Astral Pet Store (WN)

Five days passed in the blink of an eye.

Su Ping had also made significant progress in his cultivation, aside from considering what treasures to select. The core of the second Astral Painting was taking shape, all thanks to the abundant astral power in the training room.

Even an ordinary battle pet warrior would advance quickly in such an environment. Still, Su Ping and the other geniuses were actually suppressing and consolidating their power.

"We're here: Heavenly Star Pavilion."

Everybody walked out of the cultivation quarters and gathered while the ship was in the process of docking. One of the people on the vessel immediately sensed that two of the geniuses had risen to the Star State!

Their appearance looked as deep as the oceans. They had already reached the peak of the Star State the moment they had broken through!

They seem to have failed in suppressing their cultivation. Or rather, they didn't try to. After all, the competition is already over, and they're free to advance, someone thought.

Luo Ying, Dragon Shepard, Six Lives Buddha and the others were still in the Fate State. Five days of training was nothing special to them; they only consolidated themselves and reflected upon their failures to find things that could help in improving.

The environments where they usually cultivated had as much astral power as that place did; they would progress faster in only a couple of days.

Besides, having seen a monster such as Su Ping, all of them were trying to condense a small world while still being in the Fate State!

Even so, they weren't really trying their best. Their cultivation careers could be ruined if they lingered for too long without breaking through.

"This is the Heavenly Star Pavilion? I hear that a special array protects it, covering an area with a radius of a hundred thousand light years. Even Heavenly Lords would have a hard time trying to break in!" said one of the geniuses.

Luo Ying smiled casually and said, "The master of the Heavenly Star Pavilion is a mysterious expert in the Federation. Rumor has it that he is as strong as a Celestial. Who would dare to rob him?"

While standing outside the spaceship, Su Ping saw a splendid building in an area that radiated a sacred and strange light in space, further ahead!

It was a truly eye-catching sight, contrasting with the dark space.

The building was surrounded by moons, which were gathered around it like a river.

The building was unimaginably massive.

It was as large as a sun!

When observed from the outside world, it could be seen that the building had five floors.

Its cornices and tiles were glowing, making it look exquisite and magnificent.

"People say that the Heavenly Star Pavilion itself is a super treasure!"

"Is that so? I heard that the pavilion is an ancient prison used to confine horrifying things."

"There are all kinds of rumors; no one knows if any of them are true. However, the place is undoubtedly the most heavily guarded in the Federation. It would seem that only a few guards are visible. Whoever causes trouble will be immediately killed; they even kill Ascendants!"

All the geniuses were discussing openly.

The Ascendant experts escorting them were also acting with solemnity and awe.

"Senior Xing Ling, I am Mo Tianhua."

On the spaceship—the man in black stepped up and cupped his hands before he said, "By the order of Lord Supreme, I'm escorting the geniuses this year so that they may safely claim their treasures."

He took out a badge as he spoke.

It was a Heavenly Star Badge!

Only Celestials had such badges. It had been lent to him to be allowed entrance to the Heavenly Star Pavilion.

A moment passed after Mo Tianhua made the first approach; an unemotional voice that sounded like an ancient god was then heard, seemingly coming from a distant space. "Come in according to the rules."

A bridge was extended from the river of planets and reached them.

Mo Tianhua stored the badge and urged the spaceship navigator to sail forth to the bridge.

The spaceship glistened the moment it reached the bridge. The universe around it was torn apart into countless spots of light, since the vessel began to move faster than the speed of light without the use of a space jump.

Soon after, thanks to the acceleration of the bridge, the spaceship was able to bypass the planets and reach the building.

The group was only able to see a dazzling, golden brilliance as they got closer to their destination. They couldn't even see the bottom-level cornices.

Three men flew out of the building at that moment. The white-haired old man in the lead smiled at Mo Tianhua and said, "It's you again. Does your master have no other choices to pick from?"

"Why? Do you have a problem with my master?" said Mo Tianhua indifferently.

"I wouldn't dare." The old man looked at the passengers aboard the spaceship and smiled. "I heard that a kid condensed a small world while still being a Fate State warrior. Let me guess. Is it him?"

He turned his head and looked at Su Ping while he said that.

Su Ping was slightly surprised at first; he soon calmed down, as it wasn't strange for the man to detect the small world inside his body.

Mo Tianhua was obviously bored. He rolled his eyes and said, "Let's get this over with."

The white-haired old man, however, ignored him and smiled at Su Ping. "Kid, are you interested in being a guest of the Loulan family? You don't need to do anything except to give us a hand when our family is in trouble."

Su Ping had finally realized that the old man was trying to do some persuading so he would work for his family.

"He's from the Loulan family?"

"Which Loulan family?"

"THE Loulan family, one of the seven most powerful families of the Federation! It's said that the family has companies throughout the universe. Many people only get to see and use things created by the Loulan family during their whole lives."

"Well…"

"One of the seven most powerful families of the Federation is inviting Brother Su as a guest? This is unbelievable!"

"Indeed. Brother Su is only a Fate State warrior right now, but he will surely reach the Celestial State someday; he'll become a Heavenly Lord when he does. They're making friends with a future Heavenly Lord in advance!"

All the others realized the old man's plan; they looked at Su Ping in a passionate way.

Su Ping's competitors' feelings were strange. They had always been glowing figures able to eclipse those around him. However, they were the ones eclipsed when they stood next to Su Ping.

