A World Worth Protecting

The brief glance sent Wang Baole’s heart racing and his cultivation into instability. That man was an Eternal Star realm cultivator!

If one were to search the entire Never-Ending Dao Domain, one would find Planet realm cultivators to be regarded as mighty figures who had risen above the rest. No matter which faction such a cultivator belonged to, he or she would have a place in its upper echelons. The even more powerful Eternal Star realm cultivators then… were naturally regarded as the rulers and kings!

A civilization that had an Eternal Star realm cultivator holding the fort was generally safe from other civilizations in the same Holy Domain. As long as the civilization didn’t antagonize other civilizations in the same domain, the latter wouldn’t try to intrude upon the former easily as well. The Violet Gold civilization reigned supreme in the nineteenth domain under the Left Dao Holy Domain, and yet, such a powerful civilization had only three Eternal Star realm cultivators. Of course, that didn’t take into account the fact that the cultivation of the civilization’s patriarch was almost at the Star Domain realm.

This only served to show the status that was accorded an Eternal Star realm cultivator in the Never-Ending Dao Domain. As for the Eternal Star cultivator that had just appeared in the Divine Eye civilization, he wasn’t the patriarch of the Violet Gold civilization but one of the other remaining two Eternal Star realm cultivators of the civilization!

The cultivators of the various sects in the Violet Gold civilization addressed him as Daoist Lin Hai. He hadn’t brought along with him a great army, merely bringing one person. He hadn’t traveled the cosmos but had spent considerable resources to purchase the ability to teleport across the Holy Domain.

He glanced at the Divine Eye civilization’s Eye of the Eternal Star after he had appeared. The look in his eyes was cold. He didn’t appear to pay much attention to the Eye of the Eternal Star. Instead, he stood where he had appeared and spoke coolly.

“Step forward, Sect Lord of the Heavenly Spirit Sect!”

His voice wasn’t loud, nor was it booming with power, but it swept across the entire Divine Eye civilization and erupted like a deafening thunder in the minds of every living entity in the civilization.

Even Wang Baole, who was in the Eye of the Eternal Star, heard those words in his head. A dark look descended on his face. He had predicted that the Violet Gold civilization would send an Eternal Star realm cultivator to the Divine Eye civilization, but he still failed to keep his composure when his prediction came true.

“An Eternal Star realm cultivator…” Wang Baole muttered to himself. He stopped keeping such a close eye on what was going on outside the Eternal Star and started to observe from a distance. He began running through his plans as well, contemplating whether he should make any changes. At that juncture, Daoist Lin Hai’s words had spread all across the Divine Eye civilization.

Every cultivator in the Divine Eye civilization shuddered when they heard that voice. It didn’t matter what they had been doing a moment earlier. Even the patriarch of the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect wasn’t spared. His body trembled as his breathing grew uneven, and he snapped his head up instantly, staring into the skies above the Divine Eye civilization. A second sun… had appeared!

He wasn’t the only one to have observed that sight. The moment Daoist Lin Hai descended upon the civilization, numerous people in the Divine Eye civilization had looked up and seen the peculiar sight in the sky. In the clear skies, where only a single sun should have been, appeared a second sun!

As fear and trepidation rippled across the populace, the Heavenly Spirit Sect’s sect lord unleashed his full speed and raced away. He didn’t have the time to summon the Spirit Immortal realm cultivators in his sect. Instead, he raced off alone and finally arrived before Daoist Lin Hai after fifteen minutes. Upon his arrival, he immediately cupped his fists in greeting and bowed deeply.

“Your humble junior Yuan Lingzi greets the esteemed Daoist Lin Hai!”

“Sect Lord of the Heavenly Spirit Sect, will you admit to your mistakes!” The one who spoke wasn’t Daoist Lin Hai but the handsome young man who was dressed in lavish robes and standing next to him. It was obvious that this young man was well respected in the Violet Gold civilization. Even though he was merely at the perfected Spirit Immortal realm, he spoke confidently, and his words were sharp and filled with disapproval. He didn’t seem to hold any regard for the Heavenly Spirit Sect’s sect lord.

The sect lord of the Heavenly Spirit Sect was furious, but he dared not offend the cultivator before him. Therefore, he lowered his head and spoke hastily.

“Esteemed Dao Disciple, we did encounter unexpected difficulties during our battle with the Divine Eye civilization. But the outcome of the war remained unchanged. We have obtained a placement for the Graveyard of Stars!” The sect lord ended his speech, then cupped his fists at the expressionless Daoist Lin Hai. He reported everything that had happened since his sect had arrived at the Divine Eye civilization, including the problems that they had encountered and how they had solved those problems. He dared not hide anything from Daoist Lin Hai.

He knew that the Dao Disciple was only concerned about his placement for the Graveyard of Stars. As for Daoist Lin Hai… his concerns were probably for the right-hand elder’s death. After all… the Xie family was involved in the matter!

The young man sighed privately in relief when he heard the sect lord’s reply. He didn’t care about anything else. He didn’t even care if the Heavenly Spirit Sect was wiped out. The only thing he cared about was a placement for the Graveyard of Stars. Despite his status in the Violet Gold civilization, he had to fight hard for this opportunity. It was going to determine his future.

