Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 384 - 378: Journey Six

Chapter 384: Chapter 378: Journey Six

Brahma Net Mountain was located in the dark marsh mountain range on the western side of Central Prefecture.

Dark clouds covered the area all year round, only in the early spring when the first sunlight appeared would it gently rise with a hint of gold.

The golden sunlight pierced through the black fog, illuminating the fine contours of the summit of Brahma Net Mountain.

At this moment, as the early sun rose, a ring of golden light, like a golden sun, slowly pierced through the black fog, revealing a golden, complex, and magnificent palace at the center of the mountain peak.

Atop the palace lay a golden dragon sculpted from gold, with its dragon eye being the only one, which was the white vertical pupil opened on its forehead.

In front of the palace gate was a huge white jade square, towering above was an eight-meter-tall giant snake man.

This snake man was dressed in a golden dragon robe, humanoid with a snake’s head, four limbs intact, with every part except the head resembling an ordinary person.

At this moment, the snake man was curling his arms in front of him, his fingers totaling eight, each adorned with various types of gemstone rings, all of which were yellow.

"Niren, Sabas, Kesai Erde...." the snake man chanted in a low voice as if reciting curse script, his voice began to rise gradually.

His voice reverberated across the entire square, quickly forming visible, colorless streams of light, flowing over his head like rivers, circulating.

"Master." Suddenly, a woman’s voice interrupted his chant.

A massive snake’s head, almost half the size of a mountain, protruded from the side of the palace.

Her entire head was nearly half the size of the palace, but the look in her snake pupil towards the snake man was extremely respectful.

"What is it?" the snake man impatiently stopped his chant, clearly annoyed by the interruption of his cursing technique.

"Forgive me, master, it’s news from Hong Gui," the white snake said softly. Even though she deliberately lowered her voice, it was still as loud as thunder.

"What’s the matter?" the snake man finally slowly turned around. "He really is straightforward. I owe him a favor, and he’s already here to use it."

The white snake continued in a respectful yet emotionless tone.

"They request you personally to carry out the assassination of Lin Xin, the Third Crown Prince of Yuan Dou Demon Sect."

"Me, personally?" the snake man was suddenly surprised. His face showed a trace of mockery. "They really regard their opponent highly. I have heard of that Third Crown Prince; not very favored, Yuan Dou True Monarch handed him off to his other two disciples and left. It’s only been a few years, hasn’t it? How could he have stirred such trouble to offend Hong Gui, that petty old man?"

"Who knows?" the white snake replied casually. "Master, shall I go and have a look?"

"No need, as the saying goes, ’even hunting a rabbit, a lion uses all its might.’" The snake man shook his head, "Showing off with great fanfare definitely won’t work, after all, Yuan Dou Demon Sect needs to save face. I might not beat Yuan Dou True Monarch, but I can escape. It’s best not to provoke the Immortal Demon Alliance if possible. We’ll stick to the usual practice, go under another identity."

"Then I’ll go prepare the materials," the massive white snake slowly submerged.

"No need, I still have from the last time. There’s still an unrefined Spirit Talisman on the mountain. Leave it here, I’ll come back and continue after I quickly finish the job." The snake man sent her off, "A Golden Core Dao Seeking level won’t take much time. The only slight trouble might be that he likely has a life-saving artifact given by Yuan Dou True Monarch."

"Others might not be able, but not your majesty," the white snake flattered.

"Bai Er, you do speak the truth," the snake man, also known as the Demon Emperor Kun Ji, grinned.

The laughter had not yet faded.

He suddenly stretched out his hand forward, and instantly, golden scales streamed continuously from the sleeves of his robe, forming a mirror shaped like a fish in front of him.

"With my blood as guide, bind thousand breaths, the soul of ninety Evil Gods, entrusted in the primal body."

He flicked his hand, a drop of blood ejected and splashed onto the golden mirror.

"The bow, come!"

He suddenly let out a low growl.

Gradually, a golden bow in the shape of a swallow started to emerge from the mirror.

One end of the bow slowly arched from the mirror’s surface, as if rising from the water.

Demon Emperor Kun Ji grabbed the body of the bow, pulled it back, and fully drew it out of the mirror.

"The arrows, come!" he roared again.

Suddenly, behind the body of the bow, four uniquely shaped exquisite arrows appeared, each steadily lying on the bowstring, ready to be shot at any moment.

"Farewell, Demon Emperor!"

At that moment, the entire square, unbeknownst to when, was surrounded by countless serpents. All were bowing their heads to the ground, their eyes showing respectful and fervent admiration.

Kun Ji twisted a topaz ring on his finger and his whole body twisted instantly, like the currents in a pool, turning into a liquid swirling continuously, then plunging into a central black hole, disappearing on the spot.

"Northeast direction, huh? Three thousand six hundred and eleven miles away...."

Only a deep voice continued to echo across the square.

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

To the north of Central Prefecture, on the boundary line between the Immortal Alliance and Red Spine Sect.

Along a ceaselessly wide river, several large ships were stopped midway and chained together.

On the riverbank, a large group of people gathered, forming a circle.

At the center, a man in luxurious attire, seemingly the leader, stood with his hands behind his back, sternly sizing up a young man opposite him.

"I am Su Mu, the Chief Affairs Officer of this fleet of ships. Young man, it’s best to show mercy when possible in Jianghu, as bumps are inevitable. When a day of mutual aid arrives, if it’s money you seek, I, Su Mu, can grant it," he said.

