Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 30: The Sinister Mansion - Part 2

Chapter 30: Chapter 30: The Sinister Mansion - Part 2

In such an environment, finding someone to talk to was the best way to relieve stress.

"I didn’t see any shadow," Ouyang Qing slightly frowned. "Perhaps it was your eyes playing tricks on you. Let’s not talk about that now. Junior Brother, do you know what the function of Yin Blood is?"

She stopped suddenly.

"What?" Lin Xin stopped as well.

"It can accelerate the speed of accumulating Inner Qi." Ouyang Qing gave a cold smile. "Kong Yuhui is so young, and he’s nearly reached the Third Layer at only twenty-three. How do you think he achieved it? Just a year ago, he was still at the First Layer."

Lin Xin’s heart skipped a beat.

"Junior Brother, if you could help me, we could work together. When the time comes, I’ll give you a third of the Yin Blood we obtain. How about that?" Ouyang Qing whispered.

"I’ll think about it." Lin Xin still didn’t know whether what Ouyang Qing said was true or false.

Ouyang Qing didn’t take it to heart.

"Well then, if you don’t trust me, you can go now to the Redwood Forest where we went during the day. The Yin Blood Qi has already started to gather there. If I’m not mistaken, the Shi Family brothers and Kong Yuhui are likely there absorbing Yin Blood Qi to enhance their cultivation," she said.

"Okay," Lin Xin still didn’t know whether what Ouyang Qing said was true or false. "Regardless, I won’t tell anyone the secret you’ve shared with me, Senior Sister Ouyang."

"That’s wise of you," Ouyang Qing nodded. "If you don’t want to go, then you don’t need to follow me."

"Alright." Lin Xin stopped walking, staring into the deeper darkness of the corridor, watching as Ouyang Qing’s figure quickly disappeared into the passage under the faint moonlight.

He now stood in the darkness, surrounded by a small hall in the middle of the corridor that had four doors and was shaped like a cross.

The door he had originally entered through was one of them; Ouyang Qing had taken the one directly opposite, while two more doors stood on either side.

After thinking it over, Lin Xin turned back.

Suddenly, not far behind him stood a figure, slightly illuminated by the moonlight seeping through the windows. It appeared to be Ouyang Qing, who had just left.

"Senior Sister Ouyang?" Lin Xin started, quickly composed himself, and asked softly, "Why have you come back?"

Ouyang Qing watched him calmly without responding at first.

After about ten seconds, she finally spoke.

"Come with me."

She said softly, then slowly turned and walked towards a small door on the left.

Lin Xin felt something was off and dared not follow immediately.

By then, Ouyang Qing had reached the doorway and looked back at him.

"Come with me," she repeated.

Lin Xin swallowed nervously, looking left and right. The other directions were pitch black, and only the path towards Senior Sister Ouyang seemed to be partially lit by moonlight, appearing somewhat safer.

He gently drew the Solar Yang Talisman Sword, which was the name he had given the sword. As he drew the blade, there was not the slightest sound of metal friction.

The blade was wrapped in a thin layer of black cloth that concealed and protected the runes inscribed upon it.

Gripping the sword, Lin Xin turned his gaze back to Ouyang Qing, feeling much braver.

By then, Ouyang Qing was already moving towards the small door, with half her body inside. Only a delicate, fair hand stretched out from the darkness of the door, beckoning him.

Lin Xin strode forward, ready to channel his Inner Qi into the blade at any moment.

As he entered the small door, darkness enveloped everything, and he could barely make out Ouyang Qing’s figure in front of him.

Lin Xin hurried to catch up.

As they moved along the corridor, time seemed to stretch on endlessly.

For some reason, the corridor seemed never-ending, going on and on, and Lin Xin started to slightly pant from the length of the walk.

"Senior Sister, how much farther?"

"Soon...." Ouyang Qing’s voice seemed to come from far ahead now.

After walking some distance further, Lin Xin felt something was wrong. They had been walking this corridor for at least ten minutes and still had not reached the end; their residence surely couldn’t be this large!

He strained his eyes to see ahead, but could no longer see his Senior Sister’s figure.

"Senior Sister?" he called out tentatively.

No one answered.

He decided to stand still. Something was definitely wrong. That Ouyang Qing he saw earlier must have been an impostor!

A chill ran down Lin Xin’s spine, and he slowly unwrapped the cloth from the longsword.

Whoosh...

Suddenly a cold breeze swept through.

Lin Xin’s heart skipped a beat, his hand trembling as a strand of Inner Qi abruptly surged into the Solar Yang Talisman Sword.

In an instant, the blade blazed red, sending a fiercely hot current exploding outward from the sword.

Lin Xin felt the hot wind harshly blow into his eyes, drying them until tears came, and he quickly turned his head, blinking fiercely.

In the darkness, the blade glowed like a red-hot iron rod, radiating intense heat. Holding the longsword felt like holding a glowing red light stick.

Lin Xin forcefully closed his eyes, feeling the tears moisten them, which brought some relief.

Upon opening his eyes again, he was suddenly startled.

At that moment, Lin Xin realized he wasn’t in some dark corridor; he was actually standing on a high, dark cliff, and just a few steps ahead was the precipice.

The icy wind, mitigated by the longsword in his hand, blew past both sides of Lin Xin, emitting a faint moaning sound.

