Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 158 - 151: Sword Casting 3

Chapter 158: Chapter 151: Sword Casting 3

Forty-nine days later...

Hiss!

A dazzling red light burst through the rooftop at the back of the manor, soaring into the sky, rising tens of meters before gradually fading.

Lin Xin, holding a sword, was slowly adjusting the Heart Eye Sword Technique, using the Sword Dao of Killing as the base, and all other sword techniques he possessed as materials, grinding them all into one. He then searched for the Sword Dao that suited him the best. He named it—the Heart Eye Sword Technique, a very ordinary name. Yet, it was a complete set of techniques involving swordsmanship, movement technique, and the circulation of Inner Qi.

Looking back at the sky, the Red Flower Sword he cultivated with his heart’s blood was undergoing repair inside it. At that moment, it was emitting a series of heart-like beats.

"Did it succeed?" he sheathed his sword and strolled towards the furnace.

Coming towards him, Lu Suo the Taoist and Lin Xinyuan among others, too, were attracted by the phenomenon and were preparing to go over and take a look.

"Let’s go, let’s check it out together."

"Such a phenomenon might attract attention from the surroundings; the villa master is coming...." Huang Puyang spoke in a low voice. The moment he looked up, he immediately saw Lin Xin approaching.

"Villa Master."

"Villa Master!"

The group unanimously greeted him.

"Let Feiyi Xie handle it, guard the surroundings, kill those with malicious intentions, and welcome friends who visit," Lin Xin instructed casually.

Flanked by a group, Lin Xin quickly passed through the back courtyard of the manor; Xiao Lingling, by the entrance of the courtyard, was looking out. Lin Xin gave her a slight smile, signaling that everything was fine and she should go back to rest.

Xiao Lingling responded with a smile, but there was a hint of worry in her expression.

Entering the furnace.

The glowing red building had a hole broken in the roof. A completely blood-red longsword was slowly floating under the hole, with a hot furnace and a lot of molten iron slag below it.

A group of blacksmiths was noisily discussing topics about Divine Weapons.

The old blacksmith, Shepherd Old, was touching his beard, looking worriedly at the floating Red Flower Sword.

"Shepherd Old."

Lin Xin and the others approached.

"How are things now?"

Shepherd Old came over, his face fraught with worry.

"Most of the steps have been successfully completed. The final phase needs more time in the furnace for the blending, letting the attributes of the various materials fully merge. This time is also for the villa master to inscribe the formation, only..."

"Only what?"

Lin Xin felt that the state of the Red Flower Sword was excellent and there shouldn’t be anything to worry about, but Shepherd Old’s expression suggested otherwise.

"Just that, when the sword was being made, it mysteriously emitted an overwhelming bloody aura, even though there isn’t much of a bloody smell on the blade itself..." Shepherd Old grew worried, "I worry... it might turn into a malevolent sword."

"A malevolent sword?" Lin Xin chuckled, he knew where the problem lay.

It was the Black Poison Vine consuming too much blood, causing the material of the Red Flower Sword to change as well.

"Even if it is a malevolent sword, what of it?" He looked unbothered as he focused on the Red Flower Sword.

The blade hovered in midair, faintly surrounded by wisps of red mist. Looking through the fog, it appeared dreamlike, with intricate patterns layered one over another, and large areas left blank for inscribing the formation.

"When can the formation be inscribed?"

"Anytime now, but the villa master needs to stand on the constructed platform," Shepherd Old pointed to the right.

To the right of the furnace, a tall metal platform was constructed, as high as the Red Flower Sword, for someone to step onto.

Lin Xin nodded.

"Then let’s start now."

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

"Dragon seals and phoenix scripts, have all been exhausted, yet sung with sincerity; crane driven by phoenixes cart, reflecting hope through careful observation. Your servant carefully lights the true incense, genuine devotion as heavenly fragrance. Humbly, I start the invocation to the Taoist Master Treasure, Primal Myriads of Divine, in the gathering of jade brightness, all sages true..."

