A World Worth Protecting

Wang Baole analyzed the information he had just gathered alongside what he had already known. He immediately reached a conclusion. Both he and He Yunzi possessed the mandate at the same time. One of them had to die in order for the other to gain the full mandate!

The conclusion that Wang Baole had reached and pieced together from the information that he had just acquired didn’t deviate much from the guesses that he had made during his journey back to the Divine Eye civilization. Even though nothing seemed to be out of place, Wang Baole still felt that something wasn’t quite right. He might not have felt so intensely if not for what he had just gone through. Having discovered that the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s patriarch was hiding something and survived the Heavenly Spirit Sect’s scheme, Wang Baole had raised his guard considerably.

That was why he realized there was something wrong here!

It was… the array formation outside the Eternal Star!

His instincts told him that… there was something wrong with the array formation. Its presence seemed unnecessary when seen in the context of the present Divine Eye civilization. Even when allied, the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect and Violet Gold New Dao Sect were still not as powerful as the Heavenly Spirit Sect.

Besides, the Heavenly Spirit Sect had He Yunzi, so there was no need to set up such an array formation at all. It seemed completely superfluous, no matter how one looked at it…

Why would the Heavenly Spirit Sect do something so superfluous then? Is the array formation meant to defend themselves against someone… someone like me, perhaps? Wang Baole frowned. He couldn’t pin down exactly what was wrong. There was no need for the Heavenly Spirit Sect to set up an array formation as a defense mechanism against Wang Baole. After all, He Yunzi was still alive, so control over the Eternal Star wouldn’t fall into Wang Baole’s hands.

If he were the Heavenly Spirit Sect, he wouldn’t set up the array formation to keep him out. Instead, he would clear the path and wait impatiently for him to make his way to the Eternal Star instead.

Is He Yunzi dead? The thought popped into Wang Baole’s head as he contemplated the various possibilities. That didn’t seem likely, though everything would make sense if that were true.

Perhaps… this is yet another trap? Wang Baole could feel a headache coming on. He was missing some very important clues here. Without them, he was stuck and couldn’t think his way out of the puzzle.

It doesn’t matter. With this mid-stage Spirit Immortal realm avatar of mine as bait, I’ll be able to dig out what I’m looking for and uncover the truth! Wang Baole’s avatar narrowed his eyes and stared into the distant Eye of the Eternal Star. With a single bound, he headed for the camp where the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s patriarch was located. He was going to reveal his presence deliberately.

Wang Baole’s eyes narrowed just as he was about to take flight, and he looked up suddenly. Thunder rumbled as lightning started to crackle in the cosmos above him, and a blurry array formation that seemed to look like a seal appeared in the middle of space. Waves of suppressive force descended suddenly around Wang Baole and trapped him within a seal instantly.

Have I been discovered? A dark look appeared on Wang Baole’s face. However, he was secretly smirking as a dozen figures materialized inside the array formation as its waves of suppressive force surged outwards.

Standing at the front of the group was the sect lord of the Heavenly Spirit Sect. Next to him stood an old woman with a dazed look on her face. The other cultivators were all at the perfected or late-stage Spirit Immortal realm.

“Long Nanzi!” Murderous intent colored the eyes of the Heavenly Spirit Sect’s sect lord. As he shouted, he lifted his right hand, pointed at Wang Baole, and let his hand swoop downwards. The other cultivators charged at Wang Baole instantly, ready for a fight.

He doesn’t seem surprised to see me. Does that mean that he already knows that the right-hand elder is dead? He might even know that the Xie family’s been helping me. The left-hand elder isn’t present. Does that mean that he didn’t manage to escape from the Eternal Star? Was his Divine Soul destroyed? Wang Baole’s eyes flashed as numerous thoughts raced through his head. At the same time, he retreated hastily.

He had been right. The right-hand elder had died on the Earth Spirit civilization’s man-made Eternal Star, which fell within the Violet Gold civilization’s protectorate. This was the death of a Planet realm cultivator, and the Xie family had its hand in it. It was clearly a matter of grave importance. There was something that Wang Baole wasn’t aware of. Even though the Violet Gold civilization hadn’t activated the Eye of the Eternal Star again and hence couldn’t send reinforcements to the Divine Eye civilization, they could still manage communications from both ends of the Eye of the Eternal Star. It simply required a bit more effort and resources.

