"A complete newbie. He likely achieved Astral God status in less than a hundred years and hasn't even formed his True Body yet." "Forget about a True Body, he doesn't even have a single subordinate. Couldn't be any newer than this. He's nothing more than unprotected fat meat, ripe for the taking. Never thought we'd be this lucky." "The Astral Gods who come to the Shattered Star Sea to make a living are mostly those who advanced from Divine and Legendary status without any background. Dealing with them is both safe and risk-free. Looks like coming to Heartless Island was the right choice after all." The three Astral Gods boldly surrounded Li Pin, making no effort to conceal their malicious intent. Li Pin glanced at the three distinct figures, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. "Three Astral Gods?" "And all of them have completed the formation of their Divine Bodies. That puts them at least on the fourteenth tier of the Supreme Ladder," Sasha revealed with a smile. To better absorb matter and energy, strengthening their foundation, many top-tier cultivators chose to take on material forms, which could range from an island, a mountain range, to even a continent. However, such forms were cumbersome, restricting movement and making them passive in battle. To counter this, these cultivators condensed a portion of their material essence to form a True Body, which was distinct from their original form, avatars, and clones. In theory, a True Body could hold up to ninety-nine percent of the original body's power. Once it reached one hundred percent, it meant the entire body had been converted into pure energy. This state was known as a Divine Body. Of course, if one truly converted ninety-nine percent of their mass into a True Body, what would be the point of cultivating in material form to begin with? To balance efficiency in cultivation, most Astral Gods limited their True Body to no more than half their original mass, keeping their full combat strength at around seventy percent. The reason these three Astral Gods were so excited was that Li Pin hadn't even formed his True Body. Without a True Body to concentrate power, the battle form he had condensed at best could unleash only fifty percent of his total strength. For those with weaker cultivation foundations, that percentage dropped to twenty or thirty percent, sometimes even between ten to twenty. To them, an Astral God in this state was nothing more than a living target. Just then, one of the three men spoke solemnly. "Enough talk. Newly ascended or not, take him down first." His entire figure was shrouded in a pitch-black robe. "Yomo, you're too cautious. Look at him. He's clearly a rookie who's been in the Astral World for less than a hundred, maybe even ten stellar years," another white-robed Astral God said, examining the surroundings. "We really got lucky. This region has been peaceful lately. "If an Eternal Oblivion Tide had swept through, an Astral God without any foundation like him wouldn't have lasted a single stellar year." In that instant, Li Pin appeared right in front of them. "How shall I address you?" he asked. "The dead don't need to know so much," the white-robed Astral God replied indifferently. Li Pin sighed, a trace of regret in his tone. "This will be my first time truly killing an Astral God. You should at least be worthy of having your names remembered." "Your first time killing an Astral God?" The white-robed Astral God paused. "Us?" "You planned to ambush me, refine my original body into Astral World Fragments, and sell them. Naturally, you should be prepared for the possibility of being the ones who end up dead instead. That's only fair, don't you think?" Li Pin responded calmly. One of the three scoffed. "Ridiculous." Then... without warning, he struck. His entire being erupted with power. Sword in hand, he shot forward. The massive sword in his grip crackled like a thunderbolt tearing through the sky as it came crashing down toward the island that was Li Pin's original body. The speed at which he moved, combined with the rippling distortions in space caused by his greatsword, made him seem like a meteor hundreds of meters in diameter. That might not sound impressive—perhaps even insignificant. But at speeds exceeding several dozen kilometers per second, if he truly struck the island Li Pin had formed, it would be torn apart instantly. In other words, it would tear Li Pin's original body apart. Sasha kindly pointed out, "That strike carries an energy output exceeding 1.5 million." Li Pin briefly assessed his own state. The energy he could currently mobilize hovered around 600 thousand. Anything beyond that required drawing power directly from his original body. Gentle ripples spread across his tranquil inner spirit lake, and the image of the Astral God wielding the greatsword appeared clearly in the lake's reflection. Within this state, the flow of energy through his opponent's body, the patterns of its circulation, the points of eruption... all became perfectly clear in his mind. While this ability was far from the true reflection of the True Spirit Realm, where all things could be foreseen and predicted... against mere Starshine Astral Gods... it was more than enough. Li Pin unleashed a force just below the 1.5 million threshold and reached out, catching the Astral God mid-strike. With three consecutive bursts of power, he disrupted the attack. Each strike was weaker than his opponent's, but together, they threw off his rhythm. Sensing his attack crumbling, the Astral God's energy surged violently. His