Chapter 546: The Objective

Following the war that shattered the Astral World, it was no longer mysterious. It has fallen from a high-dimensional world to a high-energy world.

Countless Ancient Astral Worlds' remnants gathered energy, forming fragmented lands resembling islands that floated amidst a sea of mixed space and time.

These islands generated unique force fields that resembled atmospheres or gravity, repelling the chaotic flow of mixed space and time and shielding the creatures living within from disturbances.

One had to travel via specialized vessels—starships—to navigate the chaotic currents of space and time in the Astral World Ocean.

Starships were used for transport, while the more advanced warships were equipped for combat.

Currently surrounding the White Mirror Astral God were six warships, each over a hundred meters long.

Each warship housed over a hundred Legends.

The strength of these Legends varied, but all living creatures capable of surviving in the Astral World shared one common trait when placed in the outside world—they had mastered inner spirit power.

Without inner spirit power, living creatures could not even sense the Astral World. Their forms would pass through the Astral World through the void, just like projections.

***

"The efficiency of the Divine Treasury Hall is far higher than I anticipated."

The Astral God encircled at the center remained calm, showing not the slightest trace of panic.

The leading figure among the six people spoke in a deep voice. "Whoever you are, attacking the Divine Treasury Hall's pioneers means bearing the consequences. Surrender now, or else, when the Eternal Oblivion descends, you might not even be able to save your own life."

If Li Pin were present, he would recognize this Astral God as Xuan Jian, the Astral God of the Divine Treasury Hall's Enforcement Division.

The White Mirror Astral God smiled faintly. "It seems my hypothesis was correct. In the past, even if an Astral God attacked the pioneers, the Divine Treasury Hall's Enforcement Division would take over ten or several tens of stellar years to track them down.

"I erased almost all traces, and you would typically abandon your pursuit. But this time... not only did you persist, but you did so with remarkable speed. In less than a stellar year, you tracked me down using an extremely obscure clue I left behind..."

He looked at Xuan Jian. "Did Li Pin truly help you find the key to unlocking the Void Divine Treasure in the Mara World?"

Xuan Jian's expression immediately changed, looking surprised.

This Astral God hadn't been after Li Pin's Divine Weapon, but the Void Divine Treasure instead? No wonder he went after Li Pin with only a blank avatar!

They had previously thought that the Astral God who had attacked Li Pin had only sent a blank avatar in an act of extreme caution. Or that he had acted in a rush, lacking the time for thorough preparation.

Now, it seemed that hadn't been the case.

"Who are you?" Xuan Jian asked in a deep voice, frowning.

Another Astral God stepped forward. "Why waste so many words on him? Take him down, and we can interrogate him."

He looked at White Mirror. "I didn't want to see you fall into the Eternal Oblivion, but since you remain obstinate, you leave us no choice..."

"Take me down?" White Mirror chuckled as he looked at the six Astral Gods surrounding him. He tilted his head slightly. "You think you six can stop me? Who gave you the courage to entertain such thoughts?"

White Mirror suddenly exerted power beneath his feet, and the island, less than ten kilometers in diameter, began to shake violently.

"I dared to leave clues leading you here because I'm confident I can retreat unscathed. In fact... the reason I chose this method isn't because I can't kill you, but simply because... you guys might still be useful."

"Take him down!" Xuan Jian roared.

The Legends aboard each warship leapt into action at once. Led by their respective Astral Gods, they surged forward with weapons drawn, charging straight toward the Astral God ahead.

Yes, they charged! Just like ancient warriors wielding weapons in battle.

The battle style these Legends displayed was identical to mortal warriors' military charging formations. It was similar to when mortal warriors were fighting fierce beasts.

No one opted to use Astral Techniques or ranged bombardments. Their approach was the most primitive, wielding weapons and charging en masse.

When the six Astral Gods led the Legends to encircle White Mirror, the shaking island suddenly shattered, and terrifying spatial energy surged in like seawater.

An Astral God sent his mental spirit, seething. "Watch out!"

Just as his mental spirit power swept over everyone in the field, a gray ripple surged, directly neutralizing his mental spirit power.

Although he immediately retracted his mental spirit power, a trace of gray hue still clung to it.

This was... the power of the Eternal Oblivion.

With this layer of Eternal Oblivion power, the next time he wanted to communicate mentally, he had to unleash mental spirit power that was stronger than before.

Likewise, when he unleashed stronger mental spirit power, another layer of Eternal Oblivion power would be accumulated. As such, he would need to use even more mental spirit power the next time he tried to communicate.

With enough accumulation, the energy needed for one mental communication would become so excessive that it could tear apart a star in the material world.

This was the power of the Eternal Oblivion.

However, in that situation, this Astral God had to speak up, otherwise, the Legends he brought with him would have been swept away by spatial force. To counter spatial turbulence, they would have quickly been consumed entirely by the power of the Eternal Oblivion.

"This is a trap!"

