Stellar Transformation-Chapter 185: Season 9, Episode 6: Sudden Change in the Heavenly Tribulation
Beside Bishui Lake, Qin Yu and Li’er stood shoulder to shoulder, looking at a figure not far away.
At that moment, the sky was darkened as dark clouds covered the heavens, casting a peculiar dark red hue across the entirety of the sky which resembled a giant furnace. A purple tribulation cloud floated beneath the sky, with countless electric snakes flickering.
"Boom!"
A bolt of Purple Heavenly Thunder came crashing down with the might to destroy all in its path, aimed at the figure standing proudly below — Little Black, who was undergoing the Sixty-nine Heavenly Tribulations. Little Black held its head high, its Eagle Eyes sharply focusing on the tribulation cloud.
As the Heavenly Thunder struck, Little Black suddenly let out an eagle’s cry.
A vortex centered around Little Black Hawk’s beak, and that bolt of Purple Heavenly Thunder was thus absorbed by the vortex before entering Little Black’s belly. Swallowing Heavenly Thunder was Little Black’s most adept move during Tribulation Crossing.
"Li’er, this is the third Heavenly Thunder, isn’t it? Others cross their tribulations by first defending themselves with Array Formation Restrictions and then with Spiritual Artifacts. But Little Black primarily swallows the Heavenly Thunders, treating them like treasures that enhance his power," Qin Yu said with a hearty laugh.
Li’er gazed at Little Black in the distance, a look of admiration in her eyes she said, "Big Brother Qin Yu, Little Black is a special kind of Divine Beast, and Divine Beasts can be distinguished as superior, average or inferior; Little Black’s rank is definitely not inferior to Feifei’s."
Qin Yu’s eyes narrowed into a smile.
It wasn’t Little Black’s achievement that pleased him, but rather that Li’er called him "Big Brother Qin Yu."
This scene was brought about a month ago when he and Hou Fei came up with a plan. Hou Fei took action, Qin Yu played dumb, and they put on a good show. Eventually, Li’er was compelled to call him Big Brother. To this day, Qin Yu was still quite smug about it.
Of course, he could only revel in such pride quietly.
"Boom!"
The fourth Heavenly Thunder struck again, sending sand flying and rocks tumbling as its oppressive might was terrifying. Yet, Little Black stretched out its wings and opened its beak; a vortex emerged. Some of the power of thunder and lightning was directly absorbed, and the rest struck Little Black’s body.
"Exhilarating, there’s nothing like the thrill of bathing in Heavenly Thunder," Little Black’s voice echoed between heaven and earth. Little Black even spread its wings wide, absorbing the thunder and lightning upon its feathers; most of the lightning was absorbed, with only a minor part hitting the wings causing negligible damage.
"Bathing in the midst of Heavenly Thunder, probably only a few Divine Beasts could do something like this," Qin Yu said with great joy.
Li’er too smiled lightly, "Last time Feifei went through the Sixty-nine Heavenly Tribulations, it was also incredibly easy. Looking at Little Black now, I estimate that Little Black will cross these tribulations even more effortlessly than Feifei did. Look, this is already the fifth Heavenly Thunder."
No sooner had Li’er finished speaking, than the fifth Heavenly Thunder had already struck Little Black.
Little Black flared its wings arrogantly with a faint blood-red light flowing over the surface of its feathers; streaks of lightning also flickered continuously across Little Black’s body. This time, Little Black did not use its mouth to swallow because it felt the lightning was slightly more stressful.
The fifth Heavenly Thunder struck Little Black’s entire body, and the blood-red light flowed rapidly.
"Whoosh!"
Just like cotton absorbing water, the blood-red light actually sucked away most of the Heavenly Thunder, leaving the remaining power of thunder and lightning to cause not even the slightest harm. In such an inconceivable manner, the fifth Heavenly Thunder was overcome.
"Little Black, don’t get too careless. After the sixth Heavenly Thunder, let’s head back," Qin Yu said with a loud laugh.
Although Qin Yu reminded Little Black not to be too careless, his subsequent words clearly showed that he didn’t take the Sixty-nine Heavenly Tribulations too seriously. After all, having seen Hou Fei endure his tribulations, he knew the sixth Heavenly Thunder would only be slightly more powerful than the fifth.
"Rest assured, Big..."
Little Black’s voice came to an abrupt halt, and Qin Yu’s face changed drastically, while Li’er also stepped forward two steps sharply, staring at those tribulation clouds in the sky.
"Rumble~~~"
The whole world rumbled, and at the same time, countless electric snakes emerged once more from the dark red sky, then gathered towards the tribulation clouds again. Like a swarm of snakes under control, the electric snakes once more converged towards the tribulation clouds.
