Stellar Transformation Book 5 - The Blood-Red Cave

Book 5 - The Blood-Red Cave

B5C1: Drifting

Qin Yu and Xiao Hei fly south extremely fast, leaving cities, mountain ranges, prairies and lakes on the ground behind them one after another. A huge forest then appears before their eyes out of the blue.

“Xiao Hei, come down with me.” Qin Yu suddenly uses holy sense communication.

Xiao Hei immediately stops flying and asks doubtfully: “Big brother, now we shouldn’t be far from the southern waters of the Qian Long continent. Why do you want to go into this forest instead of keeping flying?” He does not understand what Qin Yu wants to do.

“Ha-ha, you don’t understand this, right?” Smiling broadly, Qin Yu explains: “Do you know the distance between the Overseas Immortal Islands and the Qian Long continent?”

“I don’t know, but it shouldn’t be very long.” Xiao Hei looks doubtfully at Qin Yu. He still does not understand what the distance between the Overseas Immortal Islands and the Qian Long continent has to do with Qin Yu going into this forest exactly.

Qin  Yu  says  with  a  smile:  “Let  me  tell  you,  the  nearest overseas immortal island is 100-odd thousand li from here, and the Penglai Immortal Region is even millions of li away. The enormousness of this ocean is basically not something you can imagine. Since the distance is so long, if we always fly on the ocean, it’ll be very boring.”

“Big  brother,  what  do  you  mean?”   Xiao  Hei  suddenly understands a bit.

“Let’s make a large ship and put it in the spatial ring. While wandering on the ocean, when we are bored, we’ll take it out and fish, or sunbathe, or enjoy the ocean’s winds on it. Flying all the time will be boring, right?” Qin Yu wants to make good preparations for a long-term wandering.

As a Xiuzhenist, his lifespan is almost limitless, thus he does not care about his time. And drifting on the ocean experiencing adventures is also a form of practice. 

Xiao  Hei  becomes  excited  at  once:  “Very  good.  Since  this forest is so big, there must be huge trees here. Let’s find some quickly.” After saying, he simply does not wait for Qin Yu and dives down into the immense forest himself.

Qin Yu also dives down with a smile.

After entering this enormous forest, he and Xiao Hei discover that it has no traces of human presence and is thickly grassed over and wooded. Obviously this forest is a very ancient one.

Qin Yu and Xiao Hei go through the forest extremely fast, not worrying about its so-called wild beasts in the slightest. They only need to send out their auras a little and none of those wild beasts will dare to approach them.

“Ah,  there’s  a  very  thick  redwood  over  there.”  Xiao  Hei suddenly says using his holy sense. Qin Yu has also quickly detected that redwood, which is about 10-odd meters in diameter and can be considered relatively large in this ancient forest. But he says with a sigh: “Too bad, there were so many big trees in the Wilderness, but we never thought about chopping down one to make a ship.”

There were no traces of human presence in the Wilderness for millions of years so those ancient trees had reached 70 to 80 m in diameter, and there were even some trees whose diameters had reached 100 m, which was simply very astonishing. This is the 1st ancient forest that Qin Yu and Xiao Hei have gone into since leaving the Wilderness, but even so those trees that have reached 100 m in diameter are nowhere to been seen.

“Big brother, this forest is still within the boundaries of the 3 big kingdoms. Even though there are no traces of human presence here, some Xiantian experts could’ve gone through it. Those extremely large trees are treasures so they must’ve been chopped down long ago.” Xiao Hei says powerlessly.

Qin Yu however is not willing to stop searching. A tree that is 10-odd meters in diameter is not small, but it is still far from what he wants. 

“This forest is also very large. Let’s keep going through it to find a bigger tree.” Qin Yu makes a decision. Xiao Hei does not object to it and continues to fly extremely fast with him. As this man and this eagle travel, they use their holy senses to search carefully for an even larger tree.

There are only a few Xiuzhenists on the whole Qian Long continent so it is extremely rare to see Xiuzhenists who use their holy senses in search of a tree like this.

In a short while Qin Yu and Xiao Hei have already covered 100 li, during which the largest tree Qin Yu has been able to detect was only about 20 m in diameter. He and Xiao Hei therefore keep searching.

To them, going 700 to 800 li across this forest is not considered far at all.

“Ah, Xiao Hei, there’s an exceptionally large tree 6 km ahead of us.” Qin Yu becomes excited. “An exceptionally large tree? How large is it?” Xiao Hei is also surprised. How large must that tree be to be able to amaze and excite Qin Yu? This forest is not one in the Wilderness so, even if there is a bigger tree, how large can it be?

In only a short while, Qin Yu and Xiao Hei have already come close to that big tree.

“Wow, it’s like a huge wall.” Xiao Hei says in amazement using his holy sense. Qin Yu’s face is also full of excitement. This dark red old tree is surrounded by sinuous branches and looks as if it is carved out of rock. Obviously it is extremely hard.

The diameter of this old tree is even more shocking — about 50 m –, which makes the tree look like a wall. Even though it cannot compare with some old trees in the Wilderness, a tree like this is still extremely difficult to come by outside the Wilderness.

“Good, let it be this tree. It’s already thick enough.” Qin Yu nods in satisfaction. The Flaming Sword then immediately flies out from his body and sends forth an indistinct and extremely long stream of stellar energy.

This stream of stellar sword energy is 10-odd meters long. Even though the old tree is extremely hard, it is still far from being able to withstand the sword energy.

Qin Yu smilingly points with a hand and the Flaming Sword instantly cuts through the tree’s base. It is 50 m in diameter but, under the power of the sword energy, it is cut off completely in just a moment. Afterwards, the huge tree falls with a loud noise, knocking down several tens other large trees.

Whizz! Whizz! Whizz! ……

The stellar sword energy easily removes the branches of the tree. This old tree is 300 to 400 m in length but an overly long tree is useless to Qin Yu so he cuts away the 200 m long part of the trunk that is thickest. He then starts making a ship carefully. The way he makes the ship is very simple.

First he slices off all of the tree bark, leaving a smooth tree trunk. Having seen ships before, he cuts the trunk in half and casually picks out one part. He then carves a hole that is 30 m wide and 80 m long into it. This is the place to sleep and rest.

“Ha-ha,  with  some  casual  defensive  restrictive  spells,  this ship will be stronger than some large ships in defense.” Qin Yu laughingly sets up some defensive restrictive spells on the ship. He believes that it will not fall to pieces even when facing a hurricane.

Xiao Hei spits out his holy awl and uses it to carve some simple patterns on the ship as decorations. A ship has been created so simply.

“Well,  very  good,  very  not  bad.”   Xiao  Hei  looks  at  his carvings very satisfactorily.

Qin Yu grabs this quickly-made ship. With a thought, he sucks it into his spatial ring directly. Only his Menghuan ring can contain such a large ship. As for that storage bracelet, its space is too small.

“Xiao Hei, let’s go.”

Qin Yu laughs out loud and soars into the sky directly. Xiao Hei also flies up right after him. Having created a large ship, they are very excited. Making something personally step by step feels totally different from buying something.

They immediately accelerate. Qin Yu is standing on the Flaming Sword while Xiao Hei has also sped up by several times. Even though Qin Yu is not using the Body Weapon Unification technique and Xiao Hei is not using the Passing Lightning Flashing Nine Times, their speeds are still extremely fast.

After a half day, they finally reach the southern waters of the Qian Long continent.

Two beams of light land on the seashore and turn into a man and an eagle. As they take a look at the endless ocean, they cannot help feeling an intense pleasure. The blue ocean is refracting the sunlight into various colors such as azure and light purple, looking really very beautiful.

“Ah, compared to this area of water, the Qian Long continent is really nothing. The difference in size between them is too great.” Qin Yu cannot help saying emotionally while looking at the boundless ocean. “At first sight, the ocean seems to be very calm, but who knows how many undercurrents are surging in its depths, how many demonic beasts exist in it, and how many immortal islands and devil islands there are in the distance?”

Xiao Hei is very excited as well: “Wow, Xiuxianists, Xiumoists, all kinds of demonic beasts, and perhaps some treasures too, even imagining them alone makes me excited. Big brother, don’t think too much, let’s go.”

After saying, he spreads his wings and flies straight towards the boundless ocean. Qin Yu gives a laugh. A heroic spirit surges uncontrollably in his heart: “The boundless ocean, this is the world of Xiuzhenists.” His body also rushes towards the endless ocean like lightning. A child who is collecting shells on the beach watches a man and an eagle fly towards the boundless ocean in stupefaction. After just a moment, this man and this eagle disappear from the horizon.

“Well, my eyes must’ve been dazzled. How can a human fly? And  even  fly  so  fast?”  The  child  rubs  his  eyes  then  looks around carefully. But his surroundings are still quiet, as if that man and that eagle have never appeared.

“Well,  looks  like  my  eyes  were  really  dazzled.”  The  child laughs then continues to play with those shells.

Today, Qin Yu, the Qian Long continent’s unprecedented genius, who is comparable to a late Jindan-stage expert at the age of only 20, the younger brother of the newly-established Qin dynasty’s emperor, Prince Yu of the Qin dynasty, has left the Qian Long continent this way.

In the last 20 years, he has helped the Qin clan exterminate the Xiang clan, unify the Chu kingdom and create the Qin dynasty. 

A Xiuzhenist has an almost limitless lifespan so 20 years is just like a blink of an eye. What is going to happen to him in the several decades, several centuries and several millennia afterwards?

……

In the boundless ocean,

“Ha-ha, it feels so good.” Qin Yu is going by treading on the surging waves, brandishing his hands between them. He is currently wearing the clothes that Lei Wei forged in the past, with a pair of pants on the lower half of his body and only a black sleeveless undershirt on his upper body. The muscles of his body’s upper half totally stand out.

At the moment Qin Yu is full of vitality. He is treading the waves freely, looking wild like a sea god. “Ha!”  He suddenly makes a wave of his hand. Many huge streams of water unexpectedly start to move around his body like the energy streams that appeared when he was practicing the Trans-Heaven 3 Diagrams in the past. However these water streams are 10 times thicker than the energy streams before

and the area encircled by them is also 10 times larger.

With the water streams moving around his body, Qin Yu is expressing his feelings wantonly.

All of a sudden he reaches out a hand and a big fish that weighs 10-odd jin floats up. Using only telekinesis, he has caught a big fist just like that.

“Xiao Hei, prepare to roast fish.”

He says laughingly to Xiao Hei in the sky. Then, with a wave of his hand, a huge object suddenly appears on the surface of the ocean. It is none other than their large wooden ship, which is 200 m long and is 50 m wide. Defensive restrictive spells have been set up on this ship so perhaps not even one of the 3 big kingdoms’ ships can compare with it in defense. 

“Roast fish, wow, very good.” Xiao Hei dives down and lands directly on the deck.

With a jump, Qin Yu immediately gets on board from the ocean’s surface. He then goes directly into the center of the ship. This ship’s cabin is 30 m wide, 80 m long and 10 m deep. There are many things in the cabin such as waterbeds, a grill, fishing rods, and so on, which have been taken out from Lei Mountain House.

When wandering the universe Lei Wei enjoyed himself a lot so he naturally had these things. Qin Yu therefore has put them in the cabin of this ship.

“This grill master set up is really …”  Qin Yu keeps praising highly. To be exact, this grill is similar to an Eight Diagrams Furnace that is used to forge weapons. It is even much more complex than an Eight Diagrams Furnace.

If the Stellar Flame is used to roast ordinary foods directly, the foods will definitely be burnt to ashes, and therefore this special grill was made. Its various restrictive spells can alter the strength of the Stellar Flame to achieve a suitable temperature.

“Big brother, frankly, the Qian Long continent’s spices are much inferior to the many spices your master left behind.” Xiao Hei says to Qin Yu while staring at the fish that is being roasted in the grill with glittering eyes.

Qin Yu has to admit this point. Lei Wei indeed had many spices, some of which were even mixed up by him personally. Many foods taste much better when those spices are added to them.

Chi chi ~~~

The fat of the roast fish comes out all over. Xiao Hei is about to drool, but he must wait until the optimal temperature is attained.

“All right.” Qin Yu cuts the fish in half directly. He and Xiao Hei each take a half of this 10-odd jin big fish then start to eat it very happily. They eat up such a large fish but their stomachs do not change at all.

Suddenly —

Bang!

The ship shakes.

“What’s going on?” Qin Yu immediately makes a sweep using his holy sense. He then bursts out laughing: “These sharks unexpectedly want to destroy my ship. Too bad, it’s very hard.” With defensive restrictive spells set up on it, this ship is really not something that these sharks can destroy.

He suddenly gives a smile: “But you have to pay a price for hitting my ship.”

Like an eagle with spread wings, he immediately flies out of the cabin. Making a push against the deck using his feet, he dives into the ocean. There are several tens sharks around the ship at the moment. Qin Yu quickly detects the leader of these sharks. With a jump he gets on this shark and grabs its fin directly. Feeling that someone is sitting on it, the shark starts to move like crazy at once, alternating between swimming

underwater and jumping into the air.

“Behave!”

Qin Yu exerts the strength of his legs, pressing the shark to the point where it begins to cry miserably. At the same time, his stellar energy rushes through the shark’s entire body. Feeling that Qin Yu is formidable, the shark stops resisting in an instant.

“This is good. Go ahead for me.”

Qin Yu rides the leading shark forwards. The other sharks follow him on one side. Xiao Hei also steers the ship to follow him on one side. Under Qin Yu’s control, this shiver of sharks continuously goes south. Xiao Hei then starts to fish. After all, roast fish taste really very good.

B5C2: The Underwater World Of Demonic Beasts

It has been a half month since the journey on the boundless ocean began. During the last half month, sometimes Qin Yu flew on the sword, sometimes he trod on the waves and sometimes he rested on the big ship. He and Xiao Hei have only come across several islands in a half month and they were merely ordinary small islands with no traces of human presence.

It is still very far from the Overseas Immortal Islands.

“Xiao Hei, why do you want to learn angling with me? Won’t it be faster if you come directly into the water and catch fish?” Qin Yu lies down on the deck and enjoys the ocean winds as he pleases. But there is a fishing rod beside him. A stream of stellar energy is connecting his fingers with the fishing rod.

As soon as there is a sign of a fish, he can easily pull it out of the water. A dark golden stream of energy comes out from Xiao Hei’s body and is attached directly to a fishing rod. Xiao Hei has unexpectedly been fishing with a rod as well. Hearing Qin Yu’s question,  he  says  using  his  holy  sense:  “Then  why  are  you angling, big brother? Won’t it also be faster if you come into the ocean to catch fish?”

“The mood, angling is to enjoy the mood. The mood, do you understand?” Qin Yu says smilingly.

Xiao  Hei  uses  holy  sense  communication:  “The  mood, angling is to enjoy the mood! Hah, so simple, who wouldn’t understand this reason? Could it be you haven’t noticed that I’m enjoying the mood too?” Xiao Hei even waves his wings proudly.

“…” Qin Yu does not know what to say.

After a short while,

“The mood my arse, I haven’t been able to catch even a single fish.”  Xiao Hei becomes impatient and throws his fishing rod directly into the cabin. Then, with a shake of his wings, he dives into the ocean like an arrow that is leaving a bow. In a little while, he flies back onto the deck with each of his sharp claws holding a fish.

Xiao Hei gloats: “Big brother, take your time enjoying the mood. I’ll go make some grilled fish.”

As Xiao Hei is very intelligent, after seeing Qin Yu use the grill, he has totally understood how to use it too and therefore now he is going to grill the fish himself. Qin Yu has nothing to say. Suddenly, his fishing rod shakes. He hurriedly lifts it up with a grab. With a ‘hey’ sound, he pulls a fish out of the water.

“Ha-ha, such a big fish.”

Angling feels much more enjoyable than catching fish directly does. In a happy mood, Qin Yu fetches the fish and conveniently throws it straight into a vat that is specifically used to store fish in the cabin. Xiao Hei looks at the fish then looks at Qin Yu. “Hmm … why can’t I catch fish with a fishing rod?” He really does not want to accept this. Of course, he will not tell Qin Yu about this thought. Instead, he feigns a disdainful expression: “Isn’t it just catching a fish with a rod? What’s there to be proud of? How can it possibly be as fast as me grasping fish?”

Hearing Xiao Hei’s voice through his holy sense, Qin Yu cannot help getting astounded: “Xiao Hei, I’m not proud of this at all. Could it be … you’re jealous of me?”

……

Luckily Qin Yu can chat with Xiao Hei. Otherwise he would only be able to pass time by practicing. This one day, after enjoying a sumptuous dinner, Qin Yu and Xiao Hei begin to meditate and rest in the cabin.

It is already dark. The ocean looks terrifying in the dark. With apparently not the slightest amount of light in sight, the only thing that is surrounding them is the surging ocean. However, to Qin Yu and Xiao Hei, the billowing ocean is not a danger at all because it is actually very simple for them to tread on the waves, not to mention such an easy thing to do as flying.

The inside of the cabin is very quiet at the moment. Qin Yu and Xiao Hei are slowly practicing. An indistinct light silvery nebula is flickering in Qin Yu’s vicinity while various flashes of lightning are moving around on the surface of Xiao Hei’s body.

Suddenly —

Qin Yu’s ears slightly move. He immediately opens his eyes and jumps onto the deck from inside the cabin. Staring south into the distance, he cannot help getting startled: “Good Heavens, so high, so big!”

“Big brother, what’s happened?” Xiao Hei has also come out of the cabin. As soon as he takes a look south, he is stupefied too.

He only sees huge waves that are 100 m high moving north nonstop in the south like a large army. There are even frightening cyclones behind the waves. Those cyclones are covering a very large area. At least Qin Yu can see at a glance that several hundred li in the south is full of cyclones.

“Big brother, should we go through the waves to have some fun, eh?” Xiao Hei says via his holy sense.

Looking at the huge waves in the distance, Qin Yu cannot help feeling his heart beating faster. He says audaciously: “All right, but this ship has to be put away first. If it gets lost in such big waves, it’ll be very hard to find it back.” He then sucks the ship into his spatial ring at once.

“Whoa ~~~ let’s surf!”  With a shake of his wings, Xiao Hei pierces through the air directly, rushing towards those huge waves along the surface of the ocean. He then spreads his wings and cuts straight through the waves very wildly like a knife.

“Xiao Hei, wait for me.” Qin Yu also rushes towards those endless billows on the surface of the water. One huge wave after another is pushing north unceasingly. Eventually they crash into Qin Yu. With a bang, Qin Yu breaks through a billow directly, but it is immediately followed up by the 2nd billow.

When a huge wave that is over 100 m high strikes down, it creates a really deafening noise.

Qin Yu can only feel that he is being engulfed in explosions. However, Xiao Hei’s voice rises in his mind through holy sense communication: “Big brother, you’re too slow. Quickly catch up with me.”

“Don’t get cocky, brat.” Qin Yu’s entire body sometimes goes through the waves like a flash, sometimes flutters on the tops of the billows like a butterfly, and sometimes stands on the billows like a sea god. He is amusing himself as he pleases. He and Xiao Hei continue to go south for an indeterminately long period of time while the billows keep rushing north. They have totally come into the middle of the billows. Suddenly —

Qin Yu looks southwards in stupefaction. 

“Good Heavens.”

He finally knows the main culprit that has been creating these endless billows. Those cyclones are strong but they still cannot shake him and Xiao Hei up. However, he finds the main cause of those immense cyclones and endless billows somewhat difficult to face head-on.

“Big brother, what’s that?”

Xiao Hei has flown up to Qin Yu. Both of them are looking southwards. At the moment, a huge maelstrom is spinning nonstop several tens li to the south of their location. The sky above the maelstrom is filled with dark clouds, which seem to be touching the ocean’s surface, and various thunderbolts are striking down continuously from them.

This enormous maelstrom keeps absorbing the thunderbolts from the sky and even creates a huge tornado above it. That sky-high tornado in turn has been causing the cyclones within a several hundred li radius of the maelstrom. Even though Qin Yu is very far from the tornado, he dares to confirm that he cannot resist the power of its rotation.

“Big brother, what should we do?” Xiao Hei seems not certain about being able to handle it either.

One man and one eagle only stand on the waves, looking at the terrifying maelstrom and tornado in the distance.

Qin Yu then opens his mouth, saying: “I’d like to beat this tornado, but … I don’t want to become a toy for it. Once we’re pulled into it, we’ll definitely be spun to the point of dizziness then get sucked in by that maelstrom.”

“Then we …” Xiao Hei looks at Qin Yu.

Qin Yu’s face relaxes into a smile: “Let’s dive down. It’s said that the underwater world is the territory of demonic beasts. Shouldn’t we experience it a bit?” Xiao Hei of course has no objection to this. Immediately afterwards, a man and an eagle dive down into the water. 

As they go down, the water pressure gradually increases.

“Xiao Hei, you’re really formidable. They say that water isn’t suitable for birds to go into but you seem not to be affected by it at all.” Qin Yu says using his holy sense.

Xiao Hei says: “Big brother, the underwater world is only unsuitable for ordinary birds. Jindan-stage birds have already become Xiuyaoists so they naturally can go underwater. Plus, I’m not only a Jindan demonic beast, but also an extraordinary demonic beast.”

Since Xiao Hei and Qin Yu have talked to each other a lot, he also knows that he is not an ordinary demonic beast. How can ordinary demonic beasts possibly compare with him, who cannot transform into a human after going through the 4-in-9 Heavenly Tribulation and, moreover, possesses hereditary memories?

Both Qin Yu and Xiao Hei have very strong bodies so the water pressure does not affect them much. 

“It’s very quiet under the water indeed.”  They dive down 1000 m without taking a break. At the moment, it is very quiet at a depth of 1000 m in the ocean. Various multicolored fish are swimming. Seemingly not afraid of Qin Yu and Xiao Hei in the slightest, they swim past them.

There are also small fish whose entire bodies radiate rays of light. Fish are the most commonly seen kind of animal in the ocean and Qin Yu and Xiao Hei usually encounter densely populated shoals of fish. But once in a while, they see other kinds of underwater animals as well.

Qin Yu and Xiao Hei keep diving down to a depth of 2000 m.

“What a large whale. It should be several hundred years old.” Looking at an over 100 m long huge whale that is swimming in the distance, Qin Yu cannot help getting startled inwardly. However, Xiao Hei beside him suddenly becomes excited.

Many flashes of lightning spread out from his body. Qin Yu only feels his body get a shock. It turns out some flashes have reached him.

“Xiao Hei, what are you doing?” He immediately looks doubtfully at Xiao Hei, who however says in excitement via holy sense communication: “Big brother, this whale has a lot of life essence. There’s a method for absorbing blood and flesh in my hereditary memories.”

9 flashes of lightning then shoot out from the surface of Xiao Hei’s body and hit different parts of that huge whale squarely. With a miserable cry, that whale begins to shrink at a shocking speed. Various streams of blood essence continuously flow into Xiao Hei’s body along the 9 flashes of lightning.

Qin Yu’s eyes pop out of his head.

In just a short while, the blood essence of a 100 m long whale has been gobbled up completely. What that is left of the whale is only a layer of skin and its bones. Xiao Hei has just absorbed a whale but his stomach has unexpectedly remained unchanged. Qin Yu cannot imagine where so much blood essence of that 100 m long whale has gone. 

“Wow, it felt really good to refine the blood essence and absorb the life essence of a Xiantian level whale. In terms of life essence, it wasn’t inferior to an ordinary Jindan demonic beast.” Xiao Hei praises highly.

Qin Yu is almost speechless.

“Xiao Hei, that whale was so big, how was it able to go down your stomach?” He looks at Xiao Hei.

Xiao Hei however says: “Big brother … I didn’t eat it. I only absorbed its blood essence and refined its life essence. But … absorbing blood essence and refining life essence are a special skill. According to my hereditary memories, not many demonic beasts can absorb the essence of flesh and blood like me.”

Qin Yu has nothing to say. Not many demonic beasts can do this? No kidding? The Xiuzhen books he has read talk about demonic-beast-related matters, and according to them, demonic beasts are only said to be able to absorb jindans and yuanyings, and no one has ever heard of a demonic beast that can absorb the essence of flesh

and blood.

“Big brother, do you want to learn it? I can teach you if you want.” Xiao Hei says to Qin Yu.

Qin Yu is startled.

“Ha-ha …  just kidding, this method of absorbing flesh and blood is only suitable for me. Also, it can only be executed with my Dark Lightning.” Xiao Hei says using his holy sense. Absorbing other demonic beasts’ flesh and blood is not something an ordinary demonic beast can do.

Only some unusual demonic beasts can have such a special skill. A divine beast Hong Luan cannot use such a skill, but this does not mean that Xiao Hei is more formidable than a Hong Luan. A blood-red anaconda is not a divine beast but it can absorb flesh and blood. Xiao Hei having such a special skill only means that he is unusual.

“All right, let’s keep going down. We haven’t seen any formidable demonic beasts until now.” Xiao Hei says smilingly via his holy sense.

He then continues to dive down with Xiao Hei. On the way Xiao Hei absorbs 3 huge carnivores successively then stops. This is already his limit of absorption and he has to digest what he has taken in.

At a depth of 3000 to 4000 m, Qin Yu eventually discovers the 1st Jindan-stage demonic beast — a blue shelled black turtle. As soon as that blue shelled black turtle sees him and Xiao Hei, it transforms into a human and goes away extremely fast at once, seemingly scared.

Qin Yu and Xiao Hei look at that fleeing blue shelled black turtle with eyes popping. 

“Big brother, what’s going on? Why did he run away? We didn’t want to kill him.” Xiao Hei becomes doubtful. Just now he even tried to communicate with that blue shelled black turtle in a friendly manner using his holy sense.

Qin Yu also shakes his head.

He and Xiao Hei keep going down to a depth of nearly 5000

m. There are many demonic beasts at this depth. Sometimes they encounter a demonic beast, but as soon as a demonic beast that is weak notices them, it immediately runs away. The strangest thing is those weak demonic beasts unexpectedly do not flee when encountering strong demonic beasts.

It seems … those weak demonic beasts are only afraid of Qin Yu and Xiao Hei.

This is strange, very strange. “Ha-ha, where are those 2 fellas from? It looks like they don’t know any rules. I bet they won’t live more than a half day.” A late Jindan demonic beast in the distance says to another demonic beast. At this moment, both of them transform into humans.

These 2 demonic beasts do not avoid Qin Yu and Xiao Hei either. What they are saying via holy sense communication is even rising in Qin Yu’s and Xiao Hei’s minds.

“A half day? 2 foreign blokes, I bet they’ll die within 2 hours.”   The  other  demonic  beast  in  human  form  says disdainfully.

Qin Yu and Xiao Hei exchange a look. They both find this strange. What is actually going on?

“The  others  can  bugger  off!  These  2  fellas  are  mine.” Suddenly a huge holy sense spreads out. The voice of that holy sense’s owner rises in the minds of all the other demonic beasts, and even of Qin Yu and Xiao Hei. Those few humanoid demonic beasts go away in an instant. 

“No good.”

Qin Yu has realized that the situation is not good thanks to his holy sense. But it is already too late. In just a moment, 10- odd huge blue octopuses come at him and Xiao Hei from all sides, surrounding them. There is no way for them to escape. These blue octopuses have all unexpectedly reached the Jindan stage.

“Ha-ha …” The voice a moment ago rises again. A huge red octopus appears. This one is 4 to 5 times bigger than the other 10-odd octopuses and has a much more terrifying aura. Its 8 tentacles are like aquatic dragons, looking very frightening.

Qin Yu’s and Xiao Hei’s faces change color at once.

That red octopus looks at them with blazing eyes, which flash with greediness!

B5C3: Mortal Danger

Qin Yu’s and Xiao Hei’s faces have become very unpleasant to look at.

There are currently 16 blue octopuses surrounding them altogether. 12 of these octopuses are even in a formation. Various streams of demonic elemental energy have enfolded them in the center of the formation like a perfect net.

“12 Gates Encircling Formation.” Qin Yu’s heart skips a beat.

The 12 Gates Encircling Formation is no profound formation but the frightening thing is that its users at the moment are 12 Jindan stage octopuses. Octopuses have huge bodies and also, in general, extremely great amounts of demonic elemental energy. Even though these octopuses are only at the Jindan stage, they are much more fearsome than ordinary demonic beasts of the same power level.

When 12 Jindan stage octopuses join forces, even if without the enhancing effect of a formation, the sum of their personal Jindan-stage power alone will not be something that Qin Yu and Xiao Hei can defeat. Even worse, their power is being amplified by the formation.

“I never thought we’d get stuck in this place right after leaving home.” Qin Yu cannot help forcing a smile inwardly.

During this period of time, it has been very relaxing for him and Xiao Hei to drift and fool around on the ocean. However, he has only been on the surface of the ocean before. Now that he has come into contact with the real world of demonic beasts underwater, he knows that the path of Xiuzhen is not so easy to walk at all.

No wonder Fengyuzi has never dared to enter the ocean and said that the most fearsome power in the ocean is the underwater demonic beasts.

“Big brother, what now?” Xiao Hei hurriedly asks.

Qin Yu quickly tries to come up with a solution, but seeing that big formation, he is speechless. 

A formation arranged by 12 Jindan stage octopuses is really not something they, a man and an eagle, can breach.

Qin Yu’s mind becomes ruthless: “I won’t let whoever wants to trouble me get off scot-free.” Even though he is sincere to his friends, one must remember that he used to be an assassin and therefore is really not soft-hearted.

“Big brother, 16 Jindan demonic beasts, and the 4 that aren’t in the formation have reached the late Jindan stage. But that red octopus is the most fearsome one. It should be at the Yuanying stage.” Xiao Hei’s voice has become ice-cold and is no longer as playful as it used to be.

“Since we can’t run, prepare to fight.”

The muscle power in the depths of Qin Yu’s entire body seems to be wakened up. He is going to go all out no matter what, because he is really not a coward who will be easy meat for other people. The Flaming Sword and Flaming Gloves are his most powerful weapons. 

One man and one eagle lock their holy senses firmly onto the opponents in their surroundings. They do not dare to relax their concentration a little bit and is ready to attack at any moment.

Both of them can totally feel that this is a dangerous situation.

A mortal danger!

There are 12 Jindan stage octopuses in a 12 Gates Encircling Formation and 4 other late Jindan demonic beasts in its surroundings. At the same time, there is even a Yuanying stage red octopus, whose raging aura is being sent out nonstop.

Suddenly, the red octopus transforms into a human with a turn of his body.

He is now 2 m tall and dressed in a red robe, which is very large and seems to cover him in it completely. There is a faint smile on the mouth corners of this man, whose real form is the red octopus, at the moment.

Taking a greedy glance at Xiao Hei, he suddenly bursts out laughing: “Ha-ha … who would’ve thought a Jindan stage bird would come into the ocean? Oh my, this is really suicide. Birds are weakened quite a lot under the water. I’m Sang Mo. Prepare to be killed by me.”

Xiao Hei stares at Sang Mo with his glittering sharp eyes. His aura is not weaker than his opponent’s a bit.

Sang Mo then looks at Qin Yu. As soon as he sees him, his eyes brighten: “Ah, this is unexpectedly a … Xiuxianist. I’m really very lucky. Xiuxianists’ jindans and flesh are very pure. Absorbing them will be … a real pleasure.”

Like a womanizer who has seen a beauty, this octopus called Sang Mo becomes very excited upon seeing Qin Yu. His saliva seems to be about to come out of his mouth.

“Oh? You said I’m a Xiuxianist?” Qin Yu asks laughingly. 

Under the current situation, Qin Yu still does not seem nervous in the slightest, nor does he hurry to flee. Instead, he has even asked Sang Mo a question.

Sang Mo says in a friendly manner as if he has seen a lamb: “Oh, my delicacy, I can feel that your aura is different from a demonic beast’s. You must be a human. Moreover, the aura that your power gives off …”

Sang Mo, who is covered in a red robe, suddenly says in a resounding voice: “… is burning hot. That blazing aura is so pure! Most Xiumoists’ auras are corrosive, evil and impure. Perhaps only the energy of top Xiumo schools’ disciples can be pure, but how can that kind of top school possibly have such a stupid disciple as you, who have even gone into the ocean?” He is not worried at all at the moment.

Within several tens thousand li of this place is his territory. Even if other experts came, they would not be able to compete against him, or else they would violate the rules. And once the rules are violated, then … Therefore Sang Mo is not worried a bit.

Qin Yu slightly frowns.

He remembers clearly that after he and Xiao Hei dived into the ocean, as soon as weak demonic beasts saw them, they ran away, but strong demonic beasts bet on the time of their deaths. All of these demonic beasts seemed to be able to quickly spot that he and Xiao Hei were outsiders.

“Diving into the ocean is stupid? Why?” He acts the fool.

Moreover, he really does not know the reason of this.

“Looks like you’re really very naïve. But …  a man who dies unwillingly has very chewy flesh. I like to eat that kind of flesh the most. So, I won’t tell you tell you the reason. Ha-ha … just prepare to die an unwilling death.”

Sang Mo’s sharp laughter comes out from inside the red robe.

He then makes a wave of his hand. “Father, I’ve never eaten a Xiuxianist. Tut-tut, I really want to get a taste of him. Could you give me just a leg?”  A late Jindan-stage blue octopus on one side, which has turned into an evil-looking young man, says to Sang Mo.

After smacking his lips a couple of times, Sang Mo says unwillingly: “You little brat. Alright, I’ll give you a leg.” He is somewhat indulgent towards his son.

That evil-looking young man becomes excited at once: “This is really too good. Father, give me that eagle too, okay?”

“Sang  Tu!”  Sang  Mo’s  face  darkens.  A  red  beam  of  light shoots out from his eyes. “What I hate the most is … the insatiable type. Though you’re my son, I’ve already given you a leg of a Xiuxianist, if you keep talking nonsense, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”

Immediately Sang Tu no longer dares to say anything. Once Sang Mo gets ruthless, even though he will not kill him, it will still be possible that he will throw him in jail for a hundred years or so. 

Sang Mo looks at those 12 octopuses in the formation and gently makes a wave of his hand.

Qin Yu and Xiao Hei, who are being surrounded by the formation, have activated all of their power, ready to launch their most powerful attacks anytime.

“Big brother.” Xiao Hei’s voice rises in Qin Yu’s mind.

With his entire body emitting clack sounds, Qin Yu also uses holy sense communication: “Xiao Hei, there must be no mistakes in this fight. Prepare to go all out. After breaking out of the formation, we must rely on our speeds to run away. Even if  only  one  of  us  can  escape,  that’ll  be  enough.”  He  is  not confident that both he and Xiao Hei will escape.

“Screw them. Let’s go all out. Even if I have to die, I’ll take some of them with me.” Xiao Hei has become furious.

Suddenly — “Netting.” Sang Mo gives an order with a very brilliant smile.

The 12 blue octopuses instantly channel their demonic elemental energy into their formation. That formation unexpectedly forms a net of energy, which comes straight at Qin Yu and Xiao Hei, trying to tie them up. At the same time, the 12 blue octopuses follow the net closely and attack them together.

These octopuses also know very well that, while the 12 Gates Encircling Formation is formidable in surrounding people, its offensive power is ordinary.

“Perhaps the joint force of 12 brats alone is enough to handle that Xiuxianist and that eagle.”  By now Sang Mo has already planned ahead for everything, what is there for him to worry about? He is even a Yuanying-stage demonic beast and, moreover, an octopus, whose offense is extremely powerful.

Sang Mo is much more formidable than Xiang Yang even though both of them are early Yuanying stage experts. 

A divine beast can easily kill 10 Xiuxianists who are at the same power level as it is. Sang Mo is not a divine beast, but he must be able to deal with 2 to 3 Xiuxianists of his power level.

“Xiao Hei!”

Qin Yu suddenly shouts loudly. At the same time, the Flaming Sword appears in his hand. He makes a slash at the energy net with it, but somehow the net unexpectedly is not cut open. However, Xiao Hei, who was shouted to by Qin Yu a moment ago, takes a swipe with an eagle claw.

Pu!

The energy net is shattered. Its energy scatters all around.

“Chirp ~~” An extremely resounding eagle cry comes out from Xiao Hei’s mouth. Concurrently with that, he shoots up with a movement of his wings. An octopus gently swings its 8 huge long tentacles downwards and unexpectedly rushes up like a flash. At the same time —

It sweeps its tentacles, which are as thick as buckets, ferociously at Xiao Hei like huge whips. That octopus’s 8 tentacles are very powerful. Xiao Hei’s eyes glitter —

Pa!

2 flashes of lightning shoot out directly from his eyes and hit that octopus’s body. That octopus immediately gets a shock, but when Xiao Hei wants to run away, 5 to 6 other octopuses have already stood all around him.

Each of them has 8 tentacles as thick as buckets. Several tens such very nimble tentacles have completely surrounded Xiao Hei, leaving him no way out. “In an unavoidable fight, the brave one wins. It’s time to go all out!”

Qin Yu clenches his teeth. His entire body turns into a whirlwind.

“Hah!”

Immediately after a loud shout by him, a miserable cry is heard. 3 tentacles have been cut off. Qin Yu is holding the Flaming Sword in a hand. Because this high-grade holy weapon is filled with stellar sword energy, even if the tentacle were more formidable, they would still not be able to withstand its attacks.

Sang Mo, who is watching the fight from a distance, gives several continuous cold laughs: “3rd bro, you go play with him a bit.”

“Yes, big brother.” There are 4 late Jindan stage blue octopuses beside Sang Mo at the moment. One of them is his son and the others 3 are his brothers. He already noticed long ago that this man and this eagle had not reached the Yuanying stage.

“Cut off my tentacles, die.”

A sharp voice rises in Qin Yu’s mind through holy sense communication. The octopus whose 3 tentacles were severed by Qin Yu a moment ago is brandishing its other 5 tentacles like crazy. At the same time, a black air stream suddenly rushes out from it. In an instant, the air stream has already covered several hundred meters.

“Poisonous!”

Qin Yu holds his breath at once, but that black poisonous air unexpectedly can enter his body through his pores. In just a moment, Qin Yu feels a numbing sensation in the places that have been permeated into by it. He immediately channels his stellar energy forcefully, stopping all of the poisonous air. Bang!

When he has just hurriedly stopped the poisonous air, a terrifyingly powerful force smashes into his waist squarely. His whole body is sent flying uncontrollably. At the same time, several tentacles continuously hit him with loud bangs, basically giving him no time to adjust to the situation. He is smashed back and forth like a sandbag.

Using a Flaming Glove, Qin Yu violently makes a grab at a tentacle and tears it apart directly. Then, making use of the force, he dodges to one side with a swaying movement of his body to get a peaceful moment. Blood is oozing from his mouth. He spits the blood inside his mouth out, his eyes glittering with coldness.

“Screw you, a bunch of eight-armed bastards.”

Qin Yu’s body is very strong and has been trained to the point where it is comparable to holy weapons. In addition to that, the clothes he is wearing can absorb more than half of the offensive force, so he has not suffered any serious injuries. By now Xiao Hei has also been surrounded by 7 or 8 octopuses. 

The number of octopuses surrounding Qin Yu starts to increase. Their tentacles are swung at him nonstop. Sometimes there is even demonic elemental energy moving around on the tentacles.

“There are too many tentacles.” With a shake of his body, he evades one wave of attacks, but it is immediately followed up by the smashes of 6 or 7 tentacles. The octopuses’ frightening demonic elemental energy keeps surging forth bombarding him as well. For the moment Qin Yu is like a small fish in a net.

His holy sense has been expanded to the utmost. He is totally aware of the overall situation.

Xiao Hei is currently also in a tight corner. His flashes can only numb these demonic beasts for a while at best. His Flaming Lightning is capable of killing one demonic beast, but how can he possibly shoot out several streams of Flaming Lightning? Even though he has other special skills, all of them require him to put his life on the line to execute. “That Yuanying demonic beast hasn’t got into action yet. If I don’t go all out again, there’ll be no hope of escaping.”  The corners of Qin Yu’s eyes slightly tremble. His eyes also begin to redden. In just a moment, the energy inside his body has reached its limit.

“Xiao Hei, get ready to use the Passing Lightning Flashing Nine Times.”

Qin Yu’s voice suddenly rises in Xiao Hei’s mind. Hearing this, Xiao Hei however says using his holy sense: “Big brother, I’m being surrounded by several tens tentacles. How can I use the  Passing  Lightning  Flashing  Nine  Times?”  He  is  deeply distressed. But, as soon as he finishes saying, a scene that shocks him takes place.

Boom!

Seeing that scene, Xiao Hei totally understands that Qin Yu is using the Stellar Field. The stellar energy, which is moving extremely fast, forms a huge nebula around Qin Yu, increasing the speed of his entire body by almost 10 times in an instant. 

“Break, break, break!!!”

His body moves like a flash. He simply does not attack Sang Mo. Instead, he rushes towards Xiao Hei. Using the Flaming Sword, he cuts off the tentacles that get on his way like crazy, totally disregarding their smashes on his body.

Even though blood spurts from the severed tentacles, it still cannot block his vision. He stares at Xiao Hei, shouting loudly: “Xiao Hei, run!”

After this one act by Qin Yu, the original 10-odd octopuses have become totally confused. Xiao Hei immediately comes to his senses. He performs the Passing Lightning Flashing Nine Times technique, rushing upwards extremely fast. Following this, Qin Yu is ready to run for his life on his flying sword too.

Suddenly —

Bang! 

A bulky tentacle smashes into his body squarely with a terrifying force that is much more powerful than those of the previous attacks. Qin Yu’s entire body gets a shock as if struck by lightning. Blood spouts from his mouth like water.

“Big  brother!!!”   With  a  shake  of  his  wings,  Xiao  Hei unexpectedly rushes back.

B5C4: Goodbye, Xiao Hei!

“Humph, you 2 even want to run away?” A huge red octopus is floating on one side of Qin Yu. While the other blue octopuses have tentacles that are over 10 m long, this red octopus has shocking tentacles that are 40 to 50 m long.

With a light flashing on its body, the red octopus turns into a human again.

“Tut-tut, taking a smash by me without dying, you unexpectedly have some skills.” Sang Mo looks mockingly at Qin Yu. At this moment, the other octopuses transform into humans too. Just now so many of them got their tentacles cut off by Qin Yu, but after turning into humans, their 4 limbs are totally undamaged.

A trait of these octopuses is that their severed tentacles can still regrow. This has nothing to do with their power levels and is just a characteristic of the octopus family. By contrast, once a divine beast Dragon Rocky lion gets a limb cut off, unless it can achieve ascension, this limb will never grow back to normal. “3rd bro, just now I let you get into action but who would’ve thought you wouldn’t even be able to touch him?” Sang Mo is very dissatisfied.

That 3rd brother says in a terrified manner at once: “Big brother, it couldn’t be helped. A moment ago, when I was ready for action, that Xiuzhenist’s speed suddenly increased by over 10 times. He was terrifyingly fast so I simply couldn’t catch up with him. Luckily you eventually intervened.”

Sang Mo says with a ‘humph’ sound: “Forget it. That brat’s speed is indeed strangely fast. In the end I had to rely on my true form plus the length of my tentacle to overtake him. In terms of body speed, I’m equal to him at most.”

Qin Yu however is secretly astonished.

Just now he was using the Stellar Field. Had it been a normal situation, he simply would not have been able to match Sang Mo’s speed. “It looks like it’s really extremely hard to escape.” Qin Yu keeps considering in his mind, totally ignoring his body’s injuries.

Qin Yu has been injured very badly, but thanks to the various clear streams that are moving through his whole body nonstop, he is recovering at an astonishing speed. He believes that it will not take long for him to recover completely from the bodily injuries. However, he is still amazed by Sang Mo’s offensive force.

“Big brother.” Xiao Hei rushes to Qin Yu’s side, patting Qin Yu’s back with his wings.

Qin Yu turns around and takes a look at Xiao Hei. His face is full of anger.

“Xiao Hei, why haven’t you run? Why?!?!?!” Qin Yu stares at Xiao Hei and rebukes using his holy sense. There is only anger in his heart at the moment. Despite being stared at by Qin Yu this way, Xiao Hei says: “Big brother, if you can’t run, we’ll die together.” “Stupid!!!” Qin Yu suddenly scolds with a shout.

Xiao Hei is startled.

Qin Yu’s voice rises seriously in Xiao Hei’s mind through holy sense communication: “Remember, one of use must escape no matter what. Even if you want to die with me, you must wait until after taking revenge for me.” There is a note of fierceness in his voice.

He has never admitted defeat since age 8. What is one’s greatest enemy? It is himself!

Since the age of 8, Qin Yu has overcome himself time after time. He has never given up no matter what. As long as there is a glimmer of hope, he will never stop fighting. He is not afraid of death. What he is afraid of is to die such a pointless death.

“Ha-ha …” He suddenly turns his face upwards, laughing out loud. 

Sang Mo says coldly: “Why are you laughing?”

“I laughed at myself being too stupid.” The look in his eyes becomes blank. The pictures of what he has gone through for the last 20 years seem to flash by his eyes one after another. “I’d been drifting on the ocean in high spirits, ready to enjoy the Xiuzhen world’s hair-raising experiences, but then I dived into the ocean out of ignorance to explore the underwater world of demonic beasts. I’ve got a taste of its horrors. Pity this is perhaps the last time I’ve had this hair-raising feeling.”

Qin Yu says with a sigh.

Xiao Hei however secretly becomes suspicious. He knows very well that even in a dangerous situation Qin Yu will definitely keep on fighting till the end. But why is he talking in such a disheartened manner to the enemy? Xiao Hei’s intuition tells him that —

Something is going on! “You’re very ignorant indeed. Not even Xiumoists and Xiuxianists dare to go deep into this boundless ocean at will. Only some high-level Xiuxianists or Xiumoists will dare to dive down. Even so, they’ll leave the deep parts very quickly.”

Sang Mo is sure that the Xiuxianist before him is seriously injured. A Xiuxianist must be extremely lucky to be able to survive an all-out swing of one of his true form’s tentacles. In the beginning, he was even worried that Qin Yu’s body would be smashed into pieces.

At the moment, seeing Qin Yu so demoralized, Sang Mo naturally becomes arrogant.

“The internal injuries have healed 90%. It’s already almost enough.” Qin Yu however is secretly calculating in his mind. Using his holy sense, he has located all of the opponents in his surroundings. After another mental simulation of his plan, he decides that there are no problems with it.

Qin Yu turns around, taking a look at Xiao Hei. As Xiao Hei sees the look in Qin Yu’s eyes, his heart cannot help skipping a beat. He knows that Qin Yu has made a decision.

“Big brother, what do you want to do? Say it. Quickly tell me.” He says hurriedly.

Qin Yu says resolutely through his holy sense: “Xiao Hei, remember, if another opportunity to escape arises, you must grasp it. You must run away no matter what. Even if only one of us can escape, that’ll be enough. The one who’ll escape must take revenge for the other. If both of us can get away, that’ll be great. But if neither of us can escape, we’ll have to take some of them with us.”

Xiao Hei is startled. He can feel Qin Yu’s determination to risk his life.

Xiao Hei started to live with Qin Yu not long after he was born. A special telepathy developed between them long ago, which has since even enabled them to sense each other’s sentiments. It is really very mysterious. 

“Don’t worry, big brother, I won’t disappoint you.”

Suddenly —

An eagle cry rises. At the same time, a frightening force surges forth from Xiao Hei’s body. He performs an act of spitting and a stream of Flaming Lightning shoots at Sang Mo extremely fast from his mouth. This stream of Flaming Lightning is different from those in the past because there is a mass of Dark Lightning in its center.

“Child’s play.”

Sang Mo makes a wave with a sleeve disdainfully. A red ribbon flies out from inside the sleeve and hits Xiao Hei’s stream of Flaming Lightning directly, which unexpectedly blazes all of a sudden. In just a moment, it has already burnt the ribbon up.

Sang Mo’s face changes color. 

“Big brother, quickly run.” Xiao Hei’s voice rises in Qin Yu’s mind.

Qin Yu’s face changes color. Xiao Hei has unexpectedly acted earlier than he can. Too bad … he knows that Xiao Hei’s plan is too simple, so simple that it has almost no chance of success. But he will not let Xiao Hei’s planning go to waste.

Whizz!

He stands on his flying sword, rushing south extremely fast.

“Want to run?”

2 late Jindan-stage octopuses brandish their 16 tentacles, blocking up the spaces in front and on one side of him. Well prepared, the other 2 late Jindan-stage octopuses have also completely blocked his other possible escape routes. These octopuses prefer eating the body of a Xiuxianist to eating an eagle. Moreover, just now Qin Yu severed quite a few tentacles so they have a much deeper hatred for him than for Xiao Hei.

However, the stream of Flaming Lightning Xiao Hei shot has arrived at Sang Mo’s face.

With a fierce yell, Sang Mo suddenly turns into a huge red octopus. Various golden rays of light are unexpectedly flickering on his 40 to 50 m long tentacles. Taking a careful look, one will see that those tentacles are being covered in a holy-class suit of armor.

Boom!

Carrying a terrifyingly great amount of demonic elemental energy, those tentacles ruthlessly smash into that stream of Flaming Lightning, which subsequently disintegrates with a boom. But that flash of Dark Lightning unexpectedly flows to the surface of the holy weapon outside the tentacles like a liquid. 

Chi chi ~~~

In only a short while, that holy suit of armor has been corroded. Sang Mo feels various acute pains at once. He instantly controls his internal demonic elemental energy to resist that strange dark flash of lightning, which is intensely corrosive.

“Neither of you can run!”

A deep voice that contains an extreme anger rises in Qin Yu’s and Xiao Hei’s minds through holy sense communication. Eight 40 to 50 m long tentacles sweep all around Xiao Hei like huge anacondas. A raging power is surging through each of the tentacles.

“Big brother.” Xiao Hei looks at the 8 tentacles encircling him then looks at Qin Yu, who is being surrounded by 4 huge late Jindan-stage octopuses, but he does not know what to say. Qin Yu’s eyes flash with a hint of amusement. Even though it disappears like a flash, Xiao Hei is totally certain that he just saw a hint of amusement in Qin Yu’s eyes. It must have been caused by the success of his plan. Xiao Hei cannot help getting

stupefied inwardly.

“Humph ~~~ you unexpectedly dared to destroy a middle- grade holy suit of armor of mine. I’m going to skin you alive then suck up all of your blood and shatter your soul.” Sang Mo’s deep voice rises in Qin Yu’s and Xiao Hei’s minds.

Xiao Hei makes a careful comparison between Sang Mo’s power and his own. In the end he finds out that even if he uses a desperate special skill, he will still be unable to defeat this early Yuanying-stage demonic beast, which is even 3 times as strong as Xiang Yang.

However, at the moment Qin Yu —

“Very good, this is the right moment.” A faint cold smile appears on the corners of his mouth. His holy sense and attention are totally locked onto that Sang Tu, who is also none other than Sang Mo’s son. At this moment, seemingly caring about his father’s business, Sang Tu unexpectedly turns his head to take a look.

The moment he looks away —

“Meteor Strike!”

Qin Yu’s entire body starts to spin. His hands are holding the Flaming Sword. His stellar energy begins to rotate according to a strange orbit. In only a moment, his whole body turns into an awl and the tip of the awl is the Flaming Sword.

“Sang Tu!”

Another late Jindan-stage octopus has realized what is going on, but Qin Yu is simply too fast for him to stop. He only has enough time to tell the other demonic beasts at the scene through holy sense communication and, therefore, they are also aware of what is happening. “Sang Tu!” As Sang Mo takes a look, he only sees an indistinct spinning awl with the color of starlight directly shatter the head of the true form of his son, Sang Tu. A golden shaft of light then shoots straight southwards.

Sang Mo knows very well that that golden shaft of light is none other than a jindan!

Whose jindan is it?

Boom!

Sang Tu’s body falls onto the ground with a loud sound. Receiving such a fatal blow from Qin Yu while totally unprepared, he has died instantly. In fact, even if he had been prepared, he would not have been able to withstand that all- out strike.

Demonic beasts value their offspring even more than humans do. Sang Mo is merciless and frosty but he has been very nice to his son. It was only because he killed some demonic beasts letting his son absorb their jindans that his son was able to reach the late phase of the Jindan stage and match his several brothers in power.

“Ah ~~~~”

A sharp deafening sound spreads out in all directions like waves. At the same time, with a violent downward shake of his

8 huge tentacles, Sang Mo immediately pierces through the water, chasing after Qin Yu like lightning.

Xiao Hei’s eyes pop out of his head.

“Xiao Hei, quickly run. This is your last chance. Don’t disappoint me. Otherwise … I won’t close my eyes after death!” Qin Yu’s voice rises in Xiao Hei’s mind through holy sense communication.

In just a moment, Xiao Hei has totally understood. 

A resounding eagle cry comes out from his mouth. It sounds extremely hurt, reluctant, bitter and grieved. However, Xiao Hei has no choice but to execute the Passing Lightning Flashing Nine Times rushing west.

At this moment the other octopuses comes to their senses.

They want to chase after Xiao Hei, but —

“This eagle is unexpectedly also frighteningly fast like that Xiuxianist.” Seeing Xiao Hei’s speed, those late Jindan-stage octopuses deliberately give up chasing because they are merely half as fast as Xiao Hei. Only their big brother Sang Mo, who has reached the early phase of the Yuanying stage, can have a good chance of catching up with him.

“We don’t chase?” The 3rd brother looks at the 4th and 2nd brothers.

The 2nd brother rebukes: “Chase what? Sang Tu is already dead so big brother must’ve gone mad. We have to help him chase that Xiuxianist together. That eagle isn’t important. If that Xiuxianist escapes, you guys should be ready to take big brother’s fury.”

As soon as the 3rd brother and 4th brother think about Sang Mo’s temper, their hearts tremble.

“Let’s go.”

3 late Jindan-stage demonic beasts then rush south extremely fast as well.

At the moment Qin Yu is standing on his flying sword, using the Body Weapon Unification technique. His whole body is piercing through the water extremely fast like a speeding arrow or a flash. However, a red octopus, which is furious because of the death of his son a moment ago, is chasing closely after him. Every shake of his 8 tentacles is allowing him to flash through the water almost as fast as using teleportation.

Pu! A tentacle smashes down. At the last moment, with a strange twist of his entire body, Qin Yu avoids this strike with difficulty. However, immediately afterwards, several tentacles smash down in quick succession. Qin Yu’s speed quickly decreases.

He clenches his teeth.

“Let’s leave it to my luck.” His entire body suddenly turns red, looking as if it is boiling, but there is a faint smile on his face. He knows very well that with Xiao Hei’s speed, if Sang Mo does not go after him, he can definitely escape.

“Goodbye, Xiao Hei!”

Qin Yu slowly says in his heart. Then, in an instant, his entire body becomes extremely red while his eyes flash with ruthlessness. Suddenly, a flame starts to blaze on one of his arms …

B5C5: Fleeing For Life

In almost a moment, Qin Yu’s entire body shoots southwards like a meteor. His current speed is nearly 100 times as fast as his speed when using the Body Weapon Unification technique under a normal situation. In a blink of Sang Mo’s eyes, Qin Yu has already disappeared completely.

Sang Mo then quickly transforms into a red-robed human from a huge red octopus.

The eyes of him, who is now being covered in a red robe, radiate a shiny green light. He stands there for a long time. No one can know what he is thinking. Only after a long period of time does he say in a deep voice that is filled with hatred: “Blood Escaping Art? No, that’s unlikely. He’s not a Xiumoist.”

“Humph, Xiuxianist, no matter who you are, I, Sang Mo, will definitely kill you to avenge my son’s death.”

With a movement of his body, he immediately leaves that place. 

A half day later, Sang Mo comes to a very elegant palace. Since a water-repelling restrictive spell has been set up outside this palace, even though it is located at the bottom of the ocean, there is absolutely no water inside it. He goes into the palace directly.

“Patriarch.”

2 very muscular bald men say to him while bowing. Without saying a word, Sang Mo enters the main hall of the palace at once. He then orders in a cold voice: “Tell everyone to quickly gather in the main hall within 10 breaths. Latecomers will be punished with impalement.”

Sang Mo’s voice resounds through the whole palace. 10 breaths, no more — it is such a short period of time. The members of Sang Mo’s clan thus all activate their demonic elemental energy to hurry into the main hall at their fastest speeds. In less than 10 breaths, nearly 100 octopuses have already gathered in the palace. They are all using their human forms because this is the requirement for entering the palace. Otherwise, the palace will simply be unable to accommodate their huge octopus bodies. The fact that these clan members can transform into humans means that they have all at least reached the Jindan stage.

“May I ask for what important matter you’ve summoned our clan’s members so urgently, Patriarch?” A gray-clad middle- aged man bows and says.

Sang Mo, robed in red, says coldly: “Humph, important matter? My son Sang Tu has been slain. Sang Man, do you think this is an important matter?” With eyes glittering with coldness, he stares at that gray-clad middle-aged man Sang Man. Being given that cold stare, Sang Man immediately feels all of his hair quickly begin to stand on end.

His heart trembles: “That brat Sang Tu is unexpectedly already dead. No wonder Patriarch is so furious. This time I’ve offended him when he is angry.” Knowing that this is bad for himself, Sang Man hurriedly says to Sang Mo: “Important matter? Of course this is an important matter. Patriarch, please tell me about the bastard who dared to kill Sang Tu. I’ll definitely cut him into pieces.” “Get back.” Sang Mo says coldly.

Sang Man cleverly returns and joins the other members at once while secretly letting out a sigh of relief.

“Though the Sang clan isn’t big, within the radius of 8 million li controlled by the Blood-red Cave there’s been nobody who dared to bully our clan. But this time my son has unexpectedly been slain by a Xiuxianist.” The aura around Sang Mo’s entire body is terrifyingly cold and sinister at the moment.

None of those clan members dares to say anything. In the Sang clan, Sang Mo’s words are absolutes.

“In the end that brat used a technique similar to Xiumoists’ Blood Escaping Art. Even if he doesn’t die, he’ll be seriously injured and lose more than 90% of his power. There are only some Xiuxian and Xiumo islands within 8 million li of the Blood-red Cave and none of them has such a blazing energy as that brat’s.” Sang Mo says in a deep voice. Suddenly his voice becomes solemn: “All members of the Sang clan must tell members of other clans that brat is definitely within a 100,000 li radius of this place. There’s not even one island of Xiuxianists in this

area. Find him for me. You must find him for me.”

“Yes!”

The nearly 100 clan members in the main hall say with obedience at once.

“Alright, you can get started now.” Sang Mo coldly gives an order. Immediately, the nearly 100 clan members all leave the palace at high speeds. Sang Mo himself however takes out a black authority card. There are some written talismans on it. It is none other than a relatively precious transmitter.

Sang Mo channels his request into it using his holy sense. In only a short while, this piece of information has been sent to the Blood-red Range, which is several million li away. The Blood-red Range is the center of this area of water, which has a radius of 8 million li. The Blood-red Cave is the supreme central power of this area of water. In the Blood-red Cave, there are a cave master and 2 vice masters. They have 13 guardians under them altogether.

The 13 guardians of the Blood-red Cave are very powerful. Even the weakest among them is a late Jindan-stage expert. Moreover, in terms of real offensive power, this late Jindan- stage guardian is definitely not inferior to early Yuanying-stage ordinary Xiuyaoists. Therefore, he was able to become the 13th guardian.

And Sang Mo has another identity, that is, one of the Blood- red Cave’s 13 guardians.

