A World Worth Protecting

by Stayrr

By the year 3029 CE, Earth’s technology has developed rapidly, borders no longer exist, and Earth has been unified, marking the beginning of the era of the Federation. At that time, a huge sword flew from the heavens, piercing the sun and causing a huge sensation on Earth. Perhaps because the scabbard of the sword was already in tatters, countless shards have broken off from it f

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Chapter 437: The Records Were All Lying!

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The Federation had a strict and rigid classification system for its cities. The eighteen cities on Earth were all classified as special regions administratively. Only the capital city on Earth and the main Martian Colony City were considered main cities.

A class below the special regions were countless other identical cities. They were generally affiliated and reported to special regions. These cities were of the same class as Wang Baole's new city.

Once a new city was promoted to a special region though, it was completely transformed. It was the difference between heaven and earth. After all, the Federation had only eighteen special regions as of now, and all were on Earth.

The implications of promoting Wang Baole's city to a special region were vast. The Martian Colony Governor would definitely support this push as this was a good thing for Mars.

However, while this might not destroy his career, it would be a waste of all the effort that Wang Baole had put into the city. Even if he wasn't kicked off of Mars, he would be relegated to a secondary deputy position. His experience and cultivation were insufficient for him to become the City Lord of a special regional city.

Because… according to the laws of the Federation, only a Secondary Rank Two Noble could become the City Lord of a special regional city. In addition, such a city lord might receive an invitation to join the Senate and become one of the senators!

This was a complete transformation of one's status and class. The Federation laws had strict requirements for a Secondary Rank Two Noble. They were set in stone and couldn't be changed. Even if one had made an extraordinary contribution to the Federation, the best he could hope for was a Primary Rank Three Noble. To become a Secondary Rank Two Noble, one needed to have a Core Formation realm cultivation!

That was an essential requirement!

Wang Baole was only at the perfected Foundation Establishment realm. If they managed to implement this plan soon enough, before Wang Baole reached the Core Formation realm, based on the laws of the Federation, the Federation would have to appoint a Core Formation realm cultivator to become the City Lord. Wang Baole might not be transferred away, but he would be demoted to a deputy city lord position—it would be unavoidable.

When that time came, he would be the deputy city lord. He might rank above Li Wan'er, but that would only be in name and only by a slight margin. This wasn't only a demotion, but was more damaging than an actual demotion!

Even if everyone knew what was going on, there was nothing they could do about it. Even if Wang Baole knew about this, there was nothing he could do about it either. On the surface, this had nothing to do with Wang Baole. It was an initiative promoting the development of the new city. They were volunteering their resources and contributing to the Federation and to Mars.

Once this plan began to unfold, even the Federation President and the Martian Colony Governor would find it difficult to reject the proposal. This… was what an open conspiracy looked like!

The old foxes in the Five Generation Sky Clan were skilled at such ploys. They knew that while the various political forces were friendly with Wang Baole currently, they wouldn't object to any plans pushing for the new city to become a special region. They would simply stand at the sidelines. To not help would be a show of consent.

After all… with the promotion of the new city to a special region, it would mean a new round of competition and renegotiation of profit and power for the various political forces. There was much to be gained for everyone.

Even if the Five Generation Sky Clan should fail in their endeavor, the others wouldn't suffer any losses. This plan began to unfold like a hurricane. It gradually gained traction, and news began to spread on Earth and within the main Martian city.

They talked about the important role the new city played to Mars and to the Federation. They didn't remove Wang Baole from the conversation, but he was mentioned only briefly. The focus was placed on the leadership of the new city and their accomplishments.

Such discussions spread like wildfire in the Federation. Within the new city, Li Wan'er and the others could all sense the malicious intentions brewing in this open conspiracy!

Despite their anxiety, they were unable to reach Wang Baole. It was because Wang Baole was presently in seclusion with his mind wandering. He was trying to guide the will of a god to him, and trying to refine his first seventh-grade Dharmic Armament.

He had attempted this mental wandering repeatedly, but all his efforts at guiding the god's will had failed. However, he had grown familiar with the entire process. Besides, he had already set his sights on the god of a particular fire tiger and was prepared to guide it towards him.

To ensure his success, Wang Baole had read up on a lot of materials. He understood that this guidance involved a lot of baiting and temptation. He had to identify what the god liked.

After many tries, he finally discovered the fire tiger's preferences. This fellow… was a perverted tiger. It liked the spirits of female tigers… Wang Baole had made multiple attempts and read up intensively before he had been able to identify it in the legends and find the answer to his question. Prior to seclusion, he got Lin Tianhao to prepare vast quantities of monster spirits.

Even though these monster spirits weren't suited to become Artifact Spirits, and they only possessed True Breath realm cultivation, the sheer number of them meant they cost quite a bit as well. However, in order to successfully lure the fire tiger, Wang Baole could care less about the money spent.

This time, I'm going to succeed! Wang Baole set his mind wandering. He had with him great quantities of monster spirits. In this illusory, indistinct space between heaven and earth, he easily found the will of the fire tiger. He eyed it from afar. It was like a tiny sun in this blurry space between the heavens and earth. It was wandering within a specific, fixed area.

Its majestic appearance and overpowering aura excited Wang Baole. He didn't approach though. He quickly flung out the monster spirit of a female tiger. As soon as the monster spirit appeared, the wandering fire tiger immediately turned its head. Its body instantly vanished, and it appeared beside the monster spirit and swallowed it in a single mouthful!

Wang Baole grew merry when he saw how effective his tactic had been. He took a few hasty steps back and threw out another monster spirit, his heart brimming with anticipation.

Come on, my precious!

Under Wang Baole's hopeful eyes, the fire tiger lunged again. It swallowed the second monster spirit and was just about to leave. But Wang Baole had already taken another few steps back and had thrown the third monster spirit out.

He continued to step back while throwing out monster spirits. The fire tiger was rather silly as well. It continued to be lured forward. It swallowed monster spirit after monster spirit, following Wang Baole as the latter fell back and traveling a long distance with Wang Baole. They weren't far from where Wang Baole had gone into seclusion.

Within the room where he had secluded himself, the megaphone that he had made was already in place. It lacked only the spirit of the fire tiger.

This is too easy. I'll be able to refine a seventh-grade Dharmic Armament today! Wang Baole said excitedly. He threw out another monster spirit. He moved and was about to withdraw from his state of mental wandering back into his body. He intended to draw the fire tiger's attention to the Artifact Spirit inside his Dharmic Armament and guide it towards the Dharmic Armament.

It was then that fire tiger swallowed the last monster spirit Wang Baole had thrown at it and paused in its steps. Its listless eyes revealed a tinge of self-satisfaction and mockery for the first time. It shifted and stopped following Wang Baole. Instead, the fire tiger turned and went away.

Wang Baole's eyes almost popped out at the sight, and he panicked.

What's going on? This is different from what the books said. I thought the spirits only possessed animal instincts. How is it capable of mocking me? I… I've been deceived by the remnant of a spirit that died eons ago?

It's… it's eaten so many of my spirits! Wang Baole's eyes widened. He immediately got angry. He ached at his loss and became furious at the insult to his intelligence. In his rage, he hollered.

"Come right back!" Wang Baole was still in the fugue state. In his anger, he cast aside the prudence and care he had possessed in his previous sessions. This was the first time he had shown anger while in the fugue state. As soon as his anger erupted, three Dark Fires instantly formed inside his illusory body. It was as if his words held power!

The Dark Fires were clearly inside his physical body. However, he could see them appear while in his fugue state. They appeared and erupted into being, turning this indistinct, illusory world chilly all of a sudden. The mocking tiger suddenly shuddered as shock and fear appeared in its eyes. It wanted to retreat, but it was too late. The three Dark Fires flew out and overpowered it.

Overpowered, the will of the fire tiger roared but to no avail. Its body shuddered, and it was unable to fight back. The sight stunned Wang Baole.

You mean that works too? Emotions surged inside Wang Baole. He tried to exert control over the Dark Fires, and the flames instantly grew stronger. The fire tiger cried out. It was about to be flattened under the Dark Fires.

Wang Baole's spirits soared. He puffed his chest out, pointed at the will of the fire tiger, and said coolly.

"I wanted to coexist peacefully with you, without creating a scene. But since things have turned out this way, I'm not going to keep my head down any longer. Either you quickly enter my Dharmic Artifact of your own accord, or I destroy you!" Wang Baole yelled. The fire tiger trembled. Powerless, its eyes shone with resentment and fear. It seemed to realize that it couldn't escape. After a moment, it stirred and transformed into a glowing flame, shooting into the seventh-grade Dharmic Armament megaphone that was resting in the location of Wang Baole's seclusion. It fused with the Artifact Spirit and permeated the entire megaphone!

The megaphone seemed to go up in flames instead. It turned red as vast quantities of inscriptions appeared on it. The inscriptions were immensely complex, and both the inside and outside of the megaphone transformed in that instant. Soon, the immense power that belonged to a seventh-grade Dharmic Armament erupted from within this Dharmic Armament. As it erupted, a fearsome red tiger appeared outside the megaphone. It lifted its head skywards and roared. Its majestic appearance was stunning!

The records lied. There's no need to lure them. The best way is to simply overpower them! Wang Baole ended his fugue state excitedly. He returned to his body and opened his eyes. He stared at the red megaphone before him, able to feel a power within it that surpassed his self-destructed saber. He couldn't control the pleased laughter that burst out from him.

I'm indeed a child of Lady Fortune!

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Chapter 438: An Invasion!

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

After realizing that he must be the son of Lady Fortune, Wang Baole ended his seclusion in a merry mood. He took his seventh-grade Dharmic Armament megaphone and was about to find a place to test its power. He wanted to take this chance to let the world know that he had become a Dharmic Armament master.

However, as soon as he ended his seclusion, before he had even stepped out from his secret chamber, he turned on his voice transmission ring and received a flood of messages.

There were too many incoming pieces of news and messages. Wang Baole couldn't afford disturbances during his fugue state, so he had turned off his voice transmission ring. But he remained connected via the new city's array formation. If something were to happen, the array formation would alert him immediately, and he would end his seclusion prematurely.

At present, upon seeing the messages, Wang Baole was stunned. He lowered his head and started reading them. Color gradually fled his face. Then it turned red. Finally, at the end, Wang Baole lifted his head and roared.

That's just too much! Wang Baole flew into a rage. The good mood that he had been in had vanished completely. He had received news from Lin Tianhao, from Kong Dao, and Li Wan'er and the others. Liu Daobin as well as plenty of people from the four Dao Colleges had also sent everything they had heard and subsequently found out regarding the special region to Wang Baole.

Li Wan'er informed Wang Baole specifically about the Secondary Rank Two Noble requirement. There was no need for her to explicitly say what would happen once the proposal was approved and the new city was promoted to a special region. Wang Baole knew what would happen when he read the messages!

They couldn't get to me with their devious ploys, so they've decided to try something new and do this to steal my accomplishments from me! Wang Baole heaved. He knew that once the new city became a special region, the fact that he wasn't a Core Formation realm cultivator meant that even if he remained in the city, he would be re-appointed as a deputy.

He had personally built this new city. To be demoted from a city lord to a deputy position was something Wang Baole found completely unacceptable! But the other party had openly conspired against him, rendering Wang Baole defenseless. He couldn't think of a way to resolve this. In his panic, he immediately contacted the Martian Colony Governor.

Even the Martian Colony Governor found this a headache. After all, the promotion of the new city to a special region would mean a great deal to Mars. From her perspective, this was incredibly advantageous to Mars.

Besides, regardless of who took over the office of city lord, he or she would still have to respect her authority. Nothing would change. Only Wang Baole would feel miserable. The Governor told Wang Baole not to listen to the gossip spreading around outside. Before she hung up though, she still tactfully shared her views on this manner.

"Due to certain special circumstances, there is a need to set up a special external department for the Anti-Spirit research facility on the Martian Colony City. It would test the results and findings from the research facility. The head of this department has to be a Primary Rank Three Noble."

Her words chilled Wang Baole's heart. Even though the Governor didn't openly state her stance on this matter, her attitude had been clear, and she had given all the advice she had. She was trying to tell Wang Baole that it was likely that the plan would be put through, and that she had already prepared a backup plan for Wang Baole.

It was a good backup plan, but Wang Baole was unwilling to let all his efforts go towards another person's glory. The Divine Armament Catacombs also played a pivotal role in his cultivation. Regardless, he wasn't going to hand over his office willingly.

After ending his communication with the Governor, Wang Baole thought hard about it and contacted the Sect Lord of the Ethereal Dao College. Wang Baole thought himself a member of the Ethereal Dao College, so he wasn't as tactful as he had been with the Governor. He spoke immediately and with great anxiety.

"Help me, Sect Lord!"

Upon receiving the voice transmission, the Sect Lord of the Ethereal Dao College sighed. He knew why Wang Baole had contacted him. However, the four Dao Colleges were divided into factions regarding this matter. The conspiracy that the Five Generation Sky Clan had set was done so openly and brazenly that it was difficult to address and resolve it.

"Baole, about this matter… you should be prepared. Based on what I've heard… there's a high chance that the Federation will approve this…" The Sect Lord was silent for a moment before he sighed.

When Wang Baole heard that, his partially despairing heart turned completely cold. He was drowning in despair and helplessness and felt a strong sense of resentment. He was unwilling to just let this go.

"Isn't there any other way?"

"There is!" the Sect Lord suddenly said.

"If you can achieve a breakthrough soon and reach the Core Formation realm, this matter wouldn't only not be a misfortune but would turn out to be a golden opportunity!

"If you reach the Core Formation realm, the Five Generation Sky Clan would be handing you a golden opportunity on a golden platter. They would have wasted their own resources and bargaining chips to push you to a Secondary Rank Two Noble. You would hold greater power than you have had before and would stand at the top of the power pyramid in the Federation!

"This is the only way! I will utilize all my resources and call on all my favors to delay this and give you as much time as possible, but three months is my limit. If you can reach the Core Formation realm within these three months, this will turn into an opportunity for you!"

The Sect Lord's voice was firm and filled with determination. He had analyzed the situation clearly and in detail for Wang Baole, but what Wang Baole needed to do first was reach the Core Formation realm!

They ended the conversation. Wang Baole sat cross-legged inside his secret chamber. His eyes had turned red. The stress was simply too immense. He knew that the approval to turn the city into a special region could arrive at any moment. He didn't have much time left. Once the approval arrived, if he wasn't at the Core Formation realm then, he would have to face a situation he was most unwilling to see.

It's just forming a Core. I'll fight it out with them! Wang Baole thought very hard about it and finally decided to wing it. He roared.

"Five Generation Sky Clan, you just wait. I'm going to enter seclusion. Once I am out, I swear… I'm going to reach the Core Formation realm!" Wang Baole got to his feet in a flurry. He knew the only way to achieve a breakthrough in cultivation was to enter the catacombs and train at the outer edge.

It was only within the catacombs that the Dark Qi was sufficiently thick enough. Alongside the Dark Qi absorbed by the array formation, he would be able to achieve astonishing progress in his training and cultivation. Staying within his own residence wouldn't be sufficient by any measure.

However, the former option had an element of danger to it. There were the dangers within the catacombs itself. Even though he was only going to be at its outer edge, he might still encounter Beast Tides. Another danger was in the extensive absorption of Dark Qi. There might be hidden risks in doing so. Wang Baole wasn't certain what might happen. That was why he had always only relied partially on Dark Qi in the past when he trained. He had placed safety as his top priority.

In other situations, safety should be the top priority. However, Wang Baole no longer had the luxury of time. He took a few hasty breaths, and his eyes shone with determination. He stood and with a single step, left his residence. He raced towards the original Divine Armament Catacombs that had been sealed in the center of the region during the earliest stages of building the new city zone!

The central Divine Armament Catacombs had long been sealed and was under Kong Dao's charge now. On his way there, Wang Baole contacted Kong Dao and informed the latter that he was entering the catacombs.

Kong Dao was initially hesitant. He was concerned about security. However, at Wang Baole's insistence, he activated the entrance to the catacombs. At the same time, he also wanted to arrange for escorts to accompany and protect Wang Baole, but the offer was turned down by Wang Baole.

His cultivation must remain a secret from others. Besides, Wang Baole was quite confident of himself when he decided to train in the catacombs. Firstly, he wasn't going to venture too deep. Secondly, he was the new city's City Lord, meaning he had certain access over the seals and over the array formation. Even if he encountered a Beast Tide, he would still have the power to fight back.

Besides, every other time he had come here, there had been outsiders present. Wang Baole hadn't been able to utilize his Dark Fire. But his intuition told him, that with the Dark Fire… that perhaps he might not meet any danger that he wouldn't be able to resolve.

Wang Baole didn't merely disallow anyone from following him into the catacombs, after he had reached the outer edges, he controlled the array formation and obscured all viewing and recording devices inside. As a result, no one outside would be able to observe what was going on inside.

After that, Wang Baole took a deep breath. With a single leap, he jumped into the catacombs and started his search for an ideal spot for seclusion!

At the exact moment that Wang Baole entered the catacombs, in the starry heavens, a giant black jellyfish was silently approaching the Solar System… It didn't enter immediately but hover outside. Its body quickly turned vaguely transparent, revealing three cultivators suited up in scaly armor inside it. They sat cross-legged in the jellyfish, their eyes shining with a strange light. They stared straight through the jellyfish at the distant Solar System.

"There are indeed signs of civilization here…"

"We're here, but they have yet to discover our presence. I believe this is only a lowly civilization!"

"It doesn't matter whether it's a lowly civilization or not. We should still check if there are any dangers!" The cultivator with a centipede on his face heard what his comrades had said. He held down the rising greed within him and carefully took out a crystal compass. He formed a series of hand seals, and the compass began to give off a dazzling light.

As the light sparkled, an illusory, three-dimensional map began to appear above the compass. It mapped out the Solar System, including the sun and all its planets!

On it showed clearly Earth, Mars, and the moon!

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Chapter 439: The Mercury Crisis!

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

However… within this three-dimensional map, the Earth wasn't blue in color but yellow!

The moon was green!

Mars was yellow in color as well. The other stars were all various shades of green and blue. Only… the Sun and Pluto, which wasn't one of the eight major planets, had unexpected colors.

Pluto was orange!

The Sun was red!

As the colors appeared, the sight instantly shocked the three excited and greedy men inside the black jellyfish. They widened their eyes, which were colored with incredulity and disbelief, before gasping and falling silent.

A long moment later, one of them finally gasped while breathing heavily and quickly.

"What's going on here? Why is it red? My god, red represents an Eternal Star realm…"

"You're wrong. The color red doesn't represent an Eternal Star realm. It simply… suggests the presence of an Eternal Star realm. As for whether the legendary Star realms truly do exist, that is beyond what our instruments can detect." The cultivator with a centipede on his face had doubt in his eyes as well. He spoke slowly, then stared at Pluto.

"Red, orange, yellow, cyan, green, blue, purple… red represents at least the Eternal Star realm. Orange represents the Planet realm, yellow the greater Full Spirit Immortal realm, green the Nascent Soul realm… seems like we've either underestimated this civilization, or there's some great secret hidden here!"

The three stared at one another. Their earlier greed had vanished almost completely. With their capabilities, they might be able to lord over some lowly civilizations, but in the face of this bizarre Solar System, even they felt fearful.

This was simply too bizarre. Based on their combined experiences, they had never heard of such a civilization existing in this part of the universe. This defied all logic. This was because a civilization with an Eternal Star realm should gain relative fame throughout the entire universe.

Secondly… if there really was an Eternal Star realm, even if it were a Planet realm, they wouldn't have been able to approach. They would have been expelled and pushed away a long time ago when they had still been a far distance away. If they had come as close as they had now, they should have been destroyed.

But now, they appeared to be safe. They narrowed their eyes. They seemed deep in thought. It was then that the centipede-faced cultivator suddenly formed a series of hand seals. He pointed at the compass again. The light from the compass shone and dazzled once more.

It seemed to be conducting a more thorough search. The image that was displayed on the compass showed a clearer image of the Sun. It revealed the huge sword stuck on the Sun. It was this sword that was giving off the red light!

"This object!"

"This doesn't belong to this civilization. This is just too terrifying. To think that there is actually a treasure of the Universe realm here!"

"I finally understand why the cultivation realm in this civilization appears relatively primitive yet bizarre!" When they saw the giant sword, they all gasped. No greed stirred within them for the giant sword though. They knew that even if the ancient elders of the Planet realm were here, they too wouldn't dare to cause trouble in the face of this giant sword.

Every treasure of the Universe realm had its own will and spirit. Without its express permission, no one may enter!

They began to twitch. They hastily examined Pluto again. Their eyes widened with that second look. They seemed to have discovered within Pluto, another sun.

The energies exuding from the sun sent them gasping. They dared not continue to look at it.

"It's too dangerous. This place is too dangerous!"

"How do the cultivators here survive? If this had happened in our civilization, it would have collapsed long ago! All these are just disasters waiting to happen!"

The three of them continued to tremble in fear. They looked at the other planets. The energies pulsating subtly on Earth didn't seem as horrifying as that of Pluto, but that made them hesitant as well. The moon was the same. Even Mars was similar. The remaining planets seemed ordinary. Mercury, especially… seemed extraordinarily vulnerable.

They were torn and fell silent. The three of them looked at one another, and the centipede-faced cultivator gritted his teeth.

"I suspect that this place is so peaceful because there are a few extremely terrifying and awesome powers that are in slumber… did you notice the Stellar Source here is slightly different from those that we've encountered before…"

"I think… we should enter this place, quickly dig out the Stellar Source as soon as possible, then leave. With our grand elder's jade pendant, we should be able to conceal our presence. As long as we're quick, we should have a high chance of succeeding!" The centipede-faced cultivator pointed at Mercury and said in a hushed tone.

The other two hesitated for a moment before gritting their teeth and nodding. They continued to plan and play out what would happen. There was no hesitation as they steered the black jellyfish and dashed towards the Solar System.

As they traveled, the jellyfish began to turn invisible. Finally, it seemed to have merged with space itself. It was invisible to the naked eye. In fact, without a certain level of cultivation, one wouldn't be able to sense it even if he tried to.

The black jellyfish approached the Solar System steadily… it passed the starry skies and entered the realm of the Solar System. Once it entered, the jellyfish stopped. It seemed to be observing and waiting.

After half an hour, it realized that no one within the Solar System had discovered and reacted to their presence, and they grew confident in their judgment. Despite the fear racing in their hearts, they couldn't control their rising greed. The two emotions intermingled and formed a certain excitement they hadn't felt for many years. Viciousness and violence appeared on their faces. They steered the black jellyfish and headed straight for Mercury!

Even though Mercury was but a few steps away from the Sun, they continued to inspect the surroundings while racing towards it. They were prepared to react to any possible scenarios. Things might have gone too smoothly however. When the black jellyfish reached the outskirts of Mercury, and as they realized that the civilization in this Solar System hadn't reacted to their presence, they grew bolder.

"Attack!" Outside Mercury, the centipede-faced cultivator spoke solemnly. The black jellyfish immediately showed itself and spat a beam of light at Mercury. As soon as the light appeared, it blanketed the entire planet. The black jellyfish moved and entered Mercury's outer atmosphere, landing on its surface!

Mercury was one of the eight major planets in the Solar System. The Federation had colonized it in the past, but after they had entered the Spirit Inception Era, the Federation had placed a greater importance on Mars instead. That was why the setup on Mercury remained sparse and minimal.

There wasn't even a colony city on this planet. Due to Mercury's proximity to the Sun, the Federation had marked Mercury as a stepping stone in their series of plans to land on the ancient green-bronze sword!

The colonization on Mercury had kicked off due to those plans. However, they still had quite a long way to go. The colonization of Mercury had only begun and was halfway to completion. Despite that, hundreds of thousands of cultivators had gathered on the planet and were continuing the colonization works.

This very day… would be a calamitous day for all cultivators on Mercury. It would incur the greatest wrath the Federation had ever experienced since the beginning of the Spirit Inception Era!

Mercury became a graveyard… near eighty percent of all cultivators died of mysterious causes. They didn't die in battle but from a mysterious virus!

The virus seemed to be transmitted via light and was beyond bizarre. It would result in mass unconsciousness in a split second. Bodies would wither and turn into an energy source that could then be reused.

Such an overwhelming invasion took less than an hour before it ended.

An hour later, when the black jellyfish left, there remained few bodies on Mercury. All of those who had died had become the energy source that would aid the three cultivators in acquiring the Stellar Source.

Almost seventy percent of Mercury's Stellar Source was dug right out of it, while the remaining was embedded too deeply in its core and thus escaped excavation. However, Mercury, with only thirty percent of its Stellar Source left, wasn't left unscathed. Signs of decomposition and shriveling appeared, and an aura of death spread across the planet. It seemed as if the planet had gone through its full life cycle within that hour and entered the final stages of its life.

It was six hours before the Federation discovered something was amiss on Mercury…

Following the deaths of hordes of cultivators on Mercury and the shriveling of the planet, the remote images of everything that happened were transmitted back to the Federation. Rage and fury erupted in the Federation. It was impossible to hide what had happened as hordes of media agencies immediately started reporting on this matter. The entire Federation was flooded with terror and rage instantly!

"A Mercury massacre!"

"There's a possibility of an extraterrestrial invasion!"

"A virus has spread across Mercury. The means of its transmission are unknown!"

"Mercury… is dying!"

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Chapter 440: The Federation Rages!

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Compared to the fury of the Federation, the feelings of the general populace were more important. As the media agencies continued to report such news, both true and false information continued to be spread. It resulted in widespread fear and terror throughout the entire Federation, across all the planets, amongst both commonfolk and cultivators.

The scale of this incident was too big. Hundreds of thousands of cultivators on a planet, all dead within two hours. An unknown virus against which they had no resistance. The terror that this had ignited rose like a tsunami, erupting across large parts of the Federation.

There were even voices that were speaking out and attributing this to the ascent of the Spirit Inception Era. They called for people to abandon their cultivation and for them to give up the path of cultivation. They called for a return to the power of technology and science.

Various bizarre incidents like terrorist attacks, numerous so-called sacrificial rituals, and organizations wishing to contact and reach out to the extraterrestrial civilization were triggered. They happened repeatedly across the entire Federation.

There were many more people who, while afraid, were angrier than they were fearful. Talks about investigation and revenge grew more heated. Everything erupted within one night after the tragedy had taken place.

The Federation's response was extremely swift. Duan Muque executed a series of measures before setting up a press conference that would be broadcast to the entire Federation. He invited all media agencies and made an announcement regarding the Mercury tragedy!

"If possible, I wish I didn't have to make this announcement, because none of us wish to see tragedy occur!"

"But tragedy has occurred… this isn't the fault of the Spirit Inception Era. The only fault… lies in our own weakness!" Duan Muque stood before the entire Federation as he made his proclamation. He had sorrow written on his face, and his voice was heavy.

"Weakness is our sin. I don't wish to speak pretty words today. I don't wish to explain or hide. I only want to tell you four things. The first is the truth—what really happened. The second is what the Federation government has done and will be doing in retaliation! The third and fourth, well, you shall find out shortly!

"Firstly, there were two hundred, thirteen thousand, seven hundred, and fifty-six deaths on Mercury! A planet has its own life. Mercury has been robbed of more than half of its life. It is now in the late stages of its life cycle. Perhaps in the near future, our descendants will only be able to read about what Mercury was like in the historical records…

"The cause of death is a virus that was transmitted through light. It is a terrifying virus, but its life span lasts only two hours. The Federation has studied it and has come up with a way to deal with it!

"As for the culprit… we've confirmed that it's an unknown extraterrestrial civilization!"

When the Federation President said this, every resident who was watching the screening grew furious. Even though they had learned that this was indeed true from various media sources, at this moment, many people still wept. The terror in their hearts intensified. There were even signs of a mass mental breakdown in various regions.

Duan Muque paid no attention to all that. His expression and tone of voice remained solemn as he continued speaking.

"Secondly, once we found out about this, the Federation activated the planetary array formation that hasn't yet been fully constructed. Even though it's only halfway through completion, it still has the ability to seal and lock down the area. We have also activated the various array formations on the major planets. The Federation army has also been activated, and they are now spread across the entire Solar System and on the hunt. We must… have our vengeance!" Duan Muque shouted his last statement. His aura was no longer solemn at this moment but colored with a tinge of madness and a grim determination!

As soon as his words rang out, they resonated with countless others. The call for vengeance echoed throughout the various regions, and countless Federation residents shouted in unison!

"Thirdly, the Federation isn't without our Nascent Souls. Previously, the esteemed elder has been away in seclusion, which is why we found it inappropriate to disturb him. Yesterday, he came out from seclusion. He will make a personal trip into space and hunt down the culprits!" At that juncture, the Federation President raised his right hand. An illusory screen appeared behind him. Within the screen reflected the broad expanse of the starlit universe. There was a sword-shaped cruiser speeding through space. Within the cruiser sat an old elder in meditation!

The image of the elder was indistinct and blurred. He was unrecognizable. But where the cruiser passed, a series of ripples in the fabric of space was left in its wake. It was an awesome sight. It was then that the elder opened his eyes. In his eyes was a deep, unfathomable light. His gaze pierced through the screen and stirred everyone in the depths of their souls.

The earlier terror that had risen subsided greatly with the unprecedented appearance of a Nascent Soul, but those earlier feelings of fear were set to rest. The majority of cultivators were roused by the announcement. They knew what a Nascent Soul truly signified. That was why they grew excited. It was as if they had just seen the birth of hope!

"Fourthly, the Federation has successfully invented… an Anti-Spirit Bomb. It is still in its infancy, but its power when exploded… rivals that of a Nascent Soul!"

"We have manufactured our first batch of Anti-Spirit Bombs. There are a thousand of them! If we trigger fifty of such explosions, killing a Nascent Soul will no longer remain an impossible feat! It doesn't matter how strong the extraterrestrial civilization is, a thousand bombs… are sufficient to wipe them out!" The Federation President declared loudly. There was no video recording of the bombs, but the evidence that he had provided for the previous three announcements was sufficient for the populace to believe in the fourth. With this faith, a great part of their fear fled and faded away.

Duan Muque's announcement had been an astounding success. The reveal of a Nascent Soul as well as of the Anti-Spirit Bomb had strengthened the public's confidence.

However, a small minority knew that even if the Anti-Spirit Bomb turned out to be successful, there wouldn't be many of those around. They wouldn't number in the thousands and would count themselves lucky to have even a hundred Anti-Spirit Bombs.

Duan Muque didn't give the populace a chance to react. He swept his large hand aside, and the screen behind him shifted, the silhouette of the Head Senator appearing.

"The Senate will cooperate fully with the Federation to ensure the culprit receives his due punishment. We will fight to the death!"

"The Trilunaris Corporation will contribute its full efforts towards this battle!"

"The Five Generation Sky Clan…"

"The Galactic Dusk Sect…"

"The Plume Manifestation Connate Sect…"

"The four Dao Colleges swear to protect the Federation with its life!"

The silhouette of the Head Senator disappeared and was followed by the representatives of the various political forces. They appeared on the screen, and they were not alone. Behind each one of them were armies of cultivators. Their eyes shone with determination and murder, and they had their desire for vengeance written on their faces.

The entire Federation populace was no longer worried. The Federation officials in the various cities began to comfort their residents and ease their worries. The domestic crisis wasn't only resolved—the people had gathered and formed strong popular support!

Cries for vengeance and justice became common suddenly. As they spread across the Federation, somewhere in space, a black jellyfish that had merged seamlessly into the dark canvas of space was dashing ahead. It hadn't yet left the Solar System. It remained and was in the vicinity of Mars, and, judging from where it was headed, it would pass by Mars!

This wasn't because the three cultivators didn't want to leave, but because the lockdown by the Federation had led to their increased prudence. This was especially since, after the lockdown in the Solar System, they sensed the presence of two Nascent Souls seemingly searching for them.

