A World Worth Protecting

The Federation, Mercury.

Mercury was one of the planets in the Solar System with a very thin atmosphere. As a result, light shone directly on the planet with only a slight degree of deflection and dissipation. Therefore, Mercury’s skies weren’t as blue as the skies of Earth. It was completely pitch-black, aside from the light from the sun and other stars.

It was akin to a streetlamp in the middle of the night. The lamp itself was a bright, luminous entity, casting a bright light over whichever spot it shone on, but that didn’t mean that the sky wasn’t still dark.

There had been plenty of artificial lighting on the former Mercury. As the designated location for the construction of the array formation, the Federation had made a series of complex and complicated modifications to the planet. It had an artificial sun and the protection of the Solar System Array Formation. Mercury had gradually developed into a Federation base throughout the years!

Now, however… the former base was nothing but ruins. All artificial lighting, aside from the sun, had been completely destroyed. Remnants of war littered the lands. Deep ravines split the lands in several places, and no Federation cultivator was to be found.

The planet had become the base of the Vast Expanse Dao Palace’s military, which was under Daoist You Ran’s command!

Anti-Spirit Bombs had been dug out from the ground, and array formations had been set up. Mercury had been swiftly and simply rebuilt. Besides ruins and ravines, its most obvious new additions were gigantic, fleshy lumps.

Each fleshy lump spanned a thousand feet. They resembled tumors growing off Mercury, wriggling and spasming as if there was something inside them struggling to get out. They exuded waves of spirit energy and formed something that resembled a web that was cast over the surface of the planet.

Meanwhile… black hump-like entities surrounded Mercury in space. They were the Vast Expanse Dao Palace’s galactic battleships, which were capable of space travel.

They had been stored away after the ancient sword had been sealed, but Daoist You Ran had ordered their activation after declaring war on the Federation.

The battleships clustered together. There were at least a hundred thousand of them. While some of them surrounded Mercury, others formed teams of battleships and sped through space.

Compared to the battleships, what truly shook the stars and struck fear into the hearts of Vast Expanse Dao Palace cultivators was… the great Never-Ending Clan battleship!

The fearsome battleship, which was formed from three gigantic disks, floated in Mercury’s skies. In the center of the battleship, where the main sacrificial altar stood, a beam of light spanning tens of thousands of feet was joined to heaven and earth.

Thunderous booms continued to erupt. Mercury trembled as if its energy was being sucked out of it. The Never-Ending Clan battleship, on the other hand, glowed with a radiant light. It seemed to be healing!

The light within the beam shone on the ground, making it so that no one could clearly see what was going on inside. Waves of spirit energy continued to surge outward, flooding the land within a hundred thousand feet in all directions and preventing anyone from trespassing.

The sight of the Never-Ending Clan battleship, the beam of light, and the quaking earth was indeed an oppressive one.

The war had gone on for more than a month, and in that time, the Federation had suffered consecutive losses. For instance, Mercury’s complete self-destruction being thwarted. Nevertheless, the preparation and retaliation the Federation had displayed—especially when a portion of their Anti-Spirit Bombs had blown up—had dealt a heavy blow to the Vast Expanse Dao Palace cultivators’ confidence. Their attitude towards the Federation had changed significantly.

Of course, some of them had realized that something wasn’t right. But… with the powerful Mie Liezi and the fearsome Never-Ending Clan battleship around, those who had such suspicions had either been killed or chosen to remain silent and follow their orders.

Dugu Lin was one of them!

Increasingly more Vast Expanse Dao Palace disciples appeared to accept the reality of war. They appeared to have found some measure of self-worth in fighting the war. They felt pleasure in their growing strength as they killed and pillaged. Besides the terrifying Anti-Spirit Bombs, the Federation cultivators that they had come across were weak and easily defeated!

Arson, rape, and pillaging—everything seemed allowed. The evil and lust that had been hidden deep inside everyone had been awakened. The war that had gone on for more than a month had stirred the flames of evil, which burned increasingly brightly and fiercely.

Daoist You Ran had contributed to the situation as well. His work had been in the details… These details were in the reward system for battle credits and its exchange for treasures. He had opened up the Vast Expanse Dao Palace’s stores and put up numerous Never-Ending Clan treasures for exchange. This had created a compelling incentive for Vast Expanse Dao Palace cultivators.

It didn’t matter if what they were doing was right or wrong. Someone was giving the orders, which meant that they could push all responsibility to that person as well. Besides, their enemy wasn’t one of them. They didn’t need to be bothered by their greed. There was no need to spare their enemies’ lives.

That was why Daoist You Ran no longer needed to fan the flames of war or deceive his followers at this point. What he needed to focus on was restoring the Never-Ending Clan battleship to its full functionality by making use of all the resources that were spoils of war!

When Wang Baole self-destructed his Thearch Armor, he had created a series of chain reactions. The pool and the enormous passage had been destroyed, and their destruction had severely damaged the battleship. When overpowering the Anti-Spirit Bombs’ explosions, a similar thing had happened. As a result, Daoist You Ran hadn’t gone after the Federation when it had retreated from Mercury. Instead, he had seized the window of opportunity to repair the battleship.

He had instructed Mie Liezi to handle all other affairs until he could get the battleship restored to a certain extent. Mie Liezi was under his full control, with his own will completely suppressed. He carried out Daoist You Ran’s orders unquestionably and perfectly.

