Stellar Transformations

by I Eat Tomatoes

  Mister Lan slightly nods then walks out through the main entrance in a dignified manner.

  By contrast, Xiang Guang spends an entire sleepless night in the imperial study. In the morning of the next day, he leaves the Imperial Palace directly with secret experts.

  Chapter 17: The source of danger (2)

  In a secluded manor,

  “Shangxian, that Qin De wants to rebel and destroy my Xiang clan’s everlasting bases and accomplishments. Moreover, he is going to undergo the 4-in-9 Heavenly Tribulation soon. The Qin clan already has a Shangxian, namely Fengyuzi. If Qin De can overcome the tribulation, they will have 2 Shangxian as well, which will be harmful to my Xiang clan, and also to the 2 of you,” says Xiang Guang to 2 green-clad men.

  Wu De and Wu Xing are the 2 Xiuzhenists who have been protecting the Xiang clan for several hundred years. Their position is extremely lofty.

  Wu De has a head full of loose long hair, looking very natural and self-willed. With his power having even reached the late phase of the Jindan stage, he is absolutely an expert. Even though Wu Xing also has long hair, he has tied it up with a hairband. Wu Xing’s eyes and white brows give his entire body an obvious air of swiftness and fierceness. He has reached the middle phase of the Jindan stage in practice, which is also Fengyuzi’s level.

  “Martial brother, it seems at that time we only promised to protect the Xiang clan, didn’t we?” Wu Xing says to Wu De.

  Among the emperors of the Chu dynasty, Xiang Yang was one who can rival Xiang Yu the Conqueror in wisdom. Even though Xiang Yu was the founding emperor, he was killed by revenge-seeking experts of the Qin dynasty. Xiang Yu conquered all the lands but he did not rule them. Following Xiang Yu’s death, his only son Xiang Yang became the Chu emperor. Xiang Yang was extremely outstanding in both literary and military arts. His talent for martial arts was not inferior to that of his father Xiang Yu and he was even better than Xiang Yu in government.

  It was he who invited this Wu De and Wu Xing to help the Xiang clan at that time when he was still reigning.

  “Martial younger brother,” Wu De casts a glance at Wu Xing, who stops saying instantly. Wu De looks toward Xiang Guang and says smilingly: “Xiang Guang, what’s the matter? Say it clearly and don’t beat around the bush. What do you want me and my martial younger brother to do?”

  Xiang Guang rejoices. He says at once: “Shangxian, could you please … kill Qin De for me?!”

  “Oh? Kill him?” Wu De then gives a smile, but says no more, neither refusing nor accepting. He only goes to one side, picks up a book and starts to read it casually.

  Xiang Guang is ridiculous! As Xiuzhenists go against Heaven, they are no kind-hearted people or altruists. Most of them are very selfish. Except for their own good friends, who are the only people they will help, they do nobody a favour. Asking them to do something that does not benefit them for free is, therefore, no different from fantasizing.

  “2 greedy arseholes,” Xiang Guang secretly curses. However, he has forgotten that, as 2 Xiuzhenists, there is no reason for them to help him for nothing. Xiang Guang forces a smile and says: “Of course, Shangxian, as long as you kill Qin De for me, my Xiang clan will definitely handsomely return the favor.”

  Wu De and Wu Xing still show no reaction.

  Wu Xing gives Xiang Guang a disdainful look which is packed with satire. It is simply impossible to ask Wu De and his martial younger brother to do something by promising to reward them after the affair has been dealt with.

  Xiang Guang slightly narrows his eyes then clenches his teeth and takes out from his bosom a jade bottle. Wu Xing’s and Wu De’s eyes instantly brighten. Xiang Guang says at once: “Shangxian, there is a holy pill in this bottle, a precious Red Flourishing Pill. Now I give it to the 2 of you. My Xiang clan only asks you to kill that Qin De. Is this all right?”

  Wu Xing raises his white eyebrows and exchanges a look with his martial brother Wu De. Then the 2 of them burst out laughing.

  “Xiang Guang, just leave this matter to us. It’s only Qin De. Humph, both of us will attack together. They only have Fengyuzi on their side so they definitely won’t be able to resist us. You can rest easy.” Wu Xing receives the jade bottle while laughing out loud.

