Chương 276: Nine Wraths Sect.
The forest surrounding the area where Liang Chen had arrived was filled with Demonic beasts and various cultivators, so much blood had been shed here that even a fair bit of the trees had been mutated into Demonic beasts. But even so, there wasn't a single interruption as Liang Chen made his way through the forest and headed for the trading hub he had been pointed towards.
The main reason was the sheer speed at which he travelled, it simply made it impossible for them to catch him, or even notice him for that matter. Another reason was purely instinctual, the cultivators automatically tied him to the horrific attack that had just rocked the forest and the Demonic beasts were so low level that the mere presence of his bloodline caused them to shrink back in terror.
Thanks to this, it really didn't take long for him to spot the distant settlement, reaching it not long after the tops of the highest buildings fell into his eyes. The woman who told him about it said it was a settlement that served as a trading hub, but if he went just by size then Liang Chen would have to say that it was much closer to a city than a mere settlement.
It was triangular in shape, a mansion surrounded by four tall towers standing on each of the city's corners. A myriad of houses was scattered about in a haphazard manner within the boundary set by the three mansions, but unlike any city he had seen before, this one wasn't surrounded by any walls. It didn't even have any defensive battlements or guard posts, it was completely open to outside attacks.
But Liang Chen didn't have to think too much about it to realize why the city was built like this. Purgatory's Cradle seemingly sole purpose was for all living beings to kill each other in droves, why would any structure in such a place have defensive measures?
Cities were usually the safe havens of humans, but that fact was completely turned on its head here in Purgatory's Cradle. They were among the most dangerous areas as you would constantly be surrounded by possible enemies, a bloody battle could break out at any moment, even if the only reason to fight was to kill one or two more people.
Liang Chen slowed his pace when he left the forest and started to approach the city, making sure that his senses remained spread out at all times. The city could be entered from any location thanks to the lack of walls, and unlike most cities in cruel training grounds like this, there wasn't a single person loitering outside the city to attack incoming travellers. After all, with murder encouraged even within the city, why would you bother waiting outside for travellers when you could attack them just as easily inside the city?
The stench of blood only grew thicker when Liang Chen entered the city. He only had to take a few steps before he saw the first bone fragments haphazardly tossed into an alley, dried blood staining some buildings and parts of the street. And he only got to take a few more steps before a soft sigh escaped his lips.
The earthen road two steps to his side suddenly rose up as a man wielding two strangely small cleavers sprung forth. He brandished both cleavers as he chopped at Liang Chen's legs, but a thin arc of lightning shot out from Liang Chen's body and passed through the man's head. He fell to the ground without life, the previously half-filled drop of blood appearing in front of Liang Chen's chest once more as a minuscule part of it was filled up.
It was just as the woman had said, there really was no point for stronger cultivators like him to kill these weaker people. Looking at the truly tiny part that had just filled up, he guessed that he would need to kill at the very least 100 000 men just like the one he had killed now to fill up the remaining half of the transparent blood drop.
The interspatial ring worn by the man left his finger and flew into Liang Chen's grasp, Yumao swiftly disposing of the corpse by letting it sink into its own shadow. Yumao was already looking forward to their time here, there would definitely be countless opportunities for him to refill his nearly depleted stockpile of food.
Liang Chen continued to make his way through the city, but only one other person dared to attack him without first testing the waters, the others were clearly far more cautious. The closest trading hub had already entered his senses, the tension in that particular plaza so thick he could practically feel it despite the distance.
But he stopped when he was a few kilometres away from the plaza, his gaze turning sideways and landing on the mansion that stood a bit to his side. It was one of the three great mansions in this city and his lightning-based senses were only able to observe about a third of the mansion from the current distance. He moved his gaze between the distant plaza and the circular mansion, eventually letting out a deep sigh.
"It's to be expected for a place like this, but it's still a shame to see. Come, Yumao, there's no rest for the wicked."
