A World Worth Protecting

The Hyacinthus Tree’s destruction seemed to unveil the layer of illusion. Even though Wang Baole had been mentally prepared for the reveal, he was still shocked by the sight before him.

He had thought that this was going to be the case, but he still couldn’t calm himself down!

“So… I didn’t return to the Vast Expanse Dao Palace. Instead, I entered the battleship!” Wang Baole muttered. Ten steps ahead of him… was a gigantic red flower!

It towered a hundred feet tall and had buds like pillars that blossomed skyward. Its huge petals gave off a strange, eerie light. There was a strange fragrance that filled this world. It was a scent… that Wang Baole was familiar with. He had smelled it the moment he had boarded the battleship and while deep in the illusion.

The scent was clearly what had drawn him into an illusion. Numerous fruits hung under the gigantic red flower. Each one was the size of a person. Cracks lined the fruits, and within the cracks grew rows of sharp teeth. It was a terrifying sight.

Viscous fluids dripped from the cracks, hissing as they landed on the ground. The fruit nearest Wang Baole had clearly dried up and died.

That wasn’t all. As Wang Baole lifted his head and looked at the flowers around him, he saw a dim demonic glow lighting the sky and the land filled with corpses and flowers. Familiar figures stood before the flowers around him!

He saw Feng Qiuran, Zhao Yameng, Kong Dao, and many others who had entered the battleship together. Some of them stood before a fruit hanging under each flower, some were walking towards a flower, and some were crawling into the fruit.

A few people were clearly missing. Wang Baole realized where they had gone when he saw a few fruits hanging ripe and heavy under some flowers. They had been swallowed whole by the fruits.

The expressions on Feng Qiuran’s and the others’ faces varied. Some had a silly grin on their faces, others a look of confusion. Some looked agitated, others furious. Some were obviously struggling… There were also a few who had pulled out the innards from the corpses on the ground and stuffed them into their mouths; they looked like they were in heaven, as if they had just tasted ambrosia.

The heavens were colored with a demonic light, and the land was littered with red flowers in full bloom. The sight before Wang Baole shocked him to the core. His breathing quickened as he raced towards Zhao Yameng!

Zhao Yameng was blushing, her eyes dreamy. She was about to be swallowed whole by the fruit before her and already had half an arm extended into the fruit. It was as if there was someone inside the fruit that Wang Baole couldn’t see who was holding hands with her and was trying to pull her into his arms!

She was about to step right into the fruit. It was then that Wang Baole arrived next to her and grabbed her arm. He yanked fiercely, and a shriek that seemed to tear at the soul escaped from the fruit. It sounded mad with fury and was clearly unwilling to part with its prey. A force erupted inside the fruit and merged with its violent lust. The fruit swelled up and tried to swallow Wang Baole whole!

Wang Baole retaliated with a punch from his Flame Snatch Thearch Armor. The fruit shook violently, and a scream rang out from within. It exploded upon contact, its juices splattering everywhere. Wang Baole pulled Zhao Yameng away. However, there were no signs of Zhao Yameng awakening from her illusion. Wang Baole grew frantic. He raised his right hand and pointed at her forehead.

“Wake up!”

His voice was like thunder, booming in the air. It seemed to reach Zhao Yameng as well, causing her to tremble. Her eyes became clear, and as she saw Wang Baole, she murmured.

“Baole, I had a dream. I dreamed that we were…” Her words trailed off as Zhao Yameng’s head finally cleared, and she noticed her surroundings. Her pupils contracted instantly, and alarm and shock colored her face.

Upon seeing Zhao Yameng recover her senses, Wang Baole sighed with relief. There was no time to comfort her though. He turned and dashed towards the rest. It was then that the gigantic flower before Feng Qiuran started trembling. That lasted a few moments before it collapsed. Its petals were ripped apart, its stem and fruits exploded. A powerful Spirit Qi, one that belonged to a Soul Conduit realm cultivator, erupted from Feng Qiuran’s person.

“The Green Poria dream realm!” Feng Qiuran had a dark look on her face. As her eyes slowly opened, she saw Wang Baole and a slightly weakened Zhao Yameng. The latter had clearly just been rescued from her illusion. As for the former… Feng Qiuran was caught by surprise. She had known that Wang Baole wasn’t someone to be trifled with, but she hadn’t expected him to be the first person to break free from his illusion.

