Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 246 - 239 Foundation Establishment - Part 1

Chapter 246: Chapter 239 Foundation Establishment - Part 1

The key to the Sixth Layer of Fire Life lies in first finding where one’s Life Fire resides within. This Life Fire is deeply hidden at the junction between the body and the soul, extremely difficult to locate. If one cannot even find it, then there is no talking about strengthening or changing its burning frequency.

Next, what he needed to do was to successfully locate the Life Fire once. Compared to other cultivators, he only needed to succeed once, no matter how arduous, hard to find, or hard to grasp, he just needed one success.

After that, he could easily repeat this successful process continuously and without end.

"According to Jiuchen’s records, locating the Life Fire generally requires three years. Afterwards, trying to successfully use the musical score to influence the Life Flame, it would be considered good if one could succeed once out of a hundred attempts, then continue to practice diligently for ninety-nine years to truly change its nature and elevate one’s life," he recited.

"But that’s other people. I am different. As long as I succeed once, I can keep being successful... In terms of comprehension, I lack nothing. The same goes for willpower.

"Since I’ve bypassed the obstacle of talent, what other hindrances could possibly delay my progress?"

Numerous Divine Technique Manuals in his mind whirled chaotically, evolving and rotating, finally converging on the Jiuchen Melody and the Bell Sound Method.

"With the Heart Eye Sword Path as branches and leaves, the Jiuchen Melody and Bell Sound Method as the foundation," he murmured as he touched the last two Demon Talisman Seeds bound to his body.

The majority of items brought from the Manor had been lost, only the Demon Talisman Seeds and dragon bones, the most precious things, had not been misplaced.

"Foundation..." Feeling the essence that continued to flood into his body without pause, Lin Xin looked at the Red Flower Sword floating before him.

With a thought,

Ding...

A long, clear sword chime suddenly spread.

Under his deliberate control, the Jiuchen Melody’s sound waves vibrated at full force, melting and absorbing a large amount of essence into his body.

His physical quality also began to improve at an extremely slow pace, rather than merely being obsessed with infusing into the Return to Origin Spiritual Energy vortex.

Hearing the sound, everyone in the caravan exchanged glances, and although the bugs were all dead now, they all disembarked to investigate, but the sword chimes continued unceasingly.

"What is the Master doing...?" one of the team leaders murmured in confusion.

"The Master must have his reasons for this action, we need not wonder," Ma Yuan pondered briefly and replied. "Nobody is to disturb the Master. Arrange for guards around his room, and do not allow any disruptions or noise."

"Understood."

The surrounding members all expressed their understanding. Lin Xin had saved everyone; this was the second time he had saved their lives. Moreover, having witnessed the miraculous death of swaths of insects, they all regarded Lin Xin with reverence akin to that for a deity.

"Continue moving forward. Qiuqiu, try to check on the situation and inquire as much as possible," Ma Yuan instructed.

Ma Qiuqiu pouted unwillingly, somewhat afraid to approach since the Master had shown his strength, but she also knew the gravity of the situation. Among those present, she was the closest to the Master.

"Alright...."

She arranged various situations along the way. Since there were plenty of remaining supplies and only a handful of people left, the situation was greatly relaxed. Due to Lin Xin’s influence, Ma Yuan dared not underestimate the group following behind and proactively included them within the protective scope as they continued to advance.

After Ma Qiuqiu had gone over and received a few instructions from Lin Xin, she relayed to Ma Yuan and the others that he was in the midst of cultivation practice.

The group could only wait cautiously. Now without the protection of the Black Mountain Buddha, their sole reliance was on Lin Xin. If something were to happen to him, the fate of the entire caravan would be very grim.

As they progressed through the Dark Cloud Passage for numerous months, they encountered sweeping swarms of half-grass insects several times, but all were shaken to death by the sword chimes emanating from Lin Xin’s room. The sight was tremendously awe-inspiring.

Thereby, everyone in the caravan grew even more reverent towards Lin Xin, devoid of any coveting desires for the Green Fish Lantern in his possession.

Time passed slowly, and Lin Xin remained motionless, sitting cross-legged in his room for over a year.

The room was free of any dust, and the Red Flower Sword floated in front of him, constantly humming and vibrating, absorbing wisps of red mist exhaled by Lin Xin, and then gently feeding back a thin red stream, forming a circular cycle between the two.

During this time, he intermittently slaughtered swarms of insects thrice, and the massive slaughter caused an abundance of essence to surge in so furiously that he could only keep using the vibrations of the Jiuchen Melody to help digest and absorb it.

If the vibrations of the Jiuchen Melody were interrupted, he might instantly be exploded by the massive essence.

Just like an overinflated balloon.

Thump, thump, thump.

The room door was suddenly knocked on.

"Master... the caravan is about to leave the passageway soon, and there might be some jolting. Please be careful," said Ma Yuan’s respectful voice from outside.

"I understand, you may go," Lin Xin’s lips did not move, and he transmitted his voice through vibrational waves. His eyes remained shut.

"Yes," Ma Yuan was accustomed to such an exchange, even separated by the room door. At the beginning, he was a bit uncomfortable, but now with the frequency of their exchanges, he was used to it.

Lin Xin’s eyes, which had remained closed, slowly opened, and he gazed out of the window.

