A World Worth Protecting

On the ancient sword, with skies dark and scarred with spatial tears and lands littered with hexed regions, Wang Baole stood, a dark, stormy expression on his face. He couldn’t understand how Daoist You Ran had resurrected from the fatal attack.

Was it an avatar? Wang Baole fell silent as doubt colored his eyes. An icy glint flickered within as waves of cultivation surged out from his person. They were tinged with violence.

There’s not much time left…. Wang Baole shut his eyes, took a few breaths, then opened them again. Without hesitation, he pulled open the storage bags belonging to the Never-Ending Clan members and found Feng Qiuran, who had been sealed and stored away inside.

Feng Qiuran was unconscious and heavily injured, her vitality and spirit energy entirely spent. The cause of it all wasn’t only her injuries but also because she hadn’t had any time to heal herself. As a result, her injuries had gotten worse, and her cultivation had fallen to the Nascent Soul realm.

Feng Qiuran had stood on Wang Baole’s side and protected him. Her attitude towards the Federation was another reason why Wang Baole had to save her. Despite the anxiety wrecking him at the moment, he forced himself to calm down. He pulled out a bottle and poured out the spirit liquid inside. With a series of hand seals, he directed the spirit liquid into Feng Qiuran’s body.

The spirit liquid was no ordinary liquid, and a single bottle produced incredible results. Feng Qiuran’s deathly pale complexion gained a rosy blush as she absorbed the liquid. She shuddered and awakened.

Her pupils contracted when she saw Wang Baole. She was finally convinced of Wang Baole’s identity after his explanation. She wasn’t surprised at Wang Baole’s breakthrough to the Nascent Soul realm. Regardless, she was still startled when she noticed the Never-Ending Clan corpses around them.

She could somehow sense the unconventional nature of Wang Baole’s breakthrough. However, now wasn’t the time to ask for details. They didn’t waste any time at all. After a brief exchange of information, they immediately took flight and headed for the Vast Expanse Dao Palace at the sword handle.

The teleportation array formation in the Dao Palace was the only means of leaving the ancient sword. They were aware of the danger they might be walking into when they reappeared on the other side of the array formation, on Mercury. Regardless, they were left with no other option to return to the Federation.

“Baole, the spirit liquid in this bottle is extraordinary. Its richness surpasses anything I’ve seen, even when the Dao Palace was in its full glory. It is your destiny to have come by such a bottle. Don’t waste it on me. Hold on to this. When we return to the Federation, you…” Feng Qiuran managed to control the extent of her injuries with the help of the spirit liquid that Wang Baole had given her earlier. She handed the bottle back to Wang Baole. She knew the state of her injuries, and it was almost impossible for her to recover fully at the moment. The bottle of spirit liquid could only help her maintain her cultivation at the Nascent Soul realm.

The spirit liquid was extremely valuable. It would be of more use to Wang Baole. After all, it was clear from the Never-Ending Clan corpses around them that Wang Baole was currently more powerful than she was.

“Elder Qiuran, how much of this spirit liquid do you need in order for you to restore yourself to the Soul Conduit realm?” Wang Baole didn’t reach out for the bottle and instead questioned her as they raced across the sky.

Feng Qiuran froze. Disbelief and hope rose inside her when she heard what Wang Baole had asked. Light brightened her eyes, and her breathing quickened slightly.

“Five bottles… three will do too!”

Without saying anything, Wang Baole lifted his right hand and gave his storage bag a smack. He pulled out six bottles and threw them all over to Feng Qiuran. Every one of those bottles was filled to the brim with spirit liquid. Their sudden appearance filled the surrounding air with a rich Spirit Qi.

“This…” Feng Qiuran stared at the bottles. She could feel the richness of the spirit liquid in them, which sent her reeling back in shock. Incredulous, she raised her right hand and put the bottles away. Then, she gave a solemn-looking Wang Baole an unfathomable look.

“Baole, give me two weeks. I’ll…”

“Two weeks is too long! Elder Qiuran, are you able to restore your Soul Conduit realm cultivation within three days?” Wang Baole flipped his right hand over and pulled another two dozen bottles out of the hundreds of bottles in his storage bag. He handed those to Feng Qiuran.

“Yes!” Feng Qiuran’s eyes widened as she gasped. Her eyes shone brightly. She suddenly thought of something after her hasty reply. She lifted her right hand and handed a storage bracelet to Wang Baole.

“This is yours, isn’t it? I’ve been keeping it for you since the battleship left.”

Wang Baole cheered up at the sight of the storage bracelet. It was indeed his. He had left it with his avatar earlier, and it had been lost after his avatar’s destruction. He had stored most of his Dharmic Armaments and treasures inside.

