Stellar Transformations

by I Eat Tomatoes

  When everybody is about to part, suddenly --

  “Hey, brother Qin Yu, I got to warn you about something.” Yan Mo says to Qin Yu.

  “Oh, what is it, brother Yan Mo?” Qin Yu asks smilingly.

  Yan Mo replies by asking: “Brother Qin Yu, have you ever thought about the consequences of me killing the 3 Di brothers? To my knowledge, you and Hou Fei killed some of their brothers and now there is still Di Nai left in the Nine Demons Hall.”

  Qin Yu’s face changes color at once.

  Just now, when they were discussing the matter of the Nine Swords Immortal Mansion, even though the 3 Di brothers were killed, he only thought that they were killed by Yan Mo and that, given Yan Mo’s power, Di Nai would not be able to get revenge. He did not think about anything else.

  However, now, after being warned by Yan Mo, he realizes that the situation is bad for him.

  “This Yan Mo fella killed Di Long and 2 other Di brothers so there’s only Di Nai left in the Nine Demons Hall. In the past the 4 of them cared about each other’s live so they didn’t dare get revenge on me and Hou Fei. But now it’s hard to tell what’s going to happen.” Qin Yu frowns deeply.

  “Di Nai’s power is average so he can’t kill Hou Fei and me, but … there are still father, big brother and 2nd brother!”

  At this moment he has a bad feeling.

  Di Long and the other experts also know his father’s and brothers’ identities. Previously, the Di brothers did not dare to hurt his relatives, but now the situation has changed because there is only Di Nai remaining.

  “You’re really stupid, Qin Yu. Why did you reveal your identity completely at that time?” Qin Yu scolds himself angrily in his mind.

  However, in the past he was so open about his identity because he thought that the Nine Demons Hall absolutely would not dare to touch his relatives without permission. Moreover, he came back to the Qin dynasty to live together with his relatives so the powers’ leaders such as Di Long would definitely have found out who he is even if he had tried to conceal his identity.

  “Yan Mo, you killed the 3 of them, but I got to face the consequences.” Qin Yu feels bitter in his mouth.

  Yan Mo says with an innocent face: “Brother Qin Yu, how can I be blamed for this? Don’t worry. I won’t let you take the blame. I’ll immediately tell my subordinates to spread the news that I killed the 3 Di brothers, all right?”

  Qin Yu lets out a sigh.

  So what if Di Nai knows that Yan Mo killed his 3 brothers?

  Yan Mo is even stronger than Azure Dragon so Di Nai stands no chance of avenging the deaths of Di Long and the other two. Therefore, he probably will not set himself the goal of taking revenge on Yan Mo. Most likely he will vent his hatred on his relatives.

  “Don’t worry, Qin Yu. From here on in, the Nine Demons Hall no longer exists in the underwater Xiuyao world. I’ll immediately send subordinates to tell the caves under it that there’s only Di Nai left and that it’s already finished. Those several caves will be divided among us.” Azure Dragon says at once.

  Old Freak Three-Eyed also says with a nod: “Now there are only the Azure Dragon Palace, the Blue Water Mansion and the Stellar Tower in the underwater Xiuyao world. The Nine Demons Hall is no more.”

  With just a few sentences, Azure Dragon and Old Freak Three-Eyed have pronounced the termination of the Nine Demons Hall.

  “I’ll send some guardians of the Azure Dragon Palace to hunt Di Nai down. As long as he’s killed, he won’t be a threat to your relatives’ safety.” Azure Dragon quickly understands why Qin Yu is worried.

  Old Freak Three-Eyed also gives the same guarantee.

  “Brother Azure Dragon, Grand Founder, thank you very much.” Qin Yu’s eyes flash with a tinge of coldness.

  Afterwards, he takes a look at everybody: “Since the matter of the Nine Swords Immortal Mansion has been decided, let’s meet again on the Golden Tree Island 3 years later. I want to make a request that no Xiuyaoists are allowed to enter the Qin dynasty.”

  “From now on, any Xiuyaoists not from the Stellar Tower entering the Qin dynasty will definitely be killed.” Qin Yu says in a cold voice.

