A World Worth Protecting

A myriad of emotions flashed across Wang Baole’s face when he sensed the startling Spirit Qi. He stared at the direction the Spirit Qi originated from. He had a vague idea forming in his head. It brought him excitement, as well as great uncertainty.

It was clear that the Eye Ghouls and Moon Spirits were headed towards the source of the Spirit Qi. Wang Baole guessed that the monsters in the Mystic Luna Realm were drawn inexplicably towards the Spirit Qi. The Spirit Qi must have appeared quite recently. Else, the area would have been overcrowded with luna monsters.

Let’s give it a shot! Wang Baole’s eyes flashed. He gritted his teeth. He was reluctant to abandon the area and just leave. He wasn’t a coward. After making up his mind, Wang Baole abruptly dashed out and, without hesitation, headed towards the source of the Spirit Qi.

Even though he had made up his mind, Wang Baole still remained cautious and didn’t venture too near the Eye Ghouls. He steadily and calmly followed them. He knew that the intense waves of Spirit Qi would likely draw other cultivators near. However, he told himself not to be hasty.

If he panicked and did something extreme, there was a chance of him letting the opportunity of acquiring something rare slip through his fingers. He might even lose his life. It was a genuine possibility.

What I’m doing is keeping a cool head during a crisis! Wang Baole grew calmer at that thought. With that thought in mind, Wang Baole maintained his speed, with a focus on caution. He steadily trailed the Eye Ghouls and ventured closer to the deeper regions of the dark side of the moon.

He entered the forest. Wang Baole’s breathing quickened as he felt the devouring seed inside him churn with an increasingly intense and startling Spirit Qi. He lowered into a crouch as he ventured deeper into the forest. Wang Baole tried his best to suppress his Spirit Qi.

As Wang Baole followed the Eye Ghouls and continued his approach, he soon reached the deepest part of the forest, where the astonishing Spirit Qi originated. He saw immediately before him—a giant fissure in the ground!

The fissure had clearly appeared recently. Around it, the trees were either uprooted or ripped apart. It was as if a sudden immense force had erupted from what had been flat ground, making the earth swell and rip apart, forming the fissure.

It was more than ten feet wide and thousands of feet long. Tremendous Spirit Qi surged out from the fissure continuously, spreading outward in all directions.

The Eye Ghouls, led by the Moon Spirits, approached the fissure. Without hesitation, they leaped straight in and vanished. Wang Baole spotted other luna monsters from the Mystic Luna Realm being led by other Moon Spirits approaching as well and jumping straight in.

It was as if the Moon Spirits were hunting food for the fissure. They kept spreading out, locating monsters and leading them there.

Wang Baole’s heart rate sped up upon the sight. He didn’t know what lay within the fissure, but what he could sense from the devouring seed told him that the tremendous source of Spirit Qi was coming from within.

After a long moment’s silence, another swarm of monsters approached from afar and entered the fissure, disappearing from sight. The Moon Spirits left in search for more monsters in the Mystic Luna Realm. As the area quieted down, Wang Baole dashed out without hesitation, stepped into the fissure and vanished.

“I knew it. Fat people are all greedy at heart, and stupid too!” As soon as Wang Baole entered the fissure, a young woman in white at the other end of the fissure spoke. She had cast some sort of spell that made her blend perfectly into the surroundings.

It was impossible to see her standing there with the human eye. Even relying on one’s cultivation, it would still be difficult to sense anything amiss. The young woman in white was extremely beautiful. Her appearance was alluring. Her eyes, though, held cruelty and an absence of mercy. Her lips curved into a disdainful smirk.

Her name was Chen Hui. She hailed from the Galactic Dusk Sect. Amongst the many disciples in the sect, her ruthlessness surpassed even that of the youth with the black-bandaged hand. She was said to be the top disciple from the Galactic Dusk Sect who had entered the Mystic Luna Realm that year!

She had clearly arrived earlier than Wang Baole but, having sensed danger, hadn’t immediately entered the fissure. She continued to observe the surroundings while waiting for the Spirit Qi to draw others to it, with the intention of letting others open the way for her.

I’d planned to wait for half an hour. If no one came, I’d go ahead myself. Who would’ve thought, there came an idiot.

