A World Worth Protecting

Daoist You Ran hovered in midair, about to attack. He lifted his head the exact moment Wang Baole’s avatar dashed out from the cave. Daoist You Ran stared in the direction of the Divine Armament New City. With his level of cultivation, he could easily sense the familiar presence emerging from underground.

“Wang Baole!” Daoist You Ran narrowed his eyes. He hadn’t found any traces of Wang Baole earlier, no matter how hard he had searched. He concluded that there must be something hidden on this planet that he was unaware of.

“So what… it doesn’t matter at all!” An icy glint flashed in Daoist You Ran’s eyes. The scene of Zi Yue planting vines on Venus with a wave of her hand and bringing to life a hundred thousand Never-Ending Clan puppets surfaced in his mind. It was an indelible image, seared deep into his brain. He concluded that she was at least at the Planet realm. At that thought, he sneered, then turned and headed for the city!

As Daoist You Ran raced towards the city, Wang Baole’s avatar appeared in midair above the city. However, because his level of cultivation wasn’t high enough, he was unable to let his Dark Sampan, his Dark Robe, and his Lantern Oar materialize. In addition, his avatar appeared translucent.

His avatar’s battle capabilities weren’t on par with those of his true form, which was why Wang Baole wasn’t in favor of engaging in battle now if he could help it. He had no choice though. As soon as his avatar appeared above the city, he immediately sensed an overpowering presence rushing towards him from the main Martian City. An icy glint flashed in Wang Baole’s eyes.

He didn’t hesitate and lifted the enormous black bow in his left hand while his right hand pulled the bowstring back, transforming the shape of the bow into the shape of a full moon. He pointed the bow towards the presence charging at him, then released the bowstring abruptly.

The air around him trembled and splintered in multiple spots. A dazzling light gathered around the bow and, with the release of the bowstring, shot forward. It transformed into a spear that sped into the distance, its blade so sharp it seemed capable of ripping through everything in its path!

The power exuding from the spear was incredible, stirring both the heavens and the earth. It was as if anything that stood in its path would be destroyed instantly, without any fighting chance!

All cultivators in the Divine Armament New City were dumbstruck. However, this wasn’t the end of the avatar’s preemptive attack!

His eyes flashed as he pulled the bowstring again and released eleven shots at one go!

Explosions like thunder erupted without pause, and cracks began to appear in the space around him. His surrounding sky appeared on the verge of complete collapse. The black bow’s power was so great that the heavens themselves couldn’t withstand it!

That wasn’t far from the truth. The black bow was a ninth-grade Dharmic Artifact. Even though it was damaged when Wang Baole had found it, its power had been restored almost completely after he had repaired it. Wang Baole had added some stellar source as well as Supreme Fire Ore during the repairs. He had also involved his Dark Artifact during the restoration process. The result had been a rebuilding of the original artifact that had made it even more powerful than before!

The black bow’s power was enhanced to its full potential. In fact, it might have surpassed its original potential… in addition, Wang Baole wasn’t using it in the conventional way. He was sacrificing long-term functionality, gaining maximum destruction from the bow without considering the damage done to the artifact. The destructive power the bow unleashed was beyond what it should have been capable of. Eleven shots… was its limit!

As soon as the eleventh spear shot out from the bow, the artifact turned to dust in Wang Baole’s hand.

Eleven arcs of rainbow sped forward like lightning bolts, merging into a dazzling sea of lights. Seemingly locked on to a single target, they surged forward, tearing through the air. They were thundering and filled with violence and power as they continued to race through the heavens and head for… their target, who was similarly racing at extreme, unbelievable speeds and rapidly approaching the city—Daoist You Ran!

The eleven spears made of blinding light appeared before Daoist You Ran instantly. The latter narrowed his eyes, raised his right hand, and flung it forward. A sealed rune appeared before him, growing in size until it spanned a thousand feet long. The seal rushed forward and collided with the eleven spears.

A deafening eruption immediately exploded in the region. The spears’ attack seemed to have been stopped. However, waves of black smoke soon began to exude from the spears. They ate away at the seal, intent on consuming the seal and escaping.

Daoist You Ran frowned slightly. He could sense something hidden beneath the power of these eleven spears. It was an aura that struck terror into his heart instinctively.

He couldn’t pin down the exact nature of this aura, there was no time for him to do anything like that. He teleported instantly, stepped out of the spears’ attack range, and headed for Wang Baole!

