Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 98 - 97: Sacrificial Fire, Part 1

Chapter 98: Chapter 97: Sacrificial Fire, Part 1

Sheathing his sword, Lin Xin carefully inspected the black bear’s corpse.

The bear was over two meters long, lying prostrate on the ground, blood slowly spreading from beneath it.

Crouching down, he grabbed the fur on the half of the bear’s body and gave it a pull and a tug. Instantly, he flipped the bear over.

The fur was warm, and the coarse hair was so tough that it was somewhat prickly to the touch.

The flipped side of the bear revealed its lower half, which was cut off, revealing a bloody cavity. Bending over, one could clearly see through the cross-section the various internal organs of the bear and the blood flowing within.

"Truly marvelous!"

Taoist Lu Suo and others gathered around, all expressing their admiration.

"This isn’t half a body." Lin Xin shook his head and reached out to touch where the bear’s legs should be.

A similarly warm sensation came back, clearly indicating there was still a body there.

"It’s just that its lower half is invisible."

"Invisible...?" Gongsun Li remarked, her face changing slightly upon hearing this. "I’ve heard legends of a certain place where invisible creatures originate from Mysterious Water... But Mysterious Water is known to be extremely venomous, fatal to anyone who touches it. If there were Mysterious Water here... it’s unlikely it would look like this! The trees within a hundred miles should be dead."

"Mysterious Water?" Lin Xin shook his head. "No matter what it is, let’s move forward a little further and see what else is in this forest."

"Yes..." Gongsun Li took out a Golden Needle, Taoist Lu Suo slowly regulated his breathing, and with a group of people, they encircled Lin Xin and moved forward slowly.

Not long after they moved forward, a man suddenly clutched at his throat.

"Save... me!!" It was as if something invisible had wrapped around his neck.

Clang!

Taoist Lu Suo was the first to thrust his sword forward. It was as if he had struck metal, emitting a clashing sound.

The man collapsed to the ground and quickly scrambled away in a most humbling manner.

Taoist Lu Suo, who had not performed well in front of Lin Xin before, was eager to redeem himself, sword in hand, and executed three consecutive slashes.

The air emitted three crisp ’clangs’ in response.

"Be careful!"

Gongsun Li tossed a handful of white powder into the air towards the seemingly empty space.

Suddenly, where there was nothing before, a huge python as thick as an arm appeared.

This python was actually invisible, lashing its tail ferociously at Taoist Lu Suo who was holding the sword.

"An invisible snake! This one’s my specialty, leave it to me!" he leaped forward, quickly producing various vials and such from his hands.

Lin Xin led the others to retreat, watching the two of them assault the now-visible python, which, like the black bear, was tough-skinned with incredible defensive power.

The two focused on attacking its eyes and vital areas, using both powder and liquid medicines. After a long struggle, they left the giant snake on its last breath, eventually lying motionless on the ground.

Lin Xin stepped forward to examine it, and found that it was still barely alive. He drew his sword.

"I’ll finish this thoroughly."

Lu Suo and Gongsun Li naturally agreed, stepping aside.

Hiss.

The sword blade stabbed harshly into the eye of the invisible snake, piercing through the snake’s head.

Suddenly a chill emitted from Lin Xin’s waist pouch, and he instantly knew that the Demon Talisman Seed had reacted again.

Feeling slightly thrilled, he sheathed his sword and stepped back, as some people came forward to clean up the corpse, ready to take it away.

"Villa Master! The corpse is gone!" Suddenly, an alarmed cry came from behind.

Lin Xin and the others hurriedly turned back, only to see that the corpse of the black bear they had killed earlier, which had been dragged by their men, had now disappeared without a trace.

His expression slightly furrowed, he quickly walked to where the black bear’s corpse had been, sweeping his gaze across the forest, which was covered in a blanket of white.

"Even the marks from our recent fight have disappeared, bloodstains are gone, and so is the corpse..."

Turning his head towards the corpse of the large python, to his surprise, just as he turned back, he saw the corpse of the snake dissolving into a liquid as naturally as flowing water, quickly seeping into the ground.

In just a few blinks, a python measuring over seven or eight meters completely vanished before their eyes.

"This is really bizarre!"

Lu Suo muttered softly.

Lin Xin touched the Demon Talisman Seed in his waist pouch, which was becoming increasingly colder; he took it out to look, though it was still slightly less chilly than the last time.

"Keep moving forward!"

The group dared not raise any objections and continued to walk slowly. Lin Xin was already prepared to use the Luminous Talisman Stone, anticipating more trouble ahead and needing to restore his Inner Qi as much as possible.

Along the way, they encountered several similar giant pythons, all invisible creatures. All were revealed and subsequently slain thanks to Gongsun Li’s powder.

The Demon Talisman Seed within Lin Xin also began to feel the second seed chill.

Continuing on, three people became careless and were injured by the pythons, temporarily retreating out of the forest. The remaining people pushed forward until dusk, killing two half-bodied black bears and a group of half-bodied wild wolves before they finally slowed their pace.

Lin Xin touched the Demon Talisman Seed, which now had two seeds filled with chill. However, the team was overburdened, mainly because Gongsun Li’s powder was also depleted.

"Forget it, let’s head back for now! We’ll come again fully prepared next time!"

Eventually, he decided to call a retreat.

The others all breathed a sigh of relief. Their fighting capacity had been halved, and both physical strength and powder supplies were running low. To continue would likely result in casualties rising sharply in a short period.

Gazing ahead at the still endless expanse of white, the snowy forest stretched on without apparent end.

