Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 234 - 227: Unfathomable Part 1

Chapter 234: Chapter 227: Unfathomable Part 1

"And then?"

"Then? It’s said that half of the peak of Que Yao was directly chopped off, leaving it without its spire. Initially, it was Autumn Leaf Daoist of the Autumn Leaf Sect who responded to the challenge, and it seems that later a mysterious figure appeared. After clashing with the old ancestor of the Hua Family, Hua Shenxi, the victory or defeat was unknown.

Afterwards, the manor was as usual, and the Hua Family returned to peace."

"Could it be a draw? Both sides damaged? That’s unlikely... Spirit Heart Villa, although it has decades of heritage, how could it possibly match up to a behemoth like the Hua Family?"

"Indeed, but it’s said that the cultivators who were watching the fight all kept their mouths shut, not uttering a single word, so the actual truth is unknown to anyone. Just that since that day, the two sides have been at odds like fire and water, this matter has gone crazy everywhere in the Great Song, it seems that someone has been intentionally speeding up the spread." The speaking person shook his head slightly, appearing to be someone well-informed about intelligence.

"Later, people from the manor claimed that the Villa Master had been killed by the Hua Family, his remains nowhere to be found. On the Hua Family’s side, they claimed that Hua Longzi was killed by the other party, each side insulting the other, neither giving in. But there have been no real battles since. It seems both sides had their reservations about each other."

He sighed.

"It’s a pity, we’re just ordinary practitioners of internal martial arts, if in our lifetime we could truly go and witness such a great battle..."

"Stop dreaming, eat your food, and by the way, where’s that silly monk? Why haven’t I seen him?"

Lin Xin listened for a while longer but there were no more conversations about the manor, so he retracted his focus, feeling somewhat relieved that the manor seemed to have been approached by Hua Shenxi but someone interfered on their behalf, avoiding trouble, fairly lucky.

"With this in view, I must not go back rashly." He understood the key point in an instant.

If he were to return now, it would definitely give them a pretext.

"I don’t know who it was that intervened... but as long as everything is alright, that’s enough..." He lowered his brows, feeling a heavy weight lift from his heart.

Actually, he had already realized that the current manor no longer needed his protection and support, having formed its own powerful and independent force, whether it be the Radiant Sun Sect, the internal relations of the Sword Sect, or its own vast territory to defend. It was no longer the small and feeble manor it once was, like a flickering candle in the wind.

Not to mention others, even Nan Shunqing had already surpassed him, the teacher. Behind him, Lin Luo, Lin Zhen, and others were all rising talents with cultivation levels that had reached the Qi Cultivator stage, capable of being the suppressors of a territory.

At this moment, it looked abrupt, but it was precisely the time for him to leave.

He, the Villa Master, seemed to gradually become a burden to the manor, and the manor, seemed to gradually become a burden to him as well.

The person just now mentioned that someone seemed to be intentionally spreading the news quickly, so the most likely possibility was that the disciples of the manor were trying to tell him in this way: Don’t worry about what’s behind you, and don’t come back, everything is fine.

Regaining his senses, Lin Xin sat with his eyes downcast at the stall, looking like a down-and-out middle-aged scholar who had turned into a hunter, putting himself out there to sell goods, somewhat embarrassed, yet compelled by the need to make a living.

His temples were streaked with gray, appearing to be over forty, which made him stand out even more among the strong young hunters around.

Before long, he attracted quite a few customers, most of them young lords and ladies.

Lin Xin also examined carefully.

In this kind of place, over ten passersby would have one who practiced external martial arts, not exactly a master but no pushover either.

In an ordinary town, such a density would be considered high. Even though he hadn’t seen any internal masters, it was still not comparable to ordinary places.

Such a large flow of Jianghu people, obviously there was something special nearby attracting them.

But he couldn’t be bothered to care, planning to sell his goods and leave directly. He didn’t have a map or the like when he came out and was wondering if he should join a group, for ease of hiding and traveling, to avoid wasting time.

"Hey, how much for this?"

Another voice reached his ear, and Lin Xin looked up.

"Five silver per piece, I’ll leave once they’re sold out. Caught them by chance on the road," he answered casually.

"Top quality fox and rabbit skins, the price is indeed fair." The one inquiring about the price was a young girl, only in her teens, with tender and beautiful skin, rosy lips and white teeth, donning a head of long raven-black hair that reached her waist, with a large white bell hanging on it, tinkling crisply as she moved.

"Little Miss, how many do you want?" Lin Xin asked with a gentle smile.

The two servants following behind the girl now stepped forward, whispering gloomily.

"Miss, we’ve already bought enough, if we buy more, I’m afraid the master will scold us again..."

"What’s there to be afraid of?" The young girl waved her small hand, nonchalantly saying, "Money is made to be spent. Daddy earns so much every day, if I don’t help him spend it, won’t it all just pile up in the storehouse and go moldy?"

"But Miss, the master has set a limit to your daily expenses..." another servant whispered.

"It’s okay, I’ll trade my jade hairpin for it." The girl’s face showed decisiveness, then she looked back at Lin Xin and whispered to the servant.

"Besides, look at how old this uncle is and yet he’s still setting up a stall outside, with such a weathered face, surely he has many sorrows and has to sell things to make a living... truly pitiable... Why don’t we just buy everything from him? It would be like doing a good deed."

