Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 233 - 226 Leaving Part 2

Chapter 233: Chapter 226 Leaving Part 2

"Daoist, you’re injured too!?" Lin Xinyuan exclaimed in shock.

"It’s nothing serious, just that I can’t take any action for a short while. I had a confrontation with Huashen Xi earlier, and suffered severe internal injuries that haven’t healed yet," Daoist Qiuye replied in a low voice.

"If the manor can get through this crisis, I will do everything in my power to help you successfully form your Nascent Soul!" Lin Xinyuan, acting as the temporary villa master, declared emphatically.

"It’s pointless. If forming a Nascent Soul could be achieved simply with external resources, there would be countless Nascent Souls in this world by now," Daoist Qiuye said indifferently. "I won’t leave. The current problem is that what Huashen Xi most wants to find is Manor Master Lin Xin; you must inform him not to return. If he doesn’t come back, that’s fine, we can delay and distract their forces. The Hua Family, even if they take action, won’t be able to annihilate us completely—neither side would benefit from a pyrrhic victory. Plus, Huashen Xi needs the manor to threaten the villa master as leverage. But if Lin Xin returns, then everyone in the manor will die."

After these words were spoken, everyone present fell silent.

By now, many of the manor’s outer disciples had quietly fled, while the core members were slowly gathering, their faces heavy with sorrow. Hearing these words only added a tinge of bleakness to their hearts.

The terrifying trail left by that one strike had affected too many people; some were disciples of the manor, some were their brothers and sisters, some their parents and relatives. Too many ordinary people who couldn’t evade in time were cut down by a single blow.

"What about the sect? Maybe we can seek help from the Sword Sect?" Lin Duan said softly.

"Given Huashen Xi’s strength, unless a Nascent Soul Daoist Master comes in person, no one can stop him," Daoist Qiuye shook his head. "I also didn’t expect that Hua Yunu, an insignificant figure, could incite such an old monster."

"So you’re telling me that in three days, the manor will..." Ou Yinghong said in despair.

"I will go to the appointment," Daoist Qiuye stated calmly.

"No way!" Lin Xinyuan immediately objected. "Daoist has already done too much for us. If you go to the appointment, nobody can stop Huashen Xi, and you, Daoist..."

"It’s okay, I have a Golden Talisman on me, escaping won’t be a problem," Daoist Qiuye said, maintaining a composed expression, "My presence here is not for your reward or hired resources. It’s a debt I owe to Tianjue Shou. That’s all."

Tianjue Shou?

Lin Xinyuan hadn’t quite grasped the situation yet, but Lin Luo suddenly realized something.

Tianjue Shou, the eldest senior brother!

"Is it the eldest senior brother!? He’s come back!?" he suddenly became excited.

"Yes... I’m just trying to buy time. If I fail, then the life I owed him from before can be considered repaid," Daoist Qiuye said serenely, already resigned to whatever fate might hold.

For a while, everyone was speechless. They finally understood that many things couldn’t simply be bought with money.

As first-rate experts of the Golden Core Perfection level, each held their own will. Those who carried their Dao to the extreme could reach such a high realm. They certainly wouldn’t risk their lives over mere resources and money so easily.

"In three days, at Que Yaofeng, I’ll see you all again," Daoist Qiuye turned and disappeared in an instant.

Not long after his departure, a transparent trace shot across the sky, descending from the heavens.

It wasn’t until then that Dugu Lin gracefully arrived, and she was shocked at the sight of the devastation before her.

"Have I come too late!?"

"Sister Dugu!" Lin Duan stepped forward to meet her, unable to hold back her tears any longer, she began to sob softly.

After she recounted everything that had taken place, Dugu Lin’s face also turned somewhat helpless.

"I’m also powerless to interfere with this matter. The Hua Family has lost a once-in-a-lifetime genius, and the matter has already escalated to the Elders’ Hall. My teacher suppressed the opposition from the other two families, but it’s not possible to take a stand on such an issue of vengeance and justice. Murder must be met with life, debt repaid with money, it’s a universal truth..."

"But..." Lin Duan had a good relationship with her and wanted to argue, but she was stopped by Dugu Lin’s shake of the head and the stopping of her next words.

"Better start moving early. Disband the majority of the people; the remaining core can hide in my Bixia Valley. They should be safe. If Huashen Xi dares to cause chaos in my Bixia Valley, I, Dugu Lin, won’t just sit back and watch!" She declared coldly.

"Then... what about Xin’er?" Zhao Yu Niang’s voice trembled as she asked. Lin Zhiwen and his siblings, who had just rushed over, wore despondent expressions, clearly guessing the outcome.

Dugu Lin shook her head slightly, unsure how to answer.

She couldn’t possibly give refuge to Lin Xin. There were boundaries that couldn’t be crossed, lines set by the Hua Family. They weren’t to be trifled with—a family backed by Huashen Xi, a top-class expert on the verge of forming his Nascent Soul at any moment, a powerhouse that could at any time add another Nascent Soul Daoist Master to the Songlin Sword Sect. Compared to employing a slightly valuable, low-level Formation Talisman Master, the difference was clear. Unless the higher-ups were blind, there could only be one outcome.

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

Hiss.

A flash of purple flame at the fingertip flickered momentarily. Lin Xin walked quietly through a red bamboo forest, his back laden with a large basket, clad in coarse hemp clothes, disguising himself as an ordinary herbalist, strolling through the forests and hills.

