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

26. 791

Read A World Worth Protecting - Chapter 791 - A Challenge From a Lesser Sect! online free - Novelfull

Chapter 791: A Challenge From a Lesser Sect!

Hearing Wang Baole's response, Yi Nianzi furrowed his eyebrows slightly. He circulated his cultivation and dispersed his Spirit Immortal aura, combining it with his giant fish Dharmic Battleship. It became a suppressive force that engulfed the Soul Rift Planet.

"I didn't hear that clearly, consider whether you want to repeat yourself!"

The suppressive force coming from Yi Nianzi's body made Wang Baole feel a true sense of danger. At the same time, he was very clear about the status of the Green Kraken Legion within the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect. So, after being silent for a few breaths' time, Wang Baole spoke in a deep voice.

"Swear what kind of allegiance?"

"From now on, you will only accept orders from the Green Kraken Legion and will voluntarily give up your control of the Soul Rift Legion." After Yi Nianzi spoke this sentence slowly, he ignored Wang Baole. Instead, he stood atop his bronze giant fish as he continued.

"After becoming the Green Kraken Legion's subordinate, all the needs of the Soul Rift Legion will be taken care of by the Green Kraken Legion. We will arrange for a large number of people to base themselves here. But you will have to give up your control of the Soul Rift Legion. From then on, you will no longer be the commander of the Soul Rift Legion. Instead, you will be the branch team leader of the Green Kraken Legion's Soul Rift branch team. The main role of you and the Soul Rift branch team will be to refine Dharmic Artifacts!"

"Now, tell me your choice!"

"I refuse!" Listening to this point, even though Wang Baole didn't want to offend the Green Kraken Legion, their high and mighty demeanor and what they said next made him understand that he had no other choice. So, he said that once again.

But this time, as Wang Baole's words spread towards Yi Nianzi's ears, he no longer spoke. Instead, he lowered his head to stare at Wang Baole. Wang Baole also raised his head to stare at him, and their gazes seemed to collide in mid-air.

Although the Green Kraken Legion was extremely strong and stressed Wang Baole out, he was no longer the same person he was when he first came to the Divine Eye civilization. It would be fine when he hadn't formed an army previously. But now that he had the right to have his own army, and now that he already had his base, even the Green Kraken Legion couldn't attack him by force under the rules of the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect. After all… the Long Nanzi of today wasn't only extremely famous, he was also recognized by the patriarch as an artifact refinement master.

Moreover, Wang Baole's Divine Justice Shield made it so that he was able to defend against Spirit Immortal mighty figures. Especially for early-stage Spirits Immortals… Wang Baole felt that he could now take them on!

Of course, it would be best if he didn't need to attack. Wang Baole was also worried that his new version of the Divine Justice Shield would continue catching the attention of the patriarch. However, Wang Baole thought that it was unnecessary to tolerate Yi Nianzi just because he didn't want to expose his new version of the Divine Justice Shield!

So when he looked towards Yi Nianzi, he narrowed his eyes and braced himself in case Yi Nianzi decided to attack. This was because he understood that although tolerating him could prevent conflict, if he still didn't dare to retaliate when his bottom line was tread on, then… that wouldn't be considered tolerating. Instead, it would be seen as cowardice!

The necessary retaliation was also another method for him to prove his worth, and it fit perfectly with his plans of making himself known in the Divine Eye civilization. At the same time, this would be acknowledged and praised by people, as it fit the mainstream values of the Divine Eye civilization.

However, as time slowly passed, even though a tense atmosphere continued to engulf the Soul Rift Planet and lingered in the surroundings of Yi Nianzi and Wang Baole, Yi Nianzi didn't choose to attack directly in the end.

He was clear that although Long Nanzi's cultivation wasn't at the Spirit Immortal realm, his value wasn't too far off that of a Spirit Immortal. Furthermore, he had the backing of the Ice Phoenix Legion, who had become very strong recently. There were even rumors that Chief Minister Xu seemed to think highly of Long Nanzi.

All these were factors that made him have some reservations in his heart. As for Wang Baole's combat strength, he wasn't worried. To him, Wang Baole was merely a Soul Conduit.

So… although Yi Nianzi had reservations in his heart because of Wang Baole's connections, he didn't feel that Wang Baole had the right to reject the Green Kraken Legion, and he felt that Wang Baole didn't have the ability to bear the consequences of rejecting them.

Yi Nianzi thought that he needed to teach Wang Baole a lesson and show him what the right choice was, but he had the patriarch protecting him.

So, after staring for a moment, Yi Nianzi spoke coldly.

"You better watch out." After he said that, he turned around and left the Soul Rift Planet after creating waves of fog with a flick of his sleeve.

His words and his exit were the best warning. They also foreshadowed that Wang Baole would experience a series of actions meant to teach him a lesson. Wang Baole was very clear about this.

This Green Kraken Legion is being somewhat overbearing. Not only did they ask me to become their subordinate, they even wanted me to hand over my control of the army… If I did that, the army wouldn't have any relation to me, and using it to improve myself and obtain the Eye of Ten Thousand Demons' heritage would have become impossible. Looking at the back of Yi Nianzi, who had already left the planet, Wang Baole started thinking. After being silent for a while, he gave more orders to his puppets.

At that moment, wind blew from the north, sweeping over the ground and blowing over the mountain peaks. It blew Wang Baole's long hair and clothes. Seeing his puppets making battleships at an insane speed and feeling the wind of the Soul Rift Planet, Wang Baole knew that a more violent wind would blow on his Soul Rift Planet in the very near future.

I wonder what the Green Kraken Legion will do to give me a warning… Wang Baole raised his head to stare at the heavens. After thinking, he had a few guesses.

Because my army has just been formed, there's no army of a lower rank than mine within the greater sect army rankings. So, if the Green Kraken Legion wants to give me a warning, they can either suppress me from above, such as sending me on expeditions. Or, if not… a challenge from a lesser sect army? Thinking to this point, Wang Baole suddenly felt a sense of desire. But he understood that even if the Green Kraken Legion's warning was a challenge from a lesser sect army, he definitely couldn't underestimate them.

And the moment the violent wind appeared… was faster than Wang Baole predicted. The third day after Yi Nianzi left, a notice from the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect was sent to Wang Baole's sect jade slip!

"The lesser sect Earth Cloud Sect's Earth Cloud Legion, with the Green Kraken Legion as its guarantor, applied to challenge the greater sect Soul Rift Legion. This challenge has been acknowledged and approved by the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect. It will start in six hours, and the challenge time limit will be two hours!"

It was a challenge from a lesser sect army after all! A glimmer flashed between Wang Baole's eyes. He was very clear that he couldn't lose this battle. Once he lost… he would lose his status of being a greater sect army, and all his previous effort would have been in vain.

The good thing was that although three days wasn't a long period of time, with sufficient resources, Wang Baole still managed to produce several hundred self-destructing battleships. They were also made with the theory of the old version Divine Justice Shields as a foundation, and all of them had a certain degree of reflection power. This gave him a certain level of confidence. But the most important point was… Wang Baole didn't think they would send a Spirit Immortal for this battle!

At most, they will send False Immortals… And they will definitely prepare against my Divine Justice Shield. Wang Baole narrowed his eyes and immediately gave orders to his puppets. He had already prepared beforehand, so even though he only had six hours, all his orders were carried out in an orderly manner. Very quickly, all of the self-destructing battleships were ready for battle.

Moreover, only around a hundred battleships were floating in his surroundings. The rest were all hidden by Wang Baole. Unfortunately, three days was too little time for him to set up other tricks like his base's array formation and so on. He also lacked resources.

The root of the problem is still the fact that I'm poor… Wang Baole sighed. After thinking, he sent a voice transmission to Fairy Ling You. He didn't ask her to participate directly. Instead, he used her as a sort of insurance policy. If he really couldn't withstand the attacks from his opponents, he hoped Fairy Ling You could provide aid.

Towards Wang Baole's request, Fairy Ling You didn't hesitate at all. While promising that she would assist him, she also immediately made arrangements. But Wang Baole didn't have high hopes. After all… before the Green Kraken Legion made a move, they must have made preparations. Although the Green Kraken Legion couldn't participate directly, they could still make it such that the Ice Phoenix Legion was unable to successfully provide aid.

However… giving me a warning isn't as easy as they think it is. I'm actually looking forward… to getting enough resources from this legion, the name of which I've forgotten! Wang Baole narrowed his eyes. After taking a deep breath, he raised his head and looked at the sky, waiting silently.

Six hours passed in a flash. The moment the challenge started, a thunder-like rumble spread from the heavens. A giant rift was ripped open directly in the cosmos above the Soul Rift Planet. First, an intense ray of light shone from within the rift and exploded forth in mid-air above the Soul Rift Planet, forming a resplendent light web that immediately covered the entire Soul Rift Planet. Following that was a deep breath that echoed in the surroundings.

"Seal this place's spirit-killing power!"

Immediately, the outer layers of the battleships surrounding Wang Baole, which contained a reflection force based on the Divine Justice Shield's theory, were immediately sealed and rendered ineffective!

At the same time, within the rift in the cosmos, green battleships flew out one after another!

Let the challenge begin!

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Chapter 792: Soul Rift Legion, Wins!

"Seal my spirit-killing power?" Wang Baole furrowed his eyebrows slightly. Although he had already predicted this scene, he still felt a tinge of pity when it actually appeared.

But this was within reason. After all, the Divine Justice Shield had already been handed over. With the Green Kraken Legion's status, it wasn't impossible for them to obtain it and develop a way to seal it in a short period of time.

However… they only sealed the spirit-killing power form by the stacking method. Wang Baole sneered in his heart. The new version of the Divine Justice Shield he refined using the disassembly parasitism method that Little Wu gave him was unaffected by the sealing. That would be his trump card!

So at that moment, while he had a nasty look on the surface, in reality, he was extremely calm as he raised his head to stare coldly at the rift in the cosmos and the green battleships flying out one after another from within it.

These battleships looked like giant bats. When they flew out rapidly, a large number of cultivators spread out from within them. Their cultivation levels weren't high, being mostly Core Formations and having less than several dozen Nascent Souls. They had strength in numbers, and they also seemed to be augmented by some kind of unification seal. It made their auras gather into one. There seemed to be around 1000 of them, but the feeling they gave Wang Baole… was as though he was facing ten mighty Soul Conduit figures!

Making use of array formations to achieve a syncing of aura and stacking of combat strength? While Wang Baole's pupils shrunk slightly, he also noticed that within those battleships, three even stronger auras exploded forth. The three men who looked similar had all reached the peak of the perfected stage of the Soul Conduit realm and were only one step away from reaching the False Immortal realm!

These three people… were obviously the three Grand Supreme Elders of the Earth Cloud Sect. After appearing, the three of them shot towards Wang Baole like three shooting stars, their eyes brimming with excitement and desire.

Wang Baole's gaze swept across the bodies of the three of them, then passed over the ten Soul Conduit auras that were formed via stacking. But what he was focusing on were two people who had walked out from within the rift in the cosmos at that moment!

Of the two people, one was skinny, while one was plump. The former was expressionless, while the latter had a smile on his face that made him seem harmless. Standing at the edge of the rift, they stared at the Soul Rift Planet. Their gazes seemed to be able to travel great distances and landed on Wang Baole's body.

"Only two False Immortals?" Wang Baole raised his eyebrows and felt incredulous. So he searched around his surroundings thoroughly once again. After confirming that there were only these two False Immortals and three perfected stage Soul Conduits, he suddenly laughed.

"Does this show that you're confident in your seals, or is it that you're underestimating your opponent?" Wang Baole blinked and wanted to confirm his speculation again. But the three perfected stage Soul Conduits had already neared him. One of them even started laughing loudly.

"Long Nanzi, don't expect the Ice Phoenix Legion to come and save you now. Senior Yi Nianzi has personally gone there to obstruct them. Your Soul Rift Legion is destined to be wiped off the greater sect rankings today!"

As he spoke, the three perfected stage Soul Conduits all laughed loudly as they increased their speed and neared Wang Baole in an instant. It was as though they became three evil dragons as they flew directly towards him. Their extremely strong perfected stage Soul Conduit realm cultivations seemed to be able to compress the surrounding void, causing an infinite amount of pressure to stack onto Wang Baole from all directions. It was as though they wanted to completely suppress Wang Baole!

"Noisy!" Facing the attacks of the three perfected stage Soul Conduits, Wang Baole took his time. After confirming that there were only two False Immortals involved in the battle, a cold gimmer flashed between his eyes. While he humphed, he decided not to detonate his battleships. Instead, he shot out like a shooting star with a flick of his body!

He didn't dodge or escape. Instead… he charged towards the three perfected stage Soul Conduits head-on. This stunned the three perfected stage Soul Conduits and caused them to feel a tinge of uneasiness in their hearts. But it was too late for them to dodge!

"Is this the warning the Green Kraken Legion wanted to give me… Childish!" The moment Wang Baole's words echoed, he had already collided with the three perfected stage Soul Conduits!

This scene happened so quickly that everyone in the surroundings had no time to react as shrill cries of pain spread towards the surroundings from where Wang Baole collided with the three Earth Cloud Sect Grand Supreme Elders. The three perfected stage Soul Conduits seemed to collide into an immovable mountain as blood spurted everywhere. They were sent flying back at a faster speed as they screamed, their arms exploding. As their bodies became a bloody mess, they were extremely shocked as though their minds were swept by a violent storm.

"Reflection? Wasn't his Divine Justice Shield sealed!"

"Impossible!"

While the three of them were heavily injured, Wang Baole's silhouette flew past them without decelerating. He didn't even take another look at them. In reality, Wang Baole had already gone easy on them. He already saw them as his personal possessions. Hence, he didn't let the reflection force reach its maximum. If not, in the previous moment, the three of them wouldn't just be injured. Instead, they would definitely be dead!

After all, the moment a lesser sect challenged a greater sect and lost, they would immediately become subordinate to the greater sect. That was part of the rules of the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect, and no one dared to go against them. Even the Green Kraken Legion… had no way of preventing that!

Not caring about the three perfected stage Soul Conduits and not bothering himself with the ten or so Soul Conduit auras formed by array formations surrounding him, Wang Baole's silhouette headed straight for… the two False Immortals outside the rift! As he did so, everyone was in shock and disbelief, including the two False Immortals!

"You dare attack my Soul Rift Planet with just two False Immortals? Do you… have the right to do so!" Wang Baole was traveling too quickly. So as his words were still echoing around, his silhouette had already neared the two False Immortals. He immediately threw a punch towards them!

As the expressions of the two False Immortals changed, a vicious glint flashed between the eyes of the skinny cultivator. He also unleashed his full strength as his attacked. Obviously, he didn't believe that his opponent's Divine Justice Shield could still be used under the seal. To him, the scene he saw previously must have been caused by other reasons. No matter what the reason was, so long as it wasn't the Divine Justice Shield, it wasn't difficult for him to suppress a late-stage Soul Conduit with his False Immortal cultivation!

As for the fat cultivator beside him, his eyes flashed as he retreated immediately, about to leave the battlefield via the rift behind him. Wang Baole watched as this scene unfolded. He ignored the retreating fat cultivator, instead, colliding with the skinny cultivator after controlling his Divine Justice Shield.

The rumble caused by the collision was heaven-shaking and earth-rumbling, and it spread through the entire battlefield. The shrillness of the somber and skinny False Immortal exceeded the rumble. As it spread through the surroundings, his limbs all exploded, and he was sent flying as his blood spurted everywhere. Wang Baole caught up to him and grabbed his head, throwing him towards the Soul Rift Planet afterward.

Come to daddy!

This scene immediately shocked the three heavily injured perfected stage Soul Conduits. The other surrounding cultivators were also extremely stunned. When they saw Wang Baole, it was as though they had seen a ghost.

Only the fat cultivator dodged a bullet by retreating in time. But his face had already turned white, and fear appeared in his eyes. At that moment, he headed straight towards the rift, on the verge of leaving. But Wang Baole wasn't about to let him leave. As he was about to give chase with a flick of his body, a Spirit Immortal force suddenly exploded forth from within the rift. A giant arm transmogrified and passed through the fat cultivator's body, grabbing towards Wang Baole!

Feeling the Spirit Immortal waves from the giant hand, Wang Baole's eyes flashed, and he suppressed the urge to fight it. Retreating, he raised his head to look towards the cosmos and roared.

"Green Kraken Legion, are you afraid of losing? You send a Spirit Immortal just because you want to gain control of my small army? If so, why bother giving me the right to form an army? How would you gain the support of my fellow Daoists in the sect? How will others be motivated to work hard in the future? Patriarch, I admit that I held back a trick or two concerning the Divine Justice Shield in self-defense, but this is what every artifact refiner would do. However, I, Long Nanzi, don't accept the Green Kraken Legion's actions!"

As Wang Baole's words were spoken, the transmogrified hand stopped for a while. The moment it stopped, an ancient voice echoed in the surroundings.

"The Soul Rift Legion, wins!"

When that was heard, the arm trembled slightly and stopped grabbing towards Wang Baole. Instead, it grabbed the fat cultivator who escaped death and disappeared via the rift in the cosmos.

As it disappeared, the battle ended. As for the three perfected stage Soul Conduits of the Earth Cloud Legion, their bodies trembled as they could no longer hide the despair in their eyes. They understood the consequences of losing the battle. The surrounding Earth Cloud Sect cultivators and the False Immortal that had been thrown by Wang Baole onto the Soul Rift Planet and barely survived, all spit out another mouthful of blood.

Only Wang Baole looked back at the green battleships and the large number of cultivators surrounding him with his eyes shining. He mumbled, "I'm going to be rich!"

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Chapter 793: A Reason!

Around 3700 battleships!

More than 5600 cultivators and 13 sets of Soul Conduit array formations!

There's even three perfected stage Soul Conduits and a False Immortal!

And the large amount of resources in this sect's storeroom. They even have property on the Earth Cloud Sect's main star and are considered a really high ranked lesser sect…

After the battle, when Wang Baole started taking stock of his loot from the battle, even he was shocked by the amount of resources he gained. This made him suddenly feel a tinge of regret. He shouldn't have attacked so incisively. Instead, he should have acted like he was weak and made his victory seem Pyrrhic. That way, the Green Kraken Legion might have continued sending lesser sect armies to challenge him.

But now… Wang Baole assumed that the Green Kraken Legion would temporarily stop their attacks. After all, the Patriarch's words were an expression of attitude to a certain degree. It was also unfavorable for the Green Kraken Legion to continue going after Wang Baole's right to his army in this situation.

This was actually true. In this defeat, although the Green Kraken Legion seemed to have underestimated their opponent, thinking thoroughly, that wasn't truly the case. After all, not only did they give a treasure that had the ability to seal spirit-killing power, they even assigned three perfected stage Soul Conduits and over ten Soul Conduit array formations to make the Earth Cloud Legion, which was already pretty spectacular, even more powerful.

At the same time, they even assigned two False Immortals just in case. Their original plan was for them to suppress all accidents while also disrupting the Ice Phoenix Legion and cutting off any possibility of reinforcements.

One could say that these preparations would make it hard for even a greater sect army ranked in the top twenty to resist them, let alone a newly-formed army. After all, although general strength was absolutely necessary, a really strong combat strength could often have a huge effect as well.

But in the end… it was the Green Kraken Legion who lost this battle. At the same time, as news of the battle spread, Long Nanzi's name became the center of attention of the entire Divine Sovereign Justice Sect again.

It also made many people understand that, if they wanted to go against the Soul Rift Legion, unless they could truly suppress the Divine Justice Shield, they would only have a chance of victory if a Spirit Immortal got involved!

Such difficulty made it such that the Green Kraken Legion could only choose to stop attacking him temporarily.

After all, the losses in the battle didn't mean much to the Green Kraken Legion. The only thing was… the False Immortal captured alive by Wang Baole.

According to the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect's rules, those who were sent by other sects to assist in battle weren't completely considered spoils of war. So to a certain extent, they could get him back.

So when the Green Kraken Legion gave conditions that Wang Baole felt were decent, Wang Baole thought for a while and agreed to give back the False Immortal with no hesitation. At the same time, he contacted the Holy Crest Sect and let them spread the news that he wanted to sell the Earth Cloud Sect.

To the lesser sects, this was extremely tempting. Even for some greater sects, it was a huge temptation. That was especially so considering that Fairy Ling You made use of her contacts as well. In the end, Wang Baole sold off the entire Earth Cloud Sect in exchange for a nearly infinite amount of resources!

To any lesser sect, that amount of resources would make them very jealous. Even greater sect armies, except for those at the very top of the rankings, would be tempted by that amount of resources.

With those resources, Wang Baole could build up his army more quickly and more comprehensively. His plan to modify the Soul Rift Planet was also carried out successfully.

After obtaining those resources, Wang Baole bought quite a few army array formations. After setting them up, it became very difficult for outsiders to enter.

At the same time, Wang Baole bought many large-scale Dharmic Artifacts and lined them up on the ground. The most important thing was that, after obtaining sufficient resources, Wang Baole could produce more puppets and thus increase the number of battleships he had.

