Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 318 - 331 Variables Part 1

Chapter 318: Chapter 331 Variables Part 1

The gap between Scenic Level and Dao Seeking is like a chasm.

In fact, when he faced off against the Heaven’s Will Saber initially, if one were to discuss sheer destructive power, he was not a match for the Heaven’s Will Saber. It was only because the opponent was caught off guard, and there was also the constraint of the Golden Talisman from Huang Yuan, the True Monarch, that he managed to capture the victory.

Reflecting on it now, he still felt a tinge of fear. If he had been careless at the time and failed to completely crush the Heaven’s Will Saber, and the latter had adapted to the rhythm and used the powerful recovery ability of a Golden Core Cultivator to heal, it might have been him who would have had to flee in defeat.

"Additionally, Your Highness can obtain a fixed quota of resources every month worth one thousand Spirit Jade. You may exchange them for different types of assets as needed," the Grand Steward explained.

"Furthermore, since Your Highness is a master of Formation Talismans, the Formation Talisman Hall is open to you for free access, and you may view talismans of any level at will."

"Understood...." Lin Xin nodded, feeling shocked. It really was befitting of the Central Prefecture’s major Sect; just these distributed resources and power were on par with those of an average medium-sized Sect in the Southern Prefecture. It was almost a quarter of the strength of the old Pine Forest Sword Sect.

This was the foundation of the Central Prefecture’s great Sect!

After the handover, the Grand Steward promptly departed.

Leaving more than sixteen hundred people to interact alone with Lin Xin.

Looking down at the dense crowd on the steps below, many of whom had solid and strong auras, he noted that these people, even the weakest, were selected from orthodox Sects at the Heart Level grade, just like the little plump girl was back then.

Arranging accommodations for this group wasn’t something Lin Xin had to worry about, as Wuding Mountain had more than enough places for them to reside. The key was how to make use of these people.

Standing at the entrance of the grand hall, Lin Xin swept his gaze across the crowd.

"Please, the five at the Intent Level, step forward."

He spoke calmly, his voice reverberating across the hundreds of meters of stairway.

As soon as his words fell, immediately five figures leapt up and landed on the steps not far below Lin Xin, each taking their place.

Two men, two women, and an old man. All clad in black, with a special badge on the left chest to differentiate their ranks—it was a distorted character for ’fight’ written in a circle.

Lin Xin always felt something odd about these clothes.

"We’ve seen the Crown Prince," the five greeted with a salute.

"You are too kind, from now on we will be working together, please cooperate. Resources for Retainers will certainly be provided amply," Lin Xin replied with a salute.

"The Crown Prince is too courteous, our service to the Sect Master’s orders means we already receive an extra quota of resources,"

One of the men said respectfully.

"Let’s proceed as such for today then. I would ask the five of you to arrange for these thousands of people to rest first. I need to sort things out before making any assignments."

Lin Xin explained, finding it too cumbersome to decide the fates of thousands of individuals by himself when he still had to focus on his cultivation.

Although only one of them was an old man, they were all quite aged upon closer inspection, at least a century or two old. Judging from their auras, they had stayed at this level for too long, clearly reaching the limits of their potential and unable to progress further. That was why they had turned to pursuing power and authority by coming here.

There were many such people.

Even former prodigies, if they didn’t lay a solid foundation halfway or dealt with hidden injuries in time, leaving hidden dangers, might eventually be unable to advance in their realm.

Such was the helplessness of the world.

If it were not for Lin Xin’s top-tier recovery following the Star Force Body Refining, perhaps many of the subtle injuries within his body could not have been eradicated.

"We will obey the Crown Prince’s command."

The five replied in unison.

Returning to the palace, the five outside also began to select different individuals as team leaders. This way, with a layered approach, fewer people needed to be managed.

Lin Xin did not bother with the others. After returning, he once again started trying to take control of and grasp his own body.

This body had somehow become the Primitive Demon Body of the Yuan Dou Demonic Technique, where all energies—whether it was Spiritual Energy or the essence of flesh and blood—were merged together and tinted a pale silver-blue.

Inside the body was a triangular prism-shaped crystal with a swirling vortex of black mist; this was the crystal that had emerged on his chest when he first awoke.

How powerful the Primitive Demon Body actually was, he could hardly tell.

Because all of his body’s attributes had not changed much, only adding one state at the end.

’Attack—22, Defense—17, Evasion—3, Physique—20, Free Attributes—0.’

Innate Divine Ability—Divine Shadow (Dragon King foundation)

Special State—Primitive Demon Body (Inactive)

Yuan Dou Demonic Technique—First Layer Elemental Breath: Beginner’s Level.

All other techniques, such as the Nine Morning Melodies, the Return to Origin Technique, had all merged into the Yuan Dou Demonic Technique.

Lin Xin took out the bloodline memory gemstone from the Storage Bag. All information about the Yuan Dou Demonic Technique came from this gemstone.

Within the palace, there were specialized chefs, palace girls for cleaning, and other essential staff. Lin Xin told Lin Xi to rest on her own while he went to the Taoist Palace meant for cultivation practice.

The Taoist Palace was divided into three layers named after ’kill,’ ’life,’ and ’calm.’ From the Third Layer terrace named ’calm,’ you could see Wuding Mountain suspended in the air, surrounded by rolling black clouds.

He entered the sturdiest, ’kill,’ layer. Layers of Rune pillars rose around him, each twined with densely packed, horned black serpents.

Each horned black serpent pillar represented an enhancement of the wall’s strength. There could be a total of one hundred and eight pillars, but raising them all would consume too much Spirit Jade.

The doors closed, and light shone from above. An oval-shaped yellow crystal served as the source of illumination.

