Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 753 - 748 - Corpse Path II

Chapter 753: 748 Chapter Corpse Path II

"Although it’s hard to believe, it is indeed the case." The man also smiled bitterly, "The disciple has used the Soul-Confounding Art to investigate dozens of people within three days, all of whom might be involved in the supernatural realm. After sorting it out, we finally arrived at this unanimous answer."

"You’ve worked hard," Lin Xin nodded.

"With the Taoist Sect so weak, who was the previous leader of which sect?"

"The Mount Lao Sect," the man quickly replied.

"Mount Lao... mainly involved in catching ghosts?"

Lin Xin was even more speechless.

"Yes... and now there’s no one left who can master the advanced Cultivation Practices. The disciple personally made a trip to Mount Lao, and the highest level of cultivation there is merely Qi Cultivation..."

"Alright... what about the Evil Path?" Lin Xin asked again.

"The Evil Path, that would be the so-called zombie clan that doesn’t fall within the Five Elements of heaven and earth. Among them, Corpse King Jidu is the leader, with four major zombie generals whose ferocity is well known, consuming human blood and causing harm to all.

However, Jidu has already been eliminated a few years ago by a Demon-Subduing Noble Family in collaboration with an independent Taoist, who sacrificed themselves to destroy him. Now, there are only a few insignificant ones left, hardly worth mentioning."

The man had obviously done a detailed investigation.

"According to descriptions, this Corpse King had profound skills, immense strength, extremely fast speed, and even abilities like mind control. The exact extent of his power is unknown.

But there’s one thing that is worth noting."

"What is it?"

Lin Xin turned his gaze back from the window.

"That Corpse King Jidu, known as the undying and indestructible. No matter how you kill him, even if you tear him apart or blast him into countless fragments, he can gradually heal and resurrect.

And the ball of dark energy that the Honored Master released on the island not long ago is the Corpse King’s life essence, capable of possessing a body and reviving itself opportunistically."

"This is indeed interesting."

Lin Xin suddenly became interested.

"I’m afraid the Demon-Subduing Noble Family here doesn’t know how to attack the soul, right?"

"Not sure about that, but according to the records here, the Corpse King and even the zombie clan as a whole have no souls. They are not part of the Three Realms and the Five Elements, undying and eternally alive, a deviation from the Dao."

"No souls?"

Lin Xin fell silent.

A living being that can exist without a soul, that was indeed rare. Even Daoist soldiers need an incomplete soul to survive.

Escorted by the carriage, it wasn’t long before the signs of human presence outside the window became more frequent, with some shabby temples and Taoist temples appearing everywhere.

"There are quite a few believers in Hanzhong."

Lin Xin commented.

"Yes, Honored Master," the disciple in front replied with a smile. "The Yuan Family, one of the Demon-Subduing Noble Families, has lived here for generations and has influenced the local populace somewhat."

Lin Xin nodded and fell silent.

As the carriage traveled on, the crowd along the road gradually thinned, with many kneeling at the roadside, burning paper money and figurines, and ceaselessly wiping away tears.

A short while later, the carriage entered the city.

The city gate wasn’t crowded, and a squad of soldiers with guns stood guarding the gate without glancing sideways.

Once inside the city, the buildings were drab and mostly one-story, and there were very few pedestrians on the roads.

Occasionally, a few peddlers carrying their wares would pass by and be interrogated by the soldiers.

Lin Xin leaned against the carriage window, quietly watching outside until the carriage stopped in front of a small, off-white Western-style house, when he came back to his senses.

Stepping out of the carriage, several young female disciples in white dresses came to greet him, bowing respectfully.

"Welcome, Sect Master."

"Is everything ready?" asked the disciple who got off the carriage with him.

"The senior sister has already made all the necessary preparations," the female disciples quickly responded.

"Let’s go inside first."

Lin Xin, hands clasped behind his back, walked toward the Western-style house.

"The military’s Sun Guotao from Hanzhong will arrive soon. The Honored Master can stay here for a day or two," the disciple followed up, said softly.

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

"You must make compensation and apologize for this, and also hand over the perpetrator of the violence!!"

Inside the mayor’s office in Yuhai City.

Foreign ambassadors from three countries, either standing or sitting, looked angrily at Yuhai City Mayor Chen Zhenghua.

The loss of several navy ships was an irrevocable and grave consequence for any country.

Upon receiving the news that the naval fleet had been destroyed, the three countries quickly initiated diplomatic procedures, condemning Xia Country and conveying their severe protests.

Chen Zhenghua’s face showed grief, but he felt secretly elated inside.

These Westerners have always been arrogant, not holding much respect for him as the mayor.

Now, upon hearing of the destruction of the naval fleet, they were all running over to protest and condemn.

Although he felt elated, he knew that it was not the time to fall out with these Westerners. The tens of thousands of troops stationed in Yuhai were supported by loans from the banks of the three countries, barely managing to hold on.

Cough, cough.

He coughed a few times, then slowly said.

"I understand the intention of all the ambassadors, but..." he showed a troubled expression. "That Hanzhong is not under the control of our Ning army..."

"Then please have your army take action to purge and reclaim Hanzhong!"

One of the ambassadors from the countries demanded loudly.

"The rumor of one man resisting an army of one hundred twenty thousand, is your country joking? The biggest joke of the century? I dare to swear in the name of the Lord, there’s no one in the world who can withstand an army of more than a hundred people! To propagate such an exaggerated hoax and secretly attack our troops to achieve an objective, Sun Guotao’s intentions in Hanzhong are clear!"

