A World Worth Protecting

1

<em>A mask fragment? </em>Wang Baole’s eyes flashed. As of now, he had only managed to get his hands on one fragment when he had been on Earth. After fusing it with the mask, Little Missy had become livelier.

It was obvious that there was another fragment in the Martian research facility as well. However, he was unable to acquire it with his current rank and status. Wang Baole wasn’t worried about that fragment though. He knew that once he reached a certain rank and cultivation level, it would be a piece of cake for him to get that.

This fragment that Little Missy was talking about should be the third fragment that he had ever come across!

Wang Baole sensed the urgency in Little Missy’s voice. After he calculated the time he had left, he didn’t hesitate to dive straight into the Sea of Fire. As he continued to sink deeper in, he could sense the growing heat around him, and an intense pressure surged inward from all directions.

It was an intense, violent pressure that sent Wang Baole’s entire body trembling. His heart pumped frantically, and his muscles twitched. He gritted his teeth and continued to sink deeper down… Wang Baole approached the seabed amidst the increasing heat and pressure.

Through the gray mosquito’s vision, he saw a large region of ruins beneath him. Before he could take a closer look, the gray mosquito began to shiver. It seemed unable to withstand the pressure. Wang Baole hurriedly called it back, his vision becoming obscured by lava once more. Regardless, he continued his descent ten yards further down.

These ten yards were Wang Baole’s limit. He could feel an intense pressure and a startling heat around him. It was terrifying, despite him having a Heart Core. He had a feeling that if he continued another ten yards down, his body wouldn’t be able to withstand it any longer. His body and soul would be destroyed within this Sea of Fire.

“Little Missy, it’s not that I don’t want to help. It’s just that… I can’t go any further,” Wang Baole said with great resignation in his mind. He took a step and headed for the surface. He had sunk too deep this time. The well of Spirit Qi inside him had almost dried up. Fortunately, Wang Baole’s physical form was very sturdy and strong. He finally managed to resurface from the sea before his Spirit Qi was completely depleted. He reappeared in mid-air after erupting from the sea, his breathing quick and uneven. The cultivation inside him began churning, and his devouring seed was activated as well as he began to absorb the Spirit Qi around him hungrily.

Half a moment later, his pale face finally regained some color. The cultivation inside his body also gradually stabilized. He lowered his head and stared at the Sea of Fire. Wang Baole felt regretful as well. He was about to leave when Little Missy’s voice rang out inside his head again.

“Baole, I’ll give you a recipe for a Dharmic Artifact. You can refine a special kind of fire-resistant boat with it. It’s a sixth-grade Dharmic Artifact, so you should be able to refine it with your current proficiency in Dharmic Armaments. With this boat… you’ll be able to descend to our desired depth in the Sea of Fire!”

After that was said, a recipe and instructions on how to refine this Dharmic Artifact appeared in Wang Baole’s head. Wang Baole blinked. This was the second time Little Missy had given him a recipe for refining a Dharmic Artifact. The first was for the scabbard.

<em>What’s the rush? </em>Wang Baole heard the seriousness in Little Missy’s voice and sensed her urgency in obtaining the fragment. After some thought, he assessed the difficulty in refining the Dharmic Artifact, then nodded.

“Alright. Since Little Missy asked, I, Wang Baole, won’t even frown. Even if I have to cross mountains of knives or oceans of fires, even if there are no chances of survival, I’ll…” As Wang Baole went on, he thumped his chest and had a grim, determined expression on his face—as if he was about to face death, as if Little Missy must accept what he was going to do for her. Before he could be done with his speech though, Little Missy said again, with exasperation in her voice.

“Fine, fine. Stop your act. You’re just exaggerating and trying to gain my favor. You still have a long way to go. Just listen to whatever I tell you to do. Earth aside, as long as I’m here protecting you in this Vast Expanse Dao Palace on the ancient greenish-bronze sword, you can do whatever you want to do without fear!”

Wang Baole’s eyes lit up. This was what he was waiting for. He hurriedly made another round of praises. After all, he was in a foreign environment now, and he felt extremely insecure. He had his own guesses about Little Missy’s background, so he immediately seized the opportunity to build a closer relationship with her.

Little Missy seemed to enjoy the treatment as well, so Wang Baole continued to butter her up as he returned. He didn’t go back to the Green Fire Island but headed for the main Vast Expanse Dao Palace island instead, where he completed the Inferno Rat mission and exchanged the battle credits he earned for some materials.

The battle credits he had gotten were too few though, so it was impossible to exchange them for all the materials that he needed to refine his Dharmic Artifact. After some thought, Wang Baole had no choice but to locate the fat cultivator. He pawned a Dharmic Armament and managed to borrow some battle credits. That was how he finally got all the materials he needed.