The three cultivators became more careful. After all, this patch of the universe contained many entities that terrified them. The rewards they had reaped on Mercury gave them great satisfaction though. They had made up their mind. Their top priority now was to leave as soon as they could.

"With the elder's jade pendant helping to conceal our presence, I'm thinking maybe we can do this another time… then break out of the array formation and leave!"

"That's a bit risky…"

The three of them talked for a while and reached a consensus. They decided not to go ahead with the idea. Suddenly, the black jellyfish that had been speeding ahead shuddered violently. It seemed to be sending out a certain emotion, causing the three of them widened their eyes. The cultivator with a centipede on his face hastily pulled out the compass, performing a series of hand seals.

The compass light dazzled suddenly, and an image of Mars appeared. It was amplified countless times until it was revealed that resting deep underground in Mars was a sea of shadow!

Even though they couldn't see its true form in detail, they could still sense through the compass and feel the extraordinary spirit energies given out from within this shadow!

"It's a Dark Artifact, my god. It's actually a Dark Artifact! No wonder the Sea Glutton reacted that way!"

"How is that possible! This is a Dark Artifact. Legends speak of only a few surviving Dark Artifacts in the entire universe. The legends say that a person who wields a Dark Artifact has power over the cycle of life, death, and rebirth!"

Their breathing quickened, and they felt torn. A long moment later, they looked at one another. They knew that they wouldn't be able to rest well at night if they simply left like that. They gritted their teeth and came to a decision.

"Let's go take a look. If there's a chance of taking it, we'll take it. If there's no chance, we'll immediately leave and inform the elders. We'll call for our clansmen to destroy this civilization and take everything they've got!" The red eyes of the three men turned even redder. They steered the black jellyfish in another direction and headed straight for Mars!

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Chapter 441: Crisis!

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

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!

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Chapter 442: A Fierce Battle!

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Wang Baole came to an immediate decision as soon as the three cultivators appeared. Both their strange armor and their red eyes indicated that they weren't cultivators from the Federation!

That made it clear who they were.

The culprits behind the Mercury tragedy, cultivators from an extraterrestrial civilization! Wang Baole, who had been reeling back from shock, unexpectedly calmed down after realizing their identities and the danger he was in. This was, without a doubt, the most dangerous situation he had ever found himself in.

Any slightest misstep could result in the destruction of his body and spirit. Fortunately, the three seemed to want him caught alive. They might have bespelled and held his body frozen, but they didn't ensnare his consciousness. Perhaps they were too confident of themselves, or perhaps there was some other reason. Regardless, even though Wang Baole couldn't move at all presently, his mind was still conscious and alert.

With a clear mind, he would be able to unleash his killer move at this critical moment! But the timing of unleashing this move was pivotal. As such, despite the looming danger pressing onto him, Wang Baole continued to wait.

He didn't have to wait too long. As soon as all those thoughts surfaced in his mind, one of the three cultivators stepped towards him. His right hand raised and was about to pull Wang Baole over!

As for the remaining two cultivators, they didn't pay any attention to Wang Baole. It was clear that even though he had a green lotus of an unknown grade inside his body, he was still merely a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator to them.

Their attention was drawn towards the deep end of the catacombs. They seemed to be searching for something.

It would have taken a long time to narrate the entire sequence of events, which, in actual fact, took place in the blink of an eye. As the two cultivators stared into the deep end of the catacombs, Wang Baole roared inside his heart.

"Enlightened…"

The words rang out in his mind, and the Martian skies shuddered. The heavens seemed to have warped themselves as clouds boiled and rolled. A presence from the far end of the universe suddenly descended upon the planet and landed on Wang Baole.

As this incredulous presence descended, the Nascent Soul realm cultivator that had been about to grab hold of Wang Baole grew alarmed suddenly. An unimaginable dread made his pupils contract, and his body retreated hastily and instinctively. He started gasping.

"Who is it!"

He wasn't the only one who was shocked. The centipede-faced cultivator and the third Nascent Soul realm cultivator had both been deep in thought. Suddenly, they also felt the terrifying presence and grew alarmed, and they gasped and retreated as well.

"What's going on!"

"This presence…"

As they reeled back from shock, crackling sounds rang out from within Wang Baole. The spell that had frozen him in place splintered and shattered into pieces, allowing Wang Baole to regain mobility immediately. He didn't hesitate. As soon as he regained control of his own body, he immediately reached out to the array formation and tried to sound the alarm!

As soon as he succeeded in raising the alarm, those outside like Li Wan'er would ready themselves. The sudden change in the new city's Great Martian Array Formation would also alert the Governor, and she would realize something had gone wrong.

Even though Wang Baole knew that he was still in extreme danger, this was the best course of action he had at the moment.

Just as Wang Baole regained control of his body and was about to reach out through the array formation and raise the alarm, the centipede-faced cultivator's eyes flashed. Despite his wariness and shock, he still formed a series of hand seals. An illusory compass appeared before him instantly. It shone. Rays of light shot out more quickly than Wang Baole could reach out to the array formation. In the blink of an eye, it formed a barrier that prevented Wang Baole from reaching out to the array formation!

It was a divine power that Wang Baole had never heard of, and its power alarmed Wang Baole. He could feel his connection with the array formation being cut off suddenly.

"Damn it!" Wang Baole's face turned pale. He had no time to think. He prepared to make a run for it while uttering the scripture inwardly. The consciousness from the deep end of the universe erupted again. Wang Baole's speed reached its pinnacle at that moment.

However, he was still merely at the Foundation Establishment realm… just as he was about to charge out of the catacombs, the three Nascent Soul realm cultivators came to their senses. Despite being shocked and terrified by the overpowering consciousness, they realized that it was merely an illusion. One of them snorted. He raised his large hand and swept it across the air. A sudden, immense force erupted and rose to the skies, surging towards Wang Baole.

Wang Baole shuddered as fresh blood spurted from his mouth. His clothes were torn into shreds, revealing the eighth-grade Dharmic Armament armor beneath—it was shattered. Thanks to the armor, Wang Baole didn't perish under that blow, but his organs all showed signs of rupture. Fortunately, his vitality was strong and abundant, and he was already recovering speedily. Regardless, he still spat out fresh pools of blood. His consciousness blurred.

"He has armor on! There's something funny about this guy. Let's join forces and hold him down first!"

"He has the green lotus and is able to produce such an terrifying, unimaginable willpower… not to mention the fact that he was training here. He could be the child of fortune of this civilization!" The centipede-faced cultivator said. He was already approaching Wang Baole, and the other two did the same. They might be Nascent Soul realm cultivators while Wang Baole was only a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator, but at this moment, the three could hardly care about their respective levels of cultivation.

The value that Wang Baole had displayed during this brief encounter had climbed exponentially and repeatedly.

With the three cultivators joining forces, even a Nascent Soul realm cultivator would find it difficult to hold them off, and Wang Baole wasn't even a Nascent Soul realm cultivator. Death hung over his neck, causing despair to shine in his eyes. The wide chasm separating their levels of cultivation made him powerless to fight back. This was the best he could do.

He knew that he would be killed without question if he were hit!

As the moment of crisis erupted, as the three seemingly teleported to his side, suddenly, a burst of light exploded from Wang Baole's person. The black mask flew out of its own free will and appeared suddenly. A black light exploded from it. It dazzled and blinded, forming an illusory form—it was Little Missy!

Little Missy had a solemn expression on her face when she appeared. She raised her right hand and pointed a finger at the approaching trio. Layers of illusory web appeared out of thin air, falling over and blanketing the trio, forming a sudden obstacle.

It was clear that this was only a temporary measure. This was the limits of what Little Missy was capable of. Her form grew fainter. She whispered fiercely and urgently, her voice ringing in Wang Baole's mind.

"Run, quick!"

Wang Baole was already falling back hastily when Little Missy spoke. He knew how difficult it was going to be for him to leave the catacombs and escape outside. Even if he managed to escape, what was he going to do next…

He had no way to delay or hold his attacks back until rescue from the Governor came. In fact, if he escaped outside, he might lead disaster to the doorsteps of the new city. From how the three extraterrestrial cultivators had tried to stop Wang Baole from raising the alarm, Wang Baole realized that they were worried about exposing themselves. This meant that as long as their presence remained undetected, they wouldn't bring death and destruction to the new city!

Wang Baole had no choice. He had only one path before him!

It was… the Divine Armament Catacombs!

Little Missy had said that the Dark Artifact belonged to her. He'd just have to bet on it!

The series of thoughts flashed across Wang Baole's mind. His breathing quickened as he clenched his teeth, giving up any hope of escaping from the catacombs and instead turning and racing deeper into the catacombs. He unleashed his full speed and dashed ahead, approaching the wall at the end of the catacombs.

"Wang Baole, where are you going?" As Wang Baole burst forth with a sudden surge of speed, Little Missy's voice echoed in his head. It was filled with anxiety.

"Little Missy, could you just exert a little control over the Dark Artifact and get it to open a way in for me?"

"I…" Little Missy was instantly stunned.

While Wang Baole raced towards the deep end of the catacombs, and while he conversed with Little Missy hastily, the three extraterrestrial cultivators also unleashed their skills and blew up the web that the Little Missy had conjured.

"There's some huge secret hiding inside that young rascal!"

"What kind of Artifact Spirit is this? It's clearly severely weakened, but with a single finger it managed to trap us for a few moments!"

The breathing of the three cultivators quickened. Unprecedented greed and desire appeared in their eyes. The attacks that Wang Baole had unleashed during this brief period were sufficient to make their eyes red with greed.

They didn't stop and immediately raced after Wang Baole. They were extremely fast, unleashing their teleportation skills. They were about to catch up to Wang Baole. It was then that Wang Baole found himself with no time left. He had no time to say more to Little Missy. He howled, the devouring seed inside his body erupting. It unleashed its full suction force at the wall before them, and the suction force pulled him even more quickly towards the wall. He left afterimages of himself behind him. His physical body almost couldn't withstand the sudden, immense speed. It showed signs of being torn apart as he raced towards the deep end.

He held back the pain of loss and flung out his seventh-grade Dharmic Armament flying sword, yelling.

"Explode!"

The explosion of a seventh-grade Dharmic Armament would send an incredible shockwave throughout the entire catacombs. Unless one tried to stop the explosion or control its aftermath, it would definitely trigger the array formation and alert the outside world. It would indirectly raise the alarm.

Wang Baole was betting. He was betting on the fact that the trio were unwilling to reveal their presence. They wouldn't allow the Dharmic Armament to self-destruct. They would try to control it. Once they chose to do that, it would give Wang Baole more time. Even if it were only a few additional moments, it would still be precious to Wang Baole!

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Chapter 443: Little Missy, Quick, Open the Door!

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Wang Baole made the right bet!

The three extraterrestrial cultivators indeed didn't wish to expose their presence. Even though they were powerful and had the black jellyfish, even though they had an edge over Mars when it came to speed and concealment, this Solar System had too many entities that they were threatened by and cautious of. Unless it was their last resort, they would always lean on the side of prudence.

The trio saw the seventh-grade Dharmic Armament showing signs of self-destruction, and ugly expressions appeared on their faces.

"He has some tricks up his sleeves. The two of you, go after him and kill him. I'll hold this thing down!" The centipede-faced cultivator snorted. He stepped forward. In the next moment, he was standing next to the seventh-grade Dharmic Armament. He raised his right hand and swung it forward in a grab. Instantly, a giant illusory palm appeared before him. It grabbed hold of the seventh-grade Dharmic Armament and was about to shatter it in its grip…

It was then that the hastily retreating Wang Baole waved his hand. More than a hundred Dharmic Artifacts appeared, all of which he flung out mindlessly. They filled the entire cave. Most of the Dharmic Artifacts were fifth-grade Dharmic Artifacts, with some fourth-grade and sixth-grade artifacts. They were artifacts Wang Baole had accumulated during his time as a City Lord.

He ignored his heartache and threw them all out. He growled.

"Explode!"

In a single instant, the hundred-odd Dharmic Artifacts shuddered and exuded signs of self-destruction. Even though any one of the self-destructions wouldn't be able to rival that of a seventh-grade Dharmic Armament, the combined explosion of all of them would still be a force to be reckoned with. It would send a shockwave that would trigger an investigation.

The trio was once again alarmed. They hadn't expected Wang Baole to have so many Dharmic Artifacts on him. Guesses about his true identity grew in number, not that they had the time to examine each one. The centipede-faced cultivator was holding the Dharmic Armament back. Out of the remaining two cultivators, one had to step forward. He pressed both hands together in a series of hand seals and unleashed his full power to control the hundred or so Dharmic Artifacts and stop them from exploding.

With two of the trio tied down, there remained only one who continued his pursuit of Wang Baole!

He had a square face and a square jaw, but no trace of the justice or sternness that usually associated with those facial features. In fact, he had a fierce, gruesome look. There was a red tattoo on his forehead, and his eyes glinted with a cold light. With a single step, he neared Wang Baole. He raised his right hand and made a sudden grab for Wang Baole.

They were still intent on capturing him alive. Wang Baole's series of actions showed how extraordinary he was. The more extraordinary he was, the more valuable he was to the trio.

It was because they wanted him alive that Wang Baole was able to seize his opportunity. Just as the square-faced cultivator reached for him, a vicious look flashed in Wang Baole's eyes. He was never one who feared death. It had been so when he had been on the moon and when he had taken the exam for mayorship. Etched deep in his bones was a viciousness and brutality that he unleashed unto his enemies and, to a greater extent, onto himself!

He chose to self-destruct his seventh-grade Dharmic Armament without hesitation and flung out more than a hundred Dharmic Artifacts without even blinking. He had managed to do all that… it was merely a small step from self-destructing a ruined eighth-grade Dharmic Armament. It was no tough decision to be made.

A sudden violence emerged in Wang Baole's eyes. The eighth-grade Dharmic Armament armor he had on instantly gave off signs of self-destructing. It was a wild and ferocious aura. Alarm immediately flashed across the face of the square-faced cultivator who had been chasing after him. Wang Baole hollered. The Dharmic Armament armor on him split apart, forming a dozen shattered pieces which shot towards the square-faced cultivator like multiple laser beams.

As they shot forward, they continued to give off signs of self-destructing at any moment!

"Are you going to deal with that, or dodge the explosion, or continue chasing me?" Wang Baole yelled in a low voice as he retreated hastily. He was swiftly approaching the end of the catacombs.

Curse him! Murder flashed across the square-faced cultivator's eyes. He had never met such a troublesome Foundation Establishment realm cultivator. This was no time for fuming though. Their top priority was in remaining undetected. He could only stop his pursuit and do his best in controlling the Dharmic Armament's self-destruction!

Fortunately, the shattered pieces of the Dharmic Armament hadn't scattered but had instead raced towards one direction. This meant that he would have to expend a lot more cultivation in keeping the explosion under control, but he wouldn't have to risk any stray pieces exploding!

Though, the sight of a dozen or so pieces headed in a single direction did make the square-faced cultivator wary. Doubt flickered in his eyes.

Wang Baole could have allowed these shattered pieces to scatter and self-destruct before he could deal with them, alerting the outside world, but he hadn't done so. He was betting on the trio's unwillingness to be discovered, and at the same time, he didn't wish for the outside world to know what was going on.

This was because as soon as the outside world found out what was happening in the catacombs, he believed that there was a possibility of them wiping out the entire new city before the Governor could arrive with help!

He couldn't bear the consequences if that happened. He was unwilling to bet on that. That was why his plan was to lure the trio to the place where the Dark Artifact rested. When that time came, he would try to contact the outside world again and seek the Governor's aid.

This might expose the fact that the Dark Artifact belonged to Little Missy, but at such a moment of life-and-death, Wang Baole simply couldn't be bothered any longer with such details. Him controlling the shattered armor pieces to go in one direction still exposed his inner thoughts though. If he had been faced with someone with slower reflexes, his thoughts might not have been revealed, but these three extraterrestrial cultivators were space travelers. To be able to travel through space showed that they weren't fools. They had seen much and had experienced much.

As a result, as soon as Wang Baole approached the end of the catacombs, the square-faced cultivator who had been trying to control the shattered armor pieces eyed Wang Baole's startling speed. His eyes flashed, and he suddenly shouted.

"Leader, I can't hold them back any longer. They'll find out we're here, it's unavoidable. There's no point going after this guy. We have to leave immediately. But before we leave, we should wipe out the city above and refine their flesh and blood into our energy source!"

The centipede-faced cultivator was trying to control the seventh-grade Dharmic Armament, but an imperceptible flicker flashed in his eyes. He didn't hesitate and nodded immediately.

"Damn it. We've wasted too much time… Fine, let's go!"

As the trio spoke, they withdrew their cultivation, which they had been expending to keep the self-destructing artifacts under control. They appeared to have given up on pursuing Wang Baole and were about to leave and charge out of the catacombs!

Wang Baole shuddered. Fear and panic flooded his heart, but he narrowed his eyes and didn't stop. Instead, he took a deep breath and appeared to unleash the full extent of his potential as his speed increased. He smirked and laughed aloud.

"Be my guest! You're all fools and sons of me, Zhuo Yixian, if you don't do that. I've stopped resorting to such tricks since, I, Zhuo Yixian, was three years old. What a joke. Why do I care if they live or die?" He stuck his right hand behind him and showed them the finger and the full extent of his scorn.

He seemed to feel that it wasn't enough. Wang Baole gritted his teeth and pulled out the last dozen or so Dharmic Artifacts from his storage bracelet, throwing them all out as well. He activated their self-destruction mechanism.

"Come on, you can call yourselves my grandsons, the grandsons of Zhuo Yixian, if you try and stop them from self-destructing!"

The trio heard what he said and saw what he did. There was an ugly look on their faces. They might not understand exactly what that gesture meant, but they could guess that it didn't mean anything good. They also felt there seemed to be some gaps in logic in their earlier thought process. If they were in Wang Baole's position, given the choice of dying or sacrificing an entire city in order to save themselves, they would choose the latter without batting an eye.

They gritted their teeth and once again stepped forward to hold back the self-destructing artifacts. The square-faced cultivator, especially, was fuming with embarrassment. He hurriedly tried to hold back the dozen or so Dharmic Artifacts that Wang Baole had thrown out.

However, the space they were in wasn't that big. Wang Baole had thrown out too many Dharmic Artifacts, and a few simply exploded in a loud boom.

The explosion sent the trio reeling, and Wang Baole himself was scared out of his wits as well.

Shit… I've overdone it!

Seeing how the explosion was going to trigger a chain reaction, the square-faced cultivator roared. He smacked his forehead, causing the red line on his forehead to split apart. A red glow erupted instantly, blanketing the self-destructing Dharmic Artifacts and controlling their explosions. It was like a scorching fire that melted the artifacts instantly.

This accident cleared all doubts and suspicions from the trio's minds. They were certain that Wang Baole didn't care about the fate of the city above them. It seemed a reasonable conclusion.

As they focused on holding back the self-destructing artifacts, Wang Baole let loose a breath of relief secretly. He continued to widen the distance between them as he quickly approached the deep end of the catacombs, where the wall stood.

He stared at what seemed like towering ice, what had blocked the entire Federation from advancing and what had made them resort to building an entire city and an array formation in order to wear it down. Panic and anxiety appeared in Wang Baole's eyes. He howled in his mind.

"Little Missy, quick, open the door! It's life or death here!"

Little Missy was silent. She seemed to have gritted her teeth, and her voice was tinged with embarrassment as she spoke softly.

"Baole, listen to me. Actually…"

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Chapter 444: All Hail Little Missy!

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The situation was filled with intense danger. Inside the catacombs, the three extraterrestrial cultivators had the explosions under control. They dashed towards Wang Baole, and they were so swift that it seemed like they would be upon him in the next instant.

The low, sheepish whispers of Little Missy rang out at this moment. Before she could finish speaking though, something beyond the wall at the end of the catacombs suddenly thundered. The loud sound resounded in the catacombs, causing Wang Baole to shudder suddenly. His breathing quickened. In his ear, or perhaps it was in his mind, he heard once again a beckoning coming from deep beyond the wall!

This was the second time he had heard this summoning. The first was when his cultivation advanced beyond the late-stage Foundation Establishment realm and reached the perfected Foundation Establishment realm. The beckoning call was stronger and more intense now than before, as well as clearer. He felt an indistinct and intense feeling. There was something beyond this wall that was of great and immeasurable importance to him!

This something was calling out to him. It was voicing its longing. It seemed to want him back at its side!

Everything happened in an instant. It was when this summoning was echoing inside Wang Baole's mind that the Dark Fire inside his body erupted of its own will, just like it had done when it had first met the black-robed man. Wang Baole's surrounding plunged into ice as the Dark Fire was released, transforming into an icy flame that spread outward!

The release of the Dark Fire seemed to trigger the presence beckoning deep in the catacombs, and the calls intensified. The wall that had stopped the Federation for so many years suddenly… melted away that instant!

It melted away swiftly. Within a few moments, there was a pathway open and leading into the catacombs. Vast quantities of Dark Qi surged out from the opening, spreading throughout the entire area.

Wang Baole's eyes widened. His first instinct was to proclaim how amazing Little Missy was, but he had no time for further thoughts. He headed straight for the opening and dashed right through!

As soon as he passed through the opening in the wall, the three extraterrestrial cultivators appeared. They saw the opening sealing shut right before their eyes. Their breaths stilled, and intense greed and desire shone in their eyes. They didn't hesitate as they dashed straight through as well!

The centipede-faced cultivator was the last to pass through. Before he entered, his eyes flashed. He raised his right hand and formed a series of hand seals. His fingers started sparkling immediately. They formed a wave of light that seemed to cleanse everything it touched. It swept across the entire area.

Wherever it passed, be it where the trio had attacked Wang Baole or where they had tried to control the self-destructing artifacts, all traces of their presence were erased and wiped clean. All remnants or pieces of things that shouldn't exist vanished.

This included… the dozen mosquitoes hidden in various spots… there was one mosquito that was about to escape and fly out of the catacombs, but it too was destroyed by the light!

I don't care if you left any traps or tricks behind. Now… there shouldn't be any left! After releasing this cleansing light wave, the centipede-faced cultivator sneered before he snaked through the wall that was about to seal itself shut!

As soon as he entered, the opening in the wall vanished completely and sealed shut!

The entire tunnel was deathly quiet. The new city went on with life as usual. Li Wan'er was examining and approving documents, Kong Dao and Lin Tianhao were talking to each other, and Jin Duoming had his voice transmission ring out and was having a private and intimate heart-to-heart conversation with one of his ex-girlfriends from Earth…

As for Liu Daobin, he was presently ordering a large group of people around and constructing another Wang Baole statue…

Everything carried on as usual. Nothing strange happened. No one knew what was going on inside the catacombs or the danger that Wang Baole was in!

Presently, Wang Baole appeared in a world he had never come across!

The skies of this world were fashioned from mud, but it wasn't dark at all. There were sparkling lights in the sky that were like diamonds and stars at the same time. They lit up the entire underground world. It might not be as bright as daylight, but to the eyes of a cultivator, there was no discernible difference between this light and daylight.

As for the land… there was no land, only a vast and endless ocean. Upon closer look, this ocean wasn't formed from seawater but… countless souls gathered together, creating an Spirit Sea!

The Spirit Sea wasn't calm. Waves rose and crashed. It was an awesome sight. The waves, too, were formed from countless souls. They howled and roared. They tore into one another. They raged, they bared their teeth, they wept. All sorts of different lives and all manners of emotions could be found, seen, and experienced here!

In that Spirit Sea was a white island. It wasn't made of earth but formed from a pile of countless white bones… it was an island of bones!

The entire world looked immensely creepy and horrifying. It was as if he had slipped into hell. It made one shudder. It would make one forget that his life still burned, forget all his memories of the outside world. What remained was an instinctive desire to count the sins one had committed in his life.

This was the most instinctive and truest feeling that he experienced in his heart when he saw this sight!

Such a world… actually exists here! After a long moment, Wang Baole finally gasped. He was slightly pale. He stood on the island of white bones with his head lowered as he stared at the countless bones beneath his feet. He gazed at the roaring waves of the Spirit Sea, then at the sky made of earth. The shock in his heart didn't fade for a very long time.

There was no way he could have imagined that beyond the wall hid such a sight. This went against everything that he had known, and he could no longer tell if he was still on Mars…

There were no signs of the extraterrestrial cultivators appearing anytime soon. Wang Baole fell into a momentary daze. He tried hastily to sense the mosquitoes he had released secretly earlier. He had planned for the trio to follow him when he had entered. Then, he would be able to instruct his mosquitoes to sound the alarm. The Governor and his friends would arrive, trap the extraterrestrial cultivators inside, and beat them up.

Wang Baole had some confidence in the trio choosing to enter as a group, but if he were honest with himself, he couldn't be completely sure. He soon grew alarmed.

Gone? It's not that I can't sense them, but they're really gone! An ugly look fell on Wang Baole's face. He considered whether someone had destroyed his mosquitoes or whether he had merely lost the connection with them because he had entered this underground world. There was an easy way to find out. Wang Baole turned his gaze inward, at his own scabbard. When he saw his mosquitoes intact within the scabbard, his face darkened further.

The mosquitoes were inside. This meant… that the ones that he had released had all perished. Their unique nature meant that they would regenerate after they died.

Wang Baole grew anxious and uncertain. He simply couldn't tell if the three extraterrestrial cultivators had followed him in. He hurriedly summoned Little Missy.

"Many thanks for Little Missy's help. Right, just now, you were saying something. What was it?"

"…" Little Missy was silent. She was already beyond lost and bewildered. Her shock surpassed Wang Baole multifold. She had even begun to feel lost and doubt herself. She hadn't done anything, so how had the opening appeared in the wall…

Could it be that her cultivation had reached a stage where she could change fate, without her discovery… Now, as she listened to Wang Baole thanking her and following up with questions, she began to feel a sudden tiredness. Exhaustion surfaced inside her. She sensed that she might have to… continue this particular bluff.

"This is a small matter. I don't even need to raise my little finger. I don't even need to spare it a single thought. I just have to approach the Dark Artifact, and it would activate itself. Couldn't you tell? It was trying to gain my favor."

"Speaking of that. That's why I threw it away. It kept trying to please me and gain my favor for every single thing. It began to annoy me," Little Missy said coolly. She didn't even need to think about it. The words flowed out of her mouth naturally.

Wang Baole froze. He instinctively felt something was wrong, but he wasn't concerned about that at the moment. He asked, hastily.

"All hail Little Missy! How about those three jerks? Did they follow me inside?"

You're asking me? Who do I ask then? It's not like this is my home! Little Missy snorted secretly. She kept a deep, unfathomable look on her face as she said coolly.

"You'll find out soon enough!"

Anxiety wrecked Wang Baole. He was about to pursue further when suddenly, the skies thundered. Wang Baole lifted his head and saw a huge fracture appear suddenly in the heavens. Then, three silhouettes appeared, agitated and seemingly in quite a terrible state. They charged out, eyeing the world around them. An intense light of excitement shone in their eyes. It was then that they saw Wang Baole as well!

"So that's where you are!"

Wang Baole had no time to consider why the three people had entered this place in a different way. He was overcome by shock and awe. He had nothing but the utmost respect and admiration for Little Missy.

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Chapter 445: I'm Going to Kill This Zhuo Yixian!

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Prophetic! She was simply prescient!

Little Missy had said he would find out soon enough, and it hadn't taken them the time of a dozen breaths before he did indeed find out. This was clear and unquestionable proof that the Dark Artifact did belong to Little Missy!

Little Missy must have known that the three jerks were on their way, but she must have sent them somewhere else. Because I asked, she sent them over again. That's why the three of them are in such a terrible state! That must be it! The more Wang Baole thought about it, the more excited he became. He decided there and then that he was going to work harder at buttering Little Missy up.

A strong sense of confidence rose in Wang Baole's heart, and he decided not to run anymore. He stood on the island of white bones and stared arrogantly at the three Nascent Soul realm cultivators. He raised his right hand and pointed his finger at them.

"The game ends now!" Wang Baole said coolly. An indescribable aura exuded from his person when he said that. It seemed as if this entire world was resonating with his words. The earth, the heavens, and the stars dazzled and shone as the sea of souls roared and rose in huge waves. The atmosphere was electrifying and terrifying.

The three extraterrestrial cultivators had been planning to attack, but caution rose in their eyes. They sensed that Wang Baole seemed different. They couldn't help but grow wary and proceed with greater care.

Just as Wang Baole was becoming excited, Little Missy was once again bewildered. She didn't expect this to happen right after she had spoken… the sight before her inspired a sense of guilt in her. She felt something wasn't right and immediately pretended to feel weak.

"My spirit body has just awakened, Wang Baole. You'll have to handle the rest. I… I…" Little Missy's voice grew weaker. In the end, it seemed as if she was about to fall into a deep slumber.

"Ah?" Wang Baole was stunned. He hurriedly called after Little Missy. However, no matter how many times he called for her, Little Missy didn't respond. Wang Baole froze. He began to feel sheepish as well and was almost howling deep in his heart.

The eyes of the three Nascent Souls in the sky flashed then. The square-faced cultivator struck suddenly, the red line on his forehead shining, and a red light shot out and headed straight for the island of bones that Wang Baole was on.

Before the red light could descend, the Spirit Sea started to stir violent all of a sudden. The countless souls within it started to howl as they dashed out and charged at the trio in the sky.

From afar, it looked as if the Spirit Sea had erupted. The seawater rose to the skies, and the ocean towered, sending both heaven and earth quaking. Large numbers of shrieking souls flung into the air. Many sped towards Wang Baole as well. They lunged at him and seemed like they wanted to tear him apart and swallow him alive.

The sight alarmed all three cultivators in the sky. They formed a hasty series of hand seals to prevent the sea of souls from approaching. On the island of bones, Wang Baole was equally shocked. He had no means of escape; he was trapped from all four corners. He couldn't dodge or evade at all. He watched as countless souls leaped towards him. Unfortunately, his calls for Little Missy remained unanswered. Finally, Wang Baole gritted his teeth and yelled. He activated the Dark Art, and Dark Fire instantly appeared in his eyes!

A chilly aura surged outwards from his person. It seemed to be able to seal and freeze the souls wherever it passed, seeming to truly resonate with the heavens and earth. The fearsome souls around him seemed to be terrified and shocked, and they immediately shrank away from him and dared not approach.

A strange light appeared in Wang Baole's eyes. The three extraterrestrial cultivators in the air were incredulous. They raged. Everything seemed bizarre and out of the ordinary. The fact that Wang Baole, a mere Foundation Establishment realm cultivator, had managed to ward them off for so long with mere tricks and deviousness injured their pride.

"We don't need him alive. Just kill him and put his corpse up for sale!"

The trio immediately came to a decision, and murderous intent erupted from their persons. Just as they were about to drive the surrounding souls away from them and kill Wang Baole, suddenly, Wang Baole shuddered. He felt the calling once again!

This time, it came from beneath the Spirit Sea. It rang much more clearly than the previous two times and seemed like it was speaking right next to his ear. The voice was so much clearer.

"Dark Child… Dark Child…"

Wang Baole's breathing quickened when the voice appeared. The Spirit Sea before him erupted once again as the seas parted before him, forming a path in the middle!

The path began from the island of bones, where Wang Baole stood. Most importantly, it went deep into the unknown depths of the Spirit Sea!

The series of transformation shocked the three extraterrestrial cultivators in the air to the core. They stared at Wang Baole immediately, a strange light shining in their eyes. There was no doubt that Wang Baole had surprised and shocked them repeatedly. This was beyond anything they had encountered before.

"We can't let him enter!" They panicked immediately, and their cultivation erupted in a mad frenzy. The centipede-faced cultivator released his centipede from his person. It expanded and grew in a blink of an eye, growing to the length of a hundred yards. It was a terrifying sight. The centipede roared and charged at the Spirit Sea. It appeared to be overpowering the souls, which allowed the trio to dash out.

