Eternal Swordmaster

Sizzle~~~

Sizzle~~~~

The black wooden stick stirred round and round in the pitch-black, sesame paste-like concoction, with the swirls it created taking a full two seconds to dissipate.

Inside the firewood room.

Lin Xin sat by the basin, holding the stick, expressionlessly stirring in circles.

There was no fire beneath the basin. Lin Xin moved several small black canisters over from the side and opened the lid of one of them.

He carefully reached in with a pair of long chopsticks, and when he pulled them out, they were pinching a plump grey-white spider, the size of a thumb.

The spider's belly had swelled into a sphere, looking like a balloon that would burst if not handled carefully. The other eight legs flailed wildly at the end of the chopsticks.

"Impregnated grey spiders, thirteen..." Lin Xin deftly pinched thirteen grey-white female spiders out of the jars and quickly smushed them with the big stick into the dark basin.

After sealing the lid, he picked up another canister from the side and opened it.

This time the chopsticks emerged clutching a large, greasy, mud-colored leech.

"Five live leeches..."

Lin Xin ruthlessly tossed them in and continued to pound them with the big stick.

The last canister revealed a mass of black muck that reeked and stank.

"Fresh rotten black mud, three ounces..." Lin Xin added it expressionlessly to the mix and continued stirring, feeling his stomach roiling tumultuously in his chest.

Can this really be eaten?

He looked at the basin of black ointment in front of him, emanating foul odor and pungent smell, wrestling with the thought countless times.

Once the stirring was done, he used the prepared molds to pour the black medicine paste into them, then sealed each with a layer of wax on the outside, making sure they were airtight before submerging them in a water tank.

Then Lin Xin took a small can of oil-based red dye from the side and gently poured it down the edge of the water tank.

Not until all of the dye was poured in and the water in the tank turned completely red did he set down the can.

He just sat there by the side, waiting for over two full hours.

Hiss...

Suddenly, a faint hissing sound, like the release of gas, came from within the tank.

Lin Xin, whose eyes had almost closed, snapped them open upon hearing the sound.

"Success!"

He quickly drained the water from the tank, retrieved the molds inside, and saw thirty-one pea-sized black pills had leaked gas and were successful; the rest, those that hadn't leaked, had failed.

"Thirty-one pills, that should be enough..." Lin Xin looked at the molds of black pills before him, knowing all that was left was to find the Long-Eared Tiger.

"No wonder the path of internal cultivation is so difficult; even with the 'Return to Origin Pill' as a possibility, just the cost of these ingredients has surpassed a thousand silver. While the cost of the ingredients is indeed just over a hundred silver, the success rate is too low... If I couldn't precisely remember and replicate the successful concoction with my body memory, it would probably take several dozen more doses of ingredients for someone else to possibly succeed."

Lin Xin lamented, knowing that it was still only a half-finished product, requiring the hot blood of a Long-Eared Tiger to be consumed.

"Indeed, wealth favors the martial. Studying is an extremely lucrative path, just needing to study well and pass the examinations to ascend dramatically in life. Compared to practicing martial arts, it's much more profitable..."

"Next, I need to find the Long-Eared Tiger..." Lin Xin had a feeling that once he truly cultivated his inner Qi and became a cultivator of the internal path, his attribute ability might bring him a great surprise.

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

The grey sky was filled with vast stretches of stratocumulus clouds, and the sun was blocked behind them, casting only a faint white light.

Noon.

Amid the rolling black and green mountain ranges, two men in white and green motley clothes leaned against a mountain wall on a winding grey road, seemingly quietly waiting for something.

Suddenly, a small black bird fluttered from the distant sky, lightly landing on one of the men's hands.

He quickly untied the scroll bound to the bird's leg and unfolded it to read.

"How is it?" the other man asked in a low voice.

"Master Liu from the Retainers has already started his journey," the man replied after putting away the scroll and releasing the bird, heaving a great sigh of relief.

"So Red Pine Sect is merely posturing, and that cursed eldest disciple is nothing but a pillow of embroidery needles, with only that woman inside being any good at fighting."

"But she is still a master of internal cultivation."

"That's why one Retainer is not enough. Two against one, we can't fail! Moreover, that woman's swordsmanship itself is inferior to that of our lord."

"It's best to wait until Lin Zhiwen relaxes his guard before we strike."

"Of course."

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

The Long-Eared Tiger, with body lengths between four to six meters and a build like a bull, if anyone thought its large frame meant sluggish movements, they would be mistaken.

The Long-Eared Tiger might not be as swift as many agile animals, but it was still much faster than humans.

In the dense forest, by a crevice stream, Lin Xin and An Ying hid in the bushes, their faces and hands covered in a greenish plant mud emitting the scent of fresh grass.

Side by side, they squatted, clothed in black and gray, with their long-sleeved shirts and pants properly tied up to be inconspicuous. They peered through a gap between two large rocks toward the stream.

In the early morning, a faint mist still lingered in the woods, and by the stream, there were already some wild animals coming to drink.

Around the stream lay piles of gray-white stones and crooked tall trees. Numerous climbing vines and plants grew wildly over trees and rocks, accompanied by various unknown flowers and weeds, offering excellent cover for the two of them to camouflage themselves.

Through the gap between the rocks, Lin Xin saw to the left of the stream were some wild boars and deers lowering their heads to drink, while a large patch on the right was dominated by a leopard with a spotted golden coat.

This giant cat would stand as tall as a human, with a body length of at least five meters—practically an enlarged version of the tigers Lin Xin had seen before.

Particularly noteworthy were its very long ears, which stood on its head like two yellow pointed horns.

