Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 402 - 396 Hunter I

Chapter 402: Chapter 396 Hunter I

"Kill!!!"

On the frenetic battlefield, cultivators from both kingdoms fiercely fought in midair, while vast numbers of soldiers on the ground charged at the enemy’s formations.

The entire green plain was densely populated, like a carpet spread out with two massive armies, one red and one blue.

Blood gradually soaked into the soil, turning the entire plain a pale red.

The stench of blood rose to the sky, spreading with the wind, attracting large groups of vultures that circled overhead, screeching strangely.

Two top experts were at the core of the battlefield, wielding their weapons in a frantic duel, with flames and ice pervading the air. From time to time, ice dragons and firebirds danced and circled, battling each other.

Both were clad in full armor, crowned with helmets signifying royalty, clearly the supreme rulers of their respective kingdoms.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a streak of blood-red light shot from the distant sky.

The light, unswerving and unabated, sped directly towards the battlefield.

Boom!!

The light struck fiercely at the edge of the space where the two were clashing, exploding into a fireball that spread outwards.

"Hand over the Demon Talisman Seed..."

A deep voice emanated from the center of the flames.

Its sound was not overshadowed even by the noise of battle.

The two kingdom rulers who were fighting each other both retreated, their gaze focusing on the newcomer.

This person was clad in dark red armor with a thick black cape behind him, his face covered by a helmet, with only a head of glossy black hair fluttering in the wind.

"Who are you! This is the territory of the Eastern Je Kingdom. Depart quickly if you have no business here!! Lest you get involved and suffer the consequences!" the ruler in red armor said with a heavy voice.

"Brother Wang, why the rush? Since this person has come, isn’t it just right to add to our Heavenly Sacrifice Formation?"

The man in blue armor spoke with a slightly eerie voice.

"Sacrificing hundreds of thousands to the formation, you will receive retribution someday!" the man in red armor said harshly.

"Brother Wang... Since he has come, he must have confidence... Why are you in such a hurry for someone else?" The man in blue armor began to laugh.

Looking back at the red-armored expert who appeared so abruptly, he suddenly noticed his pupils shrinking.

"Where is he?!"

One second ago, the person was right in front of him, and in the next instant, he had disappeared without a trace.

Then he saw the man in blue armor staring at his own back with trembling eyes.

"You!"

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly realized something was wrong.

Looking down, his face twisted in terror, and an unlimited fear crept over his features.

He saw his body suspended in midair, from his right shoulder to his left waist, diagonally split by a bloody gash.

The wound severed his body in two, with the upper half slowly sliding downward, feeling not even the slightest pain.

Struggling to turn around, he finally saw the red-armored man who had appeared so abruptly behind him.

Splurt!

Blood sprayed, falling harshly from midair, turning into droplets that dispersed into a bloody mist.

The red commanders below all froze in place. Those who reacted quickly turned and fled, while those who were slower or still in combat were promptly decapitated by the opposing commanders.

In just a moment, the side that originally held the advantage scattered in utter disarray. The collapse at the top level caused a chain reaction.

Lin Xin hovered high in the sky, holding the Red Flower Sword in his hand.

"Demon Talisman Seed..." he said, looking towards the still-living blue-armored kingdom ruler.

That man shivered and quickly tossed a package from his person.

"Many thanks..."

Before he could finish, the other figure had already begun to fade away.

And with him, the storage ring on the red-armored ruler also disappeared.

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

Lin Xin flew at high speed, his trailing hair revealing more and more of a dark red hue.

The frenzy about him was so intense that even a common person would sense that something was amiss at a glance.

Yes, his condition was very unusual, or rather, abnormal.

The two he had just fought were not any weaklings but were also top cultivators on a Dao-seeking level.

Yet they had no time to react before one of them was cleaved in two by his sword. His Protective Aura, facing over two hundred points of his Damage Attribute enhancement, was as flimsy as a layer of paper. The man’s armor, presumably Fourth Grade top-tier, was no more obstruction than tofu, offering only slightly more resistance than paper.

That was all.

Not even a chance to use their top Dao-seeking techniques before one was killed by Lin Xin’s sword.

A trace of power from the hidden deepest reaches began to seep into his body, converging around the Demonic Pill in his inner cabinet, merging with the core of the Yuan Dou Demonic Technique.

With a flick of his hand, Lin Xin set the small package he was holding ablaze, releasing a red mist that he promptly inhaled.

His Attributes climbed again, an additional forty points accounted for.

Lin Xin directed all of it into enhancing his Damage Attribute. His Damage skyrocketed, quickly reaching over two hundred and eighty.

An unparalleled sense of terrifying expansion surged from his insides for an instant, before being suppressed by his robust Attribute of physical constitution.

Then came the heat generated by the Attribute increase, continuously baking his inner organs.

Lin Xin felt as if there were a blazing inferno inside him, unbearably hot.

"Not a bad haul this time..." he grinned.

