Stellar Transformations

by I Eat Tomatoes

There is a huge square transparent product which is radiating a multi-colored light, looking very effulgent.

  “Starlet is the manager of this building and is an artificially intelligent being. This separate villa was built by 1st Master, Master Lei Wei. I followed Master Lei Wei wandering the universe. During that time, Master Lei Wei continuously practiced and learned through experience. We originally came from a techno-science universe, where technology and science were extremely developed. Master made this separate villa then sucked it into his Storage Ring. One day, Master ventured into a black hole and was sucked into it. After getting out of the black hole alive, he found himself having arrived in another universe. Master then came to a planet in this universe, which is your planet.”

  That crystalline childlike voice says with excitement.

  Qin Yu, however, raises his eyebrows.

  Artificially intelligent being? Separate villa? Techno-science? Planet?

  Qin Yu does not understand what they mean at all. He does not understand how he came to this place either.

  “This planet unexpectedly belonged only to Xiuzhenists. Our original universe also had Xiuzhenists but, because it was dominated by science and technology, there were very few of them, extremely few. However, this planet had an unusually high number of Xiuzhenists, thousands upon thousands. After staying on this planet for some time, Master had to undergo his heavenly tribulation. He had been worried that he would fail so he had left me in this wilderness earlier, telling me to wait for 2nd Master. Sure enough, after so many years, the teleportation formation finally started and brought you here, Master.”

  Now Qin Yu has gained a little knowledge of what happened, but he still does not understand some words such as technology and science.

  “Starlet, why haven’t you come out? Come out and talk with me,” says Qin Yu directly because he simply does not know what an artificially intelligent being is.

  “Wait a moment. Starlet doesn’t have a real body. I can only use a simulated image!” An image then appears in front of Qin Yu. It is none other than that of a kitten. Qin Yu’s eyes pop out of his head. He cannot help reaching out a hand. However, his hand goes through the simulated body of the kitten.

  At first sight, this simulated image seems to be real. Only when he touched it was he able to discover that it is merely simulated.

  “He-he, Master, you’re an inhabitant of the Qian Long continent so you simply don’t know what science and technology mean. 1st Master Lei Wei already prepared a book for you early on. It is written in the language of your Qian Long continent so you can take your time reading it. After reading it, you’ll understand everything. When you want to turn a page, just give me an order.”

  A simple-and-ancient-looking book suddenly floats before Qin Yu. Naturally, it is also simulated.

  Qin Yu looks at it in stupefaction. After a long time, he swallows and disregards everything else to start reading it carefully. As he goes on, a whole new civilization that is completely different from the Xiuzhen civilization appears before him …

  Lei Wei was an exceptionally wise person. The book he wrote contains only several hundred thousand words but it enables Qin Yu to understand the meaning of the techno-science civilization. At least he already knows how to use this separate villa.

  “So … I was teleported into this separate villa this way.” A faint smile appears on his face.

  He has understood everything.

  If a person wants to practice that Art of Stellar Transformations, he must reach the peak of the Xiantian level first, which also means he must completely master the 3 Trans-Heaven diagrams. The sign that he has practiced the technique of the diagrams to the highest level is the tricolor suit of armor formed by the 108 energy streams covering him.

  As soon as Qin Yu formed a tricolor suit of armor, that miraculous huge transportation formation sensed it then directly transported him into this separate villa, which had been set up carefully beforehand. At the same time, Starlet automatically took his blood to register him as its master.

  “Meow ~~ Master, 1st Master left you a series of images. He wanted to tell you about some matters with it. Do you want to watch it?” Starlet blinks its eyes and wags its little tail.

  Qin Yu cannot help getting startled in his heart. He admires this Lei Wei very much.

  Obviously, Lei Wei was the mysterious man who killed a Dacheng stage expert, a good several loose immortals, and several tens Dujie stage and Kongming stage experts. Moreover, this expert’s origin was even stranger -- he did not even come from this Xiuzhen world.

  Is he going to see this senior?

  “Starlet, give Xiao Hei the right to move in this separate villa. Also, wait for me to deal with the corpse of this geezer. Ah, this is …” As soon as Qin Yu looks at Wu Xing’s corpse, he notices one thing.

  Wu Xing is dead, but the flying sword and short knife inside his body and also his storage bracelet have dropped to one side. Qin Yu does not value the flying sword and short knife very much but he has never seen that storage bracelet.

  He picks up the storage bracelet in a movement of his hand. The original owner of this storage bracelet is already dead so it is now an owner-free object. Qin Yu immediately personalizes it by blood. A drop of blood falls on this storage bracelet then gets totally absorbed by it.

  “So wonderful, it even has a space the size of a room.” As soon as he puts the storage bracelet on, he can totally feel the space inside it.

  As he wears the storage bracelet, there is a surge of happiness in his heart. With a thought, everything in the bracelet can appear on his hand then get sucked inside in an instant, which is really extremely convenient and fantastic. In his heart, Qin Yu cannot help getting emotional over how marvelous the storage bracelet is.

  “Xiao Hei, from now on you can move freely in this separate villa. Come, follow me to bury this geezer’s corpse.” Qin Yu lifts Wu Xing’s corpse up in a movement of a hand then walks out of the hall in strides.

