Astral Pet Store

“Considering your wisdom, you must have taken into account the risk of failure and made precautions for it, right?” said Su Ping.

The Mother of Chaos nodded. “That’s right. If you fail, I will immediately cut off all feelings; yours and those of all species.”

Su Ping glanced at her in silence. He simply turned to look at the Little Skeleton, only to discover that its contract aura had already disappeared. Two crimson lights appeared in the small fellow’s eyes, as if it was gazing at him curiously.

The Little Skeleton was currently an unowned pet. Considering its level, it could be seen as a ferocious beast.

Su Ping didn’t feel any killing intent coming from the Little Skeleton, though. The feeling was warm. Even without the contract, the Little Skeleton wouldn’t hurt him.

“Let’s fight side by side again,” said Su Ping softly.

He raised a finger, and the force of a contract appeared on his fingertip. The Little Skeleton looked at the light and retreated a bit, as if scared. However, it didn’t flee; it was only one step back.

Its eyes were glittering, as if the light triggered some of its memories.

Su Ping then laid his finger on the small fellow’s forehead and established a contract.

His mind was then connected to a weak and ignorant consciousness.

It felt like a sting in his heart; that familiar feeling was unforgettable, even to that day. It was like when he established a contract with the Little Skeleton for the first time. Back then, the fellow had just been born and could barely walk. The combat ability gap between them was even greater now.

However, the feeling was still the same.

“I’ve been keeping the memories that you forgot,” said Su Ping softly. He was about to transfer those memories to the little one through their bond.

But the next moment, the Little Skeleton jumped over and clung to his arm.

Dazed, Su Ping raised his hand and touched the Little Skeleton’s cold and smooth head. Even without memories, that familiar feeling had never disappeared.

His lips curled and his laughter became louder.

Once he was done laughing, he sent all the memories to the Little Skeleton.

The Little Skeleton grew pensive all of a sudden. After a long time passed, the little one raised its head again; there was a familiar feeling in the fire of its eyes.

Their bond allowed Su Ping to confirm that the Little Skeleton was truly back.

“Welcome home…” Su Ping hugged the fellow.

The Mother of Chaos lowered her head and watched with a vague smile on her face.

…

“Kid, are you in there?” said a pleasant voice all of a sudden.

Slightly dazed, Su Ping spread out his senses and saw a mature and beautiful woman standing outside the store. She looked quite beautiful.

Dazed for a moment, his eyes instantly widened. “It’s you?!”

“Looks like you’re truly there…” The graceful figure walked in and then noticed the Mother of Chaos next to Su Ping; her casual smile was instantly gone. She became nervous and hesitant, not daring to step up.

The Mother of Chaos smiled casually and said, “Little Golden Crow, you may speak.”

She then gradually faded away.

However, Su Ping sensed that her aura was still around. She didn’t truly leave. This made him feel more or less weird. After seeing the Mother of Chaos, he had gradually been able to separate her from his image of the system, but it seemed that her peeping habits had never changed.

Who would have thought that the most superior chaos life form is a peeper? Su Ping secretly complained.

He stood up and said to the slender figure before him. “Diqiong, why did you come here?”

He had heard that except for the Remains of High Heavens—which was an illusion—all the cultivation sites were real, but ran in different timelines he couldn’t understand; they were both dead and alive. All in all, they couldn’t be seen without the system.

“I’m not dead. Why can’t I come here?” Diqiong snorted. “The war is drawing near. Our ancestor came out from seclusion and led us here.”

“The Golden Crow ancestor…” Su Ping understood. That mighty being was indeed capable of traveling from the unknown past on its own.

“I didn’t expect that you would already reach the Undying State. You’re indeed something,” said Su Ping with a sigh. He visited the Golden Crows’ world world five hundred years in the past and Diqiong was only in the Dao Heart State back then.

Even though it was a level just before the Undying State, the cultivation required to advance was tens of thousands of years, or even longer. He was the exception, as he had the store’s advantage.

“Humph. That explains why you improved so fast; the Mother of Chaos trained you. No wonder you surpassed me,” said Diqiong angrily. Her confidence had been struck as Su Ping surpassed her time and again. She even suspected the purity of her bloodline.

“It wouldn’t have been difficult to surpass you, even without the Mother of Chaos.” Su Ping chuckled.

“Stop bragging.”

“Do you want to compete?”

“How?” Diqiong was stunned.

Su Ping said, “How about a tongue-twister? We’ll see who’s faster.”

“…” Diqiong rolled her eyes and couldn’t be bothered to argue with the guy. She gazed at Su Ping and said, “I heard that you’re going to fight alongside four of the Sorcerer Ancestors. You’re actually going to shoulder the responsibility as one of them. Can you do that? The Heavenly Dao is unimaginably strong. If nothing else…”

“What else can I do? I have to fight, even if I can’t win. I don’t have a choice,” said Su Ping.

Diqiong gritted her teeth. “If nothing else, I’ll talk to the ancestor and ask him to take you away. Considering my ancestor’s power, we can just seal the planet and live in seclusion for the rest of our lives.”

Slightly dazed, Su Ping stared at her, then shook his head a long time later. He said, “Destruction is no better than eternal imprisonment. I’ll do my best in this war to avenge my comrades who were killed by the Heavenly Dao.”

“They’re dead; you can ask Sorcerer Ancestor Shi Mang to resurrect them. There’s no need for revenge,” said Diqiong in a hurry.

Su Ping shook his head and replied, “Escaping is not the life I want.”

“But you’ll be with me forever!” said Diqiong in a hurry.

Su Ping glanced at her, and saw how she was nervous, timid, and yet determined. He fell silent again. Perhaps it was indeed a good choice; however, if he knew there was such a choice and he didn’t try his best, the odds of winning would only be lower.

Also…

As he felt the aura that stood by his side quietly, Su Ping curled his lips and shook his head with a slight motion. “That’s not what I want.”

Diqiong’s eyes became dim after his refusal. She quietly said to herself, “But that’s what I want.”

Su Ping saw her off, then started to train with the Little Skeleton.

The little one was only an Ascendant when it died. Su Ping focused on bringing his pet’s combat ability up to speed.