Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 60: The Seizure (Part 2)

Chapter 60: Chapter 60: The Seizure (Part 2)

"I want to see what abilities you have!" Shu Luoyi charged forward directly. Clutching a Green Jade Dagger in one hand and a sheet of white talisman paper in the other, her eyes turned increasingly bloodshot, seemingly possessed by her own fury.

Lin Xin also noticed something off about Shu Luoyi and stood unmoving, watching the two clash.

Yu Chang’s expression grew anxious on the side.

"Brother Lin!" he began to call out, wanting Lin Xin to join in and help, but recalling that Lin Xin had been injured by Shu Luoyi just moments before, he found he could not utter another word.

With the Green Jade Dagger in hand, Shu Luoyi employed a Quick-attack Dagger Technique, striking fiercely without reservation, targeting the vital points of her opponent with every move. The technique showed no mercy.

It was unclear where she had learned this Dagger Technique; the sword techniques of the Sword Sect mostly involved control at will, with some restraint maintained, emphasizing proper mastery.

This Dagger Technique, however, was purely about striking with full force, flowing like water to leverage momentum, but difficult to withdraw once extended. Coupled with the somewhat mystical properties of the Green Jade Dagger, which could block the opponent’s attacks and appeared to have an exceptionally sharp cutting effect, its power seemed even greater than combining the Solar Yang Talisman Sword with the Flameless Swordsmanship.

Watching this made Lin Xin’s heart tremble, but what chilled him even more was that, under the relentless assault of the Dagger Technique, Mu Lu Zi appeared completely unbothered.

His pair of dark, blue-black claws easily parried the dagger’s stabs and slashes. With a slight movement of his clawed fingers, he could casually block in the path of the dagger’s attacks. His sharp, clawed fingers seemed to form a solid rock wall, effortlessly blocking Shu Luoyi’s attacks.

"Snow Peak Claw!" Yu Chang suddenly exclaimed in shock, "A technique of the once-renowned Snow Mountain Sect!" His expression turned startled.

"What Snow Peak Claw, Snow Mountain Sect?" Lin Xin glanced sharply at him.

"Once a major faction of the Righteous Path exterminated by the Demon Sect, the Snow Mountain Sect. The Snow Peak Claw was their signature cultivation technique! It was once acclaimed as the premier defensive technique in all of Jianghu," Yu Chang’s expression turned ugly.

"Heh heh heh, the kid has some knowledge," Mu Lu Zi laughed proudly. Without any noticeable movement, he gestured to the pine tree behind him, and suddenly dense swarms of yellow clouds swooped down.

"Six-winged bees!?" Lin Xin focused his eyes and realized that the massive yellow clouds were not fog at all, but huge swarms of six-winged bees!

Thousands of bees surged crazily towards Shu Luoyi, with some diverging towards Lin Xin and him.

"Mutual destruction!" Shu Luoyi screamed and fiercely threw the Green Jade Dagger towards Mu Lu Zi. She then rolled heavily to the ground, scrambling away.

Bang!

The Green Jade Dagger suddenly exploded, turning into countless shards of jade powder, enveloping Mu Lu Zi and immobilizing his movements.

Just then, Shu Luoyi sprang to her feet and snapped her talisman paper.

A pure, jade-white beam of white light suddenly burst forth from the talisman paper, striking Mu Lu Zi’s forehead with the speed of lightning.

Hiss!

The white light pierced through Mu Lu Zi’s head like cutting through tofu, even drilling a hole through the large pine tree behind him and slanting into the grass on the distant ground, leaving a pitch-black deep hole.

Mu Lu Zi stood stiff in front of the tree, his eyes wide open, with blood from the hole in his forehead continuously writhing, the flesh trying to regenerate itself as if alive.

"Luoyi, I’m there to lend you a hand!" Finally, Yu Chang mustered his courage, drew his sword, and stabbed fiercely into Mu Lu Zi’s neck.

Hiss!

The blade punctured right through the middle of Mu Lu Zi’s neck.

Crack. Suddenly, Mu Lu Zi grabbed his longsword, and the metal blade melted down like liquid, being absorbed and amalgamated into his hands.

"Hehehehe..." he laughed deeply.

Yu Chang’s face turned pale with fright, releasing the longsword as he staggered back.

Soon the blade disappeared, and Mu Lu Zi’s frontal wound healed as well.

"Indestructible Metal Body!" Shu Luoyi’s expression turned grave. The strike from the white light was powered by a Sword Qi Talisman her father had left her, equivalent to the full-force strike of an eighth layer Innate master, but now, the first of the three allotted uses had been utterly wasted.

"Knowledgeable," Mu Lu Zi chuckled smugly. "But such minor wounds, even without metallic assistance, would leave me completely unharmed."

He pointed at Lin Xin and Shu Luoyi.

"Go, my darlings, devour them!"

Instantly, a massive swarm of yellow clouds crazily surged towards Lin Xin and the two.

With no time to consider others, Lin Xin drew out a Talisman Sword.

The hilt was shaped like a trumpet, designed to facilitate the blade’s forward ejection following an explosion, a design he had created based on the principle of directed blasting. Just now, he had used this Talisman Sword to sweep swiftly around him, enduring only impact injuries.

At that moment, as Inner Qi was channeled into the Luminous Talisman Sword, little dots of white light immediately lit up the densely packed runic formation patterns on the blade.

Mu Lu Zi’s expression changed upon seeing this scene; the nearby six-winged bees immediately gathered in front of him, forming a massive yellow shield.

"Ghost Spirit Knotting Technique!" His hands flicked rapidly, forming a complex hand seal at chest height.

"Blossom!"

