Stellar Transformations Book 8
Page 13
The leader of the group from the Purple Flame Devilish Dungeon, a black-robed old man, shouts to the leader of the group from the Penglai Immortal Region, a blue-gowned juvenile.
That blue-gowned juvenile says with a cold laugh: “You found it first? It should be my man who discovered this secret place first but your men killed him to silence him. Luckily he had already sent a message, or else we still didn’t know. This time you are to blame for my Penglai Immortal Region losing several thousand men.”
In just a while, these groups have lost more than a third of their power.
The black-robed old man and the blue-gowned juvenile both feel that they cannot account for this so they put the blame on each other.
The black-robed old man says with a cold laugh: “Men from your Penglai Immortal Region are pretty good at lying. All of you are very hypocritical. I won’t waste time talking to you anymore. I’m going to report this to Dungeon King.” He immediately begins to send another message through the transmitter in his hand.
The blue-gowned juvenile also sends another message.
……
In a residence in a small town of the Qin dynasty near the Wilderness,
The leaders of the 6 powers from the overseas Xiuzhen world are gathering here. Searching for that black jade case in the Wilderness is the job of their subordinates. All along, these high-ranking leaders have been strolling about the Qian Long continent to relieve boredom or practicing quietly.
However, now all of them are here.
In just a few days, Azure Dragon’s forces of more than 10,000 have been exterminated while the Penglai Immortal Region and the Purple Flame Devilish Dungeon have both lost a third of their men. Such heavy losses never occurred during the 10 previous years, so the 6 big leaders have been shocked by them.
There are 6 thrones.
Qin Yu is sitting in one of them. Hou Fei and Hei Yu are standing behind him. The other 5 seats have been taken by Azure Dragon, Old Freak Three-Eyed, Di Long, Reverend Yan Xu and Dungeon King Yi Da. At the moment, the atmosphere in the house is a bit oppressive.
“What happened, Azure Dragon? How did all of your subordinates die with not even one escaping?” Old Freak Three-Eyed is still in disbelief.
Azure Dragon lets out a sigh. There is, however, very little sadness in his eyes. After all, the forces sent to carry out the search this time all lived near the Qian Long continent and the core forces of his Azure Dragon Palace have not been used yet so he does not really mind after these forces were wiped out. However, from now on, he cannot have anybody on the Qian Long continent search for the black jade case for him.
“Now my forces are all gone so I’ll tell you this piece of info. After going more than 2 million li into the Wilderness, you’ll see a huge black city with at least several hundred thousand Xiuyaoists inside.” Azure Dragon says positively.
The face of everybody present changes color.
Several hundred thousand Xiuyaoists? Even though any of the 6 powers has more subordinates than this, the Wilderness is not their headquarters. They only have a little more than 10,000 subordinates here.
“The forces inside the black city are just a portion. The area outside the city is several tens times larger than the city. This area is full of Xiuyaoists and all of them have at least reached the Jindan stage. Their number even surpasses a million.” Azure Dragon says very solemnly.
Qin Yu and the others all draw a cold breath.
Over a million?
This is perhaps an imaginary number but all of them can see very clearly that the area around that black city must be part of the city’s real power. Such a power with probably 2 to 3 million subordinates is definitely not weaker than the Azure Dragon Palace.
“Then how did your subordinates die?” Old Freak Three-Eyed asks.
However, in their mind, everybody has figured out that they were most likely annihilated by that enormous power.
“That day, a guardian of my Azure Dragon Palace was leading his subordinates searching carefully for traces of that black jade case. They then arrived in that area. A local little Jindan stage Xiuyaoist unexpectedly told my subordinates that whoever entered this area should be killed.” There is a tinge of annoyance on Azure Dragon’s face.
Who is Azure Dragon? Since when have other people been able to treat him this way?
Moreover, there is even the dragon clan behind him so naturally he was not frightened.
“I told my subordinates to only search for the black jade case and not to hurt anybody for no reason.” Azure Dragon suddenly says with fury: “Who could have thought that soon after they advanced, they would be completely surrounded by countless Xiuyaoists and even divine beasts would appear at the same time. So, in just a while, my forces were all gone.”
Everybody remains silent for a long time.
“Everybody, do you still remember a strange thing about the Wilderness?” Qin Yu suddenly says.
Reverend Yan Xu and the others all look at him. Qin Yu says smilingly: “Originally, we could see demonic beasts when going 100 li into the Wilderness. But after we started the search, though we encountered demonic beasts in the beginning and lost quite a few troops because of this, later we didn’t see a single demonic beast. Everybody, do you still remember?”
“Indeed.” Di Long says solemnly with a nod. “We went in 2 million li but we didn’t see a single demonic beast. Now looks like … that black city is a certain power. Perhaps it ordered all demonic beasts directly to gather around the city and not to clash with us.”
“Humph.”
Standing behind Reverend Yan Xu, Reverend Huo Tian gives a cold humph. “That city is very powerful. Its Xiuyaoists can already match the Azure Dragon Palace in number. We didn’t send many troops to this place at all, so why would the power in that city have feared us? Why would it have wanted every demonic beast under it to gather around that city?”
