A World Worth Protecting

He was torn because he wasn’t sure if it was a trap!

He wasn’t sure if the old ghost knew of his intimate connection with the Dark Sect. That was why he was hesitating!

Despite his hesitation and mixed feelings, he could see the giant loophole in the current scenario. It was just that the temptation hanging in front of him was too great, so those loopholes were easily overlooked.

After all… as long as Wang Baole wanted, he could absorb every soul there with a single thought. After spending some time digesting all those souls, he would be able to break through to the Spirit Immortal realm and perhaps even reach the mid-stage Spirit Immortal realm all the same!

Something must be up. There’s no way that this old ghost didn’t know that I’m from the Dark Sect. After all, the Dark Sect modified the Demonic Eye Art. Even if the Dark Sect had fallen and its cultivation techniques had been scattered across the universe… this concerns his successful possession and resurrection. There’s no way he didn’t check repeatedly and make sure that his information was sound.

Besides… the old ghost is extremely conniving and sly. There’s no way he wouldn’t have arrived at the right conclusion. Another thing… If I do absorb these souls, I won’t be able to attain an immediate breakthrough. It’ll be like swallowing a pill. I’ll need some time to digest everything… Could this be what the old ghost wants? He’s trying to buy time? Wang Baole’s eyes reddened, and the gears in his head spun furiously within those few brief moments. The twelve spiritual dragons finally fused with the Qi of the million dead souls that hovered between him and the old emperor. The latter’s face was colored with anxiety, while Wang Baole’s eyes flashed with decisiveness.

“I don’t need those souls!” Wang Baole roared and retreated, abandoning the idea of using the Dark Art to seize control and absorb the souls. As he gave up on those souls and moved back, the Qi of the million dead souls and the twelve spiritual dragons snapped back like a rope that had been pulled taut and then released, rushing towards the old ghost!

The souls surrounded the old ghost amidst a thunderous boom and rushed into his body. They seemed to share the same bloodline and origins as the old ghost, and as a result, the old ghost didn’t need to wait for the souls to be digested. His cultivation rose immediately.

He reached the perfected Soul Conduit realm instantly, and still, his cultivation continued to climb. He broke through to the Spirit Immortal realm in the blink of an eye. Under the nourishment of the souls, his cultivation continued to rise. However… Wang Baole didn’t hear any excited laughter from the old ghost as he retreated. Instead, what he heard was… a growl filled with resentment and regret.

Wang Baole’s eyes flashed at the sounds the ghost was emitting. He knew instantly that he had been right. The old ghost… had laid a trap for him!

His hands flew around in a flurry. Instantly, Xie Haiyang’s jade slip appeared in his left hand, and the Flame Patriarch’s jade slip appeared in his right. He didn’t send a voice transmission, only pulling them out as a precaution.

Wang Baole began chanting the Dao Scripture under his breath as he tightened his grip on both jade slips!

The old ghost’s cultivation was still rising, though the features on his face had contorted into an ugly expression. The loss that he was feeling slammed into him like a tsunami, and violence rose within his heart uncontrollably.

“Cursed… Wang Baole, I can’t believe that you didn’t absorb it with the Dark Art!”

His roars reverberated in the air. He hadn’t wanted to absorb those souls at all. Even though they helped in the recovery of his cultivation to a certain degree, it was merely a partial recovery. Compared to this, he much preferred a smooth and successful possession and resurrection. That was what he truly longed for.

He knew that Wang Baole belonged to the Dark Sect, but he had pretended not to know so that he might unleash the power of those dead souls and use them to reel Wang Baole in. He wanted Wang Baole to lose his reason in the face of such great temptation. If Wang Baole were to make an error in his judgment… If he had acted on his impulse and absorbed those souls…

Wang Baole would have fallen right into his trap. The souls couldn’t be transformed into cultivation immediately, as time was needed to slowly digest them. During that period… because the vast quantity of souls shared the same source as he did, prior to the complete digestion of them, Wang Baole’s body would have become a form of breeding ground.

One that was highly suitable for being possessed!

All of the undigested souls in Wang Baole’s body could have been transformed into a source of aid for the old ghost. With their help, he would have been able to complete the possession of Wang Baole’s body more easily and be fully brought back to life!

