A World Worth Protecting

<span style="font-weight: bold">Chapter 607: There’s Nothing Here…</span>

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The Mi Luo Forest wasn’t an actual name. It got its name because of its star system’s unique appearance. Should one stand at the highest point in the star system, they would be able to view the star system in its entirety. It was in the shape of an enormous tree.

Its planets weren’t exactly spherical in shape. Under the rules governing this star system, they had evolved to become tree-shaped entities, big and small. They even had branches and leaves. If one were to extend their spiritual senses outward and do a quick sweep, they might end up with the wrong idea—that there was a patch of forest in the middle of space.

That was how Mi Luo Forest came to be known by that name.

There were two reasons for its renown in the Never-Ending Clan’s Dao Domain. The first reason was that thousands of species of beasts lived in the Mi Luo Forest. Nearly all these species had extremely powerful kings. There were even five species with their own, even more powerful, Ancestral Beasts!

That was why Mi Luo Forest’s name had spread far and wide in the Dao Domain run by the Never-Ending Clan. No one dared offend the civilization. Arising from the second reason, the Never-Ending Clan didn’t dare do so either. The second reason being… the Mi Luo Forest was one of the few galaxies that the Never-Ending Clan was wary of and granted self-governance to!

Presently, on one of the many tree-shaped planets in the Mi Luo Forest, one of the habitats where the Star Fang Beasts roamed, a terrified and bewildered Wang Baole descended with the blinding flash of a teleportation.

The Star Fang Beast was one of the thousands of species in the Mi Luo Forest. It wasn’t ranked as one of the top five hundred beasts, and its reproductive ability and power were both ordinary. However, it possessed an ability that allowed it to refashion a planet. It was like a craftsman that could reshape a planet’s environment to better suit a species’ characteristics.

To do so though, it would not only need a planet but also the flesh and blood of vast quantities of cultivators as well as numerous souls. These were easily attainable in the Mi Luo Forest. In their eyes, a great many civilizations were merely prey.

The Star Fang Beasts’ unique ability led to its acceptance into the Mi Luo Forest, and it became a member of the Beast Clan Alliance. Its unique ability allowed it to thrive in this galaxy.

The group of craftsmen had put in great efforts in reshaping their own planet. Its temperature was extremely high, and flames could be seen escaping from the ground and rising to the air everywhere on the planet. The entire place was like an enormous tree caught on fire.

Wang Baole appeared on a plain on this fiery tree. He yelped as soon as he popped into existence. The temperature was simply scorching. His hair and eyebrows caught on fire as soon as he appeared. He hurriedly activated his cultivation. With his resilient physical body and his understanding of fire-based spells, he barely managed to withstand the heat.

Wang Baole knew that he couldn’t keep this up for long, though. If he didn’t leave soon, he might end up as literal toast.

“Heavens, who did I offend exactly? Why did they shuffle through dozens of missions to throw me into this place? Little Missy, Little Missy, I haven’t done anything to you!” Wang Baole cried out furiously as he moved swiftly, desperate to find somewhere that wasn’t as scorching hot.

“Shut up!” Little Missy’s tone was nasty. It seemed like she was on the verge of going crazy.

“This wasn’t me. I don’t know who the hell it is. Maybe the Artifact Spirit in the Worship Palace Pavilion has gone crazy. You think I would willingly come to someplace like this? It’s no biggie, though. I can do something about it. In fact, we can simply teleport back…” Little Missy snorted. Before she was done speaking though, a dozen incredible auras erupted in the distant space above the planet!

The aura’s power was enough to move stars. It filled the heavens and sent the planet shaking. Flames burst from the ground and transformed the land into an ocean of fire. As fire rose to the skies, Little Missy fell silent. Wang Baole quaked in his boots. Any of these auras was a match for the enormous hand on the Vast Expanse Dao Planet. In fact, every one of these auras was slightly more powerful than the hand!

This… dear heavens, what exactly is this hellish place? Wang Baole was on the verge of tears. The thought of a dozen Eternal Star realm cultivators on this planet made his scalp prickle with numbness. What made it worse were the numerous auras at the Soul Conduit, Spirit Immortal, and Planet realms erupting on the planet.

