Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 162 - 155: Turning Point - Part 1

Chapter 162: Chapter 155: Turning Point - Part 1

Packing away the Black Ring, Daoist Master Bao Ying nodded at Lin Xin, maintaining the grace of a Foundation Establishment expert, and slowly descended to the ground.

"Daoist Master, please wait a moment, I have one last step to finish up here," Lin Xin said in a clear voice.

"Please do as you need," Daoist Master Bao Ying no longer underestimated Lin Xin but treated him as an equal.

After waiting by the Furnace for a short while, Lin Xin sheathed his sword—the Red Flower Sword slid back into its scabbard, hanging at his waist.

Having forcefully invoked the Red Flower Sword to summon Yin Mantuo, the blade became somewhat imperfect, but with some time-consuming polishing, it could be fully restored.

"Villa Master Lin, concerning the calamity that befell your manor, I suspect someone has deliberately incited the loose cultivators, and there must be an insider spreading the news; otherwise, it wouldn’t have been possible to gather such a force in such short time," Daoist Master Bao Ying thought for a moment and still decided to share what he knew with Lin Xin as a sign of sincerity.

"I was aware there would be an insider, stirring up loose cultivators... Perhaps more so to force someone out..." Lin Xin’s eyes flashed with depth.

"Initially, we did not intend to kill anyone when we entered, but someone among the loose cultivators deliberately instigated the conflict and struck first, leading to a severe escalation. This resulted in countless deaths and injuries," Daoist Master Bao Ying spoke in a low voice.

"It seems some people just couldn’t sit still," Lin Xin said indifferently. "Thank you for informing me, Daoist Master."

"There’s no need for courtesies, Villa Master. After all, I still need your help with my magic sword!" Daoist Master Bao Ying laughed heartily. This was his main purpose for coming, though he still harbored some doubts about Lin Xin’s expertise in the Formation Path.

"That won’t be an issue," Lin Xin responded with a smile. "Daoist Master can rest assured very soon."

When the two left the Furnace and pushed open the iron doors, both were taken aback.

On the chaotic white training field.

Lay a dense sprawl of various corpses—cultivators’ and the manor’s.

Dugu Lin stood among the corpses, a vertical crease on her forehead shimmering faintly with silver light, as if she heard a noise and turned back to give Lin Xin a smile.

"Don’t forget my conditions."

Scanning the area, Lin Xin noticed not far away on the ground, a strikingly huge figure knelt; it was the White Tiger Demon King, half-kneeling on the ground, his hands deeply embedded in the earth, surrounded by splattered blood and gore, a gruesome mix of red and white.

A massive sword hole in the chest of the Demon King slowly oozed strands of black blood.

"Of course I won’t..." His voice was somewhat hoarse.

At that moment, the entire manor was eerily silent, with almost no sound to be heard.

This was Lin Xin’s first time witnessing Dugu Lin’s strength—unsurprisingly, the Cloud Heart Divine Sword from the Sect was mysterious and formidable. Observing Dugu Lin, Lin Xin had a vague sense that she might become the most powerful leader of the Sword Sect in the coming century.

"That’s good," Dugu Lin said as the silver light on her forehead receded, and with a gentle leap, she soared away, her feet standing on transparent sword blades that lifted her into the sky. In the blink of an eye, she became a small dot in the sky, then quickly vanished into the clouds.

Lin Xin stood on the training field strewn with corpses, with Daoist Master Bao Ying by his side, his forehead beaded with cold sweat, astonished that the White Tiger Demon King had been so easily slain. A Foundation Establishment Demon King unable to even flee.

"This is truly..." For the first time, Daoist Master Bao Ying witnessed the terrifying might of a Sect’s genius cultivator, feeling extremely fortunate that he had not truly fallen out with the Pine Forest Sword Sect.

"Dugu elder sister is indeed our Sect’s top genius. Even Senior Brother He Tianhe might not measure up..." Lin Xin sighed.

"He Tianhe... has also established his foundation... But it’s said that for the past few years, he’s been trapped in a relic outside and hasn’t been able to return."

A familiar voice answered Lin Xin’s sigh.

The man in a yellow shirt approached slowly with his sword, his upper body still bearing traces of blood.

"They are all innate geniuses with Spirit Gathering Physique. You and I may never be able to match them in our lifetimes."

"Perhaps..." Although Lin Xin knew that competing with a Spirit Gathering Physique’s terror was unlikely, he still felt discontent. Suppressing his thoughts, he flicked his finger and shot two pills at the man in yellow.

The man in yellow didn’t stand on ceremony, knowing that they were the most precious Spirit-Reviving Heart Pills privately hoarded by Lin Xin. This medicine was a creation of Gongsun Li, who had combined various pill prescriptions collected by the Manor and conducted his secret research. The ingredients were extremely precious, with even one of the herbs only found once to date; therefore, this medicine was diminishing with each use.

After taking the medicine, it took only a moment for the spiritual energy in the man in yellow to reinvigorate.

Lin Xin introduced Daoist Master Bao Ying and the man in yellow to each other, then began to gather the remaining disciples of the Manor.

One by one, the corpses were carried into the Furnace for incineration, and the belongings of the cultivators and loose cultivators were all collected, especially those of the White Tiger Demon King. Upon inspection by Lin Xin, there was a surprising find of a small mustard seed bag, capable of folding space to hold many items.

There were also several Spirit Jades, typically used in black market transactions, about a dozen in total, an unexpected gain.

Additionally, there was a White Tiger Cloud Smoke Record, apparently the cultivation technique of the White Tiger Demon King, which was a Jade Slip that required mental thought to read.

