Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 522 - 516 Desolate Vault 9

Chapter 522: Chapter 516 Desolate Vault 9

The black wind howled, and the space of Mount Wuding gradually began to repair itself automatically, with large chunks of black spatial gaps continuously being filled by the surrounding space.

Lin Xin’s face showed astonishment, complexity, and agitation, but he was distinctly not confused.

The eyes of True Monarch Huang Yuan in front of him had completely lost their luster, and his entire body disintegrated like foam, breaking down into extremely fine black grains of sand and scattering in the wind.

In the soul power transmitted from Huang Yuan, there were also some doubts that he had not yet understood.

He also understood why Huang Yuan was so obsessed with becoming stronger.

The Desolate Vault Holy Body indeed possessed formidable power, but ultimately, it was extremely difficult to cultivate it to the great achievement at the peak.

Only a handful of previous Sect Masters had managed to train it to the pinnacle, the Ninth Layer.

But as the purity of the Demon God Pool declined, it became increasingly difficult to train to the very peak later on.

This was also due to the continuous decline of bloodline inheritance; it was a natural principle, impossible to defy. Huang Yuan too, was helpless; with his talent and understanding, he could at most reach the pinnacle of the Eighth Layer.

No matter what, he couldn’t cross the distance to the Ninth Layer.

This was also why the top combat power of the Yuan Dou Demon Sect had always been hovering around the ninth position on the Heavenly List. It was extremely difficult to advance further.

For this, he racked his brains, searching everywhere for the blood of Evil Gods that could replenish the purity of the Demon God Pool, constantly venturing to the Outer Regions, even nearly dying several times. The Blood Sakura was found in the ruins of an Evil God.

Sigh...

With the last bit of Huang Yuan’s remains turning into black grains of sand and scattering, Lin Xin silently withdrew his hand.

He didn’t know what he felt in his heart, but with his rise, in just a few decades, ancestors of the Yuan Jing who had lived for thousands of years had fallen one after another. In addition, the senior Yuan Qiuque took advantage of the situation, slaying several leaders of demon cultivators.

Perhaps these few decades should be the time when the most ancestors of the Underworld perished. The Shape-shifting Cave of Tianyun Dao had united against him, perhaps because the impact he caused was too great, leading to the current situation.

"The strongest... Is this your obsession?" Lin Xin sighed softly. "You needn’t say it; I’ll do it!"

To deal with the Dark Mansion, to rescue Hongye, reaching the land of the strongest was a necessary precondition. Otherwise, not to mention contending with the Dark Mansion, he might not even be able to touch that level.

An endless stream of Star Force continued to fall from the sky, madly surging into his body.

This was the result of cultivating the Yuan Dou Demonic Technique to the peak of the Eighth Layer, where the three Desolate Vault hearts – the Blood Heart, Qi Heart, and Spirit Heart – had all merged into his body.

In reality, in terms of cultivation, Lin Xin was still a few steps behind Huang Yuan. What he could really rely on was the enhancement of his own attributes, as well as the mysterious Jade Immortal Bow he wielded.

The three hearts of Huang Yuan broke down into the finest energy and quickly integrated into his body. But the purest soul power was continuously refined through the Evil Soul Orb, becoming cleaner, and then flooding into Lin Xin’s forehead.

The Eighth Layer of the Yuan Dou Demonic Technique required the refinement and consolidation of the Divine Heart, also known as the Spirit Heart.

Only with the full condensation of the three hearts, could the true Desolate Vault flesh be reconstructed, birthing bones, flesh, and fascia, resurrecting the true Ancient Demon God!

At this moment, he was gathering even more vast Star Force, condensing the third heart, the Divine Heart.

Within the pillar of Star Force, numerous purple threads converged in front of Lin Xin like living creatures, rapidly weaving together.

The embryonic form of a heart soon appeared; it was a pure purple-blue heart, with several blood vessels of varying thickness connected around it.

These blood vessels branched from thick to thin, extending everywhere like trees into the deep Star Force, as if rooting directly in the pillar of Star Force.

Various rules comprehended by Huang Yuan surged into his mind, and after a few attempts, Lin Xin succeeded swiftly, then drastically shortened the time for condensation that would normally take days and nights to just a few hours.

The Divine Heart seemed like the most exquisite mysterious weaving, with countless threads following mysterious laws, continuously forming pieces of special structures that even a Yuan Jing could not even imagine.

Soon, a complete purple-blue heart appeared in front of Lin Xin.

He quietly observed the heart before him.

Originally, because of his attribute balance, he had accumulated a vast amount of spiritual power, and forming the Divine Heart was a natural result. With the addition of the soul power and the strength of the Divine Heart given by Huang Yuan, composing merely a Divine Heart was not too strenuous, and it was swiftly completed.

He examined the structure of the Divine Heart to ensure there were no issues before waving his hand.

Instantly, the other two hearts also appeared.

A blood-red heart and an invisible, colorless heart.

They were respectively the Blood Heart and the Qi Heart.

The three hearts formed a triangle, enveloping him as they began to rotate slowly.

Hum!!

The Blood Heart lit up first, and the Qi Heart stretched out numerous transparent tendrils, entwining with the Blood Heart and the Divine Heart, connecting the three as one.

Then a torrent of blood-red surged out from the Blood Heart, flowing along the tendrils of the Qi Heart into the other two hearts.

Under the powerful supply of qi-blood, the Divine Heart suddenly shook. Taking it as the core, countless Star Force immediately swarmed into it.

The near-infinite pillar of Star Force started to rapidly diminish for the first time, giving the impression of insufficiency.

The Divine Heart devoured all the surrounding Star Force crazily and then released a deep purple halo, reflecting back onto the Qi Heart and the Blood Heart.

