Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 484 - 478: Dark Sun 13

Chapter 484: Chapter 478: Dark Sun 13

The Elder had no choice but to step down.

Lin Xin then asked about the recent situation of the Sword Sect.

Many disciples had died, and even more had deserted and fled.

Of ten thousand cultivators, sixty percent of the forces of the Outer Sect were gone, and twenty percent of the Inner Sect’s core experts were also lost.

There was no helping it; the authority of the Order of Guardians was too terrifying.

But for Lin Xin, none of these were too great a pressure, except for the Vermilion Bird Divine Seal combined with a True Monarch’s intervention which he was somewhat wary of; the rest, those of Yuan Jing Layer, were but chickens and dogs, not to be feared.

Originally, he already possessed the combat strength of the Integration Realm, and now, with evasion increased to nine hundred points, showing the terrifying effect of halving the force exerted upon him, his actual combat abilities had become even more frightening. Not to mention his cultivation had also advanced to the sixth layer of the Yuan Dou Demonic Technique entering Solidification, with both the Primitive Demonic Realm and Demon Source Qi greatly reducing opponents with a wide range of indiscriminate attacks.

Unlike other Yuan Jing cultivators, even if Lin Xin’s Yuan Jing Soul Domain were to be countered and suppressed by other Soul Domains, his terrifying physical body alone, by simply standing still, could ignore the full-force burst of an ordinary Yuan Jing.

That is to say, his Yuan Jing cultivation was merely an auxiliary facade; even without it, lethality below Solidification was completely immune to him. No amount of number would be useful.

The situation was different for other Yuan Jing cultivators; without their Soul Domains, except for those with terrifying physical bodies like Divine Beast Bloodline, such as the Senior Sister Quan Sheying and the likes.

Otherwise, the rest of the cultivators were only somewhat stronger than those seeking the Dao, and that was about it.

The strength of a Yuan Jing’s cultivation mainly lies in the Soul Domain; without it, they are merely stronger Dao Seekers.

Within the Yuan Jing level, ordinary Yuan Jing cultivators are one tier.

Like Duan Chizi, Quan Sheying, and some of the stronger True Monarchs, are another tier.

After that, there are the pinnacles among True Monarchs, the people on the Heavenly List, like True Monarch Huang Quan, True Monarch Huang Yuan, and others.

Lin Xin had now gained a more specific and clear positioning.

Sitting at the head seat, he listened carefully to the follow-up plans of the Sword Sect, but to Lin Xin, it all seemed a waste of time, none of these old fellows had any useful suggestions other than withdrawing.

"That’s enough for today’s regular meeting. If there’s anything else in the future, just find True Monarch Yu Kai," he abruptly stood up and turned to leave.

The remaining Daoist Masters Taikun and Mingxin were helpless. The Order of Guardians, with its aggressive and powerful presence, put the Sword Sect in a precarious position like eggs in a broken nest, and yet, Lin Xin, as the Sect Master, appeared impatient with managing sect affairs.

"I’ll do it," Yu Kai smiled bitterly, then started instructing his three disciples to step forward, each taking responsibility for the subsequent affairs of the sect.

He also summoned Zhong Xuan, Ji Lu, You Xuan, and others to take charge of some more critical parts of the work. After all, they were people familiar to Sect Master Lin Xin; if any issues or troubles arose, it would be good to have some explanation.

Yu Kai, who had not dealt with miscellaneous matters for many years, found it quite handy when he picked it up again and had everything in order in no time.

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

Formation Hall Peak, Law Transmission Forest.

Lin Xin looked up at the small attic in the Law Transmission Forest, where he had gained the courage for his first step into the Cultivation World.

The Minor Solar Yang Formation.

It was the first formation he obtained from here, a Constant Temperature Formation that he had forcefully modified into an overtly righteous Evil-Repelling Formation.

Sighing, Lin Xin felt some of the irritability in his heart subside, and he slowly walked across the desolate bridge.

Whoosh...

The swift current of the water under the bridge carried bursts of the unique scent of the bamboo forest.

After crossing the bridge, he walked through the arch marked with ’Law Transmission Forest,’ arriving in front of the small building.

Outside the building were just a few scattered disciples, all from the Outer Sect, the people from Tingjian Valley.

Through the window, he could also see several figures sitting quietly inside the attic, reading Formation Scriptures.

The revisit to the old place brought a subtle sense of calm to Lin Xin’s heart.

He had already changed into an inconspicuous white robe, which did not look much different from the disorderly attire of the Tingjian Valley disciples. Entering here did not stand out.

"Borrowing for takeout, ten Jade Money for the first floor, twenty for the second."

At the side of the main gate, there was a clear wooden sign with the charging rules of the place written on it.

Lin Xin glanced at the first floor, where there were only a few female disciples quietly reading their Jade Slips.

He went up to the second floor, passing through the cultivation-testing water screen of the Formation. The second floor had fewer people, with just a man and a woman looking through the scrolls on the bookshelves.

Hearing footsteps, the two didn’t move their heads, just glanced over and then immersed themselves back into their scriptures.

The bookshelf held extremely familiar formations.

’Joyous Formation: Improves mood and helps liver and lung functions.’

’Mist Formation: Creates white mist and vapor to obscure vision.’

’Minor Solar Yang Formation: Generates a small amount of Solar Yang Qi to slightly increase the temperature within the formation, used for nurturing plants suitable for it.’

’Simple Illusion Array: Produces various sounds to disturb the opponent’s mind.’

’Greenwood Formation: Generates a small amount of life-giving Qi to promote the growth of animals and plants, beware of overheating.’

’Crimson Flame Formation’, ’Solar Yang Formation’, ’Thunder Fire Formation’, ’Wood-Fire Formation’, ’Rock Fire Formation’, ’Mundane Fire Formation’, ’Yin Fire Formation’.....