Lin Xin checked and found that it recorded a set of cultivation techniques that were essentially meant for human practice. However, they were named after the White Tiger, seeming to be a method of cultivation from the Demon Path.

It emphasized cultivating the physical body to achieve a law body known as the White Tiger Golden Body, attaining extremely terrifying levels of strength and defense. Additionally, it could absorb metallic energy, devour metals, and even exhale this energy through the breath to form blades that could stab and kill the enemy. It was extraordinarily horrifying.

"This could be worth referencing..." Lin Xin stored away the technique and began inspecting the other items—the body of the Demon King White Tiger.

The Demon King’s body had already cultivated the White Tiger Golden Body to the third layer, making it impenetrable to blades and spears, and immune to ordinary fire and water. Its strength and defense had also far surpassed that of an average Foundation Establishment Cultivator, so much so that the body alone was a fine material for a magic artifact.

"The Demon King could be refined into material and integrated into metal implements; it would certainly carry a trace of the fierce Tiger Fiend metallic energy, which would greatly increase the power of the magic artifact. Just like my Tortoise-Snake Ring—I integrated the essence souls of two demonic beings into it, allowing it to reach great achievement. Whenever at a stalemate, it could activate the tortoise and snake essence souls to enhance its power without consuming spiritual energy, though it does need to be replenished," suggested Daoist Master Bao Ying with a hint of fear.

"That’s indeed a good idea," said Lin Xin, decisively adopting the suggestion.

During the clean-up time in the manor, he also started dealing with the corpse.

He invited the Daoist Master to observe, took the opportunity to display his skills in the Formation Path when melting down the body of the Demon King White Tiger.

He melted the true body of the Demon King into a yellowish-white sphere the size of a soccer ball. Then he set up a Spirit Gathering Array, nurtured it with the Thick Earth Formation, and stored it in the armory for care.

"This Tiger Fiend golden energy can nourish the armory, causing all the weapons inside to gradually carry a hint of Tiger Fiend. Although faint, it makes them stronger than other common high-level weapons," Lin Xin explained. "Moreover, the resentment of the Demon King is strong, perfect for further enhancing the sharpness of the weapons."

"The White Tiger Golden Fiend Formation is indeed a clever move, Villa Master. This way, the harm the Demon King could have caused can be turned into something beneficial," said Daoist Master Bao Ying, breaking out in a cold sweat. It was like even in death, the usefulness was not to be overlooked...

After a round of aftermath handling, a number of days later...

Lin Xin sat at the head seat, with Daoist Master Bao Ying by his side. Lin Xinyuan and the others had their seats moved back.

Next to them were the manor’s retainers, who all appeared dejected. Several Innate Retainers wore grim expressions, clearly losing two of their number in the struggle.

"The affairs of the deceased retainers Wu and Wang have been properly taken care of by my orders. Alas..." Lin Xin felt saddened thinking about how all his years of hard work had been destroyed by a bunch of Loose Cultivators.

The loss of two Innate Retainers was like adding frost to the snow. The manor was already severely weakened due to the overhead demands for profits, and this recent attack had exacerbated their already strained finances.

"Villa Master, this difficulty is only temporary. Our manor has vast farmlands and mines; I believe we will recover our strength soon," said Lin Xinyuan earnestly, despite having a wound on her back, which was wrapped in bandages and not clearly visible.

"Now the people are panicked, and we’ve lost many of our strong arms. Our manor might not be able to muster enough power to keep control over the various mines anytime soon..." Huang Puyang’s face was pale as he spoke. He had been pierced in the chest by a sword—nearly joining the deceased—and had just recovered enough to attend the meeting.

"So..."

Bang!

Suddenly, the door to the meeting hall was kicked open.

A group of people strode in with great arrogance.

The one leading was none other than Situ Hao, who always came to collect the annual fees. This sharp-mouthed, monkey-cheeked man was accompanied by two highly aura-endowed experts as they charged into the hall.

"How dare you, Lin Xin, to hide a fugitive and conceal information from the Sect, hoarding a Third Grade magic artifact! If I hadn’t accidentally learned of this situation, you might have actually managed to hide it!" shouted Situ Hao sternly, greed flickering in his eyes.

He was followed by the manor guards who had tried to stop him but were too late, leaving them only to look anxiously towards Lin Xin.

Lin Xin motioned for the other guards to leave, already speechless with this sword-worshiping Sect that placed the Sword Hall above all. If it weren’t for Ji Lu and his spouse’s support, and being able to find Dugu Lin to lend a hand, he might have ended up like the man in yellow—accused of fabricated crimes and forced to flee the Sect.

"I had no idea Sir Situ Hao would visit us so unexpectedly, and did not have the opportunity to welcome you from afar. My apologies..." Although impatient at heart, Lin Xin still maintained proper decorum.

It was too much of a coincidence that Situ Hao arrived just in time. If there weren’t some trickery involved, who could so precisely grasp the comings and goings of the manor? Perhaps these Loose Cultivators were provoked by these very men.

For a moment, he even felt dejection—such a grand Sword Sect had not the slightest bit of generosity. No wonder it was called a Heretic Sect by other cultivators; it was a Sect that relied on Sun Spring to maintain its dominance, bereft of unity among its disciples. If there once was a glimpse of fairness and justice, now there was hardly any hope left.

"Please state your intentions clearly, Sir Situ," said Lin Xin, too jaded to waste any more words.

Situ Hao chuckled with a sneer.

"These two must be the legendary..."

"Enough, spare us the nonsense, move aside!"

To his surprise, one of the men behind him pushed him aside. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, I welcome you to vote for it on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)