Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 198 - 191 Garrison - Part 1

Chapter 198: Chapter 191 Garrison - Part 1

Countless small flying elephants slaughtered each other, their blood and severed trunks falling continuously, the stench barely having time to spread before being blown away by the fierce wind.

"Damn it!"

Within the black oval space.

A woman in black furiously slammed her palm against the mirror in front of her.

The full-length mirror, taller than a person, showing the battle between the small flying elephants and the cultivators, shattered instantly, its pieces clattering to the ground.

Countless fragments rolled away, the woman’s chest heaving violently.

"So close, if it weren’t for, if it weren’t for the concoction of Myriad Thousand Souls Water for Yue’er, you lowly fowls and dogs wouldn’t stand a chance!" Her voice was sharp with malice.

With a gesture, another mirror flew in front of her, emerging from the darkness, silently taking the original mirror’s place.

The mirror lit up, and this time, it revealed the scene of a group of Foundation Establishment Cultivators at the very top.

The woman’s gaze particularly lingered on Hua Yunu and Dugu Lin with Su Wan.

"People of the Immortal Sect, you bully me while I’m injured..."

The woman reached out into the void and grabbed, countless black mists from the surrounding darkness rushing towards her, spiraling and condensing into a small black jade bottle.

The woman gently tossed the black jade bottle onto the floor.

Smash.

As the bottle shattered, a large number of pale yellow, sticky insects surged out, long and wriggling like roundworms, scrambling away in all directions.

The ground seemed to have opened up a fountain of insects, as an infinite number of them poured out from the centre, spreading out ceaselessly.

Soon, the number of yellow roundworms grew, starting to clump together and pile higher, slowly forming a somewhat bloated human shape.

The figure had no facial features; its face and body were completely covered with squirming, mucous worms. Droplets of liquid, like strands of silk, fell to the ground.

More and more roundworms continuously climbed onto its legs, making the body increasingly robust and solid.

The woman stood before the humanoid figure, looking up at its bald, featureless face.

"Go and kill those three for me," she commanded in a low voice.

"Yes, respected master...."

The insect person, over five meters tall, bent ever so slightly, bowing to the woman who only reached his thigh.

Then he turned and strode away, quickly vanishing into the darkness.

The woman stood in silence for a while, until she could no longer hear the insect person’s movement, then she turned to leave.

"Fedora, long time no see, how have your powers regressed so much?"

Suddenly, a coquettish male voice floated out from the darkness.

"Is that you?!" The woman whirled around sharply, "Didn’t mother send you to Huo Zhou? Have you dealt with the matters at Tianyun Path?" her face showed a hint of solemnity.

"I’m just here to see my dearest sister." Out of the darkness, a huge Black Armor insect, as tall as a man, flew out. The beetle stood upright on its hind legs like a human, revealing its underbelly.

The white spotted patterns on its abdomen suddenly split open, the gap widening, revealing the inner cavity of the insect.

Inside was a man standing, his body smeared with yellow pus, his features unclear.

Through the pus, one could see the man’s sinister and cold smirk.

"You need not worry about me; I can handle my own affairs," the woman stepped back, her eyes flashing with intense wariness.

"For the sake of a human, you’ve tolerated indignities and holed up here; you’ve also lost two of your avatars to the people of the Xi Yi cave. Mother has been displeased for some time. She sent me to bring you back."

The man spoke ominously.

"Impossible, mother is trapped in the Absolute Shadow Light Formation, she couldn’t have sent any messages." The woman’s body tensed, her eyes reflecting absolute vigilance.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk... just how long has it been since we last saw each other, sister? Where has the ruthlessness you had when you were crafting bone artifacts gone?" The man spoke admiringly, his snake-like eyes sliding greasily over the woman’s body.

"If you’ve come just to say these pointless words, then you can go back," the woman stated coldly.

"I have your best interests at heart, sister. For the sake of a human, you’ve exhausted your own cultivation to produce so much Myriad Thousand Souls Water..."

Before he could finish speaking, the woman’s figure collapsed, suddenly melting into a pool of liquid and splashing to the floor, quickly seeping into the ground.

"Thinking of escaping!" The man opened his mouth and spat out.

A huge grey-yellow tentacle flew out of his mouth, whipping out like a tail, viciously shooting towards the liquid the woman had become.

The tentacle grew longer and longer, extending more than ten meters, its tip opening to reveal a small suction cup like that of an octopus. As soon as it touched the liquid on the ground, the suction cup began to rapidly ingest and suck up the liquid, drawing it into the tentacle.

A look of satisfaction slowly spread across the man’s face. Once the remaining liquid was completely absorbed, he quickly retracted the tentacle back into his mouth.

"Sister, wouldn’t it be nicer for us to merge into one? With mother trapped, isn’t this the perfect opportunity for us to be independent?" he whispered ominously.

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

In a small cabin amidst the Giant Tree Forest.

A woman in simple clothes suddenly turned pale, covering her mouth as a trickle of fresh blood seeped from the corner of her lips.

"What’s wrong?! Jing’er!" A man outside the cabin, hearing the commotion, rushed in. The man was strong, with only the upper part of his body clothed, carrying a huge sword in one hand. It was Dongyue, who had just met Lin Xin.

Dongyue, with a look of concern, rushed over to embrace the woman.

"Jing’er, what’s the matter? Are you okay?"

"I’m...I’m fine." The woman forced a weak smile, but her pale cheeks were devoid of any color.

