A World Worth Protecting

Within the Mystic Luna Realm, on the dark side of the moon—on the outer region alongside the boundary separating the dark and visible sides of the moon—sat a mountain range.

Wang Baole was being transported to somewhere on the mountain range. As soon as he materialized, he spat out mouthfuls of blood. Unable to stand, he fell to the ground, blood seeping from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. His face was pale, and his appearance disheveled and horrifying.

He had appeared on a downward slope, causing his fallen body to roll to the bottom of the mountain with a loud thud and get stuck in a sunken depression. He fell unconscious before he could even summon his puppets out to stand guard.

His injuries were too serious. Not only had he suffered a backlash from using the seventh-grade Dharmic Armament twice, but he had also used the Supernova and his mystic lightning techniques while injured by the backlash. There had also been the counterforce from the Foundation Establishment realm cultivator Zhou Fei’s spells. Wang Baole’s organs were on the verge of being torn apart from the cumulative damage. The extent of his injuries was almost equal to what he had suffered during his encounter in the Pond Cloud Rainforest.

He was unconscious for an entire day.

Fortunately, while the area was near the visible side of the moon, it was still located on the dark side. Few cultivators ventured there. Nobody discovered him while he lay unconscious the entire day.

During the period, his nine mosquitoes carried out the commands Wang Baole issued before he passed out obediently. They lay on Wang Baole’s body and hid him from view. They kept a lookout for anyone passing by as well. Regardless of who it was, they would immediately attack the approaching person and prevent him from getting closer.

A day later, Wang Baole finally, slowly opened his eyes. He hadn’t yet gotten a clear picture of his surroundings and fully awakened from his confusion when agonizing pain on every part of his body made itself known and shocked him awake. Sweat started pouring from his forehead.

A long moment later, Wang Baole struggled to sit up. He panted heavily as he eyed his surroundings, then assessed his condition. He smiled wryly.

That’s the price for messing around with teleportation. Wang Baole grimaced. He stared at the Dharmic Armament that he had held onto with a death grip during his unconscious state and was overwhelmed with emotions.

He knew if he hadn’t possessed the Dharmic Armament, he wouldn’t have been able to escape death.

Despite being heavily wounded, he did escape with his life intact. Not only did he escape, but he had also injured the Foundation Establishment realm cultivator as well and drove him raving mad. The thought of that made Wang Baole quite pleased.

Little guy, I’ll kill you when I reach the Foundation Establishment realm! Wang Baole patted his stomach out of habit. Intense pain immediately shot through his entire body. He shuddered in pain, the agony residing only after some time.

With a grimace, he struggled to his feet, then eyed his surroundings. He realized he was still on the dark side of the moon. He could see a corner of the planet Earth though. He must not have been far from the visible side of the moon.

If he left in his current wounded state, he would be defenseless should he encounter any danger. After some thought, he used the seventh-grade Dharmic Armament to dig a small cave in the sunken depression. He wormed his way in, sealed the opening partially, and then summoned his puppets to stand guard at one side.

He sat down cross-legged, took his pill out, and started to heal himself.

Wang Baole had prepared a sufficient quantity of pills for the journey to the moon. However, he had suffered grievous injuries. He would need a long time to recover from his injuries if he only took ordinary pills.

In exasperation, Wang Baole pulled out from his storage bracelet the only rare pill he had with extraordinary healing properties. It was the one he had received alongside Zhao Yameng and Zhuo Yifan after they had escaped from danger in the Coulomb Basin. The Ethereal Dao College Deputy Sect Lord who had led the rescue effort had given it to them. Wang Baole’s injuries hadn’t been as serious, so he hadn’t taken it then.

He witnessed Zhuo Yifan and Zhao Yameng, after swallowing the pill, undergo a swift recovery despite their grievous injuries. After realizing that the common pills would take too much time, he sucked in a deep breath and swallowed the rare pill.

As the pill entered his body, it transformed into scorching energy that spread throughout his entire body. Wang Baole could immediately sense his injuries healing at an astonishingly swift rate.

Be it injured muscle and flesh or broken bones, they healed right before his eyes. Even his damaged, slightly failing organs that had been a result of backlash from using the Dharmic Armament, started showing signs of recovery.

Wang Baole was beyond excited. He focused both his mind and body on absorbing the healing energy from the pill, and his injuries gradually healed. The entire recovery process took a day.

A day later, when Wang Baole opened his eyes, he was brimming with energy. There seemed to be an endless well of energy within him, and his cultivation seemed to have advanced further as well.

