Stellar Transformations
chapter-60

The forecast was, a fine day, faint blue sky dotted by fluffy white clouds like woolly sheep. Atop a rather large woolly heap sat five people – Du Zhong Jun, Hua Yan, Ao Feng, Fang Tian and Yu Liang. It was a comical scene seeing five people sitting on a rippling cloud.

“That plan I just discussed with you all, do you all concur?” Hua Yan looked down the cloud table, towards the other four.

Du Zhong Jun was the first to smile his assent: “Brother Hua Yan, what you said is reasonable. Lan Feng is most likely stored his Sword Spirit into Qin Yu’s body. This way Qin Yu would get first place. Although he got first place, most of the treasures will be taken by Lan Feng, but Qin Yu will still get a small portion. Qin Yu is just by himself, what are we afraid of? You may not all agree to this, but I offer my pledge to take part in this.”

“What about Brother Fang Tian?” Hua Yan turns to Fang Tian

Fang Tian frowned upon this plan, “Hua Yan, what you said is justifiable, and your information is spot on. It is true that Qin Yu cares a great deal about his relatives, but to use his family to threaten Qin Yu, is a little too…….”

“Too much what?” Hua Yan sneered, his face contorted evilly, “What? Do you want to attack Qin Yu directly? He isn’t someone that easy to capture, especially if Lan Feng is close by. It is impossible for us to corner him directly, so we must approach him using this method.”

The three Emissaries: Du Zhong Jun, Hua Yan and Ao Feng, descended from the Upper Realms to Ni Yang’s Realm for treasure. And yet, they haven’t gotten anything out of it. Obviously, they have some grievances against Qin Yu.

Their target treasure may be in Qin Yu’s possession.

“Aren’t you afraid of offending Lan Feng?” Fang Tian interjected, “Even if you manage to get the treasure from Qin Yu, once Lan Feng learns of it, the consequences will be devastating.”

“Fang Tian.” Ao Feng laughed, “There no need to worry, we can leave the Mortal Plane whenever we wish. Once we’ve gotten our hands on a satisfying amount of treasure, we will return immediately to the Immortal, Devil and Demon Realms, and to our Headquarters. Who would fear Lan Feng, when we are under the protection of HQ?”

Du Zhong Jun and Hua Yan snickered and nodded their confirmation.

Descending was very difficult, but going back was much easier.

“That sounds reasonable, but with Qin Yu’s strength, he may manage to come first and get access to the top treasure floor, all the valuable treasures will go to Lan Feng. Qin Yu would only get one or two Top Grade Immortal Class item.” Fang Tian reasoned.

Hua Yan and the other two conspirators frown at this.

“Hmm, that makes sense. Qin Yu is about to ascend himself, and to ascend with mountains of treasure will attract unwanted attention. Lan Feng most likely only left Qin Yu with one Top Grade Immortal item.” Ao Feng said and looked somewhat distressed.

The primary purpose for these three Emissaries was the final Divine Class items in the top treasure rooms. It was true that Top Grade Immortal items are pretty good, but not worth courting so much danger.

Ao Feng suddenly bites down on his molars: “Brother Hua Yan and Brother Du Zhong Jun, I ask you, do you have any Sky Aquamarine Crystals, Circular Yu Crystals or Obsidian Ores?”

[TN: Crystal names (in order of appearance): 天蓝晶石, 於环晶石 and 及灵耀石.]

Hua Yan and Du Zhong Jun were quite startled by the abrupt change in topic. These three Crystalline Stones weren’t very rare but aren’t cheap. Why would Ao Feng ask about them now?

“Brother Ao Feng, why are you asking?” Hua Yan inquired.

Ao Feng explained, “I thought that since the plan is to corner Qin Yu and use him as a bargaining piece to blackmail Lan Feng…” Ao Feng flashes everyone a ruthless look.

“You cannot.” Fang Tian’s face starts to heat up, “Ao Feng, didn’t you witness Lan Feng prowess? Even when I used the True Dragon Spirit, I was still below his thumb. Now, you wish to blackmail Lan Feng, you know you are just welcoming your own death, right?”

