A World Worth Protecting

1

Wang Baole took the pistils quietly. He understood Feng Qiuran’s desperation to save her father and Mie Liezi’s devotion to the sect. Both of them would risk everything to save an elder of the sect. He also understood Daoist You Ran’s loyalty to the sect. However, he continued to remain wary of the latter. Daoist You Ran had been the one who had mentioned the battleship’s defense mechanism. That had been part of the reason why everyone had so easily fallen into an illusion.

Regardless, even though he might understand their motivations, he still disapproved of this mission. It might not have been so bad if there had been fewer people involved. However, this mission comprised of all the sect’s Nascent Soul realm cultivators and a great portion of their Core Formation realm cultivators. These hundreds of cultivators formed the remaining elite fighting force of the Vast Expanse Dao Palace.

If something were to happen to them, it would create a lasting impact on the Vast Expanse Dao Palace that the latter might never recover from. The Federation wouldn’t be affected in the short term, but it would also suffer the consequences in the long run.

Regardless, he was an outsider who was in no place to disagree with their decision. He could only exclude Federation cultivators from participating in this mission. Zhao Yameng’s and Kong Dao’s statuses in the sect were different though, and they had no choice but to join the mission.

That was why Wang Baole knew that his main responsibility was to ensure their safety while finding Feng Qiuran’s father was a secondary concern. He sighed secretly. He went to Kong Dao and Zhao Yameng. They hadn’t suffered any injury, but the series of dangers they had just survived had shaken them. However, neither Kong Dao nor Zhao Yameng were weaklings. They quickly set aside their fears, their eyes once again shining with a fierce intensity.

“Kong Dao, try activating your Teleportation Talisman,” Wang Baole said quietly after he walked near the two.

Kong Dao shook his head.

“I tried earlier… it didn’t work.”

Wang Baole wasn’t the only one who had thoughts of leaving. There were a few amongst them who shared the same thoughts. Even though Feng Qiuran was with them, they had tried activating the teleportation talisman secretly. The teleportation had failed though, which further dampened their spirits.

When Feng Qiuran realized what was going on, bitterness flooded her heart as she sighed secretly. Then, with a solemn look, she bowed deeply towards everyone.

“Perhaps I’ve made the wrong move this time… but please believe me. I will do all I can to lead everyone out!”

Feng Qiuran’s character didn’t allow her to be as forceful as Mie Liezi. However, as a woman, her malleable character and lack of temper were to her advantage.

As she bowed towards everyone and made her promise, her eyes filled with apology, everyone also returned the bow silently. They had all chosen to believe her. That was because they knew her character. They knew that Feng Qiuran… wasn’t someone who would leave them to die in times of danger.

“Elder Feng, there is no need for an apology. As Dao Palace cultivators, it’s our obligation to save our elder. Besides, we have chosen the path of cultivation. Why should we now fear death? If we did, we shouldn’t have chosen this path in the first place!” Chi Lin said with his raspy voice as he stood amidst the crowd. His eyes were fierce as they scanned the crowd.

“Since teleportation is out of the question, we have only one option left to us, and that is to advance!”

“Elder Feng, we don’t have the rights to access many of the records concerning the Never-Ending Clan. Since you know of this Demonic Green Poria Flower, do you also know of anything else that is strange that we should look out for on the battleship?” As the Nascent Soul realm cultivators began to speak up, the Core Formation realm cultivators began to quieten down. Wang Baole lifted his head and looked at Feng Qiuran.

Feng Qiuran took a deep breath and pushed aside her anxieties. She knew that she couldn’t afford to panic. If she did, she would really be leading everyone to their deaths. She would become a sinner of the Dao Palace.

“I, Mie Liezi, and You Ran have made an error in our judgment. Now that I’ve seen the corpses and the Demonic Green Poria Flowers, I’m reminded of something that I’ve heard of before… a special Never-Ending Clan battleship!

“This special battleship appears no different from other Never-Ending Clan battleships. However, its function is different. They are known as Sacrificial Palaces!

“Sacrificial Palaces are essentially sacrificial altars. Every time the Never-Ending Clan conquers a galaxy, they would capture hordes of cultivators and throw their corpses into the Sacrificial Palaces. These cultivators’ blood, flesh, and vitality are sacrificed to the battleships and used to aid Never-Ending Clan members’ healing!

