Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 359 - 352 The Taoist Canon 1

Chapter 359: Chapter 352 The Taoist Canon 1

Wang Peng.

Since the beginning, as a wild child who came out of the mountains, ever since he joined hands with the young lady of the Rong Wangfu, he had always been looked down upon, subjected to other people’s disdain. The cultivators of the Rong Wangfu were stronger and more domineering than the other. Therefore, whenever there was an incident, they almost reflexively assumed it was because of Rongyan.

But the person before him actually said he was the strongest talent in a million!

This feeling... this unprecedented feeling of being valued so highly, left his heart in turmoil and he had no idea how to respond.

It was the first time he felt such undisguised value being placed on him. It was also the first time he felt a sense of exaltation in front of Rongyan.

"Senior..." By this time, if he still could not understand that this person was a top-notch expert and senior in terms of cultivation, then all his years would have been lived in vain.

"Senior, you’re not joking?" Suppressing the excitement in his heart, he steadied his mind.

Lin Xin gestured to Little Jade Fox to tidy up the items that had scattered from Yu Rong’s belongings and to find a Storage Crystal amongst them and keep it.

"I never joke," he shook his head. "It looks like you’re being pursued by that what, the Rong Wangfu, right?"

"Senior’s insight is as sharp as a torch," Wang Peng immediately said. Suddenly, as if struck by a thought, his eyes fixated on Lin Xin, as though he saw a beacon of hope.

Sure enough, Lin Xin pondered for a moment.

"If you have nowhere to go, I happen to be planning to attend the Dao Conference. You may accompany me."

"Thank you for your kindness, senior!" The three of them were overjoyed. They had been relentlessly pursued by the Rong Wangfu all the way, and now, if they had the protection of the high-level expert before them, no matter how bad things got, it wouldn’t be as miserable as before.

Lin Xin didn’t care what the three thought; what he was truly interested in was the peculiar Taoist Intent within Wang Peng.

That Taoist Intent... if he could fully comprehend it, he was afraid it could unleash a power even he couldn’t imagine.

After a round of profuse thanks, the three followed Lin Xin and Little Jade Fox on their way, proceeding at a leisurely pace.

Every morning, Wang Peng was dragged to test moves with Lin Xin, while Little Jade Fox took responsibility for keeping guard. The other two girls, having nothing to do, volunteered to take care of the daily chores and lodging.

With Wang Peng’s Taoist Intent, Lin Xin was no longer moving slowly but proceeded at a regular pace to the Dao Conference.

The location of the Dao Conference was a place called the Heavenly Fantasy River, situated atop a desolate plain in the far east, where the temperature was extremely low. Water thrown out would instantly freeze into ice, hence there were very few inhabitants.

And the Heavenly Fantasy River was located atop a high mountain, by the lakeside of a volcano on its peak.

It was not a river flowing on the ground, but a heavenly river that flowed slowly across the sky, through the clouds towards the distance.

The journey was uneventful; Yu Rong was killed, and the Rong Wangfu indeed did not send anyone else, seemingly having given up.

But Lin Xin knew the habits of these major forces well. The current silence was only because they were investigating his background. Once they had clarity, they might act at any moment.

He wasn’t concerned; if Yu Rong was the second strongest expert of the what, the Rong Wangfu, then the so-called strongest expert wouldn’t be much more powerful.

As for the elders, no matter if it was Rong Wangfu, Liu Wangfu, none could pose a problem.

As a top Elder of the Yuan Dou Demon Sect, even within the top powers of the Immortal Demon Alliance, a Yuan Jing Level expert held a revered status.

Generally, smaller forces in the Central Prefecture didn’t have a Yuan Jing Level ancestor to rely on, and those with one were considered major forces.

Lin Xin had done his homework on major forces before and had never heard of the Rong Wangfu. Thus, it was clearly a mid-sized power.

What truly concerned him, however, was that after more than ten days, he still hadn’t grasped the slightest bit of Wang Peng’s Taoist Intent. Instead, it had allowed Wang Peng to elevate his understanding of his own Taoist Intent to a new level, revealing more of his mysterious nature.

Besides the continuous practice between the two, nothing else happened along the way.

There was also no move from the Red Spine Sect. Obviously, Guan Mingyue had quietly turned them away.

Lin Xin was happy for the reprieve, leaving everything to be handled by Elder Guan. He focused on studying the special Taoist Intent within Wang Peng.

Unbeknownst to them, they were quickly approaching the Heavenly Fantasy River in the Longshan mountain range, where the Dao Conference was located.

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From time to time, colorful streams of light fell from the sky and flew towards the distant Snow Mountain’s peak.

Around the peak of that Snow Mountain, there was a circle of faint, peculiar white patterns, similar to floating ribbons, slowly revolving around the mountain top.

Lin Xin and his companions walked out of the sparse woods and gazed ahead at the towering Heavenly Fantasy Snow Mountain.

"This mountain takes its name from the Heavenly Fantasy River. Seeing these streams of light, it’s clear that many people have already arrived," Lin Xin said softly.

Rongyan whispered as she looked at the Snow Mountain,

"I’ve heard my father talk about the Dao Conference; many forces participate each year, earning the right to enter the Heavenly Fantasy River after comparative battle evaluations."

"A spot? What’s the use?" Wang Peng and Qiuling didn’t understand.

Lin Xin didn’t reply.

"It’s a ticket to enter the Nether River," the Little Jade Fox said softly.

"The Nether River?"

