Astral Pet Store (WN)

Boom~!

The thunder reached such a remote place, all the way from the sky above the ocean. It was as if a dragon were bellowing amongst the thunderclouds.

Su Ping raised his head.

It was impossible for him to avoid the Heavenly Tribulation.

I'll become a Star Lord once I pass this tribulation. In that case, let's just get it over with…?Su Ping stopped in front of the Abyssal Hole. The vortex had extended all the way down and reached him. Inside the vortex was an area similar to a void, but it was actually much more special in comparison.

There was no time or space within the vortex.

Su Ping would be hit directly when the lightning bolts struck down.

More undead creatures were entering the vortex and attracting lightning strikes at the moment. The thunderclouds above the ocean were still growing in size. Su Ping could almost see them, even though he was at the bottom of the ocean. The current distance between him and the Heavenly Tribulation was similar to that between the Blue Planet and the sun. It wasn't hard to imagine how massive the thunderclouds were.

Su Ping stood straight and took a deep breath.

He pushed the last stream of strength inside his body to break the bottleneck. All his cells were mutating and dissecting, producing greater power and space inside them.

In the meantime, the internal structures of his cells were also changing, becoming even more solid.

Bang!

Right after Su Ping took that step, the Heavenly Tribulation was activated, and the first lightning bolt struck down.

The entire ocean seemed to have been illuminated by the golden lightning bolt. Just like a roaring dragon, it swooped down and instantly penetrated the entire Naihe Soul Ocean as it moved towards Su Ping. It dazzled his eyes and entered his body.

The lightning bolt suddenly vanished, leaving only a golden afterglow.

Back in the ocean's bottom—Su Ping reappeared after the glow receded. His clothes were torn, revealing his tight muscles and chest. Golden hair fluttering, he gazed at the thunderclouds with eyes that looked like brilliant stars.

"He survived it!"

"That lightning strike could have killed an Ascendant, but he survived it!"

"What a terrifying young god!"

"Is he going through a tribulation to reach the Ascendant State? Why do I feel that he carries Ascendant power?"

The undead creatures floating around the vortex were gazing at the man standing at the very depths of the sea with a mix of shock and suspicion. Only when the lightning glowed could they see Su Ping's face; otherwise, they would only be able to see the dark bottom of the ocean, and the light caused by the fierce battles above Su Ping.

"That kid did reach the Abyssal Hole."

Somewhere in the ocean—the black bird had yet to leave. It saw where Su Ping was thanks to the lightning and was rather shocked, not expecting that such a weak god could really achieve that. It dawned on the creature why its king would ask him to escort Su Ping. That young god was indeed special!

However, he's catching a lot of attention…?The black bird gazed at the depths of the ocean with concern in its eyes.

Boom~!

The second lightning bolt was gathering in the clouds right then. There seemed to be countless interlocked snakes of gold that were forming a terrifying chain.

The lightning bolt struck down without any warning.

Su Ping couldn't help but roar at the sky as he felt death looming over him. Five small worlds appeared behind his back and illuminated the entire bottom of the sea.

He roared and suddenly punched upwards.

His fist gathered the power of five small worlds, which seemed ready to shatter the sky and suppress the world.

Su Ping had already understood the deeper essence of the Fist of Exorcist by then. His punch carried both the aura and the power of the Ascendant State!

His fist roared, and the lightning bolt struck down. A soundless explosion burst out inside the vortex; the bottom of the ocean became brilliant. All the mysteries in the darkness were exposed.

There were actually unimaginably huge bones lying at the bottom of the ocean. They seemed to have been there for countless years.

"He survived it yet again."

"This god is going to reach the Ascendant State in the deepest part of the Naihe Soul Ocean!"

"He's truly crazy! I've long heard that gods are arrogant. I've finally seen it with my own eyes."

Many undead creatures were shocked into silence; they were intimidated by Su Ping.

Thunderclouds spun and paused for a few seconds at that moment. Then, two more lightning bolts struck down; they were bigger and even more powerful.

