Stellar Transformations

Lan Feng makes his appearance once again as Qin Yu’s martial uncle, this time, on a quest to kill Yan clan’s patriarch – Yan Gao, asked by Liu clan’s patriarch – Liu Ming Han. During the request, Ming Han revealed that Yan Gao was part of the Jade Sword school, whose master was one of the thirty-six rulers under Sovereign Yu. Qin Yu also learnt of a legendary battle long ago between Emperor Ni Yang and the illusive Emperor Yin. Nevertheless, he still undertook the task and travelled to the city where Yan Gao resides – Yan Shan city...

...

Colourful lights lit the wide boulevards of the streets of Yan Shan city, shoppers and carousers came and went, going about and enjoying the city nightlife. To Xiuzhenists, sleep wasn’t an imperative, naturally, many people crowded the streets of the city, whether it was with friends or by themselves...

Qin Yu was but one of those people that walked the streets of this big city.

He was one of them.

Even walking in the middle of the street, he was already one with the magical night market and festive citizens of the city.

He had one thought, “Killing Yan Gao is not urgent. For now, I’ll enjoy this festive mood.” He thorough browsed over the market goods, completely at ease with the pleasant mood. On the streets he saw handsome men, pretty boys, beautiful ladies and seductive women. There were even people of high status, arrogant people, aggressive people and many more. There were all sorts of colourful people on the streets of Yan Shan city.

One had to be careful in midst this wondrous parade, after all......

Xiuzhenists can change their appearances!

‘Sigh’ “What a sensual looking young lady with such bewitching beauty...” Qin Yu had settled his gaze on a young lady in a sensual green gown not too far down the street. He could not help but sigh in appreciation. That’s right, he only praised from the perspective of a viewer appreciating beauty.

“Mistress, Amber Moon planet is famed for its fabulous teas, in particular the one known as the ‘Gliding Maple-leaf Red Tea’. It is one of its native tastes, we should try it out.” A lithe young female attendant suggested to the lady in green slightly in front of her.

The lady in green nodded with poise, “I guess so”, with a hint of smile in voice.

Promptly, the two ladies entered that tea house –––––– ‘Gliding Maple-leaf Tea House.”

The ladies voices travelled up the road and into Qin Yu’s ears. “Gliding Maple-leaf Tea House, eh? If it is as the lady said as a ‘must-see’ place, I should go as well.” Qin Yu was piqued by the information, and a head full of curiosity, he also stepped into the Tea House.

Just as he foot was about to cross the threshold of the Tea House’s main door, he frowned with annoyance. “Seems that there are some stalkers watching my movement?” A part of his mind rang with alarm.

After fusing his soul with the meteoric tear, Qin Yu has raised the level of sensitivity of detecting soul force. Though he was only a level 8 immortal, even whenever a level 2 golden immortal like Liu Ming Han, shifted their sights on him, he could clearly detect it.

On the contrary, the stalker who had just fixed their sights on Qin Yu, he could only vaguely feel the other’s gaze.

All this happened in an instant. Without pause nor a change in his facial expressions, Qin Yu entered the Tea House.

Across the street on the veranda of a restaurant, a wizen old man swept a quick inspection of the tea house, confirmed to himself, “The most powerful person in the tea house is only a level 8 immortal. There is no danger to the young mistress.”

Inside the tea house.

Qin Yu was considering the tea house’s menus and was somewhat surprised to see the figures on it. “I must say, only the rich could enjoy the things in this Gliding Maple-leaf Tea House. The highest priced selection of tea is a hundred stones, which is about one mid-grade stone. I guess, only done-well immortals could afford such extravagance.”

It was the normal day for the famed tea house. There was only a handful of customers, but what was astonishing that all of them were immortals of least level five. The lady in green that entered just slightly ahead of Qin Yu, was the lowest level at level one, while her attendant was already a level seven immortal.

Qin Yu deft lifted his tea cup, the aromatic fragrance of the tea immediately hit his sinuses. The warm draft from the steam bathed his heart in splendour which slowly dissipated as he lift the tea cup away. “Truly great tea, it is.” Just the fragrance of the saturated leaves are enough to leave such miraculous effect on Qin Yu. He could only gasp in marvel of such great tea.