That was why… the sect lord of the Heavenly Spirit Sect couldn’t hide the errors that he had committed even if he wanted to. He had to provide an honest account of what had happened and let the Violet Gold civilization know that their war efforts in the Divine Eye civilization weren’t going well. The death of his right-hand elder, the Xie family’s involvement, and now, Long Nanzi’s apparent return, had driven the sect lord into a state of intense hatred for Wang Baole. He had been prepared and had waited for his return.

As soon as he discovered Wang Baole’s presence, he summoned his cultivators, initiated the seal, and led the charge!

Wang Baole might be able to hold his ground against the Heavenly Spirit Sect’s sect lord and the Planet realm old woman if he had been in his essence body. After all, his essence body was at the perfected Spirit Immortal realm and was capable of fighting an ordinary early-stage Planet realm cultivator. He might not be as powerful as a mid-stage Planet realm cultivator, but he would still be able to hold his own in a fight.

But this was his mid-stage Spirit Immortal realm avatar, an avatar that he had created in order to conceal his essence body. It was no match for the two Planet realm cultivators in a fight. Wang Baole’s eyes flashed as soon as he saw the arrival of the Heavenly Spirit Sect’s sect lord. He transformed into a huge cloud of mist and started to retreat hastily.

He unleashed his Demonic Eye Art as he retreated, and an enormous black eye appeared in the mist. As the eye opened, an incredible power surged towards the Heavenly Spirit Sect’s forces in an attempt to bind them.

The Spirit Immortal realm cultivators shuddered instantly, and none escaped unscathed. They stopped their pursuit. It was as if countless invisible threads had wound themselves around these cultivators’ bodies and held them frozen in place. It would have been a piece of cake for Wang Baole to kill these cultivators after they had been ensnared by the demonic eye.

But this wasn’t the time or occasion for that. The Demonic Eye Art might be powerful, but it hardly posed a threat to the Heavenly Spirit Sect’s sect lord and the Planet realm old woman. The sect lord’s gigantic handprint appeared in the next moment, descending upon Wang Baole with a power that threatened to flatten both heaven and earth.

It was a power that mowed down everything in its path, threatening to destroy everything that stood in its way. Even though Wang Baole had transformed himself into mist, he couldn’t escape the attack. He felt as if a net was closing in around him. The handprint fell on the retreating mist instantly.

The mist appeared as if it were boiling as it began to dissipate. This was a blow from a mid-stage Planet realm cultivator, and Wang Baole was in his avatar form. A great portion of the mist turned to dust and faded away as it dissipated.

Wang Baole had expected something like this to happen when he had created this avatar. That was why he had kept some Dharmic treasures like the Divine Justice Shield on the avatar. They might not be of much use in a fight against a mid-stage Planet realm cultivator, but he wasn’t afraid to self-destruct in order to gain himself some time. That was why his avatar blew up without any warning in the next second!

The price he paid was the destruction of half of his avatar form. The explosion sent the faint cloud of mist flying back. He struggled to gather what remained of his form together. His newly materialized appearance was a sight for sore eyes, and there was a crazed look in his eyes. Madness and vindication shone brightly in them as he stared unblinkingly at the expressionless sect lord of the Heavenly Spirit Sect.

“First, I was hunted down by your right-hand elder, and now, you’re trying to kill me, all for control over an Eternal Star… You’re doing everything just to fulfill He Yunzi’s desire, right? He Yunzi, show yourself right now!” Wang Baole hollered. He looked like a small beast that had been driven into the corner, yapping helplessly at its tormentors to no avail.

“He Yunzi?” The Heavenly Spirit Sect’s sect lord sneered, and faint fury flickered in his eyes. The fleeting emotion was caught by Wang Baole, who had been watching him closely. Wang Baole had also noticed the looks on the other Spirit Immortal realm cultivators’ faces. They seemed to display similar emotions.

Incomprehension filled his mind. However, it was overshadowed by doubt and suspicion.

“Long Nanzi, I didn’t expect that you would dare to come back!” The sect lord of the Heavenly Spirit Sect didn’t bring up He Yunzi again. He narrowed his eyes and approached Wang Baole instead. He had made preparations for the likelihood of Long Nanzi turning tail and not coming back, but it seemed that he wouldn’t need them.

It might have seemed as if Long Nanzi had successfully defended himself from the earlier attack, but everyone present could tell that Wang Baole was now cornered. This was the final struggle he was attempting before his death.

“Heavenly Spirit Sect, you dare try to kill me?” Panic flashed across Wang Baole’s eyes as danger loomed. He retreated again. He then flipped his palm over, raised his hand into the air, and brandished a jade token.