Astral Pet Store (WN)

The armor fell into the ocean, gradually sinking along with the rolling tides.

The feeling of coldness intensified as he went down. In any case, Su Ping preferred not to control his armor, nor reveal his aura. He had lost connections with his clone ever since it was absorbed into the strange lamp attached to the fish's head. He didn't think the fish was inviting him to a trial.

The sea monster made him shiver; it was anything but friendly. Su Ping couldn't be mistaken about this.

The Celestials can't ignite the lamps to enter this place. They only investigated the ancient palace and concluded that the deceased Celestial wanted an heir; however, this doesn't have the least resemblance to a test for an heir!

Su Ping's face was grim. The environment became even colder; he felt that both his body and his soul were freezing.

The ocean was so dark that he couldn't see anything clearly, despite his keen eyesight; he could only detect objects that were only a few meters away from him. He was descending in dark water brimming with floating grains of sand, which made it murkier. The grains rubbed against the armor, and Su Ping quickly realized what they were!

It was bone powder!

It was unlike ashes produced in a special place.

Ashes were tiny and smooth particles.

However, the grains were rather rough; the bones had been forcefully shattered!

Is this ocean full of such bone remains? Su Ping was rather shocked. Had the Celestial expert been an ancient deity, and not a devil?

He had never seen a place as brutal, except for the Chaotic Realm of the Undead.

If the legacy is just bait left by the master of this place to lure us over, what's his purpose then? He could have lured the Ascendant experts; they would have been better food for that fish…

Su Ping's eyes glittered.

He was even questioning himself.

Was everything he was experiencing just an illusion, and he was still in the trial?

Su Ping gave up the thought soon after. His willpower had already been well-tempered; other people might be suspicious, but he was pretty sure that the fish was hostile.

The most important thing right now is how to break free.

Su Ping's heart became heavy as the armor continuously sank in the ocean.

He opted to move with the flow, avoiding reckless actions. The ghosts that entered the ocean moments earlier had already caught the attention of the fish. He would have been detected if he revealed the tiniest bit of his aura.

He only felt lucky that, even though his path of illusion wasn't perfect yet, its concealment trait was excellent. Adding the triple small worlds' enhancement, it could conceal him as remarkably as a perfect law. Not even the Ascendants could detect him, unless some of them had mastered a special perception ability. However, that fish was clearly in the Celestial State… Could I have escaped its attention?

Could it be that I'm inside its mouth right now?

Su Ping trembled at the thought.

He pictured that a hideous creature, which he couldn't see clearly, was looking down at him in complete darkness, and he was floating right towards its mouth.

Had I known about this, I wouldn't have fought for the key. I could have given it to someone less talented. It's very unlikely that they can pass the trial and win the legacy anyway… Su Ping smiled bitterly in his heart.

But that was just wisdom in hindsight.

Nobody would have given up the key they found, even if they managed to return.

Maybe I can only wait until other trial-takers arrive. There will probably be an opportunity to escape when the fish chases them…" Su Ping's eyes glittered.

But then, there was another problem.

His perception range had been greatly reduced. How could he detect other trial-takers if they took the ancient road?

Su Ping was deep in thought again.

His body kept sinking and sinking.

A long while later

While deep in thought, he suddenly detected a ray of light.

Su Ping was stunned.

His first thought was the lamp on the strange fish's forehead, but then he realized that the dazzling light was coming from the bottom of the ocean.

The light originated from a magnificent glowing palace! It was an ancient construction found at the bottom of the ocean!

There were depictions of ferocious dragons and other beasts engraved on the pillars, including that of the strange fish. Su Ping was able to catch a full picture of the creature; it was covered in sharp stings, and also had an enormous lamp on its forehead.

Su Ping quickly asked in his heart, "System, can I exchange points for the advanced version of the Illustrated Book for Pets?"

There was a moment of silence before the system replied, "Yes, but you have to pay three times more energy points if you want to exchange for it outside the store."

1111

Su Ping eventually accepted the offer after a moment of silence.

He had to blame himself for being too petty.

It seems that I have to change my petty ways. My store has grown in size anyway. I'm making lots of revenue every day with the help of my employees. I should exchange for the necessary items…

Su Ping admonished himself for a while, and chose to accept the exchange. He only owned the middle-level version of the pet compendium, which allowed him to identify beasts up to the Ascendant State.

