Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 335 - 328 Challenge 2

Chapter 335: Chapter 328 Challenge 2

Lin Xin glanced indifferently at the other party and had to admit that the Sect as a whole was quite strong.

There were several dozen people, and among those who had come out, there were twenty or thirty at the Foundation Establishment Stage, which meant this was a Sect following an elite route. Being able to occupy an Immortal Mountain with a Sun Spring in the highly competitive Central Prefecture spoke volumes about their strength.

"Make your move. The visitor from afar should strike first," the Disciple said intently, staring at Lin Xin, yet his tone was curiously polite.

Lin Xin gazed at him for a moment and then shifted his attention to the pudgy Taoist and the girl in the red dress not far away.

He suddenly turned and slashed his sword toward the sea of clouds beyond the cliff.

Shhh!!!

A massive wave of red Sword Light suddenly shot out, transforming into a blood-red greatsword that instantly stretched over a thousand meters in length!

It split the sea of clouds within sight into two halves in an instant.

The entire white sea of clouds divided into two, like white cotton candy sliced into two mounds by a red Longsword.

A red Immortal Crane flying a thousand meters away was precisely struck by the Sword Light, bisected instantly, and with a mournful cry, it fell, scattering blood in the air.

The wild airflow sent the Disciples’ robes whipping about, and the air still carried a faint suffocating feeling from the fierce tearing of the atmosphere.

Hum...

The Red Flower Sword vibrated intensely, its tremor echoing and lingering around the clifftop clearing.

The pudgy Taoist was stupefied, the girl in the red dress was stupefied, and the Disciple who had just stepped forward to challenge was even more so.

The rest were either dumbfounded or blank-minded, clueless about how to react.

Lin Xin retracted his blade, looked again at the challenging Disciple, and expressionless, walked slowly past him, heading towards the path leading up the mountain. The challenger was already sweating profusely, his body rigid, with no response at all.

"Sir!"

Only then did the pudgy Taoist snap out of it, his face also covered in cold sweat, but he had no choice but to call out to Lin Xin.

"If possible, please allow this junior to report your presence!" he exclaimed with all the courage he could muster.

The others were simply rendered speechless.

That strike just now was no longer merely a sword attack—it was a blade more domineering than any knife! It had split the entire cloud sea outside the mountain, and the terrifying Spiritual Energy that swept past, along with the intense scent of blood, allowed them to recognize that the person before them was definitely a notorious expert from the Demonic Path!

Without even looking at him, Lin Xin’s figure flashed, directly taking the path.

In just a few blinks, he had crossed the hundred-meter trail, and before him appeared a spread of snowy-white pavilions and terraces, with pine and cypress trees sparsely planted in some areas.

However, it was sparsely populated, giving off a cold and detached vibe.

In front of the pavilions, there was an open drill ground with a gray-white stone platform in the shape of a Bagua, surrounded by black and yellow Formation flags emitting a faint white glow.

Lin Xin glanced at the ground, a flash of golden light in his eyes.

Instantly, the ground that seemed empty before revealed a vast net-like pattern of lines.

These networks, composed of purple lines, spread from under Lin Xin’s feet to all the open space within sight.

"Daoist has traveled far to come here, may I ask what advice you have to offer?" A white-robed elder descended slowly from the sky, with white hair and a long beard, a round and rosy-cheeked face beaming with vitality.

Lin Xin’s gaze, however, fell on the back and waist of the newcomer.

The elder was carrying a delicate Longsword made of yellow jade on his back, without a scabbard, the naked blade resting against his figure.

"Are you Zheng Yunzhen of the Flowing Cloud Sword?" his voice resounded, grave.

Zheng Yunzhen was thoroughly scrutinizing the young man who had arrived uninvited.

’He seems to be in his forties or fifties by bone age, so young and yet daring to challenge a Dao Seeking expert. He must either have a profound background or he definitely possesses something on which he can rely; I must be cautious in dealing with him.’ He recalled that sword strike that split the cloud sea and precisely killed a Red Crane Demon a kilometer away; such strength, at such an age, indeed gave him the audacity and confidence to be reckless.

With that in mind, he came back to his senses and said intently, "Indeed, I am Zheng Yunzhen. Sir’s strength is formidable, your talent extraordinary, surely you’re well-known in the Demonic Path. Please, reveal your name."

Lin Xin’s expression did not change, as he slowly drew the Red Flower Sword, not bothering with idle talk. His fingertip flicked lightly across the blade.

Cling!

Amidst the crisp clang of the sword, his figure disappeared from the spot in a blink.

Zheng Yunzhen reflexively drew out a section of the Flowing Cloud Sword, slightly shifting his stance.

Clang!

The red blade struck precisely on the small section of the sword Zheng Yunzhen had drawn, with flawless accuracy, as if the two had rehearsed countless times before.

As the swords crossed, a twisted transparent shockwave surged in all directions, blowing up grass and stones from the ground and harshly striking the walls of the pavilions and terraces.

When the first strike did not succeed, Lin Xin vanished again, assaulting his opponent from all directions like lightning.

"Daoist acts without dialogue, immediately resorting to violence upon arrival—doesn’t this lack propriety?" Zheng Yunzhen drew the yellow jade-like Longsword in full, deflecting attacks to the left and right, perfectly intercepting Lin Xin’s attacks which seemed as if he had become invisible.

At this moment, the surrounding formation flags began to slowly light up with red brilliance, transforming from the previous white glow.

When the two engaged in combat, a semi-spherical, transparent barrier membrane emerged. The residual energy flows generated by the engagement were completely blocked by the transparent barrier.

