A World Worth Protecting

1

As the different political factions stood in a face-off against one another, Wang Baole hid in the tunnel. His pupils had contracted suddenly. After his cultivation had reached the Foundation Establishment realm, his mosquitoes had gained considerable resilience. They might not rival a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator, but they weren’t mere ants that could be destroyed with a single glance.

A mere glance from the youth in crimson robes, however, had turned all nine of his mosquitoes to dust instantly. This meant that the youth’s power had reached stupendous levels.

<em>The Sect Lord of the Galactic Dusk Sect… </em>Wang Baole narrowed his eyes and frowned. He kept his distance and pulled out a handful of Mystic Trace Beads. He was reluctant to simply leave. He released nine mosquitoes again and commanded them to fly ahead.

Inside the cavern, the Galactic Dusk Sect Lord’s strange entrance, his overpowering presence that blanketed the entire area, his piercing eyes, and his strong words had the effects of a game changer. The precarious balance was thrown. The tides turned.

The allied Five Generation Sky Clan and Galactic Dusk Sect had seven Core Formation realm cultivators between them. The Sect Lord of the Galactic Dusk Sect was at the perfected Core Formation realm, and he alone was enough to turn the tide.

The balance of power was collapsing. It was then, under the piercing gaze of the Galactic Dusk Sect Lord, amidst the heavy silence, that the black-robed man and the giant mutated tree suddenly laughed.

Both the giant tree and the black-robed man smiled. Upon closer look though, one might notice that the black-robed man had started smiling first. The giant tree then followed shortly after.

The black-robed man started shaking his head and sighing as his smile grew wider.

“I’ve been trying to figure out the trump card the Five Generation Sky Clan and the Galactic Dusk Sect were holding. I didn’t expect it to be the Sect Lord of the Galactic Dusk Sect’s personal appearance. What a big catch.”

“But this is our parent tree. The moon… can be considered our home. How can we not have something to protect ourselves from you outsiders?” As the black-robed man spoke, he lifted his right foot then stomped the ground suddenly. The others began to frown as a face suddenly emerged from the tree branch upon which the fruit was hanging.

As it appeared, the rest of its body started to form with startling speed as well. In a blink of an eye, a man was stepping out from the tree!

He had the appearance of a young man, and his eyes were cold and merciless. As he stepped out from the branch, a Core Formation realm cultivation erupted from his person. The Spirit Qi was identical to the aura belonging to the black-robed man and the giant mutated tree!

His appearance sent the cultivators from the Five Generation Sky Clan and the Galactic Dusk Sect gasping. The Sect Lord of the Galactic Dusk Sect narrowed his eyes. His face was solemn as he seemed to realize something, the look on his face darkening.

It was then that the second batch of nine mosquitoes that Wang Baole had released reached the center of the cavern. Upon seeing the person who had walked out from the tree branch, Wang Baole reeled back in shock. Incredulity flashed across his eyes.

<em>Huang Shan!</em>

The person who had walked out from the tree branch was the third descendant of the mythical Osmanthus Tree on the moon, the one who had been destroyed by the Five Generation Sky Clan and the Galactic Dusk Sect with the aid of the other two giant trees after he had just entered the Mystic Luna Realm!

He wasn’t dead!

As soon as he stepped out, Huang Shan and the other giant tree immediately raced towards the black-robed man. The three started melding with one another instantly. Upon closer look, one could see that Huang Shan and the other giant tree had merged themselves with the black-robed man’s body!

The elders of the Five Generation Sky Clan and the Galactic Dusk Sect were immediately alarmed. They moved to stop them but were themselves stopped by the solemn-looking Galactic Dusk Sect Lord.

“He’s trying to lure you over!”

The black-robed man smiled as soon as the Galactic Dusk Sect Lord spoke. The seemingly slow fusion suddenly sped up and was instantly completed, taking but the span of a breath. The giant tree and Huang Shan vanished, and only the black-robed man remained standing. Aura suddenly erupted from his person.

Waves of a perfected Core Formation realm blast surged outward, roaring to the heavens; its power rivaled that of the Galactic Dusk Sect Lord!

If the human cultivators had approached earlier and tried to stop the black-robed man, they would have been caught by surprise, and a number of them would have been killed. It was clear… that the black-robed man’s fusion had been complete. The earlier performance had been an act to lure them in!

“It’s a pity no one took the bait.” The black-robed man rolled his shoulders. As he lamented, he turned towards the Galactic Dusk Sect Lord. The latter had an ugly look on his face.

