Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 406 - 400 Hunter 5

Chapter 406: Chapter 400 Hunter 5

"Demon Talisman Seed, hand over all of yours, and I can let you leave."

Lin Xin’s deep voice came from within the helmet.

"Really?" The sweat on the middle-aged man’s face slowly dripped down as he didn’t dare to move an inch; the person opposite him killed like cutting weeds, an absolute madman.

"Really," Lin Xin said with a laugh. The laughter had a chilling edge to it.

The middle-aged man quickly gestured and gathered all the surviving members together.

It wasn’t clear how he communicated with them, but soon, a group of invaders in motley attire trembled as they took out one Demon Talisman Seed after another, varying in amount from one person to the next.

Those who tried to hide any were cut in two by Lin Xin’s sword, and thereafter, no one dared to keep anything hidden.

One after another, the Demon Talisman Seeds slowly accumulated in the Storage Bag in his hand.

At this time, the Kongzhu Clan also learned of his identity.

Both Kongzhu Ming and Kongzhu Jing had ashen faces, clearly frightened by the recent slaughter.

Despite Lin Xin saving them, for some reason, as they looked at his figure, they just couldn’t bring themselves to approach him. He killed people as casually as one would squash a chicken.

"How could he be... how could he be so strong..."

Kongzhu Jing’s pupils shrank as she looked at the corpses scattered around the ground, her heart filled with shock and still more shock.

He was just a common cultivator they had casually saved outside, and yet in a critical moment, he burst forth with unstoppable force; no one could withstand his sword.

The enemy, who were just now so arrogant and domineering, were the ones appearing oppressed and trembling in fear.

"The question now is, what are his intentions towards us," the Kongzhu Family Head said solemnly. "Such a powerful individual is rare even across the entire Central Prefecture. Don’t overthink it; he was probably just passing by and acted on a whim."

At this moment, his look towards the two children changed slightly. The person guarding the Treasury underground had sent him a message, including what Lin Xin had just said.

"But..." Kongzhu Ming was a bit worried.

"No buts, our best hope now is to make a good relationship with that man," the Family Head interrupted. "Kongzhu Ding, take Kongzhu Jing and Kongzhu Ming to initiate contact with him. If he needs Demon Talisman Seeds, agree to all his requests."

The Family Head was unnaturally calm.

"Family Head..." Kongzhu Ding, the father of Kongzhu Jing and Kongzhu Ming, also showed a hint of change in his complexion. When he said agree to all requests, it was apparent that the other party’s actions had not been solely out of kindness.

"Just go if I tell you to," the Family Head said, leaving no room for argument.

Kongzhu Ding exhaled and suppressed the fear in his heart as he flew straight towards Lin Xin, with two invisible rays of light branching out behind him, bringing along both Kongzhu Jing and Kongzhu Ming.

Lin Xin hovered in the air, having already gathered all the Demon Talisman Seeds of the children of the Floating Island. He did not count them in detail, but with hundreds of the Floating Island’s children present, there were at least five or six hundred Demon Talisman Seeds in his hands now, some of which were pale gold or dark gold.

Holding the Storage Bag, Lin Xin could clearly sense the people from the Kongzhu family flying towards him.

"What’s the matter?" he asked, turning to look at them.

Kongzhu Ding stiffened and stopped midway, not daring to come closer.

"Esteemed senior... I am Kongzhu Ding, representing the entire family, thanking you for your assistance. If you need a large quantity of Demon Talisman Seeds, our family can continuously produce a sufficient amount to supply you," he said, by now vaguely guessing that the other party might also be one of the Floating Island’s children.

"How long will it take you to make one hundred ordinary Demon Talisman Seeds?" Lin Xin narrowed his eyes.

Kongzhu Ding’s expression turned somewhat unsightly; though he had expected that the other party would need a large quantity when he saw him collecting so many Demon Talisman Seeds from the Floating Island’s children, he didn’t expect the demand to be immense right from the start—a request for a hundred at once.

"Um... one hundred is quite a significant number for our family... Not to hide from you, the creation of Demon Talisman Seeds by our clan is rather like a blood transfusion for humans, drawing out a portion of regenerative Essential Blood combined with faith and willpower to produce the Demon Talisman Seed. If done too frequently, I fear it would exhaust the resources..."

Lin Xin casually tossed aside the leader of those Floating Island children, his interest piqued.

"So you’re saying, you can continuously produce Demon Talisman Seeds without much cost?"

"You could say that, senior. You must know there are four classifications for Demon Talisman Seeds, corresponding also to the classification method in Central Prefecture," Kongzhu Ding explained.

"Classification method? Let’s hear it," Lin Xin said with evident interest.

"The First Level, made by Second Grade clan members, are common black Demon Talisman Seeds. These are found everywhere, nothing rare. Many remote places have them. Typically, any Second Grade clan member can produce one in a year," Kongzhu Ding detailed.

"The Second Level is pale gold, which requires at least a Third Grade clan member to concentrate and produce over a year’s time."

"Third Level ones are dark gold, and it takes at least one Fourth Grade clansman and a year to create one. But in our clan nowadays, those who can reach Fourth Grade... are as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns," Kongzhu Ding said helplessly. "And generally, such beings need to protect their own kind and maintain their peak strength at all times, so there’s hardly any opportunity to continuously condense Dark Gold Demon Charm Seeds for sale. Naturally, these types of Talisman Seeds are the rarest and most precious."

