A World Worth Protecting

This was Wang Baole’s first time experiencing long-distance teleportation that spanned countless light-years. He felt as if his body was being ripped apart, and his Divine Soul felt as though it was being torn into shreds. He almost collapsed onto the ground when he reappeared.

He struggled to keep himself upright as he did a quick sweep of his surroundings. He found himself standing in a huge teleportation array formation that possibly spanned a hundred thousand feet.

Countless inscriptions were engraved into the ground. These inscriptions were fading away gradually, but he could imagine the pillar of light that had erupted from them and risen into the sky during his teleportation.

Eight towering stone steles stood outside the array formation. There were inscriptions on the stone steles too. They were also fading away. Right in front of Wang Baole, between two stone steles, stood a dozen or so people.

The person standing right in front was Xie Haiyang. He was smiling widely at him.

Wang Baole sighed a breath of relief when he saw Xie Haiyang. He sent his Divine Will out and did a scan of the area. He was finally set at ease when he realized that he had returned to the Xie family’s market.

Regardless, the pain felt by his Divine Soul and the strange nauseating feeling he was experiencing had left him panting. He didn’t have time to deal with his discomfort, though. With his face still pale, Wang Baole quickly inspected himself. His heart was set at ease after ascertaining that his essence hadn’t been lost during the teleportation. That was when he made his way towards Xie Haiyang.

His breathing evened out gradually as he approached Xie Haiyang. In fact, he appeared to have recovered entirely from the teleportation before reaching a thousand feet of Xie Haiyang. The bright glimmer in his eyes had returned as well.

Xie Haiyang was slightly startled by that sight. He knew very well the dangers of Holy Domain-level teleportations. It was common for cultivators at cultivation levels lower than the Planet realm to die during such teleportations. Only cultivators who had reached the Planet realm could be guaranteed a certain level of safety when performing Holy Domain-level teleportations.

He had instructed his subordinates to be especially careful when teleporting Wang Baole. They were to ensure that the teleportation was as smooth and gentle a trip as possible. Even though he had tried to make the trip as safe as it could be, he couldn’t prevent the exhaustion and weakness that followed the teleportation. It should have taken one day to recover, but Wang Baole had recovered in no time at all. That had shocked Xie Haiyang, but the smile on his face grew more brilliant as he spoke loudly.

“Brother Baole, you’re truly extraordinary. This is the first time I’ve seen someone who’s not at least at the Eternal Star realm recover so quickly from long-distance teleportation.”

He wasn’t aware that the form that Wang Baole was in wasn’t his true form. It was his essence body. The adverse effects that affected the physical form didn’t affect Wang Baole.

Wang Baole wasn’t going to share this information with Xie Haiyang. He took a single bound forward, crossing a thousand feet, and appeared before Xie Haiyang. There was a smile on his face.

“Did you forget about the Flame Patriarch’s mission? We were teleported away in a similar fashion. I got used to it.” Wang Baole smiled, using the guise of an explanation to drop the Flame Patriarch’s name into the conversation.

This was a precautionary measure on his part. It was also a reminder to Xie Haiyang. He wanted the latter to know that he had a powerful cultivator ready to come to his assistance anytime he wanted. Xie Haiyang should think twice about setting him up.

Xie Haiyang appeared unfazed by his comment even though he was grimacing secretly. Despite the many favors that he had done for Wang Baole, the latter remained wary of him. He knew that the Flame Patriarch held Wang Baole in high regard, but there really wasn’t a need for Wang Baole to mention the Flame Patriarch every time they met.

1

The smile on Xie Haiyang’s face widened in contrast to his thoughts. Wang Baole’s actions were proof of his mindfulness and intelligence. It showed that he knew how to make use of his connections to his advantage. If he were to look at it from a positive angle, that meant that Wang Baole had a greater chance of surviving his journey of cultivation smoothly and developing into a powerful cultivator. What Xie Haiyang had invested in Wang Baole was in safe hands.

His smile didn’t waver as they made the trip back to the market. He chatted happily with Wang Baole, making casual conversation along the way. He had intended to reminisce about the past and use the opportunity to strengthen their friendship, but his voice transmission jade slip vibrated after he entered the market. The look on Xie Haiyang’s face shifted after he went through the contents of the transmission. In spite of his level-headed composure, he couldn’t conceal the shock and panic in his eyes. Wang Baole, who had been watching him closely, was intrigued.

“Brother Haiyang, did something happen?” Wang Baole asked curiously.

“It’s nothing… Brother Baole, I’m afraid I can’t keep you company for much longer. Something came up. I have to return to my family clan immediately and attend to the matter.” Xie Haiyang was clearly anxious. He hadn’t lied, he really did need to return home because of what had happened unexpectedly. He could do nothing but cup his fists at Wang Baole and take his leave.

