A World Worth Protecting

To increase his persuasiveness and make Wang Baole ignore the fact that he didn’t know much about the paper human cutout, Shan Lingzi gave an example.

“Master, I didn’t dare reveal that I had the imitation of the Galaxy Bow previously. If not, with the bow’s value, if I could have sold it safely, I could have bought a thousand civilizations. In fact, if I contacted Star Domain realm mighty figures, I could have used it to exchange for a favor from them. But I would have had to be able to withstand it and have the right to have such a favor. If not, it would have been all too easy for me to be swallowed alive…” Shan Lingzi felt a little bitter in his heart. He lost precisely because he didn’t have that right.

Although he was a Planet realm, he didn’t have much background within the Never-Ending Clan. Because of that, even though he possessed an absolute treasure, he still had to tread very carefully and dared not reveal it. As for presenting it to his higher-ups, he dared not do that either. That was more dangerous than simply revealing that he possessed the Galaxy Bow imitation. That was because he knew that he couldn’t survive getting checked and would get his other two items confiscated as well.

A favor from a Star Domain realm mighty figure? Wang Baole had a weird expression. When Shan Lingzi told him it could be exchanged for a thousand civilizations, he thought it was really valuable. But after hearing the second half of the sentence, he suddenly thought that it wasn’t that valuable.

After all, his senior brother was at least a Star Domain realm mighty figure. Wang Baole felt that even if he wanted thousands of favors… it wouldn’t be too difficult.

If Shan Lingzi knew all his thoughts, he would probably have spit out a mouthful of blood. Truly, the difference between them was even greater than the distance between heaven and earth.

“That’s enough. Tell me about the bottle.” Wang Baole waved his hand and asked about the mysterious little bottle. In reality, Shan Lingzi’s judgment about the three items in the storage ring was incorrect. What Wang Baole cared most about was neither the paper human cutout nor the Galaxy Bow.

He only cared about the former because it was weird and connected to the Graveyard of Stars, which he actually cared about. As for the latter… Wang Baole felt that he had no use for it now, so it was enough to just know its value.

The item he really cared about was the little bottle. His instincts told him that the mysteriousness of the bottle might far exceed that of the paper human cutout.

In reality, that was indeed the case because… Shan Lingzi, who kept recounting information smoothly from the start, paused at that moment. He didn’t do it on purpose, as it was simply his instinct that made him do so. But after seeing the hostility in Wang Baole’s gaze, he shuddered and immediately told him everything he knew, not daring to hide anything.

“Master… I don’t know the origins of the little bottle. I couldn’t find any clues about the item from any ancient literature. I only know that this bottle seems to have existed for an extremely long time. And its use… according to my many years of research, I finally found something. This item seems to be… a wishing bottle!” Shan Lingzi spoke carefully. He feared that he wasn’t detailed enough and thus elaborated.

“The bottle can’t be opened, and the words on the paper in it have become blurry. I can’t see what’s written on the paper…”

The words are unclear? Wang Baole narrowed his eyes and took a close look at Shan Lingzi. He didn’t think that Shan Lingzi would deceive him about that, but he remembered seeing the words “a rich person” in it previously.

This made Wang Baole feel astonished in his heart, but he didn’t display it at all in his expression.

“I can’t see the words clearly, but I can confirm that this is a wishing bottle. It’s just that it’s only effective occasionally. Sometimes, it doesn’t work… However, when it’s actually effective, while it grants the wish of the one who made it, unimaginable side effects descend…” Speaking to that point, bitterness and fear appeared in Shan Lingzi’s eyes as though some horrifying side effects had happened to him before.

“Side effects?” Wang Baole raised his eyebrows.

“You must have wished successfully before. Tell me about the side effects!”

Shan Lingzi immediately went silent. After a while, he seemed to lose all his strength as he lowered his head and spoke softly.

“Master, I used to… be a female cultivator.”

“Female cultivator? The heck? What are you saying… Ugh…” Wang Baole didn’t really understand Shan Lingzi’s words at first, but when he was halfway through his sentence, Wang Baole stared wide and looked blankly at Shan Lingzi’s soul. Confusion appeared in his eyes.

“Female? You used to be a female?”

Shan Lingzi smiled bitterly as he looked at Wang Baole and nodded.

