Astral Pet Store (WN)

"Is there another hidden expert in this place? Are they in the Celestial State too?"

"I once heard that Su Ping had condensed a small world even before he studied after Shen Huang; some strong expert must have taught him that. He couldn't have learned on his own even if he had acquired the technique from some ruins!"

"My senses can't penetrate the building in the slightest. This is unbelievable. Is it an array?"

Those Celestial experts finally understood why Su Ping and Shen Huang were in such a hurry to return to the Celestial Court. It turned out that Su Ping had another backer.

They grew wary, thinking that an unparalleled genius who had cultivated triple small worlds could potentially have countless experts backing him.

"Is this why you're so confident?"

Lin Xiu's face was gloomy, as he had detected that something was off at first. His previous experiences when he had been surrounded and ambushed prompted him to send the nether fish first to test the waters, and it had indeed been caught!

The fish was completely unable to resist, based on the thoughts the creature was transmitting telepathically!

He probably would have ended the same way had he recklessly entered Su Ping's store.

Is that the expert behind the kid? He suppressed the nether fish with ease, so he must be at least a Deity Emperor. Still, if he did have that level, he probably would have suppressed us all before I could even shout…

Lin Xiu's eyes glittered. On the other hand, the brat has been entrenched inside the store all this time; he's been provoking me and luring me to enter. So, maybe, the expert can only exert his power within the store. Chances are he's an ancient being, one who is heavily wounded; he only launched the attack with all his remaining strength to intimidate me…

Or just maybe, there are no experts. It may just be an ancient array; one that is so terrifying it can suppress Celestial experts…

Lin Xiu quickly analyzed and reached the conclusion that he had to avoid setting foot in Su Ping's store at all costs.

He wished he could skin the lad; he believed that Su Ping had similar wishes. However, the guy was holding himself back, which meant that Su Ping was unable to fully control the power.

The thought brought him relief. Still, he felt regret since his nether fish had been captured

Although the loss of his pet was heavy, he chose not to kill it; after all, a dead pet would be worthless. It would be better to make the most of it while he could.

"Brat, stop being pretentious. Have your backer come out; ambushing others is shameless!" shouted Lin Xiu loudly.

Su Ping smiled and said, "Being a great devil yourself, you're no stranger to ambushing others, are you?"

"You're in the Celestial State now anyway. And yet you cower so, not even having the courage for a head-on battle?" shouted Lin Xiu loudly.

His declaration had always worked well; those deities had always been provoked and tricked.

Su Ping ignored Lin Xiu, and addressed the other Celestials, "Guys, Lin Xiu has been possessed by a devil; he's no longer Yong Ye's disciple, but someone else walking in his skin. All your disciples were killed by him; are you going to watch him get away with this?"

All the Celestials looked at each other in bewilderment. Someone snorted and said, "Kid, lying to us earlier has cost you a death penalty, and now you're trying to talk us into helping you?"

Su Ping looked at him. "Sir, did your disciple take part in the trial? Why is he no longer by your side?"

The Celestial's expression changed somewhat. "Kid, you'd better be obedient. Do you want to make more enemies?"

"I'm just stating facts," said Su Ping with a sneer, "Your own disciple was killed, and yet you don't dare to avenge him. Do you even deserve to be a Celestial? I should get you a turtle shell so you can wear it on your way home."

"You're asking to be killed!"

The Celestial State expert was infuriated, not expecting Su Ping to dare make more enemies, even though Lin Xiu was looking at him aggressively!

Su Ping scoffed; he would never back off whenever he pissed someone off. He already had two Celestial State enemies anyway; it wouldn't matter even if he had a couple more, and he had decided to hide in his store until he became capable of protecting himself in front of the Celestial experts.

"Kid, you're too arrogant; someone else would eventually teach you a hard lesson even if you didn't encounter me," said Lin Xiu coldly, while feeling delighted that Su Ping had pissed off yet another Celestial.

"You're just an orphan abandoned by your parents. Even your pet has been caught by me; is there anything you can do instead of talking?" mocked Su Ping. Lin Xiu instantly shook with fury.

