A World Worth Protecting

The universe shuddered as waves of spirit energy surged out from Pluto and spread across the entire Solar System!

At that very moment, it had become the center of the Solar System. Even the sun’s light seemed to dim considerably as the waves of spirit energy surged from Pluto. The lands of Pluto shuddered, as if on the verge of collapse. Cracks appeared on the ground, spreading and splintering further like a growing spider web. Within the blink of an eye… these cracks covered the entire surface of Pluto.

Black mist erupted from these cracks and blanketed the entire planet. Pluto became invisible to the naked eye. Instead, what one saw… was an enormous ball of mist!

The mist boiled and rumbled, its form transforming rapidly from a sphere to something longer. When the transformation finally ended… what appeared in space was a gigantic coffin!

It appeared ancient, its aura, wearied with the passing of time, unleashed fully when the coffin appeared. Waves of energy surged into the surrounding cosmos. The ancient song of the Dark Sect could be heard coming from the coffin!

It was a strange song that traveled far. Within an instant, the entire Solar System was filled with the song. Mars and Earth alike, all living creatures within the Solar System, even those deep in slumber on the ancient sword, couldn’t escape from this song… they heard it loud and clear!

“When the heavens and earth separate, the cycle of fate stops…”

“Knowing what happened in the past, the one who suffers now is…”

“Knowing what’s to come in the future, the one who is working hard now is…”

The song echoed through space, and every planet in the Solar System came to a standstill. They stopped their rotation, their orbit. Meteors and dust alike fell still. All laws of this universe had fallen under the song’s influence and lost all effect.

All life, any life that was trapped in the cycle of life and death, was ensnared by the song that was traveling out of the coffin. The entire Solar System seemed to have become a still painting at that moment!

In the painting, there were all living creatures, all planets, all life. Naturally, there was also Daoist You Ran and Zi Yue… both of them were in the painting as well!

But there was no Wang Baole.

As a Dark Child, he had risen beyond this level. He was no longer part of the painting but its observer.

He stood on Ceres and gazed at what was happening around him. His senses extended themselves as the power of the song spread outwards. It was as if he could see the entire Solar System at a single glance.

He saw planets, dust, countless lives. On every living being, he saw an indistinct shadow that circled them. This indistinct shadow… was known to the Dark Sect as one’s soul. It was proof of one’s existence!

Wang Baole had a feeling that if he wanted, he need only think about it, and he would be able to harvest the tens of thousands of souls found in the Solar System. There would be no laws of this universe that could stop him from doing that. Even the Heavenly Dao must watch silently, powerless to stop him!

“Perhaps I’m not yet capable of achieving such a feat now. But… the path that I’ve chosen will give me access to this power. I’ll be able to have this power even before I reach my full potential,” Wang Baole muttered as he gazed at the painting of the Solar System. He had a strong feeling in his gut that if his level of cultivation were higher, he might even be able to… change the laws governing this universe at this very moment!

He would be able to change each planet’s location, dictate whether they stood still or orbited the sun. He could even stop the sun from giving off light and heat, break it apart and change its very structure and essence. He was free to change anything and everything in this painting of the Solar System!

“Is this what makes the Dark Sect such a terrifying force?” Wang Baole whispered to himself. It suddenly dawned upon him.

The Dark Sect was like a pen that allowed one to change reality!

They didn’t simply have the right to act on behalf of the Heavenly Dao and dictate one’s death… they had the ability to change the Heavenly Dao itself and write their own laws. They might appear to be servants of the Heavenly Dao, but in reality… the Heavenly Dao was their instrument, their Dharmic Artifact. With this Dharmic Artifact in hand, they could write the laws of the entire universe!

Even a powerful force like the Dark Sect cannot escape the inevitability of its fall. Regardless, even though it has become history, its power, which still lingers in this world, can change the world to a certain degree… This coffin, which has rested inside Pluto for who knows how long, is one source of the Dark Sect’s remaining power!

Wang Baole was silent. There was no way he wouldn’t recognize the familiar aura coming from the coffin. It was his master’s aura!

His memories from the Dark Art allowed him to come to a conclusion. The coffin had been part of his master’s plan. It had been for Wang Baole. His master had manipulated the Dao in a manner unknown to Wang Baole, sent the coffin through time and space, and allowed it to appear inside Pluto.

