Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 385 - 379: Journey 7

Chapter 385: Chapter 379: Journey 7

"Have you ever heard the story about imaging through reflection?" Lin Xin said unhurriedly.

"His Highness is being mysterious again," Jade Fox chuckled, covering her mouth.

"We haven’t heard of it," Rongyan and Qiuling, among others, shook their heads.

Lin Xin smiled slightly and continued.

"Imaging through reflection is about a landowner who had a very large floor mirror that could be used to adjust one’s appearance. But suddenly one night, the landowner woke up, passed by the mirror, and discovered... the mirror suddenly couldn’t reflect human figures anymore. No matter who stood in front of it, it showed nothing—only the clothes worn were visible."

"Hiss... that’s a bit terrifying..." Qiuling visualized the scene.

In the middle of the night, she wakes, and in the profound silence, she accidentally passes by the mirror. Turning her head, she sees only clothes floating in the mirror, with no head or limbs, facing her directly. It was as if a completely strange person dressed in her clothes stood there, watching her from within the mirror.

Seeing that the two women were a bit creeped out, Lin Xin continued.

"Later, a monk visited the family and discovered this odd phenomenon. He took the initiative to tell the landowners. He said it was the legendary Reflection Stone—if one’s shadow was captured by the mirror, one could see one’s future."

"Really?" Qiuling said skeptically.

"Ignorant and narrow-minded," the man in green, Fei Pengzi, retorted coldly. "The Reflection Stone is a well-known legend. Even this you haven’t heard of? Better roll back to the countryside and farm."

"What did you say!?" Qiuling’s eyes widened.

"I said, you should go back to your hometown and plant sweet potatoes. Dumb woman, can you stop interrupting His Highness? Asking this sort of common sense only shows how rural you are, nothing else."

"You idiot with a deadpan face! Think you’re so great because you know a lot? Can you beat me if we really fought?" Qiuling directly rolled up her sleeves and flexed her muscles at Fei Pengzi.

His response was a disdainful snort from Fei Pengzi.

"Here it starts again..." Rongyan said helplessly.

These two had started clashing a few days ago, and thereafter, various disputes had emerged; neither could stand the sight of the other.

"So, Your Highness, what happened next? Is the Reflection Stone really only able to cast shadows?"

The chubby man at the side asked eagerly with a sycophantic smile.

Lin Xin shook his head.

"Actually, that monk was a demon monk. The Reflection Stone indeed could present a person’s true appearance by capturing their shadow, but once someone voluntarily lets their shadow be captured too many times, they gradually lose their essence, spirit, and eventually even their soul, turning into nourishment for the Reflection Stone."

"That horrifying?"

The chubby man’s eyes widened.

"That’s why, in the end, that family all died, unclearly and inexplicably. The demon monk took the floor mirror and mysteriously vanished, never to be heard from again."

Lin Xin concluded the story.

"So what does this have to do with Brother Wang’s Taoist intention?" Fei Pengzi asked with a frown.

Lin Xin gave a mysterious smile.

"Watch carefully how he is handling the fight with the Chief Affairs Officer right now."

The crowd immediately looked towards the direction where the two were fighting. Standing on a higher ground, they could clearly see the rapidly exchanging blows amidst the crowd.

But upon looking, they all felt something was off.

"Has something changed from when they first started fighting?" Fei Pengzi, rightfully one of the two strongest cultivators present.

Along with the other chubby man, they were indeed the strongest Foundation Establishment Cultivators there, aside from Lin Xin, naturally with equally sharp eyes.

Right then, there was a noticeable difference from the beginning.

At that moment in the fray, Wang Peng drew out a seal art with one hand and held a sword in his right, sending out a continuous stream of Sword Techniques toward his opponent like flowing water.

His Sword Technique seemed no longer to be his original style, but slightly carried a bit of the Chief Affairs Officer’s stable Defense demeanor.

In contrast, the Chief Affairs Officer on the other side had noticeably slowed down, and both his moves and the swiftly released Taoist intention continued to weaken.

If it was not clear at the start, now it was strikingly clear.

"Do you see that?" Lin Xin explained. "The opponent’s movement has clearly slowed down."

"Is this the true effect of Brother Wang’s Taoist intention?" Rongyan was also curious; ever since she followed Wang Peng, not only her, but even Wang Peng himself hadn’t figured out the actual effect of his Taoist intention.

"I understand now," Fei Pengzi nodded knowingly.

"Understand what? Tell us," the chubby man also asked eagerly, having not seen it clearly.

Fei Pengzi pointed a finger at where the two were exchanging blows.

"If we assume that Brother Wang’s Taoist intention is linked to the effect of the Reflection Stone, then, after careful observation, I’ve noticed several anomalies."

Lin Xin also smiled at him, signaling him to continue.

Fei Pengzi nodded and continued. "First, take a look at Brother Wang’s movements, aren’t they a bit similar to his opponent’s but not too much, only taking the strong points of defense without its slow flaws?"

"Indeed, that’s true," the chubby man observed and agreed.

The other women also nodded in agreement.

"Second, the opponent, the Chief Affairs Officer, his movements have gradually become slower and slower, no longer as smooth and flawless as initially. It is as if he was being drained of his essence, spirit, and soul, just like the Reflection Stone does."

"This point is indeed true," Rongyan agreed as well.

"Third."

