Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 673 - 668: Resentment of the Fate Demon IV

Chapter 673: Chapter 668: Resentment of the Fate Demon IV

Dragon Serpent Realm.

In the expansive lava plains, within the Red Jade Teleportation Formation platform at the edge of a massive volcano.

A bright red light suddenly flared, revealing the figure of a man with a slender build.

The man had an ordinary face, sandy brown short hair tousled by the wind, and wore the green robe of an ordinary disciple from Green Lake Mountain, without any rank insignias.

After stepping out of the formation, the man reached up to his face and peeled off his entire skin mask.

He transformed dramatically, becoming a young man with a handsome appearance and a steady disposition—that was none other than Lin Xin, who had just returned from the Ruined Tomb at the Resentful Spirit River.

One of his hands was empty and damaged, having been directly blown off, and had not yet regrown, so for the time being, it remained vacant. In his other hand, he carried a black cloth bag filled with assorted items. The Qilin mask was among them, as well as some daily necessities he had acquired on his way back. Lacking a space ring, he could only carry them by hand.

The Dragon Serpent Realm was exceptionally desolate, with a harsh climate to match.

As Lin Xin stepped out from the formation, his surroundings were devoid of any other people—completely deserted.

He stood at the volcano’s mouth, looking out into the distance. Across the red plains, rivers of magma meandered, dark red plumes of fire shot up intermittently like fountains, making a tremendous noise, and barely a sign of life could be seen.

He took a Jade Talisman out of his robe. This object was extremely durable and had sustained no significant damage during the explosion, although its originally smooth surface had dimmed somewhat.

"I’m back," Lin Xin immediately sent a message to Chen Jingsi, who was still practicing in the Dragon Serpent Realm, standing by his side ready to serve him at any moment.

Among them all, she was appointed to stay close to him and cultivate secretly within the Dragon Serpent Realm, always ready to serve Lin Xin.

After all, she came from a major clan and was adept at handling these trivial matters with order and efficiency, which had satisfied Lin Xin over the years.

However, since her talents were not as high and her trustworthiness not equal to that of Lin Youke and the other two, she needed to demonstrate her value in other ways.

Fortunately, Lin Xin now held the esteemed position of Realm Master’s disciple in the Dragon Serpent Realm, the hope of the entire realm, with an extraordinary status. As his personal servant, her own standing also rose with his, and her life was quite comfortable as a result.

After sending the message, a red escape light quickly flew toward him and landed in front of Lin Xin.

A muscular man with a bare upper body, wearing a tiger head mask, knelt down before Lin Xin with respect.

"Subordinate Golden Tiger, greeting the Lord," he said.

"Where is Chen Jingsi?" Lin Xin asked indifferently.

"The Grand Steward is currently not in the realm. Following your previous instructions, it seems we have located those individuals, so she has gone to verify," Golden Tiger was one of the experts nurtured in recent years by Chen Jingsi with the help of Lin Xin’s power and influence.

Although called an expert, in reality, this was a collection of famous figures from the Mortal Realm and various worlds, with cultivation levels from Gold to Iron, corresponding to Fourth Grade, from Yuan Jing to Qi Cultivation.

For dealing with messy little matters that didn’t require the intervention of Fifth Rank Blood Dragon children, these experts would handle the situation.

"There’s news already?"

Lin Xin was shocked for a moment, and then delighted.

He had earlier commanded several of his subordinates to collect information about the ghostly mansion and the reincarnated individuals such as Xiao Lingling, and he had not expected such a quick response.

"Yes, the Grand Steward has personally gone to confirm it and has taken a Blood Dragon child with her," Golden Tiger replied respectfully.

"Let’s go back first," Lin Xin mused for a moment before waving his hand.

Golden Tiger nodded, producing a spark of red light from his hand that transformed into a small boat, inviting Lin Xin to step aboard. Standing at the bow of the boat, he moved his hands.

The red vessel immediately soared into the sky, with flames gushing from the back, headed toward the Deep Fire Palace.

They crossed over volcanoes, through magma plains, and bypassed erupting fire columns.

About half an hour later, the red boat finally arrived at the entrance of the Deep Fire Palace.

Stepping out from the red boat, Lin Xin slowly landed on the ground.

The palace gates were already slowly opening, the Realm Master of the Dragon Serpent Realm sat at the very top, staring down at him with an unpleasant expression alongside the giant dragon-head uncle. It was clear they had known of his arrival well in advance and had likely been observing him for some time.

The Dragon Serpent’s gaze swept over Lin Xin repeatedly, ultimately fixing on his severed left arm.

The air seemed to ignite, becoming drier by the second, and the crackling sounds of flames began to fill his ears.

Lin Xin felt as if he was trapped in an ancient, giant volcano, surrounded by terrifying, intense heat that could engulf and destroy him at any moment like a sea.

"Who did this!?" Dragon Serpent finally spoke after a long silence, enunciating each word.

"Honored Master, there’s no need for concern. I have a way to restore my left arm; it’s not a big problem," Lin Xin quickly reassured, his heart warming at the concern shown.

He had several teachers, but only this one gave him a different feeling altogether.

He promptly recounted the main events of his journey.

"This matter, I can handle myself. Please rest assured, Honored Master," he concluded.

"The Fox Spirit Thief? You actually encountered a character from the list of infamous villains? And a servant of the Evil God King??" Dragon Serpent was also somewhat startled, and for a moment, his gaze at Lin Xin changed slightly.

From initial anger, it shifted to concern and fear.

"You little bugger...! You’re practically courting death! A servant of the Evil God King, that kind of rank is not something you can come in contact with now! Basically, if you meet one, you’re dead!! You... you you little bugger...."

