Planet Pulverizer: A Mortal's Ascent-Chapter 975: Conclusion

The King of Gods' mental will completely collapsed. He, a mighty being strong enough to roam the Void of Chaos, completely fell into ruin.

Li Pin looked at him. He had merely shared the truth he knew. Seeing the King of Gods fall entirely into madness and collapse after learning the truth... Li Pin did not let him continue to suffer.

After all, the collapse of the Inner Spirit would result in the collapse of the body. At that time, the entire Gods World would fall apart, which was contrary to Li Pin's original intent of keeping him as a trial ground for all living beings in the starry cosmos.

"Sleep. fall into eternal slumber, and you will no longer fear, despair, or suffer," Li Pin said softly.

At once, the King of Gods' thoughts grew sluggish and dull.

Gradually... His consciousness sank. His massive body, which had seemed ready to devour the entire starry cosmos, floated quietly beside it, anchoring in place. It continued to expand and swell by instinct, but no longer made any attacks.

"This is Eternity," muttered Li Pin.

Before achieving Eternity, he had already glimpsed a fraction of Eternity's might. Yet no amount of understanding could compare to the reality of casually crushing a mighty Creator Lifeform before his eyes.

What likely drove the King of Gods into deepest despair was that, despite knowing that he was in danger, he could not put up the slightest resistance. He could only wait to die. His countless eons of accumulation and endless cultivation were utterly meaningless before the Power of Eternity.

This was already the case when Li Pin had openly warned the King of Gods. If an Eternal struck without warning, the result would be beyond imagination. He would've died without knowing how he had even died.

"It's truly despairing," Li Pin said, glancing once more at the King of Gods.

By now, the King of Gods had fallen into eternal slumber, yet that despair, fear, pain, and collapse still gnawed at his soul. If left as is, one day, the despair would eat him away until nothing remained, and he'd die in slumber.

After some thought, Li Pin waved his hand, took back the Ruoxi Sword, and directly threw it into the King of Gods' world.

This sword contained his aura—that of an Eternal—and could absorb the King of Gods' despair and fear. In this way, the Empyrean World could endure unchanged for eternity.

The Empyrean World, a mighty enemy, could also exist permanently, urging and pressuring the Human Race of the starry cosmos to keep growing without slacking.

"This is all I can do," Li Pin said.

Eternity represented a kind of ultimate end, but it was certainly not the end where he would stop. In the future, he would surely continue onward, seeking the origin of all causes and effects. Even... to break the destiny beyond the origin itself.

The precedent of Eternal Zhan Yuan was right before his eyes.

Li Pin did not know where the path he was walking would lead him, but if he failed, perhaps he too would be like Zhan Yuan and Li Qiuxian, erased of all cause and effect, and eternally forgotten.

He withdrew his gaze and turned toward the starry cosmos.

Within the starry cosmos, all the Supremes, Quasi-Creators, and even Creator Li stared in astonishment at the King of Gods, who had been erupting unstoppably one moment only to subside just as quickly. No one knew what had truly happened. Only Creator Li faintly had a guess, but even he found the guess so inconceivable that he dared not speak it aloud.

At that moment, a voice sounded beside Creator Li.

"Li."

Creator Li, who had already attained a breakthrough but whose essence had yet to expand to its utmost, was slightly startled. His gaze quickly fell upon Li Pin, who had appeared within Creator Li's universe in the form of an avatar.

Li Pin had appeared in his universe, and yet he had not sensed it at all. It was as though Li Pin was meant to be there all along. Such a feeling made Creator Li find it profoundly strange. But when he thought again of the sudden eruption and then sudden stillness of the King of Gods, he seemed to realize something. His pupils dilated sharply. "You... you succeeded?"

"That's right," replied Li Pin. "The process was indeed somewhat winding, but... it succeeded."

Even though Creator Li had long prepared himself for such an answer, his mind still wavered when he received Li Pin's confirmation.

After a long while, he finally recovered from the shock.

Strangely, he didn't feel jealous. He didn't even feel sour that he'd never achieve Eternity in his lifetime. He only expressed his heartfelt congratulations.

