Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 156 - 149 Casting the Sword 1

Chapter 156: Chapter 149 Casting the Sword 1

Therefore, the most urgent task was to advance his cultivation as quickly as possible.

According to what the woman had mentioned before, he also had a bloody smell on himself that he had become accustomed to. Thus, if he focused effort on this aspect, he might be able to...

Indeed, as soon as he tried this, he found that those dual-faced people were no longer able to easily see through him.

He walked slowly on the street teeming with dual-faced people.

All around him were the dual-faced people, coming and going, with the nearest one almost brushing against his shoulder.

Lin Xin carefully identified and surveyed the cultivation of the people around him. When a master didn’t intentionally conceal their cultivation, it could be sensed by others.

Though actual combat power was primarily measured by one’s divine skills, magical artifacts, treasures, martial skills, and the like.

Yet, those with high cultivation were likely to possess more powerful magical artifacts and divine skills, because their high cultivation level allowed them to live longer and access higher levels of energy, enabling them to create stronger magical artifacts or practice more powerful divine skills.

On the other hand, it was very rare for those with low cultivation to have high combat power. After all, cultivation could strengthen oneself and prolong life, allowing cultivators to easily adapt to harsher environments and come into contact with higher levels of spiritual energy or power. Therefore, the level of one’s cultivation could to some extent serve as a standard for gauging strength.

Walking cautiously in the crowd, Lin Xin listened to the unintelligible sounds around him, taking care not to make physical contact with anyone.

This town was much larger than the places guarded by the dual-faced people in silver armor that he had encountered before, and it seemed exceptionally prosperous.

As he passed by a tavern, Lin Xin quickly fixed his gaze on a disheveled burly man with seven or eight bundles hanging from him.

The burly man was seriously discussing with someone over a small bottle. He carried a large cleaver on his back that was over a meter long, its tip nearly dragging on the ground. The people around him all stepped aside to avoid him.

Unnoticed, Lin Xin walked behind the burly man. From this angle, he could see that while the man was speaking amiably to the others, the face at the back was full of disdain and contempt, clearly holding those around him in very low regard.

After feeling the man out a bit, Lin Xin judged that his cultivation seemed to be around the second or third layer of Qi cultivation, but as dual-faced people were exceptionally resilient, he couldn’t judge combat strength by cultivation alone.

Moreover, if the opponent only presented this much cultivation on the surface, but was in fact concealing it, or had practiced an extremely potent magical artifact, like the previous owner of the Heaven’s Will Sword, then things could get troublesome.

Pretending as if nothing was happening, Lin Xin slowly walked past the burly man. His pace was leisurely, but his thoughts were whirring at a dizzying pace.

In a moment when the man was not paying attention.

Suddenly, Lin Xin snatched several bundles from the man and took off at a great sprint.

Caught off guard, the burly man realized his belongings had been taken and flew into a rage, chasing after him. He seemed to have practiced some light movement techniques, but he was still slow. Compared to Lin Xin, who benefitted from attribute acceleration, the difference was vast. Not to mention Lin Xin’s Qinggong originated from the genuine cultivation technique of the Immortal Sect.

Wa wa wa!!

The burly man’s frantic shouts came from behind, as if he was yelling something incomprehensible. Lin Xin did not look back, swiftly rushing towards the town’s wall.

He was close to the wall, and soon the tall, gray-white rampart appeared before him.

He casually made his way through an exit in the wall and dashed outside.

The dual-faced people’s city walls had many entrances and exits which were never closed, for reasons unknown. Perhaps it had to do with their formidable individual strength, as there were few enemies or beasts that they feared, and even if such an enemy were to appear, mere walls were virtually meaningless.

Once outside the walls, two guards were chatting quietly. Seeing Lin Xin rushing out, they swung their halberds at him and bellowed loudly.

Lin Xin dodged nimbly and continued his sprint towards the desolate wilderness. He did not run at full speed, though, but slowly decreased his pace, feigning exhaustion.

The burly man behind him fell for the ruse, thinking that while Lin Xin was fast, he lacked endurance and pursued with renewed vigor.

Both were swift in their movements; a strong push against the ground with their feet could create a small pit, propelling their bodies forcefully forward, racing towards the deserted area.

After running for a few minutes, Lin Xin abruptly stopped. He turned and struck with his sword.

The sword light flashed like snow, shooting towards the burly man behind him. The man was unable to react in time and was stabbed squarely in the face.

The sword tip pierced fiercely but not deeply. Even with Lin Xin’s full force channelling spiritual energy, the sword only penetrated a little way.

In pain, the burly man bellowed as he slapped his bundle. Suddenly, a burst of yellow light erupted from the largest bundle.

The yellow light spread like a screen, engulfing Lin Xin before he could react.

In that instant, Lin Xin was like an insect trapped in amber, his ability to wield spiritual energy suddenly growing thick and difficult to summon.

Fortunately, the yellow light also quickly dimmed.

But at that moment, the face of the burly man that had been struck turned away. His head rotated 180 degrees, displaying the other face marked by ferocious anger on the back.

He spat something from his mouth.

Chi!

A beam of yellow light shot forth, splitting mid-air into four, transforming into four razor-sharp diamond-shaped spikes. The spikes were etched with innumerable sinister and bizarre runes, clearly not from the righteous path magical artifacts.

