Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 132 - 127 Price Part One

Chapter 132: Chapter 127 Price Part One

Creak...

The door to the room opened.

Lin Xin pushed the door and stepped out, dressed neatly, but his complexion was somewhat pale, and he seemed a bit exhausted.

Xiao Lingling stood behind him, watching him tenderly.

"It might get a bit noisy today, just stay in the backyard and don’t go out," Lin Xin whispered.

"En, I know," Xiao Lingling replied softly, not asking why, fully trusting Lin Xin without any doubts.

The door slowly closed, Lin Xin, carrying the Red Flower Sword on his back, walked out of the courtyard, and when he was about to exit through the archway, he suddenly stopped and slowly placed a hand over his chest. There, a trace of blood seeped faintly.

"Someone come."

"Here!" A dark figure stepped out from the nearby bushes, kneeling on one knee.

"Has that person arrived?"

"He’s already in the hall, Li is handling it, still waiting for Villa Master you to go there," the man in black replied softly.

"En." Lin Xin straightened his clothes, took down the sword from his back, and hung it at his waist, striding toward the main hall of the Spirit Heart Manor.

Along the way, the guards and maids all bowed in salute upon seeing him, Ou Yinghong with her three children looked over from a distant training ground, seemingly a bit worried.

Lin Xin smiled at her, indicating there was nothing wrong, then walked alone towards the somewhat noisy guest reception hall.

Upon entering the hall, he saw a man in a yellow brocade robe sitting regally in his designated seat, his eyes, monkey-like, roaming east and west, constantly ogling an accompanying woman.

"Oh, Villa Master Lin has arrived? Such a big show of power, I’ve been sitting here for over an hour!"

The man stood up and sneered.

"Villa Master Lin, I am Situ Hao." He pulled a black token from his chest, its pattern allowing Lin Xin to recognize it at a glance.

"So it’s Lord Situ." Lin Xin smiled, "I wonder why you have come to my manor?"

"No need to pretend," Situ Hao sneered, "Hand over ninety percent of the manor’s earnings to me, as was agreed beforehand. You don’t have any objections, do you?"

Before Lin Xin could speak, Gongsun Li and Sanyuan Zen Master couldn’t sit still any longer; their expressions changed, and they stood up.

"Master, what on earth is going on here?" Gongsun Li said urgently.

"Earnings? Since when is the income from Spirit Heart Manor someone else’s to claim? Your joke is a bit too large," Sanyuan Zen Master was also somewhat angry.

Situ Hao chuckled.

"What, you haven’t told these underlings?" He stood with hands behind his back, "It’s better to cement this deal sooner rather than later."

"Also, when will the Talisman Sword be ready?"

Lin Xin remained expressionless.

"I still need time for the Talisman Sword, please give me two more days," he said to the envoy.

"A little while?" Situ Hao sneered darkly, "I can wait, but the higher-ups can’t... If some blame comes down..."

"Master." Suddenly a woman’s voice came from behind Lin Xin, and Ou Yinghong strode in, dressed in a tight black outfit, her high ponytail swinging briskly, her demeanor vibrant.

"What’s happened?" Ou Yinghong, too, frowned at Situ Hao.

Situ Hao’s eyes brightened upon seeing her.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk... I didn’t expect Villa Master Lin to enjoy this flavor, hiding a beauty in a golden house..."

Lin Xin’s eyebrows furrowed. "Lord Situ..."

"Letting me wait two more days is fine, as long as you let this young lady stay with me. Not just two days, even seven or eight days wouldn’t be a problem!" Situ Hao chuckled.

"Watch your mouth!" Ou Yinghong, fiery-tempered, instantly blushed. She swiftly reached for the whip at her waist.

"How about it, Villa Master Lin?" Situ Hao looked at Lin Xin with a smirking smile.

Lin Xin was silent for a moment.

"Lord Situ, you should go down and rest for a while, I’ll consider the matter with Xiao Hong," he said quietly.

Seeing his tone soften, Situ Hao laughed and was led by the servants out of the main hall to the guest chamber.

"Master!" Ou Yinghong looked at Lin Xin fiercely. "Where did this guy come from? How dare he spout such nonsense in our manor!"

"That man is an envoy from a major sect power, we cannot afford to provoke him. Don’t ask about other matters; knowing too much won’t be good for you," Lin Xin said indifferently.

Ou Yinghong was immediately frustrated and wanted to ask more.

"Li, send a message to Lefu City and have them bring the best girls from Lufang here, all to be delivered to Situ Hao’s room, and cordon off that section of the courtyard; no female family members are to come close," Lin Xin interrupted, instructing.

"Understood," Gongsun Li nodded.

"Since he likes to play, let him have enough of it," Lin Xin turned, looking at Ou Yinghong.

"Continue instructing the children in their fundamentals. I’ll handle things here."

"But..."

"Go," Lin Xin said definitively.

Ou Yinghong’s chest heaved a few times, and then she reluctantly turned to leave.

After making the arrangements, Lin Xin walked into the inner hall and pressed a wall brick, causing a secret passage to appear in front of him.

He walked slowly into it, the stone door closing behind him.

The passage was lit with many bright torches. As he walked down the corridor for a few minutes, he could faintly hear the sound of water underground.

He swiftly entered a spacious circular black stone chamber, where the surrounding walls were carved with complex formation patterns.

In the center of the stone chamber sat a heavy black metal box.

Lin Xin walked forward, took a small key from his chest, and opened the box.

The heavy door of the box was propped open, revealing a dim, colorless white small sword lying on black satin.

Next to the small sword was a small golden-yellow sphere resembling an egg yolk.