  Xiang Guang feels a pain in his heart but he still tries to force a smile: “Then I’ll wait for your good news, Shangxian. Right, Shangxian, Qin De is going to undergo the tribulation in the Green Lotus mountain range on the border of the Wilderness, but I don’t know exactly where it is going to be. His tribulation should come within a month.”

  “Oh, the Green Lotus mountain range?” Qin De slightly frowns.

  ……

  Using the Appearance and Bone Changing art Qin Yu changes into assassin Liu Xing and goes directly to that agreed teahouse.

  As for Xiao Hei, fearing that his real identity will be discovered, he has told Xiao Hei to fly to a height of 10,000 m in the sky. At such a distance above the ground, not even Qin Yu’s vision can see the eagle, not to mention his holy sense. Qin Yu’s holy sense has a range of no more than several hundred meters whereas Xiao Hei is 10,000 m away from him.

  However, Xiao Hei has a very keen sight. Even when flying at a height of 10,000 m in the air, it can still see Qin Yu below clearly. Xiao Hei’s vision is obviously very extraordinary and far superior to that of ordinary male eagles.

  As soon as Qin Yu enters the teahouse, he takes a glance around and notices an old man dressed in black in a corner. That black-dressed old man is none other than Elder Blue-clad. Elder Blue-clad stands up and passes by Qin Yu directly to walk out of the teahouse as if he does not recognize him.

  “Mister Liu Xing, please follow me.” Elder Blue-clad transfers his voice confidentially to Qin Yu’s ears.

  Qin Yu then goes after Elder Blue-clad. The 2 of them turn into an alley successively. Afterwards they enter a courtyard house. It is obvious that this courtyard house has been prepared carefully earlier by Elder Blue-clad. Moreover, there is a huge silvery-feathered golden-eyed condor in the courtyard house.

  “Mister Liu Xing, this golden-eyed condor was raised by me. Come on, get on its back together with me,” says Elder Blue-clad smilingly.

  The silvery-feathered golden-eyed condor utters a low howl then spreads its huge silvery wings. Condors naturally have much larger bodies than eagles. However, even though Xiao Hei belongs to a certain kind of eagle, it is about the same size as this silvery-feathered golden-eyed condor.

  Spreading its wings, the silvery-feathered golden-eyed condor soars into the sky with Elder Blue-clad and Qin Yu sitting on its back then flies eastward.

  “This golden-eyed condor is about the same size as Xiao Hei but it is much slower than Xiao Hei.” Qin Yu thinks to himself. The back of this golden-eyed condor is very broad and there is ample space for the 2 of them to sit down side by side.

  As the condor flies in the sky, they sit very stably despite strong blasts of wind.

  “Mister Liu Xing, please remember that when meeting the client you shouldn’t ask any unnecessary questions. You only need to know you’re going to have to protect Mister Ying.” Elder Blue-clad warns.

  “Even if you let me ask, I wouldn’t ask,” says Qin Yu indifferently.

  After flying for a half day, the golden-eyed condor dives down into a courtyard house directly. Elder Blue-clad jumps down first. He simply does not notice that at this moment Qin Yu’s eyes brighten. Qin Yu has this reaction because his holy sense has felt clearly the people in the courtyard house.

  “Mister Ying, Mister Liu Xing has arrived,” says Elder Blue-clad respectfully. Afterwards, more than 10 people walk out from a room of the courtyard house. The leaders are none other than Qin De and Fengyuzi. The people such as Ge Min are behind Qin De.

  This time, Manager Ge Min leads 5 late phase Xiantian experts from the Secret Arrow and Elder Blue-clad leads 5 late phase Xiantian experts from the Heavenly Net besides assassin Liu Xing.

  “Mister Liu Xing,” Qin De comes forward smiling
ly.

  Qin Yu looks at his father. He was already able to guess who the client is when Elder Blue-clad first told him about this mission. However, he has never known that the Qin clan is actually behind the Heavenly Net. When facing Qin De, Qin Yu slightly nods and says: “Mister Ying, so you’re the client. I’m going to ensure your safety.”