The three elements circulated with each other, forming a formidable and massive devouring system.

Lin Xin had only initiated it at the beginning, after which he simply watched quietly as they evolved on their own.

He had stepped into the Eighth Layer of the Yuan Dou Demonic Technique the moment the Heart of God had successfully condensed.

He was now heading towards the peak of the Eighth Layer, preparing for the Ninth Layer.

The Ninth Layer required an enormous amount of Yuan Dou Star Force to construct the true physical body of the Desolate Vault Holy Body, rather than the previous kind that was supported and condensed by the heart into a Void Shadow Holy Body.

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

In Great Song territory, within Nanfu.

A massive silver Void Ship was slowly cruising through the high skies of Great Song, tens of thousands of meters above the ground.

At the bow of the Void Ship, a handsome man draped in a white robe, one sleeve adorned with the pattern of a White Crane, the other with a Black Turtle.

The man stood with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing down at the vast sea of clouds beneath the ship.

"Nanfu has always been the stronghold of our Tianyun Path; under normal circumstances, inviting other sects would not be necessary, but given the urgency of the situation, I had no choice but to act pragmatically," he said, his voice betrayed a hint of helplessness.

"If Hong Gui does not wish to, this monarch is perfectly willing to turn around and return to our sect immediately," said another person standing beside him, a figure with a graceful posture, unmistakably a beautiful Daoist nun.

But at this moment, the Daoist nun’s face was full of disgust, looking at the elderly Hong Gui with disdain.

"Princess Fourth Qing, please temper your anger," Hong Gui said with a smile. "The Red Flower Sword Devil has become a force to be reckoned with. Should we confront him head-on, I am afraid even if you and I join forces, we might not be able to withstand his attacks for long."

He paused, then continued.

"However, this devil ultimately rose too quickly and still possesses the most significant fatal weakness that most other cultivators do not have."

"Are you referring to An Ying, that little girl he has grown up with?" Princess Fourth Qing asked with narrowed eyes.

"Correct," Hong Gui said indifferently, "so long as we capture An Ying, it’s as if we have Lin Xin’s life in our hands. If that’s not enough, we could add his closest blood relative to the mix, using them as leverage, and perhaps even persuade him to put down his butcher’s knife, which might add one more Protector Envoy to our Righteous Path."

A chill ran down Princess Fourth Qing’s spine.

What kind of Protector Envoy? They were nothing but cultivators reined in by vile Soul-Binding Restrictions.

This old man made such despicable schemes sound dignified, which was utterly nauseating.

If it were anyone else being so hypocritical in front of her, she would have slapped them by now.

But the person she was dealing with was Tianyun Path’s Yuan Jing, whose status and cultivation level were no less than her own, and thus she had to afford him some respect.

"When the time comes, handle it yourselves; I will only ensure no one escapes," Princess Fourth Qing said coldly and decisively.

"That’s acceptable. It is only a minor sect in Nanfu without a master from the Heavenly List; I shall take care of it personally," Hong Gui said with a smile.

"Should you unfortunately capsize in the gutter, I’m eager to see if you can still smile then," Princess Fourth Qing thought with disgust.

However, she understood that Hong Gui never entered a battle he wasn’t sure of winning. This time, Tianyun Path allowing him to act alone must mean there were other preparations made.

"I heard that the Desolate Jade Pavilion issued a new list, and the Heavenly List is no longer limited to the top five from our era but now includes ten. Are you confident enough to face the True Monarchs ranked amongst the latter five?" she couldn’t help asking. "The Red Flower Sword Devil has already managed to repel Meng Xinruo, which is equivalent to being around the seventh rank of the new Heavenly List. Aren’t you afraid of being struck back?’

"Lin Xin has gone to Yuan Dou Demon Sect, and he certainly won’t be able to return anytime soon. I am just taking advantage of the timing," Hong Gui shook his head and smiled confidently. "Currently, the Pine Forest Sword Sect only has Mingxin, the True Monarch, in residence, and no other Yuan Jings are of any concern. With Princess Fourth Qing herself taking action, suppressing Mingxin should be effortless."

"Hmph," Princess Fourth Qing snorted coldly and said nothing more.

Taking advantage of others’ peril, storming into their stronghold, and threatening them with captives; such means were far from what the Righteous Path stood for. Yet Tianyun Path managed to be audaciously righteous, as if they owned the moral high ground of the world, which was utterly despicable.

"Your Highness, do not be repulsed. With the Demon Path running rampant, as upholders of the Righteous Path and wielders of justice, we needn’t bother with morality when dealing with these evil heretics and outsiders. Using such methods is also for the sake of the common people," Hong Gui spoke with conviction.

Princess Fourth Qing, however, had no interest in engaging him further, turned around, and entered the cabin, vanishing into the shadows.

Hong Gui stood alone at the bow, a mysterious glint in his eyes.

Now that he had made an enemy of the Crown Prince of Yuan Dou, it was natural to eliminate the threat as quickly as possible. The rapid ascendence of Lin Xin was alarming.

The secrets he harbored were likely not too far off from those within the Sand Time Divine Palace.

Furthermore, now that the Secret Treasure of the Sand Time Divine Palace was with Lin Xin, should he manage to leverage it to obtain the treasure...

A glint of burning greed flashed in his eyes.

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

At the headquarters of Pine Forest, atop Sword Hall Peak.

Mingxin, the True Monarch Yu Kai, stood at the edge of the peak on a cliffside.

As the morning sun cast its slanting rays, he held an ordinary Pine Patterned Sword, his form moving fluidly without a trace of Spiritual Energy, practicing a set of the most fundamental Pine Forest Swordsmanship.