A World Worth Protecting

Now that Wang Baole had control over the Eye of the Eternal Star, performing a relatively long distance teleportation posed no challenge to him at all. As long as the distance that he wanted to cross wasn’t incredibly far, he would still be able to teleport to his destination and back with his current level of cultivation.

Initially, he had thought it best to hide Zhao Yameng, the donkey, and Little Wu in the market owned by the Xie family. Their safety would be guaranteed there. However, the market was quite some distance from the Divine Eye civilization, and it would take Wang Baole some effort to get to the market. As for the trip back, it would be beyond his current capabilities.

That was why he eventually went for the next best option. He found a meteorite that was uninhabited and set up an array formation on the meteorite. He also made full use of Little Wu and Zhao Yameng’s abilities. The chances of anyone discovering this ordinary meteorite amidst countless meteorites in the vast cosmos were close to zero.

Even if it were to be discovered, as long as the people who discovered it weren’t from the Violet Gold civilization, it would be fine. Zhao Yameng’s intelligence and Little Wu’s ability for deception ensured that they would remain safe from harm.

Wang Baole wasn’t worried at all during his return trip. In fact, he had nothing to worry about when he got back to the Eternal Star. The only thing that concerned him the most centered around his one greatest desire!

The Graveyard of Stars! Wang Baole gazed at the Divine Eye main star as he sat on the civilization’s Eternal Star. That was where his true form was slumbering, where his final trump card rested!

I’m not going to touch that if I don’t have to… Wang Baole narrowed his eyes. His true form might be more powerful than his essence body, but it had its own set of disadvantages and weaknesses too. Any injury or death that occurred while he was in that form was permanent and real. That was unlike the essence body that he was in now. He was safer in his essence body and could move around more easily. Besides, the Never-Ending Clan was still out there looking for him. That was another reason for his hesitation.

That was why Wang Baole was extraordinarily cautious when it came to awakening his true form. He pulled his gaze away from the main planet and turned his eyes towards the Heavenly Spirit Sect’s camp outside the Eternal Star. His gaze finally landed on the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect and Violet Gold New Dao Sect’s camp.

He had to find an opportunity to kill the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s patriarch. That was the quickest and most straightforward solution, though not the simplest. The patriarch was at the mid-stage Planet realm, so even if he were to attempt a battle with the patriarch, his chances of winning the fight were close to zero. There was no way he could kill the patriarch easily or quickly.

Should the battle drag on, he would eventually find himself trapped between the Heavenly Spirit Sect’s sect lord and the Violet Gold New Dao Sect’s patriarch. They might even find some way of preventing him from teleporting away. If that happened, his attempt at killing the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s patriarch would turn into something else. It would be akin to wrapping himself up like a present and turning up at his enemy’s doorstep.

What a headache! Wang Baole rubbed his forehead and decided not to think about the matter for the moment. He shut his eyes and began to meditate. He trained as he meditated so that he might strengthen and stabilize his cultivation at the perfected Spirit Immortal realm.

Seven days passed. Wang Baole kept an eye on the Eye of the Eternal Star and the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect as he directed the rest of his energy on his cultivation.

Dividing his attention this way meant that he wouldn’t be able to obtain optimal results from his training, but fortunately, the results he ended up with were satisfactory. In addition, with the aid of the Eye of the Eternal Star, Wang Baole also managed to catch… the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s patriarch leaving camp three times within those seven days!

Wang Baole had gotten a boost to his cultivation from the Eye of the Eternal Star, and yet, he hadn’t sensed other Planet realm cultivators approaching the patriarch during those three trips. The other Planet realm cultivators had been located a considerable distance away from the patriarch then… During the first trip, Wang Baole had been seized by temptation, but he had shoved it aside. Then, he had caught the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s patriarch leaving camp the second and third time alone. That was when he concluded decisively…

He must be doing this intentionally!

He had intentionally created an opportunity for him, waited for him to appear, then steered him towards his teleportation… During the third time, the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s patriarch had even tried to break through to the late-stage Planet realm.

The greatest fear a cultivator had was being interrupted during their attempted breakthroughs to the next stage of cultivation. Such interruptions might lead to a severe backlash and serious injuries. The Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s patriarch was clearly no ordinary man. Few others would’ve concocted such a plan and resorted to using themselves as bait!

The frown on Wang Baole’s forehead deepened as he rose to his feet. Waves of spirit energy exhibiting the beginning of a teleportation rippled in the air around him. Before the teleportation could occur though… Wang Baole took a deep breath and abandoned the thought of attacking the enemy.

He wasn’t sure of his chances. In addition, Wang Baole was suddenly struck by another thought. There might be another way in which he could get himself a place on the Fallen Star Boat…

There’s no need for me to try and kill the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s patriarch at all. The attempt is going to be dangerous. Besides, my chances of succeeding aren’t high.

