Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 292 - 285: Cave Heaven (Part 1)

Chapter 292: Chapter 285: Cave Heaven (Part 1)

A group of people rushed toward Lin Xin hurriedly, their hands scattering an array of items such as talisman water and black ash, and two burly women even splashed black dog blood on Lin Xin.

With a swift dodge, Lin Xin evaded the group’s assault, and in the blink of an eye, he was in a corner of the dilapidated temple.

The crowd lunged at nothing, their sundry items instead hitting the four motionless people.

The firelight dimmed for a moment, but with some of them carrying torches, the light persisted.

Lin Xin had no wish to entangle himself, but he didn’t want to be wrongfully burdened with an inexplicable accusation.

"I am merely a passerby, passing by here in the middle of the night; I am not the paralysis demon you’re looking for," he said.

"It is him! These four have the same ghost talisman on their foreheads! My wife has it on her forehead too!" the leader of the group exclaimed upon discovering the mark on the foreheads of the people lying on the ground, bellowing with grief and fury.

"Kill him!"

The rest of the people once again surged forward.

An impatient expression crossed Lin Xin’s face as he flicked his finger.

Hissss!

After a series of soft whizzes, he shot out more than a dozen faint red sword qi from his fingertips, instantly bringing down more than a dozen people at the knees.

In an instant, bodies tumbled down, a group screaming and rolling into a heap.

The middle-aged man at the forefront fell to the ground, his steel knife landing in the fire pit, blood coursing from his knees, rendering him immobile.

"Can we talk peacefully now?" Lin Xin approached him, reaching out with one hand from a distance, and drew him up into the air, suspending him mid-flight.

"Who is this paralysis demon? Why do you mistake me for him?" he asked.

Only then did the man realize that the person in front of him was obviously not the paralysis demon. If the demon had his strength, he wouldn’t need to run after committing his deeds, would he?

"Great... Great hero!" the man’s voice trembled, "We’ve mistaken you for someone else, we’ve mistaken you for someone else!"

"I only arrived here shortly before, curious about this paralysis curse while investigating it, when you all barged in and caused a disturbance," Lin Xin said indifferently, letting go of the man.

"Nevermind, I won’t involve myself in whatever happened to you, this paralysis demon business..."

He hadn’t finished speaking when a voice came from outside the ruined temple.

"This matter of the paralysis demon, let us personally handle it; there is no need for your concern," a slightly frivolous, clear male voice reached everyone inside the temple.

Lin Xin looked up and saw a procession of people slowly walking into the temple, with their presence already before him, yet the voice as if it had come from afar.

"The mere paralysis demon... surely it is another minor demon acting recklessly without fear. It just so happens that we are passing by this place, exorcising demons is part of the journey, resolving this will also be a good tale," declared the handsome young master leading the group with a smile.

This group’s composition was somewhat peculiar: two handsome young men dressed as if they were young masters or scions of wealthy families.

There were also three women, each stunningly beautiful, pure, and cute, with their own striking features. They dressed delicately and appeared not like those traveling in Jianghu, but rather like young ladies from prestigious families out for a spring outing.

Sure enough, the situation unfolded exactly as Lin Xin had predicted.

Following the group were several servants and maids, along with a robust man with a full beard and a towering figure. This man had a steady breath and disciplined respiration; he was at least a high-level Qi cultivator.

Lin Xin was somewhat surprised—this was in the Southern Prefecture, where a single Qi cultivator could suppress a large district town, but here, he was merely accompanying a few young masters and mistresses as their protector. The gap in treatment was quite substantial...

This party was adorned in gold and silver, their gem-encrusted chains and ornaments so dazzling that it hurt to look. Some even carried charcoal stoves to warm their tea trailing behind them. Their procession was ostentatious to a great extent.

"Cousin, do not speak rashly before the situation is clear," whispered one of the pure-dressed women, frowning slightly.

Her name was Rong Wan, the third young mistress of the Rong Family, which was also one of the top families locally, with enormous strength, extensive connections, and although currently on a decline, it was still formidable.

A casual suggestion after a meal led to an excursion, and having too much fun on the mountain, they had lost track of time, necessitating an overnight rest in the mountains before returning the next day.

There were quite a few people venturing out at this time of year for spring outings, and many who stayed out late like them had also taken shelter in a small village at the mountainside.

There had been strange occurrences in that little village recently—incessant rumors of people’s daughters and wives becoming inexplicably pregnant.

An investigation revealed that something was lurking in the shadows, this being was extremely fast and could paralyze people’s bodies. It had already claimed the lives of several pursuers, including constables, and given the complexity of the mountain forest, they found it difficult to track, gradually leading to its moniker as the paralysis demon.

The eldest young master of the Li Family was stirred up at the news and was eager to capture the paralysis demon himself.

This was exactly what Rong Wan found troubling.

This young master of the Li Family, Li Guanglu, knew nothing about the affairs of the world, and was eager to show his arrogant character. His attempts at being courteous often backfired. His only reliance was the high-level Heart Level master who accompanied him; he himself was only capable of some basic boxing skills. He liked to show off the trinkets he brought with him to mystify others, wasting the family’s Spirit Jade.

"Sister Rong should not speak so, Young Master Li is also of a chivalrous heart, striving to eliminate evil and support good. Since we’ve met by chance, we should follow the young master’s orders. It will be good for us to witness the demeanor of a genuine Qi Cultivator," the beautiful woman said with a light laugh as she spoke in favor of Li Guanglu.