"Congratulations!" he said sincerely. "With your talent and perseverance... attaining Eternity is what you deserve."

Li Pin shook his head and did not explain.

He glanced toward the King of Gods in the Void of Chaos. "The danger to the starry cosmos has already been resolved by me. You no longer need to worry."

Creator Li followed Li Pin's gaze.

He was somewhat dazed. "It... it was resolved just like that?"

The King of Gods, who had erupted moments ago and displayed despair-inducing might, was taken care of just like that?

But when Creator Li recalled that the one standing before them was an Eternal, a living embodiment of Eternity, everything suddenly seemed natural.

He looked back at Li Pin's avatar. "Thank you; you saved the starry cosmos."

Li Pin did not pursue the topic further. Instead, he explained. "I did not kill the King of Gods, only cast him into eternal slumber. He will not awaken. Thus, the Gods World will continue to exist and will keep birthing deities and pantheons, posing threats to the starry cosmos. But with no King of Gods, and with me remolding the Astral World in the future, there is no need to fear that the Gods World will breach the cosmos."

He looked at Creator Li and smiled. "Mainly, I just wanted to tell you, when you fully stabilize your Creation Realm, do not kill the King of Gods while he slumbers."

Creator Li immediately understood what Li Pin meant. The Gods World was the whetstone for the starry cosmos. It allowed the starry cosmos to quickly grow, pass its novice stage, and move toward becoming a hegemon of the Void of Chaos.

This was Li Pin's goodwill. But to Creator Li, it was dazzling.

Li Pin's form of goodwill meant the life and death of an unimaginably mighty Chaos Lifeform, his fate decided on a whim.

Such confidence and power...

Creator Li uttered a heartfelt sigh of admiration. "Truly worthy of the Eternity Realm."

Li Pin looked at him, knowing what he meant. However, at this moment, it was clear Creator Li still had not truly grasped what the ultimate state an Eternal represented.

Li Pin did not explain. He had wanted to remind Creator Li not to go to the Empyrean World in the future, but quickly suppressed the thought. Even though he had become an Eternal, he still did not intend to interfere too much with the lives of others.

Perhaps through interference with time, each person could live countless different lives, but in Li Pin's eyes, everyone ought to remain unique.

"Next, I need to remodel the Astral World and resolve some doubts," Li Pin said.

Creator Li nodded. "Go without worry. We will give our all to ensure the starry cosmos passes through this period."

"Mm."

Li Pin took a single step and soon arrived outside the starry cosmos.

He looked at the vast cosmos. Ideas gradually surfaced in his mind regarding the remodeling of not just this cosmos but the entire Astral World. With his current strength, reshaping everything wasn't even a challenge.

He did not notify the Supremes. Instead, he directly began altering the laws of the starry cosmos.

In truth, anything became simple when placed within a freely manipulable timescale. Even mortals making money were no exception.

Even if one earned only a hundred in a day, after ten years it would become three hundred and sixty thousand, and after ten thousand years it would become three hundred and sixty million.

If that three hundred and sixty million were taken back to the present and simply deposited in a bank—without even doing any business—the interest alone would compound it into thirty-six billion within a century or so.

Of course, this was only a metaphor. It was also an illustration of how the Power of Eternity functioned. If Li Pin wished to elevate the cosmos' energy level, he could simply create it from nothing through mass-energy conversion.

For Chaos and Creation Lifeforms, such a process required time. But for an Eternal, the moment he initiated the conversion, the result already existed. He then simply brought the result into the present, completing the process with ease. To non-Eternals, it would seem as if the process had never existed. They only knew that when an Eternal intended to raise the cosmos' energy, the cosmos' energy level simply rose.

The same was true for raising cosmic energy as it was for remodeling Astral World laws.

Had Li Pin not considered the Supremes' acceptance level, the entire process could have been completed in an instant.

"This task, which once seemed a massive undertaking to me, is now completed just like that," sighed Li Pin, turning his gaze upon the starry cosmos once again.

He did not view it through the perspective of an Eternal, but instead maintained senses similar to those of the Creation Realm, sweeping across each corner of the cosmos as if to etch it into his memory.

