A World Worth Protecting

1

Wang Baole came to an immediate decision as soon as the three cultivators appeared. Both their strange armor and their red eyes indicated that they weren’t cultivators from the Federation!

That made it clear who they were.

<em>The culprits behind the Mercury tragedy, cultivators from an extraterrestrial civilization! </em>Wang Baole, who had been reeling back from shock, unexpectedly calmed down after realizing their identities and the danger he was in. This was, without a doubt, the most dangerous situation he had ever found himself in.

Any slightest misstep could result in the destruction of his body and spirit. Fortunately, the three seemed to want him caught alive. They might have bespelled and held his body frozen, but they didn’t ensnare his consciousness. Perhaps they were too confident of themselves, or perhaps there was some other reason. Regardless, even though Wang Baole couldn’t move at all presently, his mind was still conscious and alert.

With a clear mind, he would be able to unleash his killer move at this critical moment! But the timing of unleashing this move was pivotal. As such, despite the looming danger pressing onto him, Wang Baole continued to wait.

He didn’t have to wait too long. As soon as all those thoughts surfaced in his mind, one of the three cultivators stepped towards him. His right hand raised and was about to pull Wang Baole over!

As for the remaining two cultivators, they didn’t pay any attention to Wang Baole. It was clear that even though he had a green lotus of an unknown grade inside his body, he was still merely a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator to them.

Their attention was drawn towards the deep end of the catacombs. They seemed to be searching for something.

It would have taken a long time to narrate the entire sequence of events, which, in actual fact, took place in the blink of an eye. As the two cultivators stared into the deep end of the catacombs, Wang Baole roared inside his heart.

“Enlightened…”

The words rang out in his mind, and the Martian skies shuddered. The heavens seemed to have warped themselves as clouds boiled and rolled. A presence from the far end of the universe suddenly descended upon the planet and landed on Wang Baole.

As this incredulous presence descended, the Nascent Soul realm cultivator that had been about to grab hold of Wang Baole grew alarmed suddenly. An unimaginable dread made his pupils contract, and his body retreated hastily and instinctively. He started gasping.

“Who is it!”

He wasn’t the only one who was shocked. The centipede-faced cultivator and the third Nascent Soul realm cultivator had both been deep in thought. Suddenly, they also felt the terrifying presence and grew alarmed, and they gasped and retreated as well.

“What’s going on!”

“This presence…”

As they reeled back from shock, crackling sounds rang out from within Wang Baole. The spell that had frozen him in place splintered and shattered into pieces, allowing Wang Baole to regain mobility immediately. He didn’t hesitate. As soon as he regained control of his own body, he immediately reached out to the array formation and tried to sound the alarm!

As soon as he succeeded in raising the alarm, those outside like Li Wan’er would ready themselves. The sudden change in the new city’s Great Martian Array Formation would also alert the Governor, and she would realize something had gone wrong.

Even though Wang Baole knew that he was still in extreme danger, this was the best course of action he had at the moment.

Just as Wang Baole regained control of his body and was about to reach out through the array formation and raise the alarm, the centipede-faced cultivator’s eyes flashed. Despite his wariness and shock, he still formed a series of hand seals. An illusory compass appeared before him instantly. It shone. Rays of light shot out more quickly than Wang Baole could reach out to the array formation. In the blink of an eye, it formed a barrier that prevented Wang Baole from reaching out to the array formation!

It was a divine power that Wang Baole had never heard of, and its power alarmed Wang Baole. He could feel his connection with the array formation being cut off suddenly.

“Damn it!” Wang Baole’s face turned pale. He had no time to think. He prepared to make a run for it while uttering the scripture inwardly. The consciousness from the deep end of the universe erupted again. Wang Baole’s speed reached its pinnacle at that moment.

However, he was still merely at the Foundation Establishment realm… just as he was about to charge out of the catacombs, the three Nascent Soul realm cultivators came to their senses. Despite being shocked and terrified by the overpowering consciousness, they realized that it was merely an illusion. One of them snorted. He raised his large hand and swept it across the air. A sudden, immense force erupted and rose to the skies, surging towards Wang Baole.

Wang Baole shuddered as fresh blood spurted from his mouth. His clothes were torn into shreds, revealing the eighth-grade Dharmic Armament armor beneath—it was shattered. Thanks to the armor, Wang Baole didn’t perish under that blow, but his organs all showed signs of rupture. Fortunately, his vitality was strong and abundant, and he was already recovering speedily. Regardless, he still spat out fresh pools of blood. His consciousness blurred.

