Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 99 - 98 Sacrificial Fire Part 2

Chapter 99: Chapter 98 Sacrificial Fire Part 2

’Damage—3, Defense—5, Dodge—1, Physique—1. Free Attributes 3’

"With the Magma Iron, I could forge a magic artifact that is perfectly suited for myself," Lin Xin thought. "The Spiritual Light Shield is good, but it can only defend. I lack a long-term offensive magic artifact for Heart Blood Sacrificial Refinement. Below the Innate level, as long as I have both offensive and defensive artifacts, along with cultivating Qinggong, I should be sufficiently protected. Relying solely on the Talisman Sword is not a long-term solution. It has already started to feel less powerful, and I reckon it will get worse."

He then checked the progress of his Inner Strength.

’Minor Return to Origin Technique—Fifth Layer. (Completion 6%) (Damage +5, Physique +5)’

"Inner Strength is progressing too slowly... Without the amplification from the stone house, I could hardly raise the progress by one point even after ten days of hard cultivation. Being out this time for so long, I have only improved by 5%... I can’t rely solely on honest cultivation for a breakthrough for now."

Lin Xin thought for a while and clapped his hands.

A servant quickly entered from outside.

"Villa Master?"

"Bring me the sword Master Huang cast for me last time."

"Yes."

After the servant left, he soon brought in a longsword tightly wrapped in layers of black cloth.

Lin Xin took the longsword, had the person leave, and locked the door.

He slowly unwrapped the black cloth, revealing a slender blade sheathed in a reddish scabbard.

The scabbard had undergone a dyeing and hollowing process, showcasing clusters of burning flames evenly distributed across its surface like lotuses, creating a strikingly bright red color. At the same time, two characters were carved into the end of the sword handle: ’Red Flower.’

"I wanted to name it Red Lotus, but she insisted on changing it to Red Flower," Lin Xin thought of Xiao Lingling’s coquetry during the sword’s completion, and his face also showed a hint of helplessness.

The Red Flower Sword slowly unsheathed, its black-red blade dull and lackluster, yet emanating a profound searing heat.

Swish.

Lin Xin finally accelerated abruptly, instantly drawing the sword, the blade and scabbard making a fine friction sound.

"What formation should I inscribe on it?" he pondered as he looked at the Red Flower Sword.

"The Minor Solar Yang Formation is too weak, facing my current adversaries, it’s hard to play a decisive role anymore. It’s better to switch to another type of Yang attribute formation."

Lin Xin recalled selecting a few formations after leaving the sect this time.

"The Solar Yang Formation is the best, compared to the Minor Solar Yang Formation, it not only has a certain demonic-banishing effect but also a much higher warming power, no longer just for warming flowers and plants, but a formal real combat formation that can create Solar Yang Talismans to banish evil; the trouble is, it requires Spirit Jade, which is really a formation for those in the Qi Refinement Realm... such a pity..."

"Among the Fire Attribute formations that don’t require Spirit Jade, apart from Luminous Fire, there are only three: Moon Fire, West Bell Fire, and Sacrificial Fire. Luminous Fire has a very strong explosive property, only suitable for one-time use, otherwise, it may severely damage the magic artifact with vibrations, particularly unsuitable for artifacts used after Heart Blood Sacrificial Refinement, as the explosion might harm the soul."

"The effect of Moon Fire isn’t clear, its records state that it uses moonlight as fuel, only functioning at night when there is moonlight, so there is no need to consider this option."

"So the only somewhat suitable choice left is West Bell Fire..."

But no matter what, he did not quite like the poison fire of West Bell Fire, especially since it spread in the wind, and one had to be careful not to accidentally kill one’s own people, very troublesome. A slight mishap could turn it into a wide-range weapon, not distinguishing between friend and foe.

In his dilemma.

Lin Xin thought of the last option, Sacrificial Fire.

He took out the notes on the essential points of Sacrificial Fire from his clothes and gently flipped it open.

’Sacrificial Fire: A strange blood-red flame, found by a past Supreme Elder in the underground valley of the Outer Regions, who discovered an altar with an unquenchable fire, named Sacrificial Fire. Upon researching its altar, some formation patterns were extracted that could activate this mysterious flame. Required conditions: mid to high-grade materials, sacrifice.’

The following is a record of its effects.

’Sacrificial Fire possesses strong unpredictability, has no temperature, and can through the killing of sacrifices communicate with the endless Outer Regions beyond the Underworld, attracting mysterious beings of the Outer Regions to respond and form contracts with them, becoming a fixed summoning existence of the fire.’

’The strength and quantity of the creatures summoned depend on the variety and amount of the sacrifices as well as luck. Once the summoning is successful, the Sacrificial Fire Formation will naturally change, becoming a single summoning special pattern, unable to attract other beings.’

Although Lin Xin had already reviewed it once due to transcribing, he still frowned and flipped through it again.

Honestly, he did not like this type of formation that was reliant on luck. Especially since the booklet he transcribed also recorded many summoning records of predecessors.

Sometimes sentient beings were summoned that were only fit to be pets, and they couldn’t be killed casually, otherwise, his own magic artifact would be destroyed. Inscribing a Sacrificial Fire Formation required a certain quality of materials. Losing them would hurt, and if destroyed, the valuable magic artifact would be wasted as well.

