A World Worth Protecting

Time passed swiftly. Wang Baole had been here for three days and had expended more than five thousand puppets during these three days. They had been accumulated from his time as the City Lord of the special regional city. Every time his proficiency in refining artifacts advanced, he would enhance the puppets, out of habit.

That was why even the weakest of his puppets was at the True Breath realm, and he had more than a hundred puppets that could rival a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator. What was most astonishing was the special batch of puppets he had refined at first. Only two remained. However, both were at the perfected Foundation Establishment realm and reached the pseudo Core Formation realm.

As Wang Baole’s level of cultivation increased, the puppets were no longer as useful. That was why he had managed to accumulate so many of them. They finally became useful for testing the hex.

The test that was… comprehensive and exhaustive, which allowed Wang Baole to finally identify the loophole in the hex after three days!

There are three minor loopholes… Wang Baole sat cross-legged at a corner as he eyed the mountain peak before him. He didn’t know how long he had before another shift and transformation would occur. However, he knew he didn’t have much time. Wang Baole knew he had to move quickly.

However, he couldn’t be too rash. Based on his assessment, with his level of cultivation and his physical body, he wouldn’t be able to withstand an attack from the black light. If he mounted a frontal assault, any misstep would result in the instant destruction of his body and spirit.

I just want to earn a few battle credits. What a chore… Wang Baole sighed as he stared at the corpses and the pavilions on the mountain. A flash of determination appeared in his eyes. He had no choice, his desire for the storage bags on the corpses was simply too great.

He took a deep breath, his eyes shining brightly as he stared at the mountain before him. He calculated the timings. Every half an hour, he would throw out a puppet and gradually increase their number. Every time the puppets tried to get past the hex, they would be sliced into pieces by the black light.

Eight hours passed. As Wang Baole threw another puppet towards the mountain peak, the black light appeared once again. However, this time, it paused for a portion of a second!

That’s the loophole! It was as if he had predicted this moment would happen and prepared for it. Wang Baole’s eyes flashed brightly when the pause occurred. He burst forward like a sudden bolt of lightning. With a series of hand seals, his cultivation started churning rapidly. With another wave of his hand, countless Dharmic treasures appeared around him and spread out. Amongst them were multiple Dharmic Armaments. A colorful ribbon fluttered and circled him, forming a strong protective barrier.

It was as if he had planned for everything. Everything happened in a blink of an eye. Wang Baole surged forward swiftly like a shooting star, dashing forward and heading straight for the mountain.

In a blink of an eye, he came into contact with the invisible hex. The black light that should have appeared instantly had experienced a slight lag when attacking Wang Baole’s puppet a moment ago. It paused for a slight moment once again!

This sliver of delay allowed Wang Baole to pass through the protective barrier and appear on the mountain. He hadn’t destroyed the hex, though. Even though he had successfully landed on the mountain, the sense of danger continued to remain intense and overpowering. It surged like tsunami waves over him.

He couldn’t be distracted by it now. The moment he got past the hex and appeared on the mountain, he raised his right hand and, through the air, made a grab for the storage bags on the corpses a short distance away from him.

Four storage bags came whizzing by. He caught them. Then, seemingly fighting against his strong desire and greed, he stepped back hurriedly and swiftly. As quickly as he had entered, he left with a speed that surpassed that of lightning. He moved like flowing water. He had clearly gone through the motions multiple times in his head the past three days.

As he was retreating and about to leave the area, suddenly, the black light reappeared. The window for when the loophole appeared seemed to have passed. It swept past Wang Baole.

The speed of this strand of black light surpassed Wang Baole’s. It was incredible how fast it was. Wang Baole clearly was prepared for it, though. As soon as the black light appeared, the Dharmic treasures around him surged before him and stood between him and the black light.

The Dharmic treasures collided with the black light. It was as if they had turned to paper as both their cores and components were shredded into halves soundlessly. They were weak and powerless before the black light, shriveling and sliced into halves.

Fortunately, the colorful ribbon contained significant power. It spun around him and transformed into a hurricane. Wang Baole’s Dharmic Armaments unleashed their power as well, forming a protective barrier against the black light. Thunderous booms resounded in the air. Finally, just as the ribbon and Dharmic Armaments could no longer withstand the attack of the black light, Wang Baole successfully dashed out of the restricted, hexed zone.

Despite his escape, the backlash from the hex was simply too powerful and violent. Blood spilled from Wang Baole’s mouth. His vision turned hazy, and he stumbled after flying out from the hexed area. Then, he spat another mouthful of blood out. His grievous injuries seemed to result in a loss of control over the ribbon and his other Dharmic treasures. They fell to the ground as he staggered.

After stumbling a few steps, blood began to seep out from Wang Baole’s chest. He fell sideways, to the ground. His injuries appeared very serious. He passed out.

The storage bags that he had acquired slipped from his hand after he lost consciousness and fell to the ground beside him. The black light glittered and slowly disappeared. All around him, silence descended.

It was silent for an hour. Within that hour, there was no movement or sound. There was only Wang Baole, who lay motionless and heavily injured. He was vulnerable to attacks and powerless to retaliate. Anyone with ill intent could kill him now.

The Dharmic Armaments and storage bags lying around him were enough to incite murderous intent from the greedy who wished to steal them… Perhaps luck was on Wang Baole’s side, or perhaps luck was on the side of the others… No one appeared during this hour. Not even the white-robed female spirit appeared.

The hour passed, and Wang Baole’s eyes suddenly opened. There was none of the haziness and confusion in his eyes that was usually present when someone just awoke. Instead, his eyes shone with a deep, unfathomable light.

Seems like there really isn’t anyone around here… the female spirit really was trying to repay a favor. I put up such a convincing act that if there were really someone with ill intentions around, they would have struck. Wang Baole narrowed his eyes and climbed to his feet immediately. It seemed that his injuries had all been fake.

That had indeed been the case. Wang Baole’s caution hadn’t lessened because of the appearance of the mountain peak. He had been worried about traps in the area. That was why he had pretended to be injured, in order to lure anyone lying in wait out. The Dharmic Armaments lying around him might seem scattered haphazardly. However, they were Dharmic treasures he had refined with his own hands. He could unleash their power anytime anyone appeared.

I’ll not waste any more time since there’s no one around! At that thought, Wang Baole waved his hand and retrieved the fallen items around him. A fierce light shone in his eyes as he stared at the mountain rock. His Lightning Core erupted after a long moment. Bolts of lightning appeared in the air, and icy flames emerged from his body. There were sounds of crackling coming from his physical body as he activated its full power.

He wasn’t done yet. The colorful ribbon, as well as the tri-colored sword, flew around him speedily. The power that exuded from him surpassed anything that he had shown earlier. Having prepared himself, he waited for another half an hour. Then, he flung out another ten puppets. He took a step forward and charged into the hexed area with his puppets.

He was faster this time, his speed twice that of what he had displayed previously. He exploited the second loophole and passed the protective defenses of the hex. The devouring seed inside his body activated then. With a loud, thunderous boom, the storage bags of those dozens of corpses before him flew towards him, as if suddenly snatched by numerous invisible hands!

Everything went according to his plan. If he were to leave now, he would be doing so with minimal injury. However, just as he was about to retreat, Wang Baole’s eyes suddenly widened. He stared at the highest point of the mountain peak. It hadn’t been clearly visible when he had been outside and separated by the hex. However, now that he was inside, he could see it clearly… a cave abode!

Inside the cave abode, a corpse dressed lavishly sat cross-legged… on his thigh, was a purple identity token!

A core disciple’s identity token!