Chapter 1102: Stars in the Blood-Red Sky

I can’t believe that’s how you pay to cross the river.... Considering how ridiculous the price is, there seems little point in crossing the river. And I bet there must be more to the story.

As Xu Qing continued to peruse the information in the map, he was able to confirm his previous supposition.

The God Blood River doesn’t just separate the west and south. It forms the borders between the other regions as well. And the process of crossing the river is guaranteed to be safe!

Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed.

Once you step foot on the ferry pilot’s boat, they take responsibility for your safety for the duration of the six-day journey. They won’t allow anything to interfere with the voyage. No one seems to know exactly how strong the ferry pilots are. But they do come from the Immortal Capital, and they’re not just ordinary people from there, they’re convicted felons.

It didn’t take long for Xu Qing to come up with a theoretical possibility.

Based on what I know of the Immortal Capital’s Trial of the Hunt, the people with the permission medallions are like venomous bugs in a jar. Their main goal is to rob and kill each other. And that means that these so-called ferry pilots... can provide a safe haven to the participants in the Trial of the Hunt. Twice!

It doesn’t matter what danger they’re in. As long as they can get to a ferry pilot’s boat, they’ll have six days to rest and recuperate. When powerful experts fight, a six-day break to recover and prepare can completely change the outcome.

Xu Qing’s eyes glittered brightly. Looking at it from that perspective, crossing the river could be considered a very valuable asset.

The key is the timing. And if I can understand this, so can other cultivators in the Fifth Star Ring. In fact, probably everyone realizes it. This Trial of the Hunt thing is getting more and more interesting the more I learn about it.

Xu Qing carefully analyzed all the different bits of information to make sure he wasn’t making an error in logic. As he continued on his way through the bustling city, he went on to look at the information about the various chosen. The records contained a lot of details about them.

The planetary systems to the east, south, west, and north each had more than a hundred. Some came from specific sects and clans. Some came from rogue organizations. Others were lone wolves.

All had their extraordinary assets. And considering all of them were listed in the map from the Immortal Treasure Palace, it was a given that they were incredibly famous. From what Xu Qing could tell, this map with details of all the Fifth Star Ring chosen was essentially a ranking list.

And there were eight people on the list whose information was highlighted in a different color. Of all the hundreds of chosen in the Fifth Star Ring, they were like shining stars that everyone else looked up to. Because of that, they were collectively referred to as the Shining Stars.

Xu Qing was interested mainly in the southern planetary system, and of the Shining Stars, two were in the south.

The first came from the orthodox sect in the south, which was the Grand Immortal Mountain. He was the apprentice of someone named Lan Yun, who was a Quasi-Immortal Grand Emperor. This Quasi-Immortal Lan Yun had a very venerable position. He was apparently the Junior Brother of the Grand Immortal Mountain’s heavenly inspector. It was said that, years ago, he had been just on the verge of opening the door of immortality. However, some accident occurred that delayed him, and now he was still half a step away from opening the door. Naturally speaking, a sect disciple like that could only be described as extraordinary.[1]

He had an apprentice named Jiang Fan who had not yet been practicing cultivation for 500 years and was an early Imperial Sovereign. He had command of seven types of authority, and had engaged in a spectacular battle in which he ended up killing a peak Imperial Sovereign, although he ended up severely injured in the process.[2]

That battle took place a full sixty-year-cycle in the past, and it shook the entire southern planetary system. In fact, even chosen cultivators from other planetary systems heard about it through their various information networks. Because of that incident, Jiang Fan was considered this generation’s number one chosen in the south.

Another of the eight Shining Stars from the southern planetary system didn’t come from a sect. Rather, this person was a cultivator from the Yuanshan Clan, which was one of the top three clans in the south. She was a female cultivator named Yuanshan Su, and because she was fond of wearing an upper garment of green silk, she was often called by the nickname Green Silk Immortal Fairy.[3]

Her cultivation base was a bit higher than Jiang Fan’s, as she was in the mid Imperial Sovereign level. However, in terms of authority, she wasn’t on Jiang Fan’s level, as she only had four. In addition, she had also fought a peak Imperial Sovereign, only she had lost and barely escaped with her life.

As Xu Qing looked over this information about the southern chosen, his eyes glinted with an aggressive light.

One in the early level, one in the middle.... The former has seven types of authority and killed a peak Imperial Sovereign. The latter has four types of authority but failed to kill an Imperial Sovereign. Either way, both of them are definitely exceptional.

Mind and heart spinning, Xu Qing went on to look at the information from the other three planetary systems.

