Astral Pet Store

Are you kidding me?

Su Ping was complaining inside, and inside only, just to avoid ending up dead again.

Never argue with a female when it came to appearances; that was a lesson he had learned in his previous life.

Lucky for him, he was a handsome guy in this lifetime…

He felt better once he came across that thought, and even the heat seemed to be less terrifying. He put on a smile. “We were meant to meet, you know. It just so happens that I’m the most handsome among all humans. Considering that fact, how about we have a little chat?”

“Handsome? What?”

The Golden Crow finally seemed able to understand Su Ping. It looked him up and down and said, “You four limbed thing are so gross. I don’t know if anyone of your race is pretty.”

“…”

I will curse you even if you’re just a girl bird! You should know that!

Su Ping was barely able to keep his anger at bay; he convinced himself not to show his anger for the sake of the greater picture.

A gentleman would never harass a woman (scratch that, a girl bird.)

“These are my hands and these are my feet. Never mind, I don’t want to discuss this. Let’s go back to our topic. I’m trying to find the materials I need for Solar Bulwark’s second level. I can be counted as a Golden Crow, to some extent, when I manage that… So, can you give me a hint as to where I can find those things?” Su Ping asked.

He looked at the crow’s three claws while he spoke.

You with three legs are mocking me when I only have two legs!

“Hands? Kind of like a Golden Crow?”

The Golden Crow was looking at Su Ping’s hands when it soon noticed something else Su Ping had just mentioned; it seemed to be angered by it. “The Golden Grow bloodline is the best in the world. That’s not something a strange thing like you can get. I don’t care where you learned that skill but you shall be punished with death!”

Su Ping was losing his temper. “What strange thing? I said that one of your forefathers gave me the skill and I am grateful for it. You’re an ancient creature. How come you’re not reasonable at all?”

“You are shameless,” the system suddenly jumped out. It didn’t like it when seeing that Su Ping could keep a straight face while lying about the Solar Bulwark.

Su Ping wasn’t happy to hear the system step in. “You’re one to say. Do you want me to tell the Golden Crow about you? You’re the one that is unpresentable, and now you are blaming me for telling a story?”

“Who said I’m unpresentable? Why don’t you tell people about me? Let’s see who believes you,” the system mocked Su Ping.

Su Ping suddenly realized that indeed, the system was not afraid of being exposed. It was him who was afraid of exposing the system. Damn this system…

“You are cursing me again. Why?”

“What? Should I curse myself?”

“…”

The system replied with a “bah” and kept silent afterwards.

Su Ping pulled his mind back to the ongoing situation with the Golden Crow.

“No Golden Crow would tell others outside our race about our cultivation skills. You have lied and you questioned my appearance. You’re a creature of trickery!”

The Golden Crow sounded righteous and convinced in Su Ping’s mind.

Su Ping wanted to refute that argument, but then realized that while he could say that he never insulted the Golden Crow’s looks, he couldn’t come up with a reasonable explanation for the skill he had learned.

It might be true that the Golden Crows had such rules.

It wouldn’t look well on him if he told more lies.

As for arguing about appearances… Well, what good could that do to him?

The Golden Crow sounded brimming with pride, given that Su Ping was tongue-tied at the moment. “See? I saw through your deception. Hmm, you should die because of it, but I don’t think I can kill you. You are a strange thing. Never mind… I’ll take you back and maybe our elders can find a solution.”

Su Ping was covered in goosebumps. Taking me back to the elders?

It went without saying that the elders would be much more powerful than that Golden Crow. If he had to deal with them, he might not even be able to commit suicide!

Run!

Su Ping teleported away.

However, he felt he bumped into something and almost got his nose broken the moment he turned around.

Space was confined!

Something made space as hard as iron!

Sword!

Su Ping took out his sword and tried to cut. Still, even though he had exerted great strength, the ray of sword light disappeared.

What is that about!

Su Ping felt all hope was lost. Not even the strongest move he had was enough to break the confinement!

He had managed to break a Space Confinement set up by a Fate State being. Just like in the Deep Caves, the Thousand-eyed Demon Beast was unable to stop him!

“What? Dark energy?”

The Golden Crow was surprised to see Ashura force. It could not believe that a race on the Celestial Star would have been able to master that force.

“How strange.” That was the last thing Su Ping heard the Golden Crow say. Rays of golden light surrounded Su Ping; he saw nothing but the golden color after that. He was imprisoned in a golden cube before he knew it.

Su Ping tried to cut the walls but nothing worked. As a matter of fact, his hands became numb.

Once it noticed that Su Ping was in trouble, the Inferno Dragon roared and dashed toward him.

However, a blast of fire reached the Inferno Dragon the next second. It could not finish its roar before the fire burned the pet to dust.

The Dark Dragon Hound also made a move and ended up dying just like the Inferno Dragon.

Revive!

Without hesitation, Su Ping brought them back to life.

That came as a bigger surprise for the Golden Crow. Apart from Su Ping, those two low lives were also able to come back to life. The Golden Crow flapped its wings and the golden fire killed the Inferno Dragon and the Dark Dragon Hound yet another time.

The Inferno Dragon and the Dark Dragon Hound were using their best skills but none of them worked when it came to fend off the golden fire.

Revive!

The Golden Crow grew even more curious and imprisoned the two battle pets in similar golden cubes.

“You are of different races but you can help each other.” The Golden Crow found it interesting. It was amazing to see three different races sacrificing their lives for each other’s sake.

Those actions were impossible as far as the Golden Crow could tell.

Even those of the same race would kill each other, not to mention between different races.

On the ground, the Purple Python had just been burnt to death by the heat and Su Ping then brought it back to life.

The Purple Python was full of physical strength, since it had just been revived. The Purple Python lifted the rocks around with its tail and threw them at the Golden Crow.