"To think one can actually hunt here and obtain attribute points, indeed a wonderful place. The only question is what lies at the very heart..." Lin Xin thought of the subordinate who first ventured in with that piece of old bark.

A team began to slowly retreat.

But they hadn’t gone far before they saw the subordinate who had entered the forest first, running out from the depths with something in his arms.

"Villa Master! Your subordinate has not failed in his mission!" He ran up to Lin Xin, his face dripping with sweat, and declared loudly.

"Rest, rest! What have you brought back?" Lin Xin was quite surprised. Originally, sending this fellow into the woods was just an attempt to explore, but he had never expected him to actually come running back with something in his arms.

"Villa Master, it’s this!" The man placed the object from his arms onto the ground; it was a block of metallic grey, with many fine red lines etched across its surface.

"Is this... Magma Iron...?" Lin Xin recognised the metal’s name at once.

The people around were all confused.

"Magma Iron? Villa Master, what is this used for?" Gongsun Li also hadn’t heard of this thing before.

Lin Xin, however, seemed to suddenly think of something, and his eyes lit up, almost shining with a light.

"Quite the eccentric, to think our first meeting would bring me such a generous gift!"

He quickly asked the subordinate how he had managed to run out of the woods, and whether he had encountered any dangers inside.

Contrary to expectations, this fellow hadn’t run into anything the whole way and had just run straight in and back out again. They hadn’t proceeded like his team, needing to fight their way through.

"Magma Iron... is a strange metal used in weapon forging... Forged weapons naturally possess scorching heat. It’s considered a superior material, a treasure encountered but not sought!" Lin Xin explained offhandedly, having come across this information while casually perusing in the Sect’s library.

"Pack up, we’re heading back!"

He ordered people to pick up the Magma Iron. The one who picked up the metallic block was immediately surprised; the iron was actually warm to the touch, almost like a natural furnace.

The team, along with the injured, returned to where Xiao Lingling was waiting. After regrouping, they did not pause at all and headed straight back towards the villa.

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

On the border of the Yuefu territory, beside a mountain stream.

The silvery white stream meandered down through the grey-white rocks, surrounded by green moss and lush grass, clear and pure.

Sunlight fell through the gaps in the forest canopy, scattering an array of white and golden spots across the surface of the stream, dense and numerous like countless grains of white and gold sand.

A man dressed in green clothes with his face covered agilely leaped out from the woods. With a few rolls and agile maneuvers, he landed steadily on a large green stone by the stream.

The man reached out into the stream.

Hisss!

Suddenly, a small red fish leaped out from under the water. In midair, the fish turned and spat out something white, which landed precisely in the man’s hand before the fish itself fell back into the stream.

The white object was a small scroll of clean leather paper.

Having quickly read the content, the man took out a flint and set the scroll on fire, holding the burning paper in his hand. The red and yellow flames burnt on his hand without him seeming to feel the heat, until the scroll was completely burnt to ash. He then tossed the blackened remains into the stream.

"It’s a hiring mission from the Red Chamber, specifically to kill the new warden of Yuefu," the man said in a deep voice. Although there was no one else around, he spoke as if talking to himself.

"Specifically?" A woman in green clothes appeared behind him, her face also covered and invisible.

"Yes, irrespective of their entanglement with this newly appointed youngster, all the intelligence is in hand. A fledgling Innate, a ’little genius’ with no more than a year of cultivation. Strangely appointed to this position as warden, since here is quite far from the battlefield preparations, it seems like someone within the Sect seriously looks after him. We must be careful." The man explained.

"Do the Four Sects still have surplus power to stop us?" the woman countered.

"That’s also true," he concurred.

"What’s the target information?" the woman asked in detail, "I’m free anyhow, and taking it will mean extra earning."

"Twenty-one years old, Innate Fifth Layer adept in the Formation Path, possesses Talisman Artifacts made from Luminous Formation Stones and a Talisman Sword. His strongest combat capability is around the Eighth Layer of Innate. In addition, he might have one or two hidden magic artifacts given by the Formation Hall. Overall combat power does not exceed the Perfection of the Innate Ninth Layer," the man recited from memory what he had just read. "Will you take it, Lame Flower?"

"What kind of question is that for the Hall Master to ask? If my Star Calamity Hall can’t handle a mere Qi Cultivation youngster, then what’s the point of mixing in the Demon Sect?" the woman said disdainfully.

"Our first assassination was already a complete success, and next, we are preparing something big to truly make our name known. The Grand Hall Master has already begun dispatching people. Now, I don’t have many people around me, so finish the job quickly and report back," the man said gravely.

"I should be able to complete the mission within two months from here," the woman said confidently.

"Then off you go," he said.

As soon as his words fell, and the man turned around, the woman had already vanished completely without a trace.

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

Half a month later...

In the Lin Family villa, the Villa Master’s cultivation chamber.

The room was empty except for a bonfire and a meditation cushion.

A small bonfire quietly burnt in front of Lin Xin, supporting a petite pill furnace. The furnace, made of brass, was boiling water that had been simmering for a long time, used to alleviate the dry air of the villa.

Lin Xin sat cross-legged beside the fire, his gaze not on the pill furnace but fixed within the flames of the bonfire.

Within it, two pieces of black metal were slowly melting away.

Lin Xin’s mouth and nose parted slightly as he watched the melting metal. Wisps of red aura, invisible to the ordinary eye, drifted slowly from the bonfire into his nostrils and mouth.

Soon after, the red aura had completely floated away, and Lin Xin gently closed his mouth and eyes.

In his field of vision, the attribute panel suddenly gained two free attribute points. (To be continued. If you like this work, please go to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)