A World Worth Protecting

Wang Baole’s pupils contracted as he stared unblinkingly at the firebird. He readied himself to take action at a moment’s notice, body crouched forward like a cheetah ready to take the leap!

A cheetah with a slightly bulging tummy, perhaps… but that didn’t hinder Wang Baole’s movements in the slightest. The slightly chubby tummy might even be a sign of greater flexibility.

Wang Baole focused his concentration and prepared himself. The firebird flew around the millstone, in the opposite direction that it was turning, and smashed into it. A thunderous boom rang out, rippling outwards. The firebird unleashed its full strength with its attack, then disintegrated into dust. The millstone wasn’t damaged. It did, however, stop for a moment when the firebird collided with it!

The millstone stopped turning for a second, its nine handles jerking violently. In the distance, nine towering beasts in nine different directions let loose furious roars.

Everything happened in the single moment when the millstone stopped. Feng Qiuran seemed to be waiting for this moment. She dashed forward and slipped into the gap between the two plates!

Following close behind her were Zhao Yameng and the others. They let loose a sudden burst of speed, approaching the millstone and making their way into the same opening. Mirroring their actions was Wang Baole!

He was extremely swift, stepping into the gap immediately after the rest had exploited the sudden pause in the millstone’s rotation and burrowed their way into the slight opening.

His sudden appearance was quite a shock to some of the cultivators, but they released a sigh of relief upon realizing that it was Wang Baole. Zhao Yameng and Kong Dao were delighted to see him, while Feng Qiuran froze in surprise before nodding at him.

This wasn’t the time for conversation though. They kept their pace as they made their way through the gaps revealed with the plates’ sudden stop.

The stench of blood rushed to meet them, and crushed bones and flesh surrounded them—it was a horrifying sight to behold. Some almost wanted to throw up, but there was no time for disgust. No one wanted to die here, so they shoved down all discomfort and advanced frantically!

They were well aware… that they were traveling between two plates. If they didn’t escape out of the area before the millstone started moving again, they would end up sharing the fates of those skeletons thrown in the millstone—crushed to bits!

Everyone was racing forward madly. Fortunately, even though the millstone was enormous and heavy, the force of the firebird’s collision had been extremely powerful as well. Nobody spared any effort or wasted any time as they ran madly between the plates. They finally dashed out of the danger zone before the millstone started turning again, arriving at the center of the millstone!

The center was hollowed out. Before them was a huge hole that connected the upper and lower plates, and the hole was filled with howling winds.

While a great many of the party had managed to escape from the gap between the two plates, there were a few who were too slow. The millstone started moving before they could get out, and an irresistible suction force yanked them back in, pulling them back between the plates. The rumbling of the turning plates and their screams of pain sent shivers down the surviving cultivators’ spines.

“We’ll make a run for it. This is the only way into the second level. We have to disrupt the sacrificial altar in order to activate a teleportation!” Feng Qiuran had a dark look on her face and was dashing down the hole even as she spoke!

Her cultivation continued to shelter Zhao Yameng, Kong Dao, and her two personal disciples. The rest stayed near her as well as they raced down the hole. As for Wang Baole, he kept close to the other Nascent Soul realm cultivators.

Stress weighed down on everyone’s hearts as they continued running down the hole. If not for their resilience, they would have broken down in tears, having navigated multiple failed attempts at escape without an end in sight.

The hole was like a dark cave, a gaping wide maw that felt suffocating. The continuous turning of the millstone created a suction force that continued to draw them upwards, preventing them from speeding up.

There was also the terrible stench of blood that permeated the hole. They might be cultivators who had nourished their bodies with Spirit Qi and developed extraordinary constitutions, but the stench was simply too much for them. Their heads were beginning to feel dizzy. They wanted to throw up!

