Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 274 - 267 Turning Point Part 1

Chapter 274: Chapter 267 Turning Point Part 1

The scorching wind caused the flames in the forest to tilt slightly, emitting a sound akin to a blacksmith’s bellows.

Under the flickering red glow, Lin Xin stood in a standoff with the Snake Cave Master.

Zhao Ke and others anxiously hid behind a large tree that had been split in half.

The sound of the wind, the crackling of the fire, and the relentless popping of burning wood continued unabated.

"You’re only at the Foundation Establishment Stage, how could you possibly have the recovery power of the Golden Core Stage!" The Snake Cave Master stared gravely at his opponent; the physical prowess exhibited a moment ago was something not even he might achieve, a level that certainly wasn’t within the Foundation Establishment Stage.

If Foundation Establishment meant improving the body to reach a farther stage, then the Golden Core Stage was about a complete body transformation on top of that, and from then on, the divergence between the Demon Path and Righteous Path Cultivators would grow ever larger.

And yet, this human, with merely a Foundation Establishment stage’s cultivation aura, possessed a body even stronger than those at the Golden Core Stage, with a recovery ability so formidable.

At this moment, Lin Xin was somewhat intoxicated in the state of close combat.

It seemed to be a lingering effect of the Heart Technique; as soon as he had begun fighting, he experienced a kind of maniacal pleasure.

In the fray, splitting, slicing, plundering!

Each time he destroyed a creature, an inexplicable warmth surged in his heart, permeating the depths of his flesh and cultivation.

"What does it matter whether it’s Foundation Establishment or Golden Core?" Lin Xin, with his sword in hand, walked slowly towards the adversary, as the wild, hot air currents parted around him as if making way for him.

The Snake Cave Master had already been severely injured by that sword strike just now, and since his ambush failed to kill Lin Xin, he was feeling distinctly uneasy, even contemplating retreat.

"We’ve both been injured, and it all started from a misunderstanding. How about we stop fighting? Your strength is indeed above mine, but I am not without the power to severely injure you. Instead of both suffering losses, why not conserve our strength for other uses?"

He slowly retreated, attempting to convince Lin Xin.

"Conserve strength?" Lin Xin said with a faint smile, "No need."

His figure suddenly vanished from the spot.

"Heart Technique!"

A streak of red instantly pierced through the Snake Cave Master’s body, appearing behind him.

The Longsword, emitting a red glow, lightly sliced towards the giant bird’s rear neck.

"Xiang Sui!" With a shudder of its wings, the gigantic body of the bird lurched forward, turning into liquid as it melted into the ground in an instant, narrowly avoiding Lin Xin’s slash.

When it reappeared, it was already dozens of meters away, spinning around to open its mouth, brewing a pitch-black sphere, ready to spit it out.

Shick!

A red Longsword suddenly struck down from behind.

A bright red line appeared on the giant neck, and Lin Xin landed on the ground from its back.

He had managed to follow the bird’s movement like a shadow, sticking to it as it moved.

The Snake Cave Master’s eyes bulged in shock as his immense body suddenly stiffened.

Boom!!

He body exploded violently, turning into streaks of yellow light shooting out. The yellow beams were dense and numerous, splitting into hundreds, even thousands, scattering in all directions.

With a vibration of his sword blade, Lin Xin’s figure also split into countless images, intercepting the dispersed yellow light in an instant.

Beams of yellow light were continuously cut off and extinguished, with only a few light beams escaping and fleeing.

"The Soul Division Technique, even if one or two of your avatars escape, what of it? Are you still you afterward? It’s nothing more than a part of what you once were, a new entity growing again."

Lin Xin no longer bothered with the few that had not been intercepted.

Even in his Divine Shadow state, he couldn’t fully intercept them; this was already the best he could do. His Heart Eye Sword Path and Red Flower Sword Path in their strongest ordinary state were like this. As for the Qilin, it required the numerous Formations carved on Yin Mantuo’s body to stimulate and enhance to sufficient strength. Without Yin Mantuo’s recovery, it would not be possible to use it again in a short time.

After all, it had already been used once before.

Divine Shadow, as the name implies, was a speed-related Innate Divine Ability obtained from the Dragon King’s cultivation foundation.

Divine Shadow enabled him to increase his speed by about double on his existing basis, reaching an inconceivable level. But such overpowering speed came at the cost of overloading his body.

The further one progressed in speed, the more energy consumption it required for a slight increase, as well as an extremely strong physical constitution.

With the Ninth Morning Melody and the Bell Tone Great Method for physical strength, that wasn’t a big problem, but the energy consumption could only rely on the Return to Origin Technique.

In comparison to other similar Cultivation Techniques, the Return to Origin Technique was not outstanding, merely average. However, Lin Xin couldn’t easily switch to cultivating other techniques.

To switch meant that all the cultivation practice he had accumulated so far would be utterly wasted. Cultivation cannot have too many impurities, or else it would come to a halt at a certain realm.

Therefore, Divine Shadow was limited by spiritual power consumption and couldn’t be used recklessly.

The fiery red runes on his body rapidly dissipated and faded, and Lin Xin took a deep breath, feeling a stream of scorching air crazily pouring into his body from his skin, spreading throughout his flesh, and also rushing towards the Return to Origin vortex located in his chest and abdomen.

Return to Origin expanded rapidly under the assault of the fresh surge of heat; this expansion seemed much stronger than the previous one after killing two minor demons, at least hundreds of times greater.

His cultivation level soared as if it were on a rocket, and the completion of the Second Layer of the Return to Origin Technique during the Foundation Establishment Stage rose from the original 6%, advancing to 10%, then 15%, 20%, 30%, 40%....