After getting his answer, he remained silent. He then looked around and began studying the Divine Eye civilization. He didn’t think much of this place, which looked impoverished in his eyes. If not for the fact that the Fallen Star mark could only be transferred in the Divine Eye civilization, he believed that he would never have stepped foot in this civilization.

As he scoffed privately in disdain, the sect lord of the Heavenly Spirit Sect gave Daoist Lin Hai a full account of what had taken place in the civilization. The latter listened to the full account and then nodded slightly. There was an unfathomable look in his eyes when he turned away and gazed at the Eye of the Eternal Star.

“Does he have any friends or family here? If he doesn’t, we can simply kill him. When this entire fiasco is over, I’ll refine the Eye of the Eternal Star and crush him.”

“Long Nanzi doesn’t seem to have family in the Divine Eye civilization. He has a few friends, but most of them belong to the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect… There’s one thing, though. If we kill this man, the Xie family…” The sect lord of the Heavenly Spirit Sect turned towards Daoist Lin Hai after a moment of hesitation. This was a question he had to ask. It was what a subordinate was meant to do. He had to give his superior a chance to show their wisdom.

“The Xie family’s particular about following the rules. They can’t do anything to us if we are careful and don’t reveal any weaknesses. That right-hand elder of yours was a fool. He deserved to die. Besides… the one who got involved in his death is only a young member of the Xie family. Xie Haiyang’s father has gotten himself into trouble with a powerful man, and his son is running around trying to find someone who knows that man. He doesn’t have time for a lowly little Spirit Immortal realm cultivator,” Daoist Lin Hai said coolly before turning his head towards the young man standing next to him.

“Xing Ling, prepare yourself during this period. The Fallen Star Boat will make its way here soon.”

The young man, Xing Ling, answered immediately in the affirmative and with great deference. The sect lord of the Heavenly Spirit Sect led Daoist Lin Hai to his sect’s camp. The latter stationed himself at the camp, releasing his cultivation and suppressing the Eye of the Eternal Star that Wang Baole was on instantly. The Eternal Star’s radiance faded considerably, and Wang Baole was instantly on his guard.

Time passed steadily. During that time, Wang Baole dared not attempt surveillance on the Heavenly Spirit Sect again. Regardless, he did catch the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s patriarch entering the camp, though he didn’t see the latter leave. He must have been summoned by the Eternal Star realm cultivator and had remained in the Heavenly Spirit Sect’s camp after that.

Tension began to rise across the entire Divine Eye civilization after the arrival of the Eternal Star realm cultivator. The general populace was unused to his arrival and seized by fear. As for Wang Baole, he didn’t escape unscathed. He knew that the Eternal Star realm cultivator had released his cultivation intentionally. His aim was to intimidate, wanting Wang Baole to think twice before acting.

He doesn’t know what I have as my trump card, though! Wang Baole narrowed his eyes as he eyed the Heavenly Spirit Sect’s camp, which was stationed in the distance. He was feeling considerable stress at the moment, but after some analysis, he concluded that his plan was a feasible one.

I don’t believe that he can board the boat as well!

As long as he can’t board the board and I can, he can’t do anything to me even if I kill the prodigy of his civilization and steal the seal right before his eyes! Wang Baole narrowed his eyes. This was a risky venture, but nothing could be gained in this life without taking on some risk.

My true form is in the coffin, and this old man shouldn’t be able to find it. The coffin isn’t any ordinary coffin, after all. This means that even if I lose the fight, I’ll only be short an avatar! Determination appeared in Wang Baole’s eyes after a moment of contemplation. He had made up his mind. He was going to go ahead with his plan and snatch the tiger’s prey straight from its maw!

Another two weeks passed… In that time, the Violet Gold civilization, the Divine Eye civilization, and Wang Baole had prepared themselves fully. Now, they waited only for entry to the Graveyard of Stars to be activated. Beyond the Divine Eye civilization, the spirit boat that Wang Baole had bumped into… had entered the Divine Eye civilization silently!

It didn’t advance further into the civilization and was instead hovering at its borders. The number of prodigies on the boat had increased from the initial three dozen or so to include another dozen. There were now almost fifty passengers on board the boat. The paper ferryman looked up as the boat stopped in the cosmos. It gazed into the direction of the Heavenly Spirit Sect’s camp, raised its right hand, and began gesturing slowly in the same direction. The sound of weeping, a summoning call, began to fill the cosmos…

There were no words, only the sound of weeping in the summoning reverberating across the cosmos. In fact, not everyone could hear this call. The Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s patriarch, who possessed the royal family bloodline, could, and Daoist Lin Hai could. The Heavenly Spirit Sect’s sect lord and everyone else didn’t sense the call at all.

Wang Baole had boarded the boat before. That might be why he was now the third person in the Divine Eye civilization to hear the summoning. With a boost from the Eye of the Eternal Star, he sent his Divine Will sweeping across the cosmos and saw the paper human cutout on the spirit boat!

It’s here! Wang Baole perked up!