Planet Pulverizer: A Mortal's Ascent-Chapter 473: Aftermath

The blazing flames, mixed with intense heat, burned like the sun in the sky.

The entire atmosphere seemed to ignite, transforming into a sea of fire stretching thousands of miles.

The flames consumed everything on the land below—mountains, trees, plains, everything. The terrifying heat evaporated even the lakes and rivers.

This apocalyptic scene, coupled with the fall of Yan Zun, made everyone from the Divine Dragon Empire feel like they were in a horrifying nightmare. The scene lingered in their minds, etched into the memories of the thousands of Heavenly Realm cultivators who formed the Astral Formation, stripping away their courage.

Amid panicked cries, the thousands of cultivators scattered in all directions, fleeing in fear.

But it was useless.

Before they could fully scatter or the destruction and flames could spread to other areas of the Demonic Dragon Star, the entire Demonic Dragon Star trembled slightly.

A planetary projection, several hundred kilometers in diameter, descended, enveloping the area in a terrifying magnetic field.

As the magnetic field and planetary projection contracted, the fleeing Heavenly Realm cultivators, like the Legends from earlier, found themselves trapped in reverse motion. They tried desperately to flee and move away from the area, but it only ended up drawing them closer to Li Pin.

When the distance shrank to just ten kilometers, the high-speed rotating Celestial Magnetic Field, filled with terrifying force, crushed the limit of what their Heavenly Realm bodies could withstand, forcing them into their starlight state.

As the area continued to shrink, more and more Heavenly Realm practitioners turned into starlight.

When the magnetic field's range reduced to a thousand meters around Li Pin, a light of extreme brilliance erupted from within.

It was like an astral furnace filled with pure astral energy. But no matter how the energy scattered and radiated, it could not escape the area. ƒгeewebnovёl.com

After dozens of breaths, the starlight in the furnace gradually dimmed.

The repeatedly revived Heavenly Realm cultivators had finally exhausted all the astral energy within them, their strength completely drained.

With the last burst of starlight fading, the thousand Heavenly Realm Experts vanished without a trace, as if they had never existed in this world.

After this, Li Pin ignited the inner spirit within him, and the violent Celestial Magnetic Field gradually subsided.

As his inner spirit calmed, the planetary projection returned to his body, bound and brought under control.

Li Pin floated above the sky, his gaze sweeping over the land, now consumed by raging flames.

Blinding firelight filled every corner of his vision.

As he ascended into space and looked down from above, he could see flames raging across a stretch of over a thousand kilometers.

The fire burned fiercely, flooding the land and surrounding region with thick, rolling smoke.

"Legendary-level destructive power..." Li Pin muttered. "Destroying a nation, sinking a continent, that's child's play. Moving tectonic plates would only take a little effort."

Having reached this level of cultivation, he truly possessed the power to destroy entire planetary civilizations.

It was no wonder cosmic civilizations only accepted and recognized other civilizations who had Legends among their ranks.

Such beings had the immense ability to disguise themselves. If they infiltrated the capital of an opposing empire and caused havoc, no one could withstand it.

Especially someone like Si Xing, who had such perfect control over his power that not even a trace of astral energy leaked.

As long as he concealed his aura, even a Tier Three Legend in the same city wouldn't be able to detect him.

Li Pin gazed into the distance. "The Divine Dragon Empire...."

Over the years, the Divine Dragon Empire had kept the natives of Demonic Dragon Star for various reasons. It wasn't that they lacked the ability to suppress it.

Rather, with the rise of the Gaia civilization, the Divine Dragon Empire didn't see any value in the Demonic Dragon Star anymore. They had swept away its indigenous factions with overwhelming force.

This area, once home to the natives, now stretched over thousands of kilometers with no sign of life.

The Divine Dragon Empire's true active zone lay in the opposite hemisphere.

Li Pin sighed. "Such a powerful nation.... Four primary planets, each with hundreds of billions of people, and over a hundred resource planets."

A primary planet typically corresponded to at least one stellar system.

That meant with four primary planets, the Divine Dragon Empire potentially occupied more than four stellar systems. Many planets within those systems were uninhabitable, and terraforming them would require a massive investment of manpower and resources, far more than the returns would justify.

Under such circumstances, they often designated entire stellar systems—sometimes with several, even over a dozen planets—as resource planets.

As a result, the Divine Dragon Empire actually controlled more than ten stellar systems.

Naturally, Gaia, which only had 61 Heavenly Realm cultivators, couldn't hope to fully dominate such a mighty nation.

As for Li Pin... he couldn't be expected to remain stationary on Miracle Star, acting as a caretaker for Gaia's growth.

"Gaia currently lacks the strength to challenge the Divine Dragon Empire. The only way forward is to cooperate with other nations, divide the Divine Dragon Empire, and maximize the benefits to accelerate Gaia's growth."

Li Pin paused, scanning the vast wasteland of flames around him. "I doubt those nations will refuse."

He would never involve himself directly in the plundering.

With that, he turned and stepped through the Astral Gate.

As he crossed over, he quickly sensed numerous presences outside Death Valley—Heavenly Realm, Legendary....