The square-faced cultivator unleashed his killer attack as well. His hands pressed together in a series of hand seals, and a fire bull appeared behind him. It roared at the skies and appeared to step out of the illusion that had conjured it, assuming a real form. With fire under its hooves, it dashed out in a mad stampede.

As for the final cultivator, an eye appeared behind his back. It seemed to contain an endless abyss, and a single look would strike terror into one's heart.

Wang Baole watched as the three cultivators' cultivation erupted and their aura strengthened and intensified. Even the Spirit Sea seemed like it was going to be overpowered. They seemed like they might fight their way out of the ocean at any time. Wang Baole's breathing quickened. He gritted his teeth, and with a single step, he stepped onto the path that the Spirit Sea had created for him—heading swiftly into the ocean.

"Damn it!" The leader of the trio, the one who had released the centipede, knew that there must be some incredible secret that Wang Baole was hiding. He wasn't going to let Wang Baole escape. He gritted his teeth. His right hand formed a series of hand seals, and his ring finger immediately exploded!

With its explosion, a dozen fearsome lizard-like figures appeared. They started howling. The leader of the trio shoved down the ache he was feeling in his heart and said suddenly.

"I'm going to kill this Zhuo Yixian!"

As soon as he spoke, the dozen lizard-like fearsome figures howled and dashed towards the ocean of seals. Any souls that tried to stop them were knocked away. They went after Wang Baole relentlessly.

Each one of those lizard-like forms would rival a cultivator at the perfected Foundation Establishment realm. In fact, many of them were only a mere step away from the Core Formation realm!

Zhuo Yixian, I'm going to earn back the full compensation from you! The centipede-faced cultivator clenched his teeth. He had spent a great deal of effort collecting the lizards that he had been rearing in his ring. The beasts were a counter to aggressive souls, and they were rare. He had used his own secret mystic art and reared them for more than thirty years. They had grown to their current cultivation after so much hard work. He had wanted to rear them for another ten years or so, which was when they would reach the Core Formation realm. His efforts would then pay off as they would become a valuable asset for his deployment then.

Any single one of these lizards could become his clone. As a result, he appeared to possess many scapegoats that could die in his stead!

But now, in order to capture Wang Baole, he had to cease this rearing. This meant that whatever efforts he had put in would all be for nothing, and he would need to start all over again.

The results of his efforts were without doubt spectacular. As the trio tried to overpower the Spirit Sea, these dozen lizards dashed forward in a sudden burst of speed. They slammed and shattered a large number of souls surging forward to meet them. They followed the small path and chased after Wang Baole.

Their bodies were immensely strange and peculiar. They seemed weightless and hovered between the realm of reality and illusion. Their speed also surpassed the limits of a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator, and they left afterimages of themselves as they raced forward. An observer wouldn't have been able to distinguish the dozen lizards. They would have been deceived by their afterimages and instead seen hundreds and thousands of lizards!

They would leap into the air and seemingly teleport. Such a relentless pursuit made Wang Baole's face grow dark. He didn't know how far this path would take him, but he knew that if he did nothing to stop them, they would eventually catch up to him.

Curse you… you're all out to bully me, aren't you? I may not be able to fight a Nascent Soul, but you think you slimy crawly creatures can simply push me around? Violence shone in Wang Baole's eyes. He had had enough. He shouted and raised his right hand, and with a sudden sweep, a giant red megaphone appeared. It exuded the strong aura of a Dharmic Armament. It appeared in his hand.

"Scram!"

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Chapter 446: This Is His Territory as Well!

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The Dharmic Armament megaphone was bright red and looked extremely bizarre. Its exterior surface also contained numerous diagrams made of symbols of different color intensity. Taking a closer look at it, the diagrams were depicting a tiger on fire.

The moment Wang Baole took out the megaphone, he didn't hesitate to activate it. After adjusting it to its loudest settings, and as he roared into it, the megaphone instantly vibrated vigorously. It amplified Wang Baole's voice countless times such that it formed a sound wave hurricane that exploded in bursts towards the approaching lizard beasts.

An indescribable sense of shock was felt clearly right now. Layers of ripples could be seen transmogrifying with the naked eye, shooting and spreading in all directions like tides and crashing waves, resulting in a force that couldn't be resisted!

Amid that force, a sea of fire erupted. It was difficult to distinguish if it resulted from the tiger's body or if it was produced due to the loud sound that altered the state of physical objects. Regardless, as the roar emerged, the sea of fire spread in all directions. One could see a fire tiger charging out of the megaphone, growing larger and larger as it occupied the entire space around. Looking at those lizards that were crawling out like worms, the tiger roared ferociously!

The roar of the tiger combined with that from Wang Baole boosted it to such an unbelievable scale that it was similar to using titanium to strike a rock. The sound exploded, and the Spirit Sea in front of the megaphone was devastated. The surrounding environment was also thrown into chaos by numerous large hands. As the sound spread to a large area, numerous spirits were retreating and trembling. They didn't dare to move an inch closer, and looking from a distance, one could see that a space was formed in the Spirit Sea!

That wasn't what was most impressive. After all, the Spirit Sea merely withstood the remnant sound waves from the megaphone. The ones that were under the targeted attack by Wang Baole were those frightening looking lizard beasts.

These lizard beasts suffered the most impact. They were extremely pitiful, as the three lizard beasts who had perfected Foundation Establishment realm cultivation hadn't even landed on the ground after leaping up before they were impacted by the sound waves from the megaphone and swept away. They didn't even have time to tremble before they were immediately devastated, turning into a blood fog that spread in all directions.

There were four more lizard beasts behind them. Even though they weren't at the front, the impact of the waves still blew their bodies apart, crushed their skull, and tore out their limbs. With the devastation, the remaining lizard beasts all screamed painfully, spewing blood out of their mouths.

Despite having tested out the force of the megaphone himself previously, Wang Baole didn't unleash the full power of the megaphone then. Therefore, right now, having activated the megaphone's full power, Wang Baole was shocked himself. Following the unleashing of its full force, even the megaphone was about to be blown out of his hands.

Vaguely, there were signs of resistance that were about to turn into a backlash. Wang Baole knew that every newly refined Dharmic Armament would retain a desire to counter devour. Time was needed to assimilate it to completely suppress it and make it consciously obedient.

However, right now, he didn't have the time to nourish and assimilate it. He stared ahead, spreading the Dark Fire in his body and going a full circle around the megaphone. The consciousness of the megaphone was shaken, and it instantly calmed down. Instead of backlash, it was now sounding off with even more effort.

However, right at this moment, a purple-colored stream of blood flew out from the blood fog formed from the devastated lizard beasts. It was moving so fast and didn't seem to be severely affected by the sound waves. It accumulated not far away, forming an outline of a palm-sized doll.

A wave of ferocity instantly emanated from this purple blood doll. A cold glow shot from the position where its eyes were, and with the turn of its body, it didn't charge towards Wang Baole but towards the injured but still alive lizard beasts.

Despite being injured, these lizard beasts were still of Foundation Establishment realm cultivation. Their physical bodies were extremely strong, but in the face of the purple blood doll, they turned extremely fragile as the purple blood doll went right through them. As the purple blood doll emerged from the other side of their bodies, it brought along with it purple blood threads, which made it even clearer to one's eyes while, on the other hand, the lizard beasts died.

This extremely bizarre scene made Wang Baole tremble with shock. He narrowed his eyes and didn't continue his attacks. Instead, he put away the megaphone and retreated hurriedly, charging at high speed towards the end of the passageway that seemed to have been specially created for him by the Spirit Sea.

The moment he sped away, a loud boom emerged from the distant Spirit Sea. The three extraterrestrial cultivators had finally shaken off the countless wronged spirits that were blocking them. In reality, the three of them, who were very closely related to each other, were already extremely strong. They were also used to working with each other. If that wasn't the case, had a single Nascent Soul cultivator appeared here and became surrounded by the wronged spirits, it would be impossible for him to break free, and he would possibly die if he weren't careful!

After all, there were just too many spirits here!

"There is great value in Zhuo Yixian. We must capture him!" The moment they charged out, the rage in the three extraterrestrial cultivators could be sensed. However, through the various encounters, especially after noticing that the world seemed to be ridiculously kind to this Zhuo Yixian, the trio was already extremely shaken.

Therefore, the trio charged out at the fastest speed possible, instantly appearing in the passageway, and went in the direction Wang Baole had gone. However, this area was extremely bizarre and, at the same time, they also realized that they were unable to teleport. As such, they were forced to slow down. Despite that, they were still faster than Wang Baole. Even though a distance was created between them initially, in the time of a few breaths, the trio had already appeared at the location where the doll formed by the purple-colored blood threads was.

The moment they saw the purple blood doll, the cultivator with the centipede on his face felt even more pain. In reality, the reason the lizard beasts became his avatar after being nurtured was that their bloodline contained a thread of ancient blood, and that had already become his mark. Therefore, rather than nurturing the lizard beasts, it was more like nurturing the ancient blood.

Right now, the ancient blood had already been released. The accumulation of the ancient blood couldn't be reversed as there were insufficient realms, making it difficult to form the avatar he wanted. He could only use it like a puppet.

However, he couldn't care too much about that now. He sealed his hands and pointed, causing the purple blood doll to scream shrilly. It grew even more ruthless as it charged forward in the passageway, in pursuit together with the trio.

However, just as the trio went about their pursuit and neared the end of the passageway where they caught a glimpse of Wang Baole, Wang Baole took out the megaphone and screamed into it with all his might.

Large sound waves emerged directly from his megaphone. Numerous sound waves erupted continuously, sounding heavily behind him.

If the sound waves were directed towards the three extraterrestrial cultivators, they would be able to resist it and not slow down. After all, they weren't lizard beasts and were physically strong. However, this time, Wang Baole's target was the surrounding Spirit Sea. This made the Spirit Sea's waves crash continuously, resulting in chaos. Perhaps Wang Baole's sound waves had an impact, or perhaps it was due to some other peculiar reason, but the Spirit Sea erupted. Large numbers of wronged spirits emerged, screaming as they formed a barrier against the trio once again.

"D*mn it!" The trio was going crazy with rage and indignation. They were Nascent Soul cultivators and had never thought that killing a mere Foundation Establishment realm cultivator would require so much effort!

It was also at this moment that they looked past the immense number of wronged spirits before them and saw the end of the passageway. At the end of the passageway, in the depths of the Spirit Sea, was a vortex that was rapidly being formed, one that seemed to be welcoming Wang Baole and waiting for him to step in!

"This is his territory as well?" This scene once again made the trio go crazy. Even Wang Baole's breathing quickened as he went into a momentary blur. However, with a crisis before his eyes, he knew that he had no choice. The lure by the vortex was also growing stronger by the moment.

Therefore, without pausing for a single second, Wang Baole gritted his teeth and charged speedily into the vortex!

He entered it immediately!

The moment he entered the vortex, the vortex shrank rapidly and was about to close. However, the purple blood doll broke free of the barrier formed by the wronged spirits due to its ability to suppress spirits, and appeared by the vortex. It didn't step in immediately, instead, standing by its periphery with large amounts of purple threads being released from its body, attempting to slow down the rate at which the vortex was closing!

Even though it only managed to slow the vortex by the time of three breaths, it was already sufficient. The extraterrestrial cultivator with the centipede on his face immediately took out a Dharmic Treasure in the form of a black leaf!

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Chapter 447: Escape!

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The black leaf wasn't formed naturally, and its veins weren't formed by nature either. If one took a closer look, he would realize that the leaf's veins looked more like… skin!

It was indeed a leaf formed by the skin of a live man!

The appearance of the leaf brought with it mumbling sounds. The sounds carried a hint of madness and pain, and they were like a hurricane sweeping in all directions, one that wanted to suppress everything. It made the surrounding wronged spirits tremble as if they had lost consciousness.

Leveraging on the suppressive force from the black leaf, the three extraterrestrial cultivators picked up speed and emerged out of the barrier formed by the Spirit Sea, stepping into the vortex. However, when they stepped in, the cultivator with the centipede on his face turned ghastly white. The black leaf he was holding was now stuck to his forehead, wriggling as if it was sucking blood from his glabella.

Apparently, this Dharmic treasure was something he wouldn't use haphazardly. Once used, he would have to pay a huge price. Therefore, when he was pursuing Wang Baole previously, he used the treasure that he had nurtured for thirty years and not this Dharmic treasure.

However, at that moment, even though a crisis hadn't struck, he had a strong premonition that if he didn't enter the vortex and grab hold of Wang Baole, that it was very likely that he would be trapped there. He felt that if that happened, eventually, he would be teetering on the brink of death.

This world was extremely hostile to them but extremely kind to Wang Baole, which made them shudder!

As the trio charged into the vortex, the vortex shut and vanished. The Spirit Sea passageway also disappeared, and normalcy returned to the Spirit Sea. It was as if nothing had happened. The waves were still crashing, and the cries from the spirits could still be heard.

Wang Baole had long sensed the kindness granted to him by this world. To put it more accurately, it was a calling for him that influenced this world, making all kinds of barriers disappear before him.

It even helped to block the people who were pursuing him. However, Wang Baole was unsure of this matter and had started to become suspicious of Little Missy's words. He felt that it was too much of a coincidence that Little Missy went into hibernation the moment he entered.

Either I'm thinking too much and Little Missy is right, or… The Dark Art that I have cultivated has resulted in a mysterious change to the Dark Artifact! Wang Baole took a deep breath and looked towards his surroundings. A glow was revealed in the depths of his eyes.

He was no longer in the Spirit Sea, but on the second level of the Spirit Sea in the underground world!

Even though the sky on the second level of the underground world was still composed of mud and dull-red in color, it wasn't as well lit by the stars. Rather, it glowed on its own, and despite it not being very bright, the entire world was a shade of dull red as it shone through the sky.

It looked like… blood from a dead person!

Looking at the ground, there were a large number of tombstones!

The tombstones were of various sizes, with some broken and some intact. They looked horrifying, and in the area further away, in the region where there were no tombstones, there were numerous tomb mounds of varying sizes!

A strong vibe of death seemed to have accumulated for many years there, filling the entire environment with decay and vicissitude.

Wang Baole held his breath, looking at his surroundings and sensing the calling that emerged from it, which grew even stronger here. As Wang Baole observed his surroundings, the tomb mound a distance away suddenly vibrated, and a withered hand emerged from beneath the mud!

Wang Baole's pupils constricted, and he was about to retreat when the extended hand seemed to send a signal. Instantly, numerous withered hands emerged consecutively from the tomb mounds, with withered skulls even emerging from some of them!

In the blink of an eye, the entire ground seemed to be wriggling as an uncountable number of corpses emerged at increasing speed from the tomb mounds!

The moment they emerged, the corpses screamed voicelessly. The screams were inaudible, and only the cultivator's spiritual consciousness could sense it and be shaken by it.

It appeared as if they hadn't smelled the scent of fresh flesh and blood for a long time. The corpses that emerged out of the tombs all looked at Wang Baole, screaming as they clambered towards him.

However, the moment they neared, Wang Baole activated the Dark Fire in his body without hesitation. Instantly, Dark Fire appeared in his eyes, and the chilly aura was completely unleashed. The corpses that charged towards him were all shocked as they retreated. Wang Baole, on the other hand, felt that the call for him had grown even stronger.

At the same time, while the calling grew stronger, the original grave land before Wang Baole suddenly sank amidst the loud boom, revealing a huge cave. The moment the cave appeared, the voice of the call reverberated extremely loudly in Wang Baole's mind.

"Dark Child… Come… Come…"

Wang Baole wasn't surprised by what had just happened. He had long expected something like this to occur. After all, that was the case when he was on the first level of the underground world. Right now, there was a look of determination in his eyes. Since he was already there, he would still eventually have to take a look at what started everything. Furthermore, he had no other way out. As such, he gritted his teeth and charged towards the cave.

It was also at this time that an empty space beside a graveyard warped and formed a giant vortex. The three extraterrestrial cultivators and the purple blood doll emerged from it.

However, the moment they emerged, the corpses that had emerged from the graves roared and charged towards them, before they could even take a clear look at this world.

If one stood on the clouds and lowered his head, he could see that there were so many corpses that it was impossible to count. They were densely packed, charging towards the trio from all directions. A distance away, even more corpses were rapidly climbing out of their graves and joining the rest in closing in on the trio.

Seeing what was happening, the three extraterrestrial cultivators were all extremely indignant. They saw Wang Baole running towards a cave formed in the ground, which appeared to be the exit.

They had watched as Wang Baole escaped before their eyes again and again, and this made the trio's desire to kill, as was as their rage, uncontrollable. That was especially so for the man with the centipede on his face. He had always had a sharp intuition, and now he had a strong gut feeling that they must definitely not let Zhuo Yixian continue. If not, the tides would certainly turn.

With that thought, the desire to kill was unleashed and visible through his eyes. Between hand seals, the black leaf appeared once again. With a wave, the leaf appeared to pass through nothingness as it flew directly towards Wang Baole.

Even if the surrounding corpses were blocking it, the leaf was so fast and harnessed so much energy that it cleared a path amongst the crowd of corpses. In the blink of an eye, it was merely a thousand feet from Wang Baole!

Based on the speed of the leaf, it was impossible for Wang Baole to enter the underground cave before the leaf went through his body and destroyed him. A strong sense of crisis instantly erupted in Wang Baole's mind.

With no means to hide and no means to block it, death would be inevitable!

However, Wang Baole was unwilling to accept that. Blue veins popped up on his forehead, and as he roared with his deep voice, four Heavenly Thunders emerged from his body. While he tried to block it, Dark Fire also emerged!

The moment the Dark Fire emerged, heaven and earth shook. The entire second level of the underground world seemed to gain a strong consciousness which carried rage, anxiousness, and a voiceless scream, all of which transformed into a law of consciousness that spread in all directions.

This law of consciousness caused all the tombstones to be ripped off the ground in the blink of an eye, amidst the loud boom. They seemed to be drawn in by a force, and instantly formed a blockade between Wang Baole and the incoming black leaf!

Banging sounds erupted continuously. The tombstones that were blocking the leaf were instantly devastated and broken into pieces as they were being passed through. However, there were so many tombstones, and all of them appeared so quickly that the distance of a thousand feet seemed further than it really was. Countless tombstones transmogrified endlessly, forming a continuous barrier that reduced the power of the black leaf.

The leaf went through the last tombstone that appeared and neared Wang Baole, destroying his Heavenly Thunder and landing on his chest after going through his Dark Fire!

Wang Baole trembled, fresh blood spewing out of his mouth. He could only feel a strong force crushing his chest, and that most of his bones were broken. However, he didn't die!

The leaf was strong, but the law of consciousness in this world weakened it considerably. Wang Baole was also physically tough, and most importantly, his speed of recovery was astonishing. All these reasons allowed Wang Baole to survive despite being severely injured!

As he struggled, he leveraged on this force to retreat, stepping and disappearing into the cave. The cave then disappeared, which resulted in the entire area being stripped of an exit!

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Chapter 448: Underground City!

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The lack of an exit meant that the three extraterrestrial cultivators would be trapped on the second level of the underground world. They may not be trapped for long by virtue of their cultivation, but they still missed the chance to kill Wang Baole!

The cultivator with the centipede on his face now carried an awful expression on his face. He growled and shook the remnants of the corpses around him away. When he reached the position that Wang Baole had disappeared from, he pounded the ground with all his force, but the vortex exit had long disappeared.

"This world is hostile towards us…" The trio looked at each other, growing extremely solemn. Their journey so far had been smooth-sailing, never meeting with obstacles, whether it was massacring Mercury or stealing the Stellar Source of Mercury. It was only on Mars that obstacles started to surface.

If their opponent were an elite, or someone of the same cultivation level as them, it wouldn't have mattered that much. However, that fatty was merely a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator, and that made the trio feel shameful and extremely indignant.

Previously, they had wanted to capture Wang Baole alive. However, after arriving in this underground world, the world was clearly biased towards Wang Baole, making their cultivation completely useless.

Right now, their issue was no longer the problem of continuing the pursuit. Wang Baole's escape resulted in their active pursuit plans being stalled. They had no choice but to consider the possibility of Wang Baole leaving this world before them. Once he left and informed the elites in this civilization who were searching for the three of them, it would mean an undesirable outcome.

"D*rn it!" The trio was extremely furious. They looked at each other, and after seemingly reaching a consensus, they gave up on their plans to continue pursuing Wang Baole. Instead, they chose to retreat and leave.

They didn't want to take the risk. They planned to leave this place and return to their home planet before bringing more of their people. Then, whatever was present here would belong to their home planet.

Then, as the ones who achieved the honor, they would receive incredible rewards that would be sufficient to boost their cultivation into another realm!

With that thought in mind, the trio swiftly retreated. However, even though the idea was sound, it was still somewhat challenging to execute it. When they entered this world, they were hot on Wang Baole's pursuit, which made their entrance easy. Right now, however, they wanted to leave, and that required them to find an exit. If they were unable to find it, they would have to find a place where the barrier was thinner and blast their way out.

That, however, required time!

The trio felt extremely troubled, but they could only bear with it. They had already made a decision to leave before coming back another time. They would definitely strip Zhuo Yixian bear to his bones then!

As the trio retreated and gave up on the thought of pursuing Wang Baole, they split up within the second level of the underground world in order to locate the exit. At the same time, Wang Baole, who had entered the underground cave, seemed to be walking along a teleportation passageway. It was brilliantly bright all around, making it difficult for one to look at his surroundings clearly. Thankfully, the entire process only took a few moments, and as the surrounding glow disappeared and a heatwave arrived, what appeared before Wang Baole when he emerged from the cave was a primitive yet colossal city!

The city was the third level of the underground world!

Looking from a distance, the city looked like a gigantic beast head, and it had astonishing suppressive forces emanating from it. Surrounding it were tens of large chimney-like objects that were giving off black smoke that rose to the skies. In the sky made of mud, they formed dark clouds, and flashes of lightning could be seen occasionally. The black smoke and dark clouds churned, giving off sounds that were frighteningly loud, and which gripped everyone in shock when they noticed it.

After all, this was a civilization that was different from that of the Federation!

It was termed as a civilization as there were at least ten such cities in the third level of the underground world. They were all similar to the one in front of Wang Baole right now. It was just that the one in front of him was the largest one.

As for the skies made of mud, despite being covered by the dark clouds, one could still see that there was a red glow shining through the gaps between the clouds. It covered a seemingly endless area, and other than the different cities, one could also see many underground volcanoes, with flowing trails of lava. These significantly increased the temperature of the place, and even the breeze was so scorching hot that it could dehydrate someone. Staying here for an extended period of time would definitely cause the moisture in one's body to evaporate completely, and they would become a dry corpse!

This place wasn't suitable for humans to live in, but it was suitable for underground organisms!

That was also proof that this place housed a civilization. There existed uncountable ferocious beasts in the cities, and those ferocious beasts were different from the ones Wang Baole saw in the Beast Tide. They weren't as maniacal, and they were at the very least intellectual, with a spiritual glow in their eyes.

However, they weren't of high intelligence. Despite that, Wang Baole was extremely surprised and felt a torrent of emotion, as what he was seeing before his eyes was beyond his imagination.

Is this the interior of a Dark Artifact, or is it really somewhere under Mars? Wang Baole calmed himself down and didn't dare to make any reckless movements. That was because he was now in the middle of the largest city in this world, one that was clearly the core public square of the entire city!

The center of this public square was a mere one thousand feet from Wang Baole. There was a huge depression there, with black smoke billowing out from it. There was also an extremely strong calling from the depression that continuously erupted in Wang Baole's mind.

He was sure that the existence that was calling for him resided in the depression!

That wasn't the reason he didn't dare to move though. What really made Wang Baole nervous was that there seemed to be some prayer going on in the public square. Therefore, countless ferocious beasts had gathered, each of them with a different appearance. They surrounded the depression and seemed to be praying, and at the same time, two figures were floating in mid-air above the depression!

The two figures were blurry. If it were someone else, they wouldn't be able to see them clearly. However, with a flash of Dark Fire in Wang Baole's eyes, he could immediately see everything clearly.

The exact appearance of one of the figures couldn't be seen in detail. He could only see a black robe, and upon closer inspection, there seemed to be no body and only the black robe itself!

Standing beside Black Robe was a young boy whose face was green instead of rosy-looking. He looked like a ferocious ghost, and together with Black Robe, was being prayed to by the countless ferocious beasts surrounding them. Many of the ferocious beasts were even corpses!

It was as if Black Robe and the young boy were their creators!

In front of Black Robe and the young boy was a mound of mud that was moving swiftly, as if in the process of disintegration. There were several frightening-looking beetles the size of a fingernail that seemed to be in the process of rapid metamorphosis, growing larger and larger as the flesh and blood disintegrated!

It appeared to be under some mysterious force which caused life to transform!

A shocking guess arose in Wang Baole's mind upon seeing what was happening. Perhaps there wasn't a world here, but due to the existence of the Dark Artifact and certain unique characteristics, a transformation had occurred underground, resulting in changes. Be it bacteria, viruses, or other forms of living organisms, they rapidly evolved under the power of the Dark Artifact, and gradually formed this world!

If this guess were true, then there would be an explanation for the occurrence of the Beast Tides and why they seemed endless. That was because in this underground world, as long as the Dark Artifact continued to exist, this rapid evolution process would also persist!

Similarly, if the guess were confirmed, then the depression in the public square where the calling seemed to be originating from, would be the location of the Dark Artifact!

This thought flashed across Wang Baole's mind. However, since the time he appeared until now, he had merely stood there thinking. Instantly, the Black Robe and young boy floating above the large depression appeared before Wang Baole!

As for those ferocious beasts which were in the process of praying, they quickly turned their heads, their gazes landing directly on Wang Baole.

The moment he saw Wang Baole, the young boy was surprised. He hid his newly grown right hand instinctively in his embrace, and his body disappeared instantly…

Wang Baole didn't notice all that. Right now, he was sweating as he thought about how to explain himself. He wanted to communicate with the civilization and clarify that he meant no harm and that everything was just an accident…

However, even before he could speak, Black Robe that was floating in the sky suddenly trembled. In the blink of an eye, two pupil-like dark glows appeared from within the Black Robe, staring at Wang Baole. It was shocked, and the torrent of emotions it was experiencing could be seen in its eyes.

"Wang Baole!"

The raspy voice reverberated inside Black Robe, and as it spread in all directions, Wang Baole widened his eyes and felt a buzz in his mind. He would have never imagined that the other party would know who he was. However, at this moment, Wang Baole made a guess about the person's identity in his mind.

"You are… the Dark Servant?"

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Chapter 449: I Have Wrongly Blamed the Donkey

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The words 'Dark Servant' instantly intensified the killing intent in the Black Robe's eyes. If not for his fear of Wang Baole's status and the restraint from the Dark Fire, he would have attacked immediately, suppressing Wang Baole and making him the Dark Servant!

In reality, after he had come to know of Wang Baole's status, he was still intent on killing Wang Baole. He was filled with regret and indignation for the puppet's failure and was even thinking about how to launch the second attack.

However, even before he thought of a plan, Wang Baole arrived by himself.

"You called him here!" Black Robe narrowed his eyes, lowering his head to look at the depression beneath his feet, rage apparent in his eyes. He didn't say it out loud and was merely conveying his thoughts.

What replied to him from deep within the depression was a heavy black smoke and a calling for Wang Baole that was so strong that it far exceeded that of previous callings. The voice that reverberated in Wang Baole's mind was as clear as always!

"Dark Child… Come… Come… Come…"

"Kill him!" Black Robe's breathing was rapid. He raised his illusory right hand and flailed, and the calling instantly vanished. He growled with a deep voice, as if sending a command. The moment the growl was produced, the ferocious beasts on the public square were immediately filled with rage as they snarled and charged towards Wang Baole.

Wang Baole was taken aback. As he turned, he avoided seven roaring ferocious beasts that collided with each other. However, the injuries inflicted by the leaf previously were still severe despite his astounding recovery speed. The movement made caused intense pain in his internal organs, and blood spewed out of his mouth. However, he was still very fast, and after moving away and activating his hand seals, Heavenly Thunders erupted, sweeping towards the seven ferocious beasts.

However, there were just too many ferocious beasts, with many of them on the Foundation Establishment realm and even the Core Formation realm. Wang Baole could even feel that there was a strong aura emanating a distance away. It was as if the force, initially in hibernation, was now gradually waking up.

Little Missy, why are you still sleeping now? Wang Baole was anxious, thinking about how rotten his luck was to be pursued by the three extraterrestrial cultivators. Now that he had escaped here, he still met with a life-and-death crisis.

Thankfully, he understood that Black Robe didn't dare attack him. Despite that, the ferocious beasts here could easily swallow Wang Baole whole. What made it worse was that he was also injured.

That made Wang Baole more anxious, especially as he didn't know his bearings. If he managed to break free, it would be difficult for him to leave the third level of this underground world. Furthermore, if he successfully left the third level and returned to the second level, the three extraterrestrial cultivators would be there.

He was stuck in limbo. There was simply no good way out of this situation…

That's not right! There's an exit underground! Wang Baole held his breath, and a look of ruthlessness was apparent in his eyes. He knew that he needed to give it his all. If not, this place would become his burial ground. Right now, the only way he could go was towards the depression a thousand feet away!

He trusted his intuition. His intuition was telling him that the calling from the depression wasn't hostile towards him. The calling had guided him here, and since there was no other way out now, the only choice would be to go along until the end!

With that thought, Wang Baole roared loudly. He took out his Dharmic Armament megaphone and screamed into it while directing it in all directions. With the roar being boosted by the Dharmic Armament, a hurricane erupted. The sound waves exploded in pulses, and instantly, the tens of ferocious beasts that were charging towards him were decimated, forming pools of flesh and blood.

As a result of activating his cultivation, Wang Baole's injuries became even more severe, and fresh blood was spewing out of his mouth. He didn't have the time to care too much about other things. Immediately, he activated his hand seals and raised his hands. Numerous mosquitoes emerged, charging towards the surrounding ferocious beasts.

Leveraging on this, Wang Baole picked up speed again. He roared angrily, looking at the depression before him as he charged towards it. Noticing that Wang Baole's goal was indeed the depression, the Black Robe wanted to block him, but he didn't dare to go near. He activated his hand seals, instantly causing the surrounding ferocious beasts to go even crazier. They charged towards Wang Baole with no regard for danger, as if they were being controlled.

As loud booms erupted continuously, Wang Baole had already made use of the Dark Art five times in this short period. His body was failing, and his vision was growing blurry, but he still didn't activate the Dark Fire!

He had a strong gut feeling that the Dark Fire wasn't unlimited. Using it could perhaps have some suppressive effect, but if it was exhausted by these ferocious beasts, it might just be what Black Robe desired.

In reality, that was the truth. Black Robe was indeed waiting for Wang Baole to use the Dark Fire, which would be exhausted by the ferocious beasts' death. Only when the Dark Fire was exhausted through continual usage would he dare to attack. However, right now, seeing that Wang Baole didn't use it at all, he was shocked. He was also helpless. He didn't dare to go near, but under his command, there were now even more ferocious roars and auras charging towards him.

At the same time, the young boy who was instantly taken aback after seeing Wang Baole had now appeared a distance away. He first checked his surroundings in a frightened manner. He was extremely vigilant throughout the entire process, as if searching for something that frightened him.

However, realizing that there was no scary figure and no aura from it, the young boy visibly heaved a sigh of relief. He felt that he had merely scared himself, and now, he looked towards Wang Baole with darkness and ruthlessness in his eyes.

The demon would appear and block me every time I wanted to swallow this fella. It seems like he is important to the demon… Therefore, today, I will swallow him first and gain back some interest!

The young boy's eyes looked frightening. He turned and charged towards Wang Baole. He curled his lips into a scary smile that conveyed a sense of ruthlessness and a desire for revenge as he closed in instantly!

His appearance was immediately noticed by the Black Robe.

