A World Worth Protecting

1

“A random servant?” Wang Baole froze. He stared at the corpse before him. He could sense the remnants of a Core Formation realm spirit energy exuding from the corpse. He was slightly dazed.

“Yes. Based on the layout of the Vast Expanse Dao Palace, this area is the outer area that belonged to the servants. They were mostly only at the Core Formation realm. Even though some of them might have shown some potential, most were lowly servants.” Little Missy shared some brief information before urging Wang Baole to continue the search for the fragment.

Wang Baole sucked in a breath. He seemed slightly doubtful. Little Missy appeared to have sensed what Wang Baole was thinking. She became slightly unhappy and snorted.

“What, don’t you believe me? I’ve only made that small accidental mistake with the Dark Artifact. I had a Dark Artifact that looked exactly the same in the past, so I thought it was the same one. Is it a sin to have mistaken it for my own? Is that something completely unforgivable?

“Humph! And if I say this is the area for lowly servants, then that’s what it is. In fact, the so-called main Vast Expanse Dao Palace island on the Sea of Fire is but an outer sect that was built on some distant mountain range in the outer regions.

“I’ve already done a search when you arrived here. Even though there have been some changes, the place remained largely the same as before. The true Vast Expanse Dao Palace is located in the sword body that’s pierced through the sun. That is where the true sect lies. Based on the current situation though, it’s highly likely that there’s nothing but ruins there now…

“However, as long as the core of the sect survives, the Vast Expanse Dao Palace will not fall. The Vast Expanse Dao Palace’s core is found at the tip of the sword. If I’m not wrong, powerful cultivators at the Eternal Star and Planet realms, as well as the Star Domain realm leaders, should still be there in that region. They are likely recovering and in slumber.”

Upon hearing what Little Missy said, Wang Baole’s eyes widened. Little Missy seemed to have sensed Wang Baole’s feelings and noted his surprise. She was pleased. Her appearances recently had been rare because she had felt embarrassed about the Dark Artifact incident. Now that an opportunity had presented itself, she naturally wasn’t going to let it slip through her fingers. She coughed, then continued with a voice that spoke of experience, saying casually.

“Surprised? There’s nothing to be surprised about. In those days, this area was where ordinary folks and our servants resided. In addition, I’ve no impression of those people called Mie Liezi or whatnot. Based on their level of cultivation though, they likely only counted as inner sect disciples before the ancient sword entered the sun. In fact, they’re likely disciples who didn’t show much potential.

“However, when disaster struck, the elders at the tip of the sword went into a deep slumber, and the main sect of the Vast Expanse Dao Palace was destroyed. More than ninety percent of the sect members died or were wounded grievously. That was why the three of them had to take up the responsibilities of being elders. They had to rebuild the Dao Palace. In fact, they made a great contribution to the Dao Palace. When the elders awake, they would likely break through the Spirit Immortal realm and advance into the Planet realm!”

The news was simply too much. Wang Baole’s eyes widened again. He might have been mentally prepared for something like that, but the true identities of Mie Liezi and the rest had still shocked him.

<em>They’re only inner sect disciples? </em>Wang Baole gasped. He blinked, then suddenly asked.

“Little Missy, who are you exactly in the Vast Expanse Dao Palace?”

“Me? The Star Domain realm leader of the Vast Expanse Dao Palace has to call me elder when he wakes up and sees me. Who do you think I am?” Little Missy said casually. The expression on her face was mild.

Wang Baole was shocked once again by her words. He stared in a daze into the distance. He himself didn’t know what he was looking at. After a long moment, he suddenly slapped his thigh.

“Little Missy, I’m your younger brother. Does that mean that I’m an elder here as well? I didn’t even know how important I actually am. It’s a pity that I doubt the intentions of Mie Liezi and gang. Else, if I told them the truth, they might just be frightened out of their lives!” In his excitement, Wang Baole took a step forward and raced towards the location where Little Missy pointed him, searching.

