Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 196 - 189: The Giant Tree - Part One

Chapter 196: Chapter 189: The Giant Tree - Part One

A thought crossed his mind, and Lin Xin glided gently toward Dongyue’s direction, exchanging glances through the barrier.

Bang!

Dongyue swung his heavy sword with a thunderous crash, sending the surrounding ghost wolves flying. He landed lightly and stood outside the Fire Spirit Formation, smiling.

"What’s the matter? Big brother, do you not recognize me anymore?"

His skin had assumed a strange, bronze color, with copper coin-like patterns faintly visible on it. His physique was also much more robust than before.

Lin Xin stared at the other party for a moment to confirm he wasn’t disguised as another creature, then waved his hand to open a gap in the barrier to let him in.

A white, semi-transparent barrier automatically revealed a circular hole, which soon enlarged to form an archway tall enough for a person to pass through.

Dongyue walked in with his sword in hand.

"Big brother, long time no see. Did you miss me?"

His face looked much more mature, obviously having experienced quite some hardships. Gone was his youthful naiveté, replaced by a hint of steadiness.

"You little rascal." Lin Xin didn’t know what to say. Dongyue, back in the sect, had provided him with a lot of information and support; he was a friend, albeit one with a mysterious identity, who didn’t cultivate and just roamed around, but was a rare source of valuable information.

"Big brother, what brings you here?" Dongyue glanced around, noting the manor and other teams not far away looking in their direction, and his brow furrowed slightly.

"I should be asking you the same thing. What are you doing here?" Lin Xin countered.

"I’ve always lived here," Dongyue replied nonchalantly. "Ever since I... left the sect, I’ve been living here."

"How did you leave the sect?" Lin Xin frowned. "Did the Blood Oath allow you to break free?" He said the latter part through a voice transmission.

"What does it matter if it allows me or not?" Dongyue’s expression shifted slightly, and he smiled. "Alright, big brother, you should hurry back. This isn’t a place for you to be. The danger here far exceeds your imagination."

"If you can be here, then so can I," Lin Xin smiled, seeing that Dongyue genuinely had his best interests at heart.

Xiao Yi approached from not too far away.

"Brother Lin, this brother looks somewhat unfamiliar to me," he said, eyeing Dongyue with a flash of suspicion.

"He’s a brother from the sect who came to support us," Lin Xin stated indifferently. "Brother Xiao, have you rested well? Do you want to leave the formation and fight the ghost wolves?"

He could see that Xiao Yi was wary of him and therefore wasn’t particularly polite.

Xiao Yi’s expression changed slightly.

"Brother Lin is too kind. We haven’t finished resting yet, and some injuries have yet to be treated..."

He hurried off, no longer bothering them.

"That guy seems a bit shady." Dongyue squinted at Xiao Yi as he left.

"Never mind him." Lin Xin didn’t hide anything and revealed the purpose of their visit here.

Dongyue initially listened with mild surprise, but later his expression started to shift.

"Big brother, this Insect Master you’re trying to round up, does he have any distinct characteristics?" he suddenly asked.

Lin Xin thought carefully.

"To talk about characteristics, there aren’t any fixed ones, but as far as I know, Insect Masters are the minions of the Insect Queen, possessing the ability to control insects. No matter the type of insects, they can easily command them. That counts as a characteristic, right?"

"Anything else?" Dongyue’s gaze flickered as he continued to inquire.

"If I had to say," Lin Xin, having experienced both his past life and this one, had a wealth of knowledge far exceeding Dongyue’s; he could also tell from his two lifetimes’ worth of experiences that something was off about Dongyue’s demeanor.

He paused.

"There’s another feature. If the Insect Master is in human form, there’s a white butterfly tattoo on the back of their neck. I read about this in a magazine of strange tales; I don’t know anything else beyond that."

"A white butterfly tattoo on the back of the neck..." Dongyue’s pupils contracted sharply upon hearing this, which did not escape Lin Xin’s notice.

"Have you... had any contact with such people?" Lin Xin’s lips didn’t move, but his voice was delivered directly into Dongyue’s ears.

"I..." Dongyue’s expression changed, and he lowered his head.

"Come with me."

Lin Xin glanced over at the ghost wolves outside. With a nonchalant appearance, the Red Flower Sword at his waist slowly brightened up, and the ground beneath his feet bulged slightly, then returned to normal in an instant.

Dongyue followed him to a tent at the end of the team’s camp, one that had just been set up, and they ducked inside.

"Sit down."

"Big brother... I..." Dongyue had already guessed what Lin Xin wanted to talk to him about and hesitated at the moment.

"I don’t care about your origin in the sect," Lin Xin said. "Since you call me big brother, and we are brothers in battle, I’ll give you a heads-up. The cruelty and strangeness of the Insect Masters are beyond your wildest imagination."

"How so?" Dongyue sat down and asked gravely.

"When I was in the Outer Sect, I once encountered an Insect Woman. If it hadn’t been for the timely appearance of Su Wan of the Immortal Sect and a Fairy from the Plum Blossom Sect, who helped me expel the insects from my body, I might not have the Spirit Heart Villa today," Lin Xin reminisced with some emotion, recalling the events of the past.

"That only proves that they have strange methods," Dongyue said quietly. "It doesn’t prove that they’re cruel."