Without any sound, Lin Xin’s body shook and he watched as the Return to Origin within him suddenly enlarged, with a ring of fine black lines appearing along its edge.

He reached the Third Layer of Foundation Establishment in just a few dozen breaths.

"After Foundation Establishment, demons should primarily cultivate the body, using all the abilities of the Protective Aura to strengthen the body. Righteous Path Cultivators, on the other hand, emphasize Protective Aura and Divine Ability Magical Artifacts.

I have both; I wonder which side I would be considered on." He pondered for a moment, then dismissed the thought.

The warm flow continued to climb, and the Third Layer of Foundation Establishment increased slowly from 1% to 18% before it gradually stopped.

Once his cultivation level stabilized, he slowly came back to his senses and looked at the ruins of the Snake Cave Master’s disappearance, where a yellow Treasure Bead was continuously hovering and rotating in mid-air.

It was the very Treasure Bead that the Snake Cave Master had spat out earlier.

Although the opponent had escaped with a divided spirit, the main Secret Treasure could not be taken away.

Lin Xin walked over, took the Bead in his hand, and saw two ghostly characters faintly inscribed on it: Wind-Riding.

"Wind-Riding Pearl?"

"Hero! Oh hero!!" The slippery youngster behind him started shouting, "Thanks to the hero’s timely arrival, saving all of us, if you have any orders, we will absolutely comply without decline! If it weren’t for the hero saving us, we would have been devoured alive by that strange bird!"

Lin Xin turned around and saw him staring at himself with a face full of grateful tears, almost to the point of crying, and the sincerer look on his face made Lin Xin doubt whether the guy genuinely appreciated his help.

Unfortunately, fluctuations in energy should not deceive anyone.

The guy had a vast and dense special energy inside him that seemed very solid. He couldn’t use it yet, but it kept changing with his emotions.

And through energy senses, this youngster’s mood was extremely uneasy, without a trace of gratitude he professed to have.

Lin Xin revealed a smile, showing off his white, neat teeth.

"Do you want me to let you go?"

Zhao Ke immediately broke into a cold sweat. He hadn’t expected his acting skills to be seen through by the other party so quickly. The sincerity on his face suddenly stiffened.

Lin Xin smiled slightly, and his figure suddenly disappeared, reappearing less than half a meter behind Zhao Ke.

"Can you tell me, why are they chasing you?"

Zhao Ke was startled, and the remnants of the Mysterious Shadow Cult around him were scared too, quickly scattering as if avoiding a snake or scorpion.

However, that big brother was stubborn, lying half on the ground with his legs obviously broken, but he didn’t make a sound and just kept a fierce gaze on Lin Xin without moving.

Zhao Ke, hugging the Si Jue Fairy, chuckled dryly and stepped back two paces.

"These days it’s always about one of a few things... Divine Technique Manuals, unparalleled beauties, and the legendary Divine Weapons that last for ten thousand years... I’m actually a member of an organization called the Radiance Society. I was heading to the far north for the organization’s mission and by a twist of fate, obtained the inheritance of the Northern Spear King, and then....."

"Wait, you said you’re a member of what organization?" Lin Xin suddenly interrupted him, questioning.

"Radiance Society!" When Zhao Ke heard it, and saw Lin Xin’s expression change, he knew there was hope, and quickly said righteously, "Does the hero also know of our organization?"

He remembered the dying wish of his old master, who didn’t want to join this lousy Radiance Society. The old man died a Branch Chief, without even anyone to attend his funeral, it was he, the wild boy, who had to personally bury the coffin and corpse. Moreover, even on his deathbed he had to worry about the Society; wasn’t that masochistic?

Without answering, Lin Xin lifted his hand and lightly drew a special symbol in the air.

The red Spiritual Energy lingered in the air for a long time, sketching out the mysterious symbol of the Radiance Society.

Zhao Ke was overjoyed, knowing this could be the key to whether he could survive or not. He quickly took out a small Token-like object from his body and handed it over to Lin Xin.

After examining the Token closely, Lin Xin recognized immediately that it was a Ministerial Level Token of a Branch Chief, which he had seen once before on Porcelain King.

"Radiance Society of the Northern Lands... you being chased is quite interesting." He threw the Token back to Zhao Ke. "Why are they chasing you?"

"Could it be that big brother is also under the Universal Heavenly Venerable in our Society?" While Zhao Ke did not answer immediately, his expression suddenly became exceedingly solemn.

Just mentioning the Universal Heavenly Venerable made Lin Xin pause as well, and he nodded solemnly in response.

"Correct, I am from the Southern Mansion’s division."

"Big brother!!!" Zhao Ke suddenly burst into tears, with snot and tears pouring out at once, half of it spraying onto the face of the Si Jue Fairy in his arms.

Lin Xin too felt his heart sink, thinking that if that beauty awakened, she’d probably have the heart to kill him. Yet he said,

"Since you’re a brother in the Society, then show me your mark!"

This mark was the most typical feature of the Society’s members, and Lin Xin had one as well.

The mark was obtained by members swearing allegiance to the Society, recognized by the Universal Heavenly Venerable, with a sliver of their mind entering behind the wings of the Venerable and transforming into a thread of feather.

Zhao Ke felt a surge of relief, thankful that the old man had forced him to swear and merge a sliver of his mind into the wings of the Universal Heavenly Venerable before dying. At that time, he’d been scared half to death, thinking his soul would henceforth be controlled by others, yet now there was such a benefit... (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to continue reading.)