Besides… the depth of his pockets also enabled Wang Baole to make use of the Disassembly Parasitism technique he obtained from Little Wu on his battleships to a certain degree. That was going to be the ace in the hole of his battleships, as well as his secret weapon.

Just like that, time passed, and Wang Baole completely used up all of his spoils from the battle. Two months had passed, and in these two months, nothing major happened within the Divine Eye civilization. The three greater sects still continued fighting among themselves, and the royalty still occasionally made some noise to declare their existence.

As for the battles between the lesser sects, they continued as well. And pillaging expeditions carried on as per normal. The only difference was that… the search team on the main star tasked to find the one who stole the greater sects' resources had to give up their lockdown after having no findings and after the many protests by the royalty.

When Wang Baole learned of that from the Holy Crest Sect, he didn't worry about it too much. Instead, he continued concentrating and applying the Disassembly Parasitism technique to his battleships one by one. When all of his battleships had the technique applied to them, and when their internal cores were all created using the method, the almost infinite amount of resources he originally had was depleted.

How expensive…

Looking at the Soul Rift Planet, which had undergone a huge makeover, he sighed with emotion. Once again, he regretted being too stubborn at first. He shouldn't have been so decisive. Instead, he should have reeled them in patiently.

I can't keep carrying on like this… How am I going to develop my army if no lesser sects come to challenge me? Wang Baole furrowed his brows as he pondered for a long time. In the end, he still didn't know how to get lesser sect armies to challenge him, having to grit his teeth in the end.

So be it. Since no lesser sect is coming to challenge me, I'll go challenge other greater sect armies. Although the loot I'll gain is a lot less, it's still better than having no loot at all! Thinking to this point, Wang Baole checked the condition of his army and started researching on the armies ranked above his.

That was because every challenge application depleted a lot of resources. So Wang Baole needed to predict the amount of loot he would receive. After also seeking the advice of Fairy Ling You, he finally decided on a target!

The nineteenth army! A glimmer flashed between Wang Baole's eyes. The nineteenth army was named the Golden Pool Legion. Although its commander was only a perfected stage Soul Conduit, it had up to 17 mighty Soul Conduit figures!

And that army's edge lay in the incisiveness of their battleships. They were extremely strong both in defense and combat strength. The most important thing was… the nineteenth army could be considered a branch of the top-ranked Green Kraken Legion and had countless ties to them.

So once Wang Baole challenged them, based on the strength of his Divine Justice Shield, he was very sure that Yi Nianzi would descend upon the battlefield.

Although Wang Baole wanted to see whether his Divine Justice Shield could reflect 50% of a Spirit Immortal's attack power as he predicted, it would be best not to reveal that unless absolutely necessary.

Unless… I don't use my Divine Justice Shield at all. Even better, if I don't even show up, challenging them with just my battleships alone, the Green Kraken Legion will have no reason to get involved! Wang Baole narrowed his eyes and made a decision after pondering for a long time. He knew that the main point of the battle should be his Disassembly Parasitism technique.

Once I use that technique, it will definitely attract attention. But that's simple. At most, I'll give some out. So long as I keep the core, everything will be just fine. And I can even trade for some resources in the meantime…

Let's leave it at that and see how my battleships match up against those of the Divine Eye civilization! Thinking to this point, Wang Baole stopped hesitating and immediately applied to challenge!

Because they were both greater sect armies, their applications would normally be approved so long as they met the requirements. Wang Baole met all of the requirements. So the day after he applied to challenge, it got approved!

"The Soul Rift Legion has applied to challenge the Golden Pool Legion. The battle will commence in six hours!"

After receiving the notice, Wang Baole perked up and bolted out, waving his hand. A loud rumble sounded from the land behind him as black battleships flew up from underground. They were densely packed, with numbers reaching up to 10,000. They formed a huge army that headed straight towards the cosmos.

Outside the cosmos, Wang Baole was analyzing battle tactics in his mind as he silently waited for the battle to start. He had already asked Fairy Ling You and knew that as the challenger, a teleportation rift would be formed outside his army when the challenge began. By stepping into the rift… he could reach the opponent's army base!

So what he needed to do now, was wait!

Meanwhile, the nineteenth army had also received the notice telling them that they had been attacked. They didn't underestimate the Soul Rift Legion at all and immediately asked for instructions from the Green Kraken Legion. In the end, the Green Kraken Legion assigned Yi Nianzi to descend upon the battlefield!

"I need a reason to get involved. So, your task now… is to create such a reason for me in the upcoming battle!" Yi Nianzi, who came to the Golden Pool Legion, spoke coldly.

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Chapter 794: Scare Them!

Wang Baole could imagine the Golden Pool Legion asking for aid. So even though he didn't know the details, he was very clear in his heart that in this battle… once a Spirit Immortal got involved, it would be practically impossible for him to win.

So the key is… to not give the opponent a reason to get involved! While standing outside the Soul Rift Planet and waiting for the battle to begin, Wang Baole analyzed and calculated how the battle would play out in his mind. When a cold glint flashed between his eyes in the end, the cosmos in front of him warped. As waves of disruptions spread, a huge rift suddenly appeared!

At first, the rift was like a wound, but the rift expanded in the next moment and finally turned into a circle. It looked like a giant mouth that could engulf everything, and it also seemed like a black hole. A vortex transmogrified from within it. As it turned continuously, it caused the surrounding cosmos to cave in a bit and seemed to warp the time in that area.

This scene caused Wang Baole's eyes to narrow and gave him a deeper understanding of the strength of the Divine Eye civilization. At the very least, the Federation was currently unable to produce a portal that could teleport one in a certain direction and could be activated anytime like the one in front of him.

Compared to the Divine Eye civilization, the Federation is still miles apart in terms of strength… Wang Baole narrowed his eyes. At that moment, he thought of what his senior brother, Chen Qing, had told him previously regarding a shortcut for a cultivation civilization to raise their level!

Strengthen the Eternal Star that the civilization is on, and let it become dominant and engulf another Eternal Star… That would then cause the environment of said civilization to change and sharply increase the general quality of the civilization!

Thinking back to his previous conversation, Wang Baole went silent for a moment. When he raised his head, a tongue of flame shone deep in his eyes. After gradually hiding it, he raised his right hand and waved it forward. Immediately, a large number of puppets within thousands of battleships all had shining eyes. They controlled the battleships according to Wang Baole's consciousness and caused all of the battleships to start rumbling. They all headed straight towards the vortex, just like arrows shot from a bow!

As the battleships flew into the vortex one after another, Wang Baole also stepped into the vortex with a flick of his body. As his vision blurred and became clear again, he had already left the Soul Rift Planet and appeared at… the planet of the Golden Pool Legion!

The Golden Pool Legion's base was a small planet like the one assigned to the Soul Rift Legion. But the differences between the size of their planets and the amount of Spirit Qi they had were immense. The latter was poor, and the former was rich!

One could see that this planet, which was ten times bigger than the Soul Rift Planet, was covered in green foliage. While its life force was immensely concentrated, it was obvious that its Stellar Source exceeded what the small planet could originally contain.

Obviously… the Golden Pool Legion put in a lot of effort and money to modify the planet. This made it such that, although the small planet couldn't be ranked among the top few large planets of the Divine Eye civilization, it could still be considered rare!

That was especially so considering the auras coming from the perfected stage Soul Conduit commanders within the Golden Pool Legion exploded forth from the Golden Pool Planet the moment Wang Baole appeared. There were also multiple medium-scale array formations that were activated at that moment and gathered a large amount of aura. At the same time, within the Golden Pool Legion, at least 10,000 battleships were rumbling as they slowly rose into the sky. There were also countless large-scale Dharmic Artifacts circulating and locking onto Wang Baole, who appeared in the cosmos!

They were going all out, and their killing intent was immense!

Besides that, there was a green protective layer that activated in an instant and covered all directions. While it obscured the planet, it also warped the surrounding cosmos and made it seem dreamy.

Golden Pool Legion! Wang Baole gazed at the Golden Pool Planet as he stepped out of the rift, and his eyes shone. Even though Wang Baole didn't sense Spirit Immortals or even False Immortals in the Golden Pool Planet's aura, he wouldn't be fooled by this guise. He still raised his right hand and pointed according to his original plan.

I'll scare them first!

Immediately, a portion of the battleships surrounding him was taken out, and they immediately turned red as they flew out, appearing as though they were burning. They headed straight for the Golden Pool Planet's defensive barrier.

As they flew out, a shocking aura spread from the battleships. In fact, if one looked at them thoroughly, they could see that among the battleships, there were many which seemed to be unable to take explosions of that degree. Cracks appeared on the battleships, and they seemed to be about to collapse.

It all happened too quickly. In the next moment… those battleships crashed directly onto the Golden Pool Legion's defensive barrier, and rumbles sounded out immediately. As heaven-shaking and earth-rumbling noises exploded forth, the defensive barrier caved in. Atop it, a large amount of light from spells spread out. Looking from afar, it was as though an outer layer had been peeled away from the shield!

As for that batch of battleships, most of them collapsed and became a large amount of debris, while some immediately turned to dust. There were also those that still had a shape, but they looked obviously damaged and became trash, spreading out towards the surroundings.

Their defensive standards are ordinary. But even then, I still need to get the Golden Pool Legion's battleships to fly out to perfect my plan… Wang Baole narrowed his eyes, then raised his right hand and waved it. Instantly, the thousands of battleships surrounding him sped out and got into formation in front of him, making a giant sphere. After engulfing Wang Baole within, they unleashed their maximum speed and headed straight for the Golden Pool Planet.

Looking at the sphere's aura, it was actually preparing to smash open the protective layer to enter!

Such savage behavior immediately shook the souls of the Golden Pool Legion cultivators. On the one hand, although Wang Baole's self-destructing battleships became known throughout the land because of his battle with the Ink Dragon Legion, many people judged that the thing that should be taken most seriously within the Soul Rift Legion was Long Nanzi himself. As for the battleships… unless a large number self-destructed at the same time, their destructive force still wasn't enough.

But looking at the current battle situation, it was obvious that the Soul Rift Legion had achieved a breakthrough in the armor of their battleships.

It would be fine if that was it. But Wang Baole was crazy. His action of smashing over was enough to make people's scalps go numb, and it felt as though he wanted to meet his end with the Golden Pool Legion.

This made the several army commanders of the Golden Pool Legion give up on trying to defend as they shuddered with fear. Under their orders, the counterattack exploded forth. As countless large-scale Dharmic Artifacts circulated, beams upon beams of extremely destructive light pillars were produced, and thousands were fired at the same time. They shot forth from the surface of the Golden Pool Planet and went through the protective layer, heading straight towards Wang Baole's battleships.

Those light pillars were resplendent, turning the dark cosmos as bright as day the moment they exploded forth. When they crashed into Wang Baole's battleships, heaven-shaking rumbles echoed throughout the cosmos. A large number of battleships collapsed immediately and turned into debris that spread towards the surroundings. But Wang Baole had too many battleships, and their numbers were replenished with a flick of his hand. Their aura was still just as shocking!

"D*mn it, that Long Nanzi is a lunatic after all. Although those battleships are simple and crude, it's still money!"

"He's not using battleships to crash into us, he's using money to decimate us!"

As the anger of the Golden Pool Legion's several army commanders spread, the counterattack became more intense. Not only were there more light pillars fired from the ground, the Golden Pool Legion battleships floating in mid-air were all activated as well. They flew out from the defensive barrier and started a strong counterattack!

One couldn't help but mention that the incisiveness of the Golden Pool Legion's battleships was extremely huge. In this counterattack, even though Wang Baole's battleships had a certain amount of reflection force and were extremely numerous, they gradually became unable to withstand the attacks. Not only were there more battleships collapsing, but the replenishments weren't up to the original standard. Even Wang Baole, who was hiding within his battleships, had part of his silhouette exposed. At this moment, his heart beat slightly faster, but after his eyes flashed slightly, Wang Baole still chose to continue waiting!

All that happened under the gaze of Yi Nianzi, causing him to furrow his eyebrows slightly. As he swept his gaze towards Wang Baole, he couldn't help but feel that something was amiss. However, no matter how he observed, he couldn't figure out what it was. So, he narrowed his eyes and moved his right hand slightly.

Immediately, among the light pillars headed towards the cosmos, a flying sword transmogrified and traversed between the light pillars, heading straight for Wang Baole!

The illusory flying sword's speed was indescribable. It was still in mid-air in the previous moment. But, in the next moment, it had reached the front of the battleship that Wang Baole was in. It flew past large numbers of battleships and stabbed towards Wang Baole's glabella silently as those battleships collapsed!

Wang Baole narrowed his eyes. He felt a wisp of Spirit Immortal disturbance on the flying sword. Without hesitation, he suppressed his Divine Justice Shield and weaved hand seals with both hands hurriedly. Instantly, the surrounding battleships neared him and self-destructed one after another to stop the flying sword!

Rumbles immediately spread towards the surroundings. After he detonated around a hundred battleships, the flying sword's illusory image finally dissipated. As for Wang Baole's previous circular battleship formation, it was extremely damaged, and it was obvious that he had incurred huge losses.

Even then, under the control of Wang Baole, the smashing aura of the remaining battleships was still insane. Seeing how Wang Baole was getting nearer and nearer to the Golden Pool Planet and how it felt as though he was prepared to meet his end with the Golden Pool Legion, the Golden Pool Legion finally got anxious.

"Activate the Half-Dharmic Battleship!"

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Chapter 795: A Reversal!

The ground shuddered as the commander of the Golden Pool Legion barked out the order. Then, countless beams of light erupted from the ground, and from beneath the earth, a gigantic dragonfly emerged, shrieking!

The dragonfly was thirty thousand feet wide and exuded an incredible aura that felt more powerful than an ordinary battleship but less so than a Dharmic Battleship. Its strength seemed to match a False Immortal realm cultivator and approach that of a Spirit Immortal. Its appearance drew the instant attention of everyone on the battlefield.

This was the Golden Pool Legion's trump card, the ultimate weapon that the legion had painstakingly crafted over the years with the support of the Green Kraken Legion. It was half as powerful as a Dharmic Battleship. In fact, the legion only lacked certain essential materials before it could upgrade the dragonfly to full Dharmic Battleship-strength. Regardless, with this beast and a False Immortal from the Green Kraken Legion, the two legions would be able to unleash strength and power that bested every other False Immortal realm cultivator!

After all, Dharmic Battleships were precious rarities. There were fewer than a hundred of them to be found in the entire Divine Eye civilization. Even the Ink Dragon Legion hadn't possessed one. The Golden Pool Legion's possession of the dragonfly was a clear display of its wealth and power.

The dragonfly's mere appearance stirred the entire battlefield. The sheer fluttering of its wings summoned invisible winds that swept wildly across the battlefield, winds that reached Wang Baole and sent the battleships around him shuddering. They appeared ready to self-destruct before their time.

That's the one! Wang Baole's heart began to race instantly, and a fierce desire surged within him as his heartbeat sped up. He shoved his emotions back down.

The Green Kraken Legion's participation in the battle was evident from the flying sword that had appeared earlier. Wang Baole had recognized the aura exuding from the flying sword and was quite sure that it was Yi Nianzi!

That was why… he had to plan his next step very carefully. All his efforts would be for naught if he failed!

He's only unleashed one attack and hasn't tried to put a complete stop to the fight. That means that my guess was right. Because of the Patriarch's warning and my increased worth, the Green Kraken Legion can't attack me with their full strength without considering the repercussions of their actions!

He's here because he wants to send a message and because… he's looking for an opening to attack!

After all, this is a fight between the Golden Pool Legion and me, and he's a Spirit Immortal. It would look bad on him if he joins the fight. He'll be hard put to explain his actions to others… These thoughts flashed across Wang Baole's mind. He now understood why the Golden Pool Legion had chosen to be on the defensive at the beginning.

They're trying to make it look like they're the ones being bullied and make a show of how powerful my Divine Justice Shield is. They're giving Yi Nianzi an excuse to join the battle! Unfortunately, they've underestimated the true strength of my battleships… Wang Baole narrowed his eyes as he analyzed the situation swiftly. He eyed the dragonfly, which had summoned a defensive barrier and then kept its distance. Wang Baole calculated the distance separating them, then clenched his jaw. Fierce indignation shone in his eyes as he raised his right hand and began to form a series of hand seals.

The battleships around him stopped their charge at the Golden Pool Planet and began to retreat and head towards the distant rift.

Any observer would see this as an act of surrender upon seeing the appearance of the dragonfly. This was especially so after witnessing Wang Baole's miserable state after the damages that had been wrought upon his battleships and the partial destruction of his fleet. Wang Baole's decision to retreat would appear completely within reason!

He hadn't activated the Divine Justice Shield at all. The commanders of the Golden Pool Legion could tell that something was going on. They knew that this was a deliberate move made by Long Nanzi. He intended to not let the Green Kraken Legion have any excuse to join the battle!

"That sly fox!"

"Trying to escape?"

"Does he think that the Golden Pool Planet is a place that he can come and go from as he pleases?" Upon seeing Wang Baole's retreat, the commanders of the Golden Pool Legion sent a flurry of voice transmissions and came to a swift decision. The fleet of the Golden Pool Legion battleships and the gigantic dragonfly started charging and went into active pursuit!

Yi Nianzi hesitated momentarily, feeling an instinctive sense of unease. He had half a mind to stop the Golden Pool Legion, but the sense of unease that had come over him had been surreal and passed quickly. He couldn't pin down the cause of his unease, no matter how hard he thought about it. Besides, Wang Baole was running away at top speed. If they were to lose him here… He wasn't prepared to let him escape.

Death resulting from a challenge was entirely acceptable and within the rules. But if they were to let Wang Baole slip through their fingers, they would need to find another chance to eliminate him. The price they would have to pay for the second chance would be great.

That was why he hadn't stopped the Golden Pool Legion despite his momentary hesitation.

A relentless pursuit began in the cosmic space around the Golden Pool Planet. Thunderous explosions erupted in space as the battleships around Wang Baole blew apart, one after another. His face looked considerably paler, and one could see the panic and fury in his eyes. He kept pulling out battleships and throwing them behind him, activating their self-destruct mechanisms in an attempt to slow down his pursuers.

His efforts appeared to be failing. Wang Baole's attempts began to weaken under the relentless pursuit of the massive Golden Pool Legion fleet. The dragonfly, with power equivalent to half that of a Dharmic Battleship, helmed the pursuit. Fierce winds erupted in its wake. Wang Baole's battleships barely survived past five counts before they were crushed and torn into bits.

"Golden Pool Legion, you've gone overboard. I've already retreated. Do you need to go to this extent?" The look on Wang Baole's face was that of pure panic. His eyes swept past the battlefield and landed on the countless wrecked and destroyed battleships, his heart secretly bursting with glee. He kept a constant watch on the dragonfly and its location. He had been using himself as bait to draw the beast's pursuit while secretly maneuvering the wrecked battleship remains around them. The decimated parts drifted towards the dragonfly without anyone's notice.

Wang Baole slowly guided everything into place, and the dragonfly slowly approached the location that he had planned for. A look of mad glee appeared on Wang Baole's face as soon as the beast reached his targeted position. With a wave of his hand, Wang Baole pulled out the last hundred battleships in his storage bracelet and roared.

"Don't push me!"

His roar was a drop of water in an ocean, hardly stirring a ripple on the battlefield. The final hundred battleships that he had summoned looked ready to cave into themselves as the dragonfly fluttered its wings.

It was then that… Yi Nianzi's eyes widened. He had been watching the battle intently all this while. At that moment, the expression on his face shifted!

Something's wrong. The… the wrecked battleship remains are moving! Long Nanzi appears to be escaping, but he's obviously drawing the dragonfly towards the battleship remains!

"Golden Pool Legion, stop your pursuit immediately. Get the dragonfly away from the battleship wreckage!" Yi Nianzi's breathing quickened as his panicked voice thundered across the battlefield. With a single step, he appeared amidst the stars and rushed towards the battlefield!

His revelation had come too late!

As the Golden Pool Legion froze in their tracks upon hearing his order to desist, Wang Baole, who had been fleeing all this while, suddenly turned around. His eyes shone brightly, and his hair danced madly around his face. He lifted both hands and pressed them into a hand seal. Then, he let loose a loud roar.

"Parasites, go!"

A purple light erupted from numerous pieces of wrecked battleship remains. These were parts that had belonged to the final hundred battleships and had been destroyed by the dragonfly. They had been completely devoid of life a moment earlier. But upon Wang Baole's roar, they came to life and, as if suddenly possessed with a mind of their own, rushed at the dragonfly with startling speed!

The same thing happened to the countless wreckages that littered the battlefield and had been part of Wang Baole's former fleet. Half of those destroyed parts began glowing with a purple life. As if imbued with life, they became like starving demons fighting for human flesh as they lunged… at the dragonfly!

It was a terrifying sight to behold indeed—countless shards broken off from destroyed battleships suddenly glowing with a purple light and then moving. No one could react in time to the suddenness of it all. The purple light appeared to possess a strange power. As the glowing shards layered themselves over the dragonfly, they melded with the dragonfly as if they had been a part of the beast all along. They had latched onto the dragonfly like parasites!

