Chapter 366: Big Picture

A Top-Tier Astral Cultivator from the Royal Empire hurried forward and bowed in haste. "Hall Master Li, please be appeased, please be appeased. Hall Master Li, allow us and Master Zhang to return to the Royal Empire, and we will surely show enough sincerity to compensate for the offense committed towards you."

Li Pin did not respond. He simply seized Zhang Dongwang, who had almost no astral energy left in him, and headed straight for another palace on the peak of Hualong Mountain.

Ordinary methods were ineffective against the Starlight Body, and regular cells could not contain it. That was especially the case for Master Astral Cultivators who could merge with Atomic Will.

However, there were many Master Astral Cultivators who committed crimes in this world, so a special prison was crafted based on the characteristics of the Starlight Body. This prison required the Master Astral Cultivator to continuously channel astral energy once inside, in an operation similar to "reformation through labor". If they stopped, an alarm would sound off in the prison.

The constant transmission of astral energy prevented Master Astral Cultivators from accumulating astral energy. Without astral energy, it was difficult for them to take on their starlight form, rendering their powers ineffective and leaving them no choice but to comply with the reformation

Of course, a prison like that couldn't hold a Master Astral Cultivator. What truly deterred Master Astral Cultivators and kept them in check was the power that captured them alive. As long as the person who had captured them remained alive, no Master Astral Cultivator would dare to break out unless they were truly courting death.

In fact, the result of this so-called "reformation through labor" was... the Essence-Gathering Pearl that Li Pin had refined before.

The Essence-Gathering Pearl could enhance the limits of a Martial Saint and was also a precious item for Top-Tier Astral Cultivators to restore astral energy.

Astral Cultivators below Top-Tier didn't have to worry about astral energy depletion. After all, they didn't have the energy-hungry Starlight Body yet, so they didn't have to worry about energy consumption as much.

With Zhang Dongwang in tow, Li Pin soon arrived at a structure with a diameter of more than thirty meters. It resembled an altar, with thirteen crystal pillars positioned in the center and around the periphery.

"Since you're a Master Astral Cultivator, I expect you to keep 10 of the 13 astral energy pillars constantly lit. If I find out you're slacking...."

Li Pin threw Zhang Dongwang onto the altar-like structure. "A Master Astral Cultivator should not die due to internal human conflicts, but that excludes the stubborn ones who refuse to learn."

"Hall Master Li, why go this far? We came to the Celestial Martial God Hall specifically to seek cooperation..." Zhang Dongwang quickly said.

"Cooperation?" Li Pin said calmly. "I know what you're thinking, but now is not the time for cooperation. After all, you won't accept the terms I propose anytime soon, and you might even think I am..."

He let out a sigh before continuing. "Arrogant."

Zhang Dongwang looked at Li Pin.

He, the head of the Celestial Martial God Hall, dared to challenge the Royal Empire, one of the Six Extremities. What was this if not arrogance?

The Six Extremities would show him respect and wouldn't act recklessly against him. There had to be enormous profit that would compel them to act against Li Pin. They originally didn't have a reason to do that.

However... they had found out about the Skill Crystal!

In the past two months, they had sent people to infiltrate the Black Gold Mine area, and by chance discovered a Ghoul King. They successfully retrieved a Skill Crystal from it, confirming the treasure's utility!

It was true! A treasure so powerful it could encapsulate the experience and insights of a top-notch expert and thereby become a tool to pass this information on—how valuable was that!?

It was comparable to legendary astral equipment!

What an astonishing profit this was!

If the Royal Empire truly obtained a continuous supply of Skill Crystals, it would soon be able to cultivate a multitude of Master Astral Cultivators and Legendary powerhouses.

Before reaching the Master Astral Cultivator stage, an Astral Cultivator could advance by simply meditating on the Astral God and refining starlight. With Martial Saint-level insights and experience in building the Starlight Body, a single Skill Crystal could enable an Astral Cultivator to become a Top-Tier Astral Cultivator within two or three months.

If a Top-Tier Astral Cultivator had the insights of a supreme being like Fu Qingtian, who was once a King of the Century... would the journey to becoming a Master or Legendary Astral Cultivator be far off?

In this situation, the effect that Skill Crystal could exert on Astral Cultivators far surpassed that of a Martial God. If successful, the crisis humanity faced would be resolved in a very short time.

This was also why the Royal Empire decided to make a move on the Black Gold Mine, despite the risk of offending Li Pin and having itself isolated from the martial arts world in the future.

The benefits were simply too great.

Zhang Dongwang was silent for a moment. Trying to sound as sincere as possible, he said, "Hall Master Li, let me give you a piece of advice. Skill Crystals are too... valuable. These are resources that could affect the future of humanity.... You can't monopolize them."

"Valuable resources?" Li Pin said calmly. "No matter how valuable Skill Crystals are, they cannot compare to the Six Divine Rings, right? The Void Ring allows one to reach any battlefield at any time, the Rebirth Ring brings the dead back to life, the Destruction Ring controls flames, the Mental Spirit Ring that can materialize mental spirit, the Oblivion Ring that can conceal oneself from any living creatures, and the Soul Ring that can cloud the mind and separate the soul from the body!"

Each of these Six Divine Rings was considered an unreasonable existence.

"That's different," Zhang Dongwang instinctively retorted.

"I know where the difference lies," Li Pin said, "Because the ones wielding these Divine Rings are the Six Extremities."

Zhang Dongwang frowned.

Isn't that only natural? Humanity has always advanced under the leadership of the Six Extremities.

If the Six Extremities hadn't led expeditions to clear perilous regions, slaying ferocious beasts and demonic creatures, as well as maintaining world peace, places like the Great Moon would have long been devastated, becoming a paradise for ferocious beasts and demonic creatures.

