Book 4 - Stellar Transformations
B4C1: Stellar Transformations
In the evening, the setting Sun is going down westward. Its light, despite being not dazzling, is illuminating the entire vast ground.
However, in a courtyard of the East Vanquishing Prince mansion, the atmosphere is obviously gloomy and cold.
Qin Feng, Qin Zheng, Xu Yuan and Fengyuzi, 4 people altogether, are sitting at a stone table. Qin De, however, is standing with his hands behind his back in the courtyard and looking up at a willow. This courtyard is in the courtyard house belonging exclusively to Qin Yu and this willow was planted here by Qin De and Qin Yu together when Qin Yu was little.
No one, whether Qin Feng, Qin Zheng or Xu Yuan, has a bit of a smiling expression on his face.
“Xiao Yu is dead.” When Qin Feng and Qin Zheng first knew about this just now, they were simply stupefied. They had never imagined that their 3rd brother would die like this and, even worse, die without an intact body, having been struck into nothingness by a wicked thunderbolt.
Qin Feng and Qin Zheng still remember their promise.
They wanted to protect their younger brother, but they will never be able to fulfill their promise.
“Every plan is to be sped up. In a half year, Zheng’er, can the logistics of materials such as army provisions, armor and weaponry be fully ready in a half year?” With his hands behind his back, Qin De suddenly breaks the silence in the forlorn courtyard.
Qin Zheng slightly frowns, thinks for a while then says with a nod: “A half year … father, a half year will be enough to fully prepare army provisions and the other materials. But to transport these materials to every army will need some time. If the deadline is loosened a bit, everything will be perfectly ready in 8 months. But if you want me to race against the clock, I can still manage it in a half year.”
“Um, Xu Yuan, can every step of Plan Flying Eagle be accomplished in a half year?” Qin De continues to ask.
Xu Yuan thinks for a while then says: “Your Highness, according to the original plan, we should still have 2 years to prepare. Now you want it to be accelerated and everything to be ready in a half year so time will be a bit tight. But because we’ve been carrying it out for the last 10-odd years, if it has to be sped up, a half year will still be enough for us to manage to start the entire plan.”
“Good!”
Qin De suddenly turns around and looks at the other people, saying: “All right, I’ll loosen the deadline a bit. In 7 months we’ll launch a full-scale attack. According to the plan, we’ll have to unify the entire Chu kingdom within a half year.” Qin De’s eyes glitter with a shockingly fierce coldness. “Yes, father!”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
Qin Feng, Qin Zheng and Xu Yuan immediately stand up, bow and respond with obedience.
“Feng’er, you must hurry back to the army immediately. We’ll leave the preparation of armaments and materials entirely to Zheng’er. I’ll be in charge of the overall supervision of the armed forces.” Qin De says directly. “All right, everybody can set to work now.”
Qin Feng, Qin Zheng and Xu Yuan bow and leave at once.
“Your Highness, you should rest more and take better care of yourself. Your body is still injured.” Fengyuzi slightly shakes his head and says with a sigh. Qin De turns around again and looks at the willow: “Rest? Am I still in a mood for resting? If I don’t trample the 4 Eastern region counties to pieces, exterminate the Xiang clan, kill Xiang Guang and Wu De and destroy their souls, how can I possibly ease my mind and recover?”
Fengyuzi cannot help giving a forced smile, but he is not too worried either because, with the effective medicines of the princely mansion in addition to Qin De’s having become an early phase Jindan-stage Xiuzhenist, Qin De’s internal injuries will take at most a month to recover completely.
“I’ll return first, Your Highness. If you have any problems, you can send for me.” Fengyuzi slightly folds his hands and says.
“Please return, brother Feng. I won’t see you off.” Qin De says calmly.
Fengyuzi nods then stands on his flying sword and shoots through the sky immediately to leave. “We’re going to launch our attack in 7 months. Winthin a half year later, 1,000,000 troops will definitely trample the 4 Western region counties to pieces and exterminate the Xiang clan!” Qin De talks to himself in a low voice. His eyes, however, are filled with a chilling killing intent.
******
“Scram!”
A loud shout comes out from inside the room. Outside the room, Xiang Guang’s body cannot help shaking once.
Xiang Guang also feels greatly wronged. As soon as he heard that a Shangxian had returned, he immediately ran over here with enthusiasm, wanting to know if Qin De was dead or not. On the way from the Imperial Palace Xiang Guang’s heart was always excited.
However, just now, before he could say something, he was already scolded by Wu De.
“Screw this Wu De. I already gave them the Red Flourishing Pill. Could it be he returned without killing Qin De?” Indignation continuously surges in Xiang Guang’s heart, but he knows one thing — whatever happens, he must not offend this Shangxian because, after all, this Shangxian is a guardian the
Xiang clan relies on.
The Red Flourishing Pill was the reward for Wu De and Wu Xing killing Qin De. If they have not killed Qin De yet, Xiang Guang naturally cannot but resent them.
“Your Majesty!” A eunuch beside Xiang Guang immediately bows.
“Scram!” With a strong wave of a sleeve Xiang Guang pushes the eunuch to one side then tries to say with a forced smile: “Shangxian …”
“Xiang Guang sonny, today I’m in a bad mood. Don’t disturb me.” Wu De shouts coldly. Xiang Guang swallows then forces a smile, saying: “Shangxian, last time, I gave you the Red Flourishing Pill and asked you to kill Qin De for me, didn’t I? I’m wondering if Qin De is dead or alive.” Whatever happens, he still has to ask about this matter.
Moreover, Xiang Guang does not believe that this Wu De will dare to kill him.
Bang!
The door is suddenly pushed open. The 2 panels of the door hit the walls beside them. Loose-long-haired Wu De walks out with a face full of anger. His eyes, glittering with indignation and enmity, are fixed completely on Xiang Guang. Seeing Wu De like this, Xiang Guang is so frightened that he continuously backs away.
“Don’t mention anything about Qin De to me. Because we agreed to handle this matter, even my martial younger brother died. Why did you still mention the Red Flourishing Pill and Qin De to me? Go the hell away for me! Don’t think that I won’t dare to touch you just because you’re a descendant of the Xiang clan.”
The air of anger from Wu De puts pressure on Xiang Guang as if it is real.
He and his martial younger brother were friends with each other for several hunded years. There was a deep affection between them. This time, Wu Xing’s death was really a crushing blow to Wu De. Even worse, the 5 middle-grade holy short knives Wu Xing took in at first were also struck into nothingness by a sudden beam of light in the end.
This time, Wu De gained nothing and his martial younger brother even died, how can he possibly not get angry?
“Calm your anger, Shangxian. I will leave right now and won’t disturb you anymore. Calm you anger, Shangxian …” Xiang Guang is frightened out of his wits as he is saying. He immediately runs very helter-skelter away from Wu De’s place with his entourage. He turns his head around, looking at Wu De’s residence in the distance. Then, with a cold humph, he hurries back to the Imperial Palace at once.
******
The Immense Wilderness, no one has ever been able to measure its size. The deeper it is in the Wilderness, the higher the density of holy energy is, and the more formidable demonic beasts become. About 100,000 li away from the border of the Wilderness, there is a certain place.
Of course, compared to the size of the Wilderness, this 100,000 li distance is not a big amount of space. After all, the Wilderness is simply too large.
At this place, there is a huge lake. On the side of the lake, there is a huge mountain-shaped structure. That structure has only 2 stories and is only about 8 or 9 m high, but it occupies a shockingly large area, which is both longer and wider than 100
m. In this structure, every room is very luxurious. The rooms are even lit with various kinds of lamplight of different colors that have never been seen elsewhere on the Qian Long continent.
In the spacious entrance hall of this structure, the floor is pure silvery.
A young man with a wounded stomach, a middle-aged man with white brows that touch his temples and a black eagle are lying on this silvery floor. They are none other than Qin Yu, Wu Xing and the black eagle, who disappeared earlier.
______
Under Qin De’s gaze, the look in Qin Yu’s eyes becomes totally lifeless, his heart no longer beats and his breathing stops.
“Is this the feeling of death?”
Qin Yu vaguely remembers Xiao Hei’s wail but he simply cannot utter any sounds. He cannot even move his fingers a bit. However, his soul and consciousness still exist. After his bodily functions stop, his soul starts to shake.
A basically irresistible sucking force comes from the outside and affects Qin Yu’s soul directly, seemingly wanting to suck his soul away.
“I’m already dead. Is my soul entering the cycle of reincarnation now?” He simply cannot resist. His soul and consciousness can only feel that this sucking force is potent and overwhelming. His soul starts to float up. Apparently it is about to float out of his body.
Suddenly —
A warm stream flows out directly from the Meteoric Tear mark on his chest and enfolds Qin Yu’s soul and consciousness.
“So warm, just like soaking in the hot spring.” Qin Yu’s consciousness has this kind of feeling. At the same time, being directly insulated from that sucking force by the warm stream, Qin Yu’s soul still remains in his body and is not getting sucked away anymore.
Because his soul is engulfed in the warm stream, Qin Yu is simply unaware of what happens outside. Even when a flaming red beam of light shoots down from the sky and hits his body, he feels absolutely nothing.
At the same time, the Meteoric Tear is sending out various clear streams, which are rushing into his wounds nonstop. His body’s injuries are continuously recovering. The stab wound in his heart, however, is healing extremely slowly. But it is gradually recovering nonetheless.
As every minute or second goes by,
Qin Yu’s soul keeps enjoying that warmth. It is absorbing that warm stream of energy like a baby. His soul is gradually strengthening and becoming more materialized as well. It has become a seven-colored disc. The colors of the soul are extremely glorious and alluring. At the same time, energy is flashing around the soul nonstop like bolts of lightning. As the soul keeps absorbing that warm stream, those ‘bolts of lightning’ flash more and more powerfully.
In the blink of an eye, 7 days have passed.
The huge hole in Qin Yu’s stomach has healed without even a scar. It has taken him 7 days only because the heart is the most difficult body part to heal. His ordinary physical wounds needed just a half day to disappear scarlessly. His heart, however, has taken 7 days to recover.
Qin Yu’s soul is still enveloped in that warmth.
Suddenly, Qin Yu feels that warmth disappear. At the same time, a familiar feeling slowly returns. Qin Yu enjoys that feeling very much. It is the feeling of having control over the entire body, which only exists when the soul and the body are completely connected to each other.
He opens his eyes all of a sudden. At the moment his hands are still stuck in the chest of Wu Xing, who is undoubtedly as dead as a doornail. Qin Yu abruptly pulls his hands out and makes a shake with them at the same time. The muscles of the hands immediately vibrate extremely fast for a short time, forcing all the blood on the hands away.
“Phew!”
After a roll, Qin Yu pushes himself up from the floor and looks around. At a glance, he sees Xiao Hei not far from him on a side. Xiao Hei has been staring at Qin Yu in a daze. At this moment, it immediately cries out loud in excitement. The cries of the eagle resound continuously. At the same time, it runs up to Qin Yu very fast and hugs him tightly with its huge wings while chirping wildly.
“Ha-ha, Xiao Hei, alright, wow, you’re drooling on me.”
Qin Yu and Xiao Hei start to lark about with each other.
“Welcome, Master. I never thought that after your heart was penetrated your life could still be saved. Starlet is really too shocked by this.” A crystalline childlike voice rises through the entire spacious hall. Both Qin Yu and Xiao Hei are startled.
Qin Yu expands his holy sense and discovers that this is a very strange structure, basically unlike those on the Qian Long continent. However, he does not detect any person at all.
“Who are you?” He immediately says. “Could it be you saved me?”
“I’m Starlet, but I didn’t save you. It’s you who saved yourself.” That pleasant crystalline childlike voice rises again.
Qin Yu slightly frowns. He remembers how his heart was punctured by Wu Xing. At that time the Meteoric Tear seemed to send out various clear streams to continuously heal his heart. Even though the healing speed was extremely slow, his heart was still recovering. Also, when his bodily functions stopped completely and his soul was about to be sucked away, a warm stream enveloped his soul.
“Could it be the Meteoric Tear saved me?” Qin Yu thinks to himself. This Meteoric Tear is really extremely miraculous. At least for the moment Qin Yu cannot understand how he is still all right after even his heart was penetrated. It should be known that, even Xiuzhenists who have not reached the Dongxu stage will only die if their hearts are penetrated.
If a Dongxu stage expert or above is punctured in the heart, his physical body will be destroyed and he will only be able to rely on his yuanying and soul to practice as a loose immortal. No one has ever heard about anyone who could survive a stab wound in the heart.
For the moment, Qin Yu does not consider this matter. He organizes his mind a bit and asks: “You’re Starlet? Who is Starlet? Why have you always called me master? Can you explain everything? Moreover, why is the lamplight of this place so strange?”
Qin Yu raises his head and looks upwards.
There is a huge square transparent product which is radiating a multi-colored light, looking very effulgent.
“Starlet is the manager of this building and is an artificially intelligent being. This separate villa was built by 1st Master, Master Lei Wei. I followed Master Lei Wei wandering the universe. During that time, Master Lei Wei continuously practiced and learned through experience. We originally came
from a techno-science universe, where technology and science were extremely developed. Master made this separate villa then sucked it into his Storage Ring. One day, Master ventured into a black hole and was sucked into it. After getting out of the black hole alive, he found himself having arrived in another universe. Master then came to a planet in this universe, which is your planet.”
That crystalline childlike voice says with excitement.
Qin Yu, however, raises his eyebrows.
Artificially intelligent being? Separate villa? Techno-science?
Planet? Qin Yu does not understand what they mean at all. He does not understand how he came to this place either.
“This planet unexpectedly belonged only to Xiuzhenists. Our original universe also had Xiuzhenists but, because it was dominated by science and technology, there were very few of them, extremely few. However, this planet had an unusually high number of Xiuzhenists, thousands upon thousands. After staying on this planet for some time, Master had to undergo his heavenly tribulation. He had been worried that he would fail so he had left me in this wilderness earlier, telling me to wait for 2nd Master. Sure enough, after so many years, the teleportation formation finally started and brought you here, Master.”
Now Qin Yu has gained a little knowledge of what happened, but he still does not understand some words such as technology and science.
“Starlet, why haven’t you come out? Come out and talk with me,” says Qin Yu directly because he simply does not know what an artificially intelligent being is. “Wait a moment. Starlet doesn’t have a real body. I can only use a simulated image!” An image then appears in front of Qin Yu. It is none other than that of a kitten. Qin Yu’s eyes pop out of his head. He cannot help reaching out a hand. However, his hand goes through the simulated body of the kitten.
At first sight, this simulated image seems to be real. Only when he touched it was he able to discover that it is merely simulated.
“He-he, Master, you’re an inhabitant of the Qian Long continent so you simply don’t know what science and technology mean. 1st Master Lei Wei already prepared a book for you early on. It is written in the language of your Qian Long continent so you can take your time reading it. After reading it, you’ll understand everything. When you want to turn a page, just give me an order.”
A simple-and-ancient-looking book suddenly floats before Qin Yu. Naturally, it is also simulated.
Qin Yu looks at it in stupefaction. After a long time, he swallows and disregards everything else to start reading it carefully. As he goes on, a whole new civilization that is completely different from the Xiuzhen civilization appears before him …
Lei Wei was an exceptionally wise person. The book he wrote contains only several hundred thousand words but it enables Qin Yu to understand the meaning of the techno-science civilization. At least he already knows how to use this separate villa.
“So … I was teleported into this separate villa this way.” A faint smile appears on his face.
He has understood everything.
If a person wants to practice that Art of Stellar Transformations, he must reach the peak of the Xiantian level first, which also means he must completely master the 3 Trans- Heaven diagrams. The sign that he has practiced the technique of the diagrams to the highest level is the tricolor suit of armor formed by the 108 energy streams covering him. As soon as Qin Yu formed a tricolor suit of armor, that miraculous huge transportation formation sensed it then directly transported him into this separate villa, which had been set up carefully beforehand. At the same time, Starlet automatically took his blood to register him as its master.
“Meow ~~ Master, 1st Master left you a series of images. He wanted to tell you about some matters with it. Do you want to watch it?” Starlet blinks its eyes and wags its little tail.
Qin Yu cannot help getting startled in his heart. He admires this Lei Wei very much.
Obviously, Lei Wei was the mysterious man who killed a Dacheng stage expert, a good several loose immortals, and several tens Dujie stage and Kongming stage experts. Moreover, this expert’s origin was even stranger — he did not even come from this Xiuzhen world.
Is he going to see this senior? “Starlet, give Xiao Hei the right to move in this separate villa. Also, wait for me to deal with the corpse of this geezer. Ah, this is …” As soon as Qin Yu looks at Wu Xing’s corpse, he notices one thing.
Wu Xing is dead, but the flying sword and short knife inside his body and also his storage bracelet have dropped to one side. Qin Yu does not value the flying sword and short knife very much but he has never seen that storage bracelet.
He picks up the storage bracelet in a movement of his hand. The original owner of this storage bracelet is already dead so it is now an owner-free object. Qin Yu immediately personalizes it by blood. A drop of blood falls on this storage bracelet then gets totally absorbed by it.
“So wonderful, it even has a space the size of a room.” As soon as he puts the storage bracelet on, he can totally feel the space inside it.
As he wears the storage bracelet, there is a surge of happiness in his heart. With a thought, everything in the bracelet can appear on his hand then get sucked inside in an instant, which is really extremely convenient and fantastic. In his heart, Qin Yu cannot help getting emotional over how marvelous the storage bracelet is.
“Xiao Hei, from now on you can move freely in this separate villa. Come, follow me to bury this geezer’s corpse.” Qin Yu lifts Wu Xing’s corpse up in a movement of a hand then walks out of the hall in strides.
“Master, follow me, this way. Just now it was the Training Hall. The surrounding silvery walls and floor of the Training Hall are made from an ore that 1st Master collected from a planet with especially strong gravity while travelling the universe. They have particularly great hardness. Even a so- called high-grade holy weapon in this Xiuzhen world can only leave a small mark on them,” says Starlet proudly.
Qin Yu, however, secretly clicks his tongue because he never expected those silvery walls and that silvery ground to be so hard. But he does not know that Lei Wei, while wandering and venturing in the universe, saw a lot of strange planets, some of which had gravitational pulls so great that even Lei Wei did not dare to come near. Walking out of the entrance of the living room, he sees a relatively large indoor swimming pool. He goes around the swimming pool and come out of this separate villa.
“It’s very beautiful indeed.”
As soon as Qin Yu comes out, he sees a blue lake before him. The side of the lake is surrounded by a green meadow. This separate villa is located beside the lake. However, outside the green meadow, there is a huge mountain forest. In a glance, he can see various kinds of wild beasts.
Qin Yu turns around and looks at the separate villa. From the outside, it looks like a mountain. He says with a smile: “Separate villa, this noun sounds really awkward. This separate villa was built by Senior Lei Wei and looks like a mountain so from now on let’s call it Lei Mountain House.” He has come up with a Qian-Long-continent-style name for it.
After that, he buries Wu Xing’s body at a nearby place. “Xiao Hei, you can play around here but don’t go too far. This place is in the Wilderness. Maybe there are some strong demonic beasts. If you encounter any dangers, you must return immediately.” Qin Yu says while gently patting Xiao Hei’s head. Xiao Hei flaps its wings and nods in excitement.
Qin Yu gives a smile then goes back into Lei Mountain House directly.
Lei Mountain House is very large. It is divided into 2 floors. The ground floor has the Training Hall, the living room, the Weapon Forging Chamber, the Pill Making Chamber, the storeroom, the swimming pool at the front and the garden at the back. In the back garden there are flowers and grasses taken from some unusual planets.
The 1st floor does not have any techno-science leisure facilities. Rather, it is a place for training, weapon forging and pill making. The 2nd floor, however, is the opposite. It has recreation facilities such as the bathroom, the kitchen, the entertainment hall, the bedroom and the study.
At this moment, Qin Yu is in the Training Hall.
“Starlet, didn’t you say Senior Lei Wei left me a series of images? Turn them on for me to have a look.” Qin Yu is standing in the Training Hall. His heart is beating somewhat fast. After all, he is about to see images of the mysterious Lei Wei.
“Meow ~~~ wait a second!”
Starlet sweeps its little tail then disappears. At the same time
… the entire Training Hall’s walls are covered with images of the universe and stars. In an instant, it looks as if Qin Yu is in space. The floor on which he is standing has even become the image of an area of space and simply cannot be seen anymore.
“Cosmos, this is the cosmos?”
Qin Yu is somewhat curious in his heart. However, at this moment, a man appears in front of him out of thin air. That man is standing with his hands behind his back and his back facing Qin Yu. After a long time, he lets out a sigh then turns around.
Aloof and proud, swift and fierce,
This is Qin Yu’s first impression of Lei Wei. All of a sudden, Lei Wei smiles: “Hello, if you are seeing this image, that will mean I, Lei Wei, have already failed to overcome the tribulation.”
Qin Yu understands this. If Lei Wei had not failed to overcome the tribulation, he would definitely have returned to this Lei Mountain House and naturally there would not be this scene. At the moment, after Lei Wei has begun to smile, he looks very amiable so Qin Yu is no longer nervous.
Lei Wei’s eyes have grown a bit misty. It seems he is remembering what has happened throughout his life.
“I was a prince of an empire in the Milky Way Galaxy, but I didn’t like imperial power. Instead, I liked interstellar adventures and practicing. Where we came from, there were Xiuzhenists on only one planet, which was the Earth. Only when I had reached a certain level in practice did I know about that.”
“At that time, I practiced nonstop. Then I obtained a secret book — the Trans-Heaven 3 Diagrams –, which had only 3 pages containing 36 pictures each. However, to practice the Trans-Heaven 3 Diagrams, I had to reach the Xiantian level in body training first. I went out of my way to train hard and after experiencing various difficulties I finally succeeded. Then I gave up the prince status and set off for interstellar adventures using my spaceship. While travelling, I continuously practiced the Trans-Heaven 3 Diagrams. Eventually, one day the 4-in-9 Heavenly Tribulation came down. Luckily, I was able to overcome it. However … I didn’t have any techniques to continue my practice with.”
Lei Wei’s face has a hint of satisfaction and enjoyment. He seems to be remembering those daring years.
“While wandering in the cosmos looking for adventures, I heard about the theory of jindan and yuanying, but I still couldn’t obtain any Xiuzhen techniques. They were really too precious. At that time, I, who didn’t have a Xiuzhen technique, chose to create a path of my own. I knew Xiuzhen was to pursue the Way of Heaven … But what is the Way of Heaven? Could it be to form the jindan and train the yuanying?” A hint of haughtiness and confidence appears on Lei Wei’s face.
“No, I definitely don’t think so. In my view, the Way of Heaven is the most original and natural things and isn’t something forcibly prescribed by human attempts. Watching the natural transformations of the cosmos, I gradually gained an understanding of the Way of Heaven. Then I started to create a new practice technique based on my understanding. This technique is modeled upon the evolution of stars in the cosmos so it’s called the Stellar Transformations.”
An idea springs to Qin Yu’s mind. Could the Stellar Transformation be that mysterious technique?
Lei Wei continues: “After going through a series of battles and adventures, I finally knew about the existence of the planet Earth, the only citadel of Xiuzhenists in the entire cosmos. I spent over 100 years on Earth and also obtained several Xiuzhen techniques, but … I thought they were simply inferior to the Stellar Transformations I had created.” Lei Wei involuntarily gives off an air of lordliness.
“I left Earth and started to venture nonstop in the cosmos. Eventually, one day I was sucked into a black hole. That black hole was really too strong. It was basically not something the human power could resist. Then I arrived in a new space. At the same time, I discovered the planet nearest me. This planet was very large, extraordinarily large. Compared to that planet Earth of the Milky Way, it had to be over 10,000 times bigger. When I landed on it, I found out that it had a shockingly high number of Xiuzhenists, who were counted by the 10,000.”
Lei Wei gives a disappointed smile: “Little boy, this study of mine has some practice techniques, which are all Xiuzhen techniques. I’ve collected quite a few of them, some from Earth and some others from this world. If you want to practice, you can use any of them.”
Qin Yu frowns. Could it be this Lei Wei does not want to teach him his own Stellar Transformations?
“Little boy, the Stellar Transformations is an incomplete technique and takes an unprecedented path. Even after wandering the cosmos for several thousand years, I’ve only been able to create the first 6 main stages — Nebula, Meteor, Core, Planet, Dujie and Star. Moreover, the Star stage has merely been envisaged by me and I have no idea what will come afterwards. If you practice like me, even if you overcome the tribulations, reach the Star stage and ascend to the Realm of Immortals, you won’t have any techniques to continue your practice with.” Lei Wei says with an indifferent smile.
Qin Yu also understands the disadvantages of the Stellar Transformations.
To practice it to the Dujie stage is still not a bad thing because Lei Wei has already done this. However, that Star stage has only been envisaged by Lei Wei and there is no technique for dealing with what will happen after it. Once Qin Yu takes this path and practices to the Star stage, he will have to create a new technique on his own because the practice methods used by the other Xiuzhenists, who all cultivate their yuanyings, will be completely useless to him.
But will it be easy to create a new technique? If he overdoes it and loses his way, both his body and soul will be destroyed. “Stellar Transformations, ha-ha … is practicing this Stellar Transformations a blessing or a disaster? It’s hard to tell. Alright, little boy, you can choose for yourself. If you don’t practice it, then when you have a chance later, help me to find an inheritor of it, okay? Too bad, to practice the Stellar
Transformations one must reach the peak of the Xiantian level in external practice first and use the Trans-Heaven 3 Diagrams as the basis, so, I’m afraid it won’t be easy to find an inheritor, but … You’ll need to think about this matter later.”
Lei Wei gives a disappointed smile and heaves a low sigh: “Milky Way, planet Menghuan …”
The image of his body then disappears completely.
After Qin Yu ponders for a while, his eyes flash with fierceness. He immediately leaves the Training Hall very fast and rushes into the study on the 2nd floor. There are quite a few paper books in the study. Some of them are educational books and some others are practice books. He finds it strange that Lei Wei wrote down various practice techniques in paper books. The one book that is put highest is the Stellar Transformations.
“Blessing or disaster? Once I reach the Star stage, I can already achieve ascension. Even though afterwards I won’t have a technique to practice, when Master Lei Wei was able to create his own technique, then why can’t I? If there weren’t any challenges at all, practice would be too boring. Only this kind of technique will be able to make my blood boil with excitement!”
Qin Yu sits down on a chair and opens the Stellar Transformations.
“Is forming the jindan and yuanying the correct path of practice? The so-called Way of Heaven that everyone pursues, what is it? After observing the cosmic evolution, I created this technique. It can also be considered a path of Xiuzhen. This technique is divided into 6 main stages, the first of which is discussed in Chapter 1 — Nebula.”
“Generally, after a practitioner overcomes the 4-in-9 Heavenly Tribulation, his Xiantian energy will liquefy in his boundless dantian. He will then merge it into a sphere of liquid energy and refine this sphere until it becomes the jindan. However, must this course of action be taken? Must he merge his energy into a single mass? The 1st step of my Stellar Transformations is to disperse. It will evaporate the Xiantian
energy again and spread this energy, not only throughout the dantian, but even beyond the surface of the body. It will use the dantian as the center and the body as the bridge to link the cosmos up with the center of the body, allowing the practitioner to evolve together with the natural Way of Heaven
…”
As Qin Yu reads this technique, excitement surges in his heart uncontrollably.
Those Xiuzhenists who form the jindan or the yuanying all absorb holy energy nonstop then refine it in their dantians. Their way of practice is really very narrow-minded. If they want to become one with nature, perhaps they will have to wait until the Dongxu stage. Only from this stage, where their yuanyings can leave their bodies, can they get a taste of becoming one with nature. However, in the beginning, what this Stellar Transformations does is disperse. It evaporates and disperses the Xiantian energy then uses the dantian as the center and the body as the bridge to connect the universe with the body’s center, absorbing the stellar energy in the universe …
“Alright, Master Lei Wei, I’m going to practice the Stellar Transformations. Even though upon reaching the last chapter, Star, I won’t have a technique to practice, I will continue to develop and complete this technique. Even if I fail, I will still pass it down to an inheritor to keep it in practice. Generation after generation, eventually there will be someone who can succeed completely.”
Qin Yu’s eyes glitter. He holds the book of the Stellar Transformations tighter.
Choosing to practice this Stellar Transformations, he certainly understands there is a possibility that he will fail in his attempt at creation and die due to taking the wrong way. But can Qin Yu possibly fear it? Is it still like him to be overly cautious and afraid of death? When approaching death, he even feels his blood boil with excitement. To him, only a life with a lot of that feeling will fill him with enthusiasm and be a perfect life with no regrets.
B4C2: Early Heavenly Tribulation?
“What a large storeroom.” Qin Yu opens the entrance of the storeroom on the 1st floor of Lei Mountain House. He is astonished to see that it is about the same size as the Training Hall. However, what shocks him the most is that it is unexpectedly filled with various ores.
They have different colors such as crimson, green, golden, silvery, black, and white …
The ores emit all kinds of glows, looking like a collection of attractive treasures. Qin Yu’s first impression is that all of the ores are extremely precious crystals and, moreover, none of them is inferior to In-rock Flaming iron.
“Master, when Master Lei Wei was wandering the universe at that time, he visited an unusual planet. That planet had extremely strong gravity and, moreover, it was covered with various precious crystals of different kinds. Master then dug up quite a few of the better crystals among them. From the viewpoint of the Xiuzhen world, these crystals are all top-class and can be used to forge top-class holy weapons.” A kitten appears out of thin air and floats on one side of Qin Yu.
Qin Yu cannot help becoming astonished.
They are ores that can be used to forge top-class holy weapons, no less! He remembers Fengyuzi once said that, even in the Overseas Immortal Islands a high-class holy weapon is extremely rare, not to mention these top-class crystals before him that fill more than half of the storeroom.
He cannot help reaching out his hand, wishing to get a chunk to examine. However —
Bang!
Before he can touch these crystals, a repulsive force comes through his hand. Qin Yu makes a shake with his body to neutralize the repulsive force. Starlet on one side hurriedly says: “Master, First Master Lei Wei once told Starlet that an innocent man can run into trouble because of his wealth. Until you have reached the Core stage in power, you definitely won’t be able to use these top-class ores.” “Oh … Master was really thoughtful. Xiuzhenists can fight each other for a chunk of a pretty good ore, not to mention top- class ores.” Qin Yu gives a smile then says with an unhappy expression: “But it’s really unbearable to just look at a
mountain of treasures that has just appeared out of the blue.”
Starlet wags its tail proudly and says: “Meow ~~~ Master Lei Wei already prepared everything for you. See, that counter on the edge of the room, there is a ring on it. That ring is none other than a spatial ring, which is much more advanced than your storage bracelet, Master. It also has a very large space inside.”
As Starlet finishes saying, Qin Yu immediately goes up to that ring and gets it.
He personalizes it by blood at once and puts it on. As soon as he wears this ring, he feels how wonderful it is. Inside it, there is a simply shockingly large space.
“How great is the space of this spatial ring actually?” In a glance, Qin Yu jumps out of his skin. His storage bracelet’s space is only about the size of a room, but this spatial ring’s space is both longer and wider than 10,000 m and is 10,000 m high. They are basically not on the same level.
Even a big mountain can be put into this ring easily.
Starlet continuously wags its tail and says proudly: “When it comes to forging, in the Xiuzhen world, if Master Lei Wei had said he was the number 2, there would’ve been absolutely no one who dared to say they were the number 1! This Menghuan ring is the best spatial ring. Master Lei Wei forged it to commemorate his home planet. He said its space is much larger than even that of the Mingxu ring, the so-called number 1 spatial ring in the Xiuzhen world.”
As soon as Qin Yu gives this Menghuan ring a thought, it disappears into concealment. He must not take it out carelessly because after all his power is still really too weak. Of course, other people are not necessarily shrewd enough to notice that this is a formidable ring.
“Later I better use a common storage bracelet as a disguise for this Menghuan ring. Otherwise I’ll get robbed because of it, which will be terrible.” Qin Yu understands that he should not show his wealth, especially when his power is still considered weak in the Xiuzhen world.
Even though the Menghuan ring has been hidden inside his body, this does not affect his use of it at all.
“Oh, there are even some things inside it.” With a thought, Qin Yu discovers that some things are stored in the Menghuan ring. Taking a careful look, he sees that they are none other than some crystals. However, it looks like these crystals are not nearly as precious as the top-class crystals he saw just now in the storeroom.
Starlet says proudly: “Master, those are middle-class crystals and some high-class crystals. Master Lei Wei left them for you so that you can forge weapons. There is even a bottle of holy pills — Vermillion Jade Pills — in it. You can use them to heal your injuries.”
As soon as Qin Yu hears this, he gives a smile. Injuries? At least he feels that, even though these Vermillion Jade Pills can also be considered top-class holy pills, they are definitely inferior his Meteoric Tear in effectiveness. As for the life- saving Meteoric Tear, he has an indescribable feeling about it.
“It’s time I started training. Unless I reach the Nebula stage, which is equivalent to the Jindan stage, I simply won’t be able to come back through the Wilderness alive.” Qin Yu immediately leaves this room and starts to practice seriously.
He practices the Trans-Heaven 3 Diagrams. Even though he has already reached the level where the 108 energy streams surround him at the same time and form a tricolor suit of armor, he has not felt the arrival of his heavenly tribulation yet. He knows he must gain some intuitive understanding of the Way of Heaven. In the blink of an eye, 7 days have passed. In the last 7 days, Qin Yu has flicked through many Xiuzhen books, which have also explained to him how he should practice at the peak of the Xiantian level in order to feel the arrival of the heavenly tribulation.
He has been practicing according to some of their methods. Outside Lei Mountain House, Qin Yu is standing quietly on the center of the blue lake. His feet unexpectedly are staying still on the surface of the water. At the same time, 108 energy streams are moving around his body.
In the past, only when he performed the movements of the Trans-Heaven 3 Diagrams could the silvery, golden and purple energy streams be formed. However, when Qin Yu eventually exploded during that great battle in the Green Lotus mountain range, he made a breakthrough. And now he can make the tricolor suit of armor appear even without moving.
Walking on water without sinking a bit is a skill that Qin Yu has acquired only recently.
With his mind entering a state of vagueness and haziness, he naturally merges into nature. Now he can feel clearly the energy and life force of any plant or animal within several li of him. The progress he has made in 7 days is really astonishing.
Boom! Qin Yu’s mind suddenly gets a shock. His body can no longer maintain the state of a moment ago and falls directly ino the water. He wakes up at once. Throwing a palm strike at the water’s surface, he stands on it again. At this moment, his face is full of excitement.
“5 months, my 4-in-9 Heavenly Tribulation will come in 5 months. Good, this is really good.” Qin Yu’s eyes are filled with excitement. Just now an enormous stream of energy entered the depths of his mind and right afterwards he knew when he was going to undergo the tribulation. This kind of feeling was really very mysterious.
At this moment, a series of eagle cries rise on the horizon. The black eagle then dives down directly from the sky. This period of time, it has often preyed on the wild beasts in the surroundings. Ordinary Xiantian level wild beasts are basically no match for the black eagle.
******
Qin Yu is practicing quietly in the Wilderness without being disturbed by anyone. However, at the moment, undercurrents are surging in the Chu kingdom. The movements of the Qin clan’s forces and the mobilization of its several hundred thousand troops undoubtedly cannot escape the detection of the Xiang clan’s spies. The Qin clan is about to rebel!
The Xiang clan receives this information all of a sudden and cannot help being caught off guard by it.
“What’s going on? Argh, Shangguan Hong said there were still some years to go and Hidden Chessman’s secret letter also said the Qin clan would only rebel 2 years later. Now why is it moving its forces all of a sudden directly to the borderlines?” Xiang Guang is in a rage at the moment.
On one side, the hook-nosed man simply does not dare to make any noises because Xiang Guang is currently furious.
How can Xiang Guang possibly not get angry? At first he thought the Qin clan would rebel 2 years later so the Xiang clan has naturally worked out a series of steps to deal with that. However, now that the Qin clan has sped up its rebellion so much, Xiang Guang is certainly caught unprepared.
“Then have the bandits in the Black Water mountain range made up their minds? These bandits have been occupying the Black Water mountain range for several hundred years. They have become more and more powerful and now there’s no way to exterminate them. However … it’s a good thing for the moment. We’ll let them hinder the Qin clan’s hind legs.” Xiang Guang says with a cold smile.
The hook-nosed man hurriedly says: “Your Majesty, I was just about to report on this matter. Those Black Water mountain range’s bandits are particularly greedy. I don’t dare to make a decision without your permission …” The hook- nosed man takes out from his bosom a letter and hands it over to Xiang Guang.
“Don’t say that it’s too much. At this moment you still have misgivings about this much?” Xiang Guang reprimands him but still receives the letter.
As soon as he opens the letter and takes a look, even though he is prepared, his face still changes color: “Screw these bastards. They are merely a bunch of bandits but they’ve laid down to me so many conditions and asked for so much military materials. This really … this really …”
Xiang Guang is so angry that his hands tremble. Then he heaves a sigh and says with a cold smile: “Alright, accept their demands. They’ve dared to ask so I’ll give them what they want, but when the Qin clan has been destroyed, I’ll make these bandits cough everything up, and pay the interest as well!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!” the hook-nosed man hurriedly bows and says.
“Go!” Xiang Guang says with a casual wave of a hand. The hook-nosed man immediately bows and leaves.
______
In Qin Yu’s former courtyard house in the East Vanquishing Prince mansion, Qin De is standing motionlessly beside the willow and looks up at it. Since he returned, he has often come into Qin Yu’s former courtyard house. He has been standing like this for a whole day but no one dares to disturb him.
He closes his eyes. The scenes of the battle surrounding his tribulation appear in his mind.
……
“Ah ~~~”
Qin Yu abruptly turns his face skyward and gives a long roar. His expression has become ferocious. His hands suddenly form
2 dragon talons and pierce through the air with a sharp whistle. “Chi ~~” Concurrently with a noise of flesh being penetrated, Qin Yu’s claws are stuck into Wu Xing’s chest. His eyes flash with fierceness. He violently makes a grab with his
right hand and immediately smashes Wu Xing’s heart with it.
…… In that battle, Qin Yu was fierce and unafraid of death. The Four Directions Death Gods, the traitor Ge Min and Wu Xing all died at his hands one after another. Even when facing Xiuzhenist Wu Xing, Qin Yu, who was at an absolute
disadvantage, still put his neck on the line and disregarded everything to kill his opponent.
What did he do everything for?
All of those scenes emerge in Qin De’s mind continuously. He becomes even more mournful. Naturally he knows why Qin Yu went insane like that. He will always remember everything his son did for him, his son’s every strike and movement, his son’s fierce expression while fighting the enemies and his son’s ruthlessness when perishing together with Wu Xing.
These things, he will never forget any of them!
“Yu’er, I’m sorry. Now I can do nothing for you, nothing to compensate you. I can only trample the Xiang clan to pieces and kill Xiang Guang and Wu De to bury them with you. If you’re watching from the underworld, you’ll see that, soon, in only a half year, we’ll go to war with them.” Qin De’s eyes glitter with coldness.
However … he does not know at all that at the moment Qin Yu is practicing nonstop in the legendary Wilderness, where dangers lurk everywhere.
In the Wilderness,
In a mountain forest, a huge blue wolf the size of a tiger is slowly advancing. Its bloodthirsty eyes are looking around. Suddenly, the huge blue wolf’s entire hair stands up. At the same time, various flames rise from its body.
Bang!
The huge blue wolf utters a miserable wail and is sent flying like a sandbag by a kick at the same time. It then smashes into an old tree. With a clack noise the old tree is broken apart, and its pieces smash directly into other trees.
“Copper head, iron bone, tofu waist — sure enough, it’s true.” Qin Yu’s body appears beside the huge blue wolf in an instant. At the moment he is wrapped in hide, completely revealing some near perfect muscles. There is an air of vigor around him.
That huge blue wolf’s waist is now totally distorted. Obviously Qin Yu’s kick has broken the bones of the waist. However, wolves are unusually ferocious wild beasts, especially Blue Flame wolves like this one.
“Roar ~~~” The Blue Flame wolf suddenly turns its face upwards and roars.
“Calling your comrades? Too bad, under my holy sense, you guys basically won’t be able to gang up on me.” By now Qin Yu’s holy sense has already reached nearly 1000 m in range. However, because this mountain forest is too large, it will take those Blue Flame wolves some time to rush to this place. “Hiss ~~” This Blue Flame wolf slightly bends its forelegs. Its eyes glitter with ferocity. Flames rise from its whole body. However, this wolf is merely at the Xiantian level therefore these flames cannot harm Qin Yu’s body at all. The wolf suddenly takes a leap. As if tearing the air, its 2 claws slash at Qin Yu.
Qin Yu’s body creates several illusions then returns to his original place, looking as if he has never moved.
That Blue Flame wolf has been sent flying back. Now its claws have been broken off and its entire head has been deformed, looking bizarre. In an instant just now, using his fast body-maneuvering skill and 2 hands, Qin Yu severed its claws and broke its head.
“Blue Flame wolves are so fast!” Qin Yu’s holy sense has already discovered the appearance of 3 Blue Flame wolves within a 1000 m radius of him. These 3 Blue Flame wolves are rushing toward him at a speed of almost 100 m per second. Qin Yu stands still at where he is. In a while, the 3 Blue Flame wolves appear in his line of sight. Seeing a dead wolf, the 3 wolves overflow with their instincts. After several howls, they unexpectedly charge forward with a roar and attack Qin Yu at the same time.
Qin Yu remains motionless. When the 3 Blue Flame wolves have already come near him,
“Hah!”
Qin Yu suddenly utters a low shout. His eyes glitter intensely. At the same time, 108 energy streams appear around his body. At this moment, Qin Yu seems to turn into 3 people, who uniformly smash a straight punch into the heads of the 3 wolves.
“Bang!” The 3 Blue Flame wolves fall powerlessly on the ground. Even though from the outside their heads are still unblemished, everything inside has been pulverized by the shocks generated by Qin Yu’s hidden force.
1 strike, 3 wolves died.
“When the Trans-Heaven 3 Diagrams is practiced to perfection, it should be considered the most powerful close- quarters combat technique.” Qin Yu’s eyes glitter with excitement. During the battle on the day his father underwent his tribulation, in order to save his father, Qin Yu was eventually able to grasp how to make the 108 energy streams surround him at the same time. In that state, his speed was
increased by several times.
However, having fought in the Wilderness for the last 2 months, he has discovered many other advantages of being surrounded by the 108 energy streams at the same time.
“Phew, after I killed 1, 3 appeared. After I killed 3, several tens are coming. Ho-ho, I’m not going to play with you anymore ~~~” Qin Yu gives a loud laugh then with a movement of his body he turns into a flickering blur in the forest. After flickering several times, the blur disappears.
If Qin Yu went all out to fight those several tens Blue Flame wolves, he would be able to kill them all while only suffering injuries at worst. However, their deaths would be followed up by the coming of several hundred to 1,000 Blue Flame wolves. In this mountain forest, which is near Qin Yu’s Lei Mountain House, there are at least 1,000 Blue Flame wolves. Even Qin Yu does not dare to fight so many of them.
After coming out of this forest, Qin Yu goes into another forest on a mountain range near Lei Mountain House.
“Roar ~~” A black striped tiger stares at him while roaring nonstop. However, seeming to have a feeling that Qin Yu is formidable, for the present it does not dare to attack him.
Suddenly, a sharp eagle cry resounds. A silhouette shoots down from the sky extremely fast like a black thunderbolt. Its 2 sharp claws directly grab the spine of the black striped tiger and tear it apart with ease. Then, with a ‘phut’ noise, a hole is pecked in the head of the tiger.
“Xiao Hei, what’s happened to you recently? You’ve been killing so many wild beasts already and even been focusing on killing formidable ones. It was so hard for me to encounter a near peak Xiantian black striped tiger, but you killed it too.” Qin Yu says resentfully.
Xiao Hei spreads its huge wings and flaps them continuously while chirping. Seeing this scene, Qin Yu cannot help giving a smile.
Time flies. It has been 3 months since he came into the Wilderness.
Today Qin Yu is sitting quietly with legs crossed on the side of the lake. In practice, not only does he have to fight, he also has to do spiritual training. When facing an enemy, a person with weak spirit will become nervous and will not be able to use his power properly; a person with average spirit will be able to fight normally but sometimes he will go mad; and a person with really strong spirit, whose face will not change color even if a great mountain is collapsing before him, will analyze the enemy’s weaknesses with absolute calmness in his mind.
Suddenly –
Hu ~~~
Fierce winds suddenly blow. Those sky-high large trees in the nearby forests start to shake continuously. Every wild beast quiets down as if it has felt something terrifying. The clouds floating in the sky are swept away in an instant. Just now the
sky was still white, but now it is turning dark red all of a
sudden.
Qin Yu suddenly opens his eyes and stares up at the sky. This scene is so familiar to him. It is exactly like when his father underwent his tribulation.
“The 4-in-9 Heavenly Tribulation?” Qin Yu is astonished. “Could it be some formidable demonic beast is undergoing its tribulation around here? But I’ve been here for so long. There doesn’t seem to be such strong demonic beasts within several tens li of this place.”
The dark red sky then creates a huge maelstrom. Various serpentine electrical sparks also appear all over this sky out of thin air. Being sucked by the maelstrom, the electrical sparks come together in it. In only a short while, that maelstrom has become a purple tribulation cloud.
The strangest thing is … this purple tribulation cloud is right above Qin Yu’s head.
“What …? My, my heavenly tribulation?” Qin Yu is somewhat stupefied. He remembers clearly that his tribulation should come 2 months later, so, why has this heavenly tribulation suddenly appeared? Moreover, that purple tribulation cloud has been formed directly above his head.
Has his heavenly tribulation come early?
B4C3: The Bloody Battle Of The Tribulation
“Xiao Hei, guard me. Be careful — some demonic beasts may come over here to cause trouble during my tribulation.” Qin Yu turns his head to Xiao Hei and shouts.
However, Xiao Hei flaps its huge wings and continuously cries. At the same time, it raises its head and stares at the purple tribulation cloud in the sky. Various faint flames unexpectedly emerge from the surface of its body. Xiao Hei is even giving off an unprecedented aura.
As Qin Yu hears Xiao Hei’s cries and sees the rolling purple tribulation cloud in the sky, his mind suddenly becomes clear. He stares at Xiao Hei and says in disbelief: “Could it be … you’re about to undergo the tribulation?”
Xiao Hei flaps its wings proudly while crying nonstop.
Qin Yu shouts angrily at once: “Xiao Hei, don’t stay here showing off. Quickly get ready to take on the heavenly tribulation. I’ll watch over you. I’m worried some demonic beasts will come to disturb you during your tribulation.” Qin Yu does not dare to be reckless. His internal energy starts to permeate through all of his body parts like bubbles. Qin Yu’s entire body’s skin now radiates an indistinct purple jade glow.
The heavenly tribulation is such a big event so the demonic beasts in their vicinity will surely notice it. If some formidable demonic beast comes here to attack when it is happening, this will be dangerous. Getting disturbed is the most undesirable thing during a tribulation.
Chi chi ~~~
The tribulation cloud keeps rolling nonstop. Serpentine electric sparks are barging about in the cloud. Suddenly, a huge pressure comes out from the cloud and affects the entire area of ground beneath it. In the blink of an eye, the atmospheric pressure below the cloud becomes so much higher that even Qin Yu finds it very hard to breathe.
“No good. This tribulation seems to be even more powerful than my father’s last time. Could it be different people or demonic beasts will experience 4-in-9 Heavenly Tribulations that are different in power?” Qin Yu is frightened. He remembers clearly the pressure exerted by the tribulation cloud during his father’s tribulation last time. And compared to it, the pressure this time is much greater.
Anyone going against Heaven will naturally have to endure nature’s punishments, hence the existence of the heavenly tribulations. A person with more formidable power will be given mightier punishments by nature.
Boom!
A great crash of thunder resounds. A large purple thunderbolt shoots out through the cloud like a sinuate aquatic dragon then strikes headlong directly downwards in an unstoppable, imposing manner, as if it will destroy any gods or devils who attempt to block it. Obviously its power is fairly great.
Qin Yu expands his holy sense to the utmost, covering the area within 1000 m of him. At this moment, what he fears the most is that some demonic beast will come to disturb Xiao Hei during its tribulation.
Xiao Hei spreads its wings. An eagle cry then resounds through the air. At the same time, it opens its mouth and unexpectedly … swallows that purple thunderbolt at one stroke. In an instant, the aquatic-dragon-like purple thunderbolt has been swallowed entirely by Xiao Hei. Concurrently with that, various electric sparks start to flicker on the surface of Xiao Hei’s body.
“This, this …” Seeing this, Qin Yu is shocked.
The 1st thunderbolt has unexpectedly been … eaten up by Xiao Hei just like this. Undergoing a tribulation is to resist its thunderbolts. Qin Yu has never heard that a thunderbolt can also be swallowed at one stroke. Xiao Hei is crying proudly. Judging by its appearance, the thunderbolt seemed to be a very delicious meal to it.
Thunder rolls once more. The purple tribulation cloud starts to billow even more madly. Electric sparks flash on and off rapidly again. In only a short while, it looks like the power of the cloud has become even greater. Obviously the 2nd thunderbolt is about to come down. Suddenly, a dragon-like sinuate thunderbolt shoots down extremely fast from the sky and strikes directly at Xiao Hei’s head.
Boom!
Xiao Hei brings its wings together and forms an electric protective cover. Various electric sparks are flickering outside the wings.
The thunderbolt hits Xiao Hei’s wings with a boom. The electric sparks on that protective cover flicker extremely fast at once and unexpectedly nearly half of the thunderbolt’s energy is sent away along the protective cover. The remainder of the thunderbolt is blocked head-on boldly by Xiao Hei using its wings.
Even Qin Yu himself does not know how hard Xiao Hei’s wings actually are. At least they must be tougher than his physical body. Qin Yu’s face suddenly changes color.
His holy sense has discovered that in a nearby mountain forest various Blue Flame wolves are running extremely fast to the location of the tribulation. When he takes a look, several tens leading Blue Flame wolves have already come out of the mountain forest and are charging directly at him and Xiao Hei.
Qin Yu and Xiao Hei naturally have killed quite a few Blue Flame wolves since they came to this place in the Wilderness. These Blue Flame wolves are also very cunning. Only now do they rise in revolt.
“Roar ~~~”
Great roars of wolves resound continuously. Various Blue Flame wolves rush out from the mountain forest unceasingly. In only a short while, Qin Yu already notices that over 100 of them are charging at him, but new Blue Flame wolves keep rushing out from the mountain forest. “My goodness, it couldn’t be all the Blue Flame wolves are coming, right?” Staring at those Blue Flame wolves that are coming at him in the distance, Qin Yu feels very anxious in his heart.
That mountain forest has from several hundred to over 1000 Blue Flame wolves. Moreover, even the weakest among them is at the Xiantian level while the strongest Blue Flame wolves have all reached the peak of the Xiantian level. Once Blue Flame wolves of this pack attack together, even just nearly 100 of them will be enough to seriously injure Qin Yu. And if several hundred of them jointly attack, it will be a disaster for him.
“I won’t be able to stop so many Blue Flame wolves for a while. If Xiao Hei is disturbed during the tribulation then …” Qin Yu becomes worried.
Once several tens Blue Flame wolves charge, Qin Yu will only be able to hold back some of them simultaneously at best. But Xiao Hei has to undergo the tribulation. Just now, it was only the 1st and 2nd thunderbolts, which were not very powerful. The really formidable ones, the 3rd and the 4th, have not appeared yet. If Xiao Hei is attacked by Blue Flame wolves, that will be terrible.
