Astral Pet Store (WN)

Shen Huang realized something, then lowered his head.

He saw that the black sphere on the armrest seemed as if ready to hatch like an egg. A weird and mysterious aura was being dispersed as the dark power was being concentrated.

Shen Huang's eyes glittered. Others weren't able to notice what was inside his small universe, but he was able to perceive everything with clarity. Su Ping was as unpredictable as a ghost inside his small universe, as if about to slip away like a wisp of smoke!

Such an amazing feeling astounded him. He was a Celestial, and his small universe was like a secret garden under his absolute control.

Still, he found that it was difficult to catch his disciple in his own dominion.

He would only get such a feeling when he dealt with top Heavenly Lords.

Is it possible…

Shen Huang shook his head, as the idea was absurd. Su Ping was only a Star Lord; rather than a genius, he would be a true monster if he were as capable as a top Heavenly Lord!

A monster the universe had never seen before!

Such an idea was impossible!

"Liu Xia must have helped him activate his constitution, as their auras shared a common origin. It seems that he'll certainly become a top Heavenly Lord when he reaches the Ascendant State. Still, whether or not he can fully develop his Constitution in the end remains unknown…" Shen Huang mumbled.

While all the top Heavenly Lords were precious, Celestials were on another level.

The ancient devil reborn using Lin Xiu's body as a vessel, who had changed his name back to Ye Chen, was a new Celestial causing great changes in the universe!

The guy had sowed chaos everywhere!

Su Ping was waking up at that moment.

His senses were connected to the time and space around him; this allowed him to feel all the details, including the darkness and the energy he had never felt before. He was able to see everything around him.

Comparing his past self, it was like living with one of his eyes covered; he was used to the feeling and never felt anything amiss. However, he instantly noticed the difference once his other eye was liberated.

Looks like… there are tiny cracks in my Master's universe.

Su Ping was greatly shocked after examining his surroundings carefully, thinking it was all an illusion. Besides, his master was a Celestial; how could there be cracks in his universe?

Enemies could take advantage of this if there were any!

However, careful observation did reveal that those "cracks" were indeed present!

It was just that, unlike normal cracks, they were like shadows of the energy which made the small universe.

The old Su Ping wouldn't have considered those shadows as cracks. However, he could now tell with ease that he could crawl through!

It was similar to standing before a vine-filled wall. There was a feeling of being blocked at first, but he could climb said vines.

Su Ping's mind was racing, but held back his urge to go through the cracks in the end; it would be better to experiment this in the cultivation sites.

After Su Ping completely suppressed his power—Shen Huang finally canceled his small universe and asked with a smile, "How do you feel?"

"Terrific."

Shen Huang felt his lips twitch upon hearing his disciple's calm reply. He too sensed that Su Ping had somehow improved significantly, but he didn't pursue the matter. Guiding such a genius was stressful for him, especially when he knew that a mysterious expert was backing the young man; it would be inappropriate for him to intervene with Su Ping's cultivation.

Being his nominal master, I can only try my best to offer him other types of help,?thought Shen Huang sadly.

He was a Celestial expert.

There were lots of geniuses who wanted to be his disciples, which he didn't even bother to lay eyes on.

However, he felt a lot of pressure when it came to teaching Su Ping.

"Liu Xia carved her own path to the Ascendant State; everyone has their own path. Like I said, you can learn from them, but you mustn't imitate them!"

Shen Huang ended in a low voice, "It's impossible to rise to the Ascendant State by imitation."

Su Ping nodded. "I understand. I'll create a path of my own to reach the Ascendant State!"

Shen Huang nodded and was about to add something else, but then his expression changed as he aggressively looked in a certain direction.

Meanwhile—both Chi Huo and Xu Kong felt something, then looked in the same direction. Chi Luo wore a grim expression as he suddenly rose. A scorching heat was swept out, making it seem that the entire universe was on fire; the temperature was rising rapidly.

"What's going on?"

"Chi Huo…"

All the Ascendant State cultivators were stunned; a vortex appeared in the void and powerful auras were spreading out before they could utter their shock.

Their expressions changed when a torrent of power which felt as if an animal would have rushed in like a tide amidst the aggressive auras.

A black sphere emerged from the vortex, revealing many people as it faded; the one in the lead appeared to be Ye Chen!

"It's Old Monster Ye!"

"Why is he here?"

"An Hei is with him. He ended up conspiring with Old Monster Ye!"

"His own disciple was possessed by that guy, and yet he's still conspiring with him. How shameless!"

Everybody was shocked. They rose to their feet, instantly releasing their Ascendant auras like bristling hedgehogs.

Nobody expected that villain to appear.

Wasn't the void battlefield supposed to be well hidden?

Are there traitors amongst us?

Everybody exchanged bewildered looks, but remained silent. There were too many people; the idea of one being bought out was understandable. Besides, Ascendants could also create clones; it was easy for them to have their clones relay messages.

"There's nothing to be afraid of. If they dare to come, they must die!" said a furious Heavenly Lord next to Chi Huo as he rose. Several geniuses from his clan had perished in the star zone brutalized by the old devil; their souls were absorbed and destroyed.

They couldn't be revived even if time was reversed!

"Wait, Xue Mei is here too!"

"Are the three Celestials of the Heavenly Devil Alliance also here?"

Everybody was shocked to see the sexy, bloody figure which was half hidden in the shadows.

The three leaders of the Heavenly Devil Alliance were there. Did they want to start a war immediately?

"Are you having a party?"

