Astral Pet Store Novel - Chapter 1184
Chapter 1184: Spirit of the Gods
“So many undead creatures…”
Su Ping raised his head and looked. There was a huge vortex revolving in the ocean, with countless undead creatures swirling around. Those creatures would surely swarm over once the Heavenly Tribulation ended.
Su Ping took a deep breath. He wasn’t scared at all; rather, he shivered in excitement. He turned around and dashed towards the depths of the ocean.
The vortex stretched downwards, following Su Ping’s movements, maintaining a connection with him.
“If you want to eat me, just come!”
Su Ping looked at the furious brawny sea beast and ignored its furious eyes. He rushed out of its nest, then moved deeper into the ocean.
He didn’t expect the Heavenly Tribulation to be that massive, either. He had only planned to break free with the help of the tribulation’s power. However, it turned out to be much more powerful than expected, enough to give pause to that Celestial sea beast.
“Hoooooooooooo!”
The undead creatures surrounding the vortex became anxious as they saw him run off.
Many of them had been holding back because they thought they could eat Su Ping after the Heavenly Tribulation. How could they let their prey escape?
Many of the irrational undead creatures jumped down and chased Su Ping in the vortex.
Thanks to vortex’s special conditions, the undead creatures floating above could easily reach the bottom without enduring any pressure given off by the soul ocean.
However—
The Heavenly Tribulation was instantly triggered when the undead creatures jumped into the vortex, annihilating them all with golden lightning bolts.
The tribulation became even larger than before, as though angered by their actions.
“Damn it, what a bunch of fools!”
The undead creatures became furious because of this; the more powerful the Heavenly Tribulation was, the greater its coverage would be. They could even get hurt by accident.
The prospect of the young god dying became more likely too. What would they eat then?
“This brat!”
The brawny sea beast was infuriated. It had already realized Su Ping’s plan, which was to get out of his control by using the Heavenly Tribulation. He suddenly regretted not sending Su Ping into his small universe to study him. He wouldn’t have had the chance to invoke a tribulation there.
As for the current situation…
It was already too late to do anything. The mind-blowing aura was becoming increasingly evident, deep inside the clouds up above; he didn’t even dare to do anything else, fearing he might draw attention upon himself.
Countless years had passed, but a fear that had been deeply etched in his soul had never disappeared!
All creatures were like ants before a Heavenly Tribulation!
Whoosh!
Back in the depths of the ocean—Su Ping continued his descent. Light was fading away, and the area he could sense was also shrinking, turning from a radius of a thousand meters to only five hundred meters. It was still being constricted at an astonishing speed.
“They didn’t come.”
While running, Su Ping formed an eye on the back of his head to see if those undead creatures were still chasing him; he was both relieved and puzzled.
It’s just a Heavenly Tribulation. Do they need to be this scared?
Are they worried that they would be affected?
But, it’s just the tribulation of a new Star Lord anyway!
Roar!
The bellowing came from the deep ocean further down while Su Ping pondered, and a destructive power was swept over.
Su Ping found it impossible to dodge. He felt infuriated, so he unleashed the power of all his five small worlds.
The five small worlds were shattered like glass in the next moment; his body fell apart as well.
Revival on the spot!
Su Ping chose to resurrect the moment he died.
The rumbling Heavenly Tribulation above him showed signs of dispersing, but it soon went back to normal.
“What was that?”
Su Ping looked into the depths of the ocean, then saw a merman charging at him with an enormous spear. He was just as intimidating as the brawny sea beast from earlier.
The merman had dragon horns on his head, which made him look awesome. The latter seemed shocked, as he didn’t anticipate Su Ping’s resurrection.
A lot of undead creatures had started roaring around him before he made his approach.
Three of the undead creatures were in the Celestial State, and the others were mostly Ascendants. One of them—which looked like an enormous toad—said to him, “Young man, we’re all gods. Where are you going? We’ll give you a ride!”