To ensure that his plan succeeded, he had pretended to look extremely anxious. When Wang Baole had been on the verge of absorbing those souls, he had been worried that the former would see through his act. That had been why he had dragged the twelve spiritual dragons into the picture. He had wanted to give Wang Baole an impression that he had just shown all of his cards and had been desperately trying to reverse what had seemed like a sure defeat.

Despite all his meticulous preparations and calculations, he had still failed. Resentment and grudge erupted inside him and transformed into rage. His breeding ground had been lost, which left him with no choice but to possess Wang Baole’s body forcibly. The stakes had just risen in terms of both risk and difficulty.

“Wang Baole!” Even though both the risk and difficulty had risen, the old ghost was left with no other choice. He fumed and raged as his cultivation reached the mid-stage Spirit Immortal realm. He could wait no longer then. With a sudden shift, he vanished.

He had originally been inside the Demonic Eye Art, which Wang Baole had cultivated and practiced for many years. That was why, when he reappeared again in the next moment, he appeared… inside Wang Baole’s body, in his soul, evading the Eternal Star Fire resting in Wang Baole’s mind and the Planet realm palm!

He tried to forcibly possess Wang Baole!

A flash of violence appeared in Wang Baole’s eyes the moment the old ghost appeared inside his soul. Wang Baole unleashed the power of the Dao Scripture, which he had silently muttered under his breath earlier. Instead of using it to exert a suppressive force on his surroundings, he turned it inward… onto himself!

Thunder erupted, and it was as if countless lightning bolts had been unleashed in Wang Baole’s soul. His soul shuddered violently amidst the waves of deafening thunder. Suffering the same violent shudders was the old ghost that had tried to devour his soul.

You’re trying to possess me, and I’m… trying to hunt you too. I’m going to turn you into my golden ticket for a cultivation breakthrough! Wang Baole’s soul emanated intense waves of spirit energy. At this point, he was fully aware of why the imperial cemetery was going to be his golden ticket to a cultivation breakthrough. If he had hunted and captured the old ghost outside, the ghost would have been severely weakened. Thus, Wang Baole wouldn’t have been able to benefit as much from his capture.

Inside the cemetery, the ghost was given a chance to experience leaps in cultivation through the absorption of countless souls. Wang Baole faced great risk in facing a more powerful ghost. But, if he were to succeed… the benefits he would gain would be immeasurable!

With those thoughts in mind, the struggle between a possession and a hunt inside Wang Baole’s soul began!

Wang Baole stood there, unmoving, as his body transformed into mist and then regathered and reformed into his physical body. Everything seemed normal despite the intense and dangerous battle currently taking place inside his soul!

The million dead souls were still on their knees, and so were the twelve silent emperors in the distant palace. The emperor on the tallest throne, with his indistinguishable face and a blurry silhouette, remained seated and unmoving.

But if one were to take a closer look, they would realize that there was something about the first emperor that was different from the other dead souls. He… wasn’t a corpse like the rest. He was… a human-shaped armor… awaiting the return of its master!

In the distant cosmos, far away from the Divine Eye civilization, in the marketplace that Wang Baole had once visited, stood one of the Xie family’s stores. Xie Haiyang stood in his pavilion, a dark and stormy look on his face as he stared at a pitch-black image that was being projected from a jade slip on the table in silence.

He had stopped receiving transmissions after Wang Baole had entered the inner chambers of the imperial cemetery. Despite the power that the Xie family held, there remained certain things in the universe that they couldn’t breach.

The statue of the Divine Eye civilization’s first emperor was one of them!

The mysterious Divine Eye civilization had managed to build an alliance with the Violet Gold civilization and gain the attention of Xie Haiyang, and the statue clearly had something to do with both.

Does the Divine Eye civilization’s secret… really… have something to do with that legendary place? Wang Baole, why are you so stubborn? Why can’t you just ask me for help so that I can use this chance and get a clearer look… Xie Haiyang was filled with a myriad of complicated feelings. The old man who was sitting in front of him sighed. He picked up the jade slip, then looked up and stared at Xie Haiyang.

“Young Master, the Violet Gold civilization has made a move. The Divine Eye civilization’s royal clan is conducting a sacrificial ceremony. I estimate that the first batch of cultivators from the Violet Gold civilization will be teleported through the Divine Eye civilization’s Eye of the Eternal Star within half an hour. War in the Divine Eye civilization will commence then. There will be three Planet realm cultivators in the first batch of cultivators from the Violet Gold civilization!”