The Fourth Set: Stellar Transformation Chapter 5: The Power of Thunder and Lightning

  "Haha, heaven is helping me, heaven is helping me... it's really too good. Too good!!!" King Chu looked at the secret letter in his hand and was so excited that he couldn't control himself. The hawk-nosed man beside him also flattered: "This is heaven wanting to destroy the Qin family, after all, Your Majesty is the true dragon son of heaven."

  Xiang Guang's spirit was lifted at this moment.

  "Qin De, Qin De, you were clever for a lifetime, but you had to be defeated by me several times, and in the end, even your Qin family's centuries-old foundation was buried." If it were not for the usual, giving Xiang Guang a bit of courage would not dare to launch a war recklessly. After all, the Qin family's army is not small, and they have been training on the edge of the Hongyuan for many years, which is not comparable to the armies of the other three major families.

  "Your Majesty, this time the King of Town North and Qin De had a secret meeting. Qin De wants to mobilize 300,000 troops from the territory of the King of Town North to attack us. 300,000 troops! When the King of Town North betrays us, won't he be defeated by Qin De's army instead? The strength of Qin De's army is still very strong." The man with the eagle nose said quietly.

  That secret letter was sent by someone dispatched by Shangguan Hong, and it spoke of Qin De's recent meeting with him as well as the content of their meeting.

  Xiang Guang thought for a moment and smiled, "Don't worry, the Xiang family has a deep relationship with the Shangguan family. Once Qin De's army enters the territory of Zhenbei Wang, he won't be able to escape. At that time, I'll send the Xiang family's main force to attack from both inside and outside, along with the Shangguan family. Hmph, if we destroy his 300,000-strong army, the Qin family will lose half of its forces. By the way, how is the situation with winning over the Heishan bandits?"

  The man with the eagle nose hastily said: "Reporting to Your Majesty, those Black Water Mountain bandits heard that Your Majesty agreed to their request and even made a blood oath with them. Don't worry, Your Majesty, once they make a blood oath, these people from the jianghu take it very seriously."

  Item Guang was instantly satisfied and smiled: "Very good, with the Black Water Mountain bandits in the Qin family's territory, the 200,000-strong Qin family army will not be able to move. Otherwise, their old nest will be in chaos. Even if they recruit another 200,000 soldiers, they can only use 600,000 soldiers. Humph, in the territory controlled by the Upper Official's household, eliminate another 300,000, even if there is a fierce tiger army, what's the use? I think the Qin family will have nothing to fight with me at that time."

  "His Majesty is wise." The hawk-nosed man bowed and said.

  Xiang Guang nodded in satisfaction: "Very good, this time you've done a great job with the black water mountain bandits. You will be rewarded for your merits. I heard that you like Yan Xi's paintings, so I'll give you this 'Mother and Son' painting." As he spoke, Xiang Guang took the scroll from the table and handed it directly to the man with the eagle nose.

  "Thanks for the imperial grace." The eagle-nosed man immediately took over the painting.

  "Alright, go." Xiang Guang waved his sleeve and said. At this moment, Xiang Guang's mood was particularly good. Seeing the eagle-nosed man leave, Xiang Guang said again, "By the way, take a closer look at this mother-son picture, understand the essence of Master Yanxi's painting."

  "Yes!" The hawk-nosed man replied immediately, and then walked out of the imperial study.

  On the way home, the eagle-nosed man sneered in his heart: "Mother and son picture? Item Guang is a bit too cruel." The eagle-nosed man values his wife and children the most, and he naturally understands the meaning of the mother and son picture given to him by Item Guang.

  ……

  Zhao Yun's face was cold and stern as he gazed at the military map on the wall.

  "General." A young man bowed behind Zhao Yun's back.

  "What's wrong?" Zhao Yunxing said calmly.

  The young man said: "General, Prince Wang ordered us and another army to enter the two northern counties together. I think there is something wrong with this."

  "What's wrong?" Zhao Yun's mouth corner had a hint of a smile, but he still didn't turn around.

  The young man immediately stood up and said: "If King Wang has negotiated with the Shangguan family, let us enter the Shangguan family and borrow a way to attack the Xiang family. But is the Shangguan family really on our side? If the Shangguan family pretends to be on our side but actually favors the Xiang family, things will be troublesome. After all, the two counties of Beidi are the territory of the Shangguan family."

  "Do you think Master Wang wouldn't even consider this?" Zhao Yunxing asked back.

  That young man immediately said: "The king will naturally think of this point, but the three southern counties of the Mu family are extremely loyal to the Xiang family. The two families merged and actually occupied more than half of the military power of the Chu kingdom. The king had no choice but to rely on the King of Town North, I think that although the king thought of this point, he was also forced by circumstances and could only cooperate with the Shangguan family. But once a major war breaks out, if the Shangguan family betrays us at the critical moment, we will be in trouble."