"This idiot!" Black Robe cursed under his breath but didn't try to stop him. In his view, of the three Artifact Spirits, he was the smartest one. The other two were either in constant hibernation or was an idiot. That idiot must not have heard the conversation he had with Wang Baole, and that was why he decided to make the move.

No matter. Let it exhaust Wang Baole's Dark Fire!

As a flash appeared across Black Robe's eyes, the young boy whom he called an idiot had already weaved through the ferocious beasts at high speed and appeared behind Wang Baole. He was filled with agitation and exhilaration, and he was about to pass through Wang Baole and extinguish his fire of life.

However, the moment he neared, a roar suddenly emerged from the depression that Black Robe had suppressed. When the roar was heard, an astonishing force exploded from within.

It immediately broke Black Robe's seal, causing the Black Robe to retreat as its figure turned blurry, clearly destabilized. Gasps of anxiousness and angry screams emerged from Black Robe.

"Old fella, you've been a Dark Servant for a full era. It took so long for the Dark Sect to finally die and give us freedom, and yet you still want to continue as a slave! You don't even care that you're exhausting the essence! You're crazy!"

"Go do it yourself, don't involve me!" Black Robe roared angrily and tried to suppress it once again. However, at this time, as both sides were resisting each other with all their force, a flash appeared across Wang Baole's eyes. Without hesitation, the Dark Fire erupted!

He turned his body and charged towards the depression in front of him.

At the same time, the young boy neared…

Since he was in the lead, the young boy collided with the Dark Flame in the hurricane formed by the Dark Fire.

The young boy widened his eyes and didn't have time to dodge it. Instantly, the Dark Fire enveloped him, and he screamed pitifully. His body could be seen corroding as he retreated while screaming. In order to survive, he even broke off half of his body to escape from the area covered by the Dark Fire.

That was also the reason why Wang Baole charged out towards the depression. If not, had the young boy wanted to escape, it wouldn't be as simple as having to break off half his body.

After escaping, the young boy started crying. His body trembled as he looked at Wang Baole with a level of fear and shock that he had never experienced. He was now extremely thankful towards the donkey…

He felt that he had wronged the donkey. It always bit him not out of hostility, but due to kindness, in order to prevent him from killing himself…

As the young boy escaped, a glow flashed across Wang Baole's eyes as the Dark Fire was completely unleashed. He leveraged on the spread of the Dark Fire to increase his speed. He seemed to have transformed into a shooting star as he dashed towards the depression. Everywhere he passed, the ferocious beasts all screamed painfully, turning into ash after being set alight by the Dark Fire.

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Chapter 450: Dark Dream

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Similarly, Wang Baole's Dark Fire was limited. In the whole process of rushing, it was exhausted by the countless ferocious beasts, and Wang Baole was now visibly weakened!

However, Wang Baole had a precise grasp of the timing. Even though the Dark Fire was being exhausted, he had still managed to enter the depression while Black Robe was being held back!

The instant he entered the depression, Black Robe let out a scream filled with intense indignation. That scream spread throughout the entire third level of the underground world, causing all the cities to shake. However, it was all too late!

"Old fella, so what if you let him in? The Dark Sect has already passed on, and those grazing the cosmos had all died pathetically!"

"It's not that I don't acknowledge history. However, we have finally achieved freedom, so why do we have to be burial tributes to the Dark Sect?"

"You should know that the being that destroyed the Dark Sect is already the lord of the Never-Ending Star Zone!" Black Robe screamed angrily, and in his agitation, he revealed his body. It wasn't an elder dressed in a black robe. Instead, an aged face appeared above the black robe, as if the black robe was his body!

The young boy appeared beside Black Robe with a look of confusion in his eyes. He seemed not to have understood the entire situation, looking at Black Robe and then at the depression, unsure why Black Robe said what he said.

"You idiot!" Black Robe grew even angrier looking at the young boy. However, that made the young boy unhappy.

"Crappy clothes, who are you scolding!"

"I'm scolding you, you old chap! What's the point of acting young all the time!"

On the third level of the underground world, the furious Black Robe and the young boy began cursing each other; they even started launching attacks. The ferocious beasts on the ground and many more arriving all stared dazedly at the duo in the skies whom they thought were their leaders. They didn't dare participate, and they simply lowered their heads and waited.

At the same time, in the cosmos far away from the Solar System was a forbidden ground that was extremely dusty. That place seemed to have been forgotten by people. It was as if it had never existed amongst the other planets. In the vortex that had once sent out the casket, a sigh was heard.

As the sigh was heard, an extremely large face the size of the vortex appeared within it. It was looking in the direction of the Solar System, and after a long time, it sighed again as it closed its eyes. Its consciousness began spreading in all directions, integrating into the cosmos through some mysterious means…

Right now, on the second level of this underground world, the three extraterrestrial cultivators who had split up were now extremely anxious in their search for an exit. However, no matter how hard they tried, it was difficult to find it.

They eventually found a spot where the barrier was thinner. However, the moment they tried to blast it open and escape, the entire underground world suddenly trembled. The sky transformed, the winds howled, and the clouds churned. All weak spots hardened up instantly, and the spirits from the Spirit Sea on the first level, as well as the corpses on the second level, froze, as if having lost their ability to move.

The Spirit Sea was calm, and the grave land was peaceful. On the third level, even those ferocious beasts who had their heads lowered stopped moving. It was as if a frightening consciousness was using some form of indescribable method to come to this place through the Dark Artifact!

That existence was extremely powerful, and his arrival made all forms of life turn into puppets!

Even the young boy and Black Robe, who were now attacking each other, were shocked. They instinctively trembled, and the fear and memories that they had buried deep inside their hearts were immediately brought to the surface with the arrival of the consciousness. The moment it surfaced in their minds, the young boy knelt down and screamed painfully.

"I was wrong, I was wrong! Spare my life, master!" As it screamed instinctively, Black Robe trembled even more strongly. However, he didn't ask for forgiveness and instead exclaimed noiselessly and with disbelief.

"This consciousness… This is impossible! This… This… Impossible, absolutely impossible! He is already dead! That battle back then… He died back then!"

As the young boy knelt and asked for forgiveness, and as Black Robe gasped in disbelief, the arriving consciousness disregarded them, passing by insidiously and entering the cave!

Right now, Wang Baole, who was inside the cave, was confused. He didn't sense the arrival of that ferocious consciousness, not even the existence of the calling. Everything seemed to have disappeared once he entered the depression.

That wasn't all. There was no longer heaven and earth in the depression, only pitch-black nothingness!

Wang Baole was on a Lone Boat, a boat that was slowly advancing into nothingness. The Lone Boat was completely black, seemingly able to blend into nothingness while emanating an indescribable sense of quaintness and vicissitude. Wang Baole lowered his head and saw that he was no longer wearing his original clothing, but was instead in a familiar black robe!

Furthermore, in front of him was an oar. More accurately, it was a lantern oar. At its tip hung a light made of a green sack!

Lone Boat, Black Robe, Lantern Oar…

The moment he saw all this, Wang Baole uncontrollably thought of Zhao Pinfang's mural, the one he had seen in the Mars research facility…

All this confused him. His thoughts also seemed to become blurry with the quietness of the surrounding nothingness. Gradually, as the sampan advanced slowly, together with the peacefulness of the surroundings, Wang Baole could no longer keep his eyes open. He sat down in the Lone Boat, leaning against its side, about to fall into a deep slumber.

In between wakefulness and sleep, he vaguely heard a tune coming from afar. The tune wasn't from a child, but from an elderly yet warm voice. It reverberated by his ears, accompanying him to dreamland.

"When the heavens and earth separate, the cycle of fate stops…"

"Knowing what happened in the past, the one who suffers now is…"

"Knowing what's to come in the future, the one who is working hard now is…"

The tune reverberated, eventually filling up Wang Baole's consciousness. His head was slanted, and his eyelids trembled, wanting to open his eyes. However, he was simply too tired, and eventually completely lost consciousness…

As he fell into a deep slumber, the consciousness that arrived seemed to appear beside the Lone Boat that was advancing in the nothingness. It gradually transformed into an elder's illusory figure, standing on the Lone Boat as he looked at Wang Baole. He was full of emotion, and his gaze was warm.

The only seed left in this world… Perhaps, this is a reincarnation…

Forget it… The elder sighed softly, raising his right hand and pressing it on Wang Baole's glabella, mumbling as he did so.

"Dark Dream…"

Wang Baole indeed felt that he was in a dream, an indescribable dream. In this dream world were brilliant lights that made him very unwilling to wake up.

After an unknown period of time, he heard the familiar tune again. The sound was warm and amiable as usual, and it seemed to be approaching him from afar. It reverberated by his ears, and he opened his eyes.

He was still on the Lone Boat, and he was no longer surrounded by nothingness but by the cosmos!

The cosmos was so vast and limitless that he could see the swirling stars, as well as dust that he had never seen before. He could even see meteoroids floating and spinning by.

Everything was so foreign that Wang Baole was momentarily shocked. At the same time, he saw an elder holding a lantern oar in front of him, wearing a black robe!

He was using the lantern oar to journey through the cosmos…

"When the heavens and earth separate, the cycle of fate stops…"

"Knowing what happened in the past, the one who suffers now is…"

"Knowing what's to come in the future, the one who is working hard now is…"

The raspy, peaceful voice emerged from his mouth. Sensing that Wang Baole had woken up, the elder's voice paused. He turned around, revealing an extremely kind yet wrinkly face beneath the black robe. Age and warmth filled his eyes as he looked at Wang Baole and smiled.

"Baole, what happened to you?"

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Chapter 451: Master, I Had a Dream

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The vast cosmos was filled with dazzling stars, swirling galaxies, and the infrequent meteors and adrift dust. They all pointed to how real everything was.

Sudden confusion and bewilderment overwhelmed the recently awakened Wang Baole and shone in his eyes. Before he could speak, the elder standing in front of him turned around. His kind gaze met Wang Baole's eyes, causing Wang Baole to freeze. The elder's voice was like a slight breeze that brushed past Wang Baole's body and sank into his soul. It made Wang Baole shudder suddenly…

Then… a flood of memories surged in his mind. It swept away his bewilderment and the remnants of his dreamscape. He seemed to have truly awakened then. He remembered his name in those dreams. He was called… Wang Baole!

He had come from the planet Sang Lun and had entered the Dark Sect when he was seven years old, becoming a disciple of the Dark Sect's inner sect. The elder before him was his master, one of the nine Grand Elders of the current generation of the Dark Sect!

He was called… Ming Kunzi!

He was his master's youngest disciple. His master had brought him away from the Dark Planet to a planet that was about to pass. They were headed there to ferry the dead souls on behalf of the Heavenly Dao. They were to bring balance to life and death.

To guide souls to their rebirth, that was the Dark Sect's mission. The Dark Sect wielded the power of death in the universe, which was why the disciples of every generation needed to learn the ways to ferry the dead. That was why his master had brought him along, so that he might witness the entire process with his own eyes and gain greater knowledge of the Dark Art.

All his memories surged to his mind at that moment, and Wang Baole took a deep breath. He was no longer lost but fully awake. However, he still couldn't forget what he had dreamt. As his master looked at him with kind eyes and spoke to him in a kind voice, Wang Baole got to his feet hastily and bowed.

"Master… I had a dream just now. When I woke up, I was slightly lost, and I couldn't tell if everything that had happened in the dream was true or merely an illusion," Wang Baole said. He felt uneasy since he had fallen asleep in front of his master. He might get a scolding from the latter for that.

The elder gazed meaningfully at Wang Baole, then shook his head and smiled.

"What dream?"

"Ah?" Wang Baole released a sigh of relief when he realized his master didn't intend to reprimand him. After some thought, Wang Baole began to recall everything that had happened in his dream. The look in his eyes gradually grew distant. He seemed to be remembering. After a long while, he spoke softly.

"Master, it was a strange dream. In the dream… I was also called Wang Baole, but I wasn't in the Dark Sect. I don't know how many years had passed, but I was on a planet called Earth…"

"The greatest sect there was something called the Federation… I remember that in my dream, I had an ambition, I wanted to become the Federation President… Right, the Federation President was something like the sect lord of that sect." After saying that, Wang Baole seemed slightly embarrassed. He felt his ambition in his dreams was quite a load of rubbish.

"Don't misunderstand, master. This isn't a case of my thoughts in the day appearing in my dreams at night. My dream is to become the sect lord of the Dark Sect, this will never change. Who cares about the Federation President? It's just a whole load of dog sh*t!" Wang Baole hurriedly thudded his chest and proclaimed loudly.

The elder stared at Wang Baole, with what was seemingly a smile on his face. He didn't say anything.

Wang Baole seemed slightly sheepish when he saw the smile on his master's face. He thought about changing the subject and hurriedly said, "Master, don't you find it strange? I, Wang Baole, am the most good looking in the entire Dark Sect. In my dream, I was also the most good looking in the entire Federation. In my dream, countless beautiful women went head over heels for me. They adored me and wanted to have my children… what a chore!" Wang Baole sighed.

"Master, I'm already living like this in the Dark Sect, I've had enough of it. Who knew that it would be the same in my dreams. What do you think I should do? I'm so troubled." Wang Baole had intended to change the topic, but as he went on, he became distracted by his own words. The expression on the elder beside him grew strange. In the end, he could listen to Wang Baole no more, so he coughed.

The sound of the cough echoed in Wang Baole's mind and interrupted what he was saying.

"Baole, we've arrived." As he said that, the elder raised his right hand towards the skies before them and waved. A loud deafening boom thundered in what had been a peaceful starlit sky. It seemed unable to withstand the elder's power. It was as if a pair of invisible hands had ripped the skies apart, and an enormous tear appeared in the heavens before the elder!

It was as long as a planet and split open like a wide chasm. One could hardly see where it ended if one stood too near it. From afar, it looked like a scar inflicted on the universe!

The sight sent Wang Baole reeling in shock. His breathing quickened. He couldn't imagine the extent of power required to create such an awesome sight. Not to mention, the elder had only waved his hand.

The tear that he created was enough to destroy an entire planet!

That wasn't the end of it. Through the tear, Wang Baole could distinctly see another world lying beyond. Perhaps it might be more accurate to say that this tear was like a form of teleportation—the world within lay an immense distance away from where they were.

The universe within the tear contained a single planet, one that was red in color and exuded an extreme heat. One could vaguely see a civilization present on the planet. There were countless lives on it. However, this civilization was about to experience mass sorrow and despair…

This was because a huge meteor had just crashed into the planet. The planet shuddered. It didn't collapse or disintegrate, but calamity descended. It swept across the entire planet and countless people perished!

As these lives faded, their souls littered the heavens, some even drifting further into the stars. The living couldn't see them, but they were clear to the eyes of one from the Dark Sect. The countless souls of the dead wandered beyond the planet, amongst the stars. They wept and clustered together. There were countless of them…

The planet faded from its deep red into a gray color. It seemed like the planet… was also marching towards death!

The sight stirred Wang Baole's heart once again. He felt that this was a familiar sight. It seemed that he had seen something like this in his dreams, on a wall painting. There was a striking similarity with what he was seeing now.

"Baole, you must remember, the Dark Sect's responsibility is to serve on behalf of the Heavenly Dao and ferry the dead souls. We have to guide them to where they are supposed to go, instead of allowing them to wander the universe…"

"Watch carefully…" the elder said. He raised the lantern oar in his hand and shook it lightly. Wang Baole couldn't tell what spell he cast, but as the lantern oar shook, the dead souls on the planet and in the universe within the tear trembled in unison. They no longer howled. They were like a drowning man who had just grabbed hold of stray straws. They seemed to have seen a lighthouse in the midst of overwhelming darkness. The dead souls turned their eyes towards the elder instantly. In the next instant, they fled towards him!

Countless souls passed through the tear, traveling from one end of the universe to the boat where Wang Baole and the elder stood. They gathered and formed a river of dead souls!

It was a vast river without an end in sight. This river of souls carried the lone boat as it drifted into the distance…

The tear slowly shut. As it disappeared, Wang Baole caught a glance of the planet inside the tear. It had turned completely gray.

Shocked, Wang Baole stared at the river of souls around him before he turned and looked at his master. It was then that his master's quiet and calm voice echoed in his ear.

"This is the Dark Sect's mission. We ferry all dead souls in the entire universe… Baole, why are you in a daze? Start singing the Soul Song!"

Wang Baole shuddered. He opened his mouth instinctively, and a strange melody, like a form of chanting, rang out and echoed in the heavens. It drifted alongside the river of dead souls…

"When the heavens and earth separate, the cycle of fate stops…"

"Knowing what happened in the past, the one who suffers now is…"

"Knowing what's to come in the future, the one who is working hard now is…"

As the song drifted into the distance, countless faces appeared within the river of dead souls. There were faces of the young and the old, of men and women. Some of them appeared to be human, others monsters. They had a look of peace on their faces. They seemed to be filled with joy. There was no pain. They gathered around the boat and moved with the Soul Song.

They traveled into the distance… towards the Dark Sect!

Eons ago, what had been the pinnacle and most glorious era of… the Dark Sect!

From afar, the river of souls seemed vast and endless. A lone boat drifted on the river. On it should have been two figures, one old and one young. However, at that moment, the silhouette of the elder seemed faint and slightly blurry. Only Wang Baole's form grew ever clearer.

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Chapter 452: Corpse Face!

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Wang Baole's memories regarding the commencement of this journey were blurry. It seemed that his dream had seemed too real, which made everything around him now seem familiar yet foreign to him.

On their way back, after he had sung the Soul Song repeatedly, Wang Baole gazed at the starlit heavens. He couldn't help but think of his dream.

He could vaguely remember that he had really appeared to be the most good looking person in the Federation. He had even had a few romantic partners. Like Bunny, like Zhao Yameng, like Li Wan'er, like Li Yi, like Li Xiu…

That's not right, Li Yi wasn't one of them! Wang Baole thought for a bit. He was slightly confused. He remembered Li Xiu was a man, but his memories weren't clear. This sent him reeling back in shock. He was both doubtful and afraid.

That's impossible… in my dreams… no, I, Wang Baole, am not that sort of person! Wang Baole twitched in fear. He tried to remember what had happened in his dream. He gradually recalled something. He remembered that Li Xiu was only the brother of one of his confidants. That made him sigh with relief.

However, as the memories of his dream surfaced, waves of unwillingness and nostalgia surfaced in his heart unknowingly. They were feelings for his parents in his dream, his friends, his romantic partners, and the Federation…

It's only a dream… Wang Baole sighed in his heart. The elder standing in front of him turned and stared at Wang Baole. He said softly.

"Baole, are you still thinking about the Federation in your dream?"

Upon hearing that, Wang Baole lifted his head and looked at his master. He thought for a bit, then asked, "Master, why do people dream? This dream about the Federation felt too real…"

The elder stared at Wang Baole. There was tender love on his face. He patted Wang Baole on the head, then spoke kindly.

"Baole, as a Dark Child, you must know that there are no dreams in this world. What you see as a dream… is but another you!"

"Another me?" Wang Baole was slightly confused. He was about to question further when he looked down at his master's hand and saw a finger vanishing. He immediately forgot all about his dream. He gasped and shouted.

"Master, your finger…"

The elder lowered his head and looked at his finger. He smiled. There was no hint of surprise or shock in his eyes. When he gazed at Wang Baole again, the kindness in his eyes grew.

"It's alright, this is an old wound."

Wang Baole wanted to pursue the matter, but the elder had already turned around. He moved the lantern oar and set the boat drifting into the distance. Slowly, it began to cross the heavens. A long time passed… before a dazzling starlit zone appeared around them.

This field of stars was littered with dazzling planets. The planets numbered in the millions!

On each planet was an illusory gate many times larger than the planet. They stood on each planet and seemed to all look the same. Every gate exuded an ancient aura and looked majestic, providing a spectacular sight.

From afar, one would see endless planets and hence endless gates… Rivers of souls flowed through every illusory gate, circling the field of stars.

There was a large horde of cultivators flying around in the skies. They seemed to be both guides and guards. They bowed respectfully towards Wang Baole's master when they saw the latter. It was clear from their eyes that they respected the elder deeply and genuinely.

The elder found it difficult to return each greeting, only nodding slightly. He spoke softly, as if to himself and at the same time, as if trying to explain something.

"This is the Gate of Rebirth!"

"The Gate of Rebirth…" Wang Baole murmured. He was filled with awe. The boat had brought them to the center of this galactic domain, and in the middle of it was… an immense and vast planet that exceeded the size of the Solar System!

When Wang Baole saw this planet, shock and awe surged through him.

The planet was simply too big. It was speckled with bright, even colors, and a large horde of souls flew out from within the planet. From afar, it looked like the source of the Dark River. The souls that departed from it formed a river that spread and split into smaller streams. They flowed through the multiple Gates of Rebirth around the planet!

"This is the responsibility of the Dark Sect—rebirth!" The elder's calm voice rang out. Wang Baole had long since been blown away by the sight before him. He stared with wide eyes and an open mouth until the boat entered the planet that was the size of the Solar System. He then saw countless vast mountains and rivers on the surface of this planet. There was also… a palace that stretched endlessly into the horizon!

In the distant lands, he could see miles and miles of beasts. They didn't seem violent at all. They appeared to be peaceful beasts, and they were aiding the cultivators in constructing… a majestic stone monument!

The stone monument seemed to be in the beginning stages of construction. Despite that, it already seemed to stretch into the skies. It was a spectacular sight!

Countless Dark Sect cultivators wandered the planet and in the field of stars. Everything felt strange and unfamiliar to Wang Baole, but he kept telling himself that these were all familiar to him. The two vastly different feelings clashed inside him. His breathing grew uneven, and he felt lost and confused most of the time.

Finally, his master's boat brought him to the highest mountain range on this planet. Palaces were in groups, spanning the entire width of the horizon with no end in sight. It wasn't only the land that was littered with countless grand halls and cultivators; the skies were the same. Countless palaces floated in the skies, and countless cultivators made their way around them. Enormous, Kun Peng-like beasts swam in the skies.

Every single thing sent waves of intense emotion through Wang Baole. He didn't even notice that his master had landed the boat outside a palace and had left him. It was only when a voice protested in his ear that Wang Baole finally returned to reality.

"Why are there so many this round? We're going to be so busy. Baole, why are you in a daze? It's not like you haven't seen this before. Quick, come over and help me!" It was a youth who spoke to him. He wore black robes, and there were freckles on his face. The expression on his face was one of exasperation. He stared at the sky and at the wide river formed from the great crowd of souls that Ming Kunzi had ferried over and sighed.

Wang Baole turned his head hastily. A familiar feeling rose from his memory as he looked at the youth. He could tell that this was his senior brother, so he hurried over. Only, he didn't know what to do. After some hesitation, he asked, "Senior Brother, what should I do?"

"Are you trying to shirk your duties again? Baole, there are too many dead souls this round. Your senior brother won't be able to handle them all, so you can't sneak off again this time!" The youth grabbed Wang Baole's arm and pulled him into a great hall that was half the size of a city. It was expansive, and it had nine statues erected inside, one of which was a statue of Ming Kunzi!

It was clear that the other eight statues held the same status as Ming Kunzi… they were of the other Grand Elders of the Dark Sect!

In the center of the nine statues were bronze mirrors the size of a man. There were countless mirrors—at least a million of them. Before every bronze mirror sat a Dark Sect cultivator, who drew continuously in front of the mirror…

Amongst the million or so bronze mirrors, two mirrors stood out. They were not only bigger, but they were of a different color. The rest were all bronze while these two were purple. They seemed to be the primary mirrors!

Wang Baole was yanked along by his senior brother. They swept past the greetings from the rest and arrived before the two main mirrors. His senior brother seemed determined not to let him escape.

Wang Baole's head swelled. Everything around him seemed foreign yet familiar, but he really didn't know what he was supposed to do next. He scratched his head and asked again.

"Senior Brother, what exactly should I do?"

The youth with freckles on his face gave Wang Baole a deep, long look. He asked softly.

"Baole, don't you know how to draw the Corpse Face?"

Corpse Face! Wang Baole shuddered. He stared at the purple mirror before him. He could see a soul forming in the mirror. It cupped its fists towards Wang Baole, and its face was formless and without features…

"Baole, don't do a hasty job. When souls arrive here, the faces of their past lives would gradually fade away. You have to listen to the guidance of the Heavenly Dao and draw them a new face. What you draw will determine what they will be born with in their next life!" Having said that, the youth ignored Wang Baole. He used his finger as a brush and painted the face on the dead soul in the mirror.

Wang Baole's breathing grew uneven. He naturally knew how to perform the Dark Corpse Face Art. What he didn't know was whether he had originally known how to do it, or if he had learned it in his dream. His memories were in a mess. He could see the dead soul waiting, so he set his thoughts aside and lifted his right hand. He shut his eyes. The Dark Corpse Face Art, which he had learned, appeared in his mind.

First, the Corpse Eyebrow, then the Corpse Eyes, followed by the Corpse Nose and the Corpse Lips, finally forming… the Corpse Face!

A moment later, Wang Baole opened his eyes. Just as right index finger was about to land as he began to start painting, a sudden consciousness descended in his mind. He could somehow see a baby girl being born on a planet. He could see her entire life, from birth to death…

This wasn't the soul's past life, but that of its next!

He couldn't clearly discern its fate, but he could see what it was supposed to look like. Its face… etched itself into his mind as a force guided his hand. Slowly, he began to draw…

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Chapter 453: Senior Brother Chen Qing

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Wang Baole remembered the girl to be very pretty and very good-looking. But she was too thin… it seemed as if a breeze would knock her over.

Her thinness was what resulted in her weak immunity. In this strange state of consciousness, Wang Baole seemed to remember that in her next life, she had perished because of this exact reason.

Wang Baole felt that he should help this soul while he was painting the Corpse Face. He added a few additional strokes while following the image that had surfaced in his memory… Finally, he was done. He looked at the chubby-looking soul in the mirror and smiled, pleased with himself.

With a wave of his hand, the bewildered soul vanished, only to be replaced with another soul…

Wang Baole began his life of painting at the Dark Sect. He painted Corpse Faces every day. The fewest he painted were ten thousand faces, the most forty to fifty thousand faces a day. He had still been unfamiliar with the art, but he soon got used to it and began to paint with ease. He improved at a startling rate.

He didn't even need to look at the mirror. He could simply lift his hand and paint. Such an ability would prove to be useful and extremely effective when facing opponents in battle.

Time passed. It had been two weeks since Wang Baole returned to the Dark Sect. During this period, besides painting Corpse Faces, the face that he saw the most was his freckle-faced senior brother.

After finding out that Wang Baole had a dream while following their master off to ferry souls, and had woken up feeling slightly confused, his senior brother, Chen Qing, expressed great sympathy towards Wang Baole. He helped him organize his memories. This allowed Wang Baole to slowly recollect and clarify his memories during this period.

His memories prior to entering the Dark Sect remained vague, but his memories of the Dark Sect grew clearer. He knew that he wasn't only Ming Kunzi's disciple but that he also had more than a hundred senior brothers…

They were all Ming Kunzi's disciples. Their ages differed, with the eldest of them having already trained for nearly half a century. He himself had many disciples as well. Wang Baole was the youngest of all these disciples. Despite his young age and his later admission to the sect, his rank was considerably high.

This resulted in a great many disciples addressing him as Uncle-Master or other respectful terms when he was in the sect. Wang Baole felt extremely pleased with their address. This also further strengthened his resolve to become the sect lord of the Dark Sect!

He felt that this was the path that most suited him. The Federation President was something that happened in a dream. Even though he felt it quite a loss when he thought back about it, he reminded himself that he had simply woken up too soon. Else, he firmly believed that he would've become the Federation President in his dream.

As his memories of the Dark Sect came back to him, he also remembered the status that the Dark Sect held in this part of the universe. The Dark Sect controlled rebirth and death in this part of the universe. All that had perished were under its jurisdiction. The Dark Sect reigned supreme here, over countless civilizations and countless sects. It represented death!

This could clearly be seen in the name of this part of the universe. It was called… the Dark Universe!

The universe of the Dark Sect!

The place Wang Baole was only formed a small part of the Dark Universe. The Dark Sect was spread out across nine parts in the universe. These nine starfields were scattered across space, and a Grand Elder presided over each starfield. This region was presided over by Ming Kunzi!

While the Dark Sect was strong and powerful, the sect wasn't without its foe. Its archenemy was… formed from numerous powerful entities and civilizations that didn't wish to die. As a result, they came together and formed… the Never-Ending Clan!

They were called the Never-Ending Clan because "Never-Ending " represented the absence of an end. It stood for their desire to live forever. There would never be a day where they would face true death. Even if they should fall from grace, they would be reborn according to their own will instead of entering the cycle of rebirth, where all traces of their past lives would be wiped away before they were reborn into the next life!

The two entities were like life and death. They clashed numerous times in space. However, there seemed to be a pattern to their dance. There were never large-scale wars or battles. A balance had been struck. This was because the Never-Ending Clan didn't have full confidence of victory against the Dark Sect.

The Dark Sect had no ambitions of their own. The mission of the Dark Sect was to ferry the souls of the dead. They were to serve on behalf of the Heavenly Dao!

They didn't act in aggression. After all, balance was also a part of the Heavenly Dao!

Everything should be strange and foreign to him, but Wang Baole could still sense familiar memories surfacing clearly in his mind. He finally had a basic grasp of the Dark Sect and the universe.

He also realized what the stone monument the huge hordes of beasts and cultivators had been trying to construct on that planet was…

"This is the Dark Child Monument!" Wang Baole's senior brother, the freckle-faced youth, gazed at the distant stone monument and told Wang Baole. There was a tinge of pride in his eyes when he said that, as well as a deep fervor.

"Dark Child, this is an identity and a symbol!

"Only when one becomes a Dark Child could he venture out alone and be qualified to ferry the souls of the dead… There are two ways to become a Dark Child. One is what you and I did, which is to become a disciple under the nine Grand Elders. By doing so, you'll automatically be seen as a Dark Child!

"But that is only a reflection of your status… it doesn't mean that you're a real Dark Child. To become a real Dark Child, there is only one way, the second way. That is… to get your name on the Dark Child Monument!

"You can't do it yourself. Only a Grand Elder has the right to put a name there. After that, whether the name remains on the monument is yet another important step. This would involve the approval and recognition by the Heavenly Dao!

"Baole, if the Heavenly Dao acknowledges you, your name will remain on the stone monument. If it doesn't, the Dark Child Monument will wipe it off after our master has carved it into the monument!"

"As for my name… our master will carve it into the monument after this Dark Child Monument is built. I believe that the Heavenly Dao will recognize and approve of me. That's why you have to buck up, Baole!" There was a fierce light shining in Chen Qing's eyes. At this moment, he wasn't the youth that had been painting Corpse Faces with Wang Baole. He was one of the disciples of Ming Kunzi, whose cultivation might not be the highest, but whose natural gifts and talents were incomparable!

After regaining his memories, Wang Baole remembered that Chen Qing's gifts were so great that they were beyond this world. The other Grand Elders in the Dark Sect had said that he had surpassed all limits. In fact, he might even become the tenth Grand Elder many years later!

His cultivation was also extremely powerful currently. In Wang Baole's memories, the Dark Sect categorized the levels of cultivation into five great realms: the Spirit Immortal realm, the Planet realm, the Eternal Star realm, the Galaxy realm, and the Universe realm!

Each great realm was further split into different stages. For example, the first Spirit Immortal realm was divided into the Foundation Establishment realm, the Core Formation realm, the Nascent Soul realm, the Soul Conduit realm, and finally, the Spirit Immortal realm!

The Planet realm, the Eternal Star realm, and the Galaxy realm worked the same way. The final Universe realm was the only exception. It was mysterious and unfathomable. At present, only the ninth Grand Elder had reached the Universe realm!

The other Grand Elders were all at the perfected Galaxy realm. The next step towards the Universe realm was extremely challenging.