Lin Xin gently picked up the small sword and examined it closely. The blade had two faces engraved on it, one crying and one laughing, creating a slightly eerie effect.

Faintly, two ghostly characters were visible on the hilt: "Heaven’s Will".

"Heaven’s Will Sword?" Lin Xin’s finger lightly stroked the blade, and immediately a stinging pain transmitted to his finger, cutting through his defense of over ten points in an instant. One could imagine how sharp the sword was.

"What a pity..." He gently unbuttoned his shirt, exposing part of his chest.

At the center of his chest, a fist-sized hole was slowly flexing, surrounded by charred scars.

Whenever inner Qi flowed to the wound, it would stall and reverse, preventing Lin Xin from circulating his inner Qi fully. Fortunately, spiritual energy continuously flowed into it, significantly accelerating the healing of the wound.

But, at that moment, his combat prowess was barely half of what it usually was. The injury was so severe that engaging in long-duration, large-scale battles might aggravate it.

"An object of Heart Blood Sacrificial Refinement can only be slowly eroded or destroyed and recast."

He set down the Heaven’s Will Sword and picked up the other golden-yellow egg yolk sphere.

It was densely inscribed with ghostly characters. Lin Xin picked out the title and read it aloud.

"Heaven’s Will Chapter: The path of rising is the dragon’s eye, the eye shines the light of all yang, the light illuminates, leaving nothing unclear, leaving nothing unextinguished..."

A passage that seemed to be a mental method was inscribed on this egg yolk sphere, Lin Xin read through it carefully, a few hundred words suggesting something hidden within.

"My current swordsmanship is no longer suitable for using the sect’s sword techniques. I must find a sword dao most fitting for myself, one where the styles and sword techniques are faster and more variable."

He glanced at his current state.

’Damage—14, Defense—13, Evasion—1, Constitution—1. Free Attributes 0.’

’Return to Origin Technique—Qi Refinement Realm First Layer. (Completion 45%) (Damage+10, Constitution+10), additional effects: Sword Qi, Spiritual Energy embodiment.’

"Still only 45%..." He sighed. After fighting to the death against so many, and even killing an old man at least of Qi Refinement Realm, he had only increased from 1% to 45%. After entering the Qi Refinement Realm, advancing became even harder.

"In the Qi Refinement Realm, there are increasingly more magic artifacts, and I need a magic sword that supports my rapid harvesting..." He suddenly drew out the Red Flower Sword, examining its densely covered talisman formation patterns.

"The patterns for Sacrificial Fire are too densely inscribed; aside from controlling Yin Mantuo, it has no other effect. The Red Flower Sword is already set; modifying it would destroy the integrity of the formation, breaking the connection with Yin Mantuo, and even due to overall damage, power would decrease—which outweighs the benefits."

He walked to the other side of the chamber where a blood-red longsword hung on the wall; it was the very sword he had used for his last counter-kill.

With a clang, he drew out the sword.

The blade was full of dense cracks, and the formation patterns were on the verge of collapse, the edges of the blade showing signs of melting.

"The power of the Mortal Fire Formation is unbearable for ordinary metals... A magic artifact driven by spiritual energy indeed exerts power unlike ordinary materials. But finding another chunk of such rare material like molten iron is too difficult."

This type of material wasn’t too expensive to afford, but it was simply not for sale due to its scarce availability; even for personal use, there wasn’t enough, let alone selling it off."

Lin Xin’s gaze fell back on the Heaven’s Will Sword.

"If I could refine that sword, inscribing it with the Mundane Fire Formation’s pattern..."

The Heart Blood imprint of the Heaven’s Will Sword would take at least years to erode. But if it were melted down and newly inscribed with another formation pattern, it could be immediately utilized. However, recalling the immense power it previously wielded,

Lin Xin dismissed the idea of melting it; its power was even greater than if he inscribed the Mortal Fire Formation himself. It would be a pity to destroy it.

"Then, there’s only one method left." He reached out his arm and tapped his skin with the blade.

Clang clang.

The metallic blade tapped against the skin, emitting a solid knock.

"The hardness of the skin is enough."

He approached the side of the chamber and pulled back a section of the floor, revealing a charcoal basin glowing red-hot.

He sat cross-legged next to the charcoal basin, took out a Demon Talisman Seed from his waist pouch, and threw it into the charcoal fire.

The Demon Talisman Seed slowly melted, releasing wisps of red essence, which Lin Xin inhaled through his mouth and nose.

The attribute panel showed an increase of a point in Free Attributes.

Without hesitation, he added it to his constitution.

Hiss...

Faintly, he felt his chest wound tighten suddenly, ache intensely. Soon after, a tingling sensation spread throughout his body.

"If I’m not mistaken, constitution should enhance resistance and recovery... As long as it’s high enough, even higher temperatures from the Mortal Fire Formation could be sustained for a long time without just a momentary burst like before... Thus, it could be steadily inscribed onto the body."

He had a clear plan in his mind.

"I still need more Demon Talisman Seeds..."

He gritted his teeth, enduring this first-time sensation of tingling, his body drenched in cold sweat, yet his face remained expressionless.

He had grown accustomed to masking his facial expressions, so even if there were any injuries on his body, Xiao Lingling wouldn’t be able to tell.

The tingling lasted for a good half-hour.

He stood up from the ground.

He pinched his hands, feeling somewhat different than before; the leap from one point to two in constitution was exponentially different. It had doubled.

After putting his clothes back on, he took one last look at the Heaven’s Will Sword, sheathed the Red Flower Sword, and then turned to leave the chamber. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at Starting Point (qidian.com), or give it a monthly vote. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please read at m.qidian.com.)