Astral Pet Store (WN)

“To seal the Lord of the Deep Caves?”

What Su Ping said shocked everybody.

Ji Yuanfeng quickly asked, “Do you have a sealing divine formation?”

His eyes glowed with hope.

Since Su Ping had a defense divine formation that could resist Star State attacks—powerful enough to suppress the Ocean Sovereign thus far—it was very likely that Su Ping had a sealing divine formation that was equally powerful!

Other people were thinking the same. They all looked at Su Ping with unmasked delight.

Su Ping nodded. “More or less. However, the odds of success are only ten percent! This probability would improve if the Lord is heavily wounded.”

“Ten percent!”

Everybody looked solemn, and Ji Yuanfeng was the first one to talk. “The odds are not slim! A ten percent chance is better than nothing. I’m willing to try even if the chance is one percent!”

“That’s right!”

“The odds are very high as it is!”

“Boss Su, tell us what to do. We’ll work with you and give it our best!”

Ye Wuxiu, Xue Yunzhen, Li Yuanfeng and the other legendary warriors pitched in.

After taking a deep breath, Su Ping said solemnly, “We can’t reach out to Nie Huofeng, so we can only wait for the Lord of the Deep Caves to unlock the astral power that has been sealed for a thousand years. Let’s see if Nie Huofeng comes out during the absorption. If he does, we’ll work with him to wound the Lord of the Deep Caves!

“If he doesn’t…”

Everybody’s expressions changed slightly.

Therefore, the key for suppressing that beast was the first-generation Tower Master.

Nie Huofeng had previously been heavily wounded by the Lord of the Deep Caves, eventually running for cover to the tertiary space. It remained unknown where he was hiding, or whether he was still alive.

“I’ll try to manage on my own if he doesn’t show up,” said Su Ping slowly and thoughtfully.

Everybody looked at Su Ping in shock.

He’ll attack the Lord of the Deep Caves on his own? Wouldn’t that be suicide?

“That’s not possible!” Ji Yuanfeng quickly said.

Ye Wuxiu also said, “You can’t do that! Although we can’t offer much help, it will still take some time for the Lord of the Deep Caves to kill us. Even if we only manage to delay it for one second, it could still offer an opportunity for you. Let’s go there together!”

“That’s right!”

The nearby Li Yuanfeng also nodded.

Xue Yunzhen and Xiang Fengran shared the same attitude.

“Boss Su, we won’t survive for long if anything happens to you, even if we hide in your shelter. It’s only a slower way of dying. We would rather go full out!”

“I’m willing to risk everything and fight alongside Boss Su!”

“Me too!”

Some of the other legendary warriors voiced zealous remarks.

Yuan Tianchen and his fellows, however, were reluctant to make similar declarations. They had stayed for too long in the surface world that they had forgotten the meaning of self-sacrifice.

Su Ping became more aware of the responsibilities riding on his shoulders even better after hearing Li Yuanfeng, Xiao Mo, the bald man and the other legendary warriors!

If he failed, not just them, everybody else behind the defense lines would die!

Su Ping took a deep breath and said solemnly, “Okay, listen to my commands when the time comes!”

He didn’t persuade nor stop them, because he didn’t want to fail, and he did need help.

Also, he had already felt everybody’s sincere devotion. They would only be in more pain if they were asked to stay there.

Some people preferred to die a hero’s death than to live a worthless life!

Everybody wore delighted smiles when Su Ping accepted their requests.

“Mr. Su, thank you.”

“We’re willing to listen to your command, Boss Su!”

“At your service, Boss Su!”

Everybody echoed those statements.

The humans who had gone to the shop for help shed hot tears when they heard the conversation.

Those were true Legends!

The indomitable legendary warriors had been protecting them on the thorny road!

“We’re willing to help, too!”

“The Tang family is willing to follow your lead!”

“The men of the Tang family are willing to fight a last battle with all the legendary warriors!” exclaimed the people on the ground who chose to stay, hoping to join the battle and devote their strength!

