Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 649 - 644

Chapter 649: 644

Lin Xin swung his sword in an instant, the blade turning into an invisible thread moving at a fraction of the blink of an eye, and suddenly pierced through dozens of meters to slash at Oro’s left shoulder.

Oro, towering at four to five meters tall, was originally aimed at by Lin Xin’s sword towards his head, but due to the height difference, the strike was redirected towards his shoulder instead.

"Such speed!" Oro also harnessed the powers of the Void Realm, Polar Region to face this sword strike.

He burst into a circle of flames, and the golden Fire Ring Technique exploded violently.

The innate Fire Technique was a simple Fire Ring Spell, typically a basic method to manipulate the flames into a circle to attack all around.

But now, he unleashed it in an instant.

The fiery ring, burning with golden flames, collided with the Red Flower Sword head-on.

Thud!

Lin Xin suddenly felt an immense force transmitted through the handle of his sword.

The Red Flower Sword nearly flew out of his grasp from the blast, and it took him retreating more than ten meters to divert the massive force into the rock wall behind him.

"I only used one-third of the Primordial Ancient Times’ Qi from the Fifth Rank Third Level Green Yuan Decision," Oro’s voice came at that moment.

Lin Xin was instantly alarmed.

He had used the Green Yuan Decision at full strength of the same Fifth Rank Third Level, yet he was actually repelled head-on by just one-third of Oro’s Primordial Qi.

"My innate divine ability is to double the power of my Fire Technique. Junior brother, be careful. I am going to increase my power," Oro warned solemnly.

Lin Xin dared not be careless, and he fully activated the Green Yuan Decision, adjusting the frequency of the Red Flower Sword to invoke his currently strongest sword form—Infinite Thunder Emperor.

A gigantic blue disc began to slowly emerge behind him, filled with ancient thunder patterns and various arcs of electricity.

Driven by the Green Yuan Decision, this move was more suitable for his current attributes than the Qilin and other Ultimate Kills.

Moreover, with a full-outburst powered by his terrifying endurance and Attribute Strength, the Green Yuan Decision could rage fiercely without consideration for injuries.

An immense amount of thunder and lightning patterns, along with the ancient aura of the Thunder Emperor, descended from the void above through the cave’s walls.

"Bring it on. Fire God Blade," Oro uttered lightly, and a wave of his hand summoned a flaming giant blade over three meters tall from the magma below, which shot towards Lin Xin at high speed.

No sooner had the Fire God Blade left his hand than it vanished mid-flight.

By the time Lin Xin caught sight of it again, it was already upon him.

"Infinite... Thunder Emperor!"

He too struck out with his sword in an instant, all of his Primordial Qi surging out wildly, invoking the Thunder Emperor Sword Form that turned into a blue thunderous arm piercing through his body to collide head-on with the scorching golden Fire God Blade.

Boom!!!!

Countless magma explosions. Sparks flew, splattering a large area of the pavilion and surrounding rock walls.

At the surface of the magma lake, the spot where Lin Xin had stood now exploded into a massive crater.

Engulfed in white steam, occasional crackling sounds of electricity could be heard within.

The steam dissipated.

It revealed Lin Xin’s somewhat disheveled appearance.

He was half-kneeling on the magma, the Red Flower Sword in his hand still trembling. Electric arcs flickered non-stop along the blade.

The Infinite Thunder Emperor had been dispersed. Had it not been for his robust physique, another cultivator on the same level would likely have been seriously injured by this blow.

Lin Xin’s mind grew heavy. Without employing his attribute body, he was defeated by Oro with only one-third of his cultivation strength.

And it was an easy defeat at that.

"You’ve done quite well," Oro consoled. "Being unharmed by my Fire God Blade, junior brother, you might be outmatched against other Fourth Level Spiritual Realm experts, but you should have no problem escaping safely."

