Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 164 - 157: The Organization - Part 1

Chapter 164: Chapter 157: The Organization - Part 1

After another deep discussion on their thoughts, Ming Qing and his brother took Lin Xin by the hand and led him to a secluded spot in the bamboo forest behind the manor. The three men moved with extraordinary qinggong, arriving unnoticed at a quiet location.

Lin Xin didn’t know what they were up to and was confused, but he didn’t resist and let the two lead the way.

They soon arrived at a place devoid of any human presence or aura.

The brothers then stopped, took out a green bamboo flute from their chests, and gently inserted it into the ground.

Immediately, green mist flowed out of the flute’s holes like water, spreading around their feet and soon enveloping the surrounding bamboo, forming a circular area with a diameter of more than ten meters.

The entire area was shrouded in a green fog.

"To be honest with you, Brother Lin, we have carefully observed your actions these past few days. Your talent in the Formation Path is astonishing, and your profound thoughts and ideas have amazed us. After discussing, we secretly sent a message back to inquire and only after receiving affirmation did we decide to lay our cards on the table," said Ming Qing solemnly.

"Um... What’s the big issue that you are so serious about?" Lin Xin asked, somewhat stunned. Although both were Foundation Establishment Stage experts, they never showed the typical traits of Foundation Establishment Cultivators. They did not have the lofty and superior air about them; rather, they seemed more like ordinary people with emotions and appeared to be frustrated idealists hindered from achieving their ambitions.

Ming Qing exchanged a glance with his brother, pondered for a moment, and then spoke to Lin Xin.

"To be honest, we brothers did not expect to encounter a talent like Brother Lin on this trip. That’s why we couldn’t help but send a message to our organization after just a few days, collected many details and intelligence about Brother Lin. If we have offended you in any way, we hope Brother Lin can forgive us."

As soon as Lin Xin heard the word ’organization,’ his heart skipped a beat. He had previously suspected that the brothers may have been backed by some advanced organization based on their progressive thoughts and deep grievances. Now it turns out there really was one!

"There’s no need to be afraid, Brother Lin. Our organization is called the Radiance Society, named with the hope that it will shine like the sun over the Underworld, dispelling the gloom and aspiring towards the light," Ming Yi stated emphatically. "Nowadays, the commoners suffer, and the upper echelons of the major Sects and Immortal Sects indulge in pleasure without seeking progress, depleting their resources. We, the passionate and ambitious, are suppressed by the inept and incapable, a truly pitiful situation!" He showed a hint of sorrow in his eyes. "Likely Brother Lin feels the same, right? With your fervor unrequited, such is the sorrow!"

Lin Xin: "....." In fact, he wasn’t at all...

"With your great talent, Brother Lin, whether in strategy, thought, or mastery of the Formation Path, it’s truly a pity that you are confined to such a trivial corner, trapped in the strife of the Sect and unable to extricate yourself."

"Indeed, if you were to join our Radiance Society, you would surely be able to achieve great things. With your ability in the Formation Path, even if your cultivation is insufficient, you could fulfill your ambitions in your lifetime, making your life worthwhile!"

"The Radiance Society has numerous members scattered across the Mortal Realm, even within your own Sect. Many are passionate and driven. All our members are treated as brothers and sisters without hierarchies."

"Members of the society help each other covertly, gradually gaining control of the world’s major trends and dispelling the gloom. What a fervent and grand cause it is!"

The brothers took turns persuading Lin Xin, who listened in silence, his mind speechless. It seemed so easy for them to recruit people; the Radiance Society couldn’t possibly be a brainwashing organization akin to a pyramid scheme... Could it?

However, on second thought, considering that both brothers were Foundation Establishment Cultivators, perhaps they really did recognize his talent in the Formation Path. Moreover, he guessed that the Radiance Society likely had measures in place to prevent members from easily leaving without consequence.

Upon further inquiry, the brothers began to stammer somewhat.

"To be frank, Brother Lin, indeed there are precautions for joining the society, but these are to guard against gentlemen, not villains."

Ming Qing’s sentence was cut off by Ming Yi continuing.

"You only need to offer a small pledge of your spirit as a vow. For those who join us, if they betray the society due to differing ideals, we can understand. However, if someone leaks the identity of other members or harms our brothers and sisters, the pledged spirit will backfire: the light cases result in insanity, while severe cases lead to death with no hope for salvation," Ming Yi explained.

"That’s understandable," Lin Xin nodded. He urgently needed other channels to communicate with the outside world. Otherwise, being trapped by the Sword Sect and closely monitored every day, he would lead a precarious life, and anyone else would have been eliminated long ago.

"So, Brother Lin, are you considering joining our society?" The Ming Family brothers were both pleased. They had seen Lin Xin’s unreserved display of his Formation Path skills; while many masters could miniaturize formations, few could do it as effortlessly as Lin Xin. Thus, despite his insufficient cultivation, his skills and insights were highly valued by the two.

At this point, Ming Yi’s gaze towards Lin Xin became slightly intense, and he put the Earthbinding Rope treasure back into his sleeve. The original plan was if Lin Xin agreed, all would be well; but if not, to avoid revealing the secrets of the Radiance Society, they were ready to take drastic action right there. They could just blame it on Demonic Cultivators afterward.

Lin Xin also felt a sense of unease, sensing something amiss with the brothers’ depth of conversation and their audacious confidence. After a deeper thought, cold sweat began to seep out from his back.

