Astral Pet Store (WN)

Chapter 720: Leap—a New Chapter (End of Volume V)

Run!

The Heavenly King of Good and Evil was the first to react. It simply tore space open and ran off with ringing ears, unable to believe anything it had seen.

The Lord of the Deep Caves had been routed and killed!

It's Star State cultivation wasn't enough to defeat Su Ping who had just become a legendary warrior. That was unbelievable!

"Where do you think you're going?"

Su Ping noticed that the Heavenly King of Good and Evil was escaping in the secondary space.

The Heavenly King was nowhere to be seen in the outer world, but Su Ping's lightning-infused eyes saw it while it was running at full speed in the secondary space.

Slash!

Su Ping stood still and slashed forward.

A boom was heard, then the void was cut open. The sword aura caught up to the Heavenly King of Good and Evil in the secondary space!

While sensing the stinging sword aura behind its back, the once exalted beast king begged, terrified, "I surrender! I'm willing to surrender!"

The beast king that had dominated the Blue Planet for a thousand years was kneeling in the secondary space and begging for mercy in front of Su Ping's invincible sword aura.

But Su Ping wasn't willing to spare any. The Heavenly King of Good and Evil was already at the peak of the Fate State; nobody knew what it had gained from the battle. Things would be tricky if it reached the Star State after escaping.

Besides, it had slaughtered a lot of humans. There was still human blood on its claws and tail!

"No…"

Looking at the still advancing sword aura, the Heavenly King came to the ghastly realization that Su Ping was determined to kill it. The fear in its eyes was instantly replaced by aggression. It roared and unleashed a dark dragon power as an attempt to resist the attack.

However, the sword aura was indestructible; it shattered all the energy it came across. Then, it flashed and cut apart the black dragon's head!

After a loud bam, lightning exploded and blew its neck into pieces.

Its body was forced out of the secondary space and fell thousands of meters.

The other Fate State beasts looked at the Heavenly King's corpse while trembling with fear. Some fell on their knees and begged.

Some of the others, however, tore space open and fled!

The Beast Kings of lower levels were the same; all of them flashed and dispersed in panic.

The battle was already lost. They had to run for their lives!

Ji Yuanfeng and the others were of a mind to chase them, but they were already exhausted after helping Su Ping attack the Lord of the Deep Caves earlier on. They could end up dying if they decided to chase and corner those beasts.

Su Ping looked at the running beasts and focused his attention on those at the Fate State.

Right when he was about to take action, he suddenly sensed something and turned around. Then, he saw a shadow that was quickly escaping from the Lord of the Deep Caves' remains.

It's not dead?

Su Ping was quite shocked to detect the Lord's aura from that fleeing shadow!

The Lord of the Deep Caves hadn't been slain! It was just pretending to be dead!

He then ignored the Fate State creatures and quickly went after the shadow with lightning underneath his feet.

The Fate State beasts were thrilled to see him leave and quickly ran for it.

Whoosh!

Su Ping flashed close to a certain area.

He slashed with his sword, and a black crack appeared in front of the shadow.

The shadow was apparently a beast no more than two meters tall. It had long pointy ears and resembled the former Lord of the Deep Caves, but it no longer carried the Lord of the Deep Caves' gravitas; it seemed to be a weakened and shrunk version.

"You almost got away!"

Su Ping's eyes were cold. That Star State demon king was truly good at escaping and almost managed to get away.

Once it saw Su Ping again, it desperately knelt and kowtowed loudly. "Please, spare my life. I've lost all my power. This is just a remnant of my body that I managed to preserve. I can't regain my strength no matter how I train. I'll go back to the Deep Caves and never come out again…"

Ji Yuanfeng and the others who had just caught up were shocked to see and hear the Lord of the Deep Caves.

It was already surprising enough that the creature was still alive; it came as an extra shock to see it beg in such a pathetic manner.

It had finally broken the seal in the Deep Caves and escaped, but then it ran back to the Deep Caves, swearing not to come out again because of Su Ping… It was rather pitiful.

