A World Worth Protecting

Chapter 843: Who Knew How Tall It Grew

The old man in imperial robes looked at the three men helplessly. The terror shining in his eyes appeared to be a genuine reflection of what he was feeling deep in his soul.

But Wang Baole had read too many high officials’ autobiographies. He believed that one should never judge a book by its cover. People like the old man were most likely to do the unexpected. The more fearful and helpless one appeared to be, the more likely they would lunge at someone when their back was turned.

It’s clear from his clothes and the way that they are addressing him that he’s the emperor of the Divine Eye civilization. Wang Baole blinked and continued to observe the scene unfolding before him.

He watched as the emperor finished talking, and a dark look settled on the faces of the three purple-robed elders standing next to him. The one who had spoken earlier looked icily at the emperor. He was about to say something. Before he could, though, the Spirit Immortal realm cultivator who had been standing at the periphery and who was clearly not part of the royal family, suddenly laughed.

“Fellow Daoist He Yunzi, your imperial brother, the current emperor of the Divine Eye civilization… doesn’t seem to be very cooperative.”

“Patience, please, Fellow Daoist Zi Luo!” The purple-robed elder, whom the Spirit Immortal realm cultivator had addressed as He Yunzi, cupped his fists lightly at the cultivator when he heard that. He then turned towards the Divine Eye civilization’s emperor, a murderous glint flashing in his eyes.

“Brother, cease your unrealistic dreaming and stop testing my limits. Besides… we’re doing this for the glory of the Divine Eye royal family. Take a look at the stance that our family members are displaying. This is where the future is headed!”

“He Yunzi, this is a misunderstanding. There’s nothing I can do. I know that almost every member of our royal family supports the alliance with the Violet Gold civilization. I may not approve of this alliance, but I’m well aware that I’m an emperor in name only. I don’t have the power to stop the alliance from taking place,” the emperor told He Yunzi with a grimace on his face.

“I’m glad that you understand that. Open the ancestral tombs so that we can fully unlock the gate to the Divine Eye. Then, as outlined in our agreement with the Violet Gold civilization, they will descend upon the Divine Eye civilization, destroy the three greater sects, and restore the Divine Eye royal family to its former glory. Don’t you wish for us to rise and resume power again, my dear brother?” He Yunzi stared unblinkingly at the emperor as he enunciated each word clearly. There was a fervent glow in his eyes as he spoke.

“Rise again…” The emperor smiled wryly, his eyes devoid of hope and life. He was silent for a few moments, then he sighed.

“I want the royal family to resume its former glory as well. But to do so with the aid of foreign help would be the equivalent of inviting a pack of feral wolves into your own home. Even if we were to succeed, would the Divine Eye civilization be the same again? Besides, the Violet Gold civilization is a powerful force to be reckoned with. Why… would they ally themselves with us? We all know the answer to that!”

“Even so, this doesn’t mean that I won’t try my best to help. He Yunzi, why don’t I pass the seat to you? I have done my best, but the blood in my veins isn’t pure enough. There’s nothing I can do about that.” The emperor seemed to be on the verge of tears by then. Shock and unease coursed through Wang Baole as he watched from afar.

He seemed to have stumbled upon an important piece of information. He now knew who the group of cultivators dressed in rainbow-colored robes, with their faces hidden behind purple masks, were. They were from the Violet Gold civilization.

The source of his unease was the old emperor himself. He couldn’t see through the old man. His experience told him that something wasn’t quite right with the emperor.

He wasn’t the only one who thought this way. He Yunzi shared his views as well. He stared unblinkingly at the old emperor, a murderous glow lighting up his eyes once more.

“Brother, you may have been acting like a fool for the past few years, but I know that your deviousness and conniving ways far surpass ours. I’ll count to three. If you don’t unlock the doors by then, you’ll have to forgive me if I set aside our family ties and do the unthinkable!” There was a tinge of madness to his final words. He lifted his right hand slowly. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and the winds started to whip wildly. At the same time, a giant seal materialized right above his head.

“One!”

“I’m speaking the truth…”

“Two!”

“Heavens, why won’t you believe me!”

“Three!” The veins on He Yunzi’s face bulged as he roared. He was ready to send his right hand swooping down at any moment.

“I’ll do it! I’ll do it!” The old emperor’s face was deathly pale, his expression that of extreme terror as he shrieked and stumbled towards the statue. His crown fell off along the way, but he hardly had the luxury to pick it up. His face crumpled into a terrified look as he trembled and bit his injured finger, activated his cultivation to force blood to the surface of his skin, and flung his blood at the statue’s eye.

“Open! I command you!”

The statue shook slightly for a brief second, then became still again…

The faces of He Yunzi and the other two purple-robed elders darkened. He Yunzi broke out into furious laughter, and a murderous glint lit up his eyes. His right hand descended, and the giant seal thundered and rushed towards the old emperor.