The Dragon Serpent was so infuriated that he found himself at a loss for words, his finger jabbing towards Lin Xin’s chest in fluctuating motions.

"It’s a good thing! A good thing you have a strong life force!!" said the Dragon Tortoise Honored Uncle, shaking his head and sighing on the side. "Not long after you left, your senior sister was severely injured and collapsed in the lava river. She was discovered by Oro, and she almost lost her life."

"Who did it?"

A chill ran through Lin Xin’s heart.

"People from the Nine Immortal Halls of the Four Seas Fairy Mountains." Dragon Tortoise answered.

"How has this matter been dealt with? How is my senior sister now?" Lin Xin asked quickly.

The Dragon Serpent’s expression by now had slowly returned to normal, but when the matter was brought up, he responded with irritation.

"She’s in worse shape than you! Though she’s no longer in critical condition, her cultivation base has been slightly damaged, and she is likely to have difficulty making any further progress...."

He swiftly raised his hand, and an unseen scorching power gently pressed upon Lin Xin’s chest to probe the condition within his body.

"It’s good, it’s good, you’re lucky to be alive, kid!"

He confirmed that Lin Xin had some internal hidden injuries and then let out a deep sigh of relief.

Cultivation practice is such that along the journey and during trials, one can get hurt countless times by carelessness, and no one knows whether it might be one of those injuries that damages their cultivation base and prevents any further progress.

But without going through trials, one can’t step onto a more distant path, and apart from persevering through the illusory world, all cultivators really have no other choice.

"Cultivation should be carried out with a heart full of courage and diligence, as if walking on thin ice. Presumably, the Hall Master of the Nine Immortal Halls will give me an explanation."

The Dragon Serpent returned to the topic of his injured senior sister, with a fierce light overflowing in his eyes.

"Your return is timely. We will go together to handle the matter of your senior sister’s injury. It will also let these old fellows recognize the Dragon Serpent’s new disciple, to prevent any further mishaps."

The last sentence, he uttered almost through gritted teeth.

"Additionally, regarding the matter of your arm, I have a Seven Revolutions Heart Reconnecting Pill here that can regenerate severed limbs; take this first."

"As you command, thank you, Honored Master."

Lin Xin stepped forward to take the elixir as instructed, and then was thoroughly admonished and inquired about his injuries, taking quite a while before he was allowed to leave.

After exiting the grand hall, he went to visit his senior sister Lie Jin.

His relations with all these people were only so-so, the best being with the Lava Giant Oro, but as brothers and sisters of the same sect, he still needed to show his care and concern.

Lie Jin’s injuries were critical; most of her internal organs and bones had been crushed to pulp, and she could only communicate via sound while lying in bed.

A trace of anger was also present in Lin Xin’s heart; after all, they were fellow sect disciples and had been together for some time now. After carefully comforting Lie Jin, he slowly left the room, allowing the Elixir Path Cultivator who was taking care of her to come in for an examination.

The Dragon Serpent Master was expected to deal with the situation within the next few days.

After coming back to the Deep Fire Palace, he quickly asked the palace maids to sort through the items in his bundle. The mysterious mask he had taken out earlier was not disclosed to Dragon Serpent; he only told them they retreated swiftly after encountering the Resentful River Singers.

After all, this mission involved many secrets he couldn’t reveal, especially the Attributes. Incredibly, he had gained over sixty-five thousand attribute points from the Evil God’s malevolent energy.

The process was too illogical to explain how he got the Ancient Divine Artifact, and eventually, he would have to reveal what his reliance was.

So he simply chose to say nothing.

Leaving the Deep Fire Palace, he flew straight towards the stone house.

Riding atop Bai Yun, he gently descended, while a Blood Dragon Child standing in the shadows nearby saluted him from a distance.

As he pushed the door and entered the house, a flash of golden light radiated from him and spread throughout the room.

The Formation checked and verified the identity of the Jade Talisman on his body in an instant. With the dissipation of the golden light, the room door closed automatically.

Lin Xin walked to the stone bed and lay down, letting his entire body completely relax.

"I’m so tired..."

The previous battle was not much of a concern, but what came after, the absorption of the Evil God’s malevolent energy, although short, had drained so much of his mental and spiritual energy.

Unconsciously, Lin Xin lay on the bed and fell into a deep sleep.

When he woke up again, it was already dark outside the window.

A verdant green Jade Slip was gently bobbing and sinking on the table in the room, casting a faint luminescence. The entire room was bathed in a light green glow.

Lin Xin took a deep breath and propped himself up from the bed, still looking somewhat groggy, as if he hadn’t fully awakened from his deep sleep yet.

He glanced at the Spiritual Energy timing clock hanging on the wall, which was a timing tool he had crafted himself.

The clock’s hour hand was at three, and the minute hand was at seventeen.

But the date was showing that it was three days later...

"I’ve slept for three days... I haven’t had such a good rest in a long time." Lin Xin shook his head and got up from the bed.

He unfastened the Red Flower Sword from his waist, casually picked up the Jade Slip floating on the table which was marked as having been sent there a day ago.

Upon channeling his consciousness inside, he immediately heard Chen Jingsi’s voice issuing from it.

"Master, we’ve found some of the information you wanted. The matter of the Youfu is linked to destroyed history and forbidden knowledge, seemingly related to the War of the Ancient Gods and Shadow City. Behind the Youfu seems to be the manipulations of a power from within Shadow City. We’re unable to find more; perhaps you can check with the headquarters at Green Lake Mountain. Aside from that, we’ve located traces of the two individuals you mentioned, Yuan Qiuque and Huang Yuerong."