Su Ping sneered. He would never spare it. How many humans had died all across the globe?

Right when he was about to kill it, he suddenly thought of the sealing formation in the deepest part of the caves. He calmly said, "Let me ask you, what's confined in the sealing formation found in the Deep Caves?"

Ji Yuanfeng and the others who heard Su Ping's question were slightly surprised. They had never been aware of that thing.

The Lord of the Deep Caves—which looked like a skinny gnome at the moment—was stunned by what Su Ping had just said. It asked while showing contracted pupils, "You've been there?"

"Don't answer my question with another question!" Two lightning bolts darted out of Su Ping's eyes and shot the Lord of the Deep Caves like sharp blades, causing a huge explosion and leaving a large scorched area.

They weren't simply lightning bolts, but a power that contained the law of lightning.

The Lord of the Deep Caves screamed and confessed, "Wait, wait, there's a stronger monster than myself inside the formation."

Everybody was shocked by that revelation.

Su Ping slightly changed his expression. A monster that was even stronger than the one he had just beaten?

"Is that so?" Su Ping stared at the Lord of the Deep Caves. "What is it? Why was it sealed? Was it sealed by you?"

The Lord of the Deep Caves moaned, refraining from answering Su Ping's questions.

Seeing its evasive eyes, Su Ping became cold and slashed at the creature. A bam resounded, then the aura of annihilation cut off half of its arm and body!

The Lord of the Deep Caves was greatly scared; it shouted, "Stop! Stop now!"

"Talk!"

"Don't push me too far! That monster is much stronger than me. I can easily send a telepathic message to my clone back there and command the beast kings I left there to destroy the formation. All of us will be doomed if the things inside are freed!" roared the Lord of the Deep Caves.

Ji Yuanfeng and the others were all pale with fear.

Su Ping, however, didn't completely believe what the Lord said. He felt that it was bluffing.

Su Ping declared sharply, "Humph, you would have freed them already if you were really capable of doing that, especially when you were caught by me. Otherwise, you wouldn't have made such a confession to dissuade me from killing you!"

"Since you're unwilling to confess, I'll just take you to a certain someone; she would easily examine your memories. We'll see what it's all about!"

Naturally, the person he referred to was Joanna.

She could read the memories of anyone weaker than her with secret godly techniques.

Joanna's soul was more powerful than the Lord of the Deep Caves'. After all, her original self was a God of Rules; Star State God Warriors were merely her lackeys.

"D-Don't push too far!"

The Lord of the Deep Caves was truly frightened. It didn't know if Su Ping was telling the truth, but with everything that he had done thus far, it didn't dare to underestimate that human anymore.

Su Ping sneered and extended his hand, ready to catch it.

The Lord of the Deep Caves became aggressive upon seeing that Su Ping was determined to catch it. It bellowed, "Let's die together then!"

Its throat was clutched by Su Ping right after saying that.

"How?" Su Ping looked at the Lord of the Deep Caves, which had lost all of its cultivation and only had Void State energy. He could kill it with ease!

The Lord of the Deep Caves trembled with fury as it noticed how the question was laced with disdain.

It declared with brutal certainty, "Just you wait! I've just ordered my clone to destroy the sealing formation!"

Su Ping frowned. He was slightly worried, but he was more inclined to believe it was a bluff aimed at finding a chance to survive, judging from the Lord's odd behavior.

Boom!

An earthquake suddenly rattled the area.

Su Ping and the others immediately reacted to the change. Was there really something horrifying about to come out?

Su Ping also had a contorted face.

"Hahaha, carry on! I warned you not to push me too far, but you just had to. Now, prepare to die with me!" The Lord of the Deep Caves laughed. "Let me tell you the truth, I had already destroyed the formation when you slashed my body. Haha…"

"Go to hell!!"

Su Ping's eyes were cold. He clenched his fists and was about to squeeze.

