A World Worth Protecting

Many cultivators in the Dao Palace had noticed the commotion and rushed over. They kept a distance, but Wang Baole could see the shock and disbelief on their faces as well as hear their heavy breathing.

“Baole, you…”

“Wang Baole, what are you doing?”

Wang Baole didn’t turn around as he listened to the gasps of shock. He could hear the approaching footsteps of Sect Lord Xu, Zhao Yameng, and the others. He stared at the weakened Feng Qiuran silently, then slowly narrowed his eyes. Then, he suddenly raised his right hand and pointed lightning-quick. A lash of wind whipped out and pierced through Feng Qiuran’s forehead.

Feng Qiuran froze, and her eyes widened as bitterness, and a whole array of emotions, shone in her eyes. She stared unblinkingly at Wang Baole before finally dying!

“Has it been dispelled…” Wang Baole muttered to himself as he stared at Feng Qiuran’s corpse. He turned and saw the looks of shock and disbelief coloring the faces of the Dao Palace and Federation cultivators around him.

“Wang Baole, you’ve gone mad!”

“Baole!”

“He killed Elder Feng Qiuran!”

Gasps of shock exploded in the crowd. Some looked bewildered, others were shaking, and some went mad. The situation seemed like it was about to spiral out of control. It was then that Sect Lord Xu suddenly unleashed his cultivation and roared.

“Federation cultivators, I command you to protect Elder Wang Baole. We are to leave this place now!”

As his words rang out, the lost and bewildered Federation cultivators shook. Despite the mixed feelings clear on their faces, they swiftly followed Sect Lord Xu and raced towards Wang Baole, with the intention of surrounding him in a protective circle.

The Dao Palace cultivators went mad. There was no way they would allow that to happen. They immediately tried to stop the Federation cultivators, and battle broke out between the two sides. Death and destruction spread like wildfire. As sounds of battling rose to the skies, numerous Nascent Soul realm cultivators could be seen charging towards them from the distance, fury and alarm in their eyes.

“Baole, I believe you had a reason for doing whatever you just did, but this isn’t the time to think. Hurry, get to the teleportation array formation. We need to leave this place and return to the Federation!” Sect Lord Xu shouted at Wang Baole frantically. Both Zhao Yameng and Kong Dao were pale in the face. Regardless, they immediately came to Wang Baole.

They reached his side and held him up as he stared in confusion at Feng Qiuran’s corpse. Then, they began to pull him along as they raced towards the teleportation array formation.

The sounds of battling, of howling, of deafening explosions, and the light from spells, flooded the Dao Palace. Wang Baole remained quiet as Zhao Yameng and Kong Dao escorted him towards the teleportation array formation. They were about to reach the array formation when Wang Baole suddenly rooted himself to the ground and muttered.

“I believe…”

“What are you muttering? Baole, quick, enter the teleportation array formation!” Zhao Yameng said frantically. She tried to pull Wang Baole into the teleportation array formation, but he wouldn’t budge. She froze and turned back. What she saw wasn’t a bewildered-looking Wang Baole. Instead, the confusion in his eyes had faded away and was replaced instead with a fierce determination!

“I said that I believe in Little Missy. I believe in my own judgment, and in my own instincts!” Wang Baole said quietly. Having experienced a Dark Dream, he had done some reading up on the subject. He knew that if this were indeed a dream or an illusion, he would have to locate its source in order to dispel it.

Only by locating the source and destroying it could he then dispel this illusion. What he had learned in his Dark Dream taught him that such sources were often hidden in a living entity.

The first candidate he had thought of was Feng Qiuran. She was a familiar face and had a high level of cultivation. There had been a great chance of her being the source of the illusion. However, nothing had changed after her death.

I’m right… I just haven’t found the source! Everything seems frighteningly real. Such a level of realism can only be done… by gathering everyone’s memories. That is the only way for there to be no loopholes or flaws revealed when I converse with anyone!

In that case, everyone’s memories, including mine, are the basis of this illusion. But… they are only memories. None of these people are real. They may possess the original person’s memories, but they won’t have their reasoning and their instincts. Wang Baole suddenly turned and looked at Zhao Yameng, who was looking at him with anxiety in her eyes.