Suddenly, Zhang Dongwang seemed to realize something, and his pupils dilated abruptly. "You... you want to turn the Celestial Martial God Hall into the Seventh Extremity!?"

"The Seventh Extremity... I hadn't thought of that," Li Pin mused calmly, "However, establishing a sacred land solely for martial artists is not an excessive demand."

Zhang Dongwang looked at Li Pin as if he were staring at a madman.

The Six Extremities had all felt the pressure brought by ferocious beasts and demonic creatures and aimed to use the Human Alliance to unify all nations, concentrating all human resources to fight against these creatures. Yet, here he was, trying to rally martial artists to establish a martial sanctuary rivaling the Seventh Extremity at such a critical moment?

Wasn't this dividing humanity?

Wasn't this opposing the grand plan for the unity of the human race?

Did he have any sense of human consciousness left?

Did he have any care for the big picture at all?

"Every faction should contribute to the grand ideal of human unity! Li Pin, as the pioneer of the Martial God Path, the founding master in the hearts of all martial artists, and the new patriarch of martial arts, you should set an example and not make such mistakes!" Zhang Dongwang shouted.

"Those who seek others' resources for their own benefit have no right to say such things."

"We are doing this for the future of the world..." Zhang Dongwang retorted righteously.

Li Pin's tone turned slightly cold. "So, when Skill Crystals are in your hands, they're for the future of the world, but in ours, it's dividing humanity and disregarding the bigger picture?"

"You—"

"Stay here obediently, and do not do anything that might cause me to misunderstand, or else..." Li Pin paused and cast a cold glance at him. "You will die."

Even though Zhang Dongwang was a Master Astral Cultivator, Li Pin's gaze still made his hair stand on end.

Zhang Dongwang's mental spirit was over a hundred, and he trusted his gut deeply.

He had a vague feeling Li Pin was not joking. If he truly thought that he could wait a while to recover his astral energy and escape... then he would really die.

***

When Li Pin returned to the courtyard where he resided, Shi Shihu, Xie Longcheng, and others had already arrived.

Although his fight with Zhang Dongwang was almost one-sided, the commotion from the confrontation at this level still alarmed the entire Hualong Mountain.

It was impossible for Shi Shihu, Xie Longcheng, and the others to not have noticed it.

Seeing Li Pin, they hurried forward, faces full of shame.

Shi Shihu spoke. "Hall Master. It is due to our incompetence that the Royal Empire's envoy dared to act recklessly at Hualong Mountain."

"That's enough, there's no need for excessive words. Just focus on doing your respective duties," Li Pin said. "Also, strengthen the defense of the Black Gold Mine area. If any unfamiliar Astral Cultivator is detected infiltrating, kill them on the spot. If faced with an opponent you cannot handle, send me a direct message for assistance."

Shi Shihu's heart skipped a beat. He quickly agreed. "Yes."

"What are the results of the experiments at the Ghoul King Hall?"

Xinghui stepped forward. "Very successful. At present, most of those Ghouls have completed their transformation and evolved into Ghoul Kings. Additionally, we discovered a peculiar phenomenon. Cultivating Ghoul Kings with astral equipment is more effective than using Astral Crystals alone.

"Especially those astral equipment that have been used by people for a long time... It's as if there is an unknown factor inside them that aids in the transformation of the Ghoul Kings, reducing the transformation time by nearly half."

"Reduced the time by half?" mused Li Pin.

He pondered for a moment.

Cultivating a Corpse King, with a small investment of Astral Crystals, took over a year to transform. If a large number of Astral Crystals were invested, the transformation time could be reduced to less than a year. The higher the quality of the Astral Crystals, the more efficient the transformation of the Ghoul King.

However, the Martial Gods usually cleared out the demonic creatures in the Black Gold Mine area and seized Astral Crystals. Therefore, the Astral Crystals used to cultivate Ghoul Kings were mainly of high grade, and the transformation time was approximately ten months.

Using astral equipment could reduce this by half.... That would mean five months.

In five months, dozens of Skill Crystals could be obtained...

"Then go trade for astral equipment, or even implement a trade-in plan to replace old with new ones," Li Pin ordered. He then asked, "Apart from the Ghoul King Hall, have any other places for cultivating Ghoul Kings been found?"

"No." Xinghui shook his head. "We've tried at many passes, but none are as effective as the Ghoul King Hall. Its unique location gathers death aura from various places, forming a special energy that enables Ghouls to quickly transform into Ghoul Kings. In other areas... Ghoul Kings might be born, but it would take a decade or even several decades, and it would be unpredictable.

"Moreover, when the number of Ghouls in the Ghoul King Hall exceeds forty, it seems that the special energy becomes insufficient, causing the overall evolution to slow down."

"So, even with enough used astral equipment, only less than forty Skill Crystals can be produced every six months?" Li Pin asked.

Xing Hui nodded. "That is the conclusion we have come to from our research."

"Then let's proceed with this for now," Li Pin said. "In a month, once all the Ghoul Kings have completed their transformation, I will conduct a purge. Prepare for the next round of Ghoul King cultivation in advance."

As he spoke, he turned his gaze to Shi Shihu and Xie Longcheng. "List the cultivation materials we need the most. A month from now, a trade fair will be held at the Celestial Martial God Hall."

Shi Shihu and Xie Longcheng reacted swiftly and immediately realized something, their hearts trembling. "Hall Master, you will... publicly sell Skill Crystals!?"

Li Pin nodded.

He never liked acting in secrecy.

Since Skill Crystals could no longer be kept secret, he would sell a portion to trade for the top-notch resources that various countries kept as trump cards, thereby quickly boosting the strength of the Celestial Martial God Hall.

Of course, the prerequisite for all of this was that he could withstand the impending counterattack from the Royal Empire.