Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 650 - 645 Selection of Merits Three

Chapter 650: Chapter 645 Selection of Merits Three

Upon reaching the Third Layer, it seemed like reaching a limit.

This had drained all of Lin Xin’s understanding and experience of the way of flames.

In other words, his perception of fire could only reach the First Layer of the Fire Cloud Technique, the Third sub-layer.

Inside the stone house.

Lin Xin slowly ate a purple fruit he had just taken out from his Space Ring.

This was something Feng Huai had thoroughly prepared for him.

There wasn’t much food fit for Human Race to eat in the Dragon Serpent Realm, so one could only rely on their own prepared food and water supplies, buying and preparing them at intervals from the Life Tower of Dragon Serpent Realm.

"The Fourth Layer requires discerning the differences between Demonic Fire and Demon Fire," he furrowed his brows slightly. "Demonic Fire is manageable, as I cultivate in the Yuan Dou Demonic Technique which might be able to analyze it. Demon Fire, however, is impenetrable."

According to the classifications within the Fire Cloud Technique.

Heavenly Fire and Earth Fire can be categorized into Human Fire, Spiritual Fire, Demon Fire, Demonic Fire, and Dao Fire, five types in total.

He had a wealth of experience, having encountered Human Fire, Spiritual Fire, and Demonic Fire, but he had yet to come across Demon Fire and Dao Fire.

Typically, Mortal Fire belonged to Human Fire, while various different types of Spiritual Energy ignited flames were considered Spiritual Fire. Demonic Fire was produced by the burning of Demonic Qi.

Demon Fire and Dao Fire, however, were unseen.

Demon Fire was not the flame produced by the burning of demonic power—that would fall under the category of Spiritual Fire—but it referred to the same type of Life Fire within Demon Spirits as in the Human Race.

As for Dao Fire, he was completely clueless.

"Working in isolation is ultimately futile. It looks like I need to go out and walk around," he thought.

Lin Xin had a plan in mind.

"But before that, I should first determine precisely where my limit lies."

Since the enhancement, he had never once fully utilized how strong his Attribute Strength was.

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

Near the edge of the Dragon Serpent Realm, a Tong Tian fire pillar shot straight into the sky.

The entire area around the pillar was a golden-red color, with no second hue in heaven and earth.

Golden sparks scattered continuously, the crackling sounds of explosions like thunder.

Hiss!!

Suddenly, a green-robed figure flew in from the distant sky, the robe embroidered with five white lines down the center. His figure was slender, his expression indifferent, as he fixated on the massive fire pillar in front of him.

"This is the Yin Fire Pillar. According to the information Brother gave me, it’s over thirty Spirit Miles wide, which translates to over three thousand miles in diameter.

Inside, countless fire creatures and monsters are concealed, divided into the inner and outer Five Layers.

With each Layer progressively perilous, the deeper one goes, the more dangerous it becomes.

This place even has Dark Gates leading to the Earth Fire Realm, and other Fire Attribute worlds, definitely providing opponents to test one’s strength."

Lin Xin steeled his resolve, pinched a Spell Method between his fingers, and instantly, a pale red ripple emanated all around him.

Then he confidently strode towards the fire pillar.

The giant fire pillar in front of him was like an endless wall of flames, with golden fire rolling continuously across its surface.

With a poof, as soon as Lin Xin entered, it was like stepping into a sea of fire.

All he could see was the thick fire swarming around him.

Yet all was blocked by a circle of pale red ripples around his body, creating a narrow isolated space within a meter of his body.

"Truly magnificent..." Lin Xin moved forward, sensing the rate at which the Taiqing Qi inside him was depleted, and he could persist for days and nights without an issue.

At the same time, he carefully scrutinized the surroundings for any possible occurrences.

Roar!

Suddenly, a lizard-like creature sprang out from the left, its entire body composed of golden flames.

This Fire Lizard was seven to eight meters long, its body ablaze with golden flames, its eyes the only part resembling black gem-like beads.

It lunged ferociously, carrying a heat flow more intense and vast than the surrounding flames.

"Go."

Lin Xin flicked his finger.

Threads of Vigor shot out, piercing precisely into the Fire Lizard’s head.

Boom!

The Fire Lizard exploded instantly, vanishing without a trace, merging with the surrounding sea of fire.

Roar!!

Another Fire Lizard identical to the first formed behind Lin Xin and viciously lunged at him.

"Undying characteristics?"

Lin Xin showed a flicker of interest. He snapped his fingers again, and this time his Vigor was infused with a trace of Taiqing Qi, capable of eradicating Soul Power.

Pop!

This time, the Fire Lizard burst apart completely, and after waiting a while, Lin Xin saw no resurrection.

He accelerated forward and soon encountered several larger Fire Lizards.

Their strength increased continuously from the outside in.

The initial Fire Lizard had the strength of only an early Foundation Establishment level, while those encountered later could unleash the destructive force of a Golden Core Cultivator level.

Their power amplified progressively.

After traversing about one Spirit Mile, the Fire Lizards quickly diminished in number, and one after another, Fire Wolves began to appear.

But they could not in the slightest hinder Lin Xin’s progress.

He continued forward for a few hundred miles, or approximately several Spirit Miles.

Whoosh!

A dark shadow burst forth suddenly.

It was a Qilin, a Divine Beast with platinum eyes and a pitch-black body, emitting black flames that stood in stark contrast to its surroundings.

This Qilin was five meters tall and eight or nine meters long—not particularly large—but carried a formidable presence. Its body was adorned with metallic luster bumps, its limbs were muscular and powerful, covered in black gold-colored sharp dragon scales, stacked together like a pile of daggers.

"I’ve never seen a real Qilin, this time I will have my wish fulfilled," Lin Xin was slightly excited.