The Golden Crow gave the snake a disdainful look. It had an inborn desire to despise and kill when it came to those things that looked like strips.

But the Golden Crow supposed that the snake was also hard to kill.

Whoosh. The Purple Python reached the Golden Crow.

The Purple Python was startled, being so close to its enemy all of a sudden. The overwhelming power of the Golden Crow made the Purple Python tremble; it curled up in the air and even its scales were shaking.

A golden cube covered up the snake.

Su Ping heard the Golden Crow’s voice, “You, strange things. Come with me to see our elders.” It darted a glance at Su Ping and then flew away.

Su Ping and his battle pets that were also imprisoned in the golden cubes were pulled forward by an invisible force and trailed behind the Golden Crow.

Su Ping was wondering if he could get away by suicide or whether he should visit the Golden Crows den, which would imply wasting a day.

Fortunately, he had just bought one day for that cultivation site this time, so the trip would not force him to waste time beyond that.

He was just worried that the more powerful Golden Crows would find out about his weird revival abilities and would dissect him like a guinea pig to figure him out.

“System, about the revivals… Can you ensure they are going to work just fine? Will others be able to crack the skill?” Su Ping asked.

Su Ping wouldn’t have worried if he were in other cultivation sites. However, the resident Golden Crows were the oldest creatures in the universe. He couldn’t even imagine how powerful they could get.

“Do not worry. No one can stop me from bringing you back to life as long as you have enough energy points.” The system sounded confident.

Su Ping was a bit relieved, but worry still seized his mind. “You have to be certain. Don’t be all show-off right now. After all, you wouldn’t get another host as handsome as me. You’d be disgusted every day if you ever found an ugly host.”

“I’ll go and find a pretty girl when you die. Why would I find an ugly guy?” the system answered with a question.

Su Ping was livid with rage. “So, you’re saying that I’m going to die, right?”

“You’re reading too much into that!” the system argued back.

Su Ping was not in the mood to banter with the system anymore. He had to trust the system at this point.

Committing suicide could help him get away but the Dark Dragon Hound and the Inferno Dragon would be left behind. He could not order them to commit suicide either, and that included in the rules of the contract. A master could order the battle pets to fight to the death when danger was imminent, but no one could tell their battle pets to kill themselves!

Once he committed suicide and got away from the cultivation site, the Dark Dragon Hound and the Inferno Dragon would still be alive. They would end up being taken by the Golden Crows. They would not be in the contract space when the allotted time was over and Su Ping went back; they would be stranded there forever.

He had lost the Little Skeleton. He could not lose more.

So, he decided to go with the Golden Crow. He might be imprisoned and tortured, but the worst result would be for him to waste some energy points.

…

Whoosh!

The view flashed past his eyes.

He saw some pits and lava lakes. The Golden Crow was flying fast, faster than the speed of sound. Su Ping was sure the wind alone could have hurt him if it weren’t for the golden cube, not to mention that the wind was hot on that Celestial Star.

He believed that he would burst into flames!

Su Ping gazed at the view down on the ground. Bored, he began to talk with the Golden Crow. “How many Golden Crows are there?”

The Golden Crow didn’t answer. It flapped its wings and would let out a cry every now and then.

“What kind of status do you have in your family?” Su Ping asked again.

Still, no reply.

“I don’t think there are many other Golden Crows as pretty as you, right?”

“I am the only one.” The Golden Crow finally began to talk.

“I don’t believe it.” Su Ping didn’t sugarcoat his answer.

The answer had undoubtedly enraged the Golden Crow.

But, since nothing could kill him, the Golden Crow just snorted as a reply.

Still, Su Ping didn’t give up on his communication efforts. “I heard that Golden Crows are born and raised by heaven and earth. Does that mean you don’t have parents?”

“…”

The Golden Crow glared at Su Ping.

Su Ping didn’t mind. He was trying to be nice with the Golden Crow but wasn’t working. Since him learning the Solar Bulwark was against the rules to begin with, there was nothing he could say to change that.

“Anyway, why would you let out a cry every now and then when you’re flying?” Su Ping questioned.

“That’s none of your business,” the Golden Crow shouted in anger.

…

…

The Golden Crow suddenly slowed down while they continued that kind and innocent communication. Su Ping felt the temperature was rising. Even while inside the golden cube, he could feel the heat seeping in.

The world around them had no other color but clear gold.

Standing in front of him was a towering tree.

That was the largest tree that he had ever seen.

He saw a golden hue around the tree; he realized upon a closer look that they were Golden Crows.

Those crows were so large they could blot out the sun and yet, they were just the size of a leaf of that ancient tree. Some of the Golden Crows were flying around it, while others were perched on the leaves.

Su Ping was astounded.

He had seen many gigantic creatures in other cultivation sites—

However, that tree and the Golden Crows still took his breath away.

Each Golden Crow was gigantic; even a single feather was the size of an aircraft carrier! They flew around the tree like guardians.

An hour passed since Su Ping saw the tree from a distance. Even though dust and the contorted air had hindered his sight, he was still able to see that tree from quite a far distance.

He felt that the tree’s crown actually went beyond the star’s atmosphere!

“That’s where you live?” Su Ping blurted out.

The Golden Crow noticed Su Ping’s astonishment and answered with pride, “This is an ancestral land for us Golden Crows. It is an honor for you, odd thing, to come here.”

Su Ping didn’t even mind the mockery.

Some of the Golden Crows that were patrolling around the tree flew over. Su Ping was able to tell that the Golden Crow that took him there was shaking because of the wind. Compared with those patrolling Golden Crows, this Golden Crow should be considered tiny! It was just the size of a feather from the patrolling Golden Crows!