A World Worth Protecting

Wang Baole might be able to hold his own against a Soul Conduit realm cultivator at the early- and mid-stages after a series of boosts from his artifacts and mystic arts, but when it came to a Soul Conduit realm cultivator with a mastery over late-stage Soul Conduit realm level mystic techniques, the challenges he would face in battle would be tremendous. A single misstep would result in grievous injury, much like his past fight against Daoist You Ran.

With his late-stage Nascent Soul realm cultivation, even after multiple augmentations from his various artifacts and techniques, the power he could display would only reach the late-stage Soul Conduit realm. Besides, there were limits to what his Thearch Armor was capable of. His Stellar Nascent Soul was bound by even more rules, and his Demonic Eye Art had its own set of dangers. The price he had to pay for such boosts were considerable.

There were ways for him to become even more powerful with his current level of cultivation. He could either unleash the power of his scabbard, or he could rely on the unique feature of his Stellar Nascent Soul and find a planet that could provide him an endless and increasing source of power.

The former was an impossible feat for him currently. As for the latter, there was no planet in sight.

The current attack from the Never-Ending Clan battleship was of a power that surpassed that of a late-stage Soul Conduit realm cultivator. Instead, it was the power of a perfected Soul Conduit realm cultivator and matched the power of a cultivator at the true Spirit Immortal realm. The extent of that power made Wang Baole tremble.

Every muscle and nerve in his body was screaming. They were telling Wang Baole that he had to escape, that he had to run immediately. All of his senses were screaming danger at him. The alarm was like waves of danger rushing at him, a tsunami that threatened to pull him under.

I would lose psychologically if I retreat. That would be the end of me! Madness colored Wang Baole’s eyes. He stared unblinkingly at the approaching gigantic black hand, a massive form that blocked a great part of space, and sent a quick voice transmission to Feng Qiuran, who was on her way to help him. Feng Qiuran paused in her tracks when she heard what he had to say. It was then that the gigantic black hand swooped at him with its overpowering aura and made a grab for him.

Its aura rushed at him before the physical hand arrived. It seemed to contain the power to erode and burn everything away. Wang Baole’s robes withered away, and the Thearch Armor showed signs of dissolution.

Wang Baole stood his ground against the waves of spirit energy rushing at him. His eyes reddened as his hands came together in a flurry of hand seals then flung outwards at the approaching gigantic hand.

“Demonic eyes, explode!”

The howl that emerged from Wang Baole was tinged with grim determination, madness, as well as brutality. Tens of thousands of black eyes filling the heavens behind him, alongside his own demonic eye, went from shut to open in an instant!

The concrete gaze that shone from these thousands of eyes rippled across the cosmos, holding the approaching gigantic black hand in a momentary grip!

Unfortunately, the levels of cultivation separating Wang Baole and Daoist You Ran were too many. The gigantic black hand wrestled itself free from the Medusa-like gaze instantly and continued its approach!

The collective attack was not without its effects. By the time that the gigantic hand had freed itself, the tens of thousands of black eyes behind Wang Baole had disappeared and reappeared before him. They blew up simultaneously, the destruction transforming into a black hurricane that was the embodiment of destruction and evil. It howled and collided into the gigantic black hand.

The thunderous howl that resonated in space seemed to overwhelm the cosmic laws themselves as its echoes traveled outward, farther into space. The demonic eyes smashed into the gigantic hand, exploded, and created shock waves that collided with the gigantic hand repeatedly. The gigantic black hand was flooded with repeated waves of spirit energy. It shuddered under the endless attacks, growing more indistinct with each blow.

The waves of spirit energy that resulted from their collision smashed into the Dao Palace cultivators in the vicinity. Many had barely enjoyed a moment of delight at the black hand’s appearance before they were swept away from the residual shock waves in the next instant, their bodies torn apart and their spirits crushed.

Wang Baole cared nothing for their deaths, however. His hands flew into a series of hand seals as he wielded the power of his Thearch Armor and allowed it to fuel the Flame Snatch without stopping. He had observed the extraordinary power displayed by his demonic eyes. Regardless, there weren’t enough of them. They continued to explode and flood the gigantic hand with the destructive force of their explosions. The gigantic hand’s form gradually grew indistinct. Its size had shrunk. Regardless, its core remained.

When the last of the demonic eyes finally disappeared, the gigantic black hand—now half its original size—continued its charge towards Wang Baole, its palm outstretched!

It was swift and exuded the murderous intent of Daoist You Ran. It approached and was about to make a grab for Wang Baole. It was then that the madness in Wang Baole’s eyes brightened. His hair whipped in the stillness of space as Wang Baole howled like a demonic god and unleashed the full power of the Thearch Armor!

An incredible, overwhelming force erupted from Wang Baole’s person, from his mass of meridians and his Thearch Armor, and from his Divine Armament arm, which was raised and sweeping towards the gigantic black hand in a violent slash.

As the blade fell, the Stellar Nascent Soul inside Wang Baole’s body opened its eyes. Starlight glittered within, and a star appeared to also be spinning inside the Stellar Nascent Soul. It unleashed its full power, becoming a relentless engine that was giving its all to fuel Wang Baole in this battle!

The gigantic black hand and Wang Baole clashed in a cacophony of thunderous booms. The black hand stilled, momentarily held back by Wang Baole. Its five fingers continued to close in though, trapping Wang Baole within its palm that abruptly tightened into a fist…

It was an incomplete fist. Wang Baole stood in the center like a stubborn rock. No matter how much force the gigantic hand exerted, it couldn’t crush him.

