Astral Pet Store (WN)

Once, twice… Ten times, a hundred times… Su Ping lost count of how many times he had resurrected; he simply felt he was able to survive for longer each time.

At first, he wasn't able to think peacefully during the painful resurrections; he could only force his body to absorb as much deity aura from the rivers as possible.

The deity aura inside his body was being constantly purified, but it was still not nearly as pure as the one found in the rivers.

He gradually got accustomed to the pain during the resurrections, and began to enjoy the absorption of energy.

The integration of the accumulation inside his body and the original deity aura from the rivers sounded like a simple process, but it was intricate and amazing. Infinite energy was parsed and transformed into something more fundamental. Su Ping was able to see how deity aura evolved as the energies were interweaving, and how it could be used.

Normal deities had to use finger techniques or spells to perform deity skills. However, a mere thought was enough to raise a thunderstorm or a landslide when making use of the deity aura's core.

That was the main deity skill.

It was distant, unpredictable, boundless, powerful, great and mysterious!

Deity aura was more plastic than astral power, and its structure contained unique features, which astral power or divine power didn't have. Even though divine power was even more astonishing in bursts, it didn't contain that unique feature.

Structure…

Just like the Path Source World that contains the law of origin, the Realm of Deities contains the features of structure, right?

Su Ping was deep in thought.

He was shrouded in a hazy, silver deity aura that also moved in his veins as passing fumes. It gradually formed a gigantic cocoon that tied him up.

An infant law gradually took shape inside Su Ping's body, like a wisp of smoke. It looked fragile, but it didn't disperse, no matter how it was shaken. It was elastic and fickle.

Driven by Su Ping's thoughts, the law gradually gathered in the shape of a finger, which was then covered in skin and grew a fingernail. In the end, blood and veins appeared at the end of the finger.

Soon after, golden blood flowed out of the finger. It was deity blood!

The finger suddenly cracked, and a ball rolled out from inside, turning out to be an eye.

The eye was brilliant; countless glittering threads seemed to be hidden within, representing wisdom.

Then, the finger cracked again, and a tiny mouth with sharp fangs appeared on the back of the finger.

"Life…"

Su Ping gradually opened his eyes, then looked at the finger floating before him. His eyes turned completely blank, devoid of sclera even; that was how the eyes of the most ancient deities looked.

Su Ping had been able to construct lives with his previous abilities.

However, that finger was different.

Su Ping didn't use any Star Lord power, nor his small worlds; he simply constructed the finger with the law he had just grasped. The finger wasn't a simple creature either… To be more exact, it was a god!

Also, it was a pure-blood god!

That's right. That finger was a unique god that Su Ping had just created.

That was something that only Ascendants could achieve under normal conditions. However, Su Ping had created such a life, even though he was only a Star State warrior.

The Star Lords who had grasped the perfect law of vitality could also construct lives with ease, but those lives would be ordinary at best. They would need special materials as mediums to create lives with special constitutions. However, Su Ping used nothing but the power of laws!

In terms of the result, it seemed to be the same as his previous abilities, which weren't very useful.

But that wasn't the case this time.

Creating lives was only one of the law's usages.

Making things out of nothing was what made the law terrifying!

This meant that Su Ping was not only able to create lives, but also to create other laws!

However, it seems that I can only create simple laws. The top, rare laws, such as the law of reincarnation, cannot be created just yet…?Su Ping tried again and failed; he obviously was incapable of doing that just yet. Still maybe he would be able to when he entered the Ascendant State.

If that wasn't the case, maybe it would happen when he reached the Celestial State.

Is this what deity aura really is?

Su Ping stared at the surging rivers before him. His body was at the moment soaking in one of them, moving along with it. However, he didn't feel any movement of the river while he was in it.

No, this is just the power contained by the deity aura's core, not what it really is. How exactly did the core originate??Su Ping's eyes glittered, suddenly feeling the urge to explore everything; he wanted to know how the world took shape, how flowers bloomed, and why the world was so vast.