“Fear? Does reluctance to clash with us definitely mean fear? You Xiuxianists’ intelligence is so low.” Yi Da says with a cold smile.
“Yi Da!” Reverend Huo Tian is furious. “Don’t go over the line. This time the Penglai Immortal Region’s men discovered that quiet deep cave first, but your men killed them to hide it from us and monopolize it. Humph, you’ve gone overboard.”
Yi Da says nothing. But Jiao Jiu beside him laughs out loud: “Huo Tian, you’re still such an arsehole.”
“Where’s Miss Situ?” Qin Yu suddenly asks with a smile.
He is amused thinking about her. That Xun Feng of Su Yan City has unexpectedly been chasing her with sincerity and perseverance. Situ Xue has naturally been annoyed by this, but Qin Yu helped him so she promised not to take his life.
Because of Situ Xue, Xun Feng has been bustling about for the past 10 years, but …
If he is like a deliberate fallen flower, then she is like a passionless running stream. She feels weird and uncomfortable because a man pursues her, but she is an early Kongming stage Xiumoist after all, how can she possibly accept a mortal’s feeling for her?
“Situ? She’s in the Wilderness.” Yi Da suddenly bites his lip, causing his blood to ooze out.
Azure Dragon frowns. Those who are familiar with Yi Da all know that, when bites his lip, he has made an important decision. Azure Dragon says smilingly at once: “That quiet deep cave is just a dangerous place, Yi Da, Reverend Yan Xu. Do you think you should fight over it like this?”
Yi Da suddenly says: “I’ve got something to tell everybody. The 9th jade sword is most likely in that cave. However, this cave is even much more dangerous than the places where the other 8 swords were kept.”
The 9 jade swords were originally kept in 9 different places. Every place is more dangerous than the previous one, and the 9th place is the most dangerous.
“How can you be sure?” Old Freak Three-Eyed says doubtfully. “Impossible … you’re plotting something, right?”
Yi Da says with a cold laugh: �
�Three-Eyed, I’ve given you some face by telling you this info, but you even doubt me. Then you should just stay home. Situ Xue personally sent me this info. She discovered that this quiet deep cave had that familiar aura.”
Familiar aura?
Everybody knows what that familiar aura is.
Of course it is the aura of the immortal that left behind the Nine Swords Immortal Mansion, a place with a lot of treasures. Given Situ Xue’s status, naturally she has seen the Purple Flame Devilish Dungeon’s black jade cases. In the past, Yi Da, Situ Xue and Jiao Jiu even joined forces to get rid of the Dust Removing Spells of those cases.
Immediately, everybody no longer has any doubts.
“Tomorrow my Purple Flame Devilish Dungeon’s men are going to set off for that quiet deep cave. As for whether any of you will go or not, I just don’t care.” The corners of Yi Da’s mouth curve up. A faint smile that is both grim and evil appears on his face.
“Go, of course I’ll go. If I don’t go take a look, I’ll be very disappointed. After all, I’ve put so much effort into this.” Azure Dragon is the first to say. On one side, Old Freak Three-Eyed also says: “Azure Dragon will go so I’ll certainly go. I must obtain this 9th jade sword.”
Reverend Yan Xu says smilingly: “My Penglai Immortal Region’s men found this cave first so I’ll surely go.”
“Since you will all go, my Nine Demons Hall will go as well. But … you must not forget that this cave has already killed several thousand men of the Purple Flame Devilish Dungeon and the Penglai Immortal Region each. It’s definitely not a nice place.” Di Long folds his arms before his chest and says with a smile.
Qin Yu stands up, turns around and starts to leave.
“Everybody, tomorrow my Stellar Tower will go with you. But … don’t forget that mysterious city. Why did it want all Xiuyaoists to gather around the city?” When he finishes talking, he has already left.
Hou Fei, carrying his black stick on his shoulder, and Hei Yu follow Qin Yu to also leave.
Chapter 14: Danger Zone
In a pitch-black space, a pair of blood-red eyes are the only things visible.
Suddenly, a small white area appears in this space. It is none other than that snowy cat.
In an instant, the snowy cat transforms into a cat-headed woman, looking like a catwoman. She is now wearing snow-white tight-fitting clothes, revealing the extremely sexy curves of her body. This snowy cat is also a divine beast, a top-class being among demonic beasts. The snowy cat says very respectfully: “Overlord.”
That pair of blood-red eyes looks at her: “Xiao Xue, Dragon Rocky’s and Hong Luan’s 6-in-9 Heavenly Tribulations will come soon, won’t they?”
“Overlord, Hong Luan’s 6-in-9 Heavenly Tribulation will come 3 months later, but Dragon Rocky is still unable to sense his tribulation.” The snowy cat says respectfully.
“Have you dealt with the Azure Dragon Palace’s forces completely?”
The snowy cat gives a smile. Her golden pupils flash with a tinge of blood-red: “Overlord, all of them have been dealt with. No one was spared.”