  Qin De nods smilingly then says loudly and clearly: “Gentlemen, all preparations have been made. Let’s get going.” Qin De walks directly toward a silvery white tiger. That white tiger has 2 wings on its body. It is none other than a king among tigers -- a sky-flying white tiger.

  “Mister Liu Xing, I have a good impression of you.” Qin De suddenly turns his head to Qin Yu and says smilingly. Qin Yu politely gives a smile. Qin De then sits on the sky-flying white tiger.

  “Good impression?” smiles Qin Yu. His father still does not know that this assassin Liu Xing is just his 3rd son Qin Yu. As before, Qin Yu follows Elder Blue-clad to get on the silvery-feathered golden-eyed condor. The other Xiantian experts either share flying animals or use flying animals of their own. The 15 people including Qin De then soar into the sky and fly eastward quickly.

  Chapter 18: The Green Lotus mountain range (1)

  Riding their flying animals, the group of 15 people including Qin De flies extremely fast eastward.

  “In the end I’m still following father. This turn of events is really wonderful. When I couldn’t succeed despite trying hard, who could’ve thought that I would get my wish as assassin Liu Xing? This is just like how watched flowers never bloom but an unattended willow grows.” Looking at his father on the sky-flying white tiger ahead of him, Qin Yu cannot help giving a faint smile.

  Qin Yu basically does not know the location selected for the tribulation this time. His current role is merely a bodyguard.

  After flying for nearly 3 days and nights, during which time they took a break once for a meal, they finally arrives in the first destination -- a small city on the border of the Widerness called Qingshi City.

  “Come down!”

  After shouting his order, Qin De takes the lead in diving down. The small airborne group at his back also dives down closely after him. They land directly on a place on the eastern side of Qingshi City. Qin Yu, however, feels that at this moment Xiao Hei is flying at a height of several thousand meters above them.

  At age 7, Qin Yu took Xiao Hei in when it was still a chick. He will turn 19 in the new year so it has been almost 12 years ever since. One person and an eagle seem not to have been separated from each other for the last 12 years. A basically indescribable mysterious telepathy has even developed between them.

  “Mister Ying, we’re going to stay the night here, aren’t we?” Elder Blue-clad asks Qin De.

  The 5 Heavenly Net experts that Elder Blue-clad brings along are only loyal to the Heavenly Net’s leader, but even they do not know that the leader is a person of the Qin clan. To prevent accidents this time, Qin De has told Elder Blue-clad and Ge Min to call him Mister Ying.

  “We’re staying the night here. Tomorrow morning everybody is going into the Widerness so let’s have a good rest tonight.” Qin De gives a smile then turns to Ge Min and says: “Old man Ge, quickly prepare board and lodging for everyone.”

  Ge Min says respectfully at once: “Yes, Mister Ying.”

  In the evening, everyone has a meal in this considerably large house then most of them start to rest or go to sleep because, after all, they are going into the Wilderness tomorrow. No one, whether from the Heavenly Net or the Secret Arrow, has any complaints about their entry into the Wilderness.

  Even if they are asked to die they will not be afraid of that, because they were already brainwashed when they started to be trained. However, there is a stranger going with them this time, namely peak Xiantian assassin Liu Xing.

  Tonight has a bright moon but only a few stars. The bright Moon is hanging in a corner of the sky. Qin Yu has not gone to bed yet and is watching the Moon above from the courtyard.

  “The Wilderness, I never thought that father would choose a location in the Wilderness to undergo his tribulation.” Qin Yu secretly groans. “One will encounter stronger demonic beasts as he goes deeper into the Widerness. But I believe father won’t choose a place deep in the Wilderness to go through his tribulation.”

  Suddenly, Qin Yu frowns and stops thinking because someone is approaching.

  “Mister Liu Xing, you’re staying up so late. Could you be worrying about something?” Qin De says with a warm smile as he walks up to Qin Yu.

  Immediately afterwards, another voice rises: “Mister Ying, there are demonic beasts in the Wilderness after all. Even though we aren’t going deep into the Wilderness this time, if we encounter any demonic beasts, it will still be very dangerous. Perhaps Mister Liu Xing can also feel that this journey is risky.” Fengyuzi also walks up to him.