"But Miss... we’re about to cross the border, we don’t need so many things."

"Alright, it’s settled then," the girl declared unequivocally.

"Uncle, I’ll take all the goods you have here."

Lin Xin felt a slight fondness for the kind-hearted young girl, barely in her teens, and smiled at her.

"There’s roughly twenty taels worth of goods here," he said. "Let’s make it eighteen taels for you, for good luck."

"Here, take this jade pendant of mine, eighteen taels might not be enough," said the little girl as she unfastened the jade pendant from her waist and handed it over to Lin Xin.

"And here are some silver fragments to make up the difference," she added, pulling out some broken silver from her pouch and handing them to Lin Xin.

Money exchanged for goods, Lin Xin received the makeshift hunted items, some silver fragments, and a jade pendant. He then stood up to pack up his stall, went to a bun shop to buy some steamed buns, and further to a tavern to purchase two jin of dried meat and dried cakes.

Having reached the Qi Refinement Realm, he could now absorb and expel the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth, instead of relying solely on medicinal pills for the accumulation of inner Qi. So, he resumed his original eating and lodging patterns, only needing less than an average person would.

However, due to his exceptionally strong physique, he required significantly more food. The increased need was balanced by the reduced consumption, maintaining his standard requirement.

With preparations complete, he went to inquire about the situation at the carriage depot.

It turned out that this place was on the edge of the territory governed by the Four Sects. To the west lay the fringe of the yang membrane; beyond that was the Outer Regions, dreaded and avoided by ordinary people.

But here, the Outer Regions already had established passages thoroughly developed by cultivators and sects. Common folks could pay to travel through them, and these well-managed paths were known as the Yang Paths.

The Yang Path was the only narrow passage for interaction between the various territories of the Underworld. The rest could only rely on the boundless sea of clouds in the sky and ferries to traverse.

The annihilating winds were terribly fearsome, and various demons and spirits could make appearances, peculiar and dangerous. Although much safer than the skies, it was still fraught with difficulty.

Even the Yang Path could not be entirely safe, merely relatively better than the other Outer Regions.

Many experts from the Four Sects patrolled and defended the place all year round, with frequent casualties.

Lin Xin was unsure exactly what place the Red Leaf Sword Master referred to as the far west, but if ancient texts were to be believed, the term often pointed to another Underworld beyond the limitless sea of clouds.

Now that he found himself already on the border of the Mortal Realm, the idea of traveling to a distant land began to grow in his mind.

Heading to the far west could be a good way to evade the pursuit of the Hua Family and may also present a possible solution to his illusions.

Ordinary people could pass through the yang membrane, though the only way was to travel with a large group and pay a toll, with their fate during the journey left to chance.

There were many groups on the Yang Path, overseen by the guardians of the Heavenly Cloud Path, so ordinary people dared not interfere too much. However, with the distant journey and unpredictable human nature, there was always the possibility of corruption and treachery.

Lin Xin was unclear about how such a system came to be, but crossing the Yang Path required joining a group named the Border-Crossing Brigade. These groups were few and most of them were secured by cultivators.

Compared to the boundless sea of clouds, the Yang Path was mysteriously complicated, with no trace of spiritual energy fluctuations allowed, lest it attract man-eating Exotic Beasts. For Qi Cultivators, it was an extremely dangerous journey, but for ordinary people, since it was all the territory of the Exotic Beasts, they were actually in much less danger.

After all, to the formidable man-eating Exotic Beasts, these ordinary people were no more significant than ants, merely dust floating in the air.

After some selection, Lin Xin found a group of around twenty people to join, and together they followed a refugee convoy on their departure.

Leaving the Southern Prefecture might prove to be a good thing for him now.

After all, the Central Prefecture was broader and more vast.

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

In the sky where gray-white clouds tumbled, thick white pillars descended from above, landing on the ground like columns that held up the heavens. They resembled white mushrooms composed of cotton, thick at the top and tapering towards the bottom.

On the vast, boundless white plain, hundreds of huge white mushrooms were scattered, with occasional small fish-like creatures flying to and fro in the air, like fish swimming in water.

Below one of the giant mushrooms, a small caravan was slowly making its way forward. Viewed from above, it looked like a hair-thin white line moving ever so slowly across the white plain.

At the front of the caravan were dozens of people, along with several spherical metal four-wheeled carriages. Following them was a large group of plainly dressed ordinary people. They were different from the dozens at the front, many of whom were gaunt or had faces filled with sorrow or bleak expressions.

"These people always follow behind us, and they’re a big trouble," one of the leaders in the carriage said.

A chubby, round old man stared at a white ox pulling the carriage and said casually.

"What trouble? When we reach the cloud tides, these people are the perfect windbreaks around us. Plus, we collect a little money from each of them, and don’t have to worry about their food or shelter. What’s not to like?"

"I know, but it just feels off, almost like a burden."

"You’ll get used to it. We don’t know how long we have to travel. Most of these fellows couldn’t stay in Southern Prefecture any longer and had to pay to travel the Yang Path out of desperation. They’ve already put life and death out of mind," said the fat merchant, unconcerned.

"Doesn’t that make it more dangerous? These are desperate people!" another lean old man earnestly said.

(To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets, monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)