“Yameng, you are well-versed in teleportation array formations. Help me perform a calculation. Let’s assume that the number of Federation cultivators that we are sending back is a prime number. When taking into account the capabilities of each Federation cultivator as an individual and as a whole, as well as the Dao Palace cultivators’ determination to stop us, how many teleportations and how many groups of cultivators should we split them up into in order to send back as many cultivators as possible? Is there any way to send back more cultivators? In addition, what is this prime number that you have assumed?”

Wang Baole’s sudden question stumped Zhao Yameng. Nervousness flashed across her eyes as she retorted hastily.

“This is no time to joke around. Baole, what are you doing? Quick, enter the teleportation array formation!”

“Yameng, please help perform the calculations?” Wang Baole stared at Zhao Yameng and implored softly.

“Baole, the most important thing now is to leave…” Kong Dao said hurriedly as well. Before he was done speaking, Wang Baole sighed. He had seen the flash of fear in Zhao Yameng’s eyes and had his answer. He raised his right hand, and Zhao Yameng shook instantly as a bloody cut appeared on her neck. Blood spurted out. She stared at Wang Baole, confused, then collapsed to the ground.

Kong Dao was stunned at the scene that had just unfolded before him. His breathing quickened as he staggered backwards. There was confusion and disbelief in his eyes as he stared dumbly at Wang Baole. It was as if he was looking at a complete stranger.

“Kong Dao, I’ll just call you Kong Dao now. Can you do me a favor? Ambush that person,” Wang Baole said, then casually pointed at a Dao Palace Core Formation realm cultivator engaged in battle in the distance.

“I…” Kong Dao stumbled backwards. His breathing grew uneven. He might not realize it, but his eyes were wild and frantic. Wang Baole sighed with relief.

Fortunately, everything isn’t real. He sighed, then waved his right hand. His blade flashed, leaving a gaping hole in Kong Dao’s chest. Kong Dao’s dead body fell to the ground as Wang Baole muttered to himself again.

“Still not dispelled? The source of the bewitchment… isn’t on Feng Qiuran or anyone close to me. Where… could it possibly be?” Wang Baole stood next to the teleportation array formation. An indescribable frustration and sense of danger ate at him. He knew that if he didn’t dispel the bewitchment soon, he might not… have a chance to do so.

His eyes swept across the battling masses. He saw Zhuo Yifan, Li Yi, and Jin Duoming. Finally, his eyes landed on the top of the mountain… on the Hyacinthus Tree!

Wang Baole shook violently as soon as his eyes landed on the tree. He could smell the strange floral scent again. His gut was telling him, in fact, there was a voice shouting inside him and trying to tell him that the source of it all… was that tree!

He didn’t hesitate. Wang Baole dashed towards the Hyacinthus Tree. Everyone around him—Sect Lord Xu, Zhuo Yifan, the Federation cultivators, and the Dao Palace disciples—all turned towards him simultaneously and stared unblinkingly at him. They rushed out and tried to stop him!

But it was too late!

Wang Baole unleashed his Flame Snatch Thearch Armor. His cultivation surged inside him as a Divine Armament’s aura emanated from his arm—stronger than it had ever been. It rose to the skies. Hovering in mid-air, Wang Baole’s body seemed to have melded perfectly with the Divine Armament. They were like a shooting star, dashing across the heavens and slashing at the Hyacinthus Tree.

The blow landed, and a pained shriek rang out. The Hyacinthus Tree shook violently and toppled. The skies thundered, and the world was transformed. The cultivators from the Federation and the Dao Palace turned into mere shades, then faded away as if wiped out of existence. The Sea of Fire around the Dao Palace roared and caved in. It was as if a veil had been lifted by a strong wind following the cave-in, exposing the countless corpses lying all around him!

In the distance, blood pooled together and formed a vast river that flowed into the horizon, with no end in sight. Former islands, upon the lifting of the veil, revealed their true form!

They were mountains formed from countless piles of corpses!

The piles of corpses stretched into the distance. Countless huge, red flowers could be seen on those corpses, some in blossom, others not. A familiar floral scent enveloped the entire world.

The skies had transformed as well. They were no longer the skies of the Dao Palace. An enormous sun hung in the heavens. Upon a closer look, one could see that this sun was actually the corpse of a gigantic beast. The light it gave off was a false warmth that transformed into a dim glow of death as soon as it landed on anything.

This wasn’t the Vast Expanse Dao Palace!

This was the battleship of the Never-Ending Clan!