One of them even had an aura as powerful as his own, carrying a familiar Legendary aura.

"This is..."

Li Pin moved swiftly, emerging from the underground space to hover above Death Valley.

***

Above the Death Valley, Si Xing had already captured Yu Shengjin and Qi Yan. Even Xue Feng, a Tier One Legend, had become his prisoner.

Beside him, more than ten Heavenly Realm Experts, led by Yuan Zhenchuan, were talking among themselves.

However, Si Xing clearly had no interest in engaging with them. He stood quietly with the three Tier One Legends as he waited for Li Pin to arrive.

Whoosh!

A streak of light flashed past.

Li Pin appeared. Upon seeing him, Yuan Zhenchuan and the others, who had been feeling immensely pressured due to Si Xing's presence, let out a sigh of relief.

Yuan Zhenchuan called out, "Hall Master Li."

Li Pin nodded at them before turning his gaze toward Si Xing, looking a bit surprised. "You're a Tier Three Legend?"

"Yes," Si Xing smiled and nodded. He carefully examined Li Pin, then said, "You really are... full of surprises."

"Anyone who works hard and diligently should receive their due rewards," Li Pin replied, glancing at Yu Shengjin and the others.

Li Pin had grasped the situation by now.

"Thank you," he said.

"It's a small matter," Si Xing replied. He asked, "What do you plan to do with these three?"

Li Pin shifted his gaze onto them.

Qi Yan and Xue Feng spoke up without hesitation. "We are willing to serve you, Hall Master Li, and follow your every command from now on."

Li Pin would've gladly accepted them if the idea was feasible, but unfortunately, they were Tier One Legends! Aside from Li Pin, no one on Gaia was close to them in terms of strength. If they harbored any malicious intent, they could easily wipe out everyone on Gaia.

Li Pin could not always be there to protect Gaia and ensure its growth. Thus, disposing of them entirely was the best solution they had at the moment, as Li Pin had done with Yan Zhong and the Heavenly Realm coalition of the Divine Dragon Empire.

Si Xing noticed the change in Li Pin's gaze and immediately understood his intent. He smiled. "If you're worried about controlling them, it's not difficult. There are special methods for that."

He casually shared, "In the vast expanse of the galaxies, illegal organizations capture Legends and turn them into slaves. In the Yin Luo Galaxy, some even enjoy attacking habitable planets, selling off the planets and their inhabitants as slaves."

His casual tone revealed the harsh reality of the universe.

"Legends could be turned into slaves?" Li Pin was taken aback. "I thought Legends were considered true cosmic lifeforms...."

"You can't turn a Tier Two Legend into a slave, but there is some wiggle room when it comes to Tier One Legends. The organization can claim their breakthroughs occurred after becoming slaves."

Si Xing patiently explained, "Of course, Legendary-tier slaves are quite valuable in the galaxy. Compared to Heavenly Realm slaves, they're worth several hundred or even thousand times more. Using secondary currency for conversion, their value can reach billions."

The currencies across the universe were divided into three levels: Star Currency, Cosmic Currency, and Secondary Cosmic Currency.

Of course, many star systems and even star rings issued their own currencies. However, currencies issued within a star system were usually only recognized within that system.

Therefore, Secondary Cosmic Currency was the bare minimum requirement for universal acceptance.

When it came to high-level resource transactions and trades between different factions, only Cosmic Currency and Star Currency were accepted.

A single Heavenly Realm Expert was valued between 100 million to several billion Secondary Cosmic Currency, depending on their strength.

A primary planet's value could span from tens of billions to hundreds of trillions, even up to 100 quadrillion.

As for the Celestial Core Fragments that Li Pin used earlier, their price was around 100 million, with nearly every planet producing them.

In ancient times, people even used Celestial Core Fragments to mint Cosmic Currency, but now it is strictly prohibited by the Star Spirit Clan, led by the Planet Protection Association.

Si Xing glanced toward the underground space behind Li Pin. "If you plan to further control the Divine Dragon Empire, or even extend your influence over the entire Dragon Swamp Nebula, these three might be useful. If not, to avoid future trouble, they can simply be disposed of."

He spoke calmly. "As invaders and the defeated, whatever you do to them is justified and legal. The Homo Sapien Alliance won't pursue it."

Li Pin turned his gaze to the three of them.

Qi Yan and Xue Feng looked appalled.

They clearly understood the cosmic situation. But given the current circumstances, they quickly stated their position. "We are willing to accept the Servitude Mark."

Hearing this, Yu Shengjin looked at Li Pin with palpable surprise. "Servitude Mark...? You've mastered your inner spirit?"

Si Xing explained, "Only by mastering the inner spirit can one enslave Legends. Otherwise, you'd need overwhelming mental spirit to place a spiritual mark. However, spiritual marks aren't stable and need reinforcing after a time... Even with inner spirit, if the other party learns this power in the future, they might break the Servitude Mark."

Li Pin nodded.

Seeing this, Yu Shengjin spoke in a low voice. "If you're willing to grant me one request, I will accept the Enslavement Mark. From this moment, your will will become my life's purpose."