He realized that he had to pay more attention to Little Missy. The best thing he could do for her was to find the fragment and make her happy. Wang Baole didn’t think he needed to think too much about whether there might be some falsehood in her words. Based on what he had seen, even if Little Missy had been exaggerating, what she had said wouldn’t be too far from the truth.

<em>Little Missy must be someone really, really important! </em>Wang Baole was overwhelmed with excitement. He felt that since he had already aligned himself with Little Missy for so long, he should continue. In fact, it would be great if he could do this until he became the president.

Wang Baole became filled with anticipation at that thought. He sped up and steadily approached the location that Little Missy had pointed him towards. As soon as he arrived, shock fell across his face. He saw a giant head before him. It had fallen sideways and was staring unblinkingly at him.

It looked exactly like Little Missy. Wang Baole was caught by surprise and stumbled a few steps backward. At a closer look, he realized that it was a statue and that there were other fragments of the statue in the distance.

“That’s just too much!” At that sight, Wang Baole froze, then immediately looked furious.

“Who is it? Who did this to my dearest Little Missy’s statue? Don’t worry, Little Missy. I’ll find that person. I’ll let him know the price he has to pay for doing that to my dear sister’s statue!” Wang Baole said fiercely. He walked over and stood in front of the head of the statue, seeming pained.

Little Missy was clearly pleased by Wang Baole’s constant attempts at gaining her favor. Even though she knew that nothing decent came out of Wang Baole’s mouth, she still coughed and indicated that she acknowledged Wang Baole’s declaration of his loyalty and devotion to her.

Wang Baole could sense that Little Missy was in quite a good mood. He did a search and finally found a fragment the size of a fingernail under a broken slab of stone. He fused it together with the mask, then said hurriedly.

“Little Missy, do we still have any other valuable treasures in our house? Like pills or something like that? Do you remember where we kept them? We can’t let outsiders take them away. Let’s go grab them ourselves. The faster I advance my cultivation, the sooner I can avenge you, right?”

“Don’t worry. I might not be familiar with the outer regions, but I still know the main Vast Expanse Dao Palace in the sword body quite well. We’ll find an opportunity to go there. I’ll give you pointers so that you can advance in your cultivation. It won’t be any problem.” Little Missy was pleased with the fusion of the fragment. Her voice sounded slightly distant and unclear. It seemed that the fusion affected her personally. She needed time to adjust.

Wang Baole grew excited when he heard Little Missy’s agreement to help him. He felt that as long as Little Missy had his back while he was on the ancient greenish-bronze sword, everything would run smoothly for him. He could get his hands on dozens of cultivation techniques, get out, and become the Federation President. Everything would be a piece of cake.

With his spirits high, Wang Baole whistled as he continued to search the area. He didn’t find anything of value. He calculated the time, then pulled out the Spirit Boat and left.

The Spirit Boat flew off like a rainbow. They dashed out of the ruins and re-entered the Sea of Fire, heading for the surface. At that moment… both Wang Baole and Little Missy in the mask didn’t seem to notice… that there was another figure standing in the depths of the ruin that they had searched earlier, but further in, within a collapsed pavilion. He stared coldly as they departed!

It towered thirty meters tall and had three heads and six arms. The head in the middle had a solemn look on its face, the one on the left was crying, and the one on the right was laughing. It looked extremely eerie. Each of the six arms were thick and seemed to contain extreme power.

If Wang Baole were here, he would immediately recognize it as a cultivator from the Never-Ending Clan!

The cultivator’s eyes were bright with cold cruelty. He stared as Wang Baole vanished into the distance, not trying to stop Wang Baole. The edge of his lips lifted upwards slightly in an unfathomable smile.

<em>She’s… indeed still alive!</em>

<em>That’s interesting… residing within a mask, having this Federation cultivator as a host…</em>

<em>It seems that I have to make slight changes to my plans… </em>The mysterious figure of the Never-Ending Clan muttered and narrowed his eyes. With a single step, he vanished into thin air!