Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 333 - 326

Chapter 333: 326

At this moment, his speed had more than doubled, perhaps even tripled from before—the velocity had reached the realm of absolute sound speed.

Ordinary people couldn’t even dream of catching sight of their foe, let alone land a hit, and would likely be pierced through before they knew it.

Densely packed spikes plunged towards Lin Xin with a velocity even swifter than Wusheng’s movements.

If hit by this attack, even with Lin Xin’s robust recovery abilities, his head would burst instantaneously, leaving him undeniably dead.

"So that’s how it is." Lin Xin’s figure abruptly shot backward, moving at breakneck speed, matching the explosive velocity at which the spikes descended.

Wusheng’s expression changed as he used all his strength to forcefully accelerate the descent.

The two retreated at a speed invisible to the naked eye, with the spikes always remaining a finger’s breadth from Lin Xin’s face, yet never quite managing to strike.

"Speed has tripled," Lin Xin said calmly. "With the explosive power behind it, the strength should also be over five times greater than before. No...it should be said that it’s a sheer increase in speed, and that’s why it achieves such overwhelming force at high velocities."

"You’re courting death!!"

Provoked by Lin Xin’s apparent disdain, Wusheng trembled with rage.

"Control Black Death!!"

Massive dark shadows surged wildly from behind him in every direction, sealing away any space left to dodge.

The oppressive aura of this move, Control Black Death, seemed at least several times denser than when he had previously used it inside the cave, indicating that not only his speed but his demonic qi and spiritual power had been broadly enhanced.

"Indeed, very powerful..." Lin Xin’s pupils contracted slightly as a faint golden light began to emerge slowly from the depths.

"Too bad...I am stronger!!!"

With a fierce thrust of his right arm,

whoosh!

Like a mirage, three streaks of snow-white sword light flashed within the vast blackness of Control Black Death and in an instant penetrated Wusheng’s chest.

In just a fraction of a second, all movement in Wusheng’s body abruptly froze, as he stood motionless in place.

He looked down mechanically at his chest, where, unbeknownst to him, a hole the size of a human head had appeared. Three white bone spikes in a triangular formation resided within, vibrating violently like tuning forks.

"Primitive Demon Body...indeed...lives up to its reputation..."

Wusheng managed to utter these last few words with difficulty.

Bang!!!

His mutated body exploded on the spot, turning into a huge cloud of black and red mist, and swiftly gathered towards Lin Xin’s right arm.

"So this is the devouring of a Demon Body?"

Lin Xin seemed to understand suddenly.

"It appears, Crown Prince, that this is your first time using the Demon Body outside,"

A calm voice came from behind Lin Xin.

It was none other than Hong Ling, the Taoist Venerable Lin Xin had encountered in the cave.

Creak.

Lin Xin’s head rotated 180 degrees to look behind him.

"Does Taoist Venerable Hong Ling have any advice to offer?"

"To advise would be presumptuous," Hong Ling said evenly. "It’s just a small piece of advice."

"Advice?" Lin Xin narrowed his eyes.

Hong Ling stood on the edge of the huge pit created by the fight, without a single mark of injury on him. "Once a Demon Body is cultivated, its great recovery abilities, certain extreme augmentations, these are not the most important. The key is that a Demon Body can continue to strengthen itself through mutual slaughter..."

"And what of it?" Lin Xin, who had long been aware of this, coldly retorted. Energy from Wusheng’s Demon Body continued to flow steadily towards him—the absorption of a Dao Seeking stage expert’s Demon Body also required time, and he naturally had no issue with delaying.

"Such absorption is not without cost. Countless Demonic Cultivators from the Demon Path yearn for it due to its rapid initial progress, but in the later stages, unlike Righteous Path Cultivators, their advancement becomes extremely difficult and dangerous," admonished Hong Ling, shaking his head.

"If the strength of the Demon Body becomes too fierce and the spirit cannot keep up, one will end up as a terrifying monster that mindlessly hunts and slaughters everywhere."

"Taoist Venerable is indeed compassionate. Despite having such powerful strength, you still eventually let Wusheng go," Lin Xin remarked indifferently. "However, the Demon Body within me is but at the First Layer, far from the completed form that might cause backlash. So there is no need for your concern."

"The Primitive Demon Body is indeed powerful, but the larger the power, the greater the backlash... Be careful," Hong Ling admonished.

With those final words, Hong Ling’s body slowly turned into sand from top to bottom and drifted away with the wind.

Lin Xin’s Demon Body finally finished absorbing and slowly began to revert to his normal human form.

Standing in the center of the pit, he picked up a Storage Bag that had fallen to the ground. The bag was unmistakably a unique black color, embellished with a green cat’s eye stone and decorated with delicate and complex patterns.

Springing lightly from the pit, Lin Xin retrieved a black cloak from the Storage Bag and wrapped it around himself.

With a flourish of spiritual power, he flew toward the direction of the fallen Buddha statue.

There, two men covered in dirt and clearly badly injured were frantically digging into the ground. The exhaustion was evident as they were unable to harness spiritual energy to wield their Magic Artifacts and could only forcibly dig with their blades, strike after strike.

"Plum!"

They were none other than the team leader Gu Lince and Chen Fan. Their faces were pale, with Chen Fan’s tears streaming uncontrollably, his face etched with regret.

"Make way!"

Lin Xin descended next to the two men and extended his hand, pressing down into the air.

Schick!

An invisible force field harshly penetrated the ground, digging out a large chunk of rubble and mud, which was then flung into the air.