A Dharmic Battleship was a living being. That was the source of its incredible power. At that moment, the dragonfly let loose a terrible cry. It seemed to be terrified and in pain. There were simply too many shards that had latched onto the beast. Its howl was short-lived, silenced quickly as countless shards… buried its entire being and transformed it entirely!

It no longer looked like a dragonfly. Instead, it looked like an enormous locust!

Its red eyes glowed with madness as it turned towards the Golden Pool Legion, whose members were stunned into silence and gaping with shock, as well as Yi Nianzi, who had just arrived on the battlefield. Then, it let loose a fearsome roar!

Its roar thundered across space, sending powerful ripples through the battlefield. The aura it exuded appeared more powerful than before. Should it self-destruct now, the resultant explosion might unleash a power that rivaled that of a Spirit Immortal realm cultivator!

The Golden Pool Legion trembled under the weight of such power, and a dark look descended upon Yi Nianzi's face. Wang Baole landed on the locust's head with a single step, then looked at Yi Nianzi with what seemed like a smile on his face.

"Senior Yi Nianzi, we meet again." As he spoke, Wang Baole lifted his right hand and made a quick hand seal. Around him, a good half of the Golden Pool Legion battleships swerved around suddenly and turned their weapons onto Yi Nianzi and the remaining Golden Pool Legion fleet!

A smattering of purple, glowing shards could be found on these battleships!

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Chapter 796: Journeying Towards War!

It was a bizarre sight to behold indeed. Half of the Golden Pool Legion battleships exuded a purple glow as they hovered in space. The cultivators onboard these battleships tried to wrestle control of them, to no avail. The battleships had become their cages and… Wang Baole's weapons!

It was a significant number of battleships. In addition to those battleships was the locust that was currently under Wang Baole's feet. Its original physical appearance, which was that of a dragonfly, had been completely transformed. It looked less dexterous but far more gruesome and savage. A loud buzzing, like many things rubbing against each other, could be heard from inside its body. It was a sound that struck fear into the soul of those who heard it.

The odds had been reversed suddenly. The edge that the Golden Pool Legion had was now turned against them!

Every Golden Pool Legion cultivator was struck with shock and fear, their breathing quickening. A few even gasped out loud. As for the commanders, their faces were pale, and they looked at a loss. They couldn't believe what had just happened. The loss of half of their fleet had sent them into a panic, and they quickly turned towards Yi Nianzi with pleading eyes.

The look on Yi Nianzi's face was thunderous. He fell silent under the pleading looks on the Golden Pool Legion commanders' faces. He had the ability to help them, but he needed a reason to do so. Unfortunately, they hadn't yet found one.

Long Nanzi hadn't activated his Divine Justice Shield at all. He had continued fighting with his battleships even when Yi Nianzi had acted out of turn and unleashed an attack. Long Nanzi had been playing by the rules of the game all along!

Should he choose to step in now, he would be labeled a bully who was pushing his junior around. He would be breaking the rules as well. Perhaps this wouldn't have mattered if he were doing this to someone else, but this was Long Nanzi, the man who currently had the patriarch's favor. His actions wouldn't be very proper.

The look on Yi Nianzi's face grew darker as such thoughts flooded his mind, and resentment stewed inside him. He was at the Spirit Immortal realm and could have easily beaten his opponent, but his opponent placed obstacles in his way each and every time. Murder began to color Yi Nianzi's eyes. He gave Wang Baole a long and deep look, then said in a low voice, "Long Nanzi, hand over the beast… We'll declare you the victor for this challenge!"

"I'm sorry, Senior Yi Nianzi, but I'm taking this as my war trophy," Wang Baole said with a slight smile. He could sense the other party's ill will. He harbored no goodwill towards the man either. He held the upper ground now in terms of battle odds and playing by the rules. Why should he hand over the spoils of his victory?

Besides, this was something that Wang Baole desired very much. With the locust in his possession, even if he were to lose the challenge and was made to turn over loads of materials as compensation, it would be worth it.

Yi Nianzi wasn't surprised by Wang Baole's reply. He knew that getting Long Nanzi to hand over the locust was an impossible feat. Regardless, he had to ask, and so he did. He gave Long Nanzi another long considering look before turning away and leaving the battlefield.

Since he had no excuse to step in and join the fight, there was no point in him staying. The Golden Pool Legion's defeat would definitely affect the Green Kraken Legion, but he wasn't the sole master and owner of the Green Kraken Legion after all. Still… he had suffered multiple failures in exacting punishment on Long Nanzi. Yi Nianzi wasn't going to just let this matter go. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly spoke.

"As expected of a master at artifact refinement. I've never encountered such parasitism techniques. When used wisely, such a technique could turn the tide in a large-scale battle. The Golden Pool Legion was defeated fair and square!" Having said that, Yi Nianzi strolled off into the stars without sparing a glance at the Golden Pool Legion.

As the Golden Pool Legion simmered bitterly, Wang Baole narrowed his eyes. Yi Nianzi's parting words were dripping with malice. He had intentionally drawn attention to Wang Baole's parasitism technique. He was trying to get the sect to confiscate Wang Baole's parasitism technique, just like how his Divine Justice Shield had been taken away from him. He wanted to rob Wang Baole of his trump card.

If the technique was bought over by the sect, the Green Kraken Legion could then get their hands on it easily. Having the technique in their possession would be akin to recouping any losses they might have incurred from the Golden Pool Legion's defeat. If they were to use the technique wisely, the Green Kraken Legion might even reap additional gains.

All these considerations flashed past Wang Baole's mind swiftly. His caution towards Yi Nianzi grew considerably. Yi Nianzi wasn't only skilled at keeping his emotions under control, his dark and sinister powers were also something to be wary of. Wang Baole had kept that in mind when he had decided to act. He had been prepared. As a result, while he had remained wary of Yi Nianzi, he wasn't overly affected by what Yi Nianzi had said.

Things turned out the way he had expected them to. The Golden Pool Legion was forced to yield in defeat. After the victorious challenge, Wang Baole immediately collated some peripheral information about the parasitism technique and sent it over to Fairy Ling You.

He passed a message through Fairy Ling You to Chief Minister Xu. He was going to present the technique as a gift to the patriarch.

He didn't request anything in exchange. This was to be a gift!

There was an advantage to gift-giving. It earned the open approval of the patriarch and gave the Soul Rift Legion the authority to deal with their spoils of war as they saw fit. This meant that the Golden Pool Legion had no way of recouping their losses. In addition, they would be forced to hand over a massive amount of resources as compensation. Their ranking… also plummeted, their nineteenth position being taken over by the Soul Rift Legion!

The challenge had garnered quite a bit of attention. Wang Baole and the Soul Rift Legion started to gain a name for themselves after the two challenges. The most recent challenge had gotten them a place at the nineteenth spot in the ranking. The entire Divine Eye civilization was paying a great deal of attention to him. Within the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect, a huge majority of disciples began to treat him with greater deference and respect.

Quite a few armies and cultivators in the sect began wondering privately which spot in the ranking the Soul Rift Legion was targeting next. While they were doing so, Wang Baole was going through his spoils and reallocating most of the resources to the locust. After refining his fleet, he didn't choose to issue a new challenge.

He was now well aware of the difference in power between him and the armies ahead of him in the ranking. Things might have gone better for him if he hadn't handed over his parasitism technique. Even though he had only given the barest of information to the sect, he couldn't keep relying on the technique. The actual workings of the technique would just get exposed in the long run. He had thought it through and concluded that continued usage of the technique wasn't going to pay off.

He should be accumulating his power and building a strong foundation instead. In his next challenge, he should fight for a spot in the top ten or five, perhaps even higher. The resources that he was going to need to achieve that goal would be tremendous. Based on Wang Baole's current situation, getting that amount of resources in the Divine Eye civilization was going to be a feat.

It seems like I'll have to make a trip out. Follow the ways of the Divine Eye civilization… and see if I can bump into a mutant civilization like I did the last time around… Wang Baole considered his options for a moment but decided to hold off against any immediate action. Instead, he took a few days to inspect his fleet and carefully think through his plans. Then, he finally made up his mind.

My army can only grow more powerful with the necessary resources. Besides, I need an opportunity in order to advance my cultivation… A resolute look settled in his eyes. Wang Baole had decided to leave. He located his donkey and Little Wu, who had gotten to know each other during this period. The bond that they had cultivated with each other appeared to be deeper than the one they had with Wang Baole. Having been summoned back to Wang Baole's side, they sat next to each other in the Dharmic Battleship and departed from the Soul Rift Planet with the Soul Rift Legion!

The fleet sped into space and exited the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect's protectorate. The sight of the locust and the ten-thousand-strong Soul Rift Legion in the public cosmic territory was an awesome one to behold. Passing cultivators were dumbstruck, giving way to the passing fleet hastily. Armies from other sects looked on with caution when they caught sight of the Soul Rift Legion as well.

"It's Long the Mad!"

"I heard he's the only cultivator in the entire army. But he's so powerful that his army is ranked nineteenth in the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect, and that's before he's even made a move. Should he decide to do it, he might even get a place in the top ten armies in the sect!"

"He's crazy. Anyone who crosses his path is sure to suffer. Let's stay away from him!"

Wang Baole's journey began without a hitch, amidst the wary eyes of the crowd. The bounty that the Violet Gold New Dao Sect had put out seemed to have lost its appeal. As the one who had put up the bounty, the Ink Dragon Legion appeared to have chosen to give up their hunt for Wang Baole. Wang Baole arrived safely at the Divine Eye civilization's Eternal Star, the Eye of Ten Thousand Demons!

With the mandate given to the Soul Rift Legion, Wang Baole got himself the necessary access rights. With a wave of his hand, the fleet rushed at the Eternal Star. In the next moment… the Soul Rift Legion disappeared entirely from the Divine Eye civilization!

When they reappeared again… they found themselves amongst the stars, in the cosmic abyss!

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Chapter 797: The Killing Fields!

It was a barren space. There seemed to be nothing besides shattered pieces of meteorites. Forget about any signs of planets, there was no wreckage or life.

There was little light around them, and space was pitch-black.

The Divine Eye civilization is like a swarm of locusts. Who knows the number of times they have plundered… the civilizations around them. Wang Baole looked around him. He had expected this, but he still couldn't help but sigh.

I'll have to go somewhere further… Wang Baole fell into a contemplative silence. From the corner of his eye, he could see the donkey eying the interior of the locust with shining eyes. It licked its lips uncontrollably while its drool began to pool on the floor…

Little Wu sat next to the donkey, staring into space. He seemed to be in a fugue state. Wang Baole had no idea what he was thinking.

Wang Baole ignored Little Wu and glared at the donkey. There was no need for him to say anything, the look was warning enough. The donkey got the message and looked down pitifully. It stuck its tongue out and lapped up the pool of drool…

With the knowledge that the donkey knew its place, Wang Baole retracted his threatening look and then formed a hand seal. His fleet clustered around him immediately, the battleships vanishing one after another as they were pulled into his storage bracelet. Only the locust remained, speeding towards the distant cosmos.

The direction he had chosen to be teleported to was different from the one that the Holy Crest Sect had chosen. Wang Baole was familiar with the route the Holy Crest Sect had taken, but the territory had been plundered. That was why Wang Baole had decided to try his luck with another direction.

Wang Baole had the star map to this region, but it wasn't of much use. It only told Wang Baole the extent of the Divine Eye civilization's exploration in this region. With the speed that the locust was going, they reached the edge of that explored territory within two weeks. The star map became completely useless then.

The territory that we're heading into is unrecorded territory. There's still a chance that it might have been plundered by the Divine Eye civilization, but the further we go, the lower those chances are. Wang Baole perked up. He steered the locust and charged ahead.

However… luck didn't seem to be on Wang Baole's side for this particular expedition. Another two weeks went by, and the cosmos around them remained pitch-black, with no planets in sight.

Wang Baole simmered in frustration. Seeming to sense the terrible mood that Wang Baole was in, the donkey didn't lick the insides of the Dharmic Battleship as frequently. Even so, whenever Wang Baole noticed drool dripping uncontrollably from the donkey's lips, he would glare at the creature.

"Little Wu!"

"I'm here, Daddy!" Little Wu had been in a fugue state for an entire month. Upon hearing Wang Baole's voice, he bounced to his feet and shouted.

"I'm handing you a mission. Watch the donkey and make sure it keeps its mouth clean. It's not allowed to eat anything!"

Little Wu was instantly torn when he heard that. He had become well aware of the donkey's strange culinary taste and had learned that there was nothing in this world that the donkey wasn't capable of eating. In fact, Little Wu secretly thought that the donkey might even turn its teeth on him if it got too hungry…

He had even reached the conclusion that the donkey, given the right conditions, could gobble up the entire Black Earth Empire…

He looked at the donkey, then looked at Wang Baole. Then, with a pitiful look on his face, he murmured, "Daddy, I can't stop Second Master. He's my senior…"

"I'll have a bite of you for every bite it takes!" Wang Baole gave Little Wu a fierce glare, causing him to shudder. He was sure that Wang Baole was capable of doing exactly what he had said. The look on his face turned serious immediately, and he replied loudly.

"Don't worry, Daddy. I'll stop Second Master from doing anything wrong!"

Wang Baole snorted and retracted his glare. He ignored Little Wu and his troubled look as the latter negotiated with the donkey and begged the creature to control its urges.

Time went by as Wang Baole rode the locust through the dark cosmic space. Like a solitary beast, he traveled from galaxy to galaxy. All of them were the same, shriveled and drained, without any signs of life or ruined remnants of civilization.

The journey, dry and boring and without direction, began to stir doubts in Wang Baole's mind. He wondered if he should stop wasting his time, turn back, and choose another route. Things might turn out better.

Just as doubt began to build inside Wang Baole, the cosmic landscape before him started to look different. It was no longer complete darkness. There appeared to be light shimmering in the distance.

Shimmering lights! The discovery energized Wang Baole. The presence of light meant the existence of an Eternal Star somewhere in the area. He had no idea the state the Eternal Star was in, but he knew that an Eternal Star was the core of every civilization. Where there was an Eternal Star, the chances of there being life were great.

The discovery had Wang Baole shifting the direction he was going excitedly. He charged towards the source of light at full speed, the journey taking him ten days. As the light grew brighter, Wang Baole could finally make out a huge Eternal Star lying ahead of him in the distance!

The Eternal Star was larger than the one in the Divine Eye civilization. However, the light it was giving off wasn't as bright. In fact, he could hardly feel any heat from the light. The Eternal Star appeared to have undergone some kind of structural transformation. It looked fossilized.

However, the source of light within its core hadn't yet extinguished. The light penetrated the Eternal Star's outer fossilized walls and flooded outward into space, lighting up the cosmic region.

Wang Baole's heart raced as he observed the sight from a distance. Without any hesitation, he stopped the locust in its tracks. Then, he raised his right hand and, with a wave, pulled out a compass.

The compass was of the Divine Eye civilization. It was able to perform a scan of a cosmic region and reconstruct a star map from the scan. The cultivators from the Divine Eye civilization who had invaded the Federation had used something similar to perform a scan on the Solar System.

The compass that Wang Baole was now holding was far superior compared to their compass, though, in both its accuracy and the radius of the area scanned. It was an essential item that the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect distributed to its armies.

"Red, orange, yellow, cyan, green, blue, and purple. Red means an energy signature from an Eternal Star realm, orange means one from a Planet realm, bright yellow is for the Spirit Immortal realm… light yellow for the Soul Conduit realm…" Wang Baole muttered to himself as he fiddled with the compass. His eyes stayed fixed on the compass as five planets appeared above it!

The largest one was the Eternal Star that Wang Baole was looking at. His senses had been right. A great portion of it had become fossilized. The remaining four planets in this galaxy were at the Planet realm and had all become fossils!

The extent of their fossilization exceeded that of the Eternal Star. They were almost fully fossilized. Instead of calling them planets, one might… view them as four enormous meteoroids floating in space!

As for the color of these planets… while the compass couldn't discern the color of the Eternal Star, it indicated the color of the remaining planets as black. That meant that there weren't any signs of Spirit Qi on the planets. Wang Baole frowned at the results.

Could it be another mutant civilization? Wang Baole fell into a thoughtful silence as he slowly steered the locust towards the galaxy. He then activated his cultivation and unleashed the full power of the locust, ready to speed up or unleash a counterattack at a moment's notice.

The locust approached the new galaxy steadily under Wang Baole's focused and watchful eyes. When he finally entered the galaxy, shock flashed across his face, and the locust came to an abrupt stop!

Earlier on… he hadn't been able to get a good look because of the distance. In addition, a strange power appeared to be cloaking the galaxy and preventing his compass from obtaining a more detailed scan of the area. Now that he had entered the galaxy, his eyes began to take in the scene before him…

It was a killing field!

Countless bodies floated in space, alongside numerous parts from battleship wreckages and damaged Dharmic treasures. They drifted in space and filled the entire cosmic region… as far as the eye could see!

Where am I? Shock flickered across Wang Baole's face, and he felt incredibly uneasy. He could feel danger creeping in and surrounding him from all sides!

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Chapter 798: Stone Spirit Civilization!

Something must have happened here… Wang Baole didn't act rashly and instead scanned his surroundings carefully first. He unleashed his locust's cultivation and allowed its False Immortal realm power to sweep across the terrain. After ensuring that the area was safe, he turned his eyes towards the ruins around him.

He had no knowledge of the culture of this civilization and hence was unable to assess the period the bodies were from based on the clothes they were wearing. There was a strange power within this galaxy that was working against his Divine Sense. It appeared to be able to freeze time, preserving the bodies the way they appeared right before their deaths. The clothes and accessories on the bodies fell under this strange power's influence as well, showing no signs of degradation or decomposition.

Wang Baole couldn't imagine the power that was required to achieve something like that. He couldn't tell if it originated from a cultivator or if it was a strange power that existed inherently in this galaxy.

Logically speaking, even though this galaxy may be located in a rather distant and deserted location, someone should have come across it during its long years of existence. But if they had… it doesn't make sense that the bodies and ruins would still remain untouched. Wang Baole narrowed his eyes and remained on guard, setting his greed aside and not immediately conducting an inspection of the bodies and ruins floating around him. He was concerned that some unknown danger that was beyond the compass' detection remained hidden in their midst.

With a wave of his hand, he sent more than ten thousand puppets out into the area, maneuvering them and scattering them across the wide expanse of space. Through their eyes, he performed a detailed investigation of the area. He pulled less than a dozen wisps of his Divine Sense out from the avatar form that he was dwelling in and injected them into some puppets so that he could see with clearer eyes through them.

More than ten thousand puppets surrounded his Dharmic Battleship and spread outwards. They sped past the sea of bodies, granting Wang Baole an increasingly widened range of vision. Half an hour later, as the puppets reached a considerable distance away from Wang Baole, the latter's eyes suddenly flashed.

Amidst the sea of countless corpses and ruins were some bodies that were dressed in a distinctively different fashion. These corpses weren't congregated in a single area but spread across multiple locations. Wang Baole perceived as many as seven to eight spots from his current range of vision.

These groups of bodies don't belong to the same time period as the original bodies… The discovery heightened the sense of wariness that Wang Baole had been feeling. Thoughts and guesses flashed across his mind. In his head, he could see cultivators from other civilizations who had come across this region in the past. They had entered the galaxy and then come to some accidental demise.

Maybe the bodies that were originally here hide some kind of unknown danger? Wang Baole narrowed his eyes and assessed the situation. He was reluctant to just turn tail and leave. Therefore, he pulled out another batch of puppets, which sped past the sea of bodies and headed for the four planets.

He intended to use his puppets to find out if there was anything strange about the planets. Based on what he was able to find out, he would determine whether to continue searching the area.

With a plan in place, Wang Baole continued releasing puppets. A group of these puppets arrived at one planet just as the number of released puppets reached thirty thousand. The planet was completely black and resembled an enormous meteoroid from afar. When the puppets landed on the planet, they too saw nothing but black all around them.

There was no plant life and no source of water. There were only mountain ranges snaking across the planet's surface and their numerous mountain peaks. The planet was deathly silent. The arrival of Wang Baole's puppets had broken that silence. However, nothing alive came to greet them.

Wang Baole decided to wait instead of instructing his puppets to start a search of the planet. After his remaining puppets had landed on the other three planets, he finally initiated a simultaneous search of all four planets. Wang Baole's eyes grew wider as the search unfolded. Then, he wrestled control over one puppet and turned its eyes towards a black bamboo shoot growing on a small hill on one of the planets!

The bamboo was made out of stone despite looking like a plant. Its leaves were also made of stone. Adding to the bizarre discovery was the sight of liquid emerging from the bamboo's skin and slowly dripping down the shoot.

There was no scent to the bamboo and no presence of spirit energy. Regardless, Wang Baole felt as if he had been struck by lightning by the discovery. His heart started pumping rapidly.

A Stone Bamboo!