You mean you can train this way too? Wang Baole was overjoyed. He stood up and loosened his joints, preparing to leave and continue his search for fragments.

After the previous battle, he was left with only two fragments. He was still a long way to reaching the Foundation Establishment realm. That was why he had no time to waste. However, just as Wang Baole approached the entrance of the cave and was about to push aside the rock used to seal the opening partially, he suddenly froze. His actions became careful and measured. Even his breathing paused for a second before slowing down, his heartbeat speeding up as dismay overtook him.

How is it that my luck has become so bad after landing on the moon. I’m just sitting in a cave healing. How did I manage to bump into an Eye Ghoul…

Through the opening in the rocks, Wang Baole peered outside and saw, on the slope beside the sunken depression, a hundred and counting… Eye Ghouls!

Each one of the Eye Ghouls had a form that towered thirty meters tall. Their forms looked vaguely humanoid until one saw the countless eyes covering their bodies. The eyes possessed the power to turn one into stone. The spell activated as soon as the Eye Ghoul trapped any creature in its gaze.

The fighting prowess of each Eye Ghoul rivaled that of a perfected True Breath realm cultivator. If it were a true fight to the death though, the Eye Ghoul would turn out the stronger one.

There were more than a hundred Eye Ghouls on the slope outside the mountain cave. The thought of being discovered by them, after he had just recovered, and having to endure more injuries made Wang Baole’s head throb.

What bad luck. Wang Baole sighed inwardly. He dared not move an inch. He intended to wait for the Eye Ghouls to leave before going out.

He waited for a long while, but the Eye Ghouls stood, unmoving, on the slope. Wang Baole peeped through the opening from where he was and saw, in the distant sky, a person flying towards them!

Wang Baole’s scalp prickled with numbness. He instinctively thought it to be a Core Formation realm cultivator. However, as the figure approached, he caught a closer look and immediately realized it was not a Core Formation realm cultivator but… a Moon Spirit!

The Moon Spirit was like the poltergeist spirits people spoke of. It had an illusory form and was deadly. It rivaled a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator, and the stronger ones were the equal of a perfected Foundation Establishment realm cultivator. A True Breath realm cultivator had no chance of survival in an encounter with a Moon Spirit.

During the journey to the moon, the Sect Lord of the Ethereal Dao College had told them, should they come across a Moon Spirit… they shouldn’t hesitate to shatter the Lifesaving Jade Slip immediately.

The jade slip is useless now. What’s the point of breaking it? Wang Baole held his breath. He felt for his storage bracelet. The seventh-grade Dharmic Armament lying inside was the only thing he placed his hope and faith on.

He got a closer look and saw the Moon Spirit drifting in from the sky. It had the appearance of a young lady. As it approached, the surrounding temperature plunged drastically. Its illusory hair started floating in the air as it descended, and its face was a blur, indiscernible.

It didn’t land on the ground but hovered in the air above the swarm of Eye Ghouls. They stared at each other quietly.

Wang Baole was slightly taken aback by the scene before him. It was as if the two sides were communicating with each other. He continued watching curiously. It didn’t take long. The Moon Spirit turned, rising to the heavens, and drifted into the distance. One after another, the Eye Ghouls lowered their heads and, soundlessly, started marching towards the direction the Moon Spirit had headed.

Wang Baole watched as they finally left before letting loose a sigh of relief. He waited a while longer, ensured there was no further danger, then carefully left the mountain cave. He stared at where the Moon Spirit and Eye Ghouls were headed. It led to the deeper regions of the dark side of the moon. He turned towards the opposite direction and started running.

I have to leave the dark side of the moon as soon as possible. It’s too dangerous here.His journey to the dark side of the moon had had him gripped in terror. As he raced off, he started activating his devouring seed, intending to use it to find more fragments for his Foundation Establishment core.

As soon as the devouring seed started churning, Wang Baole froze in his tracks. Incredulity and disbelief appeared on his face. He whirled around suddenly and stared in the direction where the Eye Ghouls and Moon Spirit had headed.

His devouring seed had clearly felt, in the same direction… a hundred miles away, a sudden Spirit Qi, immensely strong and powerful beyond description, pulsing explosively!

The intensity of the Spirit Qi was beyond anything Wang Baole had come across. It was more than ten times stronger than the Spirit Qi he had experienced in his encounter with Jin Duoming!

Wang Baole wavered between surprise and suspicion. His breathing quickened.

There’s something… there?