The waitress at his left side set down the tea pot, and said, “Seems that the young master is not from around here, right?” Qin Yu slowly confirmed and glanced at the waiter who continued, “The only thing that makes Amber Moon well-known is this Gliding Maple-leaf tea. Of the entire domain of the Silver Stream galaxy, there are only two places that produce this tea leaves – one is our planet and the other is the Red Leaf Planet. Though, the yield of our amber moon is significantly lower and also our cities are less populated and less wealthy.” The waitress didn’t even pause at all, as she rattled on with a hint of pride, “Amber Moon is but a small rural place, and naturally the prices are very low. A jug of gliding maple-leaf tea is only priced at a hundred, whereas at Red Leaf Planet, it is price at two hundred. And in any other places in the immortal and devil realms, a single jug could cost up to a thousand or so stones.”

A few booths away, the female attendant of that lady in green said aloud, “Well spoken. The gliding maple-leaf tea at our place costs around five hundred, and yet cannot compare with the quality of the tea here. What do you say, mistress?”

Finally, Qin Yu slowly took a few light sips and rolled the fluid around in his mouth, prolonging the moment and tasting the tea. He put down the cup delicately, and asked the waitress, “How much stock of this gliding maple-leaf tea leaves does this tea house have? If possible, I would like to purchase some.”

The waitress’ eyes lit up. “Young master, please wait for a moment, I will go inform the owner.”

A moment later, the owner arrived to negotiate selling price, but Qin Yu didn’t bother haggling one bit. He immediately took out twelve pieces of high grade holy elemental ores to purchase around ninety percent of all the tea house’s stocks. That left ten percent for the tea house to use to entertain and receive guests. After the flash buy, Qin Yu sat back and leisurely enjoyed his tea, savouring every flavour.

A booming voice rang throughout the teahouse, “third brother, do you have any more stock of gliding maple-leaf tea leaves?” Almost all the guest simultaneous frowned in annoyance. Multiple pairs of eyes looked pointedly towards the source of the interruption.

The source of the disturbance was a dignified looking middle-aged man at the entrance of the teahouse.

The teahouse owner immediately walked out from the rear of the teahouse. He was already shaking his head. “Eldest brother, I afraid almost all of my stock was sold out. I have very little left that I was already planning to get some from you.”

The man at the entrance looked somewhat helpless. “I’m out of stock as well. You know how much the great patriarch loves gliding maple-leaf tea, the moment he leaves his most recent closed-door training session, he most definitely wants some. I’ve already ran around a few places and was without luck....it seems....that we must go replenish our stocks at Red Leaf Planet.”

Sadly though, Amber Moon does produce these tea leaves locally, but the production is barely able to cover the usage of it for its locals.

The teahouse owner pursed his lips. “Red Leaf planet? Not to mention travel expenses, even the prices there are double of what we have here....” The man at the entrance also looked reluctant but replied, “For the sake of the great patriarch, this amount of money is worthwhile.”

The teahouse owner pondered for a moment, and walked over to Qin Yu’s booth. “Young master, could I please withdraw your earlier purchase of the tea leaves, and likewise, I will also return the twelve pieces of high grade ores.”

Qin Yu frowned in annoyance at the teahouse owner’s request. ‘Is this how you do business??’

“Young master, I am called Yan Wu Tao, this establishment is also part of the Yan Clan. I hope that the young master could give us some face.” The man at the entrance walked over to the booth. “Of course, you can name the price. How about fifteen high grade ores?”

‘They’d just sold the leaves and yet now they want them returned??’ Qin Yu stared at no one in particular, and said, “Do I look like someone who lacks money?” He hadn’t even bothered haggling before and instantly took out twelve high grade ores, why would he be a kind of person to care about that sort of money?

The teahouse owner and Wu Tao stiffened.

“Did you just say that your great patriarch has entered closed-door training?” Realisation dawned on Qin Yu. When he put the facts: one, they are Yan Clan’s people and two, they said their patriarch was in closed door training, together, it meant that the Yan patriarch must have entered seclusion.

Wu Tao immediately replied, “That’s right, the patriarch has entered seclusion, but when he comes out, it would require this tea. Could you please part with it?”

