Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 269 - 262 Demon God Temple Part 2

Chapter 269: Chapter 262 Demon God Temple Part 2

A group of people chased into the backyard, only to see the Golden Python burrowing into the corridor headfirst.

"How come there is a corridor here? We didn’t notice any place to enter when we came to scout earlier,"

the tall female disciple from the Wanhua Sect frowned and suddenly stopped.

"The Taoist temple is only this big, it must have been an oversight on your part," Qin Ye said indifferently. "Now it’s up to you to decide whether to go in or not. My magic artifact is indicating that it’s hiding right here and hasn’t escaped."

Ma Jingxuan stood at the entrance of the corridor, with the other two looking up to her for a decision. She pondered for a moment.

"Since we have already chased it here, it’s quite unlikely we would give up now, but there’s something strange about this place. It ran in but didn’t keep moving, which likely means there are traps."

"Ma Shimei makes a good point," Qin Ye nodded. "Let’s throw some talisman papers in to test it out."

Immediately, everyone started probing, using one method after another.

Lin Xin stood behind the wall, listening to their movements, and nodded slightly to himself.

Not rushing in blindly, stopping at the right moment when about to succeed, resisting the temptation to act recklessly—this Qin Ye is quite talented."

At this moment, the essence blood of the two demon beasts he had killed began to churn in front of him, and his Foundation Establishment cultivation started to slowly rise. He took the opportunity to glance at his status.

’Return to Origin Decree—Foundation Establishment Stage Second Layer. (Completion 6%)’

From the previous 4% to the current 6%, killing two demon beasts was one aspect, as well as the feedback of soul power from the Youfu, and his own cultivation practice during this time—three aspects combined.

After all, now that the Dragon King’s foundation is established, his talents are not as poor as they used to be. Even without slaughter, if he were to go into closed-door cultivation for fifty to sixty years, he would still be able to break through to the next layer.

Recollecting his thoughts, at this time, the other juniors had already started to enter the corridor one after another.

Lin Xin frowned slightly, staying out of sight. He sensed two other presences also fluctuate, as if they too were somewhat concerned.

After everyone had gone in, there soon came a series of thumps from inside, followed by a quick silence.

After another half hour or so, the small Taoist temple became eerily quiet.

Lin Xin furrowed his brows but soon saw a figure in plain white gliding lightly into the courtyard—it was the female protector among those two experts, likely a member of the Wanhua Sect.

She wore a white veil, her aquamarine eyes filled with concern as she stared at the corridor, holding a trident in her hand, standing in the courtyard.

"This seems to be a formation,"

another man walked out at a measured pace, his expression solemn.

"And it’s a complex, interconnected nested formation! Not to be underestimated."

He paused for a moment. "The demon lured people into it, perhaps planning to wipe them out in one fell swoop. We must break the formation as soon as possible."

"Does Luo Shidi know anything about formation paths?" the woman asked softly.

"A little," the man replied with a light laugh.

"Then I’ll need to ask for Luo Shidi’s help. Otherwise, I fear something might happen to my niece inside, and I would be at a loss to protect her, which would be troublesome," the woman requested gently.

"Don’t worry, Huo Shijie! Leave the formation to me," the man said confidently as he stepped forward.

At this moment, the woman turned her gaze to where Lin Xin was hiding.

"And the other junior brother over there, why not come out and lend a hand?"

She had actually noticed Lin Xin’s position.

Lin Xin was startled too. Although he had not made any particular effort to conceal himself, the fact that she had noticed him so easily spoke of her abilities.

After thinking for a moment, he slowly walked out. He gave a bow to the woman, remaining silent, then leaned against a wall to wait for the man to break the formation.

The man glanced at Lin Xin, and noticing that Huo Shijie did not seem to mind his presence, his mood greatly improved. Then, regaining his composure, he carefully approached the corridor and drew out a piece of talisman paper.

With a flick, the talisman paper ignited, the yellow flame flickering in the wind.

"Go!"

He suddenly scattered the talisman paper all around. In an instant, one piece of talisman paper turned into dozens, spreading out around the corridor, sticking to walls, the ground, and pillars, all burned with a slow-burning yellow flame.

The talisman paper was peculiar, burning very slowly, almost as if it were not made of paper but more like a firm fatty leather.

A gust of wind swept through as the man took out another green talisman paper from his sleeve, bit his tongue, dabbed some blood onto the paper, and smeared it.

"Spiritual Awakening!"

He tossed the talisman paper into the air.

The green talisman paper instantly turned into a beam of green light, shooting forth rapidly, disappearing into the corridor.

Lin Xin had never seen such a method of breaking formations before. Although he sensed there were formations inside the corridor, he had never thought of using talisman paper to break formations. He had always engraved formation patterns to break through formations. But this method of using talisman paper to destroy formation nodes saved more effort and was worth learning from. The principle was also much simpler.

Standing to the side, he watched with keen interest.

Suddenly a low humming sound resonated.

At the entrance of the corridor, four layers of semi-transparent, slightly dark formation patterns suddenly appeared.

The man turned back and smiled at Elder Huo.

"I’ve materialized this Formation, it consists of four layers, and one just needs to counter them one by one."

"Brother Luo has quite a talent," Elder Huo smiled slightly, a hint of natural enchantment faintly shining through her veiled face.

"It’s also thanks to Elder Huo protecting the law here that I was able to safely break the Formation," The man’s gaze flickered and quickly steadied, he modestly uttered a phrase and then turned back to continue.

He knew that Ma Jingxuan of the Wanhua Sect possessed extraordinary strength and admirable talent, and was at the age of seeking a Dao companion. She had publicly stated that what she valued most wasn’t appearance or background, but capability - a talent that could earn her appreciation.

If he could be so fortunate as to earn the affection of a beauty...

