Astral Pet Store (WN)
chapter-972

"Six of the nine suns were destroyed?"

Both Su Ping and Tang Ruyan were stunned by Joanna's remark. What kind of brutal battle could have shattered some of the suns in the sky?

Su Ping learned from his master that the Archean Divinity was broken, and that the battlefield where he had been tested in the Divine Sea Mysterious Realm was once part of it. The Demigod Burial was also a piece of land from the land of gods. Everything indicated that an unprecedented war had indeed taken place in the past.

"Could it be that the Archean Divinity has been restored to its former glory after such a long time passed?" asked Su Ping in confusion.

Still somewhat dazed, Joanna looked at Su Ping with a dazzling brilliance in her eyes. She said, "Yes, that has to be it. The Superior Gods must have restored the realm; that's the only explanation for the additional suns. They must have recreated the six suns!"

Su Ping nodded. It did seem to be the only explanation.

"What happened here? What did the gods fight against?" asked Su Ping curiously.

That was an ancient secret. Even the Celestial experts were in the dark about it, as they didn't know the whole situation.

While she looked at the nine suns in the sky, Joanna searched her memories and replied, "It's a long story. I had just embarked on my cultivation path when the shocking war broke out. However, the seniors of my family told me that the Heavens were trying to destroy the gods. We fought back to resist!"

"The Heavens?" Su Ping and Tang Ruyan were similarly confused.

Tang Ruyan asked in confusion, "The sky, you mean?"

Joanna glanced at Tang Ruyan and then looked at Su Ping. She then said, "It wasn't one Heaven that attacked the Realm of Gods, but many of them. I heard that they were only following orders."

Su Ping had heard tales of the Heavens from the Golden Crows too. He knew that they were creatures born in the ancient chaos, and were undoubtedly on higher levels when compared to Celestials.

According to Joanna, there was more than one Heaven?

"Even the Heavens have to take orders from someone? What can that creature be?" Su Ping couldn't help but ask.

Joanna gave a slight head shake. "I don't know. I was too weak to learn back then, and I still am. I haven't even become a Superior God yet. My level was too low to be privy to those secrets."

There was frustration in her eyes, but it was soon replaced by hope and determination. She had never been a person who would give up or admit defeat.

Tang Ruyan had no idea what they were talking about, but she didn't ask, knowing that she wasn't qualified to learn more yet. She was only feeling a strong urge to become stronger and catch up with Su Ping so she could talk to them as an equal.

If the Heavens are above the Celestial State and there are more terrifying beings higher above them, I'm still much too weak in comparison. I have to reach the Ascendant State first before I start investigating them… Su Ping thought.

He had indeed grown at a fast speed, but he still wished he could go faster. He wanted to know everything, and find out why the brilliant worlds from the fast had fallen.

"OK, let's not get ahead of ourselves. We're here for training!"

Su Ping got himself together and said to the two girls, "You don't need to worry about your safety while you explore the place. There's nothing that can possibly kill you. Even if you die, I would still be able to reverse time and bring you back to life. So, just feel free to go all out. It's your employee privilege; don't waste the opportunity."

Tang Ruyan was shocked. "Reverse time? You can bring us back to life…"

"That is correct."

Joanna, on the other hand, remained calm. She had witnessed Su Ping's ability, or rather, the ability granted by the terrifying being protecting Su Ping, back in the Demigod Burial. She was qualified to enjoy the same privilege.

"I would like to check the Realm of Gods and explore God Emperor City," said Joanna, "I'll become a true immortal if we can find the Ancestral Gods and get the qualification so I can engrave the Ancestral Monument!"

That was her real purpose for coming to the Archean Divinity. She wanted to find the long lost Ancestral Monument.

"The Ancestral Monument?" asked Su Ping curiously.

"Exactly. That's the top treasure of my clan; you can become a true god once you engrave a strand of your vitality. Also, if you continue cultivating, you may later grow and become an Ancestral God, an entity strong enough to face the Heavens!"

"Is that item that amazing?" Su Ping was rather surprised.

Green Lady was a super pill. Any Ascendant State expert could become a Deity King if they ate her, or even a Celestial State expert!

Merely engraving your vitality onto a monument can make you a True God?

Su Ping suddenly felt that True Gods were anything but remarkable.

These worlds must have been splendid in the past… Su Ping could only sigh.

Such a godly treasure was an indicator of the countless Celestials and overall strong members were in the clan. However, their homes had already fallen. Not even the Federation had been able to find the entrance to the Archean Divinity yet. He could only rely on the system to access the place…

Once again, Su Ping was awed by the power of the system.

"Only the Gods of Rules can use the Ancestral Monument. You're still too weak at the moment. Maybe you can ask your backer to help you find a chance when you rise to my original self's level," Joanna said to Su Ping.

She wasn't at all worried about Su Ping's future. Considering the terrifying backer Su Ping had, his future had probably been planned out a long time before.

"Okay." Su Ping nodded in excitement.

He would be able to find the treasure, even if he had to turn the place upside down, as long as the artifact remained in the Archean Divinity.

"There seems to be a settlement of gods up ahead. Let's go there and ask for directions. Maybe you know the name of the place," said Su Ping.

Joanna nodded.

Tang Ruyan had already given up; she followed them and listened to Su Ping's arrangements.

"I'm so tired!"

Tang Ruyan was already sweating and blushing as if she were suffering from a heavy cold, soon after they started rushing. Even her eyes had lost focus.

Su Ping didn't stop. He said, "The local environment may be a little bit too much for you. Try to adapt to it; you'll become stronger when you do. Remember to absorb the divine power around you; it will polish and strengthen your body."