Wang Baole could barely believe his eyes. He had read about it in the Divine Eye civilization's literature. Its name might sound ordinary, but its worth was immense. Stone Bamboo had gone extinct in the Divine Eye civilization. To get a hold of it, one had to get it from other civilizations and pay an absurd sum for it.

Stone Bamboo was a key component in building and upgrading Dharmic Battleships. It was extremely rare, and demand for it vastly exceeded supply. As a result, even a bit of Stone Bamboo the length of one's finger could spark an intense fight to the death. As for the Stone Bamboo that currently stood before Wang Baole… while bringing it back wouldn't spark an outright war between two greater sects, it would definitely create chaos and madness amongst some armies.

Stone Bamboo was something Wang Baole needed as well, and something that he had been searching for. He had something half as powerful as a Dharmic Battleship now—his locust. If he were to refine it with sufficient Stone Bamboo, there was a great chance of evolving it into a full-fledged Dharmic Battleship!

A Stone Bamboo shoot… Wang Baole's heart raced. The pervasive sense of danger surrounding him made him hesitant, though. It was then, during that exact moment of hesitation, while his puppets were scattered and doing a sweep of the four planets, that Stone Bamboos began springing from the ground like daisies. In fact, more than a hundred Stone Bamboos had popped up on the third planet!

The other planets only had a few dozen shoots. The excitement of seeing these shoots spring forth from the ground turned Wang Baole's eyes red and caused his breathing to quicken. The donkey and Little Wu couldn't see what was going on and had no idea what was happening with Wang Baole. But Little Wu quickly realized what had just happened. They had found something valuable.

The donkey had no idea what Wang Baole was thinking. But the galaxy held great temptation for the creature, one that was as strong as the hold that the Stone Bamboo had on Wang Baole. After all… scattered in the cosmic area before it were countless ruins and shards of Dharmic treasures. They were all food in the donkey's eyes!

Some of them looked extremely yummy…

Both Wang Baole and the donkey's breathing sped up at the same time. Little Wu watched the two fearfully, the gears in his head spinning furiously. He decided to follow their lead and forcefully quickened his breathing too.

That's a lot of Stone Bamboo. Let's just wing it! After a moment of contemplation, Wang Baole gritted his teeth and made up his mind. He pulled out his compass and did a detailed scan. The results didn't show any colored energy signatures on the planets. He hesitated no longer, barking out an order to his puppets and commanding them to harvest the bamboo. He pulled out thousands of battleships and sent them towards the planets so that the puppets could load the battleships with their harvest!

Wang Baole was hedging a bet here. He kept his guard up and his cultivation churning. The locust was fully activated as well. After all, he was currently at the edge of the galaxy. Should anything dangerous happen, he was confident that he would be able to get to safety in time.

Time crawled past while he stewed in anxiety and remained on high alert. The puppets had the difficult task of digging Stone Bamboos from the ground. The planets' rocky ground was extremely hard. The puppets often had to hit the same spot at the same time in order to loosen a bit of rock in the ground. Even though Wang Baole had countless puppets at his disposal, they only managed to dig out one Stone Bamboo after a long time and have it ferried to the battleship, which then delivered it to Wang Baole.

There's no rush. We can take our time… Despite the anxiety and nervousness plaguing Wang Baole, he knew that haste made waste. Any oversight or negligence might lead to an adverse outcome. As he consoled himself, he looked at the galaxy ahead of him with a heated stare.

It was then that one of the planets suddenly shuddered faintly. Wang Baole sensed the tremors immediately. Before he could examine the phenomenon, the tremors began to intensify. The other three planets began to shake as well. The ground shifted violently, undulating as if a serpent was moving underground.

As the ground shook, an overwhelming power erupted from the boulders, mountain peaks, and mountain ranges on the surface of the planets. The skies trembled, the clouds rolled back, and the winds started lashing. The entire galaxy appeared to be affected. It was then that these boulders, mountain peaks, and mountain ranges… stood up!

They weren't boulders or mountain peaks or mountain ranges at all, they were… stone golems… of different sizes!

It was as if they had been sleeping earlier and had just been awoken by the ruckus that Wang Baole's puppets had caused. They seemed to be in a foul mood. They opened and revealed their crimson eyes, then turned those red eyes towards the puppets around them. Then, they turned skywards and let loose raging howls that stirred the entire galaxy!

Shock flashed across Wang Baole's face. He tried to summon his puppets back, but the roars of these stone golems were too powerful. They were like tornadoes that swept across space, unleashing a series of thunderous booms without a moment's respite. Half of the thirty-thousand strong puppet army was swept away by the tornadoes, disintegrating into dust instantly!

That wasn't the end of it. Something else that sent Wang Baole, the donkey, and Little Wu shuddering in fear soon followed. As numerous stone golems awoke from their slumber on the four planets, seven to eight Spirit Immortal realm auras were unleashed from each planet's core and erupted into being!

Is this a joke? Wang Baole moaned. Without hesitation, he turned his locust around, ready to make a run for it.

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Chapter 799: Stone Patriarch!

He had no choice but to run…

The sudden emergence of seven to eight Spirit Immortal realm auras from each of the four planets had him nearly wetting his pants. Following their appearance were numerous Soul Conduit realm and countless Nascent Soul realm energy signatures that exploded into being as increasingly more stone golems awoke.

Smaller Core Formation realm and Foundation Establishment realm stone golems began howling in a frightening manner as well, rising from all corners and closing in around Wang Baole's puppets.

Within the blink of an eye… Wang Baole's puppets were overrun by a massive army of stone golems. They had no chance to escape or even fight back and were wrecked and turned to dust…

Everything happened in an instant. The planets had been deathly quiet a moment earlier, and in the next, madness had descended. Wang Baole was almost scared out of his wits. An intense danger that had suddenly erupted got him steering his Dharmic Battleship away and out of the galaxy instantly.

Next to him, Little Wu stood eyes wide and shivering in fear. The donkey had gasped as well. It might view the stone golems as food, but too much of it was a bit frightening as well.

What a horrible trap! Wang Baole was on the verge of tears. This wasn't the time or place to mourn the loss of his puppets or lust after Stone Bamboos. He poured his full attention into steering the locust into the cosmos.

As Wang Baole sped ahead, two dozen Spirit Immortal realm auras had spread out behind him and morphed into shooting stars. They darted from their home planets, gliding across the starlit cosmos and rushing straight for Wang Baole.

The immense power would have sent another Spirit Immortal realm cultivator's hair standing as he cursed his slowness, let alone Wang Baole.

Wang Baole widened his eyes. Without any hesitation, he activated the teleportation mechanism from the Eye of Ten Thousand Demons and attempted to escape back to the Divine Eye civilization.

As the beginnings of a teleportation began to stir, the galaxy shuddered, and a strange power descended from all around Wang Baole, blanketing the entire area. It didn't disrupt Wang Baole's teleportation attempt completely. However, it did manage to drag out the process. Something that should have occurred within a split second was now taking an eternity. It was probably going to take fifteen minutes before he could be teleported away!

What in the hell is this place? Wang Baole almost howled. He had no time to think. He steered the locust away madly and tried desperately to leave the region, planning to exit the galaxy before attempting another teleportation.

Fortunately, Wang Baole had practiced extreme caution earlier and hadn't explored the deeper parts of the galaxy personally. He had stationed himself at its edge. By speeding up the Dharmic Battleship and exploiting the burst of False Immortal realm power, the Dharmic Battleship was able to reach ultra-fast speeds. It reached the boundary of the galaxy within the blink of an eye and was a moment away from leaving the galaxy completely…

Wang Baole didn't release a sigh of relief just yet, though he was confident of his chances as long as he could leave the galaxy. It didn't matter that he had two dozen Spirit Immortal stone golems pursuing him. After all, he had his Divine Justice Shield and his battleships, which would help him gain enough time to perform another teleportation. The worst he was going to suffer was a blow to his pride and a wasted trip.

I just can't believe how lousy my luck is this time. It must be Little Wu's fault. I had terribly good luck the last time when he wasn't around! Wang Baole sulked. He turned and glared at Little Wu, who returned the glare with a lost, confused look. Wang Baole's locust continued to travel at incredible speeds as the Spirit Immortal realm shooting stars steadily approached it. It appeared that they were going to escape from the galaxy at any moment.

It was then that… suddenly, the strange power that had pervaded the galaxy descended again. It felt more powerful this time, causing the cosmos to shudder. The edge of the galaxy was sealed shut. It was as if a door had just been slammed close. There was no way out!

It was like a seal!

Wang Baole's head buzzed, and he turned back in shock. The corpses and ruins that had been floating around in space were moving, as if in orbit around the Eternal Star. It was a fluid movement that looked slow at first, then suddenly sped up to an impossible speed!

They looked like a river flowing around the Eternal Star—a gigantic vortex. What shocked Wang Baole the most wasn't the sight of the vortex, but… the partially fossilized Eternal Star. As the river circled it, it too began to quake.

The shooting stars that had been chasing Wang Baole stopped in their tracks and transformed back into stone golems. The look on their faces was that of deference, and their eyes were colored with a mad fervor. They quickly turned towards the shuddering Eternal Star and fell to their knees, releasing thundering howls from their lips that rippled across space.

The stone golems on the four planets were similarly affected. They raised their faces skyward and turned mad, feverish eyes onto the Eternal Star. Then, they too fell to their knees and let loose loud roars!

Wang Baole's breathing stuttered at the sight. The roars of these stone golems had become a form of war chant, which contained an indescribable sense of power. Corpses and ruins continued to circle the Eternal Star. It was as if a ritual was taking place, and Wang Baole had just become its witness…

"We're finished. We're done for! We've become some kind of sacrifice!" Little Wu stared at the scene unfolding before him and started moaning. The donkey was shaking too, fear showing in its eyes.

A sacrifice… Wang Baole was reluctant to accept that conclusion. Regardless, it seemed to be the case, no matter how one looked at it. He wasn't just going to sit there and wait for death, though. A fierce light flashed in his eyes. He wasn't beneath blowing up the locust and blowing a hole in the galaxy so he could escape.

As soon as that thought entered his mind, something drastic happened to the Eternal Star that drained Wang Baole's face instantly… turning his skin ashen.

As the vortex circled the Eternal Star, and as countless stone golems roared madly, the shuddering Eternal Star… expanded and stretched outwards!

A forehead larger than a planet protruded outward first, then came four limbs that stretched out, forming, finally, an enormous stone giant!

Next to the stone giant was the Eternal Star, which had grown smaller by more than half its original size. It was clear… that what Wang Baole had thought was the Eternal Star originally had been the stone giant's body. The stone giant had held the Eternal Star within its arms and curled itself up into a ball. That had been why… the Eternal Star had appeared so big.

Now that the stone giant had loosened its limbs, the true form of the Eternal Star was finally revealed!

With the outstretching of its limbs, the stone giant gradually opened its eyes. Two bright spots shone like twin suns, lighting up the entire galaxy instantly!

An aura that far surpassed that of a Planet realm cultivator exuded from the stone giant effortlessly. It cut through the galaxy like fierce tornadoes, overpowering everything in its path! It was as if everything it had passed was subsumed and became a part of it!

Its planet-sized right hand rose with what looked like extremely slow speed but was, in actual fact, extremely fast speed, sending a cosmic storm whipping through space. It made a grab at Wang Baole, doing so as if he was a mere mosquito that it was planning to smack!

It wouldn't be right to compare Wang Baole to a mosquito, though. Compared to the size of that hand, Wang Baole didn't even deserve to be called… a mosquito!

Thunder crashed, and strong winds lashed. The enormous hand blocked out the entire cosmos, descending upon Wang Baole with unstoppable power and the looming weight of death, leaving Wang Baole with nowhere to run!

As the stone giant unleashed its attack, the stone golems on the planets, big and small, and the Spirit Immortal realm stone golems in space, grew increasingly excited. Their roars were filled with passion and fervor, and they kowtowed, seeming as if they were paying respects to their patriarch!

The Eternal… the Eternal Star… Wang Baole's face was drained of all color. This wasn't just bad luck, it was luck that was rotten to the core. The universe was such a huge place. Considering the number of Eternal Star realm cultivators that existed and were scattered across the wide universe, it would be a feat to bump into one. But somehow, he had managed to stumble headfirst into one…

That's it… I'm done for this time… Wang Baole's mind was a complete blank. His vision was filled by the enormous hand above him that exuded incredible and unimaginable power. He did manage to get one thing done, which was to hide the donkey away in his storage bracelet. But he had no idea if this might somehow save the creature.

That was the best that he could do, though. As for Little Wu… Wang Baole couldn't help him now. He grimaced. Regardless, there was no despair or compromise in his eyes. He began to activate his cultivation as well as the locust. He was going to self-destruct.

This was the only solution he could think of that might save the donkey and Little Wu's lives. If he self-destructed first, they might still have a chance of survival. If the stone giant were to capture them, though, they were all as good as dead.

But he wasn't willing to accept his fate just like that. Before the final self-destruction, Wang Baole decided to wing it. He projected his voice outward and thundered.

"Senior, my senior brother is Chen Qing, the first Divine King of the Never-Ending Clan. I'm his only surviving junior brother!"

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Chapter 800: Best to Stay Away!

Wang Baole gave it everything he had as he shouted out those words. It was a shout that was fueled by the very essence of his life. If this proved to be useless in scaring off the stone giant, Wang Baole had a feeling that he was going to die.

He was truly worried that his loud shouting wasn't powerful enough, so he continued yelling.

"My senior brother, Chen Qing, is a mighty cultivator who has slain many other powerful cultivators. He reigns supreme in the Never-Ending Star Domain and is treated like a king in many parts of the universe!"

"Your humble junior here has mistakenly stumbled into your domain and disturbed your rest. But I haven't hurt any of your people. Why would the esteemed senior choose to make things difficult for me over something so minor?" Wang Baole tried his best to exude the power from his essence technique as he spoke. This was something his senior brother had given him, something that his senior brother had created himself. That meant that it was something that was uniquely Chen Qing's!

Such unique ownership was the best proof of one's identity. If the stone giant were merely at the Planet realm, Wang Baole wouldn't have thought this method effective. It was highly unlikely for someone at the Planet realm to come across someone like his senior brother.

But a being at the Eternal Star realm… was an entirely different creature altogether, especially one who was lord of an entire clan. Someone like that must have heard of his senior brother's name or heard rumors about him.

As Wang Baole continued his yelling, the donkey was panicking inside the storage bracelet. As for Little Wu, he was secretly crying inside. He didn't believe a single word that Wang Baole had said. Nevertheless, those words still gave him an inkling of hope. The power of the stone giant was simply too much for them to bear.

Wang Baole and Little Wu stared unblinkingly at the skies as the giant's palm rushed towards them, ready to crush everything in its path. In the next moment… the palm suddenly stuttered to a stop!

The sudden stutter sent tornadoes rippling outward and sweeping into the Dharmic Battleship that Wang Baole was on. It shuddered, ready to cave in at any moment. However… the palm didn't descend upon it. As long as it didn't, the Dharmic Battleship remained safe despite the bout of quaking.

It's working! Wang Baole's breathing quickened as his spirits perked up. He looked up and could sense someone's gaze. It came from the stone giant and swept downwards at them.

The gaze was heavy with power and appeared to see through everything. It paid no attention to the Dharmic Battleship or to Wang Baole's Divine Justice Shield and defenses, piercing straight through everything and seeing them at their very core. It saw right through Little Wu as well with a single sweep.

The inspecting look made Wang Baole nervous. He kept his fists cupped and tried to make himself look as deferential and respectful as possible.

Little Wu did the same, looking down fearfully.

The gaze, heavy with power, swept across them a few times before retreating. Along with it went the gigantic hand that had reached out towards them earlier!

Wang Baole's spirits rose as he watched the enormous hand lifting away from them. He felt as if he had just barely escaped death. The feeling made him realize how incredible his senior brother was. The layer of protection that his senior brother afforded him meant that no matter where he went, other cultivators were going to treat him with a certain degree of courtesy. Of course, he couldn't always rely on his senior brother. If he were to cross paths with his senior brother's enemies… it would be the end of him.

At that thought, Wang Baole took a deep breath, looked up, and then said, "Thank you very much, Senior!"

"Leave!" As Wang Baole's voice reverberated through the cosmos, a husky voice erupted in Wang Baole and Little Wu's heads with a thunderous boom.

The voice had been transmitted through the stone giant's Divine Sense. It didn't matter that they didn't speak the same language. Those words were directly imprinted into one's soul. They were firm and strong words, and the transmission sent sharp pain spiking in Wang Baole's head. He might not be able to take it if the stone giant were to continue speaking.

It wasn't as if he had no chance of holding up under the stone giant's voice. Regardless, the difference in the level of their cultivations made Wang Baole realize the difference that separated the strong and the weak once again. Anyone else who shared his thoughts would have immediately left the galaxy, just in case the stone giant decided to regret his earlier decision to let them go.

In fact, that was what Little Wu was thinking then. He had just survived death, and the only thought he had in his head at that moment was to get out of that horrible place as soon as possible.

Wang Baole wasn't any ordinary man, though. Gears spun furiously in his head as he analyzed the situation. It was obvious to him that the stone patriarch knew of his senior brother. Even though the stone patriarch had seemed intent on sacrificing Wang Baole, he had chosen to let him go after he had mentioned his senior brother.

This meant that the stone patriarch didn't know his senior brother in person but had heard of his reputation. He didn't want to make an enemy of his senior brother over something so minor. It didn't matter whether Wang Baole was making things up. It wasn't important to someone as powerful as he was.

Besides, it means something that I could call out Chen Qing's name. The stone patriarch is a smart man. I know what he's trying to say. He's saying that he doesn't care if I'm telling the truth or lying, he's not interested at all. He just wants to be left alone. Wang Baole rapidly dissected the situation… and came to a conclusion.

The stone patriarch is wary of my senior brother and afraid of trouble. If that's the case… Wang Baole's eyes brightened, and his heart started racing. He contemplated giving what he was thinking a go. He was going to regret it if he didn't. Since he had made a show of calling his senior brother's name, he might as well get something out of it.

At that thought, Wang Baole looked up and sent his Divine Sense into the cosmos.

"Senior, it has been a hard journey for us. We traveled long and far before we were able to reach this place. I mean… could we have some Stone Bamboos as a form of souvenir?"

Little Wu's eyes widened when he heard what Wang Baole had just said. Incredulity shone in his eyes as he looked at Wang Baole in disbelief. The tension he had been feeling had barely settled before it surged inside him again. The imminent threat of danger that had dissipated erupted inside his head. If not for his fear of offending Wang Baole, he would have openly cursed at the man.

Wang Baole's request seemed completely unreasonable to Little Wu. It felt like he was trying to push his luck.

Dear gods, isn't he afraid that the stone patriarch will just end him with a smack? Little Wu's heart raced. He stared at Wang Baole with pleading eyes, which seemed to be begging Wang Baole to stop playing these games and just run…

But Little Wu soon learned a lesson. In life… the depth of one's courage made all the difference!

The stone patriarch fell silent upon hearing Wang Baole's request. His gaze fell upon the shuddering Little Wu. Wang Baole was extremely nervous but also strangely confident. Even if the stone patriarch was to turn down his request, the worst Wang Baole was going to suffer would be a repeated order for him to leave.

However, should the stone patriarch agree to his request, it would be akin to striking the lottery.

In the end… moments after the stone patriarch's gaze had swept past them, a snort sounded in Wang Baole's head. Then, the enormous stone giant raised his right hand and sent it waving… not at Wang Baole. With a single wave of his hand, three Stone Bamboos were uprooted from the planets and sent flying towards Wang Baole.

Little Wu's eyes almost popped out of his head as he witnessed the scene. Awe and incredulity colored his eyes as he looked at Wang Baole. Wang Baole himself was brimming with excitement even though he pretended to look composed. He maneuvered his locust into intercepting the Stone Bamboos, then cupped his fists and made a deep bow.

"My thanks, Senior! Your humble junior will take his leave now!" Wang Baole decided not to push his luck and try for more Stone Bamboos. He steered the locust into retreating, and with a burst of speed, they left the galaxy of the stone golems.

Wang Baole let the donkey out after they were clear of danger. Little Wu was now gazing at Wang Baole with adoration in his eyes. He didn't believe all that talk about a senior brother at all. Regardless, Wang Baole had been able to come up with such a story at the most critical and dangerous moment and had even gone on to request something valuable as a souvenir. He had to acknowledge Wang Baole's gutsiness.

Wang Baole looked up, not seeming to be bothered by Little Wu's stares. Despite the mild, composed look on his face, he was secretly extremely pleased. A comfortable, soothing sense of satisfaction coursed through his body.

I can't deny how useful Senior Brother's name is, Wang Baole thought happily. As Little Wu continued to stare at him in adoration, Wang Baole waved his hand and sent the locust into the distant cosmos at full speed.

As they sped away from the galaxy of stone golems, the stone patriarch remained standing next to the Eternal Star, eyes looking into the distant stars. His gaze appeared to be tracking Wang Baole's locust. There was a contemplative look in his eyes, and he seemed to be deep in thought.