He couldn’t tell Wang Baole the exact details of what had happened. He could only provide the vaguest of information.

“Two powerful people… have gotten into a fight…” He took his leave upon saying that and left in a hurry. Wang Baole had never seen such a look on Xie Haiyang’s face. He watched as the other man left, a look of contemplation in his eyes.

“He’s being vague… Two powerful cultivators in a fight? How powerful can they be?” Wang Baole muttered to himself before turning away. He began strolling around the market. Since he was there, he planned to replenish the materials that he had exhausted. There was going to be a fierce battle awaiting him when he returned to the Divine Eye civilization.

While Wang Baole was strolling around the market, Xie Haiyang, who had left in a hurry, had gathered his most reliable subordinates in the quickest time possible and headed for the teleportation array formation. The portal had already been activated when he arrived. He stood in the center of the array formation and watched as the glow of the teleportation array formation shone around him. There was a stormy look on his face, and a fierce light flashed in his eyes.

The Sundered Moon Emperor ambushed Chen Qing by using eight Primal Cauldrons to set up an array formation. With the help of his Divine Kings, he drew on the energy of thousands of Eternal Stars to fuel the array formation and hold Chen Qing captive… He had intended to refine Chen Qing, but he didn’t expect his enemy… to summon the Heavenly Dao from the previous era to blow the array formation up. The array formation was reversed. Now, both the Sundered Moon Emperor and his subordinates are trapped inside!

Communication has broken down. No one can receive any transmissions from within. No one can enter the array formation either. But some of us have already begun to lose memories of some of the seven Divine Kings in our Divine Souls… That is the work of the Dark Sect’s heaven-defying divine power. It can remove all traces of one’s existence, including any memories of that person in other people’s minds!

The Heavenly Dao of the past era… the Dark Sect! Xie Haiyang shuddered at the thought of the Dark Sect. He had never seen the true Dark Sect, but he had spent a lot of time since he had been a child amongst his family clan’s private libraries. He had read numerous records on the Dark Sect. Too much. He knew that it was an extremely powerful sect that even the Never-Ending Clan had been intimidated and wary of in the past.

If the clans under the Never-Ending Clan hadn’t gathered in unison to stand against the Dark Sect, if the Xie family clan’s patriarch hadn’t lent a helping hand, and if the Dark Sect hadn’t been in decline, the Never-Ending Dao Domain might still be carrying its former name… the Dark Domain!

Rumors say that Chen Qing’s the one who betrayed the Dark Sect then. If that’s the case, why was he able to gather the destroyed fragments of the Dark Sect’s Heavenly Dao and summon it… Why did he risk creating a commotion in the entire Dao Domain by creating a seal over the battleground and unleashing a divine power that could erase all traces of one’s existence… If the patriarch is right, Chen Qing is doing this to hide a bigger secret.

This has nothing to do with me at all. The Xie family clan is huge, and I’m just a mere junior. They wouldn’t call on me even if the sky were to fall down. Unfortunately, my useless father’s involved in this mess… There was a dark look on Xie Haiyang’s face. He was privately wracked with anxiety. He had been told that his father was the one who had crafted the eight Primal Cauldrons that the Sundered Moon Emperor had used to trap Chen Qing.

Even though that had merely been a business transaction, Xie Haiyang knew the character of the legendary Chen Qing. This was a man who was vicious and trigger happy. He had never batted an eyelid when he inflicted collateral damage. The Xie family clan wasn’t going to go all out just to protect Xie Haiyang’s father. After all, their opponent was Chen Qing, the man who could go toe to toe with the Xie family’s most esteemed patriarch.

That was why he couldn’t simply sit still after knowing what had happened. Even if he wasn’t going to be of much help, he still had to return home and discuss how they were going to get out of this mess with his father.

Even though I have no idea how this fight will end, it’s clear that Chen Qing’s gotten the upper hand now. The other Divine Emperors of the Never-Ending Clan are sitting on the fence instead of siding with anyone. There’s a great chance that he’ll kill his opponents and then walk away without any repercussions. I have to find someone whom Chen Qing is familiar with as soon as possible, do everything I can to explain the situation, make preparations ahead of time, and try to appease Chen Qing as soon as he leaves the sealed battleground so that he’ll let my father off the hook… Xie Haiyang was worried that his hair was going to start falling out in clumps at any moment. He and Chen Qing were in completely different leagues. How was he to get to know someone whom Chen Qing was friends with? Besides, he still had to come up with a fancy speech that would sway Chen Qing.

Xie Haiyang, who had left in a state of anxiety and worry, had no idea… that a certain someone who was currently strolling around in the market that he controlled was, in fact… one of the people who could influence Chen Qing’s mind. In fact, a single word from this person, a plea made coquettishly… would rid Xie Haiyang’s father of his troubles instantly.