Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 97 - 96 Discovery Below

Chapter 97: Chapter 96 Discovery Below

The roof of the house had many straw poles protruding from it, forming a standard hip roof, with gray-white stone walls made up of stacked stones underneath.

"Stop where you are."

A cold male voice suddenly came from inside the stone house.

Lin Xin, with four swords slung on his back, walked at the front. Hearing the voice, he stopped slowly about ten or more paces away from the stone house.

The subordinates around him fanned out and slowly surrounded the stone house.

"I am Lin Xin. I have heard that a strange person has been living near Yin Mountain Lake for a long time. Out of curiosity, I came to visit. If my presence is disturbing, I hope for your forgiveness," Lin Xin said with narrowed eyes, speaking loudly.

A silence followed inside the stone house, and after a while, a voice came out.

"Ah, the new guardian... You Qi Cultivators breathe in and out the elemental energy of the morning clouds and evening twilight. Why are you here if not for something important?" The person’s voice had an elderly tone, suggesting that he was at least past fifty.

"I am only here to pay a visit and get to know my neighbor. If the strange person does not wish to be disturbed, then I shall take my leave."

Lin Xin’s heart tightened. The person had recognized his identity immediately, which meant he must have been in hiding here for a long time and was likely someone whose cultivation was far superior to his own. He immediately prepared to leave.

"Wait a moment."

The person inside the stone house suddenly spoke up.

"Since you are the guardian, your cultivation is too weak, and you may face continuous calamities recently."

Humm...

The stone door of the stone house slowly opened a crack, and a black figure shot out and slowly floated in front of Lin Xin.

The black figure turned out to be a piece of ordinary-looking old tree bark.

Caught off guard, Lin Xin reached out and caught the old tree bark.

"Senior, what is this...?"

Spectators, including Lu Suo the Taoist and Gongsun Li, watched this miraculous scene with awe in their eyes.

"Take this and go to a place one thousand two hundred steps to the east. If you trust me, wait there for an hour, and you will surely gain something. Consider it a good deed to form a connection...."

Lin Xin looked at the bark and faintly felt that something seemed to be hidden within it.

Taking it, he pondered for a moment and then bowed toward the stone house.

"Thanks for your generous gift, Senior. If I gain something, I shall repay you."

"Go on, go on...." The voice from inside the stone house slowly subsided, falling silent once again.

Without further words, Lin Xin led his people back the way they came.

Along the way, he noticed that the looks from the experts within his team had completely changed—the Immortal Sect guardian! Lin Xin’s identity had been uncovered. This position was not something any ordinary disciple could hold; it was usually filled by those with strong cultivation.

This was practically someone with authority on par with a City Lord.

If they could continue following such a person, wealth and glory would be within reach!

Even Lu Suo the Taoist and Gongsun Li had not expected Lin Xin to be the guardian. A guardian, in the eyes of those in Jianghu, not only represented mystery and strength but also substantial influence, along with a steady release of resources from the Immortal Sect over time!

As an Immortal Sect guardian, Lin Xin had the right to access an unending supply of resources from the Sect, including all sorts of medicines, divine weapons, and magical talismans that common folk can only dream of—all of which only the Sect had a stable supply.

This channel could make the guardian an untouchable local powerhouse and leader of an influential group.

On the way back, seeing that it was still early, Lin Xin sent one of his skilled men to take the piece of old tree bark and investigate the direction mentioned by the strange person. He was uncertain if the object was harmful or had special properties, so sending someone else to check was the best approach.

As the man walked into the misty forest with the old tree bark, leaving a trail behind him, Lin Xin followed the path with Lu Suo, Gongsun Li, and the others in the direction taken by his subordinate.

In the mist, the forest by Yin Mountain Lake was eerily strange.

The large trees in the forest, whether it was the bark or the soil, were all white, as if the lifeless woods were molded out of white clay.

They hadn’t gone far when a roar suddenly came from ahead.

Roar...!

"It’s a bear!" Lu Suo the Taoist muttered in a low voice; he immediately recognized the source of the sound.

Lin Xin’s expression did not change; he looked in the direction of the roar, to the front right.

Beyond the white trees, a black bear was slowly pacing out.

The rear half of the bear was hidden by the trunks, showing only its front half.

Seeing Lin Xin and the others, its eyes gleamed ferociously as it slowly approached.

A strange scene emerged.

From its waist and back, the bear had no back half at all!

It was as if someone had cleaved it in two at the waist; its entire rear half was simply not there.

"Hiss... what kind of monster is this!?" Lu Suo and the others gasped.

They’d seen black bears before, but they had never seen one that could move with only half a body.

"Who wants to try first?" Lin Xin asked, unfazed. He had been given a few such tasks over the years and had seen plenty of strange things, so naturally, he would not be easily spooked.

The crowd looked at each other, not daring to speak.

For external experts like Lu Suo the Taoist and Gongsun Li, dealing with an ordinary bear and managing to kill one or two wouldn’t be too difficult, but that was assuming it was a normal bear.

The one before them, however...

An awkward silence followed. Lu Suo the Taoist grit his teeth, deciding this was a perfect opportunity to demonstrate his ability.

"I shall give it a try!"

With that, he unsheathed his longsword, leaped forward with a light body technique, and moved to confront the bear.

Roar!

The black bear instantly became furious and swatted a paw at Lu Suo.

