Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 445 - 439

Chapter 445: 439

"I have the Devouring Ability of the Lord’s mark, as well as my own inherent Attribute Ability.

Since the physical enhancement of the Attribute Ability gives rise to a strong resistance, it was able to counteract the side effects of the offspring of the netherworld.

Now, the side effects of the Lord’s mark should also be partly resisted by the resistance of my physique."

Lin Xin pondered in his heart.

"It seems that improving my own attributes is indeed the Righteous Path. However, the power of this Lord’s mark seems not so simple..."

He slowly lowered his head to look at his chest, where the aura that emerged after killing Yuan Jing had now condensed into a black and purple diamond-shaped mark, visible on the skin of his chest.

The mark was extremely intricate and ornate. Its edge even had a serrated circle, and at a glance, it seemed as if the surface of the mark was constantly writhing and tangled with strands of black air. Within the black air, a white solitary eye was faintly visible, creating a very eerie impression.

"This must be the Lord’s mark..." Lin Xin reached out and gently touched the mark along his open collar but didn’t feel anything. The touch was icy cold, just like the sensation of skin.

Hiss...

Suddenly, a faint noise came from the side of the ship. Several crew members over there emitted panicked screams from afar.

In an instant, the entire Void Ship was enveloped in a dark shadow.

Zhao Ke was the quickest to react, flicking his hand and throwing out a semi-transparent ring of light with force.

The ring of light shot out like lightning, dispersing a large swath of cloud-like black spots on the right side of the ship, and then, with a loud boom, it exploded into a blinding ball of light.

In the blink of an eye, it completely eradicated the entire black spot, and even the residual cloud-like gas was illuminated by the light, dissipating completely.

"Close call..." Zhao Ke’s expression relaxed slightly. Luckily, it happened in the midst of a tilt, not too dangerous. With his current level of power at the peak of Foundation Establishment, he could still handle these cloud-like monsters.

Lin Xin withdrew his gaze.

"From now on, the entire ship needs tight protection; I need some time to inscribe the Formation. Defense during this period is up to you."

Zhao Ke’s face immediately fell.

"You’re kidding, right? That one strike just now was me using all my strength!"

Lin Xin did not reply but instead unhesitatingly drew a dark red Longsword from his back. Walking to the center of the ship, he plunged it into the deck.

Shi!

The Longsword was securely fixed on the deck. Then, in an instant, a multitude of dark red patterns spread from the blade like magma fissures.

In a flash, a vast volume of black air surged from the cracks, quickly forming a large dark sphere.

Soon, as the black smoke dissipated, an object over ten meters tall was revealed, leaving Zhao Ke and the crew members, including the captain, spellbound.

"This is... a vine monster!?" Zhao Ke quickly recognized the name of this giant object.

The black smoke parted to reveal a massive tangle of entwined vine monsters, clearly not to be trifled with.

Two enormous blood-red eyes were horrific and bloody at the center, beneath which were two huge mouths filled with saw-like teeth. The surrounding vines and roots, snake-like in their entanglement, were covered in spikes, and the material was plainly very hard upon inspection.

Hiss...

All the vines and roots spread out in every direction, wrapping around the entire ship tightly.

"Yin Mantuo, I leave it to you." Lin Xin smiled, having not seen the little creature for a long time, but he had not expected it to have grown so large. It seemed to be related to the enhancement of his own attributes.

"Yes, Master." Yin Mantuo responded directly.

Lin Xin was about to enter the cabin when he halted upon this reply.

"You can speak now?!"

He asked directly through their Mental Link. This came as quite a surprise.

"Yes, Master. Since the time your power improved a while ago, I suddenly found that I could speak," Yin Mantuo answered with a cold and immature voice, similar to that of a little girl emotionally detached.

"Can you transform into a human form?" Lin Xin asked after a moment of thought.

"I should be able to; I haven’t tried," answered Yin Mantuo calmly.

"We are in the sloping space, soon to enter the Outer Regions, your homeland. Do you recognize the area around here?" Lin Xin continued to ask. Yin Mantuo herself was summoned from the Outer Regions and had lived there before being summoned; she should be familiar with that place.

He might as well inquire; perhaps he could gather more information.

"I do not recognize the routes, but once we enter the Outer Regions, I should be able to find where I lived through the scent of the pollen," she said.

"Then, do you know if there are any places with remnants of the Ancient Times, preferably something like an Evil God Temple?"

Lin Xin thought of his most pressing need, which was something like the Evil God’s primal fetus, and perhaps he could quickly enhance his body’s attributes in the Outer Regions.

"There are many ruins in the Outer Regions. Where I lived was dominated by the ruins of the Great Seal Spirit Kag Jiu Luo Saint Venerable. This Evil God was once a huge monster that resided deep beneath the Earth’s surface, having swallowed almost half of a world in one bite. Due to its fondness for Spiritual Energy, its title includes the character for ’spirit.’ Its ruins might have something the Master needs, but it will be very dangerous," Yin Mantuo spoke softly.

"Have your bloodline memories awakened?" Lin Xin was suddenly thrilled. Spontaneous language acquisition, knowledge of such secrets, except for this explanation, there was really no way to explain the sudden changes in Yin Mantuo.