Liang Chen moved his feet and changed his direction, heading to the mansion rather than the plaza. Yumao perked up rather excitedly, his tongue constantly flashing out and licking the air as he looked forward to the chaos that he knew only his dear father could cause.
The circular, nearly dome-like mansion, was the same as the city, not a single wall or fence surrounding it to prevent others from getting close. There weren't any walls, but there were, in fact, a few people scattered throughout the surrounding garden to serve as guards. There weren't any allies in a place like this, but a deal could still be made and enforced by an oath, ensuring that the stronger people who liked having some form of servants around them could still have followers to wait on them.
"Another challenger? Get rid of him so he doesn't spoil Mistress' mood!"
Liang Chen was spotted and attacked the moment he set foot in the garden around the mansion, the nearest guards charging at him without even bothering to ask him anything. But there wasn't really a single person in this city that could threaten Liang Chen so he only needed to give a casual wave of his hand to bring the attackers to their knees, his poison invading their minds.
"Why don't you guys tell me about the various things that you get up to here?"
He had the six men spill everything they knew, not just about Purgatory's Cradle but also about everything they and the other people currently living in this mansion had done. He had already formed some expectations after what he had seen inside the mansion, but hearing it still left him sighing at the depravity people could show when given the chance.
"Haah, what's the saying again, birds of a feather flock together?"
He could only sigh to himself once more as he stepped past the six men, their blank gazes stiffening as their bodies petrified and became blank-faced statues. Even their souls had turned to stone under Liang Chen's newest poison, the one coming from the Stone-Soul King, reaping their lives and turning them into constant reminders for any who saw them.
Liang Chen quickly reached the entrance of the mansion and stepped inside, moving through the hallways and rooms with quick steps. 12 more people were turned into statues while he headed for the room he had already spotted earlier. It didn't take long for him to reach the room on the fifth floor, pushing open the door to a luxurious bedroom as he spoke.
"You know, cultivators already have it hard enough even without people like you staining the place."
The bedroom he stepped into was quite large and filled with various potted flowers, a bed large enough for five people serving as the centrepiece of the room. There was currently a middle-aged man strapped to the bed, a woman who looked to be in her late twenties standing at the side of the bed.
She was currently holding a long metal rod whose tip had been heated until it glowed. She was using the scorching metal to prod and brand the man, who was covered in a myriad of wounds, the worst being the still bleeding hole left where his genitals should be.
The woman's body stiffened somewhat as Liang Chen's voice sounded out, but she made sure that her blue eyes didn't reveal a trace of nervousness when she turned to face him. She brushed aside a strand of her curly brown hair, putting on an expression of surprise as she swept Liang Chen's body with her gaze.
"Hee, you actually got past the guards? Guess you've come here to fight then, been a while since last."
The woman's finger moved slightly as she spoke, a spike of ice suddenly jutting out of the bound man's throat, silencing his moans as his eyes turned blank. Liang Chen's eyebrows twitched momentarily, it was exactly this scene that made him change his direction earlier. It was quite similar to some of the things he had seen in the Mystic's Hidden Realm, and it was exactly one of the things he disliked the most.
"I wouldn't say that I've come here to fight, it's more like gathering some information before I get rid of you."
Indeed, the woman was only at the early stage of the Soaring Immortal realm, an entire realm below Liang Chen, there was no way it would be a fight. The woman had yet to detect Liang Chen's cultivation, he wasn't the type who wantonly released his aura for others, so she still didn't know the actual difference between her and Liang Chen.
"Quite confident, I like that in men. But the look in your eyes is a bit different from most, your desire for killing me, could it be because of of...this?"
She prodded the now dead man strapped to the bed with the scorching metal, embedding the tip in his somewhat chubby waist. Liang Chen didn't need to say anything, the woman only needed to see the look in his eyes to know that she was right, bursting into laughter.
