Chapter 439: Astral Formation

Zhao Kunwu, Ji Xuanyuan, and the others rebuked him sharply, immediately taking the moral high ground.

"Li Pin! You're out of your mind!"

"Do you really think that because you've gained some power, you can force everyone to obey your will? Your actions are no different from those of a demon!"

"Are you targeting the top figures of the human race? Do you want to start a civil war among humans? When future biographies are written, you will certainly go down in history as the pillar of disgrace!"

Li Pin responded, "I don't know how history will be written, but I will never praise a group of ambitious troublemakers who stir up chaos."

While speaking, he seemingly tried to ignite a certain internal power.

"Whether this leads to a civil war among humans... it doesn't matter. But it matters to me that you're all gone."

Bang!

A ring of torn white ripples followed him as he shot forward and appeared in front of Ji Xuanyuan in an instant. The deafening sonic boom was no match for his speed.

Ji Xuanyuan roared, "Shatter!"

The Mental Spirit Ring enhanced Ji Xuanyuan's mental spirit. As soon as he shouted, it was as if a thunderstorm had erupted in Li Pin's mind, nearly scattering his thoughts.

If this had been in the past, Li Pin's mind would likely have been shattered by Ji Xuanyuan's superior mental spirit and the divine relic. However, as Li Pin's understanding of inner spirit deepened, his Vitality, Qi, and Spirit—initially in a crude form—had been recondensed. They were now closely linked to his inner spirit, and ordinary attacks could no longer disturb his state.

Even Ji Xuanyuan's divine relic, the Mental Spirit Ring, couldn't break through.

With a thunderous roar, Li Pin shot forward like a meteor and crashed violently into Ji Xuanyuan with unstoppable force. The impact was like a devastating strike from an orbital weapon targeting the ground.

The visible shockwave of energy exploded on impact, scattering in all directions.

Zhao Kunwu and Ying Huo, rushing to provide aid, were violently thrown back by the erupting shockwave.

Flames, hurricanes, and violent thunder spread uncontrollably, shrouding the skies above Great Shang's royal capital in apocalyptic chaos.

Under the force of this destructive collision, Ji Xuanyuan's Atomic Force Field and natal spirit armor disintegrated into dust.

At that moment, everyone could only be thankful for the Astral Cultivators' Starlight Body, their life-saving trump card. That was especially the case under the radiance of Astral God Yin Luo, where the astral energy consumed from the Starlight Body could quickly be replenished, creating the illusion of near immortality.

Without this, a single eruption like this would have only one outcome for any Heavenly Realm Expert—death.

"Li Pin... has grown even stronger!"

"How is this possible? We have the complete inheritance of a high-level civilization, with a systematic approach to cultivation, while he... he's a trailblazer! He created an entirely new path from scratch! How could he progress faster than us?"

Zhu Zhao, Jin Taibai, and the others were filled with disbelief. It was like an aristocrat, trained by a renowned teacher, losing to a self-taught country bumpkin.

They had seen recordings of Li Pin's battle with Long Xiang, but the footage had been too unclear to grasp the details.

Coupled with their unwavering confidence, they dismissed the danger Long Xiang had faced. Instead, they assumed they would manage just fine against Li Pin if they were in Long Xiang's stead.

However, as they clashed with Li Pin themselves... that belief shattered completely.

Zhao Kunwu's expression darkened. "He's immune to my Sacred Word Technique!"

Even after repeatedly overestimating Li Pin, he still hadn't touched the limits of Li Pin's power.

Watching their Astral Techniques and Atomic Force Fields prove useless, Zhao Kunwu realized just how dire their situation was. The unmistakable killing intent in Li Pin's eyes only deepened his dread.

Li Pin's... intention was clear. Whether he truly didn't know or feigned ignorance, he was bent on killing them.

This would not only remove Great Shang as a rival, but it would also serve as a powerful warning to others.

"Head to the alternate dimension!" roared Zhao Kunwu.

As his mental spirit surged, he transformed into a streak of light, shooting toward the horizon.

The other Heavenly Realm Experts reacted swiftly, turning into beams of starlight and scattering in all directions.

Li Pin made a subtle grasping motion, and an overwhelming binding force descended, locking Ji Xuanyuan in place. "Did I allow you to leave?"

However, these Heavenly Realm Experts had long devised methods to counter Li Pin's magnetic field restraints.

As he was bound, Ji Xuanyuan, the wielder of the Mental Spirit Ring, pushed his spiritual strength to its peak. Leveraging the ring's strength, he amplified the Mental Spirit Storm's impact on reality. This forcefully disrupted Li Pin's control over the Celestial Magnetic Field, causing a momentary stagnation in its operation.

Ji Xuanyuan seized the opportunity. Without hesitation, he turned into a streak of light, shooting away at an unimaginable speed.

While parts of his Starlight Body were intercepted and destroyed, the majority of his being successfully escaped. Those fragments, once exposed to starlight, would regenerate in no time.

Li Pin felt the crushing weight of the opponent's overwhelming mental spirit. "The Mental Spirit Ring...."