"Yes." A single eye of Yin Mantuo approached, hovering in front of Lin Xin. In a splash, the eye split open, and a tiny figure slowly emerged from within.

"Oh, highly exalted Master, it is you who bestowed intelligence and power upon me, granting me Spiritual Light that shall not perish for eternity."

The figure who stepped out was only half the height of a person, shockingly a little red-haired girl, completely naked.

She was covered in a sticky substance, with blood-red eyes just like Lin Xin’s. Upon seeing him, she prostrated herself on the deck, performing the highest courtesy.

"You are... Yin Mantuo?" Lin Xin had not expected to see her in human form so soon.

"Yes."

The little girl bowed her head.

"Well...."

Lin Xin was at a loss for words now.

However, having transformed was good, as he would at least have an extra assistant to help him. The power of Yin Mantuo could be amplified by the attribute abilities he bestowed, so she could continuously be enhanced.

Although this enhancement was not intrinsic, if he broke the contract, Yin Mantuo would revert entirely to her original man-eating flower form.

But as long as she was useful, everything else was inconsequential to Lin Xin at the moment.

After a moment of silence, Lin Xin finally spoke slowly.

"You can help protect everyone on the ship. Also, guide the ship’s direction."

"I shall obey my master’s command." Yin Mantuo answered, prostrating herself with immense reverence.

"And remember to wear clothes."

After saying this, Lin Xin turned and entered the cabin.

A blood-red cinched waist dress quickly appeared on Yin Mantuo, her red hair unfurled, her delicate and cute face shone, and her bare arms were flawless like white jade. She looked no different from the daughters of some major families.

Only after Lin Xin had completely entered the cabin did she slowly stand up.

She glanced at the crew members nearby who bore faces full of fear and then looked directly at Zhao Ke standing on the bow of the ship.

"Nice to meet you, I am the master’s servant, Yin Mantuo. You must be Mr. Zhao Ke, right?" she said with an exquisite and beautiful smile.

For some reason, Zhao Ke always felt something chilling hidden behind the smile of the little girl named Yin Mantuo.

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

Sitting quietly in the cabin room.

Lin Xin leaned against the window, looking out through the round colored glass.

Below, the twisted land was dotted with shadowy creatures resembling black muck, writhing and spewing pale yellow poison gas, contaminating the entire surroundings.

Occasionally, one could see a seven or eight-meter-tall hairy giant carrying a several meter long wooden club, lumbering around in heavy steps.

Chirp chirp chirp chirp....

Suddenly, a flock of small eyeballs flew past the window.

These pale red eyeball monsters had no limbs; their bodies were just eye orbs, white with red irises, surrounded by slender tentacles. They emitted bird-like chirps as they huddled and followed the Void Ship, and upon seeing Lin Xin through the window, they all exhibited curious expressions.

The biggest of these eyeball creatures were the size of fists, and the smallest were no bigger than grapes. A small group of them gathered together, chirping incessantly, which actually seemed somewhat cute.

"After dealing with the affairs of the ghost mansion, I should go home and take a look...." As Lin Xin watched these little fellows, his mood seemed to lighten.

Having wandered abroad for a while, he, too, was feeling homesick.

"I had left initially just to seek the fortune of the Far West and to rid myself of the side-effects of the ghost mansion. Now, if I can break away completely, it’s time to return."

Extending his finger, Lin Xin gently teased the small eyeball creatures outside through the glass.

Hiss hiss!

Suddenly, two soft sounds came from outside.

Lin Xin felt a warm trickle flow into his body. It seemed Yin Mantuo had acted, as the creatures she killed and devoured would, due to the contract, provide Lin Xin with some exceedingly pure essence of blood and vigor.

"It’s been a long time since I’ve had such essence feedback; it feels somewhat unfamiliar." Lin Xin was briefly startled, then smiled.

Thinking of soul-based contracts, his and Yin Mantuo’s initial agreement was a purely servile summoning contract.

Now that he was short-handed, perhaps it was time to summon some more assistants.

Lin Xin thought for a moment and felt it was a viable method.

"However, the Outer Regions are vast with too many powerful creatures. With my current strength, the beings I summon would undoubtedly be terrifying. If even I can’t control them, that would be real trouble."

One should understand that Yuan Jing was not invincible in the Outer Regions. If that were the case, the Human Race wouldn’t be limited to such a small domain.

"Moreover, the summoning array for the contract demands a lot of spiritual power and has much randomness, which is hard to manage. If I summon something other than what I need, I’ll have to bear an additional mental burden. It’s a waste of energy and an unnecessary risk."

Frowning, he absently tugged at a small flower pot placed on the table.

The flower pot was round and green, with a smooth surface, filled with plenty of ochre soil and planting a tender green sapling with just a few leaves. It seemed delicate and frail.

A small black ant was slowly crawling through the soil at the edge of the pot at that moment.

Looking at the small ant, Lin Xin seemed to have an idea.

"Perhaps, I could do this...."

He reached out and pressed down on the small ant.

"In the presence of heaven and earth...."

A series of eerie words slowly sounded, the special Curse Script to forcibly enter a master-servant contract with an unfamiliar creature.