A World Worth Protecting

Wang Baole snorted when he saw the hedgehog cactus about to bite. His right hand tightened into a fist, and he activated the Supernova. Spirit energy erupted all around him, and dust and earth stirred from the ground and rose into the air. The hedgehog cactus had its mouth wide open and was about to take a bite. Upon witnessing the sight, it shuddered and without waiting for Wang Baole’s fist to land, spat out a mouthful of green liquid.

It wasn’t directed at Wang Baole but rather was spat out like a pool of blood. The cactus grew limp. Even the spines started falling off in bunches.

It appeared to be defeated…

Faking death? I haven’t even landed a hit! Wang Baole blinked. His fist stopped right before the hedgehog cactus. He glared. He found the cactus rather interesting and yelled.

“Let go!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the cactus roused into movement. It pulled its roots out from the ground and, like a tiny person, retreated speedily. It stopped after it had retreated for a yard.

“At least you know what’s good for you!” Wang Baole’s right hand reached deep into the earth the hedgehog cactus had just vacated and grabbed hold of a fingernail-sized fragment. The moment his hand touched the fragment, a strange sensation traveled from his fingertips to his heart.

The feeling was akin to that of an endless hunger and longer coming from deep inside him to meld with the fragment. Wang Baole shuddered, and his breathing quickened as he held the fragment in his hand and studied it. He was very sure that it… was a special fragment that could be used to build his Foundation Establishment core!

Overjoyed, Wang Baole placed the fragment close to his chest. Such an extraterrestrial fragment might be able to be used for one’s Foundation Establishment core, but it wasn’t something the storage bracelet could hold.

Brimming with satisfaction, Wang Baole lifted his head and found the hedgehog cactus gone. Not paying its disappearance any attention, he mused for a while and realized the reason for the cactus’ human-like intelligence.

It probably has something to do with this special fragment. Wang Baole looked around, confirmed there were no other fragments, then turned and dashed off.

After he had finally left, the soil in the ground rose slightly, and the hedgehog cactus popped out anew. It looked towards the direction Wang Baole had gone with what seemed like resignation, opened its mouth wide and bared its teeth, then burrowed back into the earth and ran off.

Wang Baole was running along happily. Except, after running for some time, he stopped and stared at the fragment he had placed close to his chest. He seemed slightly dispirited.

There’s something wrong with this thing. The reading materials only said we’re unable to store it in our storage bracelet. They didn’t say anything about the fragment being a source of Spirit Qi that draws attention. Wang Baole grabbed at his hair in exasperation.

It would have been fine if the fragment hadn’t been discovered, but once it was discovered and came into contact with a cultivator, it became like a burning torch in a pitch black night—something that would obviously be discovered by others located within a certain radius.

That’s why they said it was dangerous here, and that the competition amongst the various political forces was brutal. With such a feature… it’d be weird if the fight isn’t fierce. Wang Baole thought for a bit and considered hiding the fragment somewhere else. He tried digging a hole and burying it, but its Spirit Qi remained obvious. The chances of someone finding it soon after he had left were high.

There’s no other way. I’d like to see who dares to rob me! Wang Baole gritted his teeth, glared, and continued running. The devouring seed inside his body churned and searched for other sources of Spirit Qi.

Time crept by slowly. Three days passed. In the three days, Wang Baole found quite a few fragments. Most of them couldn’t be used for the Foundation Establishment core. Of such special fragments, he had only found a second one.

Wang Baole thought of how difficult it was to find the special fragments and couldn’t control his sighing. He, at least, had his devouring seed, and the speed at which he was finding the fragments was faster than the ordinary cultivator. Even so, his results were dismal.

The others must be facing the same problems! Wang Baole believed himself right in thinking so. During those three days, he had encountered the lunar monsters. Most were mutated Moon Beasts that were of the Ancient Martial realm. They posed no threat to him at all, and some of them even looked like they would make a delicious meal.

For example, he saw a lobster that was half the size of a person. It made Wang Baole hesitate for a long time. He remembered he had eaten lobsters found in the ocean, but he had never eaten one that was found on land. However, the lobster gave off a purple glow and looked poisonous, so after deliberating for a very long time, Wang Baole decided to abandon the idea.

Two days passed. On that day, Wang Baole was continuing his journey within the Mystic Luna Realm, searching for fragments, when he passed a small mountain. His eyes suddenly flashed. Through the devouring seed, he felt a startling Spirit Qi disturbance in the distance erupting!

