A World Worth Protecting

The soul’s murmurs were gentle and brimming with love. There was no hint of confusion or doubt despite the question it was asking. It was as if the Night Immortal King wasn’t confused about why his wife Zi Yue had done something so terrible to him. It was as if he was voicing regret over a relationship’s end because of what had happened. His murmurs were like a pair of invisible hands, weighed down by regret and loss as they tried to caress an absent wife’s face gently and smoothen her hair against her cheeks.

Even after suffering an injury that an ordinary person would have found unimaginable, he seemed to still only harbor thoughts of longing for his wife…

Wang Baole couldn’t understand the Night Immortal King. However, he vaguely remembered something he had read when he had still been a young boy. What came next, after a love so deep?

The answers varied. Perhaps it was longing, perhaps it was duty, perhaps it was pain, or perhaps, it was the disappearance of one’s soul.

Wang Baole was silent. He wasn’t the Night Immortal King, he couldn’t feel what the latter was feeling, but his eyes were dark with emotions. He couldn’t tell if his compassion for the Night Immortal King was because of what had happened to the latter, or because he could sense the blind love the latter still held!

Wang Baole didn’t spend time finding out if there were other emotions hidden within the Night Immortal King’s soft murmurs. He wouldn’t know that the unique qualities of his Dark Art had enabled him to see this lingering wisp of soul. His tiny blood sacrifice and the spell he had cast had helped as well.

Wang Baole shook almost immediately after the brief murmuring passed. His eyes no longer saw the wisp of the Night Immortal King’s true soul. He could only see the murky soul of the newborn.

“Zi Yue?” An unfathomable light appeared in Wang Baole’s eyes. He turned to his side suddenly. Little Missy had materialized. She stood next to Wang Baole, her eyes filled with bitterness and an intense sorrow as she looked at the Night Immortal King.

Wang Baole didn’t speak. He remained at Little Missy’s side silently. A long while later, the Night Immortal King began to shake. He seemed to be trying to shake Wang Baole’s Dark Art off. He began to howl. It was then that Little Missy said quietly, “Baole, lend me one of your lotus seeds.”

Without any hesitation, Wang Baole activated his devouring seed, causing the green lotus within to sway. A single lotus seed fell and landed in Wang Baole’s hand.

It wasn’t real. The lotus seed was a mere illusion, translucent in form. Wang Baole held it before Little Missy.

“Thank you,” Little Missy whispered. She took the lotus seed, then transformed into a soft sliver of light that darted into the Night Immortal King’s forehead. A brief moment later, the Night Immortal King trembled and stopped struggling. He quieted down, then slowly shut his eyes, as if he had fallen into a deep slumber.

Wang Baole watched the scene before him in quiet contemplation. He waited silently. An hour passed. It was then that a ghostly light appeared on the Night Immortal King’s forehead, and Little Missy reappeared next to Wang Baole. Exhaustion lined her features. The sorrow she had displayed earlier had morphed into a fury tinged with sadness.

“Zi Yue was the first friend I made in the Vast Expanse Dao Palace,” Little Missy whispered after a long period of silence.

“On her wedding day, when she got married to Lord Zhou’s disciple, Chen Mofeng, I gave her a gift. It was a powerful artifact my father had given me.

“The most powerful Dao in the Vast Expanse Dao Palace was the Star-Seeding Dao. My father praised it endlessly when he first read about it. Lord Zhou had practiced the Star-Seeding Dao. Passing it down from one person to the next was extremely difficult. In each generation, there could only be one successor. The successor had to possess his predecessor’s Soul Seed…”

“Chen Mofeng was Lord Zhou’s only disciple. He was the next master of the Star-Seeding Dao in the Vast Expanse Dao Palace!” Little Missy said, then stopped speaking. She seemed unable to continue.

“Baole, I know why you are here. You want to test if the lotus can be used to control him. Unless you truly have to, please don’t disturb Senior Brother Chen’s rest… I’m tired…” Little Missy’s voice grew increasingly faint. Finally, it vanished completely as she returned back into the mask. It was as if she had returned to a deep sleep. Or perhaps she had simply lost herself in contemplation as she wondered about the horrors that a person was capable of committing.

Wang Baole stood there for a long time. Finally, he sighed. Little Missy had guessed his objective correctly. He had intended to verify the connection between the lotus and the Night Immortal King. He had wanted to know whether he could control the Night Immortal King. He didn’t know the details of the Night Immortal King’s past, nor did he know what Little Missy had done after entering the Night Immortal King’s forehead. However, he could make some guesses from what Little Missy had said.

