Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 339 - 332: Trial of the Sword I

Chapter 339: Chapter 332: Trial of the Sword I

"Once the corresponding rules are apprehended here, the utilizing of spiritual energy and other supernatural forces to directly leverage the universe becomes more convenient. This is what is known as Taoist Intent. Forming a harmonious and identical mood with the universe, once harmonized, can resonate and mobilize the power of the heavens and earth."

After comprehending this,

he revisited the Red Flower Sword Intent he had realized initially.

"My Sword Intent must have resonated with the sorrowful part of the spiritual energy between heaven and earth, triggered by my emotions at the time, since the manor itself harbored no real sorrow."

Looking back now, he himself felt somewhat fortunate.

Not everyone in sorrow can grasp Taoist Intent; his understanding was merely like a blind cat stumbling upon a dead rat, coincidentally fitting the bill."

"So, Zheng Yunzhen’s Flowing Clouds Blade Intent must have been realized from this vast sea of clouds. The temperament and aura are very similar."

He had an epiphany.

"Thus, if I want to completely and thoroughly understand the Flowing Clouds Blade Intent, I must associate the Blade Intent with the sea of clouds, unraveling their connection."

This was the first time he had completely relied on his own ability to clearly comprehend his cultivation level.

Previously, he had depended on his attributes and a special learning ability, but this time, it was entirely on his own.

The significance was completely different.

He floated up lightly, not even glancing at the rabbit roasting on the ground, but directly rushing towards the sky and clouds.

Everything around him rapidly shrank and descended; the wind became fiercer, and the temperature dropped even further.

Lin Xin carefully experienced this flight. It was his first time paying such close attention to the whole process of flight since achieving Foundation Establishment.

At a height of over two hundred meters, he hardly felt any change, only that it was colder around him, the wind was stronger, and the surroundings became more open.

Ascending to five hundred meters, wisps of white clouds faintly began to appear around him.

The humidity around him increased.

Lin Xin dispelled the Protective Aura from his body and simply stretched out his hand to feel the wind funneling through his fingers and blowing against his body.

His clothes rapidly became cold and somewhat stiff, a lot of moisture seeping in, as if he had fallen into water and then quickly stood up—somewhat wet but not thoroughly soaked.

He paused at this height and took a look around.

Forests below were covered in a thin layer of white, visible only through the fog.

The surroundings were empty, with only the occasional bird sweeping by from afar.

He felt a kind of loneliness he had never experienced before.

Frowning slightly, Lin Xin continued to ascend.

Soon, he penetrated a large cluster of clouds. This was the center of the sea of clouds.

All around, above and below, were white, cotton-like clouds, and even breathing was filled with moisture pushed forcefully into his nostrils by the wind.

Standing in the midst of the clouds, Lin Xin faintly felt as if facing the move "Dao Seeking with No Heart" from Zheng Yunzhen.

"Could it be that the essence of that move was comprehended here?"

A thought flashed through his mind; he simply crossed his legs and floated in the sea of clouds, quietly feeling the surroundings.

In just a moment, his clothes, hair, and skin all gathered a thin layer of pale frost, caused by the high altitude cold and the moisture in the clouds.

Even vaguely, he felt a slight tingling sensation in his body.

"It seems to be the electric charges excited within the cloud vapor."

Time passed bit by bit.

He consumed spiritual energy to comprehend the Taoist Intent in the sea of clouds.

Tired, he would go down to rest and recuperate for a while, eat something, and then continue to challenge the Cloud Soar Sword Sect.

This cycle of three steps continued incessantly.

Before he knew it, two months had passed. Lin Xin seemed to have gained a slight understanding of the Flowing Clouds Blade Intent.

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

Cloud Soar Sword Sect.

Clang!

The small silver Flying Sword was precisely struck by Lin Xin’s sword, then cracked into large fragments like ice crystals.

On the Eight Trigrams platform, Zheng Yunzhen’s face had a mixed expression as he quietly watched the standing figure of Red Flower across from him.

Not just him.

Next to him, watching the fight, were a yellow-robed elder and two middle-aged nuns, all with changing expressions, some astonished, complex, and even somewhat...envying Lin Xin.

The entire disciples of the Cloud Soar Sword Sect had gradually become accustomed to this character named Red Flower constantly coming for challenges.

From the initial shock, to numbness, and now back to shock again.

"Sixteen times..." The girl in the red dress, Zheng Ruohuo, gaped with her mouth slightly open, staring blankly at the silhouette on the platform.

"The sixteenth time, he finally, finally managed to break through the Dao Seeking Ultimate Kill of Grandfather."

Every few days over the two months, Red Flower would come to challenge Zheng Yunzhen, beginning initially with retreating as soon as the second move of Dao Seeking was about to be unleashed.

Latterly, being able to withstand the second move of Dao Seeking seemed like an epiphany, where before he could only resist, yet later he seemed to predict the movements with precision, accurately striking just before the Ultimate Kill reached its maximum force.

Then, he was able to withstand the Ultimate Kill for longer periods.

And now, finally, he had utterly deciphered the second move of Dao Seeking.

Every challenge he faced allowed him to feel the man’s improvement, though minor, it was continuous and relentless, like water dripping through stone.

Zheng Yunzhen hadn’t expected this day to come so soon. Compared to his own talents, he couldn’t help but feel a bit melancholic.

"Daoist,"

Lin Xin glanced at him.

"Unleash your final move."

As for the Flowing Clouds Blade Intent, he had already grasped an understanding. In the Sea of Clouds, he adapted to the environment, then imitated the Flowing Cloud Sword Technique, and that kind of indifferent, casual state of mind. After imitating it thousands of times, he finally found a trick.