Ye Chen stood at the center, looking starkly different than when he had just gotten out of the relic. His black hair was fluttering, and his hands were clasped behind his back. His handsome face reflected violence and domination, while his eyes were filled with infinite brutality.

His voice was chilling, even though he smiled as he talked.

Shen Huang slowly stood up. His small universe reappeared and protected Su Ping.

"You're bold enough. Aren't you afraid that we'll seize the opportunity to destroy the nest that your Heavenly Devil Alliance has just built?" asked Shen Huang indifferently, glowing like a god.

An Hei, who was standing next to Ye Chen, chuckled and replied, "You should worry about your own base when you say that."

Xu Kong said indifferently, "That is an empty threat; you'll be caught the moment you dare step into the Void Star Zone."

Ye Chen raised his eyebrows to glance at her. He soon looked back at Shen Huang, then fixed his eyes on Su Ping who was on the throne's armrest.

The smile on his face was instantly gone; his eyes turned cold.

"I didn't expect that you would be bold enough to leave your store. You are but a lowly Star Lord; why are you here instead of cultivating? Do you want to gain more experience by watching?"

Ye Chen sneered and continued, "I'm waiting for you to rise to the Ascendant State. I hope you won't keep me waiting for long!"

Su Ping replied calmly, "You're just as talkative as before. Even your treasury was looted by me, remember? You're allying with so many people right now… Are you trying to unify the universe and reach the emperor level?"

"The emperor level?"

"Is that beyond the Celestial State?"

Many Ascendants were stunned by the revelation. Many Heavenly Lords changed their expressions and looked at Su Ping thoughtfully, to later look at Ye Chen with wary and cold eyes.

They had learned that the Celestial State wasn't the ultimate level in the universe after reading some ancient books.

There were even superior beings. Some legends spoke of more levels; it was just that the higher levels were like baseless tales.

However, there was still valid proof that there was another level beyond the Celestial State, known as the Empyrean State!

The Empyrean State was used to speak about all levels above the Celestial State. However, no one in the recorded history of the universe had reached it.

It was said that Empyreans could easily shatter the universe, control all laws and power!

They were far stronger than Celestials, almost Creators themselves!

They had truly existed in the past, based on the evidence found in some ancient relics. Such a fact was terrifying.

It was also said that there were other levels beyond the Empyrean State, but there was very little information about them. Still, some people knew that it was 70% likely to be true!

However, such realms were still too far away.

The battle pet warriors in the universe saw as already glorious enough for them to reach the Ascendant State, while their lifelong goal was to become Celestials!

"The Empyrean State… This ancient devil lived in the era of deities. Does he have any secret techniques that allow him to advance further?"

"He'll be the only king of the universe in the future if he rises to the Empyrean State!"

All the Heavenly Lords looked concerned. Their cultivation realm was named as such because they were capable of escaping from Celestials. But if Ye Chen broke through to a higher realm, he would have the power to crush Celestials like ants!

They had enjoyed their lives as Heavenly Lords for a very long time; Celestials would leave them alone as long as they weren't too outrageous.

They had a special position, and they could do anything they wanted!

However, the rise of an Empyrean would surely lower their position significantly, making them no different than normal Ascendants. They could only count as tough subordinates at best.

They could not tolerate the prospect of being unable to control their fates!

"Kid, it's been such a long time, but you're just as cunning as before!" Ye Chen was grim. What Su Ping said made a lot of people hate him. The people from the three star zones weren't as united in the beginning; after all, they didn't have a lot of shared interests. But now Su Ping had painted him as the common foe to beat.

The young man had been so convincing that even the neutral Celestials would step in!

"The Empyrean State is just a legend; it's beyond my reach. I would have cultivated in seclusion for 100,000 years to then come out and kill you all if breaking through were possible!" said Ye Chen with a snort, holding back his fury.

He was a Celestial expert. And yet, he had to explain himself after Su Ping spoke. It was humiliating!

"Nonsense. You are an Empyrean; you're merely wounded and weakened right now. You're collecting resources from all over the universe because you want to heal faster and return to your prime state; that's what your weapon told me," said Su Ping solemnly.

Ye Chen was infuriated by Su Ping's confident bluff.?When was I an Empyrean? How could it be that simple?

"If you think I'm an Empyrean, that also means that my treasures are also emperor-level items. You stole them all; I suggest that you give them back to me, lest they swallow you soon!" said Ye Chen coldly.

"Your treasures were indeed emperor-level items. However, their essence was dispersed when you died; now, they're only Celestial items. I would have already conquered the universe if they still preserved their Empyrean level," said Su Ping innocently.

Ye Chen snorted. "How can their emperor-level essence disperse so easily? Besides, even if it did, they could return to their original level. I don't know what kind of deal you've made with my weapons, but you won't be able to rely on them anyway!"

"No need to waste time talking to him; we're not here to argue with this brat," An Hei suddenly interjected.

Su Ping raised his eyebrows and sneered. "Your own disciple was possessed. To think that his master would be conspiring with the culprit… Is that the dignity of a Celestial State expert?"

An Hei's expression changed. He didn't expect the lad to be that bold, mocking them left and right.

In all his life as a Celestial State, never had an insignificant Star Lord addressed him so. Even Star Lords had to behave in front of him!

Even though the top Heavenly Lords could escape from a Celestial's pursuit, that was only when the latter wasn't determined to kill them!

Not even Heavenly Lords could defend themselves when a Celestial was determined!

The gap between cultivation realms couldn't be surmounted with extraordinary talent alone. Besides, for a Celestial to rise implied that their talent was much better in comparison!