In the Blood-red Cave,

“Vice master, Guardian Sang Mo has just sent a message, saying that he wants a reward-offering order to be given.” A blond man, who received the message, says to a very thin man. This very thin man is none other than Cha Ge, one of the cave’s 2 vice masters. 

The master of the Blood-red Cave is Cha Hong, whose power is the most fearsome in the cave. It is said that he has reached the Dongxu stage. Added to this the unusual innate gifts of his true form, a blood-red aquatic python, and he has extremely powerful offense. Even in the boundless ocean, he can still be regarded as a strong figure.

However, the 2 vice masters are not very powerful. They were able to become the cave’s vice masters mainly because they are Cha Hong’s younger brothers.

The 2nd brother Cha Po’s power is not bad, having reached the middle phase of the Yuanying stage. But the 3rd brother Cha Ge has only reached the early phase of the Yuanying stage and is about as strong as the average guardians. However, because his big brother is Cha Hong, he has been a real tyrant in this area of water.

“Oh, give a reward-offering order?” Cha Ge’s long narrow face and also his ice-cold eyes look like those of a real python. “Yes, Guardian Sang Mo’s son has been killed by a Xiuxianist

…” When the blond man has just finished saying, Cha Ge laughs out loud: “No wonder. Sang Mo’s precious son has been killed, it’s impossible for him not to go insane. Tell me, what treasure did Sang Mo bring out? Let’s see if it’s valuable enough for me to get into action.”

The blond man says: “Vice master, Guardian Sang Mo took out a middle-grade holy weapon. At the same time, he said he’d owe anyone who captured that Xiuxianist a favor.”

Hearing the words middle-grade holy weapons, that vice master Cha Ge has a hint of disappointment on his face: “That Sang Mo is really stingy, only a middle-grade holy weapon and a favor. All right, whatever happens, he’s still a guardian of our Blood-red Cave. Let’s publicize the reward offer within our waters of 8 million li in radius to help him.”

“Yes.” The blond man however secretly curses. “You’re a vice master so this middle-grade holy weapon naturally doesn’t interest you. But it and a favor are already a high reward for such a simple thing as capturing a Jindan Xiuxianist who can use an escaping technique similar to the Blood Escaping Art.” Of course, the blond man will not say it out.

Xiuyaoists’ art of forging is not as good as that of Xiuxianists. It is still simple to forge a low-grade holy weapon, but it is much more difficult to forge a middle-grade one. Among Xiuyaoists, most owners of middle-grade holy weapons are Yuanying-stage experts.

A middle-grade holy weapon and a favor from Sang Mo,

Sang Mo is one of the 13 guardians, no less. So, a favor from him will be very useful.

“Perhaps when this reward offer is made public, a great number of Jindan Xiuyaoists will get into action. After all the target is really too weak … Having used an escaping technique similar to the Blood Escaping Art, he must’ve suffered a huge loss in power. If he can have 30% of his power left, that’ll already be not bad.”

The blond man nods with a smile then leaves to issue a statement about the reward offer. 

By contrast, vice master Cha Ge goes towards his own dwelling place. He even says angrily: “That Sang Mo is really stingy. He’s still too attached to that high-grade holy weapon Thunder Hammer to bring it out.” This Cha Ge has coveted

that treasure of Sang Mo’s — the Thunder Hammer — for a

very long time.

However, his big brother Cha Hong has ordered that his subordinates absolutely not fight each other.

……

Right after the reward offer is publicized, many Xiuyaoists in the 8 million li radius controlled by the Blood-red Cave begin to emerge. There are even occasional appearances of Yuanying- stage experts. That reward offer has given a very detailed description of Qin Yu.

All of those who know about this news decide that this Xiuxianist, whose energy is extremely pure and blazing, should be in the 100,000 li of water next to the Qian Long continent. After all, even though a desperate escaping technique similar to the Blood Escaping Art is fast, it cannot be used to cover a very long distance.

Therefore, a great many experts within this 100,000 li area of water emerge. The further it is from this area, the fewer Xiuyaoists join the pursuit of Qin Yu. And the ones who are enthusiastic about and interested in this matter the most are of course the members of the Sang octopus clan.

######

“Ah ~~~”

Acute pains continuously come from his left arm. Qin Yu’s entire body keeps shooting south extremely fast like a meteor. This escaping technique is none other than the special escaping technique that is used to flee for life in the Stellar Transformations book — the Meteor Escaping Art.

When using it, the user burns his body like a meteor in exchange for an extremely fast speed. 

“Damn you, Meteor Escaping Art! This feels really almost unbearable.” Clenching his teeth, Qin Yu keeps heading straight forwards. At the moment his entire body is red, looking as if flames are about to come out from inside it, and

the blood and flesh of his left arm are being burnt nonstop.

In theory, one should have already passed out long ago due to such acute pains. After all, the pain of burning his own flesh and blood is beyond the tolerance limit of a person.

However, Qin Yu’s mind has been trained since he was a little kid and therefore is extremely tough. Moreover, thanks to the nourishment of the Meteoric Tear, his soul has become very strong. So, he unexpectedly has not lost consciousness despite the agonies. However, because of this, he has had to endure the continuous intensification of the pains.

With a clear state of mind, Qin Yu observes himself flying south extremely fast. Only when more than half of his left arm’s and upper body’s flesh has been burnt does he stop. “It should’ve already been several tens thousand li.” His whole face begins to twitch. The feeling of burning himself nonstop while maintaining a clear mind is really not something a human can bear. “Meteoric Tear, I’ll leave everything to you.”

He gets under a coral reef then stops moving.

The Meteoric Tear keeps sending out various clear streams, which continuously heal the burnt places. Qin Yu’s left arm has nearly been burnt up, with only a few charred muscles and bones remaining. Taking a look at it will make anyone feel unbearable.

“Ah …” His entire body is trembling nonstop.

It feels really very comfortable when the Meteoric Tear’s clear streams fuse with the injuries, continuously healing them. Even his burnt muscles and blood are being regenerated. However, this re-creating process unexpectedly inflicts even more pain on him than burning himself did. Sweat keeps oozing from his entire body. His muscles and bones are all trembling.

“Xiao Hei, you should be okay, right?” Qin Yu somehow thinks about this matter, but right afterwards a heart-piercing pain comes from his chest. A breastbone more than half of which has been burnt up earlier is unexpectedly regenerating little by little. But this is really shockingly painful.

Qin Yu cannot help letting out a groan. Beads of sweat continue to stand out on his whole body.

For the moment he cannot think about anything else other than trying to endure this kind of pain. The nourishment of the Meteoric Tear is comfortable but the regeneration of the muscles and bones is so painful that his soul is shaken. This comfortable feeling and this pain are basically 2 polar extremes.

He is shuttling back and forth unceasingly between these 2 extremes. However, it is much easier for the Meteoric Tear to repair the damage to the bones than to the internal organs. In only 2 days, Qin Yu’s originally terrifying wounds have already healed more than 50% and 80% of his left arm has unexpectedly

regrown.

Most of his burnt muscles and bones have regenerated.

“You really didn’t disappoint me, Meteoric Tear.” Qin Yu let Xiao Hei run away first because he had decided to take a gamble on the Meteoric Tear’s wonderful effects. But even so, he was not certain that the Meteoric Tear would be able to regenerate his limbs and body.

After all, even though it can repair the heart, this does not necessarily mean that it can regrow the body and limbs. Qin Yu gambled for the sake of Xiao Hei and this time he has won.

“Good, now the injuries have healed more than 50%.”

He tries hard to sit up with legs crossed. Blood oozes out of some scabs that have just been formed on his body at once. He draws a cold breath in pain with a hiss but still sits up. Then, using his intact right arm, he quickly takes out a jindan.

It is Sang Tu’s jindan.

“Right now, power is the most important thing. Let’s refine this jindan first.” Ignoring the fact that his injuries have not completely healed yet, Qin Yu immediately accelerates the nebula inside his body and forms another nebula around him. He then begins to refine this jindan.

In his method of refinement, energy will go from the nebula outside his body into the nebula in his dantian by going through his entire body’s muscles and bones.

However, at the moment his body is still seriously injured. Therefore, when stellar energy and the essence of the jindan go through his muscles, bones and channels, he cannot help slightly trembling all over because it is really extremely painful. Even though he did limit training for years starting when he was still a child, he has never experienced such sharp pains.

But Qin Yu understands that he must persevere and improve his power as much and as fast as possible. The boundless ocean is an unfamiliar place to him. In this place, he must improve his power first then gather all the information about it.

He also knows that Sang Mo will never give up trying to catch him.

“Since Sang Mo should be focusing most of his attention on me, Xiao Hei should be safe.” Qin Yu thinks to himself while pains that can go deep into his muscles and bones keep coming from every place of his entire body. Sang Tu’s jindan is also being refined and absorbed nonstop.

In a dark cave at the bottom of the ocean, there are 2 blue dots of light. They are the light radiated from a pair of eyes, whose owner is none other than Xiao Hei, who was able to escape thanks to Qin Yu. Black flashes of lightning are flickering unceasingly on Xiao Hei’s body. After a long time, many golden air streams float out from inside his body. 

“Big brother, you must hang on and wait for me!”

Thanks to the special telepathy between Xiao Hei and Qin Yu, he can feel that Qin Yu is still living. But he knows that, being hunted by Sang Mo, Qin Yu is in imminent danger. Therefore, he has selected that forbidden technique in his hereditary memories to practice.

A series of deep cries comes out heavily from Xiao Hei’s throat. His entire body is undergoing drastic changes nonstop.

“Big brother, wait for me!”

……

B5C6: Xiumo Book Nameless

Chi chi ~~~

The energy of the jindan keeps going through Qin Yu’s muscles and bones. The originally damaged muscles and bones are shaking continuously while trickles of blood are oozing from his pores. But Qin Yu is clenching his teeth to endure.

Get the most out of his time!

In his dantian, the blue flame in the center of the nebula is burning the air streams made of the jindan’s energy nonstop, getting rid of all the impurities, leaving only the essence in the end, which in turn is absorbed by the various silvery grains in Qin Yu’s nebula. Last time, because Qin Yu executed his special skill and struck Xiang Yang a life-risking all-out blow, his silvery grains were reduced in size a lot. Despite a period of restoration, only more than 50% of what was lost was later regained.

However, at the moment, the silvery grains in his nebula have already surpassed their peak in the past. 

“I only need a half day. My power can reach its best condition in only a half day.” Qin Yu is calculating in his mind. He does not care too much about the refinement of the jindan because this refining process is very simple and only requires a little attention.

“But what can I do when my power is restored?” His mind becomes somewhat anxious.

He basically knows nothing about the overseas Xiuzhen world, especially the world of its greatest power — the underwater Xiuyaoists. For example, he does not know how, when he went into the ocean for the 1st time, Xiuyaoists were able to find out that he was an outsider.

If this matter is not cleared up, it will probably be difficult for him to even take a step forwards.

“There are so many Xiuyao experts under the water. Many of them must be stronger than me. If I can’t fully understand the world of underwater Xiuyaoists, perhaps I should return home to the Qian Long continent like a cowardly black turtle.” Qin Yu simple cannot stand himself retreating.

But are there any solutions?

Asking someone? Will those Xiuyaoists tell Qin Yu? Maybe they will immediately attack him.

“Ah, right!”

Qin Yu’s mind is struck by a thought. He suddenly remembers that among the Xiuzhen books that he read in Lei Mountain House in the past, there were Xiuxian secret books, Xiumo secret books and Xiuyao secret books. Moreover, there were even some Xiuzhen secret books from Earth, the holy land of Xiuzhenists in another universe.

One of those books from Earth seemed to be a Xiumo secret book. Qin Yu glanced through it once and saw 2 words — Soul Examination! Because some practice methods of Xiumoists in this book were really too brutal, for example, using pregnant women’s placentas or something, he naturally was not interested in it and only skimmed through it once. But he immediately took

notice of this Xiumo Secret Skill Soul Examination.

“Good, after refining this jindan I’ll start practicing this skill.” Qin Yu’s heart is filled with happiness.

At a crucial moment, these special Xiumo techniques unexpectedly can help him. After remembering the Soul Examination, he also remembers the other Xiumo Secret Skills that secret book talked about. Each of them is extremely eerie.

However, to Qin Yu, they cannot be more suitable to use in his current situation.

When he is still overjoyed, suddenly —

“No good. There’s someone!” He knows that this is not good because his holy sense has noticed that 2 Xiuyaoists are passing by above him. These 2 Xiuyaoists are going through the water in their human forms, but they are not powerful at all. The stronger of them is only at the late phase of the Jindan stage.

Qin Yu’s soul is very tough and strong so his holy sense is extremely formidable too. He locks his holy sense onto those 2 Xiuyaoists but they unexpectedly do not detect anything.

“Martial brother, I’ve heard that the son of the Sang octopus clan’s patriarch is already dead and that patriarch has even offered a reward. Whoever captures the killer will get a middle-grade holy weapon and also a favor from him in return.” The tall Xiuyaoist says to the short Xiuyaoist beside him laughingly in a casual manner.

The martial brother says disdainfully: “Martial younger brother, don’t think too much about this. He must be powerful to be able to kill the Sang clan’s patriarch’s son. Stop dreaming.” The tall Xiuyaoist however does not agree: “Martial brother, you haven’t heard about that reward offer, right? In the end that Xiuxianist used an escaping technique similar to the Blood Escaping Art so his power must’ve suffered a huge loss. Plus, he

hasn’t even reached the Yuanying stage. Martial brother,

whoever uses a desperate escaping technique on a par with the Blood Escaping Art will definitely need about a year to recover.”

“You’re right. It’s very hard to recover from the injuries caused by desperate escaping techniques like the Blood Escaping Art.” The martial brother nods in agreement.

Qin Yu, who is observing everything from below using his holy sense, secretly rejoices. Had it not been for the Meteoric Tear, it would have taken him about a year to regain his power and, even worse, his burnt left arm would not have been able to regenerate.

Those Xiuyaoists all think that it will not be hard to catch Qin Yu and the only problem is to find him, but a man without a Xiuyao aura will be very easy to recognize. However, Qin Yu has the Meteoric Tear.

And none of those Xiuyaoists knows about this, which gives him a slim chance of surviving.

“That’s right, martial brother. That Xiuxianist must be very weak now. Why don’t we … conduct a search? Let’s use our holy senses to find him on the way. Maybe we’ll really run into him.” The tall Xiuyaoist suggests.

Qin Yu’s heart immediately shakes. At this moment, it seems to skip a beat. Then he can hear his heartbeat pounding in his head.

“No good. I haven’t finished refining this jindan. If I rush out without any plans or preparations like this, even if I can kill these 2 blokes, I’ll be hunted by a large number of Xiuyaoists.” Having learned the lesson last time, he knows that he cannot be rash.

Whatever happens, he must be fully prepared before getting into action. 

“Martial younger brother, quit dreaming. The ocean is boundless while we only have short-range holy senses. If … our holy senses detect a terrifying, formidable demonic beast, provoking him, you should just prepare to die then.” The

martial brother rebukes loudly.

It is very impolite for one to casually examine another more powerful than him with the holy sense.

As soon as the tall Xiuyaoist hears this, he cannot help getting frightened: “That’s right. What you say is true, martial brother.”

“Let’s go. What’s yours is yours. You won’t get what’s not yours even if you try.” The martial brother is clearly very cautious. Then the both of them keep going forwards above Qin Yu’s head.

In the boundless ocean, there may be a certain hidden formidable demonic beast calmly practicing in a certain area of the seabed. Even though the probability of bumping into such a demonic beast is low, it is certainly higher than the probability of finding Qin Yu. After all, Qin Yu is only one man while there must be more than one demonic beast hiding at the bottom of the ocean.

If their holy senses disturb such a formidable demonic beast, they will probably be eaten by him.

“Whew.”

Qin Yu secretly lets out a sigh. Even though he is not afraid of these 2 Xiuyaoists, it would have been terrible if his whereabouts had been revealed because of them. Moreover, according to the conversation between them, he has discovered a bad thing.

The reward offer!

“This is bad. I never expected Sang Mo to offer a reward.” He thinks about many things in only a moment. In the end he is sure of one thing — he must learn the Xiumo secret technique Soul Examination first no matter what. As for some other special secret techniques, there is no hurry to learn them for the moment.

After learning the Soul Examination, the first thing he is going to do is to find a Xiuyaoist and use it. At least he must know the general situation to be able to make further preparations. After all, he can only always win if he knows his own situation and that of the enemy.

A half day later, Qin Yu finally finishes refining and absorbing all of the jindan. By now, all of the injuries on his body have completely healed with not even a scar on his left arm, only that there are many scabs on the surface of his body.

When Qin Yu was refining the jindan, his blood oozed from the yet-to-be completely healed injuries then solidified to form these scabs. Of course, by now his body has totally recovered.

Buzz ~~

With a shake of the energy on the surface of his body, all of those scabs are immediately shattered. 

“Very good, this is the best condition I’ve ever been in.” Qin Yu opens his eyes. At the moment he is under a coral reef. Using his stellar energy, he shakes the dirt around him away directly. Concurrently with this, his holy sense enters his

spatial ring.

Qin Yu’s holy sense can scan everything in the spatial ring with ease. It comes straight into the study of Lei Mountain House.

“Nameless?”

Only when Qin Yu uses his holy sense to open that Xiumo secret book does he notice that it unexpectedly has a name. Being called Nameless does not mean that it has no name, but that the name of this Xiumo secret book is Nameless.

He instantly skips over the part about Xiumo methods and gets to the part about how to practice Xiumo secret techniques. In the past he paid little to no attention to them, but now he starts to read them carefully one by one. 

“What is the holy sense? Does it automatically come into existence when a person reaches the Jindan stage and has a strong enough soul? It has been said since ancient times that Xiuzhenists have the holy sense while immortals have the

immortal sense. At first I believed this truism, but later I discovered that this is simply not true …”

When reading this part, Qin Yu totally immerses himself in it.

Reading using the holy sense is indeed very fast. He quickly finishes reading all of the secret techniques of this Xiumo book. Having done this, he feels that his understanding of the soul has reached a whole new level.

He then opens his eyes, which flash with excitement.

“This anonymous senior’s achievement of writing this Nameless book is definitely not inferior to Master’s creation of the Stellar Transformations.” Having read the book, Qin Yu sincerely admires this Xiuzhen senior from the planet Earth in another universe.

This senior has opened up a new world, a world about the most essential thing — the soul.

“Alright, let’s try the 1st step.” The Xiumo secret techniques flash through his mind one after another, but they all have one same basis — being able to control spiritual energy at will. What is spiritual energy?

The holy sense is spiritual energy!

By inference, the legendary immortal sense is also spiritual energy, only that when the strength of the soul reaches certain levels, spiritual energy will also undergo fundamental changes.

Qin Yu remembers the description of how to practice the 1st step. “In  this  technique,  the  1st  step  is  the  most  difficult  to practice. Spiritual energy is very mysterious. Generally, Xiuzhenists can only send out and expand their spiritual energy and it’s extremely difficult for them to do other things to it such as making it rotate like a maelstrom, shaping it into a sphere and so on. This depends on a person’s natural talent. I can only try doing it again and again. There’s simply no shortcut.”

Qin Yu has no choice but to hope that he is talented enough.

“Spin, spin.” He says in his mind, trying to control his spiritual energy directly using his thoughts. However, just like what the book says, spiritual energy turns out to be really very hard to control. It seems expanding and withdrawing are the only 2 things he can do to it.

When he observes through the holy sense, his spiritual energy is expanded. And when he does not use the holy sense, it is withdrawn.

A weak small heat current then gradually flows in Qin Yu’s head from the Meteoric Tear. In the depths of his head, there is a disc of energy. Various sinuous electric sparks are zigzagging around this disc nonstop. At the same time, the disc is slowly radiating a seven-colored light.

That weak small heat current is absorbed by that disc little by little.

……

Qin Yu is still experimenting on spiritual energy control. Since spiritual energy is immaterial, he cannot see it with his eyes, and can only feel it. He keeps experimenting over and over without giving up, because that Xiumo secret book says that …

The most talented disciple of this school needed 3 days of experimentation only to be able to slightly control spiritual energy while the author of the book even spent a whole year’s time.

Suddenly, the nonphysical spiritual energy, which has been quietly whirling around Qin Yu’s soul in his mind, shakes for a short while.

“It’s moved!”

A pleasant surprise surges up in Qin Yu’s heart. He simply never thought that it would take him only 2 hours to succeed. He basically cannot explain how he was able to gain control of his spiritual energy so easily.

“Soul Examination!”

Wasting no time, Qin Yu immediately recalls the Soul Examination technique and begins to practice it. Less than 1 hour later, he can already completely control 10% of his spiritual energy.

Yes, 10% of the spiritual energy is now under his total control. This seems to be a very small amount, but even the author of the book needed 5 whole decades’ time to reach this level. However, even though Qin Yu keeps experimenting, he cannot control more spiritual energy.

“All right, let’s consolidate the foundation first.” He then controls that 10% of his spiritual energy, making it move. That amount of spiritual energy starts to rotate like a maelstrom, surrounding his soul and the remainder of the spiritual energy in its center.

On Earth, this was the method of defending against other people’s spiritual-energy-charged attacks. Even though it cannot resist the attacks forcefully, it can weaken them by using the various layers of the maelstrom.

That maelstrom-like mass of spiritual energy is slowly moving. Suddenly, the Meteoric Tear in Qin Yu’s body vibrates for a short while. A burning hot heat current flows out from it and rushes up into Qin Yu’s head directly.

The maelstrom simply cannot block it. With an unstoppable momentum, that heat current smashes the maelstrom formed by Qin Yu to pieces. 

“No good!”

This is the 1st time Qin Yu has formed a maelstrom with his spiritual energy, but it has been shattered all of a sudden. That amount of spiritual energy has unexpectedly become chaotic. Even worse, it has started to cause the rest of Qin Yu’s spiritual energy, which is not controlled by him, to become chaotic too.

When his spiritual energy is in a calm state, he can only control 10% of it. Now that it has become totally chaotic, he quickly gets panicky.

However, at the moment, above Qin Yu, a middle Yuanying- stage Xiuyaoist is slowly going in the distance. His holy sense has spread out in a very lordly manner. Judging from his direction, he is going towards Qin Yu. Given Qin Yu’s currently chaotic spiritual energy, he definitely will not be able to avoid detection by this Xiuyaoist.

“According to the reward offer, that Xiuxianist is very likely to be within a 100,000 li radius of this place. This idiot Sang Mo, I never thought he wouldn’t be able to catch a Xiuxianist who hasn’t even reached the Yuanying stage.” With a cold ‘humph’ this single-horned man rushes extremely fast in Qin Yu’s direction.

B5C7: Soul Examination

At the moment Qin Yu does not know that a middle Yuanying-stage Xiuyaoist is about to search his area. His entire attention is being focused on what is happening inside his head.

That burning hot blue heat current rushes into the area of his spiritual energy in an unstoppable manner.

Water is variable in shape and spiritual energy, which is immaterial, is also the same. Despite being disarranged, Qin Yu’s spiritual energy will calm down as time passes. Of course it will need quite some time to completely calm down.

In his head,

As opposed to the huge mass of spiritual energy, in its center

— that disc, which is continuously sending out various serpentine electric sparks, is the real core of a person, the soul! The relationship between the soul and spiritual energy is just like that between the sun and sunlight. 

Only the soul is the very essence of a person. At Qin Yu’s current level, he only has some understanding of spiritual energy while knowing nothing about the soul, the real fundamental thing in him.

The soul is a forbidden domain that Xiuzhenists cannot touch.

“What is exactly the blazing blue heat current the Meteoric Tear sent out?” Qin Yu focuses his entire attention on that blue air current, which has appeared all of a sudden. That blazing blue air current goes through the spiritual energy without being obstructed in the least, heading straight for the soul.

The area of the spiritual energy is like a violent ocean. In the center of this violent ocean of spiritual energy, there is an islet- like disc, which is none other than the soul!

When the blue air current flows to the islet-like disc, that is, the soul, it is immediately absorbed. At the same time, the seven-colored light of the soul, which keeps sending out sinuous electric sparks, suddenly becomes chaotic. The blue light immediately intensifies, but in a short while, it goes back to its state moments ago.

At this moment, the huge mass of spiritual energy around the soul flashes with a blue light. All of the spiritual energy seems to have undergone a transformation, while an extremely great change has also occurred in Qin Yu himself.

“What a wonderful feeling.”

Qin Yu suddenly opens his eyes, which glitter. Mental control! Now Qin Yu’s mental control is much stronger than it was in the past. It has many uses, for example, to control the movement of the elemental energy inside his body.

The stronger the mental control is, the more his elemental energy follows his direction, and the more finely he can control his energy when attacking.

“But the spiritual energy seems to have become harder to control.” When Qin Yu tries controlling his spiritual energy again, he discovers that it has transformed. Previously it was like an untrained scholar, but now it is like a strong muscular man. An indescribable change has happened to it. At the same time, it has also become much more difficult to control.

Even though Qin Yu’s mental control has suddenly improved, he unexpectedly can only control 10% of his spiritual energy as before.

His control has increased and his soul has also transformed, but controlling 10% of his spiritual energy is still his limit. It is 10% just like before — what does this mean? Qin Yu is doubtful but he simply cannot understand because theoretically neither spiritual energy nor the soul itself can suddenly improve.

A practitioner has to try using his mental control many times over to improve it, and even then it improves extremely slowly. As for his spiritual energy, it also gradually improves thanks to the transformations that happen to his soul as his power increases.

Just now, Qin Yu’s mental control and spiritual energy both improved by one step in only a moment, which simply cannot happen to the other Xiuzhenists. The cause of all of this is one blazing blue air current from the Meteoric Tear.

“The Meteoric Tear, what is it exactly?” Qin Yu becomes even more curious about the Meteoric Tear, which fused with his body.

He also tries sending his spiritual energy out. The moment he sends it out, he discovers that a middle Yuanying-stage expert is rushing above him in his direction and, worse still, that expert is even searching using his holy sense.

However, when that holy sense sweeps across Qin Yu, it detects nothing. Moreover, when his holy sense expands, the expert does not feel anything happening whatsoever.

Their holy senses are on 2 different levels. That middle Yuanying-stage Xiuyaoist’s holy sense is slightly weaker than Qin Yu’s holy sense so it cannot detect his. Qin Yu simply does not know the principle of this. It is really somewhat mysterious. He only knows the outcome, that is, a holy sense can detect a weaker one but cannot detect a stronger one.

After a while, Qin Yu’s whole body shoots out through the coral reef from under it like lightning. His current condition is the best he has ever been in. The bad effects of using the Meteor Escaping Art have all been removed. Moreover, he has also learned the Soul Examination technique.

“Xiao Hei is in the northeast and even not very far from here.” Closing his eyes, he can feel Xiao Hei’s existence clearly.

A special telepathy developed between Xiao Hei and Qin Yu when they were still little, allowing them to feel each other’s existence.

Qin Yu slightly narrows his eyes and immediately considers his situation: “By now Sang Mo has already offered a reward because of his son’s death. Plus, these underwater Xiuyaoists seem to be able to tell that I’m not a Xiuyaoist with ease, including even the demonic beasts weaker than me!” He recalls how, when he and Xiao Hei had just dived down the deep parts of the ocean, those weak demonic beasts ran away very fast.

“Those  Xiuyaoists  can  recognize  me.  Added  to  this  the reward offer, and it’s hard for me to take a step in this underwater world. Plus, I know nothing whatsoever about this world of Xiuyaoists. Now the most important thing to do is to sneakily kill a Xiuyaoist and use the Soul Examination to know the situation of this underwater world’s Xiuyaoists clearly.”

Qin Yu knows very well that in an unfamiliar environment he has to be extra careful.

He then sends his holy sense out, very confident about it. Not even a middle Yuanying-stage expert was able to detect him so it is easy to imagine how formidable his holy sense is.

Like a beam of light, Qin Yu flashes south directly.

However, soon afterwards, he detects 8 Xiuyaoists not far from him. In an instant, he stops using stellar energy and suppresses his aura. But he has no worries about using his holy sense at all because, after all, these 8 Xiuyaoists are only at the Jindan stage.

“Big brother Sang Tan, this time Patriarch is about to go insane already. He ordered us to search nonstop without allowing us to take a rest.” A Xiuyaoist says.

These 8 Xiuyaoists are none other than members of the Sang octopus clan. These 8 members have joined forces and been doing their job together. In fact, they have been doing this because of their laziness. After all, if each of them went to a different area, their overall searching speed would be much faster.

“Damn it! Where’d this Xiuxianist sod off to? There’s not a Xiuxian island within 100,000 li of this place, we’ve been searching for so long, Patriarch has also offered a reward, and almost every 100 li is being searched by someone but unexpectedly not even a bloody shadow has been seen.”  Sang Tan says angrily too. The face of Qin Yu, who is observing using his holy sense from a distance, immediately changes.

He knew that the reward offer would cause many Xiuyaoists to look for him, but did not think there would be a Xiuxianist in every 100 li on average. It should be known that a 100 li distance is not considered far at all by a Xiuyaoist.

Qin Yu however does not know that the pursuing Xiuyaoists are being concentrated mainly in this area of 100,000 li in radius. After all, most Xiuyaoists think that he is in this area. As for further areas, there are much fewer pursuing Xiuyaoists present in them. Most pursuing Xiuyaoists search these areas only once conveniently.

Because Xiuyaoists usually spend time practicing, they are very bored, and therefore many of them are very eager to chase some Xiuxianist.

“8 Xiuyaoists.”  Qin Yu considers the probability of killing these 8 Xiuyaoists. After a while, he slowly shakes his head: “No, I can’t handle these 8 guys quickly. Also, when Sang Mo sent his clan’s members out, he must’ve given them a method for transmitting messages. Even if I could kill these 8 quickly, they’d send a message and so many Xiuyaoists would gather in this area, which would be very bad.”

“The 8 of you are very lucky.”

Without activating the stellar energy in his body, Qin Yu pierces through the water like an arrow using his physical power. The principle of the body-maneuvering skill he practiced in the past is to turn water resistance into assistance. With Qin Yu’s body and his water-piercing body-maneuvering skill, his speed is still very fast.

In a short while he has already gone very far from those 8 Xiuyaoists.

“Using physical power alone to go through the water is still slower than using stellar energy.”  There are no Xiuyaoists in his surroundings according to his holy sense so he begins to activate his stellar energy, preparing to go forwards extremely fast from now on. However — Qin Yu’s face changes color abruptly.

There are unexpectedly 2 Xiuyaoists up ahead. Even worse, judging from the fact that they are searching with their expanded holy senses, they are probably also Qin Yu’s pursuers.

“It’s been only 10-odd li but I’ve encountered other pursuers again.” Qin Yu finally knows how densely distributed his pursuers are, especially within this area of 100,000 in radius, where almost all Xiuyaoists conveniently expand their holy senses to search when they are free.

These 2 Xiuyaoists looks very muscular. One of them is bald and wearing armor. The other is even more muscular. His whole body’s skin has a dark blue color and there is a pitch- black stick in his hand.

“Hey,  bro,  today  is  really  boring.  Recently  you  haven’t surfaced to hunt, have you?” The armor-clad bald man says to the blue large man casually. The blue large man says with a mysterious smile: “Of course I have. When I came to the waters near the continent to hunt last time, I was very lucky to run into a fishing boat. There were 10-odd people on the boat, including even some women. At that time I turned into my true form and ate half of them up at a gulp. Then I sucked the rest in my storage bracelet. Ha-ha, when those people saw my true form they all yelled ‘sea monster’.”

“Then could you let me also …” The bald man signals to the blue large man with a look.

The blue large man says laughingly: “All right, all …” Before the blue large man can finish saying, a fist penetrates his chest and, moreover, it lands exactly where his heart is located. This man’s heart is immediately shattered.

“Go to hell!”

There is a hint of ruthlessness in Qin Yu’s eyes. When he heard what these 2 men said to each other, he became determined to kill them. 

As soon as the bald man takes a look at Qin Yu, he is greatly shocked: “Who are you?” This bald man is horrified by the fact that before he could feel an aura Qin Yu already killed his friend directly with a punch. This speed was really terrifyingly fast.

With a faint smile on the corners of his mouth, Qin Yu stares at the bald man: “You’re going to be the target of my Soul Examination!”

“Soul Examination, what does it mean?”  The bald man is astounded in his heart.

The Soul Examination can only be used when the opponent’s soul still exists. If a person’s body dies, his soul will quickly leave the body to enter the cycle of reincarnation. Therefore, there are 2 ways to perform the Soul Examination on a person. The 1st is to examine his soul directly when he is alive. The 2nd is to kill him then immediately examine his soul, taking advantage of the time when the soul is yet to leave the body. However, because that blue large man has been dead for a while, his soul has already left, and therefore Qin Yu can only consider this armor-clad bald man the target of his Soul Examination.

“You’re … a Xiuxianist, that Xiuxianist who killed Sang Mo’s son?” The bald man suddenly says.

Qin Yu slightly raises his eyebrows because the opponent has quickly recognized him.

“You’ve unexpectedly recognized me. Tell me, how did you do that?” He asks while staring at the bald man, who secretly lets out a breath because the opponent did not attack him immediately, which also gives him a slim chance of escaping.

He has no intention of fighting Qin Yu. After seeing how Qin Yu killed his friend with a blow just now, he has made a judgment about Qin Yu’s power.

The bald man says with a flattering smile: “This is really very simple. Your body doesn’t have a Xiuyao aura. Your aura is different from ours. Also, a Xiuxianist who dares to go deep into the ocean is either an extremely powerful expert or a completely ignorant rookie, but in the upper part of this area, there is no …”

Before the bald man can finishes saying, he suddenly sees Qin Yu’s body, which is 10 m away from him, make a swaying movement and arrive at his face in an instant.

“Ah!”

The bald man immediately reacts, wanting to resist.

However, when has just thrown a punch …

Bang!

With a series of noises of bones being smashed Qin Yu’s fist directly shatters the bald man’s fist then, while he is shocked, proceeds to pierce through his chest and break his heart into pieces. At the same time, Qin Yu’s left hand makes a violent grab at the bald man’s head. 

Xiumo — Soul Examination!

After a while, Qin Yu pulls back his hands. Concurrently with this, he gets the jindans of these 2 Xiuyaoists, both of whom are at the middle phase of the Jindan stage.

He gave the bald man a chance to talk because he did not want any mistakes to happen. If he had tried to kill the bald man right after killing the blue large man, that bald man would definitely have defended with all his might.

If the bald man had self-destructed, he would have had to run away to avoid the explosion, which would have given the opponent’s soul enough time to float off. Therefore, Qin Yu allowed the bald man to talk, but when the opponent had just said half of what he intended to say, he sprang into action.

“Let’s get rid of the corpses to remove all traces.” He sucks the 2 Xiuyaoists’ dead bodies, weapons and armor in his spatial ring. Ordinary Xiuzhenists have storage bracelets with small spaces so they would have to deal with some useless things before doing this, but Qin Yu just does not care.

Sucking the bodies in the spatial ring is absolutely the best way to remove all the traces of what happened.

Having absorbed the memories of that Xiuyaoist, now Qin Yu understands everything about the entire underwater world of Xiuyaoists. All of his doubts have disappeared in an instant. He cannot help giving a faint confident smile: “I see!”

B5C8: Nowhere To Run

The ocean is immense and seems limitless. The islands on the ocean surface are the territory of Xiuxianists and Xiumoists while the boundless underwater world is the territory of Xiuyaoists, whose power is much greater than that of either Xiuxianists or Xiumoists.

There are 3 superpowers in the underwater world of Xiuyaoists, just like 3 big empires.

The 1st is the Azure Dragon Palace. The overlord of the palace is, of course, a divine beast azure dragon in his true form. He is called the no. 1 expert of the overseas Xiuzhen world. Even super experts among Xiuxianists and Xiumoists cannot compare with him.

The 2nd is the Nine Demons Hall, which has 9 leaders, whose true forms are Purple Demon aquatic dragons, a mutated kind of aquatic dragon. Even though they are not as strong as the Azure Dragon Palace overlord individually, as 9 brothers, they enjoy an advantage in number. Moreover, each of them is a super expert. 

The 3rd is the Blue Water Mansion. The Blue Water Mansion master is a mutated divine beast — a Three-Blue-Eyed toad. His 3rd eye is extremely fearsome and has very strange offense. He is slightly weaker than the Azure Dragon Palace overlord, but because of that unusual 3rd eye, not even the Azure Dragon

Palace overlord is certain of beating him.

In the underwater world of Xiuyaoists, these 3 superpowers are like 3 super empires. They occupy an area of water that is millions of li in radius each. Nobody dares to shake their positions of power so they are absolute overlords under the water.

There are small powers under these 3 superpowers.

The waters ruled by the Nine Demons Hall have a radius of

90 million li. There are 8 lesser powers in this area, all of which are under the control of the Nine Demons Hall, and the leader of which is the Blood-red Cave, which is in charge of the northernmost region, which is 8 million in radius, of the Nine Demons Hall’s territory. “The  structure  is  very  clear,  just  like  on  the  Qian  Long continent. The Azure Dragon Palace, the Nine Demons Hall, and the Blue Water Mansion are very similar to 3 big dynasties. As far as the Blood-red Cave is concerned, it’s like a county subordinate to the Nine Demons Hall. And I’m currently in the waters controlled by the Blood-red Cave.”

Qin Yu’s mind is now clear.

Previously, he knew nothing about the underwater world of Xiuyaoists so naturally he was scared. A person is only afraid of the unknown. After understanding everything, even though Qin Yu knows that there are countless Xiuyao experts under the water, he has relaxed a lot mentally.

This underwater world of Xiuyaoists is obviously larger than the Qian Long continent and, moreover, there are many more experts here as well. The 2 worlds are simply not on a par with each other. Several tens random Xiuyaoists alone from the underwater world can easily wipe out the entire Qian Long continent. A continent of mortals and an underwater world of Xiuyaoists are simply not on the same level.

“Ah, ah, it turns out this is the reason why Xiuyaoists can quickly tell that I’m an outsider.”

2 jade cards appear in his hand.

These jade cards were taken from the bodies of the 2 Xiuyaoists killed moments ago. The upper halves of the jade cards have 2 words, Nine Demons, and the lower halves of the cards have a word, Blood-red. These few words are all emitting a special aura.

In the beginning the Great Majesty of the Nine Demons Hall gave an order, that is, in the territory controlled by the Nine Demons Hall, all Xiuyaoists who have reached the Jindan stage must receive a jade identity card. In the Nine Demons Hall’s waters, Xiuyaoists who belong to the same power cannot fight each other. There are 9 kinds of jade identity cards for Xiuyaoists in the territory of the Nine Demons Hall.

They are Nine Demons Blood-red, Nine Demons Great Shell, and so on.

There are 8 lesser powers like the Blood-red Cave in the Nine Demons Hall’s territory so naturally there are 8 kinds of jade identity cards like the Nine Demons Blood-red card. The last kind of jade identity card is the Nine Demons card. It is given to the Xiuyaoists who are directly under the Nine Demons Hall and are not controlled by the 8 powers.

No Xiuyaoists in the Nine Demons Hall’s territory are allowed to kill the ones with the Nine Demons cards. Anyone who breaks this rule will be punished by the guards of the Nine Demons Hall.

A Xiuyaoist with a Nine Demon Blood-red card is not allowed to kill another one with the same kind of jade identity card, but he can kill any Xiuyaoist who has a different kind of identity card. 

The Nine Demons Hall gave this order to make the 8 lesser powers fight each other, thereby losing power. Moreover, no one can kill the Xiuyaoists controlled directly by it. So, naturally more and more Xiuyaoists have become its immediate subordinates.

There is a hint of a smile on Qin Yu’s face.

“From now on, I’ll become a member of the Blood-red Cave, which is under the Nine Demons Hall.” He personalizes a jade card by blood and sucks it in his body then conveniently throws the other card in his spatial ring.

The Nine Demons Hall has never worried that outsiders will take these jade identity cards by force. It cannot even wait for some experts from the outside to accept them.

Once a Xiuyaoist has a jade identity card, he can sense the information about another’s jade identity card with it. If they have the same kind of identity card, this will mean they belong to the same powerhouse. If their identity cards are of different kinds, they can fight each other.

Of course, he can also fight someone from the same powerhouse as his if he is confident that he can hide this from the rule-enforcing squad or that he can resist this squad.

Previously, mainly because Qin Yu and Xiao Hei did not have jade identity cards when they dived deep into the ocean, they were quickly spotted by those Xiuyaoists.

“But … even though I’ve got a jade card, my body still doesn’t have a Xiuyao aura.” Qin Yu slightly frowns. Xiuyaoists’ auras are commonly referred to as demonic auras, which are very easily recognizable to all Xiuyaoists. This is also the reason why those Xiuyaoists were able to judge that Qin Yu was a Xiuxianist in an instant.

He feels that a complication has arisen.

Because he has a jade identity card, Xiuyaoists can sense the aura on his card. If they do not pay close attention to him then they will not be able to discover his true identity, but if they observe his aura carefully then they will notice that he does not have a demonic aura, which will put him in serious danger.

“A demonic aura.” Qin Yu frowns deeply while mumbling repeatedly.

His mind however is pondering nonstop. Xiuyaoists can recognize each other thanks to, firstly, the jade identity cards and, secondly, their demonic auras. After all, because most Xiuyaoists use their human forms, they look very similar to Xiuxianists and Xiumoists.

“That’s right, Northern Darkness!”

A faint smile appears on the corners of Qin Yu’s mouth.

The Northern Darkness is a Xiumo Secret Skill which is more difficult to practice than the Soul Examination by several levels. To perform the Northern Darkness, the user must combine his spiritual energy with his body’s elemental energy. The Northern Darkness has 2 functions. The 1st is to suppress the user’s aura and the 2nd is to accelerate his practicing progress.

If he wants to suppress his aura, he will only need to execute the skill with a little spiritual energy, and his entire aura will be swallowed up.

If he wants to speed up his practicing progress, he will have to perform the skill with a lot of spiritual energy. Not only will his entire aura be swallowed up, the natural holy energy in his vicinity will be absorbed completely as well. At that time, in the eyes of observers, the user of the Northern Darkness skill will look like a black hole, sucking in all holy energy near him.

Examining someone with the holy sense is, firstly, to examine his holy sense and, second, to examine the aura that his body sends out.

“Once I use the Northern Darkness, my aura won’t be sent out. Other people not only won’t be able to feel my aura, but even my spiritual energy as well. Perhaps the enemies will think that I practice a certain special Xiuyao technique.” This is an eclectic solution.

Qin Yu is not a Xiuyaoist so he cannot form a demonic aura that Xiuyaoists naturally send out from their bodies. But he only needs to absorb his entire aura. If other people discover that they cannot feel his aura at all, they will generally think that he is a mysterious expert.

Qin Yu, who is pondering about practicing the Northern Darkness, simply does not notice a small green fish not far from him.

When Qin Yu examines his surroundings using his holy sense, he pays no attention to ordinary fish and shrimps and only cares about those who have at least reached the Jindan stage. This small green fish is a Xiantian level small fish, the likes of which are very commonly seen in the depths of the ocean.

…… In the Sang clan’s palace,

Sang Mo is sitting alone in the main hall, sadly drinking wine mouthful after mouthful. After spending several days searching without finding Qin Yu, he has now engaged the help of 30 experts from the Green-eyed fish clan, which can be said to have eyes everywhere in the ocean.

“Senior Sang Mo, the killer has been found.”  A man whose face has green scales quickly walks into the main hall then says smilingly to Sang Mo while bowing.

Sang Mo immediately stops the cup in his hand.

“You said … the killer had been found?” His eyes glitter with killing intent.

That man from the Green-eyed fish clan says proudly: “Isn’t it only an area of 100,000 li in radius? 30 members of my clan have been searching together. Each of them controls over 1000 fish. There are countless fish at the bottom of the ocean, so who would pay attention to a common fish?” “Ha-ha, quickly tell me where he is.” Sang Mo is elated.

The man from the Green-eyed fish clan hands over a slip of jade to Sang Mo directly. After all, it is very hard to give a clear verbal description of Qin Yu’s whereabouts. Using the holy sense to draw of sketch of Qin Yu’s location is very much simpler. As soon as Sang Mo scans the jade slip with his holy sense, he knows where Qin Yu currently is.

“Good, when the killer’s been captured, I’ll definitely thank you  handsomely.”   At  the  moment  Sang  Mo  is  extremely excited.

The man from the Green-eyed fish clan says with a smile: “I’ll go with you, Senior Sang Mo. Even if he moves, I can tell you his whereabouts clearly.”

“Very good, then follow me.” Right after saying, Sang Mo shoots out of the palace like a red beam of light, rushing extremely fast towards Qin Yu’s location. That man from the Green-eyed fish clan goes with him side by side. Sang Mo also begins to tell his clan’s members to gather in that area through his transmitter.

“This time I won’t let him escape no matter what!” Sang Mo’s eyes glitter with fierceness. His killing intent is moving around his body nonstop.

……

Qin Yu gets into the rocks of a seamount and starts to try practicing the Xiumo skill Northern Darkness.

The Soul Examination only uses spiritual energy so it was very simple for him to practice, but the Northern Darkness combines spiritual energy with the body’s elemental energy so Qin Yu will have to mix his stellar energy and his spiritual energy together. He draws out a stream of stellar energy from his dantian and a stream of spiritual energy from his head then makes them come into contact with each other.

“Combine? How to combine?”

Qin Yu discovers that his stellar energy and spiritual energy are 2 totally different kinds of energy. There is simply no way to combine them because spiritual energy can even go through stellar energy. Spiritual energy is immaterial whereas stellar energy is physical.

“No wonder the book says the Northern Darkness is extremely hard to learn. The author was only able to create it after reaching the Dujie stage.” Qin Yu slightly frowns.

Spiritual energy and stellar energy are basically 2 completely different things, so heaven only knows how the author was able to combine them.

…… “Senior Sang Mo, my young just sent me a message that the killer is in a seamount 300 li to the southwest. It seems he’s practicing.” The man from the Green-eyed fish clan says to Sang Mo smilingly in a confident manner.

Sang Mo’s eyes glitter. There are more than 20 members of his clan behind him. Meanwhile, the Sang clan’s members in several other directions are also attempting to surround Qin Yu.

“300 li, very good.”

Sang Mo feels his whole body’s blood starting to boil. As soon as he remembers how his son’s head was penetrated and shattered and his son’s jindan was snatched, he cannot control his fury.

“Go!” With his robe flapping, Sang Mo speeds up by a notch, rushing straight towards Qin Yu’s current location. On one side, the man from the Green-eyed fish clan and over 20 members of the Sang clan also rush in Qin Yu’s direction after him.

Only 300 li, to Xiuyaoists, this is really a very short distance.

Before long, there are only several tens li left between Sang Mo and Qin Yu.

In the seamount, Qin Yu, whose holy sense has always been on high alert, suddenly changes his countenance. His holy sense has detected that Sang Mo and quite a few experts are rushing towards him in the northeast. Luckily for Qin Yu, his holy sense has become a bit stronger and its range has also enlarged quite a bit.

Seeing Sang Mo hurrying in a straight line and Sang Mo’s expression, Qin Yu is 90% sure that Sang Mo knows where he is. Simply having no time to think about how the enemies know his location, Qin Yu leaves the seamount extremely fast. Standing on his flying sword and using the Body Weapon Unification technique, he immediately flees south. Sang Mo is not chasing in his true form so his speed is naturally not as fast as Qin Yu’s.

……

“No good, the killer seems to have noticed us. He’s running south.” The man from the Green-eyed fish clan becomes very anxious at once.

Sang Mo’s face changes color.

The  man  from  the  Green-eyed  fish  clan  continues:  “The killer’s speed is extremely fast. My young simply can’t keep up with him. Perhaps the fish controlled by the other members of my clan can detect the killer, but these members are still in the Sang clan’s palace.” Sang Mo did not think that Qin Yu would be able to detect him so he only brought a man from the Green-eyed fish clan with him.

“Never mind, I’ve arranged my clan’s members in the other directions.”

Killing intent starts to come out from Sang Mo’s face. At the same time, with a fluttering movement of his robe, Sang Mo transforms into a huge red octopus. With a shake of his 8 tentacles, he immediately chases south like a beam of light. Compared to Qin Yu, who is using the Body Weapon Unification, he is even slightly faster.

……

Qin Yu is rushing south extremely fast but then he suddenly stops.

“There’s someone!” His holy sense has detected 10-odd octopuses several tens li away from him. Even though there are only 10-odd of them at the moment, who is to say many more will not come. Based on this and the fact that just now Sang Mo was rushing straight towards him, Qin Yu makes a judgment.

“Sang Mo knows where I am. Plus, a circle has even been formed around me.”

After Qin Yu stopped for a while, his holy sense discovers that a huge red octopus is rushing towards him from a distance of several tens li behind him.

“It’s Sang Mo.” Qin Yu’s countenance instantly changes.

B5C9: Countdown To The Killings

At the moment Qin Yu is merely at the middle phase of the Nebula stage while Sang Mo has already reached the early phase of the Yuanying stage and, moreover, his true form is an octopus, which has extremely strong offense. Once Qin Yu encounters Sang Mo, he will definitely be at a disadvantage, and therefore his reaction is —

“The west!”

Disregarding everything else, Qin Yu changes his direction and rushes straight to the west at a terrifyingly fast speed. He is relying on the fact that the range of his holy sense is longer than that of Sang Mo’s by a considerable distance. Thanks to this distance, he can detect Sang Mo before Sang Mo can detect him.

Sang Mo is still rushing south.

In only a moment, the distance between them has reached 100 li. 

“Indeed.”  Qin Yu’s eyes flash with coldness. His holy sense has discovered clearly that there are 10-odd octopuses lying in wait in the west. Clenching his teeth, he keeps rushing west straight at his fastest speed like a beam of light regardless.

The western area is huge but because the enemies are 10-odd octopuses they have been able to cover a very large area with their holy senses.

Whizz!

A blur flashes through the area covered by an octopus’s holy sense. That member of the Sang clan immediately lets out a strange deep yowl: “The killer, it’s the killer!”  Those words, said in the Sang clan’s unique language, make the 10-odd members of the Sang clan around jump.

The leader of this group takes out a transmitter at once.

“Patriarch, the killer is running west.” ……

In only a short while, the huge octopus has already gone south several hundred li, but then he suddenly feels a message in his transmitter. The color of his face instantly changes. Uttering an extremely furious deep yowl, he makes a course correction again with his body and rushes west.

Sang Mo’s true form is extremely fast, but Qin Yu’s direction changes again at this moment.

“Humph, chase me? Take your time chasing.”

Qin Yu has changed his direction again. He unexpectedly begins to rush south instead of keeping going west. This time, no one informs Sang Mo about Qin Yu’s movements. Even though Sang Mo is fast, because he and Qin Yu are going in 2 different directions, the distance between them only keeps increasing. Qin Yu hurries south 1000 li extremely fast!

Then he changes his direction again and rushes east 1000 li!

Then he goes southeast very quickly …

Because Sang Mo does not know Qin Yu’s direction, he has not discovered any traces after a half day of chasing. He cannot help grudgingly accepting that this chase has failed and has no choice but to return to his den in rage.

In the palace of the Sang clan,

The man from the Green-eyed fish clan says smilingly: “Please don’t worry, Senior Sang Mo. This time you’ve asked 30 members of my clan to help you. Given our method of searching,  that  killer  definitely  won’t  be  able  to  lose  us.” Obviously he is very confident. Lifting his red robe, Sang Mo furiously takes the master seat of the main hall.

He went after the enemy in a big way but the enemy has escaped, so how can he possibly not be angry?

At this moment, 3 other men from the Green-eyed fish clan go into the main hall from inside the palace. There are fish scales on their faces too. These 3 men slightly bow respectfully as they see Sang Mo then one of them says: “Senior Sang Mo, our young have been able to trace the killer’s whereabouts.”

“Say.” Sang Mo says very loudly. His entire body’s aura rises.

That man says: “When you were chasing that killer, at first he rushed west then hurried south. We’re not clear about some places he went to in the process, but later he more or less ran southeast. At the moment he is about 7000 li to the southeast of where you first tried to chase him down.”

These men from the Green-eyed fish clan are controlling no fewer than 1000 fish each. Every fish has become one of their eyes. Moreover, they can easily discover Qin Yu’s identity based on his rushing speed and the fact that he does not have a demonic aura.

Perhaps within this area of 100,000 li in radius, only Qin Yu lacks a demonic aura and has such a fast speed.

“Very good.”

Sang Mo suddenly stands up then says to a member of the Sang clan in the main hall with a cold ‘humph’: “Sang Lanpu, I let you all handle a small matter but you were useless. Give the transmitter  to  the  Green-eyed  fish  clan’s  members.”  He  is obviously very dissatisfied with the members of his own clan.

That member called Sang Lanpu immediately takes out a transmitter then hands it over to a man from the Green-eyed fish clan.

Sang Mo stares at this man and says in an ice-cold voice: “This time, I won’t let that bastard escape again no matter what. The 30 of you from the Green-eyed fish clan must stay in the palace and work together. If there’s any news, tell me about it through the transmitter.”

Last time he failed because he could not receive information from others members of the Green-eyed fish clan. He has learned his lesson and is not going to make the same mistake this time.

Therefore, he has given one of these 30 men a transmitter and told all of them to stay in the palace to message him whenever they have any information.

“Please don’t worry, Senior Sang Mo. The fish controlled by the 30 of us average about one in several hundred li. As soon as that killer makes a move, they will detect him. He won’t be able to escape from the palm of our hand.” The man from the Green-eyed fish clan is very confident.

Sang Mo nods his head in satisfaction.

“Senior, the killer is currently in this area.” He hands a jade slip over to Sang Mo directly. Giving it a scan with his holy sense, Sang Mo immediately knows the location of that area. A faint savage smile appears on his face: “Xiuxianist  bastard,  you  won’t  escape  this  time  no  matter what.”

With his robe flapping, Sang Mo flies out of the main hall at once.

……

Qin Yu is leaning tiredly on the side of an underwater rock. The clothes on his body however can repel water. At the moment he is frowning deeply. It is obvious that he is pondering.

“How was Sang Mo able to find my hiding place?”

Even now Qin Yu cannot understand this. After all, he has always been very careful. To the best of his knowledge, he should not have left any traces. After thinking for a while, he presses his temples. He has not had a moment of peace since arriving in this underwater world of demonic beasts after leaving the Qian Long continent.

He is already too tired.

“Father  should  be  very  happy  now.”  Qin  Yu  cannot  help giving a faint calm smile.

His father is living in peace on the Qian Long continent while Qin Yu is fleeing for his life. Even worse, the enemies can appear anytime.

“Fish in the ocean are really beautiful.” Qin Yu makes a wave of his hand. The several hundred fish of different colors in his vicinity swim away joyously at once. In the ocean, shoals of fish are the most common sight. Sometimes, thousands or even tens of thousands of fish can swim together.

Swimming among fish is also a kind of enjoyment. 

However, Qin Yu does not notice that a fish among these several hundred fish is slightly different from the others. The special technique of the Green-eyed fish clan is not something he can detect.

After resting for a while, he moves again.

There are very many Xiuyaoists in the ocean, but in this area of 100,000 li in radius, most Xiuyaoists are only at the Jindan stage. There are very few who have reached the early Yuanying stage but his holy sense discovers them long before they can discover him.

On the way, Qin Yu has to dodge continuously. Despite some scares, he does not encounter any serious dangers.

“Very  good,  let’s  stay  here  and  practice  the  Northern Darkness again.” He has seen a huge seamount that is formed by layer upon layer of coral. He goes into it through a crack. Then, with a shake of his stellar energy, he creates a cave directly. 

Sitting down in this cave, he sorts things out a bit.

In terms of offense, he should be relatively formidable. Not only is he good at close-quarters attacks, he can also control the Flaming Sword to execute long-range attacks. Besides, there are some special techniques from the Stellar Transformations book that he can use.

As for escaping ability, his body is comparable to holy weapons and he does not seem to experience any resistance when going through the water. Once he uses the Body Weapon Unification, his speed will indeed be frighteningly fast.

Moreover, he even knows some fairly unusual special techniques — Xiumo secret techniques!

“Whether to escape or to blend in with the Xiuyao world and experience it, I must learn the Northern Darkness.”  Qin Yu immediately sits with legs crossed and begins to practice. Once again, he controls a thread of stellar energy, making it go up into his head. 

His spiritual energy is indistinct and immaterial, as if it does not exist.

But stellar energy is a real force. His stellar energy then goes through his spiritual energy. Qin Yu simply does not know how to combine them with each other. Even worse, the practice method of this technique in that Xiumo book only has 1 word

— experiment.

He must experiment over and over again. The creator of this technique had to experiment many times before mysteriously succeeding. And so, not even he knew the exact reason for his triumph.

Despite having to try using this technique repeatedly, Qin Yu is not worried at all.

He has already made preparations to undergo a one-month closed-door training session here to experiment with the technique. A month later, because Sang Mo will not have found him, perhaps the hunt for him will be slowed down. However, when Qin Yu has just been practicing for a half day,

“Senior  Sang  Mo,  according  to  my  young’s  message,  he should be 100 to 200 li to the south of you. But I don’t know more details about his location.” The man from the Green-eyed fish clan sends a message.

There are no fish controlled by the Green-eyed fish clan around the place Qin Yu chose to undergo a closed-door training session, but a fish 100 li away from this location discovered that Qin Yu disappeared after rushing here, so it naturally judged that he is here.

“Well done, very well done.”

Sang Mo sticks out his blood-red tongue, giving a faint ferocious smile. Without turning into an octopus, he quietly approaches Qin Yu’s location in his human form. At the same time, he expands his holy sense to the utmost to search carefully. Qin Yu is practicing, patiently experimenting with the technique over and over again. Every time he tries using it, he analyzes his errors. He keeps experimenting repeatedly.

“Sang Mo!”

Qin Yu’s eyes suddenly open. Almost at the same time, he stops practicing. Even though he has been practicing, his holy sense has been on high alert, and therefore he has quickly noticed that Sang Mo is approaching. However, at this moment, Sang Mo, who is moving extremely fast, has already passed the distance caused by the difference in range between his and Qin Yu’s holy sense.

Whizz!

Having no time to think about anything else, Qin Yu immediately crashes through the coral reef to rush out. He then rides the Flaming Sword and uses the Body Weapon Unification technique to flee east at his fastest speed. When Sang Mo’s holy sense has just discovered Qin Yu’s aura, Qin Yu is already running away again. 

“Don’t even dream about escaping this time.”  A faint cold smile appears on Sang Mo’s face. In an instant, his body transforms into a huge red octopus.

Concurrently with this, he gives the 30 members of the Green-eyed fish clan in the Sang clan’s palace an order through his  transmitter:  “Green-eyed  fish  clan’s  members,  watch carefully for me. Always send me info about that Xiuxianist’s location.”

After sending the message using his holy sense, Sang Mo immediately chases in Qin Yu’s direction.

Even though his speed is slightly faster than Qin Yu’s, he notices that his holy sense cannot detect Qin Yu’s aura again. Therefore, he concludes at once that this disgusting Xiuxianist has changed direction once more.

Which direction did Qin Yu run away in? The answer is impossible for Sang Mo to guess. “Senior Sang Mo, the killer is 150 li to the south of you. He’s rushing south extremely fast.”

