Stellar Transformations

B10C15: Road of Death

Thunderbolts are striking down from all over the sky above the Road of Death. Heavenly flames and lava are flowing. Countless heavenly flames are leaping into the air. In addition to the thunderbolts and blazing heavenly flames, there is also the glowing thick red mist caused by the extreme heat above that river.

That Road of Death, which is merely about half a meter wide, is the only thing connecting the 2 shores of this river of heavenly flames and lava.

“The heavenly flame, even standard immortals don’t dare to touch it rashly.” Qin Yu is scared in his heart.

Flames have different colors depending on their strength. Qin Yu’s Stellar Flame is only deep blue approaching purple. The heavenly flame is purple so it is very powerful, to the extent that not even standard immortals dare to resist it with their physical bodies lightly.

Each of the thunderbolts is blue and more powerful than the most terrifying bolt of Qin Yu’s 6-in-9 Heavenly Tribulation, the 6th bolt. He believes that he will lose his life if his body is hit by just one of those thunderbolts.

“Immortal Emperor Ni Yang is unexpectedly putting on such a big show. Could it be he really takes pleasure in massacring?” Qin Yu’s heart is full of anger. “If the heavenly flame is spouted on me, given my power, my body will surely be reduced to ashes. And those thunderbolts, at that time the last bolt of my 6-in-9 Heavenly Tribulation was so hard to overcome, but judging from their color, those thunderbolts should be even more terrifying than that last bolt …”

He simply does not know what to say.

He still remembers that Immortal Emperor Ni Yang said the Peach Blossom Land is exceptionally safe, however, if he comes into that place, he will only be able to leave it by achieving ascension.

“Can I live my life in the Peach Blossom Land until I overcome the 9-from-9th Heaven Tribulation and ascend to the immortal world?” Even though Qin Yu fears the dangers of the Road of Death, he also thinks of his relatives, his father Qin De, his 2 elder brothers, grim and constantly hard-working Xiao Hei, carefree Hou Fei and … that pretty figure at the bottom of his heart.

Can he abandon them?

“Road of Death.” The look in his eyes is cold. Suddenly he gives a smile of self-derision. “Perhaps I’m the weakest of those who will take the Road of Death. The only thing I can rely on is the Meteoric Tear.”

Right afterwards, he goes past that ‘Road of Death’ stone stele and sits down with legs crossed on this bank of the river, preparing to start taking the Road of Death.

……

“Heavenly flames and blue thunderbolts that can only be seen in 9-from-9th Heaven Tribulations …” At the moment Dame Yan Ji is also feeling bitter in her heart.

Even if she had not lost any power and was still as strong as she had been in the beginning, she would not dare to resist these heavenly flames and blue thunderbolts lightly. After all, as a 4th tribulation loose devil, she is equal to a level-1 standard devil so she can withstand a couple heavenly flame attacks or several thunderbolts at most.

But Dame Yan Ji is currently badly injured. While fighting Old Taoist Gan Xu, she was hit by joint sneak attacks which Reverend Shui Rou and Reverend Yue Yan performed through formations and even more than half of her physical body was damaged. In the end, she went all out to execute the Devil’s Bloody Clouds. Despite having suffered so much damage, she was then sneakily attacked by 3 late Dujie-stage azure dragons joining forces.

“A treasure over 10 times more precious than the Qingyu Immortal Mansion.” Her eyes flash with a hint of fierceness. “No matter what happens, this is the only hope for me to become a top-class figure among loose devils. Wealth and honor must be sought in dangers. I’d rather die than become a lowly loose devil.”

Dame Yan Ji looks towards the Peach Blossom Land and gives a cold laugh: “Even if I stayed in this Peach Blossom Land, the loose devil heavenly tribulations will become more and more powerful. If I were alone in there, there’s no telling whether I’d pass all the tribulations to achieve ascension. It’s better to charge forwards fighting for the only chance to rise than to waste time in there.”

Going all out!

She immediately sits down with legs crossed and begins to take pills to regain her power. Her injuries are really too serious. Any bit of power restored can increase her chance of surviving a little.

……

When Yan Mo sees those towering purple heavenly flames and various blue thunderbolts, his pupils cannot help but contract slightly.

Life? Death?

He has experienced nobody knows how many life-or-death situations fighting in the Wilderness so naturally he does not fear death. If he did, how could he have disobeyed the dragon clan’s top echelons and abandoned a life with backing to defect from the dragon clan to the Wilderness to struggle for survival?

“Chance!”

His eyes flashing with a cold light, Yan Mo goes straight past the ‘Road of Death’ stone stele without hesitation. He then immediately sits still with legs crossed firmly on the safe bank of the river, quietly waiting for the time to walk the Road of Death to come.

……

Facing all of these things, everybody makes their own decision. The terrors of the Road of Death cause them to be faced with a life-or-death choice. Some choose to enter the Road of Death while the others choose to live peacefully in the Peach Blossom Land.

