Eternal Swordmaster

Lin Xin saw a group of people standing under the wooden sign at the fork in the road.

Lin Zhiwen, Lin Zhiwu, as well as Lin Xinguang, Lin Xinyuan, and the Shu Family, and experts from the Plum Blossom Sect who had come to lend their support, were all there.

The carriage slowed down a bit.

"Uncle Master, Elder Ji," Lin Xin called out softly. "May I take a moment to say farewell?"

"Make it quick," Ji Lu nodded, then sat down inside the carriage with his eyes closed and legs crossed as if he was cultivating something.

Bo Yunzi didn't speak; he just followed with a nod.

Lin Xin hurriedly pulled open the carriage door. On the other side, Lin Zhiwen seemed to be arranging something, asking a few juniors to come over and send something. Except for Lin Xinguang, several people scrambled to step forward, but in the end, Lin Xinyuan snatched up the package and jogged toward the carriage.

"Cousin," said Lin Xinyuan, who obviously had martial arts training as she quickly caught up to the carriage and handed him the package. "I knew you would be in a rush to leave; this is what your uncle has prepared for you and the two elders as travel provisions."

Lin Xin accepted it and noticed a trace of reluctance on Lin Xinyuan's small face.

"Say goodbye to Father on my behalf, and don't worry, I will come back. Besides, is there anything else?"

This little cousin had always been protective of Lin Xin since they were children. Unlike Lin Xinguang, she had the best relationship with Lin Xin among Lin Zhiwen's children. Therefore, whenever Lin Xinguang ridiculed Lin Xin, she would always speak up to help.

"Cousin, will you still remember Xinyuan in the future?"

"Of course..." Lin Xin revealed a slight smile and stretched out his hand to pinch Lin Xinyuan's small face, enjoying the gelatin-like collagen that felt very pleasant to the touch.

"Remember to write to me," Lin Xinyuan said with some reluctance. "Otherwise, by the time you come back, I might already be married off."

She spoke somewhat helplessly, her small face turning red, whether from running or from embarrassment.

"I certainly don't want to... get married so soon!"

"Alright, then. I'll talk to your second uncle when the time comes." Lin Xin smiled, "Okay, stop running, go back now."

"Mm..." Lin Xinyuan slowed down and stood in the rear, watching the carriage drive away with a look of strong envy in her eyes.

Lin Xin knew that his cousin had always been strong and independent since she was little, wanting to practice martial arts like a man, and venture into the Jianghu. Sadly, the social norm was that a woman must marry by the age of eighteen; otherwise, she would be considered a spinster, making it difficult to find a good match.

And Lin Xinyuan was already fourteen. In a few years, she would have to consider marriage. Now, Lin Xin, who was the most influential man in the family and an expert of the inner strength martial arts, was about to enter a major sect of the Immortal Sects, had a boundless future. With his support, she wouldn't need to worry about being married off so soon.

Lin Xin also knew her thoughts, which was why he promised to write to his second uncle.

The carriage wheels rolled steadily, entering a bend in the road, and soon Lin Xinyuan and Lin Zhiwen, who had been standing behind, were no longer visible.

It was then that Lin Xin closed the carriage door, opened the gray-white package in his hand, and inside was a large engraved golden-red wooden box, faintly emitting an enticing food aroma.

Beneath it was a thick layer of gold leaves, and also a letter. It read: "For my son's eyes only."

Clearly, it was written by Lin Zhiwen.

He tore open the letter and skimmed it. Its contents were nothing more than some final admonitions, blessings, urging him to respect his masters, cultivate diligently, bring honor to his sect, and if ever he needed money, he shouldn't hesitate to ask, and so on.

After putting away the letter, Lin Xin placed the package on the small table in the middle of the carriage.

Glancing at Ji Lu and Bo Yunzi, who were both meditating, Lin Xin decided to sit cross-legged and began to cultivate his inner qi.

The cultivation of inner qi was dull and tedious, entirely reliant on accumulation, day after day, year after year, continually using intent to move inner qi through the body's circulation, until the meridians adapted and became more robust. Only then would one begin to break through new meridians and incorporate them into the system. Then, continue to use inner qi to strengthen the new meridians, perfect the circulation, and then break through new meridians again, forming a new cycle.

Not until all the meridians recorded in the cultivation technique were opened and the most perfect circulation was formed, would one reach the peak of the inner qi postnatal stage.

After meditating for a while and reopening his eyes, the dim sunset light filtered through the carriage curtain gaps, falling into the carriage, tinting the entire space a golden red.

"Two Taoist Priests, Young Master Lin, there seems to be a dead person ahead!"

The coachman suddenly called out, his voice trembling a bit.

The one driving the carriage was Lin Yuansheng, the Lin Family's protector. As he couldn't return this trip, he was arranged by Lin Zhiwen to serve Lin Xin. Although not highly skilled in martial arts, he was honest and capable of dealing with many everyday affairs efficiently. He could also act as a messenger to help with communication between the Lin Family and Lin Xin.

Lin Xin glanced at Bo Yunzi and Ji Lu, neither of whom reacted, and becoming curious, he, sitting at the front part of the carriage, stood up and lifted the curtain to look ahead.

The carriage also slowed down.

On the dusty road ahead lay a white carriage, its horses appeared to have been dead for some time, surrounded by many flies and insects. Two women had been thrown from the carriage, both elegantly dressed, and neither looked common. However, both women were in disarray below the waist, and there was a deep cut on their throats. Nearby lay a headless corpse, seemingly the male driver.