"Haha, now that's rich! Do you think you're some sort of avenger or saviour, the hero of the innocent? That sort of beautiful story might fly in the outside world, but this isn't the outside world. There are no oppressed here, there is no innocence here, just a bunch of bastards murdering each other. There's nothing worth saving or getting angry for."
The woman laughed so hard that tears almost started to well up in her eyes. Liang Chen's actions were indeed laughable, especially in a place like this filled with 99% murderers and monsters, only the remaining 1% being people like him. It would already be a good deed to not just kill people wantonly, who would be so dumb as to actually think about moving for the sake of others? And yet Liang Chen was doing just that, merely shrugging his shoulders in the face of the woman's laughter.
"Maybe you're right, but so what? I'd rather save someone and then take care of them myself later than not save someone and then wish I had later."
Liang Chen stepped forward after he shrugged his shoulders, the woman's eyebrows moving as she instantly gathered her Qi. Several sharp spears of ice formed around her and shot forward, tearing through the air before crashing into Liang Chen's body. But they only exploded helplessly when they touched Liang Chen's body, not even tearing his robe as he continued to walk forward.
And with her attacks failing to even scratch his clothing, the woman realized that she was facing something she had no chance of resisting. But she still had one more card she could play, the greatest trump card saved for the direst situations.
"Wait wait wait! I assume you're new so you don't know this, but I and my two sisters aren't just random people who wanted to take over this city! We're outer disciples of the Nine Wraths Sect sent here to keep an eye on things in case anything about Purgatory props up! We were sent by the Nine Wraths sect!"
The Nine Wraths sect stood at the centre of Purgatory's Cradle and were the ones currently in possession of Purgatory, they could be considered the overlords of this entire place. They were also the ones working hardest to nurture Purgatory while doing their best to prevent others from getting their hands on it, they were just as murderous as everyone else here. The woman thought that mentioning her background would alleviate the situation, but Liang Chen didn't even raise an eyebrow.
"And? Your background doesn't absolve you of or excuse the things you've done."
Liang Chen continued to move forwards with slow steps, each one feeling like a bolt of thunder in the woman's mind. In truth, Liang Chen could have used his poison on her without even entering the mansion, he could easily have infected her from outside. But after hearing everything that the guards had learned or even taken part in, he chose a different option.
The woman and her two sisters, the two other rulers of this city, were indeed vile people. They were on the level of Liu Daning, who Liang Chen had killed in the Mystic's Hidden Realm back when he was still so weak that he had to spend two days flooding the palace they lived in with poison.
She was the type of woman who left a bad taste in his mouth, fully content with immersing herself in all the depravity and debauchery that you could find. And she was among the type of people who made him the angriest, so he moved slowly. He wanted her to feel fear, wanted her to truly feel the price he deemed worthy for her deeds. And feel fear she did, stumbling backwards until her back hit the wall.
"But we're members of the Nine Wraths sect, we're worth much more alive than we are dead! And if you kill us, you'll instantly become the enemy of the Nine Wraths sect!"
Liang Chen's expression didn't move as she made her offer, even throwing in a threat to discourage him. It had already been several years since he decided on his path to kill those he deemed evil, and how many times in those years had he stayed his hands just because of something like fear of making more enemies?
"Sorry, but my heart isn't big enough to keep people I dislike alive, even if they might be more useful that way. I prefer getting rid of them so that my small heart can feel a bit better. As for becoming an enemy of your sect, I've already killed disciples from a sect with a Primeval Sovereign, I really don't care about things like backgrounds."
Liang Chen had never forgotten his feud with the Sealing God Empyrean, there would eventually come a day where he would pay for the things he did on Liang Chen's home planet. And if Liang Chen didn't even fear him, there was no need to even talk about a sect like the Nine Wraths sect, which was a fair bit smaller in comparison.
He stretched out his hand and grabbed onto the woman's face, poison seeping into her head from his fingertips. The last thing she saw before her vision went dark was the snickering face of a small black snake barely visible through the gap between Liang Chen's fingers.
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