Stellar Transformation-Chapter 93: Episode 4 - 23 Battle Above the Wujiang
The sky was adorned with a full moon, its luminance suspended high, while the waters of the Wujiang River, stretching thousands of kilometers wide, flowed slowly eastward.
Tonight, the wind blew fiercely.
Although the river flowed swiftly, its surface was devoid of any large undulations, so tranquil that one could even see the moon’s reflection upon it. On both banks of the Wujiang, however, over ten thousand people gathered—among them were commoners seeking excitement, as well as some masters of the Inner Family.
Everyone gazed with reverence at the figure above the Wujiang.
An Upper Immortal!
The black robe billowed freely, and that mane of black hair fluttered. Xiang Yang stood with his arms crossed over his chest, those sharp, cold eyes currently closed. Levitating in midair, he quietly awaited his opponent’s arrival, a serene expression on his face, not a trace of impatience.
By the banks of the Wujiang, clothed in green, Qin De stared at the levitating figure of Xiang Yang, an uncontrollable trace of restlessness stirring within him.
"Xiang Yang has arrived early, poised and relaxed. I wonder what tactics Yu’er has to face this Xiang Yang," worried Qin De internally. He harbored not the slightest doubt that Qin Yu would come, familiar as he was with his son.
Qin De had altered his appearance, unrecognizable to outsiders.
"Qin De."
A voice suddenly echoed within Qin De’s mind, causing his complexion to shift: "Spiritual Communication." Almost immediately, Qin Yu spotted the individual sending the telepathic message, and Qin De couldn’t help but smile upon seeing that Feng Yuzi was the sender.
"Brother Feng, you gave me quite the scare," Qin De communicated back with a smile in his spiritual message.
Feng Yuzi, too, had slightly altered his appearance and replied telepathically to Qin De, "Haha, well, you just left Xiyang Town without a word. Not long after you departed, I followed right away, yet it took until now to catch up to you."
Shaking his head with a smile, Qin De said, "I was worried Yu’er would rush to Ba Chu County to face Xiang Yang in a major battle, so I hurried on the road as if my life depended on it. Now it seems Yu’er is still quite prudent, not having battled rashly at first."
Feng Yuzi cast a glance around then looked up at the bright moon in the sky, a hint of confusion in his voice, "Xiang Yang seems to have arrived quite early. Why hasn’t Little Yu shown up yet? Arriving earlier to get acclimated to the surrounding environment would be somewhat beneficial. Besides, he shouldn’t have much else to do at the moment."
Not only Qin De and Feng Yuzi were growing anxious, but the other spectators along the riverbanks were also becoming restless, one by one.
Time ticked by, seconds and minutes, half an hour, an hour...
Qin Yu and his hawk had yet to appear, and the spectators on either bank of the Wujiang were already discussing noisily among themselves—evidently all anxious for the other party of the fight to show up, and feeling the discomfort of the wait.
Suddenly—
Xiang Yang’s eyes snapped open, as if casting two tangible beams of light directly towards the west. His aura surged suddenly, becoming increasingly fierce like waves continually reaching new peaks.
A violent wind whipped up, accompanied by flying sand and rocks. The people on both banks of the Wujiang retreated at high speed, leaving only a handful of experts who could remain by the shore. Qin De, Feng Yuzi, and others squinted involuntarily, their gazes drifting upwards to the sky.
"Boom, boom, boom~~~" The waters of the Wujiang roared as well, as if a Flood Dragon was churning beneath, with waves rising one after another, crashing against the shores with deafening rumbles. Yet the figure of Xiang Yang, standing in the void above the Wujiang, remained utterly unaffected.
In the sky, at the edge of the full moon, two streaks of afterimage appeared, drifting gently in.
"It’s Yu’er."
Qin De even reached a conclusion faster than Feng Yuzi. Despite the rolling waves, through the spray, Qin De on the shore still clearly saw the fierce Qin Yu and the wing-beating Black Hawk.
"Little Yu has arrived, that Black Hawk is incredibly powerful. The mere flapping of its wings has provoked the roaring Wujiang," Feng Yuzi exclaimed, astonished by Little Black’s strength. Feng Yuzi had no idea that even before Little Black had undergone the Four-nine Heavenly Tribulations, it could already cause violent winds. And now, Little Black had reached the Golden Core Middle Stage, immensely stronger than before.
The onlookers at both banks of the Wujiang immediately became excited, all of them fixating on the figure in the sky.
The afterimage halted, transforming into a man and an eagle. With a flap of its wings, Little Black caused the monstrous waves of the Wujiang to crash down loudly, then quickly subside. In just moments, the Wujiang returned to its former calm, without a ripple.
The cold night wind continued to blow, and the people on both banks of the Wujiang held their breath.
"You’ve finally arrived," Xiang Yang said with a trace of a cold smile on his face.
