Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 376 - 370: Nether River and the Dragon Part One

Chapter 376: Chapter 370: Nether River and the Dragon Part One

He didn’t haphazardly add any Attribute Points.

Lin Xin simply focused his gaze solely on Evasion.

The 81 points of Evasion blurred for a moment before directly jumping to 82.

The number paused, and it seemed there weren’t any abnormal changes.

"Could my premonition have been wrong?"

Lin Xin wondered briefly, ready to continue enhancing his other Attributes.

Crack...

Suddenly, he seemed to hear some inexplicable bursting sound, a sound that faintly emanated from his face.

He reached out to touch his cheek, feeling something slippery as if a liquid were oozing out. Pain throbbed from his skin in waves.

"What is this...?!"

He immediately waved his hand to spread a veil of snow displaying the Taoist Intent, creating a crystal ice mirror.

The mirror reflected his current face.

"What’s going on?!!"

To his horror, he found his face covered in blood-red wounds, like cracks over which magma lurked beneath a rock’s surface, with blood slowly seeping out, and the surrounding air also contained some scorchingly hot sensations.

His head began to hurt more and more, as if something inside was constantly trying to push its way out.

His entire head was covered in blood-red cracks, as if it were about to explode.

"No...."

His vision suddenly turned red.

Pop!!

In the hall, Lin Xin’s entire head burst open on the spot, turning into a spray of blood plasma that fell to the floor.

The remainder of his body swayed a few times but somehow did not fall.

Huff...

Opening his eyes, Lin Xin vigorously touched his head.

"It’s nothing... an illusion?"

He hadn’t experienced illusions for quite a while now. Unexpectedly, one occurred again.

Once again, he formed an ice mirror, and there was not even the slightest trace on the face in the mirror, nor any scars.

But clearly, he could feel that something special had changed about himself somewhere.

Upon performing Inner Vision, there was no change to his Demonic Core within, and his Demonic Qi hadn’t undergone any alterations either.

The only thing that was somewhat amiss was his Spiritual Sense!

"Spiritual Sense..."

He carefully examined and compared it to the strength from before.

"It’s actually nearly twice as strong!!"

His heart was slightly elated.

"My original Demonic Arts’ Spiritual Sense should be at the mid-phase of the Golden Core Realm. If my Spiritual Sense is now twice as strong as before should it not be approaching the late phase?"

His strength now actually relied mainly on his Attributes, and just the intensity of the Attributes allowed this body to achieve the terrifying feat of reaching the mid-phase of the Golden Core Realm.

And if this foundation were amplified by the Demonic Qi.

Combined with Formation Talismans and his Master Level understanding of the Qilin, the trio’s synergy erupted into a terrifying strength powerful enough to rival Dao Seeking warriors.

"Body, Demonic Qi, Formation Dao, the three together are the absolute foundation of my true strength. And now, with the strength of the bodily aspect already surpassing the original balance, the Qilin should also see a significant improvement."

He understood in his heart.

The Qilin was his ultimate skill combined from the Red Flower Sword Path and Formation Talisman etc., belonging to martial combat techniques, not a cultivation technique. Any Cultivation Decision could utilize it.

"Originally in the Qilin, I could only use Third Grade Formations due to insufficient Spiritual Sense, thereby limiting the grade of engravings used. But if it goes on like this and continuously strengthens the Spiritual Sense, then sooner or later, I will be able to base it on Fourth Grade Formations to craft a Fire Formation, releasing an even stronger Qilin!!"

A faint anticipation formed in his heart.

Lin Xin continued to look at his current Attributes.

Still having ninety-nine Free Attribute Points, he planned to distribute them evenly across all Attributes.

"With ninety-nine points evenly divided among four Attributes, let’s first add one point to each side for balanced enhancement and see if the Spiritual Sense increases with each balance."

He first tried adding a point to Offense, then to Defense, then Evasion, and then Constitution.

The moment Constitution was increased last, he faintly sensed a trace of change in the Spiritual Sense gradually occurring, seemingly effective, but it would have been imperceptible without close attention.

"Adding points this way indeed has an effect. Let’s try adding more points in one breath, then balance afterward," he noted the feeling in his heart.

Lin Xin began to slowly focus on Offense again.

Offense slowly rose from 83 points to 93, increasing by ten.

Then Defense, by ten points as well, Evasion, ten points.

Last was Constitution.

In the final second of adding ten more points to Constitution, a very clear and distinct change subtly spread from the depths of his Spiritual Sense.

"That’s it!"

Comparing this to the earlier experiences, he carefully weighed the two, finding similar increases; the former in smaller increments, the latter in larger spans.

"It seems there’s no superiority between the two. With fifty-five points left, let’s just distribute them all evenly."

He divided the remaining fifty-five points into four parts, thirteen points each, and evenly added them to the four Attributes.

Thus, the Attributes became:

Offense 106, Defense 106, Evasion 106, Constitution 106. Free Attributes 3 points.

Within his body, a rich and warm current continually spread outward, as if the air had spontaneously emerged, scattering throughout his entire body, infusing his channels, blood vessels, and bones.

Lin Xin distinctly felt his physical body becoming increasingly solid and powerful, as if he were experiencing some illusory sublimation of life.

"What a pity... my Demonic Arts have made no progress," he said with a slight shake of his head.