The other two ambassadors were also filled with righteous indignation.

Chen Zhenghua also didn’t believe in the notion of one man standing against a whole army, but he still wore an apologetic expression on his face.

"I am truly sorry... Our military funds are currently insufficient, and at most, we can just about manage to garrison Yuhai, defending the periphery. The land of Hanzhong... it’s too remote."

The envoys from the three countries instantly erupted into an uproar, each proclaiming that if your country cannot resolve it, then they will deal with it themselves!

This was exactly what Chen Zhenghua had intended.

With tens of thousands of troops under his command, garrisoning Yuhai was sufficient, but that was the limit.

With the foreign allied forces covetously lurking nearby, there wasn’t a moment to relax. He was expected to send troops to conquer Hanzhong? Who could entertain such foolish talk?

After seeing off the envoys from the three countries, he disdainfully tossed the diplomatic correspondence onto the table.

"I’m afraid it’s yet another chaotic divine spirit movement, preaching invincibility against blades and guns, claiming that all spells and methods cannot harm them..."

He shook his head.

"If someone truly possessed such abilities, how could my Great Xia have been reduced to ceding territory and paying reparations, to such a pathetic state? These miracle-workers should have appeared earlier if they existed, appearing now means nothing but deceiving the ignorant."

Walking through the office, he entered a small compartment to one side.

In the compartment, a person in a black cloak sat quietly waiting.

The lighting was a bit dim, but the cloaked person made no movements, hands crossed on the table, immobile.

Chen Zhenghua closed the door and sat down in front of the cloaked person.

"What brings you here to seek me, sir? Has there been some change of plans?"

He asked calmly.

"The plan has changed; we must accelerate our actions," the cloaked person said in a low voice. "There is an unpredictability in Hanzhong, but it turns out to be a good direction for us. As long as the Secret Treasure is found, the commander need not worry about the lack of military funds anymore."

"Have the specific location of the treasure been found?"

Chen Zhenghua’s spirits lifted immediately, and he asked eagerly.

"It’s almost confirmed. Will you be going there personally, General?" the cloaked person asked quietly.

"I can’t trust this matter to anyone else. I will personally rush to Hanzhong. As for Sun Guotao over there... it seems he really cannot be spared," he said, a sinister light flashing in his eyes.

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

Time slowly passed... before you knew it, three months had gone by.

In those three months, Lin Xin had returned once, his consciousness alone making the journey back to confirm the time flow rate of this small world, which was about nineteen to one; meaning, nineteen days here amounted to just one day back home.

Such a time flow rate was particularly beneficial for practicing insight-oriented Cultivation Decisions and Swordsmanship.

His current goal was to accumulate a large number of small worlds under his control through the peculiar mask, continually gathering disciples and forming a vast force of influence.

As the number of small worlds he controlled increased, along with the world source and Boundary Stones he possessed, his cultivation level and power would snowball, growing bigger and bigger, until one day it could no longer be suppressed.

And burst forth completely.

At that time, it would be when he truly found Shadow City and sought his revenge.

During the three months, Lin Xin also spent time feeling the joy of ordinary people everywhere.

Or rather, purely collecting joy.

Using the mental method incantation of the Supreme Jiuyue Divine Wind Sword, he was able to quickly and directly collect the pure emotion of joy and condense it within himself.

However, because he had not fully comprehended the essence of joy, and his Swordsmanship had not advanced enough, the collected joyful emotions could not be condensed into a sword.

Meanwhile, his disciples scoured all places for heaven and earth treasures, finding quite a few valuable items.

Apart from depleted Spirit Jade mines and various precious metals, there were also a number of valuable aged animals and plants that could be processed into medicinal herbs.

In this world, human development was not advanced; the depths of the ocean and the mountaintops were out of reach, which made it convenient for the disciples of Lake Mountain Sect to reap benefits.

The Soul Reapers drifted everywhere, swiftly spreading throughout the entire north and south of Great Xia.

More and more disciples summoned by the sect were arriving in batches, heading out to all parts of the country.

Others flowed towards the powerful foreign nations.

Zhao Wumian and Lu Li managed all affairs and began to plan the persuasion and reformation of various national warlords.

Lin Xin didn’t pay much attention to these matters.

What he cared about was that the location of the second source of fate had been found once again.

It lay near Hanzhong.

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

Xianzhou.

Yongan Merchants.

Inside the bustling main store of the merchant guild, people were continuously coming and going.

Chen Ying, dressed in a white blouse and black trousers for ladies, stood at the door with a smile, watching a black carriage slowly pulling up.

Click, the carriage door opened, and a young man and woman, both dressed in Western-style clothes, got out. They were clean, neat, sophisticated, and looked completely different from the ordinary civilians wearing grey fabrics around them.

"Ah Ying!"

"Xiao Jing!!"

Chen Ying briskly walked over and tightly embraced the Western-dressed woman.

"It’s been too long; you’ve become even more beautiful!" Chen Ying said with a smile.

"Don’t leave this time you’ve come. My father has come out of retirement, and the business is booming; we’re almost too busy to manage. We’re all counting on you, a great talent who has studied abroad!" Yuan Xiaojing was also delighted. She and Chen Ying had been close friends since childhood, and she had been somewhat worried when she heard about some issues with Yongan. But now, the situation seemed much better than she had imagined.

"A monthly salary of fifty taels of silver, isn’t that enough?" Chen Ying said with a smile, naming her price.