“Don’t worry.” Ao Feng exclaimed confidently, “Fang Tian you are just a Dragon living in the Mortal Plane, there’s many things you don’t know of. While I was living among the Dragon Clan of the Demon Realm, I learnt of a hidden technique to create a maze trap. With enough materials, I can create this Maze, even with Lan Feng’s strength, it would still take a few months to break through it.”

“A Maze?” Hua Yan and Du Zhong Jun doubt how this could restrict Lan Feng

Ao Feng nodded: “Originally, this Maze was a sort of Sure-Kill Tactical Spell. It has an external maze component, an internal Hallucinatory Spell and a latent a damaging array. This is all integrated in a super large Spell array. My understanding of that Tactical Spell is still shallow, I only have a thorough understanding of this Maze Technique. But, it is true that this maze will be able to restrict Lan Feng for several months.”

“Ha ha…..As I thought having Brother Ao Feng was a blessing. With this Spell Array, we can blackmail Lan Feng with ease. Within this array how would we be afraid of offending him? If we can threaten to cough up the treasures, then we will benefit. But, if we aren’t successful…….we can still return to the Immortal, Devil and Demon Realms, and avoid his wrath. So I have nothing to lose.” Hua Yan snickered wickedly.

Du Zhong Jun also nodded his assent.

“Well, Yu Liang and Fang Tian, do you accept?” Ao Feng asked.

“I don’t think it is worth offending Lan Feng for these small things. You Emissaries may be able to return to the Upper Realms, but I will have to stay here for a time before ascending. Offending Lan Feng will be very troublesome for me, I’m afraid I cannot make such a promise.” Fang Tian replied firmly.

On the surface, Ao Feng smiled and nodded, but in his heart he cursed at Fang Tian.

That was just an excuse! Even Ao Feng can see the obvious.

Fang Tian was a ‘5-Clawed Golden Dragon’, once he ascends to the Dragon Clan, he would be treated like a treasured VIP. Why would he put his life on the line for something like a Divine Class item?

After all, a ‘5-Clawed Golden Dragon’ was more valuable.

“Yu Liang, how about you?” Ao Feng looked towards Yu Liang.

Yu Liang thought for a moment, “Gentlemen, I won’t ask for much. I just want to get a Top Grade Immortal item from Qin Yu, would that be alright?”

“That’s okay.” Ao Feng accepted his request.

For the three Emissaries, their eyes was only for ‘that’ Divine item.

“Then let us depart.” Ao Feng wore a devilish smile.

“Then gentlemen, I’ll take my leave.” Fang Tian said moderately, then got up and took two to three steps downwards to reach the sand beach of Golden Woods Island. Clearly, Fang Tian wishes to take the Ancient Teleport Ruins to Snow Fish Island and return to the Dragon Clan.

Hua Yan, Du Zhong Jun and the others sneered coldly at Fang Tian’s retreating back. Then the four conspirators flew towards the northern direction; their goals was only at one place – Qian Long Continent.

……..

In the ninth floor of the Nine Heavens Celestial Palace and amidst countless treasures. Qin Yu had stored over one thousand High Grade Immortal items in a single breathe. Amongst those treasures were, around one hundred pieces of Top Grade Immortal items, and various precious immortal elixirs and pills.

“With so many High Grade or better Immortal items and the numerous high level beasts of Atlas of Ten Thousand Beasts, I finally bring out and wield a formidable force.” Qin Yu was currently above cloud 9, he has no idea what has transpired in the outside world and those who conspire against him.

Only after storing all the treasures around him, Qin Yu finally saw the three grand treasures the Emperor Ni Yang spoke about. These three holy objects were suspended in the air, previously obscure by other treasure.

The leftmost object was similar in shape to the double-edged Long Sword his Puppet wielded. The rightmost object was a long battle robe, it had a black silky finish on the outer surface, while the inner side was inlayed by thin lines of silver. Between these two and in the centre location was a Painting, its brilliance vastly outstrip the treasures on either side. The Painting emitted misty light that twinkled like the stars above, showering the immediate surroundings in ever-changing starlight.

“These three must the treasures Immortal Emperor Ni Yang dubbed as the ‘real treasures’.”

Qin Yu reach forward and grasp the hilt of the double-edge Long Sword. The moment his hands closed around the pommel, a familiar voice echoed within his mind. It was Emperor Ni Yang.