Like a flower bud, his fingers bloomed slowly outward.

Suddenly, clusters of black qi shot out from his body, striking the shield formed by the six-winged bees, solidifying it into a singular, even sturdier form.

"Get out if you don’t want to die!" Lin Xin roared, hurling the Luminous Talisman Sword forward without hesitation. He swiftly retreated.

Realizing the powerful fluctuations from the Talisman Sword, both Shu Luoyi and Yu Chang’s faces tightened, and they too quickly moved back.

The Talisman Sword shot straight toward the wooden mule, its blade covered in countless formation patterns like cracks from which a massive amount of white light burst forth, growing increasingly intense.

Boom!!

A loud explosion occurred, and a jade-like halo of light reappeared, enveloping an area of more than ten meters in all directions.

Lin Xin lay face down on the grass, turning his face away to avoid looking in that direction. The glaring white light, like the sun itself, produced a scorching high temperature and air currents that violently burst outward.

The light continued for several seconds before it dimmed.

As soon as the light had faded, he quickly stood up, pulled out his last Talisman Sword, and charged forward.

The mule’s face was extraordinarily hard, and as long as there was even a sliver of life, it wouldn’t be easily destroyed—not even by such a powerful explosion. He had to seize the fruit of the human face before Shu Luoyi could arrive.

As the white light had just dissipated, the pines had collapsed and were burning, leaving the ground scorched and creating an oval patch of black soil.

The wooden mule knelt under the tree with eyes tightly closed, motionless. Around him, not a single six-winged bee remained, probably all destroyed by the blast.

The area was shrouded in smoke, making it hard to see clearly. Lin Xin, with a cold gaze, swung his Luminous Talisman Sword directly at the top of the wooden mule’s head, using all his strength. Although no Inner Strength was infused into the sword, it was enough to cleave the wooden mule in two.

By then, even if it had an Indestructible Metal Body, even if it were undying, recovery would still take time.

He could now be certain that this wooden mule was definitely not human!

"Try moving again and see what happens!" The voice of Shu Luoyi rang out from behind them, cold and filled with murderous intent.

Lin Xin immediately stopped, clearly seeing Shu Luoyi standing to his right, holding a Sword Qi Talisman aimed at him.

He had seen the previous white light; it was so fast and powerful that he wasn’t sure he could avoid it.

But the sword in his hand, which had all his strength channeled into it, couldn’t stop its motion and continued to chop downward.

Thud.

The Luminous Talisman Sword struck the top of the wooden mule’s head, but to his surprise, it penetrated less than half a palm depth.

"Five human face fruits—you think you can monopolize them? We’ll see if my sword agrees," Lin Xin suppressed the impatience arising in his heart. The wooden mule was unconscious, motionless, and now was the best opportunity to retrieve the treasures. The treasures were right in front of him, within easy reach, yet someone was blocking him. Even though he was usually composed, impatience was beginning to surface.

Shu Luoyi also seemed wary of the blast’s power just now. Although the Luminous Talisman Sword’s burst didn’t have the individual power of her Sword Qi Talisman, its range and the extent of its impact were unmatched. Should she experience a similar attack, she might not die but would certainly be left severely disabled and injured.

"We are all brothers and sisters from the same Sect, there’s no need for things to become so tense," Yu Chang came forward to mediate at this point.

Lin Xin’s expression remained unchanged.

"Among those of us in Jianghu, actions are often driven by quick feelings of gratitude and revenge. Repaying kindness and taking revenge is common. I, Lin Xin, might not adhere to this, but I will remember that sneak attack," he stated.

Shu Luoyi countered with a cold laugh, a faint reddish-black color visible around her eyes.

"For a miscreant like him, what loss would there be in killing him?"

Both stood motionless as a great fire in the nearby pine tree blazed, billowing thick smoke.

As the autumn wind blew, smoke and dust swirled about, and black ashes rose and twirled from the ground, passing beneath their feet, like a frozen scene in a painting.

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

Clang!

The longsword was drawn.

Outside Peacock City, a middle-aged man dressed in a white Taoist robe looked down at the ground, which was covered in black scorch marks everywhere.

He paid no attention to the curious gazes of a few civilians nearby who had come to watch.

"The human face fruits—are you even worthy of touching them?! Overestimating yourselves!" He flashed a fierce look in his eyes.

With his longsword, he casually slashed at the ground.

Immediately, the ground was marked with a complex symbol, the sword cuts deep, several centimeters in.

The middle-aged man sheathed his sword and leapt high, soaring meters into the air, landing on a civilian house. He then leaped from the rooftop of the house, clearing the city walls, and pursued in the direction Lin Xin and others had departed.

Before long, a gentle-looking young man appeared, accompanied by two women, holding a folding fan which he gently waved. Walking to the center of the explosion site, he looked down at the symbol left on the ground.

"It’s a sign left by someone from our Sect—these people are becoming bolder... Let the Elixir Hall handle it..." he sighed.

"But Kong Ling..." a woman whispered with a frowned, showing some discontent.

"He’s wise not to intervene; however, some things can’t be ignored by just pretending not to hear," said another woman, her expression fierce, "Recently, many remote inns and tea houses have experienced strange occurrences, with many people going missing. It must be the occasional emergence of the Ghostly Underworld. Let’s assign him to redefine the safe routes."

"People from the Elixir Hall are arriving soon, let’s lower our voices. We must reclaim the human face fruits and take them back to the Sect for processing. It’s time to resolve the plague here as well," the gentle man spoke softly.

"Understood, Senior Brother," both women replied obediently and respectfully, saluting him.

After lingering for a moment, the three of them hastily followed in the direction Lin Xin had left, seemingly using some special tracking method.

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