Next to him stood the two dozen Spirit Immortal stone golems that had pursued Wang Baole earlier. One could see hints of resentment and anger on their faces. The rest of the clan, their people who were stuck on the four planets, appeared to feel similar sentiments.

In their eyes, anyone who trespassed into their galaxy and tried to steal their Stone Bamboos was an enemy of the clan, and an enemy was to be captured and offered up as a sacrifice. This was the first time in so many years that the stone patriarch had chosen to let someone go.

That wasn't the worst of it. He had given away three Stone Bamboos, which the clan had painstakingly cultivated and grown. If they were to include the one that the enemy had dug up himself, they would have lost four Stone Bamboos. That was an extremely heavy loss for the civilization to bear.

The stone patriarch could sense his people's fury. After a moment of silence, his Divine Sense thundered in the minds of every stone golem.

"That rascal and his bragging are hardly worth my attention. I'm not going to believe that the legendary Chen Qing is his senior brother just because he said it. But… the one standing next to him. His aura… clearly shows that he's a true-born son of the Black Earth Empire. I've encountered such an aura in the past. There's no way I could've mistaken his identity… The Black Earth Empire has been fighting for independence from the Never-Ending Clan recently. It's best that we stay clear of these madmen!"

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Chapter 801: One Should Keep a Low Profile!

"Black Earth Empire?" Hearing the stone patriarch's words, the expressions of the Spirit Immortal stone golems changed as they all inhaled. Although they all revered Chen Qing, they felt that a legendary figure like him was too far away from them and wouldn't choose to believe Wang Baole based on a few sentences.

But the Black Earth Empire was different. It was a huge empire that was said to not only have Star Domain realm mighty figures but a Universe realm mighty figure. At the same time, the number of cultivators subordinate to them was astonishing. After all, they chose to declare independence under the rule of the Never-Ending Clan. That in itself showed their confidence in their strength!

The most important thing was… the patriarch's definite tone that confirmed that the person just now was a member of the Black Earth Empire's direct line of descent. Although the Black Earth Empire was huge, they had few male offspring in their direct line of descent. The Black Earth Empire would go into a frenzy if any one of them were in danger.

So as they inhaled, the Spirit Immortal stone golems immediately brushed away their refusal to comply. In fact, they felt fortunate that the patriarch woke up. If not, their entire clan would be about to face a huge catastrophe.

As the stone golems sighed with emotion, outside their civilization's star system, within the Half-Dharmic Battleship speeding through the cosmos, the Black Earth Empire direct descendant… was looking towards Wang Baole with awe.

"Daddy, you're amazing!" Little Wu flattered Wang Baole sincerely. No matter how the stone golem clan felt, he really felt that he was going to die in that moment. Now that he dodged a bullet and remembered Wang Baole's previous actions, Little Wu's admiration grew even stronger.

Enjoying Little Wu's gaze of admiration, Wang Baole coughed and said coldly, "Through this experience, I hope you'll learn something. Don't keep proclaiming that you're some prince. What if you say it so many times that others stop believing it but you yourself believe it? Wouldn't that be awkward?"

"A man of ability wouldn't keep showing it off. Like me, for instance, when have you seen me showing off my background? Only when absolutely necessary will I expose a little bit. That's called keeping a low profile!"

"Do you understand?" Wang Baole threw a look at Little Wu with a sense of profoundness he himself didn't understand. With that look, Little Wu shuddered. It was as though he was suddenly enlightened and immediately understood some principles.

That was especially so when he remembered how he met Long Nanzi. At that moment, not only were his eyes filled with awe, he also became fanatic. He felt that Long Nanzi made a lot of sense. A man of true ability didn't need to proclaim it.

"Thank you, Daddy, I understand now!" Little Wu nodded heavily. He felt that him calling such a mighty figure daddy was a good decision. As he admired Long Nanzi, he felt that he was very lucky to be able to meet him.

Noticing Little Wu's gaze, Wang Baole felt very pleased. He secretly thought that he should find a chance to let Little Wu experience the power of the Dao Scripture. Afterward, Little Wu would probably admire him more fanatically.

Oh well, I'm handsome and outstanding. With a random action, people will flock to me to become my lackeys. Seeing myself like this… even I'm envious of myself. After sighing with emotion in his heart, he threw out the donkey again. Afterward, he gave the Half-Dharmic Battleship an order to continue moving forward before he sat down cross-legged, arranging the loot from his expedition.

The expedition to the stone golem civilization could be said to have been threatening but not dangerous. And after seeing the amount of loot he obtained, Wang Baole's heart still beat faster.

Four Stone Bamboos! Wang Baole licked his lips while his eyes shone. Thoroughly appraising the value of his loot, he felt that with the four Stone Bamboos alone, he could obtain an astonishing amount of resources.

I'll give one of them to this giant dragonfly… Thinking to this point, Wang Baole spread his consciousness and swept it across his stolen Half-Dharmic Battleship and felt that describing it as a locust was more appropriate.

So he disassembled a Stone Bamboo, threw a portion up, and said, "Big Yellow, this is for you!"

The moment Wang Baole spoke, a hole opened on the Dharmic Battleship wall above him, and a suction force suddenly spread and absorbed that portion of Stone Bamboo. Afterward, the entire Half-Dharmic Battleship shuddered and sent a message expressing its gratitude and excitement.

After doing that, Wang Baole was in high spirits. Raising his right hand and weaving hand seals with it, he controlled the Half-Dharmic Battleship to accelerate and speed towards the cosmos in the distance.

Just like that, time slowly passed, and three months elapsed!

In three months, the cosmos that Wang Baole headed towards was already extremely far away from the Divine Eye civilization. At the same time, after going to the stone golem civilization, his luck seemed to have changed, causing him to gradually obtain more loot in those three months.

Although the loot he obtained gradually was far from what he obtained from the stone golem civilization even when added together, Wang Baole was still very happy. On the one hand, the accumulation of resources gave him a special sense of satisfaction. On the other hand, the widening of his knowledge gave Wang Baole a more comprehensive understanding of the cosmos.

In those three months, he saw seven to eight different civilizations. Among them, five were similar to Earth. If Wang Baole had evil intentions when he arrived, he could have caused the extinction of those civilizations.

Two of them were even worse. They were similar to the Federation before the Spirit Inception Era and didn't have much Spirit Qi. Wang Baole only took a look at them and didn't go close to them, instead choosing to leave.

Such civilizations probably did have some archeological value, but it would take a lot of time. If one stayed in a place with little Spirit Qi for too long, they would feel suffocated, like a fish out of water.

Although it wouldn't affect him much, Wang Baole still chose to give up after sweeping over the civilizations with his consciousness.

Besides that, there was another civilization that Wang Baole chose to stay away from. That was because, through the Divine Eye civilization's scanner, he discovered that there were Planet realms there. Hence, he didn't need to evaluate anything. Wang Baole felt that he was already very rich and should avoid looking for trouble.

At the same time, since Wang Baole kept feeding his Half-Dharmic Battleship Stone Bamboos, his Half-Dharmic Battleship evolved to a certain degree within these three months. Although it couldn't really be considered a Dharmic Battleship that could fuse with Wang Baole, from its aura alone, it was already extremely close to a Dharmic Battleship.

According to Wang Baole's calculations, if that went on, if he had another half of a Stone Bamboo, Big Yellow could definitely become a true Dharmic Battleship!

It's a pity that my cultivation hasn't reached the Spirit Immortal realm… If it had, once it becomes a Dharmic Battleship, I could turn it into Dharmic Armor and increase my personal combat strength to have a maximum power equivalent to that of two Spirit Immortals! Wang Baole felt a tinge of regret. He couldn't help but start pondering how to incorporate the Dharmic Battleship with his Thearch Armor and lower the usage requirements while not affecting its combat strength.

Wang Baole's instinct told him that his theory could be feasible. But just as he settled down and started analyzing his theory, his Half-Dharmic Battleship came to a new star system.

According to the scanner, the star system didn't display any color. But the more the scanner displayed this, the more cautious Wang Baole became. However, he didn't immediately retreat. That was because the scanner displayed that there were resources of value to Wang Baole in that star system. However, before entering, he still needed to be completely alert and cautious.

The moment Wang Baole entered the star system, like when he first entered the Divine Eye civilization, the feeling of entering a membrane appeared again. This caused Wang Baole's expression to become stern instantly. He knew that was an area that was isolated from the outside world. When he spread out his consciousness and observed thoroughly, what he saw and felt made Wang Baole's eyes grow wide uncontrollably.

This was an extremely unique star system, the likes of which Wang Baole had never seen before. In fact, to a certain extent, it could be said to have completely overturned his understanding of planets!

That was because… within the star system, there was an extremely giant vine, the ends of which almost couldn't be seen. While the giant vine spread across the entire star system, there were also spherical fruits on top of it.

There were dozens of fruits, and every one of them…. was a planet!

As for the Eternal Star… or, in other words, the existence that possessed the power of an Eternal Star, it was the giant vine. It supported life, supported the planets, and brought light to the entire star system.

This scene shook Wang Baole's soul. Little Wu, who was beside him, also had his eyes go wide. He spoke softly and with a bit of hesitation while feeling bizarre.

"I think I've heard of a similar vine civilization before somewhere…"

Noticing Little Wu's words, Wang Baole immediately looked over with an inquisitive look.

After being noticed by Wang Baole, Little Wu perked up and immediately started thinking hard. Very quickly, his eyes shone.

"Daddy, I remember now. I've previously heard someone say that there exists a kind of nomadic civilization in the cosmos. Their distinguishing trait was their vines. These kinds of civilizations have matriarchal societies and travel around the cosmos. They like to exchange life essences with the opposite sex…" Speaking to that point, Little Wu blinked his eyes and didn't continue speaking.

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Chapter 802: The Exchange of Life Essences!

Exchange Life Essences? Wang Baole was stunned. He felt that the statement was a little weird. He secretly thought that the exchange of life essences was extremely dangerous. Moreover, essences involved the core of one's soul and couldn't be easily traded away…

Thinking to that point, Wang Baole was a little cautious and was about to control his Dharmic Battleship to leave. But just as he was about to leave, a wisp of aura similar to that of the stone golem patriarch suddenly spread forth from within the star system. Not waiting for Wang Baole's expression to change, the second and third wisp of Planet realm auras congruent to that of the Sovereign Patriarch also spread forth.

Like a sun paired with two moons, they engulfed the entire star system. Luckily, the three mighty figures' auras were gentle, and their suppressive forces were restrained. However… they still shook Wang Baole's soul.

Why are there so many Eternal Star realm individuals? Including this place, I've already met two during my journey! Wang Baole felt his mouth go dry. He was quickly pondering in his mind whether to continue using his senior brother's name or to try using his Dao Scripture to scare them. Meanwhile, the three auras trapped Wang Baole there. As the nearest vine to him shook slightly, seven to eight silhouettes flew out from within the fruit planet under the vine and stepped onto a leaf.

The leaf quickly spread and neared where Wang Baole was.

Wang Baole blinked and secretly sighed. Since the three auras had trapped him, Wang Baole didn't dare to forcefully leave. So as he felt depressed in his heart, he tilted his head to stare at Little Wu.

Little Wu felt confused after being stared at. After being stunned for a while, he didn't know how he bothered his daddy and felt indignant in his heart.

Wang Baole also didn't know why he wanted to stare at Little Wu. But after doing so, he felt more comforted in his heart. After coughing, he stopped considering how to leave. Instead, he flew out of his Dharmic Battleship with a flick of his body, gazing at the approaching leaf and the seven to eight cultivators atop it.

Those cultivators looked similar to humans, but their ears were a little long, making them look like rabbits. Their bodies also looked very strong, with each of them having round waists and large arms. While the muscles on their bodies were like jumping mice and startled people, they also made it easy to neglect their gender…

The seven to eight cultivators who looked like strong men were actually all female. As for their cultivations, their leader was a Spirit Immortal, while the rest of them were at least early-stage Soul Conduits. At the same time, not only did they not have any enmity towards foreigners on their faces, they were actually somewhat fanatical. After nearing, they all looked at Wang Baole.

Being looked at like that by those females, Wang Baole felt a strange palpitation in his heart. Therefore, he quickly cupped his fists and spread his Divine Sense.

"Chen Qing civilization envoy, Long Nanzi, greets his fellow Daoists."

The Divine Sense was the best way to break past the language barrier. Wang Baole learned this from his multiple expeditions. As his Divine Sense spread out, the vine leaf the females were on also stopped within the cosmos in front of Wang Baole. The Spirit Immortal female leader atop the leaf sized up Wang Baole as a smile appeared on her face.

"Welcome to the Vine civilization, you can call me Ling Shan."

A smile was often the easiest and most direct communication method when strangers came into contact for the first time. Sometimes, it could convey many different meanings and was often quite effective. But because the smile was overly fanatical, Wang Baole couldn't help but feel nervous. So he tested the waters by asking a few questions.

The several females from the vine civilization answered each and every one of Wang Baole's questions. Such sincerity made Wang Baole even more nervous. But he gained a deeper understanding of the star system more or less.

The vine civilization was indeed a matriarchal civilization. Although there were male cultivators there, they were a minority in terms of both numbers and status. At the same time, the vine civilization was spread across the Never-Ending Clan's star domain like dandelions. They spread out to become tribe-like small civilizations of various sizes and were part of the few neutral parties. They didn't actively participate in battle, but if someone messed with them, all of the tribes would gather together to unleash a counterattack.

This place was one of the vine civilization's many tribe star systems. Towards Wang Baole's arrival, they were very enthusiastic. They even invited Wang Baole to head to one of the planets to rest.

At first, Wang Baole decided not to go. However, being engulfed by the auras of the Eternal Star realm and Planet realm mighty figures, he had no choice but to agree. He stored his Half-Dharmic Battleship, brought along Little Wu and the donkey, and stepped onto the vine leaf.

Worried that the donkey couldn't control its mouth and would eat something it wasn't supposed to, thereby bringing trouble to himself, Wang Baole thought for a moment and stored the donkey, who was visibly excited, into his storage bag.

Little Wu is fine, this child doesn't eat anything he sees. Wang Baole coughed. As he was about to ask the females more questions, their gazes turned towards Little Wu, and their eyes became visibly brighter. There were even some who were whispering to one another. This scene made Wang Baole feel displeased in his heart. As for Little Wu, he was also visibly trembling with fear. Looking towards Wang Baole, he wanted to speak, but he stopped himself.

Just like that, under the invitation of this place's female cultivator, Wang Baole brought Little Wu to the nearest fruit-like planet. That place wasn't very different from a real planet. There were mountain valleys and rivers, the air was clear, and Spirit Qi was abundant. Green plants covered the entire planet, causing the place to be covered with fog perennially, as though it was a paradise.

Through the fog, one could faintly make out many treehouses on the ground. Besides that, Wang Baole also saw the mountain ranges on the planet. They even contained some minerals that were extremely valuable in the Divine Eye civilization. There was such a huge amount of minerals that many were exposed to the elements.

At the same time, many trees bore fruit. Although Wang Baole didn't do much research on elixir refinement, he still saw what some precious herbs looked like in the Divine Eye civilization's ancient literature. With a simple sweep of his gaze, he actually saw seven to eight different extremely valuable medicinal fruits.

So rich! Wang Baole's heart beat faster. After blinking, he pondered about whether he could trade for some here.

Bringing this thought with him, Wang Baole also saw some winged children on the way to the planet. Their little faces peeked out from the fog occasionally as they looked towards Wang Baole and company curiously before quickly going back into the fog. As they did so, sounds of frolicking spread in waves.

This scene would make anyone's soul calm down unwittingly. Wang Baole also heaved a sigh of relief. He noticed that the general atmosphere of the vine civilization was the same as what he scouted out previously. According to the records of the ancient literature that Wang Baole read in the Divine Eye civilization, when meeting such kind civilizations, so long as one didn't do anything taboo, they would normally not be in any danger.

This was actually true. Wang Baole was invited onto that planet and entered a palace meant for welcoming guests on one of the mountain peaks out of the many mountains. When he entered, spirit fruit, wine, and other delicacies that Wang Baole hadn't seen before and couldn't name but felt could be eaten were served by the vine civilization's female cultivators.

Those female cultivators still all had huge arms, round waists, and majestic auras. After becoming used to it, Wang Baole's previous feelings of shock and fear lessened. So after pondering for a moment, he cupped his fists courteously while speaking towards the Spirit Immortal female who received him.

"Senior Ling Shan, is it possible to trade for some materials here?"

Hearing that, the Spirit Immortal female laughed. After raising her right hand, a jade slip appeared in her giant hand, and she passed it to Wang Baole.

"Fellow Daoist Long Nanzi, while our vine civilization remains a neutral civilization, we also provide fair trade deals for visitors from all civilizations. So long as you have enough plant stones, you can exchange them for any of the items listed here."

After hearing that, Wang Baole's eyes shone. After taking a look at the jade slip, his heart unwittingly beat faster. Truly, the types of items listed in the jade slip were so comprehensive that it exceeded his knowledge. He hadn't heard of many of the materials listed inside.

And every type had a corresponding number of plant stones required to exchange for it. It could range from one to thousands and even to hundreds of thousands. The most expensive item of all was an Eternal Star Pill!

It was worth more than three million plant stones!

Wang Baole blinked, raised his head to look at the female, and asked courteously, "Senior Ling Shan, may I know the exchange rate between plant stones and Spirit Stones?"

Faced with Wang Baole's inquiry, Ling Shan smiled and shook her head while saying, "Fellow Daoist Long Nanzi, Spirit Stones cannot be exchanged for plant stones. Plant stones are an item unique to the vine civilization. There's only one way to exchange for them. That is… exchanging for them using your life essence!"

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Chapter 803: A Huge Sacrifice!

Through the thorough explanation of the vine civilization's female cultivator, Ling Shan, Wang Baole's eyes grew wide, and he couldn't help but inhale. Taking a close look at the burly female cultivator in front of him, he mumbled, "You can do that?"

Wang Baole felt that he had widened his horizons. Simply put, the only way for one to exchange for plant stones was for them to leave their bloodline within the vine civilization. Because the vine civilization was a matriarchal society, they were very persistent in looking for bloodlines. They searched for the bloodlines of all outstanding organisms within the universe and incorporated them into their own civilization, thereby causing their civilization to continuously develop, evolve, and achieve their maximum potential.

Although Wang Baole saw this method as somewhat primitive, since the vine civilization had Eternal Star realm mighty figures, it was obvious that it was on a much higher level compared to the Federation. So, Wang Baole had no right to comment much. He could only sigh with emotion while thinking that, with the vastness of the universe and its uncountable amounts of different types of civilizations, many paths of progression that outsiders would struggle to understand would be formed.

It was just that… after Wang Baole asked for the prices thoroughly, he looked at the jade slip in his hand and realized that to exchange for an amount of resources that he would find satisfactory, he required at least hundreds of thousands of plant stones…

Even if he reduced his requirements and lowered all of his needs to the bare minimum, he would still need around ten thousand plant stones. If that was the case… the difficulty of obtaining materials would be increased infinitely. That was because a normal life essence could only be exchanged for one plant stone.

"So, are you interested in a trade deal with the vine civilization?" After telling Wang Baole everything he wanted to know, Ling Shan swept her gaze towards Wang Baole while speaking with her eyes full of anticipation.

But after she finished speaking, Wang Baole wasn't given a chance to reply before her expression suddenly changed as though she was listening to something. It was as though a mighty figure had sent her a voice transmission. At the same time, Wang Baole also felt a gaze that came from the cosmos sweep across his body thoroughly.

When Wang Baole became fearful, Ling Shan's expression changed to one of disappointment. When she lay her gaze upon Wang Baole's body again, she shook her head and sighed.

"Fellow Daoist, your body is more special… I'm afraid you're unable to meet our requirements." After speaking tactfully, Ling Shan looked towards Little Wu, who kept his head down from the start and seemed to be hiding beside Wang Baole. When she did so, her eyes shone brightly.

"However… this fellow Daoist here meets the vine civilization's requirements perfectly. If he is agreeable, we can quote a price of two plant stones for one portion of life essence!"

Once Ling Shan spoke, Little Wu's expression changed completely. Wang Baole also had his eyes grow wide.

"Daddy, save me…" Little Wu's body trembled, and he was about to cry. Wang Baole also felt very displeased in his heart. He knew his condition and guessed that the Eternal Star realm mighty figure should have more or less noticed that his body now wasn't his true flesh body. That was why Ling Shan spoke in that manner just now. However, he still felt that he was beaten by someone in a certain aspect.

Humph, this is because my flesh body isn't here. If it was, I think this vine civilization would quote a price of ten thousand plant stones in exchange for a portion of life essence. After all, I'm the Federation President, Junior Brother of Chen Qing, and the only Dark Child of this generation! Thinking in this way, pride spread in Wang Baole's heart as he suppressed his indignance somewhat. Afterwards, he started analyzing Ling Shan's words. His eyes also gradually lit up as he looked at Little Wu while shaking his head instinctively.

"No!"