The Lord of the Deep Caves had some trouble breathing, but its face was excessively red. It seemed to be ecstatic, or maybe delirious; it cackled and said, "I don't know what's sealed in the formation, but I can feel the horrifying energy contained within it…

"I protected the sealing formation for years, fearing that it might be broken.

"But I don't have to anymore. If you want to kill me, you can all go ahead and join me in death…"

Its body exploded before it had the chance to finish the sentence.

Lightning dashed from the exploding body and evaporated it into nothingness; not even ashes were left behind.

Even though the Lord of the Deep Caves had exploded and disappeared, Ji Yuanfeng and all the others became pale when the earthquake began.

After all, what the Lord said was too appalling; never had they known that such a horrifying thing would be sealed inside the Deep Caves.

"Chief, do you know what's sealed in there?"

Someone looked at Ji Yuanfeng.

Ji Yuanfeng replied gloomily, "No. I'd never heard of such a thing in the Deep Caves. The first-generation Tower Master probably knows about it."

"The first-generation Tower Master…"

Ye Wuxiu and the others were slightly thoughtful after being reminded of their predecessor; Xue Yunzhen quickly leaped out.

She flew to the distance and then flashed back with another person.

The person was exactly Nie Huofeng, who had fought the Lord of the Deep Caves in an earlier encounter.

Nie Huofeng's skin had at the moment cracked, spilling blood everywhere; His previously red hair had lost its brilliance, becoming like dry grass.

His cheeks were thin; he was extremely weak, as if all his fat reserves would have been extracted.

"Tower Master, do you know what monster is sealed inside the Deep Caves?" asked someone as soon as possible.

Nie Huofeng raised his weak eyes. He didn't look like a young man anymore; he was more like a dying old man.

"That's—That's a formation from ancient times. I—I don't know anything about it…" replied Nie Huofeng with a feeble voice.

Everybody's heart became heavy after they heard that.

Not even Nie Huofeng knew what was in it!

Boom~!

The earthquake then became even more violent; it didn't happen just underneath their feet, but behind all the defense lines and even across the entire Subcontinent District!

"What a loud noise! What kind of monster could that be…"

Everybody looked desperate, as the noise was a hundred times more horrifying than what the Lord of the Deep Caves could have caused!

Su Ping had a look of distress. Then, the drastic earthquake came to an abrupt halt without the slightest aftershock exactly at that moment.

Everybody looked at each other in bewilderment.

Suddenly, one of them exclaimed, "Look at the sky!"

Everybody looked up, only to be dumbfounded by what they were seeing.

A gigantic planet could be seen in the sky high above. There was also an enormous ring around the planet!

Besides that one, there were also multiple planets of different sizes, probably due to the viewer's perspective. Nevertheless, all of them could be clearly seen; even the green forests, the blue seas, and the brown continents could be appreciated on one of the larger worlds.

They were as vivid as those seen on Earth's observatories that were beyond their atmosphere!

"W-What's going on?"

Everybody was befuddled.

The sky above their heads changed in the blink of an eye?

Was it an illusion? Apparently not.

Su Ping was just as stunned, not knowing what had happened.

The system chose that exact moment to send a message to reverberate in Su Ping's head, all with the already familiar casual and lazy style.

"It's been detected that the host is currently in the least prosperous area in the solar system. Please relocate the shop to an area with at least tier-3 prosperity within a week."

Su Ping was startled.

Solar system? Least prosperous?

Confused, he quickly asked, "What is going on? What solar system?"

"The host's planet has just leaped and aligned in another solar system, which is currently thriving. The host's planet has the weakest economy in the entire solar system; please relocate as soon as possible to ensure the shop's normal operation," replied the system casually.

Su Ping blinked his eyes, clearly stunned.

A planetary leap?

Is the Blue Planet no longer in the old solar system anymore?

Su Ping could somehow believe that all of it was true, just by looking at the differently sized planets above his head. Still, it was hard coming to terms with the change.

Was the previous earthquake the side effect of the planetary leap?

