Stellar Transformations

by I Eat Tomatoes

  “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 i
s 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, s
aying: “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!”