Su Ping felt dazed.
There are gods among the undead too?
“I was a prince of the Night Sky Clan, a high-ranked clan!” said a sea beast that looked like a snake; there were creepy and vicious faces in its scales. It was clear that it had absorbed countless evil undead creatures.
The Night Sky Clan… Su Ping had heard about it while cultivating back in Ember Palace. It seemed to be one of the seven great clans that owned one of the Divine Eyes!
That prince of the Night Sky Clan, however, was a soul beast that looked like a snake.
“You’re about to enter the Nether Dragon’s forbidden territory. Be gone!” said the merman coldly. He held his spear, clearly unafraid of the gods’ souls.
“We’ll be on our way,” said the soul beast that looked like an enormous toad.
Su Ping’s eyes glittered. Once realizing their intent, he immediately said, “Guys, truth be told, I want to go to the Abyssal Hole.”
Even though the self-proclaimed gods were probably not trustworthy, Su Ping could only rely on them at the moment. He would be able to go there in his own way if they couldn’t help.
“The Abyssal Hole?”
Everybody was shocked to hear what Su Ping said, not expecting his destination to be that place.
The prince of the Night Sky Clan asked, “Why do you want to go there? That’s the place where the souls of all worlds are absorbed and then sent into this ocean. Are you planning on going to other worlds through the hole? If so, I suggest you give up right now. That’s a dead end.”
Su Ping shook his head and said, “I simply want to go there, not to another world.”
The enormous toad gazed at Su Ping. “Does it concern matters of the gods? Or is it just something that you want to do?”
Su Ping replied without hesitation, “Truth be told, the gods are in a perilous condition. I’ve been sent here because it’s the only solution!”
The three Celestial State souls who called themselves gods glanced at each other and fell silent.
They had heard something about the war that happened countless years before, and experienced the gods’ decline, but they didn’t expect the gods to be caught in such a dangerous moment.
“You’ve cultivated five small worlds at this level. You must be one of the most talented gods in the younger generation. You’re so rare…” mumbled the prince of the Night Sky Clan.
“Think carefully. The Abyssal Hole is where Lord Nether Dragon sleeps. You’ll end up as food if you go there recklessly and wake him up!” said the merman while sneering coldly, still wielding his spear.
Su Ping frowned. It sounded like the Nether Dragon was in a realm beyond the Celestial State. He had to be an emperor!
The souls of the gods looked at each other in bewilderment after the merman’s warning. Moments later, the prince of the Night Sky Clan sneered and said, “For the sake of the gods, it doesn’t matter even if we have to die.”
“Indeed. We didn’t have a chance to take part in the war; we could only watch our homes be destroyed and our race annihilated. Now that there’s a chance to hope, how can we just stand by and watch?”
“I’ve had enough of this goddamned soul ocean. Even if I never reincarnate, so what? I won’t regret it!”
Other souls chimed in with excitement and fury after the three Celestial souls expressed their standing.
They hadn’t been deeply corrupted yet; they still kept their pride and consciousness as gods.
Su Ping was stunned by their response, as he had only planned to take advantage of them. He never liked gods anyway; never did he expect that they would be willing to take such a risk for a total stranger!
Gods are arrogant when they deal with other species. However, they seem to be loyal and tolerant amongst themselves… Su Ping had a new understanding.
Most suffering in the world was perhaps due to different stances.
It had nothing to do with right or wrong.
Two kindhearted people could end up killing each other brutally only because they were protecting different things.
“There is an emperor among the gods too. I’ll ask Emperor Yi to come immediately.” said the prince of the Night Sky Clan in a low voice.
The merman was shocked to hear that, and snapped in fury, “Are you really going to start a war? We’re all undead creatures; what happened in the past should stay in the past. You should consider the Chaotic Realm of the Undead as your homeland. This is the beginning and the end of all universes; your identity as gods was just a memory from one of your lives!”
