Chapter 953: Encirclement

The starry cosmos.

The Supremes gathered one after another.

The place they were in was precisely where the Supreme Council was located.

This time, the nine Supremes of the Human Race weren't the only ones present. Over forty Supremes had assembled.

These forty-plus Supremes looked at the figure of the human who had manifested, awe in their eyes.

Despite being only an avatar, that figure commanded their reverence.

As the figure arrived, the Supremes simultaneously bowed in salute.

"We respectfully welcome the descent of the great Liberator."

At present, within the entire starry cosmos, there was only one Liberator—the founder of the path himself, Li Pin.

"You're all here." Li Pin's avatar nodded. "These past days, you have worked hard arranging the nine Great Rule Divine Equipments across different locations to activate the laws of the Astral World."

A Supreme hurriedly responded, "Your Majesty the Liberator flatters us; this is what we ought to do."

As they spoke, their faces were filled with reverence. They dared not show any disrespect.

In merely a few hundred stellar years, under Li Pin's command, those Creators from the Ancient Astral World era had already exterminated top-tier and supreme races one after another. Dozens, even hundreds, of Supremes had been slain.

The remaining Supremes either fled in despair into the Void of Chaos, only to be corroded and consumed after three to four thousand years, or lingered on, awaiting death.

The fact that these forty Supremes were still alive was entirely due to their accumulated virtuous deeds over the years and their good relations with the Human Race. Otherwise, they would likely have met the same fate as the other races' Supremes.

"Since everyone is here, let us begin rewriting the Astral World's laws," said Li Pin. "I believe you've all reviewed the laws of the Astral World. There will be no mistakes when inscribing them, I presume?"

"No, absolutely not," all the Supremes replied.

They could not help but think of a few of the most crucial laws—all living beings had to cultivate specific categories of techniques in order to enter the Astral World.

Without exception, those techniques all originated from the Human Race.

Li Pin might not have ordered the Creators to exterminate all non-human races, but this alone ensured that the moment one wished to enter the Astral World and become an Astral God, they'd have no choice but to study the Human Race's techniques, understand Human civilization, and join Human sects or factions.

Over time, the cultures of all other races would inevitably be replaced by Human culture; all beings would only know of the Human Race, and not any other race.

In this way, even if those races did not look entirely like humans, who could claim they were not part of the Human Race?

It had to be understood that a non-Astral God had a lifespan of no more than one epoch. If the other races wanted to ensure the continuation of their existence, bowing their head and obediently learning Human techniques was their only choice. Otherwise, it would only be a matter of time before these races went extinct.

"Then let us begin," said Li Pin.

Supreme Primordial appeared beside Li Pin. "The self-operating Astral World law you mentioned—the one where the Astral World expels Astral Gods who cannot ensure their own growth—is that the one we're using?"

"Let us first resolve the issue of the Eternal Oblivion Power," replied Li Pin. He paused for a moment, then said, "As for that self-operating Astral World method, we'll consider it later."

Supreme Primordial was slightly startled, but quickly thought of something. "Is it the Supremes?"

"I doubt new Supremes will appear in the future, but there will be Dao Realms. And Dao Realm beings would inevitably be able to interfere with the normal operation of the Astral World laws. Who can guarantee that no one will rescue the Astral Gods that are ejected? Therefore, the most important point is to increase the stability of the Astral World, ensuring that even the strongest Dao Realm would have no ability to interfere with the Astral World."

"Increase the stability of the Astral World?" Supreme Primordial thought for a moment, then understood. "You mean to raise the Astral World's energy level? But the Astral World's current energy level is already very high, equivalent to the center of the starry cosmos. If it is raised further..."

"Perhaps, we can raise the energy level of the entire starry cosmos?" mused Li Pin. "If we increase the stability of the starry cosmos, it will be able to accommodate more stable and higher-level energy forms. By extension, the Astral World, as the starry cosmos's core, will experience a surge in energy level and stability."

He reasoned, "By then, even Dao Realm beings won't be able to disrupt the operations of the Astral World. In fact, this will also make it so that Dao Realm beings won't be able to leave the Astral World and attempt Liberation unless they reach a certain standard."

Supreme Primordial was slightly stunned. "This... can we even do that?"

"In the past, I too had no clue, and thus I could only take it one step at a time. But now... perhaps, I have found a reference method."

Li Pin lifted his gaze, as though staring across the starry cosmos, deep into the Void of Chaos beyond.

"For countless years, Supremes of the starry cosmos have held to opposing theories about the Void of Chaos. One faction believes there are other universes and other lifeforms within the Void of Chaos—otherwise, we would be far too lonely in this world.

