A World Worth Protecting

1

Lightning lit Wang Baole’s eyes as he dashed out and raced towards the bloodstains and tattered clothes. He summoned the puppets around him and ordered them to search the area.

As Wang Baole conducted a frantic search, Zhao Yameng was in a valley fifty kilometers away from him. She had just spat out a mouthful of blood. Her face was ashen, and her hair loose. She clutched a compass tightly in her hands.

The compass gave off a brilliant light that formed a defensive barrier, sheltering Zhao Yameng within. The light was growing weaker. It looked as if it wasn’t going to last much longer.

Blue fire burned outside the barrier, trapping her within. There were numerous faces in the fire that repeatedly slammed into the barrier while howling at Zhao Yameng.

The defensive barrier kept them at bay for now, but its light was growing weaker. The surrounding temperature rose as the blue flames continued burning, and an elder stood inside the fire. He wore the robes of the Dao Palace and was a Nascent Soul realm cultivator in Mie Liezi’s faction. There was an intense light in his eyes as he stared at Zhao Yameng, who was trapped inside her defensive barrier, laughing hoarsely.

“You think you can run when I’m here?” He raised his right hand as he spoke and pressed it against the defensive barrier. The barrier began to creak, and it looked as if it was about to cave in. It was a miracle that it was still standing.

“Interesting. You have quite a few lifesavers up your sleeve.” The elder laughed. He didn’t seem troubled by that. His eyes lingered on Zhao Yameng, assessing, with unconcealed hunger.

“Little girl, I’ve noticed how special you are during the trial for the Hyacinthus Tree leaves. You’re not just a natural numinous being, all of your seven orifices are open. Not bad at all. You’ll be a superior-grade material for refining Spirit Orifice Pills. A rare find!” The elder smiled, and the hunger in his eyes intensified. He brought both hands together to form a series of hand seals, causing the flames around Zhao Yameng to grow stronger. They licked at her defensive barrier. He continued with another series of hand seals as he circled Zhao Yameng and imprinted seals on the ground.

Multiple runic imprints surrounded Zhao Yameng, and the flames rose higher with their appearance. Zhao Yameng trembled and spat out a mouthful of blood. Her arms trembled, and the compass almost slipped from her fingers.

She didn’t try to wipe the blood from her lips. Instead, Zhao Yameng lifted her head and leveled a cold stare at the smiling elder. The look in his eyes looked more terrifying with each moment’s passing. He had pursued her for days. She hadn’t found anyone else since she had awoken. She had traveled with extreme caution without encountering much danger—until she crossed paths with the elder.

Her opponent had a clear goal. He seemed to have known her location all along, attacking her as soon as he appeared. If not for the extremely valuable artifact that her father had given her, which had helped in fighting off what should have been a lethal blow, she would have been dead.

Even with such an artifact in her possession, she was still trapped. She knew that the elder had no intentions of killing her immediately. He wanted to use her to refine a Spirit Orifice Pill!

Zhao Yameng bit her lips. She wasn’t angry, and she wasn’t about to say anything to the elder. Her cultivation continued churning inside her body. She was nearly drained dry, but that didn’t stop her from pouring her energy into the compass. The compass was an eighth-grade Dharmic Armament that she had brought along from the Federation. It was something that was meant to save her life. She had created a seal after acquiring the Ecang Ancient Array Formation and imprinted that on the compass, which had further boosted the compass’ power.

The compass was fully activated now. With the joint power from the pendant hanging on her neck, she had managed to resist the attacks of a Nascent Soul realm cultivator. However, she knew that the pendant’s power was waning. Once it was completely depleted, she wouldn’t be able to maintain her defense for long with only the array formation at her disposal.

She had done what she could to send signals for help. For the past three days, she had left traces of her blood and tattered bits of her clothes behind while fleeing her enemy. They were meant to be calls for help. Yet, she hadn’t seen a third person in this world. Her morale was beginning to suffer, despite her stoicism.

However, she hadn’t lost all hope!

She wasn’t a weakling. She had her ambitions, her dreams, and her beliefs. Hidden beneath her calm exterior was a burning fire. She would either burn others or herself!

