Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 240 - 233 Layout Middle

Chapter 240: Chapter 233 Layout Middle

Time quickly passed, and several days had gone by.

The caravan had been waiting at the Black Wind Pass for quite a while, but the leader still showed no intention of entering.

They hammered a circle of yellow metal spikes into the ground around them and scattered a lot of pale green liquid, drawing a circle of green lines on the ground. It emanated a strange odor.

Every day there were people busily doing something outside, as if they were on guard, or possibly measuring something. They kept moving back and forth, stopping and starting again.

Ma Yuan and the others huddled around a bonfire they had made in the middle of the caravan, warming their hands.

Seeing Bao Luofei coming down from a carriage, Ma Yuan stood up, smiling, and said.

"I thought we’d have to wait a bit longer, but it looks like we can roughly head in today. We’re all getting ready, prepared to enter the valley at any moment."

"So soon? I thought we’d have to stay for several more days when I saw the camp set up." Bao Luofei walked over, and someone made room for her to sit and warm herself by the fire.

"I thought it would take a long time, but the Black Wind has slowed down a lot faster than expected. It looks like we can enter the valley either today or tomorrow," Ma Yuan said.

"When do you plan to go in? There might be a lot of trouble starting once we’re inside," another person, seemingly a leader, asked in a low voice.

"I’ve already started telling the brothers to pack up, after eating we will..." Ma Yuan did not finish his sentence when he suddenly saw Bao Luofei stand up quickly, her expression changing slightly.

Howl!!

A wolf’s howl, seemingly reaching for the heavens, drifted from a distance.

Around the perimeter of the enormous white oxen carts, a pack of white wolves wearing rock-like armor appeared in everyone’s field of vision.

"White wolves! To arms! To arms!!" Ma Yuan shouted loudly.

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

Lin Xin stood in the room, peering out through a slit in the curtains, watching the white wolves and the caravan’s guards locked in fierce combat. The white wolves were not very formidable, often falling to the deeply skilled guards with a single sword stroke, but each of them wore a dull yellowish-white stone armor that, although it only covered their front halves, greatly increased the difficulty for the guards to slay them.

A tinge of blood and its rank smell drifted in through the gaps in the window. Lin Xin stood quietly in the room, not making any moves.

If the caravan couldn’t handle even this minor issue, then they wouldn’t have been able to travel this road safely for so many years. Therefore, he wasn’t worried about coping with the pack of white wolves.

Indeed, the team did not disappoint him. Each of the guards demonstrated formidable slaughtering skills, avoiding the hard stone armor of the white wolves and directly attacking their rear halves. They were almost dispatching one wolf with every few sword strokes.

After fighting for half a day, the wolf pack finally retreated, and the camp was saved. The guards had only sustained injuries to four of their number, who sat down and began to bandage themselves.

The air was rife with the stench of wolf blood; everywhere the eye looked was spattered with spots of red.

After the battle, Ma Yuan began to arrange for people to check the injured, then stood near a stone wall not far away, talking with someone. He was probably arranging for compensation.

Thump, thump, thump!

"Sir! Sir!!"

Ma Qiuqiu’s voice began to filter in from outside again.

Upon opening the door, Ma Qiuqiu rushed in with swift steps.

"Sir, there were many white rock wolves that died outside just now, and among them, a few had nurtured Armor Pearls. Here’s one for you, it’s very good for protection!"

She thrust a palm-sized, earth-yellow stone sphere into his hand.

Lin Xin caught the stone sphere, feeling its hefty weight—it seemed to be about four or five pounds.

"What is this called? Armor Pearl?"

"Yes, by dripping blood on it, it can rapidly cover the outside of your clothing with a layer of stone armor. Although it’s not very sturdy, the upside is that it can be layered," Ma Qiuqiu explained.

Lin Xin tried it out, bit his finger, and squeezed a drop of blood onto it.

Hiss... Suddenly, the stone armor expanded, softened, and turned into a vest-like garment.

He tried it on, finding it quite body-hugging.

"This stone armor can last for over half an hour. A single drop of blood can sustain it for that long. If the blood dries up, or the stone armor breaks, it will automatically revert to its original state," Ma Qiuqiu said with a smile.

"Does every white wolf from earlier have one?" Lin Xin asked.

"How could that be; I just was in the middle of..."

Boom!

A thunderous explosion shook the air.

As if thunder had struck, a figure shot out from the distant snow, crashing into the camp’s snowy ground in front.

It blasted a large crater into the ground, scattering powdery snow everywhere and hitting several guards, who instantly fell down, cries of shock filling the air. Although they did not die, they all suffered internal injuries and could hardly get up.

The entire camp was instantly stirred, several huge white oxen were startled and began pulling at their carts, trying to flee.

Hisses rose hurriedly, calming the white oxen down, preventing them from running away. But many were still staring at the figure that had suddenly appeared in the snow, eyes filled with vigilance and panic. These large creatures, despite their imposing size, were as timid as mice.

Ma Yuan and several other leader-like experts rushed out, holding their swords and staring toward the big crater from a distance.

"Which senior is joking with me? I am Ma Yuan, and this is the Nurture Far Travel Caravan. If there has been any offense, I would like to apologize to the senior here and now." Ma Yuan’s expression changed as he hurriedly cupped his hands in polite greeting, his posture very low.

"Where’s Bao Luofei? Tell her to roll out here."

From within the snow pit, a towering figure over two meters tall slowly climbed out.

It was a giant man, clad in white leather armor, strong and robust. His muscles were knotted like those of a wild buffalo, even in the snowy field, his massive contours were visible.