The gray haze of the Dark Cloud Passage had become unusually faint, showing a light cream color, clearly indicating a decrease in thickness.

"To have been traveling on this passage for more than a year is quite rare. Fortunately, I did not encounter any soul-devouring creatures or Blood Beasts during the previous fights with those three, otherwise, I really wouldn’t know if this caravan could have held on," he reflected.

He once again looked at his attributes.

All attributes had an upward arrow, indicating that they were continuously improving.

An immense amount of essence, like a sponge absorbing water, was furiously flowing into the meridians, muscles, skin, and bones of his body, making the density frightening. These essences, like vast amounts of fog, continuously melted into liquid and replenished the solid body they absorbed into.

"It seems to have really worked. With the ’Nine Morning Melody,’ I only need to get to the point where tapping on my skin sounds like jade, and then I will have reached the peak of the Fifth Layer," he murmured to himself.

He pondered for a moment.

"Recently, I’ve been feeling an urge to form my Dao Foundation. Following the Body Refinement path, as long as I let things take their course and supplement with a large amount of blood, flesh, and life essence, violently absorbing them, I should be able to swiftly advance to the next layer."

"The further one goes in Body Refinement, the more difficult it becomes because as the body’s strength increases, so does its density. It’s a matter of massive essences being condensed and intensified.

Undoubtedly, it requires great strength to damage or harm it, but likewise, whether it’s healing or improving, it’s just as strenuous."

He understood the peculiarity of the Body Refining Technique.

"’Nine Morning Melody’ is a rare Body Refining Technique that enhances evenly and is among the most difficult to cultivate. It’s surprising that absorbing so much of these creatures’ essences didn’t allow me to make another breakthrough..."

He sighed inwardly and continued immersing himself in the absorption process.

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

Clang!

A carriage, several stories high, crashed heavily onto the muddy ground, the wheels sinking more than halfway in.

The giant white ox bellowed, its muscles tense as it pulled forward and immediately got the entire carriage rolling again.

The caravan had fallen out of the dark cloud passage, landing in an endless black mud plain.

Strangely, there were dark cloud tunnels hanging and fixed in the air above the plain, drooping down from the sky like tubes.

These tunnels, similar to water pipes, bent slightly as they neared the ground, forming a sloped exit pointing toward the earth.

Far away in the sky, which was covered in a gray haze, there were creatures that looked like balloons, inflating and deflating as they floated leisurely. These beings were bright red, vivid and striking, and seemed to be covered with spikes, much like hedgehogs.

Hiss...

A giant earthworm emerged from the ground, then swiftly burrowed back down, exposing its ridged back.

From atop the ox-cart, Ma Yuan surveyed the surroundings.

"This is the second zone! The Plains of All Things!" he announced.

Behind him, some of his teammates, who had been here before, began to deftly climb down from the carriages and started spraying a strangely scented liquid on the bodies of the carriages.

"The most common here are the blood-sucking flying insects and the White Moon Rhinoceros. We need to be careful not to encroach on their territory," Ma Yuan cautioned.

"Understood, don’t worry, boss," a few of the prepping teammates chuckled.

"And besides, isn’t our Master here?"

Someone laughed.

"For the Master, traveling on the ground here, aside from taking a bit too long, holds very little danger,"

a lead team member replied with a smile.

Everyone seemed to have recovered somewhat from the tragedy with the Blue Fish Lantern earlier on. Now that they were in the middle part of the Yang Path, it was unlikely that any strong enemies would pursue them this far. The dark cloud passages changed instantaneously, and any traces they had left were quickly erased by the churning clouds, so there was no concern of being followed.

"That’s true. If it weren’t for the prolonged travel time, I guess many Masters would choose the Yang Path," Ma Yuan agreed, nodding.

Looking into the distance, he took out his landscape compass to check the direction.

"Let the white ox eat something on its own first, then we’ll adjust our direction and keep moving. Everyone, take a rest and get ready for lunch."

"Yes!"

The group responded loudly.

With their numbers greatly diminished, those remaining in the caravan banded together. Those who practiced cultivation took charge of security, while the rest who lacked cultivation strength handled logistics, meals, or cleaning, ensuring everyone had a role to play.

Ma Yuan watched all this and had gathered everyone together through several crises for a collective effort. However, the news about the Blue Fish Lantern had inevitably spread.

What he worried about was that for now everything was fine, but when they reached Central Prefecture, if Lin Xin feared the news leaking out and decided to take action...

Ding...

Suddenly, another clear sword chime sounded from somewhere inside the carriage.

All were accustomed to this noise by now; it was a sound heard several times each day, originating from the Master’s cultivation practice.

Inside the room.

A chunk of white gold, irregularly shaped bone floated in front of Lin Xin.

The bone piece writhed as if alive, faintly emitting a warm heat.

"I’ve reached my limit in terms of physical enhancement, and it’s too slow. Legend has it that dragons possess powerful self-healing and devouring abilities. Perhaps dragon bones could take my physical body to the next level. I’ve nearly absorbed all the essence of the bugs. To break through to the next layer, this may be my only hope."

His gaze was intense as he regarded the object. It was the treasure given to him by that woman from Dongyue, the insect master, as a token of her gratitude.

It was said that dragon bones could be used to forge a Dragon King Dao Foundation, which is the strongest level of foundation in the legends. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, welcome to QiDian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes, monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)