“You’re not wrong. However, you never lived as a god; you don’t know the first thing about the pride of gods, which exceeds everything!”
“We’re proud of being gods!”
“We’re proud of being gods!”
All the souls waved their arms and roared with utmost dignity. Even though they looked twisted and hideous as undead creatures, their common quality looked like a dazzling diamond. They were the pure supreme gods!
“Of all the lives that I’ve lived, the one where I was a god is the one I’ll never forget. Even though I’m an undead creature right now, I will always look down upon other species!” said the enormous toad with a sophisticated expression.
The souls of the other gods echoed those thoughts with excitement.
The merman changed his expression and shouted angrily, “Lunatics! All of you will die miserably!”
“How can a god be scared of death?” said the prince of the Night Sky Clan with a snort.
“We live forever above all worlds. It’s something that you’ll never understand!” cried one of the gods’ souls.
Su Ping looked at them, and vividly felt their pride at that moment. He had only felt their arrogance in the past, especially when he faced the Rain Clan and other gods.
It wasn’t until that moment that he experienced the unwavering pride that was hidden under their arrogance!
This godly spirit is perhaps what makes them truly great… Su Ping thought.
The ocean shook at that moment. Then, the water temperature plummeted, and all noise disappeared. Even the rumbling thunder above the vortex seemed to have been blocked.
There seemed to be something that opened its eyes and stared at those present, right from the dark bottom of the ocean.
The gods’ souls changed their expression, then looked over nervously.
Exactly at that moment—a wave of seawater in the shape of a scary mouth swept over to devour them all.
“Oh no! It’s the Nether Dragon!”
The prince of the Night Sky Clan said quickly, “Get out of the way!”
The enormous toad roared and spouted a wave in the seawater as an attempt to destroy the mouth.
However, the wave was directly swallowed when it reached the mouth; the only effect was a slight deformation.
Right when the mouth was about to swallow them all—a snort echoed throughout the ocean, and a dark figure descended from up above, landing on the mouth and shattering it.
It was a man who was eight meters tall with eight wings on his back. He looked like a devil from myth, emitting a heavy, intimidating aura of the undead.
“Emperor Yi!”
The prince of the Night Sky Clan and the other souls were thrilled to see him.
“Emperor Yi, you’ve crossed the border!” said a being with a low and cold voice, deep in the abyss.
“Nether Dragon, that was outrageous!”
Emperor Yi said indifferently and clearly, “The gods’ souls didn’t mean to offend you. Why did you attack them?”
“Emperor Yi, don’t forget your identity. You’re no longer gods; stop fantasizing. The gods are gone, and the world of gods has been shattered. You saw the war with your own eyes; even though you were but a child, I don’t think you can ever forget it. All those who saw the war will never forget, not even ants would!” said the Nether Dragon from the bottom of the abyss.
Emperor Yi snorted and said, “Of course I will never forget it. Even though we’re undead creatures right now, we’ll always be gods, because we once were. There’s no need to talk about that!”
The Nether Dragon snorted back, then said. “You’re just being stupid; I would rather not waste my time on you. I’ll spare you as long as you get out of my place.”
Emperor Yi ignored the creature and looked at Su Ping. He sized the latter up, and remarked with admiration in his eyes, “There aren’t many gods like you these days, right?”
Su Ping suddenly felt guilty and ashamed because of his lie. Those gods’ souls were obsessed with godhood, and were willing to fight for him even though they had never met before.
However, with everything reaching that point, he would cause greater trouble if he were to confess the truth. He could only say, “Indeed, there aren’t.”
“Why are you heading to the Abyssal Hole?” asked Emperor Yi softly.
After taking a deep breath, Su Ping said, “I want to find a new path and create one of my own. I want to grow stronger and break all shackles!”
That wasn’t a complete lie; he meant what he said.
Emperor Yi nodded and said, “Our clan must have tried their best to send such a genius as yourself to this place. Fine. We the deceased souls will help you reach your destination!”