It was evening when he returned to the Green Fire Island. Wang Baole hurriedly entered his cave abode and immediately began his seclusion so that he could refine the Dharmic Artifact. He was unfamiliar with this Dharmic Artifact, and it was his first time refining it. However, he was extremely proficient with refining Dharmic Artifacts. He had even managed to refine Dharmic Armaments. That was why he started immediately after briefly studying. He took a full day. The next day, at noon, he stared in front of him at a blue-colored boat that was three meters long, his face full of satisfaction.

The boat was the Dharmic Artifact that Little Missy had given him the recipe for. Its name was unknown. Regardless, it was suffused with the energies of a seal both internally and externally. It seemed able to block off external energy flows and create a sealed space within it. In addition, it seemed capable of withstanding intense pressure.

Wang Baole was vaguely aware of the principles governing its properties. Similar to the scabbard, the refinement of this Spirit Boat required Armament Sand. That meant Wang Baole couldn’t fully control the entire refinement process. Based on his experience, however, he could sense that another refinement system governed refinement methods that required Armament Sand.

The Federation’s Dharmic Armaments were clearly formed from an evolution of this refinement system.

<em>Now, let’s go test out whether this boat is really as impressive as Little Missy made it out to be. If it’s really that great, we can give it a name. </em>Wang Baole touched the boat in front of him. He seemed pleased but secretly ached for his loss. He spent almost seven hundred battle credits refining this thing. He had only earned thirty credits, while the rest had been credits he had gotten from pawning off his own stuff.

“I’m pawning off my own stuff for Little Missy’s sake!” Wang Baole declared as he glanced at the sky outside. It seemed that it was going to be evening soon, which was a perfect time for them to set off for the Sea of Fire. He didn’t hesitate, taking the Spirit Boat and flying off. He arrived at where he had first come to at the Sea of Fire, entered the Spirit Boat, then steered it straight into the ocean.

Wang Baole felt a drastic difference when he entered the Sea of Fire. The Spirit Boat gave off a gentle glow that dispelled the lava in the Sea of Fire, causing the molten lava within a multi-yard radius to move away from him. The sight delighted Wang Baole instantly.

<em>It’s really effective! </em>He got excited and immediately sent the boat downward. Wang Baole’s boat went faster and faster as time passed. Finally, he reached the depth that he had originally found unbearable. He felt considerably better now with the boat.

“It’s right down there!” Just as Wang Baole was about to continue his descent, Little Missy’s voice, filled with urgency, rang in his head. Wang Baole nodded and slowly sank deeper downward. He saw a large silhouette beneath him in the Sea of Fire. It was a large-scale ruin.

He saw collapsed pavilions and countless pieces of broken and shattered stone. Amongst them were corpses that had survived being burnt completely into ashes…

Wang Baole reeled back from shock. He could tell that the damaged pavilions had been built in the same architectural style as those on the main Vast Expanse Dao Palace island. The mental leap wasn’t difficult to make at all. This place… had clearly been a part of the Vast Expanse Dao Palace before the ancient greenish-bronze sword had pierced the sun and the Sea of Fire had flooded this place!

It was as he had guessed, the lands had been flooded by the Sea of Fire. The islands that now existed above the seas had been mountain peaks.

Wang Baole sighed and took in the sight before him as he steered the Spirit Boat into descending further. He entered the ruins and immediately sensed the heat and pressure that had been surging in from all directions vanish. It was as if the ruins, despite their current state, still possessed some remnants of protection that sealed the Sea of Fire outside.

The corpses survived not because they had been extremely powerful prior to their deaths, but because the Sea of Fire was prevented from entering. Hence, they had been preserved.

Wang Baole tested the waters before stepping out from his Spirit Boat. He was surrounded by a deathly silence. He looked around him and then stared at the Sea of Fire above him. After a moment, he inched carefully towards a corpse. Despite having died a long time ago, the corpse had been preserved perfectly. There was even a sliver of Core Formation realm energy that remained on the body, proving that this corpse had belonged to a Core Formation realm cultivator prior to his death.

<em>A Core Formation realm cultivator. That’s quite a big deal. He might have something good hidden on him. </em>Wang Baole’s eyes flashed with anticipation as he stooped down and started searching. He didn’t find any storage bags or tokens of any kind. Wang Baole frowned and muttered.

“Are they so poor… or did someone get here first?”

Wang Baole found it a pity. It was understandable though. After all, there were plenty of cultivators in the Vast Expanse Dao Palace that had higher levels of cultivation compared to him. Naturally, there would have been some who could have entered the Sea of Fire without the aid of Dharmic Artifacts. They would have searched for and retrieved all items of value.

As soon as he was done muttering, Little Missy’s voice appeared in his head again, urging him.

“What are you trying to find on this random servant? Quick, move ahead. I can sense a fragment three thousand feet ahead of you, in the ruins of a hall!”