Chen Qing himself wasn't yet three hundred years old, but his cultivation had progressed at an astonishing rate. He had a breakthrough six months ago, advancing from the final stage in the Planet realm into the first stage of the Eternal Star realm!

Such natural talent could even be deemed as a gift from the heavens!

Wang Baole looked at his overperforming senior brother, who had stolen all the limelight, and sighed secretly. He felt such immense stress. As his memories returned to him, he began to remember what freaks his senior brothers and senior sisters were. Each one of them was worse than the next. The strongest of them was already at the Galaxy realm.

The weakest of them was already at the Planet realm… he was the only one still at the perfected Foundation Establishment realm within the Spirit Immortal realm. He hadn't yet even reached the Core Formation realm…

While Wang Baole was lamenting inwardly, Chen Qing, who had been bursting with passionate, heartfelt emotion, seemed to have suddenly remembered something. He looked around, then lowered his head and grabbed hold of Wang Baole's shoulder. He had a mysterious look on his face as he whispered, "Baole, do you know whose soul I met when I drew the Corpse Face yesterday?"

Wang Baole eyed his senior brother, who was trying to act mysterious but had a perverted look on his face. He rolled his eyes.

"Senior Brother, I've regained a significant portion of my memories. You don't have to scare me…"

"When the living perishes, unless there are massive deaths that might have been a result of the destruction of a planet, we of the Dark Sect are often not required to ferry those souls personally. The Heavenly Dao would lead and guide them to the nearest Rebirth Abyss of the Dark Sect, and the souls will enter our Corpse Face Mirrors. We will then paint the faces for their next lives…

"When we are painting the Corpse Faces, the will of the Heavenly Dao will descend upon us and let us know what the soul will look like in their next life. We can paint their faces, but we won't be able to know this soul's past life or how they looked in that past life. That's why you won't be able to recognize anyone, no matter who appears in the mirror!"

Chen Qing stared. He looked around, then leaned closer to Wang Baole and whispered.

"Of course, I'm aware that we can't see the past life of the dead soul, but I can see its next life. Yesterday… I met a soul and saw her next life. She's going to be my Dao partner! She'll accompany me by my side. We will love each other for the rest of our lives, until the end of time. We'll even have three children…"

"That's why I got excited. I unleashed a hundred and twenty percent of my ability and painted her into a beauty. Both her figure and her face aligned perfectly with my aesthetics!" At that, Chen Qing smiled happily. He had a look of anticipation on his face.

"You mean you can do that!" Wang Baole was stunned. He found that incredulous.

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Chapter 454: The Dark Art, Soul Guidance

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

As Chen Qing continued to bask in his self-satisfaction, and as Wang Baole looked on with incredulity and envy, a soft cough sounded behind them. It echoed and made the self-satisfied Chen Qing shudder violently. He turned around hastily, the happiness on his face being replaced by a serious expression. His earlier perverted look transformed to one of righteousness as he lowered his voice and bowed.

"Greetings, Master!"

It had to be said that Chen Qing was indeed very experienced. That was why he had been able to react so quickly. Wang Baole was comparably more inexperienced and slower on the uptake. It took him a moment to turn around and see his master, Ming Kunzi, standing behind them.

"Greetings, Master!" Wang Baole bowed hurriedly. He didn't think that he had been slow to react, but that his senior brother, Chen Qing, must have felt sheepish at his own behavior and thus reacted more quickly.

Wang Baole noticed that their master, Ming Kunzi, didn't seem to notice Chen Qing. He was instead gazing kindly at him.

"Baole, how's your Corpse Face coming along?"

Wang Baole hastily replied upon hearing what his master said.

"Dear master, your humble disciple has already familiarized himself with the Corpse Face Art. I've followed the will of the Heavenly Dao exactly when I painted the Corpse Face for the dead souls. In addition, every time, sympathy and compassion would rise in my heart, so I'd draw a few more strokes for them." Wang Baole was extremely pleased with his painting skills. When he said that, Chen Qing, who was standing beside him, blinked. He seemed to find his master's question slightly strange. Feeling slightly guilty, he decided to steer the conversation away. At present, his Junior Brother Baole was the best way to change the topic.

He spoke hastily, "Master, don't listen to Junior Brother Baole speak rubbish. I was next to him and saw very clearly that Junior Brother Baole has been mischievous. His Corpse Faces were indeed decent, but this guy… I don't know why, but he kept painting fatties… It didn't matter if they were men or women, they all turned out to be fatties. I can almost imagine the future, when this batch of souls is reborn, that the world would suddenly be filled with a whole lot of fatties…" Chen Qing sighed. He lowered his head and winked at Wang Baole. He wanted to tell his Junior Brother that he was sorry, but this senior brother had no other choice. He could only use his Junior Brother as a distraction.

Wang Baole glared. He wanted to explain himself, but then he saw what his senior brother was trying to hint at him. He held back his feelings of injustice and began to sulk. He didn't say a word.

Ming Kunzi didn't seem to pay much mind to what Chen Qing said, nor did he pursue it further. Instead, he gave Wang Baole a few tips on the finer details of painting Corpse Faces. Next to them, Chen Qing appeared obedient. He nodded from time to time, as if agreeing with what his master had just said, as if his master was simply too amazing.

After a while, Ming Kunzi left. When he was leaving, Wang Baole noticed his master's right hand. It appeared more blurry than before. It was like what had happened on the boat, when he had seen his master's finger.

The sight shocked Wang Baole. He was about to ask his master about it when the latter went away.

"What is the reason behind that?" Wang Baole hesitated before he communicated his doubts to his senior brother. When Chen Qing heard his question, there was surprise and shock on his face.

"You must have made a mistake, I don't see anything."

Wang Baole was caught in a slight daze. He thought hard about it and wondered if he had indeed made a mistake. The next day, when he went to visit his master again, he paid greater attention and observed that his master's hand appeared normal. He couldn't help but rub his eyes. He thought perhaps there really was something wrong with his eyes.

The doubts in his heart didn't lessen though. He simply kept them to himself.

Time passed steadily. Another two weeks passed. During this period, Wang Baole continued to paint Corpse Faces every day. With the great number of paintings he did, his Corpse Face Art reached great heights. In addition, with his senior brother helping him to regain his memories, he began to recall the second level of the Dark Art.

The second level of the Dark Art was called… Soul Guidance!

The first level of the Dark Art is Corpse Face, and the second level is Soul Guidance. This is a divine power and a cultivation technique… the Dark Fire is like Spirit Qi. It will continue to accumulate inside the body… As Wang Baole's memories continued to surface, he consolidated what he now knew about the Dark Art in a manner coherent to himself.

He also knew that the Dark Corpse Face Art was akin to a cultivation technique that was taught to Foundation Establishment realm disciples in the Dark Sect. By mastering this technique, one might be able to achieve a breakthrough in the Foundation Establishment realm and form the Dark Core, and, after which, begin to practice Soul Guidance. However, this way of training was no longer in fashion.

To those who were gifted, the Dark Sect would have the disciple practice Corpse Face until they reached the perfected Foundation Establishment realm. After which, they would begin to practice the second level of the Dark Art, Soul Guidance. This would spur the mutation of the Dark Fire inside their body, and the Dark Fire would grow in strength and number. When the disciple formed their Core, it would be stronger for it.

This was because the Soul Guidance technique accelerated the absorption of Dark Qi and compressed the Dark Fire inside one's body.

This allowed multiple Dark Fires to appear. The number of Dark Fire appearances would differ according to each individual's natural talents.

According to the Dark Sect's records, the highest number of times the Dark Fires multiplied was eighty-one times. This meant that eighty-one Dark Fires layered over one another and eventually formed a Dark Core. Its power was immense. The person who had achieved such a feat was… the Senior Brother beside him, Chen Qing!

Others had managed to reach a couple of dozen layers as well.

As a means of attack, the Soul Guidance technique would summon a Dark Hand from inside one's body. This Dark Hand could pierce through the flesh of all living creatures and grab hold of its soul!

This was Soul Guidance!

Powerful beyond measure!

If a Dark Core realm cultivator unleashed this technique, its power would be even greater!

After regaining these memories, Wang Baole's breathing quickened. Besides painting Corpse Faces every day, he began to practice the Soul Guidance technique. It was still a struggle for him to practice this divine power, but its effect of increasing one's Dark Fires was clear, especially where Wang Baole was concerned. The Dark Fires inside his body grew from its original three to four, then five, then six, then seven…

At the end of the two weeks, he had seventeen Dark Fires inside his body. When they were layered together, their combined power surpassed that of what he had in the past!

Now, when he walked around in the Dark Sect, the mere aura that he exuded would strike fear and awe into the hearts of those souls outside the sect who had sinned greatly in their past lives and had been punished and made into servants. When they saw him, they would quake in their boots and prostrate themselves before him.

This was an awesome aura that Wang Baole hadn't possessed when he had first returned to the Dark Sect!

Wang Baole had thought that the days that followed would be as peaceful as they were now, that they would pass quietly. However, after seven days passed, suddenly, one day at noon, sudden winds swept into the Dark Sect. Lightning descended, and the heavens boomed with thunder. The skies darkened as an overpowering aura descended from the starry skies!

The aura was simply too overpowering. There were seven presences, and six of them had surpassed the power of a heavenly presence. When they descended, the entire sky quaked, and the planets beyond the Dark Sect shuddered. All living creatures felt a weight upon them. It was as if time itself had slowed down.

They were secondary to the seventh presence. As soon as it appeared, all planets beyond the Dark Sect let loose a loud booming sound. It was as if they were about to collapse into themselves. One could even see lines of fractures appearing on each planet. The Gates of Rebirth on the planets began to sway, and their brightness dimmed. The rivers of souls passing through the gates trembled and froze, seemingly unable to move.

Every Dark Sect disciple on the planets began breathing quickly and unevenly. Alarm and shock rose like waves in their minds. It was the same for the giant planet that the Dark Sect was on. Giant beasts trembled, countless souls shrieked, the earth shook, and the heavens thundered. In the skies above the Dark Sect appeared… seven suns!

Amongst the seven suns, six were crimson red. Only one was purple!

As soon as they appeared, a voice filled with intense fury and violence howled from within the purple sun!

"Ming Kunzi, hand over my daughter's soul!"

As the howl thundered out, an intense purple light exploded from the purple sun. The same happened with the surrounding six red suns. Light blanketed the entire region in an instant. Violence and heat, carrying infinite destruction, seemed to be threatening the complete annihilation of the region! It appeared as if it was about to crush and turn everything into dust!

As the overwhelming power erupted, within the Dark Sect, an equally overpowering aura erupted. Numerous moons rose to the skies. There were thirteen bright moons, and each one of them exuded a power that rivaled the red suns. They pushed back the intense aura of the red suns, and it was then that the fourteenth moon rose into the sky!

The color of this moon was black!

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Chapter 455: No Future!

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

"You've gone too far!" The instant the fourteenth moon rose into the sky, Ming Kunzi's voice thundered out from within, answering the voice within the purple sun. Ming Kunzi's voice was laced with ice. It was devoid of all emotions and seemed to contain the will of the Heavenly Dao as it echoed in the heavens.

As soon as the voice appeared, the region, which had been quaking and weighed down by the appearance of the seven suns, seemed to recover from said appearance. It was as if everything had been erased in that instant. It was as if… the Heavenly Dao had descended suddenly and enveloped the Dark Sect. The Heavenly Dao was turning the tables on the seven suns that had intruded into the space and began a counterattack!

The heavens thundered, and the seven suns shook. The purple sun shone even brighter as a figure appeared within the sun. It was a middle-aged man wearing a purple-colored robe. Behind him was a gigantic illusory figure. It seemed to be fused with the sun and had three heads and six arms!

"Ming Kunzi, your Dark Sect dares ferry the souls of my children. For this… we, the Never-Ending Clan, demand an answer!"

"Every living thing is a part of the cycle of rebirth. The Heavenly Dao itself is a cycle. One who has awakened has no need for dreams. There is only the next life… this principle cannot be changed!" Ming Kunzi, who was wearing a black robe, stepped out from the fourteenth black moon as his words rang out. He stood in the sky as he spoke coolly.

"Cannot be changed?" The middle-aged man stepped out from the purple sun. In his anger, he laughed. He raised his right hand. Instantly, a blinding light erupted from the six red suns surrounding him, and light flooded the entire area in an instant. From afar, it was like a red sea, which roared and surged towards Ming Kunzi.

Ming Kunzi snorted. He waved his hand as well, and a black light spread out instantly. It was like the dark night, and it clashed with the incoming red light. The two began a battle in the sky, in a manner that Wang Baole found incomprehensible!

The heavens shook, and the entire region quavered. No one could be seen in the fight though. It was only red and black clashing back and forth in the sky, pushing against and devouring each other!

Even the passing of time seemed to be affected. The time governing heaven and earth was no longer the same, and a breath on the earth was a day to the two entities in the sky!

It was then, as Wang Baole's breathing grew uneven, that a large hand appeared from inside the red light in the sky. It went through the sea of light and headed towards the palace where the Dark Sect was, making a sudden grab!

"How dare you!" Ming Kunzi's roar boomed and resonated in the heavens. A lantern oar suddenly reached out from within the black light in the sky. It expanded without stopping, growing until it could hold the heavens up. Then, it slammed towards the giant hand!

It was still too late. The other had come prepared. With a single grab, the giant hand pulled a soul out from within the Dark Sect's Rebirth Hall!

It was the soul of a woman whose Corpse Face had been completed. She was beautiful, and her eyes were shut as if she were sleeping. If not for today's incident, she might have been led away under the laws of the Heavenly Dao a few days later, to be reborn and begin her next life.

She had been forcibly pulled out because of what was happening today. However, just as she was led out, Ming Kunzi's lantern oar had come slamming forward to stop the giant hand. The giant hand was unable to withstand the attack and disintegrated instantly. The shockwaves from their collision contained the immense power of destruction. An Eternal Star realm cultivator wouldn't have survived it, much less a mere soul.

Before the eyes of everyone in the Dark Sect, the soul was destroyed by the shockwaves of this collision. In an instant… it was disintegrated and turned into dust!

No one could tell if the Never-Ending Clan had made the killing blow or if Ming Kunzi had been the one who had done it. Regardless, the soul had been torn apart. It had disappeared from this world and no longer existed.

The hurricanes that erupted from the collision between the lantern oar and the giant hand hadn't only destroyed this soul, but they formed waves that swept through the entire Dark Sect. Despite the protection of array formations, a blow from such a powerful cultivator of the Never-Ending Clan was still immensely powerful. All cultivators whose cultivation was below that of the Planet realm were assaulted by a loud buzzing in their heads.

Wang Baole was only at the perfected Foundation Establishment realm. He only heard a loud buzzing explosion in his ears before his vision went black, and he passed out.

After an unknown period of time, he finally woke up. The fight had already ended. The first thing he saw when he woke up was his master Ming Kunzi's back.

After inspecting Wang Baole and ensuring that there was nothing wrong with him, Ming Kunzi left. Before he left, he saw the hesitation and doubt in Wang Baole's eyes. He gave Wang Baole a deep, meaningful look.

"Baole, we of the Dark Sect serve the Heavenly Dao. No matter who we were in the past, this is our mission now. You must remember this… we must not reverse the cycle of life and death!" After saying that, Ming Kunzi turned around and slowly walked away.

Wang Baole was silent. He had mixed feelings regarding this. He couldn't tell if the Never-Ending Clan was right or if the Dark Sect was right. After doing some research in the Dark Sect, he soon found out that the person who had barged into their sect that day was Tuo Mu. He was one of the nine Great Emperors of the Never-Ending Clan!

The red suns were the six Divine Kings under his charge!

Their cultivation had exceeded the Eternal Star realm, and they were at the Galaxy realm. They were the most powerful cultivators in the entire universe. As for the daughter… during the long eons, perhaps even Tuo Mu himself wouldn't remember how many daughters he had.

After Wang Baole read through those documents, he fell silent. He didn't understand what was going on, but he knew that there was a possibility that the Emperor of the Never-Ending Clan hadn't come knocking at their door because of his daughter's soul!

Wang Baole wasn't sure of the exact reasons. He could not find any answers. But, having seen the truly powerful, he began to experience intense anxiety regarding his own cultivation. Compared to them, he felt he was too weak. He was as fragile as a twig in a storm.

After waking up, Wang Baole began to concentrate on his training. He could sense that his senior brother had also gone into seclusion as he hadn't seen the latter for a long time.

Another month passed. Wang Baole's Dark Fires grew to as many as thirty-seven. It was then when Ming Kunzi brought him to a great hall inside the Dark Sect one day. The great hall was filled with black mist.

The great hall was surrounded by a thick mist, as was the inside of the hall. One could only see the center of the hall, where there was a big, colorless pool. Black mist rose from the pool, and bubbles kept forming and bursting inside it.

This was the Soul Pond!

There were many Soul Ponds in the Dark Sect, and this pond was only one of them. After dead souls were led to the Dark Sect, they would first gather here. They would then enter the Corpse Face Mirror and have their Corpse Face painted by a disciple. After, they would either be sent to the Path of Rebirth or the Rebirth Hallucination Array Formation. Through the hallucination, they would have their characters reformed. Finally, they would await the Heavenly Dao to lead them into the river of souls, where they would flow through the Gate of Rebirth.

There were countless souls in the river of souls that tossed and turned in the pond. Some struggled to climb out with the rising bubbles, while more rose to the surface of the pond and revealed their faces.

There were men and women, old and young. Some faces were peaceful, while others were furious. Some wept, while others laughed. They were of different colors as well. Some were the same color as the pond, while others were pitch-black. Even the waters of the pond couldn't cleanse them within a short period of time.

"The colorless ones are the ordinary souls. The black ones mean that they carry an intense grudge within them. Baole, unleash your Soul Guidance technique and draw three souls from the Soul Pond. Purify them and put them to use for your future Dark Artifacts… as your Artifact Spirits!" Ming Kunzi spoke slowly as Wang Baole stared at the Soul Pond. He had a deep, unfathomable look in his eyes as he stared at Wang Baole.

"Artifact Spirits?" Wang Baole could feel his memories blurring.

"A Dark Child requires three Dark Artifacts, a Boat Spirit, a Black Robe, and a Lantern Oar. These are items that every Dark Child should have. The Artifact Spirits within these Dark Artifacts should be chosen by yourself." Upon saying that, Ming Kunzi spoke no more.

Wang Baole thought for a while. He vaguely remembered that this was indeed the case, so he didn't think further. Instead, he turned and stared at what rested beneath the pool. After a moment, he took a deep breath and activated his Dark Fire, attempting to unleash the Soul Guidance technique. After failing six times, he finally succeeded on his seventh try, successfully unleashing the Soul Guidance technique!

An illusory large hand suddenly reached out from within his body and dipped into the pool, grabbing hold of three souls!

The first was a large, fearsome-looking man!

The second was a sullen-faced elder!

And the last… was a young boy of seven or eight!

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Chapter 456: The Three Intractable Souls

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Wang Baole himself didn't know how he had managed to pull those three souls out. Perhaps some powers that be had led his Soul Guiding Hand to plunge itself into the pool and pull them out naturally.

"Every Dark Child's fate is entwined with the Artifact Spirits in their Dark Artifacts. It seems like the three souls in this Soul Pool are going to belong to you." Ming Kunzi smiled faintly as he watched Wang Baole unleash the Soul Guidance technique and pull out three souls from the Soul Pool.

"But they are all black souls. It means that they've sinned gravely in their past lives. They cannot yet enter the cycle of rebirth. You have to purify them. Since your fate is linked with theirs, you have the responsibility to cleanse them of their sins and their grudges. You have to make them willing to follow you and become your Artifact Spirits!"

After hearing that, Wang Baole looked at the three souls he had caught and their pitch-black forms. At present, they were caught in his illusory hand. They appeared to be nervous, but they were all displaying different behaviors.

The young boy had a face dark with violence. It seemed that the more nervous he was, the angrier he got. He stared unblinkingly at Wang Baole. It was as if he would swallow Wang Baole whole as soon as the opportunity presented itself.

Compared to the young boy, who had every emotion shown clearly, the elder next to him was different. He had looked sullen earlier. Now, however, he had calmed down. He cupped his fists towards Wang Baole and lowered his head. It seemed as if he was submitting himself to Wang Baole, but Wang Baole could feel his true feelings while he was held within the illusory hand. The elder was obviously devious and cunning. He appeared submissive but was actually filled with malicious intent!

The tall, fearsome-looking man seemed to be more simple-minded. Although he appeared fierce and frightening, after being caught and pulled out of the pool, he began to look around nervously. When he saw the Soul Pools surrounding him and the few female disciples guarding the pools, his eyes brightened immediately. There was a perverted look in his eyes. He almost drooled. Of course, as a soul, he had no saliva to speak of.

His perverted and excited appearance made it clear that he was a pervert!

"This… master, it's going to be a challenge purifying these souls." After examining the three souls, Wang Baole's head began to throb. He wondered if he should discuss further with his master and if he could make a second attempt and get another new batch of souls.

Ming Kunzi seemed to have guessed what Wang Baole was thinking. He glared at Wang Baole, ignored the latter, then turned and left. Before he left, he gave Wang Baole a deadline to cleanse these souls.

"Stop having random thoughts. You have a month. You must complete the purification!"

Wang Baole saw his master's sudden insistent stance and his head throbbed. Exasperated, after his master left, he brought the three souls back to his residence at the Dark Sect.

He released the three souls in his residence. As soon as they appeared, they immediately checked out the residence. Wang Baole didn't pay them much mind and said, "Let's talk this through. You've sinned gravely in your past lives and lost the right to be reborn. Your only option is to become my Artifact Spirits. That's why…"

Just as Wang Baole said that, before he was even done with everything he wanted to say, the boy's eyes flashed. He retreated hastily and instantly. It seemed like he wanted to escape this place. There was an array formation placed in Wang Baole's residence, however. With a thunderous boom, the boy's head slammed into the array formation. He cried out in pain and retreated immediately. Violence flashed in his eyes, and he howled and lunged at Wang Baole. It seemed like he wanted to swallow Wang Baole whole.

Before he could draw near, he was burned by the Dark Fire that had leaped out from Wang Baole's body. He screamed again. He finally stopped his malicious acts and instead began to shudder. When he stared at Wang Baole, though, his eyes remained bright with violence and madness. He seemed untameable.

Wang Baole began to feel unhappy. He glared at the young boy, then turned his eyes towards the other two souls.

The pervert seemed scornful towards the young man, and his attitude towards Wang Baole was the same. He yawned. He did not try to flee, but the look on his face seemed to say it all. You want to let me become your Artifact Spirit? Impossible!

Similarly, the elder didn't attempt to escape. Compared to the other two souls, his expression remained the same, revealing neither joy nor anger. His head was lowered like an elderly servant.

"I won't mince words with you. If you don't agree to become my Artifact Spirits, your souls will be destroyed and turned to dust!" Wang Baole was beginning to grow annoyed. He felt that trying to cleanse these three souls was just a waste of his time. He couldn't see the sins that they had committed in their past lives, but from the color of their souls and their current attitudes, he could somewhat guess the kind of raping and pillaging, as well as the murder and savagery, they had committed!

"You want to make me your Artifact Spirit? Impossible. My dream is to never grow old and for my parents to take care of me and be by my side forever. I've already gotten that and enjoyed it for quite a while, so I don't care if you kill me. So what if I die? It's not as if I haven't done that before!" The young boy sneered, his voice shrill.

Wang Baole was shocked by the boy's words because the young boy looked to be about seven or eight years old. He thought about what the latter had just revealed as his ambition and didn't say anything.

The pervert next to him kept yawning, giving Wang Baole a sideways glance. He eyed Wang Baole's thighs and his chest and immediately looked bored.

"If you'd been a woman and had been willing to play with me, I might have agreed after enjoying myself. You just do whatever you like. Kill me. I'm not afraid! Even if my soul turns to dust, millions of like-minded comrades will receive my will. They will conquer all the opposite sex in the world. That is my ambition!" The pervert proclaimed proudly, standing taller as he spoke.

Such grand ambitions made the expression on Wang Baole's face turn even odder. He nodded his head, then turned towards the old fox that gave the appearance of an old servant.

The old pervert smiled and cupped his fists towards Wang Baole in greeting.

"Esteemed Dark Child, I cannot agree to this matter. I won't hide the truth from you. I was the State Preceptor of the Ku Ling kingdom in my past life. I reported to one man while tens of thousands of men reported to me. My only regret is that I was only able to serve my office for three hundred years. I haven't had enough, so how could I become your Artifact Spirit?"

Wang Baole nodded again as he stared at the three souls filled with pride and arrogance. Then, he laughed suddenly, pointing at the small boy.

"You want to never grow up and for your parents to take care of you and be by your side forever, right? You're a good kid, so I'll help you!" With that, Wang Baole lifted his right hand and grabbed hold of the boy. With a series of hand seals, he threw him into the array formation inside his residence.

The array formation started transforming. It was like a hurricane, and it swallowed the young boy's soul instantly. Wang Baole made a series of hand seals and adjusted the array formation. Then, he looked at the pervert.

"You want to conquer the opposite sex of the entire world, right? That's easy. I'll fulfill your wish!" As soon as Wang Baole said that, he didn't give the pervert any time to react. He waved his big hand and pulled the pervert into the hurricane. He adjusted the array formation once again before he turned and looked at the elder.

The elder had been reeling back with alarm. He didn't know what was going to happen to the other two souls, but he sensed that his fate after being thrown in the array formation was going to be worse than death. He was about to speak, but it was too late. Wang Baole's large hand had grabbed hold of him and flung the old fox into the array formation. He thought he heard Wang Baole snorting just as he entered the array formation.

"Weren't you regretting the fact that you were only State Preceptor for three hundred years? No problem, I'll help answer your prayers, I'll make sure you have no regrets!"

After saying that, Wang Baole adjusted the array formation once again. The array formation that he had thrown the three souls into was the Rebirth Hallucination Array Formation of the Dark Sect. The array formation was used to reform a dead soul's character, to ensure a clean break between his past life and his next life. It was also used by disciples to gain enlightenment. They could enter it for training. After all, the Rebirth Hallucination Array Formation was linked to the will of the Heavenly Dao. It could conjure the cycle of life, death, and rebirth.

At the same time, with sufficient access rights, it could also create specific illusory worlds. Both people and souls thrown into this world wouldn't be able to discern truth from illusion. The person controlling the illusion could also control the passing of time in this world.

For the old fox who had been a State Preceptor in his past life, he created a universe filled with war. He would once again take up the office of State Preceptor in this world…

For the great pervert, the task was simpler. Wang Baole adjusted the array formation and created a world where he was the only man in a matriarchal society…

As for the young boy, the task was equally simple. Wang Baole answered all his wishes and created a perfect world according to his dreams.

The key point was in the passing of time in these worlds. He had synchronized the worlds such that… a day in the outside world would be equivalent to ten thousand years in the illusory worlds!

Having done the above, Wang Baole began to practice his Soul Guidance technique. Three days later, the three souls were shelved to the back of his mind. Two weeks passed…

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Chapter 457: Master, You've Finally Arrived!

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Wang Baole had grown more familiar during the two weeks' training with Soul Guidance, the second level of the Dark Art. However, his success rate remained dismal. He didn't even want to think about using it as a form of attack successfully.

Wang Baole knew that this was all because of his cultivation. After all, this was a technique meant for one at the Core Formation realm.

What he needed to do wasn't to wield the Soul Guidance technique but to use it as an aid to strengthen and grow his Dark Fires. He needed to use it to multiply his Dark Fires and prepare for his Core Formation.

At present, he had increased the number of his Dark Fires to sixty-three Dark Fires. Every eruption of his cultivation was an incredible display of power. It was many times greater than what he had been capable of in the past!

The Dark Sect had a minimum requirement for gifted disciples at the verge of Core Formation. They needed to have at least thirty-six Dark Fires. Wang Baole had surpassed the minimum requirement vastly. However, he felt that he still had room to grow!

During his training, Wang Baole completely forgot about the three souls he had thrown into the Rebirth Hallucination Array Formation. The deadline his master had given him to purify the vengeful souls slowly approached. Another seven days passed. Wang Baole, who finally managed to reach seventy Dark Fires, suddenly remembered the assignment his master had given him.

I think I've forgotten something… Wang Baole blinked. He stared at the array formation sheepishly.

I recall I adjusted the passing of time such that ten thousand years would pass in the illusory world for every day in the outside world… Wang Baole coughed awkwardly. He decided that the three souls had carried their dreams and ambitions into the illusory worlds. Even though he had almost forgotten about their existence, but… now that he thought about it, this wasn't really a mistake on his part.

His mind was put to ease at that thought. He stood before the Rebirth Hallucination Array Formation, raised his right hand and performed a series of hand seals, then pressed his hand on the array formation. His vision was a sudden blur. It seemed as if his soul had stepped out from his physical form and gone wandering. He entered the array formation to retrieve the three souls.

The first mirage he entered was the young boy's.

It was a world without cultivators. To a certain extent, this society resembled the Federation in Wang Baole's dream. It was like the Federation a thousand years ago. Peace reigned over the entire world.

The city that the boy resided in was a big capital city in this world. In the day, people bustled about, while in the night, neon lights lit the skies up. It was a prosperous place filled with wealth and luxury.

Wang Baole arrived during the early morning of this world, while the sun was shining brightly and vehicles streamed down the roads. Wang Baole appeared in a school district in the city.

My senses tell me that the kid should be here. Wang Baole floated in mid-air as he rubbed at his chin. He began to search. It didn't take him long to find a seven- to eight-year-old young boy in an alley. He was in uniform and carrying a huge, and what seemed to be extremely weighty, school bag… He trudged along wearily, looking like he was about to cry.

Behind him followed a middle-aged couple. They were clearly the boy's parents. They carried even heavier school bags and kept up a constant litany of reminders as they walked.

It was a heartwarming sight. Wang Baole was comforted by the scene. Even though he might have been late, the sight of the family basking in love and tenderness reminded him of his own parents.

Wang Baole suddenly froze at that thought. He realized that he had a blurry image of his parents in this real life, but that he could clearly remember his family in his dream of the Federation.

Wang Baole began to feel lost and confused. He instinctively looked at the world around him. It was extremely realistic. Whether it was the stirring of the gentle breeze or the distant bustling of the city crowd, nothing gave off a hint of them being a mere illusion to his senses.

As Wang Baole continued to feel shocked and intrigued, the voices of the boy's family drifted into Wang Baole's ears as they approached.

"Xiao Bao, you must be diligent in your studies. Stop thinking about playing video games and spending money. When you grow up, you won't have us nagging you anymore!"

"Stop scolding the child. Xiao Bao, your father is doing this for your own good. You're still a child. It's your birthday today though, which is why I've discussed it with your father, and after school ends today, you can relax for a bit. We'll only run through eight lessons today, and complete twenty practice papers, then, memorize fifty classical poems. After that, you'll get to have cake!

"Xiao Bao, you're still so young. Stop sighing all the time. You must treasure your time in school. After all, there are only thirty thousand years to your graduation from elementary school. I've discussed it with your father. For the next two hundred thousand years in junior high, we'll find you an even better after-school class!"

There was confusion in the young boy's eyes. He almost wept when he heard what his parents said, but he had long since cried all his tears. The eye bags under his eyes were charcoal black. He seemed to be on the verge of a mental breakdown. He didn't know how he had managed to survive the past two hundred thousand years… every day he had to go to school, attend tutoring after school, do practice papers, memorize all sorts of information…

The days repeated themselves. The years repeated themselves… Under the care and company of his parents, he kept on studying, and studying, and studying…

He had thought about resisting and fighting back, but it didn't matter what methods he resorted to. Even when he had tried to kill himself, he would wake up the next morning as if nothing had happened. He would carry on studying and going for tutoring…

The only thing that was keeping him sane was the thought that everything was false. He knew that Wang Baole was going to come for him one day, so he kept on waiting. He waited for two hundred thousand years, but Wang Baole didn't come.

