A World Worth Protecting

One might imagine the shock that the late-stage Spirit Immortal realm Never-Ending Clan elder was feeling compared to the surprise that had overtaken the Flame Patriarch. The Never-Ending Clan elder was thunderstruck. Horror flooded his mind as his organs were crushed under the weight of all that power. His soul felt like it might rip apart at any moment.

The sudden aura that had descended upon the planet was so powerful that it sent tremors rippling across the entire world. It was as if something in the deepest end of the universe had suddenly awoken and was making its way towards them. That was the feeling that seized the Never-Ending Clan elder. It was what Wang Baole felt too.

Please don’t wake up for real… Wang Baole prayed fervently. Ever since the last time he had chanted the Dao Scripture and felt the overwhelming power the chanting had summoned, he had tried to keep himself from using it again. He was worried that if he continued using it during battle, he was going to awaken the presence that was slumbering at the other end of the universe one day.

Of course, he hadn’t been left with much choice this time. As everyone remained stunned by his sudden call for his father-in-law, Wang Baole quickly turned tail and escaped into the distance at full speed. He disappeared with a single bound and reappeared tens of thousands of miles in the distance. Then, without even a moment of rest, he did that again!

The Never-Ending Clan elder trembled as he watched Wang Baole escape. He dared not give chase. The sudden aura that had descended upon them was too powerful, and he felt like an ant in its presence. A single thought from the powerful presence would flatten him. It caused fear and awe to swell inside of him. Besides… he had heard what Wang Baole had said.

He had called for his father-in-law to save him. Icy fear coursed through the Never-Ending Clan elder’s blood as he considered what those words meant. As he stood immobilized by fear, Wang Baole was sprinting away from him as quickly as possible. They were already separated by more than a thousand kilometers.

Everything happened almost instantly. Within five seconds, Wang Baole had uttered the Dao Scripture, unleashed its power, and then made a run for it. The immense power of the scripture gradually faded away as Wang Baole escaped. Soon, it was as if it had never appeared at all. The late-stage Spirit Immortal realm elder was momentarily stunned when he sensed its complete disappearance. Then, a dark look settled on his face, and a raging fury set his eyes aflame. He had never been so mad with rage.

“You tricked me!” The realization that the earlier powerful presence had been an illusion that his enemy had conjured dawned on him. It had been an extremely convincing illusion, but Wang Baole’s continued escape after that was proof that everything had been a setup.

The feeling of being duped yet again sent the Never-Ending Clan elder howling at the skies. His hair was loose and in disarray. With a sudden swoop, his right hand grabbed the corpse that had been summoned through the Heavenly Dao Blessings and cast a spell that Wang Baole had never heard of. The corpse’s eyes opened wide as flames enveloped it, burning it down to a red thread. Soon, remnants of its final blessings faded away as the red thread merged into the abyss. The leader took a step forward and chased after the red thread. His eyes were washed aglow with murder, while the aura of violence surrounded him. At this point, he no longer cared if he were to kill his own people by mistake, as there was only one thought in his mind.

It was… to dice the cursed pig-head into a million pieces. There was no way he was going to move on if he didn’t. The thought would haunt him and affect his cultivation!

While the Never-Ending Clan elder chased after Wang Baole, the Flame Patriarch, who had been observing the fight through Wang Baole’s mask, was still recovering from his earlier bout of shock. He remained solemn even after sensing the disappearance of the presence that had been summoned by Wang Baole’s scripture. Compared to the Never-Ending Clan elder, he didn’t think that he had somehow been tricked. His eyes were wide as he looked up slowly—not at the planet that Wang Baole was currently on but into the depths of the universe.

He was staring straight at the source of that unimaginably terrifying power, or so his guts were telling him.

“There lies… a world beyond the Never-Ending Dao Domain!” the Flame Patriarch murmured to himself, then fell silent.

“One has to be at least at the Universe realm in order to summon such power from the outer domain… Can’t forget the fact that he has Chen Qing’s essence technique. This kid…” The Flame Patriarch retracted his gaze after a moment. Then, he turned his eyes towards the screen in front of him and looked at Wang Baole with a look of consideration.

Something else had stirred when Wang Baole had uttered the Dao Scripture. Lying deep underground on the main Divine Eye planet, inside a huge coffin, on Wang Baole’s true form, the mask in which Little Missy was dwelling trembled slightly. It seemed to be showing signs of waking up too.

