A World Worth Protecting

The pursuit lasted a full month. Just as Wang Baole had reached his limits and his mind was on the verge of a breakdown, the pursuing lightning bolts began showing signs of dissipating. It was as if a time limit for their pursuit had been set, and they had finally reached the end of that time limit. Wang Baole’s spirits soared at the sign of their dissipation. Expending the last of his energy, he made a final charge into the distance. Finally, after three days, the last of the lightning bolts vanished without a trace.

Wang Baole turned back and stared at the cosmos. It had returned to its initial peaceful silence. He had a feeling that he had barely escaped death. At the same time, he was overcome by intense and growing fury and resentment. He had made up his mind. He wasn’t going to make another wish unless it was his last resort!

“What a stupid bottle!” Wang Baole said furiously. He found himself a meteorite and sat down to catch his breath. He could sense that he was near the edge of the Divine Eye civilization.

It’s probably going to take me another three days to reach the Divine Eye civilization. Those lightning bolts sure chose the right time to disappear… Wang Baole sighed. After a brief meditation session, he looked down and peeped into his storage bag. The golden beetle that he had gotten from Dan Zhouzi was resting inside. It appeared to be on its last leg.

However, it was being fed Red Crystals, which kept it alive for the moment. Now that Wang Baole had finally managed to catch his breath, he sent his Divine Will into the golden beetle and tried to imprint his will onto the creature. This would force the beetle to recognize Wang Baole as its master instead and allow Wang Baole to gain control over the creature.

Despite its severely weakened state, the beetle’s mind resisted Wang Baole’s intrusions. He could sense an extremely strong will that resisted subjugation. It appeared ready to die instead of submitting itself to Wang Baole’s will.

That displeased Wang Baole tremendously. He had been hunted by lightning for a month and was in a terrible mood because of that. The foolhardy defiance that the golden beetle was displaying made him scoff. He was going to show the beetle who the boss was.

“Enlightened…” Wang Baole said casually as he invoked the all-powerful Dao Scripture.

It didn’t take long before a will that didn’t seem to belong to this world surged from what seemed like the farthest part of the cosmos. It descended with incredible power and let the weight of that vast power fall… upon a tiny bug.

The obstinate golden beetle let out a pained howl almost immediately. It abandoned all resistance and began to shudder violently. Extremely pleased, Wang Baole imprinted his Divine Sense on the creature.

“I see that you finally know who the boss around here is now.” Wang Baole rose proudly to his feet and, with a wave of his sleeves, decided to leave the meteorite and continue his journey. The power of the Dao Scripture had begun to fade away. As he got ready to step off the meteorite, he thought he heard a scoff in his ear.

It seemed to have come from the farthest depths of the universe. At the same time, it seemed to not be of this universe. It seemed to come from the same source that the will in the Dao Scripture had come from. Wang Baole shuddered instantly, and shock flashed across his face. He looked around hastily as his heart began to race.

After searching the surrounding cosmos fearfully and with suspicion, Wang Baole finally rubbed his nose and left the area with haste. He remained vigilant and tense until he managed to put considerable distance between himself and the meteorite. That was when he allowed himself to release a long sigh.

It seems like I have to use the Dao Scripture sparingly now. I have a feeling… that the unknown presence in the Dao Scripture might just wake up if I keep invoking it… Wang Baole’s face fell. He was putting himself in the other entity’s shoes. If a mosquito were to start buzzing around him when he was about to doze off, the first thing he would probably do when he shook himself awake… was squash the mosquito.

That thought sent fear rippling through Wang Baole. He repeatedly sighed as he made his way towards the borders of the Divine Eye civilization. Days later, he finally reached his destination. He set aside the depressing thoughts that had been plaguing him and narrowed his eyes. An icy light flashed across his eyes as he eyed the Divine Eye civilization before him.

“I’m back!” Wang Baole said mildly. He had been forced to run away and had been chased relentlessly by his pursuers. Now that he was back, he was filled with endless questions and doubts!

Do I really get control over the Eye of the Eternal Star if I kill He Yunzi?

What was the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s patriarch hiding? Did he really have nothing to do with me being set up?

Did anything important happen in the Divine Eye Civilization while I was gone?

Wang Baole came to a decision as these doubts plagued his mind!

He decided… that he couldn’t return just like that. He had the advantage of being hidden from his enemies’ eyes, and he would be wasting it. On the other hand, he didn’t want everyone to be completely unaware that he was now back. That might seem to be to his advantage, but he wasn’t going to be able to unveil any secrets and get to the bottom of things if no one was aware of his presence and stirring things up!