After all, he himself was a master at understanding Taoist intent. By inversely deducing, it was much easier for him to comprehend than for ordinary cultivators. Moreover, having a master of Flowing Clouds Blade Intent always available to practice with, it was difficult not to succeed.

He just didn’t expect that once he found the trick, the progress would be so rapid.

Now, he was initially able to grasp the rhythm and, at its weakest moment, directly breakthrough, shattering this move of Dao Seeking in the Sea of Clouds.

"The final move." Upon hearing this, Zheng Yunzhen’s expression dimmed slightly. "Not to deceive you, Daoist, the final move of Flowing Clouds Blade Intent has been lost for many years."

"Lost?!" Lin Xin narrowed his eyes, somewhat disappointed.

"Although I have managed to create a move called Ultimate Kill Dao Seeking to replace it, its power is about the same as the Sea of Clouds. Even if I used it, it wouldn’t..."

Zheng Yunzhen gave a bitter smile.

Lin Xin carefully looked into his eyes, feeling that Zheng Yunzhen was indeed telling the truth. It seemed to have indeed been lost.

"What a pity... Flowing Clouds Blade Intent is indeed a very powerful unique Taoist intent. It’s a shame it’s lost."

He said regrettably.

Unlike masters who self-cultivate Taoist intent, the intent from sects could be grasped through fixed perceptive moves. Although it could also condense its own Dao Seeking ultimate skills, most were developed following the foundational moves of the cultivation technique.

At best, they carried hints of personal nuances.

Without the main heritage Dao Seeking moves, naturally, Zheng Yunzhen’s perception of Flowing Clouds Blade Intent could only stop where it was. The third move he painstakingly created was naturally not very powerful.

"Since that’s the case, there’s another favor I’d like to ask."

"Please speak," Zheng Yunzhen, having dealt with Lin Xin for so long, had come to understand his general character somewhat—he wasn’t one prone to extreme malevolence.

"I need the Demon Talisman Seed you’ve collected, and I’m willing to exchange something for it," Lin Xin said indifferently.

"Demon Talisman Seed?" Zheng Yunzhen was briefly stunned, then a wry smile appeared. "I originally purchased it intending to study it, but ended up understanding nothing. I’ve heard that the Son of the Dark Manor needs this. If you want it, I can give it to you."

Lin Xin did not respond. This old man had him unknowingly practice a move for two months, and now he was giving him things, obviously aiming to foster ties.

It must be said that in the Central Prefecture, cultivators’ views on the divide between good and evil weren’t so stark. Unlike in the Southern Prefecture where black is black, white is white, distinctly clear.

This old fellow, a senior from a Righteous Path Sect, was actually trying to court him, a Demonic Path Cultivator.

"I’ll use this in exchange." He wasn’t willing to owe the other more favors. He tossed a small white medicine bottle.

Inside were special secret Array Plates he had refined recently, each contained in the form of pills inside the small porcelain bottle.

These Array Plates were a new type of magic artifact he had created after learning from the Yuan Dou Demon Sect’s texts.

On the surface of each pill, he had meticulously carved fifty-five Third Grade formations, intended for those of the Foundation Establishment Grade. Although they weren’t greatly effective for Golden Core peak Dao Seeking cultivators, their sheer number was impressive.

All fifty-five formations per pill were engraved with the Clouds Gathering Array obtained from the Yuan Dou Demon Sect.

Thus, Lin Xin named these pills Clouds Gathering Elixir, which might be useless to others, at best gathering a bunch of useless mist around them.

But for Zheng Yunzhen, who used cloud energy in battle, one pill could save him at least half of his spiritual energy for using ritual weapons and moves.

A bottle of these Array Plate pills was enough to repay his many days of companionship in training, and even including the Demon Talisman Seed, it was sufficient.

After all, he had specifically tailored these for the other party, and the ingredients used were not of ordinary value.

He briefly described the function of the Clouds Gathering Elixir and performed a simple test. Immediately, Zheng Yunzhen and the disciples below all widened their eyes, incredulous at the existence of such a pill.

"Additionally, I should mention, this Clouds Gathering Elixir can be reused," Lin Xin casually remarked.

Reuse?

Zheng Yunzhen was initially stunned.

What does he mean by reuse?

Lin Xin glanced at him.

"Just wash it off and it can be used again."

A group of disciples suddenly felt a chill.

After confirming the miraculous effects of the pill, Zheng Yunzhen had someone bring the Demon Talisman Seed and handed it to Lin Xin.

Lin Xin didn’t waste words. He took the item and soared into the sky.

Zheng Yunzhen hadn’t expected him to leave so abruptly. Just as he was about to speak, it was already too late; he could only watch forlornly as the other’s figure disappeared into the distance.

"The Demonic Path may be about to see the rise of an unparalleled genius," the elder in the yellow robe quietly landed beside him, lamenting.

"Indeed. This person’s talents are extraordinary, stunningly brilliant," Zheng Yunzhen lowered his head and chuckled bitterly, "If I’m not mistaken, he has probably already perceived the flaws and gaps in my Taoist intent."

The elder in the yellow robe was also sharp-eyed. Naturally, he knew there was truth in his words.

For a moment, both felt the sentiment of being overtaken by the newer generation, their hearts filled with indescribable complexity and reflection.

"With Red Spine Sect aiming to dominate the world, and the Immortal Dao Alliance banding together with other forces of the Demonic Path to oppose them, it’s a time of great chaos. And with such a genius emerging... it is truly an eventful autumn,"

Zheng Yunzhen murmured softly.

"We are still not secluded enough."