A World Worth Protecting

The Divine Eye System was a star system twice the size of the Solar System. It had twenty-three big planets that orbited the system’s primary star. The planets rotated ceaselessly, as if in an eternal orbit.

Like the Solar System, the Divine Eye System had its own civilization as well. It was clearly more advanced than the Federation, though both civilizations shared similar environments. That might be why the lifeforms in the Divine Eye System’s civilization resembled the human lifeforms found in the Federation.

There were, however, some slight physiological differences between both species.

On this day, on the primary planet where the Divine Eye civilization was based—a planet that was the size of Jupiter in the Solar System—a meteor fell and made a landing. The unique features of the Divine Eye Star meant that meteors were a common sight. As a result, while a portion of the populace noted the arrival of the meteor, few paid much attention to it.

Only selected cultivators who were in the vicinity of the meteor’s landing would think of checking it out in case any special resources might be recovered. That was also the reason why fights often broke out amongst cultivators.

In this particular instance, the meteor crashed into the planet, creating a huge crater on the ground. A coffin followed. Upon impact, it pierced deep into the earth of the planet soundlessly. It then stopped moving, as if it had just been buried.

This coffin was black and appeared as if it were crafted from a black metal. On its surface were countless runes. However… most of the runes appeared to be damaged. In fact, the coffin itself was ridden with holes and marks, countless scratches lining its surface. They appeared to be caused by some sharp weapon. A few seemed deep, nearly deep enough to cut through the coffin. From the looks of it, it seemed that someone had blocked the attack just when the cuts had almost penetrated the coffin. If they hadn’t done so, the coffin might have been split into multiple parts and destroyed!

It was clear that the coffin had survived an unimaginable battle, one that had been fierce and intense beyond measure. Else, there was no way that such a powerful artifact would be damaged to such a degree.

If one were to examine the coffin more closely, they would find dried bloodstains all over it, though they weren’t red. It was clear that it had been a battle that involved numerous warriors.

This coffin… had traveled all the way from the Solar System. It was the Dark Sect’s coffin, which Chen Qing was carrying… and which housed Wang Baole’s sleeping form.

The meteor’s crash into the ground and the coffin’s burial deep underground had sent quakes shuddering through the earth. The deep cuts on the coffin had almost splintered from the impact. The quakes shook the coffin and Wang Baole, who had been deep asleep inside. He opened his eyes.

“Are we there? What a great nap…” Wang Baole rubbed his eyes, yawned, and pushed at the coffin lid. He couldn’t nudge it open. Surprised, he began to call out loudly.

“Senior Brother, are we there yet?”

Wang Baole waited a while longer but heard no reply, which he found bizarre. He smacked the coffin a few times, then focused his cultivation and called out again.

“Senior Brother, are you there?”

“What’s going on, Senior Brother? Come on, answer me!” The expression on Wang Baole’s face gradually turned somber. He continued shouting but received no response, so the unease inside him grew.

“Little Missy, are you there?” After a long bout of silence, Wang Baole decided to play it safe and not push the coffin lid open with his Dark Fire. Instead, he tried calling out to Little Missy.

This was the backup plan he had set up before he had fallen into slumber.

There was no reply from Little Missy either. Wang Baole narrowed his eyes and began to think. But no matter how hard he thought, he couldn’t think himself out of this puzzle. He had fallen asleep as soon as he had entered the coffin. It was difficult to judge if he had reached his destination.

After contemplation, he decided to wait. Wang Baole patiently counted the days as they passed. On the third day, a sharp look finally entered his eyes.

There’s a great chance that something unexpected has happened! Dark Fire burned in Wang Baole’s eyes. He raised his right hand and placed it against the coffin. His cultivation erupted, immediately establishing his connection with the coffin. Just as he was about to push the lid open, a faint voice entered the coffin. It seemed to come from somewhere else. The voice echoed in Wang Baole’s head.

“Baole.”

“Senior Brother!” Wang Baole’s eyes sharpened. He stopped trying to push open the coffin lid and asked hastily, “Senior Brother, what happened? Are you outside?”