Lin Xin felt a surge of excitement within him.

Ever since, the Qilin has been celebrated on Earth as an auspicious divine beast and venerated by the people in the Underworld. Yet, it was unexpected to encounter a living, breathing Qilin here.

Although it was somewhat blackened.

Ao!

Upon seeing Lin Xin, the Qilin’s eyes immediately radiated ferocity, and with a fierce lunge, it launched a black fireball from its claw while still in mid-air, smashing it towards Lin Xin.

At the same time, the surrounding space abruptly came to a halt, all flames completely turning to ash.

Sure enough, it was entering a Polar Region lockdown.

Lin Xin quickly realized what was happening and activated his Void Realm, similarly entering the Polar Region.

He immediately raised his hand.

Within the Fire Techniques he mastered, he unleashed the most powerful Dao Technique—the Firestone Technique.

With a thunderous roar, a gigantic red-hot rock, over ten meters in diameter, was summoned out of thin air by Lin Xin and mercilessly hurled at the onrushing Qilin.

This Fifth Rank Firestone Technique, if released by an ordinary cultivator of the same rank, would have at most half the power of Lin Xin’s.

At this moment, the firestone was essentially a meteor of fire over ten meters in diameter. Its entire temperature could reach tens of thousands of degrees. Inside was not real rock but a special type of Elemental Energy. Also, it had a tremendous impact force, its power almost matching that of a Fourth Level Spiritual Realm.

In just a short month’s time, Lin Xin’s Fire Technique had been amplified threefold by the Fire Cloud Technique, reaching today’s unbelievable level.

If this firestone were to smash into any part of the Mortal Realm, it could easily turn a hundred miles of earth into scorched land.

Bang!

The firestone was effortlessly shattered by the black fireball, and the blazing red flame on it was completely ineffective against the Qilin; instead, it caused the flames covering its body to soar even higher.

The firestone broke into countless shards and scattered, once again dissipating into fire elemental energy.

Ao!

The Qilin let out another fierce roar and lunged forward.

"This is a good opportunity for me to test my strength."

Seeing that the enormous Firestone Technique, fully powered by the clear Qi, was useless, Lin Xin knew this was the strongest Technique he could currently unleash.

It was a pity that he had only been practicing for a short period, and for him to have attained such a level in Fire Technique was already miraculous.

He simply decided to fight barehanded.

Dispensing with protection, Lin Xin drew the Red Flower Sword and made a lightning-fast series of a thousand full-powered slashes forward.

In an instant, countless sword shadows flickered before his eyes, appearing and disappearing, each one embodying immense power.

He started by using half of his power, just to probe.

But even half his power instantly slashed through fire pillars and seas of flame, oscillating vacuums. The vast power even made the space tremble. This was equivalent to his previous full-force burst of Attribute Strength.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Amidst a series of collision sounds, the black Qilin was unscathed.

On the contrary, Lin Xin was forced back by the huge recoil.

"Such immense strength. This is a Black Fire Lion, a type of Qilin Bloodline. And it’s an adult Black Fire Lion!"

Lin Xin instantly recalled information he had once seen on a rare Fire Beast.

"An adult Black Fire Lion is on par with a peak Human Immortal powerhouse. Possessing boundless strength. As long as its core flame is not extinguished, it can live forever. I never expected to encounter one here."

Lin Xin compared the image in his mind with the black Qilin before him, confirming that it was indeed a Black Fire Lion, not a true Qilin.

"A peak Human Immortal powerhouse, isn’t it just perfect for testing my current strength?"

He felt a thrill in his heart.

Without hesitation, he also withdrew the Yinluo Sword.

The Dual Swords crossed in front of him.

Shi! Shi!

Man and beast charged at each other at the same time, the surrounding Polar Region freezing all flames, creating a monochrome world.

Boom!

A straightforward clash of brute force.

Lin Xin fiercely chopped his Dual Swords onto the horns on the Black Fire Lion’s head.

Invisible shockwaves slowly spread out as man and beast locked horns face to face.

Neither the Red Flower Sword nor the Yinluo Sword could penetrate the Black Fire Lion’s antler-like head, instead being faintly repelled by the tremendous force.

Quickly withdrawing his swords, Lin Xin dodged the inertia-driven Black Fire Lion that rushed past his side, and with a backhanded swing, he struck both swords on the Black Fire Lion’s hindquarters.

But at the same time, a black shadow whipped towards his own back with the speed of lightning.

Thump! Thump!

Both suffered a hit.

Being able to maintain such terrifying speed within the Polar Region, both Lin Xin and the Black Fire Lion found the other to be a formidable opponent.

Roar!

Several bloodstains appeared on the hindquarters of the Black Fire Lion, and its eyes gleamed with a murderous light as it growled lowly.

Boom!

Suddenly, an invisible force pressed viciously towards Lin Xin.

The gray around him began to tremble and crack.

"This is Realm suppression!" Lin Xin instantly recognized that the Black Fire Lion intended to use its Realm superiority to push him out of the Polar Region.

Casting caution to the wind, he charged straight ahead. His Dual Swords erupted with full power, a lethal force of over seventeen thousand points, the perfect combination of power and speed, slashing with ferocity faster than lightning, striking the Black Fire Lion’s forehead.

Boom!

The Black Fire Lion was sent flying backward from a direct hit, dazed, with a deep gash from the overlapping Dual Swords on its forehead.

Lin Xin’s Polar Region stabilized once more.

Seizing the moment, he unleashed all his Attribute Strength.

The force of over seventeen thousand points made space twist, sending ripples out like a convex mirror, warping the surrounding flames into strange and fantastical patterns.

Boom!

Another overlapping strike landed on the Black Fire Lion.