Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 298 - 291 Turning Against Each Other (Part 2)

Chapter 298: Chapter 291 Turning Against Each Other (Part 2)

Countless vines and branches wildly swept toward the hundreds of Wan Nian, some directly binding the bodies of Wan Nian and throwing them into the gaping maw at the center. Some swept out and were able to directly break the waists of several people.

Yet all the Wan Nian seemed to have given up resistance, merely continuously chanting mantras.

With each one eaten, several more would appear anew.

Lin Xin faintly felt the vibrations of the mantras in the air growing stronger and heavier.

He saw that Yin Mantuo’s movements were becoming slower, seemingly more and more influenced by the mantras.

"Sonic mantras?" Slowly drawing the Red Flower Sword, Lin Xin’s face was as still as water. Plasma-like spiritual energy slowly burned along the blade, like flames.

Countless dark-red vines surrounded and protected him, blocking some of the sonic impacts.

Ding!!

With a light pluck, having cultivated the Nine Morning Song to the Jade Resonance Realm, Lin Xin merely aligned with the musical intervals, suddenly plucking the blade.

Instantly, the entire chanting of the Wan Nian’s mantras lost their rhythm.

Lin Xin, with his sword blade slanted towards the ground, had his body burning with a substantial blood-colored spiritual energy.

"Heretical tricks."

He vibrated his longsword, and his figure suddenly disappeared.

Swish!

A swath of Wan Nian suddenly faced Lin Xin appearing behind them, his sword performing a Cross Slash, severing all their waists, shattering them like soap bubbles.

Nearby, by the palace walls, Lin Xin reappeared, suddenly encircled by a ring of red light weaving through the bodies of the surrounding Wan Nian.

Row upon row of figures shattered, more Wan Nian slowly stepped out from the darkness, all peaceful in appearance, their mouths uttering mantras as they looked at Lin Xin.

"Let’s see whether you come fast enough, or I kill fast enough!"

A fierce glint flashed in Lin Xin’s eyes, his speed abruptly increased, his entire body moving swiftly as his spiritual energy accelerated him further.

Through the field, only a red line could be seen continuously weaving and splitting.

In the blink of an eye, hundreds of Wan Nian were slain, and Yin Mantuo gradually shook off the influence of the mantras, joining Lin Xin in a frenzied slaughter.

Boom!

A red streak flashed, suddenly scoring across a thick palace pillar, leaving behind a glowing red minor crack.

The crack grew larger until it suddenly collapsed.

The top half of the pillar tilted and crashed heavily to the ground, breaking into several pieces, with many finer debris scattering, causing the supported part of the palace roof to collapse heavily.

Lin Xin, with a backhanded movement, thrust out a sword light, the red glow piercing through more than a dozen Wan Nian before slowly dimming.

Walking along the palace pathway, the ground tiles were also scored with deep sword marks and myriad cracks fracture by the sonic vibrations.

At this point, only a few Wan Nian remained, having stood far enough away to avoid the sword light and survived.

But these last few were somewhat different, their body structures significantly more solid than the others’ vague and translucent state.

"Any last words?" Lin Xin’s figure flashed, suddenly appearing in front of them.

"Esteemed master’s cultivation is exceptional, I admire it, but life is like a dream, with countless bubbles bursting and rebirthing. Some things can be killed to the end, but some are infinite..."

He wore a slight smile, showing no urgency in his demeanor.

"So your true form never showed up, did it?" Lin Xin had already discerned the reality and illusion.

"No, it has already arrived." Wan Nian said, the smile growing wider. Suddenly he stretched out his hand, striking with a palm imprint.

From a distance of several meters, Lin Xin was about to dodge when suddenly his chest felt heavy.

Boom!!!

A heavy palm force surged forward, harshly striking right in the middle of his chest. Chants filled his ears, and a golden light enveloped him fiercely burning, within which a twisted and bizarre golden rune emerged.

"Spirit Controlling Technique!" a deep shout spread in his ears.

Lin Xin’s protective aura flashed wildly, shattering in layers, harshly caving in before almost touching his skin and rebounding back. His body was also crazily pushed by the immense palm force, flying backward.

Wan Nian, having succeeded in his stealth attack, originally showed a triumphant look, but seeing Lin Xin retreating dozens of steps and slowly stopping, still able to stand firmly, and even his clothes perfectly intact, immediately hardened his gaze.

"You!? How is that possible? The bell’s inside..."

"From the very beginning, you were brewing this strike, weren’t you?" Lin Xin looked down at his slowly recovering protective aura, disappointment evident in his eyes.

"The illusion technique and sound rhythm are good, but no matter how well used, if they can’t hurt, they are useless."

He looked up at the Wan Nian across from him, whose face was changing rapidly, seemingly unable to comprehend the harsh reality that his full-force palm had failed to harm Lin Xin.

"Esteemed master..." Wan Nian gave a few dry laughs.

"Fragmenting the spirit and also capable of absorbing others’ souls through the Demon Path to endlessly reincarnate through other bodies. The goal was achieved. But..."

Lin Xin’s shape suddenly appeared behind Wan Nian, sword Qi bursting forth, instantly piercing through the last few people.

"Fragmenting too much actually made you weaker..."

He drew his sword out from the last physical Wan Nian.

This time, the blade truly carried blood.

Fragments a thousandfold, then adding the power of mantras to achieve the resonance and confuse the enemy’s mind.

Such cultivation techniques were certainly useful in places like the Two-Faced Kingdom that primarily practiced body cultivation, but against someone like Lin Xin, who had knowledge in illusions and sound rhythms, the effect was not so pronounced.