  “Master, follow me, this way. Just now it was the Training Hall. The surrounding silvery walls and floor of the Training Hall are made from an ore that 1st Master collected from a planet with especially strong gravity while travelling the universe. They have particularly great hardness. Even a so-called high-grade holy weapon in this Xiuzhen world can only leave a small mark on them,” says Starlet proudly.

  Qin Yu, however, secretly clicks his tongue because he never expected those silvery walls and that silvery ground to be so hard. But he does not know that Lei Wei, while wandering and venturing in the universe, saw a lot of strange planets, some of which had gravitational pulls so great that even Lei Wei did not dare to come near.

  Walking out of the entrance of the living room, he sees a relatively large indoor swimming pool. He goes around the swimming pool and come out of this separate villa.

  “It’s very beautiful indeed.”

  As soon as Qin Yu comes out, he sees a blue lake before him. The side of the lake is surrounded by a green meadow. This separate villa is located beside the lake. However, outside the green meadow, there is a huge mountain forest. In a glance, he can see various kinds of wild beasts.

  Qin Yu turns around and looks at the separate villa. From the outside, it looks like a mountain. He says with a smile: “Separate villa, this noun sounds really awkward. This separate villa was built by Senior Lei Wei and looks like a mountain so from now on let’s call it Lei Mountain House.” He has come up with a Qian-Long-continent-style name for it.

  After that, he buries Wu Xing’s body at a nearby place.

  “Xiao Hei, you can play around here but don’t go too far. This place is in the Wilderness. Maybe there are some strong demonic beasts. If you encounter any dangers, you must return immediately.” Qin Yu says while gently patting Xiao Hei’s head. Xiao Hei flaps its wings and nods in excitement.

  Qin Yu gives a smile then goes back into Lei Mountain House directly.

  Lei Mountain House is very large. It is divided into 2 floors.
The ground floor has the Training Hall, the living room, the Weapon Forging Chamber, the Pill Making Chamber, the storeroom, the swimming pool at the front and the garden at the back. In the back garden there are flowers and grasses taken from some unusual planets.

  The 1st floor does not have any techno-science leisure facilities. Rather, it is a place for training, weapon forging and pill making. The 2nd floor, however, is the opposite. It has recreation facilities such as the bathroom, the kitchen, the entertainment hall, the bedroom and the study.

  At this moment, Qin Yu is in the Training Hall.

  “Starlet, didn’t you say Senior Lei Wei left me a series of images? Turn them on for me to have a look.” Qin Yu is standing in the Training Hall. His heart is beating somewhat fast. After all, he is about to see images of the mysterious Lei Wei.

  “Meow ~~~ wait a second!”

  Starlet sweeps its little tail then disappears. At the same time … the entire Training Hall’s walls are covered with images of the universe and stars. In an instant, it looks as if Qin Yu is in space. The floor on which he is standing has even become the image of an area of space and simply cannot be seen anymore.

  “Cosmos, this is the cosmos?”

  Qin Yu is somewhat curious in his heart. However, at this moment, a man appears in front of him out of thin air. That man is standing with his hands behind his back and his back facing Qin Yu. After a long time, he lets out a sigh then turns around.

  Aloof and proud, swift and fierce,

  This is Qin Yu’s first impression of Lei Wei. All of a sudden, Lei Wei smiles: “Hello, if you are seeing this image, that will mean I, Lei Wei, have already failed to overcome the tribulation.”

  Qin Yu understands this. If Lei Wei had not failed to overcome the tribulation, he would definitely have returned to this Lei Mountain House and naturally there would not be this scene. At the moment, after Lei Wei has begun to smile, he looks very amiable so Qin Yu is no longer nervous.

  Lei Wei’s eyes have grown a bit misty. It seems he is remembering what has happened throughout his life.

  “I was a prince of an empire in the Milky Way Galaxy, but I didn’t like imperial power. Instead, I liked interstellar adventures and practicing. Where we came from, there were Xiuzhenists on only one planet, which was the Earth. Only when I had reached a certain level in practice did I know about that.”

  “At that time, I practiced nonstop. Then I obtained a secret book -- the Trans-Heaven 3 Diagrams --, which had only 3 pages containing 36 pictures each. However, to practice the Trans-Heaven 3 Diagrams, I had to reach the Xiantian level in body training first. I went out of my way to train hard and after experiencing various difficulties I finally succeeded. Then I gave up the prince status and set off for interstellar adventures using my spaceship. While travelling, I continuously practiced the Trans-Heaven 3 Diagrams. Eventually, one day the 4-in-9 Heavenly Tribulation came down. Luckily, I was able to overcome it. However … I didn’t have any techniques to continue my practice with.”

  Lei Wei’s face has a hint of satisfaction and enjoyment. He seems to be remembering those daring years.

  “While wandering in the cosmos looking for adventures, I heard about the theory of jindan and yuanying, but I still couldn’t obtain any Xiuzhen techniques. They were really too precious. At that time, I, who didn’t have a Xiuzhen technique, chose to create a path of my own. I knew Xiuzhen was to pursue the Way of Heaven … But what is the Way of Heaven? Could it be to form the jindan and train the yuanying?” A hint of haughtiness and confidence appears on Lei Wei’s face.