There’s probably another way to get a placement besides killing the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s patriarch. I could try and board the boat after the Violet Gold civilization’s gotten their placement and try to snatch the rights from them… The prodigy that they’ve chosen to board the boat isn’t going to be at the Planet realm. He’s probably only at the perfected Spirit Immortal realm! Wang Baole narrowed his eyes at that thought. He sat back down and began contemplating the feasibility of his new plan.

There are three problems that I’ll have to deal with!

The first is how I’m going to get myself within the vicinity of the spirit boat after I leave the Eternal Star. This problem can be solved by using the Eye of the Eternal Star’s teleportation portal. Even if the Violet Gold civilization were to send some powerful Eternal Star realm cultivator to protect the Eye of the Eternal Star, I could still find a chance to sneak in…

The second problem is how I’m going to make sure that I can board the boat again!

And the third… how do I ensure that the ferryman doesn’t stop me from attacking after I’ve boarded the boat! Wang Baole narrowed his eyes. He wasn’t sure of his odds of success in overcoming the last two obstacles. He looked down, flipped his right palm over, and pulled out his storage ring. After a moment of hesitation, he sent a wisp of Divine Will into the ring.

“Senior, thank you for your help. I was able to gain a breakthrough in cultivation because of your aid. Thank you also for awakening from your rest repeatedly and drawing the Fallen Star Boat out. I believe that you did that for one reason only…” Wang Baole directed his Divine Will carefully. He fell into a moment of contemplation after hearing no reply from within the storage ring. Then, he decided to share his plan openly.

“This is the situation that I’m stuck with now. Your humble junior is unable to get a placement for the Graveyard of Stars. I’ll have to find a way to get onto the boat and fight for my placement.”

“I seek the esteemed senior’s aid in boarding the boat and killing my target successfully!” Wang Baole was unsure whether his Divine Will had reached the paper human cutout inside the storage ring. He had a feeling that the paper human cutout was awake. The spirit boat’s appearance had been no coincidence. There was a great likelihood that the paper human cutout inside the storage ring had planned for everything to happen in this fashion.

He remembered the slight waves of spirit energy that the paper human cutout had exuded after he had invoked the Dao Scripture. He didn’t know the reasons behind the paper human cutout’s actions, but his instincts told him that the paper human cutout was going to agree to help him board the boat again and get a placement for the Graveyard of Stars!

That was why Wang Baole didn’t panic after he had sent his Divine Will out. Instead, he began to wait quietly. Fifteen minutes later, the paper human cutout’s creepy laughter rang in his ears.

It was a fleeting sort of laughter. The paper human cutout didn’t say anything. Yet, at that very instant, Wang Baole had sensed its approval and consent. It was a strange feeling that he couldn’t really explain.

Light flickered across Wang Baole’s eyes. He placed his storage ring aside, rose to his feet, and bowed deeply.

“You have my thanks, Senior!”

Having expressed his gratitude, he put away the storage ring and sat back down, anticipation shining intensely in his eyes. He knew that he simply had to wait now!

I have to wait for the spirit boat and for the Violet Gold civilization’s cultivators to turn up! Wang Baole knew that even though the Heavenly Spirit Sect had failed their attempt at teleportation at the Eye of the Eternal Star, the sect wasn’t going to fixate on their failures. Their goal was to obtain a placement to enter the Graveyard of Stars. It was highly likely that they would find other means of entry.

They might buy teleportation rights from other powerful factions or family clans… Wang Baole didn’t spend too much thought on the matter. Now that he had come to a decision, he calmed down gradually and began his cultivation as he waited. Besides maintaining his cultivation at peak condition, he also began to go through his various Dharmic treasures and divine powers.

Currently, many of his Dharmic treasures were either damaged or a few cultivation levels below his current level of cultivation. The quality and strength of the latter group of Dharmic treasures were no longer adequate, so he struck them off the list of weapons that he could bring into battle. What he was left with was only the Emperor Armor, his Divine Armament, and the Divine Justice Shield.

He had a few other ninth-grade Dharmic Armaments as well. These might have been precious artifacts to Wang Baole in the past, but now, the damage they were capable of wouldn’t even rival the damage he could inflict with a single flick of his finger.

I was advancing too quickly up the cultivation realms. I didn’t have time to sit down, refine, and build up my inventory of artifacts. Wang Baole sighed. His army of puppets had been almost completely decimated after his battle with the right-hand elder. He was now left with his army of dead.

Wang Baole rubbed his forehead. He hadn’t lost spirit. He still had his invaluable Emperor Armor. Having the armor was better than having tens of thousands of other Dharmic treasures.

Such a waste though, all those Dharmic treasures that I’d treasured so much in the past… Wang Baole lifted his right hand with some regret, and a huge megaphone appeared in his hand.