The slash from Wang Baole’s Divine Armament had landed true, the damage it created further weakening the gigantic hand. The latter’s form gradually blurred, growing increasingly indistinct. Regardless, it would take some time before the Divine Armament could fully pierce through the palm.

It seemed like a stalemate had been reached. Wang Baole’s red face said otherwise. The sensation of being grabbed by the gigantic hand had been akin to being slammed into by a speeding cruiser. His organs were spasming, and there was a loud buzzing in his ears that was drowning out everything else.

The power that the gigantic hand was exerting on him seemed capable of crushing everything. His life wasn’t going to be snuffed out like a flame. He was going to be crushed to bits and then buried alive!

His Thearch Armor was creaking under the gigantic hand’s pressure. It seemed on the verge of giving out. The stores of blood and flesh that had been accumulated by the Flame Snatch were being channeled to the armor’s continuous repair. Regardless, cracks continued to appear, lining the armor. His Stellar Nascent Soul was trembling, as if forced to its limits.

The fight wasn’t going to boil down to strength or power, it was going to boil down to resilience. The person to outlast the other would emerge the winner!

As the two continued their fight to the death, Feng Qiuran stood a distance away. Her face was pale, and anxiety shone brightly in her eyes. She didn’t join the battle immediately but was instead biding her time and awaiting the right opportunity. She knew that if she were to join the fight now, whatever aid she could provide Wang Baole against the gigantic black hand would be minimal. She knew what she had to do. If Wang Baole won the fight, she would protect him as both of them escaped the battlefield. If he lost, she was to rescue him in the nick of time!

That was the contingency plan that Wang Baole had shared during his voice transmission!

Moments trickled by. The gigantic black hand continued to tighten itself into a fist. It seemed to be gradually gaining the upper hand. Wang Baole appeared to be losing the fight against the increasing pressure. The Thearch Armor began to creak loudly. The surrounding Dao Palace cultivators grew alert and tense, whereas Feng Qiuran was wrecked by anxiety. She could no longer wait by the sidelines. She was prepared to rush forward and help Wang Baole. To hell with the consequences.

Then, something that resembled the sound of the universe ripping itself apart came screaming from distant space. It materialized into countless waves of energy that rippled outward. In an instant, a vast fleet of Federation battleships appeared in the wake of the energy ripples. They had made use of the Solar System Array Formation, teleporting through the abyss, leaping through space, and arriving at the battlefield!

Layers of array formations flared up and gathered upon their landing. The light of spells swept outwards like a furious flood and rained down on the battlefield like a relentless storm. Alarm flashed across the Dao Palace cultivators’ faces as they hurriedly evaded the attacks and mounted a hasty defense. A voice, augmented spiritually, boomed from within the Federation battleships and thundered across space.

“Do not fear, Qiuran. I’m here to save you!”

More than a hundred large spheres of light flared up inside the Federation battleships as soon as Li Xingwen’s voice rang out. Inside each sphere of light was a strange crystalline stone that emanated incredible power!

Another ten spheres of red light flared into being, capturing the attention of everyone on the battlefield!

These stones… were the Federation’s trump card—the Anti-Spirit Bomb. The blue-colored bombs rivaled a Nascent Soul realm cultivator’s power, while the red-colored bombs were a recent upgrade. Due to certain restrictions, the latter couldn’t be manufactured on a large scale. Regardless, any of the second-generation Anti-Spirit Bombs was more powerful than a Nascent Soul realm cultivator. Its power could match a Soul Conduit realm cultivator!

There were fewer of these second-generation Anti-Spirit Bombs. Only those with the highest access rights could deploy them. Li Xingwen had brought nearly half of all existing second-generation bombs with him. He had seen the danger Wang Baole had been in and deployed all of them without hesitation.

The hundred spheres of light rushed towards the gigantic black hand instantly, approaching and blasting the latter with relentless force!

The gigantic black hand was a force to be reckoned with. Regardless, it had been weakened earlier by Wang Baole’s demonic eyes and his subsequent attacks at full force. It was to the point where its materialized form was blurring and growing indistinct. Trapped in a corner, it was unable to avoid the Anti-Spirit Bombs. It suffered a frontal assault from the hundred bombs. The blue-colored bombs were still manageable, but the combined explosion of the red-colored bombs managed to reach the hand’s core!

Feng Qiuran’s eyes flashed as she spotted an opportunity to attack. She unleashed her artifacts and her mystic techniques relentlessly. The attacks from the outside helped ease the pressure on Wang Baole. The tide gradually turned to his favor.

“Now!” An exhausted Wang Baole roared. The near-withered Stellar Nascent Soul inside him suddenly opened its eyes. It released the last of its energy, which darted into Wang Baole’s Divine Armament. Wang Baole was transformed into a shooting star, the Divine Armament the tip of his blade as he surged forward in a sudden charge!

He rushed forward with the force of floodwater bursting a dam open. The gigantic black hand could no longer hold its form. It shuddered, then began to break apart. Wang Baole’s Divine Armament pierced clean through the back of the hand, resulting in the hand’s explosion!

Violent shock waves surged outwards with the force of a tsunami. Wang Baole darted out from the disintegrating black hand, freed at last!