“Baole… something happened along the way… for the time being, I’ve… a minor civilization… wait for me to pick you up… make sure your true form doesn’t leave… the Heavenly Dao approaches… death is certain… mystic technique for creating avatars… temporarily escape discovery by the Heavenly Dao… okay to leave…”

The message was intermittent. It was as if some sort of strong disturbance was disrupting the transmission. The result was an incomplete message from Chen Qing. Nevertheless, Wang Baole was able to piece together the main gist of Chen Qing’s message.

Something unexpected happened? I’m being deposited temporarily on a minor cultivation? The Heavenly Dao approaches, and I’ll die if my true form leaves the coffin? But if I practice this mystic technique that allows me to create an avatar of myself, I can leave the coffin for short periods of time? Wang Baole frowned. He had no idea what had happened to Chen Qing. However, he could imagine that something that could force someone as powerful as Chen Qing to leave him somewhere must be… something quite extraordinary!

Chen Qing’s voice continued intermittently as he transmitted a mystic technique to Wang Baole. Chen Qing appeared to have spent most of his efforts on this part of his message, preventing the interference from disrupting the transmission and hence allowing the full mystic technique to be transmitted successfully.

The name of this mystic technique was the Illusory Source Art. Once mastered, it could allow one to change their aura as well as their very essence. They would be able to transform into anything.

Wang Baole examined the mystic technique carefully. Then he started thinking. There were a few steps in this mystic technique that involved the cultivator’s soul. Wang Baole was a Dark Child, and he had read many pieces of literature during his time in the Dark Sect. He knew that there were spells out there that were malicious or could assert deep control over their victims. However, these spells couldn’t be cast involuntarily on their victims and required their victims to willingly practice them before the malicious effects of the spells could take place.

Is this real, or is it just a trick… did Senior Brother really encounter something unexpected, or… This was something really important. Wang Baole couldn’t stop analyzing everything he knew in detail. He studied the mystic technique silently, not knowing whether he should try it. His eyes stared up at the inside of the coffin lid. If he wanted to push it open, he needed only to unleash his Dark Fire. Leaving the coffin would be a piece of cake.

Should I train? Should I open the coffin?

Sometimes, choices were difficult decisions to make. Especially the ones concerning trust, and even more so when said decision concerned one’s life or death.

As Wang Baole fell into a contemplative silence, somewhere beyond the Divine Eye System lay a vaster star system. Thousands of smaller star systems were housed within this greater star system, forming a cosmic array formation!

It was an array formation of tremendously ambitious scale. It used the energy of thousands of Eternal Stars, both big and small, as fuel that then became an endless source of power that could overpower everything in its path. What made the array formation even more impressive were the eight cauldrons distributed around the array formation, floating in the cosmos while separated from one another by vast expanses of space.

Each cauldron exuded an extremely old and fearsome power. One could see an indistinct figure inside the cauldron, which appeared to be trapped in an endless cycle of refinement.

The array formation, formed from thousands of Eternal Stars, and its eight powerful cauldrons, were a cage. Their prisoner was… Chen Qing!

A stormy-faced Chen Qing stood in the center of the array formation. Around him flashed bolts of black lightning. They came from all directions, thundering as they descended. They appeared like numerous chains that criss-crossed the entire star system.

Before Chen Qing stood a man. He wore golden armor, had a towering figure, and had three heads and six arms. He was like a god of war who exuded an overpowering aura that rivaled the power of the entire cosmic array formation!

Behind him stood armies of illusory figures. They also looked like deities in their own right, exuding waves of terrifying power. The armored man looked like a god who commanded a vast army and stood supreme above all others!

“Chen Qing, I know what the boy means to you. That’s why I allowed you to send your voice transmission and only disrupted the transmission partially. Why don’t you make a guess… will this dear junior brother whom you treasure so much choose to believe you? I look forward to seeing what he’ll choose!” The towering man smiled. As his voice resonated in the cosmos, tens of thousands of black lightning bolts snaked past one another, thundering as they expanded and finally transformed into a dark screen.

On the screen was an image of… Wang Baole’s coffin!

However, what it showed wasn’t the inside of the coffin but its exterior!

“Who do you think will walk out? Your precious junior brother’s true form, or his avatar?”