A World Worth Protecting

1

The furious howl was louder than thunder. It exploded inside the cave and resonated in the air, causing the walls all around to shake violently and the pillar in the ceiling to spasm. Wild winds whipped across the surface of the golden lake, sending violent waves across the surface. It all sent Wang Baole’s heart racing with fear.

A red-eyed, crazed-looking Daoist You Ran charged at Wang Baole like a bolt of lightning. He raised his right hand and gathered his Soul Conduit realm cultivation, forming an incredible power that seemed ready to smash into Wang Baole, drain him dry of all his Spirit Qi, and return it back to where it had come from once it crushed the life out of him!

The threat of death exploded in Wang Baole’s head.

Wang Baole’s eyes widened. He could feel his avatar entering the pillar, heading straight for the second level. He needed only a single thought to exchange places with his avatar and leave this godforsaken place.

But Wang Baole knew that even if he was to escape this time, as long as the battleship’s interference continued to disrupt all attempts at teleportation, he wouldn’t be able to run away from his eventual death!

There was only one way to leave this place, and that was to disrupt the interference from the battleship. The interference had to be severe enough that both Zhao Yameng and he could activate their teleportation talismans and leave!

That wouldn’t be plausible unless his avatar could locate Zhao Yameng quickly. Time wasn’t on his side. These thoughts flashed across Wang Baole’s mind before a determined look settled on his face. He didn’t hesitate. When the raging Daoist You Ran approached, Wang Baole yelled suddenly. His Flame Snatch Thearch Armor continued draining the battle robes while the spirit fat inside his body began to burn itself up frantically.

This was something Wang Baole had first thought of during his battle with Dugu Lin, when his devouring seed had mutated and started sucking madly. He had tried to replicate this move several times but hadn’t been able to fully unleash it because he had been too slim.

With the sudden accumulation of spirit fat in his body, he had grown so fat that standing had become a challenge. This time, when he unleashed this move, the spirit fat inside his body began to burn, and waves of powerful spirit energy emanated from his body!

If someone were to calculate the Spirit Qi he was giving off right now, they would find that it had surpassed that possessed by a Nascent Soul realm cultivator. In fact, it rivaled that of Daoist You Ran at the moment. However… this wasn’t Spirit Qi that had been acquired through cultivation but something that was stored in his fat.

The quantity was there, but the quality was lacking. If one were to describe Daoist You Ran’s Spirit Qi as ice, Wang Baole’s would be akin to fog!

Regardless of how thick fog got, it remained something that was permeable. Only when transformed into water could it become a form of defense. When transformed into ice, it could even become an offensive measure!

Besides that, there was also a difference in degrees of control. Daoist You Ran was able to wield the Soul Conduit realm cultivation inside him flawlessly, allowing his Spirit Qi to take up all shapes and forms. Wang Baole, on the other hand, faced difficulty with fine-tuned controls of the Spirit Qi he was releasing. It was impossible for him to shape his Spirit Qi smoothly.

Wang Baole knew that, which was why he was simply releasing the vast quantities of Spirit Qi he got from burning his spirit fat. He wasn’t trying to channel it towards any spells or using it to stop Daoist You Ran’s approach.

He only did one thing, and that was to direct the vast Spirit Qi… into his bracelet, into the six beads around his wrist!

As Spirit Qi surged into them, four of the six beads began sucking said Spirit Qi hungrily like starving vortexes. They shone with a blinding light, each in a different color—red, blue, black and gold!

Overwhelming power erupted in the air!

The bracelet’s beads housed six divine powers. They were Wang Baole’s trump card. Even though he couldn’t master the control over his Spirit Qi and use it against his enemy, he could channel it into his bracelet and unleash the divine powers housed inside!

Divine powers… were sealed inside this bracelet. This meant that… the level of cultivation of its wielder determined how powerful each divine power unleashed was.

It served as a medium that absorbed the vast ocean of Spirit Qi that had formed from Wang Baole burning his spirit fat, which would allow it to unleash even greater power. It was akin to absorbing fog, compressing and distilling it, then turning it into ice blades!

