Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 268 - 261 Demon God Temple (Part 2)

Chapter 268: Chapter 261 Demon God Temple (Part 2)

He paused.

"Then, after giving Sahan a good lesson, I made an enemy of that Snake Cave. The incidents related to the Demon God Temple are because that Sahan brought experts here and slaughtered forty-five people, collecting resentment to refine treasures, leading to all kinds of strange phenomena."

"Refine treasures?"

Lin Xin didn’t understand, "Even if you’re refining treasures, such uncontrolled strange phenomena shouldn’t occur, right?"

"Daoist may not know, but beneath the Demon God Temple lies a natural Yin Spring. Since Sahan went down, he has not been seen again, and the Yin Spring has become increasingly bizarre. No one knows what has happened."

"Then why don’t you go down and take a look?"

Lin Xin asked casually.

"Daoist does not know, my cultivation practice follows the path of the Yang God; getting close to the Yin Spring can be lethal!" the Mountain God explained helplessly.

Lin Xin, however, glanced at the woman nearby.

"So you mean to say, you are inviting me to go down and have a look?"

"Daoist has clear sight," the Mountain God nodded repeatedly. "After all, we have no other choice, we don’t have the cultivation level, we can’t even meet with beings like us if one’s cultivation isn’t up to par."

Lin Xin actually knew this; ordinary people, even Qi Cultivators, if their cultivation level wasn’t sufficient, they wouldn’t be able to see such Yang Gods. Yang Gods, unlike yin spirits, can truly be seen only after the Dao foundation is established.

The reason the Mountain God called Lin Xin ’Daoist’ was also because he had just started forming his Dao foundation and was no longer merely a mortal.

"Then let me ask one more question, why don’t the people from the nearby sects deal with this matter?" Lin Xin continued to inquire.

"This has to start with the Snake Cave. The Snake Cave is the largest demon power nearby, and inside it lurks a two-headed giant snake that can spew black gas, fly to the heavens and burrow into the earth with astonishing divine skills. The nearby sects probably also consider the involvement with this power before hesitating to act," the Mountain God hurriedly explained.

"Then why did you come to find me?" Lin Xin asked with a half-smile.

"To be honest, upon seeing Daoist, I immediately felt a strong sense of righteousness. Normally, you must have done many good deeds, achieving moral perfection. Among so many visitors, only a just person like Daoist would have the hope of saving the suffering, slaying demons and eliminating evil," the Mountain God stated earnestly.

"Is that so?" Lin Xin laughed.

"Daoist Master stands with such grace... clearly not an ordinary person, should you not abandon us... this young lady... this young lady is also willing to grind ink and attend to you before and after the service..." The beautiful woman beside him also blushed, appearing bashful and shy.

A gentle breeze blew, and one could faintly smell a hint of delicate fragrance; the wind slightly lifted the front of the woman’s garment, inadvertently revealing a glimpse of snowy white.

Overwhelming righteousness...

Lin Xin himself didn’t believe these words.

How many people had he killed in the secluded mansion? How many living beings?

Thousands upon thousands!

Among them were certainly those with great sins, but there were also many who were innocent and uninvolved. The endless slaughter had happened in the past, was happening now, and would continue in the future.

He, a man whose hands were drenched in blood, was being described as someone with an overwhelming sense of righteousness...

He laughed sardonically.

He, a man whose very spiritual energy smelled of blood, was being told to his face that he had achieved moral perfection...

"Can you come up with an even more perfect story to entice people? My overwhelming righteousness... this phrase is quite novel..."

He grasped the Red Flower Sword, and a blood plasma-like spiritual energy began to rise faintly around his body. The spiritual energy surged and immediately affected the Mountain God and the woman.

Both of them changed color instantly, a puff of white smoke burst from their bodies, turning into black gas. As the black gas dispersed, their original appearances underwent a drastic change, transforming from youthful and haired like cranes to ghastly old men oozing with yin energy.

The beautiful woman turned into a fierce demoness with hands as bony and sharp as talons.

"Who exactly are you!?"

The old man took a step back and shouted lowly.

"Tell me, what exactly is happening here?"

Lin Xin licked his lips, feeling that these two beings exuded a faintly tempting fragrance, which made him have an irresistible urge to devour them on the spot.

"Retreat!"

Unexpectedly, the two did not answer but simultaneously leaped away from Lin Xin in the opposite direction.

But halfway through their escape, they sensed the blood plasma-like spiritual energy emanating from Lin Xin, and both showed a look of terror on their faces.

"Demon Lord, spare our lives!!"

"Spare...!"

Before they could finish their plea, they saw a flash of red light before their eyes.

A clear ’clang’ sound.

The Red Flower Sword instantly returned to its sheath.

Lin Xin turned and left.

Behind him, the two bodies split in half, falling to the ground motionless. Not a drop of blood spilled out; all of it was absorbed by the Red Flower Sword, leaving nothing behind.

The original old man turned into a piece of dead wood, and the beautiful woman transformed into a small fox, vibrant in red.

"Cave Master...won’t... let you go...." The little fox said its last words before slowly passing away.

"Had you not provoked me, luring me to the Yin Spring to fall into your trap, I might not have decided to resort to slaughter," Lin Xin said with a mocking smile. "Did you really think I didn’t know that the Yin Spring is a place no living creature can approach? Only the dead can get close to it with ease."