Sang Mo is overjoyed to receive this message from the man of the Green-eyed fish clan. He immediately chases towards Qin Yu’s current location at an exceptionally high speed. Even though the distance between them is only 150 li, because they are going in the same direction, only after quite some time can Sang Mo gradually get close to Qin Yu.

Qin Yu, whose holy sense has been spread out, quickly discovers that Sang Mo is several tens li behind him.

“How can Sang Mo know the direction I’m running in?” He knows that this is bad so he immediately changes direction once more. The distance between them grows again in an instant.

……

After a while, Qin Yu discovers once more signs of Sang Mo’s presence not far behind him. With anger and incomprehension, he changes his direction again, instantly pulling away from Sang Mo.

However, before long, Sang Mo comes near him yet again!

“How can this bastard know my changed directions?”  Qin Yu’s eyes glitter with coldness. Obviously he has been infuriated.

But behind him, Sang Mo has become furious because of the chase as well: “Xiuxianist, disgusting Xiuxianist, how can he always know in advance that I’m in pursuit to change his direction beforehand? Could it be his holy sense has an even longer range than mine?” He cannot accept this outcome.

Both the pursued and the pursuer are fuming.

“The east!” Once again, Qin Yu changes his direction. But this time he is unlucky because there is a fish that is under the control of the Green-eyed fish clan in his new direction.

“Senior Sang Mo, the east, he’s running east!”

This time it seems Sang Mo’s effort is not wasted. He rushes east in an instant and closes on Qin Yu fast. Qin Yu, who at first thought that he had widened the distance between him and Sang Mo again, is so frightened that he breaks into a cold sweat. At the same time, he rages.

“Even a clay statue would get angry if pushed to the wall.

Don’t anger me, Sang Mo.”

Killing intent has started to rise in his heart.

…… At the moment, a dark cave at the bottom of the ocean seems to be a black hole. It is continuously swallowing up all natural kinds of energy in its surroundings. Some underwater demonic beasts which swim past this cave are even sucked in it directly without ever being able to escape.

Soon, the suction of the cave suddenly disappears.

From inside the cave,

2 blue beams of light shoot out. The source of the light is the eyes of a black eagle. Since practicing a forbidden technique in his hereditary memories, Xiao Hei has gone through drastic changes. Now he is much thinner than before and even looks absolutely exhausted.

“Big brother, I’m coming.”

His aura suddenly comes out from his body. It feels like … an ice-cold sharp knife. With a movement of his body, which seems like a thin block of ice, Xiao Hei pierces through the water currents. He disappears in an instant. His current speed is even much faster than his speed when using the Passing Lightning Flashing Nine Times previously.

B5C10: Murderous Qin Yu; Crazy Sang Mo

Both Xiao Hei’s body and wings have become much thinner. However, if someone weighed him, they would find out that the current Xiao Hei is even much heavier than before he used that forbidden technique. The reason for this is that he gobbled up the blood essence of quite a few demonic beasts which swam past the mouth of the cave and fused it with his body.

“My current condition is somewhat different from the one in my memories, but my speed and offense have even got a little more formidable than I expected.”

Xiao Hei is very satisfied with his current condition. Suddenly, his holy sense discovers an early Jindan-stage Xiuyaoist. Even though Xiuyaoists can kill each other in this underwater world, those who are subordinate to the same powerhouse generally will not fight each other.

This tiger shark Xiuyaoist is gadding about in a tottering manner, looking very relaxed. Suddenly a black beam of light pierces through him directly. Only a deep growl (*) is heard. Afterwards the tiger shark is completely absorbed by that black light, including even his blood and flesh. The black light then turns into a black eagle.

“When performing this forbidden technique, I can’t control myself. Even though I’ve eaten up a Jindan demonic beast, his jade identity card has already been destroyed by my energy.” Xiao Hei takes out that tiger shark Xiuyaoist’s jade identity card.

This absorption technique of Xiao Hei’s not only swallows up a target’s entire body’s blood and flesh, but also robs him of his memories. However, Xiao Hei does not dare to absorb the target’s soul, nor can he do so.

……

Qin Yu keeps changing his direction. Whenever Sang Mo comes near him, his direction is changed. However, because Sang Mo has been informed again and again by the Green-eyed fish clan, he has been unable to pull away from Sang Mo. By now, he has been being chased by Sang Mo for a half day. 

“There’s someone again!”

Qin Yu curses inwardly. His holy sense has just discovered members of the Sang clan popping up ahead of him. He immediately changes his direction once more. Now, not only does he have to flee from Sang Mo’s chase, he also has to be careful to avoid the Sang clan members sent by Sang Mo around.

After Qin Yu got away from him again and again, Sang Mo has ordered his clan’s members to start surrounding this area of 100,000 li in radius. With these Sang clan members’ encirclement, the situation obviously has become much worse for Qin Yu. Now, soon after taking a turn to avoid Sang Mo, he will suddenly detect members of the Sang clan not far from him.

“Senior Sang Mo, that killer is about 120 li to the south of you.” Another message from the man of the Green-eyed fish clan arrives. At the moment, Sang Mo’s eyes are slightly red. It is obvious that he is burning with anger in his chest. Even though he has received this information, he is not as excited as before because he knows that it will be very difficult to capture the killer despite him being informed continuously by the Green-eyed fish clan.

“This Xiuxianist is even more slippery than a loach.”  Even now, Sang Mo still does not know Qin Yu’s name.

However, the death of his son must be avenged, so Sang Mo keeps chasing.

After a long time,

This time, no matter how Sang Mo keeps chasing, he cannot detect Qin Yu. The Green-eyed fish clan can no longer detect Qin Yu’s aura either. And none of the Sang clan members can find out where he is. It seems Qin Yu has suddenly disappeared.

When almost every several hundred li is being monitored by a controlled fish and, on top of that, Sang Mo and the Sang clan members are making a sweep of this area with their holy senses, Qin Yu has disappeared just like that.

“Patriarch.”

A group of the Sang clan members looks at Sang Mo, not knowing what to do. Having failed to find the murderer, what can they possibly do?

A great fury has been built up in Sang Mo’s heart. He used such a large formation and even engaged the help of the Green- eyed fish clan and, besides, as the Sang clan’s patriarch, he himself has been chasing for so long, but they have been unable to catch a midget Xiuxianist, so how can Sang Mo possibly not become furious?

“This Xiuxianist, I’ll skin him alive one day eventually then throw him into a fire (**) ant nest to make him suffer the pain of being bitten by 10,000 ants. He’s going wail for 3 days before I let him die.” His eyes are full of enmity. Sang Mo was enraged long ago by his son’s death and, moreover, he has not been able to catch Qin Yu for such a long time, therefore naturally he is even more furious now.

“Patriarch, can doing so alone vent our anger? We should cut off his johnson. Patriarch, I remember that there’s a group of perverts not far to the south of our palace, isn’t there. We should let them gang bang this brat for 3 days first …” A member of the Sang clan proposes a method of punishment in a flattering manner.

Sang Mo’s eyes immediately brighten. It seems he is very pleased with it.

Another member of the Sang clan hurriedly says: “Patriarch, I’ve heard of a punishment called wooden horse. We’ll bring out a wedge-like block of iron first then make him sit down on it with spread legs. We’ll seal up his jindan to let his johnson and arse get a taste of it. Then …”

…… One after another, the Sang clan members propose various malicious punishments. These Xiuyaoists have spent most of their time practicing so occasionally some of them became very bored. To relieve the boredom, they researched and came up with some torture methods. At times they even abducted some mortals and experimented on them on some uninhabited islands.

Sang Mo is very satisfied with their suggestions.

Only torturing Qin Yu with these methods will relieve his hatred.

“Very good, but if we can’t catch him, everything will be useless.”  As soon as Sang Mo thinks about how hard it is to capture Qin Yu, his face darkens. “All right, let’s stop chasing for now.” At the same time, he gives the Green-eyed fish clan an order through his transmitter.

“Green-eyed fish clan’s members, all of you must watch out carefully. Once that Xiuxianist appears, tell me about it right away.” After ordering, Sang Mo himself leaves first. His speed is much faster than ordinary octopuses’. He has no patience to go slowly together with these members of his clan. Those members then break up into small groups, some of which return to the palace while the rest go to other places.

An hour after Sang Mo and the others left this place, the dirt on the ground unexpectedly moves. Then a silhouette shoots out from underground. It is none other than Qin Yu.

“Sang clan.” His eyes are filled with iciness.

Half an hour ago, he was in a desperate situation because Sang Mo had been chasing him to the point where he had nowhere to run. So he immediately went into the ground and at the same time withdrew all of his stellar energy. He then stopped using stellar energy and suppressed his entire aura.

He has won the gamble. Sang Mo was really unable to detect him. Once a person stops using his internal energy and suppresses his aura completely, other people basically will not be able to discover his aura. Unless they can detect his holy sense, they will not find him. However, Qin Yu’s holy sense is superior to Sang Mo’s.

Pu!

Qin Yu rushes upwards like a speeding arrow. At the moment he is only 4 to 5 km away from the ocean surface. In only a short while, he breaks out of the water and shoots straight up into the air.

“There’s someone.”

He quickly discovers that there are Xiuyaoists, who seem to be searching for something, above the ocean. He notices at once that some of those searching Xiuyaoists look familiar. They are none other than some of the Sang clan members he has seen before.

“It seems Sang Mo hasn’t given up.” Qin Yu immediately dives into the water, his heart full of anger. Even though he has been fleeing for his life, he has never thought about going up to the ocean surface to fly away because he knows very well that it is even more dangerous there! There are several reasons.

Firstly, Xiuyaoists are also capable of flight. Moreover, generally, Xiuyaoists live between only 4 and 5 km deep in the ocean, but experts have holy senses that are over 10 km in range so, with a sweep of their holy senses, not only can they search the ocean, they can even search the sky.

Secondly, because it is very spacious above the ocean surface, once a silhouette appears in the air, it will soon be noticed whereas, at any rate, there are all kinds of coral, underwater rocks and even underwater mountain ranges at the bottom of the ocean to hide into.

Thirdly, the area of 100,000 in radius Qin Yu is currently in is still comparatively near the coast of the Qian Long continent. The waters near the coast like this area totally belong to Xiuyaoists. While the nearest island of Xiuxianists or Xiumoists from the coast is 100-odd thousand li away, there may be a Xiuyaoist on any uninhabited island in the areas of water near the coast.

Fourthly, there is one more reason, that is, it is definitely impossible for him to fly as high into the sky as he pleases!

Qin Yu knows very well that he will have to face more dangers as he flies higher. At a certain height, he will not be able to ascend anymore. Moreover, according to the descriptions by his master, Lei Wei, there are many terrifying dangers at high altitudes.

When even Lei Wei called them ‘terrifying’, it can be imagined how dangerous it is at extreme heights.

Since he cannot fly too high into the sky and, even worse, sky is spacious, he would have absolutely nowhere to run if spotted. So, what can he do in this situation? The only thing he can do is to stay underwater. After all, down here it is still possible for him to fish in troubled waters.

…… “Patriarch already said that Xiuxianist would possibly fly on his sword at some point. Brother, we must look out for him.” A Sang clan member reprimands loudly.

Another Sang clan member says in an unconcerned manner: “Why so serious, big brother? Besides our Sang clan, many Xiuyaoists who hanker for that middle-grade holy weapon are also watching for him secretly. Once that Xiuxianist gets careless  …   ha-ha.”   This  Sang  clan  member  laughs  very maliciously.

……

Qin Yu is exerting the strength of his arms to swim in the ocean like a fish. Having been trained nonstop, his body now can compare with holy weapons and is frighteningly powerful. Even though he is using only physical power, he is still piercing through the water like a speeding arrow.

“Sang Mo, I can’t let you chase me all the time. The roles will slowly switch from now on.” He expands his holy sense. With a shake of his arms, his entire body rushes through the water extremely fast like a fish. When using physical strength alone, he is only one tenth as fast as normal, but this is already enough for him.

……

“Hey, where do you think that Xiuxianist escaped to, bro?”

“What does it matter? Even Patriarch returned with nothing.

Let’s just take a rest.”

2 members of the Sang clans are going side by side. During this period of time, the Sang clan’s members have all been troubled by Qin Yu.

“Bro, I didn’t expect to be attacked by a good-for-nothing demonic beast.” A Sang clan member says laughingly. All of a sudden, he turns around and makes a chop with his hand. But the only thing his eyes can see is Qin Yu’s Flaming Sword, which penetrates his throat directly in a blow.

Almost at the same time, Qin Yu’s left hand sticks into the chest of the other Sang clan member.

“Good-for-nothing demonic beast?” Qin Yu gets the 2 jindans then leaves in an instant.

Because he did not use stellar energy to go through the water, these Xiaoyaoists were not able to feel his aura, but when he came near them, they felt the movements of the water that he was causing. A moment ago, that Sang clan member even thought that he was being attacked by just a common shark. After all, he did not feel any energy or auras.

With this act, Qin Yu has finally started to strike back!

…… Qin Yu was even able to escape when surrounded by Sang Mo and so many other Xiuyaoists, so at the moment it is really very easy for him to avoid the pursuers.

On the 1st day, when he has just killed 2 Xiuyaoist, his traces are discovered by the Green-eyed fish clan, but immediately afterwards, he goes into hiding. This time he lies low for 3 days, during which time he quietly refines the jindans.

When a Xiuyaoist approaches, Qin Yu stops refining them. And after that Xiuyaoist has left, he resumes the refinement. In

3 days, the 2 jindans have been refined and absorbed completely.

He then gets into action again.

However, this time he is unlucky to have to spend several days to find Sang clan members. Even worse, there are 3 of them together. But Qin Yu goes berserk and explosively unleashes his stellar energy. Through close-quarters combat, he kills all of them, a late Jindan-stage Xiuyaoist and 2 middle Jindan-stage ones, at the first attempt. 

Afterwards, he goes into hiding once more.

This time, he hides for 10 whole days. When 10 days has passed, he is on the move again …

In 3 entire months, Qin Yu has killed 16 members of the Sang clan. Knowing that one member after another of their clan has died, the rest of the Sang clan seem to be terrified. They then gather in large groups, making it difficult for him to act.

But Qin Yu is very audacious!

Even when members of the Sang clan have formed a group, he still dares to sneakily attack them then runs away using the Body Weapon Unification technique. As his power gradually improves, the speed of the Body Weapon Unification also increases bit by bit, even to a point where it is approaching Sang Mo’s true form’s fastest speed. Because he attacks sneakily then runs away using the Body Weapon Unification and, moreover, he suppresses his stellar energy to go through the water using his physical power, the enemies basically cannot track him. Even when the Green-eyed fish clan detects him, he can still flee in advance thanks to his holy sense.

Qin Yu has become murderous. This killing spree has made him murderous.

……

“Sang Mo, you wanted to corner me first, so don’t blame me for wanting to exterminate you clan!”

Sang Mo is holding a jade slip in his hand, which contains that message Qin Yu left him using the holy sense. This jade slip was left behind by Qin Yu right after he had killed the Sang clan’s members for the first time. Sang Mo can feel clearly the murderous intent that the message carries. He has no doubt at all about Qin Yu’s intention of destroying his clan. The fact that 30 members of his clan have died in the last half year is the evidence. 

Sang Mo’s hands are shaking and his facial muscles are twitching.

At first, the Sang clan had even fewer than 200 members who have reached the Jindan stage in total, but in the last half year alone, 30 of them have died. At this rate, perhaps the Sang clan will be almost finished in 5 years. But Sang Mo’s current speed is only barely faster than Qin Yu’s. Worse still, Qin Yu seems to have been able to detect him a step earlier every time.

Sang Mo simply has no way to catch Qin Yu. After a half year of unsuccessful chasing, Sang Mo has accepted in his heart that he himself is incapable of capturing the enemy.

“Good, good, good!”

A furious Sang Mo says ‘good’ 3 times in a row. Then, with his eyes flashing with a red light, he takes out from his bosom a transmitter. After considering for a while, he clenches his teeth and immediately sends a voice message using his holy sense: “Vice master, please raise the reward of the offer. It will include not only a middle-grade holy weapon, but also … my Thunder Hammer!”

In Sang Mo’s heart, the Thunder Hammer, a high-grade holy weapon, is even as important as his son.

To Sang Mo, making this decision is just like cutting a chunk of flesh off his heart. A high-grade holy weapon, no less! Even Yuanying-stage experts will be extremely desirous of it. Sang Mo also knows that the Blood-red Cave’s vice master Cha Ge, whose influence is immense, is among the many Yuanying- stage experts coveting this high-grade holy weapon Thunder Hammer.

“Want to destroy my clan? Then let’s see if you can survive those Yuanying-stage experts.”  Sang Mo slowly says in a low voice, but his low hoarse voice resounds through the main hall, sounding very horrifying.

NOTE:

(*): In real life, sharks cannot growl. (**): The words in my Chinese text are ⽞⽓蚁窝, which to my

knowledge make no sense, so I took a liberty by translating them into ‘fire ant’ (nest), one of the deadliest types of ants that attack in swarms.

B5C11: The Return Of Xiao Hei

In the Blood-red Cave in the Blood-red Ridge,

“Hah, Sang Mo indeed can no longer sit tight. He has even brought out that treasure Thunder Hammer.”  Red-robed Cha Ge smiles broadly. It is obvious that he is in a very good mood. He has been waiting for this day for so long.

On one side of him, the silvery-armored guardian who has just delivered the message slightly bows and says: “Vice master, this Thunder Hammer is a high-grade holy weapon while the target is just a Xiuxianist who hasn’t even reached the Yuanying stage. This is really a piece of cake. There are quite a few Yuanying experts in the Blood-red Ridge. Perhaps most of them will emerge.”

“You’re  wrong.  This  mission’s  not  simple  at  all.”  Cha  Ge stands up, slightly raises his chin then says smilingly in a haughty manner. “Tell me, when the target is only a Xiuxianist who hasn’t even reached the Yuanying stage, why has Sang Mo been unable to catch him for so long?” That  silvery-armored  guardian  becomes  doubtful:  “That’s right. What does this sub-Yuanying Xiuxianist rely on?”

Obviously having thought everything out, Cha Ge continues: “Let  me  remind  you  a  bit  again,  Sang  Mo  even  asked  30 members of the Green-eyed fish clan to help him.”

“Members of the Green-eyed fish clan?” The silvery-armored guardian is slightly startled. The northernmost area of 100,000 li in radius is really too far from this Blood-red Ridge — being several million li away — so most Xiuyaoists here do not know about some methods Sang Mo have used to chase Qin Yu.

Cha Ge was only able to find out about them thanks to the Blood-red Cave’s intelligence.

“That secret fish-controlling technique of the Green-eyed fish clan’s members is very capable. That Xiuxianist also doesn’t have a demonic aura so he must’ve been detected with ease. Once he was found out, given Sang Mo’s power, he should’ve been  able  to  catch  that  Xiuxianist  very  easily.”  The  silvery- armored guardian says continuously. 

However, as soon as he thinks about the outcome, he does not understand at all why Sang Mo has not been able to capture that Xiuxianist for so long.

“Why hasn’t he been able to catch him? Could this Xiuxianist have some special technique?”  The silvery-armored guardian mumbles to himself. He really cannot figure this out.

Cha Ge however looks him and says confidently with a smile: “Right, what’s actually happened? I can see only 2 possible answers. First, that Xiuxianist has a special skill for hiding his aura, which can make it impossible for Sang Mo to catch him. Second, that Xiuxianist is extremely fast when riding his sword, so fast that Sang Mo can’t catch up with him.”

The silvery-armored guardian nods thoughtfully.

“It’s probably very hard for a mere sub-Yuanying Xiuxianist to hide his aura in front of Sang Mo.” He says after thinking for a while. Cha  Ge  says  with  a  nod:  “Correct.  Therefore  it’s  most probable that this Xiuxianist is simply too fast for Sang Mo to catch up with. Also, according to my info, Sang Mo has chased him many times, and even when the distance between them was only as short as several tens li, that Xiuxianist was still able

to escape.”

The silvery-armored guardian says in amazement: “Such fast speed. Vice master, Sang Mo’s true form is an octopus. At his fastest speed, not even I can keep up with him. How was a Xiuxianist who hasn’t reached the Yuanying stage able to lose him?”

Cha Ge gives a brilliant smile and gently utters 2 words from his mouth: “Flying sword!”

The silvery-armored guardian is stupefied, but his eyes blaze after a short while.

When a person with not a lot of power can fly fast on his flying sword, it is highly possible that the flying sword itself is very good. Of course, another possibility is that he has a special method for riding swords. But Cha Ge really believes that the flying sword used by that Xiuxianist is of high quality.

“Judging from the info I got, this Xiuxianist’s flying sword is at least a high-grade holy weapon.” Cha Ge actually wanted to say ‘top-grade holy weapon’ because he knows very well how extraordinary Sang Mo’s speed is.

But how can a mere sub-Yuanying-stage Xiuxianist possibly have a top-grade holy weapon?

After all, even a Dongxu-stage expert has to be exceptionally extravagant to be able to possess a top-grade holy weapon. In the overseas Xiuzhen world, perhaps no schools are willing to give a top-grade holy weapon to a Xiuxianist who has not even reached the Yuanying stage.

Even if it is only a high-grade holy weapon, this will already be hard to believe.

“Perhaps that Xiuxianist had a lucky encounter or something in which he got this high-grade holy weapon by chance.” Cha Ge thinks so in his mind.

Suddenly —

Pa! Pa! Pa! ……

Clapping sounds rise behind him. A man who is very similar to Cha Ge walks out. Just looking at him, one would associate him with a sinister poisonous snake. This man is none other than the other vice master Cha Po.

“3rd brother, what you just said is very brilliant. Do you mind me going with you to capture that Xiuxianist?”  Cha Po says smilingly.

Cha Ge curses in his heart while his face slightly changes color.

“Damn you Cha Po. You already got a high-grade holy weapon of your own. I’ve been waiting for so long for the appearance of the Thunder Hammer. Just now I got the news that it’d appeared and was able to guess that that Xiuxianist has at least a high-grade holy weapon. It was double joys for me, but you’ve come to fight me for them. Are you still my brother?!”

He is extremely furious inwardly. Even though he is suppressing his anger, his expression still looks very ugly.

“2nd brother, it seems big brother already gave you the high- grade holy weapon he got last time, right? But I don’t have any.” Cha Ge says indignantly. He has mentioned that past event immediately without beating around the bush.

When Cha Po hears this, he of course totally understands at once that his 3rd brother is thinking that he has come to contend for the holy weapons. He immediately says with a loud laugh: “3rd brother, you’re being a bit too petty. You should know me better than that. I already got a high-grade holy weapon, why would I hanker after another? It’s just that I’m feeling bored with staying in the cave so I want to go out together with you for a change.” “Really?” Cha Ge is somewhat unconvinced.

Cha Po suddenly says with a stare: “3rd brother, I swear to Heaven that if I wanted to snatch those holy weapons, I’d be struck to death by a thunderbolt. Damn it, we’re brothers, do you think I’m the type who covets his own brother’s treasures?”

Cha Ge has a change of heart. Now he believes Cha Po. He knows his 2nd brother’s character very well, only that just now his mind was clouded by his concern. He says with a ha-ha laugh immediately: “2nd brother, don’t be angry. All right, let’s go right now.”

Cha  Po  says  laughingly:  “This  is  better.  All  right,  I’ve messaged that Sang Mo to ask his 30 Green-eyed fish clan members help us monitor the area and to tell us when something happens.”

“Excellent. Let’s go!” Cha Ge also bursts out laughing. The 2 vice masters of the Blood-red Cave then leave the cave together. The true forms of this Cha Ge and his brother Cha Po are 2 blood-red aquatic pythons, which are a top-level species of snake.

In terms of power, even though Cha Ge is also at the early phase of the Yuanying stage, he is already stronger than Sang Mo, not to mention middle Yuanying-stage Cha Po.

In an underwater green mountain range that runs continuously for several thousand li, a man is sitting with legs crossed in a cave on the side of a seamount practicing. An indistinct cloud is spinning nonstop around his body while 3 jindans are floating in his vicinity.

After a long time, the indistinct cloud begins to shrink then fuses with that silhouette. Only now does the silhouette become clear. It is none other than Qin Yu. Compared to a half year ago, the current Qin Yu has a hint of coldness on his forehead.

He suddenly opens his eyes, shooting out an ice-cold clear look. “After  refining  so  many  jindans,  I  unexpectedly  haven’t reached the late Nebula stage.” A hint of powerlessness appears on his face.

When he refines a jindan, the impure energy, which makes up most of it, is burnt up by his Stellar Flame. Only the 10% essence of the jindan remaining in the end is absorbed by him. For the last half year, Qin Yu has killed 32 members of the Sang clan but most of them were at the early Jindan stage and only a few had reached the middle phase of the Jindan stage. As for late Jindan-stage Xiuyaoists, there were 3 of them altogether.

According to Qin Yu’s original estimation, he would have to refine 10 late jindans to reach the late phase of the Nebula stage.

He has refined 32 jindans for the last half year, but they unexpectedly have less energy in total than 10 late jindans. However, because the difference is not very great and, in addition, he has been practicing every day, he now has a feeling that he is going to reach the late phase of the Nebula stage soon. “Currently I’m almost at the peak of the middle Nebula stage. In terms of speed, I’m also a bit faster than Sang Mo.” Qin Yu gives a faint smile.

For the last half year, he did not run to the 100,000-li radius northernmost area at all because he knew very well that this area had the most chasers. Therefore, he has always headed south, even when he was fleeing.

Sometimes he also turned east or west temporarily, but he has never returned to the north.

For the last half year, Qin Yu either practiced or hunted enemies down or hurried south with all his power. By now he has unexpectedly advanced more than 1 million li. He also used the Soul Examination when killing some members of the Sang clans so he has finally understood why his whereabouts have always been discovered.

“Green-eyed fish clan members.” Qin Yu’s heart is filled with frustration. The fish controlled by the members of the Green-eyed fish clan look almost the same as common fish. At least Qin Yu cannot see the differences between them. Moreover, because fish are the most abundant animal in the boundless ocean, it is really difficult for him to avoid those controlled fish, which

watch him from shoals of fish.

Therefore, the only thing Qin Yu has been able to do is bypass shoals of fish as much as possible. He could still be detected, but because has paid attention to shoals of fish, the frequency by which he is spotted has dropped sharply.

“Xiao Hei is unexpectedly even faster than me. He’s to my southwest.” Qin Yu shuts his eyes. His mind can feel Xiao Hei’s general direction. Long earlier he felt that Xiao Hei was not very far from him, but Xiao Hei seemed to have been chased because he was rushing south nonstop at a very fast speed.

Qin Yu became very worried at that time as he thought the reason Xiao Hei was running extremely fast instead of meeting him had to be him encountering some danger. Qin Yu thus began to chase south with all his might. However, he found that, the more he chased, the further the distance between him and Xiao Hei grew. 

Qin Yu therefore concluded that Xiao Hei’s speed was too fast, much faster than his speed when using the Passing Lightning Flashing Nine Times before, and that it was even possible that his speed had improved 100%. Unable to catch up with Xiao Hei, Qin Yu could only give up unwillingly in the

end.

Qin Yu also guessed how Xiao Hei had been able to become so fast. He thought that Xiao Hei either had greatly improved his power thanks to eating up many demonic beasts or was using some secret travelling skill.

But he never thought that Xiao Hei had used a forbidden technique to change himself completely. Xiao Hei has remodeled himself entirely with it and is totally different from the past in every respect. However, because it is a forbidden technique, it is also not so perfect.

“I’ve even been away from Xiao Hei for a half year.” He smiles then comes out of the cave like a beam of light. Immediately afterwards, he rushes southeast. Except for when he encountered some Xiuyaoist, he has always hurried towards Xiao Hei’s location.

“Oh, Xiao Hei is coming towards me as well.”

A happy expression instantly appears on his face. He begins to rush in Xiao Hei’s direction at once. But covering the distance is only a secondary objective to him. On the way, if he encounters weak unreasonable Xiuyaoists, or members of the Sang clan who want to chase him, he will not show any mercy.

……

As Qin Yu alternates between going and practicing, 3 months quickly passes.

It has been very strange during these 3 months because the Sang clan members seemed to have stopped hunting for him. Qin Yu has basically not detected any members of the Sang clan for the last 3 months, and as a result, he has been able to travel much faster than before. In only 3 months, he has travelled almost the same distance as in the previous half year.

He has already covered more than 1 million li. Having gone such a long distance, he cannot help getting emotional.

Since Xiao Hei has been coming towards him and they have yet to meet for such a long time, it can be imagined how far Xiao Hei went in the beginning. At the moment, Qin Yu is about 3 million li away from the Qian Long continent. The distance that Xiao Hei has travelled for the last 3 months is definitely not shorter than the distance Qin Yu has travelled over the last half year.

This also means that for the last half year, Xiao Hei has travelled at least 4 to 5 million li, or even maybe more.

He has not been chased so much like Qin Yu, but being able to cover such a long distance in just a half year shows how terrifying his speed is. Qin Yu is riding on his flying sword to go through the water. His heart is filled with joy. At the moment he can feel that there are only several tens thousand li left between him and Xiao Hei and it will take them less than a day to reunite with each other. This kind of feeling is very mysterious but he totally believes it.

“Xiao Hei, I’m coming.”

Piercing through the water like a beam of light, he has reached his maximum speed.

######

Riding their flying swords, the 2 brothers Cha Ge and Cha Po are going through shoals of fish and coral reefs. It has been very comfortable for them for last 3 months because they have alternated between heading west with going to the mansions of some Xiuyaoists to indulge in extravagant eating and drinking.

“2nd brother, these Green-eyed fish clan members are really very useless.” Cha Ge says spitefully. 

The Green-eyed fish clan members now have much lower efficiency in gathering information about Qin Yu than before. Of course, the reason of this is that Qin Yu became aware of the threat that shoals of fish pose to him through using the Soul Examination and subsequently often avoided them. Currently the Green-eyed fish clan members can only get a piece of information in every day or two.

The message they received the day before yesterday says that theoretically Qin Yu is only 100,000 li away from them.

Cha Po says with a smile: “Don’t worry. According to the message we got 2 days ago and judging from that Xiuxianist’s speed, perhaps there’s only a short distance left between us and him. We can encounter him anytime in the next 2 days so you better be watchful using your holy sense.”

“Rest assured, I definitely won’t let him go.”  An evil smile appears on the corners of Cha Ge’s mouth. He has been longing for a high-grade holy weapon for such a long time now. Suddenly Cha Po says with glittering eyes: “Hah, a late Jindan black eagle. It’s very hard to come by a bird that dares to go deep into the ocean. You stay here first, 3rd brother. I haven’t tasted a bird’s flesh for so long already.”  As Cha Po is saying this, he shoots northwards like a beam of light.

“Wait for me, 2nd brother. I’ll come to try its flesh too!”

Cha Ge gives a loud laugh then chases after Cha Po like a beam of light as well.

B5C12: 2 Brothers VS 2 Brothers

“Big brother!”

Like a beam of light, Xiao Hei pierces through the water extremely fast. His eyes are flashing with excitement. He can feel that Qin Yu is very near him and the 2 of them will be able to meet each other again soon. After all, they have already been separated for so long.

On the Qian Long continent, Qin Yu and Xiao Hei were never away from each other for such a long time. They are about to reunite so at the moment they are certainly very excited.

“No good, there’s someone.” Xiao Hei’s holy sense has quickly discovered that 2 Xiuyaoists are charging at him at extreme speeds. Judging by the feeling he gets from his holy sense alone, Xiao Hei can confirm in an instant that they are absolutely experts. Unlike Qin Yu, he does not have the nourishment of the Meteoric Tear so his holy sense is not formidable at all. Because Cha Ge has reached the early Yuanying stage while that Cha Po is even a middle Yuanying- stage expert, his holy sense is naturally weaker than theirs. 

In a moment, 2 silhouettes appear in front of Xiao Hei. They are none other than the Blood-red Cave’s 2 vice masters, Cha Ge and Cha Po.

“Hah, it’s indeed a bird. A bird going down to the seabed, oh my, this is really suicide.” Cha Ge says in a strange voice. His eyes occasionally flash with cold, sinister rays of light. Even the blood-red robe on his body is emitting a cold, sinister aura with high frequency.

Cha Po looks at Xiao Hei and immediately reaches out a hand to make a grab at him.

Xiao Hei is staring at these 2 Xiuyaoists. Suddenly, he flaps a wing. Because it moves extremely fast, it turns into a black blur and hits Cha Po’s hand squarely. Surprisingly, Cha Po’s hand is deflected away and blood starts oozing out of its skin.

“You even dared to injure me?!” The cold light in Cha Po’s eyes suddenly intensifies. Obviously he has become extremely angry. 

In the eyes of Cha Po, a late Jindan-stage bird is simply a piece of cake. After all, the 2 of them are basically not on the same level.

“Ha-ha … 2nd brother, I didn’t think you’d get hurt, and even worse, by a mere sub-Yuanying bird. This is really laughable.” On one side, taking pleasure in his brother’s failure, Cha Ge says while laughing out loud with his hands holding his own belly.

Cha Po of course knows Cha Ge is doing so on purpose.

“You dared to hurt me, so don’t blame me for showing no mercy, little bird.” He says coldly. His entire body then turns into a blur and charges straight at Xiao Hei. Cha Po is a middle Yuanying-stage expert after all so, despite not using his true form, he is still much faster than Sang Mo’s true form.

However … at the moment Xiao Hei is not the same as he was a half year ago. After absorbing many demonic beasts, he has broken through the middle phase of the Jindan stage to reach the late phase. In addition to this, he has been transformed by that forbidden technique. Therefore, his speed has improved more than 100% over the last half year. Now, even Qin Yu is nowhere near as powerful as him.

A black light beam flashes away extremely fast.

“What a fast speed. How can that bird still move so fast underwater?” Cha Ge, who is watching the fight on one side, cannot help getting astonished. He quickly finds that Xiao Hei’s speed is even faster than Cha Po’s.

Following that exceptionally quick exchange of blows, Cha Po and Xiao Hei move apart in the blink of an eye.

The former then looks coldly at the latter: “No wonder a late Jindan bird like you dares to run wild at the bottom of the ocean. It turns out you’ve got some special skills. You’re really fast. Perhaps no Xiuyaoists of your power level can be as fast as you.” As Cha Po is saying, drops of blood are trickling down from his left hand. 

“I have an important thing to do, don’t block my way.”

Xiao Hei says via his holy sense in an ice-cold voice. He has also realized that the opponent is very powerful. Worse still, he has not even used his true form yet. Therefore, Xiao Hei has no intention of taking the offensive either.

“Whoa, 2nd brother, I’m surprised that you were injured by a late Jindan bird.” With his eyes brightening, Cha Ge adds fuel to the fire. “You better not fight if you can’t win, otherwise it’d be very bad if you got killed by this bird. Do you … want me to help you, 2nd brother?”

Cha Po’s face turns cold. He shouts angrily: “No need. You just stay aside and watch.”

“Oh my, then I’ll keep watching your performance.” Cha Ge then just looks on from one side and says no more. He also knows he should stop before going too far. After all, if he said more and made his 2nd brother mad, the result of this would be very terrifying. 

Cha Po reaches out his hands. 2 daggers suddenly appear in them. Both of these daggers radiate a blue light. Obviously they have been coated with poison.

“I hate those who are arrogant to me the most, especially … being arrogant without power to back it up.” Cha Po says coldly. Xiao Hei, however, simply remains silent and stares at him directly with his eagle eyes, which seem to be able to pierce through his soul.

Cha Po feels very uncomfortable being stared at by Xiao Hei.

“Growl ~~”

A deep growl comes out from Cha Po’s mouth. On one side, Cha Ge changes his countenance abruptly and thinks to himself: “This sucks. 2nd brother has really gone mad. Is it really worth getting mad at this bird?” He immediately backs away several li. Holding a dagger in each hand, Cha Po charges at Xiao Hei like a beam of light at his fastest speed.

Pa! Pa!

In an instant, Xiao Hei’s eyes brighten and send out 2 blood- red flashes of lightning. Yes, they are blood-red, looking as if they are formed from a blood-red flame each. This is one of the changes that have happened to Xiao Hei as a result of him using that forbidden technique.

Cha Po is very fast, but he is not as fast as the flashes, which immediately hit him. His body cannot help going numb. At the same time, he notices the appearance of a strange force, which seems to be both absorptive and corrosive.

“What’s that?”

Cha Po, astonished, activates the energy in his body to resist it at once. That strange force’s corrosive effect is really very strong. In just a moment, it leaves a wound on Cha Po’s body. Luckily for Cha Po, he has quickly destroyed Xiao Hei’s energy with his internal demonic elemental energy.

No longer daring to be careless, Cha Po activates his entire body’s protective demonic elemental energy, ready to defend against Xiao Hei’s attacks anytime.

Xiao Hei shakes his wings once, shooting out various blood- red flashes of lightning. Compared to the ones in the past, these blood-red flashes have the same lightning offensive power but, at the same time, they are also capable of absorbing and corroding. Being struck down at by several tens flashes, even Cha Ge gets muddled up.

“Growl ~~”

He opens his mouth wide and growls. Then his mouth unexpectedly begins to enlarge, turning into a huge python mouth. His body also transforms into a shockingly massive, sinuous blood-red python. This is a blood-red aquatic python that is almost 100 m long and whose body is twice as thick as an ordinary bucket.

With a swing of his tail, the python’s 100 m long body starts to move. In an instant, the area within several hundred meters of him is covered by his attacks. Because this blood-red aquatic python is frighteningly fast, this area is full of red blurs.

Bang!

Even though Xiao Hei’s speed is astonishing, the speed of this middle Yuanying-stage expert Cha Po’s true form is even more terrifying. A red blur flashes by Xiao Hei and he is immediately sent flying.

Just now Xiao Hei’s body was hit by a fierce sweep of the python’s tail.

“I like to eat strong demonic beast the most.” Cha Po’s voice rises in Xiao Hei’s mind through holy sense communication. He then opens wide the frightening mouth of his huge python body and rushes at Xiao Hei like a beam of light. 

Xiao Hei’s eyes are extraordinary. The blood-red aquatic python is very fast but he can still see his every single movement clearly, including even the movements of his tongue.

“Chirp ~~”

A light starts to flash on and off on Xiao Hei’s crown. He utters a shrill cry, which causes the water in his entire surroundings to vibrate for a short time and move outwards in all directions simultaneously, forming strong, surging undercurrents. Moreover, at this moment, the moonlight in the sky goes straight into the ocean.

“What’s going on?” Cha Po is startled.

He sees the moonlight shine on Xiao Hei in its entirety then spread out all over his body. Xiao Hei, who has been enveloped the moonlight, suddenly sends out a terrifying aura. Cha Po is secretly shocked because he can feel that fearsome aura clearly. ……

“This is bad. Xiao Hei is using that special skill. Could he have run into a danger?” Hearing that shrill cry, Qin Yu knows that Xiao Hei is in a difficult situation because the same skill was used to deal with Xiang Yang last time. He immediately accelerates.

However,

Because he has already almost reached his top speed, even though he starts to go all out from this moment, he can only run a bit faster.

……

Feeling that this is not good, Cha Po swings his body violently at once. It looks like the python’s body is going to hit Xiao Hei squarely, but there seems to be a layer of air moving around Xiao Hei’s body at the moment, and as a result, the swing is completely parried away. 

Xiao Hei spreads his wings and flaps very gently once. The light on his body is instantly concentrated on the edges of the wings. Right afterwards, it shoots out at Cha Po in the form of 2 light-colored crescent blades. Giving Cha Po basically no time

to dodge, the 2 crescent blades of light hit his body extremely fast.

Chi chi ~~~

Their strong corrosive effect immediately damages Cha Po’s scales. Cha Po yells miserably. At the same time, various streams of demonic elemental energy surge forth through his body, and in just about a moment, the 2 crescent blades of light disappear.

However, two 2 to 3 m long parts on Cha Po’s 100 m long blood-red aquatic python body have been damaged. Most of the scales on these 2 parts have been corroded to the point where even the flesh underneath is exposed. However, these are merely flesh wounds. “Growl ~~~”

The blood-red aquatic python gives a mad growl. His entire body then charges at Xiao Hei continuously like a serpentine red thunderbolt. Xiao Hei dodges nonstop like a black beam of light. This fight between an eagle and a python is really intense.

“No good. This python’s demonic elemental energy is frighteningly strong.” Xiao Hei feels that his situation is not good. A middle Yuanying-stage Xiuyaoist’s demonic elemental energy is several times more powerful than his. Even worse, blood-red aquatic pythons are an extremely fearsome species of snake. In just a while, the wounds on the python’s body have already been covered in new scales, only that these scales are very weak.

Snakes regularly shed their skins so it is not difficult for a middle Yuanying-stage blood-red aquatic python to regenerate his scales. The only problem is that the new scales are not as strong defensively as the old ones.

“Die!” Cha Po’s voice suddenly rises in Xiao Hei’s mind. Immediately, a green beam of light is shot at Xiao Hei from the blood-red aquatic python’s mouth. As an experienced fighter, Xiao Hei has long been prepared for something like this. With a sweep of his holy sense, he finds out that this green light is a thin flying sword.

He also opens his mouth, and a flash of lightning is shot out.

Boom!

The flash and the green light collide. Xiao Hei suddenly utters a painful cry. Blood spurts out of his throat. That flash of lightning is actually the high-grade holy awl that he forged. Even though both he and Cha Po use high-grade holy weapons, Cha Po’s demonic elemental energy is several times more powerful than his.

Therefore, Xiao Hei has been badly injured by the head-on collision of the weapons. “Hah, a high-grade holy weapon!” Cha Po becomes excited.

Xiao Hei however makes a shake of his wings and cuts through the water to run away extremely fast like a thin black beam of light.

“Don’t think about escaping!”

Cha Po’s massive blood-red aquatic python body also pierces through the water like a red thunderbolt. The pursued and the pursuer — an eagle and a blood-red aquatic python — quickly disappear. However, the direction Xiao Hei is fleeing in at the moment is — the south!

He knows Qin Yu’s power level. When he himself, who has reached the late Jindan stage and even used a forbidden technique, is unable to win against Cha Po, Qin Yu will definitely be killed if he gets involved in this situation. Therefore, Xiao Hei of course does not run towards Qin Yu.

A beam of light chases after them but then it stops. This is none other than Cha Ge. 

He looks in the direction Cha Po has disappeared in and lets out a cold ‘humph’, feeling very frustrated. Because his speed is fairly slower than Cha Po’s, he was only able to chase several tens li before his holy sense could no longer detect Cha Po and Xiao Hei within its range.

……

“Xiao Hei, make sure nothing bad happens to you.”

Qin Yu is very anxious inwardly. Piercing through the water, he rushes in Xiao Hei’s direction at his fastest speed. After a while, he feels a chaotic aura so he stops at once.

Looking at traces of blood floating in the water, he can feel Xiao Hei’s aura clearly.

This place is where Xiao Hei and Cha Po fought each other just now. The blood floating here consists of both Xiao Hei’s blood and Cha Po’s. 

“Xiao Hei has fought here and even been injured.” Qin Yu quickly figures out what happened. Feeling that Xiao Hei is running south extremely fast, he knows that Xiao Hei is being chased by someone and, moreover, he is fleeing south in order

not to entangle him.

“Ha-ha, I never thought that I’d strike lucky after 2nd brother had chased that black eagle. My dear Xiuxianist, I’ve been looking for you for a very long time.”

Following the loud laughter, a very thin man robed in red appears not far from Qin Yu. That man’s eyes are blazing and flashing.

Qin Yu’s face changes color. Just now, because he discovered traces of Xiao Hei’s blood, for a while he trembled in his heart with worry about Xiao Hei and also paid no attention to his surroundings. Unexpectedly, during this short period of time, Cha Ge returned in disappointment after failing to catch up with his 2nd brother and immediately detected Qin Yu. Discovering that Qin Yu does not have a demonic aura and judging from the fact that the Green-eyed fish clan’s most recent message says that the Xiuxianist is currently in this area, Cha Ge naturally was able to figure out Qin Yu’s real identity.

“An early Yuanying fella, plus his demonic aura seems even stronger than Sang Mo.” Qin Yu quickly makes a judgment. “I’m only at the middle Nebula stage. For the moment I can’t even handle Sang Mo. This man seems not weaker than Sang Mo.”

He has secretly made a decision.

“Who are you?” He says coldly.

“I am …” Cha Ge says haughtily, but when he has just said ‘I am’, Qin Yu immediately rides his flying sword and uses the Body Weapon Unification technique to flee west. In just about a moment, he has already got away several km.

Cha Ge is furious: “You dared to fool me?!” Riding his flying sword, he chases after Qin Yu at once. Blood-red aquatic pythons are much more gifted than octopuses. But the octopus family has a great number of members while blood-red aquatic pythons are very rare,

amounting to just a few individuals at a time.

“So fast.”

Qin Yu is shocked to find out that Cha Ge, who is riding a flying sword, unexpectedly does not fall behind him. After chasing for a while, noticing that he has not been able to close on Qin Yu, Cha Ge turns into a 70 to 80 m long blood-red aquatic python while letting out a yell then chases after Qin Yu extremely fast.

A blood-red aquatic python’s speed in the ocean is simply frighteningly fast so the distance between Cha Ge and Qin Yu decreases very quickly at once.

B5C13: Deadly Poison

As the blood-red aquatic python pierces through the ocean, his huge body makes the water in his vicinity become turbulent. His 2 red eyes, filled with a sinister iciness, are staring directly at Qin Yu, who is running away extremely fast ahead of him.

The distance between them grows shorter and shorter.

“This python is even a bit faster than Sang Mo.” Qin Yu takes a look backwards. The coldness in his eyes suddenly intensifies. Clenching his teeth, he unexpectedly stops completely in an instant. The blood-red aquatic python seems to never have anticipated that Qin Yu would halt abruptly, but he reacts very quickly and stops before ramming into Qin Yu.

He stares at Qin Yu with his red eyes then turns into a human again with a shake of his body.

“Sang Mo, I’ve found him. Just wait and get that Thunder Hammer ready, ha-ha …” Cha Ge complacently sends a message to Sang Mo through his transmitter. At the moment he is totally confident because by feeling Qin Yu’s aura he knows that Qin Yu’s power level is only around the middle phase of the Jindan stage. This kind of Xiuxianist is definitely no match for him even if they use a high-grade holy weapon.

“Then I’ll wait for your good news, vice master.”

As Cha Ge is staring at Qin Yu before him, a faint cold smile appears on the corners of his mouth.

“How are you, Xiuxianist?” He tauntingly greets Qin Yu. He has never feared anyone within the territory of the Blood-red Cave. At the moment, Qin Yu is slower than him so he even feels like playing a game of cat and mouse.

Qin Yu has known very well since he heard the sentence ‘I’ve been looking for you for a very long time.’ that the Xiuyaoist in front of him has been hunting for him, perhaps also because of Sang Mo’s reward offer.

“Xiuyaoist, I can see that you’re not weaker than Sang Mo. I’m surprised that someone like you wants to hunt me down. You’re doing this for a middle-grade holy weapon or a favor from him?” He says indifferently and calmly while looking at Cha Ge.

For the moment Qin Yu has no intention of using the Meteor Escaping Art to flee either. After all, having experienced the pains caused by the Meteoric Tear after he used it last time, he will not easily rely on it again.

“Ha-ha … Sang Mo, you said that idiot Sang Mo?” Cha Ge laughs out loud loftily. “What’s the use of a middle-grade holy weapon? How can it make me hunt for you?” He disdains a middle-grade holy weapon very much.

“Oh? Looks like you want a favor from Sang Mo.” Qin Yu says laughingly.

Cha Ge says with a shake of his head: “Favor? No.” He looks at Qin Yu with a hint of amusement in his eyes. “Given Sang Mo’s puny power and position, his favor is a worthless piece of crap to me. I can order him directly as I please, so why would I want a favor from him?” Qin Yu is secretly startled.

The man before him unexpectedly can give Sang Mo orders. At first he only thought that Cha Ge was someone of the same level as Sang Mo, but now it looks like he has underestimated the opponent.

“Then why are you chasing me?” Qin Yu is very calm.

“Oh, my cute Xiuxianist, it seems you still don’t know that in order to hunt you down, Sang Mo has raised the reward.” Cha Ge says laughingly in a casual manner. “However, I’m chasing you not only because of the high-grade holy weapon that Sang Mo has offered as the reward, but also because of the high- grade holy weapon on your body.”

“My high-grade holy weapon?”

Qin Yu looks at Cha Ge. His expression freezes in an instant. 

“Ha-ha … Don’t deny it. The flying sword you rode just now must be a high-grade holy weapon. Otherwise, how could you have been so fast? Frankly, I think not even a high-grade holy weapon can help a middle Jindan Xiuxianist like you move so fast. Ah, don’t tell me that your flying sword is a top-grade holy weapon.”

Cha Ge’s eyes immediately blaze.

Even though he cannot believe that a Jindan-stage Xiuxianist can possess a top-grade holy weapon, Qin Yu’s speed just now has greatly shocked him. A blood-red aquatic python is very fast in the ocean and, moreover, he has reached the early Yuanying stage and was using his true form, but he was only able to go a bit faster than Qin Yu.

Could it be … this is really a top-grade holy flying sword?

“Top-grade holy weapon? How about this? I’ll give you my flying sword and you’ll pretend that you’ve never seen me.” Struck by a thought, Qin Yu says smilingly. Concurrently with this, the Flaming Sword appears in his hand then floats up under his control.

Cha Ge is startled. He moves his eyes around then says with a ‘he-he’ laugh: “In fact I only want a holy weapon. Since you’re already so sensible, I won’t trouble myself either. I’ll take the flying sword.”

After saying so, with a movement of his body, Cha Ge makes a grab at the sword.

“This   stupid   brat,   I’ll   take   his   flying   sword   first   and immediately personalize it then kill him.” Even he finds it rather troublesome to have to fight a user of a high-grade holy weapon.

Now that the opponent has offered him that weapon, he is naturally glad to take it.

According to his thinking, the opponent is merely at around the middle Jindan stage so his soul should not be strong either, and therefore it will take him just a little while to forcibly personalize that flying sword.

Suddenly —

Hu hu ~~

Stellar energy rushes forth from inside Qin Yu’s body in the blink of an eye and forms a huge nebular maelstrom. Qin Yu’s eyes flash with coldness. The nebula in his dantian begins to rotate extremely fast too. His entire stellar energy has been unleashed.

The Stellar Field!

“You even dare …” Seeing this scene, Cha Ge knows that the opponent wants to attack. He is also not a fool to grab that flying sword now because the opponent can easily control the sword to attack. “Idiot.”

In just a moment, Qin Yu turns into several illusions. However, for some reason, he is not using the Flaming Gloves at all. Qin Yu’s illusions have surrounded Cha Ge. At almost the same time, the illusions launch different attacks at Cha Ge such as punches, finger swords, knife hand strikes and so on.

“Ha-ha …”

Cha Ge turns his face upwards, laughing out loud. The demonic elemental energy in his whole body surges forth and unexpectedly shakes away all of Qin Yu’s strikes.

Qin Yu clenches his teeth. In an instant, he suddenly splits into 6 illusions, which, with a twist of their waists, immediately begin to rotate fiercely. Concurrently with this, they swing their right legs violently like windmill blades and hit Cha Ge’s neck with no mercy.

Bang! 

After hitting Cha Ge’s neck, the 6 illusions disappear, leaving behind only Qin Yu’s real body, whose one leg is currently on Cha Ge’s neck.

“In terms of attack resistance, we blood-red aquatic pythons aren’t weaker than divine dragons.”  At this moment, Cha Ge says to Qin Yu. A layer of scales has unexpectedly emerged on his neck, rendering all of Qin Yu’s close-quarters attacks ineffective.

Qin Yu does a backflip then retreats very far.

Close-quarters attacks are fairly effective against humans, whose bodies are relatively weak, but they are much less useful against Xiuyaoists. The reason of this is that the true forms of quite a few Xiuyaoists make them extremely formidable physically, for example, blood-red aquatic pythons, aquatic dragons, horned dragons, and so on.

“Very strong attack resistance indeed.” Qin Yu says in wonderment. 

Hearing Qin Yu’s praise, Cha Ge feels even more proud of himself, but he still says: “Though you’re a Xiuxianist, your physical power is really very formidable. In fact your last strike just now forced me to use my protective scaly armor.”

Qin Yu says in admiration: “Such attacks by me couldn’t break your defense, and you haven’t even used your true form yet. It’s true that Xiuyaoists are much more powerful than humans at any given power level. But … I won’t give up.”

“If not for that high-grade holy weapon, I’d really be unwilling to kill you.” Cha Ge says so, but at the same time he moves like a flash. 2 daggers appear in his hands and he thrusts them straight towards Qin Yu. The blades of the daggers radiate a green cold light.

Deadly poison.

“Just die.” Qin Yu says in his mind. The nebula around him starts to spin extremely fast again. The Stellar Field is executed once more, just like how it was used just now. He controls the Flaming Sword to block the daggers and throws 2 punches at Cha Ge using his hands.

Cha Ge cannot help giving a faint smile.

After experiencing Qin Yu’s attacks moments ago, he already knew that Qin Yu’s offensive force at least cannot injure him. In order to be safe, he covers his body in a layer of protective scaly armor, which is formed from his scales.

Of course, his current defense is not as astonishing as when he switches to his true form, but this is still a high level of defense.

“Ya!”

Qin Yu clenches his teeth tightly to a point where even his blood gushes out. A frightening, cold beam of light suddenly shoots out from his eyes. While coming at Cha Ge, his fists suddenly open and turn into 2 spear-hand strikes (*), which have the most powerful penetrating offensive forces. At the same time, the Flaming Gloves appear. 

Pu! Pu!

The fierce penetrating forces coupled with the high-grade holy weapon Flaming Gloves are simply irresistible. Qin Yu’s spear hand strikes immediately break that layer of scaly armor then pierce through it, aiming to finish this blood-red aquatic python off by smashing his internal organs.

However —

“Growl ~~~”

The moment the scaly armor is penetrated, a series of deep growls rises. In an instant, Cha Ge’s body unexpectedly transforms into a 70 to 80 m long blood-red aquatic python, which immediately attempts to wrap his body around Qin Yu, wanting to strangle him to death.

“Cunning Xiuxianist, I’m going to eat you!” Cha Ge’s furious voice rises in Qin Yu’s mind. He has really been enraged, because Qin Yu has plotted against him twice.

The 1st time, Qin Yu took the initiative and ran away in the middle of a conversation with him. The 2nd time, Qin Yu did not use the Flaming Gloves when attacking in the beginning to make him miscalculate the difference in power between them.

Therefore, when Qin Yu attacked again, Cha Ge was careless and had to pay a great price for this.

With a shaking movement of his body, Qin Yu avoids the python’s incoming wrapping attack like lightning. He then immediately says via his holy sense: “Blood-red aquatic python, just now you were lucky that I couldn’t kill you in one hit. But … even though I didn’t penetrate your heart, it still got a shock from my penetrating force and was injured pretty bad, right?”

Cha Ge of course has been injured and, even worse, injured very seriously. 

Due to the close-quarters strikes Qin Yu had used in his 1st attack attempt, Cha Ge misjudged Qin Yu’s power. He thought that his protective scaly armor was more than sufficient and did not even use his demonic elemental energy to defend himself at all. As a result, in Qin Yu’s 2nd attack attempt, relying on the high-grade holy weapon Flaming Gloves, Qin Yu was able to breach the scaly armor directly with 2 spear hand strikes.

Moreover, the spear hand strikes did not only deal damage through Qin Yu’s physical body, but also through the penetrating forces they carried, which went into Cha Ge’s body through his flesh and injured his heart.

“Yaaaa … You pissed me off!!!”

The blood-red aquatic python swings his body nonstop, completely disturbing the water in his surroundings. However, a mouthful of blood suddenly spurts from his mouth. The heart is a vital part so even though it was only shaken up by Qin Yu’s penetrating forces, he has been severely injured. With a solemn expression, Qin Yu makes a hand sign then immediately  shouts:  “Illusion  Spreading  Sword  Art  —  Starry Starry Night!”

His Flaming Sword flies upwards and creates a blurry area in the blink of an eye. Countless sword silhouettes shoot straight at the blood-red aquatic python from that area. As Qin Yu sees this scene, a faint smile appears on his face.

Xiuxianists, Xiuyaoists and Xiumoists each have their own specialties. Xiuxianists’ various kinds of sword arts are really outstanding. As for Xiumoists, they have many strange yet very powerful holy weapons. Qin Yu has read quite a few Xiuzhen secret books so naturally he has learnt some sword arts.

The Illusion Spreading Sword Art was a sword art that Qin Yu put emphasis on learning.

“Growl ~~~”

The blood-red aquatic python lets out a deep growl then turns his huge head, staring at Qin Yu. His red eyes are radiating an obvious red light. With a movement, the head turns into a blur and arrives at Qin Yu’s face instantly.

In terms of speed, the python’s head is even faster than his body.

Chi, chi, chi, chi …

Many sword silhouettes hit the blood-red aquatic python’s body but they only leave faint bloodstains on his outer scaly armor and fail to inflict any serious wounds on him. Simply ignoring these attacks, the blood-red aquatic python opens his large mouth, which looks like a basin of blood, and bites at Qin Yu.

A stench reaches Qin Yu. He immediately moves his hand sign, thrusting the Flaming Sword straight down at the blood- red aquatic python extremely fast from above. Meanwhile, taking advantage of the forces of the water around him, his body makes a gentle movement and avoids the bite of the blood-red aquatic python. Pa!

A red blur flashes across Qin Yu. He vomits blood and is sent flying at once.

“Damn it. This python’s tail is even faster than his head.” Spitting out a mouthful of blood, he can feel that all of his internal organs have been injured. Just now he only saw a red blur before the swing of the tail hit him.

Compared to the python’s head, his tail is 2 to 3 times faster, which is too terrifying. But at this moment, the Flaming Sword, which is heading directly for the python’s head, has already almost reached its target.

“Growl!”

The python raises his head and unexpectedly takes a bite at Qin Yu’s Flaming Sword in an absolutely fearless manner. A hint of ruthlessness appears in Qin Yu’s eyes. Through mental control, he makes the Flaming Sword accelerate and thrusts it straight at the python’s wide open mouth. 

“If you bite, I’ll pierce through your throat!”

He has become ruthless.

Whizz!

A yellow beam of light shoots out from the python’s mouth and hits the Flaming Sword squarely. Qin Yu then discovers that the sword has unexpectedly got much heavier and its speed has decreased a lot as if it is no longer under his control.

Only now can he see clearly that some yellow liquid is sticking on the Flaming Sword while emitting various yellow wisps of smoke.

NOTE:

(*): In the Chinese text, Qin Yu uses 2 knuckle-protruding punches, which in real life have very weak impact force and are almost totally useless, so I changed them to 2 spear hand strikes.

B5C14: Life For Life

Seeing that there are a poisonous liquid on his flying sword, Qin Yu thinks in his mind. Immediately, flames appear on the surface of the sword. They then burn away the poisonous liquid, causing ‘chi chi’ sounds. Meanwhile, Qin Yu can feel the Flaming Sword becoming increasingly easier to control.

“Growl!”

When the huge mouth of the python is about to shut to complete the bite, the Flaming Sword goes extremely fast towards Qin Yu, who takes hold of it with a grab. After the sword was stuck on by that yellow liquid just now, he no longer dares to let the python bite at it because heaven knows what other tricks he still has up his sleeve.

