A World Worth Protecting

Thus, life had proven that any situation involving more than two parties could result in an infinite number of possibilities. As such, three-way relationships were easier to unravel and exploit. Wang Baole had done just that. He had made use of the will hidden within the Demonic Eye Art, its lust and its desire to live, and successfully fought back the Violet Gold civilization and its intervention.

To a certain degree, he and the will inside the Demonic Eye Art had been able to establish a temporary alliance.

As the will inside the Divine Eye Art unleashed its power and the perfected Spirit Immortal realm cultivator, Zi Luo, screamed and was forced to retreat, Wang Baole darted forward like a bolt of lightning and slipped through the crack that the old emperor had created by sacrificing himself!

In the next moment, he had dashed out of the seal. He looked around. Zi Luo, who seemed to be under an illusory spell, was surrounded by intense waves of black Qi. His heavy breathing was interspersed with furious growls. He was clearly in the midst of recovering from the spell. The waves of black Qi dispersed then, revealing his reddened eyes.

Zi Luo howled and charged towards Wang Baole as their eyes met. He Yunzi watched, flabbergasted, while the bronze lamp in his hand shuddered violently. The Planet realm aura housed within the lamp was furious and ready to charge out.

Wang Baole’s enemies stood before him, while the will in the Demonic Eye Art lay behind him. There was no way he could fight his way through his enemies. But if he were to give up his chances now and try to escape, the will in the Demonic Eye Art, which had been forced to come to his aid earlier, would likely attack him immediately and prevent him from escaping successfully.

Xie Haiyang might have promised him that the jade slip that he had given him would be able to teleport him out safely, but Wang Baole no longer trusted the man’s words.

He had two choices before him. He could wing it and get Xie Haiyang to transport him out of there, or… charge towards the only exit, which was… in the statue’s eye, the door to the imperial cemetery!

Wang Baole might have hesitated if he were in his true form. He might have gone for the other option. But he was currently in the avatar that had been formed from his essence technique. His eyes narrowed.

At that moment, he recalled everything that had happened after he had created a separate avatar using his essence technique and infiltrated the Divine Eye civilization. He was sure of one thing. The will resting within the Demonic Eye Art had been suppressed and sealed away at nearly all times.

That meant that the will was probably being misled… It probably didn’t realize that it was resting within an avatar!

Of course, Wang Baole could be making a wrong guess. The presence inside the Demonic Eye Art might already know. Nevertheless, this was a blind spot. The avatar that had been formed from his essence technique was no ordinary avatar. It was something from his senior brother and wasn’t something that the will in the Demonic Eye Art was a match for. It would be challenging for the will to try and possess this avatar. Even though the will might be lusting over his avatar form with every intention of taking over his body, the chances of its success were… very low!

Even if we take a step back and look at this again, and assume that he succeeds in the end, it doesn’t mean a thing. The most harm done is that my original true form suffers some collateral damage. But I can also choose to call for the Flame Patriarch’s help if I do face danger. An icy glint flashed across Wang Baole’s eyes at that thought. He had spread his Eternal Star Fire out like a cloak while going through those thoughts so that the will inside the Demonic Eye Art wouldn’t be able to sense what he was thinking.

In that case, I’m not the one who should be afraid. It’s the will inside the Demonic Eye Art, the will that seems to be the will of the first emperor of the Divine Eye civilization, who should be afraid… This is my opportunity. I’m not going to let it slip away!

At that thought, Wang Baole no longer hesitated. After dashing out of the seal, he surged forward and seized the opportunity that the will inside the Demonic Eye Art had created for him. Before Zi Luo could approach him, and before the Planet realm aura inside the lamp could do anything, he charged towards the eye of the statue.

He could sense uncontrollable excitement and agitation emanating from the will inside the Demonic Eye Art as he charged. He narrowed his eyes and slowed down slightly. A thunderous boom erupted behind him, and Zi Luo charged out of the seal in the next moment. The Planet realm aura inside the lamp unleashed its full power, roaring and transforming into a huge, translucent palm that made a grab for Wang Baole.

The will inside the Demonic Eye Art started to panic after Wang Baole slowed down. It wasn’t to be blamed for its irrationality. The chance that it had been waiting a long time for had finally appeared right before its eyes. Its longing was stronger than Wang Baole’s. Even though it knew that Wang Baole had intentionally slowed down, it couldn’t stop itself from striking.

The will roared and cast another illusory spell at the Planet realm palm and Zi Luo, who had come charging at Wang Baole.