Closing his eyes, he sensed his surroundings while flying at high speed, continually searching for the locations of Demon Talisman Seeds in all directions.

These days, he had always been frantically searching like this.

Without regard, asking not of one’s background, all those who bore the Demon Talisman Seed could not escape his hunt.

This sense of freedom and ease quickened his comprehension of the Taoist Intent even more.

It was uncertain whether it was the influence of the Attributes, the power of the shadowy abode, or perhaps the effect of the Attribute Skill played a bigger role, but as long as he had encountered the Taoist Intent before, just by observing it for a few more minutes, he could quickly grasp its true meaning.

Aside from some excessively complex Taoist Intents that could not be understood swiftly, the dozens of different Taoist Intents he had come across had all, without exception, been effortlessly learned by him.

This was likely because most of the Taoist Intents had overlapping aspects, the more he understood, the more overlap there was, turning into nothing more than new combinations and variations – the content wasn’t much different in reality.

Setting aside these thoughts.

After absorbing the Attribute points and allocating them all to the Damage Attribute, he felt his body lighten slightly, lifting his arm, his skin on his hand showed faint red patterns.

Those patterns somewhat resembled the strange figures of powerful Formation Patterns, as well as being extremely similar to the designs recorded by many Innate gods and demons.

"It’s a pity... Even if my comprehension of Taoist Intent is fast, it ultimately requires a great deal of time to reach Yuan Jing. But that’s alright..."

Lin Xin smiled, suddenly pressing down on the clouds beneath him, shooting downwards.

Below was a steep mountain range, displaying a wide expanse of earthy yellow.

A convoy clad in mismatched clothing, was leading two wagons, slowly advancing with guards around them – their setup grand, but their garments were far from extravagant, quite peculiar indeed.

Lin Xin charged straight for the first wagon.

In his hand, he condensed a dark red Longsword, feeling somewhat clumsy. The Red Flower Sword was broken, and with it, the power of the Qilin weakened, even the Red Flower Sword Path was affected.

But the increase in his Attributes gave him greater speed and strength, the two compensating each other, he didn’t feel much of a difference.

Boom!

He crashed directly onto the ground at the edge of the wagon, blasting a huge crater into the earth.

Lin Xin stepped out, waving his hand and sending a gust of wind to clear the surrounding dust, revealing the convoy.

Yet the convoy seemed strange at that moment, none of the people showed any sign of panic or alarm, all expressionless, with not even a sound to be heard.

All stood blankly in place, none shifting their gaze in his direction.

Only the wind blowing caused the wagon curtain to flutter continuously.

Lin Xin’s heart chilled, as he noticed that everyone in the convoy was deathly pale, lacking any color in their faces and their bodies stiff – none looked like the living.

"Hand over the Demon Talisman Seed..." he said in a deep voice.

The sound echoed in the surrounding air for a long time, but no one answered him.

Click.

Suddenly, Lin Xin heard something rustle behind him.

He turned sharply and found nothing there.

"Who’s there!"

His eyes narrowed, meticulously scanning the surroundings, still no trace of anyone emerged.

Turning back, his pupils contracted sharply.

The wagon convoy that had been there was now entirely gone, with only the broken wagons left behind.

The ground was littered with the convoy’s various placards, shelves, and other miscellaneous items, covered in dust, apparently having been discarded there for many years.

"What is this...!?"

Lin Xin was on alert.

"Could that have been an illusion?"

It had been many years since he’d encountered such eerie occurrences.

As his cultivation grew stronger and stronger, many strange events gradually left him, and now, they had suddenly emerged again.

Sweeping his gaze over the surroundings, a surge of hostility rose from within him.

Lin Xin raised his Longsword.

"Playing tricks and pretending to be gods! Come out for me!"

No one answered him.

Only the whooshing sound of the wind blowing through, as if someone was weeping in the distance.

Click.

Then a hand suddenly patted his shoulder from behind.

"Seeking death!!"

Lin Xin burst into flames all over his body, and the Demonic Sword in his hand instantly disappeared.

Around him unfolded a ring of extremely sharp red ripples. Everything that the ripples touched split in two in an instant.

Hiss!!!

Whether it was the wagons or the rocks, or even the small hills a short distance away – everything broke apart like tofu under the crimson sword marks.

The area around Lin Xin, for hundreds of meters, was completely severed. A blast of Demonic Qi even exploded a crater with a diameter of more than ten meters near him.

Only the stone pillar he stood on stood alone.

Looking around, Lin Xin’s eyes were flashing with slivers of killing intent.

Still, there was no movement, no people, no creatures, and not even a single ghost in sight.

"Think hiding will do you any good?"

He scoffed coldly. He quickly shut his eyes and spread his Secret Technique to sense around.

Right in front of him, a huge mass of crimson flames roared and burned, vaguely on the scale of when he plundered the Evil God’s primordial embryo.

Without opening his eyes.

Hiss!

Lin Xin slashed forward like lightning, striking right at the center of the flames.