This woman was named Feng Yuenni, a young mistress from a local minor clan. Although her family was still considered wealthy, they fell far short of the Li Family. She twisted her willowy waist and her full, pert bottom seemed to tempt people at all times, always fluttering around in front of Li Guanglu, making this lecherous man’s mouth dry and constantly itching to show off in front of them.

Rong Wan watched with helpless resignation.

"We have the advantage in numbers, but what if we are met with a surprise counterattack when we move to capture the target?"

"Cousin need not worry, Uncle Wu carries an Array Plate with him, capable of activating a defensive formation using Spirit Jade as the core to ensure our safety," said Li Guanglu confidently.

The other handsome young man by his side seemed slightly displeased, a hint of an unusual color flashing in his eyes.

"Since Brother Li’s family has such deep roots and is prepared, we can also have a proper experience of the style of a true Qi Cultivation master. It’s just a pity that if Brother Li could demonstrate for us personally, wouldn’t it be even more impressive?"

At first, Li Guanglu thought that the other guy had changed his ways and was about to flatter him. But to his surprise, the conversation took a sharp turn.

"Brother Song, with your abundant talent and having been accepted into the Xi Xiang Sect, will surely bring radiance to your family’s name. I’m weak and often ill, it’s a pity I don’t share the same good fortune. Otherwise, I’d ask Brother Song’s aunt to put in a good word for me, and perhaps I could gain entrance honorably..." Li Guanglu responded with sarcasm, implying that the other was using connections to get in through the backdoor.

"Enough, enough, both of you say less. We’ve already promised the villagers to resolve this matter and cannot abandon it halfway," said a cute young girl impatiently, "Brother Li and Brother Song are both models of excellence, there’s no need to bicker over such trivial matters."

"Mei’er, you don’t understand..." Feng Yuenni giggled, her expression filled with innuendo as she leaned in and whispered something into the cute girl’s ear. Immediately Mei’er’s face flushed, seemingly with a touch of shyness.

Rong Wan saw this and shook her head inwardly. This young mistress was from another prominent family, spoiled and cute, but Li Guanglu and the one surnamed Song seemed to like her type. She wasn’t originally planned to come on this trip, but they had persuaded her to join them.

She felt like a parent taking charge of four children, each immature and impulsively tactless in their own way.

"I feel so tired at heart..." she sighed quietly. Her gaze, however, turned to the middle-aged swordsman who had been standing in the dilapidated temple.

After being interrupted, he merely frowned and wore an indifferent expression, carefully inquiring about the situation from the person he had caught.

Judging by his attire, a finely tailored light red robe with a jagged hem, he seemed to be in his thirties or forties.

The man’s composure was quite good; he didn’t offer any greeting when he saw them enter, and only frowned when Li Guanglu interrupted him without saying anything.

"He must be a wandering Jianghu individual, planning to bring some peculiar goods into town to sell, perhaps," Rong Wan guessed internally. Such solitary travelers often carried goods they didn’t want others to know about; she had often seen such individuals before.

At this moment, inside the broken temple, the ground was littered with people, all with injured knees.

While Rong Wan was appraising Lin Xin, the Qi Cultivator was also narrowing his eyes slightly, looking at Lin Xin with a serious expression. He too seemed somewhat surprised by such a technique.

Lin Xin glanced at Li Guanglu, clearly noticing that the man lacked cultivation but seemed to be wearing some magic artifacts imbued with spiritual energy. The sound just now must have come from a ring he was wearing on his hand. Otherwise, how could an ordinary person’s voice sound so eerily reverberating?

After asking all he needed to know, Lin Xin finally turned to look at the group of young people.

"I don’t like people interrupting me while I’m speaking."

His gaze fell upon Li Guanglu.

"I am Li Guanglu of the Li Family."

The other party responded with a smile that did not answer the question, looking back at him.

Lin Xin was confused, did this guy have a problem with his brain? What was the point of giving his own name? Was he famous?

His indifference was clearly beyond the expectations of the party of young people.

"Could it be that you are an outsider?" Feng Yuenni couldn’t help but speak up. "The Li Family is a leading great clan in the area spanning thousands of miles, even the high-level cultivators from the Dao Seeking Alliance show some courtesy."

The others seemed to understand as well; they realized he was not a local, for anyone from the area would surely know of the Li Family’s immense power and widespread reputation.

Lin Xin ignored the others, holding onto someone immobilized by a Paralysis Curse. He settled in a corner, studying the Paralysis Curse while gradually dividing his attention to practice the Return to Origin cultivation technique.

Ever since the foundation of his Dragon King’s way had been established, his talents had greatly improved. Although not on par with top geniuses like Dugu Lin, he was still considered an elite among the ordinary, and the progress brought by cultivation was also evident.

Now in his daily cultivation practice, he could slowly feel the growth of his cultivation within his body, a sensation that was virtually absent before.

Seeing that he was ignoring them, Li Guanglu’s eyes flashed with dissatisfaction. Just as he was about to speak, a quick message from the accompanying master, Uncle Wu, came to his ear.

"Young master, this person may not be simple, it’s best not to provoke him if it can be avoided. Those people on the ground with injured knees appear to have been wounded at the same time."

Li Guanglu’s heart chilled; he was not a fool, and he had a certain understanding of martial arts and power levels. He knew to achieve such a feat, it was very likely that it would require a master at the same level as Uncle Wu.

Therefore, he also suppressed his discontent and harrumphed. (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes, monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)