A World Worth Protecting

Chapter 732: Long Nanzi!

No one knew how long Chen Qing’s battle would last. It might end quickly, or it might drag on for much longer. For cultivators in that league, time itself… was a weapon.

Wang Baole wasn’t entirely sure what had happened, but he could make his own educated guesses. As he emerged above ground and stared at the world around him, realization dawned upon him. He was possibly going to spend quite some time alone in a foreign civilization.

That was why what he needed to do now was find out what he could about the civilization he was in. He formed a series of hand seals and summoned the souls of the four recently dead corpses with his Dark Art. Four incomplete souls gathered before him in wisps and finally transformed into four spirits invisible to the eyes of others.

Without any hesitation, Wang Baole raised his right hand and clawed through the air. The four souls raced towards him and entered his palm. Their past memories flooded Wang Baole’s mind.

After tidying up their memories, Wang Baole finally pieced together what had happened prior to their deaths. The four of them—and the one who had escaped earlier—had sensed a meteor’s landing. Since they had been in the area, they had hurried over to check it out.

Wang Baole did some calculations. He was quite sure that the meteor that they had seen had been a result of the coffin’s landing. It might have been due to the unique nature of the coffin or something his senior brother had done. During its travel in space, the coffin had attracted certain materials that had clearly been quite valuable. That must have been the cause of the fight amongst the five cultivators.

Four of them had died in the fight, while one had survived with some injuries. The survivor had taken everything and escaped.

That should be the gist of it. Wang Baole continued to go through the new information he had just received. His eyes glowed as he came upon information regarding this world!

The Divine Eye civilization was twice the size of the Solar System and was spread across twenty-three planets. Its cultivation hierarchy was similar to what Wang Baole had come across. Cultivation levels were split into the Planet realm and the Eternal Star realm.

Its society was structured differently from the Federation though. In the past, the civilization had been governed by a royal monarch. However, as time passed, the royalty gradually lost power while the people grew stronger. They came together and set up numerous sects.

Then, resources became more sparse. It became a dog-eat-dog world. The royal family was essentially neutered and powerless to interfere. The Divine Eye civilization underwent another transformation then. It became a society that revolved around pillaging and plunder, a hostile place filled with pirates and robbers!

They robbed their own and those from other civilizations. It was all in the name of one’s own survival. In fact, there were no laws fixed in stone in this civilization. Only one law prevailed, and it was that the strong prevailed over the weak. Every sect and institution had gone over to the dark side!

Luck appeared to be on the Divine Eye civilization’s side. The civilizations found on the planets and in the star systems around it were not very advanced. The Divine Eye civilization also took care not to attack those stronger than it was. It grew increasingly powerful as the years passed and saw the emergence of three Planet realm cultivators!

These three cultivators might only be at the early stage of the Planet realm, but that was still sufficient to overpower everyone in the Divine Eye civilization. They formed three great sects, superseding the royal family’s authority and claiming six to seven planets as their own. They were sects in name, a big gang of bandits in reality!

Their missions were generally invasions of extraterrestrial civilizations. They plundered and pillaged, and they killed when they could. When they weren’t a match for the enemy, they escaped after stealing whatever they could. The structure of such a civilization, as well as the status of these three great sects, led to numerous smaller sects requesting to be affiliated to them.

The smaller, minor sects presented vast resources as tributes to the three great sects. In exchange, they were allowed to survive. The vast resources had to be acquired somehow. That was why every one of these minor sects maintained their own group of pirates.

They would carry out independent raids in search of resources. When the three greater sects gave their orders, these minor sects would execute them in unison. It was in this manner that the power and influence of the three great sects grew and expanded.

As the three great sects continued to amass resources and groom their disciples, numerous Soul Conduit realm cultivators and even more Nascent Soul realm cultivators began to emerge in their midst. The tensions amongst the three sects never ceased though. They all desired to take over the other two sects so that they could become more powerful. However, they were all equally powerful. The current three-way political structure was too unstable. As a result, while conflict continued to persist amongst them, the three sects tried their best to maintain the current balance of power and prevent tensions from escalating.

