Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 215 - 208: Damage

Chapter 215: Chapter 208: Damage

"Oh?" Lin Xin was somewhat surprised as he watched Hua Yunu repeatedly crash wildly within.

"It’s useless..."

His gaze sharpened, and he slightly bent his body.

Large clumps of flame gathered in his hand on the Red Flower Sword, and the entire blade suddenly ignited with black and red flames. Numerous flickering flames, like the mane of some lion, continuously boiled and tumbled.

On Lin Xin’s body, on the blade, all the red formation patterns began to slowly glow.

"Red Flower Sword Path..."

He held the sword in one hand while a black and red fire lotus suddenly ignited in the palm of his other hand.

"Qilin!"

Roar!!!

An extremely violent beastly roar suddenly erupted.

A large clump of black and red flames fiercely burst from Lin Xin’s body, the flames rubbing against the air emitting a deafening noise, blending all chaotic sounds together, actually forming an immensely mighty roar.

The flames burst forth, curiously faintly condensing into a wildly charging giant beast’s head in mid-course.

At that moment, Hua Yunu also barely broke through the rune wall’s blockade, and the platinum-colored dragon shape roared madly, fiercely rushing toward the black fire.

Boom!!

The platinum and black-red colors violently collided, and a blinding white light exploded from between them.

Lin Xin raised his hand to shield his eyes, and after a moment, when the white light gradually dimmed, he lowered his hand.

Clumps of black and red flames splattered and fell around, into the pond, onto the stones, and on the edge of the forest, the black fire scattering like flying sparks everywhere.

This transformation was somewhat beyond even Lin Xin’s own expectations.

The location where Hua Yunu had been now had no trace left, only some fragmented golden scales remained.

"Dead? Or escaped?" Lin Xin walked to the location of the remnants.

He held the Red Flower Sword upside down, the red runes on his body quickly faded. The flames also slowly diminished until they disappeared, leaving only lingering wisps of blue smoke. The residual sound of the flames sizzling continued to echo.

Wisps of blue smoke also continuously emitted from the blade, obviously, it had endured an exceedingly high temperature.

"Who’s there!" Lin Xin sensed something, suddenly turned around, and pointed his sword at his opponent.

From a distance, he saw Jing’er and Dongyue sitting on a meter-high, five-meter-long golden beetle, their eyes wide open, gazing in this direction.

"You... you actually managed to drive away the Dragon King Dao Foundation holder..." Jing’er looked astounded, but more than that, she was shocked, she couldn’t believe it, her original plan was to have her younger brother, the Beetle King, come to help in battle, but unexpectedly everything was already over when she arrived.

"Why have you come back?" Lin Xin put away the Red Flower Sword.

"Hua Yunu is indeed formidable, if not for the Magic Sword he refined with his heart’s blood lacking half, the outcome of this battle would have been uncertain," he stated calmly.

"By the way, what is the Dragon King Dao Foundation? It sounds very powerful,"

Jing’er, staring at him as if looking at a monster, composed her complex emotions and began to explain,

"The Dragon King Dao Foundation is rumored among the strongest classifications forged in the Innate Dao Foundation. Among you cultivators, some meld the demons’ flesh and core into their own, forming a Dao Foundation, some transform innate divine beasts’ flesh into Dao Foundations, some even merge various natural treasures into themselves. And the Dragon King Dao Foundation, is a term for the strongest class of such foundations. They possess extremely strong explosive power, recovery, defense, resistance, and even longevity, far surpassing the usual Foundation Establishment," Jing’er explained softly. "Thus, they are revered with a title named after the strongest divine beast, the Dragon."

"So, does that mean Hua Yunu’s Dao Foundation is the strongest in the Foundation Establishment Stage?" Lin Xin pondered, these were things he had never heard before, after all, it belonged to the high-end secrets of the Foundation Establishment Stage, and although he had Dugu Lin as a close friend, they hadn’t exchanged much about their cultivations.

"No... The Dragon King Dao Foundation is a general term for a class of foundations, among which there can be significant differences. Hua Yunu’s level is considered intermediate. Let’s not discuss this for now, I am here to give you something," Jing’er said earnestly.

"Before that, I have a question for you," Lin Xin suddenly said.

"What?"

"The children inside the den, did you kill them?"

Jing’er fell silent for a moment, seemingly organizing her thoughts on how to respond.

She took a deep breath, noticing Dongyue also listening intently beside her, seemingly placing great importance on the answer to this question.

"If I say it was me, what do you plan to do?"

"What do you think?" Lin Xin’s gaze slightly intensified, his hand once again resting on the Red Flower Sword, a hint of killing intent slowly emanating.

"It can’t be Jing’er!" Dongyue burst out, her expression composed, "Jing’er knows how much I detest such acts, she couldn’t possibly commit such a cruel deed again!"

Jing’er gently held Dongyue’s hand.

"Since you insist on asking, I can tell you, it wasn’t me."

Lin Xin’s eyes met hers directly for a long while, not detecting even a hint of deceit in her eyes, completely transparent and straightforward.

"Good, I believe you."

"I don’t need you to believe me. I explained only for Yue’er’s sake."

Jing’er didn’t waste any more words and took out an irregular white and gold-colored bone shard from her embrace, throwing it directly at Lin Xin.

"Catch!"

