A World Worth Protecting

1

Not far from Mercury, tens of thousands of battleships gathered. The region was awash in a red sea. Tens of thousands of cultivators channeled their cultivation into the sea of red and began the refinement process!

One could call it refinement. That, or a unique form of array formation being guided by Chi Lin and the other Soul Conduit realm cultivators!

The array formation was an extremely malicious form of Never-Ending Clan mystic art. Its name was Soul Infusion Destruction!

The entire process could be explained as a special refinement method being employed to channel hordes of souls forcibly into human vessels. The continual refinement of the human vessels would transform them into something akin to human bombs. The array formation helped to modify and augment the effects. The explosive force that resulted from blowing up a human bomb wouldn’t be the cumulative strength of all cultivation and souls fed into the array formation—it would be exponential.

It was monstrous. The more souls it consumed, the higher the cultivation that was channeled into it, and the more powerful the eventual explosion. The vast hordes of Dao Palace cultivators aboard their battleships were clearly unaware that they were mere instruments, which were serving their souls for consumption!

As their cultivation continued to flow into the array formation, their souls would also slowly fuse with the array formation. They would gradually become a part of the array formation without even knowing it.

This… was part of Daoist You Ran’s plan all along!

Beyond the red sea, scattered across the vast space, countless Dao Palace battleships lay concealed within spatial distortions. Aboard those battleships were many Dao Palace cultivators, who had been summoned to the red sea to await instructions without knowing what was going to happen to them.

They were also part of Daoist You Ran’s plan!

One had to admit that Daoist You Ran was indeed a genius. Despite him being unable to leave the Never-Ending Clan battleship while it was still undergoing repairs, he had drawn up a plan for the destruction of the Federation’s second line of defense on Venus. He had done so within a short period of time, amidst a flurry of unexpected events, and had based it all on Wang Baole and Feng Qiuran’s reappearance.

It was a simple plan that involved attacking the weakest link and drawing out the rest of his enemy’s forces. Wang Baole and Feng Qiuran were bait meant to lure the Federation to their rescue. It didn’t matter how many came, they would all be destroyed. Based on Daoist You Ran’s assessment, he believed that there was a great chance that the Federation would pretend to mount a fierce attack just so they could carry out the rescue. Then, they would retreat when given the opportunity.

“When that happens… and they arrive, it’ll be the perfect time to unleash the explosive power of the Soul Infusion Destruction. We will destroy the Federation’s main forces. Venus, the key to the Solar System Array Formation, will fall with ease!

“My only fear is that too few people will turn up!

“But even if that happens, we still have two Soul Conduit realm vessels that will prove effective weapons when attacking Venus!” Daoist You Ran sat inside the Never-Ending Clan battleship stationed on Mercury. His eyes were mere slits, concealing the anticipatory light within as he smiled faintly and murmured to himself.

The Federation was at a disadvantage when it came to their level of cultivation as well as their knowledge in such mystic arts. Even if they had the Solar System Array Formation, it would be difficult for them to detect Daoist You Ran’s Soul Infusion Destruction. That was why he hadn’t made any changes to his plan.

The Federation army had made a show of its deployment, leaving Venus and approaching Mercury. Li Xingwen, who had led a sizable team with him, had left in advance. He hurried to the meeting place he had set up with Feng Qiuran.

Every action that the Federation took had been deliberated and run through by its immensely resourceful think tank. They had simulated how the war was going to turn out based on every piece of information they had got their hands on. Despite them being unaware of the malicious trap that had been set for them, they had considered the possibility of an ambush. Their plans had provided for ways to circumvent it.

Of course, no one knew how effective these contingency plans would be.

Daoist You Ran’s plans and the Federation’s rescue efforts began to unfold concurrently. In the center of the storm, where the red sea lay, were two clouds of red mist. They were being refined into human vessels. Wang Baole was inside one of them. He was facing a difficult decision, an occasion that had rarely happened to him!

He had no idea how Feng Qiuran was doing at this moment, but he was well aware of his Thearch Armor and his physical body’s capabilities. They were being eroded away rapidly as he was trapped inside the mist. It was likely that Feng Qiuran wasn’t going to last much longer than he was. In fact, she might not last as long as he would.