"Probably ran into some bandits," the coachman, Lin Yuansheng, whispered.

"With two Immortal Masters present, and myself here, even if it's bandits, what's there to fear?" Lin Xin said offhandedly.

"Oh..."

As the carriage slowly passed the bodies on the road, Lin Xin finally saw that behind the overturned carriage, there was a person squatting. It was a man dressed in grey, akin to a martial artist, who was crouching in front of a headless corpse, apparently examining it.

As they passed by, the man did not pay them any heed, simply continuing to carefully inspect the headless corpse.

After passing the scene, the carriage quickly left the bodies behind.

Lin Xin returned to the cabin and closed his eyes to meditate for a while; soon, the sky had completely darkened.

The three of them woke up, stopped the carriage, ate some dry food, drank some clean water prepared on the carriage, and let the horses rest, feeding them some food.

Lin Xin took the opportunity to ask about the situation of the Four Sects.

"The Four Sects, well, that's my Pine Forest Sword Sect, Plum Blossom Sect, Wind-Riding Sect, and the Golden Jade Sect," Bo Yunzi replied, taking the time to share his knowledge with Lin Xin.

"My Pine Forest Sword Sect mainly uses swords, while the Plum Blossom Sect employs talismans. The Wind-Riding Sect is proficient in spell methods, and the Golden Jade Sect is famous for their alchemical elixirs and qi huang. You'll know all about these later."

The group alighted from the carriage, all except for Ji Lu, who stayed on to meditate, still engaged in his arduous cultivation practice.

Lin Xin and Bo Yunzi found some dry grass and sat under a large tree. They started a campfire and chatted idly.

"So, is Uncle-Master returning this time specifically to recommend An Ying for entry?" Lin Xin asked again. "You probably didn't expect that I could be admitted as well, did you?"

"I indeed didn't expect that. Before I left, I gave you that little booklet without much hope, but surprisingly, you actually managed to get through the door," Bo Yunzi spoke frankly. "As an outer sect disciple, recommending a disciple can earn some Jade Money. It doesn't matter whether it's An Ying or you; anyone with inner qi can do it."

"Is getting into the Immortal Sect that simple?" Lin Xin was rather speechless, wondering if it meant that all experts with inner qi could be admitted.

"You think it's easy; you have to be an inner family expert under thirty years old," Bo Yunzi glared at him. "And you start as a named disciple. If you can't become an official disciple within ten years, you'll have to leave. Hundreds of named disciples have to be replaced every ten years."

"That's quite something. Hundreds of people every ten years! With so many inner family experts, how come we rarely see them?" Lin Xin was astonished yet confused.

"Because most of them are dead," Bo Yunzi said softly, looking down. "The Immortal Sect isn't so easy to enter..."

Lin Xin seemed to feel the hint of helplessness and brutality in his tone and fell silent.

After eating and resting for a while, with Ji Lu present at night, who was absolutely a true Immortal Master, unlike Bo Yunzi, who was only in the Inner Qi Stage but also named an Immortal Master.

In the middle of the night, when some wolves approached, Ji Lu showed his skills with a small spell. He produced a white flame in his hand that exploded, directly driving away all the wild animals around them.

Bo Yunzi explained to Lin Xin that all spell methods required the practitioner to be in the Qi Refinement Realm. They were currently only at the postnatal stage. Only after achieving Great Achievement of the inner qi, ensuring all the meridians in the body are clear, and then using the postnatal to nourish the innate, choosing an innate technique to cultivate, and reaching perfection, one could then start the practice of qi refinement.

The process in between, for an average disciple, would take at least ten years, twenty years for those with lesser talent, or even thirty years.

If one is not part of an Immortal Sect, without special resources and environment outside, they would never reach the innate realm in their lifetime because they lack the cultivation technique.

Traveling by day and resting at night, they continued on like this for six days straight.

Then they encountered a torrential rain, causing mudslides and landslides, forcing the four to stop the carriage. They found an old temple in the mountains to rest in. Their dry food was gone, so Lin Xin and Bo Yunzi hunted some wild animals like rabbits and antelopes around the area. They roasted them with spices to eat, and made the leftovers into jerky for storage.

The rain poured down for two full days and nights, never stopping. So the four of them were forced to stay in the old temple.

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

Lin Xin sat cross-legged in a corner of the old temple, guiding a thread of inner qi from his heart region to circulate in his body. The food he had eaten was continuously transformed into new strands of inner qi under its guidance, joining the cycle.

Refining essence into qi, this was the essence of inner qi cultivation—storing the essence from food into inner qi, ready to be unleashed when needed. This was the way of the postnatal inner family masters' cultivation practice.

Lin Xin was not yet capable of inner vision. With his eyes closed, there was nothing but pitch-black darkness, along with a pale red attribute bar at the bottom of his field of vision.

After a long absence, there was a slight change in the attribute bar. There were no changes to the attribute values, but there was an upward arrow beside 'Physique' now.

And there was something new behind the Inner Strength icon.

'Damage—3, Defense—1, Evasion—1, Physique—1.'

'Minor Return to Origin Technique—First Layer. (2% Completion) (Damage +1, Physique +1)'

Seeing this newly emerged section, Lin Xin was suddenly filled with new motivation. The tedious and dull practice of inner strength cultivation seemed to become more bearable.