Wang Baole was oblivious to what was going on with the Flame Patriarch and Little Missy. He had been widening the distance between him and the Never-Ending Clan elder for some time, but he could still feel a sense of danger tugging at him. He shifted and reappeared in the distance, then did it again. The sense of danger didn’t abate. It persisted even after he used his essence technique and took on another guise. The feeling of being targeted didn’t weaken. In fact, it intensified instead.

What’s going on? Wang Baole grew uneasy. He sprinted away again, narrowing his eyes and forming a series of hand seals with both hands. Then, with a wave of his hands, a loud boom thundered in the heavens as he unleashed the full power of his Demonic Eye Art. Instead of being activated inside his body, an enormous black eye appeared behind Wang Baole. The dark eye emanated a cold, dispassionate aura. It widened under Wang Baole’s instructions, then turned itself onto Wang Baole.

A transformation came over Wang Baole. With the aid of the Demonic Eye Art, he could now see a thin red thread that had appeared out of nowhere and was now stuck on him!

It seemed to be growing out of his body, extending outward and into the abyss.

Wang Baole’s heart rose to his throat, and the gears in his head started spinning furiously. He knew very well that he wasn’t going to be able to escape as long as the thread remained bound to him. Sooner or later, his enemy was going to catch up to him. He had only two options before him.

He could continue to run, to try and gain more time until the two hours were up. The mission would end then, and his mask would teleport him to safety.

Or, he could… stand and fight to the death. If he won… Wang Baole had a feeling that the fight was going to help him break through his current cultivation realm. If he lost, though, then that would be the end for him!

He didn’t spend much time on his decision. Ferocity and madness lit Wang Baole’s eyes. He had gone for the second option without hesitation. With the first option, there was a great chance that he might not be able to outrun his enemy until the time was up. A fight would be inevitable if his enemy caught up with him.

He would rather not be forced to battle after exhausting himself from all that running… He would very much rather attack now and fight to his last breath!

Let’s do this! A glint of mad violence entered Wang Baole’s eyes. He stopped running, turned around, and dispelled the illusion he had cast over himself. The pig-headed mask appeared over his face as he raised his right hand and formed a hand seal. Then, he followed the instructions that the Flame Patriarch had told him and unleashed the curse resting inside the mask!

Time was needed to set the curse. Wang Baole didn’t have the luxury of time, but he had enough to release the curse. Blood veins began to surface on the mask as he continued performing a series of hand seals. They grew in number, filling the entire mask and finally forming a blood-red flower over it!

It was a seven-petaled flower, and on each petal, a faint imprint of a human face could be seen. Together, they showed the full range of core human emotions—from joy to anger, then sorrow, followed by bliss. It was a disconcerting sight to behold. There were two dark holes on the mask where one’s eyes should be, and Wang Baole’s eyes shone brightly through the openings.

Wang Baole made sure that his curse was ready to be released, then lifted his left hand into the air, forming another hand seal. A black eye, summoned via the Demonic Eye Art, appeared behind him.

He wasn’t done yet, as this wasn’t enough. A thought popped into his head, and black flames erupted from his person and rose to the skies. The Dark Fire!

He was ready now. Wang Baole steadied his breathing and focused. His eyes were bright with a murderous glint. The curse that was going to weaken his enemy’s cultivation was like divine power from the heavens. With it, he could move planets and shift stars!

The destructive power of his Demonic Eye Art held the strength of the earth. With it, he held power akin to a mighty, monstrous army!

The madness and violence coursing through Wang Baole’s blood was proof of man’s will. With it, he would drain the earth of its seas and flood the heavens!

A soundless explosion erupted around Wang Baole, the force of its aftershock lashing at him, sweeping clouds back and sending tremors through the earth. Somehow… he had unwittingly set up the stage for a deadly battle!

A mysterious atmosphere settled over the battlefield, one which Wang Baole seemed oblivious to. The late-stage Spirit Immortal realm elder who had been charging towards Wang Baole should have sensed it, but someone had interfered with his senses. He had been blocked off and couldn’t sense the hidden danger ahead of him!

That someone was the Flame Patriarch, who was watching Wang Baole. He had seen Wang Baole make his choice. After all that he had seen from Wang Baole, the Flame Patriarch couldn’t help the sense of growing approval he felt towards him, his eyes shining with praise.

“Even if we disregard any connections he has with the outer domain and with Chen Qing… that boldness of his alone is worthy of praise. That’s why… I’ll help you just this once. Let’s see if you can make something of this chance. It’ll be the start of many opportunities to come if you succeed this time.”