Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 382 - 376 - Journey Four

Chapter 382: 376 Chapter Journey Four

Setting down his tea, Lin Xin asked with marked interest for more information about the abnormal Gemini Divine Monarch, confirming that it was indeed a special Taoist Intent he had never encountered before.

"Your Highness, what shall we do next?" Wang Peng asked.

"Next, I still haven’t grasped the essence of your Taoist Intent, and I need to carefully comprehend the two new ones I’ve acquired. Let’s find a place to settle down for now and stay put," Lin Xin casually made arrangements.

"Are we going to settle down?" The little Jade Fox became somewhat excited. After traveling for so many days, they were finally going to stop and rest properly. Previously, in the Dao Seeking, they were always in a state of tension and trouble.

"You pick the location. You can ask the driver, Xun Shu; he has the specific locations of the branches."

The little Jade Fox dashed out excitedly to ask Xun Shu, the driver who specifically served Lin Xin as the Crown Prince’s chauffeur.

Lin Xin lit a previously prepared red lantern, emitting a bright red flame inside. It was not a flame of burning oil but an ordinary Fire Formation he had fashioned for the purpose of invoking Mortal Fire.

The most critical part was he threw all the newly acquired Demon Talisman Seeds into it.

As the lantern was lit, wisp after wisp of red breath that no one else could see floated subtly out and snaked into his nose and mouth.

Unnoticed by anyone, as Wang Peng inquired about the situation of the fat man and the man in green on the side, Lin Xin closed his eyes as if resting and watched the Free Attributes in his Attributes column skyrocket.

The original average was one hundred and six points, with an extra three points of Free Attributes left over. But now, with the newly acquired Demon Talisman Seeds, there were over seventy black ones, one light gold, and two dark gold. Adding them all up, in just a short while, Lin Xin saw an increase of 122 points to his Free Attributes, which, added to the original three points, totaled 125 points.

Licking his lips slightly, he felt like he was playing a game. This trip to the Dao Seeking had been so profitable that he didn’t even want to leave, having gained an average of over three hundred points. If he could continue to gain like this, wouldn’t there come a day when he could confront Yuan Jing with attributes alone?

points.

He still decided to distribute them evenly.

Increasing each attribute by 31 points and leaving one point left over, his average attributes now became:

’Attack 137, Defense 137, Evasion 137, Constitution 137. Free Attributes 1 point’

"If according to my own preliminary estimate, releasing a magical treasure after the Golden Core late stage would be equivalent to an Attack of over one hundred points.

Then an Attack of one hundred and thirty or more means that, merely with my physical body, I can match the stronger experts in the late Golden Core stage."

In fact, Lin Xin didn’t know exactly what stage he was at now, but as long as he kept gaining attribute points quickly, he would eventually reach the level he desired.

Opening his eyes, all the Demon Talisman Seeds in the lantern had been absorbed, leaving behind an ordinary lantern.

Placing the lantern aside casually, he stretched his body and yawned, feeling the warm and full sensations of improvement throughout his body as if he were soaking in warm water.

He himself hadn’t gone all out for a long time. At this attribute level, it would be luxurious to use not just the Qilin but even the full strength of his physical body.

Especially after leaving the Dao Seeking.

"The Yuan Jing out there are not as plentiful as in the Dao Seeking. It’s rare to see one in a few years. Typically, one might be encountered every ten years or so. And those slightly weaker are generally no match for me. Only when encountering top Dao Seeking experts at critical thresholds about to break through is there a chance for a fight. Unfortunately... such experts are rarer still, most are busy preparing for their breakthroughs, even harder to encounter than Yuan Jing."

He shook his head slightly, not dwelling on it further.

The carriage flew towards the nearest branch and soon landed in a place bordered by mountains and waters.

There, beside a pile of rocky hills, lay a small cluster of village-like buildings.

A number of middle-aged and elderly people with exceptional demeanors were already standing outside, looking up and waiting quietly.

The giant carriage settled gently on the ground, the flames on the wheels dying away, and the two big fatties roared discontentedly twice, lazily sitting down.

The carriage door swung open with a clatter.

The little Jade Fox and Wang Peng, among others, quickly jumped out. By now, they had virtually become Lin Xin’s trusted aides. Originally, Lin Xin had kept Wang Peng by his side because he couldn’t quickly comprehend Wang Peng’s Taoist Intent, but over time, with little progress, he simply kept him close.

The group exited the carriage, with Lin Xin coming out last, casting a glance at the welcoming line.

In the eyes of this gathering were clear reverence and enthusiasm.

"Huang Family Village branch, with all members present, warmly welcomes the Third Crown Prince, whose mana knows no bounds and who is unparalleled in the realm!"

The elder leading the group was about to kneel in respect.

But Lin Xin gestured with his hand, supporting and stopping him.

"There’s no need to trouble everyone so much; I’m just staying temporarily. Just clean up a place for me to stay," he said.

"We shall diligently follow the Crown Prince’s decree!" the elder quickly responded with earnest respect.

Not one in this crowd had a strong aura, with the strongest being only at the Foundation Establishment Cultivation. This was the normal state of affairs. Typically, Foundation Establishment Cultivators were considered formidable in the outside world and were at the level of ordinary Intent Level cultivators.

