Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 211 - 204: Making a Move (Part 2)

Chapter 211: Chapter 204: Making a Move (Part 2)

Dugu Lin didn’t respond but had already shot down and was tangled in a deadly fight with the other person.

One was overflowing with spiritual energy, their whole body shining with white light, while the other’s spiritual energy was completely suppressed. However, despite appearing frail, they possessed immense strength. Each strike could easily block Dugu Lin’s attack, emitting an extremely deep and resonating collision sound.

One relied on physical prowess, the other on spiritual energy enhancement, with both their speed and strength incredibly matched.

As they grappled closely, any trees near the two fighters collapsed with a crash. The fight was intensely fierce.

"Hey! Weren’t you not going to come? How many times did I call you? Why did you drag your feet until now?" Dugu Lin said, ’fighting’ while transmitting the message to the person opposite her.

"I originally didn’t plan to come, but then I decided to on a whim," Lin Xin said casually. "Block Su Wan for me, and I’ll forgive one third of your debt."

Their blades exchanged in combat, and suddenly, their positions shifted.

"Just one third? Do you have to be so stingy?" Dugu Lin complained. "How about half? Take it or leave it!"

"Half, are you saying that yourself!?" Lin Xin had intended to say half from the start but considering Dugu Lin’s temperament, he deliberately offered a third and, as anticipated, Dugu Lin bargained it up to half.

No sooner had she spoken than Dugu Lin knew she had been tricked.

"You rascal...!"

"You said it yourself. No take-backs."

The two exchanged blows at high speed, deliberately allowing their power to overflow and smash into the surrounding environment, breaking trees and sending soil and rocks flying. The place was left in a mess, yet despite appearances, their strikes were deceptively gentle.

"You tricked me again!" Dugu Lin instantly became displeased.

"When have I ever lied to you?" Lin Xin said with a laugh.

"Everything you say is a lie!"

Vines burst from the ground, continually blocking the pursuers.

Qi Cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Stage and others were delayed and could only watch helplessly as Dongyue and the Insect Master quickly disappeared into the Giant Tree Forest, hiding their presence.

Finally, someone bypassed Yin Mantuo and shot out from the side, taking out various tracking magic artifacts, talisman papers, and array plates, and began to activate them one by one.

Suddenly, brilliant lights spilled out, with various patterns of spiritual light slowly emerging.

"This way!"

Someone took the lead in concluding so.

"Just follow Senior Brother Hua’s Swim Fish Swords, and we’ll find some clues." A woman with a flower basket hovering above her head sent the violently spinning basket shooting out toward a direction within the Giant Tree Forest.

"Follow me!"

Immediately, other nearby cultivators chased after her.

These individuals were, after all, superior in their movement techniques, and Yin Mantuo couldn’t possibly block everyone. The fact that she had been able to delay them this long was already quite impressive.

After all, they were sect elites, including Qi Cultivators and practitioners at the high-level Foundation Establishment Stage, in great numbers.

Lin Xin couldn’t possibly hold them all back, achieving this much was already deemed successful.

His dual swords drew a series of red lines, and with a sudden movement, he released a burst of sword qi to push Dugu Lin back.

"I’m pulling out first."

"I’ll cover you!" Dugu Lin transmitted.

As they tangled and fought, moving towards the distance, bursts of Sword Qi Aura flew about. Although Dugu Lin was pretending to a degree, the more contact she had, the more surprised she became.

She had always felt that Lin Xin was hiding his true power, but she never imagined he was concealing so much. While she hadn’t been using her full strength, the fact that this guy had managed to injure Hua Yunu in a surprise attack was extraordinary.

Even if it was a sneak attack, Hua Yunu was a master who could contend head-on with Core Formation Stage cultivators. Dugu Lin wasn’t confident even in her full strength against Hua Yunu yet, during the sneak attack, Lin Xin, purportedly at the Seventh Layer of internal strength, managed to hurt her.

