Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 326 - 319 Departure Part 2

Chapter 326: Chapter 319 Departure Part 2

"Speak quickly if you have something to say," the woman said, a trace of impatience flashing in her eyes.

"Do you really think you’re starting a team?" the man suddenly laughed. "Jian An seems to know more than both of us, how about we join forces and share some information?"

"You keep things simple, hiring a squad for a so-called investigation, aren’t you afraid that someone will spot the flaw?" the woman coldly said.

"It’s just cannon fodder anyway, it doesn’t really matter," Shen Jing said with a smile, but his expression soon turned slightly somber. "That’s not the key point. Somehow, I always feel that guy who joined last is a bit strange."

"We’re just a temporary team, why bother about so much?" the woman said indifferently. "Everyone is here for the same purpose. When the time comes, it will be up to our own abilities."

"Easy for you to say, but I fear when the time comes, it won’t be about ability but about tactics," Shen Jing said with a cold chuckle.

"I won’t join hands with anyone. You can leave," the woman said, utterly unmoved.

"Won’t you reconsider?" Shen Jing said, his expression unchanged, smiling.

"No need," the woman said lightly.

Shen Jing shrugged and could only turn to disappear into the darkness, vanishing in a few steps.

The woman withdrew her gaze and slowly walked towards the predetermined direction.

"You might consider exchanging information with this person," a man’s voice spoke up from her heart.

"I don’t need to," the woman’s eyes flashed fiercely, "That thing is destined to be mine, anyone who blocks my path will die."

"You’re quite decisive, but indeed, with that thing, it really..." the man’s voice trailed off in silence.

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

West.

"How did it go?"

Another woman was half-kneeling on the ground, clutching a handful of soil that she appeared to be examining.

Shen Jing slowly emerged from the shadows, his expression calm, shaking his head slightly.

"She refused," he said.

The woman on the ground showed no sign of surprise. She stood up, her face as cold and lovely as a fairy under her red hooded cloak.

"What did Jade Clear School give her to make her so confident?" she asked.

Shen Jing just smiled.

"Our Shape-shifting Cave isn’t weak either. If it really comes to a fight, are we really afraid of her?" he asked.

"Don’t be overconfident," the woman said lightly.

"Understood," Shen Jing slightly bowed, his tone somewhat respectful.

"There’s also that last person who joined, as well as Jian An. No idea which power they’re from, they seem to hide deep secrets," the woman said softly.

"No matter where they’re from, with you personally taking action, there’s nothing..."

"Mind your words," the woman interrupted Shen Jing sharply.

"What about that team led by the son of the Ghost Mansion?" Shen Jing asked again.

"Ignore them. Although he’s the son of the Ghost Mansion and much stronger than his peers, his level is too low to affect the overall situation," the woman said, her eyes downcast and her face calm.

"It’s just uncertain how other directions are faring," she added.

"With so many squads coming from different directions, one of them is bound to succeed in entering, we just don’t know which one it will be," Shen Jing said in a low voice.

The woman remained silent.

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

Before long, team members scouting in various directions began to return one by one.

The area around the Rune Vehicle was now bathed in white light. It seemed that the light emitted from the vehicle’s body was growing brighter.

When Lin Xin returned to the vehicle, almost everyone else had arrived ahead of him; only he was the slowest.

In fact, since he wasn’t the real Xia Haiji, he was naturally inexperienced in this aspect, and thus he naturally ended up last.

"Did something happen?" Mei Zi approached, concerned.

Lin Xin shook his head.

"Nothing, just a bit distracted, so I was a bit slow," he said.

Mei Zi looked at him worriedly, opened her mouth as if to say something, but ultimately didn’t ask further, clearly misunderstanding something.

"Now that we’ve confirmed this point, let’s proceed according to the Cross Star Method to the second point. With a total of five points, we can roughly map this area. No objections, right everyone?" Gu Lince said loudly.

"We’ll follow Captain Gu’s lead," Jian An said with a smile.

The others had no objections either.

The Rune Vehicle began to move slowly, heading towards the distance.

Over the next few days, whenever the Rune Vehicle stopped, the team members would disperse to investigate the surrounding area.

The black cake-like monsters, named Black Pillars, were typically as tall as a person, with some even reaching over ten meters—almost as large as a building.

The Black Pillars were highly toxic, and also the most common creatures in this vast land.

There was also another type of creature resembling a beetle, with a single eye on its back, which was non-aggressive.

Beyond them, no other creatures were encountered.

The Rune Vehicle gradually explored more and more places.

But they encountered no troubles until the seventh day.

A strange temple appeared before everyone.

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

On the grey mountain wall, a huge Buddha statue with a faint smile held one eye open, gazing at the endless hills ahead.

Click!

A flash of lightning crossed, illuminating the entire area.

The Rune Vehicle was parked in front of a massive black mountain that seemed to have no edges, directly facing the towering Buddha statue, several tens of meters high.