Take the 3 late Dujie-stage experts of the dragon clan for example.

Achieving ascension is the only way to leave the Peach Blossom Land, but Yan Lanshan and his 2 brothers are already at the late Dujie stage, only a step away from reaching the Dacheng stage, so they will only have to stay in the Peach Blossom Land for a short time until they reach the Dacheng stage and ascend.

……

“2 hours has passed. Congratulations on choosing the Road of Death, ha-ha …” Immortal Emperor Ni Yang’s voice rises in the air.

All those who have chosen to come into the Road of Death open their eyes. By now, the long and winding lanes connecting the Road of Death with the Peach Blossom Land have already disappeared. There is only a boundless thick mist behind them. Now they cannot even regret their decisions.

“Congratulations?” Dame Yan Ji gives a cold laugh.

“This Immortal Emperor Ni Yang’s character can’t be judged using common sense.” Qin Yu gives a frustrated smile. From what has happened since they stepped into the Nine Swords Immortal Mansion, everybody knows how ‘wicked’ Immortal Emperor Ni Yang is. They have chosen the Road of Death, yet he congratulates them. It is very obvious he is mocking them.

“Just now I said that only one out of 10 individuals who step into the Road of Death could survive. Actually … this isn’t absolute.” Immortal Emperor Ni Yang’s tone is genial at the moment. “That’s merely a general probability. It’s possible that 1 or 2 more of you will survive.”

“Of course, it’s also possible that none of you will survive.”

His voice sounds totally unconcerned.

Everybody’s heart gets a shock.

“None survives?” Qin Yu’s eyes flash with fierceness. “This Immortal Emperor Ni Yang is toying with us.”

This Road of Death appears to be certain death, but Immortal Emperor Ni Yang said in the beginning that one out of 10 would probably survive so everybody saw a glimmer of hope because they thought that he would let at least one individual live to obtain the treasure.

However, judging from what he just said, there is probably no hope at all.

“If all of you die and nobody obtains the real treasure of the Nine Swords Immortal Mansion, my 9 jade swords will fly out of the mansion again and scatter until others later use them to enter the mansion to get my treasure.” When Immortal Emperor Ni Yang says these words, there is a tinge of amusement in his voice.

But Qin Yu, Dame Yan Ji, Yan Mo, Old Taoist Gan Xu, Huo Can and the others do not find them funny. Their hearts freeze instead.

It is possible that all of those who set foot in the Road of Death will die.

“The long and winding lanes are already gone. It’s useless to regret your decisions now. Ha-ha … as soon as you enter the Road of Death, your life and death will be under Heaven’s control. Take care of yourselves, juniors. Good luck!” Immortal Emperor Ni Yang laughs out loud complacently. It seems he is very excited because he has succeeded in tricking everybody.

Qin Yu, Dame Yan Ji, Old Taoist Gan Xu and the others have an unsightly expression.

They are all on the bank of the river and have not set foot in the Road of Death yet. After all, those heavenly flames and thunderbolts are a bit too dense.

“As soon as I enter the Road of Death, my life and death will be under Heaven’s control.” Qin Yu shakes his head then immediately set foot in the Road of Death. “There’s already no way back!”

However, right at the moment he steps on the Road of Death —

He feels as if his whole body is pressed down by a great mountain. The gravity is so great that his strong body kneels down on the ground in the blink of an eye. All of his bones immediately give off cracking noises. He props his 2 hands on the ground right away, blue veins popping out of his forehead.

“So heavy!” Now Qin Yu does not even dare to breathe, afraid that as soon as he breathes, his power will decrease, causing his whole body to be pressed flat to the ground.

“That Immortal Emperor Ni Yang unexpectedly wasn’t kidding when saying so.” In his mind, Qin Yu recalls that sentence said by Immortal Emperor Ni Yang — “Juniors, don’t think you can rely on high speeds to get through. When you set foot in the Road of Death, you’ll find it hard to step as if your bodies are being pressed down by a great mountain. Don’t think that you’re powerful. The more powerful you are, the more pressure you are under. It doesn’t matter if you’re at the Jindan stage or the 12th tribulation stage, your movements will be as slow as a black tortoise on these bridges.”

“Moving as slow as a black tortoise? Now I even really want to be able to move like a black tortoise.” He forces a smile inwardly, but his golden stellar energy is immediately channeled into every part of his body. Blasts of energy spurt from all of his muscles. He then stands up with extreme difficulty.

One step, two steps!

Qin Yu’s speed is extremely slow. He begins to sweat all over, not only because the gravity is too strong, but also because the temperature of this place is too high. Down below him is the river of lava and heavenly flames, which occasionally leap up.

Hu!

A purple flame shoots past Qin Yu in the front. The heat generated by it makes he feel as if his whole body is melting.

