A World Worth Protecting

1

The paper human cutout wasn’t the same paper human cutout that was inside his storage ring. However, the aura that it was exuding was identical. It was exactly as creepy as the one inside his storage ring. It was then that Wang Baole realized why the paper human cutout inside his storage ring had stirred. Upon that realization, doubt and incomprehension rose inside him as he stared at the approaching boat.

<em>What does this boat… represent?</em>

Wang Baole wasn’t sure what the boat was supposed to represent, but he knew… that it must have something to do with the mysterious paper human cutout in his storage ring. In fact, there must be some intimate relationship between the paper human cutout in his storage ring and the one on the boat!

<em>Could it be a cultivator from some civilization?</em> The idea popped into Wang Baole’s head. The Never-Ending Dao Domain was vast and filled with countless civilizations. It wouldn’t be a surprise to find strange and bizarre species existing in the domain.

Regardless, Wang Baole wasn’t interested in getting involved at all. Look at his thin arms and legs, his fragile bones. He had lost quite a bit of weight too. He couldn’t take much more hardship. He instinctively prepared to avoid the strange and creepy looking spirit boat.

<em>The young men and women on the boat are clearly folks you don’t want to mess with. Curiosity killed the cat. I don’t care why they’re on the boat and where they’re going. It has nothing to do with me.</em> Wang Baole blinked and retreated immediately.

He could tell that the passengers weren’t typical cultivators. They exuded a cold arrogance and were seated far apart from one another, looking as if they belonged to separate factions. There was no way that they hadn’t sensed Wang Baole’s presence outside the boat. However, despite that, their eyes remained shut. If not for the aura that they were exuding, one would’ve thought they were corpses.

They didn’t pay any attention to Wang Baole and seemed completely uninterested in him. It was as if these people and Wang Baole were of two separate worlds. An elephant cared not for the ant that was making its way past the larger animal. That feeling made Wang Baole feel extremely uncomfortable.

But he knew nothing about the situation now, and the boat looked really suspicious. Wang Baole didn’t want to get into any further trouble. He snorted secretly and retreated more quickly, trying to put more distance between himself and the boat.

But… sometimes, things just didn’t go one’s way. Wang Baole did his best to retreat as quickly as possible. Regardless, the spirit boat drifting in the distance continued to approach him more steadily, narrowing the distance between them instead of widening it. The boat’s form would grow blurry every time the paper human cutout moved its oar, and with each glide of the oar, the boat would move closer to him.

It was a truly creepy sight to behold. It made the hair on Wang Baole’s skin stand. He instinctively unleashed his Dark Art, but that didn’t seem to be of much use. It didn’t slow the boat down a single bit. The boat’s form continued to turn blurry repeatedly, and it moved closer to him each time that happened.

<em>What the hell is this thing?</em> Wang Baole’s scalp was prickling with numbness. He clenched his jaw and prepared to escape into the distance.

But before he could do anything, the spirit boat’s form blurred once more. In the next moment… when it became distinct again, it had leaped across the cosmos and appeared right before Wang Baole’s eyes!

The sight sent cold sweat pouring down Wang Baole’s forehead. The spirit boat’s aura of antiquity that rushed towards Wang Baole as the spirit boat approached didn’t help. His eyes widened in shock, and alarm colored his face… The paper human cutout, which was standing at the boat’s helm and had been rowing the boat, suddenly froze. Then, instead of sliding its oar across the cosmos, it looked up and stared at Wang Baole with a blank, cold stare that had been drawn onto its face!

The paper human cutout’s stare held Wang Baole frozen to the spot. It was as if he were bound by an incredible power. His cultivation began to tremble, and his Divine Soul grew restless and unstable. He could feel his hair stand as waves of cold terror spread through his body. An impending sense of danger began to sound loudly like alarm bells in his head.

Without hesitation, Wang Baole unleashed his full cultivation, going to the extent of activating his barely-recovered Emperor Armor to give a boost to his speed as he made a swift and hasty retreat.

But… it was of no use!

The boat appeared to be still and frozen in place. In reality, Wang Baole had unleashed his full speed in his retreat. Nevertheless… no matter how quickly he retreated, the distance between him and the boat remained unchanged. The boat remained right in front of him. In fact, it felt as if the both of them hadn’t moved at all!

