A World Worth Protecting

The impact of the Mercury tragedy was too great for the entire Federation. It had shocked everyone, and Mars was feeling the same. Countless residents watched the Federation President Duan Muque’s announcement. After which, the Martian Colony Governor also made an announcement on Mars.

Her announcement showed the determination to punish the culprit, as well as a strong and shocking murderous intent. The Martian array formation was activated to the fullest extent to prevent those who had inflicted the tragedy on Mercury from attacking Mars.

At present, Mars was on full and high alert, with the Martian military out in full force. The main Martian city was also under fierce and stringent protection. All of their most powerful cultivators, including the giant tree, were all eyeing the stars and space beyond, on their guard constantly.

This was the same for the new Martian city. The Mercury tragedy had thrown a spanner into the Five Generation Sky Clan’s plans to promote the new city’s status, delaying them. Currently, Wang Baole remained the City Lord of the new city, and his word was still the law.

He might be in seclusion, but that didn’t mean that he was completely divorced from the outside world. The Mercury tragedy was an extremely serious matter. Be it Li Wan’er, Lin Tianhao, Jin Duoming or the others, they all informed him immediately of this incident. There were also many heated discussions going on within the Spirit Intranet.

That was why before the Martian Colony Governor’s orders for the entire planet to go on full alert, Wang Baole had already activated the new city’s array formation to its fullest while still in seclusion. He also informed Kong Dao to heighten the security measures for the new city to the fullest. This was to prevent the tragedy on Mercury from taking place on Mars.

During this period, the Federation had come up with the vaccine for the mysterious virus that could be transmitted through light. There was no need for everyone to receive the vaccination individually. They needed only to infuse the vaccine into the array formation in order to activate the immunization process.

The vaccine had already been delivered to Mars. Both the main city and the new city had infused it into their array formations. In addition, the Martian Anti-Spirit Bomb research facility was in full operation. They had ten Anti-Spirit Bombs ready for take-off at any moment!

At present, the fully prepared Mars could definitely withstand an invasion like the one that had taken Mercury. It might even be able to exterminate the intruders. The possibility was there.

But… all its preparation had been carried out based on the knowledge that the Federation had deduced from the mysterious extraterrestrial civilization’s invasion of Mercury. It was a reactive move. The Federation could only ward against attacks the extraterrestrial civilization had employed before. It would be a challenge to defend themselves against attacks they hadn’t seen before.

At the moment, the black jellyfish remained shielded and hidden by the jade pendant that belonged to the elder that the three cultivators sat within it had spoken of. The black jellyfish was able to approach Mars silently and without discovery.

The Martian array formation didn’t detect it at all. This was a result of the difference in the developmental stage of the civilizations. The Federation appeared to be in the fetal stages of early civilization. Despite possessing strength and power that would terrify some, it still lacked much in various aspects.

However, it had only been a mere four decades since the Federation entered the Spirit Inception Era. To have developed to such an extent within such a brief period of time would be considered a miracle to any civilization!

If the Federation were to be given another sixty years, its civilization would grow to be even more prosperous and developed than it was currently.

There were no ‘ifs’ in this world, however. At the moment, the black jellyfish continued to approach silently. It didn’t repeat its methods on Mercury. It stopped just beyond the Martian array formation, seemingly carrying out a series of calculations. A long while later, a sparkling light started shining from the body of the black jellyfish. Its aura appeared to have transformed, and it seemed to have changed itself to accommodate the Martian array formation. The black jellyfish charged forward in a sudden burst of speed. It shot through the Great Martian Array Formation and appeared in the Martian atmosphere!

Nobody saw the black jellyfish appear, nor did the array formation detect any disturbances. Undiscovered and undetected, the black jellyfish entered Mars…

The three cultivators inside the black jellyfish hadn’t repeated the methods that they had used on Mercury due to prudence. They had also come to the consensus to take extreme caution when they entered Mars. Their priority was to scout the area. They would take whatever they could. If they were unable to do so, they would leave immediately and return to their mother planet, where they would call for their elder.

After the black jellyfish entered Mars, it didn’t proceed to commence a massacre, nor did it stop in its tracks. Its speed increased until its movements resembled instant teleportation. It raced towards the location of the new city… to where the Divine Armament Catacombs were!

It was so quick it exceeded the limits of speed itself. In a time that spanned no more than two hundred breaths, it appeared outside the new city!

The three cultivators inside the jellyfish stared at the new city. Their red pupils contracted, and condescension appeared in their eyes. However, when their eyes shifted downwards towards what rested beneath the new city, the tinge of condescension vanished. It was replaced with excitement and desire.

