Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 562 - 556

Chapter 562: 556

Pushing the door open, Lin Xin took a deep breath before slowly exhaling.

He glanced at his attributes.

’Lin Sherie—Damage 80, Defense 80, Evasion 80, Constitution 80, Free Attributes 32807.’

Years of cultivating the Righteous Path had finally maxed out his attributes. These attributes, if in the Underworld, would also count for a mid-stage Golden Core expert.

If this were to leak, it would undoubtedly cause a huge uproar.

A young swordsman who had only been practicing for a dozen years, managed to leap directly from mortal to the Innate level, bypassed Qi Cultivation, and reached Golden Core.

This was beyond what ordinary talent could explain.

If not for his body seeming to have reached its limits, the tens of thousands of attribute points he had accumulated could instantly push him into a True Monarch level—almost similar to the Extreme Realm status in the Underworld.

"Unfortunately... it’s still far from my expectations," Lin Xin thought to himself. What he desired was to use the perfect rules of the Mortal Realm to break through the layer of Extreme Realm Demon God. From Ghost Immortals and Human Immortals, he aimed to step into a higher level of Earth Immortals, and even advance to higher realms.

He exhaled, left the courtyard, and wandered into the family’s small garden through a side door to clear his mind.

As he reached a pavilion in the middle of the small garden, a loud, silly laugh could be heard, seemingly from a man.

Lin Xin’s expression shifted as he walked toward it.

Several maids from the family were guarding around the pavilion. Lin Xin casually approached one to inquire.

"Who is inside?"

"Reporting to young master, several friends of the family head who are visiting from outside. The family head is entertaining them," the maid answered cautiously.

"Friends?"

Lin Xin’s expression shifted, and he walked towards the pavilion.

Approaching the pavilion, he could clearly see several unfamiliar figures sitting with Lin Yaoyang, laughing and talking as if they were in high spirits.

Seeing the radiant smile on Lin Yaoyang’s face, Lin Xin noted she hadn’t appeared this peaceful in a long time.

Facing Lin Yaoyang was an extremely sleazy-looking old Taoist priest, with a stocky honest-looking young man sitting at his side, and a pretty young girl with her hair tied in a horn-shaped bun.

The three seemed to be a mentorship trio, dressed in Taoist robes, even resembling each other in style.

The table was loaded with large dishes of meat and fish; the mentorship trio listened to Lin Yaoyang while eating heartily without any hesitation.

Seeing Lin Xin coming over, Lin Yaoyang waved at him from afar.

"Brother, perfect timing, I was about to send someone to call you. Come over and meet the elder," Lin Yaoyang called out.

Lin Xin kept his expression neutral and quickly walked over. A maid hurriedly pulled out a seat for him.

As he appeared, the pretty young girl in the trio momentarily shook her drumstick with a tremble, almost dropping it. She quickly glanced at him, then couldn’t help but take another glance before lowering her head quickly, her face blushing, as she focused earnestly on her chicken leg.

However, the honest-looking young man showed no change in expression; lifted by his teacher, he gave Lin Xin a silly smile, scratching his head unsure of what to say.

"This is my brother Lin Sherie, who had been diligently cultivating at home and hasn’t shown his face outside. That he couldn’t meet District God Elder earlier is truly regrettable," Lin Yaoyang explained with a trace of respect and courtesy.

"This is the District God Elder of Shen Luo Mansion and his two distinguished disciples. The elder is a renowned figure, quite an eminent Immortal of Shen Luo Mansion."

Lin Yaoyang introduced them further.

"I’ve met District God Elder, and met the junior brother and junior sister," Lin Xin greeted calmly and then sat down.

"No worries, no worries!"

The old Taoist saw Lin Xin, twitched his beard, squinted his eyes, and the gleam within them scanned Lin Xin from head to toe repeatedly.

After a while, he furrowed his brows and swallowed the fish in his mouth.

"Yaoyang girl...," he seemed a bit troubled. "There’s no doubting his aptitude, but the foundation has stabilized a bit early, and he’s also a bit old..."

"Age isn’t a problem," Lin Yaoyang smiled, "With my brother’s foundational strength, practicing the Rushing Thunder Sword Technique is exactly what your sect needs for Foundation Establishment, right?"

The old Taoist pursed his lips.

"That’s true, but the main issue isn’t this... as you know, Qiushi tends to be very exclusive. They have their own heritages; if we take him out, I’m afraid..."

"If you have anything to say, just say it straight, why beat around the bush?" Lin Yaoyang’s smile suddenly faded, slightly displeased.

The old Taoist looked at Lin Xin with a face full of regret.

"It’s not that I want to disrespect you, Yaoyang, but this matter... your brother has already contracted a bit of the Evil God’s Evil Qi. Even if he isn’t a Secret Blood, he still has..."

"How could that be?!" Lin Yaoyang was suddenly stunned.

At this moment, Lin Xin also roughly understood the situation.

It seemed Lin Yaoyang was trying to find a suitable sect for him. Given his profound aptitude, coupled with the distinctive nature of his family and his relationship with Lin Yaoyang, such arrangements were reasonable.

The sealing, in fact, from the moment it began, was gradually trading life for power, exhausting lifespan to gain prosperity for the family.

Lin Yaoyang seemed robust, but a hint of death already shrouded her. And as for her brother Lin Xin, his extraordinary talent and unusual gifts would indeed be a waste if not sent out of Qiushi to another sect.