Wang Baole watched Feng Qiuran break free from the illusion and finally was able to set his mind at ease. They looked at each other. There was no need for words to be exchanged. They dashed out and began to rescue the others. There were still a few Nascent Soul realm cultivators who were trapped in the dream realm. However, they had clearly sensed something was amiss and were fighting against the illusion. It was clear from the expressions on their faces.

Many of them would perish without help, but some might have been able to free themselves without help. With Feng Qiuran and Wang Baole’s help, they would awaken more quickly from the dream realm.

It didn’t take long for the two, as well as those rescued, to free the cultivators who hadn’t been swallowed whole. They had all been trapped in their individual, drastically different illusions. Everyone had been shocked when they had awakened. They had stared at one another with a myriad of emotions in their eyes. No one had wanted to speak about what they had dreamed of. The heaviness in their hearts and the fear they had towards this strange place didn’t fade away with their release from their illusions.

They had seen a few companions who had been swallowed alive by the fruits, or at least, the bare bones that had been left behind after they had sliced those fruits open. Everyone had descended into silence then.

Wang Baole himself was in low spirits. It had been a dangerous and strange experience since their entering this battleship. Everyone was deeply worried about their current situation.

“Baole, guard these people for me. I’ll go destroy the Demonic Green Poria Flowers in the area!” Feng Qiuran had a dark look on her face. Their first entry into the battleship had been fraught with danger. Her concern about her father led to her uneasiness as well. She was just about to rise to the sky and inspect the area.

However, as soon as Feng Qiuran said that and Wang Baole nodded his head solemnly, the dozens of demonic flowers around them suddenly shook and let loose a series of loud explosions. In that instant, they seemed to use up all their vitality and expelled whatever floral scent that was housed within them!

The floral scent appeared in a gaseous state when seen from afar. Up close though, it was crimson red pollen that formed a blood-colored mist and spread outwards, blanketing the surrounding area spanning thousands of feet!

The flowers dried up as soon as they expelled the pollen. Within the blink of an eye, they withered and fell to the ground. The mist that had been formed from their pollen, on the other hand, had been unleashed and was spreading further outwards, instigating a sudden transformation!

The pollen fell on the corpses piled across the thousands of feet of land. These corpses began to twitch. Waves of mindless howling sounded in the air as hordes of dead bodies began to crawl to their feet. Some of them were human-shaped, the others beasts. There were also some species that Wang Baole had never come across before. They had all gotten to their feet and were now charging towards Wang Baole and the surviving cultivators!

The aura of death followed these creatures, the air all around them reeking of it. The skies became drained of all color as the winds howled and the clouds boiled. Fortunately, even though the dead numbered many, most of them had died a long time ago. What remained of them was pure instinct. Core Formation realm cultivators might find them a challenge, but Nascent Soul realm cultivators didn’t find these creatures particularly difficult to slay or avoid.

A Soul Conduit realm cultivator would find these easy targets. As the corpses charged towards them, a flash of hard light flickered in an anxious Feng Qiuran’s eyes. She raised her right hand and slammed it hard onto the ground!

Heaven and earth thundered as a gigantic illusory hand spanning thousands of feet appeared above their heads and slammed down onto the ground. Winds howled wildly while everyone’s hair and clothes whipped wildly in the air. As everyone stood, shocked, the gigantic hand passed through their bodies without harming them and landed on the ground!

A deafening boom resonated in the air, and the earth thundered as the palm hit it. All of the corpses charging towards them disintegrated immediately and turned to dust!

The illusory hand vanished, and the area regained calm once more. Everyone gasped. Even Wang Baole stopped breathing for a second. There was a solemn look in his eyes when he turned towards Feng Qiuran. Feng Qiuran had never displayed such power in the past. That had been why many had viewed her as less powerful than Mie Liezi.

However, she had just now shown a power befitting her status!

“The red flowers are called Demonic Green Poria Flowers. Their fragrance can imprison one in an illusion,” Feng Qiuran said slowly. She raised her right hand and made a grab through the air, plucking strands of pistils from the withered flowers and placing them before everyone.

“Hold on to this. It can help fight against the illusory power of the demonic flowers.”