"What’s going on? Typically, isn’t a tribulation over after the energy in the tribulation clouds bombards down? How come these tribulation clouds are gathering thunder and lightning again, just like when they first formed?" Qin Yu suddenly felt a sense of foreboding in his heart.
Since ancient times, these heavenly tribulations had always struck down one after another until the very last one.
It was only at the beginning that they would gather the power of thunder and lightning and then form tribulation clouds. But nobody had ever seen the Sixty-nine Heavenly Tribulations reaching the sixth tribulation, and in the midst of it, to once again gather the power of thunder and lightning to increase the energy of the tribulation clouds.
Li’er’s gaze was sharper than ever before, coldly watching the sky above.
"Qin Yu, Big Brother, let me use my clan’s secret technique to investigate," said Li’er to Qin Yu.
Immediately, Li’er sat down with her legs crossed, and in an instant, one of her hands multiplied into a thousand, and strands of green light shot out from her body. Li’er bathed in the green glow, with her eyes closed at the same time.
Li’er’s lips moved slightly, and strands of golden light emerged from her mouth,
In a flash, Li’er opened her eyes and forcefully said to Little Black, "Little Black, go all out without the slightest hint of folly, or else be careful not to leave even a trace of your soul or body." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺
Little Black nodded lightly, but his eyes emitted a faint red light.
Qin Yu still didn’t know what race Li’er belonged to, but he did know that Li’er’s cultivation speed was extremely slow, yet many of her Divine Skills were unfathomably profound. According to Li’er, these were special secret techniques unique to her clan.
Since Li’er had spoken thus, it was clear... Little Black might very well lose his life to this sixth Heavenly Thunder.
"Swoosh!"
It was like the sound of the universe breathing, and the speed at which the tribulation clouds absorbed the power of thunder and lightning instantly increased a hundredfold. Just as that breathing sound ceased, the thunder and lightning in the world had been completely absorbed by the tribulation clouds, and the tribulation clouds began to tremble.
"Boom!"
Speed, terrifying to its limit.
A dark purple Heavenly Thunder as thick as an arm shot down towards the Earth. Compared to ordinary Heavenly Thunder, it was already incredibly thin. The tribulation clouds that formed from absorbing the power of thunder and lightning twice had become a Heavenly Thunder whose power was terrifying just to think about.
Little Black went into a frenzy, with shiny red light gleaming in his eyes. His wings fully spread, a blood-red light surged all over his body, spanning nearly two to three meters. Little Black roared once more, and the vortex appeared again, this time spinning faster and with a greater range.
That dark purple Heavenly Thunder, as thick as an arm, shot straight towards the vortex.
The vortex shattered instantly, as the thunder was too strong, and Little Black’s vortex simply could not withstand it. The Heavenly Thunder then hit the two to three meters thick layer of red light, and with the ease of a fine needle piercing through a thick layer of snow, it penetrated straight through.
During the process, the red light still absorbed a small portion of the thunder, but still, a large part of it remained.
A cry of distress!
Mad shrieks!
Qin Yu could feel Little Black teetering on the brink of life and death, making his body tremble uncontrollably.
Even the exceedingly tough wings fractured and blood spurted out. Faced with the might of the thunder and lightning, Little Black’s formidable wings couldn’t withstand it, and its flesh was charred black in moments, a scene that nearly drove Qin Yu into a frenzy.
Suddenly—
Little Black’s entire body emitted an intensely dark light, so pure that it devoured all the surrounding light. Little Black’s form disappeared entirely, leaving only that beam of dark light which the lightning struck last.
"So it was that!"
Li’er muttered softly, her eyes lighting up. However, Qin Yu hadn’t noticed Li’er’s voice; his whole heart was with Little Black at the moment.
Having grown up with Qin Yu from a young age, he couldn’t imagine how to endure if Little Black died.
Calm returned to heaven and earth, reverting to its previous azure blue. Only the area where the Tribulation Crossing took place was scorched black; everywhere else remained unaffected. The transformed dark light continued to boil and twist.
After a long time, the dark light gradually calmed down and instantly transformed into an eagle-like creature with a human form. Sensing its aura, Qin Yu immediately recognized it as Little Black. Little Black’s body seemed slightly weak, resembling that of a young man.
"Big Brother," Little Black said, looking at Qin Yu.
"You’re alright?" Qin Yu felt sweat break out all over his body; he had truly been on edge just now.
Little Black grinned and said, "That Sixty-nine Heavenly Tribulations, the last thunder, I don’t know how, but its power became immense. If I hadn’t desperately fought back at the last moment, my soul could’ve been scattered to the winds. However, that desperate fight, although it has left me weak now, has almost completely eliminated some hidden ailments from when I used the forbidden technique."
Joy filled Qin Yu’s heart.
