Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 305 - 298 Tracking Part 1

Chapter 305: Chapter 298 Tracking Part 1

As for the Jiuchen Song, one could only hope to encounter the right circumstances during the process that might facilitate a breakthrough.

Having understood the reasons why the breakthrough for the Jiuchen Song was not forthcoming, Lin Xin finally turned his attention to the last matter at hand.

The Silver Armored Divine General he had witnessed at the beginning was clearly not a living being but seemed more like a formation or some sort of prohibition. Discovering something in this area could perhaps lead to the development of special methods akin to the Dead Soldiers.

Additionally, Lin Xin himself was a Formation Talisman Master nearing Master Level and was extremely interested in such technical methods.

With the Black Fox youth keeping guard outside, he immediately took out the Storage Crystal he had snatched from the hands of the wielder of the Heaven’s Will Saber.

The Storage Crystal was just a rhomboid colorless crystal, inside of which fine points of white light slowly meandered.

Sitting on a stone bench in the stone chamber, Lin Xin’s hand slowly lit up with a speck of red Spiritual Light, gently turning it into a slender, sharp spike that he slowly pushed towards the Storage Crystal.

The moment the spike touched the Storage Crystal, it slowly penetrated, emitting a hissing friction sound.

Although the surface of the Storage Crystal was smooth, the spike seemed to drill into it from nowhere in particular.

The red Spiritual Light spike went deeper and deeper, penetrating further and further in.

Upon reaching a certain depth, Lin Xin gradually stopped and began to steady the spike, letting the sharp end slowly soften, bend, and then started to grope around inside the Storage Crystal.

The Storage Crystal, seemingly colorless and transparent, now revealed under the exploration of the Spiritual Light spike, vein-like transparent pathways that resembled blood vessels.

"The Storage Crystal internally has countless fine veins, much like a human body; to unlock it, one must find the breath and mark left by the previous owner hidden in its deepest reaches."

Lin Xin’s thoughts were clear as he controlled the Spirit Needle to probe slowly.

Before long, he came into contact with an area that felt somewhat cool.

Chi!

The Spirit Needle lightly pierced, and instantly, a burst of colorless brilliance exploded within the Storage Crystal, briefly illuminating the entire stone chamber.

"This is the place," a hint of joy flickered in Lin Xin’s eyes.

His other hand, palm facing up, quickly outlined patterns of Spiritual Energy in the air, swiftly forming a blood-red miniature formation of moderate size.

Bringing the formation close to the Storage Crystal, a clump of red light suddenly illuminated from the small array.

Hisss...

The Storage Crystal bathed in the red light, then trembled slightly.

Lin Xin adjusted the angle and posture, then affixed the formation again.

Hisss...

Under the adjustment of the small formation, the Storage Crystal continuously emitted fine tremors and red light.

As time slowly passed, before he realized it, more than ten hours had gone by.

Pop!

A burst of red light suddenly exploded from the Storage Crystal in Lin Xin’s hand, transforming rapidly from colorless transparency to a solid, opaque milky white, resembling a special white gemstone and no longer crystal clear.

"Done."

Sweat had also appeared on Lin Xin’s forehead. Removing the seal from this object was indeed troublesome; without his profound understanding of Formation Talismans, it would have been impossible to unlock it without the cooperation of at least two other high-level Formation Talisman experts.

"Now, to see if it contains the so-called Cave Heaven Divine Talisman..."

He tossed the Storage Crystal upwards, where it hovered and slowly rotated in front of him.

With a swishing sound, the crystal melted, turning into a screen that unfolded and revealed numerous types of items.

This screen appeared to be a window, allowing one to see into a chamber filled with various goods.

Inside the chamber, grey burlap sacks filled with something resembling grain were stacked in a corner.

Several broken weapons, made of extraordinary materials, lay scattered to one side.

There was also a man’s severed head with many small braids, carefully crafted into a Magic Artifact, its surface glowing with a multitude of Runes pulsating with White Light.

But what drew the eye the most was not these items but rather a painting hanging in another corner.

It was densely inscribed with an extremely complicated and mysterious Formation Talisman with a large mouth of some creature in the center, protruding partially from the canvas, from which a faint white smoke slowly drifted.

"This is..." Lin Xin drew the scroll towards him in the air.

Grasping the scroll, he removed it from the Storage Crystal.

Keeping the Storage Crystal open also consumed Spiritual Energy, and in such a brief period, he had already used up nearly half of his total Spiritual Energy reserve; most cultivators wouldn’t even be able to open it without being drained instantly.

Hurriedly, he closed the Storage Crystal and put it away.

He then carefully examined the scroll he held in his hand.

On the back of the scroll, a line was written.

’Piercing Clouds, Manipulating the Moon, Huang Shihan. Specially Enriched Cave Mansion.’

The writing was in the script of mischievous spirits, somewhat blurred, its age unknown.

"This must be it," Lin Xin felt a relief wash over him; this must be the Cave Heaven Divine Talisman, the sole key to entering the Cave Heaven, though how to open it would likely require some exploration.

He quickly found a mechanism at one corner of the scroll. It seemed to be a small white stroke of paint that protruded from the canvas.

His finger pressed on this spot, gently pushing.

Whoosh!

Immediately, a stream of yellow vapor burst forth from the painting, forming a three-dimensional yellow door in front of Lin Xin, over one meter high, just enough for a person to pass through.

The entire door was in an arched shape; on one side, peacocks were carved, and on the other, phoenixes, all traced with faint silver threads.

