Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 171 - 164 Completion Below

Chapter 171: Chapter 164 Completion Below

Four people, fanatical in their elegance, were known as the Four Young Masters of Spirit Heart Villa, and over the years, the Villa’s influence had grown to an extent that there were whispers of recognition even from small Sword Sects in the neighboring territories.

The title of the Four Young Masters became even more illustrious.

Lin Xin didn’t concern himself with how they developed; everyone had their own paths to follow. He even paid no mind to the extent of their cultivation, simply providing whatever was needed.

The Manor had made good progress in all areas over the years. Many disciples within the Sword Sect had reached the Innate stage, forming their own faction within the Sect. Especially after the previous crisis, the trials they faced revealed true loyalty, and those who remained became the elite nurtured by the Villa in peace.

Even one person had successfully made a breakthrough in Qi Cultivation years ago, becoming the Villa’s first expert to enter the Qi Cultivation Realm. He was assigned as a Guardian in another territory.

Lin Xin crafted a Magic Artifact Talisman Sword specifically for him, which made him stand out among the advancing disciples in the realm of Qi Cultivators.

Other parts of the Manor’s disciples were also scattered across various locations, serving as numerous tendrils of Spirit Heart Villa’s influence.

Although everything was developing smoothly, and the Manor’s influence and power were gradually growing, a chain reaction had begun. As Lin Xin’s abilities in Formation Path, miniaturizing formations and modifying them, reached near master levels, the Sword Sect’s attitude towards him was also beginning to shift, from initially dismissive to gradually taking him more seriously. The Sect’s representatives, who would come to collect profits, were no longer arrogant and begun to treat him with more respect.

In these eight years, two Foundation Establishment seniors from the Sword Sect even approached him, requesting Lin Xin to inscribe Formation Patterns. After charging certain materials and fees, Lin Xin did a perfect job, and his reputation soared, gaining even more attention from the Sect.

However, no matter how well everything developed, Lin Xin still had an increasingly urgent sense of worry...

Because Xiao Lingling’s time was running out...

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

Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled, darkening the sky.

Whoosh!

A sudden pale red streak flashed by among a group of two-faced monks.

Amidst cries of agony, one after another, the two-faced people were sent flying backward, their bodies splitting in mid-air, blood and viscera raining down.

"Huangshan Jade!" one of the two-faced people roared out loud, his body faintly revealing a massive yellow shadow several meters tall, a huge yellow fish enveloping him.

With a flick of its tail, the fish sent out a torrent of clear water, lashing out like a whip towards the pale red streak in the sky.

The streak came to a sudden halt, as if caught by some force, revealing a pale red figure of Lin Xin wielding the Red Flower Sword. Clad in red, with a sword rack on his back carrying four swords besides the Red Flower Sword, all of them Talisman Swords.

"Ignorant." Facing the coming whip, Lin Xin thrust his sword forward, his arm appearing to vanish, along with the blade, vanishing into thin air and then reappearing just as suddenly.

The approaching water whip shattered into pieces before it could reach him.

Lin Xin held his sword vertically and slashed forward.

Swish!

The flow of water split in two, revealing the astonished face of the two-faced person behind it, and as the sword swept through, as if cutting through a slightly thicker piece of flesh, blood sprayed all over.

Lin Xin slowly sheathed his sword, looking at the body now split in two before him.

Vines began to slowly emerge from the ground, dragging away the corpses on the surface, with the squelching sounds of sucking and devouring continuing. It was the sound of flower vines consuming the bodies.

"Eight years..." Lin Xin murmured, sheathing the Red Flower Sword and standing in the cold wind, staring at the desolate ruins of a temple around him.

"Time flies too fast...eight years have passed in the blink of an eye..." In these eight years, he had been constantly tormented by illusions, without restraints on his cultivation, which had begun to climb upward again. In eight years, he had advanced from the Second Layer of Qi Cultivation to the Fourth Layer.

This pace of progression was quite good, but the illusions continued to intensify, always on the verge of becoming uncontrollable.

Therefore, he lived a secluded life, with even the time spent with his family decreasing. The affairs of the Villa also gradually reduced his role in the eyes of others.

"Gong Lin!!"

Suddenly, a roar came from a distance, and a man wearing a black royal robe flew over, holding Dual Whips in his hands. Upon seeing the carnage of corpses on the ground, his eyes almost bled with rage.

"Foundation Establishment Stage..." Lin Xin’s heart skipped a beat. He turned and ran on the spot, with Yin Mantuo rising swiftly behind him, transforming into sharp spikes and striking towards his pursuer to buy time.

Over the years, he had encountered Foundation Establishment Stage two-faced people before—after a tough fight the first time ending in a disastrous defeat, barely escaping death, calling on the carriage to flee. Later, healing from his injuries in the Villa for several months and spending a considerable amount of resources, he barely recovered.

Since then, he dared not confront the Foundation Establishment Stage of the youfu head-on again.

He had personally experienced the combat capabilities of a youfu’s Foundation Establishment Stage, much stronger than those of a White Tiger Demon King at the same stage. Their physiques were almost monstrous; even his stacked Mortal Fire Formations couldn’t scorch their skin but merely made it red hot, barely inflicting pain.

Injecting Inner Qi into the Demon Talisman Seed, the carriage materialized out of nowhere, into which Lin Xin leaped.

