Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 383 - 377 Journey V

Chapter 383: Chapter 377 Journey V

"Immortality?"

The man in the green robe caught up and was astonished for a moment.

"Are you referring to... the characteristic of an illusionary formless creature?"

"You are now in that state," Lin Xin said with a smile. "The you right now isn’t you, just your obsession."

"You mean..." the green-robed man seemed to understand something, his eyes widened, and he was momentarily stumped.

"You guessed it right. You aren’t the real you. Your original body has been dead for who knows how long; now, you are just a wisp of your original body’s will and thoughts."

Lin Xin directly revealed the man’s true nature.

"Just a wisp of thoughts..." The man in the green robe stood there, dazed.

"Think it over carefully before you come to find me."

Without another glance, Lin Xin continued to float down the mountain.

It wasn’t just him who was dumbstruck, but the fat man and Wang Peng as well.

Back at their accommodations, both of them also huddled up to Lin Xin and asked.

"Your Highness, what’s the story with that guy? Why are you all speaking so cryptically? What’s this about thoughts, and not being the real self?" the fat man asked in a low, sheepish chuckle.

The little Jade Fox and the other two girls sent all the maids away and prepared food and drink themselves. They were currently cooking.

The men who had returned from practice took seats in the small hall on the first floor to talk and drink tea.

Lin Xin was usually easy to talk to, and he was in a good mood at the moment, having mostly grasped the Taoist intent of the Five Elephants Iron Ridge. Feeling that his demonic arts had advanced another small step, he answered casually with a smile.

"You know, after some creatures, or people, experience a severe trauma or pain, they can automatically enter a state of amnesia as a form of self-protection."

"And under such circumstances, if the original body falls into a coma or some other negative state, and a master infuses it with enough power and spiritual energy, it’s possible to separate out a consciousness entity known as a sub-body."

"A sub-body?"

"Indeed," Lin Xin, with his broad knowledge from reading a vast array of books, was exceptionally clear while explaining the basics.

"A sub-body, if it stays outside for a long time and the original body dies, will gradually lose its own memories, retaining only the most fundamental obsession. That guy is in such a state."

"Isn’t that just a wandering soul?" the fat man summarized with one sentence.

"To be precise, it’s not a wandering soul. This sub-body is not afraid of any formation talismans aimed at the soul body and is exactly like a normal person. It can even be considered a completely independent individual," Lin Xin shook his head.

"That’s impressive!" the fat man stroked the three layers of fat on his chin. "I heard him mention he had a mother but is now separated from her. He can’t even remember where his home used to be. Looking at it now, it does seem quite strange."

"Such is the nature of a sub-body," Lin Xin leaned back and said indifferently, "If he hadn’t met me, perhaps in a few decades, he would naturally disappear into nothingness one day."

"So, Your Highness, since you’ve captured... um, taken him in, he must hold some value, right?" Wang Peng had a slight understanding of Lin Xin’s ways and knew he wouldn’t do something pointless. He thus asked this question.

"I’ve always been researching Demon Talisman Seeds, and coincidentally, I’ve realized that his original body might just be from the Primordial Demon Race," Lin Xin said nonchalantly.

"Primordial Demon Race... tsk tsk. That is rare," Wang Peng smacked his lips. "Are they the origin of the Demon Talisman Seeds? Is that why Your Highness took him in?"

"Indeed."

Lin Xin nodded in affirmation.

The Primordial Demon Race was the root race that nurtured the Demon Talisman Seeds. They lived in seclusion, depending on trading Demon Talisman Seeds to survive.

Just like the little bee girl that Lin Xin had once encountered, she was such an existence.

They sounded very powerful with the name "Primordial," but in reality, they were just a weaker demon race with sufficiently ancient heritage.

They simply possessed some special secret techniques for self-preservation. Other than that, they were no different from the common demon race and were even weaker. As a result, they could only hide and preserve themselves in secret.

But their biggest characteristic was the ability to nurture Demon Talisman Seeds.

Lin Xin had learned this secret from Luo Xin’er of the Jade Pure sect.

"So Your Highness means...?" Wang Peng continued to inquire.

Lin Xin smiled and said.

"Although he really has no original body left and can’t breed new Demon Talisman Seeds, he may be able to recall the whereabouts of his clan. If I can find a Primordial Demon Race group, perhaps I could find more Demon Talisman Seeds to trade. As you know, the current Primordial Demon Races are reliant on being controlled by several old sects like Jade Pure Way and Heavenly Cloud Way. Our Immortal Demonic Alliance is too new and lacks such heritage."

"Understood."

With that, Lin Xin’s intentions were made clear without any need for concealment.

Everyone understood; it was just a matter of trading Demon Talisman Seeds.

As for how Lin Xin identified the man’s identity, no one asked, but Lin Xin himself knew.

In the secret technique sensing, the green-robed man was simply a faint red flame, not as powerful as the Demon Talisman Seeds, but still very noticeable and conspicuous.

Considering some characteristics of the Primordial Demon Race, Lin Xin then confirmed his identity and casually brought him along.

"Next stop, Lion Fist Sect. We’ll continue to follow the plan, visiting and seeking advice while concealing our identities," Lin Xin said casually.

"Your Highness, what about me?" The fat man quickly scuttled over. "I, the fat one, am utterly loyal to you. Using the Five Elephants Iron Ridge technique as a meat shield suits me perfectly! As long as I’m alive, I will always be the sturdiest shield before Your Highness!!"