Qin Yu and Little Black, man and eagle, stood opposite Xiang Yang. Qin Yu looked at Xiang Yang and said with an indifferent smile, "Xiang Yang, were you that eager for us to arrive? My brother and I are a bit late, just to give you Xiang Yang a bit more time to live. Aren’t you grateful?"
"Such arrogance," Xiang Yang rebuked coldly.
At the same time, trails of blood-red energy began to emerge from Xiang Yang’s body, which then transformed into a faint blood-colored mist, like a blood cloud, drifting towards Qin Yu and Little Black. In no time, the blood mist had completely enveloped them.
"Xiang Yang, such methods still belong to an ordinary Inner Family expert. A true Cultivator would disdain to stoop to such tactics," Qin Yu declared as a faint silver Star Power surged from his body, spinning around to form a Star Nebula.
Within the range of the Star Nebula, the blood mist couldn’t infiltrate the slightest bit.
"Hmph," Xiang Yang snorted coldly, filled with resentment towards this young Cultivator. The day before, during their exchange, Qin Yu had mocked him for his ignorance of Cultivation Sect’s Array Formation Restriction, the Flying Sword Sword Technique, and the skills of Artifact Refining and Alchemy.
Now Qin Yu was mocking his outdated methods again.
"Xiang Yang, you’ve sequestered yourself in closed-door training, practicing alone; your offensive methods are too simplistic. Your wisdom, as extensive as it may be when alone, cannot compete with the accumulation of wisdom from a Cultivation Sect over countless years," Qin Yu said with a light smile.
With his words, Qin Yu began to provoke Xiang Yang.
In a fight between masters, mindset is the most crucial, especially for a supreme expert like Xiang Yang. Once the mindset is affected, mastery cannot be perfected, and naturally, the attack power is weakened.
"Wood was killed by you, right?" Xiang Yang frowned, "I’m really curious now, who exactly are you and why are you opposing me?" To tell the truth, Xiang Yang didn’t want to be needlessly at odds with a high-level Cultivator.
"Me?" Qin Yu raised his eyebrows, then slowly said, "My last name is Qin."
"Qin?" Xiang Yang fixated on Qin Yu and asked seriously, "Someone from the Qin Family of the Eastern Domain Three Prefectures, which generation of experts do you belong to? It seems the Qin Family hasn’t had any supreme experts who can reach your level. Are you an elder from Qin De’s generation?"
Qin Yu simply smiled.
"Let me tell you my name," Qin Yu said leisurely.
Xiang Yang’s eyes lit up as he stared at Qin Yu, waiting for his response.
"My name is..." Qin Yu’s lips curled into a slight smile, "Qin Yu!"
"Qin Yu!!!"
Xiang Yang’s face suddenly changed dramatically; he was completely shocked. Just after Qin Yu finished speaking, his entire being transformed into a thunderbolt and in an instant, he was in front of Xiang Yang. The faint silver fist suddenly appeared and ferociously struck directly towards Xiang Yang’s chest.
"Boom!"
The blood-red Protective True Essence Power suddenly appeared on the surface of Xiang Yang’s body, directly blocking Qin Yu’s punch. However, Qin Yu’s fist seemed to blur, first transforming into a hand blade to strike again, and then into a sword finger for another attack.
Continuous attacks!
"Pfft!" "Pfft!" Two resonating sounds rang out, and the Protective True Essence Power around Xiang Yang’s body was breached by Qin Yu’s right hand. A cold smirk involuntarily appeared at the corner of Qin Yu’s mouth. His next move was to directly use the Flame Sword to kill Xiang Yang. If he succeeded so easily, it would be too simple. However, Qin Yu didn’t mind such an easy success.
The Flame Sword!
With a thought from Qin Yu, the Flame Sword appeared in his hand, and like lightning, it stabbed directly towards Xiang Yang’s heart with extreme speed.
"Clang~~~"
A sound of metal clashing rang out, and Qin Yu only felt a numbness in his arm as he involuntarily flew backward. Gritting his teeth, he suddenly spun around, using the strong force from his waist to sweep his right leg towards Xiang Yang like a ferocious gale.
"Scram!"
Xiang Yang swung his right hand, his arm directly colliding with Qin Yu’s right leg. But the result was that Qin Yu was sent flying back, while Xiang Yang also retreated a few meters.
This exchange might seem slow, but in reality, it was as fast as lightning. From start to finish, the ordinary people watching from both banks of the Wujiang River could only see a blur before the two experts each took a few steps back. Their speed was truly too fast.
The spectators on both banks of the Wujiang River gaped in amazement. There was no doubt that the two had just been fighting, but to experts like Innate Great Perfection and Feng Yuzi, among others, it seemed as though Qin Yu disappeared in an instant before a ripple through the air, and then both retreated.