The disturbance excited Wang Baole. He was about to approach when he felt through the devouring seed the source of the Spirit Qi stirring, then dashing towards where he was.

“Hmm?” Wang Baole raised his head swiftly, startled. He gazed into the distance. Soon, he saw in the horizon, the first silhouette of a cultivator he had seen in all those days!

It was a youth dressed in black robes. He looked thin and slightly malnourished, with cold eyes and a scar on his face. Wrapped around his right hand were black bandages, and waves of black Qi seeped out from between the bandages. He gave off a feral air and looked like a tiny killer god, cold and merciless. From his attire, he didn’t look like someone from the four Dao Colleges.

The waves of Spirit Qi were coming from his person. Upon closer observation, Wang Baole could feel three sources coming off the youth that stirred longing inside him.

Three special fragments? Wang Baole was shocked, and a sour feeling spread inside his heart. He had thought himself extremely diligent, but despite his hard work, he had only found two special fragments. The youth, who didn’t even rival him in good looks, actually found three.

Should I attempt to snatch them off him? Wang Baole deliberated. However, as he was deep in thought, the youth turned and looked at Wang Baole suddenly. He immediately switched direction and raced towards Wang Baole.

He was swift like a bolt of lightning and stirred dust clouds off the ground as he approached.

He’s coming right to my doorstep? Wang Baole blinked. He fell back a few steps and stared at the approaching youth. The youth soon stopped ten yards away before Wang Baole. He stood there and eyed Wang Baole coldly, lifted his chin, stuck his right hand out, and said coolly.

“Hand it over! Don’t make me say it twice!”

Wang Baole’s eyes popped out as soon as he heard what the youth said. He stretched out his right hand as well and hollered.

“Hand it over! Don’t make me say it twice!”

“You have a death wish!” The youth narrowed his eyes. He dashed out as he spoke, and stood before Wang Baole in a blink of an eye, his fist flying out. He didn’t land a direct punch. Instead, as he threw his fist forward, he opened it wide into a palm, and out flew a black jade pendant.

As the jade pendant flew out, it summoned black winds that formed an indistinct shape of a black tiger’s head. It roared and charged at Wang Baole.

“A Numinous Treasure? Don’t you know your granddaddy here is a Dharmic Armament cultivator?” Wang Baole said arrogantly. He raised his right hand in a sudden sweep and pulled out multiple Numinous Treasures which blanketed the sky and raced towards the youth.

Amongst the Numinous Treasures were the self-exploding beads, the rope, the large seal, and the flying sword.

The Numinous Treasures dashed out in multitudes. The rope and large seal, especially, looked extremely dangerous and threatening. The youth eyed them with great caution.

However, the two Numinous Treasures that he had eyed so closely, upon flying out, didn’t charge at the youth. Instead, radiating a terrifying forceful aura, they sped towards the heavens and disappeared… into thin air…

The youth froze as he watched the two Numinous Treasure make their bizarre ascent into the skies. He immediately raised his guard. While keeping an eye out for the Numinous Treasures, he glared viciously at Wang Baole and wielded the Black Tiger Jade Pendant in his hand and pushed his palm towards Wang Baole!

With a deafening roar, Wang Baole’s Numinous Treasures and the youth’s black tiger collided. The black tiger howled as it clashed with the Numinous Treasures. Amidst the thundering battle sounds, the youth narrowed his eyes and leaped right through the battling Numinous Treasures and arrived before Wang Baole. His finger surged towards Wang Baole’s forehead!

“Die!” Wang Baole might be famous, but for a disciple of the Galactic Dusk Sect—a sect whose disciples were inclined towards the traditional and were divorced from the outside world—his knowledge of Wang Baole wouldn’t be considerable. What the youth knew was even more pitiful. At that moment, he applied his usual strategy to exterminate Dharmic Armament cultivators, which was to approach them and rely on close combat to wipe them out.

Based on his experience, Dharmic Armament cultivators, Array Formation cultivators, and Alchemy cultivators alike had tremendous abilities, but once an enemy came within close reach, they were vulnerable to an extreme. In his merciless arrogance, his finger snaked forward like a bolt of lightning and was about to land a hit on Wang Baole’s forehead.

On the tip of his finger, black Qi had appeared. He had full confidence of piercing through a skull with its touch!

However… what was ideal was indeed good, but the reality was slightly different from his imagination. As his finger reached out, Wang Baole’s eyes flashed in excitement.

How long has it been… since someone dared to raise their finger before me…