Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 315 - 308 Demon Sect (Part 1)

Chapter 315: Chapter 308 Demon Sect (Part 1)

Lin Xin held his body taut, his shoulders and spine as if stiffened, perfectly straight with no hint of movement.

Crack!

Tiny wounds burst open again at the joints of his arms, blood sprayed out from within, scattering across the ground.

A red mist was quickly approaching from above his head, rapidly attaching to his wounds to repair them.

Star Force was churning inside Lin Xin’s body, roaring as if the energy had its own life, constantly resisting desperately against the oppressive squeezing.

Lin Xin could hardly see anything in front of him by now, the blood so plentiful it almost blinded all his vision.

The voice of Daoist Master Huang Yuan had also gradually faded, as if he had temporarily left. Lin Xin was the only one left, shouldering the Great Seal all alone.

"If my body can’t catch up quickly, at this rate, I might really die here!"

In a daze, this thought surfaced in his mind.

He had no idea how much time had passed.

Boom!

There was another heavy burden on his shoulders and head, clearly the weight had increased again.

The Fire Spirit Seal was gradually releasing all its power.

Lin Xin’s body bent slightly, nearly crushed to the ground by the sudden increase in weight.

"Kai!" he roared fiercely, arching upwards.

The Great Seal moved a bit as he barely pushed it back up.

Star Force was raging within his body, being absorbed by his muscles and bones under high pressure; Lin Xin’s entire skin faintly glowed with a silvery sheen.

He could distinctly feel his limits being pushed out bit by bit.

And it was after these limits were pushed that the Star Force rapidly went to work, repairing and strengthening.

In other words, this so-called trial of the Fire Spirit Seal was essentially a test of willpower and perseverance.

Thinking of this, he steeled his resolve. If it was just about willpower, he did not believe he would fall short compared to others!

He continued to cast aside all other thoughts, focusing solely on maintaining his hold against the ceiling above.

Time slowly ticked by, he was in a state of grogginess.

"Heavy!!"

Boom!

Once more, the weight increased significantly, blood streaming from Lin Xin’s eyes, nose, and ears.

Blood vessels bulged from the surface of his skin like wriggling earthworms.

Daoist Master Huang Yuan stood outside in front of an ancient bronze gate, holding a small red seal with both hands, the seal floating up and down.

"It’s been over two days now, just one last push needed. To think he actually endured until now is surprising; this kid’s recovery strength is no ordinary feat."

He felt somewhat moved; in all these years, he often brought people back to undergo the three trials, but without exception, they all ended up exploding and dying.

And this kid he had brought back was actually enduring until the last stage of the third trial; it was nothing short of miraculous.

The seal in his hands was the control core of the Fire Spirit Seal. Every Hour, it would increase the weight, gradually returning to the Fire Spirit Seal’s true weight class.

Using this immense pressure to temper and test a person’s will and body was the most appropriate method.

Up to now, almost all the weight had been put on him. From the beginning, Lin Xin was on the verge of collapsing, and even now, he was still on the brink.

"Such an adaptation speed is indeed strong, it seems he has a part of the dragon’s recovery ability, the foundation of the Dragon King?" he pondered while stroking his chin.

"Master." A woman in a white gauzy dress slowly appeared beside Daoist Master Huang Yuan, like a phantom, ethereal and quiet.

"I heard someone has endured until the third trial and is about to conclude all the tests?" The woman looked curiously at the red seal in Huang Yuan’s hand and asked softly.

"Is the matter on your end concluded?"

"It’s been confirmed there are no issues," the woman said with a smile, "But it’s unexpected that we might soon have a new junior apprentice brother."

Huang Yuan shook his head. "Don’t be too happy too soon; it’s the last moment, and he might not endure it."

"That’s true, the last breath is truly the most terrifying moment. If one is not careful, dying and having one’s cultivations and soul extinguished are natural outcomes." It seemed the woman recalled her own painful experiences during the trial and her expression momentarily changed.

"Speaking of which, when you went through the trial, I never thought you’d actually make it. That kind of insight and comprehension, if it’s not experienced and understood personally, teaching from anyone else would be useless," Daoist Master Huang Yuan said, shaking his head.

"Over the years, many promising seeds have reached this third trial, but they have all failed at the last moment, dying and their paths destroyed, simply because they lacked that decisive battle spirit," he continued.

"Sister, I still remember very clearly when you broke through the last trial," the woman said nostalgically, "She cried so hard back then, with all that chaos flying around..." She covered her mouth with her hand, starting to giggle.

"If sister mentions one more word, don’t blame me for turning my back on you!" another woman in black, wearing a mask, slowly emerged from the darkness, her voice sharp.

"Oh, so the younger sister has already arrived," the woman in white said with a light laugh, "What’s the big deal? The way our sister looked back then was quite cute, wasn’t it?"

With a cold snort, the woman in black approached Daoist Master Huang Yuan and bowed slightly.

"Master."