“This sword’s name is ‘Sky Piercer’, it is a Middle Grade Divine Weapon. It bestows its master the ability, ‘Heaven Sundering Sword Technique’, which could be activated by name. Its power is overwhelmingly high. To acquire this ability…..this is my true legacy. It was something I gained during my time in the Immortal, Devil and Demon Realms.”

[TN: I named the Heaven Sundering sword as Sky Piercer because it sounds better.]

The instant, Emperor finished, Qin Yu dripped a drop of blood on it to form the Blood Contract.

The moment the blood touched the Divine Sword, it was absorbed, and at the same time torrents of information poured into Qin Yu’s mind.

“I never thought the Immortal Emperor Ni Yang’s ‘Heaven Sundering Sword Technique’ was granted to him by this Divine Sword. No wonder this ‘Heaven Sundering Sword Technique’ was incredibly powerful, it did not originate from the Immortal (or equivalent) Realms.” Qin Yu sighed inwardly.

Upon receiving the ‘Sky Piercer’, did Qin Yu understood that the ‘Heaven Sundering Sword Technique’, was embedded into by the true practitioner of this Divine Sword.

“Even so, I not accustomed to using a long sword. A short sword would be better.” Qin Yu quietly mused in his mind. Instantly, the 1.1 metre long sword shrunk to the size of a short sword of 10 centimetres. The new size was much like the Yu Chang Short Sword, Qin Yu used to use.

Qin Yu absorbed the Sky Piercer into his body, and reach out to the Battle Robe.

“This battle robe is called ‘Black Snow’, it is a Low Grade Divine armour. A Golden Immortal’s body’s resilience is not bad. But, with this defensive Divine armour and the offensive ‘Sky Piercer’, only then I was at the peak of all existences in the Immortal, Devil and Demon Realms.” Emperor Ni Yang’s voice resounded in Qin Yu’s mind.

Qin Yu could not hide his glee as he formed the Blood Contract with the item.

The moment the drop of blood was absorbed, the armour started to release specks of snowy white light. These ‘snowy’ specks and soft white light whirl around the armour like a slow moving blizzard. With a single thought, the amour equipped itself onto Qin Yu’s body.

Qin Yu felt very comfortable in this silk black battle robe. Whatever style Qin Yu thought of, the armour changed into.

“Well, I have already accepted both the Divine Sword and the Divine Battle Robe. This last object should the infamous ‘Painting of the Lost God’.” Qin Yu reached in front of him, towards the scroll suspended in the air.

Just from its appearance, the Painting simply looked like a mysterious scroll, but since Qin Yu acquired the Atlas of Ten Thousand Beasts, he did not dare to underestimate the power within the Painting.

“Junior, this ‘Painting of the Lost God’ is the top ranked treasure in all of the Immortal, Devil and Demon Realms. Even if you possess the two Divine Class items, and if your personal power has not reached the Mystic Immortal Stage, allowing others to know about you is just courting death. So……..I placed a restrictive spell on this Painting, so that if you are not at the Mystic Immortal Stage yet, you will not be allowed to open it.”

Hearing that Emperor Ni Yang had placed a Restrictive Spell on the Painting only mildly surprised Qin Yu.

“What is the Painting of the Lost God? It’s the top rank treasure in all of the Upper Immortal Realms?”

The moment he heard that the Painting was the top ranked treasure in all the Immortal (or equivalent) Realms, he was still quite shocked by the statement.

“It’s true, without the power to protect myself, I’d best not let anyone know about this Painting being in my possession. Otherwise that would be certain death. Still it is unfortunate……..I will not know about the true mysteries this treasure contains until I’ve reach the Mystic Immortal Stage.”

With another drop of blood and a Blood Contract, the item was absorbed in to Qin Yu’s body

And finally, all the treasures on the ninth floor of the Nine Heavens Palace have been taken by Qin Yu.

“Both the Divine Sword and the Battle Robe doesn’t seem to emit any dominating aura, instead it appears to be quite plain and mundane. Weaker observers will only see it as a plain robe and sword, but in actual fact, it is both Divine Class items.”