With a smack, Lin Xin deftly caught the bone piece, and no sooner had he grasped it, he felt an extremely hot, twisting sensation in his palm. Despite being a solid bone, it oddly gave him a sense of movement as if it were a living thing.

"What is this...?" He held it up for a closer look, but could not distinguish what it was.

"This is... a Dragon Bone." Jing’er said calmly, "It can be integrated into your Dao Foundation, turning an ordinary Dao Foundation into a Dragon King Dao Foundation, from which you can then gain an Innate Divine Ability."

"Innate Divine Ability? You mean a Dragon King Dao Foundation can also grant an Innate Divine Ability?!" Lin Xin was immediately shocked. "That means it can reverse innate talents?!"

"Exactly!" Jing’er nodded, "I give you the Dragon Bone as thanks for risking your life to save me this time. From now on, we owe each other nothing."

Dongyue wanted to speak, but Jing’er gently covered her mouth with a hand.

"Don’t say anything. Let’s find a quiet place to live well together, go through the rest of our lives and forget these mundane troubles, okay?"

Lin Xin clenched the Dragon Bone, feeling a surge of emotions within him.

Talent had always been the hurdle he couldn’t overcome; without it, he wouldn’t have had to use the Blood Pill Method to condense Inner Qi. If not for his talent, he wouldn’t have recklessly entered the Nether Mansion time and again, constantly engaging in slaughter. If not for talent, he wouldn’t have been so constrained by the Sect, having to surrender nearly half of his hard-earned refinement gains each year.

The Dragon King Dao Foundation, able to reverse innate talents...this doubtlessly gave him a sudden glimpse of hope for rebirth.

"I will remember today’s lesson forever." He bowed respectfully towards Jing’er.

"You flatter me, sir." Jing’er shook her head, then without further ado, piloted the beetle and turned to leave.

"The nightmares plaguing you, the stronger your Dao Foundation, the more they will alleviate your greatest issue. If that fails, you might consider seeking a chance at the Western Extreme Thousand Buddha Temple." Her voice lingered in the air as her final words.

The beetle came swiftly and departed just as fast, its wings vibrating as it buzzed into flight, soon disappearing with the two of them.

"Big brother, Jing’er and I are going to seclude ourselves somewhere. If there’s anything you need, you can find me at Sui Xu Mountain," Dongyue’s distant voice transmitted to him.

Lin Xin stood motionless, pondering. Hua Yunu was either dead or had fled, with the latter seeming more likely. Fortunately, he had always worn a disguise mask and seldom displayed his true strength openly, so they probably couldn’t trace him back to the Manor.

Quickly collecting the remaining golden scales left by Hua Yunu, Lin Xin’s figure soared, shooting towards the direction of the Black Wind Giant Tree.

He had to return to the camp before anyone else to make it seem as if he had never left.

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

At the top of the Black Wind Tree.

Inside the camp, a shadow flashed rapidly across the area guarded by Spirit Heart Villa, disappearing into the wooden cabin where Lin Xin was supposed to be.

A light breeze passed, and suddenly, a figure in black clothes with black hair appeared in the middle of the cabin—it was Lin Xin, who had just returned from outside.

After sitting down cross-legged, he slowly regulated his breath and practiced Inner Vision on his internal state.

"Yin Mantuo."

He summoned the flower vine within the Red Flower Sword using his mind.

But to his shock, Yin Mantuo’s response was extremely weak, almost as if it were half-dead.

Stretching out his hand, he pressed lightly on the ground before lifting his palm away.

Hisss...

Slowly, a red flower vine sprouted from the ground, appearing like a potted plant in size, yet it halted its growth once it spread to an area the size of a basin.

Moreover, the entire vine looked sickly and lethargic.

"Was the consumption from that move so great..." Lin Xin also felt pain for Yin Mantuo. Its original form was several meters tall with countless vines whipping about, an unrivaled sight accumulated over many years.

This time, it first helped him block many elite monks, albeit briefly, but got severely damaged and exhausted in the process. Later, numerous Formation Patterns inscribed upon it were forcefully activated, causing significant scorching and withering to the body.

Now, only a little of its original form remained.

"You’ve suffered...." Lin Xin bit his forefinger, squeezed out a drop of blood, and dropped it on the bud of the vine.

Hisss once again, the blood was instantly absorbed by the bud and disappeared out of sight.

But Yin Mantuo seemed to revive a bit at that instant.

A few leaves slowly nodded. Suddenly, Yin Mantuo transformed into a beam of red light and shot into the Red Flower Sword.

Gently tapping the sword, Lin Xin rose to his feet but staggered and nearly fell.

He hurriedly steadied himself on a nearby chair and shook his head slightly.

"Qilin... truly a forbidden move... The cost after use is too great; it seems that unless absolutely necessary, I should not employ it lightly. Although its power is indeed terrifying...."

The Qilin, using the Bell Sound Technique as the core, gathered dozens of different flames into one, turned them into flesh and blood, and using Red Flower Sword Intent as its bones, fused everything into one, creating an extreme ability.

Its power mainly depended on the strength of the flame array, requiring a substantial amount of Spirit Jade. In other words, it burns money. In the battle with Hua Yunu, Lin Xin instantly burned through dozens of pieces of Spirit Jade, reducing Yin Mantuo’s long-accumulated form to its weakest state, even weaker than when it was first summoned.

He also had his whole body burned by his own flames, and the exact extent of internal injuries in his body was unknown.(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit qidian.com to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)