After a moment, he seemed to notice something. Taking a step forward, he appeared inside a mist-shrouded palace. Inside, five or six people were gathered, intently watching the Human Prodigy Competition held by the Sacred Flame Hall.

This was an event specifically meant to select potential seeds within the Human Race. Anyone who stood out would be richly rewarded, their futures promising Cosmic Radiance status.

Li Yunyao had been chatting with Cosmic Radiance Qing Yu when she suddenly noticed something that made her pause. Her gaze fell upon Li Pin, who had appeared not far away. Her face immediately lit up with joy.

She quickly ran over. "Brother!"

Qing Yu, Yan Qing, and the others also rose to pay their respects.

Li Pin gave them a slight nod. "Your Majesty, the great Liberator Origin."

"Brother, why are you here?" Li Yunyao asked.

Li Pin looked at her and said truthfully, "To check on you."

As he spoke, his gaze pierced through every detail of her recent days. Then he smiled slightly and said, "You've been doing well. That's good."

Li Yunyao nodded. "Mm, everyone treats me very well."

"That's good, then," replied Li Pin.

Then, as if remembering something, he reached out and patted her head.

Li Yunyao did not dodge; instead, she widened her eyes as she looked at him.

Li Pin chuckled. "Doesn't seem like you've changed much."

"Brother... are you leaving?" Li Yunyao suddenly asked.

Li Pin's smile faded slightly. After a brief silence, he nodded. "Yes."

"Will you... be coming back?" Li Yunyao questioned.

Li Pin met her gaze. He had always been forthright and disliked lying, but this time...

"I should be."

This was the response he decided on.

Li Yunyao looked at him, as if she understood something. Her eyes lingered on him for a long time before she finally said, "Brother, don't forget me, okay?"

"Of course." Li Pin smiled. "You are the most beautiful scenery in my life."

"Really?"

"Really."

Li Pin patted her shoulder. "Go, continue watching the selection tournament with your friends."

"It's fine, the tournament can wait—"

"Go," Li Pin repeated.

Li Yunyao gazed at him for a long time, her eyes filled with reluctance.

Then Li Pin waved his hand. He turned first and vanished from Li Yunyao's sight.

Seeing Li Pin disappear so suddenly, Li Yunyao stood frozen, overcome with loss. It was as if something deeply important to her had suddenly been taken away, leaving her heart heavy with emptiness.

She had a premonition long ago that this day would come, but had not expected that it would arrive so soon.

***

As Li Pin walked out of the palace, he also felt emotional, so much so that he no longer intended to show himself and greet anyone else.

He kept looking on and saw Fang Lingjue, Xiang Tianxing, Si Xing, Wang Fuyun...

One figure after another flashed quickly before his eyes.

It should end now, Li Pin thought to himself.

All these represented the scenery he had witnessed along his life's path. They were his scenery. Likewise, he was also a part of their life's scenery. But no matter how beautiful the scenery, there always came a time when it was seen in full. Like a novel, no matter how exciting, it would eventually come to an end.

And in theory, that ending was Eternity. Eternity represented the ultimate of all things. It was the very step Li Pin had now reached.

Eternity—fleeting yet the one and only.

But, even upon reaching Eternity, some matters, some doubts, still had not been completely resolved. Following such doubts, through some unknown cause, or perhaps a normal yet abnormal flaw, he, they, had brushed against destiny, things that lay beyond the ultimate.

Thus, he still had a path that he needed to continue walking.

"All mysteries will be unraveled on the path ahead, the path leading to the Origin, then..."

Li Pin raised his head. Vaguely, deeper within the river of time, there seemed to be two figures waiting there. They seemed to have vanished, yet also not. Instead, they transformed into beacons, guiding later generations forward.

They illuminated a path. It was a path leading to the cause of all things, the effect of all things; a path that represented the end of everything, carrying the hope of breaking fate.

Li Pin withdrew his gaze from the starry cosmos.

"Let it end."

In the next moment, he turned decisively, stepping into the river of time, tracing its currents upstream, heading toward its origin.