  “No, I definitely don’t think so. In my view, the Way of Heaven is the most original and natural things and isn’t something forcibly prescribed by human attempts. Watching the natural transformations of the cosmos, I gradually gained an understanding of the Way of Heaven. Then I started to create a new practice technique based on my understanding. This technique is modeled upon the evolution of stars in the cosmos so it’s called the Stellar Transformations.”

  An idea springs to Qin Yu’s mind. Could the Stellar Transformation be that mysterious technique?

  Lei Wei continues: “After going through a series of battles and adventures, I finally knew about the existence of the planet Earth, the only citadel of Xiuzhenists in the entire cosmos. I spent over 100 years on Earth and also obtained several Xiuzhen techniques, but … I thought they were simply inferior to the Stellar Transformations I had created.”

  Lei Wei involuntarily gives off an air of lordliness.

  “I left Earth and started to venture nonstop in the cosmos. Eventually, one day I was sucked into a black hole. That black hole was really too strong. It was basically not something the human power could resist. Then I arrived in a new space. At the same time, I discovered the planet nearest me. This planet was very large, extraordinarily large. Compared to that planet Earth of the Milky Way, it had to be over 10,000 times bigger. When I landed on it, I found out that it had a shockingly high number of Xiuzhenists, who were counted by the 10,000.”

  Lei Wei gives a disappointed smile: “Little boy, this study of mine has some practice techniques, which are all Xiuzhen techniques. I’ve collected quite a few of them, some from Earth and some others from this world. If you want to practice, you can use any of them.”

  Qin Yu frowns. Could it be this Lei Wei does not want to teach him his own Stellar Transformations?

  “Little boy, the Stellar Transformations is an incomplete technique and takes an unprecedented path. Even after wandering the cosmos for several thousand years, I’ve only been able to create the first 6 main stages -- Nebula, Meteor, Core, Planet, Dujie and Star. Moreover, the Star stage has merely been envisaged by me and I have no idea what will come afterwards. If you practice like me, even if you overcome the tribulations, reach the Star stage and ascend to the Realm of Immortals, you won’t have any techniques to continue your practice with.” Lei Wei says with an indifferent smile.

  Qin Yu also understands the disadvantages of the Stellar Transformations.

  To practice it to the Dujie stage is still not a bad thing because Lei Wei has already done this. However, that Star stage has only been envisaged by Lei Wei and there is no technique for dealing with what will happen after it. Once Qin Yu takes this path and practices to the Star stage, he will have to create a new technique on his own because the practice methods used by the other Xiuzhenists, who all cultivate their yuanyings, will be completely useless to him.

  But will it be easy to create a new technique? If he overdoes it and loses his way, both his body and soul will be destroyed.

  “Stellar Transformations, ha-ha … is practicing this Stellar Transformations a blessing or a disaster? It’s hard to tell. Alright, little boy, you can choose for yourself. If you don’t practice it, then when you have a chance later, help me to find an inheritor of it, okay? Too bad, to practice the Stellar Transformations one must reach the peak of the Xiantian level in external practice first and use the Trans-Heaven 3 Diagrams as the basis, so, I’m afraid it won’t be easy to find an inheritor, but … You’ll need to think about this matter later.”

  Lei Wei gives a disappointed smile and heaves a low sigh: “Milky Way, planet Menghuan …”

  The image of his body then disappears completely.

  After Qin Yu ponders for a while, his eyes flash with fierceness. He immediately leaves the Training Hall very fast and rushes into the study on the 2nd floor. There are quite a few paper books in the study. Some of them are educational books and some others are practice books. He finds it strange that Lei Wei wrote down various practice techniques in paper books.

  The one book that is put highest is the Stellar Transformations.

  “Blessing or disaster? Once I reach the Star stage, I can already achieve ascension. Even though afterwards I won’t have a technique to practice, when Master Lei Wei was able to create his own technique, then why can’t I? If there weren’t any challenges at all, practice would be too boring. Only this kind of techniqu
e will be able to make my blood boil with excitement!”

  Qin Yu sits down on a chair and opens the Stellar Transformations.

  “Is forming the jindan and yuanying the correct path of practice? The so-called Way of Heaven that everyone pursues, what is it? After observing the cosmic evolution, I created this technique. It can also be considered a path of Xiuzhen. This technique is divided into 6 main stages, the first of which is discussed in Chapter 1 -- Nebula.”

  “Generally, after a practitioner overcomes the 4-in-9 Heavenly Tribulation, his Xiantian energy will liquefy in his boundless dantian. He will then merge it into a sphere of liquid energy and refine this sphere until it becomes the jindan. However, must this course of action be taken? Must he merge his energy into a single mass? The 1st step of my Stellar Transformations is to disperse. It will evaporate the Xiantian energy again and spread this energy, not only throughout the dantian, but even beyond the surface of the body. It will use the dantian as the center and the body as the bridge to link the cosmos up with the center of the body, allowing the practitioner to evolve together with the natural Way of Heaven …”