"The setup for testing is quite convenient."

A black pillar resembling a stele rose before him. Many small segments demarcated it from bottom to top. This was a strength testing spirit-inscribing stele used to test strength.

His eyes faintly glowed with blue-black luminescence, Lin Xin lifted his palm, gazing at the stele before him. A heavy momentum slowly stirred up.

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

The second greatest force of the Fairy and Fiend Alliance, Yuan Dou Demon Sect, gained a new Crown Prince.

This news spread throughout most of the Central Prefecture in just half a month and then radiated further, eventually reaching even some of the remote areas.

As for the Crown Prince’s name, no one knew it. Apart from the cultivators within the Demon Sect, no one outside had seen this newly ascended Crown Prince’s appearance.

But almost every cultivator who knew a bit about the ins and outs understood.

Anyone who could survive the three great trials of the Yuan Dou Demon Sect True Monarchs was no ordinary character, whether it was the previous Great Princess Quan Sheying or the following Second Princess Duan Chizi, both were absolutely ruthless and fierce individuals.

Those who could get through those three trials were generally considered freaks to the ordinary cultivator.

The news only went out for a month or so before it quickly quieted down without making any waves.

For ordinary cultivators, the addition or loss of a major figure in a large sect didn’t make much difference.

For the stronger sect cultivators, the name of Yuan Dou Demon Sect might be within the Fairy and Fiend Alliance, but in actuality, it belonged to the Demon Path. Moreover, their power was mainly hidden, mostly expanding territory in the Outer Regions.

It had no significant impact on the situation in the Central Prefecture.

For even higher-level cultivators,

A Crown Prince, even if at the Scenic Level, unless he was at the very top echelon, hardly made any difference.

What really gathered everyone’s attention was another major event that had just taken place.

Compared to the Yuan Dou Demon Sect gaining a Crown Prince, it was an insignificant trifle.

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

Whoosh!

Several white streaks suddenly shot across the sky.

Below lay continuous sandy dunes. This was the place in the entire Central Prefecture closest to the south, where the sunlight was scorching hot, the desert dunes were endless, everywhere searing and dry, with even the air scalding hot.

Boom!

With a muffled bang, a sand dune was suddenly smashed apart, and a huge monster resembling a yellow centipede burst out from behind. Its densely packed multitude of legs, sharp as spikes, pierced into the ground, quickly chasing the streaks of light in midair.

"Don’t bother with it anymore!"

A female voice called out urgently from midair.

One of the streaks of light hesitated for a moment, then continued following the others, speeding off into the distance.

The streaks of light flew for tens of miles, shaking off the monster behind them, but soon a new battlefield appeared ahead of them.

A small group of cultivators, forming a defensive formation, were struggling against dozens of armored figures whose lower bodies were made of black mist.

These armored figures had completely swirling black fog for their lower halves and rusty black metal armor for their upper bodies, fully armed, with only two faint red lights shining through their helmets.

The cultivators continuously wielded swords and knives in combat, yet they couldn’t find the weak points of this group of armored figures.

Waves of Spiritual Light flickered, with ice, fire, poison, and so on bursting upon the armored figures, but to little avail.

"Hold on! The masters and uncles will be here soon!" called out a Taoist Priest at the center of the formation, his body continuously releasing rings of pale milky-white Runes. The Runes spread over tens of meters, and any cultivator within their reach who suffered injuries would quickly heal and recover.

However, the Taoist Priest’s forehead was covered in fine sweat, his complexion pale, with traces of blood at the corners of his mouth, clearly over-straining himself.

Zhao Ke and the Fairy of Si Jue were also in this formation, battling with swords, resisting the continuous assault from the armored figures.

They were merely passing through this area. After reaching Lin’an, they learned that a senior had come here in search of materials and had been gone for two years,

so the two of them immediately followed in hopes of finding the friend and confidant of the famed Northern Spear King.

It was a long journey, and to maintain their cultivation supplies, they worked on the go, accepting temporary hires, earning an income.

They didn’t expect that this time the mission they accepted would be troublesome. They ran into the notoriously difficult Soulless Armor.

This wasn’t a specter of sorts but a strange life form created by a large number of parasitic worms combining and residing in it.

Resistant to sword and knife wasn’t the only issue; they also had immense strength, high resistance, so even the Heart Level cultivators who accepted the task with them fell into a tough battle.

In the Central Prefecture, there are Loose Cultivators and Sect Cultivators, with Loose Cultivators relying on such public tasks to gain more resources for cultivation practice. Some team up to venture into perilous areas or the Outer Regions for hunting and exploration. Some Loose Cultivators accept employments from the Cultivator Families, enjoying the treatment of a Retainer, just like the former retainers of Spirit Heart Villa.

Others live secluded in the mountains, unconcerned with worldly affairs.

Zhao Ke and his companion chose the Loose Cultivator path, accepting various tasks published by the large Cultivator Families along the way. These tasks were also released by powerful individuals and larger or smaller sects.

All sorts of tasks: hiring, recruiting, seeking people, exploring, fighting, and so forth.

Most are displayed on the Wall of Light at the City Lord’s office, visible only to cultivators. Ordinary people cannot see them.

Zhao Ke and his companion knew their cultivation practice was not sufficient, picking tasks that were on the lower end of the Heart Level spectrum.

Yet they did not expect to encounter the Soulless Armor, an entity that only those in the later stages of Heart Level could cope with.

"We came here to find someone, but now it seems we might be buried in this desert first," Zhao Ke said to the Fairy of Si Jue with a wry smile. (This Chapter is to be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to vote for it at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to continue reading.)