Astral Pet Store (WN)

"That many brats showed up?"

The cauldron woman was further convinced of the things Su Ping had just said with the view inside the mirror. "Are they the disciples of other Deity Kings you mentioned?"

The old man also looked at Su Ping.

Su Ping gave them a grim nod.

He didn't expect the second trial to end that fast, or that such a large number of people would pass, including Loulan Lin and the others.

"It seems that the things you said were true. Those kids do have great potential…" said the old man softly. He hadn't truly believed Su Ping until that very moment.

"How can you tell how much potential they have?" asked Su Ping.

The old man chuckled; he replied while being unbothered by the questioning, "They're all young and vigorous; the laws surrounding them are not simple, they're almost perfect in fact. They deserve to be discipled under Deity Kings.

Su Ping gave him a slight nod; he didn't expect that the old man would be able to directly observe the laws other people knew and then make conclusions.

"They're all talents. Unfortunately, they'll end up consumed by the old monster," said the cauldron woman, shaking her head.

After a slight daze, Su Ping quickly asked, "Seniors, you mentioned that the old monster needs nine types of constitutions for his rebirth. If we stop the newcomers right now, won't we be able to disrupt his rebirth?"

The woman sneered, "Brat, are you trying to talk us into helping you rescue them? It's useless; we can't help you even if we wanted to. That palace is being guarded by the old monster's beloved beast. You didn't encounter it only because you were considered food being delivered.

"However, the beast will surely be alarmed if we do anything! "That beast is stupid and absolutely loyal to the old monster. I wasn't scared of it when I was in my prime status, but I'm carrying three of the old monster's curses; I cannot take the risk."

After saying that, she looked at the old man. "What about you? Aren't you always benevolent? It's time for you to do something."

The old man ignored her and shook his head at Su Ping. "Young man, I know that you're kind hearted, but there's nothing I can do. The old monster and I made a pact; I'm not allowed to hurt his beasts. I think we should get out of here as quickly as possible, so that you can fetch your master and the other Deity Kings; they should be able to stop him."

Su Ping couldn't help but look at the old man, feeling the urge to curse. A pact?

Are you trying to fool me?

It was understandable that the woman was unwilling to help. She was essentially just a cursed artifact; however, Su Ping didn't expect that the old man would also be reluctant to offer aid.

There's truly something wrong with this guy. He seems nice and caring, but there's a twisted and evil thing about him; no wonder he's a demonic sutra. Miss Pan is quite candid, but she doesn't seem to be very smart. She's just a pill anyway; I can't expect too much of her. Damn it. Should I just stand by and watch as they offer themselves as food for the owner of this place?"

He looked at the mirror; the people seen in the image had taken action while Su Ping and the others were talking.

Su Ping saw that two Star Lords entered the ancient palace, activated the nine lamps, and entered the land of inheritance.

The others were still waiting outside

They seemed to be waiting in line according to some sort of law. Su Ping glanced at Loulan Lin; he didn't want anything to happen to her.

Since he was unable to get their help, Su Ping didn't want to stay there any longer. He quickly said, "Let's get out of here first."

The old man stared at Su Ping. "Young man, I know you're angry with me, but there's really nothing I can do; the pact has been engraved on me and I have to abide by it."

Golden Lotus quickly added, "That's right. Senior Dark Demon is kindhearted; he wouldn't stand idle if there were anything he could do."

"Hehe." The cauldron woman sneered.

Su Ping glanced at the old man, unsure as to whether he was telling the truth. He was not in the mood for guessing anymore, though. He nodded and said, "I know you have your reasons, senior. Let's get out of here first."

The old man gave him a slight nod and said, "Right. However, there's a barrier set in the study; I know how to crack it, but I can't do anything about it, or I would have fled years ago; it also has to do with the pact. Still, I can teach you how to crack it."

Su Ping frowned a bit and said, "All right. Please enlighten me, senior."

"Come here."