Upon leaving the secretive abode, he had been on the move without daring to return to the manor, whether due to Huashen Xi or his own illusions. His return to the manor would bring nothing but trouble to everyone, so he decided not to go back. Along the way, he searched for places with few human traces, seeking out mines, earth springs, spiritual energy, and treasures. Attempting to decipher these things, he hoped to find what he needed, something that could suppress the power of the secretive abode.

Along the way, he barely used any spiritual energy, instead experimenting with various minor Formation Talismans, which he discovered greatly alleviated his hallucinations. Sometimes they would just manifest as faint illusions.

Throughout these days, aside from analyzing the power of the secretive abode and activating Formations, he didn’t use spiritual energy for anything else, moving forward like an ordinary person—climbing rocks, gathering herbs.

Although he didn’t gain much, he did find the key thing to reducing and restraining the illusions.

Following the road to the west, he didn’t stop for a moment, and in the blink of an eye, more than ten days had passed.

The mountainous forests gradually became scarcer, and the hills and plains more frequent. He would occasionally encounter travelers from Jianghu and merchant caravans along the way.

After passing through several small mountain villages, Lin Xin soon approached a small town. Skirting around the town to find the main road used by carriages, he stepped onto it and went forward, gradually encountering more and more people.

Several more days passed.

The weather suddenly turned cold, slowly entering winter.

Fine snowflakes fell from the sky, evenly sprinkling over the road.

Lin Xin carried some herbs and fox and rabbit furs on him, and his jade token bore the emblem of the Sword Sect, which was too conspicuous to use; his silver fragments and gold leaves had been kept in his storage bag but were long lost.

He planned to barter these herbs and fur to get some dried food and travel expenses to continue his journey.

Although robbery and banditry were easier and money came faster, being an ordinary herbalist and part-time hunter drew less attention.

Lin Xin now dared not even kill ordinary creatures, as he had discovered the delusions were connected to two things: his cultivation level and his acts of killing.

Thus, he only killed a fox and a rabbit when he was hungry, and afterward, he did not lay his hands on anything else. Nor did he care about his cultivation. As if forgetting everything, he just honestly and ordinarily crossed mountains and ridges.

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

The streets were crowded with people, seasonal hunters, and herbalists who set up their stalls by the roadside, interspersed with some tomb raiders showcasing their odd findings at their booths, while rows of various shops bustled with people coming and going behind them.

Adults led children by the hand, girls laughed like bells, traveling in groups. Young masters, servants, traveling merchants, dealers purchasing herbs.

A few hooligans hid in the corners, muttering and gossiping. The chaotic stream of people flowed incessantly, like a brook, crisscrossing and intermingling.

The small snowflakes drifted down, covering the street with a thin layer, like sugar icing on a persimmon cake.

Lin Xin squatted by the street, motionless among the surrounding hunters with their stalls, not speaking, just resting with his eyes closed.

In front of him were displayed several pure white fox furs without any spots. There was also a red rabbit fur, equally spotless. Plus, there were various kinds of herbs he had picked at random. Without any processing, he simply laid them on the ground, allowing people to look through them.

"Top-quality soft tofu, thin skin and tender meat, with a red-centered egg in between, not looking watery at all, you want to check it out?"

"Lotus Breakstream, how much for one?"

"Did you overcharge me ten pieces of silver just now?!"

"This old diabolo isn’t worth that price...."

"Deliver the stuff tonight at the usual place, in the Tian number room around the corner."

"You damned gambler, did you go gambling again last night? Tell me! Do you still want this family? From the time we got married till now, count the days you haven’t been there...."

One after another, these mixed-up sounds invaded Lin Xin’s ears.

He found himself alone amidst the bustling market, his heart feeling as if he were the only person there, with everything else serving as the background.

After listening to the voices on the street for a while, his awareness shifted toward a liquor and food inn behind him.

"Did you hear that last night the third boss of the Mad Kill Gang was found dead on the bed of Miss Nongyun of the Green Brothel, and Nongyun herself has disappeared without a trace, leaving only rooster feathers everywhere? The Taoist priest they brought in said it was the work of a demon...."

"Someone in Nanyun Province can tell fortunes three times a day for free, but only for one person per day. Once done, he leaves. My uncle went there once, and really, it was astonishingly accurate."

"Wu Ying Bamboo Lake appeared again?"

"Who knows how many will die this time... for a Cold Mansion Pearl, countless people have already drowned in that little lake. It’s truly sinful."

"I hear from a friend who just came from the Spirit Heart Realm that something happened to Spirit Heart Villa."

"What? What could happen to Spirit Heart Villa? You must be joking, right?"

Lin Xin’s heart shivered, and he quickly focused his consciousness on the two people who were speaking.

Both of them were dressed like Jianghu characters, wearing bamboo hats and dressed in light gray outfits, with broadswords hanging at their waists.

"What exactly happened? Tell me about it?" the other person inquired.

The previous speaker took a sip of wine, he-heed with a laugh.

"Word is they crossed the Hua Family."

"The Hua Family? Which Hua Family?"

"The one with Hualongzi, that Hua Family!"

"You mean the ancient noble family that’s a thousand years old, the Hua Family?" the other person asked in astonishment.

"Indeed, that’s the one." The speaker nodded slightly. "It’s said someone in Spirit Heart Villa killed an important member of the Hua Family, so the two sides went head to head. The villa had over a dozen Taoist Master level experts, but they couldn’t withstand a senior member of the Hua Family. After a fierce battle, the villa was forced to agree to a decisive battle at Que Yao Peak in three days." (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote, recommend tickets, monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)