Nan Shunqing shook his head as he recited the content from the Primitive Scripture.

Lin Xin sat in front of him, slightly closing his eyes and holding a teacup, seemingly listening, yet possibly cultivating his Qi.

Having recited half way, Nan Shunqing became extremely impatient, scratching his head and looking left and right, his voice getting softer.

"Continue." Lin Xin suddenly opened his eyes and gave him a glance.

Nan Shunqing immediately shuddered and hurriedly continued the recitation.

Outside, Lin Duan and Lin Zhen were stealthily peeking through the door crack, trying to suppress their laughter.

"Dad has been getting stricter lately, I don’t know what’s going on, but he seems a bit strange." Lin Zhen whispered.

"Maybe he has too high expectations for Brother Qing..." Lin Duan understood, Nan Shunqing’s talent was so exceptional, it was almost more extreme than the Spirit Gathering Physique. If mishandled, it would indeed be a great pity.

"It’s been eight continuous days now, not letting Brother Qing practice cultivation, instead making him recite these senseless scriptures all day, what use is it? I wasn’t tormented like this back then." Lin Zhen expressed his confusion.

"That’s just a minor formation, you don’t need to be so..." Lin Duan hadn’t finished speaking when they heard a sharp smack from inside the room.

Peeking inside, they saw Lin Xin forcefully strike Nan Shunqing’s palm with a ruler.

"You recited it wrong, do it again." Lin Xin put away the ruler and slightly closed his eyes.

Nan Shunqing had a look of anger he dared not express, subtly turning his head to make faces at them.

"Let’s go, let’s see how Zhu’er is doing?" Lin Zhen, realizing they had been spotted, grabbed Lin Duan and quickly tried to leave.

"No... I want to watch a bit more," Lin Duan said, a slight blush tinting her voice.

"Always waiting for your Brother Qing, so boring." Lin Zhen immediately pouted and turned away, kicking at pebbles as she ran.

Lin Duan turned back and continued watching.

After Nan Shunqing recited the scripture, he began to copy new content.

Lin Xin scolded him a few times and then stood up to leave. She knew that the tutor was heading to the furnace at the back of the manor, where he had been engraving formations every day.

Only after Lin Xin had left did Lin Duan quietly push the door open and enter.

"Brother Qing~~"

"Junior sister!" Nan Shunqing quickly stood up, "Junior sister, you have no idea how much I’ve suffered recently, always being caught by the tutor for reciting these useless scriptures. I feel like I’m going to break down if this keeps up!"

"Brother Qing, haven’t you noticed that your inner qi has become much more stable?" Lin Duan covered her mouth and giggled.

Nan Shunqing paused, felt it, and hesitated. "It seems so, I’m not as easily agitated as when I first started..."

"That’s the effect of reciting scriptures with a calm and peaceful mind," Lin Duan whispered in explanation. "The scripture is just a supplementary means, but what it really tests is your patience. The tutor actually wants you to settle your mind. With an unsettled mind, the qi naturally fluctuates uncontrollably, deeming it unable to concentrate and strengthen."

Nan Shunqing pondered, experiencing it carefully, and indeed felt his inner qi more responsive and stable, and easier to control than before. It wouldn’t consume as much of his mental energy.

"So it really works!" He suddenly became happy.

"Naturally." Lin Duan, unable to practice Inner Strength due to her reliance on various herbs to suppress the poison of the Green Divine, spent all her time on medical studies and the principles of cultivation techniques, naturally understanding much more than him.

After understanding Lin Xin’s intentions, Nan Shunqing, although still anxious, felt less distressed with Lin Duan’s company and settled down again to continue reciting the Primitive Scripture.

Lin Xin, seeing this scene from the gap in the side door, felt somewhat relieved and finally left.

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

Green Water Chestnut Formation, a Qi Refinement Realm wood attribute formation specifically for nourishing precious and divine plants, can gather a high concentration of wood attribute spiritual energy, suitable for nurturing treasures such as precious trees and flowers.