At this moment, the plump Taoist and other cultivators had quickly caught up from below. They had already seen Zheng Yunzhen and Lin Xin crossing swords.

"Great-grandfather..." The girl in the red dress bit her lip, looking worriedly at the scene.

"Do not worry, they have not yet shown their true capabilities, at least they have not entered into a competition of Taoist intent, what’s happening now is merely probing," the plump Taoist, a Golden Core Stage cultivator after all, had a much keener insight than the others.

"Just probing... and we can’t even see their moves?" A group of Foundation Establishment Cultivators suddenly felt somewhat disheartened.

Especially a few of the prodigies on the verge of entering the Golden Core stage, who had thought that the gap between themselves and Golden Core strength was not too wide. But now it seemed that if they were involved in combat at this level, they would likely be killed within minutes.

"Everyone rest assured, although that person should be a supreme expert of the Demon Path, our ancestor has mastered Taoist intent, and has not even used his dao-seeking ultimate skills. Such a young and unknown man certainly can’t overcome our ancestor!" the plump Taoist suppressed the nervousness in his heart, offering words of reassurance.

"But if... he can suppress the opponent, why is our ancestor prolonging the fight instead of finishing it quickly?" a cultivator asked in a low voice.

"He’s probably probing the background of the opponent’s cultivation technique. For small sects like ours, encountering a top sect which we cannot afford to offend means real trouble," speculated another.

"That must be it, if our ancestor were alone, with his Dao Seeking stage cultivation, there would be no place in the world he couldn’t go. With an escape skill in hand, even if encircled, it would be extremely hard for him to fall into danger. But for our sake, for the foundation of the sect..." the plump Taoist let out a long sigh. These situations were not new; over the years, many had occurred. Some they knew of, while others... Many who were far less powerful than their ancestor, solely because of the backing behind them, forced their ancestor to yield and retreat without harming a single hair.

For a sect to fall to such a state was indeed bitter.

At the moment, the ancestor was clearly at ease, but he had to tolerate the opponent in order to understand his abilities fully. Thinking of this made his heart sour.

"If not for us... If we did not hold him back, why would our ancestor need to entertain this youngster?!" He couldn’t help but sigh softly to himself.

"No... something’s not right!" Suddenly, he heard his daughter let out an exclamation. "Father, look, look quickly!"

The plump Taoist hastily turned his gaze in the direction indicated.

Bang!!

Just in time, Zheng Yunzhen thrusted forward with his sword, releasing a large expanse of white mist, a sign of unleashing his powerful Taoist intent, the Dance of the Flowing Cloud Sleeves.

Opposite to him, the black-haired youth claiming to be Red Flower was surrounded by streaks of red and black energy, which were clearly related to some mysterious sword intent from some Taoist intent.

The two combated at close range, their dual swords colliding with ferocity at a speed almost invisible to the naked eye.

With each clash, Zheng Yunzhen’s complexion turned slightly paler, and his body violently trembled.

"Daoist... do not push me!"

Lin Xin rose into the air, and a sudden sound of a sword rang out.

"Heart Eye Sword Path, Red Flower Chorusing!"

Ding!!

With the sound of the sword, the Red Flower Sword in his hand suddenly flew out, turning into a red streak and targeting Zheng Yunzhen like lightning, twice as fast as before.

This sword strike was much faster than any he used in his previous encounter with Wusheng.

After enhancing his attributes, Lin Xin’s formidable 57 points of killing power represented not just a simple increase in his own attributes but also meant that the special sword techniques he executed on this foundation were stronger and faster!

Moreover, the increase in killing power, speed, and strength didn’t manifest all at once but required a process of bodily adjustment to the enhancements.

Now, after so much time, Lin Xin had truly reached his full potential with 57 points of killing power, much stronger than when he had first increased his attributes and not yet fully adapted.

Taken by surprise, Zheng Yunzhen couldn’t block in time. Being too close, he could only dodge to the right at the last moment.

With a hiss, the red streak mercilessly penetrated the Protective Aura, slowing slightly but still tore a piece off his shoulder robe.

Then streaked past his side.

Having been embarrassed in front of the younger generation, Zheng Yunzhen suddenly felt his anger rise.

"Clouds Emerge from the Gorge!"

He vibrated his sword, and the white mist around him condensed into several white Flying Swords.

"Formation!"

He shouted fiercely.

Suddenly, dozens of Flying Swords gathered quickly, whirling around him and forming a circular formation in the air.

"Since you’ve gotten serious, don’t blame this old man for being discourteous!"

"No need for courtesy," Lin Xin said, holding up the Red Flower Sword and giving it a gentle shake.

"Qilin!"

Suddenly the blade glowed red, Runes lit up, and a mournful, inexplicable Sword Intent mixed with the red glow, igniting into a crimson flame that enveloped Lin Xin entirely. Both the man and his sword burned fiercely.

At this point, using the Qilin technique was much stronger than any previous move he had shown, but it still wasn’t enough to truly alarm Zheng Yunzhen, who was at the pinnacle of the Dao Seeking stage.

"Self-realized Sword Intent? Good, I would like to see what reliance you have to dare to challenge me alone!"

He had basically understood the opponent’s fundamentals by now; a Sword Technique that he had never seen before, seemingly a mix of Sword Intent, Formation Talisman techniques, with other elements weaved into a Battle Method.

This was unheard of in the great sects of the Central Prefecture.

Since it was not a method from the major Central Prefecture sects, he had no need to worry and could act freely.