Astral Pet Store

"Junior brother?"

The seven people in the temple noticed Su Ping arrival, then shared astonished looks before they looked at their master on the throne.

"Greetings, senior brothers and sisters," said Su Ping and then looked at his master. "Greetings, master. I'm here to report for duty."

"Have you made a decision?" Shen Huang looked at Su Ping with a mild smile on his face. "Song Yuan, your primary mission on this trip is to ensure your junior brother's safety. Your secondary mission is to fight for the ancient corpse; just destroy it if you can't get the treasures. We must not let others have it if we can't."

The group of seven were none other than Shen Huang's disciples, including Song Yuan. They wore strange expressions; however, Su Ping had shown that he was as strong as a Heavenly Lord during the commandery contest, which was shocking to all the Ascendant cultivators.

So, even though they thought the mission was arduous, they didn't think that Su Ping would be a liability.

Su Ping being that strong was unprecedented. They could only infer that it was due to the unusual boost produced by the multiple small worlds in his body.

Song Yuan realized what other people were thinking, and asked his master, "Master, our junior brother is exceptionally talented. Does he also need the treasures in the ancient corpse?"

Shen Huang nodded. "Su Ping is currently stuck in the bottleneck right before the Ascendant State; he might glean something new if he goes traveling. Besides, the ancient corpse is of paramount importance. It would be fortunate for all of us, no matter which of you gets the legacy."

"Our junior brother is stuck before the Ascendant State breakthrough?"

The seven disciples were stunned. They couldn't help but give Su Ping surprised and sympathetic looks, as if they had expected him to be an exception.

"Su Ping, you are indeed talented, but you still lack experience; you must listen to your senior brothers and sisters. The strong ones aren't necessarily the ones who win; sometimes the real battle happens outside the battlefield. There's a lot you need to learn," said Shen Huang to Su Ping.

Everybody was greatly relieved to hear that.

All of them could tell how fond their master was of Su Ping. They would feel frustrated if they had to sacrifice themselves to protect him. Su Ping was a genius, but he was too young for them.

Furthermore, they all used to be geniuses in their time, and were still glowing to that day.

"Alright." Su Ping nodded modestly.

"Right now, the people of various star zones have gathered in the Mayhem Star Zone; the battle for the ancient corpse has already begun. Fortunately, there are a lot of obstacles for them; you will meet with Lian Qi as soon as you arrive. Anyone is your enemy, except our allies from the Red Fire Star Zone and the Void Star Zone."

Shen Huang added, "Mind you, even our allies are not to be trusted fully. Exercise caution and return safely!"

"Yes, master."

Song Yuan said solemnly, "I'll take care of my juniors and bring them back safely."

"Okay."

Shen Huang gave them a smile reflecting comfort. He waved a hand and all sorts of marvelous weapons, treasures and medicines appeared; some of the medicines had already attained wisdom and were floating like shy kids.

"There isn't much I can do for you. These are top Ascendant treasures and pills from my vault. Just take them."

The items flew toward Song Yuan, Su Ping and the others, slowly descending.

Right before Su Ping were three pills that looked like butterflies and a piece of pure black armor of ancient design. The armor's shoulder pads were slightly damaged, but still carried a mysterious power.

He glanced at the others and found that each set of armor and weapons matched their own laws perfectly. His master had surely picked those treasures according to their circumstances.

Su Ping readily accepted the armor and his body absorbed it.

He sensed an abundant power and the aura of Dao Patterns when a mind link was established with the armor.

"This armor…" Su Ping was rather shocked. Even though he had yet to examine it fully, he could tell that the armor was an ultimate treasure that any Ascendant would crave for!

As for the three shivering pills, Su Ping stored them inside the World of Mythical Chaos. The chaotic aura would nurture the pills and raise their effectiveness.

"Your weapons and armor are ancient treasures I've found in many relics throughout the universe; the method to forge them is already lost. Even though they're slightly damaged, they're still a grade beyond the Ascendant State. We call them the Dao Pattern treasures!"