The Never-Ending Clan invaded. Before Lord Zhou fell in battle, he passed the Star-Seeding Dao down to his disciple, Chen Mofeng. Chen Mofeng shouldered a heavy responsibility but fell victim to his Dao partner’s viciousness. His brain was extracted for his memories, his heart dug out for his soul, his Dao destroyed and robbed of his cultivation. They were used to refine a Soul Seed so that his Dao partner could gain the necessary qualifications to practice the Star-Seeding Dao. Wang Baole stared long and hard at the slumbering Night Immortal King.

Zi Yue’s methods were vicious and cruel. She seemed to want to prevent the Night Immortal King from awakening. Of course, she had no idea that the Night Immortal King didn’t harbor any hatred towards her. He only had feelings of longing for her… Wang Baole sensed the connection between the lotus seed and the Night Immortal King. He sighed. The pity in his eyes disappeared. He turned and left the cave, appearing outside, in midair in the next moment.

The green lotus and the Night Immortal King seem to share an intimate connection. Perhaps… he was the last owner of the green lotus. Or perhaps… he wasn’t. Maybe it was his master, Lord Zhou, instead? Wang Baole chose not to disturb the clearly depressed Little Missy with his questions. He flew off, raising his head and gazing into the starlit skies.

The most powerful Dao in the Vast Expanse Dao Palace? Even though it might be extremely powerful, who would do such a horrible thing just to own a mystic art… not me. Wang Baole’s eyes turned towards the slumbering ground of the Night Immortal King. Then, with a single step, he headed for the lunar base.

Three days passed under Wang Baole’s watchful supervision and detailed inspection. Assured that everything was running smoothly, Wang Baole stood inside the command center on the lunar base, amidst a crowd of busy cultivators, staring at numerous projection screens as endless data ran across them. Finally, he gave the order for the moon’s departure!

“Let’s take off!”

As Wang Baole’s order rang out in the air, all engines on the moon began to activate at full force!

A loud thunder began to spread across the moon as vast stores of energy began to accumulate inside the moon after its engines were activated. Energy continued to build up. The moon began to quake, and its quakes slowly nudged it away from its orbital course. The Earth’s gravitational pull continued to lock the moon in place though. They needed more time before the moon could pull completely free from its orbit. They needed time for the moon to gather more energy, enough to surpass the gravitational forces of Earth.

“The lunar array formation has been fully activated. Results of our simulations show that stability can be maintained at the moon’s greatest speed!”

“We’re at sixty percent of our full force and heading towards the seventy percent mark!”

“All indicators display as normal. I propose igniting ten Anti-Spirit Bombs to increase the moon’s thrust!” Reports from various departments were sent to the command center and continued to come in. Wang Baole nodded and approved the ignition of Anti-Spirit Bombs.

As a stronghold fitted for battle, the moon housed numerous Anti-Spirit Bombs. Wang Baole had only found that out after he had taken command of the moon. He realized then that the Federation had been trying to present a weaker front. In reality, it had built a considerable stock of Anti-Spirit Bombs over the years.

The explosion of ten Anti-Spirit Bombs triggered a deafening boom that pushed the moon’s propulsion to ninety percent. Everyone could sense a force tugging at them.

“Everything is going as planned. Waiting for your approval to merge with the Solar System Array Formation and give the moon a final thrust!”

“Approved!” Wang Baole took a deep breath and barked out his approval. The moon and the Solar System Array Formation performed the approved fusion. Upon complete fusion, the entire moon shook violently and thundered. It broke free from Earth’s gravitational pull… and began speeding towards the stars!

The moon’s departure sent tremors rippling through Earth itself, startling Earth’s populace. Everyone raised their heads and stared skywards. The moon was no longer where it was supposed to be, it was far away and shrinking in size right before their eyes!

It was a mind-blowing sight to witness. The moon’s deviation from its orbit had thrown the tidal waves into disarray. Towering waves rose all of a sudden, threatening to transform into a flood that would put all land underwater.

Fortunately, the Federation had been prepared for this. The cultivators left on Earth unleashed their full power against the tidal waves, finally stabilizing the tidal chaos. However, the image of the departing moon and the sudden tsunamis had been branded into the minds of the Federation citizens!

The Federation chose that moment to announce to everyone the person in charge of the lunar base. Wang Baole was the one who was commanding the moon and steering its course!

Wang Baole’s reputation saw an instantaneous spike in the Federation. His fame might have surpassed even that of Duan Muque!

As the moon freed itself from its orbit and raced towards space, somewhere on Mercury, aboard the Never-Ending Clan battleship, Daoist You Ran—who had been sitting in meditation while repairing the battle robes that controlled the battleship—opened his eyes slowly.

The battle robes before him were mostly restored. He raised his head and stared at Venus, his eyes glimmering with a dark light. A moment passed. Then, his command thundered throughout the entire Dao Palace!

“Destroy Venus!”