After all, when the opponent dares to bite at the sword, he must already have some method to handle it.

“Ha-ha, a real good flying sword. I’m going to eat you first then take your flying sword.” Cha Ge’s voice rises in Qin Yu’s mind via holy sense communication. At the same time, the python’s massive body begins to move extremely fast, creating a red blur.

Qin Yu also moves extremely fast using the Stellar Field.

“This fella’s speed is too fast, especially his head and tail.” He is very worried. When using the Stellar Field, he can avoid the attacks, but this technique consumes too much energy so he cannot rely on it all the time.

He instantly rushes up to the python’s stomach.

Forming a claw with a hand, he pierces through the scaly armor on the python’s stomach with a claw strike. The power of the Flaming Gloves is simply undeniable. The python lets out a painful growl. Both the yellow mucus and the ice-cold poison fangs in his mouth can be seen clearly.

Pa! A red blur shoots at Qin Yu. When he just thinks about dodging, he is already hit.

The heavy swing smashes into his chest. Judging from a series of bone-shattering sounds heard right afterwards, 2 of Qin Yu’s breastbones should have been broken. Concurrently with this, his internal organs all get a violent shock. Blood then spurts out directly from his mouth.

“If this continues, I’ll surely be played with to death by this python. If I use the Meteor Escaping Art, it’ll take me very long to recover. I’d rather … risk my life to fight him.”

When he was first chased by the blood-red aquatic python, he immediately made a plan, one that was only going to be used in a desperate situation. And at the moment, Qin Yu has decided to put this plan into action.

“Animal.”

Like a sharp claw, Qin Yu’s hand penetrates the blood-red aquatic python’s scales. The python utters an agonized loud growl at once and swings his tail at Qin Yu again. However, at almost the same time as when Qin Yu penetrates the scales, he does a flip and gets on the neck of the python directly. The python’s tail sweep therefore hits the wound that was caused by Qin Yu a moment ago.

“Growl ~~”

Discovering that Qin Yu has unexpectedly got on his neck, the python immediately becomes furious. He opens his basin- like blood-red large mouth and takes a bite at Qin Yu. At the same time, he thinks that Qin Yu will definitely dodge this attack.

After all, if bitten even once, Qin Yu’s body will definitely be wrecked and he, of course, will die as a result.

However,

“A life for a life!” Qin Yu suddenly shouts loudly and fills up the Flaming Sword in his hand with his stellar energy. He also explosively releases his entire strong physical power. Clenching his teeth, he ruthlessly thrusts the sword down.

“Let’s see if you can also survive decapitation.” Qin Yu’s ice- cold voice rises in Cha Ge’s mind through holy sense communication.

The blood-red aquatic python has already opened his basin- like blood-red large mouth. His poison fangs are easy to see. Now he is about to bite into Qin Yu but what Qin Yu has just said startles him.

Can he still live after getting beheaded?

That is impossible. The soul is located inside the head so once his head is cut off, he will surely die. Cha Ge has never thought about his death. Just now, even though he went berserk, he did not think that he would die either. After all, he is a vice master of the Blood-red Cave, no less. Perishing together with a Xiuxianist? No way!

But he suddenly feels a series of acute pains, which stupefies him. It turns out Qin Yu’s Flaming Sword has pierced his neck. It then spins a circle through his neck violently. Seeing his death coming, Cha Ge seems to go mad. He bites into Qin Yu ferociously.

The python’s head then falls down. Cha Ge looks at Qin Yu with his ice-cold red eyes, which are full of disbelief. Has he really been killed?

Even though his head has been cut off, his consciousness can still exist for a good few seconds.

Pu ~~

Blood spouts from the severed neck. That huge headless body of the blood-red aquatic python is still wriggling and quivering nonstop. However, the python’s head has already bitten through Qin Yu’s body. His stomach has been completely penetrated by the 2 poison fangs. Now there is a shockingly large hole on Qin Yu’s stomach. Even his spleen has been smashed while his liver has also suffered fatal injuries.

As Qin Yu sees the disbelief in Cha Ge’s pair of red eyes, a faint smile appears on the corners of his mouth.

Feeling his head spinning, he hurriedly takes the head and carcass of the huge blood-red aquatic python into his spatial ring with a wave of his hand. It is essential that he does this to remove all the traces of what has happened. He knows very well that despite the Meteoric Tear’s continuous maintenance, it will not be long before he can no longer hang on.

“Break.”

Qin Yu goes straight into a coral reef below him. But his control over the body is getting weaker and weaker.

“I’ll leave everything to you, Meteoric Tear.” Then he loses entire control of his body. A natural suction in his vicinity is pulling his soul. Qin Yu’s soul floats up, seemingly wanting to fly away from his body. However, at this moment, not disappointing Qin Yu’s hopes, a familiar heat current envelops his soul.

Immediately, he is not affected by that suction anymore.

Feeling the presence of this heat current, he stops worrying.

Right afterwards, his body begins to slowly recover in silence

…

At present, a girl is moving gracefully through the water at the bottom of the ocean. This girl is dressed in blue clothes and is holding a zither in her bosom. Her beautiful silky black hair is casually tied up with a blue silk ribbon and hangs loose about her waist, which is slender and fastened closely around by a white belt. She also appears to be slightly ample-chested. And there is always a faint, relaxed smile on her face. The blue-clad girl is not riding a flying sword. It looks like she is going very slowly but in fact her movements have a fantastic effect which is similar to that of a distance-shrinking technique. In just a while she has already covered several thousand li. Heaven knows how many times she is faster than

Qin Yu.

“Oh?”

All of a sudden, the blue-clad girl stops in an elegant manner and casts a look at the coral reef in which Qin Yu is hiding. It seems she can see through the coral because a hint of amazement appears on her face as she is looking. Afterwards, she has a relaxed smiling expression again.

She then makes a wave of a sleeve, revealing a beautiful snowy arm.

And at this moment, Qin Yu’s body in the coral reef also disappears. Following this, the blue-clad girl continues to walk in leisurely steps while hugging her zither. In an instant, she vanishes from this area. 

……

In a secret room of the Blood-red Cave in the Blood-red Ridge,

The Blood-red Cave’s master Cha Hong is sitting with legs crossed on a bulrush mat, continuously shooting many streams of demonic elemental energy at a black jade case that is floating in front of him. This black jade case looks very old and simple. There are 2 lively, vigorous words on its cover — Nine Swords.

Cha Hong is the real leader of the 8 million li radius area controlled by the Blood-red Cave. He is much more powerful than his 2 younger brothers.

Early Dongxu stage!

This is Cha Hong’s real power level. In this underwater world of Xiuyaoists, where Yuanying stage practitioners are regarded as first-class experts, a Dongxu stage Xiuyaoist is certainly classified as a super expert. It should be known that even the 9 Purple Demon aquatic dragons of the Nine Demons Hall, one of the 3 underwater superpowers, are all only at the Dongxu stage.

100 years ago, when Cha Hong obtained this black jade case, he was extremely excited. From then on, he left all of the Blood-red Cave’s matters in the hands of his 2 younger brothers. By contrast, he himself has often undergone closed- door training sessions ever since with each of these training sessions lasting for several years.

This time, he has been undergoing this closed-door training session for 3 years.

After a sigh, Cha Hong stops sending out his demonic elemental energy and examines the black jade case. He says with a slight nod of his head: “It won’t be long. I’ll be able to succeed within 3 years. I’ve been trying hard for 100 years so 3 more years is no big deal.”

In order to open this black jade case, Cha Hong has been draining the energy of its seal for the last 100 years. 

“Even a simple Dust Removing Seal is already so formidable. The sealer must’ve been terrifyingly powerful in the extreme.” Cha Hong’s face is full of admiration. “No wonder it was an immortal. With this power, a wave of the hand would be enough to destroy me.”

The Dust Removing Seal is one of the lowest seals in the Xiuzhen world and is generally used to prevent dust.

How powerful can a dust-preventing seal possibly be? If this was a formidable seal, once attacked, it would hit back. But this Dust Removing Seal only protects an object from getting dirtied by dust and cannot counterattack.

Luckily it cannot hit back, otherwise Cha Hong would be unable to open this jade case given his power level.

Even though it is the simplest seal, Cha Hong has had to be extremely persistent in dealing with it. During the last 100 years, he has often undergone closed-door training sessions to drain the energy of the seal bit by bit, yet the seal still has not run out of energy after such a long time.

“Penglai Immortal Region, Purple Flame Devilish Dungeon, Azure Dragon Palace, Nine Demons Hall, Blue Water Mansion, perhaps none of you thinks one of the Nine Swords is in my hands. Humph, one day, the underwater world of Xiuyaoists will definitely have 4 superpowers instead of 3!”

Cha Hong’s eyes glitter.

He has an ambition in his heart. However, he has to rely on this black jade case to achieve it.

“But my current power is still not enough. At least I have to reach the late Dongxu stage to be able to bargain with them. Now the most important thing to do is endure silently. I can’t let them know that I’ve got a jade case.” Cha Hong remembers how he was able to come into possession of this black jade case.

After thinking it through again, he is certain that he has eliminated all of the people who knew about this event and there will be absolutely no problem.

Cha Hong cannot be blamed for his cautiousness because if the superpowers such as the Azure Dragon Palace and the Nine Demons Hall get wind of this treasure, given Cha Hong’s current power, he will simply be unable to prevent them from robbing him of it. It is disaster to obtain a treasure without power to keep it.

Therefore, Cha Hong must lie low.

Bang! Bang! Bang! ……

Suddenly, knocking sounds rise continuously at the stone door outside the secret room. It seems someone is hitting the door repeatedly.

Cha Hong is furious. No one is allowed to disturb him during a closed-door training session. Because he often stays in this secret room to drain the seal’s energy, he is always uneasy. As soon as someone comes near the door, he will become worried. 

“Who? Knocking the door during my training session, do you want to die?”

Cha Hong’s deep, powerful voice comes out of the room.

“Cave master, we’ve got a very bad situation. A vice master is already dead.”

With a movement of his body, Cha Hong disappears from the room in an instant, and that black jade case also disappears.

……

Outside the room, 3 guardians are standing respectfully at the stone door. There are very anxious looks on their faces at the moment.

Chi chi ~~~ 

The stone door opens. The Blood-red Cave’s master Cha Hong walks out with a dark, grave expression. He immediately shouts at the 3 guardians: “Say, who’s dead? Tell me everything in detail.”

The silvery-armored guardian among them goes forwards, saying: “Cave master, vice master Cha Ge and vice master Cha Po went out to hunt for a Xiuxianist 3 months ago. Now vice master Cha Ge is already dead.”

“Hunt for a Xiuxianist?”

Even though Cha Hong is infuriated by his younger brother’s death, he is still very sober. To handle serious matters successfully, he definitely cannot lose his composure at random.

“Cave master, some time ago, guardian Sang Mo’s son was killed by a Xiuxianist. Later, guardian Sang Mo tried to chase him down, but guardian Sang Mo was really incompetent. He unexpectedly couldn’t catch the Xiuxianist and it seems quite a few members of his clan even got killed by the enemy. Sang Mo then offered a reward for catching the Xiuxianist. It is that high-grade  holy  weapon  Thunder  Hammer.”   The  silvery- armored guardian gives a detailed account of the matter.

After listening, Cha Hong has a rough idea of what has happened.

His 3rd brother always wanted a high-grade holy weapon, but obtaining one is easier said than done. Even though Cha Hong used to have an extra high-grade holy weapon, he later gave it to his 2nd brother Cha Po.

He did this because he found Cha Po strong. A high-grade holy weapon would greatly enhance Cha Po’s power and turn Cha Po into another expert on his side. But if he had given the weapon to his 3rd brother, who was only at the early phase of the Yuanying stage, it would have been wasted.

Cha Ge always wanted a high-grade holy weapon so it is not hard to imagine why he got into action this time. “3rd brother is dead? Plus, he even left together with 2nd brother. Could that Xiuxianist be very formidable?” Cha Hong asks doubtfully.

The silvery-armored guardian says: “That Xiuxianist is very weak. He’s not even reached the Yuanying stage yet. Sang Mo couldn’t catch him only because he is too fast. I simply can’t understand how vice master was killed.”

Cha Hong slightly nods.

If the Xiuxianist was really formidable and could even kill Cha Ge, perhaps Sang Mo would have been dead long ago.

“Didn’t 2nd brother go with 3rd brother? In his presence, how could 3rd brother possibly die?” Cha Hong says loudly.

The silvery-armored guardian says with a shake of his head: “I don’t know, but vice master Cha Po should be all right since his soul jade slip is still intact. As soon as I discovered the death of vice master Cha Ge, I hurriedly came here to inform you of it, so I haven’t had time to ask vice master Cha Po.” Cha Hong takes out a transmitter.

“2nd  brother,  3rd  brother  is  already  dead.  What  are  you doing?”

At the moment, Cha Po, who is chasing Xiao Hei, is also filled with anger. His true form’s speed is not slower than Xiao Hei’s, but Xiao Hei has gone straight through some long narrow holes like a black beam of light. By contrast, because his true form is too large, he has had to crash through them and therefore has been slowed down.

“What? 3rd brother is dead?!” Cha Po is startled.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m chasing a black eagle.” “Get the hell back at full speed for me!” Cha Hong’s message contains an extreme anger. Knowing that his 3rd brother is dead and seeing his big brother so furious, Cha Po ignores that disgusting black eagle and rushes back to the Blood-red Cave at his fastest speed.

B5C15: Miss Li’er

After an indeterminate period of time, Qin Yu can gradually feel the existence of his body. He moves his fingers. In just a while, the feeling of having his whole body under his control comes back to him. He cannot help giving a faint smile.

When he opens his eyes, the first thing he sees is a bamboo roof.

“Not the coral reef!”

His face changes color greatly. He sits up at once, his eyes glittering intensely. After a moment, he looks around and quickly gains a good grasp of everything in his surroundings. This is the interior of a very tranquil bamboo room. There is no one else here.

Originally Qin Yu was hiding in a coral reef, but upon regaining consciousness, he discovered that he was in a bamboo house, so how could he possibly not have been shocked? He immediately uses his holy sense to check his body over, including his soul and everything inside his dantian. 

After finding that there is nothing wrong with his body, he secretly lets out a sigh of relief.

When being restored by the Meteoric Tear, he basically does not have the slightest amount of power to resist whoever wants to kill him. Now, it looks like the one who took him here did not inflict any injuries or use any restrictive spells on him.

Qin Yu looks outside the house. He is astounded to find out that this bamboo house is surrounded by the boundless ocean. Obviously some restrictive spell has been set up outside the house and is screening out all of the water directly, leaving this house totally unaffected by the water. He expands his holy sense.

This bamboo house has 3 front rooms, 3 back rooms, and a courtyard in the center. There is absolutely no water in the courtyard and the rooms, but outside the house is the limitless ocean. At the moment, there is unexpectedly nobody else in this bamboo house. “Who’s the owner of this place?” He gets out of bed to leave the room. The moment he gets down from the bed, his holy sense feels someone approaching in the courtyard. He immediately exits the room in 2 steps.

Wise and stable!

The 1st impression Qin Yu has when looking at the man in front of him is that this is a wise, stable person. His calm eyes seem to be able to see through other people’s souls in an instant. And he looks like a 40 year old mortal.

“Young man, you’ve regained consciousness?” This man says smilingly.

Qin Yu puts his mind on alert. He simply does not know when he was saved and brought to this place. If that happened soon after he had been injured, this man must know how severe his injuries were. His spleen was shattered, his liver was damaged very badly and there was a huge hole on his stomach. Theoretically, these were absolutely fatal injuries. So, ordinary people would definitely be amazed to see that he has now become vigorous again.

“I am Liu Xing. Sir, may I ask who you … Ah, you’re a human!” Qin Yu jumps out of his skin because he has just made a sweep with his holy sense and discovered that the man before him unexpectedly does not have a demonic aura. Moreover, he simply cannot get any information about this man’s power level.

To the best of his knowledge, his holy sense can at least find out the power levels of those at the early Yuanying stage or below and therefore this man should have reached the middle Yuanying stage at a minimum.

“You can call me Uncle Lan. Right, I’m indeed a human. Well

… you can think of me as a Xiuxianist.” Uncle Lan says with a relaxed smile.

Qin Yu is greatly shocked inwardly. A Xiuxianist who dares to go down into the ocean will encounter mortal dangers anytime. Therefore, even people of high power levels do not dare to stay long underwater. After all, there are very many experts among underwater Xiuyaoists.

“Uncle Lan, you’re a Xiuxianist, then why are you staying underwater?” Qin Yu asks doubtfully.

He does not take notice of the sentence Uncle Lan said just now — ‘you can think of me as a Xiuxianist’. If he was really a Xiuxianist, why would he have said so? It is just that at the moment Qin Yu is worrying that the secret about his Meteoric Tear will be discovered and is also amazed to know that Uncle Lan is human, so naturally he pays no attention to this flaw.

“I’m staying at the bottom of the ocean because Li’er likes the environment here. It’s I who brought her to this place.” Uncle Lan explains smilingly. He seems to have a fairly good impression of Qin Yu.

“Li’er?” Qin Yu is surprised.

“It’s  Li’er  who  took  you  here,  but  she  already  went  out. Come. Get a taste of the tea I’ve prepared.”  Uncle Lan says enthusiastically then leads Qin Yu into the courtyard at the center of the house. They sit opposite each other.

Uncle Lan pours 2 cups of tea for both of them. Afterwards, he begins to chat with Qin Yu.

Even though the chat is very relaxing, all the while at the bottom of his heart Qin Yu is worried about whether or not his secret has been discovered. What ordinary Xiuzhenists would not be amazed by and curious about the fact that he was able to survive such mortal injuries?

“Uncle Lan.”

An elegant voice rises. Qin Yu turns his head to take a look.

He sees a girl with long, silky black hair that hangs loose. Her eyes give people a feeling of serenity, her skin is glowing like jade, her blue clothes are very casual and a white belt is fastened fairly closely around her waist. The girl is holding a bamboo basket with some lingzhi mushrooms in it in her left hand.

“Liu Xing, this is Li’er. It’s she who saved and brought you here.” Uncle Lan says with a smile.

Qin Yu looks at the girl named Li’er before him. In the past, because his father was a prince, even the female servants in his family were all beauties. However, the girl in front of him … To tell the truth, she has jade-like glowing skin and an air of elegance, but her face can only be considered above average.

“Miss Li’er, thank you for saving my life.”  Qin Yu slightly bows and says.

His mind, however, is on full alert at this moment as he does not know when this Miss Li’er saved and took him here. If most of his injuries had healed by the time she saved him, this will be a good thing because in this case she should know nothing about his fatal injuries. “There’s no need to thank me, Mister Liu Xing. I brought you here, but even if I hadn’t done that, you would still have been able to recover by yourself.” Miss Li’er looks at Qin Yu with her brilliant, crystalline eyes. There is a rare hint of curiosity in those serene eyes now.

Qin Yu suddenly frowns.

He has found out that the Meteoric Tear is nourishing his soul with a heat current that is 2 to 3 times as powerful as the heat current it normally sent out in the past. He does not know the reason of this. To be exact, the heat current sent out by Qin Yu’s Meteoric Tear has intensified a lot since the appearance of Miss Li’er.

“Mister  Liu  Xing,  Uncle  Lan,  please  continue  with  your conversation. I’m going back to my room now.” Miss Li’er slightly motions then goes towards the 3 rooms at the back of the bamboo house and comes into one of them directly. In this house, the 3 back rooms belong to Miss Li’er while Uncle Lan uses the 3 in the front.

Qin Yu now has occupied one of the rooms. 

“Uncle Lan, Miss Li’er doesn’t seem to be very powerful. How can you let her stroll around the underwater world of Xiuyaoists alone with no worries?” After drinking up his cup of tea, Qin Yu asks smilingly. Just now, with a sweep of his holy sense, he discovered that this Miss Li’er is unexpectedly only at the early Jindan stage.

It is very dangerous for anyone with just early Jindan-stage power to enter the underwater world of Xiuyaoists, let alone an early Jindan-stage human Xiuxianist.

Uncle Lan closes his eyes to enjoy the flavor of the tea then says with a smile: “Li’er has some special skills. Even though she can’t win against Xiuyaoists, to protect herself in the underwater Xiuyao world is no problem to her at all.”

“Special skills?” Qin Yu secretly remembers this.

The meeting with Miss Li’er moments ago has left him with a faint good impression of her. Suddenly —

A very serene and fresh piece of zither music rises, sometimes sounding like the tinkling of a stream, sometimes reminiscent the water flowing down from a high mountain. Qin Yu cannot help putting his cup down and closing his eyes to feel the music carefully. On one side, Uncle Lan also does the same.

The music then intensifies, sounding like ocean waves crashing against the shore unceasingly. After a long time, the music changes again. Now it is evocative of an endless forest and the steady rustling of the pines. In the end, the music makes Qin Yu feel as if he has entered a land of ice and snow, and as if the entire world has been covered in white.

It is only long after the music has stopped that Qin Yu wakes up.

He opens his eyes with nothing but quietude in his heart. Since rashly going into the underwater Xiuyao world, he has been suffering the hardship of being hunted by Sang Mo and has even had a serious battle against a blood-red aquatic python so he has not been able to rest easy.

But now, for the first time since his entrance into the underwater Xiuyao world, Qin Yu has calmed down.

“Miss Li’er’s zither skill is definitely at grandmaster level.” He praises sincerely. He has listened to the music performed by zitherists who were called masters in his father’s mansion before, but he feels that this Miss Li’er is basically 2 levels above them.

With a hint of confidence on his face, Uncle Lan says: “Even in my clan, Li’er’s zither skill is top-class. You’re very lucky to be able to hear her perform.”

Qin Yu has just listened to only a piece of music but his mind seems to have been cleansed. During this period of time, all those killings have made him cruel and antagonistic, but this piece of music alone has purified his mind. “In one respect, Miss Li’er’s zither skill also represents the level of her mind. I feel that her mind seems to have reached a very high level.” Qin Yu says doubtfully.

Through the sounds of the zither alone she was able to create such a majestic, fresh and serene atmosphere, and even made Qin Yu feel as if he was personally experiencing what the music was conveying. How can someone with a low level of mind possibly have achieved such skill? But why a person with such a profound mind is only at the early Jindan stage?

Uncle Lan smiles: “Li’er has no interest in practicing even though she’s exceptionally talented. If she wanted to practice, she’d surpass me very quickly. But she has no intention of practicing so her power has only reached that level.”

Only now does Qin Yu know for certain that his holy sense does not deceive him. Miss Li’er is indeed only at the early Jindan stage.

“Sis Li’er.” Following a loud roar, a monkey rushes in from the outside. Qin Yu can only see a golden light flash before a monkey stands in front of him. With a sweep of his holy sense, he is secretly startled to find out that this monkey has reached the middle Yuanying stage.

At this moment, he is finally able to confirm one thing — his holy sense is comparable to that of a middle Yuanying-stage Xiuzhenist. As he is observing the monkey, the monkey also takes a look at him.

“Kaka … you’re the wounded man that sis Li’er brought here, right? I’ll introduce myself first. I’m Hou Fei. Kaka … I’m stronger than you!”  After saying so, the monkey bursts out laughing while scratching his head.

Uncle Lan says loudly: “Hairy monkey, show our guest some courtesy.”

Only when the monkey hears that does he suppress his unruliness, saying: “Master, there are no experts in this valley. This man isn’t at a high power level but he can give me a fight. The other demonic beasts in the valley no longer dare to fight me.”

Qin Yu is shocked in his heart.

It turns out this middle Yuanying-stage monkey is actually Uncle Lan’s disciple. When his disciple has reached the middle Yuanying-stage, then how powerful is he? At least Qin Yu cannot find out Uncle Lan’s power level, nor can he make a fairly accurate guess at it.

“You’re always brawling all day long. Be quiet for me.” Uncle Lan says loudly in a solemn voice. The monkey immediately stops saying and stands on one side.

Uncle Lan then says smilingly to Qin Yu: “Liu Xing, this monkey is very noisy and eccentric like that, but he’s a divine beast Fiery-eyed Aquatic Monkey. Perhaps there’s no other one like him in the underwater Xiuyao world.”

Now Qin Yu is greatly shocked inwardly. 

This is a divine beast and, moreover, a Fiery-eyed Aquatic Monkey or something. The secret books he has read talked about some divine beasts too, but none of them was a so-called Fiery-eyed Aquatic Monkey. However, he basically does not doubt Uncle Lan’s words.

“Kaka, I’m a one-of-a-kind divine beast, but Master doesn’t let me leave the valley. He said my power is too weak, humph, humph.” Hou Fei on one side says with pretended annoyance.

Qin Yu’s heart, however, skips a beat.

His power is too weak? Not even a middle Yuanying-stage divine beast is allowed to leave the valley? This Uncle Lan really demands too much of his disciple. After all, divine beasts cannot be judged by their power levels. Generally, they are at least 10 times stronger than other experts of the same power levels as theirs.

A middle Yuanying-stage divine beast can compare with a normal Dongxu-stage Xiuyaoist. 

……

Qin Yu and Uncle Lan talk to each other in the courtyard of this bamboo house for a long time. Somehow this Uncle Lan seems very interested in him. Instead of chatting to Hou Fei, an expert and also his own disciple, he chats to Qin Yu for more than a half day.

Hou Fei is forced to call Qin Yu ‘big brother’, just like how he was forced to call Miss Li’er ‘big sister’ in the past.

……

Now Qin Yu is in his room. Earlier, he requested Uncle Lan not to let anyone come into his room so that he would be able to practice. Without saying a word, Uncle Lan set up a restrictive spell that surrounded the room completely. However, it did not affect Qin Yu’s entering and leaving the room at all. “I’m very weak when compared to Hou Fei, not to mention when compared to Uncle Lan.” Having become aware of the gap between them, he decides to refine the blood-red aquatic python’s yuanying.

His holy sense goes into his spatial ring. There is a huge carcass of a blood-red aquatic python in the immense space of the ring. He gives it a thought and a vague mass of a purple light appears in the palm of his hand.

There is a yuanying in the middle of the purple light. Because its owner’s soul has disappeared, now this yuanying is like an energy crystal.

Qin Yu sits down with legs crossed. The yuanying is floating in front of him. His indistinct stellar energy rushes forth and forms a maelstrom-like nebula around his body. At the same time, a stream of his Stellar Flame enfolds the yuanying and begins to gradually melt it and get rid of the impurities. The energy of the yuanying then starts to move according to the rotation of the maelstrom of stellar energy …

NOTE: 

Li’er’s name is pronounced similarly to Lee-er, and not Liar.

B5C16: Courting Disaster

After refining the energy by burning up the impurities, Qin Yu absorbs the life essence that is left in the end. The yuanying of an early Xiuyaoist, and moreover, one whose true form was a blood-red aquatic python, has much more energy than the yuanying of a human of the same power level.

In his dantian,

The various silvery grains have become very big in size. With each of them moving around in a circle, they constitute a huge maelstrom. In the center of the maelstrom is a blue flame — the Stellar Flame. As time passes, the silvery grains become larger and larger.

Clack!

Suddenly, a silvery grain splits in two. Following this, the other silver grains in Qin Yu’s body all break in half as well. In just a while, the number of silvery grains inside him has doubled. Now, his dantian his thickly dotted with silvery grains, which form a dense maelstrom together. 

Late Nebula stage!

The higher the risk, the higher the potential return.

Qin Yu arrived in the underwater world of Xiuzhenists less than a year ago, but he has finally made another breakthrough in power, reaching the late Nebula stage. At the moment, the energy inside Qin Yu is much purer and stronger than it was previously. His overall power thus has improved a lot.

However, even though he has reached the late phase of the Nebula stage, he has only consumed more than half of the yuanying’s energy. Therefore, he keeps absorbing … Time goes by. After spending 9 whole days, Qin Yu has eventually refined all of the yuanying.

He opens his eyes, which have a hint of joy in them at the moment. “If I ran into that blood-red aquatic python again now, it shouldn’t be so hard to handle him.” He is totally confident.

In the past, the creator of the Stellar Transformations, Lei Wei, was able to single-handedly kill 1 Dacheng stage expert in addition to several loose immortals and several tens Dujie stage and Kongming stage experts when he was only at the middle phase of the Dujie stage and had yet to undergo his tribulation.

Basically, users of this technique can even kill people who are a few levels above them in power.

The Stellar Transformations is different from the other Xiuzhen techniques, in which it is not impossible to overcome the gap between 2 successive stages despite it being relatively great. Each stage of the Stellar Transformations is essentially different from the previous.

At the Nebula stage, the user’s stellar energy is still in its most common form. To reach the Meteor stage, he will have to refine all of his silvery grains and merge them into a single golden particle of essence. Because this golden particle of essence, which is called a Meteor, is formed by refining all of the silvery grains, its energy is on a completely different level from Qin Yu’s current stellar energy.

“Now I’m already at the late Nebula stage, dealing with ordinary early Yuanying opponents is no longer a problem. It’s still hard to handle top demonic beasts like that blood-red aquatic python but I can manage it. When I reach the early Meteor stage, perhaps I can even handle early Dongxu opponents directly.”

Qin Yu knows his practice technique very well. Once reaching the Meteor stage, he can definitely be considered a humanoid divine beast among Xiuzhenists with equivalent power levels!

Too bad, to reach the early Meteor stage from the late Nebula stage, even if he absorbs demonic beasts’ yuanyings, he will need at least 8 or 9 pieces, and if he only practices by himself, it will take him about several hundred years to succeed. “Oh, this blood-red aquatic python’s storage bracelet is pretty good.”

A storage bracelet appears in Qin Yu’s hand. It is none other than Cha Ge’s bracelet. As Cha Ge died, this bracelet also became ownerless. Qin Yu’s holy sense immediately enters the bracelet and begins to examine everything.

“Tut-tut, this blood-red aquatic python is really wealthy.”

This bracelet’s space is fairly large, being about 20 m in both length and width. There are a large pile of nothing but normal gold, a 0.5 m high small pile of purple gold beside it, and some other minerals in the bracelet at the moment.

Normal gold is mundane but purple gold can be forged into flying swords. Generally, no more than 2 to 3 jin purple gold can be obtained from refining 1000 jin normal gold. A flying sword that is forged from purple gold alone is only a low-grade holy weapon. But purple gold works best as a supplement. Melting it then carving written talismans or seals into a flying sword with the molten purple gold will produce excellent results. One should know that molten purple gold is a top-grade material for making written talismans and seals.

As for the other minerals in the bracelet, except for a few good enough to be made into middle-grade holy weapons, they can only be used to forge low-grade ones.

“Oh, authority card?”

Qin Yu discovers an authority card in a corner of the storage bracelet. He gives it a thought and it immediately appears in his palm. This authority card is black and has 2 words Blood- red written on it. Qin Yu’s complexion immediately changes as he sees the words.

“A Blood-red Black Card, only the 3 cave leaders have this kind of card.” His face goes pale in the blink of an eye. The Blood-red Cave controls an area of 8 million li in radius. It has a cave master and 2 vice masters. These 3 leaders each have a Blood-red Black Card while the 13 guardians’ authority cards are Blood-red Crimson Cards.

In this area, only the 3 cave leaders are given a Blood-red Black Card each, then who was the python that he killed?

“Could it be … that blood-red aquatic python was a legendary cave leader?” Qin Yu is discomposed. While chasing him, Cha Ge transformed in to a huge blood-red aquatic python, but it should be known that pythons are a relatively big clan in the ocean.

Therefore, he did not connect the blood-red aquatic python with a cave leader.

“Right, that fella said he could order Sang Mo.” As Qin Yu recalls that sentence Cha Ge said, he is even more certain about his conjecture. It is highly possible that he has killed a vice master of the Blood-red Cave. It has never crossed his mind that the blood-red aquatic python might have been the cave master. According to his memories, the cave master can be considered invincible in this area, so how could he possibly have killed someone like that?

“This is … a transmitter?” Qin Yu finds a transmitter in the bracelet. Thanks to having used the Soul Examination previously, he has also got a rough idea of transmitters and other matters related to the Blood-red Cave. When he scans the transmitter with his holy sense, his face changes color in an instant.

“Vice  master,  you  should’ve  killed  that  Xiuxianist,  right? Congratulations! My Thunder Hammer is waiting for you to take it.”

“What’s  the  matter,  vice  master?  You  haven’t  killed  that Xiuxianist yet?”

“Xiuxianist, is that transmitter in your hands? I’m surprised that you was able to kill vice master. Oh my, you’ve really got some power. Ha-ha … but now, even without me offering a reward, you should just prepare to suffer cave master’s furious anger. By killing vice master, you basically signed your own death warrant.”

3 holy-sense-based messages have just been sent to the transmitter in his hand.

As soon as Qin Yu takes a look, his heart trembles. Just as he expected, the blood-red aquatic python he killed was none other than a vice master of the Blood-red Cave.

He has courted danger!

A grave danger!

Within 8 million li of this place, the Blood-red Cave is like a dictator. Even worse, according to the information he got from using the Soul Examination, the cave master, the most fearsome figure in the Blood-red Cave, is undoubtedly someone of peerless power in this area. Qin Yu is rather confused for the moment. How can the Blood-red Cave’s master possibly let the matter rest when he has already killed a vice master?

“Now there’s only one solution.” His eyes flash with a hint of fierceness. If he wants to go through the underwater Xiuyao world safely, he must grasp how to use the Xiumo Secret Skill Northern Darkness. Only by suppressing his aura completely can he make it impossible for Xiuyaoists to figure out that he is human.

He will suppress his aura first then change his appearance, and even the air about him!

Changing the air about him is the most important. Once it is changed, even Sang Mo will not necessarily be able to tell that he is the Xiuxianist. If Qin Yu wants to change the air about him, he will have to do 2 things — change his mannerisms and learn the Northern Darkness.

Once he has learnt the Northern Darkness, his body will suck his aura in like a black hole, looking very oppressive. Obviously when the air about him, his appearance and his clothes have been altered, Sang Mo will basically be unable to recognize him.

“Learning the Xiumo Secret Skill Northern Darkness is the most important thing to do.” Qin Yu makes up his mind. He must practice until mastering the Northern Darkness, not only to avoid this manhunt for him, but also to prepare for the future.

However, after 3 days of practicing, he has to admit that successfully learning the Northern Darkness is not something that can be done in a short period of time at all.

“Kaka, a bunch of idiots, you’re too weak, too weak!”  An arrogant, wild voice rises outside. Hearing it, Qin Yu cannot help but give a smile. It is obvious that the voice’s owner is the Fiery-eyed Aquatic Monkey Hou Fei. He immediately leaves his room and goes outside the bamboo house.

He has been at this place for quite some time, but he has yet to observe it carefully. The bamboo house is located in a ravine inside a valley deep in the ocean. This ravine itself is camouflaged by natural barriers and, moreover, Uncle Lan has set up restrictive spells at its opening so it is practically impossible for outsiders to enter.

The scenery inside the valley is very beautiful with all kinds of multicolored fish, lustrous green crystal trees, purple lingzhi mushrooms, some luminous silvery-shelled shrimps and huge black turtles that are 7 to 8 m long.

One thing is for sure, this ravine is very beautiful. At the moment, Hou Fei is brandishing a black stick fighting against 3 Xiuyaoists in a place of the ravine.

Bang!

A man who is holding 2 daggers and wearing a suit of armor is sent flying by Hou Fei with a blow of the stick.

Hou Fei’s stick then instantly turns into 3 blurs. A thin man who is wielding 2 sharp, long spears in his hands can only block 2 blurs in time with his spears. The remaining blur of the stick smashes straight down on this man, sending him flying.

“Kaka, go!”

Right after the stick has been brought down, Hou Fei gently stretches his leg and a fat man with a turtle shell on his back is kicked away at once.

Fighting one-on-three, Hou Fei has won with ease.

“Kaka … you’re really useless. Use some power, will you? Let’s fight again. Let’s fight again.” Hou Fei says to the 3 Xiuyaoists while waving his black stick, his fiery eyes glittering with a warlike look.

“Boss, you’re awesome. We give up. We give up,”  says the armor-clad man with 2 daggers hurriedly. On one side, the thin man with 2 long spears, who has just dragged himself up, also says hurriedly: “Boss, you’re invincible. Please don’t fight us.” As for the big fat man with a turtle shell on his back, he is blinking his pitiful tiny eyes.

Suddenly, that fat man’s tiny eyes move. Seeing Qin Yu approaching,  he  hurriedly  says:  “Boss,  someone’s  coming. Judging from his imposing manner and the mighty air about him, I think he’s definitely an expert. Perhaps only you can fight him.”

With a wave of his black stick, Hou Fei turns around.

“Big brother.”  His eyes brighten and are filled with fighting spirit. “Big brother, come have a bout with me.”  After saying so, without waiting to see whether or not Qin Yu agrees, he brandishes the black stick and rushes at him extremely fast.

Qin Yu has not fought since arriving here so he is also itching for a fight.

Seeing the black stick being thrust at him, his eyes brighten. In an instant, the Flaming Gloves appear on his hands. He catches the black stick with a single-handed grab. Feeling that the stick is carrying a terrifying force, he immediately lets go of it, moves his arm around it like a snake, forms a finger sword with the hand and delivers a thrust to Hou Fei’s palm.

Bang!

A loud metallic noise is heard. Qin Yu only feels as if his finger sword has hit diamond. He cannot help getting astonished. He is wearing the Flaming Gloves, no less, but his attack unexpectedly could not even injure Hou Fei’s hand. Hou Fei’s defense is really a bit too frightening already.

“Kaka, this is awesome. If only you could be a bit stronger.”

Very excited, Hou Fei slightly shakes his hand. In an instant, the black stick turns into a blur and smashes towards Qin Yu. When he is about to dodge it, Hou Fei slightly tightens his fingers around the black stick. And while coming down, the stick unexpectedly begins to vibrate hurriedly and move in a very strange path too. Concurrently with this, a faint complacent smile appears on the corners of Hou Fei’s mouth. “Awesome.”

When Qin Yu sees such a brilliant strike, his heart becomes excited. He moves his arms so fast that their blurs look like a blossoming lotus. His fingers gently touch the stick in quick succession. After the stick is touched several times, its path of travel is affected. Qin Yu suddenly grabs the black stick with both hands.

“Let go!”

He gives a violent pull and throws a kick at Hou Fei’s right hand, which is holding the black stick, using his right leg simultaneously.

Bang!

Qin Yu’s foot lands heavily on Hou Fei’s right hand, but he seems to feel nothing. He grins at Qin Yu, exposing his white teeth. Then he slightly moves his right arm, sending a powerful hidden force through the stick to Qin Yu’s hands. 

Qin Yu’s entire body backs away. That hidden force unexpectedly has numbed his hands. One should know that he is wearing the Flaming Gloves.

Looking at Hou Fei, Qin Yu cannot help but admit inwardly that he is too powerful.

Hou Fei is a middle Yuanying stage divine beast, no less! He is about as powerful as the divine beasts Dragon Rocky lion and Hong Luan that Qin Yu encountered before and is comparable to ordinary Dongxu stage Xiuzhenists. The gap between the 2 of them is indeed so great that Qin Yu could not even breach his defense.

“Ah, sis Li’er, Xiaoyu’er was bitten by a shark outside the ravine. Quickly save it.” Following the urgent shouts, a golden beam of light flashes right pass Qin Yu and Hou Fei to come into the bamboo house.

Qin Yu and the others also run into the house. Only when the golden light stops can he see clearly that it is a pretty little girl with a golden fish scale on the midpoint between her eyebrows. At the moment she is holding a purple fish, whose stomach has been bitten through. Obviously this fish is on the verge of death.

A blue silhouette immediately appears in the courtyard of the house. It is none other than Miss Li’er.

“Xiao Jin, it’s not serious so don’t worry. Yan Zi, why did you go outside the ravine? Who let you fight that soon-to-reach- the-Jindan-stage shark?” Miss Li’er says smilingly then reaches out her right hand and touches the fish’s wound. In an instant, a green light appears all around her body.

Being enfolded in the green light, Miss Li’er looks so elegant and pure.

As Qin Yu watches her curing the fish, he suddenly feels that she is most charming when she cures someone else. A tinge of affection for her even appears at the bottom of his heart. He cannot help shaking his head with an unconcerned smile.

B5C17: Reunion

Being enveloped in the green light, the wound on that purple fish’s body recovers noticeably fast. In just a while, it has become perfectly healthy again. The amazing thing is it seems to never have been injured.

“Sis Li’er is so awesome,” says the little girl with a golden fish scale between her eyebrows in excitement.

Having regained its vitality, the purple fish also swims around Miss Li’er in an exalted manner. She looks at it tenderly and criticizes: “Yan Zi, now you should know how formidable that shark is, right? Later don’t show off again.”

The purple fish moves its small eyes around while flapping its tail nonstop like a clingy child.

Miss Li’er gives a smile. Afterwards, she turns to Qin Yu, slightly stupefied, but then she immediately says smilingly: “Mister Liu Xing, why are you staring at me? Could there be some mark on my face?” There is a hint of humor in her tone. 

“Ah.” Qin Yu is startled. He then sorts himself out a bit and says: “Miss Li’er, it’s just that when I saw you giving treatment a moment ago, I was really amazed. That green energy seems to have very unusual properties. It’s unexpectedly so effective

in healing wounds.”

He secretly lets out a sigh of relief and cannot help admiring himself for being able to think up an answer in an instant.

Miss Li’er says with a relaxed smile: “This green energy is actually a special skill of my clan. Outsiders cannot learn it. It’s indeed exceptionally effective in treating bodily injuries. As long as the patient is still alive, it can always heal them back to health.”

“Oh, it’s really marvelous.” Qin Yu hurriedly says.

With a smile, Miss Li’er then turns around and goes back to her own room. Qin Yu smiles derisively to himself. Just now he was unexpectedly captivated by her manner when giving treatment and almost made a fool of himself, but luckily he was able to react quickly.

“Hey, big brother Qin Yu, have another bout with me, okay?” Hou Fei says laughingly while brandishing his black stick.

At the moment Qin Yu is in no mood to fight Hou Fei. Moreover, if he sparred with this middle Yuanying stage divine beast, would he not be seeking a beating for himself? Even though he likes fighting, he does not want to get beaten up.

……

Time flies. In the blink of an eye, Qin Yu has been staying in the ravine for a half month. During this half month, he has occasionally sparred with Hou Fei when he became thirsty for a fight, but he has spent most of his time practicing the Stellar Transformations and the Xiumo secret technique Northern Darkness.

There is also an activity he has enjoyed in his leisure time — listening to the zither. 

He cannot help admitting that one must be extremely fortunate to be able to hear Miss Li’er’s music even once. He has been able to listen to her music for so long simply because Uncle Lan and Miss Li’er have been too nice to him. According to Hou Fei, not even Hou Fei is allowed to live in this bamboo house.

Hou Fei does not understand why an outsider like him can stay in the house either.

Qin Yu himself feels that Uncle Lan has treated him pretty well and Miss Li’er has been very nice to him. Of course, the latter is very nice to all demonic beasts in the ravine too so her niceness towards him does not necessarily mean anything. But Uncle Lan is different as he treats the demonic beasts in a very strict and serious manner.

“Not even a middle Yuanying divine beast can live inside, but they allow me to. Could it be … because I’m also human?” After pondering over this matter, he can only come up with this answer. In fact, there is another answer at the bottom of his heart, but he does not think that Uncle Lan and Miss Li’er’s intention is so terrible.

This answer is … they want to steal his Meteoric Tear.

Qin Yu still does not know when he was saved and brought to this place and how much his injuries had healed when that Miss Li’er saw him. If Miss Li’er knows that he suffered fatal injuries, she can definitely figure out that he possesses some treasure based on the fact that he has now fully recovered.

Even though other people cannot detect the Meteoric Tear because it already fused with his body, they can still guess that there is some treasure in his possession.

“Hopefully Miss Li’er and Uncle Lan are so nice to me not because of the Meteoric Tear.” At the bottom of his heart, Qin Yu is still ice-cold and resolute. There is abundant resolution in the blood of every man of the Qin clan. And Qin Yu, who has lived alone since he was a kid and could almost never experience his mother’s love, has become even more tough- minded, and also even manlier! 

At the bottom of his heart, he has always been on guard against these 2 mysterious Xiuxianists.

He takes a deep breath then slowly exhales. After concealing that thought at the depths of his heart, he immediately calms himself down and starts to practice the Xiumo secret technique Northern Darkness again. This technique is his top priority for the moment.

Even if he can flee to a Xiuxian island, if that Blood-red Cave’s master Cha Hong chases to this island, he will still not be able to escape death.

There are a few reasons why that will be the case. Firstly, underwater Xiuyaoists are far superior to Xiuxianists and Xiumoists in terms of overall power, so, what ordinary Xiuxian schools will dare to oppose someone who controls an 8 million li radius area like Cha Hong?

Secondly, even if he can come into a Xiuxian island, the islanders will not necessarily accept him. Moreover, facing Cha Hong, how will those Xiuxianists dare to offend Cha Hong to save him?

The conclusion from these 2 points is that he must learn the Northern Darkness. There is no other way since he has infuriated Cha Hong by killing Cha Ge.

……

The space inside Qin Yu’s head is like a boundless misty area. His spiritual energy, nonphysical, is floating in it. Qin Yu can feel his spiritual energy. The outermost 10% of it is under his control and therefore is totally stable.

However, the rest of his spiritual energy is a total mess. It either forms maelstroms, or flows extremely fast, or crashes into itself. His soul, which is in the shape of a disc, is in the center of the area. Various electric sparks are zigzagging and flashing around the soul.

An extremely weak thread of stellar energy flows into his head. 

Qin Yu did not dare to channel too much stellar energy into his head because, after all, the more energy, the harder to control. Therefore, he tried his best to use as little stellar energy as possible, drawing out only a single thread of it. However, even though this is only a thread of stellar energy, he still cannot combine it with spiritual energy.

Experimenting again and again.

6 hours has passed very quickly. Qin Yu does not even know how many times he has been experimenting over the last 6 hours. He has failed continuously, as if he has been threading a needle. After 6 straight hours of repeated failures, even someone good-tempered like Qin Yu is annoyed.

Actually, this is also a method to train his mind.

“I’ve failed again. It’s been a half month, when will I be able to succeed in learning this Northern Darkness? Could it be unless I can succeed, I’ll have to shrink back like a turtle all the time?” There is a hint of anger in his eyes at the moment. 

Why did he leave the Qian Long continent? Can the reason possibly be anything other than to walk the endless path of practice? He wants to roam the Xiuzhen world openly in an impressive manner, and not to go into hiding to avoid the enemies.

Ting —

Zither strings vibrate. Zither music rises.

Miss Li’er has begun to play her zither again. Hearing these sounds, Qin Yu brushes aside his anger at being unable to learn the Northern Darkness and closes his eyes to calmly enjoy the soul-moving music. When it has stopped, he is still immersing himself in the afterglow of listening to it.

“Liu Xing.” Uncle Lan strides up to Qin Yu. Seeing Qin Yu acting in this way, he immediately laughs out loud: “Oh my, Li’er’s music has bewitched you like this. You really are …” “Uncle Lan, only Miss Li’er’s music can enthrall me like that. I won’t be entranced by ordinary zither masters.” Qin Yu says smilingly.

Uncle Lan’s eyes brighten: “Oh … other zitherists can’t bewitch you? I see, so you’re only fascinated by Miss Li’er’s music. Tell me sincerely, son, are you interested in Li’er?” He says jokingly.

“That’s ridiculous.” Qin Yu however does not tense up.

Uncle Lan smiles: “I’m just kidding. Don’t take it seriously, son.”

Qin Yu pouts with a smile but does not answer. Uncle Lan’s expression suddenly becomes solemn: “Liu Xing, you and I have chatted a lot during this period of time so you should know what kind of person I am, right?” It is rare to see him get serious like this.

Seeing Uncle Lan like this, Qin Yu also becomes serious, saying with a nod: “Uncle Lan, if you have any matter, please tell me everything about it.”

Uncle Lan says warningly: “I’m warning you, Liu Xing. You absolutely mustn’t hope for a relationship with Li’er. You’d best not like her. Otherwise … not only will you suffer for the rest of your life, you will also possibly die anytime.”

Qin Yu is startled.

He then bursts out laughing: “What were you saying, Uncle Lan? You must be joking.”

But there is not a trace of a smile on Uncle Lan’s face: “I’m not joking. To be honest, you have a very bright future ahead of you. No one in the entire Xiuyao world will be able to keep up with you, but let me tell you one thing, if you like Li’er, you’ll be hopeless no matter how capable you are. In fact, I don’t have to warn you about this, but I really don’t want to see you get destroyed.”

Qin Yu is baffled. 

“All right, I’m being meddlesome, but you best remember what I’ve said today. It’s also my advice for you.” Uncle Lan says while staring at Qin Yu.

Qin Yu feels his heart tremble for a while.

What Uncle Lan said just now is really shocking. At first he said that Qin Yu was very promising and that nobody in this entire Xiuyao world would be able to keep up with Qin Yu. Who does Uncle Lan think he himself is? Can he really judge people so accurately?

“I already remember, Uncle Lan.” Qin Yu says smilingly.

However, both Uncle Lan and Qin Yu cannot make sure that nothing will happen because it is basically impossible to control affection. Once it surges up in the heat of a certain moment, it will become unstoppable. “All right, you should put a lot of effort into practicing.” Uncle Lan pats his shoulder then leaves.

As he is going away, Qin Yu watches his back thoughtfully.

What is the actual reason why this Uncle Lan said those words? It seems if he likes Miss Li’er, he will likely be destroyed. Is there such a sure thing? Judging from Uncle Lan’s and Miss Li’er’s behaviors, it is obvious that they belong to a certain special clan.

“Ha-ha, perhaps Uncle Lan and Miss Li’er are from a very formidable clan. But … if I like someone, even immortals won’t be able to stop me, let alone their clan or something. Also, I haven’t liked anyone yet.”

Qin Yu gives an unconcerned smile. He has never been a fearful, submissive person.

No one has ever been able to intimidate him with force. Even though he is going to have to deal with opponents stronger than him like the Blood-red Cave’s master Cha Hong, he is only staying here to practice in the dark. When he can conceal his identity, he will reappear without delay. Qin Yu is fearless, but he is not an idiot who is unafraid of throwing his life away.

……

“My arm is broken. It was broken by Boss Hou.” The man who uses 2 daggers and a suit of armor says with an agonized look on his face. His arm is bending at a strange angle. Obviously a normal arm cannot bend like that.

Hou Fei gives him a glare with his fiery eyes, growling: “Heh heh ~~~ you’ve even dared to complain to sis Li’er. Do you want me to smash your shrimp shell to pieces?!”

“Fei Fei, don’t be noisy.”

Miss Li’er, who has changed into white clothes, shouts at Hou Fei. The latter immediately lowers his head and stops saying, looking as if he has admitted his mistakes. Miss Li’er laughs playfully then turns to the man with the broken arm. She reaches out a hand, touching the broken place. 

When Qin Yu walks into the courtyard, his eyes cannot help brightening.

Miss Li’er is being engulfed in a green light. Her face looks so pure. Her skin is glowing like jade and radiating various green rays of light. As Qin Yu watches her healing that arm, he is rather touched from the bottom of his heart.

Qin Yu has never experienced maternal love so he has been very tough-minded since he was little. Only his father’s love has been able to enter the depths of his heart. However, at the moment, Miss Li’er’s motherly radiance has also slightly touched his heart.

He sobers up in the blink of an eye.

“I’m warning you, Liu Xing. You absolutely mustn’t hope for a relationship with Li’er. You’d best not like her. Otherwise …” The warning Uncle Lan gave him not long ago rises in his mind again. He immediately gets out of that state of feeling touched. “All right, later you shouldn’t fight Fei Fei again. If you fight him, you’ll only hurt yourself.” Miss Li’er advises.

That man’s injury has now recovered completely. He says with frustration: “Fight him? Do you think I wanted to fight him? It’s just that Boss Hou … Ah, to me, it’s an honor to be able to spar with Boss Hou. I’m very happy and excited.” Seeing the look in Hou Fei’s eyes, he shifts his ground instantly.

Miss Li’er gives a smile. When turning around, she sees Qin Yu on one side.

“How are you, Mister Liu Xing?”

Qin Yu also says very politely: “How are you, Miss Li’er? I never thought that I would be able to see your special healing technique again. It’s really wondrous.” Suddenly, a hint of happiness appears on his face as he can feel clearly that Xiao Hei is rushing in his direction extremely fast.

“Mister Liu Xing, you seem to be delighted with something?” Miss Li’er asks curiously. 

Qin Yu says in excitement with a nod: “My brother Xiao Hei is hurrying to this place. Perhaps he can arrive in just a few days.”

“Oh, congratulations, Mister Liu Xing. When your brother has arrived, please let me know about that. There are restrictive spells outside this ravine so it’s very difficult for outsiders to enter when they aren’t guided by someone inside.” Miss Li’er says with a smile.

“Then I’ll have to bother you, Miss Li’er.” Qin Yu says with a nod while smiling.

Miss Li’er smiles: “Mister Liu Xing, since you’re busy, I’m returning to my room first.” After saying, she gracefully turns around and goes back to her room at once.

Qin Yu watches her enter the room from behind, gives a smile then turns around and goes back to his room to continue practicing. He practices the Stellar Transformations and the Xiumo Secret Skill Northern Darkness every day and has never slacked off.

After several days,

Qin Yu feels clearly that Xiao Hei has come very close to him, even within 100 li of him. However, Xiao Hei suddenly stops. Qin Yu knows that Xiao Hei is being blocked by the restrictive spells outside the ravine. He immediately stands up and gets ready to ask Miss Li’er help him.

B5C18: Departure

When Qin Yu leaves his room, he is surprised to see that Miss Li’er has already gone into the middle of the courtyard from her room. As soon as she sees him, she says with a smile: “Mister Liu Xing, I already know that your brother has arrived. Let’s go now.”

Qin Yu smilingly goes next to Miss Li’er. Side by side, the 2 of them hurry straight to the entrance of the ravine.

Li’er’s long hair is flowing. Qin Yu can even smell the alluring scent of her beautiful hair. A faint smile appears on the corners of his mouth.

As he comes near the entrance, his heart is filled with excitement because he is about to meet Xiao Hei again.

Qin Yu and Miss Li’er thus go out of the entrance directly with ease. He does not see any restrictive spells. However, if he turns around to take a look, he will be amazed to see that the mouth of the cave has become a wall of rock like the other places. This is just an illusionary technique. 

But it is so extraordinarily profound that not even Xiao Hei can see through it.

Seeing Xiao Hei, who is not far from him and is unable to find the way, Qin Yu’s eyes immediately brighten. Since separating due to being chased by Sang Mo last time, it has been impossible for him to reunite with Xiao Hei. Some time ago, he and Xiao Hei were about to meet each other again, but then they encountered Cha Ge and Cha Po before they were able to.

“Xiao Hei!”

Qin Yu calls in a slightly quivering voice.

Xiao Hei suddenly turns around. Seeing Qin Yu, he immediately lets out a resounding eagle cry in excitement. The cry even frightens off the shoals of fish in his surroundings. “Big brother.” Xiao Hei’s excited voice rises in Qin Yu’s mind. Qin Yu rushes very fast to Xiao Hei’s side and hugs him. Xiao Hei also wraps his wings around Qin Yu.

Standing on one side, Miss Li’er gives a faint smile too.

“You’ve changed, Xiao Hei. Compared to the past, you’ve got thinner by half. Even your aura has changed. What’s happened to you?” Only now does Qin Yu notice Xiao Hei’s astonishing changes. If not for the telepathy between them, he would not have been able to be so sure.

Xiao Hei has become much thinner, his aura has become very oppressive and fierce, and his eyes have become even sharper and colder than before.

“Big brother, after reaching the late Jindan stage, I prepared to go kill Sang Mo. Even though it’d be dangerous, I’d used a forbidden technique to transform my body so in theory it’d be easy for me to handle a an early Yuanying expert. Who could’ve thought that when I was about to meet you again that day, I ran into a big python. It was much stronger than Sang Mo. I estimate that it must’ve reached the middle Yuanying stage at least.” Xiao Hei is very angry. 

“Forbidden technique?” Qin Yu is startled.

Xiao Hei says via his holy sense: “It’s a secret technique in my memories. After I started using it, my entire body went through drastic and thorough transformations. Even though my power level is still the same, my offense has improved a lot.”

Because Xiao Hei has reached the late Jindan stage, even if he had not used that forbidden technique, he would still be able to deal with early Yuanying stage experts. And now that he has used that technique, he can even hold his own against most middle Yuanying stage experts.

However, that day he encountered Cha Po, who is not only at the middle Yuanying stage, but also a blood-red aquatic python. Blood-red aquatic pythons are a top-class species of demonic beast and second only to divine beasts. A middle Yuanying stage blood-red aquatic python is much more formidable than a Xiuxianist of the same power level. Even so, Xiao Hei was only put at a slight disadvantage at that time. When he eventually fled, Cha Po chased him for a long time without being able to catch up with him. Afterwards, due to an order by his big brother, Cha Po had no choice but to return to the Blood-red Cave.

“Then why haven’t you come to my place until now?” Qin Yu asks doubtfully.

Given Xiao Hei’s speed, he should have been able to find this location very quickly.

Xiao Hei says through holy sense communication: “Big brother, after escaping from that blood-red aquatic python, I wanted to go kill Sang Mo, but then I learned that the Blood- red Cave had launched a full-scale hunt for you in its entire territory. That Sang Mo and 2 other early Yuanying demonic beasts went to the Blood-red Cave together. Because there were 3 of them, I didn’t dare to attack them.”

When Cha Ge was fighting Qin Yu, he arrogantly told Sang Mo to get the Thunder Hammer ready so, following his death, Sang Mo was able to guess that Qin Yu had killed him and immediately reported this to Cha Hong.

A furious Cha Hong then ordered Sang Mo to hurry to the Blood-red Cave. Sang Mo was not alone in this. Even the other guardians who were outside at that time had to rush to the Blood-red Cave as well. Therefore he went to the Blood-red Cave together with 2 other guardians.

Xiao Hei ran a long distance in vain and had no choice but to go back to find Qin Yu. The distance he covered during this round trip amounts to over 1 million li.

“Big brother, you can’t go out for the moment. They are all hunting for you outside,” warns Xiao Hei.

Qin Yu slightly nods. Right after knowing that he had killed a vice master of the Blood-red Cave, he already predicted this. One should know that Sang Mo’s reward offer and the Blood- red Cave’s hunt are 2 totally different things. Sang Mo’s reward can only tempt Xiuyaoists into looking for him. But the Blood-red Cave has forcefully ordered all Xiuyaoists within 8 million li of it to hunt for him. None of them dares to disobey this order because the Blood-red Cave is the ruler of this 8 million li radius area!

……

After going back into the ravine, Xiao Hei and Qin Yu stay in the same room. But Hou Fei is the one most excited by the arrival of Xiao Hei because they often spar with each other. Moreover, when Xiao Hei uses his various astonishing techniques, Hou Fei can only defeat him by putting in some effort.

A month passes in peace.

Today, Qin Yu and Xiao Hei are talking to each other in the courtyard.

“Big brother, this ravine is too easy and comfortable. I’ll go out to wander for a while first.” Xiao Hei considers for a long time then finally mentions his plan. 

Qin Yu is startled, but he understands at once.

Xiao Hei is an eagle, and like every other eagle, he wants to soar into the sky. Even though he has been staying in this ravine for a month due to his relationship with Qin Yu, in his heart, he still looks forward to the bloodshed, fighting and so on outside the ravine the most.