In this world, cultivators often regarded human life as insignificant, differing only in whom they chose to kill. He realized he had to join whether he wanted to or not.

"Given these circumstances, Brother Lin, please light the incense and offer it with all sincerity," Ming Qing immediately produced a prepared purple-red incense stick and handed it to Lin Xin.

As Lin Xin took it, he faintly smelled an elegant musk scent. Looking closely, he noticed that the stick was intricately carved with dense patterns that moved slowly like insects.

"You may light it with Mortal Fire," Ming Yi added.

Seeing the brothers’ expectant stares, Lin Xin’s heart grew tense, realizing the importance of the incense stick.

Without hesitation, he sincerely swiped his hand over the incense stick.

Hiss.

Spiritual energy stirred, and a purple spark instantly ignited on the incense, followed by wisps of blue smoke drifting away.

Lin Xin gazed wholeheartedly at the scent, captivated by its bizarre magic that made it hard for him to look away.

The fragrance rose higher and higher, yet, strangely, it didn’t disperse and dissolve into the air but kept rising upward. When it reached a certain height, it suddenly entered into the space and vanished.

Lin Xin only felt a slight dizziness in his brain, and then he couldn’t help but close his eyes.

In his mind, he uncontrollably saw that wisp of incense that held his spirit, carrying him further and further away, as if flying through a vast and boundless dark void, towards a colossal figure at the center of the void.

It was an immense white dragon, coiled in a serpentine shape, with its head resting slowly and its eyes half-closed.

But as he got closer, Lin Xin could see that the dragon was actually a huge stone sculpture.

That wisp of fragrance drifted into the dragon’s open mouth, went through a long dark passage, and soon arrived at a majestic hall adorned with white gold decorations amid the darkness.

In the depths of that grand hall sat an indescribably majestic suit of dark armor, with its skull-like hollow eyes lowered. From behind the helmet extended a pair of massive silver-gray metal feathers, layer upon layer stretching into the limitless darkness, the feathered wings seeming to grow larger and larger towards the back.

Countless feathers on those wings were innumerable like fish scales or ripples on a shimmering lake, fanning out in a radial pattern into the dark.

Lin Xin felt that his sliver of scent slowly transformed into a piece of silver-gray feather in midair, slotting into the left wing at the back of the armor, stationing itself alongside the numerous other feathers.

Click.

In the crisp sound of merging, he was suddenly jolted awake.

"Hahaha, congratulations Brother Lin! Welcome to the Radiance!" Ming Qing’s voice further startled Lin Xin into full awareness.

He opened his eyes to find himself unknowingly standing and having fallen asleep.

"That armor in the dark..." he took a deep breath and asked softly.

"That is the Universal Heavenly Venerable. It serves to oversee any potential acts of betrayal among our members," explained Ming Yi. "Initially, those were just ineffective ordinary oaths, uttered by the founders of the Radiance Society thousands of years ago. But after so many years of continuous self-strengthening, what were once mere words have transformed into an order that exists between heaven and Earth. That is ’Righteousness’!"

"Righteousness!" Lin Xin was shaken.

"Yes. Thus, all of us brothers and sisters are envoys of justice!" boomed Ming Yi.

Lin Xin wasn’t sure how to describe the somewhat cheesy title, but he still put on a look of righteous indignation and nodded vigorously.

"I understand. Justice is my way. To stand upright for the greater good is righteousness."

"Brother Lin is indeed quick-witted," laughed Ming Qing, patting Lin Xin’s shoulder vigorously.

Lin Xin silently endured the blows, looking at the two enthusiastic and courageous faces before him. Instead of excitement, he felt speechless...

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

After entertaining the Ming brothers for over ten days, they eventually had to bid farewell and return to report to their duties. Before leaving, they gave Lin Xin a jade slip, which recorded how to contact the local branch of the Radiance Society, as well as the responsibilities, obligations, and rights he was entitled to enjoy. Everything was listed very clearly.

Lin Xin pocketed the jade slip and read through it carefully, then understood the general organizational structure of the Radiance Society.

Though the contents of the jade slip were not extensive, one could surmise the branches in other locations from it. Moreover, the description of the entire world’s geography in it also gave Lin Xin a great shock.

The land of the Underworld was divided into the East, West, South, and North; the area occupied by the Four Sects was the Southern Underworld.

The Southern Underworld spanned a vast territory, and what belonged to the Four Sects in the Mortal Realm was only a small portion of it.

The jade slip contained a small map. Lin Xin took a quick look and saw that the map was a large, dark, circular area the size of a faceplate, with a palm-sized portion painted white and some scattered white dots in other dark areas, some as big as eggs and others as small as sesame seeds.

This was the complete map of the Southern Underworld; the white areas were sanctuaries opened by Sun Spring, protected by a sun membrane. The dark areas were the so-called Outer Regions, unexplored territories filled with various dangers.

Regarding his involvement in the killing of cultivating masters from the Sect, after the two understood the situation, they suggested he meet with the local Branch Chief as soon as possible.

Without delay, Lin Xin entrusted the affairs of the Manor to Huang Shan (in yellow clothes) and set off for the location of the branch.

The branch was not within the Mortal Realm but at the edge where the Outer Regions and the Mortal Realm met. (To be continued. If you like this work, your votes and monthly tickets at Qidian are welcome, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)