From the center seam of the door, strands of golden light faintly shone through.

"This must be the gateway to the Cave Heaven," Lin Xin deduced, comparing the descriptions he had read in ancient tomes with the scene before him, and it was clear to him the origin of the door.

He reached out to touch it lightly.

Hum!

Instantly, a profusion of white threads burst out, spreading over the door’s surface and swiftly encircling him.

The threads were laced with numerous completely unique and never-repeated rune symbols. Ringing like bells, they jingled crisply with each shake.

"This is... a sealing restriction? Quite interesting!"

Lin Xin narrowed his eyes, recognizing it as a type of particular potent restriction; it hadn’t been set up long, its aura was definitely not that of the Heaven’s Will Saber, and even the Cave Heaven Painting seemed to have an inexplicable sense of not having been opened for a long time.

Surrounded by the restriction, he wasn’t in a hurry, starting to closely observe how the restriction functioned,

"This restriction covers the entire entrance to the Cave Heaven and doesn’t have the aura of the Heaven’s Will Saber. It appears that it is not that he didn’t want to flee into the Cave Heaven... maybe he was thwarted by someone."

Lin Xin narrowed his eyes, already guessing some of the truth.

He analyzed the restriction before him carefully. With its extremely complex and troublesome layers, there were over 900 runes hanging on the threads, forming nine large interconnected nested formations. Each formation’s power was considerable, of Daoist Master level, and the nine interlinked together were quietly stirring with a terrifying power that far surpassed the Heaven’s Will Saber.

"The most annoying thing about nested formations is that once you start to dismantle them, you can’t stop; otherwise, not only will you suffer a backlash from the formation, but should you attempt to unravel it again, the difficulty will escalate."

After some thought, he summoned the Black Fox youth and instructed him, handing him a Concealment Array Plate and a Defense Array Plate, which he had prepared in advance for their escape but hadn’t ended up using.

He asked him to arrange two sets of formations at the entrance of the cave, only then feeling somewhat at ease.

The Black Fox youth also brought some food and drink, which seemed to have been bought from the city.

After eating casually, Lin Xin formally began trying to dismantle the restriction.

The painting’s white light threads flowed slowly and swayed, occasionally making faint bell sounds.

He extended his hand to just barely touch it.

Immediately, countless threads spread out to engulf him once again.

Sitting within, Lin Xin looked solemn.

"This must be the entrance to the restriction. This thing is definitely not something an ordinary Daoist Master could set up..."

All around him flowed white threads adorned with a multitude of rune bells; he knew that once he began, he could only unravel the restriction or withstand its backlash; otherwise, he could not escape.

The immense spiritual energy contained within made him somewhat nervous. This thing was at least three to five times stronger than the Heaven’s Will Saber. With his current weakened and seriously injured state, if he was directly hit by this restriction, he feared that half of his body might be instantly destroyed. Even his soul would not escape the danger of being swept up.

"Cave Heaven Divine Talisman..."

A trace of hesitation flickered in his eyes. Lin Xin now understood that when the Heaven’s Will Saber had fought with him earlier, it had likely already been foiled by someone, causing the later wooden expression and inability to use the greatest advantage of the Cave Heaven Divine Talisman to escape.

But he was different; he was a top-notch Formation Talisman master and wouldn’t be so easily tricked. Once he had something like the Cave Heaven Divine Talisman, a secret treasure for escaping and hiding, it would add great strength to his battles across the world, allowing him to preserve his power to the greatest extent and giving him a chance to catch his breath.

However, once the restriction was activated, he could neither move nor leave; he only had two choices, to dismantle it or to resist its backlash.

"For the sake of the Cave Heaven Divine Talisman... it looks like I have to take a risk."

Stretching out his finger, the hesitation vanished from Lin Xin’s eyes as he resolutely tapped a thread in front of him.

Ding-dong...

The thread swayed, emitting a crisp ring. More white silk shot out quickly, enveloping Lin Xin into a large cocoon.

Inside the stone chamber, everything went quiet; no other sound could be heard except for the white cocoon standing silently, two persons tall.

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

Outside Cliff Star Jade Cave, the Black Fox youth squatted on a rock, fanning himself vigorously with a small fan. The weather was getting hotter, the sun beating down relentlessly, and he had been on guard at the cave entrance for a long time. Sleepiness suddenly overcame him.

Squatting at the entrance, he unknowingly fell asleep.

Swish!

A streak of yellow spiritual light suddenly shot across the sky in the distance, the sound faint. The youth, dozing off in a daze, didn’t notice.

The spiritual light flew past the cliff, and a gaze cold as ice pierced down from above, sweeping over the Black Fox youth before quickly departing.

"Have you found it?"

Above the clouds, amid the raging winds, three streaks of spiritual light came together to meet. Que Yue still donned her easily recognizable garb.

"Not yet, I’ve ordered the people below to search everywhere. With the combined strength of the Three Sects, we should get results soon," the noblewoman spoke gravely.

"This matter can’t alarm too many people. Too many people mean too many loose lips; it will definitely spread, reach certain ears, and attract flies and other pests, which would complicate matters," the elder with the long beard whispered.

"I can distinctly feel it’s near this area, in this region," the noblewoman frowned, "but it’s impossible to pinpoint exact details. The other party must have used some formation to add a layer of blockage, making the aura somewhat obscure." (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for a recommendation ticket, monthly ticket at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)