Qin Yu looked at the reflection of his shapeshifting Battle Robe on the polished marble floor, feeling quite satisfied with his attire.

Divine items; they are items that cannot be refined and made in all of the Immortal, Devil and Demon Realms. Also the experts of these Realms cannot discern the true nature of the equipment. The first reason was that, not many people have seen these scarce Divine items, and the second being that the Divine items have seemingly very ordinary appearances.

Qin Yu inhaled a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. His nerves and poise was fully calm once again.

His eyes swept through every nook and cranny of the great hall. Nothing could escape his notice and none interested him either.

“In the past, Uncle Lan said that as long as I succeed to pass through Ni Yang’s Realm, I will know what power level I will need to be able to see Li’er again. But……but I can’t seem to find whatever Uncle Lan left behind…?”

His heart thumped agitatedly in his chest.

The items left behind by Uncle Lan was far more important to Qin Yu, than the three pieces of Divine equipment left by Emperor Ni Yang. What he desired the most…..was to know what level of practice he must be at, to be able to see Li’er again.

“Xiao Yu.”

A deep but mild voice reverberated around the entire ninth floor of the Nine Heavens Palace. A moment later, a figure of Uncle Lan appeared a little distance in front of Qin Yu.

“Uncle Lan!”

At closer examination, the figure in front of Qin Yu felt much realistic unlike the projection of the Emperor Ni Yang earlier.

“Xiao Yu, this is a copy of my real body – doppelganger, which was waiting for your arrival. It looks like……you haven’t let me down.” Uncle Lan looked at Qin Yu kindly. His face was that of a caring grandparent.

Qin Yu was pleasantly surprised by his Uncle Lan’s presence.

Doppelganger? Well, at least that explains why this figure of Uncle Lan felt so real.

“Uncle Lan, please tell me when can I see Li’er again?” Qin Yu said hurriedly. He desperately wanted to know about this.

Uncle Lan walked over to Qin Yu, lightly caressed his head in a fatherly manner. Then he shook his head: “Don’t be too hasty, you must endure, alright? This time, when Li’er returned, her Royal Father had once tried to force her to marry someone else…..”

“What!? How can he do that?” Qin Yu’s heart thump wildly, he could not calm himself anymore.

“Do not worry, Li’er is adamant in her decision to defy her father’s orders, plus I am helping her as well. That had quieten down her Royal Father to withhold his orders for the moment…….But, Li’er did not dare to tell her royal father about her affair with you, Qin Yu. I predict that if Li’er told her royal father about you, her father will definitely come to kill you.” Uncle Lan gave Qin Yu a look with a hint of irony.

Qin Yu had linked and clenched his hands, his heart was throbbing with unwillingness.

“Uncle Lan, please tell me at what level I must be at, to qualify to see Li’er, to qualify to stand by her side?” Qin Yu raised his head, looked right into Uncle Lan’s eyes, his eye bright. In their reflection, it showed a fiercely determined young man, his honest eyes shining of inner strength. They were completely clear, absolutely pure as his desire and determination.

The two companions looked at each other for what seem like an eternity.

Finally, Uncle Lan unwounded his arm from behind his back, and lift to chest height. With a hand flip, a small green column appeared in the centre of his palm.

“Uncle Lan, this is…..?” Qin Yu was, once again, puzzled at this object.

Uncle Lan patiently explained: “This is the ‘Jiang Lan’s Sector’, it is a special Divine item that I refined. How to use it will depend on the insights and knowledge you gain from it and elsewhere. I must tell you, only when you are fully able to use this ‘Jiang Lan’s Sector’, only then will you be able to see Li’er. But, remember, you will ‘only’ be able to see Li’er.”

That small green column drifted through the air, from Uncle Lan’s upturned palm to the space in front of Qin Yu.

“Only when you are able to fully use the ‘Jiang Lan’s Sector’, only then, you will be able to see Li’er.” That phrase echoed repeatedly in Qin Yu’s mind.

Qin Yu could hardly suppress his rising excitement. With an outreached hand, he received that small green ‘Jiang Lan’s Sector’. He was still giddy as he held this ‘real’ treasure with trembling hands against his bosom, as if it was his only lifeline.

Note – This chapter was originally translated by thunder at !