A World Worth Protecting

1

Looking at those trembling indigenous people who were scrambling to escape, a glow flashed across the depths of Wang Baole’s eyes. However, on the surface, he appeared helpless as he turned and landed beside the statue in the village, sweeping his gaze at the frightened indigenous people.

“Does anyone know the language of the Baole Federation, the top immortal civilization?” Wang Baole cleared his throat and spoke calmly in the language of the Federation.

However, the fearful indigenous people looked at each other with confusion evident from their faces. They clearly didn’t understand what Wang Baole said. That made Wang Baole sigh and repeat his words using the language used in the Vast Expanse Dao Palace.

When Wang Baole spoke this time, the indigenous people turned their heads immediately to look at an elderly man amongst them. The elderly man, with his body covered with wrinkles, looked bitter as he emerged from the crowd while trembling with fear. He cupped his fists, which were clearly smaller than his feet, and greeted Wang Baole.

“Greetings, Sir. I am the only person in the entire village who understands the language of the superior sect. Please direct any questions you have to me.” The elderly indigenous man spoke in parts with a weird intonation and a heavy slang. Thankfully, Wang Baole could understand him.

“Oh, what planet is this? In addition, why are all of you praying to this statue? Who is this statue of?” Wang Baole thought about it as he expressed his doubts and looked at the elderly indigenous man.

The elderly indigenous man blinked. With a cautious expression on his face, he sized Wang Baole up before speaking softly.

“Sir, we are on the Black Wind Planet. The statue is the altar of the Patriarch. Altars similar to it are present in every village on the Black Wind Planet. We have to pray to it every day, and if we don’t, the glow from the statue will dampen and eventually extinguish. Patriarch Black Wind inspects the villages frequently and will deem villages with statues that no longer glowed as disrespectful to him. He would then eat everyone in that village.”

<em>So that is how it is… </em>Wang Baole seemed to be in deep thought and didn’t bother himself with the other indigenous people around him anymore. Instead, he turned his head to analyze the sculpture in detail. However, as he was analyzing the sculpture, the elderly indigenous man who was answering Wang Baole’s questions suddenly made small movements to his toes. Instantly, a blood-like reddish glow emerged from the sculpture’s eyes.

The glow appeared extremely suddenly and enveloped Wang Baole in the blink of an eye. It seemed to have been turned into a seal that froze Wang Baole where he stood. It appeared as if his body and soul had been frozen, and they were both unable to move at that moment!

At the same time, the initially frightened indigenous people revealed eerie smiles on their faces, regardless of whether they were men or women, young or old. They no longer trembled in fear, and instead had a peculiar glow in their eyes. At that moment, their glabella split apart, and a black fog emerged from the crack, forming spirit-like existences in mid-air. As they smiled eerily, they charged directly towards Wang Baole!

“It’s been a long while since someone with flesh and blood has arrived. What good luck we have this time!”

“This fella is destined for death, having been frozen by the Patriarch’s gaze now!”

“How dare he come to this ghost planet of ours. Hah, I like his eyes, don’t any of you try to snatch them from me!” As the ghost spirits shrilled with high-pitched voices, they excitedly charged towards Wang Baole. The one who moved the fastest amongst them was the elderly indigenous man who had spoken with Wang Baole previously. The ghost spirit that emerged from his glabella was of the biggest size and had the most concentrated aura. Right now, as his ghost spirit charged forward, the ghost spirit arrived right beside Wang Baole. It opened its large mouth and was about to swallow Wang Baole’s head whole!

Its large mouth seemed like it could be opened infinitely without tearing apart. It was expanded to a size that could swallow Wang Baole’s head in its entirety, but when it was about to swallow, an annoyed voice reverberated in the surroundings.

“All of you are irritating.” As the voice was heard, the ghost spirits didn’t even have time to react before Wang Baole’s right hand rose slowly to grab the neck of the elderly ghost spirit in such a manner that it couldn’t escape. Wang Baole twisted his right hand after grabbing hold of the ghost spirit’s neck, and instantly, its eyes widened as it exclaimed breathlessly. It wanted to struggle and break free, but Wang Baole’s wrench-like grip made escape impossible for the elderly ghost spirit.