Wang Baole had a strange look on his face when he heard the conversation between the boy's parents. Shock stirred inside him when he saw how miserable the boy looked, and he felt some pity for him. He coughed.

When the cough rang out in the air, the entire world froze instantly. Everything fell still. Only he and the boy remained untouched by the spell.

The boy hadn't noticed anything amiss at first. He had continued to lug his school bag and drag his feet forward, loss and misery clear on his face. After a few steps, he finally noticed something was wrong. He lifted his head abruptly and stared around him. When he saw Wang Baole, he was immediately overcome with excitement. He burst out into tears and leaped towards Wang Baole. With a thud, he fell to his knees.

"Master, you've finally arrived! I was wrong. Please take me away. I don't want to stay here. I don't want to go for tutoring anymore. I want to return and be an Artifact Spirit. Please, master, take me away, please…"

The young boy sobbed terribly. He seemed afraid that Wang Baole would ignore him, so he hugged Wang Baole's thigh tightly. His weeping grew louder.

Wang Baole could only put a look of exasperation on his face. He led the boy out of the Rebirth Hallucination Array Formation. After some thought, he headed into the world which contained the sly fox who had called himself a State Preceptor.

The vastness of this world exceeded that of the young boy. The stars stretched on endlessly into the horizon, and it resembled the real world to a certain extent. There were cultivators here, even extremely powerful cultivators. However, regardless of how powerful they were, no one noticed when Wang Baole entered this world. With a single thought, Wang Baole could destroy this entire world.

He entered the world and found the old fox that had been a State Preceptor in his past life. He was… running for his life!

He was fleeing madly. He appeared to be in a wretched state, and his hair was in disarray. Regardless, he fled at an astonishing speed. He seemed to be running for his dear life without care for anything else in the world.

Behind him were countless people in pursuit. Amongst them were countless cultivators and a great number of cruisers clustered together and crowding the sky. They chased after him relentlessly.

It was clear that both the cultivators and the cruisers didn't belong to the same faction. On closer examination, it seemed that they belonged to at least a dozen different camps.

Wang Baole might not have been so surprised if they had only been chasing after the sly fox. However, this was a different sort of pursuit. The expression on Wang Baole's face grew odd… the pursuers were running and shouting at the same time. There was hostility amongst the different factions, and they seemed to be fighting amongst one another.

"State Preceptor, you are no longer young. You shouldn't be running so quickly. Be careful not to injure yourself."

"State Preceptor, don't go. Our country cannot live without you. Its tens of millions of citizens cannot live without you!"

"State Preceptor, the emperor has decreed. If you do not return, he'll kill himself…"

"State Preceptor, we've discovered another galaxy. There are thousands of civilizations there, waiting for you to become their State Preceptor!"

The cheers of those in pursuit echoed and rang out in the air. The old man fleeing in front was about to go mad. His unbound hair flew in his face, and his eyes were red as he howled in fury and sorrow.

"Scram, all of you. I'm not the State Preceptor. You're the State Preceptor. Your whole family are State Preceptors!" As he said that, his tears began to flow once more. A deep sorrow filled his heart.

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Chapter 458: The Great Emperor's Many Empresses!

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

He recalled his experiences for the past two hundred millennia. Everything had started out fine. As a State Preceptor of a small kingdom, he had enjoyed an elevated status. He had grown ambitious and had soon discovered a more powerful kingdom that needed a State Preceptor. The kingdom had extended a sincere invitation, which he had accepted. Years later, another even more powerful kingdom had required a State Preceptor and invited him to join them…

At that time, his ambitions remained grand, so he had gone to them. Every time he had become the State Preceptor of a new kingdom, he would find another even more powerful kingdom in need of a State Preceptor soon after. The cycle repeated itself. He had been doing the same thing for the past two hundred millennia. He couldn't even remember how many kingdoms he had been State Preceptor of.

He had grown tired of this office. He had done it so many times that he had been about to throw up… There had been no end in sight. He would continue to discover more kingdoms that needed a State Preceptor… Finally, he had gone completely mad. He could no longer take it anymore. Even hearing the words "State Preceptor" would drive him to the verge of a breakdown.

That was why he had started to run away. But he had never managed to escape successfully. They had always managed to catch him and bring him back, where he would continue his office of State Preceptor… He had thought of every means and ways. He had even resorted to destroying an entire kingdom. Regardless, there would still be new kingdoms waiting to capture him and invite him to become their State Preceptor…

He had been weeping tears of blood by then. The old fox let loose a heart-wrenching howl. What he desired the most now was to have a peaceful life. He no longer desired the position of State Preceptor. As long as he could have an ordinary life, he was even willing to become an Artifact Spirit.

That was why when he saw Wang Baole as he was fleeing, he burst into tears. He fell to his knees immediately and prostrated before Wang Baole. He began howling.

"Master, you've finally arrived. Please take me away. I agree to become an Artifact Spirit. I no longer wish to be a State Preceptor… Why was I such a fool, thinking about staying a State Preceptor?"

Wang Baole led the weeping old fox away. He couldn't help but lament. He felt as if he had just gained a deeper understanding of human nature.

They should thank me. I am the one who made them realize what it is that they truly need!

Becoming my Artifact Spirit, that is what they desire the most! Wang Baole patted his tummy with great satisfaction. He suddenly found the gesture extremely soothing and did it a few more times.

Seems like I'm still missing something… Wang Baole thought hard about it. After thinking for some time, he finally realized what it was he was missing.

What a pity, the dream's still better, there were snacks. Wang Baole shook his head with great regret. Then, he soon developed a great interest in the world that the extremely perverted man was in.

I remember putting him in a matriarchal world where he is the only man. Wang Baole's eyes shone brightly. With a series of hand seals, he entered the world of the pervert.

This world began as a rather primitive one. However, after two hundred thousand years of development, it grew into a world with multiple empires. The empires had constant skirmishes and clashes with one another.

Everyone, from the empress to the foot soldiers, were women. There were no men. Their reproduction systems were unique, and they were able to give birth to the next generation of women after carrying out a certain kind of ritual.

Rightfully speaking, if a pervert was thrown into such a world, he should be basking in female company and enjoying a blissful, happy life…

In reality, it was quite an exaggeration to say that he was basking in female company, and barely truthful to say that he was enjoying a life of utter bliss and happiness. When Wang Baole arrived in this world and found the pervert, he noticed that they were holding a grand funeral…

Countless women in armor guarded the area. Every single one of them was extremely beautiful and had well-formed, voluptuous figures. The mere sight of them would incite a primitive urge in the opposite sex.

They surrounded a raised platform that served as an altar. Above the altar lay someone. He was extremely thin, almost skeletal, and there were many tubes injected into his skin, all over his body. Great volumes of fluids serving as nutrients were being pumped into this person's body.

This person… was the great pervert that Wang Baole had thrown into this world two hundred thousand years ago.

There was bewilderment in his eyes, and his entire body shuddered as the fluids continued to flow into his body. They kept him alive, no matter how much he wanted himself dead. Beside him were a dozen women dressed in clothes befitting a female empress. They surrounded him, and every single one of them was staring at the pervert with lust in their eyes.

They stared at one another with enmity and hostility in their eyes.

Wang Baole was stunned at the sight. Before he could ponder further on the matter, the empresses began to speak.

"Esteemed Emperor, the funeral has ended, so let us get down to serious business!"

"That's right, Great Emperor. Our empire has more than thirty million female subjects awaiting the Great Emperor's service. They wait for you to grant them bliss. We implore you to make a visit!"

"That won't do, he'll have to come to us first. I have more than fifty million subjects in my kingdom, and they have been waiting for the Emperor for a very long time. I fear disaster if he doesn't pay us a visit soon!"

"All of your requests can be delayed. I have two hundred million subjects that were about to revolt when I left. If I don't bring the Emperor back with me, they'll come charging here!"

The empresses continued their endless dispute until one of them frowned and said coolly.

"Let's not fight. We have to seek the Great Emperor's views. As a last resort, we can place him on the altar, and our subjects may make a visit themselves. We can even earn considerable fees this way, but we'll have to arrange for guards to ensure that the Emperor is unharmed."

As soon as she said that, the pervert lying on the altar, who had no love for this living world, suddenly widened his eyes. Tears began to flow from his eyes as he struggled to speak in his weakened state.

"Please, I beg you all, let me go. I really can't do it anymore…"

The high-spirited and ambitious pervert had reached the end of his rope. He broke down and wept loudly. However, no matter how much he cried, the empresses seemed to have reached a consensus. They had decided to leave him on the altar…

It was then that the man, at the depths of his despair, saw Wang Baole hovering in mid-air. He started to howl excitedly when he saw Wang Baole.

"Master, save me. Please, save me. As long as I get to leave this place, I'll do anything you want. I'll… I'll become an Artifact Spirit!"

Wang Baole looked at the man with great sympathy. With a wave of his hand, the illusion vanished. When he reappeared, he was back in his residence. In front of him were the three souls, and they fell to their knees before him. The vengeful aura surrounding them had faded away considerably. They hadn't yet been completely cleansed, but they no longer resisted the idea of becoming an Artifact Spirit. They even seemed to look forward to it.

Wang Baole was greatly consoled when he saw that. He felt that he was still quite charismatic, considering the three souls willingly decided to devote their loyalty to him. Then, he stared at the young boy and the sly State Preceptor again. Doubt flickered in his eyes.

When he had first seen the two, he had felt they were familiar, but he hadn't been able to recall why. Now that he was looking at them again, the sense of familiarity intensified.

I should've met them before… Wang Baole rubbed at his forehead. He thought for a very long while but couldn't come up with anything. He decided to set this matter aside. He reported to his master with the results of his attempts to make the three souls submit to him.

Ming Kunzi didn't ask about the details of how Wang Baole had managed to purify and cleanse the three souls within the time limit given. He led the three souls away so that he might craft Dark Artifacts for Wang Baole and infuse the artifacts with Artifact Spirits.

At the same time, he gave Wang Baole another assignment.

"Go to the Ten Thousand Art Pavilion of the Dark Sect. Read everything about the Dark Sect and the dark mystic arts and techniques. Even if you cannot learn them all, you should still know and understand these mystic arts and techniques. When you are able to gain certain enlightenment, you can then try to break through the Foundation Establishment realm and enter the Dark Core realm!"

Wang Baole followed his master's instructions obediently. He realized that there was still something amiss as he began to regain his memories, but he didn't have his entire memory back. He needed to read up on the various information on the Dark Sect and their sect's divine powers and information so that he might try to regain more control over his memory.

In the following month, Wang Baole spent almost all his time in the Ten Thousand Art Pavilion. He browsed through collections of books and scrolls on mystic arts and techniques. His knowledge of the Dark Sect and the Dark Art grew considerably.

The Spirit Immortal realm is divided into five minor realms—the Foundation Establishment realm, the Core Formation realm, the Nascent Soul realm, the Soul Conduit realm, and the Spirit Immortal realm… The corresponding levels of Dark Arts are the Corpse Face, the Soul Guidance, the Soul Fracture, the Burial Procession, and the Abyss Return! Wang Baole's eyes shone with a bright light. He learned from the documents that the various levels from the Corpse Face to the Abyss Return formed the first tier of the Dark Art!

The Dark Art… had seven tiers!

In addition, Wang Baole also found an extremely unique divine power after reading through the various materials. It was similar to the Rebirth Hallucination Array Formation and yet different.

Its name was… the Dark Dream!

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Chapter 459: The Dark Core!

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The Dark Dream was extraordinary and bizarre. It was mystic art that pulled one into the dreamscape. It was formed from a Daosource that was in turn formed by exhausting one's own vitality. Only someone who had reached the Eternal Star realm could perform it!

This mystic art could be used against one's enemy. However, it was often used by the great and powerful to pass down knowledge and mystic arts and techniques to their descendants and heirs. Time in the dreamscape passed differently than in the real world. It could be manipulated. Knowledge about a mystic art could be seared directly into one's soul. It could be fused directly with one's spirit. The challenges that one met during training could be circumvented. This mystic art didn't allow the transmission of one's cultivation to another, which would enable them to become instantly powerful. However, most cultivators, having reached a certain stage in their cultivation, required enlightenment towards the Daosource and the principles of Dao rather than greater cultivation.

This Dark Dream Mystic Art could achieve this flawlessly!

It could also bring about other effects. For example, the effects of all serious injuries would be dampened in the dreamscape. There would be sufficient time for one to recover.

However… such an extraordinary mystic art required a great deal of energy to be expended by the person performing it. Few would use this mystic art unless it was their last resort. It was considered a pseudo-forbidden art in the Dark Sect.

Deliberation colored Wang Baole's eyes after he read the details of this Dark Dream Mystic Art. After a long while, he shut his eyes. When he opened them again, he gazed around silently.

Fifteen minutes passed. Wang Baole took a deep breath and continued to keep his eyes shut in this Ten Thousand Art Pavilion. He began his training of the Soul Guidance technique.

Despite not having reached the Core Formation realm and facing difficulty in mastering Soul Guidance, with his constant practice, he was able to make use of the Soul Guidance to strengthen and grow his Dark Qi. The Dark Fires in Wang Baole's body gradually multiplied.

Time passed steadily as he continued to train. Three months went by in a blink of an eye.

During this period, Wang Baole focused entirely on multiplying his Dark Fires. They reached as many as seventy-eight. He was only a few steps away from the highest record of eighty-one Dark Fires.

He should have met with some challenges along the way. However, said challenges never occurred to Wang Baole. It was as if he was naturally suited to learning the Dark Art.

This made Wang Baole ponder more deeply. Suspicions began to surface in his mind, and they clouded his thoughts. After a long while, he finally suppressed these thoughts. He was about to continue his training when the jade slip in his storage bracelet vibrated. Wang Baole pulled it out and released a long sigh.

The sigh was colored with complicated emotions, regret, and confusion.

"Junior Brother, I'm leaving the sect for some time to train. There are some things that I have to think about… take care. I'll return when I've thought things through!"

The voice transmission jade only had that single message. The person who had said that was his senior brother, Chen Qing!

Wang Baole had spent most of his time in meditation during his three months of seclusion. However, he still kept himself updated on some things that were going on in the sect. For example… what had happened to his senior brother, Chen Qing!

This extremely talented and gifted senior brother had secretly told him something that day with great happiness and anticipation… He shared that his Dao partner in his next life was going to be the daughter of the Never-Ending Clan's Emperor!

Chen Qing hadn't known the identity and family background of the soul he had painted a Corpse Face for prior to the arrival of the Never-Ending Clan's Emperor. He had only known that this soul was going to be his Dao partner after she was reborn. This was what the Heavenly Dao had willed. This was what the fates had dictated.

He had been extremely happy. When he had painted the Corpse Face, he had secretly made her more beautiful and more pleasing to his eye. He had been filled with anticipation.

However… the shocking harsh reality had come crashing down on him too soon. With the arrival of the Emperor of the Never-Ending Clan and with the unfolding of the incredible and terrifying battle, he had seen with his own eyes, his wife of the next life being pulled out and turned into dust. He had fallen into a dead silence.

Even though his destiny was to be entwined with this soul in their next life, and even though they hadn't truly made contact and come to know each other, everything had come to an end then—before anything had started. He remained lost. He didn't truly ache for the woman's soul, but his faith in his own Dao had been shaken.

He didn't know who was wrong, whether it was the Emperor of the Never-Ending Clan or the Dark Sect, but he knew one thing—the soul did nothing wrong.

Was the Dark Sect in the wrong? The Dark Sect simply served the Heavenly Dao. The Heavenly Dao was the culminated form of the laws of the universe. It was the origin of Dao for all Dark Sect cultivators.

In his lost state and in his need for answers, he decided to leave for a while. He decided he needed to think this through carefully. He needed to find an answer. After becoming a silent and solitary shade of his past self, he then decided to leave.

Wang Baole had mixed feelings regarding this matter as well, but he was powerless to solve it or his doubts. He had thought about what he would do if this had happened to him instead.

Wang Baole set the question aside. As he continued to muse quietly on the matter, his training went ahead without pause. Another month passed, and the Dark Fires inside his body multiplied to eighty-one Dark Fires!

When his Dark Fires reached as many as eighty-one, his entire body shuddered. He could feel the eighty-one Dark Fires layering atop one another, burning brightly inside his body. With each intense eruption, they began to shrink and compress themselves. They compressed further and further, gradually forming a Core!

During the entire process, waves of spirit energy that surpassed the Foundation Establishment realm erupted from this ever-compressing Core made of Dark Fire. It felt as if millions of rivers were surging through the meridians throughout Wang Baole's entire body. They flooded all major and minor meridians in a blink of an eye. Power permeated his entire body and surged outward into the physical world.

At that moment, as Wang Baole sat cross-legged, invisible hurricanes seemed to appear around him. They roared and spiraled around him. The power was insignificant to the truly powerful. After all, this was only a breakthrough from the Foundation Establishment realm to the Core Formation realm. However, this was Wang Baole's first time experiencing this. His entire body shuddered, and he felt his cultivation erupting and increasing without pause!

Thunderous booms erupted inside his body. The hurricanes around him turned into an ocean of fire as icy flames spread outward. There was no end to its increasing power, and it continued to rise.

The meridians inside his body shuddered, his flesh and blood shook, his cultivation churned, and the Dark Fires inside his body compressed further and further inward. Under the compression, his Core became more and more distinct. It was going to take physical form any time now!

It was then that Ming Kunzi appeared soundlessly before Wang Baole inside the Ten Thousand Art Pavilion. His eyes were soft as he gazed at Wang Baole with kindness. His form wasn't clear, appearing to be slightly indistinct. It looked like his finger and his hand that Wang Baole had seen previously. At present, the gradual disintegration had spread to Ming Kunzi's entire body.

Even so, he still lifted his hand and pointed at Wang Baole's forehead!

As soon as the finger landed, Wang Baole shuddered violently. Thunder-like crashes rumbled inside his body. The formation of his Core inside his body sped up suddenly, and within a blink of an eye, it transformed and became… a Dark Core!

As soon as the Dark Core was formed, a power that belonged to the Core Formation realm erupted from Wang Baole's body and filled the air. Wang Baole opened his eyes.

His breathing was quick and uneven, and there was a lost look in his eyes. Memories of the Federation—what he had thought was merely a dream—surfaced in his mind again. They grew increasingly distinct. He remembered in his dream that he had been pursued by three extraterrestrial cultivators. He had entered the Dark Artifact and entered a cave in the underground city. He had sat on a lone black boat…

He remembered before he had fallen into a deep sleep that an old, familiar voice had sounded beside his ear. It had said two words…

"Dark Dream…"

Wang Baole was silent. After a long moment, he lifted his head and stared at his master Ming Kunzi, who had appeared before him.

"Master… I…" Wang Baole murmured to himself. Before he could finish speaking, he noticed his master's form fading away. It faded away more quickly as he spoke.

Wang Baole shuddered. He had only been dazed at the sight. Now, however, an answer was gradually forming inside his heart. Perhaps… everything happening around him now was also a dream.

It was an indescribable feeling. It felt as if he was hovering between sleep and wakefulness. It was as if he knew that he was dreaming. The Dark Dream Mystic Art surfaced in his mind then. After running through his thoughts and confirming his guesses, he finally arrived at an answer.

There were still too many questions and doubts in his mind. He was silent for a while. Then, Wang Baole got to his feet and cupped his fists towards Ming Kunzi. He bowed deeply!

"Senior…" Wang Baole froze as he said the word. He fell silent. Then, after taking a deep breath, he opened his mouth and called out again. He used a different form of address this time.

"Master!"

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Chapter 460: Waking From a Dream

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Ming Kunzi heard how Wang Baole addressed him. The smile on his kind face became gentler. He seemed comforted by the fact, and it showed in his eyes. His aged voice was tinged with a certain hollowness, like an echo that had traveled across time and space and was now ringing within the Ten Thousand Art Pavilion and inside of Wang Baole's mind.

"You've realized?"

After hearing that, Wang Baole's breathing quickened. He had realized that everything before him might have been a dream, that perhaps his memories of the Federation were real. However, after hearing what Ming Kunzi had said, ripples of shock still stirred in his heart.

"Have I…" Wang Baole murmured as he looked at the buildings around him. These were as Ming Kunzi was, slowly fading away, and his gaze could see through them. He saw the mountains and the palaces that lay beyond in the outside world. He saw the vast heavens and white clouds. He saw the familiar silhouettes of Dark Sect disciples leaping in the air, moving from place to place.

He could hear the bells of the Dark Sect ringing in the distance, muted and faint in his ear. He could even conjure the scenes of him painting Corpse Faces and other familiar sights before his eyes.

After a long while, Wang Baole asked softly, "Master, is this a Dark Dream…"

Ming Kunzi didn't give Wang Baole an answer. His smile only became softer and gentler, and his form became fainter. As he raised his right hand, three black glowing lights shot out from the opening of his blurry sleeves and hovered before Wang Baole.

Each one of the black glowing lights was only the size of a fist. However, the power and energy waves that surged from each one of these black lights was immense. It overflowed and spread outward. In this immense energy dwelled nomological power.

He looked more closely. Within these three black lights were separately… a Lone Boat, a Black Robe, and a Lantern Oar!

"The disciples of our Dark Sect can only become a Dark Child after reaching the Spirit Immortal realm. They will receive three Dark Artifacts that will allow them to ferry souls in this universe… on this day, times have changed. The Heavenly Dao has fallen, and these laws and rules no longer apply."

Ming Kunzi said softly. His ancient voice grew ever more distant. With a fling of his sleeve, the three black lights entered Wang Baole's body. They entered his Dark Core and became three Dark Seals!

"The three souls that you cleansed then, your master, I, have infused them into this Dark Artifact and turned them into Artifact Spirits… Even though everything is happening within a Dark Dream, it is one that I created especially for you… this Dark Dream!

"That's why, when you wake up later, you only need to unleash the power of the Dark Core to inject everything that's happened in this dream into the memories of the three souls. Their original memories will be replaced, and they will truly belong to you then!"

Upon hearing that, Wang Baole shuddered. He understood that this was the time for farewells. The memories he had during his time surfaced before his eyes, and a sense of reluctance unfurled in his heart.

"Master, are you… inside the Dark Artifact on Mars? The one who's been calling for me, is that you?" Wang Baole was silent for a long while before he spoke softly.

Ming Kunzi sensed Wang Baole's unwillingness to leave. He lifted his blurry hand and patted Wang Baole on the head, and his smile grew kinder. After a moment, he sighed softly.

"It is both me and not me.

"Baole, the Dark Sect has fallen. Even I am left with only a remnant of my will, barely surviving in the homeland of the Dark Sect… When you first developed your first Dark Fire, I sensed that and woke up. I've been watching you since then. Until today, I used the Dark Dream Mystic Art to pass down the teachings of the Dark Art… Even I don't know if admitting you into the Dark Sect is the right or wrong thing to do.

"But you must remember… there is no true right or wrong in this world. The Dark Sect might have fallen, but there is no good or evil, no hatred or grudge. There is only the war of the Great Dao!

"We, the Dark Sect, willingly became the servants of the Heavenly Dao because this was the Dao of the Dark Sect!

"The fall of the Heavenly Dao resulted in the collapse of the Dark Sect's Dao. Because of that, the Dark Sect declined and fell… You may be the only Dark Child left of this generation. All you need to do is follow your heart's desires!"

He made himself very clear. Even though Wang Baole had been admitted into the Dark Sect, what he had learned were only the sect's mystic arts and techniques. He wasn't obliged to follow the Dao of the Dark Sect. He had said the same thing after the fight with the Emperor of the Never-Ending Clan, only mentioning the past and the present without mentioning a single word about the future!

Ming Kunzi seemed to sigh at this point. His gaze was distant. It was as if he was remembering the past. He murmured, "I had an extremely gifted disciple in the past. Unfortunately, following one's heart was something that I only began to understand after the Dark Sect had fallen. Else, if I had enlightened him then…" Ming Kunzi shook his head and sighed softly. His form grew more and more faint, and he was about to end the Dark Dream with a wave of his hand. It was then that Wang Baole, who had heard what Ming Kunzi had just said, froze and suddenly said softly.

"Master, are you talking about Senior Brother Chen Qing?"

This should have been an ordinary question. After what Ming Kunzi said, Wang Baole had naturally guessed the disciple he was speaking about. He didn't expect Ming Kunzi to suddenly raise his head when he said that. There was shock in Ming Kunzi's eyes, and his breathing quickened. The world within the Dark Dream trembled, appearing to be on the verge of collapse!

Clearly, everything was because of what Wang Baole had said. The shock that it had caused Ming Kunzi was unprecedented!

"Baole… how do you know about Chen Qing? Did someone tell you, or did you… see him?" Ming Kunzi stared at Wang Baole and spoke slowly, in an extremely low voice.

Wang Baole was shaken. He grew more confused.

"I saw him. Didn't you see him too, Master…" When Wang Baole said that, his eyes suddenly widened. An incredulous thought suddenly rose in his mind.

"So you saw him…" Ming Kunzi murmured. He raised his head and looked around him.

"That's interesting, but Baole, this Dark Dream was something your master created for you specially. There is truth and there is illusion, but regardless of which it is, within this dream… there shouldn't be someone called Chen Qing!"

Ming Kunzi's words made Wang Baole gasp violently. That was what he had guessed, and his master just confirmed it. The shock he was feeling intensified.

"No such person… then why did I see… Senior Brother Chen Qing even taught me how to paint the Corpse Face. He told me his secret…" Wang Baole muttered to himself, and Ming Kunzi suddenly laughed aloud.

"Baole, this senior brother of yours is indeed extraordinary. While I've been casting a Dark Dream for you, he's been… casting one for me!" Ming Kunzi seemed to have thought of something. He lifted his face skyward and laughed out loud. His laughter was tinged with memories and complicated emotions. Finally, he raised his right hand and tapped Wang Baole on the forehead.

"Baole, the fates dictate that our path ends here. As for your future path, simply follow your heart's desires. Now… it's time to wake up!"

Wang Baole shuddered. He felt heaven and earth turn upside down. Everything became a blur, and the sound of mirrors shattering rang in his ears. His consciousness seemed to have left his body as it flew towards the starlit heavens. During its flight, time appeared to pass at a different speed. It sped past, as if compressing millennia into a single moment!

He saw the starfield where the Dark Sect had been located. Many years later, a great battle took place. He saw the Emperor of the Never-Ending Clan and countless other powerful cultivators instigating a galactic war.

The war was but a blur in his eyes. Then, the entire Dark Sect… was reduced to dust.

The shattering of mirrors in his ears grew louder until the noise reached an extreme. Wang Baole's vision turned black. In the next moment… in the Solar System, beneath the Martian soil, in the underground world within the Dark Artifact, in the pitch-black abyss, sat cross-legged on a solitary black boat, an asleep Wang Baole suddenly shook and opened his eyes!

As soon as his eyes opened, the Dark Fires inside him immediately rumbled, and a chill erupted from them. It was as if everything that had happened in the Dark Dream had been brought back with him! Within the blink of an eye, his Dark Fires increased multifold and compressed together to form a Dark Core. Wang Baole's cultivation erupted!

At the same moment, beyond the Solar System, in the depths of this endless universe, there was a region that had been marked as one of the ten forbidden areas in this Never-Ending Universe! It was filled with spatial tears and fractures, countless bones, and star-destroying hurricanes. Any living thing that entered stood little chance of leaving alive!

At present, within this region, amongst the countless bones, the ruins of a stone monument drifted gradually in space.

Standing beside this damaged stone monument was a middle-aged man. His hands were behind his back as he stared silently at the stone monument. He wore an ancient-looking black robe, and his cultivation couldn't be discerned. When the terrifying spatial tears came into contact with him, they imploded. This mere display showed that his cultivation must have reached an incredible and unfathomable realm!

The stone monument before him exuded the aura of age. It seemed to have existed for too long a time. There might have been many names carved on its face. However, now, they had all dimmed in brightness. Only one name remained bright and shining with a strange light.

The name was… Chen Qing!

If Wang Baole were here, he would have recognized the stone monument to be the Dark Child Monument of the Dark Sect. The middle-aged man was his senior brother, Chen Qing, in his Dark Dream. Except for the changes that came with age, he looked almost exactly the same!

This person was Chen Qing!

Chen Qing stared at the stone monument and at his own name for a very long time. Then suddenly, he raised his right hand. With his finger, he carved, stroke by stroke, three characters next to his own name.

It was… Wang Baole!

As soon as the name appeared, it sparkled for a few moments then immediately dimmed. It was as if the stone monument didn't recognize and approve of it. Just as Wang Baole's name was to disappear, Chen Qing spoke casually.

"You didn't approve of my name then, and I destroyed half of this monument, half of your form. Now, you can try to erase my junior brother's name. Try it, and see what that'll get you!"

After Chen Qing said that, the stone monument immediately trembled. After a long while, with great resentment, it seemed to have chosen to compromise. Wang Baole's name was no longer dim. It began to sparkle with a bright light!

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Chapter 461: Turning Dreams into Reality!

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The ancient Dark Sect had too many incredible and amazing mystic arts and techniques. The Dark Dream Mystic Art was one of them!

Expending one's own Daosource to draw someone else into a dreamscape that had been specially created for said person, passing on a mystic art in this dreamscape and everything about the Dark Sect, and creating an environment where Wang Baole could reach a breakthrough in his cultivation. It was all done using Dark Qi… which was formed from Ming Kunzi's Daosource!

That was why… even though Wang Baole had reached a breakthrough in his dream, when he returned to reality, sufficient Dark Qi would have accumulated inside his soul that would allow him to reach a breakthrough in real life. That was why the moment he had woken up, the Dark Fire inside his body had automatically multiplied to eighty-one Dark Fires, layered over one another, and spurred a transformation!

During the transformation, it was as if Wang Baole had replayed the exact scene when he had reached his breakthrough in his dream. The levels of his spirit energy climbed continuously, and his power repeatedly erupted as the Dark Core inside his body formed fully!

When the Dark Core was formed, an astonishing Dark Qi spread from inside, outward. It was like a vast ocean that surged through and flooded the meridians in Wang Baole's entire body. Sounds of crackling echoed whenever the energy burst through, and his meridians developed at an astonishing rate!

Power more immense than he had felt in his dream grew and intensified inside his body. Thunderous booms sounded around in the abyss surrounding him. Wang Baole's body shuddered as the sounds of crackling grew quickly to resemble the crashing of thunder. The physical transformation spurred by his breakthrough in cultivation became obvious at this moment. Black Qi exuded from his body as he sat cross-legged on the boat, creating a terrifying sight.

The black Qi continued to spread outward. It began to burn and transformed into an icy fire that surged outward. A whirlpool formed, with him in the eye of the storm. As it rumbled and spiraled, Wang Baole's hair stirred without a breeze. At that moment, from afar, he looked like a demonic god!

His round chubby form seemed to have slimmed down slightly, and it began to exude a faint air of authority. The aura of authority and waves of spirit energy that exuded from his person vastly surpassed that of a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator. He knew clearly that he… was no longer at the Foundation Establishment realm, and that he had… stepped into the Core Formation realm!

He didn't have to examine in detail. He could sense within his dantian, above the green lotus that had fused with his devouring seed, the appearance of… a flower bud!

It formed the same moment his Dark Core was formed, blossoming instantly and transforming into a lotus flower. Its petals began to fall, forming strong waves of Dark Qi. As the petals fell and drifted away, within the bud appeared…

A lotus!

The original green lotus only had a lotus seed head. The seed head was capable of bearing seeds and gave off waves of faint Spirit Qi. Now… a second lotus had appeared. It was clearly different from the first lotus. It was black in color and gave off waves of Dark Qi, and it was surrounded by an eerie glow. Upon closer examination, one could see… within this lotus head sat his Dark Core!

It was because of the Dark Core inside that this second lotus and the power it exuded gave one the feeling of it being like a sun. Its power clearly surpassed that of the first lotus!