Lin Xin’s expression remained unchanged as he released the Spiritual Light Shield with a wave of his hand, the white light blocking in front of him.

Simultaneously, his figure flickered, narrowly dodging the spikes and thrusting his sword again at the side of the burly man’s neck.

Thump!

In the midst of violent airwaves, spiritual energy burst forth in an eruption, sending the burly man flying through the air. He tumbled several times upon landing, but got up again with blood streaming down his face.

After shooting Lin Xin a fierce look, he actually turned and ran.

The gap in speed and movement technique between them was too great, and Lin Xin had even managed to dodge his sneak attack-like Ghost Yin Spike. His yellow light could only be used once a day; if he didn’t run now, he might really die here.

Lin Xin’s expression, however, became contemplative.

The Red Flower Sword suddenly lit up with a red glow, and the enormous eye of Yin Mantuo floated up behind him.

Hisss!

A black line shot out explosively—this was the ability Yin Mantuo had previously used to kill Yuan Shihong.

Lin Xin called it Black Poison Water, and after checking the records later, he knew the current evolved state of the Man-Eating Flower Vine; it was known as a dangerous entity called the Black Poison Flower Vine.

This creature was considered an extremely dangerous territorial entity in the Outer Regions. However, because the Sect’s records were sparse and incomplete, all he knew was its great danger but not how dangerous it could actually be.

It was time for him to test the power of Black Poison Water.

With his attributes enhancing it, the poison had an incredibly fast speed. It covered the twenty meters instantaneously and hit the back of the duplicitous big man with vicious force.

Ah!!

He screamed terribly as if his skin had been scalded with boiling water, with dense blisters forming rapidly across it.

The blisters burst quickly, and then large amounts of black water spread out, rapidly corroding the flesh on the big man’s back. In just a few seconds, his back flesh was dissolved to reveal internal organs.

The big man collapsed to the ground where even his robust defense was futile. He could only roll around screaming in agony, but soon his cries diminished. Before long, he turned into a puddle of black water, which was absorbed by the Black Poison Flower Vine that bored out from the ground below.

Lin Xin walked over to check his remains but was shocked to find that all his possessions had nearly been corroded by the poison, leaving no valuables behind. Only the three Black Thorns he had shot out remained, which he carefully wrapped up and picked up.

Streams of warmth flowed into his body through unknown channels, and only then did Lin Xin feel the oppressive sensation weighing on his heart begin to fade. Yet, his cultivation had not improved a bit.

"Until the Red Flower Sword is fully reforged, this is all I can do for now..." he muttered under his breath, put away Yin Mantuo, and with a light leap, vanished into thin air.

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

Night after night, Lin Xin used disguises, sneak attacks, and lure tactics combined with the Black Poison Water from the Black Poison Flower Vine to kill the double-faced men.

The power of Black Poison Water seemed boundless; he once encountered a ninth-layer Qi Cultivation expert who got directly hit by the Black Poison Water and corroded into pus. Even his Magic Artifact couldn’t resist and was completely corroded away.

The tyranny of Black Poison Water was evident.

Lin Xin had re-experienced the evolved Black Poison Flower Vine’s terrifying lethality.

After consulting many sources, he understood that although the Black Poison Flower Vine was powerful, it shouldn’t be this ferocious. It was clear that the overpowered enhancement from his attribute points had made it one of the top echelons of Black Poison Flower Vines, turning it into an Enhanced Black Poison Flower Vine, and it might have even undergone a qualitative change.

After all, no one had seen a true Black Poison Flower Vine for many years.

Almost no double-faced man could withstand the might of Black Poison Water.

Even though his cultivation had not progressed, the illusions in Lin Xin’s mind had finally subsided completely.

Illusions could only be dealt with by slaughtering or enhancing cultivation to suppress them; they could not be cured, only temporarily suppressed. And they would grow stronger over time.

Once the illusions were suppressed, he devoted himself wholeheartedly to the progress of forging his sword.

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

"Earth Fire Golden Plum... should be no problem for smelting Cloud Gold," he said.

"The sword sheath and handle made from Jiu Hua Iron and White Deer Silkworm Silk are needed to suppress the heat from the Cloud Gold and Earth Fire Golden Plum. This will prevent the heat from being wasted and allow the blade to be nurtured and tempered within the sheath continuously, leading to accelerated self-repair," Lin Xin said.

The old blacksmith and Lin Xin stood side by side, smiling as they looked at the large furnace in front of them which had already been prepared.

In the red-hot cave, the center housed a large basin of fire, inside which a great deal of coal burned incessantly. The intense heat made all the blacksmiths working and hammering there sweat profusely, needing constant water replenishment.

The old blacksmith grasped a small, scale-like metal piece with tongs and started to gently and repeatedly hammer it with the large iron hammer passed by his apprentice.

"The Villa Master had us hide away for some reason a while ago, any idea what happened?"

"It’s all settled now, just focus on reforging my Red Flower Sword," Lin Xin replied indifferently. "I’ll fully support you in other aspects."

Seeing that he was not inclined to share more, the old blacksmith did not press further.

"Alright, but since Cloud Gold has the ability to grow and self-repair, should the smelting fail, I’ll need the Villa Master’s help."

"Of course."

Lin Xin nodded.

At this moment, Gongsun Li and other Manor elders arrived, looking towards him from a distance, seemingly smiling. (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)