As Wang Baole continued digging through the souls’ memories for information on the Divine Eye civilization, he caught a glimpse of the transport they had used for raids. Amongst them was a small, yet obviously valuable cruiser that was in the form of a living creature. He stared at it for a very long time, then blinked.

It looked familiar…

It was a black jellyfish. Wang Baole had owned one in the past. Sea Glutton, it had been called. He had handed it over to one of his Artifact Souls. His intention had been to destroy its original seal and use it to travel across space, but his battle with You Ran had forced him to use it for the repair of his Dark Sampan.

He recalled the Sea Glutton’s original owners—the three extraterrestrial Nascent Soul realm cultivators who had infiltrated the Federation. As he recalled the series of criminal activities they had committed then, a strange look settled on his face. He fell into a contemplative silence. Finally, his eyes narrowed.

Were they from around here as well?

This should mean that I’m not far from the Solar System… right? Wang Baole’s eyes widened. He was quite confident in his assessment. Unfortunately, the souls of the four dead were incomplete, so he couldn’t get much information about his current whereabouts from them.

After a long moment of contemplation, Wang Baole decided to transform himself into one of the dead people. He’d infiltrate the Divine Eye civilization, find a star map of this region, and maybe search for other valuable information.

Too old. Not for me.

This one’s a girl. Her looks aren’t bad. But what a pity, she’s not for me.

This one’s too thin!

It seems like I’m left with no other choice but this guy. I suppose he’ll have to do. After a round of inspection, Wang Baole finally settled on a middle-aged cultivator with relatively good looks.

He had been at the late-stage Core Formation realm prior to his death. Wang Baole found out from his soul’s memories that his name was Long Nanzi. Long Nanzi was part of one of the many smaller sects called Holy Crest Sect, which was affiliated to the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect.

The Holy Crest Sect might be a small sect, but it was known for its skills at refining artifacts. That gained it some measure of influence in the civilization. There was an early-stage Soul Conduit realm elder in the sect as well. That gained the sect a seat at the Divine Sovereign Justice Sect’s table. It maintained its own group of pirates and occasionally was given the opportunity to join the greater sect in raids.

The Holy Crest Sect seemed to be facing some sort of trouble currently. Many of its disciples were out, using their own means to secure resources for refining artifacts and for their own cultivation.

Having gotten the gist of the situation, Wang Baole raised his right hand and placed it on the corpse. His illusory form began to solidify. Within ten counts, he had transformed into the exact form of the dead cultivator on the ground!

His aura was identical to the dead cultivator’s. Even Long Nanzi’s closest friends wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.

It was impossible to ensure his gestures, expressions, and habits were identical to the original Long Nanzi’s. However, based on this man’s memories, the hostile Divine Eye civilization ensured that no one truly trusted anyone. Everyone was always on constant alert. Naturally, no one truly knew one another.

Even though he isn’t as good looking as I am, I suppose beggars can’t be choosers. He’ll have to do. Wang Baole touched his own face, sighed, then lifted his right hand and waved. Long Nanzi’s corpse turned to dust instantly and dissipated in the wind.

Wang Baole observed his body. He could sense power in the air weighing down on him. His aura began to change. When the suppressive force in the air dissipated, the Spirit Qi in the air finally felt easier on his senses. He could absorb it now, without obstruction, and allow the Spirit Qi to flow smoothly into his body.

Next, let’s go check out this Divine Eye civilization and see what special stuff it’s got… Wang Baole’s eyes flashed. He took a step forward and flew into the air. He kept his cultivation at the perfected Core Formation realm, then headed in the direction of the sect as Long Nanzi had remembered.

Wang Baole observed the alien land beneath his feet and the foreign skies above his head as he made his way through this world. Excitement began to unfurl inside him. He was an outsider in a foreign land and an alien civilization. He had nothing to lose here. He could do anything he wanted, and he looked forward to that!