“This disgusting bunch of wolves wants to kick someone when they are down!”
Qin Yu utters a loud shout. The 108 energy streams start to move around him at the same time, forming a tricolor suit of armor. With a movement of his body, he instantly uses the Seven North Stars Moonlight Dance. His entire body now looks indistinct and unreal as if it is moonlight. In just a moment, he has already come into the pack of wolves.
Qin Yu’s entire body is radiating a purple jade light. The Flaming Gloves have appeared completely. Now is simply not the time for him to hide his power.
Clack!
Qin Yu’s left hand directly grabs and smashes the throat of a Blue Flame wolf. Then, like an aquatic dragon coming out of its cave, his right hand executes a spear hand strike, which has the strongest penetrating force. The force of the strike goes through the Flaming Glove and penetrates into the head of a Blue Flame wolf immediately. With a ‘bang’ noise, a large hole appears in that Blue Flame wolf’s head. Everything inside the head has even been shattered by the shock of the strike.
The over 100 Blue Flame wolves that appeared first have surrounded Qin Yu completely and are attacking him like crazy.
“Roar ~~~”
The strongest, leading wolf of the over 100 wolves surrounding Qin Yu gives a roar. Immediately, the other wolves stop attacking. In just an instant, Qin Yu has already killed more than 10 Blue Flame wolves but there are also some small bloodstains on his body. Those Blue Flame wolves’ claw attacks are really too powerful.
“What is this bunch of wolves doing?” Qin Yu looks at the Blue Flame wolves around him. This group of over 100 Blue Flame wolves is surrounding him with 6 layers altogether but they are not attacking him.
However, other Blue Flame wolves still keep rushing out nonstop from the mountain forest. In just a while, including the ones surrounding Qin Yu, the total number of Blue Flame wolves has already reached 300. This time, it is clear that the Blue Flame wolves are prepared to destroy Qin Yu and the black eagle once and for all.
Over 100 Blue Flame wolves are surrounding Qin Yu. The other wolves, however, disregard him and charge directly at Xiao Hei.
“This is bad.” Qin Yu knows they have a problem. At the moment, he is totally surrounded by Blue Flame wolves and simply cannot protect Xiao Hei, but Xiao Hei is undergoing its tribulation. Under the attack of over 100 Blue Flame wolves, how can Xiao Hei possibly set its own mind at rest to take on the tribulation? Even in a normal situation, it will be very dangerous for Xiao Hei to face over 100 Blue Flame wolves simultaneously, not to mention in this situation.
“Go to hell!” Qin Yu clenches his teeth. The energy inside his body is totally unleashed. With a loud shout, he charges directly toward Xiao Hei like lightning.
At the same time –
“Roar ~~~” The leading wolf gives a roar. The over 100 Blue Flame wolves that have been surrounding Qin Yu without attacking immediately go on the offensive madly. More than
100 Blue Flame wolves recklessly attack Qin Yu from all directions.
Clawing, biting, tearing, they resort to every possible means. For a while, Qin Yu only feels that there are wolf silhouettes all around him. Countless wolf claws are slashing at his body.
______
The 108 tricolor energy streams are moving around his body. Within the boundary formed by the energy streams, Qin Yu’s entire body suddenly creates various illusions. His 2 hands now look like the hands of the 1000 Armed Kannon, some of them executing finger strikes, some performing spear hand strikes, some turning into sharp claws, some throwing punches, and some using knife hand strikes.
Boom!
The 10-odd Blue Flame wolves nearest Qin Yu are sent flying in all directions with a boom, obstructing the other wolves at the same time. With his eyes blazing with killing intent, Qin Yu is looking at the wolves surrounding him while observing everything around using his holy sense.
The surrounding Blue Flame wolves begin to attack Qin Yu even more madly. His close-quarters combat techniques are utilized to the utmost. The Flaming Gloves make their already powerful offensive forces even more powerful. With just a punch he can shatter a Blue Flame wolf’s head.
A sound of bones getting broken is heard. A Blue Flame wolf falls on the ground for good with a ruptured throat. It even wails for a while before dying.
Qin Yu slashes his legs like blades. With a slash of a leg, he directly breaks up the backbone of a wolf, which falls on the ground without being able to ever get up.
……
Within 3 steps of his body, Qin Yu creates various illusions using his movements. Even though this range is short, he can cause those Blue Flame wolves to often make mistakes. After Qin Yu kills a good several tens Blue Flame wolves continuously, his clothes have been clawed to pieces. There is even a long wound on his chest, from which blood is slowly flowing out.
The Blue Flame wolves are also divided into the strong ones and the weak ones. The strong wolves have reached the peak of the Xiantian level and not even Qin Yu dares to block a claw attack by any of them. The wound on his chest was inflicted by a Blue Flame wolf that was around the late phase of the Xiantian level. Of course, one needs hardly ask about the fate of this wolf. Its head was cut off directly by Qin Yu.
“Scram!” Qin Yu unleashes the purple energy inside his body again. His speed increases instantly and at the same time he kills or cripples the several tens Blue Flame wolves which are nearest around him. For a while, those Blue Flame wolves slightly halt and unexpectedly stop their attack.
“Xiao Hei!” As soon as Qin Yu pays attention to Xiao Hei’s situation, he becomes anxious in his heart.
Over 100 Blue Flame wolves all are trying to pounce on Xiao Hei as if they do not care about their lives.
“Boom ~~~” The purple tribulation cloud are rolling hurriedly, exerting a pressure which seems to be a real substance downwards. Qin Yu knows the 3rd thunderbolt is about to strike down. However, at the moment, over 100 Blue Flame wolves unexpectedly are taking advantage of the situation to attack Xiao Hei recklessly.
Xiao Hei raises its head giving a cry and suddenly flaps its huge wings once. A strong whirlwind is unexpectedly created, sending those Blue Flame wolves, which have jumped up, flying backward. However, these Blue Flame wolves are no ordinary wolves. Any of them is a Xiantian level demonic beast in the Wilderness. After falling on the ground, they come at Xiao Hei again with a jump, trying to claw or bite it while growling.
With a wave of the wings, Xiao Hei shoots up in the air to a height of several tens meters. Those Blue Flame wolves also jump up but, despite their formidable capabilities, they can only leap 7 to 8 meters and are still very far from being able to reach Xiao Hei’s level.
Boom!
A huge purple thunderbolt shoots out from the tribulation cloud and strikes down directly at Xiao Hei.
“No good.” Qin Yu’s face changes color. He has read about some important points of tribulation taking in some Xiuzhen secret books collected by Lei Wei and, according to them, taking on a tribulation in mid-air is more dangerous than on the ground. However, the black eagle is a bird and not a human so maybe this is not too bad, but Qin Yu is unsure about that either.
Xiao Hei utters an unhappy and shrill cry. Various electric sparks start to flicker on its wings, looking extremely dazzling. It brings the wings together and forms a protective cover to resist the thunderbolt directly.
Boom!
Like the hammer of the thunder god, the purple thunderbolt strikes upon Xiao Hei’s wings. With a ‘bang’ noise, Xiao Hei is smashed directly down on the ground, causing a shock. The 3rd thunderbolt was much more powerful than the 2nd one so Xiao Hei was only able to neutralize a small part of it and still had to endure most of its energy.
“Xiao Hei!” Qin Yu jumps out of his skin.
“Roar ~~” Standing haughtily on a huge rock beside the lake, the leading wolf continuously roars. Blue Flame wolves keep dashing out from the mountain forest unceasingly as if their number is unlimited. By now 600 to 700 Blue Flame wolves have come out. Following a roar of the leading wolf, nearly 400 of them surround Qin Yu while the other 200 to 300 attack Xiao Hei.
Several hundred Blue Flame wolves jump toward the black eagle, which has fallen on the ground, while growling. In an instant, several tens wolves have already pounced on the eagle. They bare their sharp teeth and start to bite and tear it.
A good several hundred Blue Flame wolves are surrounding Qin Yu completely and tightly with 6 layers and he simply has no way to get out of this blockade. The strangest thing is that these several hundred wolves are unexpectedly surrounding him without attacking.
“Xiao Hei!”
Seeing countless Blue Flame wolves jumping towards Xiao Hei, Qin Yu feels as if his heart is being cut with a blade. Xiao Hei has been his best friend since childhood and he has even spent the greater part of his time with it. He takes a glance at the several hundred wolves. At the same time, killing intent surges inside him.
Suddenly, a sharp eagle cry resounds through the air. Many purple electric sparks unexpectedly burst forth and run through the bodies of all the Blue Flame wolves on Xiao Hei. Those wolves start to convulse while wailing. Then, with a bang, Xiao Hei sends those several tens wolves flying with a wave of its huge wings.
Xiao Hei looks at Qin Yu. Its eyes are radiating human-like feelings.
Qin Yu obviously can understand Xiao Hei’s feelings.
“Ha-ha ~~~ Xiao Hei, don’t worry. These are merely several hundred doggies. You can take on the tribulation without worries. I’m going to kill them all.” Qin Yu’s heroism has risen to the skies. “For so long, I haven’t had this feeling of blood boiling for so long …” His energy starts to surge inside his whole body. Seeming to feel that this is not a good thing, the leading wolf immediately roars. The several hundred Blue Flame wolves charge at Qin Yu desperately at once.
“Meteoric Tear, I’m counting on you!” says Qin Yu inwardly.
The wound Qin Yu suffered just now on his chest has unexpectedly fully recovered in only a short while, leaving just a faint scar. The Meteoric Tear’s powerful ability to heal injuries is Qin Yu’s strongest weapon. His entire body starts to move.
Afterimages and the blurs of his fists, legs and sword!
One Blue Flame wolf after another falls on the ground while wailing wherever the blurs go to. They then either die or writhe in agony. Encircled by the 108 energy streams, Qin Yu is combining his speed with his body-maneuvering skill. His offense has certainly reached a shocking level. He is executing killing blows with ease. With a gentle poke of a finger or a casual slash of the Flaming Sword, he can already kill a wolf. “Roar roar roar ~~” The leading wolf roars even more urgently.
The several hundred Blue Flame wolves immediately accelerate. They come at Qin Yu in waves, trying to tear or bite him. The deaths and blood of their comrades only make them even madder. Disregarding their lives, these Blue Flame wolves have left many wounds on his body. Using the Flaming Gloves and the Flaming Sword to the full, Qin Yu has unleashed his strongest offensive power.
Pooch ~~
A Blue Flame wolf tears his stomach with a claw attack. His blood immediately streams down with gurgling noises from the wound.
Pu!
A blur of his sword flashes by and the head of that wolf falls on the ground.
“I didn’t expect it to be a peak Xiantian Blue Flame wolf. Its offense was almost equal to that leading wolf’s.” Qin Yu pokes at some acupoints continuously at once, trying to slow his bleeding down a bit. Even though the wound on his stomach is very large, because too many Blue Flame wolves are attacking him recklessly, he basically has no time to treat it properly.
Xiao Hei is crying unhappily and shrilly. It is also being surrounded by 200 to 300 Blue Flame wolves.
“Boom ~~~” With rolls of thunder, a pressure comes down from the sky again. Even the Blue Flame wolves are somewhat slowed down by it. Obviously the most formidable, the 4th thunderbolt is about to strike down. Unable to care about anything else, Xiao Hei can only fly into the sky to take on the 4th thunderbolt.
B4C4: Holy Sense Communication
A cool and refreshing feeling comes from the wound on his stomach. Various clear streams are flowing out from the Meteoric Tear then fusing with the wound. Qin Yu’s injury is recovering at a clearly fast speed. His bleeding has started to slow down as well.
“This bunch of doggies is really nasty!”
Qin Yu utters a curse and attacks more ruthlessly at the same time. He basically does not dare to stop fighting. He has reached his maximum speed and is moving while killing these Blue Flame wolves with the Flaming Gloves and Flaming Sword unceasingly. The power of these middle-class holy weapons is really astonishingly great.
Just now there were 400 to 500 Blue Flame wolves surrounding Qin Yu, but in only a short while over 100 of them have already been killed by him.
“Roar roar … roar roar roar …” The leading wolf roars loudly again. In an instant, all the other wolves surround Qin Yu and attack him. However, new Blue Flame wolves keep rushing out from the mountain forest. The number of wolves is growing larger and larger. Now it has reached 800. Add to that the over 100 wolves killed by Qin Yu, and it can be said that this time the Blue Flame wolf clan in this mountain forest has launched an all-out attack.
Pu pu …
Qin Yu feels a burning sensation on his back. His holy sense notices clearly that it has been lacerated. His body immediately makes a swaying movement. He makes a simple swing with his sword using his right hand and that Blue Flame wolf falls on the ground at once for good while uttering several cries. At the same time Qin Yu has already moved away several meters again.
Speed! Speed!!
Because he is being surrounded, he has to rely on his speed to move nonstop so that he will only face a small number of enemies at a time. If he stops, with so many Blue Flame wolves coming at him together, he simply will not be able to do anything.
Pu pu …
2 wounds appear on Qin Yu’s stomach continuously. A Blue Flame wolf is fiercely biting into his stomach. Qin Yu straightens his left hand, forming a knife hand. The purple energy is then shaped into a blade on the edge of his hand. Executing a downward knife hand strike, he directly chops that Blue Flame wolf’s head off.
However, that wolf’s teeth are still stuck in his stomach, making him feel an acute pain. His blood is flowing out unceasingly from the wounds. He basically has no time to remove the head of this Blue Flame wolf from his body because, after all, he is being attacked from all directions by Blue Flame wolves.
“Roar roar …” Seeming to foresee that their victory is drawing near, the leading Blue Flame wolf roars loudly at once. In an instant, several tens Blue Flame wolves jump up and come at Qin Yu from the sky. Those sharp teeth and ice-cold sharp claws are aimed directly at his body. Moreover, at the same time, several tens wolves also attack him together on the ground.
He is beset on all sides, but he cannot go into the sky, nor can he enter the ground.
“Hah!” Qin Yu’s eyes flash with fierceness. The movements of his 2 Flaming-Glove-wearing fists have unknowingly completely surpassed the speed thought to be his fastest. In the blink of an eye, Qin Yu’s 2 hands seem to have turned into several tens hands, eagle claws, sword fingers …
With a ‘bang’ noise, a hole appears in the throat of a Blue Flame wolf that has jumped high in the air. It immediately spouts blood in all directions like a geyser. At the moment, the entire battlefield is filled with the smell of blood.
Qin Yu unexpectedly catches a leg of a Blue Flame wolf with a grab. He utters a low shout and, like brandishing a whip, waves the wolf violently several times while gripping the leg. Then the purple energy in his body flows into his hand entirely. The over-10,000-jin strength of a peak Xiantian external expert is now totally unleashed.
Using that half-dead Blue Flame wolf as a weapon, Qin Yu throws it away violently.
Boom!
The purple energy and the 10,000-jin strength explode. That Blue Flame wolf’s body is blown up. The fragments of its flesh and bones shoot out in all directions like hidden projectiles. A batch of Blue Flame wolves cries and is knocked down at the same time.
However, the Blue Flame wolves that replace them claw and bite at him even more madly, inflicting more injuries on Qin Yu’s body nonstop. Luckily he has the Meteoric Tear so the small wounds close very quickly, but the large wounds will take some time to heal. Even though the Meteoric Tear is formidable, it cannot catch up with the continuous attack of so many Blue Flame wolves.
In mid-air, seeing that Qin Yu is being attacked by several hundred Blue Flame wolves together, that his body is covered in blood and that there are shocking wounds on his stomach, Xiao Hei cannot help crying sadly and shrilly. However, with the tribulation cloud rolling so madly and exerting such an astonishing pressure, it is obvious that the 4th thunderbolt is about to strike down.
Boom!
A purple thunderbolt shoots down from the tribulation cloud in the sky like a wandering sinuous dragon carrying a world- shattering force and violently strikes at Xiao Hei with a boom.
Suddenly –
An eagle cry resounds through the sky. It is extremely sharp but also has an air of absolute aloofness and lordliness, which, when expanding, unexpectedly stops the 600 to 700 Blue Flame wolves that are attacking for a while. Qin Yu has always been observing Xiao Hei with his holy sense.
Facing the 4th thunderbolt, Xiao Hei emits various flaming flashes from the steely feathers which cover its entire body. They are called flaming flashes not because they are separate flames and lightning flashes that are joined together, but rather because they are lightning flashes that flame on the outside.
Hu …
The dazzling flaming flashes come out from Xiao Hei’s entire body and merge into a long narrow mass of energy, which then soars into the sky on a collision course with the 4th thunderbolt like an aquatic dragon.
Boom!
The mass of flaming flashes falls apart but the 4th thunderbolt’s power is also reduced a lot. At this moment, Xiao Hei unexpectedly shakes its wings extremely fast. Qin Yu’s holy sense notices clearly that each of the wings instantly creates 9 afterimages.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! ……
9 continual crashes are heard. Xiao Hei has shaken its wings with such a high frequency that even Qin Yu is greatly shocked. After these 9 collisions, the electricity of the already fairly weakened 4th thunderbolt has almost been canceled out. The remainder of the thunderbolt is then swallowed directly by Xiao Hei at one stroke.
Xiao Hei has overcome the 4-in-9 Heavenly Tribulation.
“Since when did Xiao Hei become so strong?” Qin Yu is indescribably shocked.
Xiao Hei has always been following him so he knows very clearly that it did not have any special skills. But just now, Xiao Hei sent out flaming flashes and even used a very brilliant skill, shaking its wings 9 times in an instant, which, one should know, was an extremely short amount of time.
Pu pu …
Qin Yu feels an acute pain on his back again. Just now he lost his concentration a bit and therefore was unexpectedly hit by another attack.
“This bunch of doggies!” Qin Yu curses angrily inside. Xiao Hei has overcome the tribulation so he is no longer worried. Now he can focus his entire mind and energy on fighting. His speed even increases a little again thanks to that. Afterwards, blood continues to splatter everywhere and severed limbs keep flying all over the place among this group of several hundred Blue Flame wolves.
Suddenly –
An eagle cry rises through the sky. Xiao Hei, which has just gone through the 4-in-9 Heavenly Tribulation, spreads its wings and dives down extremely fast. When it is about to come near the group of Blue Flame wolves again, its wings make exceedingly subtle vibrations.
Zigzagging like a bolt of lightning!
Whizz …
Even Qin Yu only sees a black shaft of light flash on and off continuously. Following that, the bodies of several tens Blue Flame wolves split into 2 or 3 parts. These wolves seem to have been cut by a sharp blade. All of the wolves immediately stop.
“Xiao Hei!” Qin Yu is astonished.
Xiao Hei, which is flying high in the air, utters another cry and executes the special skill it used just now again. This time Qin Yu observes it very carefully using his holy sense. He sees clearly that Xiao Hei shakes its wings quickly according to a fantastic path of movement and flashes directly through the pack of Blue Flame wolves like a black flash of lightning.
Xiao Hei’s wings are extremely hard. Now they have even caught up with holy weapons in hardness and are sharp like knives. Every time Xiao Hei flashes through the wolves, it cuts many of them into several pieces.
“Roar roar …”
The leading wolf roars urgently at once. This wolf’s intelligence is not low therefore it can see that the black eagle, which originally was not a serious threat, has transformed after going through the 4-in-9 Heavenly Tribulation. The eagle can fly whereas they, as Blue Flame wolves, cannot. The black eagle only needs to dive down 10-odd times to exterminate several hundred Blue Flame wolves.
Following the roar of the leading wolf, several hundred Blue Flame wolves immediately retreat at a very fast speed, running directly toward the mountain forest where they came from.
Hu!
Hu! Like a glider, Xiao Hei flashes extremely fast through the Blue Flame wolves 2 more times in quick succession, killing nearly 100 of them again. Afterwards, all the other wolves run into the mountain forest, leaving behind 400 to 500 corpses of wolves on the former battlefield.
Xiao Hei lets out another cry, seemingly wanting to charge into the mountain forest.
“Xiao Hei, no need to chase.” Qin Yu’s facial muscles slightly twitch. At the moment, there are over 100 wounds on Qin Yu’s entire body. However, most of them are just skin-deep and only 4 or 5 of them are really severe. Luckily for him, the Meteoric Tear is healing the wounds nonstop by sending out many clear streams.
With a wave of the wings, Xiao Hei flies across the lake then lands beside Qin Yu. It stares at the wounds on his body. Apparently it is somewhat worried by them.
“Don’t worry, they’re just skin-deep. I didn’t die even when my heart was penetrated. These small wounds don’t matter. Let’s go. We’ll return for a rest.” Qin Yu gives a ha-ha laugh, which has a distinctive heroic flavor. Then he and Xiao Hei go back to Lei Mountain House at once, leaving behind a field of Blue Flame wolves’ corpses.
In this battle, Qin Yu killed from 300 to 400 Blue Flame wolves.
He is a peak Xiantian external expert and has practiced the Trans-Heaven 3 Diagrams to perfection so his body is even comparable to diamond in hardness. Added to that the purple energy formed a protective energy cover around his body, and early-phase and middle-phase Xiantian Blue Flame wolves could only leave shallow wounds on his body and hold him down.
Only late-phase and peak Xiantian Blue Flame wolves could really cause him serious wounds. However, fighting multiple opponents is what Qin Yu is best at. In addition to that, he has
2 middle-class holy weapons and the Meteoric Tear continuously healed his injuries from inside his body, therefore this feat is nothing unusual for him.
…… In the Training Hall of Lei Mountain House, Qin Yu is sitting with legs crossed on the floor practicing meditation. Xiao Hei is also standing on one side of him. The black feathers on its body are radiating various rays of light. Obviously it is practicing.
After an hour, the various wounds which originally covered his body have all but disappeared. Even the several wounds on his stomach, which at the beginning were shockingly large ones, have become faint scars by now. The Meteoric Tear is indeed incomparably miraculous.
Whenever a clear stream flows to a wound, Qin Yu feels a continual numbing sensation in the wound. He enjoys that kind of sensation. After going through this crazy battle, Qin Yu feels that his own purple energy seems to have even become a bit more refined.
“He — hello.” A slightly stuttering voice which is cold as ice suddenly rises in Qin Yu’s mind. Qin Yu is startled: “There’s someone!” He immediately opens his eyes and looks around. Suddenly he notices that Xiao Hei is staring at him with its eyes full of excitement. An idea springs to his mind. He thinks of one possibility but finds it somewhat hard to believe.
“Xiao Hei, is it you?” Qin Yu stands up and looks at Xiao Hei in disbelief.
“Yes, it’s me. I’ve given myself a name, Hei Yu …” Xiao Hei is using holy sense communication for the 1st time therefore he was fairly nervous in the beginning but then calmed down. He has named himself Hei Yu because Yu is Qin Yu’s given name.
“Ha-ha, very good, very good!!!” Qin Yu’s eyes glitter with excitement. He then hugs Xiao Hei, saying: “From now on we can communicate at will. This is really very good. Ha-ha, Xiao Hei, I’m 7 years older so you call me big brother. Ha-ha, quickly say it.” Qin Yu says with excitement.
Xiao Hei has become slightly excited as well. After quite a while, he finally says via holy sense communication: “Big, big brother!” Qin Yu and Xiao Hei are excited about each other for a long time. Then Qin Yu begins to ask some doubts he is having in his heart.
“Xiao Hei, how does your voice rise in my mind? Also, during the tribulation just now, how did you become formidable all of a sudden? I remember you weren’t so formidable in the past.” Qin Yu is very curious. “Right, I remember many demonic beasts can transform into a human after overcoming the 4-in-9 Heavenly Tribulation, why haven’t you done that?”
Xiao Hei is stupefied. Qin Yu knows he has asked too many questions so he immediately says: “Take your time, talk about them one by one.”
Xiao Hei thinks for a while then says: “When I just reached the Jindan stage, I automatically gained the ability to use holy sense communication. Too bad, to transform into a human I have to overcome the 9-from-9th Heaven Tribulation first. Also, during the tribulation, many demonic beast techniques suitable for me to practice suddenly appeared in my mind. There are some basic techniques so naturally I was able to use them.” “You can only turn into a human after going through the 9- from-9th Heaven Tribulation?” Qin Yu is astonished. He has read some Xiuzhen books so he knows that it is harder for a more formidable beast to transform into a human. By contrast, some weak demonic beasts can turn into humans very easily.
It looks like Xiao Hei is a relatively formidable demonic beast.
It is regrettable that Qin Yu does not know the real significance of the sentence “many demonic beast techniques suitable for me to practice suddenly appeared in my mind” said by Xiao Hei. If he were a knowledgeable Xiuzhenist, he would probably know that it means Xiao Hei has ‘hereditary memories.’
“You are capable of holy sense communication but not speech?” Qin Yu asks.
Xiao Hei shakes his head powerlessly, saying: “No, my throat is different from a human’s so it’s very hard for me to speak human. I can only use holy sense communication. But isn’t holy sense communication very good? I can express what I want to say with just a thought. It’s much faster than speaking.”
Qin Yu can only nod.
“Alright, Xiao Hei, first you stay in this Lei Mountain House and practice more. There’re only 2 months before I undergo my tribulation. During this period I must practice seriously.” Qin Yu says to Xiao Hei, who nods repeatedly and says through his holy sense: “Big brother, you can practice without worries. I’ve just reached the Jindan stage so I have many things to do as well.”
Quite a few secret Xiuzhen techniques have appeared in Xiao Hei’s mind so naturally he wants to have a good try at learning them. Qin Yu will also stay in Lei Mountain House and train in peace while waiting for the 4-in-9 Heavenly Tribulation 2 months later.
As the days go by, Xiao Hei and Qin Yu pay no attention to what happens outside and practice hard wholeheartedly. The surroundings of Lei Mountain House are also quiet because the Blue Flame wolves no longer dare to come to this place. By contrast, in the Chu kingdom on the Qian Long continent, undercurrents are surging at the moment.
B4C5: The Power Of Lightning
“Ha-ha, even Heaven is helping me, even Heaven is helping me … This is really good, very good!!!” Holding a confidential letter in his hand, the Chu emperor Xiang Guang is so excited that he cannot restrain himself. Standing on one side, the hook-nosed man says respectfully: “This means Heaven wants the Qin clan to be destroyed. After all, Your Majesty is the real Son of Heaven.”
At the moment Xiang Guang is high-spirited and vigorous.
“Qin De, hey Qin De, you’ve been smart all your life but you’ve even attempted to take things from my hands several times. Eventually your Qin clan’s bases and accomplishments of several hundred years will also be ruined.” In a normal situation, given Xiang Guang’s courage, he would not dare to go to war because, after all, the Qin clan has quite a few troops and, moreover, they have been training on the border with the Wilderness for many years so they are superior to the troops of the other 3 big clans.
“Your Majesty, in the secret meeting this time between North Vanquishing Prince and Qin De, Qin De wanted to send 300,000 troops through North Vanquishing Prince’s territory to attack us, 300,000 troops, no less. Have you considered the possibility that, when North Vanquishing Prince switches sides, he will be defeated by Qin De’s army? After all, Qin De’s army is really very powerful.” The hook-nosed man says quietly.
That confidential letter was sent by Shangguan Hong, which talks about the most recent meeting between him and Qin De and its details.
Xiang Guang ponders for a while then says with a smile: “Don’t worry. There’s a very close relationship between the Shangguan clan and my Xiang clan. Moreover, when Qin De’s army goes into North Vanquishing Prince’s territory, he won’t be able to command it properly. When the time comes, I’ll send the army of the Xiang clan to cooperate with the Shangguan clan to attack them from both inside and outside. Humph, once those 300,000 troops are exterminated, the Qin clan will lose half of its army. Right, I sent you to tempt those Black Water mountain range bandits, how did it go?”
The hook-nosed man says hurriedly: “Your Majesty, after I told them that you had accepted their demands, those Black Water bandits and I took an oath of loyalty by drinking blood. Don’t worry, Your Majesty, these Jianghu fools value blood oaths greatly.”
Xiang Guang immediately laughs with satisfaction: “Very good. With the existence of those Black Water bandits in its territory, the Qin clan won’t mobilize that 200,000 strong army. Otherwise its den will be plunged into chaos. Even though it has raised 200,000 more troops, it will only be able to use 600,000. Humph, in addition, 300,000 of them will be annihilated in the Shangguan clan’s territory. Then, even the Fierce Tiger Corps will become useless. I want to see how the Qin clan is going to fight me at that time.”
“Your Majesty is brilliant.” The hook-nosed man bows and says.
Xiang Guang nods with satisfaction and says: “Very good. This time you carried out the job of tempting those Black Water bandits very well. You’ll be rewarded for this accomplishment. I’ve heard you like Yan Xizhi’s paintings so I give you this ‘Mother and Son’ painting.” As Xiang Guang is saying, he picks up a scroll from the table and hands it over to the hook-nosed man directly.
“I’m so grateful for your grace, Your Majesty.” The hook- nosed man immediately receives this painting.
“All right, you can go.” Xiang Guang says with a wave of his large sleeve. At the moment, it is clear that he is in an especially good mood. Seeing the hook-nosed man leaving, he says again: “Right, when you have free time, you must view this ‘Mother and Son’ picture carefully to grasp the essence of Grandmaster Yan Xizhi’s painting.”
“Yes!” The hook-nosed man says at once then walks out of the imperial study.
On the way home, he sneers inside: “The Mother and Son painting? This fellow Xiang Guang is a bit too cruel already.” The most important things to him are his wife and son so of course he understands what Xiang Guang implied by giving him this Mother and Son painting.
…… With a totally grim expression, Zhao Yunxing is looking at a military map.
“General.” A young man bows and says behind him.
“What’s the matter?” Zhao Yunxing says indifferently.
That young man says: “General, His Highness has ordered us and another army to enter the 2 Northern region counties together. I think it is somewhat inappropriate to do this.”
“What’s inappropriate about it?” A faint smile appears on the corners of Zhao Yunxing’s mouth but he still does not turn around.
The young man immediately straightens up, saying: “Through negotiation, His Highness has reached an agreement with the Shangguan clan that we’ll enter its territory and borrow ways to attack the Xiang clan. But is that Shangguan clan really on our side? If it is pretending to support us and in fact is supporting the Xiang clan, that will be a terrible thing to do. After all, the 2 Northern region counties are under the Shangguan clan’s complete control.”
“Don’t tell me you think His Highness hasn’t considered this point?” Zhao Yunxing asks in reply.
The young man immediately says: “His Highness of course must’ve thought about this. But the 3 Southern region counties are extremely loyal to the Xiang clan. When they join forces, they’ll have more than half of the Chu kingdom’s military power. So, His Highness had no choice but to get help from that North Vanquishing Prince. I think His Highness thought of this point, but, due to circumstances beyond his control, he had to cooperate with the Shangguan clan. However, if the Shangguan clan switches sides during the war, it will be terrible for us.”
“Yanyun, His Highness’s point of view is different from yours. He oversees the overall situation so he has everything in the palm of his hand. How can this small matter possibly halt His Highness’s undertaking? 2 months later, you’ll naturally understand everything.” Zhao Yunxing turns around and says with a smile. A faint, relaxed smile appears on the young man’s face at once: “Since His Highness is so wise, now I can stop worrying.”
“Alright, Yanyun, you can leave first.” Zhao Yunxing says smilingly.
“Yes!” The young man turns around and leaves. Upon reaching the door, he stops, turns his head around and says quietly to Zhao Yunxing: “Father, it’s already midnight. You’d better have a rest soon. The war will break out shortly so your health is very important.”
As he finishes saying, he leaves.
Hearing that, Zhao Yunxing cannot help giving a faint smile.
Zhao Yunxing’s son Zhao Yanyun is also in the army but Zhao Yunxing has ordered that they only treat each other as a subordinate and a superior here. Therefore, Zhao Yanyun usually calls his father general. The war will happen soon so both the Qin clan and the Xiang clan are bustling with secret activities. Their spies are also deployed completely.
In the dark, they bribe the enemy’s important employees or frame the enemy’s generals or assassinate the enemy’s personages. Counter-espionage, sex trapping and various other ruses are used totally fluently by them. Following the Qin clan’s mobilization of the army that has always been stationed on the border with the Wilderness, the whole Chu kingdom is covered in a shroud of pressure.
The Qin clan sends highly valuable gifts to the Black Water mountain range bandits to tempt them. The bandits unexpectedly accept the gifts. The Xiang clan, however, is not angry about this at all. Moreover, the number 1 assassination organization, the Heavenly Net, also announces publicly that it will stop undertaking any missions relating to the Chu kingdom.
In short, almost anyone feels the pressure of the fact that there is something in the wind. Perhaps, only Qin Yu, who is practicing in peace in the Wilderness, still cannot feel this atmosphere.
######
On the blue lake beside Lei Mountain House,
Qin Yu is sitting with legs crossed, sitting on the water without sinking. Many purple energy streams are moving around his body. These purple energy streams are formed by none other than the purple energy inside him. After practicing for several months, Qin Yu’s purple Xiantian energy has almost become a liquid similar to mercury.
Inside his body, this formidable energy is rolling. Qin Yu can totally feel a surge of muscle power in every muscle and even in the smallest cell of his entire body. The purple energy is flowing to every place of his body, refining his muscles and bones nonstop.
Suddenly the winds rise. Large waves immediately appear on the surface of the lake. The water in the lake starts to heave up and down. Sitting with legs crossed on the surface of the lake, Qin Yu moves up and down along with the water like a float.
Hu ~~~
Fierce winds blow. Great waves appear on the lake with a boom, any of which is 10-odd m high. It looks as if the entire surface of the lake is being lifted up by a giant. Qin Yu can no longer remain apathetic as he did just now. Immediately making a push against the water surface with his feet, he leaps towards the lakeside. At the same time, he stares powerlessly at the initiator, Xiao Hei.
“Xiao Hei, I know your wings can cause fierce winds, but don’t play pranks on me, okay?” Qin Yu says unhappily while looking at Xiao Hei, who is spreading his wings.
Xiao Hei pulls his wings back. The lake calms in an instant. Having formed the jindan and practiced various techniques in his hereditary memories, now Xiao Hei has an even swifter and fiercer air about him. Currently, even Qin Yu is far from being a match for Xiao Hei. “Big brother, I was only training your vigilance a bit. I did it for your sake, why are you blaming me?” Xiao Hei’s voice rises in Qin Yu’s mind.
Qin Yu says jokingly: “Alright, you’ve overcome your heavenly tribulation so you’re stronger than me at the moment. I won’t fight you now. Tomorrow evening I’ll have to undergo my tribulation too. After overcoming it and practicing the Stellar Transformations I’ll let you know how formidable I am.”
“Stellar Transformations? Big brother, I have quite a few fantastic practice techniques. They’re not inferior to your Stellar Transformations.” Xiao Hei says proudly while spreading his wings. After forming the jindan he has been practicing some secret techniques for 2 months so his power has improved by leaps and bounds. At the moment he is very confident.
Qin Yu gives a smile: “Won’t we know who’s more formidable after sparring?” This period of time, Qin Yu has read many books about practice carefully. The Stellar Transformations certainly has been read from beginning to end once. Not only has he memorized its practice method, he has also memorized some intuitive understanding Lei Wei gained during his practice or tribulations in the past.
Qin Yu has become even more confident that he will withstand the incoming 4-in-9 Heavenly Tribulation.
The next day, Qin Yu sits calmly with legs crossed on the meadow beside the blue lake waiting for the heavenly tribulation. Today Xiao Hei also practices in peace on one side of him instead of interrupting him, which is a rare thing. Last time Qin Yu was his watchman so this time he is going to watch over Qin Yu.
The setting sun goes down westward, illuminating the whole Wilderness with its crimson light.
Fierce winds suddenly blow. The huge trees in the nearby mountain forests start to shake violently because of the winds. Their leaves begin to float in all directions. The ‘clack’ noises of huge trees getting broken are heard nonstop. In an instant, the sky darkens. The atmosphere has changed drastically, causing Qin Yu and Xiao Hei to stop practicing.
“Ha-ha, my heavenly tribulation is arriving. Xiao Hei, guard me carefully this time. If any demonic beasts come, kill them all for me.” Qin Yu shouts loudly.
Xiao Hei flaps his wings and says via his holy sense: “Don’t worry, big brother. Within several hundred li of this place is my territory. No demonic beasts will dare to disturb you. If any of them comes here, I’ll exterminate its clan.” This period of time, Xiao Hei has indeed turned the area within a several hundred li radius of Lei Mountain House into his own territory.
The sky has turned into dark red, looking very oppressive.
A huge maelstrom appears in the center of the dark red sky. Various serpentine electric sparks also appear in the sky. They then get absorbed in quick succession by the maelstrom. In just a short while, the maelstrom stops spinning and becomes a huge purple tribulation cloud that is flickering with flashes of lightning. Everything shows that the heavenly tribulation has come.
Qin Yu stands calmly without moving. By contrast, Xiao Hei spreads his holy sense out and pays attention to everything around. He definitely will not let any demonic beasts come near to cause trouble no matter what.
How powerful will the heavenly tribulation of a peak Xiantian external expert be? One should know that people of different power levels will experience different heavenly tribulations. Since Qin Yu is much more powerful than ordinary peak Xiantian experts, how damaging will his 4-in-9 Heavenly Tribulation be?
“The 1st thunderbolt is the weakest so it’s also the easiest to beat.” Qin Yu raises his head, looking at the tribulation cloud. There is unexpectedly a faint smile on his face at the moment.
He remembers clearly some descriptions of how Lei Wei overcame his tribulations written in the book of the Stellar Transformations and even some methods of overcoming the tribulations proposed by Lei Wei. Qin Yu has decided to use a very grandiose method among them to take on the 1st thunderbolt.
The tribulation cloud rolls, creating a continuous rumble of thunder. It exerts a pressure on everything in the area directly below it.
Boom!
A purple thunderbolt shoots straight down extremely fast from the sky. It strikes at Qin Yu’s head furiously, but he raises his head, looks at it and unexpectedly stays still. There is a hint of madness in his eyes. The purple thunderbolt strikes upon his body squarely with a boom.
Qin Yu’s body is totally covered in and run through by the purple thunderbolt.
“Ha-ha, it feels good, very enjoyable, very enjoyable!” Qin Yu does not put up any resistance and uses only his body to take on the thunderbolt. At his current level in external practice, if he could not withstand even the 1st thunderbolt, it would mean his external training has come to nothing. The book of the Stellar Transformations says that using lightning to train the body is exceptionally useful for his power improvement. The lightning, of course, must not be too strong. Otherwise Qin Yu’s body will not be able to endure it.
The bones in his entire body emit a series of clack noises. As the thunderbolt runs through his muscles and cells, a fairly large portion of its energy is gobbled up. Some changes happen to the already extremely powerful muscles at once and they become even more powerful.
“It feels good, really good. Xiao Hei, did you see how I withstood the 1st thunderbolt?” Qin Yu even jokes leisurely with Xiao Hei on one side of him.
However, Xiao Hei remains silent and keeps observing the surroundings with his holy sense. Qin Yu has overcome the 1st thunderbolt this way, but he has not used a single bit of his internal energy. Instead, once more, he has strengthened his muscles and increased his power. Most other people have had to spend their energy to overcome the 1st thunderbolt, but Qin Yu has become even more powerful thanks to it. One losing and one gaining, this is the difference between them.
“Big brother, be careful a bit. The 2nd thunderbolt is much stronger than the 1st. You can’t use that method again.” Xiao Hei warns him.
At this moment, the tribulation cloud is rolling nonstop in the sky. Obviously it is charging the 2nd thunderbolt. Qin Yu was able to absorb the 1st thunderbolt like that, but the 2nd one will be relatively more powerful so he does not dare to take it on aggressively as he did just now — letting the thunderbolt hit him squarely — either.
“Don’t worry. I know when I should stop.” He can feel Xiao Hei’s concern. Thunder is rolling. The atmospheric pressure under the cloud increases again. Qin Yu immediately focuses his entire mind and energy to prepare to resist the 2nd thunderbolt. Following a sky-shaking crash of thunder, an aquatic-dragon- like purple thunderbolt shoots out from the tribulation cloud and comes down directly at Qin Yu.
“Bring it.”
His eyes flash with excitement. The energy in his body immediately surges forth. In an instant, his body radiates a purple light as if made of a purple jade. The purple energy covers his body at once, forming a protective energy cover. There are even random small electric sparks moving around it.
B4C6: The Stellar Flame
Like the hammer of the thunder god, the purple thunderbolt fiercely strikes upon Qin Yu’s body. In just a while, his purple protective energy cover is destroyed like paper. The lightning then hits his chest squarely.
Compared to when he was resisting the 1st thunderbolt, this time Qin Yu’s body has completely fused with the purple energy, looking like a chunk of a purple jade and having enhanced defense. The protective energy cover has neutralized some of the lightning’s energy, but the 2nd bolt is really a bit too powerful.
“I was careless ~~~” Qin Yu slightly frowns. A smell of burnt flesh comes into his nose. At the same time, he feels a continual burning sensation on his skin. That thunderbolt’s power has burnt Qin Yu’s skin and even his flesh has suffered some damage.
“Big brother.” Seeing Qin Yu’s chest burning, Xiao Hei cannot help getting anxious. “Never mind, it’s just skin-deep.” Qin Yu says in an unconcerned manner.
Xiao Hei lets out a sigh of relief then advises Qin Yu carefully via his holy sense: “Big brother, undergoing the tribulation is not something to be taken lightly. You have middle-grade holy weapons, right? But you’re not even using them. If you take on the tribulation this way, you’d get injured even if your body was stronger.”
Qin Yu says with a smile: “Just now I was a bit careless. At first I thought with the fusion of my body and the purple energy in addition to the protective energy cover I could withstand the 2nd thunderbolt. I didn’t expect it to be slightly more powerful than in my estimation.”
As Qin Yu is saying, in his body the Meteoric Tear sends out many clear streams again, which flow to the damaged areas of his flesh. He immediately feels many bursts of a numbing sensation and those minor injuries on his body heal in an instant. Having the Meteoric Tear, Qin Yu’s daring action just now was nothing special. “Big brother, your heavenly tribulation is even somewhat stronger than mine. Don’t be too careless.” Xiao Hei on one side warns.
Qin Yu gives a mile. He knows Xiao Hei cares about him.
As time passes, the purple tribulation cloud rolls even more urgently. Serpentine electric sparks flash out from it nonstop. They are so fierce that they actually wreak havoc within several tens li of the cloud. The 3rd thunderbolt is being charged continuously. The purple energy inside Qin Yu’s body is activated again.
Boom!
A purple thunderbolt shoots out directly from the tribulation cloud like a wandering dragon and strikes down at Qin Yu. The thunderbolt looks really frighteningly powerful and oppressive.
“Ha-ha~~~” Qin Yu laughs out loud. With eyes suddenly blazing, he stares at the purple thunderbolt that is striking down. At the same time, loading a fist with his 10,000-jin-power, he throws an extremely fast punch directly at the thunderbolt like an aerolite —
Boom!
The violent collision totally distorts the air in its vicinity. Qin Yu’s entire feet sink into the ground all of a sudden but the 3rd thunderbolt has been shattered by Qin Yu with this one punch, turning into sinuous electric sparks that flicker on the surface of his body.
The Flaming Glove on his hand is not damaged in the slightest.
“The 3rd thunderbolt was just so-so.” He says with a smile. He has the Flaming Gloves so a fist was enough for him to handle the 3rd thunderbolt with ease. One should know that in the past Fengyuzi relied on just a low-grade holy weapon to overcome the 4-in-9 Heavenly Tribulation. With the help of the Flaming Gloves, it is nothing out of the ordinary that he was
able to smash the 3rd thunderbolt with a punch.
“One more thunderbolt is left. Once I’ve overcome the tribulation, I’ll practice the Stellar Transformations and become a Xiuzhenist as well.” Qin Yu raises his head and looks at the tribulation cloud, but he is thinking about what will happen after the tribulation. As soon as he thinks about the Stellar Transformations, a trace of excitement appears in his heart.
The tribulation cloud rolls. Thunder crashes. Then a purple bolt of lightning begins to flicker continuously in the cloud. Suddenly, on the edge of the mountain forest, several Blue Flame wolves stick their heads out to take a look. Xiao Hei immediately casts a glance at them with his sharp eyes. Those Blue Flame wolves are so scared that they retreat into the forest at once. “Those Blue Flame wolves really want to be exterminated.” Qin Yu takes an unconcerned glance at them then raises his head and looks at the tribulation cloud. In an instant, the purple thunderbolt shoots down from it.
Boom!
Fierce winds blow. The purple thunderbolt zigzags downwards like a wandering purple dragon and strikes directly at Qin Yu. This is the last thunderbolt. After overcoming it, Qin Yu will be a Xiuzhenist.
“Break for me!”
Qin Yu laughs out loud. His entire body’s muscles suddenly bulge out. Carrying mountain-shattering forces, his 2 fists are thrown fiercely at the thunderbolt like 2 meteorites. Those Flaming Gloves are also radiating a dark red light.
“Boom!” With a boom that shakes the sky, the thunderbolt strikes upon the Flaming Gloves, a middle-grade holy weapon. It instantly breaks into various flickering serpentine electric sparks.
A violent collision!
As if Qin Yu is smashed on with an iron sledgehammer, the lower half of his body instantly sinks into the ground. Qin Yu suddenly shakes his head hard. Due to that violent collision a moment ago, even he feels a tingling sensation in his fists and something sweet in his mouth. A mouthful of blood then rushes up his throat.
“Bang!” Throwing a palm strike at the ground, his entire body shoots up.
Xiao Hei’s happy laughter rises in his mind: “How was the impact force of the thunderbolt just now, big brother?”
“So-so.” Qin Yu forcibly swallows that mouthful of blood back, but he secretly curses: “I was mistaken. The 4th thunderbolt hit much harder than the 3rd one. That impact force not only numbed my arms, it even made my blood surge up.”
Xiao Hei flaps his wings and flies up to Qin Yu’s side in an instant while crying very happily. He even pats Qin Yu’s back gently with his wings to express his congratulations.
“Big brother, my compliments to you for overcoming the 4- in-9 Heavenly Tribulation.” Xiao Hei is extremely happy for Qin Yu.
“Well, Xiao Hei, you’ll have to practice alone for a while because I’ll undergo a closed-door training session. I’m going to concentrate on practicing the Stellar Transformations. This technique has 6 stages and the starting one, Nebula stage, is unexpectedly the hardest.” Qin Yu says to Xiao Hei.
Qin Yu has read the book of the Stellar Transformations. The book also contains Lei Wei’s descriptions so Qin Yu certainly knows how difficult it is to practice the Nebula stage. Xiao Hei nods and says via his holy sense: “Big brother, you can focus on practicing without any worry. When you’ve learned it, we’ll have to spar to see which of us is stronger.” Qin Yu cannot help laughing out loud as soon as he hears that. “Alright, just wait. When I’ve succeeded, I’ll surely fight you.”
Afterwards, he goes into Lei Mountain House. This time he has obviously overcome the 4-in-9 Heavenly Tribulation with great ease.
With a low-grade holy weapon, even an ordinary practitioner has a very good chance of successfully going through the 4-in-9 Heavenly Tribulation. If he has a middle-grade holy weapon, there will be almost no danger to him. On the Qian Long continent, the number of people who have overcome 4-in-9 Heavenly Tribulation is less than 1 percent only because of the lack of middle-grade holy weapons.
Qin De, who had a middle-grade holy weapon, was badly injured at the worst moment by Ge Min but he still withstood the tribulation in the end. This goes to show how important a middle-grade holy weapon is. In the center of the silvery floor of the Training Hall,
Qin Yu is sitting with legs crossed and studying the instructions of the Stellar Transformations one by one in his mind.
Having been training since he was a little kid, now it has finally become possible for him to enter the world of Xiuzhenists at one stroke through the Stellar Transformations. Becoming a Xiuzhenist will mean that he will reach a whole new level and step into a new world where afterwards he will interact and fight with Xiuzhenists, who possess fantastic abilities such as flight and travelling through the ground.
Suddenly –
“Master, 1st Master Lei Wei recommended that, if you really want to practice the Stellar Transformations, you should view some images first, afterwards it will become easier for you to practice.” Qin Yu opens his eyes, feeling doubtful inside. He accepted this Stellar Transformations technique so he has considered Lei Wei his master ever since. He says with a nod: “Let me have a look, Starlet.” “Meow –“
Starlet immediately disappears with a sweep of its tail.
The entire Training Hall’s walls and floor both then become transparent. At the same time, images of the universe appear. The Training Hall seems to become a miniature universe. In the distance stars are burning while planets are floating in his vicinity. There are even gloomy empty spaces.
Suddenly —
The images surrounding the Training Hall change. That universe disappears and a huge nebula appears before Qin Yu’s eyes.
This nebula is drifting in the universe like a huge cloud while rotating slowly. It is absorbing the energy of the universe and forming various small round pieces of materials. After so many years, these grains gradually spin towards the center of the nebula.
After many transformations, a celestial body is formed.
……
The cosmic evolution is being shown in detail before Qin Yu’s eyes.
Little by little he immerses himself in these images. At the same time, he remembers the various secret practice methods of the Stellar Transformations and gains some understanding of them. After an indeterminately long time, the images finally show a huge star, which sends out scorching flames and possesses a shockingly great amount of energy.
Qin Yu suddenly remembers that, according to what Fengyuzi told him before, at the end of the War of Immortals, his 2nd master, Lei Wei, left a message after failing to overcome the 9 From 9th Heaven Tribulation.
“I’ve been roaming the boundless space and experiencing the cosmos’s evolution. I’ve been drifting around for some thousand years and visited countless celestial bodies. How come today my soul is falling apart? Heaven doesn’t help me. Stellar transformations! How can the Sun be the final
destination? How?! How?! Everyone on this continent listen, today I’ll leave behind the 3 Trans-Heaven diagrams. Anyone who can obtain them and figure out their secret will inherit my technique. Ha-ha …… O blessing, O disaster ……”
He immediately understands what Lei Wei was thinking.
Actually Lei Wei was capable of overcoming the 9 From 9th Heaven Tribulation, but before its arrival he was ganged up on by several loose immortals, a Dacheng-stage expert and many Dujie-stage and Kongming-stage experts. Lei Wei of course suffered severe injuries under the joint attack of so many people. In that state, how could he possibly have withstood the 9 From 9th Heaven Tribulation that came right afterwards?
Therefore, Lei Wei naturally felt aggrieved at not being helped by Heaven.
The Stellar Transformations is extremely powerful. Before undergoing the 9 From 9th Heaven Tribulation, Lei Wei was already able to kill a Dacheng-stage expert, several loose immortals and many Dujie and Kongming-stage experts. That killing spree left him seriously injured, but he still made it to the 8th thunderbolt of the tribulation, so, it is easy to imagine how great his power was.
Obviously the Stellar Transformations is very powerful, but it is different from the other Xiuzhen techniques in the Xiuzhen world. If Qin Yu practices it, he will have to create new stages for it later. If his attempt at creation fails, he will probably suffer energy deviation, which will destroy his soul.
Qin Yu suddenly stands up and bursts out laughing loudly: “Blessing? Disaster? Ha-ha … blessings and disasters depend on each other, what’s the use of being overcautious? If I lived my life as a chicken, only following the prescribed order and practicing the recognized techniques of previous generations, it’d be too boring. Master, you created the first 6 stages, I, Qin Yu, will create the succeeding stages. So what if my energy deviates and my soul gets destroyed? At least this will pave the way for the success of later disciples.” At the moment, there is a surge of heroism in Qin Yu’s heart.
“Alright, let’s start practicing!”
After calming himself down, he sits down with legs crossed and begins to practice the Stellar Transformations carefully.