Hearing that, Little Wu was immediately moved. He heaved a sigh of relief in his heart and secretly thought that his daddy treated him well after all…

But just as he thought that, Wang Baole's words entered his ears.

"This foster son of mine has an incredibly huge background. He is the prince of the Black Earth Empire and is a direct descendant with an extremely pure bloodline. One plant stone isn't enough, there must at least be five!"

"Daddy, don't be like this, I'm still a child!" Hearing Wang Baole's words change, Little Wu felt almost all of his hair stand on end. Many memories of what he heard regarding the vine civilization in his homeland previously appeared in his mind. As his hair stood on end, he instinctively tried to escape.

But Wang Baole was faster. In an instant, he neared Little Wu and pressed on his shoulder. A genial smile appeared on his face. It also expressed anticipation and happiness.

"Little Wu, didn't you say you had 100 thousand concubines at first? This small thing now is nothing to be worried about. I don't need you to use all the power you used to conquer 100 thousand concubines. You just need to use 10% of that power. Go and obtain 100 thousand plant stones for me."

"Daddy, hear me out. I really can't, I…" Little Wu cried. As he did so, he grabbed onto Wang Baole's leg and wouldn't let go no matter what. His voice was wretched, and his expression showed extreme fear.

Seeing that, Wang Baole became softhearted for a moment, sighed, and looked towards Ling Shan.

"This is my dearest son, so I only have one request. Do your best!"

Wang Baole sighed with emotion in his heart and secretly thought that he was still too softhearted and couldn't stand seeing others cry. So after saying that, he waved his hands, tilted his head, and said, "I'm handing him over to you!"

Hearing Wang Baole's agreement, Ling Shan and the several female cultivators beside her immediately became excited. They discussed for a while and sized up Little Wu again, even sending voice transmissions to their clan elders. After repeated confirmation, they were extremely satisfied with Little Wu, so Ling Shan smiled slightly.

"Don't worry, Fellow Daoist, this isn't the first time our vine civilization has exchanged resources with humans. Rest assured that your son won't be put in any danger. My clan sisters in charge of this will be bringing him over." While speaking, Ling Shan raised her right hand, weaved hand seals, and pointed. Immediately, a giant vortex suddenly appeared in the empty space beside her.

As the vortex buzzed while spinning, as though a path was created out of nowhere, dozens of silhouettes with lithe and graceful figures walked out from it. These ladies all had skin as white as snow and looked extremely beautiful. Some even had heavenly fragrances fit for a national beauty. What made Wang Baole's pupils grow wide the most was that these ladies were all shy. They didn't seem to be faking it, but their disposition and other areas were all extremely pure.

That greatly confused Wang Baole. He looked at those ladies, then looked at Ling Shan and company. His brain couldn't react to that so quickly. As for Little Wu, he also stared with wide eyes and swallowed a few mouthfuls of saliva. Immediately, he stopped crying and put on a proper expression as he got up rapidly. After arranging his clothes, he bowed towards Wang Baole with cupped fists.

"Since Daddy has ordered me to do something, I must complete my mission no matter what!" After speaking, he turned around quickly, as though he was scared that Wang Baole would go back on his decision, and walked towards that group of ladies on his own accord. His jolly steps made Wang Baole feel even more uncomfortable in his heart.

But things were already as they were, and Wang Baole hadn't thought of stopping them. Under the accompaniment of Ling Shan, he was assigned a penthouse to rest. Before leaving, Ling Shan told Wang Baole that because the exchange amount was rather huge this time, he would have to wait for at least half a month.

Towards that, Wang Baole expressed his understanding. So, in the next half a month, although he didn't see Little Wu again, Wang Baole toured the vine civilization under the accompaniment of its cultivators. Wang Baole was especially interested in the vine civilization's artifact refinement. It just so happened that Ling Shan had a certain level of expertise in artifact refinement. Therefore, she shared her thoughts on artifact refinement with Wang Baole, and he did likewise during their casual conversations, and they both benefited from it.

Just like that, half a month slowly passed. When Wang Baole finished touring almost the entire vine civilization and increased his artifact refinement expertise through application, Little Wu… returned.

While one couldn't exactly say that he looked completely different, he wasn't too far from it. Returning while being supported by two female cultivators, Little Wu had black eyebags and looked like his vitality was greatly sapped. The moment he saw Wang Baole, Little Wu threw a jade slip towards him.

"Daddy, I've tried my best, let me rest for a while…"

Seeing Little Wu like that, Wang Baole was visibly moved and felt warmth in his heart. That was especially so after he saw the number of plant stones on the jade slip actually exceeded his requirements and reached 160 thousand. Seeing that, Wang Baole was even more touched.

Even the two female cultivators who brought Little Wu back felt amazed.

"Fellow Daoist over here actually completed the exchange amount five days ago, but he insisted on persevering just to make his daddy happy. Such willpower is extremely hard to find."

Hearing their words, Wang Baole's expression gradually became weird. But he didn't think too much of it. After settling Little Wu down, he immediately contacted Ling Shan and started exchanging. Very quickly, Wang Baole used up all 160 thousand plant stones and purchased large amounts of precious materials.

After finishing that, although Little Wu was reluctant to leave, Wang Baole said goodbye to the vine civilization cultivators and left the star system. He stepped into the cosmos once again and continued speeding towards places even further away.

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Chapter 804: An Old Acquaintance!

On the following journey, as Wang Baole went further and further away from the Divine Eye civilization, he slowly obtained more rewards. At the same time, as he continued feeding his dragonfly Stone Bamboos, it finally completed its evolution and reached the level of Dharmic Battleship!

However, because Wang Baole hadn't reached the Spirit Immortal realm, he couldn't fuse with his Dharmic Battleship like Fairy Ling You did and cause it to become his own armor-like incarnation.

Although the situation was as such now, Wang Baole had done research on how to resolve this problem. However, they were imperfect, and he required more time to analyze and obtain a result.

Besides that, the resources Little Wu exchanged for through his huge sacrifice also made Wang Baole's forces get even stronger buffs in this period of time. For example, almost all of the battleships in his storage bracelet were upgraded by Wang Baole. Now, every battleship's explosive power was much stronger than before.

That was especially so considering more than a hundred battleships were specially designed by Wang Baole to have an explosive power equivalent to that of an all-out attack by a Soul Conduit realm mighty figure. As for the rest, they all had an explosive power equal to that of a perfected stage Nascent Soul.

There were even ten battleships that Wang Baole reserved as his trump cards. Once they exploded, they would have an explosive power equal to that of a perfected stage Soul Conduit. Under Wang Baole's calculations, combining his battleships' power with his Divine Justice Shield and Dharmic Battleship Locust, even if he met a Spirit Immortal… so long as his opponent didn't have a Dharmic Battleship, Wang Baole was very confident of defeating them.

And even if his opponent had a Dharmic Battleship, Wang Baole was confident of dealing with them and leaving the battlefield at any time.

So, it really is better to travel ten thousand miles than to read ten thousand books… Wang Baole felt a multitude of emotions. He felt that his decision to go on an expedition was very correct. And if he continued like this, he felt that when his army returned in the future, it would definitely astound everyone.

Moreover, during his travels and under his consolidation, and especially after he was boosted by the pills Little Wu sacrificed himself to exchange for, he was quickly and steadily getting closer to the perfected stage Soul Conduit realm.

By the time I return… I hope to have already broken through the Soul Conduit realm and stepped into the Spirit Immortal realm. Then, if I could incorporate my Thearch Armor with my Dharmic Battleship, my power would exceed that of others by a huge amount. Combining that with my Divine Armament… It wouldn't be impossible for an early-stage Spirit Immortal to suppress a mid-stage Spirit Immortal! Wang Baole had lofty spirits and soaring determination as he controlled the Dharmic Battleship. He brought the donkey and Little Wu, who was full of vigor after recovering, along as he traveled forward.

Maybe because Little Wu had made a huge sacrifice for Wang Baole, after recovering, although he still revered Wang Baole, he was obviously much more relaxed. When he was together with the donkey, he didn't suck up to it like before. Wang Baole did indeed feel that Little Wu had done a lot for his previously, so he treated him more nicely.

Although the donkey didn't know the details, it did follow Wang Baole since young. Hence, it was very sensitive towards Wang Baole's actions and faintly noticed this. Although it was unhappy in its heart, he tolerated it after considering his food source.

After all, there was a certain portion of the resources Little Wu traded for via his sacrifice that Wang Baole threw to the donkey as food. At the same time, he sent a voice transmission to the donkey, telling it to be nicer to Little Wu. That way… they could still make Little Wu sacrifice himself in the future.

Maybe because of that, the calm donkey also accepted Little Wu's change.

Just like that, time passed again as the Dharmic Battleship sped through the cosmos. Four months quickly elapsed. During these four months, Wang Baole went deeper into the cosmos, and his loot gradually increased. His battleships were upgraded once more, and his cultivation got even closer to the perfected stage Soul Conduit realm.

When Wang Baole saw that he had already traveled for a very long time and was deliberating on whether to teleport back to the Divine Eye civilization, he came to a star system… that still shocked him despite what he saw on his expedition!

The vastness of that star system exceeded all the star systems Wang Baole had previously seen. In fact, with his simple judgment, that star system should be as big as tens of thousands of Solar Systems.

As for Eternal Star suns alone… there were actually hundreds of them there. Traces of human intervention were also very clear. That was because, in the middle of the star system, hundreds of Eternal Stars were gathered to form an indescribably majestic array formation!

Within the array formation, was a giant market!

The market wasn't formed by planets but was formed by an irregularly shaped pangea. There were hundreds of planets that were around the size of Earth surrounding it. Any of them could shock Wang Baole, as he could see that they were all modified strongholds!

The hundreds of planets all had different racial civilizations. It seemed as though they came here specifically to trade with others, causing the liveliness of this star system to exceed the total of all the other civilizations Wang Baole had seen on his expedition by a lot.

Just for cultivators of various shapes and sizes alone, Wang Baole saw thousands. Some were humanoid, some looked like ferocious beasts, and some even looked like plants.

Besides that, there were also many lifeforms like stone golems. What made Wang Baole especially shocked was that he saw a Dharmic Battleship without an owner, who had achieved sentience, fly in front of him.

"Daddy, this place should be a cosmos trade center." Little Wu's knowledge had come in handy many times on this expedition. After seeing this star system, he immediately spoke softly to Wang Baole.

Wang Baole gazed at Little Wu with a sense of profoundness and began asking questions. Very quickly, he gathered from Little Wu that there were many markets of various sizes spread around the cosmos controlled by the Never-Ending Clan to provide trade centers for cultivators from nearby star systems.

There were many markets like this, and every one of them had extremely deep-seated backgrounds. That was especially so for some big markets. And this market… was one of the rare big markets Little Wu talked about.

"Daddy, the pangea in the middle is the main market and the area of the organizer. The surrounding planets are both the strongholds of various clans and their own small markets. Cultivators who come here can go to any of them and trade for the items they want." Little Wu coughed and was very pleased with how knowledgeable he was. But he didn't forget who the daddy was, so he remained courteous when talking to Wang Baole.

"Interesting." Wang Baole looked towards that pangea and controlled the Dharmic Battleship to speed in that direction after thinking, nearing it quickly. After landing, he stored his Dharmic Battleship and started strolling around the pangea. The place was a world where penthouses existed atop every mountain, every river, and within every ocean and desert.

Some penthouses had many people in them, while others had fewer people in them. The items they sold all differed and were of a wide variety. Whether it was Dharmic Artifacts, pills, recipes, cultivation techniques, or materials, they all had many types of items.

Wang Baole strolled around for seven days. In those seven days, he looked through most of the shops on the pangea. He took a closer look at some of them, while just taking a passing look at others. But no matter how he looked, the desire and envy in his heart had already reached a maximum. Truly, any shop was enough to make him extremely interested.

I'm still poor… If he hadn't come to this place, Wang Baole would have thought that he could be considered pretty wealthy. But after coming to this place, he truly understood what opulence was.

This feeling continued until he came to a giant three-storied penthouse that was built on the ocean and reached a maximum. The penthouse was atop the ocean's surface. It looked like it was constructed atop the ocean surface, but it also seemed like it was floating above the ocean. The entire palace was built using supreme-grade Spirit Stones as its base material. At the same time, it was also adorned with many items that Wang Baole couldn't even name. They caused the palace to be resplendent. Reflecting the light of the hundred suns in the heavens, it shook the surrounding cosmos.

Of all the shops Wang Baole had seen, the palace had the most comprehensive selection of items. The palace stocked almost every item he had seen previously.

At the same time, the cultivation levels of the people who went there were at least at the Spirit Immortal realm. In fact, Wang Baole even saw Planet realms with courteous expressions that dared not act wildly due to their cultivation in the shop.

All of this made Wang Baole choose between some items that previously caught his eye reluctantly while being extremely interested. As the palace's salesman looked at him calmly, Wang Baole sighed. Just as he was about to make a purchase… the salesman in front of him quickly raised his head to look behind Wang Baole. Taking a few quick steps, he bowed deeply with cupped fists in Wang Baole's direction.

"Greetings, Young Master!"

When the salesman looked behind Wang Baole, Wang Baole had already noticed it beforehand. When he turned his head to take a look, he saw an extremely familiar silhouette. He wore white robes, held a paper fan in his hands, and wore a square hat. He walked out of the palace and towards them, carrying himself with an extraordinary aura.

That person was a youth, and his robes seemed to contain the laws of water. His robes floated as though there were waves atop them as he walked. The square hat on his head contained shocking waves and seemed to be able to suppress the surroundings like a Divine Armament. The paper fan in his hand was even more amazing. Although it was only half-opened, Eternal Star realm level waves spread from within it.

The moment he saw the youth, Wang Baole narrowed his eyes and exclaimed in his heart.

Xie Haiyang?

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Chapter 805: A Pity It's Not You!

That person was Wang Baole's old acquaintance… Xie Haiyang!

The mysterious man who claimed that he was a businessman in the Ethereal Dao College, Xie Haiyang, then later disappeared. He reunited with Wang Baole in the Vast Expanse Dao Palace and then disappeared again after that…

That was, until now. When Wang Baole saw Xie Haiyang at this place, although he was shocked, he discovered that he didn't feel that surprised. It was as though he subconsciously thought that he would meet Xie Haiyang at any point in time.

I'm afraid… this person has an even larger background than I previously guessed. Wang Baole was deep in thought. On the one hand, he thought of the game that Xie Haiyang popularized in the Vast Expanse Dao Palace. Now that he remembered it, whether it was his feelings then or now, he felt that the supposed wandering star was obviously a… colony!

Wang Baole pondered in his heart and remained cautious, but he didn't show it on the surface. He only turned his head to take a sweeping glance before turning around. But with that sweeping glance, other than identifying Xie Haiyang, he also got a clear look at the Divine Armaments and Dharmic treasures on Xie Haiyang's body.

He wore a Divine Armament that was made in the shape of a face cloth on his head, had nomological robes on his body, and his paper fan contained the suppressive force of an Eternal Star realm cultivator. Any of those Dharmic Artifacts would be enough to make everyone green with envy and wish to snatch it. But if they all appeared together on the body of one person, such greed would be mostly suppressed.

Because… someone who owned all three items at once obviously had an extraordinary status and position. It also meant that the person definitely had a horrifying background that could shake the heavens. Hence, he could wear all three items on his body so freely.

Those three items made Wang Baole more sure of his previous judgment. But he had no intention of recognizing Xie Haiyang. Wang Baole felt that it was best for him to avoid such a mysterious character.

At the same time, he was now disguised as Long Nanzi, so he wasn't scared of being found out. As for Little Wu and the donkey, they were within the Dharmic Battleship that had already been stored away by Wang Baole. So now, he could make use of this opportunity to indirectly understand Xie Haiyang's background.

For example, this shop, which could be considered the largest shop with the most comprehensive collection of items in this place, was obviously owned by Xie Haiyang. If not, the salesman opposite him couldn't possibly call him Young Master so courteously.

Based on that thought, Wang Baole continued to look at the materials around him after turning around. While discussing the price with that salesman, he put on a look that showed that he didn't care too much about Xie Haiyang. The tone he spoke with was also different from how it was when he was in the Federation after being changed by his essence technique.

Maybe because Wang Baole's acting skills were indeed superb, coupled with the uniqueness of his essence technique, but Xie Haiyang only took a cursory glance after entering the shop before he headed for the stairs leading to the second floor. On the way there, all the other salesmen greeted him. In fact, many customers there also bowed slightly towards him as a sign of respect.

This scene made Wang Baole's heart skip a beat. He deliberated on whether to leave that place after a while and go to other shops to ask tacitly and indirectly learn about the background of this shop.

While Wang Baole was pondering, Xie Haiyang had already gone up the stairs. However, just as his silhouette was about to disappear, right before he stepped onto the second floor, he stopped for a moment unnoticeably. He then continued walking, stepping onto the second floor afterward.

As there were obstacles involved, and since the place didn't allow one to spread their consciousness to check, Wang Baole didn't notice Xie Haiyang's action. But from the slight pause in his footsteps, Wang Baole still felt that something was amiss. Therefore, he didn't stay for long. After choosing all of the items that caught his fancy, he picked out a portion from them and looked at how much he had. He tolerated the pain of spending and purchased them.

But when he was checking out, the salesman looked thoroughly at Wang Baole's receipt, raised his head, swept his gaze towards Wang Baole, and spoke while shaking his head.

"Fellow Daoist, there are many materials among the items you chose that our shop won't sell to any old customer. You need to spend a certain amount at our shop first before we can provide them to you according to their level."

Wang Baole was stunned. After inquiring, his expression turned sour. Out of the materials he chose, most of them were like this. If he was unable to purchase them, he might as well not buy anything.

That was especially so considering that there were three types of materials that he couldn't find previously in other shops. If he couldn't buy them here, then he didn't know when he would get a chance to buy them again.

So the salesman's reply made him unwittingly furrow his eyebrows.

"How about this, our young master returned just now. Wait for me, Fellow Daoist, I'll go up and communicate with him. Our young master loves making friends and is very easy going. I believe he'll agree to sell those items to you." Obviously, the salesman could get a commission from Wang Baole's purchases. That was especially so considering that Wang Baole's order was decently large. So after thinking, he got Wang Baole to wait there while he turned around and went up to the second floor.

Wang Baole didn't prevent the salesman from doing so. Instead, he stood there with narrowed eyes and waited silently, hoping to see how things would develop afterward. It would be best if things turned out successfully. If not, he would have to think carefully about how to handle the situation.

Not much time passed, only around 100 breath's of time, before the salesman came down from the second floor smiling and spoke after reaching Wang Baole's side.

"Fellow Daoist, our young master has agreed to let you purchase those items. He invites you to go rest upstairs. I'll prepare the materials you purchased for you."

Wang Baole's expression remained the same as he took a close look at the salesman. He didn't notice anything strange, so he looked towards the stairs leading to the second floor again. After a moment, his eyes flashed slightly, and he suddenly laughed.

"Very well!" Speaking, he walked towards the stairs. The salesman was bamboozled by Wang Baole's sudden laughter and felt that it was strange for him to suddenly have a sense of profoundness. But he didn't think much of it. After sending Wang Baole to the staircase, he expressed that Wang Baole could go up alone and then went to prepare Wang Baole's items.

Since he decided to go upstairs, Wang Baole didn't hesitate and quickly made his way up to the second floor. As he turned his head, he saw Xie Haiyang seated at a tea table drinking tea not far away.

The environment on the second floor was more elegant than that of the first floor. Curio shelves with extraordinary Dharmic Artifacts displayed on them surrounded the second floor. Meanwhile, there were four incense pots at the four corners of the rooms. Wisps of green smoke rose from them and circulated around the entire room. They had a pleasant smell and were somewhat beneficial for cultivation since they could improve Spirit Qi circulation in one's body.

Besides that, the floor was carpeted with a giant piece of leather. It was a type of ferocious beast skin that Wang Baole had never seen before. It seemed able to disperse warmth on its own, making the temperature of the entire second floor very comfortable.

As Wang Baole observed the surroundings, Xie Haiyang also raised his head to observe Wang Baole. He looked closely at Wang Baole until Wang Baole tilted his head to lock eyes with him. Then, Xie Haiyang narrowed his eyes and laughed.

Wang Baole didn't express any emotion. He wore a smile on his face that showed that he was meeting Xie Haiyang for the first time as he cupped his fists and greeted Xie Haiyang.

"Thank you, Young Master, for agreeing to sell that batch of materials to me. How may I address you, Young Master?"

"My name is Xie Haiyang. There's no need to be courteous, Fellow Daoist. You and I are old acquaintances, after all. There's no need for formalities, don't you think?"

"Old acquaintances?" Wang Baole was stunned as he looked at Xie Haiyang weirdly. He didn't speak immediately, instead, acting like he was searching his memory thoroughly. After a few breaths, he gave a forced smile.

