Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 142 - 136: The Monster - Part 2

Chapter 142: Chapter 136: The Monster - Part 2

The man leaned against a large tree, his legs stretched out straight as he sat on the ground unrestrained, his black robe trailing on the ground, yet not showing the slightest hint of dirtiness. His long hair reached his waist, and amidst the disarray, one could faintly see his rugged face, pale and covered with a bushy beard.

What shook Lin Xin to the core was that, just like him, the other person was not a Two-Faced person but an ordinary, normal person.

Gurgle.

The man picked up his wine jug and took another drink, seemingly completely unaware of Lin Xin standing beside him.

After taking a deep look at the other person, Lin Xin noticed that there seemed to be a character on the back of his black robe. However, since it was facing away from him, he couldn’t see clearly what it was.

He was not one to meddle in others’ affairs; since the other party dared to sit there and drink so openly, it meant he was definitely no ordinary person. This was the Two-Faced Kingdom, where masters could arrive at any moment. Only a fool or a sage would dare to drink so carelessly here.

He didn’t believe the other was the former.

Pulling out the Demon Talisman Seed, he channeled his Inner Qi into it, and a carriage suddenly appeared behind him.

With a light leap backward, Lin Xin vanished into thin air.

The man in the black robe, however, acted as if he hadn’t noticed his disappearance at all, and continued to take big swigs from his gourd.

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

Several days later.

Lin Xin, covered in blood and his robe tattered, desperately fled into the maple forest. After sprinting for a while, the pursuing Two-Faced people finally began to leave slowly behind him; it seemed they dared not chase too deep into the woods.

Hiding behind a maple tree, Lin Xin gasped for breath. After swallowing a Lifesaving Pill, he saw that a good chunk of his waist was gone, his left flank looked as if it had been bitten off by a savage beast, leaving a gaping hole through which bright red muscles and white tendons were clearly visible, almost exposing his internal organs.

The wound had been cauterized by high heat, stopping the bleeding. Lin Xin gritted his teeth and applied the medicinal salve to himself. Listening to the curses of the Two-Faced people behind him in a language he couldn’t understand, he listened to their gradual departure.

Over several days, he discovered that these Two-Faced people truly had a slight fear of the maple forest.

Looking around, to his surprise, Lin Xin saw that same black-robed, long-haired man drinking again.

The fellow was still leaning against the same large tree, unmoving, drinking away. The gourd in his hand had been replaced with a red one, as big as a human head.

This was the second time Lin Xin had seen him. He was somewhat puzzled. Each time he had come here, it was by random appearance in different locations, yet this man was still in the maple forest, even maintaining the same posture as before. Had he been staying here all the time, never moving?

Doubts arose in Lin Xin’s mind. Nevertheless, the other remained in his usual state, still drunk and bleary-eyed, his eyes unfocused, his face covered with a bushy beard, seemingly having no intention to pay him any mind, drinking at his own pace.

After applying the medicinal salve, Lin Xin summoned the carriage and left once more.

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

The third time Lin Xin saw the drunkard was half a month later. His cultivation at the Second Layer still hadn’t made even the slightest progress, sitting at 0%. He could feel the warmth flowing into his body during a slaughter, but he could also feel that same warmth slowly dissipating through the Red Flower Sword.

As he channeled Spiritual Energy into the Red Flower Sword using the Blood Origin Art, he felt it was profound and difficult.

He understood that unlike the path of the Sword Dao, a cultivator who focuses on the use of Magic Artifacts like him could certainly form combat power quickly with the help of the artifact, but could also be limited by the material of the artifact when it came to improvement.

This was the advantage and disadvantage of Heart Blood Sacrificial Refinement.

He knew he needed to find materials now, as without enhancing the Red Flower Sword, he had no way to continue strengthening his cultivation.

Discovering this issue for the third time, he didn’t emerge just to kill, but instead quickly hid when unobserved and then moved far away from where the Silver Armor experts were.

This time he had simply killed an ordinary Two-Faced person on the road as part of his mission, using most of his time to reflect and think. He speculated that perhaps he could find some decent materials here, similar to the previous Heaven’s Will Sword.

Thereafter, for some reason, he thought of the bright red maple forest.

Since slaughtering had ceased to propel his cultivation any further, he decided to wander around again, and soon found that familiar maple forest not too far away.

Entering the forest, he quickly saw the drunken man without much searching.

The man happened to be standing up.

This was the first time Lin Xin had seen him doing something other than drinking.

So he became interested and decided to observe closely what other actions this man might perform.

Under that maple tree stood the man, holding a wine gourd in one hand, while with the other he took out a Demon Talisman Seed.

When Lin Xin saw this scene, he thought his eyes were deceiving him. After blinking hard, he could clearly see that it was indeed a bunch of Demon Talisman Seeds—five or six of them!

The man carelessly clutched the Demon Talisman Seeds together and thrust them into the ground. They easily sunk into the soil.

Then the man, taking his wine gourd, turned and left, disappearing into thin air in the blink of an eye.

"He is... locating!!" Lin Xin suddenly realized, "But isn’t he afraid that someone will steal his Demon Talisman Seeds, thus giving others an advantage for nothing?" He was puzzled once again.

A handful of Demon Talisman Seeds... as many as five or six!