The head of the Buddha statue was damaged, with a small part apparently smashed and fallen off.

Beneath it, in the center of the lotus pedestal, there was an opening of moderate size, serving as the temple entrance.

A chilling wind continued to blow around, producing a whistling sound.

The Rune Vehicle emitted a faint white light, enveloping an area of about ten meters around it, blocking the cold wind and shadows. However, compared to the Buddha statue, it looked as insignificant as a mouse to an elephant.

Aside from the Rune Vehicle, everything around was pitch black, with even the moonlight obscured by dark clouds. The farthest visible distance was only about twenty to thirty meters around. Beyond that was complete darkness.

The two squads seemed to be completely surrounded by endless darkness, as if they could be swallowed up at any moment.

Gu Lince frowned as he looked at the huge Buddha statue in front of him, feeling an indescribable strangeness.

The Buddha statue, illuminated from below by the faint light of the Rune Vehicle, originally solemn, now had a hint of eeriness, making one shiver slightly.

"To think there’s such a place here," he whispered.

"I knew it wouldn’t be an easy mission," Chen Fan said with a bitter smile. "Just looking at this place, you know it’s not easy to mess with. Captain, are you sure we should go in?"

"We have no choice. Since we’ve taken on this mission, it’s best to finish it; otherwise, our squad’s reputation will suffer, making it difficult to get such assignments in the future," Gu Lince shook his head and said.

"But I have a bad feeling about this," Chen Fan said softly.

Lin Xin looked up at the Buddha statue, feeling as though its giant single eye seemed to be intentionally or unintentionally staring at their group.

"Haiji brother, you’re not quite yourself on this mission," Mei Zi whispered, coming closer, "Maybe you shouldn’t go inside."

"How can I not? Since it’s everyone’s mission, if I don’t go in, would it be fair to take a share of the Demon Talisman Seed reward?" Lin Xin flatly refused her kindness.

"But, Haiji brother, your condition right now..." Mei Zi looked worried.

"Don’t worry, I’m fine," Lin Xin smiled at her.

Mei Zi instantly blushed slightly, lowering her head, avoiding eye contact with him.

"This is for you, Haiji brother, be careful."

She quickly stuffed something into Lin Xin’s hand and then ran off.

Lin Xin had long noticed that this girl seemed to like Xia Haiji, but Xia Haiji was interested in that woman named Ming Qiao, making their relationships complicated and difficult to manage.

"Let’s go, let’s go inside,"

Gu Lince’s voice came at this moment.

Lin Xin glanced around and followed the Rune Vehicle towards the temple entrance.

He faintly noticed that the other team in red robes seemed not at all surprised, although they deliberately made expressions, their eyes could not lie.

"These people, it seems they already knew about this temple being here. Looks like things are getting interesting," he thought, prepared for what might come.

The group slowly approached the front of the Buddha’s lotus pedestal.

Ahead was a dark square doorway, half of which was already opened. Because the petal rocks of the lotus pedestal on both sides blocked the airflow, the ground at the entrance was covered with broken stones and thick dust.

This was a dead spot where the wind couldn’t carry the dust away.

Lin Xin looked at the item in his hand, a small, exquisitely made lantern, all white with a red character on it, "Soul."

"A Soul-Calming Lantern?"

He recognized this item, one of the more famous one-time use magic artifacts with great power. It had the marvelous effect of releasing soul-disrupting waves, capable of blasting away all beings with hostile intentions around the user.

"This, it seems Mei Zi prepared this as one of her trump cards for herself, and she just gave it to me, her affection really runs deep." Lin Xin put away the item, as anyone could see Mei Zi’s feelings for Xia Haiji. Unfortunately, he could never respond to them.

The Rune Vehicle was parked in the wind-blocking corner of the entrance, carefully tucked away by Mei Zi, turning back into Jin Chanchan’s small box.

"If I’m not mistaken, this should be a temple devoted to the Sagura Evil God. Going inside, we’re likely to encounter decayed samurai serving the evil god. Everyone be careful, these things could explode upon death,"

Jian An, who had been quiet, suddenly spoke up to remind them.

"Decayed samurai..." Gu Lince’s eyes narrowed, "I’ll be careful."

Jian An grinned, his eyes drifting towards the other members of his team.

Shen Jing quietly followed behind the otherworldly woman, silent, only smiling.

The woman carrying the Meteor Hammer had an expressionless face, following behind Gu Lince.

"The item must be mine!" What Jian An truly cared about was the last person who came in, wrapped up tightly, even wearing a black mask covering their face, without showing their eyes.

This team was originally formed temporarily; he just didn’t expect so many persons with unclear backgrounds to get involved so suddenly.

Yet among these people, the one he felt was the most dangerous was the last mysterious person to join. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at Qidian (qidian.com), and to leave a monthly ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)