Boom!

An invisible shockwave slammed into the carriage, rocking it violently.

Lin Xin was covered in cold sweat; the opponent’s power was now close to that of a Golden Core Stage, evidently not a beginner in the Foundation Establishment Stage.

Packing away the Yin Mantuo and sensing it was unharmed, Lin Xin immediately closed the carriage door and took out a Demon Talisman Seed from his bosom, which he had managed to acquire only after great difficulty.

"With the ones I got before, that makes three. It’s getting harder and harder to snatch them..."

Over the past eight years, apart from the ones he had used up, Lin Xin only had three Demon Talisman Seeds left.

Fortunately, he noticed a method, that is, Demon Talisman Seeds can regenerate. Especially in the places he had robbed before, new Demon Talisman Seeds would soon emerge.

This also provided him with a good method, which was to occasionally visit the places where he had previously found Demon Talisman Seeds. This really gave him some opportunities, but since the opponents that appeared were getting stronger, it was extremely difficult for him to succeed. However, the upside was that he became more and more familiar with the terrain and environment. Under unexpected attacks such as ambushes and stealthy slaughter, his cultivation also continuously improved, barely suppressing the illusions.

Whew...

Taking a deep breath, he half-reclined in the carriage seat, casting a glance at the corpse beside him.

"Buddy... we’ve seen each other for so many years, and I still don’t know your name?"

He had already searched through the carriage thoroughly inside and out and was very familiar with it, but the only thing he couldn’t deal with was this corpse. It seemed to be stuck to the seat, completely immovable.

Later he simply ignored it, and the corpse didn’t emit any odor or decay. It would just occasionally change its position. At the beginning Lin Xin was somewhat daunted, but he later became accustomed to it and didn’t really care anymore.

The corpse still faced forward, unmoving and unresponsive.

Lin Xin was just speaking to himself out of loneliness. He closed his eyes for a moment of rest, and soon the carriage came to a slow stop.

He got out of the carriage and once again arrived at the gloomy courtyard.

"This time, by calculation, it should be a ratio of one to fifteen..." Lin Xin had long figured out the ratio of time flow between the gloomy residence and reality.

Whether he was cultivating or doing something else here, it was no different from reality, except that the flow of time was slowed down. Fifteen days here was only one day in reality. That is to say, every time he was now able to stay here for nearly three days, which translated back, meant he had about five hours each night in this place.

After getting off the carriage, the sound of the wind stirred behind him and the carriage instantly departed, vanishing into the wall.

Lin Xin did not linger and went straight into the inner house, which was filled with various things he had found in Spirit Heart Villa over the years.

Among them, there was even a complete human skeletal model of a two-faced person, with many red lines marked on it, and on the other side were two corpses of a two-faced man and woman, both standing with wide eyes open, and half of their flesh on the body was cut open, having been treated with medicine to prevent decay.

"The two-faced person’s model is almost established. Their body structure has determined that they have twenty-six fatal points. If these twenty-six points are hit, even someone in the Foundation Establishment Stage would be killed instantly..."

Lin Xin walked to a corner of the room, where there was a small chest left open, containing many strange and miscellaneous items. There were various waist pouches and bags, books, Jade Slips, and also some small-scale weapons and hidden weapons among them.

Throwing the newly acquired miscellaneous Magic Artifacts into it, Lin Xin picked up a Buddhist Scripture and began to recite it quietly.

He could faintly feel that the calming effects of the Buddhist Scripture could alleviate the severity of his illusions.

After chanting the scriptures for a while, then practicing cultivation, and then studying to perfect his Heart Eye Sword Path. Afterward, it was time to study the Formation Path.

Time unconsciously passed by.

He didn’t know how much time had gone by when he slowly opened his eyes, and there was Xiao Lingling, propping her chin to the side, looking at him enticingly.

"What is it?" he asked softly, gently pulling Xiao Lingling over to hug her.

"Nothing... just waiting for you," Xiao Lingling simply smiled, snuggling into Lin Xin’s chest.

"It’s snowing outside."

"Really?" Lin Xin’s gaze turned towards the window, and through the cracks, he could faintly make out the vast whiteness outside.

"Lingling, would you dance for me?" Xiao Lingling suddenly asked.

"Bishui Huanghua again?"

"No... It’s a new one I’ve learned, Sunny Rain. Duan’er and I choreographed it together, and no one has seen it yet." Xiao Lingling was somewhat excited, as she always performed new dances she created specifically for Lin Xin.

"I’ll accompany you with music..."

Lin Xin smiled and said softly.

The two got up, freshened up, and when they came out, they saw the world outside covered in silver white. The garden and trees in the yard were all white, pressed down by layers of thick snow.

As soon as Lin Xin stepped out of the door, his expression suddenly became solemn.

The big tree in the courtyard had somehow withered, and the trunk had turned dry and yellow, with no luster whatsoever.

"Husband, what’s wrong? Come on, come over!" Xiao Lingling had already walked far away, heading towards the Lake Heart Pavilion.

Lin Xin closed his eyes and opened them again; for some reason, an indescribable emotion surged in his heart.

Looking at Xiao Lingling, who was far away in a white fox fur coat, he took out a flute and followed slowly. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation votes, monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)