Lin Xin knew all too well the difficulties of acquiring Demon Talisman Seeds nowadays. To kill a Silver Armor soldier, he needed several days to scheme, lure, and barely manage to succeed once. But even then, he could only obtain one. It wasn’t as simple and easy as it had been in the beginning.

Watching the man completely disappear, he knew he had left.

As for the place where the five or six Demon Talisman Seeds were buried, there was nothing unusual about it, no traces of a Formation or Rune, no guardians whatsoever. It was quiet and still as if a child had simply dug a hole and buried them there. A small part of a Demon Talisman Seed was even sticking out of the soil.

Standing on the side, Lin Xin felt a surge of temptation and impulse constantly stirring within him. Those handfuls of Demon Talisman Seeds were within easy reach, and once obtained, he could instantly enhance his Attributes by five or six points. With such an improvement, his power would undergo a qualitative leap. Hunting Silver Armors would become much easier.

His heart wrestled fiercely with itself.

Lin Xin’s expression changed as his grip on his sword hilt tightened and relaxed, then tightened again.

But...

It was not his habit. He was neither willing nor used to it.

Since when had he, the Villa Master of Spirit Heart Villa, resorted to such petty and sly tricks? He had his dignity and his pride.

Gripping the Red Flower Sword hilt tightly, he took one long look at the spot where the man had vanished and turned to leave.

"Smart lad." He hadn’t walked far when a detached female voice suddenly entered his ears.

Lin Xin paused in his steps. He looked around and suddenly saw a pale-faced woman in red, who appeared out of nowhere amidst the trees. Her lips were devoid of color, her features haggard, and she was so frail that it seemed a gust of wind could knock her down at any moment.

Lin Xin watched her warily. Another person who had appeared by his side without notice, definitely a master—a true expert!

His hair stood on end; they were only about ten meters apart, yet he could smell the nauseatingly thick scent of blood on her. He wondered how many people she must have killed to accumulate such a terrifyingly bloody aura. Just one whiff of it made him feel like vomiting.

The woman in red staggered as though she might fall at any moment, walking towards the maple woods. She passed by Lin Xin as if she didn’t even see him.

Only then did Lin Xin realize that he couldn’t quite discern what language she had used to speak that sentence.

No, he couldn’t even be sure if she had actually spoken to him at all.

It was only after the woman in red disappeared deep into the woods that he realized he was covered in cold sweat.

"I don’t know what level of cultivation she has... truly terrifying strength..." Lin Xin circulated his Inner Qi to dry the sweat and didn’t want to stay there a moment longer. He summoned his carriage and quickly left the area.

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

The manor was frosted in silver, the heavy snow had stopped.

The villa was holding an outdoor trial, with Spirit Heart Villa disciples assembling and practicing under the guidance of Taoist Lu Suo and several other experts. In the early morning, a large group of elite disciples held swords outside the bamboo grove, practicing their Swordsmanship in coordination. The successive cries of practice sounded like waves crashing against the shore.

Lin Xin sat in the main seat of the villa’s grand hall, listening to the waves of practice cries coming from outside.

On the two sides of the room sat the high-level members of the villa. To his left were five Innate experts, the highest at the Ninth Layer and the lowest at the Fourth Layer, all of whom were high-level disciples nurtured by the villa.

To his right were Lin Xinyuan, Gongsun Li, and other high-level members of the villa.

"Regarding the materials, since the Villa Master has commanded it, of course we’ll do our utmost." Lin Xinyuan spoke in a grave tone, "My Moon Heart Hall has already spent a considerable sum to collect one of the items, the White Deer Silk. According to descriptions and tests on its properties, it should be two-hundred-year quality silk, coming from the Golden Jade Sect."

"What’s the quantity?" Lin Xin brightened a little.

"According to Old Yang’s calculations, there should be enough for at least five uses." Lin Xinyuan replied earnestly.

"That’s good." Lin Xin pondered for a moment, "Regarding the issue with the gold mine at Moon Heart Hall and the conflict with the Xin Yi Sect, which of our retainers is willing to step in?" He looked towards the seats on his left. Accomplishments deserved rewards, and the Innate Retainers maintained for such a time also needed to engage in real combat to improve their cultivation experience. They couldn’t always be holed up in training.

"Let me take my disciple with me. I had a pleasant conversation with Prince Qi last time, and this would be a good opportunity for us to take a rest." One of the Seventh Layer Retainers said with a smile.

Lin Xin nodded.

With the White Deer Silk accounted for, that left two materials.

"What about the other two materials?"

"I did manage to get some Nine-Flower Iron, though it might not be enough." One of the high-level members of the villa, Ou Yinghong, spoke up. "The sisters under my command exerted great effort to exchange some Nine-Flower Iron from a reclusive old man in the deep mountains. This Fine Iron has many patterns of flowers on its surface, and the patterns emerge and disappear nine times a year, making it very concealed. However, Old Yang said the amount is insufficient. I’m ashamed to say that after searching throughout the entire prefecture, and in neighboring territories as well, there has been no further news."

Lin Xin nodded.

"It’s already more than expected." He had not really placed his hopes on the people present; he was mainly aiming for the experts of the Radiant Sun Sect to purchase them through the black market. He hadn’t expected to receive unexpected good news from this side. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile phone users, please read at m.qidian.com.)