The 1st stage of the Stellar Transformations — Nebula stage,
Following the secret method of the technique, Qin Yu starts to move the liquefied purple energy in his body. After he overcame the tribulation, the purple energy has totally turned into liquid. Under Qin Yu’s control, every bit of the purple liquid in his body starts to gather.
The 1st thing he does is gather his energy, concentrating it in the dantian. Immersing his mind in the dantian, Qin Yu can feel that it seems boundless. He has never seen anyone else’s dantian and does not know if there are any differences between his dantian and those of other people either. Without thinking much, he controls those bits of liquid directly.
The dantian is seemingly boundless like the universe. “Hu hu
…” The liquid energy flows into the dantian like various streams of water then start to merge into a sphere of liquid. If Qin Yu were a jindan practitioner, he could start refining it from this point.
However, he does not cultivate the jindan
“Gather first, disperse later!” Qin Yu remembers clearly the practice method, but when he is about to disperse his energy according to the paths described by the method, suddenly —
A very unusual force appears in the dantian out of thin air. It moves outwards in all directions like a centrifugal force. That liquid sphere naturally is affected. Under this strange centrifugal force, the whole liquid sphere shatters and spreads out in all directions.
Qin Yu’s body is immediately covered in cold sweat. His face turns very pale in an instant.
“No good!”
Qin Yu never thought that at this crucial moment his strange dantian would cause this accident. It should be noted that to enter the Nebula stage, the most important thing is disperse. Not only does the practitioner have to disperse his energy, it is very important that he disperses it completely, therefore he must not make any mistakes during the dispersing process.
The spin of a nebula is dictated by the Way of the Universe and Nature. Originally Lei Wei was only able to come up with the method for energy dispersing after learning through experience for a long time.
“When I practiced internal techniques as a kid, this dantian dispersed my internal energy until nothing was left. Now it’s still the same.” Qin Yu has become impatient, but he is not too worried that his purple liquid energy will disappear because even when it comes out of the dantian he can still control it and fuse it with every place of his body.
However ……
How can he possibly control and make the purple liquid energy imitate the rotation of a nebula when it is affected by his dantian’s centrifugal force?
“I failed in practicing internal techniques, now I’ve failed in practicing the Stellar Transformations too. This strange dantian is really ……” Qin Yu is angry and impatient. The purple liquid energy has dispersed. It has left his dantian in gaseous form and part of it has even flown out of his body.
B4C7: Going home
Qin Yu is struck by a thought. He immediately makes that gaseous energy go back into his body. It was created by him via practice so he can control it with ease.
Suddenly —
A hint of ecstasy appears on his face, an extreme ecstasy.
A moment ago, when that idea sprang to his mind and he made that gaseous purple energy return to his body, the purple energy naturally came back inside him according to his thoughts. In the beginning he concentrated all of his purple energy in his dantian so this time he also moved the gaseous purple energy back into the dantian.
The centrifugal force in Qin Yu’s strange dantian caused this purple energy to rotate about then spread out again.
A cycle!
A nearly perfect cycle!
A nebular maelstrom appears in his dantian. The purple energy inside his body continuously goes into it, rotates about by the effect of the centrifugal force then spreads out again according to the spin of the nebula.
The energy goes outside through his flesh and bones from the dantian then enter the dantian again by going through the flesh and bones.
It is a perfect cycle.
Because his dantian automatically generates the centrifugal force, a nebular maelstrom has been created in it.
“Ha-ha, Heaven is helping me. My strange dantian isn’t a bad thing. Instead … instead it’s extremely good.” Qin Yu suddenly opens his eyes. They have been filled with ecstasy. At the moment he basically does not have to worry about the control of the energy inside his body.
Now he is extremely excited.
“Nebula, this nebula’s rotation is near perfect, even better than the rotation that Master figured out. Ha-ha … this, this is really …” Qin Yu is so excited that he is inarticulate. Anyone who knows the contents of the Stellar Transformations would understand the significance of having a nebula whose rotation is even closer to the Way of Nature than described in the book.
Qin Yu takes a deep breath to calm down then sits down with legs crossed and starts to focus on practicing.
Even though he can automatically practice without control, if he concentrates on practicing like this, he will progress even faster.
The gaseous purple energy spread out of Qin Yu’s body fills the area within 3 m of him. This purple cloud rotates unceasingly. It looks as if his whole body is enveloped in a purple cloud. This purple cloud absorbs stellar energy in nature then rushes into his flesh and bones.
When the stellar energy of the cloud pierces through the muscles and bones, part of it gets absorbed. At the same time, the flesh and bones are refined. Then this stellar-energy- charged cloud returns to the dantian. When it rushes through the nebular maelstrom in the dantian, most of its energy is gobbled up. The purple cloud then spreads out again.
In every cycle, Qin Yu absorbs the stellar energy to refine his mucles and bones and makes the energy in the nebula become even more powerful.
Cycle after cycle, Qin Yu totally immerses himself in that wonderful feeling. Gradually, after an indeterminately long duration, the purple cloud slowly gets lighter and lighter in color. But its energy has become even more and more refined. Qin Yu has been practicing wholeheartedly for a whole month.
After a more than a month, Now there is an indistinct light-colored cloud in Qin Yu’s vicinity, which continuously absorbs stellar energy. After being refined by stellar energy throughout this over a month period, Qin Yu’s body has become even more similar to jade or diamond.
In his dantian,
There is a perfect nebula. This nebula is made up by various silvery grains. These silvery grains spread throughout the dantian. They are the essense of the vast amount of stellar energy that has been absorbed by Qin Yu, and also his source of energy.
By contrast, in the center of the nebula, there is a light blue flame.
Qin Yu, who has been sitting with legs crossed, suddenly open his eyes and stops practicing. The silvery energy flows into his body in an instant. The nebula, affected by the force of the dantian, is still slowly spining, only that it is merely refining its energy.
“A light blue flame, indeed, by practicing the Stellar Transformations I’ve obtained the Stellar Flame. It’s pretty stronger than the Samadhi Flame.” Qin Yu suddenly stands up.
All Xiuzhenists have a flame in their bodies. Generally, Xiuxianists call it the Samadhi Flame, Xiumoists call it the Devilish Flame and Xiuyaoists call it the Demonic Flame. However, because the Stellar Transformations is not Xiuxian, Xiumo or Xiuyao, the flame inside the body of the practitioner is called the Stellar Flame.
Qin Yu goes to the entrance of the Training Hall. It opens automatically at once.
A black silhouette instantly appears beside him lightly like a cloud. It is none other than Xiao Hei. For the last over 1 month, Xiao Hei has been all by himself and has been worried about Qin Yu. He was wondering why Qin Yu’s closed-door training session had been going on for over a month. Only now can he put his own mind at rest after seeing Qin Yu go out. “Big brother,” Xiao Hei’s eyes have a hint of delight.
Qin Yu says smilingly: “Xiao Hei, follow me.”
“To where?” Xiao Hei asks doubtfully. Qin Yu says nothing and immediately goes in another direction. Xiao Hei goes after him. Qin Yu heads directly for the Weapon Forging Chamber on the 1st floor of Lei Mountain House.
The door of the Weapon Forging Chamber automatically opens.
“Big brother, you want to forge weapons?” Now Xiao Hei totally understands.
Qin Yu says with a smile: “Yes, when I found the In-rock Flaming iron chunk, Uncle Feng’s Samadhi flame wasn’t powerful enough so he was only able to make middle-grade holy weapons. Actually, In-rock Flaming iron can be used to forge high-grade holy weapons. I also have some high-class crystals so I can merge them with each other and reforge my Flaming Gloves and Flaming Sword once.” “High-class crystals? Big brother, you’ve got high-class crystals?” Xiao Hei’s pleasantly surprised voice rises in Qin Yu’s mind.
Qin Yu slightly nods then says with a smile: “What’s the matter? Do you want some too?”
Xiao Hei nods repeatedly and says via his holy sense: “In my hereditary memories there is a forging method using the Demonic Flame. Too bad I don’t have any good crystals. That storeroom’s top-class crystals can only be seen. I don’t know where you got these high-class crystals from?”
“Alright, how many chunks do you want?” With a thought, he knows everything about the crystals in the Menghuan ring.
In this spatial ring there are many middle-class crystals and some high-class crystals. Even though the number of high-class crystals is not large, there are still 10-odd of them and each one is relatively big, about the size of the In-rock Flaming iron chunk.
“One is enough. Big brother, can you let me choose? I want one whose nature contains electricity,” says Xiao Hei.
Qin Yu makes a wave of a hand. 10-odd chunks of high-class crystals instantly appear in the Weapon Forging Chamber. Xiao Hei’s interest is quickly caught by a blue crystal. He immediately pulls it over to him using telekinesis then unexpectedly swallows it at one stroke.
“Big brother, you stay here to forge your weapons, I’ll find some place to forge mine.” Xiao Hei says laughingly via his holy sense.
Qin Yu nods then picks out 2 chunks of high-class crystals, one golden and the other shiny black. After being refined by the Stellar Flame, the Flaming Gloves and Flaming Sword have become too small for him because many of their impurities have been removed.
Moreover, the fire nature of In-rock Flaming iron is not very good. When merged with the 2 metal-natured and darkness- natured crystals, the Flaming Gloves and Flaming Sword will become much harder and their radiance will dim. They will even be capable of absorption.
“Master already set up so many formations in the Weapon Forging Chamber. It’ll be much easier for me to forge weapons.” Qin Yu points with a hand while smiling. The Flaming Sword and Flaming Gloves instantly fly to the immediate area above the Weapon-Forging 8 Diagrams Furnace from his body.
At the same time, a light blue flame flies out from inside his body then floats into the 8 Diagrams Furnace. In an instant, the furnace is set ablaze.
“Heavenly Gate, 8 Diagrams, Orthodox!”
Qin Yu’s hand shoots out several indistinct light silvery streams of stellar energy into the several small holes of the 8 Diagrams Furnace. In an instant, the 8-Diagrams Furnace brightens and radiates various rays of light, forming a mysterious written talisman. The temperature of the light blue flame suddenly rises — Qin Yu gives a smile. The Stellar Flame has 2 forms. Through controlling the formation, he can turn it into the Ultra-yang Flame or the Ultra-yin Flame.
“Chi chi ~~~” At the moment, the Stellar Flame is in its Ultra-yang form. In a short while, the Flaming Gloves and Flaming Sword have been melted. At the same time, their impurities have also been continuously burnt out. Naturally, their sizes have shrunk a lot. Qin Yu points with a hand and the 2 chunks of high-class crystals also fly into the furnace.
Again the Ultra-yang Flame melts these 2 chunks of high- class crystals. When it has burnt up all their impurities, the crystals have become 4 or 5 times smaller.
……
Qin Yu remembers that the most basic forging method of the Stellar Transformations book is to use the Ultra-yang Flame to melt the materials and remove their impurities then to use the Ultra-yin Flame to mold them into objects. Even though this is the simplest method, it muddles him up, mostly because controlling the strength and timing of the flame is extremely difficult.
“Earthly Gate, 8 Diagrams, Reverse!”
After several light silvery streams of stellar energy are shot into the several holes of the furnace, the 8-Diagrams Furnace radiates a different light. In an instant, the temperature of the Stellar Flame seems to have dropped sharply. Now it looks ice- blue from the outside.
……
After forging for a long time, the Flaming Gloves and Flaming Sword are finally formed again. Qin Yu only carves 2 formations into them, one being offensive and the other being defensive.
He saw these 2 formations in a secret book in the study. “I’ve got too little knowledge of the Art of Formation. According to that secret book, formidable experts can carve 9 offensive formations into a flying sword without a break, forming a cycle that is extremely powerful.” Qin Yu thinks to himself. If Fengyuzi knew what Qin Yu is thinking, he would probably feel ashamed to death.
The Xiuzhen secret books Qin Yu has read are some top-class secret books in the Xiuzhen world collected by Lei Wei in the past. The 2 formations he just carved into his weapons both are extremely profound and secret.
When Fengyuzi forged these weapons for Qin Yu, he only set up a very crude offensive formation on them.
The Flaming Gloves and Flaming Sword are floating before Qin Yu.
Now these weapons have become dark golden, and have also become high-grade holy weapons. The Flaming Sword is about the same size as a common flying sword. Because it can be used both as a short sword and as a flying sword, it is extremely handy.
……
7 months have passed. Tomorrow is the day the Qin clan has decided to go to war on. In a military base near the Black Water mountain range, the 4 marshals, Qin De and Qin Zheng have gathered together.
Qin De and Qin Zheng are dressed in brocade clothes while the 4 marshals — Qin Feng, Jiang Tao, Fu Bing and Fan Yu — are wearing battledress.
“Gentlemen, my Qin clan has been preparing for several hundred years for the eruption tomorrow. The 1st battle will be fought by you. Lei Xue County of the 4 Western region counties must be taken in 1 battle.” Qin De says emphatically while staring at the 4 marshals.
Marshal Fan Yu is the only woman among the 4 marshals. She also has another identity — the leader of the Black Water mountain range bandits. “Don’t worry, Your Highness. The Black Water mountain range has been saving for several hundred years only for this one day. As soon as an order is given, 300,000 troops will attack Lei Xue County directly,” says Marshal Fan Yu firmly. They have been occupying the Black Water mountain range for several hundred years to wait for this day.
They have told people on the ouside that they have 200,000 bandits but in fact it is 300,000.
“There’s no need to hurry, Marshal Fan Yu. This battle must be won so I’ll let the other 3 marshals to advance together with you. 300,000 troops of the Qin clan and 300,000 Black Water troops amount to 600,000. They will win the 1st battle like a dike-bursting flood.” Qin De’s eyes glitter.
Qin Feng says: “Don’t worry, father. That Lei Xue County only has 200,000 troops and they are even stationed in the cities so it will be very easy for us to attack. We only have to keep a watchful eye on the Mu clan of the 3 Southern region counties because Lei Xue County is next to the Mu clan.” “Marshal Qin Feng, we have 600,000 troops. Those 3 Southern region counties only have 600,000 troops and they have to defend those 3 counties so they won’t pose a threat to us.” Marshal Jiang Tao says smilingly.
Qin Zheng on one side says with a smile: “Marshals, my father has made this arrangement also to issue a threat to the 3 Southern region counties and the 4 Western region counties. With an army group of 600,000 troops, it will be very difficult for those 2 forces to defeat you.”
“All right, I’m going to depend on you for the 1st battle.” Qin De says with a loud laugh.
The 4 marshals are also full of confidence. These top military figures then start to discuss with each other in a relaxed manner.
“Oh, Marshal Qin Feng seems to have reached the late phase of the Xiantian level. Marshal Qin Feng, you’re not 28 yet, aren’t you?” With brightening eyes, Marshal Jiang Tao says in amazement.
Qin Feng nods smilingly.
“Marshal Qin Feng is indeed very formidable. You’ve reached the late phase of the Xiantian level before turning 28. Among young men on the Qian Long continent, perhaps you’re the leader.” Fu Bing says with a smile. Fan Yu on one side also stares at Qin Feng with brightening eyes.
“Leader?” Qin Feng shakes his head with a forced smile.
Qin De and Qin Zheng heave a sigh. Qin Zheng says while looking at the marshals: “My 3rd brother reached the Xiantian level in external practice at the age of 18. Moreover, he even reached the peak of the Xiantian level. Even the famous Conqueror of West Chu was far inferior to him!”
At the moment Qin Zheng is indignant.
His 3rd brother was a genius. It is unfair that he died so young and, even worse, died as a total unknown.
“External practice? The peak of the Xiantian level? 18 years old?” The marshals’ eyes pop out of their heads. It is common knowledge that no one on the Qian Long continent has ever reached the Xiantian level through external practice so naturally they find it hard to believe that an 18 year old young man reached such a level.
“Where is 3rd Prince?” Fan Yu asks curiously.
“To save me, Yu’er continuously killed 5 peak-Xiantian experts then perished together with Shangxian Wu Xing of the Xiang clan!” says Qin De. As soon as these marshals hear that, they all take a cold breath and look at each other speechlessly.
……
In the Wilderness,
“Xiao Hei, get ready. We’ll go back at once.” Standing outside Lei Mountain House, Qin Yu shouts loudly to Xiao Hei. Then he mumbles to himself: “It’s been 7 months. I wonder how father and brothers are doing. Perhaps they still don’t know I’m living.”
Thinking about this, Qin Yu becomes even more eager to go home.
Having reached the Nebula stage of the Stellar Transformations and forged 2 high-class holy weapons, he already has enough power to go back through the Wilderness and, therefore, is impatient to go back.
B4C8: Golden Flame Eagle
“Big brother, you finally want to go home?” With a swaying movement, Xiao Hei flies out from inside Lei Mountain House. His eagle eyes radiate intelligence. He has succeeded in practicing his techniques and is of extremely outstanding origins so he can rival humans in brainpower.
Qin Yu takes a glance around then says with a nod: “We’ve been staying here in the Wilderness for 7 months already. Both of us have overcome the 4-in-9 Heavenly Tribulation. Moreover, according to the map left by my master, this place is still far from the central parts of the Wilderness, but it is only 100,000 li from the border.”
Only 100,000 li!
Only after reaching the Nebula stage can Qin Yu dare to say so. If he had not overcome the tribulation yet, it would take him at least several years to travel these 100,000 li because, after all, there are various demonic beasts along the way. Xiao Hei suddenly says somewhat unwillingly: “We haven’t returned for a very long time, but the mortal world on the Qian Long continent is very boring. Even Xiantian level demonic beasts are a rare sight there.”
Qin Yu naturally understands what Xiao Hei is thinking. As a strong man, he finds it very unbearable to live among weak people, none of whom can be a match for him. This is also the reason why he has been longing to enter the Xiuzhen world, in which Xiuzhenists can be seen anywhere.
“We can run along these 100,000 li and fight some demonic beasts to practice at the same time.” Qin Yu gives a smile. “Going back this way perhaps won’t take much time. Xiao Hei, now I’m already a Xiuzhenist too. After meeting my father again and handling all the matters related to mortals, we’ll leave the Qian Long continent then start to travel the boundless world freely.”
Qin Yu’s eyes have a hint of haziness.
That time, because he was not allowed to become his father’s bodyguard during his father’s tribulation, he vented his suppressed feelings of 10-odd years in front of his close relatives. He then left for a half year. During that period, he always pondered and finally he understood that he should live for himself.
If he lived for someone else, not only would this tire him out, it would also put very great pressure on that person. After his complex was sorted out, by chance Qin Yu was given the mission of protecting ‘Mr. Ying’, which later would lead to his killing 5 peak Xiantian experts in a row then perishing together with Wu Xing.
Qin Yu has resolved that after meeting his father again he will go on a journey of his own. After all, he can only start to walk his own path by doing so. The mortal world on the Qian Long continent has really become too small a river for him. It can no longer accommodate Qin Yu because he has transformed from a fish into a dragon.
“Really?” Xiao Hei’s eyes brighten. “Big brother, are you willing to leave your father?” Xiao Hei only has affection for Qin Yu. As for Qin De and others, he only cares about them a little because of their relationships with Qin Yu. In fact he feels no affection for them. Even if all the other humans died out, Xiao Hei would probably not bat an eye.
Eagles are basically aloof and proud.
“Father? Actually, when there’s affection between us, why must we live together? Moreover, even father will approve of my decision. After all, as Xiuzhenists, we must strive to ascend to the sky, go into the ground, roam the 9th level of the sky, and go on uncertain journeys.”
“Good, big brother, I’ll go wherever you’ll go. Whether you’ll ascend to the sky or go into the ground, I’ll follow you no matter where you go. I’m sure that later our lives won’t be too boring.” Xiao Hei’s eyes glitter.
With a great big smile on his face, Qin Yu pats Xiao Hei’s back. “Alright, we shouldn’t waste time. Let’s get going now.” Qin Yu turns around and looks at Lei Mountain House. With a thought, the entire house starts to float up and shrink at the same time. Afterwards, it flies into his hand, having become a very small villa.
As soon as he gives it a thought, this Lei Mountain House is sucked into his Menghuan ring.
“Master’s art of forging is really outstanding. He was even able to forge such a huge house.” Qin Yu praises highly. Forging a xian mansion is considered an extremely great skill even in the entire Xiuzhen world. Stellar energy actually is fire in nature so naturally the flame obtained through practicing the Stellar Transformations is exceptionally formidable. Therefore, when Starlet said that Lei Wei was the number 1 in the Xiuzhen world when it comes to forging, it was not bullshitting.
Xiao Hei, however, is very amazed. He knows that this Lei Mountain House is outstanding but he never thought that it could be shrunk at will like a holy weapon. “Alright, Xiao Hei, let’s go.”
Qin Yu soars directly into the sky like a wisp of blue smoke. “Don’t give yourself a head start.” Xiao Hei utters a cry then, with a wave of his wings, he soars into the sky. In a short while he has already come up to Qin Yu’s side. A man and an eagle then fly directly westwards abreast.
Various light silvery streams of stellar energy are moving around Qin Yu but his body is not experiencing any resistance and is flying extremely fast through the air.
“Wow, big brother, this Stellar Transformations is very terrific. There are many Xiuzhenist-related things in my memory but, according to them, Jindan-stage Xiuzhenists fly very slowly.” Xiao Hei says to Qin Yu via the holy sense while flying next to him.
Qin Yu says with a smile: “Xiao Hei, this Stellar Transformations requires the practitioner to reach the peak of the Xiantian level in body training first, do you know why?” “No, I don’t.” Xiao Hei blinks a couple of times and replies through his holy sense.
Qin Yu’s eyes glitter. He says smilingly: “When a person practices the first stage of the Stellar Transformations — the Nebula stage –, a nebula is formed in his dantian. At the same time, his energy is spread outside through his flesh and bones to form another nebula which continuously absorbs stellar energy outside the body. That stellar energy then goes into the nebula in the dantian through the flesh and bones, forming a perfect cycle.”
“The most important link in this cycle is the body, because whether when his stellar energy goes outside from the dantian or when the stellar energy he has absorbed from nature goes into the nebula in the dantian, his flesh and bones are pierced through by stellar energy. If his flesh isn’t durable enough, it’ll soon be burst by this extremely powerful kind of energy. So, he must have a very strong body.”
“In fact, the practice process of continuously absorbing stellar energy is also a body training process. Every time stellar energy goes through his flesh and bones, they are refined and at the same time absorb a portion of stellar energy.” Hearing Qin Yu’s words, Xiao Hei is slightly stupefied for a while. After a long time, he says through his holy sense: “Ah, it’s like weapon forging, isn’t it? It forges the body like a holy weapon.”
“Almost, only that the body is too important to be refined directly with the internal flame like a weapon. It can only be refined using stellar energy. As he practices, his body will become stronger. It’s even possible for the body to eventually surpass holy weapons.” Feeling strong winds keep blasting onto his face, Qin Yu is very comfortable.
At the moment he is flying through clouds and looking down. Lofty peaks, precipitous mountain ranges, plains and marshes are continuously left behind.
Generally, a Xiuzhenist’s body experiences huge resistance while flying. Qin Yu’s body can match a holy weapon so he is flying with great ease like a holy weapon. As for Xiao Hei, because he is a bird, he is even better at flying. When a man and an eagle are flying, a huge pressure suddenly comes to them from up ahead. At the same time, a heat wave blows onto their faces from afar. In an instant, the temperature in Qin Yu’s vicinity increases by several hundred degrees.
Qin Yu’s face slightly changes color. He knows they have encountered a demonic beast. Xiao Hei also stops and stares ahead carefully.
In just a moment, a huge golden eagle appears in front of Qin Yu. Not only does this eagle have golden feathers that look like a crown on the top of his head, the feathers on the other parts of his body are also golden. His whole body is enveloped in fierce flames. This eagle is even one size bigger than Xiao Hei.
Qin Yu immediately recognizes him as a Golden Flame eagle because he read quite a few Xiuzhen books in the study of Lei Mountain House.
“A midget Xiuzhenist and a crossbred eagle? Who would’ve thought you would dare to enter my territory?” The Golden Flame eagle looks disdainfully at Qin Yu and Xiao Hei like an emperor looking at beggars, as if their lives are under his control. However, in fact, the current situation is not very different from that.
“Yuanying stage!”
Feeling the opponent’s aura, Qin Yu quickly figures out his power level. This Golden Flame eagle is definitely not at the Jindan stage. Otherwise, he would not feel so powerless in front of him like this.
“Big brother, quickly get away!”
“Xiao Hei, quickly get away!”
Xiao Hei and Qin Yu seem to use holy sense communication simultaneously. They both realize that they are no match for the Golden Flame eagle before them. After all, a Golden Flame eagle is a king among eagles and has great natural abilities so a Yuanying-stage Golden Flame eagle is basically not something they can fight at the moment.
In an instant, a man and an eagle agree to fly extremely fast northwards together. After all, the west has been blocked by that Golden Flame eagle. Shaking his wings very subtly 9 times in quick succession, Xiao Hei immediately gets away very far with a sudden swaying movement of his body like a flash.
Xiao Hei is not worried about Qin Yu at all because they have raced against each other before.
Xiao Hei has a body-maneuvering skill for eagles in his hereditary memories called the Passing Lightning Flashing Nine Times but Qin Yu also has the Body-Weapon Unification technique in the Stellar Transformations book. The dark golden Flaming Sword, a high-grade holy weapon, flies to the underside of Qin Yu’s feet at once.
At the same time, his light silvery stellar energy comes out from his dantian then spreads throughout his body and the Flaming Sword. Now Qin Yu and the sword are like one. Thanks to this, his speed is suddenly increased by almost 10 times. In an instant his silhouette has already disappeared. Seeing that the 2 ‘little toys’ before him have left him behind very quickly, the Golden Flame eagle is stupefied.
“When an early Jindan-stage crossbred eagle is so fast, it must have some top-class secret body-maneuvering skill.” When he thinks about this, his eyes instantly blaze. Even a Golden Flame eagle will only be taught a simple practice technique by his mother or another Golden Flame eagle.
Seeing that a mere early Jindan-stage eagle like Xiao Hei can fly at such a speed, he is certain that Xiao Hei has an outstanding technique. Generally, demonic beasts in the Wilderness use the most basic, simplest techniques that have been passed down from generation to generation. Very few demonic beasts can be lucky like Xiao Hei, who unexpectedly has hereditary memories that contain top-class practice techniques and even forging techniques.
Hu!
Completely unleashing his Yuanying stage power in the blink of an eye, the Golden Flame eagle suddenly flies faster by several times. He chases after the human and the eagle up ahead like a golden beam of light.
“Big brother, we’re really fast. We’ve left that stupid eagle in the dust instantly.” Xiao Hei says via the holy sense. Now he has become much more relaxed. Qin Yu gives a smile. He also knows that demonic beasts in general only practice some basic techniques and that they basically do not have useful skills such as weapon forging and pill making.
As for Xiao Hei, he is an extraordinary eagle with many fantastic techniques that, when used, have astonished even Qin Yu.
“Crossbred eagle, hand over your secret body-maneuvering skill, I’ll spare your life.” A voice rises in the minds of both Qin Yu and Xiao Hei. At the same time, a heat wave rushes at them. Qin Yu and Xiao Hei, who just now were still relaxed, immediately increase their speeds again with a loud shout.
A black beam of light and a light silvery beam of light fly extremely fast almost side by side. Behind them, there is a huge golden beam of light.
“I’m a Golden Flame eagle, a king with the best flying skill among eagles, and I’ve even reached the Yuanying stage, but who would’ve thought I wouldn’t be able to catch up with a midget crossbred early Jindan-stage eagle? Body-maneuvering skill, he must have an extremely outstanding body- maneuvering skill.” The farther the Golden Flame eagle is left behind, the more he lusts for that body-maneuvering skill.
Even though the Golden Flame eagle cannot catch up with them, for the present Qin Yu and Xiao Hei cannot lose him either.
“Xiao Hei, don’t risk our lives for the moment.” Qin Yu says via his holy sense. He knows Xiao Hei has a special skill that can increase his speed by several tens times instantly, but it is a desperate skill. Qin Yu also has a similar special skill.
Temporarily they cannot give the Golden Flame eagle the slip, but he cannot catch up with them either. After they have been flying for a while, continuously leaving mountains and forests on the ground behind them, Qin Yu’s eyes suddenly brighten. He has seen a huge lake which is at least several hundred li wide below.
“Xiao Hei, go into the water!”
Qin Yu tells Xiao Hei via the holy sense then dives directly into the water like a beam of light. Xiao Hei dives into the lake with a wave of his wings as well. The Golden Flame eagle utters a sharp cry and also dives down extremely fast.
Birds are afraid of going into water, but both Xiao Hei and the Golden Flame eagle are not ordinary birds. Instead, they are demonic beasts who have overcome the 4-in-9 Heavenly Tribulation. Therefore, their speeds are only somewhat affected underwater. However, it is relatively worse for the Golden Flame eagle after submerging because he is fire in nature.
“Yellow chicken, bye-bye ~~~ ha-ha ~~~” Qin Yu suddenly laughs out loud. His speed seems not to be hindered significantly underwater. Using the Body-Weapon Unification technique, he instantly gets away a very long distance like a humanoid flying sword. As for Xiao Hei, electric sparks suddenly appear on his wings. These electric sparks zigzag in the area within several meters of Xiao Hei.
Water is conductive therefore, when Xiao Hei goes through water, his speed is affected very little. In a very short while, he has also disappeared.
The Golden Flame eagle, however, can only watch these 2 little preys disappear from his field of vision in an instant. He has his holy sense, but its range is only 10-odd kilometers and, moreover, Qin Yu and Xiao Hei already went out of the range of his holy sense a moment ago.
Shortly afterwards, one watching from the sky would see 2 beams of light shoot out of the lake then rush into a huge mountain forest. That mountain forest is enormous. At first sight, no one can see its other end. After a very long time, the Golden Flame eagle, who has failed to find Qin Yu and Xiao Hei, cries furiously. Eventually he flies back to his nest unwillingly.
In the ancient forest, Qin Yu and Xiao Hei both have a lingering fear. If a real fight had taken place, they would have been no match for that Yuanying-stage Golden Flame eagle, who is unusually gifted.
“Xiao Hei, let’s stop flying. We’ll go through the Wilderness on the ground. At the same time, we’ll have a nice training session by fighting some Jindan-stage demonic beasts.” Qin Yu says smilingly. Xiao Hei flaps his wings nonstop to show his agreement.
Then, a man and an eagle no longer fly. After all, even though they want to end this journey quickly, practicing is also fairly important. Of course, fighting Yuanying-stage opponents is a bit too much.
B4C9: Sweeping Away All Obstacles
While Qin Yu and Xiao Hei are going through the Wilderness fighting one demonic beast after another, in the Chu kingdom on the Qian Long continent, the tension that has been building up for the last half year is going to explode tonight —
The town of Xiyang is a small town near the Black Water mountain range but this time it has become the headquarters of the Qin clan’s war machine. The people in command here are East Vanquishing Prince Qin De and Tactician Xu Yuan, who are playing the game of Go at the moment.
“It’s already dark. It’s about time Marshal Qin Feng’s army launches the first wave of attack.” Xu Yuan, dressed in a black brocade gown, looks into the sky then says to Qin De with a smile. At the same time, he keeps waving the fan in his hand slowly and gently.
After gently putting a white chess piece down, Qin De says dully: “If Feng’er couldn’t even win the 1st battle, he wouldn’t need to be a marshal anymore.” A faint smile appears on Xu Yuan’s face. Even though Qin De looks very calm, Xu Yuan is still certain that he feels completely uneasy in his heart at the moment because just now he played a wrong move. Given Qin De’s chess skill, he will not make such a mistake in a normal situation.
Calm?
How can Qin De possibly remain calm?
The tension caused by his wife’s death, his son’s death and the Qin clan’s preparation of several hundred years is going to erupt into war tonight, so, even if Qin De is a Universal Golden Immortal he would not be able to calm down.
******
It is gradually getting dark. At the moment, Yanglin City, a small city in the easternmost part of Lei Xue County, is still being strictly guarded. After all, the Xiang clan also knows that the Qin clan is going to attack and, moreover, even though this Yanglin City is considered a defensive obstacle, it is merely a small city. However, based on its intelligence, the Xiang clan thinks that the Qin clan does not have enough power to breach the defense of Lei Xue County and therefore only several thousands troops are stationed in this small city Yanglin.
“The city’s gate is closed. Wait until tomorrow to go out!”
Seeing some people approaching, several tens city guards immediately shout loudly.
“Officers, my father is seriously ill. I must go out right now. Could you please go easy on me?” 2 young scholars walk up to the side of the guards at the city’s gate. At the same time they take out a moneybag and open it. There are unexpectedly some large gold sycees.
The gold sycees glow in the dark, stunning these guards for a while.
Suddenly — Outside Yanglin City, various strong, muscular people rush out extremely fast from a small forest holding their shields. The guards on the wall of Yanglin City never thought that there were people hiding in that forest. After all, it is not a large one.
All of those soldiers are moving extremely fast, covering several meters with each of their steps. And they are all internal experts. Seeing the speed of the Qin clan’s soldiers, the faces of the guards on the city’s gate immediately go very pale. They see clearly the difference between themselves and the attackers at once.
“The enemy’s raiding! The enemy’s raiding!!!” Instantly, loud shouts can be heard from the top of the city’s wall.
“Quickly scram!” The chief guard, however, takes the gold sycees with a grab then gives the scholar a push. Obviously he wants to rob him of these sycees.
But, with a movement of their bodies, the 2 scholars suddenly look like illusions. Following several muffled gurgles, the several tens guards all open their eyes wide then fall down while covering their throats with their hands. Their blood splatters over a large area. The 2 scholars pull back their daggers and give each other a smile.
The Qin clan’s 1st battle must be won quickly and thoroughly. It should be known that this time Marshal Qin Feng personally leads 100,000 troops into battle and the ones who fight the 1st battle are the absolute cream of the crop among them — the trump card called Fortification Destroying Regiment.
Even though the Fortification Destroying Regiment has only 3000 soldiers, they have been selected from 100,000 troops so all of them are excellent fighters and practice a fairly formidable internal technique. As for the 2 scholars, they are Xiantian experts from the Secret Arrow group. As Xiantian experts, they indeed needed only a moment to annihilate several tens ordinary soldiers.
“Shoot arrows! Quickly shoot!”
Those panicked officers immediately roar, but the Fortification Destroying Regiment’s experts block the arrows with their shields. They quickly run up to the city’s gate then go into the city … unhindered.
“Rumbling ~~~”
The city’s gate opens —
“Why is the city’s gate opened? Quickly close it! Close it!” The officers on the city’s walls roar loudly at once.
The experts among the 3000 soldiers rush into the city like arrows leaving bows. After opening the city’s gate, the 2 Secret Arrow experts suddenly take off the scholar clothes on their bodies at the same time, revealing 2 black suits of clothing. After the city’s gate has been opened wide, the 3000 soldiers of the Fortification Destroying Regiment conduct a sweep through this entire small city with great ease.
Whizz! A whisling arrow is shot into the sky.
“Ha-ha, Yanglin City has been defeated. Immediately start the 2nd wave of attack. We must continuously take the 4 eastern cities of Lei Xue County.” Qin Feng gives an order as soon as he hears the signal of the whistling arrow. He simply does not doubt the result of the 1st battle. Yanglin City is only a small city and he used the 3000 most crack troops who make up the Fortification Destroying Regiment, if those experts had not been able to defeat it, they should commit suicide as an apology.
Following Qin Feng’s order, several whistling arrows are shot into the sky.
Immediately … the 4 eastern cities of Lei Xue County are attacked by several tens thousand troops when they are barely prepared. In just a half night, the 4 cities are defeated. At the same time, Jiang Tao and Fu Bing each lead 100,000 troops through these 4 cities and start to wipe out any resistance in Lei Xue County. The 300,000 Black Water troops, who have been bandits before, attack the southern cities of Lei Xue County directly under Marshal Fan Yu’s command. They are divided into quite a few groups whose troops range from under 20,000 to 100,000
in number.
……
Pu!
A Qin army soldier raises his battle knife and directly cuts off a local soldier’s head at one stroke.
“Ha-ha, these chickenshits who haven’t even seen blood are stupid enough to fight us. I, Lian Lang, have killed a dozen of them.” A Qin army soldier laughs out loud but his hands are still mercilessly slaughtering opposing enemies.
“We surrender! We surrender!” Various Xiang clan soldiers shout. When the Qin clan started to attack, its troops said very loudly “Surrenderers are spared,” and they have indeed kept this promise ever since. Because the Xiang clan soldiers have been living in peace, none of them has
ever killed anyone.
In contrast, most of the Qin clan’s troops have been stationed on the border of the Wilderness and have fought some wild beasts so their fighting power is naturally on a different level.
……
A half month, in only a half month,
600,000 troops have swept through the entire Lei Xue County like a flood. The true power of the Qin clan army’s soldiers has been shown for the first time. Most of these soldiers, who have fought in the Wilderness, are far superior to those ordinary soldiers of the Xiang clan, who have never seen real action before. This time the Qin clan definitely does not take a soft line. It has launched an absolutely fierce attack on the whole Lei Xue County.
In a half month, Lei Xue County has been defeated completely. However, because by now the other 3 counties of the Xiang clan have totally mobilized their large armies, if the Qin clan attempts to forcefully break through their defense, it will also suffer heavy losses. After all, assaulting fortified positions is extremely difficult.
The Black Water Army is then garrisoned in some southern cities of Lei Xue County to deter the Mu clan of the 3 Southern region counties.
______
Pa!
A teacup is fiercely thrown on the ground and shatters. Bang!
In the imperial study, the specialized desk at which emperors work is flipped over completely. Everything on the desk falls on the ground. At the moment, Xiang Guang is like a furious lion. With his eyes having turned blood-red and wide open, he looks as if he wants to bite people.
“A county, an entire county has been seized just like that.
This is a complete mess. My plan has been utterly messed up.”
Breathing heavily, Xiang Guang stares at the several people in front of him with blood-red eyes.
“My intelligence chief, I’ve valued you so much, but how have you treated me? 600,000 troops, do you hear that? The Qin clan used 600,000 troops to attack my Lei Xue County. Where did they come from? Come on! Tell me, where did those 600,000 troops come from?”
Xiang Guang gasps for breath nonstop.
A county is a very large territory with over 100 cities. Moreover, Lei Xue is one of the 4 counties that the Xiang clan has been managing painstakingly, but in only a half month it has been defeated completely.
“The original plan was so nice. You even said you had investigated and totally ascertained that the Black Water bandits could hold down Jiang Tao’s and Fu Bing’s 200,000 troops. With only 100,000 troops under Qin Feng’s command, their defeating my Lei Xue County would’ve been pure fantasy. But what’s the current situation?” Xiang Guang stares at the hook-nosed man.
The hook-nosed man kneels down in terror, saying: “I don’t know either, Your Majesty. Those Black Water bandits unexpectedly didn’t keep their promise and totally gave in to the Qin clan. That 300,000 strong Black Water Army is made up of the former Black Water bandits.” The hook-nosed man is extremely terrified.
“Ha-ha … surrendered? Gave in?” Xiang Guang raises his head and laughs out loud.
“Those Black Water bandits have been around for several hundred years. For the last several hundred years, the Qin clan has attempted to exterminate them several tens times. Sometimes it even lost several tens thousand troops. Could all
these things have been faked? Argh, could everything have been bogus? How could they possibly have submitted to the Qin clan? How could this have happened?”
Xiang Guang bellows.
The leader of the Dominant Dragon Corps, Yi Yan, says: “Your Majesty, now it looks like the Qin clan was already disloyal to you early on and it has been scheming for several hundred years. Those Black Water bandits are also a chess piece that was put down by the Qin clan several hundred years ago. They have always been used to deceive us. Only this can explain why, after fighting each other many times for the last several hundred years, now the Black Water bandits instantly give in to the Qin clan without saying a word.”
Xiang Guang does not want to believe this, but judging by the current situation, it seems Yi Yan is right.
Xiang Guang’s whole body shakes once: “Several hundred years, my goodness, I never thought they had been preparing for several hundred years. How many other hidden chess pieces does it still have? This is a preparation of several
hundred years, no less. When it erupted, it was so terrifying!” At the moment Xiang Guang is totally scared stiff by his own thoughts.
The people present are the ones Xiang Guang trusts the most but none of them dares to say anything.
Xiang Guang lowers his head. No one knows what he is thinking. Yi Yan and the others, however, do not dare to interrupt him.
“Ha-ha-ha …” Xiang Guang starts to laugh softly then raises his head and stares at the other people: “Alright, isn’t it only a county? The Qin clan only has an extra 300,000 Black Water troops, doesn’t it? Alright, I’ll definitely let Qin De know who the Chu kingdom belongs to!” Xiang Guang is wrong.
After the Black Water bandits turned into Qin clan soldiers, is it true that the Qin clan has only 300,000 more troops? No, it is not. Instead, the Qin clan can use 500,000 more troops because now the 200,000 troops that have been used as a deterrent against the Black Water bandits can take part in the war as well.
Originally the Qin clan had 600,000 troops and secretly recruited 200,000 more troops. Now, with the addition of the 300,000 Black Water troops, it has 1,100,000 troops in total. Moreover, the Qin clan’s army is much better at fighting than the other 3 big clans’.
“Great Ancestor sends for you, Your Majesty.”
A plesant quiet voice rises in Xiang Guang’s ears. Xiang Guang’s body immediately gets a shock. He angrily rebukes the others at once: “All of you go away and do your own work properly for me. If you make one more mistake, don’t blame me for having no mercy.” “Yes!”
The several people present leave while bowing in an instant.
After they have left, Xiang Guang fixes his clothes a bit then leaves the imperial study directly for a visit to that Great Ancestor.
……
In the Imperial Palace, there are some places where outsiders are not allowed to approach. Eternal House is one of those forbidden areas. By now Xiang Guang has entered Eternal House. He and Mister Lan are standing outside the bedroom of the house. Even though the door of the bedroom is only covered with a beaded curtain, they both do not dare to go through it.
Xiang Guang stands outside the beaded curtain, bows and says: “Guang’er pays his respects to Great Ancestor.” “Guang’er, tell me about the situation of the war.” An amiable voice comes out from inside the room. Through the beaded curtain, a man who is sitting with legs crossed on a bed can be vaguely seen. The bed is radiating indistinct rays of light.
Xiang Guang arranges his thoughts a bit then says: “Great Ancestor, those Black Water bandits have changed their name to Black Water Army and become a Qin clan army. Using 600,000 troops at once, the Qin clan has taken our Xiang clan’s Lei Xue County after a half month. Now the Qin clan has 1,100,000 troops. My guess is that it couldn’t have wanted to rebel recently. It must have been preparing for several hundred years.”
“Several hundred years? You’re smart to have guessed this.” There is a hint of praise in the voice inside.
With his face not reddening in the slightest, Xiang Guang continues: “Even so, I’m confident of destroying the Qin clan. To my knowledge, it has quietly sent 300,000 troops to the 2 Northern region counties. When the Qin clan starts to attack us, I’m going to let the Shangguan clan switch sides. It’s going to cooperate with the Xiang clan by attacking the Qin clan from within.”
“Oh?”
Xiang Guang is struck by a thought. Thinking about one possibility, he says hurriedly: “Great Ancestor, can Shangguan Hong be trusted? The Qin clan has been preparing for several hundred years so people like Shangguan Hong may have actually submitted to it, which will make that business a disaster.” He has suddenly come up with this idea.
“Don’t worry. Shangguan Hong won’t submit to the Qin clan even if he has to die.” The voice inside says with seemingly complete confidence.
Hearing this, Xiang Guang immediately feels much more relaxed. He has a blind admiration for Great Ancestor.
Suddenly Great Ancestor’s voice inside becomes very serious: “Guang’er, has your secret service investigated the matters related to Qin Yu, the dead 3rd Prince of the Qin clan, especially how he practiced?”
“Qin Yu? That useless 3rd Prince?” Xiang Guang is startled.
In fact Xiang Guang still knows nothing about the great battle connected with Qin De’s undergoing the tribulation. After all, except for Wu De, all of the people he sent died, and Wu De has not told him what actually happened.
“Useless? The Four Directions Death Gods and Ge Min were 5 peak Xiantian experts! A 19 year old brat was able to kill 5 peak Xiantian experts. There was also Shangxian Wu Xing. Just before his death, that brat killed Shangxian Wu Xing too. How could he possibly have been useless?” Great Ancestor is slightly angry.
Xiang Guang is startled.
He has paid relatively close attention to the big son and 2nd son of the Qin clan but has never cared about the 3rd son. However, now even the mysterious Great Ancestor unexpectedly shows interest in this Qin Yu.
“You quickly investigate what technique actually gave a 19 year old kid such a great power. I absolutely don’t believe natural talent can help a person reach that level. He must’ve had a top-class technique. If the Qin clan uses this technique to produce a bunch of top-class experts, it will be a disaster!” Great Ancestor’s voice is serious. Obviously he has become angry.
Xiang Guang has never seen Great Ancestor speak so angrily. He says hurriedly at once: “Yes, I’ll investigate this.” After saying, Xiang Guang leaves Eternal House in a rush.
B4C10: A Sudden Turn Of Events
The setting sun is going down westwards. On a plains highway that runs through the 2 Northern region counties, an army is advancing nonstop like a sinuous wandering dragon. It is so long that at first sight no one can see its other end. The soldiers are going four abreast fast with long strides.
Every soldier of this army is vigorous and has a faint killing intent around him. This is a regular army of the Qin clan. Having fought wild beasts in the Wilderness for several years, it is the real deal. Despite being powerful, a single soldier of this army is not fearsome at all. The fearsome thing is, in this army the soldiers as strong as him are counted by the ten thousand.
The 2 special groups near General Zhao Yunxing are especially redoubtable. One of them consists solely of the 1000 soldiers trained by him using the Limit Training method and internal techniques and the other is made up of his personal bodyguards, whose number is only 300. These 2 formidable groups are the trump cards in Zhao Yunxing’s hands. There is a red-haired lion standing between the 2 groups, which looks as if its entire body is ablaze. Zhao Yunxing is riding this red-haired lion and overseeing the general situation from the middle of the army.
“General, we’re going to reach Lanshan City in only one hour. North Vanquishing Prince has already prepared nice camps for us. When we arrive, we can stay and rest in Lanshan City immediately.” A scholar who is riding a deep red horse says to Zhao Yunxing.
Zhao Yunxing nods with a smile: “Xue Lan, this time we’re arranged to enter the 2 Northern region counties last, it seems His Highness has his own plan.”
The scholar says with a nod: “Among the 3 armies that borrow ways from the 2 Northern region counties this time, yours is undoubtedly the most powerful offensively, but His Highness still let General Sima’s army and General Ouyang’s army go into the 2 Northern region counties first. Despite being pretty good in attack, they are known for their defense. His Highness must have had a good reason to make such an arrangement.” Zhao Yunxing nods: “There must be a reason behind His Highness’s arrangement. There are many things we can’t understand at the moment but a few months later we’ll realize His Highness’s intentions.”
“His Highness must’ve been waiting for today for a very long time. When the news that the Black Water bandits suddenly changed sides and became an army of the Qin clan spread, everybody extremely admired him.” The scholar obviously holds Qin De in great esteem as well.
Afterwards, Zhao Yunxing and his troops enter the 2 Northern region counties.
……
At this moment the 1st step of the Way Borrowing plan that Qin De and Shangguan Hong agreed upon in their secret meetings has been carried out perfectly. A 300,000 strong army group of the Qin clan has come into the 2 Northern region counties. Of course, according to this agreement, Shangguan Hong does not have to send his troops to attack together and only needs to supply the Qin clan army with some materials.
Now a new situation has arisen in the Chu kingdom.
In the south,
Having occupied several cities of Lei Xue County, the 300,000 Black Water troops are confronting the Mu clan of the 3 Southern region counties. The Mu clan has 600,000 troops altogether but many of them have to defend its own 3 counties so the number of troops who actually can attack is only 300,000 to 400,000 at most.
The Black Water Army does not go on the offensive and only defends so it is simply impossible for the 3 Southern region counties to defeat it. After all, to seize fortified cities, in general the attacking side has to outnumber the defending one by several times.
In the west, The 3 marshals, Qin Feng, Fu Bing, and Jiang Tao, all have garrisoned their armies in Lei Xue County, which borders the Xiang clan’s Shang Que County and Ba Chu County, wherein the capital of the Xiang clan is located. Their 300,000 troops are confronting the Xiang clan. At the same time, the 50,000
Fierce Tiger troops have also entered Lei Xue County.
As for the north,
In the 2 Northern region counties, at the moment 300,000 troops of the Qin clan are marching nonstop, borrowing ways to head for the west. It is clear that they are preparing to attack Zhen Yang County, one of the Xiang clan’s 4 counties, from the Northern region.
The Qin clan has deployed most of its troops in those 3 directions, leaving only 150,000 troops in the 3 Eastern region counties. 50,000 of these 150,000 troops belong to the Forbidden Guards of the Qin clan, a corps that specializes in protecting the Qin clan’s base and has extremely powerful fighting capability.
…… The Xiang clan, however, does not make any big moves. Its action has been very simple — only increasing the defense of the areas bordering Lei Xue County. In the end, the number of troops in these areas reaches 400,000. Even though the troops of the Qin clan confronting them only amount to 350,000,
these troops actually have amazing fighting ability. Moreover, 50,000 of these 350,000 troops are the Fierce Tiger Corps.
The Xiang clan has also garrisoned 200,000 troops in Zhen Yang County, which is next to the 2 Northern region counties.
As for Shang Que County, which shares a border with the Mu clan, there is nothing to worry about here so the Xiang clan defends it with only 30,000 troops. The Xiang clan also has nearly 400,000 more troops, most of whom are stationed on the border with the Han kingdom. The Han kingdom has not interfered, but preparations have to be made in case it does.
Originally the Xiang clan declared publicly that it had 800,000 troops but in fact it had 1,000,000. Now, all of its forces have been revealed. ……
On a large plain that is being thickly occupied by soldiers, many military tents naturally stand out.
In the central, ordinary-looking tent,
“General Sima, General Ouyang, my Lord wants me to ask why the 2 of you suddenly pitched camp instead of launching your attack when now there’s only a one-day journey left before you reach the Xiang clan’s Zhen Yang County?”
Zhuang Jun, the number 2 figure in the 2 Northern region counties, is loyal and devoted to Shangguan Hong. He has saved Shangguan Hong several times.
Sima Yang and Ouyang Zhi exchange a look then the latter says with a comforting smile: “Brother Zhuang Jun, please inform your Lord that this is a military secret of the Qin clan. It can’t be told to anyone. When the war has ended, your Lord will automatically know what it is.” Zhuang Jun slightly frowns — a military secret?
Using only this reason to dismiss him?
“General Sima, General Ouyang, my Lord said that this time my Shangguan clan and the Qin clan will join forces. If you’re not certain that you can breach Zhen Yang County’s defense, my Shangguan clan can help you with 200,000 troops.”
After saying, Zhuang Jun stares at Sima and Ouyang. However, these 2 generals smile as before. It seems they are not surprised by nor do they care about his words.
“It’s not hard to defeat Zhen Yang County at all. The reason why we haven’t got into action is a military secret. It’s up to the Qin clan army to decide when to attack so North Vanquishing Prince shouldn’t worry about it. However, we have to thank him for his good intention,” says Sima Yang. After evaluating the situation, Zhuang Jun has no choice but to leave.
……
10 days later, Sima’s and Ouyang’s armies, totaling 200,000 troops, unexpectedly are still staying on the plain and have not gone forward a step. For the last 10 days, they have wasted large amounts of provisions and materials.
Zhuang Jun comes again.