A murderous aura emanated from the seal as it surged towards its target like an unstoppable force. Winds howled in its wake. Just as the seal was about to land on the emperor, he cried out in terror and fell to his knees with a loud thud. Tears flowed down his cheeks as he howled in front of the statue.

“Patriarch, please, show mercy. I beg you to open the doors to the ancestral tombs… I… I…” Terror coursed through his veins and flooded his mind. The emperor shuddered and wet his pants… He froze momentarily, then looked down and burst out into crazed laughter. He slumped to the floor and began to weep noisily.

His sorrowful cries affected everyone present.

Wang Baole was stunned at what he had just seen. His eyeballs almost popped out of his head. He studied the old emperor carefully, then gasped. The old man was either an extremely sly and conniving man, or… he was genuinely misunderstood.

He Yunzi was similarly shocked by the sight. He stared at the howling old emperor, then, with exasperation in his eyes, turned towards the group of cultivators standing at the periphery.

“Fellow Daoist Zi Luo, I’m sorry you had to see that.”

Zi Luo, the Spirit Immortal realm cultivator, laughed as he stood amongst the group of cultivators from the Violet Gold civilization. His eyes flickered as he looked around him before he turned his eyes back to He Yunzi. He said coolly, “There’s no need for that. I have come here solely to deal with this matter. Since the blood of your emperor doesn’t seem to be pure enough, then perhaps… we should gather the blood of every royal family member here and house it in a vessel. That might do the trick.”

“I have a Dharmic treasure here with me now that our patriarch bestowed upon me. It has the ability to set aflame the bloodline of every person within a certain radius and activate their latent bloodline. The consolidated efforts of every family member will allow us to open the doors successfully!” The Spirit Immortal realm cultivator flipped his right palm over as he spoke. An unlit bronze lamp appeared in the center of his palm. He flung his arm out and sent the lamp flying towards He Yunzi.

“He Yunzi, raise the lamp, and use your full cultivation to light it. That will allow you to activate the bloodline of every royal family member here!”

An ancient aura emanated from the lamp as it flew towards He Yunzi. Its flight resembled the shifting passage of time. It headed swiftly for He Yunzi, who shuddered upon catching it. The blood in his body suddenly stirred. It gathered in his palm and rushed towards the bronze lamp. He lost control over his cultivation as it activated suddenly, without warning.

An illusory image of the Divine Eye appeared behind him and was sucked into the bronze lamp. Sparks erupted from the wick inside the lamp instantly. They brightened, then burst into flames. With a loud bang, the lamp was lit up!

At that very same moment, a fiery glow erupted from the lit wick and flooded outwards, enveloping the entire area. Emotions flashed across the faces of every royal family member. Their bodies shuddered, and an imprint of an eye materialized on their foreheads. Their cultivations and the blood in their veins rushed upwards and emerged from the top of their heads.

It started with He Yunzi. A crimson light erupted from the top of his head, rising as tall as fifty feet. It was a terrifying sight to behold. The same happened to the other two purple-robed elders. Their towers of red light, however, didn’t rise as high. They were only forty or so feet tall.

It was still an impressive sight, though. The other royal family members around them shuddered and released similar beams of red light. Their beams varied in heights. Some were as tall as thirty feet, while others were only a few inches tall. Wang Baole was experiencing a myriad of emotions at that moment. The Demonic Eye Art inside him had activated on its own. The will inside the Demonic Eye Art, which he had been suppressed inside his body, suddenly erupted. It appeared to be trying to rush out of his body.

Oh no! Wang Baole stiffened.

As Wang Baole struggled to suppress the will, red beams of varying heights pierced into the heavens like great pillars. The tallest of them… belonged to the weeping old emperor. The red pillar of light above his head was three hundred feet tall. It caught everyone’s attention.

The sight of how smoothly things were going got He Yunzi laughing. He turned towards the old emperor and said, “Now, we can…”

The skies shifted before he was done speaking. The winds began to howl, the clouds boiled in the heavens, and thunder boomed. Suddenly, a veil of red burst forth from amidst the crowd of royal family members and surged to the skies. It flooded every corner of the cemetery grounds, casting a red cloak over both land and sky!

Everyone was dumbstruck by the sight—He Yunzi, the other two purple-robed elders, the old emperor, the rest of the royal family, as well as the cultivators from the Violet Gold civilization. They unanimously turned their eyes in the same direction and saw Wang Baole… and the incredible beam of red light emerging from the top of his head and rushing towards the heavens!

The height of this red pillar of light… could no longer be measured in terms of feet. It… rose into the heavens, reaching hundreds of thousands of feet high, and merged with the edge of the atmosphere… No one could tell how tall it grew.

“What in the world…” He Yunzi muttered in shock, his head buzzing.