"Master, what is ’Evil Qi’?" the pretty young girl suddenly interjected.

God District twitched his beard.

"Evil Qi is a special kind of aura inadvertently released by the Evil God. In the Primordial Ancient Times, this type of Evil Qi was known as Evil Power. It’s neither Spiritual Energy, nor Demonic Qi, nor Monster Qi, and certainly not Immortal Qi."

It was a unique entity independent of any element of power. It belonged neither to metal, wood, water, fire, nor earth, and not even among the Three Realms and Yin Yang.

"What use is it? Why can’t this young man start his path after coming into contact with it?" the little girl curiously asked. "Master, you must have a way to help him remove it, right, right?"

The little girl spoke with a hint of coquetry.

Lin Yaoyang gave Lin Xin a half-smiling glance. Being handsome certainly had its perks; the girl was pleading on his behalf despite having just met him.

Yet Lin Xin’s thoughts were not on this.

Shen Luo Mansion, this familiar name immediately brought to mind the Shen Luo Mansion of the Underworld.

The Underworld, the Human World, although seemingly far apart, must be intricately connected.

So, what was the connection and difference between Shen Luo Mansion here and that of the Underworld?

As for becoming a disciple of Shen Luo Mansion, it was optional for him; with his current cultivation level, he had not reached the limits of his cultivation technique, and there was still room for improvement.

If it were possible, that would be fine, but if not, there was no need for regret.

The old Taoist pondered deeply after being pleaded by the little girl for a few moments.

"Well, I do have a method that can remove the evil qi from your brother’s body, but it will be extremely costly."

"As long as I can afford it, any amount is not a problem!"

Lin Yaoyang said calmly, without hesitation.

She had changed back to her previous outfit, a black and red short skirt, her long black-stockinged legs crossed at an angle, her long hair lightly fluttering in the wind, revealing the Purple Jade pendant near her ear.

"No wonder that lad just keeps grinning," Lin Xin glanced at the seemingly simple-minded young man, indeed seeing him looking innocent, yet his gaze was sharply focused on the sensitive area in front of his sister’s chest.

The young man was clever; he knew that lingering too long with his gaze would be noticed, so he constantly roved his eyes, sneakily peeking with the corners of his eyes.

For some reason, Lin Xin felt slightly annoyed in his heart.

At that moment, the old Taoist started listing the required treasures.

After mentioning just two items, Lin Yaoyang’s expression shifted slightly.

Seeing that, Lin Xin also conclusively stood up.

"Old sister, there’s no need to remove the evil qi, I’ll stay at home and continue my cultivation practice; let’s decide on this," he said as he slightly bowed to the old Taoist, and then turned to leave.

Once the seal was inherited, he would have at most a little over thirty years of life left. Lin Yaoyang was paving the way for him, and he was well aware of it.

But while others might not know, he understood that even without joining any sect or learning the highest cultivation techniques, he would not lead a mediocre life.

"Ah...."

A sigh of regret came from behind him.

Lin Yaoyang was silent for a moment, knowing her younger brother’s resolute nature; he always meant what he said, and once he decided on this, it would definitely not change.

Thus, she could only apologize to the old Taoist and ordered her servants to deliver a generous gift as a form of apology.

The old Taoist, along with his two disciples, also stood up to leave, disappearing into the clouds in the pavilion.

Lin Yaoyang stood up alone, her expression somewhat lost and tired.

"Even Shen Luo Mansion isn’t an option?"

This was the strongest and most amiable sect she could find, still relying on favors from her grandparents’ generation, yet even the venerable old immortal of the sect was helpless....

She was ultimately unwilling to accept this.

Her brother had such strong innate talent; if he were to lose his path forward because of the evil qi leaking from the family seal, she might regret it for the rest of her life.

"If even Shen Luo Mansion isn’t an option, then we’ll have to try the Evil Path...." A trace of determination flashed in her eyes.

Evil Qi is indeed troublesome for the Righteous Path, but for the Evil Path, it could potentially have enhancing effects.

Letting Lin Xin stay at home meant he had no one to guide him at all.

She might become a Human Immortal in the future, but it wasn’t her own power; it was the power of the Evil God sealed within her.

Which she couldn’t learn or teach.

So, even if it meant being accused of falling into the Evil Path, for her brother, for the sake of the family legacy, such a sacrifice was worth it.

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

"Master, why can’t you help that young man? Aren’t you a prestigious Immortal of Shen Luo Mansion?"

The little girl asked curiously atop the clouds.

The old Taoist held a duck wing in one hand, nibbling on it casually as he replied.

"It’s too late, the evil qi has entered his body, no method will work, he cannot rebuild his body to change his meridians. If he practices our Shen Luo Mansion’s cultivation techniques, he will only achieve limited success for the rest of his life, hardly useful for greater purposes."

"Is the evil qi that powerful?" The young man also asked.

"It is very powerful," the old Taoist nodded. "The Evil God was one of the main characters oppressed by the Demon God and Demon God Heavenly Honor in the Primordial Ancient Times. They had all sorts of strange abilities, very troublesome, and not one was easy to kill. Moreover, the contamination power of the evil force was very strong, accidentally infecting a large area and causing a disturbance in the natural order of heaven and earth."

"So in the ancient era, the gods joined forces to suppress and annihilate the Evil God?" the little girl gaped in wonder.