“That’s fine, Xiao Hei.” Qin Yu says smilingly.

Xiao Hei blinks his eyes. He really rather hates to part with Qin Yu.

“Big brother … why don’t you go with me to have some fun?” He tries to persuade Qin Yu. “Given your power, you’ll be able to hold your own against even middle Yuanying demonic beasts. It’s said that there are only very few demonic beasts that have surpassed the middle Yuanying stage in the whole territory of the Blood-red Cave. With just a little carefulness, we won’t run into them.” When Qin Yu hears Xiao Hei’s suggestion, his interest is naturally aroused.

After all, he likes to feel his blood boiling and intense emotions. The Blood-red Cave does not have many experts so if he and Xiao Hei are a bit careful, nothing bad will happen to them either. As for ordinary Xiuyaoists who pursue him, their jindans and yuanyings will only end up as his nutrition.

“No, there’s no hurry. We better wait until I’ve mastered the Northern Darkness. Don’t worry, I’ll be able to learn it quickly.” Qin Yu however does not agree.

Does he keep staying here really to practice the Northern Darkness?

Xiao Hei leaves afterwards, but things still go on as usual in the ravine. Qin Yu practices the Stellar Transformations and the Xiumo Secret Skill Northern Darkness every day. He keeps failing over and over, but he is not anxious either. Subconsciously, he hopes that he will not succeed in learning the Northern Darkness so that he can keep staying in this ravine with no worries. 

Every day, he practices and listens to Miss Li’er’s zither music.

Occasionally, he can even see her treat some demonic beasts’ injuries. Qin Yu once even wanted to spar with Hou Fei so that after getting injured he would be able to experience her treatment as well.

Of course, he buried that thought at the depths of his mind as soon as it appeared.

3 years has passed in the blink of an eye.

To practitioners, 3 years is really a very short time. During this period, Xiao Hei returned once and stayed in the ravine for a month before leaving again. And not long ago, that little fish Yan Zi has also transformed into a human.

Today, Qin Yu is sitting with legs crossed on his bed, practicing the Northern Darkness again. 

Thanks to the Meteoric Tear’s nourishment over the last 3 years, his soul has become much more powerful than before. Even his spiritual energy’s toughness and flexibility have also become strong. The amount of spiritual energy he can control has now reached an eighth of the total. But there have still been no signs of success when it comes to learning the Northern Darkness.

Suddenly —

Qin Yu’s entire body shakes once. A hint of ecstasy appears on his face.

At the moment, in his mind, a thread of stellar energy has unexpectedly begun to intertwine with a thread of spiritual energy. They are intertwining as if both of them are real substances. It should be known that Qin Yu’s biggest problem has always been that his spiritual energy and stellar energy cannot really come into contact with each other.

He chokes back his excitement and continues to wait. 

As the minutes and seconds go by, those intertwined threads of stellar energy and spiritual energy start to fuse with each other. After an indeterminate period of time, they finally succeed in merging and there are no longer any distinctions between them.

Qin Yu suddenly opens his eyes, shooting out 2 brilliant beams of light.

He has succeeded!

Including the period of time during which he was chased, he has practiced the Northern Darkness for more than 3 years and now he has finally succeeded. The 1st thread of energy that combines stellar energy with spiritual energy has been formed. He has been experimenting every day for 3 years, no less. And experimenting with the Northern Darkness has even become a habit of his.

“This energy combines stellar energy and spiritual energy so let’s call it … spirilar energy.” Even Qin Yu’s breathing becomes somewhat heavy.

This spirilar energy is different from stellar energy and spiritual energy, but there is very little of it at the moment — just a single thread. However, this thread is crucial to learning the Northern Darkness.

Qin Yu closes his eyes and starts to follow the instructions of the Northern Darkness. That thread of spirilar energy then begins to change, forming a written talisman that looks like a strange picture. In an instant, a strange feeling emerges in his mind.

Qin Yu has a feeling that he can totally contain his aura with just a thought. All of this is done through the talisman that was formed from spirilar energy. He can even intensify the sucking force to absorb all of the energies around him, and he will look like a black hole in the eyes of other people at that time.

Slightly controlling the talisman’s spirilar energy, Qin Yu makes his whole body start to swallow the energies in his surroundings, looking like a humanoid black hole. Now the air about him has become very strange. 

“Succeeded.”

He controls the talisman, stopping it from working, and his entire body goes back to the original state.

“Ha-ha  …  I’ve  finally  succeeded.”  His  eyes  glitter,  full  of excitement. This triumph has eventually come after a long time of waiting. With this technique to change the air about him, if he also slightly alters his clothes and appearance, not even Sang Mo will be able to recognize him.

However, Qin Yu’s smile disappears in an instant.

“Since I’ve succeeded, it’s time to leave here. But must I leave here?” He suddenly feels somewhat at a loss. After 3 years, the daily zither music has already become an indispensable part of his life. Miss Li’er’s pure appearance when she healed someone has also been imprinted on his mind. Uncle Lan goes up to him from outside, saying with a smile: “Liu Xing, you’ve unexpectedly been practicing for 9 days straight. Could it be you’ve succeeded?”

9 days?

Qin Yu is startled in his heart. He did not expect that it had taken him 9 days to combine a thread of stellar energy with a thread of spiritual energy. As for success, of course he has succeeded. Now he can change his aura at will.

“Succeeded? No, it’s just that I’ve made some progress. I still need a period of time to succeed.” Qin Yu says to Uncle Lan.

“Oh.” Uncle Lan gives a smile. “Some progress is good too. 3 years ago, you couldn’t even make any progress. I think you must also want to go to the overseas Xiuzhen world to roam about and make a name for yourself, right?”

Qin Yu has no choice but to nod. “Very good. Try your best.”  Uncle Lan then turns around. But when he has just started to leave, he suddenly stops and looks back at Qin Yu. In an obviously solemn manner, he cautions: “Liu Xing, don’t forget the conversation between us 3 years ago.”

The conversation 3 years ago?

When Qin Yu is still pondering, Uncle Lan has already left the room.

Qin Yu pushes open the window of his room. As it happens, he can see the back rooms through this window. At the moment, Miss Li’er is sitting beside the window of her room with a zither put in front of her. Then, with her entire concentration, she begins to play the zither again.

From Qin Yu’s position, he can only see a side of Miss Li’er’s face.

In the past, every time Miss Li’er played the zither, Qin Yu always listened to the music with eyes closed. He has never carefully observed her state when she is playing the zither like this. Wave after wave of beautiful sounds spreads out from the zither’s strings. And Miss Li’er’s face seems to be radiating various charming rays of light.

At this moment, Qin Yu is somewhat dazzled.

……

Days like this do not last long. A half month later, the tranquility of the ravine is broken because a group of Xiuyaoists has been detected outside the ravine. This group of Xiuyaoists is zealously and carefully searching around. It seems they are hunting for someone.

“Sis Li’er, this is bad. When I was strolling about outside just now, I was questioned by a Xiuyaoist. The Blood-red Cave is currently hunting for a Xiuxianist.” Purple-clad Yan Zi rushes inside while saying loudly and urgently.

Qin Yu frowns in his room. 

He certainly knows that the Blood-red Cave has been hunting for him. However, in the beginning, it only sent a large number of subordinates to carry out a rough sweep using their holy senses. After 2 years, they still could not find him despite having searched the entire territory of the Blood-red Cave with

the holy senses.

Qin Yu originally thought that the Blood-red Cave would give up, but it has unexpectedly ordered Xiuyaoists to search carefully on a large scale, and now they have come close to this place.

Even though that illusionary technique is very profound, no one can be sure that it will not be seen through by someone!

If it is seen through, the Blood-red Cave’s forces will come here, and …

“Don’t worry, Yan Zi, those Xiuyaoists won’t find this place.” Miss Li’er says with a smile. Obviously she is very relaxed. Uncle Lan, who is drinking tea in the courtyard, pays no attention to this either.

“Uncle  Lan,  Miss  Li’er,  I’ve  succeeded  in  practicing  my Northern Darkness technique. I’m about to leave here.” Qin Yu says smilingly while walking out of his room. At the same time, he begins to control that talisman formed from spirilar energy in his head.

In an instant, Qin Yu’s whole body is like a black hole. Not only does it not emit any amount of his aura, it also sucks in all of the energies around him, including holy energy.

Qin Yu’s appearance also starts to change. Even though the changes are very small, they make his entire body look much grimmer. This is the appearance of assassin Liu Xing in the past. He is also dressed in a black robe, which was forged by Lei Wei in Lei Mountain House.

“With this, I believe nobody will recognize me.” He says smilingly while looking at Miss Li’er, Uncle Lan and that little girl Yan Zi.

Now his hair is only 1 cun long. Thanks to the black robe he is wearing and his upper body’s muscles, he looks very handsome and solemn. This coupled with his body’s ability to absorb all the energies around like a black hole gives him an ice-cold air.

“Good,  good!”  Uncle  Lan  looks  at  Qin  Yu  with  a  hint  of approval in his eyes.

Qin Yu gives a smile. He always feels that Uncle Lan is unfathomable and seems able to see through all of his thoughts.

Seeing Qin Yu’s current appearance, Miss Li’er also praises with brightening eyes: “Mister Liu Xing’s secret technique is really very profound. I’m sure no one will be able to recognize you.”

At this moment, a voice rises! 

“Ah, big brother Liu Xing, I want to go with you. Master, please let me go out. Hei Yu is even weaker than me but he is outside at the moment. Please let me go out.” Hou Fei hurriedly rushes up to them while saying nonstop.

He also looks at Qin Yu, urging him unceasingly with his eyes. At the same time, he says via his holy sense: “Big brother Liu Xing, help me please!”

Qin Yu smiles and also says to Uncle Lan: “Uncle Lan, Fei Fei is a divine beast. With his power, nothing in the underwater Xiuyao world will be a danger to him. Plus, if he doesn’t experience hardships, I think he won’t be able to grow up. Please allow him to go out.”

Fei Fei is Hou Fei’s informal name. Only when Qin Yu had become very familiar with Hou Fei after 3 years did he start to call him so intimately.

Hou Fei looks at Uncle Lan pitiably at once. Uncle Lan has no choice but to shake his head with a smile: “All right, since Liu Xing said so, you can go with him. But you must remember, in a noncritical situation, don’t go into berserk mode to fight. Do you understand?” He looks solemnly at Hou Fei.

“Ah, I know.” The latter immediately jumps in excitement.

Hou Fei then holds Qin Yu in a clinch, but this is an enthusiastic embrace: “Thank you, big brother Liu Xing. Let’s go, big brother. I don’t want to stay here anymore.” Hou Fei’s heart has already flown outside the ravine. He is very excited at the moment.

Qin Yu slightly nods. Suddenly he looks at Uncle Lan and Miss Li’er, saying: “Miss Li’er, Uncle Lan, before leaving, I want to tell you that Liu Xing is only my nickname. My real name is

— Qin Yu.”

“Fei Fei, let’s go!” He basically does not want to say anything else and walks out of the bamboo house directly.

“Ha-ha, I’m going out, every demonic beast should prepare to get beaten by me, kaka ~~~” Hou Fei is extremely excited.

Qin Yu does not look back because he does not want to.

“Will I ever return to this place?” He asks himself inwardly, but not even he has an answer. He suddenly gives a smile: “Perhaps I should live a life with a lot of bloodshed, intense emotions, and ups and downs!”

B5C19: Fiery Eyes

After going out of the ravine, Hou Fei is immediately filled with vitality. His fiery eyes look around in excitement. Seeing a huge whale swimming by, he utters a strange cry and reaches out a hand. Various beams of light then cover that whale completely.

The whale begins to shrink extremely fast. In just a while, there is only a layer of skin left.

“Kaka, so much blood essence, it was so uncomfortable in the ravine. I’d be told off even if I killed just a few fish there. It’s really awesome out here, kaka ~~” Hou Fei waves his hands around and scratches his head. Obviously he is extremely excited.

Qin Yu is slightly shocked in his heart. Only extremely rare demonic beasts possess this blood-absorbing technique, but Hou Fei unexpectedly can also use it. He is really worthy of being a divine beast. “Fei Fei, this underwater Xiuyao world is very cruel. Dwellers here can fight each other because of just a rude word. Since divine beasts have astonishing potential, if someone discovers that you’re a divine beast, maybe some experts will kill you

immediately to prevent future troubles. So …”

“I know, big brother. Kaka, I just have to hide my identity, right? He-he.” Hou Fei blinks his fiery eyes and says laughingly.

Qin Yu has been staying in one place with Hou Fei for 3 years so he knows that he is very smart.

“Master already said that later I can’t use berserk mode to fight. I’ll hide my skills a bit more and show only 30% of my power.” After thinking for a while, Hou Fei makes a decision.

Qin Yu has also heard about Hou Fei’s berserk mode. In that state, Hou Fei is extremely frightening. He is already exceptionally outstanding in a normal state, so once he goes into berserk mode, he is simply terrifying!

“Take it.” Qin Yu throws Hou Fei a jade identity card. Having killed quite a few Xiuyaoists, he naturally has quite a few identity cards. This identity card was taken out casually by him. After all, it will be slightly easier to act when each of them has an identity card.

“Kaka, what toy is this?” Hou Fei receives the jade identity card and looks at it from top to bottom.

“Fei Fei, this jade identity card can confirm the holder’s identity. You only need to personalize it by blood then suck it in your body. Other Xiuyaoists can know which powerhouse you belong to. In general, those from the same camp aren’t allowed to fight each other while those from different camps are. And nobody is allowed to kill someone with a Nine Demons identity card. But … these things only apply to ordinary Xiuyaoists.” At the end of his explanation, Qin Yu adds a sentence.

So what if he kills here? He will only have to face being chased by the guards of the Blood-red Cave. Of course, this will only happen if they can find out who the killer is. 

As long as he kills neatly and leaves behind no clues, who can he not kill?

“I understand these rules. They show that a power struggle’s going on between those camps, right? Humph humph, I’ll also occupy a nice place sometime and recruit a bunch of subordinates. I’m going to be the boss myself!” Hou Fei is very wild and arrogant.

Qin Yu gives a smile: “Don’t aim too high. Let’s go. I’ll slowly tell you about the big powerhouses of underwater Xiuyaoists on the way. It’s not so simple to become a boss as you think.”

The 2 of them travel together. Qin Yu explains the power structure in the underwater Xiuyao world to Hou Fei and gives him some necessary basic knowledge en route. Of course, he obtained these pieces of information through using the Soul Examination a few years ago.

“Hey, you two stop. We’re the Blood-red Cave’s guards.” Following a loud shout, a 50 strong group appears in front of Qin Yu and Hou Fei. These 50 Xiuyaoists’ power levels are not bad, but their leader, the most powerful among them, is only at the late Jindan stage, which basically means nothing to Qin Yu

and Hou Fei.

“Kaka, what did you call me for, kid?” Hou Fei gives a strange laugh and stares at the thin leader.

Being stared at by Hou Fei, that leader feels his entire body’s flesh creep. His heart even trembles: “This monkey heard that I’m a guard but he doesn’t care about it at all. Judging from his aura, he must be a Yuanying expert. As for that fella beside him

…” As soon as that thin Xiuyaoist sees Qin Yu, his face immediately goes pale.

With his muscular chest and a rarely seen hairstyle that is only 1 cun long, Qin Yu has a steely air about him. Moreover, his entire body is covered in a black robe, which is flapping, and is absorbing all of the energies around him like a black hole while giving off not the slightest amount of his aura. The thin Xiuyaoist’s heart trembles even more when he sees Qin Yu’s eyes.

“Lordly, frosty and brutal as well!”

The thin Xiuyaoist quickly makes a judgment about Qin Yu’s character. Having been able to become the leader of a squad, he is rather insightful.

“Didn’t you hear your grandpa’s question?” Hou Fei’s strange voice rises again.

The thin Xiuyaoist instantly looks at Hou Fei. A bit terrified by the latter’s stare, he says at once: “Seniors, I am searching for a Xiuxianist according to an order of the Blood-red Cave. This Xiuxianist’s aura is forthright, his body doesn’t have any demonic energy, and his own energy is very hot and pure! If the two of you know something about him, could you please tell this junior?”

This thin Xiuyaoist is very respectful at the moment and even talks about some characteristics of the Xiuxianist. 

A faint smile appears on the corners of Qin Yu’s mouth.

Forthright?

When Qin Yu just went underwater, his aura was really forthright. This coupled with his blazing and pure energy indeed made him very recognizable. However, now that he has succeeded in practicing the Northern Darkness, his aura and the air about him have totally changed to the opposites.

“Hmm … all of you can sod off.” Hou Fei says while waving his hand.

The thin Xiuyaoist is delighted at once. Paying basically no attention to Hou Fei’s disdain, he bows and says: “Then I take my leave.” After saying, he immediately says to his subordinates: “Let’s go search the southern area. Be quick.” He then leads them away. He knows very well that even though there is a rule that forbids Xiuyaoists of the same camp from fighting each other, some just do not care about it.

If the corpses are removed and no traces are left behind, no one will know anything.

“Heh-heh, a bunch of cowards, yet just now they even wanted to taste our flesh.” Hou Fei’s fiery eyes flash with a red light. On one side, Qin Yu gives a smile. Once, when he was chatting with Uncle Lan long ago, Uncle Lan said that this Fiery-eyed Aquatic Monkey is obstinate and unruly by nature, and at the same time, he is innately violent and combative.

“Fei Fei, where’d you think we should go?”

With his eyes glittering, Hou Fei says: “Do you still have to ask? Just now didn’t you say that in the common places within the territory of the Blood-red Cave, Xiuyaoists are scattered everywhere, and only the Blood-red Ridge has a great number of Xiuyaoists? Let’s just go there!” Qin Yu frowns.

The Blood-red Ridge? It is the Blood-red Cave’s headquarters. Half of the Xiuyaoists within 8 million li of this place concentrate here.

Knowing there is a tiger on a mountain, brave people tend to ascend it!

“Good, the Blood-red Ridge, let’s go there.”

Qin Yu’s robe flutters while his eyes shine brilliantly. Hou Fei beside him also lets out a strange cry in excitement. Afterwards, side by side, the 2 of them head for the Blood-red Ridge extremely fast. Qin Yu’s black robe flaps as he goes through the water. His ice-cold eyes then suddenly flash with fierceness.

The Blood-red Ridge? Perhaps not even Sang Mo will be able to identify him when facing him. Moreover, what is there for him to be afraid of? If worst comes to worst, he and Hou Fei will just go on a killing spree in the Blood-red Ridge. As a powerful individual, he must act a bit wild and impulsively. If he went against his heart’s

content, it would be the same as giving up the dangerous path

of practice.

******

The 2 of them travel at extremely high speeds. Qin Yu’s Flaming Sword was originally forged from In-rock Flaming Iron. Later in Lei Mountain House, Qin Yu had to blend a dark- natured crystal and a metallic-natured crystal with it to be able to upgrade it to a high-grade holy weapon.

Qin Yu only needs to give the Flaming Sword a thought, it will turn black immediately and give off a dark aura. He can totally make it turn red and emit flames as well. And he can change its color to gold too.

When riding on a black Flaming Sword, Qin Yu, also robed in black, looks very icy indeed. 

“Kaka, interesting, interesting.” Hou Fei’s fiery eyes unexpectedly shoot a dim red light into the distance. This is the 1st time that he has gone out so he is naturally very excited because he sees many underwater creatures that he has never

seen before.

Suddenly —

“Stop, big brother.” At this moment, the red light shot out from Hou Fei’s fiery eyes becomes much clearer and shines directly on a rock at the bottom of the ocean.

“What are you doing?” Qin Yu stops and looks at Hou Fei. He knows that he must have been told to stop for some reason because Hou Fei also has some special abilities.

Hou Fei bares his teeth, looking very proud of himself: “Big brother, this is one thing you don’t know about. My fiery eyes have a special ability. The more powerful I am, the more formidable they become. Now they can already discover some natural treasures.” Qin Yu’s heart beats faster.

The fiery eyes can discover treasures?

“Kaka, break for me!” Hou Fei reaches out a hand while laughing strangely. His black stick suddenly appears and lengthens at the same time. It hits that rock with a loud noise. The rock is immediately shattered and its fragments are sent flying in all directions. However, there is surprisingly a glowing red pebble in the center of the shattered rock.

Qin Yu makes a sweep with his holy sense.

“It’s unexpectedly a piece of high-grade warm jade. A piece of jade formed inside a rock, this is a good treasure.” He has realized instantly that this kind of high-grade warm jade has quite a few specially good effects, for example, when put on a corpse, it will prevent the corpse from ever decaying. Moreover, if put on the body of a living person, it will calm his mind down, which is extremely useful to practitioners. And it can also be made into talismans and holy weapons.

“How’s that, big brother? Are my fiery eyes formidable?” Hou Fei is very proud of himself.

“They’re really outstanding.” Qin Yu praises. Hou Fei is very strange. He unexpectedly does not want this piece of warm jade, throwing it directly to Qin Yu. Because of this, Qin Yu even thinks that Hou Fei does not like treasures, but as they continue to go forwards on their journey, he gradually realizes that he was wrong.

The distance left between them and the Blood-red Ridge is not long, only more than 800,000 li. Along the way, Hou Fei unexpectedly discovers 7 more treasures, 5 of which he gives to Qin Yu and keeps the other 2 for himself.

Only now does Qin Yu realize that Hou Fei likes some ores that can be forged into weapons but has no interest in precious mushrooms and rare grasses. He does not even like warm jade, gravelly crystals, moonlight yin crystals and so on. 

When Qin Yu and Hou Fei are about to reach the Blood-red Ridge, the master of the Blood-red Cave comes out from a closed-door training session again.

……

In the main hall of the Blood-red Cave,

Sitting in the master seat, Cha Hong has a very unpleasant expression at the moment. He is still unable to open that black jade case and that most basic Dust Removing Seal alone has taken him over 100 years. He has just left that secret room.

It will take him about another year to open the case.

When he went through closed-door training in the past, his mind was calm because he knew that there was still a long way to go. But now, when he has reached the final juncture, he becomes worried about gain and loss. Sometimes he is afraid that the 3 superpowers, Nine Demons Hall, Azure Dragon Palace and Blue Water Mansion, will know about the case, and sometimes he is afraid that someone among his subordinates will know about it and betray him.

“Cave master.”

Below him, the 13 guardians bows and says simultaneously. All of the Blood-red Cave’s guardians are experts. The weakest among them is only at the late Jindan stage, but this guardian can even rival ordinary Yuanying stage Xiuyaoists in terms of actual offense.

And the strongest among them is even approaching Cha Hong in power. Cha Ge was a vice master but he was much weaker than the strongest guardian.

“Has that Xiuxianist been captured?”

Cha Hong’s voice comes down from above. What can the 13 guardians and the remaining vice master on the lower part of the main hall possibly say? 

“Big brother, that Xiuxianist is very cunning. I’ve already investigated the few Xiuxian schools within 8 million li of this place, but the energy of none of them is burning hot and pure like the Xiuxianist’s.” Cha Po takes a forward step, bows and says.

Sang Mo also takes a step forwards, saying: “Cave master, that Xiuxianist is very cunning. For the last 3 years, there have been no traces of him. I’m wondering if he has gone into another power’s territory.”

“Humph!”

Cha Hong casts a glance at Sang Mo with his ice-cold eyes.

Sang Mo’s heart immediately trembles.

“We’ve been hunting for that Xiuxianist for 3 years. There are 8 powers under the Nine Demons Hall. I even asked the other powers’ cave masters to help me hunt for him, but even now there are still no traces of him. The other powers’ territories and the Nine Demons Hall’s territory cover an area of 90 million li in radius. Do you think a Xiuxianist could travel 90 million li in just 3 years?”

Cha Hong is merely one of the 8 cave masters under the Nine Demons Hall so he was only able to engage the help of the other 7 cave masters at best. As for the 2 superpowers Azure Dragon Palace and Blue Water Mansion, he is simply ineligible to ask them to do anything.

“Sang Mo, I remember you mentioned a black eagle last time?” Cha Hong suddenly says.

Sang Mo answers at once: “Cave master, that day, when I was dealing with that Xiuxianist, there was a black eagle with him. It seems there’s a very good relationship between them because they were trying hard to give each other a chance to run away.”

Sang Mo of course remembers clearly what happened during the fight that day. He knows Xiao Hei and Qin Yu were trying to create a chance to escape for each other.

“Oh?” On the upper part of the hall, Cha Hong utters a word then says no more. All the other Xiuyaoists do not dare to make a sound. After a long time, Cha Hong suddenly says: “Spread my order. From now on, not only will you have to hunt for that

Xiuxianist, but also for that black eagle. Remember, it’s to hunt and capture, and not to kill.

“Yes!”

The 13 guardians and the vice master take the order in unison.

With a wave of his large sleeve, Cha Hong immediately disappears from the main hall. The 13 guardians and the vice master know very well that he often undergoes closed-door training. Occasionally he will come out for a while, but will continue to undergo closed-door training afterwards, and he hates being disturbed during his training sessions the most.

“After catching the black eagle, the Xiuxianist will definitely come out. Isn’t there a good relationship between them?” Cha Hong’s eyes flash with coldness. He then enters the secret room.

To avenge his brother’s death is very important, but it cannot compare with his black jade case. At the moment, after searching for treasures along the way, Qin Yu and Hou Fei have finally arrived in the Blood-red Cave’s headquarters — the Blood-red Ridge.

B5C20: Guardians

The Blood-red Cave’s territory is 8 million li in radius and the Blood-red Ridge is at the center of it. Half of the territory’s Xiuyaoists concentrate in this place so it is obviously much more flourishing and beautiful than many other places at the bottom of the ocean.

By now, Qin Yu and Hou Fei have already entered the Blood- red Ridge.

There are approximately 100,000 Xiuyaoists in the 8 million li radius area controlled by the Blood-red Cave. Because only 1 in 1000 Xiuyaoists can reach the Yuanying stage, there are only about 100 Yuanying stage experts within 8 million li of the Blood-red Cave. However, most experts hide in their own caves.

The Blood-red Ridge is actually a huge mountain range at the bottom of the ocean. Various caves and palaces have been built on many peaks of the mountain range. Generally, there are 10- odd Xiuyaoists in a palace. At the same time, there are also several thousand Xiantian-level demonic beasts ready to listen to their orders. 

Large palaces even have more than 100 Xiuyaoists and countless demonic beasts each.

“Kaka, these Xiuyaoists really know how to amuse themselves . You see, those caves … kaka, they’re really luxurious.”  As Hou Fei looks at the palaces on the mountain peaks in the distance, he cannot help praising them.

Qin Yu takes a glance over those palaces. He is not very surprised: “Xiuyaoists aren’t mortals so it’s very easy for them to create caves and mansions. Also, they can even order some Xiantian-level demonic beasts to help them. A 10,000 jin huge rock is very difficult to move in the mortal world, but it’s nothing to Xiuyaoists here. Oh!”

Qin Yu suddenly shifts his look to a huge mountain peak to the north of him.

Hou Fei’s eyes also brighten and look at that huge mountain peak in the distance. There is an extremely luxurious palace on that mountain peak. It is about the same size as an imperial palace in the mortal world.

That largest palace is located on the highest mountain peak of the Blood-red Ridge. An entire section of the peak has been cut off, leaving behind a flat surface that is several tens li in radius. On this huge flat surface, there is a lofty, luxurious palace — the Blood-red Cave.

It is located on the highest place, surrounded by the other palaces.

The Blood-red Cave occupies an area that is several tens li in radius. Courtyard houses and pavilions can be seen everywhere in it. Many squads of Xiuyaoists are on patrol outside the palace. There are even some seductive female Xiuyaoists serving as ladies-in-waiting, dancers and so on inside it.

“The Blood-red Cave.”

Qin Yu can see those large words from the distance. Hou Fei also looks at that palace in great amazement. He finds it even more unbelievable than Qin Yu does because he has only seen a bamboo house before whereas Qin Yu lived in a princely mansion when he was little and, at any rate, has seen an imperial palace on the Qian Long continent.

“Damn it, what a waste. A palace so big is used by just some fellas in the Blood-red Cave. But, if they let me live in it … such a big and luxurious palace won’t be wasted.” Hou Fei blinks his eyes and says on one side.

“Idiot.”

3 Xiuyaoists who are passing by them says disdainfully after hearing what Hou Fei said.

In the Blood-red Ridge, Xiuyaoists generally go from one mountain peak to another in groups of 3 to 5. At a glance, Qin Yu can see that nearly 1000 Xiuyaoists are going in all directions. Compared to other places, this Blood-red Ridge indeed has a great number of Xiuyaoists.

“Hey, stop for your grandpa!” Hou Fei shouts loudly all of sudden and stares at those 3 Xiuyaoists with his shockingly glittering fiery eyes. The 3 Xiuyaoists is unexpectedly startled. It seems the loud shouts Hou Fei uttered just now have scared the life out of them.

Hou Fei’s entire hair begins to stand up: “Damn it, you even dared to insult your grandpa? All of you listen up, your grandpa is Hou Fei …” Before Hou Fei can finish what he is saying, the 3 Xiuyaoists say loudly too.

“Hairy monkey, you’re surprisingly arrogant. In this Blood- red Ridge, there’s no one who doesn’t know about us 3 brothers. Kill him.” After saying, the 3 Xiuyaoists immediately take out their respective weapons and attack.

Hou Fei’s eyes flash with a hint of bloodthirstiness.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! 3 silhouettes of a black stick flash by the 3 of them. A series of noises of bones being shattered is heard and the 3 Xiuyaoists are smashed away while crying or screaming in agony.

“Kaka, you must have a death wish to fight me.” Brandishing his black stick, Hou Fei says arrogantly.

Qin Yu makes a sweep with his holy sense and finds out that they have only got their legs broken. Hou Fei has no intention of killing these 3 Xiuyaoists because, after all, this place is the headquarters of the Blood-red Cave. He also knows the serious consequences of killing them here.

“Don’t worry, they’re not dead.”  He says while putting the black stick on his shoulder in an unconcerned manner. Suddenly, his fiery eyes start to brighten.

######

With his hands behind his back, Cha Po flies out of the main entrance of the Blood-red Cave. 4 of the 13 guardians are following him, consisting of Bai Yin, Ran Lan, Mu Xu and Zhuang Zhong. Among these 4 guardians, Bai Yin is the leader.

“Let’s go to Mount Yan Lian.” Cha Po immediately says.

“Vice master, the wine on Mount Yan Lian is pretty good. I really don’t know how that geezer Yan Lian can make it.” Bai Yin beside him says with a smile. Clad in a full-length white suit of armor, this guardian looks noticeably elegant, handsome and outstanding.

Ran Lan says with a cold smile: “That Yan Lian even thinks he’s a big shot. Let’s tell him directly, hand over the producing method or get killed.” Half of Ran Lan’s hair is blue while the other half is black. Even his face is also half black half blue.

By contrast, Mu Xu is very quiet.

And Zhuang Zhong looks like a nice old man who always smiles. However, the other guardians all know how ruthless and sly he is. 

When these 5 Xiuyaoists are halfway on their journey, suddenly —

Boom!

There is the distant rumble of rock getting shattered. Cha Po and the others immediately look in that direction and see only a dull multicolored source of light. Their eyes brighten and almost instantly they rush towards it together.

“Kaka ~~ what do you think, big brother? Whenever I act, I definitely won’t miss.” Hou Fei has just found another treasure

— a Five Nights Purple Flower. If this flower is not plucked within 5 days of its full bloom, it will automatically lose its medicinal properties.

Qin Yu’s eyes brighten: “A Five Nights Purple Flower, this is a treasure for pill making. It’s absolutely comparable to a high- grade holy weapon.” Hou Fei does not like pill-making-related treasures such as this so he throws it to Qin Yu, who reaches out a hand to receive it. 

“Stop your hand!”

Following a loud shout, 5 silhouettes immediately appear in front of Qin Yu. They are none other than Cha Po and his subordinates, who just now were able to see Hou Fei dig out this treasure with their own eyes. Disregarding everything, guardian Ran Lan among them reaches out his hand to try to snatch it.

Qin Yu’s eyes flash with coldness. He shouts angrily: “Scram.” At the same time, he throws a kick like a flash.

Bang!

Both Qin Yu and Ran Lan fly backwards simultaneously. They are unexpectedly equally matched. With a sweep of his holy sense, Qin Yu discovers that the opponent has reached the early Yuanying stage. Every time Qin Yu practices, his physical body is trained and refined, and therefore now it is much stronger than the bodies of ordinary demonic beasts. Even though Ran Lan is at the early Yuanying stage, his body is inferior to Qin Yu’s.

Qin Yu and Ran Lan exchange a look. They both feel that each other is no pushover. Cha Po and the others also realize that Qin Yu and Hou Fei are not easy for them to bully.

Bai Yin however takes a step forwards.

“This 5 Nights Purple Flower belongs to our Blood-red Cave. My vice master already knew long ago that there’s a 5 Nights Purple Flower here, but it is regrettable that it can only be plucked in its full bloom, and this can’t be delayed for too long. If not plucked within 5 nights, it’ll become useless. Now, please return that flower to its rightful owner.” Bai Yin says smilingly in a refined and courteous manner.

“Bullshit!” Hou Fei has already been enraged. The hair on his entire body stands straight up. He laughs strangely and says: “If your vice master had already known long ago that this place got a treasure, why the hell wouldn’t he have transplanted it into his cave? Also, this 5 Nights Purple Flower grew under rocks, how the hell could you have known about it?” Hou Fei’s eyes are blazing. His aura surges forth from his whole body. It is unexpectedly able to oppress the opponents.

He dug this treasure out by himself but they are attempting to snatch it so how can he possibly keep calm and not get angry?

“Damn you, did you hear what I said? Sod off for me, otherwise I’m going to make minced meat of you.” Hou Fei says angrily while staring at the 4 Xiuyaoists. His violent aura is really terrifying. The aura of a divine beast is indeed no joke.

However, Cha Po and those guardians are not powerful enough to tell that Hou Fei is a divine beast yet.

Generally, divine beasts are recognized based on characteristics such as their physical appearances. But Hou Fei is a Fiery-eyed Aquatic Monkey, whose species is really extremely rare. According to Uncle Lan, he is the only member of this species in the entire underwater Xiuyao world. The opponents have never seen anyone like him so naturally they cannot identify him.

“I’m the Blood-red Cave’s vice master Cha Po. This item belongs to the Blood-red Cave. Didn’t you 2 hear that?” Cha Po’s voice rises. There is a note of absolute insolence in it.

“Cha Po? The Blood-red Cave?” Qin Yu says with a cold smile on one side.

Cha Po and those guardians are top-ranking figures in the Blood-red Cave so normally no one dares to fight them. However, the 2 fellows before them at the moment seem not to think highly of them at all. How can a vice master and 4 guardians possibly endure this mocking tone?

“Fight!”

Cha Po suddenly shouts. “Kaka, bring it.” Bai Yin and the others are yet to get into action but Hou Fei already laughs strangely in excitement. He then charges at them while waving a black stick. What is Hou Fei’s identity? A middle Yuanying stage divine beast, no less! Of the few Xiuyaoists before him, Cha Po, the strongest, and Bai Yin have reached the middle Yuanying stage too while Ran Lan and Mu Xu are only at the early Yuanying stage and Zhuang Zhong is even at the late Jindan stage. However, Zhuang Zhong

is actually somewhat more formidable than Ran Lan and Mu Xu.

A middle Yuanying stage divine beast, which is even comparable to an ordinary Dongxu stage expert, thus charges at them.

Boom!

Carrying an enormous force, the black stick cuts through the water and crashes on Bai Yin’s 2 daggers with a loud noise. It even bends the daggers back and smashes them into Bai Yin’s body squarely. Bai Yin is sent flying at once while spitting out a mouthful of blood. “Kaka, awesome, awesome!”

Hou Fei cries loudly in excitement. In the past, whether when he fought Qin Yu or when he fought the demonic beasts in the ravine, he never dared to use all his power because he was afraid of killing or wounding them. But now he has no qualms. Just a moment ago, that strike of the stick was executed by him with full force.

The faces of the 4 other Xiuyaoists, Cha Po, Ran Lan, Mu Xu and Zhuang Zhong, all change color greatly.

Middle Yuanying stage Bai Yin was sent flying with just a blow of the stick? And Bai Yin could not even put up any resistance!

“Kaka, come again.” Hou Fei’s eyes glitter. In an instant, his black stick turns into 5 or 6 blurs, smashing towards them. Zhuang Zhong suddenly utters a loud shout. A massive shield appears in his hand. The blurs of the stick smash down on the shield. With a boom, Zhuang Zhong’s entire body is rammed into the rock.

“Stop, stop, this is a misunderstanding, this is a misunderstanding!”

Cha Po shouts.

“Taste another blow.” Paying no attention to what Cha Po is shouting, Hou Fei smashes his stick towards him. Qin Yu is also amazed by the speed of Hou Fei’s black stick. He feels that when Hou Fei exerts his power, the stick arrives at the opponent’s face almost instantly. Both in power and in speed, it has reached a terrifying level.

A faint wicked smile suddenly appears on the corners of Hou Fei’s mouth. While his stick is coming at Cha Po, he uses the power of his waist and gives it a fierce shake.

The black stick is slightly bent at once then begins to swing violently back and forth between 2 other directions. 

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! ……

The stick is situated exactly between Ran Lan and Mu Xu so when it swings back and forth, it hits their bodies. Because these 2 guardians’ demonic elemental energy is basically unable to withstand those heavy hits, they are sent flying backwards.

“Taste your grandpa’s stick!”

Hou Fei suddenly jumps up, lifts his black stick then smashes it down at Cha Po’s head with all his might. At this moment, Cha Po transforms into a 100 m long huge blood-red aquatic python. However, giving him basically no time to react, Hou Fei’s black stick immediately connects with his head.

No, to be exact, there is still a distance of 1 or 2 cm left between the stick and the python’s head.

Hu hu! 

Because the stick moved extremely fast, it caused strong winds that make the water in the battlefield to surge forth. The blood-red aquatic python blinks his very red eyes and looks at that black stick, which is only 1 to 2 cm away from his head, in stupefaction. He only sobers up after a while then immediately

switches to his human form.

Cha Po also knows that the opponent has spared his life, otherwise he would have been smashed to death.

“I am Cha Po. Sir, to be able to meet an expert like you, I can’t help feeling very happy. Just now I was too disrespectful.”  Seeing Cha Po shift his ground so fast, even a grim Qin Yu on one side has to give a faint smile. Because Cha Po is acting like this, the 4 guardians also start to flatter Hou Fei.

In his mind, Qin Yu secretly praises Hou Fei for being sensible. Beating them up is still acceptable, but if Cha Po is killed, the power behind him, Cha Hong, will get into action. Cha Hong is a Dongxu stage expert, and moreover, a blood-red aquatic python. Not even Hou Fei can defeat a blood-red aquatic python that has reached the Dongxu stage for certain.

Hou Fei seems to enjoy his opponents’ flattery very much. And before long, he introduces himself to them and even calls them brothers.

“Brother Hou Fei, do the 2 of you have any dwelling place in the Blood-red Ridge?” Cha Po moves his eyes around and says.

Hou Fei replies in an unconcerned manner: “No, we don’t. I’m still roaming about this place. My big brother and I have come here for a visit. The Blood-red Ridge really has many Xiuyaoists, many more than other places. It’s not bad to stay here.”

Cha Po immediately says with a smile: “Ah, I see. Then why don’t you stay in my Blood-red Cave, brother Hou Fei? With your excellent power, you’re more than qualified to become a guardian of the Blood-red Cave. Once you hold this position, I shall put 1000 guards under your direct control, what do you think?”

“Oh, guardian?” Hou Fei’s eyes brighten, looking as if his interest has been aroused. Suddenly he says to Cha Po: “I still have to ask my big brother Liu Xing about this. His answer will be my answer.”

In the Xiuyao world, power is everything. Seeing Hou Fei’s terrifying power, Cha Po naturally wants to pull him to his side. Now, after hearing Hou Fei’s words, he remembers the exchange just now between Qin Yu and Ran Lan. Thinking that Qin Yu should not be weaker than an ordinary guardian, he immediately works out a plan.

“Brother Liu Xing, if you think my Blood-red Cave deserves your respect then I will also invite you to become a guardian of it. What do you think? You and your brother will be able to enjoy life together with us while having to worry about nothing at all. I can guarantee that nobody within 8 million li of this place will dare to offend you.” Cha Po promises.

“Oh, guardian?” Qin Yu looks at Cha Po and gives a faint smile.

B5C21: As Small As A Needle

In that moment, Qin Yu thinks about many things in his mind. Should he enter the Blood-red Cave’s headquarters and become a guardian?

“Brother Liu Xing.” Cha Po looks at Qin Yu in expectation.

Qin Yu gives Cha Po a look then suddenly says: “Since vice master is so sincere, and Fei Fei really wants to become a guardian too, it’s unsuitable for me to obstruct him. All right, I agree with this matter.” After this, he says no more.

Cha Po always feels uneasy when talking to Qin Yu.

The reason of this is that Qin Yu is absorbing all of the energies around him like a black hole, which makes him look very worrisome and frightening. Cha Po would rather deal with Hou Fei than deal with Qin Yu. Even though Hou Fei can become furious easily, once he finds out what Hou Fei likes, it will be very easy to handle Hou Fei. “Ha-ha,  brother  Hou  Fei,  brother  Liu  Xing,  please  follow me.”

Cha Po thus leads the 2 experts and rushes to the Blood-red Cave. At the moment his heart is very excited. The positions of the big powers in the underwater world were not passed down to them from their ancestors and they had to rely on their own abilities to fight for those positions. The stronger one’s abilities are, the higher his status is.

In Cha Po’s estimation, Hou Fei’s power is definitely comparable to that of the no. 1 guardian Teng Bi, a horned dragon.

Cha Po, Qin Yu and Hou Fei go in the front while the 4 guardians, Bai Yin, Ran Lan, Mu Xu and Zhuang Zhong, go behind them. The 13 guardians are also divided into smaller groups and these 4 Xiuyaoists are a group. Now that 2 new experts have joined their ranks, they also have to calculate a bit for the future.

“Bai Yin, that Liu Xing is still manageable, his power is only comparable to mine. But that monkey …” Ran Lan says to Bai Yin.

Bai Yin strokes his chin, ponders for a while then says: “For the moment we mustn’t provoke Hou Fei. This monkey is too strong. Perhaps only Teng Bi can rival him. As for Liu Xing, humph, that fella …”

Bai Yin’s words are filled with disdain for Qin Yu.

“Don’t be too careless. We better be careful. That Liu Xing fellow should be practicing a special technique. I knew this as soon as I saw that his body wasn’t giving off any energy. In my opinion,  his  offense  must  be  very  strange.”  Zhuang  Zhong warns on one side.

Mu Xu however says with scorn: “There’s no need to worry so much about them. Everybody should think about what vice master said just now, 1000 guards. But there are only 5000 in total, where are these 1000 going to come from?”

Immediately, these several guardians fall silent. 

All guardians value the groups of guards they really control very much because, firstly, the number of guards in a group is a symbol of the respective guardian’s individual power, and secondly, the more guards they are directly in charge of, the higher their levels of status are.

The 13 guardians control different numbers of guards. For example, the no. 1 guardian Horned Dragon Teng Bi alone has 1000 out of the 5000 guards under his command. This represents his individual power, as well as his status!

“Big brother, big brother, I got an urgent thing to tell you!”

Standing outside the secret room, Cha Po calls loudly. However, he is somewhat resentful in his heart: “Big brother is really unreasonable. He’s always doing closed-door training. Also, he doesn’t let anyone disturb him during his closed-door training and doesn’t even carry a transmitter.”

Every time he wants to meet Cha Hong, he must stand outside the door and shout like this. 

Following a series of movement noises, the stone door opens. Cha Hong walks out with a cold expression. Seeing Cha Po, he shouts loudly: “2nd brother, I closed the door just a moment ago. What are you making a fuss about out here? What’s your urgent matter? Say it quickly!”

Even though Cha Hong is furious, he knows that Cha Po must have come to find him for some important reason.

“Big brother, I’ve recruited 2 more guardians.”  Cha Po says with   a   mysterious   expression.   “Plus,   one   of   them   is exceptionally strong.”

Cha Hong’s eyes brighten at once.

In the underwater Xiuyao world, the more guardians the better. The big powers here always try to recruit as many guardians as possible. After all, the weakest guardian already has the offense of a Yuanying stage expert so a powerhouse will become stronger as its number of guardians increases. “Exceptionally strong? How strong is he exactly?” Cha Hong is very happy in his heart.

Since obtaining his black jade case, he has been sure that one day he will eventually have to face the 3 superpowers. But to face them, he must have enough forces and experts. Therefore, he is currently in need of super experts the most.

“I, Bai Yin and 3 other guardians, there were 5 of us in total. We were very strong, don’t you think? But even though we joined forces, that fella beat us in just a while. We basically couldn’t fight back. I feel that he isn’t weaker than Teng Bi!”

Cha Po says contentedly. Having successfully invited such an expert to become a guardian, he is certainly very excited.

“Not weaker than Teng Bi?” Even Cha Hong cannot help smiling. In the past, to persuade Teng Bi to become a guardian of his, he himself had to put in quite a lot of effort. But now he has gained another expert of the same level as Teng Bi. Cha Po says smilingly: “Big brother, don’t waste time thinking. Just follow me. I want them to be officially granted positions of guardians and Blood-red Crimson Cards as soon as possible!”

Only the cave master is eligible to bestow a Blood-red Crimson Card on someone. Cha Po after all is only the vice master. The cave master must personally deal with important matters such as announcing the appointment of a new guardian.

“Good, I’ll go get the Blood-red Crimson Cards ready. You summon the guardians and the leaders of the guard squads into the main hall right now. I’ll be there immediately.” At the moment Cha Hong is high-spirited and vigorous. He goes straight to the treasury in the rear hall without delay.

The appointment of 2 new guardians is a really important matter.

Not only the 13 guardians, but even the leaders of some guard squads also gather in the main hall. Theoretically, because there are 100 guards in a squad, there should be 50 squad leaders here, but quite a few of them are currently outside hunting for Qin Yu.

……

2 adjacent separate courtyard houses in the eastern part of the Blood-red Cave have become Qin Yu’s and Hou Fei’s dwelling places. Each house has 3 female Xiuyaoists who are all very seductive, clever and obedient.

The several tens courtyard houses in the eastern part of the palace share a garden. At the moment, Qin Yu and Hou Fei are sitting opposite each other at a stone table in the garden and chatting.

“Congratulations, I am Ba Ming. This is my 2nd brother Ba Jian and this is my 3rd brother Ba Shan. Us 3 brothers are also guardians  of  the  Blood-red  Cave.”   3  men  who  are  almost identical in appearance and wearing greenish black armor walk up to Qin Yu and Hou Fei and greet them. Hou Fei’s eyes brighten. He laughs strangely and says: “Black turtles? I’m Hou Fei. This is my big brother Liu Xing. Brothers, the defense of the 3 of you must be very impressive. Spar with me sometime, okay?”

The 3 brothers’ complexions immediately change. Ba Ming says with a forced smile: “Brother Hou Fei, we already heard about your formidability. When even Zhuang Zhong’s Heaven Raising Shell can’t withstand your attacks, us 3 brothers definitely can’t either. Please spare us.”

Ba Ming and his 2 brothers are very smart so they immediately admit defeat.

“So disappointing.” Hou Fei is very disappointed.

“Ha-ha, it’s really rare to see Ba Ming and his brothers admit defeat so easily. But brother Hou Fei is too strong so they can’t be blamed.” Bai Yin says smilingly while approaching from the distance. Ran Lan, Mu Xu and Zhuang Zhong are going beside him. Ba Ming and his brothers give Bai Yin a look and utter a cold ‘humph’ but say nothing.

“Oh my, there are really many guardians here today. Who’s this handsome gentleman? A newly-arrived guardian, isn’t it?” 2 enchantingly beautiful women walk up to them. One of the women is dressed in green while the other is dressed in red.

The green-clad woman says with a he-he laugh: “I am Yan Qing. Nice to meet the two of you.”

The red-clad woman also says flirtatiously: “I am Xi Yan.

Nice to meet the two of you.”

“Ha-ha, these 2 snake women, who are you seducing? Ha-ha

…” Following the loud and clear laughs, 2 large men continuously walk out. With a sweep of his holy sense, Qin Yu discovers that their true forms are 2 tiger sharks.

“Wu Tong.” “Wu Feng.”

The 2 large men introduce themselves at once.

“Here is my big brother Liu Xing. I’m Hou Fei,” says Hou Fei casually. He then counts at will: “Well, Bai Yin and his mates are 4, 3 black turtles, 2 tiger sharks, 2 babes, so 11 are here already. Who are the other 2?”

At this moment, loud and clear laughs rise.

“Wu Tong, Wu Feng, you 2 unexpectedly didn’t wait for me. Ha-ha, looks like I’m already late. I am Sang Mo. Nice to meet the 2 of you.” Red-robed Sang Mo walks up to them while laughing out loud.

Qin Yu, who has been sitting on one side, slightly raises his head and gives Sang Mo an ice-cold look. “Sang Mo, I’m Liu Xing.” Surprisingly, he stands up and focuses his eyes completely on Sang Mo. There is a faint unfathomable smile on his face at the moment. The others simply cannot understand why he is smiling.

The smile on Sang Mo’s face freezes.

Just now, when the other guardians came, Qin Yu basically did not say a word. Moreover, there is a frosty air about him so they unconsciously said nothing to him. But now they all become fairly curious because he is talking to Sang Mo.

“Guardian Sang Mo?” Qin Yu continues.

Sang Mo suddenly wakes up with a start. However, only after looking Qin Yu up and down does he says smilingly: “Brother Liu Xing, when I saw you just now, I felt as if I was seeing an old friend so I behaved tactlessly.” He basically can lie without batting an eyelid.

Qin Yu also smiles then sits down again and drinks the tea alone. 

Sang Mo however is pondering nonstop in his mind because as soon as he saw Qin Yu moments ago, he got a feeling that he knew him. But no matter how hard he tries, he cannot remember when he met this guardian Liu Xing before.

“This Liu Xing fella is so strange. If I’d met him, I definitely wouldn’t have forgotten him. But, I absolutely have met him before.” Sang Mo is very sure. This is a feeling from the bottom of his heart so he simply does not doubt it.

After some time, a blue-clad middle-aged man comes.

“Brother Hou Fei, brother Liu Xing, this is Teng Bi, the boss. Boss Teng Bi is extremely powerful. Perhaps he’s going to reach the  Dongxu  stage  soon.”  Yan  Qing  says  smilingly.  She  even gives Teng Bi a flirtatious look.

This Teng Bi has an air of iciness and fierceness about his entire body, making him look very frightening. As Teng Bi looks at Hou Fei, his eyes suddenly brighten. He says: “Teng Bi.” The aura around his body unexpectedly starts to increase. Fighting spirit. Teng Bi knew at a glance that Hou Fei is extraordinary so his fighting spirit has also begun to rise in his heart.

Will Hou Fei be afraid of this?

“Kaka, you’re the one they call Teng Bi, right? Not bad, I’m Hou Fei.”  Hou Fei says with a strange laugh, but he does not care about Teng Bi’s aura. At the same time, he sends out from his body a terrifying aura, which seems like the aura of an unmatched ferocious beast.

Feeling Hou Fei’s and Teng Bi’s auras, the other guardians all look at each other with popping eyes.

That’s it! Today, another super expert has joined the ranks of guardians. From now on they can only stand on one side.

“Very good. This place is too small. Let’s find a better place to fight later.” Teng Bi says briefly. 

With a shake of his head, Hou Fei waves the black stick in his hand a couple of times and says haughtily: “Kaka, no matter the time, as long as you come find me, I’ll fight you, kaka ~~” He simply does not try to conceal the excitement in his eyes at all.

“Horned  dragons  are  surprisingly  gifted.  A  late  Yuanying horned dragon like him should be enough for me to go all out without using berserk mode. I really look forward to this fight.” Hou Fei thinks to himself while licking his lips with his blood-red tongue. His eyes are glittering.

At this moment, Sang Mo, who has been pondering, suddenly opens his eyes wide.

“Xiuxianist,  right,  it’s  that  Xiuxianist.”   He  has  suddenly discovered that this guardian Liu Xing gives him a feeling very similar to the feeling that the Xiuxianist gave him before despite the great difference between the general impressions they create. As Sang Mo looks at the current Qin Yu, he is struck by a thought: “What a strange practice technique. Since it swallows up his entire aura, nobody can tell if he is a Xiuxianist or Xiuyaoist. After all, he doesn’t have a Xiuxian aura or a Xiuyao aura.”

According to his gut feeling, Sang Mo is somewhat suspicious of Qin Yu. Because Qin Yu is not giving off a bit of his aura, it is impossible to confirm that he is the Xiuxianist, but likewise, it is possible that he is the Xiuxianist.

“Brother Liu Xing.”  Sang Mo says smilingly while walking towards Qin Yu.

Qin Yu slightly raises his eyes but then he continues to drink tea, basically ignoring Sang Mo.

“If I spar with him, I’ll definitely be able to determine who he is. Even if he has disguised himself, he can’t change the nature of the energy that he has been cultivating for several decades to over 100 years.” Sang Mo is very certain in his heart that if Liu Xing is really the Xiuxianist, even though he has changed his appearance and the air about him, the nature of his internal energy will still be the same as before.

Sang Mo says with a smile: “Brother Liu Xing, you’re brother Hou Fei’s big brother so your power must be exceptional. If that’s okay with you, I want to spar with you for a while.”

Qin Yu casts a glance at Sang Mo: “You?”

As before, Sang Mo responds by smiling.

Qin Yu suddenly stands up and says coldly: “All right, I agree!”  The  other  guardians  all  concentrate  their  attention immediately to watch. With his face seemingly full of joy, Sang Mo says: “Then please show me your skills, brother Liu Xing.”

Qin Yu’s eyes brighten. In an instant, a black flying sword starts to float above his head. Seeing Qin Yu’s black flying sword, Sang Mo is slightly disappointed as he remembers that the flying sword the Xiuxianist was using when chased by him was definitely not black. 

“Illusion Spreading Sword Art 3rd Move — Illusion Flurry!”

Right after Qin Yu makes a hand sign of the sword art, the black flying sword moves extremely fast like lightning then disappears. Everybody only sees several black gusts of wind whistling towards Sang Mo, who basically has no time to dodge and consequently is ‘fanned’ by the strong black winds for a while.

When the whole thing is over, Sang Mo’s clothes have been destroyed almost completely. Now he is practically naked and his hair is in a mess.

“Ha-ha … Sang Mo, you’re really white down there.” Ran Lan laughs out loud and says.

Covering her mouth, Yan Qing says smilingly: “Guardian Sang Mo, you’re as small as a needle down there.” “As small as a needle, bwahaha ~~~” Hou Fei laughs out loud while holding his stomach. The other guardians also burst into loud laughter.

“Don’t overrate yourself.”

After saying, Qin Yu sits down again and slowly drinks the tea by himself, paying simply no attention to Sang Mo’s unpleasant expression.

B5C22: Arrest Order

“It’s  not  him?  His  energy  is  unexpectedly  yin,  cold  and corrosive rather than burning hot?” Sang Mo is very disappointed in his heart. But he cannot totally believe this because there is an indescribable feeling from his soul that makes him suspect Qin Yu.

In just a moment, Sang Mo wakes up from contemplation.

“Ah!”  When  he  sees  that  he  is  in  such  an  embarrassing situation and hears the loud laughs of the other guardians, the color of his face immediately changes. His demonic elemental energy surges forth and enfolds his body at once. He then rushes straight into his own courtyard house using his body- maneuvering skill.

Hou Fei points at Sang Mo’s courtyard house, laughs out loud and says: “Ha-ha … I never thought a masculine fella could be so white. This is laughable. Hey, right, just now you guys mentioned something as small as a needle, what is it actually?” Everybody bursts into loud laughter again. Yan Qing and Xi Yan also cover their mouths and laugh. Even the ladies-in- waiting not far from there all cover their mouths and burst out laughing. At this moment, only Qin Yu is still calmly drinking tea without laughing or saying a word.

Casting a glance at Sang Mo’s courtyard house, he slightly raises the corners of his mouth.

How could he not have understood Sang Mo’s thinking? That day, when he was ready to conceal his identity, he already thought carefully about many things that could blow his cover.

He knew that an individual’s spiritual awareness is extremely mysterious, just like how he and Xiao Hei can still feel each other’s existence even when they are very far apart. So, he was worried that Sang Mo would suspect his false identity.

Therefore, he already prepared for this long ago.

Qin Yu’s Stellar Flame has 2 forms. Through formations, he can turn it into the Ultra-yang Flame or the Ultra-yin Flame. And the characteristics of his stellar energy can also be changed via formations. Qin Yu thus set up some formations and restrictive spells on the Flaming Sword using purple gold.

When his stellar energy is channeled into the Flaming Sword, as soon as it goes through the formations and the restrictive spells, it will be automatically converted to an ultra- yin type of energy.

Of course, if Qin Yu wants, he can also set up opposite formations and change his stellar energy into an ultra-yang type of energy.

“Ha-ha, my guardians, so all of you are here. Cave master has ordered that you gather in the main hall. The installation of the 2 new guardians is going to start right away. Brother Hou Fei and brother Liu Xing should get ready. Oh? Where is guardian Sang Mo?” Cha Po asks doubtfully.

Yan  Qing  says  smilingly:  “Just  now  guardian  Sang  Mo sparred with guardian Liu Xing. Perhaps the defeat came as an unbearable blow to him.” “Big sis, why don’t you go comfort Sang Mo’s bruised heart a bit?” Xi Yan says laughingly to Yan Qing. The latter presses a finger on the midpoint between the former’s eyebrows, saying: “If you want, why don’t you go yourself? I’m not interested in Sang Mo.”

After a ruckus, the 13 guardians, Qin Yu and Hou Fei go into the main hall.

As soon as Qin Yu enters this hall, he cannot help getting somewhat emotional inwardly. In terms of size, this main hall of the Blood-red Cave is even superior to the audience hall of an imperial palace on the Qian Long continent. Just by looking at its huge gold pillars, one can already know this. An imperial palace also has gold pillars, but they are actually just iron pillars wrapped in gold foil.

This main hall’s gold pillars are the real thing.

With a smiling expression, Cha Hong strides onto the raised platform and sits down directly in a grand manner. He then looks down at the guardians and 20-odd squad leaders below him.

“Cave master.” Cha Po and the 13 guardians immediately bow and say. Qin Yu and Hou Fei also copy them and slightly bow. But the 20-odd squad leaders behind them get down on one knee in a very respectful manner.

With a casual wave of his hand, Cha Hong says: “Everybody stand up.”

Those 20-odd squad leaders hurriedly stand up. Actually, there are 50 squad leaders altogether, but more than half of them have gone out to hunt for Qin Yu.

“Where are Liu Xing and Hou Fei? Take a few steps forwards to talk with me.” Cha Hong says smilingly. His manner at the moment is very good. However, the 13 original guardians all know that he is extremely cold-blooded, cruel and merciless.

Qin Yu and Hou Fei walk up. 

“Cave master, I’m Hou Fei.” Hou Fei raises his head and looks at Cha Hong with basically no respect.

