Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 291 - 284 Start 4

Chapter 291: Chapter 284 Start 4

Lin Xin, holding the shadow of the Red Flower Sword, appeared floating in mid-air.

"For the ordinary at the Foundation Establishment Layer, my speed indeed catches them off guard, but for those at the Golden Core Realm, it’s only a bit faster. I can gain the upper hand in a fight, but for pursuing and slaying, it’s still lacking. Every Golden Core has their own Escape Art, capable of increasing their speed by a third or even more in a short period."

He slowly sorted through his own situation in his heart. At this moment, his body still hadn’t recovered from the excessive exertion, and he couldn’t catch up anymore.

The old man, however, had already been scared out of his wits, his face covered in cold sweat as he hurriedly activated his Secret Technique and shot towards the distance.

Lin Xin had also relied on an explosive burst of Spiritual Energy with his last strike. As for the aura of a Demon Cultivator, since the Radiance Society could even accommodate demons, him being a cultivator with some demonic attributes shouldn’t be a big problem either. Moreover, he was currently eager to enhance his cultivation, hardly having the time to worry too much about other matters.

In one breath, he had slain at least several dozen people, all of them at least at the Heart Level of mastery, with quite a few at the Intent Level.

Lin Xin felt a current of warm energy continuously flowing into his body. This was the essence of flesh and blood absorbed by the Red Flower Sword, all of which he used to disperse into various parts of his body. Paired with the instinctive vibrations of the Jiu Chen Melody Cultivation Technique, it continuously purified impurities, eventually transforming into nutrients for his body.

The cool air feedback from the Youfu also quickly surged in, directly incorporated by him into the Return to Origin Technique,

and his cultivation level also visibly increased at a rapid pace.

"Daoist..."

At this time, that pinnacle Intent Level master from the Radiance Society, cupped his fists and bowed towards Lin Xin.

"Thank you, Daoist, for your assistance. You saved many in the society from harm. I will add thirty percent to your reward after reporting to the minister!"

"Thank you."

"It’s well deserved."

Lin Xin nodded, and before the other party could speak, he prepared to leap and leave.

"Daoist, please wait!" the man in gray hurriedly called out.

"What is it?" Lin Xin stopped in his tracks.

"May I ask for your esteemed name? Why haven’t I seen your image among the society’s masters...? My name is Xu Siming, the Deputy Head of this department." The man in gray took the initiative to introduce himself.

"Deputy Head?" Lin Xin’s heart stirred. "My apologies, my apologies." He then dismissed the thought of leaving quickly.

"Daoist may call me Red Flower."

"So you are Daoist Red Flower." Xu Siming smiled, "Below, brothers and sisters are waiting. Why don’t we go down together, get to know each other, and see face to face so that we can cover each other in the future?"

"Please lead the way, Daoist," Lin Xin’s mind turned as he also began to smile.

The two descended to the ground, where the Radiance Society members, who had already gathered the spoils of war, were now converging.

Introduced by Xu Siming, Lin Xin greeted everyone, effectively spreading his name. The group also shared with him half of the spoils of war he had helped achieve, as a fair distribution.

"If I am not mistaken, Brother Red Flower is still at the Foundation Establishment Level among the Qi Cultivators, right?" On the way back, Xu Siming discreetly transmitted his voice.

"Indeed, Brother Xu has good eyesight." It was easy to recognize, and Lin Xin had no trouble admitting it.

"A Dragon King Foundation, eh..." Xu Siming immediately reacted. A flash of admiration appeared in his eyes. Anyone with a Dragon King Foundation was known for immense talent; if they did not die young, they were destined to be influential figures, not like him who had struggled for years and still hadn’t made a breakthrough as an ordinary pinnacle Intent Level master. Such individuals truly had limitless prospects as top talent.

Xu Siming was naturally talkative; although Lin Xin was not good at conversing, the two men got along very well and soon he integrated into this elite circle.

As they were approaching Naxi City. Xu Siming proposed a suggestion to Lin Xin.

"With Brother Red Flower’s talent, your strength is already on par with ours. The General Manager is desperately seeking talents. If your other qualifications have no issues, perhaps you can achieve much greater things."

"Oh?" Lin Xin’s heart stirred, smiling as he asked, "What do you mean, Brother Xu?"

"The General Manager and others are all top warriors at the Scenic Level, ranked in the Heavenly List. They are like ancient immortals, yet during the recent period, the only two Closed-door Disciples have been abused and killed by enemies, their souls not even surviving..." Xu Siming expressed sorrow as he mentioned this event.

"I see Brother Red Flower, although your sword path is bizarre and mysterious, it seems to lack subsequent changes and continuity, probably because it’s self-created, right?"

Lin Xin’s heart tensed.

He had always underestimated ground cultivators because his practical combat in the Youfu was stronger than on the ground. Yet now, the other party had pointed out his insufficiency. Indeed, his own sword path was self-perfected, and although he had ideas for the path ahead, it was far from being thoroughly optimized after practical application.

Xu Siming continued to transmit his voice.

"If Red Flower Brother had a good master, with the General Manager’s ability to penetrate heaven and earth, you would certainly gain the protection of a large tree and also receive guidance on the most suitable path for yourself."