This guy shamelessly pledged his loyalty.

Even though they had only been together for a few days, and he had been captured alive, his intent to cling to powerful coattails was so obvious that even the girls who came to serve the dishes blushed with the cheesiness of it all.

"Hehe..." Wang Peng let out an ambiguous laugh from the side.

Lin Xin held his tea and sipped slowly, his expression unchanged as he listened to the fatty flattering him.

"So you’re saying, you want to follow me?"

"Yes, yes!!" The fatty nodded hurriedly.

"You must know, following me, you’ll encounter many dangers," Lin Xin said with a hint of meaning. "If something happened and you ran away, then I..."

"Your Highness, rest assured! I, Lao Lu, am your man. In death, I’ll be your ghost! In this lifetime, from now on, I’ll never have a second heart!!

Until the mountains are flat, the seas run dry, and the skies merge with the earth, that’s when I dare part from you. As long as Your Highness treats me well... no, looks after me, I, Lao Lu, will lay down my life to repay your kindness!"

The fatty was thumping his plump chest as he shouted loudly.

Those beside Wang Peng looked like they were about to vomit. This guy clearly hadn’t read much, his choice of words was a complete mess, and he deliberately picked phrases he didn’t understand, taking sentences from romance novels he’d seen somewhere and using them on the spot.

Listening was enough to make Lin Xin’s eyebrows twitch and give him a headache.

"Alright, you’re taken in," he said, getting chicken skin. "All these messy phrases you’ve dug up, don’t use them if you don’t understand them!"

"Hehehe, yes! At your command, Your Highness!!" The fatty immediately beamed with joy, laughing foolishly as he called out.

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

Cloud Peak Observatory in the Heaven Cloud Dao.

Clouds lingered as a ray of golden sunlight peeked from the side of the mountain peak.

A Taoist temple stood on a rock platform close to the top of the mountain, bathed in a faint golden light.

Along the temple steps flowing downwards, two rows of disciples in blue robes stood as still as statues.

Two elderly Taoists with horsetail whisks on their backs hastened towards the temple along the steps, employing neither Qinggong nor any magic artifacts or spiritual energy to fly, simply climbing with plain footsteps.

One of them bore a faint resemblance to the elder Hong Gui.

The two hurried along and soon arrived in front of the temple.

A silver-maned white lion that looked like it had six eyes guarded the door.

When it saw the two men approaching, the white lion growled softly and lazily gave them a glance.

"Venerable Bai Yun, may I ask if Elder Hong Gui is within the temple? He called for us to come here for a matter," said one of the elders respectfully to the white lion.

The six-eyed white lion sniffed their scents and then lay its head down again.

"Go in on your own, that kid Hong Gui just got here not long ago and is offering prayers."

"Thank you, Venerable," the two said as they bowed again and walked past the white lion.

Passing through the temple gate, inside was a gigantic white-barked tree wide enough to require two people to circle it with their arms.

The large tree was lush and leafy, but on the trunk facing the door was a silhouette that looked like a woman bound to it.

The woman’s arms were spread wide, resembling a relief carving on the tree bark.

Not wanting to disturb the woman, the two elders circled around and entered the innermost hall.

Incense smoke curled and mist filled the air.

The hall had a large array of densely packed spiritual tablets and memorial plaques.

In front of the spiritual tablets was a large incense burner, before which knelt a handsome young man of no great age, also in a white Taoist robe, his face the picture of devotion.

"Elder Hong Gui."

The two elders quickly bowed respectfully.

Hong Gui, with eyes closed and lips still, let his voice flow naturally.

"Good you’ve come. There’s a matter that requires your attention."

"Please give your orders, Elder," the two said in unison.

Hong Gui stood up, turned to face them.

"The Yuan Dou Demon Sect from the Immortals and Fiends Alliance, the newly appointed Third Crown Prince, has messed up our Sect’s big plans. There might be a risk of information leakage, but we have an alliance with the Immortals and Fiends Alliance, and on the surface..."

After a moment of contemplation, the two elders understood his intentions.

"This matter can be carried out by our hidden forces," said the one on the left in a low voice. "However, the Yuan Dou Demon Sect is notorious for its high-handedness. If we move against their Crown Prince..."

"Even if they are overbearing, they’re still just a second-tier Sect. Far from our top tier and without a Heavenly List expert to anchor them, they are inherently inferior. As long as we do a clean job, that Yuan Dou True Monarch will have no way to trace it back to us," elaborated the elder who resembled Hong Gui.

"Good that you understand," Elder Hong Gui said with a smile. "One of the Primogenitor Seeds was snatched by that person; he shouldn’t be able to assimilate it. The likeliest possibility is that he will give it to Yuan Dou True Monarch. The Heaven Cloud Dao has been dormant for quite some time, and this incident is a good opportunity to remind others out there, that the wonders of Yun Kai are not so easily borne... "

"Then... about that Crown Prince’s strength..." the two asked further.

Hong Gui began to laugh.

"He’s nothing but a common mortal who hasn’t reached the realm of Yuan Jing. The Demon Emperor Kun Ji of Brahma Net Mountain still owes me a favor; you should get moving and ask him to take action."

"We will follow Elder’s decree faithfully."

The two quickly agreed.