Infiltration

Night. A bright moon hung high.

A clear breeze swept through the maple grove, and the leaves rustled softly.

Lin Xiao sat cross-legged atop a large boulder in the maple grove, silently circulating his mystic art to refine the high-grade flying sword, Crimson Dragon Sword, that he had won. It was a fire-attributed flying sword perfectly suited to his own attributes, forged from earthflame crystals gushing from the planet's core and three rare Fire Dragon Pearls as its core. It was four feet two inches long and two inches two fen wide, its entire body flashing with crimson light and radiating scorching heat. It was truly a superb dharma artifact. By the cultivation world's customary classifications of dharma artifacts, Precious Artifacts, spirit artifacts, and Immortal Artifacts, a superb dharma artifact was already quite good equipment these days.

He sprayed a mouthful of vital essence onto Crimson Dragon Sword, and the Crimson Dragon suddenly transformed into a crimson streak over ten feet long, circling Lin Xiao nine times. Lin Xiao gave a soft snort, his hands shifting through sword seals, and Crimson Dragon Sword twisted and shredded through the air, stirring up crimson light and waves of heat that filled the sky. Great Luo Pill Dao's Sword Control Art could only be described as too ugly to look at, but Crimson Dragon Sword itself was immensely powerful. Lin Xiao had never seen what genuine sword cultivators looked like when controlling their swords, so when he controlled Crimson Dragon Sword to cleave a massive boulder over ten feet wide cleanly in half, he was already thoroughly satisfied with its might.

Great Luo Pill Dao's Sword Control Art was terrible, and its sword-nurturing art was no better. True sword cultivators could become one with their swords, their swords united with their intent, wielding them with divine will to unleash boundless power. Great Luo Pill Dao's cultivators, meanwhile, could only lug sword sheaths around everywhere like fools. Lin Xiao did not care. He slung Crimson Dragon Sword's sheath over his back, guided the sword back into its sheath, then reached back with his right hand to stroke the hilt. Feeling that he now possessed something of an immortal master's lofty bearing, he could not help growing even happier.

Having preliminarily refined Crimson Dragon Sword, Lin Xiao took out a bottle of Minor Restoration Pills and swallowed one, replenishing some of his depleted true essence. He then took out the protective treasure among his prizes, the Scattering Light Scarf, and began refining it with single-minded focus. When unused, the Scattering Light Scarf was merely a palm-sized piece of soft, three-colored silk. Once activated, however, it could transform into a rainbow glow that enveloped the entire body, even capable of withstanding a full-force strike from a Golden Core Stage cultivator. For a disciple like Lin Xiao, whose time on the path of cultivation had been short, it was a fairly decent protective treasure.

The Scattering Light Scarf was not of high grade, merely a mid-grade dharma artifact. Defensive dharma artifacts had always been rarer than offensive ones.

Following the refinement incantation, Lin Xiao preliminarily refined the Scattering Light Scarf and stuffed it into his storage bracelet. Now he had Crimson Dragon Sword for attack, the Scattering Light Scarf for defense, and a large supply of spirit stones for his use. Lin Xiao seemed to see an incomparably bright future before him. The Great Dao felt so close at this moment. Lin Xiao vaguely felt that even breaking through the Golden Core Stage, cultivating a Nascent Soul, and becoming an immortal free cultivator might not be difficult, right?

Fully satisfied, Lin Xiao stretched lazily and lightly moved his body, preparing to end tonight's evening cultivation session and return to his wooden cabin to rest.

A faint sound of something slicing through the air suddenly came from overhead. Lin Xiao hurriedly raised his head, watching with undisguised envy as two senior brothers patrolling the mountain drifted past on sword light. Sword flight! For Great Luo Pill Dao disciples, that was no easy feat. In short, it was still the same old story: the sword-control techniques taught by Great Luo Pill Dao were truly lacking. Every year, quite a few disciples who obtained flying swords were sent back to the pill chamber with broken bones and torn tendons after attempting sword flight for the first time.

