Planet Pulverizer: A Mortal's Ascent-Chapter 446: Treasure Vault

Ji Shenglin stared at Li Pin, and Li Pin stared back at him. Their gazes locked, and the atmosphere in the hall seemed to freeze at that moment.

After a long silence, Ji Shenglin stood up, his expression grave. "If you insist..."

He looked at Li Pin, whose gaze carried a certain devout intensity, then slowly moved to the side. "Then I'll step aside."

Right now, Ji Shenglin was the Ji Family's last pillar of support.

Ji Shenglin was now the Ji Family's last pillar. Holding onto his desperate, mutually destructive move might still protect the remaining members who had escaped the reckoning.

But if he died here, even if those members avoided the Celestial Martial God Hall's purge, they wouldn't survive the combined revenge of enemies and opportunists.

This outcome wouldn't change, even if he dragged Li Pin down with him. Staying alive mattered more.

Li Pin's sincere eyes instantly filled with confusion. "???"

But Ji Shenglin no longer paid him any attention. He strode toward the exit, his voice trailing off as he ran. "I haven't left the royal treasury in twenty-six years. Whatever they did has nothing to do with me. Hall Master Li, you're fair and upright—you wouldn't hold an old man like me accountable, would you?"

By the time Ji Shenglin finished speaking, he had already disappeared without a trace.

Whether his final move could take down Li Pin was uncertain. But if it enraged Li Pin to the point of wiping out the entire Ji Family, the cost would be far greater.

When you lose, you admit defeat.

"..."

Li Pin watched Ji Shenglin flee, raising a foot as if to give chase.

But after a moment, he stopped. He had his own principles to uphold.

Otherwise, with his constant desire to obtain the Six Divine Rings and comprehend the mysteries of the Astral God lineage through them, he wouldn't have taken this long to gather just three.

Given his current strength, taking the Void Ring, Destruction Ring, and Rebirth Ring by force wouldn't have posed any difficulty.

After a brief pause, Li Pin turned and pushed open the grand doors of the imperial treasury.

As he stepped inside, a surge of dense astral energy swept over him.

The massive doors acted like a seal, making the world inside feel completely separate from the one outside.

Within this realm, the first thing to catch Li Pin's attention was a crystal about the size of a fist, radiating immense energy waves. "A Celestial Core Fragment."

He approached the treasure stored within a crystal-like container.

Finding a Celestial Core Fragment in Great Shang's treasury didn't surprise him at all.

After all, Great Shang had been the first to discover such fragments. It was perfectly reasonable to hand one over to the Human Alliance while keeping another for themselves.

After surveying the area, Li Pin quickly noticed several legendary astral equipment and dozens of rare ones.

The quantity wasn't particularly impressive, but considering that astral equipment only displayed their full potential in the hands of Astral Cultivators, it made sense that Great Shang didn't store too many as idle treasures.

"There are Spirit-Essence Orbs too, though only four. As for Bodhi Seeds and Celestial Fruits, there are some, but the quantities don't match the status of a superpower like Great Shang..."

After a moment of thought, Li Pin understood the reason.

The appearance of the Cosmic True Dragon Secret Art had triggered the rise of a new wave of Heavenly Realm Cultivators across the Six Extremities.

Their ascension came partly from accumulated foundations, but also because nations, sensing the looming threat, had increased their investments in cultivation resources.

Had this been three to five years earlier, the stock of such resources would have been at least double.

Before long, Li Pin found a carefully preserved collection of books. He pulled one out and flipped it open. "The Sacred Words Technique... finally."

It didn't take him long to realize that while the technique involved methods for utilizing inner spirit, it merely provided a practical means of application. It offered no guidance on enhancing or strengthening one's inner spirit.

To put it simply, the Sitting in Oblivion Scripture represented the "Dao." Those who practiced it without pursuing martial arts or cultivation could, at best, achieve a transcendent state of mind, but it wouldn't grant any extraordinary abilities.

The Sacred Words Technique, however, was clearly a technique.

Because everyone inherently possessed inner spirit, and Gaia's Heavenly Realm cultivators emphasized mental spirit cultivation, they could wield this inner spirit-based attack even without corresponding mastery of the "Dao."

However, lacking the Dao, the Sacred Words Technique remained inconsistent. Against individuals with strong wills and resilient spirits, its effects were mediocre.

Yet for those burdened with significant inner spirit flaws, it could unleash a devastating strike at critical moments.

"Ji Xuanyuan's mental spirit is impressive. If I hadn't cultivated my own inner spirit, he could have suppressed me entirely with the Mental Spirit Ring. Zhao Kunwu is likely no different.

"Their overwhelming spiritual strength is the reason why even when the Sacred Words Technique is ineffective at times, others still assume the mental pressure they feel is caused by the technique itself. That's why Zhao Kunwu inspires such deep fear..."