Ma Jingxuan wasn’t of ordinary background; being the granddaughter of the Wanhua Sect’s Great Elder was one thing, but her father was none other than the Shape-shifting Cave’s heaven-defying Demon King. If he could become her Dao companion, resources would no longer require searching, and Decrees would be at his disposal - he’d have whatever he wanted from the treasure troves of two major Sects.

Ever since Luo Song learned Ma Jingxuan’s name, he’d been trying by all means to show diligence, yet maintaining a distance to prevent her from thinking he was too desperate.

This was the perfect opportunity to showcase himself, he exerted all his ingenuity, aiming to leave the best impression in Ma Jingxuan’s eyes.

He first pointed a single hand towards the Formation Patterns at the corridor’s entrance, causing ripples to shake and spread in circles, like water patterns.

Then he took out a piece of Talisman Paper and observed the changes in the Formation Patterns.

Time ticked by, and soon, half an hour had passed.

"Elder sister need not worry, this Formation is only meant to trap enemies and doesn’t harm people. With so many inside, they can’t possibly be overcome by just a single Golden Python," he explained to Ma Jingxuan, fearing that she would grow impatient and worried.

"I understand. I’m just concerned there might be traps or other demons lurking inside," Ma Jingxuan spoke softly. She couldn’t help but glance at Lin Xin next to her, only to find him leaning against the wall, seemingly resting his soul.

With a snap, the man surnamed Luo suddenly released a piece of Talisman Paper.

The First Layer of Formation Patterns immediately dissipated.

A glimmer of joy appeared in his eyes as he continued with the Second Layer.

Ma Jingxuan also relaxed slightly, knowing it wouldn’t be as helpless as before. Now that they had found a breakthrough, it should be much easier to handle.

True enough, within moments, the Second Layer of Formation Patterns also faded away.

The man surnamed Luo then bit the tip of his tongue, smeared blood on the Talisman Paper, and quickly turned the newly taken out paper to a bloody color.

He then fiercely pressed it onto the Third Layer of Formation Patterns.

The Third Layer that had been obstructing the corridor slowly melted away.

Elated in his heart, Luo Song took out another piece of Talisman Paper, preparing to give his all and break the Formation completely.

But as soon as he took out the paper, his face stiffened upon viewing the last layer of Formation Patterns, and the slight smile that had just emerged instantly froze.

On that last layer of Formation Patterns, one word was clearly inscribed. It was a complex glyph formed by the combination of several characters, which when separated read - Wuchen Mountain.

"Wuchen Mountain..." Luo Song’s hands shook slightly. He hadn’t expected a mere task would lead to trouble with Wuchen Mountain.

Wuchen Mountain was a force of the Demon Race, not particularly large or strong for all the Sects, but exceptionally tough to handle. The Snake Cave Master above was known for the Snake Sloughing Heaven-Flipping Great Technique and had escaped high-level chase countless times with brazen arrogance, a true giant among demons.

The main issue was this power was essentially a group of bandit robbers of the Cultivation world, and cruel ones at that! Ruthless in slaughter, devouring blood and food, and unforgiving of any grievances.

Moreover, they were incredibly swift in movement, elusive, and hard to capture.

The redeeming aspect of these bandit robbers was that as long as outsiders didn’t provoke them, they wouldn’t trouble people for no reason. Thus, over time, the various Sects and masters stopped paying attention to them.

Yet, unexpectedly, they were encountered here.

Luo Song tried twice to attach the Talisman Paper, though it was just the last layer of Formation Patterns and breaking through it would allow them to rescue people, he somehow couldn’t make the move. Once the Formation was broken, the enemy would immediately be aware of what happened here and would surely rush over swiftly.

"Brother Luo? What’s wrong?" Ma Jingxuan asked from behind.

The man lifted and lowered the Talisman Paper in his hand repeatedly, but in the end, he turned around and gave Elder Huo a wry smile.

"Elder Huo, this Formation was laid by Wuchen Mountain..."

"Wuchen Mountain..." Ma Jingxuan frowned as he had anticipated. "How could such a petty task involve Wuchen Mountain?"

After pondering for a moment, she raised her head as if she had made a decision.

"What of Wuchen Mountain? Rescuing people is urgent, please continue Brother Luo," she said with a trace of cold sharpness in her voice, resolute and decisive.

"Elder Huo... Breaking through this Formation will instantly disperse the breaker’s aura, alerting those who set it up..." The man surnamed Luo shrank back; he may pursue Ma Jingxuan, but not at the cost of his safety.

"Is Brother afraid?" Ma Jingxuan frowned. "If it’s Wuchen Mountain, we need to act faster, not knowing the enemy’s scheme and the current state of those juniors inside is even more worrisome."

"But... that’s Wuchen Mountain we’re talking about!" The man surnamed Luo ultimately cowered, unable to muster the courage to act.

"Is Wuchen Mountain that formidable?" Lin Xin walked over and spoke slowly.

"The Snake Cave Master is a giant among demons, ranked thirty-fifth on the Demon King list, with rampant and wild rage. Do you still need to ask if that’s formidable?!" Luo Song gave him a disdainful glance. Not even knowing this, who knows from where this naive kid has emerged.

"Isn’t the Central Prefecture ultimately the strongest in Human Race power? Are demons really that formidable?" Lin Xin wondered, "I’m new to Central Prefecture and not quite clear. Can you tell me more about the Snake Cave situation?"

"The Snake Cave has two great protectors under its command; even if they came here, we’d have no choice but to flee in disarray! Let alone the Cave Master himself!" Luo Song said impatiently, "Rumors are that both protectors possess strange Divine Skills that can seize human souls invisibly. Not to mention peers, even those a level stronger dare not be careless." (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation tickets, monthly tickets at Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please read at m.qidian.com.)