The exclamations resonated throughout the crowd.

All the men and women in the shop’s safe area were weeping; some of them stepped out and chose to stay!

Everybody stood united at this moment!

Su Ping clenched his fists with intimidating eyes as he heard all the battle cries.

Ji Yuanfeng asked Su Ping, “What do we do with the Ocean Sovereign? Do we execute her?”

The legendary warriors couldn’t help but look at the empress on the ground, whose knees were still on the safe circle outside of Su Ping’s shop.

“Keep her alive and let her repent here. Leave a legendary warrior behind. Threaten any Fate State sea beasts with taking this bi*ch’s life if they try to invade,” said Su Ping coldly.

Everybody was rendered speechless by Su Ping’s obvious contempt. However, she was indeed despicable, considering everything she had done. She deserved to be killed regardless of her beauty!

Back on ground level, the empress had also heard what Su Ping said; she could still hear everything around her, even though her body was bound to the soil.

She was slightly shocked by Su Ping’s plan, not expecting to see such a monster among humans, one who possessed a divine formation that could seal Star State targets.

Although the odds of success were only ten percent, such a number was tremendously high, considering that the targets were in the Star State!

The fact that she was being suppressed made her completely believe what Su Ping said.

She was both shocked and exasperated by the derision in Su Ping’s tone. She found it unpardonable that he would address her in such a demeaning way!

Damn it! Damn it!

I’m going to kill you after I break free!

She secretly gnashed her teeth, and her eyes were scorching with fury.

All the humans close to her within the shop saw the anger on the empress’ face; still, she couldn’t move at all even though she was pissed. They found it quite weird.

Exactly at this moment, a shocking explosion burst out.

Boom!!!

Everybody was panicking as they looked at the source of the explosion.

Far in the distance, the almost thousand meters tall Lord of the Deep Caves was standing in front of an enormous spatial crack.

Blue stars were glittering beyond the crack. It seemed to be highly condensed astral power!

Su Ping’s pupils contracted in shock; the Lord of the Deep Caves had indeed destroyed the seal, and beyond the crack was a sealed world!

The base city that defended the seal had obviously been destroyed!

“Is it the world that the first-generation Tower Master sealed?”

“That must be astral power. My god. It’s as thick as honey!”

“That astral power has been accumulating for a thousand years. It’s astonishing!”

Ji Yuanfeng and the others were appalled to see the gigantic spatial crack.

Su Ping’s face was contorted upon realizing what was going on. The Lord of the Deep Caves had somehow broken the seal without destroying it. It simply caused a crack on the seal!

That breach wasn’t enough to open the sealed continent, but the Lord of the Deep Caves could absorb astral power from it!

It was obvious that the Lord feared that the sealed continent would be freed if the seal was completely destroyed, thus changing the situation on the Blue Planet. Then, the astral power inside would be evenly distributed across the Blue Planet, which would then make it harder to absorb.

The Lord of the Deep Caves was essentially sucking the astral power from a bowl at this moment!

Su Ping quickly looked around for traces of Nie Huofeng.

He didn’t find anything at all. He was anxious and worried.

He would have to rely on his luck if the first Tower Master didn’t show up!

Ten percent odds weren’t exactly high!

“Come on, let’s get closer. It’s busy absorbing astral power and taking precautions for a possible counterattack from Nie Huofeng; we are the least of its worries,” said Su Ping in a low voice.

Ji Yuanfeng and the others nodded after hearing what he said, then looked for Nie Huofeng too.

They hoped that the first Tower Master wasn’t a defector!

It wasn’t even possible for them to deliver the message regarding Su Ping’s sealing divine formation, which was what made them nervous.

The system’s voice suddenly echoed in Su Ping’s head. “Are you really going? The enemy is a Star State being. You can’t even run if it tries to kill you.”

Su Ping replied without thinking, “Of course. It’s worth a shot!”

