Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 439 - 433 Arrangement II

Chapter 439: Chapter 433 Arrangement II

Lin Xin turned his head to look and saw a graceful figure hurriedly running up the street, a young woman. Judging by her appearance, dressed in a light green tight skirt, with long legs and an oval face, she carried a faint heroic air, and with her figure ********, she could be considered a petite beauty.

Moreover, seeing the longsword on her back, it seemed she was also a martial practitioner.

The woman ran up to him, her face full of excitement.

"Red Flower Teacher! I’ve finally found you!"

"You are... Ma Jingxuan?!" Lin Xin also recognized the girl, who turned out to be his former disciple under his protection, Ma Jingxuan, also the niece of the Ma Family with whom he had a condition of exchange in the past—the plump little girl.

He had protected this little one for a while at the Kunlin Sword Sect as well.

Thinking back, to lighten the identity proof that an ordinary monk so valued, having dragged on for so long, Lin Xin also found it somewhat amusing now.

"You haven’t been at the Sword Sect, so what suddenly made you think of coming back? I’m just passing through, heading back to the Southern Prefecture on my way."

Ma Jingxuan glanced at Lin Xiaoyu who was timidly following behind Lin Xin, a hint of strangeness in her eyes, but she kept her expression calm and said.

"Just heading home for a look, something happened at home."

"Do you need any help?" Lin Xin asked with a smile, feeling some fondness for this very diligent student.

"No need, I can stand on my own two feet now. I’m not that ignorant little girl from back then," Ma Jingxuan said with a smile.

"Since my dear teacher has come to my place, I must offer you hospitality. How about you go to my house to rest and stay over? I’ll take care of arranging the fleet to the Southern Prefecture."

After considering it, Lin Xin thought it was a good idea as the Ma Family, after all, were the local snakes, and it would be the most appropriate to have them make arrangements.

He used a Talisman Paper to inform Zhao Ke and the others to come back. Then, after packing up at the inn, he headed towards the Ma Family with the group.

On the way, Ma Jingxuan kept asking Lin Xin about what had happened after he left, to which Lin Xin only mentioned some unremarkable details to her. Then he shifted the topic to Ma Jingxuan herself.

It was only from her that Lin Xin learned that the Kunlin Sword Sect had become affiliated with the Immortal Alliance, becoming one of them. Moreover, Hua Drum Town had also been taken under the management of the Kunlin Sword Sect. Even the fleets had to follow the commands of the Sword Sect.

The nearby Wanhua Sect had also become closer with the Kunlin Sword Sect due to the incident with Huo Yinqi back then.

Speaking of Huo Yinqi, who had been on a mission with them, Ma Jingxuan also had a lot to say.

If it hadn’t been for Lin Xin taking action to save her, Huo Yinqi might’ve met with great misfortune. Afterwards, though, she ungratefully slipped away quietly. Only later did they learn that it wasn’t of her own volition, but she was forcibly taken away by her elders.

"I’ve almost forgotten about back then," Lin Xin casually said with a smile.

He had resumed his former appearance, dressed as a middle-aged Confucian scholar, since due to the rejuvenation from his cultivation, his young face was too striking and hard to conceal.

"But Sister Huo seems to still remember you with great fondness," Ma Jingxuan said softly, sneaking a glance at Lin Xin.

"Didn’t we only go on a mission together once back then?" Lin Xin found it somewhat odd.

"Perhaps it was love at first sight?" Ma Jingxuan had slimmed down and become more beautiful, but she had also become less taciturn than before, speaking without much restraint.

"The secret treasure is here! Catch him!!" Suddenly, noisy commotion and shouts erupted ahead, along with a surge of enormous spiritual and demonic energy.

Ma Jingxuan’s face changed, ready to draw her sword and step forward.

But suddenly, a streak of light flared beside Lin Xin. Then the air cracked open, and two figures emerged—Zhao Ke and Ye Qingchang.

"It’s you!" Ma Jingxuan recognized Zhao Ke as well, having met him before during their encounter with the Snake Cave Master.

"Help me, big brother!!" Zhao Ke cried out in panic, grabbing onto Lin Xin’s leg. "Those guys are back! I can’t hold them off!"

Ye Qingchang, embarrassed, looked away and started laughing. Seeing this, Ma Jingxuan couldn’t help but laugh as well.

Lin Xin shook his head speechlessly, looking up into the sky.

A flurry of whirring sounds broke the silence as a group of clearly Intent Level cultivators flew in, wearing a variety of eccentric outfits, clearly a mixed group of Demon Path anomaly cultivators.

"Zhao Ke is over here!"

The front few, upon seeing Zhao Ke, were just about to swoop down, but upon spotting Lin Xin at his side, their faces drastically changed.

"Red Flower old freak!!!"

"Red Flower Sword Devil!?"

"What! Red Flower Ancestor is here too!"

"Run!!"

Without a moment’s hesitation, the group took to their heels, abandoning the secret treasure, a farcical sight compared to their formidable arrival.

Lin Xin had no intention of killing anyone in front of Ma Jingxuan, and since they had fled, he let it be.

Seeing this, Zhao Ke coughed twice and climbed back to his feet.

"You really live up to your name, big brother. Just your face alone is like a brand now—whoever sees you is like tumbling in a pit latrine, seeking death!"