The latter was also surprised. He had just learned that the old man was part of a powerful family, which was probably led by a Celestial. Even if it wasn't, it probably had close contact with multiple Celestial State experts.

Otherwise, how could it rise to become that powerful?

However, instead of accepting the invitation in a hurry, he simply said, "Thank you, senior, but I have to ask my master first."

"You do?" The old man was stunned for a moment, but then realized Su Ping's plan. He smiled and said, "Your master is Shen Huang, right? Don't worry; he's been very close to the Loulan family. Here's my communication badge… Just contact me when you make a decision."

"If you become one of our family's guests, you will receive everything you need!"

Su Ping felt tempted. Everything I need? Would that mean that he would never have to worry about materials?

If that were the case, he would only need to cultivate constantly. Once the Solar Bulwark was cultivated to the peak, it would probably give him a power on par with that of the Celestial State.

After all, he was already able to crush Star State experts, and was practically invulnerable before normal Star State enemies. Only the exceptional geniuses who had special ancient techniques would have a chance to hurt him.

"Sure."

Su Ping accepted the guy's communication badge and thanked him.

Mo Tianhua watched in silence, without a need to butt in or act impatiently. Once the two were done, he finally said, "May we enter now? These ones earned star-level awards, while they earned the access to the earth-level, and those are to head to the heaven-level area…"

He pointed at the passengers and reported their levels, as well as the number of prizes they were entitled to.

The old man was already aware of the information. He smiled and took out badges that were similar to the Heavenly Star Badge. He then approached Su Ping first and handed him three of them. "These are three Heavenly-Level Divine Weapon Orders. Detailed information about the treasures will appear if you use them to observe them. If you want to make a selection, just place a badge on the bubble that covers the item."

Su Ping nodded at the friendly old man and said, "Many thanks."

The old man smiled, then gave the rest of the badges to Luo Ying, Six Lives Buddha and Lilian. But he didn't illustrate further.

The others were speechless due to such discrimination. The trio was further reassured that they had to work harder.

I'll be the best Star Lord! Luo Ying thought.

He considered his current misfortune as a low point in his life.

The same idea crossed the minds of Six Lives Buddha, Lilian, Dragon Shepard and the others.

"Can I go in first?"

Su Ping asked Mo Tianhua after seeing that the others weren't moving.

Mo Tianhua put on a smile, like a warm sun during winter. He said, "Enter, and choose treasures suitable to you."

Su Ping nodded. He found that the guy was rather friendly.

The people surrounding a successful man would usually become friendly.

That was the truth.

Soon after, Su Ping was teleported into the Heavenly Star Pavilion by the old man.

Inside the heaven-level level area—

Su Ping found himself in the middle of a boundless space. It was more like a universe than a floor; spacious, and filled with starry light.

However, the starry light originated from rare treasures.

Some of them were as massive as mountains and planets.

On the other hand, some treasures were as tiny as sesame seeds. However, they were also shining brightly, and the bubbles covering them were also quite eye-catching.

Every treasure was enshrouded in the aforementioned bubbles, floating in the void.

Su Ping flew towards the treasures.

Su Ping quickly found Goddess Nuwa, previously recommended by Shen Huang.

Goddess Nuwa resembled a statue as it lay inside a bubble. Relevant information popped up when Su Ping approached it.

The item was from the primordial times; it was said to have been created by a real god. It contained a horrifying law which could grant a second life.

Considering that he already had the system's store, Su Ping chose to shift his attention to other treasures.

He examined the treasures one after the other.

There were a few he had noted down before he got there.

The Prime Sky Mirror allows me to travel across different spaces. It may reflect all attacks within ten times the strength of its holder (three times, when the owner was an Ascendant.) It doesn't protect against Celestial attacks.

In addition, it would allow me to create a clone. I can benefit when my clone cultivates, since I would receive twice as much cultivation and understanding. This will double my cultivation speed!

The mirror was the first treasure chosen by Su Ping.

In short, it was a supportive treasure that could be used as an escape measure, for defense, as well as cultivation.

He had picked the treasure because he was concerned about his safety. He would indeed be safe in his store, but he would have to go outside when he became a Star Lord, or later when he reached the Ascendant State.

Su Ping had detected threats from higher level beings when he was in the Divine Sea and during his visit to the Twilight Deity King's world.

The universe wasn't peaceful.

He had merely been too weak to sense the dangers, which had in turn been fended off by the top experts. Any of those dangers could have annihilated people like him.

Su Ping believed that he had to be prepared to face those kinds of things in the future, after seeing the soldiers and generals fighting on the void battlefield.

I won't be caught even if I'm chased by Ascendants while I have this mirror. I'll be able to cut into any of the deeper spaces in the universe without leaving any traces behind!

That was why the Prime Sky Mirror was so powerful.

It was a great life-saving treasure. Duplicating oneself to train or fight was just an ancillary feature. Still, it was a horrifying ability in its own right.

Leaving such an item in the hands of an ordinary person, would give the latter a chance to grow and become a rare genius.

Su Ping placed one of the badges on the bubble enveloping the Prime Sky Mirror.

Soon after, the bubble secured the badge. Then, the Prime Sky Mirror inside the bubble began to glitter; it was then ejected and sent Su Ping's way.

The treasure discovered in an ancient relic was simply glittering and rolling in front of Su Ping.