Ever since Little Black had used the forbidden technique, Qin Yu had sensed a change in him. If the Little Black that followed Qin Yu in the past was characterized by a cold demeanor, after using the forbidden technique, he exuded an aura of ’chaotic terror.’
Now, Qin Yu once again sensed a change in Little Black’s temperament, one of purity, one could say a purely ice-cold darkness.
"Big Brother Qin Yu, there is something I must remind you of," Li’er said without a hint of a smile, just looking at Qin Yu.
Now that his brother Little Black had successfully crossed the Tribulation, Qin Yu was in high spirits and with a smile said, "Li’er, whatever it is just say it, haha... don’t make such a crying face, laugh a little. Little Black has overcome the Sixty-nine Heavenly Tribulations; this is an exciting occasion."
Li’er sighed and said, "Big Brother Qin Yu, if the secret technique of my tribe is correct, the Heavenly Tribulation you will face in the future will also be extremely powerful, so please be careful."
Qin Yu was startled.
"What do you mean?" Qin Yu felt there was something mysterious about Li’er’s words.
Li’er shook her head and said, "The secrets of heaven cannot be revealed; I’ve already broken the rules of my clan by saying so much. I can only advise you to enhance your strength as much as possible. Don’t rush into the Tribulation, and before you do, make sure you reach a higher level of strength and are well prepared."
Seeing Li’er’s manner, Qin Yu knew she didn’t want to say more. He nodded slightly and ingrained Li’er’s words deep into his heart.
******
Because the Nine Evil Hall was some distance away from the Hidden Dragon Continent, it took a long time for Di Nai’s people to reach the continent. Half a year after Little Black’s Tribulation Crossing, the Qin Dynasty, which had been peaceful for the same period, finally began to be shaken.
"Pu-chi~~" Blood splattered, and heads fell.
Hundreds of Demon Cultivators, with cold expressions, chased and killed several of their own kind.
"Di Nai’s people dare to invade the Qin Dynasty so boldly; it seems they fancy themselves immortal," the leader of the Demon Cultivators sneered. "Don’t you know, Demon Cultivators entering the Qin Dynasty without permission are to be killed without mercy."
The seven or eight Demon Cultivators looked at each other.
Now surrounded by so many, they knew they had no chance of escape.
"My lord."
Suddenly, a Demon Cultivator with short hair knelt down, sobbing," My lord, although I followed Di Nai, it was out of necessity. Di Nai seized all our Communication Orders, making it impossible for anyone to contact the outside world. Everything we did, we were forced to."
"Shan Ling, you dare to betray the master!" one of Di Nai’s Demon Cultivators glared at the short-haired one furiously.
But the short-haired Demon Cultivator retorted angrily, "Betray? Di Nai employed ’collective punishment’ to bind our freedom completely. Even the base was riddled with Maze Arrays; we couldn’t leave, and didn’t even know the location of our dwelling. We had no choice but to follow his orders. I’ve had enough of this life."
The lead Demon Cultivator’s eyes brightened as he said, "Tell me, where is Di Nai? If you do, not only will your life be spared, but you will also receive a great reward."
"Di Nai is very cautious. We lower-ranked Demon Cultivators usually stay inside. The periphery is all huge Maze Arrays. When we leave, we follow a protector, turning countless times. By the time we’re out, we’re already tens of thousands of miles away, unable to determine where Di Nai’s lair is."
"Only he and a few protectors know the location of Di Nai’s lair, right?"
"Exactly so, my lord," the short-haired Demon Cultivator replied respectfully.
After frowning for a moment, the leader of the Star Pavilion’s Demon Cultivators said, "Spare the Demon Cultivator who has surrendered to us. Kill all the others."
"Ah, please spare us!"
The previously unyielding Demon Cultivators immediately had two of them kneel and plead.
The leader of Star Pavilion’s Demon Cultivators sneered, "Do you know where Di Nai’s lair is?"
The two of them were taken aback, then shook their heads.
"You did not surrender at first and only pleaded for mercy at the end. Furthermore, you’re completely useless. People like you are the lowest of the low," the leading Demon Cultivator snorted coldly. His Flying Sword instantly took the lives of the two, and then hundreds of Demon Cultivators unleashed their Flying Swords in unison.
Countless Flying Swords soared into the sky, piercing the bodies of the few, drenching the air in blood. Only the short-haired Demon Cultivator’s life was spared.
...
That night, several battles erupted along the borders of the Qin Dynasty. Each site of conflict saw about ten Demon Cultivators, but those sent by Di Nai in this first assault were far more than those slain; many had already infiltrated deep into the Qin Dynasty.
The vengeance and slaughter were about to begin!
(End of Chapter one, Chapter two to follow!)