A series of formation names were clearly written on wooden plaques and attached to the bookshelves, including the ’Five Agonies Formation’ that had once amazed and puzzled him, ’Liver Fire Formation’, ’Lung Fire Formation’, ’Heart Fire Formation’, ’Spleen Fire Formation’, ’Kidney Fire Formation’. The five internal fires combined could trigger internal combustion.

At the windowsill, the figure of the old lady was long gone.

At that time, only Lin Luo and Lin Duan were left in Granny Yu’s family.

And now, their enemy, Han Xiaolong, had long since died on a mission, his bones nowhere to be found.

"Grudges and grievances, rights and wrongs, who can truly account for them clearly?" Lin Xin sat down where Granny Yu used to sit, where from this angle, he could clearly see every corner of the second floor.

Experiencing the state of mind his grandmother had once been in, Lin Xin looked out of the window.

On the sharply pointed red eaves, several small sparrows covered in emerald green feathers chirped incessantly.

In the distance, the bamboo grove swayed gently with the wind, making a soft rustling sound, while the light streamed through the gap between the grove and the small building, bathing this small patch of ground in a bright and pleasant glow.

His mood gradually became more and more peaceful without him even noticing.

The Righteous Soul Pearl slowly emerged in his hand, already faintly lined with web-like black cracks.

"After all, the Righteous Soul Pearl can’t completely eradicate the sequelae; it only provides relief, and even in the process of relief, it is a method that continuously consumes itself."

Lin Xin understood in his heart that the Righteous Soul Pearl was becoming contaminated.

That was also why the Red Leaf Sword Master had reminded him that Zhao Ke’s secret treasure was useful to him, but it couldn’t completely eliminate the sequelae.

The Evil Soul Orb could absorb the Lord’s Power, converting ninety percent of it into Evil Soul Power, which could be absorbed as attribute points similar to the Demon Talisman Seed.

If it weren’t for it, he might have already fallen into the brink of madness.

Whereas the Righteous Soul Pearl could completely transform the remaining ten percent of the Lord’s Power into a similar Righteous Soul Power, which could also be directly absorbed by him as attribute points.

But now the Righteous Soul Pearl was becoming contaminated and might not hold up much longer before it completely lost its conversion function. It was just that he didn’t know what kind of changes would happen afterward.

"After all, it’s just a secret treasure of the Sand Time Demon; compared to Senior Red Leaf, there’s a huge gap."

Lin Xin felt a sense of poignancy in his heart.

Suddenly, a crisp sound of footsteps came from the first-floor staircase.

Soon, a girl in white with a cool demeanor and a detached expression came upstairs carrying books.

"You’re here again, Yue’er."

The other girl who had been reading on the second floor greeted her proactively.

"Mhm."

The cool girl nodded lightly and glanced at Lin Xin, who was sitting by the window, without a flicker of emotion in her eyes. She walked straight to a bookshelf and carefully placed the book in her hands onto it.

For some reason, Lin Xin felt this girl seemed familiar. The contours of her face faintly resembled someone he used to know.

"Yue’er, are you here today to read about Solar Yang annotations too?" The previous girl asked in a soft voice.

"Mhm."

Hearing the name, memories of a person he had once known flashed through Lin Xin’s mind.

Jiang Yue’er.

Once, he, Kong Yuhui, Cheng Ruofei, and Jiang Yue’er had formed a team to carry out a mission and collect Yin Blood.

But he had not expected to see her again after so many years in this place.

Lin Xin was somewhat curious. Jiang Yue’er, being a royal commandery princess once pampered in luxury, had also been quite spoiled and willful. How had she become so cold and detached now?

However, it was also quite normal. Perhaps many things that had happened over the years were enough to change a person so greatly.

Lin Xin, observing Jiang Yue’er’s completely different temperament, couldn’t help but feel moved.

That once willful little lady had also become like this. He just wondered how Cheng Ruofei was doing now?

After thinking for a moment, he looked at Jiang Yue’er and his lips moved slightly as he directly sent a message through sound transmission.

"Jiang Yue’er, do you still remember me?"

As his voice reached her, Jiang Yue’er’s hand trembled slightly while reading, and she quickly looked up, first at another man reading nearby, who showed no reaction, then her gaze swiftly settled on Lin Xin sitting in front of the window.

Her eyes first showed confusion, then certainty, followed by contemplation, and soon, it seemed she remembered something, her eyes growing increasingly astonished as she looked at Lin Xin.

"You... you’re Lin Xin? The Sect Master Daoist Master?!"

Her eyes widened as she replied through sound transmission as well.

Lin Xin smiled and stood up.

"Shall we talk?"

Jiang Yue’er paused for a moment, then nodded emphatically.

The two of them left the Law Transmission Forest’s small attic one after another, walked through a bamboo grove, and arrived at the upper reaches of a stream on top of a high cliff where they could see a large part of the Law Transmission Forest from afar.

Lin Xin stood with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing at the gradually rising morning sun in the distance.

"How have you been these past few years?"

He just asked casually, not at all like a Yuan Jing cultivator who is above others, mystical and unfathomable, as if he was merely a senior brother asking about his junior sister’s recent situation.

Jiang Yue’er bit her lip.

"Aren’t you going to ask how Feifei is doing?"

"Cheng Ruofei? What happened to her? Speaking of which, I haven’t encountered her since I returned to the sect."

Lin Xin replied indifferently.

"Feifei has always liked you," Jiang Yue’er said softly. "But now, it’s too late."

"Why?"

Lin Xin recalled Cheng Ruofei, the always calm and gentle beautiful woman, his heart filled with emotion.