Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 255 - 248: Testing - Part 2

Chapter 255: Chapter 248: Testing - Part 2

Having prepared everything, Lin Xin began to recall the records of the Fire Life of the Sixth Layer of the Nine Morning Melody.

Truthfully, since he began his cultivation practice, he had almost entirely relied on the Demon Talisman Seed to enhance his physical condition, and had not utilized formal Body Refinement Techniques like the Nine Morning Melody for enhancement.

His physical condition was too strong, skipping over the initial layers directly until now, when he finally began the arduous process of True Body Refinement.

Following the specific frequency and rhythm of the Sixth Layer of the Nine Morning Melody, Lin Xin vibrated his body once and then opened his eyes to check the time. Unknowingly, more than an hour had passed and there was still a faint sound of practicing swordsmanship coming from the outside courtyard.

The Nine Morning Melody had a minimal effect on physical transformation; this Cultivation Technique originally required an extremely long time of enduring hardship to reach a transformative effect, and he was not in a rush.

At this level, the Foundation Establishment Stage generally relied on accumulating rigorous training, like Disciple Nan Shunqing, Lin Xin didn’t know how he had improved so quickly. But such rapid enhancements either involved a major secret or had severe side effects.

He took out a Demon Talisman Seed from the Storage Bag, which he had acquired halfway from some experts who were robbing a Green Fish Lantern.

There were many other things inside the bag: some Jade Money, a few pieces of Spirit Jade, and the rest were some strangely curated medicines and scripts, mostly from that Illusory Demon Old Woman. The angry Swordsmen didn’t leave much, just a few jars of liquor.

Holding onto the Demon Talisman Seed, Lin Xin always had doubts about what the Red Leaf Sword Master had mentioned about the Western Extreme Land.

The power of the Green Fish Lantern clearly had ties to Buddhism; why could it suppress the power of the Ghost Mansion?

He really wanted to visit the Ghost Mansion again and ask the Red Leaf Sword Master for clarification, but he was also worried about his body, which was decaying more and more. If he went in again, there might be problems.

Whenever he thought of possibly turning into a mindless living dead like those at Lion’s Origin, he shuddered.

Eventually, he put away the Demon Talisman Seed and took out the Green Fish Lantern. This gem with a green light had been kept close to him, and he had even bought a separate black bag for it.

Placing the Green Fish Lantern in the palm of his hand, he carefully observed the symbol on it, which kept changing shape and did not stay fixed; it seemed to overlap many other symbols.

"It seems like a connected formation..." he frowned and observed carefully, not long before he felt a bit dizzy and disoriented.

After resting for a while, he continued to study the symbol. This was repeated several times.

Time ticked by second by second, and by midnight, feeling sleepy, he lay down and slept for a while before waking up fully refreshed. He then heard the sound of Ma Jingxuan continuing her morning training outside.

He got up and walked to the window, looking down.

Ma Jingxuan was meticulously practicing swordsmanship in the courtyard with the same Swordsmanship technique as before. But now, there was an added touch of a faint sense of agility, no longer as by-the-book as before.

Lin Xin removed the Talisman Paper, had someone send up breakfast, and after eating, he continued to study the Green Fish Lantern back in his room. It seemed to be the only key capable of affecting the power from the Ghost Mansion.

Not sure if it was an illusion, but as he repetitively observed the symbol in the Green Fish Lantern, he faintly spotted something.

But without certainty, he dared not confirm, hence he continued with his persistent studies.

In addition to careful observation, he occasionally recited Buddhist Scriptures to activate the Green Fish Lantern, continuing his observations. The activated Green Fish Lantern seemed to subtly change; the symbols increased and changed more rapidly.

After several days, Ma Jingxuan was called out to handle matters, and the mystery of the Green Fish Lantern couldn’t be solved in a short time. Lin Xin also took the chance to rest and prepared to go out to test the level of the Sword Heart experts of the local Sword Sect.

Each building where he stayed was separate, and there were other buildings around, but all were rented out to managers of the same status as him.

The strength of these managers varied, and Lin Xin decided to personally test the level of the Sword Heart experts of the local Sword Sect.

In this way, he intended to clearly assess the strength level of the Central Prefecture.

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The bright moon hung high.

The night breeze made the leaves rustle and whisper.

Lin Xin changed into a dark-colored outfit and covered his face with cloth, silently leaving the small building.

Outside was a somewhat dark area of small buildings. He gently landed in the alleyway, suddenly accelerated, and sprinted forward as if turning into a gust of wind.

It seemed that some masters from other small buildings noticed, but by the time they looked out, he was already gone.

Shortly thereafter, he exited the area and headed towards where the Sword Sect Disciples lived most densely.

The system here involved one teacher guiding a group of students. The skills of students varied depending on the teacher, but every teacher who was a Swordsman was at least at the Sword Heart Level.

Lin Xin’s goal was to find a teacher to spar with.

After all, with the color of his Spiritual Energy, he normally wouldn’t be able to use his Spiritual Energy in a fight, which would prevent him from unleashing his full power and not yield any comparative results.