Cha Hong looks at Hou Fei. After making a sweep with his holy sense, he cannot help but feel very satisfied because he has ascertained that Hou Fei is an expert comparable to Horned Dragon Teng Bi. But when he looks at Qin Yu, he is secretly startled. Qin Yu’s current state, which absorbs all of the energies around him, is indeed shocking.

“I am Liu Xing.” Qin Yu says with neither humility nor arrogance.

“Liu Xing, what techniques did you learn? Why aren’t you giving off any energy?” asks Cha Hong.

In fact, Cha Hong is also somewhat suspicious of him. After all, Xiuyao techniques are less profound than Xiuxian and Xiumo ones. When such a mysterious technique is used by a Xiuyaoist, this Xiuyaoist’s background is definitely not simple. “This is my school’s secret technique, which can’t be taught to outsiders.” Qin Yu says at once.

He becomes rather worried in his heart: “This Cha Hong fella is extremely powerful. Now I don’t have any auras, whether Xiuyao or Xiuxian. If he suspects my identity, this’ll be pretty troublesome.”

Judging from Cha Hong’s expression, Qin Yu simply has no way to figure out what he is actually thinking.

“Oh, I see. Then let’s forget it.” Cha Hong is still smiling broadly, apparently not angry at all. He only gives Qin Yu a look with a hidden meaning then looks at Sang Mo. Qin Yu is slightly afraid inwardly, but his expression remains unchanged.

“After knowing about the incident just now, could Cha Hong have figured out something?” He ponders.

However, he is not too nervous either because if he cannot win, he can still run. Moreover … Hou Fei, a divine beast, is here so it will not be easy for Cha Hong to deal with them.

“Brother Hou Fei, brother Liu Xing, my Blood-red Cave is really lucky that you have accepted our invitation to become guardians. These are Blood-red Crimson Cards, the authority cards of the Blood-red Cave’s guardians. Once you have these authority cards, nobody within an 8 million li radius of this place will dare to offend you.”

Cha Hong smilingly takes out from his bosom 2 authority cards. The ladies-in-waiting beside him immediately receive the cards and go up to the sides of Qin Yu and Hou Fei.

“Please accept these Blood-red Crimson Cards. From now on, the 2 of you are the 14th and 15th guardians of my Blood-red Cave.”   Cha  Hong  says  with  a  smile.  The  guardians  are numbered not based on their power, but based on the times of their appointments.

Qin Yu and Hou Fei immediately receive the Blood-red Crimson Cards. “Congratulations, brother Hou Fei, brother Liu Xing.”  Teng Bi unexpectedly is the 1st to stand up. After giving Qin Yu a look, he focuses his eyes on Hou Fei: “Brother Hou Fei, you must not forget the agreement between us just now.”

“Kaka ~~~ don’t worry, I can give you a treat anytime.” Hou Fei is totally unconcerned.

The other guardians also congratulate Qin Yu and Hou Fei. Even though some are merely acting, this is something that they must do.

“All right, next we’re going to discuss a matter. Everyone already knows that according to a rule of the Blood-red Cave, a guardian has their own guards. Today guardian Hou Fei and guardian Liu Xing have joined us, so the number of guards each guardian controls has to be adjusted a bit.” Cha Hong says loudly.

In an instant, everyone in the main hall quiets down. The 13 original guardians look at each other without saying a word. They have gathered in the main hall this time mostly because of this matter. Those Blood-red Crimson Cards merely represent the bearers’ identities. To them, only the guards directly under them are important.

Everybody quietly waits for Cha Hong’s order.

“2nd brother, announce the number of guards directly under each guardian’s command.” Cha Hong says indifferently.

Cha Po takes a step forwards, saying: “The 3 black turtles Ba Ming and his 2 brothers have 800 guards together. The 2 brothers Wu Tong and Wu Feng have 600 guards together. Sang Mo has 300. Yan Qing and Xi Yan are directly in charge of 600 together. Bai Yin, Ran Lan, Mu Xu and Zhuang Zhong have 1200 together. Guardian Teng Bi has 1000. The remaining 500 guards are under my command.”

In fact, the cave master and vice masters do not need guards because they can order guards at will using their Blood-red Black Cards. 

Even though those guards are under the guardians’ direct command, the cave master and vice masters still have the right to order them.

“Big brother, how, in your opinion, should the guards be distributed?” Cha Po says respectfully.

The 13 original guardians in the main hall all wait attentively to hear Cha Hong’s order, and Qin Yu and Hou Fei also wait with attention even though they do not care too much about guards. However, the number of guards also decides their status in the Blood-red Cave.

Later they will be able to order and transfer these guards.

“Cha Po mentioned 1000 last time. Let’s see how they’re going to wangle 1000.” With a sweep of his holy sense, Qin Yu sees the expressions of all the Xiuyaoists present. Except for Teng Bi, who is not very worried, the other guardians seem very nervous. “2nd brother, I remember that after 3rd brother’s death, his 500 guards were distributed to the guardians. How were they distributed?” Cha Hong finally says.

Cha Po thinks for a while then says: “After 3rd brother’s death, among his 500 guards, 100 were given to the Wu brothers, another 100 were given to Yan Qing and her sister, and the remaining 300 guards were given to the 4 guardians in Bai Yin’s group.”

Hearing this, everyone has a vague idea of what is going to happen.

It looks like those guardians are going to have to spit out the extra guards they got.

The expressions of Yan Qing and her sister, Wu Tong, Wu Feng and the 4 guardians in Bai Yin’s group are currently not very pleasant to look at. Previously, they had to negotiate with the other guardians and pay a high price to get these guards. Therefore, if the guards are recalled now, their sacrifices will be a waste. 

A faint smile appears on Qin Yu’s face. He can guess what Cha Hong is thinking.

“All right, those 500 guards will be recalled. They and 2nd brother’s 500 guards will amount to 1000 guards. These 1000 guards will be put under guardian Hou Fei and guardian Liu Xing’s direct command. Does anyone have a different opinion?” Cha Hong glances at everybody in the hall.

The 13 original guardians of course accept the order. What can they possibly say in this situation?

“Very good. After everyone returns, those 1000 guards are going to be reallocated this way.” Cha Hong says smilingly.

At this moment, a squad leader runs in from outside, his face full of terror. He says: “Cave master, the situation is bad. Died, all died.” “Calm your nerves and tell me clearly.”  Cha Hong shouts coldly, but his face has already turned pale. When he heard the words ‘died, all died,’ he immediately had a bad feeling. The guardians in the main hall also have a feeling that something bad has happened.

All eyes are focused on that squad leader.

He takes a deep breath then says: “Cave master, after we received your order to come out and hunt for that black eagle, every Xiuyaoist within 8 million li of here also naturally became our eyes and we were able to detect that black eagle very quickly.”

When Qin Yu hears this, his heart beats faster.

Hunting for a black eagle?

“They’re hunting for Xiao Hei?” He ponders very quickly in his mind. “Why do they want to hunt for Xiao Hei? Logically, both  Sang  Mo  and  Cha  Hong  should  be  hunting  for  me.” Suddenly, he is struck by a thought and understands this matter at once.

He forces a smile inwardly.

The reason Xiao Hei is being hunted must be that he is connected with him. Sang Mo, who knows about the connection between Xiao Hei and him, must want to capture Xiao Hei to lure him out.

“Say, what happened after you had detected the black eagle?” Cha Hong shouts with a livid face.

The squad leader swallows nervously then continues: “Afterwards, a 50 strong subgroup of my squad and several tens other nearby Xiuyaoists joined forces to capture the black eagle. Who could’ve thought … Who could’ve thought that eagle was too terrifying, too terrifying?”

“The leader of that group was my second-in-command. He was only able to send me a message before dying — “Black light, all died.” A half day later, I got some messages from the Xiuyaoists who had discovered their bodies. They said that my subgroup and several tens Xiuyaoists were all dead and there were no survivors!”

Now, even the squad leader finds what he just said somewhat unbelievable.

The atmosphere in the main hall immediately becomes oppressive. For so many years, nobody has dared to massacre the Blood-red Cave’s guards in the territory of the Blood-red Cave, much less in such a bold manner. Those experts who have reached the Yuanying stage are capable of such an action but they also know the serious consequences of it.

If they killed any guards, Cha Hong would be provoked, and they would suffer a terrible fate as a result.

Qin Yu however secretly lets out a sigh of relief: “Not bad, nothing has happened to Xiao Hei.”

Cha Po takes a step forwards, saying: “Big brother, that black eagle is very powerful. His offense is roughly comparable to a middle Yuanying expert’s. Those guards weren’t strong enough so they could do nothing but to get killed. To deal with this black eagle, we need to send the guardians.”

Cha Hong also nods.

Indeed, at this point, he has to send the guardians. They exist only to handle hostile experts like the black eagle.

“This time we’ve lost some guards. When this matter has been dealt with, let’s recruit 250 more guards. 50 of them will be used to reinforce the damaged squad while the remaining 200 will be given to the guardian who captures the black eagle as a reward.” Cha Hong’s eyes glitter with killing intent.

Someone has dared to kill his guards so naturally killing intent has begun to surge in his heart.

“I am willing to go.” Bai Yin takes a step forwards and says. He is a middle Yuanying stage expert and close to Cha Po in power. Knowing that Cha Po has defeated the black eagle before, he is certain that he will succeed in this mission. Moreover, he will not go alone.

Copying him, the 3 guardians, Ran Lan, Mu Xu and Zhuang Zhong, also say: “I am willing to go.”

Qin Yu’s heart immediately becomes anxious. Bai Yin and his friends cannot withstand even an attack by Hou Fei, but one must not underestimate their power. Qin Yu exchanged a blow with Ran Lan before and afterwards he has concluded that Ran Lan is about as strong as him.

Facing Bai Yin, who has even reached the middle Yuanying stage, can Xiao Hei win with absolute certainty?

And being ganged up on by 4 experts, can he have even an outside chance of surviving?

“Cave master.” Sang Mo unexpectedly takes a step forwards and says: “You have put 1000 guards under guardian Hou Fei and guardian Liu Xing’s joint command. Guardian Hou Fei is very powerful so no one can say anything about him, but it’s hard to tell how powerful guardian Liu Xing is. In my opinion, guardian Liu Xing should take this opportunity to capture that black eagle, thereby showcasing his power.”

After saying, he looks smilingly at Qin Yu.

“Humph, let’s see how you’re going to answer. If you want to save that black eagle, you’ll probably have to betray cave master, and you’ll die in due course. And if you take the order, you can only watch the black eagle die. Now you have a choice between a rock and a hard place, unless you’re not the Xiuxianist!”

A choice?

To Qin Yu, there is no choice here.

“This lowlife Sang Mo, you’ve dug your own grave!” Hou Fei’s fiery eyes glitter. A terrifying, ferocious aura comes out from his whole body. The black stick has even appeared in his hand. It looks like he is going to kill Sang Mo on the spot if the latter utters a provocative word. 

“I am willing to go!”

Qin Yu, however, takes a step forwards and says smilingly. He then gives Sang Mo a look: “I’m going to do as guardian Sang Mo said. I’m going to capture that black eagle and show my own power.”

B5C23: Tailing

Sang Mo’s pupils slightly contract.

Obviously the fact that Qin Yu has accepted the mission so simply has amazed him. But after considering for a while, he continues to think to himself: “Liu Xing? I want to see if you’re going to capture the black eagle for real.”

Now that Qin Yu has taken this mission, there are 2 situations that can arise. The first is Qin Yu will kill the black eagle, in which case Sang Mo will not be able to do anything. And the second is Qin Yu will temporarily change sides to kill the other guardians, in which case even if Sang Mo does not have evidence that guardian Liu Xing is the Xiuxianist, he will still be able to persuade Cha Hong to execute Qin Yu for treachery.

“Heh-heh ~~~”

Hou Fei bursts into a strange laughter. A ferocious aura is coming out from his entire body. He glares at Sang Mo then suddenly looks at Qin Yu and says: “Big brother, why do you agree to go as that lowlife Sang Mo said? Screw him. Just who does he think he is? I can squash him with a blow of my stick.”

Immediately afterwards, Hou Fei looks at Cha Hong and raises  his  head,  saying:  “Cave  master,  I  became  a  guardian because I wanted to show my regard for brother Cha Po. 1000 guards or something, even with my abilities alone I’m already eligible to have them. So why can’t my big brother and I be in charge of 1000 guards together? Why does he have to show his power? If you think my big brother isn’t good enough, kaka, that’s ok, big brother and I will leave immediately. This guardian position is nothing rare to me.”

Then, paying no attention to Cha Hong, he turns his head around looking at Cha Po and says in a seemingly very heartfelt manner: “Brother Cha Po, it’s not that I don’t want to treat you with respect, but this anger is too much for me to contain.”

Cha Po hurriedly says: “Please calm down a bit, brother Hou Fei. I know that you’re straightforward. My big brother hasn’t said anything, has he?”

Cha Hong slightly frowns and casts Qin Yu a look. 

The 1st thing Qin Yu does is to look at Hou Fei, saying: “Fei Fei, there’s no need fret over this. Isn’t it just to go catch a black eagle? We’ve already become the Blood-red Cave’s guardians so we have to do something. If I am to do nothing as a guardian, I’ll feel terribly uneasy.”

After saying, he also gives Sang Mo a glance.

Sang Mo, however, looks at Qin Yu smilingly and says: “Guardian Liu Xing, you’re so eager to serve cave master. We’re going to have to emulate your loyalty as well.”

“Shut up. Nobody allows you to say. Screw you! You’re getting on my nerves.” Hou Fei’s fiery eyes glitter with ferocity. The black stick in his hands looks like it is going to be used to attack anytime. When Sang Mo hears Hou Fei’s words, his complexion slightly changes at once, but he does not dare to retort.

By contrast, Qin Yu looks at Cha Hong again, saying: “Cave master, let’s settle this matter this way. I’m definitely going to capture that black eagle for you.”

Hou Fei gives Sang Mo a stare but does not say anything again.

“Ha-ha … good, you’re so loyal, guardian Liu Xing. I’m really very happy about this. Bai Yin, Ran Lan, Mu Xu, Zhuang Zhong, and Liu Xing, the 5 of you listen.”  Cha Hong’s voice suddenly becomes imposing and sonorous.

Qin Yu and the 4 guardians in Bai Yin’s group immediately bow to wait for the order.

“I order you 5 to set off in a half day. You must capture that black eagle. But if an urgent situation arises, do not hesitate to kill it.” Cha Hong says in a serious voice that contains killing intent. He has been furious since knowing about the deaths of 50 of his guards.

Qin Yu, Bai Yin, Ran Lan, Mu Xu and Zhuang Zhong bow and say in chorus: “Yes, cave master!” Cha Hong told them to set off after a half day to give them time to make preparations. Qin Yu and Hou Fei then go back to their houses directly. The 4 guardians in Bai Yin’s group also return to their quarters, but they gather in Bai Yin’s courtyard house instead of going into their respective houses.

At all times, there are various beautiful ladies-in-waiting carrying all kinds of food walking along the walkways and corridors outside every courtyard house in the eastern area of the Blood-red Cave. A red-robed, frosty-faced Sang Mo does not go back to his own courtyard house. Instead, he heads for Bai Yin’s.

Seeing him, a green-clad lady-in-waiting hurriedly stands to one side of the corridor and says respectfully: “Guardian.”

“Humph.” Sang Mo gives a snort. Without looking at the lady-in-waiting at all, he walks straight towards Bai Yin’s courtyard house. At the moment, Bai Yin and his 3 friends are in his courtyard house and discussing laughingly with each other. Seeing Sang Mo entering, Mu Xu immediately utters a cold humph. His expression seems unhappy.

“Greetings, everybody.” Sang Mo says to the 4 guardians with folded hands.

Bai Yin shows a smiling expression while Ran Lan’s and Zhuang Zhong’s faces are full of unconcern. But Mu Xu says with a cold laugh: “Patriarch Sang Mo, what great day is today that you’ve unexpectedly come to our place? You’ve really terrified me.”

Among the 13 original guardians, both Mu Xu and Sang Mo are octopuses. However, Sang Mo belongs to the Sang clan whereas Mu Xu is a member of the Mu clan. These 2 clans have been vying to become the no. 1 octopus clan so there is a long- lasting feud between them.

Anger surges in Sang Mo’s chest, but he tries hard to suppress it. 

“Patriarch Mu Xu, I’ve come here because of the lives of you all. If you don’t care about your own life or the lives of the other  3  guardians,  I’m  going  to  leave  immediately.”   After saying, Sang Mo looks at the other guardians.

Mu Xu however says with a sinister smile: “Oh, our lives? It sounds as if you’ve come here today to benefit us and to save our little lives. Since when have you become so good-hearted? I’ve always been under the impression that you can’t wait for our deaths.”

“Mu Xu, I can’t wait for your death, but not for the other guardians’.” Sang Mo’s eyes flash with coldness. “If not the fact that you’re going to go with the 3 of them this time, why would I tell you about this great secret?”

“Great secret? Humph.”

Mu Xu laughs coldly. But Bai Yin frowns at once. Hearing Sang Mo say ‘if not for the fact that you’re going to go with the 3 of them this time’, he concludes that Sang Mo should have come here because of the business of catching the black eagle. Objectively speaking, there is absolutely nobody who knows about that Xiuxianist and that black eagle as well as Sang Mo does.

“Maybe  Sang  Mo  really  knows  some  secret?”   Bai  Yin’s interest is aroused. He immediately says loudly: “Mu Xu, guardian Sang Mo came here willingly so we can’t be discourteous.”

As soon as Bai Yin says that, Mu Xu lets out a cold humph then stands aside and no longer talks to Sang Mo. Bai Yin is the leader of this gang of 4 and is also the strongest among them. Even his thinking is admired by the other 3 guardians.

In contrast, Bai Yin looks at Sang Mo and says smilingly: “Guardian Sang Mo, what’s the meaning of your words, I wonder? What is the secret? And why is it related to our lives?”

“Let’s go inside to talk.” Sang Mo goes straight into a room. Bai Yin slightly stops then also enters that room. At the same time, he very sensibly sets up restrictive spells so that outsiders cannot spy on them.

“Sang Mo, what’s actually the secret? Just say it.”

Sang Mo is standing in the center of the room with his back facing Bai Yin.

Only when he feels that Bai Yin has set up restrictive spells does he turn around and looks at Bai Yin in satisfaction. Then he slowly says: “That guardian Liu Xing, even though I’m not totally sure, he’s most likely to be that Xiuxianist. Bai Yin, I think you understand the meaning of this.”

Bai Yin’s face immediately changes color.

His first reaction after hearing those words is to think that Sang Mo is trying to fool him, but then he thinks that it is totally useless for Sang Mo to do so. After pondering carefully again, and considering Liu Xing’s body does not give off any bits of aura, he believes that Liu Xing is indeed possibly the Xiuxianist.

If what Sang Mo said is true, then …!

Cold sweat even begins to trickle down his back. The Xiuxianist and the black eagle are on one side. If, when the 5 guardians are ganging up on the black eagle, Qin Yu suddenly attacked them, catching them totally off guard, perhaps 2 of them would be incapacitated in an instant.

Given the black eagle’s and Qin Yu’s power, there is a real possibility that all the 4 of them would die afterwards.

“Guardian Bai Yin, this is just a word of warning from me. I’m not very sure either, but I believe you’ll have your own plan.” Sang Mo says with a smile then removes the restrictive spells directly and walks past Bai Yin on one side to go out of the room.

 He knows Bai Yin’s character very well. If there is a little doubt or a little danger, Bai Yin will definitely work out a perfect plan to eliminate them.

Bai Yin’s face has darkened. In an instant, his expression changes several times. Afterwards, he turns around and looks at Sang Mo, who is disappearing at the gate of the courtyard house. A faint smile appears on the corners of his mouth. He has already come to a decision.

……

There are various surging undercurrents at the bottom of the ocean. Qin Yu, robed in black, is rushing extremely fast on his black flying sword. The other 4, Bai Yin, Ran Lan, Mu Xu and Zhuang Zhong, are also using their own techniques to go extremely fast at the bottom of the ocean. The 5 experts are going side by side. Seeing them, all ordinary Xiuyaoists quickly sheer off.

This time, the Blood-red Cave has ordered the green-eyed fish clan members to help them monitor the black eagle’s movements. The Blood-red Cave is not Sang Mo. In the past Sang Mo had to pay to get the help of 30 members of this clan, but the Blood-red Cave has been able to make several hundred members of this clan work for it together with just a command.

When several hundred green-eyed fish clan members monitor together, they can cover an area of a million li in radius.

“Guardian Liu Xing, if we run into that black eagle, how do you think should we attack? After all, there are 5 of us so we should plan ahead a bit.” Bai Yin says smilingly to Qin Yu while approaching him.

Ran Lan, Mu Xu and Zhuang Zhong also come slightly closer to Qin Yu to listen to what he is going to say.

Qin Yu gives Bai Yin a look, seemingly wanting to see through his soul. Bai Yin’s heart skips a beat. He cannot help secretly getting even more alert against this Liu Xing. Bai Yin does not know that thanks to practicing Xiumo secret techniques, in terms of using spiritual energy, Qin Yu has already far surpassed ordinary Xiuzhenists, who can only use it in the most basic ways. Among those spiritual-energy-related Xiumo techniques, there are some that must be performed through the eyes.

In an instant, Qin Yu withdraws his eyes from Bai Yin and says indifferently: “Guardian Bai Yin, since you already got a plan, why bothered asking me? You’re the strongest in the 5 of us so you’re the leader in this hunting mission. You only need to give orders, I’ll just follow them.”

Bai Yin says smilingly: “If so, I’ll speak up.”

Qin Yu looks at Bai Yin, wanting to know how he is going to deal with Xiao Hei.

“Once we detect the black eagle, guardian Liu Xing, Ran Lan and Mu Xu will attack together. With your combined force, you’ll most probably be able to fight it evenly. I’m the strongest so I’ll seize any chance to use sneak attacks and deliver the finishing blow. We’ll capture it if possible, but if not, we’ll just kill it directly. As for Zhuang Zhong, you will have to be ready for any complications at all times.”

Bai Yin gives the others a look and says smilingly: “If anybody doesn’t agree with my plan, feel free to tell me.”

Mu Xu and Ran Lan exchange a look then nod their heads. They have heard Cha Po talk about the black eagle’s power before so they know that it will not be easy for the black eagle to kill just the 2 of them, much less when they and Liu Xing join forces.

Zhuang Zhong does not have an opinion. He is of course very happy that he will not have to fight.

“Guardian Liu Xing, how about you?” Bai Yin looks at Qin Yu.

Qin Yu also nods his head. Now the plan has been approved.

At this moment, Zhuang Zhong, who is slightly behind the others, takes a look at Qin Yu then takes a look at Bai Yin. His eyes suddenly flash with cunningness and coldness, but it goes back to normal in an instant and he seems like a nice old man again.

……

Not long after Qin Yu and the other 4 left the Blood-red Cave, Sang Mo also leaves the cave alone and rushes straight in their direction.

“Liu Xing, let’s see what your real face is. You got such a strange technique but nobody has ever heard about you before. It’s very unusual that the Xiuxianist has disappeared since you appeared.”  Sang  Mo  will  never  give  up  before  a  thorough investigation has been carried out.

“Bai Yin, if you can expose Liu Xing’s real identity, you have to give me a chance to hit him when he’s down.” Sang Mo gives a sinister smile then speeds up his chase, looking like a red beam of light.

He has given the green-eyed fish clan some benefits so when this clan’s members tell Bai Yin’s group about the black eagle’s movements, they also conveniently tell Sang Mo.

……

Qin Yu is going nonstop. He can feel that he and the others are getting closer and closer to Xiao Hei.

“This  green-eyed  fish  clan  is  really  nasty.  Xiao  Hei  can’t morph into a human. If he could, he’d be very similar to the other Xiuyaoists and it’d be hard for those green-eyed fish to find him. But his black eagle appearance is too distinguishable. It’s very hard to find another black eagle at the bottom of the ocean.”

Qin Yu is very frustrated in his heart. This time, the entire green-eyed fish clan is keeping watch so Xiao Hei basically cannot escape those fish’s detection. 

Suddenly, Qin Yu’s face slightly changes color.

“No good, Xiao Hei is unexpectedly rushing towards me.” Qin Yu can feel clearly that Xiao Hei is going extremely fast in his direction. Xiao Hei should be doing this because he has sensed Qin Yu’s existence. He thinks that Qin Yu is coming to find him so he is also heading for Qin Yu.

At this rate, Qin Yu and the other guardians are going to encounter Xiao Hei soon.

After a while, Bai Yin bursts out laughing and says: “According to the message the green-eyed fish clan just sent me, that black eagle is unexpectedly rushing towards us. Ha- ha, he is seeking his own death. Get ready, everybody. This black eagle is not very easy to slaughter.”

“Since he can’t even wait for us to kill him, there’s no need to show any mercy.” Ran Lan, whose face is half black half blue, says with a malicious smile. Bai Yin, Zhuang Zhong and Mu Xu also laugh out loud. They seem not worried about whether they will be able to kill Xiao Hei at all. Bai Yin casts a sidelong glance at Qin Yu then immediately looks at his 3 brothers again.

B5C24: Revolt

As the 5 guardians keep going, the distance between them and the black eagle grows shorter and shorter. The 4 in Bai Yin’s group can only estimate this distance based on messages sent by the green-eyed fish clan. They are simply unable to know exactly what it is.

But Qin Yu can feel Xiao Hei’s location clearly.

“My holy sense has a longer range than theirs. Now I can only rely on it to tell Xiao Hei in advance.” Qin Yu expands his holy sense. After 3 years of practice in the ravine, during which time his soul was nourished continuously by the Meteoric Tear, by now his soul has reached peak of the late Yuanying stage.

Strangely enough, when he was staying in the ravine, the heat current sent out by the Meteoric Tear was 2 to 3 times larger than when he had been outside. Now that Qin Yu has left the ravine, the speed at which the Meteoric Tear releases the heat current has also slowed down. No matter how he has tried, he has been unable to figure out the cause of this. At the bottom of the ocean, there are various fast flowing currents and shoals of fish. The 5 guardians are piercing through them extremely fast like 5 light beams of different colors.

“According to the green-eyed fish clan’s messages, that black eagle is only 2000 li away from us. We can run into it anytime from now on. Everybody, let’s stop. We’re going to wait at ease here and get ready to strike that black eagle a crushing blow.”

Bai Yin’s voice rises. In an instant, the other 4 guardians stop.

They are currently in a vast area of nothing but water. There are no obstacles in this area. One should know that the distances from the surface to the bottom of this boundless ocean are normally greater than 10 km. Xiuyaoists generally build their palaces on some underwater mountain ranges because constructing at extreme depths is difficult.

However, a depth of 10 km is nothing. In this ocean, the depths of some abysses even reach several tens km, or maybe more. The water pressures at those depths are terrifying. Qin Yu is still not strong enough to go down to such depths.

Of course, there are also many treasures at those depths, but one must be very powerful to be able to gather them.

“Guardian Liu Xing, Ran Lan and Mu Xu, the 3 of you should be well prepared. You three are going to fight the black eagle head-on. I’m going to be ready to use sneak attacks and deal the finishing blow.” Bai Yin tells Qin Yu and the others directly.

Qin Yu however is pondering his own sneak attacks in his mind.

“Bai Yin is the strongest among these 4 guys so it’s best to kill him first. Ran Lan is cruel and cunning. Mu Xu is arrogant, but there’s no need to worry about him. As for Zhuang Zhong …” Qin Yu takes a look at Zhuang Zhong. In fact he has been on alert for this seemingly gullible guardian all along. Zhuang Zhong has only reached the late Jindan stage in power but he was able to become a guardian. In terms of offense, Ran Lan and Mu Xu are not necessarily superior to him.

“Bai Yin is middle Yuanying while Ran Lan and Mu Xu are only early Yuanying. I must sneakily attack Bai Yin, the stronger. After eliminating this formidable fella, it’ll be a bit easier to join forces with Xiao Hei.” Qin Yu gives Bai Yin a look then goes straight towards him.

Seeing Qin Yu coming, Bai Yin immediately becomes alert in his mind.

A light flashes and a shiny silvery suit of armor appears on his body. At the same time, various streams of demonic elemental energy start to move around him. He says loudly: “Even  though  it’s  going  to  be  5  against  1,  we’ve  got  to  be cautious. Protect yourself carefully first, everybody.”

He then looks at Qin Yu and says smilingly: “Guardian Liu Xing, could you be so confident that you don’t want to protect your body?” Hatred rises in Qin Yu’s heart.

He does not know if Bai Yin’s action was deliberate or not, but following this, it has become much more difficult to kill Bai Yin through sneak attacks.

“Could Bai Yin be suspecting me?”  Qin Yu’s heart skips a beat. If this is true, the situation will be very bad for him. At least Bai Yin will always be on guard against him so it will be much harder to eliminate Bai Yin with sneak attacks.

Qin Yu considers in his mind. In the end he says coldly: “Protect  my  body?  You  don’t  have  to  worry  about  this, guardian Bai Yin.”

His eyes sweep over the other 3.

Zhuang Zhong is also wearing a large suit of armor, but Ran Lan and Mu Xu are not. After thinking for a while, Qin Yu understands the reason for this. Zhuang Zhong’s true form is a large-clawed crab and Bai Yin’s is a silvery-shelled lobster so naturally their bodies are protected by armor.

One should know that it requires many kinds of ores in large quantities to forge defensive holy items, and it is also difficult to forge them. Therefore, to Xiuyaoists, armor forging is very difficult. In general, most of the Xiuyaoists who have armor were born with it.

Ran Lan is a black-circle aquatic python and Mu Xu is an octopus. They both do not have innate armor and therefore the best they can do now is to protect their bodies with demonic elemental energy.

“Good, let’s kill Ran Lan and Mu Xu first. Once the 2 of them are eliminated, even though Bai Yin is tough, when I join forces with Xiao Hei, it shouldn’t be a problem to handle the remaining 2.” Qin Yu secretly calculates. At the same time, he pretends to make preparations with Ran Lan and Mu Xu.

He, Ran Lan and Mu Xu are currently side by side. According to the plan, as soon as they see the black eagle, they will come forwards together and attack simultaneously. 

……

“Bai Yin, we’re going to let that Mu Xu fella die?”  Ran Lan asks Bai Yin through his holy sense.

With his expression unchanged, Bai Yin replies through holy sense communication: “Mu Xu is an aggressive, simple-minded fella. If we told him about this, he’d definitely leak it. You’re different, Ran Lan. You are very cunning and ruthless and don’t have a good ‘tude towards anybody. So, even if you’re hostile to Liu Xing, he won’t suspect you.”

Hearing Bai Yin say that he is “cunning and ruthless”, Ran Lan even feels happy in his heart.

“Humph, humph, let’s see if Liu Xing is the Xiuxianist or not, but I feel sorry for Mu Xu.” Ran Lan says via his holy sense. Even though he said so, he actually does not care about Mu Xu’s life at all. ……

Xiao Hei is rushing northwest extremely fast. He has not seen Qin Yu for a long time. At the moment he can feel Qin Yu’s existence very clearly. There are even only several hundred li left between them. While Xiao Hei’s heart is being filled is excitement,

“Xiao Hei, stop.”

Qin Yu’s voice rises in Xiao Hei’s mind. Hearing that familiar voice, Xiao Hei immediately stops with no hesitation. The current distance between them is nearly 100 li so Qin Yu can say to Xiao Hei using his holy sense but Xiao Hei cannot do the same thing to him.

“Xiao Hei, there are 4 guardians of the Blood-red Cave with me now. They’re ready to kill you and I’m among them. You must remember to rush to the place 10 m west of me with all your power right now. When you see a fella in white armor, kill him for me. Remember to charge with all your power. We must catch them unprepared.” When Qin Yu finishes saying, Xiao Hei totally understands.

The energy in his body immediately surges. Electric sparks then begin to zigzag on his wings. With a shake of his wings, he disappears straight towards the northwest like a blood-red flash in an instant. His speed is simply shockingly fast.

……

The 5 guardians have expanded their holy senses, ready to spring into action at any time.

Qin Yu, Ran Lan and Mu Xu are furthest ahead. Bai Yin is more than 10 m to the west of the 3 of them and Zhuang Zhong is at the back. None of the 5 guardians says to each other a word because they all know that the black eagle can appear anytime!

“It’s come!” Bai Yin’s voice rises in the minds of the other. As he has reached the middle phase of the Yuanying stage, his holy sense is theoretically somewhat superior to theirs. However, Bai Yin simply does not know how formidable Qin Yu’s holy sense is.

When Bai Yin’s voice has just risen in the others’ minds, their holy senses detect a blood-red beam of light coming straight at them at an extreme speed. Its speed is simply so fast that they are secretly shocked. In one respect, speed also represents power.

Qin Yu, Ran Lan and Mu Xu charge at that blood-red beam of light almost simultaneously.

As Bai Yin sees this scene, a faint smile appears on the corners of his mouth. But his smile freezes in just a moment because while the 3 silhouettes are rushing at the blood-red beam of light, it suddenly makes a turn extremely fast and shoots at Bai Yin.

“Attack together!” By the time Bai Yin’s voice rises in everybody else’s mind, the blood-red light beam has already pulled away from Ran Lan, Mu Xu and Qin Yu, who were rushing at it. The black eagle was too fast so Qin Yu and the other 2 basically could not stop him. The 3 of them immediately make a turn and charge at him

again.

At this moment!

Qin Yu, Mu Xu and Ran Lan are rushing at the black eagle side by side while the eagle is rushing at Bai Yin and Zhuang Zhong is still behind Bai Yin’s back. In theory, given the current situation, what happens next should be 5 guardians surrounding and attacking the black eagle together.

However, at this moment, the situation changes because Qin Yu finally takes action!

Pu! In just about an instant, the Flaming Gloves appear on Qin Yu’s hands. His left hand penetrates Mu Xu’s chest directly then crushes Mu Xu’s heart with a grab. As Mu Xu was totally unprepared for this blow, the little amount of demonic elemental energy protecting his body was insufficient to withstand Qin Yu’s Flaming Glove.

Qin Yu then thrusts his right hand at Ran Lan’s back like a sharp arrow.

Bang!

Seeming to have foreseen this strike, Ran Lan blocks it with his hand. But the combination of Qin Yu’s terrifying power and a Flaming Glove is beyond his imagination. With a clack noise, his hand is ruptured immediately, but he is able to make use of the impact force to back away.

“What bad luck!” Qin Yu’s face changes color.

Mu Xu, whose heart has been shattered, looks at Qin Yu in stupefaction. His face is full of disbelief: “You, you, you …” He cannot even say a sentence. His soul then enters the cycle of reincarnation. Too bad Mu Xu has yet to reach the Dongxu stage. Otherwise he would have been able to merge his soul with his Yuanying.

“Liu Xing is the Xiuxianist!”

Ran Lan, whose one hand has been broken, shouts shrilly. At the moment his eyes are filled hostility and hatred because one of his hands has been crushed. Even its bones have been shattered completely so it will never recover unless he can overcome the 9-From-9th Heaven Tribulation and ascend to a higher world.

Bai Yin has been ready to strike an all-out blow for a long time. Originally he wanted to sneakily give the black eagle a killing blow but now, facing the black eagle’s assault, he can only attack openly. The black eagle’s sharp claws and his 2 daggers clash head-on.

Bang! After the violent collision, the black eagle unexpectedly is not injured in the slightest, but Bai Yin is forced to retreat.

“Kill Liu Xing!”

Bai Yin screams loudly. Zhuang Zhong behind him shouts angrily: “Liu Xing, so you’re the Xiuxianist! Guardian Ran Lan, let’s join forces to kill him. Guardian Bai Yin, hold off that black eagle.”

Bai Yin knows Qin Yu’s power and also knows Ran Lan’s and Zhuang Zhong’s power so he immediately agrees with this suggestion. However, at this moment, a transmitter appears in the hand that Bai Yin has put behind his back. The transmitter disappears almost instantly.

“That Sang Mo fella hates this Xiuxianist the most. Let’s leave it to him.” A faint cold smile appears on Bai Yin’s face. Because Bai Yin is very fast and is hiding this hand behind his back, Qin Yu and the black eagle do not notice this, but Zhuang Zhong sees everything. A light flashes on Bai Yin’s body. In an instant, he turns into a huge silvery lobster that is more than 10 m long and whose shell looks like rock. A terrifying aura is coming out from his body. With a shake of his tail, the silvery lobster arrives at Xiao Hei’s side instantly.

He then thrusts his 2 large claws at Xiao Hei extremely fast.

While Bai Yin attacks Xiao Hei, Zhuang Zhong and Ran Lan charge at Qin Yu simultaneously in just about an instant. The Flaming Sword appears in Qin Yu’s hand at once. He makes a hand sign, wanting to execute the Illusion Spreading Sword Art, but at this moment, 2 scenes that make his eyes pop out of his head take place almost at the same time.

The first scene!

Bang!

A loud noise is heard as Zhuang Zhong unexpectedly smashes his right fist into the head of Ran Lan beside him. The head is immediately shattered like a watermelon, splattering red blood around. Zhuang Zhong then says smilingly to Qin Yu: “Guardian Liu Xing, this is my surrender present for you.”

The second scene!

The 2 claws of the middle Yuanying stage silvery-shelled lobster are very powerful, as well as extremely fast. But, facing the lobster’s attack, Xiao Hei suddenly dodges away with a shake of his wings. The lobster immediately charges at him again.

However –

A piercing cry comes out from Xiao Hei’s mouth. Concurrently with this, Qin Yu can feel clearly that Xiao Hei’s aura suddenly rises.

Seeing the silvery-shelled lobster’s 2 large claws coming at him, Xiao Hei unexpectedly rushes straight at the lobster like a black beam of light. At the same time, his ice-cold black sharp claws suddenly enlarge tenfold in the blink of an eye, becoming a blood-red pair of eagle claws. 

Pu! Pu!

The middle Yuanying stage silvery-shelled lobster gets his head crushed directly by Xiao Hei’s claws like tofu and he dies on the spot.

These 2 scenes happen almost simultaneously and they both amaze Qin Yu.

“Xiao Hei, since when have you become so formidable?” He looks at Xiao Hei in disbelief. Just now, those blood-red claws that were ten times larger than normal gave off a terrifyingly strong killing intent and their sharpness was also at a frightening level. They were able to tear apart the defense of a middle Yuanying stage silvery-shelled lobster directly in an instant.

Only when Qin Yu makes a sweep with his holy sense does he discover that Xiao Hei has already reached the early phase of the Yuanying stage. “I was already at the late Jindan stage 3 years ago. When I returned to the ravine last time, I had already reached the peak of the Jindan stage. And I’ve made a breakthrough recently. Plus, there are many secret techniques that I can learn in my memories. The move I executed just now is a technique I just learned.” Xiao Hei says laughingly.

He possesses hereditary memories and has experienced a forbidden technique so even though he is only at the early Yuanying stage, his actual offense is very terrifying.

B5C25: Zhuang Zhong’s Secret!

Sang Mo, who is going very fast, suddenly stops and immediately takes out a transmitter. Right after he makes a sweep with his holy sense, his expression freezes. But in just a moment, his facial muscles move again while his eyes glitter with ferocity.

“Ha-ha  ~~~”  Sang  Mo  bursts  out  laughing  viciously.  His laughter sounds mad like the piercing cries of a crow.

Sang Mo then suppresses his laughter. His eyes are filled with killing intent and an extremely excitement: “Liu Xing, just as I expected, you’re the Xiuxianist. Ha-ha, Heaven has helped me. You killed my son and my clan’s members and humiliated me in front of the other guardians. Today I’m going to tell cave master about your betrayal. Humph, if I can’t get your soul destroyed, will I still have the face to continue living?”

While he is smiling menacingly, his red robe suddenly flaps, and he rushes straight back towards the Blood-red Cave like a red light beam. ……

There were only moments from Xiao Hei’s appearance to when Bai Yin was finally killed. During this very short period of time, Bai Yin, Ran Lan and Mu Xu were killed and Zhuang Zhong switched sides by killing Ran Lan. What that has happened is really shocking.

“Big brother, when I reached the Yuanying stage, my power increased several times. Killing a middle Yuanying midget is very easy for me. I’m even pretty certain that I can beat early Dongxu stage experts.” Xiao Hei says proudly while flapping his wings.

Qin Yu is secretly astounded.

“Ha-ha, Xiao Hei, you said early Dongxu experts? Don’t brag please.  Do  you  think  you’re  a  divine  beast?”  Qin  Yu  says laughingly.

Xiao Hei however becomes furious and says indignantly: “What do you know? This is my secret. Listen, as my power improves, I experience greater transformations. I suffered so much pain when undergoing that forbidden technique before. Do you think I endured it for nothing?”

Qin Yu is very clear about this in his heart.

According to what Xiao Hei told him previously, Xiao Hei must overcome the 9-From-9th Heaven Tribulation to be able to transform into a human. Generally, only divine beasts have to fulfill such a requirement.

But if Xiao Hei is really a divine beast, why 3 years ago, when he had just reached the late phase of the Jindan stage and had used that forbidden technique, he was slightly weaker than that middle Yuanying stage Cha Po? Qin Yu does not understand this point. He always feels that Xiao Hei is a bit weaker than divine beasts.

Qin Yu and Xiao Hei are talking to each other through their holy senses but Zhuang Zhong remains motionless. “Xiao Hei, how do you think should we deal with this geezer?”  Qin Yu deliberately says aloud and looks at Zhuang Zhong at the same time. Hei Yu also turns around and looks at him. His eyes glitter with a blue light. A strange aura from him presses towards Zhuang Zhong.

Zhuang Zhong talks first: “Guardian Liu Xing, I knew that when you and this senior join forces, even with my help, Bai Yin and his mates would still be no match for you. Since I’m no match for you and I don’t want to die either, please allow me to join your side, guardian Liu Xing. Later, even if you want to overthrow Cha Hong, I’ll definitely support you.”

“Oh?”

Qin Yu looks at Zhuang Zhong but says nothing. Then, with a wave of his sleeve, various streams of stellar energy roll out from him and immediately collect the yuanyings of Ran Lan, Mu Xu and Bai Yin, as well as their storage bracelets and holy weapons.

“These  3  fellas  unexpectedly  didn’t  make  their  yuanyings explode in the end.” Qin Yu cannot help saying smilingly as he recalls how Xiang Yang self-destructed before.

Had the 3 of them self-destructed, at least Qin Yu would not have obtained their yuanyings.

Zhuang Zhong says: “Guardian Liu Xing, only idiots will make their own yuanyings explode.”

“What kind of stupid idea is that?” Qin Yu counters with a question.

Zhuang Zhong says at once: “After a Xiuyaoist is killed, his soul can still stay in this world for a short time. This period of time is enough for him to self-destruct. But, being able to self- destruct is one thing, whether he dares to self-destruct is another thing.”

“Firstly,  when  the  yuanying  begins  to  self-destruct,  the enemies near it will immediately notice the undulation of its energy and move away extremely fast. So, even though they can be hurt by the explosion, they will not die from it. The 2nd reason is the most important. When the yuanying self- explodes,  his  soul  will  be  blown  to  pieces!”  A  faint  smile appears on Zhuang Zhong’s face.

“Since  self-destruction,  firstly,  can’t  kill  the  enemies  and, secondly, destroys one’s soul, what practitioners would dare to self-destruct? They all know the horror of having their souls destroyed very well. Once the soul is destroyed, a creature will really  disappear  from  this  world  forever.”  Zhuang  Zhong’s expression becomes a bit solemn.

Qin Yu and Xiao Hei exchange a look.

What Zhuang Zhong said is really not wrong. Generally, it is really difficult to kill an enemy by detonating the yuanying. After all, it takes a short time to ignite the yuanying so the enemy can move away beforehand. Even if the enemy is seriously injured, he will not be killed. Who would be willing to destroy his own soul without being able to kill the enemy?

“The only good thing about blowing up your own yuanying is that the enemies won’t be able to have it.” Zhuang Zhong says smilingly. 

Qin Yu immediately laughs.

In this battle, he has obtained 3 yuanyings at one stroke. These are the energy nuclei of those Xiuyaoists. If he uses them to practice after going back, he will definitely make a great improvement.

“Then why didn’t Bai Yin and the other 2 self-destruct?” Qin Yu says. “If they had self-destructed, I wouldn’t have obtained their yuanyings, right? It looks like they were cowards.”

Zhuang Zhong says disdainfully: “Self-destruct, how could they have dared to? Moreover, Ran Lan and Bai Yin simply didn’t have any chance to self-destruct. My punch shattered Ran Lan’s head and destroyed his soul instantly. Senior Black Eagle also crushed Bai Yin’s head and destroyed his soul. Without the souls, they were unable to self-destruct, even if they had wanted to. As for Mu Xu, he was already dead so his yuanying was basically useless to him. As a selfish fella, he didn’t have the courage to blow up his own soul!” Zhuang Zhong looks at Qin Yu and says doubtfully: “Guardian Liu Xing, could it be you don’t know that the soul is very weak? If hit once by the energy of the explosion, it will be destroyed immediately.”

Qin Yu is surprised.

He has never researched deep into this area of knowledge, but when he thinks carefully about what Zhuang Zhong said, he knows that it is true. When Qin Yu killed Mu Xu just now, he only destroyed the latter’s heart. The neatest way of killing Mu Xu would have been to shatter his head, thereby destroying his soul.

When killing an enemy, one should destroy the enemy’s soul so that they will never be able to stand up again!

“Not only is the soul alone weak, even the yuanying that has fused with the soul is very weak outside the body. Do you know why some super experts who have lost their physical bodies have to practice as loose immortals? The reason is that even though the yuanying has a lot of energy, its defense is too weak. They simply don’t dare to fight their enemies using their yuanyings.”

Qin Yu understands this.

Not even Dongxu stage experts will fly their soul-fused yuanyings out of their bodies to fight their enemies.

The 1st reason for this is that a yuanying’s defense is not strong enough. And the 2nd is that once a soul-fused yuanying is damaged, the soul will very likely be injured as well, which will be fatal. Therefore, after losing their physical bodies, even super experts will have to practice as loose immortals, that is materializing loose immortal bodies to protect their cores, the yuanyings.

Now Qin Yu even has a faint good impression of Zhuang Zhong.

“Zhuang Zhong, this time I’ve betrayed that cave master. If you’re not dead, what can I do when you tell cave master about this? It’s a bad thing to cut the weeds without digging up the roots. I’ve got no reason to spare you.” He ponders and says.

As Zhuang Zhong hears Qin Yu say so, his expression becomes solemn.

He raises a palm and says seriously: “I, Zhuang Zhong, swear to Heaven that if I ever betray guardian Liu Xing or reveal his secret, I shall be struck to death by lightning and get my soul destroyed and never be reborn.”  His voice is resounding and very solemn.

At this moment, both Qin Yu and Xiao Hei have a special feeling, one that only their souls can perceive.

A feeling of an undulation in the fabric of nature!

“Good.” Qin Yu gives a smile. As a Xiuzhenist, Qin Yu knows very well about oaths. If the taker of an oath does not keep it, he will definitely be punished. Some ignorant mortals in the mortal world can swear casually, but a Xiuzhenist like Qin Yu does not dare to do so.

“But you and my 2nd brother Hei Yu will have to go into hiding for a period of time first. When it’s totally safe, I’ll tell you immediately through your transmitter.”  Having come up with a plan, he says to Zhuang Zhong at once.

Zhuang Zhong however says smilingly: “I understand your intention, guardian Liu Xing. This time you want to shift the blame onto me, don’t you?”

Qin Yu laughs. It feels really good to have a smart subordinate, especially when this subordinate is absolutely loyal to him.

“Guardian Liu Xing, I’ve got one thing to tell you. This is a very important thing. If you can’t resolve it, perhaps your plan will  be  no  use.”   Zhuang  Zhong’s  face  becomes  somewhat serious. Seeing his expression, Qin Yu concentrates his attention on listening to him.

“Guardian Liu Xing, before dying, Bai Yin already sent a message about your rebellion through his transmitter.”

The color of Qin Yu’s face immediately changes.

This is bad!

In an instant, cold sweat exudes from his entire back. Once this message about his rebellion reaches the Blood-red Cave, the cave master Cha Hong will definitely hunt him down. This is an early Dongxu stage expert whose true form is even a blood-red aquatic python, an extremely formidable demonic beast.

It is difficult to tell how powerful Cha Hong really is. “Don’t worry, guardian Liu Xing.” Zhuang Zhong seems to have a card up his sleeve.

Qin Yu looks at him. Seeing Zhuang Zhong’s confident appearance, he cannot help slightly getting his hopes up. He immediately asks: “Zhuang Zhong, what solution do you have? Can you tell me everything about it?”

Zhuang Zhong says with a nod: “Guardian Liu Xing, all the guardians under the Blood-red Cave have their own calculations. Which of them is absolutely loyal? Even if Bai Yin had sent this message to the other guardians, would they dare to tell someone else about it? Guardian Hou Fei’s power is no joke.”

Hearing this, Qin Yu relaxes.

With Hou Fei beside him, would those guardians dare to oppose him?

“Also, must Bai Yin’s words be the truth?”  Zhuang Zhong laughs strangely. 

Qin Yu is startled. He then also bursts out laughing.

That’s right! Does the message sent by guardian Bai Yin have to be true? Is it impossible that guardian Bai Yin wanted to frame him? Moreover, all the witnesses at the scene have died and the dead cannot provide evidence. At this point, if Qin Yu still did not know what to do, he would be a real fool.

“Bai Yin said I’m a traitor, but can’t I say that he was a traitor? Plus, I also got an attester.”

After Qin Yu knew about this matter, his plan is changed. Originally Zhuang Zhong was not allowed to go back and had to hide outside for a period of time, but now Zhuang Zhong has to return. This is an excellent attester, mostly because other Xiuyaoists in the Blood-red Cave have always considered him to be honest.

Zhuang Zhong also nods his head. “But there’s someone you must kill, guardian Liu Xing. It’s Sang Mo. There’s a feud between Sang Mo and you. After getting this message, he’ll surely come up with countless ways to persuade cave master. I know cave master. He’s ambitious and powerful, but very suspicious in nature. Once Sang Mo

succeeds, then …”

Hearing Zhuang Zhong’s words, Qin Yu also understands.

Other Xiuyaoists will not provoke Qin Yu because they are afraid of Hou Fei’s formidable power. After all, even if they report this message, they will not get any benefit. Instead, they will offend Qin Yu. But Sang Mo is different. He will definitely think of various ways to deal with Qin Yu.

“No good. He’s now in the Blood-red Cave. Even if I go back at my fastest speed, it’ll take me more than a half day.” Qin Yu’s face changes color.

Zhuang Zhong says smilingly: “If my guess is correct, Sang Mo’s definitely been tailing us. Now, you only need to message guardian Hou Fei, telling him to check the cave once. If Sang Mo is in the cave, kill him immediately. If he’s not in the cave, guardian Hou Fei must wait outside to stop and kill him.”

Qin Yu however thinks about a problem.

If Sang Mo informed the cave master through his transmitter right after getting the message, that will be terrible.

Zhuang Zhong, seeming to know what Qin Yu is thinking, says: “Don’t worry, guardian. Cave master definitely hasn’t been told about it. He has often undergone closed-door training for the last 100 years. More importantly, he hates being disturbed during a training session the most and doesn’t even carry a transmitter when training. Almost every guardian knows this.”

Qin Yu gives a smile.

He and Hou Fei have just joined the Blood-red Cave so they are not aware of this matter. “Fei Fei, quickly check the Blood-red Cave once. If you see Sang Mo in the cave, kill him immediately. If he’s not inside, wait at the entrance to stop and kill him. You mustn’t let him meet cave master no matter what.”

Qin Yu sends this message through his transmitter to Hou Fei.

Hou Fei, who is extremely bold, is the most suitable to handle a task like this. After sending the message, Qin Yu feels very relaxed.

“Guardian Liu Xing, I still have a secret to tell you.” It seems Zhuang Zhong wants to tell Qin Yu everything to show his loyalty. In fact Zhuang Zhong also knows that if he kept some secret, it would be very bad for him if Qin Yu discovered this one day.

He has seen clearly that Qin Yu is helped by 2 super experts, Hei Yu and Hou Fei, who, in his estimation, are at least comparable to ordinary late Yuanying stage experts in power, or maybe even stronger. To surrender to and become dependent on someone with such strong support is no problem to him.

A faint smile appears on Qin Yu’s face: “Oh, what secret?”

At this moment, Qin Yu is very pleased with him.

Zhuang Zhong says solemnly: “Not even a practitioner more diligent than Cha Hong would undergo closed-door training for almost 100 years in a row. Moreover, according to my investigation, Cha Hong wasn’t this hard-working earlier than 100 years ago. Also, more than 100 years ago, the Blood-red Cave got more than 20 guardians, but some incident happened and the number of guardians was suddenly reduced by half.”

“This  coupled  with  the  fact  that  Cha  Hong  has  often undergone closed-door training for the last 100 years makes me think that his closed-door training is related to this incident in which  those  guardians  disappeared  all  at  once.”   Zhuang Zhong’s eyes glitter.

B5C26: Hou Fei’s Fury

In the Blood-red Cave,

“My lord, I’ll massage your shoulders for you.” A lovely gentle lady-in-waiting beside Hou Fei says then massages his shoulders. Another lady-in-waiting carries a tray of fruits to his face and even helps him peel those fruits.

Hou Fei blinks his fiery eyes a couple of times. His entire body seems to turn into stone. But in just a moment, he shouts angrily.

“Go away, go away!”

He glares at the 2 ladies-in-waiting then, seemingly very furious, shoves them away. Staring at them, he breathes heavily through his nose: “Damn it, these women really are great scourges.” At the moment, the places caressed by them on his body are still having goose bumps.

“That Cha Po fella really doesn’t know anything. Why did he send  some  women  to  my  place?”   He  says  in  annoyance. Suddenly he utters a sound of surprise. “Who sends me a message at this time?” With a turn of his hand, a transmitter appears in it.

After Qin Yu and Hou Fei became the Blood-red Cave’s guardians, they were given a transmitter each.

“Sang Mo?” Hou Fei’s blood-red tongue licks his lips once. As his eyes blaze with fierceness, he says with a strange laughter: “Big brother has finally got his ideas straightened out. Kaka, that Sang Mo fella has already got on my nerves for some time.”

Right after saying, Hou Fei expands his holy sense and begins to search carefully. This Blood-red Cave occupies a large area but his holy sense can still cover it completely. To search directly this way shows that Hou Fei is very arrogant. In the Blood-red Cave, only 2 Xiuyaoists have holy senses superior to Hou Fei’s, the 1st being Teng Bi and the 2nd being Cha Hong.

At this moment, Teng Bi, who is sitting with legs crossed in his room, opens his eyes and says to himself: “What is Hou Fei searching with his holy sense?” After thinking for a while, he laughs. He does not care about other Xiuyaoists’ business and is only interested in a fight with Hou Fei.

And Cha Hong, who is trying hard to open the seal of his black jade case, is simply in no mood to think about what Hou Fei wants to do.

“He’s not in here!”

Hou Fei lets out a heavy breath through his nose. His eyes glitter with ferocity. “You’re lucky that you can’t die for the moment, brat. But since I’ve already got into action, you have no chance of surviving.”  He gives a couple of strange laughs then turns into a blur and rushes out of his courtyard house directly.

The 2 ladies-in-waiting who were shoved away by Hou Fei are complaining about this cruel monkey’s inability to understand flirtatious expressions. They suddenly hear something whistle out of the courtyard house.

“Yan’er,  did  our  lord  just  go  out?”  An  oval-faced  lady-in- waiting blinks her big eyes and says.

The other oval-faced lady-in-waiting nods her head. Both of them are extremely astonished by Hou Fei’s speed because, after all, they are Jindan stage Xiuyaoists, but they were unable to see Hou Fei clearly. This goes to show how fast Hou Fei is.

……

Hou Fei’s body quickly appears outside the main entrance of the Blood-red Cave. “Sir!”

Seeing Hou Fei, one of the guards at the Blood-red Cave’s entrance hurriedly says with respect: “May I ask if there is something that you want to do? Can we help you in anything?” These guards all know that this newly-arrived monkey-shaped guardian is very formidable.

Hou Fei glances at the guards on his 2 sides then says with a kaka laugh: “I’ve got nothing to do. I’m just here to wait for someone. Right, when did guardian Sang Mo go out?”

One of the guards hurriedly says: “Sir, guardian Sang Mo went out more than a half day ago.”

When Hou Fei hears this, a transmitter immediately appears in his hand. He sends this information to Qin Yu then puts the transmitter away and leans on the outside of the cave’s entrance. With his fiery eyes staring outwards, he waits for Sang Mo’s return.

…… “Big brother, that lowlife Sang Mo isn’t in the cave. He already went out more than a half day ago. But don’t worry, big brother. I’m waiting at the entrance of the cave. As soon as I see him, I’m going to reduce him to mince, kaka ~~”  After getting this message, Qin Yu looks at Zhuang Zhong in

appreciation.

Zhuang Zhong’s prediction is very precise.

“According to this message, Sang Mo went out more than a half day ago. Looks like he’s really been tailing us.” Qin Yu says smilingly.

Zhuang Zhong’s eyes brighten. He says hurriedly: “Guardian Liu Xing, in terms of speed, who is the faster between you and Sang Mo?”

Speed? 3 years ago, even when Sang Mo was using his true form, he was unable to catch up with Qin Yu. Now, after 3 years, Qin Yu has become much faster than Sang Mo.

“Even if Sang Mo uses his true form, he’ll still be slower than me.” Qin Yu says with a smile.

Zhuang  Zhong  hurriedly  says:  “Since  Sang  Mo  has  been following us for so long, he shouldn’t be very far from us at the moment. If we chase him now, we’ll still have a chance of catching up with him. If we can kill him before he reaches the Blood-red Cave, that problem will be resolved even better.”

Hei Yu says via his holy sense: “Big brother, your speed is slower than mine. I’m going to go.”

After saying, Hei Yu gets ready to give chase.

“Xiao Hei, you’re being hunted. When going forwards, you can’t enter the Blood-red Ridge’s territory. How about this? You can chase him, but if by the time you reach the halfway point you haven’t caught him then you’ll have to give up immediately  and  stop  chasing.”  Qin  Yu  says  with  a  serious expression.

Hei Yu nods his head.

He certainly knows that Qin Yu wants him to be safe. Now is still not the time for them to face Cha Hong directly.

“Ok, big brother. I’ll give up at the halfway point regardless of whether I’ve caught up with him or not. Afterwards I’ll leave immediately. When you’ve handled this matter in the Blood-red Cave, send me a message. We brothers also need a territory of our own in the underwater Xiuyao world. I think the Blood-red Cave is not bad.” Hei Yu’s eyes glitter with coldness.

Qin Yu gives a smile.

A territory? If not for the Blood-red Cave’s territory, why would he pretend to be loyal to Cha Hong? After all, with Hou Fei and Xiao Hei around, it will be hard for Cha Hong to deal with him, but if he wants to seize control of the Blood-red Cave openly, there will be some difficulties.

Firstly, the cave has 5000 guards. Even though their individual power is average, they are too many in number. Moreover, Qin Yu suspects that they can attack together through formations. Since there are too many of them, their joint attacks will be terrifying.

Secondly, those guardians are not easy to deal with. If they faced the Blood-red Cave head-on, this would lead the guardians to fight them.

Therefore, dealing with the Blood-red Cave from the inside is relatively easier.