That instantly made those excited ghost spirits surrounding Wang Baole shocked as they stopped in their tracks and retreated at high speed. However, even though they moved at high speed, they still couldn’t escape the Dark Fire that emerged from Wang Baole’s body.

The chilly ball of Dark Fire had Wang Baole at its center as it spread in all directions. The ghost spirits didn’t even have time to scream before the Dark Fire instantly filled the entire area, enveloping the entire village. It was like a cleansing process taking place. All of the ghost spirits, except for the one Wang Baole was grabbing onto, trembled and vanished into thin air once the Dark Fire swept across them.

They all ceased to exist!

Noticing what had just happened in a dazed manner, the struggling elderly ghost spirit shuddered. When it turned towards Wang Baole, there was a real look of fear in its eyes as its body trembled uncontrollably.

Without bothering himself with the ghost spirits that had been wiped out, or the elderly ghost spirit that he was grabbing onto, Wang Baole stood there, enveloped by the red glow as he continued to observe the statue.

In reality, when Wang Baole first noticed the village, he had already realized that the indigenous people here were actually ghost spirits. Put more accurately, they were ghost spirits who were residing in the corpses of the indigenous people!

It could be taken that, to a certain extent, the bodies of the indigenous people who had died an unknown number of years ago but didn’t rot, were the clothing of the ghost spirits. Others, even Nascent Soul realm cultivators, might not have been able to realize the truth. They might land themselves in danger even if they were able to resist the attacks of the ghost spirits.

After all, the red glow from the sculpture targeted one’s spirits. This was nothing to Wang Baole. As a Dark Child, he wasn’t the least bit afraid of ghost spirits.

As such, from beginning to end, Wang Baole wasn’t bothered by anything. The only thing that piqued his interest was the material of the sculpture. Now, Wang Baole continued to analyze it, stepping forward to touch and knock at it. His eyes then lit up.

<em>That’s right. This is… made of Stellar Source! </em>Wang Baole was somewhat agitated. He was doubtful previously, but now that he had confirmed his hypothesis after detailed analysis, he grew delighted.

He was well aware of the value of Stellar Source. He also understood that the most important material he needed to repair the Dark Artifact from Mars was Stellar Source. However, it was difficult to obtain Stellar Source unless one eliminated a star.

Therefore, Wang Baole was left helpless in the Federation. He had never thought that he would receive such a huge gift through this trial on this ridiculous planet.

In his exhilaration, Wang Baole waved his left hand and was about to put the statue away when the red glow emerging from it increased in scale. It was as if it were a form of resistance. However, when a ball of Dark Fire appeared from Wang Baole’s right hand, the red glow from the sculpture lost all its effect. Wang Baole could then put the sculpture away without any difficulty.

After that, Wang Baole lowered his head to look at the elderly ghost spirit that he was holding onto. Wang Baole licked his lips and smiled.

“Two options. Either you bring me to the other villages, or I eat you whole.”

The elderly ghost spirit shuddered. It wouldn’t have believed it if someone else claimed that they would eat it. However, having seen how Wang Baole had handled the other ghost spirits with its own eyes, and looking at the manner Wang Baole had licked his lips, it had a strong feeling that the monster in front of its eyes would really eat it up.

“I… I know of many villages!” the elderly ghost spirit trembled and exclaimed loudly immediately.

“Lead the way.” Wang Baole released his right hand, seemingly unconcerned that the elderly ghost spirit would escape as he spoke calmly. The elderly ghost spirit hesitated for a moment, but after recalling how Wang Baole had licked his lips, it became obedient and began to show Wang Baole the way.

Man and ghost charged through the air in this manner, towards the other village mentioned by the elderly ghost spirit. Three hours later, Wang Baole obtained yet another sculpture and wiped out yet another village. The elderly ghost spirit was in constant fear, while Wang Baole’s eyes glowed brighter by the moment.

Wang Baole was no longer anxious to complete the mission. To him, the entire place was a treasure land. The entire trial ground existed physically and wasn’t an illusion, and that made it ideal for him to strike it rich.

With that thought, Wang Baole looked at the elderly ghost spirit with excitement in his eyes.

“Big Foot, perform well. If I’m satisfied, I’ll not eat you.”