‘In seclusion...’ Qin Yu did not wait any longer, he immediately left the teahouse while ignoring the two men’s pleas. Following his leave, the two shouted after him in vain, “Hey, wait, customer.”

Walking down the street, Qin Yu sighed helplessly, “Just when I was about to go ‘trouble’ the Yan patriarch, I find the man has entered closed-door training....uh, I can only go see how strong the forces are protecting his closed-door training location.”

“Yes!” Qin Yu eyes lit up with resolution, “I’ll just grab someone and interrogate them.” With a quivering movement of his body, he vanished from sight.

Wu Tao was feeling very frustrated as he walk out of the teahouse and into a nearby alley. Back then in the teahouse, the customer – Qin Yu, maintained an uncaring attitude, it had made he quite furious. He wanted dearly to kill Qin Yu, but when he probed Qin Yu, he found he couldn’t determine the other strength. That could only mean one thing, Qin Yu was much stronger than him.

This made him quite cautious. Not to mention the extravagant and lavish gesture to buy out the teahouse, coupled with that individual’s strength, his Yan Clan couldn’t afford to offend that kind of person with such strong backing. He knew his Yan Clan was just a small ruler of one planet, and couldn’t compare with some of the bigger players in the immortal plane.

A voice resounded out, breaking Wu Tao out of his reverie, “Are you Yan Wu Tao?” The man in question flinched with surprise, “Who is calling for me?”

Before Wu Tao could speak again, he suddenly felt his mind had blanked out, and the next moment, everything turned black.

...

With Wu Tao captive, Qin Yu pulled the fool deeper into the secluded alley; out of the prying eyes and ears of the city goers.

“With my meteoric tear, using this technique has become quite easy.” Qin Yu was currently controlling the man in question – Yan Wu Tao. For one he was much stronger than Wu Tao and two, he had the constant aid supplied by the meteoric tear.

“Now, tell me, when did the patriarch enter closed-door training?”

Wu Yan blinked blankly, and looked listless, even his eyes were lifeless like marbles. Words dropped out of his mouth in monotone, “The. Patriarch. Retreated. Three. Days. Ago.”

Another calm question came his way. It sounded slurred like a hypnotist’s serene voice, “Tell me. When will he exit seclusion?”

This time, the answer came out in better formation. “I do not know. The great patriarch had said that it could be one day or it could be one year. But, he said this time it should be no more than two to four weeks.”

...

Silence. Qin Yu was somewhat satisfied by the answer. That’s right, he could wait a few weeks, and he was in no hurry. Of course, the quicker the deed is done the better it is for him.

He already had determined that Wu Tao was a level 5 immortal. A immortal at that level should have a relatively high position within the Yan Clan, which meant the fellow would know about many things. Then he asked the third question: “Where is the patriarch conducting his closed-door training?”

Another mechanical reply: “In Sword Immortal Temple.”

“Sword immortal Temple, is it?” the fellow nodded in slow motion. Without pause, Qin Yu asked again, “How are the defences?”

“Sword immortal temple is a formation array created by the patriarch himself with the aid of his fellow martial brothers. The defensive ability is very high, the patriarch once boasted that even a level 9 golden sword immortal would have difficulty breaking into the sword immortal temple.”

Silence.

‘Hmm’ Qin Yu was carefully digesting the information, ‘Martial brothers of Yan Gao must be the disciples of the Jade Sword school. Since Yan Gao, himself is a level 6 golden immortal, then his martial brothers are most likely at the same level. In that case...in that case, the formation array of their combined efforts should have enough power to defend a level 9 golden immortal’s assault.’

What Qin Yu did know was that, the strongest of Yan Gao’s martial brothers had reached level 9 golden immortal. So the combined creation of a defensive formation will not simply defend against a level 9 golden immortal’s attack, but also restricts the attacker.

Qin asked again, “Who.....who is the clan leader of the house at the moment? And what is that fellow’s power level?” He wanted to know as much about the Yan Clan as possible, especially the current clan leader.

He knew that a family’s wealth is divided into three portions. The first is held by the strongest of the clan, the second is held by the clan leader and the third is stored in the clan’s shared warehouses.

Since Yan Gao is in seclusion, then it’s high time to deal with the clan leader, which is right now.