After grasping the new law, Su Ping was able to stay alive while entering the rivers.

Even those beyond the Celestial State would be unable to resist the might of the rivers with their own power. However, Su Ping had chosen to melt into them instead of fighting them.

Somewhere close by—the old man observed the situation unfold, dumbfounded.

He had watched how Su Ping resurrected again and again in disbelief.

The young man didn't return once or twice; he had resurrected an endless amount of times!

The scariest part was his inability to see how Su Ping was able to come back to life, and what kind of power he used!

The methods he knew were all useless in front of the rivers, but Su Ping still managed to do it.

Where is this brat from?

The old man was rather crept out. He suddenly had the feeling that someone was watching everything from high above, and that the kid was the queen piece on a chessboard, while he on the other hand was a mere pawn accompanying him for a while.

"Damn it, are the legends real?

"It's impossible. This is a prosperous age. If they are real, I should know about them…

"Wait, the sorcerer mentioned that the acme of prosperity is the start of decline… Is it possible…"

The old man's eyes widened in shock; there was fear in them.

Inside the rivers—

Su Ping kept on contemplating to understand and perfect the new law he had grasped. His body and his constitution were concurrently changing thanks to the influence of the rivers.

He was at the moment able to survive inside the rivers without needing to resurrect; he then lost track of time during his cultivation. Once he felt that his mind was tired, he opened his eyes again and discovered that he was covered in a hazy shadow. He thought about it, and the shadow shifted between illusion and reality. It appeared to be another small world.

Is it… my fourth small world?

He was stunned, remembering how he constructed it during his previous meditation. He didn't expect that the fourth world could be built that easily.

Su Ping examined this new world carefully; it contained abundant deity aura, including the projections of deity auras, which looked minuscule.

If the deity rivers in the outside world were dragons, those in the fourth small world would be deemed as tiny bugs.

Su Ping took a deep breath, then gradually melted the fourth small world into his small worlds' system, using his previous experiences as reference. Very soon, his fourth small world popped up and blossomed like a lotus flower, residing at the very top, feeling rigorous and boundless.

"Since I grasped it in the Realm of Deities, I might as well call it Small Deity World," said Su Ping to himself.

His second world was the Illusory world.

His third world was the Path Source World.

His fourth world was the Small Deity World.

If it's possible to build a small world with the deity aura's core, it should be possible to do the same with the cores of divine power and those of other powers…

Su Ping's eyes glittered. He had now figured out how to condense other small worlds; all he needed was to carry it out. It would be impossible to do for others, even if they knew how. However, he had cultivation sites and was able to travel anywhere he wanted. It became increasingly clear to Su Ping how awesome the system's cultivation sites were.

Not wanting to waste any time, Su Ping then chose to leave.

Even though that place was one of the best cultivation spots he could find in that site, he had already hit the bottleneck; establishing more small worlds would be more helpful. Once he was no longer able to get more small worlds, it would probably be the time for him to enter the Ascendant State.

I won't have my freedom back until I reach the Ascendant State. Although I don't have to leave the store, I must be capable of leaving it whenever I want to,?Su Ping thought.

He then controlled his body and flew out of the rivers. He looked into the distance, only to find that the leader of the Heaven Asking Church was still waiting for him, so he immediately dashed over to meet him.

"You…"

The old man looked at Su Ping with a mix of shock and suspicion; he wasn't as casual as before.

Su Ping chuckled and said, "Senior, thank you for bringing me here. I will remember this favor, hoping I can repay you someday. There's something I need to do now; farewell."

The old man was dazed for a moment, but then relaxed. Even though Su Ping was quite uncanny, the young man now owed him a favor anyway. He nodded and said, "All right. The Heaven Asking Church will always welcome you."

"Okay."

Su Ping waved a hand with a smile, and then communicated with the system to exit.

He no longer worried about hiding anything after having already exposed his resurrection ability.