No... he definitely wasn’t just an internal strength practitioner; his spiritual energy was now showing. At the very least, he was a Qi Cultivator—in what layer, then? At least high-level, otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to hurt Hua Yunu.

An individual everyone thought of as just an inner strength user actually had real power comparable to the top cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Stage in sects!

This guy..... Dugu Lin inhaled sharply and felt her whole impression of Lin Xin come crashing down, replaced by the image of someone sly, shrewd, avaricious, and miserly.

Remembering Lin Xin’s spiritual energy, she suddenly recalled it was red, blood-like red!

"Hey, what’s with your spiritual energy!?"

"What do you think?" Lin Xin replied with a smile.

"You didn’t really switch to practicing the Demon Path cultivation techniques, did you?" Dugu Lin’s eyes hardened slightly.

"Whether it’s the Demon Path or not, at this close range, can’t you tell?" Lin Xin said casually.

Dugu Lin focused and indeed noticed that Lin Xin’s spiritual energy didn’t carry any bloody scent. The red didn’t seem to be tainted by blood and slaughter like that of Demonic Cultivators.

She breathed a sigh of relief.

"If you really were a Demonic Cultivator, then I’d truly be in a tough spot."

Lin Xin laughed but didn’t respond. He had indeed had a strong scent of blood earlier due to the extensive slaughter in the grim abode, but by now, it had mostly been purified. Neither the essence from Yin Mantuo and the Yin God Pearl contained any traces of blood. The practice of both the Ringing Sword Technique and the Morning Chorus had made his body increasingly robust and cleansed, gradually purifying it.

The stench of blood was nearly gone, and his acquired cultivation from the grim abode lacked the nature of the Demon Path, naturally immune to any Demon Path-repelling magic artifact or talisman formation.

"You’ve hidden yourself too deeply..." Dugu Lin expressed with some emotion before cutting short the conversation and fiercely striking with her sword, the overflowing spiritual energy carrying a tremendous force that sent Lin Xin flying.

"Be careful of Hua Yunu’s Transforming Dragon Technique—his decree can greatly enhance his cultivation level in a short period of time."

"Thank you."

Lin Xin nodded slightly and took the chance to flee towards the distant.

"Thinking of escaping!?"

Just then, Su Wan’s figure suddenly flashed, appearing not far to the side of Lin Xin. She lifted her palm lightly, with chains of ribbon-like runes circulating around her, constantly rotating as she struck a palm towards Lin Xin’s side.

Lin Xin’s expression changed slightly, and before getting close, he could feel the scorching breath released from Su Wan’s palm—it was not the sensation of heat caused by high temperatures, but more like the sting of a toxin.

The Wind-Riding Sect was best known for its various Divine Skills, among which the Heart-Swapping Godly Palm was the strongest Divine Skill cultivated by Su Wan, carrying the unique Night Wind Poison.

Lin Xin had only heard of it before. How could the night wind be poisonous? But now that he was facing it, he realized that this Divine Skill indeed lived up to its reputation.

Everything blurred before his eyes, and Lin Xin was astonished to find himself standing in a desolate grassland, vacant except for him. The night sky featured a bright moon, and waves of evening wind brought an ice-cold bone-piercing sensation, with skin pain like needles prickling.

"An illusion?"

Without any hesitation, his dual swords clashed fiercely in front of him.

Clang!!

A crisp ringing sound echoed, the unique complicated symbols of the Bell Tone Technique turned into a spark of golden color splash from the clashing dual swords, floating in midair for a moment before slowly fading away as an afterimage.

The scenery in front of Lin Xin shattered abruptly, dispersing and flying off like a fractured mirror. The surroundings returned to the environment of the Giant Tree Forest.

Su Wan was now very close, practically just a bit away from striking his shoulder with her palm.

In a swift turn of thoughts, Lin Xin fully activated his Heart Eye Sword Path, and his entire body suddenly moved backward, rapidly shifting through the forest.

