Planet Pulverizer: A Mortal's Ascent-Chapter 614: Return

"Dao..."

The Void Emperor gazed at Li Pin, who was now immersed in the fight with unprecedented fervor and dedication.

"If only... he had your unwavering resilience. If only... he shared your love for life. If only he, too, could move forward without fear or hesitation... perhaps the brilliance of his life and existence would shine just as brightly as yours..."

He spoke softly, but before his voice could fully disperse, it had already faded into nothingness.

The Void Emperor raised a hand and pointed at Li Pin, who was advancing through the Dao, carrying an unyielding resolve for battle.

In the next instant, the space around Li Pin collapsed. It dragged him downward. He kept falling and falling, endlessly. Until... he plummeted out of the divine treasure world.

***

Li Pin was gone. He had vanished completely.

To the Void Emperor, Li Pin was no longer the main focus. He turned his gaze to the Moon Goddess Domain behind him, now engulfed in a sea of flames from a planetary collision. The impact had annihilated everything.

After a long while, he turned around and looked at the sealed figure before him, the one he never had the chance to let go of when the Astral World collapsed, left to be consumed by its destruction.

The Void Emperor closed his eyes. "To be honest... I do not hate you..."

The depth and emptiness in them slowly faded, returning to void.

"But... fate..."

***

Li Pin let himself fall.

Void....

The shock and confusion in his eyes slowly subsided, giving way to doubt and contemplation. Before long, a look of understanding flashed in his eyes.

"Void Divine Treasure World... Void Divine Treasure World... Void Divine Treasure World!"

At that moment, he finally understood why this world was named after Void.

Before they entered, the Hall Masters had warned them that it was not only tied to the Void Emperor. The world itself had also likely been influenced by his direct intervention.

It was precisely the Void Emperor's intervention that transformed what would have been an ordinary divine treasure world into a forbidden divine treasure world. The Void Divine Treasure World had become so formidable that even the True Body of a Cosmic Radiance couldn't break through.

Li Pin murmured once more, "Void Emperor..."

The Void Emperor within this divine treasure world was both the one Baili Zhu perceived and the true Void Emperor, which made one thing certain: the Void Emperor had definitely kept his eyes on the being formed from Baili Zhu's perception.

As for his purpose... Li Pin had a suspicion.

"It's the divine treasure world!"

His goal is to ensure that this world remains intact!

That was why he had expelled Li Pin! It was because Li Pin had reached the point where he could potentially break open this world!

Li Pin mused, But why? Why did the Void Emperor refuse to let this world be destroyed along with it? Is it because of Baili Zhu? Because this was the last trace Baili Zhu had left in this world?

But... how is that possible? That's the Void Emperor. Those of the Void faction have long abandoned all attachments, like stance, emotion, perception.

To preserve the integrity of their knowledge, to maintain their omniscience free from interference or bias, they had transcended beyond matter, energy, spirit, and even the soul itself, becoming an existence both enigmatic and imperceptible.

Aside from the True Spirit, which could reflect traces of their presence, no one could come into contact with them.

And now... an almighty Emperor of the Void faction had set his sights on this divine treasure world? freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

What an unprecedented deviation in stance. What an unfathomable shift in emotion.

With so many interfering factors at play, could this Void Emperor still be considered part of the Void faction? Was he still qualified to be a being of the Transcendent path?

A tremor rippled through Li Pin's mind, one even he couldn't fully comprehend. As the surroundings gradually came into focus, he realized he had returned to the Divine Treasury Gate.

***

At that moment, an Astral God's combat-specialized avatar was on duty at the Divine Treasury Gate.

His main role was to prevent any troublemakers from causing any damage to the gate. However, given that the Divine Treasure Gate was located at the heart of the Void Divine Treasury Hall, no one could possibly bypass its layers of defenses and get close enough to sabotage it.

With that assurance, the stationed Astral God remained at ease. He was so relaxed that he had even diverted a portion of his mental spirit to connect to the virtual network and play games.

Because of this, he failed to notice the disturbance coming from the Void Divine Treasure World. It wasn't until Li Pin appeared at the center of the Divine Treasury Gate that he noticed an unfamiliar presence.

For a moment, he was so panicked that it nearly disrupted his inner spirit cycle. His emotions surged uncontrollably, radiating outward in waves.

"Has the new round of pioneer deployment already started!?" he blurted out, only to quickly refute his own assumption. "No, based on the 111-cycle calculation, there should still be 68 stellar years left!"

Besides, if a new cycle were truly approaching, the area around the Divine Treasury Gate would already be bustling with activity.

With that thought, the Astral God's combat-specialized avatar flashed and instantly appeared at the center of the gate. He immediately saw the figure that had appeared in front of the gate.

The Astral God's avatar cried out in shock, "Li Pin!?"

Li Pin's name carried considerable weight within the Void Divine Treasury Hall, so the Astral God was no stranger to the face.