  "Words are cheap, General. You and the king look at things from different angles. The king has a bird's-eye view of everything and all is under his control. If the king wants to do something, such a small matter would not be difficult for him. Wait until two months later, you will naturally understand everything." Zhao Yun Xing turned around and said with a smile.

  The young man's face suddenly had a hint of a relaxed smile: "Since Your Highness has the wisdom, I can also rest assured."

  "All right, Yiyun, you go back first." Zhao Yunxing smiled and said.

  "Yes!" The young man turned around and left, but stopped at the door and looked back at Zhao Yun Xing, whispering: "Father, it's already midnight, you should rest early, Father. Your body is important with a big battle ahead."

  The young man left as he spoke.

  Zhao Yunxing listened and couldn't help but have a hint of a smile on his face.

  Zhao Yunxing's son, Zhao Yanyun, was also in the military, but since Zhao Yunxing had a higher rank, their relationship in the army was that of superior and subordinate. Therefore, Zhao Yanyun usually addressed Zhao Yunxing as General.

  The war is imminent, and the Qin and Xiang families are secretly coming and going, and intelligence personnel are also fully active.

  Either secretly bribing some important personnel, or framing the opponent's general, or assassinating the opponent's key officials. What a reversal of the interval, what a beauty trick is simply used to perfection, with the movement of the Qin family army on the border of Hongyuan, the entire Chu royal court was shrouded in a layer of oppression.

  The Qin family sent a heavy gift to the Black Water Mountain bandits, and the Black Water Mountain bandits actually accepted the heavy gift. But the Xiang family was not angry about this at all. Moreover, the first killer group 'Tianwang' also announced externally that it would temporarily not accept any tasks related to the Chu royal court.

  In short, the oppressive atmosphere of the impending storm was felt by almost everyone. Perhaps Qin Yu, who was quietly cultivating in the desolate wilderness, was the only one who couldn't feel that atmosphere.

  Lei Mountain beside, on top of Emerald Lake.

  Qin Yu sat cross-legged, sitting on the water but not sinking, a purple aura flowing around his body. This purple aura was the purple true energy within Qin Yu's body. After several months of cultivation, Qin Yu's innate purple true energy had become like liquid silver, almost liquefied.

  A mighty force surged within, every muscle in his body, even the tiniest cells, bursting with energy that Qin Yu could fully feel. The purple true qi circulated throughout, constantly refining his muscles and bones.

  The wind suddenly rose, and the lake surface was turbulent. The water slightly surged up and down, opening and closing. Qin Yu sat cross-legged on the surface of the lake, but he was like a floating duckweed, following the ups and downs of the water.

  "Wow..."

  A strong gust of wind blew, and the lake water suddenly surged up with a loud crash, creating waves that were over ten meters high. The entire surface of the lake was like it had been lifted by a giant, and even Qin Yu couldn't move as freely as before. He immediately pushed off from the lake's surface with one foot and shot towards the shore, staring helplessly at the culprit, Xiao Hei.

  "Xiao Hei, I know your wings can stir up strong winds, but don't play tricks on me, okay?" Qin Yu said helplessly as he stared at Xiao Hei flapping his wings.

  Xiao Hei folded his wings, and the lake water immediately calmed down, forming a golden elixir. After cultivating several inherited memories of qigong, Xiao Hei's aura became even more proud and majestic. Qin Yu was now far from being a match for Xiao Hei.

  "Big brother, I was just testing your vigilance. I'm doing it for your own good, and you're blaming me?" Little Hei's voice echoed in Qin Yu's mind.

  Qin Yu said with a smile: "Alright, now you've survived the heavenly tribulation and are stronger than me. I won't fight you for now. Tomorrow night is my turn to face the heavenly tribulation too. Once I survive it and cultivate the 'Stellar Transformation', I'll show you my true strength."

  "Starlight Transformation"? Big brother, I have quite a few amazing cultivation techniques that aren't inferior to your Starlight Transformation." Xiao Hei said proudly, flapping his wings. After forming the Golden Elixir, Xiao Hei had cultivated some secret methods over the past two months, and his strength had made tremendous progress, making him very confident at this moment.

  Qin Yu smiled: "When the time comes, won't we know who's more powerful just by comparing?"

  These days, Qin Yu carefully read many books about Xiuzhen, "Stellar Transformations" was naturally read from cover to cover, not only did he remember some oral formulas and cultivation methods in his mind, but also the insights he had when Lei Wei cultivated or crossed the tribulation were remembered in his mind.

  As for the upcoming 49-day tribulation, Qin Yu was even more confident.

  On the second day, Qin Yu sat quietly with his legs crossed on the grassy shore of Bi Shui Lake, waiting silently for the arrival of the heavenly tribulation. On this day, Xiao Hei was unusually quiet and did not disturb Qin Yu, but instead practiced meditation beside him. Last time, Qin Yu had protected him; this time, he would protect Qin Yu in return.

