A World Worth Protecting

1

The situation was filled with intense danger. Inside the catacombs, the three extraterrestrial cultivators had the explosions under control. They dashed towards Wang Baole, and they were so swift that it seemed like they would be upon him in the next instant.

The low, sheepish whispers of Little Missy rang out at this moment. Before she could finish speaking though, something beyond the wall at the end of the catacombs suddenly thundered. The loud sound resounded in the catacombs, causing Wang Baole to shudder suddenly. His breathing quickened. In his ear, or perhaps it was in his mind, he heard once again a beckoning coming from deep beyond the wall!

This was the second time he had heard this summoning. The first was when his cultivation advanced beyond the late-stage Foundation Establishment realm and reached the perfected Foundation Establishment realm. The beckoning call was stronger and more intense now than before, as well as clearer. He felt an indistinct and intense feeling. There was something beyond this wall that was of great and immeasurable importance to him!

This something was calling out to him. It was voicing its longing. It seemed to want him back at its side!

Everything happened in an instant. It was when this summoning was echoing inside Wang Baole’s mind that the Dark Fire inside his body erupted of its own will, just like it had done when it had first met the black-robed man. Wang Baole’s surrounding plunged into ice as the Dark Fire was released, transforming into an icy flame that spread outward!

The release of the Dark Fire seemed to trigger the presence beckoning deep in the catacombs, and the calls intensified. The wall that had stopped the Federation for so many years suddenly… melted away that instant!

It melted away swiftly. Within a few moments, there was a pathway open and leading into the catacombs. Vast quantities of Dark Qi surged out from the opening, spreading throughout the entire area.

Wang Baole’s eyes widened. His first instinct was to proclaim how amazing Little Missy was, but he had no time for further thoughts. He headed straight for the opening and dashed right through!

As soon as he passed through the opening in the wall, the three extraterrestrial cultivators appeared. They saw the opening sealing shut right before their eyes. Their breaths stilled, and intense greed and desire shone in their eyes. They didn’t hesitate as they dashed straight through as well!

The centipede-faced cultivator was the last to pass through. Before he entered, his eyes flashed. He raised his right hand and formed a series of hand seals. His fingers started sparkling immediately. They formed a wave of light that seemed to cleanse everything it touched. It swept across the entire area.

Wherever it passed, be it where the trio had attacked Wang Baole or where they had tried to control the self-destructing artifacts, all traces of their presence were erased and wiped clean. All remnants or pieces of things that shouldn’t exist vanished.

This included… the dozen mosquitoes hidden in various spots… there was one mosquito that was about to escape and fly out of the catacombs, but it too was destroyed by the light!

<em>I don’t care if you left any traps or tricks behind. Now… there shouldn’t be any left! </em>After releasing this cleansing light wave, the centipede-faced cultivator sneered before he snaked through the wall that was about to seal itself shut!

As soon as he entered, the opening in the wall vanished completely and sealed shut!

The entire tunnel was deathly quiet. The new city went on with life as usual. Li Wan’er was examining and approving documents, Kong Dao and Lin Tianhao were talking to each other, and Jin Duoming had his voice transmission ring out and was having a private and intimate heart-to-heart conversation with one of his ex-girlfriends from Earth…

As for Liu Daobin, he was presently ordering a large group of people around and constructing another Wang Baole statue…

Everything carried on as usual. Nothing strange happened. No one knew what was going on inside the catacombs or the danger that Wang Baole was in!

Presently, Wang Baole appeared in a world he had never come across!

The skies of this world were fashioned from mud, but it wasn’t dark at all. There were sparkling lights in the sky that were like diamonds and stars at the same time. They lit up the entire underground world. It might not be as bright as daylight, but to the eyes of a cultivator, there was no discernible difference between this light and daylight.

As for the land… there was no land, only a vast and endless ocean. Upon closer look, this ocean wasn’t formed from seawater but… countless souls gathered together, creating an Spirit Sea!

The Spirit Sea wasn’t calm. Waves rose and crashed. It was an awesome sight. The waves, too, were formed from countless souls. They howled and roared. They tore into one another. They raged, they bared their teeth, they wept. All sorts of different lives and all manners of emotions could be found, seen, and experienced here!