Advancing the Yuan Dou Demonic Technique required Demonic Qi and Taoist Intent, which had little to do with the strength of the body. His Demonic Qi mainly came from the transformation of the Yuan Dou Star Force, while Taoist Intent largely relied on profound personal enlightenment. Demonic Qi was manageable, absorbable from external objects, but Taoist Intent could only be achieved from within oneself.

Having enhanced his attributes, Lin Xin did not have a proper comparison for himself, and given the sensitive timing, it was not convenient for him to test his abilities outside.

Fortunately, because of the even improvement, his ability to evade detection and conceal his aura had also improved, so on the surface, he seemed to have undergone no changes at all, remaining the same as before.

He temporarily tossed the small black bead into his Storage Bag.

As he slowly sat down, just as he was about to call for Lou Xiaofei, he suddenly felt a wave of dizziness.

"Mom! Mom!"

A shrill female voice rang in his ears.

"Demon God above, I’m willing to do anything for my mother!!"

"Kill him. Just kill him and devour all his Essence Qi, and I will be able to be reborn, making all those bastards who looked down on me take a second look! Demon God above, please bless me, and I will repay you handsomely once I succeed."

"This transaction must succeed, it cannot fail. I beg the Demon God for blessings, it must succeed!!"

Random images began playing in Lin Xin’s mind one after the other as if they were scenes from a TV series seamlessly linked together.

His head felt like it was splitting in pain.

In the snow, a white fox frantically carried a human woman on its back, pleading hysterically.

In the dark of night, an injured humanoid boar, armed with a Meteor Hammer, stared resolutely at a human cultivator seated in a distant tavern, as if prepared to meet death.

Inside a sealed room, a fat man with whiskers like a mouse’s knelt down reverently in worship.

Crack!

The stone seat beneath his hand suddenly exploded.

Lin Xin awakened from the confusion, breathing heavily, his face covered with sweat.

"Is it the same as last time? The Evil God’s fetal core still contains remains of past worship and intentions..."

Stabilizing his stance, he straightened up, his breath gradually calming down.

"No matter how good the medicine, taking too much can also have side effects..."

Sighing, he rested in his seat for a while until he was completely free of any abnormalities, and then he strode out of the hall.

Outside, a verdant green disc suspended mid-air, beneath which was connected an extremely sturdy green water column.

This was the aerial venue that had been previously used for the competition.

The sky had gradually grown lighter. From the time Lin Xin entered the Underground Palace until he emerged, an entire night had passed.

Several disciples from the Yuan Dou Demon Sect stood guard at the entrance. Lou Xiaofei was among them, talking softly to his grandson. From the outside, there was no sign that he was the grandfather of two children.

"Has His Highness emerged?" Seeing Lin Xin come out, Lou Xiaofei hurriedly greeted him.

"What’s the situation?" Lin Xin asked in a low voice.

"The Wei Family has had four people come out, Elder Wei Yuan was unconscious when he was carried out. Second Princess Qing is still inside..."

Dang!!

A distant, crisp and resonating bell sound suddenly emanated from below the Underground Palace, interrupting Lou Xiaofei’s words.

In the sky, countless green light spots faintly appeared, naturally condensing into various sized birds that flapped their wings and circled above Snow Mountain, continuously flying.

"This is... a worship of many birds to the phoenix...!"

An aged voice suddenly came from behind Lin Xin.

Lin Xin turned around in pleasant surprise.

"Elder Guan, you’re back?!"

"I’m back..." Guan Mingyue had a new white mark on his forehead, with no other signs of having engaged in battle.

"I lost, but the Second Princess won, so... we won."

"Second Princess Qing...?"

"Indeed..." Guan Mingyue nodded somewhat helplessly, "Second Princess Qing severely injured Wei Fengjue, the strongest of the three ancestors, and even had enough power left to defeat five of the Wei Family’s top experts in succession. Ashamedly, we could only cheer from the sidelines, unable to lend any help."

"The Second Princess is that strong?" Lin Xin was shocked, realizing that even within the Yuan Jing, the discrepancies in strength could be this great.

"After many years, she might be the one most likely to breakthrough to the realm of Xuan Nu in Yuqing Dao," Guan Mingyue stated solemnly.

Lin Xin was about to speak when he saw Elder Hong Gui passing by ahead with a group of people, his expression sour.

Hong Gui’s gaze met Lin Xin’s, and their eyes locked.

"You won’t find that item so easy to take..."

"What item are you referring to, Elder? What have I taken from you?" Lin Xin asked with a frown, feigning confusion.

"You play your part well." Hong Gui sneered.

Lin Xin’s face showed a puzzled surprise, but his eyes betrayed a hint of a sneer.

Hong Gui evidently noticed this subtle nuance, his heart growing even more irritated, and with a wave of his sleeve.

Shhh!

A wisp of white smoke suddenly shot forth, transforming into a flying bird in mid-air, growing larger and more menacing. However, just tens of meters out, it went from the size of a palm to an intimidating four-meter wide ice sculpture, pouncing towards Lin Xin.

Thud!

Suddenly a withered hand firmly blocked in front of Lin Xin, pressing onto the ice bird’s forehead.

Crash! The entire ice bird shattered instantly, turning into a shower of ice fragments scattering on the ground.

Guan Mingyue withdrew his hand nonchalantly.

As for Lin Xin, his expression remained unchanged; he didn’t even blink as he stood there, the facade of confusion giving way to a subtle smile.