Li Pin studied the manual in his hands. With it, he could better ignite and unleash his inner spirit.

As for strictly following the methods described in the Sacred Words Technique—after a quick look through, Li Pin found it unnecessary.

First, Li Pin's training in the Sitting in Oblivion Scripture was limited, making it difficult to sustain his inner spirit's bursts. The effects of the Sacred Word Technique were even harder to maintain.

Second, the Vacuum Pulverizer, derived from his inner spirit, was no weaker than the Sacred Word Technique.

Most importantly, he preferred detonating his own inner spirit to enhance his combat strength rather than releasing it to shake others' spiritual will. It was simply a matter of personal preference.

After gaining an understanding of the Sacred Words Technique, Li Pin continued searching through other books.

He had to admit, as one of the Six Extremities, the Great Shang's collection of texts far exceeded his imagination. They covered all subjects and were undoubtedly masterpieces handed down through the ages.

"Even methods for arranging Astral Formations are here," Li Pin remarked with some surprise.

He took down the book, flipped through it, and soon found the theories behind Astral Formations.

It detailed several methods for setting up formations, including the Five Emperor Demon-Slaying Formation, which required an alternate dimension as its foundation.

After studying it briefly, Li Pin realized how profound and intricate Astral Formations were—no less than an entirely new system for Astral Cultivators.

However, their ability to utilize and transform the environment went far beyond what martial artists could imagine, making it a subject worthy of careful study.

Given Lin Baizhan's diligent work in the Celestial Martial God Hall over the past year, Li Pin decided to entrust him with the research into Astral Formations.

***

Li Pin was studying the Sacred Word Technique, Astral Formations, and the many books in the Great Shang's imperial collection, far away in Tianyuan.

Meanwhile, Mo Wangqing stared at a message sent to his communication bracelet by the Gaia Alliance, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"Impossible... Great Shang! That's one of the Six Extremities! A dynasty so powerful it could rival our entire Tianyuan!"

Unable to contain himself, he operated the bracelet, searching for more details behind the message: Celestial Martial God Hall takes charge of Great Shang's operations.

At the same time, countless senior Astral Cultivators like him were doing the same, all trying to understand what had happened.

When Li Pin stormed the capital of Great Shang, everyone knew something significant was unfolding. Yet because of his history of sweeping through empires, most had simply waited for updates from the Gaia Alliance without overthinking it.

No one could have imagined... the situation would escalate to this extent.

The Celestial Martial God Hall had actually taken control of the Great Shang Dynasty!?

Ji Xuanyuan agreed to this?

Zhao Kunwu agreed to this?

The Great Shang Legends agreed to this?

Had they all been defeated? Were they all killed?

Bang!

The door burst open.

"Senior Brother!"

Fu Yixue rushed in, her face full of panic. "Did you see the latest announcement from the Gaia Alliance? That Li Pin... he actually took over Great Shang? That's the Great Shang, strong enough to compete with Tianyuan for the title of the world's strongest nation! How could a martial arts faction like the Celestial Martial God Hall suddenly take charge?"

She couldn't help but add, "Where are the Heavenly Realm Experts of Great Shang? Did none of them have the backbone to resist?"

Mo Wangqing's body trembled.

After relentless searching and inquiries, the message displayed on his wristband was beyond shocking:

This content is taken from freёnovelkiss.com.

Zhao Kunwu, Ji Xuanyuan, Zhu Zhao, Ying Huo, and Jin Taibai contacted extraterrestrial civilizations without authorization, nearly bringing catastrophe to the Gaia human race. After verification by Celestial Martial God Hall's Hall Master Li Pin, they were executed on the spot.

The message was brief, but every word was chilling.

Fu Yixue also saw the message displayed on Mo Wangqing's communication bracelet.

Her pupils dilated sharply, and her body trembled uncontrollably. "Execution!? What do you mean by execution!?"

"It's exactly what you think... Great Shang's Five Heavenly Realm Experts... are dead..." Mo Wangqing's voice was dry and hoarse. "All of them. Killed by Li Pin. Alone."

Fu Yixue's face turned deathly pale.

A fear unlike anything she had ever felt before spread through her entire body.

No matter how powerful Li Pin had become, as the adopted daughter of the Supreme Expert, Fu Qingtian, she had always believed that Li Pin was on the same level as her foster father. At most, she only needed to avoid provoking him.

But now, Zhao Kunwu—the one recognized alongside Fu Qingtian as the Supreme Expert of the new generation—had ended up... killed by Li Pin!

The unprecedented fear surged violently within her, flooding every corner of her being and leaving her feeling as though she had fallen into a frozen abyss.

"From now on... don't ever fabricate anything unfavorable about Li Pin again," Mo Wangqing said with great difficulty.

Seeing the message about the deaths of the five Heavenly Realm Experts, Fu Yixue nodded repeatedly, her movements stiff and hurried.