A World Worth Protecting

1

Killed and being killed. The difference between the two utterances lay in a single word, yet what they meant was drastically different. In fact, they lay on the extreme ends of the same spectrum!

The casual way Xie Haiyang had announced the news of a Planet realm cultivator having killed himself was a testament of his power and resources. Anyone who had heard him speak like that would have shuddered.

Previously, Wang Baole had his guesses about the Xie family and had some understanding of how terrifying the family clan was. He had even guessed that the traps Xie Haiyang had set up for him had been done deliberately so that the latter could offer his help. But those thoughts didn’t stop him from being shocked by Xie Haiyang’s declaration. He was quiet for a long while.

Even though he hadn’t seen what Xie Haiyang had said happened with his own eyes, the casual way Xie Haiyang had spoken and the disappearance of the seal over the Earth Spirit civilization clearly proved that Xie Haiyang wasn’t lying or bragging. The Heavenly Spirit Sect’s right-hand elder… had indeed fallen!

He had fallen in the Earth Spirit civilization, in a civilization that was within the Violet Gold civilization’s protectorate. The backlash from his death was going to be considerable, but Xie Haiyang clearly wasn’t concerned about that at all.

<em>The Xie family…</em> Wang Baole narrowed his eyes. He didn’t raise the subject of the right-hand elder again. Instead, he began discussing his teleportation and departure from the Earth Spirit civilization with Xie Haiyang.

Teleporting Wang Baole from the Earth Spirit civilization directly to the Divine Eye civilization was beyond Xie Haiyang’s capabilities. Even though the Xie family was extremely powerful and vast, it couldn’t extend its influence into every small region across the vast Never-Ending Dao Domain. As a result, it was difficult for them to perform precise teleportations. However, that didn’t mean that they didn’t have a way around that.

The market that the Xie family owned and which Wang Baole had visited in the past served as a place of transit. Wang Baole would be teleported to the market. From the market, he could then make his way to the Divine Eye civilization. Based on Wang Baole’s pace, it wouldn’t take long for him to reach his destination.

“It’s decided then. Brother Baole, I’ll wait for you at the market. You can leave whenever you wish. Just send your Divine Will into the Peace Token. I’ve activated the relevant accesses for you. But like I said before, I’m only waiving the fees this time… You’ll have to pay at least a token sum the next time.” Xie Haiyang coughed before ending the conversation.

Xie Haiyang had returned to the market and was now sitting in his pavilion. In his hand was his voice transmission jade slip. He appeared to be smiling while his eyes flashed with satisfaction. He was extremely pleased with how he had handled this matter. He had resolved the tensions between himself and Wang Baole and helped the latter with his predicament. He had also exhibited his influence and power in a definite way.

“Baole, fewer than ten people in the entire Never-Ending Dao Domain get to enjoy such treatment from me,” Xie Haiyang murmured to himself. He knew that his regard for Wang Baole stemmed not only from his admiration for the man but also from Wang Baole’s relationship with the Flame Patriarch.

In addition… Xie Haiyang’s guts told him that the Flame Patriarch wasn’t the only ally Wang Baole had. There was another mysterious person or entity helping Wang Baole. This person or entity was even more powerful and mysterious than the Flame Patriarch.

That was why his investments in Wang Baole were extremely worthwhile!

Wang Baole might not know Xie Haiyang’s exact thoughts, but he had a good idea of what the latter was thinking. The look of contemplation appeared in his eyes after he set the Peace Token aside. A moment later, his eyes flashed.

<em>It doesn’t matter. This is still good news!</em> Xie Haiyang’s showcase of his influence and the death of the right-hand elder were both things that Wang Baole welcomed heartily. After some thought, he set his heart at ease, and a sliver of satisfaction surfaced in his mind.

<em>This is because I’m just too good.</em> Wang Baole sighed. He was about to send his Divine Will into the Peace Token when he paused and thought for a bit. His eyes narrowed, and he didn’t initiate the teleportation immediately. Instead, in a single bound, he left the planet and raced towards the cosmos. He was heading for the region beyond the Earth Spirit civilization, now accessible to him after the seal was deactivated.

He rushed towards the cosmos like a shooting star and approached the civilization’s border rapidly. The Earth Spirit civilization wasn’t very big. The planet that Wang Baole had been located on was coincidentally near the borders too. With his current level of cultivation, it didn’t take him much effort to reach the edge of the civilization. Once there, he was ready to dash out of the civilization.

It was then that… every living creature in the Earth Spirit civilization—those located at different spots in the civilization, male and female, old and young, including plant life and animals, all tens of thousands of them—suddenly… shuddered uncontrollably.

Xiuyan, the young woman whom Wang Baole had encountered, was one of them. It didn’t matter what they had been doing a moment ago, at that very moment, a lost look appeared in their eyes as they shuddered. Something slumbering inside them appeared to have awoken.

He was right. Something had awoken!

