Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 352 - 345

Chapter 352: 345

Rui Shi was a well-known underground merchant in Tiancheng, dealing simply in underground trading, fence activities, or trafficking of prohibited goods.

He had long been on the wanted list in Tiancheng.

It was Jade Fox who had told Lin Xin about this, otherwise, he might have resorted to violence upon their first meeting.

Given that he had encountered such a character, he considered and decided that a fair trade and a steady flow of benefits were best.

Moreover, these types of people often had extremely well-informed sources, making it easier to inquire about information unknown to ordinary people.

Indeed, Rui Shi pondered for a moment.

"There naturally is a difference."

He sat in his chair, glanced at Lin Xin, said nothing, and simply took a sip of his tea.

Understanding the cue, a piece of Spirit Jade suddenly appeared on the table.

The old man leaned forward with satisfaction, swiftly pocketing the Spirit Jade, feigning nonchalance.

"This gold color, whether pale gold or dark gold, is merely a matter of degree."

"Degree?"

"Exactly," Rui Shi nodded. "Demon Talisman Seeds were originally a special item from the Primordial Ancient Times, created by the Demon Race for worshiping Demon Gods and Evil Gods, merging their Essential Blood into the Talisman Seeds, embodying not only the Demon Race’s Essential Blood but also the full-hearted reverence and worship of those who condensed it."

"I see... So, the difference in color...?" Lin Xin suddenly understood.

"Represents the cultivator’s level." Rui Shi revealed a cryptic smile. "The higher the cultivation, the richer the gold contained in the Demon Talisman Seed. Pale gold is stronger than black, and dark gold is stronger than pale gold. That’s how it is. In terms of ratio, roughly ten to one, meaning one piece of pale gold can be exchanged for ten black ones, and one piece of dark gold for twenty black ones."

Seeing a hint of surprise in Lin Xin’s eyes, he shook his head slightly.

"You aren’t really a Demon Talisman Seed dealer, are you? You don’t even understand the value of the goods you’re trading. I don’t know who you really are, but if you have any Fourth-Grade Magic Artifacts, you can sell them all to me, I promise you a good price."

"Does Old Rui really need Fourth-Grade Magic Artifacts?" Lin Xin didn’t answer directly.

"Very much so. And in large amounts," Rui Shi nodded. "Looking at you, with unactivated power and Demonic Qi emerging, it seems you are at the stage where you need to absorb a large amount of Demonic Qi to solidify your cultivation. If you can provide more Fourth-Grade Artifacts, I can exchange them for Demonic Fluid according to a rate."

"Demonic Fluid?" Lin Xin was suddenly tempted.

Even as the Crown Prince of Yuan Dou Demon Sect, he could not obtain such a substance.

The concentration of Demonic Qi rises to a certain level, transforms and condenses into a liquid state, but Demonic Fluid is not merely simple liquid Demonic Qi. It undergoes purification, Refinement of impurities and toxins, and is mixed with water from Sun Spring.

Because it contains a certain ratio of Sun Spring Water, this substance is a highly coveted, top-tier cultivation resource for practitioners of the Demonic Arts.

Furthermore, its production involves a Secret Technique. Improperly produced Demonic Fluid not only fails to be absorbed but might also directly kill a person.

The only place capable of producing Demonic Fluid is the Red Spine Sect. Initially, it was also spread from there.

"Demonic Fluid can quickly fill the gaps necessary for accumulation of cultivation due to its high purity, suitable for the vast majority of Demonic Arts. I’ll give you a straightforward price, one hundred Fourth-Grade Artifacts, or three Fifth-Grade Artifacts, in exchange for a small bottle." Rui Shi was truly a mysterious old man who could operate a black market under the eyes of the Red Spine Sect, even getting his hands on Demonic Fluid.

This completely dispelled any thoughts Lin Xin had of trying to rob the place.

This old man was undoubtedly a hidden tiger and not to be trifled with.

"Agreed."

Lin Xin nodded, quickly counting the Fourth-Grade Magic Artifacts he had acquired up to now, totaling about twenty. Most of these were only because the twins he had ambushed and killed later had a penchant for collecting artifacts; otherwise, he wouldn’t even have that many.

The two agreed on a price, and Lin Xin left the Golden Selection Pavilion with Jade Fox.

Just as they reached the main entrance.

"You two, wait a moment!"

Two government officers in red approached and stopped Lin Xin and his companion. They looked at them suspiciously, quickly unrolled a scroll in their hands, and placed it in front of Lin Xin.

"Have you seen these two?"

On the scroll were, conspicuously, the portraits of Lin Xin and Jade Fox.

"I haven’t seen them," Lin Xin shook his head. "We just entered the city and came to Golden Selection Pavilion to browse books because of its reputation."

Jade Fox also shook her head, saying she hadn’t seen them either, though not as naturally as Lin Xin.

The two officers then took out a small black jade box and gently shook it in front of them. There was no reaction.

"Alright, there’s nothing wrong, you may go."

The officers packed up the scroll and grabbed a few more people emerging from the Golden Selection Pavilion to ask them directly.

"If it weren’t for the fact that this Giant City has such lax screening and complicated personnel, it really would be difficult to manage this trip," Lin Xin looked at Jade Fox, and the two exchanged glances, walking along the edge of the roadway towards the direction of Giant City’s huge serpent.