This was the only way Wang Baole could think of to defend himself against Daoist You Ran at the moment. He did his best to burn all his spirit fat, then channel the Spirit Qi into the bracelet. All the while, Daoist You Ran was charging towards him, bringing down on Wang Baole the full extent of his fury and the full weight of his Soul Conduit realm cultivation. He was ready to smash Wang Baole into dust.

It was then that Wang Baole lifted his head suddenly and spoke!

“Ten Thousand Tribulations!”

As soon as the words left Wang Baole’s mouth, one of the star-shaped beads threaded around his right wrist, which had been glowing black, flared brightly. Out flew a black dove!

It expanded to the size of the Thearch Armor, casting a shadow over everything and charging towards the approaching Daoist You Ran!

The raging, charging Daoist You Ran hadn’t considered Wang Baole a worthy foe at all. At that moment though, he couldn’t help but shiver when he saw the black dove!

He felt as if his soul had been immobilized, and he couldn’t move or evade the attack. He was powerless to fight it. This feeling of helplessness surged inside him, alongside a chill whose origin he couldn’t explain.

He didn’t hesitate as he formed a series of hand seals and pointed his finger forward. Black Qi materialized in the air before him, transforming into a statue of a Never-Ending Clan cultivator that attempted to crush the black dove. A bizarre sight happened next. Upon collision, the black dove vanished into thin air, without signs of having been injured. But… just as it disappeared, the imprint of a black dove appeared on Daoist You Ran’s forehead!

It didn’t hurt or itch at all, but Daoist You Ran was still shocked by its appearance. He felt an indescribable sense of danger emanating from the imprint. What came along with that was a sudden resistance that unexpectedly rose from inside the golden lake, inside the pillar, from the walls around him, and even the Death Dao Battle Robes that were still being drained by Wang Baole!

The hostile force erupted, ignoring Wang Baole and flooding Daoist You Ran. Everything within this cavern suddenly saw Daoist You Ran as an enemy!

The golden lake suddenly exploded, and broken limbs flew out, charging at Daoist You Ran. The pillar spasmed, and countless broken fingers darted out and headed for Daoist You Ran as well.

That wasn’t the end of it all. The walls around began to peel and crack, fragmenting into rocks that flung themselves at Daoist You Ran!

Daoist You Ran reeled back in shock from the sudden danger and the bizarre and ridiculous situation he found himself in.

He unleashed his full cultivation. With a wave of his arms, he transformed himself into a black tornado that flung the approaching broken limbs, broken fingers, and shattered stone away. Then, he continued his charge towards Wang Baole.

His actions seemed to have angered the manifestation of the Ten Thousand Tribulations technique. The black dove on his forehead shone and opened its eyes suddenly. The retaliatory force surrounding him intensified and erupted, and a sudden force erupted from the battle robes and swept across the cavern. Daoist You Ran shuddered, disbelief and shock coloring his face as he stumbled back from the invisible attack.

This was Wang Baole’s first attempt at activating Ten Thousand Tribulations. He was shocked at the sight before him. Without hesitation, he unleashed the divine power in the second bead!

“A Thousand Lives!”

The second star-shaped bead flared with a brilliant light. A familiar warmth surged throughout Wang Baole’s body as a dove-shaped print appeared on his forehead, a sign of how much more powerful this particular unleashing of the technique was compared to its past activations!

Wang Baole felt warm all over, and a sense of acceptance and benevolence surrounded him.

The change was most startling where the Death Dao Battle Robes were concerned. Just a while earlier, Wang Baole had experienced resistance as it had tried to prohibit him from draining it dry. Wang Baole had to activate his devouring seed and forcibly absorb its spirit energy. Now though… the resistance had vanished completely. It didn’t seem hostile at all, and it was instead welcoming towards Wang Baole!

The transformation shocked Wang Baole. He was overcome with mad joy the next instant. Excitement colored his eyes, and his spirits soared as surprise and delight overwhelmed him!

“Little You-You, know what this place is? You’re… in your daddy’s house now. Watch how I’m going to teach you a lesson!”