"There’s a third?" the chubby man couldn’t help but exclaim. "You kid spotting two points is already enough, even I only noticed one point so far, and now you can see a third point? Are you that clever?"

Fei Pengzi ignored him.

"Third, it’s that these changes between them didn’t occur at the start but gradually developed over time. Linking this to the legend of the Reflection Stone, I speculate that Brother Wang’s ability must be a special effect similar to reflection. It can absorb the advantages of others and augment oneself while weakening the opponent."

Lin Xin listened intently without missing a word and then slowly began to applaud.

"Indeed, your observation is meticulous. However, Wang Peng’s true abilities are not these," he said.

"Oh?" Fei Pengzi looked at him slightly unconvinced.

Lin Xin looked towards the battle group.

"His real strength is his ability to absorb all the accumulated Essence Qi and unleash it all in a burst," Lin Xin explained.

Chhi!!!

No sooner had he spoken than a loud noise erupted from the battle group.

Two sword blades clashed. The Chief Affairs Officer’s sword was directly smashed and flung far into the ground by the riverbank.

He clutched his wrist and watched the young man in front of him with a complicated expression.

Lin Xin smiled.

"It appears we’ve seen enough; let’s go over," he said. The Chief Affairs Officer’s Taoist Intention was similar to the rapid effects he had seen before, and he had almost mastered it. There was no value in staying any longer.

Once they had retrieved that box, they could leave directly.

A group approached, and someone had already brought down the box and placed it in front of them.

Wang Peng walked towards Lin Xin, and wherever he went, no one dared to obstruct him as they all made way for him.

"Mission accomplished," he said to Lin Xin, greeting him with a cupped fist salute.

Seeing this, the Chief Affairs Officer and others changed their expressions. Such a formidable young man was merely one of this young noble’s subordinates, which was indeed surprising.

"You’ve worked hard. Take the items and let’s go," Lin Xin instructed.

A chubby person eagerly ran to carry the box. Lin Xin opened it to check, and indeed, it contained the things he needed – a whole bunch of Evil God statues.

To the untrained eye, these items seemed just statues, but at their core were various Demon Talisman Seeds. If not for his secret technique that enabled him to sense these, others might not have detected the secrets within the box.

As Wang Peng and others prepared to leave with the box, a shout suddenly came from behind.

"Gentlemen, please wait a moment!"

It was the voice of the Chief Affairs Officer.

Lin Xin turned around to see the man hastily catching up, followed by a few loyal-looking bodyguards.

"What guidance does the Director have?" Lin Xin asked.

"Would you gentlemen be headed towards Liaocheng by the river? If it’s not too much trouble, my fleet is also headed downstream. Could I persuade you to join us?" the Chief Affairs Officer asked in an exceptionally gentle tone.

He saw the strong martial power that these men likely possessed and hoped that their presence could ensure a foolproof escort of his goods.

"It seems we’re heading the same way," Lin Xin pondered aloud. "What do you all think?" he asked the others.

Little Jade Fox smiled.

"This servant has no objections; whatever Master says goes," she said.

"If it’s on the way, it would save us the trouble of navigating. Sir, if you don’t mind, we haven’t bathed in days," Rongyan chimed in, somewhat excited.

The others also voiced their reasons, most agreeing to join since the large ship was stable and well-equipped, relieving them of the need to fend for themselves.

After a slight hesitation, Lin Xin straightforwardly accepted the offer.

After all, he was just exploring Taoist Intentions and going downstream to the next stop, where the Lion Fist Sect was located.

Ultimately, at the generous invitation of the Chief Affairs Officer, they boarded the largest cabin ship and headed downstream towards Liaocheng.

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

Inside a cabin on the ship.

Lin Xin sat at a desk, writing something.

A lamplight with a white lantern was placed beside him, emitting thin strands of pale red mist, which slowly burned inside and drifted out, being absorbed through his nostrils.

These were the Demon Talisman Seeds recently extracted from the Evil God statues. There were thirty-two statues in total, each smashed to reveal a small black Demon Talisman Seed. In total, there were thirty-two seeds.

Lin Xin put them all in the white lantern to be slowly burned by the Mortal Fire Formation carved into the inner wall, releasing the red mist he was absorbing.

Recently, as his Attributes increased more evenly, he instinctively felt that Demon Talisman Seeds should be absorbed slowly, not devoured quickly as he had initially done.

This method of slow release clearly had a special effect. His body felt much more comfortable, and his highly developed Evasion Attribute instinctively told him that this way of absorption would prevent side effects.

Lin Xin set down his brush and frowned slightly at the Fourth Grade Rune he had just drawn.

The key feature of a Fourth Grade Rune is its need to be three-dimensional.

A Fourth Grade Talisman Formation is not just a flat formation pattern but requires a mutual coordination of all four directions. Naturally, its complexity and power were far beyond that of the Third Grade.

He was currently attempting a comprehensive enhancement of Qilin, not just a makeshift repair due to lack of time as before.

After all, the Ultimate Kill technique of Qilin consisted of a combination of three critical parts:

The Talisman Formation Dao, which manages the summoning and sublime combination of various flames for transmutation.

The Red Flower Sword Path, responsible for the execution, stimulation, and cooperative strike application.

The Red Flower Taoist Intention, serving as the skeleton connecting all the flames, acting as the backbone.