A World Worth Protecting

Wang Baole had first read about the Demonic Eye Art in his Dark Dream. It was a strange and bizarre mystic art that had originated from an ancient civilization that was now extinct. Its records stopped at its Nascent Soul realm techniques. The Dark Sect wouldn’t have paid it much mind because of that, but its incredibly destructive power had resulted in it being listed as one of the three most powerful Nascent Soul realm mystic arts that the Dark Sect had ever come across. In fact, when practiced alongside the Dark Art, it would display a power that would make it the most powerful mystic art the sect had ever seen at the Nascent Soul realm. It had only been abandoned as a practical mystic art because it was incomplete.

The mystic art focused on killing. There were five levels to it. Each new level brought a transformation to the cultivator’s cultivation, as well as his physical strength and speed. The latter two would be doubled at every level.

Theoretically speaking, a cultivator who reached the third level would be eight times as strong and fast as when they had first started on the mystic art. That would increase to thirty-two times when they reached the fifth level of the mystic art!

The first level was meant for one at the early-stage Nascent Soul realm, the second, the mid-stage Nascent Soul realm. The third level was for one at the late-stage Nascent Soul realm and the fourth, the perfected Nascent Soul realm. One’s cultivation would be incredible at this stage. Then, there was the final stage of the mystic art—the fifth level!

There was the conventional way of rising through the levels—through normal training—and a shortcut. The latter involved killing. The more one killed, the more powerful one got, and the crazier one became!

In fact, killing was the true way of practicing this mystic art!

The records stated that at the early stages of practicing this mystic art, the cultivator would be able to summon a white eye outside his body. That was for ordinary cultivators, though. If one practiced the Dark Art before practicing this mystic art, the eye that was summoned would be a black-colored Dark Demonic Eye!

Like the cold, eerie-looking eye that had materialized behind Wang Baole!

There was only one now. But with every person he killed, he would be able to draw their God Spirit out from their corpse, which would then transform into the next demonic eye. Each demonic eye could dispel spells. Its destruction would unleash an incredible force. It would be equivalent to blowing up the person whose God Spirit had been drained to create the demonic eye in the first place.

It seems like a perfect match for the Dark Art… In fact, it seems to also work well with the Flame Snatch! Wang Baole sat deep in meditation, his eyes shut as he practiced the Demonic Eye Art. Thoughts flooded his mind. He thought of his Flame Snatch.

Flame Snatch was another mystic art that focused on killing others. The key to practicing it was absorbing the blood and flesh of living creatures. Through such a process, one’s physical body would grow stronger, and his cultivation would increase. Wang Baole had adapted it so that his Thearch Armor became the main vessel—the receptacle for whatever the Flame Snatch absorbed. That had resulted in the fusion between the Flame Snatch and his Thearch Armor and the creation of an external artifact that was separate from his body. It had its limits.

“There are limits to the Flame Snatch, but not to the demonic eye,” Wang Baole muttered to himself. His mind seemed to have settled on something, and a calm fell over his mind as he removed his Thearch Armor.

The mountain of flesh that was his body was instantly exposed to the mist. He looked like an enormous, ancient beast, emanating waves of power that would strike terror into one’s heart.

Waves of mid-stage Nascent Soul realm cultivation emanated from his body. He was nearly at the peak of the mid-stage Nascent Soul realm. Vast stores of spirit energy rested in the spirit fat in his body. It would form the foundation for Wang Baole’s venture into the Demonic Eye Art.

As his cultivation progressed, the black eye hovering behind him grew more distinct. It exuded a coldness that grew increasingly chilly. Simultaneously, his body began to shrink in size!

Vast amounts of spirit fat transformed instantly into Spirit Qi, surging into the demonic eye behind him. This wasn’t a simple, straightforward absorption. In the past, Wang Baole had only cultivation but had no cultivation technique. Now though… he had decided on the cultivation technique that was going to determine his path of cultivation. The Demonic Eye Art was activated. His body seemed to break down into its basic particles, which restructured and refined themselves as he pushed himself on the path of the Demonic Eye Art!

Wang Baole’s size shrunk by half in an instant. He had reached the first level of the Demonic Eye Art. His cultivation had finally, truly reached the early-stage Nascent Soul realm!

He wasn’t done yet. The Demonic Eye Art continued its work on him. His body continued to shrink in size. Soon, he had shrunk to the size of an ordinary person again, and he had also reached the second level of the Demonic Eye Art!

Explosions erupted in his mind, rumbling like thunder. The demonic eye standing behind him had grown more distinct, appearing real. It would strike terror into the hearts of those who saw it.

Wang Baole’s progress with the Demonic Eye Art didn’t stop there. He had accumulated an immense store of Spirit Qi in the final great palace. The spirit fat stored in his body might have been depleted, but there was still a wealth of Spirit Qi in his meridians fueling his hike towards the third level of the Demonic Eye Art.