"Then, what about the Fourth Level?"

This was the first time Lin Xin had heard of these production tiers.

"The Fourth Level can only be created by Fifth Grade clansmen and is called the Evil God’s Primordial Embryo. It’s a powerful sacrificial product that condenses the Essence Qi and spirit of a Fifth Grade. Even for us, it’s something we’ve only seen mentioned in legends," Kongzhu Ding lowered his voice.

"As I suspected..." Lin Xin harbored some predictions in his mind. If the ancient demon race still possessed the capability to create Evil God’s Primordial Embryos, they would have been captured by the top Yuan Jings and turned into slaves by now, not having the chance to recuperate in this small restricted space.

"How many Demon Charm Seeds can you offer me at most?" Lin Xin was thinking about seeking out the ancient demon race because robbing them would become increasingly scarce and difficult, until eventually, he would hit a bottleneck or challenge that he couldn’t overcome. By then, acquiring Demon Charm Seeds would only be possible through other means.

So if he could utilize an ancient demon race, then he would be able to continuously obtain a supply of Demon Charm Seeds.

"This... I need to discuss it with the Family Head..." Kongzhu Ding couldn’t decide on his own. After quickly flying back, the Family Head also arrived with a group of people.

After a brief discussion about Lin Xin’s issue, it seemed they had a common answer.

"If you can ensure the safety of our clan, we can provide you with thirty Demon Charm Seeds every year as a reward," the elderly Family Head said directly through a voice transmission. "Those things you obtained from the treasury... actually took our clan many years to accumulate..."

"All right," Lin Xin interrupted, "Does your clan use the Tianxing Sect as a cover when dealing with the outside?"

"Yes," the Family Head nodded in agreement.

Lin Xin mentally calculated for a moment. Thirty Attributes a year was indeed quite good. If it was a long-term deal, it might be very cost-effective, but for Lin Xin at the moment, time was of the essence. He was afraid he wouldn’t have the luxury to accumulate slowly and peacefully. Otherwise, if he were to find a place to hide and accumulate for a hundred years, he feared his Attribute points could reach into the thousands.

However, he didn’t outright reject the offer, instead pondering for a moment.

"In that case, if I manage to settle down, I will return to negotiate with your clan within four years," he said.

Four years corresponded to the time limit he had left for Slaughter without suffering any side effects.

"No problem," the Family Head quickly agreed.

Lin Xin didn’t waste words, taking his group of Souls of the Nether Mansion and leaving the sealed area the next day.

He had use for these Souls of the Nether Mansion.

There must be a gathering place for the Souls of the Nether Mansion, and if he found it, he could acquire even more Demon Charm Seeds. Furthermore, since the Souls of the Nether Mansion couldn’t break through to Yuan Jing, even the highest of them could only be the peak of Fourth Grade. He wasn’t afraid.

After leaving the ancient demon race, he marked the location on his map and had a Soul of the Nether Mansion from the Shunxing Sect lead him to their gathering place.

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

In the high sky, a huge blue ship stretching hundreds of meters in length, with three massive sails unfurled, glided leisurely towards a distant mountain range.

At the ship’s rail, Lin Xin leaned on the railing, gazing downwards.

The land below seemed like a scale model with mountains, rivers, forests, lakes, and various terrains slowly passing by.

Groups of birds occasionally glided past the ship, among which mutated demon birds could be seen at times.

Next to Lin Xin stood the leader of the group of Souls of the Nether Mansion, a middle-aged man. Beside him was a delicate-looking young woman, but there were no simple individuals among the Souls of the Nether Mansion. Despite her innocent appearance, the thick bloody aura she emitted made it clear to Lin Xin that her appearance was merely deceptive.

"There lies the Mountain Gate of the Shunxing Sect. Senior, what do you think...?" The intention of the middle-aged man was obvious. Now that they were at the Mountain Gate, can you let us go? Inside the gate were not just their strength, but also powerful existences of Sect Leader level.

Looking ahead into the distance, Lin Xin’s exceptional vision allowed him to see a neatly triangular white Floating Island enveloped in mist, with three tall steles standing around it inscribed with the words ’Shunxing Sect.’

The island itself hosted pavilions, bridges over streams, lotus ponds, and phoenix terraces, all arranged with a touch of the mythical fairylands.

"This is indeed a good place," Lin Xin admitted, somewhat struck by the sight. He had been to many Sects, but this was the first time seeing a Sect headquarters based on a Floating Island without even reaching the level of Yuan Jing.

"The senior may not know, but this place was once the dwelling of a great figure who achieved enlightenment and ascension in ancient times. Now, our Sect Leader has discovered it and, obtaining the artifacts and Formation within, founded the Shunxing Sect, gathering all the Souls of the Nether Mansion," the middle-aged leader explained, his eyes showing a hint of reverence.

Lin Xin showed understanding and empathy.

These Souls of the Nether Mansion initially joined the Mansion for various special reasons. Once in the Mansion, they had to struggle for survival on the brink of death every day, often on edge to the point of breaking and becoming madmen.

Therefore, in Central Prefecture, once identified as a Soul of the Nether Mansion, most were turned away to fend for themselves.

The fact that Shunxing Sect managed to gather a large number of Souls of the Nether Mansion, forming a secret faction to collect Demon Charm Seeds, was indeed a fortunate occurrence for everyone involved.