"I messed up my aura while cultivating recently. Maybe because some of my memories turned foggy, I can't really remember at the moment. I hope you won't mind. No matter what, I still thank you for allowing me to buy those items." Wang Baole didn't deny it. Being well-versed in human interaction, Wang Baole was clear that sometimes, if one was too persistent in denying something, it was akin to admitting the truth. After all, when normal people were met with these kinds of situations, most of them wouldn't try to clarify themselves so anxiously.

That was indeed the case. Wang Baole's expression and words made Xie Haiyang feel a hint of doubt. He didn't bring up the topic again. Instead, he raised his teacup while making small talk with Wang Baole.

Seeing that Xie Haiyang didn't recognize him, Wang Baole cupped his fists and prepared to leave. But the moment he turned around, his heart jolted, and he secretly cursed… He had still revealed himself.

Almost as soon as Wang Baole noticed that, Xie Haiyang's eyes lit up and he smiled while saying, "What a small world! Senior Brother Baole, I trust you've been well?"

Wang Baole stopped, looked at the surroundings, then looked at Xie Haiyang. His face didn't make him seem as though he was at a loss. Instead, it expressed an awkwardness one would feel when being called the wrong name.

"Thank you once again, Young Master. I, Long Nanzi, must take my leave." He even coughed once, seemingly actively trying to help Xie Haiyang resolve the misunderstanding caused by calling him the wrong name.

Hearing that, Xie Haiyang sighed and shook his head while feeling a multitude of emotions.

"My apologies, I remembered wrongly. I thought you were a good friend of mine from long ago and was going to give you a discount. After all, it's not easy to meet an old friend in a foreign land. Since you're not him… forget it."

Hearing that, Wang Baole blinked and suddenly spoke.

"How many percent off?"

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Chapter 806: Life's a Stage, and We're All Actors!

Xie Haiyang gave Wang Baole what seemed like a smile before coughing softly and speaking with a mild tone.

"Since we're old pals, you should get the best deals. How about… a 20% discount?"

Wang Baole's eyes brightened when he heard what Xie Haiyang had said. He abandoned the idea of leaving and, instead, burst out laughing and approached Xie Haiyang. He stopped ten feet away from the latter, then spoke loudly, his eyes shining with the joy of meeting an old friend in a foreign land.

"Xie Haiyang, Fellow Daoist Xie, haha, it's been a long while since we last saw each other. I didn't expect to see you here. I was afraid of speaking to you earlier, but after looking closely for a long while, I could finally confirm… that you're indeed Xie Haiyang, my old friend."

Wang Baole sighed, a distant look entering his eyes as he reminisced about the past. Happiness shone visibly on his face. So obvious was his pleasure that it almost seemed like an act…

"Fellow Daoist Haiyang, I never would've imagined bumping into you here. Destiny is such a strange and mysterious thing, I feel. But that's also why life is so beautiful and amazing," Wang Baole said as he took a seat.

After a round of hearty sighs, he blinked and said, seemingly nonchalantly, "Since this is your store and I'm getting a 20% discount on account of us being friends, I'll have to show my support and buy more stuff."

Xie Haiyang was stunned by Wang Baole's sudden friendliness, and hesitation flickered in his eyes. He eyed Wang Baole carefully, then asked suddenly, "What's your name, Fellow Daoist?"

"Eh?" Wang Baole froze momentarily. He remained smiling as he replied in the next instant, "I'm Baole. Fellow Daoist Haiyang, have you forgotten my name?"

A strange look settled on Xie Haiyang's face when he heard that, and the hesitation in his eyes deepened. He appeared to be doubting his judgment. He had felt a faint mark on Long Nanzi that he had left on some of Wang Baole's items in the latter's storage bag when he had been in the Federation.

It was a mysterious mark. Even powerful cultivators wouldn't have noticed it without taking a deliberate, careful look. It had been passed down from his clan's patriarch. Members of his clan used the unique mark on clients they planned to invest heavily in. The mark allowed other members of the clan to recognize these clients easily. In addition, it also allowed them to appear whenever their clients were in need of their services. There were no ill intentions behind the setting of the mark. In fact, to a certain extent, it was a sign of blessing.

The energy signature that was being given off by the current mark was very weak, though. If not for the fact that Long Nanzi was standing so near him, Xie Haiyang wouldn't have been able to sense it at all. That was the reason for his doubt. Even though he had sensed the mark, he was unable to use the mark to determine Long Nanzi's true identity.

The aura and vibes that Long Nanzi was giving off were drastically different from the client on whom he had remembered imprinting the mark.

That had been the reason for his earlier test. He hadn't gotten a conclusive outcome from the first test. So, after picking up his cup of tea, he attempted a second test. Long Nanzi's reaction made him more certain of his guesses.

After all… despite his travels across numerous civilizations, the Federation was the only one that had a custom of ending a conversation and having a guest take his leave simply by one's picking up his teacup.

However… Long Nanzi's next reaction raised further suspicions. Long Nanzi's admission… had come too easily. It was clear that he had done so intentionally and had done so in order to get a discount.

After some time, Xie Haiyang decided to give up guessing. He stared at Wang Baole and asked openly, "Senior Brother Baole, what's your last name?"

"Ah?" Wang Baole pretended to look stunned and confused. He seemed unable to understand how his old acquaintance could have forgotten his family name. He was secretly pleased, though.

He had no idea how Xie Haiyang had seen through his guise. Regardless, he had no intention of revealing his true identity and hadn't wanted to admit to knowing Xie Haiyang in the first place. The man had picked up his teacup and lured him into taking his leave unwittingly, which ultimately exposed his guise. Someone else might not have made a connection, but Wang Baole knew Xie Haiyang to be an extraordinary character. He knew that Xie Haiyang would notice something.

That had been why Wang Baole had improvised and switched from being on the defensive to being on the offensive. He put on an act of pretending to be an acquaintance for the purposes of getting a discount. He knew that his plan worked when Xie Haiyang asked that question. After the moment of surprise and incomprehension, Wang Baole allowed a dark look to settle on his face as he stood up in anger.

"Fellow Daoist Haiyang, I really didn't expect to see you here today. Your departure had been unexpected. Besides, I never thought you might appear in such a place. But there's really no need to insult me by saying that you've forgotten my last name, is there?"

"Acknowledge me as an old friend or don't acknowledge me as one, the choice is up to you. I'm not the sort of person who's desperate for a 20% discount!" Displeasure flashed across Wang Baole's face. He turned away, showing his intention to leave. However, he didn't do so in a hurry. He had to give the other man a chance to speak. After all, 20% was still an extremely attractive discount.

He had allowed for some ambiguity in his words. He had mentioned that Xie Haiyang's departure had been unexpected. That could be interpreted in many ways. If Xie Haiyang had left in an ordinary fashion, Wang Baole could mean that he had been surprised at the departure. If the former had left in a bizarre or mysterious fashion, then surprise was even more warranted.

The way he phrased his words left Xie Haiyang in a bind. Xie Haiyang got to his feet hurriedly and tried to stop Wang Baole.

"Brother Liu, please, don't go. Liu Baole, your temper hasn't changed at all. I was just joking with you. About my departure, you must remember what I told you when we first met. Where there's business to be done, that's where I'll go."

The tight look on Wang Baole's face softened. He turned and gave Xie Haiyang a look. He couldn't believe the alien. Xie Haiyang was still trying to test him. He had even given him a different name—Liu Baole. It made him sound rich, though. Only those born with dashing good looks deserved such a name. Nevertheless, the name didn't fit his style at all.

Wang Baole had no intention of revealing his true identity, though. After some thought, he decided to neither deny nor acknowledge the name. Instead, he lifted his hand and pulled out a jade slip, then handed the jade slip over to Xie Haiyang.

"Fellow Daoist Haiyang, let's leave that aside for a moment. Could you help me with the purchase of some materials? Here's the list."

Xie Haiyang blinked when he heard that. He took the jade slip from Wang Baole and glanced through the list. A smile appeared on his face.

"No problem at all. But my old friend, we must separate business and friendship. Even with the discount that I've given you, the total cost of these materials is going to be sky-high. Can you really afford to pay?"

Wang Baole remained calm on the outside as he sighed secretly on the inside. He knew that he wouldn't be able to afford the materials. An overwhelming sense of poverty crushed him then, making him feel just a bit smaller. His skills at keeping up appearances were top-notch, though. Even if he couldn't afford the materials on the list, he would still be able to get a 20% discount on what he had selected earlier. In addition, he might be able to erase whatever suspicions Xie Haiyang still harbored about his identity. A serious look settled on his face then.

"Brother Haiyang, do you trust me? If you do, I, Liu Baole, will write you a promissory note right now. Just treat this as extending credit to me. Just this once!"

Xie Haiyang's facial muscles twitched. He looked closely at Wang Baole again. The doubt he had was preventing him from making a judgment call. Wang Baole's acting skills had been put to good use. If he had denied his identity right from the start, Xie Haiyang would have caught him lying straight away. But the more he admitted to their friendship, the more uncertain Xie Haiyang became.

Xie Haiyang pondered for some time. Then, his eyes flashed. He looked around before whispering, "Brother Baole, I have a business proposition. Would you be interested in it? There's an element of danger involved in the deal, but it's minimal. Should you succeed, the rewards awaiting you will be great. They'll be enough to get you all the materials you want and leave you with sizable wealth after that!"

"A business proposition?" Alarm bells started ringing in Wang Baole's head, and a look of hesitation appeared on his face.

"That's right. Don't worry, my friend. I'm talking about a mission that's been issued by a mysterious and powerful cultivator. He's extremely powerful and has a grudge against the Never-Ending Clan. However, because of some unknown reasons, he's unable to strike at them directly. He hasn't been able to let go of his grudge despite the years that have passed. So, from time to time, he issues missions in various cities, gathering cultivators and getting them to wear specially-made masks, then teleporting them to a random planet where they are to hunt down Never-Ending Clan cultivators!

"He has issued more than thirty missions so far. He takes charge of the teleportation to and from the planets, as well as the cleanup. The cultivators that he gathers are responsible for killing the Never-Ending Clan cultivators. The cultivators get nothing if they are killed. But, if they survive, they'll be rewarded with Red Crystals. The number of Red Crystals they are awarded is determined by the number of Never-Ending Clan members they manage to hunt down and kill!

"Red Crystals are the hard currency used in the Never-Ending Dao Domain. Three hundred Red Crystals should be enough to get you everything on your list!"

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Chapter 807: Pig-Faced Mask!

"Red Crystals…" Wang Baole started thinking. He wasn't clear what these crystals were, but the fact that they were being used as hard currency meant that they must be rare. That it was a rare resource whose value was recognized by everyone meant that its value had something to do with its use for one's cultivation.

He had guessed right. Xie Haiyang soon explained to him the reason for the Red Crystals' worth. The crystals were mysterious items that could speed up one's advancement in cultivation once a cultivator reached the Planet realm. The origins of the crystals were mysterious and unknown, and only the Never-Ending Clan could produce them. A fixed number of crystals were produced and circulated throughout the Never-Ending Dao Domain.

The clan had technically gained complete control over the economy in the Dao Domain.

No one knew how these crystals were made. Even refinement masters found the dissection and analysis of the structure of the crystals a challenge.

"There are rumors though, that the crystals… have something to do with the extinct Dark Sect. Someone even postulated that the crystals… are created from the blood of the Dark Sect's Heavenly Dao!"

Xie Haiyang gave Wang Baole a considering look then. He hadn't tried to be tactful at all, revealing those postulations nonchalantly. Those casual words took on a different note when Wang Baole heard them.

He had his suspicions about Xie Haiyang. He had always wondered why Xie Haiyang treated him differently from the others. He recalled their initial meeting at the Ethereal Dao College. Xie Haiyang had been very friendly then, but that had been because of his instincts as a businessman who never turned down any potential business. After that, Wang Baole had ended up on Mars and then spent time in the Vast Expanse Dao Palace on the ancient sword. When he met Xie Haiyang again, the man had… changed. He had become slightly different from who he had been before.

Now, with what Xie Haiyang had just said, the man was obviously showing his cards to Wang Baole. Wang Baole understood immediately. Xie Haiyang was telling him the reason he had given Wang Baole such preferential treatment.

Wang Baole wasn't going to just take his word for it, though. He didn't spend time wondering why Xie Haiyang knew he was a Dark Child. Instead, he appeared as if he had known about Xie Haiyang knowing all along. That inspired another bout of uncertainty in Xie Haiyang. After a moment of hesitation, Xie Haiyang took a deep breath and smiled wryly.

"Fellow Daoist, let's not beat around the bush. It doesn't matter if I've met you before. I'm just a businessman. You can rest assured when you do business with me. I never take advantage of others, and I never do harm to others either. What I do is purely business!

"Take this, for example. I've recommended this mission to you so that you can earn enough Red Crystals to purchase the materials on your shopping list. I'm not going to hide the fact that the referral gives me the right to claim ten percent of your reward. But that won't be coming out of your pocket. The Flame Patriarch will be paying me separately. I've recommended five cultivators to join the mission. The application will remain open for another three days. After that, they will begin teleporting participants.

"The Flame Patriarch is the powerful cultivator I mentioned earlier. He is extremely powerful, enough so to reign supreme over a domain. The Never-Ending Clan finds him a troublesome opponent as well, but the price they would need to pay to exterminate him is hefty… The Never-Ending Clan's facing some internal turmoil now, and no one's willing to take on such a task.

"There's some danger involved, but based on previous missions, we know that the Flame Patriarch isn't just going to send all of you to die. The planet that he's chosen is likely only presided over by a Planet realm cultivator. The enemies you face will be less powerful than that."

"There may be Spirit Immortal realm cultivators amongst them, but you'll be able to avoid them if you take the necessary precautions," Xie Haiyang said with a wave of his hand. He hadn't hidden any information from Wang Baole at all. He wasn't interested in testing him or making any more guesses about his identity. If the man before him was truly Wang Baole, he would've told him the truth anyway. That was the only way to prove his trustworthiness. Besides, Xie Haiyang was a firm believer in practicing honesty. That was how one should lead one's life.

That was why he didn't see a need to deceive the man before him even if he wasn't Wang Baole. After he was done sharing all that information, he turned towards Wang Baole and waited for the latter's reply.

Wang Baole fell into a bout of contemplative silence. He wasn't going to take up the offer immediately. He inquired about a few other details, then got Xie Haiyang's contact details. After that, he bade farewell and went on his way. He told Xie Haiyang that he would give him an answer in three days.

Xie Haiyang watched Wang Baole leave, then returned to his seat. He stared at the wisps of smoke rising from the cauldron next to him. There was a look of contemplation in his eyes. He didn't react to the sudden figure that had appeared soundlessly behind him.

The intruder had a blurry outline to his figure, and his facial features looked indistinct. He stood there quietly, with his back slightly bent and his fists cupped, as if awaiting instructions.

"So be it. Why fixate over whether I've met him before. It's good to make new friends. He might become another important client who I should be investing heavily in," Xie Haiyang said, laughing as he picked up the scrolls on the table and began reading.

The blurry figure standing behind him said softly, "Young Master, do we remove the mark that the guest has left on our servant?"

"There's no need for that," Xie Haiyang said coolly without looking up.

As Xie Haiyang uttered those words, the tiny grain of gray dust stuck on the shoulder of the servant who had attended to Wang Baole earlier downstairs shook.

Wang Baole had given that servant a pat on his shoulder before making his way out with a smile. He had since put some distance between him and the store. When the dust shook, he stopped in his tracks momentarily, then quickened his pace. The energy signature given off by his essence technique shifted. A wisp of it split away, landed at Wang Baole's feet, and transformed into an insect that crawled into the ground and hid away.

He entered multiple stores. When he left each store, his physical appearance would be transformed. He left traces of his essence technique in the stores. His energy signature changed as he walked amidst the crowd and left traces of his energy signature on the people he passed.

He located an inn in the market after he was certain that no one was following him and paid a hefty sum for a room. Then, he sat quietly in the room, a look of contemplation on his face as he considered everything that Xie Haiyang had told him.

He seems to have sensed the spiritual essence that I left behind… It doesn't matter. If what he said is true, then I should consider taking part in the mission… It's just killing someone. In fact, this is exactly what I need if I want to advance my cultivation and quickly achieve a breakthrough from the Spirit Immortal realm to the Planet realm… To kill! An icy glint flashed across Wang Baole's eyes. After a bout of contemplative silence, he swept his eyes across the room before suddenly shuddering, then vanishing into thin air. He had used his essence technique and transformed into a winged insect. He found a slitted opening in the window and flew out.

His essence technique remained activated as he flew, and his insect form soon split into numerous winged insects that spread throughout the market. The spiritual essence that he had left behind on his way to the inn transformed, taking on various forms, such as that of a winged insect, an ant, or dust. They were his ears, hearing everything and collecting every bit of information.

Only Wang Baole, who possessed the essence technique, could have conducted such an information-gathering exercise. It was quite effective. Within three days, after eliminating huge chunks of useless data, he had managed to consolidate information on the Flame Patriarch. The information that he had gathered helped him verify what he had learned from Xie Haiyang.

After consolidating the information he had gathered and assessing it, Wang Baole gathered the spiritual essence that he had sent out. At that point, it was almost the end of the third day. He picked up his jade slip and sent a voice transmission to Xie Haiyang.

"Fellow Daoist Haiyang, I'll do it!"

Xie Haiyang had been awaiting news from Wang Baole. He burst out into laughter when he heard Wang Baole's reply. He trusted his guts. Even if the man wasn't Wang Baole, his instincts told him that… this man was going to be an important client in the coming days.

He displayed extraordinary enthusiasm when he got the voice transmission from Wang Baole, making arrangements for the latter's application. He rushed to get it done before the deadline, ensuring that Wang Baole got a placement.

"Baole, you're in luck. You just made it. The mission starts in two hours!"

"Where do I report?" Wang Baole asked.

"You don't have to go anywhere. You'll know what to do in two hours' time. I'll just share something with you first… There's really almost nothing… that the Flame Patriarch is incapable of achieving! He's almost infallible, really!" Xie Haiyang said. He ended the voice transmission with those ambiguous words.

Wang Baole raised his eyebrow, and a considering look entered his eyes. He didn't spend a long time thinking, though. Two hours later, his Divine Sense were suddenly violently stirred. Then, in the blink of an eye, blue strands suddenly appeared out of nowhere and gathered before him silently. They pooled together and transformed into… a gruesome-looking pig-faced mask!

"The mission starts when you put on the mask!" The cold, emotionless voice of an old man rang out from the mask as the mask came into being. The words reverberated across Wang Baole's Divine Sense… and in the mind of his true form, which was currently resting in his coffin on the main Divine Eye planet!

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Chapter 808: The Mission Begins!

In one of the distant corners of the main Divine Eye star was land that many had thought had suffered a meteorite's landing. It was a deserted land, barren of everything save an enormous crater.

Any plant life that had grown here had withered and died, and an aura of death permeated the air and prevented beasts from venturing close. The uniqueness of this piece of land had drawn the attention of many cultivators. However, no matter how much the cultivators who came hunting searched the land above and even below ground, they went away with nothing.

It was as if no one could see the coffin even though it was lying right there. So, even though everyone had their own guesses about the place and believed that the meteorite was behind what was strange about the land, they started paying less attention to the area as time passed.

But now… Wang Baole's avatar stood inside an inn in the market as a pig-faced mask hovered before him. The voice that had rung out from the mask had managed to traverse vast distances to reach his true form lying inside a coffin deep underground. It had reverberated in his head!

The voice sounded so clear, almost as if someone had spoken into his ear. Wang Baole's true form opened his eyes instantly, and they were filled with shock. The fact that… the Flame Patriarch's voice could penetrate the walls of the coffin meant one thing… that he was probably as powerful as Wang Baole's senior brother!

Someone else had been stirred by the voice. The mask that Little Missy dwelt in, which Wang Baole kept on his true form, shook faintly. Little Missy appeared to be on the verge of waking up.

The turn of events sent Wang Baole's true form into a contemplative silence. A long moment later, his eyes fell shut again. A vast distance away, in the inn, Wang Baole's avatar remained shocked. After checking out what had happened to his true form, Wang Baole took a deep breath and extended a deep bow towards the pig-faced mask in front of him.

He straightened his back, raised his arms, and held the mask. There was a moment of silence where hesitation flickered in his eyes. In the end, he chose to put on the mask.

The instant he put on the mask, a strong power surged from it. It didn't bother inspecting Wang Baole. Instead, it enveloped him fully, then gave him a hard yank.

Wang Baole could feel himself losing complete control of his body with the sudden yank. At that same instant, he disappeared from the room in the inn.

Everything had happened without a sound. There had been no energy signatures indicating teleportation had taken place. No one had noticed anything. A powerful array formation had been set up around the inn, but it had posed no challenge to the teleportation. It was as if Wang Baole… had simply vanished!

In the next moment, when Wang Baole could finally see again, he had arrived at… a completely foreign world!

It didn't seem right to call it a world. This place was filled with ruins that extended all the way to the horizons. It felt ancient. Everything seemed old and ravaged by time.

Stars filled the skies while ruins littered the lands. Wang Baole stood on the ruins of a building that had originally been shaped like a hook sword. Such ruins could be found everywhere around him. Multiple figures, all wearing different masks, continued to appear.

