Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 114 - 110: Investigation - Part 2

Chapter 114: Chapter 110: Investigation - Part 2

On the edges of the Yuefu Territory’s forest, Moon Mountain Peak.

Atop the round summit platform sat an old Taoist with white hair and beard, wearing a grey robe, seated right in the center.

The entire platform’s ground was engraved with a series of clear, blood-red formation lines, and right at the very heart of the formation was where the old Taoist sat cross-legged.

With a blood-colored longsword strapped to his back, he had a blood-colored jade hairpin shaped like a lingzhi mushroom inserted in his hair, which slowly radiated a red glimmer and emitted a faint, hissing noise.

Clouds swirled around the top of the peak, and black eagles flapped their wings, flying past and screeching as if circling above the old man at the summit.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, from the distant white sky, a streak of black light streaked toward the forest deep within the Yuefu Territory.

The old Taoist’s eyes snapped open.

"Clumsy."

He uttered a mantra.

From among the circling black eagles, one abruptly took off, heading straight for the black light.

Mid-flight, the black eagle’s entire body rapidly turned red, transforming into a dazzling, shining Red Hawk.

Scree!

Amidst the clear cry of the hawk, the Red Hawk and the black light intertwined, grappling and fighting.

"Lu Qing, old fool, long time no see, but your Red Hawk Sword hasn’t improved much, has it!"

From afar, the Black Crown Daoist, standing on a giant black caterpillar, laughed heartily as he flew closer.

The Daoist was thin, clad in a black robe, standing with his hands behind his back. The caterpillar beneath him was over ten meters long and several meters wide, covered with spines, its enormous red compound eyes firmly fixed on the old man at the peak.

"Huang Shengquan... weren’t you in the Northern Sea’s Mortal Realm gathering Goat Spirit Grass? What brings you to wander over here?" Standing atop the peak, Lu Qing got to his feet as the red formations around him began to light up. With a flick of his wrist, he unsheathed the blood-colored longsword, holding it in his hand while a series of grey-white runes appeared out of nowhere, orbiting around the sword.

"What do you Four Sects have in mind, really thinking that my Holy Court is unaware?" Huang Shengquan laughed boisterously, "A mighty half-step Golden Core being, holing yourself up in this desolate mountain to cultivate, heh, do you really think all of us from the Demon Sect are fools?"

At that moment, the entwined black light and Red Hawk collided, and the hawk let out a mournful cry, turned into a blood-red longsword, dim and lightless, and plummeted toward the earth.

The black light too materialized, revealing itself as a pitch-black flying dagger. The green jade inlaid in the dagger’s handle was cracked, and it too fell.

"You from the Demon Sect plot together, bringing calamities upon the innocent and wreaking havoc in the Mortal Realm; heaven will not allow this! At this point, what can you do even if we tear our facades off?" There was no giving way in Lu Qing’s stance. "Huang Shengquan, back when you killed your master and seized power, you slaughtered your fellow disciples..."

"Foolish! What do you know?!" Huang Shengquan interrupted with a cold snort, "A group of useless cultivators who can only prattle about righteousness! For the great rise of our Human Race, what counts as a small sacrifice! My master died for the greater good of the Human Race, a worthy death! And you bunch of hypocritical weaklings dare to slander and distort the truth!"

"A small sacrifice?!" Lu Qing’s complexion reddened, his eyebrows arched. "The thirty thousand civilians of Moon West City were killed by you, their protective membranes pierced! Is that a small sacrifice? The one million two hundred thousand innocents butchered by sea demons in Huanhai City, is that also a small sacrifice? And furthermore..."

"So what." Huang Shengquan interrupted again with a sneer, "Merely some commoners dying, they are mere ants, in a few decades there will be plenty more."

"Evil demon!" Unable to restrain himself any longer, Lu Qing, with sword in hand, soared into the sky, as a dozen or so shadows gathered beneath his feet, forming into a gigantic black eagle, more than ten meters in length.

The black eagle quickly turned red, its feathers transforming, and it carried Lu Qing straight toward Huang Shengquan.

Huang Shengquan was also enraged, drew his twin blades without a word, stepped on the caterpillar, and charged forth as well.

In midair, the two exchanged blows with their magic artifacts, releasing streaks of black and red spiritual light that crossed and collided, each one resembling the form of the swords and daggers in their hands, only magnified manifold.

Massive translucent swords and daggers formed of spiritual light clashed violently in midair as they each unleashed their sword and blade techniques.

The duo fought and moved further apart, soon becoming tinier and tinier, seen from Moon Mountain Peak as no more than two small dots.

In the forest below the peak.

Two figures, a man and a woman clad in tight green outfits, moved silently through the woods, heading straight for the interior of the Yuefu Territory.

"Quick, quick! While those two old coots haven’t noticed us, we only have twenty breaths’ time!" urged the man.

"I know."

The woman carried a lantern with a green flame inside. They ran swiftly to a huge black tree. Next to the tree stood a boundary stone, inscribed with the words of the Yuefu Territory, faintly glowing with a white spiritual light.

The woman placed the lantern down by the black tree, and the green flame inside immediately extinguished, causing the spiritual light on the boundary stone to dim slightly.

"Let’s go!"

Without bothering with the lantern, the two charged into the woods behind the boundary stone.

After running for several miles without stopping, the two finally slowed down a bit and halted for a rest.

Leaning against a tree trunk, the man took out a water pouch and took a sip.

"We should be safe now, can we talk? What’s your plan in volunteering to come with me this time?"

