Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 751 - 746: Changes 2

Chapter 751: Chapter 746: Changes 2

"Let’s go."

Lin Xin headed straight towards the lake water.

The two disciples followed closely behind.

The bag emitting white light was left on the ground, writhing but unable to break free.

The trio entered the water, which was bone-chillingly cold yet mysteriously did not freeze.

Xiao Ran summoned a ball of red light in her hand, casting a warm and bright glow around them.

The other disciple thought for a moment and formed a Seal Decision with his hand.

Suddenly, a large amount of water in front of them split in two, revealing a passage leading straight to the depths of the lake.

The three of them descended swiftly through the channel, taking over half a minute to barely make out the bottom of the lake.

They all slowed down simultaneously and landed on the wet, soft lakebed.

"What is this...?"

Lin Xin frowned slightly as he looked at the source of the strange aura emanating from the bottom of the lake.

It turned out to be a large block of ice, sealing a black altar inside.

The altar was square, with talisman carvings on its edges that were now too blurry to make out, and the center was stained dark red with too much coagulated blood.

There was also a gray stone statue of a human head and bird body, standing solemnly in the center.

Just a short distance in front of the statue, there was a swirling mass of black qi, surging incessantly.

"Perhaps it’s suppressing some evil demon. The one outside must be the Guardian."

The other disciple whispered a guess.

Both disciples had been cultivating for over a hundred years and had considerable experience, so they could somewhat guess the truth.

"Corpse Kings, condensed from the essence qi of the earth, represent the favored children of the world’s yin side. This mass of black qi should be corpse energy," Lin Xin explained softly.

"Could it be related to the chosen one that Honored Master wants to find?" Xiao Ran’s spiritual awareness was also astonishing and she began to sense some clues.

"The sealing hasn’t been long, just a few years. There are two different energies mixed in above... one of the Corpse Path, one of the Path of Humanity, both formed by the condensation of fate," Lin Xin discerned carefully.

He pondered for a moment.

"Open the altar."

"Yes."

Xiao Ran stepped forward and lightly sliced the short sword into the ice, applying a gentle force.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, red flames wrapped around the entire ice block, smothering and scorching it.

The black qi inside seemed to sense something and became agitated, twisting and turning.

"Heaven’s stems and Earth’s branches, Yang Fire steaming," Xiao Ran chanted the Curse Script, activating the full power of her divine treasure.

Immediately, the flames engulfing the ice surged violently.

In the waters of the lake channel, faint crackling sounds erupted, and the air began to dry out.

The lake water, held apart by an invisible force, also began to boil and bubble.

The ice quickly melted, releasing large amounts of clear water and shrinking visibly to the naked eye.

In no time at all, the entire ice block was completely melted by the flames.

"Release the seal."

Lin Xin said indifferently.

The other disciple stepped forward, and the flames dissipated in front of him. He discretely pulled out a jade pendant from his sleeve and tossed it forward.

A piece of purple jade was embedded in the center of the jade pendant, which, in mid-air, emitted a soft purple light.

Wherever the purple light touched, all flames, ice chunks, and water vapor retreated.

The light illuminated the black qi, as if a tremendous force enveloped it, lifting it slowly upward.

Crack!

The altar’s statue suddenly split with a crack.

"Hahaha!!!"

A burst of wild laughter echoed faintly from the void. The black qi broke free from the purple light in a flash, shooting out and up the channel.

Lin Xin and his two disciples watched without changing their expression as the black qi shot out of the channel and disappeared into the sky within moments.

"Let’s go," Lin Xin said lightly, having also not had the chance to act before it escaped.

The Heaven and Earth’s Elemental Energy was insufficient, and everything had to rely on the power drawn from the Spirit Jade. The release of spiritual energy from the Spirit Jade took time, which was ultimately slower than casting spells on one’s own.

"Yes."

The other two disciples replied respectfully.

The three returned the way they came, boarding the boat and heading slowly back in the direction from which they had come.

The people on the boat trembled with fear, as some had faintly heard the sound of wild laughter coming from the center of the island.

Some even thought they saw black qi soaring into the sky.

But now, seeing Lin Xin and the three Daoists returning safely from the center of the island, everyone let out a sigh of relief.

Taoists are best at exorcising demons and subduing evil spirits, and with them present, there probably shouldn’t be any problems.

With their minds somewhat at ease, the boat crew diligently rowed the three back.

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

Back on the island, Jiuya finally struggled out of the bag made of white light.

The white light had faded to almost translucent, and he tore through it, emerging swiftly.

As soon as he got out, he plunged headfirst into the lake water and quickly swam toward the bottom of the lake.

His speed was extremely fast, surpassing even that of fish, and in just a moment, he reached the altar at the bottom of the lake.

From a distance, he saw the altar’s deity statue crack open, and the dark energy vanished without a trace.

A sense of dread instantly struck his heart.

"This is bad! The Corpse King’s energy has been released!!"

He swiftly lifted his black head covering, revealing the waxen face of a middle-aged man.

With one hand, he quickly drew a black stone from his person, which had a circle of golden rings patterned on it.

With a snap, he crushed it fiercely, and the gold ring patterns in the stone scattered into fine gold dust, which soon disappeared into the lake water.

