrapped in the silver net, suddenly flew upward and headed toward the surface of the water.

A Silver Alliance and another alliance have been added; I bow and offer my thanks. It warms me that people still remember an antique like Old Ni. Thank you to every friend who tipped and voted.

This Purgatory Calamity is truly a work of my heart; you can all rest assured and keep reading.

Really, I'm not lying~~