Those with better luck summoned fierce beasts like tigers and lions, but for the low-level disciples, these fierce beasts only served an auxiliary role at first and later became useless, wasting resources.

The less fortunate ones summoned bizarre and ferocious creatures that were extremely prone to backlash. There were even multiple instances where the summoner was killed outright. Even if one managed to dodge the initial danger, the summoned creature might attack its master before the enemies.

"Frankly, this thing is just a gamble on luck..." Lin Xin was also uncertain in his mind. "However, some people have summarized that the pattern of summoning is related to the sacrifice, and it’s best to use sacrifices with strong vitality, which can increase the chance of summoning strong fighters, but such once the formation cannot restrain them, they can easily backlash..."

The reason he spent money to transcribe this was due to his own attribute points. Since attribute points could amplify the power of magic artifacts refined with heart blood, couldn’t they amplify the abilities of the creatures summoned by the artifacts?

So at that moment, he impulsively transcribed the formation and brought it back.

"Should I try it once? Based on my estimation, there’s a great chance it could enhance conjointly." Lin Xin’s expression was uncertain.

He began to study the page about formation patterns in detail.

With his grandmother’s guidance, he had a deep understanding of basic formations, formation patterns, and formation talismans. The Sacrificial Fire Formation was a relatively simple formation and due to its simplicity and mediocrity, the summoned entities had high randomness. Moreover, a large part of its formation patterns were indecipherable.

It was only because there were too many incomprehensible formation patterns worth studying in this world that nobody paid attention to this one.

After reading the manual multiple times, Lin Xin vaguely made a new discovery.

"The binding of summoned creatures in the Sacrificial Fire Formation relies on the power of the formation. Given that, I could miniaturize and massively condense the power of the formation, effectively increasing the binding force indirectly," he thought of a plan.

"No... Once a formation summons, it would lock onto one target. If I inscribe too many... the sacrifices might disperse, perhaps even summoning a swarm of snails..."

"Then, I could summon creatures that are not too fierce. If my attribute points can enhance its abilities, unlike other people for whom summoned creatures cannot grow, for me, they can continuously improve as my attributes increase... And I can fully control whether to boost its attribute effects, making many things easier. Subdue it first, then enhance..."

Lin Xin thought of another viable plan, clearly with substantial feasibility.

"Let’s do this, just need to determine the type of sacrifice, which should roughly determine the type of summoned creature... Let’s gamble, I might obtain a powerful magic artifact with growth potential!"

After deciding, Lin Xin finally settled on engraving the Sacrificial Fire on the Red Flower Sword.

Thinking it through, he got up from the room and instructed his men to prepare various necessary materials. Some materials for drawing the Sacrificial Fire formation patterns could be found locally while others had to be obtained from the Sect. Fortunately, everything could be brought over by ship from the Sect without delay, needing only about seven to eight days. He sent a message to Brother Huang Shan to have him use a carrier bird to simultaneously send additional suppressing construction materials and the needed materials from the Sect.

Having decided on the Sacrificial Fire, Lin Xin started practicing the engraving of the Sacrificial Fire Formation in private within the Manor. Although not using specialized materials, the formation patterns would react slightly upon successful activation. If the materials were insufficient to bear the activated formation patterns, they would instantly turn into powder, serving as a sign of success or failure.

The formation was quite challenging.

Lin Xin tried dozens of times behind closed doors, but all attempts were in vain.

Meanwhile, the Lin Family Manor also began preparations for the wedding banquet.

The engagement news had been confirmed.

Xiao Lingling’s uncle and sister had urgently replied from far away, both very relieved that Xiao Lingling had found a good match.

In their eyes, since Lin Xin was also a disciple of the Sect, he couldn’t be too bad. So, although they were unaware of the specifics, as long as Xiao Lingling was willing, there was no problem.

The letter also indicated that their journey was too long to attend, hoping that everything would follow Xiao Lingling’s wishes.

With both elders in agreement and no cumbersome rituals, they conducted a simple engagement ceremony at the Lin Family Manor.

Lin Xin and Xiao Lingling officially became engaged.

Next, preparations for the formal wedding began.

Lin Xin, the most promising young master of the Lin Family, was about to be married, and the entire Lin Family was bustling with activity, all preparing for the villa master’s wedding.

While it was a minor matter that various powers sent their congratulations again, two new local commanders also sent their congratulations and gifts.

While studying the Sacrificial Fire Formation, Lin Xin also sent return gifts.

Every day, the entire Lin Family Manor buzzed with the coming and going of carriages, and all major and minor powers within the Music Province continuously visited and brought gifts.

Upon hearing that Lin Xin had become a commander, more Jianghu masters and heroes continuously flocked to him.

The Lin Family even held a small selection tournament. Building upon the foundation of the three -- Taoist Lu Suo, Sanyuan Zen Master, and Gongsun Li -- two top external sect experts, as well as dozens of slightly weaker but skilled individuals, joined.

For a time, the whole Lin Family flourished, showing great signs of prosperity. Lin Zhiwen and his brother were grinning from ear to ear every day. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote recommendation tickets, monthly tickets on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)