A channel appeared in the void soon after, which absorbed Su Ping, disappearing right before the old man's eyes.

"Was that…?"

The elder narrowed his eyes. He had detected a terrifying power and pressure coming from the depths of the void channel, which made his soul shake.

It seemed that the channel was leading to a horrifying place.

…

Back in the shop.

Su Ping returned to his store. He walked out of the pet room, and saw Joanna and the others chatting in the lobby.

Joanna narrowed her eyes and looked at him. The sutra old man and the cauldron woman also looked at him; both of them noticed that Su Ping was different.

Su Ping smiled, not bothering to explain. He said to Joanna, "I'm only here for a break, as I'll be leaving soon. Have you enjoyed each other's company?"

"I guess." Joanna nodded.

The cauldron woman bluntly said, "You seem to be stronger."

Su Ping simply smiled, leaving it at that. After saying goodbye to them, he returned to the pet room and took all his pets. He had previously been unable to open his pet space due to the plummeting of his cultivation. He was greatly relieved to find they were all safe and sound now that he summoned them again.

"What a tough cultivation journey."

Su Ping selected the Archean Divinity. The next world he wanted to establish was the Small Divine World!

"That Ancestral God established seven small worlds. It should be possible to build more…"

Su Ping had randomly landed somewhere in the Archean Divinity while he pondered. He asked a local about his current position, then returned to the continent where the Heaven Path Institute was located. He teleported himself back to the institute with the student badge in the end.

There are hundreds of thousands of cultivation systems. There aren't as many power systems, but the number is certainly greater than seven…

Su Ping's eyes glittered. If it was possible to build a Small Deity World with the deity aura's core, it should also be possible to build a Small Divine World using the divine power's core.

He could also build a small netherworld with the power of death originating from the Chaotic Realm of the Undead.

Furthermore, he could build a world of chaos with the original power of chaos.

"Plus the two small worlds I built earlier, I would then have seven small worlds…

"But that won't be enough… According to the Golden Crows, ancient gods and devils possessed sorcery power. My Sorcerer's Divine Constitution contains the same power.

"I would have eight small worlds if I can unearth its core and build a small world with it!"

Su Ping's eyes glittered. He felt that the preparations for the journey to the Ascendant State were quite arduous. Fortunately, it had been smooth thus far, even though the cultivation in the Small Deity World had been time-consuming.

I'll be unparalleled in the universe and throughout history if I cultivate eight small worlds…?Su Ping thought, feeling excited; not even the Ancestral Gods had achieved that. He would be unimaginably strong if he reached the Ascendant State with such a foundation!

Su Ping made plans during his trip back to the Heaven Path Institute.

Hardly had he returned when he saw that his appointed maid was actually waiting for him.

"Mr. Su, you're finally back," said the maid in delight when she saw him.

Su Ping asked, "What's the matter? Is there something amiss?"

"Don't go out for now." The maid looked around; she was still cautious, even though nobody else was in Su Ping's palace. "The Rain Clan people are infuriated since you killed their prince in the arena. They came looking for you, but representatives of the institute told them to leave since it had been a fair duel.

"However, the institute cannot block them forever. The Rain Clan will surely come to you for trouble. After all, they cannot tolerate the fact that you killed their prince in public."

Su Ping had at first thought that his mentor was looking for him, and was quite disappointed by this. "Is that all? That's nothing; their prince was just too useless and treacherous. I disposed of the garbage on behalf of his clan."

The maid felt dazed for a moment, but then burst into laughter; she soon realized it was inappropriate and stopped. After looking around nervously, she said, "Mr. Su, in any case, just be careful. The Rain Clan is a high-ranked one. Besides…"

She didn't finish, but Su Ping understood the idea.

Besides, he was but a mere human being.

It was clear that he didn't have any powerful supporters in a territory of gods.

Exactly at that moment—another maid snorted and walked out of the palace. "Humph. Shirley, you're badmouthing high-ranked gods behind their back. Aren't you afraid of your family suffering because of it?"