Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 136 - 131 Encounter

Chapter 136: Chapter 131 Encounter

Hiss.

Blood spurted from beneath Lin Xin’s longsword as he drew it back, propelling himself diagonally to burst through the encirclement of more than a dozen people.

Droplets of blood scattered, as more than ten Noodle Countrymen fell to the ground, their waists broken like harvested wheat.

On the slope bathed in the setting sun, Lin Xin slowly sheathed his sword and turned his head to look back at the trail of bodies behind him.

"It still feels somewhat unsmooth," he mused, recalling the entire process of his recent encounter,

Pine Forest Swordsmanship emphasizes thrusting, but what he used the most were slashing and tapping.

Whoosh.

The longsword was unsheathed once again, casting a few red shadows in the air before returning to its scabbard.

"This is the opening form of Pine Forest Swordsmanship."

Hiss!

A flash of sword light, a fleeting red shadow. A little too quick.

"That’s a basic sword form," he said, frowning slightly.

An invisible scorching air current began to coil around the blade.

The sword shadow thrust out with whoosh, then was drawn back in.

This time, it was the slowest, significantly slower than the previous two instances.

"This is Flameless Swordsmanship..." he furrowed his brows.

"Flameless Swordsmanship envelops a heat flow, which is akin to carrying the Inner Qi Flow with the strike, so the increased resistance is normal. Pine Forest Swordsmanship requires too many changes in Inner Qi and has a long buffering period... that also leads to a slower execution. It’s even slower than if I were to strike directly using Inner Qi."

He remembered the Sword Dao of Killing that he had acquired and practiced briefly in the past few days.

"The characteristic of the Sword Dao of Killing is borrowing force. I can’t use it without the Yang Polarity Pill, but I can extract the essence that suits me."

With that thought, he concentrated and closed his eyes.

Hiss!

A sword thrust out abruptly, like a bolt of red lightning, appearing in front of him in the blink of an eye and then vanishing just as quickly.

He stood as if he’d never drawn his sword, unmoving in his original spot.

He opened his eyes.

He didn’t check whether a Skill had formed in his skill column. The lower-level application of the Sword Dao of Killing was exceedingly simple for him at present, yet this application, the route of Inner Qi Flow, seemed much smoother.

Faster and more agile than all previous instances.

"It seems what I need is a purely simplistic swordsmanship," he touched the hilt of his sword, "The Sword Dao of Killing seeks speed and sharpness, with a sudden thrust at a vital spot followed by a quick retreat. It perfectly suits my need for a more efficient harvest."

As he pondered, several more figures flew toward him from a distance, approaching with a threatening momentum.

"Are they all at the Foundation Establishment Stage now?" Lin Xin’s mouth twitched as he lightly tapped his toe and gracefully leaped into the carriage behind him.

The carriage door closed.

He sat down and took out a newly acquired Demon Talisman Seed.

"It’s been a while since I’ve had such good luck, to find a stray Demon Talisman Seed."

After securing the object, he closed his eyes to regulate his breath for a while. When he opened his eyes again, the carriage still hadn’t stopped.

"Eh?"

He suddenly noticed a small red Rune emerging on the side of the carriage next to him—slightly raised as if it could be pressed.

"Looks like some sort of new feature."

He recognized the rune as symbolizing pressure.

With a touch, he lightly pressed the symbol.

Hum!

The carriage suddenly shook as if it had accelerated. The sound of the wind from outside, though faint, drilled into his ears continuously, almost overwhelming the carriage’s interior.

Only after more than half an hour did the noise slowly fade.

Eventually, the carriage shuddered to a halt.

Hiss... The carriage door slowly opened, revealing the scenery outside.

At first glance outside, Lin Xin uttered a soft sound of surprise.

There was a bustling street; he was looking directly at one side of it, where people were coming in and out of a row of shops, carrying various shopping bags made of leather and burlap.

What surprised Lin Xin were not the shops, but the people coming in and out.

These people all had two faces.

One on the front and one on the back; at first glance, the front faces were all smiling and cheerful. The faces on the back, though, were sinister and sneering. Many people had a white cloth covering the face on the back of their heads, but some were still exposed.

"This place... is it no longer Noodle Country?"

Lin Xin sat inside the carriage, visible to the outside but unseen by others, so he took the opportunity to observe closely.

Passersby walked under the carriage, always conversing with kind smiles. However, the faces on the back often reflected their true feelings and real attitudes towards each other—an eerily interesting sight.

The more he observed, the more intrigued Lin Xin felt.

Without knowing how much time had passed, he suddenly felt his money pouch lighten and immediately frowned, reaching for it.

To his astonishment, he found that the Demon Talisman Seed, which he had used to summon the carriage, had disappeared.

The ease on his face faded away.

"As I thought... the carriage does consume the Demon Talisman Seed... My earlier hunch was correct. Keeping the carriage summoned is also depleting the energy of the Demon Talisman Seed."

"I can’t delay any longer."

He casually tore a piece of cloth from the carriage, wrapped it around the back of his head, and suddenly unfolded his movement technique.

Zoom!

A white figure streaked by, and several people with double faces only felt a blur before a breeze brushed by them. Slightly startled and seeing nothing when they looked around, they assumed it was an illusion and resumed their previous activities.

No one noticed that in the corner of a small alley on the street, a middle-aged man also with his head covered had appeared out of nowhere.

Covered up, Lin Xin had just taken a few steps when he heard,

"Luokesaiya!"

Suddenly, urgent shouts came from behind him.

He turned around in surprise, only to see two dual-faced beings standing behind him with their sinister and sneering faces directed at him.

Both of the men were dressed as government officers, clad in black clothes with yellow belts, topped with tall hats, resembling Black Impermanence from the Black and White Impermanence.