“But the odds are very slim!” the system said coldly, “The chance is only ten percent. You’re gambling with your life! With my help, as long as you hide in the shop and train until you’re strong enough, the Lord of the Deep Caves won’t be your match. It would grow at a much slower rate than you!

“Also, with my help, you may even become a god and live forever in the future!”

Su Ping turned grim. “What are you getting at?”

“My suggestion is that you don’t go. After all, it wasn’t easy for me to find a host, and I’ve invested a lot of time on you; I don’t want my efforts to go down the drain,” said the system with unusual coldness.

Su Ping took a deep breath and said, “I’ve thought about all the things that you mentioned! Yes, I can survive by hiding here, and I may eventually become a king or even a god with your help in the future!

“However…”

He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, before he declared in his head, bit by bit, “However, to become a god, I want to become a human first! A human who deserves himself and who is not ashamed of what he does!”

The system fell into silence.

“Look at the people around me…” said Su Ping to the system, “They can’t see any hope other than through me! They’re willing to sacrifice themselves for such a slim hope. As for me, I’m simply trying my best. How can I chicken out? How can I?”

The system remained silent, not giving a single word in reply.

Su Ping took a deep breath after his speech. He didn’t add anything else, and he noticed that the system remained silent. He had thought of everything before he made a decision.

Indeed, he could live if he took a step back. However, stepping back would mean trading his dignity as a man for a chance of survival!

Maybe he would die, but he wouldn’t regret trying his best!

“Let’s go!” roared Su Ping.

It was his first time acting on his own, without needing to follow the system’s suggestions.

Whoosh!

Su Ping dashed out first, then Ji Yuanfeng and the others solemnly merged with their battle pets and followed him.

They reached the edge of the Longjiang Base City in the blink of an eye.

Su Ping looked around and saw Xie Jinshui commanding on a wall in the middle of a swarm of wild beasts. He had already informed Xie Jinshui to head to his shop, but the guy never arrived. Instead, he relayed the message to other people…

Su Ping’s eyes were red as he stared at Xie Jinshui who was issuing commands on that dangerous wall. He summoned the Inferno Dragon and asked it to help him.

As for himself, he quickly calmed himself down. Although he was eager to help Xie Jinshui, he knew he had greater responsibilities. He quickly looked around with divine light gathering in his eyes, which allowed him to see all the spatial anomalies in his surroundings.

Get out!

Get out now!

Su Ping roared, desperate to see Nie Huofeng.

He was confident of improving the odds of success to thirty percent if Nie Huofeng worked with him!

That would be almost one third!

Far away, in another base city, the Lord of the Deep Caves was standing in front of the torn seal and absorbing the thousand-year astral power behind it.

The condensed power was thick, blue and with a honey-like consistency. It was flowing toward the Lord of the Deep Caves’ body, making its energy even more abundant than before. The wound on its arm was also being slowly healed by the astral power…

Su Ping and all the others were anxious.

Get out!!

Su Ping secretly roared and gritted his teeth. He took out the special-grade beast-catching ring and clenched it.

He couldn’t wait any longer. He had to take action!

He would have to rely on the basic odds of the special-grade beast-catching ring if the Lord of the Deep Caves kept absorbing the astral power and healing itself.

The beast was still wounded at the moment; the odds of success could be improved to twenty percent.

Su Ping’s pupils contracted right when he was about to take action; ecstasy emerged on his face.

At the same time, the Lord of the Deep Caves stopped the astral power absorption and turned around. In the next moment, burning flames surged out of the void and transformed into a scorching spear, which seemed to be burning up the sky!

“I knew you would come!” the Lord of the Deep Caves roared excitedly and aggressively.

A domain of darkness surrounded it, and thousands of demons were roaring. The ancient demonic runes on its wings surfaced at that same moment; they were launched as chains of spell force.

An ocean of blood was rising in the void, as the chain of spell force tied up the fiery spear.

Explosions and violent energy were bursting out.

The terrifying blast was like that of a nuclear bomb. Su Ping and the others’ hair fluttered in the distance, even though they were a hundred kilometers away.