“General Sima, General Ouyang, it’s been 10 days. Your armies haven’t advanced a step in 10 whole days. My Lord has started to doubt your Qin clan’s sincerity. You’re staying here without attacking or retreating, what do you actually want to do? Could it be the Qin clan has forgotten that agreement?” Zhuang Jun is slightly angry.
Sima Yang immediately stands up and says smilingly: “Please sit down, Brother Zhuang Jun. There’s no need to be angry like that. The Qin clan is sincere. If we weren’t sincere, why would we have run so far?”
After sitting down, Zhuang Jun says: “Your Qin clan has defended Lei Xue County with a large number of troops but hasn’t attacked yet. Your 200,000 troops here haven’t got into action either. In the back General Zhao Yunxing’s 100,000 troops are advancing very slowly as well. My Lord has suspected that you are secretly negotiating with the Xiang clan while disregarding the 2 Northern region counties. You can leave at will, but the 2 Northern region counties are next to the Xiang clan, when the time comes we’ll have to suffer its fury.”
“Ha-ha … Negotiate? How can the Qin clan possibly negotiate with the Xiang clan? Please return and ask North Vanquishing Price to stop worrying. Within 5 days we’re going to give him an explanation!” Ouyang Zhi says with a smile.
“5 days?” Zhuang Jun slightly frowns then says with a nod: “Alright, 5 days then. My Lord and I will quietly wait for your good news.” After saying, Zhuang Jun instantly turns around and leaves. At the same time, his personal bodyguard also leaves with him. “5 days? Ouyang, 5 days is too short.” Sima Yang says while looking at Ouyang Zhi.
Ouyang Zhi thinks for a while then says: “I’m not clear about this either, but because this is His Highness’s secret military order, we only need to quietly obey it. His Highness must have other secret chess pieces. Sima, don’t forget our Lord is very formidable!”
Sima Yang also slightly nods.
Most of the generals of this generation were promoted by Qin De personally so they are extremely loyal to him.
……
Xuejing City is the base of the Shangguan clan. In a very ordinary small courtyard house in Xuejing City, at the moment Zhuang Jun is in a room of the house. This house is no remarkable place. In fact, it is where a mistress of Shangguan Hong’s lives.
“Your Highness.”
Zhuang Jun stands outside the beaded curtain and says respectfully. Through the beaded curtain, one can vaguely see that there are people sleeping on a large bed under a net made of muslin inside the room.
“Oh, is that you, Zhuang Jun? Wait for me to get dressed.” Shangguan Hong’s voice comes out from inside. “Your Highness, please sleep a bit more.” A lazy voice rises. Shangguan Hong says comfortingly with a smile: “Xiao Xue, don’t behave badly. I have an important thing to do.” After Shangguan Hong finishes saying, that woman indeed stops bothering him.
In a short while, having got dressed properly, Shangguan Hong walks out. That woman, who now is also fully-dressed, walks out with him. At the moment, this mistress of his still has a rosy face. Her entire body radiates an air of laziness. She is nestling against Shangguan Hong like a kitten. “Your Highness,” Zhuang Jun slightly signals with his eyes.
“Xiao Xue, you can go out to play first. I have an important thing to discuss with Zhuang Jun.” Shangguan Hong pats Yan Xue’s hands then casually takes out a purple jade bracelet from his pocket and puts it in her hands. After receiving the purple jade bracelet, Yan Xue gives Shangguan Hong a kiss. Only now does she leave with a smile.
The personal bodyguard outside immediately closes the door of the room. Now there are only 2 people, Zhuang Jun and Shangguan Hong, in the room.
“Your Highness, I took another trip to the military camp to meet General Ouyang and General Sima,” says Zhuang Jun.
“Oh, how did they explain why they haven’t done anything for 10 days? Don’t tell me it was a military secret or some bullshit like that again,” says Shangguan Hong with a cold laugh. According to his and the Xiang clan’s secret plan, when the Qin clan’s army attacks Zhen Yang County, the Shangguan clan is going to stab the Qin clan’s army in the back.
At that time, because the Shangguan clan is going to suddenly switch sides while the Qin clan is fighting the Xiang clan, the Qin clan’s army will be plunged into chaos and therefore be defeated at one stroke.
However, when the Qin clan’s army was only a one-day journey away from Zhen Yang County, it unexpectedly stopped. Because of this, Shangguan Hong naturally has become anxious. He is even worried that the Qin clan has known about the secret plan of the Shangguan clan and the Xiang clan.
“Your Highness, they said that they’re going to give you an answer within 5 days.” Zhuang Jun bows and says.
“5 days?” Shangguan Hong frowned deeply at once. All of a sudden, his face slightly changes color. He stands up and says: “Let’s go. We’re going back to the princely mansion first.” At this moment, seeming to have remembered something, Shangguan Hong instantly walks toward the door in large strides. Suddenly —
Pu!
Shangguan Hong is completely transfixed. His face turns very white. He looks back at Zhuang Jun in disbelief, saying: “You ……”
At the moment there is a dagger stuck in Shangguan Hong’s waist, a middle Xian-grade dagger. Zhuang Jun has reached the late phase of the Xiantian level so this stab, delivered when Shangguan Hong was completely unprepared, was enough to penetrate his armor and hit a vital point of his body.
“You’re smart.” A smile now appears on Zhuang Jun’s face. Suddenly he says: “Dominant Dragon Corps expert above, why haven’t you come out?”
A silhouette flashes by. A thin sharp man appears in the room. This man’s eyes look very strange — they are unexpectedly green. At this moment this man is boiling with killing intent, but Zhuang Jun looks at him smilingly, saying: “You’re full of hatred for me, aren’t you? Your job must be to deliver messages between the Shangguan clan and the Xiang clan, right? At the same time you also have to protect Shangguan Hong. Too bad …”
The green-eyed man takes a look at Shangguan Hong. He knows Shangguan Hong has been severely wounded and can only endure for a short while.
“You will die.” The green-eyed man says in an ice-cold voice.
Just now, when Shangguan Hong wanted to leave the room and was passing by Zhuang Jun, he struck his blow without any signs so this green-eyed man had no time to stop him. So, Shangguan Hong was seriously wounded and is going to die soon.
“Why did you assassinate me, Zhuang Jun? I’ve treated you well, right?” Shangguan Hong can feel his life force vanishing away but he still finds this hard to believe. There have been people who attempted to assassinate Shangguan Hong and sometimes he would have really died if not for Zhuang Jun’s help. Therefore, in his heart, Shangguan Hong really does not want to accept that the person who has saved his life several times has just struck him a killing blow.
“Your Highness, you’ve treated me very well. It’s regrettable that I’m one of the Three Eagles in the Qin clan’s Flying Eagle plan. I’ve been enduring for so long for this day. I’ve killed you because now after your death the Qin clan will definitely be able to take over the entire army of the 2 Northern region counties!”
Zhuang Jun says smilingly.
“Flying Eagle plan? One of the Three Eagles? Take over the 2 Northern region counties’ army?”
At this moment, all of the doubts in Shangguan Hong’s mind are cleared. Now he understands everything. He knows his few sons will basically be no match for Zhuang Jun. After all, Zhuang Jun has been his number 1 subordinate for so many years and, moreover, there is the Qin clan behind Zhuang Jun’s back.
The most important thing is … the Qin clan’s Flying Eagle plan is so terrifying. Even a late Xiantian expert like Zhuang Jun has been lying low for so long, and he has even killed some experts of the Qin clan.
“The Qin clan has been holding itself back for several hundred years. Besides the Black Water bandits and the Flying Eagle plan, what other secret trump cards does it still have? My admiration to you, admi … ration …” Shangguan Hong spews out a mouthful of blood. Afterwards large amounts of blood continuously spurt from his mouth and he dies.
Even though it has been so noisy inside the room, none of the personal guards outside has come in yet, which is strange.
B4C11: Enter The Great Ancestor
Even though Shangguan Hong is dead, there are no signs of hatred on his face. After all, to an ambitious person like him, the most important thing is his ideals rather than his life. Having lost, he gained an understanding of life — in a fight for ruling power, losing means death.
The green-eyed man is still staring at Zhuang Jun. His killing intent has enfolded Zhuang Jun. He knows Zhuang Jun is a very formidable opponent and therefore wants to deliver a fatal blow from the beginning.
Suddenly —
“Assassin! Assassin!”
Zhuang Jun shouts all of a sudden. At the same time he hits himself in the left arm with a palm strike. His entire body is immediately sent flying through the door of the room, smashing it. Seeming to understand everything clearly, the personal bodyguard outside the room shoots 2 arrows at the green-eyed man.
This personal bodyguard was selected by Zhuang Jun and is also one of the Qin clan’s men.
Even though Qin De could kill Shangguan Hong anytime, he has waited until today to have him killed. How could he possibly not know early on that Shangguan Hong and the Xiang clan had set a trap for him to jump into? And Qin De has turned their trick against them. When the Qin clan’s army went into the 2 Northern region counties, Shangguan Hong naturally had to announce to his own troops that the Shangguan clan supported the Qin clan.
Even though that was made known to every soldier, some people in the highest echelons still secretly knew that the Shangguan clan was on the Xiang clan’s side. However, in order to prepare for this plan, they have not dared to tell middle-level officers this information beforehand, nor have they been able to tell it to ordinary soldiers.
Except for several high-ranking people, it seems the entire army of the 2 Northern region counties has been thinking that the Shangguan clan is on the Qin clan’s side. In this situation, it has become possible for the important Flying Eagle plan to be started. The goal of the plan is — to seize complete control of the 2 Northern region counties at one stroke.
“Die!”
The green-eyed man continuously makes swaying movements. At the same time he waves the weapon that looks like a dagger or a short knife in his hand a couple of times, parrying the 2 arrows. His entire body then charges directly at Zhuang Jun like a meteorite. Even if he has to die, he will still want to kill Zhuang Jun.
This green-eyed man is a death warrior of the Xiang clan. He has been hiding around Shangguan Hong for a very long time. He knows Zhuang Jun is an important chess piece in the Qin clan’s plan to take over the control of the 2 Northern region counties so naturally he wants to kill him.
“There’s an assassin. Give the signal!”
There are also some guards around this secret place. They have been attracted to the house by Zhuang Jun’s first shout. As soon as they enter the house, they see the dead body of Shangguan Hong in that room and instantly give the signal. A whistling arrow is shot into the sky.
When Zhuang Jun sees this scene, a faint smile appears on the corners of his mouth. He then says mournfully and shrilly: “Gentlemen, this assassin killed His Highness. Let’s kill him together with me to avenge His Highness’s death.” At the same time, he raises a battle knife from his waist with a grab and immediately charges forwards.
The eyes of the green-eyed man flash. His whole body also charges at Zhuang Jun.
“Kill him! Avenge His Highness’s death!”
All of the guards rush at him. These guards are the experts who protected Shangguan Hong. They have been surrounding this courtyard house to prevent outsiders from going inside so now when they see that green-eyed man, who has appeared mysteriously, they naturally think that he is the assassin. It will be difficult for these guards to avoid responsibility for the death of their Lord so they all come at the assassin like crazy.
Clang!
Zhuang Jun and the green-eyed man are extremely fast in their movements. They create various glints and flashes with their weapons. In a very short time they have already exchanged several tens blows. Those guards all are good fighters too and they sneakily shoot arrows at the green-eyed man to adversely affect him. Following the signal just now, there are more and more people coming into the house.
“Humph!” The green-eyed man utters a cold humph. At the moment his back has been pierced by a flying knife. Even his body-protecting energy cover was unable to block it so the shooter of the flying knife must be an expert.
Zhuang Jun’s eyes immediately brighten.
Whizz!
A flying knife shoots out from Zhuang Jun’s hand. Because the distance between them is too short, and the green-eyed man’s attention has been slightly distracted by his injury just now, his stomach is instantly penetrated by this knife. At the same time, another flying knife comes at him from behind —
There is a middle-aged man at the back of the green-eyed man. This middle-aged man and Zhuang Jun seem to burst forth simultaneously.
With a swaying movement, their bodies flash by the green- eyed man.
When this middle-aged man and Zhuang Jun stop, the light in that green-eyed man’s eyes has already started to dim. He then falls on the floor powerlessly. At the same time, his body’s upper half and lower half unexpectedly come apart.
Rip ~~~ Zhuang Jun tears off the sleeves of the dead green-eyed man’s clothes. When he sees a dragon mark on this man’s left arm, a faint cold smile appears on the corners of his mouth. He instantly says like crazy: “Argh, this is a death warrior of the Dominant Dragon Corps, the Xiang clan’s Dominant Dragon Corps.”
As time passes, some important figures have also arrived.
Seeing the scene of the fight, they are all dumbfounded.
“This time His Highness supported the Qin clan so the Xiang clan must’ve had a grudge against him. It must’ve been so.” An old man says furiously.
Zhuang Jun suddenly runs up to the side of Shangguan Hong’s corpse and kneels down with a thud, saying: “Your Highness, Zhuang Jun has been following you for so many years but you have unexpectedly been assassinated by the enemy. Zhuang Jun swears right here and right now that I’ll definitely lead the 2 Northern region counties to avenge your death by destroying the Xiang clan!!!” After saying, Zhuang Jun continuously knocks his head on the floor 3 times.
Suddenly —
“This is bad. 1st Prince was just assassinated at Yan Xun Tower!” A man rushes in from outside. He immediately reports to Zhuang Jun. After all, in many matters of the 2 Northern region counties, Shangguan Hong used to be the giver of orders and Zhuang Jun was his executive.
After Zhuang Jun hears this news, his eyes suddenly become very red: “Argh ~~~ Xiang clan! That damned Xiang clan! The Xiang clan is retaliating madly so I’ll take his Highness’s remains back to the princely mansion. Some of you follow me. The other people quickly go protect the other princes.” Zhuang Jun shouts.
“Yes, sir!”
The personal guards at the scene immediately kneel down and say.
……
The 2 Northern region counties have become totally chaotic. Assassinations continuously happen, killing quite a few important figures of the Shangguan clan. Even Zhuang Jun has been severely injured. At the same time, despite his injuries, Zhuang Jun still leads troops to destroy the secret branch of the Dominant Dragon Corps in the 2 Northern region counties.
Killing!
The 2 Northern region counties are now in a totally crazy state. Everyone related to the Xiang clan is killed. Some very important persons are even discovered to actually be the Xiang clan’s fifth columnists. Even though these people all deny this, secret letters they have exchanged in the dark are found out and become incontestable evidence against them.
Of the 4 marshals of the 2 Northern region counties, one is assassinated and another has to give up his post to a different person due to ill-health. The other 2 marshals are still the same, but Zhuang Jun is one of them.
A good few of the Shangguan clan’s very important people such as the princes are killed. The only thing left of the Shangguan bloodline is a 3 year-old child. The Shangguan clan has totally collapsed. From now on, all the matters of the Northern region are under Zhuang Jun’s control.
Afterwards, in the name of vengeance, he orders the 400,000 troops of the 2 Northern region counties to prepare for a joint attack on the Xiang clan with the 300,000 troops of the Qin clan.
******
Xiang Guang is sitting motionlessly and powerlessly in a chair. His mind is in chaos.
“How could this happen? How could this happen? What’s actually going on? Can somebody tell me what’s going on? For the last few days, the situation has been still very good, but now it’s …” Xiang Guang only feels a pain in his head, a splitting headache.
His original plan was so perfect.
However, despite its perfection, it was merely a plan. Only after a plan has been carried out can its practical value be verified. Without execution, it is nothing but a castle in the sky.
“Dominant Dragon Corps, ha-ha … Yi Yan, tell me, is it possible that a Dominant Dragon Corps death warrior killed Shangguan Hong? Is it possible?” Xiang Guang looks at Yi Yan, who is bowing on one side, and asks nervously.
Yi Yan says resolutely: “It’s impossible. Green-eyed was the most successful and outstanding death warrior of our Dominant Dragon Corps. It’s definitely impossible that he could have killed Shangguan Hong. Also, Green-eyed has been around Shangguan Hong for so many years, if he had wanted to kill Shangguan Hong, he would have done it earlier, why would he have waited until now?” Xiang Guang looks at the several people before him. He is not even in the mood to vent his anger.
“Scram, scram for me!”
Xiang Guang says with a wan wave of his hand. At the moment his mind is totally confused. He only knows that his throne is in danger, as is his little life.
Yi Yan and the others leave the imperial study one after another. Afterwards, the personal guards outside close its entrance. Xiang Guang then sits down in a chair. No one knows what he is thinking about while sitting quietly and motionlessly in the chair. After a long, long time …
Bang!
The entrance of the imperial study automatically opens without being pushed by anyone. Gusts of wind come into the study, causing Xiang Guang to open his eyes uncontrollably. “Shut the door. Shut the door for me …” Before he can finish his sentence, he does not dare to say anymore.
He sees a swift and fierce old man coming in from outside the entrance. This old man has black long flowing hair and is wearing a wide-sleeved robe, which is fluttering in the wind like a dust coat. The old man’s eyes are sharp and ice-cold like arrows.
There are 4 people behind the old man, who are going abreast in 2 lines. Each of these 4 people has an extremely strange air about them. That Mister Lan is one of the 4 people. They also have expressionless faces. These 5 people successively come into the the imperial study. The guards of the imperial study seem to be scared stiff by them.
“Great … Great Ancestor!”
Seeing the old man before him, Xiang Guang is totally stupefied. Great Ancestor has not left Eternal House for so many years. Even if he had come out, perhaps Xiang Guang would not have known about that. At least Great Ancestor has never gone out of Eternal House to meet him before.
Xiang Guang suddenly wakes up with a start. He gets up and kneels down at once, saying: “Great Ancestor!”
“Good, our Xiang clan’s kingdom has been passed down for nearly 1000 years but in just several months half of it has been lost. What kind of emperor have you been?” Great Ancestor coldly reprimands Xiang Guang. He is basically showing no mercy.
Xiang Guang immediately breaks into a cold sweat. He knows very well that the old man only needs to give an order and the throne will no longer be his. In the Xiang clan, this Great Ancestor is like a god in the heart of every clan member!
“Great Ancestor, I can’t be blamed for that. You also know how powerful the Qin clan is. Moreover, judging by the Black Water bandits affair, obviously it’s been preparing for several hundred years. Also, this time, I’m not sure if that death warrior had gone insane, but he unexpectedly assassinated Shangguan Hong …” Xiang Guang says hurriedly. Now his mind has become totally confused. He only knows he has to avoid responsibility.
“Shut up!” Great Ancestor’s eyes flash with coldness. The entire atmosphere in the imperial study seems to chill. Xiang Guang’s heart begins to tremble at once. He does not dare to say anymore.
“You can’t be blamed? You think I don’t know what you did in the East Vanquishing Prince mansion? If the Qin clan’s princess hadn’t died in that incident, how would things have come to this pass?” says the old man angrily.
Even though Xiang Guang is frightened in his heart, his mouth still says: “But hasn’t the Qin clan been preparing for several hundred years?”
“With several hundred years of preparation, if it had wanted to rebel it would’ve acted earlier. Why would it have waited until now? Humph, the Qin clan lived a peaceful life for so many years. After several hundred years, it no longer thought about rebelling. If not for you, why would it have wanted to rebel again?” Great Ancestor coldly rebukes him.
Xiang Guang does not dare to keep saying.
“Forget about this. The Qin clan has had a disloyal heart. The incident you caused was only a trigger. But to have chosen you as the emperor, your father was really short-sighted. You think that death warrior killed Shangguan Hong? Humph, now the 2 Northern region counties are controlled by Zhuang Jun. He’s even let the Qin clan command these counties’ troops. Obviously the Qin clan planned all of these things. Zhuang Jun is also one of its men! If you can’t even see through this small plan, you being the emperor will only harm the Xiang clan’s kingdom,” says the old man with anger.
Xiang Guang is as speechless as a stone.
“From now on, every decision about the war will be made by me personally. This period of time you’ll have to reflect on your failures. Go back to your resting place and do it now.” With just an order, the old man has directly stripped Xiang Guang of his imperial power.
Xiang Guang is shocked because Great Ancestor has not personally supervised the affairs of the royal clan for so many years now. However, given the current situation, obviously he can no longer sit around.
Afterwards Xiang Guang’s heart is filled with happiness. The whole situation is currently a mess so he is in no mood to deal with it. If Great Ancestor manages everything, he himself will be delighted. He immediately says: “Then I will go back to reflect upon myself.”
After saying, Xiang Guang leaves the imperial study at once.
From now on, he is going to be just a titular emperor.
The old man turns around and looks outside the room. His look seems to be piercing through the air.
“Qin clan, I want to see what tricks you have. Don’t force me to use the last resort. If I have to use it, even though I’ll win, there’ll be no fun.” A faint cold smile appears on the corners of the old man’s mouth. With his hair flowing and his robe fluttering, his entire body is shrouded in an air of supremacy.
Mister Lan and the other 3 experts are standing on one side behind the Great Ancestor, not daring to disturb him.
******
Regardless of how chaotic the current situation in the Chu kingdom is, Qin Yu and Xiao Hei are practicing wholeheartedly in the Wilderness. To Qin Yu’s knowledge, there are still 2 years until the Qin clan goes to war so naturally he is in no hurry. Therefore, on the way back, he also spends time training hard.
At the moment, Qin Yu and Xiao Hei are going through a seemingly boundless jungle.
Qin Yu is wearing a pair of pants on the lower half of his body and a sleeveless undershirt on the upper half of his body, which makes his upper body’s muscles stand out. These clothes came from the bedroom on the 2nd floor of Lei Mountain House. When Qin Yu just came to Lei Mountain House, all of his clothes had been badly damaged. Later he found quite a few clothes in the bedroom. The Qian Long continent also has articles of clothing that look like this pair of pants and this sleeveless undershirt.
It is just that these clothes are made from very strange materials. They unexpectedly can be personalized by blood like holy weapons and their defense is very strong too. After personalizing them by blood, Qin Yu felt that they were very comfortable to wear. Not wanting to be naked or dressed in hides all the time, he has been wearing them ever since.
Qin Yu’s feet seem not to be touching the ground. He is flashing through the forest like lightning. Suddenly, Qin Yu, who is moving forward extremely fast, comes to a halt. Xiao Hei instantly stops as well.
“There’s a demonic beast aura. It’s Jindan stage.”
A man and an eagle look straight ahead. They simply have no intention of avoiding it. A purple-clad sexy woman then appears in their fields of vision. Seemingly amazed to see them, the purple-clad woman covers her small cherry mouth with her delicate hand.
B4C12: Jindan Refinement
“Xiao Hei, foxes … seem to be a cunning species of demonic beasts, right?” The corners of Qin Yu’s mouth slightly curve upward. He says to Xiao Hei via the holy sense while looking at the purple-clad woman. His holy sense has discovered what her true form is in an instant.
Xiao Hei focuses his eagle eyes, which are sharp like arrows, on this purple-clad woman, who is actually a demonic beast. He also says to Qin Yu via the holy sense: “Humph, an early Jindan stage fox, it’ll be easy to kill her.” Having been travelling through the Wilderness for so long, Qin Yu and Xiao Hei have also adapted themselves to its cruelty.
In the Wilderness, all of the demonic beasts are fierce and ruthless and only the strongest ones can survive. One should not be fooled by this woman’s outward appearance. After all, when a demonic beast transforms into a human, it can determine how it will look.
“Are you a human, sir?” Blinking her beautiful large eyes, that purple-clad woman asks in a seemingly timid manner.
Qin Yu’s face suddenly relaxes into a smiling expression: “Miss, I’m human. You can call me Mister Qin. May I ask your name?” His interest has been aroused. He wants to play with this little fox a bit to see what she is actually up to.
The purple-clad woman gives a bashful smile, saying: “I’m Yan Xue. This is the 1st time I’ve ever seen a human like you, Mister Qin. May I have the honor of inviting you to my place of residence for a rest?” As she is saying, she stares at Qin Yu with her large beautiful eyes.
“I’m very happy to be invited by you, miss. Xiao Hei, let’s go for some fun.” Qin Yu says immediately.
Xiao Hei nods his eagle head. At the same time he says to Qin Yu using his holy sense: “Big brother, this little fox may have some trick up her sleeve. Be careful a bit.” Xiao Hei is a demonic beast with hereditary memories so even though he is currently at the early phase of the Jindan stage he can already rival an ordinary middle Jindan demonic beast in power. And once he uses the various fantastic techniques in his hereditary memories, he will even be able to put up a good fight against an ordinary late Jindan demonic beast, not to mention this insignificant early Jindan fox.
“Very good, please follow me, Mister Qin.”
After saying, Yan Xue turns around and goes as if floating. Her speed is fast but her flying movements are really graceful, which makes her look like a faery. Qin Yu and Xiao Hei easily keep up with Yan Xue. After going several tens li, they get to the intended place.
During this period of time Qin Yu has always been fighting and has not been able to relax. Now he sees a very beautiful multiple-storied building which is made of peach trunks. This building is surrounded by a beautiful flowery peach forest.
“Mister Qin, this is my home. Perhaps my big sister and 2nd sister are still inside.” Yan Xue’s gentle voice rises in Qin Yu’s ears.
Qin Yu slightly raises his eyebrows. His holy sense has already discovered that there are 2 other foxes in this building, who should be Yan Xue’s big sister and 2nd sister. However, in terms of power, only one of the 2 foxes in the building has reached the middle phase of the Jindan stage.
“Big sister, 2nd sister, I’ve brought a guest back!” Yan Xue slightly raises her voice, calling to the building.
“Mister Qin, let’s come in.” She says smilingly. At the same time, 2 other very beautiful women walk out from the building. One of them is wearing black clothes and looks like a 30 year-old woman. Her entire body is enfolded in an air of maturity. The other looks like a woman in her twenties. She also has an air of seductiveness.
Members of the demonic fox clan are really extremely seductive.
“How do you do, sir? I’m Yan Zi. Here is my 2nd sister Yan Lan. This is my 3rd sister Yan Xue, who you must already know. My Peach Blossom Building is rarely visited by humans. I’m delighted that you have come here. Quickly come on in.” After saying, Yan Zi reaches out her hand and pulls Qin Yu. He does not resist, letting her pull as she wishes. Her hand is like warm jade and has a wonderful feel but Qin Yu is not affected at all.
“What trick is this demonic fox going to use?” Qin Yu smiles inwardly.
Yan Zi suddenly takes a look at Xiao Hei. Her eyes flash. She then says with a smile: “Mister Qin, this eagle is so fierce. Is it a bird that you tamed?” Yan Zi says while slightly leaning her entire body against Qin Yu’s arm.
“Tamed bird? No, he is my brother.” Qin Yu is extremely tough-minded so this demonic fox’s aura cannot sway his heart.
Because he underwent 10 years of limit training from age 8, his mind has far surpassed those of ordinary people. Moreover, when he was carrying out assassination missions under the name Liu Xing and wandering the mortal world, quite a few women attempted to seduce him too, so, handling this fox’s tricks is merely child’s play to him.
Yan Zi gives a smile: “2nd sister, 3rd sister, quickly prepare some water and cakes.”
“Yes.” Yan Xue’s and Yan Lan’s gentle, flirtatious voices rise. Then the 2 of them go into the building like a gust of wind. Qin Yu also follows Yan Zi into the living room of the building and sits down on a chair in this room.
In a short while, Yan Xue and Yan Lan bring out some cakes and tea.
“I personally made these cakes. Please have a taste of them, Mister Qin.” Yan Xue gets one and puts it next to Qin Yu’s mouth as if she is feeding him. Qin Yu, however, receives it with his hand and takes a bite directly. At the same time, a stream of stellar energy flows into his mouth and covers that piece of cake. It completely turns the piece of cake to ashes like a blazing flame.
A faint smile appears on the corners of his mouth. “Narcotic scent?” Qin Yu stares at the 3 Yan sisters and says smilingly.
The 3 sisters’ faces immediately change color.
Concurrently with that, a pink scented air is emitted from their bodies and spreads through the entire living room. Qin Yu makes a wave of a hand. A gust of wind blows, but this scented air still remains in the living room. It is obviously not affected by the wind.
“Mister Qin, your jindan can shorten our time of practice by more than 100 years.” Yan Zi gives a flirtatious smile. At the same time, a while beam of light shoots out from her body and turns into a huge white net. This net comes down directly at Qin Yu and Xiao Hei from the air.
“Sisters, get ready for a big meal.” Yan Zi and her 2 sisters stare at Qin Yu with blazing eyes.
“Xiao Hei, let me fight this time!” Qin Yu’s voice rises in Xiao Hei’s mind. This narcotic scent is easy to deal with as long as it does not enter the body. However, once it enters the body, it will have disastrous effects. Earlier, Qin Yu was prepared so he certainly could not fall prey to it.
“Alright, get it done quickly.” Xiao Hei says unwillingly.
Whizz!
A dark golden beam of light pierces through the space in the living room like a thunderbolt and penetrates that white net directly. With a bang, the white net is cut in half. Yan Zi’s face immediately turns very white. At the same time, she says through her holy sense: “It’s a middle-grade holy weapon. Sisters, join forces.”
Yan Zi is wrong. A weapon that can break a low-grade holy weapon does not necessarily have to be a middle-grade holy weapon. It can also be a high-grade holy weapon, or even a top- grade holy weapon. However, she basically does not think that a Xiuzhenist around the Jindan stage can have a high-grade holy weapon. Hearing Yan Zi’s words, Yan Xue and Yan Lan immediately charges at Qin Yu. But he simply does not attack these 2 people.
Instead —
The dark golden flying sword is shot at Yan Zi like an embroidery needle. Yan Zi immediately pulls out her belt. Her loose gown falls down. The astonishing thing is that there are no other clothes under the gown. Her seductive body thus appears naked before Qin Yu’s eyes.
The belt that she pulled out then unexpectedly turns into a flexible sword and is shot directly at Qin Yu.
“I never thought you would use this vulgar move.”
With a cold smile, Qin Yu reaches out a hand, grabbing the flexible sword directly. He exerts the power of his fingers and the sword is unexpectedly broken. After becoming a high- grade holy weapon, the power of the Flaming Gloves is really extraordinary. At this moment, Yan Xue and Yan Lan, one on the left and one on the right, are attacking him from behind.
“Eagle Claw Art!”
Qin Yu’s hands form 2 eagle claws and grab Yan Xue’s and Yan Lan’s wrists directly, disregarding the weapons in their hands. The power of his fingers instantly destroys their wrists. He then changes the eagle claws into spear hands and stabs Yan Xue and Yan Lan squarely in the midpoints between their eyebrows.
Yan Xue and Yan Lan fall on the floor at once then turn into 2 foxes.
“3rd sister, 2nd sister!” Yan Zi shrieks and charges at Qin Yu like crazy. However, while charging at him, she suddenly changes direction, which surprises him. Now she is unexpectedly running away extremely fast in another direction.
“Running away? You want to race against me?” Seeming to cause no wind sounds, Qin Yu comes up to the side of Yan Zi in just about a moment. While fleeing, Yan Zi also looks back and secretly lets out a sigh of relief: “That brat hasn’t caught up yet.” But when she turns her head forward,
she sees Qin Yu standing smilingly in front of her.
“Ah!”
Yan Zi immediately utters the loudest yell she is capable of. Hearing it, Qin Yu cannot help frowning. Yan Zi’s eyes instantly flash. She forms an eagle claw with a hand and attacks Qin Yu with it. Qin Yu, however, shatters her sharp claw directly with a punch then smashes it on her stomach. Her entire body gets a violent shock. She then falls powerlessly on the floor and changes into a fox as well.
“3 foxes.” Qin Yu gives a faint unconcerned smile.
“Xiao Hei, regardless of their species, most demonic beasts in the Wilderness want to kill their opponents to eat the jindans. These 3 foxes wanted to kill us to take our jindans too.” He makes a wave of a hand. A flame shoots out and burns that fox’s corpse up in an instant. A jindan then appears before him.
With a wave of a hand, he sucks it in his spatial ring. He then flies back into Peach Blossom Building.
Xiao Hei looks at Qin Yu and says to him via his holy sense: “Big brother, we’re less than halfway through this return journey but we’ve already killed a good few Jindan demonic beasts. We didn’t want to kill them for no reason at all, but these demonic beasts were just too ferocious. All of them wanted to eat our jindans, but they were too weak.”
“It’s not that they were too weak but that they were too short-sighted. Xiao Hei, the other 2 jindans are yours. Let’s find a secluded place to refine them.” Qin Yu says with a smile.
Xiao Hei opens his mouth. 2 bolts of lightning shoot out and hit the 2 foxes’ bodies directly. 2 jindans fly up at once, which are swallowed into Xiao Hei’s stomach at a gulp. He then says: “Big brother, these 2 jindans will probably take me 3 days to refine. Let’s go find a place first.” Qin Yu and Xiao Hei leave this Peach Blossom Building extremely fast.
In the Wilderness, demonic beasts usually kill each other to eat the opponents’ jindans or yuanyings to improve their own power. Of course, to be able to eat other demonic beasts’ jindans, they must be strong enough. That Yan Xue felt that both Qin Yu and Xiao Hei were around the early phase of the Jindan stage so she decided to prey on them.
Unluckily for her, the true power of either of them cannot be judged by appearance. On this journey, quite a few demonic beasts have lost their jindans because they looked down on Qin Yu and Xiao Hei.
The night is chilling. At night, the winds in the Wilderness become stronger. In a nameless mountain range of the Wilderness, Qin Yu and Xiao Hei are staying in a cave. A simple illusive formation has been set up at the mouth of the cave.
Qin Yu is sitting with legs crossed. The jindan he took is floating before him. He suddenly opens his eyes.
He then points with a hand. A light blue flame comes out from his fingertip and covers the jindan. With ‘chi-chi’ sounds, the jindan is continuously burnt. Afterwards, it turns into various streams of a golden liquid. This golden liquid also moves around Qin Yu’s body nonstop.
“Humph!”
The air in Qin Yu’s vicinity vibrates. Suddenly many indistinct light silvery streams of stellar energy come out from his body. They then form a huge nebular maelstrom. Qin Yu is sitting at the center of the maelstrom. Those streams of the golden liquid are enveloped in the nebular maelstrom.
The light silvery stellar energy forms a cycle, pulling the golden energy into his dantian. In the dantian, another nebula is rotating nonstop. However, at the moment the Stellar Flame in the center of the nebula is blazing.
Chi-chi ~~~ When the golden energy goes into the dantian, it is first refined again by the Stellar Flame.
Burning!
Ordinary demonic beasts will eat a jindan directly then absorb its energy to use. Qin Yu, however, does not do this. He always refines a jindan again and again to get rid of its foreign, strange energy completely, leaving only its life essence, which is the most important thing to a practitioner.
Only this most essential energy is absorbed by Qin Yu. Even though 90% of the jindan’s energy is lost when refined by the Stellar Flame, Qin Yu will never forget that one point emphasized by Senior Lei Wei in the Stellar Transformations book — purity!
The energy must be pure and the foundation must be solid!
The nebula inside Qin Yu’s dantian is rotating nonstop like a maelstrom. As the nebula spins, it causes various silvery grains in it to spin as well. Each of these silvery grains contains a powerful amount of energy. That purest energy which is left after refinement is absorbed by these silvery grains.
90% of a jindan’s energy is removed during the refining process. Only the purest energy left is the life essence of the Xiuzhenist.
Qin Yu refines only a small amount of the golden liquid that is floating outside his body at a time. He is in no hurry and must not hurry. After nearly 3 whole days, Qin Yu has finally refined and absorbed all of the jindan’s energy.
He opens his eyes and sees that on one side Xiao Hei has already finished practicing.
“Big brother, you’ve completed the refinement? I finished refining just now too.” Xiao Hei says to him using holy sense communication.
Qin Yu nods with a smile. “Big brother, everytime we absorb a jindan we have to spend some time. Those demonic beasts eat a jindan very fast but they swallow it whole without thinking. They seem to believe the more energy the better.” Xiao Hei’s voice has a hint of disdain.
Ordinary demonic beasts only have access to the most basic practice techniques so they know very little. How can they compare to Xiao Hei? After all, there are many mysterious practice techniques in Xiao Hei’s memories.
“Xiao Hei, let’s get going.”
With a swaying movement of his body, Qin Yu rushes out of the cave instantly. That illusive formation has been broken apart by him with a wave of a hand. Xiao Hei also rushes out with a beat of his wings. One man and one eagle then continue their practicing journey through the Wilderness.
NOTE: Yan Xue in this chapter and last chapter’s Yan Xue are 2 different characters.
B4C13: Bloody Fight
When Qin Yu and Xiao Hei are on their journey, in the headquarters in the town of Xiyang, at the moment the moon is bright and the stars are few. Qin De is standing in the courtyard and looking at the moon in the sky with his hands behind his back.
“The general situation has been decided!”
Qin De’s eyes glitter. Obviously he is very excited in his heart. This time the move that was aimed at seizing complete control of the 2 Norther region counties has been carried out perfectly. From beginning to end, everything was in Qin De’s plan. In the past he met and negotiated with Shangguan Hong and said he wanted to form an alliance with him only for this day.
It did not matter if Shangguan Hong really allied himself with Qin De or not, when the plan was put into action, Shangguan Hong would have to claim openly that he was on his side. Except for some top-ranking people, all of the generals and soldiers would know nothing about the truth. Only in this situation could the plan to take control of the 2 Northern region counties completely be carried out.
In the current situation, the Qin clan will only need to use some slight maneuvers and the entire Northern region will belong to it and not to the Shangguan clan anymore.
“Jing Yi, Yu’er, you’ll see from Heaven that I’ll definitely avenge your deaths. The Xiang clan … is doomed to be trampled to pieces by me. Xiang Guang and Wu De will surely die too.” Qin De’s eyes suddenly become fierce. He also clenches his fists behind his back, causing all the fingers to turn white.
Hatred!
There is a deep-seated hatred in Qin De’s heart. Both the deaths of his wife, the person he loves the most, and of his youngest son have been tormenting his heart every night like ants. Until he destroys the Xiang clan and kill Xiang Guang and Wu De, he will not be able to have a peaceful night.
The darkness before dawn has gone away. Qin De has already seen the first light of victory. “One month, within one month I’m going to unify the whole Chu kingdom, destroy the Xiang clan and kill Xiang Guang and Wu De.” Qin De thinks to himself. Even though at the moment his army and the Xiang clan’s are confronting each other, he is still totally confident.
The Xiang clan lost a county so it now has control over 6 counties, including the Mu clan’s 3 counties. With the addition of the Shangguan clan’s 2 counties, the Qin clan now also has 6 counties. The 2 sides are basically equal to each other in power. Even though the Qin clan has a slightly stronger army, it is the attacking side while the Xiang clan is the defending side. And in battles for fortified cities, the attacking side will generally lose more troops than the defending one.
In short, the 2 sides are fairly equally match and have started to confront each other. However, Qin De is still certain that he is going to unify the entire Chu kingdom within a month.
******
Qin Yu and Xiao Hei are going through the Wilderness extremely fast.
“Another wants to bite the dust.”
Qin Yu and Xiao Hei stop again.
“An early Jindan leopard, oh, it’s a Black Wind leopard. In the leopard clan, Black Wind leopards are a very special kind. It seems we’ll have a bit of a trouble.” Qin Yu says to Xiao Hei using his holy sense. He has already noticed that there is a man several thousand meters away from them.
The more formidable a demonic beast is, the harder for it to transform into a human. Take, for example, the kings of eagles
– Golden Flame eagles. The one that Qin Yu and Xiao Hei encountered previously has already reached the Yuanying stage but it has not been able to transform into a human yet. When running into that Golden Flame eagle, Qin Yu and Xiao Hei basically had no intention of fighting it and fled immediately.
And the 3 foxes he killed several days ago were just fairly common demonic foxes in the fox family. As for Black Wind leopards, because they can turn into humans after going through the 4-in-9 Heavenly Tribulation, they do not seem to be formidable at all, but in fact they are very special.
Black Wind leopards are very hard to handle because they are extremely fast!
The leopard clan is always famous for its speed. In terms of speed, among running animals, there are no other demonic beasts that can rival leopards. And Black Wind leopards are even the best speed users among leopards so it can be imagined how fast they are. Because they are too fast, it is difficult to kill them.
“Xiao Hei, he’s come.” Qin Yu’s holy sense totally locks onto the opponent.
His soul is always nurtured by the Meteoric Tear so his holy sense never stops improving as well. Now it is no longer matched by his power. This is the reason why Qin Yu was able to detect the Black Wind leopard earlier than Xiao Hei. “Big brother, it seems this Black Wind leopard wants to attack us.” Xiao Hei says haughtily.
A black silhouette is charging towards them from the distance like a thunderbolt. Its target is Qin Yu. Qin Yu’s eyes suddenly glitter. At the same time, his whole body turns into several illusions. He forms 2 eagle claws with his hands and continuously exchanges several tens blows with this assailant like lightning.
“Know your place!”
A faint cold smile appears on the corners of Qin Yu’s mouth. This Black Wind leopard unexpectedly only uses killing blows so Qin Yu has also become ruthless. He suddenly turns an eagle claw into a finger sword. His indistinct light silvery stellar energy is shaped into a sword around it. With a finger sword strike, he pierces through a palm of the Black Wind leopard.
The Black Wind leopard flies backward several hundred meters and stands in midair. However a hole has appeared in his right palm and blood is flowing out from it.
In his human form, this Jindan stage Black Wind leopard has an air of vigor around his entire body. All of his muscles are streamlined and look very similar to Qin Yu’s. To be accurate, this Black Wind leopard’s body is almost the same as Qin Yu’s, only that Qin Yu has an even more vigorous air about him.
“Did the 2 of you kill the 3 Yan sisters? Answer me!” That Black Wind leopard seems not to understand how big the gap between them. He even shouts at them.
Qin Yu folds his arms before his chest and slightly raises his chin, saying smilingly: “Oh? So what if I killed them? And what if I didn’t? Could it be you want to seek revenge for their deaths? What’s the relationship between you and them? Were they your mistresses?” says Qin Yu jokingly.
This Black Wind leopard is fast but he is merely at the early phase of the Jindan stage and therefore compared to Qin Yu, who is also good at using speed, he is a little slower. If he were a middle Jindan Black Wind leopard, Qin Yu would have had to expend a good amount of energy. And if he were a late Jindan Black Wind leopard, Qin Yu would probably not have been able to catch up with him and win so easily.
Unluckily for this leopard, he is only at the early phase of the Jindan stage.
“Humph, where did you 2 come from? Could it be you don’t know that within 3000 li of this place is the territory of the Shen brothers? I’m none other than Shen Yi. The Yan sisters were our partners but you even dared to kill them!” Shen Yi’s eyes continuously glitter with hatred.
He is dressed in hide. His body’s muscles are like metal, looking very powerful. It is too bad Qin Yu does not care about his anger at all.
“Oh, looks like you guys have been trying to find me for a long time, right?” Qin Yu says with an indifferent smile.
Shen Yi’s face darkens. Indeed, right after discovering the deaths of the 3 Yan sisters, they started to search for the killer. They were totally certain that no demonic beasts in their territory dared to harm the Yan sisters, and even if some wanted to, none would have been powerful enough to do so.
Therefore, they thought only a foreign demonic beast could have done this. The Shen brothers then started to search and Shen Yi has finally found Qin Yu and Xiao Hei.
“Are you a match for me?” Qin Yu says smilingly.
“No!” Shen Yi says with no shame. He stares at Qin Yu with flashing fierce eyes: “You two, one human and one eagle, are pretty strong, too bad … I’m not alone! Roar ~~~” Shen Yi suddenly raises his head and gives a roar. The sound he makes resounds through the area within several hundred li of him.
Qin Yu’s face slightly changes color.
“Big brother, leave this one to me. Let’s kill him first then go a bit easy on his brother!” When Xiao Hei’s voice rises in Qin Yu’s mind, he is already charging at Shen Yi like a beam of light. Seeing a huge black eagle flying at him extremely fast with wings spread, Shen Yi flies backward at once. Xiao Hei takes a swipe with his ice-cold sharp claws, unexpectedly cutting the air. Shen Yi’s face changes color with surprise. Using all of his limbs, he avoids the attack in an instant.
“Roar roar roar ~~”
This time Shen Yi’s roars are more urgent. At the same time, his body unexpectedly starts to change. In almost a moment, he has already turned into a Black Wind leopard from a vigorous man. Black Wind leopards are about the same size as ordinary leopards.
However, this Black Wind leopard has a blue striped pattern on his back. The most surprising thing is now there are unexpectedly spines on his 4 sharp claws.
“Xiao Hei, why are you taking so long to handle an early Jindan Black Wind leopard? What did you say last time? It seems you said you were even stronger than a Golden Flame eagle of the same level. Golden Flame eagles are much more formidable than Black Wind leopards, you …” Qin Yu says jokingly on one side.
Xiao Hei gives Qin Yu an annoyed look. He then stares at the Black Wind leopard, saying using the holy sense: “Little leopard, I’m sorry but you’re going to die soon. Quickly enjoy the last moments of your life.”
Hearing that, the Black Wind leopard immediately becomes furious. He takes a leap. In an instant he has already covered several tens meters.
Pa!
Xiao Hei’s eyes flash. 2 purple thunderbolts unexpectedly shoot out from his eyes and hit the body of the Black Wind leopard Shen Yi squarely before he can react. A wail is heard. At the same time, lightning flickers on the body of the Black Wind leopard. He falls on the ground convulsively. Xiao Hei then shakes his wings. In the blink of an eye he shakes them extremely fast several times. He quickly disappears as if he has used teleportation.
Clack!
Xiao Hei’s eagle claws crush the Black Wind leopard’s head directly. The leopard immediately dies. Xiao Hei swallows this Black Wind leopard’s jindan in an instant.
“Big brother, this Black Wind leopard has a brother. His jindan will be yours, alright?” Xiao Hei immediately uses holy sense communication.
Qin Yu gives a smile. He understands Xiao Hei’s good intention. This Shen Yi is only an early Jindan demonic beast. His brother therefore will be at the early phase of the Jindan stage at worst. He may even be a middle Jindan demonic beast. Thinking about how Xiao Hei killed the Black Wind leopard just now, Qin Yu says doubtfully: “Xiao Hei, when did you start to be able to shoot lightning from your eyes too?”
To Qin Yu’s knowledge, Xiao Hei can emit lightning from his body and from his mouth. But this is his eyes. Can such fragile parts as the eyes send out lightning as well? “Big brother, this is my secret. The eyes are an advantage that the eagle family has. My eyes can send out lightning even faster than my mouth, and there’s not much difference in power.” Xiao Hei gently flaps his wings and explains the reason to Qin Yu.
Qin Yu cannot help praising him secretly. Xiao Hei is really too mysterious.
At least Qin Yu is not confident that he will beat Xiao Hei if they fight. Xiao Hei has countless mysterious attacking techniques and, more importantly, in the past he asked Qin Yu for a chunk of high-class crystal to forge a weapon, but Qin Yu has never seen him use it.
“Xiao Hei … you said his brother’s jindan would be mine? Do you regret this?” Qin Yu suddenly says laughingly.
Xiao Hei shakes his head, saying: “Why would I regret? I …” But before he can finish his sentence, he is speechless. “There are 2 Black Wind demonic leopards. Moreover, they are …” At the moment Xiao Hei has become serious. He is no longer as relaxed as he was just now.
Qin Yu nods and looks westwards, saying: “Right, these 2 Black Wind leopards both are late Jindan demonic beasts. In terms of speed, they can even be a bit faster than me.”
“Who would’ve thought an early Jindan brat like him would have 2 brothers? And they are even 2 late Jindan Black Wind leopards. Big brother, things seem to be a bit troublesome. It’s late Jindan stage, and there are 2 of them. Even worse, they are Black Wind leopards, the fastest kind of leopard. These really are the most formidable enemies we’ve met for a long time,” says Xiao Hei.
In the past they encountered a Golden Flame eagle which was even more formidable, but that eagle had reached the Yuanying stage so Qin Yu and Xiao Hei did not have the slightest intention of fighting it.
However, he and Xiao Hei consider these 2 Black Wind leopards their opponents.
“3rd brother!” 2 men who are almost identical to Shen Yi and dressed in hide appear beside his corpse. These 2 men’s bodies are near perfect. Judging by their bodies alone, one can see that they are best at using speed. Moreover, given how powerful their muscles look, they should be very strong too.
“I’m Shen Bao!” The blue-browed man says while staring at Qin Yu and Xiao Hei.
“I’m Shen Yu!” The other man also says.
“Having killed my 3rd brother, you 2 should prepare to die.” The blue-browed man on the left says coldly.
These 2 Jindan experts of the Black Wind leopard clan are radiating 2 fearsome auras. As 2 late Jindan stage experts, they no doubt have been infuriated like crazy by the death of their youngest brother. Within 3000 li of this place, no one has ever dared to challenge them and their youngest brother. Even though the 3rd brother Shen Yi was only at the early phase of the Jindan stage, thanks to his 2 late Jindan brothers’ protection, no one dared to threaten him. This Shen Bao and Shen Yu considered their 3rd brother a treasure and did not let anyone bully him. However … now their 3rd brother is already dead!
Shen Bao and Shen Yu continuously build up their energy.
They both are preparing to unleash their power in an instant.
“Xiao Hei, we haven’t fought as much as we like even once on this journey.” Qin Yu says using his holy sense.
Xiao Hei’s eyes also glitter with an intense fighting spirit: “Big brother, that Golden Flame eagle was way beyond our league while the strongest among the other demonic beasts was only a middle Jindan one, and that was even an ordinary demonic beast. They were either too weak or too strong so we couldn’t unleash our true fighting ability. Now that we’ve met these 2 late Jindan Black Wind leopards, we can finally have a good fight against them.” Qin Yu can feel his blood starting to boil again inside him. It is a feeling very similar to the feeling of surpassing a physical limit during a limit training session when he was little.
“The one on the left is mine. The right one is yours.” Qin Yu says via his holy sense.
Shen Bao’s eyes look as if they are shooting out lighning. All of a sudden, he shouts violently: “Kill!” On one side of him, Shen Yu’s aura also suddenly becomes fierce. Using their fastest speeds, the 2 Black Wind brother leopards then charge at Qin Yu and Xiao Hei like 2 black thunderbolts.
“Kill!”
Qin Yu’s and Xiao Hei’s auras also suddenly rise to their utmost limits. Following an eagle cry, the 2 of them unleash their most powerful fighting ability as well and charge at their respective opponents like 2 bolts of lightning!
B4C14: The Stellar Field
Shen Bao and Qin Yu turn into 2 black blurs and exchange blows extremely fast.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! ……
Every time they clash, a sky-shaking noise is created. The 2 of them fight both on the ground and in the sky. Where their blurs flash through, various huge trees of the forest fall down with loud sounds.
“Hah!”
Qin Yu throws a straight punch, which pierces the air, aiming directly for Shen Bao’s chest. Shen Bao’s eyes flash. His entire body makes a swaying movement very easily and several afterimages are unexpectedly created in an instant. Qin Yu’s punch then smashes into the huge tree behind Shen Bao. The tree slightly shakes for a short time but it does not seem to be seriously damaged.
Suddenly —
Bang!
Like a bomb, that huge tree, which is several tens meters high, unexpectedly shatters into countless fragments of wood in an instant, as if it was twisted so hard it broke into pieces completely. Each wood fragment is only about as large as a palm at most. Just like that, such a huge tree is reduced to countless wood fragments, which scatter in all directions.
Shen Bao’s body makes 2 swaying movements at once, getting away 100 meters. He then stands in the sky and stares at Qin Yu.
Qin Yu also stares motionlessly at Shen Bao. “This fella hasn’t turned into a Black Wind leopard but he’s already as fast as me. Once he changes into his true form, his speed will increase again and I really won’t be able to keep up with him.” Qin Yu’s aura totally locks onto Shen Bao in front of him. His mind however is trying to think of a method to deal with this Black Wind leopard.