“Don’t worry. Zhuang Zhong, you’re slow so stay at the back, Xiao Hei and I will go ahead of you.” Qin Yu says directly. Hei Yu utters a sharp cry. Various blood-red electric sparks begins to spread out all over his wings. With a shake of the wings, he leaves Qin Yu very far behind in an instant like a red beam of light. Qin Yu controls his flying sword and uses the Body-Weapon Unification technique to chase after him extremely fast.

……

Sang Mo is going through the water very quickly.

“Really can’t wait to see that Liu Xing fella run for his life and get hunted. This time he definitely won’t escape, ha-ha

~~~”  A sharp evil laughter comes out from Sang Mo’s throat. He immediately transforms into a huge octopus.

Now that Sang Mo has switched to his true form, his speed increases a lot in an instant.

When Sang Mo started to tail the 5 guardians, there was already a long distance between him and them. He then returned right after receiving Bai Yin’s message whereas Qin Yu and the others spent some time talking to each other after Bai Yin’s death.

This means that Sang Mo already began to rush back to the Blood-red Cave long before Xiao Hei and Qin Yu give chase.

Sang Mo went leisurely during the outward journey, but when returning, he uses his true form to go extremely fast. There is a great difference between the 2 speeds therefore it also takes much less time for him to return.

……

A red beam of light is piercing through the water. Wherever it goes, the water around it becomes turbulent. Suddenly this red light beam stops.

“I unexpectedly can’t catch up with him.” Hei Yu looks ahead then decides to stop. In fact, he does not want to make Qin Yu worried so he only chases to the halfway point. Given his speed, if he continued to chase, he would definitely be able to catch up with Sang Mo. 

However, because Hei Yu is being hunted by the Blood-red Cave, it is better for him to stay away from the cave.

“Given the power of that Fei Fei fella, Sang Mo won’t be able to survive 1 hit. It’s useless for me to keep chasing. We better let Fei Fei handle this.” After sending Qin Yu a message, Hei Yu rushes in another direction.

In his opinion, Sang Mo is definitely going to die at the hands of Hou Fei.

After a while, Qin Yu arrives at the place where Hei Yu just left.

“Where did Sang Mo begin to go back from? He also started some time earlier than me.”  Qin Yu does not stop. He heads straight for the Blood-red Cave at his fastest speed. He just wants to try his best. It will not be a big problem even if he cannot catch up with Sang Mo. ……

Hu!

A huge octopus rushes into the Blood-red Ridge like a huge red light beam. Feeling its powerful aura, various Xiuyaoists in the Blood-red Ridge shun it. Sang Mo has already reached the Blood-red Ridge.

Before long, his blood-red eyes see the Blood-red Cave in the distance.

At this moment, Hou Fei, who is leaning on the main entrance of the Blood-red Cave, suddenly opens his fiery eyes. A dazzling beam of light shoots straight at Sang Mo from his eyes. At the same time, he flies up.

“Kaka ~~ Sang Mo, you villain!” For some reason, fire begins to come out from Hou Fei’s eyes and the hair on his whole body stands straight up. It looks like he is extremely angry. The black stick in his hands is emitting a murderous aura.

Sang Mo, who has put a lot of effort into rushing back, is so scared that his entire body trembles as soon as he hears Hou Fei’s shouts. He has heard about Hou Fei’s power and knows that even Cha Po and several guardians were completely defeated by Hou Fei in an instant when joining forces.

“Hou Fei, what do you want to do?” Sang Mo transforms into a human and shouts at Hou Fei from a distance.

At the same time, a transmitter quickly appears in a hand put behind his back. The transmitter disappears immediately. There is a faint smile on the corners of his mouth. He knows that he cannot face Hou Fei head-on and must be compliant in this situation.

“Do you have to ask what I want to do? Do you still have the face to ask what I want to do?” Hou Fei’s entire body shivers with anger. His violent aura wreaks havoc in his surroundings. 

Seeing 2 guardians confronting each other, those guards at the entrance of the Blood-red Cave certainly do not dare to interfere.

“Why is guardian Hou Fei so angry?”

“There’s no need to ask. Guardian Sang Mo must’ve offended him. You know, guardian Sang Mo is very unpopular. Of the 13 guardians, only he and guardian Teng Bi don’t have an ally. Guardian Teng Bi is very powerful so he disdains to have an ally. But in guardian Sang Mo’s case, it’s because he’s too unpleasant!”

“You’re right. The other guardians fear cave master’s might so they don’t dare to do anything to Sang Mo, but guardian Hou Fei seems to be very hot-tempered. Looks like this time Sang Mo has bumped into an iron panel.”

…… Those guards begin to discuss with each other. They know well about every guardian and what they say is true. Among the 13 guardians, only Teng Bi and Sang Mo are alone. Teng Bi is strong and bold, but the reason Sang Mo is alone is that he is a bit too strange and malevolent, and unpopular.

Sang Mo is baffled by Hou Fei’s questions.

“When did I offend him?” He cannot understand. Seeing that Hou Fei is so furious that all of his hair is standing on end, even Sang Mo himself thinks that he somehow offended Hou Fei. But even though he racks his brains, he cannot remember offending Hou Fei.

“Could this be because of Liu Xing? No, it couldn’t. In the main hall, didn’t I only force guardian Liu Xing to go kill the black eagle? That shouldn’t be enough to make guardian Hou Fei this furious.”

Sang Mo cannot think of a reason. Hou Fei, who is mad with extreme anger, turns his face upwards and roars then shouts: “Sang Mo, listen up, you lowlife. From now on, either you or I will have to disappear. Take this!”  Hou Fei waves his black stick once then rushes at Sang Mo like a beam of light and smashes into him like a meteor.

When Sang Mo hears the words ‘take this’, his whole body shakes. Only now does he know that Hou Fei wants to kill him!

Hou Fei wants to kill him!

Someone for whom he is simply no match wants to kill him!

“Yowl ~~~”

Facing death, Sang Mo immediately turns into a huge red octopus. At the same time, he utters an extremely furious and terrified yowl that resounds through an area of several hundred li in radius around him, attracting the attention of a great number of Xiuyaoists. 

The black stick quickly lengthens. From a common-looking stick, it becomes one that is over 10 m long.

Boom!

At this crucial moment, his fear of death enables Sang Mo to surpass his limits. With a shake of his 8 tentacles, he moves away extremely fast. However, even though he has surpassed his limits, he is still far inferior to a middle Yuanying stage divine beast!

Boom!

As if he is hit by an explosion, his blood splatters around and fragments of his severed tentacles are sent flying in all directions. The area within several hundred meters of him is dyed red by his blood.

Hou Fei is secretly surprised. 

Just now, that blow of the stick unexpectedly failed to kill Sang Mo. Facing death, Sang Mo was able to surpass his limits and move much faster than he should have been able to. Even though 3 of his tentacles were smashed off by Hou Fei with that strike, his head avoided getting hit.

It should be known that Hou Fei was aiming for Sang Mo’s head.

“Sang Mo, you’ve even dared to run away! You even want to run away! Take this!!!” Hou Fei looks even more furious. With a roar, he brandishes the black stick and attacks again. It is smashed towards Sang Mo extremely fast like a huge pillar.

“Stop!” Cha Po rushes out of the cave and shouts loudly.

As Hou Fei hears Cha Po’s shout, a faint smile that is cold and cruel appears on the corners of his mouth. His black stick unexpectedly speeds up. Now it is really too fast, so fast that the water where it goes through cannot even react. The water near the stick is simply not disturbed, as if time has frozen. 

“What?!”

Because the huge black stick appears almost instantly at Sang Mo’s face as if teleported, his eyes pop out of his head.

Boom!

The originally undisturbed water suddenly explodes. Concurrently with this, the body of the huge octopus also explodes. It is shattered into countless fragments, which scatter all around. Within a several km radius of the explosion, the water is reddened by blood.

With a shake of his body, Hou Fei returns to the area outside the Blood-red Cave’s entrance.

“Hou Fei, why didn’t you stop?” Cha Po shouts furiously. At the moment, his hand is still holding a transmitter, which contains the message Sang Mo sent him moments ago.

B5C27: Cha Hong And Hou Fei

At the moment, the several thousand guards around the Blood-red Cave are watching. According to the Nine Demons Hall’s rules, Xiuyaoists from the same powerhouse are not allowed to kill each other. The Blood-red Cave is Cha Hong’s headquarters, but a guardian has killed another right outside the entrance of the cave. This is an extraordinary incident.

Cha Po is extremely angry because he did not expect Hou Fei to be so bold as to kill Sang Mo.

“Say!  Why  didn’t  you  stop  after  hearing  my  order?!”  He shouts again.

Hou Fei simply pays no attention to him and stares inside the cave. Suddenly he strokes his nose and licks his lips with his blood-red tongue once then tilts his head, looking at Cha Po with his piercing blazing fiery eyes!

“Can you say it again?” Hou Fei focuses his eyes on Cha Po and says slowly.

Cha Po is unexpectedly startled and becomes speechless. Hou Fei, however, keeps staring at him and presses him with a tremendous aura. In just a moment, beads of sweat begin to stand out on his forehead and his back is also moistened by sweat. Only now does Cha Po wake up with a start.

“Ah, who am I talking to? Because of a Five Nights Purple Flower, didn’t this monkey still fight me even after knowing that I’m the Blood-red Cave’s vice master?” Cha Po recalls how he made friends with Hou Fei before.

Now he feels somewhat regretful because only his big brother can deal with this monkey. Cha Po himself is really no match for Hou Fei.

“Listen up, I don’t care about any rules, if someone provokes me, don’t blame me for being ruthless. Humph, even if that’s a guardian, my stick won’t show any mercy. Remember, I won’t touch anyone who doesn’t offend me. But those who do should get ready to be turned into minced meat by my stick!” Hou Fei says with a cold laugh while staring at Cha Po then unexpectedly stands at the center of the Blood-red Cave’s entrance.

Hearing Hou Fei’s words and seeing fragments of the octopus’s exploded body floating in the water in all directions, Cha Po secretly draws a cold breath. Now he knows even more clearly that this monkey fears nothing.

“Guardian Hou Fei, as the cave’s vice master, I want to ask you why you killed Sang Mo?” At the moment his voice has become milder.

Hou Fei laughs kaka strangely then turns around and looks at Cha Po with his fiery eyes, saying: “You asked why I killed him? But I don’t feel like answering.” Hou Fei is behaving in a very arrogant and wild manner, which greatly amazes the guards around.

Cha Po’s expression starts to become unpleasant. Hou Fei is showing a complete lack of respect for him.

All of a sudden, Hou Fei says laughingly and playfully: “Vice master Cha Po, actually, do you still have to ask about this matter? The answer is very simple — he angered me. Do you understand? He pissed me off. If he hadn’t offended me, why would I have killed him?”

Cha Po frowns. What kind of answering is this? It is the same as saying nothing.

Immediately, Cha Po wants to open his mouth to continue questioning on how Sang Mo offended Hou Fei.

Seeing that Cha Po is about to ask again, Hou Fei immediately uses holy sense communication: “Brat, this is a public place. I’ve already let you save face so we should be friendly to each other. Otherwise, you’ll provoke me and lose face. That won’t be very good.”

Hearing this, Cha Po swallows back what he is about to say. 

At this moment —

“Fei Fei!”

A familiar voice rises and a black blur shoots towards them extremely fast. Only when it stops can everyone see clearly that it is Qin Yu on his black flying sword. But as soon as they see Qin Yu’s current appearance, they are all astonished.

At the moment, there is a frightening wound on his stomach. The wound is very shocking. His face has gone miserably pale and his lips have turned purple.

“Big brother, are you ok?” Hou Fei’s entire body becomes agitated. All of his hair stands straight up.

Even Cha Po takes a cold breath when seeing Qin Yu’s injury. After all, he is a middle Yuanying stage expert so he can conclude at a glance that Qin Yu’s injury must have been caused directly by someone’s sharp weapon when it penetrated into his stomach.

Qin Yu is truly lucky to be able to return alive after suffering such a serious wound.

“Big brother, who injured you?” Hou Fei has become anxious. He immediately holds and supports Qin Yu. It is really fortunate that Qin Yu has been able to get back here on his flying sword. Hou Fei’s eyes glitter with fierceness: “Big brother, who is it? I’m going to destroy whoever injured you!”

A raging aura erupts from his whole body.

“Forget it, Fei Fei.” Qin Yu says with a faint smile with great effort.

“Who’s  the  attacker,  guardian  Liu  Xing?  Just  tell  me everything. Our Blood-red Cave definitely won’t let those who dare to provoke any guardians go unpunished.”  Now Cha Po has also come forwards, but he is thinking about Sang Mo’s message in his mind. 

Qin Yu says while trying to endure the pain: “Vice master, this time we went out to hunt that black eagle down according to cave master’s order. But who could’ve thought that guardian Bai Yin and guardian Ran Lan would collaborate with the black eagle and attack us instead? In the beginning, guardian Mu Xu was struck by guardian Bai Yin with a sneak blow and died tragically on the spot.”

Hearing Qin Yu’s words, Cha Po frowns.

“You mean that you and guardian Zhuang Zhong were able to defeat Bai Yin, Ran Lan and the black eagle?” He questions.

Qin Yu says with a shake of his head: “Luckily guardian Zhuang Zhong is sharp and alert. When guardian Mu Xu was killed, he immediately attacked Ran Lan while I attacked Bai Yin. Fortunately, when I left my master, I was given a precious Thunder Talisman to use when my life is in danger. And I immediately killed guardian Bai Yin with it. This wound was inflicted on me by the black eagle. But I have my special skills too so it was also injured. Perhaps because it didn’t want to go all out against me, it snatched guardian Bai Yin’s and guardian Mu Xu’s yuanyings and ran away. Guardian Zhuang Zhong was able to get guardian Ran Lan’s yuanying. I’m faster than him so I returned first to tell cave master about this.”

As he finishes saying, a lustrous purple yuanying appears in the palm of his hand.

“Please take this yuanying, vice master. Now I have to go treat my injury quickly.” Qin Yu’s face becomes even a bit paler.

After hearing what Qin Yu said, Cha Po looks at the yuanying before him and thinks about Sang Mo’s message. He then looks at Qin Yu’s wound again. For the moment, his mind is somewhat confused.

“Stop saying, big brother. Quickly go back and treat the wound.”

Without letting Qin Yu say anymore, Hou Fei immediately rushes him to his house. But he puts Ran Lan’s yuanying in front of Cha Po instead of taking it with him. Cha Po clenches his teeth and immediately gets the yuanying. He then goes into the cave immediately as well. After a while, guardian Zhuang Zhong returns with some minor injuries and goes straight back to his dwelling place in the Blood-red Cave.

……

Outside the secret room wherein Cha Hong is doing closed- door training,

Cha Po, who is standing with a very urgent expression, calls loudly: “Big brother, quickly come out. Something serious has happened. Quickly come out!”  His worries have become too much for him to bear. As soon as he thinks about what has happened, his mind becomes nervous.

In just a while, the door of the secret room opens.

“Why so urgent? These days I can’t even do closed-door training in peace. Quickly say it. What’s happened? Now I don’t have time to waste on you.” Cha Hong shouts coldly. 

He has now entered the final stage of removing that seal.

Cha Po says angrily: “Have no time to waste? Big brother, do you know a serious incident has happened? Guardian Bai Yin is already dead, and so are Mu Xu and Ran Lan. Besides these 3 guardians, even guardian Sang Mo has been killed.”

Cha Hong’s face freezes.

After his expression changes several times, he calms down and   says   indifferently:   “Tell   me   everything   about   this incident.”

Seeing his big brother so calm, Cha Po is also affected and calms down a bit. He immediately says: “This incident is pretty confusing. I’m going to tell you the main details. According to guardian Liu Xing, among the 3 guardians who died first, Bai Yin and Ran Lan were in league with that black eagle. They wanted to kill the 3 guardians Liu Xing, Zhuang Zhong and Mu Xu. Guardian Liu Xing then killed Bai Yin with the Thunder Talisman his master had given him. Also, he went all out against the black eagle and scared it away.”

“Liu Xing’s master? Thunder Talisman?”  Cha Hong frowns deeply.

When he first saw Qin Yu’s special practice technique before, he asked about Qin Yu’s school, but Qin Yu did not reveal it.

“However,  guardian  Sang  Mo  messaged  me,  saying  that guardian Liu Xing is … is the Xiuxianist!” Cha Po pauses for a moment then continues: “Immediately afterwards, guardian Hou Fei got mad for some reason and killed guardian Sang Mo!”

Cha Po looks at his big brother, waiting for his response.

Cha Hong slightly narrows his eyes, which glitter with coldness. “You can continue.” Cha Hong calms down again.

Cha Po says: “But when guardian Liu Xing returned just now, he was wounded, and even very seriously. Something had penetrated into his body through his stomach. If that attack had been a little more powerful, perhaps guardian Liu Xing would’ve died on the spot. Even though guardian Liu Xing is still living, it will take him about a year to recover.”

“Big brother … at first I suspected that guardian Liu Xing had injured himself but that injury was too frightening. Just a bit careless and he would’ve killed himself. I don’t think anyone can harm themselves like that. Plus, he even handed Ran Lan’s yuanying over to me. But about the message guardian Sang Mo sent before his death …”

Cha Po says while frowning.

Cha Hong stares at Cha Po and shouts: “2nd brother, listen up, the information about this incident must be contained. You must keep your mouth shut. At the same time, you also don’t have to care about it. Just leave everything to me and immediately go tell the guardians to gather in the main hall.” “Yes!” Cha Po nods then turns around and leaves at once.

Cha Hong however mumbles to himself: “Master? Thunder Talisman? Who knows if they are real? That guardian Liu Xing is almost certainly the Xiuxianist. A Xiuxianist naturally doesn’t want a yuanying. Oh my, time, now I need time the most. If this incident happened 1 year later, I would be able to response with drastic actions.”

……

All of the remaining 11 guardians have gathered in the main hall. The incident that happened this time is very serious because it involves the deaths of 4 guardians consisting of Bai Yin, Ran Lan, Mu Xu and Sang Mo. Moreover, guardian Sang Mo was killed openly by Hou Fei just outside the Blood-red Cave.

The 3 black turtle brothers, the 2 tiger shark brothers, the 2 snake women, the horned dragon Teng Bi, Zhuang Zhong, Qin Yu and Hou Fei, 11 guardians in total, are standing on the lower part of the hall. Cha Po has also arrived. Everyone is waiting for Cha Hong, the Blood-red Cave’s master.

In a short while, Cha Hong walks up to the throne, flings his robe and sits down directly.

He then casts a glance at the guardians below him and says solemnly:  “Gentlemen,  this  time,  a  disaster  of  an  order  of magnitude not seen for 100 years has happened to our Blood- red Cave. Guardian Bai Yin and 3 others have unexpectedly all died. And guardian Sang Mo has even been killed by guardian Hou Fei at the Blood-red Cave’s entrance.”

“Hou Fei!” Cha Hong suddenly shouts.

Hou Fei takes a forward step, raises his head and looks at Cha Hong with a faint strange smile on the corners of his mouth.

“The Blood-red Cave and the 7 other powers of its caliber have always followed the rule made by the Nine Demons Hall that Xiuyaoists of the same powerhouse are not allowed to kill each other. But you, as a guardian of my Blood-red Cave, have unexpectedly killed Sang Mo openly in front of a great number of Xiuyaoists. Didn’t you think about the Blood-red Cave? Didn’t you think about the Nine Demons Hall? Didn’t you think about me?” Cha Hong shouts furiously.

An enraged Cha Hong makes his terrifying aura surge forth.

As if the end of the world has come, a shockingly powerful aura covers the whole main hall in the blink of an eye. It presses on Hou Fei, restraining him. As Cha Hong has not got into action for many years, a lot of people have questioned his power.

However, now, judging from the eruption of his aura alone, the guardians below him no longer have any doubts.

Hou Fei licks his lips with his blood-red tongue once then unexpectedly raises his head even higher and looks at Cha Hong angrily. His eyes are blazing with fighting spirit. He has never had a chance to fight a super expert like Cha Hong. “Fei Fei, are you certain of beating him?” Qin Yu asks via his holy sense.

Still glaring at Cha Hong, Hou Fei says through his holy sense: “Without using berserk mode, I don’t think I stand a chance. But if I go berserk, I’ll have a 50-50 chance. This Cha Hong fella is very strong, exceptionally strong, but … I like that!”

His eyes start to become even more blazing and his fighting spirit even more rampant!

B5C28: Cha Po’s Death

At the moment, the atmosphere inside the main hall is very oppressive. Hou Fei and Cha Hong are confronting each other. It seems they can fight anytime now.

Cha   Hong   is   secretly   surprised:   “This   monkey   is unexpectedly so strong. He should be a match for ordinary Dongxu stage experts, but if he really fights me, he’ll stand no chance.” He is very confident.

“Cave master, I came here to be a guardian, and not to be insulted. That Sang Mo fella dug his own grave by offending me. If he hadn’t offended me, why would I have killed him?”

Hou Fei’s voice resounds through the hall.

“Oh, he offended you?” Cha Hong ponders for a while. “Guardian Hou Fei, well, this rule is indeed somewhat problematic. If he threatened or offended you, it’ll be unfair if instead of punishing him you have to suppress your anger due to this rule.” Right after these words are said, the atmosphere in the hall is no longer as tense as it was a moment ago.

Hearing Cha Hong say so, Qin Yu secretly relaxes a bit.

“All right, for the moment, this matter is put on hold. I’ll examine it carefully later.”  Cha Hong then turns to Qin Yu, saying: “Guardian Liu Xing, the 3 guardians Bai Yin, Ran Lan and Mu Xu are already dead, but you unexpectedly said that Bai Yin and Ran Lan had collaborated with the black eagle?”

“That’s indeed what happened, cave master.”

Qin Yu’s face looks pale, but he still says with a cough.

As soon as Cha Hong scans Qin Yu’s wound with his holy sense, he is secretly astonished. After being told by Cha Po, he already thought that Qin Yu’s injury was very serious, but he never thought that it would be this serious. He even wonders how Qin Yu can still stand with such a severe wound. 

Qin Yu, however, feels frustrated inwardly.

“Meteoric Tear, your healing ability is too strong. After I rested in my house for just a short time, the wound had already almost healed so I had no choice but to injure myself again.” Qin Yu’s wound of course was caused by himself.

His wound was indeed shockingly serious.

However, because the Meteoric Tear’s healing ability is too strong, after he rested in his courtyard house for some time, more than half of the wound had already healed. Therefore, he had to tear it open again.

“Your injury is indeed very serious, guardian Liu Xing. It’s not that I don’t believe you, but guardian Bai Yin has served the Blood-red Cave for many years and he’s never shown any disloyalty before. This time … I really can’t believe it.” Cha Hong says in a seemingly sincere manner: “How about this? Can you describe the fighting process again, guardian Liu Xing?” Qin Yu slightly gasps for breath and says: “Cave master, I and

4 other guardians went out to hunt for that black eagle together. When we ran into it, we began to attack it according to our plan, but Bai Yin suddenly sneakily attacked guardian Mu Xu.”

When the other Xiuyaoists in the hall hear this, their hearts cannot help but skip a beat.

Middle Yuanying stage Bai Yin sneakily attacking a completely defenseless Mu Xu, the result of this is easy to imagine.

“Guardian Mu Xu died instantly. Guardian Zhuang Zhong was on high alert so when seeing this scene he noticed that Ran Lan was also attacking him. Guardian Zhuang Zhong then fought guardian Ran Lan and in the end killed him. Meanwhile, I attacked guardian Bai Yin. Using the Thunder Talisman that my master had bestowed on me, I killed Bai Yin immediately.” Qin Yu has told a lie without batting an eyelid.

The Thunder Talisman is no ordinary talisman. Talismans and seals are also divided into classes. Generally, only expert talisman or seal makers who have reached extremely high levels in power can create this Thunder Talisman.

“Thunder Talisman!”

Teng Bi, who has been keeping his eyes shut on one side, suddenly opens his eyes, looking completely astonished.

Qin Yu, however, secretly laughs. He does not have any Thunder Talismans and has only read about how to make this kind of talisman and its power in some Xiuzhen books. This formidable kind of talisman is extremely difficult to make and its materials are also extremely difficult to obtain.

“Guardian Liu Xing, your master is really powerful.”  Cha Hong praises then says: “Most probably afterwards you fought the black eagle and scared it off despite getting seriously injured.” Qin Yu nods his head.

From beginning to end, guardian Zhuang Zhong does not say anything, but his expression looks somewhat unpleasant.

The remaining guardians have always thought that Zhuang Zhong is a very nice fellow. He has treated every one of them very well and therefore is extremely popular.

“Guardian Zhuang Zhong, was the course of events the same as what guardian Liu Xing said?”  Cha Hong looks at Zhuang Zhong and asks. Qin Yu and the others also look at him. It is impossible to confirm based on Qin Yu’s account alone. Zhuang Zhong’s account is also very important.

Zhuang Zhong lets out a sigh: “Alas, cave master, my heart is in a lot of pain.”

Everyone present begins to guess what is going to happen if Zhuang Zhong refutes Qin Yu’s words. 

“Everybody  knows  that  there’s  a  very  good  relationship between  Bai  Yin,  Ran  Lan,  Mu  Xu  and  me.”  His  answer  is beside the point. The other guardians all nod their heads. They all know about Bai Yin’s gang of four. Zhuang Zhong continues: “Bai Yin was a bit of a hypocrite but he treated us pretty well.

Ran Lan was bitter and cruel but he was also fairly loyal.”

The other guardians, however, secretly curse.

Loyal?

Who does not know about Ran Lan’s cunningness and ruthlessness? Bai Yin was even more adept at toadying and was extremely hypocritical. Therefore, after Qin Yu said that they were in league with the black eagle, some of the guardians in the hall believed him at once.

“But, I never thought that the 2 of them would collaborate with the black eagle to kill me, Mu Xu and guardian Liu Xing. I think they wanted our yuanyings and jindan and guardian Liu Xing’s high-grade holy weapon.” Zhuang Zhong sighs: “Who could have thought that they were so greedy. From beginning to end, they didn’t tell me anything.”

The 3 black turtle brothers, the 2 snake women and the others all secretly sneer.

Tell an honest fellow like you?

At the same time, they look at Qin Yu in amazement. They never thought that he has a high-grade holy weapon. Even though he used the black flying sword to fight Sang Mo before, it is very difficult to evaluate flying swords based on appearance alone.

Cha Hong also says with a sigh: “Don’t be upset, guardian Zhuang Zhong. They are unworthy of your grief.”

“Alright, now the matter has practically been cleared up. Bai Yin and Ran Lan coveted the other guardians’ yuanyings, jindan and holy weapon so they collaborated with the black eagle, thinking that nobody would know about this. Not even death can expiate their crime. Cha Po, give guardian Liu Xing Ran Lan’s yuanying. Guardian Liu Xing has been seriously injured. After refining this yuanying, he will probably improve a bit in power. This is the compensation for his injury.”

Hearing Cha Hong say so, Cha Po reaches out a hand. Ran Lan’s yuanying appears on his hand.

The other guardians, however, pay no attention to it.

Not many Xiuyaoists absorb yuanyings because, firstly, other yuanyings’ energies are different from their own energies. Absorbing others’ energies will defile the energies inside their bodies, which will be harmful to them in the future.

Moreover, a practitioner who refines and absorbs a yuanying in the right way can only obtain 10% of its energy.

Most of the other guardians are at the early Yuanying stage so they do not really care about absorbing the yuanying of someone of this power level. Even if they only absorbed its essence, their power would improve by just 10% at most.

“Guardian Liu Xing, take it. This is a gesture of goodwill from my big brother.” Cha Po hands over the yuanying but his mind is suspicious of Qin Yu: “Humph, let me see if you’ll dare to refine and absorb this yuanying. They say Xiuxianists can’t absorb yuanyings. In just a while, everything will become clear because of this yuanying.”

“Thank you, cave master!”

Qin Yu immediately receives Ran Lan’s yuanying.

……

In the secret room of the Blood-red Cave, there are only Cha Hong and Cha Po at the moment. “Big brother, why didn’t you tell that guardian Liu Xing to refine the yuanying in the main hall so that we could see with our own eyes? Humph, if he didn’t dare to refine it, or if his energy misbehaved badly after the absorption, that would mean he’s the Xiuxianist!”

Cha Po has always been suspicious of Qin Yu’s identity.

Cha Hong gives an indifferent smile. He does not want to confront Qin Yu for the moment.

The reason for this is that the black jade case is going to be opened within several months. To him, no matters can be as important as the black jade case.

“2nd  brother,  listen.  In  the  next  half  year,  you  mustn’t provoke Liu Xing and Hou Fei. Just pretend that you trust them and consider them friends. No matter what happens, you have to wait for a half year. I want the Blood-red Cave to be stable in this half year!” Cha Hong says solemnly. Hearing his big brother say in such a serious manner, Cha Po immediately nods.

“All right, 2nd brother, you can leave. Don’t disturb me during this period of time. I want to finish my practice without a break.” Cha Hong says smilingly.

With his eyes brightening, Cha Po says: “Big brother, could it be you’re going to make a breakthrough within a half year?” He simply does not know about the black jade case so after hearing Cha Hong say that no accidents are allowed to happen in the next half year he thinks that his big brother is about to make a breakthrough.

Cha Hong gives a smile and nods.

Indeed he is going to make a breakthrough in power soon. But it is going to take him from 2 to 3 years instead of a half year.

Do not think that he has only been spending his own energy to drain the energy of the black jade case’s Dust Removing restrictive spell. While using his energy, he has also been absorbing the holy energy in nature to practice. His yuanying has been gradually improving for the past 100 years and Cha Hong has already reached the peak of the early Dongxu stage.

……

Qin Yu’s injury has healed completely in less than a half day.

“Fei Fei, I’m going to do closed-door training for some time. Don’t let anyone disturb me during this period of time unless something  serious  happens.”   Qin  Yu  entrusts  the  task  of guarding to Hou Fei on one side of him.

Hou Fei says with a smile: “Don’t worry, big brother. This time we got the 4 yuanyings of Bai Yin, Ran Lan, Mu Xu and Sang Mo. But I’ve already reached the middle Yuanying stage so it’s basically useless for me to absorb them. They aren’t even very useful to Xiao Hei either. So, they can only be given to you.”

A faint smile appears on Qin Yu’s face. 

“There’s no hurry to refine them. Of the 4 yuanyings, I only need Bai Yin’s. It’s totally enough for me already. Let’s put the other yuanyings away for the moment.” It is not necessarily a good thing to refine as many yuanyings as possible. When the refiner’s power reaches a certain level, he should stop.

Now Qin Yu wants to reach the 2nd of the 6 stage of the Stellar Transformations, the Meteor stage.

“All right, big brother. I’m going to help you by guarding outside. No one will be able to disturb you.” Hou Fei leaves while laughing kaka. Qin Yu immediately goes into his own bedroom and sits down with legs crossed on the bed. His mind starts to recall the contents of the Stellar Transformations.

The Stellar Transformations is divided into 6 stages, Nebula, Meteor, Core, Planet, Dujie and Star. The Nebula stage is about consolidating the foundation so its offense is not strong at all. However, once the practitioner reaches the Meteor stage, his offense will begin to increase by leaps and bounds. In the past, when Lei Wei was still at the middle Dujie stage, he was able to single-handedly kill a Dacheng stage Xiuzhenist, several loose immortals and several tens Dujie stage and Kongming stage Xiuzhenists. Afterwards, he overcame 8 of the 9 thunderbolts of the 9-From-9th Heaven Tribulation before unwillingly failing to withstand the 9th thunderbolt in the end.

His power was shockingly strong.

Lei Wei was definitely a humanoid divine beast, or even something stronger. However, Qin Yu is currently not so formidable like that because he has only reached the foundation-strengthening stage, Nebula.

“To reach the Meteor stage, I have to combine a very great number of silvery grains into a golden particle of essence. It will become a core inside my body — a Meteor.” Qin Yu gives a faint smile. The gap between the late Nebula stage and the early Meteor stage is really too big.

The Meteor stage focuses on speed, condensation and instantaneous explosiveness! 

At the moment, Qin Yu’s stellar energy is still in its most common form. By the time he reaches the Meteor stage, a myriad of silvery grains will have already been refined down to a single golden particle of essence called a Meteor. Energy will come out from the Meteor in the form of thin threads that looks like rays of light.

Their thinness also represents a high level of energy condensation.

His offensive force will be focused on one point so it will be extraordinarily powerful. The golden stellar energy will also fuse with his body so he will progress at least 10 times faster than he is at the moment, or maybe even more.

“Theoretically,  at  the  Nebula  stage,  a  practitioner  of  the Stellar Transformations should stay in a certain place to practice. Only when he has reached the Meteor stage can he wander around and fight other Xiuzhenists!” As soon as Qin Yu remembers the descriptions of the Meteor stage and the later stages in the Stellar Transformations, he cannot help feeling himself burning with excitement. Now he is weaker than Xiao Hei and Hou Fei, but this will change once he reaches the early Meteor stage.

“Alright, let’s start practicing.”

Qin Yu closes his eyes.

However, at this moment, the noise of an explosion reaches him from inside the Blood-red Cave. Afterwards, the cave is in turmoil. All the guarding Xiuyaoists begin to run in all directions.

“Guardian Hou Fei, vice master has been killed by a mysterious figure. That mysterious figure has disappeared. Please chase and capture the killer quickly.”

A guard runs up to the side of Hou Fei and says respectfully. Hou Fei’s face changes color. He says: “You can leave first.” He then runs towards Qin Yu’s room at once. But Qin Yu has already come out of the room. He also heard clearly what that guard said just now.

“Big brother?” Hou Fei looks at Qin Yu.

Qin Yu feels that the current situation is somewhat bad. Cha Po, the cave’s vice master, has unexpectedly been killed at this time. However, the wound on his stomach has healed completely and he cannot let anyone discover this.

“Fei Fei, no matter what happens, if someone comes to find me, just tell them I am doing closed-door training and can’t be disturbed. I feel that the situation has already become a little chaotic. I must quickly improve my power.”  He immediately says to Hou Fei.

Hou Fei nods then sits down in the courtyard of Qin Yu’s house at once. He will not let anybody disturb Qin Yu.

Disregarding everything, Qin Yu goes back into his room. At this crucial moment, the most important thing to do is improve his power! Once he reaches the Meteor stage, his hands will no longer be tied as they are now.

Meanwhile, an extremely furious deep voice resounds through the Blood-red Cave.

“Listen up, 5000 guards and 11 guardians. From now on, keep a close watch everywhere. Nobody is allowed to enter the Blood-red Cave. Whoever violates this rule must be killed!” All of the guards and guardians immediately become much more alert. The looks in their eyes become even fiercer as well.

B5C29: The Meteor Stage

Various guard squads are continuously patrolling everywhere in the Blood-red Cave. Even those beautiful ladies-in-waiting on the walkways or in the corridors have also become cautious and no longer dare to banter flirtatiously with the guards as before. The current atmosphere in the Blood-red Cave is very oppressive.

The guardians, consisting of Yan Qing and her sister, the 3 black turtle brothers, the 2 tiger shark brothers, Teng Bi, Qin Yu, Hou Fei and Zhuang Zhong, all stay in their own houses. None of them strolls outside.

Day after day of such a high level of vigilance and pressure passes …

……

In the Nine Demons Hall’s main hall, There is a throne on a raised platform. Below it, there are 4 thrones on either side. At the moment, 8 men who are dressed in purple brocade robes are sitting in the thrones. Only the 2nd throne on the left among the lower thrones is vacant.

The man sitting in the highest throne in the main hall has thick eyebrows and big eyes. His body naturally gives off a lordly air.

This purple-robed man is examining a 3-cun long jade sword in his hand. After looking at it carefully several times, he says: “This is the 6th of the legendary 9 Swords. It’s indeed a good sword, very good.” As he exclaims nonstop, his eyes blaze with excitement.

The 1st purple-robed man on the right below him, however, says critically: “Big brother, what’s good about it? Isn’t it just a top-grade holy weapon? Though top-grade holy weapons are pretty precious, this sword doesn’t deserve such fame. Except for some special functions, what’s good about this jade sword itself?” “What do you know?” The higher purple-robed man says laughingly.

The true forms of the Nine Demons Hall’s 9 brothers are Purple Demon aquatic dragons. Even though they are not divine dragons, they are close to divine dragons in power. A Purple Demon aquatic dragon can defeat 5 or 6 Xiuxianists of the same power level as it. Therefore, by joining forces, these 9 Purple Demon aquatic dragons were able to become one of the 3 superpowers at the bottom of the ocean.

The higher purple-robed man is the big brother among them, Di Long!

Di Long looks at the jade sword with glittering eyes: “Brothers, you all know about those special functions. But this jade sword itself is also extraordinary. Let me tell you something. The material used to forge it was only a chunk of icy jasper.”

“How is this possible?” Below him, his 7 brothers are all astonished.

It is common knowledge that icy jasper is only a material to make middle-grade holy weapons and cannot be forged into high-grade holy weapons, let alone top-grade holy weapons.

Di Long says with a faint smile on the corners of his mouth: “Don’t doubt it. This jade sword is only a key to open an immortal mansion. It’s simply impossible for you to imagine how powerful the immortal that forged this jade sword was. They certainly had the ability to perform miracles.”

“The fact that this immortal was able to forge top-grade holy weapons from a middle-grade material reflects their power. What things are there in the mansion of an immortal like this? When even the keys to it are already 9 top-grade holy weapons, what treasures is it storing?” Di Long’s eyes glitter.

The eyes of his 7 brothers also glitter. It seems they are also thinking about the treasures in the immortal mansion. The 3rd brother Di Xu says: “Big brother, according to our intelligence, 7 of the 9 jade swords have appeared. The Xiuxianists of the Penglai Immortal Region got 1. The Purple Flame Devilish Dungeon’s Xiumoists are lucky; they unexpectedly got 2. That azure dragon of the Azure Dragon Palace got 1. We got 1 and that 3-eyed old freak of the Blue Water Mansion also got 1. It seems Azure Dragon and 3-Eyed

are contending for the 7th jade sword.”

Underwater Xiuyaoists are very powerful and the number of jade swords they have obtained also partly reflects this.

The big brother Di Long slightly nods and says smilingly: “There are many Xiuxian schools in the Penglai Immortal Region but they only got 1 jade sword so perhaps there’ll be an internal struggle among them for a while. As for the 7th jade sword that has just appeared, we won’t get involved with it. We’d better let Azure Dragon and the old freak 3-Eyed fight each other.”

Azure Dragon of the Azure Dragon Palace and the 3-Blue- Eyed Toad of the Blue Water Mansion are 2 extremely powerful divine beasts. To put up a fight against either of them, the Nine Demons Hall will have to go all out. 

“Big brother, now that the 7th jade sword has appeared, where are the remaining 2?” The 9th brother Di Nai asks.

Di Long says very confidently: “Nobody knows where the 9th sword currently is. But … I know where the 8th sword is. This time, 8th brother personally went out because of it. If my prediction is correct, 8th brother will succeed with ease.”

The 3rd brother Di Xu says smilingly: “9th brother, I know about this business too. Big brother told me to send subordinates to gather information about different camps and at the same time search for the jade swords. And I accidentally obtained the information about the 8th sword.”

Searching for the jade swords.

Not only has the Nine Demons Hall been searching for them, the Penglai Immortal Region, the Purple Flame Devilish Dungeon, the Azure Dragon Palace and the Blue Water Mansion have all sent experts to search for them everywhere as well. They have been searching the islands and the ocean and have even gone to the Qian Long continent to search.

Luckily those Xiuyaoists, Xiuxianists and Xiumoists entered the Qian Long continent only to search for the jade swords rather than to take part in its internal affairs, or else the 3 big kingdoms on the continent would not be able to enjoy such a high level of stability.

“The more jade swords the better. If we can obtain more jade swords, when the 5 superpowers unlock the immortal mansion later, our opinions will carry more weight and we’ll get more treasures. We’ll definitely obtain the 8th jade sword, so now we must try our best to find out where the 9th sword is!”

Di Long stands up and glances at his brothers below him, saying: “Brothers, let’s try your hardest to gather information about the 9th sword now!”

“Yes, big brother!”

The other 7 purple-robed men accept the order in unison. 

……

3 months has already gone by. The Blood-red Cave is still as calm as before.

At the moment in the secret room of the cave,

Cha Hong is sitting with legs crossed. A black jade case is floating in front of him. It is continuously sending out many rays of light. And Cha Hong’s powerful demonic elemental energy is neutralizing the energy of the case’s Dust Removing restrictive spell nonstop. At this point, even Cha Hong has become emotional.

He withdraws his hands and stops sending his demonic elemental energy into the case. There are various beads of sweat on his forehead at the moment.

“Whew.” Cha Hong’s eyebrows are drenched with sweat. Having been in possession of this black jade case for 100 years, today he has been able to ascertain that the case is going to be opened very soon. At that time he is going to obtain the treasure in the case

and, as a result, have something to rely on to achieve his ambitions.

Xiuxianists’ Penglai Immortal Region, Xiumoists’ Purple Flame Devilish Dungeon, the Azure Dragon Palace, the Nine Demons Hall, and the Blue Water Mansion are absolutely the 5 strongest superpowers in the overseas Xiuzhen world.

The Blood-red Cave is only one of the 8 minor powers under the Nine Demons Hall. It is simply not in the same league as the 5 superpowers. Because of this, Cha Hong has been trying to lie very low and be very cautious, especially after obtaining the black jade case.

“After 100 years, this bloody restrictive spell is finally about to break. The immortal that set it up was really ridiculous. Isn’t it just a dust-removing spell? Casually using a little power would’ve been enough. Why gave it so much energy?” Cha Hong says smilingly with a sigh. 

At the moment he is in a fairly good mood.

However, as soon as he remembers his 2nd brother Cha Po’s sudden death, he has a tinge of a bad feeling.

“Hopefully nothing unexpected will happen at this final juncture. But … I definitely won’t let anyone snatch my treasure.” Cha Hong’s eyes glitter with coldness. Afterwards, he rests for a while to replenish his demonic elemental energy then continues to drain the energy of the Dust Removing restrictive spell.

……

In Qin Yu’s courtyard house in the eastern part of the Blood- red Cave,

Hou Fei is sitting with legs crossed and eyes closed in the courtyard. There is a black stick next to him. He has been practicing this way for 3 whole months. But he has not been practicing with full concentration because he has been watching the surroundings closely using his holy sense.

He definitely will not let anybody interrupt Qin Yu’s training.

Qin Yu is practicing in the room guarded by Hou Fei. At the moment, his body is radiating an indistinct light similar to starlight. Stellar energy has formed a huge nebula that is enfolding him. Qin Yu is sitting with legs crossed above the bed.

He is currently sitting in midair.

Suddenly!

The nebula spins faster. At the same time, the sun above the ocean unexpectedly shoots a blazing stream of energy down towards a deep place in the ocean through the water. This blazing energy stream comes straight into Qin Yu’s room in the Blood-red Cave then fuses with the nebula. Immediately, the color of the nebula becomes golden. Qin Yu is being surrounded completely in the golden light.

A series of small sounds comes out from his entire body. His whole forehead is being covered in large beads of sweat. He has even begun to convulse due to acute pains but he is still trying to endure the pains because he knows he has reached a crucial point in practice.

Inside his body,

The density of the silvery grains in his dantian has unexpectedly increased by 100%. Countless silvery grains are rotating very quickly. At the same time, various blazing streams of energy are entering the body from the outside. The muscles and bones in Qin Yu’s entire body are undergoing rapid and drastic transformations.

Every muscle, every bone and even every cell in his body are transforming very quickly. The toughness and flexibility of his body are being improved again and again. Hot!

The Stellar Flame is blazing nonstop inside Qin Yu’s body, as if it is roasting him. The countless silvery grains in the space of his dantian start to spin extremely fast. Unlike in the past, they are now spinning towards a central point.

Chi chi ~~

Enhanced nonstop by the real sun, the Stellar Flame has become much stronger. Being refined repeatedly by it, those silvery grains spin with ever increasing speed. As time passes, the silvery grains spin faster and faster.

Moreover, all of them are quickly spinning towards the center.

Of course, the more silvery grains there are in the outer parts of the dantian, the more silvery grains will spin towards the center with time. In the huge space of the dantian, all of the silvery grains are converging towards the center like mad. 

While enhancing the Stellar Flame, the powerful and extremely pure solar fire continuously refines Qin Yu’s body as well.

Concurrently with this, various clear streams flow to every place in Qin Yu’s body from the Meteoric Tear, enabling his body to recover very fast. But as soon as it recovers, it is burnt and refined by the fire yet again.

Thanks to getting burnt and healed repeatedly by the fire and the Meteoric Tear, the toughness and flexibility of Qin Yu’s body improve very quickly.

Lei Wei created the practice method of making use of solar fires, but he could only rely on his body’s natural recovery ability, which was much inferior to the Meteoric Tear’s healing ability. It should be known that the faster a practitioner can recover, the greater the number of times his body will be refined.

…… Outside, Hou Fei suddenly opens his eyes, stands up and stares at Qin Yu’s room.

At the moment, even Hou Fei is very astonished by a powerful undulation of energy.

“Guardian Hou Fei, what has happened?” Guardian Zhuang Zhong runs up to Hou Fei and asks. He has also felt the energy undulation at this place. The 2 snake women, amazed by such a powerful amount of energy, have run into Qin Yu’s house as well.

Generally, nobody will release such a great amount of energy while practicing.

“Bugger off!”

Hou Fei suddenly stares at them and growls loudly, looking frighteningly violent. His fierce look makes Zhuang Zhong, Yan Qing and her sister trembles in their hearts. Immediately, they no longer dare to say anything. They all know that he killed Sang Mo right outside the main entrance of the Blood- red Cave.

Hou Fei then turns around and looks at the room.

“Just now how could that fire come down from the sky?” He is somewhat doubtful in his heart. Actually, there were restrictive spells around Qin Yu’s room so the energy Qin Yu sent out should not have alarmed the other guardians. But that fiery stream of energy just now unexpectedly destroyed the restrictive spells with ease.

Because of this, at a crucial moment to Qin Yu, the energy surged forth from his body caught the other guardians’ attention.

And they have begun to gather in his house.

“Hey, great beauty Yan, what’s happened inside?” Wu Tong of the 2 tiger shark brothers asks Yan Qing. Seeing Hou Fei guarding outside Qin Yu’s room, he does not dare to go into it without permission. Who does not know about Hou Fei’s wildness and insolence?

Yan Qing says with a shake of her head: “I don’t know, but it should be guardian Liu Xing practicing.”

“Practicing? Why didn’t he set up restrictive spells? All of us can feel the undulation of his energy. Could it be he doesn’t know that the Blood-red Cave is in a very tense situation?” Ba Ming of the 3 black turtle brothers frowns and says doubtfully.

When these several guardians are discussing,

The energy coming out from the room suddenly withdraws.

Inside the room,

A faint smile appears on the face of Qin Yu, who is sitting with legs crossed in midair. He opens his eyes then slightly opens his mouth and takes a breath. The remaining third of the yuanying, which is yet to be refined, is swallowed up by him directly.

The outer nebula also disappears in an instant.

In Qin Yu’s dantian,

There is a blue Stellar Flame in the center of the dantian. Inside the Stellar Flame, there is a dazzling golden source of light. By observing carefully, one would find out that it is a very small golden grain. It is called a meteor. This shining meteor is being burnt by the Stellar Flame. Around the shining golden grain, there are a few silvery grains.

Even though their number has become much smaller, they are occupying much more space in the dantian than before.

The remainder of the yuanying has been swallowed up by Qin Yu at a gulp. A series of cracking sounds rises as the Stellar Flame burns and refines that third of the yuanying completely. Those silvery grains then begin to revolve very fast. They have also become slightly bigger.

“With the help of the solar fire, I had to refine a great number of silvery grains to get a golden grain. This solar fire is really exceptionally powerful. I didn’t think it’d be able to refine a third of the yuanying completely in a breath!” Qin Yu thinks to himself emotionally.

All of a sudden, a faint smile appears on the corners of his mouth: “Let’s see how much faster I’ve become.” A golden ray of light then shoots out from the meteor in his dantian. It fuses with the channels in his entire body instantly.

Whizz!

With a shake of his body, Qin Yu disappears from the room like a golden ray of light. He is at least 10 times faster than before. His speed has reached a simply frightening level. Outside the room, Hou Fei blinks his fiery eyes in disbelief. He suddenly feels Qin Yu’s aura disappear from the room in an instant.

“Fei Fei.”

Qin Yu suddenly appears in front of an astonished Hou Fei and looks smilingly at him.

B5C30: The Mantis Stalks The Cicada

Seeing Qin Yu appear before him, Hou Fei’s eyes suddenly glitter and unexpectedly shoot out 2 visible beams of light, which enfold Qin Yu. After just a moment, Hou Fei’s expression becomes even more astonished and shocked.

“Big brother, you ate some immortal pill, didn’t you?”

Hou Fei looks at Qin Yu and asks. At the moment he is very curious because, theoretically, even when a practitioner makes a breakthrough, he will not improve so much in such a short time. Hou Fei even feels that Qin Yu can now give him a good fight and at least pose a threat to him.

“What are you staring at? Scram!”

Hou Fei turns around and shouts at those guardians. Guardian Zhuang Zhong among them says smilingly to Qin Yu: “Congratulations,  guardian  Liu  Xing.  It  seems  after  cave master granted you guardian Ran Lan’s yuanying, you’ve improved a lot in power thanks to refining it. Could it be you have reached the middle Yuanying stage?” Yan Qing says with a frown: “That’s impossible. Ran Lan was only at the early Yuanying stage. Absorbing his yuanying shouldn’t have been able to improve guardian Liu Xing’s power very much. Could it be guardian Liu Xing had already reached the peak of the early Yuanying stage before? Somehow I feel that guardian Liu Xing’s energy is not very powerful.”

Qin Yu gives a smile.

At the Meteor stage, his body’s energy is contained even better. Moments ago, he had just reached the Meteor stage so his energy surged forth. But now, most of his energy is being concentrated in that shining meteor in the center of his dantian.

Moreover, because he is using the Xiumo secret technique Northern Darkness, his body is not giving off a bit of his aura, and therefore it is even more difficult to estimate his power.

“My fellow guardians, your power levels are about the same as mine, but my brother Fei Fei surpassed me long ago. As his big brother, of course I must try hard. I still have something to discuss with Fei Fei so all of you please leave here for the moment.”   Qin  Yu  does  not  say  exactly  what  level  he  has reached.

An air of mystery,

This is what he needs.

Yan Qing and Xi Yan slightly salute him: “Then we take our leave first. But can you go to our houses later to have some fun, guardian Liu Xing?” These 2 seductive sisters then give Qin Yu a flirtatious look and leave immediately.

“Guardian Liu Xing, congratulations on a big improvement in power. The 3 of us take our leave too.” The 3 black turtle brothers leave with big smiles on their faces.

The guardians leave one after another. Their attitudes towards him are all very good. Previously, they also treated him fairly well but it was only because of his relationship with Hou Fei. At this place, personal power is the most important thing. A strong individual here will naturally earn the respect of Xiuyaoists.

Last time Qin Yu said that he had been able to seriously injure the black eagle by going all out so those guardians estimated that he was approaching a middle Yuanying stage expert in offense. Now that he has made progress in practice again, they think that they know very well about his power.

In fact, at the moment Qin Yu is stronger than they think he is.

Horned Dragon Teng Bi looks at Qin Yu with glittering eyes and says in amazement: “Originally I thought that except for cave master only guardian Hou Fei could fight me. But now it looks like guardian Liu Xing is already strong enough to fight me after making a big improvement in power.” His words are very direct.

Qin Yu responds with a smile. “I take my leave, guardian Liu Xing. Later you must have a spar with me.” Teng Bi leaves at once.

Now there are only Qin Yu and Hou Fei left in the courtyard.

Hou Fei casually sets up a restrictive spell then looks at Qin Yu, saying: “Tell me clearly, big brother. How did you practice? My Fiery-eyed Aquatic Monkey clan is a harmonious fusion of water and fire, and we also attach great importance to the physical body so my body is extremely strong. But when I used the Fiery Eyes to take a look at you just now, I found that your body is approaching mine in toughness.”

Hou Fei is a middle Yuanying stage divine beast while Qin Yu is at the early Meteor stage, but the toughness levels of their bodies are close to each other.

“The  reason  for  this  is  my  practice  technique.  It’s  called Stellar Transformations. Training the body is its basis. The stronger the body is, the faster the progress will be. This time, when I made a breakthrough to the Meteor stage, due to a special cause my body toughness improved rapidly and surpassed the level recorded in the Stellar Transformations.” Qin Yu does not hide the Stellar Transformations technique from Hou Fei at all.

Actually, the Stellar Transformations has basically been unheard of in the Xiuzhen world.

It did not exist until Lei Wei created it. And after Lei Wei came to this Xiuzhen world, he never tried to publicize his own technique either.

“Stellar Transformations? I’ve never heard of it. It seems not to exist in my hereditary memories either. It should be an ordinary practice technique, right?” Hou Fei blinks his eyes a couple of times and says.

Qin Yu is startled.

Hereditary memories? He has met someone with hereditary memories again! Hei Yu has hereditary memories. Hou Fei also has hereditary memories. Could it be all divine beasts have hereditary memories? However, because Qin Yu has seen only a very small number of divine beasts, it is certainly impossible for him to draw a conclusion. Without communicating with divine beasts, how can he know if they have hereditary memories or not?

“A strong body is very beneficial for close-quarters offense. Big brother, I feel that your speed just now was very fast. Using your physical power alone, you should already be able to beat ordinary Yuanying stage experts.” Hou Fei says very positively.

Qin Yu is of course clear about this. According to the descriptions in the Stellar Transformations, now he should even be able to fight early Dongxu stage experts. Moreover, thanks to the Meteoric Tear, his body was refined more than usual by solar fire during practice, and therefore it is currently much stronger than the Stellar Transformations says it is.

The energy of the Meteor stage is many times more condensed than that of the Nebula stage. At the Meteor stage, stellar energy is sent out in the form of golden threads. Because it is extremely pure and concentrated, it is highly destructive. 

“Fei Fei, for the next few days I’ll have to consolidate my power level a bit. You don’t need to guard me during this period. Right, has the investigation into Cha Po’s death achieved any results?” Qin Yu always feels that Cha Po’s death is very strange.

Previously, because he was busy practicing, he did not care too much about it.

Hou Fei says with a shake of his head: “Nothing has been found out. According to the other guardians, a mysterious figure attacked Cha Po and killed him directly in one hit. Cha Po was basically defenseless. When other guys came to see what was happening after hearing the explosion, the killer had already disappeared.”

“Fei Fei, you mean, from beginning to end, nobody saw that mysterious figure?”

“Yes, it should be so according to the other guardians.” Hou Fei says with a nod. 

“Where did Cha Po die?” Qin Yu asks with glittering eyes.

“It was outside the secret room in which Cha Hong often undergoes closed-door training.” As Hou Fei says this, he also becomes doubtful. “Also, Cha Hong was inside the secret room at that time. Cha Po got killed right outside the room but Cha Hong unexpectedly couldn’t catch the killer. This killer is a bit too strong already.”

“Right outside the secret room?” Qin Yu ponders for a moment. His eyes suddenly brighten.

He then says smilingly with a nod: “All right, Fei Fei, you should return to have a rest first. After keeping watch over me during this period of time, you must be tired, right?” Hou Fei stretches his sluggish waist, saying: “Well, I’m actually a bit tired. Kaka, I’m going back to rest now.”

He becomes lively again. During a short stretch of time afterwards, Qin Yu strengthens his power level and familiarizes himself with the offensive techniques of the Meteor stage a bit. There are detailed descriptions of many offensive techniques in the Stellar Transformations. To put it simply, the Meteor stage’s

techniques belong to the type that allows the user to rely on

speed to detect the enemy’s weaknesses then deal a crushing blow or to escape if the enemy is unbeatable.

Of course, the user can also come at the enemy head-on, but this will be a waste of his superior speed.

After a few days,

“I’m going to practice. All of you listen up! Nobody is allowed to enter my house. Fei Fei, help me to keep watch outside and don’t let anyone disturb me. This closed-door training session is very important so you should just beat away anyone who comes here.” Qin Yu tells Hou Fei. At the same time, he gives the ladies-in-waiting sent to his courtyard house on one side an order. “Yes!”  Hearing Qin Yu say in such a serious manner, the ladies-in-waiting immediately accept the orders.

Hou Fei, however, winks at him a couple of times and says loudly: “Don’t worry, big brother. Whoever dares to disturb you is going to be reduced to mince in a blow of my stick!”

Qin Yu gives Hou Fei a smile then turns around and goes into his room at once.

Right after entering the room, he uses the most basic escaping technique in his Xiuxian secret books — underground escaping art — to go into the ground. He then quietly and secretly leaves his own courtyard house. Very soon after coming out of the house, he surfaces.

“I want to see what secrets there are in that secret room!”

There is a faint smile on the corners of his mouth. He immediately controls the turning speed of the Northern Darkness talisman in his head. After a small adjustment, he no longer absorbs the energies around him and only does not give off his own aura. This is absolutely the best way of containing aura.

To be safe, he does not even use the stellar energy in his body and only relies on his physical power.

With a movement of his body, he rushes towards the northern part of the Blood-red Cave like a black beam of light. As he is not sending out a bit of his aura, those guardians who are staying in their courtyard houses cannot detect him either. After getting out of the eastern part, he easily avoids the guards in other places because the strongest among them are only at the late phase of the Jindan stage.

After entering the northern part, he follows a curved path to approach an artificial mountain. It is none other than the entrance to the secret room.

“Since  Cha  Po  was  killed  right  outside  the  secret  room, someone must’ve approached it. But why did they approach it? They can’t have made a trip to the entrance of the secret room just to kill Cha Po.” A faint smile appears on his face. He still remembers Zhuang Zhong told him that Cha Hong had often undergone closed-door training in the secret room for the last 100 years.

There must be some secret here!

This coupled with Cha Po’s death near the secret room at the hands of a mysterious killer has made Qin Yu decide to secretly scout this place out. He does not dare to approach the entrance in that artificial mountain straight from the front so he goes around it in a large curve then moved towards it extremely fast like the wind from another direction. All the while, he does not use a bit of stellar energy.

However, when coming near the artificial mountain, Qin Yu feels the presence of something dangerous here. This feeling of fear from the bottom of his heart is very unpleasant. He immediately stops his approach and goes into the ground at a corner of the artificial mountain. He can feel that someone is hiding in the surroundings.

Moreover, this is a very powerful being. Therefore, Qin Yu does not dare to use his holy sense and suppresses his aura completely with the Northern Darkness. He relies only on his hearing to observe.

Qin Yu thus remains motionless under the artificial mountain as time passes. All along, he has an intuitive feeling of danger. For the moment, he must be patient.

……

In the Blood-red Cave’s secret room,

Cha Hong is sitting with legs crossed on a bulrush mat. Various streams of demonic elemental energy are continuously wearing away the Dust Removing restrictive spell. The light on the surface of the black jade case is getting increasingly dull. Cha Hong’s eyes are blazing. There are indistinct blood-red lines in his eyes. Obviously he is extremely excited at the moment.

Poof! A very soft noise is heard. But to Cha Hong, it is no different from a crash of thunder. His whole body shakes. In an instant, he withdraws his demonic elemental energy and focuses his glittering eyes entirely on the black jade case.

“I’ve finally succeeded!” Cha Hong opens the case with shaky hands.

It requires no special techniques to open the black jade case. After opening it, he sees a 3-cun long jade sword inside. This jade sword is lustrous throughout. There is a seal character for ‘Eight’ written on it. A jade slip is put on the jade sword. Cha Hong immediately gets that jade slip. Right after he makes a sweep with his holy sense, an ecstatic expression appears on his face.

“Ha-ha, indeed, it’s indeed the same as the legend. The 9 Swords Immortal Mansion, oh my, a mansion left behind by an immortal. And this is none other than the 8th sword.”