Lin Xin remained silent. With his current path, he could swiftly advance his cultivation through slaughter, but this method could only be used for five years. What about after five years? The items given by the Red Leaf Sword Master were clearly precious; once the five years were up, what would he do then?

Would he slowly revert to his original state, slowly waiting for death? Or wait until he was completely corrupted, then turn into one of the countless undead in the Lion Plain?

H...

"True Intent?"

"Correct," Xu Siming answered while flying and explaining. "We cultivators, whether Qi Cultivators or Martial Cultivators or other systems, can actually be divided into four realms."

"Are you referring to Mortal, Heart, Intent, and Scenic?" Lin Xin responded quickly.

"Correct," Xu Siming nodded. "I’ve been stuck at the threshold of the Scenic Level for decades, but only now have I realized that this barrier is no longer something I can surpass. However, it’s different for you, Brother Red Flower. With your top-tier talents, if you had a good master, there’s a great chance you could overcome this hurdle."

These words truly stirred Lin Xin’s interest.

"Is the Chief currently taking disciples?" he seemed to remember seeing a message about this at the branch.

"Correct, he’s only taking two direct disciples, one has already been decided, and more than a hundred applications have been submitted for the other spot. However, the Chief himself will personally review and select, and there will still be a test," said Xu Siming.

"How is the test conducted?" Lin Xin asked through a sound transmission.

"I don’t know. Given the Chief’s temperament, he might take you if he likes what he sees or you might be eliminated without even realizing it," Xu Siming said with a bitter smile. "The Chief always moves unpredictably, and nobody can figure out what he’s thinking."

"Let’s talk about this later," Lin Xin finally felt that the scent of blood in his spiritual energy was too intense. Although the Radiance Society here didn’t care about Demon Cultivators, when it actually came to accepting disciples...

He felt that the Red Leaf Sword Master was more like his actual teacher, though he didn’t give much guidance, each piece was crucial.

"Brother Red Flower, give it some thought. Actually, I have seen some other people in similar situations before. The Chief has wide-reaching divine skills; he might be able to help you," Xu Siming’s words made him shudder a little.

Clearly, the secrets of the ghostly mansion were rare in the Southern Prefecture, but in a place like Central Prefecture, where information was abundant and cultivators thrived, many things were no big secret.

"I will consider it," Lin Xin said softly, unsure why Xu Siming was so eagerly persuading him to apply for the Chief’s discipleship.

But for now, there’s no need to think about these things, there’s still five years’ time, and finding a way by then was also a possibility.

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

After parting with Xu Siming, Lin Xin went directly to the address provided by the little boy. It was a region called Lei Cao County. The headquarters of the Heavenly Dao Sect was located there.

That night, he traveled faster than the usual Golden Core Daoist Master, so by evening, he had already covered much of the distance.

At dusk, Lin Xin slowly descended on the edge of a decaying temple atop a small hill. After traveling several hours continuously, he planned to rest, and seeing a firelight, he flew down towards it.

The night was pitch black, and from the sky looking down at the earth, hardly any lights were visible. The few that were visible were green phosphorescent lights.

The temple’s plaque was nowhere to be found, with half of its broken doors barely hanging askew, and faint yellow firelight shone from inside, occasionally swaying with the wind.

Lin Xin faintly smelled grilled meat, which seemed to be rabbit meat.

He strode into the broken temple.

Inside, a bonfire was burning, and several men in cotton coats were sitting around it.

But oddly, although he did not conceal his footsteps as he approached, these people seemed not to hear him at all, continuing to sit by the fire with their heads down, hands tucked into their sleeves, motionless.

The roasting rabbit continuously sizzled on the fire, dripping with fat that flared the flames now and then.

"Gentlemen?"

Lin Xin spoke up. He noticed that all these men had weapons beside them, different styles of curved blades with black stones embedded in them, though their purpose was unclear.

Yet, those men still did not move, as if they heard nothing at all.

Lin Xin slightly furrowed his brow. In his senses, these men were alive and normal. But upon closer inspection, he spotted the issue.

All four sitters had a pallid complexion with eyes wide open, completely still. Though their hearts beat and they breathed normally, they showed no sign of movement.

Moving closer for a better look, Lin Xin let out a slight exclamation.

Each of these people had a character etched on their forehead—"Paralyzed"—written with a ghost-like red letter.

"There are thousands of cursing techniques. It’s curious to see such a Paralysis Curse," Lin Xin found it intriguing.

Clearly, these people were not dead; someone had cursed them so they could not move—an indication that the curser might not be far away.

"Quite interesting," Lin Xin was about to examine the cursing method more closely.

Suddenly, rushing footsteps sounded from outside, as if someone was approaching.

Lin Xin didn’t pay attention but walked closer, lifting one person’s head to better observe the shapes and strokes of the curse script.

"You kill my brothers, violate my wives and daughters! Paralysis ghost! If I don’t dismember you into thousands of pieces in a few days, I won’t calm the hatred in my heart!!!" A group of people charged in, the leader crying furiously.

Upon seeing Lin Xin, the group grew even more enraged and agitated.

"It’s him! Today we’ve finally caught him red-handed, kill!!" The leader, without another word, lifted his blade and slashed towards Lin Xin.

Lin Xin slightly tilted his head, seeing the group rush towards him without a word, he felt it quite strange. (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome you to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)