Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 353 - 346: Traveling Seven

Chapter 353: Chapter 346: Traveling Seven

The short elderly man slowly walked in, his eyes sweeping slowly over the interior of the vehicle.

At this moment, although everyone who had boarded had paid a hefty sum for their tickets, strangely, it was as if no one saw the elderly man; each person continued talking amongst themselves, seemingly discussing the thunderous roar that had come from outside earlier.

Most of these ordinary people only felt a bit of shock to their ears from the noise, and nothing else out of the ordinary, while some of the cultivators had solemn expressions, most choosing to close their eyes and remain silent.

After the elderly man with the rosary beads entered, he carefully observed the passengers row by row.

Most of the passengers he observed failed to notice him, treating him as if he were completely invisible. Only occasionally did a few seem to sense something, but they would invariably lower their heads when they saw the elderly man.

Jade Fox’s whole body trembled slightly; she, too, felt the fear emanating from this elderly man.

Before long, the elderly man had moved to the row in front of the two, scrutinizing a few rich young ladies who were quietly chatting.

He focused his gaze on the young women for a while. It seemed he found nothing amiss; then his gaze slowly moved toward Jade Fox.

"Pretend to sleep, as if having a nightmare!"

Jade Fox shuddered, hearing her master’s voice transmission. Already frightened, her eyes had been tightly closed. Upon hearing the command, she decisively pretended to be terrified, shivering with her eyes tightly shut, as if in a nightmare.

A trace of suspicion flashed through the elderly man’s eyes, but it seemed he noticed nothing.

After staring at Jade Fox for a while, he finally slowly shifted his attention towards Lin Xin nearby.

Lin Xin, who had been clutching a folding fan with his eyes closed, felt the gaze on him. He opened his eyes and gave the elderly man a slight smile.

The elderly man was taken aback. Those who could sense his presence usually weren’t of weak cultivation. Since the aura on Lin Xin’s body was not that of the person he was searching for, he simply returned the smile.

After passing by their seats, the elderly man looked back and soon alighted from the vehicle.

Soon, the thunderous sound was heard again outside.

"Alright, this vehicle can go now."

The giant serpent vehicle slowly closed up.

Only then did Jade Fox gather the courage to raise her head, cautiously opening her eyes, and indeed the elderly man had left.

She breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

"Master, that person just now..."

"It was Elder Yuan Jing," Lin Xin said leisurely.

"Really, Yuan Jing!!"

Jade Fox’s body stiffened, feeling as if she had just walked back from the brink of death. That elderly man was clearly here to search for fugitives.

And here they were, two murderers sitting right under his nose, safely within view of Elder Yuan Jing. If they were discovered...

Jade Fox dared not think further.

Yet, Lin Xin appeared completely relaxed, leaning back in his seat unaffected.

"Master."

"What is it?"

"What if we are discovered? Are you not afraid at all?" Jade Fox asked apprehensively.

"Afraid? Of course, I’m afraid," Lin Xin laughed.

"But you don’t look scared at all."

"That’s because I understand a principle. In a situation like earlier, the more afraid you are, the more nervous you become. The more nervous, the easier it is to expose flaws, which leads to greater danger. So, I choose not to be afraid," Lin Xin whispered.

Jade Fox stared in surprise, looking thoughtful as her head bent down.

The place Heavenly City was originally a Demon Talisman Seed notification point given by Luo Xin’er.

Lin Xin was fully aware that Luo Xin’er gave these points intending for him to eliminate the individuals associated, yet he chose trading over direct confrontation with the old man in the Golden Selection Pavilion.

Partly because the old man’s strength was unfathomable.

Another reason was being in the heart of Red Spine Sect territory, disguises could deceive many checkpoints, but only for a short time.

In the long run, once the four days passed, any small trace left behind could be traced back; being in Heavenly City by then would truly be a death sentence.

Moreover, Lin Xin had never agreed to kill all those who came forward with Demon Talisman Seeds.

Riding the giant serpent vehicle, they soon reached the outer city, and after smoothly leaving Heavenly City, he and Jade Fox made a turn and flew eastward towards the most concentrated point.

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

After leaving Heavenly City, Lin Xin, accompanied by Jade Fox, searched for Demon Talisman Seeds. However, their journey was not smooth. Three times they followed false leads, with the map-marked red points either having no one present or being too well-guarded to make contact.

Lin Xin thus focused on capturing some Foundation Establishment Cultivators from smaller sects, specifically to absorb their different Taoist Intents daily.

The Taoist Intents of Foundation Establishment Cultivators were unfortunately not entirely complete. After capturing several in a row at one location and comparing their Daoist Intents, Lin Xin finally perfected two types of Taoist Intents.

He discovered a pattern.

Those with higher cultivation talent, whether it is in Sword Intent or Sword Intent, generally have a much better understanding than ordinary disciples.

Thus, after perfecting two types of Taoist Intent, he tasted the sweetness and specifically targeted Foundation Establishment Cultivators with good talents.

Time flew, and in the blink of an eye, half a year had passed.

Throughout the half-year, Lin Xin and his companion had traveled across the entire eastern part of Central Prefecture. They challenged more than a dozen Sects of various sizes, sometimes using the identity of Ma Junchuan, sometimes as Red Flower, and sometimes even fabricating another identity.

Big and small, he had also comprehended more than a dozen Taoist Intents and had gained a relatively comprehensive understanding of these concepts close to the rules of will.

Taoist Intent actually varies in strength as well, with the ability to integrate one’s will into their Magic Artifacts and Divine Skills being a mark of understanding Taoist Intent.