Wang Baole shuddered and shifted away again. But in the next moment, as soon as he reappeared in his new location… he saw the boat in front of him yet again. The distance between them hadn’t changed. Even the stare that the paper human cutout had leveled at him remained unchanged!

Wang Baole’s face turned pale instantly. He was about to say something when the paper human cutout lifted its left hand and gestured at Wang Baole. It appeared to be inviting him on board.

It was then that some of the youths seated on the boat finally opened their eyes and stared at Wang Baole with surprise. While not all of them had reacted to the invitation extended to Wang Baole, half of the passengers aboard the boat had opened their eyes and studied Wang Baole with clear, unconcealed surprise.

Besides their shared surprise, these passengers also displayed other emotions. Some appeared distant and disinterested, while others narrowed their eyes. Some appeared confused and doubtful, while others displayed open hostility. Some had twitched their lips upwards in scorn.

<em>They didn’t pay any attention to me and only sat quietly on the boat. But after the paper human cutout waved at me, they started paying attention to me. They also seemed surprised by the paper human cutout’s gesture… Does that mean that they didn’t think that I was worthy of boarding the boat at first?</em> The gears in Wang Baole’s head spun furiously. He eyed the passengers on the boat and then studied the paper human cutout who was still gesturing at him. He cupped his fists and bowed at the paper human cutout.

“I thank the esteemed senior for your regard, but your humble junior has urgent matters to attend to. I won’t be boarding the boat. I wish you a smooth journey…” Wang Baole said as he hastily moved away again.

Perhaps his excuse had worked, or perhaps it was because of some other reasons unknown to him, but the boat didn’t appear before Wang Baole again after he shifted away and reappeared in the distant cosmos. It appeared to have vanished entirely without a trace.

Wang Baole released a sigh of relief. But he was soon assailed by mixed emotions. He couldn’t help but wonder if he had just let a golden opportunity slip by…

<em>That might have been a boat steering towards some golden opportunity… How else would you explain the extraordinary cultivators sitting on board the boat? They looked shocked when I was invited to board the boat.</em> The more Wang Baole thought about it, the more regret he felt. But after some thought, he concluded that there was still something really strange about the boat.

The strangeness he had felt was closely related to the paper human cutout in his storage ring and the paper human cutout rowing the boat. It had something to do with the spirit boat itself too. Wang Baole felt that the boat could have been a golden opportunity, but it could also have been… a trip to death.

It didn’t matter. Wang Baole had grown warier of the storage ring that he had gotten. He sealed it again quickly. Even though the seals that he had placed on the ring had been broken and had led to his location being exposed, he believed that things hadn’t gotten to the point where he had to discard the ring. Regardless, he decided not to touch the ring again until he had reached the Planet realm.

With that thought in mind, Wang Baole tried to calm himself down before racing towards the Divine Eye civilization again.

Wang Baole’s guesses had been right. His location had been exposed when the paper human cutout had broken through his seals. In a distant cosmic region, a huge golden beetle that had been traveling swiftly through space had shuddered when the seals had been broken. It had swerved instantly and started heading for Wang Baole’s location at high speed.

Seated inside the golden beetle was the Never-Ending Clan Planet realm cultivator, Shan Lingzi. He had suffered a plunge in his cultivation and was at the Spirit Immortal realm now. Next to him was Dan Zhouzi, who appeared to have offered him help but whose mind was, in fact, filled with greedy thoughts. He was exuding strong waves of early-stage Planet realm spirit energy.

“Fellow Daoist Dan Zhouzi, I just sensed the location of my storage ring. The foolhardy scoundrel must have tried to unlock the storage ring. He abandoned the attempt very quickly, and I stopped being able to sense his location, but we should be moving in the right direction.” Malice appeared in Shan Lingzi’s eyes as he informed his partner of the location that he had just gotten.

“We’re not far.” Next to him, Dan Zhouzi smiled lightly. He didn’t hide the greed in his eyes, steering the golden beetle as it charged through space. The region that Shan Lingzi had provided him was too large, though. It would be a feat to pin down the exact location of their target. If they were to continue their search in this manner, it would take them a very long time to find anything after they had reached the region that Shan Lingzi had sensed. But… luck seemed to be on their side. After racing through the cosmos for several days… Shan Lingzi’s eyes suddenly widened with delight. He had once again… sensed the presence of his storage ring!