Such intense discomfort could be tolerated and overcome, but that was not the end of their struggles. As the group continued their descent, the force emanating from the hole intensified exponentially, boxing them in from all directions. Ten seconds into the descent, an early-stage Core Formation realm cultivator’s face went from a pale white to a ruddy red, then a dark purple. His eyes widened, then rolled up, and his body exploded under the extreme pressure.

Wang Baole’s breathing quickened. He summoned his Flame Snatch Thearch Armor to protect him against the increasing pressure. Together with Chi Lin and a few other cultivators, they tried to aid the other Core Formation realm cultivators in fighting against the growing pressure. There was only so much that they could do. Soon, a second Core Formation realm cultivator perished as his body exploded!

He was followed by the third, then the fourth explosion. Two other Core Formation realm cultivators finally broke down. They howled, terror and despair bright in their eyes, and started ascending instead of descending.

“Come back!” Feng Qiuran shouted frantically after them, but her words were lost to the wind. They seemed to run even faster upwards. They vanished into the distance with the aid of the suction force, disappearing into the other end of the hole.

Two screams of pain pierced through the darkness then. They were followed by a low grinding, as if the two cultivators were being forcefully ground down into pulp. Their screams echoed in the air as a sudden sense of danger surged downwards from the top end of the hole.

Wang Baole thought his soul was about to be ripped apart. There was no time to think. He activated A Thousand Lives on his bracelet!

An overpowering stench of something rotten rushed down through the hole at the exact moment he activated the divine power. It was as if a huge beast was charging through the hole towards them.

Before the creature could approach, Feng Qiuran bit the tip of her tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood. Her hands came together in a flurry of hand seals. The blood she had spat out turned a glaring red and transformed into a vast red-colored net that sealed the hole behind Wang Baole and the other Nascent Soul realm cultivators, preventing the creature’s approach.

A deafening roar rang out. The blood-colored net pulsated brightly. As they descended further, Wang Baole could see a huge, festering palm the size of the hole claw at the net. The net seemed to be holding it back, but it was a temporary measure. It was already fading right before their eyes.

It was going to be ripped apart at any time, and then there was going to be nothing between them and the monstrous hand. It was then that an opening finally appeared at the bottom of the hole. A soft glow emanated from the opening as the group raced madly towards it.

It seemed as if the opening was unwilling to let them leave. It was sealing itself shut. They had but a dozen or so seconds before they were completely sealed in!

Wang Baole’s heart pumped rapidly at the sight of escape. He unleashed a sudden burst of speed. It was then that the blood-colored net collapsed completely. The festering hand seemed to realize that they were about to slip through its fingers. It shook and suddenly sped up, whipping up sudden winds that stank of decay as it caught up with the cultivators and… made a sudden grab for them!

Most of the cultivators managed to dodge the attack, but there were six to seven of them, including a Nascent Soul realm cultivator, who failed to evade the monstrous hand. They were caught and crushed instantly when the hand tightened into a fist!

Wang Baole had been within the monstrous hand’s range as well, but he had bizarrely managed to slip through its fingers. A sudden wind then sent him knocking into the walls of the hole. Blood seeped from Wang Baole’s lips. The devouring seed started churning inside him, pulling him against the wall. He climbed down rapidly and sneaked into a crack in the wall.

The enormous hand began swiping the air madly just as he wormed into the crack. Deafening booms and screams of pain filled the air. Sudden winds rushed past him. It was a long time before silence took over.

Pale and terrified, Wang Baole waited a long while before he finally released a puppet out from the crack to survey the area. The opening had been sealed shut, and its surroundings were tainted with smashed bits of flesh and blood. Wang Baole grew silent.

He had no idea if Feng Qiuran, Zhao Yameng, Kong Dao, and the others had managed to successfully escape through the opening before it had sealed shut. However, he was certain that many had perished during the earlier clash with the monstrous hand.

If not for his divine power, A Thousand Lives, which had allowed him to evade the blows mysteriously and led him to fall inside this crack, there was a great chance that he wouldn’t have survived either.