"One day, I'll be able to do it too!" Lin Xiao said, watching the two senior brothers' retreating backs. He gently stroked Crimson Dragon Sword, then returned to his wooden cabin in high spirits.

The two patrolling disciples who had passed over Lin Xiao's head were also discussing him. That junior brother who had, against all precedent, refined Universe Grade Pill Poison during the sect's grand competition and thus "fortunately" received such generous rewards made them rather envious. But who could they blame? They could only say that Lin Xiao had a good martial aunt and truly excellent luck.

Who could have imagined that a Blazing Flame Pill, originally only Cosmos Grade, could undergo a complete transformation into Universe Grade Pill Poison after some manipulation with supplementary ingredients? And it was Universe Grade Pill Poison that even a disciple with Lin Xiao's level of cultivation could refine! This meant that Great Luo Pill Dao held in its hands a conveniently refined, highly destructive poison. The benefits to Great Luo Pill Dao needed no further explanation.

The two mountain-patrolling disciples were whispering to each other when a faint, almost imperceptible ripple of spiritual power suddenly came from afar. It seemed that something had touched Spring Return Valley's mountain-protecting grand formation. The two immediately turned their sword lights and shot toward the source of the fluctuation. One of them even had a warning restriction token ready in his hand. The moment he discovered an outside enemy, he would launch the token and summon his fellow disciples to repel the foe!

The two arrived at the source of the spiritual-power fluctuation. It was a small river valley entrance, with the river flowing directly out of Spring Return Valley. The surroundings were utterly desolate, and ordinarily no one came here. Aside from Spring Return Valley's mountain-protecting formation, dozens of small warning formations had also been set up here. The two patrolling disciples searched the area for a while, only to find that the mountain-protecting grand formation still covered the place securely, while those warning formations showed no signs of having been triggered.

"Strange. Why isn't there the slightest abnormality?" one patrolling disciple said in surprise. "Could we have sensed it wrongly just now? Even if there was an error, both of us couldn't have been wrong at the same time, could we?"

The patrolling disciple clutching the restriction token looked around in astonishment and slowly shook his head. That spiritual-power fluctuation had been weak, but it had been very distinct. How could both of them have been mistaken at once?

Just as he was about to call his fellow disciples over to thoroughly search the area, his and the other patrolling disciple's shadows abruptly sprang up, pouncing on them like living creatures. The two let out muffled groans as their primordial spirits were instantly devoured, and two gloomy, profound green lights suddenly shone from their eyes.

Their bodies convulsed for a while before collapsing heavily onto the ground.

After some time, the two simultaneously flipped over and rose to their feet. They looked at each other and spoke at the same time, sneering, "Great Luo Pill Dao's mountain-protecting formation is not as formidable as the rumors claim."

"Have you memorized their memories?"

"If you had memorized them, how could there possibly be a problem on my end?"

"Then, we are now—"

"We are now Great Luo Pill Dao mountain-patrolling disciples Ming Xin and Ming Xing. Hmm, our status is not bad. We are actually personal disciples of a purple-robed elder! Excellent!"

"Indeed, excellent. This identity will be very useful to us. Junior Brother Ming Xin, let us continue patrolling the mountain!"

"Senior Brother Ming Xing speaks wisely. Let us continue patrolling the mountain and wait for the Patriarch to make complete arrangements. Then—"

"Heh heh, heh heh!" The two exchanged glances and laughed. Their sinister chuckles sent the snakes, insects, ants, and rats in the nearby grass fleeing in every direction.

"Jimo Sect is utterly useless!"

"Isn't that so? Blood Kill Demonic Path is also nothing but a pack of incompetent trash!"

"If we want to accomplish anything, the Patriarch still has to rely on our Yin Specter Sect!"

"Precisely, precisely! Great Luo Pill Dao is no soft-boned weakling. What can that pack of trash accomplish? At most, they will only give their enemies another achievement for vanquishing demons and exterminating fiends!"

The two muttered softly as they rode their sword lights away into the distance.