  He looks at everybody, saying: “Brother Azure Dragon, Grand Founder and Yan Mo, that’s the warning I want to give you in advance. I think that Di Nai will surely send large forces to harm my relatives. Given the Nine Demons Hall’s history, it must have a bunch of loyal subordinates. I definitely can’t afford to make any mistakes.”

  “Good, this is certainly no problem. As the matter of the Nine Swords Immortal Mansion has been decided for the moment, I’ll also return to the Azure Dragon Palace. Plus, the subordinates I sent here were already killed by Yan Mo’s forces.” Azure Dragon says immediately.

  Old Freak Three-Eyed also says with a nod: “The matter has been decided so I’ll go back to the Blue Water Mansion too. I’ll take the Blue Water Mansion’s forces back with me. Later, if any Xiuyaoists enter the Qin dynasty, just kill them as you wish.” He also supports Qin Yu.

  “Don’t worry. The Wilderness’s demonic beasts won’t go into the territories of mortals for no reason. Besides, I’ll give a strict order. If someone violates the order, even if you don’t kill them, I’ll kill them.” Yan Mo assures Qin Yu too.

  After the 3 of them gave him a guarantee, Qin Yu no longer has any misgivings.

  “Thank you very much. This matter is serious so I can’t waste any time. I’m leaving now.” He says to everybody with folded hands.

  “Goodbye.” Everybody present knows how anxious he is at the moment.

  Qin Yu, Hou Fei and Hei Yu then fly towards the Qin dynasty extremely fast without delay.

  “Azure Dragon, Three-Eyed, help me spread the news that I killed Di Long and 2 other Di brothers. Maybe Di Nai is stupid enough to come here to kill me, in which case I’ll be a little help to Qin Yu.” Yan Mo says to Azure Dragon and Old Freak Three-Eyed.

  ……

  The Qin dynasty’s Imperial Palace, Pure Forest Garden,

  On a stone table under a willow, there is a chessboard with various crisscrossed lines. A refined old man wearing black scholarly clothes and a silk headscarf and holding a feather fan and a blue-clad long-bearded middle-aged man are sitting opposite each other at the table quietly playing the game of Go. Fengyuzi is sitting on one side watching in silence.

  After thinking for a long time, that blue-clad middle-aged man says smilingly: “Xu Yuan, your Go skill is becoming more and more profound.”

  This old man, who is waving a black-feathered fan, is none other than Xu Yuan. Unlike Qin De, he has not achieved much on the path of practice so now, near his sixties, he has started to show signs of age.

  “There’s no need to overstate my skill, Supreme Emperor. I’m still far inferior to Miss Li’er.” Xu Yuan says with a sigh. “I never thought that after returning from more than 10 years of wandering and sightseeing outside, I would be able to meet such a wonderful girl.”

  In the past, after the destruction of the Xiang clan and the establishment of the Qin dynasty, Xu Yuan, a meritorious official, unexpectedly resigned and began to travel the world. He spent over 10 years visiting various scenic places with his servants. He only returned recently and met Qin De soon afterwards.

  On the outside, Qin De and Xu Yuan are a master and a servant, but they are actually like brothers.

  “Li’er? Ha-ha, looks like you also heard about Li’er’s reputation while travelling outside.” Qin De says with loud laughter.

  “That goes without saying, Supreme Emperor. Miss Li’er continuously beat the capital’s God of Go and even the top figures of the Go world so everybody in the Go community knows about her reputation. Even though I was travelling the remotest corners of the world, her name was still resounding in my ears like thunder.” Xu Yuan says loudly.

  Qin De observes Xu Yuan’s appearance for a long time then says with a sigh: “More than 30 years has passed so quickly since Yu’er came to Misty Villa at the age of 6. At that ti
me you were still young but now the hair on your temples has already turned white a little.”

  When Qin Yu was 6, Xu Yuan was in the prime of his youth.

  “During the past over 10 years, I tried to find you but you were travelling outside and there was absolutely no news about you. Last time Yu’er made Base Building Pills, maybe there are some left. Even though you haven’t practiced, after you take them, they can still improve your longevity.” Qin De says with a smile.