In the northern planetary system, both of the Shining Stars are from the orthodox Sword Immortal School! They’re twin brothers, and people say that due to supernatural phenomena which appeared at their birth, both of them were born with swords in their hands. They have preheaven sword bodies, and both of them were taken as apprentices of the Sword Immortal School’s heavenly inspector. Their names are Hordeslayer and the Rampart

.[4]

During the entire time they’ve practiced cultivation, they’ve crushed everyone else in their generation, gaining immense prestige and becoming celebrities in the north. Both of them are early Imperial Sovereigns, and they each have four types of authority. On their own, they’re both capable of fighting late Imperial Sovereigns, and if they join forces, they can fight a Quasi-Immortal Grand Emperor! Because of their stellar fighting record, they’re considered to be in second place among the eight Shining Stars of the Fifth Star Ring.

Xu Qing was already looking forward to encountering these people. Next, he looked over the information about the eastern planetary system. When he saw the details about the chosen from there, his pupils constricted.

The east was considered the most prominent of the four planetary systems in the Fifth Star Ring. For one thing, three of the eight Shining Stars came from there. But also, there were more chosen there than any of the other regions. Of the three Shining Stars from there, one came from an organization of rogue cultivators, one came from a clan, and one came from the orthodox sect known as the Star Ring Pagoda.

The rogue chosen was known as Sir Vilespirit. He had risen to prominence by fighting many deadly battles and was known for his devouring magic. He was a born killer who cultivated a dao of vile devils.

Back when he was a mortal, he joined a sect but eventually betrayed it. They chased him for a full sixty-year-cycle without ever catching him. Eventually he disappeared. Some years later he resurfaced and joined another sect. Yet again, he betrayed them, and yet again, they chased him but never caught him. Over the years, the same thing happened seven times. He joined seven sects. He betrayed seven sects. Despite being constantly on the run, he managed to become an Imperial Sovereign, whereupon he went back and exterminated all of the sects he had betrayed.

He had climbed mountains of corpses and swam through seas of blood, and that was how he achieved his dao of slaughter. Eventually, he fought a battle with one of the other Shining Stars from the east, the one who came from one of the top clans, but neither could gain the upper hand in the fight. That was how he ended up being listed as one of the Shining Stars.

As for that sect chosen, he was also an extraordinary individual. He had a mid Imperial Sovereign cultivation base, five types of authority, and had defeated a late Imperial Sovereign in battle. His name was Zhou Zhengli, and he came from the number one clan in the east. His name matched his reputation. He was chivalrous, kind, charitable, and was respected by countless cultivators in the east. He and Sir Vilespirit were like polar opposites who both wanted to put an end to each other. [5]

The third Shining Star from that planetary system was actually the number one chosen in the east. He had been bestowed with a name based on the star ring itself, and as such, was this generation’s Sir Star Ring. He had a late Imperial Sovereign cultivation base, nine types of authority, and because he rarely fought in public, few people knew how strong he actually was. In the one public battle he had fought, he had challenged a Quasi-Immortal Grand Emperor. He had won. His name was known far and wide.

Any one of those seven individuals could be called incredibly exceptional.

The final Shining Star came from the western planetary system. That planetary system was known as the weakest in the Fifth Star Ring. Not only did they only have one Shining Star among the eight, but also, their orthodox group, the Dao Immortal Sect, was known to be in dire straits.

For one thing, the western region’s heavenly inspector didn’t care much about the affairs of the world, much less the situation with his sect. Because of that, membership was down, and most of the people who were left didn’t seem to care much about the sect either. Another reason for the situation was that there were actually more clans and organizations in the west than the other regions. Because the Dao Immortal Sect was on the decline, everyone else was fighting each other in the hopes of gaining supremacy.

The Shining Star from the west came from one of the clans. Unfortunately, after working hard and taking advantage of his clan’s reserve powers, he ended up joining the Dao Immortal Sect, where he became the apprentice of the heavenly inspector.

His name was Li Mengtu. One of the unique features of his clan was that all direct bloodline clan members had the character “tu” at the end of their name.[6]

His cultivation base was in the early Imperial Sovereign level, and he had four types of authority. However, because of his clan’s gruish magical technique, as well as the training he had received from his Master, he was able to kill a mid Imperial Sovereign. As a result, he ended up being listed among the Shining Stars.

Other than him, the west didn’t have anyone worthy to be in that list. After all, the general standard to be among the Shining Stars was to have practiced cultivation for less than 1,000 years.

After looking at all the information, Xu Qing felt that he knew a lot more about the flourishing Fifth Star Ring, as well as the eight Shining Stars. More than ever, he felt the desire to do battle.

I have to work hard to get a lot stronger!

Taking a deep breath, he went to find more places to shop. There was more he wanted to accomplish than just buy a map. He wanted to get some medicinal pills and magical treasures. Just to be safe, he wasn’t going to buy everything at one shop. Instead, he would shop around at different shops to get everything he needed. Around the time another vortex was about to appear in the aurora above, he prepared to leave the city.

I’m going to go out in the mountains and go into seclusion for a while. I really need to seek enlightenment of some magics related to time and space. And I need to gain enlightenment of the eighth extreme... That way I can break through to the level of an eight-world Smoldering God.