"Hmm, all of you are here. Well, it’s expected; whenever the last moment of the Fire Spirit Seal is about to start, you all receive the message," Daoist Master Huang Yuan nodded.

Without saying much more, the woman in black stood to one side, waiting quietly, appearing to be resting with her eyes closed.

The lady in white always had a smile on her face, giving the impression of being gentle and smiling all the time, but she was engaged in a somewhat disconnected conversation with True Monarch Huang Yuan.

Time passed slowly. Unnoticeably, several hours had gone by.

"The time is almost up; the final trial is likely to begin soon," True Monarch Huang Yuan suddenly said.

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

Inside the great hall.

The weight seemed to be becoming more bearable.

Lin Xin’s entire body felt heavy and sleepy; he had almost exhausted all his physical strength and will. As the Star Force continuously restored and strengthened him, he seemed to be gradually adapting to the terrifying weight. Although it kept increasing and he was constantly pushed to the limit, his own regeneration combined with the speed of the Star Force’s recovery eventually shaped his muscles and bones to be even stronger.

The only reason he could still persevere was the unwavering determination not to yield.

There were so many more things he had to do; how could he possibly fall here? After struggling for so many years in the secluded residence, after countless life-and-death struggles, he had finally obtained his current level of cultivation with great difficulty. If he were to fall here, wouldn’t all his previous efforts have been meaningless?

His consciousness had lost all its fluctuation, and Lin Xin mechanically and numbly propped up the Great Seal above his head, feeling a strange sense of detachment.

It was as if his body was no longer his own, but an ordinary shell that could be wrecked without feeling anything.

"The time is almost up," True Monarch Huang Yuan’s voice suddenly echoed in the great hall.

Time?

What time?

Lin Xin’s mind was foggy, unaware of anything, for to combat the immense pressure, he had completely forsaken even the ability to think, as thinking consumed extra energy.

"There is one last stick of incense left. If you can endure it, you can successfully achieve the Primitive Demon Body, but if you can’t..."

The voice stopped abruptly, but the final message was clear.

In a blur, Lin Xin numbly supported himself, feeling as if the weight above was becoming heavier and heavier.

Buzz!!

The pattern of the peacock on top of the Great Seal slowly brightened with blue light, suddenly shifting from red to blue.

The hall, which had been bathed in red, was now covered in blue.

Time passed slowly, and soon after.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, the Fire Spirit Seal became lighter.

Lin Xin felt as though his hands were suddenly empty, without anything to support, and he was momentarily baffled.

"Is it over?" An unprecedented sense of fatigue surged over him.

He so wanted to just collapse and sleep.

But that peculiar Evasion Attribute in his body seemed to still be active, a continuous stream of an eerie sense of danger still prickled his nerves, preventing him from fully relaxing.

It also kept his muscles tensed.

And in that moment, a terrifying pressure came crashing down from above.

Boom!!!

The Fire Spirit Seal’s peacock pattern instantly turned red and pressed down furiously.

It first made contact with Lin Xin’s arms.

With a crisp snap, both arms broke apart, but they also managed to momentarily stop the descent of the entire Great Seal.

"Heave!!" Lin Xin knew it was a matter of life and death, and he thrust his back upwards with full force.

Bang!!! Crack.

He heard the sound of his spine breaking, crisp and clean.

It seemed as though something had pierced through from his back, but nothing else mattered now—what was important was that he had withstood that instant’s overwhelming pressure from the Fire Spirit Seal!

Under the grating sound of crackling, Lin Xin’s body arched slightly, his skin seeping a large amount of blood. The immense pressure had forced out nearly all of his remaining blood, oozing out from his capillaries.

His heart, already under great strain, finally burst open several slits at that instant, but almost no blood came out as Lin Xin had already bled dry from his skin.

Swish!

True Monarch Huang Yuan and two others appeared abruptly in the great hall, and the Fire Spirit Seal swiftly lifted upward.

"It’s over," Huang Yuan said as he looked at Lin Xin, shaking his head slightly, "He still failed. He couldn’t force out the Life Flame after all..."

"But after all, he did barely make it through, just like us back then," the woman in black said coldly.

"Exactly, the kind of monster that Master wants, even if the Divine Beast itself were to come, it probably wouldn’t satisfy the requirements, right?" said the lady in white gently. "Well, well, even though he didn’t reach Master’s ultimate goal, in the end, we still have a new little junior brother. That’s not too bad. I’ll take him away for treatment first."

"Yes, go ahead," Huang Yuan nodded slightly, unable to conceal the disappointment in his expression.

Ultimately, Lin Xin’s talent had been tested, just like the previous two disciples, while excellent, it still fell far short of what he had hoped for.

With such talent, he could at most achieve the Fifth Layer of the Yuan Dou Demonic Technique in his lifetime, and then he would run out of power.

The Yuan Dou Demonic Technique is no ordinary Divine Technique; it doesn’t just depend on one’s talents but also requires a very high standard for one’s spirit and fate. (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets, monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)