Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 289 - 282 Beginning 2

Chapter 289: Chapter 282 Beginning 2

The house purchased was a small courtyard with four bedrooms, sufficient for residence. The surrounding walls were engraved with many protective and warning runes, but most of them were long neglected and rendered ineffective.

Lin Xin gave a scroll to Ling’er and Xiao Liu, instructing them to renovate the courtyard according to the design depicted on it.

He himself made another trip to a nearby branch. He decided not to venture to the far west for the time being and resolved to stay here for a while instead.

Now that the Red Spine Sect was igniting beacons of war everywhere and the clashes with the Imperial Clan were escalating daily, it was an excellent opportunity to fish in troubled waters.

To rapidly increase his cultivation level, the quickest way was to engage in relentless slaughter in reality. With the branch’s mission selection mechanism, there was no need to worry too much about mistakenly killing the wrong person or innocents, supported by intelligence and covered by the organization’s identity. This opportunity was undoubtedly the best.

After purchasing a map of local powers at the branch, Lin Xin began to meticulously study which notable masters were in the area.

He also occasionally monitored the mission columns at the branch, checking if there were any tasks worth accepting.

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

Four days later, the rain drizzled down.

Lin Xin stood by the window with his arms behind his back, gazing at the rain slanting outside the window.

"The strongest master in Naxi is none other than the Sect Leader Ouyang Qing. This man made a move decades ago and possessed Scenic Level strength. Here, the levels, Heart, Intent, and Scenic, should correspond to Innate and Qi Cultivation, Foundation Establishment and Golden Core, and Nascent Soul in my Qi Cultivator’s terms. It seems that this Sect Leader is at least a Nascent Soul expert."

He recalled the information he had read before.

"If Scenic corresponds to Nascent Soul, then, as Naxi is a flourishing area of Central Prefecture, there are publicly eighteen Scenic Level masters, and perhaps at least twenty to thirty in the shadows. Indeed, it far exceeds my Southern Prefecture, not on the same level. Such power could directly destroy all sect forces in the Southern Prefecture.... Truly terrifying."

"Mr. Red."

Suddenly, a call from Ling’er came from outside.

"Someone has sent you a letter."

"Bring it in," Lin Xin said indifferently.

Ling’er hurried over to the window and handed the letter to Lin Xin.

An invisible force gently tugged, and the envelope immediately flew up and floated gently into Lin Xin’s hands.

It bore the stamp of the branch, obviously sent from there.

After Ling’er left, he quickly tore open the wax seal and unfolded the letter.

"The Red Clothes Cult is attacking? Involved in a melee?"

Lin Xin had not expected this content.

He had spent a little money previously to have an old man in the branch keep an eye out for him, to be notified of any missions related to slaughter.

Now, it had come at just the right time.

The letter briefly mentioned some relevant information.

The Red Clothes Cult recently clashed with the Radiance Society over a mission. In the east, both rely on accepting missions as a major support platform, and with clashes of interest, such large and small battles have been happening frequently.

The letter was distributed free to all members, and those who went to the battle could receive a certain amount of financial resources as rewards from the requester of help.

Most crucially, there was an additional piece of content at the end of the letter. It was a task for buying Demon Talisman Seeds that Lin Xin had impulsively posted.

Someone had one, and the price was negotiable at the branch.

"Demon Talisman Seed..." Lin Xin’s heart fluttered slightly with anticipation. As expected from the prosperous area of Central Prefecture, it hadn’t been long since he posted the task, and there was already some news.

"To participate in the battle, one must first go to the branch to receive an identity-imprinting rune, and for the Demon Talisman Seed matter, a trip there is also necessary. Well, after the meal, I’ll go again."

Having made his plans, Lin Xin stepped out, asked Ling’er to quickly prepare some food, ate swiftly, and headed straight for the branch.

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

Below the Airship street district, at the branch hall.

Lin Xin flashed inside, blending with the incoming and outgoing crowd, quickly spotting someone holding the task plaque he had issued.

Amidst the bustling crowd, this person tightly grasped a long, rectangular small wooden plaque.

On the wooden plaque was the task number he had issued: 302.

This was an ordinary man with a full beard, but this was merely his appearance. In fact, under a sensory perception, Lin Xin immediately saw through the superficial illusion technique.

Under the illusion, it was just a delicate-looking ordinary little boy. The boy had three fluffy black tails wagging on his bottom.

"Follow me."

Lin Xin walked in front of him, transmitting his voice.

The little boy was momentarily startled, then quickly understood and followed closely behind Lin Xin.

In the old man’s area, they opened a negotiation room, which was free and ensured the safety and fairness for both parties with a powerful Talisman Formation binding.

The room was not large, just a small cabin where only two people could sit opposite each other.

Upon closing the door, the formations on the surrounding walls lit up.

Outside noises seemed to have quieted down, leaving only the faint breathing sounds of the two people.

"Did you clearly see the task I posted?" asked Lin Xin casually.

"I... I saw it clearly," the little boy replied in a deep voice, seemingly lowering his tone to better match the age his illusion was portraying. "May I ask what price you would offer for the Demon Talisman Seed?"

"I’m buying it over the long term, and the price is around one piece of Black Gold," Lin Xin offered tentatively. After all, the Demon Talisman Seed, for most people, had no practical use; it was merely a useless object, at best a collectible antique.

"I... I don’t want the Black Gold..." the little boy said through gritted teeth in a low voice.

"Then what do you want?" Lin Xin asked casually.

