The Purgatory Calamity

At the bottom of the pool.

A dark corner.

The python, its body paralyzed and rigid from weirdly high temperatures as it clutched Pang Jian in its formidable jaws, felt its remaining Beast Soul bound by a powerful and irresistible suppression from the "Dark Giant Python".

After its transformation, the python's eyes, now as deep as obsidian, were slowly being submerged by a scorching sea of light, within which thousands of slender, hair-like Spirit Snakes were faintly visible.

Each black Spirit Snake, a refined strand of its Beast Soul, was rapidly dissolving and refining.

Attached to this frail body, the "Dark Giant Python's" Beast Soul was firmly locked in place by overwhelming Supernatural Abilities, and it could not escape.

It could only issue plaintive pleas through the Beast Soul.

Time passed—seeming only a moment, yet like a lengthy epoch—until its already fragmented Beast Soul was finally no longer evaporating.

Then, it heard Pang Jian muttering to himself at the bottom of his heart, "This guy's fangs don't seem very sharp."

Because of this, the "Dark Giant Python" also felt the youth it had in its mouth forcefully push it away.

With a gaze filled with pain and regret, it watched the young man who was also strangely examining it, ideas seemingly sprouting within his heart.

It could not know the thoughts unrelated to it, but as soon as the young man thought of utilizing it in any way, it would immediately sense it.

"If I could ride it into battle in the water, it should make things much smoother."

As soon as the young man had this thought, the python suddenly became furious, and then felt strands of its Beast Soul being eroded away again.

It instantly fell into a frantic panic.

Looking at the bronze medallion hanging on the youth's chest, the python had an enlightened moment as if a blessing to the heart, and, in its desire for a sliver of life, moved forward proactively.

With its snake's neck, it wormed its way beneath the young man's legs and willingly transformed into the youth's mount in the water.

"After all, it's only a body possessed by one of its own kind. It won't diminish my dignity."

It comforted itself with these thoughts in its heart.

It quickly discovered that once it had met the young man's expectations, not only did its Beast Soul stop disappearing, but part of the Beast Soul previously submerged by the sea of light had also quietly returned.

Its spirits lifted considerably, and as it retrieved some of its lost memories, it became clear about one thing.

——As long as it obediently followed the guidance of the young man's heart and actively cooperated in a humble manner, it could gather its Beast Soul and fully restore it!

It tried to actively communicate with the young man, wishing for him to continue issuing commands, but found the young man could not hear its thoughts.

It could only passively sense the thoughts in the youth's heart, and that too was only a small part related to it.

In secret, as if an invisible pair of eyes were watching like a deity, guarding it from forbidden knowledge it should not touch.

Having lost part of its Beast Soul and many key memories, the "Dark Giant Python" no longer knew why it had been so hostile toward the young man.

It only vaguely remembered that the bronze pendant hanging in front of the youth's chest was one of the most terrifying things in the world.

For it, that object symbolized supreme dignity that no existence should ever desecrate.

...

"Strange."

Pang Jian, bewildered after extracting himself from Snake's Mouth, watched the python, which had wanted to bite him to death, proactively crawl over and carry him with its neck.

At the point where the python's fangs had clamped down, only a few holes bled on his back, and his bones weren't shattered.

After bleeding a bit, those wounds also quickly stopped.

He couldn't understand why such a ferocious and cunning creature had suddenly become so tame and compliant.

Especially since inside this python was not Hong Tai's serpent, but a great murderous being lurking in Black Water Pool.

Looking at the python's body, with bones spanning tens of meters, he felt it even more inexplicable that the Obsidian Strange Snake possessing the smaller python was acting so bizarrely.

"I should join the battle."

As soon as this thought appeared, the python that now regarded itself as Pang Jian's mount swam toward the location of the Phoenix Bone.

Pang Jian, startled, thought to himself in the water where he couldn't speak, "Not now!"

The movement of the python abruptly stopped.

Pang Jian's expression became incredibly odd, and he tried a few more probes with his heart's voice, attempting to have the now compliant python shift its position.

Wherever he willed, the python moved, as if an extension of his limbs, seeming like part of his body.

"It can actually know my heart's voice. This creature really is extraordinary, worthy of being... a Spirit Beast that understands the human heart. But neither Zhou Qingchen nor Han Duping ever mentioned that Spirit Beasts could perceive others' thoughts?"

Pang Jian, unable to solve the riddle, continued to test the serpent, finally confirming that the Strange Snake that had taken possession of its kind was indeed following his commands completely.

What Pang Jian found regrettable was... he couldn't know the thoughts of the Strange Snake, nor why it was at the bottom of the pool, and why it was obedient to him.

However, with the help of this Strange Snake, Pang Jian felt even more confident about getting involved.

"The divine mystery within the Phoenix Bone should be the source that triggers my transformation. I might as well try my luck."

He didn't rush to send the python attacking, but remained hidden in the shadows, closely observing the battle around the Phoenix Bone, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

...

At the bottom of the pool.