“We’ll find an opportunity to take action,” said Su Ping solemnly while watching the battle.

“Got it!” replied Ji Yuanfeng and the others as they resisted the wind, sand and the turbulent energy with shields of their own.

Nie Huofeng appeared in the sky right then. He was drenched in blood, as if he would have been wounded in the tertiary space. His red hair was a mess, and he was clearly on the losing side as he clashed against the Lord of the Deep Caves.

“Ahhhhhhhh!”

Nie Huofeng roared in the sky and his wounds stopped bleeding. Scorching magma-like energy flowed out as he once again stimulated his battle body on a rampage.

“Go to hell!” the Lord of the Deep Caves roared back. It waved its fist, raising countless tides. The shrieking demons in the domain were both launching mental attacks and swallowing Nie Huofeng’s attack to weaken it.

Seeing that, Su Ping instantly roared, “Attack!”

Charge!!

With passion in their eyes, Ji Yuanfeng and the others unleashed their maximum strength and darted at the Lord of the Deep Caves like moths.

“Kill them all!”

Ye Wuxiu’s astral power and aura burst out as he launched his ultimate skill by burning his vitality.

On the other hand, Ji Yuanfeng turned into a crescent moon that emitted a cold light while he roared and rushed forth.

The other legendary warriors, such as Xue Yunzhen and Xiang Fengran, launched their most powerful secret techniques towards the Lord of the Deep Caves’ head.

Boom~!

Overwhelming energy was spread out in the sky.

The Lord of the Deep Caves noticed Su Ping and the others while fighting Nie Huofeng. It had detected them earlier, but it didn’t expect that those ants would be bold enough to offend him!

It being a Star State ranker made it consider those legendary warriors as nothing but ants. And yet, they had the audacity to attack at the critical moment!

“F*ck off!” roared the Lord of the Deep Caves; several bloody blades that were hundreds of meters long emerged from the ocean and swept at them.

The blood blades moved so fast that they crushed the primary space and entered the secondary space, immediately appearing in front of the humans. Ji Yuanfeng, was the first to be hit since he was in the lead. The crescent moon he had turned into exploded; he was then knocked away, vomiting blood.

Ye Wuxiu and the others were all shocked as they moved behind him, but it was impossible for them to retreat anymore; they could only go forward.

“Ahhhhhhh…” they roared and collided with the bloody blades. Almost ten legendary warriors were slain on the spot after a resounding boom.

Those were mostly surface warriors who were tagging along with Yuan Tianchen. They were clearly not as good at fighting as Li Yuanfeng and the others who had always fought in the Deep Caves.

“Captain!”

Xue Yunzhen’s attack was shattered. She was about to be killed by another bloody blade, when the bald man behind her bellowed and pushed her away.

He was instantly hit by the bloody blade and reduced to a mist of blood!

Xue Yunzhen looked back after having been thrown several thousand meters away. Her eyes widened when she saw the blood mist!

She let out a devastating cry and shed bloody tears.

A deafening explosion arrived from the sky. Everybody saw that a scorching wheel rolled out from the bloody ocean. Nie Huofeng was right behind the wheel and pushing it forward. His skin was falling apart, and he seemed like a God of Fire completely made of magma.

“Break!” Nie Huofeng’s roar echoed throughout the sky.

The wheel roared and gathered all his energy while it rolled towards the Lord of the Deep Caves.

The latter’s expression changed. It had been distracted by the ants; Nie Huofeng used that opportunity. It was quite shocked and scared by the expanding wheel, sensing the threat of death.

It was unable to hold back anymore once it was facing such a threat. Demonic aura roiled around it, and a gigantic demon shadow surfaced on its back!

The demon shadow was more than ten thousand meters tall; it looked down at the entire base city, including all the defense lines!

The terror inspired by the demon made all the demons and humans behind the defense lines halt in fright!

Roar!!

The Lord of the Deep Caves roared, and the demon shadow was attached to him. It was burning the demon blood in its body and borrowing a little bit of power from its far-off ancestor.