The other Never-Ending Clan members, who were disguised as Dao Palace cultivators, had also assumed positions of leadership. They led their teams into the battlefield and successfully got the war going. Mercury hadn’t only become the Vast Expanse Dao Palace’s base, it had also become the place where the Vast Expanse Dao Palace was gathering its forces to prepare for its next assault on Venus.

While the war efforts were ongoing, on the northwestern side of the base, a dozen or so Dao Palace cultivators sat in meditation outside the teleportation array formation that was connected to the ancient sword.

They were mostly at the Core Formation realm. The exception was a cultivator sitting further away from the rest, suited in black armor. He was at the Nascent Soul realm. They were the cultivators responsible for guarding the teleportation array formation!

The black-armored cultivator had his eyes shut. The rest, on the other hand, sat close to one another, seemingly deep in meditation but actually conversing in hushed voices. Many of them had looks of envy and resentment in their eyes.

“I heard that someone managed to accumulate enough battle credits to exchange for a Soul Formation Pill yesterday!”

“There have been thirty-seven people who have gotten Soul Formation Pills this month. I wonder when our time will come. When will we manage to get enough battle credits to exchange for one as well? I saw Chen Luzi a few days ago. He managed to get his hands on a couple of alchemical cauldrons… from the looks of it, they seem to be of superior grade!”

“Damn it. We’re stuck here playing guards all day instead of being out there killing lowly Federation cultivators. There’s no way we can accumulate battle credits this way. We can only watch as others continue to progress. The lowly cultivators from the Federation are such easy kills too. It’s almost like getting battle credits for free!”

The Dao Palace cultivators conversed softly amongst themselves. They didn’t seem bothered that the black-armored cultivator might overhear their conversation. It was as if they wanted him to know their dissatisfaction.

This would have been a rare sight in the former Dao Palace. In the current climate, though, it was a common occurrence.

Their words did indeed fall into the ears of the black-armored cultivator. His shut eyes gradually slid open, and a dark light glimmered within.

If Wang Baole were here right at this moment, he would immediately recognize the black-armored cultivator… It was Mie Liezi’s most valued disciple, Dugu Lin!

Dugu Lin could hear his subordinates talking, but he didn’t say anything. He knew some part of what was going on around here, but he was powerless to do anything. He had grown quiet and spoken increasingly less during this period. Since he was still technically Mie Liezi’s disciple, no one had questioned his decision to stay away from the front line. He had been able to avoid all trouble and choose, instead, to be assigned the responsibility of guarding the teleportation array formation.

His former subordinates had raised their doubts multiple times. He had also noticed most of them privately killing for battle credits. He knew… that soon, everyone in the Vast Expanse Dao Palace would lose sight of all good and evil. The war would turn them blind towards what was right and wrong, and they would learn to seek only their own self-interests.

Elder Qiuran, have you really fallen? Are the patriarchs of old still around? Will they be able to awaken in time to save the sect? And Wang Baole… is there really no way to change the Vast Expanse Dao Palace’s fate of being invaded from the inside? Bitterness filled Dugu Lin’s heart. He lowered his head slowly. Then, suddenly, something flashed in his eyes. He turned towards the array formation.

A beam of light appeared inside the array formation. It was faint at first but grew brighter immediately, erupting and transforming into a sea of light that flooded the entire array formation.

Dugu Lin thought he saw something, and his eyes widened with incredulity. His subordinates noticed the commotion inside the teleportation array formation and quickly ran over.

The teleportation array formation hadn’t been used at all for the past month, so the Dao Palace cultivators were curious about the incoming arrivals.

It was a challenge for them to discern the identities of the people rapidly materializing in the light, though, because of their lower levels of cultivation. Dugu Lin, on the other hand, widened his eyes then narrowed them immediately. Thoughts seemed to pass through his head. He suddenly shouted.

“Nascent Soul realm elders who stationed themselves at the Dao Palace have arrived. Weren’t you all talking about going to the front line to kill Federation cultivators in exchange for battle credits? Quickly, go extend your greetings and find an opportunity to present your request. I will not stop you if they agree to take you with them!”

Temptation shot through the Core Formation realm cultivators. Two of them had more wits and hesitated, falling behind the rest, who had hastened towards the edge of the array formation after hearing what Dugu Lin said. They faced the two figures—one large and one small—materializing rapidly inside the array formation and cupped their fists respectfully.

“Greetings…”

They weren’t given the time to finish their greeting. It seemed like they had hardly spoken the first word before a red light suddenly erupted inside the array formation. Crimson meridians shot out like arrows and exploded all around the array formation. Everything happened in the blink of an eye. The Dao Palace cultivators, who had their heads lowered in greeting, had no time to dodge the attack or sound the alarm. The meridians pierced straight through their foreheads!

They didn’t even have the luxury to scream. The dozen or so cultivators… died instantly!

The two cultivators who had lagged behind reeled back in shock. They tried to retreat, but it was too late. Dugu Lin’s eyes flashed as he unleashed some form of mystic technique. The two cultivators shuddered, then froze. Two red meridians charged out from the teleportation array formation and shot through their foreheads!

Dugu Lin didn’t spare a single glance at the corpses around him. Instead, he studied the familiar red meridians that he had fought against and slowly got to his feet. He had pulled out the jade slip that would alert the others with his right hand, his fingers paused between activating the jade slip and just holding on to it. There was an intense light in his eyes. He stared at the two figures who had fully materialized inside the teleportation array formation and said slowly.

“Disciple Dugu Lin greets Elder Wang and Elder Qiuran!”