Some of those masks were shaped like the heads of cows, fish, and horses. There were many more, which were of beasts that Wang Baole had never seen. There were more than two hundred of them. As soon as they appeared, they started surveying their surroundings and assessing the other participants.

Wang Baole reeled back. He had done a sweep and realized that he couldn't sense the aura coming off anyone. He couldn't discern their levels of cultivation either. He could see them perfectly with his eyes, but they were blurry figures to his Divine Sense—not completely non-existent, but indistinct nevertheless.

It's the mask! Wang Baole touched the mask on his face contemplatively. He was able to reach some basic conclusions from the looks that everyone was giving.

For example… most of the participants' eyes were filled with violence and wildness. They appeared hostile, seeming as if they were used to killing. The fact that they had chosen to participate in this mission indicated that they were men of extraordinary abilities. They must have their reasons for signing up. After all… the rewards that the Flame Patriarch was offering were enough to tempt Wang Baole. Others must also be equally tempted.

As they all sized one another up, light erupted from the ruins around them suddenly. The light was faint. If it had come from a singular spot, few might have noticed it. But they were all shining at the same time, like fallen stars. The light did resemble starlight, spilling from every corner and gathering before everyone.

Because the lights had been faint at first, they didn't seem particularly bright after they gathered into a single spot of light. However, as the lights continued to gather, the sphere of light grew increasingly blinding. An incredible power built up inside the sphere of light, stirring the lands and enveloping the world.

Everyone, including Wang Baole, was awestruck. They looked down hastily, as if in the presence of a deity. Even the most defiant of them instinctively toned down and made a show of respect and deference.

Wang Baole did the same as well, keeping his head down while wondering who was the more powerful one between the entity before him and his senior brother, Chen Qing. He had a feeling that his senior brother was still the stronger one of the two, but probably only by a slight margin.

The only aura that can overpower and crush it… is probably the aura unleashed from reading the Dao Scripture. Wang Baole narrowed his eyes and continued thinking as he kept his head down. The more he thought about it, the more he realized how weak he truly was in the grand scheme of the universe. He didn't even deserve to be called an ant. That would be undeserved flattery.

D*mn. Honestly, I'm really weak. The conclusion made Wang Baole feel quite uncomfortable. He wondered if there was any other way to put it so that he might feel better about himself. It was then that an old, emotionless voice drifted out from the blinding sphere of light hovering before everyone.

"Firstly, the mission has begun since you landed on this planet. It will last twenty-four hours. When the twenty-four hours are up, I will send those still alive back.

"Secondly, the mission objective is to kill Never-Ending Clan members. You will be graded according to the number of kills you have and the level of cultivation of those you have killed. When you return, you will receive Red Crystals that correspond to your grade. Note this… there is no limit to the number of Red Crystals that can be awarded!

"Thirdly, the mask hides your identity. It also tracks your location and allows me to teleport you back. In addition… I've cast a spell on every mask that acts like a curse. It can weaken a cultivator whose level of cultivation is below that of the perfected Eternal Star realm, causing a drop in their level of cultivation!

"The more badly injured your target, the greater the effect of this curse. However, it can only be used once and will only last fifteen minutes!"

"A final reminder. Do not lose your masks. You're on your own if you do." Once the aged voice inside the sphere of light was done talking, it didn't give anyone a chance to react before shuddering violently. The sphere of light dissipated and filled the entire world. Everyone, including Wang Baole, shuddered. The masks on their faces shimmered, and they were pulled backwards with a yank.

In the blink of an eye, everyone… vanished again!

The mission had begun!

The second teleportation appeared to take a longer time than the first. He had no idea how much time had gone by. It was like having an out-of-body experience. Then, his body started shaking, and his mind woke, as if from a long, deep sleep. He opened his eyes, and what appeared before him were… red skies and white lands!

The skies were blood-colored. That was because the sun was blood red!

The desert lands were white. They didn't take on the cast of the skies and instead seemed to retain their own natural colors. It was a stark contrast. In addition, the winds and the surrounding plant life were vastly different from what Wang Baole recognized!

The winds weren't invisible. They were indistinct, mist-like entities that blew across the deserts. As for the plants, they were black. It seemed to be a defense mechanism that they had developed against the crimson red sun.

As soon as Wang Baole was able to see clearly, he immediately moved away from the other cultivators. Most of them did the same. They moved back and widened the distance between them and the others. Wariness and hostility shone fiercely in their eyes. They were like venomous snakes baring their fangs as they tried to show how dangerous they were. They wanted the rest to know that they weren't to be trifled with.

There were a few who didn't move. They stood there, seemingly filled with confidence. A tall, muscular-looking man dressed in a green robe looked at the cultivators standing near him with a condescending gaze.

"A bunch of useless good-for-nothings. I don't care if we're all participants of the same mission. Just remember, don't follow me, and don't fight me for my target. Otherwise… I don't mind killing a few more people!"

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Chapter 809: A Disguise!

The green-robed man was wearing a bull-faced mask that gave him a fearsome look. His eyes glistened murderously and with a coldness that seemed to send the temperature around him dipping. It was a look that made one instinctively step back and avoid any conflict with the man.

Wang Baole blinked, and his gaze landed on the man. Before he could look away, the man noticed his stare. He appeared to have something against the pig-faced mask that Wang Baole had on. He glared back and then sneered.

"The last time I joined this mission, I found the man who wore that exact mask annoying, so I killed him. You interested in meeting the guy?"

Wang Baole raised his eyebrow. He had just arrived at this place and hadn't yet familiarized himself with the terrain. He didn't want to get into a fight now. Besides, they were on the clock. If not for that, with his temper, he would have sent a kick flying towards the man's face.

Of course, there was also the fact that he couldn't tell what level the man's cultivation was at. Wang Baole snorted secretly and left without saying a word. With a single bound, he was off and away.

The muscular-looking man snorted when he noticed Wang Baole leaving. Scorn flickered in his eyes as he spoke.

"Gutless cow…" What he had intended to say was "gutless coward", but he didn't get the chance to utter the final syllable before Wang Baole unleashed a sudden burst of speed. Even though the mask concealed one's energy signature and thus prevented others from discerning one's level of cultivation, one's level of cultivation could still be determined from the speed that he or she was capable of.

Besides, Wang Baole was capable of reaching extreme speeds. He might only be at the late-stage Soul Conduit realm, but the sudden burst of speed he had unleashed was almost equal to that of a perfected Soul Conduit realm cultivator. It made the man with the bull-faced mask swallow his final syllable as he stared in shock.

The cultivators around them realized what Wang Baole's speed revealed about his level of cultivation. A contemplative look appeared on their faces before many of them started speeding away into the distance at varying speeds. Even the slowest of them was at the early-stage Soul Conduit realm. There were four who were extremely fast… unleashing the speed of Spirit Immortal realm cultivators.

These four Spirit Immortal realm cultivators had been discrete and had blended in with the crowd. Their sudden display of power had the man with the bull-faced mask sweating profusely.

There are Spirit Immortal realm cultivators this round. I didn't expect that! He suddenly regretted his earlier boasting. After a moment of fearful embarrassment, he quickly moved away and raced off into the distance.

The more than two hundred participants who had arrived swiftly spread out and disappeared into the white desert.

It was a barren land with sparse vegetation, most of which was withering and on the verge of dying. The life of this planet and its Spirit Qi appeared to be draining away rapidly.

As Wang Baole ventured deeper into the desert, he could sense more clearly how Spirit Qi was slowly draining away from the planet. Despite his recent arrival on the planet, he could feel the level of Spirit Qi plummeting during the short period of time he was there.

With the rate that it's going, it'll only take three to five days… before this planet dies completely. Shocked, Wang Baole picked up his pace and headed further into the distance. He was ready to inspect the area when suddenly… a faint voice echoed in his ear.

"Outsider… help me…"

It was a voice that was extremely old and ravaged by time. It sounded extremely weak and seemed to belong to an old man on his deathbed who was using his last breath to call out for help.

Shock flickered across Wang Baole's face, but he didn't stop moving. Instead, his speed picked up as he headed in a different direction. He unleashed his Divine Sense and allowed them to sweep across the land, inspecting both the skies above him and the lands below him. But he found nothing.

The faint, weakened voice vanished after its fleeting call for help, not calling out again. That caught Wang Baole's suspicion instantly.

A hallucination? That's impossible! Wang Baole narrowed his eyes. After a moment of consideration, he stared down at the dried land and began to wonder if what he had heard had been the planet's voice. He hadn't heard of such incidents, but this seemed like the best possible explanation for what had just happened. Another explanation was… that a powerful cultivator, who was unimaginably stronger than Wang Baole, was hidden somewhere around here and had done that.

Regardless of which was right, Wang Baole had no intention of lingering. He unleashed a burst of speed again and left hastily. He headed off into the distance and traveled for fifteen minutes before he saw the edge of the desert and… ruins bordering the desert.

The architectural style of the ruins was different from that of the Federation and the Divine Eye civilization. It was a style that favored the pyramid shape. Skeletons, dried up and preserved by the arid desert climate, could be seen scattered amidst the collapsed buildings. They looked humanoid, except bigger.

This had clearly been some form of a residential area. Perhaps the location of a sect. But it had suffered a massacre. From the skeletons scattered around the area, the massacre had been a recent one.

Maybe a month ago? Wang Baole narrowed his eyes. After a moment of silence, he looked around and then suddenly transformed his physical appearance. An additional four arms and two heads grew out from his body, and his pig-faced mask also transformed into something else. He no longer looked like one of the cultivators participating in the mission, having transformed into a member of the Never-Ending Clan!

He coughed slightly, then tried uttering a few words in the Never-Ending Clan's language under his breath. Once he got used to speaking the language, he started moving again. This time, he abandoned his earlier cautious approach and charged ahead brazenly, leaping across the desert. He was about to speed up as he reached the plains when his eyes flashed suddenly. He looked to his right.

A loud roar erupted from the horizon, and the sounds of horrible laughter rang out. Seven Never-Ending Clan members appeared, laughing as they raced along. The one in the center of the group had a slender young man in his grip. He held the young man by the forehead and had cast some sort of spell over his prisoner. Wisps of green smoke were escaping from the young man's eyes, nose, mouth, and ears, entering the Never-Ending Clan member's palm. The Never-Ending Clan member's face was filled with glee, while his prisoner's face was laced with agony. Veins pulsated fiercely on the young man's face while his eyes glistened with pain and hatred.

The group had noticed Wang Baole the moment he had turned his eyes in their direction. They stopped in their tracks. One of them eyed Wang Baole's attire with slight suspicion in his eyes before yelling at him.

"Which team are you from?"

Wang Baole didn't answer the question. He studied the group carefully and concluded that only two out of the seven of them were at the Soul Conduit realm, with the rest being at the Nascent Soul realm. The most powerful of them appeared to be their team leader, but he was only at the mid-stage Soul Conduit realm.

Wang Baole nodded with great satisfaction, then said, "I'm from your team."

As they froze upon hearing his words, Wang Baole attacked. He surged forth with incredible speed, transforming into a mist that enveloped them.

He was too fast. Only the team leader managed to react in time and retreat hastily, shock coloring his face. The rest… including the early-stage Soul Conduit realm cultivator, didn't get the chance to escape. They were instantly enveloped by mist, withering away as their vitality was sucked dry by the Thearch Armor and their souls taken by the Demonic Eye Art. They had no chance to scream out in pain before… they perished in the mist and were destroyed… in both flesh and spirit!

The team leader, who had retreated in time and appeared to have avoided the mist, couldn't escape his fate. A large arm reached out from the mist and grabbed his head, like how he had grabbed the young man's head. A voice from within the mist uttered, "soul search." The team leader's eyes widened as he released a cry of terror and pain.

He cried out once, then he too was enveloped by the mist, his voice silenced completely. A long while later, the mist gathered and transformed back into Wang Baole's physical form. A strange light shimmered in Wang Baole's eyes. He had gained quite a bit of information on the planet through the soul search!

He knew… that after the massacre that had taken place on this planet a month ago, most of the Never-Ending Clan members that had been stationed on the planet had left. Only one camp remained on the planet. It had approximately three hundred thousand cultivators, who were charged with cleaning up and running the planet.

The camp was quite a distance from where Wang Baole was now, but with his speed, he should be able to reach it within two hours.

He also knew that the cultivator with the highest level of cultivation in the camp was a late-stage Spirit Immortal realm Never-Ending Clan member. He also knew that there was only one Spirit Immortal realm cultivator in camp. A Planet realm cultivator had been in charge, but based on what the dead team leader had known, the Planet realm cultivator had matters to attend to and had left the planet a month ago.

An army camp… Wang Baole licked his lips as he assessed his current level of cultivation. It had gotten stronger from the earlier bout of killings. He looked down at the dying young man. Gratitude shone in his eyes. His lips parted. He seemed like he was trying to tell Wang Baole something, but he didn't manage to get anything out before life gradually drained from him.

Wang Baole sighed as he stared at the young man. With a wave of his hand, he sent a sea of sand rising into the air and then down again, over the young man. Having given the young man a burial, he turned away and headed off again. He took on the appearance of the team leader and raced straight for the army camp.

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Chapter 810: Fishing in Murky Waters!

Red skies lay above him, and white land rested beneath his feet as Wang Baole dashed ahead, disguised as the dead Never-Ending Clan team leader. He ran brazenly, breaking the sound barrier repeatedly and leaving a series of thunderous booms in his wake. His speed increased as he shot across the sky and approached the camp.

He was fifteen minutes away from reaching the camp when another team of Never-Ending Clan warriors appeared before him. They stopped at the sight of Wang Baole. After looking him over and verifying his identity as a fellow warrior, they cupped their fists in greeting.

Wang Baole blinked. They were too close to the camp now. Even though his mission objective was to kill these Never-Ending Clan cultivators, it would be to his advantage to start the killing when he had slipped into the camp. He would be able to make use of his essence technique to conceal his true identity. If he attacked here and now, it might spark unnecessary investigations into the attack.

Wang Baole controlled his murderous urges. He glanced at the group coldly, then sped past them without slowing down.

This wasn't the only group of Never-Ending Clan cultivators that Wang Baole met on his way to the camp. He came across seven to eight teams in the next fifteen minutes. The first few teams had greeted him when they had seen him. The rest had mostly ignored him.

Wang Baole wasn't interested in attacking them, so he continued advancing based on the memories that he had acquired in his soul search. Finally, the camp appeared ahead of him!

The Never-Ending Clan camp looked quite unique. Above the land, nine enormous spheres floated in midair and gave off black light. From a distance, they looked like nine black holes sucking in the surrounding light.

According to those memories, there are nine separate dimensions in the nine spheres… Wang Baole narrowed his eyes as he watched Never-Ending Clan cultivators enter and leave the nine spheres. He focused his attention on the highest sphere. He could feel faint spirit energy coming from the sphere.

Wang Baole quickly retracted his gaze. With a single step, he rushed forward and headed for the fifth sphere. That was the branch that the dead team leader belonged to. As he stepped into the sphere, the power of an array formation stirred and swept across him as a check was performed on his identity token and his soul's aura. The power from the array formation receded after the check was done. Wang Baole had passed the check.

Senior Brother's essence technique is really quite useful, Wang Baole thought gleefully as he entered the dimension inside the sphere. A vast land lined with mountains unfolded before his eyes. There was no sun in this dimension, yet the lands weren't subsumed in darkness. The skies appear to give off light. Simply-built halls could be seen squatting amongst the mountains. There appeared to be some kind of logic to their locations. Shouts and cheers could be heard from the halls from time to time.

Basically, there are typically nine armies stationed at a Never-Ending Clan camp. Each army sphere hosts an army, each army is made up of more than a hundred smaller teams, and every team has its own hall that serves as a base for the team. Wang Baole narrowed his eyes as he took in the sight before him and assessed the situation silently. He had taken on the appearance of the dead team leader and was now part of the fifth army. The team leader was a top performer when compared to the other team leaders and seemed to be one of the ten strongest cultivators in the fifth army. That had been why some of the Never-Ending Clan cultivators had greeted him with respect on his way there.

In this case… let's start with the fifth army then! An icy glint flashed in Wang Baole's eyes. His appearance shifted drastically as he raced ahead. He had turned into a mosquito before anyone could notice his transformation and flown into a nearby hall.

He heard laughter ringing in the air as soon as he entered the hall. There were a dozen Never-Ending Clan members inside. They were standing around in a circle, laughing. In the circle were two native cultivators that had been maimed. Their eyes were red, and they were tearing into each other like mindless beasts in a ring.

The scene didn't stir any bit of compassion in Wang Baole. He wasn't that kind or sympathetic of a person. This wasn't the Federation. He didn't feel obliged to protect this world and its people. Regardless, the murderous tinge in his eyes did deepen a slight shade. He flew towards the group and darted into the ear of one of the Never-Ending Clan cultivators swiftly. He shot out of the other ear in the next moment, a wisp of blood mist trailing behind him as he headed for his next target.

He was too fast. Before the two fighting cultivators realized what had happened, the Never-Ending Clan members around them shuddered. Blood erupted from one ear of each of the Never-Ending Clan members, and their eyes had widened in shock and confusion. Afterward, their bodies had withered swiftly before the fighting cultivators' eyes. They then fell to the ground, sucked completely dry.

An invisible force swept over them as they fell, shattering their corpses and turning them to fine dust that scattered across the floor of the hall.

The two native cultivators stared dumbly at the sight, shock filling their eyes. Then, their vision turned dark, and they passed out.

Wang Baole appeared next to their unconscious bodies, then quickly transformed his appearance to that of one of the Never-Ending Clan cultivators that he had just killed. He then smoothed his robes, strolled out of the hall, and headed for the next one.

Lather, rinse, repeat. With Wang Baole's level of cultivation and the essence technique's gift of transformation, he went through three dozen halls within half an hour, leaving a trail of slaughtered Never-Ending Clan cultivators in his wake. After he was done with one hall, he would take on the appearance of another cultivator and repeat the cycle.

His many kills got his Demonic Eye Art all worked up. It was giving off strong lust and hunger. Wang Baole didn't try to restrain it. He needed its vitality and fervor. He needed that… to speed up the advancement of his cultivation so that he could break through to the next cultivation realm.

But he knew that killing on such a massive scale was going to get him exposed more quickly. It would become easier to track him and lock down his location. That was why he quickly took on someone else's appearance and left the army sphere for the next.

The days must have passed too peacefully for the Never-Ending Clan. Perhaps they had been seeing a dearth of challengers, or perhaps they had crushed all rebelling forces on the planet. Whatever the reason, the lack of danger meant that the Never-Ending Clan camp was slow to react to the sudden situation. After two hours, when Wang Baole had decimated numerous teams in almost all of the army spheres, someone finally realized something was amiss.

An investigation unfolded instantly, followed by swift feedback. Commotion spread across the entire camp, and alarm bells blared in the air, sending the cultivators into shock. News of an intruder who had infiltrated the camp and secretly killed a large number of their warriors spread like wildfire.

When the news spread out, Wang Baole was in the form of a Nascent Soul realm cultivator in the third army. He had been on his way back to his base hall. As soon as he stepped inside, he caught the solemn looks on the faces of the Never-Ending Clan cultivators in the hall. Someone was rattling off at top speed.

"An intruder has broken into our camp and is slaughtering our people!"

"How is that possible? The camp's array formation didn't sense any intrusion at all!"

Wang Baole heard that and noticed how numerous voice transmission slips had started vibrating. He allowed a shocked look to settle on his face as he pulled out his voice transmission slip swiftly and pretended that it was vibrating as well. He gasped, incomprehension and fury coloring his eyes before he barked out to the Never-Ending Clan members around him, "I've received a message as well. Damn it. How did this happen? Who's the foolhardy idiot who's done this? Could it be the cursed survivors? How dare they do this to the Never-Ending Clan!"

Other cultivators of similar status didn't suspect anything as they discussed the matter in shock and disbelief. The officer in charge of his hall, the leader of the small team, and a Soul Conduit realm elder frowned and barked, "What's with the panic? They're just remnant survivors. What can they do?"

His Soul Conduit realm cultivation surged outward alongside his words, driving everyone in the hall into an instinctive silence. At that very moment, an incredible presence filled with fury erupted on the planet. It came from the ninth army sphere. A Spirit Immortal realm power flooded the camp, including the hall, and an old voice tinged with murderous fury reverberated inside everyone's minds.

"Put the camp on lockdown, search the grounds, and find the hidden intruder. I want to know which fool is defiant enough to attempt this!"

Thunderous booms erupted around the planet as soon as the elder's commands descended. The camp was in instant full lockdown. Murderous auras erupted from the cultivators in the halls as they charged out and began the hunt.

Wang Baole was amongst them. There was a dark, furious look on his face. Together with the Never-Ending Clan members around him, he started searching in earnest. In fact, he appeared to be putting a lot of effort into it. He pointed at one corner and shouted, "Team leader, something's not right here. The energy signature here seems chaotic and doesn't match the energy signature of our Never-Ending Clan members. I'm guessing that an intruder passed this area!"

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