A World Worth Protecting

Wang Baole had just appeared inside the imperial cemetery and was feeling that something was amiss. At that very moment, in a distant galaxy far away from the Divine Eye Star System, on the top floor of a shop in a market, was Xie Haiyang, who had just successfully teleported Wang Baole away. He picked up a cup of tea from the table and took a sip, a smile appearing on his face as he murmured to himself.

“Brother Baole, I, Xie Haiyang, am a man who gets the job done and done well… The payment of 3000 Red Crystals isn’t only for providing you with valuable information, opening doors for you, and teleporting you over… it includes doing so at just the right time!

“And timing… is what’s most valuable. Appearing now will give you access to certain information… and give you the opportunity to change certain things in the future.”

“As your investor, I’ve done more than enough for you!” Xie Haiyang smiled and placed his teacup down.

At that very moment, Wang Baole was hovering in mid-air inside the Divine Eye civilization’s imperial cemetery. A fierce light flashed in his eyes as he surveyed his surroundings.

Maybe I’ve really been blessed by Lady Fortune herself. Wang Baole thought to himself as he looked around silently. Xie Haiyang had confidently mentioned a strong force of rejection that was going to greet him. It felt like an exaggeration. Now that Wang Baole was in the cemetery, he couldn’t feel any trace of that force at all.

He could accept the absence of a hostile force. What puzzled him was what he felt in the cemetery. In every blade of grass, in every living creature, and even in the air… he felt an indescribable sense of kinship and warmth.

The grass on the plains before him was swaying in the breeze like it was extending a warm welcome towards him. The breeze had gathered under his feet as he hovered in mid-air, serving as an airy bolster. It was as if it were worried that he was expending too much of his spirit energy.

Something flickered in Wang Baole’s eyes as he observed the world before him. A possible explanation for this popped up in his head.

Is it because… I’m a Demonic Eye Art practitioner? That’s why I’m being mistaken as a descendant of the royal bloodline? Or is it because… the royal bloodline doesn’t come into the picture at all. Anyone who practices the Demonic Eye Art will fulfill the requirements for entry? Wang Baole narrowed his eyes. He had a feeling that he might be right.

“But why do I still have a feeling that something strange is going on…” Suspicion appeared in Wang Baole’s eyes as he muttered to himself. After a moment of consideration, he took a leap forward and landed on the grassy ground. He stared at the blades of grass wavering in the breeze, then at the trees surrounding him. Finally, he made his way towards a huge tree with numerous small fruits hanging off its branches. He stood in front of the tree and suddenly spoke.

“It would be great if I could find bigger fruits.”

The tree shuddered when he said that. The fruits hanging off its branches shriveled instantly. Only one fruit, which had been hanging nearest Wang Baole, was left intact. Instead of disappearing, it started growing at a rapid speed. Within a few seconds, the fruit grew from the size of a fingernail to that of a fist.

Wang Baole gasped at the sudden transformation that had just taken place before him.

Just as I guessed, something’s not right. Even though I’m practicing the Demonic Eye Art, that alone shouldn’t have caused such extreme phenomena to take place. An icy glint flashed in Wang Baole’s eyes. The abnormal phenomena were raising alarm bells in his head. He had a theory about this, but it surfaced fleetingly before sinking back into the depths of his mind. He went to the extent of concealing any thoughts of suspicion and doubt. He tried to clear his mind of all thought, his face revealing nothing.

Instead, he coughed and allowed a sense of satisfaction to fill him, warming him up from inside.

I must be blessed by Lady Fortune herself. Wang Baole sighed. There was nothing he could do about it. He had tried so hard to keep his head down, but the fates themselves seemed to be secretly infatuated with him. Lady Fortune herself appeared to follow him around, blessing him with good fortune no matter where he went.

In that case… the time limit shouldn’t affect me either… Wang Baole patted his tummy and sighed before finally making a move. He moved swiftly, with the aid of the wind under his feet. His Divine Sense extended outwards as he rushed forward.

His thoughts appeared to be filled with confidence and smugness. There was little trace of doubt in his head. Even if someone were to spy upon his inner thoughts now, they wouldn’t be able to find anything amiss. Contrary to his appearance of confidence and ease though… was the Planet realm palm inside him, which was being nurtured by an eternal fire. It was ready to unleash its power at any moment.

This meant that Wang Baole was, in fact, secretly… on high alert!