The last of Wan Nian’s thoughts suddenly collapsed.

"Is it still not the true body?" It hadn’t surprised Lin Xin. The adversary had fled.

Or rather, from the beginning, they never actually arrived, just remotely controlling these divided spirits to attack.

The blade of the sword lit up with a red glow, and Yin Mantuo transformed into a red line and flew into the blade. Lin Xin was slightly helpless; he hadn’t even used half his strength, and his opponent had already disappeared.

He stood in his original spot and glanced around the surrounding palace, which was full of ruined walls and remains. Sword marks and the residual cracks from the mantras were everywhere.

With a flash of red, Lin Xin suddenly charged back toward the Pudusheng Palace at high speed.

The scenery on both sides instantly blurred into a streak.

Bang!

The tightly closed palace gates were abruptly smashed open, with the doors spinning out and crashing against the wall, emitting a dull thud.

In the palace, Pudusheng sat high up on his throne, his expression bitter as he watched him.

"Don’t blame me... I had no choice..."

"That is no reason for you to attack me," Lin Xin said calmly.

Around the two of them, there were no people, all the maids and guards had eerily disappeared.

"If I can’t control you, my greatest source of income will vanish. You come and go as you please, entirely dictated by your moods," Pudusheng explained, "Several times I nearly hit rock bottom, but you never showed up. From initially having immense power over the entire nation, to now when the palace doors are deserted, not even having enough guards to serve tea and water, everyone, including the forces that once backed me, thinks I am finished."

He picked up the wine cup in front of him.

"A final toast to you, so far the best and only friend I’ve had. Red Flower..."

He drank the wine in one gulp. As he set down the cup, Lin Xin was already gone from his sight.

Huff...!

After hesitating momentarily, Pudusheng looked around vacantly, but couldn’t find any trace of Lin Xin.

"He ultimately didn’t make a move..." he sighed with great relief.

Shick!

A sword mark appeared on his neck, blood slowly oozing out. Suddenly his head tilted and rolled off his neck, tumbling down the stairs in front of his seat.

The wine cup suspended in mid-air finally fell to the ground with a snap.

Outside the palace, the faint sounds of the arriving Imperial Guards’ cries could be heard.

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

The carriage door slowly opened, and Lin Xin stepped out, the carriage steadily fading behind him.

It was still the same forest as before, the campfire by its side not yet fully extinguished, still faintly emitting smoke.

An entire night of slaughter, killing Pudusheng felt like stirring a hornet’s nest, the large group of well-prepared Two-Faced Kingdom monks outside already having arranged their arrays and magic artifacts. The moment he showed himself, a fierce barrage ensued.

In a rush, Lin Xin forcefully broke through, slaughtering dozens of experts, and only managed to flee the encirclement by seizing the moment before the most formidable experts arrived.

These experts were almost all at the Foundation Establishment level, clearly the elite deployed from the palace, possessing exceptionally resilient bodies that required much more effort to kill with a blade.

He checked his own condition.

’Return to Origin Cultivation Technique—Foundation Establishment Stage Third Layer. (Completion: 62%) (Damage +21, Physique +21)’

"From initially around fifty, it increased to sixty-something, still the figures lifted from those killed in the Underworld earlier, meaning the many experts I killed in the Two-Faced Kingdom were almost of no use, except for powering my Giant Manta Wan Sha Technique."

Once again he confirmed that the effect of his slaughters within the Underworld were diminishing, and given the bizarre nature of the new realm, where a giant could easily flatten him with a slap, he couldn’t make a move at all.

Lin Xin finally gave up on seeking advancements in the Underworld.

"It seems I can only act in the Underworld, five years..." He sighed to himself, taking a silver rat-like fruit from his Storage Bag and gently placing it in his mouth with a bite. Instantly, like congealed oil, the fruit dissolved upon contact, chaotically battering inside his mouth before forcefully diving down his throat.

His whole body felt as though it was being washed inside out by a clear spring; Lin Xin felt numerous impurities being flushed out from within.

After regulating his breath for a moment, he slowly opened his eyes.

A red shadow flashed, and there was no one left in the woods.

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

Three days passed in a flash.

The day of the appointment.

The Heavenly Dao Sect was also surrounded by many spectators from Jianghu, all drawn by fame, eager to watch the battle. Among them were not a few highly skilled cultivators.

The members of the Heavenly Dao Sect had set up barricades early around the perimeter, and many powerful disciples had rushed back from Pigeon Cave, each with a grim expression, as no one could be in a good mood with their sect split into two by a single strike.

A group of disciples stood on either side of the pathway from the archway to the Sect courtyard, some masters adorned with ceremonial headdresses performing some kind of ritual, while others surrounded by crowds cried over their circumstances.

Others silently cleaned their weapons, their faces stern.

A few individuals, whose presences differed entirely from those around them, slowly emerged beneath the Sect’s archway.

The leader of the group bowed to everyone around.

"I am Heaven’s Will Saber, and I thank all fellow daoists for their support."

"Sect Master, please, be cautious. The adversary comes alone and must be confident of their power," a clear voice called from afar. Startlingly, it was a couple of male and female cultivators hovering in midair, speaking.

Among the assembled cultivators watching, these few were of the highest cultivation level, apparently esteemed figures from the Sects surrounding the Heavenly Dao Sect, all standing together to observe. (To be continued. If you like this work, we invite you to vote and recommend it at qidian.com. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)