Transformation (Part 2)

One night passed without incident. The two took turns keeping watch and rested well. Although they couldn't distinguish the time of day inside the cave, their bodies' natural habits still allowed them to roughly sense when it was time to sleep and rest.

In the following days, the two continued to move forward. Lin Xin encountered several more Black-Haired Horse-Men, each becoming a trophy under his sword. These Black-Haired Horse-Men were only strong and had average speed and thick skin, with no other advantages. Moreover, they only knew a few Black Sickle moves, which Lin Xin easily dealt with after figuring them out.

For several days in a row, he eliminated more and more Black-Haired Horse-Men. The number of Horse-Man skull fragments he collected also gradually increased.

Seeing him cleanly and efficiently eliminate the Black-Haired Horse-Men, displaying great strength and composure, Xiao Lingling became increasingly reliant on Lin Xin, and her mood gradually brightened.

Chi.

Lin Xin slowly withdrew the sword blade stuck in the Horse-Man's neck. Black blood spurted out, and the Horse-Man, who had been trying to escape with his back to him, suddenly knelt on the ground, clutching his throat with both hands. With a poof, he turned into a black liquid, then evaporated into black smoke, leaving only a small piece of red crescent-shaped bone.

"The twenty-first piece." Lin Xin picked up the bone fragment and put it into his pocket.

"As expected of Brother Lin." Xiao Lingling clapped her hands as she walked out from behind him, smiling brightly. "If you go out now, you can complete the trial."

"Complete the trial? My goal is not just to complete the trial." Lin Xin smiled, shaking off the black blood on the sword blade.

"That's right. With Brother Lin's strength, as long as you are a little cautious, you will surely achieve a good ranking." Xiao Lingling also understood. Now she was full of confidence in Lin Xin. With her sensory abilities, she naturally knew that Lin Xin's true strength was Innate Fourth Layer.

Therefore, along the way, the seemingly ferocious Black-Haired Horse-Men became less terrifying as Lin Xin solved them one after another.

Lin Xin smiled slightly, not saying much.

He didn't think he could easily withdraw from the trial. Song Jing's spies seemed to have disappeared these days, and even Xiao Lingling couldn't sense them, but he didn't think the other party had completely let him go.

The passage seemed to have reached its end, and the front gradually widened, reaching an unknown depth underground.

The two packed up and continued to move forward. Soon, the sound of fighting faintly came from ahead.

The two quickened their pace and hurried forward. Soon, they turned a corner in the cave and saw a group of Sword Sect disciples besieging a tall Horse-Man with silver fur all over its body.

Two of them were directing the battle from the side. More than a dozen disciples seemed to have formed a formation, surrounding the Horse-Man in the middle, constantly grinding it down like a millstone.

Swords stabbed into the Horse-Man's body, making a teeth-aching creaking sound. It didn't seem to be very effective.

But each sickle attack of the Horse-Man was also shared by at least four or five disciples working together. The two sides were in a stalemate.

Lin Xin and the other turned out, and were seen by one of the commanders.

"Fellow Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters over there, since you have shown yourselves, why not join us? It's good to have someone to look after each other in this cave."

The speaker had a smile on his face, holding a folding fan in his hand and shaking it gently. He was dressed as a young master in white, and no long sword could be seen hidden anywhere on his back or waist.

"Huang Shang... It's Young Master Huang Shang!" Xiao Lingling's expression changed, seemingly recognizing the other party's identity.

"What Huang Shang?"

Lin Xin asked in a low voice.

"One of the three strongest Innate Great Perfection experts in Listening Sword Valley..." Xiao Lingling replied in a low voice.

"Innate Great Perfection?" Lin Xin gasped. He couldn't withstand the Innate Great Perfection Ninth Layer with his current strength. Even with so many trump cards and a Magic Item in hand, he estimated that facing him head-on would be extremely dangerous. He had trump cards, but didn't the other party have them too?