Lu Suo dodged with an iron bridge move and, upon getting up, his sword hissed as it accurately stabbed the black bear’s abdomen.

But the tip of the sword didn’t even pierce the bear’s skin.

Fortunately, the black bear’s movements and strength weren’t fast or strong, no different from an ordinary black bear, unable to hit people. After fighting for a while, Lu Suo gradually relaxed and began to move around slowly.

Lin Xin observed from the side; this black bear was much like the Long-Eared Tiger they’d encountered before, with just a few repetitive moves. Once dodged, it could only take hits. However, its fur and defense were freakishly strong.

At this moment, Lu Suo found an opportunity and hissed as he stabbed the bear in the right eye with all his might.

The tip of the sword actually snapped off with a pop, and a thin layer of yellow light emerged on the surface of the black bear’s eye. It was that yellow light that blocked the sword tip.

In a great shock, Lu Suo quickly retreated, but because he had overextended his attack and used up his strength, he hadn’t recovered in time to dodge, and the bear’s paw fiercely slapped toward him.

Just as the paw was about to smash onto Lu Suo’s head.

Clang!!

Lin Xin’s longsword flew out from behind and deflected the massive paw with a thrust.

Unbeknownst to them, he had moved behind Lu Suo, sword in hand, sturdily blocking the black bear’s strike.

Sizzle...!

The sword’s blade bent under the immense pressure from both the black bear and Lin Xin, emitting a violent sizzling noise as if it were about to break at any moment.

Lin Xin snorted coldly, drew his sword again with his left hand, and the Solar Yang Talisman Sword emerged from behind for a Cross Slash.

The sword, infused with Inner Qi, produced a faint whistling sound, its strength and speed more than doubling that of Lu Suo, the Taoist.

Bang!!

When the blade struck the black bear, it was not a slicing sound but a dull thud as if chopping on something blunt.

The bear lost its balance from the strike and tumbled to the right, seemingly knocked unconscious by the impact.

Lin Xin held his swords crossed in front of his chest, his gaze on the black bear growing solemn.

"Such strong defense..."

His last strike was almost his strongest without any techniques, and it still couldn’t pierce the bear’s fur.

That same bear recovered after a moment and climbed up, totally unharmed!

Aoouu!

It seemed to be enraged, roaring as it lunged at Lin Xin.

"Villa Master, be careful!"

Lu Suo hastily retreated, realizing that this bear was somewhat supernatural and beyond his abilities.

"You all step back!"

Lin Xin crossed his swords, watching as the bear drew ever closer. He became utterly still, except for the thin, transparent scorching currents that began to swirl subtly around the blades.

The heat caused the surrounding light to distort.

The bear came closer and faster.

Lin Xin’s grip on the dual swords tightened. His eyes sharply focused on the charging black bear. The searing current from the blade was about to spread around him.

Even the grass beneath his feet showed faint signs of scorching black. It was a result of the high temperatures.

The bear’s paw came at him fiercely, as though it wanted to shred him with a single swipe.

At the same time, the bear’s mouth opened wide and it bit viciously towards Lin Xin.

Boom!!

In an instant, countless amounts of air exploded, and the scorching current, along with tremendous force and speed, erupted amidst the bear’s embrace.

Lin Xin swung his swords together, and countless scorching airstreams blasted between the bear and his blades, shooting out in all directions like arrows, blowing the surrounding ground and leaves into turmoil, slightly blackening the bark of the trees that were too close.

Aoouu!!

The bear, caught by the massive force and burst of the heat stream, was flung mightily into the air and tumbled on the ground before slamming into a protruding tree root. Blood sprayed along its path.

Lin Xin slowly sheathed his swords, ready to advance.

"Still not dead!?" He was shocked to see that the black bear was again getting up, staggering as it tried to escape into the distance.

"Such strong defense..." Lin Xin knew just how formidable his Flameless Swordsmanship was. With his Innate Fifth Layer Inner Qi amplifying it, and having added two attribute points to his offensive power, his Flameless Swordsmanship was actually slightly better than the typical Innate.

Yet, such power couldn’t kill this strange black bear.

Without hesitation, Lin Xin leapt up, spun through the air, and lightly landed in the forest in front of the black bear.

His blade again burst into a large group of heat streams, slashing down with his sword.

Bang!

After another explosion, the bear was still not dead! It rolled several times from the blast but continued to flee despite its injuries.

Lin Xin, growing angry, simply held the Solar Yang Talisman Sword in hand, slowly activating the runes while the Yuan Yang Qi Sword revolved around the blade. He stabbed fiercely.

Following the red flame explosion, the bear was still alive! Only its blood kept flowing more extensively.

He struck with his sword over and over, yet each time the bear got up again.

After much trouble, Lin Xin finally speared through the bear’s head, scorching its body pitch-black and almost breaking one of its front limbs. His Inner Qi was nearly depleted when the bear finally fell thunderously to the ground, lifeless.

Huff... huff...

Lin Xin was also gasping for breath.

Just as he sheathed his sword, he felt a chill from the Demon Talisman Seed in his waist pouch, which had unexpectedly reacted.

"This black bear can actually let the Demon Talisman Seed absorb?" His heart leaped with joy. He had always been clueless about how to activate the four remaining Demon Talisman Seeds he carried. This time, by chance, he discovered that this peculiar black bear had an effect. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please read on m.qidian.com.)