“Is that an avatar? That means that your true form should be in the vicinity as well!” Daoist You Ran’s voice was laced with ice and hate. As his words echoed in the air, he charged forward, his form a blur as he approached Wang Baole!

Wang Baole’s avatar retreated hastily, his hands forming a flurry of hand seals. A beast corpse appeared on either side of him instantly. The eyes of the beast on the right suddenly glowed bright red, and its jaw fell open as it let loose a furious roar. The beast charged forward and lunged at Daoist You Ran!

Green flames enveloped the Star Fang Beast puppet as it dashed out. It was a fire that was different from what the beast would have given off when it had still been alive, and different from the Dark Fire as well. It appeared to be a fire that was born out of the two, one that resembled both and yet neither. Regardless, there was no doubt of its power. The beast transformed into a great sphere of fire as it lunged at its target!

The same happened to the Star Fang Beast puppet on Wang Baole’s left. Both Star Fang Beast puppets charged at Daoist You Ran, cornering him from both sides. The collision was almost immediate, and the air boomed with deafening thunder. The joint attack of the twin Star Fang Beast puppets was trouble even for Daoist You Ran. He frowned. The beasts had been at the Spirit Immortal realm prior to their deaths. That meant that their physical forms would be extremely strong and a force to be reckoned with.

That wasn’t the only thing that Daoist You Ran had to be wary of. He could avoid their physical attacks by teleportation and continue his pursuit of Wang Baole. However, just as he raised his right hand in a wave and was about to teleport himself away, Wang Baole suddenly formed a hand seal. The two beasts roared, and green flames surged from their bodies. They appeared to be using their own bodies as fuel. The flames transformed into a sea of fire that spread out and enveloped the area!

Two spheres of fire merged together, forming an ocean that enveloped the entire region. It sealed the area and prevented one from teleporting!

Everything happened within an instant. As the flames surged from the beasts’ bodies, light flashed across the eyes of Wang Baole’s avatar as his eyes formed a series of hand seals. Black flames erupted from his body, fanning outwards and, together with the sea of green fire, trapped Daoist You Ran within!

That wasn’t the end of it. As the flames enveloped Daoist You Ran, a low, booming voice thundered, igniting another round of transformation in the sea of fire!

“Seal!”

With that single booming command, the eleven spears, which had been held back by the seal, suddenly released a dazzling light. They pierced the seal, swung in the opposite direction in a swift arc, and unleashed a burst of sudden speed. They appeared almost instantly around Daoist You Ran, hovering beyond the flames, spread out in a circle around him. Then, like spears skewering a caged basket, they descended into the sea of fire, their simultaneous attacks unleashing a thunderous eruption in the sea!

This was all part of Wang Baole’s plan. He knew that his avatar wasn’t Daoist You Ran’s match. That was why he had only one aim from the start of this battle. It involved sacrificing his avatar so that he could seal Daoist You Ran and buy himself more time!

The eleven spears landed, then began spinning furiously, releasing their full power and transforming that into a suppressive force that sent the sea of fire boiling. The sea of fire reached unbelievable temperatures. The surrounding air began to distort, like living creatures contorting in pain as they were burned in the extreme heat!

Wang Baole had planned everything meticulously, and his plan had unfolded smoothly. Too easily. Wang Baole was surprised by the turn of events. His gut told him that something was wrong.

It was then that an enormous arm shot out from the sea of fire and grabbed one of the spears. Covering the arm were countless faces devoid of emotion. It was a terrifying sight to behold. The arm yanked fiercely and shattered the spear!

The spear’s destruction thundered in the air, and terrifying laughter emerged from the flames. Another arm, as well as an enormous head, rose from the fire!

It both looked like Daoist You Ran and looked nothing like Daoist You Ran. The two heads and four arms that had been destroyed by the Night Immortal King were fully healed and even appeared stronger than before. Countless faces covered the surface of his arms and heads!

“I knew you would be up to your tricks again. That’s why I sacrificed ten thousand Never-Ending Clan puppets before I arrived on this planet. The sacrifice healed my body and brought me to the peak of my physical condition. In fact, it made me stronger than before. I now contain the vitality of ten thousand souls. How… are you going to defeat me now?” Daoist You Ran’s voice was filled with triumph as it thundered in the heavens. He dashed out, and in an instant, the spears surrounding him shattered. Waves of fire surged outward and exposed his fearsome form!

At that exact moment, Wang Baole, who was still sitting within the Dark Artifact, finally opened his eyes. They were bright with determination.

“Since there’s no time to repair it fully… let’s just not do it then!”