“You’re kidding me, right? Ah? Even your soul is male…” Wang Baole felt his mind turn upside down, and his first reaction was that Shan Lingzi was too bold and actually dared to mess with him. So, he stared as a killing aura rose.

This made Shan Lingzi shudder in fear as he quickly explained everything.

“Hear me out, Master. Although I used to be a female cultivator, men enjoy a higher status than women in the Never-Ending Clan. Therefore, I always hid my gender. After obtaining the wishing bottle back then, I researched it for many years. And the reason I could successfully become a Planet realm was that I wished successfully at a crucial moment.”

“It was just that the consequence was me turning into a male cultivator. I wished myself back into a female cultivator before, but as I made other wishes, I changed back into a male cultivator… Besides that, the wishing bottle’s side effects are exceedingly strange… I remember that there was once when I actually turned into a tree after a successful wish… That continued for three years.” Shan Lingzi had a bitter expression. Normally, there was no way he could tell this to anyone. But right now, he finally vented his frustrations in front of Wang Baole, and every word was filled with ruefulness.

As Wang Baole listened to Shan Lingzi’s words, his eyes stared wider, his heart shaken. He also felt intense shock. Nonetheless, he couldn’t help but be interested… Truly, if the wishing bottle was really like how Shan Lingzi described it, it would be way too overpowered.

You could even achieve a breakthrough just by wishing for it… what a treasure. Wang Baole was moved, but he also hesitated about the side effects Shan Lingzi talked about. However, when he thought about how his cultivation could possibly increase drastically, he thought that turning into a female cultivator for a few years wasn’t something he couldn’t accept.

Anyway, this Shan Lingzi said that he changed back… It’ll be fine so long as it isn’t permanent. Wang Baole felt more excited the more he thought about it. He felt that if he really became a female, he would just go into seclusion for a few years and keep trying to wish himself back to being male.

Thinking to this point, decisiveness appeared in Wang Baole’s eyes as he took out the storage ring. After trying to infuse his Divine Will into it, he discovered that although the paper human cutout opened its eyes and exposed an ethereal glint, it didn’t stop him. So, Wang Baole quickly took out the little bottle. When holding it in his hands, Wang Baole couldn’t help but feel a little nervous. After gritting his teeth, he instantly made a wish loudly.

“I want to become the strongest person in the Never-Ending Dao Domain!”

The little bottle didn’t react, and even Shan Lingzi’s face twitched. But after noticing Wang Baole’s hostile gaze sweeping towards him, Shan Lingzi sighed in his heart and quickly spoke.

“Master… I’ve made that wish before, but there’s no use… The wishing bottle is sometimes effective and sometimes not…”

Wang Baole had a doubtful expression. After thinking, he humphed and wished loudly again.

“I want to become a Star Domain realm mighty figure!”

The bottle still didn’t react.

“I want to become an Eternal Star realm mighty figure!” Wang Baole couldn’t believe it and roared. But… the bottle remained the same and didn’t change at all. This made Wang Baole very angry as he stared viciously at Shan Lingzi.

“Shan Lingzi, you dare lie to me?” Wang Baole raised his left hand and immediately pulled Shan Lingzi over. His expression showed anger and frustration, and the killing intent in his eyes was intense. Shan Lingzi was so scared that he screamed.

“Master, Master, listen to me. This isn’t my fault. The bottle is really only occasionally effective. You can’t control it…” Shan Lingzi was about to cry. He really spoke the truth without hiding anything. He felt horrified at the volatility of Wang Baole’s emotions and felt resentment as well. Truly, he felt that Wang Baole’s wishes were obviously unattainable. If he really could succeed, he would already be the strongest person in the Never-Ending Dao Domain, not captured alive and in the sorry state he was in right now.

Seeing Shan Lingzi’s expression, Wang Baole furrowed his eyebrows, and doubt still showed in his eyes. After thinking, he held the little bottle and wished again.

“I want to become a Planet realm!”

This was already Wang Baole’s bottom line. Shan Lingzi said previously that he used the little bottle to wish himself a breakthrough from the Spirit Immortal realm to the Planet realm. Therefore, Wang Baole felt that he might have indeed been too greedy previously and decided to make a small wish this time. However… after he spoke, the little bottle was exactly the same as before and didn’t change at all. This made Wang Baole’s expression turn extremely gloomy.