"Hmph, Qin Yu? You think you can deceive me? But still... you really are cunning and insidious. Just now, you indeed took me by surprise, putting me in an unprepared state. Unfortunately... your strength is a bit too weak," Xiang Yang said with a cold laugh.
However, inside, Xiang Yang felt a surge of fear. This cultivator before him was too scheming, managing to shock him in that instant while also launching an attack. Had he not been prepared for what was next, his heart would have been pierced, and he’d have died right there.
Qin Yu’s expression changed slightly as he watched the current state of Xiang Yang.
At this moment, Xiang Yang was donning a set of dark red Battle Armor, covering not only his upper body but also his thighs, arms, and legs. He was entirely protected by a set of armor, causing Qin Yu to be taken aback.
"How do you like my Battle Armor? It’s a Middle Grade Spiritual Artifact. During my travels for cultivation over 300 years ago, I finally obtained the Spirit Stones and then learned Wood’s Artifact Refining Skill to refine this set of armor," Xiang Yang said, glancing at his armor with satisfaction in his eyes.
An ill feeling rose in Qin Yu’s heart.
"I didn’t expect this old guy to have a Middle Grade Spiritual Artifact-level Battle Armor. Sigh, I managed to get the Stone Burning Iron, so it’s fair for Xiang Yang, a genius in his own right, to gain a good Spirit Stone in a millennium," Qin Yu realized, understanding that one should not be too self-absorbed; others’ luck might not be worse than his own.
Little Black was flapping its wings nearby.
"Big Brother, it seems we must join forces after all," Little Black communicated through spiritual communication. Hearing the message, Qin Yu nodded. With the protective battle armor guarding his body, it was going to be very difficult for him to kill Xiang Yang.
A middle-grade spirit artifact in the hands of an early-stage Nascent Soul expert was no weaker than his own upper-grade spirit artifact, especially since his own strength was still not as great as his opponent’s.
"Xiang Yang, your strength is indeed impressive. In that case, my brother and I will attack together," Qin Yu said with a calm smile.
Xiang Yang coldly rebuked, "Brother? One is a man, the other a beast, yet you call each other brothers. It seems you are nothing but a beast yourself." Xiang Yang also intended to enrage Qin Yu, to affect his mental state. Qin Yu saw through this and remained unaffected.
But—
A piercing eagle’s cry sounded. Qin Yu was not angry, but Little Black was.
"Snap!"
Little Black’s eyes shone brightly; two bolts of lightning shot straight out from his eyes, hitting Xiang Yang at lightning speed. Since the distance between them was so short, the lightning from his eyes struck with terrifying speed, and Xiang Yang was hit squarely.
"Dare to curse my Big Brother, you’re looking for death!"
Little Black roared in fury, eagle cries continuously ringing out as lightning flickered non-stop across his wings. Then, one lightning bolt after another kept bombarding Xiang Yang. Little Black was like the Thunder God, ceaselessly unleashing bolt after bolt of lightning.
"Beast!"
Xiang Yang was enraged. He could withstand the lightning, but being bombarded like this continuously, his whole body felt numb. Xiang Yang immediately tried to charge at Little Black, but Little Black’s wings vibrated slightly, executing the ’Fleeting Lightning Nine Flashes’.
Suddenly, Black Hawk was flashing around Xiang Yang at such high speed that Xiang Yang couldn’t catch up at all. Meanwhile, Black Hawk kept bombarding Xiang Yang with lightning bolts.
"Damn it, insult my Big Brother and I’ll strike you dead, strike you dead!" Little Black’s spiritual communication kept resonating in Xiang Yang’s mind, driving him to fury. The Black Hawk was simply too annoying. At the same time, a streak of light also shot over.
Qin Yu transformed into a streak of light and with a loud shout, the star nebulas on the surface of his body and within his Dantian immediately began vibrating intensely; the silver particles within the Dantian Star Cloud all lit up, as a savage power filled his entire body.
Star Domain!
Qin Yu, like a flood dragon, split into six and simultaneously attacked Xiang Yang.
"Sweeping Thousand Armies!"
As a thunderous cry echoed through the skies, a black flood dragon surged out from Xiang Yang. It swept through the surroundings like a storm, with every direction under attack. In almost an instant, Little Black, as well as the six Qin Yu illusions, were blasted away with a ’bang’.
The six illusions of Qin Yu merged into one, and with a move, he stood once again in the void, while Little Black also settled beside him. Both man and eagle stared at Xiang Yang in disbelief.
In Xiang Yang’s hand was a black long spear, and looking at Qin Yu and Little Black, he slowly said, "The Xiang Family’s ’Overlord Heaven-defying Technique’ true attack isn’t with the flying sword, but with close-combat spear techniques. This spear is the divine weapon that my father, the ’Overlord of Western Chu’, used to dominate the world—the Overlord Spear!"
A trail of blood flashed on the handle of the dark long spear.