The old man led the group to the pavilion's dome and touched it. Lightning bolts immediately surged on the dome, striking his hand with extreme power.

"It's the Heavenly Lightning Barrier!"

The cauldron woman recognized the barrier; her expression changed. "It's been so many years. Is the barrier still active? How long have we been waiting?"

Dark and evil energy surfaced on the old man's hand and healed it. He then said to the woman, "You're the only one who can crack the barrier; this young man is too weak and I can't do anything."

The woman raised her eyebrows. "Old man, is this some sort of scheme? I won't do a thing!"

"You want to read the pact that I'm bound with?" asked the old man angrily.

The woman quickly said, "All right, I'd like to read it. You think I'm as easy to trick as that brat?"

The old man replied coldly, "We're on the same boat right now, and you're still not letting go of your demonic nature; you must have been corrupted by the old monster because of all the time the two of you spent together!"

"Wasn't he raised by you?" The woman sneered.

Without further ado, the old man quickly flipped his hand, which lost its flesh and blood and turned into a book. Golden characters popped up on one of the pages.

The woman's expression changed somewhat after taking a glance.

"Do you believe me now?" The old man angrily looked at her.

The cauldron woman snorted and said, "I knew the old monster had other moves prepared. Hilarious. You raised him, and yet you're restrained by him right now. Aren't you ashamed of yourself?"

She straight out added, "Give me the cracking method. Hurry up; I might change my mind any minute!"

The old man coldly glanced at her, but wasted no time and imparted the method.

The woman studied it for a while and understood. She became serious as she told them, "Get out of my way right now!"

The old man immediately backed away with Golden Lotus and then protected Su Ping.

The latter thought better of him after that gesture, but his good impression soon faded away.

"Young man, immediately report this matter to your master or the other Deity Kings after you leave. The monster will soon be reborn if we don't stop him in time; nobody will be able to leave if he activates the palace's blocking array!" said the old man to Su Ping via telepathy. Su Ping's expression changed with the news.

There's a blocking array?

He quickly replied with tense eyes, "Thank you for your warning, senior."

"You're welcome. We're on the same boat. I must thank you for saving Golden Lotus," said the old man.

"We're only helping each other," replied Su Ping.

The old man no longer responded; he simply roared, and all the books in the study flew towards him, along with some treasures.

He waved his arm and his sleeves absorbed all of the items.

"I promised that I would take you away with me," mumbled the old man.

The woman shrieked at that very moment; there was a boom, and the barrier protecting the dome was broken. The woman was shrouded in lightning bolts; she seemed to be exhausted.

"Hurry!" Golden Lotus cried with glittering eyes.

The cauldron woman was the first to rush out after breaking the barrier.

Exactly at that moment—the old man suddenly took action. "Where do you think you're going?"

His hand turned into an ancient scroll that rolled out and covered the dome.

The cauldron woman changed her expression and asked with shock and fury, "Old fart, you set me up!"

"Stupid." The old man was quite indifferent. The ancient scroll tied the woman and began to shrink; the cauldron woman was also reduced by the effect. She went from a six-meter height to the size of a normal human being. Then, she kept shrinking until she was only three inches tall.

"Aren't you afraid that I'll detonate the curses?" bellowed the cauldron woman.

Golden Lotus was stunned too; she looked at the old man with confusion.

"There's no need to worry."

The old man, however, sneered and said, "The curses she imposed on you were taught by the old monster, who in turn learned everything from me. I can disable the curses!"

Golden Lotus was both enlightened and elated.

"You!"

The cauldron woman was shocked and infuriated. She had broken through the barrier without holding back because she was sure she would be safe while holding Golden Lotus hostage.

"Both of us can leave now that the barrier is broken. You can't kill me anyway; what do you want?" asked the cauldron woman furiously.

"To prevent you from causing a disaster in the universe!" replied the old man indifferently.

His hand then completely tied her up; it turned back to normal after that.