"I... I’ll give you all my Demon Talisman Seeds!" the boy said, teeth gritted, as he took out exactly four Demon Talisman Seeds from his pocket and stacked them on the table.

"I want the Heaven’s Will Saber dead!" His voice quivered, and his eyes quickly reddened as he mentioned the name.

"Heaven’s Will Saber?" That name did resemble the blade he had acquired years ago.

"I don’t know his power level, but thirty years ago, he killed my sister, stole the family heirloom jade, and now he has established a sect called Heavenly Dao Sect near Naxi!" the boy said in a low voice. "I want him dead!!!"

He looked up, his eyes filled with hatred as he stared into Lin Xin’s eyes.

"Sir, these aren’t enough, I also have Black Gold to supplement! I have thirty pieces of Black Gold, all for you! Just to kill that man!"

Lin Xin remained expressionless.

"Have you come here to post this mission before?"

"I’ve posted many times," the boy replied with a bitter smile, "but unfortunately, no experts have accepted. The Heaven’s Will Saber is too powerful, and what I can offer is..."

"Give me his details."

Lin Xin said indifferently.

The boy, already prepared, quickly took out a scroll and handed it over, which Lin Xin accepted and unrolled.

He only needed a brief look to understand why no one else had taken the mission.

The target was a well-known and reputable magnate in the local area, not far from Naxi; for a Foundation Establishment Cultivator flying at full strength, it would only take a day to reach him.

The tricky part was twofold.

First, this Heaven’s Will Saber was a famous upholder of the Righteous Path.

Second, he had also joined a sect alliance called Xian Sha Meng, backed by a massive network of Sixteen Sects, led by Lu Men. In other words, he was considered a little brother recognized by Lu Men.

A sect that can be recognized by Lu Men naturally wasn’t small in scale either.

Looking at it this way, it was inevitable that this youngster found no one to take on the mission.

The cost and reward were too disproportionate, just a few pieces of what were essentially relics to the average person, and several pieces of Black Gold, in exchange for the life of a cultivator who was at least at the Intent Level, furthermore a Righteous Path cultivator.

"You... you’re from the Demon Race, aren’t you?" Lin Xin pondered briefly, then suddenly asked.

The boy trembled all over and abruptly attempted to jump up from his seat, but was immediately pressed back down by an invisible force.

"I...!!"

"A young demon risking his life to come to a branch of the Radiance Society on the Righteous Path to post a mission..."

"Radiance Society doesn’t discriminate by race! Only by ideology!!!" the boy shouted back suddenly, his voice brimming with agitation. "Are you accepting it or not? If not, I’ll find someone else!!"

"The offer isn’t sufficient," Lin Xin said flatly. "The reward for the mission isn’t enough."

"This is all I have!" the boy slumped back into his seat.

Four pieces of Demon Talisman Seed had indeed caught Lin Xin’s interest, but he intended to probe the boy further to see if he could extract more information about the Demon Talisman Seed.

"If you can provide sufficient information about the Demon Talisman Seed and whether the target meets the Radiance Society’s assassination criteria, I might consider it. Of course, whether I succeed is another matter."

Being at the peak of Intent Level was something he should be able to handle with full power unleashed. The base of a Dragon King practitioner alone had a level nearing that of Golden Core; coupled with Body Cultivation and bursting forth with the Rune of Qilin, collectively, dealing with someone at the peak of Intent Level should pose no significant issue, potentially even matching them.

"This I can do!" To Lin Xin’s surprise, the spirit of the boy perked up as soon as the request was made. "If the Radiance Society wasn’t aware of this guy’s true colors, how could it possibly allow me to post such a mission? This Heaven’s Will Saber has actually been involved in human trafficking all along.

He captures humans for the Demon Race, trades demons to humans in disgusting deals; he catches beautiful demons and sells them to humans, and if certain demons need specific humans, he secretly captures and sells them as well."

"There just hasn’t been solid evidence, but the Radiance Society has long acknowledged this! You don’t have to worry about that!" the boy said with certainty.

"That does make sense, so about the Demon Talisman Seed?"

Lin Xin nodded.

"The Demon Talisman Seed, I only have these four pieces, all left by my father. However, my father also developed a Secret Technique specifically for the Demon Talisman Seed, which can determine the exact location of the Demon Talisman Seed!"

"A detection technique?"

Lin Xin’s eyes lit up.

The persistent issue he felt aggrieved about was his inability to find other Demon Talisman Seeds in reality.

"How wide is the range?"

"It’s about a hundred li," the boy answered promptly.

"A hundred li..." Lin Xin felt a surge of joy, already making plans. That was enough; with high-speed flight, he could quickly search thousands of li across a wide area. This rate of searching was quite impressive compared to his previous aimless acquisitions.

"Do you have anything else to offer?" But he still asked one more time; after all, normally, such an offer in exchange for the life of a Sect Leader was too meager. Hence, to make the other party believe that he was sincere and also to try to swindle some more benefits, he asked again.

"I... I..." The boy was stunned by the question, slowly lowered his head, covered his face with his hands, and his illusion technique gradually faded away.

Lin Xin pondered for a moment. "Take me to your house to have a look. What else did your father leave behind?"

"There are many notes and such, I can’t understand them..." the boy replied in a low voice. "My father was the strongest talent of the Black Fox Clan, but unfortunately... unfortunately he went mad in the end...."

"Went mad?" Lin Xin narrowed his eyes slightly. Could it be...? (To be continued. If you like this work, we welcome you to vote for it at qiidian.com, cast your monthly vote; your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)