In a world where most are mundane, Heart Level cultivators are considered quite skilled and responsible for handling affairs in most Sects.

Intent Level Foundation Establishment Cultivators are the small elites tasked with handling the slightly more difficult issues; these individuals occupy leadership positions.

As for Golden Core, the peak of Intent Level, these are the true leaders and big shots; leaders of general forces, like the Jade Fox King they had encountered earlier.

As the old man led them into the village, Lin Xin could also roughly sense the obvious disparity in strength, which brought with it a sense of looking down on others.

The village was surrounded by defense walls inscribed with runes, and villagers stealing glances at them from the sides of houses were almost all non-cultivators; only a few had a slightly thicker Qi-Blood, clearly having practiced some external cultivation techniques.

Soon, they arrived at the house that the village chief had arranged for them, a black wooden house near the river with a small courtyard next to it.

The wooden house had three floors and was lavishly decorated, not at all what one would expect to find in this village, easily accommodating at least ten people.

After the group was led there, the village chief and others started to introduce them to the surroundings, and then they left on their own.

All necessary amenities for their accommodation were well prepared, and several country girls were waiting inside the house to serve them, all ordinary people without cultivation. Respect and a hint of curiosity and excitement could be seen in their eyes.

With nothing else to do, everyone decided to settle down here for the time being.

In the following days, Lin Xin would seek out the fat man and the man in green for sparring every day to apprehend Taoist intent. Occasionally, he would also spar with Wang Peng, but regrettably, Wang Peng’s Taoist intent was extremely difficult to comprehend, and it was unclear how he had managed to bring forth such enigmatic power.

The one closest to him was the man in green who was captured later.

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

Clang!!

The gleaming blade was pinched between Lin Xin’s fingers and hung in front of him.

A point of white light also lit up behind him, exploding into dozens of sharp blades that stabbed wildly towards Lin Xin’s back and limbs.

"Hua Chen Blade!!"

The dark silhouette above him also plummeted down heavily, wielding a single blade and slashing at Lin Xin.

Attacks came from three directions all at once: front, back, and above.

Yet, Lin Xin wasn’t the least bit disordered, standing still without using demonic qi or Formation Talismans, just bending his finger.

With a crack, the blade broke off a piece that he pinched at the tip of his finger, making a lightning-fast arc above and in front of him.

Shh!!

A winding, bright silver light flashed instantly, then slowly faded.

The attacks from the three directions were precisely repelled, hitting the very tip of the aggressors’ blades where their force was concentrated and were deflected away.

In the forest, Wang Peng, the man in green, and the fat man all simultaneously retreated over ten steps with heavy panting, nearly colliding with the surrounding trees before they managed to stop.

"Are you coming again?" Lin Xin asked with a smile.

Starting a few days earlier, after he had been roundly instructing the three, they felt somewhat unconvinced; from Lin Xin’s displayed martial skills, without using demonic qi or a demonic body, it was not possible for him to be their match.

Because his martial skills were disorganized from realizing too much Taoist Intent, they were somewhat unstable at times.

You should know that Taoist Intent is an extension of one’s personal will, a lever to move the totality of nature. Naturally, using Taoist Intent will affect one’s style of techniques.

Because he’d realized too much Taoist Intent, Lin Xin couldn’t use the Heart Eye Sword Path and the Red Flower Sword Path very smoothly before their integration.

And, originally, without the combination of Formation Talisman Dao, his combat strength would only be third rate. It was natural for the three to look down on him.

Therefore, now well acquainted with each other, Lin Xin suggested they all attack together.

The man in green and the fat man also wanted to test Lin Xin’s limits, leading to their current situation.

"Your Highness’s cultivation far surpasses ours; it seems no use continuing," said Wang Peng with resignation.

"Your Highness’s talent is unparalleled; even with the three of us joining hands, we can only last a few rounds against you," hurriedly flattered the fat man, whose real name was unmemorable to everyone, as it was a very complex pronunciation. Given his ample size, everyone simply called him fat man for convenience.

"The gap in strength is too big; there’s no point in continuing," the man in green also shook his head, not knowing the depths of Lin Xin’s cultivation, but obviously they couldn’t even penetrate his Protective Aura, let alone injure the person inside.

"By the way, Your Highness, what exactly did you mean by what you said to me that day?"

The man in green suddenly remembered the words Lin Xin had said out of the blue that day.

Although he had been a captive these past days, the other party had never mistreated or abused him, so they coexisted in peace. The atmosphere was unusually harmonious. So he took the opportunity to ask.

"That thing I said that day..." Lin Xin smiled, clapped his hands, and walked down towards the small building at the foot of the mountain.

He had gotten a good feel for the two’s Taoist Intents during these days.

The fat man used the Five Phenomena Iron Ridge, which once activated, could turn any part of the body into a hard material, representing one of the defensive cultivation techniques.

This was the Taoist Intent of the Five Phenomena Iron Ridge Sect that anyone who reached a certain realm could possess.

As for the man in green...

Lin Xin walked while waiting for the others to quickly follow behind him.

"Have you ever heard of the Undying attribute?"