Filled with gratitude and sorrow, Wang Baole began to examine the people in the painting of the Solar System. His eyes swept past everyone before finally resting on Daoist You Ran.

He saw Daoist You Ran’s soul, as well as who rested within his soul. It was Zi Yue!

Zi Yue’s presence was different from the rest. Special. She seemed to have no physical form. Instead, she was an illusory Soul Seed resting inside Daoist You Ran’s soul.

Wang Baole’s eyes swept across the entire Solar System. He examined the Death Dao Battleship and the ancient sword. There were no traces of Zi Yue’s true form. What he found instead… was a near-imperceptible strand that was connected to Zi Yue’s Soul Seed, which extended into the cosmos beyond the Solar System.

I understand now. The real Zi Yue isn’t here at all. Instead, what we are fighting is only one of her Soul Seeds!

Wang Baole narrowed his eyes, his gaze following the strand and attempting to see into the cosmos beyond. Regardless, he didn’t gain much out of the exercise. An icy glint flashed in his eyes then, and he raised his right hand and pointed at Daoist You Ran!

The coffin on Pluto shuddered, its lid sliding open slightly. The song became louder instantly, and a black arm slowly reached out from inside the coffin, expanding in size and heading for the painting of the Solar System and Daoist You Ran!

It was swift, crossing the vast expanse of space in an instant and appearing before Daoist You Ran. Without hesitation, it reached into Daoist You Ran and grabbed his soul, as well as Zi Yue’s Soul Seed, which was resting inside Daoist You Ran’s soul!

Both Daoist You Ran and Zi Yue’s Soul Seed were powerless before the giant hand. They appeared to lose all ability to fight, allowing the hand to yank them out of Daoist You Ran’s body and drag them into the coffin with it.

Everything happened instantly. It took but a moment for the black arm to return into the coffin, for the lid to fall back heavily, for the mist to dissipate. The coffin transformed into a mass of black mist that wormed into Pluto. Then, the cracks on the planet vanished, completely healed.

It was as if nothing had happened!

As Pluto resumed normalcy, the Solar System did the same as well. Planets began to rotate and orbit once more, dust continued their aimless drifting in space, sunlight spilled across the universe—every living creature returned to their normal states at that moment!

Perhaps what was truly terrifying… was how no one had noticed the momentary pause in time. Perhaps Daoist You Ran’s fallen form had been the only thing to have witnessed the moment and glimpsed the truth hidden within the Solar System!

Daoist You Ran’s body immediately shriveled up and broke apart, turning into ashes and dust that scattered to the cosmos, lost in the asteroid belt.

His body and soul were completely destroyed!

His death affected every Never-Ending Clan cultivator on Mars, and the light faded from their eyes. They fell to the ground and turned to dust, as their existence had been rooted in Daoist You Ran’s existence.

Mie Liezi and the others whose minds had fallen under Daoist You Ran’s control shuddered as they regained their senses!

The weakening of the Solar System Array Formation meant that no one had been able to observe the final battle between Wang Baole and Daoist You Ran. However, every Federation cultivator on Mars saw the Never-Ending Clan cultivators turn to dust, and Mie Liezi and those under Daoist You Ran’s control regain their minds. Excitement and joy filled their hearts as they guessed what had happened.

Of course, there was no way they could get immediate confirmation on whether their guesses were true. Nevertheless, one thing was certain, the war that had the potential to end the Federation civilization… had finally come to an end!

It was then that Wang Baole spat out a mouthful of blood as his body slid to the ground. The injury and pain he had experienced from overextending himself might have been soothed by his master’s healing, but this battle had still caused him deep injuries. Now that everything had finally ended, the tension finally drained from his body. Unable to stand any longer, he passed out.

At this exact moment… somewhere far away from the Solar System, on a distant and foreign star system, was a rather unique planet. It was unique because of the vines, blood, and flesh covering its surface. It was a horrifying sight to behold. If one should examine the planet more closely, they might spot between the mesh of vines, blood, and flesh, a face with shut eyes.

The face appeared indistinct. Regardless, one could immediately tell that it was clearly… Zi Yue!

Her eyes opened. They seemed to contain countless dimensions and tens of thousands of eyes. Within each eye sat a figure, and suddenly, one of those figures cracked and shattered.

“Wang Baole?”