Cha Hong’s entire body is extremely excited. Who would not get excited upon succeeding after spending their own energy to wear away that Dust Removing restrictive spell almost every day for more than 100 consecutive years like Cha Hong? Moreover, this jade sword will also make his dreams a bit more attainable.

Even the jade sword itself is already a treasure to Cha Hong, because it is a top-grade holy weapon.

The 5 superpowers, Penglai Immortal Region, Purple Flame Devilish Dungeon, Azure Dragon Palace, Nine Demons Hall and Blue Water Mansion, regard top-grade holy weapons as treasures, but they do not lack these weapons. However, in the eyes of Cha Hong, this jade sword is a top-class treasure. His own holy weapon is only a high-grade one.

Boom!

Following an explosion, a silhouette appears in the secret room. The defense of the room was totally useless against this figure. The arriver is a stalwart man who is dressed in fitted purple clothes. This man stares at Cha Hong. His eyes are full of amusement. 

When Cha Hong suddenly sees this purple-clad man, his face changes color at once.

“Di Tong!”

His face darkens as he sees this 8th brother of the Nine Demons Hall. At the same time, he also becomes somewhat flustered inwardly. The Nine Demons Hall’s 9 brothers are not equally powerful. The big brother among them, Di Long, is the strongest. And this Di Tong can definitely rank 3rd among them in power.

“Cha Hong, I have to thank you for spending the past 100 years helping the Nine Demons Hall break the restrictive spell of this black jade case.” Di Tong says smilingly.

Cha Hong calms down in the blink of an eye and says: “8th Majesty, I was absolutely sure that nobody alive knew I got one of the 9 Swords. How did you know about this?” Di Tong says with a smile: “Nobody alive knew about this, but couldn’t the fellas you killed write it down?” Hearing these words, Cha Hong cannot help forcing a smile. In the past he also thought about the possibility of those victims recording this information, so he destroyed all of their belongings.

However, must those victims have carried the things they wrote it down on with them? Erasing all the information about this therefore was not something that could be done.

“Alright, Di Tong, it’s said that you’ve reached the middle Dongxu stage. Looks like I’m no match for you!” Cha Hong says in such a defeatist manner on the outside, but he fuses a drop of blood with the jade sword in the blink of an eye. Now he has already personalized the sword. With this top-grade holy weapon, his power has been enhanced quite a bit.

Di Tong has noticed this, but he is not worried. There is a hint of disdain on the corners of his mouth.

However, at this moment, someone is quietly eavesdropping in a dark corner just outside the secret room. It is none other than Qin Yu. 

When Di Tong set up a restrictive spell, he only covered the entire artificial mountain from above with it. He did not know that a man had been hiding silently in the ground under the mountain for a long time. After Qin Yu heard the door of the secret room blasted open, he waited for a moment then quietly

came in after Di Tong.

B5C31: Underground Battle

The artificial mountain in the northern part of the Blood-red Cave occupies a very large area. The secret rooms under it are constructed next to each other in a systematically irregular manner like a maze. Together, they occupy an area that is at least 1 km in both length and width.

Qin Yu is standing with his back against a corner.

“Black jade case? One of the 9 Swords? 8th Majesty Di Tong?” Hearing what Cha Hong said inside, he has a rough idea of what is going on.

Obviously the black jade case was relatively difficult to open. Cha Hong had to spend 100 years to open it and there is one of the 9 Swords in it. However, now 8th Majesty of the Nine Demons Hall wants to rob him of that sword.

“Cha Hong had to spend 100 years to open that black jade case, plus he’s been very careful, but in the end it’ll still be snatched by 8th Majesty of the Nine Demons Hall himself.” Qin Yu feels his heart beating slightly faster. When even the Nine Demons Hall is so eager to have that jade sword, what kind of treasure is it?

Because he is holding his breath completely and is using the Northern Darkness, his body is not giving off a bit of his aura.

“I can’t observe with my eyes. Both Cha Hong and Di Tong are Dongxu experts and highly gifted, if I look at them, perhaps this’ll make them notice me.” At this point, Qin Yu definitely cannot afford to make a mistake.

He stands closely to the wall and focuses his entire attention on his ears. Now he can only eavesdrop on the conversation between the 2 of them to guess the situation inside.

In the secret room,

Di Tong is neither arrogant nor impatient. He is not worried in the slightest either. He looks casually at Cha Hong. In his view, Cha Hong is basically defenseless against him and once he gets into action, he will succeed with ease. Therefore, even though Cha Hong has personalized the jade sword by blood, Di Tong is not worried by this at all.

“That jade sword has fused with your body. Are you ready yet?”  Di Tong looks at Cha Hong with a mocking smile. His manner is not fierce or imposing but there is an air of absolute sureness about him.

Facing Di Tong, Cha Hong, who has personalized the jade sword, is not frightened in the least.

“Di Tong, did you kill my 2nd brother?” Cha Hong asks.

Di Tong nods smilingly.

“Why? My 2nd brother was only at the middle Yuanying stage. He wasn’t a threat to you at all, why did you kill him?” Cha Hong’s expression changes to the point where it looks very unpleasant. Di Tong, however, laughs out loud coldly. “Ha-ha,  such  deep  brotherhood.  Ha-ha  …   this  is  really laughable as hell.”  There is a note of disdain in his hysterical laughter.

He then looks at Cha Hong and says coldly: “Don’t pretend you care deeply about your brother like that. Just now you personalized that jade sword but you basically haven’t finished familiarizing yourself with it using your internal flame. Perhaps now you’re burning it with your demonic spiritual flame, right?”

“Humph, you’re talking to me here only to buy some time to familiarize yourself with the sword so that you can control it more easily.” Di Tong has quickly figured out Cha Hong’s goal.

However, Cha Hong’s expression is unchanged. He does not deny or admit it.

“All right, I can wait for you.” Di Tong folds his arms before his chest and slightly raises his chin. He stares coldly at Cha Hong while waiting for Cha Hong to familiarize himself with the jade sword. He is totally confident that he is going to win this fight. 

In terms of true forms, a Purple Demon aquatic dragon is certainly stronger than a blood-red aquatic python.

In terms of power levels, he is at the middle Dongxu stage whereas Cha Hong is only at the early Dongxu stage.

In terms of weapons, he also has a top-grade holy weapon. Moreover, it is the weapon that he is most adept at using. By contrast, Cha Hong cannot choose his weapon. The jade sword is the only top-grade holy weapon available to him.

And in terms of practice techniques, the technique of the Nine Demons Hall’s 8th Majesty is of course more profound than that of Cha Hong!

It can be said that Di Tong is superior to Cha Hong in every aspect.

“Di Tong, you and your 8 brothers can be so arrogant only thanks to your true forms as Purple Demon aquatic dragons and your combined force. Today you’re here alone. I want to see how strong you are individually.” Cha Hong says coldly. At the same time, the look in his eyes becomes so fierce that it seems as if it can pierce through rock and metal.

Cha Hong knows that as the underdog he can only rely on courage and momentum.

All out!

Being the underdog, Cha Hong has to go all out and risk his life to fight a battle. He cannot afford to lose no matter what. Once he loses, he will end up with nothing. Even his life will be taken, let alone the jade sword.

He has been lying low for so long so how can he possibly admit defeat easily?

Cha Hong looks at Di Tong with his eyes full of tenacity. No matter what happens, he is going to give his all in this fight first. In the Xiuzhen world, losers have no say in anything. 

“Good, looks like you still got some courage. But, if you want to be ambitious, not only must you have brains, you must also have real power!” Di Tong’s voice suddenly becomes resonant while his eyes glitter with coldness. “The most important thing is your fists must be tougher than mine!”

Di Tong and Cha Hong focus their eyes on one another.

Oppressive, the atmosphere in the secret room is frighteningly oppressive. The 2 of them are fixing their entire attention on each other, observing every movement of each other. Whoever slightly relaxes his concentration first will probably suffer nonstop attacks by the opponent.

Even though Qin Yu is outside the secret room, he can still feel an oppressive atmosphere.

Suddenly — A noise that sounds as if it is made by a sharp sword piercing through the air rises and destroys the oppressive atmosphere in an instant. Immediately afterwards, a series of resounding metallic noises is heard. Concurrently with this, there are also deep noises of the air getting torn through. Qin Yu simply does not dare to see with his eyes. He can only hide in a dark corner and rely on his ears to listen.

In the secret room,

Di Tong, dressed fully in fitted purple clothes, is holding a long spear. The spear is extremely dynamic in his hands. Di Tong’s close-quarters spear technique is not inferior to Xiang Yang’s in the least. Moreover, when it comes to using the long spear to execute long-distance attacks, Di Tong is even more formidable than Xiang Yang.

Sometimes the spear leaves his hands and thrusts at vital points on Cha Hong’s body like a flash. Sometimes, while he is holding it, it springs forth like various aquatic dragons and surrounds Cha Hong completely at once. Cha Hong simply cannot run away. Facing this move, Cha Hong has no choice but to go all out!

“Ah ah ~~~ Break!”

Put at a disadvantage as a result of being surrounded by countless silhouettes of the spear, Cha Hong opens his eyes wide and shouts furiously all of a sudden. That jade sword also enlarges and becomes a huge sword. Holding the huge jade sword, Cha Hong immediately makes a horizontal sweep at the enemy. He wants to counter finesse with brute force.

Various silhouettes of the spear vanish but Di Tong gives a cold laugh. Suddenly, the long spear shakes once.

The tip of the spear immediately begins to oscillate. In an instant, it hits the huge sword rapidly several hundred times. The entire energy of the huge sword is quickly neutralized. Di Tong then reaches out his hand and the spear suddenly moves along the sword like a snake to come at Cha Hong.

“No good!” Cha Hong’s face changes color. No matter how he moves the huge sword, the tip of Di Tong’s spear keeps sticking to it. Moreover, in just about an instant, the spear tip thrusts at his body extremely fast along the sword like a snake spitting venom.

“Majesty   Di   Tong,   your   close   combat   techniques   are excellent!”

Cha Hong says loudly. At the same time the huge sword becomes 3 cun long again. Cha Hong himself then retreats straight to a corner of the secret room. Instead of chasing after him, Di Tong pulls back the spear and stands still. However, various halos of purple light begin to rise from his body.

“Cha Hong, you still dare to use your human form to fight me? Looks like you’ve got a death wish. In this case, I won’t show any mercy. I’ll let you taste my special skill.”  Various purple halos enfold Di Tong. His aura increases at a frightening speed. Cha Hong’s face changes color: “No good. Looks like I should use that move in advance.”  He immediately lets out a shout then disappears from his original place.

Afterimages!

Several afterimages instantly appear around Di Tong. They surround him in just a moment. Concurrently with this, various streams of sword energy are shot out extremely fast. Di Tong stands firmly in the center. He uses his spear so skillfully that his whole body seems to be shrouded in silhouettes of the spear. There are simply no openings in his defense. A vacuum has even formed in the area surrounded by Di Tong’s spear.

“Growl ~~”

A terrifying deep growl rises. At the same time, a huge python head appears in front of Di Tong out of thin air. It opens its mouth wide and bites at him, seemingly wanting to swallow him up directly.

“Child’s play!” Di Tong is not worried in the least. He swings his spear at the python head ruthlessly like a long whip. However, at this moment —

Whizz!

A green beam of light shoots out from the python’s mouth like lightning and arrives at Di Tong’s face in an instant. Di Tong has basically no time to block it. The best he can do is to move his body to one side a bit. But his shoulder blade is still penetrated by the jade sword.

In the blink of an eye, Di Tong’s expression becomes unpleasant.

Di Tong, who has been fooling around since the beginning, has finally become angry. Just now, when Cha Hong bit at him using the python form, he did not care about this. But who could have thought that the bite was just a camouflage for the real attack — the shot of the jade sword from the mouth? Di Tong has been wounded and has become furious as well!

“Cha Hong, you dug your own grave!”

His originally calm expression has been distorted completely. His eyes have reddened indistinctly and blue veins have even stuck out on his face, making him look frighteningly ferocious. He suddenly opens his mouth and his body starts to transform into a terrifying aquatic dragon extremely fast.

“Growl ~~”

A raging sound rises.

“Boom ~~~”  Smashed into by the huge body of the Purple Demon aquatic dragon, the walls of the secret room shatter, creating a series of loud explosions. The huge purple body keeps rocking, hitting one wall after another. The underground secret rooms therefore have to suffer an unprecedented amount of damage. Moments ago, Qin Yu, who was eavesdropping outside, knew that the situation was not good when he noticed the tail of a blood-red aquatic python sticking out of the secret room’s door.

“These 2 fellas have transformed!”  He immediately moved outwards extremely fast.

He no longer dared to stay just outside the secret room because if he kept staying there, when Di Tong transformed, the secret room would definitely be destroyed and he would be detected as a result. If he was discovered by 2 these furious fellows, his life would be in danger.

Even though he has reached the early Meteor stage, it is uncertain whether he can compare with Di Tong or Cha Hong.

Right after Qin Yu moved away from that wall, Di Tong turned into a Purple Demon aquatic dragon and smashed the wall into pieces with a shake of his tail. As a furious Di Tong twisted his body like mad, he destroyed every obstacle. Immediately, only a series of noises of walls getting shattered could be heard. 

“Boom ~~”

Qin Yu does not dare to use stellar energy to run. But even if he used stellar energy, Di Tong and Cha Hong, who are furious at the moment, would not necessarily detect him. However, he does not want to take any chances. Therefore, he is only relying on his physical power to move out through the rubble like a blue wisp of smoke.

In a moment, he has already reached the entrance of the secret floor. He then leans against it and looks inside.

The destruction is still going on. Both the Purple Demon aquatic dragon and the blood-red aquatic python are twisting like crazy. One secret room after another is smashed into pieces by them. Luckily, the artificial mountain is being surrounded by a restrictive spell so the loud noises inside cannot be heard by anyone outside.

After a short while, the underground noises of explosions stop. 

By now, half of the underground secret rooms have been destroyed. An especially large secret room that is about 600 to 700 m in both length and width has appeared on the secret floor. 2 huge snake-like monsters are facing each other in this newly-formed underground secret room.

Qin Yu moves silently to one side of a pile of rubble and peeps through a hole in the pile.

At a glance, he draws a cold breath.

In this empty area that is 600 to 700 m in length and width, there is a huge wriggly red python on the right hand side. It is none other than a blood-red aquatic python. Using his eyes, he estimates that it must be over 100 m long. Its mouth is as large as a water tank’s and its scales all radiate a cold light.

On the left hand side, a purple aquatic dragon is twisting in midair. It is 70 to 80 m long and has a mouth as large as the opening of a water tank. Compared to divine dragons, this dragon has only 1 horn. There is also a line of purple spikes sticking up on its back. Each spike is about the same size as the long spear Di Long used before.

“The blood-red aquatic python is on the right. The Purple Demon aquatic dragon is on the left.”

Qin Yu is greatly shocked when he feels the tremendous auras of these 2 demonic beasts.

If Cha Hong does not use his true form, Qin Yu can still handle him with some certainty. But after he transforms, if fighting him, Qin Yu will have to rely on the Meteoric Tear to go all out, and even so, the outcome will be unpredictable. As for Di Tong, he is even more powerful than Cha Hong!

The Purple Demon aquatic dragon is glaring at the blood-red aquatic python. His purple eyes are filled with furious anger.

The blood-red aquatic python is also glaring furiously at the Purple Demon aquatic dragon with its red eyes, unwilling to lose to the enemy in manner a bit. Its tongue keeps coming out of and going back into its mouth, ready to attack at any time. 

Qin Yu remains motionless beside the pile of rubble. He simply does not dare to focus his eyes on these 2 huge beasts and only uses the corners of his eyes to peek at them. However, even if he now stared at them directly, they would not be able to notice this because they cannot afford to split their concentration.

“Growl ~~~”

The Purple Demon aquatic dragon, which suffered a stab wound moments ago, suddenly utters a loud growl. With a swing of its tail, it charges at the blood-red aquatic python like a purple billow. At this moment, the python also lets out a deep growl. It then shoots his head forwards extremely fast and opens its blood-red basin-like large mouth to bite at the Purple Demon aquatic dragon directly.

B5C32: 3 Strikes Of Life Or Death!

The Purple Demon aquatic dragon and the blood-red aquatic python shoot out 2 beams of light from their tank-sized mouths almost simultaneously. The light beam comes out from the Purple Demon aquatic dragon’s mouth is actually the spear used before, only that it is now much shorter. And the light beam comes out from the blood-red aquatic python’s mouth is actually that jade sword.

Boom!

The spear and the jade sword collide head-on. They then whirl about and collide with each other again and again.

While controlling their holy weapons to attack, the Purple Demon aquatic dragon and the blood-red aquatic python also use their own bodies to attack. After all, to Xiuyaoists, their true forms are the most powerful weapons. The Purple Demon aquatic dragon’s black horn pierces through the air to thrust at the blood-red aquatic python’s head, creating a sharp whistle. This attack with the black horn executed by the Purple Demon aquatic dragon is frighteningly powerful. It can definitely breach the blood-red aquatic python’s defense with ease. The python’s red tail has also reached a shocking level in speed. It swings at the Purple Demon aquatic dragon extremely fast like lightning.

An observer would only see a huge purple blur and a huge blood-red blur keep chasing after, intertwining with and attacking each other at extreme speeds. Even though these 2 beasts have large bodies, they are terrifyingly fast.

Poof!

The Purple Demon aquatic dragon hits the blood-red aquatic python’s body with a claw swipe. Despite their hardness, various scales of the python are still cracked then shattered into pieces. The python’s skin is immediately mangled. Blood splatters around and fragments of flesh are scattered.

The blood-red aquatic python lets out a painful growl in an instant. At the same time, a red blur swings at the Purple Demon aquatic dragon and hits it. 

The aquatic dragon is unexpectedly unable to resist the force of the python’s tail and is sent flying. But it comes back with a sweep of its tail while still flying outwards and attacks the blood-red aquatic python again.

Di Tong and Cha Hong control the spear and the jade sword respectively to attack each other nonstop. Neither of them dares to relax a bit because top-grade holy weapons are still a great danger to them.

Pu!

Cha Hong opens his blood-red python mouth and shoots out a yellow beam of light straight at the spear. Even though the spear dodges, that yellow light makes a turn to chase after it then sticks on it directly. The spear immediately slows down.

Right after getting stuck on with the yellow venomous mucus, the spear’s responsiveness drops to a shocking level. It seems no longer under Di Tong’s control. “Poison,   that’s   the   blood-red   aquatic   python’s   deadly poison!”

Qin Yu, who is hiding behind a pile of rubble, recognizes that yellow poisonous liquid instantly. When he was fighting Cha Ge before, Cha Ge also used this move. This poisonous liquid is extremely strong. And now, used by a Dongxu stage expert like Cha Hong, its toxicity is naturally even stronger.

“Growl ~~”

Cha Hong lets out an excited deep growl. At the same time, his voice rises in Di Tong’s mind through holy sense communication:  “Purple  Demon  aquatic  dragon,  prepare  to die!” That jade sword immediately thrusts straight at Di Tong’s head like a green beam of light.

The Purple Demon aquatic dragon spurts a flame from its mouth towards the spear, but now the jade sword is already shooting at it.

Pu! Pu! Pu! Pu! Pu! …… Several sharp whistles are heard. Those spear-like spikes on the back of the Purple Demon aquatic dragon have unexpectedly left its body and shot forwards extremely fast, piercing through the air like javelins.

With a resounding clang, the jade sword is hit simultaneously by 3 spear-like spikes and is knocked aside.

The blood-red aquatic python immediately twists its body and swings its tail extremely fast at those spikes. However, because those spear-sized spikes are too many and each of them carries a frighteningly powerful offensive force, the python can only avoid more than half of them and 20 to 30 spikes are still shooting at its body.

The swing of the python’s tail is fast like lightning, but despite its speed, the tail can only knock away 10-odd spikes. The nearly 10 remaining spikes penetrate into the python’s body directly. Nearly 10 spikes shatter the python’s scales and pierce through its body completely in quick succession. Not even the blood-red aquatic python can endure such serious injuries.

A light flashes and the python turns into Cha Hong in the blink of an eye.

His body is now full of bloodstains and many small holes have appeared on his body. It is obvious that he has been badly wounded.

“Ah ~~~~ Heaven, I am highly gifted and has even reached the Dongxu stage, why can’t I have just one of the 9 Swords? I did everything I could but in the end my secret was still discovered. Heaven wants to destroy me. I was wrong to hold on to something I shouldn’t!”

Cha Hong turns his face upwards and laughs like crazy. At this point, he already knows that he is done for.

A light flashes and the Purple Demon aquatic dragon also transforms into the human Di Tong. At the moment, Di Tong’s face is also very pale. The spikes on the back of a Purple Demon aquatic dragon cannot be shot out easily unless it is in great danger because shooting them out is especially harmful to the body.

“Still want to run?”

Di Tong immediately moves his body and penetrates the floor with a claw strike. A stream of demonic elemental energy rushes into the ground. In just a short while, that stream of demonic elemental energy breaks through the floor to rush out. Now it has coiled around a purple yuanying. Judging by appearance, this is Cha Hong’s yuanying.

“Humph, Cha Hong, you even wanted to run away with your yuanying by using that outburst of emotions to attract my attention.”

Holding Cha Hong’s yuanying in his left hand, Di Tong says with a cold laugh. Cha Hong’s purple yuanying shows a terrified expression and says in a shrill voice: “Di Tong, my true body has been punctured in several vital points and basically can’t be used anymore. Now I can only form a loose immortal body to practice. Can you let me go this time?”

Right at this moment!

A green light beam unexpectedly shoots out from the purple yuanying. It is none other than the top-grade holy jade sword. Di Tong immediately feels an acute pain in his left hand. Cha Hong desperately controls the jade sword. In an instant, the bones in Di Tong’s left fingers are cut into pieces and his blood and fragments of his flesh are scattered around.

Cha Hong flies out extremely fast like a purple beam of light at once.

This is his last move!

“Die!” An extremely furious Di Tong sends out a terrifying stream of demonic elemental energy, which sweeps across Cha Hong’s fleeing yuanying in an instant. His demonic elemental energy attacks Cha Hong’s yuanying fiercely. The yuanying gets a violent shock and the soul it is containing is immediately shattered.

Because Di Tong has just had a hand destroyed, he now shows absolutely no mercy.

Cha Hong was only at the Dongxu stage so it had not been long since he had been able to fuse his soul with his yuanying. Because the yuanying’s defense was really too weak, the soul was immediately shattered after that violent attack of Di Tong’s demonic elemental energy. Di Tong reaches out his right hand and catches Cha Hong’s yuanying with a grab. Now the yuanying no longer has a soul and is merely a crystal of energy. He sucks it in his spatial ring at once.

“Cha Hong, you even dared to destroy my hand.” Di Tong’s head is full of fury at the moment. Unless he can achieve ascension, his body will not regenerate. But Cha Hong was already killed by him, how can he possibly revenge himself on Cha Hong anymore?

With a wave of Di Tong’s sleeve, the top-grade holy jade sword and Cha Hong’s storage bracelet fly into his hand. Only when Di Tong looks at the jade sword does he calm down a bit, but as soon as he turns around and sees Cha Hong’s corpse, his eyes are filled with anger again.

He opens his mouth and shoots a flame at Cha Hong’s body.

Even though Cha Hong’s soul has been shattered, Di Tong still wants to destroy the body to ease the hatred that has built up in him since his hand was cut into pieces.

“No good!”

When the flame has just come out of Di Tong’s mouth, his face changes color because at this moment can he feel an exceptionally concentrated and sharp force approaching him from behind at an extreme speed. His holy sense naturally finds out the enemy’s appearance. It is a black-robed stern young man.

This is none other than Qin Yu.

Golden threads of energy are flowing through all of the channels in his body, allowing him to flash through the air like a golden beam of light. From the pile of rubble that is several hundred meters away, he follows a mysterious trajectory and arrives at Di Tong’s back in an instant. His speed is shockingly fast.

Qin Yu clenches his teeth. His blue veins stick out. His eyes are full of killing intent!

“Break!”

Qin Yu’s left hand is wearing a Flaming Glove. At the same time, his golden stellar energy has been concentrated on its 5 fingers, making them look like gold fingers. He forms a finger sword with his left hand and thrusts it at Di Tong’s back like lightning, wanting to penetrate the enemy’s body and grab the yuanying directly at one stroke. However, what kind of expert is Di Tong? He has detected Qin Yu instantly. It is only because Qin Yu’s speed is too fast that he has not been able to react.

Even though Di Tong’s left hand has been severed, his abundant experience allows him to make the optimal judgment.

He immediately lets go of the top-grade holy jade sword and the storage bracelet in his right hand. As they fall to the floor, Di Tong reaches his right hand out backwards without turning his head. A short spear appears in his hand at once. It is none other than that top-grade holy spear of his.

He can resize the spear at will. At the moment, it is only as short as a dagger. Holding this spear, Di Tong thrusts it at Qin Yu’s dantian. He wants to destroy Qin Yu’s dantian and yuanying directly!

“You want to kill me, but I’m going to kill you!” Di Tong has become ruthless. When he is attacking, a purple layer of armor that every Purple Demon aquatic dragon has appears on the surface of his body. This purple layer of armor is formed from the scales of his Purple Demon aquatic dragon body so its defense is extremely powerful.

Attacking and defending at the same time, this is Di Tong’s instantaneous reaction.

Seeing this thrust coming, Qin Yu is greatly shocked.

Even though he does not have a yuanying, that shining meteor in his body is still his energy nucleus. If it is hit by this strike, what can he do when his energy suffers a huge loss? However, at this moment Qin Yu does not dodge in the least. Instead, he grabs at the spear with his right hand.

When the right hand, protected by a Flaming Glove, has just been reached out, the Flaming Sword appears in its palm. Clang!

The Flaming Sword and the spear collide with each other. As Di Tong is in a desperate situation, this strike that he is performing with the spear carries a terrifying force. The spear is a top-grade holy weapon whereas the Flaming Sword is only a high-grade one so the Flaming Sword is shattered into countless fragments almost instantly!

Covered in a Flaming Glove and charged with a large amount of golden stellar energy, Qin Yu’s left hand’s finger sword thrusts at the purple armor like a golden meteor!

Bang!

Di Tong’s purple armor gets a shock but it is not shattered and only sustains small cracks. Di Tong cannot help giving a faint smile. Meanwhile, that spear smashes into the Flaming Glove on Qin Yu’s right hand.

After that finger sword attack, Qin Yu immediately changes the form of his left hand! 

He straightens his left fingers and executes a spear hand strike, which has the most powerful penetrating force!

Bang!

The attacked area of the purple armor is completely broken into pieces. But at the same time, the Flaming Glove on Qin Yu’s right hand is also penetrated by the spear. Qin Yu unexpectedly changes the form of his left hand again, as if he does not feel any pain in his right hand!

He curls his left fingers up, forming a claw, and thrusts it into Di Tong’s body. But just about when his left hand begins to pierce through Di Tong’s body, Di Tong’s yuanying quietly enters the ground through a foot.

Bang!

Qin Yu’s right hand is penetrated by the spear, but his entire body still moves. At the same time, a golden thread of energy shoots into the ground from his left hand. After a moment, another area on the floor is shattered into pieces and a thread of energy flies out with yuanying coiled around by it.

That golden thread of energy then penetrates into the yuanying and destroys Di Tong’s soul directly.

Qin Yu reaches out his left hand to grab that yuanying but his whole back breaks into a cold sweat. The spear that pierced through his right hand remains motionless.

Too strong, this Purple Demon aquatic dragon was too strong.

It had fought the blood-red aquatic python before fighting Qin Yu, and was even using its human form. It should be known that in his human form, Di Tong was not as powerful as he was in his true form. Even so, Qin Yu was still in great danger when he suddenly launched a sneak attack on Di Tong.

“If he hadn’t been injured and had a hand cut off in the previous fight, if he had used 2 hands to attack me at the same time, perhaps it’d have been hard for me to kill him.” Thinking back, Qin Yu is frightened. Meteor stage experts should rely on speed to evade blows so he was really risking his life by sneakily attacking Di Tong in such a bold manner.

When that purple armor appeared, he was truly shocked. The armor’s defense was too frightening, but luckily Qin Yu reacted very fast and executed 3 strikes in quick succession.

He used a finger sword strike first then a spear hand strike and, lastly, a claw strike. His left hand basically did not stop for a moment. Only by attacking quickly 3 times in a row was he able to pierce into Di Tong’s body.

However, his right hand was still penetrated and is dripping a lot of blood.

“Though I used a sneak attack, the Flaming Sword was still destroyed, one Flaming Glove was damaged and my right hand was punctured.”  Qin Yu lets out a long breath. But when he looks at the loot, he finds it difficult to hide the excitement on his face. 

He has obtained a jade sword, which was the underlying cause of Cha Hong’s death. This is one of the legendary 9 Swords.

Another item he has obtained is Di Tong’s spear, a top-grade holy weapon.

Cha Hong’s storage bracelet is now his. Cha Hong was the Blood-red Cave’s master, so how can there possibly not be any treasures in this bracelet?

Di Tong’s spatial ring has also come into his possession. Judging from this item of storage alone, it is obvious that Di Tong was in a high position of power because not many Xiuzhenists in the overseas Xiuzhen world have a spatial ring. What are the things inside this ring?

Moreover, he has obtained Di Tong’s middle Dongxu stage yuanying and Cha Hong’s early Dongxu stage yuanying. To Qin Yu, these 2 yuanyings are more valuable than the other items. After all, real power is more important than treasures. 

He immediately sucks everything in his own spatial ring.

“These  corpses  …”  Then,  he  looks  at  Cha  Hong’s  and  Di Tong’s corpses and thinks for a while. Afterwards, he sucks these corpses in his spatial ring as well. When the bodies have been removed, even if someone else discovers the emptiness at this place, they will not be able to figure out what happened for some time.

Nearly half of the underground secret rooms have been destroyed but, due to the restrictive spell, nobody outside knows about this yet. After getting out of the secret floor, Qin Yu gently breaks the restrictive spell. He simply does not care what someone will think when they discover the battlefield at this place.

He then immediately uses his body-maneuvering skill. With the golden stellar energy running through his whole body, he rushes straight back to his courtyard house in the eastern part like a golden beam of light.

B5C33: 9 Guardians

In Qin Yu’s courtyard house in the eastern part of the Blood- red Cave, Hou Fei is sitting with legs crossed on the floor, quietly guarding ‘Qin Yu’ in the room behind him. Even though he knew long ago that Qin Yu immediately slipped away after entering the room, because they had already talked this over before, naturally he has been acting as if Qin Yu has been inside all along.

Suddenly, he opens his eyes and looks at the silhouette that has just appeared before him.

“Big brother!” There is a hint of happiness on Hou Fei’s face at once.

But as soon as he sees Qin Yu’s right hand, his face cannot help changing color. Qin Yu’s right hand has been penetrated and there is now a horrifying hole in it. Qin Yu, whose face is slightly pale, hurriedly says: “Don’t ask too much, Fei Fei. Just follow me into the room.” After saying, he goes straight into his room with just a shake of his body. Hou Fei also comes into the room at once doubtfully. At the same time, he waves his hands, setting up a restrictive spell around the room so that nobody outside can know what happens inside.

Right after entering the room, Qin Yu sits with legs crossed on his bed then lets out a long breath. He does not care about his penetrated right palm at all for the moment. When he fought Di Tong moments ago, life and death were decided in the blink of an eye. Only now, when he has returned to his own room, can he totally calm down.

“What happened, big brother?” Hou Fei hurriedly asks.

Qin Yu recalls what he has gained this time. He cannot help but smile: “Fei Fei, you have to spring into action when you should. You can’t be overcautious. Otherwise, you won’t even have time to regret when the opportunity slips away. If you want to make a profit, you must be willing to take a risk.”

Hou Fei is dumbfounded. He blinks his eyes and says doubtfully: “What do you mean, big brother?” “Awesome, this is so awesome!”

Qin Yu does not answer. With a wave of his hand, 2 yuanyings appear and float before him. These yuanyings have lost their souls therefore they are now merely a kind of energy crystal. They also radiate an indistinct purple light.

Hou Fei’s fiery eyes brighten at once. 2 beams of light that seem solid shoot at the yuanyings.

“Such strong energy!” Hou Fei is astonished. “These are at least Dongxu stage yuanyings. When did you get them, big brother? They’ll be a big help to you.” He exclaims in admiration.

Qin Yu looks at Hou Fei, saying: “You’re right. But not only can they help me, they can help you and Xiao Hei too.” He has never thought of keeping them all for himself. “One of these 2 yuanyings belonged to a middle Dongxu stage Purple Demon aquatic dragon. The other belonged to an early Dongxu stage blood-red aquatic python. They have quite a lot more energy than the yuanyings of ordinary Xiuxianists of the

same levels. Cha Hong’s yuanying is already enough for me so you and Xiao Hei can refine Di Tong’s yuanying together.”

Hou Fei shakes his head: “Impossible. This yuanying of a middle Dongxu stage Purple Demon aquatic dragon has too much energy for me to absorb. After leaving the ravine, I made a little mental breakthrough when I was guarding you so my soul is only just enough to match the late Yuanying stage. Do you understand what I mean, big brother?”

Hou Fei is currently at the middle Yuanying stage in power but his soul has reached the late Yuanying stage.

He continues: “I can only absorb energy until I reach the late Yuanying stage at most. If I absorbed too much, my power level would surpass my spiritual level, which would very easily make my internal energy become uncontrollable, or even become chaotic. If it got serious, I would suffer energy deviation and my soul would be destroyed!” Qin Yu also knows this very well.

The soul is the foundation. Even though his mental control is so strong, if his energy exceeds his ability to control it, firstly, unlike when it is insufficient, he will have difficulty keeping it in check during a battle, and secondly, it can become chaotic.

“I know this. But you’ve been at the middle Yuanying stage for a long time. If you want to reach the late phase, you’ll only have to refine a portion of the yuanying. As for Xiao Hei …” As soon as Qin Yu thinks about Xiao Hei, he takes out a transmitter.

Seeing Qin Yu take out the transmitter, Hou Fei knows that he is messaging Xiao Hei.

“Xiao Hei, keep waiting for some time. After I have dealt with the matters in the Blood-red Cave, I’m going to tell you to come through a message. Right, I got a Dongxu stage yuanying. How much energy can you absorb?” Qin Yu is also doubtful about Xiao Hei’s absorption capacity. In just a while, Xiao Hei replies with a message.

“Dongxu stage? Did you kill some big shot, big brother? It can’t be that lowlife Cha Hong, right? As for how much I can absorb, I’ve undergone that forbidden technique and had my body transformed drastically so my current progress in practice is much faster than before, including the progress of my soul. But … it’s been a very short time since I could improve so fast. Now my soul is only at around the early Yuanying stage. I don’t dare to absorb energy anymore.” Qin Yu does not know what to do after receiving Xiao Hei’s reply.

In the overseas Xiuyao world, there are Xiuyaoists who refine jindans and yuanyings, but the real experts do not dare to let their power levels surpass their spiritual levels. Both Hou Fei and Hei Yu know that Qin Yu is willing to let them absorb a yuanying he obtained, but they do not dare to bite off more than they can chew.

In the past, even though Lei Wei was able to kill enemies of higher power levels, he did not dare to absorb yuanyings casually also because his spiritual level improved slowly. There are different ways of improving power. The first is to gather various kinds of precious herbs to concoct power-up pills. There are a few problems that lie at the root of this way, namely, it is rather difficult to find precious herbs and the producing methods are fairly complicated.

The 2nd is to refine and absorb other Xiuzhenists’ jindans and yuanyings.

But it is difficult to improve the soul rapidly. At least there have never been any known methods for raising the spiritual level suddenly. Therefore, not many Xiuzhenists refine others’ jindans or yuanyings. After all, a Xiuzhenist will only dare to absorb more energy when they have reached a spiritual level high enough for this.

“But I’m staying in the ravine, big brother. When I listen to Miss Li’er’s zither music, I feel my soul improve very fast. Perhaps it will reach the middle Yuanying stage soon. At that time I’m going to come to find you.” Hei Yu says through his transmitter. “Good, I also got many things to deal with in the Blood-red Cave for the moment.”

Qin Yu and Xiao Hei then stop communicating.

“Fei Fei, this is the middle Dongxu stage yuanying. Your power level is higher than mine so you should refine part of it first.” Qin Yu himself is in no hurry. Instead, he lets Hou Fei refine a yuanying first. Hou Fei does not decline either and sits down with legs crossed immediately.

He opens his mouth. A flame is shot out at once and enfolds Di Tong’s yuanying.

Burnt by the flame, the yuanying gradually melts. Various purple streams of liquid flow out from it then fuse with Hou Fei’s body. In terms of refining speed, Hou Fei is at least 10 times faster than Qin Yu, who is quietly keeping guard on one side.

After a half day, 

About 20% of the yuanying has been refined. Hou Fei, who is sitting with legs crossed, suddenly opens his fiery eyes, sending out a brilliant light.

With a sweep of his holy sense, Qin Yu discovers that Hou Fei has reached the late Yuanying stage. He immediately says smilingly: “Congratulations, congratulations, you’ve reached the late Yuanying stage. Perhaps now you could even fight that Purple Demon aquatic dragon Di Tong.”

Very excited, Hou Fei says with strange laughter: “Di Tong? He was at the middle Dongxu stage but his true form was a Purple Demon aquatic dragon so he was much stronger than Xiuxianists of the same level. I must’ve been no match for him before, but now, kaka ~~~”

He looks very contented.

“You should start practicing quickly, big brother. I really don’t know how your soul can improve so fast. If the level of my soul was as high as yours, I would’ve refined the entire yuanying without a break.” Looking at Qin Yu, Hou Fei cannot help praising him.

Qin Yu gives a smile.

The Meteoric Tear, even now he still knows absolutely nothing about it and cannot even control it to do anything. It has sent out different kinds of energy all by itself. He was very lucky to obtain this treasure. Or it can also be said that he was ‘destined’ to get the Meteoric Tear.

“Alright, Fei Fei, stand guard outside for me. I want to absorb this yuanying with my entire concentration!”

Di Tong’s yuanying, 20% of whose energy has been absorbed by Hou Fei, then starts to be refined and absorbed again by Qin Yu. By now his soul has reached the early Dongxu stage. In fact, even Qin Yu himself is amazed by the high speed at which his spiritual level has improved too.

However … Is Qin Yu the only one whose soul can improve fast?

After Xiao Hei underwent his forbidden technique, his soul has leveled up extremely fast too. In just several years, he has already reached the early Yuanying stage from the early Jindan stage. And when a Xiuzhenist has a momentary experience of intuitive enlightenment, it is very usual for their spiritual level to improve rapidly and suddenly.

But moments of insight come randomly and are totally beyond a Xiuzhenist’s control whereas Qin Yu’s soul improves steadily all the time.

From now on, he begins to refine the yuanying with no worries in his own room, disregarding whatever happens outside. Hou Fei keeps guard near the room, determined to stop anyone who wants to go into it.

…… In the northern part of the Blood-red Cave,

Even though half of the secret rooms under the artificial mountain have been destroyed, because they are built underground, everything on the ground seems to have remained completely unchanged. The only visible change is that the mouth of the cave leading to the secret floor has been broken into pieces.

But that cave faces towards the inside of the artificial mountain so no one will see this without looking carefully.

Even the guards of the Blood-red Cave have to go around these underground secret rooms every time they patrol to here. The reason for this is an order given by cave master Cha Hong. In the past Cha Hong usually stayed in a secret room trying to open the black jade case so he naturally did not want this place approached by anyone.

It has been more than a half day since Qin Yu broke the restrictive spell to come back to his room. There have been several tens patrol sessions during this period of time but because those guards have to bypass the artificial mountain, they simply have not noticed that the cave leading to the secret floor has been destroyed.

Another squad is currently on patrol. The squad leader is very large and muscular with eyes as big as copper bells. At the moment, he is looking around with his wide opened bull eyes. But he suddenly stops.

“What’s happened, leader Xuan Kui? Why did you stop?” A short, stout guard asks.

Xuan Kui, however, looks at the artificial mountain in disbelief. In fact, because all of the guard squads on patrol have to go around this place whereas that entrance to the secret floor faces inwardly, the place that Xuan Kui is standing on is the only place on the patrolling route from which a small part of the entrance can be seen. If he moves away from this place a bit, that entrance will no longer be visible to him at all.

“Follow me!” Squad leader Xuan Kui shouts loudly and rushes extremely fast towards the artificial mountain.

“Leader, the patrolling route doesn’t allow us to go through that place.” That short stout guard hurriedly calls. But Xuan Kui, who has come near the artificial mountain, suddenly shouts: “This is bad! The entrance to the secret floor has been destroyed! Quickly go inform the guardians!”

The entrance to the secret floor has been destroyed?

There is immediately a clamor among the guards at the scene. They all understand the seriousness of this incident. If nobody had gone through the entrance illegitimately, why would it have been destroyed? All of the guards then leave extremely fast at once to tell the guardians about this.

Holding a broadax, squad leader Xuan Kui stares into the entrance. The ground of the passage connecting to it is currently covered in countless pieces of rocky debris. “What’s happened, Xuan Kui?” Zhuang Zhong is the first to hurry to this place. He immediately shouts to squad leader Xuan Kui, who is a guard directly under his control. Xuan Kui hurriedly bows and says: “I don’t know either. I discovered this situation only moments ago and immediately sent the guards to inform you and the other guardians.”

In a while, the 3 black turtle brothers, the 2 tiger shark brothers, the 2 snake sisters and Teng Bi also come.

“Where are guardian Hou Fei and guardian Liu Xing?” Yan Qing says doubtfully.

Zhuang Zhong says smilingly: “Little sister Yan Qing, it seems guardian Liu Xing has been doing closed-door training again for a half month. Guardian Hou Fei has been watching over him. Perhaps guardian Liu Xing hasn’t finished his training yet.” After talking to each other, the 9 guardians go into the entrance.

Seeing the broken stones in the entrance, they all have a bad feeling. 

They go along the sloping passage to enter the underground secret floor. But as soon as they enter the secret floor, they all look at the scene in front of them with popping eyes.

Various secret rooms have been destroyed completely. Their rubble has been swept to the edge, leaving behind a large empty area that is 600 to 700 m in both length and width in the middle of the remaining secret rooms. The fragments of the destroyed rooms’ walls have all been piled up around this area.

“Look! There’s a bloodstain!” The snake woman Xi Yan points to a place in this empty area and shouts.

The other 8 guardians also look in the direction she is pointing. There is indeed a huge bloodstain, which was created when the blood-red aquatic python and the Purple Demon aquatic dragon were fighting each other.

“That deep mark should have been made when a huge python swung its tail and hit the floor.” Teng Bi points to a deep mark on the floor and says coldly.

The 3 Ba black turtle brothers, the 2 tiger sharks, Wu Tong and Wu Feng, the 2 snake women, Yan Qing and Xi Yan, Zhuang Zhong and Teng Bi, 9 guardians in total, carefully examine the scene. They can certainly conclude that a fierce battle took place here.

Moreover, one of the main participants was very likely to be Cha Hong, who was doing closed-door training in this place.

The 9 guardians look at each other. A fierce battle happened here but they knew nothing. Now they do not even know if Cha Hong is dead or alive. This incident coupled with Cha Po’s death some time ago gives them a bad feeling.

“Go! Let’s see if cave master’s soul jade slip is still intact!”

The most powerful among them, Teng Bi, shouts an order. The 9 guardians leave the secret floor at once and head for the room in which everyone’s soul jade slip is put. This room is checked once every day by someone and is also guarded on the outside.

As the 2 guards see the 9 guardians arriving together, they are immediately shocked.

“Sirs! Madams!” They get down on one knee and say.

Teng Bi looks at the 2 guards. Yan Qing shouts impatiently in a lovely voice: “You two quickly open the door.” This room’s door is closed with a restrictive spell so she and the others do not dare to force it open. They have no choice but to order those guards to open it.

“Yes, Madam.”

A guard stands up and shoots several streams of demonic elemental energy at the door. A blue light flashes and the door slowly opens automatically. When it has been opened, from outside, the 9 guardians all look at the old-wood counter in the center of the room on which every soul jade slip is put. And by now, the soul jade slip in the highest position has already shattered into tiny bits. That soul jade slip belongs to Cha Hong!

The 9 guardians’ faces change color greatly.

Cha Hong is already dead!

B5C34: New Cave Master

Seeing that Cha Hong’s soul jade slip has broken into pieces, they all know what this means!

Cave master Cha Hong is dead!

The Blood-red Cave has become a group without a leader. For the moment, basically nobody cares who Cha Hong’s killer is. Even if they were to investigate, what would they possibly achieve? How can these guardians deal with someone who was able to kill Cha Hong? Now, the thing that needs to be done is to choose a new cave master!

The looks on the 9 guardians’ faces begin to change irregularly.

The 3 black turtle brothers, with Ba Ming being the eldest, look at each other. Wu Feng and his brother Wu Tong, Yan Qing and her sister Xi Yan, Teng Bi, and Zhuang Zhong also have their own ideas. “Everybody, now cave master is already dead, and we don’t even have a clue about the killer. But judging from the battlefield on the underground secret floor, it can be concluded that they fought cave master head-on. And both sides even switched to their true forms,”  says Ba Ming, the big brother among the 3 black turtles.

Wu Feng nods: “That’s right. To be able to kill cave master openly, the killer must’ve reached the Dongxu stage at least!”

“Oh my, Dongxu stage, you put it too simply. There are only a few Dongxu stage experts in the territory of the Nine Demons Hall. Why did someone who has reached this level want to kill our  cave  master?”  Yan  Qing  says  ambiguously.  “Even  cave master was killed, what can we do as guardians?”

Teng Bi says coldly: “Retreating without trying, that’s too gutless.”

Zhuang  Zhong,  however,  says  with  a  smile:  “Boss  Teng, you’re very powerful and about to reach the Dongxu stage so you can put up a fight against the killer, but we will have absolutely no chance. Now, the most important thing isn’t to seek revenge but to choose a new leader, that is, a new cave master.”

After he said this, the other guardians’ eyes all brighten.

What they said just now is just rubbish. Selecting a new leader is the most urgent thing to do.

“The new cave master must at least have convincing power. I think if boss Teng becomes cave master, the rest of us will definitely endorse him. Given boss Teng’s power, perhaps only cave master Cha Hong could defeat him.” Ba Ming says smilingly.

The snake woman Xi Yan immediately says with a flirtatious smile: “Boss Teng’s power is beyond doubt. If he becomes cave master, we sisters will definitely be the first to follow his orders.”

Wu Tong also says: “We’ve got no objection. It’s common practice for whoever is the strongest to become cave master. Boss Teng is more powerful than us brothers so we certainly won’t hinder his becoming cave master.”  He has declared his and his brother Wu Feng’s stand on the matter.

Zhuang Zhong gives a couple of coughs and says smilingly: “Everybody knows the rule that the strongest will become cave master. Boss Teng is stronger than us so we won’t have any objections to his becoming cave master. But this doesn’t mean that the other guardians will have no objection. We shouldn’t forget that 2 guardians haven’t come yet.”

Teng Bi is not eager to become cave master, but he does not refuse to become cave master either.

If he becomes the leader, he will be able to order his subordinates as he pleases, which will certainly feel better than being a mere guardian. Teng Bi craves personal power so he will not mind even if he cannot become cave master. However, whoever wants to contend for this position will have to defeat him.

“That’s right. There are still 2 other guardians. Guardian Hou Fei almost fought cave master in the main hall last time. It’s hard to say how powerful he really is. And his big brother is so mysterious. He definitely isn’t as simple as he looks.”  Yan Qing also says.

At the moment, these guardians are all thinking about who will become cave master, totally ignoring Cha Hong’s death. Cha Hong is already dead. The 3 brothers, Cha Hong, Cha Po and Cha Ge, have become a thing of the past so the guardians no longer care about them and also do not want to avenge them. Most importantly, these guardians do not dare to seek revenge for their deaths.

Teng Bi says with an ice-cold expression: “It’s pointless to talk too much. Let’s go straight to guardian Liu Xing’s house. Everybody should go together. We’ll decide who will be cave master right there whether by fighting it out or doing something else. Is this okay?”

“Good idea. Let’s go together, everybody.” Yan Qing says with ringing laughter.

Immediately, the 9 guardians fly straight to Qin Yu’s courtyard house in the eastern part together. The Blood-red Cave is not very large to them and their speed is fast so it takes them only moments to reach Qin Yu’s courtyard house.

3 ladies-in-waiting are chatting with each other outside the house. They behave respectfully as soon as they see the 9 guardians land together.

“Sirs, madams, our lord is still doing closed-door training. He already gave us the order not to let anyone come in.” A green-clad lady-in-waiting hurriedly says. These girls remember Qin Yu’s order very clearly.

Guardian Teng Bi frowns. The other guardians seem to feel irritated as well.

They want to quickly decide who will become the new cave master but guardian Liu Xing is unexpectedly doing closed- door training and does not even let anyone enter.

“All of you get out of the way. We guardians come here together this time certainly because of an important matter.” Wu Feng shouts at the 3 ladies-in-waiting. Seeing his ferocious expression, they are so frightened that they move aside. As mere ladies-in-waiting, how could they possibly dare to block these guardians?

One by one, the 9 guardians go through the gate to enter the courtyard house.

Hou Fei is sitting with legs crossed just outside the door of the hall. Obviously he is blocking the way leading to Qin Yu’s room. Even though the 9 guardians have come into the house, he keeps sitting with legs crossed and eyes closed. He basically does not move at all.

The 9 guardians stand in a straight line. Seeing what happening before their eyes, they look at each other.

“Guardian Hou Fei, cave master Cha Hong is already dead. These guardians and I have been discussing who will assume the role of new cave master. Therefore we have come here to find the two of you. After all, one can only officially become cave master if they are approved by every guardian.” Zhuang Zhong says in a loud and clear voice.

Hearing what he said, Hou Fei opens his eyes, from which 2 seemingly solid beams of light shoot out. Those light beams slowly sweep across every guardian. They alone put these guardians under a huge pressure.

Not even Teng Bi can keep his face from changing color when he feels the oppressiveness of the light beams.

“Congratulations, guardian Hou Fei,” says Teng Bi. He has a feeling that if he had fought Hou Fei before, he would have had a chance of winning, but now he stands no chance. However … he still wants to have a fight with Hou Fei.

This is just like how he wanted to fight Cha Hong before.

“Oh my, guardian Hou Fei has unexpectedly made a breakthrough. Looks like this battle will be even more awesome. With such a big improvement in power, perhaps guardian Hou Fei will become the new cave master.” Yan Qing says laughingly, but Hou Fei only smiles. 

“I won’t become the new cave master.” He finally utters.

Everyone is startled.

Ba Ming, the eldest of the 3 black turtle brothers, immediately says: “Guardian Hou Fei, it seems you are being modest. Or perhaps you’re not confident you can defeat boss Teng? This is impossible. At that time you weren’t even afraid of cave master. Now your power has improved greatly, why should you be unconfident?”

The other guardians also say that Hou Fei is being modest.

“I’ll be the new vice master!” Hou Fei says another sentence.

Everyone is startled again.

After pondering on Hou Fei’s words, the 9 guardians eventually understand his meaning. Who can be vice masters? In general, only a cave master’s brothers can become vice masters. And who is Hou Fei’s brother? Of course, he is that mysterious guardian Liu Xing.

“Guardian Hou Fei, what you said is wrong. Even if you were stronger, even if you are more powerful than all the other guardians, while you can become cave master, this doesn’t mean that guardian Liu Xing can. The cave master position is to be taken with power and not to be given to someone else!” Yan Qing says with a little dissatisfaction.

Hou Fei gives a ha-ha laugh but says nothing.

“Guardian Liu Xing is pretty strong, but if he wants to become cave master, he’ll have to defeat me at least.” Teng Bi says coldly.

He admires strong individuals. If someone weak only relies on their own brother to become cave master, he definitely will not accept this and will not take orders from them. Not only him, the other guardians also have this opinion. In the Xiuzhen world, everything depends on individual power!

“Oh, looks like you want to fight my big brother?”  Hou Fei gives a strange smile. “Don’t worry. My big brother is practicing but he’ll come out in 2 to 4 hours. You can use this period of time to prepare yourself.”

Teng Bi, however, looks at Hou Fei and says in an ice-cold voice: “Prepare myself? He poses no threat to me. I want to challenge you first!”

“Challenge me?” Hou Fei is startled.

The other guardians all burst out laughing. Ba Ming says with incitement: “You should accept the challenge, guardian Hou Fei. Boss Teng is very powerful. The 2 of you are the 2 strongest guardians. It’ll definitely be very awesome if you fight each other.”

Yan Qing, Xi Yan, Wu Tong, Wu Feng and every other guardian all look at Hou Fei and Teng Bi. 

Hou Fei looks at everybody. Only after thinking for a while does he say unwillingly: “Alright. You attack first.”  Holding a black stick, he stands at his place in a totally careless manner and gives Teng Bi an unconcerned look.

Teng Bi reaches out his 2 fists. Various silvery rays of light radiate from them.

“Good! Watch out!” At the moment Teng Bi is full of fighting spirit. He can feel Hou Fei’s pressure on him but it only makes him even more excited. His eyes gradually redden. He suddenly opens his fists, forming 2 claws.

With a movement of his body, Teng Bi turns into a blur and arrives at Hou Fei’s face instantly.

Hou Fei moves his right arm. The black stick, which originally is not moving, immediately smashes into Teng Bi’s blur head-on at a frighteningly fast speed like a black flash. With a bang, Teng Bi is sent flying. Absolutely no resistance!

The other guardians are dumbfounded because Teng Bi has been an absolutely formidable expert in their eyes for so many years and is even approaching the Dongxu stage. But they simply do not know that late Yuanying stage Hou Fei is actually comparable to ordinary late Dongxu stage Xiuzhenists.

The gap in power between them is too great!

Teng Bi’s body stops after flying several tens meters. He then flies back and lands beside the other guardians.

“Guardian Hou Fei is really powerful. I admit defeat.” Teng Bi has no dismay at all. But he continues: “I have a feeling that you should be even stronger than cave master Cha Hong. If you want to become cave master, I’ll certainly have no objection. But if guardian Liu Xing doesn’t have enough power to convince everybody, I definitely won’t accept him as cave master.” Hou Fei gives a kaka laugh: “You fool. If you want to get a taste of my big brother’s power, that’s okay. Just wait for a while. Alright, don’t waste your time. Just now that strike of my stick already caused you some injuries. You should treat them quickly. When you become healthy, my big brother will also come out.”

Teng Bi nods then immediately sits down with legs crossed and starts to practice.

The other guardians are secretly shocked by Hou Fei’s power. Seeing him have such confidence in Qin Yu, they also begin to feel curious about Qin Yu’s power. To these guardians, Qin Yu is indeed fairly mysterious.

Hou Fei, however, laughs inwardly: “Don’t look down on my big brother. Now there is very little time so he’ll only be able to reach the middle Meteor stage in a while. If he had several days, he’d reach the late Meteor stage. At that time, to defeat him, even I would have to use berserk mode to fight. But perhaps big brother can already surpass Cha Hong at the middle Meteor stage!” Just now Hou Fei said that he wanted to become vice master because Qin Yu had immediately told him to through his holy sense after hearing what the 9 guardians had said.

To become cave master, Qin Yu certainly has to personally show his power!

Inside his room, Qin Yu is sitting with legs crossed and being enfolded in many golden rays of light. That purple yuanying has no longer been refined. At the moment Qin Yu is at a critical juncture — reaching the middle phase of the Meteor stage from the early phase.

In his dantian,

A great number of silvery grains in the seemingly boundless space of the dantian have formed a blurry nebula that is spinning extremely fast. There is a golden bead about the size of a quail egg in the center of the nebula. Various golden rays of light are shooting out from it nonstop.

Clack! 

Following a crisp noise, that golden bead unexpectedly splits into 3 parts, which then become 3 golden grains. When the 3 golden grains have become spherical, they begin to revolve and affect each other. The Stellar Flame is at the center of the 3 golden grains.

As the golden bead broke into 3 pieces, countless silvery grains also split in half. Immediately, the number of silvery grains was doubled.

After a while, calmness is restored in Qin Yu’s dantian.

He opens his eyes. With a faint smile on the corners his mouth, he says in a loud and clear voice: “Please get ready, guardian Teng Bi. I’m about to attack.”

In the courtyard,

Qin Yu’s voice resounds through the air. Every guardian can hear it clearly. The 3 black turtle brothers, the 2 snake women, Wu Tong and Wu Feng, and Zhuang Zhong focus their attention to observe at once. Teng Bi, whose minor injuries have already healed, also begins to concentrate his energy.

The aura around Teng Bi is fierce at the moment. His entire body’s energy has risen to its limit. He is fully prepared to attack Qin Yu with his most powerful strike anytime.

Suddenly —

A golden blur shoots out from inside the room at a frighteningly fast speed. Teng Bi can feel clearly that it has Qin Yu’s aura so he throws a fierce punch immediately. However, before this punch can be fully executed, his body is knocked away.

He is sent flying more than 100 m like a sandbag. His blood even spurts out.

Only now can everybody see clearly that Qin Yu is standing at Teng Bi’s original place. 

“What a frightening speed!” The eyes of every guardian pop out of their head. Even Hou Fei is startled as well. When Qin Yu was still at the early Meteor stage, his speed was already able to amaze Hou Fei. Now his speed has become even more terrifying.

At the Meteor stage, he has to rely on his speed and highly concentrated golden stellar energy to fight.

“My fellow guardians, do you still have any objections to my big brother becoming cave master and me becoming vice master?”  Hou  Fei  says  smilingly  to  the  shocked  guardians, including Teng Bi, who has just frown back seriously injured with a face full of disbelief.

Black-robed Qin Yu sweeps his eyes over the guardians. Seeing their reactions, he slightly curves the corners of his mouth up. He already knows what they are thinking.

…… In the place where the soul jade slips of the Nine Demons Hall are put,

A specifically assigned Xiuyaoist comes here to check once every day to see if any members of the Nine Demons Hall have died. Now is today’s checking time. The leader of a guard squad opens the restrictive spell and enters the room.

The soul jade slips are put on a multi-level counter. The highest level has 9 jade slips. They represent the 9 majesties of the Nine Demons Hall.

As a matter of routine, the squad leader takes a look at the highest level because the 9 majesties’ soul jade slips are put there. Suddenly … his pupils dilate. With a shocked expression, he stares at that top level in stupefaction.

He sees that the 8th soul jade slip on that level has already shattered.

“8th Majesty is dead!” His face goes miserably pale. Afterwards, he wakes up and immediately rushes to Great Majesty Di Long’s place at his fastest speed like a beam of light. The squad leader does not know who killed 8th Majesty, but he can anticipate the other majesties’ fury and the killer’s fate!