He had been caught in a fierce battle with Daoist You Ran then and had passed out. After that, he had gone through a series of breakthroughs. There hadn’t been any time to mourn the loss of the bracelet then. Wang Baole had intended to search for it after things had settled down, but now, it had returned to him. Wang Baole assessed the inventory after receiving the bracelet, then nodded at Feng Qiuran. Without any delay, they immediately sped into the distance.

They were quite a distance away from the main Vast Expanse Dao Palace island. It should have taken them two weeks to reach the island if they journeyed at a normal pace. However, with Wang Baole’s knowledge of the Immortal Platform, long distances and traveling time were no longer a problem.

He led Feng Qiuran away and quickly found them an Immortal Platform. They melded with the traveling mist and raced towards the main island on the sword handle. Feng Qiuran was no stranger to the Immortal Platform. However, she didn’t have the access rights to activate one, nor the knowledge to operate one. Even during the Dao Palace’s glory days, the Immortal Platform could only be used by personal disciples.

Feng Qiuran had witnessed Wang Baole operating the Immortal Platform with the ease of the experienced, and while she knew he was a true adopted disciple, that didn’t prevent doubts from rising in her mind. She could tell that Wang Baole had achieved a breakthrough in cultivation. He must have come across some unimaginably rare opportunity. It likely involved the Vast Expanse Dao Palace’s patriarchs, who appeared to be in slumber.

Wang Baole was keeping quiet about everything, though. Feng Qiuran had her guesses, but she kept them to herself. She knew that Wang Baole’s only concern now was in returning to the Federation. He was more anxious about this than she was, and he was certainly more anxious about the ongoing war than she was.

If he wasn’t saying anything, then it simply meant that the opportunity he had come across and any information he had acquired were of no use to the war. That was indeed the case. Wang Baole had only just found out that Daoist You Ran still lived. He had wanted to return to the third palace and try to request the patriarchs to come out of their slumber and aid the war effort!

However, he had decided against doing that in the end!

No one could guarantee that anything good would come out of the endeavor. There was a great chance that summoning tigers to drive away wolves… might lead to a backlash. They might themselves be devoured by tigers in the end!

The current Federation lacked both a strong foundation as well as experience as a cultivation civilization. Ideally, they would resolve the current problem themselves and grow stronger with this experience. Furthermore, should an adverse fate appear insurmountable, Wang Baole would rather choose to rely on his senior brother instead of the Vast Expanse Dao Palace elders, whose loyalties remained uncertain.

The Vast Expanse Dao Palace is an outsider, after all… Wang Baole narrowed his eyes. He remained on guard even against Feng Qiuran. He had hidden his caution very well, though. It remained undiscovered as he and Feng Qiuran raced towards the main Vast Expanse Dao Palace island.

Time passed in a blur. Two days went by!

The environment and weather in the sword handle were a lot less hostile than that in the sword body. The traveling mist’s speed picked up considerably. Wang Baole and Feng Qiuran finally arrived at the main Vast Expanse Dao Palace island after two days. By then, Feng Qiuran’s cultivation had been mostly restored.

The main island was nearly emptied of people, only a few cultivators remaining on the island. There were only a few Never-Ending Clan members left to stand guard as a precautionary measure. They were no match for Wang Baole and Feng Qiuran at all. The pair immediately unleashed an attack without mercy.

The entire battle took only half an hour. The seven to eight Never-Ending Clan members left on the island were killed. Wang Baole and Feng Qiuran’s return remained a secret; no alarm was sounded, and no news was leaked. Wang Baole and Feng Qiuran went to the teleportation array formation. They inspected the array formation, ensured that everything was in order, and activated the teleportation.

Light roared to life and rose to the heavens. The earth rumbled. Wang Baole and Feng Qiuran exchanged a look.

“Elder Qiuran, we should stay together instead of splitting up after we reappear. Follow my lead… we’ll fight our way out!”

“Can’t we wait another day? I just need one day to fully restore my cultivation. I’m barely at the Soul Conduit realm now.” Feng Qiuran was silent for a few moments before she asked Wang Baole.

Wang Baole didn’t speak. Instead, he turned towards Feng Qiuran and bowed deeply.

Feng Qiuran looked at Wang Baole. She could sense the weight on his shoulders. She sighed and didn’t say a single word, simply activating her cultivation. A Soul Conduit realm cultivation erupted from her person as she stepped into the teleportation array formation.

Wang Baole took a deep breath. Blood red meridians materialized over his body, crackling as they morphed into the crimson Thearch Armor. A towering figure, fearsome and emanating battle lust, reappeared. He took a step into the teleportation array formation.

The teleportation array formation activated instantly. Blinding light roared to the skies as ring-like waves of spirit energy surged outwards. The heavens and earth shook. Winds howled and the clouds boiled. Then, the two of them… vanished!