If there were an Eternal Star realm cultivator in the region who had just extended his Divine Will across the area, he would immediately sense small flames flaring up inside numerous life forms in the Earth Spirit civilization. Threads, invisible to the naked eye, had emerged from these life forms and were rising rapidly into the skies. They surged from all corners of the planet and gathered at a particular spot in the cosmos!

They materialized as the indistinct, blurry silhouette of an old man!

The old man took one step and then vanished. In the next moment… he reappeared at the edge of the Earth Spirit civilization, right in front of Wang Baole! Wang Baole, who had been ready to depart, froze in his tracks.

To prevent any misunderstanding from taking place, the old man cupped his fists and extended a deep bow towards Wang Baole immediately after he appeared. Wang Baole had an unfathomable look in his eyes. He didn’t seem surprised by the old man’s sudden appearance.

“Greetings, fellow Daoist from the outer domain!”

Wang Baole’s eyes flashed as he extended his senses outwards and examined the old man’s aura. Then, one of his eyebrows rose slightly. He could tell that the man before him was merely a wisp of Divine Soul. His true and complete form had once been at the Planet realm or higher.

But he was now severely weakened. In fact, it was a miracle that he had managed to preserve a wisp of his Divine Soul. It should have been impossible for him to materialize and appear before Wang Baole, but he had done it. This old man clearly had some tricks up his sleeve or had been blessed with some cultivation-related golden ticket that Wang Baole was unaware of.

During his earlier examination of the old man’s aura, Wang Baole had also sensed a fire inside him that he had previously sensed inside the female cultivator he had come across in the inn. Even though he couldn’t tell for sure who this old man was, Wang Baole was quite certain that he was the former patriarch of the Earth Spirit civilization.

“What do you want from me?” Wang Baole asked coolly.

He had guessed right. The old man was the former patriarch of the Earth Spirit civilization. His Divine Soul had been scattered to the cosmos when he had died. Through certain special means, he had melded with the bloodline of his people. Doing so, he had evaded the notice of the Violet Gold civilization as he alternated between deep slumber and wakefulness. Through the tens of thousands of life forms he had hidden himself within, he had continued to keep track of what was going on in the world without exposing himself. He had been waiting all this while for an opportunity to resurrect himself and reverse the fate of his civilization!

He had sensed Wang Baole’s arrival and the activation of a seal over the Earth Spirit civilization. He hadn’t interfered with the events that had unfolded but had observed them quietly. He had watched the fight between Wang Baole and the right-hand elder, sensed the bizarre death of the right-hand elder and the release of the seal, and had been shocked by all that he had seen and sensed.

His instincts told him that this might be the chance of a lifetime!

That was why he risked gathering his separate flames and appeared before Wang Baole. Upon hearing Wang Baole’s question, the old man knew that the cultivator must have realized who he was. In fact, there was a great likelihood that Wang Baole had been waiting for him. He bowed once more, deeply, and had an earnest look on his face.

“I dare not ask for anything. I only hope that the esteemed fellow Daoist can help me reverse the fate of the Earth Spirit civilization should a day come in the future when you are able… But it doesn’t matter if you aren’t able. Since fate has brought you here, let us seize this opportunity and not waste it.” Upon saying that, the old man raised his right hand. The lights that had formed his present body gathered around his right hand and materialized as a sphere of blinding light.

With a flip of his sleeve, the sphere of light left his hand and floated towards Wang Baole. He was clearly visibly harmed by this. His form became blurrier, and it looked as if he were unable to sustain it for much longer. His Divine Will also appeared considerably weakened.

“This is a Planet Catalyst, a part of the Earth Spirit civilization’s original essence. It can help a perfected Spirit Immortal realm cultivator increase their chance of melding with a planet!” The old man fell silent after that. He bowed again, and then his physical form dissipated gradually and returned to the abyss. The tens of thousands of confused living creatures of the Earth Spirit civilization shuddered once again. Some of those lives shriveled instantly and turned to dust, while those that had survived experienced severe weakness.

Throughout it all, Wang Baole had only spoken once. He watched as the old man’s form disappeared, then looked down at the sphere of light before him. He had no idea what a Planet Catalyst was, but a scan from his Divine Will showed him how incredible it was. The old man’s sincerity and eloquence left Wang Baole sighing.

<em>This old man isn’t a simple character. Because of the way he handled this matter and treated me, it wouldn’t be right for me to take advantage of him. I would feel bad if I did that.</em> Wang Baole knew that the old man had realized that something was going on and had decided to take a risk. He had placed his bets on Wang Baole openly and allowed Wang Baole to make the next move. Wang Baole fell into contemplative silence as he turned and studied the Earth Spirit civilization. He didn’t express his agreement or disagreement to help. He merely activated the teleportation with his Peace Token as he stepped away and left the civilization.

In the next moment… the light of the teleportation spell enveloped him, and he vanished!

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