A World Worth Protecting

Such excitement when we’ve just arrived… Wang Baole traveled swiftly, moving deeper into the crevice. He narrowed his eyes and kept on high alert against possible dangers around him. Everything had seemed so bizarre and out of this world since they had entered the cave. The appearance of the zombies had been too sudden and unexpected.

It seems that most of the corpses are ancient corpses though… I didn’t see any Federation cultivators amongst them. That means… there’s a great chance that Lin Tianhao is still alive. Wang Baole concluded. Suddenly, he raised his right hand and slashed his blade towards the right. As soon as the blade fell, a hand and head that had just popped out from the wall were instantly chopped off.

There’s another thing. Since I entered the cave, the Dark Fire inside my body has stirred. The deeper I go, the livelier it gets… Wang Baole frowned as he fell into deep thought. Since he had entered the crevice, he had taken the opportunity to release the Dark Fire since there was no one around him. He wanted to see if it had any effect on the zombies.

He didn’t know why, but while the Dark Fire was able to exact damage on the zombies, the zombies, after being set aflame, had gone mad. Hunger appeared in their blank eyes, and they lunged at Wang Baole in a craze.

Wang Baole immediately hid his Dark Fire. He was shocked by what he had seen. He realized that the zombies must have something to do with the Dark Fire. Then, he recalled what Little Missy had said. As an early-stage Dark Art practitioner, he shouldn’t reveal the Dark Fire so recklessly.

Little Missy was right. The zombies went crazy as soon as I revealed the Dark Fire…

Wang Baole decided not to use the Dark Fire unless it was his last resort. He raced through the crevice and soon saw an exit.

The exit led back to the main tunnel. The cave only had that one tunnel. The various cracks on the walls might connect to other cracks, but their entrances and exits all led back to the main tunnel. The only difference was which part of the main tunnel they led to.

There were also crevices that grew narrower until they led to a dead-end packed with soil. In order to proceed, one would have to dig their way out.

Wang Baole was lucky. The crevice he had chosen didn’t require him to dig his way out. When he saw the opening, his eyes flashed. His mosquitoes appeared and raced towards the exit.

Wang Baole immediately got a clear view of the outside world through the mosquitoes’ vision. Everything was quiet outside the opening of this crevice. There were no zombies, only a vast patch of blood-colored grass on the ground.

Wang Baole released a breath of relief. He didn’t lower his guard though. He turned and stared at the donkey behind him. It was staring at the leg of the corpse that Wang Baole had just chopped off with mixed feelings. It seemed to want to eat it but knew that it wouldn’t taste good.

“Eat, eat, eat. That’s all you know!” Wang Baole glared at the donkey then ignored it. He had realized that even though the donkey was at the third level of the True Breath realm, it seemed to be reaching a breakthrough. It had a strong sense of self-preservation. It had managed to keep up with Wang Baole during the chaotic battle earlier. Throughout the entire fight, Wang Baole hadn’t seen a single zombie manage to grab hold of it. It was clear that the donkey possessed some extraordinary gift that was beyond his understanding.

He decided to ignore the donkey. Wang Baole dashed out from the crevice and stepped back into the tunnel. He surveyed his surroundings immediately. The Dark Fire inside him stirred, and through the Dark Fire, he sensed the direction he should be going and was about to move.

It was at that moment that the blood-colored grass around them suddenly rustled. They seemed to undergo a sudden transformation, growing suddenly in a blink of an eye. Countless blades of Blood Grass sprouted from the ground and the walls. They were like tentacles reaching wildly for Wang Baole.

The path behind Wang Baole was the same. He was trapped. A glimmer flashed in his eyes. The Dharmic Armament in his hand shone, and he slashed.

With a thundering sweep of the blade, he slashed through a great number of them, but there were too many. They possessed an extraordinary resilience and corrosive properties. Despite Wang Baole’s coarse, thick skin, he still felt the burning agony of the grass blades touching his skin.

Their numbers posed a great challenge. He wouldn’t mind spending more time to fight his way back into the crevice. However, he would have to wade through the patch of Blood Grass. The grass was the greatest obstacle of all.

He threw everything at them. Lightning, Heated Burst, and everything else he knew, but they did little damage to the grass. He even tried his puppets, but those were useless too. The Blood Grass quickly wormed its way into the puppets and corroded them from the inside.

His frustration grew as he slashed at the grass. An icy glint flashed in his eyes. He was about to release the Dark Fire when suddenly, within the crevice that was about to be sealed shut by the Blood Grass, the donkey’s gleeful cries rang out.

“Son!”