In terms of speed, Qin Yu is not better than Shen Bao. He is even at a disadvantage.
His eyes suddenly brighten. A faint smile appears on the corners of his mouth: “Right, Black Wind leopards are good at using speed. Their strength is not bad but it’s not as good as their speed either. Plus, with the fusion of my strength and stellar energy, my power will surpass his!”
Shen Bao takes a look at the fragments of the exploded tree and says with a cold laugh: “You’re pretty strong indeed. No wonder you were able to kill my 3rd brother. However … with this level of power you’re no match for me.” Despite saying so, Shen Bao is actually frightened by the power of the punch Qin Yu executed just now. If that punch had connected with Shen Bao’s body, he would have either died or been severely wounded.
“Cut the crap. Let’s fight for real and see.” Qin Yu can guess what his opponent is thinking. Obviously this Shen Bao has noticed that Qin Yu is strong.
Because of this, he is trying to boast about his strength to hide the fact that he is weaker.
Qin Yu charges at Shen Bao again like a sharp arrow. At first sight he seems to be following a straight line but looking carefully one would see that, while flying, his body is fluttering very naturally and gently.
He is flying without making any wind sounds!
In almost an instant, Qin Yu has already come up to Shen Bao’s face. “Wind? In terms of wind control, how can you possibly compare with us Black Wind leopards?” As Shen Bao is saying, he avoids Qin Yu’s strike with a gentle swaying movement of his body. His movements … do not cause any wind sounds either!
“What?!”
Qin Yu’s face changes color. He never thought that this Shen Bao could also make use of wind forces and neutralize wind resistance completely as he himself can.
Suddenly a high-pitched sharp eagle cry resounds through the sky.
“What’s happened to Xiao Hei?” Qin Yu quickly backs away. At the same time he expands his holy sense to the utmost and sees very clearly the situation of the fight between Xiao Hei and that Shen Yu. By now Shen Bao has already stopped fighting as well is paying attention to his 2nd brother’s situation.
“Roar ~~~” Shen Yu turns into a Black Wind leopard. The stripes on his back even radiate a dull light. At the moment the hair on Shen Yu’s entire body is standing on end. He is staring at Xiao Hei while growling nonstop, but he has not attacked yet.
Hu-hu ~~~
Xiao Hei spreads his huge wings. His black feathers radiate an ice-cold light like cold iron. At the same time, various electric sparks are flickering on his entire plumage. Concurrently with that, many flames are emitted from his whole body. His aura has become so powerful that the others are startled.
The Black Wind leopard keeps growling lowly nonstop. His hair, which is standing upright, is vibrating.
“Oo ~~” Xiao Hei utters an extremely sharp sound, which hurts the others’ ears. Even Qin Yu feels his heart tremble because of it. Seeing this scene, he knows that Xiao Hei has gone totally mad. With a shake of his wings, Xiao Hei unexpectedly flies straight into the sky.
Suddenly —
Various bolts of lightning shoot out from his entire body. In a short while, it looks like he has become the thunder god. The countless bolts of lightning then strike down at the Black Wind leopard with a boom.
The Black Wind leopard is moving extremely fast but the speeds of the lightning bolts are too fast and, moreover, there are too many of them. Various lightning bolts strike upon the Black Wind leopard’s body. That leopard gives a roar then immediately shoots up into the sky with a sudden leap.
Xiao Hei opens his mouth — A huge mass of flaming lightning shoots out extremely fast. There is a bolt of lightning in the center of it. This bolt of lightning contains a shockingly powerful amount of electricity. This lightning bolt is enveloped in blazing flames. The strangest thing is that the lightning and fire seem to make a whole.
“My goodness, how powerful is this mass of energy actually? If hit by it, even I would be seriously injured.” Qin Yu is secretly shocked. At the same time, in his eyes Xiao Hei becomes even more fathomless. “Xiao Hei is really too formidable already.”
That mass of flaming lightning strikes down at the Black Wind leopard.
The Black Wind leopard’s body, which is in midair, unexpectedly turns into a blur and easily avoids the incoming mass of flaming lightning. He then takes a bite at Xiao Hei.
Bang! That avoided mass of flaming lightning suddenly turns around and hits the body of the Black Wind leopard in an instant. It seems to have been controlled remotely. An extremely deafening explosion is heard. At the same time, there is a miserable wail. Qin Yu also notices the smell of burnt
hair.
“2nd brother!”
Seeing Shen Yu seriously injured, Shen Bao immediately becomes anxious. He charges directly at Xiao Hei. While flying, he unexpectedly turns into a Black Wind leopard. Xiao Hei’s voice suddenly rises in Qin Yu’s mind.
“Big brother, quickly stop him. Most of my energy has been spent.”
“No good!”
Only now does Qin Yu know that Xiao Hei had to pay a high price for the projection of that frightening mass of energy. And he decides to throw caution to the winds too!
In the blink of an eye, his indistinct stellar energy has spread through his entire vicinity, forming a nebular cloud, which has started to spin extremely fast. He seems to have been linked up with nature completely at once. His speed suddenly increases
—
“Die!”
Qin Yu’s eyes glitter with fierceness.
“Roar ~~~” Shen Bao, having transformed into a Black Wind leopard, gives a roar and immediately attacks Xiao Hei. However, before this, Xiao Hei has already begun to charge towards Qin Yu with a shake of his wings. The Black Wind leopard turns into a blur in midard and continues to aim for him.
“Big brother, I leave him to you!” Xiao Hei’s voice rises in Qin Yu’s mind. A faint smile then appears on Qin Yu’s face.
“In the past, when Master just reached the Dujie stage, he was already able to kill a Dacheng expert in addition to some loose immortals and several tens Dujie and Kongming experts. As his disciple, if I couldn’t even kill this late Jindan demonic beast, I should kill myself!”
His stellar energy has filled his vicinity. The area covered by it is where Qin Yu’s offense is most powerful. His speed also increases within this area.
“Roar ~~”
The Black Wind leopard bares his teeth and takes a bite at Qin Yu. At the same time, he slashes his 2 claws at Qin Yu as well. Qin Yu’s hands, which are wearing the Flaming Gloves, also form 2 claws and come at the leopard’s 2 claws head-on.
“Idiot!” Qin Yu’s right hand boldly grabs a leopard claw. His stellar energy and powerful physical power are immediately unleashed. With a series of ‘clack’ noises of bones getting shattered, this claw of Shen Bao’s is destroyed by Qin Yu directly.
Shen Bao has become anxious!
“Roar ~~” He violently gives a mad roar. All of a sudden, the bone spines on his 4 sharp claws shoot out like sharp arrows. Qin Yu simply never expected these bone spines to be capable of leaving the Black Wind leopard’s body to attack.
“No good!”
His face changes color greatly. Because he is grabbing a claw of the Black Wind leopard’s with a hand, at the moment they are very close to each other. At such a close distance, even though Qin Yu has noticed the spines, he basically has no time to dodge them. Pu! Pu!
Qin Yu unleashes all of the stellar energy inside him. His entire body shoots to one side like a sharp arrow. Even though he dodges very quickly, 2 of the spines still penetrate his body. One spine pierces his left arm while the other is stuck in his breastbone.
Pu!
Qin Yu spits out a mouthful of blood. His body can match holy weapons in hardness, but these spines were the Black Wind leopard’s ultimate attack and were too powerful for it to withstand! Black Wind leopards can naturally produce bone spines on their bodies. Once the spines are disconnected from the bodies in an attack, it will take the new ones several tens to 100 years to become fully developed.
That Black Wind leopard suddenly switches to his human form. Shen Bao stares fiercely at Qin Yu, saying: “You broke one of my claws and forced me to shoot out 4 spines. If I don’t kill you and swallow your jindan, how will I be able to release my fury?” Shen Bao had no choice. Because one of his claws was broken, even if he had maintained his Black Wind leopard form, he would not have been able to keep his speed.
Qin Yu suddenly pulls out the bone spines that is stuck in his breastbone and left arm. Luckily for him, his body was strong enough so the spines did not penetrate deeply. If one of the spines had gone in several centimeters more, it would have punctured his vital internal organs.
Qin Yu pokes at some acupoints at once to stop the bleeding.
“Big brother.” Xiao Hei’s voice rises.
Qin Yu reaches out a hand to interrupt him, saying: “Don’t worry. It would be a waste of my training if I couldn’t kill this animal. It’s time to go all-out!!!” His eyes suddenly become light red and his entire body is now engulfed a madly fierce aura. He is just like a lone wolf, which goes crazier after getting injured.
Feeling clear streams from the Meteoric Tear flowing to the wounds, Qin Yu cannot help giving a faint smile.
“Are you Shen Bao?” He focuses his eyes on Shen Bao. At the moment Qin Yu left arm’s wound is recovering at a noticeably fast speed. In general, as long as his vital parts are not injured, he does not have to worry about flesh wounds because the Meteoric Tear will heal them extremely fast.
“I’ll let you taste … the power of the Stellar Field!” The light silvery stellar energy around Qin Yu’s body suddenly starts to rotate extremely fast. At the same time, the nebula in his dantian also starts to spin at its top speed. All of the silvery grains begin to shine brilliantly.
In the blink of an eye, his stellar energy rises to its maximum level and fills every place of Qin Yu’s body.
“What?!” Before Shen Bao can understand the meaning of Qin Yu’s words, Qin Yu has already started to charge him at his fastest speed. Shen Bao however looks at Qin Yu with a cold smile. Just now he saw a spine penetrate Qin Yu’s breastbone so he thinks that Qin Yu is seriously injured.
“Die!”
Qin Yu suddenly roars. In an instant, his entire body turns into 6 or 7 illusions.
Within the nebular maelstrom formed by the light silvery stellar energy, 6 or 7 Qin Yu’s appear around Shen Bao. They launch various types of attack at Shen Bao such as punch, knife hand strike, claw strike and finger sword strike.
“Bang!” As if piercing through the fabric of time, a spear hand strike hits Shen Bao’s chest squarely. With a loud explosion, a hole immediately appears on his chest.
“Pu!” A finger sword strike penetrates Shen Bao’s right palm.
“Clack!” A claw attack snaps Shen Bao’s backbone.
……
The silhouettes unify.
Qin Yu, looking as if he has never moved, now stares at Shen Bao. With his eyes wide open, Shen Bao also stares at Qin Yu: “This … what kind of speed … is this?” Just now, the speed that he has been proud of was simply unable to help him put up any resistance against Qin Yu’s attack.
“Dying from my Stellar Field, you can take pride in this.”
Qin Yu then basically stops looking at Shen Bao. Immediately afterwards, with a series of clack noises, all of Shen Bao’s bones shatter completely. He falls on the ground powerlessly at once and begins to convulse nonstop. Blood starts to flow out from his ears, eyes, nose and mouth. He even mumbles in a low voice: “Stel … lar … Field …” Then there are no more sounds. As for Shen Yu, Xiao Hei has already killed him.
Qin Yu’s face suddenly turns very red. He feels as if his internal organs are rebelling. A mouthful of blood rushes up his throat from inside his body. Qin Yu is simply unable to control it so he spits it out then sits down with legs crossed immediately.
“Big brother!”
With a shake of his wings, Xiao Hei rushes to his side.
“Never mind. I’m only at the early Nebula stage so I’m still not good enough to use the Stellar Field to the fullest. After resting for an hour I’m going to be all right.” Qin Yu tells him via the holy sense then quietly starts to regain control of his energy, which is running wild in his body. The Stellar Field is an advanced technique developed from the highest level of the Trans-Heaven 3 Diagrams technique. In the past, when Qin Yu was enfolded by the tricolor suit of armor of the Trans-Heaven 3 Diagrams technique, his speed increased by several times. The Stellar Field uses the same principle.
The only difference is that it makes him even faster and more powerful.
After an hour,
“Big brother, here are the 2 jindans.” Xiao Hei puts 2 jindans before Qin Yu, who opens his eyes, immediately takes one of them and says: “Xiao Hei, a late jindan has 8 or 9 times more energy than an early jindan. One for me, one for you.”
Xiao Hei looks at the remaining jindan and says using his holy sense at once: “Big brother, I already ate that Shen Yi’s jindan. I said the others’ would be yours.” “I only refine 1 jindan. Compared to a late jindan, an early one is negligible. If you don’t want it then just throw it away.” After saying, Qin Yu simply pays no attention to Xiao Hei and instantly starts to refine his jindan.
Xiao Hei stares at Qin Yu for a long time before finally taking the remaining jindan.
B4C15: Nosedive
In a secret place that they have found,
Qin Yu is sitting with legs crossed quietly refining his jindan.
This late jindan contains a great amount of energy. It even has more energy than his body. Fortunately, he does not eat it directly like ordinary demonic beasts at all. Instead, he refines it using the Stellar Flame and in the end only absorbs the pure essence of it.
In Qin Yu’s dantian,
The Stellar Flame is continuously burning one strand of jindan energy after another. After a strand has been burnt to the utmost, the small amount of essence left of it is swallowed up directly by the swirling nebula in his dantian. The silvery grains contained in the many layers of the nebula then absorb this amount of essence. ……
Days have passed. By now the silvery grains in the nebula inside Qin Yu have become much larger than they were at the beginning. Suddenly —
A silvery grain unexpectedly splits in half like a broken stone. Afterwards, the other silvery grains start to split in two one after another as well. In only a short while, all of the silvery grains in the nebula inside Qin Yu have split in half.
Immediately, the silvery grains in the nebula in the dantian have doubled in number and their density in each layer of the maelstrom has increased by 100% too.
“The middle phase of the Nebula stage!”
At the moment there is a burst of ecstasy in Qin Yu’s heart because he has finally reached the middle phase of the Nebula stage. At Lei Mountain House, he entered the early phase of the Nebula stage right after succeeding in practicing the Stellar Transformations. But if he had kept practicing normally from then on, it would have taken him at least over 100 years to reach the middle phase of the Nebula stage.
However, on this journey, Qin Yu has fought quite a few demonic beasts and killed quite a few Jindan-stage demonic beasts. Because he had absorbed a good few jindans’ essence previously, after absorbing a portion of a late jindan’s essence just now, he has suddenly broken through the early phase of the Nebula stage and reached the middle phase.
The swirling nebula inside Qin Yu’s body now is densely filled with the silvery grains, each of which is moving in a circle. But Qin Yu keeps refining the energy of the jindan and absorbing its essence.
After an indefinite amount of time, Qin Yu finally opens his eyes.
“Xiao Hei has reached the middle phase of the Jindan stage too.” He looks at Xiao Hei, who is still refining a jindan. He is in no hurry so he sits with legs crossed quietly waiting. The more formidable a demonic beast is, the longer it will take for it to
reach the next level in practice. However, demonic beasts’ true power cannot be judged by their appearance alone.
During the fight against Shen Yu, Xiao Hei was only at the early phase of the Jindan stage, but relying on his special skill
— the Flaming Lightning Attack — he was able to beat a late Jindan Black Wind leopard directly. With his hereditary memories, Xiao Hei is really a very powerful demonic beast.
“Big brother,” Xiao Hei now has woken up. His voice, which rises in Qin Yu’s mind, sounds extremely excited too.
Qin Yu’s and Xiao Hei’s improvements in power have been very similar to each other and now they both have advanced one step almost simultaneously as well.
“Xiao Hei, let’s go. We’ll continue with the journey. I wonder how many demonic beasts there will be ahead of us.” Qin Yu and Xiao Hei leave this place of practice immediately and resume their journey. By practicing in the Wilderness, they have really progressed much faster than they would have by practicing in the habitable part of the Qian Long continent.
However, at the same time, the Wilderness is also much more dangerous. For example, if Wu De and Wu Xing encountered those 2 late Jindan Black Wind leopards, they would probably be done for. Moreover … there are demonic beasts even more formidable than Black Wind leopards in the Wilderness!
______
In Eternal House of the Imperial Palace in Ba Chu County,
“Master, everything is going just as you have planned. This time 200,000 armored cavalry troops of the Xiang clan have carried out several tens attacks. Various other army units have helped and cooperated with them. By now they have already defeated 3 cities of Lei Xue County.” Mister Lan says respectfully outside the beaded curtain.
On the glistening jade bed behind the beaded curtain, a vague silhouette is sitting with legs crossed. “Oh, very good, from now on things must be done step by step. Don’t aim too high. How is the plan for the 2 Northern region counties going?” The Great Ancestor’s voice comes out. It obviously sounds very calm.
Mister Lan says respectfully: “Master, we’ve found a child of the Shangguan clan. This brat is totally obedient to us. The next step will be to kill Zhuang Jun.”
“Yeah,” the Great Ancestor responds indifferently inside. He then says no more.
Suddenly —
A green silhouette rushes in extremely fast from outside. At the same time, he says loudly: “Master, things have taken a nosedive. Master, things have taken a nosedive!” This green- clad middle-aged man is also a disciple of the Great Ancestor like Mister Lan.
“Don’t lose your nerve. Behave properly!” An ice-cold rebuke comes out from behind the beaded curtain.
The green-clad middle-aged man immediately stops then says hurriedly: “Master, things have taken a nosedive. Shang Que County has been defeated. Shang Que County has been taken!!!”
Bang!
A terrifying force surges out from behind the beaded curtain. In an instant, the curtain’s strings are all broken and its beads are sent flying outwards. An old man with flowing long black hair has already flown out from inside the room without any movements of his body. Eternal House is now put under a huge pressure.
With eyes glittering with coldness, the Great Ancestor stares doubtfully at the green-clad middle-aged man. Due to this, beads of cold sweat continuously appear on this man’s forehead.
“Tell me what happened again!” The green-clad middle-aged man hurriedly says in a terrified voice: “Great Ancestor, we’ve just received the news that Shang Que County has been taken. Several hundred thousand troops of the Qin clan have completely stormed Shang Que County from the Southern region. Its few defending troops were basically too powerless to hinder them a bit!”
The Great Ancestor’s anger starts to surge. The air in his entire vicinity seems to begin vibrating.
“What was the Mu clan doing all that time?” The Great Ancestor asks coldly.
The southern part of Shang Que County is next to the Mu clan’s 3 Southern region counties and therefore it was only defended with 30,000 troops, which means it was almost totally defenseless. Who would have thought that there would be such a huge mistake in this apparently safest place?
“Mu clan? The Mu clan has switched allegiance to the Qin clan!” The green-clad middle-aged man says at once. The Great Ancestor’s entire body shakes. In the blink of an eye, his face changes color several times. A faint smile then appears on his face: “Ha-ha … it’s quite something, this Qin clan. Our Xiang clan told the Shangguan clan to pretend to lean on it, but it had unexpectedly asked the Mu clan to pretend to sell out to us earlier!”
In almost a moment, the Great Ancestor understands everything.
This most loyal Mu clan must have sworn allegiance to the Qin clan sometime in the past. At the most crucial moment to the Xiang clan, it suddenly rebelled and breached Shang Que County’s defense at one stroke then entered this county.
Originally, with the support of the Mu clan, the Xiang clan also had control over 6 counties and half of the kingdom’s military power so it was still possible for it to fight back against the Qin clan. However, now the Mu clan has switched sides all of a sudden and has even thrown open the defensive gate of Shang Que County.
Thus, the Xiang clan is currently at an absolute disadvantage.
The Xiang clan basically does not know how many troops of the Qin clan there are in Shang Que County at the moment. This time, the forces that have stormed this county included 300,000 Black Water troops and 300,000 troops of the 3 Southern region counties so there were 600,000 troops altogether. With unstoppable momentum, these 600,000 troops have swept away all obstacles. All cities on their way have either surrendered or been defeated very quickly.
At the same time in the 2 Northern region counties, a 600,000 strong army group made up of the Qin clan’s 300,000 troops and 300,000 troops among the Northern region’s original 400,000 troops has started to attack Zhen Yang County.
“Ha-ha … Qin clan, you’re quite something. I admire you. But this has forced me to use the last move!” The Great Ancestor laughs out loud. Then, with a wave of his large sleeve and his robe fluttering, he soars directly into the sky from Eternal House.
Mister Lan and the green-clad middle-aged man exchange a look.
“Could it be Master wants to use absolute force?” The green- clad middle-aged man says in astonishment.
Mister Lan looks at the fading silhouette of the Great Ancestor and slowly nods: “When things have come to this pass, it’s basically hopeless to rely on the Xiang clan’s army. We can only rely on Master’s world-shaking power. I wonder what power level he has reached after nearly 1000 years. I’m really looking forward to seeing it.” His eyes flash with fervor.
“Master is getting into action, then …” The green-clad middle-aged man’s eyes are also filled with expectation.
……
Standing in midair, the Great Ancestor, who is dressed in black, suddenly calls down: “Your old friend has arrived, Wu De. Why haven’t you come out to meet me?” The door of the house below him is pushed open. After looking up, blue-clad Wu De immediately flies into the sky like a meteor. He then comes up to the Great Ancestor’s face. After looking at the Great Ancestor carefully several times, he says emotionally: “Brother Xiang Yang, we’ve been friends for nearly 1000 years. Originally you were just a peak Xiantian expert while I had already reached the early phase of the Jindan stage. But now you’ve already reached the Yuanying stage while I’m only a peak Jindan expert.”
Xiang Yang is the West Chu Conqueror Xiang Yu’s son. When Xiang Yu died in battle, Xiang Yang took over the Chu dynasty. Afterwards, he became the de facto 1st emperor of the Chu dynasty. During his reign, he managed the Chu dynasty neatly and turned its kingdom into the number 1 country of the 3 countries on the Qian Long continent.
Xiang Yang has even more potential for martial arts than his father Xiang Yu did. While governing the kingdom, he also practiced. Later, he reached the early phase of the Jindan stage just like his father. He then abdicated to focus on practice in Eternal House. After so many years, he has already reached the early phase of the Yuanying stage. In the hearts of the Xiang clan’s members, in terms of status, Xiang Yang, the de facto 1st emperor who made the Chu dynasty thrive, is even superior to his father, the West Chu Conqueror Xiang Yu.
“On the path of practice, each has his own good luck. Brother Wu De, maybe you’ll be able to break through the Jindan stage to reach the Yuanying stage soon. When this matter has been dealt with, I’ll give you some experience of my reaching the Yuanying stage, okay?” Xiang Yang says smilingly.
Wu De’s eyes brighten.
To reach the Yuanying stage from the Jindan stage, a Xiuzhenist must have some intuitive enlightenment. It is even more difficult to break through the Yuanying stage to reach the Dongxu stage. Every time he has to make a breakthrough, if he is not instructed by at least a senior, it is very unlikely that he will succeed by himself.
Wu De has left his school to practice alone so it is difficult for him to make a breakthrough. If he can obtain Xiang Yang’s instructions, things will naturally be much easier for him.
“Oh? Then I have to thank you, Brother Xiang Yang. I wonder what your matter is. If I can help you, don’t hesitate to tell me about it.” Wu De also knows that Xiang Yang cannot give him a benefit for no reason. Moreover, Xiang Yang is more powerful than him so it is impossible for him to refuse his offer
either.
Xiang Yang slightly nods. At the same time he turns his head and looks to the east. His eyes flash with coldness. The cold air around his body starts to expand.
Wu De is secretly startled: “What does this abnormal fella want to do? His killing intent is too strong already.”
“Take a trip to the east with me. I want to have a nice chat with that Qin De. I’ve heard that he has just reached the early phase of the Jindan stage, right? An early Jindan fella and a middle Jindan stage Fengyuzi, humph humph …” There is a note of disdain in Xiang Yang’s tone. An early Yuanying expert is on a totally different level from an early Jindan practitioner so naturally he looks down on Qin De a lot.
“Since you’ve asked me to, I’m certainly willing to accompany you on this trip,” says Wu De with a smile. Is it not only Fengyuzi? Going together with Xiang Yang, why would he still have to fear 2 midget Jindan Xiuzhenists?
Xiang Yang slightly nods to Wu De: “Then let’s go!”
Immediately afterwards, Xiang Yang and Wu De flies eastwards extremely fast side by side. Their black robe and blue robe flap in the winds. The 2 super experts are rushing east directly!
______
In the Wilderness, Qin Yu and Xiao Hei are going extremely fast through the Wilderness. On the way, many relatively weak demonic beasts basically do not dare to approach them. They have successively been attacked by a late Jindan Violent-Eyed bear and a late Jindan Blood-Red wolf but have handled these demonic beasts with ease.
After resting for a night, Qin Yu and Xiao Hei continue to hurry on their journey.
“Xiao Hei, this prairie is so big.” Qin Yu suddenly stops and looks ahead. A huge prairie has appeared before him. He has never seen such a huge prairie, which seems boundless at first sight.
Xiao Hei is also amazed.
“Big brother, no matter how large it is, let’s just go on.” Xiao Hei says while looking at Qin Yu.
Qin Yu nods: “Let’s go!” The 2 of them instantly start to go through the prairie. Even though it looks like they are running on it, in fact they are flying, only that the distance between them and the ground is only about a half meter. The prairie’s local grass is very high and the feeling of going on it at high speeds is really not bad.
“This prairie’s demonic beasts are pretty strong.” Qin Yu’s holy sense totally covers the area within several tens kilometers of him.
“They’re just so-so. After such a long time we’ve only seen an early Jindan demonic beast. It also ran away before coming close to us.” Xiao Hei says via his holy sense. Obviously he feels a lot of scorn for ordinary demonic beasts.
The longer Qin Yu and Xiao Hei fly, the more they marvel at the enormousness of this prairie. It must be at least several thousand li in length.
They have been going for a very long time without any misgivings. The feeling of flying 1000 li without a break is not bad indeed. Suddenly Qin Yu’s face changes color. He says urgently using his holy sense: “Xiao Hei, there’s something strange. There’re no demonic beasts within several tens kilometers in front of us!”
He stops abruptly. Xiao Hei also stops.
“Big brother, I have a bad feeling.” Xiao Hei has also noticed that there are no demonic beasts in front of them. There are not even any common wild beasts. It is really too strange that such a thickly grassy prairie as this one unexpectedly has a large area which is devoid of demonic beasts.
Qin Yu frowns and says: “There’re only over 10,000 li left before we can leave the Wilderness. If we go around this prairie to return, since it seems boundless at first sight, who can say how much further we’ll have to travel? Plus, this place isn’t deep in the Wilderness so there shouldn’t be any overly tough demonic beasts here. Why should we worry?”
“That’s right. Why should we worry? We’ve even run into a Yuanying Golden Flame eagle. What’s there to worry about?” Because of his innate pride, Xiao Hei does not care about danger in the slightest.
“All right, let’s go!”
Qin Yu and Xiao Hei continue to stick to the prairie. They start to go ahead through that demonic-beast-free area of it.
B4C16: Hanging By A Thread
This vast area of the prairie unexpectedly has no demonic beasts but it has a nameless oppressive air about it. The deeper Qin Yu and Xiao Hei go in it, the more careful they become. They have expanded their holy senses to the utmost. Both of them can feel the existence of an invisible source of danger here.
“Xiao Hei, there’s a small mountain over there.” Qin Yu stares ahead several kilometers, but he feels that there is something strange about his small mountain.
The dominant features of this vast prairie are small lakes and grasslands, but a small mountain has unexpectedly appeared up ahead so Qin Yu, who is already tense, naturally becomes cautious. Xiao Hei also focuses his eyes on it then says using his holy sense: “Big brother, let’s go around that small mountain!”
At this moment, even the aloof and proud Xiao Hei is being careful as well.
“Alright, let’s go around it!” Both Qin Yu and Xiao Hei cannot help speeding up, trying to bypass that small mountain in the distance to fly west. That mountain has a dark red color. Its rocks form a regular pattern. When they are halfway to going around it, suddenly —
“Human, little black eagle.”
A voice rises in Qin Yu’s and Xiao Hei’s minds through holy sense communication.
“Xiao Hei, run!”
Disregarding everything else, Qin Yu immediately tells Xiao Hei via his holy sense. At the same time he starts to fly at his top speed. He certainly can guess that there must be an exceptionally formidable demonic beast in this strange grassland, one that even his holy sense cannot detect.
“Want to run?” Suddenly, a terrifying pressure shoots out from the distance and totally affects Qin Yu’s and Xiao Hei’s bodies. This pressure is even much greater than those exerted by the 4-in-9 Heavenly Tribulation’s thunderbolts. Qin Yu and Xiao Hei can only feel the continual thumping of their hearts in their ears.
“Big brother, it’s such a terrifying pressure!” Xiao Hei cannot help looking back at the source of the pressure.
Qin Yu also looks back.
They only see that the sky is being covered by a huge black cloud, which afterwards lands in front of them like a flash. It is so fast that both of them are totally dumbfounded by it. Obviously this monster is faster than them.
“Human, little black eagle, having come into my territory, you still think about escaping?” The voice of the monster before Qin Yu and Xiao Hei rises in their minds.
Looking at the monster in front of him, Qin Yu cannot help taking a cold breath. This monster is dark red from head to toe, over 100 m long and several tens meters tall. Its entire body is covered in a suit of armor that looks like dark red rock. This monster even has 6 thick sharp spines on its neck and a golden horn on its forehead.
“A Dragon Rocky lion divine beast!”
Qin Yu feels his throat drying. He has read many introductions to demonic beasts in some Xiuzhen secret books in the study of Lei Mountain House so he knows that Dragon Rocky lions have huge bodies and, according to legend, they are born when dragons mate with Fiery Rocky lions, both of which are divine beasts.
A divine beast, no less! Demonic beasts are divided into many classes and the ones with the highest status are divine beasts, which are very formidable and whose real power basically cannot be judged by their power levels. A Yuanying divine beast is even more formidable than a Dongxu stage Xiuzhenist.
In the eyes of Xiuzhenists, divine beasts are synonymous with power overwhelming.
A divine beast that has overcome the 9-from-9th Heaven Tribulation and reached the Dacheng stage can cope with 10 Dacheng Xiuzhenists at the same time. The gap in power between divine beasts and humans is really too big.
“Big brother, his aura’s so strong. Even that Golden Flame eagle’s aura didn’t make me feel so uncomfortable.” By now Xiao Hei has also noticed the tremendous pressure given off by the monster.
Xiao Hei and Qin Yu simply stop flying. Just now they already saw the speed of this Dragon Rocky lion so they know that it is more than twice as fast as even their top speeds. So, there is basically no hope for them.
The Dragon Rocky lion stares at Qin Yu and Xiao Hei then says laughingly using holy sense communication: “You unexpectedly came into my forbidden territory. Looks like you are outsiders and just don’t know about this rule.”
Qin Yu knows that a divine beast is not less intelligent than humans so he says respectfully at once: “I am Qin Yu. My 2nd brother Hei Yu and I want to run back to the human world on the Qian Long continent. We have never been to this prairie before so we didn’t know about this rule. Could you please let the 2 of us go, Senior?”
He understands that beggars cannot be choosers.
“Senior, may I ask what level you have reached? I feel that you’re much more formidable than that Yuanying stage Golden Flame eagle.” For some reason, Xiao Hei unexpectedly asks the Dragon Rocky lion this question at this moment.
The Dragon Rocky lion gives Xiao Hei a stare then unexpectedly replies: “Yuanying stage Golden Flame eagle? It’s the yellow eagle 70,000 li to the east from here, right? Even though he and I are both at the Yuanying stage, Golden Flame eagles are just a type of small bird, I can easily handle even 10 of them!”
The Dragon Rocky lion sends out a pressure then looks at Xiao Hei, saying with a distinctive interest: “Little black eagle, you seem to have an aura that attracts me. I feel that … I’ll benefit greatly by eating you.”
Qin Yu and Xiao Hei are startled at once. Just now, because the Dragon Rocky lion talked to them, they still had some hope. However, it has unexpectedly said this.
“Little black eagle, you seem to have some feelings for this human. If you agree to let me eat you, I’ll release this human. Eating a human is totally useless to me so I don’t feel like eating him. Do you think my offer is good or not? In fact, what I dislike the most is to force other demonic beasts to do something. But … if you resist, I’ll be forced to eat both of you.” The Dragon Rocky lion’s voice rises in Qin Yu’s and Xiao Hei’s minds. Feeling that the Dragon Rocky lion’s aura is even 10 times more fearsome than the Golden Flame eagle’s, Xiao Hei knows that they are simply no match for it. Even a Dongxu stage Xiuzhenist will not necessarily beat this Yuanying stage Dragon Rocky lion, a divine beast, let alone Qin Yu and Xiao Hei.
Xiao Hei looks at Qin Yu. His eagle eyes are exuding complex human-like emotions, which Qin Yu can feel very well.
“Big brother …”
“Xiao Hei, don’t think too much.” Qin Yu’s cold voice rises in Xiao Hei’s mind. “Xiao Hei, to let you die for me like that without trying my best, even if I lived, I would be tortured by conscience my entire life. Moreover … there’s still hope of escaping for us!”
Qin Yu remembers the introduction to Dragon Rocky lions in the Xiuzhen books he has read.
“According to the introduction to Dragon Rocky lions I read, they are divine beasts, unusually powerful and extremely fast. Their protective armor has exceptionally high defense. It’s said that their defense is even stronger than dragons’. But nothing is perfect. Because their bodies are too large while lacking in agility, movements such as dodging and turning are their weaknesses. This Dragon Rocky lion is only fast when moving in a straight line.”
Hearing Qin Yu say this, Xiao Hei totally understands what he means.
“Big brother …” Xiao Hei is very clear that, even though what Qin Yu said is very reasonable, the Dragon Rocky lion after all is a divine beast. If they are careless a bit, they will be killed by it.
“Say no more. Even if we have to die, we’ll die together. It doesn’t matter if he’s a divine beast or not.” Qin Yu has made up his mind.
There is a special pride in his blood vessels, which has been passed down to members of the Qin clan from Qin Shi Huang Ying Zheng. Every member of the Qin clan, whether Qin De, Qin Feng, Qin Zheng or Qin Yu, is a person with that kind of pride.
“You 2 brats, what are you talking to each other via the holy sense? Little black eagle, have you thought it over?” the Dragon Rocky lion looks down at the 2 midgets before him. In the eyes of this huge beast, Qin Yu and Xiao Hei are ‘midgets’ indeed.
“Senior, I agree.” Xiao Hei replies using his holy sense.
As soon as the Dragon Rocky lion hears this, he laughs out loud. His laughter resounds though a range of several hundred li. Qin Yu’s eyes suddenly brighten. He immediately says via his holy sense: “Xiao Hei, run. Run to the west. Fly in a somewhat flexible, irregular path!”
Xiao Hei uses the Passing Lighning Flashing 9 Times technique at once. With his wings slightly vibrating continuously several times, he soars into the sky extremely fast like a zigzagging thunderbolt. As for Qin Yu, the high-grade holy weapon Flaming Sword appears under his feet. His light silvery stellar energy spreads throughout his body and the sword. Qin Yu’s body now is just like a holy weapon. He and the sword have become one! Standing on the sword, he also flies west.
The 2 of them, one man and one eagle, fly away from either side of the Dragon Rocky lion.
Seeing them flying extremely fast, the Dragon Rocky lion knows at once that he has been fooled. He cannot help getting exasperated and turning his face upwards giving a roar. His voice then rises in the minds of Qin Yu and Xiao Hei: “You 2 midgets have even dared to fool me. I’m going to eat both of you!”
With a movement of his body, the Dragon Rocky lion flies into the sky directly. In an instant, he starts to chase after Qin Yu at an extremely high speed.
Hu! As if surfing, flying-sword-riding Qin Yu takes a right angle turn and quickly avoids the attack that the Dragon Rocky iron launches at him from behind. The Dragon Rocky iron makes a swaying movement of his body to correct his course then chases Qin Yu again.
“Even with such a large body, he’s so agile.” Qin Yu takes a cold breath. “Who wrote the introduction to Dragon Rocky lions in that Xiuzhen book? It’s ridiculous.” Qin Yu is furious inwardly but he has not given up all hope.
The Dragon Rocky lion is fairly agile, but after all his body is too large so he cannot compare with Qin Yu, who is using the Body-Weapon Unification technique, in agility.
“This Dragon Rocky lion can’t make use of wind like Black Wind leopards yet.” Standing on his flying sword, Qin Yu is floating at will nonstop, easily avoiding the Dragon Rocky lion’s attacks one by one. His entire body is like a falling leaf in a fierce wind.
Suddenly — A flame spurts from the mouth of the Dragon Rocky lion and comes directly at Qin Yu.
“It’s over!”
“Big brother!” in the distance, Xiao Hei also becomes anxious.
Qin Yu is terrified. In the blink of an eye he focuses his entire attention on that flame. It is obviously very powerful. The travelling speed of the flame is even faster than the speed of the Dragon Rocky lion himself.
At this life-or-death moment, the light silvery stellar energy outside Qin Yu’s body suddenly begins to rotate.
The Stellar Field! In an instant, a huge nebula is formed outside his body. The nebula inside him also starts spinning extremely fast. Immediately, another Qin Yu seems to be created. That, of course, is a phenomenon caused by Qin Yu reaching his top speed.
When his life is hanging on a thread, Qin Yu finally dodges the flame. He can even feel its terrifying heat as it brushes past one side of his body.
Since the range of the Stellar Field is the same as the range of the nebula outside his body, Qin Yu’s movements are limited. Moreover, the Stellar Field requires the entire energy of the nebula inside his body. Luckily for him, he has reached the middle phase of the Nebula stage so using this technique for just a moment does not adversely affect him very much.
In the blink of an eye, he stops the Stellar Field then rushes westwards like crazy. His flying path basically follows no regular patterns at all.
“Big brother.” At the moment Xiao Hei’s voice sounds somewhat excited.
“Don’t waste time. Speed up!” Qin Yu has already flown to a high altitude and is currently flashing back and forth through the clouds. The Dragon Rocky lion seems to have become furious. Sometimes he chases after Qin Yu and sometimes he chases after Xiao Hei. However, compared to him, Qin Yu and Xiao Hei are like ants, and because they are too small, they are too agile for him as well.
All of a sudden —
“Xiao Hei, quickly go to the southwest!”
Qin Yu’s holy sense has suddenly felt a strong aura in the southwest which is even comparable to that of the Dragon Rocky lion. At the moment he has no time to think much about it. After all, if they keep getting chased like this, they will probably be killed sometime in the future.
In a short while, he and Xiao Hei have already flown southwest several hundred li. An extremely crystalline cry of a bird rises.
“Dragon Rocky lion, this is my territory. Go the hell back to your den.” An enormous holy sense covers the area where Qin Yu and Xiao Hei are. The voice that is transferred through it even rises in their minds. Qin Yu is immediately delighted.
There is a huge red bird which is several tens meters tall up ahead. Its entire body is covered in blazing flames and its stunning crimson feathers radiate a magnificent aura. Qin Yu quickly makes a judgment.
“A Hong Luan divine beast!”
Qin Yu is stupefied. He never thought that he would continuously encounter 2 divine beasts. However, he is extremely pleasantly surprised in an instant and tells Xiao Hei hurriedly via his holy sense: “Xiao Hei, quickly go away from below. Don’t provoke this Hong Luan!”
“Ha-ha, I know, to let the 2 of them fight each other, right?!” Xiao Hei cries strangely then immediately dives down. Qin Yu also dives down extremely fast.
The Dragon Rocky lion however simply does not care about them, and nor does the Hong Luan. In the eyes of these 2 large divine beasts, a man and an eagle are merely midgets. To the Dragon Rocky lion, Qin Yu and Xiao Hei are just spice to his life, which is dispensable. But this Hong Luan divine beast is his old rival.
“You actually told me to get the hell away?” He is extremely angry.
The Hong Luan spreads its wings, which are about as long as its height. Hong Luans are innately magnificent so a magnificent aura naturally spreads out from it. The Hong Luan says: “Dragon Rocky lion, this is my territory. Having come here, you still don’t want to behave. Are you looking for a fight?”
The Dragon Rocky lion has become furious. Without thinking much, he immediately turns his face upwards and lets out a roar. The air in his entire vicinity starts to vibrate.
……
Boom ~~~
There is a series of explosions behind Qin Yu and Xiao Hei. These explosions are even much more powerful than the 4-in-9 Heavenly Tribulation. Feeling the air around them vibrating hurriedly, Qin Yu and Xiao Hei cannot help looking aghast at each other. This battle between 2 divine beasts is really too terrifyingly devastating.
“Don’t care about them, Xiao Hei. Let’s run faster.”
Using the Body-Weapon Unification, Qin Yu flies extremely fast westwards. Xiao Hei also uses the Passing Lightning Flashing 9 Times continuously. The 2 of them, one man and one eagle, run west desperately nonstop at their top speeds. They simply do not dare to slow down because who can say the Dragon Rocky lion will not chase them again after fighting? Given the Dragon Rocky lion’s power, they will die if just one of his strikes connects.
They fly this way for 6 hours straight. Qin Yu flies at his fastest speed for 6 entire hours. He has only used the Body- Weapon Unification technique for short periods of time before and has never used it to fly so desperately. After 6 hours, Qin Yu and Xiao Hei suddenly see —
There are houses in the distance. In addition, the density of the Wilderness’s holy energy drops sharply.
“Ha-ha, Xiao Hei, we’ve finally come back!” Qin Yu, who is running like there is no tomorrow, wakes up in an instant. Obviously the crazy run just now has brought him back to the human world of the Qian Long continent directly from the Wilderness. After going through the Wilderness for several months, Qin Yu and Xiao Hei have finally returned alive!
NOTE: – The lion in this chapter is similar to a Chinese guardian lion:http:/ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_guardian_lions
– Luan is a Chinese mythical bird, a descendant of the Phoenix, and Hong means Red:http:/ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feilong_(mythology)
B4C17: The Return Of Qin Yu
Qin Yu and Xiao Hei feel a surge of relief in their hearts. They no longer run desperately as they were doing just now either. The 2 brothers, one man and one eagle, then fly through the clouds, heading directly for the princely mansion in Yan City. However, at the moment, the town of Xiyang is visited by 2 terrifying personages.
With his black robe fluttering, Xiang Yang stands in midair and looks down at the entire town of Xiyang. His eyes seem as if they are piercing through space. Wu De, his blue robe fluttering in the wind, is on one side of Xiang Yang.
Xiang Yang basically does not hide his real power. A huge aura expands from him then enfolds the entire town. The pressure it gives off is felt by almost all of the people in the town.
At Qin De’s residence in the town of Xiyang,
Creak ~~
Qin De pushes open the door of his room and walks into the courtyard directly from the room. He raises his head looking into the sky. There is unexpectedly a faint calm smile on the corners of his mouth at the moment.
“Oh? Xiang Yang has finally arrived,” murmurs Qin De. At the same time, Xu Yuan also walks out from his room, having also felt that terrifying pressure. He looks up and immediately sees the 2 people who are standing in midair.
“Your Highness, they are …” Xu Yuan is shocked.
Qin De turns his head and looks at Xu Yuan, saying: “Xu Yuan, do you still remember the brocade purse that I gave you at that time? Wait for a while then return and open it. Later you’ll have to follow the steps that I mapped out in that brocade purse.”
“Qin clan brat, quickly come to meet me!” A voice that sounds like thunder shakes the entire town of Xiyang. The terrifying force contained in that voice causes all the soldiers in the town to go pale. Weak people even pass out directly because of it.
“Remember, go back and open that brocade purse!” Qin De says to Xu Yuan seriously. Because the latter is also a very intelligent man, seeing Qin De’s expression, he can somewhat guess what is going to happen. But he still says with a nod: “Don’t worry, Your Highness. Xu Yuan definitely won’t let you down!”
Qin De gives a faint smile. A flying sword then appears under his feet.
Standing on the flying sword, Qin De soars into the sky.
Flying on his sword, Qin De meets Xiang Yang in midair in a just short while. Xiang Yang’s black hair is flowing naturally and his black robe is fluttering, but the most frightening thing about him is his ice-cold eyes, which seem as if they can see through other people’s hearts.
“Xiang Yang deserves to be called the most outstanding member of the Xiang clan.”
Qin De even has some admiration for this Xiang Yang. In the past, the West Chu Conqueror was extremely overbearing so when contending for the control of the lands he offended very many influential people. After his death, the Xiang clan became everyone’s target. Luckily, young Xiang Yang made an impressive entrance, befriending distant states while attacking the nearby ones. Eventually he and the other 2 great powers divided all the lands into 3.
Afterwards, Xiang Yang managed the Chu kingdom for several decades and even turned it into the strongest of the 3 kingdoms. Not only did Xiang Yang excel at governing the country, according to legend, he was even at least not inferior to his father Xiang Yu when it comes to martial arts. Despite having to pay attention to the running of the country, he was finally still able to reach the Jindan stage.
Xiang Yu was ruthless and totally overbearing but was not benevolent enough. However Xiang Yang seemed to be perfect. Depending on the situation, he could be either benevolent, or ruthless, or fair, or deceitful. He could use all kinds of tricks proficiently and was absolutely a born emperor.
“Hello, Senior Xiang Yang.” Qin De slightly folds his hands and says with a smile, showing neither humbleness nor arrogance.
Xiang Yang takes a look at Qin De. Judging by the fact that his opponent is not nervous at all after seeing him, he knows that there is a huge difference between his descendant Xiang Guang and Qin De. However, no matter what happens, Xiang Yang is a member of the Xiang clan. A faint smile appears on the corners of his mouth.
“Qin De!” Xiang Yang looks carefully at Qin De then says laughingly: “You’re really something. No wonder you have been able to take half of the Chu kingdom’s territory in only a short time. I admire you a lot … but I’m a Xiang clan’s man. You’re smart so you should be able to guess why I’ve come here, right?”
Qin De takes a glance at Xiang Yang and Wu De. As soon as he sees Wu De, his eyes flash with fierceness.
“Wu De,” he immediately remembers how his son Qin Yu perished together with Wu Xing. Wu De looks at Qin De, his eyes flashing with killing intent as well. He has never forgotten how his martial younger brother died.
Xiang Yang’s voice becomes serious: “Qin De, didn’t you hear my question?”
Qin De looks at Xiang Yang, saying: “Senior Xiang Yang, I really don’t know why you’ve come here in such a grandiose manner. What have you actually come here for?” Qin De pretends not to know anything.
Xiang Yang slightly frowns. The cold light in his eyes immediately intensifies: “Oh, a smart person like you can’t figure it out? Then I’ll tell you. I want the Qin clan’s army to retreat now. In this way, the 3 Eastern region counties will still be yours and the Qin clan will still be a vassal of my Xiang clan. The Xiang clan won’t even meddle in the 3 Eastern region counties’ affairs so they’ll be like a country within a country. What do you think?” “Retreat? A country within a country?” Qin De suddenly laughs out loud.
His laughter is filled with sarcasm. Despite hearing Qin De’s laughter, Xiang Yang is still collected. He calmly waits for Qin De’s answer. Qin De’s face suddenly hardens. He says to Xiang Yang: “Senior Xiang Yang, I respect you for being a sage emperor of the Chu dynasty, but you’re dreaming. By now, when my Qin clan has occupied 10 out of the 12 counties of the Chu kingdom, do you think I’ll withdraw? How will that be possible?”
The cold air around Xiang Yang intensifies greatly: “Qin De, could it be you don’t understand your situation?”
“Situation, what situation?” Qin De looks at Xiang Yang in an unyielding manner. The 2 of them look each other in the eyes. Qin De however is not afraid at all. “Plus, you’re only one Xiuzhenist. Do you think you can compare with 2,000,000 troops?”
Qin De’s aura even rises.
Xiang Yang suddenly bursts out laughing then says: “Good, you’re quite something, Qin De. I only want to tell you that I’ve already reached the Yuanying stage. Though it’s only the early phase, I believe you should know what this means. Think it over, will you?”
“Think about what?” Qin De says without hesitation.
Xiang Yang’s face slightly changes color. Despite his great self-possession, he has become angry. This Qin De is playing the fool with him.
“You’ve reached the early phase of the Jindan stage, but I can kill you in one hit. As for the fella called Fengyuzi or something like that, I can kill him with ease too. I can even kill all of the Qin clan’s marshals and generals. Now do you understand what I mean?” Xiang Yang says continuously.
However, there is still a faint calm smile on Qin De’s face. “Senior Xiang Yang, both Fengyuzi and I are Jindan stage Xiuzhenists. You can easily find us using your holy sense, but do you know the other generals of the Qin clan? Even if they were in front of you, you wouldn’t be able to know if they are the Qin clan’s generals.” Qin De says while staring at Xiang
Yang.
When a Xiuzhenist searches for someone, at least he must know that person’s aura. Otherwise, he will not be able to be sure.
“In the army, marshals’ and generals’ tents are no different from soldiers’. You basically won’t find out who the generals are, so how will you kill them?” Qin De says emphatically while staring at Xiang Yang.
“Moreover, 600,000 troops have stormed Zhen Yang County from the 2 Northern region counties. Among the 200,000 troops of the Xiang clan in the county, 100,000 have already surrendered. The other 100,000 are merely on their last legs. The Black Water troops and the Mu clan troops, 600,000 in total, have almost occupied the entire Shang Que County as well.” Qin De reveals the information he received just now. Xiang Yang’s face changes color.
He knew early on that Zhen Yang County’s 200,000 troops would definitely be unable to stop 600,000 enemy soldiers. But he never thought that 100,000 of them would unexpectedly surrender. However, there is nothing unusual about this. Anyone who is not a fool can see that the Xiang clan is nearing its end, so it is not difficult to tempt those soldiers into surrendering by offering them some money or rights.
“My Qin clan has 600,000 troops in Shang Que County in the south and Zhen Yang County in the north each. There are even some Xiang clan troops who have surrendered in these counties. In addition, there are almost 400,000 troops in Lei Xue County. They are ready to attack from 3 sides while your Xiang clan only has Ba Chu County left. If the Qin clan disregards everything to give an order, they will definitely be able to storm Ba Chu County within one day.” Qin De says very confidently.
If the only county that the Xiang clan has left is attacked from 3 sides, it will have to be defended on 3 sides. However, after the battles in Zhen Yang County, Shang Que County and Lei Xue County, the remaining troops of the Xiang clan only amount to 500,000 to 600,000. How can this small number of troops successfully defend the county from a massive 3- pronged attack?
There is no need for Qin De to say much because Xiang Yang certainly understands the situation.
Even though Xiang Yang is a formidable Xiuzhenist, if 2,000,000 enemy soldiers attack at once, how will he be able to stop them? A strike of his flying sword can only kill several troops so it will take him a very long time to kill just 100,000.
“Qin De, you still don’t get what I mean.” Xiang Yang says laughingly.
“Oh, I’m willing to hear your explanation.” Qin De says with an indifferent smile.
Xiang Yang says: “Your status is East Vanquishing Prince, the head of the Qin clan. If I kill you, the Qin clan will probably be plunged into chaos, right?” Qin De bursts out laughing: “Let me tell you something. I’ve already made preparations. Once I die, the Qin clan is going to have a new head. At the same time, its army is going to attack desperately from 3 sides and trample the Xiang clan to pieces!”
Xiang Yang’s eyes flash with coldness.
If 2,000,000 troops really attack from 3 sides, despite his personal power, he will not be able to block such a huge number of troops. Even though they will not be able to kill him, there will be nothing he can do either.
After all, 2,000,000 troops are too many.
The destruction of the Xiang clan is what Xiang Yang does not want to see the most.
“But … I want to live too if possible. So, I can order these troops not to attack Ba Chu County, but you mustn’t harm anyone of the Qin clan either. What do you think? If you strike, the armies in Lei Xue County, Shang Que County and Zhen Yang County are going to storm Ba Chu County immediately!” Qin De says smilingly.