“He has armor on! There’s something funny about this guy. Let’s join forces and hold him down first!”

“He has the green lotus and is able to produce such an terrifying, unimaginable willpower… not to mention the fact that he was training here. He could be the child of fortune of this civilization!” The centipede-faced cultivator said. He was already approaching Wang Baole, and the other two did the same. They might be Nascent Soul realm cultivators while Wang Baole was only a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator, but at this moment, the three could hardly care about their respective levels of cultivation.

The value that Wang Baole had displayed during this brief encounter had climbed exponentially and repeatedly.

With the three cultivators joining forces, even a Nascent Soul realm cultivator would find it difficult to hold them off, and Wang Baole wasn’t even a Nascent Soul realm cultivator. Death hung over his neck, causing despair to shine in his eyes. The wide chasm separating their levels of cultivation made him powerless to fight back. This was the best he could do.

He knew that he would be killed without question if he were hit!

As the moment of crisis erupted, as the three seemingly teleported to his side, suddenly, a burst of light exploded from Wang Baole’s person. The black mask flew out of its own free will and appeared suddenly. A black light exploded from it. It dazzled and blinded, forming an illusory form—it was Little Missy!

Little Missy had a solemn expression on her face when she appeared. She raised her right hand and pointed a finger at the approaching trio. Layers of illusory web appeared out of thin air, falling over and blanketing the trio, forming a sudden obstacle.

It was clear that this was only a temporary measure. This was the limits of what Little Missy was capable of. Her form grew fainter. She whispered fiercely and urgently, her voice ringing in Wang Baole’s mind.

“Run, quick!”

Wang Baole was already falling back hastily when Little Missy spoke. He knew how difficult it was going to be for him to leave the catacombs and escape outside. Even if he managed to escape, what was he going to do next…

He had no way to delay or hold his attacks back until rescue from the Governor came. In fact, if he escaped outside, he might lead disaster to the doorsteps of the new city. From how the three extraterrestrial cultivators had tried to stop Wang Baole from raising the alarm, Wang Baole realized that they were worried about exposing themselves. This meant that as long as their presence remained undetected, they wouldn’t bring death and destruction to the new city!

Wang Baole had no choice. He had only one path before him!

It was… the Divine Armament Catacombs!

Little Missy had said that the Dark Artifact belonged to her. He’d just have to bet on it!

The series of thoughts flashed across Wang Baole’s mind. His breathing quickened as he clenched his teeth, giving up any hope of escaping from the catacombs and instead turning and racing deeper into the catacombs. He unleashed his full speed and dashed ahead, approaching the wall at the end of the catacombs.

“Wang Baole, where are you going?” As Wang Baole burst forth with a sudden surge of speed, Little Missy’s voice echoed in his head. It was filled with anxiety.

“Little Missy, could you just exert a little control over the Dark Artifact and get it to open a way in for me?”

“I…” Little Missy was instantly stunned.

While Wang Baole raced towards the deep end of the catacombs, and while he conversed with Little Missy hastily, the three extraterrestrial cultivators also unleashed their skills and blew up the web that the Little Missy had conjured.

“There’s some huge secret hiding inside that young rascal!”

“What kind of Artifact Spirit is this? It’s clearly severely weakened, but with a single finger it managed to trap us for a few moments!”

The breathing of the three cultivators quickened. Unprecedented greed and desire appeared in their eyes. The attacks that Wang Baole had unleashed during this brief period were sufficient to make their eyes red with greed.

They didn’t stop and immediately raced after Wang Baole. They were extremely fast, unleashing their teleportation skills. They were about to catch up to Wang Baole. It was then that Wang Baole found himself with no time left. He had no time to say more to Little Missy. He howled, the devouring seed inside his body erupting. It unleashed its full suction force at the wall before them, and the suction force pulled him even more quickly towards the wall. He left afterimages of himself behind him. His physical body almost couldn’t withstand the sudden, immense speed. It showed signs of being torn apart as he raced towards the deep end.

He held back the pain of loss and flung out his seventh-grade Dharmic Armament flying sword, yelling.

“Explode!”

The explosion of a seventh-grade Dharmic Armament would send an incredible shockwave throughout the entire catacombs. Unless one tried to stop the explosion or control its aftermath, it would definitely trigger the array formation and alert the outside world. It would indirectly raise the alarm.

Wang Baole was betting. He was betting on the fact that the trio were unwilling to reveal their presence. They wouldn’t allow the Dharmic Armament to self-destruct. They would try to control it. Once they chose to do that, it would give Wang Baole more time. Even if it were only a few additional moments, it would still be precious to Wang Baole!