Tang Ruyan didn't realize that the training had already begun. She gritted her teeth and struggled on after seeing how casual Su Ping and Tang Ruyan were.

She almost passed out, since she became exhausted as they made their way. The alluring thought of giving up recurred in her head, but she gritted her teeth and held on.

She knew that the only thing she could do was to hold on!

Just like Su Ping mentioned, she had to try her best.

As opposed to Su Ping and Joanna, she was an untalented practitioner that also lacked a powerful background. She had nothing, except for her diligence.

She was unable to either understand or interject during Su Ping and Joanna's conversation. She hated the feeling of being left out, more than the tiredness.

Tang Ruyan finally passed out due to exhaustion soon after.

Su Ping didn't hesitate to throw a punch and tear her body apart. A confused Tang Ruyan was resurrected shortly after. She asked, "Did I pass out just now? Odd. Why is my body full of strength?"

"As I said, you don't need to worry about anything. I'll reverse time and bring you back to life if you can't endure any longer. Just hold on," said Su Ping.

Tang Ruyan nodded quickly. She became more confident after feeling the abundant strength in her body.

Joanna glanced at Su Ping. She already knew that Tang Ruyan could be revived, but it was still an odd practice, seeing Su Ping kill her that quickly.

Ten minutes later—

Tang Ruyan passed out in sweat again; Su Ping then killed her again in order to revive her.

At the same time—Su Ping summoned his pets. The divine power in the Archean Divinity was so dense that they could become stronger just by being present.

"We're almost there."

They were getting closer to the mountain they had seen in the distance. All the trees growing from it were hundreds of meters high, while the buildings were primitive, yet beautiful in their own way. There were also some gigantic stone pillars with beautifully engraved images.

Suddenly, a roar burst out. "€œStop!€"

The guy was shouting in the tongue of the ancient gods.

Fortunately, Joanna was one of them, and Su Ping had learned some of their dialect during his visits to the Demigod Burial.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two strangers in glowing golden armor dashed over. Both of them were gods. Their shining hair was purely golden, and the huge amount of divine power in their bodies suggested that their bloodlines were tremendously pure!

They glanced at the invaders, then gazed at Joanna for a while. They became less aggressive once they saw her, but they still said with a solemn tone, "This is the Rain Clan's territory. Where are you from? Why did you bring your slaves here? Do you not know the rules?"

They were talking to Joanna. Both Su Ping and Tang Ruyan were being considered as Joanna's slaves.

After all, any other lifeforms were slaves to the gods.

Even the powerful dragons were slaves too. That was an idea that was deeply etched in their blood. All lives were inferior and stupid in their eyes, except for them; it would be an honor to be a god's slave.

"Do you know them?"

Su Ping ignored them. He could resurrect an infinite number of times with the abundant energy in that plane. He went and disrespected them as much as they disrespected him.

"The Rain Clan…"

There was a slight change in Joanna's expression, and she stepped back, somehow unconsciously about to bow and pay her respects.

Hierarchy amongst gods was even more important than that of dragons. The Rain Clan had a high rank!

Joanna had been born to a middle-ranked clan; that was the reason why she had only become a God of Rules in the Demigod Burial.

The members of high-ranked clans would generally have greater talent, and could easily become Gods of Rules. The outstanding ones could become Superior Gods.

Some of their descendants were even believed to be capable of cultivating all the way to become Ancestral Gods!

Seeing Joanna's gesture, Su Ping grabbed her shoulder and asked, frowning, "What are you doing?"

Given Su Ping's casual and disrespectful attitude, Joanna quickly said, "The Rain Clan is a high-ranked clan. It's very famous among the gods. It would indeed be rude for us to come unannounced…"

"A high-ranked clan?" Su Ping was slightly surprised, but not more than that. "We're just visiting. What's the big deal? We can simply leave if they don't want to see us."

"Huh?"

The two gods were shocked to see Su Ping's behavior. Then, they looked at Joanna with fury and contempt. "You are a god, yet you don't draw a line between you and the slaves. You're a humiliation to us all and should be killed!"

The god on the right side simply raised his hand and gathered a spear as they talked, swinging it towards Joanna. He was obviously going to destroy her as well as Su Ping.

"We don't…" Joanna tried to explain. She gazed at the swinging spear and forgot to resist for a moment.

Bang!

An explosion paired with a furious roar burst out; it was so deafening that it seemed to have made the impossibly high and magnificent mountain quake, whose top couldn't even be seen.

Blood splashed; Su Ping stood in front to protect Joanna. He had already merged with the Little Skeleton and the Dark Dragon Hound, unleashing his maximum strength to block the aggressive attack.

"Huh?"

The god was shocked to see that his attack had been blocked. He could easily tell that Su Ping was a level weaker than himself.

Furthermore, he was a human slave!

Even slaves at his level would be no match for him. And yet, his attack had been blocked by Su Ping!

"Bloody bastard!"

The god became furious, feeling that he had been affronted. His body glowed, and a majestic halo appeared behind his back. Then, he swung his spear and performed another attack.

The surrounding air was absorbed, and a force that could shatter a world was concentrated on the spear to then smash down.

Joanna stared at the scene with a pale face, as if having forgotten how to resist.

Su Ping noticed how Joanna was beside herself, so he pushed her with a heavy hand and roared, "What are you doing? There's no need for etiquette if they're trying to kill you!"

Joanna trembled and looked back. Then, she saw Su Ping roaring and fighting back with a red sword in his hand. The sword and the spear collided with a brutal force colored in a red and golden light.. The next moment, the god's arm was broken, and he was flung back.