The information from the map had just reinforced to Xu Qing the danger he was in, and how important it was that he get stronger.

In that manner, time passed.

As he was getting ready to leave the city, a little vortex appeared in the aurora in the dome of heaven. That indicated that a new day was starting.

When the vortex appeared, something unexpected happened. The blood-red aurora surged, spreading out to cover the entire sky in the southern region. Stars appeared in the aurora! There were about two thousand of them, filling the sky. Some seemed near, some seemed far. Some glittered brightly, others seemed dim.

The moment they appeared, countless cultivators in the south instinctively looked up.

Xu Qing frowned. He had just noticed that the Immortal Capital permission medallion in his bag of holding was vibrating. And it was emitting a force that his bag of holding couldn’t contain, a force that seemed to connect to one of the stars up above.

That star was very dim. Right next to his star was another star that was shining brightly.

An instant later, the image in the sky vanished. An uproar ensued.

“The Trial of the Hunt is advancing to the second round!”

“All of the permission medallions are becoming visible.... Now they’ll all be able to sense each other.”

“I don’t know about the other planetary systems, but here in the south... it’s about to start raining blood.”

As Xu Qing heard the buzz of conversation, he thought back to the image of that other star next to his.

The reason I didn’t activate the medallion is that I’m not interested in that whole thing. I guess it doesn’t matter that I didn’t activate it. Now that the second round is beginning, the medallions that weren’t activated have been revealed. The only question is whether or not the other participants will be able to sense the medallions that haven’t been activated.

He kept his facial expression neutral so as not to attract attention in the crowd. And instead of rushing toward the city gates, he just kept moving along at the same speed.

***

At the spirit mine where Xu Qing had arrived some thirty vortex-days earlier, a young man with red hair and a body covered with dozens of vortex tattoos stood looking up into the sky.

Sometime later, he looked away from the sky to the broken minor world bubbles. He could sense how thin the spirit energy was. His expression was very grim.

Ling Feng told me a while back that he was going to give me an Immortal Capital permission medallion as a gift. And now... he’s dead, and the medallion is gone??

Not only that, but the destruction of this spirit mine affected that fight earlier.... Is someone looking to die?!

1. I doubt I need to explain this, but for anyone who wasn’t paying close attention, we saw Lan Yun and (presumably) the heavenly inspector just two chapters ago in

1100

. ☜

2. Jiang Fan: Jiang is listed #54 on the top 100 surnames. It also means “ginger.” Fan is a common character that can mean many things, among them “mortal, ordinary, common.” When I asked Madam Deathblade for her reaction, she said he sounds like “a cool dude.” I thanked her for her very deep insights and decided not to ask for further clarification. ☜

3. Yuanshan Su: Yuanshan is a compound surname invented by the author. The two characters are actually a common term that means “distant mountain.” This combination of characters is often used in adjectives. Su can mean a number of things including “raw silk, white, plain, vegetarian.” In this case, as is made obvious by the text, the meaning of the character as used in her name is silk. Madam Deathblade says she sounds like “a pretentious conservative lady.” The kind of upper garment mentioned here is usually some sort of sleeveless garment or jacket. Like all my other footnotes about clothing, I have to say that fashion changed through the ages, plus this is a fantasy novel, so as for what the author actually envisions, it’s hard to say.

Here are a couple images

I pulled up if you search for this specific type of garment. ☜

4. Hordeslayer and the Rampart: These guys both have names that Madam Deathblade said “are not real names for real people, but are good names for weird fantasy people.” The first name takes two characters out of a common idiom that is used to either describe a magnificent army, or used metaphorically to describe someone extremely strong. The second is a word that’s also part of a saying/idiom that refers to someone or something so scary they make others back away in fear. They’re supposed to be names, not nicknames, but as you can see from Madam Deathblade’s reaction, they’re not “real” names. One look at them gives you an instant sense of the over-the-top fantasy feeling, so I decided to go with a translation in the hopes of conveying that same sensation. ☜

5. Zhou Zhengli: Zhou is listed #10 in the top 100 surnames. Zheng means “straight, upright, proper” and Li means “to stand, to set up, to establish.” Even I was able to guess the feeling of this name when looking at it, and that feeling is confirmed in the explanation provided in the text. Madam Deathblade had the same reaction. ☜

6. Li Mengtu: Li is the #2 most common name on the list of 100 surnames. Meng means “dream” and Tu means “earth, soil, home, homeland.” There is no explanation yet as to any significance to the “tu” character. It’s the same character as “earth” from the five elements, but there’s no reason yet to believe that has anything to do with the name. With the facts we have at hand, the explanation about that aspect of the name seems more like an interesting trivia point the author decided to throw in. Madam Deathblade says it sounds somewhat romantic, as in her mind it sounds like someone who is homesick and loves their home. ☜