Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 334 - 327 Challenge One

Chapter 334: Chapter 327 Challenge One

"So you want to select a new prospective Xuan Nu, right?" Lin Xin understood her meaning.

Luo Xin’er nodded.

"To control the Jade Pure Dao, it’s not just about cultivation but also achievements, so this time Sand Time Divine Palace serves as a kind of test. I hope Your Highness can lend me a helping hand!"

"The Sand Time Divine Palace is crowded with strong individuals, without reaching Yuan Jing, how could my support possibly be of any use?" Lin Xin countered.

"Consider it a wager then," Luo Xin’er responded seriously. "Given Your Highness’s current combat talents, advancing to Yuan Jing is only a matter of time."

"That’s an overestimation," Lin Xin said, his lips curling slightly, "then what can you offer me in terms of access to Demon Talisman Seeds?"

"It’s quite simple. I can provide you with a roster of cultivators who hold the most Demon Talisman Seeds," Luo Xin’er said with a sly smile.

Lin Xin immediately understood her intentions.

There were many people holding Demon Talisman Seeds, but who exactly she offered up was entirely up to Luo Xin’er, which effectively allowed her to eliminate dissidents—an equivalent to gaining a top-tier master at the Dao Seeking level.

Dao Seeking level masters were already considered hegemonic powers in the entirety of the Yuan Jing partition of the cultivation world, where they typically stayed out of lower disputes.

"Words alone carry no proof, and those with few Demon Talisman Seeds aren’t worth my time," Lin Xin thought to himself, his interest piqued. After all, aside from the Son of You Fu, who really had the Demon Talisman Seeds required special channels.

"Demon Talisman Seeds are birthed by fixed primordial Demon Races. They rely on these to exchange for external survival resources. Yet many secretive, lesser-known cultivators also possess these seeds and not in small amounts," Luo Xin’er said, her smile growing more enigmatic and flirtatious.

"Take, for example, Zheng Yunzhen from the Flowing Cloud Sword in the nearby Mortal Realm, who has been renowned for a long time."

Lin Xin remained silent, waiting for her to continue.

"Flowing Cloud Sword is the Supreme Elder of the Cloud Soar Sword Sect and has achieved Dao Seeking Cultivation. He rose to fame three hundred years ago, indisputably the first genius of the sect. But even geniuses reach a point where their potential is exhausted. So, when he reached two hundred and eighty years, unable to advance further, he turned his attention to other unorthodox and evil paths."

"And then?" Lin Xin asked, his expression unchanged.

"He has fifteen Demon Talisman Seeds," Luo Xin’er said softly.

"That’s enough." Lin Xin turned and left. He tossed back a small Talisman Stone used for communication. "Activate this to contact me within a thousand miles if there’s anything, or you can send a message through Yuan Dou Demon Sect."

Luo Xin’er caught the Talisman Stone and sighed deeply in relief, knowing Lin Xin had decisively agreed to her proposition, marking the beginning of their preliminary cooperation.

"The operation at Sand Time Divine Palace will last ten years, by that time. . ."

"I will be there," Lin Xin’s figure vanished in an instant, his voice echoing from afar.

"Please be careful. Flowing Cloud Sword is known for using a sword, but he is not a master of the Sword Dao; he uses small flying swords! They are actually hidden weapons!" Luo Xin’er called out from a distance, but Lin Xin had already disappeared, and it wasn’t clear if he had heard her.

Elsewhere, Chen Fan and Gu Lince, carrying the slowly awakening Mei Zi, moved laboriously towards the distance. Their cultivation had been damaged, and their spiritual energy had been exhausted under the heavy burden in the recent ruins, forcing them to rely on physical strength to leave.

Sssss!

Suddenly, two green objects flew towards them, and each man caught one. Upon examining them in their palms, they realized they were two pieces of green Spirit Jade.

Looking up in the direction from which the Spirit Jade had come,

a pitch-black carriage pulled by two large humanoid exotic beasts stood silently on the hill.

As the carriage door opened, Lin Xin was seen standing at the doorway, glancing at the two men with a slight turn of his face before resolutely stepping inside, the door closing behind him.

The coachman, a middle-aged man with a grim countenance, flicked the reins, and the carriage slowly lifted into the air. The wheels ignited in flames as it flew into the distance.

"This is what the Crown Prince rewards you with," the coachman’s chilling voice carried from afar.

The two men clutched the Spirit Jade tightly, their emotions tumbling and hard to discern.

"Thinking about it, it would indeed be strange if such a notable Crown Prince had no attendants or subordinates," Chen Fan said with a forced smile.

Seeing team captain Gu Linfeng fall silent, he couldn’t keep smiling and lapsed into silence as well.

The disdainful look that Lin Xin, another Son of You Fu, gave them, as if they were mere ants, subtly stung them.

"I will remember this favor, but someday, I will surpass you!" Gu Lince was never one to submit to others. Stung by Lin Xin’s provocations, he now felt a motivation unlike any before.

During the battle in the cave earlier, their only option had been to flee. They had once fallen into You Fu in their quest for power, but now they were still so powerless and weak, ultimately relying on others’ pity to save their teammates’ lives. . .

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

Surrounded by white clouds and enveloped in mist, the serene Immortal Mountain lay.

The setting sun tinged the sea of clouds red, and several Immortal Cranes flew slowly by, their cries clear and melodious.

Amidst the mountain range, the highest peak stood sharp and prominent.