The answer came after his short soliloquy, “The clan leader is ‘Yan Xu Tan’ and is a level 1 golden immortal.”

The interrogation went on.

“Then is Yan Xu Tian a sword immortal? How many sword immortal does the Yan Clan have?”

This time the interrogated gave a detailed explanation, “No, the clan leader only practices the clan’s internal arts. In our family, only three are sword immortals. One is our great patriarch, while the other two are common immortal stage sword immortals.”

Qin Yu grunted with satisfaction. “Now, you can lay down and sleep.” Qin Yu dismissed the somewhat slack-jawed Wu Tao, and merged back into the shadows.

Yan Xu Lan. He was the second most powerful expert of the Yan Clan and also the current clan leader. His residence was a luxurious palace populated with dense packets of security detail and flourishing botanic gardens. Between patrolling guards and being the second strongest in the clan, the defences are naturally very tight.

In the Palace bedchamber.

Xu Lan was sitting cross-legged on the master bed, in his hand held a high grade holy elemental ore. Streams of energy continuously flowed from the rock and into his body. The man had a noble but fierce air about him, even his eye brows were shaped like spears.

A hollow voice rang about the bedchamber.

“Yan Xu Lan.”

The man on the bed shouted, “Who is it?” His eyelids immediately shot open, his gaze flickered side to side like probing lasers.

“SHHIIIOUUU!”

A wave of sword energy had already arrived at the man face. All one could see was a look of frozen surprise on the man’s face, before his body fell apart to each side. At the same time, his interspatial ring and a few immortal equipment appeared by the man’s side.

The intruder appeared beside the bed and leisurely approached the loot.

The intruder was precisely Qin Yu.

“Well, whatever the goods, at least there is a level 1 golden immortal’s yuanying. It shouldn’t be wasted.” Qin Yu quickly stored the yuanying, and the other dropped goods into his Blazing Ice Ring.

He lifted the dropped interspatial ring for inspection and sighed, “Three voice transfer talisman beads, not bad. A few immortal class items.....’Sigh’ the best is only at middle-grade, that’s too poor. Last but not least, top grade holy elemental ores.....only eight pieces??”

The fact was that Qin Yu did not know much about the wealth of the Yan Clan, nor did he know how wealthy the clan was.

He turned and left, riding the wind outwards. In his wake was the desolate corpse of Yan Xu Lan, whose eyes were still wide open uncomprehending how he died.

...

The next morning.

Two servants of the clan leader’s palace shifted from one foot to another as they shouted to rouse the master, but no responses were heard. They looked at one another. One on the left thought aloud, “What is wrong with the master? Did something happen?”

The other dismissed the first, “Impossible. It must mean the master had already left the house. Why wouldn’t he respond? You should already know that even if the master is asleep, he would hear our cries.”

The first looked sheepishly at the second. “Well, then. We will enter master’s room to clean.”

The two servants promptly entered the house and started cleaning and organising the items in the house. Slowly but surely they worked their way towards the bedchamber. The moment they approached the bed...

“Ahhhh!” the first shrieked

The other cried out, “Ah! Master, master!”

In the short minutes that trickled by, every elder, disciple and member of the Yan Clan had heard of the clan leader’s death. Each searched in frenzied manner for the would-be murderer of their clan leader, but all was in vain. Even they know that it was impossible for themselves to find that person given how quickly and quietly the murderer managed to kill the clan leader. Only the patriarch of the family could be able to achieve success.

In a village hospital near the foot hills of the Yan Shan city. A wizen old man bowed respectfully at a familiar lady in green. “Mistress, we should return. Amber Moon is no longer safe.”

But, the lady in question puckered her sweet, rosy lips, while drumming her delicate fingers, and shook her head, “Let’s stay and play for a few more days.”

The old man sighed again. “Mistress, last night the Yan clan’s clan leader was assassinated. When I investigated the area that Yan Xu Lan was killed, there wasn’t the slightest life aura present. I could barely detect the slightest trace of sword energy in the area. I presume the assassin is at least a level 9 golden immortal, or it could have been a mystic immortal. Mistress, it is no longer safe for you to stay here, that sort of expert could pose a threat to the mistress.”

The young lady uttered a cute and muffled cry, “Ah.....” then reluctantly agreed, “Alright then.”