Su Ping didn't hold back. Using his arm as a sword, he focused all his strength and swung twice.

Two shocking sword auras cut lightning bolts apart, which covered Su Ping after they were split. He felt as if shot by a million arrows while surrounded by the lightning fragments. The pain was so excruciating that he would have been burnt to ashes if his body weren't as sturdy.

The tribulation clouds were already far more powerful than those originally caused by him, all because of the undead creatures trespassing. Even Ascendants would have a hard time blocking the attacks, let alone Star Lords!

Not even the tribulations for Ascendants could be any more powerful…

Su Ping was still standing in his original spot once the lightning dispersed, but he was already heavily wounded. There was blood erupting throughout the surface of his body.

He managed to stand straight, however slowly and having difficulty breathing. He then tore off the arm he had used as a sword, as it had already been too damaged to be healed by the path of vitality. The power of the Heavenly Tribulation rendered all of Su Ping's laws useless; he could only use the power of his small worlds.

After tearing off the blackened arm, Su Ping raised his head and looked at the clouds above him.

It was his Heavenly Tribulation, and he had to see it through the end.

Bang! Bang!

Lightning struck soon after. It seemed that the thunderclouds weren't planning on giving Su Ping any chance to rest. Some of them landed on his head, and others would split during the fall, piercing him like thousands of snakes about to tear him apart.

"This tribulation is too powerful for him!"

The Night Sky Clan's prince realized Su Ping's limits; he wore an awful expression because of it.

They had been trying their best to hold back the Nether Dragon's subordinates, but there was nothing they could do about the Heavenly Tribulation. Anything they did would only make matters worse. Even though Su Ping had five small worlds, he was only a God Warrior; even the Major Gods would be wary of such a tribulation!

"He hasn't given up yet, and neither shall we!" the giant toad roared furiously.

"Is the gods' fate sealed?" Another Celestial soul of the gods was devastated.

"It seems that we failed in the end. This Heavenly Tribulation is too much for someone in his level to bear. Even though his body has been well tempered, he cannot resist without enough power inside his body!" The merman stopped attacking and sneered.

"We only need to wait and watch his destruction," remarked a soul beast.

"Whoever helps him will get killed. Even the heavens have been alarmed…" said a specter with faces all over his body, hissing coldly.

Bang!

Deep inside the ocean, the lightning bolts kept striking nonstop. It seemed that they wouldn't rest until they reduced Su Ping to dust.

Su Ping was nowhere to be seen at the end of the lightning bolt rounds. Only the brilliant, golden light could be seen.

After a long, long time—

The lightning bolts finally stopped, and the light at the depths of the ocean finally faded away. Everybody had instantly fixed their eyes in that direction, only to be shocked the next second.

A man was revealed at the end of the lightning bombardment. He was none other than Su Ping.

He wasn't dead.

However… he couldn't have looked more miserable at the moment.

Only half his head was left due to the attacks; his back had been bent by the enormous force. His muscles were heavily wounded too, and was more of a ghost than a human at the moment. He was standing there like a half-molten candle.

There wasn't a single inch of his skin intact.

But Su Ping was still alive.

His Ascendant State body had given him unparalleled vitality. Unless his body was completely shattered, or his soul was torn apart, it would be very difficult to kill him.

However, he could only remain handicapped without the healing granted by the vitality law.

"He's still alive…"

All the undead creatures were stunned.

The Night Sky Clan's prince and other gods were astounded, deeply shocked by what they saw. Su Ping had survived the fierce lightning strikes… He was gravely wounded, but he didn't fall!

The young genius of the gods was truly extraordinary!

Even though ghosts didn't have physical bodies and were incapable of crying, they still felt as if there were tears in their eyes.

"Is it… over?"

Su Ping's consciousness was humming, while he was shivering and about to fall, just like a willow leaf in the wind. He struggled to raise his head, only to find that the thunderclouds were still hovering up above. They were not done yet.

Su Ping smiled miserably. That Heavenly Tribulation was indeed unbelievable; even he was unable to survive it.