Then… Did the Lord of the Deep Caves activate a teleportation array to facilitate a planetary leap, right when it destroyed the seal in the Deep Caves?

Su Ping could hardly think straight. Looking similarly stunned legendary warriors, he asked Ji Yuanfeng, "Chief, could you head down to the Deep Caves and check what happened?"

Ji Yuanfeng: "???"

His expression changed after seeing the stern look in Su Ping's eyes. He gritted his teeth, then said, "No problem. I can go there."

Su Ping said in relief, "Go now if you can. I suspect that what was freed from the sealing formation was not a wild beast. It's a long story; you'd better confirm this first."

Ji Yuanfeng's lips twitched. So, I'm just a lab rat?

However, with everything having reached that point, he had already set his own safety aside. He nodded. "No problem. I'll be going now." He then waved his hand and disappeared.

Su Ping had sent him to the Deep Caves mainly because there were four more Fate State beasts outside of the sealing formation that other people could hardly deal with.

"There's no need to panic. It's quite likely that we've arrived in another solar system," said Su Ping.

Everybody widened their eyes in surprise.

That piece of information was quite hard to believe.

We're no longer in the old solar system?

"The planet has just completed a long distance leap. We're probably in another solar system where the Blue Planet isn't the only place with civilizations. There are lives on other planets too. If I'm guessing correctly, I think we've moved to a more habitable region in the Federation," said Su Ping.

Everybody was dazed by what Su Ping had said.

A planetary leap? They had never heard anything about that.

They had long dreamed about traveling across the vacuum of space if they could reach the Star State, to then reach the habitable solar systems in the Federation.

However, Su Ping had just claimed that the entire Blue Planet had leaped to a thriving solar system, presumably from the Federation.

It was almost like moving from a remote, barren village to a populous metropolis.

That was beyond reason and logic!

But the extraordinary views in the sky had partially convinced them of what Su Ping told them.

Nevertheless, there were still a lot more questions. What kind of miraculous power could have supported a planetary leap?

And the next burning question: what was the solar system they had reached?

Could they adapt to that place?

All the habitable solar systems of the Federation had been modified according to human living requirements. Any human could live there. Cosmic rays and sunlight were similar. However, there were still idiosyncrasies.

After all, even on the Blue Planet, those who lived on the equator and those who lived in the poles had obviously different skin colors.

"Look, something's coming! It's a spaceship!"

"It really is!"

Someone noticed that an enormous spaceship was approaching the atmosphere. It seemed to be only the size of a sesame seed, but it was probably ten times bigger than the largest aircraft carriers in the old age since they could see it with their own eyes.

"What he said seems to be true…"

Everybody was becoming more convinced about the things Su Ping was claiming as they saw the spaceship moving closer. They grew anxious.

All of them were newcomers. That had to be a prosperous place in the Federation if spaceships had been built in that solar system, which would possibly host many experts.

"Huh? The spaceship stopped!"

"Look, the spaceship is landing!"

"It seems to be coming in, but it's blocked!"

Someone had soon noticed that the spaceship was weird.

It was squeezing through the atmosphere and firing what appeared to be laser cannons. However, it failed to break the invisible obstacles and remained blocked outside the atmosphere.

"I don't think they can come in."

Everybody discovered, to their astonishment, that their atmosphere was harder than they thought, given that more and more spaceships were joining efforts to enter.

Su Ping thought of the recent planetary leap and the sealing formation in the Deep Caves. Is the previously contained energy still protecting the Blue Planet?

Would the Blue Planet break into pieces without the protection of that extraordinary energy during the previous leap?

However, the energy would be used up sooner or later.

Su Ping was solemn, wondering what would happen when the spaceships landed on the Blue Planet later.

Going by logic, the Blue Planet belonged to the Federation, and it was still inside a solar system of the Federation; it should be under the protection of federal laws. Those people would surely not dare to do anything.

"Everybody, clear the remaining wild beasts and wait until the Chief comes back," said Su Ping as he withdrew his gaze from the sky.