In the middle of the night, some places in the Sword Sect were brightly lit, with faint sounds of sparring, while large dark areas indicated that many were asleep.

Occasionally, the sound of horses neighing and dogs barking drifted faintly in the distance.

Lin Xin flew between dark buildings, heading towards the more populated areas.

Soon, he found a lavish white mansion, in front of which was a very long, large, purple-red Sword Rack; but instead of swords, it only held a scabbard.

Noises of revelry continuously came from inside, and people were occasionally seen coming and going, leaving in small groups.

Lin Xin hung in a shadowy corner, right above the route that had to be passed to exit the mansion.

Just after he settled in position and looked down, several drunken fellows, arm in arm, shouting "Senior Brother, Junior Brother," occasionally burst into bouts of silly laughter.

"Today... great joy... little brother..., let me toast you a drink."

"You’ve drunk too much, Junior Brother!"

"He almost threw up on my dress just now, it was disgusting. Don’t let him drink that much next time; it’s embarrassing!"

A group of people passed beneath Lin Xin without noticing the shadowy figure hanging above.

Lin Xin saw that these people all bore the mark of a teacher’s attire. He was not in a hurry, preferring to find someone who was alone or in a small group.

After waiting a little while longer, a few more people headed down the corridor in this direction.

It was three men, armed with swords. Although they had not drunk much, their breath was noticeably unstable.

"Alright, third brother, stop talking!"

"If it weren’t for Lu Siniang’s sake, I would have skinned him alive at the banquet today!"

"Big brother might be good-natured, but that doesn’t mean we brothers are all soft-hearted!"

The three men were clearly upset and left in discontent.

Lin Xin did not intervene; these three did not seem like formidable opponents. They lacked the aura of masters.

He waited a bit longer. More people passed by, but they became less frequent.

Soon, he spotted a familiar woman walking out of the mansion.

"Lady Nan, take care, and do call me for a gathering with my sisters when you have the chance."

"It’s a deal."

The woman who responded was Nan Xiulu, whom Lin Xin had met before.

She had also had a bit to drink, her cheeks flushed, looking somewhat enchantingly delicate.

"I will see Lady Nan off."

Among the men who came out with her, one with a cold demeanor, carrying two broad-bladed swords crossed on his back, stepped forward and offered.

"The Lady has drunk a bit much, so let me, He Jing, take care of her," said the hostess at the door hastily.

"Don’t worry, I can get back on my own." As soon as Nan Xiulu finished her sentence, she swayed slightly, almost losing her balance.

"See? You can’t even stand straight, yet you’re acting tough?" The hostess laughed, and those who came out with her also chuckled good-naturedly.

The man named He Jing nodded, raised a hand, and an invisible force gently supported Nan Xiulu from a distance.

"Junior sister, pardon me."

"Thank you, senior brother." At this point, Nan Xiulu had to admit she had drunk too much, so she nodded her head and relied on He Jing’s Qi Force.

The two of them walked down the corridor towards Lin Xin.

Seeing He Jing’s skillful and profound control of Qi Force from a distance, Lin Xin was also impressed and quietly followed them, leaping from above as they moved, keeping pace.

After following them a distance, they soon arrived at a secluded stony beach.

The surroundings were deserted, right beside a water-side part of the island. Chilly winds blew constantly, offering no place to hide.

"Friend in the shadows, you’ve followed us for so long, what is your purpose?"

He Jing stood by the shore, and Nan Xiulu beside him was also clearly prepared, showing no sign of surprise.

Lin Xin was not surprised either; if he hadn’t been noticed after following for so long, it would have been a waste of his selective eye.

The moment he had seen He Jing use his Qi Force, Lin Xin had felt that he was a Sword Dao master, based not on evidence but on the unique intuition of a master himself.

Slowly stepping out from the shadows, he stood about twenty meters in front of the two, next to a shallow puddle.

"I’ve heard that Kunlin Sword Sect’s He Jing is excellent in swordsmanship. I am here to learn through a friendly match," he stated his purpose succinctly.

"A friendly match?" He Jing laughed. "There’s no need for a mask for a friendly match."

"It’s just that I have a special identity and have no choice but to do this," Lin Xin replied, unwilling to talk further. He slowly grasped the hilt of his Red Flower Sword, ready to face a master fully and control the fight with his sword from the start.

Seeing him ready to move, He Jing also became serious and slowly reached for a sword hilt behind his back.

Between them, an invisible tension slowly spread and escalated, causing both to tense up.

The evening breeze blew, and He Jing stood firm, his expression growing increasingly solemn as sweat beaded and flowed down his temple.

His pupils tightened, and his body remained motionless, as if facing a formidable enemy.

Just from this confrontation, such a reaction!?

Nan Xiulu also quickly retreated to the side, secretly alarmed.

He Jing, among the top three Sword Intent masters in his sect and a real-battle expert, was most likely to advance to the Sword Intent Level.

Yet, at this moment, he was visibly unnerved.

"Could it be that some senior master has come out to intentionally tease the junior?" she wondered, slightly worried. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to vote for it at Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)