He never thought he would have to identify Celestial State creatures. After all, he couldn't beat them, whether or not he knew about them. Besides, the exchange was too costly for him back then.

He had been too busy grasping laws to consider the matter when he finally had enough energy points.

"-3,000,000." The system's reminder made his lips twitch. A huge amount of information surged into his head; the beast engravings on the pillars were no longer unknown to him. He accessed their information almost unconsciously.

"Ghost Lamp Nether Fish?!"

Su Ping was astonished.

His heart was chilled by the revelation. The strange fish was indeed a Celestial creature. Furthermore, the upper limit of its bloodline was not the Celestial State; it was the Heaven State, which was on a higher level!

It was the first time for Su Ping to learn that the level above the Celestial State was the Heaven State.

Of course, that was only how it was known in the system. Maybe the people in the different cultivation sites called it in their own ways.

However, Su Ping believed that the system's name and classification was more formal.

Still, it's not that easy for the creature to rise to the Heaven State. The chance is very slim; most of them remain in the Celestial State. Furthermore, those ferocious creatures feed on ghosts and souls… No wonder my shouting didn't wake it up, while the Little Skeleton's ghosts woke it up immediately.

So, it had been hungry for too long, and it woke up because of food.

Su Ping's lips twitched; he was lost for words.

However, the newly acquired information helped him confirm his speculation; that wasn't a place for trials.

Or rather, the trial was just a trap!

The lamp above the Ghost Lamp Nether Fish's head was said to be connected to the mysterious Netherworld; only the Heaven State fish could open the gate. Even though the Celestial State fish was unable to do that, they were terrifying nevertheless. Most importantly, they liked to store food in their lamps, which was their secondary stomachs.

My clone has indeed been digested… Even the Prime Sky Mirror was broken too. That thing didn't show any mercy!

Su Ping pulled a long face.

He looked at the other engravings on the pillars, only to discover that all were ferocious Celestial beasts. He instantly recognized the nature of the place's owner.

Those were not the ruins of an ancient divine palace; it was a devil's lair!

It wasn't an ancient deity who had perished there, it had more likely been a heinous devil!

How can I break free? Su Ping looked around, only to discover that the palace-protected by barriers—was not corroded. There was a mountain of treasures inside!

Countless treasures were glittering inside. Time seemed to have been frozen there; those treasures weren't affected by the passage of time.

Is that the treasury of the ancient palace's master? It makes sense that the strange fish is a guardian of the treasures down here… Su Ping's eyes glittered. His armor happened to pass through the barriers and enter the palace underwater.

The next moment, Su Ping felt that the coldness faded away and his senses were back to normal.

Su Ping profited from the palace lighting and looked around, but didn't see the Ghost Lamp Nether Fish anywhere. He prudently released some of his power to lift the armor and go toward the barriers on the top.

However, the armor was blocked when it touched the barriers.

I can enter this place, but I can't leave…

Su Ping's expression changed a bit.

He didn't dare to hit the barriers with his full strength, fearing that the fish would notice him.

He simultaneously canceled his power and made the armor fall freely.

Su Ping didn't see the fish in the water nearby after waiting for a few minutes; it seemed that his power release went unnoticed.

He was slightly relieved, but he was still acting prudently.

Since the armor had fallen on top of a bunch of treasures, Su Ping instantly began to examine them.

I think they're all Ascendant State treasures… Su Ping was already a treasure connoisseur. The treasures were in mint condition. The flow time had been slowed by almost ten thousand times!

That seemed to be something only Celestial experts were capable of doing.

However, it was impossible to understand laws or cultivate there. The lengthened time would twist many things around; grasping laws in such a place would mean self-destruction.

Whoosh!

Su Ping dashed out of the armor, and transformed into a glove with the power of the second Astral Painting.

His refined cells allowed him to transform into anything in creation. That was exactly the power of the Eight Nine Astral Paintings.

That ability reminded him of a certain monkey[1] in the myths.

The glove, which was his current appearance, fumbled carefully among the Ascendant State treasures. The glove fingers stopped every once in a while, not proceeding until he confirmed he was safe.

Are there guardians inside this place?

Su Ping was suddenly reminded of the ferocious beasts carved on the pillars. He could not help but wonder if the other creatures apart from the fish were also there.

[1] Monkey King