The ocean of fire erupting on the planet seemed to be a joyous event. Wang Baole could see in the distance, the dancing shadows of beasts filling the space between sky and land. The sight terrified Wang Baole. He couldn’t breathe. He was about to call for Little Missy to teleport him away. It was then that a thunderous rumbling erupted from the skies.

The explosions in the ocean of fire intensified, and the entire planet quaked. The excited howls of beasts echoed in the air as an enormous fire appeared in the distant sky!

The fire was hundreds of thousands of feet tall. It smashed into the planet like a meteor. Despite it being far away, Wang Baole could still see an enormous beast in the ocean of fire!

The beast was shaped like an enormous, round meatball. It was covered in sharp, blade-like thorns and had four eyes. Its open maw looked vicious. The aura exploding from the beast as it landed surpassed that of the dozen auras that shook the planet. It was like a king had just returned.

Wang Baole only got a glance before his head started ringing from Little Missy’s horrified shriek.

“A Beast King! Get down to your feet, fatty! I’m going to cast a spell. D*mn that wretched Worship Palace Pavilion, teleporting us to this d*mned place. I’m going to tear the whole place down when I get back!” Wang Baole trembled and fell to the ground. He couldn’t care less about the scorching ground or the burning pain as he hurriedly crawled over to a large rock nearby. Little Missy’s shaky voice echoed in his head.

“There’s nothing here, there’s nothing here…”

Perhaps Little Missy did have some tricks up her sleeve, or perhaps it was pure good luck. Regardless, the Star Fang Beast King didn’t notice Wang Baole as it landed. The Star Fang Beasts continued to cheer while fires continued to erupt from the ground without stopping.

A long time passed, and Wang Baole felt he was about to be cooked alive. His mouth was dry and his eyes about to spew fire. He said desperately.

“Little Missy, quick, teleport us away!”

“You think I don’t want to? I’ve tried a dozen times! There’s a hex in place, I can’t perform a teleportation!” Answering Wang Baole was a yell from Little Missy, which wasn’t aligned with her image at all.

It was clear that she had no energy for keeping up appearances in such a critical situation. If she were to show herself now, one might see her pulling at her hair in frustration and anxiety.

Wang Baole began to feel anxious. He sighed. While simmering with frustration, he saw something next to the rock. The fires burning the ground left shining crystalline objects behind.

He blinked, then crawled over and dug them out. After a detailed inspection, his eyes widened, and his breathing quickened. He almost shouted in surprise.

Is this Supreme Fire Ore? Emotions rushed through Wang Baole in waves. There were no records of such materials on Earth. He had first found one in the list of materials required for repairing the Dark Sampan, then in records found in the Vast Expanse Dao Palace. It was an extremely rare and valuable refinement material. Using it on an ordinary Dharmic Armament would greatly boost the latter’s power.

It was also an essential material for refining Divine Armaments as well as one of the core materials for repairing a Dark Artifact!

Wang Baole became extremely excited after some careful examination and final confirmation. His eyes sparkled, and he stopped caring about Little Missy’s teleportation. Wang Baole looked around hurriedly and saw another Supreme Fire Crystal. He bore the pain as he crawled over hastily and grabbed it. He put it away immediately and began hunting around again.

While Wang Baole continued his hunt for Supreme Fire Ores, Little Missy kept trying to activate the teleportation. On the same planet, on a mountain peak not particularly far away from Wang Baole, the drinking youth from the Vast Expanse Dao Planet once again made his appearance. He was lying on a huge rock, drinking, with his wooden sword lying haphazardly next to him. He had a smile on his face as he stared in the direction where Wang Baole was. Hidden deep in his eyes were wisps of nostalgia and remembrance.

After a long moment, the youth suddenly laughed.

“You like Supreme Fire Stones so much?” He said softly. He lifted his right hand and waved it casually at the ground. The entire star began to tremble instantly, and underground streams of Supreme Fire Stone vein caved in. It was as if an invisible force was moving them—from all directions deep underground—rapidly, towards… Wang Baole!