"Everyone."

Exactly at that moment-one of the Celestial experts said, "Based on my observations and what my disciple said, this junior called Lin Xiu might have truly been possessed by a devil. Even if he hadn't, he and his master should be executed for conspiring with the saints!"

"We might as well finish him off right now, so that he doesn't cause disasters in the future."

"Agreed." Another Celestial State expert nodded.

"Okay." Yet another Celestial State expert nodded.

"Young man, we're not entirely ignorant. You're young and proud, but you need to tone it down. You won't benefit from making too many enemies. There's a long journey ahead of you. Be careful," said an old man with a smile.

He and Shen Huang were quite close; that was why he offered advice.

Su Ping raised his eyebrows but stayed silent.

He had realized what the Celestials were thinking; they had probably been merely observing because they wanted to find out who was backing him.

Same as Lin Xiu, they had just realized that said powerhouse was restricted in his store, although they couldn't see the interior, so they finally got to business.

As for the Celestial expert who had yelled at him earlier, Su Ping noticed that the guy was probably very close to Yong Ye, so he wouldn't be joining the attack at that point.

There were currently six Celestials willing to attack Lin Xiu.

As for the other Celestials present, they remained silent and unconcerned.

"What nonsense are you spouting?" Lin Xiu couldn't help but change his expression when he saw that many more Celestials were agreeing with Su Ping. "As I said, this is all a ploy set up by this kid; he's the one who conspired with the saints. I'm already a Celestial expert, why would I lie? You would rather trust a Star Lord than a Celestial State expert?"

"Stop struggling."

A Celestial State expert said indifferently, "All signs indicate that you're no longer Yong Ye's disciple; just drop the act. We don't know why you chose to possess his disciple, but we'll find out after we capture you. We'll also be able to study the history related to the last years of the age of deities and devils."

"You!"

Lin Xiu looked at other Celestials with fury and shock, only to find that he had been surrounded "Damn it! Damn it!"

Lin Xiu was quite regretful. If Su Ping hadn't stolen the sutra, the cauldron, plus the dragon and phoenix blood, he would've cultivated the unparalleled imperial constitution right after being reborn, and he would have been invincible in the Celestial State!

Robbed and having just been reborn; weak and unarmed. The situation couldn't have been worse!

"Die!"

A Celestial State expert burst out and charged at Lin Xiu. The sky instantly seemed to be consumed by light. A scorching sun rose, illuminating the world as if it were a paradise.

The ferocious beast that Lin Xiu used as mount roared and aggressively charged at the Celestial State experts.

"You honestly think you can kill me?

"Get lost!"

Lin Xiu unleashed all his power too and attacked furiously. Soon, his battle with the Celestial State experts moved to a deep space that Su Ping could no longer see.

Fortunately, the Celestials are sensible enough. Whatever they're up to, they're willing to finish that guy off… Su Ping's eyes glittered.

He couldn't have realized his own weakness better.

Although he was invulnerable under his store's protection, he could hardly defeat or kill Lin Xiu.

The latter was a cunning ancient devil; it was almost impossible to lure him into the store.

Lin Xiu had realized how dangerous the store was with the nether fish probing, so it was even less likely for him to enter the store.

I must speed up and condense a new small world, become a Star Lord, and then reach the Ascendant State… Su Ping's eyes glittered. If he became a top Heavenly Lord, he would be able to protect himself, even when facing Celestial State experts…

"What a strange evil technique…"

A Celestial State expert who didn't participate in the battle observed the void solemnly.

The other Celestials were just as stern-faced; Lin Xiu was tougher than they expected. They thought that six Celestials would be more than enough to suppress him, but the man had summoned another ferocious beast, while also performing plenty of long-lost evil techniques. One of the experts even got wounded.

The six of them were fighting one enemy, and things weren't going in their favor. To think that Lin Xiu had just been reborn.

Whichever ancient devil he was, he should have still beeen weak after just inheriting the legacy.