Upon seeing him, they started shouting loudly.

Gradually, Lin Xin heard the faint sound of footsteps approaching from around, seemingly summoned by a call.

The two dual-faced government officers brandished their swords with a fierce grin and advanced towards him.

"So unfriendly from the get-go..." Lin Xin gripped the hilt of his sword.

Hiss!

A red thread flashed before him, and the dual-faced beings suddenly froze, stood still for a moment, and then their bodies slid into two pieces, collapsing to the ground.

Ah!!

The dual-faced beings on the streets, witnessing this scene, began to scream in panic.

Yet, Lin Xin smiled faintly as he activated his Ascend to the Heavens and Soar Among the Clouds Skill. Like a swift arrow, he shot backwards into a crowd of dual-faced beings.

The red thread kept appearing and disappearing, and dual-faced beings kept falling to the ground, sliced into two parts, some still writhing on the ground.

Where Lin Xin moved, the red thread appeared, and dual-faced beings were cut into two like tofu. Screams of panic filled the street in no time.

"The Sword Dao of Killing is indeed useful... It might harm them, but for me, it’s nothing much," he thought.

Lin Xin seemed to walk slowly, but in reality, his speed was extremely fast. Wherever he went, all the dual-faced beings scattered in panic.

He felt these dual-faced beings were somewhat stronger than the ones from Noodle Country; the resistance when the blade cut into them was significantly greater. Although still not enough to resist him, it took much more effort. Here, killing one person required tenfold the effort compared to one fold needed for those from Noodle Country. The difficulty had greatly increased.

Whoosh!

A red thread passed by the side of an overweight woman too slow to hide, her white fat and blood spilling out like cotton from a sliced-open comforter.

The Sword Dao of Killing fitted his current style even better: one hit, one kill, efficient, fast!

Although it was harder to kill, a fiery hot stream continuously flowed into his body.

Lin Xin distinctly felt his cultivation rising bit by bit. In this short while, his Return to Origin had risen from 45% to 46%.

"Where is this place?" Suddenly, a hoarse growl in a ghostly language came from afar.

"Over here, over here!" someone shouted loudly.

"How dare you kill so recklessly in broad daylight, you mere one-faced slave! You’re seeking death!!"

A thunderous roar echoed from the clear sky, and the great rumbling sound traveled from far away.

Lin Xin’s body shook violently, almost numbed by the shout, rendering him powerless.

With a chill in his heart, he secretly held the Demon Talisman Seed in his hand.

A red shadow burst forth from a distance.

It was a tall man in Silver Armor and a black hat. His body was spinning at a high speed as he struck out a palm towards Lin Xin.

Lin Xin thrust his sword straight towards the man’s palm, a red thread pinpointing the strike.

Bang!

There was a dull thud as the tip of the sword collided with the palm.

A huge force erupted from the man, transmitting to Lin Xin’s sword.

The Red Flower Sword bent violently, almost at a right angle.

Even with Lin Xin’s monstrous strength, scoring more than ten points, the two of them clashed fiercely and were almost equally matched.

With a clang, they broke apart. The Silver Armor man’s feet hit the ground, and he thrust his palms towards Lin Xin again, his entire body like a large black bear.

Lin Xin’s expression remained unchanged as he mustered up Spiritual Power and channeled it into the Red Flower Sword.

"Yin Mantuo!" he called forth the Man-Eating Flower.

He leaped up at high speed, and the man behind him pursued closely.

The two spun intensely in mid-air, suddenly exploding with numerous sparks of gold, resulting from their palms and sword blade colliding at high speed.

The path of the Sword Dao of Killing was perfectly suited to Lin Xin’s physical condition. On the surface, he was only at the First Layer of Qi Cultivation, but in reality, combining his body’s monstrous condition and layering power, he was enough to confront and even kill a Fifth Layer Qi Cultivation expert head-on.

But at this moment, this man was actually able to contend with him face-to-face.

Bang!

Lin Xin violently kicked off the man’s palms, using the momentum to fly backward, slamming into a crowd that hadn’t managed to flee in time.

Instantly, the red thread appeared, followed by more woeful screams.

His face was pale, and he coughed up blood from the corner of his mouth, yet with a smile, he quickly retreated, dodging a palm strike from the man behind.

Bang!

The Silver Armor man’s attack missed and hit the ground.

The entire surface sank silently, instantly forming a huge crater several meters wide.

But his speed was no match for Lin Xin’s, and although his Palm Force was terrifying and Lin Xin couldn’t clash with it for long, it was useless if he couldn’t catch up.

The two dashed into a wooden house, and soon after, with a crack, they burst through the roof and leaped into the air.

Wearing white robes, Lin Xin, and the man in Silver Armor, both were strikingly noticeable.

A large number of town guards hurried over. They could only watch helplessly as the two fought, incapable of intervening.

The Silver Armor dual-faced man, unable to catch Lin Xin after a long chase, roared in frustration. An invisible flow of air rapidly condensed in his chest and then, like jelly, flowed to his arms, from which he harshly smashed a palm strike at Lin Xin in mid-air.

Gulp!

Like the sound of a toad, a transparent stream of air burst forth, hitting Lin Xin directly in the front.

Numerous flower roots and vines sprouted, forming a round shield before Lin Xin to block the attack.

Bang!

As the roots shattered, Lin Xin seized the chance to dodge and wasn’t hit.

Taking advantage of the man’s Replenishing Qi period, he burst out like electricity, charging furiously at the man, his Red Sword unsheathed from his waist.

Boom!!

A fiery red column of fire erupted from the sword blade, engulfing the Silver Armor man in fierce flames.