Shen Huang added, "Even I have a hard time getting hold of an intact Dao Pattern treasure. Celestials will often fight for it. These are the best treasures I can offer."

Song Yuan and the others acknowledged their respective treasures. They all became excited while sensing the overwhelming power inside and expressed their sincere thanks to their master.

"Master, don't worry. We will try our best to get the ancient corpse," said Song Yuan.

Shen Huang nodded and replied, "Those pills have different effects, you can find out later. Some of them may save your lives in a crisis."

Some of the disciples had suppressed their pills and learned their effects. They were excited to hear what their master said.

Su Ping was rather curious too. He split some of his consciousness and sent it into the World of Mythical Chaos. While looking at the three dazed pills floating about, he said, "Report your effects."

The three pills appeared as tiny kids. They were shaking in their boots as they saw Su Ping.

One of them gritted her teeth and ran off while protecting the other two boys behind her. "If you want to eat, eat me. I can break all the obstacles inside your body and give you a five-fold power up. The downside is when the effect wears off, you will have a weakened period and won't be able to feel any laws or power."

Su Ping waved a hand, drawing that timid yet stubborn kid over. He flicked her forehead, forcing her to roll backwards. "To sum it up, you're basically poison, aren't you?"

"Poison?"

The kid covered her forehead and trembled with fury. "You're calling me poison? Your strength can grow by five times so you can slay much stronger enemies and save your life in a pinch… And yet, you think I'm a poison?"

"What if I eat you by accident?"

"B-By accident…"

The kid choked. Such a question was completely unexpected.

The other two boys rushed over and stood in front of the girl. After a round of Su Ping's beating, they all covered their heads and confessed their effects. One of them could temporarily help Su Ping stretch his laws into the void and connect with the Dao Patterns.

The other one could bring him back to life. It could create a copy of Su Ping's body with a single drop of blood. If Su Ping died while the copy existed, he would be able to resurrect with blood alone, no matter how he was killed.

Su Ping's consciousness returned to the temple after finding out the pill's effects; his interrogation only lasted a brief moment. Back in the temple—Shen Huang waved a hand and said, "There's no time to waste. Let's go!"

The temple around them was instantly gone. Everybody was standing underneath a sky full of glittering stars.

They were relocated to a high platform; before them was the ancient hyperspace teleportation array.

"Master, aren't we going to wait for the Red Fire Star Zone?" asked You Long.

Shen Huang looked at him and said, "Coalitions are pointless when the reward is too appealing. But they're allies anyway; don't make enemies out of them unless it's necessary."

You Long nodded and understood.

The ancient corpse was essential for them. That was why no one else was qualified to join them in the fight, not even the Loulan ancestor or the other Heavenly Lords working for the Celestial Court; only Shen Huang's disciples could go.

Those people were asked to stay in the Celestial Court.

None of them were truly raring to go and plunder the ancient corpse. After all, all the Celestial's disciples were sent there; they were too unorganized to fight them. Even if they struck deals and alliances for the trip, those agreements would probably not be as solid and trustworthy. It was better for them to stay at the rear and work on breaking through to the Celestial State.

Shen Huang looked at the group and said solemnly, "Be safe."

Su Ping and his seniors nodded back with equal seriousness. Then, they followed Song Yuan's lead and entered the hyperspace teleportation array.

The vortex-like gate was connected to a distant part of the universe.

The strange sensation felt during a space jump was over pretty quickly. Su Ping and the others found themselves in another star zone when they opened their eyes.

The sky above them was no longer full of glittering stars; the cosmic dome was instead filled with brown clouds, as if the universe were suffering some sort of disease. There were also dim yellow nebulae; right before their eyes was a dark region where things were barely visible.

"My age has increased by two years…" Chunyu said in a low voice.

Su Ping heard this and instantly examined himself, only to discover that his own age had also increased by two years. He raised his eyebrows. That could only mean that the brief teleportation they had sensed previously had actually lasted two years!