This is the Long-Eared Tiger, the ruler of the mountain forests near Red Pine Mountain.

Lin Xin and An Ying had been in the forest for a full three days. With An Ying, who often ventured into the mountains to hunt game to fill their stomachs, it had taken them three days to finally find a Long-Eared Tiger.

The Long-Eared Tiger was already rare, and Red Pine Mountain was a place often rumored to have sightings of it. Lin Xin suspected that the reason why the Red Pine Sect decided to establish their mountain gate here was perhaps because of the traces of the Long-Eared Tiger.

But finding the Long-Eared Tiger was one thing, and how to proceed was another.

Animals like the Long-Eared Tiger were extremely sharp. Although their ears were long, their hearing was quite average; what was truly formidable was their sense of smell. That was also the reason why Lin Xin and An Ying had to smear themselves with grass and mud.

"What do we do now?" An Ying whispered, her eyes gleaming ferociously, seemingly eager to try.

"Don't rush... Don't be hasty... Can you win against it head-on?" Lin Xin asked quietly, without taking his eyes off the Long-Eared Tiger.

"Probably not... I've encountered one before. It's very strong, with incredible explosive power!" An Ying replied, licking her lips. "But we could use drugs!"

"Don't rush..." Lin Xin took a deep breath. Since the Long-Eared Tiger was right here drinking water, there was still a chance. The key was how to take down this big creature in one fell swoop.

"We can't kill it, because we need the fresh blood. You have to take a pill six times a day, every day for five consecutive days. That means we must capture it alive. It can only work if we bleed it for five days in a row." Lin Xin felt somewhat helpless in his heart. It was already difficult enough to deal with such a fierce beast, let alone capturing it alive.

If it weren't for An Ying by his side, he wouldn't even feel safe staying here.

After all, he couldn't outrun this king of beasts. Fortunately, An Ying was an expert in internal martial arts with astounding explosive power and strength. Although she couldn't beat the Long-Eared Tiger, escaping up a tree with him was not a problem. At the very least, Long-Eared Tigers couldn't climb trees.

"The several types of poison left by my master can come in handy," An Ying suggested from the side.

Lin Xin gave her a look, with poison how could he drink the blood? That would be poisoning himself.

"It seems we can only use the knockout drug..."

Lin Xin made up his mind.

Hours later, the sun was high in the sky.

The Long-Eared Tiger, lounging by the creek, subtly turned its head, sniffing the air.

Not far from it in the bushes, a wounded doe was trying to escape, limping, but its legs were entangled by several thick vines, rendering it immobile.

The doe's hindquarters were torn open, revealing bloody flesh. The scent of blood drifted over, enticing the Long-Eared Tiger to stick out its tongue and lick its lips.

Roar~~

With a low growl, the tiger rose lazily and nonchalantly made its way towards the doe.

At the tiger's roar, the doe became so frightened that its body went limp, collapsing to the ground unable to struggle any further.

Approaching the doe, the Long-Eared Tiger lowered its head to sniff at the wound on its hindquarters, shaking its head slightly.

"Eat... Bite!!" Lin Xin urged from a distance in his head. But the Long-Eared Tiger just circled the doe, treating it like a toy without going in for a bite.

Lin Xin was anxious, having applied a dose of knockout drug for ten people on the doe's wound. If the Long-Eared Tiger bit it, it would surely fall for the bait.

"Long-Eared Tigers are very cunning," An Ying said with a fierce glint in her eyes, "Let me go and kill it."

"You can't beat it head-on," Lin Xin said irritably.

"Why not coat the sword with knockout drug?" An Ying just wanted to fight.

"Can your sword withstand a swipe from it?" Lin Xin was at a loss for words.

"How would I know if I haven't tried?" An Ying was eager to try.

"If it doesn't work later, then you go," Lin Xin conceded.

Meanwhile, the Long-Eared Tiger was merely treating the doe as a plaything, swatting it with its paws, terrifying the doe into stiffness, daring not to move.

But time passed, and it simply wouldn't bite.

Lin Xin on one side grew impatient, while the Long-Eared Tiger remained unruffled on the other.

If only they were adept with a bow and arrow, they could have hidden in the trees and shot arrows coated with knockout drug.

Time trickled by, and the tiger, seemingly bored, took a glance around. Seeing no other creatures, it finally bit into the doe's hindquarters.

"We did it..!" Just as Lin Xin was about to celebrate with a clap, he saw the Long-Eared Tiger's mouth twitch, skillfully avoiding the area with the knockout drug and biting the doe's thigh instead.

Lin Xin's excitement instantly plummeted again.

"This creature!"

"Sure enough, it's cunning," An Ying said speechlessly as well.

In the moment the two were distracted, the Long-Eared Tiger burst into action and dove into the bushes, vanishing from sight.

"Be careful!" An Ying suddenly stood and drew her sword.

Clang!

The sword thrust toward the front right, where three spots of white light appeared, revealing the ultimate move of the Pine Sun Needles.

Roar!!

A tiger's roar sounded, shockingly close by.

Lin Xin's scalp tingled as he felt a gust of foul wind fiercely pouncing towards him from the front right.

Dodge? It was too late!

It was too close! The Long-Eared Tiger had already closed in to a mere few meters away.

There was simply no time for his explosive speed to kick in; it happened in the blink of an eye.

Almost on instinct, as if he had practiced the motion countless times, Lin Xin whipped out the longsword at his waist.

Thrust!

Without any fancy techniques, just a straight thrust, nearly perfect in precision, aiming for the belly of the approaching Long-Eared Tiger.