"Plan?" The woman smiled faintly, "To complete a long-overdue mission, that’s all. One of my junior sisters from Star Calamity Hall failed here, a decade ago. Later, as the Four Sects blockaded the entry and stationed experts to guard it, the mission was left pending. Now that we have the chance to infiltrate the blockade, I naturally came to complete the mission and uphold our reputation."

"It is rare indeed for Star Calamity Hall to fail," the man said gravely, "Well then, I will accompany you first. Besides completing the task, we can also divert attention, facilitating our real undertaking."

"That’s fine, with our forces combined, we are sure to succeed," the woman said seriously, "After this mission, Brother, you will probably be able to obtain the Vermilion Bird Holy Seal, right?"

"My foundation in Qi Cultivation is not solid enough to make further progress, I’m afraid I’ll need more experience," the man shook his head.

"With Brother’s temperament, success is certain," the woman praised.

"Thank you for the auspicious words," the man replied with a laugh.

The two rested for a while, and with a flutter of their figures, they quickly disappeared into the forest.

********************

The carriage slowly came to a stop.

Lin Xin awoke from his meditative state as the door of the carriage gently opened.

He sat inside, looking out.

Outside was a very small, narrow square chamber without any light, a large pile of gold and silver treasures casually heaped on the ground, and some Luminous Pearls and glowing treasures neatly arranged on the shelves on both sides, casting a faint blue and yellow luminescence to light up the chamber.

Lin Xin immediately noticed two Demon Talisman Seeds carelessly tossed aside on the pile of gold and silver treasures.

"Could this be some person’s treasure room?" he speculated in his mind.

He quietly activated the Concealment Array Plate on his body, then lightened his breathing, and slowly climbed out of the carriage.

The black carriage instantly faded and disappeared; Lin Xin didn’t concern himself with it but carefully surveyed the chamber.

The chamber wasn’t large, about ten meters in length and width, with only a small door on the ceiling for someone to jump in from outside.

The chamber walls were covered with various ghastly faces drawn with black and purple lines, some tragic, some wailing, some angry, and some smirking.

Clutching the Demon Talisman Seed tightly, he walked to the two seeds he had spotted at the edge of the pile, bent down, and picked up the seeds from the ground. Then, his gaze shifted to the treasures on the shelf nearby.

"It must be the vault of some important figure, otherwise there wouldn’t be so many treasures," he pondered upon seeing the flowing light on the surface of those treasures, feeling a bit wary in his heart.

"Treasures that display a light on their own without being activated by their owner are usually top-notch Magic Artifacts or even on the level of magical treasures... Top-notch Magic Artifacts are at least for those in the Qi Cultivation Stage, and magical treasures, without being in the Foundation Establishment Stage, one shouldn’t even think about them... Just who is the owner of this chamber to have such a collection...."

Although he was covetous, he didn’t dare to act rashly. These Magic Artifacts and treasures would definitely be protected by formations and other restrictions, not just lying around. If his cultivation level wasn’t enough and he accidentally touched something dangerous, being turned into ash instantly would be the least of his worries.

More knowledgeable in the ways of formations than most Innates, Lin Xin was also aware of the usual prohibitions in treasure vaults. Moreover, top-notch Magic Artifacts and treasures needed Spiritual Energy to be used, so they would be meaningless for him to hold, as he wouldn’t be able to utilize them.

With this in mind, he curbed his greed and began to examine each item on the shelves, seeing which ones had no protective restrictions.

The shelves had five layers from top to bottom, with at least ten items on each. Among them were weapons, armor, arrows, and also hats, clothes, boots, tea sets, and so on.

After checking the shelves on the left, Lin Xin ran to the right.

On the right shelf, at the Third Layer, there were scrolls placed. There was no treasure light above them.

Lin Xin picked up a scroll and flipped through it; he didn’t recognize the characters at all, which were neither the script of demons nor the common language of the Four Sects and Four States.

He put down the scroll and finally turned his attention to the pile of gold, silver, and jewels heaped up like a mountain in the middle.

Just as he was about to go over and rummage through it.

Whoosh...

Suddenly, the small door above the ceiling opened, and a long shadow jumped in.

Lin Xin saw that it was the same kind of frighteningly long-waisted person he had seen before.

The person was dressed in a black servant’s outfit, just having jumped in holding a rag in his hand. As he lowered his head, he saw Lin Xin standing in the treasury.

"Ah...!"

He had just opened his mouth to shout but hadn’t fully voiced it.

Swish!

A streak of Sword Light passed by, and the long-waisted person’s head instantly rolled on the ground, blood spurting out and splashing the surrounding area.

But someone above had already noticed the disturbance and heard half a shout, and immediately, there were hurried footsteps approaching.

Lin Xin quickly sheathed his sword, channeled Inner Qi into the Demon Talisman Seed, and the black carriage suddenly appeared behind him.

He took a glance behind him and leaped into the carriage door that had just opened, the carriage doors clamped shut, and the carriage charged toward a corner of the wall, quickly vanishing in the shadows.

Sitting in the carriage, Lin Xin slowly wiped the fresh blood off his sword blade.

"It’s shown up near the Demon Talisman Seeds both times, and the carriage can also be summoned through a Demon Talisman Seed, so could it mean the purpose of this carriage is to collect Demon Talisman Seeds?"

He conjectured a possibility, feeling slightly warm from having just exited the chamber, and habitually glanced at the status bar.

This one look suddenly made him widen his eyes. (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit qidian.com to cast your vote for recommendation and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)