In this half year, not only had Lin Xin gained much from comprehending Taoist Intents, but he had also accumulated fifty-four Demon Talisman Seeds.

He kept these fifty-four seeds, waiting to give the Red Spine Sect a surprise.

After all, he now only needed to capture some talented Foundation Establishment cultivators, the required strength wasn’t too high, as long as it was sufficient.

Later on, he didn’t look much at the map given by Luo Xin’er anymore, following it consecutively had wasted a lot of his time. Red Leaf Sword Master didn’t give him much time, and he couldn’t afford to waste it.

He simply traveled everywhere, whenever he saw an unfamiliar Taoist Intent, he would approach to learn and understand it.

Not considering the Manor, not considering the Yuan Dou Demon Sect, when hungry he would go to the nearest town to buy some wine, dishes, and dry food to store in the Storage Bag for eating and drinking anytime, and when tired, he would find a forest or a cave to stay for a few days. Thus, he leisurely and carefreely focused on comprehending Taoist Intents as if he had thrown everything else to the back of his mind.

During his travels, using Secret Techniques to search for nearby Demon Talisman Seeds, he did manage to find some, although not many, he had gathered about fifty.

Unconsciously, he was like possessed, continually challenging experts, capturing Foundation Establishment talents, yet not killing them, only releasing them after some time.

But those Foundation Establishment talents who returned all invariably claimed that this fanatic had learned much of their Taoist Intents.

Some were skeptical. When they encountered Lin Xin by chance, they tested him and discovered that it was indeed true. This Red Flower, using various identities everywhere to challenge and capture people, was truly able to understand a variety of Sect’s Taoist Intents.

Suddenly, the entire eastern Central Prefecture was in an uproar. Everyone below the level of Yuan Jing knew of this person, challenging like a maniac, with a talent astonishing and appalling.

Therefore, some people called him the Sword Devil.

Soon, the apt nickname of Sword Devil spread far and wide, even being heard in several other regional areas.

Lin Xin didn’t care about these things, his cultivation practice continuously improved, and each time he successfully comprehended Taoist Intent with the Yuan Dou Demonic Technique, his cultivation practice would rise due to the strength and complexity of the Taoist Intent.

In between, he occasionally encountered some Demon Kings blocking the way, or demonic practitioners killing people to refine magic artifacts. All were effortlessly dealt with by him, becoming boosters for his own covert growth in cultivation practice.

But gradually, he found that the speed at which he comprehended Taoist Intents was increasing rapidly, sometimes so fast that it only took a day or even half a day to comprehend.

After feeling something was amiss, he stopped to analyze carefully and found that these Taoist Intents seemed to have a lot of repetition.

This was also the reason he was able to understand Taoist Intents exceptionally quickly. Since many parts were already understood, naturally a great deal of time could be saved.

However, for this reason, even though he found many new Taoist Intents, after understanding them, the enhancement to his Demonic Arts became increasingly smaller and rarer. He was directly stuck in the late Fourth Layer, moving slowly like a snail, not knowing how many years it would take to advance to the next layer.

To solve this problem, he shifted his target to searching for some novel and rare Taoist Intents or self-realized Taoist Intents, rather than the long-standing traditional Sect Taoist Intents.

Before he knew it, another half-year had passed.

At the entrance of a cave mansion on Snow Mountain, the stone door was tightly closed.

Lin Xin stood in front of the door with an indifferent expression, with the little Jade Fox following closely behind him.

"I have long heard that Elder Qu Qinzi is highly skilled in cultivation. I, Ma Junchuan, have come from afar to seek guidance and request a battle," he said.

He was currently playing the role of Ma Junchuan, a challenge-crazed man obsessed with the sword.

The face mask he was wearing also changed to that of a somewhat wooden, waxy middle-aged man’s face.

"To be able to find this secluded cave mansion, you must have some skills," came a voice.

The stone door slowly parted, and with it, billowing silver mists gushed out, followed by an eerie old man with white hair and a youthful face.

This old man was somewhat amusing. Not only was he less than half as tall as Lin Xin, but he also had three lumps like sheep’s horns on each side of his head, making him appear quite adorable.

"Ma Junchuan? Sword Devil, let’s call you that. Who doesn’t know that Ma Junchuan, Hong Haiyan, Zhao Kuo, Pang Shiran, and so on are all your aliases? The moment I saw that red openwork Longsword behind you, I knew it was definitely you,"

the old man hehe smiled.

"I’m known as the Youth King. Like you, I excel at imitating others’ Taoist Intents. Why don’t we compare and see who can imitate Taoist Intent more authentically?"

Lin Xin remained expressionless.

"My Taoist Intent is not imitation."

"Bullshit!" Youth King jumped three feet high, saying irritably, "It’s not imitation, do you mean you can really master the essence of someone else’s Taoist Intent that they’ve cultivated for many years in just half a month or a week and a half?"

"Indeed, that is the case," Lin Xin replied lightly.

"Such nonsense!" Youth King cackled weirdly, waving his hand.

Suddenly, a large swath of silver mist quickly drifted from his hand, forming a silver deer that charged directly at Lin Xin.

When the deer first appeared, it was just about as tall as a person, but it didn’t even travel a few meters until it rapidly expanded. By the time it reached Lin Xin, it was already three to four meters tall and over two meters wide, a huge beast indeed.

"Metal-shaping Taoist Intent, huh?" Lin Xin remained unflappable, quickly forming a Seal Decision with his right hand.