Ning Yao, bound by a silver net, puffed her cheeks, now and then watching Hong Tai join hands with three Meridians Channeling Realm powerhouses in besieging the Ouyang Family's notorious good-for-nothing, and occasionally gazing toward the vanishing spot of the python.

She had seen with her own eyes how Pang Jian waved goodbye to her and then headed towards the dark area close to the rock wall.

The python that Hong Tai had instructed to find Pang Jian also swam in that direction and should have accurately located Pang Jian's hiding place.

Yet, why was the python taking so long to reappear?

Ning Yao, feeling deeply humiliated by Pang Jian, now harbored a secret grudge against him, wishing nothing more than for Pang Jian to be torn apart by that python.

But she had waited for a long time without seeing the python emerge.

To be able to hold her breath longer at the bottom of the pool, she didn't dare to move around, even though Hong Tai and the others weren't paying attention to her anymore.

Because the more she struggled and writhed, the faster her breath would escape, and even at the Meridians Channeling Realm, she wouldn't last very long.

...

On the surface of the pool.

The enchanting woman who had been hesitating at the top of the Phoenix Bone finally could bear it no longer.

"Go down, become my eyes, and let me see clearly what's happening at the bottom of the pool," she said.

In the midst of the pale blood mist, she elegantly waved her hand to issue an order, and the Qi Refinement Realm ghost cultivators possessed by "Spirit Evil" jumped into the water one after another.

As these individuals plunged into the water, the scene on the bottom of the pool unfolded in her mind like a three-dimensional and complete image, displaying multiple viewpoints.

The Phoenix Bone piercing the head of the "Dark Giant Python," the battle unfolding around the Phoenix Bone, the anomaly of Ouyang Duanhai who had been affected by the Phoenix Marrow Heart Eater, the frequent glances of Hong Tai and Jin Yang towards the spots of Phoenix Marrow within the Phoenix Bone, and Ning Yao's absent gaze toward a dark corner.

All of this she saw with utmost clarity.

But she was not satisfied with just these.

She continually conveyed her thoughts to "Spirit Evil," directing the possessed ghost cultivators to scatter further, seeking the mastermind behind the "Dark Giant Python."

Gradually, one of the ghost cultivators possessed by "Spirit Evil" made his way towards the shadowy region Ning Yao had been staring at.

"Hong Tai and the others, as well as that humanoid monster, I can't get involved in their fight right now. But these lowly Qi Refinement Realm fools dare to seek me out underwater; they truly have a death wish," Pang Jian muttered coldly in his heart, glancing back at the stone gate that had closed until there was only a narrow slit left, and silently memorizing the location again.

"Follow me and slay these fools!"

With this thought, the python possessed by the "Dark Giant Python" suddenly burst forth from its shadowy hiding spot!

The python underwater now became the most lively and swift entity at the bottom of the pool, its silent appearance going completely unnoticed by the ghost cultivator possessed by "Spirit Evil."

"Pfft!"

A long spear immediately thrust forward, opening a bloom of blood on the forehead of the Qi Refinement Realm ghost cultivator.

Following Pang Jian's silent command, the "Dark Giant Python"—striving for a complete Beast Soul—looked at the burst of blood on the man's forehead in surprise to find a Spirit Evil it could devour residing within.

Within the depths of its obsidian-like snake pupils, two dark pools similar to Black Water Pool emerged, and in those waters, silent whirlpools began to form.

The strange whirlpools and the dark pools existing in its eyes sucked a shadowy figure out from the "bloom of blood" on the ghost cultivator's forehead.

The shadow disappeared into the "Dark Giant Python's" black pupils in an instant.

"I too had sworn to avenge you, Brother Zhou. If there is an opportunity and a chance, I naturally want to exterminate those involved in this matter,"

Pang Jian, having thrust his Dragon Pattern Spear through the ghost cultivator, locked his gaze early on the next target, not noticing that the ghost cultivator he presumed dead harbored another world in his skull.

Being out of the state of practicing "Pot Heaven Nourishing Qi Spell," he was unaware of the "Dark Giant Python's" discovery, which was feeding on the killing of "Spirit Evil."

"Next."

With a resurgence of killing intent in his heart, the "Dark Giant Python" beneath him complied with excitement.

As the genuine master of Black Water Pool, the "Dark Giant Python," with a body far weaker than its true form, carried Pang Jian swiftly underwater.

Pang Jian repeatedly struck with his Dragon Pattern Spear.

The subsequent ghost cultivators who fell into the water, controlled by the mysterious woman's thoughts, were successively slain by his Dragon Pattern Spear.

Below the water.

Ning Yao, who sat up within the silver net, watched with a blank stare as Pang Jian, wielding the Dragon Pattern Spear and riding on what used to be Hong Tai's Spirit Beast, slaughtered all around, killing one after another the ghost cultivators who fell into the water.

In Ning Yao's eyes, incredulousness spread; she felt as if she were in the midst of a nightmare.

Atop the Phoenix Bone.

Within the dim blood mist, the alluring silhouette of the beautiful blood shadow cursed furiously, stomping her foot, "Damn thief, you've blinded all my eyes!"

...