He paused for a moment, "In fact, that strike of my Fire God Blade was equivalent to the force of the Fourth Level Spiritual Realm. It would appear before you, no matter where you ran at the moment of its disappearance. Hence, it’s a blow you cannot dodge."

"Is this the Way of Cause and Effect?" Lin Xin tensed up internally.

"Correct, it is the Way of Cause and Effect," Oro replied with a smile. "The Taoist techniques taught by our teacher touch upon this level. You’ll understand in time. Karma Taoist Technique is also how many cultivators refer to one of the pinnacle classes of techniques. My Fire God Blade is one such technique. Should you acquire a Karma Taoist Technique in the future, cherish it dearly, as these techniques often stem from legacies of the great Primordial Ancient Times’ Heavenly Immortals. They are as monumental as the Ancient Divine Artifacts in defining our power," he explained.

"Thank you for your guidance, senior brother."

Lin Xin formally bowed with his fists clasped.

After much contemplation, he still did not reveal the formidable nature of his attribute body.

Being too reliant on his attribute, to break its influence, he must develop a Taoist system that didn’t depend on attributes.

He assessed that perhaps, by employing his full Attribute Strength, he could barely battle senior brother Oro, yet the outcome remained uncertain.

If his Taoist Realm was not as advanced as others and his extreme realm was restrained, he would become nothing more than a durable target—unable to hit back, left only to take hits.

Thus, Attribute Strength could only be his last resort, to be used at critical moments.

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

Transported out from Elder Brother Oro’s place.

Lin Xin had been constantly pondering the issue of Attribute Strength.

In the end, he decided that unless it was a critical moment, he would never use his innate Attribute Strength. He had already faintly sensed that his cultivation in the Taoist Arts seemed to be struggling to keep up.

After reaching the fifth rank third level, each next level required an extremely long time of enlightenment, accumulation of life experience, and a massive accumulation of cultivation before one could advance.

Reliance on attribute points was no longer feasible.

Therefore, practicing Taoist Arts was the Righteous Path. Attributes could serve as an aid, but they should never be the main approach.

After returning to his stone cottage, Lin Xin carefully weighed the various advantages and disadvantages of the three techniques and six arts.

’Devouring Sky Shooting Sun Technique’—the name was imposing, but in reality, it was a technique that imitated a primordial fire toad, focusing on tongue training in the early stages. In the middle and later stages, it was an incredibly powerful Sound Wave Technique, interpreting the universe and nature through the way of sound.

’Earth Fire Primordial Technique’—this involved drawing earth fire into the body, using it as a foundation, and continuously refining and condensing the Elemental Energy with the Green Yuan Decision, forming a new true fire of the earth. Its temperature could increase continuously with one’s cultivation, and it was purely a technique that interpreted everything through fire. It was also the best complementary technique for refining artifacts.

’Sun-Forging Technique’—this was a divine technique for tempering and condensing a Great Sun Divine Pill within the body, emulating the essential blood circulation routes of bloodlines from five kinds of primordial Great Sun descendants. Going from weak to strong, every time one mastered the bloodline route of a Great Sun descendant, the Great Sun Divine Pill would release the corresponding Great Sun Descendant Divine Fire. When the five fires merged as one, it was said to be capable of boiling the seas and lighting the heavens, illuminating the earth with boundless power.

’Fire Cloud Technique’—the technique Elder Brother Oro practiced, positing that all heat originated from vibrating Elemental Energy particles. This technique was profound, encompassing all things. When practiced to advanced levels, it could amplify all Fire System Divine Ability Techniques.

The higher the level of the technique, the greater the amplification, especially suitable for beings like Elder Brother Oro with innate flames.

As for the techniques behind them, ’Soul Splitting Demonic Technique’, ’Cave Heaven Technique’, ’Mysterious Yin Technique’, ’Upper Azure Element Alchemy Method’, and ’Nine Dragons Sacred Technique’.

These were all techniques that the Elder Dragon Serpent was not very proficient in. Although they were also fire-oriented, they ultimately did not compare to the earlier ones, which were powerful techniques that Elder Dragon Serpent had mastered deeply.