Joining them rashly would probably make it difficult for him to use many of his abilities, especially the Clear Talisman Sword, which must not be used in front of outsiders. Otherwise, once the Shu Family found out and compared it to the traces left when Shu Luoyi died, he would really be in trouble.

After thinking about it and pondering for a while, he cupped his fists and said loudly.

"Thank you for the invitation, Young Master Huang, but I'm more accustomed to traveling alone. I'm terribly sorry."

Encountering Huang Shan, Kong Yuhui, or Cheng Ruofei would be better than dealing with an inscrutable Huang Shang.

Having reached this point, they were gradually approaching the area where the other groups converged, and he expected to encounter even more people soon.

Huang Shang, ever good-tempered, cupped his fist in salute, not taking it to heart. The few beside him seemed to have some complaints, displeased with Lin Xin's unappreciative attitude.

But with a slight press of his hand, everything quieted down.

Lin Xin inquired with Xiao Lingling, but she was also unwilling to accept Huang Shang's invitation. Finding it strange, they agreed and followed the right side of the cave, hugging the stone wall as they passed through.

Two people beside them kept a close watch, very vigilant, clearly not trusting Lin Xin and Xiao Lingling.

Quickly passing through Huang Shang's area, the two accelerated forward.

Soon, the front opened up, leading into a huge cave resembling an opera house.

Inside the cave was a wide river, flowing from right to left, its currents unceasing. On both sides of the river were wide, stony beaches, filled with sword sect disciples and Black-Haired Horse-Men engaged in fierce combat.

Shouts, screams, the strange roars of the Horse-Men, and the clash of weapons mixed together, along with the rushing sound of the river.

The blood of humans and Horse-Men was splattered everywhere, but more of it was the black blood of the Horse-Men.

Many disciples had figured out the Horse-Men's fighting patterns, nimbly dodging and occasionally thrusting out a sword, easily grinding the Horse-Men to death.

Above the entire cave was not a dome, but a huge skylight, casting down pure white, bright light from a great height, landing right in the middle of the rushing river.

Just as Lin Xin and Xiao Lingling entered the large cave, two Black-Haired Horse-Men on the right front were chasing a young female disciple with a bun hairstyle.

When the woman saw Lin Xin and Xiao Lingling appear, she rushed towards them, her face covered in blood.

"Senior Brothers, Senior Sisters, please help!"

Her voice was filled with a hint of fear and exhaustion.

"It's Junior Sister Ye!?" Xiao Lingling seemed to recognize the woman. She immediately looked anxiously at Lin Xin. "Senior Brother... this..."

Since she had already led two Black-Haired Horse-Men over, Lin Xin had no choice but to draw his sword. Flame-less Swordplay was unleashed, and several balls of scalding Inner Qi shot towards the two Horse-Men.

Puff puff.

After a few muffled sounds, the two Horse-Men hissed in pain, and their pursuit was immediately halted.

Lin Xin bent forward and darted out, easily dodging a Horse-Man's scythe sweep, and with an upward thrust of his sword, accurately pierced the Horse-Man's weakest point under the chin, then stabbed fiercely into its brain.

Chi.

Pulling out his sword, Lin Xin pounced on the other Horse-Man, similarly killing it with a few moves.

Without using a single ultimate move, he only spent three Inner Qi-fueled sword strikes, using less than a tenth of his Inner Qi.

"Innate expert!" The rescued woman had sharp eyes and exclaimed in surprise. After being helped up by Xiao Lingling, she finally relaxed completely.

"Lingling, how did you manage to hook up with an Innate expert?" She looked at Xiao Lingling with some envy and jealousy.

"It's not what you think..." Xiao Lingling didn't know why, but she felt like she didn't have her usual composure. Her face was flushed with a hint of red, losing some of her foxy charm and gaining a touch of purity.

"Oh, Lingling, why are you still being so distant with me? We're good sisters, after all." Junior Sister Ye began to get close and friendly.