  Qin De says in an unconcerned manner: “Mister Liu Xing, if you find this mission risky, you can also give it up. We definitely won’t blame or laugh at you. After all, the Wilderness is a dangerous place.”

  Qin De does not tell Qin Yu anything about the location he has selected this time. The Green Lotus mountain range is merely on the border of the Wilderness. The deeper a place is in the Wilderness, the more dangerous it becomes. The Green Lotus mountain range is no more than a huge mountain range on the border of the Wilderness so, even if it has wild beasts, Qin De and his entourage will still be able to handle them easily.

  “Give up? Of course I won’t. I’m just wondering if we’ll encounter demonic beasts after coming into the Wilderness this time. Some demonic beasts are on the same level as Xiantian experts while some others are on a par with Shangxian. Some are even more formidable than Shangxian. If we encounter a demonic beast which is near a Shangxian’s caliber, I’m wondering whether I or it will eventually survive the fight to the death between us!” says Qin Yu indifferently.

  “Gentlemen, I’m going back to rest first.” Qin Yu folds his hands and says.

  “You’re going back to rest? Then we won’t trouble you anymore, Mister Liu Xing.” Qin De and Fengyuzi motion to him to proceed. Qin Yu then returns to his room directly, leaving only 2 people, Qin De and Fengyuzi, in the courtyard.

  Fengyuzi makes a wave of his hand. A simple restrictive spell is immediately set up, isolating their voices completely from the outside of the spell.

  “Brother Feng, what do you think about this assassin Liu Xing? I can feel Yu’er’s aura on his body.” Qin De slightly frowns and says.

  At Qin De’s current level in power, he has developed a sense which is rather similar to the holy sense. No one will be able to fool people like him using only the Appearance and Bone Changing art. After all, any Xiantian expert can use the Appearance and Bone Changing art to the fullest and, moreover, Fengyuzi beside Qin De is a Xiuzhenist with an even more powerful holy sense.

  Fengyuzi says with a slight frown: “When I used my holy sense to examine this Mister Liu Xing, I noticed that his aura is very similar to Xiao Yu’s and even thought that he was Xiao Yu. But later I discovered an extraordinary Xiantian energy inside Mister Liu Xing’s body. That kind of Xiantian energy is extremely terrifyingly destructive. Xiao Yu is a Xiantian external expert so he doesn’t have any internal energy. Mister Liu Xing, however, has Xiantian energy so he can’t be Xiao Yu.”

  Qin De also says with a nod: “I felt it carefully too. This Mister Liu Xing’s aura is very profound and there are some differences between it and Xiao Yu’s.”

  A person’s aura is dependent on his soul. After the Meteoric Tear fused with Qin Yu’s body, without his knowledge, some faint amounts of a mysterious energy from the Meteoric Tear have fused with his soul, slowly enhancing it unnoticed. Therefore, Qin Yu has undergone huge transformations during such a short time as the last half year.

  This is the reason why, since Qin Yu and Qin De met each other again after a half year of separation, Qin De and Fengyuzi has not dared to confirm that this Mister Liu Xing is
Qin Yu. Moreover, in the past Qin Yu told them that a Xiantian external expert only used physical power whereas this Mister Liu Xing has Xiantian energy.

  Qin De does not know that Qin Yu acquired this purple Xiantian energy thanks to practicing the 3rd Trans-Heaven diagram.

  “However … I have a feeling that this Mister Liu Xing is worth trusting.” Qin De gives a smile then looks up at the bright moon in the night sky. At this moment he is thinking of his 3rd son, who has not returned home for a long time. “Yu’er, I owe you too much, but will I still have a chance to meet you again?”

  Even though Qin De is fully prepared, he is not certain that he will overcome the 4-in-9 Heavenly Tribulation.

  In the early morning of the next day, the 15 people start off with light luggage. They only enter the Wilderness on foot. Even the weakest among them is a late phase Xiantian expert so they have no problem using their lightness skills to go along mountain tracks, which are rough and steep.