Not long after he left the area, the bizarre tree suddenly withered away, emitting thick smoke all over before quickly turning black and dying.

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

Returning to the Taoist Temple, Lin Xin continued to observe from his original spot, but he made a peculiar discovery—the three little ones had disappeared without a trace.

He circled around the temple but found no sign of them.

"Strange. The bonfire and tents are still here... but the people are gone."

He soon found the three individuals behind a pile of rocks outside the temple, busy digging for something.

People from the other two sects had also arrived. They too were digging around, seemingly in search of something.

"The lair of that monster is right below these rocks. Everyone, please hurry, we must find it before it gets dark. Otherwise, we’ll have to come back tomorrow. If the enemy discovers us, our mission here might become difficult," Qin Ye of the Duling Sect said, holding something resembling a vase, carefully comparing it to something else, as if it was a rare magic artifact.

"But just randomly digging like this, when will we find anything?" complained the short woman from the Wanhua Sect, "My skirt is all dirty. Isn’t this kind of rough work supposed to be done by hired help? We are disciples of major sects, how can we be doing such lowly chores?"

"You don’t have to do it," Han Yaolu retorted sarcastically. "After all, it would be even better for us if we complete the task and your Wanhua Sect gets no share in it."

"Yaolu, say less," Ma Jingxuan whispered a reminder.

"How can you talk like that as a disciple of a major sect?" The taller woman from the opposing side countered, "Is this how unscrupulous the disciples of the Kunlin Sword Sect are? Grabbing onto other people’s words and ridiculing them relentlessly?"

Han Yaolu was not to be outdone, and very skillfully began to quarrel with the other, with both sides looking exceedingly practiced—as if they had argued numerous times over this period.

Lin Xin also gradually learned what was happening from the sidelines.

It turned out that when Ma Jingxuan and her two companions were clueless, Qin Ye and the two women from the Wanhua Sect arrived, claiming to possess a magic artifact that could find the demon creature. After some detection, they finally pinpointed this location.

They came over only to discover that the place was desolate and barren. Everyone then speculated that the target might be underground, so they began digging to find any traces.

Lin Xin found it rather amusing. Just by digging, they hoped to find something? As if the demon would just stay in place waiting to be found.

He simply hid himself to one side and silently restored his energy with some breathing exercises.

As time went on and the sun rose high, at its fiercest, he suddenly heard a cry of alarm from the group.

"Found it!!"

It was the voice of that woman from the Wanhua Sect, who cried out in shock and delight.

Lin Xin opened his eyes just in time to see a golden light soaring to the sky, not knowing what it was that caused such a commotion.

"They really found something?"

He was somewhat astonished.

He only saw a golden shadow bursting from the ground, hovering in the air for a moment before slowly descending.

"More tasty human meatballs to eat, hehehe... It seems the lesson from last time wasn’t enough!"

The golden shadow was none other than a slender golden python. Upon landing, its mouth continuously flicked out a bright red tongue.

Lin Xin was initially startled, thinking it was some kind of treasure. Upon sensing more carefully, he couldn’t help but laugh at himself.

The creature was nothing but a little demon with an aura only slightly stronger than an ordinary python. Besides being able to talk, presumably any novice in the Qi Refinement Realm could easily deal with it. Its scales were merely golden, dazzling in the reflected sunlight.

Then he thought for a moment and realized that if it were too powerful, perhaps these youngsters couldn’t have taken on the task.

Soon, the group of youngsters and the golden python engaged in a scuffle, exchanging blows with talisman papers and sword blades flying. The golden python, with its great strength, would sweep its tail back and forth; though without any technique, it had a wide range.

After watching for a while, Lin Xin found himself boredly remembering the false Mountain God and the fox demon he had encountered previously.

"It seems that this Taoist Temple, with its Yin Spring, must be home to more than one demon. The youngsters’ target is this golden python. But there must be other demons guarding the Yin Spring for some unfathomable reason."

He thought that he might have stirred troubles beyond the scope of his mission. Clearly, those two demons were trying to lead him to the Yin Spring for some purpose.

"Even those two demons are stronger than this golden python. Why don’t they face these kids head-on? Why lead me away instead?" He pondered with some confusion.

There had to be a reason for this, one that he did not yet understand.

As for the Yin Spring, he had no interest in it. Living creatures that approached it would have their lifespans reduced, and even for him, as he was now, there would be no benefit in going there.

Before long, in the midst of their fight with the golden python, there suddenly came a strange cry as the creature seemed to be hit by some tactic, suffering intense pain.

"You’ll all pay for this!"

Leaving a harsh threat behind, the python swiftly fled towards the distance. The rest of the group, seeing victory within their grasp, naturally wouldn’t let it escape and pursued closely.

Lin Xin hadn’t paid much attention until now, but upon seeing the direction in which the golden python fled, realized it was heading towards the small courtyard behind the Taoist Temple.

There it was—the place that he found rather odd, and quite possibly the location of the Yin Spring.

"So it’s not that they didn’t plan to deal with these youngsters but rather assigned another minor demon to do so."

A cold smile played on his lips.

Standing up, he followed them and immediately sensed two other presences nearby, following the group of youngsters. They were likely the other two guardian experts. (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)