Xiao Lingling was just making excuses. She knew many good sisters within the Sect, but this woman's identity was somewhat special...

At this moment, Lin Xin sheathed his sword and stood upright, overlooking the entire cave from atop a large rock.

Within the cave, over thirty people were fighting with the Horse-Men. All were Black-Haired Horse-Men, and their numbers also exceeded thirty.

Some disciples had already fallen in battle.

However, the cultivation of the Sect disciples here was significantly higher than that of the Poison Gang group from before, mostly above the Second Layer. Their combat experience was also much richer. After finding a pattern, they could entangle with a Horse-Man for quite a while in a one-on-one fight.

Although most disciples were at a disadvantage, except for the Innate experts.

Lin Xin observed for a moment and noticed that there were also several Innate level experts here. Although they weren't as fast as him in dealing with the Black-Haired Horse-Men, they were gradually influencing the overall situation, taking down the Horse-Men one by one, tilting the balance towards the humans. Victory was only a matter of time.

"There's no need to linger here. Grab a few skulls if I can, and find Kong Yuhui and Cheng Ruofei to join up with as soon as possible."

Although he didn't fully trust Kong Yuhui either, he was still much better than ordinary Sect disciples, after all, they had a life-and-death friendship and shared common secrets.

Jumping down from the large rock, Lin Xin saw a group of five Black-Haired Horse-Men chasing two men, engaging them in a fierce battle.

He could handle two Horse-Men at the same time, but five were a bit beyond his capabilities. Lin Xin hid behind a rock, wanting to avoid them.

"Junior Sister Ye, save me!" one of the men shouted loudly.

"It's Senior Brother Ma, Xiao Fei, quickly lead them towards the big rock, Senior Brother Lin Xin is there! He's an Innate expert!" the sharp voice of the Junior Sister Ye he had saved earlier rang out.

"Thank you, Junior Sister Ye!" the man said gratefully.

Lin Xin immediately saw that the two men looked towards him, standing behind the rock, and fled towards him in a disheveled state.

He was instantly annoyed. He didn't know these two people, so why should he help them deal with the Horse-Men? Did they think he was a free fighter? He wouldn't even get the credit, it would go to that Junior Sister Ye.

"Senior Brother Lin, this way, come this way." Before he could finish, Junior Sister Ye started calling out again.

Xiao Lingling also frowned beside him, clearly dissatisfied.

"Lingling, why are you making that face? With your skills, you'll just be comforting Senior Brother Lin in bed later. This is a good opportunity for us to curry favor. If we miss it, it won't be so easy to find another one," Junior Sister Ye said, as if she had a plan. By now, she had wiped the blood off her face, revealing a fair and pretty face, but her cheekbones were a bit high, making her look somewhat shrewish.

"I've told you, Senior Brother Lin isn't that kind of person to me..." Xiao Lingling said anxiously. Seeing Lin Xin's expression change for the worse, her heart skipped a beat.

"Alright, alright, do you still need to put on an act between us? I know what kind of person you are," Junior Sister Ye said dismissively.

Xiao Lingling was anxious and wanted to explain, but Lin Xin had already lost his patience, and a hint of killing intent flashed in his eyes.

"Xiao Lingling, shut her up!"

He shouted in a low voice, walked out from behind the rock, not even looking at the two men rushing towards him. Instead, the stone beneath his feet exploded, and he directly dodged to the left in a straight line, completely ignoring the five Black-Haired Horse-Men.

"Lingling, it seems you're not very good... you can't even control a man," Junior Sister Ye said in astonishment.

Slap!

Xiao Lingling raised her hand and slapped the woman hard across the face.

"Ye Shuyun! Shut your mouth!!"

She was furious, turned around, and ran towards Lin Xin, carrying her bundle, ignoring the stunned Junior Sister Ye behind her.

"Senior Brother Lin, let's leave them and go ourselves!"