greatsword vibrated at extreme speeds, and a devastating force erupted from it. "Break!" In the next instant, an even more ferocious burst of destruction exploded forth, instantly tearing Li Pin's condensed form, which was barely even a proper clone, into dust. At the moment when the body shattered, the Astral God's face turned taut with horror. "Not good!" Too much force! he thought. Immediately after, an unprecedented devouring force swept over his body, as if trying to drain every bit of his power and reduce it to nothingness. "The Eternal Oblivion Force! Old Third!?" The black-robed man known as Yomo gasped in shock and charged toward the island formed from Li Pin's original body. The Astral God, referred to as Old Third, erupted with power. He turned himself entirely into a massive source of light. Waves of energy surged out, constantly neutralizing the Eternal Oblivion Force engulfing his body, barely managing to halt its further erosion. "So, this is the Eternal Oblivion Force?" Very soon, Li Pin's form condensed once more. He fixed his gaze on the Astral God called Old Third, analyzing the situation rapidly. If they were two racers, then at this moment, the Astral God was carrying the equivalent of dozens of pounds in extra weight. With that much weight, even his daily life would have been affected, let alone a race. Even if Li Pin was weaker at the start of the fight, they could no longer be put on the same level at this very moment. "You actually burdened Old Third with so much Eternal Oblivion Force!? You deserve to die!" Having previously dismissed Li Pin as insignificant, the white-robed Astral God now roared in fury and lunged at him. In the Astral World, no one would recklessly unleash energy-based or long-range attacks. Doing so would only invite the Eternal Oblivion Force to consume and erase them. For that reason, he chose to close the distance with sheer speed instead. Yomo warned in a low voice as he and another Astral God attacked from two directions. "Be careful! Something's off about this Astral God!" One wielded a sword, the other a spear, and both struck at Li Pin's original body simultaneously. Li Pin locked eyes with the approaching Yomo and met his attack head-on. At the same time, another figure materialized, intercepting the white-robed Astral God. Neither Li Pin's original body nor the newly formed one possessed energy reactions on par with the two opponents. At best, he could only ensure that he wouldn't be instantly obliterated. But the moment they clashed, both Astral Gods' expressions changed dramatically. In that instant, they felt as if they had returned to their mortal days, facing an Astral God's avatar. Even Yu Jianglong, with an energy intensity surpassing 300,000, wouldn't dare claim an assured victory against an Astral God's avatar with only 60,000 units' energy strength. Li Pin's current energy intensity, despite not being at its peak, was still around 500,000 to 600,000. Meanwhile, the energy they released was below 2,000,000. How could they possibly expect to erase crush Li Pin outright? Moreover, the Eternal Oblivion Force was omnipresent in the Astral World, which only amplified the dangers they faced exponentially. Despite proceeding with extreme caution, in mere moments, both Astral Gods found themselves burdened with a layer of Eternal Oblivion Force. The sheer suppression made them instantly realize they had kicked an iron wall. "He's definitely at the Eternal Solar Flare level!" The white-robed Astral God's previous confidence vanished, replaced by sheer bitterness. "A genius of this caliber, and no one has taken him in!? Or... has he been in the Astral World for less than ten years and is currently in the process of being recruited?" Yomo made a decisive call. "Retreat!" By now, they had accumulated too much Eternal Oblivion Force. Their disadvantage was snowballing, growing larger with each passing moment. If they stayed any longer, death would be inevitable. Their only path forward was clear: flee immediately, find a safe place to live quietly without ever fighting again, and hide for the rest of their lives. Though the other two were unwilling, they had already lost the courage to continue fighting Li Pin. They followed Yomo, preparing to retreat at full speed. Li Pin gazed at the three. "Retreat?" In the next instant, a sword appeared in his hand. The moment he grasped it, his perception, spatial awareness, and comprehension of inner spirit power surged to an entirely new level. Sasha quickly warned, "Careful! The power of a Cosmic Radiance Divine Weapon is too much for you right now! The amount of power you can control is still under 2,000,000. Once amplified by the Divine Weapon, your attacks will likely exceed that! In the Material World, it wouldn't be a problem, but in the Astral World..." "I know," Li Pin responded, then unleashed three swift thrusts toward the three fleeing figures. Three invisible ripples tore through space. The three Astral Gods felt an unprecedented sense of dread, as if something had transcended time and broken through reality to reach them. Their eyes widened in horror. But before they could utter a word, the space around them shattered and collapsed. Along with it, so did their bodies. At the same time, an invisible ripple, like a raging storm, surged through the fractured space. Some of it even followed the lingering sword qi's trajectory, instantly sweeping toward Li Pin. Sasha warned, "Eternal Oblivion Force..." "I know," Li Pin said calmly, allowing the relatively weak Eternal Oblivion Force to coil around his body.