With a "bang", a cloud of dust and debris rose.

In the excavated pit, a young woman covered in blood and lying on her side appeared before the three of them.

"Meizi!" Chen Fan rushed over and embraced her, quickly checking her breathing and pulse.

"She’s still breathing, let me!"

The team leader, Gu Lince, also hurried over, with healing medicines already in hand.

Lin Xin watched as the two men frantically tended to Meizi, his heart also somewhat touched.

Once upon a time, even in the brutal world of cultivators, there was still such pure friendship. Soon, Meizi’s condition and breath rapidly improved after being administered the medicine.

He then turned his attention elsewhere.

Suddenly, a faint and mysterious aura leaked out from the distance, so subtle that even an ordinary Dao Seeking cultivator might not be able to sense it.

But Lin Xin was different; his sensitivity to auras had reached an extremely high degree because of his heightened five senses.

His eyes hardened, and he swiftly charged toward the source of that aura.

Almost simultaneously, as Lin Xin made his move, three streaks of light leaped up from the ruins where the Buddha statue had collapsed, shooting off into the distance.

"Think you can escape?"

In mid-air, Lin Xin’s Red Flower Sword sent out a distant slash.

Shh! Hiss!!

Three consecutive red sword trails, like lines, caught up in the blink of an eye and aggressively pursued the backs of the three streaks of light.

With a "bang", a burst of red flames exploded, and the three Golden Core Daoist Masters scattered and fell to the ground, rolling several times before barely stabilizing.

"Stop, stop!!"

Jian An shouted loudly.

"You want to offend three major powers all at once?"

Lin Xin landed lightly, his face showing a hint of satisfaction with his strike.

"Offend three major powers, just with you few people you can make me offend three major powers? Enough with the nonsense, hand over all the Demon Talisman Seeds."

"Demon Talisman Seed?" Jian An didn’t expect Lin Xin’s reason for chasing after them was simply for a mere Demon Talisman Seed, and for a moment was stunned.

The other two, the ethereal woman and Luo Xin’er with her Meteor Hammer, were also taken aback.

"Demon Talisman Seed? Are you that in need of Demon Talisman Seeds?" Luo Xin’er asked.

"Very much so," replied Lin Xin candidly. "What about it?"

Luo Xin’er took out three Demon Talisman Seeds from her embrace, while Jian An and the ethereal woman silently produced all the Demon Talisman Seeds they carried, totaling eight. It was neither many nor few.

"You may go now," said Lin Xin, gathering up the Demon Talisman Seeds casually. He then turned and walked away.

The ethereal woman had been composed throughout, deeply glanced at Lin Xin, and decisively turned to leave.

Shen Jing had died, and she needed to go back and find a way to deal with the aftermath. Wusheng Knife, the one who killed Shen Jing, was unpredictable and extraordinarily talented. He was notoriously difficult within the sects, and his name appeared on many wanted lists.

As for Jian An, he spat disdainfully and gave Lin Xin a fierce look before soaring into the sky, quickly flying off into the distance. They had sensed two powerful fluctuations clashing outside the ruins, one of them being this Lin Xin before them.

Having witnessed Lin Xin’s strength in the cave confrontation with Wusheng Knife, and not considering himself a match, he naturally had to concede.

Havings been robbed, there was nothing left to do but turn and leave.

The two streaks of light quickly vanished into the horizon.

Only Luo Xin’er remained.

Her eyes flickered contemplatively.

"If you’re truly in need of Demon Talisman Seeds, I could offer you a clear path."

"Oh?" Lin Xin had already noticed she had something on her mind, and he smiled, "What kind of clear path, let’s hear it."

Luo Xin’er smiled slightly, her face displaying a hint of charm, a stark contrast to her previously resolute and ruthless demeanor.

"One can only cultivate Demon Talisman Seeds with the Seed Talisman Technique, and each seed can only be nurtured by a demon of sufficient cultivation. So naturally, it’s impossible to obtain them without a connection to the Demon Race. Since you need a large quantity of these, I happen to control a significant channel. Perhaps we could collaborate."

"Collaborate? What kind of collaboration?" Lin Xin immediately became a bit interested.

"As the Crown Prince, the fourth in line of the Yuan Dou Demon Sect with exceptional talent, you must have heard of the legend of the Sand Time Divine Palace," Luo Xin’er spoke softly.

"I’ve naturally heard of the Sand Time Divine Palace, the newly appeared Divine Palace ruins, what of it, does Jade Clear Dao also take an interest?" Lin Xin responded indifferently.

That Luo Xin’er was of Jade Clear Dao had been mentioned by the others in the cave earlier. He was not one to overlook such details.

"Since the Crown Prince knows I am of Jade Clear Dao, you might as well be aware that we have an alliance with the Immortal Killing Alliance," she said.

"So what if you are? I haven’t made a move to kill you," Lin Xin stood with his hands behind his back, speaking indifferently.

"Alright." Originally intending to pressure Lin Xin with morality, she didn’t expect that he wouldn’t take the bait at all. His implication was, by not killing you, I’ve already shown mercy.

Having said this much, she had no choice but to change the subject.

"There are twelve Maidens of Jade Clear, and I am one of them. For this venture to the Sand Time Divine Palace, six maidens led their own factions to compete for the potential treasures of the Sand Time Demon. Each maiden, in reality, competes more like an independent entity because the Taoist Venerable will soon battle Huang Yuerong to the death."