  At this moment, 3 blurs come rushing.

  Afterwards, Qin Yu, Hou Fei and Hei Yu appear in front of Qin De and the other two.

  Seeing Qin Yu, Qin De immediately stands up, as does Xu Yuan on one side.

  “This is Uncle Xu, Yu’er. Your Uncle Xu just finished his over 10 years of travelling outside too.” When Qin De has just stopped talking, Xu Yuan makes a wave of his feather fan and says with an indifferent smile: “Xiao Yu, judging from your expression, it seems something serious has happened. Tell us about it.”

  Chapter 5: Using Little Plans

  “Uncle Xu.” Qin Yu’s eyes brighten.

  In terms of stratagems, Xu Yuan is certainly on a very high level because he was a former general advisor of the Qin clan.

  Qin De has also noticed that Qin Yu has something serious to deal with so he immediately looks at him and listen attentively.

  “Father, Uncle Xu, Uncle Feng, a big problem has indeed arisen. It’s related to the lives of the Qin clan’s members.” Qin Yu’s expression is solemn.

  Qin De’s face also becomes solemn. He frowns deeply then says in a low voice: “Yu’er, tell us about it clearly. What actually happened?”

  “In the past in the underwater Xiuyao world, Fei Fei and I killed several majesties of the Nine Demons Hall so there’s a big feud between us and the 4 remaining majesties. But … they were afraid of Uncle Lan’s power so they didn’t dare to cause us trouble. Fei Fei, Xiao Hei and I didn’t care about the Nine Demons Hall either. However …”

  Qin Yu’s voice becomes serious: “Just now, 3 of those 4 remaining majesties were killed in the Wilderness, which means there’s only a majesty left in the Nine Demons Hall. As far as I know, the Nine Demons Hall’s majesties value brotherhood very much. So I think this last majesty, Di Nai, will definitely disregard everything to take revenge on me. Though I’m not afraid of him and his subordinates, I’m worried that they will attack the Qin clan’s members.”

  Qin De raises his eyebrows. His face changes color.

  He has heard Qin Yu talk about the Nine Demons Hall so he also knows that it is a superpower in the underwater Xiuyao world. If a leader of such a power wants to assassinate the Qin clan’s members, even Qin Yu, who controls quite a lot of forces, will find this fairly difficult to deal with.

  After all, Qin Yu is in the light whereas Di Nai is in the dark.

  “Xiao Yu, the underwater Xiuyao world you mentioned should have other powers, right?” Xu Yuan asks.

  Qin Yu says with a nod: “Yes, Uncle Xu. This underwater Xiuyao world got 4 major powers in total, the Azure Dragon Palace, the Blue Water Mansion, the Nine Demons Hall and the Stellar Tower. This Stellar Tower is also my power. The Azure Dragon Palace and the Blue Water Mansion are the strongest powers.”

  “Then what are the Azure Dragon Palace’s and the Blue Water Mansion’s stands on this matter?” Xu Yuan asks again.

  Qin Yu says: “Of course they’re on my side. The Nine Demons Hall only has Di Nai left, how can they possibly support it? The Azure Dragon Palace, the Blue Water Mansion and my Stellar Tower have agreed to announce that the Nine Demons Hall is now terminated for good. Given that Di Nai is not very powerful, we won’t even need to get into action. When he knows that the other 3 powers are joining to attack him, he’ll run away himself.”

  “Very good.” A smile appears on Xu Yuan’s face.

  “Xiao Yu, let me ask you again. How many subordinates in the Nine Demons Hall are likely determined to follow Di Nai? And how many Xiuyaoists do you have in the Qin dynasty?” Xu Yuan continues to ask.

  “Even though most Xiuyaoists follow strong individuals, very few of them should still stick with him after knowing that the Nine Demons Hall is finished. But the Nine Demons Hall has a history of 1000 years so I think around several hundred Xiuyaoists will resolutely follow him.” Qin Yu thinks for a while then continues: “My Stellar Tower has at least 10,000 subordinates in the Qin dynasty.”

  Xu Yuan ponders for a moment.