"The other faction believes that the starry cosmos is the sole universe within the Void of Chaos, the first universe birthed by it."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "But the Supremes of the latter theory themselves know deep down that such a possibility is vanishingly small. The likelihood of the Void of Chaos containing only one universe, the starry cosmos, is almost nonexistent.

"The only reason they even want to believe that is that they are powerless to explore deeper into the Void of Chaos. To preserve their authority, they spread this belief everywhere, maintaining their perception as the truth."

Li Pin withdrew his gaze and turned toward Supreme Primordial. "But at this very moment, I can answer you without a shred of doubt—we are not alone in the Void of Chaos."

Supreme Primordial's pupils dilated, and he could not help but exclaim, "Have you... found that mysterious existence? That terrifying pursuer was not a fabrication of the Creators as a means of survival?"

Li Pin nodded slightly and then looked up.

The enormous world not far from the starry cosmos undoubtedly crushed the "truth" embellished by certain Supremes.

A great existence who called himself the King of Gods had followed the traces left behind by the ancient Transcendents and had tracked them here.

That existence was already at hand.

***

At this moment, within the King of Gods' universe, vast plane towering over countless realms existed, known as the Supreme God World.

In a certain location within the Supreme God World stood a majestic divine temple.

The one in charge of this temple was a Divine Emperor named Yao Hui.

This universe's cultivation system differed greatly from that of the starry cosmos. Those who stood at the very peak here were Deities.

Similar to Astral Gods, Deities were divided into three tiers based on their strength—lower, middle, and upper.

Due to the differences in cultivation systems, the Deities' powers in this world was almost entirely granted by the world itself.

When Deities reached a certain stage of cultivation, they would naturally merge with certain powers of this world, thereby wielding great strength and authority.

Among them, lower-tier Deities mastered material and energy transformations. The authority they enjoyed was not inferior to a Cosmic Radiance.

Middle-tier Deities forged Divine Kingdoms, akin to the miniature universes of Supremes.

As for high-tier Deities, those didn't rely on the world anymore. They were detached from external forces and began to derive laws—in other words, opening their own Dao.

In some respects, they were equivalent to the Dao Realm level.

Because their power had become independent, upper-tier Deities could strip lower-tiered Deities of their powers and authority, making them incomparably formidable in manifestation.

Moreover, every high-tier Deity would establish their own pantheon. They would often call themselves God Kings, God Sovereigns, or Divine Emperors.

These titles were similar to the deities of the Void Divine Treasure World.

At this moment, Divine Emperor Yao Hui received a decree from the will of the Great Supreme God World.

An extraterritorial Heavenly Demon had infiltrated the God World, and the area it entered happened to be within the domain of the planes governed by his pantheon.

That cluster of planes had already been sealed and isolated.

However, to the Great Supreme God, this extraterritorial Heavenly Demon was so insignificant that he simply could not pinpoint where he was.

Thus, the Supreme God had bestowed a supreme divine decree upon Divine Emperor Yao Hui, ordering him to mobilize the power of all the Deities in his pantheon to search for that extraterritorial Heavenly Demon.

A decree from the Supreme God was extremely rare, even for a Divine Emperor.

Upon receiving the decree, Divine Emperor Yao Hui was ecstatic. Without a moment of hesitation, he accepted the order. He immediately descended from the Supreme God World, rushed to the cluster of planes under his pantheon's control, and spread the divine decree to every Deity under him.

***

"I will be besieged by the entire God World."

Li Pin was very clear about this already.

"But the good news is—thanks to my avatar, I can finally lock onto the position of this terrifying existence with precision. I don't need to keep taking blow after blow anymore. And with my true body getting his attention, he cannot spare too much effort to search for my avatar and deal with it."

Naturally, there was also some bad news, more than a few.

First, this terrifying existence was stronger than he had anticipated.

Second, knowing that his location had been exposed, that existence had changed tactics, completely abandoning slow attrition. It instead chose to launch an all-out attack, directly charging toward his true body and the starry cosmos.

And that wasn't the end of it.

Third, Li Pin had avoided the black thunderbolt only by falling into the Void and using transcendent spacetime power. Before long, this avatar would be swallowed by the Void and completely lose its connection with the true body.

Once that happened, he would never get the chance to infiltrate the enemy's base again. That terrifying existence won't allow it.

"Before the Void swallows this avatar, I must obtain as much useful information as possible for my true body. That's my only chance at reversing the current situation. Otherwise...."

Li Pin's void form did not speak. Instead, he sensed the strongest aura on this plane and rushed straight toward the divine hall where it resided.