That’s why… I have to create an avatar and place it somewhere where people can see it! Wang Baole narrowed his eyes. He wasn’t sure if the Heavenly Spirit Sect was aware of the right-hand elder’s death. A considerable distance had separated the Heavenly Spirit Sect and the right-hand elder when he had died. That would have affected the transmission of news of the right-hand elder’s death.

Even if news of the right-hand elder’s death were to get back to the Heavenly Spirit Sect, Wang Baole wasn’t going to be particularly worried. That was because the Heavenly Spirit Sect was still not aware that he had a breakthrough from the late-stage Spirit Immortal realm to the perfected Spirit Immortal realm.

That means that it doesn’t matter if the avatar that I create… is only at the mid-stage Spirit Immortal realm. The Heavenly Spirit Sect and the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s patriarch won’t suspect anything. After all, while they are aware that I possess the strength of a Planet realm in battle, they also know that I’m only at the late-stage Spirit Immortal realm. Besides, I’m supposed to be on the run now. Even if I were to escape my pursuers and return safely… I would’ve had to pay a heavy price in exchange for my life. It makes perfect sense for me to return as a mid-stage Spirit Immortal realm cultivator! Wang Baole’s eyes narrowed as he thought through his plan. He came to an immediate decision.

After a quick series of hand seals, his physical form began to blur. An avatar stepped out of his body in the next moment. This avatar possessed a third of Wang Baole’s essence. Even though it might appear to be at the mid-stage Spirit Immortal realm, its true strength definitely surpassed that of a cultivator at the same cultivation level. Even a late-stage Spirit Immortal realm cultivator might not be his match.

Having completed a series of detailed inspections, Wang Baole’s true essence body blurred instantly and transformed into mist. His aura was now completely hidden.

He took control over his avatar and unleashed his full speed, charging straight into the Divine Eye civilization. While he kept his speed up after entering the civilization, he also carried out the perfunctory measures of hiding his avatar’s presence. Of course, such attempts at concealment wouldn’t work with a Planet realm cultivator. He might escape the eyes of a Planet realm cultivator if the latter was distracted, but as soon as the Planet realm cultivator focused his attention and kept his Divine Sense on a constant vigilance over the civilization, he would immediately discover Wang Baole’s presence.

Wang Baole waited a moment before sneaking his true essence body into the Divine Eye civilization. His essence body took off in a different direction. His avatar was like fire now. The brighter it burned, and the better it was at drawing the attention of others, the safer his true essence form was!

However, if the Planet realm cultivators of the Heavenly Spirit Sect weren’t on their guard and didn’t sense the presence of Wang Baole’s mid-stage Spirit Immortal realm avatar, Wang Baole’s goal to keep his essence form hidden would still be accomplished.

The fact was that Wang Baole wasn’t sure of what state the Divine Eye civilization was currently in. He also couldn’t trust the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s patriarch or anyone else in the Divine Eye civilization. That was why he had sent his mid-stage Spirit Immortal realm avatar out running around while his hidden essence body sneakily made its way towards the Eternal Star.

He didn’t get too close to the Eternal Star. He could sense that it was heavily guarded. Besides, the Heavenly Spirit Sect had set up camp on the Eternal Star. Wang Baole’s essence body found a meteorite that was within the vicinity of the Eternal Star and hid inside. Then, he began to pour his full concentration into maneuvering his mid-stage Spirit Immortal realm avatar.

He was going to let the intentional bait out into the open and try to get a big fish to bite the hook.

If the Heavenly Spirit Sect doesn’t realize that I’ve come back, I’ll send my avatar to the patriarch of the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect. Appearing at their doorsteps so openly might arouse suspicions, but that’s alright!

But if the Heavenly Spirit Sect manages to sense my avatar’s presence and tries to corner my avatar, it’ll present me with a great chance to see how the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s patriarch reacts. The battle that ensues will allow me to see what exactly is going on!

With a plan established, Wang Baole concealed both the presence of his essence body and his mid-stage Spirit Immortal realm avatar while allowing slight traces of the latter to be visible as he made his way across the cosmos, racing past the stars as he surveyed the current state of the Divine Eye civilization.

Piecing together the current situation of the Divine Eye civilization posed no difficulty for Wang Baole. His mid-stage Spirit Immortal realm avatar possessed the ability to change its appearance. It didn’t take him long to find out what had happened after he left the civilization. The war between the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect and Violet Gold New Dao Sect’s allied forces and the Heavenly Spirit Sect had to cease because of the sun’s blinding appearance.

They were still in the midst of war, though. The Divine Eye civilization had been split into two. The Eye of the Eternal Star was still under the Heavenly Spirit Sect’s control. They had set up camp in the civilization and set up a defensive array formation on the Eye of the Eternal Star. The next wave of reinforcements from the Violet Gold civilization hadn’t made their appearance. The Eye of the Eternal Star hadn’t been activated a second time.