Zhao Yameng realized at this point that no one was likely going to come to her aid. Determination colored her eyes as she deliberately projected her intentions and ensured the elder saw her form a series of hand seals. The compass, which should have held on for longer, suddenly shook violently and exploded!

The explosion caused by an eighth-grade Dharmic Armament wasn’t something to be underestimated. Zhao Yameng had imprinted a seal of the Ecang Ancient Array Formation on the compass, which further strengthened the force of the explosion. A thunderous boom erupted, whipping up a howling hurricane that surged outwards in all directions.

The blue fire shrank and wavered, almost to the point of extinguishing. Mountains moaned and caved in. The attack would have injured a Nascent Soul realm cultivator if it had been unexpected, but the grim determination in Zhao Yameng’s eyes had been too obvious to miss. Her enemy had sensed her attack, and mocking laughter rang in the air as he retreated and avoided the shock waves sparked by the hurricane. He lifted his right hand and made a grab through the air. The blue flames, which had been weakened, erupted once again with renewed vigor. They transformed into a gigantic burning hand that stretched towards Zhao Yameng!

Zhao Yameng appeared calm in the face of a failed attempt that hadn’t only been evaded but had landed herself in greater danger. However, there was a flicker of panic and despair in her eyes as she retreated and unleashed her full cultivation. There was no way she could’ve evaded capture with her Core Formation realm cultivation and her injuries. The gigantic hand caught her almost immediately. With a swift yank, it pulled her back and held her before the Nascent Soul realm cultivator.

“Little girl, your schemes are too childish…” The elder smiled. He raised his right hand abruptly as he spoke, grabbing the pendant on Zhao Yameng’s neck and flinging it aside. The pendant exploded, sending forth a series of shock waves stronger than the ones after the compass’ explosion that surged outwards. Zhao Yameng’s face paled instantly.

“The earlier explosion was to lure me into complacency so that the second one with the pendant might work. Little girl, you’re still too…” The elder was interrupted by Zhao Yameng, who suddenly shot a flying needle out of her mouth while the expression on her pale face remained unchanged!

“Childish tactics!” The elder had a look of disdain in his eyes. He raised his left hand and caught the needle that had been aiming for his forehead. The look on his face turned from one of mockery to something else as soon as he touched the needle. It disintegrated, turning into a gray mist that dashed towards his eyes!

The elder shut his eyes instinctively as the needle approached. Zhao Yameng’s face was still pale, but the panic and despair in her eyes had vanished, replaced with ferocity. She lifted her right hand. Her index finger touched her thumb, then pressed firmly downwards!

Something extremely small appeared to be planted in her thumb. It was activated with the firm press. Two beams of light exploded from her thumb—one red and the other white!

The white light curled around Zhao Yameng and transformed into a protective air bubble, while the red light rushed towards the Nascent Soul realm elder. If one were to take a really close look at the red light, he might see a tiny, grain-sized crystal that had clearly been compressed numerous times!

A terrifying wave of energy erupted from the crystal and hit the elder before he could react, triggering an explosion!

A barrier materialized at the same instant. It seemed to target one’s Spirit Qi, sealing the target’s cultivation. The strong backlash against Spirit Qi created a fist-sized black hole that seemed capable of tearing apart and consuming everything!

This was… the fusion of the Federation’s most advanced technology and spirit energy… the Anti-Spirit Bomb!

The elder let loose a pained scream amidst the thunderous explosion, his physical form turning to pulp as he fell back. Zhao Yameng retreated under the defensive barrier of the white light, though her injuries were severe. The defensive barrier didn’t prevent her from spitting out a mouthful of blood. Her body was extremely weak at this moment, but the fierce light in her eyes didn’t waver. One wouldn’t find any weakness or despair in her eyes.

It hadn’t been inexperience that had led to her intentional display of grim determination or panic. Blowing up the compass and the pendant had been an attempt at lowering the elder’s guard. She needed him to feel confident of his success. That was when she would strike and unleash her most powerful attack on him!

She knew that she only had one chance, which was why she had to exercise extreme caution!