Even though it was just a little bit of power, it was tremendously horrifying to Nie Huofeng!

Boom!!

The Lord of the Deep Caves punched out once the demon shadow was attached to itself. The bloody ocean was instantly emptied, and the brilliant wheel collided with the demon’s fist. The world was caught by a spell of quietness!

It was not until a few seconds later that the violent soundwaves were finally spread out. The wheel was broken, and Nie Huofeng also vomited blood in crazy amounts. Like a bird with broken wings, he was flung thousands of meters away, and the flames across his body were quickly dimming.

The blast swept across everything, making all the buildings and walls within the range of the attack collapse; even the foundations had collapsed deeply.

The Lord of the Deep Caves’ enormous body was also forced back. Its aura was dwindling at a fast rate.

Whoosh!

A person dashed out exactly at that moment, appearing next to the Lord of the Deep Caves. He was none other than Su Ping!

Far in the distance, Ji Yuanfeng and the others who were vomiting blood raised their heads with wide eyes. It was a make-or-break moment!

You must succeed!

Everybody shouted in their hearts.

“Catch!” Su Ping—who had been looking for an opportunity—coldly and crazily cast the special-grade beast-catching ring.

Huh?

The Lord of the Deep Caves’ eyes were filled with fury again when it saw the ant that emerged next to its head.

It squeezed some of its strength and launched it at the enemy. It couldn’t see what Su Ping had thrown out, but it was able to tell that the human was plotting something.

It was going to shatter both the black object and Su Ping!

Break!

Su Ping waved his sword and performed the Void Sword attack with whatever was left of his energy.

The sword aura tore apart the void and nullified the Lord of the Deep Caves’ attack.

The latter hadn’t really gathered much strength yet, that was why Su Ping broke it easily with the Void Sword.

Please work!

Su Ping stared at the black ring with bloodshot eyes.

Ding!

The black ring then successfully struck the Lord of the Deep Caves. The world was quiet for a second. Then, the black ring collapsed, producing an enormous new space.

A terrifying attraction force was spread out in the end. Many chains had also extended from space and tied up the Lord of the Deep Caves.

The Lord of the Deep Caves changed its expression with contracted pupils right then.

It sensed fear from the collapsed dark space, as if it could never break free again after it stepped in!

What the hell is that!

Is that the humans’ ultimate trick that they were fighting so hard to employ!

Roar, roar, roar!!

The Lord of the Deep Caves roared so hard that the clouds within hundreds of kilometers were driven away.

The collapsed dark space jogged the deepest fear in the Lord of the Deep Caves’ memories!

It didn’t want to return to the underground to be sealed and suppressed again!!

“Break now!” the Lord of the Deep Caves roared furiously. The battle against Nie Huofeng had consumed all its energy. However, it simply burned its demonic blood and unleashed a horrifying burst of energy again. Then, it raised its claw and cut into the tertiary space before it teleported the collapsed black hole into the space!

The black space floated in the tertiary space without being broken; its chains were still bound to the Lord of the Deep Caves.

It was such a critical moment that Su Ping, Ji Yuanfeng and all the others held their breaths with pounding hearts.

Roar!!

The Lord of the Deep Caves ferociously bit the chains on its body. One of the chains was shattered after a crack!

Then, it quickly struggled, and all the other chains crumbled one by one!

The crisp sounds of the chains being broken echoed in Su Ping’s head like the tolling of a death knell.

He was completely stunned.

Lost…

Lost…

He had lost…

Su Ping’s mind went blank.

Ji Yuanfeng and the others’ eyes opened as wide as they could go. Their hopes had been extinguished; all of them remained and stood where they were.

They had done everything in their power. Many of the legendary warriors had sacrificed themselves. Nie Huofeng had also appeared and fought until the last moment. But still, they had failed.

Reality wasn’t changed because of their relentless fighting, and luck didn’t side with them either.

Everybody realized the cruel reality, and the upcoming despair…