Xiang Yang stares at Qin De for a long time then says with a slight nod: “All right, remember your words. You mustn’t attack Ba Chu County. Otherwise even if I’m the only one left I’ll exterminate the Qin clan!”
With his black robe flapping, Xiang Yang immediately pierces through the air, leaving. Wu De takes a look at Qin De but then also leaves on his flying sword.
Looking in the direction of Xiang Yang’s departure, Qin De begins to frown deeply: “The situation has been complicated a bit. I never expected Xiang Yang to have reached the Yuanying stage’s early phase. Originally I thought this genius of the Xiang clan was at the Jindan stage’s late phase at most, in which case I would still be able to manage to deal with him. But it’s the Yuanying stage’s early phase … even if the Qin clan gets the kingdom, Xiang Yang can and will exterminate my clan.” Qin De ponders in midair for a long time but cannot come up with any solution. Xiang Yang reaching the early phase of the Yuanying stage has made it impossible for his plan to be completed.
******
Qin Yu and Xiao Hei are going through the clouds. At the moment Qin Yu’s mood is somewhat excited.
“Perhaps father and brothers still think that I’m dead.” Thinking about this, he becomes more eager to meet his father. Suddenly he sees the silhouette of Yan City down below. He tells Xiao Hei at once: “Xiao Hei, we’re about to reach the princely mansion. Let’s speed up!”
He then dives down towards the princely mansion like a beam of light. Xiao Hei also dives down after him.
“Big brother, I wonder how your father will react when he sees you.” Xiao Hei says to Qin Yu via his holy sense. Qin Yu cannot help giving a faint smile. With his current speed, he arrives in the airspace of the mansion in a short while.
His holy sense sweeps through the entire mansion.
“Oh? Big brother, 2nd brother and father all aren’t here.” Qin Yu flies to a place of the mansion directly.
Manager Li of the mansion is taking a walk very leisurely. Because he has received good news from the front lines, he is very relaxed. After Ge Min’s death, then Vice-Manager Li was promoted to manager and was also given a lot more power.
Suddenly, a blur appears before Manager Li then becomes clearer, showing the body of a man.
“Ah!”
Manager Li cannot help crying out in shock. At any rate he is the manager of the princely mansion so ordinary matters will not be able to astound him like this. However, what appears before him at the moment is 3rd Prince Qin Yu, who should have died.
“3rd Prince?” Manager Li’s face is full of disbelief.
Because of 3rd Prince’s death, he was grieved for a long time. But now a living 3rd Prince has unexpectedly appeared in front of him. Seeing Qin Yu’s smile, Manager Li cannot help believing that this is the real 3rd Prince Qin Yu of the princely mansion.
“Uncle Li, now you’re already the manager. Right, where’s my father?” Qin Yu asks smilingly.
Manager Li’s face changes color. He then stares at Qin Yu and says: “Say! Who are you? Don’t think that I don’t know it’s easy for Xiantian experts to change their appearances. His Highness himself saw 3rd Prince die. You think you can fool me with this?”
“Uncle Li, you don’t even recognize me? Do you still remember the time you brought me 8 external experts for me to choose my master from? At that time I chose Master Zhao Yunxing.” Qin Yu has no choice but to say this.
In his heart Manager Li believes that this man is Qin Yu, but his Lord personally witnessed Qin Yu’s death. A dead person cannot be revived. This is an established law of nature.
“Many people know that I took 8 external experts to 3rd Prince for him to choose his master. This can’t confirm your identity.” His face looks very solemn. However he has not called the guards yet and is waiting for Qin Yu to mention some secrets.
Qin Yu shakes his head with a smile. He cannot help saying: “Right, once when I was 5, as Grandpa Lian was accompanying me, I peed on your face and into your mouth. Do you still remember that?”
Manager Li is immediately speechless. Only he himself and Lian Yan know about that embarrassing incident. He has never talked about it. Qin Yu has never mentioned it since moving to Misty Villa either, and Lian Yan was no fool. But it has just unexpectedly come out from Qin Yu’s mouth.
“Also, when I left the mansion for Misty Villa, you even gave me a wooden horse you had carved by yourself. Plus, once when I was 10, I came to the mansion, you …” Qin Yu says smilingly, but Manager Li cannot help getting misty-eyed.
“3rd Prince!”
With a movement, he hugs Qin Yu tightly. His tears stream down from his eyes uncontrollably. Manager Li saw Qin Yu grow up. In the past, as the vice-manager of the mansion, he had a very deep affection for Qin Yu. Now Qin Yu has mentioned so many things he knows only Qin Yu knows about. Moreover, Qin Yu’s smile and expressions are exactly like those of the 3rd Prince in his heart.
“All right, Uncle Li.” Qin Yu can also feel Uncle Li’s excitement. “Uncle Li, where’s my father? Why are my big and 2nd brothers not in the mansion?”
After letting go of Qin Yu, Manager Li immediately says with a smile: “His Highness? Several months ago he went to war with the Xiang clan!”
“He already went to war with the Xiang clan?” Qin Yu is startled.
B4C18: Family Reunion
“The action was already started? Why so fast? How is the current situation? How have the Black Water bandits been dealt with? Does the Shangguan clan sincerely side with us or not?” Qin Yu cannot wait to ask Manager Li.
He is obviously shocked to know that Qin De started the action so early. He basically never thought that his father would initiate the war so early. Originally Qin Yu was very worried about the Qin clan’s ambition to unify the Chu kingdom because, after all, the Xiang clan was too strong while his clan was still being threatened by the bandits.
“Don’t worry, 3rd Prince, everything was well prepared when His Highness started the war. Since the order was given, our armies have advanced with unstoppable momentum while suffering almost no losses. By now we have occupied 10 counties of the Chu kingdom.” Manager Li waves his hands, saying. He still does not know that by now Zhen Yang County has been defeated. After all, it is impossible for that news to be reported so fast.
Qin Yu is surprised: “What, 10 counties?” He simply cannot imagine how his father has been able to deal with the Mu clan and the Shangguan clan in such a short time.
“Ha-ha, 3rd Prince, there are many things about His Highness’s devising of the plans that you don’t know. The 300,000 Black Water mountain range bandits have secretly been loyal to our Qin clan since the beginning. As for the Shangguan clan, it wanted to plot against us but His Highness used a trick to seize control of its 2 Northern region counties at one stroke. And the 3 Southern region counties … I’m not sure what happened there either, but they have inexplicably leaned on His Highness.”
In a short while, Qin Yu’s mind has already understood almost the entire course of the war.
“He took the 2 Northern region counties through plotting?” Knowing that his father was able to take control of the 2 Northern region counties, he can figure out that the methods most probably used were assassination, entrapping and the like.
Qin Yu frowns, his eyes flashing: “Uncle Li, where’s my father? And where are my big and 2nd brothers?” What he wants the most at the moment is to meet his relatives. After all, he has been away from them for so long. Moreover, with his current power, he can probably help them out as well.
Manager Li thinks for a while then says: “His Highness is in the town of Xiyang nearby in the Black Water mountain range. But 1st Prince is commanding his army in Lei Xue County and 2nd Prince is in the town of Wuxue next to the town of Xiyang.”
“The town of Xiyang?” Qin Yu’s eyes brighten.
After he left Misty Villa at the age of 13 to begin carrying out assassination missions, he often wandered around the Chu kingdom with Xiao Hei so he became very familiar with its many cities and even small towns. Now, as soon as he hears the town of Xiyang mentioned, he remembers where it is.
******
In a courtyard house in the town of Xiyang,
“Your Highness, if that Xiang Yang had really struck a killing blow, you would’ve been dead. No matter what happened, you shouldn’t have played with your life like that.” Xu Yuan says to Qin De angrily.
However, seeing that Qin De is alive, he also secretly lets out a sigh of relief.
The brocade purse that Qin De gave him talks about how various affairs of the Qin clan are to be handled once Qin De dies. Seeing the contents of the brocade purse, Xu Yuan knew that things were not good. Luckily, Qin De has eventually flown down from the sky alive.
“Xu Yuan, people who are also Xiuzhenists like me simply can’t hide from an early phase Yuanying expert. In the mortal world, I, who have reached the Jindan stage, am like a bright lamp in the dark. He can find me very quickly.” Qin De says with an indifferent smile.
Xu Yuan also understands what Qin De means but he still says: “Is Xiang Yang really formidable, Your Highness? Not even you and Shangxian Fengyuzi can cope with him?”
Xu Yuan is exceptionally intelligent but he still does not know much about the Xiuzhen world.
Qin De cannot help forcing a faint smile: “Even if I and Fengyuzi join forces, we still won’t be able to cause him a scratch. It’s early Yuanying stage, no less! The difference in power between us is too great!” Qin De is worried in his heart, worried about how to handle Xiang Yang.
If he cannot eliminate Xiang Yang, even if the Qin clan seizes control of the kingdom, a furious Xiang Yang will probably wipe out its members.
“For the moment I can only tell the armies to stop attacking. If this problem can’t be solved, attacking again will only provoke this terrifying fella Xiang Yang.” Qin De frowns deeply. Soon after Xiang Yang left, he has already dispatched people to the armies with the order — to stop attacking!
Xiang Yang!
How to deal with a super expert of the early Yuanying stage?
Qin De racks his brains but the difference in power between them is so great that all of his tricks have been rendered useless.
“Your Highness, did Wu De come here just now?” A clear voice rises. Qin De looks back and sees Fengyuzi fly into the courtyard directly from the distance in the sky on his flying sword. There is some anxiety in his eyes.
“Wu De? If he had come here alone, it would’ve been good. The Xiang clan’s Great Ancestor was also with him.” Qin De shakes his head and says smilingly. Fengyuzi has also heard of Xiang Yang’s famous name. He slightly frowns, saying: “Xiang Yang, the 1st emperor of the Xiang clan? If he’s still living, he’ll have practiced for nearly 1000 years. Perhaps his power is close to Wu De’s, right?”
“Close? If that was the case, I wouldn’t be so distressed. It’s early Yuanying stage.” Qin De says frankly. “Xiang Yang has reached the early Yuanying stage.”
“What? My goodness! Early Yuanying stage? How is this possible? The gap is too big, really too big!” Fengyuzi’s face totally changes color. An early Yuanying expert can deal with 3 or 4 late Jindan experts whereas he is only a middle Jindan expert and Qin De is even worse, an early Jindan expert. They simply cannot compare with Xiang Yang.
“When the Xiang clan suddenly has such a super expert, isn’t your plan is done for?” Fengyuzi knows very well about Qin De’s plan and he understands one thing —
An early Yuanying expert cannot be killed with mass attacks, nor can he be killed by him and Qin De.
Qin De gives a disappointed smile: “Brother Feng, let’s play a game with me first and talk later.” In general, when Qin De cannot solve a problem after thinking very hard, he will put it aside to take a rest first before continuing to think about it.
Fengyuzi also nods: “Then I’ll play a game with you, Your Highness.”
Qin De and Fengyuzi immediately sit down and start to play a game of Go in peace.
……
In Lei Xue County, in Qin Feng’s room,
“Marshal, His Highness has ordered that you must defend the cities and mustn’t come out to attack.” An order-delivering soldier informs Qin Feng clearly of Qin De’s order. After hearing it, Qin Feng cannot help asking: “Then when is the battle going to start?” The order-delivering soldier says: “His Highness said you are not to attack for the moment, unless His Highness gives another order.”
Qin Feng frowns and dismisses the order-delivering soldier with a wave of his hand. He then begins to ponder: “Isn’t this order by father meant to stop us from attacking again? Also, it doesn’t have an exact time limit. We’re on the verge of victory in this war, why has father …”
“Marshal, has His Highness given some orders?” An over 40 year old middle-aged man approaches him.
Qin Feng nods, saying: “Yes, my father has ordered that we only need to defend the cities and mustn’t come out to attack. Plus, there’s no exact time limit.”
The middle-aged man slightly frowns but says nothing. “Brother Ximen, for the moment I’ll put you in charge of my 100,000 troops. Do remember that you only need to defend the cities and can’t come out to attack. I have to see my father in person to ask what actually happened.” After receiving this order, Qin Feng is unable to put his own mind at rest.
He does not worry that something will happen after he leaves either. After all, if the attack is restarted, his father will definitely send people to spread this order. Because he will be in the town of Xiyang at that time, he will naturally know about it.
“His Highness? So you want to go meet him?” Ximen Xin asks doubtfully.
Qin Feng nods: “I’m going right now. This is my authority card. It’s only defending the cities. I believe in your talent, Brother Ximen. In terms of defense, not even I am as good as you.” Qin Feng says smilingly. He is very confident to give a cautious veteran like Ximen Xin control of the defense.
******
Qin De and Fengyuzi have been playing the game of Go for 12 to 14 hours straight, seeming to have forgotten time.
Xu Yuan is watching silently on one side. He also knows that both Qin De and Fengyuzi are not mortals and do not really have to eat. Therefore, while he himself has had a meal, he has not interrupted them.
Qin De holds a white piece and thinks for a long time without putting it down. Fengyuzi only looks on and does not urge him. After a long time, a hint of happiness appears on Qin De’s face. He puts the chess piece down with a clack.
“Brother Feng, it looks like you … oh.”
Both Qin De and Fengyuzi stand up all of a sudden and look eastwards.
“Experts, experts far more powerful than you and me.” Qin De’s expression becomes very serious. The appearance of Xiang Yang alone has given him a headache. But now 2 overwhelming auras seem to be approaching extremely fast. Their speed is really shocking.
Fengyuzi’s face has also become solemn.
Whizz!
A black blur and a light silvery blur dive down directly from the sky at a very high speed like 2 meteors. It seems to take them only a moment to come into the courtyard. Now the appearances of these 2 mysterious experts can finally be seen clearly.
Qin De is instantly dumbfounded.
Fengyuzi and Xu Yuan are also dumbfounded.
The 3 of them look at the young man who has just appeared before them in disbelief. He has that familiar aura, that familiar look, and even that familiar black eagle.
“Father!”
Qin Yu eventually says first in a choked voice. After staying in the Wilderness for over 10 months and going through a journey of 100,000 li, finally he has returned and can see his father Qin De. This word causes Qin De to shake all over.
His eyes are filled with a mixture of disbelief, excitement and ecstasy.
It is basically unbelievable that the look in a person’s eyes can contain so many meanings at the same time.
“Yu … Yu’er!” Qin De says in a quivering voice. “It’s you. Are you still alive? I’m not dreaming, am I?” He simply cannot believe this. That day Qin Yu’s heart was penetrated before him, but now a living Qin Yu has unexpectedly appeared. However, Qin De also thinks that his son is really alive. Qin Yu seriously nods his head. At the same time he gets misty-eyed: “Father, I’m living. I’m still alive.”
The father and the son then stare at each other without saying a word. All of their feelings are expressed completely through the eyes.
A person’s aura can gradually change according to his power level or his intuitive enlightenment, but not to a large extent. Fengyuzi has also noticed that the Qin Yu lookalike in front of him has an aura very similar to Qin Yu’s. The only difference is that this person’s aura is even more stable and fierce than Qin Yu’s in the past.
As for Qin De, he basically has no doubt. After the 2 of them exchanged their feelings through their eyes, Qin De has already judged that this is his son because of the look in his eyes. Moreover, the inherent telepathy between father and son has allowed Qin De to confirm that this person is Qin Yu.
He does not understand at all how his son was able to survive.
But, does he have to find out the truth about it? After knowing that his son survived, Qin De has already felt that he is very lucky and has thanked Heaven for this, why would he want to investigate how Qin Yu was revived?
……
It is still late at night, but Qin De immediately orders his subordinates to prepare a sumptuous banquet. Since returning from the site of the tribulation, he has never felt so happy and excited. Because he, who has stopped really caring about even food and drink, suddenly orders a banquet, his subordinates and cooks all become very busy.
It is late at night, but the entire town of Xiyang is peppered with firelight. In Qin De’s courtyard house, Qin De, Xu Yuan, Fengyuzi and Qin Yu, 4 people altogether, are sitting at a stone table. Various dishes are brought out continuously. When 6 trays have been filled with them, the servants stop temporarily. Not far from the stone table, there is a huge roast sheep. It has been prepared for Xiao Hei.
“Xiao Hei, I never knew that you preferred cooked food. I thought that you only liked eating wild beasts raw.” Qin Yu says to Xiao Hei using his holy sense. Just now, when the dishes started to be put on the stone table, Xiao Hei unexpectedly told Qin Yu via his holy sense that he wanted to eat roast sheep.
Qin Yu of course let his father know about this. Qin De had felt that Xiao Hei was strong and had been secretly amazed by his power so, when told by Qin Yu, he immediately ordered the cooks to prepare roast sheep.
Xiao Hei has no choice but to say: “Don’t blame me, big brother. Before I overcame the tribulation, my intelligence was still low. After the tribulation I had to practice again. It was all practicing on the way back here too. And with your internal flame and mine, if we had wanted to roast wild beasts, they would’ve been turned to ashes in an instant.”
After overcoming the 4-in-9 Heavenly Tribulation, Xiao Hei has become almost as intelligent as humans so he naturally has had many thoughts.
“Yu’er, it’s really unimaginable that that heavenly- tribulation-like beam of light was a teleportation technique. Having practiced in the Wilderness for so long, you should’ve already gone through the 4-in-9 Heavenly Tribulation, right? I feel that you’re not only more powerful than me, you’re even more powerful than your Uncle Feng.” Qin De says emotionally.
Qin Yu says smilingly: “There’re quite a few demonic beasts in the Wilderness. I was able to improve so fast only because I killed demonic beasts and refined their jindans. As for my power, dealing with late Jindan experts shouldn’t be a problem to me.”
Qin Yu is even being modest. His and Xiao Hei’s power cannot be judged by appearance. When he was still at the early Nebula stage and Xiao Hei was at the early Jindan stage, they were already able to kill 2 late Jindan Black Wind leopards by unleashing their special techniques. After refining the 2 late jindans of the leopards, both of them advanced one step in power. At the moment Qin Yu is at the middle Nebula stage and Xiao Hei is at the middle Jindan stage so it will be really easy for them to deal with late Jindan experts.
As Qin Yu finishes saying, a familiar voice rises outside the courtyard house.
“Father.” At the same time, the gate of the house is opened. It is Qin Feng. He has been hurrying to this courtyard house since he reached the town of Xiyang after going extremely fast for a long time. “Father, why did you give that order …? Ah! Xiao Yu!”
When Qin Feng sees Qin Yu, his entire body freezes as if he has been struck by lightning.
B4C19: Decision
“Big brother!”
Qin Yu suddenly stands up from his seat, his eyes filled with excitement.
However, at the moment Qin Feng is far more shocked than Qin Yu. When he knew about Qin Yu’s death, he was in anguish for a long time. He has participated in this war with the intention of seeking revenge for the death of his 3rd brother, but now his 3rd brother is unexpectedly standing in front of him alive.
“Xiao Yu …” Qin Feng does not know what to say for the moment.
“Feng’er, quickly sit down. You’ll know about what happened to Yu’er in a short while. Don’t look like that. It’s your 3rd brother. He’s really living.” Qin De laughs out loud cheerfully. He has not laughed so happily for a long time. Qin Feng shakes his head hard. It does not matter what happened, as long as his 3rd brother is alive, things are great to him.
He immediately sits down as well. The 5 of them encircle the table. Qin De then says: “Yu’er, you can continue with your story in the Wilderness.” Just now Qin Yu only finished talking about how the beam of light had hit and teleported him into the Wilderness. He has not mentioned what happened afterwards yet.
Qin Yu says smilingly: “After getting teleported into my master’s house in the Wilderness, I started to practice with no worries. Then I felt that my 4-in-9 Heavenly Tribulation was coming soon. But … Xiao Hei had to undergo the 4-in-9 Heavenly Tribulation even earlier than I did.” He looks at Xiao Hei while smiling.
The other 4 people, Qin De, Qin Feng, Fengyuzi and Xu Yuan, all look at Xiao Hei. Their eyes are full of amazement.
They all know that Qin Yu took a young eagle in when he was
7 so they of course can figure out how long Xiao Hei has practiced. Generally, demonic beasts with relatively low intelligence have even more difficulties in practice than humans, but Xiao Hei reached the level where he could take on the 4-in-9 Heavenly Tribulation in just 10 years, which is apparently a shocking thing.
“Xiao Yu,’ says Fengyuzi in wonderment, “In the past I was unable to decide the type of your black eagle, but now, given that he reached the Jindan stage so fast, it looks like he belongs to a very special type of demonic beast.”
Xiao Hei flaps his wings, looking very happy. However, he does not talk to the other people using his holy sense.
“Ha-ha, both Xiao Yu and his black eagle are freaks. It already seems awesome that I could reach the late Xiantian level at such a young age, but Xiao Yu has even overcome the 4- in-9 Heavenly Tribulation before turning 20. And it’s the same with Xiao Hei. This man and this eagle are really … freaks, freaks!!!” Qin Feng drinks some wine then says with loud laughs. Qin De also drinks a cup of wine then says to Qin Feng: “Feng’er, your 3rd brother didn’t only overcome the 4-in-9 Heavenly Tribulation, now even late Jindan experts are no match for him. Not long ago, when I and Brother Feng detected Yu’er and this black eagle with our holy senses, they were moving over several tenfold faster than I do when riding my flying sword.”
Qin Yu practices the Stellar Transformations and his stellar energy goes from the nebula outside his body into the one inside him then goes out again, forming a cycle. As the stellar energy continuously goes through his flesh and bones, it also continuously refines them. Thanks to this, now Qin Yu’s body can rival holy weapons.
Without using the flying sword, middle Nebula-stage Qin Yu already surpasses Qin De in flying speed. Once he rides the flying sword, he will be even faster. And if he uses the Body- Weapon Unification technique, going several tenfold faster than Qin De will be nothing unusual.
The flying speed of a Xiuzhenist partially reflects his power as well. Because Qin Yu is so fast, Qin De and Fengyuzi also believe in his power.
“Father, if you say anymore, I’ll be ashamed to death. Oh my, he can even beat late Jindan experts while I’m just a late Xiantian practitioner. Luckily I’m still his big brother.” Despite saying so, Qin Feng is actually very happy.
Xu Yuan on one side says: “All right, all you of stop being modest please. Qin Feng, if you feel ashamed to death despite having reached the late Xiantian level at such a young age, then I, a geezer who hasn’t even reached the Xiantian level, should go home and grieve for myself.”
Hearing Xu Yuan say this, all of the people present cannot help laughing out loud.
Xu Yuan does not have much talent for martial arts indeed.
After so many years, he has yet to reach the Xiantian level.
“Alright, continue with your story, Yu’er. What happened to you afterwards in the Wilderness?” Qin De asks smilingly. The others also look at Qin Yu. All of them are very curious about the mysterious Wilderness. Even though Qin Yu only went 100,000 li into the Wilderness and did not reach its depths, no Shangxian have dared to do the same thing before.
Qin Yu drinks a cup of wine to loosen up his tongue then says enthusiastically: “Xiao Hei and I then had to undergo the 4-in- 9 Heavenly Tribulation. In fact Xiao Hei’s heavenly tribulation was pretty dangerous, mostly because there were around 1000 Blue Flame wolves in a nearby mountain forest. None of them had reached the Jindan stage but the strongest among them were all at the late Xiantian level. Plus, there were too many of them. Nearly 1000 Blue Flame Wolves unexpectedly attacked us together when Xiao Hei’s tribulation came down.”
The other people all stop eating or drinking.
Qin Yu and Xiao Hei were ganged up on by nearly 1000 Xiantian level demonic beasts. Moreover, they also know that at that time he had not overcome his tribulation yet and was only a peak Xiantian expert. Even though he is alive and well now, in their minds they are still worried about his situation then. “Big brother, don’t tell them that I have hereditary memories.” Xiao Hei’s voice suddenly rises in Qin Yu’s mind. Qin Yu gives a smile and says via his holy sense: “Don’t worry. I won’t reveal your secret to anyone.”
He continues to talk about what happened back then: “Luckily, I had the Flaming Sword and Flaming Gloves so I went all out. After going through the 4-in-9 Heavenly Tribulation, Xiao Hei became much more powerful and killed quite a few Blue Flame wolves in one breath. Only then did those wolves leave.”
Qin De and the others can now let out a sigh of relief. But they know that even though Qin Yu’s description sounds simple, the situation at that time must have been extremely grave. After all, it was nearly 1000 Blue Flame wolves so he must have been beset on all sides by wolves from the beginning.
……
After a long time, Qin Yu finally finishes talking briefly about his adventure in the Wilderness this time. Of course, he did not mention that his master Lei Wei came from a different universe, nor did he mention some secret techniques such as the Stellar Transformations.
“Divine beast Dragon Rocky lion! Divine beast Hong Luan!” Fengyuzi takes a cold breath.
Hearing the last part of Qin Yu’s story, the other people can even feel how fearsome these 2 huge divine beasts are through his words alone. Divine beasts are called divine beasts only because of their formidable innate skills. When they have just been born, they are also very weak.
However, to Fengyuzi and the others, Yuanying stage divine beasts are absolutely invincible beings.
“Oh my, they are at least at the Yuanying stage. Moreover, one was a Dragon Rocky lion, which has exceptionally strong defense, and the other was a Hong Luan, which is similar to the phoenix. Even though these 2 divine beasts are at the Yuanying stage, they can definitely rival Dongxu Xiuzhenists.” As a Xiuzhenist, Fengyuzi also knows about some demonic beasts.
Qin De and the others are speechless.
Dongxu stage Xiuzhenists?
This has gone beyond their imagination. To reach the Dongxu stage from the Yuanying stage, a practitioner has to go through the 6-in-9 Heavenly Tribulation. There is a huge gap in power between these 2 stages, but a mere early Yuanying Xiang Yang is already invincible in the eyes of Qin De and Fengyuzi.
Compared to Dongxu stage Xiuzhenists, Qin De and Fengyuzi are just like babies in front of giants.
“Fortunately, fortunately,” Qin De retrospectively fears for his son.
Qin Yu says powerlessly: “There was nothing I could do. They were too powerful. Luckily, in the end the Hong Luan appeared and fought the Dragon Rocky lion. Otherwise, perhaps Xiao Hei and I would’ve been eaten by that Dragon Rocky lion. It was … too powerful.”
Remembering the situation at that time, Qin Yu still feels an uncomfortable feeling surging inside him.
“They’re not only powerful. At any given level of power, a Dragon Rocky lion is even a bit stronger than a dragon in defense. Without a high-grade holy flying sword, not even a Dongxu Xiuzhenist can break that Yuanying Dragon Rocky lion’s defense. And a Yuanying Xiuzhenist, even with a high- grade flying sword, won’t be able to scratch it. As for the Hong Luan, ordinary flying swords will be melted directly by its body-protecting flames even before getting close to it.” Fengyuzi says in an obviously excited manner.
All of them then fall silent for a while.
To people who are still struggling in the Jindan stage like Fengyuzi, these kinds of divine beasts are things they can only look up to. “All right, these divine beasts won’t leave the Wilderness so we don’t have to worry.” Seeing the other people’s expressions, Fengyuzi says comfortingly. But he then says smilingly with a shake of his head: “No wonder, with so many demonic beasts, no wonder among the Xiuzhenists from the Overseas Immortal Islands, no one has dared to go deep into the Wilderness. They have only dared to skirt around it.”
When there are already 2 Yuanying divine beasts in an area that is not deep in the Wilderness, what kinds of beasts are there in its depths?
“Go to the depths of the Wilderness? Perhaps not even Dacheng experts dare to do so.” Qin Yu thinks to himself. Thanks to some books and notes left behind by Lei Wei, he knows about the horrors in the depths of the Wilderness. In the past, even Lei Wei, whose power was equivalent to the Dacheng stage, did not dare to advance after getting close to its deepest parts.
…… After discussing Qin Yu’s journey in the Wilderness, the people present begin to talk about the course of the war. After a long, long time, when everyone has eaten and drunk a lot, a hint of light suddenly appears in the sky. It turns out dawn has broken.
But this banquet, which has been going on for a half night, is not finished yet.
“This time why did you give us the order to only defend the cities without attacking, father? By now we have taken 11 counties. Once we attack together from 3 sides, it will be as easy as waving a hand to take down Ba Chu County.” Only now does Qin Feng remember what he came here for.
As soon as Qin De hears this, he forces a smile.
Xu Yuan says: “Qin Feng, you still don’t know that Xiang Yang of the Xiang clan came here yesterday in the daytime.”
“Xiang Yang!” “Xiang Yang!”
Qin Yu and Qin Feng exclaim almost at the same time. Qin Yu then continues: “Isn’t it the Xiang Yang who was the real 1st emperor and created the Chu dynasty?” Qin Feng also looks at Xu Yuan and Qin De, his heart filled with amazement.
“Yes, it’s him.” Qin De says with a nod. “Plus, he has reached the early Yuanying stage.”
Qin Yu’s face slightly changes color, but his mind starts to think.
Xiang Yang has reached the early phase of the Yuanying stage but when he was still at the early Nebula stage he was able to kill a late Jindan Black Wind leopard, and now that he has taken one step into the middle Nebula stage, in theory he should be able to give Xiang Yang a good fight. However, the difference between the late Jindan stage and the early Yuanying stage does not lie only in raw power, but also in the levels of understanding of the Way of Heaven. It is difficult to make up for the gap in the latter so for the moment Qin Yu also feels uncertain of victory.
“If Xiao Hei and I join forces and use our respective special skills, perhaps we’ll be able to succeed.” He calculates in his mind.
Qin De continues to say: “Xiang Yang was very insolent. He even absurdly attempted to force us back to the 3 Eastern region counties.” A cold smile appears on his face. “Humph, he’s just one Xiuzhenist but he wants to make me give in through the use of brute force. How is this possible?”
Qin Feng stands up, saying: “What’s there to fear? When our armies charge from 3 sides, what will be the use of his individual power?”
Qin De says with a deep sigh: “That’s true. He won’t be able to do anything to our large armies. But … he can exterminate the Qin clan.” Hearing this, Qin Feng is speechless. If an early Yuanying expert like him gets angry, it will not be difficult for him to get rid of the entire Qin clan.
“Therefore … I had no choice but to compromise. I could only use the armies to threaten him that if he kills a Qin clan member, I’m going to destroy the Xiang clan even if we’re exterminated in the process. Only by doing so was I able to deter this old geezer.” Qin De says with a sigh.
Now Qin Feng finally understands his father’s distress.
“In the past he could wipe out the Qin clan, but now he can’t.” Qin Yu says in an ice-cold voice.
Qin De, Fengyuzi, Qin Feng and Xu Yuan all look at him. They find it somewhat hard to believe that Qin Yu just said those lordly words. However, the fierce air about him at the moment and the coldness in his eyes express his resolution clearly.
“Xiao Yu, you’re no match for him!” Fengyuzi coldly criticizes. “Even though you can kill late Jindan experts, the difference between them and early Yuanying experts is too great. This difference can’t be made up with raw power. He has practiced for nearly 1000 years while you’ve practiced for less than 20 years. How can your level of understanding compare with his?”
Qin Yu knows what Fengyuzi means, but he says nothing.
He does not know what his level is, but he knows one thing, that is, his soul is slowly nourished by the energy of the Meteoric Tear anytime, which means his level seems to always improve.
Even though the progress is slow, it never ceases.
“Yu’er, don’t worry. We can endure. When you weren’t here, I didn’t know what to do. But after you returned, I’ve come up with a solution. First, you have to refrain yourself. You’ve reached your current level in just 20 years. Given your speed in practice, you should practice for 10 or 20 more years. It won’t be late to get into action when you’re totally certain of winning.” Qin De knows that with his 3rd son’s temperament, once he has made up his mind, there is basically no way to persuade him other than this one.
Qin Yu nods but says no more. He does not want to make his father worry.
“Xiao Hei, if we join forces, do you think we’ll have a good chance of beating an early Yuanying Xiuzhenist?” He uses holy sense communication.
“We didn’t die even when encountering such a divine beast as that Dragon Rocky lion. Big brother, I never thought you’d be frightened by an early Yuanying Xiuzhenist.” Xiao Hei’s voice rises in Qin Yu’s mind. Hearing this, Qin Yu cannot help giving a faint smile.
Of course, he has made his decision as well.
B4C20: Disappear
After Qin Yu returned, Qin De has sent this news to Qin Zheng in the town of Wuxue. All the members of the Qin clan in the town of Xiyang have also gathered together, creating a very warm atmosphere.
However, at the moment in Eternal House of the Imperial Palace in Ba Chu County,
“Transmit this order. 200,000 armored cavalry troops of the Xiang clan are to come out and to either rout, or kill, or capture any Qin clan troops wandering outside the cities. Don’t worry about anything.” Xiang Yang’s voice comes out from behind the beaded curtain.
Mister Lan however says doubtfully: “Master, you want us to bring out the trump card army and attack the Qin clan troops with it?”
“Yes.” Xiang Yang says indifferently. Mister Lan immediately bows and says: “Master, but the Qin clan armies are surrounding our Ba Chu County on 3 sides. At the moment we don’t have enough men for defense, why do we still dispatch the all-important 200,000 armored cavalry troops? This …”
“Xuemou, how long have you been following me?” Xiang Yang asks in reply.
Lan Xuemou says respectfully: “Master, I’ve been following you for nearly 100 years.”
“For nearly 100 years I’ve thought that you’re the brightest among several disciples. But now it looks like … You’ve really disappointed me.” Xiang Yang says with a sigh. Hearing the sigh behind the beaded curtain, Lan Xuemou is immediately struck by a thought.
Suddenly, he remembers one thing — his master’s might.
“Could it be you have reached some agreement with Qin De, Master?” Lan Xuemou enquires carefully.
Xiang Yang laughs out loud cheerfully: “Looks like you’re still not too stupid. Qin De has already made an agreement with me. As long as I don’t personally get into action, his armies on 3 sides won’t be allowed to attack. We’re going to keep things status quo.”
Lan Xuemou becomes doubtful: “Status quo? So this means we’ll keep getting stuck in this deadlock?”
“Of course not!” Xiang Yang’s voice becomes fierce. “No matter what happens, this is the country that my father and I founded through battles. For the last nearly 1000 years, I’ve been watching this country of the Xiang clan. No one can take it from my hands.”
Lan Xuemou says again: “Then do you have any way to handle the current situation, Master?”
Xiang Yang calms himself down then says with an indifferent smile: “Now I only need some time, some transitional time. I’ve ordered your 4th martial younger brother to take several tens gifted descendants of the Xiang royal clan to a secret place.”
Lan Xuemou frowns. Now that the Xiang clan’s lineage has been safeguarded, he knows perhaps his master is about to get ruthless.
“Within one year, I’ll force all the leaders of the Qin clan’s armies to surrender by threatening to take their lives. This little trick is child’s play to me. Of course, before the counterattack, I want to boost the morale of the Xiang clan’s army!” Xiang Yang says indifferently.
Lan Xuemou secretly nods as well.
Right, it is morale.
An army’s morale is extremely important. This period of time, the Qin clan armies have taken 3 of the Xiang clan’s 4 counties with almost unstoppable momentum. Due to this, now the morale of the Xiang clan’s troops is nearly exhausted, and so restoring it is the first priority.
“Even though the highest echelons of the Mu clan and the Shangguan clan have yielded to the Qin clan, I don’t think those generals and vice generals are totally loyal to it. As long as I threaten them with deadly force, humph, I believe they’ll easily surrender to the Xiang clan too.”
Xiang Yang’s voice becomes ice-cold: “During this extraordinary period of time, I can only use extraordinary tricks. Since the Qin clan is very strong at the moment, we have to undermine its armies’ fighting spirit and morale first. Then, in addition to me threatening the enemy’s leaders, the Xiang clan’s army will spring into action at the right time, so, there’s no doubt that we’ll win.”
Now Lan Xuemou totally understands.
“So he sends the armored cavalry out to attack the enemy’s wandering troops at this point to increase the Xiang clan’s morale. The Qin clan won’t dare to attack and will only defend. Ha-ha, you’re really brilliant, Master.” Lan Xuemou has understood completely. The talk with Qin De apparently put Xiang Yang at a disadvantage but he is definitely no ordinary person so almost immediately afterwards he already thought of a series of follow-up plans.
After all, he is virtually the 1st emperor of the Chu dynasty.
Moreover, he has prepared a way out. Even if the 1st wave of attack fails, members of the Xiang clan will have already been brought to a secret place. With its wealth and secret forces and with the existence of Xiang Yang, it will not be difficult for the Xiang clan to rise again.
“Alright, just do as I said, Xuemou. Sending the Xiang clan’s armored cavalry to handle these small matters is like killing a chicken with a battle knife.” Xiang Yang says with an indifferent smile. The armored cavalry is absolutely the finest army of the Xiang clan. All of its troops are qualified ones who have experienced real fighting and bloody battles.
The Xiang clan’s armored cavalry was very famous during the time of the West Chu Conqueror. For so many years it has been maintained from behind the scenes by Xiang Yang so it has never loosened its training in the slightest.
******
In Lei Xue County, following the large-scale attack by the Xiang clan’s armored cavalry, almost all of the Qin clan troops in the cities no longer dare to wander outside because anyone who goes outside will be destroyed at one stroke by the Xiang clan’s armored cavalry. All of the Qin clan’s armies thus withdraw into passive defense in the cities.
In a short time, the Xiang clan’s morale has increased greatly. The Xiang clan’s soldiers often go from city to city to issue challenges to the Qin clan’s troops from outside the cities. The Qin clan’s troops however have no choice but to refuse to fight. Due to this, the Xiang clan’s troops unavoidably become more and more arrogant.
Even though the Qin clan’s troops are angry, none of them dares to disobey strict military orders. However, there is still a corps that dares to go from city to city, namely the Fierce Tiger Corps. It is made up of only 50,000 Fierce Tiger troops but these troops are the finest in the Qin clan’s army.
In terms of quality, the Fierce Tiger Corps is even a tier better than the Xiang clan’s armored cavalry. Also, the fierce tigers’ offense is far superior to that of the steeds. It is a combination of 2 powerful forces when a Fierce Tiger soldier rides a fierce tiger. Moreover, if the 50,000 fierce tigers of the corps give a roar in unison, they will scare the life out of the armored cavalry’s steeds.
Therefore, not even the 200,000 armored cavalry troops of the Xiang clan dare to attack the 50,000 Fierce Tiger troops.
However, only the 50,000 Fierce Tiger troops dare to go around outside the cities. The other troops of the Qin clan in Lei Xue County can only defend passively according to military orders. None of them knows when this situation will stop.
******
In the town of Xiyang,
“Big brother, 2nd brother, bottoms up.”
The 3 brothers, Qin Yu, Qin Feng and Qin Zheng, are sitting around the stone table under a willow in the courtyard, drinking wine with each other to their hearts’ content. After receiving the news about Qin Yu’s return, Qin Zheng immediately rushed extremely fast from the town of Wuxue to the town of Xiyang in ecstasy.
During this reunion, the 3 brothers talk emotionally about their respective experiences unceasingly.
When they remember how they larked about with each other in the hot spring of Misty Villa in Qin Yu’s childhood, that scene seems to appear before their eyes. However, it has been 10-odd years since then, and each of them has made achievements of his own.
Qin Feng has become a marshal and his army was the 1st to break through the defense of Lei Xue County. He is currently just 28 years old but has reached the late phase of the Xiantian level.
Qin Zheng is the next, dignified head of the Qin clan. Later he will even become the emperor of the new Qin dynasty.
Qin Yu is the youngest. His abilities were obscured in the past, but now he can make other people’s eyes pop out of their heads. Despite being only 20, he has already surpassed such a Shangxian as Fengyuzi. He can even handle Wu De.
Each of the 3 brothers of the Qin clan is really outstanding.
“When we were on the verge of unifying the entire Chu kingdom, who would’ve thought an old geezer who has reached the early Yuanying stage would appear in the Xiang clan?” Qin Feng drinks up the wine in his cup at a gulp then suddenly throws the cup on the ground. Obviously he is very angry. Qin Zheng says with a sigh: “Father already said that Xiang Yang is exceptionally strong. Even if he and Uncle Feng join forces, they won’t be able to withstand one of Xiang Yang’s strikes.”
Qin Feng looks at Qin Yu, saying: “Xiao Yu, remember, you’re the Qin clan’s only hope. You must remember, we aren’t allowed to lose, the Qin clan isn’t allowed to lose, no matter what. If you lose, the Qin clan will be finished. So you must endure, endure until you’re totally certain of winning to get into action.”
His eyes, which are looking at Qin Yu, are full of expectation.
“Xiao Yu, you have to endure.” Qin Zheng also looks at Qin Yu.
“Big brother, 2nd brother,” Qin Yu has thought about many things in only a short while, but seeing his big brother’s and 2nd brother’s expectation, he can do nothing but nod his head.
…… At night, in Qin De’s room,
“Your Highness, the Xiang clan is running riot, attacking our wandering soldiers everywhere. There are some cities that no long have enough food. Even the Fierce Tiger Corps has had to personally undertake the transport of food. This really is …” Xu Yuan says with a sigh.
The fact that the Fierce Tiger Corps, their absolute trump card, has had to be put in charge of the transportation of food naturally makes Xu Yuan feel powerless.
Qin De looks outside through the window of the room, frowning deeply.
“Xu Yuan, the current situation is bad for us, extremely bad. Even though it looks like Xiang Yang is afraid our armies and doesn’t dare to do anything. But … who’s Xiang Yang? How was the Chu dynasty founded? And how did it become the strongest of the 3 big dynasties?” Qin De says in a depressed manner. Following the death of the West Chu Conqueror, the Xiang clan became everyone’s target. In that situation, Xiang Yang was still able to lead the Xiang clan to establish the Chu dynasty and, moreover, turn it into the most powerful of the 3 big dynasties. Some tricks and stratagems used by him at that
time have even been recorded in books to pass down to later generations.
Xiang Yang’s wisdom must not be taken lightly.
Moreover, what old man is not extremely cunning? This genius of the Xiang clan has been living for even 1000 years so he is very ruthless and therefore must be paid a lot of attention to.
“We can’t attack but we basically don’t know what tricks Xiang Yang is going to use either. Moreover … he’s just too strong. We can’t threaten an early Yuanying expert like him.” Qin De says with a sigh.
Xu Yuan says: “Xiao Yu and that black eagle can even handle late Jindan experts, can’t they? If they join forces, maybe they can beat Xiang Yang.” Hearing Qin Yu’s name, Qin De says with a smile of satisfaction: “Luckily the Qin clan still has Qin Yu. The son I paid the least attention to and cared the least about has now unexpectedly become the person who can decide the Qin clan’s future.”
“But … now is definitely not the time for Yu’er to get into action. You’re not a Xiuzhenist so you simply can’t imagine the gap between the 2 stages. To make up for it is extremely hard.” Qin De’s eyes radiate absolute resolution.
“Why? Your Highness, we can’t drag on this situation. The longer we drag it on, the more dangerous to us it becomes. Who knows what tricks Xiang Yang is preparing?” Xu Yuan is rather afraid of Xiang Yang. This nearly 1000 year old geezer is not only good at using tricks but also very powerful, so it is really difficult to deal with him.
Qin De slowly shakes his head, saying: “We’ll wait for 10 years, or 20 years. Given Yu’er’s current progress in practice, he’ll definitely be able to kill Xiang Yang in 10 to 20 years. Only then will I let him get into action. The Qin clan mustn’t lose!” “10 to 20 years? During this time, many things can happen. 10 to 20 years will be enough for Xiang Yang to turn the tables.” Xu Yuan says hurriedly.
“Turn the tables?” Qin De says grimly. “The situation won’t stay like this for long, but I won’t be so powerless that I’ll let Xiang Yang turn the tables. At least I’ll preserve the armies’ power. The best Xiang Yang can do is to threaten some military leaders. Alright, then I’ll lower the influence of the generals and increase the influence of the Qin clan.”
Qin De after all is an outstanding person so he will not play into Xiang Yang’s hands.
“Your Highness, when the Xiang clan has stabilized to a certain extent, perhaps Xiang Yang will assassinate the Qin clan’s members.” Xu Yuan says worriedly.
“Assassinate?” Qin De says with a cold smile. “He can kill some people, including me. But that’s not important. As long as Xiao Yu is alive, he’ll kill Xiang Yang and the Xiang clan will be done for. Otherwise, with Xiang Yang’s existence, even if we can seize the kingdom, we won’t be able to keep it.”
Xu Yuan lets out a sigh but he has no choice but to accept that this is the only solution.
In Qin Yu’s room,
Qin Yu, who is sitting with legs crossed on a bed, opens his eyes, which seems to be covered in a layer of mist at the moment.
“Father …” Thanks to his holy sense, Qin Yu is aware of everything that happened just now. His eyes flash. “Don’t worry, father. I won’t disappoint you, no matter what. 10 to 20 years is too long, long enough for many things to happen. I can’t stand the pain of losing you and brothers.”
A faint smile suddenly appears on the corners of his mouth: “Master, perhaps this time I’ll have to use that move of yours.” ……
Qin Yu stays in the town of Xiyang for several days, during which time he is very happy. The 3 brothers meet each other regularly and Qin De often spends time with his 3 sons as well. For so many years, the 4 of them have rarely gathered like this.
In the early morning of a day, when Qin De has just walked out through the door of his room, suddenly —
“Father, father, Xiao Yu has disappeared. This is the jade case he left. I can’t open it.” Qin Zheng runs up to him holding a jade case.
“Disappeared?!” Qin De’s face changes color. He immediately receives the jade case. He knows at a glance that this case is protected by the most basic restrictive spell that only Xiuzhenists can remove. Of course, anyone who is not a Xiuzhenist cannot open it.
Qin De easily opens the jade case. There are a letter and 3 old books in it. The letter has the words ‘Dear Father’ written on it.
Qin De’s heart skips a beat because of a bad feeling. He opens the letter at once.
“Father, when you open this letter, I will probably have reached Ba Chu County. I believe you know my speed. I can only guarantee that, in this battle, Xiang Yang will definitely die no matter what happens.
The Ancestral Dragon Art left by Shi Huang only has the practice method for up until the Jindan stage. The 3 secret books I left are top-class Xiuzhen techniques that describe in detail how to practice from the Jindan stage to even the Dacheng stage. These techniques are different from the Xiuzhen techniques of the Overseas Immortal Islands so you don’t have to worry that other people will come to trouble you. This is all that I can do.
Yours sincerely, Yu’er!”
B4C21: A Full Moon Night On The River Wu
Qin De’s 2 hands, which are holding the letter, slightly tremble. In an instant, his facial expression changes several times.
“Father, how is Yu’er? What does this letter actually say?” Qin Zheng asks Qin De hurriedly, his face full of urgency. Qin Zheng has been having a bad feeling as well, especially after seeing Qin De’s expression.
Qin De’s facial muscles are slightly twitching. His eyes redden in a moment. Qin De takes a deep breath, trying to suppress the feelings surging inside him. His whole chest takes in fresh air like a pair of bellows. He must refrains himself.
“Yu’er.”
Qin De, having become misty-eyed, passes the letter in his hands to Qin Zheng on one side. “Yu’er, how am I going to have to treat you?” Qin De turns his face upwards, looking into the sky. His expression is totally unhappy. “I wronged you but you’ve helped me again and again. Last time, to save me you didn’t hesitate to die together with the enemy. Now, you again …”
He still remembers that sentence in the letter — ‘I can only guarantee that, in this battle, Xiang Yang will definitely die no matter what happens.’
Qin De knows his 3rd son very well — Once he promises to do something, he will definitely accomplish it, only that … in order to achieve his goal, he will disregard even his own life.
This is his son, Qin Yu!
He should take pride in having such a son, should he not? But at the moment Qin De’s heart is in a lot of pain. He knows that his son left for the sake of the Qin clan and that, once this battle is won, the Qin clan will benefit greatly from the victory. However … Qin De after all is a father! The urge to be with his son caused by his fatherly feelings is not something that can be suppressed.
“Father, Xiao Yu … why is he so silly? We can wait, waiting for 10 to 20 years. But …” Qin Zheng has started to panic, but he can do nothing now. Chasing?
It will take even people like Fengyuzi a day’s worth of time to reach Ba Chu County from here, but Qin Yu only needs 2 to 4 hours to arrive in that county. They simply will not be able to catch up with him because Qin Yu’s speed is really too fast!
“Wait? 10 to 20 years is too long. Many things can happen during this period of time.” Qin De totally understands what his 3rd son was thinking. But, the more he understands his son’s intention, the more pain his heart is in.
“Xiao Yu, 3rd brother!” There is also a mournful expression on Qin Zheng’s face now because he has understood everything as well. “2nd brother, where’s Xiao Yu? Why both of you are here?” Qin Feng has run up to them too.
Qin De suddenly looks at Qin Zheng, saying: “Zheng’er, this letter and these 3 secret books will be regarded as the Qin clan’s most important treasures. You must protect them. Remember, from now on, you’ll be in charge of every affair of the Qin clan. You’ll represent the entire Qin clan! So, you mustn’t act on impulse.”
Qin De puts the 3 secret books in Qin Zheng’s hands.
Qin Zheng cannot help getting startled. He looks at Qin De, saying doubtfully: “Father, what do you mean?”
“Before leaving this time Yu’er wrote that he would be able to kill Xiang Yang so I believe he’ll succeed. Xiang Yang will definitely die. But … we all know Yu’er’s temperament. He isn’t afraid of death. Because he’s determined to kill Xiang Yang in this battle, it’s hard to tell if he’ll be able to return.” Qin De says in a very low voice. On one side, both Qin Feng and Qin Zheng hear what he says. As older brothers, they of course know Qin Yu’s temperament. When they think about this, their faces change color greatly at once.
“Ha-ha … whatever happens, let me act on impulse too for a while. If I can’t see Yu’er again, I won’t be able to live in peace for the rest of my life. Zheng’er, remember, I’ve given the entire Qin clan to you. Feng’er, remember, you must protect the Qin clan well.” Qin De entrusts the Qin clan to his 1st and 2nd sons.
“I’ve given the entire Qin clan to both of you.” Qin De looks at these 2 sons of his.
Qin Zheng and Qin Feng clench their teeth and their eyes slightly redden, but the 2 brothers still nod resolutely. Seeing his 2 sons’ reactions, Qin De gives a smile, a very relaxed smile.
“Ha-ha … I, Qin De, have been living for so long, and what I take the most pride in is my 3 good sons.” A flying sword appears under his feet. After taking a look back at his 2 sons, he soars into the sky directly on his flying sword.
“Father!” Qin Zheng and Qin Feng watch Qin De gradually leaving through the sky.
“Yu’er!” Qin De seems to see an illusion of Qin Yu. “I owe you too much. At this moment, how can I keep hiding behind your back, letting you fight to the death in front of me? Even if I have to die, I’ll die beside you.”
Qin De is riding his flying sword. His long hair is flapping wantonly, giving his entire body a wild, carefree air.
He knows that this time he is acting on impulse, but if a person is always too rational, living will be very tiring. Now, the emotions that have been repressed in Qin De’s heart for a long time have burst and he no longer cares about anything.
Since entrusting the Qin clan to his 2 sons, he has been totally at ease. At the moment he is acting impulsively and wildly … but he is enjoying this kind of feeling. Standing on the flying sword, Qin De disappears on the western horizon in an instant like a beam of light.
******
Qin Yu and Xiao Hei have already come into Ba Chu County. They are currently just a short distance away from the capital.
“Xiao Hei, this battle will be very dangerous.” Qin Yu says to Xiao Hei on one side via his holy sense.
“Big brother, don’t say those useless words. You and I have never been away from each other for so many years. We even dared to face divine beasts, what’s there to be afraid of? Isn’t he just an early Yuanying Xiuzhenist? Big brother, later don’t say those standoffish words to me.” Xiao Hei looks at Qin Yu with his sharp eyes, which are radiating an indomitable perseverance.