After doing all this, he checked the entire altar again, but ultimately he let out a long sigh.

"I never expected that Taoist Hongde would sacrifice himself, barely kill Jidu, and seal away his Corpse King’s energy, only for it to escape from my watch first...

With the Corpse King’s energy loosed, the world... will once again be engulfed in bloodshed..."

Last time, it was Taoist Hongde who turned danger into safety and saved the common people, ensuring Jidu’s ambitions did not succeed. This time, who would step forward?

Jiuya did not know.

But as familiar faces flashed through her mind, she suddenly thought of that beautiful young girl who had tears streaming down her face, quivering in terror, but still took on the task of maintaining the seal.

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

Three days later.

Across the ocean, in the vast empire of Plandon City.

"What?! The Corpse King’s energy has escaped!?"

In a room made of eggshell-colored wood, a black-robed Daoist and a long-eyebrowed monk sat facing each other.

The monk’s brows were wide in shock and anger.

"When did this happen!?"

"Alas... just a few days ago, the Gold Cultured Stone left by the Honored Master shattered, and gold dust scattered. This is indeed a sign that one of the seals was broken," said the Daoist with a heavy sigh.

"There are three total sealing locations, each guarded by powerful individuals. Where is the Guardian!?" the elder monk asked urgently.

"The Guardian, senior Jiuya, was also temporarily trapped. By the time she escaped the snare, the other party had already broken the seal and let the Corpse King’s energy escape," the Daoist replied helplessly.

"What should we do now? With the Corpse King’s energy released, the world will be in chaos, and our Honored Master has also passed away.... This....this..."

He seemed to be slightly at a loss.

"If it has happened once, there’s a high chance it could happen again. Even if not, the Corpse King’s energy will certainly gather its old followers and seek a way to completely break the seal.

We must urgently notify the Yuan and Yin families. The last time there was unrest, they cooperated with elder Hongde to save the masses. This time, we might have to rely on them again." The long-eyebrowed monk spoke firmly.

"Yes, yes, indeed! We must immediately notify the Yuan and Yin families, for they are lineages of demon-suppressing families from ancient times and will surely have a way," the Daoist suddenly brightened up, finding his assurance.

"We also need to inform the Taoist Association and the Buddhist Association. Both James and Prague, two patrons from the last great war, played significant roles. If assisted by those familiar to them, it might be possible to prevent the resurrection of the Corpse King and avert disaster," the monk quickly analyzed, "We must act to stem this calamity."

"I will take care of this matter!" the Daoist swiftly rose to his feet.

"Then, thank you, Daoist Xuan Ying," the monk gave an acknowledgment, his expression solemn.

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

Outside of Hanzhong City.

Blood slowly ran down the blades of Lu Li’s dual swords.

On the blade in her right hand, a sinister pattern began to form anew.

Centered around her position, countless corpses lay haphazardly on the ground, uncountable in number.

Blood formed into rivers, merging together and flowing into the ocean nearby, tainting the beach with a faint crimson hue.

The ground was riddled with deep craters from artillery fire, uneven and jagged.

All around Lu Li’s vicinity, but without exception, they were entirely ineffective.

Now a Fifth Rank Human Immortal in cultivation, Lu Li specialized in swordsmanship, her body enveloped by Sword Intent and Sword Essence protecting her.

Even with the scarcity of Spiritual Energy, relying solely on her Spirit Jade was enough to withstand such bombardments.

An army of 120,000 had abandoned over 3,000 corpses in their retreat, with the majority withdrawing and a lesser part completely breaking down and scattering from her solitary dual-sword onslaught.

Standing in the sea breeze, Lu Li’s body was smeared with blood, but her delicate and pretty face remained pale and smooth, showing no signs of fatigue.

It was as if the intense battle was merely a light game after a meal.

"What a pity, had Honored Master not forbidden using large-scale sword techniques, killing all these men would not have been difficult," she thought with a tinge of regret, the chance to claim so many lives wasted.

So far, she had lost count of how many she had killed.

In the small world, she was the commander of the empire’s forces, decisively striking down any army in a weak position, leaving rivers of blood and mountains of corpses wherever she went.

"I wonder how Junior Brother Zhao is doing."

She turned and began to walk back the way she had come; the bloodstains on her body washed away as if by clear water, rapidly falling to the ground.

Her armor returned to being as clean as it was originally, with not even a hint of a blood scent remaining.

In the distance, a group of soldiers hiding in a small grove, watched her depart with shaking bodies.

The power of one to slaughter thousands of soldiers, such an enemy was beyond what could be called human.

She was a complete demon, a monster, nothing human about her!

"We must report back to the Great Commander at once!"

The group of trembling soldiers quietly retreated.

However, none of them noticed that in the depths of the forest, a blurry shadow was watching from afar in the direction of the battlefield.

He too had been drawn by the towering fear and thick scent of blood.

Believing he could feast abundantly, he had not expected to witness such a shocking scene.

"Could it be that another Yaksha has emerged from somewhere?" the shadow muttered quietly to himself. In his memory, Yakshas were incredibly fast; mortals couldn’t capture their trace. Moreover, they were particularly murderous, which somewhat resembled the woman he had just seen.