"We can only say they were well-prepared."

Endless spatial force surged in as the island beneath their feet was destroyed.

One of the spatial forces formed a storm that engulfed the White Mirror Astral God.

No one knew where it would take him.

Seeing that White Mirror was about to escape under their noses, the six Astral Gods exchanged glances.

"It's time to act," one of the Astral Gods said.

Xuan Jian took a step forward. "Let me do it."

In the next moment, their fighting style changed.

Although the change was slight, as Xuan Jian made his move, the previously chaotic spatial turbulence was swept away by an incomparably powerful will. It suddenly became as docile as a lamb.

Divine Ability—World in a Palm.

As he deployed this divine ability meant for imprisoning and restraining opponents, an omnipresent gray force surged forth, neutralizing Xuan Jian's power that smoothed the spatial turbulence. It even spread toward his body, seemingly seeking the source of his strength.

This time, Xuan Jian ignored it. After calming the spatial turbulence permeating this island, he clenched his virtual hand.

Everything within a radius of dozens of kilometers centered on the White Mirror Astral God, whether fragments of the island or spatial turbulence, solidified completely and reversed at high speed, falling toward his palm.

White Mirror Astral God smiled faintly. "I'm still waiting for you to provide me with useful information. Don't let the Eternal Oblivion Force claim you so easily."

Just as he and the space around him were about to be entirely drawn into Astral God Xuan Jian's palm, he extended a finger.

A beam of dazzling brilliance suddenly erupted.

In the void, it was as if a star had suddenly been ignited.

The star emitted unprecedented light and energy, containing a force that living beings could hardly resist. It madly struck the barriers of this frozen void, erasing the mental spirit will and inner spirit power controlling it.

The starlike brilliance swiftly extinguished the moment it tore through the spatial confinement.

It was like a wildfire that only burned the houses of the poor, leaving the wealthy estates untouched.

It was like a collision with an invisible shield.

The precision was unbelievable.

Although the terrifying residual heat in the void immediately triggered the Eternal Oblivion Force to repair and neutralize it, some of this power even enveloped White Mirror himself. However, compared to the Eternal Oblivion Force carried by Xuan Jian's strike, the difference was over tenfold!

Xuan Jian's pupils dilated sharply. "Shana Sword Intent!?"

In the next instant, White Mirror Astral God, who had perfectly shattered Xuan Jian's World in a Palm, leaped into the surging spatial turbulence caused by the destruction of the island.

It was like jumping off a speedboat that was racing across the ocean. In one leap, he was instantly swept away by the spatial turbulence, disappearing without a trace.

This scene rendered the remaining Astral Gods silent.

𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

"This matter is beyond what we can handle," one of the Astral Gods said.

"Is he from the Shana Divine Mountain?" asked another Astral God.

"Perhaps. Or maybe he's just using the Shana Divine Mountain's name to scare us off."

Xuan Jian stepped forward and said, “His goal... is the Void Divine Treasure World. Now that we know this, the main hall will surely find a way to capture him.”

As he spoke, he swept his gaze across the others. “What? Is the Divine Treasury Hall inferior to Shana Divine Mountain?”

"Eternal life is too long. They only strive for the moment [1] These people..." An Astral God chuckled bitterly. "They're all lunatics."

Xuan Jian responded, "Like I said, they might just be using the Shana Divine Mountain's name to scare us off. I will report today's performance to the main hall."

The others frowned. But sensing the newly added Eternal Oblivion Force on him, they ultimately said nothing.

One of the Astral Gods remarked, "The best way to deal with people from the Shana Divine Mountain is to have an esteemed Solar Flare perform a dimensional strike. Our choice was not wrong."

"Why have the people from the Shana Divine Mountain set their sights on the Void Divine Treasure World?"

"It's a Forbidden Divine Treasure... Every Forbidden Treasure buries a great powerhouse. There might even be a supreme path hidden within. Wasn't the Third Myriad Spirits Great War caused by a Forbidden Treasure? It's just that the concept of the Divine Treasure World didn't exist back then."

"Everyone knows that Forbidden Divine Treasures are good, but how many lives have the three Forbidden Divine Treasures devoured over the years? No matter how great a treasure is, one needs to survive to enjoy it."

"But it's rumored outside that the Mara World is the key to conquering the Void Divine Treasure World. If we could obtain all the information about Mara World, the probability of conquering the Void Divine Treasure could increase by at least ten percent."

"How can you trust mere hearsay?"

Amid the discussions, the Astral Gods relaxed, signifying that their mission this time had ended in vain.

However, they clearly weren't too concerned.

Having become Astral Gods, they had already achieved immortality.

As for work, they would delay it if possible. If it wasn't possible, they'd just do the bare minimum. Why was there a need to work so hard?

If they truly burdened themselves with the Eternal Oblivion Force for this, others might secretly laugh at them for being foolish.

1. Shana can be translated to a short moment. ☜