"Seeing the Chief Affairs Officer move lightly with profound cultivation, I couldn’t help but feel the thrill of the hunt and intercepted the fleet of ships. I hope you understand. I only ask for one defeat," Wang Peng said with a seemingly insincere smile, his face utterly stiff and his tone lacking any inflection, which would hardly fool the experienced old fox before him, let alone the slightly seasoned sailors.

But this was the arrangement that everyone had agreed on beforehand, and it was also the first task that the Crown Prince had set for him.

So, no matter how unnatural it seemed, he had to speak up.

Su Mu shook his head in silence.

"Young brother, although your cultivation is extraordinary, one cannot fight against four hands alone; it’s better to heed my advice."

"I appreciate your kindness; let’s get started. It won’t take much of your time," Wang Peng interjected quickly. "If you lose, you’ll give us that ancient bronze circular box on your boat. If you win, not only will I let you and your party go, but I will also gift you a total of ten Spirit Jades as a fee."

"Ten Spirit Jades!" Su Mu’s eyes narrowed. Even as a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, he was extremely desperate for Spirit Jades, an exceedingly precious currency. The fact that the other party casually mentioned ten pieces indicated a strong confidence.

One Spirit Jade was worth about three hundred Shell Golds, so ten would be three thousand. This was not a small sum. One Shell Gold, when converted to silver taels, could hire ten skilled sailors for about half a year at sea.

Three thousand Shell Golds could cover all the manpower expenses of this sea voyage, after which everything else would be pure profit!

His heart started to heat up slightly. Su Mu became even more serious and solemn. Anyone who could casually offer such a price was definitely not someone he could handle at present.

His gaze drifted past the man who claimed to be Wang Peng and settled on a group of young, handsome men and women nearby.

Clearly, this young handsome man was the true leader of this group.

The handsome young man smiled at him slightly, his demeanor very modest.

But he knew the more cultured the person was, the deeper their background likely was.

"This is troublesome..."

He sighed inwardly. Fortunately, the condition offered was not too harsh; it was just about a box he had acquired unintentionally from defeated pirates, which contained some completely useless statues of evil gods.

"Alright, I accept your terms," he finally spoke up.

Wang Peng too relaxed visibly, relieved that the negotiation was over, allowing him to take action directly.

This kind of interpersonal negotiating was what he was worst at.

"Please."

Before taking action, he suddenly recalled what his Highness had said when he first saw him.

’With your Taoist intent so strong! Your potential so great! If you break through, someone like that piece of trash earlier would be no challenge—you would kill however many came at you! Therefore, you are the one-in-a-million top genius!’

"A one-in-a-million top genius, huh?" Wang Peng’s eyes gradually grew solemn.

"It seems my Taoist intent is indeed more than just a trivial matter..."

The longsword in his hand began to vibrate slowly.

"One Part Wild!"

He thrust his swordblade forward as if it had been hammered and refined a thousand times, striking precisely at Su Mu’s chest. The sword also carried a light gust of wind, twisting frantically all around.

This was the ’One Part Wild,’ the first sword technique of the hermit death’s mastery that Wang Peng excelled in.

"Far Hwai Xi Harmony!" Su Mu waved his hand and executed his family’s unique swordsmanship, the Su Estate Swordsmanship, which primarily emphasized steady defense and rarely took the offense. It was like a bamboo stick, constantly being pressed down by the opponent until it eventually snapped back, fighting back against the attacker.

Of course, this was provided that he could withstand the full brunt of the opponent’s attacks without breaking completely.

The two of them, one attacking and the other defending, one fast and the other slow.

Wang Peng’s approach was the Swift Sword, each strike growing faster and faster. ’One Part Wild’ was better described not as a Swift Sword, but rather as a purely wild and chaotic sword.

This was pure sword Dao that almost followed instinct, the basic characteristic of the first layer of his mastery.

In their exchanges, seeing that Su Mu guarded flawlessly without any chance of breaking his defense,

Wang Peng grew somewhat impatient. This was the first time he was performing in front of the Crown Prince, and he must not show poor performance.

Yan’er’s family and the Rong Wangfu would still need to rely on the Crown Prince’s help in future, and if he displeased him, things would become difficult later on.

Anxiety slightly creeping in his mind, Wang Peng withdrew his swordblade and paused.

"Two Parts Sun!"

Whoosh!

Suddenly, with his second sword strike, a blast of grey mist burst forth and spread, rushing toward Su Mu.

"Is this... Taoist intent?"

Su Mu’s expression turned grave. Any Taoist intent must be treated with extreme caution without clear knowledge of the opponent’s capabilities.

In almost an instant, he decided to abandon taking the offensive and instead doubled down on his defensive focus.

The surrounding crew members and sailors watched with immense nervousness.

Not far away, Lin Xin and his companions began to converse amongst themselves.

"This is Wang Peng’s most bizarre Taoist intent," Lin Xin remarked in slight admiration.

"Your Highness, you always say that if Wang Lang’s Taoist intent could break through, he would instantly rise to become a top genius master. Yet, I, as his wife, fail to see anything special about it?"

Rongyan, as Wang Peng’s wife, could not discern anything, perhaps even Wang Peng himself did not clearly understand how his Taoist Intent functioned.

Lin Xin stared intently at the gray mist enveloping Wang Peng, and began to explain in a low voice.