The three still didn’t understand, but it was clear from the expressions of Lin Xin and the Jade Fox that this was something important.

"Let’s go," Lin Xin led the way towards the Snow Mountain.

The followers hurried to keep up.

A dark cloud slowly enveloped them all and lifted from the ground, flying towards the distant Snow Mountain.

Flying was the most basic ability of a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator, so Wang Peng and the others were not surprised.

Looking down from the dark cloud, the Snow Mountain grew nearer, and in a short time, it was almost within reach.

Before the snowy mountain, in front of the white rune halo, there was a small white entrance that seemed to be a vortex of sorts.

This vortex was composed of a large amount of white liquid, slowly rotating. Several cultivators sat on a white jade canoe nearby, registering the continually arriving cultivators one by one.

There was a constant stream of entering cultivators, flying in from all directions, with groups arriving every so often.

Lin Xin and his companions on the dark clouds hadn’t completely approached when they heard the voices of various cultivators greeting each other.

On their right, three Taoists with long flowing sleeves and tall crowns, looking like celestial beings, were coming together, stepping on white clouds.

The one at the front of the three greeted a few female cultivators flying over from afar.

"Daoist Ge, it’s been a while since we last saw each other at the Illusory Sea. It has been quite some time since I’ve heard any news about you," he said with a clasped fist.

Four female Taoists approached, flying on a yellow mist.

"Wei Conglong, don’t act as if you’re so familiar. You don’t have that kind of good rapport," a cold-faced female cultivator on the left said indifferently.

Both groups converged and naturally started to queue at the entrance of the white vortex, waiting for the people in front to enter.

That Wei Conglong, however, had thick skin, continuing to cosy up to several female cultivators without minding at all that he was being coldly received.

Lin Xin, riding on the dark clouds, approached but did not go to the end of the long queue. Instead, he bypassed the queue and flew directly towards the white vortex.

"Why isn’t that person queuing up?"

The brows of Wei Conglong furrowed immediately.

"This is the Taoist conference. I’m afraid this person thinks he’s strong enough to flaunt his power everywhere and is used to not following rules. Watch, he’s going to suffer."

An elder in black clothing queuing at the front mocked.

The four female cultivators did not speak, but they all showed some dissatisfaction with the dark cloud cutting in line.

Wei Conglong, seeing the dark cloud swiftly descending towards the white vortex entrance, grinned as if delighted by the potential for mishap.

"Hehe, trouble is brewing," he chuckled.

In fact, all the queueing cultivators clearly understood that to disregard the rules at the Taoist conference, even if you were a top expert in your locality, you had to abide by them here.

An old cultivator guarding the gate looked up at the dark cloud and promptly stood up to greet it.

The old cultivator disappeared into the dark cloud, clearly to negotiate with the other party.

"The last time someone forced their way into the Taoist conference was over a hundred years ago. A local tyrant from the west brought his wives and concubines, wanting everyone to witness the so-called Taoist conference, thinking his money could buy him special treatment. In the end, an elder guarding the conference threw him out tens of thousands of miles, nearly colliding with Dongye Mountain, and he almost perished," a cultivator in the queue sneered coldly.

"Now there’s going to be quite a spectacle."

Wei Conglong glanced at the other, a member from the side of the Ninety-Nine Gates Alliance of the Tian Yun path. The members of that sect were from many small sects and had combined to form a large alliance. They had extensive influence, but their strength was mediocre, with a great number of Intent Level masters and few Scenic Level old monsters. Thus, their status in the cultivation world was not very high.

Moreover, most of the cultivators within it were narrow-minded and often extreme in their views.

Wei Conglong also extremely disliked those who did not follow the rules. Still, in his heart, the more setbacks the other party faced, the more satisfied he felt.

To everyone in the queue’s surprise, however,

the dark cloud paused for no more than a few breaths before directly flying towards the white vortex again, without any pause.

And the old cultivator who had flown into the dark cloud came out as if nothing had happened, greeting the other gate guardians on the jade boats, and astonishingly let the dark cloud enter the white vortex unscathed, disappearing in an instant.

Wei Conglong’s eyebrows shot up.

"What’s going on?! This is the Taoist conference. Is someone really daring enough to disrupt the order of the conference for personal gain?"

His voice was not loud, but it was clear enough for all the queueing cultivators to hear.

The old gatekeeper ignored him.

As Wei Conglong spoke out and took the lead, others in the queue also began to grow impatient.

"Haven’t there been exceptions to the Taoist conference? The organizers always deal strictly with anyone who wants to disrupt the order. Is this how they are strictly dealing with it today?"

"Over time, even the strictest rules end up having loopholes."

Some people sneered.

However, those speaking were mostly younger cultivators. The slightly older ones either looked indifferent or expressionless.

"It seems the organizers really don’t care about the popularity of the Taoist conference," Wei Conglong said sarcastically.

The old gatekeeper gave him a cold glance.

"Then that’s the organizers for you."

A mocking expression appeared on the old man’s face.

"As for popularity, you might as well not attend," he said with sarcasm.

Wei Conglong was abruptly at a loss for words.

Two fellow cultivators quickly held him back and moved to the rear.

"Keep quiet... Brother Wei," they urged.

Embarassed, Wei Conglong felt aggrieved, but he didn’t dare to openly confront the old gatekeeper. Originally, he just wanted to show off in front of the female cultivators he admired, but he didn’t expect this kind of blunder.

In his heart, however, he made a note of the dark cloud that had just passed.