Though he had started his inner spirit cultivation only recently, its stability allowed his Vitality, Qi, and Spirit to reach a solid state. None of the ordinary Heavenly Realm Experts—or even Supreme Experts whose mental spirit exceeded his by one or two hundred points— could escape his binding force field.

However, an opponent with a mental spirit more than double his own would shake him off. When combined with techniques like spiritual secret arts, the sheer quantity and refined methods would overwhelm him. Under such circumstances, even he faced the helplessness of "having the will but lacking the strength."[1]

In other words, the opponent had overcome finesse with brute force. Against these Heavenly Realm Experts who had stood at the pinnacle for decades, his foundation still lacked the depth to match.

Even so, Li Pin's expression remained unchanged.

Lightning erupted around him as he shot forward like a bolt of thunder, tearing through the void. In mere moments, he had caught up with Ji Xuanyuan, who was fleeing in the form of light.

Fist force shattered the air!

Each strike, amplified by the Celestial Magnetic Field, condensed into tangible electromagnetic cannonballs and hurtled toward Ji Xuanyuan at an incredible speed.

Ji Xuanyuan quickly activated the Mental Spirit Ring. A visible storm rippled through the air, forming waves that collided with Li Pin's fist force, annihilating the force and creating a terrifying whirlwind in the aftermath.

Yet, while Ji Xuanyuan managed to block Li Pin's punches, he couldn't stop Li Pin himself from closing the distance. "Not good!"

Sensing Li Pin closing in within a hundred meters, Ji Xuanyuan discarded his physical form and transformed into starlight, instantly pushing his speed to its peak.

Rumble, rumble!

Thunder rumbled again, and the same scene played out once more.

Li Pin used the magnetic field again to tear apart a portion of Ji Xuanyuan's starlight form.

Zhao Kunwu, Zhu Zhao, Ying Huo, and Jin Taibai all saw this unfold but didn't linger to watch.

They understood that even Ji Xuanyuan, with the highest mental spirit attribute and the Mental Spirit Ring, had to pay a price to break free from Li Pin's magnetic field.

On the other hand, they didn't have the Mental Spirit Ring to help them. If Li Pin ever caught them and they didn't have anyone to assist them, they would undoubtedly die.

Ji Xuanyuan staying behind to hold off Li Pin was the best option.

They were even grateful that Li Pin had targeted Ji Xuanyuan. If it had been anyone else, even escaping to an alternate dimension would have cost the team the life of at least one person.

***

Ji Xuanyuan gritted his teeth. He bellowed, "Li Pin!"

He could clearly feel that Li Pin seemed to be testing something. Each time Li Pin attempted to destroy him, he could feel the astral energy lost from his Starlight Body increasing.

At first, Li Pin needed to destroy his Starlight Body eighty to one hundred times within an extremely short period to eliminate him. Now, however, that number had dropped to sixty, even compressing toward fifty.

This visible growth, combined with the ever-approaching fear of death, made him wonder for the first time why he had ever provoked Li Pin.

However, that thought lasted only a moment before it was forcefully extinguished.

If Li Pin doesn't die, if the Solar Radiance Sovereign doesn't die, then Great Shang will never rise!

Perhaps, under Li Pin's leadership, Gaia could reach glory. But as the strongest nation of this era, the Great Shang royal family would rather be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix!

Ji Xuanyuan gritted his teeth and pushed his fleeing speed to the limit.

Finally, thousands of miles ahead, a ripple appeared in his line of sight.

"We've arrived at the alternate dimension!"

At this moment, Li Pin, who was closing in, seemed to sense something and tried to slow down.

However, at that moment, nine Legendary Mages appeared at once, and nine Heavenly Realm Astral Techniques shattered the air. In a burst of intense flames, Li Pin, Ji Xuanyuan, and the others plunged into the alternate dimension.

***

Buzz, buzz!

Bathed in the lingering flames, Li Pin descended into a space resembling the Peach Blossom Secret Domain.

The moment he appeared, golden threads materialized around him, forming a massive web that completely sealed off the space. It seemed that anyone trying to escape would first have to tear through this golden net.

Jin Taibai's eyes glimmered with uncontainable excitement as he looked at Li Pin. "Li Pin, we've been preparing for this day for a long time. Did you really think we'd provoke you without any certainty?"

Ying Huo and Zhu Zhao smiled.

"You can't sense the Celestial Force Field anymore, right? But the wonders of this alternate dimension don't end here!"

Zhao Kunwu remained silent, quickly floating to the center of the alternate dimension. He radiated brilliant starlight that merged with the golden web of the entire dimension, making him appear as if he had become a domain, an entire world.

Ji Xuanyuan, his energy nearly depleted, also felt a sense of relief. "Li Pin. To think that you still had the time to experiment with my Starlight Body during the battle. I don't know whether to call you arrogant or just plain conceited."

He sneered, eyes scanning the space around Li Pin. "But it doesn't matter anymore. Now, let me introduce you to your grave—a new power system, arranged at the cost of an alternate dimension... the Astral Formation!"

1. Implies having the determination to accomplish something but not possessing the necessary ability. ☜