Maybe it was due to the special time and space fluctuations during their jump.

"This is the Mayhem Star Zone," Song Yuan looked at the dark region and said, "We're currently in the peripheral region. Let's inform Junior Brother Lian Qi; he must be waiting for us."

He waved a hand and launched a purple dragon that broke into the void and disappeared.

While everybody was waiting—Ji Xueqing approached Su Ping and said, "Junior brother, stick with me while we move in the Mayhem Star Zone. This place is very chaotic; not even Celestials can intervene. We must keep a low profile, even if we have our lofty disciple status and Heavenly Lord power. After all, we're outnumbered here."

Su Ping understood. "I will, senior sister."

He had already learned the lesson after having traveled and trained a lot in cultivation sites.

"Junior brother, you must have been training in seclusion, right? Your life aura seems to have increased by decades," said Senior Brother Han.

His full name was Han Ye. He flashed a big smile at his junior.

"Yes. I've been trying to break through to the Ascendant State, but I haven't found the right direction." Su Ping sighed.

You Long approached Su Ping and grabbed his shoulder. "Master told us about it, but it hasn't been more than a hundred years yet, has it? Does it really count as being stuck, though? It's certainly not a big deal. Only monsters can reach the Ascendant State in a hundred years."

Su Ping said with a bitter smile, "But I feel like I've been stuck for a long time."

"It's getting more difficult for us to understand you, junior brother," said Song Yuan jokingly.

"He's here," Ji Xueqing said.

There was a glimmer in the void all of a sudden, then a man emerged out of thin air; black haired, with purple tattoos all over his cold face.

It wasn't until he saw Song Yuan and the others that the coldness was finally replaced by a smile. "Senior brothers and sisters, you're all here."

"Lian Qi, how is it going?" asked Song Yuan calmly, his smile gone.

Lian Qi was astonished to see Su Ping in the crowd. He replied, "Senior brother, the situation is rather complicated. Many Heavenly Lords arrived earlier than you, and a lot of locals are occupying the areas near the ancient corpse.

"Several skirmishes between locals and foreigners took place near the corpse. Then, they found that getting the corpse wasn't easy. Besides, the foreign Heavenly Lords aren't easy to deal with, so the locals are already backing off.

"Right now, everybody is exploring the ancient corpse on their own."

Once the briefing was done, Lian Qi finally had the chance to ask, "Who's he?"

He looked at Su Ping.

Song Yuan frowned and pondered over the situation. Ji Xueqing replied in his stead, "He is our junior brother. Don't let his Star Lord realm fool you, he's as strong as a Heavenly Lord. Even you might be no match for him."

Lian Qi's eyes widened after he heard that. "Why, a junior as strong as a Heavenly Lord? A Star Lord… A Heavenly Lord…"

He was dumbfounded, feeling that he had heard the most unbelievable piece of news.

You Long patted his shoulder and chuckled. "Don't feel so surprised; we were just as shocked as you. You've been defending this spot for our master's sake, so it's only natural that you don't know what's going on outside. This junior of ours is the most famous person in the universe right now."

Lian Qi looked at Su Ping, still stunned. He found it impossible to understand, even though You Long had tried to make things clear.

A Star Lord can be as strong as a Heavenly Lord? Is this a joke?

"Junior Brother Su was the first one to establish multiple small worlds." Ji Xueqing covered her mouth and chuckled, seemingly amused by Lian Qi's expression.

The latter felt dazed. Even though he wasn't quite informed while living in the Mayhem Star Zone, he had heard a lot about the multiple small worlds; he didn't know they were related to that junior brother of his.

Exactly at that moment—Song Yuan frowned. "Huh?"

Chunyu also gazed coldly at a certain direction in the void.

Su Ping looked at Lian Qi in surprise. To be exact, he was looking at the man's back.

Boom!

A powerful aura was swept out from a point in the void, and a few men revealed themselves shortly after.