Everybody then finally remembered that there were still plenty of wild beasts behind the defense lines.

All the beast kings had run away, but the ignorant and fearless lower-rank wild beasts were still looking for food.

"That's right. Let's take care of the beast tides first!"

"Let's go!"

Everybody commented.

They had been unable to finish off the tough beast kings, but it was quite easy for them to deal with subpar wild beasts.

Su Ping focused his attention on the Heaven Lock after they dispersed and left.

The astral power seeping from the seal had been kept for a thousand years; it was as dense as honey and was gradually volatilizing.

Su Ping had simply flown towards the seal.

Once he got there, he came to the conclusion that nothing was more reliable than his own strength. He had to get stronger!

There were also plenty of spaceships outside the atmosphere at the moment. Nobody knew when the power that protected the Blue Planet would fade away; the foreigners could possibly become tempted by the thick astral power they could consume.

Phew!

Su Ping arrived at the honey-like astral power and activated the Chaos Star Chart. All of his cells absorbed the power crazily, as if they were engines.

All the astral power flowed into his body; he absorbed it even faster than the Lord of the Deep Caves did, particularly because of the difference in the cultivation arts they practiced.

Su Ping soon felt that all the cells in his body had been filled up by astral power. His aura was on the rise. Impurities were removed when the astral power entered his body, becoming the purest astral power.

Su Ping perceived that the cells in his body were bulging as the astral power was being compressed.

The cells became more and more substantial than before. They were no longer empty.

Every cell was like a solid small planet.

Su Ping closed his eyes and compressed the astral power in his body, until his cells were completely filled up.

When he compressed the astral power again and again, it turned from gas into fluid, all until it was piled in his cells as concrete stardust.

His cells were mutating and emitting light. Su Ping's entire body glowed when billions of cells mutated at the same time!

His skin cracked completely and revealed new skin. All the impurities in his cells were squeezed out too. He became lighter and brighter, as if he would have been reborn.He shook the impurities off of the surface of his body. His skin was fair, seemingly having been made of beads of water, which were elastic, flexible and full of power.

Su Ping slowly opened his eyes and found that the world was clearer. The cells inside his eyes seemed to have evolved. All his senses had also been enhanced.

I think I've reached the peak of the Ocean State…

After checking the magnificent astral power in his body, Su Ping felt that he could unleash a horrifying amount of energy if he detonated the planet-like cells in his body.

He had dozens of times more astral power than before. He felt as if he could kill the Lord of the Deep Caves with nothing but the Void Sword if they ever met again!

He could break the enemy's defense with the annihilation law attached to the Sword of the Void, and then kill it! Provided there was enough energy.

Huh? The astral power is gone?

Su Ping looked ahead and didn't find much astral power left beyond the seal. He crossed the barrier and immediately saw a vast terrain, and yet there was a little leftover astral power left in the soil.

Su Ping's eyes widened. I onlly sucked up the astral power that had been sealed for a thousand years.

"But I only just became full…"

Su Ping mumbled and wondered if the Lord of the Deep Caves had absorbed too much and didn't leave a lot for him.

He thought it was quite a plausible possibility.

The Lord of the Deep Caves would probably become infuriated to death again if it were alive and knew what Su Ping was planning, for it only had no more than one tenth of what Su Ping did!

And yet, it had to take the blame even though it was already dead!

The Heaven Lock has been broken. It'll slowly crack if it's not repaired, and the world within would mix with the Blue Planet. Perhaps the Blue Planet would become a lot bigger, maybe even twice as large as before…

Su Ping heaved a soft sigh. It wasn't bad if the Blue Planet got bigger; after all, the nearby planets above his head seemed to be much bigger than the Blue Planet.

The Blue Planet looked like a dwarf in front of them.

Humans would have to stay put for the moment. After all, it was impossible to make the planet leap again unless some super expert took action.

However, the experts who were capable of doing that had to be the best in the universe, and the top-tier dignitaries in the Federation!

…