His current state was similar to that of a person who had just hypnotized themselves. He had deceived even himself at that moment. That was how he could keep himself on guard without revealing any of his caution in his thoughts. In fact, the impression that he was giving others was that of smug overconfidence.

Wang Baole carried that appearance of smugness with him as he dashed forward. The imperial cemetery was spread across a vast land. Even with his current speed, he would need half an hour to cover the entire grounds. Regardless, just a moment after he had started moving, Wang Baole paused momentarily in his tracks, and an intense light flashed in his eyes. He tilted his head towards the right before his form blurred and vanished in an instant.

Twenty seconds after Wang Baole’s disappearance, seven to eight people came racing from the direction that Wang Baole had last looked. They weren’t traveling at particularly high speeds. The spirit energies that they were exuding were only at the Nascent Soul realm. They were dressed in lavish clothes, and their eyes shone with arrogance. The faint aura of the Divine Eye Art exuded from them as they sped past the spot where Wang Baole was last seen.

As the last cultivator sped past, a wisp of black mist appeared on his hair. It slipped between the strands of the middle-aged cultivator’s hair and snaked into his ear. The man shuddered suddenly in the next moment, and the air around him appeared to distort itself momentarily. No one in the group noticed anything.

None of the cultivators in front of the middle-aged cultivator realized what had happened to him. No one knew that the momentary distortion was the result of Wang Baole taking on the middle-aged cultivator’s form, sealing the man and trapping him inside his storage bag.

He even managed to complete a simple soul search.

The royal family… Transformed as the middle-aged cultivator, Wang Baole followed the cultivators in front of him as they raced across the sky, his eyes flickering imperceptibly. The soul search revealed that these cultivators were from the royal family. He also knew why they were there and what they were going to do next.

The current Divine Eye emperor is going to unlock the gate to the cemetery*. All cultivators from the royal family are to head for the imperial* cemetery*. Interesting. This golden ticket that Xie Haiyang gave me seems too good to be true…* Wang Baole narrowed his eyes. The cultivator whom he had conducted the soul search on didn’t know much. As a result, Wang Baole only had an inkling of what was going on. He wasn’t in a rush, though. He followed the group quietly as they raced across the cemetery grounds. Half an hour later, they arrived at the center of the imperial cemetery!

Wang Baole could see a huge statue when they were still a distance away. It towered above the ground, looking down with a single huge eye from its otherwise featureless face!

The statue was made of stone. The Demonic Eye Art inside Wang Baole’s body activated without his conscious instruction as soon as he laid eyes on the statue’s huge eye. He suppressed the Demonic Eye Art forcibly, then, without showing anything on his face, continued to follow the group of cultivators he was traveling with. They approached the statue steadily.

There were… hundreds of cultivators already gathered there.

Those cultivators were clearly not mere passersby. They were divided into two clear groups. One group was spread around the periphery. There were more than thirty of them. They were dressed in rainbow-colored robes, and their faces were covered with purple masks. The intense, powerful auras that were exuding from that group had a distinct tinge of violence to them. They had incredibly powerful cultivations. Besides five Soul Conduit realm cultivators, Wang Baole instantly spotted a Spirit Immortal realm cultivator within the group!

Those cultivators shared a distinct trait, their auras were tinged with blood. If one were to take a closer look at them, they would be able to notice a blood-colored jade pendant in their hands!

The blood-tinged aura emanating from the jade pendants appeared to afford a degree of resistance to the forces of repulsion in this place. As a result, there were no indications of repulsion in the area.

Wang Baole narrowed his eyes at the sight. He then turned and looked at the other group.

They stood closer to the statue. They were dressed in lavish clothing and had waves of Divine Eye Art spirit energy emanating from them. They were obviously part of the royal family. Out of the group, four cultivators were giving off spirit energies significantly more powerful than the rest.

They were all old men. Three of them were dressed in purple robes and appeared to be at the perfected Soul Conduit realm. The look in their eyes was cold, and they stared at the old man dressed in yellow. He had a crown on his head, and his clothes made him look like some kind of emperor.

“My dear brother, does that mean… that you’re not going to do it?” one of the three old men in purple robes asked icily.

The emperor-like figure shuddered at the voice, a look of helplessness on his face. He looked at the three old men around him with fear in his eyes and said bitterly, “I’ve done my best. I wish I could open it too… but my blood simply isn’t pure enough to unlock the gate. It doesn’t matter if you force a Bloodline Pill down my throat. This just isn’t going to work.”