Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 354 - 347: Travelogue Eight

Chapter 354: Chapter 347: Travelogue Eight

With a puff, a disc of pure black fire suddenly appeared one meter in front of him, colliding directly with the incoming silver deer.

The silver deer, composed of smoky mist, crumbled upon contact with the Black Fire Disc like tofu hitting a stone, instantly adhering fiercely and almost completely melting into puddles of silvery liquid.

"Flame Dao Intent? Interesting!" Tong Wang’s eyes lit up, buzzing with excitement. He waved his hand again.

A small white flag was tossed by him, tumbling a few times before settling in mid-air, bursting into beams of white light, with a small character clearly appearing on the flag.

"Little, little, little!" Tong Wang called out to Lin Xin three times in quick succession.

Suddenly, Lin Xin felt his body becoming smaller and shorter.

"What is this?" It was the first time he encountered such Daoist intent; looking around, everything seemed gigantic—obviously, he was the only one who had shrunk.

This divine skill was indeed remarkable. Novel, yet somewhat boring...

After a moment’s reflection, Lin Xin clapped his hands, and specks of blue butterflies fluttered from his body, each one like a cluster of blue flames, darting towards Tong Wang.

"Yin Yang Dao Intent! Good, good, good! You’ve even comprehended this?!" Seeing the blue fire butterflies, Tong Wang was not only undeterred but his face lit up with joy.

"Back then, I had to train with the old man Wan Zai for three years and still failed to grasp this intent. Truly worthy of being the Sword Devil, good, good, good!"

Tong Wang was overjoyed, as though a child had found a beloved toy.

"Watch this, Dark Flame Dao Intent!"

He spread his arms and immediately dim, ash-like fireballs rose rapidly from his shoulders, charging towards the Yin Yang.

Clusters of Dark Flame and Yin Yang clashed, the two types of fire intertwining and battling, neither able to overcome the other for a while.

"Fun, fun!" Tong Wang laughed like a child.

Lin Xin’s heart grew increasingly delighted. He had heard of this extraordinary person, Tong Wang, who could mimic many types of Daoist intent, from a secluded sect not long ago. Seizing the occasion, he had sought him out.

Yet, unexpectedly, this fellow was so bizarrely tough. All the Daoist intents he used were ones Lin Xin had never heard of, never seen before.

Having traveled to many places and seen numerous Daoist intents, Lin Xin could genuinely claim to have mastered only sixteen kinds; most others were repetitions and not unique.

But the Daoist intent mimicked by Tong Wang was like a record, faithfully reproducing the original intents completely.

Moreover, all the intents he displayed were almost never-seen-before, bizarre ones, which thrilled him beyond measure.

"Primordial Night Wood, double!" This time, Tong Wang even pulled a strange Daoist intent. Without any forewarning, the Dark Flames he released suddenly split into two, quickly doubling in strength as copious amounts divided.

The divided Dark Flames showed no sign of weariness.

"Ice Mist!" Lin Xin’s eyes narrowed, and he breathed out a dense mist composed of ice crystals charging towards the Dark Flames.

The two exchanged blows, demonstrating Daoist intent for quite a while without Tong Wang repeating any.

However, Lin Xin was caught off guard and hit in the chest by a black-purple vortex, sending him crashing backward violently.

Far from being angry, he was delighted. Despite being hit by the Daoist intent, he suffered no injuries and sprung up from the ground, a surge of Demonic Qi shook off the previous shrinking intent and restored him to his original size.

"Again!"

Another bout ensued; this time, Lin Xin, tough-skinned and highly resilient, held up for over two hours.

However, his gains were significant too; he memorized one particular Daoist intent, which was slightly simpler and overlapped somewhat with those he had mastered, making it the easiest for him to grasp.

Surprisingly, he noticed that Tong Wang was doing the same, trying to learn the different Daoist intents Lin Xin controlled.

And doing so gleefully.

The two incidentally met but ended up locked in a confrontation.

Lin Xin simply found a spot near the Cave Mansion to stay, having Jade Fox handle daily living, and refreshed himself daily before continuing to exchange Daoist intents with Tong Wang.

For over three months.

For more than three months, Lin Xin and Tong Wang faced off without using any magic artifacts, Formation Talismans, or even divine skills, relying solely on Daoist intents to battle each other.

Over time, as Tong Wang was quite talkative, they actually started to become friends.

One could talk endlessly, the other seemingly deaf but intensely focused, both stubborn to the core.

With the friendship established, they decided to gather together to delve deeper into the key elements of Daoist intents, increasingly spending more time discussing than battling through Daoist intents.

"Daoist intent separates into Yin Yang, fluctuates with rise and fall, and merges. Just like the Yangtze River, ceaseless and vast, all we need to do is extract a part from it for our use. Viewing it as an independent entity, as you put it, is entirely wrong."

In the Cave Mansion, above a small pond, circular stone discs shaped like lotus flowers gently floated, on which they each sat, drifting with the pond’s currents.

These were the words that Tong Wang, shaking his head, conveyed to Lin Xin just now.

"Although what you say makes sense, senior, I have a different view," Lin Xin said indifferently, sitting cross-legged with the Red Flower Sword floating in front of him, already vaguely possessing the aura of a master of the Sword Dao.

Tong Wang pursed his lips and dug in his ear with his pinky, showing an expression that he didn’t want to listen.

But Lin Xin didn’t bother about him.