Lin Xin modified, merged, and combined it with another Rain Providing Formation and the Poisonous Water Formation; the three together formed a new small-scale formation. He named the newly created formation Green Mystic Water Formation, with ’Mystic’ symbolizing the color black, and ’Green Water Chestnut’ derived from a homophone.

The Green Mystic Water Formation took a total of thirty days to be inscribed with fifty-one formations within the multi-layer Red Flower Sword. This Formation belongs to the compound formations and is far stronger than a single Qi Refinement Formation.

A Second Grade Qi Refinement Formation’s power is determined by the amount of Spiritual Energy infused into it, and there is also a limit to the Formation’s range. Some can reach the peak power of Qi Refinement, while others cannot. Some are only considered Second Grade based on consumption.

The Green Mystic Water Formation was specifically designed by Lin Xin for the Black Poison Vine, perfectly tailored to its physical needs, allowing for maximum nurturance and amplification of its power.

For a continuous month, after all the formations were engraved, Lin Xin saw there was still remaining space, so he selected another compound Formation from the Qi Refinement period formations—the Solid Blade Formation.

This was a Formation that could fortify the Red Flower Sword and make it more durable, requiring extremely little Spiritual Energy.

Unfortunately, it was not possible to engrave a Spirit Gathering Array on it, as the Spirit Gathering Array requires a constant consumption of Spirit Jade, making it uneconomical if inscribed.

This time, the recasting of the Red Flower Sword had nearly drained the manor’s current financial resources. Lin Xin had no choice but to rush to produce some Talisman Swords for sale, at this time he could not care much about secrecy. He began creating a Resentment Talisman that could contain three formation talismans. The foundation of the Resentment Talisman is the Evil-Repelling Formation; typically, a Resentment Talisman is engraved with one Evil-Repelling Formation, and the high-level ones with two, which already provide the best cost-effectiveness for a regular Array Master.

But Lin Xin directly started making Resentment Talismans with three formation talismans, which were even more powerful than the high-level Resentment Talismans.

Taken to the black market for sale, they were tested, and immediately became a highly sought-after item. The price climbed steadily.

The manor’s finances were thus temporarily alleviated.

At this time, the refinement of the Red Flower Sword also reached its final phase.

Lin Xin lived day and night in the furnace, the final Formation engraving required his undivided attention, without distractions, for if the formation rune pattern was disrupted, it could lead to fluctuations potentially causing a chain reaction in the entire recasting of the Red Flower Sword, very likely resulting in a recasting failure.

The Red Flower Sword was an object of his Heart Blood Sacrificial Refinement, his core magic artifact if the chain reaction led to failure, then Lin Xin’s current level of cultivation would instantly fall by half!

If it fell, Lin Xin, who was barely holding off illusions, would definitely be overwhelmed by them. What would happen then, perhaps not even he could foresee.

So, he had no retreat... diving headlong into the furnace without coming out.

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

Hum.....

Inside the furnace.

Above a huge basin of bright red hot coals, Lin Xin, grasping an engraving tool, focused intently on gently inscribing the Formation Rune Pattern on the floating Red Flower Sword. The Formation had to be completed in one go, otherwise, it would not work as a set.

He had been continuously engraving for three days without rest.

Sweat slowly trickled down his forehead and temples, sizzling as it instantly dried up in the hot dry air the moment it fell.

Numerous discarded weapons were planted around in the ground, occasionally vibrating slightly along with the Red Flower Sword, resonating at a frequency that matched Lin Xin’s heartbeat.

"The Villa Master’s full cultivation skills are now united with the Red Flower Sword. This is the time to reconnect and perform the Sacrificial Refinement with the divine weapon. Moreover, he needs to focus intensely on engraving the rune patterns... do not disturb him at any cost!" Old Yang and the others sternly said from below.

"What would happen if he were to be disturbed?" a middle-aged blacksmith couldn’t help but ask. (To be continued. If you like this work, please go to qidian.com to vote and rate it. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)