Such a situation came to pass mostly because too many undead creatures entered the tribulation's range and were mistaken as allies—including Ascendants and Celestials.

Never mind. I've already tried my best to survive this long,?Su Ping thought.

He waited for the lightning strikes to descend, but there was no reaction from the thunderclouds after a long time passed.

Su Ping then discovered that the vortex before his eyes began to retract.

Meanwhile, the pressure over him was fading away too. Many laws were reviving in his body, which was gradually healing.

The recovery became increasingly faster. Flesh and fingernails were already regrowing on his ragged body.

From his ankles to his calves, the law of vitality was gradually being revealed.

The recovery power allowed him to stand straight. His body got back to normal soon after, as the law of vitality restored him to his peak status.

Is the Heavenly Tribulation over?

Su Ping was dazed for a moment. He then detected that the power inside his body was like a surging ocean. His exhausted strength was replenished thanks to the recovery of the law of life. He couldn't have felt stronger; he even had the feeling that he could extend his hand and cut the ocean apart.

I'm a real Star Lord right now…?Su Ping couldn't help but take a deep breath. He could already tell that he was much stronger than before.

He originally thought that he wouldn't be greatly improved after becoming a Star Lord. After all, he could no longer establish a small world, and the advancement would only increase his power capacity. However, he discovered that not only his capacity to store energy was improved; his body had also been tempered.

In addition, all of his laws seemed to have been refined, including his small worlds.

Heavenly Tribulation…

As he remembered the epiphany he had when he weathered through the tribulation, Su Ping realized that he figured out a new way to establish a small world. His eyes glowed.

Su Ping looked up while holding back his excitement. Darkness surrounded him again as the vortex retreated. However, Su Ping still saw the merman and the other Celestials.

Su Ping no longer dared to stay there. There was no more protection from the tribulation, so he had to break free as soon as possible.

Whoosh!

Su Ping turned around in an instant, then ran towards the Abyssal Hole behind him.

He was so close that he had already entered it before anyone could react.

The enormous hole was extremely cold; he felt a freezing coldness in his soul.

Su Ping looked back.?I don't think they're chasing me.?His perception radius had been compressed to five hundred meters before; it was expanded to a thousand meters again.

He was slightly relieved to find that nobody was chasing him. Then, he continued diving to the depths of the Abyssal Hole.

Su Ping felt that the soul power around him became increasingly special as he descended. The impurities found in the soul power were removed, only the most essential power of the undead remaining.

What pure energy…

Su Ping found himself in the absolute darkness of the Abyssal Hole at some point. He couldn't see anything beyond the 300 meter mark; however, he could see some shimmering light around him.

The light looked like plankton, which swam in the darkness of the abyss with glittering tails.

Light seemed to be more present down below. Su Ping focused his power on his eyes and examined carefully, only to find that the light was actually the power of the undead.

The essence of the evil power of the undead is actually this clear and pure!

Is this the origin of soul power?

Su Ping observed the undead power essence and was soon devoted to it.

As he contemplated, Su Ping discovered that it was absolutely different from the power of the undead he had sensed outside. In fact, they were polar opposites!

The essence of the power of the undead made Su Ping feel sacred and inviolable.

Who would have thought that the seemingly most evil power is actually the purest…

They say that the Chaotic Realm of the Undead is the beginning of everything, and soul power is the origin of everything…

The so-called reincarnation is just living another life with a different identity in another world…

The soul is the only thing that doesn't change…

Su Ping's body kept on sinking, going deeper into the Abyssal Hole, although without any sense of gravity. Su Ping didn't feel any of it; even if he did, he didn't consider it a big deal.

Su Ping was completely focused at the moment on the abundant soul power around him. Many thoughts were in his mind.

He soon constructed the prototype of a law inside his body.

It was the law contained by the essence of the power of the undead.

Divine power is about endowment. It endows all creatures with divinity!

Deity power is about construction. It can construct everything, including laws!

The power of the undead… is about eternity!

Time and the world change. Bodies are replaced by another. Only souls are eternal!