The Soul Splitting Demonic Technique and Upper Azure Element Alchemy Method were for cultivating the divine soul.

The Cave Heaven Technique and Mysterious Yin Technique involved cultivating the body’s yin energy, using yin to control yang and producing all kinds of mystical effects.

Only the Nine Dragons Sacred Technique was purely a technique for cultivating strength through energy, reputed to provide the strength of nine dragons and various corresponding Dragon Race divine skills upon breakthrough of each layer.

Lin Xin was indifferent to such techniques, as his own attribute strength was the best for strength training.

This point had already been clearly confirmed through the previously abandoned Righteous Sun Technique.

If the physical body was strong, then the only thing needed for improvement was the divine soul, that is, the spiritual power. And later on, becoming myriad forms also required immense spiritual power to break through.

After much hesitation, he ultimately chose the Fire Cloud Technique.

This technique could also evenly cultivate the divine soul and make up for his shortcomings in spell casting. It could also integrate with his mastery of Formation Talismans, blending into his cultivation.

Most importantly, Elder Dragon Serpent was very proficient in this technique, and the theory within it fit well with Lin Xin’s taste.

He planned to disguise himself as a long-range spell caster as much as possible in the future, using his close-combat attribute ability as a hidden trump card. One move to clinch the victory.

After choosing the technique, Lin Xin left the stone cottage, soared into the sky, and flew towards the Deep Fire Palace.

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

"Fire Cloud Technique... really is suitable for you."

Inside the Deep Fire Palace, Dragon Serpent stroked his chin as he watched Lin Xin below.

"The three techniques and six arts, rather than calling them cultivation techniques, would be better described as Divine Ability Techniques for practice. Each one has various derivative divine abilities and powerful ultimate killing techniques.

But the Fire Cloud Technique is the one that most easily allows understanding of the essence of strength. I must say, you have a keen eye."

No sooner had he spoken than he pointed a finger downwards.

Lin Xin felt a sudden jolt in his head, and a vast amount of information surged into his mind.

The Fire Cloud Technique had a total of twelve layers, corresponding to the twelve layers of the Earth Immortal realm. Dragon Serpent’s single pointer immediately transferred the enormous content of the first three layers into his mind.

"Transferring subsequent techniques this way would result in great distortion and loss of accuracy. Once you reach the realm, you must personally go to the Fire Seed Hall behind the Deep Fire Palace and comprehend the spiritual fires of heaven and earth. Your master has condensed the future techniques into different spiritual fires so that you can fully and completely receive the technique’s legacy," Dragon Serpent said solemnly.

"Lieshan, you are one of my disciples most likely to break through to the sixth rank of Earth Immortal. Once you break through, you must be careful not to randomly choose your land for god worship. Once decided, all of you will follow the rise and fall, success and failure of that piece of land. Remember this well," he suddenly spoke with extreme seriousness.

"Disciple understands," Lin Xin firmly committed his words to memory.

Having come out from the Deep Fire Palace.

He returned to the stone cottage, greeted Lin Youke and the other two, and then entered a state of seclusion.

The Fire Cloud Technique had a total of twelve layers, which should only be practiced after reaching the sixth rank of Earth Immortal.

However, before that, Elder Dragon Serpent had further divided the content of the first layer into five minor layers. If one could fully master these five minor layers, each could double the power of Fire System spell methods.

The Fire Cloud Technique also recorded many Fire System divine skills and spell method cultivation ways.

Lin Xin, with his astonishing comprehension abilities, being a reincarnated being, only took a month to integrate all he had learned with the Fire Cloud Technique.

After discarding some useless knowledge and utilizing his bloodline’s Purification Light and extremely fine control ability, he could master it quickly after succeeding once.

He soon entered the third minor layer of the first layer of the Fire Cloud Technique.

All Fire Techniques could be amplified up to threefold.