Cold sweat appeared on his forehead as he looked toward the edge of the cliff, exactly where the senior sister had disappeared just moments before.

"Is this... seeing ghosts?"

Looking around, Lin Xin discovered that he was actually standing right where they had checked the spot in the cemetery during the day.

Right on the edge of the cliff beside the graveyard.

"If I really were to fall off the cliff, unless I had extremely high-level Qinggong, there’s no way I could survive with my current abilities!"

Cold sweat streamed down Lin Xin’s back as he recalled the recent encounter with Ouyang Qing.

"Damn it, I’ve seen a ghost! I need to get back quickly!"

He quickly retreated, using the moonlight to follow the path they had taken during the day back.

The entire way, the graveyard was peaceful; there wasn’t even the sound of insects or birds, as if it was completely devoid of life.

Halfway through his journey,

suddenly, he felt something was off, as though something was closely following him.

Gripping the Solar Yang Talisman Sword in his hand, Lin Xin scanned his surroundings, but saw no one.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a dark shadow lunged from the left. With a faint whooshing sound, it seemed as though some sharp weapon was striking at him.

Lin Xin’s reaction was too slow; even though he activated his Inner Strength, his movements couldn’t keep up. He barely managed to swing the Solar Yang Talisman Sword toward the attacker, but it did not block the path of the assault.

"Explode!" he said without a hint of panic.

As he exhaled his Inner Qi, a small stream flowed into the Solar Yang Talisman Sword. The blade turned red rapidly, emitting intense heat. The entire blade glowed red in the dark night like a red-hot iron.

The dark shadow was impacted by the heat wave, emitting a sharp, chicken-like scream.

But immediately following, the area around the Solar Yang Talisman Sword unexpectedly burst into flames.

Boom!

A muffled sound followed, and yellow sparks flew in all directions.

The dark shadow was hit directly by the flames erupting from the Solar Yang Talisman Sword and was sent flying, rolling down the slope of the graveyard.

Seizing the opportunity, Lin Xin thrust his sword continuously at the thing. His Inner Qi naturally flowed, dividing a stream into the blade.

The shadow, seemingly badly burned by the attack, struggled on the ground and hadn’t even managed to get up when it saw Lin Xin’s sword thrusting towards it.

Clang.

The thing somehow blocked the thrust with something, and its body was forcefully blown away, striking a tombstone before rolling and disappearing into the depths of the forest.

Lin Xin was also staggered by the block, feeling pain in his wrist, almost getting it twisted as he saw the opponent leave. He quickly went to the spot where the dark shadow had landed.

He found a long spike glowing blue, resembling a metal needle, lying on the ground.

"Corpse Monkey?" he guessed. The thing’s speed had been too fast, and he hadn’t reacted in time. If it weren’t for the explosive thermal wave from the Solar Yang Talisman Sword, he would have probably been struck.

After cutting a small piece of black fabric, he carefully wrapped up the spike, examining it closely.

The spike was about the length of an index finger, very thin, like a chopstick, and was uniformly blue from base to tip.

Carefully packing away the spike, Lin Xin looked around and hurriedly sped up toward the direction of the residence.

Although this attack was dangerous, and being hit by the spike would mean dealing with fatal poison, it also truly tested the power of the Solar Yang Talisman Sword for the first time.

Even the Corpse Monkey, reputed to be stronger than those at the Second Layer, could not withstand a single blast of thermal impact from the Solar Yang Talisman Sword. If it really hit, it would likely be a fatal blow.

Moreover, that was just a small fraction of Lin Xin’s Inner Qi—just one-twentieth of his total Inner Qi. That means, with that kind of power, he could deliver twenty such strikes in succession against a Corpse Monkey.

Quickly making his way, it wasn’t long before Lin Xin arrived at the Redwood Forest they had visited during the day.

Faintly, he saw a hint of pale red mist floating in the air around the Redwood Forest.

Lin Xin recalled what Senior Sister Ouyang had mentioned earlier. The first sister he met must have been real. She had mentioned that Kong Yuhui and the Shi family brothers were out so late likely for the Yin Blood Qi.

"Could it be this mist?"

He thought for a moment, slowed his steps, and began to move cautiously and stealthily forward.

Gradually, he entered the red mist and took a deep breath. Instantly, his Inner Qi started to stir slightly within him.

"It really has an effect..." Lin Xin felt his Inner Qi begin to circulate on its own. Moreover, there was no pain in his meridians.

Could this substance allow one to cultivate at full speed without worrying about damaging the meridians?

His heart trembled at the thought. If he could use this aid in his cultivation every day, wouldn’t that mean he could always be in a state of cultivation? The progress wouldn’t just double!

The thought heated up his mind.

Suddenly, a faint sound came from a distance. Lin Xin quickly looked up.

Far away, in the midst of the red mist, he saw a figure sitting cross-legged, which seemed to be Kong Yuhui. There appeared to be another person next to him, but their features were blurred and unclear.

Lin Xin lay in wait and started cultivating without moving. He decided to silently observe what Kong Yuhui was planning to do. This place was strangely mysterious, and for him to venture out alone so late indicated he certainly had a purpose, perhaps really for the Yin Blood mentioned by Ouyang Qing.

As time slowly passed, how long had passed, Kong Yuhui finally slowly exhaled, seeming to emerge from a state of cultivation.

"... Are there any people in this group worth noting?" Kong Yuhui asked quietly.