If that’s the case, let him open the way. He’ll be the unlucky one if there’s any danger. I’ll just reap the rewards of his efforts! Chen Hui laughed lightly. Her eyes fell on the fissure in the ground ahead of her. She waited for a period of another dozen breaths or so before dashing into the fissure.

She soon reached the inside of the fissure. It was not completely pitch-black inside. A faint red glow came from the lower depths, allowing the cultivator some degree of visibility. Light flickered in Chen Hui’s eyes after she entered, and she raced deeper into the fissure. She could see the indistinct, rotund figure of the other cultivator in the distance moving forward cautiously.

That gave her extreme pleasure. She had the feeling that she was an oriole, perched behind the unaware mantis that was stalking the cicada. She kept her distance and followed her mantis.

However, as Chen Hui continued her pursuit of the rotund figure, in the not so far away distance, at the edge of the fissure, the soil loosened. Wang Baole dug his way out, blinked, and stared in the direction the young woman left. He laughed, surprised.

There was indeed someone outside.

When Wang Baole had entered the fissure earlier, he hadn’t rushed off immediately. Even though he had observed his surroundings and concluded there was no one around before entering the fissure, out of caution, he had pulled out a puppet replica of himself and let the replica dash ahead while he swiftly dug a hole and burrowed inside.

Since he was unsure if there was indeed anyone else lying in wait, the best course of action, in his mind, was to rig some bait and try to lure them out. If there was indeed someone else outside, after seeing him enter, they would definitely rush out and follow closely behind. They might even have the intention of letting him foolishly scout ahead first for their benefit.

If there was indeed no one, he would dig himself out after waiting for a while and venture in.

Seeing how he had successfully lured someone out, and that someone was not only a young woman but an extremely beguiling young woman whom he was unfamiliar with, Wang Baole sniggered. Slowly and carefully, he started following her.

As the two of them ventured deeper into the fissure, one behind the other, both thinking themselves the oriole, outside the fissure, beyond the forest—in a place ten miles away—seven to eight tall and muscular cultivators, their eyes shining with a brilliant strange light, were racing towards the fissure.

One of them was holding a compass which rapidly pulsated with a bright red light. The light sat directly on the fissure, which Wang Baole and Chen Hui had just entered.

“The Seeking Compass that Elder Lee crafted personally is amazing indeed. It can seek out all sources of Spirit Qi within a thirty-mile radius. As long as we, the Plume Manifestation Connate Sect, have this compass, our sect will have the most number of people to reach the Foundation Establishment realm this year in the Mystic Luna Realm!”

“Even if something unexpected is to happen, as long as we attain the Foundation Establishment realm, we’ll have the power to defend ourselves!” The seven to eight Plume Manifestation Connate Sect disciples spoke in hushed, excited voices, finalizing their plan of action as they sped up.

“Everyone, be ready. If the rare treasure falls not into the hands of someone from our sect but into the hands of someone from another political force… we’ll make sure to exterminate him, regardless of who he is! We must not let anyone else have it!”

The group of Plume Manifestation Connate Sect disciples raced ahead with murderous intent. In a separate direction, the youth from the Galactic Dusk Sect who had been robbed earlier by Wang Baole had clearly not sensed the Spirit Qi coming from the fissure, but he had unconsciously made his way to its vicinity in his search. He was dashing ahead dispassionately, searching for fragments to build his Foundation Establishment core.

Even further in the distance were the cultivators from the Senate faction, from the Five Generation Sky Clan, and even the four Dao Colleges. There were many who were traveling alone and many others who had formed groups of three to five cultivators.

As time passed, the visible side of the moon had been fully searched. The cultivators from the various political forces soon turned their sights to the dark side of the moon. The boundary between the dark and visible sides of the moon quickly saw the gathering of numerous cultivators.

Fortunately, even though the Spirit Qi from within the fissure was immense, unless one possessed something like Wang Baole’s devouring seed, one would have to reach a certain distance before they could sense the Spirit Qi. If they were slightly further away, they wouldn’t be able to locate it without great difficulty.

As the crowd gathered and hurried about in the regions nearby, Wang Baole followed secretly behind Chen Hui and gradually reached the lower depths of the fissure…