He recognized the jade box from before as a kind of special Artifact used to detect aura, mass-produced with barely adequate craftsmanship, slightly above average. It may compare favorably with most Formation Talisman Masters, but with Lin Xin who is already at the Master level of Formation Symbol Artifacts, the difference was substantial.

Thus, no reaction was naturally expected.

The two followed the river back and quickly reached another checkpoint in the city.

This time, this store was patrolled by a large number of personnel, clearly an incident had caused the Red Spine Sect to feel they had lost face.

Many White Belts had come this time, but what caught Lin Xin’s attention was the person surrounded by these White Belts.

The person was expressionless, holding a long, bar-shaped object in his arms, with hollow eyes, as if nothing around him could catch his interest, even when someone beside him was reporting, he didn’t even glance at them.

Mingling in the crowd, Lin Xin and another person followed the large troop towards the station. However, his gaze was covertly fixed on the expressionless man.

"What’s wrong, master?" Jade Fox cautiously guarded left and right, she had realized, although this master possessed the formidable strength of a top Demon King, his ability to stir up trouble was much higher than one might expect. The Red Spine Sect being the number one colossal power in the world, he dared to provoke them.

Not only dared to provoke but also dared to kill...

Thinking this, she felt bitterness in her heart, a chill ran through her body, and she heightened her vigilance, fearing those Red Spine Sect’s Red Guards might discover them. Vaguely, she even regretted following Lin Xin.

"It’s nothing, just saw something interesting," Lin Xin implied, smiling. It seemed he didn’t care about the increasing number of Red Guards around him.

Queuing up, they purchased tickets and followed the line under the inspection of the government officer, step by step through the check point.

Under the watchful eyes of over ten White Belts, the two of them managed to pass without being noticed and boarded the return giant serpent vehicle.

Just as they sat on the return vehicle.

Bang!!

With a loud noise, just as the giant serpent was about to start, it was forcefully stopped by a tremendous force and halted.

"Today, I am going to inspect in person, how do you plan to handle this? Saint Ming is dead, yet that person dares to come to my Tiancheng and run wild, truly thinking the Red Spine Sect is unguarded?"

A voice, dull as thunder, came from outside the vehicle.

"Old Huang, rules are rules," another unusually calm male voice responded. "You know the consequences if they are broken."

"I will bear the consequences myself!"

The thunderous sound echoed once more.

"Yuan Jing... Yuan Jing, the old freak!" Jade Fox’s eyes revealed a look of horror.

The voice alone as it entered, gave here almost an overwhelming sense of oppression.

But the ordinary people around her seemed unaffected, apparently only finding the voice a bit noisy.

"This is Yuan Jing’s profound tone... the stronger the cultivation, the greater the oppression felt!" She remembered this kind of voice, once when the Jade Fox King had taken her to peek at a formidable ancestor, trying to offer her to him, but ultimately failed.

The ancestor had used this voice when sending them away.

Huff... huff...

Jade Fox suddenly heard, besides herself, another set of rapid breaths; she quickly turned her head and saw that her master was also like her.

"No, even less bearable!"

The master’s eyes even faintly showed bloodshot, and the skin all over his body densely popped out bursts of blood dots, a terrifying phenomenon of the blood crazily surging outward.

"With my profound tone, reveal the hidden ailments." The cold voice of that Yuan Jing expert directly vibrated in.

Boom!

This voice, almost like a mantra, harshly charged into the interior of the giant serpent, echoing back and forth.

Accompanied by the vibration, Lin Xin involuntarily coughed up blood to his throat but swiftly suppressed it.

"Master!" Jade Fox worriedly transmitted her voice to him. Clearly, she felt he had been badly hurt.

Lin Xin showed her a slight smile, indicating he was alright.

Yuan Jing and Golden Core, he had never imagined the gap between them was so vast. Merely a simple mantra-like thunderous tone, and he had been shocked into serious injury. If he were to truly stand in front of a Yuan Jing Nascent Soul Daoist Master, he feared he wouldn’t last even a moment.

"No wonder all the scriptures mention, below Yuan Jing, all are as ants."

Lin Xin’s eyes lifted, as if trying to see through the giant serpent to the outside where the formidable Yuan Jing Daoist Master was.

Shh...

Suddenly, the entrance of the giant serpent vehicle automatically opened.

"Ladies and gentlemen, a fugitive might have mixed into the crowd entering the giant serpent; to prevent danger, a specially appointed master will soon conduct an on-site inspection. Please bear with us. The inspection will be short, and you’ll be able to leave soon,"

an announcement-like voice spread throughout the giant serpent.

As the voice fell, by the opened entrance, a line of White Belts clustered around an approximately eighty-year-old, silver-haired, short old man who slowly walked in.

This old man was somewhat odd; one of his ears was missing, while the other was unusually large, at least twice the size of a normal person’s, resembling an open palm.

But what was most surprising was the string of beads he wore on his wrist. They were deep blue and each bead was carved with a completely different type of special beast.

It looked like an ordinary bracelet.

But a flicker of intensity passed through Lin Xin’s eyes, instantly seeing through the true nature of this item.

This was not a real bracelet, nor was it any real material object at all. Instead, this old man used Spiritual Energy and Demonic Qi to materialize it into solid form, then precisely controlled it to reveal the carved patterns.

What truly alarmed Lin Xin was, the power and Demonic Qi contained in the bracelet were almost equivalent to the combined force he had once witnessed from the Demon Arm Venerable and Saint Ming when they resisted with all their strength.