Yet strangely, Su Wan’s palm continued its unhurried advance towards his shoulder, as if some immense gravitational force was pulling her to move at high speed as well. And she was previously slower than him!

Dugu Lin, who was not far away, also felt a chill in his heart.

"It’s dangerous. Once Su Wan’s Heart-Swapping Godly Palm strikes the physical body, if the opponent’s cultivation is weaker than hers, the heart will instantly connect with something prepared in advance..."

She secretly extended her Sword Qi to form a blade, ready to provide assistance at any moment.

Su Wan’s mouth curved slightly, her hand striking towards Lin Xin while the other hand took out a stone-carved heart model from her Storage Bag.

Thump!

Her palm hit Lin Xin’s right shoulder hard, the rune chains surrounding her palm edge imprinting on his skin like lightning. It looked like a tattoo.

The two suddenly parted, Su Wan holding up the stone heart with a smile.

"If you don’t wish to die, you can stop now."

Her voice went directly into Lin Xin’s ears.

"My Heart-Swapping Godly Palm can directly link your heart with this stone heart in my hand. If I crush this stone heart, your heart will shatter too."

"Is that so?"

Lin Xin’s expression remained unchanged, as he also stopped.

"Naturally, I have no reason to deceive you. If you want to test it out, feel free to try attacking me again..."

Clang!

With a glorious ring of the sword, Lin Xin’s figure immediately turned into a red streak, even his shadow completely vanished, and he appeared in front of Su Wan in an instant, moving so rapidly that even a Foundation Establishment expert like Su Wan was caught off guard for a moment. By the time she realized it, she could only defend.

The two’s fast-paced exchange resulted in dozens of strikes, with large patches of golden sparks splattering around them in an instant. The sparks turned into various golden characters, revolving around them like golden ribbons.

"Spirit Lock." Lin Xin suddenly pulled back his hands, and the surrounding golden symbols abruptly contracted, binding Su Wan.

Caught off guard by a flurry of rapid strikes, Su Wan couldn’t crush the stone heart in time. Now, she was stuck by the influence of the revolving golden symbols, her movements slowing down by more than a beat.

She tried desperately to exert strength to crush the stone heart, but was shocked to realize that for some reason, her heart wavered slightly, slowing her down a moment. Then, her vision blurred, and her movements quickly slowed down, with the stone heart also vanishing from her hands.

For a brief moment, her opponent’s speed appeared to double in her eyes.

What she didn’t realize was that it wasn’t that her opponent had sped up—it was she who had slowed down.

Spirit Lock was a move derived by Lin Xin from the insight gained from the Bell Tone Technique and the Morning Chorus Tune, integrated into his Heart Eye Sword Path. It had no offensive power, only the effect of trapping an enemy. This was also the first time he used it, allowing the enemy to fall for it unwittingly, slowing down without realizing it. It perfectly inherited the stealth effect of the Bell Tone Technique.

Su Wan realized something was off, a Jade Talisman on her body exploded, and a circle of fiery red formation light spread out, breaking the Spirit Lock Chains on her body.

Her speed returned to normal, and when she looked again at Lin Xin, he was already rapidly disappearing from her range of sight.

Hmph!

Agitated by the setback, she let out a cold snort. If she hadn’t hesitated for that brief moment and failed to crush the stone heart in time, she wouldn’t have been bound by the golden chains, slowing her movements. Moreover, she could have used the Jade Talisman to break the opponent’s move earlier.

Where had that inexplicable influence come from?

Doubt arose in her heart, and she turned to look at Dugu Lin in the distance, who was now pale-faced, holding his chest. The more she looked at him, the more suspicious he appeared.

"Dugu Lin!" She wasn’t a fool to be secretly manipulated without realizing it. For now, she just coldly looked at Dugu Lin—their feud was becoming deeper and deeper. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)