"These people are from the Red River Sect, and there were many evil cultivators mixed in," Ma Jingxuan said with a peculiar expression, but she knew of Lin Xin’s formidable strength. He had been able to clash with the Snake Cave Master back then and ultimately killed him. Although only a few years had passed since then, his strength certainly couldn’t have dropped that much.

But to make these Intent Level cultivators flee in such panic with just his reputation, the shock in her heart could be imagined, considering she had only just stepped into the Heart Level and had no idea how much longer it would take to reach the Intent Level.

She hadn’t heard anything about a ’Secret Treasure’ or the ’Red Flower Sword Devil’; she just assumed it was some reputation Lin Xin had made for himself while outside.

After the brief interlude, the group continued their journey to the Ma Family.

Ma Jingxuan also sent a Message Talisman to her mother and sent a message to Huo Yinqi as well.

The Ma Family welcomed Lin Xin and his companions with open arms, led by Ma Jingxuan’s mother, the apparent young lady of the house, evidently having gradually seized control of the family’s authority in this time.

The young lady still had the same airy and indifferent demeanor as before, only her eyes now bore a few more crow’s feet, revealing the traces of time.

"Mr. Red Flower, it’s been a long time since our last meeting. You seem even younger," she said.

"Madam flatters me,"

Lin Xin replied casually.

The group entered the main hall where the banquet was already prepared.

After taking their seats, Lin Xin was allocated one of the two seats of honor.

The young lady warmly offered a glass of wine to Lin Xin with a hint of deference before setting it down and starting to speak.

"I am not sure what brings Mr. Red Flower to Hua Drum Town, but over the years, I have often heard news about you in Central Prefecture, each piece more earth-shattering than the last," the young lady said calmly, her tone suggesting an underlying message.

Lin Xin had no time for idle chatter with the other party and got straight to the point.

"I am here to prepare for a trip back to the Southern Prefecture. If your family could arrange it, that would be best," he stated.

"Arrangements are easy; in a few days, a flotilla will be heading to the Southern Prefecture. It will be the swift Bluebird Fleet that only needs a week to arrive, so please rest assured, Mr. Red Flower."

Lin Xin raised his wine glass, gently swirled it, and drank it down in one gulp. The two made small talk about recent trivial matters, and before they knew it, half an hour had slipped by.

Ma Jingxuan, who had seemed to have drunk too much and been quietly escorted out, caught his eye. When had the strangers with completely different auras than the previous guests taken their places at the banquet?

A slight chill began to seep up from below, which most cultivators might not notice, but he was different; his physical sensitivity was far greater than that of his peers, and he could detect even the subtlest changes in the earth’s veins.

"Madam, this array you’ve set up doesn’t exactly inspire confidence," said Lin Xin.

Ma Jingxuan had only a single cup before she was no longer at the feast, having been escorted out in a daze.

Zhao Ke and Ye Qingchang also drank, but their eyes were hazy. Merely two or three cups were enough to kock out two Intent Level masters like them.

The young lady’s complexion changed as she watched Lin Xin drink a fifth cup of wine without any effect.

"Mr. Red Flower, please don’t blame me... My Ma Family has no choice, and Xuanxuan... she didn’t know anything," she said with a wry smile.

"Big brother... there’s poison in the wine!" Zhao Ke tried to stand up but failed, crashing back into his seat.

"Left with no choice... indeed, I don’t blame you. We stand on different grounds, that’s all. But from now on, after today’s affair, don’t blame me if I become ruthless and merciless," Lin Xin said indifferently. The poison in the wine was useless against his body’s resistance; even at ten times the concentration, it would have no effect.

He could sense a huge Formation, akin to a net of heaven and earth, slowly taking shape around him. The Formation carried the distinct aura of Taoist Arts.

After killing so many from the Taoist Arts Sect, if they had no reaction, he might as well forget about maintaining a good standing in Central Prefecture.

He wasn’t worried about Zhao Ke; the Secret Treasure was bound to his life, and if he died, so would it, so they would not touch Zhao Ke.

The only regret he had was that he had once saved Ma Jingxuan and Huo Yinqi.

But among the auras emerging in the distance, there were people from the Kunlin Sword Sect and the Wanhua Sect, evidently all collaborating with the Taoist Arts Sect to attack him.

"Life is such that many things often don’t go according to plan," he sighed.

With a flick of his wrist, Lin Xin scattered the wine in his glass into the air, turning it into droplets.

Boom!

With a sound akin to an explosion, the droplets hurled in all directions indiscriminately.

"Red Flower, the evil demon! Today is the day you die!!!" came a shout.

At the same time, over a dozen people at the banquet suddenly drew their weapons. Magical artifacts glowed and shot into the sky, breaking through the roof. In an instant, they collided with the droplets of wine sprayed by Lin Xin.

Clang clang clang clang!

Amid the continuous explosion of sounds, Lin Xin stood still, and four distinct Longswords faintly appeared on his back.

Without even glancing at the surrounding cultivators, the droplets turned sharp as blades, instantly piercing through the magical glow and blowing the heads off more than a dozen cultivators.

In an instant, the banquet turned into a gruesome scene of blood and brain matter sprayed everywhere; on the walls, the floor, the banquet table with not a clean spot in sight.

"Indeed, a devil incarnate! Allow me, an old man, to take you down!" bellowed a voice.

A sharp and forceful presence pressed down from above, filled with intense fury.

A golden Longsword descended at high speed, its blade spinning rapidly with a golden dragon head materializing behind it, it charged down towards Lin Xin with a mighty roar.