The red mist was extremely bizarre. It had the ability to seal and trap them, as well as erosive properties. It was indescribably cold and eerie. Wang Baole couldn’t free himself no matter how hard he struggled. He felt like a fly, and the red mist was a gigantic hand that was clutching him within its closed fist. There was no way for him to escape, and even moving was proving a challenge.

He could only watch as the mist slowly ate away at his Thearch Armor. Once the Thearch Armor was completely eroded away, he could imagine his physical flesh, his Nascent Soul, and his spirit, having lost the protection of the armor, being next.

<em>The spirit fat on me will only gain me a little bit of time…</em> Wang Baole’s heart sank. He couldn’t sense what was going on outside and had no idea if he was still trapped in the spot that he had been caught in. Unease continued to fill his heart.

<em>If the Never-Ending Clan is trying to use Feng Qiuran and me as bait…</em> Wang Baole’s pupils contracted. His heart became filled with anxiety. He tried struggling to free himself again but to no avail. He became increasingly frustrated, and danger started to loom increasingly heavier over his head. He knew that if the situation remained unchanged, there was little chance of him walking out of this alive!

<em>The only way is to keep creating and blowing up my avatars. Rather than staying trapped here and waiting to get killed, I might as well see if I can blow up enough things and force my way out of this thing… My only worry is that I’ll still have to fight the four Soul Conduit realm cultivators after that. That’s going to be a tough battle… Wait, there’s still Mie Liezi. He has definitely caught up by now!</em> Wang Baole was torn. It was unfortunate that they were nowhere near Mars. Given the choice, he might risk it all to summon his Dark Artifact.

<em>I don’t care anymore!</em> Violence flashed across Wang Baole’s eyes. He gritted his teeth and prepared to summon his avatar so that he could blow it up. Just as his avatar appeared and was about to self-destruct, he suddenly widened his eyes and stared at the rumbling mist ahead of him!

A face had flashed past in the mist. It had vanished instantly, but Wang Baole had seen the greed and brutality that had been on its face. It was as if the face had found Wang Baole an appetizing treat and had wanted a bite.

<em>That is…</em> Wang Baole’s heart raced. He abandoned the idea of blowing up his avatars and scanned the surrounding mist carefully, his eyes wide. Soon, he saw a face again. It was a different face, one with a lost expression.

Wang Baole’s eyes burned brightly at the sight. He didn’t act rashly. Instead, he continued waiting. Slowly, more faces appeared. Some of them were male, others female. Some looked violent, some lost. Some of the faces were awash with greed, others perversion.

Wisps of soul appeared alongside these faces, gathering together and spreading around Wang Baole.

<em>This is like receiving a pillow for a gift when you’re just beginning to feel drowsy!</em> Wang Baole blinked before a wild joy began flooding his heart. Dead spirits were the thing that he was least afraid of. As a Dark Child, seeing these souls was like seeing servants wandering all around him.

He was overjoyed by their appearance, and he began to reassess his situation carefully.

<em>I have no idea why they’re here, but as long as there are souls hidden inside this mist and there is a sufficient number of them, I should be able to use the Dark Art to free myself. There’s no need to blow my avatars up anymore!</em>

<em>I can use the souls as my weapons too… but after freeing myself, even if I have the souls at my disposal, I’ll still have to face four Soul Conduit realm cultivators, face an army of battleships and cultivators, and save Feng Qiuran. That’s almost an impossible task.</em> Wang Baole narrowed his eyes.

<em>Unless I can become very powerful, very quickly…</em>

<em>Power… isn’t that just the means to kill. That’s why… the Demonic Eye Art…</em> Madness flashed across Wang Baole’s eyes. By choosing the path of the Demonic Eye Art, he was sending himself down the road to more killing and more death in order to gain more power. He hadn’t wanted to go down this path unless he had no other choice. A Nascent Soul realm mystic art was the bridge between one’s foundational cultivation and their ascent. It was the key that could determine where they would land in the future.

“There’s not going to be a future if I don’t survive the present!” Wang Baole was a man of decisiveness. The veins in his eyes gradually turned red, and determination colored his eyes as he muttered to himself. He didn’t hesitate any longer. His hands might have been rendered immobile, but he could still chant the words to the Demonic Eye Art in his head.

A creepy black eye soon appeared behind him. The eye was shut. Its form materialized gradually, emanating a black aura that tainted the space around it. It spread outwards and enveloped the area, and a cold, evil aura slowly flowed out from Wang Baole!