“Someone told me that you would have something else up your sleeve. I didn’t doubt that. That’s why I had something prepared as well. I provided you with two pieces of wrong information right from the start!”

“The first is the supposed myth of the parent tree being survived by three descendants that grew up on earth. This is both true and untrue. The truth is that it did happen. The lie… is that before entering the Mystic Luna Realm, I had already absorbed the other two trees. I’ve absorbed their memories and senses and become the main host, while they became my avatars!” The black-robed man smiled. He was about to continue when the Galactic Dusk Sect Lord snorted and interrupted him.

“You need not say more. The second lie you are referring to is allowing us to witness the death of your avatar. His death misled us into believing that this avatar didn’t ally himself with anyone else and had journeyed to the moon on his own!”

“This avatar of yours must be working with the Federation, right? The four Dao Colleges? Or the Seventeen-Member Senate? Neither seems likely. You must be working with the current Federation President!” The Sect Lord of the Galactic Dusk Sect said in a grave voice.

The pupils of the black-robed man contracted ever so slightly. He wasn’t surprised to have his lie exposed so openly and directly by the Sect Lord of the Galactic Dusk Sect. They had all nearly revealed their full hand by now. It would be embarrassing if they hadn’t already guessed what had indeed happened.

Still, he felt something was amiss and began to raise his guard.

With the aid of the mosquitoes, Wang Baole was able to witness and hear the entire exchange. Waves of emotions threatened to sweep him under. The layers of scheming and conspiracy that were involved here was too much for him. The conspiring against one another, even the sudden change that had taken over the moon, had all been foreseen!

It was clear that the Federation had known what was going to take place on the moon!

To be more exact, the Federation President had known all along. The four Dao Colleges and the other political powers might have been aware and had also gone along with it…

What had appeared to be mutiny from the Five Generation Sky Clan and the Galactic Dusk Sect in the Mystic Luna Realm was actually a trap set by the Federation President for the two powers!

<em>That must be why the array formation sealing the mystic realm hasn’t been broken yet! </em>Wang Baole’s breath quickened. His emotions stirred like a wild storm inside him.

<em>In that case, the people must be talking all about it by now… high officials’ autobiographies stated before—public opinion… is a politician’s weapon!</em>

<em>So, the first step is to stir public debate, then create public pressure. At the same time, use the other political forces’ disciples trapped in the mystic realm as bargaining chips, gather all their forces, and carry out a rescue effort. While erecting a positive image, it’ll also create pressure on the Five Generation Sky Clan and the Galactic Dusk Sect. They’ll have something over the two and be able to weaken the power of both political forces to the greatest extent!</em>

Wang Baole didn’t know if he had guessed right, but everything he had seen and heard seemed to lead to this single conclusion!

The key to everything seemed to lay with the black-robed man, the last surviving heir to the Osmanthus Tree on the moon!

He had reached an agreement with the Federation President and turned the tables on the Five Generation Sky Clan and the Galactic Dusk Sect. Both would satisfy their end of the bargain and get what they wanted…

Just as Wang Baole was reeling from his revelation, the Sect Lord of the Galactic Dusk Sect laughed. There was an unfathomable look in his eyes as he stared meaningfully at the black-robed man.

“Even though I don’t know why Duan Muque believes that you can execute his plan flawlessly, but if I guess correctly, based on the plan you and the Federation President made, he and his friends from the other political powers should have destroyed the array formation and arrived. They should be here right now, ready to persecute us, and to end everything, shouldn’t they?

“So… why aren’t they here now? Why isn’t the array formation open?”

“Fellow Daoist Osmanthus, your ambitions are indeed great!” The Sect Lord of the Galactic Dusk Sect narrowed his eyes and said coolly.

As soon as his words fell from his lips, a flicker of light passed the black-robed man’s eyes. His wariness of the Galactic Dusk Sect Lord grew. With just a few words, regardless of if they were made in hindsight, he had exposed the truth and revealed the answer.

“Seems like I’ve guessed correctly again…” The Galactic Dusk Sect Lord laughed.

“Let me venture another guess then. Duan Muque is able to exert a degree of control over you, but it’s not perfect. That’s how you managed to beat him at his own game. Right from the start, your goal has been to monopolize the fruit… or should I say fuse with the fruit, so that you can become the first Nascent Soul in the Federation. With that, you would no longer have anything to fear!”

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