Hearing this, Lin Xin looked at him for a long time, lifted the cup of wine in front of him, took a sip, and then said.

"Initially, I had no grudges against them. As for their cruelty, the deaths of hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of civilians from the insect woman epidemic speaks for itself. Actually, that’s not the most important point."

"Oh?" Dongyue was also taken aback, surprised that a Righteous Path Cultivator would say such a thing, seemingly indifferent to the mass deaths of civilians, which was unpredictable since the Righteous Path always considered the safety and wellbeing of all under heaven as their own responsibility.

"The main issue is the vast difference between your races. Bugmasters are the minions controlled by the bugmother, not belonging to the Human Race, whereas you are a pure-blooded human. Your lifestyles, living environments, and all manner of thought and opinion are different. Whether they are friends or acquaintances, you must always be wary."

"There’s no need to tell me that! If she really is a bugmaster, I will know how to handle it!" Dongyue said somberly with his head bowed.

"As long as you understand," Lin Xin said with an approving nod.

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

Nighttime.

In the Giant Tree Forest, countless blue lights floated up like fireflies, and blue streaks that seemed to be left by some serpentine creature appeared faintly on the tree trunks around.

Lin Xin stood quietly next to a bush, looking up at a piece of wood fungus on the tree trunk in mid-air. The wood fungus was semi-circular in shape, greyish-yellow, and clinging to the surface of the trunk, marked with concentric rings reminiscent of growth rings, spanning several meters in width.

When the wind blew, tiny spores, like dandelion seeds, drifted down from the fungus.

The grey-white spores settled on a small clearing in front of Lin Xin, where a small clump of greyish-yellow wood fungus was also growing.

Pat.

A small, blue-glowing, unknown hard nut fell to Lin Xin’s feet, rolling a few times before bumping against his boots.

Lin Xin turned his head to look, and among the branches, a white squirrel with three tails thumped its tail hard, looking at him curiously.

Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle...

The squirrel made an unintelligible sound. It was only the size of a palm, with sparkling eyes that reflected the surrounding blue light.

"A spirit creature?" Lin Luo approached Lin Xin’s side and asked in a low voice.

"Doesn’t seem like it."

Lin Xin withdrew his gaze.

"How are things?"

"Not bad, I haven’t seen any fierce beasts or ghost wolves within several kilometers. It seems like we killed too many of them earlier." Lin Luo reported.

"How is the map making coming along?"

"I’ve drawn all the routes we’ve taken. The rest is still unclear, and corrections need to be made," Lin Luo shook his head.

"That’s already quite good."

Lin Xin paused.

"Additionally, have we found Brother Hua’s whereabouts?"

"Unfortunately, Teacher, with my qinggong ability, I cannot keep up with him," Lin Luo said expressionlessly.

"I hope Brother Hua is safe..." Lin Xin also felt helpless. He couldn’t expose his own strength because of his talent issues, nor could he explain how he had achieved such a formidable level of power. The secrets hidden within could bring more troublesome issues. Allowing someone without talent to break through to the Qi Cultivator status could attract too much trouble. This matter was not as simple as the Formation Talisman issue; it was key to overturning the entire strength of the Sect.

The two stood there and talked about the matters of the Radiant Sun Sect for a while. The Assassin Platform had been initially established, but high-level experts wanted to extend their hands and control the platform, which the Radiant Sun Sect’s Liu Zong was temporarily holding off.

"No rush... I’ll handle it when I return..." Lin Xin didn’t finish his sentence when he heard a faint sound of wind from the distant forest, indicating someone approaching.

He signaled Lin Luo with his eyes.

"Who’s there!" Lin Luo understood immediately and shouted before anyone else.

Figures flashed from afar, and two people flew out from between the trees, standing on flying swords and dressed in the white Taoist Robes of Sword Sect.

One of them was none other than Brother Hua Lin.

The other was a man with a gentle face and a slender figure, handsome enough to be mistaken for a woman.

"You must not be so reckless upon returning this time, Little Hua," the man teased Hua Lin.

"Thank you for your help, Elder Brother," Hua Lin clasped his hands in gratitude.

"We’re all one family, no need for such formalities," the man patted his shoulder, glanced over at Lin Xin and, sensing him to be only at the Qi Cultivation Stage, didn’t bother to come over and strike up a conversation, instead turning away and flying off.

"Brother!" Lin Xin greeted Hua Lin first, and both of them took a careful look at Hua Lin, noticing that his only issue seemed to be his pale complexion.

"You’re finally back. Who was that just now?"

"If it hadn’t been for my clan elder brother stumbling upon me, I might not have made it back this time. There were actually two ghost wolf kings!" Hua Lin smiled wryly.

"Clan elder brother?" Lin Luo seemed to recognize the person from before. As an assassin, he had to remember the information of many notable figures.

"Swimming Fish Sword, Transforming Dragon Technique? Hua Yunu?"

Hua Lin looked at him in slight surprise.

"You even know that?"

"Of course I do, Hua Yunu..." Lin Xin realized who that man was. "One of the three great Foundation Establishment geniuses among Loose Cultivators, it is rumored that he once confronted an Alchemical Taoist Master with just his Swimming Fish Sword!" His eyes narrowed slightly. (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to the starting point (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation tickets, monthly tickets, and your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please read on m.qidian.com.)