It seemed to be of a different grade in terms of quality!

This wasn't the end of it. The bizarre transformation hadn't yet ended, and Wang Baole could clearly see the beginnings of a third lotus forming next to the second lotus. It was another flower bud!

Lightning shone and sparkled inside this lightning bud, but it seemed to lack certain nutrients that would allow it to flower. That was why it hadn't yet blossomed. However, Wang Baole could imagine that once this bud blossomed, a third lotus would appear inside his body!

One is a Dark Core, the other… a Lightning Core. If that's the case, what exactly is inside the green lotus… Wang Baole's conscious mind was still in a slight blur. These questions surfaced instinctively after he had observed everything.

He didn't continue with this line of thought for long. As his mind became clearer and more awake, everything that had happened within the Dark Dream surfaced before his eyes. He shuddered, and his breathing became uneven.

The Dark Dream… the Dark Sect! Wang Baole lowered his head. Complicated feelings unfurled within him as he thought about how he had witnessed the destruction of the Dark Sect just before he had left the sect. It had seemed like the compression of infinite time into a single moment, which had then passed. Wang Baole didn't know what had happened after. He didn't have enough information for him to know more. He remained silent as he sat on the solitary boat. Then, he pulled out the black mask without hesitation!

"Little Missy…" Wang Baole held onto the mask and whispered. There was sorrow in his voice.

"Are you able to tell me everything that you know about the Dark Art and the Dark Sect…" Wang Baole said in a low voice. The black mask glimmered. A long moment later, Little Missy's voice appeared in his mind.

"After you fell into a deep sleep, and your consciousness disappeared…"

"I went back to the Dark Sect…" Wang Baole muttered. What he said drove Little Missy into silence. Another long moment later, Little Missy's voice, tinged with exhaustion, rang out in Wang Baole's mind.

"There is a break in the historical records of our sect, the Dark Sect, following a calamity in the past. With the disappearance of the Dark Sect, the subsequent descendants could only draw conclusions of what had happened from the traces of evidence left behind. It appears that its destruction… has something to do with the Never-Ending Clan!"

"I am but an indirect descendant of the Dark Sect. I don't know the truth, but according to the little evidence left behind, the fall of the Dark Sect seemed to be related to the appearance of a traitor in the sect's midst…" At that point, the Little Missy seemed unable to continue. She spoke more and more slowly. It was as if she was remembering the past, or as if she was deliberating how to continue the story.

Before she could recall her memories, Wang Baole raised his head suddenly, his breathing stilled.

"I knew that must be it! I understand now! The Never-Ending Clan controls the power of life, while the Dark Sect controls the power of rebirth and wanders the universe on behalf of the Heavenly Dao. This battle between the respective Dao of life and death ended with the destruction and fall of the Dark Sect. That was why my master said… the Heavenly Dao fell… As for the traitor, I'm not sure of the situation in the rest of the other Dark Sects under the other Grand Elders, but if it's the sect under my master, the traitor… might be… Senior Brother."

"Ah?" Little Missy froze. If she had shown herself, the expression on her face would be one of bewilderment. A moment later, she coughed. She didn't continue to speak.

At present, as he continued to mutter to himself, Wang Baole merged what he already knew with what Little Missy had said in his mind. A picture of what had happened gradually formed. After a long time, he took a deep breath and buried his thoughts deep in his heart. Then, he got to his feet and stared at the abyss around him. Silently, he bent at his waist and bowed deeply.

When he straightened his back again, he shut his eyes. After a dozen or so breaths, he opened his eyes again. There was an icy glint in his eyes.

The Artifact Spirits… and the extraterrestrial cultivators! Wang Baole narrowed his eyes. He lowered his head and stared at the boat beneath his feet. The Dark Core shook inside his body, and a startling Dark Qi erupted from his person. It rolled outward in waves as he barked!

"Boat Spirit!"

His voice carried the power of Wang Baole's Dark Core cultivation. It also contained a power that had been formed while he had been dreaming… it was an overpowering aura that belonged to the Dark Sect… one that enabled one to wander the universe and reign over the multitude of souls in this universe!

His voice echoed in the abyss, and there was no place within the abyss that wasn't affected by the Dark Qi. The air rumbled and thundered as a huge whirlpool formed before him. It rumbled as it spun. The silhouette of a towering man formed rapidly. Within a span of a few breaths, it went from a blurry outline to a clear image of a person!

Wang Baole knew this man. He was the soul of the pervert whom Wang Baole had purified in his Dark Dream!

At the moment, however, the man's eyes were shut. The more distinct his form became, the clearer one could see the various missing and damaged parts on his form. His spirit energy was weak. The beckoning that was exuding from his body made Wang Baole realize that the one who had called out for him to enter this place was this soul!

Master said that the one who called for me was him and yet not him. Maybe what he means is that… he summoned me through this soul. Wang Baole stared at the large man's soul and pondered. His eyes turned soft. However, he had to do what he had to do. With a series of hand seals, the Dark Core inside his body was activated. One of the Dark Seals that Ming Kunzi had given him in his Dark Dream vanished instantly. It appeared before Wang Baole and raced towards the large man. It seared itself onto the man's forehead and infused itself with the soul. It seemed to have replaced the man's original memories with… the memories Ming Kunzi had created in the Dark Dream!

Only by completing this could the Boat Spirit truly belong to Wang Baole!

Everything in his dreams became reality!

The large man shuddered, and his shut eyes opened suddenly. There was a fierce fervor in his eyes when he stared at Wang Baole, and he immediately lowered his head and cupped his fists, bowing deeply.

"Greetings, Master!"

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Chapter 462: Resume Your Position!

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

As soon as the soul of the Boat Spirit was branded with Wang Baole's Dark Seal, and following its greetings, a strange and bizarre feeling surfaced inside Wang Baole. It was as if he could determine the Boat Spirit's life and death with a single thought.

Wang Baole wasn't unfamiliar with such a feeling. It was the exact powerful feeling he had felt towards the three souls he had purified when he had been in the Dark Sect.

Next, the Robe Spirit and the Oar Spirit! Wang Baole narrowed his eyes. He thought about the malicious intentions the two Artifact Spirits had harbored towards him in the past, then snorted. At present, standing on the black boat, he raised his right hand. With a wave of his hand, the boat rumbled and sped forward, melting into the abyss. It vanished without a trace.

When it appeared again, it was at the third level of the underground world, in the central public square in the city!

At present, both the elder and the young boy were equally nervous. They had no idea what kind of transformation Wang Baole would go through after entering the deep cave. However, violence filled their hearts. Their desire to kill Wang Baole was extremely strong. They couldn't do the deed themselves though. As such, they had summoned all the powerful beasts within this underground world and had them gathered outside the cave. They were waiting for Wang Baole to appear.

They had attempted to get the monsters into the cave. However, there was a barrier inside the cave that stopped anything else from entering. No matter how anxious the State Preceptor and the young boy grew, they could only wait outside as they had the cave surrounded.

As they stood wrought with anxiety and panic, and as hordes of monsters surrounded the cave, suddenly, the heavens changed. The winds howled, the clouds boiled, and a thunderous boom erupted in the air. The earth quaked and collapsed suddenly as giant cracks appeared in the ground. A terrifying aura erupted from the cracks and transformed into a hurricane that rose to the heavens. The earth broke apart and shattered into bits of stone and soil. They were flung into the air. The monsters around the cave let loose terrible cries and howls as they were swept away by the sudden strong force and fell back hastily.

Everything had happened too quickly. Alarm flashed across the faces of the elderly State Preceptor and the young boy. As the ground fell apart beneath their feet, a gigantic black boat came rising through the earth!

Thunderous booms resounded in the air. The black boat broke through the earth and appeared before the elder and the young boy. They instantly saw Wang Baole, with his hands behind his back, on the boat!

An indescribable fear surged through the hearts of the State Preceptor and the young boy, and a myriad of emotions flashed across their faces. Their memories and fear of the Dark Sect instantly appeared in full detail. The boy, especially, shuddered. Violence and madness appeared in his eyes as he let loose a shrill scream.

As his piercing scream rang in the air, the monsters that had been pushed back howled as if agitated. Regardless of the fear in their hearts, their eyes reddened, and they charged madly at Wang Baole.

"Insolent fools!" There was ice in Wang Baole's eyes as he said coolly. With a thought, the black boat beneath his feet suddenly shone with a black light. The light was like waves of inscriptions that rolled and swept outwards.

Where it passed, charging monsters shuddered violently and were left immobile. Regardless of how high their level of cultivation was, their very existence was linked to the Dark Artifact. They had been changed due to the spirit energy given off by the Dark Artifact, and their mutation was a direct result of the Dark Artifact. There was an intrinsic defect in their very flesh and blood.

This defect made them vulnerable and helpless before the Dark Artifact and before Wang Baole. As the waves of inscription swept outward, loud booming explosions rang out. The monsters exploded one by one. They were like blood-red blossoms flowering between heaven and earth!

The ease of the monsters' elimination was a terrifying sight, and it caused the boy's pupils to contract. However, he was clearly of an extremely violent character. Despite knowing the extent of damage the Dark Fire inside Wang Baole's body could inflict on him, he didn't choose to escape. Instead, it seemed as if he had gone mad. His eyes turned red, and with a wave of his hand, he pulled the fresh blood that had spilled from the exploded monsters towards him.

From afar, the fresh blood seemed to have frozen instantly and formed a river of blood. It flowed around and circled the young boy, forming a blood-colored protective armor. It seemed like he intended to use the armor to defend himself against the Dark Fire. Within the armor, the boy screamed. His speed surged to the extremes of his limits as he charged at Wang Baole!

Wang Baole remained unfazed at the charging, violent boy. If this had happened prior to his Dark Dream, he wouldn't possess any psychological edge in this situation. However, in the Dark Sect in his Dark Dream, he had seen too many souls. He had also experienced the power the Dark Sect had over souls. He had been there. He had no fear of any souls.

Such a psychological edge meant he wasn't bothered by the approaching boy. He had personally cleansed this boy's soul in the Dark Dream, after all.

Even though it was just a memory from a dream, after he branded the boy with the Dark Seal resting inside his Dark Core, this boy's memories would be changed and become identical to those in the dream!

This meant that Wang Baole was unfazed by anything. He spoke coolly.

"You're too noisy!" As he spoke, Wang Baole raised his right hand. With a slight wave, as if he was painting for the souls in his Dark Dream, he began to… paint a Corpse Face!

As his finger landed, the screaming and charging boy suddenly shuddered. A power that he was powerless to resist, that disregarded the blood-colored armor around him, landed on his soul. It was like the touch of a brush, a light stroke falling on his soul!

In an instant, his mouth vanished, and the screaming stopped…

The boy trembled violently. As terror flashed across his eyes, Wang Baole sent his right hand waving again. Instantly, half of the boy's body disappeared, as if wiped away!

The emotion in the boy's eyes surpassed that of fear then. It had turned to shock. The feeling of having one's soul torn to pieces, which he had almost forgotten, was once again dredged out from the depths of his memories. It was like an ocean that threatened to drown him. The boy began to shudder, and despair and pleading appeared in his eyes.

This was the power the Dark Sect had over souls. This was the power a Dark Child had over an Artifact Spirit. It was a power that disregarded the level of one's cultivation. Even though Wang Baole was only at the Core Formation realm, and even though the boy's cultivation level was clearly higher than Wang Baole's, he was but a mere Artifact Spirit. As long as his soul didn't reach a certain cultivation level, he would be helpless against Wang Baole's mystic art!

"Shouldn't you get down on your knees?" Wang Baole saw the pleading in the boy's eyes and held his finger still, speaking calmly.

As soon as he said that, the boy fell with a thud to his knees. However, because the lower half of his body had vanished, he sprawled on the floor when he knelt, his forehead hitting the ground repeatedly as if kowtowing.

The sight almost scared the wits out of the State Preceptor, who was standing a short distance away. He gasped in shock!

"Corpse Face!" He shuddered. He didn't hesitate. He retreated immediately and hurriedly. There was only one thought in his mind, and that was to escape!

He had no time to think of where he should run to, or where he could run to…

"You have a death wish!" Wang Baole raised his head and stared at the fleeing elder in the distance with cold eyes. He didn't continue with his Corpse Face Mystic Art. Instead, his eyes turned black. It was like the spreading of dark ink over his eyes as the whites of Wang Baole's eyes were instantly dyed a pitch black!

The instant his eyes turned completely black, the Dark Core Lotus inside his body began to churn. An illusory large hand reached out from his body!

It was equally black. When it appeared, the surroundings turned icy cold. The young boy, who had been kowtowing, trembled even more violently. The terror in his eyes grew more intense.

The monsters who remained and hadn't been killed all began to tremble. As terror and fear filled the air, the giant hand that had reached out from Wang Baole's body suddenly dashed out and headed straight for… the elder who was fleeing into the distance!

"Soul Guidance!" The State Preceptor screamed. His eyes were colored with despair as he tried to escape but failed to do so. The Soul Guiding Hand approached and grabbed him. He struggled to no avail. With a sudden throw, he was flung onto the boat right before Wang Baole!

Wang Baole stared coldly at the elder that had been captured by the Soul Guiding Hand. Then, he looked at the trembling young boy who was still kowtowing. With a wave of his right hand, the other two Dark Seals in his Dark Core flew out and branded the two souls.

The two Artifact Spirits shuddered. Then, they stopped shuddering. Fervor colored their eyes as their memories were replaced. In their memories, they had been personally purified by Wang Baole. They were Artifact Spirits that belonged to Wang Baole!

"Shouldn't you be resuming your positions?" Wang Baole said coolly as he withdrew the Soul Guiding Hand. The State Preceptor moved forward and transformed into a Black Robe. It raced towards Wang Baole and fell on his shoulders. At the same time, as Wang Baole raised his right hand, the young boy transformed as well. He turned into a black Lantern Oar and landed in Wang Baole's hand. Wang Baole gripped it!

All of a sudden, the entire underground world, its skies and lands, shuddered. Above it, the second and first levels, the entire Dark Artifact, shuddered violently!

From afar, Wang Baole wore a black robe and stood on a black boat. His entire aura was changed. Within his hand was a lantern oar, and a lantern hung on its tip, giving off an eerie glow…

If Zhao Pinfang were here this moment, he would be shocked and excited to find out that Wang Baole's figure seemed to have overlaid with that of the silhouette in his wall painting. They were one and the same!

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Chapter 463: A Medial-Grade Divine Armament!

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

After getting hold of the lantern oar and wearing the black robe, Wang Baole shut his eyes as he stood in this underground world. Thunder seemed to be crashing inside his mind as an image gradually formed in his head.

He saw an enormous boat. It was buried deep underground and was hundreds of yards long and completely black in color. Almost the entire boat was severely damaged and lined with huge cracks.

Dark Qi seeped out continuously from the cracks, fusing with the earth and affecting the greater underground area. The entire vast region seemed to transform into Dark Earth.

There was something illogical and unreasonable about the sight. Logically speaking, a boat with almost ninety percent of it damaged would have collapsed a long time ago. However, the boat in his mind seemed to be held together with a strange and extraordinary power. Despite the vast extent of damage, it continued to retain the shape and structure of a boat!

This boat was a Dark Sampan 1 !

Buried deep underground on Mars, it had affected the spirit energies of the entire planet. The Dark Qi that had spread underground covered half the planet. It had changed the evolutionary development of certain species and caused vast numbers of mutations. It had been like a sudden evolutionary transformation that took place swiftly. It had been the cause of the Beast Tides.

It had affected corpses and caused the appearance of ancient corpses in the Beast Tides!

The reason that it had been able to accomplish all this wasn't only due to the Dark Sampan's own incredible power. There was another reason. That was because… the Dark Artifact buried in the Martian underground wasn't only a Dark Sampan!

There was also a Lantern Oar as well as a Black Robe!

Within Wang Baole's mind, he saw an equally enormous oar beside the Dark Sampan. It was equally damaged. In fact, the extent of its damage seemed even greater, with only a small part of it left. Its lantern and its handle were missing, seemingly ripped apart, their whereabouts were unknown.

On the other side of the Dark Sampan was the Black Robe, buried. Similarly, only a small, damaged part of it remained. The whereabouts of its missing parts were unknown.

The three Dark Artifacts combined were the true, complete Dark Artifacts that belonged to a Dark Child of the Dark Sect!

After a long time, Wang Baole opened his eyes. His entire heart was overwhelmed with emotions. He knew clearly that the black robe on him, the boat beneath his feet, and the lantern oar in his hands were all mere illusions. They weren't real. However, he was still shocked by the true forms of these three Dark Artifacts.

To be damaged to this extent and yet still possess such power… that it's able to affect the Martian underground and the evolution of Martian species. It even created a three-level underground world on Mars… At that thought, Wang Baole took a deep breath. He finally knew where he was. He was inside the Dark Artifact. It was clear that there was some sort of dimension-distorting spell in this place, and that was how the three-level underground world was formed. Its size was astonishing.

Since Wang Baole had branded the three Artifact Spirits, he was now the master of the Dark Artifact. He could sense that the three Dark Artifacts were so large because they had been too severely damaged and hence, lost their ability to shrink in size. Once they were repaired to a sufficient degree, their sizes could be modified with a single thought!

If the three Dark Artifacts are recovered to their perfect states… how powerful would they be? Shock stirred within Wang Baole. He already knew the answer. Based on his understanding of the Dark Artifacts in his Dark Dream, he knew that if the Dark Artifacts could be repaired completely, they would become immense weapons that would help a Dark Child wander the universe!

At that thought, Wang Baole was overcome by excitement. After a moment, he took a deep breath and suddenly said, "Artifact Spirits, report the extent of damage your respective Dark Artifacts have suffered!"

As soon as Wang Baole spoke, the voices of his Artifact Spirits rang in his head. They spoke with extreme respect and deference.

"Master, the Lantern Oar has lost sixty percent of its full form. The exact locations of these lost parts are unknown and beyond our senses. The remaining forty percent of its parts have received approximately eighty percent damage. Only the Power of Laws is holding it together and preventing it from being completely ruined…"

"Master, the dark robe is in a similar state. Seventy percent of its full form has been lost… The remaining three percent of its parts are also mostly damaged…"

The boy's and the State Preceptor's answers gave Wang Baole a headache. The three Dark Artifacts had simply received too much damage, especially the robes. Wang Baole felt it no longer resembled robes and looked like strips of cloth instead…

That's useless. I got excited for nothing! Wang Baole sighed.

"Master, if there are sufficient materials, the Dark Artifact can repair itself. As long as any one of the Dark Artifacts is restored to ten percent functionality, it will be able to establish a constant protective barrier that can withstand attacks from anyone below the Spirit Immortal realm!" The words of the Dark Artifact's Artifact Spirit gave Wang Baole hope. He was once again shocked by the power of the Dark Artifact.

"You can achieve that with only ten percent functionality? What if it's higher?"

"If the Dark Sampan could be restored to thirty percent of its functionality, it will be able to unleash an attack that rivals one at the greater Spirit Immortal realm. But this will use up a lot of energy. More materials will be required for further repair before it can unleash a second attack! Considering that both the Lantern Oar and the Dark Robe are missing parts of their form, I suggest starting the repair of the Dark Sampan first!" As the Artifact Spirit of the Dark Sampan spoke, he handed over a list of materials to Wang Baole…

The boy and the State Preceptor would have refuted the Artifact Spirit of the Dark Sampan if it had been in the past, but they had nothing but exasperation and resignation in their hearts now. They could only follow their orders obediently. After all, starting with the repairs of the Dark Sampan was indeed the best option currently.

Wang Baole's eyes brightened. However, he couldn't help but smack his forehead after reading through the list of materials required. The materials required to repair the Dark Sampan were simply too much. Many of them were extremely rare materials, and some of the materials were actually Stellar Sources…

All the materials that Wang Baole had ever used in his refining Dharmic Artifacts couldn't compare to the value of one-ten thousandth of the materials on this list. He couldn't help himself from sighing.

"I bet I can craft a few Divine Armaments with these materials!"

"Master, you could indeed do that. However, they would lack the Power of Laws. As a result, they would only be inferior-grade Divine Armaments," the State Preceptor said hastily, speaking before the Boat Spirit could say anything to try and prove his worth.

Wang Baole's eyes flashed. He had read quite extensively while in the Dark Dream, but he hadn't come across any information on Divine Armaments. He couldn't help but question further.

"Inferior-grade Divine Armaments?"

"Yes, Master. Divine Armaments are divided into inferior-grade, medial-grade, superior-grade, and perfect-grade armaments. The difference between each grade is immense. It's like heaven and earth!" The boy realized that if they began by repairing the Dark Sampan first, his worth would fall. That was why he had spoken hastily.

"Have you seen the Federation's Divine Armament? What grade is it?" Wang Baole asked immediately.

"No, but we've sensed it before. It's an inferior-grade Divine Armament!"

"Inferior-grade? How about the Dark Artifact?" Wang Baole's breathing grew uneven.

"All three Dark Artifacts are medial-grade artifacts. In their complete form, they are able to unleash the power of a superior-grade Divine Armament!"

When Wang Baole heard that, he got so excited that he trembled. His eyes burned with a bright light, and fire burned his insides. It was as if he'd just picked up an invaluable and priceless treasure that had been lying on the side of the road. He thought the Federation's Divine Armament an extremely powerful artifact, so powerful that it was beyond description. However, it was only an inferior-grade armament. His Dark Artifact, on the other hand, would become a superior-grade armament once repaired completely!

He wished he could immediately gather all the materials required and restore his Dark Artifact fully. His eyes reddened. He was like a starving ghoul that had been hungry for a thousand years. His eyes glowed with a red light as he glanced around him suddenly.

"Resources… I need vast amounts of resources…" Wang Baole muttered. At that moment, three figures appeared in his mind suddenly, the three Nascent Soul realm extraterrestrial cultivators!

They must have loads of resources on them! At that thought, Wang Baole licked his lips and violence shone in his eyes. Based on his connection with the Dark Artifact, he knew that because the Dark Artifact couldn't shrink in size, he would face great difficulty in wielding it in the outside world. He wouldn't be able to unleash its full power. However, inside the Dark Artifact, within this three-level world that had been conjured by the Dark Artifact, he… was like a god!

Even though he wouldn't be able to hold his own against extremely powerful entities, by gathering the power of the Artifact Spirits, it wasn't impossible for him to fight back against three Nascent Souls!

"Let's go! We're going to get the resources to fix the Dark Sampan!" Wang Baole narrowed his eyes. As he spoke, he pointed the illusory lantern oar in his hand forward. The heavens and earth thundered, and the entire three-level underground world quaked. Simultaneously, light erupted from countless regions.

The illusory black robe on Wang Baole fluttered in the wind as the Dark Sampan beneath his feet started moving. Soundlessly, they raced into the skies, melting into the abyss instantly and vanishing without a trace!

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Chapter 464: The God of Death!

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

A year in the Dark Dream was a mere day in the real world!

To the three extraterrestrial cultivators trapped in the three-level underground world created by the Dark Artifact, only a day had passed since they lost sight of Wang Baole.

Fury burned inside them. They wanted to kill Wang Baole so badly. But they did not panic. With their knowledge and experience, they could tell that the underground world created by the Dark Artifact was a closed universe. After failing to find an exit out of this place, they decided to move deeper inside and continue their search.

They would either find Wang Baole or a way out. With time, they felt that they would be able to accomplish either one. In fact, there was a great chance of them being able to do both.

That was indeed the case. They had plenty of resources on them and had many tricks up their sleeves, including a mystic art that had been passed down to them by their elder, one which was used specifically to dispel such forbidden spells. It required their combined efforts to unleash it, but it specifically countered forbidden array formations. Its power was incredible.

Given a few more days, they might really charge out of the Dark Artifact or find their way to Wang Baole.

However… they couldn't have imagined that within a single day, the tides had turned!

At present, they had found a weak spot in the second level of the underground world and were working together to break through it. The earth and heavens shuddered as a whirlpool appeared in the sky. At first, it spun slowly, but as they continued to cast the spell, it began to spin faster.

As it spun more quickly, a pathway appeared in the center of the whirlpool. It seemed unstable at the moment, but it was likely that it would stabilize after a while, connecting the first level and the second level of the underground world.

Once they entered the first level, they would be able to blast their way out of the Dark Artifact. They intended to secure a means of escaping first before creating a pathway through the various levels and seeking out Wang Baole!

"Once we reach the first level and activate the pathway, we'll immediately seal it, then go and find that damn fatty! Unless he's truly an idiot, there's a chance he's not really called Zhuo Yixian. Why else would he shout out his own name to us?"

"It doesn't matter. He's just like a Corpse Burial Rat! He's just another rat that's better at digging holes!"

They all had ugly expressions on their faces. When they had been back on their mother planet or even when they had been off pillaging other civilizations, they had never come across a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator who had had so many tricks up his sleeve, who had been so difficult to put down, and who had been so vicious and eccentric.

When they recalled that Wang Baole's cultivation was only at the Foundation Establishment realm, their faces darkened another shade. They admitted to the fact that they had underestimated Wang Baole at first. That was why they had wanted to capture him alive and hadn't unleashed their most powerful attacks. They had given Wang Baole a chance.

It had been that chance that had the tables turned on them.

"We'll blast it open first, but let's not spend too much time trying to find him. We must return to the mother planet as soon as possible so we can inform the elder about what is going on here. We can't be late for his birthday either. The stone chest that we found in the ruins of the Cloud Star Civilization will definitely earn his approval. That, combined with the news about this galaxy, and we're bound to receive three Soul Conduit Pills!" The centipede-faced cultivator pondered for a while, then spoke slowly.

Fervor appeared in the eyes of the other two cultivators when they heard that. They were about to continue unleashing the mystic art and completely stabilize the pathway in the whirlpool.

It was then that… something unexpected happened!

A series of loud rumblings suddenly erupted from both the earth and the heavens. The tombstones erected on the lands shook violently as waves of inscription appeared in the second level of the underground world. It was as if the entire second level had been transformed into the two-dimensional surface of a pool, and a huge stone had been thrown in, causing ripples to spread across the surface.

The sudden change sent alarm flashing across their faces. Before they could react, the entire world seemed to be turned upside down all of a sudden. The heavens became the earth, and the burial grounds, the sky!

Endless waves of inscription swept across the entire world. Soon, two eerie ghoulish heads appeared near them. They were green-faced and fearsome beyond measure, fanged and horned. There were inscriptions on their faces that hovered between brightness and darkness, making them appear creepy and violent.

As soon as the ghoulish heads appeared, they widened their jaws and charged towards two cultivators. They intended to swallow them whole!

They were incredibly fast, making it impossible to escape them. Helpless, the centipede-faced cultivator, who was the leader of the party, and the horse-faced cultivator next to him, tried to fall back as their pupils contracted. There was no time for them to do that at all. Their bodies were swallowed whole by the two giant green-faced ghouls. They vanished instantly after that!

As soon as they disappeared, the inverted world resumed its original state. The waves of inscription disappeared, as did the series of transformations and discord that had descended upon the world. A deathly silence descended. In the entire land, out of the three extraterrestrial cultivators, only the square-faced cultivator remained. A myriad of emotions flashed across his face. He was shaken to the core. He had clearly been shocked by the earlier scene. In his terror, he unleashed the full extent of his cultivation, extending his spiritual senses and stepping back, terrified and on extremely high alert.

As he retreated, he didn't hesitate to form a series of rapid hand seals. Scales appeared on his forehead, the edges of his eyes, and on his limbs. There were a total of nine scales, all of them purple, all of them exuding incredible spirit energy.

This was his most powerful attack, but every unleashing of this attack was a drain on his life force. That was why unless he was forced into a corner, with death looming over him, he wouldn't use it. He had only unleashed it now because of the fright that he had experienced.

As intense terror and wariness coursed through his body, the square-faced cultivator let loose a sudden burst of speed. He flew around for thirty minutes and saw that everything around him remained unchanged—no danger surfaced.

Did we trigger some trap inside this Dark Artifact? Suspicions rose within the square-faced cultivator's heart. The sudden appearance of the ghoulish heads and the transformation of the heavens and earth had been absolutely terrifying. His comrades had been swallowed whole, and their fates were now unknown. He was worried and unsettled. Now that everything seemed safe, despite his doubts, he was relieved, albeit barely.

Just as he relaxed slightly, a black mist appeared soundlessly and enveloped the entire tombstone-filled land. It was a thin mist at first, but within the span of a few breaths, it blanketed the entire heavens and earth. It spread out suddenly, covering the entire world with a thick mist. If one were to look down from above, one would see a land filled with mist, transformed into a sea of mist!

The sight alarmed the square-faced cultivator. He was about to retreat when suddenly, his entire body shuddered. His eyes widened as he saw, beyond the lands and high in the heavens, a region that seemed drenched in blood. Within a single moment, a blood-red moon appeared like a blood imprint in the sky!

It exuded an eerie aura. Soft whispers began to echo all around him, amidst the mist and fog, as the blood moon hung in the heavens.

Regardless of how hard the square-faced cultivator tried to make out what the whispers were saying, he couldn't discern anything. Horror swelled in his heart, and his face turned pale. Suddenly, his cultivation erupted. In the next moment, the nine scales on him gave off a bright, dazzling light. This was like a sudden dose of courage. He shouted, "Who is it? Who's trying to scare me?"

The square-faced cultivator's pupils suddenly contracted after he shouted. He could see before his eyes, in the mist in front of him, the blurry outline of a lone boat. There was someone sitting on the boat. He was dressed in black robes and before him was a lantern oar. His features were indiscernible due to the thick mist. Regardless, a sudden horror still rose within the square-faced cultivator.

It was akin to… the instinctive awe that came from within the depths of one's soul. It seemed to be infused in his blood, something that had been passed down from generation to generation through blood, something that his ancestors in the distant past had in their blood. It was fear and terror one harbored towards such a figure!

It was the feeling an ordinary person would have upon seeing a God of Death rise from the depths of the underworld!

It made him tremble. But the square-faced cultivator was after all a Nascent Soul realm cultivator. He had seen his fair share of deaths and killed his fair share of enemies. Despite his terror, despite his reddening eyes, he knew that this was the moment of life and death. He roared and charged at the boat. With a series of hand seals, the nine scales on his body gave off an intense light. They formed nine beams of light that seemed to signify destruction that landed on the boat!

The nine beams landed on the boat instantly. However, the boat seemed as if an illusion. Nothing changed. The nine beams of light that contained within them immense power and signified destruction passed through the boat and exploded in the distant mists.

Fear surged in the square-faced cultivator's heart. His face was pale, and he retreated hastily.

Just as he was about to escape, Wang Baole opened his eyes, uttering two words softly.

"Corpse Face!"

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Chapter 465: The Dark Mirror

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Wang Baole paid no attention to the escaping square-faced cultivator as it didn't matter how fast he was going. The expression on Wang Baole's face remained unchanged as he spoke the two words quietly. Corpse Face!

As soon as those words fell out of Wang Baole's mouth, the mist blanketing the entire world suddenly rolled and rumbled. It erupted suddenly and surged outward in all directions, revealing the land that had been enveloped in mist.

However… the exposed land was no longer the same burial grounds. It had become a flat surface, like a mirror!

The edges of the mirror continued to expand. Within a few seconds, it caught up with and went past the fleeing square-faced cultivator. Waves of terror surged within the square-faced cultivator's heart as an intense feeling of dread turned his already red eyes even redder—to the color of blood.

His gut told him that if he got trapped within the mirror, then… he would definitely be killed!

In his panic, his eyes grew wild. He didn't hesitate and instead decided immediately to self-destruct his scales.

A series of rumbling began to sound within his body. With each booming sound, one of his scales would explode and burst into a blood-red mist. The mist was then sucked in through his eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. It was like he was breathing in vitality, and his speed quickly increased.

He was using everything he had at this moment and running like a madman, but it was of no use!