Midway up the mountain, a huge rock bore clearly chiseled characters: Cloud Soar Sword Sect.

The characters were painted with red dye, standing out vividly against the grey-white stone.

Behind the rock lay a flat and broad clearing. Barren of grass, it served like a fork, connecting three paths that led to different destinations, towards the summit and the base of the mountain.

A few disciples clad in white robes with green edges were groggily guarding these three small paths.

This was the obligatory path leading to the mountain gate of the Cloud Soar Sword Sect. Of the three paths, one led to the mountain gate, one led to the dungeons, and one descended the mountain.

Suddenly, the sound of faint footsteps slowly ascended from the trail at the base of the mountain.

"Who goes there?" a disciple suddenly became alert. This high up on the mountainside, where the sect was situated for the purpose of reclusion from the world, the elders normally interacted only with royalty from the dynasty or deeply cultivated daoists nearby. Most people coming up from the mountain were usually either common folk who had strayed by mistake or those seeking apprenticeship.

His shout roused the rest of the disciples, all of whom hurriedly looked down the path leading from below.

Looking down the stone path, they saw a young man clad in a black cloak covering his entire body slowly tilt his head up, locking eyes with the three of them.

Oddly, the man did not emit any trace of spiritual energy.

"If you have come seeking a master or immortality, you might try the Kongshan Sect not far from here. Our sect has been closed off for a long time and we do not entertain guests," said one disciple, noting the man’s unusual attire and thus speaking in a somewhat gentler tone.

The Cloud Soar Sword Sect wasn’t particularly large, but as an old sect with a long inheritance and many experts, it had never produced a Supreme Elder of the Dao Seeking Level.

Such sects were common in the Central Prefecture, either in the hundreds or the dozens, hence the mountain-guarding disciples generally adopted a mild attitude.

"I am not here to seek a master," the man said, his silken black hair cascading over his shoulders and his eyes calm, giving off the impression of a faint smile yet his gaze held an indescribable indifference.

"Could it be a visit to a friend?"

This thought flashed through a disciple’s mind hesitantly.

"If it is to visit a friend, please wait a moment. I will go and inform the elders in the sect."

The visitor smiled, but then slowly produced a red longsword in his hand. The sword, sheathed, already radiated an intense indescribable aura of blood.

"Loose Cultivator Hong Yi, I’ve long heard of the superior swordsmanship of Zheng Yunzhen of the Cloud Soar Sword Sect’s Flowing Cloud Sword. I’ve come today to experience it firsthand," he said.

His voice wasn’t loud, but it suddenly boomed like thunder, echoing continuously over the mountainside.

The mountain rocks were shaken, rattling down.

The whole upper half of the mountain, as if a hornet’s nest had been poked, saw the echo of his words quickly followed by dozens of streaks of light emerging from various parts of the mountain, all converging toward his location.

Most of the streaks of light were white, mostly swordsmen flying on their swords.

One by one, cultivators with Foundation Establishment Cultivation and above flew to hover above the clearing.

Lin Xin walked up from the path, a mere dozen or so steps, and by the time he stepped into the clearing, there were already at least twenty people floating above, all of them cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Stage.

Moreover, most of these cultivators were young in appearance with exquisite cultivation but without any trace of bloodlust, obviously the novices fostered by the sect after its seclusion.

"Someone is challenging the sect? There is really someone challenging the sect!" A voice like that of an oriole came from mid-air, accompanied by a streak of red light flying in, slowly descending to the ground.

It was a pretty young girl with rosy cheeks and a graceful figure.

"And it’s straight to challenging the Grand Elder! Curious; the Grand Elder is a top expert at the Dao Seeking Level!" The young girl stared eagerly and curiously at Lin Xin, who was walking up.

Not just her, but as streaks of light landed, various men and women appeared, all looking at Lin Xin with a similar expression.

A few disciples guarding the mountain quickly went forward to salute and whispered the situation to them.

"An unknown loose cultivator dares to challenge our Supreme Ancestor so brazenly? Who gave you such confidence?" an overweight middle-aged Taoist landed, his expression stern as he looked toward Lin Xin.

"Father!"

"Uncle Master!"

The young girl and the people around her all bowed to the pudgy Taoist.

The sect wasn’t large, holding only a few dozen people, and here was the bulk of them.

The pudgy Taoist nodded, but his gaze was fixed intently on Lin Xin.

Lin Xin glanced at the man, who didn’t conceal his own cultivation level, which appeared to be at the Golden Core Realm. It seemed this sect was indeed led by Qi Cultivators.

"I’ve long heard that the sword intent of the Flowing Cloud Sword takes a unique path, and I’ve come specially to learn from it," Lin Xin reiterated his intention.

"You wish to challenge an elder? You’re young; perhaps you’ve read too many folk novels about sword heroes," the chubby Taoist shook his head, seemingly unaware of Lin Xin’s cultivation level and speaking in a slightly warmer tone.

"Zhi Song, go send him away. The sound like thunder was impressive; I thought it was the Spiritual Pressure Thunder Sound of someone at the Golden Core Realm."

"Yes, Uncle Master," a short, ordinary-looking man stepped forward eagerly, his plain appearance belying a pressuring aura, clearly one of the elite disciples of the sect. Among those here at the Foundation Establishment Stage, he was likely a strong contender.

It seemed from their casual talk they intended to send an elite disciple to test the newcomer’s strength.