“Heavenly flames, such powerful heavenly flames? This is too much. That Immortal Emperor Ni Yang isn’t completely fair. With my power, perhaps I can’t even withstand a heavenly flame. A heavenly flame is enough to reduce me to ashes.” Qin Yu is flustered and exasperated.

However, he is moving slowly like a black tortoise.

Luckily, the rushing speed of those heavenly flames is not too fast so Qin Yu still has time to decide, but even so his speed is even slower. It is no use being able to detect the flames when they are coming at him if he is not fast enough to avoid them.

Boom!

A thunderbolt strikes down right in front of Qin Yu, almost hitting him. He feels his whole back break into a cold sweat in the blink of an eye. But the cold sweat is instantly evaporated by the terrifying temperature above the Road of Death.

This thunderbolt reminds Qin Yu that, not only are the heavenly flames terrifying, even the thunderbolts can kill him with ease too.

This river of heavenly flames and lava is not too wide, being less than 100 m. This means the Road of Death connecting the banks of the river is also less than 100 m long. This apparently sounds very short, but in fact the Road of Death looks both narrow and long.

To someone who can only move as slowly as a black tortoise at the moment like Qin Yu, this distance of less than 100 m is really too long, especially long.

“That’s Huo Can.” While paying attention to the heavenly flames and thunderbolts in his surroundings and moving strenuously and slowly, all of a sudden Qin Yu unexpectedly catches sight of a vague Road of Death in the distance with the corners of his eyes. Because this river of heavenly flames and lava is extremely hot, there is a thick red mist above it.

That red mist is floating above the river at the same height as that of the Road of Death. At the moment, through thin areas of the red mist, Qin Yu sees a similar Road of Death in the distance with Huo Can on it.

Despite being much more powerful than Qin Yu, Huo Can is still moving as slowly as a black tortoise.

“Ah!” Qin Yu’s face changes color. He suddenly sees 3 heavenly flames leap into the sky, rushing towards Huo Can’s location. Even though Huo Can has noticed these 3 heavenly flames and their speed cannot be considered fast, at the moment he can only move like a black tortoise.

The 3 heavenly flames occur simultaneously both in front of and behind Huo Can so he will die if he takes a step forwards. The same goes for taking a step backwards.

A furious roar of unwillingness is heard.

The heavenly flames blaze on Huo Can’s body. In just a while, Huo Can, who has always wanted to seek revenge for his big brother, has been completely reduced to ashes on the Road of Death by the heavenly flames.

“Huo Can is already dead.” Qin Yu’s heart gets a shock.

Despite being much more powerful than Qin Yu is, Huo Can was simply unable to avoid the heavenly flames, and especially so when 3 heavenly flames came at him simultaneously. After all, the gravitational pull on his body was too strong so it was nearly impossible for him to move.

Therefore … he had no choice but to unwillingly watch himself get burnt to death just like that.

When Qin Yu is in a state of shock because of Huo Can’s death and is paying attention to his death, dangers are already coming at him simultaneously.

2 flames have spurted into the air obliquely from the river of heavenly flames and lava in an almost parallel fashion. They happen to be shooting at Qin Yu’s back. Judging from their paths of travel, it does not matter if Qin Yu takes a step forwards or backwards, he will be hit by the flames.

“Even Huo Can is already dead. Be careful, be careful.” Qin Yu is even more nervous in his heart.

Be careful.

He must be careful. Whether when thunderbolts strike down or when heavenly flames attack, he must be careful and try his best to grab any chance. At the moment the heavenly flames are shooting up obliquely. Given Qin Yu’s tortoise-like speed, it is already too late for him to dodge them.

Suddenly —

Wind sounds are heard. Qin Yu’s face changes color. Almost like a conditioned reflex, he gives up on resisting that terrifying gravity. His whole body is immediately pressed flat to the ground by that extremely frightening gravity. The speed at which he is pressed down is shockingly fast, as if a huge hammer has been smashed down on his body.

Hu!

The 2 heavenly flames fly past above Qin Yu’s body with just a clearance of 3 to 4 cun. As he looks at those flames which almost took his life with wide-open eyes, cold sweat comes out from the tip of his nose but is vaporized instantly by the high temperature.

Qin Yu has escaped by a hair’s breadth. Luckily his reaction at the last moment was fast. Even though the terrifying gravity restrains his movements, it saved him at that one moment just now. Because the gravity is too strong, as soon as he stopped resisting it, his entire body was pressed flat to the ground frighteningly fast.

“I’ve gone just 7 or 8 m so far.” On the Road of Death, Qin Yu neutralizes the terrifying gravitational pull on his head with difficulty and raises it. He looks at the remainder of the road in front of him, which always feels so long to him. Just when he clenches his teeth and agitates the energy inside his body again —

The corners of his eyes discover that a thunderbolt is striking down at him terrifyingly fast from the sky!

When he was standing, he could rely on the frightening gravity to lie down like a flash, but now that he is lying, can he still dodge extremely fast?

End of b10c15.