“I suspect that this battleship is a Sacrificial Palace. The bodies here belong to cultivators from numerous cultivations that were destroyed by this battleship!

“If that is indeed the case, then there should be a minor sacrificial altar in each world contained within each disk. These three minor sacrificial altars should be connected to one another on another lower level, where the main sacrificial altar is located!”

“If we want to leave this place, we’ll have to enter the main sacrificial altar… where we can then unlock the exit and find a way out!” Feng Qiuran shared her analysis honestly. The crowd fell silent.

Wang Baole sighed secretly. He pulled out some Dharmic treasures and pills from his storage bag, alongside a few puppets, and handed them over to Zhao Yameng and Kong Dao.

He knew that the journey ahead of them… would be extremely difficult.

Feng Qiuran didn’t look at the other cultivators. Instead, she looked around them. Besides the thousands of feet around them that had been cleared of Demonic Green Poria Flowers, this land of corpses was still littered with countless demonic flowers.

Fortunately, most of the flowers in the distance were all flower buds, unlike the flowers that had been in full bloom and had surrounded them earlier.

“Let’s all rest for a while. We shall move in thirty minutes!” After a long moment, Feng Qiuran retracted her gaze and spoke softly. Chi Lin and the others sat down. They all began to activate their cultivation in silence, ensuring that they remained in peak condition. They had also put away the Demonic Green Poria Flower’s pistils.

Time passed steadily. The end of the thirty-minute break soon arrived. Most of them had recovered their strength and were prepared to continue the mission. It was then that… the ground started to tremble!

The trembling wasn’t violent. Regardless, it still sent alarm flashing across everyone’s faces. They got to their feet, the looks on their faces solemn. The trembling intensified as loud stomping sounded in the distance. It sounded like a giant was making its way towards them!

Next was a loud panting, like the howling of a furious wind. It was punctuated by loud clanking. Alarm colored the faces of Wang Baole, Feng Qiuran, as well as the Nascent Soul realm cultivators. There was no need for words. Many of them instantly took to the skies and stared in the direction the commotion was coming from.

They kept looking. Then, suddenly, their eyes widened, and a few of them even gasped out loud.

“That is…”

“What is that?”

The commotion in the distance grew louder. The winds grew wilder, and their howling fiercer. A towering figure that seemed to connect the sky and the land… gradually appeared in their sight!

At first, they could only hear it. Then, they saw its silhouette. Next, the silhouette grew distinct, and an image imprinted clearly in the eyes of Wang Baole and the other cultivators. It was a gigantic, monstrous beast that was beyond description!

It was similar to the Diamond Ape but clearly many times larger. Its body was covered in a messy layer of fur, with patches of black bone exposed to the air. A reeking stench of something rotting accompanied its approach.

Heavy chains weighed it down and pierced through its body. They bound it to a huge wooden log that hung suspended in mid-air behind the beast!

The log… was hundreds of thousands of feet thick. An ordinary cultivator would appear as an ant before the log. However, next to the beast, the log’s size was made less obvious!

What was most shocking about the log wasn’t its width but its length… It seemed to go on forever. The beast was bound to one end of the log while the other end of the log couldn’t be seen at all. The suspended log of wood seemed to stretch all the way back into the distant sky. It was as if it were connected to the other end of the world!

This enormous beast was like a mule, dragging the log behind it, one step at a time, moving forward with great difficulty!

If it were to slow down even one bit, the chains on the beast would suddenly shine with the light of a rune, which would then transform into numerous fine strands, whipping at the beast and drawing cries of pain from it. The beast was forced to advance without slowing down or stopping under the threat of the whipping.

It didn’t seem to notice or care about Wang Baole and the other cultivators. The sounds of clanking and stomping resonated in the air. The sounds of panting gradually drew near. Tens of thousands of feet away from them, the towering figure of a monster trudged forward, one step at a one, dragging behind it a wooden log. Then, it gradually retreated into the distance!

Every step it landed on the ground sent the earth shaking. Every step it lifted off the ground stirred up storms. The entire world thundered and the winds howled as it came and then departed!