His face was covered in horizontal flesh, his skin was dark, and many small braids were tied at the back of his head.

"Vajra, you’ve been chasing me for thousands of miles—is dying that appealing to you?" Bao Luofei stepped out lightly from the side, now holding the large cleaver she previously wielded, its silver edge gleaming and honed to a sharp, fine point.

"We’re evenly matched; neither of us can best the other. Don’t you think these words are superfluous?" the giant Vajra chuckled. "I’ve come this time to propose a trade with you."

"What trade?" Bao Luofei said indifferently.

"I don’t intend to take the Green Fish Lantern, but I want a Blood Jade Pill in exchange for a piece of news that’s a matter of life and death for you," Vajra stated bluntly.

"What arrogance," Bao Luofei scoffed. "I’d like to see just who in the Western Region has the power to make my life hang by a thread! Or is it just you? And those few backwater dogs following behind you?"

"You’re the thirty-second ranked master on the Xuan List; naturally, you’re not an easy opponent. But what if a top ten ranked master took action?" Vajra grinned.

"Impossible!" Bao Luofei’s expression changed slightly, "Every one of the top ten ranked masters would never leave their own territories recklessly. How could they take the trouble to personally move against me over a mere Green Fish Lantern?"

"I can’t say about the others, but I am indeed here." Just then, another completely unfamiliar voice echoed from nowhere.

In an instant, a figure flashed behind Bao Luofei with a whoosh, reaching for her heart with a speed that defied belief. The swiftness was such that even she, a Xuan List master, could not react in time and had to brace herself to take the hit.

In her desperation,

"Samo!" Bao Luofei roared, and instantly, large amounts of white limestone-like hardness erupted from her back, tearing through her clothes and directly meeting the approaching palm.

Upon contact between the black palm and the white limestone hardness, the latter was silently and effortlessly pushed inwards, collapsing deeply.

Thud!

Bao Luofei spurted a mouthful of fresh blood and then was propelled away by the Palm Force.

"Red Bright Palm!? Are you the Old Ancestor Tian Qing!?"

Without looking back, she unfolded her movement technique to make a swift escape, shifting positions thrice in mid-air, tracing a perfect triangle. Finally, as if harnessing the converging force of the triangle, she sprang forward like a released spring.

Droplets of blood sprinkled faintly in the air, and amid a muffled groan, it was evident that using this movement technique came at a great cost.

Vajra’s face also changed dramatically, and he turned to run, disappearing into the swirling snow within moments.

The sudden newcomer was dressed in a lean, long robe, with his salt-and-pepper goatee beard fluttering in the wind.

He paid no attention to Vajra, his gaze fixed on Bao Luofei as she fled into the distance.

"To kill our Steward and flee for thousands of miles, you truly live up to the name ’Python Spitting Pearls,’ Bao Luofei. It’s just a pity..."

Before his words could finish, he too flashed forward, his figure blurring into a shot, moving at a speed invisible to the naked eye.

Ma Yuan and the others all sucked in a breath of cold air at the sight.

"Top ten of the Xuan List! We need to leave now!"

He declared decisively.

"I’ll immediately go instruct the other ox carts! The rest of you follow me!"

"I’ll go lead the men to move the supplies!"

"We must enter the valley within an hour! Otherwise, it will be too late!" Ma Yuan stated urgently.

"But in doing so, the camp tents... Moreover, Old Ancestor Tian Qing might not even return..."

"We can’t pin our hopes on others! Pack up now!"

Those three experts had arrived quickly and left even quicker, and although it seemed they were pursuing their quarry, there was no telling when they would return.

If Old Ancestor Tian Qing couldn’t find the one he was after, turning his wrath on their caravan was an all too common occurrence.

Ma Yuan had survived to this day, precisely because he had such precise judgment and intuition in these matters.

The caravan quickly packed their belongings, foregoing the tents, and directly boarded the ox carts to head into Black Wind Gorge.

Lin Xin stood in his room, where the angle allowed him to clearly witness the entire sudden turn of events.

Qiuqiu stood beside him, a trace of fear apparent in her eyes.

"Who is Old Ancestor Tian Qing? And what exactly is the Xuan List?" Lin Xin asked, frowning.

Qiuqiu’s face was somewhat pale, clearly a bit scared. But upon hearing the question, she tried to organize her thoughts, licking her lips before speaking.

"I... I also saw him for the first time... Tian Qing Gang is one of the biggest gangs in the Western Region, and Old Ancestor Tian Qing is their strongest master, ranked eighth on the Xuan List. He’s always been brutal and cruel, slaughtering like mowing grass. Nearby major sects and gangs often send people to besiege him, but to no avail. Instead, they suffered many casualties themselves, and his notoriety grew even more enormous."

"So how does that compare to an Immortal Sect?" Lin Xin was more interested in knowing the comparison.

"I’m not sure, I don’t know about that. The Western Region practices Mental Power, and from what my father mentioned, the Immortal Masters here are a separate category entirely, distinct from Qi Cultivators. The strength comparison can only be determined through combat," she said.

"Mental Power... Then what is the Xuan List?" Lin Xin pursued further.

"The Xuan List is where the Western Region ranks all the top experts based on their combat achievements. It doesn’t matter about age or background—the ranking is solely based on actual combat strength. Those in the top ten are all demons who have killed over a thousand!" Qiuqiu explained softly. "Additionally, our experts here do not focus on Inner Qi but cultivate the mind..." She went on to detail the differences here. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it, and monthly tickets on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)