Qin Yu bursts out laughing. “Ha-ha, Xiao Hei, with a brother who sticks by me through life and death like you, I have no regrets in this life.” Qin Yu feels a coziness surging in his heart.
“That’s good, big brother. But we’re not going to throw our lives away. We should plan carefully how to deal with Xiang Yang, no matter what.” Xiao Hei uses holy sense communication. His intelligence is really not lower than that of any normal human.
Qin Yu nods. His mind starts to consider.
Xiao Hei suddenly says using his holy sense: “Big brother, there’ll be a full moon tomorrow night. In my hereditary memories, there is a special skill that is even much more powerful than my Flaming Lightning if executed in a full moon night. Humph, isn’t it just Xiang Yang? … This special skill of mine will injure him badly at least.”
Xiao Hei is very proud but he only says that he will injure Xiang Yang badly at least. Qin Yu thus understands that he is also somewhat afraid of an early Yuanying Xiang Yang.
“Good, but … should we go check out Xiang Yang’s power a bit right now?” Qin Yu gives a faint smile.
Xiao Hei immediately utters an eagle cry.
A person can always win only if he knows his situation and that of his enemy. Qin Yu’s and Xiao Hei’s speeds are even faster than that of a Yuanying stage Golden Flame eagle. In general, a human when flying on a sword is slower than a bird of the same power level which excels at flying. Qin Yu and Xiao Hei, therefore, believe that Xiang Yang’s speed is inferior to theirs.
They turn into 2 blurs and fly into the airspace of the Imperial Palace in Ba Chu County in just a short while.
Both of them, a man and an eagle, stand side by side in midair. Qin Yu is being engulfed in his indistinct light silvery stellar energy. His entire body is a blur through the stellar energy, which looks like a thick fog. Xiao Hei spreads his huge wings. Various electric sparks begin to cover them.
Their powerful auras sweep across the whole Imperial Palace like a storm.
“Xiang Yang, quickly come out.”
Qin Yu says in a clear voice. Transmitted by the stellar energy, his voice is like ripples, spreading out downwards from him. It resounds through the entire capital and at the same time causes the air right above the capital to vibrate continuously.
In a short while, the people in the whole capital are astonished. All of them look into the sky. Those who are slightly powerful can see an indistinct silhouette and a black eagle as well in the sky.
“Xiang Yang, quickly come out!”
Qin Yu’s voice resounds nonstop through the air and pierces the walls so all of the people in the Imperial Palace, including the Xiang clan’s members, can hear it.
At the same time, a sharp eagle cry resounds through the sky.
Seemingly wanting to compete with Qin Yu, Xiao Hei cries very loudly. His cry resounds continuously and resonates with Qin Yu’s voice. The people in the entire capital all freeze with shock because of these sounds.
……
“Standing in midair, oh my, it’s a Shangxian, Shangxian!!!” After looking into the sky and seeing Qin Yu’s indistinct silhouette, an internal expert on a street of the capital cannot help getting horrified. “That Shangxian mentioned Xiang Yang. Ah, Xiang Yang, could he be the 1st emperor of our Chu dynasty? Are they 2 peope with the same name or are they the same person?”
The people in the capital are discussing with each other. All of them have great reverence for that man in the sky.
Only Shangxian can stand in midair. And Shangxian, of course, are not the same as mortals.
……
In Wu De’s place of residence, hearing that loud and clear voice, Wu De immediately throws open the door of his room and walks out. As he looks into the sky and sees that vague silhouette, his heart is filled with shock.
“Xiang Yang, this man has unexpectedly issued a challenge to Xiang Yang. It looks like he’s extremely strong as well.” He quickly rejects the idea of fighting that vague silhouette because an expert who dares to fight early Yuanying stage Xiang Yang is basically not someone he can compare with.
……
Bang!
In Xiang Guang’s resting place, Xiang Guang suddenly pushes open his room’s door and rushes out. Dressed in only a yellow pair of pyjamas, he stands outside his house and looks up at the indistinct silhouette in the sky. He is scared stiff all over instantly.
“Shangxian, does this Shangxian want to fight Great Ancestor?”
Xiang Guang starts to panic at once. At the moment, the Great Ancestor is the only thing that the Xiang clan can rely on. If Xiang Yang is killed by this Shangxian, who has appeared all of a sudden, that will be terrible.
Suddenly —
“Who are you, petty thief? You even dared to shout in the sky above the Imperial Palace.” Similarly, a powerful voice comes out from Eternal House. It is not less resonant than Qin Yu’s voice and is even somewhat superior to his. As the voice resounds, a black-robed silhouette soars directly into the sky from Eternal House.
With his black robe fluttering and his long black hair flowing freely, Xiang Yang focuses his extremely sharp and ice-cold eyes on Qin Yu and Xiao Hei. At the moment his aura is frenzied like a storm. It sweeps across the sky, coming at them.
In an instant, all of the people in the capital, the Xiang clan’s members in the Imperial Palace and even Shangxian Wu De look up into the sky.
Because of the indistinct stellar energy which is wafting around Qin Yu’s body like mist, that aura cannot touch him at all. As for Xiao Hei, flashes of lightning are flickering and flames are blazing on his body. His fierce aura is rising nonstop.
“A man and an eagle who haven’t even reached the Yuanying stage like you dare to mess with me? Why don’t you ask yourself if you’re qualified to do this?” Xiang Yang says coldly. His heart is filled with anger. Just now Qin Yu shouting ‘Xiang Yang, quickly come out!’ has made he feel like he has been ordered around at will.
Qin Yu looks at Xiang Yang in front of him. His holy sense is expanded to the utmost.
His holy sense is very strong. The Meteoric Tear is not very useful for improving his raw power and can only heal his injuries but it has been nourishing his soul nonstop with its warm streams, resulting in Qin Yu’s very powerful and tough holy sense.
“Early Yuanying stage, Xiang Yang, you’re pretty good, too bad … you must’ve been practicing all by yourself, right?” Qin Yu says indifferently.
“I’ve been practicing hard for nearly 1000 years. I broke through the Jindan stage to reach the Yuanying stage all by myself, using my own enlightenment. This is the reason the Xiang clan’s technique now also has the method for reaching the Yuanying stage.” Xiang Yang however says very haughtily. The Xiang clan has an heirloom technique as well, which is similar to the Qin clan’s Ancestral Dragon Art. In the past Xiang Yu created the method for reaching the Jindan stage and now Xiang Yang has created the method for reaching the Yuanying stage.
However, Qin Yu bursts out laughing.
“Xiang Yang, your talent is not bad. Pity … you’ve learned only from your experience. I ask you, how many flying sword techniques do you know? How many restrictive spells do you know? And do you know the secret, mysterious art of forging?” Qin Yu says with a cold laugh.
Xiang Yang’s face slightly changes color.
A person who practices alone has limited energy. It is already exceptional that he was able to reach the Yuanying stage. Those so-called flying sword techniques, secret restrictive spells and forging secrets were only able to come into existence thanks to the efforts of countless genius disciples of some Xiuzhen schools for nobody knows how many tens of thousands of years.
So, how can Xiang Yang possibly create them by himself?
Qin Yu suddenly makes a movement with his body, turning into a blur. He comes up to Xiang Yang’s face in an instant and forms a finger sword with the forefinger and middle finger of a hand. Several indistinct beams of stellar energy are shot out from the finger sword. Concurrently with that, he clenches a fist with the other hand and throws a punch at Xiang Yang.
“Humph!”
Xiang Yang utters a cold humph. His overwhelming elemental energy forms a seemingly real suit of armor around him. When the sword beams of stellar energy hit the suit of armor, it shakes for a while.
Bang!
Qin Yu’s fist smashes into Xiang Yang’s body. That suit of armor shakes violently again, but it is not damaged in the slightest. With a movement of his body, Qin Yu returns to his original position.
“So that’s all you’ve got?” Xiang Yang says disdainfully in a cold voice. However, he is secretly amazed by Qin Yu’s speed. Qin Yu gives a laugh. Just now he did not even use the Flaming Gloves and only relied on his fist’s own offensive power. Now he has gained some understanding of Xiang Yang’s power.
“Xiang Yang, your father, the West Chu Conqueror, died on the River Wu, right?” He suddenly says.
Xiang Yang’s eyes flash with coldness. What he hates the most is other people mentioning his father’s death. In his heart, his father Xiang Yu was an invincible conqueror. However, his father was ganged up on by the Qin clan’s Shangxian and was killed on the River Wu.
“Tomorrow, in a full moon night on the River Wu, I and my brother here will be respectfully awaiting your arrival. But if you don’t dare to come, then let’s forget about it … Ha-ha …” Qin Yu laughs out loud then steps on his flying sword. In an instant, his entire body disappears from Xiang Yang’s vision like a bolt of lightning or a meteor. Xiao Hei also slightly shakes his wings. Using the Passing Lightning Flashing Nine Times technique, he disappears in a short while.
Xiang Yang’s face changes color. He is frightened again by the speeds of this mysterious man and this mysterious eagle.
“Tomorrow, in a full moon night on the River Wu … Xiang Yang, let’s see if you’ll dare to come …” That loud and clear voice comes again from the horizon and continuously resounds through the air. The look in Xiang Yang’s eyes becomes even more ice-cold.
B4C22: The Death Of Wu De
Qin Yu and Xiao Hei fly side by side through the air.
“The River Wu, 2000 km long and sinuous, is the largest river of Ba Chu County. It runs through several tens cities of the county. The place where the West Chu Conqueror died in battle is not far from the capital either.” Qin Yu tells Xiao Hei using holy sense communication.
“Big brother, the River Wu is so long but you only told Xiang Yang to fight it out on this river, who can know where you mean to fight him? You haven’t told Xiang Yang the exact location of the battle.” Xiao Hei says doubtfully. He was also doubtful just now, but because both Xiang Yang and Qin Yu are not careless people, he guessed that both of them must have understood each other and therefore did not ask. Only now does he ask Qin Yu.
Qin Yu gives a smile: “Do you still remember what I said just now?” After Xiao Hei recalls what Qin Yu said just now and thinks about it for a while, he also understands: “Ha-ha, big brother, you’re really cunning. No wonder when Xiang Yang heard your words his face immediately changed color.” Xiao Hei is very intelligent too so he only needed to ponder a little to understand.
While talking to Xiang Yang, Qin Yu suddenly asked: “Xiang Yang, your father, the West Chu Conqueror, died on the River Wu, right?” Then he challenged Xiang Yang to a fight. Xiang Yang is no ordinary person so he understood at once that the fight was going to take place at the location of the West Chu Conqueror’s death.
Qin Yu’s meaning was very clear, that is, your old man, the West Chu Conqueror, died at this place and this time you are going to be killed by me at this place as well.
“Humph, 1000 years ago my Qin clan’s Shangxian killed a Jindan stage Xiang Yu on the River Wu. Now both of us are going to kill the even more formidable Xiang Yang at the same place.” Qin Yu says laughingly. Xiao Hei says with a cold laugh using his holy sense: “Since we’re going to let them die at the same place, Xiang Yang should be satisfied with this.”
Except for Qin Yu, Xiao Hei is unwilling to interact with humans. He is somewhat friendly to the Qin clan’s members mostly because of their relationships with Qin Yu. And he simply does not care about the other people. As for the Xiang clan’s members, because there is a feud between them and Qin Yu, he is also extremely hostile to them.
“Xiao Hei, tonight I’ll still have to handle a business. Can you guess what it is going to be?” Qin Yu says laughingly.
“There’s still another business?” Xiao Hei considers for a while. “Big brother, according to what you told your family, in theory there should be no other problems. Oh, I know already.” Xiao Hei’s sharp eyes glitter. “It’s Wu De, right?”
Qin Yu says using his holy sense: “You’re smart. There must be no mistakes during the fight between us and Xiang Yang on the River Wu in tomorrow’s full moon night. This fight is not only going to decide our fate, but also the fate of the Qin clan. Therefore … if a late Jindan expert like Wu De lives, I won’t be able to fight unworried.”
Qin Yu’s intention is very clear.
If Wu De uses a sneak attack at a crucial moment in Qin Yu and Xiao Hei’s battle against Xiang Yang, perhaps the situation of the battle will change. This is one possibility. Another possibility is, if they perish together with Xiang Yang, leaving Wu De, who holds a grudge against the Qin clan, alive, he will become a serious menace to the Qin clan.
No matter what happens, Wu De must die first.
“Good, Wu De, his martial younger brother almost killed you, just let me burn this bastard up directly.” Xiao Hei says with hatred.
“Xiao Hei, you don’t have to get into action. I’m going to be the one who’s going to send both him and his martial younger brother off to Hell.” Qin Yu’s eyes radiate a hint of coldness. He already killed Wu Xing so there is an irreconcilable blood feud between him and Wu De. Even though Qin Yu treats other people sincerely, he has absolutely no mercy for enemies.
Xiao Hei says in agreement: “All right, then let me see your abilities, big brother.”
“Tonight, Wu De is going to get killed in the capital. Xiao Hei, let’s find a place to rest and wait until tonight before getting into action.” They immediately dive down. Both of them, one man and one eagle, then casually choose a mountain peak and rest quietly on it.
The capital was the Chu dynasty’s center in the past. Because it was well lit at night by the lamplight of tens of thousands of families, it was called the Nightless City. The capital was lively and extremely flourishing and bustling, but since the Qin clan went to war, its luxurious and corrupted atmosphere has grown weaker and weaker.
However, after that Shangxian issued a challenge to battle in broad daylight that resounded through the capital, tonight the capital is even under martial law. Due to this, nobody dares to roam the streets late at night.
In a quiet courtyard house, there are a stone table and nothing but 2 stone stools beside it. In the past Wu De and Wu Xing often sat on these stone stools but now Wu Xing is already dead so one of the stools is no longer used.
On the jade bed in the house, there is a tea table in the center of the jade bed. Wu De is sitting with eyes closed and legs crossed on the left hand side of the tea table, his long hair hanging about his shoulders.
“Alas …” Wu De opens his eyes, looking at the right side of the jade bed. The tea table divides the jade bed into two and in the past he and Wu Xing would sit on either side, practicing calmly. They lived together for nearly 1000 years but now Wu Xing is already dead so Wu De cannot help feeling somewhat unaccustomed to this.
“Don’t worry, martial younger brother. Xiang Yang will cause trouble to the Qin clan very quickly. When the time comes I’ll definitely exterminate that clan to avenge your death.” Wu De’s eyes flash with coldness. He has never forgotten that he has to seek revenge for his martial younger brother’s death.
Suddenly the door of his room automatically opens. Cold winds of the late night rush into the room, causing Wu De’s long hair to flutter. He however narrows his eyes. His entire body’s aura starts to become fierce.
“Who?” When Wu De has just finished saying, his face suddenly changes color.
Bang!
Wu De’s jade bed is put against a stone wall of the room. That wall unexpectedly shatters as if blown up, shooting stone fragments in all directions. A fist strikes out directly from the middle of the stone fragments like a glittering iron sledgehammer.
Wu De turns into a blur and moves forwards, but that fist is even faster than he is!
Bang!
That fist smashes directly on Wu De’s back. A dazzling light immediately brightens on his back. At the same time, his entire body unexpectedly accelerates again and flies out of the room like a bow-leaving arrow. However, a silhouette has appeared in the room.
Wu De is standing outside the room staring inside. At the moment, blood is trickling down from a corner of his mouth.
“Who? Come out!” He shouts coldly.
However, trickles of cold sweat continuously appear on his forehead. Just now he was able to feel how fast the opponent was. Even though he detected his killing intent in advance, he was still hit in the back with a punch. The power of the opponent’s punch unexpectedly penetrated his body-protecting elemental energy and injured him directly.
Expert! The elemental energy in Wu De’s body has been activated completely. He focuses his entire eyes on the silhouette inside the room.
When that silhouette comes out of the room, Wu De’s face suddenly changes color greatly.
“It’s you!” His eyes are filled with disbelief. “How is this possible? Didn’t you die already? I saw you die with my own eyes. Didn’t you perish together with my martial younger brother? How can you still be alive? This’s impossible, absolutely impossible.”
The person in front of him is unexpectedly ‘Mister Liu Xing,’ who is also Qin Yu.
“Why impossible? Aren’t I living very well in front of you, Mister Wu De?” Qin Yu says with a smile.
Wu De’s face changes color several times then he becomes frighteningly sullen. Staring at Qin Yu, he says: “Qin Yu, it doesn’t matter how you was able to survive, but … do you really think you can handle me with your power? I remember last time you hadn’t even undergone the tribulation so now you’re at the early Jindan stage at most. You’re no match for me.”
Wu De’s tone is very certain. Perhaps he wants to convince himself.
Judging from the single punch a moment ago, he has already noticed that his opponent is formidable.
“Wu De, your life … has 5 seconds left.” Qin Yu does not say much. Afterwards he stretches smilingly, creating a series of clack noises from his whole body. At the same time he mumbles: “5, 4, 3 …”
He counts while stretching gently.
“In your dreams.” Wu De says disdainfully in an ice-cold voice. He does not believe Qin Yu at all but his heart has become totally anxious. He channels the entire elemental energy inside him outside. At the same time, his flying sword flies to the top of his head, floating while preparing to attack at any moment.
A faint smile appears on the corners of Qin Yu’s mouth: “1.”
As Qin Yu finishes saying, his entire body is engulfed by the indistinct stellar energy. Concurrently with this, his body charges at Wu De like a beam of light. The distance between them is only 10-odd meters so Qin Yu comes up to Wu De’s face in the blink of an eye.
Wu De suddenly opens his eyes. According to his thought, his flying sword shoots directly at Qin Yu.
Bang!
Qin Yu suddenly throws a punch. The Flaming Gloves, which is covered in a moving dark golden light, boldly smash into the flying sword. In seemingly a moment, that flying sword is shattered, turning into various fragments. Having destroyed the sword, Qin Yu seems not to stop.
Pu!
After his flying sword is shattered, Wu De cannot help spitting out a mouthful of blood. However, Qin Yu, charged with killing intent, has already attacked using 2 hands.
Stellar Field!
He turns into a good few versions of himself, surrounding Wu De completely. At the same time, all Qin Yu’s attack Wu De using a different kind of attack each such as finger sword, claw strike, punch and knife hand strike … In almost an instant, the claw, punch, palm, finger sword, spear hand hit Wu De’s body.
The face of Wu De, whose elemental energy has surged out of his body, suddenly hardens. His elemental energy has also weakened.
“0!” Qin Yu says with an indifferent smile after his copies have become one with him. He then steps into the air directly. At the same time, a bang is heard. The motionless body of Wu De has exploded as if self-destructing. His blood splatters all over the sky.
Qin Yu, with his back facing Wu De’s exploded corpse, casually executed an easy move towards his back with his right hand. A stream of the indistinct stellar energy that looks like a blue ribbon flies out, quickly wraps around a jindan and brings it back to him.
“Big brother, this is really so simple since you used the stellar field from the get-go.” Xiao Hei says to Qin Yu while flying in the sky.
Qin Yu says smilingly with a shake of his head: “It was not simple. I let him lived 4 more seconds.”
Just now Qin Yu said 5 seconds but he only needed 1 second to start and finish his attack. Even though his movements sound slow when expressed in words, he was extremely fast. Activating the stellar field, shattering the flying sword and killing Wu De took him just 1 second altogether.
“This Wu De is even weaker than Black Wind leopards.” Xiao Hei says disdainfully.
Qin Yu says with a smile: “No, their power levels are about the same, only that when I killed that Black Wind leopard I was only at the early Nebula stage. Now I’ve already reached the middle Nebula stage so naturally my offense has improved by several times and killing an expert of this level has become much easier.”
“All right, Xiao Hei, now we can meditate with no worries. Tomorrow’s full moon night we’re going to go to the River Wu to fight that Xiang Yang.” At the moment Qin Yu’s mind is very calm.
Having killed Wu De, his only remaining target is Xiang Yang. ******
The morning sun is spreading its warm beams freely. At noon, the whole capital is still as bustling and flourishing as before.
A blue-clad middle-aged man is walking on West Street of the capital. He is none other than Qin De, who was only able to reach the Chu dynasty’s capital from the town of Xiyang after going nonstop for nearly a day. He knows that his identity cannot be revealed so used the Appearance and Bone Changing art to change his appearance.
Qin De enters a teahouse, sits down and casually gives the waiter a chunk of silver: “Waiter, did anything interesting happen yesterday in the capital?”
Seeing the chunk of silver, the waiter’s eyes brighten. He grabs it at once and says politely: “Sir, something did happen yesterday in the capital. A Shangxian stood in midair and shouted directly at a man named Xiang Yang. That Shangxian already left, but at the end of the talk he said one sentence that was heard by the entire capital.” Qin De feels a surge of relief in his heart. Obviously Qin Yu has not fought Xiang Yang yet.
“What did he say?”
Qin De immediately asks.
“‘Tomorrow, in a full moon night on the River Wu … Xiang Yang, let’s see if you’ll dare to come …’ Sir, that Shangxian’s voice was so loud that it resounded through the sky. No one in the capital failed to hear it. Since yesterday, there have been swarms of experts, even Xiantian experts, who hurried to the River Wu. Someone said it was going to be the place where the West Chu Conqueror died.” The waiter says affirmatively.
Qin De gives a faint smile. He secretly agrees in his heart.
On the River Wu? The River Wu is so long, who knows where the battle is going to take place? But where the West Chu Conqueror died is the most famous place on the River Wu, so, if someone draws a connection between it and this Xiang Yang person, he will be able to guess where it is going to be with good accuracy.
After drinking the tea, Qin De leaves the capital directly, heading for the River Wu.
……
In Eternal House,
The gate of the house automatically opens. Black-robed Xiang Yang goes out of the house. Tonight is the time of the battle. It is still daylight but he has decided to go to the battlefield in advance. He is really not a rash person.
Before the battle he must examine the battlefield once. Otherwise, if the opponents have set up some restrictive spells or formations beforehand that he is unaware of, it will be terrible for him during battle.
“Master, this is bad. Wu De is dead.” Lan Xuemou runs up to him from the distance and immediately says.
Xiang Yang raises his eyebrows. “I know already.” He does not say much and only smiles coldly in his heart: “Humph, you wanted to put some fear in me, right? But … a late Jindan Wu De was totally expendable to me.”
With his robe fluttering, Xiang Yang soars into the sky, heading for the location of the battle on the River Wu.
B4C23: The Battle On The River Wu
A full moon is hanging high in the sky. The River Wu, several thousand meters wide, is flowing east.
The night is cold, the winds are fast.
Even though the water is flowing very fast, there are no billows on its surface. Looking carefully, one can even see the reflection of the full moon on the river. On both shores of the River Wu there are currently over 10,000 people altogether. Most of them are ordinary people who want to have a good time watching the fight. There are also some internal experts among them.
All of the people present look at that silhouette on the River Wu with awe.
Shangxian! His black robe fluttering freely, his black hair also flowing, Xiang Yang is standing with his arms folded on his chest. His sharp ice-cold eyes are closed at the moment. Standing in midair this way, Xiang Yang is calmly waiting for the arrival of his opponents, so calm that his face shows absolutely no
impatience.
On a shore of the River Wu, a blue-clad Qin De is staring at Xiang Yang, who is standing in midair. His heart cannot help having a hint of impatience.
“This Xiang Yang has come early so his energy is stable and his mind is calm. What kinds of tricks is Yu’er going to use to handle him this time?” Qin De is even somewhat worried in his heart, worried about the battle that is going to starting soon. As for whether Qin Yu will come, he simply has no doubt about that because he knows his son very well.
Qin De has changed his appearance so other people do not recognize him.
“Qin De.” A voice suddenly rises in Qin De’s mind. Qin De’s face changes color: “Holy sense communication.” Seemingly at the same moment, he sees the person who has communicated with him using the holy sense. He cannot help smiling because it is none other than Fengyuzi.
“Brother Feng, you really made me jump.” Qin De says smilingly using his holy sense.
Fengyuzi has slightly altered his appearance as well. He says to Qin De via his holy sense: “Ha-ha, who let you leave the town of Xiyang directly without telling me anything? Not long after you went, I immediately followed you, but only now do I catch up with you.”
Qin De says smilingly with a shake of his head: “I was worried that Yu’er would rush directly into Ba Chu County and fight Xiang Yang so I went desperately. Now it looks like Yu’er is still a careful person. He has never rushed into battle before.” Fengyuzi looks around for a while then looks at the bright moon in the sky again, saying doubtfully: “Xiang Yang seems to have come very early. Why hasn’t Xiao Yu shown up yet? It’ll be pretty useful for him to come a bit early to get familiar with the surroundings. Plus, now he shouldn’t have anything else to do, right?”
Not only are Qin De and Fengyuzi somewhat anxious, the other people, who have come to watch the fight, have all become impatient too.
Time slowly goes by. One hour has passed. Then 2 hours has passed …
Qin Yu and the eagle are still nowhere to be seen. The spectators on both shores of the River Wu have started to discuss noisily. Obviously all of them have become anxious because the other party of the fight has not appeared yet. They also find it hard to keep waiting.
Suddenly — Xiang Yang opens his eyes. There seems to be 2 almost real beams of light shooting westwards directly from his eyes. At the same time his whole body’s aura suddenly becomes fierce. It surges nonstop like a wave that continuously attacks new heights.
Fierce winds rise, sending sand flying and rocks rolling. Most of the people on the shores retreat quickly. Only the few experts can keep staying on the shores. People like Qin De and Fengyuzi cannot help slightly narrowing their eyes looking into the sky.
“Rumblings ~~~” The water of the River Wu starts to roar, as if there is an aquatic dragon rolling underwater. Waves surge one after another and hit the shores, causing deafening noises. However, Xiang Yang, who is standing in midair above the river, is not affected at all.
When the full moon reaches its highest point, 2 blurs come towards him like floating.
“It’s Yu’er.” Qin De figures out who they are even faster than Fengyuzi. Even though the waves are rolling and he has to look through the water spray from a shore, he can still see clearly that it is Qin Yu with his fierce aura. He also sees a black eagle that is vibrating his wings.
“Xiao Yu has come. That black eagle is really strong. Just by vibrating his wings he can cause the River Wu to roar.” Fengyuzi is also shocked by Xiao Hei’s power. He simply does not know that before overcoming the 4-in-9 Heavenly Tribulation Xiao Hei could already create fierce winds. Now that he has reached the middle phase of the Jindan stage, he has become much more powerful than in the past.
The people who are watching from afar on both sides of the river immediately become excited. All of them stare at the silhouettes in the sky.
The blurs then stop, turning into a man and an eagle. Xiao Hei pulls back his wings. The River Wu’s monstrous waves all weaken sharply with a loud noise. In just a while, the entire river has become as calm as it was a moment ago and great waves can no longer be seen.
The cold winds of the night are blowing nonstop. The people on both sides of the River Wu all hold their breaths.
“You’ve finally arrived.” A faint cold smile appears on Xiang Yang’s face.
Qin Yu and Xiao Hei face Xiang Yang. Staring at Xiang Yang, Qin Yu says with an indifferent smile: “Xiang Yang, did you become too impatient because of waiting? My brother and I came a bit late to let you live a bit more. Why don’t you thank us for this?”
“Cut the crap.” Xiang Yang says angrily in a cold voice.
At the same time, various blood-red streams of energy start to surge to the outside of his body. Afterwards, they form a light blood-red mist that looks like a cloud of blood and spreads toward Qin Yu and Xiao Hei. In only a short while, the blood- red mist has enveloped them. “Xiang Yang, this kind of trick is only used by ordinary internal experts. Real Xiuzhenists won’t do this.” The light silvery stellar energy surges to the outside of Qin Yu’s body. It rotates continuously, forming a nebula.
The blood-red mist cannot enter the area covered by the nebula.
“Humph.” Xiang Yang utters a cold humph. He detests this young Xiuzhenist to the utmost. During the exchange yesterday, Qin Yu mocked him for not understanding Xiuzhenists’ formations, restrictive spells, flying sword techniques, and the arts of pill making and weapon forging.
Now Qin Yu is mocking him again for using an outdated trick.
“Xiang Yang, you closed the door to practice on your own so your offensive methods are a bit too flimsy. Even if your individual wisdom is high, it can’t compare with a Xiuzhen school’s collected wisdom of countless years.” Qin Yu says with an indifferent smile.
By using words, he starts to anger Xiang Yang.
In a fight between experts, especially super experts such as Xiang Yang, their states of mind are the most important thing. If their states of mind are negatively affected, they will not be able to unleash their full power and their attacks will naturally be weaker than they should be.
“You killed Wu De, right?” Xiang Yang says while frowning. “I’m very curious to know who you are and why you oppose me.” In fact, at the moment Xiang Yang does not want to make an enemy of a Xiuzhen expert for no reason.
“Me?” Qin Yu raises his eyebrows then slowly says: “My surname is Qin!”
“Qin?” Xiang Yang says solemnly while staring at Qin Yu. “What generation of experts of the Qin clan in the 3 Eastern region counties do you belong to? The Qin clan seems to never have had a super expert of your level. What generation of Qin De’s seniors are you from?” Qin Yu bursts out laughing.
“Let me tell you my name!” Qin Yu slowly says.
Xiang Yang stares at Qin Yu with brightening eyes, waiting for his answer.
“I am …” A faint smile appears on the corners of Qin Yu’s mouth. “Qin Yu!”
“Qin Yu!!!”
Xiang Yang’s face suddenly changes color greatly. He is totally shocked. However, after Qin Yu finishes saying, his whole body arrives at Xiang Yang’s face in an instant like rolling thunder. A light silvery fist quickly appears and smashes directly at Xiang Yang’s chest in an audacious manner at the same time.
Bang!
Xiang Yang’s blood-red body-protecting elemental energy quickly appears outside his body and blocks Qin Yu’s punch directly. But Qin Yu’s fist immediately changes. First it turns into a knife hand and attacks then it forms a finger sword and attacks again.
Attack continuously!
Pu! Pu!
Following 2 sounds of collision, the body-protecting elemental energy outside Xiang Yang’s body has been broken by Qin Yu’s right hand. Qin Yu cannot help giving a faint cold smile. He wants to kill Xiang Yang directly in the next strike using the Flaming Sword. If he can succeed, the whole thing will be too simple for him. But he does not mind succeeding in such a simple way at all.
The Flaming Sword! With a thought, the Flaming Sword appears in his hand. He thrusts it directly at Xiang Yang’s heart at his fastest speed like lightning.
Clang ~~~
A long metallic noise rises. Qin Yu feels his arm go numb. His body cannot help flying backward. He clenches his teeth, twisting his entire body violently. Making use of the strong force of the waist, his right leg slashes at Xiang Yang like a blade of a windmill.
“Scram!”
Xiang Yang makes a wave of his right hand. His right arm collides with Qin Yu’s right leg once. As a result, Qin Yu has to fly away backward and Xiang Yang also has to back off a short distance of several meters.
This exchange of blows sounds slow in description but it was actually quick as a flash. From beginning to end, the ordinary people on both sides of the river only felt that their vision was blurred for a moment before seeing that both experts had slightly retreated some steps. Their speeds were really too fast.
The eyes of the people on both sides of the river pop out of their heads. None of them doubts that just now the 2 experts really exchanged blows. However, even peak Xiantian experts and people like Qin De and Fengyuzi only saw Qin Yu disappear for a moment then saw him and Xiang Yang fly backward after a shock wave.
“Humph, Qin Yu? Don’t even think about fooling me. But … you’re really cunning and deceitful. Just now you indeed startled me. Too bad … your power is still a bit too weak.” Xiang Yang says with a cold smile.
But he is frightened retrospectively in his heart. The Xiuzhenist before him is really too cunning. Just now he unexpectedly attacked him the moment he was startled. If it had not been for his secret trump card, perhaps he would have died of his heart being penetrated.
Now, as Qin Yu looks at Xiang Yang, his face slightly changes color.
A dark red suit of armor has appeared on Xiang Yang’s body. This suit of armor protects not only the upper half of his body, but also his thighs, arms and lower legs. Xiang Yang’s entire body is now protected by this suit of armor so Qin Yu cannot help getting startled.
“What do you think about my suit of armor? It’s middle holy class. Over 300 years ago, when I was still traveling the world practicing, I found a holy rock. Then I learned the art of forging from Wu De and made this suit of armor.” Xiang Yang takes a look at the suit of armor on his body. His eyes are filled with satisfaction.
Qin Yu secretly groans.
“I never thought this geezer would have a middle-grade holy- class suit of armor. Well, I was able to find a chunk of In-rock Flaming iron so a 1000 year old genius like him should’ve found at least a good holy rock too.” He understands that he cannot be overconfident because other people are not necessarily less lucky than he is. Xiao Hei is flapping his wings on one side.
“Big brother, it looks like we’ll still have to join forces.” He says using his holy sense. Hearing this, Qin Yu nods his head. With the appearance of the suit of armor, it has become extremely difficult for him to kill Xiang Yang by himself.
A middle holy weapon in the hands of an early Yuanying expert is no less powerful than his high-grade holy weapons. After all, his own power is still inferior to the enemy’s.
“Xiang Yang, your power is pretty good so my brother and I are going to attack you together.” Qin Yu says with an indifferent smile.
Xiang Yang says disdainfully and coldly: “Brothers? A human and an animal unexpectedly call each other brothers? Looks like you’re an animal too.” Xiang Yang also wants to anger Qin Yu and affect his state of mind, but Qin Yu sees through his trick with ease and is unaffected by it.
However — A resounding eagle cry rises. Qin Yu is not angry but Xiao Hei has become infuriated.
Pa!
His eagle eyes brighten. 2 flashes of lightning shoot out extremely fast at Xiang Yang’s body from them. Because the distance between Xiao Hei and Xiang Yang is not long and these flashes from his eyes are really terrifyingly fast, Xiang Yang is hit squarely by them.
“How dare you scold my big brother? Die!”
Xiao Hei is so furious that he cries nonstop. Flashes of lightning continuously flicker on his entire wings then shoot out at Xiang Yang’s body. Like the god of thunder, Xiao Hei keeps sending out various flashes of lightning unceasingly.
“Animal!” Xiang Yang has been angered. He can withstand the flashes but if continuously hit by them his entire body will still go numb. He immediately charges at Xiao Hei. However, Xiao Hei slightly shakes his wings, using the Passing Lightning Flashing Nine Times technique.
He then moves around Xiang Yang nonstop. Because his speed is too fast, Xiang Yang simply has no way to catch up with him. Xiao Hei therefore can keep hitting him using his flashes.
“Screw you! You scolded my big brother. I’ll hit you to death. I’ll hit you to death!” Xiao Hei’s voice rises in Xiang Yang’s mind nonstop through holy sense communication. Xiang Yang cannot help getting extremely furious. He finds this black eagle too disgusting. But a beam of light is shooting violently at him.
Actually, it is not a beam of light, but Qin Yu’s body. After Qin Yu gives a fierce shout, the nebulae outside his body and inside his dantian begin to shake urgently in an instant. At the same time, all of the silvery grains in his dantian start to shine, filling his entire body with a raging power.
The Stellar Field!
Qin Yu is moving like an aquatic dragon. His entire body then suddenly seems to split into 6 clones, which attack Xiang Yang simultaneously.
“Sweeping Away Thousands Of Troops!”
Following a loud shout that resounds through the sky, something which looks like a black aquatic dragon comes out from Xiang Yang’s body. It sweeps across his entire vicinity like a storm, blocking incoming attacks wherever it goes. In almost an instant, Xiao Hei and Qin Yu’s 6 illusions are sent flying backward with a bang.
The 6 illusions created by Qin Yu become one. With a movement of his body, he is able to stand in midair again. Xiao Hei also stops beside him. They both stare at Xiang Yang. Xiang Yang is now holding in his hands a black spear. He says while looking at Qin Yu and Xiao Hei: “The true offensive method of my Xiang clan’s Conqueror’s Heaven Opposing Art isn’t a flying sword technique, but a close-quarters spear technique. This spear is the peerless divine weapon that my father, the West Chu Conqueror, used to dominate the world — the Conqueror’s Spear!”
A bloodstain suddenly flashes on the handle of that shiny black spear.
B4C24: One Sky-Piercing Meteor; Two High-Hanging Moons
The Conqueror’s Spear!
Close-quarters spear attacks!
“Really formidable.” With ice-cold eyes, Qin Yu forcefully swallows back a mouthful of blood in his throat. Just now he attempted to execute some close-quarters attacks using the Stellar Field, but Xiang Yang unexpectedly neutralized them right away with a Sweeping Away Thousands Of Troops strike.
A Xiuzhenist who uses close-quarters attacks?
This is truly strange. In general, Xiuzhenists attack using their flying swords, but Xiang Yang practiced pure martial arts and has reached his currently level by himself and thanks to his own experience therefore his way of practice is different from the other Xiuzhen schools and his method of offense is very individualized. “Big brother, Xiang Yang is even much stronger than we expected. Who would’ve thought he’d be good at close-quarters combat? Not only does he have a suit of armor, he also has a long spear. Thanks to this, both his offense and defense are extremely formidable.” Xiao Hei says using his holy sense.
Qin Yu calmly says through holy sense communication: “Let’s find his weak points. If we can’t succeed, we’re going to have to use the last move in our plan.”
“The last move … alright!” Xiao Hei’s voice becomes resolute.
Qin Yu stares at Xiang Yang and suddenly says with a cold laugh: “Xiang Yang, at the beginning of the fight, you were able to save your little life thanks to your suit of armor. Just now I executed a fierce strike but you saved your life again with the help of this Conqueror’s Spear. Next time … I want to see how you’re going to avoid death!”
Qin Yu has struck his killing blows twice but Xiang Yang has negated them all using his secret trump cards. Xiang Yang says with an unconcerned laugh: “Indeed, the 1st time you were so cunning that I almost got hit. The 2nd time your speed was quite frightening and really made me jump. But
… do you really think I’ll give you one more chance? Qin … Qin Yu, just now you was most probably hit by my spear. It didn’t taste very good, right? I’ve got a word of advice for you — don’t try to resist because it’s going to taste even worse later.”
A faint strange smile appears on the corners of Xiang Yang’s mouth.
A moment ago Qin Yu had to endure more than half of the power his Sweeping Away Thousands Of Troops strike so he thinks that Qin Yu’s body has been injured badly.
However, Xiang Yang has miscalculated Qin Yu’s power. Not only does Qin Yu have an extremely strong body, the ordinary- looking sleeveless undershirt he is wearing was forged by Lei Wei. It is no common item of clothing and is very comfortable to wear. Once Qin Yu is attacked, the undershirt will become hard from being soft and absorb more than half of the attack’s power in an instant. “Oh? Your spear technique is pretty powerful but it’s not a threat to me.” The energy inside Qin Yu’s body starts to surge. When not moving it is as stable as a mountain and when moving it is powerful like rolling thunder. Qin Yu is very confident of his close-quarters offense because he has spent the most time and energy working on his close-quarters combat techniques.
“Pu!”
The air between Qin Yu and Xiang Yang begins to vibrate slightly.
Xiang Yang suddenly opens his eyes violently. His right hand, which is holding the spear, suddenly makes a twist. In an instant, the black head of the Conqueror’s Spear pierces through the air to come at Qin Yu extremely fast while spinning. The head of the spear follows an indistinct path of movements. At the same time, the air within the spinning area of the spear’s head is unexpectedly sucked away completely.
The spear comes at Qin Yu like a twirling black aquatic dragon.
“Hah!”
Qin Yu’s body moves like a breeze. Concurrently with this, he stretches out his right hand, suddenly forms a claw and makes a direct grab at the Conqueror’s Spear. Being protected by the Flaming Gloves, his hands can definitely crash head-on with the spear.
“Humph!”
Xiang Yang utters a cold humph. He slightly exerts the strength of his arm. The Conqueror’s Spear, which is stabbing at Qin Yu, unexpectedly changes its movement into a horizontal sweep in the blink of an eye!
No!
It is not a horizontal sweep. Rather, it is continuous high frequency sweeping attacks!
Qin Yu originally wanted to grab the Conqueror’s Spear using his right hand but the spear fiercely smashes into his palm. At the same time, it sweeps back and forth extremely fast, creating indistinct illusions. In a mere moment, it sweeps at his arm 5 or 6 times.
“The longer it is, the stronger it becomes. I gotta close in!”
Qin Yu ignores the pains in his arms and immediately charges at Xiang Yang again. However, because the spear is too long while he is relying on his arms alone, he simply cannot touch Xiang Yang while Xiang Yang can attack him at will using the long spear.
“Dream on.” Seeing Qin Yu approaching, Xiang Yang gives a cold laugh. At the same time, his body moves like an illusion. The spear in his hands turns into several silhouettes, which begin to come at Qin Yu.
Pa! A flash of lightning strikes down squarely on Xiang Yang’s body. Xiang Yang cannot help shaking. His attacking movement thefore is slightly deviated as well. Seizing this opportunity, Qin Yu instantly closes in on one side of Xiang Yang. His agile hands quickly execute various kinds of attacks.
Once Qin Yu has approached his target, he will become extremely terrifying!
Using various attacks such as punches, palm strikes and finger strikes, Qin Yu aims for the places on Xiang Yang’s body which are not protected by the suit of armor, especially the throat, the waist and the upper arms, like a gust of wind.
A hint of disdain appears on Xiang Yang’s face.
He brandishes the long spear in his hands. For the moment, Xiang Yang’s entire body is similar to a cannon’s barrel, shooting out countless silhouettes of the spear. He has utilized the Conqueror’s Spear to the utmost, making it sometimes look like an aquatic dragon that is coming out of a cave and sometimes look like an anaconda that is rolling in the air… In fact, the speed of Xiang Yang’s spear is still slightly slower than Qin Yu’s. However, Xiang Yang only needs to slightly move his hands and the movements of the entire Conqueror’s Spear will change a lot. He can make use of the forces such as inertia, elasticity and so on to perform his attacks.
Pa! Pa! Pa! ……
Xiao Hei is whirling about in the sky, shooting one flash of lightning after another at Xiang Yang’s head extremely fast. These flashes are not very powerful and do not pose a serious threat to Xiang Yang at all but they can negatively affect the agility of his movements.
“Hah!”
Qin Yu’s eyes flash with ruthlessness. He unleashes the entire stellar energy in his body and concentrates it in his right hand. He then throws a punch at Xiang Yang’s chest. When the fist smashes into Xiang Yang’s chest, one of its knuckles suddenly protrudes. By channeling his entire offensive power through the knuckle, Qin Yu explosively sends forth a terrifying penetrating force. He intended to hit Xiang Yang’s throat with this blow but Xiang Yang dodged it very quickly.
“Humph.”
Xiang Yang’s face suddenly turns white. At the same time, he makes a waving movement with the Conqueror’s Spear and flies backwards at a very fast speed.
“You animal!” Using holy sense communication, he scolds Xiao Hei directly and furiously.
Xiang Yang has become angry because this black eagle has been like a spirit that just does not go away and even keeps shooting flashes of lightning at him nonstop. In terms of agility, he simply cannot compare with the black eagle in midair. Just now he should have been able to block Qin Yu’s punch using his spear but his movement somewhat deviated from the correct path because of a flash shot out by the eagle. Qin Yu’s attack contained his stellar energy and the most powerful penetrating force he was capable of so even though the suit of armor partially neutralized it, after taking the blow, Xiang Yang still finds it hard to breathe and feels a hidden continual pain in his chest. His blood even has surged directly into his mouth.
“Xiao Hei, you did well.” Qin Yu gives Xiao Hei a smile. He then says to Xiang Yang: “Xiang Yang, you’re good at close- quarters combat so you can deal with my main way of offense precisely. Good, let’s see how you’re going to handle the attack of my flying sword!”
Qin Yu has understood.
Since Xiang Yang is skilful at close-quarters combat, what if he uses his flying sword to attack from afar?
A dark golden short sword starts to float above Qin Yu’s head. It is none other than the Flaming Sword. When leaving his body to attack, it becomes a flying sword. And when held in his hands, it is a short sword. With a thought, Qin Yu immediately shoots the Flaming Sword at Xiang Yang like a dark golden beam of light.
Hu!
The Flaming Sword emits a glorious light, astonishing the people who are watching the fight from below.
Bang! Bang! ……
When it comes to using the Conqueror’s Spear, Xiang Yang is absolutely a master among masters. On the Qian Long continent, it is extremely difficult to find someone with a better spear technique than his. Using the long spear, he can unexpectedly engage in combat both at close range and at long range.
However, it is still impossible for the Conqueror’s Spear to keep up with a flying sword in terms of agility no matter what. Pu!
The flying sword hits Xiang Yang’s suit of armor. The blood- red energy on the suit of armor easily withstands the blow after shaking for a short while. It is not that Qin Yu does not want to attack Xiang Yang’s vital points, only that when Xiang Yang is on the defensive, he focuses his energy on guarding his vital parts such as the throat.
Pa!
Another flash of lightning strikes down on Xiang Yang’s head.
“Good, black eagle, you’re an animal. Qin Yu, you call this animal brother so you’re also an animal. You 2 animals, today I’ll let you know how formidable the Twin Dragons technique of the Conqueror’s Spear.” Xiang Yang has become really furious. With a bending movement of his hand, the Conqueror’s Spear is unexpectedly twisted for a while then splits into two. From a long spear it has become 2 short spears. Xiang Yang holds a short spear in each of his hands.
“You scolded my big brother again. Screw you. Don’t you remember what I said?”
Hearing Xiang Yang’s words, Xiao Hei becomes furious again. His voice rises in Xiang Yang’s mind directly. At the same time, flashes of lightning keep sparkling on his wings. Qin Yu immediately becomes worried so he tells Xiao Hei using holy sense communication: “Xiao Hei, Xiang Yang’s single spear was already so fast. Now that it has become 2 short spears, he should’ve gotten even much faster. His offense is now definitely formidable so you mustn’t do anything rash.”
Xiao Hei however pays basically no attention to that.
“Big brother, don’t worry about me. I’ll let him know how formidable I am.” Xiao Hei tells Qin Yu directly using his holy sense. “Big brother, just now you were the main attack. Now it’s my turn. You can just attack sneakily from one side using the Flaming Sword.” The flashes on Xiao Hei’s body become even more dazzling.
“Xiang Yang, you bastard. You should be struck by lightning!”
Xiao Hei is furious. With a shake of his wings, various flashes of lightning shoot down upon Xiang Yang’s body in an instant extremely fast like a shower of rain.
“You animal, I’m going to kill you first.” Xiang Yang can no longer put up with the black eagle in front of him. Disregarding everything else, he charges at the black eagle like a beam of light while holding the 2 short spears. However, with a shake of his wings, the black eagle flashes away extremely fast.
Qin Yu’s eyes brighten. He immediately thrusts the Flaming Sword towards Xiang Yang.
Bang! Xiang Yang’s 2 short spears quickly create a whirlwind, pulling Qin Yu’s Flaming Sword down. Concurrently with this, they keep coming at the black eagle. Xiang Yang’s eyes have reddened with killing intent. Simply ignoring Qin Yu, at the moment he only wants to eliminate that annoying black eagle before his eyes.
“You animal. You can only run!” Xiang Yang shouts furiously.
Because Xiao Hei is a Jindan stage demonic beast and, moreover, he has an innate pride, he hates being insulted by other people the most. Insulting either Qin Yu or him will anger Xiao Hei. And once he becomes furious, it will —
Boom!
A stream of flaming lightning comes out from Xiao Hei’s mouth. Feeling its power, Xiang Yang immediately evades it. However, Xiao Hei’s eyes flash with coldness and that flaming flash unexpectedly turns around. Because the distance between it and Xiang Yang is too short this time, he simply has no time to dodge it.
“Break!”
Following a loud shout, the 2 short spears turn into 2 wandering dragons. The 2 black dragons move around Xiang Yang’s body extremely fast. His surging blood-red energy has also been channeled into the spears. The 2 short spears unexpectedly are able to violently twist the flaming flash into pieces.
Qin Yu’s face changes color. He knows that this flaming flash is Xiao Hei’s special skill. But it has unexpectedly been twisted to pieces. This goes to show that Xiang Yang is really too powerful.
“Big brother, watch my special skill!”
Xiao Hei’s voice rises in Qin Yu’s mind via holy sense communication. Qin Yu’s face changes color in an instant. He remembers his original agreement with Xiao Hei. Xiao Hei wanted to fight in a full moon night because he has a special skill which, when performed during such a night, will be a little less physically taxing than it will be otherwise.
Whizz ~~
Xiao Hei spreads his wings and unexpectedly soars into the sky. At the same time, an extremely sharp eagle cry rises all of a sudden. That eagle cry, which sounds as if it is made of a real substance, spreads out in all directions. In an instant, the water of the River Wu begins to roar loudly.
A light starts to flicker on the crown atop Xiao Hei’s head. Concurrently with this, the light of the full moon in the sky unexpectedly begins to focus on his head. The moonlight then spreads all over his body. In a moment, Xiao Hei’s entire body has been covered in the moonlight, looking very dazzling.
Xiang Yang’s face changes color greatly. He can also feel that at the moment Xiao Hei is carrying a frightening power on his body. Many blood-red streams of elemental energy are channeled into Xiang Yang’s suit of armor. He quickly increases his whole body’s defense to highest level. At the same time, he makes a throw with a hand. A short spear is unexpectedly shot directly at Xiao Hei. Who would have thought that this short spear can also be used in a long-range attack?
Pu ~~
The short spear is deflected away by the moonlight with ease.
Xiao Hei spreads his wings and performs a very slow wave with them. All of the moonlight is unexpectedly concentrated on the edges of the wings. It is then shot downwards at Xiang Yang from 2 directions simultaneously in the form of 2 crescent beams of light.
Xiang Yang’s body immediately moves extremely fast. However, despite his movements, the 2 crescent beams of light still chase after him.
They are unavoidable.
“Ah ~~” Xiang Yang turns his face skywards giving a roar. The entire energy in his body surges forth. Because there is no way to avoid the 2 crescent beams of light, he can only block them head-on.
Bang!
The energy of an early Yuanying expert is truly terrifying, but the 2 crescent blades of moonlight are extremely strange — they can unexpectedly erode Xiang Yang’s blood-red elemental energy directly. Despite having started to shrink, the 2 crescent blades however have even corroded Xiang Yang’s suit of armor.
The suit of armor, which was perfect originally, has unexpectedly been damaged by the corrosion effects of the 2 crescent beams of light.
“Xiang Yang, let’s see if you still dare to curse again!” Xiao Hei’s voice rises in Xiang Yang’s mind. Xiang Yang is extremely furious. More than half of the suit of armor getting destroyed has of course distressed him and made him even madder. At the same time, a resounding eagle cry rises. A flash of lightning shoots out extremely fast from Xiao Hei’s mouth.
It comes directly at Xiang Yang!
“A flash?” Xiang Yang disdains Xiao Hei’s flashes a lot because they cannot harm him. Suddenly his face changes color greatly. He has unexpectedly noticed an awl contained in that flash of lightning, an awl with a force capable of penetrating everything on its way.
Xiao Hei has finally shown the holy weapon he forged himself!
Not even Qin Yu knows about Xiao Hei’s holy weapon. He forged this weapon according to a secret forging method in his hereditary memories so it is very powerful, even more powerful than in Qin Yu’s imagination. The awl’s unstoppable momentum causes Xiang Yang’s face to change color completely.
Xiang Yang suddenly utters a loud, furious shout. The elemental energy in his body continuously surges forth. Like an angry lion, he disregards everything to activate the elemental energy in his body. Utilizing elemental energy in such a crazy way is very harmful to the yuanying but Xiang Yang has no time to take so many things into consideration.
Bang!