Amidst thunderous booms and waves of spirit energy surging across the air, the will inside the Demonic Eye Art unleashed a second attack to thwart the pursuit of Wang Baole’s enemies. Wang Baole sped up instantly and rushed at the statue’s eye, reappearing next to the statue instantly. The Planet realm cultivator from the Violet Gold civilization and Zi Luo roared furiously as they watched him collide with the statue’s eye, phasing straight through the statue effortlessly!

Zi Luo caught up with Wang Baole just as the latter disappeared into the statue. He unleashed his full power and struck the statue’s eye. However, no matter how hard he struck the statue, its eye remained unchanging and unmoving, keeping Zi Luo outside!

“The statue’s origins are mysterious. It’s probably a statue of the first emperor of the Divine Eye civilization… Unless one possesses Eternal Star realm cultivation, it’s likely impossible to force your way inside!” The palm that had been formed from the Planet realm aura inside the lamp had transformed into a blurry outline of a person. The indistinct figure eyed the statue, snorted, then paid no further heed to Zi Luo. Instead, he turned around and returned to the lamp.

His voice continued to reverberate in the imperial cemetery after he had vanished inside the lamp.

“He Yunzi, the window of opportunity has passed. It doesn’t matter whether that kid lives or dies inside the Divine Eye imperial cemetery. Neither bodes well for us. Now… the only solution is to force a descent and stabilize the situation. You should make up your mind quickly!”

He Yunzi listened to what the Planet realm cultivator had said, then turned and saw the flicker of icy light in Zi Luo’s stormy eyes. The other two princes standing next to him appeared slightly uneasy too. They turned and looked at He Yunzi.

He Yunzi felt torn. He had been forced into a tough spot today. He hadn’t expected the old emperor to go behind his back and commit those deeds. At the same time, he knew very well that the intruder who had barged in upon them earlier had emanated an aura that had belonged to the first emperor of their royal clan.

The first emperor is clearly trying to resurrect himself… and he’s probably going to succeed. What awaits me then will be… Visible red veins appeared in He Yunzi’s eyes, and an aura of madness radiated from the man as he spoke in a dark, heavy voice.

“The treasonous greater sects have pushed us too far. First, they surrounded us, and now, they’ve sent assassins to infiltrate the royal clan, kill our emperor, and rob us of our clan’s ancestral power. They’ll have to… answer for that!

“From this day on, I’ll temporarily take over as the head of the Divine Eye civilization. I swear to restore our royal clan’s ancestral power, eliminate the three greater sects, and avenge our emperor. I’ll stop at nothing to restore our royal clan to its former glory!

“I’ll use our royal clan’s power to unlock the Eye of the Eternal Star and invite the Violet Gold civilization to descend upon our civilization and aid us in sealing the imperial cemetery. They’ll help us send the cemetery into the Realm of the Nine Spectrals, then help us destroy all treasonous elements in the Divine Eye civilization!”

“Agreed!” A cold, dark voice rang out from the lamp. Flames surged out of the lamp and flooded the area, surrounding the statue and transforming the ground under the statue into soft mud. The statue rapidly sank into the ground, vanishing from the surface of the earth and disappearing into what He Yunzi had called… the Realm of the Nine Spectrals.

Nine Spectrals was simply a name given to an underground space sealed away under the surface of the Divine Eye civilization. It was worlds apart from the visible part of the Divine Eye civilization.

According to concepts that were understood on Earth, everything in the universe had two sides. There was life and death, and there was light and darkness. To a certain degree, the Nine Spectrals was akin to the underworld!

Those who were alive and stepped into this realm would find it extremely difficult to leave again!

He Yunzi didn’t turn back after he had said everything. He led the royal clan and Zi Luo’s people away, departing swiftly. What awaited them was something that was to be ended in the quickest time possible, something that the three greater sects hadn’t been prepared for and which they had just started… It was a war!

The royal clan was unprepared as well. They were unable to fully unlock the Eye of the Eternal Star and allow the distant Violet Gold civilization to make a one-time, complete descent upon their civilization. However, time was of the essence. Instead of hesitating and waiting, it was better to act decisively. That way… they would be able to launch an unexpected attack and overpower their enemies swiftly!

A war… was about to break out!

At that moment, inside the eye of the statue that had been sealed inside the Realm of the Nine Spectrals, within the real imperial cemetery of the Divine Eye civilization, Wang Baole… had also reappeared!

Upon reappearing and seeing what was around him, he momentarily froze in shock, and a strange light flickered in his eyes.

This place…