  Afterwards, he looks at Qin Yu and asks: “I remember Xiuzhenists can detect people using their holy senses?”

  “Yes, the range of a holy sense is related to an individual’s soul level. The higher your soul level, the wider the range of your holy sense. As for detecting people, generally, you can detect those on par with you or inferior to you. It’s hard to detect those stronger than you, unless they don’t suppress their auras.”

  “How do your experts compare with him?” Xu Yuan asks again.

  Qin Yu says confidently: “Fei Fei, Xiao Hei and I can all kill Di Nai. Any of those 4 guardians of mine can also subdue him.”

  Xu Yuan considers for a while then gives a faint smile.

  “Xu Yuan, you already have a solution, don’t you?” Qin De asks with brightening eyes.

  Xu Yuan says smilingly: “This matter is very simple to deal with. Some tactics will still need to be worked out based on the enemies’ actions, but I have a simple, little plan to guard against them.”

  Qin Yu is delighted and says at once: “Uncle Xu, quickly tell me about it.”

  Xu Yuan says while waving his fan gently: “Firstly, because you have 10,000 Xiuyaoists, let’s make use of their holy senses by sending 5000 of them to stay temporarily in various places on the border of the Qin dynasty. They will occasionally go on patrol using their holy senses. This is the first line of defense.”

  “Secondly, the capital’s area isn’t large so just 1000 Xiuyaoists on the 4 city walls can cover everything with their holy senses. When they are tired, the can even take turns to search and guard.”

  “However, Xiao Yu also said that one’s holy sense can only detect people who are weaker than or on par with him. If someone stronger than those Xiuyaoists appears, they probably won’t be able to spot him. Therefore we’ll mix them with several pretty strong experts at regular intervals.”

  “Thirdly, the Imperial Palace, its area is small so we’ll send the 10 most powerful among these 10,000 Xiuyaoists to guard it. They can definitely cover it with their holy senses. The last line of defense is inside Pure Forest Garden. Xiao Yu, one of you and your 2 sworn brothers must be on guard here.”

  This plan proposed by Xu Yuan is the simplest defense plan.

  In the beginning Qin Yu thought that Di Nai would come to assassinate his relatives so his thoughts were in turmoil, but now he has no mental problem after listening to Xu Yuan’s analysis.

  Xu Yuan continues: “Di Nai and you haven’t seen each other for some time so nobody knows if he has made a breakthrough in power. Therefore, whatever happens, we must not be careless. Thus, fourthly, we’ll use political decoys in this Pure Forest Garden. We’re going to ask other people to disguise themselves as your father and Uncle Feng and stay here. Even if Di Nai personally gets into action and reaches this place in the end, he’ll achieve nothing. We’ll even be able to take the chance to kill him.”

  Qin Yu cannot help feeling ashamed.

  After listening to the first 3 points, he thought that the plan was perfect, but he has not seen Di Nai for 10 years so maybe Di Nai has reached the late Dongxu stage, in which case it will be very difficult even for Qin Yu himself to deal with Di Nai.

  “These 4 points are the 1st plan, whose goal is to guard against the enemies.” Xu Yuan says with a smile.

  Qin Yu is startled.

  Xu Yuan continues: “The 2nd plan allows us to hit them proactively. It has 2 points. First, you have to send subordinates to spread the news that the Nine Demons Hall is finished throughout the under
water Xiuyao world, making the Nine Demons Hall’s subordinates lose hope and become anxious.”

  Qin Yu gives a smile. Is this not incitement?

  “Most of those subordinates will probably leave Di Nai after knowing that the Nine Demons Hall is finished. Second, you have to order your subordinates to get acquainted with the Nine Demons Hall’s subordinates and try every means to communicate with those at the side of Di Nai. If you can infiltrate several subordinates into Di Nai’s suit, the matter will become easy to handle.”

  Qin Yu’s eyes brighten.

  Everybody hits a man when he is down so when the times come, most members of the Nine Demons Hall will definitely leave Di Nai. Naturally, those who will leave are acquainted with those who will follow Di Nai. Therefore, it will not be difficult to find ways to make contact with the ones who will follow Di Nai.