"It seems that the kid was right; he is indeed a disaster personified. He cannot continue living!"

"He would have probably tipped the balance of the universe after reaching his peak state, if it wasn't for the kid stealing his treasures."

The more the experts watched, the more shocked they became. Lin Xiu seemed to be a raving lunatic, going all out even when surrounded by a group of Celestials, and still holding ground.

The situation was also partly caused by the Celestials' mild approach.

After all, none of them was willing to fight with all their strength.

"So much for the strongest people of the universe…"

All of a sudden, a shadow roared and rushed out of the deep space. Then, the surrounding space and time was solidified; he looked like an ancient demon.

His hair was unkempt and his eyes were filled with brutality; his clothes were stained with blood, which mostly belonged to his pets.

"Kid, I'll remember you. You'd better pray you don't have to leave this place for the rest of your life!" Lin Xiu grinned hideously. A stream of dark power surged out of his body and enshrouded him, launching him into the void like a planet. He traveled an incredible distance in the blink of an eye.

The other Celestials revealed themselves and gave chase.

Su Ping was slightly surprised; he didn't expect that six Celestials wouldn't be able to suppress Lin Xiu, who even left with threatening words for him in the end. Was the guy confident of making it safely out of there? It seems that this ancient devil is truly not simple. He's been reborn in a different age, and he's much stronger than the average Celestial. Fortunately, he doesn't have a weapon yet… Su Ping felt lucky to have looted the items in the undersea treasury; the sutra old man probably grabbed the rest of his treasures.

"Senior, is there any way to stop him?" Su Ping instantly asked the sutra old man.

The old man gazed into the void for a long time, before he finally shook his head and heaved a sigh. "He's already escaped with the Heaven Devil Divine Escape; it's an emperor-level secret technique he has a full grasp of. That's how he escaped from a couple of Deity Kings years ago."

III

Su Ping was rendered speechless.

"Did you teach him that?"

"He did learn it from me."

II

11

Su Ping couldn't help but heave another sigh. But on second thought, it wasn't bad that he now had access to that powerful secret technique too.

"None of us will lead a good life if that old devil escapes," said Su Ping.

The old man glanced at him and said with a bitter smile, "Young man, no need to test me. I truly don't have any solution to offer, unless you set me free and let me chase him in person…"

Su Ping rolled his eyes. Do you take me for an idiot?

"You'll just stay in my store In the future; you're not going anywhere. I'll ground you if you dare escape," scoffed Su Ping. He had risked his life in the trial, and yet he didn't get the legacy; he had to get things that were as valuable from the cauldron woman and the old man.

The cauldron woman was still frightened by the pressure of the store. She was about to mock Su Ping, but she swallowed it in the end.

A noise burst out of the void at that moment, and Shen Huang flew out in a streak of golden light. He was holding a divine spear like an ancient god; however, his clothes looked rather messed up.

"Master!"

Su Ping quickly called out to him.

Shen Huang looked around, and slightly changed his expression. "Did you suppress Lin Xiu?"

"No. He got away," said Su Ping quickly, "What about Yong Ye?"

"He got away too." Shen Huang frowned and dispelled his spear. He was going to continue chasing Yong Ye and buy more time for Su Ping; however, he was no longer in the mood to fight since Lin Xiu had already gotten away.

Yong Ye was just as strong as him; their battle would have lasted half a year or so.

Fine.

Su Ping was slightly regretful, but he also knew it truly difficult for a Celestial to kill a peer; after all, all of them had many life saving methods. Celestials could only kill each other if they put their own lives at risk. In most cases they would only inflict wounds, which could be healed at home with some

rest.

"Master, you're wounded. Do you want to come inside? I have medicine."

"That won't be necessary; there are medicines in the Celestial Court too. I'm heading back. I'll be going to the Original Planet to question the saints later," said Shen Huang.

Su Ping's lips twitched. Was his master too scared to enter his store too?

The other Celestial State experts looked solemn when they heard what Shen Huang said; the involvement of saints in the trial was not a trifling matter. The universe would truly be in turmoil.