The short spear and the lightning-charged awl collide head- on. The short spear falls powerlessly to one side but the lightning-charged awl unexpectedly proceeds to hit Xiang Yang’s body.
Bang!
The blood-red elemental energy around Xiang Yang’s entire body shakes for a while. A stream of blood spurts directly from his mouth and scatters all over the air. However, because more than half of the power of the lightning-charged awl has been neutralized in the collision with the short spear, this strike can only injure Xiang Yang badly.
Xiang Yang was first seriously injured by the 2 crescent blades of light then was hit by the lightning-charged awl so by now he has lost more than half of his power through injuries.
“Big brother, I’ll leave it to you!” After shooting out the lightning-charged awl, Xiao Hei immediately tells Qin Yu using holy sense communication.
This is the last move that Xiao Hei and Qin Yu have agreed upon. Qin Yu is going to strike Xiang Yang a fatal, final blow. This is going to be his most powerful strike that he is going to put his life on the line to execute. At this moment Qin Yu’s entire body starts to blaze like a flame.
“The Stellar Field! The Meteor Strike!”
The nebula in Qin Yu’s dantian begins to vibrate urgently. Its silvery grains all start to burn very strongly in an instant. The number of the silvery grains decreases at an obviously fast speed. At the same time, the stellar energy generated by the blazing silvery grains forms a huge nebula outside Qin Yu’s body.
Hu!
A huge nebula, a huge nebula that is several tens meters in diameter has appeared outside Qin Yu’s body. The surging stellar energy of this nebula is not just 10 times more powerful than it was when Qin Yu used the Stellar Field in the past. This nebula even enfolded Xiang Yang.
Hu!
Hu!
……
There is a cold and severe expression on Qin Yu’s face. His body then splits into 9 illusions. That huge nebula has formed a maelstrom. The 9 illusions are at the edge of the maelstrom, each of which is holding a Flaming Sword.
Each of the Flaming Swords is charged with Qin Yu’s stellar energy and is sending out a sword strike.
When Qin Yu uses the Stellar Field, his speed reaches its maximum. The 9 illusions are actually the afterimages created by Qin Yu performing 9 different movements. Because he is too fast, the 9 movements seem to appear at the same time. Concurrently with this 9 different sword strikes are executed.
“Nine Stars Unification!”
The 9 illusions merge into one. Qin Yu’s whole body becomes engulfed in several meters of stellar light, looking very dazzling. Those who are watching from even 100 li away can see Qin Yu’s body charge directly at Xiang Yang like a meteor. The whole thing sounds slow in description but in fact, right after Xiang Yang was injured by Xiao Hei, Qin Yu’s attacks have already reached his front. The both of them have cooperated with each other very well.
Xiang Yang basically has no time to dodge.
“Ah!”
Having become hysterical, he shoots his 2 short spears at Qin Yu like 2 aquatic dragons. However, Qin Yu’s body becomes illusions again. Holding the Flaming Sword, Qin Yu turns into several blurs. A dazzling light flashes through Xiang Yang.
Xiang Yang’s body gets a shock. He looks at Qin Yu in disbelief. By now, several vital points of his body such as his heart and throat have been penetrated by Qin Yu’s Flaming Sword. Since Qin Yu used the Nine Stars Unification technique and fused the blazing silvery stellar energy with his body, his offensive power was really terrifyingly powerful.
“You …”
Despite having been pierced through vital points, Xiang Yang does not die right away because he has reached the Yuanying stage. Having successfully formed the yuanying, he has a very formidable soul.
Suddenly, a faint, strange smile appears on the corners of Xiang Yang’s mouth.
Qin Yu’s face changes color all of a sudden. He instantly dives down using his Stellar Field. At the same time he tells Xiao Hei using holy sense communication: “Xiao Hei, run.” Qin Yu’s speed is extremely fast, but in just a moment —
Boom!
Xiang Yang’s entire body explodes. His yuanying has self- destructed. This is the self-destruction of a Yuanying-stage expert. A terrifyingly destructive force spreads out in all directions. The experts on both sides of the River Wu can only feel that a dazzling sun has appeared before their eyes.
“Careful!” Fengyuzi and Qin De also immediately activate their body- protecting elemental energy and lie down on their stomachs. The ground on both sides of the River Wu begins to shake as if there is a quake going on. All of the ordinary people within a 1 km radius of the explosion’s epicenter simply die instantly with
blood flowing out from their ears, eyes, nose and mouth.
Within this radius, ordinary internal experts die in a mere moment.
Even the Xiantian experts who are watching the fight from a distance of 1 km are severely injured as well.
The self-destruction of a Yuanying-stage expert is really frightening. In the middle of the night, the entire Ba Chu County can see its dazzling fireball. At the moment of the explosion, a deep rumbling starts to resound through the entire sky and ground for a while.
People at other places of Ba Chu County first saw a sky- piercing meteor then a full moon come into existence. The people on the sides of the River Wu felt that the explosion was as dazzling as a sun but people who were at least 100 li away from the battlefield felt that it was similar to the bright moon in the sky.
For a moment, most spectators of the fight unexpectedly felt as if they were watching 2 high-hanging bright moons, whose lights enhanced each other.
“A sky-piercing meteor, two high-hanging moons … This battle is really too terrifying. Xiao Yu, what has actually happened to Xiao Yu?” Qin Feng, who has returned to Lei Xue County, looks in the direction of the faraway battle. His face is full of anxiety and worry.
B4C25: Unstoppable
Xiang Guang has been worrying since the beginning of the fight because after all this fight is related to the existence of the whole Xiang clan. Therefore he has been standing on a tower at a gate of the capital, looking in the direction of the fight. After a meteor flashes through the sky, Xiang Guang’s entire heart becomes anxious.
“A meteor? Where did it come from?” He has become nervous.
He simply does not know that the meteor was formed by the terrifying stellar energy generated when Qin Yu burned the silvery grains of the nebula inside his body, which were also similar to silvery stars. Because Qin Yu used this special skill, the star-like silvery grains inside him, his basic source of energy, decreased a lot in volume due to being burnt, but he was also able to unleash a frighteningly powerful amount of energy.
Immediately afterwards, a huge explosion takes place. A ‘full moon’ that is even comparable to the full moon in the sky has been created by the explosion. The self-destruction of a Yuanying-stage expert is really too powerful.
“Another ‘full moon’.” Xiang Guang’s breathing becomes heavy. Standing on the edge of a city gate tower, he looks in the direction of the battlefield with wide-open eyes.
A long time after the explosion, everything quietens down.
“What actually happened? What’s the result? Has Great Ancestor killed the enemies?” Xiang Guang continuously asks himself in his heart. Beads of sweat have even appeared on his forehead. He knows one thing — if Great Ancestor dies, his Xiang clan will be done for.
Xiang Guang suddenly turns his body looking to one side. He asks at once: “Yi Yan, I ask you, what has happened on the River Wu?” He also knows that a fierce battle has happened on the River Wu, but he has no way to guess its outcome.
Yi Yan secretly feels miserable. He is not an immortal, how can he possibly guess the result of the fight? However, because Xiang Guang is staring at him, how can he dare to say that he does not know either?
Yi Yan immediately bows, saying: “Your Majesty, we’re really too far from the battlefield so it’s impossible to find out what has happened exactly. However, the ‘meteor’ just now must have been a powerful attack executed by a participating Shangxian. The ‘bright moon’ in the end should have been a frightening explosion caused by the self-destruction of a certain Shangxian’s jindan or yuanying.”
“Who actually self-destructed? What’s the outcome?” With brightening eyes, Xiang Guang asks urgently.
Yi Yan hurriedly says: “You know about Great Ancestor’s true power, don’t you, Your Majesty? In this battle, Great Ancestor must have been the winner.” At this crucial moment, how can Yi Yan possibly say otherwise? Only by saying so can he calm Xiang Guang down.
“That’s right.” Hearing these words, Xiang Guang seems as if he has eaten an immortal pill. His whole body is immediately filled with vitality and his eyes glittering. “Who on the Qian Long continent can be a match for Great Ancestor? I’ve heard that even Wu De is far inferior to him. I think that challenging Shangxian was weaker than Great Ancestor and self-destructed out of despair. It must have been so.”
Because Xiang Guang thinks so and because his subordinates such as Yi Yan also chime in with him, he immediately becomes even more certain of the battle’s result.
“Alright, follow me back to the palace, gentlemen. Together we’re going to calmly wait for Great Ancestor’s return and prepare a celebration banquet for him.” Very high-spirited, Xiang Guang immediately gives an order to the several trusted high-ranking officials around him. He then runs back to the Imperial Palace to prepare a celebration banquet for his Great Ancestor.
The terrifying battle ended a moment ago and the water of the River Wu has begun to calm down. There seems to have been no changes compared to before the battle, only that the dikes along the shores of the river have become a mess. The frightening explosion has torn large trees apart and sent swards flying all over the place. Its shock wave has even caused many ordinary people to bleed from their ears, eyes, noses and mouths, resulting in their deaths.
“Pu!”
Qin De suddenly spits out a piece of grass and stands up abruptly. At the moment he is being covered completely in dust, looking like a beggar. Fengyuzi also stands up on one side of him. The explosion just now was really too powerful.
Ignoring the dust on his body, Qin De hurriedly looks forwards. Before him, the River Wu, which is several km wide, is flowing east rapidly. There is basically not a soul to be seen on the river.
“Where’s Yu’er?” Qin De has become worried in his heart. He immediately expands his holy sense but because he has just reached the early phase of the Jindan stage, the range of his holy sense is only 1000 m and he simply cannot detect Qin Yu’s aura within this 1000 m range.
“Yu’er!” Qin De shouts loudly all of a sudden. His voice resounds on the River Wu.
“Your Highness, don’t be anxious.” Fengyuzi hurriedly says to Qin De. “My holy sense has a much longer range. Just let me carry out a careful check.” Hearing this, Qin De calms down at once. He looks at Fengyuzi with expectation.
Fengyuzi’s holy sense spreads out in all directions. After a long time, he has no choice but to look at Qin De, saying: “Your Highness, I haven’t detected anything yet.”
Qin De’s face slightly changes color. Then, as he remembers the explosion a moment ago, he says with brightening eyes: “Brother Feng, I remember Yu’er was diving down towards the River Wu at the moment of the explosion. Perhaps he is at the bottom of the river now.”
Fengyuzi says with a shake of his head: “How deep is this River Wu? Our holy senses are over 1 km in range so if there was something at the bottom of the river, we should’ve already noticed it, but we haven’t detected anything yet …”
Bang!
The water of the River Wu suddenly explodes. A silhouette soars into the sky from underwater. Immediately afterwards, there is another sudden loud splash and a black eagle also flies into the air from the bottom of the river. A human and an eagle thus soar into the sky above the River Wu.
Qin De and Fengyuzi both look at that silhouette.
“Ah, it’s Yu’er.” Qin De’s whole body becomes excited. The human and the eagle then fly towards Qin De and Fengyuzi like 2 beams of light. In only a moment, both of them have already arrived at Qin De’s face.
Qin Yu looks at Qin De. A faint smile appears on his pale face: “Father, I’ve succeeded!” Qin De feels a numbing sensation running through his entire body. He cannot help getting slightly misty-eyed. His face is full of excitement. Without thinking much, he suddenly hugs Qin Yu. Qin Yu also hugs his father. The both of them hug each other tightly this way.
“Father, you look so … dirty.”
At this crucial moment, Qin Yu unexpectedly says a sentence that destroys the mood. Qin De is startled. The explosion just now totally covered him in dust but afterwards he had to hurriedly search for Qin Yu so he has yet to remove the dust from his body.
“You stinking brat.”
Qin De scolds with a smile. He then activates his elemental energy to shake the dust off his body directly.
“Ha-ha, don’t be noisy, both of you. Let’s return quickly, alright?” Fengyuzi says with a loud laugh. He then goes up to one side of Qin Yu and casually gives him a punch in the chest, saying: “You little brat, who would have thought that you would be able to kill even a Yuanying expert at such a young age?”
Having watched Qin Yu grow up, Fengyuzi naturally has fatherly feelings for him. Now that Qin Yu has made such an achievement, he also feels very happy for him.
Qin Yu’s body slightly shakes. His face turns even paler.
“Xiao Yu, what’s the matter?” Fengyuzi knows that something is wrong. Even though the punch he threw just now carried some power, it definitely should not have been a problem to a Xiuzhenist.
Qin Yu says smilingly with a shake of his head: “Never mind. I only suffered some small injuries after executing that ultimate skill just now. It doesn’t matter. Once I go back and practice in peace, I’ll recover very fast.” There is a very brilliant smile on his face at the moment. “Humph, small injuries? To perform the 1st level of my Dark Moon technique, I lost one third of my energy. That blow you executed was much stronger than mine so you must’ve lost at least half of your power. Perhaps your channels, muscles and bones have all been badly injured. If these injuries are considered small then I don’t know what should be called big injuries?” Xiao Hei says discontentedly using his holy sense.
Qin Yu gives Xiao Hei a stare.
Indeed, this time Qin Yu has been very seriously injured. The silvery grains in the nebula inside his dantian are the source of his energy but he unexpectedly executed a special skill, burning away these silvery grains. Therefore, now these silvery grains are only about half of their former sizes.
Moreover, this was the 1st time he has explosively unleashed such a large amount of energy so not even his body was able to withstand the pressure. As a result, his channels, muscles and bones have been severely injured.
“Father, let’s return. Since Xiang Yang’s dead, nothing else can stop the Qin clan. Now I can recover with no worries so you can put your mind at rest.” Seeing the expression on his father’s face, Qin Yu says comfortingly at once.
As soon as Qin De hears this, he secretly nods. Xiang Yang is already dead so Qin Yu now can take his time healing his injuries.
“Yu’er, it’s been hard on you.” Qin De pats Qin Yu’s shoulders then says smilingly: “Alright, let’s get back to the town of Xiyang.”
Soon afterwards, Qin De, Qin Yu, the black eagle and Fengyuzi pierce through the sky, heading directly for the town of Xiyang.
……
The influence of this battle has been immense. People in the several hundred cities around the battlefield all saw this frightening battle, the sky-piercing meteor created by Qin Yu and the terrifying energy generated by the yuanying’s self- destruction, which was unexpectedly as brilliant as the full moon in the sky.
A sky-piercing meteor; two high-hanging moons;
News of this legendary battle is spread by the experts on whole Qian Long continent. Even when the Shangxian of the Ming dynasty and Han dynasty come to the scene to investigate, they cannot help admitting that both sides in this battle have far surpassed them in power.
This battle later will become a legend on the Qian Long continent and provide inspiration for every martial art expert.
According to the descriptions of the surviving Xiantian experts who watched the battle from the shores of the River Wu, one side of this legendary battle was Xiang Yang while the other side was very mysterious, consisting of a man and an eagle. Many people will try to find out who this man and this eagle were but will achieve nothing. Their identities thus will become a riddle on the Qian Long continent. ******
In a sumptuous banquet in the town of Xiyang,
“Ha-ha, come, bottoms up, bottoms up!!!” With a slightly reddened face, Xu Yuan stands up and says in a drunken voice.
After the death of Xiang Yang, there is no concern left over the war so the Qin clan has become totally relaxed as well. As a general military counselor Xu Yuan used to say that he could not drink wine to keep his sensibleness but now he is also drinking wine wantonly without any scruple.
When things have reached this point, if the Qin clan could not win, then those generals should all kill themselves to atone for their incapability.
“So many years, Your Highness, we prepared for this day for so many years and we’ve finally succeeded. Your Highness, we’ve finally succeeded. Tomorrow, as soon as you give an order, we’re going to launch the final attack. Ba Chu County, the Chu dynasty’s last county, will fall into our hands completely.” Xu Yuan says emotionally in a half-drunken voice.
Qin De suddenly drinks up a cup too and says with a nod of his head: “That’s true. 18 years, it’s been 18 whole years. We haven’t had a good sleep for the last 18 years. Finally … we’ve finally succeeded.” The aura around Qin De’s entire body has totally changed.
It is no longer cold and fierce as before and only gives off a free, natural feeling.
“No, it’s not only 18 years, father. The Qin clan’s seniors actually prepared for several hundred years. Each generation of seniors continuously made preparations for the future. Had it not been for these several hundred years of preparations, even with the help of the Mu clan and the Shangguan clan, we wouldn’t have come to the current situation.” Qin Zheng’s entire body has also become very excited.
“That’s right.” Qin De suddenly nods. “The Qin clan’s seniors prepared for several hundred years. They waited for so many years. There is also … Jing Yi. She’s been waiting for this day for so long.” After saying, he falls silent all of a sudden.
He is remembering the scenes of the past.
“Father.” Qin Feng’s eyes flash with coldness. “I’ll definitely cut off Xiang Guang’s head to console mother’s soul in the sky.” When he was 10 years old he saw the death of his mother with his own eyes so he has been waiting for this day ever since.
Qin De nods and suddenly says: “Zheng’er, have you been keeping a close watch on the movements of the Xiang clan in the capital? Don’t let them run away at the last moment.”
Qin Zheng says confidently: “Don’t worry, father. Every member of the Xiang clan is in the palm of my hand. Even the emperor Xiang Guang can forget about escaping from the Imperial Palace.” By now, the Qin clan’s secret forces have all been put under Qin Zheng’s control.
Qin De nods then turns to Qin Yu on one side, who is giving Xiao Hei a roast duck. Qin De looks smilingly at his 3rd son. For the moment he only smiles without saying a word.
“Father.”
Seeing Qin De only smile at him, Qin Yu cannot help feeling at a loss.
Qin De’s smile contains a father’s extreme satisfaction with his son. It is a gratified smile. Having a son like Qin Yu, Qin De can take pride in his life.
……
The next day, Qin De, dressed in a suit of armor, stands outside the west gate of the town of Xiyang looking west. The people such as Qin Zheng, Qin Feng, Qin Yu and Xu Yuan are standing behind him. There are also the crack troops whose duty is to protect this nucleus of the Qin clan. “We’ve been preparing for several hundred years to succeed in one morning.” Qin De’s eyes glitter.
The west is the direction of the target this time — Ba Chu County.
Suddenly, Qin De shouts to the order-delivering soldiers behind him: “Order the armies in Lei Xue County, Shang Que County and Zhen Yang County to attack Ba Chu County together at full force. I want the whole Ba Chu County to be subdued within a half month.”
“Yes!”
The several order-delivering soldiers immediately take the order then ride away very fast on their birds to transmit it.
…… Lei Xue County, Shang Que County and Zhen Yang County each have several hundred thousand troops. After the order is given, more than 1,600,000 troops of the Qin clan instantly rush into Ba Chu County. Seeing that the situation is not good for them, many troops and generals of the Xiang clan quickly surrender.
The Qin clan’s spies use a lot of money to buy off their enemies from within while the Qin clan’s army threatens them from the outside so the Xiang clan’s last county basically collapses at the first blow. Its defense is destroyed with ease by the Qin clan’s army like dry weeds and rotten wood.
This attack on Ba Chu County is basically like a race. The Qin clan’s cavalry troops advance nonstop. Once they have occupied a city, they garrison some troops in it then continue to hurry on with the attack. Even though the Qin clan has to dispatch some troops to defend the cities it defeats on the way, in the end, its armies on the 3 different directions still amount to over 1,000,000. Such a large number of troops have gathered outside the capital.
B4C26: No Way Out
The Qin clan’s 50,000 Fierce Tiger troops have completely surrounded the Imperial Palace. Every Fierce Tiger soldier’s eyes are filled with pride. Only a half year has passed since the beginning of the war but the entire Chu kingdom has fallen into the hands of the Qin clan and therefore, as the Qin clan’s finest soldiers and officers, they all feel very proud.
The Imperial Palace’s forbidden guards have already scattered earlier. The head of the Imperial Palace’s forbidden guards was an elite soldier of the Xiang clan but he has been assassinated by the coward vice leader of the forbidden guards. Afterwards the vice leader has led his men to surrender to the Qin clan, plunging the forbidden guards into chaos.
In the past all of the Xiang clan’s members led by Xiang Yu were extremely heroic but, after experiencing 1000 years of a luxurious lifestyle, the Xiang clan is now made up of corrupted and depraved people. Seeing that their own clan is falling apart, these members all bring out their money and valuables to beg for mercy. However, the Qin clan’s way of dealing with them is — to confiscate their valuables then to throw them in jail. By now the Imperial Palace has become a mess. There have been members of the Xiang clan who have committed suicide out of despair. And bunches of eunuchs, ladies-in-waiting and coward forbidden guards have begged for mercy from the Fierce Tiger troops. But there have also been loyal forbidden guards who have been trying to kill off the people who are afraid of death.
Chaos, chaos, chaos!
The Xiang clan’s doomsday has come. All of the people in the Imperial Palace are in a state of anxiety. They are trying to plunder the royal clan’s valuables and kill each other. The 50,000 Fierce Tiger troops however only watch everything happening in the Imperial Palace apathetically. None of them has attempted to get involved in the situation.
……
In the audience hall of the Imperial Palace, there is only Xiang Guang sitting in the throne. A white-haired eunuch is standing on one side of him.
“Your Majesty.”
The head eunuch Wang Meng looks at the Chu emperor Xiang Guang before him. Wang Meng has been in the palace since he was still a kid. Now his only relative is his younger sister’s grandson, who he already sent to the Ming dynasty long ago with proper arrangements.
However, an over 90 year old Wang Meng does not want to run for his own life.
Xiang Guang, who is sitting dejected in the throne, looks as if he is sleeping. Despite hearing Wang Meng’s words, he only raises his head after a long time. He then gives Wang Meng a lifeless look: “Oh, it’s you, Manager Wang. When things have come to this, only you still accompany me.”
Wang Meng says: “Why haven’t you run away, Your Majesty? As long as you can save your life, you will be able to stage a comeback, won’t you?” Xiang Guang shakes his head: “Anyone else can run but I can’t.” His eyes flash with coldness and fierceness. “The Qin clan has been preparing for so many years but has always been refraining from action because it’s been enjoying the power of the East Vanquishing Prince position. But … that year I caused
that incident, bringing about its current revolt.”
“It was because of me that the Qin clan rebelled. I’m the number 1 target.” Xiang Guang has gone mad.
“Great Ancestor has already sent the most promising members of the Xiang clan to a different place. He did so just in case something bad would happen but now it seems to have become the only method of surviving for the Xiang clan. Only they … are the most important things to the Xiang clan at the moment. I definitely can’t run away. Once I run, the Qin clan will stop at nothing to catch me so even those hidden members will probably be found out.” Xiang Guang’s body slightly shakes.
He then gives a disappointed smile: “I can’t run. Without Great Ancestor, I definitely won’t be able to escape from the Qin clan’s tight encirclement. Since it has come to this … I’m going to stay here to wait for Qin De. After killing me, Qin De will be less likely to hunt down the other members of the Xiang clan. With the protection of Great Ancestor’s 4 disciples, those hidden members should be able to survive. I only hope that one day they will be able to avenge the destruction of the kingdom, in which case I’ll be satisfied even though I’ll have to die.”
Wang Meng looks at Xiang Guang for a long time as if this is the first time he has ever met him then says with a sigh: “Your Majesty, I’ve always thought that you …”
“Thought that I’m absurd and silly, right?” Xiang Guang says with an indifferent smile.
Wang Meng does not deny, saying: “Judging only by the fact that you dare to stay here to wait for Qin De, I sincerely admire you, Your Majesty. I’m now just an old man so there’s no point in my living. There’s nothing else I can do but I’m still capable of such a simple thing as perishing together with you.”
Xiang Guang gives Wang Meng a look without saying anything. After a while, a black-clad silhouette suddenly appears in the audience hall. Seeing Xiang Guang, he immediately bows, saying: “Your Majesty, the mission has been accomplished. All of the concubines and the other female members in the palace including the princesses and the empress have passed away.”
As soon as Wang Meng hears this, his face changes color. He quickly understands that Xiang Guang has ordered that all of his female relatives in the palace be killed.
With an expressionless face, Xiang Guang however waves his hand in an unconcerned manner, saying: “Alright, I’ll give you my last order. All of you are to change into forbidden guards’ clothes. When the Qin clan’s troops enter the Imperial Palace, try to kill as many of them as possible.”
“Yes.”
The black-clad silhouette says expressionlessly then leaves the audience hall extremely fast at once.
…… “Your Highness!”
With a loud sound, the Fierce Tiger troops, who are staying closely together outside the gate of the palace, all get down on one knee almost simultaneously. At first sight, only some people such as Qin De are still standing among several tens thousand people. Qin De is bringing along his 3 sons and Xu Yuan heading straight for the Imperial Palace. The 50,000 Fierce Tiger troops also rush into the palace right after him.
At the moment Qin De looks apathetic. There is no trace of a smile on his face.
The 3 brothers, Qin Feng, Qin Yu and Qin Zheng, and Xu Yuan are not smiling in the slightest either. All of the people present go direct toward the audience hall. They seem to already know where Xiang Guang is. The Fierce Tiger troops however are focusing their entire attention on everything around.
Pu!
A knife is drawn. A Xiang clan’s forbidden guard is cut in half. That Fierce Tiger soldier then coldly pulls back the battle knife in his hand.
On the way to the audience hall of the Imperial Palace, there are quite a few fearless forbidden guards who charge at the Fierce Tiger troops but what they do is merely akin to throwing their lives away successively. In a short while, the audience hall is already in sight. Qin De’s eyes flash. He cannot help walking a bit faster.
Suddenly —
The 3 forbidden guards of the Xiang clan who are charging at the Qin clan’s troops from the distance speed up. They come into the middle of the Fierce Tiger troops like 3 illusions. Blood then splatters and severed limbs fall down. In just a moment, 6 or 7 Fierce Tiger soldiers have been killed.
“Humph!” All of a sudden, a cold humph rises. With 3 sharp screams, the 3 silhouettes fall down directly on the floor for good. A hole has appeared on the forehead of each of them. It turns out their heads have been shot through with pebbles. One of them is none other than the black-clad man who met Xiang Guang
not long ago in the audience hall.
Qin De turns his head taking a look at the 3 corpses without saying a word. He then strides directly to the entrance of the audience hall.
Qin De is outside the audience hall while Xiang Guang is in it. Both of them look at each other. Qin De takes one step after another into the audience hall while looking at Xiang Guang. The 4 people consisting of Qin Feng, Qin Yu, Qin Zheng and Xu Yuan also follow him closely into the audience hall.
Qin De is now on the lower part of the audience hall while Xiang Guang is on the higher part. Even though Qin De has to slightly raise his head to look at Xiang Guang, there is a note of disdain in his eyes. “You’ve come …” A faint smile appears on the corners of Xiang Guang’s mouth.
Qin De says coldly: “Right, I’ve come. At this point you’re still acting as if you’re not afraid of death? Xiang Guang, I know you don’t want to run away to protect the Xiang clan’s elite members. Do you think I’m right?”
Xiang Guang slightly narrows his eyes then says with an indifferent smile: “If I say you’re wrong, will you believe it?”
“At this point you’re still trying to play it cool?” Qin De’s eyes are full of disdain. Xiang Guang however simply does not care about that: “I’m still the emperor. Qin De, hasn’t you come to kill me? If you want to kill me then kill me. Don’t waste my time. I’m already tired.”
Qin De takes a careful look at Xiang Guang: “Emperor? If you want to call yourself emperor then just do it. But … I never thought that you wouldn’t be afraid of death.” “Why would I call myself emperor when you tell me to? Qin De, in this life you won’t ever be able to order me. Even if I have to die, I will never be afraid of you.” Xiang Guang unexpectedly does not call himself emperor. At the moment he is trying to do the opposites of what Qin De tells him.
“Oh … I remember that the Xiang clan still has some elite people …” Qin De wants to see Xiang Guang panic.
But Xiang Guang pays no attention to his words: “Qin De, let me tell you something, those elite members of the Xiang clan have already gone into hiding. They no longer have any connections to me. You can deal with them however you like.”
Qin De’s face darkens.
Xiang Guang continues to say smilingly: “Let me tell you another thing, you won’t be able to control even my death. Because …” He bursts out laughing. His face turns purple extremely fast. Afterwards, 2 purplish black streams of blood flow out from his nose. “Even though I have to die, I’ll … kill myself. Don’t even dream … about … controlling …”
Before Xiang Guang can finish saying, he is already dead. But there is only a cold smile on his face. Wang Meng on one side also smiles. He takes out from his bosom a bottle and drinks up the liquid contained in it at a gulp.
“Your Majesty, I’ll follow you.”
Blood flows out from Wang Meng’s ears, eyes, nose and mouth too. He then falls powerlessly on the floor and dies.
Qin De looks at the dead body of Xiang Guang. His expression is very complex. For the moment, no one else can imagine what he is thinking. Is he feeling happy because of Xiang Guang’s death or is he regretting not being able torture Xiang Guang personally?
“Father, this Xiang Guang fella waited for you here probably because he wanted to protect the elite members of the Xiang clan who had gone into hiding.” Qin Feng looks at Xiang Guang’s corpse, his eyes filled with coldness.
Qin De says with a shake of his head: “Feng’er, you’re wrong. The one who knows a person best is his arch-enemy. Xiang Guang was so merciless that he was able to kill even his wives and children. So, how could he have possibly cared about the other members of the Xiang clan?”
“Then why did he wait for us here instead of running away early on?” Qin Feng asks.
Qin Zheng says coldly: “Big brother, based on Xiang Guang’s last sentence we can figure out his reason. He naturally knew that we were determined to capture him and it was simply impossible for him to escape so he brazenly waited here to get on his high horse in front of father for a while before killing himself.”
Qin Zheng has seen through everything very clearly. Xiang Guang indeed wanted to let Qin De know that he would control his own life and death and that, even though he was going to die, he would kill himself.
Qin Yu says with an indifferent smile: “Xiang Guang was very ignorant. Weren’t his life and death actually under father’s control? If father’s armies hadn’t forced him, how would he have ended up like this? He killed himself, but even so he was forced to kill himself by father, and yet this fella Xiang Guang still thought that he controlled his own life and death.”
“He was just fooling himself and other people.” Xu Yuan says with a wave of his feathered fan.
Qin De strides towards the throne, removes Xiang Guang’s corpse from it with a kick then looks at it for a long time. He then suddenly turns around and looks outside the audience hall, saying loudly and clearly: “The Chu emperor Xiang Guang is already dead. From now on the Chu dynasty no longer exists.”
Thanks to several hundred years of preparations and Qin De’s 18 years of meticulous planning, the Qin clan was able to come out of the 3 Eastern region counties to take control of the
2 Northern region counties and the 3 Southern region counties. Its armies then advanced with a nearly unstoppable momentum only to be blocked by Xiang Yang, the Xiang clan’s Great Ancestor, at a crucial moment.
However, in the legendary ‘Two Moons’ battle right afterwards, Qin Yu and Xiao Hei joined forces and were able to kill Xiang Yang, the real 1st emperor of the Xiang clan.
Following Xiang Yang’s death, Qin De gave an order and the Xiang clan’s last county quickly fell into the hands of the Qin clan too. At this point, the Xiang clan was wiped out and the Xiang dynasty completely collapsed.
******
In the following month, all of the 12 counties of the Chu kingdom are reorganized. Every remaining member of the Xiang clan is found out and killed. The hidden forces of the Qin clan among the common people also play a great role in hunting down the Xiang clan’s survivors.
The Han dynasty and Ming dynasty originally wanted to take advantage of the situation to gain some benefit but they never thought that the true military power of the Chu kingdom would suffer almost no loss during the civil war. At first the country was divided between 4 big forces but it has been unified.
The Shangguan clan’s 2 Northern region counties are now under the Qin clan’s complete control and the Mu clan is also willing to give the Qin clan the 3 Southern region counties. Unlike the Xiang clan in the past, at the moment the Qin clan is having real control over the kingdom’s 12 counties. And the true reason the Mu clan switched sides and gave away its 3 Southern region counties so easily was that …
It has basically been a branch of the Qin clan for many years.
The Mu clan has always been concealing its true identity and has even been loyal to the Xiang clan for several hundred years. It has followed the lead of the Xiang clan so closely that even Xiang Yang thought that it was really loyal. The secret that the Mu clan is a branch of the Qin clan have been known only to the heads and elders of either clan.
In the princely mansion in Yan City,
This period of time, Qin Yu has been practicing in peace to restore the power he lost during the battle against Xiang Yang. He has also discussed Xiuzhen-related matters with Qin De and Fengyuzi. As for his body’s injuries, they were already healed long ago by the Meteoric Tear.
In Qin Yu’s courtyard house in the princely mansion, Qin Yu, Qin Feng, Qin Zheng, Qin De and Fengyuzi, 5 people altogether, are sitting at a stone table. At the moment there are 3 secret books on the table. They are none other than the 3 Xiuzhen secret books Qin Yu left behind before.
“Xiao Yu, your Uncle Feng and I have read your 3 secret books. Even your Uncle Feng thinks that these 3 books are all top-class Xiuzhen secret books. He has now given up his original Xiuzhen technique to follow the ones written in these books.” Qin De says smilingly.
Fengyuzi also says emotionally: “Xiao Yu, as far as my school’s secret practice technique is concerned, even I only know its method for reaching the Yuanying stage. And it isn’t as clear as the ones in these books. Such profound and mysterious practice techniques are perhaps better than even my school’s most precious esoteric technique.”
Qin Yu however says nothing. With a wave of his hand, 5 middle-grade holy short knives and a black long spear suddenly float above his palm.
B4C27: A New Journey
5 short knives and a black long spear are floating in the air.
“Father, I’ll give you these 5 short knives and this long spear.” Qin Yu says smilingly.
“Ah, these are …” There is a note of ecstasy on Qin De’s face. “Weren’t these 5 short knives taken in by Wu Xing last time?” Qin De can totally understand that Qin Yu naturally came into possession of Wu Xing’s treasures after his death.
However, when ordinary people obtain such treasures as these weapons, they will keep them for themselves instead of giving them to other people.
Seeing the black long spear, Fengyuzi says with wonderment: “This long spear is the Xiang clan’s Conqueror’s Spear, right? In that battle on the River Wu, even though I was staying on a river shore, I still saw how formidable this Conqueror’s Spear was. Xiao Yu, I never expected that you’d even manage to fetch the spear after killing Xiang Yang. This really is …” Qin Yu gives a smile: “Pity his suit of armor was badly damaged by Xiao Hei’s special skill and was no longer useful.”
Xiao Hei uses holy sense communication at once from a distance: “Big brother, pity what? If more than half of his suit of armor hadn’t been corroded by my Dark Moon technique, it would’ve been extremely difficult for you to kill him directly. You really went overboard. Having been badly injured, you still dived so deep into the water to fetch this long spear.”
Being questioned by Xiao Hei, Qin Yu simply chooses not to answer.
“Father, these 3 secret books were given to me by my master, but I have no use for them. I can guarantee that they’re absolutely top-class practice techniques in the Xiuzhen world. But the techniques are only a bridge to a Xiuzhenist and he still has to walk the path of practice step by step on his own. Even with these secret books Uncle Feng and you still need to try hard because their usefulness is actually not very great.” Qin Yu says smilingly. Fengyuzi says with a shake of his head: “Xiao Yu, don’t be so modest. These Xiuzhen secret books also contain various suitable attacking techniques. With these top-class techniques, even if an opponent is a level above us in power, we will still be able to rely on our powerful attacks to give him a good fight.”
The determining factor in a battle between Xiuzhenists is their fighting power.
A Xiuzhenist’s fighting power is decided by his holy weapons, holy pills, power level and offensive techniques. In other words, during a battle, a Xiuzhenist has to rely on his holy weapons, holy pills, personal power level and some special attacking techniques, which is exactly what Qin Yu and Xiao Hei have done.
Towards end of the battle, Qin Yu executed the Stellar Field and the Meteor Strike while Xiao Hei performed the 1st strike of the Dark Moon technique, which was even more formidable than his Flaming Lightning. Only thanks to these special blows were they able to kill Xiang Yang, who was actually much more powerful than them. This has shown that attacking techniques are no less important than holy weapons. “Father, I have 10 holy pills in here — 10 Bluish Vermilion Pills. They are very effective in healing Xiuzhenists’ injuries.” Qin Yu takes out from his spatial ring a jade bottle which contains 10 Bluish Vermilion Pills.
Bluish Vermilion Pills are like a sacred medicine when it comes to treating injuries. Generally, when the internal organs are damaged, even Xiuzhenists will find it hard to recover from this, but if they can eat a Bluish Vermilion Pill, they will become healthy very quickly.
Qin Yu has the Meteoric Tear so these Bluish Vermilion Pills are not important to him. However he has only taken out more than half of the Bluish Vermilion Pills left behind by Lei Wei and has put the remaining 3 pills in another bottle just in case Xiao Hei will need them later.
“Bluish Vermilion Pills, you said Bluish Vermilion Pills?” Fengyuzi suddenly opens his eyes wide.
Qin Yu is stupefied because Fengyuzi is a bit too shocked at the moment.
“Yep … they’re Bluish Vermilion Pills. Uncle Feng, what’s the matter?” He asks doubtfully.
Fengyuzi stares at that jade bottle and says in astonishment: “Bluish Vermilion Pills, moreover there are 10 of them. Oh my, Xiao Yu, who is exactly your master? These Bluish Vermilion Pills are high-grade holy pills. Even one of them is already very precious yet you have 10 pills.”
“High-grade holy pills?”
“Yes, let me tell you something, even one Bluish Vermilion Pill is extremely important. When a Xiuzhenist suffers a loss of elemental energy, he can practice to replenish his power, but when his internal organs are injured, it will be very difficult for him to recover from this.” Fengyuzi says emotionally: “The internal organs are very weak so you can only nurture them slowly using your elemental energy to let them gradually recover on their own. But with the Bluish Vermilion Pills, it will take you just a few days to recover.” To a Xiuzhenist, the pills that can replenish his power are not important, but the pills that can heal his internal injuries are extremely valuable.
When a Xiuzhenist’s bodily functions stop working permanently, if he has reached the Dongxu stage, he can abandon his physical body to become a loose immortal, but if he has yet to reach the Dongxu stage, his soul will be destroyed, resulting in his death.
“Xiao Yu, you better keep these Bluish Vermilion Pills for yourself. Your master must’ve given them to you so that they can be your lifesavers.” Fengyuzi tells Qin Yu sincerely. Even though they are 10 high-grade holy pills, he is not greedy for them at all.
“Yu’er, later you’ll probably meet some dangers on the path of practice so you must bring these Bluish Vermilion Pills along just in case.” Qin De advises Qin Yu while staring at him.
Qin Yu does not know what to say. In terms of healing injuries, is there anything that can compare with the Meteoric Tear?
It was even able to heal such a mortal wound as a punctured heart. Given its great effectiveness at healing, how can these high-grade holy pills or top-grade holy pills possibly compare with it? Perhaps not even the legendary immortal pills can match its curing ability.
“Father, Uncle Feng, please don’t worry about me. I still have some Bluish Vermilion Pills for myself. These 10 pills are for both of you.” Having said so, Qin Yu takes out another jade bottle that is containing 3 other Bluish Vermilion Pills. After he opens the bottle, Qin De and Fengyuzi can smell the faint scent of the Bluish Vermilion Pills so in their hearts they believe him as well.
Qin Yu hurriedly says: “Father, this is a token of my regard for you. If you don’t accept these pills, I won’t be able to leave the Qian Long continent without worries.”
“Leave the Qian Long continent?!?!?!” Qin Zheng, Qin Feng and Qin De all exclaim in shock. For the moment they have forgotten the matter regarding the Bluish Vermilion Pills.
“Yes, I’m going to leave the Qian Long continent. Xiao Hei and I have been ready to go on an uncertain journey and to enter the Xiuzhen world.” Qin Yu says resolutely with a nod of his head. He has already thought this decision through carefully. There are simply no goals left for him on the Qian Long continent.
So, now the only way to make his life exciting is to go on a journey that is full of dangers and opportunities.
Qin De lets out a sigh but he then bursts out laughing: “Yu’er, since you returned from the Wilderness, I’ve noticed that you’ve undergone drastic changes. This time you even killed Xiang Yang. Yes, now you’re only 20 but you’ve already reached such a high level. Brother Feng, with Yu’er’s achievements, he should be considered a genius in the Xiuzhen world, right?”
Fengyuzi exclaims with a nod of his head: “Not only is he a genius, it’s hard to meet a person like him even once in 10,000 years.”
Qin De says with a nod: “That’s right. He reached such a level at the age 20. The Qian Long continent is no longer challenging enough for him. Yu’er shouldn’t be restricted in such a small place as the Qian Long continent. I should’ve thought of this early on.”
“Yu’er, I approve of your decision! A person should live for himself and rush forwards with enthusiasm to reach his own goals. Ha-ha, perhaps several thousand years later, the Qin clan will also be able to have an immortal who can achieve ascension. Yu’er, do you think this will come true?” Qin De says laughingly while looking at Qin Yu.
Qin Yu says with a nod: “Yes, father.”
Fengyuzi however says laughingly: “Have the both of you really gone mad? Do you think it’s so easy to achieve ascension? In the history of my school, for no one knows how many million years, there have been only 2 seniors who were able to accomplish this feat. Moreover, this is what happened a million years ago.” But Qin De says: “You’re wrong, brother Feng. Have you ever seen anyone else who was able to reach Yu’er’s current level at the age of 20?”
Fengyuzi is startled. He then shakes his head: “No, I haven’t.”
“That’s right. Yu’er has created such a miracle. Isn’t it only ascension? I totally believe in my son.” Qin De looks at Qin Yu, his eyes full of a fatherly love.
Qin Yu also nods resolutely: “I’m very confident about myself too.”
Fengyuzi cannot help saying with a forced smile: “You two are really father and son. All right, take your time admiring yourself.”
****** In the follow-up period of time, the 3 brothers, Qin Yu, Qin Zheng and Qin Feng, often chat with each other. Qin Zheng and Qin Feng both know that Qin Yu is going to leave after the enthronement so they make the most of this period of time talking with him a lot.
Qin Yu usually practices meditation or spends time with his family to pass this last period of time on the Qian Long continent.
……
At Fengyuzi’s place of residence,
“Uncle Feng, what is this?” Qin Yu looks doubtfully at the slip of jade in his hand.
Fengyuzi says with a smile: “Yu’er, this slip of jade contains my school’s sea chart. The ocean is boundless, if you wander about aimlessly, who knows what kinds of places you’ll reach? You might even enter the Devil Islands by mistake and get your jindan or yuanying eaten up by other people, which will be horrible.”
“Thank you, Uncle Feng.” Qin Yu of course knows Fengyuzi’s intention when he gives him this sea chart.
“Uncle Feng, you just mentioned the Devil Islands or something. Could you tell me about the Overseas Immortal Islands? They seem to be a very complicated place.” Qin Yu has become doubtful.
Fengyuzi ponders for a while then says: “I’ll tell you about them carefully. Your Uncle Feng’s school is called Pure Sword School. There is an immortal island called Pure Wind Island over 100,000 li away from the southern border of the Qian Long continent. The island has 2 big schools, one of which is the Pure Sword School.”
Qin Yu calmly listens to Fengyuzi.
“In fact, the Pure Wind Island is just one of the few ordinary immortal islands that are very close to the Qian Long continent. The farther from the shore an immortal island is, the larger it is and the more powerful its schools become. And no one knows how many millions of li to the south of the Qian Long continent, there is the center of the Overseas Immortal Islands — the Penglai Immortal Region. Consisting of several
hundred huge immortal islands, it has a great number of
schools and tens of thousands of Xiuzhen experts …” Fengyuzi slowly explains.
“I’m really ashamed that I have never been to this Penglai Immortal Region even though it’s very famous. After all it’s too far while I’m too weak. Heaven knows how long it will take me to fly to that place. Also, there will be many dangers on the way. Perhaps before I can reach it I’ll have already had an accident.” Fengyuzi says with a sigh.
An outline of the Overseas Immortal Islands quickly appears in Qin Yu’s mind.
In the boundless ocean in the south, there is an immortal island over 100,000 li away from the Qian Long continent. There are also a myriad of islands in other places of the southern ocean. Quite a few of these islands have been occupied by Xiuzhen schools. And the center of the Overseas Immortal Islands — the Penglai Immortal Region — is located no one knows how many millions of li to the south of the Qian Long continent.
“Uncle Feng, you mentioned the Devil Islands just now. What are they?” Qin Yu asks again.
Fengyuzi says smilingly: “The Devil Islands is the name of the islands occupied by Xiumoists, who are different from Xiuxianists. In order to achieve ascension, Xiumoists stop at nothing. They even dare to use vicious methods such as consuming other people’s jindans and yuanyings.”
“Consuming jindans and yuanyings?” Qin Yu’s eyes pop out of his head.
Fengyuzi says very indignantly: “That’s right. Xiumoists are so vicious. They kill other Xiuzhenists and consume other people’s jindans and yuanyings to improve their own power. They are real lowlifes.”
Hearing this Qin Yu feels deeply ashamed.
On the way back from the Wilderness, he and Xiao Hei actually absorbed quite a few jindans. In the battle not long ago, because Xiang Yang’s yuanying self-destructed, Qin Yu even complained that it was such a waste of the yuanying. But it turns out this technique of consuming jindans and yuanyings
is widely used by Xiumoists.
“In general, Xiuzhen is divided into 3 main types, Xiuxian, Xiumo and Xiuyao. Xiuxian pays attention to quietude and inactivity. Xiumo cares about supreme power. Xiuyao … let’s not talk about Xiuyao for the moment. Xiao Yu, you must remember to run away when encountering Xiumoists. Most of them are very cruel and bloodthirsty. It’ll be terrible if your jindan is eaten up by other people.” Fengyuzi warns.
Qin Yu secretly smiles: “Cruel and bloodthirsty? Who knows whose jindan will be eaten up? Plus, I don’t have a jindan.”
Qin Yu’s practice method is different from the other methods. He is not Xiuxian, Xiumo or Xiuyao. “In the boundless southern ocean, there are islands occupied by Xiuxian schools but there are also islands occupied by Xiumo schools. Over 100 islands near the Penglai Immortal Region have even formed the center of the Devil Islands — the Purple Flame Devilish Dungeon. It and the Penglai Immortal Region are equally well-known. These 2 powers have struggled against each other very fiercely.” Fengyuzi keeps introducing.
Qin Yu has become clear about the Overseas Immortal Islands.
“Xiao Yu, you should know that the biggest power in the boundless ocean isn’t Xiuxianists or Xiumoists! It’s not the Penglai Immortal Region or the Purple Flame Devilish Dungeon.” Fengyuzi’s expression has become serious.
Qin Yu is startled.
“The biggest power is Xiuyaoists!” Fengyuzi says very affirmatively. “What is the largest thing in the boundless ocean? It’s not the islands, but the waters. There are various kinds of marine demonic beasts in the boundless waters. The deeper you go down into the ocean, the stronger the demonic beasts you’ll encounter!”
Qin Yu is astonished in his heart.
The ocean is immense but the entire waters are the territory of demonic beasts so Xiuyaoists are indeed the greatest power here.
“The water’s pressure increases with its depth. Ordinary Xiuxianists and Xiuyaoists basically can’t withstand the terrifying water pressure after a depth of several to 10 km. But there are some frightening demonic beasts that can live under such high pressures.”
“Xiao Yu, remember, demonic beasts in the overseas waters are extremely fearsome. The entire boundless waters are the territory of these demonic beasts. No one knows the location of their headquarters, but both the Purple Flame Devilish Dungeon and the Penglai Immortal Region have confirmed one thing — demonic beasts are the greatest power.” In fact, Fengyuzi has only heard about these things, but they are what every school in the Overseas Immortal Islands has been emphasizing to its disciples.
“In the depths of the ocean, there are many treasures. The deeper it is, the more treasures there are, but the water pressure increases with depth. Not even Xiuyao experts can go deeper than several tens km down into the ocean. No one can imagine how many treasures there actually are at those depths.” Fengyuzi’s eyes glitter.
Obviously he is imagining the treasures at the deepest parts of the ocean.
“Once I have enough power, I’ll definitely dive deep into the ocean to explore it.” Qin Yu cannot help making a decision.
……
This nightlong talk has enabled Qin Yu to know a lot about the boundless overseas waters. In the Overseas Immortal Region, there are a great number of Xiuzhenists and Xiumoists, but the demonic beasts underwater outnumber even them.
They can kill each other for treasures.
The surface area of the Overseas Immortal Islands is enormous. There are even islands as large as the Chu kingdom, but these islands are a common sight in the ocean. And the Penglai Immortal Region is made up of several hundred such islands.
It is extremely large, even larger than the whole Qian Long continent.
The Penglai Immortal Region, the Purple Flame Devilish Dungeon and the demonic beasts’ unfathomably mysterious headquarters form the entire overseas Xiuzhen world. And no one knows how many treasures there are in the depths of the ocean.
******
A half year later, Qin Zheng officially ascends to the throne, abolishing the Chu dynasty and creating the Qin dynasty. He becomes Qin Ming Huang. The Qin clan has discussed a lot about the name of the new dynasty. There were people who thought that it would not be a good idea to reuse the name of
the Qin dynasty 1000 years before.
In the end Qin De resolved the problem with a few words.
“True is false and false is true. In any case, our surname is Qin so it’s appropriate to create the Qin dynasty. Also, since we’ve totally controlled the 12 counties, if the Han dynasty and Ming dynasty want to fight us, let’s see if they have enough power.”
Thus the decision to establish the Qin dynasty was made.
After taking revenge, Qin De no longer wants to run about. Fengyuzi is basically an idle person too. The both of them therefore continue to practice in peace on the Qian Long continent, leaving all of the Qin dynasty’s important affairs to Qin Zheng.
……
Qin De, Fengyuzi, Qin Ming Huang Qin Zheng, Qin Feng, and Xu Yuan have gathered in Yan City.
“Father, big brother, 2nd brother, Uncle Xu, Uncle Feng, you don’t need to see me off.” Qin Yu says smilingly to the close relatives before him. Xiao Hei is waving his wings on one side, seeming excited because of the journey that will happen very soon.
Qin De takes a step forwards and says while looking at Qin Yu: “Yu’er … the Xiuzhen world is very dangerous. Your Uncle Feng couldn’t adapt to that kind of environment so he came to the Qian Long continent. You must be careful and pay a lot of attention to other people, and shouldn’t treat other people with too much sincerity.” Qin De knows his son very well. What he fears the most is that Qin Yu will be too sincere to other people only to get betrayed by them.
“Don’t worry, father. I know what I should do.” Qin Yu says with a nod.
He then walks up to Qin Feng and Qin Zheng, saying: “Big brother, 2nd brother, please take good care of father for me.” Qin Feng’s and Qin Zheng’s eyes are filled with unwillingness. Even though they knew long ago that this day would come, they still find it very unbearable.
“Xiao Yu.”
Qin Feng, Qin Zheng and Qin Yu hug each other. The 3 brothers only loosen their embraces after a long time.
Qin Yu suddenly takes a deep breath. He continuously steps backwards and says to the others: “Ha-ha, it’s really hard to say goodbye. Farewell, father, big brother, 2nd brother, Uncle Feng, Uncle Xu.” He then turns around abruptly.
“Xiao Hei, let’s go!” Qin Yu says loudly. Immediately afterwards, he pierces through the air. While in the sky, he takes a look at his close relatives on the ground. Then, suppressing his attachment, he speeds up, flying south.
At the same time, an extremely resounding eagle cry rises.
Xiao Hei also soars into the sky with spread wings.
A man and an eagle head south directly this way. In only a moment, they have already become 2 black points on the southern horizon.
Qin Yu and Xiao Hei’s journey into the Xiuzhen world has finally begun. What will be waiting for them?