  The sunset sank slowly in the west, and the entire Honghuang was reflected in a crimson glow.

  A strong gust of wind suddenly rose, and the surrounding mountains and forests began to sway wildly. The leaves were also falling all over the place, and the sound of "cracking" tree branches breaking off was ringing out continuously. The sky darkened in an instant, and the sudden change in weather caused Qin Yu and Xiao Hei to stop their cultivation.

  "Haha, the heavenly calamity is finally coming, Xiao Hei, this time watch closely for me. If any demonic beasts come, kill them all cleanly." Qin Yu shouted loudly.

  Little Hei flapped his wings, and his spiritual consciousness transmitted a message: "Don't worry, Big Brother. Within the range of several hundred miles is my territory, and no monster dares to come and disturb it. If any monster comes, I will destroy its entire clan." For these days, the area within several hundred miles indeed became Little Hei's territory.

  The sky turned dark red, giving people a sense of oppression.

  A huge whirlpool appeared in the center of the sky, streaks of electric snakes emerged in the dark red sky, and each snake was absorbed by the whirlpool. Just a moment later, the whirlpool stopped spinning and turned into a massive purple cloud.

  Dark red sky, purple calamity clouds, flashing electric snakes. Everything foretells the arrival of heavenly calamity.

  Qin Yu stood still and silent. Xiao Hei, on the other hand, had his spiritual sense spread out, paying attention to everything around him, not allowing any demonic beasts to approach and disturb them no matter what.

  The pinnacle of innate external skill, how strong is the heavenly tribulation? It must be known that different people generally have different powers of heavenly tribulation. Qin Yu's strength can be compared to that of an ordinary innate great perfection master, but the power of the 49th heavenly tribulation will reach what level?

  "The first heavenly thunderbolt, with the weakest power, is also the most relaxing." Qin Yu looked up at the ominous clouds, and a hint of a smile appeared on his face.

  He clearly remembered some descriptions of Lei Wei's tribulation in "Stellar Transformations", and even proposed some methods for crossing the tribulation. Qin Yu decided to use one of these very exaggerated methods to face the first heavenly thunderbolt.

  Dark clouds rolled in, low rumbles of thunder sounded one after another, and the oppressive force pressed down directly from above.

  "Boom!"

  A bolt of purple lightning descended from the sky at high speed, striking Qin Yu's head with a loud crash, but Qin Yu stood tall, looking up at the purple lightning without moving, his eyes gleaming with a hint of madness. The purple lightning struck Qin Yu directly.

  All that can be seen is Qin Yu's body being completely enveloped and penetrated by purple lightning.

  "Haha, cool, refreshing, great!"

  Qin Yu had no defense, completely using his physical body to withstand it. If he couldn't even withstand the first heavenly thunderbolt after cultivating his innate external skill to this realm, then this innate external skill would be useless. In "Xingchen Bian", it was mentioned that borrowing the power of heavenly thunder to temper one's body had great benefits for increasing one's strength. Of course, the power of heavenly thunder couldn't be too strong, or Qin Yu's body wouldn't be able to withstand it.

  Every muscle and bone in the body crackled with a loud noise, lightning flashed through the cells of the muscles, and a large amount of lightning energy was absorbed cleanly. The already extremely powerful muscles underwent some changes, becoming even more powerful.

  "Awesome, really awesome! Xiao Hei, watch how I block the first wave of heavenly thunder!" Qin Yu still had the leisure to joke with Xiao Hei by his side.

  Xiao Hei didn't say anything, his spiritual awareness completely focused on his surroundings.

  Qin Yu crossed the first heavenly thunderbolt, not only did he not consume any internal energy, but his muscular strength actually increased again, and his power was once again enhanced. Others would lose power after passing through a heavenly tribulation, while Qin Yu's power actually increased, this back-and-forth difference was the gap between them.

  "Be careful, big brother. The second heavenly thunderbolt is much stronger than the first one. We can't use that method again." Little Black reminded him.

  At this moment, the dark clouds in the sky are constantly rolling, apparently brewing a second thunderbolt. The first thunderbolt can be absorbed like this, but the power of the second thunderbolt is greater. Qin Yu dare not be as arrogant as before, letting the lightning strike him at will.

  "Don't worry, I know what it means to stop while ahead." Qin Yu felt Small Black's concern.

  The thunder rolled in, increasing the pressure on the lower part once again. The second heavenly thunder was about to descend. Qin Yu immediately entered a state of full alertness, preparing to withstand this second heavenly thunder. Along with a deafening clap of thunder, a purple dragon suddenly burst out of the tribulation clouds and charged straight at Qin Yu below.

  "Come on."

  Qin Yu's eyes flashed with excitement, and the energy inside him surged instantly. His whole body suddenly radiated a purple glow, like purple jade, as the purple true energy covered his entire body, forming a protective aura around him. Occasionally, there were even threads of electricity circling on the surface of his skin.