"Taoist Intent has its precedence and countless categories by which it is divided. Innate Taoist Intent manipulates nature naturally – the universe, like water, fire, and ice mist. Postnatal Taoist Intent, as you, senior, have demonstrated, can be big or small, illusory or emotional, primarily concerning living beings. From this perspective, Innate Taoist Intent has always existed, while Postnatal Taoist Intent can indeed manifest as needed. The power and uses of both primarily depend on how they are applied and the cultivation involved."

"Here we go again, this theory of yours.... You’ve said it so many times. The Great Dao is just there, and we mortals are merely altering ourselves to lever a part of nature," Tong Wang said helplessly.

"Senior values the Innate, while I, the younger generation, value the Postnatal. Both of us tread the path of broadening and encompassing everything. Taoist Intent cycles and changes on its own, which can be described as endlessly variable, as is the Dao itself. Although the operation of the universe is predetermined, Postnatal Taoist Intent is essentially the root of us living beings. It is exclusive to our will, and this involves creating new rules, new natural evolutions," Lin Xin argued earnestly.

"Don’t let Yuan Jing and those old undying hear you talk like this, or a mere slap to kill you would be light," Tong Wang said with a resigned look.

Initially, upon hearing Lin Xin’s theories, he was eager to correct him and set things right. Unexpectedly, this fellow’s numerous heretical teachings actually left him speechless.

Initially, he had thought he had met someone he could communicate equally with, someone who trod the same great path. But now, it seemed the person opposite was completely heretical.

Lin Xin’s expression remained unchanged.

"Originally, I also recognized and approved of your theory, senior. But later, as I comprehended more and more Taoist Intent, especially in recent days, debating the Dao with you and witnessing Postnatal Taoist Intents I had never seen before, a slight doubt formed in my mind."

"So, all this is my fault now?" Tong Wang said, pointing incredulously at his nose.

"Senior Tong Wang, a prodigy of nature, created Myriad Phenomena Taoist Intent, which can mimic the power of any other Taoist Intent to a great degree. In terms of utility, I fear there’s no natural Taoist Intent that can compare. You must agree with this statement, right?"

Lin Xin stated calmly.

"Of course, who do you think I, Tong Wang, am!"

"Then according to that division, does Myriad Phenomena Taoist Intent belong to the Postnatal or the Innate?" Lin Xin asked again.

"Naturally it’s Postnatal, although I don’t categorize it that way. Mine is like Yin within the mirror and Yang in front," Tong Wang quickly added.

"Then that’s that. We of the Human Race, wise living beings, are truly different from Innate things, in that we can almost individually create a Dao that entirely belongs to us. In short, the Innate Dao is what originally existed.

Our Dao is what truly suits us best." Lin Xin spoke with finality, choosing not to continue further.

This was essentially the theory of human beings transforming nature, the idea that man can conquer nature, just slightly modified by Lin Xin for his own use.

"Nonsense and heresy!" Tong Wang started pulling at his beard again. "The universe is endless, and here we are, with our mere mortal bodies, fantasizing about changing everything? You probably shouldn’t even dream about achieving Unity of Heaven and Man in the future!"

"I never intended to achieve Unity of Heaven and Man in the first place," Lin Xin stated indifferently.

"Then how do you plan to enter Yuan Jing?" Tong Wang was at a loss for words.

Lin Xin glanced at him.

"What is Yuan Jing?"

"It’s forming your own realm of Taoist Intent with your personal will," Tong Wang immediately answered.

"Isn’t it better to master more kinds of comprehended Taoist Intents? The more comprehensive they are, the stronger the realm," Lin Xin countered.

"True."

"The Dao is just there; after I master each one and knit them together, wouldn’t that be enough to create it?" Lin Xin added.

"Everyone else reaches a high level of mastery in each Taoist Intent, afterwards achieving Unity of Heaven and Man, initiating a chain reaction, and levering to create a realm. But you, on the other hand, have absurd ideas about mastering all the rules within the realm, right?" Tong Wang said irritably. "Innate attracts nature to form itself, much stronger than your self-weaving—better not harbor such wild fantasies."

However, Lin Xin remained silent.

Seeing him like this, Tong Wang knew that there was no way to get him to speak again today.

This youngster was once again immersed in comprehension of Taoist Intent. In this period, Tong Wang almost watched him comprehend a new Taoist Intent every few days, his talent and speed far surpassing any top-level genius he had ever seen.

He had mastered thirty-six types of Taoist Intent of Heavenly Stems, with Lin Xin having learned the majority of them already. And what was even more infuriating, the Taoist Intents Lin Xin learned were displayed more powerfully than when Tong Wang himself used them.

Ever since learning of this frustrating fact, he fought less and less against this Sword Devil.

Now their debates were mainly theoretical, not because he couldn’t beat him in a fight...

The two resumed their calm, and soon after, a series of whooshing noises penetrated the air from outside.

Lin Xin abruptly opened his eyes. The Fourth Layer of the Yuan Dou Demonic Technique; even he did not know what realm he had reached at this moment, having not fully exerted himself in a while.

"They’re here... Senior Tong Wang, it seems today will be the day we part ways."

Tong Wang also heard the sharp sounds from outside, and more than one. Hearing Lin Xin say this, he immediately understood.

"Your enemies have arrived, my, truly worthy of a top genius, not one foe is a pushover," he remarked.