"You say you’re fine, but why is your face so pale?" Dongyue asked anxiously.

"Really, it’s nothing. Maybe...maybe I’ve just been resting too little lately and am a bit worn out; my old ailment is acting up," the woman replied gently. She reached out to caress Dongyue’s cheek tenderly.

"Don’t worry, Yue’er. We will always be together... always."

Dongyue didn’t respond, but fiercely embraced her.

"Jing’er, don’t overexert yourself for me. It’s fine if I miss my medicine for a day or two."

"That’s not an option, your medicine cannot be interrupted, otherwise, all the sequelae in your body will flare up again," the woman said sternly.

A flicker of emotion passed through Dongyue’s eyes as he hugged her.

"Jing’er... why are you so good to me?" he murmured softly. As his heart was touched by her kindness, his gaze inadvertently fell upon the white butterfly tattoo on the back of her neck.

"Insect masters are all cruel and strange. I had no grudges with them to begin with, and whether they’re cruel, just look at the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of civilians that died due to the plague of the insect women," Brother Lin Xin’s words still echoed slowly in his ears. A slight tremor ran through his heart.

"Because... I like you," Jing’er’s gentle voice penetrated his ears.

Dongyue’s heart was in turmoil. His parents had both been great cultivators on the Righteous Path, and he still had family in the Sect. If it were discovered that he was together with an insect master...

"Yue’er, what’s wrong with you?" Jing’er obviously noticed something off about him.

"It’s nothing..." Dongyue released her and looked once more at her cool and graceful face. "You should rest well... I’ll go get you something to eat."

"Okay."

Dongyue’s mind was a mess. He left the room, made some mushroom soup for the woman, excused himself for a walk, and headed straight for the direction where Lin Xin and the others were.

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

High above the giant tree.

Lin Xin kept climbing upwards on a small flying elephant, the fierce wind tearing through the air. He supported a Spiritual Light Shield around his body, shaping the shield flat so the wind from the sides would blow across, greatly reducing the resistance.

He held tightly onto the elephant’s long trunk, which felt much like rough and hard rubber hose with layers of ridges.

Um~~~ Hmm~~~

The little flying elephant let out unintelligible grunts and began to struggle and twist.

Lin Xin lifted the trunk upwards.

Ah~~~

A loud fart burst out from behind the flying elephant, after which it had no choice but to continue climbing upwards.

After an unknown amount of time, the giant tree’s canopy loomed closer, with massive black fruits hanging amidst the branches and leaves, each as large as a building.

"So these are the giant fruits?" Lin Xin murmured.

The flying elephant shot into the foliage as Hua Yunu leaped off, landing deftly on a branch as wide as a roadway.

The rest, following her example, started to land in the same area.

Lin Xin looked back at the people from the Manor, noting that a few had been toppled by the flying elephant during skirmishes en route and were nowhere to be seen.

"Teacher... two people fell off..." Lin Luo whispered.

"Ensure their families are well taken care of upon our return..." Lin Xin sighed.

He maneuvered the flying elephant above where Hua Yunu and the others had gathered, lightly jumped, and descended briskly from above, landing firmly on the branch.

Dugu Lin approached from the side.

"Look after yourself and stay close to me. The reason we were summoned here must be significant."

"Alright." Lin Xin nodded.

Hua Yunu waited until everyone had arrived, then brought everyone together.

"Those adept with Formation Talismans, please stand in the center. Those responsible for combat, stand on the periphery. We’re about to engage in a tough battle, be cautious everyone."

"Do you need the assistance of us cultivators skilled in Formation Talismans for something specific?" A Qi Cultivator asked with a frown.

"Indeed. You will simply need to deal with the Formation Patterns on the giant fruits when the time comes," Hua Yunu explained succinctly. "With our protection, safety should not be a concern."

Lin Xin stood beside Dugu Lin, listening to the various questions being asked of Hua Yunu.

Meanwhile, he crouched on his own accord, gently pressing his hand against the massive branch.

The branch of the giant tree was extremely hard; when he applied some force, nothing happened. Then a point of White Light shone through, and his Sword Qi penetrated his fingertip, touching it lightly.

Only a shallow scratch appeared on the branch, oozing out a trace of green fluid.

Bringing his finger to his nose, Lin Xin slightly furrowed his brow.

"What is it? Did you discover something?" Dugu Lin asked quietly nearby.

"The sap of this giant tree is poisonous, intensely so. It’s best not to let it contact any wounds," Lin Xin replied in a low voice.

"This is the Black Wind Tree, revered as a holy tree in this region. Originally, it was the territory of a giant eagle Demon King. However, something happened a while back, and the Demon King’s whereabouts remain unknown, not responding to multiple contacts. It was only when someone came to investigate that they discovered a large number of these black giant fruits."

"Those over there?" Lin Xin stood, observing the large black fruits hanging amidst the giant tree.

"Correct," Dugu nodded.

Lin Xin pondered for a moment, feeling a vague understanding.

He turned back to look at the people from the Manor, noting that some were already showing signs of unease; indeed, the sight before them was far beyond what most could imagine.

The recent flight experience had also left everyone alarmed; a small mishap could mean a fatal plunge to the ground, a fall they would not survive.

"Let’s go." Hua Yunu, having finished her explanations, led everyone towards the broadest part of the branch.

The branch grew wider and thicker as they walked, and its color changed from dark green to pure black. The surface they walked upon became increasingly hard.

(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, welcome to vote for it on Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to continue reading.)