If one were to look from an elevated spot, one would see clearly that this part of the underground world had completely transformed. It had become a flat, even mirror!

Not only was the ground a side of the mirror, but the entire world had become a side of the same mirror. Both the sky and the earth were faces of the mirror, and the distance between the sky and the earth was the thickness of the mirror!

The panicking square-faced cultivator was racing inside the mirror, trying to escape. That was why, no matter how fast he went and how hard he ran, he would never get out. Because he was already trapped… inside the mirror!

This was the power that Wang Baole could wield, the incomplete powers of the Dark Artifact. After he branded his Artifact Spirits and fused it with his array formation, it transformed the world into a mirror! The mirror looked like the Dark Mirror that Wang Baole had practiced painting Corpse Faces on in his Dark Dream!

Wang Baole lifted his right hand and pointed towards the abyss. A black light shot out from his finger and seemed to pierce the abyss. It landed on the mirror and became the tip of a brush, forming a light stroke!

It was like his Dark Dream, when he had drawn the faces that the souls would have in their next lives. The brush stroke landed on the square-faced cultivator, causing him to shudder and his eyes to widen. He felt an invisible yet immense power, one that seemed to represent fate and the laws of this heaven and earth, descend upon him. He was helpless to fight back.

With a sudden rumbling, he felt a gust of wind pass him. When it left, his eyes were gone as well!

"Senior, please, spare my life. Please, listen to me. I can explain…" The man let loose a terrified cry. He was filled with terror, and now his vision was black. Everything that was happening made him instinctively feel that this was an attack from some indescribable presence within the Dark Artifact, so he hurriedly begged for his life.

However, no matter how hard he cried for mercy, it couldn't stop the descent of this incredible power. Wang Baole drew another experienced stroke. The man's nose, his ears, even his mouth, vanished instantly. His voice was silenced, and only his body remained trembling violently.

At the same time, a heart-piercing, soul-shattering agony surfaced in the man's consciousness as Wang Baole drew his third stroke. He couldn't shout. He could only remain silent as his body was pulled by an immense force, turning what had been thin and weak into a fat and rotund body!

This was indeed the case. Wang Baole had mastered the Corpse Face Mystic Art. With a few strokes, he had changed the appearance of the man completely. His body was like a mountain of flesh, and his face was blank with no facial features—it was like a blank board.

However, a set of chubby features appeared on this blank board as Wang Baole continued to paint. As they surfaced, the man could finally scream again. He could finally see what was going on around him.

The man soon knew that his pain had just started, with the end nowhere in sight. He heard a dissatisfied snort. Then, his features were wiped clean again. He was given another look.

Wang Baole remained dissatisfied. He felt that he had drawn the man too handsome. With a wave of his hand, he continued to wipe the man's face clean and paint anew. It took a few rounds, and the man kept undergoing indescribable pain every time. Finally, he had no energy left for screaming. In his weakness, bewilderment and despair shone in his eyes.

"I haven't painted in quite a while, I've become rusty…" Wang Baole grumbled in annoyance at his repeated unsatisfactory works. He lifted his right hand and waved. A loud cracking sound rang out, and the entire mirror, as if hit by a sudden great power, shattered!

The face of the mirror broke into pieces, and the square-faced man trapped within shattered alongside the mirror!

After his series of actions, Wang Baole sighed with regret. He grabbed through the air, and a storage bag and a few scales appeared in his hand. He shifted and vanished, alongside the boat beneath his feet.

As he left, that part of the underground world gradually resumed its original state. It returned to what it had been—a burial ground. The blood moon in the skies faded away, and everything was as it had been.

Out of the three extraterrestrial Nascent Soul realm cultivators, one had perished!

During this time, on the first level of the underground world, the horse-faced cultivator was racing forward with terror painted on his face. A moment ago, he had been on the second level, attacking a weak point in the underground world with his two comrades. The next moment, before he had been able to react, a giant ghoulish head had appeared before him and swallowed him whole.

He had thought that would have been the end for him as his vision had blurred. When it had been regained, it had seemed like he had been teleported away and had landed on the first level of the underground world. He had been plagued with doubts and suspicions, drawing the same conclusion as the square-faced cultivator. He thought that they had triggered some trap in the Dark Artifact.

I'll reunite with the rest as soon as possible! The horse-faced cultivator had a solemn expression on his face. He had a feeling that something had changed in this world inside the Dark Artifact. As to what had changed specifically, he wasn't sure.

Regardless of how many times he had tried to reach out to the rest through his voice transmission ring, he couldn't get to them. He had even used the mystic scroll that allowed for a certain degree of inter-dimensional communication amongst the three of them but hadn't received a reply. This had alarmed him further.

I cannot continue this search for them. I have to leave this hellish place immediately. I'll wait outside for them! The horse-faced cultivator took a deep breath and made up his mind. He was about to find the way out when the first level of the underground world underwent a sudden transformation!

The multitudes of islands made from bones scattered across the sea of souls suddenly rumbled. They erupted suddenly, and the thunderous booms rose to the skies. Alarm surged inside the horse-faced cultivator. He saw with his own eyes countless bones rising to the skies with the explosion of the bone islands.

The sky was filled with countless bones!

This… this… The horse-faced cultivator was shocked into silence, alarm crossing his face when the bones gathered together!

Within the span of a few seconds, they formed a giant skeletal finger. It was so huge that it spanned one-tenth of the heavens. It was an earth-shattering, terrifying sight!

It was followed by the second skeletal finger, then the third… until all five fingers appeared. More bones continued to gather, forming a vast and immense palm that connected the five fingers!

The five skeletal fingers curled inwards suddenly. In the heavens, a tight fist that spanned almost the entire sky appeared… and was made of pure bones!

What is this! The horse-faced cultivator's head was prickling with fear. He could feel death looming over him. He retreated immediately, prepared to do whatever it took to escape. The shock and terror in his heart had reached the extremes!

This wasn't the end. As the horse-faced cultivator tried to flee, the entire sea of souls suddenly erupted. Countless souls dashed out madly and charged at the fist of bones, clustering around it, as if forming its layers of blood and flesh!

From afar, one could clearly see the tremendous skeletal fist gaining flesh upon its bones at a rapid speed as a vast number of souls fused with it. The blood was black in color, its flesh green, and its skin was lined with green seals!

In the blink of an eye, the entire Spirit Sea had emptied itself. A green-skinned fist that seemed to take up the space of the entire world became the only thing in the world!

The fist… thundered towards the horse-faced cultivator, whose face was filled with terror and shock!

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Chapter 466: Fellow Daoist, It's Time to Begin Your Journey!

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

This fist was green-skinned and filled with symbols that had a spectral feel to them. It seemed to have come from hell and was now severely broken. When it landed in civilization, the heavens and earth were unable to withstand it. It was as if the sky was about to be devastated, causing the entire world to be left only with this large fist and the horse-faced cultivator, who was now looking extremely frightened, aghast, and hopeless!

The horse-faced cultivator's face was twisted, and as he activated his hand seals and waved his hands, a jade pendant emerged instantly from his chest. The jade pendant was like a spirit body, glowing brilliantly. Once it appeared, it landed before the horse-faced cultivator, instantly transforming into a thousand-foot-wide jade stele!

A colorful glow blocked the fist!

The horse-faced cultivator was a Nascent Soul realm cultivator, and in the face of impending doom, he had a quick reaction and managed to struggle and resist it. In the blink of an eye, it replaced the vast fist in the sky, and landed on the jade stele!

The jade stele was large, but looking at it from a distance, it was like a tiny needle relative to the fist. It was so fragile that it was directly broken and turned to dust even before visible cracks could be seen!

Wang Baole had put in a lot of energy in this Dark Artifact. Over ninety percent of it may have been damaged, but it was, after all, a superior-grade Divine Armament!

The power of a superior-grade Divine Armament was minimal, but it was sufficient to crush a Nascent Soul cultivator!

In theory, if Wang Baole's physical body was sufficiently large, he could directly move the Dark Artifact away. After that, he could exhibit such powers even if he was in the outside world. However, this was apparently impossible. Unless the Dark Artifact was restored to a certain extent and could be shrunk, Wang Baole could only unleash its destructive power in the interior of the Dark Artifact.

Right now, amidst the loud boom and as the jade stele was breaking apart, the horse-faced cultivator screamed pitifully. If it was possible to rewind time, the horse-faced cultivator would never have gone near Mars, for the Dark Artifact on Mars exerted a force on him that he couldn't resist!

"Senior, please appease your anger… I… I'm merely a junior Nascent Soul realm cultivator…" The horse-faced cultivator's voice was trembling. In the process of asking for forgiveness, he retreated at high speed. As he activated his hand seals, a large pink banner that looked like a ribbon appeared beside him, wrapping his surroundings. At a glance, it seemed rather uncoordinated with his movements. However, right now, the horse-faced cultivator couldn't be bothered with it. He took out the most powerful protective Dharmic treasure that he had, despite being unwilling to use it.

As the ribbon twirled around, it gave off resistive forces. It seemed to be resisting all the other forces, auras, and objects that neared it in its surroundings. At the same time, the horse-faced cultivator still felt that it was insufficient. He bit his tongue and caused blood to start flowing, forming a blood-colored bat before him. The bat screamed shrilly, extending its wings as its body expanded into a length hundreds of feet long. Its wings also grew extremely large, and with the horse-faced cultivator as the center, the bat quickly clasped its wings—enveloping the horse-faced cultivator within it.

At the same time, there were tens of other Dharmic treasures of different shapes and sizes all being taken out by the horse-faced cultivator. At this life-and-death juncture, he gave it his all, and that included continuing to ask for forgiveness.

However, they were futile efforts. As the horse-faced cultivator retreated, the giant fist that decimated the jade stele recovered its force and landed heavily on him!

The tens of Dharmic treasures were instantly destroyed. The blood-colored bat didn't manage to make a single sound before its wings and body turned into a mush of flesh and blood and vaporized. The ribbon beside the horse-faced cultivator's body, despite being filled with resistive forces, was like a weak lady who had met with a jock that was several times heavier than her…

As everything withered, the ribbon was twisted, curling back onto the horse-faced cultivator's body. A force that seemed capable of squashing everything was instantly released. Looking at the situation from a distance, it was like the sky had fallen onto the ground. It wasn't even possible to see a single trace of the horse-faced cultivator's existence, as everything seemed to have been turned into ash and dust…

After a moment, the giant fist was slowly lifted and gradually dissipated. All of the flesh and blood turned into spirits, culminating into the sea, while all of the bone ash landed and accumulated into an island!

The first level of the underground world appeared to have returned to its original state. Only the storage bag, and items like the ribbon, seemed to have been drawn into the air, into the vast land above the Spirit Sea. They were grabbed by a hand that had suddenly been extended, and a figure dressed in a black robe suddenly appeared. A lantern oar lay in front of him, and he sat with his legs crossed in a Lone Boat. He slowly retracted the hand that had grabbed the storage bag and the other items. He lowered his head and went further away into the distance, going in the direction that the lone boat naturally floated on the Spirit Sea.

As Wang Baole left into the distance, in the third level of this underground world, which was filled with many cities, the leader of the three extraterrestrial cultivators—the man with the centipede on his face—looked at his surroundings with an awful expression on his face.

Unlike the other two people, even though the leader was on the third level, he was trapped in a region that was less than a thousand feet wide. The periphery of this region was shrouded in a translucent gray glow, and regardless of which method the leader used, he was unable to break through the glow. He was trapped where he was!

In reality, after being swallowed by the ghoulish head previously, this was the location that he had reappeared in. Compared to his two subordinates, the leader with the centipede on his face was definitely more experienced and knowledgeable. He instantly realized that he didn't go beyond the restrictions. Instead, an enemy had launched an attack and unleashed the force of a Dark Artifact. His two subordinates were likely to have met with fatal danger by now.

After all, having the courage to attack an unknown opponent implied that he was confident.

Is it an Artifact Spirit, or… that irritating fatty that was about to be skinned? He was solemn and appeared calm, but in reality, he was extremely anxious, as if his mind was set on fire. A sense of crisis was emanating from every inch of his body. It was as if all his cells were screaming at him to leave this place immediately!

The fact that the three of us were split up means that the mastermind doesn't have the confidence to go against us at the same time. Based on this interpretation, there is a limit to this person's combat power. If it's that fatty, it means that he still isn't skilled enough to handle the Dark Artifact, or… the Dark Artifact is broken or couldn't be sufficiently supported by his cultivation level! The man with the centipede on his face narrowed his eyes as he made his judgment. At the same time, after he waited for about five minutes and realized that there was no one else here besides him, he concluded that his two subordinates were likely to have died.

Therefore, he is coming to me last… A look of ruthlessness appeared in his eyes. He understood that it was useless to be afraid. At the same time, the fact that he could become a thief on a star with his Nascent Soul realm cultivation was due to his decisiveness and ferocity.

I shall wait, then! The man laughed chillingly, suppressing the anxiety in his heart, and seeming to be awaiting death. He looked and inspected his surroundings after spreading his spirit perception apart. After ensuring that his setup was in place, he felt more comforted.

In reality, after arriving here and realizing that he couldn't blast the protective covering away, he decided to put traps here. All the array formations, one-use elixirs, and Dharmic treasures that he had brought along with him were laid out in the thousand-foot-wide region. He used the entire situation for setting up his traps.

As he inspected the setup and felt comforted by it, he suddenly grew alert. He heard a mumbling voice that seemed to originate from a distance away and was growing clearer by the second.

"When the heavens and earth separate, the cycle of fate stops…"

"Knowing what happened in the past, the one who suffers now is…"

"Knowing what's to come in the future, the one who is working hard now is…"

Listening to this bizarre song-like mumbling, his heart palpitated at an increasing speed. Even his spirits grew unstable, and his vision blurred. He bit his own tongue and managed to recover through the pain. He breathed quickly as he raised his head to look beyond the protective covering. His pupils constricted, and from the reflection in his eyes, it could be seen that the skies outside the protective screen had turned pitch black and that a long river had appeared along with the emergence of the tune!

The river water blended in with the dark skies but remained clear. Taking a closer look at it, one could even see that countless spirits were present in the water, as if the Spirit Sea from the first level of the underground world had flowed here and formed a Spirit River!

If it were just a Spirit River, the man with the centipede wouldn't be so shocked. Without a doubt, in the Spirit River, a black Lone Boat was slowly approaching!

On the Lone Boat sat Wang Baole with his legs crossed. He stood up and raised his right hand. The lantern oar that was in front of him slowly rose and landed in his hands.

"It's indeed you who was playing a trick on me!" A look of ferocity appeared in the eyes of the man with a centipede on his face. He bellowed when he recognized Wang Baole!

Wang Baole smiled, waving the lantern oar in his hands and mimicking his master in the Dark Dream. He spoke unclearly.

"Fellow Daoist, it's time to begin your journey to the netherworld!"

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Chapter 467: Huge Returns!

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

As Wang Baole spoke, the Dark River beneath the Lone Boat expanded, leading down from the sky towards where the burly man was sealed. Instantly, he passed the protective covering using his Lone Boat, quickly approaching the burly man!

Before that, the burly man with the centipede looked anxious, his pupils constricting as he seemed to be attempting to retreat. However, just as the Dark River passed through the protective covering, and as Wang Baole arrived on the lone boat, the ferocity in the burly man's eyes intensified, and he roared loudly.

"To hell with the journey!" As he screamed, he waved his hands. Immediately, in a thousand-foot-wide diameter around him, flying swords emerged from underground, forming a sword fleet!

That wasn't all. Bright rays of light emerged from the ground in the center of the sword feet, interweaving with each other and transmogrifying into an array diagram. The force of an array formation was unleashed right at this moment.

Furthermore, figures identical to that of the burly man appeared in the blink of an eye in every corner, making it difficult for one to differentiate the actual person from his figures. A sharp and ear-piercing scream reverberated as well, and was a sound that seemed capable of breaking a rock!

The ground began to crack apart, and a frighteningly large centipede emerged from within, as if it was about to swallow Wang Baole who was fast approaching. Its terrifying orifice could be seen clearly, and its body was covered with countless sharp thorns that gripped anyone who saw it with fear.

Describing the scene, it seemed as if they appeared slowly, but in reality, they were all put in place the moment Wang Baole entered the confines of the protective covering!

It was as fast as lightning!

However, all the preparations, all the methods of attack, all the flying sword Dharmic treasures, and even the terrifying-looking centipede were powerless in the face of a Dark Artifact. Furthermore, Wang Baole knew that the burly man was the leader. As such, when he attacked, not only did he unleash the remaining power of the Dark Artifact, he even adopted the methods of the Dark Sect!

The lone boat continued to move forward, and the Dark River continued to flow. However, what changed was that Wang Baole began singing the bizarrely tuned song, which seemed to harness some sort of mysterious force!

"When the heavens and earth separate, the cycle of fate stops…"

The moment the rhyme was sung, the entire Dark Artifact shook. A force whose source couldn't be detected emerged suddenly. It didn't appear out of nowhere, nor did it come from somewhere else. Instead, it was formed right there and then!

To put it more accurately, it was formed as a result of the rhyme. As it reverberated, the numerous flying swords in the air froze in motion. The Dharmic treasures and the array formation also calmed down. Even the huge, terrifying centipede stopped in its tracks, motionless.

It was as if everything had been frozen!

The countless avatars of the burly man dissipated instantly like popped bubbles. The only one that remained was the one nearest to Wang Baole, who was now carrying a look of disbelief on his face.

This is impossible. Time has stopped… It's impossible. This is the legendary Consciousness Dharmic Dao that only the top mighty figures of the Galaxy Realm can exhibit! The burly man was shaking vigorously with shock. He couldn't control himself as he shrieked in surprise, his body moving back. Even though he was doubtful about everything that was happening, thinking that it was impossible, he still retreated without hesitation.

He didn't dare to fight or battle anymore. Now, the only thought in his mind was to escape. Everything here was so bizarre that he shuddered at the thought of it. However, just as he stepped back, he suddenly stopped. A look of fear and astonishment intensified in his eyes as he looked at his own body, which was now in front of him, in shock!

There was a body in front of him, standing there motionlessly with an expression of fear frozen on its face as if it had been frozen for an eternity.

Looking at the body in front of him, the burly man trembled as he lowered his head to look at himself. What he saw was… a translucent soul!

It's not time that has been frozen… As the burly man's soul trembled and continued to retreat, a protective screen instantly emerged. However, right there and then, he heard the second line of the song.

"Knowing what happened in the past, the one who suffers now is…" As the song reverberated, the burly man's soul trembled. He saw Wang Baole dressed in a black robe, stepping on the lone boat, and leaving into the distance on the Dark River instead of approaching him.

However, for some unknown reason, he didn't feel that he was liberated. Instead, a frightening sense that catastrophe was about to strike arose in his mind. He retreated once again until he was so far away that he could no longer see Wang Baole. Despite that, he realized, in shock, that his surroundings were still pitch-black.

If it were simply pitch-black, it wouldn't have been a huge matter. However, in the darkness, several blurry-looking spirits could be seen, and they were similar to the ones he saw in the Spirit Sea on the first level.

Impossible, this is impossible… The burly man's soul shivered. A look of hopelessness appeared in his eyes, and Wang Baole's song sounded in his ears again, fleeting and inconsistent.

"Knowing what's to come in the future, the one who is working hard now is…"

This sound reverberated in his soul for a long time, until the burly man's consciousness began to become unclear. The moment it was completely blurred out, the burly man seemed to enter a state of clarity before death. He finally understood why his surroundings were in complete darkness.

He saw the Spirit River that Wang Baole was sailing on in his lone boat when he still had a body previously. He saw that there were countless spirits in the Spirit River, and his spirit was amongst them…

After realizing this, his consciousness dissipated.

As it dissipated, the Spirit River that he was in began to disappear gradually, together with the lone boat, as it flowed from the sky to the ground.

When the lone boat next appeared, it was on the third level of the underground world, in the public square Wang Baole had set off from. There were still numerous corpses and ferocious beasts kneeling there, trembling. Wang Baole's face was pale, and blood flowed out from the corner of his mouth. The lone boat beneath his feet, the black robe he was wearing, and the lantern oar he was holding began to grow unclear. This continued until they eventually disappeared completely, transforming into three individual Artifact Spirits.

One burly man, one elder, and a young boy. When the three Artifact Spirits appeared, they hurriedly knelt before Wang Baole.

Wang Baole shut his eyes, calming the churning Blood Qi in his body. The previous three battles seemed easy, but in reality, he had made use of the power of the Dark Artifact. Despite the Dark Artifact being damaged, Wang Baole still had to use a lot of effort in controlling it, given his cultivation level.

That was especially so as those three battles were in an entirely different format from those he had experienced before. From the inheritance and sense that he had obtained through the Dark Dream, he vaguely felt that the reason why superior-grade Divine Armaments were so powerful was that they could unleash these rule-like divine powers!

It's a pity that my cultivation level isn't high enough and that the Dark Artifact is damaged and can't be shrunk. Otherwise, if I could carry it around with me, if I were to call myself the Federation President after leaving this place and anyone were to disagree, all I would need to do was sing a Soul Song to them! With that thought, Wang Baole was extremely agitated yet depressed. As he experienced the torrent of emotions, he sighed.

I'm getting arrogant… I need to stay humble. Wang Baole patted his tummy, suppressing the churning Blood Qi in his body. He didn't bother to tend to his injuries immediately. Instead, he quickly took out the gains that he had obtained from the three battles. In reality, the two Nascent Souls realm cultivators exhausted numerous Dharmic treasures in the first and second battle. It wasn't that Wang Baole didn't want to stop them, but the fact was that despite Wang Baole acting like everything was a walk in the park, the calmness on his face was all a strong front.

The truth was that he was about to go crazy looking at those Dharmic treasures being destroyed. In his mind, the possessions of the trio were like his own.

However, he couldn't control the power of the Dark Artifact such that it would only wipe out humans but not damage the Dharmic treasures!

As he sighed, Wang Baole opened up the three storage bags before him. After rummaging through them, his eyes widened, and his breathing quickened.

Even though the Dharmic treasures of the trio were mostly damaged, there were still over ten intact ones, including one tri-colored flying sword that could transmogrify into a sword fleet comprised of countless flying swords!

There was also the ribbon from the horse-faced cultivator, the scales from the square-faced cultivator, as well as other Dharmic treasures that the trio didn't use. Wang Baole couldn't tell the grade of those Dharmic treasures due to differences in culture between the cultivators and the Federation. However, he had a hunch that since the Nascent Soul realm cultivators could use them, that they were definitely treasures. He was filled with excitement at the thought!

I've struck gold!

Other than that, there were numerous crystals that looked like Spirit Stones. There was also a jade slip, though he wasn't familiar with the words on the jade slip. At the same time, there were thirty-odd pill bottles, as well as two sets of scaly armor, and a centipede sealed by the force of the Dark Artifact!

This wasn't all. Soon, Wang Baole trembled in shock as he stared into the storage bag of the leader. There was a black jellyfish in hibernation, as well as glowing rocks that piled up like a mountain!

This is… a Sea Glutton?

And these stones… They are Stellar Sources! Wang Baole's eyes were wide with disbelief as he stared dazedly at the items. His mind buzzed with activity as he noticed a black stone box placed in the corner of the leader's storage bag!

The material of this stone box was also a Stellar Source. In terms of quality, it exceeded that of ordinary Stellar Sources significantly!

There was even an aura of antiquity and age. It was as if it had existed for a long time and carried the traces of time with it!

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Chapter 468: Mysterious Stone Box

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Looking at the gains before him, Wang Baole still felt that he had struck a small pot of gold. Even though he had already seen astonishing amounts of materials presented to him while refining Dharmic Artifacts and Dharmic Armaments as a Dharmic Armament cultivator, he was deeply astounded by the gains he had obtained this time.

His breathing quickened uncontrollably as he looked at the items before him, as well as the materials in the three storage bags, some of which were crucial for refining pills, and some of which were crucial for refining artifacts. He didn't recognize most of them, but based on the concentration of Spirit Qi given off them, it wasn't difficult to tell that they were all shockingly valuable.

This is robbery… An increasingly bright glow flashed across Wang Baole's eyes. He felt that this was a road to wealth. Even though it was extremely risky, he could rest for the next ten years if he were to succeed.

I estimate that only a small proportion of all this belongs to the Federation. Most of it was likely gathered by those three fellas from elsewhere… Wang Baole suppressed his irregular breathing. A look of clarity appeared in his eyes as he swept glances at the items, then towards the three Artifact Spirits, then at his surroundings again. Thoughts began to fill his mind.

If the news about me killing the three extraterrestrial Nascent Soul realm cultivators gets out, the credit would be sufficient to promote me, huh? The fact that I've gotten the Stellar Source back for the Federation is impressive too. However, there's no way I can tell others about it… Wang Baole was in a dilemma. He was sure that if he obtained credit for what he had done, then the issue with the Dark Artifact would definitely be exposed, which would bring him a series of trouble in the future.

Even though those troubles wouldn't threaten his life, he would be caught in a bitter situation, leaving behind a bad record. Just like what had been outlined in the high officials' autobiographies—one must believe in the kindness of others, but one must never bank on others' kindness, and most definitely, one should never give others the chance to take advantage of them!

If not, not only would the person involved be the one who would have to pay the price, their friends and elders, who were originally kind but developed evil thoughts, would be implicated too!

After a period of silence, a look of determination appeared in Wang Baole's eyes. He seemed to have already decided that he wouldn't tell anyone about this incident. As for the Federation's resources, he would utilize them first and then pay it back when he became capable of doing so in the future.

Wang Baole wasn't a saint, but a mere small fry. Now that he had made his decision, he no longer troubled over it. Instead, he immediately looked at the three Artifact Spirits and spoke.

"Of these items, are there any that are necessary for restoring the Dark Artifact?"

The State Preceptor, as well as the young boy, looked at the items and were both tempted. However, Wang Baole had already made plans to restore the Dark Sampan previously, and as such, despite both of them being tempted, they could only reveal their desire in their eyes. The burly Dark Sampan Artifact Spirit sounded calm, seemingly also analyzing the items. Eventually, he greeted Wang Baole and spoke with a deep voice.

"Master, theoretically, all these items can be used to restore the Dark Sampan. This is especially so for the Stellar Source mountain, which would help in restoring the Dark Sampan significantly despite being of ordinary quality.

"The materials over there contain Spirit Qi and unique capabilities that would be extremely helpful to refining the artifacts of the boat. That is even so for those assorted armaments. After breaking them apart and distilling their essence, they could be used for restoration!

"Next, this centipede has an unusual bloodline, but it seems to have been refined in the wrong manner. If it were to be suppressed inside the Dark Sampan, the force of the Dark Artifact could be used to assimilate and evolve it, in order to unleash even more power. However, the disadvantage of this is that once it becomes assimilated by the Dark Artifact, it wouldn't be able to be separated from it.

"As for the Sea Glutton, I suggest that you use the Dark Artifact to suppress it and wipe out the markings on it. When your cultivation level reaches that of the Nascent Soul realm, you can use the Sea Glutton to travel through the universe!"

Listening to those words, Wang Baole was happy, but he felt heartache at the same time. He was happy that the items were useful for restoration, but his heart was aching as he had to lose them even before he had the chance to enjoy them.

"How much could all these precious babies restore the Dark Sampan?" Wang Baole asked immediately after pondering and suppressing the ache in his heart.

"They should restore the Dark Sampan by about ten percent!" The Dark Sampan Artifact Spirit answered after making some calculations.

"Only ten percent?" The ache in Wang Baole's heart grew. On the other hand, the Dark Sampan Artifact Spirit was now expressionless and silent. The young boy and State Preceptor beside him felt happy looking at Wang Baole's facial expression. They even vaguely felt that it was great having an owner again. At the very least, they could eat whatever they want, and they simply need to send out orders for what they desired. Everything had become very simple.

Wang Baole struggled internally for a moment. He looked at his babies and caressed the materials. He was still unable to make a decision when the Dark Sampan Artifact Spirit spoke calmly.

"Master, once the Dark Sampan has been restored to about ten percent, it will release the force of a superior-grade Divine Armament. These assorted items are worthless. Even if only one percent of it was restored, a protective covering that those below Spirit Immortal realm wouldn't be able to break apart would be formed. To you, someone who cannot bring the Dark Artifact away, that would be the best option!"

"I know… Assimilate what should be assimilated, suppress what should be suppressed, and… change what should be changed!" Wang Baole sighed but quickly raised his hands, setting aside the tri-colored flying sword, the ribbon, the three remaining scales, all the jade slips and pills, as well as several Dharmic treasures that he thought were useful.

"These cannot be refined. As for the rest, refine them!" Wang Baole spoke with an ache in his heart. He couldn't bear to watch any further. He swiftly picked up the jade box, but when he tried to open it to no avail, he looked at the Dark Sampan Artifact Spirit.

"This is something valuable, is it?"

The Dark Sampan Artifact Spirit remained expressionless. He first waved his right hand, immediately keeping all the items that Wang Baole had given consent to refine, including the assimilation of the centipede and the suppression of the Sea Glutton. After that, it looked towards the jade box with a doubtful look in its eyes.

"This stone box… I can't figure out what it is. It seems like an accessory box for a female."

As the Dark Sampan Artifact Spirit spoke, the old Dark Robe Artifact Spirit State Preceptor gloated. He cleared his throat but remained silent.

Wang Baole lifted his head to look at the old man. After making a guess of his intentions, he snorted under his breath, thinking about how he had read the high officials' autobiographies since he was a young boy. Now that he was at Primary Rank Three and the City Lord of a city, he was extremely familiar with instilling obedience in his subordinates. Now, without thinking much, he pointed at the young boy.

"Do you know?"

Realizing that Wang Baole didn't direct the question to him, the old State Preceptor was surprised. The young boy beside him was now deep in thought and only spoke after a moment.

"I think that this is a stationery box…"

Listening to the young boy's answer, the State Preceptor was even more delighted. Now, he raised his head, preparing himself for Wang Baole's question. He had even made plans to make use of his answer to let Wang Baole know that of the three Artifact Spirits, he was the most valuable one.

"Yes, I think what both of you said makes sense. That should be the case." Wang Baole nodded with a satisfied look. From the items he kept aside, he chose one and tossed it to the young boy.

"This is your reward!"

The young boy grabbed hold of the Dharmic treasure, and in his excitement, he swallowed it in a few mouthfuls. It could be felt clearly that his spirit body was significantly nourished.

"All right, all of you can disperse. I plan to start my refinement process, so I will leave. You must be obedient here, and take note not to provoke the Beast Tide. The city above it is mine!" With that, Wang Baole waved his hand and was about to take his leave. However, the old State Preceptor grew anxious seeing how the Dark Sampan and the young boy were both rewarded. Therefore, he didn't play any more tricks and hurriedly spoke.

"Master, I know what this jade box is."

"Hmm? It's not a stationery box?" Wang Baole was gloating internally but put a surprised expression on his face. When he looked towards the old State Preceptor, he also swept his gaze at the young boy, which made him tense up. The young boy looked towards the State Preceptor as well, with unfriendliness in his eyes.

He wouldn't have behaved this way if Wang Baole hadn't rewarded him. However, now that he had eaten the reward, it made the young boy unhappy towards the State Preceptor.

The old State Preceptor sighed, realizing that his owner wasn't easily tricked. With a few words, Wang Baole had sowed discord between him and the Lantern Oar Artifact Spirit that loved to act young. However, based on his owner's personality, he understood that if he continued to withhold the information, his owner would find ways to punish him.

Therefore, the old State Preceptor sighed once again, bowing deeply towards Wang Baole before speaking hurriedly.

"Master, this stone box should be an envelope. Perhaps there is a letter inside it!

"When I was floating out there, I once saw an ancient record that contained some secrets about the Never-Ending Clan. One of them wrote that in ancient times, the Gods of the Never-Ending Clan once created a unique envelope from the Stellar Source. However, the maker is unknown…"

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