With a tone of disbelief, he exclaimed, "You broke out of the Void Divine Treasure World!?"

But almost immediately, he denied his own speculation. "No, if the Void Divine Treasure World had been breached, all pioneers would have been sent back. It wouldn't be just you alone...."

The Astral God avatar had already alerted several Hall Masters to the anomaly.

"Let's just say... I got out early due to some special circumstances," Li Pin replied.

Throughout history, there had been cases of pioneers exploiting loopholes to escape from the divine treasure worlds.

Yan Ling'er was the best example. Whenever she sensed that a divine treasure world was difficult to break through, she always managed to find a way back using her innate ability, her "maxed-out charm attribute."

That was why she had the confidence to enter any divine treasure world.

A glimmer flashed in the Astral God's eyes. "Got out early?"

Even if Li Pin hadn't broken through the world entirely, escaping ahead of time undoubtedly meant that he had made significant gains inside the Void Divine Treasure World.

Moreover, compared to Shi Yiren and Shi Keqing, who could only relay fragmented information through their inner spirit connection, Li Pin had emerged in person. The intelligence he possessed was far more valuable. Just this alone was an immeasurable contribution.

According to the rules of the divine treasure world, once someone found a way out, it meant the world was close to its collapse.

Whoosh!

At that moment, several streaks of light shot across the sky. As they converged, Vice Hall Masters, like Ran Shenji and Bai Chao, appeared one after another.

Even the Second Hall Master, Astral God Yun Tu, who was typically in charge of liaising with higher-ranking figures, had sent his avatar over.

The Hall Masters spoke in quick succession.

"Li Pin!?"

"How did you get out?"

"Escort him away first. We'll talk later."

Li Pin went along with it.

The Void Divine Treasury Hall opened the Divine Treasury Gate free of charge, sending pioneers into the divine treasure world. In return, the pioneers were obligated to provide the hall with intelligence on those worlds.

Before long, Li Pin arrived at the main conference hall of the Void Divine Treasury Hall under the strict protection of the Hall Masters. By the time he stepped inside, dozens of Astral Gods had already gathered.

In addition, more Astral Gods continued to descend, either through avatars or projected light, appearing atop the cylindrical pillars that served as coordinates.

At this rate, it wouldn't be long before the number of Astral Gods present surpassed three figures.

"What's going on? The Void Divine Treasure World doesn't seem to have been breached. There's no sign of collapse energy."

"Li Pin? I've heard of him. He broke through the dangerous Mara Divine Treasure World in less than a stellar year and even obtained two Solar Flare Divine Weapons. He may be a newcomer among the pioneers, but he has remarkable talent in this field."

"What exactly is happening inside the divine treasure world right now?"

The Astral Gods engaged in heated discussion, their spiritual waves rippling through the conference hall.

By now, Li Pin had recovered from the shock of encountering the real Void Emperor. He had regained his calm, and though he had yet to comprehend the True Spirit Realm, his inner spirit had become as still as a lake, sharpening his perception to an unprecedented level.

As a result... the once-distant and lofty Astral Gods, even while communicating through spiritual transmissions, could no longer conceal their thoughts from him.

Having achieved such a state, even if it hadn't reached the Cosmic Radiance level, he had undoubtedly taken a solid step toward it.

Astral Gods... Li Pin thought.

If he wished, he could ascend to Astral Godhood now. His chances of success were far higher than before he entered the Void Divine Treasure World.

But today's events left him uncertain.

Should I ascend now? Or wait several dozen stellar years for the next cycle and enter the Void Divine Treasure World again?

After all... that was the Void Emperor, the real Void Emperor.

Using Baili Zhu's understanding of the Void Emperor as a mirror, he had validated his martial path, allowing his Dao to take its embryonic form.

But... how vast is the gap between Baili Zhu's knowledge of the Void Emperor and the real one?

Now that he knew the true Void Emperor was watching over the divine treasure world, he wanted to re-enter. If he could prove his path in the emperor's presence... his Dao would reach completion.

He would surpass his limits, transcend boundaries, and ascend to unimaginable heights. At that point, he might even bypass the Starshine and Solar Flare Astral God levels entirely, rising straight to the realm of Cosmic Radiance Astral Gods.

And one day, when his Dao was perfected, he would surpass the one he had always viewed as his first goal, Light of the Ark, Yin Luo.

When that time came, reaching the supreme pinnacle would no longer be a distant dream.

With that thought, Li Pin made his decision. He would enter the Void Divine Treasure World again!

Buzz, buzz!

Just then, ripples spread through his inner spirit lake.

Li Pin quickly gazed at the foremost cylindrical pillar in the conference room.

At that moment, a figure materialized atop the pillar, radiating an oppressive, apocalyptic pressure.

The Hall Master of the Void Divine Treasury Hall, Astral God Mu Hai, had arrived.