Wang Baole was startled when he heard that. He turned towards the crevice and saw the donkey. Its eyes shone with excitement as it snapped its mouth open and munched crazily at the Blood Grass.

It can do that too? Wang Baole was stunned. Then he recalled how the donkey had resorted to eating flowers and grass when it had been starving in the academy.

Clearly, the taste of the Blood Grass was much more delicious than rotting flesh. It picked up its pace as it ate, and grew more excited as it ate. Within a short span of time, it decimated all the Blood Grass in the crevice. Then, it bounced out happily and saw the spread of food awaiting him. The donkey shook with excitement and joy. It bounced a few more times happily.

“Son! Son!”

Wang Baole was overjoyed as well. He kept an eye on the donkey’s frantic eating while slashing his way through the grass. However, he soon grew displeased. He realized that the donkey still had the energy to prance about while eating. He thought for a bit, then yelled suddenly.

“Scram, I won’t let you eat all these good stuff. I’m going to cut them all down!”

Wang Baole picked up his pace and began furiously slashing at the grass. His angry shout and actions instantly sent the donkey into a panic. Its eyes reddened. It stopped fooling around and, with even greater speed, started eating up all the Blood Grass around him. It seemed to have gotten the hang of it after a while. After taking a bit, it would suck the rest of the Blood Grass into its mouth, roots and all, then move on to the rest of the Blood Grass.

The Blood Grass in the area soon diminished rapidly under the donkey’s frantic devouring. Wang Baole was very pleased. He shouted again.

“You’ve gone too far. There is still a lot of delicious Blood Grass ahead of us. I’m going to destroy all of them!” Wang Baole yelled furiously. He pretended that he was about to charge forward. The donkey saw that and grew even more frantic. It howled and dashed out with a burst of speed. It raced straight into the tunnel and entered the patch of Blood Grass before Wang Baole, munching madly at the grass as it advanced.

Wang Baole followed leisurely behind the donkey, yelling once in a while and swishing about with his saber, displaying mock displeasure.

Wang Baole made his way smoothly through the tunnel. At the same time, Blood Grass and zombies also made their appearances in other parts of the tunnel.

They only appeared when there were cultivators around. There were some casualties amongst the cultivators. However, as members of the rescue force, the cultivators possessed significant battle capabilities and experience. Despite their shock and terror, most of them were able to protect themselves. They didn’t suffer extensive injuries and were mainly trapped.

That persisted for a while… until then. In a part of the tunnel, a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator was surrounded by countless Blood Grass. A blood-colored silhouette appeared behind him soundlessly, without his notice.

It was a blurry figure, almost translucent. It inclined towards transparency most of the time, and its features were indistinct. From its height, it seemed to be a little boy.

As soon as he appeared, the zombies and Blood Grass around him shuddered faintly. They seemed to be terrified of the boy. The boy’s eyes were filled with a cold, merciless flame that seemed like it could freeze all life.

The boy stared coldly at the trapped cultivator before him. He moved suddenly and passed through the cultivator’s body.

The cultivator, who hadn’t noticed a single thing, suddenly trembled. The light in his eyes faded as his vitality vanished that instant, and he collapsed to the ground.

He never saw it coming. Until the moment of his death, he hadn’t seen the blood-colored boy who had passed through him and appeared before him. He didn’t see the white ball of flames that had appeared in the boy’s hand after he had passed through his body.

The boy flung the ball of fire into his mouth and licked his lips. He took a step and disappeared. When he reappeared, it was behind another cultivator who was trapped within a circle of zombies and fighting for his dear life. He didn’t pause. He passed through the cultivator, and the cultivator shuddered and died instantly. The boy swallowed the ball of fire. He disappeared again, then reappeared and killed again.

He wasn’t very powerful. In fact, he could be seen as weak. However, the cultivators were all unable to sense his presence. He seemed to possess a bizarre, natural ability that made everyone defenseless against him. He moved about like this was his home and killed a dozen men in this manner. The next time he reappeared, he saw before him a donkey munching at grass frantically and Wang Baole hollering at the donkey.

The boy frowned slightly when he saw Wang Baole. His nose twitched, and doubt appeared in his eyes. He pondered for a while and seemed unable to come to a conclusion. Frustration and annoyance began to color his eyes. He moved and dashed towards Wang Baole.

He was very, very fast. He passed the donkey, which was happily munching at the grass around him, in an instant. He ignored the donkey. It was then that…

Suddenly… the donkey’s nose twitched. It seemed to sense food drawing near. Not just food, but very, very delicious food… It opened its mouth wide instinctively and twisted its head towards the boy. With startling speed, it snapped its jaws shut and sank its teeth in!