In that Spirit Sea was a white island. It wasn’t made of earth but formed from a pile of countless white bones… it was an island of bones!

The entire world looked immensely creepy and horrifying. It was as if he had slipped into hell. It made one shudder. It would make one forget that his life still burned, forget all his memories of the outside world. What remained was an instinctive desire to count the sins one had committed in his life.

This was the most instinctive and truest feeling that he experienced in his heart when he saw this sight!

<em>Such a world… actually exists here! </em>After a long moment, Wang Baole finally gasped. He was slightly pale. He stood on the island of white bones with his head lowered as he stared at the countless bones beneath his feet. He gazed at the roaring waves of the Spirit Sea, then at the sky made of earth. The shock in his heart didn’t fade for a very long time.

There was no way he could have imagined that beyond the wall hid such a sight. This went against everything that he had known, and he could no longer tell if he was still on Mars…

There were no signs of the extraterrestrial cultivators appearing anytime soon. Wang Baole fell into a momentary daze. He tried hastily to sense the mosquitoes he had released secretly earlier. He had planned for the trio to follow him when he had entered. Then, he would be able to instruct his mosquitoes to sound the alarm. The Governor and his friends would arrive, trap the extraterrestrial cultivators inside, and beat them up.

Wang Baole had some confidence in the trio choosing to enter as a group, but if he were honest with himself, he couldn’t be completely sure. He soon grew alarmed.

<em>Gone? It’s not that I can’t sense them, but they’re really gone! </em>An ugly look fell on Wang Baole’s face. He considered whether someone had destroyed his mosquitoes or whether he had merely lost the connection with them because he had entered this underground world. There was an easy way to find out. Wang Baole turned his gaze inward, at his own scabbard. When he saw his mosquitoes intact within the scabbard, his face darkened further.

The mosquitoes were inside. This meant… that the ones that he had released had all perished. Their unique nature meant that they would regenerate after they died.

Wang Baole grew anxious and uncertain. He simply couldn’t tell if the three extraterrestrial cultivators had followed him in. He hurriedly summoned Little Missy.

“Many thanks for Little Missy’s help. Right, just now, you were saying something. What was it?”

“…” Little Missy was silent. She was already beyond lost and bewildered. Her shock surpassed Wang Baole multifold. She had even begun to feel lost and doubt herself. She hadn’t done anything, so how had the opening appeared in the wall…

Could it be that her cultivation had reached a stage where she could change fate, without her discovery… Now, as she listened to Wang Baole thanking her and following up with questions, she began to feel a sudden tiredness. Exhaustion surfaced inside her. She sensed that she might have to… continue this particular bluff.

“This is a small matter. I don’t even need to raise my little finger. I don’t even need to spare it a single thought. I just have to approach the Dark Artifact, and it would activate itself. Couldn’t you tell? It was trying to gain my favor.”

“Speaking of that. That’s why I threw it away. It kept trying to please me and gain my favor for every single thing. It began to annoy me,” Little Missy said coolly. She didn’t even need to think about it. The words flowed out of her mouth naturally.

Wang Baole froze. He instinctively felt something was wrong, but he wasn’t concerned about that at the moment. He asked, hastily.

“All hail Little Missy! How about those three jerks? Did they follow me inside?”

<em>You’re asking me? Who do I ask then? It’s not like this is my home! </em>Little Missy snorted secretly. She kept a deep, unfathomable look on her face as she said coolly.

“You’ll find out soon enough!”

Anxiety wrecked Wang Baole. He was about to pursue further when suddenly, the skies thundered. Wang Baole lifted his head and saw a huge fracture appear suddenly in the heavens. Then, three silhouettes appeared, agitated and seemingly in quite a terrible state. They charged out, eyeing the world around them. An intense light of excitement shone in their eyes. It was then that they saw Wang Baole as well!

“So that’s where you are!”

Wang Baole had no time to consider why the three people had entered this place in a different way. He was overcome by shock and awe. He had nothing but the utmost respect and admiration for Little Missy.