“I found the entrance!” one of the cultivators soon said. He formed a series of hand seals excitedly. A new image of the new city appeared on the compass before them… there was a tunnel inside that connected directly to the catacombs!

The tunnel was where the main section of the Divine Armament Catacombs was.

“Let’s go!” The centipede-faced cultivator had a gruesome grin on his face. He licked his lips. Just as he was about to speak, the jellyfish rushed forward and dashed into the new city’s array formation, heading straight for the Divine Armament Catacombs!

The place that they were headed now was the exact location where Wang Baole was away in seclusion. In order to reach a breakthrough in cultivation and enter the Core Formation realm, Wang Baole had chosen to dig a secret chamber within the tunnel of the catacombs. He sat inside, in meditation.

The air was heavily infused with Dark Qi, which quickened his cultivation progress. Even though the Mercury tragedy had delayed the promotion of the new Martian city, he knew very well that the Five Generation Sky Clan wouldn’t rest so easily. He predicted that they would raise the matter of promoting the city’s status again after the Mercury incident had passed.

That was why he had to reach the Core Formation realm as soon as possible. In addition, while Wang Baole hadn’t witnessed the Mercury tragedy with his own eyes, he had been able to access certain confidential files due to his rank. He knew that Mercury had lost more than half of its Stellar Source!

The Federation had also obtained a few clues and was quite sure that a Sea Glutton from an extraterrestrial civilization had entered the Solar System. The number of its occupants and their cultivation levels were unknown. However, they guessed that there shouldn’t be too many of them and that their cultivation shouldn’t have reached the level of invincibility. Else, they wouldn’t have chosen the weakest Mercury as their target.

Regardless, the incident made Wang Baole realize the importance of one’s cultivation. It made him realize that what he had taken for granted as peace had never existed in the first place. Since the arrival of the ancient green-bronze sword, peace had departed this part of the universe.

While in seclusion, Wang Baole had taken the time out to watch the Federation President Duan Muque’s speech. He was silent throughout the entire event. He had mixed feelings. At the same time, he also agreed with something Duan Muque had said.

“Our weakness is our sin!”

Those words repeatedly echoed in Wang Baole’s mind. His determination to train harder grew. His entire mind and soul were immersed in training currently as he tried his best to achieve a breakthrough from his current perfected Foundation Establishment realm.

His cultivation spread like tsunami waves inside him. Wang Baole, who was attempting to strive for the Core Formation realm, suddenly shuddered. He could feel some form of presence entering and passing through his Great Baole Array Formation momentarily!

It was akin to the sudden chilly breeze blowing past one’s body in the middle of an extremely heated summer’s day. Wang Baole shuddered and opened his eyes.

As soon as he opened his eyes, suddenly, inside the Divine Armament Catacombs, the large silhouette of a black jellyfish seemed to appear out of nowhere!

The size of the jellyfish was immense. It blanketed more than half of the entire area when it appeared. Wang Baole’s mind immediately went blank, and alarm flashed across his face. He was about to retreat, but before he could do anything, an overpowering consciousness swept over and enveloped Wang Baole. He froze. He was unable to move a single inch. The consciousness went through Wang Baole and conducted a thorough scan of his body.

“Hmmph!”

“This is… is this a green lotus? My god, how could there be a green lotus inside this barbarian?”

“It’s a pity we can’t tell the grade of the green lotus. Besides, it’s already fully fused with this barbarian. But it’s definitely a rarity. We could capture him alive and sell him to the Never-Ending Clan, who loves collecting rare items. He’ll definitely fetch a good price!”

The excited voice rang out beside Wang Baole’s ear as three Nascent Soul realm cultivators stepped out from the black jellyfish. They seemed overjoyed. As they stepped out, the cultivator with the centipede on his face formed a series of hand seals with his right hand. The black jellyfish shrank immediately and was stored away. The three cultivators stared at Wang Baole, their eyes shining with surprise and pleasure.

Wang Baole couldn’t budge. It was as if his breathing had paused as well, but his mind remained alert. A sudden sense of impending doom, and danger, which surpassed all such feelings he had ever felt before, erupted within his heart!

The intensity of this feeling came from the overpowering aura of the three cultivators covered in armor of fine scales. The power of their presence surpassed that of all cultivators Wang Baole had ever met. Even Duan Muque couldn’t compare!

They are… There was a loud buzzing inside Wang Baole. His mind was swept away by strong, towering waves.

Nascent Souls!