It only took him ten counts. The cultivation inside Wang Baole’s body finally stopped churning. It had fully melded with the Demonic Eye Art, sending the Demonic Eye Art from the second level to the third!

The late-stage Nascent Soul realm!

Wang Baole shuddered violently. A powerful aura, stronger and more concentrated than anything he had ever possessed before, erupted from his body. It was a power that threatened to overwhelm everything in sight!

The ghoulish faces that continued to appear in the red mist around him began to respond to the eruptions. Their expressions shifted. There was respect, fear, and awe on their faces, and they started to retreat.

They could feel the icy chill surging from Wang Baole and the creepy black eye guarding his back. It drove fear into them like a stake. The wisps of spirit energy that were colored by the Dark Art, which continued to emanate from Wang Baole as he continued his cultivation, made them afraid as well. They dared not draw near.

If given the choice, most of the souls would keep their distance from Wang Baole. Regardless, the red mist was their prison, trapping them within as their numbers grew, preventing their escape. The only way out seemed to be through Wang Baole. They could either consume him or be consumed by him.

The souls became increasingly torn. The will of the Soul Infusion Destruction continued to coerce, compel, and draw them. The souls that gathered within the red mist began to struggle and grow mad. Their frustration and anger grew. The entire red mist began to rumble and boil with emotions.

Daoist You Ran hadn’t anticipated this series of events. Chi Lin and the other Never-Ending Clan Soul Conduit realm cultivators, as well as the Dao Palace cultivators currently deep in meditation aboard their battleships—whose souls were continuously being drained by the array formation—were all unaware of the monster they were breeding.

However, the tumultuous state of the mist that Wang Baole was trapped within was obvious when compared with the mist holding Feng Qiuran prisoner. It wasn’t something that could escape the eyes of Chi Lin and the others. The red mist that Feng Qiuran was trapped within was too calm when compared to Wang Baole’s. No one could tell what was going on inside. Even so, they could still sense waves of strange spirit energy escaping from the red mist.

The stark difference in the red mists’ appearances drew their attention, but without the ability to investigate what was truly going on inside, Chi Lin and the others could only frown and watch. The red mist not only imprisoned their captives, it also kept the captors out and unable to discern what was happening inside.

“Maybe it’s because of Wang Baole’s special circumstances…” Chi Lin and his fellow clan members eyed one another. They continued to feel uneasy after a series of voice transmissions. Finally, they decided to seek Daoist You Ran’s views on the matter.

They were about to do just that. It was then that inside the red mist, Wang Baole, who had sat in meditation and had just recovered fully, suddenly opened his eyes!

The faces surrounding him in the mist suddenly shuddered violently. They seemed on the verge of screaming, but they had held back their screams out of fear. They trembled, their expressions filled with awe. It was as if a single word from Wang Baole could dictate their death.

Wang Baole’s cold eyes swept across the souls around him. He raised his right hand slowly, an icy glint flashing across his eyes. Then, his hand lowered, and his finger pointed forward. He didn’t speak. Regardless, his will was transmitted into every soul inside the mist through his gestures alone. They trembled and turned around abruptly. They were like soldiers who had just received their orders, suddenly making a mad charge outwards!

The red mist spasmed and rumbled violently. It expanded outwards without stop, seeming as if it might explode at any moment. Countless faces could be seen howling and struggling inside the mist, madness distorting their expressions.

Alarm flashed across Chi Lin’s and the others’ faces when they saw that. They felt danger instinctively rumbling in their gut. Before they could take a closer look, an unimaginable force erupted. It was a tsunami, threatening to pull everything under its waves, and, like a volcanic eruption, threatening to split the lands apart. The red mist could no longer contain the crazed souls. Its outer layers began to disintegrate, surging outwards like furious waves and sweeping into everything!

The four Soul Conduit realm cultivators bore the brunt of the attack. They couldn’t escape, and they found the backlash hitting them straight in their faces as they shuddered violently and retreated repeatedly. The battleships around them were like children’s toys, swept along and flung into distant space. Chaos reigned momentarily. Alarm colored Chi Lin’s and the other cultivators’ faces. The souls that had escaped from the red mist and charged out turned back towards the red mist then. They stared straight into the mist, lowered their heads, and fell on their knees!

It was a mind-boggling sight. A tall, slim person emerged from the depths of the mist, and a head full of long hair flowed down his back as he walked out slowly!

It was Wang Baole!

“Thanks to you, I’ve decided on the path of cultivation I’m going to embark on!” A chilly voice, one laced with ice, erupted in everyone’s minds. It seemed capable of freezing everything in sight. The distinct shape of a pitch-black eye materialized behind Wang Baole.

It was a terrifying sight!