“Very well …”
The blood-red eyes suddenly shut, thus disappearing in this pitch-black space.
……
The Immense Wilderness is vast.
The high echelons of the 6 powers are going forwards into the Wilderness extremely fast together. At the same time, the leaders order the forces near that quiet deep cave to gather at the entrance of the cave. These several tens individuals are the top figures of the 6 powers so naturally their speeds are extremely fast.
Hou Fei’s black stick has been resized and now it is as thick as a tree. Sitting on the black stick, Hou Fei says laughingly to Qin Yu: “Big brother, you’re really formidable. This time sis Li’er also wanted to go to broaden her horizons but you were even able to persuade her to stay in the mansion.”
A faint smile appears on Qin Yu’s face.
This time everybody wants to go deep into the Wilderness to explore that quiet deep cave. When Li’er knew about this, she also wanted to follow Qin Yu to make an exploration of the cave. Qin Yu knows that she has magic powers, but her personal power is too weak and, moreover, this quiet deep cave is too dangerous so he tried every means to eventually succeed in dissuading her.
Therefore, the 3 masters are the only members of the Stellar Tower who left for that quiet deep cave this time.
“Monkey, big brother did so for sis Li’er’s benefit.” Hei Yu’s voice rises.
Hou Fei says while shaking his head: “How could I not know? But … there’s absolutely no need for big brother to worry about sis Li’er’s safety. Uncle Lan cares about her the most so how can she possibly not have life-saving treasures?” Hou Fei is totally confident.
Qin Yu gives a smile.
He does not want to let Li’er take a risk under any circumstances.
In the Wilderness, mountain ranges and ravines are everywhere. And huge trees which are hundreds or thousands of zhang tall can also be seen. Various demonic beasts that are yet to reach the Jindan stage keep roaring wantonly. Everybody is piercing through the sky extremely fast, heading east straight.
After going for several days, Azure Dragon, Reverend Yan Xu, Qin Yu and the others finally arrive at the location of the quiet deep cave.
By now, the forces of the powers have already gathered here, except for the Stellar Tower’s and the Azure Dragon Palace’s forces. The Azure Dragon Palace’s forces are not here because they were already wiped out and the Stellar Tower’s forces are not here because they are staying in the outermost 100,000 li area. Given those common guards’ power, they simply cannot come here in time even if they want.
The forces from the Penglai Immortal Region, the Purple Flame Devilish Dungeon, the Blue Water Mansion and the Nine Demons Hall all salute their respective leaders.
That quiet deep cave is in a valley in a continuous mountain range. It has an opening of 10-odd m in diameter and is fathomless. At the moment, that valley is full of standing people. The experts like Azure Dragon are standing beside the cave.
“This quiet deep cave really has the aura left by that immortal. Holy senses are totally useless here so we can only rely on our eyes.” Azure Dragon now no longer has any doubts. Before talking, he had already set up a restrictive spell around them to prevent the subordinates in the surroundings from hearing what they were going to say.
The others also nod.
They have certainly discovered the mysterious thing about this quiet deep cave and that familiar aura.
Reverend Yan Xu says loudly: “Everybody, this quiet deep cave seems very likely to be the place where the 9th jade sword is kept. Now we have to explore the cave to see how deep it is. Let’s discuss carefully whether we should explore it individually or explore it together.”
“Ha-ha, I don’t have an opinion. Now, except for Teng Shan, I’ve got no subordinates.” Azure Dragon laughs out loud and says.
Qin Yu also nods his head: “The 4 of you just discuss with each other. My Stellar Tower’s forces are still on the border of the Wilderness and simply can’t come here. I’m the same as Overlord Azure Dragon. You can decide how to carry out the exploration by yourselves.”
Reverend Yan Xu, Old Freak Three-Eyed, Di Long and Yi Da remain silent for a while.
“Let’s go down with 1000 men each and use them as a tool to learn more about the way as we go.” Yi Da says coldly.
The other 3 ponder a little bit then nod their heads.
They also know that those ordinary subordinates of theirs, who are mostly at the Jindan stage in power, will have very little hope of surviving in this keeping place of the 9th jade sword.
“All right, as this is the case, let’s gather your forces, everybody. We’ll start entering this quiet deep cave one hour later.” Azure Dragon says immediately. The others also agree with him. Qin Yu, however, gives that cave a look.
It is pitch-black and bot
tomless.
Nobody knows what there are inside.
An hour later, the other 4 powers fly into the cave successively bringing along 1000 ordinary Xiuzhenists apiece. But Qin Yu and Azure Dragon go into the cave with just a few experts. The cores of the 6 superpowers go in the center of the group, led and followed by ordinary Xiuzhenists.
“This quiet deep cave is unusually dark.” Azure Dragon says with a cold humph. “Even with my vision, I can only see as far as several tens meters down.”
Qin Yu says with a smile: “You’re already really formidable, Overlord Azure Dragon. I can only see as far as 10 something meters. Perhaps those ordinary Xiuzhenists can only see a couple of meters ahead of them. Their hearts must pound with fear as they fly.”